Chapter Text
To understand the story that you are about to hear, you need to do one thing. You need to believe in the impossible.
And then believe in it even more.
Because this is a story filled with more of the impossible then you ever could've dreamed.
This is the story of the two fastest people alive…
It all started one night in Central City. March 18th in the year 2000. The night was quiet, peaceful except for the occasional cricket. Few cars were driving down the streets of the more suburban areas of town.
That peace was interrupted however when a blue portal opened in the street and a red blur of lightning rushed out, the portal closing behind it. Another similar portal then opened and a similar, but more orangish yellow blur of lightning shot out, chasing after the red blur in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile in an ordinary two story house in the dead of night a young boy with brownish red hair was woken up by a strange noise from downstairs.
Then, his eyes widened as he saw the water in his fish tank started floating into the air like the wax inside a lava lamp. Then he heard the sound of a scuffle and his mom’s screaming from downstairs. Getting out of his bed, the boy walked out of his room and down the stairs. Rounding a corner he shouted in worry.
“Mom!” The little boy called out as his mom, a woman with the same reddish brown hair, Caucasian skin, and brown eyes, was in the living room on the floor, a storm of red and orangish yellow lightning circling around the entire room.
“Mom!” The boy shouted as he tried to help his mom.
“Barry, stay back!” His mom, Nora, shouted desperately, tears in her eyes, not wanting her son to get hurt.
Her husband, Henry, a man with brown hair and green eyes, then came to his son’s side, shocked by what he saw happening.
“Nora! Hang on!” Henry shouted to his wife.
For a split second, young Barry saw the blurry figure of a man wearing some kind of yellow bodysuit with red glowing demonic eyes in the red lightning staring right at him.
“Run, Barry, run!” His father said to him.
Then the next thing young Barry knew in a flash of yellow orange lightning he was suddenly outside. But not just outside his house, but several, several blocks away from his house by several streets away with the blur of yellow orange lightning streaking off away just as fast as it seemingly whisked Barry there.
Stunned silent, Barry then took off back towards his house as fast as he could.
Meanwhile, the red blur of lightning took off out of the house, breaking through the window and made it several blocks away before it suddenly started slowing in speed revealing a man who then tumbled and fell to the ground.
He wore a yellow leather bodysuit which was burnt black on the legs and halfway up the arms, with a red lightning bolt emblem on his chest. Red electricity sparked off him as his blurry, vibrating figure pushed himself to his knees, wincing a little from his fall. He then felt his vibrating start to slow.
Holding his left hand out, a blue holographic face projected from his glove.
“Gideon, what’s happening to me?” The man asked the projection in a deep, distorted voice.
The blue holographic face replied in a monotone, gender-neutral voice.
“Your latest time-jump against the Flash seems to have caused a massive drain on your powers. Your cells are rapidly losing any trace of the speed force and negative speed force.”
The man in yellow was dumbfounded.
“That’s impossible! How am I supposed to get back?!” He demanded angrily.
“You can’t.” The AI said before the hologram disappeared.
The man’s anger reached its boiling point and he let out a distorted roar of anger into the night as his vibrating and eye glowing stopped and his voice returned to normal, but still filled with enough rage to send shudders down the spines of anyone who might’ve heard it.
The man in yellow, Eobard Thawne, a man with dirty blond hair and piercing blue eyes, angrily removed his mask and seethed in frustration as he was now stuck in this hell of his own making…with no way home…
Later, young Barry finally made it back to his house and found the police there, red and blue lights flashing in the night sky as his father was escorted out in handcuffs by two officers.
“I swear to god I didn’t do this!” Henry exclaimed as he was led towards a cop car.
“Dad! Why are they taking you?!” Barry called out to his dad.
“Barry! Don’t go inside! What’s gonna happen to my son?!” Henry shouted as he was forced into the car, the cops slamming the door shut.
Barry watched helplessly as his dad was taken away by the police. Confused, the young boy walked inside where he saw the all too familiar Officer Joe West, an African American man who was a family friend, talking with another cop while standing over a tarp covering something on the ground in the living room.
“You know these people, Joe?” The cop asked his fellow officer.
Officer West nodded in response.
“My daughter is friends with their son.”
