Within Seconds // Barry Allen

Having a Good Heart

"I wasn't the only one affected by the Particle Accelerator Explosion, was I?" snapped Barry, the very second the doors to the Cortex slid open. 

Dr. Wells spared a glance to Cisco and Caitlin. The two stared expectantly at him. He settled for a sigh. "We don't know," he decided to say.

"You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger. But that's not true. So what really happened that night?" demanded Barry. 

"Well, the Accelerator went active. We all felt like heroes, and then... It all went wrong. A dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world: anti-matter, dark energy, X-elements," he began to explain. 

"Those are all theoretical," interrupted Barry. 

"And how theoretical are you?" asked Dr. Wells. "We mapped the explosion around and throughout Central City, but we have no way of knowing what, or who was exposed. We've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself."

"Meta-humans?" repeated Barry, tone almost mocking. 

"That's what we're calling them," explained Caitlin.

"We saw one today. He's a bank robber and he can control the weather," said Barry.

A goofy grin on his lips, Cisco said, "This just keeps getting cooler!"

"It's really not," shot Parker.

"A man died today," said Barry brokenly. "Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did, from the storm cloud. He's still out there! We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else." 

"Barry, that's a job for the police," said Dr. Wells.

"We work for the police!" yelled Barry. 

"As a Forensic Assistant and a sketch artist," reminded Parker, cringing. 

Dr. Wells nodded her way in agreement. 

Parker menacingly pointed her finger at him. "At least we're trying to do something about your mess."

"You're responsible for this, for him," said Barry. 

"What's important is you! Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world: genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells," Dr. Wells took a breath, almost chuckling. "And we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero! You're not a hero. You're just a young man who got struck by lightning."

Barry snatched Parker's arm as she took a menacing step forward. He kept her from hitting anyone. He couldn't stop her running mouth, until his hand slid down her arm. She stopped when he squeezed her hand, then turned, leaving the argument behind. 

××××

Hidden in a room down the hall from the Cortex, Parker sat curled up in a computer chair, blankets encasing her. She was left alone for a while. 

"Parker! Parker, Parker, Parker!" called Cisco. "I have a task for you!"

He found her. Squeezing through the tiny door, Cisco retracted his arms once he reached her desk, allowing the items to fall. Three bundles of crimson colored fabric and a sewing machine were spread across the desk. He pried a folded piece of paper from his pocket, handing it over to her. 

"Here is the sketch I made. I'm actually not that bad at drawing a body," praised Cisco. 

Parker snorted. "Dude, this looks like Fat Albert."