Okay, so this is what I've been working on these past few days. I wanted to give a little more authenticity to team flash's formation- and having them work on Barry as if he was just an ordinary patient felt more grounding. Snowbarry is definitely coming- I'm gonna ramp up the fluff from now on. Cheers.
Act 6
Barry munched on a granola bar as he worked on a particularly gruesome case. Even though Joe had told him that he should go easy on himself for the first few weeks, he hardly felt different. Besides the fact that he couldn't work after hours due to his arrangement with Wells. Barry grinned- he still couldn't believe that he got to talk to his personal hero so often. Professor Wells was as sharp and intelligent as the interviews had led Barry to believe.
A pair of boots alerted him. Barry started, feeling adrenaline rush through his body as he turned towards the door. For a fraction of a second, he felt as if his entire body had fallen asleep and was only now being supplied with blood. He felt tingly and itchy all over, feeling the familiar lightheadedness and nausea he had experienced when he passed out a day ago. However, Barry noticed something very strange when his eyes found Iris, who had walked into the lab. She was walking towards him, but it was as if she had slowed down. Just as he was processing all of this, time sped back up, and his world went momentarily black as he hit his head against the floor.
"Oh my god, Barry! Are you okay?"
Barry tried to lift his head, but feeling a sudden drain on his energy instead lay there for a moment.
"Yeah. You scared me, that's all. I really gotta get a new chair."
Iris set the coffee she had brought with her down, looking unconvinced.
"Seriously, Barry. You practically launched yourself off that chair. If I didn't know any better I'd say that you had super strength."
Barry got up, swaying slightly as the blood rushed away from his head.
"Yeah, if only. Instead I have super headaches and nausea."
Iris gave him a worried look.
"Are you sure you should be working this early? I mean, you just got back up on your feet."
"I'm fine, honestly. The guys at STAR Labs are taking care of me."
Seeing his sister's eyebrows arch in doubt, Barry added,
"I've actually got an appointment with them today. They think that they can help me with my…. Symptoms."
Iris raised an eyebrow- STAR Labs had become less well-received after the explosion, and she was no exception.
"Suuurrrree… But don't you think you should seek medical help from actual doctors? I mean, last I checked, the place wasn't exactly teeming with medical personnel."
Barry frowned, not wanting to insult Wells and his team. They had saved his life, after all.
Iris took his silence as indecision.
"Come on, Barry. The guys at STAR Labs did their part. That was stepping in during an emergency because nobody could help. But now… now you don't need to take chances anymore, Barry."
Barry shook his head.
"Iris, I appreciate your concern, but I don't know what to tell you. The guys at STAR Labs… they're good guys. I can feel it. And if they helped me before, maybe they can help me with this now."
Barry swiveled towards Iris, fiddling with a pen.
Iris's eyes read his, and after a moment she grinned. "I'm not gonna talk you out of this, am I?"
Barry smiled back. "No, you aren't."
Iris rolled her eyes.
"Told you you needed to get a girlfriend. You're way too stubborn for your own good."
She and Barry laughed.
Just then, there was a distinctive sound of large shoes tapping the ground.
Detective Eddie Thawne barged into the lab, opening his mouth to say something but saw Iris. "Barry, the captain is waiting for that Johnson Patty case you were workin-"
Eddie stopped mid sentence, turning red when he realized that he had interrupted their conversation.
"Oh, sorry. I thought you were alone- Hey, Iris. Nice to see you. Anyways, uh, if you need time, I can come again another ti-"
Iris shot a look at him, amused. "No, Detective Thawne. We were just finishing up."
Eddie smiled at her, their gaze lingering a bit longer than needed. Barry's eyes darted between the both of them, confused. Do they like each other or what? This can't possibly be platonic- but then again, Iris has always loved playing with a guy's emotions.
Barry cleared his throat. "Uh, if you guys mind, I'll get the case file from my finished cases cabinet."
He glanced meaningfully at Iris, who gave him an innocent look.
"Iris, come with me."
As Barry left, he gauged Eddie, who looked a bit confused and disappointed.
Checkmate.
