Chapter 1: My name is Max Caulfield, and I am the fastest Woman alive.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Life is Strange," "The Flash" or any DC Comics or The CW properties.

A/N: Hey Everyone! Well this is my first fan fiction that I have ever written, although it isn't my first ever time writing fiction, so I simply ask that you bear with me. Oh, and before I forget, I would like to give a BIG shout out to Avalon1632 for all the help as my beta reader.

So, the idea for this story came to me when I got to the end of Episode 3 of Life is Strange and I made the realization that Max had just created a timeline that is her equivalent of the Flashpoint timeline. I am going to attempt to include as much of the Flash mythos from the comics as possible, however melding together the content from Life is Strange and The Flash television show (The one that started airing in 2014), and the Flarrow universe as a whole is my primary focus.

Please note that Max, Chloe, and David along with other characters will all be OOC as a result of the melding of the two different worlds. Additionally, as far as romantic pairings go all the Flash characters will be with their cannon pairings and as for the Life is Strange characters I haven't decided on any pairings yet, however I will likely be doing at most one or two pairings from Life is Strange since the cannon pairings for the Flash are already a lot to deal with on their own. Also I don't like any of the possible Flarrow universe pairings for characters outside of the Flash so I won't be doing any pairings for those characters.

At the moment I only really have to time to write on Fridays so I don't currently have an upload schedule, but I am aiming to post/update at least once per month, although I can't make any promises. I have no clue how long it will take to finish this story, but I will finish it.

Also here is an advisory warning that this chapter features a nightmare scene that while it doesn't contain any gore nor does it have any violence, it does contain some frightening imagery and dialogue. Well, Enough Chit-chat. Story time! Enjoy and Please Review!

To understand what I am about to tell you, I need you to do something first. You need to believe in the impossible. Can you do that? Good. You see that purple blur moving around the city? That's me. That's me too. There I am again. My name is Max Caulfield, and I am the fastest woman alive. My story is a simple one. As far back as I can remember I have been running….

SEPTEMBER 2005, MAX'S POV

Chloe and I are sitting in her bedroom listening to the "Pirate Power" mixtape CD I had given her earlier that afternoon. Chloe is my best and only friend. She has long, straight, strawberry-blond hair and light blue eyes. I had zoned out watching the dust dancing in the golden light of the sunset streaming in the bedroom window.

I snap back to attention when a faint knocking at the bedroom door is heard. That's odd. Normally if Chloe's parents wanted us for something or wants to speak to us they would simply call for us. Chloe and I share a quizzical look before Chloe calls out, "Come in." I turn to see the door open and both of Chloe's parents walk in.

Chloe's dad, William has short, neat, strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes. Chloe's mom, Joyce, has long, straight, blond hair that she keeps in a high ponytail and green eyes. Joyce and William seem nervous, as if they don't know if their next step will set off a land mine.

"Um, Max…." William begins. "Yes, William?" I respond. "There's something we need to tell you Max." Joyce says, in a melancholy voice. I frown, and wonder why Joyce sounds so sad. "Ok, well what is it?" I ask. Joyce and William look at each other and then back at me. "Well, you see..." Joyce begins "We just got a call from the police station. Apparently something happened and your house burned down…. with your parents inside."

I look incredulously from Joyce, to William, to Chloe, and back to Joyce. I can't believe what I just heard. 'No, this can't be true,' I think to myself. "That's a lie!" I bellow, as I bolt from where I had been sitting on Chloe's bed and out of the room. I keep running as I head down the stairs and out the front door, not even bothering to close the door behind me.

I race back to my family's house believing that this was some sort of sick joke and that I will turn onto the street my parents and I live on and I will see our house still standing, not a scratch on it. I hear Chloe, Joyce, and William calling my name behind me in the distance, but I ignore them.

When I turn onto my family's street, what I thought I would see is not what I see at all. Where my house once stood there is nothing more than a slightly smoldering pile of charred rubble. The fire trucks had already left. There were a few police officers milling about, some are keeping people back and telling them to move along, others are filling out paperwork. I'm about to go under the yellow tape the police had put up, when a police officer steps in front of me and says, "Sorry kid, but this is a crime scene. You can't go in there."

I know my parents have to be in there, buried under the rubble somewhere, and still alive. I am about to attempt to trick him into thinking that I am going to go to the right to get around him then dive to the left and crawl under the yellow tape. However any plans to go and search the rubble for my parents vanish when, off to my right, I hear one of the police officers filling out paperwork say, "Yeah, they found two bodies in the ruble. Based off of where the bodies were and the records of the house's layout that we have access to, it seems safe to say that they were in the living room when the house caught fire. We think it was the parents who lived here, Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield, but we need to wait for the Autopsy reports from the coroner's office to be sure."

Another voice asks, "Do we know anything about their kids?" "Yeah," the first voice says, "They have a ten year old daughter named Maxine Caulfield. According to neighbors she left to go visit the house of a friend, named Chloe Price, around 11 am this morning, and hasn't been seen returning. We called the friend's house and the friend's dad, William Price answered. He said that Maxine was upstairs with his daughter and that he would let Maxine know about what happened."

"Oh, and before I forget," the first voice continues, "Apparently a neighbor that lives directly across the street, and who was the one that made the 911 call to report the fire, saw some bald guy holding some sort of hand gun that was like a miniature version of a flame-thrower, which he used to start the fire. Unfortunately that's all we know about our perpetrator, apparently beyond seeing the gun and that it was a bald guy, they didn't get a good enough look to able to identify him."

