Chapter 6
The next morning, it was a very different August Heart that rolled off the bed just as the sun rose up, in a manner that would seem very strange to others that were familiar with him, he pulled back the blinds, opened the windows and howled at the sun, earning him weird looks from his neighbors who were also early risers. August didn't care about what others might think, whistling his favorite tune, he walked into the kitchen to fix himself some coffee only to remember that he had run out of coffee a while now and he had yet to purchase it.
Chuckling to himself at his forgetfulness, he quickly showered and fixed himself up, then he grabbed a t-shirt and zip-up hoodie and slammed the door on the way out. He walked into the morning traffic taking in the world after nine months. Walking into Jitters, he ordered one grande caramel macchiato with cinnamon sprinkled on top and one hazelnut latte. He put the drinks into a drink carrier and made his way over to where he would hail a cab to STAR Labs. As he walked past a store under construction, he saw some movers bringing old equipment and furniture out on trolleys to be replaced with new ones. The brake device on the trolley was squeaking under the intense weight of several desks and file cabinets and it being old wasn't helping either. The movers dropped one more desk onto the trolley and the sudden jerk caused the brake to break and sent it flying down the pathway straight towards August.
"Shit! Look out!" one of the movers shouted as he saw the disaster unfolding. August suddenly felt his senses kick into overdrive, his synapses faster than they had any right to. Time seemed to slow down around him as he took in his surrounding environment. He turned his head to see a trolley of furniture and office supplies rolling straight for him wanting to roll him over painfully, but he wasn't perturbed, he felt like he had all the time in the world to either catch the trolley and/or get out of the way. August's body went into autopilot as he tossed the drink carrier high in the air and then did a full twist to the side, landing on his feet and stretching out both hands, his right hand caught the trolley by its handle and stopped it in its tracks while his left hand caught the drink carrier with ease. To the bystanders watching, it looked like something out of an action movie. The movers ran over to August with gratitude in their eyes.
"Jesus. You alright, son?" One asked as August was contemplating what had just happened.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." August said.
"Those were some impressive reflexes there. You a gymnast or something?" He asked.
"Or something." August said as he walked away to hail a cab. He mused on what had just happened. He had figured the trigger to use his powers and this was very helpful so as to make sure he'd start vibrating out of the blue one day when he was in public.
But what happened back then was on autopilot, sure he could the flip if he really had to, but the reflexes to flip, catch the trolley and his coffee carrier, that was all his body on overdrive. He did it without any second thought or hesitation.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when a Taxi pulled up beside him, having forgotten that his arm was still hung out to hail the cabs running on the road. Giving the driver his destination as he entered, he once again lost himself in his thoughts.
He had studied his blood all week after he'd found out what was actually going on. His white blood cells count was higher than normal, there were traces of Tachyons and dark matter bound together by something he could not recognize and he was sure that his DNA had mutated.
Normally human DNA is naturally adaptable and overtime, can overgo changes also known as mutations which were usually harmless in most cases and threatening in most. Examples were diseases like sickle cell anemia which was a mutation of the hemoglobin gene that carries oxygen to the blood cells but with all his research, he was certain that this wasn't a disease. It was something else but what he just wasn't sure.
The Particle Accelerator was meant to help create a whole new understanding of our reality. To prove physics problems and theoretical elements, dark matter, quantum energy, endless possibilities. He knew that he'd been infected by dark matter but his question was, was that all he'd been exposed to.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts when the driver notified him that they'd arrived at STAR Labs. Paying the man and coming down, he stared at the huge building that he'd once dreamt of, it was now a shadow of what it once was. A great citadel of Science and Technology had fallen.
He sighed and walked into the building, it was deserted and empty but still just as he'd imagined. It still gave off the aura of a giant. A fallen giant perhaps, but a giant nonetheless.
Walking into the cortex, he saw Cisco and Caitlin staring at him as if surprised he came back. He didn't blame them, after he'd woken up, he'd done everything to leave there as soon as possible even against Caitlin's advice. From the frown on her brow, August guessed she wouldn't be forgetting that any time soon.
"Hi Cisco, Hi Dr. Snow" he managed to say trying to ignore the disapproving look on her face. "It's me, August" he stuttered.
"We know who you are man," Cisco laughed, "What's up?"
"I, um, I'm sorry to bother you," August said awkwardly before launching into a rant, "But you said that I was welcome back here should I need anything. Well, something happened, and I don't know. I guess I just thought of you and decided to- "
"Dude," Cisco said just as Dr. Wells wheeled into the cortex, "Slow down. You're talking so fast I can barely understand you."
August frowned. He hadn't thought he was talking that fast.
"So, I, uh…" August said awkwardly, "I know I don't know you very well, and you've already done enough for me, but I kind of need a favor."
"Whatever you need, man," Cisco said cheerfully, "What's up?" Dr. Snow remained silent staring at him like she would a particularly unintelligent animal while Dr. Wells continued watching silently from the side.