When Barry felt that they were comfortably out of earshot, Barry turned to Iris. "Alright, what's going on?"
Iris maintained her innocent look.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Barry rolled his eyes.
"Seriously? You guys were staring at each other all weird."
Iris shrugged lightly.
"First of all, I think that maintaining proper eye contact is important in conversations. And secondly, Eddie has just been a really good friend while you were gone."
Barry shook his head, a question already in his mouth when she finished.
"Friends?"
Iris rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. He asked me out for coffee about three months after you got… zapped."
At Barry's dubious glance, she snorted lightly.
"Barry, honestly. I can be with anyone I want- and Eddie is a great guy. Besides, I have a lot more experience than you when it comes to dating."
Barry's eyebrows shot up.
"Not fair. I wasn't exactly on the market when I got zapped."
Iris snickered as they reached the digital department and started searching for the letter 'J' in the cabinets.
"I wasn't talking about when you were in a coma, Barry."
She punched him lightly on the arm as he frowned.
"What about Caitlin?"
Iris asked suddenly, breaking the companionable silence.
"Huh?"
Barry frowned.
Iris sighed exaggeratedly.
"You know? Doctor Caitlin Snow? The one who took care of you?"
Barry turned to her, his confusion deepening.
"What about her?"
Iris stared at him as if he had professed his love for raw fish.
"Dude, don't you ever check out girls? I swear to god, if you're still single by the time you're thirty, I'll-"
Barry realized what she was trying to say.
"Oh, I did ask her out for coffee."
Iris's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh? When did you ask her? Don't tell me you were hooked up to an IV bag when you did it."
Barry scanned his eyes over the far right side of the cabinet.
"When we met outside of Jitters. Before I got zapped."
Iris crossed her arms.
"And? Did you make good on your promise?"
Barry sighed and turned to his big sister, who sometimes felt like his little sister despite her being 4 months older than him.
"No. Everything's been…. I don't know. Besides, this is hardly the time to be dating."
Iris let out a laugh and put a hand on his shoulders.
"Barry. If you keep thinking that you'll never gonna get a girlfriend. Besides, when has your life ever been not normal?"
Barry furrowed his brows, thinking of all the times he had turned down coffee dates because he simply 'wasn't interested'.
Placing the file he had been looking at back into the cabinet, he said, "I guess you're right."
Iris's eyes widened with excitement.
"Right? And I bet that a certain Caitlin Snow might be willing to take up that offer."
Barry couldn't help smiling at his sister's enthusiasm.
"How do you know that?"
Iris took out a stick of gum and popped it into her mouth.
"You know I really have a sense for these sorts of things. Besides, I talked to her a lot whenever I went to STAR Labs to see you."
Seeing Barry's doubtful look, she let out an exasperated sigh.
"Look, all I'm saying is that you should give things a try. You're just 24, Barry- try to live a little."
Barry squinted suspiciously at Iris.
"So what you're basically saying is that I should get a girlfriend so that I won't be the third wheel when you and Eddie invite me to places?"
Iris clapped her hands together.
"Exactly."
"Hey, you know that Joe will probably kill you when he finds out that you're dating his partner, right?"
Barry called out to Iris when she started walking towards the elevator.
"And he'll probably kill you too for not telling him immediately when he finds out. Which is why you are gonna cover for me."
Barry opened his mouth to protest, but Iris had left the room when he looked over.
Sighing, Barry went back to searching for the Patty case file. It was going to be a long day.
*
"Ow, ow, owwww!"
Barry yelled as Caitlin placed her medical lazer over his arm. They had just discovered that Barry's cellular regeneration allowed him to regenerate almost any kind of tissue damage. Which was why Caitlin was testing out if his healing factor covered burnt tissue..
"I'm sorry, but we need to see if your body can handle the extreme amounts of damage that modified CRISPR treatment might cause."
Caitlin apologized monotonously.
Barry sighed resignedly as Caitlin and Professor Wells painstakingly cataloged all of the different reactions his body was having. Cisco was the only one in the room that was sympathetic towards him- though he was the one that designed all of the gadgets used to poke and prod him.
