Good day y'all, I'm really really sorry for not updating recently, it's just that I have to prepare for my exams. It really hasn't been easy I'll try my best to update as regularly as possible.
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Victor stepped out of S.T.A.R. Labs with Barry, though he hung back and let him walk ahead. Barry moved fast, almost jittery. Waking up from a nine-month coma would do that to anyone.
But Victor wasn't thinking about that. Today was the day Barry would use his powers for the first time. It wasn't world-changing, but it was the perfect opening for Victor to get involved. Messing with the timeline was a risk, sure… but Victor had never been the type to play it safe.
He watched Barry get smaller down the street, his figure fading into the crowd. There was no point going after him now. His chance would come later.
Barry made his way to Jitters, excitement practically buzzing off him. The second he stepped inside, his eyes swept the room, searching for Iris. He spotted her near the counter, and the look on his face shifted instantly, hope, longing, something tangled and hard to name.
Iris hadn't noticed him yet. It took a friend tapping her shoulder and tilting her head toward Barry for her to turn. The moment their eyes met, she went completely still. Then instinct took over. She rushed forward and threw herself into his arms before she even realized what she was doing.
"Oh my God, you're awake," Iris breathed, her eyes already glossing with tears.
"Why didn't S.T.A.R. Labs call us?"
"I just woke up," Barry said, smiling a little too widely, trying to make the moment lighter than it was.
"Should you even be on your feet?" Iris asked, scanning him like she expected something to fall off.
"Iris… I'm okay," Barry insisted, though it did nothing to ease the worry tightening her expression.
She paused. The memories of that night hit her all at once. The hospital lights. The doctors shouting. The monitors flatlining again and again. "I watched you die, Barry," she whispered. "You kept dying. Your heart kept stopping."
Barry couldn't find words at first. Then he gently took her hand and set it against his chest. "It's still beating."
She felt it, strong and fast. "Beats really fast," she said, startled.
A few seats away, Tracy approached with a tray of drinks. Someone bumped into her mid-step, and the tray jerked out of her hands. Cups, lids, everything went flying.
Barry's world snapped sideways. The noise dulled. Colors stretched. Motion crawled. For a split second, everything around him moved in slow motion… then whipped back to normal like a rubber band recoiling.
For a moment, Barry just stood there, stunned, shock written plain across his face. Whatever happened a second ago was still rattling around in his head, but he didn't get the chance to process it.
Iris's voice cut through the haze. "My dad is going to be so happy to see you. Let me grab my stuff, okay? I'll be right back." She hurried off before he could even respond.
Barry watched her go, blank and dazed, still trying to figure out what he'd just experienced.
A moment later she was back, breathless and urgent. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the exit, already dragging him in the direction of CCPD.
Meanwhile, back in the suburbs of Central City, Victor received the information of Barry's first instinctive use of his abilities.
"Not yet," he thought, disconnecting from the mental link.
On the couch, Victor lay back, relaxed, watching the TV flicker through different channels, the clear handiwork of the bird beside him. "Can you stop?" Victor asked, sighing in exasperation.
"I am simply curious," it replied curtly.
Victor sighed again, letting the bird indulge its curiosity. "By the way, I still haven't given you a name."
"What do you think about Garry?" Victor asked, turning to the bird.
"Not the most intellectual," it replied, clear dislike in its tone.
"Then do you have anything in mind?" Victor pressed.
"I would prefer… Zephyr," the bird said after a brief pause.
"Zephyr? Not the best, but it's okay," Victor responded, though the bird was already absorbed in the vigorous clicking of the remote.
With nothing to do at the moment, Victor focused inward. The past two weeks, however monotonous they were, had given him time to explore several templates.
The abilities in his repertoire were extensive. With his biokinesis, he could theoretically craft almost any ability he wanted, provided he had a corresponding template and the knowledge to execute it.
He delved into his mind. Thanks to his modifications, he could pick up the low-frequency EM fields broadcast by his creations. Through the hotspot-like link, he could receive their data.