Slipping past Joe and the cop, Barry slowly made his way towards the tarp and, with a shaky hand, lifted it up slightly. His eyes widened as he saw his mother’s lifeless body laying there, a fresh stab wound in her chest and a bloody knife nearby.
“Mom…?”
Joe immediately upon hearing Barry's voice quickly found him and covered Nora Allen's remains with the tarp before grabbing Barry by the shoulders and gently turning him around to comfort the young boy.
“I’m sorry, Barry.” Joe said softly as he gave the boy a sympathetic look…
Timeskip…
The year was now 2020 and Barry had matured into a fine young man. After the horrible night 20 years ago, his father had been convicted of murdering his mother. Barry had tried to tell the police they got the wrong guy, but they didn’t believe him when he told them about the man in yellow and the lightning storm in his house. He was just a young boy at the time after all, and said his imagination was trying to protect him from what “really” happened that night. But Barry knew he was right, there was lightning in his house; there was a man in yellow; and his dad didn’t kill his mom…Unfortunately his dad was sentenced to a life sentence in Iron Heights prison for his “crime.” But Barry pulled through with his life, went to college and graduated with his masters degree in forensic sciences and then went on to become CSI for the Central City Police Department. And currently, he was running late for work…as usual.
Barry eventually arrived at the crime scene he had been called to where Joe and Captain Singh were already waiting for him.
“You can’t keep covering for him, Joe” Captain Signh said to the now Detective Joe West.
“I’m here! Sorry I’m late, sir.” Barry called out as he rushed over.
Meanwhile, 4 school buses pulled up to a large building at the heart of the city. This building was STAR Labs, founded by the brilliant scientist, Dr. Harrison Wells, it quickly became the forefront of scientific innovation in Central City.
Students and their parents then began exiting the buses before lining up, kids talking amongst themselves and their parents. Among them, a 14 year old Afro Latina girl stood close to her mother. This girl’s name was Luz Noceda. Luz had caramel skin, chocolate brown eyes and dark brown hair with an almost purple undertone in a pixie cut. Her mother, Camila, was a slightly pudgy woman, but despite this she had a good batting average, with tanned skin, and similar eyes. She also had glasses and brown hair as well.
“Now, Mija, I want you to be on your best behavior and to stay with the group, okay?” Camila said to her daughter.
“Okay, mami, I will.” Luz said as she nodded.
Camila smiled warmly at her daughter and kissed her on her forehead before tossing her hair playfully, making Luz giggle.
“Good, I know how you can get lost in your own little world and wander off while on field trips.”
“That only happened once!” Luz said as she blushed in embarrassment.
Camila gave her daughter a raised eyebrow.
“Okay…maybe 5 or 6 times…” Luz said sheepishly.
This was when a woman with red hair around Barry's age comes out of the foyer leading into Star labs greeting the students before taking them inside for the tour.
“Welcome students of Gravesfield High School to STAR Labs. My name is Dr. Caitlin Snow and I’ll be your guide today.” The woman, Dr. Snow, said with a smile as the students organized.
Luz was up at the near front of the line pep in her step as she couldn't wait to get an up close look at the particle accelerator.
In fact, she was actually kinda the whole reason her school got this trip. Luz was something of a prodigy in the field of theoretical particle physics. STAR Labs had a contest for school districts to see which student could write the best thesis, and the best written thesis would earn their class a first class field trip to visit STAR Labs, and front row seats to the activation of their new particle accelerator. Luz, being the little science nerd she was, poured her heart and soul into her thesis and it paid off in a big way as her class had won the contest as to why they were here now… Luz was then rudely bumped into by a blonde girl, Clara, the leader of the cheer team.
“Out of the way, book weirdo.” Clara muttered.
Luz winced slightly. Luz was something of a social outcast at school and had no friends whatsoever. Besides being a prodigy in science she was also obsessed with fantasy and science fiction, anime and other nerdy stuff. She had also kinda hoped that winning this contest for her class would actually help her get a few friends.
Unfortunately no such luck as there was only a handful of science kids in their class and their interests were far more in biology, geology, and astronomy.
Luz was the only one who was deeply invested in particle physics. Luz was pulled out of her thoughts when Caitlin began the tour. They all walked inside and Caitlin began talking.
