Sorry for the long break. Life has been crazy busy. I'm working entirely on my phone and it is a new phone that I have not corrupted yet. At this point we are catching up with scenes fron the series. Since this is a different Harrison Wells the story will not adhere strictly to the series. I don't have the patience to watch a scene repeatedly to catch all the dialogue and, a diff eff re t Wells means Caitlin and Cisco are different as well. I tried to keep the basic action the same. That said, there are only fragments given by the show so I also let my imagination run wild. If you see it, do not approach it. I'm pretty sure it has turned feral. All mistakes are my own or my mobile screaming for help. -Troll
Chapter 11: Accelerator Goes Online - December 11, 2013
Excitement buzzed through the lab. Everyone was pumped about the activation of the accelerator and they were feeding off each other's energy. Dr. Wells had already given his speech to the crowd out front. Now the team was gathered in the cortex, Ted arguing with Cisco. The two men had decided to drag Caitlin off for a bit of fun once the accelerator was successfully online. Since the near rape, Ted had taken on the roll of big brother for Caitlin. He was constantly checking on her and making sure she was okay. He had suggested the trio vacation together, arguing that Caitlin could look for love or use the two men as an excuse to avoid all other men. Of course that lead to the current argument. In between their work, Cisco and Ted were bickering over where they were going. Ted wanted to head to the Caribbean while Cisco wanted to head to the Franco-Swiss border to visit the CERN facility there.
"And we are online," Dr. Wells declared, a smile filling his face. "Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen." The group looked around at each other, Cisco biting back a comment about the activation being rather anticlimactic. The look Ted shot him told the engineer that the other man knew what Cisco was thinking. The room filled with applause as Ted rolled his eyes at Cisco and flashed a smile towards Caitlin.
Caitlin was doing well. She'd started taking self-defense classes and had even seen a therapist about what had happened over Thanksgiving. Now she was trying to focus completely on the accelerator and not think about the fact that Dr. McGee and Dr. Wells had their wedding scheduled for the upcoming Sunday. Their boss had said absolutely nothing about his pending nuptials and there had been no announcement in the papers. Officially, nobody knew who Dr. McGee was marrying.
The big news was, of course, the accelerator going online. The lab had not even been decorated for Christmas yet. Everyone was focused on their jobs and the task at hand. Now, with the accelerator online, a weight had been lifted and everyone burst into applause, cheering, patting each other on the back, and generally celebrating.
Caitlin couldn't help but think that Dr. Wells looked a little lonely standing at the kiosk all by himself. The thought fled as the man started around the room shaking hands and offering congratulations. He made sure to say something to each person before moving on to the next. When he got to Caitlin he took her hand in a warm, firm shake. "Doctor Snow, thank you for all your hard work." His eyes sparkled as he spoke, electrified by his warm smile.
Caitlin beamed and returned the firm handshake. "Thank you, Doctor Wells," she replied. "And thank you for making it all possible, for dreaming up S.T.A.R. labs."
"The person you need to thank for that becoming a reality is Tess," Dr. Wells replied softly, winking at her. "But, maybe we can talk about that later." Nodding in agreement, Caitlin let go of his hand and he moved on to finish his rounds of the room. Returning to his console, he beamed at everyone before returning his attention to the readouts.
"We're holding steady, everything is reading stable," Cisco declared. "Man, this is pretty anticlimactic," the young engineer grumbled.
"I'll take it," Ted declared, glowering at his friend. There was brief chatting and talking while the team of scientists studied the data their instruments were collecting. When they reached the half hour mark, Doctor Wells pulled out a bottle of champagne.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have now been up and running for half an hour. I just want you to know that we would never have made it this far, as quickly without all of you. This holiday, I am pleased to celebrate the successful activation of the particle accelerator." He paused, taking in the group. "If everyone will grab a glass." He motioned at a cart that was filled with champagne glasses.
There was a shuffling as people milled about trying to organize. Eventually Caitlin took over distributing the glasses and everyone was ready. Ted ended up closest to Doctor Wells, his glass held ready in his hand. Taking up the champagne bottle again, the lead scientist beamed and took a breath. "Words cannot express my excitement and pleasure. Thank you, for helping me achieve my life's goal," he intoned.
With great ceremony he opened the champagne, the cork flying and the liquid inside starting to bubble up and out. Only, something happened so that the beverage just kept floating up, defying gravity for no more than perhaps half a second, maybe a full second. It was long enough for the entire room to go silent, eyes widening in confusion. Before anyone could speak the champagne splashed to the ground, an alarm sounded an instant later followed by a rumble. Lights flickered and the building shook.
"That does not sound good," Cisco breathed as he, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells bent to check readings. Leaning forwards, Ted studied the data, looking over Cisco's shoulder. "There's an anomaly in the core chamber," Cisco informed them all.
"The ring's structural integrity is holding," Caitlin added, struggling to keep her emotions in check. Panicking now would not be helpful.
"It's started a chain reaction. The system is collapsing. We need to shut it down," Dr. Wells declared. With that single statement, he made clear the severity of what was happening. He was telling them to shut down his dream. It might not be a permanent ending, but he was still abandoning his dream at least for the moment.
"We can't ramp down the accelerator from here. We need to do it manually," Cisco determined after a moment. He paused, wondering what Harrison would decide to do.
