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Barry is checking on a murder at a plant. "How's it going?" Joe asks as he approaches Barry.
"Good." Barry replies.
"So, the victim. His name is Al Rothstein." Joe informs Barry as he looks over the report. "He's a welder here at the nuclear plant. Coworker found him dead this morning. So, what did you get?" Joe wonders.
"There's petechiae on his face and the whites of his eyes, and this brushing around his neck shows he was strangled. By someone very strong and large." Barry explains what he found out.
"Or something? Like a gorilla?" Joe questions remembering Grodd is still out there somewhere.
"This wasn't Grodd." Barry reassures Joe.
"I'll let you know when I find more." Barry says as he starts packing everything up.
"So this Flash/Spider-Man Day thing. You planing on making an appearance? I heard Peter is making it." Joe asks him.
"I haven't decided." Barry tells him since he knows he wasn't the hero that day.
"Barr, I head the mayors trying to give the two of you the key to the city." Joe explains to him.
"I don't need an award." Barry replies to him.
"You love getting awards. Like all those science trophies you got in high school?" Joe reminds him of the restless nights he spent perfecting projects.
"Those I deserved. I'll let you know what I find." Barry says and walks off. What he didn't know was that there was a blonde man watching him as he been doing on Cisco, Caitlin, Joe even Peter, and they never noticed him.
-
"Flash/Spider-Man Day is almost here. And a speck downtown rally is in preparation to honor the heroes who saved Central City. It's been six months since Flash and Spider-Man saved the city from the freak black hole that erupted in the sky and a month since Spider-Man stoped Curtis Conners, the Lizard." The news goes on about everything that has happened at the CCPD as Cisco is putting together a device to protect them from metahumans.
"You really think you can get this to work? I don't want you having me shooting my pants down in the streets." Joe states to Cisco who is confident it'll work. "Once I finish the Boot, the CCPD will have what it needs to take down metas." Cisco informs him.
"Especially since Peter and Barry have gone full alone Wolf McQuade and fight crimes by themselves, except for when all those guys broke out of Iron Heights and they teamed up for a good minute or so." Cisco states since it's been 3 months since the Sinister Six.
"I know, have you spoken to them?" Joe wonders since he hasn't even seen Peter in the past half year.
"Not really. I haven't even heard from Caitlin since she started working with Peter down at Mercury labs." Cisco informs him when Iris comes in and joins in on the conversation and they get that Cisco is jealous of Barry and Peter getting Keys
-
Flash/Spider-Man Day has arrived as Peter and Caitlin show up and look around all of the celebrations and everything around them.
"Wow. I never realized just how many people actually love me." Peter states seeing all of the Spider-Man merchandises everywhere along with Flash merchandise.
"I still can't believe that you sang a Christmas album and had it manufactured." Caitlin states as she shows him the copy she bought just recently.
"You are never gonna let me live that down now, are you?" Peter asks her, even when he already knows the answer and she just says "no".
"Okay, I'm gonna be swinging from across those buildings up there. Giving me some cover from people looking up and catching me without my mask." Peter tells her and she looks up at where he's looking.
"Give 'em a show, Spidey." Caitlin tells her and he walks off to get into position and into his suit.
"Hey, Caitlin." Someone calls out and Caitlin looks to see May and is happy to see she could make it and hugs her. Peter did state he wanted to tell her and Just needed to find the right moment to tell her.
At the parking lot, Cisco and Joe are watching everything. "We expecting trouble?" Cisco wonders.
"Cops expect trouble. In this city, I expect evil monsters." Joe states and Cisco couldn't disagree when he sees Caitlin and May in the distance talking.
The mayor walks up to give his speech to the people. "People of Central City, we are here today because two people have saved all of us a year ago. One who has been with our fair city for over a decade and has never asked for anything in return. Someone who barley even recognizes what he's done for our city. So when you're falling with nobody to save you, or your store is being robbed, or your house is on fire, Who has always been there to break your fall, saves your families, and puts out the flames?"