“As you all probably know by now, STAR Labs is THE forefront of scientific innovation in the city. Our advancements have led to the creation of remarkable innovations such as the new particle accelerator we’ll be activating tonight.”
One of Luz's classmates raised their hand.
“Yes?” Dr. Snow said, pointing to the student in question who raised their hand.
“What other types of innovations have STAR labs made?” The classmate asked.
“We’ve made advancements in other fields such as medicine and healthcare programs. Searching for cures to diseases, new treatments for stage four cancer and other terminal illnesses. One such innovation in cancer treatment was the development of a highly accurate cryo scalpel able to freeze and cut away cancer cells 20 times more accurately than a gamma scalpel and with no radiation poisoning risk whatsoever.” Dr. Snow answered.
Most students were lost on what Dr. Snow was talking about, but those that were science oriented understood everything.
Caitlin: In fact, why don't we start our tour at our zoology department. There's someone who'd like to meet all of you.
All the students started talking amongst themselves as Caitlin led the group deeper into the building before getting to a large door with “Zoology Department” labeled above the doorway. Caitlin then turned to the group.
“Now, everyone please remember to be careful when observing and maintain a safe distance.” Caitlin said as she opened the door and let everyone in.
A soft grunting was heard and everyone walked inside and they saw a male silverback gorilla in a cage munching on a grapefruit.
“Everyone, meet Grodd. Our resident silverback gorilla.” Caitlin said with a smile.
As expected most of the students were in awe at seeing the gorilla with a big part of it being just completely unexpected to see a gorilla at STAR Labs.
Grodd then looked up from his fruit munching and his eyes landed directly on Luz, lingering for a second before resuming his fruit munching. Luz didn’t know why, but she could feel there was a little more to this gorilla than your typical ape…and it made her curious so she raised a hand.
“Um, Dr. Snow, so exactly what kind of research is done with…Grodd…here?” Luz asked, looking between Dr. Snow and the gorilla in question.
“The main type of research is chemical augmentation. Grodd here has been injected with various drugs to help enhance his nervous system. The end goal was to develop a drug to help prevent Alzheimer's and dementia.” Dr. Snow answered.
“Oh boy, Planet of the Apes just waiting to happen.” A random student muttered.
‘If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, I’d have two nickels.’ Caitlin thought to herself as one of her colleagues, Cisco Ramon, had said the same thing.
Although she had given merely an abridged version of the reason behind Grodd’s presence here.
“So, what were the results?” Luz asked as she continued to observe the gorilla.
“Well, Grodd here has focusing and learning skills slightly above average than the normal silverback gorilla. He can solve simple puzzles and even displays emotional attachments.” Catilin answered.
“Of course that’s nothing new. Grodd and I have always had a special bond, ever since he was just a little guy.” A male, slightly raspy yet refined and intelligent voice said.
Turning around, every student’s eyes widened as Dr. Harrison Wells himself entered the room, adjusting his glasses. Hearing Wells’ voice, Grodd perked up and locked eyes with the man, grunting softly.
Dr. Wells smiled warmly at Grodd.
“Good to see you too, Grodd. Now how is everyone enjoying the tour so far?”
The students all let out positive feedback to Wells’ question.
“Glad to hear that. It is my honor to welcome you all to STAR Labs, where every day we’re working to shape the world of tomorrow. And tonight will be our biggest step towards that goal. You are the future, bright young minds so full of potential.” Dr. Wells said as his eyes wandered the gathered student body, Luz could swear his eyes lingered on her for a second.
Meanwhile, back at the CCPD, Barry Allen was in his forensics lab running tests on some cow manure he found at the crime scene embedded in a tire mark from the getaway vehicle when an African American woman walked into his office. This was Iris West, Joe’s daughter and Barry’s surrogate sister/best friend.
“Working late again, Barry?” Iris asked.
“Just finishing up one last test.......” Barry says deeply focused on his work.
“There was a shooting today at the bank. Joe needs me to process some evidence, meaning I don’t know if we’ll be able to make it to STAR Labs.” Barry said as he walked over to his computer, bringing up mug shots of the two perpetrators, the Mardon brothers.
“But seeing this Atom…Smasher…thing…turn on is like your dream. Your sad little nerdy dream. Besides, I canceled a date for this.” Iris said as she took a few french fries from a box on Barry’s desk.
