Jack Kadere emerged from the bedroom freshly showered, dressed, and in good spirits. Laurie had breakfast waiting. He glanced toward the closed door down the hall.
"Find some time to work on her fitness. Conditioning, endurance—the basics."
Laurie hummed an acknowledgment.
Thea Queen wouldn't be walking normally for a while yet.
After eating, Jack headed to the Aerie to study the energy crystal Reverse-Flash had left behind. The goal was twofold: convert it into something the Iron Man armor could use, then test whether the Aerie's energy matrix could achieve perpetual output. The Aerie already replenished its own power automatically during travel—absurdly advanced technology—but adapting that principle to the armor required knowledge and precision he was still building.
His to-do list was getting long. Using the Speed Force for spatial travel. Modifying the armor's energy matrix. Even with accelerated perception, none of it could be rushed.
Still, one day was enough to crack the crystal. He converted it into a matrix reactor compatible with the armor's systems and swapped out the old power source. The results exceeded expectations—weapon systems at full output could level a building, and endurance was no longer a concern.
A qualitative leap.
The next day, he left Laurie and Thea to field-test the armor's functions and headed to Mercury Labs.
Since S.T.A.R. Labs shut down after the particle accelerator explosion, Mercury Labs had risen to fill the void. Tina McGee and Harrison Wells had once been colleagues—scientific peers with a close working relationship—but after Reverse-Flash replaced Wells, that relationship soured into rivalry.
Both labs had produced their share of metahumans. S.T.A.R. had The Flash, Killer Frost, Vibe. Mercury had given rise to Bug-Eyed Bandit, Trajectory, and others. Caitlin Snow had even worked there for a time.
Jack stood in front of the towering Mercury Labs building and walked inside.
The lobby buzzed with activity—employees crossing between elevators, visitors checking in at the security desk, a lounge area near the entrance lined with promotional displays for Mercury's latest projects.
Jack scanned the space. The Speed Force ignited, yellow lightning crackling through his cells, and he blurred upward through the floors.
"This color really is awkward."
He slowed.
A woman in a white lab coat stood frozen mid-stride outside an office door, blonde hair pulled back, black-rimmed glasses, a cardboard box clutched against her chest. Her face was locked in an expression of pure indignation—fired, clearly, or about to be.
Time crawled around her. Everything motionless.
Jack stepped closer and lifted the ID badge clipped to her coat.
"Brie Larvan." He smiled. "The Bug-Eyed Bandit. Computer genius. Has a thing for killer robot bees."
He flashed to HR, pulled her personnel file, memorized her address, and continued upward.
Fwsshh. Fwsshh. Fwsshh.
Floor by floor.
Near the top, he found what he was looking for: a laboratory with security clearance several grades above the rest. Independent guard station. Reinforced access controls.
"There we go."
Jack's body vibrated, molecules phasing out of sync with solid matter. He walked through the wall.
The tachyon particles sat in a sealed containment unit at the center of the lab.
He phased through the glass, lifted the container, and turned to leave.
Footsteps pounded in the corridor outside. The door burst open—security guards with pistols raised.
"Put it down—"
"Silent alarm." Jack clicked his tongue and kept walking toward them.
"We're warning you! Put it down or we fire!"
He didn't stop. They opened up.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG—
Bullets tore through the air in a dense stream. Jack batted them aside with one hand as he walked, metal pinging off walls and ceiling tiles.
The guards' faces went slack. They hesitated, then charged.
Jack shifted his weight. Three of them lunged past where he'd been standing and crashed into each other. By the time they scrambled to their feet, he was gone.
---
Back at the Aerie, Jack spread the tachyon container and his preliminary schematics across the workbench. The energy output from these particles dwarfed the Reverse-Flash's crystal. With proper study, he could build something exceptional.
---
Barry Allen arrived at Mercury Labs as both The Flash and as a CSI for the Central City Police Department.
His speed had increased since regaining the Speed Force—his cells more active, his connection stronger. Yesterday he'd managed to recapture the Mist while Multiplex and Peek-a-Boo slipped away in the chaos. He'd thought he might finally have time to focus on freeing his father.
Then Mercury Labs happened.
He didn't need to investigate to know who'd done it. Jack Kadere hadn't hidden his face. Hadn't wiped the security footage. Hadn't bothered to pretend.
The police department issued a warrant. Barry knew exactly how useful that would be—not at all, except to get more officers killed. He told Joe as much, then headed back to S.T.A.R. Labs to figure out his next move.
How to find Jack Kadere. Why he wanted tachyon particles.
He walked into the cortex and stopped dead.
Jack Kadere was standing at Cisco's workstation.
"You—" Barry's voice caught.
Jack didn't look up. He was pointing at the tachyon container and a series of diagrams spread across the desk, talking to Cisco like Barry wasn't even there.
"Right here—see that? I can't figure out how to convert the tachyon energy into a stable, controllable state. Once it's activated, output spikes too fast. Overheats. Melts everything around it." He tapped the schematic. "I've been looking for heat-resistant materials that can handle the load, but nothing's worked. Any ideas?"