"Spider-Man!" Everyone cheers and Peter watches them and is happy to see people actually appreciate him.
"And last year, our newest hero who helped us against these men and women who have broken not just our laws, but physics and reason. But we got someone else, too. We got the Flash!" The mayor says and everyone cheers again. "Our wounds run deep, and I know many of you are afraid of threats tomorrow may bring. But the Flash and Spider-Man don't just protect us, they restore hope where it was lost. That's why I'm honored to present the key to the heroes who saved Central City, Spider-Man and the Flash! So let's hear it for them, huh?" The mayor calls and the band starts playing the Spider-Man theme song and they all cheer as Spider-Man comes swinging on down.
"Hey, what's up?" Peter asks as he swings across everyone and hi-5s people as he swings across to the stage and he lands on top of the stage.
"Shazam!" He shouts as everyone keeps on cheering for him as he comes down onto the stage and everyone just waits for the Flash.
For a good minute, it would seem like he might not show when a flash of lightning comes and Flash appears next to Spider-Man and everyone cheers once again and they all cheer the heroes names.
"It's moments like this that make me appreciate everything." Peter tells himself and the heroes turn back to the mayor who s holding the keys for the heroes.
"The doors to Central City will forever be open for you, heroes." The mayor says and before they could accept the keys, Peter senses go off and they see a car coming at them.
"Look out!" Joe shouts and Barry speeds the mayor away as Peter catches the car. Barry stops and sees a man wearing a hood and removes it to show he's wearing a mask.
"The heroes who saved Central City, hate to rain on your Parade." The man mockingly apologizes and Barry runs to stop him and he punches Barry into a police car.
The man removes his coat to reveal his sleeveless outfit he's wearing as the cops try shooting him and the bullets have no affect on him. Peter comes leaping in and sees his look.
"Hey, Bane. I'm pretty sure Batman misses you in Gotham." Peter states and swings a mailbox and slams into him.
"But I didn't miss you." Peter quips and that gets not Bane angry and they begin fighting. Cisco and Joe get the Boot and wait for Peter to get clear and shoot his leg.
But it seems to do nothing as he starts growing three times his original size and Peter looks in shock to see it.
"Forget Bane. Where are the Avengers?" Peter questions as Barry speeds off to grab something and comes back with containers of flammable liquid.
"What's the plan?" Peter asks Barry, not seeing what he's thinking.
"I'm throwing, you're webbing." Barry tells him and now he understands. Barry throws the containers and Peter first shoots a web to connect the containers and shoots a taser web for them to explode and the man starts shrinking and removes his mask to reveal Al Rothstein.
"That's the body from the nuclear plant, he's alive." Joe states completely confused as he runs off and Peter just now realizes he has a whole side of his body burned and he has to get that checked on.
-
Now at Mercury labs, Peter is healing his leg and fixing his suit, Caitlin is looking at what she can find about the man who was killed and supposedly come back to life. They even called in to Mercury labs to say Peter was injured during the rally and have asked for some space so they know no one will interrupt them.
"According to the coroner's office, the man's body for who attacked you is still there, so this isn't anything like the Walking Dead, fortunately." Caitlin informs Peter as he puts the finishing touches back on his suit.
"Does he have any relatives?" Peter asks her, trying to figure this all out while taking his mind off his painful leg.
"It says here he's an only child and when the accelerator exploded, he was in Hawaii." Caitlin responds and that just makes things even weirder.
"Okay, is there anything else?" Peter questions, trying to put all of the pieces of this puzzle together.
"Well, it would seem the X-ray's and CT machines all failed while our man was charging himself up." Caitlin tells him and he thinks that could be related.
"So are you gonna tell May?" Caitlin asks while she keeps looking into all of this.
"Yeah, you keep asking me this for the past few weeks and I keep telling you, I need to find the best time." Peter repeats himself since every time a good opportunity presents itself, something interrupts him from telling her.
"So this is what it looks like inside Mercury labs." A familiar voice says and they look up to see Cisco somehow got in.
