I.

Contrary to popular belief, Barry doesn't try to seek out danger, it just happens to be naturally attracted to him.

Sure, he and his fellow teammates make decisions and considering what they regularly face up against, their decisions often come with dangerous consequences. Still, he isn't consciously trying to invite danger to come and slap him across the face.

Recently, things have been particularly crazy and dangerous for Barry. Ever since his friends came back to him after his long six months of penance, Barry's been trying to readjust to the fact that there are once more people in his life ready and willing to stand by his side. Of course there are good days and bad days for all of them, but he's almost forgotten how great it is to have people around him that he can talk to and rely on. With more metahumans appearing, some even sent from another world, Barry's glad that his friends are there to help get rid of the threats to Central City as a team, everyone still able to work together as a well-oiled machine even after all this time.

The guilt's still there, though. It's great to be around his friends again, but there's still a pit that opens up in his stomach whenever he thinks about what happened and how he should have been able to prevent it, even if everyone is constantly reassuring him that there was nothing he could have done. In Caitlin and Cisco, he sees Ronnie, a close friend to both of them and so much more to one. In Iris, he sees Eddie and the future they could have had together. Though his friends may have forgiven him, he knows he will never be able to fully forgive himself.

So, it's another day, another dangerous threat that Barry really should have been expecting considering their track record.

But, no matter the fact that his day's likely to end in a spectacularly horrible and unexpected way, that doesn't mean it has to start abnormally, even if his concept of normal is just a little different from others.

As usual, Barry wakes up late and successfully starts a chain reaction of tardiness that stretches all the way from his forgotten alarm to the disapproving look on Captain Singh's face when he finally comes into the precinct wearing a sheepish expression.

Today, there are no new crime scenes to visit and collect evidence from, so Barry instead chooses to spend his time processing the evidence he does have and filling out reports that should have been done ages ago.

Barry skips breakfast in favor of some lukewarm coffee because screw tardiness, there's no way he's giving up his caffeine. As an afterthought, he eats a couple of the calorie bars that Cisco made for him a year ago, keeping in mind that him passing out at work would definitely not be a good way to start the day. With caffeine and calories mixing happily in his system, Barry's able to complete a sizeable chunk of his work, though he tragically has to skip out on his lunch in order to do so.

Barry has to wonder what everyone else is doing. Though there haven't been any major calls into the precinct, he's sure that Joe still has plenty of his own work to handle, so Barry figures he's probably doing something of his own downstairs. Cisco, Caitlin, and Jay are most likely at S.T.A.R. Labs, doing what they do best in the name of science until a call comes in about a crime or a metahuman attack. Iris is definitely at CCPN, typing away furiously at her keyboard and uncovering the latest news until duty calls with Team Flash. Though he's glad that his friends are all busy, he kind of wishes that one of them would stop by with food so he won't have to speed out and get some.

While he's busy pondering his meal choices, his cell phone starts buzzing and sliding across his stack of finished paperwork, Cisco's face flashing across the screen every few seconds. Either Cisco needs someone possessing advanced healing to test out a new invention of his or there's a new threat that the Flash needs to take care of. Part of Barry dreads what this could mean while another part is anxious to get back in the suit, anxious for a change in pace.

On the third buzz, Barry finally reaches over and grabs the phone, answering the call as he brings it up to his ear. "What's up, Cisco?"

"There's been an attack at Mercury Labs, the botanical division!" Cisco says, voice urgent.

Immediately, Barry puts aside all of the thoughts he once had of his work, switching his focus to this new development. "On my way."

And he is. In a matter of seconds, he's changed into his suit and he's speeding away, racing with the hope of making it to Mercury Labs in time to be of assistance. This is what Barry loves. Speeding down streets, feeling the lightning, the power of the speed force coursing through his veins with a clear goal in mind paving his way. He zips around corners, taking shortcuts through alleys and weaving around traffic.

Barry makes it to Mercury Labs quickly, well aware of Cisco working the coms, ready to provide Barry with aid when necessary.

Barry wastes no time hanging around outside of the laboratories, he just runs straight inside until his lack of knowledge on the facility's layout becomes apparent. He finds himself running around in circles, completely unaware where the botanical labs are located at.

"Uh, Cisco?" Barry starts. He wonders if the employees will still find it odd to discover the Flash practically chasing himself around the building.

"Yeah, buddy?" Cisco replies. His mouth sounds full and there's a faint crunch over the line. Barry's a little ticked off that he doesn't have his fair share of chips at the moment.

"Where am I going?"

"Oh, right!" There's a pause for a few seconds as Cisco pulls up a map of the building. In the meantime, Barry saves the falling mug of a lab tech who had just been in the process of dropping it. "Fifth floor."

