This is the part where I'm supposed to do the whole intro thingy. Barry Allen, one of the fastest men alive... But you know all that already. All right, let's get to the good stuff. There's a fire on Western and 3rd in downtown Central City. I'm on my way to it seen as little more than a blur to the people I pass. I'm going 352 miles an hour. And it's a slow day.
"Barry? Barry!" Cisco shouted into the earpiece.
"What? Did I miss it?"
"You overshot by about six blocks."
"My bad," Barry said before turning around and heading in the other direction.
"You there yet," Cisco asked as he relax in his chair in the safety of STAR labs as he monitored Barry.
"What are you doing," Caitlin asked as she walked into the cortex?
"Nothing," Cisco denied as he turned off the computer screen just as Eddie walked in.
"Hey have either of you seen Barry? I can't find him."
"Nope haven't seen him," Cisco quickly denied looking anywhere but at Eddie.
"Were you talking to Barry when I came in," Caitlin asked?
"Who?" Cisco asked feigning confusion.
"Barry Allen? Struck by lightning? Was in a coma for nine months? Woke up being able to run faster than the speed of sound? Ring a bell?" Caitlin asked knowing Cisco was hiding something.
"Oh him. No I haven't seen or talked to him," Cisco said but before he could say more Barry's voice called out over the speaker.
"Cisco, there's fire everywhere! Cisco, are you still there?" As Barry waited for a reply he saw a little girl step into the hallway calling for her mom. He quickly ran forward and grabbed her and took her outside with the rest of the tenants of the building before going back in and searching for more people. He pulled a few move people out before the building was clear and he stop running a couple of blocks away. "Everybody's out. What else you got for me, Cisco?"
"Barry, its Caitlin. "
"Hey, Caitlin." Barry said cringing it wasn't good that they had been caught doing this. "How's your day?
"Get back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Now," she demanded.
"On my way. Oh," Barry breathed out as the world began to tilt. He shook it off and ran back to S.T.A.R. labs.
"Have you both lost your minds? Who do you think you are?"
"Well, I'm the eyes and ears, and he's the feet," Cisco explained.
"This isn't funny. You could have gotten yourself killed. You can't be running around the city like some supersonic fireman."
"Why not? This is what we talked about, Eddie and I using our speed to do good."
"Hey don't try to drag me into this. I didn't even get invited to this which means you knew you shouldn't have been doing it without talking to us first."
"Besides," Caitlin cut in, "we talked about you helping us contain other people who might have been affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Meta-humans. And aside from Clyde Mardon, we haven't found any."
"People in this city still need help," Barry said. "And I can help them."
"We can help them," Cisco added.
"Will you please say something?" Catlin said looking to where Dr. Wells was sitting in the doorway.
"I think what Caitlin is saying, in her own spectacularly angry way, is that we are just beginning to understand what your body is capable of," Dr. Wells said as he rolled into the room. "Not to sound like a broken record, Mr. Allen... I do caution restraint."
"Dr. Wells... I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today."
"In a wheelchair and a pariah. Lack of restraint is what made me these things. Know your limits."
"Don't expect me to patch you up every time you break something Caitlin said before following Dr. Wells as he moved away from Barry.
"Wow," Barry said as he felt a shiver go up his spine "she really knows how to give you the cold shoulder."
"Hey, uh... Anything happen out there today? The sensors in the suit were kicking back some weird telemetry, like your vitals spiked for a few seconds," Cisco asked sounding a little worried.
Barry shook his head no and said, "Never felt better." The conversation was put on hold by the sound of Barry's phone ringing. Cisco pulled the phone from his pocket and handed it over. "Joe, what can I do for you?"
"Well Barry, I got a fresh crime scene... A dead body... Detectives interviewing witnesses... miles of that yellow tape stretched over everything. I'm only missing one thing. Can you guess what that is? And have you seen Thawne? He said he was going to try and make sure you weren't late again."
