Chapter 3 - Episode 1x07 - Part I
"Again," Wells calls.
"Purple square, blue rectangle, pink...buffalo?" I'm supposed to be using my gift to guess the series of a random computer generated sequence of different shapes and colors, but a buffalo shouldn't be in there.
"Just trying to keep you on your toes," Cisco explains with a smile. I smile back, impressed - he's switching up the rules of the game to make sure I'm not just incredibly lucky.
"Fair enough. Can we take a break? Surely you have a large enough sample size by now?" They want to run statistical tests on my accuracy, but all this concentrating is giving me a headache and focusing on shapes and colors gets monotonous very quickly.
"Yes, we can stop," Wells says. I communicate my appreciation with a nod and stand and stretch. "That means you're up, Barry," he says. In the space of blink, Barry's dressed in his suit.
"Ready when you are," Barry says with a boyish grin. His energy is catching. We all head outside to a hidden section of abandoned parking lot behind the building. It's nice to be outside on this lovely spring Saturday. It's even better to be outside watching the Flash practice dodging rubber bullets and missiles, zipping around faster than the eye can follow.
"Why so much speed training? Wouldn't Barry benefit from some hand to hand combat training?" I ask the group, but I don't take my eyes off of Barry's blur.
"I'd rather Barry avoid getting hit rather than expose himself to the danger of hand-to-hand fighting. But you're right, he would benefit from some basics and tips and tricks," Wells answers. You're right was not something I even dared to fantasize about Dr. Harrison Wells saying to me. My heart is beating double time. "Cisco, make a note for Barry to make an appointment with a martial arts instructor," Wells answers. "He'll have to do that on his own time though - we can throw missiles at him here, but I don't believe any of us can give him combat training." I shrug, acknowledging the point.
"How fast is he going?" I ask Caitlyn, who is monitoring the readout of vitals from his suit.
"543 miles per hour right now." I whistle softly.
"That's amazing." As fascinating as it should be to watch someone fight drones and move so fast I get dizzy just watching, after long enough just observing, I find myself more interested in my other companions. One in particular, but I'm doing my damnedest to repress my feelings for the most emotionally unavailable person in the group. So instead, I focus on observing all of my companions with my gift. They're all nervous and excited to various degrees.
From Caitlyn, I am feeling a surprising undercurrent of grief. She must have lost someone very close to her - his presence still lingers on her. Cisco is feeling the pressure of challenging Barry without pushing him so far that he's in danger. But mainly he's having a lot of fun building and showing off different toys. As for Wells, he's practically buzzing with an energy that's...intoxicating. I've never felt anything like this before - it must unadulterated charisma. I feel myself drawing closer to him, fighting a very strong urge to touch him. I force myself to break off the connection, remembering myself. I don't play around with my gift the rest of the afternoon.
After a fast food lunch, the scientists present their results from the exercises this morning.
"Mika, your prediction accuracy is at a whopping 96.5%," Cisco announces cheerfully. I shift in my seat, both excited and disappointed by the number.
"So what does that mean? Obviously, there's room for improvement, but what's going wrong that's stopping it from being 100%?" I ask. To my surprise, Wells responds to my question with a chuckle. I look my question at him.
"You're a true scientist, Mika. Always looking for more information, more answers. Let's keep practicing and see what we can figure out." I nod, accepting this answer for now. "I promise you, we will help you achieve what you want from your gift. But it can't happen overnight. For now, I want to focus on finding more ways to test and explore your limits." Changing the subject, Caitlyn takes over again.
"Barry, you achieved a new record velocity," Caitlyn begins. The rest of her analysis is cut short by an alarm from the main row of computers.
"Power drain at the Petersburg substation," Cisco announces. "This could be that metahuman who killed-"
"I know," Barry answers.
"Be careful," Dr. Wells implores, but he ends up talking to the air as Barry races out. My knees buckle under me, and I find myself with my cheek pressed against the cold tile, voices shouting in the distance. I groan, sitting up while my head pounds. As the ringing subsides, the voices - those of Dr. Wells, Caitlyn, and Cisco - grow closer.
"Mika, I need you to look at me. Where are you?" Caitlyn asks, using her stern doctor voice. She's crouched beside me.
