Introduction: City of Heroes, Birth of A Legend

A.N.: I have always dreamt about a crossover between Glee and The Flash ever since Grant Gustin got the role of Barry Allen, then after a few episodes on the show, I became hopelessly devoted to the pairing Eddie Thawne/Barry Allen, or they called it "Thallen", "Beddie", "Baddie", whatever, I'd go with "Beddie Thallen". Don't get me wrong, I love and ship Westallen and Snowbarry with as much passion as I love and ship Thallen. So please! NO SHIP WARS HERE! They are pointless and a total waste of time and space.

Anyway, this is just some idea that jumped into my mind and would not leave! Ugh! So here it is: A crossover of Glee and Flash, with some minor Arrow, Justice League and some other things.*Sigh… I wonder if I'm losing my mind because of this…"

Warning: Some violence will be involved. Like my other stories, The Warblers will be the protagonists (As they're my favourite as always.) while there will be a little of bit New Directions bashing in it. And, this story is NOT for Finn-lovers, Blaine-lovers and Mercedes-lovers, Klaine-lovers should avoid this too. Kurt-lovers… well, you should probably not read this either. Yeah, I mean it.

Slash, though nothing graphical. Don't like, don't read. Haters, fuck off. Homophobes, fuck off. Flames are strictly prohibited.

Disclaimer: Everything is AU, some characters might be OOC. English is not my mother tongue so please forgive me if there are any grammatical mistakes. I own nothing other than the OC, Anders Fung and his alias,and the amendments on the plot. The rest of the characters or anything you found similar belongs to their respective owner.

The school bells rang, marking the end of another school day. The boys of Dalton Academy, Westerville, Ohio, gradually walked out of their classrooms. Among the crowd, there were three students, looking just as normal as any student in the school, 6'0, 6'2" and 6'1" tall respectively, with short straight brown hair and green eyes, short straight black hair and black eyes for the third one, aside from their striking appearances, they looked just like your normal classmates. But as soon as the sound of police's sirens reached their ears. They just looked at each other and with a nod, they vanished into an empty classroom nearby.

Several minutes later, without anybody noticing, a window opened and a figure, dressed in a midnight-blue hooded robe with a deep blue domino mask, jumped out and landed gracefully on the tree branch. After making sure everything was clear, he started jumping from tree to tree, well hidden in the dense leaves and branches. Following him were two blurs of light, one is jade green, floating in the air; the other one is red with reddish-orange lightning bolts streaming out, racing on the ground. All three were heading towards to same destination: The place where the police were heading.

Meanwhile, in a bank, nine masked thugs were terrifying the staff and customers with their guns and threats.

"On your feet! Hands on your head!" One of the thugs barked. Shaking, the hostages did so.

"You two, go to the treasury. Take the staff if necessary." He ordered and two men nodded, grabbing a shaking woman on the ground with them.

"Now, I don't want to get the situation any uglier. Do what I say and I will let you live." The head of the robbers ordered. At the same time, three figures were crawling along the ventilation ducts. The one in the front glanced down the opening of the duct and saw the two robbers disappeared into the room which led to the treasury, dragging the whimpering woman, making pervert threats all the way along. Using tools from the hidden pocket of his suit, he quietly unscrewed the ventilation door. When the opening was clear, he quietly jumped down, raised his thumbs and two more figures jumped down to the empty corridor.

"You two, take down the thugs in the main room and the counter, I will get those two. I don't want to be seen." One of the figures whispered. He was wearing a burgundy suite with golden accents throughout which covered most of his body except his eyes and cheek.

"Got it. Be careful." The only figure who had yet to speak whispered back. He was wearing a dark emerald green uniform with black sleeves and leggings, knee-high green boots and white gloves up to his elbow joint. Like the first guy to jump down, he also wore a Domino mask, the only difference was that the colour was emerald green instead of deep blue. A thin layer of green light enveloped him like a protective coating and on his right middle finger, was a shining green ring.

The man in red suit winked and disappeared to treasury room while the green and blue guy silently walked towards the main lobby. At the door, the Blue guy took out a vertical bamboo flute and started to play. The sound of the flute startled everyone in the lobby.

"Who's there?!" The two heard the head of the robbers shouted and smirked. Then suddenly, the blue guy's eyes widened and knelt down. Immediately after that, bullets flew in the air, but the green guy who was right in the bullets' way remained unharmed as he had put up a protective shield which blocked the metals easily. The door slowly opened and the blue guy got back to his feet, and as a head of a robber appeared, he blew his flute again. But instead of sound, a needle shot out from the opening of the instrument and hit square on the thug's forehead. The thug dropped cold onto the floor. They heard guns being loaded and they smiled, now this was going to be so much fun… Blue turned to his teammate.

"It's your show time now." Blue glanced at the door leading to the counter and mouthed to Green who smiled.

Diving into the room, he dodged the bullets firing at him perfectly, when the robber tried to grab one of the staffs, Green narrowed his eyes and the ring on his finger shone even brighter. Just then, a long whip formed from his hand. Green waved the whip which hit the robber wrist with precise aim, preventing the thug from doing more harm to the hostages. Before the robber could get back from his shock, a sword with shining green colour formed in mid-air again. It shot and nailed the robber to the wall, immobilizing him. Another robber tried to get Green him from the back but a kick in the chest sent him flying back, he knocked his head on the wall, rendering him unconscious.

While Green was busy in the counter, Blue jumped out into the lobby and caught in a fierce fight with the four thugs remaining with the leader. They must be either too lame or they had awfully underestimate the person they were dealing with, perhaps both, because less than five minutes, all the robbers except the leader were lying on the ground out cold, the leader started to freak out and piss off.

"Who are you?!" He demanded.

"Need not to know… The only thing you should know is simple: Surrender." Blue whispered back, a smile on his face.

The leader sneered and raised his gun towards Blue.

"I demand you to tell me WHO ARE YOU?!" He was practically screaming now, Blue's smile grew bigger.

"You don't worth to know. Surrender. Now." One word command was always the strongest, but the same reply also made the leader snapped. He fired and the bullet narrowly missed Blue's head by centimetres. Some of the hostages screamed and whimpered. Blue, on the other hand, didn't flinch, not even a bit.

"Fine, you need to do it in the hard way. Then, sorry about that." Blue whispered and he took out some hidden darts from one of his many hidden pockets. He threw them at the leader who clumsily dodged, but two still hit his arm and leg. Immediately, his limbs started to feel numb.

"What have you done to me?!" The head of the robber shrieked as Blue came towards him.

"Just a special recipe I invented. Sleep tight." Blue said simply, approaching the leader like a predator closing in on its prey, his flute in his hand. He swung it at the leader. It hit hard on the back of his neck, knocking him out immediately.

When everything was over, Blue turned and took the rope of the curtains from the counter and tied the robbers when he heard someone spoke behind him.

"I hope you didn't kill him, Musician."

Blue growled at the name and turned to face his teammate.

"Of course I didn't! I'm not a murderer, thank you very much. It's just some drug that could make him pass out long enough for the cops to throw him into jail." He snapped. "Besides, I told you I have better choices of alias, GL. Musician is just plain lame. Oh, by the way, you guys are safe now." Blue snapped but his tone softened dramatically when he turned towards the hostages. Just then, Red showed up with the woman being taken to the treasury who looked shaken but was safe.

"We need to go now." Red whispered as he saw the police were approaching.

"I'm on it." Blue whispered. He took out a small black sphere from his pocket and smashed it on the ground. Smoke erupted and the three disappeared in the smoke before the hostages could say a thing or thank them. But as the police cleared out the scene, they were watching afar in silent. Then, as quiet as they came, they disappeared into the evening city without any sound.

