Both Victor and Cisco barely managed to suppress a sigh at Caitlyn's antics. They understood her nagging came from concern, but it grew exhausting after a while.
"You're clearly no fun," Cisco said, exchanging a knowing smile with Victor.
"Totally," Victor replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Besides, we have you. If anything goes wrong, you can always patch us up, right?"
"Right," Cisco echoed.
Caitlyn's brows furrowed, her expression souring as she folded her arms across her chest. She struggled to form a rebuttal. As a doctor, treating patients was her duty, especially when they were her friends.
Checkmate, both Victor and Cisco thought. There was no better way to deflect concern than well-placed praise and appreciation.
"Caitlyn, let the kids have their fun," Wells said calmly as he rolled into the cortex, mild exasperation on his face.
"Fine. Just know I can't treat the dead," she replied, resigning herself as she turned back to the monitors, continuing her analysis of the data she had gathered from Victor and Barry. There was still so much to learn.
Just then, Barry walked in from around the corner, his expression conflicted. His fists were clenched, like he was holding back an outburst. From the look of it, restraint was winning, but barely.
Noticing his demeanor, Cisco spoke first. "Barry, what's got you so worked up?" he asked lightly, almost on instinct.
Barry did not answer right away, clearly weighing his words. When everyone's attention settled on him, he finally spoke.
"The night the particle accelerator exploded, Victor and I weren't the only ones affected, were we?"
Wells let out a deep sigh, turning to Caitlyn and Cisco. "We don't know for sure."
"You said the city was safe. That there was no residual danger," Barry pressed, his voice calm but strained. "Clearly that's not true. So what really happened that night?"
Under the pressure, Wells began recounting the events. "The accelerator went online," he said, pausing as he synced his wheelchair interface with the monitors. "We felt like heroes. And then it all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, releasing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter. Dark matter. X-elements."
"Those are theoretical," Barry interrupted, struggling to process how fragile his understanding of the world really was.
"And how theoretical are you or him?" Wells shot back.
"We mapped the dispersion across Central City and the surrounding areas," Wells continued. "But we have no way of knowing exactly who or what was exposed. We have been searching for others, metahumans like you."
"Meta-humans?" Barry asked.
"Yes," Caitlyn affirmed. "That's what we're calling them."
Barry exhaled slowly before continuing. "I saw one today. A bank robber. He can control the weather."
"Oh, oh, oh. This just keeps getting cooler," Cisco said, rubbing his palms together, barely hiding his excitement.
Barry's expression hardened instantly. "This is not cool. A man almost died. Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did, from the storm cloud. And he's still out there."
"We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else," Barry said, already turning to leave.
"Barry," Wells called out. "That's a job for the police."
"I work for the police," Barry shot back.
"As a forensic assistant," Wells replied.
"You're responsible for this. For him," Barry said.
Wells's expression tightened instantly. "What's important is you, not me. I lost everything. My company. My reputation. My freedom."
"And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours," Wells continued. "Inside you could be the key to an entirely new world. Genetic therapies. Vaccines. Medicines. Treasures buried deep within your cells."
"And we cannot risk losing that because you want to go out and play hero," he snapped. "You're not a hero. You're a young man who was struck by lightning."
Barry stayed silent. The words had landed. With no retort to offer, he turned and stormed out of S.T.A.R. Labs, anger simmering beneath the surface. He had already swallowed Joe's lack of trust earlier that day. This pushed him over the edge. There was only one person he knew who could give him advice.
As Barry disappeared down the corridor, Victor let out a quiet sigh. He had to admit, Thawne was good. Very good at manipulation. He tore Barry down here, knowing he would rise again, stronger and more determined than ever.
Victor had wanted to take Barry's side, but he held back. This moment, as cruel as it was, was necessary. One of the steps that would shape Barry Allen into the Flash. Not that he wouldn't become the Flash without it.
It was already late into the evening, so with nothing else to do, Victor left S.T.A.R. Labs. Barry would likely be gone for a few hours anyway, off getting advice from Oliver. And honestly, Barry could handle Mardon just fine.
Victor had no intention of getting involved. He would watch from a distance at most, stepping in only if events strayed from the timeline he knew.
As he stepped outside S.T.A.R. Labs, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was his aunt. He raised an eyebrow and answered.
A second later, the calm drained from his face. His expression went pale. Far enough from the building, Victor broke into a run, his body blurring as he took off, leaving behind only a faint ripple in the air.
---
Back inside S.T.A.R. Labs, Wells rose from his wheelchair, his hands tucked into his pockets. His eyes were sharp as he stared at the holographic screens before him. Footage after footage played, all centered on one person. Victor.
"Really strange," Wells muttered.
He had already reviewed the tests on the unexpected variable, Victor. The results were clear, and that was the problem. Victor's metahuman ability should not have been cryokinesis, at least he didn't have it until recently. The moment the lightning struck him, his power should have been determined. But it had not.
"Unless... his meta ability is to copy others' abilities."
The more the thought lingered, the more plausible it was. He couldn't brush it aside. After all, of all people, he knew just how absurd metahuman powers could get.
Plus, he had already confirmed that Caitlyn was a metahuman. Coincidentally, her ability was cryokinesis, and she was also the person Victor spent the most time around. It was a reasonable line of thought, but Wells wasn't ready to commit to it just yet.
Still, if Victor was truly capable of what he thought, if he could copy Barry's speed, then perhaps he would not need to place all his moves on one pawn.
But there was a problem.
Unlike Barry, Victor was careful. Watchful. That alone was enough to make Wells cautious. One wrong move could undo everything. Besides, until recently, Victor had been irrelevant. Now, however, he had his full attention.
---
Victor had just reached his aunt's doorstep. He didn't bother knocking. He pushed inside and went straight into the living room, where he found her sitting stiffly on the couch, hands clasped in her lap.
She looked scared, confused, shocked. Victor didn't need to think long about why. There were only a few possibilities, and all of them pointed in the same direction.
She shot to her feet the moment she saw him. "You're back?" she asked, surprise clear in her voice. "Already?"
"What happened?" Victor asked, ignoring the question.
She hesitated, frozen for a second as if choosing where to begin. When she finally spoke, her voice wavered. "Victor, you might not believe me, b-but I think I have... powers."
Victor stared at her, expression blank. He wasn't surprised. If anything, this confirmed what he already knew.
She took his silence the wrong way. "I know how it sounds," she rushed on. "It's crazy. But when I was making dinner, it just... happened. All of a sudden."
"I believe you," Victor said.
Relief washed over Jennifer's face. "You do?"
"Yes." He tilted his head slightly. "Can you show me?"
She paused, still unsure, then nodded. "Yeah... sure."
Her eyes scanned the room before settling on the TV remote resting on the table. She stretched out both hands, fingers trembling as she focused on it, as if trying to grab something that wasn't there.
Nothing happened. Victor crossed his arms and waited, but she took his silence as doubt.
Not wanting to look foolish, she pushed harder. At last, the remote gave a small twitch. It was barely anything, but it was enough. Her ability was there, just weak for now.
Victor nodded. The power he had given her had finally awakened. Telekinesis, copied from Chloe. He had recreated the same effect in his aunt, turning her into a metahuman.
This was only the beginning. He still planned to strengthen her body beyond normal limits. Not just her, but his cousins too. Matt and Chloe would follow.
Matt's ability was empathy, useless in a fight on its own, but with the right changes, Victor could give him something far more practical. Not yet, though. They were still young.
"I have powers too," he said at last.