"So, after we finally decided on the bug question, I decided I'd step it up a notch!" Cisco declared, looking delighted at the look on Caitlin's face.
"You do know we're supposed to be training him, not experimenting on him, right?" She asked sceptically, eyes roving over the calculations Cisco had flourished at her two seconds ago.
They were both sitting in Cisco's workroom on a quiet Friday evening, and they had been waiting for Barry to show up when Cisco had suggested his idea. A horrible idea really, but it was one of those ideas that stuck to your brain until you tried it.
"Come on! It won't do him any harm – you've seen his cellular regeneration rate, and I can tell you want to know what happens too." He insisted, already grabbing the necessary equipment.
"How did you even get that much of the straight stuff?"
"Wasn't too hard – just bought some of the pure powder stuff. As long as you tell me the right dosage, it shouldn't do any harm. He can't even get drunk!"
Cisco produced a plastic container full of white powder that looked a bit like flour. Or cocaine. Or any number of illicit substances.
"That looks seriously suspicious." Caitlin said with a frown but grabbed a pencil and started the calculations. Cisco was right; she was curious and didn't think it could hurt.
"In cups of coffee, a lethal dosage would take about 50 to 100 cups but the pure stuff it much more potent. You can't give him much or it might kill him before he processes it." She said absently to Cisco as she worked.
"But if I don't give him enough, it won't do anything." Cisco countered, measuring milligrams.
The almost silent whirr of a mechanical chair had them both looking up to see Dr Wells at the door, eyebrows raised.
"What are you doing?"
"Uhhh… just an experiment." Cisco hedged, discreetly hiding the tub of pure caffeine behind his back.
"And I'm just a guy in a wheelchair." Wells said bluntly. If there was one thing he didn't tolerate, it was people lying to him.
"We were just…curious, about Barry's resistance to alcohol and we thought we'd discover if he reacted similarly to stimulants." Caitlin said carefully, looking slightly sheepish.
"Caffeine…that might be interesting," Wells said thoughtfully, before his features turned decisive. "Just don't kill him."
One three point turn later, and he disappeared down the corridor.
"Wow." Cisco said articulately.
Caitlin glanced back at her calculations. "Let's start with this-" she said, underlining a number, "-and go from there."
Author's Note:
Hey guys, sorry this is so late - normally I'd have something prepared, but I'm still working out the issues of my long fic and haven't even had time to do much because I have SO MUCH WORK. Mostly my country isn't on complete lockdown, so I still have to work.
Anyway, I was inspired by the scene in Season 1 ep 6 where Caitlin and Cisco are debating how many bugs Barry swallows in a day of running. I thought maybe their little personal experiments had been going on a while and wondered what would happen if Barry took a stimulant. Do you guys have any ideas? Let me know, because even though I have an idea, it's not finalised yet.
Stay safe!
Trix