"Yeah I'm with him now. We will be right there. Our day jobs beckon," Barry said as he hung up the phone.
"That's why I came looking for you," Eddie said before he and Barry ran from the room.
"When do you think they'll realize he didn't take his clothes?" Dr. Wells asked when he realized Barry left in his suit.
As soon as they arrived at the crime scene Barry went to walk over to the crime scene when Eddie grabbed him by the shoulder. Barry turned to him with a questioning look when Eddie gestured to his clothes causing Barry to look down and realize he was still in his suit. Barry looked around and spotted a small clothing store before running into it leaving Eddie to head over to the crime scene while Barry found clothes.
"Perp made off with a bunch of handguns, at least six Glock 19s fitted with extra ammunition magazines. Somebody's looking to do a whole lot of bad," Joe explained to the Captain.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Barry said as he walked over to them.
"Doing a little fall shopping, Mr. Allen?" Captain Singh asked drawing Barry's attention to the price tag still on his coat.
"Oh. I was going so fast this morning, I didn't even notice," Barry said as he pulled out a pair of gloves and began looking at the crime scene.
"I downloaded the surveillance footage off the video camera," Eddie said walking over showing the Captain the footage. "Looks like only one perp."
"Footage may only show one, but it was six guys," Barry said looking at the footprints. "Look, you see how they're all crossing each other. Six sets of footprints. Six guns stolen. We should be looking for a crew. Huh... Weird. The shoes, it looks like they're all the same size. Men's tens, I'd guess. Just like you, Captain," Barry said off handedly before realizing what he said. "Not that you're a suspect, sir." The captain just looked at him before walking away. Eddie did the same but Barry saw the smile that he was holding back.
"Your ability to multi-task is truly remarkable," Joe said once they had arrived back at the precinct. "The way you can embarrass me, the captain, and yourself all at the same time."
"Joe, I'm sorry."
"I'm starting to think "Joe, I'm sorry" is my actual name considering how often you say it to me."
"Well at least one of us knows how to say it," Barry said tired of dealing with Joe. "I'm dealing with a lot right now. I don't really have time to worry about if you're embarrassed by me."
"Oh you think you're dealing with a lot well you're not the only one. Just get up to the lab and start processing the evidence from the gun store." Barry walked away at the dismissal and Joe was left wondering why it was so hard to say he was sorry to the boy.
In the lab Barry was sitting down to run his centrifuge. He closed the lid and waited for it to start up but it didn't. He looked it over before he opened the lid and took the vial back out. He got an idea and began to swirl it himself causing the substances inside to separate. He got up to move to the next part of his work when he felt the dizziness from earlier return. It only lasted a second and then everything was back to normal.
"This is all your fault," Iris said as she walked into the lab. "I could have taken European folklore to cover my sociology requirement, but no. You said, "Take journalism, Iris. Reporters have all of the fun." Guess what, Barry? Reporters have none of the fun. Journalism is boring. I'm bored. I blame you." They were silent for a moment while Barry tried to think of something to say. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"You look really nice," is all Barry could manage.
"Thanks. Why don't you look nice? This afternoon? Suit and tie? The university is giving Simon Stagg some big award. And you agreed…"
"To explain the science stuff for your article. It's all coming back to me now," Barry said feeling bad for having forgotten.
"How fast can you get home and change?"
"Uh, pretty fast."
"Hey, Allen," Eddie said as he walked into the lab. "Joe asked me to see where you're at on the evidence from the gun store shooting. Hey, Iris."
"Eddie," Iris said back in greeting. Everyone just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds not sure what to do or say. "Please, guys, just kiss or something. Do whatever, just stop this she said gesturing between them. I already know, remember?"
"Right," Eddie said smiling as he walked over and gave Barry a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks for being so cool about this, Iris. I know it's not easy keeping a big secret."
"It's no trouble besides I just want Barry to be happy."
