Chapter One: Enter Zoom
Cisco, Caitlin, and Harry watched Barry face off Zoom on the camera feed.
"Why's he running away?" Harry demanded.
"He not," Cisco whispered. "He's not scared. Oohh! He's gunna thunderbolt him!" Cisco yelled in excitement.
"What?"
"Jay taught him how to throw lightning," Caitlin explained.
Barry lapped the S.T.A.R. Labs building one more time before throwing lightning at Zoom's unmoving form. Zoom snatched the bolt out of the air and hurtled it back towards Barry. It struck Barry and threw him back into the wall.
"Did you guys see that?" Barry murmured as he moved to get up.
"See him catch a bolt of lightning with his demonic claws?" Cisco asked, panic rising in his voice. "Yeah, saw that."
"Jay was right," Caitlin said. "He cannot do this alone."
"He's not alone," Harry said, walking out of the lab with a gun.
"Run, Barry," Caitlin told Barry over the com unit.
Barry pulled a syringe out of his calf pocket. "No. I'm going to see if Well's speed dampening serum works. What do you want from me?" he called to Zoom.
"Everything," Zoom growled, blue lightning dancing around him.
"You wanna be me?" Barry asked. "Is that it? You wanna be a hero?" he added sarcastically.
"Heroes die," Zoom responded.
Barry eyed Zoom challengingly. "Well, only if you can catch them." He took off running with Zoom on his tail as Harry exited the building.
"How is Barry going to match Zoom's speed?" Caitlin asked Cisco.
Cisco looked at the screen. "Genius. He's not going to match it. He's going to take it out of the equation all together."
"What are you talking about?"
"Terminal velocity," Cisco said. "The highest velocity attained by a falling object."
"Falling through the air?"
"Yeah, freefall fight." Cisco's face reflected pure awe. "Their drag force equals the downward force of gravity making the net force zero making-"
"Equal velocities!" Caitlin finished. "That is genius."
Outside, Barry and Zoom had begun their freefall fight. Once they hit the ground, Zoom pinned Barry against the ground. He pulled Barry to his feet and the two engaged in another fight. Zoom gained the upper hand, Barry hardly got a punch in.
Finally there was a snapping sound, and Barry groaned, falling to the ground. His back was broken.
Harry fired at Zoom, but Zoom was able to catch the projectile.
"Never forget," Zoom said to Harry. "I am the fastest man alive." He plunged the speed dampening serum into Barry.
"He's killing him!" Caitlin cried.
"You're next," Zoom growled to Harry. He grabbed Barry and sped off through Central City.
The first stop was Picture News. He held Barry's limp body next to him.
"Look," Zoom ordered them. "That's your hero." He lifted Barry into the air. "This man is no god. He is nothing."
Zoom ran off with Barry again. He brought the red speedster to the balcony in the CCPD building.
"The days of the Flash protecting your city are over," Zoom announced.
"Hold your fire!" Joe yelled at the officers holding their guns to Zoom.
"Put him down!" Patty ordered, holding her gun steadily trained on Zoom.
Zoom ignored her. "Now what will you do without your precious hero?"
"Shoot that thing now!" Singh yelled.
As the bullets rained on Zoom, his arm moved in a flash of blue lightning. When the firing stopped, Zoom opened his hand and let the bullets drop to the floor.
"Nice try," he said. "Harrison Wells put his faith in your hero too. He was wrong. Good bye, Flash. You too weren't fast enough."
Barry groaned. "I don't think so," he managed. A syringe glinted in his hand before he stabbed it into Zoom's arm.
Zoom roared and tossed Barry over the ledge then took off.
Joe ran over to Barry as soon as he hit the floor.
"Flash!" Joe yelled.
"Joe?" Barry asked weakly.
Joe opened his phone and dialed S.T.A.R. Labs. "Caitlin! He's here! Zoom left him at CCPD."
"On our way," Caitlin said, already running for a S.T.A.R. Labs van.
"Caitlin and Cisco are on their way," Joe reassured Barry. "Keep breathing, Bar."
"What's going on?" Singh asked, making his way over to Joe and Barry. His eyes widened. "Flash. Joe, we need to call an ambulance."
Joe shook his head. "No, no. I've called his team. They're on their way."
"Joe!"
Joe looked up. "Caitlin! Cisco!"
Caitlin and Cisco came running over pulling a gurney and medical tools. Caitlin grabbed the neck brace.
"Uh uh," Cisco said stopping her. He pointed to Barry. "We gotta get the glass and shrapnel out before he heals over." He opened Caitlin's med kit and tossed her a scalpel and tweezers.
"Whoah whoah whoah," Joe said holding up his hands.
"Joe, he will heal over anything trapped in his body," Caitlin said desperately. "I will have to cut him open and that will hurt worse."
"Joe," Cisco said seriously.
Joe's hands fell to his sides and he backed off.
"Cisco, get the breathing mask," Caitlin ordered. She sat next to Barry, scalpel in hand. "Sorry," she said before cutting into his skin.
