Something from Nothing

“Dale, honey, we need to establish one main ground rule. I am a high paid escort. I do not judge people for any reason. It’s mostly because it would be rather hypocritical of me. That and as long as you’re not hurting anyone, ain’t my business.” She assured him.

He was quite as he continued to strum, the song one from his earlier years playing in rock bands. It was somber yet grungey, just the way he liked it.

“I’ve had this ability almost all my life. It never seemed like much ya know? I could just trick out amps and guitars and stuff in ways that others couldn’t. I did think of it as anything until I started messing around with the idea of using sound as a weapon. My first attempt was a pair of super modded out drumsticks sort of...like game controllers that hit electric sensors” he paused hoping that his words made some form of sense.

“I moved to guitar because it just works better really. I wasn’t really a hero? but like I didn’t hurt anyone or steal things. I just..I like sorta went out to help people, kick some bad guy butt and make it sound bad ass at the same time” he laughed, before he spoke once more.

As her friend seemingly nervously explained his past and powers, she watched attentively. She hoped he’d realized she never judged anyone for anything. The Drummer sounded familiar and to be fair, the Flash never impressed her much. Probably because being fast didn’t mean much to her. After all…for her time was money.

“Hey I know this is a weird thing to talk about? But thanks for being cool with it”

She had no idea why she was even surprised, everyone in this town had powers. But then she realized how he said it. “Why did you say it like you had a terrible disease, like the clap or herpes? Did you think I was going to judge you?”

She frowned a bit at the thought. “You know I don’t judge.”

“So I used to work as a hero called ‘The Drummer’ right? I was angry and violent. I had tech that used sound waves in coordination with some hard light projections? But with this guitar I can play around with that more” he stood back strumming a few chords gently until a blue chair appeared after a few pulses of energy. He motioned for his friend to sit as he picked out a melody singing along as he did so.

“One of these days, the clocks will stop. And time won’t mean a thing” he continued on creating a soft pulsing vibration in the chair. He picked up the tempo and flicked a switch that messed with the octave and the gain creating a fine distortion.  He didn’t want to shock his friend any, but he wanted to show her a bit of what he could do.

Few people ever just randomly talked to him. He was so surprised that Len actually stopped walking, and kind of looked around to see if maybe the guy had been talking to someone else. No one else in a parka. Definitely was talking to him.

“You never know,” Len spoke with his Captain Cold voice, a teasing note with just a hint of an edge to warn of potential danger. “Winter might come early.”

As he start to croon Lionel Richie at her, she laughed and batted at him. Could the man be any more adorable? He probably could. But if he was, he better be careful, she could easily fall in love with him…after all he was the most decent guy she knew. The only other man in the running was Len but he was preoccupied with many issues. She mused to herself that she should probably call him soon just to see how he was.

“This place is amazing. It feels so homey already,” she smiled. “Thank you again, Dale. You’re the best. And don’t worry, my work never comes home. When I’m home, I’m usually lazing about or cookin’. Work hasn’t been as constant here as it was in the last place I was in but high rollers, so same income. I can chip in for bills and groceries and whatnot.”

Dale chuckled a bit at her reaction. He expected the laughter, and maybe even the whole being swatted thing. He playfully rubbed his arm as if he had been seriously hurt. He jokingly rolled his eyes and continued to walk towards some spare bedrooms that he’d built in just in case people needed to crash. He pointed to the three rooms on that floor. 

“There’s 3 rooms I had worked out here, one of them is kind of just a bed and like that’s it? Sort of a nap room? The other two are a little more furnished, but the one on the right is the biggest. I’ve got a TV in there cause my cousin came into town a while back and bitched at me” he said with a grin shaking his head at his family and their small strange issues.

“I think you should give me the long tour since I’ll be staying with you for as long as you’ll have me.” Angie stated, mind already blown by the spacious home. Even a person of her high class calling didn’t have a home such as this. She immediately knew there was so much to him she didn’t know. Well good as time as ever to learn. She linked her arm with his and grinned. “After you, my good man.” 

Dale chuckled as he walked around pointing at various parts of the house that he took pride in. “I had some friends of mine help me build this when they had time. Granted I took professional help in the kitchen because as you can see here?” he pointed at a patch of cement that looked horribly put together. “When your friends show up at three in the morning high wanting to slap some bricks together things go to shit really quickly.”

He continued walking downstairs to point out the recording studio that he’d built continuing to slowly expand on things at some point, using a room especially for testing his powers. He thought for a moment and started to hum a song to his new roommate.

Angie pulled away and met his gaze. “This almost seems so weird to say outloud, I hardly use it…” she admitted with a sigh. “Let’s just say my Momma had a sense of humor, she named me Mac. Mac…Rebennack. Mackenzie technically. But you can call me whatever you want.”

Angie stared helplessly at the ruins of her apartment building. “I think that’s a lost cause. I lived in the middle floor, all squished.”  

She unbuckled her seatbelt and flung herself awkwardly across the seat to smash herself against him. Holding him in a crushing hug she tried not to cry all over his shoulder. 

“So then what is your real name then?” he asked wondering aloud as he waited to see what his friend had to tell him.

Angie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Dale was offering her a place to stay. He was asking her to move in, not that she had anything but was in her suitcase. This was certainly new. She never had anyone she was this close to that actually cared. She tried not to cry.

