-S.T.A.R. LABS, 9:28 a.m.-

Dr. Harrison Wells silently wheeled down one of the deserted hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs. He was an analytical man who had short, black hair, wore glasses, a black long-sleeve shirt, and black jeans, almost looking like he was always ready for a funeral. He stopped in front of a particular spot at the wall of the hallway and looked down each end of the hallway to make sure Cisco or Caitlin weren't approaching. Turning his attention back to the wall, Dr. Wells placed his hand on a specific area of the wall. The area which he touched glowed in response and a secret entryway opened in the wall. He looked over his shoulders once again in case of anyone potentially coming down the hallway then proceeded into the entryway. Inside was a small kind of room with grey walls that were textured with semi-circles. The entryway closed behind Dr. Wells and he stood up from his wheelchair, obviously showing that he is faking his impairment. He then walked over to a panel sitting on a pedestal and placed his hand over the panel, causing a transparent hologram to appear on the wall behind the pedestal.

"Good morning, Gideon." Dr. Wells spoke up.

"Good morning, Dr. Wells." Gideon, Dr. Wells' secret computer, replied back.

"Create a new log for me, please." Dr. Wells removed his glasses.

"Certainly." Gideon said, opening up a blank document on the screen.

"It has now been 325 days since the reactor exploded. The subject, Barry Allen, has been showing excellent signs of improvement in his abilities. Ever since dealing with a meta-human who was able to siphon energy, Barry's cells have been producing much more power than before. The only fear I have as of now is if Barry becomes too hasty when fighting other meta-humans and ends up being killed…" Dr. Wells pulled up a newspaper that was dated 2024 on the screen, which had a headline bearing the words, "Flash missing; vanishes in crisis". He stared at the newspaper silently for a few seconds. "…I just have to make sure the future stays bright…" Without warning, everything in the facility began to shake violently. There's no way it could've been an earthquake since Central City isn't near any fault lines, and it couldn't have been the reactor since it was completely shut down. Could it be another meta-human? Was something wrong with the reactor? Dr. Wells ran back to his wheelchair, making sure to check the surveillance feed from the outside hallway before exiting. Seeing as it was clear, he quickly sat back down in his wheelchair and exited the room with the door closing behind him. As he was roving towards the central room, Cisco was sprinting down the hallway towards the doctor.

"Dr. Wells! Are you okay?!" Cisco asked. The "earthquake" was beginning to die down.

"I'm fine, Cisco. What's going on?" Dr. Wells asked calmly.

"I have no idea. It can't be the reactor, I checked its status and it's fine, but me and Caitlin are looking at the news right now and this is apparently happening all over the city." Cisco speed-walked back to the central room with Dr. Wells following suit in his wheelchair. When they entered the central room, one screen of the multiple computers they have had Central City's news channel on. It was showing a live feed from a news helicopter, and its cameras were fixated on a bright light coming from one of the streets of the city. This light seemed to spread to every corner of Central City.

"Our news choppers are on the scene right now. We have no idea what this light is or what it could potentially do, but we advise every resident to stay indoors…" Dr. Wells and Cisco drowned out the news as they noticed that Caitlin was fixated on a screen that was focused on reading energy levels in the city, and it was sensing a massive energy spike in the exact same area as the bright light. Suddenly, the light died down, but the energy signature remained.

"Where's Barry?" Dr. Wells quickly asked. Before anyone could answer, something shot into the room, leaving a blast of air in its wake; it was Barry.

"Sorry I'm late…again." Barry shrugged.

-DOWNTOWN CENTRAL CITY, 9:27 a.m.-

Barry Allen snapped his eyes open, quickly grabbing his digital alarm clock and reading the time.

"Oh crap, I'm late…" Barry murmured to himself. Without hesitation, he jumped out of bed and, without hesitation, used his super speed power to get his morning routine done. He put on fresh clothes, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and groomed himself. Stopping his speed, he looked down at his wristwatch.

"7.8 seconds…new record!" Barry smiled to himself and shot out the door towards faster than anyone could blink. As he was rushing down the bustling streets of Central City towards S.T.A.R. Labs, the ground began to shake in a violent manner, almost knocking Barry off his feet, and at his speed, that wouldn't be good at all, but he maintained his momentum. As he tried to make sense of the earthquake, he saw a bright light coming from a section of Central City. As much as he wanted to get up close to this phenomenon, he didn't want to risk getting killed by something he didn't know anything about. The field could rip him apart for all he knew. The best thing he could think of to do was rush to S.T.A.R. Labs. He arrived in the central room in no time, causing papers to fly away from their idle positions like insects. "Sorry I'm late…again."

"Never mind your tardiness, Barry." Dr. Wells said, "As you can see, we've got a bigger problem on our hands." Dr. Wells turned to the news report, showing an aerial view of where the light was.

"It would appear the earthquakes and the bright light have stopped," The news reporter spoke. "And as you can see, there is a crater in the middle of the street where the light was. Luckily, we have no reports of any injuries. Police are now surrounding the area, and we are also getting reports that something seems to have appeared at the bottom of the crater…"

"Oh, my God…" Cisco muttered. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I intend on finding out." Barry spoke up, making a stance to run to his suit.

"Barry, wait!" Caitlin snapped. "I've been reading high energy levels coming from that area. We don't know what we're dealing with here."

"I'll be careful, plus there may be something of use for us to research. They said there's something at the bottom of the crater. I'll rush over there, get whatever it is, and rush back. Simple as that." Barry smirked and took off with his suit in an instant. He eventually arrived at the site of the crater. Because of his speed, everyone around him looked almost frozen in time, so it was the perfect opportunity to do some snooping around. He slipped past some cops who were in mid-sentence of yelling something to onlookers. He then carefully slid down the crater and examined the center. As he got closer, Barry could make out a blue-colored object at the bottom of the crater. Standing over it, he picked it up, revealing that it was a dark blue-colored gem with a pointed underside. If anything, it looked like a priceless artifact that you'd find hidden in a temple in the jungle, so what was a gem like this doing in the wake of the bright light? Obviously, that was for Barry and S.T.A.R. Labs to find out as Barry zipped back to S.T.A.R. Labs with the strange gem in his hand.