Cisco had never felt so much hatred towards someone before. His hatred was directed to more then just one person. They were like a mini terrorist group determined on killing the Flash. No they seem to hate all meta humans, very determined to destroy them all. And he was afraid that they would succeed. They obviously worked on their plan for awhile. They wouldn't have done this much damage if they hadn't.
He was frightened for Barry's life.
Cisco sat by Barry's bedside. He could hear the damaged heart monitor beeping. He was lost in thought when suddenly there was a screech. The heart monitor flatlined. Cisco launched himself out of his chair and saw that Barry wasn't breathing anymore.
" Barry! "
(A few hours earlier)
Barry quickly changed into his suit and ran to the bank. Cisco had just called him and said that a bank was being robbed by a few men. The police were unable to get in without risking an innocent life.
Barry asked Cisco for the address of the bank. Once he got the address he ran off to save lives.
Cisco and Caitlin were sitting behind computers in STAR labs. They were in the Cortex. It had been a week since the reveal of Dr. Wells being the Reverse Flash. It still hurt to think of it.
Cisco was casually leaning back in his chair. He had a cup in his hand and took a sip. Today was at least calm. No meta human attack or anything else serious. He had no idea how wrong he was.
" So Caitlin you want to go see that new movie? It's a sci-fi movie. Thought we could go there to see how our lives could relate to it. Also because it looks totally awesome. " Cisco said to Caitlin.
Caitlin didn't look at Cisco. She stared at her computer screen with furrowed brows. " Cisco I think something's wrong with- "
Suddenly all the lights went out. Cisco straightened in his seat and held his breath. He reached out and grasped Caitlin's hand. His heart was racing. There was no way he could contact Barry. Whoever was intruding the lab knew what they were doing. Of course the blackout might have been an incident.
He heard several heavy footsteps coming their way. Light filtered through the windows. It showed shadows of a couple men with what looked like guns in their arms. Cisco didn't wait for a second. He quickly lead Caitlin into another room. They found a closet and hid in it.
He heard the men walking around. Cisco strained his ears to hear what they were saying. The men had bags with them and were setting down, Cisco squinted and saw the men setting down bombs.
Then the men all walked out. Cisco could hear the beeping of the bombs. Then the bombs exploded.
Boom!
Cisco was knocked unconscious. He woke up to the buzzing of his phone. Cisco blankly stared at the phone and tried to ignore the ringing in his ears. Smoke rose from everywhere and something smelled like burnt rubber. The lab was in a mess. He picked the phone up and answered it.
" He-hello? " Cisco said.
Joe's voice shouted back, " What've you been doing?! Barry's dying! "
Barry arrived at the bank in time to see men pointing guns at civilians' heads. Barry skidded to a stop and surveyed the situation before running into the bank. That was his fatal mistake.
As soon as he entered his air was stolen from his lungs. It was then that he noticed the almost unnoticeable green tinge to the atmosphere. His lung burned instantly and he collapsed to the floor. Barry struggled to breathe as he fell to the ground.
Barry felt like he was being strangled. Invisible hands gripped his throat and cut off his air supply. One of the bank robbers walked over to Barry and stood over him. The man smiled and kicked Barry in the stomach. Barry couldn't stop the cry that escaped his lips. Why weren't Cisco or Caitlin saying anything? Why didn't they warn him of the strange toxic gases?
Black spots swarmed Barry's vision as he struggled to stay awake.
Joe was outside of the bank when he saw Barry run into the building. He sighed in relief thinking that Barry could quickly diffuse the situation. Then Barry collapsed to the floor and stayed there.
Joe barely heard the confused words of the other cops. " What's happening? What's wrong with him? "
He watched Barrry's form for a moment. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. " Come on Barry, get up. Come on. " When Barry didn't move Joe took out his phone. Joe called Cisco but he didn't answer. Joe then tried to call Caitlin but she didn't answer him either. Things just weren't going well today.
The bank robbers stayed inside. They constantly threatened the lives of the hostages and Barry's life as well. It made Joe's blood boil. It went on like that for an hour. Or two, Joe wasn't sure how long it was actually taking him to save Barry.
