Chapter 2: Inspiration

It was dark, too dark. Barry felt like he was floating through nothingness. He couldn't feel anything. The air, the ground, it didn't feel hot or cold, it just…. Was.

As Barry cruised through the void, he began to open his eyes, only to be met with infinite blackness.

"Where… where am I?"

He felt the words in his mind, but no sound came from his mouth.

Barry felt his heart rate speed up as he began to panic, He began to fling his arms and legs about, grabbing at anything he could find, but he failed to grip anything.

Then he saw it.

A bolt of lightning, the only source of light in the dark, his eyes slowly adjusted as he perceived the bolt of light, arcing through space and cutting into the darkness like a hot knife. He didn't know why, but the sight wowed him so much that he finally calmed down and began to float in awe.

As he stared in wonder, he saw it turn abruptly and come straight for him! Barry began flailing his arms again as he opened his mouth to scream, though he still couldn't make any sound. He could only watch in terror as the lightning inched closer and closer until it was in spitting range.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH"

Barry shot up in a terrified daze as his screaming died down. Looking around Barry found himself in a hospital bed wearing a gown. Before he could take in any more details, he heard footsteps down the hall outside his door. It swung open to reveal a nurse, breathing heavily from what looked like a mad sprint.

"You're awake?" the nurse wheezed.

"Um, Yeah?" said Barry.

"But the data stated that you wouldn't be awake for another month or 2.," said the Nurse.

Barry paused as he processed the words before his eyes widened.

"Wait, how long have I been here," asked Barry.

The Nurse, still puzzled, left without answering Barry's question.

"HEY!" shouted Barry.

Barry looked at the door in desperation before falling back down in his bed.

He began to recount the events leading up to ending up in the hospital bed.

"I had to do an extra assignment that day, didn't I, Then I had that conversation with Kirishima." In the back of his head, he hoped that Kirishima wasn't mad about his broken promise. "Then I talked to dad." He felt fear creep up his neck, how long was he out, how long did he go without talking to his dad, depending on how long he was out he must be worried sick. He tried to remember what happened after but couldn't quite remember what.

He heard the door open and turned to see a doctor walk inside with a clipboard and pen. Pulling a wheeled circular chair, the doctor sat and looked Barry in the eyes.

"Hello Son, I see you have some questions." said the doctor.

"Yeah, What happened to me, the nurse said I should be out for an extra month or something," said Barry.

"Yes, that's what our projections told us." said the doctor.

"If you don't mind me asking, How long was I out?" asked Barry.

The doctor looked down at his shoes

"Don't panic, You've been out for 9 months." said the doctor.

Barry could only look down at his own feet. He was out for that long! Kirishima must be worried sick, not to mention his father.

"How did I get here?" asked Barry.

"Well son, you were struck by lightning, You got burned something awful back there. Luckily, Pro hero Kamui woods was in the area and made sure to get you here quickly." said the doctor.

Barry felt confused.

"I don't feel like I've been struck by lightning," said Barry.

"That's because we gave you painkillers, a combination of medicine and that healing quirk of yours worked out the rest of the kinks." said the doctor.

Barry paused before turning to the doctor

"But, … I'm Quirkless, I don't have and regenerative powers?" said Barry.

"Well, Explain how you managed to recover so quickly then." said the doctor.

Barry thought to himself.

Did I awaken a healing quirk, if so it must be dumb luck that I was a late bloomer and that it awakened just in time to save my life?

The doctor pulled out a sealed folder.

"This is some of the mail that arrived while you were predisposed, we can do a full checkup later." said the doctor.

As the doctor stood up to leave, Barry reached out.

"Sir, how long will I be here?" asked Barry.

The doctor turned and smiled

"No longer than a few more days, then we can cut you loose." said the doctor.

Smiling, the doctor left Barry to his thoughts. As he turned back to the folder, Barry took a whiff of himself and visibly cringed. He needed a shower BAD.

As Barry entered the bathroom, he took a look in the mirror and was shocked by what he saw.

He was exactly the same as he was before his hospitalization. His skin wasn't charcoal and stranger still, he saw no scars that usually afflicted those struck by lightning. Even stranger so, he seemed to have gained muscle. No longer was he a skinny boy, but he looked almost musclebound. He walked into the hot shower and began to fall deep into thought. I have a quirk now. What am I going to do with it? What happened in the 9 months since my hospitalization, all the questions flew through his mind?

