"You don't really believe they can run that fast, do you?" Caitlin asked as they waited for Barry and Eddie to exit the trailer.
"Well, I believe anything is possible, and in a few minutes, maybe you will too," Dr. Wells said.
"How does it fit?" Cisco asked after Barry and Eddie had come out.
"It's a little snug," Barry said the same time Eddie replied "I look ridiculous."
"At least you will be moving so fast no one will see you," Cisco said. "See, you thought the world was slowing down. It wasn't. You guys were moving so fast it only looked like everyone else was standing still. Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output, and Caitlin, your vitals."
"What do you do," Eddie asked?
"I make the toys, my man. Check it. This is a two-way headset with a camera I modified. Typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case, potential sonic booms, which would be awesome." The three of them laughed a little until Caitlin came over and began to check the sensors on Barry.
"What," she asked when she noticed him watching her?
"Nothing. I just noticed you don't smile too much."
"My once promising career in bioengineering is over, my boss is in a wheelchair for life, and the explosion that put you in a coma also killed my fiancé. So this blank expression kind of feels like the way to go."
"Mr. Allen, Mr. Thawne, while I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint," Dr. Wells warned. Barry and Eddie both nodded in agreement before getting ready.
"Race you," Barry said as he and Eddie stepped up to the line. "Loser has to buy coffee."
"Sure, why not," Eddie said. Then they were gone off down the runway.
"They just passed 200 Miles per hour," Cisco said excitedly.
"It's not possible," Caitlin said in disbelief. While they were running Barry zoned out caught in a memory. He wasn't able to pull himself out of it in time to keep from running into the barrels at the end of the runway.
"It looks like you had a distal radius fracture," Caitlin explained showing Barry the X-ray.
"Had," Eddie asked?
"It's healed" Caitlin said showing them the next slide. "In three hours."
"How is that even possible?" Barry wondered.
"We don't know... yet."
"You really need to learn how to stop," Cisco said.
"What happened out there today?" Dr. Wells asked. "You were moving pretty well, and then something caused you to lose focus."
"I started remembering something," Barry explained. "When I was 11, my mother was murdered. It was late. A scream woke me up. I came downstairs and... I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside the lightning, there was a man. He killed my mom. They arrested my dad. He's still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder. Everyone, the cops, the shrinks, they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed my mom was like me and Eddie?"
"Mr. Allen, I can say without a doubt that there is no one else like either of you."
Barry and Eddie head to Jitters to meet up with Iris and so Eddie can by their coffee.
"I'll go get the coffee. You two talk," Eddie said he could see that Iris had some questions.
"I can see why you never talked to me about girls," Iris said smiling. "How long has this been going on?"
"What do you mean? Nothing is going on."
"Oh really. You know, dad told me about what you two were like before the accident. Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"I was going to. I just wasn't sure how you would react. Your dad is fine with it now but I'm pretty sure that's only because we aren't actually dating. You really think Joe would want either of us to date a cop."
"I guess you're right he'd probably shoot him."
"Barry," Eddie shouted having caught up with them with their coffee. He used his new speed to run over and knocked them behind a concrete flowerbed before the police car could hit them. Barry recovered quickly and was off after Clyde. Barry managed to flip his car. Once Barry crawled from the wreck he saw Clyde standing in the middle of the road. Fog began to gather around him. It was so thick that Barry couldn't see where Clyde went and then a car crashed into Mardon's causing an explosion.
"That poor man," Iris said as they wheeled the body of the driver away. "The way that fog came in, I have never seen anything like it."
"Barry! Iris!" Joe called as he walked toward them.
"I'm all right, dad."
"What the hell were you thinking having her out here?" Barry tried to explain what happened but Joe didn't let him get a word in. "And I told you, when you see danger, you run the other way. You're not a cop."
"Because you wouldn't let me," Iris argued.
"You're damn right."
"Joe, I need to talk to you."
"It can wait."
"No, now," Barry said as he pulled Joe away from Iris. "I know who did this. It's Clyde Mardon. I know everybody thinks he died in a plane crash after the S.T.A.R. Labs explosion, but he is alive. All right, something happened to him that night. I… I think he can control the weather. The recent robberies, they all happened during freak meteorological events. And when I just confronted Mardon, the street was instantly enveloped in fog. One look at Joe's face told Barry everything he needed to know about what the detective was thinking in that moment. Of course you don't believe me. You never believe me."
"Okay. You want to do this now? Out here? Fine. Mardon is dead. There is no controlling the weather, Barry. Just like there was no lightning storm in your house that night. It was your brain helping a scared little boy accept what he saw."
"My dad did not murder my mother."
"Yes, he did! Your dad killed your mother, Barry! I am sorry, son! But I knew it, the jury knew it, and now he's paying for what he did."