"Hey, man. If we tried to make this hurt less, then you might end up with an extra arm or something."
Ignoring Caitlin's annoyed glance, Cisco's face contorted with a large grin.
"Though that would be awesome."
Barry sighed.
"Alright, I get it. But can you at least tell me if you're making progress?"
Wells looked up from his tablet.
"Patience, Mr. Allen. Discovery and innovation requires time, and we require both in your case."
Cisco stood up from his chair and walked towards him. He handed him what looked to be a granola bar.
"Here, take this. It might help with your situation."
Barry frowned, not understanding.
Caitlin looked over at Cisco, stopping her note-taking for a second.
"I helped him create an energy-rich protein bar. Since your body is passively using so much energy because of your hypometabolism, we figured that you might need it. It's still a work in progress… but we thought that we might give it a try."
Barry's eyes widened.
"So that's why I always feel hungry."
Cisco grinned as Barry curiously took a bite.
"You feel anything..? Something tingly and kinda numbing?"
Barry frowned, feeling his tongue lose feeling as he ate.
"Yeah. What did you put in this?"
Caitlin looked over at him and got a strange expression on her face.
"W-well, we put a literal fistful of painkillers to help you feel more comfortable. Your tongue is sticking out, by the way."
Barry blushed and tried his best to withdraw his feelingless tongue in a less comical location.
"Fhis ist really good, fy the way."
Barry meant it- he felt better than he had in days, the lethargy that had plagued him suddenly gone.
Caitlin cracked a small smile at him, and Cisco joked that his energy bar could knock out an adult bear.
"All right, Barry. I'm gonna go through the last item on the list for today- while you're still drugged up. Is that okay?"
Barry nodded.
"What is it?"
Professor Wells busily typed in something in his tablet.
"A series of electric shocks, ranging from anywhere from 500 volts to about 6000 volts. We did the calculations, and these are levels that your body can comfortably handle."
Cisco emerged from the medbay, holding what looked like a red badge with a lightning bolt on it. Upon further inspection, Barry realized that there were two spikes on the back and industrial power cords hooked up to it.
"Dr. Snow, do the honors." Wells said.
In his drugged state it was all Barry could do to let out a weak protest as Caitlin stepped forward, typing in a few things on her tablet.
"Wa-wai-wait. Are fhose spikes going infho me?"
Caitlin took off Barry's shirt, blushing a bit as she sanitized his chest.
"Yes, but only an inch of it will be in your body, since we still need to hook it up to the generator."
Caitlin explained as Cisco busily strapped Barry into the medical bed.
"I hope that energy bar really had a fistful of painkillers in it."
Barry joked, but he realized that he was jittery, and he could speak normally again. Uh oh.
Cisco laughed, and Caitlin smiled.
Then, without warning, Wells gestured and Caitlin stuck the badge on his chest.
"Oh, ow- that still hurts."
Cisco winced sympathetically.
"I'm sorry, dude, but it might get a little bit worse."
Wells looked over from the sleek industrial computer. "Caitlin, how are his ATP output levels?"
Caitlin brushed her curls away from her face- an action that Barry found a bit distracting.
"His energy consumption is at its peak- the energy bar worked."
Caitlin smiled widely.
Cisco put on a pair of insulating gloves and clapped his hands together.
"Alright, I'm going to start the electrical shocks so that we can get an idea for how his cellular regeneration reacts against sith lightning."
He paused, a giant grin forming as he held two giant electrical connector clamps.
"Ooohoohoo! This is so cool!!"
Wells nodded to Caitlin, who pressed a button on the side of the generator.
As Cisco hooked him up, Barry felt a steady tingling feeling course through his body. His skin felt itchy, and he felt lightheadedness and nausea overwhelm his senses.
"That wasn't too bad."
Barry managed, regretting his words when he felt his muscles contract by their own volition.
"Heart rate and ATP levels nominal, no signs of trauma- induced arrhythmia. Should I ramp it up?"
Caitlin asked, half to Wells and half to Barry.
Barry gritted his teeth.
"Do it. I can handle it."
