"I have to help them," Barry whispered.
He forced himself to breathe.
Air surged into his lungs, sharp and cold, and with it came the warmth — that familiar current threading through his bloodstream. It pulsed beneath his skin, alive, waiting. If he lingered on it too long, he knew it would swallow his attention whole.
"Focus, Barry," he muttered, pressing his palms briefly against his cheeks.
The world steadied.
He let his mind slip into the same place it always went on a scene — detached, precise.
Primary impact: sedan and truck. The truck had taken the hit on its rear quarter panel, tires smoking as it fishtailed and skidded toward a stop. Heavy damage, but upright. Survivable.
The sedan wasn't.
That was the priority.
Barry moved, already tracking the arc of shattered glass suspended in front of him. Every fragment gleamed as if traced in gold, each piece marking its origin and its inevitable destination. If he mistimed this by even a fraction, those shards would finish what the collision started.
He reached the driver's side and placed his hands against the warped frame.
A-pillar.
He didn't need to think about the name. He knew what it could take, where it would bend, how much force it could withstand before it failed. He drew in a breath and pulled.
The metal resisted.
Not just weight, time itself seemed to cling to it, stretching the moment thin. His muscles screamed, heat flaring through his arms as the strain bit deep. For the first time since he moved, doubt crept in.
Not fear of losing control.
Fear of running out of it.
"Come on," he growled through clenched teeth. "Pull."
He dug in and yanked.
The pillar gave way with a tortured shriek, the door frame collapsing just enough to release its seal. Barry slipped inside the space he'd made, shielding the woman and the child as the last of the suspended glass finally began to fall.
As the adrenaline drained Barry could hear the world slowly churn back together. Before deciding it was the proper time to leave Barry gave the child and mother a complete once over.
The mother seemed to be fine. Shock evident on her face. Barry could see the open messenger app when he went in to save her. Although the little girl was just fine, worried but okay.
Placing the family in a position Barry finally left the scene. Setting the world back into place he slowly made his way back towards the precinct.
"Barry!" Iris screamed down the cluttered alley while darting her head around. Leaving no stone unturned.
My smile seemed to become a beacon. Her eyes locked onto mine the second my lips tried to split into something prideful.
"What Mr.Allen, did you some find a girlfriend out here." Iris playfully jabbed.
Clutching his chest in mock pain. "Oh thy fiend words hurt, how shall I ever overcome thine words"
"Cringe overload my lord" Iris says with a courteous bow.
They both laugh at each other antics. The left over awkwardness of months separated gave way for their unshakable bond.
"I have something planned for later today bear, will you be fine by yourself?" A loving smile hugged her face. " I'll completely understand if you need me to stay."
Seeing her love for me has always hit a soft spot. "Theres no reason to worry about me, I actually should be heading back to S.T.A.R. Labs right now."
A look of readable surprise and curiosity flashed through her eyes.
"For what Bear?" Her voice now filled with her quizzical tone of journalism.
I instinctively told her about routine checkups and about "nerdy data collection". A technique I learned in middle school to keep Nosy Nancy's out of my chamber of secrets.
**Buzz**
Iris gave a sweet smile while looking at her phone. "I guess thats me bear."
After giving each other a warm goodbye, Barry made his first call back to S.T.A.R. Labs telling Dr.Wells about his experience with super speed.
"Okay Mr.Allen," Dr.Wells said through his side of the phone. "Will be here to test your Abilities."
"Alright I'll see you a… jiffy," Barry said with a cringed smile instantly regretting it.
"Sorry I was tryna start a thing, and that was; forget it." Sighing in defeat Barry hung up his phone.
Barry didn't remember starting to run.
One second he was standing in the alley, phone still warm in his hand, the echo of his own embarrassment hanging in the air and the next, the city stretched.
Buildings pulled long and thin. Wind pressed against his face, hard enough to sting. His feet struck pavement in a rapid, almost stuttering rhythm, each step landing before the last had fully left the ground.
At first, it felt effortless. Then the weight hit him.
Not pain but a deep, creeping heaviness that settled into his limbs. The warmth in his bloodstream flickered, no longer a steady surge but a pulse that came in uneven waves.
Barry slowed, forcing himself to regulate his breathing even as the world crawled back toward normal speed. His chest tightened, lungs burning sharper than they should have for someone who had just crossed half the city in seconds.
By the time S.T.A.R. Labs came into view, his legs felt rubbery. That scared him more than the crash had. The massive doors slid open at his approach.
"Barry!" Caitlin said immediately, already moving toward him. "You don't look—"
"I'm fine," he lied, then immediately corrected himself. "I'm… operational."
Cisco raised an eyebrow from behind his tablet. "That's not a word people usually use about themselves."
Barry stepped forward and nearly stumbled.
Caitlin caught his arm without hesitation. Her fingers pressed against his wrist, already counting.
"…That's not right," she murmured.
"What?" Barry asked, forcing a smile. "Too fast?"
"Yes. far too fast." she said, glancing at Wells.
Wells' chair rolled forward slightly, his gaze sharp and unreadable.
"How long since you last ate, Mr. Allen?"
Barry blinked. The question felt wildly out of place.
"I-I don't know. I just woke up." He frowned, trying to reconstruct time. "I wasn't exactly hungry."
Cisco snorted. "Dude, you just bent physics and rescued a family. That's like, at least a sandwich."
Caitlin guided Barry toward a chair. "Sit. Now."
The moment he did, the fatigue crashed fully into him. His hands trembled, heat draining from his limbs like someone had pulled a plug.
Dr.Wells turned slightly, tapping something into a console. Graphs bloomed across the nearest screen — metabolic rates, glucose levels, energy expenditure curves that spiked violently upward before plummeting just as hard.
"Your body isn't just using energy," Wells continued. "It's incinerating it."
Caitlin's mouth tightened as she studied the data. "Barry… your glucose levels are dangerously low."
Barry stared at the screen. "That doesn't make sense. I didn't feel weak until after."
"Because you're adrenaline masked it," Caitlin said gently. "Your cells are burning fuel faster than we've ever seen. Faster than your body can replenish it on its own."
Cisco snapped his fingers. "Speed metabolism." As if winning the lottery of nicknames.
Barry let out a slow breath. "So every time I do that—" He gestured vaguely, meaning running, and saving. "I'm basically draining myself dry."
"Yes," Wells said. "If left unmanaged, eventually fat reserves won't be enough. Muscle tissue would follow. Organ failure after that."
The room fell quiet.
Barry absorbed it the same way he always absorbed bad news, by dissecting it.
"So I need fuel," he said eyes flicked back to the graphs. "Constant intake. Simple sugars for immediate energy, complex carbs for sustained output. Electrolytes to manage cellular signaling."
Caitlin disappeared briefly and returned with a protein bar, then hesitated. "This won't fix everything, but it should stabilize you."
Barry took it, and ate without ceremony. Almost immediately, warmth crept back into his fingers. His heartbeat steadied, still fast but controlled.
"That's… better," he admitted.
Wells watched him closely. "This is not a limitation, Barry."
Barry looked up.
"It is a responsibility," Wells continued. "Understanding your body is as important as understanding your speed. Power without sustainability is recklessness."
Barry straightened in the chair, resolve settling into place alongside the returning warmth.
"Then we'll figure it out," he said. "Because I'm not going to stop."
Cisco smiled, something like awe flickering through it. Caitlin met Barry's gaze with quiet determination.
Wells' lips curved, just barely. "Good," he said. "Because Central City won't give you the option."