Bee sized

It's been a few weeks since the Trickster incident, and honestly? Things have been... fine. That is, until the past week or so. In the last seven days, Central City's gone off the rails. Like, seriously, what the hell is happening? Robberies, weird petty crimes—it's like everyone forgot we have superheroes here. And to top it off, I'm exhausted.

I walk into the Cortex, rubbing the back of my neck. Barry's already sitting in his usual seat, looking a little worse for wear. He's not even zipping around anymore. Just... slouched in his chair, staring at the monitors like they're about to attack him.

"Dude," I say, dropping into a seat next to him. "That's the fifth robbery this week. What is going on?"

Barry doesn't even look at me, just sighs and nods, eyes glued to the screen.

I lean back, running a hand down my face. "How do you even stop someone for indecent exposure? Like, I'm out here saving the city, and the guy's just... running around in his underwear. Oh, and then there's a robbery happening right next door." I shake my head. "Have they not heard of the Flash? Haven't they heard of me?"

I pause for a second, realising what I just said. "Wait, no. They probably haven't heard of me, have they?"

I hear Caitlin and Cisco chuckle a little from across the room. Yeah, they're used to this by now. The Flash pretty much outshines me on the regular, so people tend to forget I exist. Thanks, Barry.

"Eh, whatever," I mutter, leaning forward. "Anyway, is anything new going on?"

Before they can answer, I zip out and grab a cup of coffee from Jitters. Speeding back in, I sit down like I never left, sipping on my drink.

And that's pretty much how the week's been—me, Barry, and a lot of criminals who probably think running around in their underwear counts as a disguise.

…

After two days of complete nothingness—no weird crimes, no speedster emergencies—I finally have some time to myself. So, naturally, I help out Cecile with some of her cases. You know, trying to be a good guy, doing my part, even though it's mostly just paperwork and running errands.

When I get home, I get back to tinkering with my car. I've been working on it for a while now, making it pretty slick. If I do say so myself, it looks damn cool—sleek, polished, with just the right amount of personal upgrades. But the thing is, I hardly drive it. Between speeding around the city and helping Team Flash, I forget the thing even exists most of the time. Kinda ironic, really.

So, I decide, screw it—I'm going for a drive. And honestly? It feels pretty good to actually sit behind the wheel for once, just cruising through the city streets, enjoying the ride. No zipping around at Mach speeds, no time loops, just... driving.

After a while, though, I find myself heading to STAR Labs. I know, I literally just left, but I've got nothing to do at home, and the quiet is kinda getting to me. When I pull up in front of the building and step out of my car, I half-laugh to myself. I'm literally driving to work when I could've just run. But whatever, I'm here now.

I walk into the Cortex, and sure enough, everyone looks at me like I've grown a second head.

"Dude," Cisco says, raising an eyebrow, "didn't you just leave like... a few hours ago?"

I shrug, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, well, I had nothing to do at home, so... I drove here."

Barry blinks at me. "You drove here? Why not just run?"

"I don't know," I say, tossing my keys in the air. "I guess I've been coming back here so much with all the random petty crimes lately that I just... automatically headed this way. Plus, I figured my car needed exercise."

Caitlin chuckles from her station, shaking her head. "You're something else, Matthew."

I grin. "I aim to please."

With nothing pressing to do, I head down to my personal lab. It's a small space I've set up in STAR Labs—just my own little corner to work on tech stuff. I sit at my desk and pull out the project I've been working on—a high-tech watch that's probably more complicated than it needs to be, but hey, it keeps me busy.

I tinker with it for a while, half-waiting to see if anything happens. Central City's been surprisingly quiet these past few days, and after the week we've had, I'm almost suspicious of the calm.

...

As I suspected, the peace didn't last long.

I walk back into the Cortex, and the first thing I see on the monitor? Bees. Swarming, buzzing bees. I stop in my tracks and just stare at the screen for a moment, trying to process why we're looking at insects. This is Central City, not a nature documentary.

"Uh… so, why are we looking at bees?" I ask, turning to the group.

Caitlin glances over at me, her expression a little more serious than usual. "One of Barry's cases today... The victim had enough bee venom in their system to kill an elephant."

I blink. "Oh... shit. That's kinda terrifying."

Cisco, not missing a beat, pipes up from behind his workstation. "Anyone want to join me in getting a beekeeper suit? Because I am not dealing with killer bees without one."

I raise my hand. "Yeah, I think I'll join you on that."

As we're all considering the possibility of dealing with some crazy meta controlling bees, in walks none other than Felicity Smoak. She looks around, taking in the chaos of bee images plastered on the screen. "Well, don't go diving underwater in those beekeeper suits. Bees can wait for you above the surface. Turns out there is a lot to discover on Discovery Channel."

Cisco smirks, clearly amused by the random bee trivia. "Thanks for that. We'll be sure to avoid any lakes."

I gesture toward the screen. "So, quick question, why is it when it comes to the bad guys, whether it be shows or movies or even real life, why is it always bugs? Or something disgusting? Can't we have someone who controls kittens?

Caitlin shakes her head, chuckling. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

Felicity then speaks up again. "Can you guys come outside for a bit?"

We shrug and head outside and soon I hear caitlyn "it's a bird." the Cisco, "no it's a plane"

But then he lands and Felicity says "Well it's actually my boyfriend."