“Hey, hands off my fries. Unbelievable.” Barry said in offense as he grabbed the box.
“I’m stress-eating over my dissertation. If I don’t graduate soon, I’m gonna be more muffin top than woman.” Iris said as she grabbed another fry and ate it.
Barry smiled at his surrogate sister.
“You look amazing.”
Iris playfully scoffed and grabbed a nearby science magazine with STAR Labs on the cover.
“What’s so important about this “particle accelerator” anyway?”
Barry turned to Iris and grinned.
“Harrison Well’s work in Quantum Theory is light years ahead of anything they’re doing at CERN.” Barry said excitedly.
“You’re doing that thing where you’re not speaking English.” Iris said, completely lost but still appreciating how passionate Barry was about this.
“Okay. Just imagine…that…that dot right there is everything the human race has ever learned until this moment.” Barry said as he drew a red dot on his clear whiteboard.
“Does that include twerking?” Iris asked.
Ignoring Iris’s joke, Barry then drew a larger circle around the dot.
“And that is everything we could learn from the particle accelerator. It's a whole new way of looking at physics. It will literally change the way we think about…everything!” Barry said, acting like a kid in a candy store.
Iris smiled at Barry's genuine enthusiasm for the particle accelerator. It was always nice to see him so excited over what he loves. Barry had always shown a massive interest in the sciences especially after his mom's death. The mystery of who really killed her has given him drive to learn and explain as much as possible no matter what. So naturally someone like Harrison Wells and his work has captivated his interest as of late.
“You need to get yourself a girlfriend.” Iris said playfully.
“Hey, leave him alone. He’s working.” The familiar voice of Joe West said.
Iris and Barry smiled as they saw Joe enter the lab.
“Hey, dad.” Iris said.
A chime then went off and Barry and Iris’s attention was pulled to Barry’s computer.
“Well, looks like your test thingy is done.”
Barry then walked over to his computer and smirked before turning to Joe.
“I think the Mardon brothers are hiding on a farm. The excrement I found at the scene was cow manure that contained traces of Oxytetracyline. It’s an antibiotic. There are only four farms in the area which still use it in their feed.” Barry said as he printed out a list of the farms in question.
“Bet you’ll find a very sweet Shelby parked at one of them.” Barry said with a smirk as he handed the list to Joe.
Iris then turned to Joe.
“Well, dad, seeing as Barry solved your poop problem, how about letting him go to STAR Labs tonight?”
Both Barry and Joe furrowed their brow at Iris's turn of phrase.
“Sure I don't see why not. Unless you have additional case work to still do Barry?” Joe said, looking back to Barry.
“I do not. Thank you, Joe.” Barry said before he and Iris took off.
Later at night, at STAR Labs, Barry and Iris were walking amongst the crowd, Luz’s class also nearby.
“So, did you find proof of the impossible in Starling City, or did you just make my dad mad for no reason?” Iris asked with a giggle as she and Barry walked side by side.
Barry chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Actually, uh, while I was away I got a chance to think about…well…relationships, how I’m not in one... And you’re my best friend, Iris. Not that I’m implying we should date or anything because you’re more like a sister to me than anything.” Barry said awkwardly.
Iris smiled at Barry’s awkwardness.
“You’re my best friend too, Barry. As well as like a brother. Why else would I be here? So then what did you mean? Did you meet someone special while there? Or better yet, someone special for yours truly?” Iris asked, being slightly dramatic.
“Um, no…Sadly, no.” Barry said.
“Bummer.........what about catching a sighting of this Arrow guy?” Iris asked.
“Uh…no. Not a thing.” Barry said, shutting himself up.
The crowd cheering then pulled Barry and Iris’s attention as Dr. Harrison Wells himself, and his team behind him, came onstage. Cameras flashed in the air as Dr. Wells approached the podium and tapped the microphone.
“Thank you. My name is Harrison Wells, and tonight…the future begins. The work my team and I will do here will change our understanding of physics; will bring about advancements in power; advancements in medicine. And trust me, that future will be here faster than you think.” Dr Wells said, the crowd cheering again.
Luz and her class were in the second row behind the reporters and news crews, and Luz was clapping and cheering with her mother next to her. History would be unfolding tonight right before their eyes.
