-Chapter Three-

"A Sight for Sore Eyes"

Harrison pressed his lips together as he watched the light blue bar graphs on the monitor in front of him raised and fell as it tracked Barry Allen's energy readings they had recently recorded on the "Cisco-ed" treadmill. He would be surprised it hadn't caught fire by now with how fast Barry could run on it if Cisco hadn't worked on it and he hadn't seen just how much Central City had changed in a little under a year. To have been working with the fastest man he had ever set eyes on and yet have him always be tardy was a mystery to him. One he was willing to crack no matter what it took.

Rug burns didn't come close to describing the injuries Barry Allen could sustain from a single fall. Luckily for him he healed fast. If only Harrison's own back could do the same. He was doing everything in his power to try and get the jump on this certain scientific discovery; on what exactly Barry could do, how fast he could actually go. Not only would it put STAR Labs back on the map but it would, in turn, give him his good name back…and get Mercury Labs out of his mind as someone to worry about.

"He could be going faster," he whispered to himself. He could hear his knuckles popping as he tightened his grip around the hand rest of his wheelchair.

He sat back against the back cushion, letting out a sigh through his nose, shifting his gaze from the monitors to the dark treadmill room in front of him. Soon it would be bathed with light, keeping everyone's attention on the speeding young man as he helped them fully understand his capabilities. They just had to wait for him to arrive.

Like usual.

"This is the fastest he's managed to run so far, Dr. Wells," Caitlin said, leaning back in her chair, shifting her gaze from the monitor in front of her to the red blur on the treadmill. "I mean, more so than his top speed with Bette." She briefly glanced over at Cisco when he sniffed before letting out a sigh. She lifted her eyebrows before shifting her gaze back towards the older man. "It's small I'll admit, but, it's some improvement."

He slowly nodded at her words. "Be that as it may," Dr. Wells replied, sucking in a deep breath of air through his nose, "we haven't even begun to assess exactly what Barry can do. He hasn't put his mind to this and the more we have to wait for him, the less time we have to really learn just what that accident did to him."

"And we can't do that with Johnny-Come-Lately," Caitlin agreed, running her hands over her face before brushing her hair back behind her ears. She then turned towards Cisco, her hair swinging around her face, removing itself from behind her ears as she gave him smug look. "See? I can come up with names, too."

"You sure can, Cait," Cisco replied with a toothy smile, pointing the Twizzler in his hand in her direction before taking a bite out of it. Caitlin let out a huff of air, rolling her eyes.

"You know those are bad for you," Caitlin pointed out to him, sitting back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. She pointed a clear glossed nail polish covered fingernail at him. "There's 21 grams of sugar in there, has 160 calories per stick and because of how long it takes to eat, you trick your body into thinking you're full."

Cisco tilted his head back, letting out a laugh. "Caitlin, Caitlin, Caitlin." Cisco shook his head back and forth. "This may not be good for the body, but it's good for the soul."

Harrison let out a sigh through his nose before backing up his wheelchair from the computer tables. "Please let me know when Barry finally arrives," he said to their curious looks before making his way—as fast as the electric wheelchair would take him—towards the elevators of STAR Labs. As he waited for the cart to reach his floor, he did his best to ignore the faint argument his two employees were having.

It wasn't the most…practical argument they've had—it, admittedly, was one of the more entertaining ones—but things had changed since the particle accelerator accident. Caitlin had become more careful since the accident and made sure everybody around her was ok in body and mind. The death of her fiancé had done that to her. Whether or not she saw everybody as Ronnie, or she truly realized just how short life could be, that made her start to worry about others. To, in a way, be motherly towards everybody.

It was a nice quality to her, especially as a bioengineer, that he found admirable. After months of seeing her so haunted, and so…alone despite his and Cisco's presence, it was nice to see her smiling again and acting like her old self.

As he maneuvered himself into the elevator, and dictated which floor he wanted to be moved to, his smile slowly faded in time with the elevator doors sliding shut to be replaced by a quiet, serious gaze. A humming sound filled the air as the bright glow of the number floor 6, 5, 4, ticked past with a light ding before he stopped on level three.

The elevator doors opened and Harrison darted his tongue out between his lips, wetting them as he made his way out into the darkened hall. Only the whirr of his wheelchair was heard echoing around the curving hallway, until he came to a stop in what looked like the center of the hall. Glancing back over his shoulder, Harrison felt his lips curl up into a smirk before he reached out his hand, placing it against the wall.

