The Line Between Living and Dying

Metahumans

"I wasn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator explosion, was I?" Barry stormed into the cortex, anger emanating from him.

The team looked down in shame, especially Caitlin. While all three of them knew others had been affected, Caitlin was the only one to actually work with and study one of the people affected. But Cisco and Dr. Wells were clueless as per Dani's wishes.

"We don't know for sure." Dr. Wells answered.

"You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger. But that's not true, so what really happened that night?" Barry questioned.

Dr. Wells looked to his team before answering. "Well... the accelerator went active." Wells tapped on his tablet that was attached to his wheelchair. "We all felt like heroes, and then..." A video of what happened to the accelerator right before the explosion played on one of the monitors. "It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, dark energy, x-elements--"

"Those are all theoretical." Barry protested.

"And how theoretical are you?" Dr. Wells fired back. "We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City though we have no way of knowing exactly what or... who was exposed, we've been searching for other Meta-humans like yourself."

"Meta-humans?" Barry asked.

"That's what we're calling them," Caitlin explained.

"I saw one today. He's a bank robber, and he can control the weather." Barry informed.

"This just keeps getting cooler." Cisco smiled, getting too wrapped up in everything.

"This is not cool. All right? A man died. Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. He's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else." Barry turned to leave but Dr. Wells stopped him.

"Barry! That's a job for the police."

"I work for the police."

"As a forensic assistant."

"You're responsible for this. For him."

"What's important is you!" Dr. Wells yelled. "Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world-- genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero! You're not a hero. You are just a young man who was struck by lightning."

Barry stared at Dr. Wells silently with shock and disbelief written across his face. He glanced at Cisco and Caitlin before turning on his heel and storming out.

As he rounded a corner, Barry spotted Dani coming towards him. "Dani? What are you doing here?"

Dani looked up from her phone, smiling at her friend. "I came to see Caitlin. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I, uh..." Barry scratched the back of his head, trying to think of a lie. "I just stopped by for a check-up."

"Is everything okay?" Dani asked, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Dr. Wells and Caitlin just have me come in every once in a while to make sure there's nothing wrong. I mean, I was struck by lightning."

Dani chuckled at Barry's awkward demeanor causing him to stare at her with a gleam in his eyes. He loved that little laugh of hers that she always used when something was a little bit comedic.