After his shower, he noticed the folder the doctor left behind and picked it up. Traveling back to his bed, Barry opened the folder to find a multitude of get-well cards, Courtesy of Kirishima of course. They read something like "Get well soon Buddy, can't wait to see ya again." Or "Just cause your down on your luck doesn't mean it's over, NEVER GIVE UP." Barry felt himself chuckle as he read through his best friend's cards.

Then he spotted something different, it was a white envelope, clearly set apart from the cards.

Barry picked up the mysterious envelope and turned to see who the sender was.

Postage: Henry Allen to Barry Allen.

Looking at the letter, Barry slowly opened the envelope and slipped out a sheet of paper, unfolding it to read its contents.

Dear Barry,

I write this letter knowing that I may never see you again, and to tell you that no matter what happens to me, you keep looking forward.

Barry, I have Lung Cancer, the doctors at the prison are going to treat it as best they can, but it's not looking good.

I write this letter mostly to tell you that whether or not I die doesn't matter, but that until you choose to move on from me until you use the key and undo the shackle, you will be stuck in place, never moving forward.

Barry, I want you to take a look at yourself at figure what you want to do in life, regardless of me and my situation. I want you to start moving again.

I understand that this might be a hard pill to swallow but know that I say this with the utmost importance, I always have and always will love you.

Yours truly, Dad

Barry stared at the letter for an hour, Maybe longer. The whole time he felt the tears streaming from his eyes. Was his father already dead?

Barry, both physically and emotionally exhausted, lied back down and promptly passed out in his bed, not even bothering to put the gown back on.

The Next Day

Barry woke to someone knocking on the door. It was the doctor from earlier.

The doctor began his exam, but it was nothing but white noise for Barry, his mind still floating around the letter from the other day. He sat there in silence that he didn't even notice the doctor finish.

"That's it! Your good, for now, Just one thing" said the doctor.

"Hmm," said Barry.

"I need you to put the gown back on," said the doctor.

His cheeks reddened, Barry waited for the doctor to leave before throwing off the covers and picking the gown up off the floor. As he was throwing the gown on, he heard the door practically swing open, along with a booming voice announcing, "MY MAIN MAN IS BACK UP."

Panicking, Barry turned as to not expose himself but came face to face with a familiar friend.

Eijiro Kirishima was stood in the doorway, but it wasn't the same one he remembered. While the Kirishima he was friends with had black hair that drooped over his eyes, this Kirishima had Crimson hair that was spiked up over his head. The points of his hair looked sharp enough that they could impale someone.

Not even acknowledging Barry's moment of embarrassment, Kirishima waltzed over and pulled the now clothed Barry in for a tight hug, so tight Barry heard his back audibly crack. In spite of the surprise, Barry couldn't help but crack a huge smile. Even if he looked different, this was still the same Kirishima on the inside.

After Kirishima put him down Barry threw his arms around him for his own hug, though it wasn't nearly as strong.

"I can't believe I was out for 9 months!" said Barry.

"I know right, I only heard that you woke up this morning!" said Kirishima.

"I mean look at you, during my power nap I clearly missed something!" said Barry.

Kirishima blushed, "Inspiration struck me soon after school ended, I decided that I want to be a hero, and I'm applying to U.A."

"That's Great, How long before the entrance exam?" asked Barry.

"About a month. But enough about me, what are you thinking about applying for Man?" said Kirishima.

Barry opened his mouth, but words didn't come out.

He soon found himself retreating inside his mind, Originally, he had wanted to become a CSI in order to clear his dad's name, but now, with his dad on death's door and possibly not making it, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"I'm not sure," Barry stated in a depressed tone.

Kirishima immediately adopted a face of concern.

"Alright, Somethings wrong, your gonna tell me now and don't lie and say it's nothing, cause that ain't manly at all," said Kirishima.

Barry looked at Kirishima with empty eyes before explaining his situation.

"You know how my dad is in prison?" said Barry.

"Yeah, you don't want me knowing why, but I respected your privacy, what of it." said Kirishima.

"He's dying," said Barry.

Kirishima could only stare at Barry before saying

"Oh, That uh…. That sucks." said Kirishima.

"'Yeah," said Barry.

What followed was an almost agonizing amount of silence.

"Kirishima, I don't want to come off as rude, but I think I need to be alone for a few days, just to think things over," said Barry.

Kirishima looked back at Barry with a sad look.

"Ok," said Kirishima.

As Kirishima got up and began to leave, he stopped at the doorway and turned to face Barry.

"You know that whatever happens, I got your back, Right?" said Kirishima.

"Yeah, I know, and Kirishima?" said Barry.