He watched as a light blue glow slid up and down the flat of his hand, scanning it before the wall opened, slowly pulling in on itself before a growing gap was wide enough to comfortably maneuver himself through. As soon as it closed behind him, he shifted his weight forward and pushed himself up into a standing position. Harrison let out a sigh as he stepped down to the ground stretching his arms out in front of him. He removed his glasses from his nose and tucked the arm band into the collar of his shirt as he tool steady steps towards the giant wall in front of him, the only one not covered in dark gray dots.

"Good morning, Gideon," Harrison said aloud, his deep timbre bouncing off every corner of the room as he placed his hand down onto the white dome on the pedestal that sat next to his hand. Squares in varying degrees of color dotted the wall before a face formed in the center. "Let's get started, shall we."

"Good morning, Dr. Wells," Gideon asked, the mouth on the pixilated face moving in time with the voice that seeped into the room. "What would you like me to do today?"

"I'd like to start a new log," Harrison replied, tugging on the bottom hem of his black sweater before he crossed his arms over his chest, pacing back and forth in front of the wall. "Call it a…vision board of sorts."

"And your previous log?"

Harrison pressed his lips together for a brief moment, his eyes falling shut. He squeezed his eyelids tightly together before he parted them, a groan rumbling jut slightly in the back of his throat at the bright lights shining from the pixilated wall.

"You know how important it is that I keep track of Barry Allen's progress and development here at STAR Labs, Gideon," Harrison replied in a tight voice. "This is in accordance to my other logs."

"Understood, Dr. Wells."

The picture in front of him changed to a long rectangle with that day's date flashing in it and off to the side what looked like a speech bubble, waiting to record whatever it was that he was going to say. "Start recording, please."

"Certainly."

"It seems that the particle accelerator has a wider reach than I truly knew or understood," Harrison said aloud, watching as his words appeared on the screen in front of him. "I know every single person who was killed by the particle accelerator accident, and have just started keeping track of the Metahumans, we have come across, but maybe I haven't been keeping track of the right people."

There was a long pause as Harrison lifted his hand and rubbed at his lips with his fingers. Oh yes, I have been looking at the wrong people. "Averey Moore came to STAR Labs the other day, and has made me aware that the reach of the particle accelerator was more than I had ever stopped to consider," he said after he parted his lips, making a popping sound as he did so. "Just how many people have been affected by the accident? Massive amounts of radiation, anti-matter, dark energy, x-elements, and who knows what else was dumped into the air affecting many in the area in different ways."

A deep chuckle rumbled in the back of Harrison's throat. He swung his arms down by his side, wiping his palms on the side of his dark pants. In more ways than anyone could ever dream about, he thought, rubbing his lips together. "The cards are starting to be laid out on the table for her," he mused aloud after a second pregnant pause, "how she decides to play her hand has yet to be seen." A smirk graced his lips.

"At least to others. Gideon, I'd like to take a step into the future." Gideon's face reappeared on the screen and blinked, waiting for the next prompt from him. "Please, if you would, search for me any and all references to Averey Moore."

"Of course, doctor."

Harrison lifted his hands and adjusted the collar of his shirt as he waited for the results to appear. A flickering light caught his eye and he lifted his head to see the results. As the number quickly climbed showcasing how many results there were, Harrison tilted his head back, a close lipped smug smile.

A single headline faced him in big, bold, glowing letters: Former Gang Member to Receive City's Recognition of Heroism.

"Perfect." Harrison's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes…Ms. Moore." He let out a small breath of air. "I'm sure we're going to meet again very soon."

Barry Allen let out a long yawn as he stepped in through the front doors of Jitters. His eyes burned and he still felt a bit slow and sluggish despite how quickly he was moving that morning…and in all walks of life. His morning a day coffee habit probably wasn't the bet jolt to get him moving especially with how fast he could actually go. If it meant he'd actually get to wherever he needed to go on time, he'd take it.

Stepping to the back of the long line of customers, Barry, craned his neck to look around the…packed even more than usual coffee shop. He let out a sigh through his nose as he quickly and quietly counted how many people were ahead of him in line.

"I'm going to be late again." Barry groaned, sliding his fingers through his hair before clasping his hands behind the back of his head. "Joe and Dr. Wells are going to kill me."

The African American woman in front of him muttered something he couldn't make out and shook her head back and forth, her stick straight spinal column and weight pressing down on her heels indicating her annoyance and frustrations.

"Hey, Barry."

All his worry and frustration instantly disappeared the second he caught a glimpse of Iris's face as she made her way down the light, apologizing to everybody waiting in line. Whether or not he would end up being late—which he was being known for more and more these days—it didn't hurt that he got to see Iris every morning.