"So, Musici-" Green began as they went back to Dalton; changed back to their school uniforms and gathered their belongings, but Blue cut him off impatiently.

"I told you not to call me that! I have some more choices for my aliases." He snapped.

"But dude! Siren is for women, that's how the ancient Greeks portrayed them." GL frowned.

"Oh! Excuse me! But that's very sexist! They aimed to make the impression that all women were devils and that sickened me to no end!

"Calm down!" GL raised his hands in defence. "But seriously, why don't you just take an alias from a more positive image like 'Euterpan'?"

"Euterpan? Named after Euterpe, the Muse of Music?" Blue said, his eyes twinkling.

"Uh, yeah. How do you feel about it?" Green asked.

"You know…" Blue smiled. "I once thought you were just a culture-deficit meathead, maybe I should reconsider it now, Hunter."

"Hey! I take offence to that! Anders!" Green, or Hunter Clarington, a Caucasian male with emerald green eyes and brown hair Canadian, snapped playfully and Blue, or Fung Tian Hai Anders, an American-born Chinese with black obsidian eyes and ink black hair just laughed.

"I'm going to kill you, Anders." Hunter growled.

"You wouldn't. Or I'm going to tell Kyle what really happened to his drafts when he went to Oa to pay a visit to Hal, Guy and John, mentor and trainers of you two." Anders said and smirked when Hunter's face paled dramatically.

"You. Win." Hunter said with gritting teeth.

"You guys, can you be more childish?" Red asked tiredly while chewing on a protein bar. He shoved the bar into his pocket when they entered the school library so they could do their homework. A few hours later, his mobile phone buzzed, signaling a message arrived. He took a look and couldn't help himself but smile.

"Well, who's the childish one now? Barry." Hunter whispered and crossed his arms, smirking as Red, or Barry Allen, a Caucasian with lush forest green eyes and brown hair, blushed.

"Aww… You look so cute when you blushed." Anders teased quietly as he took a sip of his milk-tea.

"Shut up!" Barry hissed.

"Just admit it, when you're in love, you acted worse than a high school girl asked out by her crush." Hunter whispered flatly.

"Shut up!" Barry hissed again, louder this time, earning a few disapproving glances from nearby students.

"It's too cliché, he won't say he's in love." Hunter softly sang, enjoying the view of Barry blushing more.

"Give up, give in. Check the grin you're in love." Anders piped up.

"Stop this!" Barry got even louder this time and started to get the attention of the librarian, a stern old woman.

"Boy, don't be proud. It's OK you're in love." Hunter and Anders sang together and Barry finally lost it.

"Shut up!" He shouted, jumped to his feet.

"Sebastian!" The librarian scolded.

"Sorry, Madame Pamela, we're leaving now." Barry whispered, glaring at his two friends, the only two in Dalton who knew his real identity as Barry Allen, a.k.a. Flash. To other people in the school or in fact, the whole Westerville and surrounding area, there was only one person in his place: Sebastian Smythe, a playboy bastard.

"So, what's about that message?" Anders said as they were now at their dorm room, which was on the first floor on a dormitory called Seiryu. Dalton had a total of five student dormitories. Seiryu aside, there were Suzaku, Byakkou, Genbu and Kirin.

"It's just my team reporting how things were going in Central City. Nothing serious." Barry replied.

"Really? Then why do you smile like that? Not the meerkat smirk you showed when dealing with strangers but the real smile no one besides us had seen." Hunter pressed on.

"Fine, fine, I admit it. My boyfriend just asked if I am doing fine. He also told me that he was going to take me somewhere nice when I got back." Barry sighed.

"You two are disgustingly fluffy." Anders teased, turning on the music from his laptop. "I'm sure I will have diabetes sooner than I thought."

"You're just jealous that you don't have a lover like Barry's. What's his name again? Edward? Eduardo?" Hunter teased.

"It's Eddie." Barry said.

"Barry and Eddie, sitting on a tree-" Anders started and ducked the pillow Barry threw at him.

"I swear to whatever's holy, you're the most idiotic person I have ever seen." Barry grumbled.

"Hey! I'm just trying to lighten the mood." Anders defended himself. "We've just been back from stopping a bank robbery. It's good to have some fun, to get some distraction."

"Whatever, so what are we gonna do now?" Barry asked, lying on his bed.

"Well…" Anders said, glancing at the clock. "The night is still young, why don't you tell us your past and something like… how you and your boyfriend came together?"

He said with a mischief smile which was soon joined by Hunter.

"I don't even know when you became such a gossip whore…" Barry groaned. Hunter and Anders snickered.

"Oh come on. The evolution of the superhero in Central City! Not to mention his love life! Who's ever got the privilege to hear it on first-hand?!" Anders laughed.

"I'm not a hero, Anders." Barry said quietly.

"You're too humble, man." Anders said sincerely and Barry sighed.

"Well, to understand what I am going to tell you, tell me something first. What was the impression or feel when you met me?" Barry asked.

"Hmm… A red blur flashing past at least a dozen blocks within a few seconds." Anders said.

"A gust of wind as it raced past me." Hunter replied.

"Mmhmm. As you two know, I am the fastest man alive. But before all of this happened, my story is simple: I have been running for all my life, usually from those bullies from school or on the streets. Sometimes, I managed to escape, sometimes, well, I didn't." Barry said.

"That stinks." Hunter whispered.

"Nevertheless, I considered myself a lucky person, for I have a loving and warm family. My parents love each other dearly, and both love me unconditionally. Everything is as normal as this, until when I was 11 years old, at that fateful and strange night, when my mother lost her life and my father was sent to jail by a wrong accusation. Not only my happiness was replaced with sorrow, I also need to run away from something far more terrible; something I could never explain; something… impossible."

"I'm sorry." Anders whispered in a sad voice. Barry didn't reply. He seemed lost to his memory, about how he came to this, how he got his power in the first place.

"Gosh! I'm late!" Barry Allen ran along a crowded street of Central City, not bother to notice if he had bumped into the others. For his whole life, he had been running. But he knew very clear that if he got even more late, then his job was going to run away from his hand as well.

Meanwhile, outside a bank, a police detective walked out of the building with another police detective: Joe West, the foster father of Barry Allen.

"It's the second robbery this week." The police detective, Fred Chyre said.

"The teller identified the shooter, it's Clyde Mardon." Joe said and Fred looked horrified.

"What?! Oh geez, the Mardon Brothers are back again?!" Fred gasped.

"What do we got?" David Singh, the boss of Joe asked.

"The perps took the bank, shot the cameras and killed a security guard over there as a chaser." Joe reported as he handed two photos of the Mandon brothers at Central City Police Department to Singh.

"I got unis kicking in doors of known and notorious Mardon brothers associates." Joe concluded.

"CSI been over it?" Captain Singh further asked. Joe and Fred looked at each other.

"Uh… No." Joe replied and Singh groaned impatiently.

"Where's Allen?" The captain demanded.

And that was the scene when Barry finally showed up, David was discussing him with Joe.

"-but Joe, you can't keep on covering for him-" He heard Singh said as he quickly approached them.

"CSI! CSI! Coming through!" Barry called as he ran.

"-If he's not here, I'm going to have to carry on this investigation without him."

"Sorry I'm late. Captain Singh." Barry panted.

"And what is it this time, Mr. Allen?" Singh demanded. "Did you forget to set your alarm clock?"

