I don't own The Flash. All rights go to their respective owners.

Chapter Eight

CCPD

"Last night was alright. Nice to finally spend some time with you." Julian comments as he exits the elevator beside Barry, both men with two cups of coffees in hand.

"It was." Barry agrees whilst listening in to the chatter going on around him.

"Where'd you cut him off?" One officer questions.

"We cut him off at eighth. I mean the perp was in the backseat of the cruiser before he even knew what happened." The officer, Paulson responds as Barry smirks.

"I don't think I even want to know what's going on." Julian sighs as Joe approaches the group, extending his hand toward Paulson.

"Congratulations, Paulson, on that arrest last night. Hell of a job." He comments.

"You come by later, Joe. I'll give you a driving lesson, okay?" He grins as Barry turns to Joe, watching as Julian is handed a stack of files and is not listening before speaking.

"It wasn't even him last night. It was me." Barry smirks.

"I figured. I just didn't realize you were helping people for the glory." Joe notes.

"It's not like I want a museum built to my name." Barry retorts sighing.

"Keeping wait I can do a secret from Iris and Julian and everyone. It's harder than I thought." He admits.

"I know, but it is safer that way. Besides me, you and Julian have got work to do. I did allow you to let Julian in on the whole possibly reopening your mothers case thing, even if he doesn't know about your extracurricular activities." He replies as Barry nods.

"Still not sure I like this plan." He murmurs.

"What. It's going to be fine. Julian won't find out even if he's working on this with us. You know I had a friend who worked with these three secretive people and even before they told her the truth apparently she still worked and did stuff for them." Barry shrugs.

"Do I want to know what you're talking about?" Joe folds his arms.

"Probably not." Barry admits whilst looking to Julian who is now following them.

"Did I miss anything?" He questions as Barry looks to Joe.

"Nope. Nothing at all."

"You are an appalling liar you know Allen." Julian retorts.

"We have work to do and when I say work I mean…" Barry trails off as Julian nods.

"That's more like it Barry. Honesty!"

Barry & Julian's Lab

"The dust on that." Julian folds his arms as Joe slams a box down on the table.

"I know. Dragged this right out of storage." Joe replies.

"It's the evidence from Nora Allen's case, right?" He looks to both of them as Barry nods, a solemn look on his face.

"Yep. The same evidence me and you have been through thousands of times." Barry glances to Julian.

"Before your story about what really happened that night, the Lightning Storm, the man in the middle. I thought that was just a kid trying to protect his father from prison but now considering people are talking about the 'the read streak'."

"Ohh don't tell me you believe in that hoax to." Julian sighs.

"I saw it with my own eyes at Mardon's farmhouse and if whatever that thing is, is real. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so dismissive about this and because of my new opened mind. The three of us are gonna go through every scrap of evidence until we find something that perhaps helps us." Joe informs them both.

"Well. Even if I think the red streak is nothing but a hoax. I have always tried to keep an open mind when it comes to this case. So I'm in." Julian nods as Barry gives his best friend a grateful smile before shrugging his shoulders.

"It took the jury fifty two minutes to come back with a verdict of guilty." He reminds them.

"They moved too fast, which is why the three of us have gotta take our time." Joe sighs as he approaches the box.

"Barry, Joe, Albert. We got multiple homicides." Eddie calls from the door.

"Do any of you know of the Dadbinyan crime family?"

Crime Scene

"Barry, Julian?" Joe calls to the two forensic scientists already on the scene of the crime.

"Anything?" He questions to them both.

"Well there's sighs of histotoxic hypoxia." Julian responds.

"English." Joe murmurs.

"The cells in their bodies weren't able to utilize oxygen. It's consistent with exposure to poisonous gas." Barry fills in for him.

"What kind of poison?" Joe frowns.

"We'll need to take a lung sample, see if we can narrow it down any." Barry shrugs.

"There are a lot of poisons out there detective after all." Julian adds.

"The only other exit was bolted from the inside. They were trapped, I was thinking someone pumped gas in from the outside but witnesses say the street was empty." Eddie explains, walking into the room.

