Barry's phone buzzed as he walked down the street.
A text from Joe West.
"Heard you called in sick. You okay? Need anything?"
Barry stopped walking, staring at the message.
For a moment, guilt twisted in his chest. Joe had been there for him when no one else was. Took in a traumatized eight-year-old and raised him like his own son.
Never asked for anything in return. Never made Barry feel like a burden even when things got tight financially.
The original Barry Allen loved Joe West like a father.
And this Barry Allen, the merged version with memories from two lives, felt that love just as strongly.
He typed back carefully: "Just a bug. Should be fine by tomorrow. Thanks for checking in."
Another buzz came almost immediately. "Iris said you've been acting strange. Want to talk?"
Barry's fingers hovered over the keyboard. This was delicate. Joe was a detective. He noticed patterns, changes in behavior, things that didn't add up.
And Barry had been acting different since the transmigration. More focused. More driven. Less present in the small moments that used to define his relationship with the West family.
He needed to handle this carefully. Pulling away completely would raise red flags.
But he also couldn't afford to be the same person he'd been before. That Barry Allen was going nowhere.
This version needed space to build what was coming.
"Nothing to talk about," he typed. "Just adjusting to living alone. It's different, you know? Good different. But still an adjustment."
Joe's reply took a few minutes. Barry could almost picture him at his desk at CCPD, frowning at his phone, trying to decide if he believed that answer.
"Your old man used to do the same thing. Bottle stuff up. Pretend everything was fine when it wasn't. Don't be like him, Barry. We're family. You can talk to me."
That one hit harder than Barry expected. Because Joe was right. Henry Allen, the man whose memories Barry carried, had been the type to internalize everything. Keep his struggles private.
Try to handle everything alone until it all came crashing down.
And in a way, Barry was doing exactly the same thing. But what choice did he have? Some secrets were too big to share. Some truths would only hurt the people he cared about. This was something he had to carry alone.
"I know, Joe," he typed back. "I promise I'm okay. Just need some time to figure out the whole independent adult thing. I'll call you this weekend. Maybe come by for dinner?"
The response came quickly this time. "You better. Iris is making lasagna."
Barry smiled despite himself. "Wouldn't miss it."
He pocketed the phone, feeling the weight of that interaction settle on his shoulders. The lie sat heavy in his chest, but it was necessary.
Some burdens you carried alone. Some secrets you took to the grave. This was one of them.
Barry pulled up a rideshare app and requested a car. While he waited, he opened a new browser on his phone, searching for information on Central City University's campus security systems.
The results weren't encouraging. CCU had upgraded to digital surveillance three years ago.
High definition cameras covered most buildings, including faculty offices. Badge access systems tracked entry and exit times. Security guards made regular rounds.
Breaking into DeVoe's office wouldn't be simple.
But more than that, it might be unnecessary. At least right now.
Barry's enhanced mind worked through the problem methodically. DeVoe was a professor.
An academic.
Which meant his research wasn't locked away in some secret vault. It was published. Peer-reviewed. Stored in university databases and academic journals.
The Thinking Cap wouldn't exist yet, but the theoretical foundation for it would be scattered across DeVoe's published work.
The cutting-edge stuff, the real breakthroughs that would lead to the Thinking Cap, those might be unpublished. But even that wouldn't be in his office.
It would be in his lab. And more importantly, it would be on his computer. His personal devices. His cloud storage.
Breaking into an office in the middle of the day was stupid. Breaking into a heavily monitored university building at night was risky.
But hacking into DeVoe's email and cloud accounts from the safety of his apartment?
That was smart.
Barry cancelled the rideshare request and started walking toward the public library instead.
He needed to research digital security, network penetration, social engineering. His enhanced intellect would help him learn fast, but he still needed the foundational knowledge.
As he walked, another text came through. Iris this time.
"Seriously, coffee? You're being weird and I want to know why. Don't make me show up at your apartment."
Barry laughed softly. That was so perfectly Iris. Pushy, caring, refusing to let him isolate himself even when he was trying to.
And honestly? He missed her.
The original Barry Allen's memories were full of moments with Iris. Growing up together. Late night talks. Inside jokes.
The complicated dance of feelings that neither of them had ever fully acknowledged.
This Barry Allen had all those memories. All those feelings. But he also had the meta-knowledge that in the original timeline, their relationship had been... complicated.
Drama with Eddie.
The whole "we're siblings but not really" thing.
Her dating his enemy without knowing it.
Years of will-they-won't-they tension.
But that was the TV show version. This timeline was different. No Reverse-Flash. No time travel drama. Just two people who'd grown up together and maybe had feelings they'd never explored.
Besides, one of the things he'd always wanted as a DC fan watching the show was to see Barry actually be smooth with the women in his life.
Not the awkward, stumbling mess who took forever to make a move. Actually confident. Actually capable of handling romantic relationships like a functional adult.
If he was going to live this life, he might as well do it right.
"Tomorrow morning before work," he typed back. "Java Junction at 7:30. I've just been thinking about some things. Need to clear my head."
Her response was immediate: "Finally! I'll be there. And you better have a good explanation for ghosting me."