He didn't give him any time to response and continued to rant.

"And before you answer, I should remind you: the excuse you gave last time was car trouble, wanna know what that one was particularly memorable?"

"I do not own a car." Barry replied timidly. Ok, this is embarrassing, but he deserved that. Who told him to be late on work?

"He was running an errand for me."

Oh, how Barry loved Joe and his voice which was so angelic! Perhaps Joe would never admit it, but the older man always interceded in times like this, no wonder people thought he was covering for Barry. After making sure he hadn't got himself fired, Barry immediately started his investigation, using everything he could use: skills, knowledge and tools, including Chyre's pen, given by his father… before he passed away… Oh crap. Barry humbly apologised as he shoved the pen, now with some animal faecal sample on its tip, into the evidence bag. How ironic is that? Meanwhile, Joe and Singh just stared at each other and shook their heads.

When everything was over and Barry got back to his laboratory, his best friend from childhood, Iris West came visit him.

"Ok. So I'm ready to see this atom smasher smashing." She walked in with a beautiful coat, some golden-brown flower patterns on the black cloth. Iris stopped in front of Barry, but the man's focus was on somewhere else.

"There was a shooting today." Barry said without taking his eyes away from the computer monitor. "You dad needs me to process some evidence, which means I don't know if we'll be able to make it to S.T.A.R. Labs."

Iris looked disappointed as she followed Barry around in his lab, to his dining table which was filled with fast food already.

"But seeing this thing turn on is like your dream! Your sad little nerdy dream." Iris complained.

"And I cancelled a date for this." Iris said as she took a piece of French fries.

"Hands off my fries!" Barry immediately grabbed the box put in his arms like it was his treasure. "I didn't even notice when you started eating this much! Yeesh! Unbelievable…"

"Hey! I'm stress-eating over my dissertation." Iris defended. "We started selling cronuts at Jitters and I had two already today. If I don't graduate soon, I'm gonna be more a muffin-top than a woman."

"You are always amazing." Barry said sincerely before turning back to work, occasionally answer Iris's question like "What's so important about this particle accelerator anyway?" His answer must be really nerdy, because even Iris thought he needed to find a girlfriend. But a girlfriend, he probably would never find one, that's because he had never been interested in women. He learnt about his sexuality when he was in high school, but because of his situation back then, he never came out to anybody. He, himself, also felt that he wouldn't have the time for anything romantic; too many things were bothering him. Apart from those bullies in the campus, he was also trying his very best to reverse the verdict of his mother's murder, cleaning his father's name in jail, who was wrongly accused of murdering his wife.

"I like this Iris." Hunter said and Barry glanced at him.

"Hate to burst your bubble, bro. But the last person who did that, even if he was not really dating her, he got scared out of his mind by Joe." Barry said simply.

"Oh my, over-protective daddies…"

"Uh… Let's talk about how you and Eddie. When did you two meet?" Anders tried to change the subject.

"I'm getting there, young man. Be patient." Barry said.

In the end, Barry managed to finish all the tests on time and reported to Joe about the possible hideouts of the Mardon brothers, so he could go to S.T.A.R. Labs to witness the turning on of particle accelerator with Iris and both were thrilled like Christmas had come early.

"So Barry, how was your trip? Did you find proof of the impossible in Starling City, or did you just make my dad mad for no reason?" Iris asked as she and Barry walked into the open space outside S.T.A.R. Labs, arms linked.

"Actually, while I was away, I had a chance to think about you know, relationships. And well, I'm not in one, and… you're not in one either." Barry said, but started to feel awkward. He didn't want Iris to have the wrong feeling, and he was not ready to come out yet. To be honest, he never really thought of it. "And you're my best friend, Iris."

"You're mine too. Why else would I be here?" Iris replied.

"That's not what I meant. What I meant-" Barry said but Iris cut him off.

"I know what you're gonna say, Barry." Iris stated, looking at his eyes.

"I'm not sure you do." Barry whispered and Iris just laughed in a low voice before she looked more serious.

"Even though we pretty much grew up in the same house together, and we're kinda like brother and sister, because we're not brother and sister, it can get really weird and awkward to talk to me about relationships." Iris explained, but she also seemed to be a bit confused too.

"But I just want you to know, that it shouldn't be awkward. There is nothing that I want more than for you to meet the right person that totally loves and adores you for the amazing guy that you are." Iris said sincerely, Barry felt his eyes started to water. No, that's not the moment.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Barry managed to say, Iris looked amused by him.

"Aww… Aren't you glad I know you so well?"

In the meantime, Dr. Harrison Wells, Barry's idol got on stage and began his speech and the two turned their focus on the speaker. But things never ran smoothly for Barry, a nameless thief stole Iris's bag which contained her computer. As her companion, Barry immediately ran after him. But a nerd is a nerd, just less than 2 minutes and Barry was got his wind knocked out by the thief. Luckily, Iris didn't lose anything in the end when a police detective intercepted.

"Who is that guy, and what is he so proud of? So, he caught a mugger." Iris asked when they were back at CCPD.

"He's a transfer from Keystone. Started a few weeks ago." Barry explained, looking at the new comer all the time.

"Eddie Thawne." He introduced.

"Oh, that's Detective Pretty-Boy." Iris said, eyeing Eddie up and down, looking amused. Barry, on the other hand, frowned slightly.

"That's what my dad calls him." Iris explained. "Says he actually keeps score when it comes to arrests. He is pretty though."

Barry couldn't agree more, Eddie Thawne was very hot. Even in his suit, he could see how perfect the man's physique was, not to mention those short, soft blonde hair, smooth like the finest silk and shining like a pool of liquid gold under the setting sun; like a field of ripe wheat stretching beyond the vast horizon, swaying in waves as the breeze crossed by, and those eyes, those beautiful crystal clear eyes, blue like the most pristine water in the South Pacific; like the ice deep within a glacier that never melted. And his voice, that deep, mature voice that sent vibrations deep within Barry's soul. Barry gulped at his thought. Just then, Eddie turned his head and his eyes met his own, lush forest green met with elegant icy blue. It last only several seconds before Eddie turned back to his colleague. But to Barry, it seemed to be like a life-time. Seeing those eyes piercing him made Barry's heart skip a beat. He also suddenly felt hotter and his mouth got drier. The air-conditioning system didn't crash in the office, did it? Barry thought with his face warming up quickly. Iris looked at him in confusion. Barry humbly excused himself and left in a hurry.

"Ooh…" Hunter and Anders cooed while Barry started to blush.

"That's so sweet." Hunter said, shaking his head.

"This is the cliché and yet so legendary 'Love at first sight'… Aww…" Anders cooed.

"And you look too cute and silly when you're shy." The two said together.

"If you continued to tease me, I'm not gonna continue the tale." Barry threatened and that kept the two quiet.

Later at that night, a torrential downpour started. Barry went back to his lab, which was dripping water because he forgot to close the skylight. He turned on the TV and tuned it to the News channel. The reporter was reporting the situation of the particle accelerator and the possible effect of the weather to the machine, but Barry was not paying attention to her. He lifted the Central City map he hanged over a board, revealing a section of his past that he had been hiding: The murder of his mother, 14 years ago: The past that Barry had never forgotten and would never forget.

The weather continued to deteriorate. Lightning flashed outside the building, huge amount of electricity tore through the air, heating up the molecules to exploding temperature, causing deafening thunders. Countless drops of rain water pounced on the window glasses on the wailing of the gales. To Barry, such stormy weather was like a reflection of his heart. Meanwhile, Joe and Fred managed to find the Mardon brothers in one of the farms that Barry deduced. Unfortunately, Fred was shot in the neck and bled to death by Clyde, and Joe could only watch the two robbers escaped in a plane.