"So, you're telling me, our perp is in the wind and we have a cold case on our hands?" the second voice asked. "Yep, that pretty much sums it all up." The first voice responded.

The instant I hear all this, my legs buckle and I fall to my knees, leaning back so that I am sitting on the heels of my feet. I don't know how I know, but somehow I know, in this instant, that no autopsy will be necessary, that my parents had been in the house when it burned down, that my parents are dead, and that I am alone. Then it hits me that I will never see my parents again, never see them smile, never bake cookies with them, never hear them cheer my name as I receive my diploma, and never make new memories with them ever again.

It's this thought that is what it finally takes to cause the floodgates to open as I begin to sob heavily. Different people try to comfort me, but no one can truly comfort me, not the police officers, not the neighbors, not even Chloe, Joyce, or William once they finally find me.

DECEMBER 2005, MAX'S POV

The past 3 months have more or less been a complete blur. Only a few things really stand out: Chloe virtually never leaving my side; me moving in to live with Chloe and her family because of special arrangements my parents had made incase… something happened to them; being asked questions by the police about knowing of any possible motive someone could have for deliberately burning my family's house down; and Chloe, her parents, and I going to my parents' funeral. Right now I'm lying on my back in the dark on Chloe's bed which she and I have been sharing. Chloe and her parents have been asleep for at least an hour now. 'I'm kind of glad that we are decorating the house for Christmas tomorrow, I could use some joy in my life,' I think to myself. Wondering if tomorrow will be a better day I close my eyes and finally drift off to sleep.

*Nightmare Advisory

I'm met with a scene that is tranquil and peaceful. I'm sitting in the living room of my family's house, talking with my parents. "So, Maxine, how did Chloe like that CD you made for her?" My mom asks, only half interested as she draws something in a sketch book. "She loved it!" I beam. My dad looks up from the newspaper he is reading and says, "That's nice sweetie." I frown, something isn't right.

At first I can't put my finger on it, but then it hits me. My parents' voices and actions are so… monotonous, so… lifeless. Just as I realize this the walls of the living room burst into flames. The flames rapidly begin to spread engulfing the ceiling as well as the furniture throughout the room. I jump to my feet and try to run to the front door to escape but then I stop when I remember my parents are still in the living room.

I turn back and see that my parents haven't moved a nanometer. I attempt to scream at them to run, but it is as if my voice is gone because I open my mouth and yet not a sound comes out. I watch in horror as the flames begin to lick at my parents. The fire whooshes up around my parents' bodies but instead of being engulfed in the fire it is as if my parents become fire.

Suddenly my parents stand up, the newspaper my dad had been reading as well as the pencil and sketch book my mom had been drawing with already reduced to ash. The beings made of flame that had once been my parents began to approach. "Oh, Maxine!" The one that had been my mother called out in a raspy, sing-song voice. I took a few steps back. "Why Maxine? Why'd you leave us behind? Don't you love us Maxine?" The being made of flames that had once been my father, questioned in a voice that was equally as raspy as the voice of the being that had been my mother, only his voice was full of anger, hatred, and venom.

"Of course I love you guys. And I didn't mean to leave you behind." I manage to cry out. The humanoid creatures made of flame begin to draw closer. "Join Us! Come on Maxine! Come burn with us!" The humans of flame that had been my parents begin to chant in unison with voices that would be extremely inviting if it wasn't for them being even raspier than before. A part of me wants to be with my parents so badly that I almost run over and embrace them. However the part of me that knew that those ever burning beings made of fire were not my parents and cried out for me to run and escape won out.

I turn back toward the front door and am about to run for the door when I see that not only is the front door gone but there is a wall of flame blocking my path. I look around desperately for a way out. 'Aha!' I think to myself. Over to my left I spot a window that I should be able to escape through. I run over to it and try to open it, but it won't budge.

I'm so desperate I try to smash my way through the window with my fists. However that doesn't work either. Suddenly, I feel extreme, intense, agonizing pain in my arms and shoulders that is like nothing I have ever felt or experienced before in my entire life. I look down and see that the hands of the creatures made of fire have curled around and dug into my arms and shoulders.

They are still chanting, "Come burn with us!" "Let go of me! I don't want to burn! Let me GO!" I scream out. I feel myself start to get dragged backwards and I instinctively reach out and try to grab a hold of something, anything, so as to keep from being dragged back any further. Of course the world around me decides at this moment it has to be even more against me and stretches out and warps as if a lens has been put in front of it. This new development has the resulting effect of everything that had been next to me mere moments before, being hopelessly out of reach.

As desperation wells up inside me I begin to hysterically and repeatedly scream out, "LET GO OF ME! LET ME GO!" I feel breathing in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. One of the creatures made of flame whispers in my ear with its horrific, raspy voice, "Oh no, we are never going to let you go. You are going to burn with us, forever."

I feel myself thrown backwards and then my view of the world around me vanishes as a vast blossom of fire envelops me. The pain and agony is so great that I can't even come close to being able to begin to put it into words. I can hear someone, somewhere, emitting a raspy shriek of agony that is so loud and so awful that I am willing to wager that it could send a banshee running. As things suddenly begin to fade to black, it dawns on me that I am the one emitting the shriek.

