the pied piper

He chuckled and shrugged. He honestly doesn’t mind if Hartley teases him about saying he tasted good. He’d probably enjoy being teased. He can’t help it if he thinks Hart’s blood tastes delicious. 

He does wonder what makes his Hartley and this one different though. What was his background, his history? How did this Hart come to join Team Flash? All of that could be answered later of course.

“Yeah we are. I’ve been trying to help you get your little sister out of your parents custody. So far it’s been a success and she’s currently living with my Earth’s you. A test period to see if Hart can take better care of her than your parents. Oh! Um….I don’t think I can think of anything else.”

There had been a time when Hartley's relationship with his parents had been less than pleasant, but ever since the changes that came because of Flashpoint, that relationship had been repaired. He felt bad for his parallel doppleganger, and he worried for his parallel sister, wondering just how bad his parents were on that Earth. Were they worse than they had been here? Clearly, if there was a custody battle going on.

Chewing his lip, he stepped a little closer. "So she's okay? We're okay? The... other me and her?" He wanted to feel bad about his parents too, losing their children, but if they were bad enough that the other version of him was fighting for custody, he couldn't find it in himself to pity them.

It’s safe to say this Barry is just as similar to Earth 1′s Barry. Except the whole vampirism. But he is just as jittery and can’t-stay-still and adorable. He tilts his head at the questions and hums a bit.

“Well for one you’ve worked at STAR Labs for awhile, was there when it exploded, and are a founding member of Team Flash. We’re pretty good friends I’d have to say. You also have rats and they seem to like me so I take that as a good sign. As for your question about the blood. Blood types have different flavors. Add that with a person’s own personal flavor and blood tastes different based on the person. You do taste good.”

Hartley nodded as he was filled in on his life on the other Earth that this Barry came from. Before he could think to respond to that, his question about the differences in blood taste came and he blurted out, "You'll have to stop me from making comments about you saying that I taste good."

Was he going to end up with a small little high school crush on this version of Barry too? Probably. He liked cute men, especially when they came with full body leather suits and sweet smiles.

Barry looked up at Hart as he teased him and he rolled his eyes. He listened to the shorter as he spoke out his notes, not really paying much attention to what was being said. He was too busy feeding after all.

He accepts the tissue and nods, wiping his mouth just incase. “Yeah. Much. Still hungry, but it’s manageable. I could go for some takeout though. Help the hunger a bit more.

“You’re fairly similar to my Earth’s Hartley. I’m gonna have a tour around these labs. See if anything is different.” And before Hartley could even say anything, Barry’s running off and is back within 2 seconds.

“Doesn’t seem to be much difference. Just no werewolf enclosure or blood bag storage room.”

"Right, of course," Hartley said, picking his phone up to turn off the recording and pull up the takeout numbers again. The sight of his wrist caught him for a moment and he was moderately distracted, making him slow down as he scrolled and listened to Barry speak. Then before he could blink, the other man was gone, leaving him in a gust of wind and lightning. That was pretty cool, he'd never get over just how cool it was, but it also jolted him back to looking for food.

He'd just found his favorite Chinese takeout's number when Barry returned and he hit dial, then ordered with ease. He wasn't sure what would be best for the vampire, but he took a wild guess and ordered a bunch of meats. After blood loss, it was important for him to eat as well, so he ordered some of his favorites and hung up the moment the transaction was over.

And Hartley was so open to letting him feed on him? Oh boy. Of course his own Earth’s Hartley let him do that too, but still this is a different Earth so he didn’t know what to expect. But this was not what he expected.

But he’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He just hopes no one else will walk in on him feeding on Hartley. That would be extremely awkward. And he doesn’t feel like explaining himself anymore right now anyway.

He stand sup and walks over to Hartley and nods, taking a hold of his wrist instead. Best start where it’d be easy to cover a wound. The neck’s too obvious. Wrist wounds can be hidden under a bracelet or sleeves. He takes in a deep breath before sinking his fangs into the shorter’s wrist, humming with delight as the blood ran into his mouth.

He only feed for a few minutes, just to get a little bit of blood. Not enough to fully sate him, but enough that it would help a bit. And not enough to be dangerous to Hartley.