"Security here is way better than it was at Star labs, what with people walking in and out of the cortex all the time." Cisco states and they wonder what he's doing here.
"Sweet Sarahi. Is that a 6K proton splicer?" Cisco asks seeing the new tech they got after the Lizard incident.
"Yes, It is. Dr. McGee constantly insists on having the latest tech. Even after we were able to split off from Oscorp." Peter says.
"I spotted you two at the rally, and May. And I'm guessing you saw what happened." Cisco says referring to Caitlin. "And check this out, we found this on a victim at the nuclear power plant. But the badge shows absolutely nothing at all, which is weird." Cisco says and hands them the device. "What's also weird is that at the same time that metahuman grew, all the X-ray machines within a mile radius just went belly up, and I'm starting to see with the expressions on your faces you already knew that, didn't you?" Cisco asks and sees they already have most of the information.
"Okay, if you guys could just look at the badge and see if it was tampered with or something." Cisco asks his friends and they decide to do it since it could help them
-
After Cisco got what he was after, he met up with Stein and Iris and went to Star labs which alerted Barry and he sees them. "What are you all doing here?" Barry asks, confused since he doesn't want them here anymore.
"So, Caitlin and Peter was right." Cisco says, ignoring him while talking to Stein.
"Yes, all humans contain small amount of radiation due to contact with cell phones, microwaves, televisions, etcetera. Our bodies are natural conductors." Stein agrees with them.
"I think our meta's been sucking all the radiation around him and using it to power himself." Cisco states seeing why the hospital equipment was failing. "So if we want to find him, we look for places without radiation."
-
Peter and Caitlin have got a location where the man could've been, a hazardous waste reclamation plant that isn't showing any radiation. Which means that their guy is waiting for them there and didn't let Cisco in since they don't want to be involved with anything with Star labs since everything.
"Okay, Cait, I'm going in." Peter tells her, ready to fight this Atom Smasher.
"Just be careful. We don't exactly have a good way of stopping him yet." Caitlin warns and doesn't want to pave him off of the floor.
Peter enters the warehouse and sees him absorbing the radiation from the barrels. "I've heard of tv addiction, but that's ridiculous." Peter quips and Atom Smasher notices him.
"The bug on my windshield. I thought I was going to have to go searching for you again." Atom Smasher states as he's fueled up and ready to tussle and Peter is technically still healing from the burn.
A flash of lightning comes in and Peter looks to see Barry. "I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone else." Barry warns Atom Smasher.
"I'm only here to hurt the two of you." Atom Smasher explains and that gets them confused.
"Why did you kill Albert Rothstein? And why do you look exactly like him?" Peter asks him.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Atom Smasher responds to that.
"I fought a giant lizard, a psycho hunter who wanted my head on a pike. Try me." Peter states and Barry spins his arms around to stop Atom Smasher and it only pushes him back a little. Peter decides to stay back for a minute and watches as Barry tries fighting him and Atom Smasher grows bigger and grabs Barry by the neck.
Now this is where Peter interjects and webs Barry and the man's hand and he drops Barry, but still kicks him across the room into and through the wall. Peter gets into a stance to fight and Atom Smasher starts approaching him slowly. "He said you both were some kind of big hero, but you don't seem worthy of him, or this city." Atom Smasher tells Peter and that gets him confused to who he's referring to.
"Peter, I've got an idea." Caitlin's voice comes in and Peter is ready for anything as Atom Smasher is trying to smash him and Peter tries webbing his hands so that he wears himself down, but it's not working.
"I'm open to anything right now, Cait." Peter says while dodging another punch that ends up breaking a canister behind him.
"Remember Blackout from last year?" Caitlin asks him and Peter does. Blackout, a meta with the ability to control electricity and stole Barry's speed for a while and also when Peter let in his friends on Spider-Man.
"If he keeps absorbing radiation, he'll end up just like Blackout." Caitlin explains her plan and Peter likes it.