From his vantage point across the street, Victor spotted Barry and Iris heading into CCPD. The way Barry kept stealing glances at her made Victor roll his eyes. Convincing Barry to let go of his Iris fixation was going to be a long-term project, and Victor already felt tired just thinking about it.
He didn't have long to dwell. Barry burst out of the building moments later, panic etched across his face. His arms trembled in a blur, vibrating uncontrollably. He stared at them, horror rising in his voice.
"What's happening to me?"
From a bird's-eye view Victor could almost hear a familiar soundtrack playing in the background. Lacking control. Barry moved just slightly to his left, but before he knew it he crashed into the back of a car, leaving a visible dent and cracking the back glass.
He moved to his right and before he knew it he was already crashing through the glasses. His reaction speed was still nowhere near fast enough. Adrenaline flooded Barry's system, and despite the chaos, a grin tugged at his face. He didn't need a lab report to confirm it: he had superpowers.
He looked down the long, empty alleyway and the idea clicked instantly. Victor didn't bother watching the rest. He rose from the couch, smoothing out his shirt, and glanced at Zephyr.
"If you get hungry, you know where the food is," he said, only to realize the bird was fully absorbed in a sappy romance drama and hadn't heard a word.
Another sigh. A stretch. Then he vanished in a tight snap of motion.
A heartbeat later he reappeared at the outskirts of S.T.A.R. Labs. By now Barry was almost certainly sprinting straight toward the place. Victor slipped through the gates, moving inside without ceremony.
He stepped into the Cortex, where Cisco sat, fingers idly twisting a Rubik's Cube, completely absorbed, until Victor's voice cut through the hum of machinery.
"Hey, Cisco," Victor called, his hands slipping into the pockets of his jacket.
Cisco looked up, a grin spreading across his face. "Oh, oh, oh! You're back so soon," he said, his usual jovial tone lighting up the room. But the slight furrow in his brow betrayed that his mind had been elsewhere before Victor arrived.
Victor didn't waste time on small talk. His gaze sharpened, worry threading through his expression. "Is Dr. Wells here?"
Cisco froze mid-twist, the cube slowing in his hands as he met Victor's eyes. "He should be on the premises... why?"
Victor scratched the back of his head, acting nervous. "Have you guys noticed any… unusual unexplainable phenomenon lately?"
"Unusual? As in... people with strange abilities," Cisco repeated, snapping upright like Victor had just hit a panic button. The way he stiffened made it obvious: Wells had already floated the metahuman topic past them, at least he thought so.
Victor opened his mouth to continue, but something else cut in. A familiar life signature brushed against his awareness, moving closer with that calm, predatory certainty he'd come to associate with only one person.
He turned just as Wells stepped into view.
"Mr. Cassian," Wells said, gliding forward with that precise, measured composure he used to hide everything. The same courteous smile. The same distant calm in his eyes. He took a brief inventory of Victor, then flicked his attention to Cisco with the quiet scrutiny of a man deciding how much he needed to contain.
"What brings you here at this hour?" Wells asked, his tone warm enough to pass for concern.
Victor hesitated just long enough to sell it. "I think I have... powers. I know how it sounds. It's insane. But lately, I can do things I never thought were possible."
Wells slipped off his glasses, a soft smile touching his lips. "I don't doubt you, Mr. Cassian. A demonstration would simply help clarify the extent." His eyes flicked to Cisco, a silent cue to pay attention.
Victor was still weighing what to show when another presence barreled toward them. Barry stumbled into view, chest heaving, hair and clothes chaotic like he'd sprinted through a hurricane.
"Guys... I think something's happening to me," Barry said between ragged breaths. "Everything around me... it just slows down."
Barry steadied himself, and the room fell quiet. Wells's expression shifted into that thoughtful, calculating look Victor knew too well.
"It appears," Wells murmured, sliding his glasses back on, "we'll be needing more than one demonstration."