"I haven't been ghosting you. Just busy."
"Sure, Allen. See you tomorrow."
He pocketed the phone with a slight smile.
Tomorrow he'd reassure Iris that he was fine. Just going through some personal stuff. Growing pains from living independently.
Nothing she needed to worry about.
The Central City Public Library was a massive building downtown, five floors of books, computers, and quiet study spaces. Barry found an empty terminal in the back corner of the third floor, away from the main traffic areas.
He logged in with a guest pass and opened multiple browser tabs.
Digital security. Network protocols. Encryption methods. Social engineering techniques.
His enhanced mind absorbed the information at an incredible rate. Concepts that would normally take weeks to understand clicked into place in minutes.
He wasn't just reading. He was comprehending. Integrating. Building a complete mental framework for how modern digital security worked and where its weaknesses were.
Two hours later, he had a plan.
DeVoe would have a university email account.
That email would be connected to other services. Cloud storage. Academic databases. Maybe personal accounts if he wasn't careful about separating work and personal devices.
All of it protected by passwords and security questions that could be socially engineered if you knew the right information.
Barry opened a new tab and searched for Clifford DeVoe's published work. Articles. Research papers. Conference presentations. His CV listed everything going back fifteen years.
Barry skimmed through it all, looking for personal details. References to family. Hobbies. Interests outside of work.
There.
A paper from three years ago that mentioned DeVoe's wife in the acknowledgments section.
"Special thanks to my wife Marlize for her patience and support during this research."
Marlize DeVoe.
Barry searched for her name. Found her on social media within minutes. Public Facebook profile. Photos of her and Clifford at various events. Posts about their anniversary. Her birthday. Their dog.
Information. Ammunition for social engineering.
Barry kept digging. Found Clifford's own social media presence. Much more limited. Professional accounts mostly.
But still useful. His birthday was listed. His undergraduate university. References to his hometown.
Security questions were usually built around this kind of information. Mother's maiden name. First pet. High school mascot. All of it could be discovered with enough research.
But Barry wasn't going to do this from a public library computer. Too risky. Too easy to trace.
He needed to set up proper operational security first. VPN. Encrypted connections. Burner devices if possible.
He closed all the browser tabs and cleared the cache, then logged out of the terminal.
As he walked out of the library, his phone buzzed with a news alert.
"Queen Consolidated Announces Queen's Gambit Departure Date - Luxury Yacht to Set Sail Friday"
Barry checked the date. Friday was in eleven days. The timeline was tightening.
He pulled up his notes app and created a new priority list.
*Immediate Actions - Next 11 Days:*
1. Set up secure digital infrastructure (VPN, encrypted email, burner laptop)
2. Social engineer access to DeVoe's university accounts
3. Download all research data related to neural enhancement
4. Execute Queen Consolidated short positions on day of departure
5. Meet with Iris - maintain normal relationship, ease her concerns
6. Begin physical training regimen - establish baseline fitness
*Medium Term - Next 6 Months:*
1. Monitor Queen Consolidated crash and recovery
2. Begin combat training at selected facilities
3. Research Lian Yu insertion methods
4. Build financial capital through stock investments
5. Improve physical conditioning to acceptable combat-ready levels
6. Acquire necessary technical skills for Chamber construction.
*Long Term - Next 3-5 Years:*
1. Achieve Batman-level combat proficiency
2. Build corporate empire and secure funding for Chamber project
3. Complete DeVoe research integration
4. Prepare for Lian Yu deployment
5. Design and construct transformation Chamber
6. Position for particle accelerator explosion
Barry reviewed the list, his enhanced mind automatically calculating probabilities and timelines.
Everything was achievable if he stayed focused. If he didn't get distracted. If he made smart decisions instead of impulsive ones.
He headed back to his apartment, already mentally planning his conversation with Iris tomorrow. He'd keep it simple.
Tell her he'd been thinking about his career. About whether CSI work was really what he wanted long-term. About feeling like he needed to do something bigger with his life. All true enough without revealing anything that mattered.
When he got home, his body reminded him of the workout he'd attempted earlier. His muscles ached. His arms felt like jelly. He was pathetically out of shape.
Barry changed into gym clothes and dropped to the floor for round two.
Push-ups first. He managed twelve before his arms gave out. Pathetic. In the comics, Barry Allen could vibrate through walls, think at super-speed, and fight meta-humans who could level buildings.
This version couldn't even do twenty push-ups.
But that would change.
He forced himself through the routine. Push-ups in sets of ten with rest breaks. Sit-ups until his abs burned. Squats until his legs shook. Planks until his whole body trembled with effort.
When he finally collapsed on the floor, gasping for air, his phone buzzed with another news notification.
"Queen's Gambit Prepares for Maiden Voyage - Robert Queen to Join Son Oliver on Historic Journey"
Barry stared at the headline through sweat-blurred vision. The game was in motion. The timeline was proceeding exactly as he remembered from the show.
Oliver Queen would disappear. Queen Consolidated would crash. And Barry would be ready to profit from it.
Phase One was about to begin.
But first, he needed to get through coffee with Iris tomorrow without making her worry.
He doesn't want anyone trying to investigate him at this time.
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