A brand new world was just one reaction away. Luz only wished her father could be here to see this with her and her mother. Like her he too always enjoyed science and especially science fiction and fantasy. He often taught her advanced theories through the guise of stories.
After he passed away, Luz had devoted her life to science and Camila was glad to see that her brilliant daughter was just as passionate for real science as she was with fantasy and anime stuff. Although her lack of friends was a little bit of a concern. Science often demanded collaboration with others, after all.
Though no matter how often Luz would try and reach out she'd end up making them turn away from collaboration with her usually due to Luz's ambitions in wanting to push the limits of their assignments. The results were usually a stellar grade on said assignments but oftentimes her partners got lumped in as being perceived as being as high performing as Luz herself. This set unrealistic expectations of the parents of these kids making it more of an annoyance than a blessing to be partnered with Luz genius or otherwise.
Luz then heard a commotion and looked behind her to see that a guy had snatched some woman’s computer bag.
“My laptop! That has my dissertation on it!” The woman, Iris, exclaimed.
The man next to her, Barry, then ran after the guy to get the bag back. Luz wanted to try and help the man get the lady’s bag back, but she had promised her mom she wouldn’t wander off.
Later, Barry was back at the police station with Iris, holding a tissue against his bloody nose. He had caught up to the guy who stole Iris’s laptop but the guy punched him in the face before trying to get away, only to get caught by an officer on patrol. One of the new transfers to the department from Keystone. Detective Eddie Thawne.
Iris was still grateful to both Barry and Eddie for their help.
“Well at least we both made a new friend in officer Thawne.” Iris said as she sat next to Barry.
“Yeah, but…” Barry trailed off and sighed in exasperation as, because of that purse snatcher they would miss watching the particle accelerator turn on.
“I’ll, uh, be in my lab.” Barry said he walked off.
Iris gave him a sympathetic look wanting to cheer Barry up but not knowing how.
In his lab, Barry closed the door behind him as he walked over to a board showing a map of the city when he pulled up the map to show a conspiracy board detailing everything he had been compiling for the last 15 years regarding his mom’s murder. Newspaper clippings, any possible leads he found… Barry then hung his head. His dad was serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit, and he couldn’t stand to see his old man behind bars any longer…
Back at STAR Labs, Harrison Wells walked into the main room of STAR Labs, playfully called the “Cortex” by all members. One of his employees, Cisco Ramon, a man of Puerto Rican descent, trailing behind him.
“Dr. Wells, we just got the latest weather report, uh, a big thunder storm is rolling in.” Cisco said worriedly.
“Well, we’re not launching a space shuttle. We’ll be fine.” Dr. Wells said confidently as Cisco walked to the control console.
Off to the side, Dr. Caitlin Snow was discussing potential honeymoon locations with her finance, one of the chief structural engineers of the particle accelerator, Ronnie Raymond, a fairly attractive man who, despite his love of pizza, was actually built quite well.
Dr. Wells smiled softly as he watched the two of them talking when he heard Cisco address him again.
“Dr. Wells, we’re primed for particle injection.”
Dr. Wells turned and smiled as he looked at every scientist gathered.
“Well, I feel like I should say something profound, like “one small step for man.” He chuckled.
“All I can say is that I feel like I’ve waited for this day for centuries.” Dr. Wells said, looking at his team before pressing his palm against a touch screen which verified his identity and activated the particle accelerator.
Everyone stood around waiting for something to happen when Cisco spoke up.
“That’s it? I would’ve expected a loud bang.”
“If there was a loud bang we’d all be in big trouble.” Ronnie chimed in.
Caitlin smiled at her fiancé.
“Take it from the guy who helped build it.”
Dr. Wells then took out a champagne bottle.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we did it.”
A round of applause broke out as Dr. Wells popped the cork on the champagne bottle. Then, to everyone’s surprise the champagne started floating in the air like the wax in a lava lamp for a second before falling intent on the ground as an alarm started to blare. The whole building then shook and a loud BANG rang out.
“That doesn’t sound good.” Cisco muttered before rushing to a terminal.
Cisco’s eyes widened as he looked at his screen.
“There’s an anomaly in the core chamber.”
Caitlin rushed over to her own console.