Joe finally had managed to grab hold of Cisco. He then had gotten more bad news. Cisco had told him that STAR labs had been attacked by a group of mysterious men. Joe had a feeling the bank robbery and STAR labs being attacked on the same day in the same time period was no coincidence. He was only comforted when Cisco said he and Caitlin were coming.
Then one of the robbers took out a megaphone. He seemed like the leader. " Listen up cops. Take this as an example of what will happen if you don't listen to us. " He pointed at Barry. " You've been relying too much on this meta human. All meta humans are enemies. When we learned that our law enforcement was working with a monster, " He prodded Barry's, now unconscious, body. " We decided to take action. If you don't do something about these meta humans than we will. And we will be much harsher. It's your decision. "
Smoke suddenly filled the bank. When the smoke cleared the men were gone. All of the civilians were thankfully unharmed. Barry was the only one who Joe paid attention to.
Joe had to force himself not to yell out Barry's name as he rushed over to Barry. He kneeled down next to Barry and was horrified to notice that Barry wasn't breathing. He immediately began to do chest compressions.
Cisco called Joe and told him to bring Barry to the back of the bank. He and Caitlin were waiting for him in a van. In the midst of the confusion Joe managed to drag Barry out to the back.
" Help him! " Joe almost desperately pleaded.
Caitlin began to do CPR. After a few tries Barry gave out a low rasp and began to breath. He gave out a low moan and was deathly pale. Caitlin wasn't pleased at his too shallow breathing.
" We need to get him back to STAR labs. Then you can explain to us what happened. " She said firmly. Her hands shook slightly as she helped pick Barry up. They placed him in the back of the truck. Cisco drove while Caitlin and Joe sat in the back with Barry.
Joe frantically told Caitlin everything he knew. He noticed how quickly Barry started to gain a fever. Joe felt Barry's sweaty hair as he put a hand on Barry's forehead.
Barry let out a small cough. Then suddenly he began to cough harshly. Barry began to cough up blood. To make things worse Barry started to gulp in air. It only aggravated Barry's alreadly abused lungs, which caused more coughing. Joe could only hold Barry's hand, trying to comfort him.
Once they finally arrived to STAR labs they immediately began to work on Barry. Joe finally managed to have time to call Iris. She needed to know what was going on.
When Iris heard the news she said, " I'm coming right now! Call me if anything happens. "
Joe looked around STAR labs. It was in shambles. The were scorch marks and things were falling apart. The computers on the walls were flickering on and off.
It had been almost an hour later when Caitlin finally announced that she got Barry stable.
STAR labs' medical equipment was damaged. Some were beyond repair but some were in good enough condition to function. Joe was far from pleased when he found out.
Damn these bastards, Joe thought angrily as he stared at the ceiling. He felt so powerless.
Caotlin tried to explain what happened to Barry. " It seems like whatever he breathed in was meant to destroy him personally. From the surveillance footage it only affected him. Right now the gas is still working against his body. It's still damaging his lungs largely and is somehow counteracting his body's defenses. Things aren't good right now. "
" Well do you have any idea who attacked you? " Joe asked. " It's obvious the attacks are both connected. "
Cisco stepped in. He was far from his usual cheery self. " We don't know who they are. But we know that they really hate meta humans. They knew a lot about the Flash though. They knew how to create this gas and how to make it so Barry can barely fight against it. They even knew about us being here in STAR labs. "
Iris, who was standing in the corner, said, " Can we see him? "
Caitlin glanced at Iris and Joe sympatheticly. " Yes but be careful. We can't upset him too much. "
When Iris entered the room where Barry was being held she was surprised to see him awake. Barry listlessly watched Iris through half closed eyes. Caitlin had managed to get him out of his suit.
" Hi. " Barry croaked as he watched Iris sit down. He looked far from okay but Iris was glad that he seemed coherent.
Iris responded softly, " Hey, I'm glad to see you're awake. "
Barry blinked and looked like he had a hard time thinking. " What - what happened? I don't remember. " Iris noticed the heart monitor go slighter faster.
