A week had passed since the encounter with Captain Cold. The team at S.T.A.R. Labs had buried themselves in work and research, and though no metahuman threats had emerged since, their bond had grown stronger. With the rare calm in Central City, August suggested something they'd rarely had: a night out.
Dr. Wells politely declined.
"You all go. My face in public tends to remind people of… well, the explosion. I'd rather not ruin the vibe."
So it was just August, Caitlin, and Cisco at one of the quieter bars in the city—though quiet didn't mean boring. By his fifth bottle, August raised an eyebrow. Nothing. Not even a buzz. He frowned.
"Okay, we've got a problem."
Caitlin and Cisco weren't listening. They were too distracted watching a CCPD detective across the bar twirling his girlfriend around in his arms. She looked familiar. August squinted. Wasn't that the barista from Jitters?
"Yeah, We've got a problem," Cisco said with mock seriousness, watching the couple. "When guys like that exist."
"Yeah," Caitlin murmured, her eyes glazed. "He's so hot…"
Both guys turned to look at her.
"Genetically," she corrected quickly. "I meant genetically. As a geneticist."
August waved a hand. "Not talking about the hot cop. I'm talking about me. I can't get drunk."
Caitlin blinked and turned to him. "That's your hypermetabolism. Makes sense. I should get a sample." She rummaged through her purse, muttering. "I know I brought a Vacutainer."
August gave her a side-eye and a crooked smile. "Why do you have a blood collection kit in your purse?"
Caitlin blushed. "You have your hobbies. I have mine."
She pricked his arm and collected a small sample. Cisco returned with a tray of shots. They clinked glasses and downed them—Cisco coughing slightly, Caitlin grimacing. August sighed. Nothing.
"This sucks."
Just then, their phones buzzed with a message from JANUS.
[Emergency Alert] Bombing reported at 8th and Pass. Meta activity likely.
They were out of their seats instantly. Once they exited the bar and found cover from public view, August grabbed the others and zipped them back to STAR Labs in the blink of an eye. Within moments, he was suited up.
JANUS piped into his HUD.
"Explosion site: upper floors of a commercial complex. East side of the 15th floor heavily damaged. Fire and smoke spreading."
As he arrived on scene, fire gushed from shattered windows. The screams of civilians echoed below. August scanned the skyline and spotted a window-washing platform barely hanging on—with someone still on it.
"JANUS, thermal scan. Who's still inside?"
"One heat signature: security guard, pinned on the 15th floor. Fire department ETA: 5 minutes."
There wasn't time.
"Cisco, I need to hit a vertical run up this building and slow down just enough on the descent. You calculate the precise velocity I need to stay intact. Too fast and I smear us both across the pavement."
"Got it. Sending coordinates now. And don't die."
August took a deep breath, focused, then took off. His boots hit the building's wall with perfect rhythm, vibrating just enough to minimize surface tension and let him run upward. He reached the swaying platform just as it snapped. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the window washer and redirected his momentum downward.
The strain hit instantly. Protecting someone else at this speed was like trying to catch a falling boulder with silk gloves. He extended his protective aura, the kinetic energy pulsing around them in gold and white.
They hit the ground, intact but rattled. The moment the man was safe, August vanished again, back up to the inferno.
He landed on the 15th floor where flames licked at the walls. The guard was coughing, barely conscious. August couldn't carry him through open fire—it was too unstable. He needed another way.
"Cisco, can I—"
"Rotate your arm. Fast. Vacuum vortex. Suck out the oxygen. Fire can't live without it."
August nodded. He reached forward, wrist spinning in a tight, rapid spiral. The air distorted. A vacuum formed. The fire faltered, sputtered, and finally died.
He coughed from the smoke and set a mental note to do something about that in his next series of updates then grabbed the guard and dashed them both to safety. Just as he emerged from the smoke, he caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd—eyes wide with awe.
It was her. The detective's girlfriend from earlier. The girl from Jitters.
Iris West.