Skin

“Look, I’ve passed every single one of your stupid tests. And I’ve exceeded your expectations.” Violet was tired of being poked and prodded like an animal. The three scientists made her go through several different types of reading tests, color tests, counting tests, memory tests, every type of test on the planet. And none of the results showed signs of abnormality.

“They’re not stupid tests.” Cisco mumbled under his breath. Violet shot him a sharp glare and he looked back down at her results, pretending to analyze them.

“Can I just go home?” She asked desperately. “If something weird happens, which I highly doubt, I’ll come back and see you guys.”

Dr. Wells sucked a breath in through his teeth before agreeing to release her. Dr. Snow tried to interject his decision, but he explained that they could not find anything wrong with her. All her tests came out with normal results. She was not experiencing muscle atrophy, her brain was as agile as a cat- still super sharp. There wasn’t a thing that Dr. Wells could find that was wrong with her. It upset him to his core knowing that the particle accelerator changed her, but he could not, with proof of test results, pinpoint what changed.

“Please, Miss Valencia, the very second you start experiencing something out of the ordinary, reach out to us immediately. We will take care of you.” Dr. Wells advised as Caitlin handed her all the things found on her body during the explosion: a wallet with a few dollars, her ID, and all her credit cards. She didn’t have any clothes, but Caitlin was nice enough to lend her a few of her own.

“Thank you. If I see it necessary to reach out, you will hear from me again. But it’s time for me to go back to Starling City.”

As she walked out of the large building, she was flooded with several thoughts. Was her apartment still hers? If she’s been out for nine months, surely no one was there to pay for her rent or her other bills. Did she still have a job waiting for her? How much has changed in Starling City since she was last home?

A gust of wind flashed by her and snapped her out of her thoughts. It was a nice September day in Central City and there was very little to no wind. She shook her head and blamed it as some side effect of the coma. But she swore she saw sparks of electricity, too.

It’s all in your head, Violet.

Violet hailed a taxi that took her to the train station. She had no idea what she was going to do when she got back. She didn’t know who to go to. She didn’t know where she was going to go. By the sounds of it, Felicity had been the one looking after her… Maybe she could go look for Felicity? She ran her hand down her face in frustration as she tried to figure out a game plan.

She walked towards the ticket booth and prayed her cards were still active and that she still had money in her bank accounts. As she made her way over, a woman in a rush came from behind her. She was definitely in some sort of hurry, slightly pushing people out of her way. She placed her hands on Violet’s shoulders to gently moved her over. Violet was stunned and became paralyzed in her spot.

Very vivid images flooded her mind. It felt like she was dreaming, despite the fact she was very much awake. It took Violet a second to realize that these weren’t dreams- they were memories. The woman who moved her out of the way is Janet Murphy. She’s from Coast City. 34 years old. Married with two children. Graduated top of her class. Moved to Central City because her husband’s job relocated. Her parents died a few months ago due to the particle accelerator explosion. Violet blinked a few times to snap out of her mini trance. She looked around her and people were hustling and bustling around her trying to catch their trains.

What was that? She started to panic before taking a few breaths. She told herself a few times that this was all in her head. Something her mind was making up. It was just a side effect. Her mind would go back to normal in no time. After all, her tests came out normal.

“One way ticket to Starling City, please.”

“Star City? Of course.” The woman in the booth replied.

“No, I definitely meant Starling City.”

“Sorry, ma’am. Starling City has been renamed to Star City.

“Right…” She scratched her head in confusion, but went with it, anyways.

Violet walked towards her train as passengers started to load themselves onto it. A young man bumped into her. Apologetically, he grabbed her hand and repeated ‘sorry’ over and over again before walking away. Again, she stood there in a type of trance. His name is Chris Matthews. Senior at Central City University. Biochemistry major. Born and raised in Central City. Lives with his parents. He’s single, but has been in love with his best friend for years. Violet ran her fingers through her hair in disbelief. What is going on with me?

She finally came to terms that there was something going on in her head. These visions weren’t normal. Instead of hopping on a train back home, she hailed another cab and headed back to S.T.A.R Labs.

“Welcome again, Miss Valencia.” Dr. Wells grinned like the cheshire cat. “What brings you back so soon?”

“It keeps happening. I was at the train station, two people bumped into me… and I- I don’t even know how to explain it or how it happens. But, I feel like, I know these people. I’ve never met them in my life. But, it’s like I know everything about them. Their names, where they’re from, who they are… I get these visions or whatever of they’re lives.”

“These visions did not occur of anybody else at the station? Just those who came into contact with you?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

“What’s happening to me, Dr. Wells?”

“Violet, tell me, what is the last thing you remember before the particle accelerator explosion?”

“I don’t remember anything besides getting on the train.”

“Think hard, Violet.”

She bit her lip and ran through all her memories, “I was on the train. I was coming here from Starling City to take a few days off…” she sat there trying to put the pieces together. “There was a woman sitting across from me. She was chatty. Talked the entire train ride. She was talking to me about her life. Her family. She said something about her relationship with her husband that really touched me.” Love is opening yourself up to somebody else even when the world keeps giving you reasons to shut the doors close. “And that’s when we saw the explosion from outside the window. That’s the last thing I remember.”

Dr. Wells looked at Caitlin and Cisco, and as if his grin couldn’t have gone wider, the sides of his mouth reached ear to ear. “I think we have our answer, Violet. The days proceeding the explosion, very strange things started happening around Central City. Unexplainable acts. Upon further research, we all have come to this conclusion; many of those who were exposed to the chemicals released in the explosion have been, in a sense, mutated. People have gained powers. I’m thinking that you are one of these people, Violet. When people come into contact with you, or touch you, you see their life. You know who they are. Which is why when Caitlin and Cisco grabbed you, you saw their lives. When the people at the train station touched you, you saw the same thing. Kind of like mind reading. But instead of knowing their thoughts, you know their lives.”

“Okay, this is ridiculous. Now you guys have really lost me. Maybe the particle accelerator thing affected you guys into weirdo freaky scientists that live in some scifi dream world.”



“Hey! We’re not weirdo freaky scientists. You take that back.” Cisco interjected putting his cup down.

“I’m out of here. For sure, this time.” As she was walking out, the same gust of wind blew pass her. This time was different. She was indoors. Violet turned around, and completely out of nowhere, another man was in the room. Where did he come from?

“I know Nimbus’ next target.” He spoke.

“Violet, allow us to introduce you to Mr. Barry Allen. The fastest man alive.”

The young man extended his hand out to greet her. She looked down at it and refused to touch him.