"Hey, Iris," Barry greeted his long time friend with a warm smile. "It's pretty busy this morning I see."

"No kidding," Iris said, rubbing a hand over her face before briefly glancing at the ceiling. Her nose wrinkled as she made her familiar "I'm annoyed, but I need to hold it together" face, causing Barry's smile to widen. "I mean, when is it not, but today…it's a whole other story. We've got two new hires training today, Averey and the new guy named Dayton."

That makes sense. Barry watched as the workers behind the counter rushed back and forth shouting orders at each other. Coffee spills lined the counter, being wiped away as quickly as they could be attended to, the baristas were practically all on top of each other, trying to get orders filled to cut down the wait time for those who ordered "to go" all the while tending to the patrons eating in the sitting area.

"So, uh, what happened?" Barry asked.

"Some drop kick came and messed up the registers," Averey huffed as she rushed past, a plate of blueberry muffins and a crumb cake in her hand. "Was a bit of a weirdo, hey?"

"Nooo," Iris protested. Barry lifted an eyebrow in her direction. Her should sagged as she let out a breath of air, giving a half smile as she changed her tune. "Ok, he did kind of look like he was on something."

"I'm still not seeing the connection to the registers?" Barry said as more of a question.

"All I'm saying is after he came in and ordered, things went wonky," Averey replied, putting her hands on her hip, her face contorting into a wince as she jabbed herself in the hip with her pen.

"The place is running on generators, but the registers are shot," Iris explained. "Won't be fixed until later so we have to do everything by hand."

"And here I thought sitting through my maths classes was bad enough," Averey concluded, lifting her pen to stick it in her hair, "we have to do everything by hand. I mean, who does that?" She shook her head back and forth. "Just what I needed during O-week."

"Relax, you're picking things up so fast," Iris said, giving the girl a warm smile, placing a hand on the new employee's shoulder. "Way faster than I ever did."

"Yeah, I still haven't forgotten Coffee-gate," Barry muttered, earning a warning look from Iris. He laughed as Iris curled her fingers into a fist, punching him on the arm. He scrunched his face up into a look of pain before grabbing at the throbbing area. "Ow."

"That didn't hurt, you baby," Iris said with a roll of her eyes, joining in his laughter. Averey looked back and forth between the two old friends, her lips pulling back into a half smile, half smirk, revealing her teeth.

Barry blinked once, twice, three times as he peered over at the Australian. Why is that…so familiar? He was sure he had seen that smile somewhere before, but he couldn't pinpoint where. "I'm sorry," he said, to Averey when he noticed the weird look she was giving him for staring, "have we met before? I mean, I know we did a couple days ago, but before that?"

"Naw, I don't believe so," Averey replied, shaking her head back and forth, strands of her hair ending up across her nose. She twisted her mouth to the side before puffing out her cheek as she blew a breath of air upwards to knock it loose. She peered at him, angling her head downwards just slightly. "Barry, right?" Barry nodded his head. "No, I'd remember meeting you." She shrugged her shoulders. "As long as I see it, I don't forget things."

"Besides, with how great you are, how could she forget someone like you?" Iris said, giving Barry a wide smile.

Barry's lips twitched upwards into a smile of his own, but he could only hold it for so long. She hadn't forgotten Barry Allen "the best friend", or Barry Allen "the sort-of-brother", but she had, in a way, forgotten about Barry Allen "the man". Not that he could blame her for moving forward with her life while he was in a coma for nine months.

He wouldn't have wanted her to spend every day worrying about him, even thought he knew she did to some degree. He could only sit back and be happy that someone else was making her the happiest he had seen her; even if he had to work with her boyfriend every day. He could still remember the way she had referred to him as Detective Pretty Boy when she first saw Eddie Thawne.

Only he couldn't pinpoint, at the time, in what way she was referring to him as that. Attraction? Curiosity? Disdain? Things had changed more than he realized or could ever imagine in those nine months.

"I hope you haven't forgotten that you're still on the clock," the African American worker said with a show of shaking her head. Averey cringed before hurrying back to her position behind the counter, nearly colliding with Tracey who was walking out with her fingers wrapped around a steaming mug repeating, "Ow, ow, ow" as she went, before stepping up to Dayton who looked frazzled as he practically shrieked, "What am I supposed to do?" Iris let out a sigh, suddenly looking tired.

"I'm sure things will move more quickly once you've gotten through the morning rush," Barry reassured her before Iris mumbled that she had to get back to work. He watched her go before looking around the coffee shop. Once he was sure no one was watching him, he sped off, quickly making the coffee orders of those in line, and leaving tips before moving back to his spot at the end.