"I find it quite remarkable, having once been a timid freshman at Central City University, to be standing before you now, the regent's choice for man of the year. While I very much appreciate the award, the real honor for me is knowing that my work in organ transference helps give people a second chance at life. Thank you all very much for coming."
"Okay. All right, first things first..." Barry said once Simon was done giving his speech. "Simon Stagg's work in cellular cloning has led to huge advancements in the future of organ replacement..."
"Are journalists allowed to drink on the job?" Iris asked as she grabbed to glasses of champagne from a passing waitress.
"Okay. If you are bored already, just wait till we get to the science behind cellular regeneration."
"I have missed this, Barry. I feel like we haven't spent any quality time together since you woke up from the coma."
"Yeah, I've had a crazy few weeks, I know."
"I thought maybe you'd been avoiding me because of Eddie. I know you think I wouldn't approve, and I just—"
"No. That is not it. At all."
"Oh! Oh! Mr. Stagg, I was wondering if I could get a quote from you for my article."
"Not now, miss."
"I'll just make something up. So... What were you gonna tell me? You looked like you were about to say something." Before Barry can even from the words the sound of gunshots fills the air and people start to scream.
"Quiet down! All of you! Quiet! How considerate! You're all wearing your finest jewelry! Almost like you knew we were coming to rob you! Now everybody line up!" The thieves stood holding their bags open as everyone deposited their jewelry.
"Freeze a security guard said as he aimed his gun at them. D-d-drop your weapons!" The men all raised their guns and shot at the security guard. Barry raced over and grabbed the man talking him into the stairwell. Barry then followed after the thieves making it outside in time to see them driving away. He wanted to go after them but then the world went sideways and everything went black. He woke up later to someone calling his name.
"Barry. Barry. Barry! I turned around and you were gone. What happened? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I... I went after them to try and get the plates. And I... I fainted. Barry said feeling very concerned about what had happened to him. Once they made it back inside they walked over to where Joe and Eddie were standing.
"Hi," Iris said when she saw her dad.
"Where were you," Joe asked?
"Dad, go easy. I found him outside. He fainted."
"You want me to get you a paramedic, Allen?" Eddie asked seemingly far more relaxed than he really was.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks, Eddie."
"I thought I was dead," They overheard the guard say. "I saw the gun go off, and then- boom. Suddenly I'm outside. I have no idea how I got there."
"Can I talk to you for a second," Eddie asked looking at Barry?
"Yeah."
"You chased those gunmen, didn't you?"
"Yeah, they must be the same guys that knocked over the gun shop earlier today."
"And what were you going to do when you caught them? Huh? Ask them nicely to pull over? We're not bulletproof."
"I know, but—"
"No more heroics. Chasing bad guys is not your job. It's mine. You're not a cop. Promise me you won't go after them again I don't want you to get hurt."
"I promise," Barry said.
"Now tell me about you fainting. What happened? You know Caitlin is going to kill you right?
"You lied to us. How could you not tell us you're experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors. Have you been keeping things from us too?" Caitlin asked Eddie.
"No I haven't experienced anything like that but I also haven't been using my abilities as much as Barry."
"God knows what's going on inside your body. Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack."
"Mini stroke," Dr. Wells said seeing the confusion on Barry's face. "Probably not."
"You of all people should know that in science, we share. We do not keep secrets," Caitlin stormed out the room walking past Eddie and he felt a shiver rundown his spine.
"Wow, I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie," Cisco said.
"Ronnie was Caitlin's fiancé," Eddie asked? "The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?"
"Yeah. He is... missed," Dr. Wells said. "Now, lets figure out why this is happening to you."
"We're all set. A little padding," Cisco said when he saw Barry starring at all of the boxes he had piled behind the treadmill. "Just in case."
"You're sure about this, Cisco?"
"Most home treadmills have a maximum speed of about 12 miles per hour. This one has been Cisco'ed. Trust me. It can handle your speed."