*Nightmare Advisory Over

My eyes snap open and I am still shrieking, but the pain and agony aren't there. I silence myself, sit up, and look around to try to figure out what is going on. I am in Chloe's bedroom sitting up on the bed that we have been sharing. There is a faint but nearly blinding glow of morning light coming in the window indicating that sunrise is underway. The bedroom light is also on, and William and Joyce are standing in the doorway. Chloe is sitting up and staring at me.

All three of them are eyeing me with looks of concern and worry evident on their faces. I guess I must have been screaming in my sleep and woken them. I look down, embarrassed, and say, "I'm sorry, did I wake you guys." Chloe crawls over and hugs me tightly. William and Joyce walk over and sit down on the bed, each of them giving me a comforting look and putting a hand on one of my shoulders. "Oh hun, you've got nothing to be sorry about. You were having a nightmare, right? Do you wanna talk about it? Talking about it might help." Joyce says soothingly.

I am caught in uncertainty. Part of me just wants to forget the nightmare, and another part of me feels like Joyce is right and talking about it might help. The side that just wants to forget the nightmare wins out. Not wanting to worry them more by speaking with my likely hoarse voice, I simply shake my head to signal that I don't want to talk about it. "Okay hun," Joyce says, "If you change your mind we'll be here for you. In the mean time, would you like me to bring you something, maybe some warm milk, to help calm your nerves?" I nod my head. Joyce stands up and leaves the room.

We sit like that for a minute until William brakes the silence. "Well," he begins as he stands up, "If you'll excuse me ladies, there is some business I must attend to." He gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and leaves the room. Moments later I hear the bathroom door shut. Now that Chloe and I are alone, she grabs my shoulders and holds me at arm's length. She stares into my eyes as if she is searching for something. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about your bad dream?" Chloe asks. I nod my head and answer, "Yeah, I just want to forget about it." Chloe nods in understanding and hugs me tightly again.

After about two minutes she breaks the hug when Joyce comes in with a mug. "Here," Joyce says as she hands me the mug, "I added a bit of honey." I take a tentative sip of the warm milk and I feel muscles I hadn't even noticed had been tense relax. As I am finishing off the contents of the mug, Chloe stands up. "Well since it's Saturday and we're awake now anyways, how about we get dressed and head down stairs to have breakfast?" "Might as well, but we'd better all use the restroom first." Joyce responds with a motherly tone.

It's about 10 AM and so far the decorating for Christmas is going well. Chloe and I are sitting at the dining table, tying candy canes to strings that we are going to wrap around the Christmas tree.

Since it's really chilly even with the heater on, William is searching for matches in the kitchen to start a fire in the fireplace with. When William suggested starting a fire, Joyce and Chloe both agreed that it was a good idea, but I remained silent because I had been preoccupied telling the voice in the back of my head, which had been screaming that it was a terrible idea, to shut up. William finally finds the matches and starts the fire. As soon as I see the flames I realize the voice had been right about it being a terrible idea. The mere sight of the small controlled fire had caused me to freeze with terror.

Chloe looks up from stringing candy canes and starts to show off her handy work but she stops when she sees my face. She puts down the candy canes and reaches across the table to grab my hands. "Max, what's wrong?" she asks with concern.

I don't answer, still frozen with terror. William who is standing by the fireplace looks at my face, and then follows my gaze to the fire. Suddenly something clicks inside my head, causing me to remove my hands from Chloe's grasp, jump to my feet, and bolt for the front door. I make it outside, but I stop when I reach the curb, realizing what just happened. I sit down on the curb and put my face in my hands, wondering what is wrong with me. While I don't know the how or the why, I feel certain that it has something to do with the nightmare I had last night.

I hear the front door close and I feel someone sit down next to me. I look up and see that Chloe is sitting next to me, with worry on her face. "I think," I begin, "That I should talk about my nightmare now." Chloe nods in understanding. So I tell her about my nightmare. By the time I finish I am in tears and Chloe is hugging me tightly. Just as I finish telling Chloe about my nightmare William comes out to the curb and sits down to my right.

"Ahem." I hear someone clearing their throat off to our left. We look over and see a woman who looks to be in about her thirties, wearing jogging attire, and holding the leash of an adorable Golden Retriever puppy. "Hello," she starts as she offers me her hand to shake, "My name is Dr. Melinda Thompson. I'm a therapist and I couldn't help but overhear your story on account of not wanting to interrupt by walking by. What's your name?"

I look at William, unsure if this is one of those instances where you're supposed to tell the person that you're not allowed to talk with strangers. I think that this woman is actually a neighbor that lives down at the end of the block but I am not certain. "Well Melinda," William spoke up, "This here is Max, and I know that you have already met my daughter Chloe."

Realizing that William knew this woman and that it should be safe to interact with her, I look back to the woman and reach up and shake her hand. After I let go of her hand Dr. Thompson responds, "Well Max, it's a pleasure to meet you. From what I heard of your story about that bad dream you had, it sounds to me like you've developed pyrophobia. Pyrophobia is the fear of fire."

Dr. Thompson turns to William and hands him a business card saying, "Here's my business card, in case you ever decide that you want to schedule a therapy session for Max. Now, if you'll excuse me, my dog can't exactly be trusted to walk herself. I hope you all have a pleasant day." With that Dr. Thompson and her Golden Retriever walk off down the sidewalk.

JANUARY 2009, MAX'S POV

It has been 3 months since William's funeral. Just as Chloe hadn't left my side when I had been mourning the loss of my parents 3 years ago, I haven't left her side since she was told about the car crash that stole her father's life. When she had been told about the accident her initial reaction had been to bolt for the front door of the house, presumably to go outside to search for her dad. However she never made it to the front door because I had instantly reacted and ran after her, tackling her to ground with a hug.

