Cisco and Caitlin watch as Barry shovels one bite after another into his mouth.
"I wonder how much more he can fit," Cisco murmurs under his breath.
"Probably endlessly," Caitlin responds with a faint shrug.
When no food is left, Barry pats his stomach with a satisfied smile.
"Ah, that was delicious," Barry declares, licking his lips. "What's your PayPal, Cisco? I can send you the money."
"It's fine, Barry," Cisco insists, shaking his head.
"Well, your loss," Barry quips, stretching his arms. "I'm heading out to catch that Naruto wannabe."
"Huh? Naruto?" Cisco blurts out, raising an eyebrow.
"There's a metahuman with a duplication power, ie Clone Jutsu," Barry explains with a smirk.
"Ah, got it," Cisco acknowledges, crossing his arms.
"See you guys later," Barry calls over his shoulder before speeding out of the Cortex, taking the trash with him.
But first, he heads to the workshop to grab his prototype, even flipping open the notebook lying on the table. He starts making corrections, careful not to overwhelm himself with his insane speed.
After fixing a few things, he finally leaves S.T.A.R. Labs in a burst of superspeed, tossing the rubbish into the bin outside on his way out.
First, he changes out of his current outfit by taking a taxi back home. Once he grabs his suit and sets his other belongings on the table, he heads out again to search for "Naruto."
He repeats the same method he used to find Pyg sprinting through the city, scanning for one man.
But something feels different this time. The Flash senses he's moving faster than usual. A grin spreads across his face as he pushes his speed even further.
While searching, he stops a child from wandering into the street, the parents weren't paying attention. Today, The Flash doesn't have time to chat; he's focused on finding his target.
A few blocks away, an active shootout erupts. The Flash ends it instantly, snatching every gun and crushing them before knocking out each shooter.
Next, a police chase unfolds, a criminal speeding away in a car. The Flash handles it effortlessly, dumping the criminal into the back of the police car and steering the vehicle safely to the side of the road to avoid collisions.
He continues his search, circling the city for nearly four hours, but finds nothing. Finally, he stops atop a rooftop, hands on his hips, scanning the streets below.
'I don't even remember what his real face looks like. The Speed Force should've refreshed my memories. Guess there are still things I forget." The Flash sighs, frustrated. 'I've been trying to recall, but it just won't come back.'
"When he shows up again, I'll catch him," The Flash mutters, staring down at the city, his right foot resting on the ledge.
. . . .
Early in the morning at the CCPD gym, Barry is already there, shirtless and drenched in sweat, doing pull-ups very, very slowly. His teeth are gritted as he strains through each repetition.
'I've been neglecting my body. I need to balance my training more,' Barry thinks, realizing he's focused solely on speed until now.
He continues the pull-ups effortlessly, his limitless stamina keeping him going. The microtears in his muscles heal almost instantly thanks to his accelerated healing.
Suddenly, he stops mid-rep and drops down. The reason? Hunger, it's starting to distract him from his workout.
He walks over to the wall where he left his food and eats at a normal pace. Once finished, he resumes training, this time working on his kicks against a punching bag.
Before starting, he watches videos of Taekwondo and Muay Thai kicking techniques. The moment he sees them, he understands instantly. He strokes his chin and nods in approval.
Just to be thorough, he also reads up on proper kicking form.
As he begins his kicking drills, other officers entering the gym stare in surprise. The "scrawny forensic scientist" moves like a seasoned fighter, but what shocks them more is the sheer power behind each kick.
While they go through their own workouts, they notice Barry never takes a break. By the time they finish their training regimens, Barry finally pauses, but only to grab more food.
As the officers leave, they see him return to training, this time without the punching bag. Instead, he practices kicks in the air, drilling the movements into his muscle memory.
After satisfying himself with the training session, he washes up, changes clothes, and heads to the forensics lab, taking occasional sips from his water bottle along the way.
Settling into his chair, he begins his daily work as a forensic scientist. While reviewing numerous case files, one particular case catches his attention, a sealed room scenario where victims desperately tried shooting through bulletproof glass to escape, only to succumb to poison.
"That bald guy... if I remember correctly," Barry mutters to himself. "He uses some kind of green gas. Must be a Logia-type power, I think."
The thought crystallizes in his mind: 'He's probably targeting a mall this time.'
"I've got to save those people now," Barry declares, stretching his arms and legs while flexing his muscles.
Rising from his seat, he discreetly retrieves his suit from his bag, concealing it under his jacket before excusing himself under the pretense of buying a drink.
Once out of sight, he changes into his suit in a flash, neatly folding his civilian clothes and leaving them on a nearby rooftop.
Pulling out his phone, he quickly scans through the locations of all malls in Central City. His eyes crackle with electricity as he speeds off to check each location one by one.
He searches specifically for the mall he remembers from the TV series where the attack originally occurred, determined to prevent history from repeating itself.
As The Flash continues his search, the killer slips unnoticed into an elevator with his intended victim.
"It's been a while," the bald man says calmly.
"You? Kyle? But you're supposed to be dead!" the woman gasps.
"Too bad for you, I came back from the grave to haunt you, Judge Howard," Kyle replies as his entire body dissolves into swirling green gas.
Just as he's about to suffocate her, The Flash arrives at Central City Shopping Mall. Recognizing the danger, he races toward the second-floor elevator.
In one fluid motion, The Flash leaps forward instead of crashing into the metal doors, he phases cleanly through them, snatches the woman, and whisks her to safety outside the elevator.
The judge stumbles, shocked to be alive and even more shaken by seeing someone she thought was dead. Her hands tremble violently as she processes what just happened.
The Flash steadies her with a firm grip on her shoulder. "Stay calm," he assures her. "I'll protect you."
Turning around, he sees the ominous green gas reforming and surging toward them.
Reacting instantly, The Flash extends his hand and begins rotating it at blinding speed. The motion creates a miniature cyclone that pushes the toxic fumes away.
He maintains the whirlwind defense, knowing Kyle can't sustain his gaseous form for long, the man has only had these powers for a few days.
Meanwhile, bystanders capture the entire encounter on their phones, flooding social media with photos and videos of the dramatic rescue.
After nearly two hours, the swirling poison gas finally coalesced back into human form. Kyle lay unconscious on the ground, completely drained from overusing his new abilities.
Seeing this, The Flash immediately stopped spinning his hand and dashed forward to catch the falling man. In an instant, he raced to Iron Heights Prison, depositing Kyle's unconscious body at its entrance.
With quick precision, The Flash placed a note on the bald man's forehead that read:
Meta-Human Alert
Ability: Poison gas transformation
Containment protocol: Must be held in an airtight cell to prevent escape.
--++--
My thought process for the day:
Writing this story is getting boring because I have to stick to the timeline, and there are barely any changes.
Sure, I could add some small side stories for a few chapters, but I still have to focus on the main plot.
It feels like doing the main quest in a game after already getting spoiled on everything.
It's not like reading a story where I don't know the ending, keeping me eager to continue. This has been a problem for me over the past few years of writing.
What you guys think should I do?