Back at his lab, Barry heard an ominous sound coming from the TV, the sound of an alarm from S.T.A.R. Labs. Immediately, he dashed to the TV and listened to the reporter's speech.

"Wait, we are now being told to evacuate the facility. The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator. But so far have been unable to regain-"

And then, the signal was cut off and the screen blackened. Barry looked up at the window, which allowed him to see the place where the particle accelerator was located. Almost instantly, a loud boom rang and a fireball erupted from where the accelerator was supposed to be, shooting up high into the sky like a dragon taking flight, illuminating the storm clouds, forks of yellow lightning bolts shot at every directions. The shockwave generated expanded outward with supersonic speed. The plane that the Mardon brothers was in was unlucky enough to get in the shockwave's path, and as Joe looked up in shock, the plane broke into two as the wave shot past it and exploded.

Barry tried to close the skylight but when he tried to do, he noticed that the chemicals in his laboratory were flooding out of their containers like someone was sucking them out. Barry looked up at the skylight and saw a blot of orange lightning plunged down, scattering the glass of the skylight and struck him with million voltages of electricity. Barry shot backward and slammed against the shelves which contained all the chemicals. The glass containers all broke upon the impact, their content soaking and was being absorbed by the unconscious Barry. He felt like he was trapped in a dark tunnel, full of twists and turns, but then, he heard some voices.

"What the hell happened to him?" He heard a man's voice asked. Were they talking about him?

"He was hit by lightning." Another man's voice replied. Maybe they were.

"How is he still alive?!" This time, it was a woman. Wait, alive? What are they talking?

"You can't be in here!"

Then it was the medical terms, people shouting but one was particularly loud and clear.

"I'm family! Barry!" It was Iris! What happened to her?! Barry tried to shout back, tried to move but to no avail, then a stream of electricity shot in his chest and Barry lost what last ounce of consciousness he was holding on.

When Barry finally started to regain consciousness, he was aware that someone was blasting Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" in his room, and two people talking.

"What are you doing?" A woman's voice asked.

"He likes this song." This time, it was a guy.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I checked his Facebook page."

"Now, you're getting awkward. Why did you even go on his Facebook? Are you stalking him?" The woman asked. The guy stuttered a bit before trying to change the subject.

"I mean, he can hear everything, right?"

"Don't try to change the subject! But yeah, auditory functions are the last sensory faculties to degenerate." The woman said and the guy was walking away from him, singing along with Lady Gaga. And then, without warning, Barry shot up, taking a huge gasp of air, startling the two persons in the room and the apparatus were screaming.

"Oh my God!" A guy, who looked a bit younger than him, with straight shoulder-length black hair gasped.

"Where am I?" Barry said in a hoarse voice.

"He's up!" The woman said before started checking him. She had long brown hair and looked a stern older sister. By comparison, the guy was like a never age up younger brother.

"Doctor Wells, get down to the cortex, like right now." The guy called on his walkie talkie.

Barry started to get down his bed, it was until this moment he noticed he wasn't wearing anything but a pair of shorts.

"Hey, hey. Relax, relax. Everything's ok, man. You're at S.T.A.R. Labs." The shorter guy tried to smooth him, but it only confused Barry more.

"S.T.A.R. Labs? Who… who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Cisco Ramon." The guy said and nodded at the woman who shoved him two empty bottles. "She's Caitlin, Doctor Snow."

"I need you to urinate in this." Caitlin said but Cisco snatched those bottles away.

"Not this second!" Cisco hissed and Barry decided to break it up.

"What… what is happening? What is going on?" Barry demanded.

"You were struck by lightning, dude." Cisco replied, emphasized on the word "lightning". Barry looked shocked and he turned, to see his image on a monitor. Wait… this can't be happening. When did he…

"Lightning… gave me abs?" Barry stared at the image of him with an eight peck.

"Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they're in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration." Caitlin explained.

"Come here, have a seat." Cisco dragged a shocked Barry back to the bed. "You were in a coma."

Barry spun his head at him.

"Coma?! For how long?"

"Nine months." A new voice rang and everyone turned to look at the door. Dr. Harrison Wells were there, but he was now on an electrical wheelchair. Apparently the explosion did a certain damage to the genius as well.

"Welcome back, Mr. Allen." Dr. Wells said. "We have a lot to discuss."

Barry could not believe it. He was walking with Dr. Harrison Wells, his idol, in S.T.A.R. Labs! And talking!

"It's hard to believe I'm here." Barry said as they walked past a damaged cage with the name tag Grodd. "I've always wanted to meet you face to face. Well, you certainly went to great length to do it."

"S.T.A.R. Labs has not been operational since FEMA categorized us as a class 4 hazardous location. 17 people died that night with many more were injured, myself amongst them." Dr. Wells explained and Barry looked at the genius.

"I'm sorry." Barry said.

"Don't be." Dr. Wells said as the two reached the particle accelerator, or the place which it used to be. Barry could not help himself but gasp at the sight. The area down below them was like being hit by a 9.0 Richter scale earthquake, then an EF5 tornado blew past before an atomic bomb dropped on it.

"What happened?" Barry asked.

"Nine months ago, the particle accelerator went online, exactly as planned." Dr. Wells began to explain what Barry had missed over the past 9 months. "For forty-five minutes. I had achieved my life's dream. And then… there was an anomaly. The electron volts became unmeasurable, the ring under us popped, energy from that detonation was thrown into the sky, and that, in turn, seeded a storm cloud-"

"-That created a lightning bolt that struck me." Barry finished.

"That's right." Dr. Wells replied quietly. A strange silence lingered between the place and the atmosphere got very uncomfortable.

"I was recovering myself when I heard about you." The older man said. "The hospital was undergoing unexplainable power outages every time you were going into cardiac arrest, every single time. But in fact, those were all actually, a misdiagnosis. Your heartbeat was beating too fast that the EKG failed to register it."

Barry felt his heart ached, it must have been really hard for both Iris and Joe during the past 9 months. But another question still prevailed.

"But it didn't explain why I ended up in here, not that I complain." Barry asked.

"While I'm not the most popular person in town these days, but thanks to Detective West and his daughter, they gave me the permission to bring you here, where we were able to stabilize you." Wells explained as they returned to the ward. Barry looked at him sharply.

"Iris?" Barry asked.

"Yes, Iris. She came to see you quite often." Wells nodded. "Sometimes, she came alone. Sometimes, Detective West came alone. Sometimes, both Iris and Detective West came. But most of the time, Iris came with this blonde young man."

"Eddie?" Barry asked.

"So that's his name? Eddie." Wells asked, looking a bit spaced out. "But yeah, he came by a lot too. When Iris was busying talking with us, asking when you would wake up, if there were going to be any legacies, or something like that, he either just stood by the door or sat on a chair, never looking away from you and Iris."

Barry's mind started spinning. Why would Eddie come visit him? They barely knew each other. The total number of sentences the two exchanged, besides the greetings, was less than 10. So why on earth, would Eddie visit him?

"Speaking of Iris, she talks a lot." Caitlin said as she walked by them, holding several files in her hands.

"Also, she's hot." Cisco piped up and Barry glared at him.

"Dude, that's my sister you're talking about, even though we're not blood-related." Barry warned.

"Sorry." Cisco whispered.

"Whatever. I need to go." Barry said as he started to walk to the door, he was eager to see Iris again, to hug his beautiful kind sister, to tell her that he was alright.