"Alright, Barry will go first and then if we need to we can check Eddie if we need to compare anything." Barry got on the treadmill and began to run. "Heart rate, blood pressure, nerve conduction all normal."
"For you guys anyway."
"Brainwave function within standard limits."
"I told you the treadmill could take it."
"Caitlin. Look at the glucose levels."
"Oh, my God. Of course. It was so obvious."
"Glucose levels. Barry! We think we know why you keep—" Barry was unconscious before he could finish the sentence — "passing out."
"I passed out again?" Barry asked when he regained consciousness and found that he was on one of the beds in the cortex.
"Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia," Caitlin explained.
"I'm not eating enough. So an I.V. bag and I'm good to go?"
"Try 40," Eddie said gesturing to the empty I.V. bags. "Guess you were thirsty."
"We're gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes."
"I've done a few calculations. You need to consume an amount equal to roughly 850 tacos," Cisco said excitedly. "Unless we're talking cheese and guac, which is like a whole other set of equations."
"Barry can I talk to you for a minute," Eddie says excusing himself and Barry from the room. "Listen I don't think that you should keep running after bad guys. You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry. One that you are amazing at."
"But what about all of the Meta-humans out there? You saw the reports same as I did, they are causing so much trouble."
"I know and I'm not saying we stop trying to find and stop them. We saw a guy that could control the weather there is no way the police could have handled something like that. But the normal criminals we should leave that to our day jobs. Finding other Meta-humans and making sure that there are no other side effects to using our powers is probably what we should focus on. I'm not trying to tell you that we should never help people I'm just saying maybe don't have that be your priority just yet."
Barry wanted to argue and say that Eddie was wrong but after taking in everything that he was saying he knew that he was right. He just found out that his speed effects how much he should be eating. And they have no clue what else it could be messing with inside his body. "Your right," Barry said. "I was just caught up in being able to help people that I wasn't putting any thought into what was happening to me I was just going to ignore the side effects but I can't help people if I pass out. I'm sorry I didn't say anything about the dizziness I didn't even think about the fact that it could have been affecting you too. I just… I couldn't help my dad but now I can help so many people."
"I know and we will but we have to take care of ourselves too," Eddie said pulling Barry into a hug. "Now let's go apologize to Caitlin before we go. I know it doesn't seem like it but she's probably just really worried about what could happen. She's already lost someone she cares about I'm sure she doesn't want to lose anyone else.
Barry looked up when he heard someone enter his lab only to see Joe walk over to him. "Come to argue with me again?"
"Simon Stagg's head of security was murdered last night. The coroner took some skin samples. Hopefully they belong to the killer. See if you can find a match."
"Can't be a coincidence that Stagg's benefit was attacked last night."
"I'm going to interview Stagg now."
"I'll come with you."
"Your job is in here. Stay in here and do it," Joe said sternly before turning and leaving.
"Hey, Dad," Iris greeted as she passed her dad in the doorway.
"Hey, baby. Gotta go."
"Is my dad still mad at you?"
"Unfortunately," Barry sighed as he began processing the evidence Joe left. When she didn't say anything he looked in her direction. "Why are you mad at me?"
"You were supposed to meet me at jitters to give me some scientific background for my article."
"And I didn't show up."
"And now I have to come up with a new article topic in 24 hours or I fail the assignment."
"Iris—" Barry began.
"Don't say that you're sorry. Okay, I know that you are. What I don't know is what is going on with you. We grew up one bedroom down from each other. Do you honestly think that I don't know when you're happy? Or sad or depressed or lost? I'm gonna ask you one last time, Barry Allen, and you better be honest with me. What the—"
"You want to know what's happening," Barry said now moving at super speed. "Eddie and I are fast now. God, I just want to tell you. But I can't because that could put you in danger. And there are others out there with powers and who knows what they are planning to do with them and I don't know what to do."
"—Hell is going on with you?" Seemingly before he could respond his computer beeped. "We are not done talking about this."