"Go," Dr. Wells ordered. "Everyone else, begin evacuation procedures, get the press and any public clear." He kept his voice calm and level, but his tone indicated his words were orders.
Cisco started for the door, Ted moving to follow. Panic tugged at Caitlin as she felt the horror of possibly losing both her best friends. "Ted, wait." She caught his hand, pausing him briefly.
"I'm the lead engineer. I know how to operate the shutdown valve," Ted reminded her. "Cisco can't do this alone." Reluctantly, Caitlin let him go. Her two best friends in the world raced from the room and Caitlin's fear and worry tripled.
"Doctor Snow, please oversee the evacuation," Dr. Wells requested. Blinking away her emotions, Caitlin looked up. His expression was unreadable as he locked eyes with her. At her nod, he turned his attention back to the computer.
"Let's get this building clear," Caitlin declared. She focused on getting everyone out. Carol, the head of HR was already working to clear the press. Once the room was empty save for Caitlin and Harrison she looked back at him.
"I'll evacuate in a moment," Dr. Wells declared. "Once I'm sure all our safety protocols are online."His gaze was locked on the computer screen before him.
"Just make sure you get clear," Caitlin ordered. He nodded without looking up, glancing over his shoulder when he heard the tap of her shoes as she strode away.
Caitlin rushed for the pipeline. Now that everyone else was safe, her worries about Cisco and Ted flooded up once more. Her race through the familiar halls gained speed as her terror propelled her onwards. The sounds of the alarms didn't reach her ears as she ran, arms pumping. They needed to get out. All of them. She wasn't leaving without them.
Her stomach flipped as she rounded the corner and saw Cisco facing a closed door. "Doctor Wells, Ted managed to redirect the blast so it will go up first before out." She heard Cisco saying.
"Good work. I'm on my way down," came the muffled response.
Cisco wiped at his face. At first Caitlin thought he was dealing with sweat, but then she realized she was wrong. "Where's Ted?" She asked the question, but thought she already knew the answer.
"He's locked in the pipeline," Cisco answered, another tear trailing down his cheek.
"Well, get him out!" Caitlin demanded. Without waiting she turned her attention to the door. Her stomach flipped as she realized she had no idea how to open it.
"Cisco!" Ted's voice buzzed over the coms.
"Ted!" Caitlin cried out his name. She couldn't lose him. Cisco and Ted had become Caitlin's family and the thought of losing one of them nearly broke her.
"Caitlin," Ted replied. "I managed to redirect the blast." He sounded so calm. Caitlin didn't understand how he could be so calm.
"Then come out," Caitlin replied.
"We can't open the doors," his response was immediate. "We wouldn't be able to relock them. They have stay locked if we want to minimize the damage."
"But what about you?" Caitlin didn't like what she was hearing. Ted sounded calm and almost resigned.
"I am right where I need to be, protecting the people I love and care about. Tell Summer and Jewel I love them." A roar sounded. "Now, run!"
Cisco reacted first, grabbing Caitlin and dragging her away. Behind them there was a flash as a fireball roared past the locked door. Nothing could have survived being in its path. Her feet were numb beneath her as she was pulled down the hall. The building shook around them, the lights flickered, and an explosion sounded, almost as an afterthought to the fireball. Another rumble roared through the building and all but the emergency lights died. The alarm sounded briefly for a second or two more and then stopped. Caitlin noticed only because she felt numb. Her brain mostly shut off and she let Cisco navigate them through the halls and out the nearest exit.
Chaos ruled outside. Sirens and alarms blared into the night. Most of the lights were out, but Caitlin could see some flickering. Later she'd discover they were from fires. Together, she and Cisco worked their way through the crowd and chaos. There was no organization. People milled about in confusion. Where was Doctor Wells? Still feeling numb, Caitlin slowly scanned the herd of humans around her, the rain pouring down and soaking her clothes.
"Do you see Dr. Wells?" Cisco asked her, leaning in so he could be heard.
"He could have evacuated out of any number of egress points," Caitlin answered dully.
"I wonder what caused the secondary explosion," the engineer mused, glancing back at the labs. They were too close to clearly see all the damage. Before they could even consider going back into the building, a firefighter ordered that they evacuate to a safe distance. The night became a blur as they milled about, following orders and trying to gather the rest of the staff.
The good news was that there had been only a small group of staff on sight. Doctor Wells had given anyone not directly involved with activating the accelerator the night off. The bad news was everything else. Everywhere Caitlin and Cisco looked was chaos. Power remained out and accidents were clearly happening all over the city. Once it was determined that S.T.A.R. Labs wasn't on fire, partly thanks to the raging storm, rescue services cordoned off the area and basically moved on to the next big emergency. Without knowing all the details of the explosion, nobody was allowed back into the building.
The duo did what they could to help. Caitlin first checked Cisco and then moved on to anyone who appeared to need medical attention. Cisco stayed by her side, doing as Caitlin ordered to help her, but the engineer didn't seem to be there mentally. For her part, Caitlin tried not to think about their dead best friend.
Eventually, things died down. The injured were tended to and helped to hospitals if needed, and Caitlin found herself standing next to Cisco as rain poured around them. It was well into the next day, but the sun had been unable to break through the clouds so it was still dark and gloomy. Blinking at each other, they both turned away from the lab and headed home.