"So then it was from the inside?" Joe questions.

"Well that means that there should be a left over canister, or some sort of container left behind." Julian points out as Barry rises to his feet.

"Yeah, I mean the gas didn't just come in by itself." Joe nods.

"Unless it had a mind of its own." Barry says suddenly.

"My god." Julian shakes his head as Barry just laughs it off.

"Eddie, would you mind canvassing again? Somebody had to have seen something suspicious and Julian as you seem to know a lot about poisons then please have a wander around, look to see if there's a canister or container of some kind." Joe requests successfully managing to send both Eddie and Julian away, leaving him with only Barry.

"Okay, explain." He says once both men are out of earshot.

"The boss collapsed by the table. This guy made it ten feet away. That guy had a chance to move off and fire three shots into the window, trying to break the glass but they all started in the same spot which means they should've been affected by the gas at the same time but instead it's as if…"

"They were attacked one by one." Joe finishes for him as Barry nods.

"My gut feeling if we're gonna solve this one." He folds his arms.

"You and me are gonna need back up."

STAR Labs

"Fascinating, a Metahuman that can manipulate poisonous gas." Wells remarks.

"Is it just poisonous gas or can he control all aerated substances?" Cisco calls.

"And how is he able to formulate the connection? Is it physiological or psychological?" Caitlin adds.

"This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances…"

"You mean connect with gases one a molecular level. That's ridiculously cool!" Cisco finishes Well's sentence for him with a cheer.

"They get really excited about this stuff." Barry informs a rather perplexed Joe.

"The only think I'm exacted about is putting criminals behind bars, except Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle Metahumans." Joe points out.

"Then I guess it's fortunate the ones you've encountered so far are no longer with us." Wells reminds him bluntly.

"Well unless we're planning on executing every super criminal we stop you geniuses are gonna have to come up with some place else to hold them." Joe muses.

"A Metahuman prison. Sweet!" Cisco grins.

"Until we figure out a way to remove their powers." Wells adds.

"There is one place here that might hold them." Cisco says suddenly causing both Caitlin and Wells to look over at him in shock and in Caitlin's case, horror.

"You can't be serious. We haven't been down there since…" She trails off.

"It's cordoned off!" She cries, causing Barry to look at her in surprise, who then notices the sadness in her eyes.

"Cisco is right. It could be modified to act as a makeshift prison." Wells continues.

"What could?" Barry questions, unable to keep his eyes away from the evidently sad Caitlin.

"The particle accelerator."

STAR Labs: Nine Months Ago

"Tonight, the future begins. The work my team and I will do here will change our understanding of physics. Will bring about advancements in power. Advancements in medicine and trust me, that future will be here faster than you think." Wells says to a rather large audience outside of STAR Labs before heading straight inside to see to the final adjustments that are being done to the particle accelerator.

"Dr. Wells. We just got the latest weather report, uh a big thunderstorm is rolling in." Cisco informs him.

"Well we're not launching a space shuttle. We'll be fine." Wells responds, whilst Cisco hurries away, Caitlin working away at her desk.

"Tahiti?" Her fiancé, Ronnie Raymond frowns from beside her.

"I know it's a long flight, Ronnie but we can binge watch Orange Is The New Black." Caitlin grins back at him.

"Okay, but what about Italy? Pizza and wine and more pizza." He points out.

"Yes, but Italy doesn't have Mai tais." Caitlin sighs as she gets to her feet.

"And a honeymoon isn't a honeymoon without Mai tais." She remarks.

"Dr. Wells, the accelerator is primed and ready for particle injection." Cisco informs them.

"Well, I feel like I should say something profound. Like, one small step for man. All I can think of to say is I feel like I waited for this day for centuries." Wells informs them all before placing his palm on the computer screen to initiate the collider.

"That's it? You'd think there'd be like a loud bang." Cisco sighs.

"If there was a loud bang, then we'd all be in big trouble." Ronnie replies.

"Take it from the guy who helped built it." Caitlin smiles at him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we did it." Wells beams happily at his team of workers who instantly begin clapping, proud of their achievement.

Caitlin leaning over to give Ronnie a kiss, who smiles at her.