"What? No, you can't!" Caitlin sounded really surprised.

"No, no, no, Caitlin's right. Now that you're awake, we need to do more tests. You're still going through changes, many of them were unforeseen and not to mention that there's so much that we don't know." Wells agreed but Barry was determined.

"I'm fine, really. I feel normal." Barry reassured them. "Thank you for saving my life."

Barry left and Caitlin sighed in exasperation.

"Really?" Caitlin snapped while glaring at Dr. Wells, the old man sighed.

"Detective West was right on one thing. He can be really stubborn."

"Well, at least we know he's fine." Cisco tried.

"How can you be so sure?" Caitlin snapped.

Just then, Barry poked his head back in the room.

"Can I keep the sweatshirt?" He asked, looking longingly at his idol.

"Yeah, keep the sweatshirt." Dr. Wells said.

"Sweet!" Barry said in a slightly fan-boy tone before disappearing again.

"So this is how you get your powers… It's all due to the lightning." Anders looked deep in thought.

"Not entirely true. It's the explosion of particle accelerator gave me the powers. The explosion also gave you powers." Barry explained.

"And you got your power after 9 months, I wonder why mine developed so much slower." Anders said.

"I guess it depends on individuals. Some people developed sooner while some were later, just like some of the Green Lantern recruits finished their training sooner while some lagged behind." Hunter reasoned.

Barry raced across the crowded streets as he headed towards the Jitters, if everything was still like what they used to be then Iris should still be on her shift. Barry couldn't help himself but smiled. How happy she would be to him awake again. Barry thought as he reached his destination, and here she was, helping some customers with their drinks. She was facing him with her back so it would be an excellent chance for a surprise. Barry opened the door, heard the staff, including Iris welcomed him. He smiled as he started walking towards her. Just then, she turned, looked at him, and gasped. She was so shocked that she almost dropped whatever she was holding in her hands.

"Oh my God! You're awake!" Iris put down the bottle she had on her hands and ran towards her brother and pulled him into a fierce hug, tears sliding down her beautiful smooth cheeks. "Why didn't S.T.A.R. Labs call us?"

"I just woke up." Barry explained and Iris looked horrified.

"What? Just woke up?! Should you even be on your feet?" She started babbling but Barry stopped her.

"Iris! I'm… I'm ok."

"I watched you die, Barry. You kept dying and your heart kept stopping." Iris looked like she was going to cry, tears started to swim in her eyes again.

"Don't worry." Barry reassured her by placing her hand on his chest, where his heart was. "It's still beating."

"Beats really fast." Iris said in a shallow voice, feeling the thumps of the heart of his brother, her mind still taking in the information that her brother was awake.

Just then when a customer bumped into a waitress, causing the plates and cups she was holding to crash. It was then when the strange thing happened, in front of Barry, time seemed to be slowed down, like someone had pressed the slow button on a TV remote. Everything Barry was seeing was in slow motion, he could even see the droplets of beverages hanging in the air, shaping and re-shaping all the time. It seemed like if he moved, he could grab those falling things. But then, the time flow seemed to return to normal, the china crashed and smashed to pieces. Barry was confused, what had just happened?

"My dad is gonna be so happy to see you. Let me get my stuff, ok? I'll be right back." Iris said as she headed towards the staff-only area.

For the whole journey from Jitters to the police department, Iris held onto Barry's arms, never let go, fearing if she did then everything would become just a dream and Barry would still be in coma. Nevertheless, she let him go when they reached the department. Joe literally dropped the files he was holding and pulled his foster son into a tight hug, the rest of the police department was gathering around them. Everyone was smiling, even Captain Singh was there too, while he was a strict officer, he still cared about his staff.

"Oh, you scared the hell out of us, kid." Joe said as he hugged Barry. "You look ok. Are you really?"

"Yeah. Why not?" Barry said before someone caught his eyes. Eddie Thawne was sitting on his desk, he didn't join the group, nor had he said anything, yet he was looking, no, staring at him. His eyes showed that his emotion was in a storm-like situation and was difficult to read. The two continued to look at each other, they both opened their mouths, but before they could say anything, someone interrupted the happy reunion.

"Detective West, we've got a 5-50 in progress at Gold City Bank. Two dead. Storm's really picking up on the south side. Grab your rain gear." A police officer reported. Barry sighed internally, why didn't the criminals ever take a break?!

"I'm sorry, Barry, I gotta run." Joe said as he started to go to his room and get his things.

"Do you need my help?" Barry asked.

"No, you take it easy." Surprisingly, it was Captain Singh who said that. "There'll be plenty for you to do once you've settled in. You had missed out 9 months of your work."

"Let's go partner." Joe called and Eddie got himself ready. He stood in front of them, looked like he had so many things to say but didn't know how to begin. So all Eddie could say was:

"Hey, Allen. Glad to see you."

"Thanks, Eddie." Barry replied awkwardly, he wanted to ask if the blonde really visited him with Iris during his coma, but that would be too awkward to ask him in this environment. Luckily, Eddie turned his attention to the person besides him.

"Hey, Iris."

"Detective, you should go, my dad doesn't like to be kept waiting." She said, Eddie shifted uncomfortably but managed to say "Glad you're back." to Barry one more time before he left too.

"The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot and killed Chyre. He and his brother died trying to escape, their plane crash." Iris informed Barry in a sad tone when he saw Fred Chyre's photo under the memorial.

"Iris! Got a minute?" A colleague of Joe called and Iris left. Then, Barry noticed a criminal was going to snatch a gun from a nearby officer and without thinking, Barry moved. He got to the man's side, punched him in the back so his trick won't work and left, all within one second. The criminal swore angrily before being taken away. Barry was confused, did he just do that? Was he having that hallucination of time being slowed down again?

"You ok?" Iris asked as she raced back to him.

"I… I'm fine. I… I just need some air. I'll… I'll call you tonight, alright?" Barry stuttered and tumbled to the door.

"Aww… Happy reunion!" Anders cooed.

"But seriously, dude. Can you be more oblivious? He's totally crushing on you!" Hunter said.

"I'm not aware of it at that moment!" Barry snapped, still blushing a bright red colour. "I don't know that he's attracted to men! Besides, there's something happening and I just couldn't omit it just then!"

"You mean the manifesting of your power?" Anders asked.

"Exactly. And Eddie's strange reaction completely escaped my mind after I stopped the thug to take my colleague's pistol." Barry explained.

In the back alley of CCPD, Barry was trying to figure out what happened. He was so nervous that his hands were shaking, but when he looked down, to his horror and astonishment, his hand was vibrating so fast that he felt it was going to catch on fire by the friction with air.

He tried to run, but as he did, he found he was this close to kiss the brick wall, he pulled himself to a stop. He tried again and this time, he was not so lucky, he banged against the back of a cop car, smashing the window and yet, he seemed to be spared, not a scratch on his face. This was not normal. No human could have done that. Barry was desperate to know what happened to him and there was only one place he knew he would find the answer. Immediately, he raced back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Needless to say, Cisco and Caitlin were surprised to see him, and even more surprised when he told them what happened. Immediately, Dr. Wells, Caitlin and Cisco took Barry to an abandoned runway where no settlements were nearby so they could test on him.

"You don't really believe he can run that fast, do you?" Caitlin asked, a bit skeptical.

"Well, I believe anything is possible, and in a few minutes, maybe you will too." Wells said as Cisco was chatting with Barry.

"How does it fit?" Cisco asked.

