THE LEGACIES | arrowverse

4 | It's Not The Same

--NOW, THE PRESENT--
Central City
September 8, 2037

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         THE WORLD around Barry Allen was silent, still in time as he reread every police report connected to the string of crimes lately involving youth. He bit his lip anxiously as if he was running out of time. But the man had nothing but it. Being frozen in Flash time meant he could spend hours reading while the world around him quietly and extremely slowly went by. When one has such a relationship with time as The Flash does, no second is wasted. So if he spends the next five minutes in real time actually hours in Flash Time reading then so be it. It would explain the dark circles he was beginning to develop he would start to blame on age.

Upset with what he was seeing, he returned to the normal time just as August Heart a young detective entered the room. Barry quickly downed a sip of an energy drink he concocted.

"Any chance I can get a sip of that?" August asked with a sly grin, plopping himself down on top of Barry's messy desk.

"Man, can you not sit on these files you probably worked very hard to fill out these last couple months?"

His friend ignored his request, gently tossing thin tablets of electronic files to the side then gestured to the empty lab. "Where's your staff?"

"Break," Barry mumbled as he stood up, walking over to a machine whose lab results had just about finished. Perfect. Just on time.

August's eyes leaped out of its sockets, "All of them? Is that what they get paid for to do nothing?"

"No, I sent them. I've been on them pretty hard lately. Figured they needed a break from me. And hey, I'm their boss," Barry explained, typing away at the machine.

August wasn't convinced as he stood up to join his friend, "Ah, I see what it is. Barry Allen and his perfectionist personality at its finest. You know there's a reason you're head of the department. They work for you, you're not supposed to do their work for them. Especially with your other endeavors."

"But I can, August. If I can do the job of 11 of my staff then I will, simple as that. And with them here," Barry scratches the back of his head, "well, they just get in the way."

"Sure," August shrugs. "Anyways, just came to say hi," he chose his next words carefully, "And to report that we got a lead on West's case."

At this Barry paused. He quickly made his way to August now noticing the tablet in his hand.

He took it to see a suspects name.

His eyes run over the details and he cursed under his breathe. He stalks over to a table and with taps on its surface, documents and files come to pixelated life above the table. He does a grabbing gesture on the tablet in his hand and is able to toss the information into his own investigative board, a secret from the rest of his staff and detectives except for August and Director Singh who found out years ago.

"How long has it been since you've seen him?" August asked, eyeing the way his friend's jaw clenched.

"Iris keeps telling me to go with her and the kids but I just...," Barry sighs and shakes his thoughts away. "Just don't have the time with everything going on."

"Barry Allen, The Flash, doesn't have enough time?" August jokes. "Surely there must be a lot going on if that's the case."

Barry manages a small chuckle. His mind continues to work as he plays the role of detective, attempting to make lines connect between the details of the case. He wasn't Batman that was for sure, but with the amount of crime he has seen the aftermath of and the amount of times he's saved the world from destruction, his detectives skills were getting better.