---

Back in the Cortex, Caitlin is busy running a few tests on Ray. As she examines the results, she shakes her head and says with a teasing smile, "You would have broken your neck with that landing. What is it with billionaires and being superheroes?"

I lean against a nearby desk and ask, "Okay, but seriously, why did you guys come here?"

Ray steps forward, looking a bit sheepish. "So, uh, this suit I've been working on lets me shrink, but… there's a problem. I can't seem to keep it up."

Felicity quickly steps in, trying to save face. "He means the suit. The suit can't keep shrinking for too long. No problems in any other areas, obviously."

I can't help but chuckle at how flustered Felicity looks, and then Ray adds, "I've heard you've been really helpful with Barry and his tech. I was hoping you could take a look at my suit."

Before I can even respond, Barry speaks up, clearly unsure about adding another project to the pile. "Uh, guys, this might not be the best time to—"

But Cisco and I are already grinning ear to ear. "Yes! Absolutely!" Cisco practically yells. I jumped in right after. "Let's check this thing out."

We both grab Ray's suit and head to Cisco's lab—it's bigger and has more room to spread out. As we start taking it apart and analysing it, we're both nerding out over the tech.

"Dude," I say, pointing at one of the components, "this thing is packed with tech! Look at this—some kind of quantum stabilisation matrix! No wonder it's not holding up. The energy output alone is crazy."

Cisco nods, clearly impressed. "Yeah, and this must be part of the mechanism that lets you shrink without, you know, dying from the molecular pressure."

We throw around a few more technical terms, diving into the suit's intricate design. You can tell that Ray's put a lot of work into it, but there are some flaws, which is where we come in. After a while, Cisco heads out to grab something from the Cortex, leaving me to run more diagnostics.

As I analyse each function, something clicks in my mind. The flow of new information feels like a rush of energy, and I realise… my science skill has just levelled up again.

[Science Lv4 → Lv5]

"Whoa," I mutter, feeling the sudden surge of knowledge. "Well, shit. I know a lot more now."

With my improved understanding, I can now see the flaws more clearly. "Okay, this connection here... We need to recalibrate the quantum relay and reinforce the stabiliser with a photon buffer. And this," I point to another section, "has to be upgraded with a micro-nanite array."

I start fixing the issues, working faster and more efficiently with my enhanced knowledge. It's like my mind is a well-oiled machine now, and I can see exactly where the problems lie and how to solve them.

…

After a few hours of non-stop tinkering, I finally take a step back from Ray's suit. "Huh," I mutter, wiping the sweat off my forehead. "Okay, that looks good. I think we've got it."

Feeling accomplished, I decide it's time for a break. I head upstairs to see what everyone else is up to, and as I approach the Cortex, I notice everyone gathered around, looking way too serious for my liking.

"Yo, guys," I call out, walking in. "What are we gathering at?"

Barry looks up first, glancing between me and the screen. "Uh... it's... well, it's a bee."

"A bee? We're gathering over a bee? I've been working my ass off on that suit, and you guys didn't even call me?" I raise an eyebrow. "What did I miss?"

Cisco glances over, a little sheepishly. "Well, technically, it's not a bee... It's a tiny robot bee."

I blink, staring at him. "You forgot me the whole frickin' day? Dude, I'm not that invisible, am I? Do I need to wear neon pink or something?"

I mutter that last part under my breath, but I can see Caitlin stifling a laugh from across the room. At least someone finds me funny.

Barry steps in to explain. "We found one of the robot bees inside STAR Labs, and we're still not sure how it got in. Probably hitched a ride on my suit when I came back from patrol."

Caitlin nods. "Yeah, we were scanning for life forms, not tech, so it must've slipped through the cracks."

"So you're telling me this bee was just wandering around STAR Labs, trying to kill you guys?" I ask, half-expecting them to laugh it off.

"Well, we managed to contain it," Barry says, motioning to one of the containment cells. "Once we did, we figured out it wasn't organic at all. It's a high-tech robot. Advanced, too."

I cross my arms and look at them all. "You guys shut it off, right?"

The room goes quiet for a second. I look around, waiting for someone to say something. "Right? You guys obviously shut it off, yeah?"

All I get is silence and a couple of guilty looks from Wells and Cisco.

"You've got to be kidding me," I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. "It's a freakin' killer robot, and no one thought to turn it off?"

Wells, looking uncharacteristically sheepish, murmurs, "How did I forget something so simple?"

Cisco's eyes are wide, and I can practically hear the gears turning in his head. "I... I don't know how I missed that."

Without another word, I walk over to the containment cell. "Alright, stand back, geniuses." I rub my fingers together, summoning a bit of electricity, and send a tiny spark toward the robot, creating a mini EMP blast around it. The bee shuts down instantly.

"There," I say, turning back to the group. "Now it's off. Crisis averted."

Cisco lets out a low whistle. "That was badass."

I give him a quick smirk before turning to the screen, where they've pulled up a full scan of the bee. "Alright, so what are we dealing with here?"

Wells taps a few keys, and the specs pop up on the screen. "360-degree vision, high-resolution micro-cameras, and a titanium-based exoskeleton. Whoever built this didn't just want surveillance; they wanted it to be lethal."

I nod, taking it all in. "Well, that's freakin' cool. Terrifying, but cool. Any idea where it's from?"

Barry shakes his head. "Not yet, but we're working on it."

I glance back at the deactivated robot. "Alright, let's start pulling it apart. I want to see what makes this thing tick."