Harrison Wells' Human Shield

Fastest Man Alive [2]

"You lied to us." Caitlin declared as Barry sat on the examination table after returning to STAR labs after having fainting spells at work. "How could you not tell us you're experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors. God knows what's going on inside your body. Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack,"

Clara looked at her father, confused.

"Mini stroke." Dr. Wells simplified, "Probably not,"

"You, of all people, should know that in science, we share." Caitlin continued, "We do not keep secrets,"

"Wow..." Cisco breathed once Caitlin walked away. "I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie,"

Clara hit Cisco at the reminder.

"Ronnie was Caitlin's fiance?" Barry wondered. "The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?"

"Yeah. He is..." Dr. Wells sighed "Missed." he patted Clara's hand before rolling over to the computer screen. "Now, let's figure out why this is happening to you,"

Clara poked her head out of the room with the treadmill. "We're all set,"

Barry looked at the STAR Lab boxes piled up.

"A little padding. Just in case," Clara explained.

"Actually..." Dr. Wells rolled in. "You're the padding,"

Clara looked at her father confused. "Huh?"

"If Mr. Allen is going to fall, you're going to create a forcefield around him to shield the impact,"

"I can hardly control when I go invisible and you expect me to shield another human being that is moving at the blink of an eye?!"

Dr. Wells patted Clara's shoulder and rolled out of the room.

"What if I create a forcefield in the wrong place, and he explodes?!" Clara glanced at Barry and noticed his wide-eyed look. "I'm not saying that's going to happen..."

Barry looked through the window. "You're sure about this, Cisco?"

"Most home treadmills have a maximum speed of about 12 miles per hour. This one has been Cisco'ed. Trust me, it can handle your speed,"

"Okay," Barry looked over at Clara. "You ready,"

"We'll find out," Clara said, taking a deep breath as Barry began to run. She tried to focus on where to put a barrier, but with how fast he was going, everything looked a blur, and she didn't want to risk causing him to trip or cut off anything.

"Barry!" Dr. Wells exclaimed over the microphone, causing Clara to release a forcefield that pushed Barry off the treadmill.

Barry fell against the boxes, and a blizzard of packing peanuts flew out and covered Clara.

Clara looked up wide-eyed at the group behind the window.

***

Barry sat up with a groan. "I passed out again?"

"And it wasn't my fault," Clara cheered.

"Total metabolic failure," Caitlin explained, "brought on by acute hypoglycemia,"

"I'm not eating enough," Barry reasoned. "So an IV bag, and I'm good to go?"

Cisco laughed and pointed to the many IV bags that Barry had been hooked to. "Try 40,"

"Guess you were thirsty," Dr. Wells joked.

"We're gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes," Caitlin reasoned.

"I've done a few calculations. You need to consume an amount equal to roughly 850 tacos," Cisco calculated. "Unless we're talking cheese and guac, which is like a whole other set of equations,"

"For Mexican, I recommend Tito's on Bruckner Avenue," Detective West said. "Best burrito in the city,"

Clara immediately disappeared, spooked by the sudden new voice.

"Detective West," Dr. Wells greeted; Clara was grateful that it changed the attention away from her. "What brings you to STAR Labs?"

Detective West pointed to Barry. "When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing a little research. Turns out there's been reports of a red streak around the city, stopping muggers, rescuing people from burning buildings,"

Dr. Wells looked at Barry. "You didn't tell him we were working together?"

Barry shook his head. "Joe, I can explain.

"You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry," Joe argued. "I suggest you get back to it,"

"Mm-hmm," Caitlin agreed. "Don't look at me. I'm on your side,"

"Detective," Dr. Wells interrupted. "We all want what's best for Barry,"

"If you wanted what was best for Barry, you'd try to talk him out of this lunacy instead of encouraging him to go out there risking his life,"

"You saw a man control the weather. You just saw a girl disappear into thin air,"

"Partially," Clara reminded.

"What are the police gonna do against someone like that?"

"Woah!" Clara argued, "Why am I being grouped with the criminals?"

"Since the accelerator explosion, we suspect there may be more like him,"

Detective Wells crossed his arms. "And you're gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? Do you think because you can run real fast that you're invincible? You're not! You're just a kid. My kid,"

Clara flinched back as Detective West glared over at her father.

"I'm not your kid, Joe," Barry said. "And you're not my father,"

Clara disappeared as she wanted to be away from the conversation; it reminded her too much of how she was when Dr. Wells first adopted her.

"My father's sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him. And you're wrong about this." Barry continued. "Now, I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I'm gonna do it. And you can't stop me. So don't try,"

Papers quivered as Clara's shaken emotions caused forcefields to form around her.

"You think you're so smart." Detective West told Barry, "All of you. But you don't know what you don't know. And I hope you're clever enough to figure it out before somebody gets killed,"

As Detective West left the lab, Clara barely registered her father's hand on hers.

"Clara..." Dr. Wells whispered, trying to anchor her back.

Clara shook her head and left the room.