"Mai tais it is." He says as Wells opens a bottle of champagne, yet the minute he does that, the liquid begins to rise in slow motion up from the bottle, hitting the ground just as the lights begin to dim and the sirens begin to blare and a loud bang sounds out.

"Was that…" Cisco starts anxiously as Ronnie winces.

"A loud bang."

STAR Labs: Present Day

"Caitlin. Caitlin, did you hear me?" Wells calls to the rather lost looking Caitlin Snow, who had been so deeply immersed in the memory to hear.

"We're going down to the accelerator ring." Wells informs her once he gets her attention.

"Actually, Dr. Wells, I could use Caitlin's help identifying the poisonous gas." Barry says to keep Caitlin from having to go down there.

To the place he knows the man she loved died in.

In response to Barry's request, Caitlin gives him the most relived look ever.

"Okay." Wells nods.

"If that's okay with you, Caitlin." Barry looks to her.

"Let's go." She nods before getting to her feet, reaching for her coat, which Barry speeds into her hand.

"Thank you." She smiles at him.

"Don't have too much fun without us." Cisco calls as Caitlin and Barry exit the room, heading down the corridor toward the exit.

Barry freezing in place like a statute when Caitlin suddenly grabs his arm, squeezing it tightly.

"Thank you." She whispers as Barry smiles.

"Anytime."

CCPD

"So welcome to the CCPD." Barry grins as he and Caitlin enter the precinct.

He'd never anticipated this to be a part of his day.

Showing his crush around the place he has his day job.

Knowing that he's probably going to have introduce her to Julian today as well.

Nope, he hadn't anticipated any of this.

"So this is your day job?" Caitlin glances around the precinct with a smile.

"Mm-hm." Barry nods, trying to stop himself from grinning like a complete idiot.

"Wow." Caitlin remarks.

"I'm gonna rip out your hearts and eat them for lunch." A prisoner states in passing.

"Delightful." Caitlin frowns as Barry just shakes his head.

"We get some odd ones." He shrugs.

"I can see." She smiles.

"Lab rats, I need prints off this gun, pronto." An officer passes Barry him a gun, whilst Caitlin looks at him sympathetically.

"Allen! Where there hell is the fiber analysis on the Orloff case?" Singh yells to him.

"Upstairs. It's all finished, I can just run upstairs and bring it down." Barry informs him.

"With you that could be three days! I'll go with you and who are you?" He glances to Caitlin as Barry races toward the stairs.

"Dr. Caitlin Snow. Barry's personal physician." She replies as they head up the stairs toward Barry and Julian's lab, which Barry is already in, speeding around and looking for the fiber analysis Singh requested.

"The fiber analysis for the Orloff case." He presents it to Singh the instant he reaches the lab with Caitlin.

"Like you asked for, sir." He adds whilst handing it over to him, exchanging a secret smile with Caitlin as he does so.

"Clean up your lab. It's a mess." Singh mutters as he leaves the lab.

"It's Julian's mess to." Barry can't help but add.

"Somehow I doubt that." Singh calls from a distance away.

But it is. Barry thinks to himself but leads Caitlin into the lab anyway.

"It is a little messy." She comments.

"I did just speed around it like a maniac." Barry replies.

"I gathered." She smiles.

"You can sit at Julian's desk. He won't mind." Barry moves toward Julian's desk, kicking rubbish of his chair and straightening out his desk to make it somewhat presentable.

"Julian hu." She remarks.

"Oh we work together. We share this lab. He's also my best friend." Barry informs her.

"I know." She nods as Barry frowns.

"Wait? How do you know about Julian?" Barry folds his arms.

"He was always visiting you when you were in your coma. He was little um…"

"Obnoxious?" Barry glances up at her.

"Sometimes." Caitlin agrees before adding.

"He wasn't exactly the most open minded about STAR Labs. He thought you being with us during your coma would kill you. He softened a little but still. I don't blame him for thinking that though." Caitlin says quickly.

"Speak of the devil." Barry smiles, glancing toward the door Julian just entered through.