"Dad, enough!" Iris said trying to get them to stop arguing.
"No, Iris. I have done my best to take care of you since that night, and I have never asked for anything in return, not even a thank you, but what I do ask now is that you for once in your life see things as they are." Barry wasn't sure what to do next. His emotions were all over the place so he just walked away. Joe took a breath as he watched Barry leaving. Then Eddie walked over.
"Here," Eddie said a clipped tone in his voice that told Joe he was angry about something.
"What's wrong with you?"
"What you said to Barry was uncalled for."
"That has nothing to do with you."
"Maybe it doesn't but Barry is my friend. I know I don't know the whole story but what I do know is that what you said was intentionally mean. You know Barry believes his dad is innocent. He told me that's part of why you pushed him to become a CSI so he could see if he could prove his innocence. I also know that the pictures in your hand are from the witness at the bank that got hit a few hours ago. I'd say that it looks exactly like the mugshot you're holding and that's the guy I was driving that car." Eddie turned about to leave when he turned back again to say one more thing to Joe. "And just so you know we just happened to be walking out here we didn't intend to run into a criminal." Then Eddie was gone.
"We weren't the only ones affected by the particle accelerator explosion were we," Barry asked as he and Eddie made it into STAR Labs?
"We don't know for sure," Dr. Wells said.
"You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger. But that's not true, so what really happened that night?" Eddie demanded.
"Well... The accelerator went active. We all felt like heroes, and then... It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, dark energy, x-elements..."
"Those are all theoretical."
"And how theoretical are you? We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City. Though we have no way of knowing exactly what or... Who was exposed, we've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself."
"Meta-humans?"
"That's what we're calling them," Caitlin said.
"We saw one today, Eddie said getting to the main reason they had come. "He's a bank robber, and he can control the weather."
"This just keeps getting cooler."
"This is not cool. All right? A man died. Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. He's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."
"Barry, that's a job for the police."
"Sure, because CCPD is equipped to deal with someone that can control the weather. Besides I work for the police."
"As a forensic assistant."
"Well I'm a detective," Eddie said. "You're responsible for this. For him. It's important that we stop him before anyone else can get hurt."
"What's important is the two of you. Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then Barry broke his arm, and it healed in three hours. Inside your bodies could be a map to a whole new world. Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero! You're not heroes. You are just two young men who were struck by lightning." For the second time that day Barry's emotions were everywhere and he ran from the room.
"You listen to me," Eddie said looking Wells in the eyes. "I don't care what you think you can find in my body or Barry's. It's not your choice what we do. You may have caused this and because of your actions we now have these abilities but we aren't science experiments that you can dissect and poke at for answers. You should be thankful that Barry is willing to help you clean up the mess you created." Eddie then turned to Cisco, "I need you to find out where he went because I have a feeling he didn't just go home."
"So that's my story," Barry said now that he had explained everything. "I've spent my whole life searching for the impossible, never imagining that I would become the impossible."
"So why come to me? Something tells me you didn't just run 600 Miles to say "hi" to a friend."
"All my life, I've wanted to just do more... Be more. And now I am. And the first chance I get to help someone, I screw up. What if Wells is right? What if I'm not a hero? What if I'm just some guy who was struck by lightning?"
"I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you, Barry. I think it chose you."
"I'm just not sure I'm like you, Oliver. I don't know if I can be some... vigilante."
"You can be better. Because you can inspire people in a way that I never could... Watching over your city like a guardian angel... Making a difference... Saving people... In a flash. Take your own advice. Wear a mask," he said as he turned and jumped from the roof.
"That's cool," Eddie said from behind Barry. Barry startled and turned around. "So you know the Arrow. How did that happen?"
Barry smiled, "that's a long story."
"Well, maybe one day you'll tell me about it. Come on let's get back."
"So, I've been going over unsolved cases from the past nine months, and there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths and missing people," Eddie said. "Your meta-humans have been busy. Now, I'm not blaming you. I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen and it's not like you knew people would develop powers. I know you all lost something. But we need your help to catch Mardon and anyone else out there like him. We can't do it without you."
"If we're gonna do this, I have something that might help. Something I've been playing with." Cisco lead them to a couple of manikins. "I designed them to replace the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear. I thought if S.T.A.R. Labs could do something nice for the community, maybe people wouldn't be so angry at Dr. Wells anymore."
"How are those going to help us?"
"They are made of a reinforced tri-polymer. It's heat and abrasive resistant, so they should withstand your moving at high-velocity speeds. And the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control. Plus, it has built-in sensors so we can track your vitals and stay in contact with you from here."
"Thanks. Now how do we find Mardon?"
"I retasked S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City. We just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds. I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city.
"I'm not saying Mardon is alive," Joe said to Chyre as they pulled up to the barn. "But if he was, this is the last place he and his brother hid out. Let's go." They got out of the car and walked carefully into the barn. "Mardon? On your feet. Hands on your head."