There was a part of Hartley that was overanalyzing every moment of this interaction, especially after physical contact began. He wondered if Barry cared for everyone he drank from, or if he was taking particular measures to make sure this was as comfortable for Hartley as possible. It was a different Barry he'd been speaking to, but he hadn't been lying when he teased about that leather suit. Besides, who wouldn't be curious in his position?

His wrist was taken and he was glad; from a scientific standpoint, it was easier to watch this way. When Barry's teeth first made contact, he felt the cold spike of anxiety strike and he found himself teasing again to relieve that sensation. "If only you knew how much I liked being bitten."

Then those fangs sank in and he inhaled sharply, but remained still. Speaking to his phone, which was recording so he'd have scientific notes to study later on, he murmured a short narration. "I can feel the penetration, but it's not as painful as one might imagine. I feel... connected?" He could be imagining that. "Moderately dizzy, but I haven't lost enough blood for that to be the cause." His pondering continued silently, and he found himself wondering if one person alone could sustain Barry's appetites, and whether different blood types tasted different. He knew how he felt during this, but he had no idea how Barry felt, and he wondered about that too.

Barry just stares in surprise. Hartley was taking this quite well and that was honestly surprising to him. Now on his Earth, it was quite normal for someone to tell you they drink blood or they eat raw meat. Here, he doesn’t think that’s normal. From the questions the shorter brunet was asking, he’s assuming what he is is supposed to be fictional.

He could tell Hartley was looking him over and he just smiles a nervous grin, his fangs showing quite plainly as he did. “Normally blood bags because I can go through a lot of them. I have fed on a person before. Neck or wrist is what I would go for. I’m sure a small snack wouldn’t be too bad.”

"I assume you can control yourself; you can have whatever you need, so long as it doesn't encroach upon what I need. I'm sure you're aware that a transfusion is required after three to four pints of blood loss, which is a Class 3 hemorrhage and is equivalent to thirty to forty percent of a person's total blood volume." There was a pause in which Hartley ran a hand along his neck, massaging the main artery there as he wondered how this would work. Did vampires have something in their saliva that healed the wounds they created? Would it hurt? 

"The point of drinking from me would be defeated if I ended up needing a transfusion, though I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing." The worst thing being that he'd be too far drained for a transfusion to be worthwhile. He wasn't nervous though, even if he probably should be. Instead, he set his phone to record (since written notation was probably going to be impossible, he'd just speak about how he felt out loud so he'd have the notes he desired) and placed it down on the nearest flat surface. Neck elongated and tilted, he waited. "If you prefer the wrist, you know where to find it. Otherwise..."

Barry’s eyes scanned over the shorter male and he gave him a small smile. He could smell the other’s blood and it was making him hungrier. However he was slightly hesitant to actually state that he was hungry for blood. He doesn’t want to scare off these potential new friends/allies. Luckily he can still eat human food, just not all the time.

“Well anything really, but I do have a preference for blood. Human food is fine though.” Might as well rip the bandage off.

Barry sighed as he looked up at this Earth’s version of Hartley Rathaway from where he sat. “Well for one, the others didn’t give me any time to explain myself. I’m not from this Earth. And I think it’s obvious to me because everyone is acting so different around me. And I don’t know where this world’s Barry is, but clearly he’s also the Flash. Now could you help me get a hold of some…food? I’m starving.”

"Would you like to tell me why I've been sent to... investigate your condition?" There were other members of Team Flash that could figure out whether or not Barry had become something dark, but they had come to the conclusion that they were all too close to him; they could be too easily manipulated, but not Hartley. They had told him to be prepared, and he had his gauntlets on his person, but he couldn't imagine Barry being anything worthy of fear.

The Reverse-Flash let out a noise that sounded vaguely like a chuckle. Despite everything, part of Eobard Thawne missed Hartley. Cisco and Caitlin were certainly not sad to see Wells’ former protege go, but…. Cisco and Caitlin also weren’t fully aware of the type of bond the two shared.

“Ah, Pied Piper… If only your bark matched your bite,” the man sneered. “The first time you encountered a man in leather went quite well for you. If you want to fight, we’ll fight, but I promise it won’t go so well for you this time. I know your moves better than you do.”

The Reverse-Flash stepped forward, a smile spreading across his blurred-out, obscure face.