He hadn't even thought that Caitlin must have met Julian before during his coma days.

Of course Julian was there visiting him.

"Still trying to narrow down those poisons. Not getting that far to be honest. Ohh. Dr. Snow. This is a surprise." He looks up at her, before at Barry.

"Why are you here?" He folds his arms.

"Ohh Caitlin has probably more knowledge about poisons that both of us put together. I figured she could possibly help us and she was kind enough to agree to help." Barry explains as Caitlin nods.

"And what have you done to my desk?" He looks to Barry.

"Caitlin has to sit somewhere and yours to be honest was the most presentable." Barry shrugs as Caitlin passes him.

"Yours isn't that bad Barry. It looks personal, despite the um, empty pizza boxes." She smiles as Barry grins back, Julian folding his arms at the two of them.

"Well, you're more than welcome to make yourself comfortable. To be honest you were the only person I did like during the visits to STAR Labs." Julian murmurs.

"Thank you." Caitlin replies.

"Is there anything I can get you. Drink, snack. I mean there's stuff in here but I can go get something fresh?" Barry suggests kindly.

"I'm good thanks Barry." Caitlin glances up at him as Barry nods, looking to where Julian is giving him a look.

"Wow you are honored. I'll ask for something fresh and Barry will always give me something that he found in our mini fridge which is always about six months or so out of date." Julian remarks as Barry glares him.

"Don't you have work to be doing Julian?" Barry questions.

"I do in fact. I have to get back over to the crime scene soon. Walk with me to the lift?" He requests as Barry closes his eyes.

"Perhaps I should…"

"Ohh Barry go. I can find my way around in here." Caitlin smiles as Barry sighs before reluctantly following Julian out of the lab.

"Good to see you again Dr. Snow." Julian calls in farewell.

"You too!" She calls back as Barry follows Julian, who nudges him the minute they're out of Caitlin's earshot.

"So… Care to fill me on how long you've had a crush on that woman?"

West Residence

"The lighting was in the house. I told my son to run, he disappeared and that's when I saw the blood." Henry Allen proclaims from the tape Joe is currently watching on his laptop.

"Your prints are on the murder weapon." A man points out.

"I needed to stabilize the knife. I'm a doctor!" He protests.

"I was trying to save her. I didn't kill my wife! Joe! Tell them! You know me. Our kids are best friends. You tell them, Joe!" He yells to the camera. Joe shutting up the laptop the instant Iris jogs down the steps.

"Do I even wanna know what you were looking at?" She questions with a laugh.

"It's just work. Some old cases weren't filled properly." He replies as someone knocks loudly on the door.

Moving toward the door, Iris opens it to reveal Eddie.

"Detective, what are you doing here?" She questions formally as Eddie freezes upon seeing Joe behind her.

"Joe. I thought you were at the morgue." Eddie queries.

"I decided to bring some work home. Why are you here?" He questions, advancing on Eddie whilst doing so.

"Yes, well, I've been looking for you. I thought maybe we could go back to the crime scene, re canvass see if we missed anything." He says quickly, those not being his original plans.

"Always work the case, right? That's what you taught me." He adds quickly with a smile.

"Well, you've been listening. Okay, let's hit it." Joe agrees with a smile of his own.

"You mind if I use your bathroom?" Eddie queries.

"First door on the right. I'll be in the car." Joe replies as he approaches Iris.

"Bye, baby."

"Bye, dad." Iris smiles as he exits the house, Eddie automatically exiting the bathroom at the exact same time.

"Okay. This has got to stop. I came here to surprise my girlfriend and now I'm going to a crime scene with her dad. Not exactly the afternoon I was planning." He groans.

"I know. It's just not the right time to tell him." Iris sighs.

"When is, Iris?" Eddie queries.

"I know my dad. He'll kill us." Iris protests as Eddie shrugs, heading for the door.

"Right now. You're killing us."

CCPD

"What… What no. I don't have a crush on Caitlin." Barry stutters as he walks down the stairs with Julian.

"Right. So offering to go and get her fresh snacks, practically shoving everything I own off my desk because it's somewhat tidier than your own, those looks you keep giving her when she's not looking? That's nothing is it?" Julian folds his arms.