"I discovered something, I've been researching it for a while, but my equipment isn't up to par. I need advanced equipment to make a breakthrough so I was hoping that I could use an empty lab and have access to your equipment." He said it all in one breath as if afraid he would lose courage to continue halfway.
"Mr. Heart, did something happen to you, I assume that your blood is what you're looking into, am I correct?" August was stunned at his accurate deduction and kept silent for a while which inadvertently confirmed the statement.
"Dr. Wells, what exactly happened that night of the Particle Accelerator, and I want to know the full story not told to the general public" August asked, he could see Cisco and Dr. Snow at the corner of his eyes showing more interest in the situation with expressions of dawning realization on their faces.
"Mr. Heart," Dr. Wells sighed and took off his glasses. "The night of the explosion, a dimensional barrier opened, unleashing unknown elements into our world. Anti-matter, dark energy, type zero elements. Basically, when the Accelerator exploded, the world's definition of normal was rewritten."
"Dr. Wells…do you know of any people who were affected by the blast?" August asked.
"Yes, we do." Dr. Wells said and gestured to Cisco and Dr. Snow.
"We?" August asked as Dr. Snow walked up to the system and typed in some data and suddenly the display lit up with a map of Central City and some areas highlighted.
"As of now," Dr. Wells continued, "the explosion killed seventeen people and injured countless others also many others in ways out of the ordinary, we have tried to research the effects of the explosion on the population, but as we are the cause of the problem, it has been difficult finding people who'd agree to help." He put on his glasses once more and turned to face August. "Now, will you help us with your research?"
He must have seen the look of unwillingness on his face because he continued, "I'm not asking you to become a guinea pig" there were chuckles at that, "I'm asking you to work with us. I remember nine months ago, I had a job appointment with you and I looked through your file, scholarship to MIT at fifteen and graduated with masters in Engineering and Physics and part time classes in microbiology and bio chemistry about to receive bachelor's degree in both just before the explosion." Cisco and Dr. Snow stared in shock at this information and Dr. Wells continued, "I would like to invite you to work here with you, if its not too late and we're not too shabby for a genius of your degree. That way we could all figure it out together which would be faster and better than if you were doing this alone."
August was in shock; Dr. Wells was more than sincere in his offer and it was kind of surreal for him because he'd always dreamt of working in STAR Labs since its inception and this was a dream come true because while STAR Labs might be currently dethroned, it wasn't obsolete. He held out his hand to Dr. Wells, "I'd love to work here Dr. Wells. Thank you for the opportunity." Dr. Wells shook his hand and Cisco walked up to pat his back, even Dr. Snow offered a rare smile but it was gone before he could even confirm that it had appeared.
"So, Mr. Heart," Dr. Wells began, "What have you discovered."
August looked around; he could see all three staring at him expectedly. He took in a deep breath and prepared for the disbelieving gazes that would replace those soon.
"These past few days, I was having weird sensations that at first I took to be hallucinations. It happened my first night away, right in this building. I woke up and discovered that my hands were vibrating." He turned, "I'm not talking about muscle spasms, its not that. They were full on vibrating like I was having a seizure or something but it stopped so I thought it was my imagination. The next time it happened was after I was home. It always happened unexpectedly so I wondered if it was real or post coma hallucinations and that's why I didn't tell anyone about it but the first real incident happened when I was at Jitters to get some Coffee."
He described all that had happened that morning after the waitress had almost spilled Coffee on him. "So, time stopped!?" Cisco exclaimed excitedly, "No, that's what I thought too at first but I found at later, that time wasn't slowing down, but I was moving so fast that everybody else seemed to be in a quagmire to me." Dr. Snow nodded her head in agreement with a half-belief expression on her face while Dr. Wells was as unreadable as usual. Cisco on the other hand was like a kid on sugar high. He played the recording he'd made for them, at normal speed which wasn't decipherable and then slowed down the playback with the speed showing at a corner of the screen. After the video stopped, everyone was stunned, Cisco had his mouth opened breathing, "Awesome" time and again while Dr. Snow looked like he'd just broken the laws of order in her universe.
"Mr. Heart, this is on mind-blowing, phenomenal even." Dr. Wells said, "Do you mind us showing us a little example of what you can do?" he said expectantly.
August raised his hand and closed his eyes, he concentrated, visualized a ball of energy in his chest, a bolt of lightning crackling surrounding his heart and spreading; through his arms, his legs… The gasps around him made him open his eyes, his body was vibrating giving him a distorted appearance but this time it was not like before. There were streaks of lightning surrounding, white bolts running around his entire body, and if he could see his eyes, he'd have seen 2 glowing bolts of energy instead. He stared at his body in wonder, still not quite sure if what he was seeing was real. "Amazing" he heard Cisco breathe, his eyes filled with wonderment. He continued studying his body. He felt energetic, as if some sort of energy had awakened. He felt fidgety, like he couldn't stand still, as if remaining stationary was the most horrible pain in the world. He couldn't begin to understand why, but he suddenly felt like going for a walk or something. Maybe even a jog.