"Got it!" Barry responds and in seconds, he's reached the correct destination.

Everything is messed up when he gets there.

The plants that had once been resting patiently in pots are now strewn across the floor in clutter of soil, torn leaves, and pieces of destroyed ceramic pots. All of the equipment is damaged, glass broken in jagged shards and microscopes stripped down to piles of broken parts. In the far corner, a particularly large machine that looks vaguely like a printer is throwing off sparks, three unusual spikes sticking out of its front. Under a faraway counter, Barry can see three scientists in lab coats huddled together in hiding. So far, there's no sign of whatever could have done this so he decides to check on the scientists first.

Barry crouches down low so he can look them over for any injuries. All he finds are their terrified expressions, faces devoid of all color and eyes opened wide.

"Are any of you hurt?" He asks just in case there's something he didn't see. All three of them shake their heads in negative responses. "What happened here?"

One of them, a woman, swallows thickly and meets his eyes. "She was so angry. She… she just tore everything apart."

Another woman speaks up. "All our research…" She mourns.

"Is she still here?" He asks.

All three shake their heads once more. "She took off," The man says. "Don't know where to, though."

Barry nods. "Thank you."

Once more he's on his feet and racing out of Mercury Labs. "Know where she's headed?"

Cisco snorts. "Dude, we don't even know what she looks like! Try checking around, she couldn't have gotten far." There's a pause before Cisco continues on a tangent. "Hey, did you see anything reminiscent of Little Shop of Horrors in there? 'Cause, if so, you have to get me it."

"Cisco, now's not really the time." Barry says.

There's a bit of grumbling on the other end of the line, but Cisco seems to have chosen not to pester him about it this time.

He starts weaving through the nearby streets, searching for anyone who could possibly be their mystery woman.

Finally, he comes across someone out of the ordinary in an alley a few blocks away from Mercury Labs. He skids to a stop, stance wide as he stands ready to face this woman whose back is turned.

Barry calls out to her, ready to face whatever challenge she may present. "What did you want at Mercury Labs?"

She turns to face him and Barry quickly takes in her appearance. She wears a long lab coat, not unlike the ones the scientists were wearing back at the botany lab, but hers is tattered and worn, covered in smudges of dirt with the cuffs of her sleeves torn. Underneath, she wears an emerald dress, one that would probably be considered nice and casual before it was transformed to a similar state as her lab coat. The sneakers she wears are just as bad and her dark hair is greasy and pulled away in a loose bun. Of course, her eyes are covered in a black mask, possibly the only new item residing on her body.

"That's none of your business!" She yells back.

Oh, so that's how it's going to be. Barry shrugs. "You just made it my business by attacking those people."

She narrows her eyes at him through the mask. "They all deserved it!" She tries to defend her actions in a routine that Barry's all too familiar with. "After what happened to me, they needed to know what it was like!"

Her anger quickly escalates and she starts to change. She raises her arms and Barry watches in horror as the skin there raises and hardens, forming spikes that glisten and rise and grimly remind Barry of the spikes that were sticking out of the machine back at the lab. Barry stares for a long time because seriously, a human with spikes sticking out of her arms is a new one.

It gets even crazier when she flicks out her arms, sending three spikes flying toward him with scary accuracy.

He dodges the first two easily. The final one, following closely behind the second, cuts close to his right arm, slicing through the shoulder of the suit and leaving a long, shallow cut across his skin.

He can almost hear Cisco's outraged cries in his head as soon as the suit gets cut, but he tries to ignore that for the moment. By the time he looks back up from observing the new tear, the woman is gone and Barry is trying to think of a good way to break the news to Cisco.

Barry raises his hand and presses it against his ear. "Cisco, she's gone. I'm heading back."

"See ya soon." Cisco replies.

As he's just started to head over to S.T.A.R. Labs, his world tips to the side. Head spinning enough to transform him into the very first human centrifuge, he slows down and leans heavily against a brick wall. Nausea burns momentarily in his throat, forcing him to slam his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the vomit at bay. Luckily, the feeling soon passes and he stands up, confused and disoriented. Neither of those sensations are a good sign.

"Yo, Barry, you okay?" Cisco's voice fades in and out and Barry tries to shake his head to get the effect to go away. His voice returns to a normal volume.

"Yeah, I'm good." He replies almost instantly, instinctively dismissing this weird attack of dizziness. He's still a bit disoriented by the short episode but he figures it's due to his particularly strange eating schedule today. "Don't think I ate enough."

Cisco makes a noise at him like a disapproving parent. "We'll fix that, just get your ass back here."

Barry nods even though he knows Cisco can't see the motion, and he runs away, trying to shake the feeling of unease off of his back.