"I don't do that!" Barry protests.

"Mate, I was in there, watching you. You like her." He continues.

"I'm not saying no but…"

"I knew it. I knew it. Let me guess she was the first person you laid eyes on when you woke up from your coma in STAR Labs?" He questions.

"Wow you're good." Barry admits.

"You can't hide anything from me, Barry, remember?" He smirks at him as Barry nods before shaking his head rapidly.

"No, nothing can happen between us." Barry protests.

"Why not? Because her fiancé died nine months ago during the particle accelerator incident? She'll move on eventually, Barry. Who says she can't move on with you?" Julian points out as Barry frowns.

"Wait how did you know about that?" He queries.

"She was always hovering over you every time I went to visit you in STAR Labs. She never said much. I asked her annoying assistant about her. Got quite a bit out of him. Never shut up." Julian remarks.

"Cisco?" Barry wonders.

"That was him." Julian nods before adding.

"Honestly Barry, I think you should go for it. I mean sooner or later someone else is going to see in her what you do and ask her out themselves. That is unless you don't want to be with her and still want to be with that blonde from Starling City. Both are remarkable women, smart and would be able to understand you and come on, mate. When was the last time you went out with a woman? It's been so long I can't even remember! Do yourself a favor and take my advice." Julian pats him on the shoulder as he approaches the elevator.

"You're not always right." Barry mumbles to himself.

"Yes I am!" He hears Julian call from the elevator just as the doors begin to close causing Barry to groan before heading up the steps.

Yet somewhere in the back of his mind, he wonders if possibly, Julian has a point…

STAR Labs

"The copper in the tube is arranged to form cavities and we can use those cavities as containment cells." Wells informs Cisco as they open the door to the particle accelerator.

"Of course, I'll have to design them to counteract Metahuman abilities but it might just work." He points out as both men look around at the large room which for both of them holds so much sadness and pain.

"First we'll have to decouple the injection system on the gantry level. I'll be right back." Wells begins to wheel away.

"Why don't I do that?" Cisco suggests.

"I need the exercise." Wells replies with a sarcastic smile, leaving Cisco alone in the room.

Alone with only his memories for company…

STAR Labs: Nine Months Ago

"There's an anomaly in the core chamber." Cisco calls from his computer.

"The ring structural integrity is holding." Caitlin adds.

"It started a chain reaction. We need to shut it down!" Wells commands.

"We can't do it from here. We need to do it manually." Cisco points out.

"Go!" Wells shouts as Cisco races out of the room.

"I'll come with!" Ronnie calls.

"Ronnie, no." Caitlin protests.

"I'm the lead engineer, I know how to operate the shutdown." He points out.

"It's not safe." Caitlin protests.

"Cait, I have to go." He responds sternly, moving to give her a kiss before racing after Cisco, both men moving at rapid speed toward the accelerator. Ronnie reaching the control panel to open the door first.

"Okay, you stay here. We've only got a few minutes before this thing blows and if I'm not back in time, you need to initiate lockdown." Ronnie commands.

"No way, I am not closing this door. I won't be able to open it again." Cisco shakes his head.

"Cisco. If you don't seal off the blast, everyone in this building will die, including Caitlin. Okay? Now promise me." Ronnie begs as Cisco looks away from him once before reluctantly nodding. The cost of not doing so, as Ronnie said would be catastrophic.

"Yeah." He agrees after a few moments.

"Set your watch. Two minutes." Ronnie instructs as Cisco does so.

"You're coming back." Cisco says firmly just before Ronnie races into the room...

STAR Labs: Present Day

As Cisco stares into the large room, he can almost see Ronnie racing into the room again, just like he has done nine months ago and he almost looks down at the watch on his wrist to check the countdown he set for two minutes back then.

Two minutes weren't long enough…

STAR Labs: Nine Months Ago

Looking down at his watch as Ronnie had told him to do, Cisco realizes with a heart wrenching glance down at said watch, that the time is up.

The time is up and Ronnie isn't back yet.

He made a promise.

