Ch - 13 A Speeding Revelation?

After hastily checking Barry's vitals on her tablet, Caitlin hurried back to her station near Harrison Wells. As she resumed her post, Harrison spoke up, his voice calm yet measured.

"Mr. Allen, while I'm as eager as you are to discover the extent of your abilities," he paused, inhaling deeply before continuing, "I strongly advise caution. Restraint, Barry."

The gravity in Dr. Wells' tone struck Barry, and with a serious nod, he responded, "Yeah, I will."

Barry took his position at the starting line. For a moment, he glanced back, his expression betraying hesitation. But determination quickly replaced it, and with a burst of speed, he was off. The force of his acceleration sent a powerful sonic wave rippling through the air, knocking Cisco off his feet. Caitlin, just as unsteady, would have fallen had Swayam not been quick to catch her, his arms around her in an instant.

Cisco stood up, dazed but exhilarated, his eyes wide with awe. All he could see was a red blur streaking faster and faster. He quickly grabbed his modified speedometer binoculars to get a better view. "He's passed 200 knots per hour!" he exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement.

Caitlin, who had been leaning against Swayam after the impact, quickly recovered and stepped back. She grabbed her own speedometer binoculars and peered into the distance, where Barry was little more than a red streak. "It's not possible," she muttered, still trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash as Barry collided with the water barrels at the far end of the runway.

Without a second thought, Caitlin, Cisco, and Harrison Wells started to move toward the crash site. But before they could get far, a truck horn blared behind them. They turned to see Swayam sitting in the driver's seat, looking at them with a raised eyebrow. "Did you really think you could make it there on foot? Or..." He glanced pointedly at Harrison, "...in a wheelchair?"

Cisco, trying to stifle a laugh, failed miserably. "S-Sam, y-you can't just make f-fun of Dr. Wells like that," he said, his voice breaking with suppressed giggles.

Before Harrison could respond, Caitlin—who was also struggling to maintain a straight face—cut in. "Alright, enough. Cisco, Sam, this is serious. Barry needs help, now." She wheeled Harrison Wells into the truck and gave Cisco a stern look. "Get in and drive."

Swayam and Cisco exchanged quick grins, but they managed to hold it together as they climbed into the truck and sped toward the crash site. When they arrived, they found Barry in pain, his right arm twisted at a disturbing angle.

Caitlin wasted no time, immediately administering painkillers and anesthesia. But even after several doses, nothing seemed to work. Barry's pain remained acute, and he stayed wide awake. With no other options, Caitlin stuffed a piece of cloth into Barry's mouth to muffle his screams as she prepared to set his arm.

Swayam stepped in, holding Barry in place with an unyielding grip. As Caitlin relocated Barry's arm, Barry wanted to scream, but Swayam's tight hold and the cloth in his mouth rendered him immobile and mute. The pain was intense, but Barry felt relief as the procedure concluded. Caitlin, though, suggested more scans to ensure everything had healed properly.

---

Three hours later, after extensive scans and tests, Caitlin gathered Barry and the team to review the results.

She began her explanation by showing Barry the scans taken after his accident. "You had a distal radius fracture," she said, using the past tense deliberately.

Barry, confused, raised an eyebrow. "Had? What do you mean by 'had'?"

Caitlin had anticipated this question. "I mean, it's healed. In three hours."

Despite all the incredible, supernatural things Barry had been through recently, this news still left him astonished. "How is that even possible?" he asked, still struggling to grasp the rapid healing process.

Caitlin, as brilliant as she was, could only offer a tentative answer. "We don't know... yet," she replied, before walking back to her workbench, clearly deep in thought.

As Caitlin moved away, Cisco approached Barry with a grin. "Dude, you seriously need to learn how to stop," he teased before heading to his tinkering table.

Eobard Thawne, watching from a distance, rolled over to Barry. "What happened out there today, Barry? You were running well, and then you lost focus."

Barry's face darkened, memories from his past resurfacing. After a moment, he sighed and began to speak. "When I was 11, my mother was murdered."

The weight of those words brought a hush over the room. Cisco, Caitlin, and Swayam all turned their attention to Barry, each feeling a pang of sympathy. Caitlin and Cisco pitied him for the tragic loss at such a young age, but Swayam's sympathy ran deeper. He knew that Barry was sharing this heartbreaking story with the very man responsible—Eobard Thawne, who had killed his mother. But Barry, of course, remained oblivious to this dark truth.

Barry continued, his voice steady but laced with emotion. "It was late at night, and I woke up to this strange noise. When I went downstairs, I saw... it was like a ball of lightning. Inside it was a man, and he killed her. Instead of looking for that man, the police arrested my dad. He's still in Iron Heights for a crime he didn't commit." His voice grew more intense. "Everyone told me what I saw was impossible—the cops, the shrinks—but what if the man who killed my mom was like me?"

Eobard, not wanting Barry to dwell on that possibility, quickly interjected. "Well, I can say with certainty that you're one of a kind."

But just as those words left his mouth, he heard a cough. Turning, he saw Swayam standing by Caitlin's workstation, subtly reminding Eobard that Barry was not as unique as he thought.

Clearing his throat, Eobard amended his statement. "Or, perhaps, not entirely unique. We've seen stranger things, after all."

Barry followed Eobard's gaze and found himself looking at Swayam, who was watching the conversation unfold with a quiet intensity.