"That's impossible. There was a murder last night. These skin cells belong to the murderer, but these cells are naive. Stem cells that they can replicate and become any cell the body needs. They only come from babies."
"This means your killer is what, a newborn?"
"You honestly think that someone wants to kill me," Simon asked as he walked through the warehouse with the two detectives?
"Well, we're not sure, Mr. Stagg, but... An event you were being honored at was robbed at gunpoint. And your head of security was found murdered this morning," Joe said.
"I am a scientist and a philanthropist. We're not often the targets of assassins."
"Well...," Eddie said cutting in, "What about lawsuits? You got about 20 of those pending against you."
"It is a sad fact of life, Detective, that when you earn a lot of money, people who haven't think they can take yours."
"People like this guy, for example?" Eddie said pulling out a picture. "Danton Black?"
"Danton Black." Stagg repeated taking the picture into his hands.
"You fired him. Now he's suing you."
"Unfortunately, our working relationship wasn't successful, but I can assure you both of one thing. Danton Black... Is not a killer. He's a clinical researcher, not a criminal mastermind. Now, if I can help you in any way, please let me know. I want these people caught as much as you."
"Then here we are!" One of the three masked me shouted as they opened fire. The two detectives got Simon behind cover.
"Get him out of here. I'll cover you," Eddie said to Joe. "Ready? Go." Joe and Simon ran for the exit as Eddie fired shots toward the men attacking him. He managed to hit one and the man fell. Eddie watched between the barrels as one of the removed his mask revealing himself to be Danton Black. Then to his shock he watched as he made a clone of himself. Before the clones knew what happened Barry appeared next to Eddie holding all of their guns.
"Go!" He ordered Eddie
"No, I'm staying to help."
"No they can see your face they could tell someone."
"Barry I just saw him make a clone of himself so be careful."
"I got this don't worry," Barry said. Eddie hesitated but left to go find Joe.
"Whoever you are, give yourself up."
"Sorry. We are not going anywhere. Until Simon Stagg is dead." Barry quickly took out two of them and went for the third. The man in front of him then split into three people. Barry began fighting them but when he punch one two more copies appeared. Unseen by Barry the other two copies got up and grabbed him from behind. With so many of them ganging up on him he was no match as they punched and kicked him. Barry sat beaten against some containers while some of the clones grabbed their guns. Before they could shot him Barry ran from the building.
"Sorry," Caitlin said as she tried to clean one of Barry's wounds. "The abrasions are already rapidly healing."
"Yeah, I got my ass handed to me."
"You got blood on my suit," Cisco said.
"I think some of it belongs to him. Another not-so-friendly meta-human."
"Danton Black," Dr. Wells said as he pulled up a picture of the meta-human. "He's a bio-geneticist specialized in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones."
"Apparently Stagg stole his research and then fired him," Caitlin explained.
"I saw Black create duplicates from his own body."
"That's pretty ironic. The guy specialized in cloning and now he can make xeroxes of himself," Cisco said.
"If he was experimenting on himself when he was exposed to the dark matter wave released by the particle accelerator explosion—"
"Meet Captain Clone," Cisco said happily until he noticed the disapproving faces of his friends. "Don't worry. I'll come up with something cooler."
"Where are you going?" Caitlin asked when Barry started to leave.
"I'm in way over my head. Yeah, I'm fast, but I am no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one meta-human, let alone six."
"Barry. I understand. Today was a setback," Dr. Wells said. "But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times."
"This wasn't a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells. This was a mistake," Barry said before leaving.
Barry arrived at Jitters in time to see Eddie and Iris watching the news. "Detective, was the gunman apprehended?"
"The shooter's whereabouts are unknown at this time. We consider him armed and extremely dangerous. Thank you. No more questions," Eddie said to the reporter. He and Iris noticed Barry and turned the TV off.
"Nice work, Eddie."
"Nah. Right place, right time."