He told Ronnie he would close the door because if not, everyone in this building could be killed by the explosion.

All those people…

Keeping his eyes on the large door, Cisco begins to activate lockdown.

Sealing Ronnie Raymond inside…

STAR Labs: Present Day

"Cisco." Wells calls as he approaches the man, who continues to stare into the room that killed his friend.

The room that caused him to have to make the decision that killed his friend.

"Cisco we're ready to go." Wells continues as Cisco spins around to face him and without words, moves toward him.

"It must be hard coming back down here. A lot happened that night." Wells notes before adding kindly.

"If you feel the need to talk…"

"I was just thinking… Uh. We need to nail those voltage calculations. One fault and the helium blowback could damage the mountings." Cisco says quickly to mask his sadness.

"Smart." Wells nods before wheeling after his colleague and friend.

Barry & Julian's Lab

Nervously, Barry fiddles with one of the things on his desk, whilst trying not to look at Caitlin, who is still working on identifying the poisonous gas from Julian's desk.

Julian is so wrong. Barry thinks to himself.

I don't stare at her when she's not looking. He continues to think as Julian's suggestion comes to mind again.

Possibly actually considering making a move on Caitlin, but he couldn't.

Ronnie has only been gone for nine months and whilst that is a long time. Barry doesn't think it's personally right for him to make a move, him specifically.

I mean he survived the particle accelerator explosion/lightning bolt. Yes he was in a coma for nine months but he woke up, he came back.

Ronnie never did.

Perhaps every time Caitlin looks at him she thinks that. That why did he get to survive and wake up with all these crazy new powers whilst the price Ronnie paid was his life…

No. He can't make a move on her. No now, possibly not ever…

"Can I ask you something?" Barry questions, wanting to mentally slap himself, so he adds something on.

"That you don't have to answer."

"My least favorite kind of question. Shoot." Caitlin responds when she looks up at him, silence passing for several moments as Barry wonders to himself how he's going to phrase the question he wants to ask her.

"Ronnie. What was he like?" He questions carefully.

"I mean, you just never talk about him that much." He adds when Caitlin looks up at him again almost instantly.

"We met when we were working on the particle accelerator. He was the structural engineer. He liked to joke that he was basically a very high priced plumber." She smiles warmly, causing Barry to smile back as she gets to her feet.

"We were very different. You might've noticed that I can be a bit guarded, Ronnie knew how to make me laugh. He used to say we were like fire and ice. He wasn't supposed to be there that night. He was just there for me." She admits sadly.

"If he hadn't…" She trails off, thankfully saved by the bleep, sniffing slightly as if she had tears in her eyes as Barry just looks away.

"It says that there was no residue of gas in the tissue. Poisonous or otherwise." She reports as she reads out the findings to Barry.

"Must've evaporated." Barry shrugs.

"We'll need to get a fresh sample." He remarks as Caitlin moves toward him.

"Wait. This can't be right. This says that there are two distinct strands of DNA inside the tissue." She shows him the paper.

"How did someone else's DNA get inside the victims lungs?"

Central City Shopping Mall

"Well, my docket was clear so I stopped by the mall to pick up your homecoming dress." A woman speaks through her phone.

"I am a great mom. I'll see you for dinner, sweetie." She smiles as she walks, unaware of the bald man following her from behind...

Barry & Julian's Lab

"There's no DNA match in the database." Barry shrugs as he looks at the results on his computer as Caitlin comes to stand behind him.

"I don't understand. Why would a chemical attack leave behind another person's DNA inside the victim?" She folds her arms as something hits Barry, a horrifying thought but perhaps a plausible thought nethertheless.

"What if the Metahuman we're looking for doesn't control gas? What if he becomes it?"

Central City Shopping Mall

Entering an elevator, the woman who had been on the phone, once again looks down at her phone just as the bald man pushes his way into the elevator.

"Judge Howard?" He questions with an evil smirk.

"It's nice to see you again."

"You died." She says quickly, in horror at the person stood in front of her.

"You say that like it was an accident. Remember the last thing you said to me in the courtroom?" He queries.

