S.T.A.R. Labs.
The lights in the underground control area were far too bright.
The massive ring of the Particle Accelerator stood silently behind the glass wall. It had long since stopped operating, but black scorch marks from the explosion still marred its metal casing.
Joe West slapped the photos of the Martinelli Estate onto the table.
"Twenty-three people."
"No gunshot wounds, no struggle, no forced locks."
"The killer walked in and out of a locked mansion like it was his own bathroom."
Cisco held a tablet, half a burrito hanging from his mouth.
"Joe, could you phrase that differently? I haven't finished my lunch."
"Then you'd better hurry." Joe looked at him. "Otherwise, you might be the next one lying on a dining table."
Cisco silently set down his burrito.
Caitlin had already pulled up the autopsy findings from the scene.
She stared at the screen, swiping through images of damaged alveoli, blood oxygen readings, and tracheal lining.
"There were no burns in the victims' lungs."
"This wasn't ordinary poison gas."
"It's more like someone replaced all the air around them with another, lethal gas."
Barry stood beside the table, his expression grave.
"Doctor Yang reached the same conclusion."
"He said the killer could produce an odorless, colorless toxic gas and directly attack the respiratory system."
Cisco raised his head.
"The new forensic examiner?"
"He figured all that out on his first day?"
Joe said heavily, "He's not just a forensic examiner."
"I know." Cisco spread his hands. "Normal forensic examiners don't wear Armani to the police station, and they definitely don't get Captain Singh coming out to greet them personally."
Barry recalled how Yang Ming had caught the report.
His movement had been fast.
But that speed wasn't like Barry's own.
It had felt entirely different.
Barry didn't mention