"Whoa."

"What?"

"How did-? What just happened?"

He smiled to himself as he stepped up to the counter, watching as the confused patrons walked out with their drink orders. Averey blinked rapidly as she looked down at the notepad in her hand, confusion written over her face. And…fear?

"Everything ok?" Barry asked. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I saw..."Averey trailed off before giving a quick shake of her head. "I thought I saw something." An uncertain look spread across her face, her eyebrows angling towards each other. "Something red. Maybe?"

Barry froze, feeling a chill roll down his spine. "I…" His words died on his lips as he peered over at her. He reached up a hand to scratch at his hairline, hiding the look of worry that was on his face. No. She couldn't have… "Uhh." I-I was moving too fast.

He put a hand to his stomach. He wasn't hungry, so he wasn't moving that slow. He moved fast enough to make at least 20 eggs and 10 pieces of toast to scarf down on his way out the door. It was a wonder he was able to keep his metabolism up consistently. Not that it had gone unnoticed. Not only had Iris brought it up every now and then, especially when he ordered larger sizes of his go to comfort food of French fries. Joe helped keep up the façade with comments about how he was a growing boy and with his growing passion for running he needed to eat more. Which wasn't that far from the truth, but if there was anyone he wanted to tell his secret to, it was Iris West.

"All right?"

"Yeah, yep," Barry repeatedly nodded his head, "perfect."

Averey hiked an eyebrow before putting a smile on her face and said in an over the top American accent, which sounded more Southern, "On behalf of Jitters, I apologize for the delay and hope you have a wonderful day." She removed the pen from her hair and tapped the end against her notepad. "How ya going? What would you like to order?"

Barry opened and closed his mouth, trying not to laugh. "Was that the best American accent you could manage?" he asked.

"I'm working on it," Averey replied, her lips twitching. Her eyebrows shot up, eyes widening just slightly. "Order? Are you going to place one? I have a job to do."

"Yeah, I'm going to be late," Barry said with a sigh through his nose, briefly closing his eyes. "Again." His chest swelled as he sucked in a deep breath of air, drumming his fingers on the counter top. "Amiercano with caramel, white chocolate, and whipped cream, please."

"You got it," Averey replied before turning towards the machine behind the counter to make his order. "So, what's this job you're seemingly in a rush to get to?"

"I'm a forensic assistant at the police department," Barry explained. He chuckled at the look of horror that briefly crossed her face. "That never gets old." He reached for his wallet and started counting out his money. "You get used to it after a while."

"I'll bet," Averey said, deadpan before hunching over her notepad, quickly writing down his total with tax. "I'll put a rush on your order then so I won't make you that much later for work, hey?"

"Thanks." Barry handed over the money and Averey quickly counted out the change, handing it back to him before ripping off the top, writing covered, sheet of her notepad before setting it down beneath the counter. She then retrieved his drink, fitted a plastic top on the cup and slid a cardboard sleeve up around it.

"Hey, you pass by the library on the way to the police department, right?" Averey asked him as Barry lifted his coffee to his mouth. He sucked in a mouthful of steam from the opening in the top before setting it back down on the counter with a nod.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't get off on break for a while—I had to work through my first one this morning, but I always bring the security guard at the library, Sal, a coffee every morning," Averey replied before putting her hands up in the air. "You don't have to do it, it's just a suggestion, and I'd pay for the coffee myself, but—"

"Sure, I'll give it to him for you," Barry replied.

"Are you sure?" Averey asked. "I don't want you to be any more late for your job." She then reached out a hand and smacked the side of the register. "If this bloody thing would just work…"

"I'll be fast," Barry replied with a peaceful smile. "Don't worry." He lifted his coffee to his mouth and took a long sip, smiling as the mixture of bitter and sweet tastes combined together on his tongue. As he swallowed, he could feel a line of heat travel down into his stomach, warming him from the inside out; a shield against the cooling Central City temperatures.

"Thanks for the help," Averey said as she handed Barry a brown Jitters bag. "And it was great seeing you again."

"You too," Barry replied, saluting her with her beverage before making his way towards the door. "I'll see you later, Iris."

Iris set an empty mug onto her tray at the table nearest the door and gave him a bright smile. "You're still going to meet me later, right?" she asked. Barry blinked in her direction. "Remember? I'm taking you shopping." She pushed her tray against her waist as she walked over to him before pinching at the fabric of his shirt. She pulled it away from his skin before releasing it, watching as the fabric settled back into place. "I'm surprised you still have clothes to fit your frame."

