Chapter 44: Ch - 44 Girder 2.0?
The next day, Barry, completely healed after a good night's rest, left early in the morning for his CSI work. Ironically, after he left, Joe, Barry's adoptive father, who had reopened the case of Barry's mother Nora Allen's murder, arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs to ask for Harrison Wells's help, completely unaware that Wells was the murderer he sought.
After a few hours, when Barry returned to S.T.A.R. Labs, he informed everyone about the Humvee metahuman thief.
"Your childhood nemesis is now an unstoppable metahuman. That is seriously messed up," said Cisco when he heard about Barry's bully, Tony Woodward.
Caitlin, hearing about childhood nemeses, recounted her own, "I also had a childhood nemesis. Lexi La Roche. She used to put gum in my hair."
Cisco, feeling left out, shared his story, "Jake Puckett. If I didn't let him copy my homework, he'd give me a swirly."
Everyone then looked at Swayam, expecting him to share his own story. Seeing their expectant looks, Swayam said, "I didn't have any nemeses per se, but I did have some frenemies." He reminisced, "Jamnadas Orphanage, where I grew up, was a government-run orphanage. It provided basic necessities and education. The children there were mischievous but not bad to the bone. If they were, they were sent to juvy. If I hadn't focused on my studies and part-time work and socialized more, I might not be what I am today." After that, he stayed silent.
Seeing Swayam staying silent, Barry spoke, "Now that we've established that we're all uber-nerds, what are we gonna do about Tony?"
Cisco, excited, said, "Glad you asked. We're gonna train you, man. Karate Kid style." He led them to the treadmill room and unveiled a metal dummy. "Behold. I call him Girder." He then glared at Swayam and continued, "Girder 2.0, actually."
Caitlin, aware of why Cisco was glaring at Swayam, tried to change the topic, "For the record, not my idea."
Barry, curious, asked, "Okay, I get that it wasn't Caitlin's idea, but why the 2.0? What happened to the first one?"
Swayam, already aware of what Cisco was about to say, looked away awkwardly as Cisco explained, "It's all thanks to someone that the first Girder was thrashed and reduced to scrap metal."
Barry, seeing Cisco's behavior, decided not to press further. After a brief silence, he asked, "So how would it help me, Cisco?"
Cisco, excited about his invention, explained, "Fighting is physics. It's not about strength or size, it's about energy and power. Channel your speed the right way, and you can take this bad boy down. Now, obviously, your Girder is a moving target." He controlled the Girder 2.0 with a remote to ensure Barry's training wasn't monotonous.
Seeing the Girder 2.0 in action, Barry realized he would get a lot of injuries during training. Caitlin, noticing his look, reassured him, "Don't worry, I have ice and bandages standing by."
Although Barry wasn't reassured, he started fighting the Girder 2.0 using his speed. However, he got injured quickly due to his lack of proficiency in super-speed combat. "I'm pretty sure I just dislocated my shoulder."
Caitlin, a physician, was there to patch him up. "Okay, not gonna lie. This is gonna be quick but extremely painful."
Just as Caitlin finished speaking, Barry received a call from Eddie. With an exaggerated response, "Oh, speaking of pain," he picked up the call. "Eddie, hey."
Eddie informed him that they had found the stolen Humvee in an alley at Fremont and Lawrence and needed his assistance.
Since his day job was important, Barry replied that he would be there in a sec. After hanging up, he told Caitlin he was ready to have his dislocated shoulder relocated. Caitlin did so, and as she had mentioned, it was indeed extremely painful.
Weekly Power Status
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