Kirishima looked back at Barry

"Thanks for sticking with me this whole time," said Barry.

And with that Kirishima smiled back before leaving the hospital room, and Barry retreated back into his thoughts.

A few Days Later

Barry walked out of the hospital in some spare clothes that had been gifted from the hospital, as he adjusted to the cityscape, he noticed the dampness of the air.

It was going to rain.

Barry quickly speed-walked to one of the main streets and raised his hand for a taxi. Since he didn't have his phone, he couldn't call one, forcing him to look for one the old-fashioned way.

As he combed the streets, he began to feel the rain drizzle onto his body, and it wasn't long before the water flew down like a maelstrom, practically assaulting anyone who wasn't protected. Barry spotted a cab not long after the rain began to drench him.

"HEY" Barry yelled, attempting to get the caddie's attention.

The caddie began to pull away

"HEY WAIT, COME BACK!" shouted Barry.

Barry Sprinted towards the cab as it pulled into the street.

And then it happened.

Barry suddenly felt a surge in adrenaline as he practically flew past the cab and zoomed past around 30 blocks. Stopping, Barry looked around in confusion. When he turned away from the street, he noticed he was in front of his apartment complex.

"What the?" said Barry.

Barry began to go up the steps, bewildered, before feeling the adrenaline again. This time he had zoomed right in front of his apartment door, up five flights of steps in less than a second.

"WHAT THE HELL?" said Barry.

Barry looked at himself and noticed little tendrils of yellow electricity radiating off of him. As the event subsided Barry warily took out his house key. As he went to put his key into the doorknob, he noticed something else was wrong, his hand was shaking. It was shaking so fast that his whole hand looked like a blur. Suddenly, he dropped his key. Frustrated he went to grab it but as he pushed his hand down to grasp it, it seemed to go right through the key, and the floor. Terrified, Barry backed up before an idea came to mind, as he calmed down, he began to shake his whole body, now vibrating, Barry stuck his foot into his apartment door, smiling underneath the blur that was his body, he promptly walked through his apartment door and into the apartment itself.

Calming down once more, Barry stopped vibrating and retrieved his keys from the outside after unlocking his door from the inside. Once he was secure, he practically fell down onto his chair and looked up at the ceiling. He had more than a regeneration quirk, he had a dual quirk, but that didn't seem possible, his mother was quirkless and his father has an eye quirk that allowed him to see through solid objects, which benefited him greatly when he was a doctor. Barry couldn't have inherited his quirk.

Then his mind flashed to the incident, he had gathered chemicals before being struck, hadn't he? Those chemicals must have been supercharged by the lightning and given him his powers. He decided he would figure that out later and decided to pull out his laptop to check his emails before going to bed.

As he sifted through his emails, one, in particular, caught his eye.

It was from U.A. High School, and it read.

Dear Mr. Allen,

You have been selected as a potential student of U.A.

You may select what course you would like to apply for, and we will set you up with the appropriate entrance exam.

Barry didn't look surprised, he already had stellar grades, so qualifying for entrance wasn't an issue, the problem now was that he wasn't sure what he wanted to do anymore. He wanted to be a CSI previously, But now he wasn't so sure.

As Barry pondered his path in life, he heard a loud crash. Turning around, He saw that his closet had been opened, and its contents had spilled out onto the floor. Grumbling, Barry moved and began to clean up the mess, he was almost done when he paused as he picked up the final object.

It was issue #1 of the flash, The red and yellow speedster hero still emblazoned on the cover. Barry looked at the cover for a while before looking back at his past.

"You need to let me go Barry."

"You know that whatever happens, I got your back, Right?"

"That's my Barry, always hopeful."

Barry looked up from the comic.

"Whatever happens in life"

He looked to the computer, still open on the U.A. Email.

"Never lose that, please."

He knew right then what he wanted to do. Walking back to the laptop, Barry entered the U.A. application site and found the profession he wanted to follow. Cracking a smile, Barry closed the laptop, satisfied with his choice. He wouldn't be a CSI.

He would be a hero.

Authors Notes:

Hey, Thanks to everyone who viewed the story and gave it a Favorite/Follow.

For my first story, I feel this is shaping up to be a fun write.

For clarification, Barry doesn't actually remember Mina discovering his problems, I plan on making this a story point later.

In terms of writing schedule, I kind of just write when I feel like it.

I don't plan on having a solid schedule, but I should have at least a few chapters every month. I kind of just consume whatever entertainment I have until I burn out, Then I write a chapter or 2.

Again, Thanks for the Favorite/Follows, Until next time.