"May God have mercy on your soul." He repeats her words before swiftly becoming green gas that engulfs the unlucky judge…

Barry & Julian's Lab

"All available units, we have a report of a toxic gas attack in the Central City Shopping Mall." A report is announced through the radio that both Barry and Caitlin hear. Barry instantly getting out of his chair.

"Barry. Don't." Caitlin warns him as he begins to move toward his cupboard.

"We don't know enough about what we're facing yet." She continues as Barry ignores her, reaching for his suit anyway.

"It's not safe!" She cries, grabbing a hold of his arm.

At that, Barry spins around to face her.

"Caitlin, I have to go." He says sincerely before speeding out of the lab.

Leaving an incredibly anxious Caitlin behind in his wake…

Central City Shopping Mall

"I patched into the mall security system. According to witnesses, the gas attack was in the main elevator in the north wing." Cisco calls to Barry through the comms as Barry speeds into the mall.

"Which one is the north wing?" He questions whilst running.

"The one with the Big Belly Burger." Wells informs him as at STAR Labs Cisco gives him a raised eyebrow glance.

"I eat." Wells defends himself.

Meanwhile in the mall, a security guard is attempt for to keep people away from the scene of the crime.

"Back up, please. Keep back." He says as Barry speeds into the mall, straight toward the woman lying on the ground.

A sad look crossing his face when he realizes that she's already dead.

Having gone fast enough to slow everything down, Barry takes a moment to look around his surroundings to see if he can see anything.

Fortunately he does see something.

Green smoke seeping out of a door...

Speeding into the corridor Barry watches as the green smoke becomes a man.

Just like he'd theorized.

"Why did you kill that woman?!" He yells angrily as the man turns to face him.

"She deserved to die." He responds plainly.

"Now, go run away. I still have one more name on my list." He informs Barry.

"Don't make me add you to it." He threatens as Barry speeds toward him to land a punch, yet the minute he does so. The man becomes smoke before once again re materializing as a man, punching Barry once in the face, who tries to punch back, only for the man to become green smoke again, the smoke itself punching Barry across the face before beginning to fill his nostrils and mouth…

STAR Labs

"Barry." Wells calls through the comms upon hearing the sounds of choking.

"Barry, can you hear me?" Wells calls again.

"His vitals are weak, but he's alive, Dr. Wells. I'm sure he's fine." Cisco says just as Barry speeds straight into their desk, wheezing and choking.

"I can't breathe." He says quickly when Well's grabs his arm.

"He needs oxygen, get the crash cart!" Wells commands whilst Cisco races away, leaving Wells with the choking Barry, who he attempts to help move toward the nearest bed with his chair, just as Caitlin races into the room.

"Ohh thank god." Wells sighs upon seeing her.

"What's wrong? What happened to you?" Caitlin grabs Barry by the arms and maneuvers him toward the bed, helping him on to it.

"Can't breathe." He wheezes once more as she helps him out of his suit, Cisco running a device over his chest as he clutches Caitlin's wrist.

"Cut me open. The poison is still in me." He coughs.

"He brought us a sample." Wells notes.

"Not intentionally this way!" Barry groans as Caitlin looks down at him worriedly.

"Caitlin, we need to do a pulmonary biopsy, extract an active portion of that gas." Wells instructs her as Caitlin looks down at Barry worriedly, feeling his grip on her wrist tighten as he continues to choke.

"Barry I can't give you any anesthetic. Your metabolism will burn through it." She warns him.

"I heal quick, remember?" Barry whispers through wheezes.

"Do it." Wells nods.

"Cisco, give me the syringe." Caitlin says reluctantly as Cisco moves to do just that.

"This is gonna hurt a lot." Caitlin warns him again finding herself gripping his arm as he continues to hold her wrist.

"It's a small needle. You probably won't feel it." Cisco calls encouragingly.

"You're definitely going to feel it." Caitlin corrects him before injecting the needle straight through his chest…

Authors Note: Thank you all so much for reading this chapter! Next chapter should be up really soon, thank you all so much for the follows and favorites and for all the kind reviews, thanks all for reading, please tell me what you all thought of this chapter.