Ethan stood still, his mind racing with everything Caitlin had just said. The Speed Force. He wasn't sure what it meant yet, but it was as if the very air around him had thickened with the possibility of what he could do now. He could feel it—the hum of energy coursing through his body, just waiting to be unleashed.
Caitlin's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Ethan?" she said, her tone soft but with an edge of concern. "Are you alright?"
He nodded, though his heart was beating a little too fast. "Yeah, just... I don't know. Everything feels... too much, Caitlin. Too overwhelming." His words were shaky, his chest tightening as the raw energy inside him thrummed louder. It wasn't just his senses anymore; it was his entire body, alive and vibrating with potential.
Caitlin seemed to notice his discomfort, stepping toward him with a small frown. "Okay, maybe we should sit down for a minute, take a breather—"
But before she could finish, something inside Ethan snapped.
It wasn't a decision. It wasn't conscious. One moment he was standing in front of her, and the next, he was across the room.
The world blurred into streaks of color as his legs moved faster than he could process. The air around him whipped, the sound of wind rushing past his ears drowning out everything else. The cold metal of lab equipment flashed by, the tables and chairs a distant blur as his body instinctively dodged the obstacles in his path.
What the hell? His thoughts barely kept up with his movements, and he felt the adrenaline surge through him like a shot of pure electricity. He could see it all, every movement, every detail in slow motion—the way the edges of a metal shelf curved toward him, the quick flicker of a monitor's light.
And then, just as suddenly as it had started, he stopped.
Ethan's feet hit the ground, the sound of his shoes skidding against the tile echoing in the room. The momentum came to a halt so quickly that it almost made his head spin. He stood there, still as a statue, his chest heaving with the sudden exertion.
What did I just do?
He looked around, his wide eyes taking in the scene in front of him. In the few seconds he had moved, he had crossed the entire lab. He was now standing on the opposite side of the room from where he had started, his back pressed against a table that had been moved by the force of his speed. The lab equipment was scattered around, a few items knocked over, but nothing seemed broken.
And yet, the most startling thing was the sheer, uncontrollable energy that still swirled inside him. It was like he had touched something otherworldly, a power that felt too big for him to contain.
"Ethan?" Caitlin's voice was small, almost hesitant. She hadn't moved from her spot in the center of the room, still staring at him with wide eyes. "What... just happened?"
Ethan didn't answer right away. His mind was still trying to catch up with his body, his breath coming in uneven bursts as his senses overloaded. It was as though every fiber of his being had been pushed to the edge. He wasn't even sure how he had moved so fast. One second he was standing still, the next he was across the room.
"I... I don't know," he muttered, still stunned. His eyes flicked to the lab equipment around him. He could see it in excruciating detail now—the slight ripple in the metal of a chair that had been knocked aside, the flickering lights of a computer monitor that had been jostled out of place. He could almost feel the heat coming from the devices, the hum of energy in the room.
But what truly stood out was the absence of something. The space. The air felt different now, as if the world around him had shifted into focus.
"That was... incredible," Caitlin said, her voice filled with awe. She took a cautious step toward him, her gaze sweeping the room. "You... you moved so fast, Ethan. That was... impossible."
"I didn't even mean to do it," he admitted, his voice low as he tried to steady his breath. He could feel the pulse of energy still inside him, like a battery that was too full. "It was like... like my body just reacted. Like it knew what to do, and I didn't."
Caitlin raised an eyebrow, moving closer now. "What do you mean 'reacted'? You don't even know how you did that?"
"I... No. It was instinctive. Like I was being pulled across the room by something. I didn't even think about it until I was already on the other side." His hand trembled slightly as he ran it through his hair, his mind still reeling from the experience. "But the weird thing is... I don't feel hurt. I should've hit something, I should've been thrown off balance... but nothing."
"Your body's adapting," Caitlin said quietly, a note of realization in her voice. "The Speed Force is... it's interacting with you. It's changing you, and it's doing it faster than you realize."
Ethan shook his head, still struggling to understand. "But I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it. I don't know how to control it."
"Control is the key," Caitlin replied, her voice steady. "You've just tapped into it. The Speed Force is unpredictable, but with time, you'll learn how to use it. It's all about focus, Ethan. You need to focus your mind."
Ethan's mind was still buzzing, the residual energy from his burst of speed leaving him feeling both exhilarated and unnerved. "Focus. Right."
He glanced back at the spot where he had just been standing—where he had moved from. His mind kept replaying the scene over and over again, unable to fully process how something so strange and so incredible could happen in just a split second.
"I—I didn't even mean to," he repeated, staring down at his hands, still slightly trembling. "It was like my body was just... ahead of me."
"That's the Speed Force," Caitlin said with a soft smile, as if she were explaining something that had become second nature to her. "It's a force that grants speed, but it's not just about running faster. It's about thinking faster. Reacting faster. And right now, it's still adapting to you. But with time, you'll start to have more control."
Ethan nodded, but his mind was still a whirl of confusion. "So, you're saying I could do that again?"
Caitlin nodded. "With practice. And with understanding of how the Speed Force works with your body. But don't push it too hard too soon. You need to learn to listen to it first."
"I don't even know where to start," Ethan admitted, the weight of the unknown pressing down on him.
"That's okay," Caitlin said gently. "You're not alone in this. Barry had to learn, too. And now... now you have to. But you'll get there."
Ethan glanced at her, her reassuring words calming him just a little. Caitlin's steady presence was a stark contrast to the chaos swirling inside him. She was right. He wasn't alone in this. But even as the surge of energy inside him began to ebb, he knew this was only the beginning.
Whatever this Speed Force was, it was already changing him. And he was starting to realize that he might never be the same again.