STAR Labs hummed with purpose.
I arrived at 7 AM—two hours before the scheduled test—and found the facility already buzzing with activity. Technicians ran final diagnostics on equipment I couldn't identify. Cisco moved between workstations with barely contained energy, checking and rechecking systems that would either make history or destroy it.
"You're early." Barry appeared at my shoulder, dressed in his Flash suit, expression caught between anticipation and nervousness. "Couldn't sleep either?"
"Security sweep." The lie came easily. "Wanted to verify the perimeter before things got complicated."
"Good thinking." He bounced slightly on his heels, the nervous energy of someone about to attempt something they weren't entirely sure would work. "Wells says the probability of success is over ninety percent, but..."
"Ninety percent isn't certainty."
"Exactly." He managed a weak smile. "Caitlin's been drilling me on emergency protocols all week. I think she's more nervous than I am."
She should be. Wells is going to betray you. The man you trust as a mentor murdered your mother.
I couldn't say any of that.
"You'll be fine," I said instead. "Best team in the city backing you up."
"Yeah." His smile strengthened slightly. "Yeah, we do."
He moved off to continue preparations, leaving me to my supposed security sweep. I used the opportunity to verify positioning—checking sightlines, confirming exit routes, ensuring I could reach critical areas when the moment came.
The pipeline was too far from the accelerator ring for casual access. If Thawne moved Eddie there, I'd need to phase through walls to close the distance.
The cortex offered better angles. I positioned myself near the secondary monitoring station—close enough to respond, far enough to avoid drawing attention.
Eddie arrived with Joe around 8:30.
They'd been invited to observe—Barry's family witnessing his attempt to push beyond human limitations. Eddie looked out of place in his detective's jacket, surrounded by technology he didn't understand, but his expression showed genuine interest.
Good man, I thought, watching him shake hands with Cisco. Decent person who happened to have the wrong ancestor. You don't deserve what's coming.
Joe's presence complicated things slightly. The detective's instincts might register my intervention as suspicious—another variable to manage in the aftermath.
I pushed the concern aside. One problem at a time.
The test began at 9 AM precisely.
"All stations report ready," Cisco announced, voice carrying formal protocol weight. "Accelerator containment at nominal. Medical monitoring online. Security perimeter secured."
The last report was mine. I confirmed the perimeter while positioning myself near the cortex's eastern exit.
"Excellent." Wells wheeled to his primary monitoring station, hands moving across controls with familiar precision. "Barry, whenever you're ready."
Barry stepped into the accelerator ring entrance. The suit's sensors activated, feeding data to Caitlin's medical console. His heart rate was elevated but stable—nervous anticipation rather than fear.
"Beginning initial acceleration phase."
He started running.
The accelerator responded immediately. Energy built through systems I didn't understand, channeled into focused beams tracking Barry's movement around the ring. The readings on Cisco's display climbed steadily—speed increasing beyond normal parameters, approaching theoretical limits.
"Velocity at Mach 2.7," Cisco reported. "2.8. 2.9. Approaching target threshold."
Caitlin monitored her screens with intense focus. "Cellular integrity holding. No stress degradation. Barry, how do you feel?"
"Amazing." His voice came through comms, breathless but elated. "I've never felt this fast."
The first stage completed without incident. Barry slowed, exiting the ring with a grin suggesting pure joy. The team congratulated him—handshakes and relieved laughter and the satisfaction of success.
Wells smiled too. The expression looked genuine enough to fool everyone watching.
It didn't fool me.
I'd learned to read the edges of his mask—the places where performance didn't align with authentic emotion. His smile was too precise. His hands too steady. A man genuinely relieved would show residual tension.
This was satisfaction. The pleasure of watching prey walk deeper into a trap.
"Excellent results," Wells announced. "Shall we proceed to stage two?"
The second stage pushed the accelerator harder.
Energy fluctuations appeared on Cisco's display—minor variations Wells dismissed as normal operating parameters. The containment fields adjusted automatically, compensating for irregularities that seemed almost deliberate.
He's building toward something, I realized. Each stage moves the system closer to whatever threshold he actually needs.
Barry ran faster. The readings climbed higher. The facility vibrated with contained power wanting release.
"Velocity approaching Mach 4," Cisco reported, voice tighter now. "Containment stress at seventy-three percent. Approaching safety margin."
"Maintain current parameters." Wells didn't look up from his console. "The safety margins were designed conservatively. We have room."
Caitlin's expression shifted to concern. "Barry's cellular readings are showing slight anomalies. Nothing dangerous yet, but—"
"Stage two completing in thirty seconds." Wells overrode the concern with clinical authority. "We're committed now."
I moved closer to the eastern exit. Whatever happened next, I needed to be ready.
Eddie and Joe watched from the observation area above the cortex. Eddie's expression showed confusion—the technology was beyond his expertise, but he could sense tension building.
Joe's hand rested near his weapon. Instinct recognizing danger even without identifying the source.
"Stage two complete." Cisco exhaled visibly. "Velocity achieved: Mach 4.2. Unprecedented."
Barry slowed again, emerging from the ring with exhaustion around his eyes but satisfaction in his posture. "That was intense. But I can feel the difference."
"Then we proceed to stage three." Wells turned from his console, and something in his posture shifted. Subtle. Most wouldn't notice.
I noticed.
"Stage three will push your Speed Force connection to maximum potential." His voice carried weight it hadn't before. "This is what we've been working toward."
The air felt different. Heavier. Charged with anticipation that had nothing to do with science.
Wells' hand moved toward a control panel I hadn't seen him touch before. His fingers hesitated over a specific switch—the deliberate pause of someone savoring a moment they'd waited fifteen years to experience.
I tensed. Muscles ready for activation. Powers waiting at consciousness's edge.
Across the room, Caitlin caught my eye. She nodded—professional, distant, but not cold.
I nodded back.
Whatever happened next, that moment was clean.
Wells smiled.
Then he stood up from his wheelchair.
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