"It's a little snug." Barry said half-honestly, because let's face it, the entire combination of his outfit, particularly the thing he wore on his head, just made him look very idiotic.

"At least you'll be moving so fast, no one will see you." Cisco said, silently agreeing that the outfit looked horrible. "See, you thought the world was slowing down, it wasn't. You were moving so fast, it only looked like everyone else was standing still. Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output, and Caitlin, your vitals."

"What do you do?" Barry asked, noticing the one that he left out.

"Why, I make the toys, man. Check it." Cisco handed Barry something with a lightning bolt attached on it.

"This, is a two-way headset with a camera I modified. Typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case, potential sonic booms, which would be awesome." Cisco said before taking the weird helmet away.

"What?" Caitlin asked a bit impatient when she saw him looking at her.

"Nothing. I just noticed you don't smile too much." Barry said.

"My once promising career in bio-engineering is over. My boss is in a wheelchair for life. The explosion that put you in a coma, also killed my fiancé. So this blank expression kinda feels like the way to go." Caitlin said flatly.

"Sorry." Barry said quietly and Caitlin didn't give him a reply or a look. She just walked away.

"Mr. Allen, while I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint." Dr. Wells said and Barry nodded. He got ready, and then, he launched. His speed was so high it generated a huge gust of wind which knocked Cisco on his butt and sent the papers Caitlin and Dr. Wells brought with them flying in the air. Everyone was looking in shock as they were had the first-hand experience of witnessing something impossible happened.

"He just passed 200 knots per hour." Cisco reported as Barry's speed continued to increase at an astounding rate.

"That's not possible." Caitlin said in disbelief while Dr. Wells looked at the red blur with a mixture of emotion.

Feeling the air rush on his skin, seeing his surroundings flashed by was a brand new experience for Barry. He should be freaked out, but for some reasons, he felt good; he felt free as he ran fast like a… lightning bolt…

And then, Barry's mind flashed back to that fateful night, his mom screaming, two lightning bolts were surrounding her, and in one of them, was a man, dressed in a yellow suit, moving as fast as a lightning bolt. Barry's run came to a crash landing and broke his arm as his result.

"What is all this?" David Singh asked back in CCPD.

"Witnesses from the robbery at Gold City Bank. Perp made off with 200 grand, more or less." Joe said as he was waiting for his partner who was at the end of questioning the witnesses.

"We're gonna have a sketch artist work with you, if you feel up to it." Eddie said with a warm smile before joining Joe.

"Third robbery in a month, where a freakstorm precedes it." He said as they walked back to their desks. "Sounds like one of those Wide World of Weird cases Barry's obsessed with."

"He's not obsessed." Joe said half-in-mind.

"Guess you haven't read his blog." Eddie whispered and Joe turned to look at him sharply.

"Why would you read his blog to begin with?" Joe demanded. "The last time I knew, you two were not very close."

Eddie started blushing and muttered, "I just want to know more about him."

Shaking his head, Joe changed his subject.

"The security cameras at the bank?"

"Apparently they all shorted out." Eddie looked a bit relieved when Joe did that, but Joe kept in mind that he would need a talk with his partner soon.

"But, we've got a bunch of witnesses here, and they all have cell-phones." Eddie concluded as they looked at the witnesses who were cowering on one side of the department.

"The sky went black, and then boom! Outside was inside. It was like there was a thunderstorm, in the bank." A witness told them as they checked the video he recorded.

"The windows blew in, it was like a hurricane. Everyone ran for cover." The teller, who met the robber first hand, informed them. She looked terrified.

"This is getting even weirder." Eddie said in a hushed tone when Joe identified the car the robber used to get away.

"Weird. It looks like you had a distal radius fracture." Caitlin said as she looked at the X-Ray photo.

"Had?" Barry asked, catching the tense she was using.

"It's healed. In three hours." Caitlin said as she showed him a new X-Ray photo, the broken bones were one piece again.

"How is that even possible?"

"We don't know. Yet."

"You really need to learn how to stop." Cisco piped in.

"What happened out there today? You were moving pretty well, and then something caused you to lose focus." Dr. Wells asked.

Sighing, Barry told them what happened in his mind.

"I started remembering something. When I was 11, my mother was murdered." He said and that caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"It was late, a sound woke me up. I came downstairs, and I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. And inside the lightning, there was a man. He killed my mom. They arrested my dad. He's still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder. Everyone, the cops, the shrink, they… they all told me what I saw was impossible." Barry looked so lost, like the man sitting in front of them was not a mature, nerdy 25 years old young man, but a lost, pained 11 years old child, wandering in sorrow and confusion.

"But what if the man who killed my mom was like me?" Barry asked, still looking lost.

"Well, I think I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind." Dr. Wells said.

"Can I help you, Detective?" Iris said as she approached Eddie in Jitters after she finished her shift.

"You can stop acting like you can't stand me when your dad's around. It's not like we're dating." The blonde said.

"Aww… But I like having my BFF who isn't shot to death because of some misunderstanding." Iris giggled and kissed Eddie on the cheek, but to Barry, who just arrived, it was like the two were having a kiss on the lips. The two separated and looked at him, a bit surprised and uncomfortable.

"Someone seems jeeeeeeeealoooooooooous…" Hunter laughed.

"And you are getting a bit oblivious too." Anders pointed out.

"Why would you think like that?" Barry asked with a blush on his face.

"Well, after all the things Dr. Wells told you: him visiting you, staring at you, not to mention the awkward moment in the police station. If he was in a relationship with Iris or at least had feelings to her, he wouldn't even bother to do all these things." Anders pointed out.

Barry thought and silently admitted that he was a bit oblivious at that time.

"You can't tell my dad. I don't want him to get any wrong ideas." Iris said as the two walked.

"Doesn't seem like anyone's in on the secret." Barry said a bit bitterly.

"When you were in the hospital, Eddie occasionally covered my father's shifts so that we could both be with you." Iris explained.

"And sometimes, he came with you." Barry said and Iris looked at him.

"You knew? Did those people in S.T.A.R. Labs told you? Well, anyway, I thanked him with a cup of coffee, and here we are." Iris said.

"Dating your partner's daughter, it's not against department regulations?" Barry asked and Iris frowned.

"Why are you so upset? And we're-"

"I just don't like having to lie to your dad, you know?" Barry cut off before Iris could finish her sentence. Then, they heard the police's sirens. They turned and saw a cop car was starting to lose control and Barry pulled Iris away from the danger zone. He looked up and saw the driver in the black Mustang that the police were chasing: The supposedly deceased Clyde Mardon. Immediately, Barry went after him and managed to get the robber out of the car. Then, it happened. Clyde Mardon raised his arms, and a dense white fog started to form around him, it spread outward until the criminal was lost in Barry's sight and induced a car crash which killed the driver.

When Joe arrived, to he was cross was an understatement, he was furious. And when Barry told him what happened, he didn't believe him, as expected. It then became another fit of the old argument about what happened to Barry's mom. Hurt by the fact that no one believed him, Barry walked away.

"Dad, you're too harsh." Iris looked very displeased at her father's attitude towards Barry before she left too. Eddie then came in and informed Joe that the man who robbed Gold City Bank, was in fact, Clyde Mardon.

"But that's impossible, he's dead, right?" Eddie asked.

Meanwhile, Barry went to S.T.A.R. Labs and demanded answers. The reply he got from Dr. Wells, however, was extremely unsatisfactory. One thing is certain though: there were more people like him in the world. From the map Dr. Wells created, they could be everywhere. Metahumans, as Dr. Wells named them. But when Dr. Wells told him not to play hero, that he's just a young man who was struck by lightning, Barry just couldn't take anymore.