These past 3 months have been hard for all three of us. Obviously the loss of William has been hard for Joyce and Chloe because William had been a loving husband and father to them. However it has also been hard for me because during the past 3 years it'd almost come to feel as though William had always been my father. The worst part was that almost everything in Arcadia Bay reminded us of either William or my parents. That's why all of our stuff, aside from the things that were packed into the car, is currently packed into boxes that were loaded into a moving truck.

With help from a cousin of hers, Joyce had managed to get an apartment in Central City, Missouri, which was the city where Joyce had lived as a child until her family had moved to Georgia when she was 7 years old. Joyce's cousin was a 25 year old guy who lived in Central City's neighbor city Keystone City, Kansas, and had recently graduated from Central City University with a degree in criminology and he graduated from the Keystone City police academy last month. It was only because of the fact that Joyce's cousin lived in Keystone that he had even been able to help Joyce get the apartment.

The trip from Arcadia Bay to Central City had thus far been enjoyable and leisurely. We had taken a few detours along the way and stopped in quite a few different major cities. Our stops had included: Portland, Oregon, Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Lincoln, Nebraska.

Currently we are on our way to Joyce's cousin's apartment since the landlord for the apartment complex we are moving into isn't expecting us until tomorrow. Chloe is listening to music on a CD player, and I am reading a book on criminal psychology, because one day I am going to find the man who burned down my childhood house and get justice for my parents. I feel the car stop and hear Joyce turn off the engine. "We're here!" she calls out to get our attention. I look up from my book and look out the window to my right. We are parked in a parking lot with a large sign reading "Guest Parking."

I turn to my left and reach over and tap Chloe's shoulder to get her attention. She presses the pause button on her CD player and lowers her headphones so that they are around her neck. "Joyce said we're here." I tell Chloe. Joyce removes her keys from the ignition, opens the driver door, and gets out, closing the door behind her. Chloe and I follow suit, reading and listening material in hand. Joyce pulls out her phone and calls someone. "Hey Cousin Eddie, we're here in the guest parking area." Joyce says to whoever is on the other end of the line. She listens for a bit before responding, "Okay, see you in a bit."

We stand there for about 3 to 5 minutes before a twenty-something guy with short blond hair and a short, almost scruffy-looking, blond beard walks through a pedestrian gate and over to us. "Hey Joyce, It has been a long time." The blond guy says opening his arms for an embrace. "Yes indeed, Eddie. It has been a long time." Joyce says hugging the guy named Eddie. After breaking the embrace Joyce turns to Chloe and me, saying, "Chloe, Max, this is my cousin Eddie Thawne."

Chloe and I introduce ourselves to Eddie, Chloe gives him a hug and I shake his hand. "So Max, what are you reading?" Eddie asks me, clearly trying to break the ice. I show him the cover of my criminal psychology book. "Ah, he says, "Planning to become a police officer?" I shake my head and reply, "No, I was thinking something more along the lines of police detective or CSI." "Well then," Eddie starts, "how about we head on inside?"

We all nod and Eddie leads us inside the apartment building and into his apartment. Eddie shows us around his apartment saying, "It isn't much, but it's home." He directs us to his sofa and asks, "Well, since I imagine you're all a little tired and pretty hungry, how about the three of you hang out here and I'll go out and get us some lunch from Big Belly Burger?" Joyce gives a smile as she responds, "Thank you Eddie. That'd be lovely." "Okay, well, the nearest Big Belly Burger is just down the street, which means that it's within easy walking distance. So I'll be back in a bit." Eddie says as he grabs his winter coat off a coat rack. He also grabs his keys and locks the front door as he leaves.

After Eddie has left, we sit on the sofa, with Chloe sitting between Joyce and me. Joyce dozes off and Chloe leans her head against my shoulder. "Hey." I say to her. "Hey." She says smiling weakly. "I would ask how you are holding up," I say to Chloe, "But I think we both know that would be a monumentally stupid thing to ask." Chloe gives a light and airy chuckle. "You are such a dork, but I couldn't have said it better." She teasingly says, very matter-of-factly. "I may be a dork, but I will always be there for you." I reply with utmost certainty, as I lean my head against Chloe's and we both doze off into a pleasant slumber.

JANUARY 2014, MAX'S POV

A lot has changed in the past 5 years. After the move to Central City was completed, Joyce enrolled Chloe and me in the 8th grade at Central City Junior High. By the end of our freshman year of High School, not only had Chloe developed a passion for music, but she and a few other students from a music class she was taking had formed a punk rock band called "50 Foot Drop." Back in June Chloe and I both graduated from Central City High School and back in September we both started attending Central City University.

About a week after we started attending CCU I applied for and got a paid internship at S.T.A.R. Labs. I would have gone with some sort of CSI or detective in training position, if Central City Police Department offered such a position, but sadly they don't offer any positions of the sort. So, an internship at S.T.A.R. Labs is the next best thing. The best part about the internship is that I'm not stuck making runs to get more coffee or do some form of secretarial work. I actually get to do hands-on physics experiments.

Yes I had developed an enjoyment of psychology, but I had developed a full-blown passion for physics. Of course, there are some parts of the internship that, unfortunately, aren't so great. Ranging from how Harrison Wells' habit of showing up out of nowhere is kind of creepy, to Cisco Ramon's annoying insistence on giving all of the devices he makes ridiculous names.