Barry tilted his head back in a groan. "What's wrong with my clothes?" he asked. "I hate shopping. You girls take forever. Just go in, find what you want, pay and leave."

"Well, looks who's all about the speed nowadays," Iris replied, lifting an eyebrow in amusement. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeahhhh," Barry replied, holding out the word. He scrunched up his face before giving her a smile. "I'll meet you after your shirt."

"That's all I ask." Iris beamed, patting his shoulder as she passed before Barry used his back to push open the doors, stepping out into the bustling sidewalk traffic. He took another sip of his coffee before looking up, down, and across the street. Once he was sure no one was paying any attention to him, he sped off down the street, coming to a stop just down the street from the library.

And it's still nice and warm, Barry thought to himself with a proud smile. His shoes crunched over the loose rocks on the sidewalk. He whistled to himself as he made his way up the sidewalk and up a short set of brick stairs to the man standing outside the large glass doors.

"Hi, Sal?" Barry asked the man. Sal lifted his eyebrows in his answer, giving a nod of his head as Barry held the bag out towards him. "I'm Barry. Averey was swamped a t work and asked me to bring your coffee to you."

"Oh, that's nice of her." Sal beamed, revealing a gap toothed grin as he took the bag. He unraveled the top and reached his hand inside for the drink. His head barely lifted as Sal looked up at Barry through his long fringe. "She's been here a lot looking up that night." He then straightened, looking Barry in the eye. "I'm sorry about what happened to your family. If it means anything, I know your dad wouldn't do what they say he did."

Barry opened and closed his mouth. He didn't want to talk about it. He was tired of talking about it and feeling like people were taking pity on him. This may not be the first time someone had supported him and his family, but it was the first time in a long time it was actually said to his face. He had endured the whispers and points and knew over time learned how to turn a blind eye towards it all.

Now he had no choice but to face it and see it with his own eyes.

"You seem to be one of the only other people that think that," Barry muttered to himself.

"Well," Sal said as he used his leg to crush the Jitters bag into a ball, "from what I've gathered over the years, it doesn't matter how many people are on your side as long as you have someone there. Even if it takes a while for people to decide to do it, the important thing is that they got there in the end."

"I guess," Barry said with a shrug. He tapped his fingernails on the cardboard sleeve before lifting his coffee to his mouth. He swallowed gulp after gulp, ignoring the tear inducing heat as it slid down the back of his throat.

"You guess," Sal repeated, with a short laugh. He looked up at the tall brick building and made a clicking sound with his tongue. "I remember when you used to hide out in the library, trying to hide out from those boys that would chase after you."

Barry slowly lowered his coffee, his eyebrows twitching together. Sal let out a deep, wheezy laugh, slapping his knee before reaching up his hand to scratch the side of his jaw. "You always kept running and I always thought; that boy is going to get the jump on them one day. He's going to be one fast little boy. Shoot, you'd run in here so fast, I'd barely have any time to get the door open before you get there."

Barry bowed his head, a small laugh shaking his shoulders. As he grew more and more tired, trying to reach home as fast as he could, he'd stop in the closest building to him and hide. A breathless "Sorry" would be tossed out of his throat said as loud as he could manage at the time.

"You'll outrun everybody before you know it, kid. Just don't leave everyone that cares about you behind."

Barry's lips slowly formed the words as he recalled them. "Ah, you remember," Sal said, a twinkle coming to his eye.

Everyone that knew him knew he stayed in Central City to be there when enough evidence was found to prove his father's innocence. In the mean time, if he couldn't personally get the closure by his own accord, he wanted to help others get theirs.

Forensics wasn't something he had always thought of as a career, but if he could find evidence on crimes that no one else could, it gave him hope that someone could do the same for his mother's case. Or that he would have the courage to do it for himself. He could only go over the information he knew for so long before taking action himself.

His mom.

Work.

STAR labs!

Shoot! Barry glanced at his watch before looking around wildly before setting his eyes back on the man in front of him. "Sal?" Barry asked and the older man blinked, a curious look crossing his face. "Thank you. I never said it before."

Sal winked, tilting his head downwards just slightly, before pulling open the large glass door, heading inside and Barry hurried off to get to work.

A/N: I'm sooooooo sorry for the almost month long wait. I re-did this chapter a couple of times and finally ended on this. It's a bit of a filler chapter, but it's a chapter nonetheless. Thanks to everyone who's checked out the story so far.

Also check out the Flash stories Flash Fire (on this account) and The Mark of Sage (on the Crystal Manning account).