New Ability

Eddie slowly flickered his eyes open as he lifted his head to find himself in a pitch-black room.

He didn't know the size of the room, only that it was empty and he was currently tied to a chair, his hands behind his back.

"After much inquiry, I've come to a fair conclusion."

Eddie, his eyes already adapted to the dark because he had his eyes closed, turned his head, only to find a familiar figure circling him.

"You…"

"There are two ways my "Understanding" of someone will increase. Though both ways require me to speak and grasp one's personality and thought process, they differ with how you approach them."

Eddie's breathing sped up as the figure stood before him.

"The first is to take a genuine interest in who they are and simply engage in conversation. Over time, as you befriend them, your relationship will flourish and so will your understanding."

"But I'm not a therapist. I don't care enough to go through this process every time I find an interesting ability."

"What are you talking about…"

"The second way is to repeat what I did with Ray Palmer."

The figure, his bright green eyes looking like headlights in the darkness, kneeled before Eddie. A single finger raised.

"It's to draw out negative emotions. Anger, guilt, regret and insecurities to name a few. These emotions tend to overpower the mind, causing the person to reveal things or speak what they don't mean."

-BLOP

A slime appeared atop Derek's hand as it formed into a sleek obsidian knife.

"And the best way to draw these emotions is pain."

-SHING

"ARGHH!!!"

Eddie, or rather Bates, let out a feral scream as Derek stabbed the knife into his thigh. 

"Tell me, I want to know. Why do you scream? Are you scared? Angry? Or do you fake it like you do your appearance?"

Derek stared straight into Bates' eyes with a bland expression.

"You're c-crazy."

"Wrong."

Derek's hand pressed onto the wound as Bates winced. With another BLOP, the black slime invaded the wound.

One could see the bulge travel up the leg, then into the torso shortly after.

'I can't cause much noticeable pain on his body. I'll have to do this more discreetly.'

"What…are you doing to me?" Bates asked, feeling something scrounging around inside him.

"It's a shame my Eclipse can't yet imitate the properties of bacteria or poison. I'd like to see the great Black Death or Leprosy in action. But this'll have to do."

"KHRM!!!"

Bates suddenly felt an immense pressure dawning on his organs, more specifically his heart and lungs.

It was as if an extra set of ribs formed around them, caging his lungs as they pushed on his heart.

Bates coughed vigorously, specs of blood escaping his lips.

"Y-You're a monster…" Bates muttered, seemingly at his limit. But this didn't stop Eclipse from continuing.

However, what he said did resonate in Derek's mind.

'A monster…'

His eyes looked Bates up and down as they lingered on the damage he'd caused.

He didn't remember himself being capable of something like torture.

Well, he didn't recall anything of himself.

But perhaps it was something from his past, his encounter with Savitar and Thawne or one of his stats like intelligence giving him a level mind, recalling him of the benefit to come.

He kept on staring, feeling…nothing much.

He wasn't disgusted at the blood or guilty of his inhumane actions.

'I'd probably feel different if the person was innocent and didn't ruin so many lives, but with him, I know he deserves it.'

Maybe that was why. He deserved it.

"Please, stop…I'll die!"

"You're begging? Why? What do you even have to live for as Hannibal Bates?" 

Bates lifted his head to look at Derek, surprised he knew his name but confused at what he meant.

"What are you talking about?"

"Turn back into your original form."

"What…"

"Do it before I blow out your kidney."

Bates' heart leapt as he fell silent, complying.

As the Eclipse's force lessened so Bates could focus, a second passed and in the next second, his body down to his very clothes changed.

His skin and body flipped like pages to a book, revealing a new underside that Derek recognized.

With a plain shirt and regular brown suit pants, the male was bald with abnormally pale skin. But most notably, he had all-white eyes and little to no features on his face, other than the nose and mouth.

"I…I don't remember…"

Derek knew this would be the result. After using his ability for so long, he had forgotten what Hannibal Bates looked like.

"You see. Knowing this, knowing there is no more of Hannibal Bates, should you really be begging for the life of someone who no longer exists?"

Bates stared blankly at the ground like he was traumatized as he had even forgotten about the intense pain shooting through his body.

"Who should I show mercy to? A blank slate or the faces of those you ruined? It's a little ironic, huh?"

However, a sharp exhale escaped Bates' lips as it soon became helpless sobbing.

"Please…"

Derek stared with an unamused expression.

'Disappointing. My vast intelligence also came with a hunger to learn things and know more, but what was I expecting from a low-class crook.'

"I understand…"

Where he was expecting something profound like with Ray, he was left disappointed, but not fruitless.

"You're just a coward."

[Your understanding of Hannibal Bates has increased.]

There wasn't much else to it.

"Let's do this a few more times. I'm sure it'll be enough. Don't worry, your death doesn't come now."

***

-CRACKLE

-WHOOSH

Barry suddenly sped into the cortex of STAR Labs, causing a dozen papers to flip into the air uncontrollably while Cisco frantically tried to grab them.

"I couldn't find him anywhere. Not at the house or anywhere in STAR Labs." Barry, catching his breath, spoke.

