Two days had passed.
Barry's body had become noticeably more toned. No longer the skinny forensic scientist he once was, he now carried the lean, defined physique of a professional featherweight fighter.
Yet, despite the physical transformation, little else had changed. He had captured a metahuman, his old bully, whom he'd easily subdued with the power-dampening cuffs. But that had been a one-time thing, hardly a challenge.
Right now, Barry was focused on something far simpler: gambling.
With his speed, winning was effortless. Money piled up in front of him as he leaned back, smirking. "Let's go gambling!," he declared, raking in another victory.
Before he could place another bet, his phone buzzed. Joe's name flashed on the screen.
"Barry, we've got another strange crime scene," Joe informed him.
"On my way," Barry replied, hanging up with a sigh. "Just when I was getting started," he muttered, even though this was already his third casino of the night.
Suddenly, the casino lights flickered then died.
"What the hell?" Barry frowned, glancing around.
Outside, the streetlights had also gone dark. The entire block was losing power.
The casino's backup generator hummed to life, restoring dim lighting. But something was wrong. Barry stepped outside, scanning the city. Buildings were blacking out one after another, as if something or someone was draining the grid at an alarming rate.
Only a few scattered structures remained lit, likely running on independent generators.
Barry stared at the darkened city, his mind racing. 'Who could've done this?' he wondered.
Then it hit him, the man from that one episode, the one with lightning powers. If that guy was siphoning electricity, causing this massive blackout, Barry had a general idea where he might be.
A new worry crept in. 'Could he be smarter with his power than I thought?' The idea unsettled him. 'If he controls electricity, could he move at lightning speed too?'
Barry clenched his fists, frustration bubbling up. 'My speed might not be enough. He's a lightning-timer, and I'm barely at that level. I'll have to be sneaky.'
But just as he took a step forward, he froze. 'Wait, doesn't he sense electricity in the human body?'
"Damn it," Barry muttered. "I need my TCC."
Without wasting another second, he sped back home, grabbed his prototype and suit, then drove straight to S.T.A.R. Labs.
Inside the dim lab, he worked frantically under the beam of his flashlight, adjusting the device. The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway before another flashlight beam cut through the darkness, landing directly on his face.
"Barry?" Caitlin's voice was laced with confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"Could you not shine that in my eyes?" Barry squinting.
"Sorry." She lowered the light, her gaze shifting to the Flash suit on the table.
Just then, the backup generator roared to life, flooding the room with light. They both flicked off their flashlights.
"Barry," Caitlin pressed, "answer me. What's going on?"
"I'm finishing this prototype," he said, not looking up. "I need it to fight the metahuman causing the blackout."
"Is he really that dangerous?" she asked, stepping closer. "Dangerous enough to risk an untested device?"
"Yes. I'm not taking chances."
"But this could kill you!"
"I know," Barry said sharply. "But I don't have a choice. There's no other way to beat him."
"How can you be sure? You don't even know the full extent of his powers!"
"I know enough," Barry shot back, irritation flaring. "Caitlin, just stop. I need to focus."
She recoiled, stunned by his tone. Even Cisco, who had just stepped out from the particle accelerator after activating the backup generator, froze in surprise.
Caitlin's jaw tightened. "Fine. If that's what you want, don't expect me to patch you up next time you get hurt." She turned and strode away.
Barry scoffed without thinking. "Good. Who needs you anyway?"
Cisco, watching the exchange, hesitated before following Caitlin.
A few seconds later, Barry's own words hit him. He dragged a hand down his face. *I'm an idiot. Why did I say that?*
After several tense minutes, the device finally beeped, complete. Just as Barry's phone buzzed with Joe's call, a streak of blue lightning crackled in front of him.
A man stood there, slightly shorter than Barry, bald, with veins darkening beneath his skin. His eyes burned with blue electricity, shadows circling them like bruises.
"Do you know where Dr. Harrison Wells is?" the man demanded.
Barry's mind raced. 'I can't use the device yet, if he's as fast as lightning, he'll destroy it before it works. He's unstable. One wrong move, and I'm dead.'
Swallowing hard, Barry raised his hands. "Dude, chill. I'm just here to steal some tech. No idea who you're talking about."
The man studied him, then sneered. "Then you're useless."
A bolt of lightning erupted from his hand, too fast to dodge. It slammed into Barry's chest, hurling him backward into a shelf. Equipment crashed down, burying him.
Without another word, the man turned and vanished.
The noise brought Caitlin and Cisco sprinting back. Despite their fight, Barry was still someone they knew and the second they rounded the corner, the stranger blocked their path.
"I've seen you on TV," he said. "You work for Wells. Where is he?"
Caitlin's voice shook. "What did you do to Barry?"
The man blinked, then smirked. "Barry? That thief?" He shrugged. "Dead."
Caitlin's breath caught. Cisco went rigid.
"Tell me where Wells is," the man growled.
"We don't know," Cisco said, his voice tight.
The man's eyes crackled with blue energy as his temper flared. "TELL ME WHERE HE IS!" His shout sent a surge of power through the hallway, plunging it into darkness as every light shorted out.
"I'll ask one last time - where is Wells?" The man's voice was deadly calm now, more terrifying than his shout.
Caitlin swallowed hard. "What do you want with him?"
"He murdered my friend," the man hissed. "Now I'll return the favor." A cruel smile twisted his lips as he had a sudden realization. "If you won't tell me..." In a flash of blue lightning, he appeared inches from Cisco, his hand closing around Cisco's throat. "TELL ME, WOMAN, OR HE DIES NOW!"
Caitlin's breath caught in her chest. Both she and Cisco could only think one thing in that moment:
'If only Barry were still alive...'
'Barry, I'm sorry. You are right''
Then, a blinding flash of light so intense it burned their retinas. Before they could process what was happening, The Flash stood before them, the TCC device fused to his chest.
Barry glanced at the dust in his palm, all that remained of power dampener cuff. 'No choice now. Have to end this.'
In one fluid motion, his hand phased through the man's chest. The kill was instant, but Barry knew the real danger was just beginning.
'The energy contained in his body... if it destabilizes...' Barry's mind raced through calculations. 'Could wipe Central City off the map.'
"Stupid," Barry muttered under his breath as the final calculations came together. 'Even disposing of the body in the ocean would create a mega-tsunami.' The collateral damage would be catastrophic either way.
The Flash made his decision, the only viable option left. In a blur of motion, he grabbed the corpse and exploded into motion, streaking out of S.T.A.R. Labs with his lethal cargo.
With every ounce of his speed, he hurled the body upward. The corpse became a fiery projectile, tearing through the atmosphere, friction burning away flesh and cloth until only a charred mass remained, hurtling into the void of space.
'At least this way the energy discharge won't hurt anyone,' Barry thought as he watched the glowing speck disappear into the blackness.
But in his haste, he'd forgotten one crucial astronomical detail today marked the rare planetary alignment when Earth and Mars lined up perfectly in their orbits. The corpse, now a smoldering ballistic mass, continued its unstoppable trajectory... straight toward the Red Planet.