Within the first month of our time in Central City, Joyce somehow managed to score a cushy job as an assistant head chef at this fancy, high-end, very expensive restaurant located in Petersburg, which is the name Central City locals use to refer to the part of the city where all the restaurants happen to be located. As for Chloe, her band has recently become semi-popular around the city, getting paid to perform at all sorts of events ranging from sweet sixteen birthday parties, to weddings. Chloe also got a job working at a Big Belly Burger that, like the restaurant Joyce works at, is located in Petersburg.

A particularly unenjoyable part of life was that about a year ago Joyce started dating one of Central City Police Department's best police detectives, a guy by the name of David Madsen. As fun as it could be to study him, so as to form a psychological analysis of him, the guy was wicked smart and there was nothing you could get past him.

If either Chloe or I had done something we shouldn't have, whether it was something small like me staying up until 4 O'clock in the morning reading or something bigger like the time Chloe snuck out after curfew to go to a rave, David could figure out that we had done something we shouldn't have and exactly what it is we had done. Basically he was like Batman. Or maybe more like L. from Death Note. What? I read manga and watch anime.

Currently, it is late afternoon, almost early evening, and I am helping with final preparations for tonight's unveiling of S.T.A.R. Labs brand new particle accelerator. I had just finished organizing a collection of notes I had written on my last experiment when I hear a voice behind me say, "Max, could you please come help me with something?"

I turn around to see my least favorite part about working at S.T.A.R. Labs. Hartley Rathaway. He is standing in the doorway to the work room that Cisco and I share. He has short brown hair, blue eyes, and round framed glasses. Typically, it is bad enough that Hartley is a jerk and annoying (In multiple languages no less), but he also has made it his mission to make attempts to get me to go on a date with him as frequently as he could. I always turned him down, and yet he has continued to persist.

"Rathaway, if this another one of your stupid attempts to get me to go out with you, then don't bother. Not only would I just end up rejecting you, but you would end up having wasted time that should have been spent preparing for tonight's unveiling." I say to him. "Sadly, the very thing I wish assistance with has nothing to do with romance. I have been crunching some numbers for one of the tests for the particle accelerator and something just isn't adding up. I was hoping you could offer up a second opinion." Hartley states with a look of sadness that makes it clear that this indeed is not another of his attempts to get me to go on a date with him.

I was about to respond when a voice behind Hartley says, "Ms. Caulfield is already going to be rather busy assisting Mr. Ramon and Mr. Raymond with a little last minute experiment to ensure that we will have enough power to maintain regular operations and activities while using the particle accelerator. Perhaps I can provide you with the second opinion that you desire Hartley." Hartley turns around to see Dr. Harrison Wells standing behind him in the hallway. Dr. Wells is a middle aged man with short, messy black hair, blue eyes, and black framed-glasses that almost look hipster in design. "Oh… Okay" Hartley replies.

'Interesting' I think to myself. Hartley is noticeably hesitant to have Dr. Wells look at the numbers he had been crunching and Hartley had clearly come to me of all people without first consulting Dr. Wells for an opinion. It's almost as if… Hartley thinks there's something suspicious going on with Dr. Wells. "Ms. Caulfield," Dr. Wells begins, "Mr. Ramon and Mr. Raymond are expecting you in the Cortex for your assistance with the experiment. I would advise you not keep them waiting." I turn slightly, placing the stack of notes in my hand neatly on my desk, and then turn back towards the door and walk out of the room.

Walking briskly I make my way towards the Cortex, which, not to be confused with a biological cortex, is a control room of sorts for S.T.A.R. Labs from which more or less the entire particle accelerator will be controlled. When I arrive in the Cortex mechanical engineer Francisco "Cisco" Ramon and structural engineer Ronald "Ronnie" Raymond are sitting at a desk with a collection of computers on it. Cisco has shoulder-length, almost wavy, black hair and brown eyes while Ronnie has short, almost spiky, black hair and blue eyes.

"Hey Cisco! Hey Ronnie! Dr. Wells said you guys need my assistance with a last minute experiment." I say in greeting. Ronnie and Cisco swivel their office chairs around to face me. "Hey Max, yeah we need to make sure we can keep up business as usual and use the accelerator at the same time without experiencing power failures." Ronnie responded. 'Well this will be interesting.' I think to myself.

"So…" I begin, "How exactly are we supposed to do that without turning on the accelerator? I mean, come on, we don't exactly have anything big enough that uses enough power to simulate the power consumption of a particle accelerator." "That," Cisco says as he stands, "Is where you would be wrong." He starts to walk out of the room and beckons for me to follow him as he passes me. Rolling my eyes, I turn around and follow him out of the Cortex and down the hallway to the elevator, Ronnie joining us and falling in step next to me.

After a brief elevator ride down to the basement level we walk down a hallway and into a large open room that is big enough that you could hold a concert in it, well that is if it wasn't for the giant contraption in the middle of the room with various bits of equipment attached to it by swarms of cables and cords. The contraption was like a giant wheel with a collection of large cylinders topped with spheres that had a diameter that was at least 50% greater than that of the cylinders they were on top of, with each sphere-topped cylinder positioned about where you would find a spoke if it were a giant bicycle wheel.