"Both Derek and Bates have suddenly disappeared." Joe pointed out what was on the other's mind.

"He was injured and it's possible to get the jump on him. You don't think…" Caitlin was cut off before she could continue.

"We shouldn't come to any abrupt conclusions just yet. Mr Bond was able to hold his own against Dr Palmer. He'll be alright." Wells reassured the others.

And just as he said this…

"Thanks for the faith."

Everyone turned their heads to the entrance, only to see Derek smiling brightly with a boyish-like charm.

"Derek, where have you been…what is that?" Cisco asked, his eyes glued on the closet-sized sphere above his head.

"I went to the house but couldn't find Iris. That's when this guy arrived at the door."

-BLOP

-THUD

The sphere disappeared, merging back with Derek's clothes as a figure dropped down, hitting the ground in the middle of the cortex with a heavy THUD, startling Cisco and Caitlin.

"What the hell is that?!" Cisco exclaimed, seeing the man with all-white eyes and pale skin.

"That is Hannibal Bates. He arrived posing as Eddie and tried to take me hostage. But I was able to capture him."

They darted their eyes between Derek and Bates, at a loss for words.

"Why does he look like that?" Barry asked, kneeling before him.

"He's used his ability so much he no longer remembers what he looks like."

"And how were you able to know he was a fake Eddie?" Joe asked.

"Well, as I answered the front door, his first instinct was to greet me with a smile, rather than asking who I was and why I was alone in his partner's house."

"That gave me enough suspicion to keep my guard up until I noticed his attempt to hit me over the head."

Joe nodded his head, his eyes glued on Bates.

He, being a regular Detective who looked for facts rather than focusing on the impossible, was taking the longest time to get used to everything.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Caitlin asked, to which Derek shook his head.

"I'm unharmed. Can't say the same for him."

Caitlin neared Bates' leg but was surprised to see it bandaged neatly with the eclipse.

"Did you do this?"

"Yes. The wound is also stitched so you won't need to worry about that."

"This…is impressive. Do you have experience in the medical field?"

"No, I just dabble in what I find interesting."

Caitlin intricately analysed the bandages, seeing no leakage of blood or anything she would do differently.

"I think you might have a talent in it, Derek."

Derek simply smiled, looking around.

"I think I'll take a break. These injuries are taking longer than I'd like to heal."

The others immediately nodded in understanding.

"Go ahead, Derek. You deserve it."

'Yes…'

[The Attribute "Transformation" has been acquired.]

'Yes, I do.'

***

"For once while having this Intelligence…I don't understand."

Derek, in the dark storage room of STAR Labs, this time with dozens of stolen medical equipment surrounding him as well as Gideon, slumped on the uneven metal chair as he sighed.

The equipment he had was nothing spectacular. Simply some miscellaneous necessities Eclipse had gathered around the city.

"Just how the hell did they create this crap?"

He was currently watching through the 20th century, the topic being focused on the advancements each country attempted during World War II.

'The United States had the Manhattan Project, the Nazis had Das Uranverein and the Japanese had Mirakuru.'

He currently understood it was stem cell and genetic therapies decades ahead of their time.

'From what I understand, the serum operates at the genetic level by upregulating specific genes responsible for strength, endurance, and resilience.'

But he could deal with that part. Instead, it was the Stem Cell part of the serum.

'Mirakuru's healing ability is one of the reasons it's so terrifying. Slade was able to survive being stabbed in his eye and was able to swim through the Pacific Ocean, coming close to death multiple times but healing it all, until he was back to civilization.'

Derek was sure the way the Mirakuru did this was because of an abundance of Stem Cells released into the body, recovering the damaged part of the body rapidly. 

But from what he'd learnt, though it was only a theory, this was also the reason for the insanity.

'Rapid stem cell production can lead to an…an imbalance.' Derek thought, looking for the right words.

'If stem cells are not properly guided to differentiate into the necessary cell types, like neurons, glial cells and whatnot, it can result in an excess of immature or malfunctioning cells. And since the physical aspects of the human have already been upgraded, the neglected part will suffer. The psyche.'

'This imbalance can disrupt neural circuits and cognitive functions. So that's what I need to find. A guide. Something like a map that can control this excess of Stem Cells rather than letting it run rampant like with normal Mirakuru.'

This was easier said than done, causing Derek to rub his forehead.

Despite this, he smiled. 

Though all he had was a theory and speculation, this was probably further than anyone has been able to come in research for Mirakuru.

It helped that he was consuming knowledge that would take others months to go over and years to understand in only a few days with his brain and perception.

'I'll probably need a few more to figure this out and…'

"Derek Bond."

-THUMP

A cold and metallic voice spoke, breaking the eerie silence of the area.

Derek froze as his heart thumped so loud it echoed in the dark storage room, seemingly stopping in the next second.

Cold sweat broke out from his back as he instinctively activated his super speed perception.

'Impossible…'

He thought, his eyes wide, a familiar feeling returning to his forearms as a strong feeling he hadn't felt in a while filled his heart.

Fear.

'Savitar…'