"No, you were a hero today."
"Well I'm going to see if they need any more help in the back," Iris said before she left them alone.
"Barry I'm so sorry that I left you alone in there. I should have stayed or come back in once I knew that Joe and Stagg were ok."
"No, it's fine, I'm the one that told you to go."
"At least your all healed up now," Eddie said looking Barry over.
"Yeah I'm okay."
"Good," Eddie said as he kissed Barry. "Well CCPD still has a killer on the loose. I should get back to the precinct." Barry nodded and said his goodbye as he watched Eddie walk out the door.
"So, did you come here for caffeine, or are you finally gonna tell me what's going on with you?" Iris asked as she came to stand by Barry.
"I came to say I'm sorry. And you're right. I have been distant."
"Correct."
"Kind of a jerk."
"You should apologize more often. You are really sensational at it. So... What were you going to tell me the other day?"
"I thought I had to do something. Something I thought was important, but it turns out that I'm not very good at it. But what I am good at is being your friend. So if you need help coming up with a new topic for your article—"
"I found one. Something that actually interests me. I know this is gonna sound crazy... It's been all over the Internet this week. At a building fire... At a bank heist... Even the other night when those robbers shot at the security guard, he said he was whooshed outside. Something out there is saving people."
"I thought you were taking journalism. Not science fiction writing," Barry said not sure what else to say. Iris was writing about him. How was he supposed to react to that?
"Ever since I have known you, you have believed in the impossible. What if you were right? What if you were right about the night that your mom died?" Iris asked but then Barry's phone rang.
Look, I told you I'm through.
I know, but you need to get to S.T.A.R. Labs right now," Caitlin said. Barry left and ran to STAR Labs as fast as he could. He arrived to see Danton Black standing in the middle of the cortex.
"Barry, its okay."
"It is not okay. Black is here, and he's just...standing there. That's not him, is it?"
"It's one of his replicates," Dr. Wells said.
"How did you get it?"
"I grew him," Caitlin explained. "I isolated a sample of Black's blood from your suit to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating... Into that."
"Why isn't he... It doing anything?"
"We did a brain scan," Dr. Wells explained. "Involuntary motor functions are active, little else. We think it's acting as a receiver. The clones are an empty shell without Black. Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down."
"But how do we know which one's the real Danton Black?"
"That occurred to me given your own passing out. Black has limits, just like you. Controlling all of those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical strength. So, look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue. He's the prime," Caitlin said.
"Just a theory... But one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen."
"Plus, I whipped up these high- calorie protein bars for you and Eddie to keep your metabolism up." As Cisco was handing over the bar to Barry the clone suddenly began to move causing Caitlin to scream at its sudden movement. Gunshots rang out and the clone fell to the ground. Eddie slowly lowered his gun looking around the room.
"Any more of them," Eddie asked?
"Nope."
"Why did it start moving?"
"The prime. My guess is, the prime is on the move. This one heard the summons to battle."
"And I know where he was summoned to," Eddie said. "Stagg Industries."
"You should call it in."
"Barry, the police can't fight this. What Black's become, like Mardon... Is way beyond them. The only people that could handle this is us. We gotta do this. I'll be right by your side like I should have been the last time. Now let's go stop him."
"Just get me those figures by morning, okay?" Simon said as he hung up his phone. Down the hall he could hear shouting and gunshots. When he rounded a corner he came face to face with his former employee. "Hello, Danton."
"Goodbye, Simon," Danton said raising his gun to shoot. Suddenly Simon was back in his office unharmed staring at a man in red and white suit.
"Stay here," Eddie told the man before running back down to Barry who was fighting Black.
"I know Stagg stole your research, but that doesn't give you the right to murder," Barry said as he and Danton were fighting.
"You think this is about my job. This is about Elizabeth. She was my wife. She had a degenerative coronary disease. She'd been on the transplant list for years, but... Time was running out. So if I couldn't get her a new heart..."
