Ch - 26 The Mist?

After hearing Caitlin's determined statement, Swayam couldn't control his overflowing emotions. He approached her, gently lifted her chin with his index finger and thumb, and lovingly looked into her eyes. Slowly, he neared her tender lips. But just as he was about to give her a passionate kiss, a beep from the computer chimed, indicating that the tissue sample had been processed and the results were ready.

Seeing that their romantic moment was interrupted, they both felt disappointed. However, knowing that this required Caitlin's utmost attention, Swayam gave her a small peck on the lips before releasing her from his embrace.

After separating from Swayam's safe and secure bosom, Caitlin coughed twice to stabilize her emotions and hormones. She then irritably looked at the computer screen for disturbing their moment. It took all her willpower to stop herself from punching the monitor.

Eventually, she managed to control herself and looked at the results.

Barry, who had overheard Swayam and Caitlin's conversation, felt a pang of jealousy at seeing their chemistry. But he had his priorities, so he suppressed his jealousy and waited for Caitlin to discuss the results. "The report says there was no residue of gas in the tissue. Poisonous or otherwise."

Barry, being a CSI, immediately hypothesized what might have happened with the gas. "It must have evaporated. We'll need to acquire a new and fresh sample."

But just as Barry finished, Caitlin, who had the report in her hand, exclaimed, "Wait, this can't be right." She went to Barry's table and spread the report on it. "This says there are two distinct strands of DNA inside the tissue."

Swayam, who had also stabilized his emotions by now, understood what they were talking about thanks to the knowledge he had acquired from Cisco, Caitlin, and Harrison over the past eight months. He interjected, "How did someone else's DNA get inside the victim's lungs?"

Although Swayam was aware of the major events of CW's "The Flash," he didn't know everything about the show. So he wasn't sure about the metahuman's specific abilities.

Caitlin, Barry, and even Swayam himself didn't have an answer to that question. The next logical step was to try matching the DNA in their database in hopes of getting a lead.

After a while, the computer beeped again, but this time it indicated that the DNA matching had come up negative. "There's no DNA match in the database."

Caitlin was confused. "I don't understand. Why would a chemical attack leave behind another person's DNA inside the victim?"

Swayam, speculating about the metahuman's abilities, subconsciously caused his body to become gaseous for a fraction of a second. Realizing what the metahuman's ability was, he said, "The metahuman we're looking for doesn't control gas; he becomes the gas."

As they were conversing, the modified radios nearby reported another poisonous gas incident. "All available units, we have a report of a toxic gas attack in the Central City Shopping Mall."

Barry, hearing the report, immediately stood up, ready to rush to the scene. But Caitlin tried to stop him. "Barry, don't go. We don't know enough about what we're facing yet. It's not safe."

Seeing that Barry wasn't stopping, Swayam placed his hand on Barry's shoulder, holding him in place. "I think you should listen to Cait. Blindly rushing in isn't going to help."

Although Barry had superspeed, he didn't have super strength like Swayam, so he couldn't move. He looked Swayam in the eyes and said, "Sam, the more we delay, the more chances that metahuman has to harm more people or escape. We cannot delay. Let me go, Sam."

Seeing Barry's urgency and valid points, Swayam reluctantly let him leave.

As Caitlin had predicted, confronting the metahuman ended up being a bad idea. Barry got his ass kicked again, but he managed to bring back a sample. Extracting it caused him extreme pain, making him pass out.

After some time, when Barry regained consciousness, Cisco, who was nearby and monitoring his vitals, said, "The streak lives."

Caitlin, also nearby, said, "You'd be dead if your lung cells didn't regenerate so quickly."

Barry, who was injected with a long needle through his chest, placed his hand on it and spoke in pain, "Oh, my chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette."

Swayam questioned, "What did you expect would happen when you encounter a metahuman criminal who can literally turn into poisonous gas? This habit of yours, blindly rushing in to help people or stop a criminal, could cost you dearly in the future."

Caitlin added, "This is serious, Barry. You could have died."

Before Caitlin could further reprimand him, Barry interrupted, "I know, Sam, and I didn't die, Caitlin."

Harrison Wells, seeing the situation getting tense, changed the subject. "Now that we have his sample, we will analyze it, figure out the makeup of the poison, maybe get a clue as to his human identity."

After successfully diverting their attention and finishing establishing the tasks, he remained quiet. But Cisco continued, "Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist." Just as he said "mist," Cisco's eyes sparkled with excitement. "The Mist. Okay, that's his name. End of discussion."

Barry, who had just gotten up from leaning on the bed, said, "I have to get to the station."

Harrison Wells immediately replied, "You should be resting."

Barry instantly retorted, "I have to talk to Joe." After saying that, he removed his super suit, put on his normal clothes, and left S.T.A.R. Labs.