Paralyzer || Barry Allen (The Flash) Fanfiction

Chapter 16: Forces of Nature

"Focus, Haven," Dr. Wells' voice came over the headset. His statement made me want to roll my eyes, but I couldn't spare a single second of looking away from the point in front of me as I ran.

For the past three weeks or so we'd been working on honing all of my skills. I'd achieved the ability to form light energy into solid matter as well as create illusions where I could actually change my appearance by manipulating the particles in a way that projected a different image than my own. I'd also made small progress on light negation -- the process of completely negating light from a specific area -- though it wasn't enough to actually be useful at the moment. It did, however, lead us to a theory.

Negating light and absorbing light were two completely different powers for me. The light I absorbed would fuel me immediately by adding to my internal stockpile, almost like it was a carb that enabled my body to use readily available energy. However, the light I neutralized didn't get soaked up by my cells. Still, it wasn't like I could just make the light completely vanish altogether. There had to be someplace it was stored.

That's how we came up the idea of this entity known as the Light Force.

We'd theorized something similar for Barry's speed -- we had decided to call it the Speed Force -- though we still weren't completely sure of either force's existence. It just seemed likely that, for the excess light we took from a space, there had to be an overflow storage. Energy couldn't simply be erased from existence in the universe, and anything that was taken was only temporarily displaced.

Now we were trying to test this theory. For three weeks now we'd been trying to get my powers to tap into this so-called Light Force. I'd been forbidden from absorbing any light -- it was a lot harder than it sounded -- in order to force my system to turn to the Light Force for its energy source. So far, we'd had no luck, and it only was ending with a very exhausted superhuman. Me.

"Dr. Wells, what if we're wrong?" I panted as I slowed on the treadmill.

I'd been restricted to training inside the labs in the treadmill room with the lights turned off when I would have much rather been running outside with the sun beating down on my skin and filling me with its warmth. I swear I looked like I was emaciated even with all the food and vitamins and shots I'd been receiving to counterbalance the lack of light I was receiving. Every fiber of my being yearned for even a spec of light to flow through me.

Dr. Wells paused for a moment, actually taking my comment into consideration. He'd been so bent on being right that he had rejected all of my other complaints, but now I seemed to actually be getting through to him. "Let's give it one more day. If you still can't tap into it, then we can move on. But you have to put every bit of strength you have left into trying, Haven."


"I promise, doctor," I nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Bright and early," Dr. Wells called out to me as I started to leave the lab.

"As always," I hollered back in agreement as I headed towards the elevators.

Normally I would be able to run down the stairs and back home without a second thought, but I was saving up my strength. We were never sure these days when we'd get a call and who we'd be up against. Just the other week we'd gotten a surprise visit from none other than Captain Cold again, this time with a partner who Cisco had appropriately named Heatwave. With the cold gun and heat gun both in play it had been a tricky take down, but Barry and I had managed to destroy the weapons and the two villains were locked up once again. I hoped they'd stay that way this time.

So, instead of running, I did what any normal person would do when they didn't own a car. I walked.

Barry and I were supposed to be going out to this new fancy restaurant tonight. He'd insisted that I needed a break from all this training, and, considering I was beginning to look pretty gaunt, I could definitely do with a good meal. Besides, it was our month anniversary technically, and we wanted to celebrate. We didn't have many nights off, so we were glad to take full advantage of any time together we could get.