[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/w0u1edR.png[/img][/center]

[b][i]S.T.A.R. Labs
Central City Branch[/i][/b]

[color=Red]"Nothing? Really?"[/color] I ask with frustration as Dr. Wells and his team go over their results, having thoroughly scanned Mercury Square after the Rogues' attack.

[color=SandyBrown]"Nothing [i]yet[/i], Flash,"[/color] Dr. Harrison Wells, the founder of S.T.A.R. Labs and director of the Central City campus, corrects me. [color=SandyBrown]"We're just as concerned about this as you are, but the attack went over a fairly wide area, and going over it all is going to take time. It may not be your style, but you're going to have to--"[/color]

[color=Red]"--take it slow, right, right,"[/color] I say, chafing at the words. [color=Red]"It's just...there's really no trace of them left? Nothing to go on? Not even a sliver?"[/color]

[color=Orange]"We're working on it, red,"[/color] Cisco Ramon answers from his desk, an edge of annoyance in his voice. [color=Orange]"There's, like, a [i]billion[/i] different things they could've done here."[/color]

[color=LightBlue]"We have some working theories on how the Rogues pulled off the attack,"[/color] Caitlin Snow reassures me as she reads data from her tablet. [color=LightBlue]"Right now we're running simulations to see if any of our theoretical models line up with the data we've got on hand."[/color]

[color=Red]"Right, I gotcha,"[/color] I nod, pacing back and forth with frustration.

Logically, I know they're basically doing the same thing I do at the CCPD. Forensics isn't a clear-cut field with easy answers, and you have to take your time slowly but surely sifting through bad data before you can reach a conclusion. Eddie Thorne gives me all kinds of hell for taking my time going over crime scene data, but it's always better to be slow and right than fast and wrong.

Barry Allen knows this, of course. The Flash, on the other hand, is supposed to be able to act faster than anyone alive. And until we have a lead to go on, there's nothing to do but wait.

[color=Red]"Any way I can make myself useful?"[/color] I ask, hoping there's something I can do to speed things up.

[color=SandyBrown]"At the moment, I think we're doing about all that can be done,"[/color] Dr. Wells answers, [color=SandyBrown]"at least, until we have more data to work with."[/color]

[color=LightBlue]"Of course, 'more data' means 'another Rogue attack,'"[/color] Caitlin chimes in, removing the sugar-coating that the doctor had put on his statement.

[color=SandyBrown]"Well, yes,"[/color] he admits, [color=SandyBrown]"but hopefully we'll be able to crack it before then. Until then, I suggest you take the advice you gave your protégé: lay low for a while, don't make yourself a target. And if they [i]do[/i] launch another attack, don't engage it."[/color]

[color=Red]"Makes sense,"[/color] I agree, [color=Red]"I'm not exactly up for hanging around to get my butt handed to me a second time. On the other hand, I can't exactly stay put if there are people who need my help."[/color]

[color=Orange]"What about the League?"[/color] Cisco asks. [color=Orange]"I mean, I know you cape-and-tights types are all weird about territory, but I can't imagine the Rogues can keep up an attack if, say, Superman or Wonder Woman shows up to break you out."[/color]

[color=Red]"Maybe,"[/color] I consider it, [color=Red]"I do need to let them know what's up. If I have to go help out with a League-level emergency, and then suddenly we have to deal with cold rays and boomerangs on top of whatever's going on, they'll need to know--"[/color]

[h2][color=LightSteelBlue][b][i]ZZZZZZNNNNNNNGGGG![/i][/b][/color][/h2]

As if on cue, a razor-edged boomerang emerges from thin air, inches away from my face.

[color=Red]"EVERYBODYGETDOWN!"[/color] I shout, sidestepping the weapon.

As Cisco and Caitlin hit the floor, the boomerang slices into a computer bank, sparks and smoke spraying from the now ruined machinery.

[right][h2][color=OrangeRed][b][i]FWWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH!!!!![/i][/b][/color][/h2][/right]

A jet of Heatwave's plasma erupts from the floor beneath a server rack, incinerating it.

[color=SandyBrown]"The data!"[/color] Dr. Wells exclaims. [color=SandyBrown]"They're destroying all of our--"[/color]

[center][h2][color=LightYellow][b][i]KRA-KOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!![/i][/b][/color][/h2][/center]

A bolt of Weather Wizard's lightning dances throughout S.T.A.R. Labs' mainframe, frying row after row of equipment.

Alarms sound throughout the facility, but after I take a few seconds to get everyone a safe distance from the building, there's no one left inside.

Dr. Wells, Cisco, Caitlin, and I look down from a hillside about half a mile from the campus, looking at the smoke billowing from the main building.

[color=Orange]"Holy crap,"[/color] Cisco mutters, [color=Orange]"They just wrecked everything..."[/color]

[color=SandyBrown]"It's going to take weeks to replace all of that equipment,"[/color] Dr. Wells groans, [color=SandyBrown]"But the data, that's..."[/color]

[color=LightBlue]"That's gone for good now,"[/color] Caitlin laments. [color=LightBlue]"Any evidence our sensors picked up, the Rogues just wiped it out."[/color]

[color=Red]"...so now we're not even at square one,"[/color] I say. [color=Red]"We've got no leads, and nothing to chase leads with."[/color]

Dr. Wells nods.

[color=SandyBrown]"...well, while we get this under control,"[/color] he says, [color=SandyBrown]"it might be best if you don't stay in one location for long. However they're doing this, it's doubtful they can continue to follow you if you keep moving. Until we get a handle on this, I'd advise staying far from Central City."[/color]

[color=Red]"I can't just--"[/color]

[h2][b][i]BOOOOOM!!![/i][/b][/h2]

An explosion from inside the empty S.T.A.R. Labs building interrupts me, and along the hillside, I hear the other employees scream in startled fear.

Maybe the Doc's right. If I stick to my familiar stomping grounds, Snart and his crew know where to find me, and I'll be putting more people at risk.

With a tinge of regret, I nod.

[color=Red]"Okay,"[/color] I decide. [color=Red]"Maybe a road trip will do me some good. If there's trouble back home I can't guarantee I'll stay away, but until then, I'll keep some distance."[/color]

Overhead, a CCPN news helicopter flies towards the scene of the explosion. Knowing her, there's a pretty good chance that Iris is on that chopper.

[i]Iris...[/i]

[color=Red]"I'll, uh, I'll need to say some goodbyes before I go,"[/color] I say, more to myself than anyone.

[color=LightBlue]"Better make them quick,"[/color] Caitlin remarks, which gets a chuckle out of me.

[color=Red]"Hah! Remember who you're talking to, Cate. Quick is what I'm all about."[/color]