“The ring’s structural integrity is holding.” Caitlin said.
“It’s started a chain reaction, shut it down.” Dr. Wells said, turning to Cisco.
“We can’t ramp down the accelerator from here, we need to do it manually.” Cisco said.
“Then go, do it!” Dr. Wells said urgently.
Meanwhile, outside, people were being told to evacuate the scene while the technicians tried to shut down the particle accelerator. In the chaos of the evacuation, Luz had gotten separated from her class.
Meanwhile back at his lab Barry was cleaning things up after Iris had left half an hour back. He currently starting to close the shutters to the skylight in his lab as he had just seen the update on the weather report about thunderstorms.
Then, suddenly, he saw a sight that shook him to the core as a loud bang rang out and a massive beam of orange energy shot up from STAR labs and an energy shockwave shot out across the city. Barry’s eyes widened when he saw chemicals in flasks in his lab start floating upward like the water in his fish tank from years ago. He then started urgently trying to close the shutters when a bolt of lightning struck through the roof and hit him, sending him backward into a shelf, glass shattering everywhere. Meanwhile, Luz ran out into the rain, leaning up against a lamppost when it, and she too was then struck by lightning. Before Luz blacked out, she heard the voice of her mother call out to her.
“LUZ!!!”
After that the ensuing chaos over the massive shockwave was all the more an inconvenience for those like Barry and Luz who were injured and currently being rushed to the nearest hospital.
Luz could faintly hear her concerned mother’s voice among the sea of blackness that she felt like she was drifting in.
Timeskip…
Luz didn’t know how much time had passed for her, but she slowly started to regain consciousness, hearing “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga playing, and hearing the familiar voice of Caitlin Snow.
“Why play this song?”
“It’s his favorite.” A male voice, Cisco, said.
“And how do you know that?” Caitlin asked him.
“It was on his instagram page. Plus, people in comas are supposed to still be able to hear everything around them, right?” Cisco replied.
“Auditory functions are usually the last thing to degrade.” Caitlin said.
Luz then suddenly woke up with a start, shocking Caitlin and Cisco.
“Oh my god!” Cisco exclaimed.
Cisco then jumped again when the other person on a hospital bed, Barry Allen, also woke up. Luz looked at her surroundings frantically, extremely disoriented, Barry was much in the same boat.
“Wh-Where am I? Where’s Mami?”
“They're both up! Quick, tell Dr. Wells. Inform Dr. Noceda, her daughter is awake.” Caitlin said, turning to Cisco.
Cisco then tapped a paging button on the console in the center of the room.
“Dr. Wells, get down here immediately Barry and Luz are up!”
“W-where am I?” Barry muttered as his eyes darted around the room.
“Now, Mr. Allen, I need you to focus for me.” Caitlin said as she shined a medical light in Barry’s eyes.
Barry barely looked at Caitlin as he tried to figure out what was going on.
“Man what happened.” Luz muttered as she started to get out of bed, her now longer hair falling over her face.
Luz’s eyes widened and she grabbed at her hair. She hadn’t had hair this long ever since she was 10 when she accidentally gave herself a janky haircut. Luz then noticed she was wearing a hospital gown.
“What happened?” Luz asked again, louder this time.
Cisco then walked over and put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.
“You were struck by lightning, kid.”
Caitlin, while still examining Barry's vitals, chimed in.
“And you were in a coma like Mr. Allen here for a while afterwards.”
“For how long?” Luz and Barry asked simultaneously.
“9 months. Welcome back, Mr. Allen, and Ms. Noceda.” Dr. Harrison Wells said as he entered the room in an automated wheelchair, Camila coming in with him.
“Mija!” Camila rushed over and pulled Luz into the tightest, loving embrace she could, tears of joy in her eyes.
Luz immediately hugged her mother back with tears gathering in her eyes at the sudden worry and relief she felt racking through her mom's chest as she silently cried tears of joy. Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells all smiled warmly at the sight. Camila had barely left Luz's side for the first few weeks. Only returning to work thoroughly vetting Caitlin and Cisco with the assistance of Detective Joe West, who was equally worried about his surrogate son in Barry. Speaking of whom Barry looked upon the scene of a solemn look in hus eyes as an all too familiar heartache rose in his chest.