"Give her some space!" Singh yelled at the officers crowding the superhero and doctor. "Back off!"
Cisco came back with the mask and strapped it to Barry's face. He checked the monitor. "Uh, Caitlin? I think the mask is in the way of the...mask."
Caitlin dropped a piece of glass onto the ground. She crawled over to Barry's head.
"Joe, please get them to leave," Caitlin said. She placed her hands over Barry's mask. "I have to remove his mask. Bar- The Flash wouldn't want his identity revealed. Not like this."
"Caitlin we have to get this mask off now!" Cisco exclaimed, pointing to the dropping vitals. He glanced back at Joe who was still frozen in place. He yelled in frustration and ripped the mask off.
"Cisco," Caitlin whispered.
"I'm not going to let him die, Caitlin," Cisco said firmly. He glanced at the monitor. "He's breathing. Quick, get the glass out."
Caitlin slid back down to Barry's torso and resumed pulling pieces of glass out of Barry's chest.
"Knife," she said to Cisco, holding out a hand. She cut out a square in Barry's suit. "Cisco, see that needle? It's a sedative. If his screams I need you to inject it." She bit her lip. "I'm not sure how long it will last with his metabolism."
Cisco picked up the needle and nodded. "Got it."
Caitlin took a deep breath before placing the knife to the slowly closing wound in Barry's side. She pressed down and cut into his skin.
Barry let out a muffled yell. Cisco stuck the needle into Barry's neck.
Singh had been pushing the officers away in respect for the Flash's identity, but at the sound of Barry's yell, Singh turned his head.
"Oh my god," he whispered as his eyes connected with the pained eyes of his youngest CSI. "Barry?"
"Got it," Caitlin said, pulling out the last glass piece. She strapped the neck brace onto Barry's neck and with the help of Cisco, Barry was set on top of the gurney. Caitlin pulled a blanket over Barry's face and she wheeled Barry into the elevator.
"Come on," Cisco said, pulling Joe after them.
"Well, you've never broken your back before," Caitlin said to Barry. "The rest of you is completely healed. Back pains and discomforts while standing are a small price to pay. Most people who break their backs end up permanently paralyzed."
Barry rubbed his back. "Yeah. Look, I need to go. Joe said I was sick with the flu. It's been five days since Zoom. Three since I woke up."
"One and a half since TOTAL PARALYSIS wore off," Cisco sarcastically.
"It's too long to be out with the flu," Barry defended. "Look, I feel great. If anything changes, I'll call you guys." He stood up and started walking to the door. A barely noticeable limp in his step.
"Thanks for the lift," Barry told Joe in the elevator.
Joe nodded. "Bar, are you sure you're feeling up to this?"
"I'm fine, Joe. Seriously," Barry grinned. "I got a few reports to work on anyway. I'll be sitting down, taking it easy."
The doors opened to show Singh and a few other officers.
"Detective West," Singh greeted. His eyebrows rose. "Allen. Welcome back."
"Problem, Captain?" Joe asked.
Singh stared at Barry before looking at Joe. "No. Since you're here though, there's a body and if you're feeling up to it, Allen, I need you to look at it."
Once they arrived at the crime scene, Singh led Joe and Barry to the body.
Barry inhaled upon seeing it. There was no sign of anything to cause the man's death. The only thing he saw was a dried patch of blood directly over the man's heart.
"First responder checked the area for blood spatters or any bullets," Singh explained. "We had someone question the buildings' securities and reviewed the footage. It wasn't a suicide. It's like he just appeared here."
"He probably did," Barry said grimly. "Zoom killed him. I bet if you check the footage and slow it down you'll see Zoom."
"Here's the report, Captain," Barry said, limping into Singh's office.
Singh closed the door. "Have a seat, Barry."
Barry swallowed, but sat in a surprisingly comfortably chair. "Is something wrong?"
"Yes," Singh answered. He looked at Barry. "Please tell me, Mr. Allen. Why are you able to walk? I was under the impression that breaking of backs results in paralysis."
The blood drained from Barry's face. "Excuse me?"
"Five nights ago Zoom dangled the Flash in the precinct," Singh continued. "His back was broken and there were glass shards everywhere in him. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, two of your friends, rushed him to S.T.A.R. Labs. Joe also immediately called them. This leads me to believe that someone all three of the aforementioned know is the Flash. You, Barry."
"I can explain," Barry began.
Singh held up a hand. "I don't need an explanation, Barry. I saw your face under that mask. I do want to know why you are here limping around instead of resting?"
"I heal fast," Barry found himself saying. "Really fast metabolism and healing."
Singh sighed. "Just go home and get some rest, Allen. The world needs the Flash. We can't have him overworking himself."
A/N: I love Singh finds out stories so here is the first one I have ever written. I think I could be better and with the AU of the whole story, it has the potential to become a story, but for now it is by a one-shot. Let me know what you think.