The mere sight of such a bizarre yet interesting contraption had my jaw hanging open. "I know, it's so totally awesome, isn't it?" Cisco asks. "Wowzers, what is it, exactly?" I respond. What? It was the only response I could come up with. "This," Cisco begins, "Is a lightning generator. Although I'm still trying to come up with a better name for it, but… Anyways, point is, it creates lightning. Ronnie and I whipped this bad boy up because a machine that creates lightning was the first thing we could think of that would have anywhere near a large enough power consumption for us to simulate the power usage of the particle accelerator being on at the same time as us doing regular, average, everyday work."

Right now I'm kind of glad that not only does S.T.A.R. Labs use its own power generators, but also I am not doing the finances for S.T.A.R. Labs, because I would hate to have to see the electricity bill that the lightning generator in front of me could probably rather easily produce from just a few minutes of usage. A new thought occurs to me causing me to tilt my head to the side in confusion. "How do you keep the lightning from destroying the room and possibly the entire building?" Cisco rolls his eyes at me like I had just asked him what 1+1 equaled.

"Well, for starters," Ronnie begins, "Everything in this room that has even a remote possibility of getting hit with lightning has been heavily insulated with rubber. Furthermore, the lightning generator also produces an ionic energy field designed to contain the lightning." I tilt my head from side-to-side before straightening my neck and saying, "Okay, it seems like you guys have taken the necessary safety precautions. So, what do you need me for?"

"First off," Ronnie says picking up a purple full-body suit that had been draped across the top of a nearby crate, "We need you to put this on. We were going to have both you and myself monitor things up in the Cortex while Cisco was down here wearing an insulated suit while turning on the lightning generator. However Cisco messed up when he went to order the insulated suit so instead of it being in a men's size, it's in a women's size. Since there isn't enough time to try to get a different suit and neither Cisco nor I will be able to fit into the insulated suit, you unfortunately have to be the one down here to turn on the lightning generator.

"Yes, I know," Cisco says, "The suit is purple. I'm sorry, but at the time I ordered it I thought I had selected a white one, but instead I accidentally selected a purple one, which might explain the women's size." Knowing there was little chance of me getting out of this I decided it would be best just to accept it and move on. So I took the purple insulated suit from Ronnie and pulled the suit on over my clothes.

A good 15 minutes later, I had the suit on and had been shown how to turn on the lightning generator and, as a precaution, how to shut it off. Cisco and Ronnie had just left to go back up to the Cortex and I was nervously waiting for the go-ahead to turn the device on. After a couple of minutes or so of waiting, I finally hear Ronnie's voice on the radio headset that was built into the suit, "Okay Max, you can turn on the lightning generator now."

I carefully and nervously begin flipping a series of switches and grab a hold of the horizontal handle of the lever on the control board for the lightning generator and push it up and forward. The lightning generator begins to hum. Different colored bolts of lightning begin to shoot out from the generator, but none of them get any further out then about 15 feet from it. I give out a sigh of relief, glad that even though I can't see the ionic energy field, it is clearly doing its job.

I reach up and press the rubbery button to use the radio. "How are things looking up there guys? Also now that the generator is on what do we do, just leave it on?" I ask them. "Well," Ronnie says, "So far power levels are looking pretty good, but we need to leave the lightning generator on for a few hours just to make certain sure the power generators will be able to keep up with the power consumption. Oh, and you might want to get up here, you left your phone on your desk and apparently Chloe has been trying to call you."

I feel my cheeks instantly burn with embarrassment. Normally, it isn't a problem when Chloe calls me at work. However I didn't have my phone on vibrate and in fact I had it hooked up to speakers and set to full volume because I had been listening to music with it earlier. This of course was a problem because a few days ago Chloe had changed my ringtone for when she called to a metal cover of the song Barbie Girl by Aqua as a prank and I hadn't yet gotten around to changing it to something else, anything else.

With a sigh I respond over the radio, "Okay, I'll be up in a minute." I turn and leave the room, walking to the elevator. I ride the Elevator past the ground floor and back up to the same floor as the Cortex and the work room that Cisco and I share. I walk into the Cortex with the intent of asking Cisco to help me out of the insulated suit since it's his fault I'm wearing it in the first place and it is a lot harder to get out of it then it is to get into it. However when I see bioengineer Dr. Caitlin Snow talking with Ronnie who is her fiancé, I decide it might be better to have her help me get out of the suit somewhere away from the peeping eyes of my male colleagues.

Caitlin has long, reddish-brown hair that is slightly curly at the ends, and brown eyes. "Hey Caitlin, if you've got a minute would you please come help me get out of this suit." I say. Caitlin looks me up and down and says, "Sure, I'll help you out of that thing. Don't want Cisco making things worse for you than he already has." As she finishes this statement she gives Cisco a very pointed look that carries a level of disapproval that if I were Cisco I would have cringed with fear. Instead Cisco's only response is, "Hey, I already said I was sorry like, fifteen times. Plus it was a mistake, so cut me some slack."

Caitlin and I go to the work room that Cisco and I share which has been vacated by Dr. Wells and Hartley since I left, with no sign or indication of where they went. After several minutes I am free of the insulated suit. The instant I am free my phone begins ringing again with the still embarrassing metal cover of Barbie Girl [A/N-1].

I answer my phone. "Hey Chloe, What's up?" "Hey Maxinator, I just got out of class for the day and was wondering if you were free to meet up and maybe get a bite to eat before your whole showing off the parti-ma-what-cha-ma-call-it to the world hoopla event." I give a long sigh at the fact that it seems that I really should finally take out the time to explain to Chloe what a particle accelerator is, what it does, and why it is, as she would probably put it, "such a big deal." "Probably, but I will have to clear it with Dr. Wells first. I'll send you a text in a bit, bye." I say. "I await your message doctor." Chloe says teasingly. I sigh before hanging up. Putting my phone in the pocket of the slacks I am wearing, I turn to Caitlin and ask, "Do you know where Dr. Wells is? Chloe wants to meet up and get something to eat."