He was then snapped out of his thoughts when Caitlin shoved a medical sample cup in his field of view.
“Not to interrupt this happy moment, but I need you two both to urinate in one of these.” Caitin said.
“Not right this second.” Cisco said with a slight hiss as he snatched the cups away from Caitlin.
“Now, introductions, I’m Cisco Ramon, and this is Caitlin.” Cisco said, pointing to himself and Caitlin.
“Dr. Snow? You…were the one who gave us the tour. I remember you. What happened?” Luz asked as Barry got out of bed himself
“As I said, you got struck by lightning. So did Barry here.” Cisco said.
“Lightning…gave me abs?” Barry asked, dumbfounded as he saw a reflection of himself in a full body mirror.
“Normally your muscles should’ve atrophied, but instead they seem to be in a chronic state of cellular regeneration. The same with Luz here.
Luz’s eyes widened upon hearing this.
“Wait, what?”
Luz then felt her abdominal region through her hospital gown and her mouth hung open as she felt a defined six pack through the fabric.
“I would suggest you both get dressed. We have much to discuss, especially regarding you, Ms. Noceda.” Dr. Wells said.
Barry and Luz both glanced at each other then back to Dr. Wells before nodding. 15 minutes later and the both of them were dressed in simple sweatpants and STAR labs hoodies with slippers.
Both of them and Camila were walking at the pace of Wells’ wheelchair as they walked through the ruins of STAR Labs.
“I gotta say, Dr. Wells, it is an honor to meet you. But I never pictured it happening like this.” Barry said as he glanced around.
“That makes two of us. Dr. Wells, what happened”? Luz asked as she looked at a hole in the ground leading down to the particle accelerator.
“Nine months ago, the particle accelerator went online and for fifteen minutes I had achieved my life’s goal…But then there was an aberration. The reaction spiraled out of control and a beam of the unstable energies shot up into the sky and a wave spread throughout the city. This in turn seeded a storm cloud-” Wells said before he was cut off by Luz.
“Which created lightning that struck us...and who knows how many other people…”
Dr. Wells smiled at Luz.
“Exactly. You are a bright girl, Luz. Your mother has told us all quite a lot about you, actually.”
“What happened to the others exposed during the accelerator incident?” Barry asked.
Dr. Wells sighed.
“Reports are still inconsistent, but definitely not everyone was as lucky as the two of you.”
Hearing that made a pit grow in Luz and Barry’s stomachs. They then passed through the zoology department which Luz noticed was devoid of its only occupant, his cage bars bent all out of shape. Luz wondered what happened to Grodd, she just hoped the gorilla was okay…wherever he was.
“Now, I’m not exactly the most popular person in town these days as you can imagine, FEMA having labeled STAR Labs as a category 4 disaster area.” Dr Wells said as they arrived back in the cortex.
“But how did we get here? Not that I’m not grateful for you saving our lives.” Luz asked.
“Well, I was…recovering…myself when I heard about the two of you. The hospital had been experiencing unexpected blackouts every time either of you went into cardiac arrest but that was a misdiagnosis. Neither of you were flatlining…your hearts were beating too fast for the EKG to register.” Dr. Wells said.
Luz’s eyes widened in response.
“Wait what!?”
“How is that possible?” Barry asked in disbelief.
“How fast would our hearts have to be beating for an EKG to not be able to keep up?” Luz asked.
Caitlin then chimed in.
“Somewhere in the ballpark range of 500 to 600 beats per minute.”
“That…that’s impossible. The human heart can’t beat that fast without giving out.” Luz said in disbelief.
“I didn’t believe it myself at first, Mija.” Camila said, sitting in a chair.
“Well technically some extremely rare cases of atrial fibrillation people have had a heartbeat that at moments reached those levels. Though their cardiovascular system usually couldn't handle the strain for long.” Caitlin added.
“Unlike the two of you.” Dr. Wells said as he looked between Luz and Barry.
Barry stood there in disbelief before he checked the time.
“I-I need to go.”
“Wait, where do you think you're going? You just woke up.” Caitlin said.
“I need to see some people.” Barry said as he tried to make his way to the exit, only for Camila to step in front of him.
“Mr. Allen, you shouldn’t leave yet, not until we understand what happened to you and my daughter.” Camila said urgently.
