The meeting continued for another hour. Details about corporate governance, compliance requirements, and financial reporting obligations. All necessary but tedious.
When the attorneys finally left, Barry sat alone in the conference room. Stared out at Central City through the windows.
$1.27 billion. Money he'd generated through a combination of meta-knowledge, superhuman intellect, and carefully executed planning.
In his previous life, he'd been ordinary. Average income. Standard ambitions. Nothing exceptional.
Now he was one of the wealthiest people in Central City. On track to be a multi-billionaire within two years.
The transformation was surreal. But necessary. Money was power. Power was protection. Protection was survival.
His phone buzzed. Text from Iris.
"Dinner tonight? I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks."
Barry checked his calendar. He had a STAR Labs meeting until 6 PM. But after that, nothing critical.
"7:30? That Italian place you like?"
"Perfect. Dress nice. I want to celebrate my boyfriend the billionaire."
Barry smiled despite the label. Iris kept calling him her boyfriend even though they'd never actually defined the relationship that way. He didn't correct her. Let her believe whatever made her comfortable.
Another text arrived. This one from Caitlin Snow.
"Dr. Wells wants to review the accelerator timeline with you. Can you come in early tomorrow? 8 AM?"
"I'll be there."
Barry stood and returned to his private office. Gideon's interface was active on his main computer screen.
"Gideon, status update on Chamber construction."
"Physical components 67% complete. Electromagnetic coil arrays finished and tested. Neural interface systems operational. Biometric monitoring installed. Remaining work: final assembly, integration testing, and calibration protocols."
"Timeline to completion?"
"Estimated six weeks at current pace. However, accelerating construction risks quality issues. Recommend maintaining current schedule."
Six weeks. That would put completion at late December. Two and a half months before the particle accelerator launch.
Perfect timing. Enough buffer for extensive testing without rushing critical work.
"Approved. Maintain schedule. What about the seven-ability integration protocols?"
"Simulation results continue improving. Current success probability: 99.91%. Three failure scenarios identified out of 100,000 simulations. All three involve catastrophic power surge events exceeding design specifications."
"Can we mitigate those scenarios?"
"Additional surge protection and redundant power regulation systems would reduce failure probability to 99.97%. Estimated cost: $340,000. Implementation time: two weeks."
"Do it. I want every possible safeguard."
"Acknowledged. Purchase orders will be placed today."
Barry reviewed the Chamber specifications on screen. The device was enormous. Three times larger than DeVoe's prototype. Filled with technology that didn't exist anywhere else in the world.
When the particle accelerator exploded, Barry would be inside this Chamber. The dark matter and dimensional energy would flood through him, but guided, controlled and optimized.
Seven abilities integrating simultaneously. Speed Force connection amplified 40x beyond normal. Intelligence enhanced permanently. Combat capabilities augmented. Healing factor activated. Cloning powers manifested.
He would emerge from that explosion as something unprecedented. Something powerful enough to handle threats from any dimension.
His laptop chimed with a priority notification. Gideon's alert tone.
Barry opened it immediately. "What is it?"
Gideon's voice carried unusual inflection. Almost concern. "Anomalous surveillance detected. Advanced tracking systems monitoring your movements. Origin: unknown. Technology level: sophisticated. Beyond standard government capabilities."
Barry's enhanced mind went into high alert. "Details."
"Three separate surveillance systems identified over the past week. First: digital monitoring of your communications. Encrypted intercepts on your phone and email. Second: physical surveillance. Operatives tracking your location using advanced methods. Third: financial monitoring. Someone accessing restricted banking records."
"ARGUS?"
"Negative. Waller's surveillance is active but separate. These systems are more sophisticated. Different signature. Unknown actor."
Barry felt cold calculation settle over him. Someone else was watching. Someone with resources and capabilities beyond standard government operations.
"Can you identify the source?"
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