Cailtin looked at Cisco, who tapped a number on his tablet.
At first Barry didn't feel anything, but suddenly the tingling turned into a steady, agonizing burn. Barry's vision blacked as he slipped in and out of consciousness, and he could feel his muscles contracting irregularly, making him convulse. He vaguely heard Caitlin's panicked voice and smelled ozone in the air. His eyes flickered as yellowish electricity arced throughout his body, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
Barry was awakened by a deafening sound of feet hitting the living room floor. When he slipped out, he saw the water in his fish tank float upwards. He could hear screams in the house. Fear made him short of breath as he opened the door to his room. Outside was terrifying, pure chaos. Furniture flew everywhere, blown to shreds as a streak of red and yellow crashed into each other and moved across the living room. His father was standing there, stricken by fear as he shouted at Barry to run, run away. He saw his mother kneeling in the ball of lightning, curled up in a ball as she let out a bloodcurdling scream. And then, suddenly, he was outside the street in a flash of yellow lightning, and when he looked back, the yellow streak was gone. He ran back to his house, tired feet hitting the ground. When he arrived home, his father was in cuffs. Joe stopped him from entering the living room- there weree people and police tape everywhere. "What's happening? Where's mom?" Barry asked Joe, who only shook his head sadly. He tried to push past his father's friend. Joe stopped him and pulled him aside, putting his large hands on Barry's shoulders.
"Look, Barry. Something terrible just happened, and we can't have you messing up the crime scene. Do you understand?"
After Joe took Barry to the police department, he was asked questions- questions about his father and his mother. But he was hooked up to wires and the detective that asked the questions kept telling him that his father was responsible for his mother's death. He couldn't take it anymore.
"My dad didn't do it! It was a man in yellow! I saw it! There was a ball of lightning!" The detective shook his head slowly and opened the door, revealing Joe.
Barry stared desperately at Joe.
"I want to see my dad."
Joe shook his head- his face was set in stern lines. "You can't. He's being questioned. In the meantime, you need a place to stay."
Joe took him by his hand, but Barry stopped.
"Come on, it's getting late."
Barry felt numb- everything was too loud, too bright and too fast. Joe took a shock blanket and put it around him, guiding him towards his cop car. Joe turned on the car's heater, left, and came back again.
"Okay, Barry, you're gonna have to stay with Iris for some time. Do you understand?"
Barry stared at Joe from his car seat.
Joe let out a shaky breath, massaging his temples as he leaned against the wheel. Barry heard sniffling from the driver's seat. Joe buried his face against the dashboard panel, and let out a shuddering breath. "Damnit…. Damnit damnit… Damnit! This isn't happening."
When Joe finally stopped crying, he felt a small hand on his leg. Looking over, he saw Barry holding out a tissue box he found in the glove compartment. Joe's breath slowed. "Thanks."
Barry nodded as the car started.
"Barry's heart rate is irregular! We need to stop the generator, NOW!"
Caitlin shouted, frantically trying to turn off the generator.
Cisco tugged at the clamps, but jumped back when electricity arched from the clamp and onto his glove.
"Why is this not shutting down? There's no way the system malfunctioned- it's an industrial generator, by gods."
Wells scowled at his monitor, when suddenly he gestured rapidly towards Caitlin and Cisco.
"Get back! Everyone get back! He's not acting as a conductor for the electricity- his body is getting supercharged by it. Which means-"
Caitlin stepped back, her eyes widening in horror. "He's going to blow." She breathed.
Just then, the generator sparked, and the trio was blasted back as a shockwave pushed everything and everyone away.
Caitlin coughed, smoke making her eyes water. "Wh-what…?"
Barry was lying in a pile of ash and charred metal. Caitlin tentatively made her way towards him, hoping against hope that he was still alive. Barry's body had arcing yellow electricity flowing through it, but somehow, somehow he was breathing. Just then, the broken huge LED light above her made a metallic CRUNCH! as it fell. Caitlin let out a strangled gasp and closed her eyes. But the impact never came. Caitlin felt her body accelerate suddenly, and she felt a strong pair of arms holding her.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Barry's face only inches away from her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, his green eyes filled with concern.