"You got me," Clyde said with a laugh. "You know, the night of the storm, after S.T.A.R. Labs blew, after our plane went down, and I woke up on the ground alive, when I saw what I can do, I understood. I am God."
"Shut the hell up and turn around," Joe said both his and his partners guns trained on Clyde.
"Do you think that your guns can stop God?" Clyde asked as he turned around with his hand in the air.
"Why in the hell would God need to rob banks?" Joe demanded.
"You're right," Clyde said as wind gathered around his hands. "I've been thinking too small." He thrust his hands in Joe's direction throwing him and Chyre across the barn. He raised his hands again and a tornado began to for around him. Joe grabbed Chyre and helped him from the barn only for them to be thrown into the side of their care. Chyre was knock unconscious and Joe sat watching the tornado move toward the city. He saw a piece of the roof flying toward him and he braced for the impact when a blur flew past him and knock the object of course. He stared in shock as a man came out from behind it. He was joined not a moment later by someone else.
"Barry! Eddie! This thing's getting closer. Wind speeds are 200 Miles-per-hour and increasing. Hey, can you both hear me?" Cisco called.
"Yeah," Barry said.
"Loud and clear," Eddie agreed.
"If it keeps up, this could become an F-5 tornado."
"It's headed towards the city. How do we stop it?" Eddie asked but no answer came.
"What if we unravel it?" Barry suggested.
"How the hell are you going to do that?" Caitlin asked.
"We can run around it in the opposite direction, cut off its legs."
"Would that even work," Eddie asked?
"It should but you'd have to clock 700 Miles-per-hour to do that," Cisco said.
"Your bodies may not be able to handle those speeds. You could die."
"We have to try," Barry said looking at Eddie who nodded in agreement. They took off and began circling around the tornado in the opposite direction that it was spinning. Off to the side Joe sat watching as the two raced off.
"The suits are holding up," Cisco cheered.
"But they aren't," Caitlin pointed out.
"They can do it. I know they can do it."
Barry and Eddie continued to run only to be struck by a bolt of lightning that caused them to be thrown from the tornado. "It's too strong!" Barry said into the headset.
"You can do this, Barry," Dr. Wells said as he rolled up to the mic. "Eddie was right. I am responsible for all of this. So many people have been hurt because of me, and when I looked at you, all I saw was another potential victim of my hubris. And yes, I created this madness, but you two, you can stop it. You can do this. Now run, Barry, run!" The two of them raced back into the tornado giving it their all. It wasn't long before the tornado imploded on itself separating the two heroes.
"Barry? Eddie?" Caitlin called into the mic but neither answered. They began to worry.
"Hey," Clyde called out as he walked over to where Barry lay I on the ground gun pointed at him. "I didn't think there was anyone else like me."
"I'm not like you. You're a murderer." Before Clyde could pull the trigger him Eddie ran over and shoved him away.
"You ok?"
"Yeah thanks."
"It's no problem. Let's get the mask back on don't want anyone to see." As Eddie helped Barry to his feet they heard gun shots and turned their attention to where Clyde had been preparing to attack them again. They looked to see Joe standing by his car gun pointed at Clyde. Before Joe could even speak the two of them were gone.
Barry and Eddie found themselves outside of STAR Labs a few hours later about to head home. "So you remember the day we got struck you said you had come to talk to me. Do you remember what it was you were going to ask?"
"Well to be honest I was going to ask you out for coffee. I know we haven't know each other long and then there was the whole coma thing but…," Eddie paused. "Barry Allen I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime when we don't have to work."
Barry smiled "Sure Eddie. I would love too."
"Hey, slugger.
"You've been calling me that since I was 11. Funny thing is, I finally got into a fight today."
"You just got out of a coma. I'm not sure you should be picking fights. Hey... Did you win?"
"Yeah, I did but I had some help this time. You didn't kill mom. You know I know that, right?"
"You believing me is all I need."
"You're not gonna be in here much longer. Whoever killed mom... Whatever killed her...? I think I finally have a way to find them. To stop them."
"Barry, we've talked about this. It's time to let it go. You have got to stop worrying about me, and live your life."
"For the first time, I feel like I finally can. The truth is, ever since the night mom died, I've been stuck in one place, missed out on a lot of things. But I'm different now. I've made some new friends. They're helping me find my way. Helping me to finally move forward. I even have a date this weekend. You remember when you wanted me to change my name so I wouldn't have to deal with people knowing you're my dad? I'm glad they know. I'm so proud to be your son."
"I love you, son."
"I love you too, dad."
art/Impulse-Earth-27-commission-678873900
This is what I imagine Eddie's suit looking like. At least similar design but with a full hood and no goggles.