"So that's what all I am to you? A new sub-species that you created and could be used as a tool for you to make money and fame?" Barry snapped as he left. If Joe or Dr. Wells wouldn't believe him, there was one more person he could at least try, a friend he made during his trip in Starling City: The Arrow.

"See? You can be really oblivious." Anders said.

"Maybe I am." Barry quietly admitted.

"Man. That was low for Dr. Wells to think like that." Hunter frowned. "And who is this Arrow?"

"Well… He gave me permission to tell you guys. Arrow is the protector of Starling, you guys may also know him as… Oliver Queen." Barry said and Anders spit out the tea he was drinking.

"No way… You are a friend of Oliver Queen, the billionaire?!" Anders choked, coughing heavily, Hunter was staring at him with gaping mouths while Barry sighed.

"Yes."

"Oh… my… god…" Anders said before he turned to Hunter. "Uh… Hunt? Hunter? Hello? Anyone in there?"

He waved his hand in front of Hunter's eyes. When he got no response, he turned to Barry.

"I think you broke him."

"I should have known this will happen… I should have kept it as a secret…" He groaned and face-palmed.

"Don't even think about it. Wow! Oliver Queen! I'm really… really jealous of you right now. But how did you become friends?" Anders asked.

"It's complicated. You see, before the particle accelerator exploded, when I first went to Starling, I didn't even know the two were actually the same man. It was only when he, as Arrow, got poisoned by his enemy and one of his teammates got desperate and took me to their hideout so I could cure him. It was until then I put the two and two together. Of course, he wasn't happy when he woke up and learnt that I know his secret." Barry explained.

"What?! After you saved his life?" Hunter looked appalled, snapping out of his shock.

"You need to understand, Hunter. There is a reason why he kept this as a secret. Tell me, why did you wear a mask whenever you have a mission? Why don't you just go out and yelled in front of the public with 'I am a new Green Lantern! Come challenge me if you dare.'?" Barry asked.

"Uh… That's because I need to protect my family and friends." Hunter said.

"I get it. Arrow did that to the same reason." Anders deduced.

"Exactly. But I manage to earn his trust and I gave him a mask that he is still wearing now. We still keep in touch even after I went back to Central City." Barry said.

As he ran on the highway to Starling, his mind flashed back to the night his mother died, how the police wrongly accused his father for her murder, the pain and frustration and anguish when no one believed him what he had seen.

"I've spent my whole life searching for the impossible. Never imagining that I would become the impossible." Up on a rooftop, Barry told his friend, his brother his story.

"So why come to me? Something tells me you didn't just run more than 600 miles, from Missouri to Pennsylvania, just to say hi." The Arrow asked.

"All my life I've wanted to just do more. Be more. And now I am." Barry confessed. "But when I get to help someone, I screw up. Chasing the bad guy, and caused the death of an innocent in the way."

"If you really do this you're bound to make mistakes. I've made mistakes, and some are still eating my guilt. But the good you do will far outweigh the bad. Let your kindness guide you." Oliver comforted Barry, a sense of proudness in his voice.

"What if Wells is right? What if I'm not a hero? What if I'm just some guy who was struck by lightning?" Barry voiced out the thing that troubled his mind the most.

"I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you, Barry. I think it chose you, because you are destined to be more." Oliver assured him.

"I'm just not sure I'm like you, Oliver. I don't know if I can be some vigilante." Barry voiced his worry.

"You can be better. You inspire people in a way that I never could." The vigilante of Starling City said. When Barry looked at him in confusion, he explained. "Watching over your city like a guardian angel, making a difference saving people. In a flash."

"Is there anything you can tell me? Any advice you have?" Barry asked like a lost puppy. Oliver chuckled lightly.

"You already had it. Take your own advice: Wear a mask." The Arrow put his mask, given by Barry, back on before he shot a grappling hook and swung away like a bat flying in the dark, perfectly blend into the background.

"Cool." Barry whispered before he ran back to Central City. Unknown to him, The Arrow was also looking at him, as he raced along the streets, in a red blur of lightning.

"Cool." Oliver whispered back.

"I've been going over unsolved cases from the past 9 months, and there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths, and missing people." Barry told Cisco and Caitlin in S.T.A.R. Labs. "Your metahumans have been busy. Now, I'm not blaming you, you didn't mean for any of this to happen, I know that by heart. I know you all lost something; something very important; something you cherished dearly. But I need your help to catch Mardon, and anyone else out there like him. And I can't do it without you, without your support."

Caitlin and Cisco looked at each other, their eyes told him that they also agreed on this.

"If we're gonna do this, I have something that might help." Cisco said as he walked across the lab and took out a deep red outfit. "It's designed to replace the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear."

"I thought if we could do something nice for the community, maybe people wouldn't be so angry at Dr. Wells anymore." Cisco explained. "It's made of a reinforced tri-polymer, heat and abrasive resistant, so it should withstand your moving at high-velocity speed. Also, the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control. Plus, it has built-in sensors, so we can track your vitals, and stay in contact with you from here."

"Thanks." Barry looked satisfied. "Now, how do we find Mardon?"

"I re-tasked the Labs's satellites to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City." Caitlin said, looking at her tablet. "And we just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds. I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city."

"That's the farm where the Mardon brothers hid before the explosion…" Barry muttered.

When Barry finally arrived the scene in his red suit, he just managed to remove a debris flying towards… Joe and Eddie?! Barry kicked the debris away and glimpsed at the two police officer. Joe was staring at him with wide eyes, though he didn't think he noticed his real identity. Eddie, on the other hand, looked unconscious.

"Barry, this thing is getting closer. Wind speeds are 200 miles per hour, and increasing. Keeping up like this, it could become an EF5 tornado." Cisco's voice rang in the headset.

"And it's heading towards the city, you copy?" Caitlin piped up.

"Yeah. Loud and clear." Barry answered. "How do I stop it? What if I unravel it?"

"How the hell are you gonna do that?"

"I'll run around it in the opposite direction, cut off its legs."

"You'd have to clock 700 miles per hour to do that!" Cisco shouted.

"Your body may not be able to handle those speeds!" Caitlin warned.

"I have to try." Barry replied.

"But you'll die!" Caitlin shouted but Barry paid no attention to her. He took off, ran around the tornado in the opposite direction.

"The suit's holding up." There was a line of smug in Cisco's voice.

"But he's not." Caitlin sounded worried.

"He can do it. I know he can do it." Cisco replied firmly. But then, a bolt of lightning struck him, sending him flying away.

"He's too strong!" Barry yelled. It seemed the destruction of Central City was inevitable, but then Dr. Wells appeared. He humbly asked Barry to stop the madness he created and gave him the encouragement.

"You can do this now, run! Barry, run!" Wells said and with a newly found determination, Barry took off. This time, he managed to counteract Clyde Mardon's tornado. And then, everything blackened.

Barry got up from the ground, the wailing wind had stopped, his mask was off, and a voice rang behind him.

"Hey!" Clyde Mardon said with a gun pointing at him. "I didn't think there was anyone else like me."

Glaring at the criminal, Barry said,

"I'm not like you. You're a criminal, a murderer. You are nothing like me, and you will never ever be like me."

Clyde sneered before he was being shot to death by Joe, who was still looking but him with wide eyes.

"Barry?" He heard Caitlin's call in his headset.

"It's over. I'm OK." Barry said and everyone in S.T.A.R. Labs smiled, but not Barry, for he had a long explanation to do. Joe was kneeling in front of him, looking at him like it was the first time he knew him.

