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Ring, ring, ring...
The sudden ringing from Laurel's bag shattered the tense silence.
Allen withdrew the crackling electric current around his body, bent down without urgency, and retrieved the phone from inside her bag.
A familiar name flashed.
Allen paused for a moment, then pressed the answer button.
Immediately, Felicity's frantic voice exploded from the other end.
"Allen?!"
"What's up?" Allen raised an eyebrow, he didn't know why she had called.
Of course, he knew she called Laurel because she knew he was here with her.
Hearing Allen's voice, Felicity audibly sighed in relief, though her words remained urgent.
"Listen, seven or eight heavily armed people are closing in on your location. They're definitely not police. You have to get out of there, now!"
Allen's gaze flickered toward Laurel, who remained unconscious on the ground.
He chuckled lightly and asked, "Can you identify them?"
"I'm trying, but, "
"Find out. Fast," Allen interrupted, his voice calm but firm.
He didn't hang up.
Instead, he casually slid the phone into his jacket pocket, keeping the line open.
Looking around, Allen grabbed two steel bars lying on the ground, each one thick as a finger, and effortlessly bent them into U-shapes with his bare hands.
The metal groaned and twisted like soft licorice under his strength.
Afterward, he walked back to Laurel, hoisted her limp body with ease, and carried her over to a nearby wall.
Extending her arms outward, he positioned her against the solid surface.
With practiced movements, Allen used the U-shaped bars to fasten her wrists securely into the concrete wall.
The once-solid wall caved slightly under his pressure, as if it were nothing more than wet clay.
He repeated the process with the second bar, pinning her other arm in place.
In less than a minute, Laurel was immobilized, hanging limply against the wall, entirely at Allen's mercy.
Poor Laurel…
She had only met Allen twice, yet both encounters had ended in the same unfortunate fashion, fainting and waking up restrained.
The first time, she had been tied down on the floor.
This time, she was tied upright against a wall.
"I found it," Felicity's voice buzzed again from the phone in his pocket.
Allen fished the phone out and pressed it to his ear.
Felicity sounded surprised as she reported, "Most of them are wearing tactical masks, it's hard to get a clear scan of their faces. But one of them stands out. The leader."
"Who?" Allen asked casually, even as he leaned lazily against the wall.
"Dinah Lance. Quentin Lance's ex-wife. Laurel's mother."
Allen's eyes flickered slightly in interest as Felicity continued.
"I tried pulling her detailed background, but her security clearance is nearly as high as yours. Almost nothing's accessible."
"She doesn't have any personal history with me, in case you're wondering," Allen said with a soft chuckle.
"Good work, Felicity. I'll reward you when I get back. I'm hanging up now."
"Be careful," Felicity urged before the call ended.
Allen terminated the call, promptly deleted the call history for safety, and then picked up the flashlight Laurel had dropped earlier.
He flicked it on and aimed the beam directly at Laurel's unconscious face.
A bright, focused light illuminated her features, casting sharp shadows along the wall, while Allen stood quietly beside her, observing.
At the factory entrance, the rusty door creaked open ever so slightly.
Bang! Bang!
Two flashbang grenades rolled into the room, detonating with a deafening blast of light and sound that washed over everything.
Instantly after, the door was kicked wide open.
Several figures in combat uniforms and tactical masks poured in, weapons raised and moving with coordinated efficiency.
They swept the room in perfect formation, immediately locking onto Allen and Laurel.
But instead of finding a stunned or incapacitated target, they saw Allen standing calmly amid the flashing lights, smiling at them with an almost playful look.
Click-clack.
The sharp sound of high heels echoed from the entrance, as a stern-faced middle-aged woman entered behind the agents.
She swept her sharp gaze over the scene:
Allen stood unbothered, and Laurel was restrained to the wall like a criminal.
'What the hell is going on?'
Her brow furrowed, lips parting as she prepared to speak.
But Allen didn't give her the chance.
Zzzzzz!
Electric sparks danced across his body, growing in intensity as he lazily pointed a single finger at the intruders.
Boom!
A massive surge of electric current shot from his fingertip, coalescing mid-air into a roaring blue dragon of pure lightning.
The construct crackled with raw power as it lunged forward.
In an instant, the lightning dragon swallowed the intruders whole.
Inside the storm of crackling energy, weapons exploded from overloads, screams echoed, and bodies dropped one after another, twitching from the shock.
It slowed to a halt right before the woman, its enormous coils hovering menacingly around her.
Its crackling jaws floated near her face, the electricity releasing pulses of overwhelming static.
The woman's hair lifted slightly from the electric field, strands floating as if underwater.
Still, she didn't move.
She simply stared at Allen with cold, steady eyes as he casually approached.
"Surprised?" Allen asked, flashing a bright cocky grin.
"Bet you didn't expect that."
Thump.
Suddenly, the woman's knees buckled, and she dropped heavily to the ground, her earlier stoic demeanor shattered.
"I thought that calm attitude meant you were experienced," Allen said with a raised brow, then burst out laughing.
"Guess not. Now... tell me who you are."
Dinah Lance clenched her jaw, glancing uneasily at the monstrous lightning construct still circling her, then toward her daughter pinned helplessly to the wall, and finally at the scattered agents sprawled across the floor.
Her throat moved visibly as she swallowed hard.
The information she had received hadn't said anything about him having this kind of terrifying superpower.
"I... have you ever heard of A.R.G.U.S.?" she finally said, her voice trembling just enough to be noticeable.
"A.R.G.U.S. is a special department under the U.S. government. We're tasked with monitoring, containing, and handling metahuman-related incidents."
Her eyes reflected disbelief as she looked at Allen.
"What you did in Gotham threatened public safety on a massive scale. We needed to... talk."
Allen tilted his head thoughtfully.
'It's them?'
Although government agencies in the DC universe didn't have the same aggressive reputation as those in the Marvel universe, he had still heard of A.R.G.U.S, and its dangerous involvement in metahuman affairs.
He hadn't expected, though, that Dinah Lance, Laurel's own mother, would be affiliated with them.
No wonder her file was locked down tight.
"This is your idea of 'talking'?" Allen gestured casually toward the downed agents, shaking his head in amusement.
Dinah pressed her lips together, then replied solemnly, "It was a necessary precaution. We didn't know your disposition, so they were ordered not to shoot unless provoked."
She hesitated, then added.
"Besides... it looks like you're currently holding an innocent person hostage."
Her gaze darted again toward Laurel.
"I can't accurately judge your intentions yet," she said carefully.
"But if you release her, I'm willing to formally issue an apology and be open to civilized dialogue."