"Last I saw he was making the rounds to check the final preparations for tonight's unveiling." She responds. "Okay, well I'm going to go find him, so see you later!" I say, grabbing my messenger bag that I use for a backpack from the back of my desk chair by the strap, which I then sling over my and head and onto my left shoulder so that the strap goes across my body diagonally. I then turn towards the door and leave the room.

After a while of wondering around searching for Dr. Wells I finally find him in the Cortex the third time I look there. "Hey um, Dr. Wells, since I finished my part of the last minute experiment with Ronnie and Cisco, Is it okay if I go grab a bite to eat with Chloe real quick?" I ask. He turns to face me and replies, "Sure, just make sure to be back before the unveiling." "Thank you Dr. Wells, and don't worry," I say, "I wouldn't miss the unveiling even if Chloe had somehow found a whole bunch of tachyon particles." He gives a chuckle before returning to what he was doing. I turn around and walk out of the Cortex.

Half an hour later, Chloe and I are sitting in Big Belly Burger having a meal that is probably lunch for her, but is Dinner for me. For the past 5 minutes Chloe has been complaining about the fact that she and her band have to play at a party being thrown by Victoria Chase. To be honest, I can't blame Chloe for not liking that she is basically being forced to play at Victoria's party.

Especially since it wasn't bad enough that Victoria was the, "head rich bitch of Central City High" as people used to call in the hallways of Central City High School when she wasn't around, who went out of her way to torment other students just for the fun of it, but she had the nerve to at the last minute decide that, instead of going off to this fancy, expensive art school in southern California that she had been all set to go off to after high school, she wanted to attend Central City University. This of course meant that our hopes of being done with having to put up with Victoria and her crap had been shattered. Although, on the bright side we rarely ever had the misfortune of running into Victoria since neither of us were photography majors like her.

"So, Max, Are you sure I can't convince you to ditch your turning on the parti-thing-a-ma-jig event and come back me up in case queen bee-toria decides to give me all kinds of shitty hell." Chloe asks giving me puppy-dog-eyes as she frequently does when she really, really, really wants something. I sigh, not wanting to leave Chloe to have to fend for herself against Victoria, but not being able to miss the unveiling of the accelerator. "Listen, Chloe," I begin, "As much as I don't want to leave you alone to deal with Victoria's mercy, or lack thereof, I can't miss the unveiling of the particle accelerator."

"Well then," Chloe says, "Would you finally tell me what is so special about this particle-thingy since it is apparently important enough for you to leave me hanging." "Chloe, with this particle accelerator human kind will be able to make leaps and bounds in science, technology, medicine and so many other fields that we won't be able to make without the accelerator." I point to the plastic basket that my food is in and say, "Imagine that this basket with food in it represents all of the knowledge that humans as a species have ever possessed." Then I point at the table and continue speaking, "Now imagine the table as a whole represents everything we could learn because of the particle accelerator."

"Um, so," Chloe begins, "Does that include the fact that for a kid's movie, 'Frozen' has one hella good soundtrack?" I roll my eyes. "Really, of all the musical pop culture references you could have made, you go with that?" I ask incredulously. Chloe gives a nod with a devious smirk on her face. I sigh, knowing I dodged a bullet since she didn't make a dated reference to something that happened in the past year that everyone has already forgotten about and as such any knowledge of is a waste of brain cells, for example the Harlem Shake or Sharknado.

"As for this abandoning you nonsense," I say, "I am not abandoning you. I can't abandon you. Not when I was the one to introduce you to our mutual friend, the badass lead singer of your band, Rachel Amber. We are talking about THE very same Rachel Amber whom happens to be the only reason why Tony Woodward never messed with us even though he was a senior and Rachel was a freshman just like us. So stick with Rachel all night and everything will be fine."

In retrospect, those words seem like something really stupid to say. After finishing dinner with Chloe, I just barely managed to get back to S.T.A.R. Labs in time for the unveiling of the particle accelerator. Dr. Wells gave his speech to the public and now all of the S.T.A.R. Labs employees that were present this evening, including myself, are gathered around in the Cortex as Dr. Wells had just successfully turned on the accelerator. "That's it? You'd think there'd be like a loud bang" Cisco comments. Ronnie replies, "If there was a loud bang, we'd all be in big trouble." "Take it from the guy who helped build it." Caitlin says.

Dr. Wells Changes the topic by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we did it." Everyone claps applause of celebration and congratulation. Next to me Caitlin and Ronnie kiss and Ronnie whispers to Caitlin something about Mai Tais. Dr. Wells pops open a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Mere seconds after the champagne bottle has been opened, we all witness in shock as the contents of the champagne bottle float up out of the bottle and into the air as if there is no gravity, a clear violation of the laws of physics, which says to me that something is definitely not fine.

The Champagne that is floating in the air suddenly drops and we all watch as it lands on the ground. An alarm sounds as if to confirm that something is not fine. The lights in the room go out but, the computers and monitors in the room stay on. I feel and hear a tremor that is almost immediately made trivial by the sound of a big explosion. "Was that…" Cisco begins. "… The loud bang" Ronnie confirms.

