Trouble

Back at STAR Labs, in the surgical room.

Barry's condition had stabilized and improved. All that remained was to clean the wounds, disinfect them to prevent infection, and stitch them up.

The group busied themselves for over half an hour.

With Lin Li's control, Barry's injuries were no longer much of a problem.

"Was someone carrying out a terrorist attack on you? How did Barry get hurt like this?"

"Lin Li, are you sure you don't need to lie down and deal with that X?"

"What happened with that white fog?"

"Okay, Barry is in good condition now, but there is one major problem in front of us."

"Which one of you is going to stitch up Barry's wounds?"

Seeing the two of them playing dumb, Caitlin got angry and shouted directly.

"What?"

"What?"

Lin Li and Cisco responded in unison.

Their belated reactions made Caitlin grit her teeth and snap, "I'm a bioengineering expert, not a doctor. I studied genetic engineering, cell engineering, protein engineering, microbial engineering, biostatistics, bioinformatics, microbiology, cell biology... and twenty-four other disciplines. Not one of them taught me how to stitch wounds."

Cisco stood there with his mouth open, dumbfounded. "Then what do we do? Let Barry heal on his own? A wound like this can't heal by itself, can it? If we don't stitch it up, will Barry keep bleeding until he dies?"

Lin Li offered a suggestion. "We can push Barry's wound together, then cell division will make it stick back together. That should work." His own wound had healed that way. It had taken half an hour and left behind a large X-shaped scar. Lin Li felt that if Barry could control the Speed Force, he should be able to do the same.

"Get lost. You're a monster whose wounds can regenerate on their own. Barry's wounds can't."

Hearing the two of them talk like that, Caitlin truly wanted to smash them with a hammer.

In the end, Caitlin could only stitch up the wound herself, because she had supposedly read about how to do it in a book, even if she had never actually practiced.

Of course, when it came time to do it for real, she was still extremely nervous. This was not pork, but a human chest. She could keep a straight face only because she had seen so much rotten flesh as part of her work, but actually putting needle to skin was another matter.

"Maybe we should still take Barry to the hospital."

Caitlin said uneasily.

Lin Li patted Caitlin on the shoulder and nodded seriously. "Caitlin, you can do it. Once this is over, Barry and Cisco will be very happy that you've joined their Flash team."

Cisco promptly said, "Right, Caitlin. We need you."

Caitlin shot the two of them an irritated glare, but she was no longer quite as nervous. Then she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

"Clean the wound."

"Give him an anesthetic."

"Has the needle been sterilized?"

The two men moved about on either side, preparing everything. Once Caitlin had the needle, she drove it into Barry's chest.

It was done. There was no need to mention the process. A beginner's first attempt could not possibly have been pretty, and Barry would surely regret getting injured this time.

After more than an hour of work, they saw that Barry's pulse and blood pressure were both normal, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, since I'm here, I'm inevitably going to be treating your injuries. Now tell me in detail what exactly happened. Why do you and Barry both look like you were slashed by blades, and why was Barry blown to a bloody pulp?"

Caitlin asked. This was truly terrible. She realized there was no way she could ignore their heroic behavior, because they were constantly getting injured. This time had been the worst yet. She might as well learn more about it and be better prepared in the future.

"It happened like this..."

Cisco rattled off the whole story.

"Weather Wizard. That's the name I gave him. It's so cool. You can't imagine it—a metahuman who can control changes in the weather."

Caitlin was dumbstruck.

In Cisco's version, Weather Wizard had battled the God of Thunder for one hundred and eighty exchanges, as though the fight had shaken heaven and earth and nearly destroyed the world. Then he had been defeated by the righteous God of Thunder and finally fallen.

Caitlin was too shocked for words.

"Didn't the fog only cover one block of Mardon Street?"

After being exposed, Cisco was not embarrassed in the slightest. He said solemnly, "Caitlin, that's not the point. The point is Weather Wizard, a metahuman. A metahuman who controls the weather. An evil metahuman."

"Oh my God, it must have been the Particle Accelerator explosion. That unknown energy gave him this ability. So Lin Li and Barry aren't the only ones with these strange powers. It's our fault. We created him. We created an evil metahuman."

Caitlin held her head helplessly and said worriedly.

"Anyone he might hurt, we would be indirectly complicit in it. This is terrible."

"No, no. I have to notify Dr. Wells and see how we should handle this. We've already caused Central City enough trouble."

Caitlin muttered to herself as she walked out of the surgical room to notify Dr. Wells.

After Caitlin left the surgical room, only Lin Li and Cisco remained in silence, along with Barry lying in the hospital bed and the steady beeping of the machines.

"Lin Li, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, that metahuman wouldn't have escaped."

Cisco hesitated for a while before speaking. If he had not been too afraid to shoot, the metahuman would not have gotten away. Caitlin's reaction had made him realize the seriousness of it. It truly was possible that he had become an accomplice too. If that metahuman hurt someone, Cisco felt panicked, worried, and angry at his own weakness.

Lin Li could tell at a glance that Cisco had fallen into self-blame.

He shook his head. "Cisco, don't blame yourself. I was too extreme and selfish, asking you to kill someone. Killing isn't that easy. You have to abandon your humanity and emotions, then live in the nightmare of guilt and crime. It's fortunate you didn't shoot. Otherwise, the humanity you lost would have dragged you into darkness."

"Now isn't the time to wallow in self-pity, Cisco. I think you should find Weather Wizard as soon as possible and stop him from hurting more people. That is the most important thing right now."

If Lin Li had been the one choosing, he would have chosen to kill Mardon. It was not because he was bloodthirsty, but because he had to ensure Barry's safety and make sure the path home was not obstructed. Barry's behavior in the television show had struck Lin Li as foolish, kind, and merciful. It was a common flaw of The Flash television series, but it was also that very flaw that made Lin Li willing to trust them.

That television-style kindness did not suit him, but he had no reason to force Cisco to be like him.

You can be merciful. Let me be the devil.

Lin Li said silently to himself.

Cisco nodded at Lin Li, determination shining in his eyes. "I'll find that guy. I definitely will. Definitely."

At that moment, Caitlin, who had only just left, returned with a ringing phone in her hand. Holding it up, she asked, "Which one of you has the courage to answer Barry's phone? I just noticed there are already more than a dozen missed calls. I don't think Joe will let us off."

It was Barry's phone. Whenever he changed into the Lightning Suit, he left it at STAR Labs.

Joe West's photo was displayed on the screen.

They exchanged glances, all sensing trouble.

Lin Li took the phone. The moment his finger swiped across the screen, Joe's impatient roar came through.

"Barry! Where are you? Get back here..."