Caitlin couldn't speak- the adrenaline from the near death experience combined with the sheer impossibility of the situation was too much.
"H-how did you do that?"
Barry frowned and looked at his hands, which were still vibrating. "I don't know."
Cisco coughed loudly, making a star trek reference as he emerged from the smoke. "Dude, you just went all super saiyan. It's a miracle none of us was zapped out of existence."
Caitlin turned to Barry and looked away immediately, blushing slightly.
"Barry, uh… You might want to put something on."
Barry looked at his body, which was only covered by the tattered and scorched remains of his clothes.
"Oh, uh, right."
Just then, a loud siren blared in the cortex, and a mechanical voice drawled: electrical outlet malfunction.
Just as soon as the noise began, it stopped, and the lights came back on.
Professor Wells held a remote, looking shaken but otherwise untouched.
"Well. This is certainly… an interesting turn of events."
Cisco looked at Caitlin, who, in turn, looked at Barry. Then, for whatever reason, they started laughing. Maybe it was because they didn't know how to react after what had just happened. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because some good had come out of the particle accelerator.
Barry grinned. "I'm starving. Dinner's on me- what do you guys think?"
*
Clyde Mardon looked at his watch. It was a cracked and janky mess, but it had been with him through the years, and he wasn't about to lose it. He slammed down another shot of whiskey as he listened to the news on the bar television.
-It's been 9 months since the particle accelerator explosion, but it seems that Central City still hasn't recovered from its effects. Amanda, would you mind telling me the statistics?
-Gladly. 9 people are either missing or presumed dead, about 503 people were injured by the aftermath of the explosion, and 4 transformers and about 15 power lines were damaged.
-Okay, moving on, Kevin, can you tell me about the economic effects of a catastrophe of this scale? I've heard that more than 6000 jobs were lost in…..
Clyde slammed down his glass. He gestured towards the bartender, who warily picked the glass up and poured him another drink. He looked around the bar. Everybody was engrossed in their own little sphere of interest, never caring about him. They didn't know. They would never know, just how much he would give to have that back. But it didn't matter now- there was no turning back. Clyde took the shot glass and turned around. Taking a deep breath, he yelled.
"I want to give a toast!"
The bar grew silent as people turned to look at him. Some went right back to their conversations, others looked at him with disdain. They probably thought he was drunk or crazy. Walking to the center of the room, he yelled again.
"A toast, I propose! For surviving the particle accelerator explosion!"
Someone in the room let out a tentative cheer. He felt his throat tighten as he looked at the people around them.
"Here's to everyone who was affected by it- and survived!"
The room had quieted down yet again. He sensed that they were curious about who he was and what he was about to say.
"And to the man who killed my brother, Harrison Wells."
The room grew dead silent, as people stared at him warily. An insane rage burned inside him. All he ever wanted was to be understood. It was the reason he followed his older brother around when he was young, picking on weaker kids. His brother had never particularly cared about him, but at least he knew him. Now, as he stood in the cold disinterest emanated by these people he grit his teeth. No turning back now. He matched the cold glares with his own, burning hatred. He began taking off his scarf.
"And finally, to all of you. All of you in this room, who weren't affected by the explosion. You assholes never care about the people who are in need. Maybe this will help you….understand."
As the people in the room started to turn away from him or insulted him, he felt a pounding pressure build up in his ears as he unraveled the scarf, revealing his neck. He could hear gasps around the room. One girl got up to leave- she was the smart one. The others wouldn't be so lucky. A loud popping sound came from the bar's staff room. And as if on cue, every full bottle in the bar exploded. People panicked and tried to leave, but Clyde raised his hand and a wall of water engulfed the doors. He heard screaming and felt a harsh satisfaction. Half an hour later, he left the room. Many others wouldn't.
Whooo! A cliffhanger to end a chapter on! I promise that more snowbarry will come, but realistically, they've just met, and I think it'll take a fight with a villain to make them grow closer... *wink*winkAnyways, if you want to see more or have suggestions, pls fav or follow, since more is definitely coming.
