I sprinted up to my room, practically bursting through the door with excitement. The package Iris gave me sat in my hands, heavier with the weight of possibility. I wasted no time tearing it open, ripping through the wrapping like a kid on Christmas morning. Inside, neatly folded, was the suit—my suit.

The material was sleek and red, but not the garish red of my old Halloween costume. This was deeper, more striking, with silver accents that lined the suit, giving it a futuristic, polished edge. It resembled Wally West's suit from the comics, but better, more real. The design was sleek, with my hair exposed at the top just like in the DC Rebirth version. Across the chest was the unmistakable lightning bolt insignia. It was perfect.

As I turned it over in my hands, my eyes landed on a small detail at the back—a tiny 'W' stitched into the fabric. Wayne Industries. No way. I had a suit made by Bruce Wayne, freaking Batman. Holy shit.

I barely registered locking the door behind me before I was putting it on. The material clung to my body, lightweight but strong, like a second skin. As I stood in front of the mirror, fully suited up, I couldn't help but stare. I looked like a real superhero now, like someone who could stand up to the Rogues, to Central City's worst.

Gone was the crappy Flash Halloween costume that felt like an insult every time I put it on. This…this was different. I felt powerful. I tossed the old costume into the bottom of my wardrobe like a relic of a time I'd rather forget and just stared at myself in the mirror.

"In your face, Jaclyn O'Connor," I muttered, a smirk forming on my lips. Let her say what she wanted. I'd show them. All of them.

For the first time, I felt like I could live up to the name. This wasn't just about trying anymore. This was about proving I could be the Flash. And no one, not Heatwave, not the Rogues, and definitely not some reporter, was going to stop me.

The next day, I was ready to head out for training, finally feeling like I was getting a handle on things. It was Saturday, and I had all day to test my new suit, really push myself without school getting in the way. But as I grabbed the door handle, my dad stopped me, blocking my path with that same suspicious look he'd given me after I shoved him back.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, his voice tight, eyes narrowing like he was trying to piece something together.

I felt the power surging through me, the confidence of the suit still fresh from the night before. For the second time in two lives, I stood up to him. "Why don't you just fuck off?" I snapped, my voice harsher than I expected, but I didn't care. I wasn't backing down anymore.

Dad's face twisted with anger, and for a moment, I thought he might actually hit me. His fist raised, the tension building between us like a coiled spring ready to snap. But then something shifted. He glanced at Mom, standing quietly in the kitchen, and just…breathed. He lowered his hand, muttering something under his breath, and walked away, shoulders stiff with barely controlled rage.

I didn't even flinch, barely acknowledging the threat. I turned and waved at Mom, her expression unreadable as always. If he ever tried anything again, well…he'd be lucky to end up in the same condition as the first batch of criminals I beat down. At best.

Without another word, I walked out the door, feeling stronger than I ever had.

Back at the warehouse, I suited up in the new costume, running laps to get a feel for it. I could tell immediately it wasn't designed for someone like me—someone who used time dilation, not real speed. The fabric, the cut, everything was built for someone who could actually run at superhuman speeds, not for my weird ability to move normally while everything else crawled. Still, it was way better than that ridiculous Halloween suit. And I had to admit, the exposed hair was a cool touch.

As I pushed my power further, the usual frustration started creeping back in. The worst thing about it was how painfully slow the world felt. Sure, from everyone else's perspective I was moving at double speed, but to me? I was barely faster than an athlete. I couldn't help but think about Barry, about how people used to say he went Mach 30 before he died, sacrificing himself to stop Zoom. I was stuck at, what, double the speed of an Olympic sprinter? Pathetic.

In a fit of frustration, I picked up a rock and threw it into the air. I watched as it floated lazily above me, confirming what I already knew—nothing had changed. I punched the wall in anger, immediately regretting it when pain shot up my knuckles.

I rubbed my hand and grabbed at the rock, frustrated again, but when I picked it up, it…disappeared. I blinked in confusion, my brain trying to process what just happened. Then I looked down and saw the rock exactly where it had been on the ground a few seconds ago.