Dr. Wells nodded in agreement with Camila’s statement.
“Dr. Noceda is right. You and Luz are still going through changes; we don't know what might be next.”
“This can’t wait. Thank you, again, for saving my life.” Barry said as he ran out, only to come back a second later.
“Can I keep the sweatshirt?” Barry asked awkwardly.
Wells nodded.
“Yeah, keep the sweatshirt.”
“Cool.” Barry said before he took off for real this time.
There was an awkward silence before Luz spoke up.
“Well, I'm in no rush, Dr. Wells, Dr. Snow.”
Both said doctors gave Luz a soft smile.
“Tests can wait for later, Luz. In the meantime I suggest you get some food in your system.” Dr. Wells recommended before wheeling off.
“Come on, Mija, I bet you're starving.” Camila said as she put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder.
“Oh, absolutely, lead the way! I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse!” Luz said eagerly.
Camila giggled.
“How about a triple cheeseburger from Big Belly Burger instead?”
“Even better!” Luz grinned.
Later we see Luz finishing off her 3rd triple cheeseburger in a row alongside her mom, Cisco, and Caitlin all in the STARS labs mess hall.
“Man, I’ve never seen anyone down so many triple cheeseburgers in one sitting. Not to mention the fries.” Cisco said in amazement before he took a sip of his Diet Coke.
“Interesting, maybe your metabolism has been altered by the incident with the lightning strike.” Caitlin suggested before taking a bite of vanilla ice cream.
Luz took her last sip of Diet Coke before humming in intrigue.
“Hmmm. Maybe.”
Then, suddenly, Barry came rushing in.
“Guys, something’s happening to me.” Barry said urgently.
“Something like a bottomless appetite?” Cisco asked as he and the others turned to Barry.
Barry raised an eyebrow.
“What? No........but…I am kinda hungry, come to think about it.”
Much later, Luz, Camila, Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells were at a runaway strip. Barry then came out of a STAR Labs RV dressed in a red jogging outfit and a biking helmet and goggles. Off to the side, Luz was wearing a similar, albeit purple outfit.
“How do they feel?” Cisco asked.
“It’s a little snug.” Barry said uncomfortably.
“Same........and dorky.” Luz added.
“At least you’ll both be moving so fast no one will be able to see it. Now, these tracksuits are hooked up with a speedometer and vital reading devices linked to Caitlin’s tablet to see how you guys do. I think the reason why everything seemed to stop for you, Barry, is that you were moving so fast that time only seemed to stop for you.” Cisco said.
“Oh, as in his perception of time seemed to make everything appear to move in slow motion cause the faster the brain processes information especially sensory stimuli the slower things are perceived. Like in life or death situations?” Luz surmised.
Caitlin, who had come over to calibrate the vital readers, blinked in surprise at Luz’s deduction skills.
“That’s…actually reasonable.” Caitlin said before she resumed her calibrations.
She then saw Barry eyeing her.
“What?” Caitlin asked.
“Sorry, you just…don’t seem to smile much.” Barry said awkwardly.
“My once promising career in bio-engineering is over. My boss is in a wheelchair for life and the explosion that put you two in a coma and supposedly gave you powers also killed my fiancé. So this blank expression feels a little justified.” Caitlin said without skipping a beat.
Barry immediately frowned, as did Luz.
“I'm sorry for your loss.” Barry said.
“Me too Dr. Snow.” Luz added.
“It’s not your fault.” Caitlin said before then walking over next to Dr. Wells who was looking at a computer under a tent.
“Mr. Allen, Ms. Noceda. While I am eager to assess your full capabilities, I do advise restraint.” Dr. Wells called out.
Both Barry and Luz nodded before they both took an amateur runner's starting stance to start.
“You don't really think they'll go that fast, do you?” Caitlin asked Wells.
“Well, I believe anything is possible, and in a few minutes, maybe you will too.” Dr. Wells said as he put on some black tinted safety glasses.
He then passed a second pair of safety glasses to Camila who put them on.
Then suddenly there was a sparkle of golden yellow electricity in both Luz and Barry's eyes as they took off in a rush of wind like a low flying jet just went by.
Orangish yellow lightning trailing behind Barry, and pure yellow lightning trailing behind Luz…
To be Continued…