"Can we go out for a field test Mr. Heart?" Dr. Wells smiled and those words were music to his ears.
They were out on an open field at the Ferris Air testing facility that Dr. Wells had somehow procured for their speed test. August was in the STAR Labs truck, changing into the tight-fitting clothes that Cisco had given to him while Dr. Wells and Dr. Snow were setting up outside.
"You don't really believe he can run that fast, do you?" Caitlin asked as she busied herself with her tablet.
"I believe anything is possible. And in a few minutes, maybe you will to." Dr. Wells said with a smile.
"How's it fit?" Cisco asked from outside the truck looking the most excited of everyone at the testing site.
"It's a little too tight" August replied as he stepped out of the truck. He was wearing snug red tights, with knee pads, a helmet and goggles and in his opinion, looking absolutely ridiculous. Cisco laughed and patted his back. "At least you'll be moving so fast, no one will be able to see it."
Cisco led him to the tracks while informing him that Dr. Wells would be monitoring his energy output levels and Dr. Snow, his vitals to which he nodded and began to stretch, awakening his muscles to put them into action but Cisco wasn't done. He handed him a device shaped like a lightning bolt.
"This toy, courtesy of your amazing engineer, is a two-way headset with a Camera I modified to adapt to your speed sends the information to us at a tenth of its speed and information back to you at ten times its speed allowing us to communicate with you in real time for us. It was typically designed to combat battlefield noise or in your case, sonic booms, which would be awesome," he laughs, "but I managed to tweak it a little into what you're seeing now."
He left with a wide grin as Dr. Snow came up to calibrate the device monitoring his vitals. Looking up close at her, she was so cold that he could literally feel it choking him.
"What?" she asks, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Nothing…it's just… why don't you smile Dr. Snow?"
She looked up at him. "My once promising career is over" she turned to stare at Dr. Wells, "My boss is in a wheelchair for life. The explosion that put you in a coma, also killed my fiancé. So, this blank expression, kind of feels like the way to go."
She walked away before he could say anything leaving him in shock. He'd never thought that this quiet doctor had suffered such a tragedy. He was still solemn when Dr. Wells wheeled up to him. "Mr. Heart, while I am extremely eager to explore your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint."
He walked towards the starting line with his heart in his chest, he breathed in and out focusing on the feeling, of lightning spreading through his veins. His body vibrating in and out of focus, his vision sharpening and focusing, the whole world stands still and falls away. He felt like bursting. This was bliss. Blissful peace. He wished he could stay in this moment forever, he looked around and somehow his eyes focused on Dr. Snow, her delicate face frozen in blank, polite indifference. He wanted to change her worldview. He wanted her to see, that while that night was filled with tragedy, something beautiful came out of it all, he hoped that realization would make her smile again and as he focused, the lightning became blinding in its intensity, his eyes glowed like a thousand white suns and then he took off.
Boom!
The air around him crackled as he moved, displacing wind that knocked back the Canopy and Cisco to the ground and everyone looking in amazement. He didn't notice that though because for the first time in his life, he felt free. He went faster and faster, embracing the feeling, clinging to it and focusing on the lightning running his face. He wanted to sing, he wanted to shout, he even wanted to do a jig somehow. His mind began to travel as he ran, the fields zipping past him in a blur, to a moment he had buried in the deepest recesses of his mind.
'He was on the floor, crying, screaming as he watched his brother trapped in a maelstrom of lightning. He didn't know what was going on, but he could hear his brother screaming as well. Ever since they had left home, Jorge had tried his best to be strong for him, never showing any weakness to his brother and instead studying hard to join the Police Academy. He'd just graduated that evening and they'd celebrated together and then this happened. All of a sudden, the maelstrom dispersed and congregated into a blurry image of a man in yellow who was gone so fast, he wondered if he'd imagined it all. But it was real, the blood of his big brother pooling around his body, his wheezing gasping breath as he whispered to his brother in halting, coughing voice, "I love you Gus" just before he died.'
Suddenly he snapped back to present just to slam into something hard. August felt a horrible pain in his right wrist for a split second before he felt the rest of the pain. His entire body felt like he had been hit by a truck!
August blinked a few times, his mind in a daze. It took a few seconds for spots to clear out of his vision, but when they did, he found himself sitting beside a water tank, clutching his arm that felt like there were a thousand knives stabbing into it.
His legs didn't feel so great anymore. His whole body hurt like hell. He must have slammed into the tank at full speed, instinctively stuck out his arm to cushion the blow, but his wrist had snapped like a twig, and his body had slammed hard into the tank.
After blinking a few more times and regaining his balance, August realized that his head was throbbing. 'Concussion' he realized. He tried his best to stay conscious. He could feel a sharp stabbing pain in his ankles. All the joints and tendons felt like they'd been torn apart. 'I must have really pushed myself hard to cause this much damage' he thought sardonically. Just as he lost the battle with his consciousness and closed his eyes, he spotted Dr. Snow running towards him, her hair flying in the wind and shouting something he tried to hear but ultimately could not because at that moment, he closed his eyes.