22 Chapter 22: Lively

At 1:00 AM, Barry is constructing a massive machine in one of the empty rooms. He's building a large-scale manufacturer to create his own army of robots, making it easier to guard the place.

Barry keeps consulting the guide as he continues working on the project. J'onn notices Barry's efforts and offers his assistance.

"Can I offer some help?" J'onn asks.

"Sure, take that phone as your guide. Gideon will help you," Barry replies, handing J'onn the necessary equipment.

With that, the two of them begin working on the large manufacturer machine.

Meanwhile, Kal-El sits on the rooftop of Star Labs, gazing at the moon from its highest point. He observes J'onn working alongside Barry. Despite still harboring doubts about Barry, he recalls reading a few articles about The Flash, as J'onn mentioned. Additionally, Barry had provided them with phones.

Kal-El breathes a sigh of relief, realizing that someone like him still exists on Earth. However, he remains cautious, concerned about the possibility of being captured again.

"I'm going to evaluate him once more before I put my trust in him," Kal-El decides as he flies back inside Star Labs.

He walks towards their location and suddenly sees how in sync Barry and J'onn are. The two of them work at super speed, seamlessly coordinating their efforts.

"Yo, Kal," Barry calls out.

"Just call me Clark," Clark responds.

[AN: From now on I will call him Clark]

Barry smiles slightly and remarks, "You seem to have cleared your mind a bit."

"Yeah, I have," Clark confirms.

"Good then," Barry responds.

"Let me also lend a hand," Clark offers.

"More the merrier," Barry agrees.

With their combined efforts, the large manufacturer machine is completed in just two hours.

It begins creating robots, which then roam the vicinity of Star Labs, disguised as humans using hologram technology.

"Why are you creating this?" J'onn asks.

"For added protection. I may develop some new tech that could be targeted, but now it's time to make a solar suit for you," Barry explains as he pats Clark on the shoulder. "It should take less time than the manufacturer machine."

Barry walks over to the manufacturer machine and presses a button on the control panel. "Gideon, draft the suit for Clark."

"Which draft do you want to use, Barry?" Gideon inquires.

"Superman Prime. Despite the lack of materials to create a fully durable suit, it'll suffice for now," Barry responds.

"Understood," Gideon acknowledges. "Superman Prime, solar suit creation initiated."

"J'onn, do you want a suit as well?" Barry asks.

"Me? I think I'm okay," J'onn responds.

"Nah, I'll make you one that can withstand fire," Barry insists.

J'onn is surprised that Barry knows his weakness.

"I'm fine," J'onn declines, opting to create his own suit using his shapeshifting abilities.

[Image Here]

"Nah," Barry interjects, turning to Gideon. "Also, create a suit for Martian Manhunter."

"Right on it," Gideon acknowledges. "Initiating suit creation for Martian Manhunter."

"Why are you giving us code names?" Clark inquires.

"Well, it's better to use code names instead of our real names," Barry explains.

"That's true, but why is my code name Superman Prime?" Clark questions. "Superman is good enough, but why add Prime?"

"It's a reference," Barry teases.

"What reference?" Clark presses.

"A young man like you doesn't need to know," Barry smirks.

"You," Clark chuckles, realizing Barry is joking around.

Barry stretches his arms and announces, "I'm going to go sleep first, so I'll see you around 7 or 8 am."

With that, Barry leaves Star Labs and heads home to sleep.

"It seems you've put some trust in Barry," J'onn remarks, smiling.

"Yeah, he deserves some trust after seeing what he's been doing these past few weeks," Clark agrees.

The next day,

Cisco heads to Star Labs only to find many guards stationed at the front gate.

"Excuse me?" Cisco approaches cautiously.

"Mr. Cisco Ramon, please head inside," the guards instruct.

"Okay," Cisco responds, feeling a bit perplexed. He looks around and sees several trucks loaded with supplies being unloaded into Star Labs.

The once dead atmosphere of Star Labs now seems lively again.

Cisco walks inside Star Labs and finds it bustling with employees.

"Am I dreaming?" Cisco mutters to himself, pinching his own face. "No, this is real. What's going on here?"

Making his way to the cortex, Cisco sees a man on the monitor, engrossed in some task. The man turns around and extends a hand.

"You must be one of Barry's friends. Nice to meet you, you can call me John," the man introduces himself.

"I'm Cisco," Cisco replies, shaking his hand. He then asks, "Who are you to Barry? And what are you doing here?"

J'onn responds with a smile, knowing exactly what to say. "I'm a new employee that he hired. You could say I'm his assistant."

"What?!" Cisco is taken aback by this revelation. "Then what about the people outside?"

"They are also new employees," J'onn explains calmly.

Cisco, Ronnie, and Caitlin arrive, equally bewildered by the sudden influx of unfamiliar faces.

"Cisco, do you know what's going on?" Ronnie asks.

"There are so many unfamiliar people," Caitlin notes.

"I myself don't know what's going on. Barry suddenly hired many people to work in Star Labs," Cisco explains. "John, care to explain?"

Before J'onn can reply, Gideon's voice echoes through the speakers. "I will handle this. Mr. Cisco Ramon, Mr. Ronnie Raymond, and Dr. Caitlin Snow. Barry has left a message just for you."

A huge hologram screen appears, startling Cisco, Caitlin, and Ronnie, as a video recording of Dr. Harrison Wells begins to play. It details the same events, including transferring ownership of Star Labs to Barry and his personal property.

"This can't be real," Cisco mutters, feeling a sense of crisis.

Ronnie and Caitlin exchange looks, now questioning what is true and what is false.

"What are you?" Cisco asks, his confusion evident.

"I am Gideon, Barry's personal Artificial Intelligence," Gideon responds.

"Uh, what?!" Cisco exclaims, completely taken aback.

Meanwhile, Barry wakes up from his sleep, feeling exhausted.

"Damn, I'm tired. I really need to train more on phasing and vibrating. I never thought it would be that draining to use it all the time," Barry mutters. "Moving that fast while maintaining the speed is very draining."

"I need to keep up with the grind," Barry resolves.