"You were gonna grow her one," Eddie said filling in the pieces.
"I was so close. Until Stagg stole my research. So he could reap the glory. And I got to bury my best friend. Now... I'm alone," Danton said watching as Barry took down the last clone. He then released an army of clones from his body one after another. They all ganged up on Barry and Eddie causing them to have to flee for a moment to catch their breath.
"Remember, find the prime," Caitlin said over the headsets.
"There's too many of them to fight," Barry said.
"Barry, Eddie, you need to isolate the prime," Dr. Wells urged.
"I can't. It's impossible."
"Nothing's impossible Barry," Eddie said from beside him. "I mean look at us, we are using our super speed to fight a guy that can clone himself. We can do this." Barry looked at Eddie and the smile that had spread across his face. "Ready," he asked?
"Yeah," Barry said feeling a surge of confidence. They both took off into the army of clones that had come after them looking for the real Danton Black. Barry finally found him standing by the escalator. He grabbed him and slammed him into a column a few floors away.
"Barry. Barry, are you all right," Eddie asked over the headset?
"I'm fine. I'm fine. It's done." Barry looked over the railing at all of the clones laying motionless on the floor Eddie standing in the middle of it. Barry had to dodge out of the way when Black stood up and charged at him before throwing himself out the window. Barry managed to grab his hand. "Hang on!" He shouted to the man but he watched in horror as a hand emerged from his arm. "No! Don't." But it was to late the hand pulled Black from Barry's grip and he fell to his death.
"I tried to save him," Barry said as they all watched the news.
"Doesn't sound like he wanted to be saved," Dr. Wells said. "Some people, when they break... They can't be put together again."
"Well, at least Multiplex won't be able to hurt anyone else. Told you I'd come up with a cool name."
"Yeah, we may be the ones in the suits doing all the running... But when we're out there helping people, making a difference... You're all out there with us," Barry said.
"I finally realized something," Eddie said before he and Barry left. "We were all struck by that lightning."
"Hungry?" Eddie asked as he enter the lab with a small stack of pizza boxes and set them on the table in front of Barry. "Pepperoni, olives... And jalapeño. Just like you like it."
"Thank you," Barry said as he opened a box.
"You were wrong."
"I have been wrong a lot this week. You're gonna have to be more specific."
"You said that one of things driving you to run around out there was that you couldn't help your dad. You couldn't help when you were a kid but maybe we can now. From what you've told me it sounds like whatever happened to your mother wasn't in anyway normal. It sounds like it could have been someone like us, someone with speed like ours. We're gonna figure out who or what killed your mother that night. And then we're gonna get your father out of prison. Together," Eddie said as they both began to eat. "And I was wrong too."
"About what," Barry asked?
"I told you we should leave the normal criminals to our day job and look how that turned out. The guy was a Meta-human. So maybe we should help the police out a little more. You never know when we might run into another Meta. Besides it will be good practice with our speed."
"Wells...," Simon said when he noticed the man enter his office. "Who the hell let you in here?"
"You been having a party out there?"
"I'm sure you saw on TV. A former employee of mine tried to kill me."
"Former employee with the ability to replicate... Faced off against two men who could move at super speed."
"You've seen them too, haven't you?"
"Indeed, I have."
"Extraordinary. The power they possess, it's like the- it's like the Gods of old. It's like Mercury on earth. Can you imagine if you could control their power? If you could-if you could harness it? You could change what it means to be human. The men in the red masks are the key, and I'm gonna get them."
"The men in the red mask. One is called the Flash. Or at least... He will be one day. The other," Dr. Wells said standing up from his wheel chair, "is an unexpected side affect. But it could mean great things for me."
"What the hell?" Dr. Wells' quickly stabbed the man in front of him with a knife.
"Forgive me, Simon. I worry that you will think this is personal, and it's not. It's just that the men in the red masks... The fastest men alive... they must be kept... safe."