Chapter 3

This one should be a little longer than the first two but it won't be as long as the later chapters.

"Passing Mach 18 now!" Caitlin yelled over the roar of crackling electricity. She watched intently as Barry raced around the speed lab track with steady ease.

"Man, he's on a role." Cisco commented, spinning in a swivel chair at the monitor system.

"Guys! I can go faster!"

"Go for it dude!" Cisco encouraged, rotating in tune with the buzzing lightning. Caitlin stood at the center of the speed lab, tracking Barry's vitals on her tablet. Mach 15, Mach 16, Mach 18. The streak of lightning flashing through the glass wall blurred more and more. The energy becoming one loop around the track.

"You just passed Mach 30!" Caitlin announced excitedly.

"How are his vitals?" Cisco wondered aloud.

"Stable as ever. He's really working up a storm this morning!"

Barry's feet padded down the metal hall, he ran up the side wall, to the ceiling, down the glass wall and back to the floor. Bright orange and yellow energy crackled and snapped around him. He knew to Cisco and Caitlin it looked as if he were just a ball of energy, but he could see everything plain as day, he looked down to his friends in the open room below, to him, they were standing absolutely still. Cisco was frozen mid twirl of the sucker in his mouth. Caitlin was stuck standing there, eyes fixated on the screen in her arms.

"Hey, I thinking I'm peaking soon!" Barry slowed down his voice to allow the scientists below to actually hear him.

"Your top speed is just over 10 thousand! You're at Mach 28 now!"

"Joe's having us all over at 6, right?" Cisco asked absent-mindedly.

"Yes, he said to come at 6 so that Grandma Esther's Spaghetti will be ready to serve soon after."

"Mmmm! Can't wait." Cisco inclined further in the chair stretching his arms out behind him. Lightning continued to flash and fizzle around the room.

"You just broke Mach 34 Barry!" Caitlin yelled again over the energy buzzing.

"Great!" Suddenly light flashed all around the inside of the room, air blasted both Caitlin and Cisco, papers flew up from the desks. Energy whizzed around the facility, up the walls and around the floor in a violent frenzy of light bright color, the track was momentarily void of activity. Then the lightning trail raced back up the sharp ramp back into the circular hall and the central room was still again.

"Really Barry!" Cisco yelled as the various white sheets fluttered back to rest at the floor. Both Cisco and Caitlin's hair had been blown around by the sudden rush of wind and they both stood, frazzled and out of breath. Cisco hurried to type something out on one of the keyboards before him, the blast doors at the entrance to the track slammed shut.

"Sorry! I didn't mean leave the track!"

"How could you 'not mean' to leave the track?" Caitlin questioned incredulously.

"Sorry." Barry's voice strained over the intercoms. The lightning had returned to maintaining its solid view, covering the entire window panes as Barry once again vanished in the storm of energy.

"He's back up to Mach 32."

"Woah... his heart rate is spiking, his vitals are going awol!" Cisco shouted suddenly.

"Barry, slow down."

"Yeah, I... I think I should stop soon."

"Barry, you need to slow down and end at a stop!"

Barry attempted to slow himself, but he felt suddenly drained and nearly fell from his high speed, he veered down and barely phased through the closed metal panels. A flash of light and a blast of wind sent Cisco's chair rolling toward the back wall and knocked Caitlin off her feet. Barry rushed forward, Caitlin suspended in air for a moment. He slid under her as she landed in his arms.

"Oof!" Caitlin groaned as she fell. Her neck hurt and her face stung.

"hey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." A very worried Barry held her gently.

"I'm ok. I'm ok." Caitlin reassured him, standing unsteadily.

"Slow down she said, Slow down!" Cisco reprimanded Barry as she stumbled forward from his fallen seat.

"I tried to, but... I... I don't know, I just felt a massive energy drain and couldn't control myself."

"We need to check you out." Caitlin gathered herself and returned to professionalism. "Figure out why you suddenly lost your energy." She and Cisco guided an exhausted Barry out of the speed lab.

Well, I'm not sure how that ending was, but I think the next chapter will be a good tie in to this one.

I hope you enjoyed and once again, if you have any thoughts, any suggestions or ideas you want to throw out there just comment or pm me. Thank you for reading.