Chapter 4: Going Rogue (and Recruiting the Rogues' BFF)
The air in S.T.A.R. Labs crackled with a different kind of energy: Felicity Smoak. She had arrived from Starling City, a whirlwind of rapid-fire tech jargon, nervous energy, and an impressive ability to talk faster than Barry could run (almost).
"Oh my god, you're Felicity Smoak!" Adam blurted out, momentarily forgetting his cool, sarcastic persona. "I mean, hi. Welcome to… the lab. We have coffee. And impending doom. Standard Tuesday, really."
Felicity, somehow, matched his energy, her eyes wide as she took in the tech. "Oh my god, you're… not on my contact list. Are you a new intern? Because you're very… enthusiastic. And you said 'impending doom' with such casual flair."
Jisoo, ever the social chameleon, immediately took a liking to Felicity. "Hello, Felicity-unnie," she said, offering a small, perfectly wrapped Korean rice cake. "You have good energy. Like a fast song."
Felicity's eyes lit up. "Oh my god, a rice cake! You're the best! And 'unnie'? I love it!"
Thus, the "snack squad" was born, a chaotic trio of pop-culture references, tech talk, and an insatiable desire for delicious treats, even as Central City braced for its next meta-human crisis.
The crisis, as it turned out, was Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold, armed with a stolen freeze gun that Cisco had foolishly designed as a fail-safe against Barry. Adam and Felicity immediately launched into a rapid-fire, nerdy debate about the "Tower of Babel" protocol, the inherent dangers of creating weapons against heroes, and the general idiocy of villains.
"I mean, seriously, Cisco," Adam said, gesturing wildly with a half-eaten granola bar. "You built a gun that can stop the Flash? What were you thinking? This is like giving Lex Luthor a Kryptonite smoothie recipe!"
"It was a fail-safe!" Cisco protested, throwing his hands up. "Just in case!"
"Just in case he decided to go rogue and become… 'The Flash Who Was Too Fast'?" Felicity chimed in, her voice a rapid-fire giggle. "Because that's a terrible villain name, by the way."
Jisoo, meanwhile, listened to their rapid-fire banter, a small, amused smile on her face. "They are cute. Like two very fast squirrels arguing over a nut."
When Captain Cold finally confronted Barry, the fight was a blur of ice and speed. Snart, ever the theatrical villain, was about to unleash a blast of ice that would have frozen Barry solid.
"System," Adam thought, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Minor Wish: 'Ice Patch.' Target: Leonard Snart. Make it… slippery."
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]: Minor Wish 'Ice Patch' Used. Cost: 20 Days. Current Wish Balance: -76 Days. You've got to be kidding me.
A small, perfectly placed patch of ice suddenly appeared directly behind Snart. He slipped, his perfectly tailored coat flailing, and his cold gun discharged harmlessly into the sky. The momentary stumble gave Barry the opening he needed to disarm him, though Snart, being Snart, still managed to escape.
"Did anyone else see that?" Cisco muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Was that… a banana peel made of ice?"
"I think it was just a very poorly maintained sidewalk," Felicity said, though a suspicious glint in her eye suggested she knew better.
Later, Jisoo and Felicity, with Jisoo's newly developing "Perfect Memory" and Felicity's unparalleled hacking skills, managed to track Snart's escape route. They were a formidable duo, their fingers flying across keyboards, their minds working in perfect sync.
"Okay, so he's heading towards the old train yard," Felicity announced. "He's probably going to try and derail a train or something equally dramatic."
"Train derailment," Jisoo mused. "Very… villain-y. What should we call him, Cisco?"
Cisco, still smarting from the ice patch incident, puffed out his chest. "I've got it! Captain Cold! It's classic, it's intimidating, it's—"
"Ice King," Jisoo interrupted, deadpan. "Like the cartoon. He's very… chilly."
"No, no, no! Captain Cold!"
"Mr. Freeze 2.0," Felicity offered, grinning. "It's got a nice ring to it."
"You guys are the worst!" Cisco groaned, but a small smile played on his lips.
Adam, watching them, felt a pang of something akin to despair mixed with amusement. His Wish Day balance was a disaster.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]: Current Wish Balance: -76 Days. You've got to be kidding me.
Then, a new message flashed.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]: Tutorial 'Wish Trading' available. Current Mission: 'Secure a high-value trade.'
"A wish trade?" Adam thought, a slow, predatory grin spreading across his face. "Oh, this is going to be fun. Time to turn this debt into… well, more debt, probably, but with style." He looked at the chaotic, brilliant people around him. "Someone's about to get a very special offer they can't refuse. And I'm pretty sure Jisoo just called a supervillain a cartoon character. This is my life now."