"How's Eddie?" Barry asked.

"What?! This is the first thing you think of? You could have been hurt! Or even die!" Joe cried.

"Joe, please. I'm fine and I will explain it to you. But now, Eddie's our main concern. He's hurt, remember?" Barry said as the two got to their feet to check on the blonde, who was staring at the sky.

"Eddie, you're awake!" Joe said. "Are you alright?!"

"Ugh, my head." Eddie groaned.

"Help's on the way, hold on." Barry said, after changing back to his civilian clothes.

"I think I have a hallucination." Eddie whispered.

"What did you see?" Joe asked.

"I… I think I saw a blot of red lightning…" Eddie said, Joe looked at Barry, who looked absolutely horrified. "It cancelled out the tornado."

Barry was silently screaming, "He couldn't know! He couldn't know!" And Joe sighed.

"You're probably having a concussion. The doctors will help you, hang on." Joe said and Barry mouthed "Thank you." Before they heard the sirens rang from the distance.

The next morning, Joe and Barry were at the crime scene again, staying in silence.

"What you can do…" Joe began. "It was the lightning bolt?

"More or less." Barry admitted.

"I'm sorry, Barry." Joe apologized and. Barry looked at him. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. And I called you crazy for chasing the impossible."

"But you really did see something that night your mom died." Joe said and Barry nodded.

"And your dad is innocent." Another nod.

"I need you to promise me something." Joe looked at him in the eyes, pleading.

"I don't want you telling Iris about anything you can do. Any of it. I want her safe." He said, Barry nodded.

"Promise me." Joe pleaded.

"Yeah." Barry whispered.

"Will Eddie be a problem?" He asked.

"Probably not, but I am going to keep an eye on him." Joe replied and Barry nodded. It wasn't that he didn't want Eddie to find out, it's just… it's not the time yet.

"So the Detective Pretty-Boy was saved by his destined one but he didn't even know that and his hero decided to keep quiet." Hunter concluded.

"I don't even know you watched those romantic shows, Hunt." Anders said quietly and the said man blushed. Anders and Barry smirked, looks like there would be some teasing in the future.

"That's not the focus!" Was Hunter squeaking? Anders shook his head.

"This is far from over, man." Anders teased and Barry chuckled.

"But seriously, dude. Your bromance with Arrow is adorable." Anders said.

"I know. He might not be the best carer, but surely he did offer whatever the best he had to those he loved. If Roy was like his son, then he saw me as his baby brother, the one who always needed attention and someone to help him whenever he got into trouble.

"That's sweet."

"I know, but that also means he treated me like a child who would never get old…" Barry deadpanned.

"Well, in a way, you are younger than him so he has the right to do that." Hunter reasoned and Barry eyed at him.

"Then don't complain if I treated you the same way he did to me." Barry said and neither Hunter nor Anders replied.

"Let's just move on, shall we? This is not the end, I can see." Anders changed the subject.

"Of course it was not the end." Barry said.

At Iron Height Prison, Barry sat down in the visiting area, facing his father, who looked older every time he visited. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened, grey hair started to creep upward and his eyes looked duller and more tired. All these pained Barry's heart.

"Hey, Slugger." Henry Allen greeted.

"You've been calling me that since I was eleven. Funny thing is, I finally got into a fight today."

"You just got out of a coma. I'm not sure you should be picking fights." His dad didn't look approved.

"Hey. Did you win?" And yet, Henry asked, just like he did when everything was normal and they were just a common loving family.

"Yeah, I did." Barry replied.

"You didn't kill Mom. You know I know that, right?" Barry said that every time he visited his dad, but every time he did, his emotion just started to let loose.

"You believing me… is all I need." Henry whispered, a small smile on his face.

"You're not gonna be in here much longer." Barry informed his dad. "Whoever killed Mom, whatever killed her, I think I finally have a way to find them, to stop them."

"Barry." His dad sighed. "We've talked about this. It's time to let it go. You've got to stop worrying about me, and live your life."

"For the first time, I feel like I finally can." Barry chuckled but his words were choking on tears. "The truth is, ever since the night Mom died, I've been stuck in one place, missed out on an awful lot of things."

He took a breath before continuing his confession.

"But I'm different now, I made some new friends. They're helping me find my way, a purpose, a new meaning of life." Barry said.

In the meantime, back in S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco added a lightning bolt icon onto Barry's new suit.

"Why is it shaped like a lightning bolt?" Caitlin asked as she came in.

"So it's not boring, and more stylish." Cisco replied. Caitlin just shook her head, with fondness though. She admitted, Cisco really had some talent in giving dull things life, making them special.

"And finally move forward. Remember when you wanted me to change my name? So I wouldn't have to deal with people knowing you're my dad. I'm glad they know."

Barry took a deep breath as the tears finally burst through the banks.

"I'm so proud, to be your son." He said tearfully, sincerely, solemnly and proudly. The old man looked a bit teary-eye too.

"I love you, son." It was all Henry Allen could say, but it meant everything to Barry Allen.

"I love you too, Dad." Barry choked, but his smile on his face kept on.

And thus, if you were on the streets of Central City, you would occasionally see a red blur sped past you and you would lose sight of him just within a blink of an eye. It was Barry Allen, racing along the streets, saving people who were in danger with his new powers, which was now a reminder of who he was:

"My name is Barry Allen, and I am the fastest man alive. A friend recently gave me the idea for a new name. And something tells me, it's gonna catch on."

"That's so sweet and heart-warming." Hunter concluded.

"I'm so envy that you have such awesome friends to stand by you." Anders said and Barry smiled.

"Anders, you have Hunter and me on your back. Your parents and siblings still love you. Your family and you four best friends still supported you as always. You're not alone." He said while Hunter nodded in agreement. Anders just smiled, looking a bit teary-eyed.

"I think so." He said and the three hugged.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Dr. Wells were on his wheelchair, looking at a piece of wall in a deserted corridor. At first, there was nothing, but slowly, part of the wall started to cave in, like it was dissolving, and it revealed a hidden door, led to a hidden room. Dr. Wells navigated his wheelchair into the dark room, once he was through, the door closed so no one could notice that there was a door hidden in the wall. The room lit up slowly and Dr. Wells, who was supposed to be paralyzed from the waist down since the explosion of particle accelerator, stood up. In front of him, lay a glowing monitor. Dr. Wells started to walk towards the monitor like a normal person did, all his apparent handicaps were gone. As he stopped in front of the monitor, with calculating eyes, he looked at the content it was showing: A front-page of a newspaper, and its headline?

"FLASH MISSING"
"VANISHES IN CRISIS"
"RED SKIES VANISH"

In between the headline and the section headline was a photo of Barry, in his Flash uniform, and above the headline was the date the newspaper was published. The date?

"APRIL 25, 2024"

TBC…

A.N.: OK, folks. This is the first chapter, how do you feel about it? Good? Bad? Rubbish? Boring? Don't even worth your time? Should I continue or not? It's up to you. ;)

By the way, I decided to make the location of Starling in Pennsylvania. And I want to say that the location of Starling City confused me to no end. While in both shows "Arrow" and "Flash", Central City was known to be located in Missouri near Kansas, Starling City had a ZIP code and coordination near Seattle, Washington. But if that was correct, how could the distance be 600 miles? The last time I check, the straight line distance between the two states is more than 1700 miles. By comparison, the distance between Pennsylvania and Missouri is more believable, though it was still 900 miles instead of 600 miles, so… that's a bug cannot be solved.

Reviews are loved.