Chapter 26 : Strange Signals
June 2016 — DEO Desert Facility — Command Center
The first day back felt like coming home.
My workstation waited exactly as I'd left it—screens displaying DEO sensor networks, Supergirl suit diagnostics, and half-finished code for improved communication encryption. Someone had left a coffee mug on my desk with a sticky note: Welcome back. Don't be an idiot again. -Alex
I smiled and got to work.
The Toyman confrontation had purged something toxic from my system. Not the memories—those would take longer to fade—but the fear that had been shadowing my every decision. The terror that I'd inherited my father's madness, that my powers would inevitably corrupt me, that I was one bad day away from becoming the monster I'd rejected.
I made my choice. I chose mercy. The path forward is clear.
Four hours into reviewing security protocols, my screen flashed with an incoming communication request. Official channels. Government authentication.
The caller ID read: STAR LABS - CENTRAL CITY.
I accepted.
The face that appeared was young, energetic, and immediately familiar from the research files I'd compiled on other metahumans.
"Hey! You must be Winn Schott." Cisco Ramon grinned through the video feed, surrounded by the cluttered technological wonderland of STAR Labs. "Man, your reputation precedes you. The DEO's mysterious tech genius with the impossible physics abilities? Very intriguing stuff."
"You must be Cisco. Your reputation precedes you too." I couldn't help grinning back. "I've studied some of your work on meta-human containment. Elegant solutions."
"You've studied my—okay, this is already the best conversation I've had all week." He leaned forward, adjusting something off-screen. "So here's the thing. We've been tracking some really weird energy signatures coming out of National City. Like, really weird. Vector manipulation combined with electrical phenomena, patterns that shouldn't be possible according to conventional physics."
"That might be me."
"We figured. Hence the call." He pulled up a holographic display. "Barry's been curious ever since we first detected the anomalies. He loves meeting new metas—it's like his thing. Wants to know if he can come out there, compare notes, maybe do some joint training?"
Barry Allen. The Flash. Fastest man alive.
The fanboy part of my brain—the part that had consumed comic books and superhero stories long before waking up in this body—wanted to scream with excitement. I kept my voice professionally calm.
"I'd need to clear it with J'onn, but I don't see a problem. Inter-agency cooperation and all that."
"Awesome! I'll let Barry know." Cisco's grin widened. "Fair warning—he's kind of a lot. In a good way. Like a golden retriever with superspeed."
"I think I can handle that."
"Also, he's going to want to race. He always wants to race. Just... be prepared."
I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."
J'onn approved the collaboration within the hour.
"STAR Labs has been instrumental in managing Central City's metahuman situation," he noted during our briefing. "An alliance with their team could prove valuable, particularly given the increasing frequency of threats in both cities."
"Plus Barry Allen is basically Superman but faster," Alex added. "Having him on speed-dial can't hurt."
"When's he arriving?"
"Tomorrow morning." J'onn's expression remained neutral, but I caught what might have been amusement in his telepathic undertones. "I'm told he's... enthusiastic about the meeting."
"Cisco used the word 'golden retriever.'"
"An apt description, from what I've observed." J'onn stood. "Prepare appropriate demonstrations of your capabilities. Mr. Allen will want to understand your powers in practical terms. And Winn..."
"Yes?"
"Try not to overwhelm him with technical explanations. He's brilliant, but he processes information better through experience than lecture."
I nodded. "Understood."
The rest of the day passed in preparation. I ran diagnostics on the training room systems. Reviewed Barry's public profile and what classified information the DEO had on his capabilities. Outlined demonstration scenarios that would showcase my powers without revealing too much about their limits.
The Flash. Coming to National City. To meet me.
Eight months ago, I'd woken up in a strange apartment in a strange body, terrified and confused and completely alone. Now I was preparing to collaborate with one of the most powerful heroes on the planet.
The universe had a strange sense of humor.
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