As the made their way through Central City, she took in all the damage. She was glad she missed it. Dale was lightening the mood by singing “Party in the USA” so she joined him…though she sounded like a cat being run over. There weren’t many people she would singing around. But Dale was one of the few she could let her guard down with.

As they pulled up to what used to be her apartment complex. Her mouth dropped and she struggled not to cry. The bundling had basically collapsed and since she was in the middle of the building it was clear there was no way to save anything.

“You can for sure, but..and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. But I have a pretty big place, its kind of boring with just me? If you wanted you could stay there for a while? Just...please don’t bring your work home with you is all I ask” Dale offered with a questioning grin, he wanted to make sure his friend had a place to stay.

He felt confident and a bit cocky when it kicked on and they started on their way. He knew that Angie would tell him the correct way to get to her place. He followed along, turning the radio on drumming patterns on the steering wheel. He started humming along, unsure about admitting that the song playing was his favorite.

“...Then I threw my hands up, they’re playing my song! Butterflies fly away, Noddin’ my head like YEAH!” he crooned out all but shouting out the window as they pulled up to what should have been her apartment. They were instead greeted with rubble.

Angie couldn’t believe her eyes when her cruise pulled up to Central City. It looked like a bomb went off but from what the director told everyone, there had been an earthquake. Lord, she was happy she was hired to be out of town when she was. 

Getting of the ship and onto the dock, she scanned the crowd for her shaggy friend. He was supposed to pick her up…damn her short legs! She couldn’t see shit. Finally she spotted him and ran for his arms, thankful he was alright.

The recent earthquake had quite literally shaken the city to its core, and while at the very least his business and home were intact. He thanked the contractors and developers that safeguarded his places so well before he noticed his friend off in the crowd.

He heard some voices in the next aisle over and thought if best to introduce himself. “Hey! Fellow hostages and guys with guns, I’m a somewhat meta human trying to not die. Anyone down to help?”

Allie was suddenly distracted as a tall, dark-haired guy ran in front of them and took a sharp turn around a corner. Not too long after, she heard his voice from the parallel aisle. “Uh, I’m a little unable to help. I do have my phone, but cell service is out, so I’m kind of useless.”

Despite the gravity of their circumstances, he almost laughed when Allie called him a decent human being. Oh, he was anything but decent, but if believing that would make her a more complacent patient, then he would let her think whatever she wanted. “I have no intention of leaving you or anyone else behind. The last thing this city needs is a few dozen more corpses.” Not only was that hellish to clean up, but he also had no intention of experiencing once again what it truly meant to live among the dead.

Besides which, that would probably run contrary to his new agenda of ‘set things right so I can go home.’ He shifted into a better position to look at her leg. “Now… we haven’t hit any major arteries, so you won’t bleed out before we can get you to proper medical attention.” While he spoke, he bound her wound with strips from the excess clothing around them.

To the man, he added, “Quid pro quo, stranger. The shaking has stopped, but I worry about the likelihood of aftershocks.” And the stability of the structure they were in. The ceiling looked halfway to caving in already. “This woman needs to be moved out of the building, along with all the other–” At that moment, his phone buzzed. As he was lying on it, it took a moment to pull it out. “It appears that cell service is back on. Allie, if you can, call 911. If not, pass your phone to our somewhat metahuman here.”

One glance at the screen was all he needed to answer immediately. He tucked the phone between his ear and his shoulder while he worked on Allie’s leg, keeping at least one hand providing the necessary pressure to stem the flow of blood. Leonard’s voice proved to be a salve he hadn’t known he needed so badly. He didn’t realize how tightly he’d been wound until he relaxed at hearing the man was alive and well enough to talk and move. From Leonard, he moved on to Cisco, who served to wind him back up. Could Cisco be responsible for an earthquake? Was the boy really that powerful?

In contrast to the tension winding its way down his spine, Eobard’s voice turned more and more soothing, projecting calm to the guilty, panicked young man on the other end of the line. Cisco still feared him, still harbored so much anger and broken trust, yet at the same time, the right tone of voice could reach him. Eobard wouldn’t question that strange dichotomy, just be grateful it existed. Unfortunately, cell service cut out after roughly ten minutes, interrupting him before Cisco had calmed down or confirmed that he was in a safe location.

Concern and worry immediately took over his expression, the young thief kneeling next to the girl.  “I’m so sorry.”  He couldn’t help but feel a little responsible, biting his lip slightly before looking up at Harrison. “What do you need me to do?”  The new guy was an interesting variable, his hazel eyes meeting the other man’s face with curiosity.  “What’s your name? And what’s your “metahumanish” powers?  I’m Griffin, this is Allie and this guy’s Harrison.”  e gestured to them all dismissively before refocusing on Allie.  

“While it looks cool and sounds bad ass I’m not sure how sound waves would help much? But I have been messing around with this” he said strumming a few chords building to a melody. The result was a construct of what appeared to be light yet it was solid and vibrating. 

“Just a little something for my friend here with the stylish GSW going on” he said trying to defuse the situation as best he could with humor.

At the older man’s second reprimand, he glared at him and returned his sharpness.  “You’re sure paying top dollar for a criminal you have no faith in.  I’m a good shot, I’m not putting civilians at risk, so shut the fuck up and get off my back.”  With that the younger man darted away from them, drawing the gunman towards an emptier part of the store where he could get more clear shots.

He heard some voices in the next aisle over and thought if best to introduce himself. “Hey! Fellow hostages and guys with guns, I’m a somewhat meta human trying to not die. Anyone down to help?”