"What the…?"

I stood there, staring at the spot, my heart racing. What the hell just happened?

I stared at the rock in disbelief, still trying to make sense of what just happened. *How did I do that?* I thought, reaching for it again. This time, I focused, slowing down the world around me. The rock felt strange in my hand, almost as if it didn't belong there. And then, just like before, it vanished.

My eyes darted around, and sure enough, it reappeared, floating in the exact spot where I had grabbed it in the air earlier. *What the hell?* I tried to process the scene unfolding before me, the pieces not quite fitting together in my mind. Was I… changing its position? No, it wasn't teleporting—it was traveling through time, somehow. That rock was returning to where it had been seconds before, defying all logic.

I threw the rock again, watching it rise slowly into the air as my powers kicked in. Everything around me was crawling, like it always did when I used time dilation. But this time, I was paying attention, trying to understand what was really going on. I reached for the rock once more, and the second I touched it, there it was again—back in the same spot, floating midair.

It wasn't just about slowing time down. Something else was happening here. I could feel it in my bones, deep inside my body. This wasn't like the healing or even the speed. This was different. It felt more like… I was messing with the object's relationship to time.

But why did it only work when I was using my powers? I tried to think back, searching for any clues in what Barry had written in his notes or anything I remembered from the comics. Nothing quite matched. There had never been a speedster who could do this—none that I'd heard of anyway. But then again, my powers weren't exactly like Barry's, or even Jay Garrick's. They were something else. Maybe… maybe this was another power. Another aspect of what I could do.

I threw the rock again, slower this time, and watched carefully. Once it reached the height of its arc, I snatched it out of the air. Again, the same thing happened—it disappeared from my hand and reappeared where it had been a few seconds ago. It was almost like I was pulling it backward through time, but not exactly.

I threw it in the air again and touched it and this time it didn't move, hell it couldn't even move at all in the air, it was stuck, more like… I was locking it into a specific moment, a moment it couldn't leave until I let it.

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. This wasn't just time slowing down for me. I was changing how objects interacted with time itself. My hands shook as I turned the rock over and over in my palm, the weight of it feeling impossibly heavy now.

"Is this… another power?" I muttered to myself, the words barely escaping my lips. I'd already been trying to figure out my speed and my weird healing ability, but this? This was something new. Something… bigger. I didn't understand it yet, not fully, but I knew one thing for sure

I wasn't done evolving.

It seemed that from my understanding, I was messing with the rock in different ways, but I couldn't quite get the right effects consistently. I could activate the power, sure. All I needed to do was think of the rock flowing with me in my time stream. But I couldn't control it well enough to choose whether it went back to a previous position, forward in time, or just stayed locked in the present.

Frustration bubbled up in me as I tried to figure it out. This is going to take more than a few tries. I'd have to test it further, maybe ask Iris for advice—though God knows how that conversation would go. She wasn't exactly thrilled with me playing superhero, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she'd know something, even if she didn't want to admit it.

I let out a long sigh, the weight of my thoughts pressing down on me. Is this how Barry felt? The uncertainty, the trial and error… the constant burden of having powers that seemed to be both a gift and a curse. No one ever talks about how complicated it all is—the pressure to be perfect when you're far from it.

After a few more failed attempts at understanding the strange new ability, I headed home, exhaustion sinking into my bones. I barely climbed through the window before collapsing on my bed. Sleep came quickly, my thoughts too scrambled to keep me awake any longer.

The next day was routine. Nothing out of the ordinary. Mom and Dad worked Sundays, but like always, Mom left some breakfast for me. I ate in silence, my mind still turning over the new powers and how little control I seemed to have over them.

I flipped on the TV, ready to veg out for a bit and ignore the whole mess. It had become a sort of ritual, to check the news in the morning just to see what they were saying about Central City's latest disaster. But today, my heart sank the moment I saw the headline flash across the screen:

"Rogues currently robbing Central City Bank in Midtown."

I froze, the half-eaten toast slipping from my hand. Midtown. The Rogues. They were doing this, now.