CHAPTER 3: The Doctor's Orders and the Birth of a Bromance
The "thorough medical examination" was less thorough and more "Caitlin Snow staring at me like I'm a particularly fascinating new species of bacteria." She poked, she prodded, she shone lights in his eyes, all while maintaining that intense, professional demeanor that was both admirable and slightly intimidating.
"Your vitals are completely normal, Adam," Caitlin stated, her voice a mix of confusion and disbelief. She pulled a stethoscope from her ears. "No signs of internal bleeding, no cellular damage, no residual energy signatures. It's... baffling. You should be in critical condition, at the very least."
Adam lay on the uncomfortable examination table, feigning boredom. "Baffling, you say? Ah, the sweet sound of scientific bewilderment. Music to my ears. See, Dr. Snow, this is why I'm so valuable. I defy logic. I defy physics. I probably defy the laws of common sense, too. It's my superpower. That, and a crippling addiction to sarcasm."
Caitlin sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This isn't a joke, Adam. What happened to you was serious."
"Oh, I know it was serious," he replied, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the table. "I felt it. Trust me, getting hit by a localized mini-tornado isn't exactly on my 'top 10 fun things to do on a Tuesday' list. But hey, I bounced back. Like a really well-engineered rubber chicken. And now," he leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "I have a theory."
Caitlin raised an eyebrow. "A theory about what?"
"About Barry," he said, nodding towards the comatose speedster in the next room. "And about me. And about a whole lot of other people who are about to get really, really weird. I'm talking powers, Dr. Snow. Superpowers. Metahumans. The whole shebang."
Caitlin scoffed, a flicker of disbelief in her eyes. "Metahumans? Adam, that's science fiction. The Particle Accelerator explosion was an accident, a catastrophic energy release. It wouldn't create... super-powered individuals."
"Wouldn't it, though?" Adam countered, giving her his most innocent, wide-eyed look. "Think about it. Dark matter, interdimensional energies, cosmic rays... sounds like a recipe for a comic book origin story to me. And Barry? He's a special case. He was struck by lightning, right? And that lightning was bathed in the very same dark matter. Trust me on this. I've got a really, really good feeling about it. And my 'feelings' tend to be annoyingly accurate." He tapped his temple again. "The 'future insights' are strong with this one, young Padawan."
Caitlin stared at him, clearly struggling to reconcile his outlandish claims with her scientific training. "You're serious?"
"As a heart attack, Dr. Snow. And speaking of heart attacks, I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of them once the local bad guys start getting their own unique abilities. So, here's my proposal: I'll be your resident 'I told you so' guy, your early warning system, your slightly unhinged oracle. In exchange, you guys keep me fed, give me a comfy couch to crash on – preferably one that doesn't smell like burnt toast – and let me help you figure out this whole 'metahuman' thing. We're going to need all hands on deck, and frankly, my hands are pretty good at... well, at least pointing in the right direction. Sometimes."
Before Caitlin could respond, Cisco burst into the infirmary, a frantic energy radiating from him. "Guys! You're not gonna believe this! I was running some diagnostics on the primary power conduits, and I picked up a weird energy signature! It's fluctuating, but it's massive! And it's coming from... from outside the city!"
Adam and Caitlin exchanged a look. Adam gave her a triumphant, "See? Told ya!" grin.
"What kind of energy signature, Cisco?" Caitlin asked, her scientific curiosity overriding her skepticism.
"I don't know!" Cisco exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "It's like nothing I've ever seen! But it's intense. And it just... materialized!"
Adam clapped his hands together. "Alright, team! Looks like our first super-villain just punched his time card. My money's on a guy who can control the weather. Maybe a disgruntled meteorologist? Or someone who just really hates sunny days. What do you say, Dr. Snow? Ready to embrace the weird?"
Caitlin still looked apprehensive, but there was a spark in her eyes now, a nascent excitement. "It's... highly improbable."
"Improbable, schmimprobable," Adam waved his hand. "This is the Arrowverse, sweetie. Improbable is just Tuesday. Now, let's go poke this new anomaly with a stick. Or, you know, send Barry after him once he wakes up. Assuming he doesn't wake up with a craving for human brains, which, let's be honest, is a distinct possibility after being zapped by dark matter lightning."
Cisco, clearly intrigued despite the chaos, chuckled. "You really think he's going to get superpowers?"
"Oh, absolutely," Adam declared, hopping off the table. "He's the Flash, dude! It's literally in his name! Well, not yet, but soon. Very soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find some coffee. Saving the world is thirsty work."
As they made their way back to the Cortex, a subtle shift occurred. Caitlin, while still skeptical, was no longer outright dismissive. And Cisco, bless his geeky heart, was practically vibrating with excitement. Adam had planted the seeds. And now, he just had to water them with more sarcastic predictions and inconveniently accurate hunches.
" First impressions are everything. And my first impression? 'Crazy guy who miraculously survived an explosion and predicts superpowers.' Nailed it. "