Dr. Wells, Cisco, and Caitlin each rush to one of the three different computers on the desk in the middle of the Cortex. After a bit of typing Cisco announces, "There's an anomaly in the core chamber." "The ring's structural integrity is holding." Caitlin states. "It's started a chain-reaction. The system is collapsing. We need to shut it down." Dr. Wells warns. "We can't ramp down the accelerator from here. We have to do it manually." Cisco says with frustration in his voice, before turning to leave. "GO!"Dr. Wells orders.

"I'll come with." Ronnie states. Caitlin whirls around and says, "Ronnie, no!" I see fear in Caitlin's eyes. Ronnie looks at Caitlin and tries to reason with her saying, "I'm the lead engineer. I know how to operate the shutdown valve." "It's not safe." Caitlin replies clearly trying everything she can to keep Ronnie from leaving. Ronnie looks Caitlin in the eyes and says, "Cait, I have to go." He kisses her and then turns and walks out of the room.

I take all of these quick-paced events in just standing there uncertain about what to do. 'I hope that this is not what regular everyday operations with the particle accelerator active will look like.' I think to myself. Then a sudden realization hits me. "Wait, we never shut off the lightning generator, did we?" I ask. Caitlin turns back to the computer and does a bit of typing, pulling up live video footage of the room with the lightning generator in it. Seeing the multi-colored bolts of lightning shooting out of the lightning generator confirms my fears.

"I need to go shut the lightning generator down. If the accelerator explodes with that thing running underneath it, there's no telling what kind of damage it'd cause." Caitlin turns to me and says, "I'll go with you. I'll help you with putting on the insulation suit." "No," I object, "There isn't enough time for me to be able to put on the suit, and I don't want you to be in danger from the lightning generator. I 'm going to have to risk it without the suit. Don't worry about me Caitlin. You'd be of more help if you go to the pipeline to see if you can help Ronnie and Cisco." With that I turn and sprint out of the Cortex.

I race to the elevator and skid to a stop in front of it. I am about to slam the palm of my hand against the button to call for the elevator when I think better of it. It occurs to me that there is a distinct possibility of the elevator losing power while I am in it, which would prevent me from making it to the lightning generator before the accelerator gets a chance to explode. I quickly turn around and sprint off for the nearest stairwell.

As I approach the stairwell I see that luckily for me, someone left the door to the stairwell propped wide-open, which means I don't have to slow down to open it. I continue running, racing down the stairs of the stairwell all the way down to the basement level. Not slowing down, I deliberately body slam sideways into the push bar to open the door that opens out of the stairwell and into the basement.

The act of slamming sideways into the door momentarily upsets my balance but I quickly regain it and I am back off and running fast as possible again. My lungs are starting to burn from the exertion. 'Note to self starting tomorrow I am going to start exercising on a regular basis.' I think to myself. I skid to a halt in the doorway of the room with the lightning generator in it, out of breath.

I take a quick look around the room to get a grasp of what I am dealing with. The lightning generator's functionality appears to not have been affected by what's going on with the particle accelerator, yet. I'm so glad that when Cisco instructed me on how to turn on the lightning generator he also told me how to turn it off. I cautiously rush over to the control board for the lightning generator so I can turn it off.

Just as I'm about to begin turning it off, there is a slight power fluctuation. Since the only light in the room is coming from the multi-color lightning bolts coming from and the control board for the lightning generator I almost don't notice the power fluctuation. However I'm finding the white lightning bolt that escaped the ionic energy field due to the power fluctuation and that is currently arcing right towards me very hard not to notice. Fortunately for me, the lightning bolt hits the control board for the lightning generator instead of me. Unfortunately for me, I now need to find another way to shut down the lightning generator because the controls are now melted.

I suddenly remember Cisco mentioning an emergency power shutoff switch. I take a look around the room to see if I can find said switch. 'Aha!' I think to myself. There on the wall on the opposite side of the room is a large lever-like switch with a horizontal handle labeled "EMERGENCY POWER SHUTOFF." I give a sigh of exasperation. 'Of course the lightning generator is between me and the switch.' I think to myself.

I quickly and carefully skirt around the room to where the emergency shutoff switch is, in the hopes that if I keep as far away from the lightning generator as possible, I will reduce the chances of me getting hit by lightning in the event of further power fluctuations. By the time I make it to the emergency shutoff switch I am super on-edge because I have been too close to being hit by lightning for comfort three times. I grab a hold of the emergency power shutoff switch with my right-hand which is closest to the switch and try to pull it down.

It doesn't budge a centimeter. I realize that the stupid thing must be jammed. I turn my whole body towards the switch and I'm about to grab a hold of the switch with both hands and attempt to use my weight to get the switch to move when I spot something out of the corner of my eye that catches my attention.

I turn to watch with horror as what looks like part of an outward expanding orange colored, sphere-shaped energy field encroaches towards both the lightning generator and me. The instant the orange colored energy envelops the lightning generator, multiple purple-hued bolts of lightning arc right at me, a clear sign that the ionic energy field must have failed completely. I think to myself, 'Run!' just as the purple bolts of lightning hit me at the exact same instant that I am also enveloped by the orange colored energy field. I am thrown back against the wall with unbelievable force and, instantly, everything goes dark.

A/N-1: If you want to have a listen to the particular cover of Barbie Girl that I had in mind, you can find it on YouTube. It is Barbie Girl written and originally performed by Aqua covered by Pellek.