"… It has been reported that Mercury Labs scientists have been given special permission to venture inside the Smallville quarantine zone to determine the cause of the smog that took over the entire town almost seven months ago…" The news report sounded out through STAR Labs at roughly lunchtime that day.
"Sometimes I wish that we never cut ties with Luthor Corp. That would be an amazing task to get behind." Caitlin sighed, as she focused on her work.
"Weren't you angry that we were working with them in the first place… I mean… You were insistent that it was a big mistake from the beginning." Cisco replied as he stared at his computer screen.
"Well, I was right… though I suppose that one good thing came out of it… I got my Ronnie back…I also made a friend over there, Pamela Isley, she is an Ecologist and a wildlife biologist… and she would probably get into trouble if they knew, but she has been emailing me in relation to the smog." Caitlin explained.
Cisco raised his eyebrows, this was news to his ears. This was big news. This Pamela Isley could get herself into some serious trouble if the military knew about this.
"She believes that it was man-made, maybe some sort of terrorist attack… But it was lined with chemicals from the meteor shower and causes excessive growth in vulnerable cells." Caitlin explained.
"Are we talking about meta-human abilities or something else?" Cisco asked her.
"No… Apparently some people are growing older much more rapidly than others. Their lifelines are quickening. Though once again, thanks to biology, not everybody has been affected. Some people have proven immune to the smog's effects."
"Wow…" Cisco added, "Have you told our boss about this?"
"I sure have. She was there when I got the email."
"How the hell was I the last to hear about this? This news is… Wow…"
"It's also very confidential, Cisco… To not be repeated again… That's why you haven't known until now."
"Gee… I feel the trust…"
Barry, Joe and Eddie arrived at the crime scene downtown and Barry immediately got to work.
"Barry… I certainly approve of you arriving on time… I hope this will be a first of many." Singh commented.
"We can certainly hope so, Captain Singh." Barry said with a smug smile as he poked his gloved finger into a pile of blue colored dust. Without anyone noticing, he used his speed to bag up one sample and placed it in his pocket, and then bagged up another sample at regular speed to show to the captain.
"What do you have there, Allen?" Singh asked him.
"It's some sort of blue colored dust, Captain." Barry explained, holding up the bag.
"Blue dust?" Eddie asked, startled. "Let me see." He took the bag from Barry and examined it in his hands. There was only a small amount, though it certainly could not be mistaken for anything else.
Captain Singh stared at Eddie, "It seems your past is haunting you, Thawne… I hope that you, more than anyone can get to the bottom of this one." He said.
"I will certainly try." Eddie said adamantly.
Joe and Barry exchanged glances, what were Eddie and Captain Singh talking about? They knew that they would need a full explanation from Eddie immediately. They were both determined to get one.
They finished at the crime scene and ventured back to CCPD, following Eddie to his office all prepared to interrogate the man if necessary.
"Eddie… what did Captain Singh mean by your past? What does all of that have to do with the blue dust?" Barry asked him.
"I was wondering how long it would take for this interrogation." Eddie said flatly.
"Eddie, Barry told you everything you ever wanted to know about your parents, but you haven't exactly opened up to him. What is haunting you, son?" Joe asked, trying to adopt a fatherly approach to build a rapport.
"Joe! What do you think you're doing? Just because you're my twin brother's adopted father, doesn't mean that I owe you a thing. But for the sake of this case… I'll tell you both everything." Eddie sat down and took a sip of his water, that sat on the desk. It was clear that he was thinking back to his traumatic past.
"I told the both of you that my adopted parents were in jail, and then I bumped around from foster home to foster home. Eventually I ended up in Gotham City. The adopted son of a retired cop. Though he passed away.
But I never told you everything. My parents… my whole family in fact, they were invested into some blue flame. This blue flame had powers, it could heal people. But it could also create objects out of midair. It could also cause a man to burst into a blue flame and not hurt him in the slightest. Just like Firestorm. My parents were con artists. They would make money claiming to cure illnesses, they would make the money and then give their victims a fake alternative. They always made me feel bad that I didn't have this same power… until one day they told me that I wasn't even their own son… so I left and they never came looking for me. So then I bounced around in the system for a little while. My foster father in Gotham city… before he retired, they were his last case. He worked with some young intern named Carrie Cutter, but then something went horribly wrong. But, at least, the Thawnes were arrested… and my foster father retired early to spend his final year with me. Not long after, he passed away and I never knew why, because the whole case was kept confidential."
Barry, who was now seated across from Eddie felt a pang of sympathy towards his brother. "Man, I'm sorry. I didn't know." He said.
"That's the reason that I didn't want to tell you. I don't need your sympathy." Eddie changed his tone, as he stood up.
Joe placed his hand on Barry's shoulder, "Look Eddie, we really shouldn't have pried." He said.
"It's probably a good thing that you did. Because the fact that the blue dust has been found, means that it is back on the street. So we need to get it the hell out of here!"
Joe and Barry agreed with Eddie, he was right. They needed to get to the bottom of the case as soon as possible.