Experiments

One moment Nora was trying to hide behind the mannequin, and the next she let it drop and sprinted the short distance to one of the desks, throwing herself to the floor to hide from Ralph as well. It was a few seconds before she got up the courage to poke her head out over the top again, very aware of the fact that her family and friends had just seen every inch and every jiggle of her naked run.

"So is today awesome, or is it just me?" Ralph said.

Cisco offered a fistbump. Iris swatted his hand down before Ralph could stretch his arm and respond.

"Clothes! Now!" Nora said, only her head and one waving hand in view.

Iris crouched, going to pick up her daughter's discarded outfit. Cisco stopped her.

"Wait! We shouldn't so that yet," Cisco said.

"Excuse me?!" Iris said.

"We, er, ought to run tests!" Cisco said. "Yeah, that's it. If her powers are on the fritz, we should run tests, find out why."

"Does she need to be naked for that?" Caitlin said.

Cisco shot a ****-glare back. Caitlin rolled her eyes.

"Fine, be thorough," Caitlin said.

"What about me?" Barry said.

"Check out the lab," Cisco said. "See if Cicada or anyone did get in. Speaking of, Caitlin, can you go all frosty?"

Caitlin paused, frowned, and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her hair had turned bright white, her skin becoming paler, and a chill started to fill the room. Frost eyed the room, quirking an eyebrow at the sight of the flustered Nora.

"So. What's up?" Frost said.

"We might have an intruder," Barry said. "You're the only one whose powers still work, so you're on assist duty."

Frost shrugged.

And then Nora yelped. All eyes went to her, just in time to see a long, noodly strand snap back from behind the desk and return to Ralph. He whistled innocently.

"What happened?" Barry said.

"He... he pinched my..." Nora said. She bit her lip, and glowered at him.

"Wait," Cisco said. "Do that again."

"No!" Nora said.

"Not because... Ralph, you still have your powers?"

"Huh?" Ralph said. He waved his hand around, flattening and stretching it. "Er. Yeah. Why?"

Barry frowned, looking from Nora to Cisco. Cisco frowned, speculative.

"Maybe it's something to do with the Speed ****?" he said. "I don't know. Not enough information. Go out, investigate, I'll, er, run tests."

Nora whimpered. With only a little more reasoning, Barry, Ralph and Caitlin started to leave to look for intruders. Frost paused only to wave her hand, sending a chill mist behind the desk to make Nora yelp and jump up, only to crouch again.

Which left Cisco sitting down, Nora trying to hide, and Iris by the wall.

"So. You staying?" Cisco said.

"You want me to leave you alone with my daughter when she's naked?" Iris said.

"Okay. Fair," Cisco said.

"You want to watch?" Nora said.

"Oh. If that's okay," Iris said, for the first moment sounding doubtful.

Nora swallowed. On one hand, Cisco was very obviously enjoying her nudity, so an extra pair of eyes to ensure he didn't get too handsy was a nice idea. On the other hand, she didn't want her mother to see her exposed like that.

Cisco was still staring at her. Well, Nora reasoned, even humiliating oversight was better than none.

Awkwardly she stood up, crossing one arm over her breasts, and letting her other hand rest between her legs. She hesitated for a moment, staying in place, testing the waters to see how it felt. She was still a little nervous as she sidestepped out of cover, making sure to not turn her back on the two of them.

"Fine. Tests," Nora said. "Then I get dressed?"

"Oh, absolutely, unless I think of anyth-" Cisco began.

Iris glowered at him.

"I mean, yes, of course, once all the tests are done," Cisco said. "Take a seat, and I'll get started."