Destiny

[run_barry]

So this happened.

Barry leaves Milliways and Starling City behind, still high on his adventures in both places. The train rides gives him time to ponder it all, but as he gets closer to home his energy turns from thinking about what's happened to what's coming up. Seeing S.T.A.R. Labs outside the window as the train rolls by bumps up his excitement and he's eager for tonight's big event.

All of the good feelings last until his arrival in Central City, and then his everyday life returns and promptly punches him in the face.

Literally, he gets punched in the face by a thief who snatches his best friend Iris's bag and Barry's too slow and not strong enough to stop him. Thank goodness for Detective "Pretty Boy" who shows up in time to not only save the day, but to catch Iris's eye while Barry is sidelined with a bloody nose.

The whole incident happens while Barry and Iris are waiting at S.T.A.R. Labs for the Particle Accelerator unveiling and of course afterwards Barry's too late to get in.

It's pretty amazing how his life can go from vigilantes and magic bars to getting yelled at by his boss, friend-zoned and beat up, and missing the biggest historical and scientific event he's ever had the chance to witness, but that's just his luck.

Dejected and tired of hearing all the accolades on Eddie (Mr. Pretty himself), Barry withdraws to his lab upstairs at Central City Police Department.

The storm he left behind in Starling has followed him and settled over Central City. Rain drums loud against the skylight above his lab and pounds on the windows while thunder booms nearby. When he walks in there's already a puddle in the middle of the floor from leaks in the glass above that he can't ever seem to get fixed. (He's only mentioned it to Captain Singh a hundred times.)

Turning on his computer to a news feed from S.T.A.R. Labs Barry sighs when he sees that the Particle Accelerator is already up and running.

The only consolation he has right now is the newspaper clipping he pulls from his bag. It's an article about what happened in Starling City, and maybe they don't have all the details, but at least Barry knows; something impossible happened, and he saved a hero's life in the course of helping to stop the bad guy.

Glancing over the article he walks up to a large pull down map of Central City. Hidden beneath is Barry's own personal case board for his mother's murder. The board is a timeline from that day until now, and a myriad of unexplained articles surround those pertaining to what happened to his mother. Barry pins the new article up with the rest and he feels a small sense of hope that maybe he can someday solve her case, too.

Lost in thought a moment his attention is pulled back to the news feed on the computer as an alarm begins to blare at S.T.A.R. Labs and the voice of the news anchor who's been reporting turns urgent. Barry goes back to the computer to watch when the screen winks out. His eyes lift from the monitor to look out the window at the distant lab and he sees the explosion as it shoots up into the sky.

In a rolling wave out from the fire plume the power dies across the city. It hits his building with a crack of thunder overhead and Barry's eyes turn skyward.

He's beneath the skylight with the draw chains in hand before he's even fully aware of his own actions. Barry starts to pull when the world around him seems to freeze, then warp. His feet are rooted to the floor and the lab around him abandons the laws of physics. Beakers and vials of chemicals start to spill over, not down to the floor, but weightlessly up. The air around tingles with energy and the sky above trembles.

Looking up Barry watches the clouds light from a stormy grey to a glowing orange and in an eye blink the sky breaks open overhead and a thunderbolt hurls down, shattering glass and streaking straight for Barry.

For one brilliant, dazzling moment after being struck he feels connected to everything. Connected to Something. A force. A great, and amazing Force that all at once feels startlingly new and at the same time embracing like the familiar.

A heartbeat later the surge of electricity engulfs Barry, lifting him from his feet and throwing him across the room into chemical laden shelves which topple over underneath him; all of it and him crashing to the ground where he lays still and silent.

A current sizzles beneath his skin for a moment then fades out, leaving the room and Barry Allen alone in darkness while the rain above continues to fall and the storm moves on.

Somewhere far away and near there are shrill machines screaming, unable to detect a heartbeat.

Doctors scramble in the dark; both without light and lost for explanations.

Voices speak out, past and present muddling in the fog.

And a young man clings to a gossamer thread that might lead him home from where he drifts in the grey unknown.

"He was struck by lightning."

"How is he still alive?"

"Way ta go, Slugger."

"BARRY!"

"Flatline. Starting compressions."

"Sweet dreams, my beautiful boy."

"How can he be seizing? He has no heart-rhythm."

"I'll go home when Barry goes home"

"Be the good boy that your mom and I know you are."

"Hey, Barry, it's me... Felicity."

"Help, my son's coding!"

"I was waiting for you to bring Barry home."

"They said he was stable!"

"Then save him."

"I got you, son."

"We need you. I need you."

"If I turn this light off now, would you be scared?"

"No."

"That's because I'm here with you.

See, you're not afraid of the dark, Barry,

you're afraid of being alone in the dark

and that goes away when you realize something.

You're never really alone."

And then there was Lady Gaga.

[dialogue taken from episode 1.1 and other episodes from the series]