"Star labs," I answer, somewhat groggily. "Barry is in trouble. Or he's about to be," I say before I understand why, ignoring their other questions about my wellbeing.
"How do you know?" Wells asks, perfectly composed, unlike his employees who are nervously flitting around me, bringing me a glass of water and a chair.
"I just...do," I answer after some hesitation. "This man - metahuman - he's going to take Barry's powers," I say, hardly believing the words that are coming out of my mouth, but I just know they are true. Everyone grows silent and still for a second before they jump into action. Wells is talking into the microphone, asking Barry for an update, Caitlyn is running analysis on his vitals, and Cisco is hacking into the security cameras. I just take some deep breaths and try to regain my bearings.
"Everything looks normal on this end," Caitlyn says just as Cisco jumps and yelps in alarm. "Nevermind," Caitlyn adds, her voice tight with fear.
"This guy just zapped Barry, and Barry's not running away," Cisco explains.
"What's going on, Barry?" Wells asks. There's no answer. We watch in confusion and horror as Barry's vitals go into what is marked on the readout as the "unstable" range. "Get out of there. Run, Barry," Wells demands. The comm line crackles, and we all tense to hear what Barry will say.
"I can't. My speed, it's gone." They all look at each other wide-eyed. Once it becomes clear Barry is out of immediate danger and is on his way back, Cisco and Wells join Caitlyn and me in the medical examination room where Caitlyn is testing my responsiveness, memory, and heart rhythm.
"How long as I unconscious for?" I ask once she's done with her examination, and I'm feeling more like myself.
"I don't think you were unconscious," she tells me gently. "You had a seizure," she explains. Beside her, Dr. Wells pulls off his glasses, looking grave as he peers at me.
"What? But that's never happened to me before."
"Epilepsy can come on suddenly. And...I don't think it's unlikely this is related to the neurological changes you've undergone recently." I nod, absorbing this. "We're going to need to keep you here for monitoring," Caitlyn says.
"What? Like overnight?" She nods. "But people have seizures all the time and are fine," I insist. I don't want to stay in this abandoned lab all night.
"Do you have any roommates?" I shake my head. "I'm sorry, but you have to stay here. We have no idea how serious this could be, and if you have another seizure and are home alone - you could fall, you could injure yourself if you're cooking or holding something sharp...you need to be monitored." I sigh but concede the point with a nod.
With a sigh, Dr. Wells speaks. "Mika, it's very important that you rest. Perhaps this was triggered by us overtaxing you." He means the words kindly, but it sounds like an insult - like I'm not tough enough or strong enough to keep up. But I swallow that reaction and nod.
"Alright." While we wait for Barry to get back, Caitlyn and Cisco set me up with a change of clothes, a tablet for watching tv, and all the snacks a gal could ask for. Caitlyn spends time going over more medical information - about monitoring my triggers if it happens again, having a safety plan, known triggers to avoid...it's so much to keep track of that before an hour ago, I never had to think about. Not for the first time, I think about my ability more as a curse than a gift.
When Barry returns, looking absolutely devastated and sick with worry, he and the rest of the team rush into the treadmill room. Me, I close my eyes and take a cat nap. When I wake, I head over to see if the gang has made any progress with Barry's condition.
"Do we think this is temporary, or…" Barry asks.
"We'll have to run tests," Dr. Wells says at exactly the same time that I say, "Yes." We both look at each other. His expression is not pleased.
"I thought you were supposed to be resting that brain of yours," he says icily.
"I'm trying," I say, letting my frustration with the situation and his response show. "But as I've said, I can't turn this off. So we might as well use what I know, right?"
"Not if it comes at the cost of your life!" he exclaims, startling everyone in the room.
"Dr. Wells, I," Barry starts before he's cut off by Wells holding up a hand for silence. After a few deep breaths, Wells speaks again.
"Excuse the outburst. But you both have been acting recklessly, impulsively, when there is so much at stake here. Not just your lives. But the lives of everyone you could save with what we could learn scientifically from you. I hope that you both remember that the next time you want to show off or act without considering the consequences. I need a moment alone," he says before leaving the room. Barry and I look at each other forlornly after being so properly chastised.