Iris's eyes widened, trying to think of a way to calm Barry down. She couldn't tell him what happened. He would worry too much. " You had an accident but you're going to get better. Don't worry. "
" It hurts to breathe. Iris what are you not telling me? " Barry coughed miserably and looked at Iris. She didn't answer. Barry's breathing became more labored then before. He didn't understand.
Iris studied Barry's bedridden body. Iris saw several tubes going into Barry. It sickened her to see them. This shouldn't have happened to you Barry, Iris thought. She stroked Barry's brow in an attempt to calm him. Just then Caitlin walked into the room. She wanted to check on Barry.
" Barry, are okay? How're you feeling? " Caitlin said as she crouched down. She slipped a hand toward a small wheel connected to a machine close to Barry's bed.
Barry suddenly looked sleepy and confused. His eyes glazed over. " Huh? I don't...dont- "
Caitlin hushed him gently. Saying, " It's okay. You need to rest. "
Barry's eyes slipped closed. His breathing didn't improve though.
The two women were both quiet for a moment. Then Caitlin said quietly, " I'm sorry I had to do that Iris. And that you had to see it but we can't get him too upset, it will only make things worse. "
" I know. It just hurts. "
(Present Time)
" Barry! " Cisco cried out when his friend stopped breathing. Then he gathered his frayed senses and called out, " Caitlin! Help! "
Iris and Joe had headed home in order to not cause any suspicion. Both of them weren't happy about the idea but they understood. Joe and Iris were going to search for any information on the men who caused Barry's current situation. Now Cisco was thinking that if Barry died Iris and Joe weren't even here to witness Barry's last moments.
Cisco bit his lip hard. No Barry wouldn't just die on him, or anyone. Yes that's it. No need to worry...
Cisco saw Caitlin running into the room. She quickly assessed the situation and leaned down to Barry's level. She pressed her mouth against Barry's and began mouth to mouth. Cisco was glad Caitlin had gave him some warning about what to do if Barry ceased breathing. Cisco hurried and grabbed an oxygen mask. He knew what to do because Caitlin told him. He wished the ventilator hadn't gotten blown up.
" Come on Barry, don't do this to us. " Cisco pleaded as he impatiently waited for the speedster to start breathing.
Caitlin rose up when Barry let out a weak, barely audible, gasp. His chest began to shakily rise up and down. Cisco hated the sound of Barry's shallow breathing. Cisco strapped the oxygen mask on. The mask began to coax Barry into breathing in more oxygen.
Cisco frowned. " Caitlin his temperature has risen up even more. Do you have anything to do to help his fever go down? "
" No we already used it all. But we need to bring his temperature down. " Caitlin paused. " I have an idea but it's not an easy one. "
The way Caitlin said it made it sound like they were going to have to do something impossible. What they really had to do was indeed horrible.
Cisco was glad Barry wasn't conscious when they undressed him. Cisco looked away from Barry's naked feverish form as they slowly dipped him into cold water. Why STAR labs had a bath tub was beyond Cisco's understanding. But that didn't matter now.
" Giving him an ice bath is the only option right now. " Caitlin had said.
They kept the oxygen mask on Barry. They both worked together to keep his head above the water. Cisco only looked at Barry's face, trying to save the speedster's last scrap of dignity.
Then Barry gave out a whine. His eyes struggled open. Barry's eyes were unfocused and glazed with fever. He mumbled, " No, I... No... " He sluggishly moved and tried to sit up. The water slushed around him. Barry was delirious.
Caitlin gently but firmly pushed him back down. " Don't move Barry. You're okay. It's just water. "
Barry coughed harshly and blood splattered on the oxygen mask. He slumped down in the tub. Caitlin still had a hold on him. He turned silent and stared at the wall. He made no protest as Caitlin made the water a little bit colder.
When Caitlin was satisfied with Barry's lowered temperature they pulled him out. Cisco noticed that Barry's eyes were closed. He must've passed out at one point. Which only showed how damaged he was.
" Oh Barry what're we going do? "