“The road from Earth to the stars is not easy,” the distorted voice said in Latin.

This man in yellow certainly was confident, Hartley like it. He knew that he should have a natural amount of fear in this situation, knowing that he didn't know much about this masked man in front of him, but he wasn't the type to fear anything.

He was about to open his mouth to speak when Latin fell out of the other man's mouth and gave him cause for pause. Hartley had both loved and been spurned by the only man that was smart enough to make use of all of the languages he knew; only one man said that phrase to him.

He lifted his hands, readying his gloves to make use of his powers at a moment's notice.

Wells sat at a monitor in the Cortex, typing away at his console. Nothing was going on currently, it was a rather boring day for Team Flash. Cisco and Caitlin were out at Jitters, Barry was with Joe and Iris… he had enough cameras in their whole world to know their every move.

It, of course, didn’t take the man long to learn of Hartley’s whereabouts, several monitors in the Cortex all flickering to life at once with data from the various earthquakes suddenly hitting the city. Soundwaves. Hartley Rathaway.

Wells reached for his phone, his instinct being to reach Barry and the others… but Hartley was a problem that, perhaps, needed to be dealt with personally.

In no time at all, a familiar man in yellow, oscured by vibrations and emitting red lightning from his body, arrived at the scene of Hartley’s little tantrum, standing only a few feet away from the young man.

“Expecting someone else?” came the Reverse-Flash’s distorted, booming voice.

Not even Hartley knew that Harrison Wells was really Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash. If he had, this would have been infinitely more gratifying. As it was, he was a little annoyed that his trap for the Flash had caught what he considered to be a smaller fish.

"No, I was expecting a mysterious banana to be attracted by my siren call," he threw back, looking the vibrating speedster up and down. "Love the suit though, feel free to continue the trend of head to toe leather in my dreams tonight as well."

Caution was the name of the game now, since Hartley didn't know who this new face of opposition was; or if they were even there to oppose him. Ever a master of chess, he held his cards close to his chest and waited to make any kind of move until after he understood the situation better. All of the research he had done on Barry would probably be useless, since this man's frequencies would be different and his powers may be different as well, so he was on guard and analyzing every little detail.

“Oh I’m no stranger to the violent approach, don’t worry.” He pulled his escrima sticks from his back and was about to strike when he was suddenly hit by a high pitched noise. It hurt, in a way he never experienced before. His hands flew to his ears, fell to his knees and he couldn’t focus anymore. All he knew was noise. He vaguely heard the man’s name; Pied Piper. Welcome to my world, there was no way this man always experienced this, no way. Despite the pain in his ears, Nightwing wasn’t giving up just yet. He was determined to catch this man. He pushed himself up and he swung out at the Pied Piper.

It was true, the frequency that was assaulting Nightwing's ears so violently was the exact same frequency that he'd been plagued by since the day of the particle accelorator's explosion. He didn't hear it now, but that was only because he'd somehow managed to alter his experimental hearing aids (that were meant to take his deaf ears and allow him to hear something, no matter how small, though they had never been completed for that purpose) in a way that blocked that frequency. It was the sound of the entire world of sound screaming in the ear at a heightened volume. There was a certain level of satisfaction that came along with making one of the heroes feel his pain.

Though it would have been so much better if it had been The Flash.

Ever the hero, Nightwing forced Hartley to stop the frequency so that he could fight back. He was well prepared for hand-to-hand combat, and though he had to stop his frequency attack, he was able to stop that fist from hitting him as well by blocking the attack. He held the arm, locked in mid-swing. From this distance, he could see his own reflection in the other man's eyes. Things were getting intense. "There we go, maybe this won't be a total waste of my time, after all." He could use the combat practice, as egotistical as he was, he did want to be at his best for the real main event; when he kicked The Flash’s ass.

Cisco was in Caitlin’s lab helping her sort out her paperwork. Caitlin and Ronnie were accepting of him from day one and when he’s not working himself he ends up helping them.

“Na I don’t think so I don’t do mature but how can I help you?” He asked looking to the older and the duck.

“I see you don’t like my gift everyone loves rubber ducks they are a childhood favorite in the tub. I thought you could use some joy.”

Of course it was Cisco, and of course he thought it was a joke. Hartley pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand and then slid his glasses up a little further with a click of his tongue.