This is going to work. Finally, Dad and everyone else will see I'm not that idiot who was only dreaming. Tonight, all of that changes…

Barry Allen opened his eyes and groaned as the metal shard was lodged in his leg. He concentrated on it and saw his leg move faster than he could see. He watched as the bloody shard fell to the ground, leaving the shard to fall on the burnt floor. He looked around and saw some people moving around amongst many dead.

"Oh, God." he said softly as he saw the Collider in pieces and the computers attached to the machine fried.

The new Collider built in Central City was supposedly trying to manipulate the physics and relative forces behind light speed. Barry had been at the demonstration where he witnessed a miniscule black hole form from inside the collider and send out a blast of photons radiated by the machine. The Collider had blown up when a lighting bolt shot down from the glass window above, instantly killing ten other people in the room and Barry was only one of six survivors in the aftermath of the blast.

He held his bloody wound tight and ripped his right lab jacket sleeve completely off, using it as a tourniquet on his leg. He brushed his jacket and winced when he felt glass shards inside his pocket. He groaned in fear as he noticed the chemical compound contained in the vial was now coated on him, creating a burning sensation as the chemicals were absorbed into him. He limped across the now-fiery lab and tried to help the injured as an explosion rocked the entire superlab.

The lab was built on a cliff that supported the inner-structures of the lab and it was built on the outskirts of the city so if anything did go wrong, Central City would be safe. Barry had a part-time job at the Central Laboratory for Technologies while still working for Central City PD as a forensic scientist. Nine months before, he had left Gotham PD to be with Iris, the love of his life. She was all he could picture as he limped across the lab as he felt the ground below crack and sink in. His eyes widened as he knew what was happening. The wires and pipes below the lab had ruptured and the rock underneath was cracking along with it. Another aggressive sink-in made Barry lose his footing, falling to the side of the wall as the entire lab broke apart from its foundation. He looked outside and saw the pipes and high-powered wires breaking up from the ground, one large metal piece shooting through the parking lot and sending a car flying.

"Frank!" Barry yelled as his childhood friend put a bloody hand on his shoulder.

"We need to get out of here. The entire place is going to slide off into the ravine!" Frank Lane told Barry as blood covered his left eye.

"Let's get these people out!" Barry said as the lab sunk once again.

Barry and Frank ran over to the alive members and began to drag them out of the lab. A large light fell from the ceiling and Barry yelled Frank's name as it was about to crush him. Barry dropped his boss's body and felt a strange vibrating sensation in his entire body. He stepped forward and stopped breathing as he looked around, seeing the sparks fly by him in slow motion and the light slowly reaching Frank. He ran after him, pushing Frank away as the light careened into the tile floor.

Barry saw time return back to normal and he looked at Frank's face.

"How did you-?"

"Barry! Get up already! You're about to be late!" his girlfriend yelled from the first floor of their apartment.

Barry quickly turned his head to the clock and hopped out of bed, using his manipulation of what he now called the Speed Force or super speed. He went to the closet and quickly grabbed an outfit, almost laughing as he heard Iris' voice being slowed down in the Speed Force. He got a smirk on his face as he ran to the alarm clock on his bedside table, seeing a fly buzzing around. Barry reached over at what was normal speed to him, snatching the fly before it realized what had happened. He let it go and laughed out loud, returning his body to normal speed and heading towards the bathroom.

"I'll be down in two minutes!" Barry said from inside the door.

"You can't take a shower in two minutes! Just wash yourself good. The Chief's coming in today, I hear." Iris said as she laid low-fat butter on a slice of toast.

"I'll take that challenge." Barry said quietly to himself as he shut the door.

one minute and thirty-eight seconds later. . .

"How do you do it?" Iris asked Barry as he tied his shoes and took a bite of her toast.

"It's a gift, babe. And look," Barry said, tilting his head at the clock.

"Got twenty minutes to spare"

Iris laughed and pushed a strand of short brown hair behind her ear as it fell inside her glasses. Barry gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on the lips and gave her a smile as he put on his leather jacket and made sure his "uniform" wasn't showing. He almost picked up his car keys hanging on the wall beside the door but he shook his head.

"Babe, I'm leaving the car here. I'm feeling like a walk." he said, looking outside at all the early-morning joggers and businessmen.

"Okay, be careful. I love you." Iris said, not looking up from her paper as she waved in Barry's direction.

"Love you too. Have a good day." Barry said with meaning as he shut the door and looked at Central City.

Central City was located eighty miles from Metropolis and the crime rate was vastly different from Gotham all the way on the East Coast. Central City was stuck in the middle between the Big Two, Metropolis and Gotham City. Recently, there had been a vigilante in town, but this once was different. Batman was dark and mysterious but this new hero was light-hearted and actually interacted with the people. Four bank robberies had been botched, a hostage situation was taken care of, and nearly six interstate wrecks had no fatalities due to this Scarlet Speedster. He was barely noticed in action as only a quick red and yellow blur could be seen. One photo had been released and it showed the Speedster with yellow energy tracing all over the red suit. The investigators also discovered that the Speedster had two winged ears in his helmet. Just like the Roman God, Mercury, who was the fastest and the messenger of the Gods.

Barry walked down the street and waved to his apartment neighbors as they all did their own things. He knew the city was proud to have someone like the Speedster to watch the streets. Unlike in Gotham, where the Batman was hated and feared even though he had stopped the crazy terrorist known as the Joker two months before. As he continued his stroll to Central PD, he heard a scream far out in the distance followed by a gunshot. His eyes narrowed and he didn't waste a second, running into a nearby alley to unzip his backpack and grab his suit. The red and yellow clothing was made from a synthetic fiber that was able to withstand the vibrations and movements of Barry. The yellow streams held in his energy in a yellowish light. Barry and Frank had discovered that by harnessing some of the energy, Barry could control the electrical impulses in his body and fire them at will. The suit had armor plating for protection, as if he needed it. Within a split-second in real time, Barry had turned into the Speedster and darted off at full speed, running up the side of a large skyscraper, defying gravity as he let out a big smile and yell, leaping off the building and heading towards the scene of the crime.