He looks around and sees a container for the nuclear waste and knows where to lead him.
"Hey, tall, dark, and crazy. You want me? I'm a sitting target." Peter says and walks backwards into the container as Atom Smasher follows.
"You really think I couldn't catch a bug like you?" Atom Smasher asks him. "News flash, I'm an arachnid." Peter states and charges in between his legs and gets out while Caitlin hacked into the controls to close the doors and floods the room with radiation and they know he can't possibly absorb it all and he'll choke on it.
Peter looks and sees it's working and sees he absorbed all of it, but it still destroyed his abilities. Peter goes back in and sees him on the floor and is ready to get some answers. "Why did you want to kill me and Flash?" Peter wonders as Atom Smasher is gasping for air.
"He promise he'd take me home. If I killed the two of you." Atom Smasher explains and that gets Peter even more confuses as he removes his mask to look at him.
"Who promised you that?" Part asks him.
Atom Smasher keeps gasping for air and Peter sees he's trying to explains and gets just one word out. "Zoom."
-
Peter and Caitlin decided it's probably best if they rejoined the team at Star labs and they were informed that Wells confessed in his will to the murder of Nora Allen and was able to get Barry's father out of prison. They're all waiting at Joe's house Waiting for them to show and cheer as they see Henry a free man.
They're all happy that he's free and is cleared of murder after everything and Stein pings his glas to get their attention. "Looking at all of you, thinking how far we've all come, and remembering those who are no longer with us, I'm reminded of a Hebrew word used during times of graduation. Kadima. It means, forward." Stein tells them and raises his glass.
"Forward." Stein says and they all repeat him and take a drink. Barry and Henry go around the hall to talk in private and Peter sees no better opportunity to tell May about Spider-Man than being surrounded by his friends.
He brings her to near the window while the others don't know what he's planning, all except Caitlin who is waiting for her reaction. Peter is stuttering while trying to get everything out, just like pulling off a bandage. If he could tell Wells, Cisco and Caitlin all at once he could tell his aunt easily, right?
"It's just...I've wanted to tell you something for a while, but I always got caught up in the What If's and chickened out, but I'm not doing it this time. I'm just going to say it..aunt May, I..." Peter goes on but gets interrupted by May.
"You're Spider-Man, aren't you?" She asks and that causes everyone in the room to freeze in shock to how she could possibly figure it out herself.
"What?" Peter asks, just as shocked as everyone else.
"That's what you've been trying to say, you're Spider-Man. Peter, I raised you for years, you think I couldn't tell when you're keeping a secret from me?" May asks him. "I mean, you always disappear just before Spider-Man shows up, let alone today. You vanished in the middle of the celebration at the rally just for Spider-Man to show up later. Never underestimate me again, Peter." She warns him and takes another drink and walks off leaving Peter shocked and amazed.
"Remind me why you kept this a secret." Cisco asks Peter who is still shocked but still relieved she's okay with it.
-
Barry went to drop his dad off at the train station and Peter has brought May to see Star labs and Joe gave him the key to the city he couldn't accept at the rally because of Atom Smasher.
"So, this is where you've been constantly running off to, huh?" May asks Peter looking around the cortex and he just laughs at her amazement. "You know before me and your uncle split up, we always talked about how great you will make the world one day. We knew that one day you'd do something that would keep people safe. But not even in my wildest dreams could I imagine you'd become this good of a person. You're the best parts of your parents, with Ben's heart." May says and hugs Peter who started tearing up at hearing how proud of him she is.
"Don't forget, May. I'm also the best parts of you." Peter informs her while not breaking the hug when Joe and Barry come into the cortex. "Hey, guys, I should warn you. I have your suit an upgrade." Cisco tells them and they look to see he upgraded the Flash suit to look like the picture in the time vault.
"I was thinking, you know, you shouldn't fear the future anymore, right?" Cisco asks and they agree with him.
"I must say, I like it. The lightning definitely pops more against the white." Stein says and Peter agrees it looks better.
"And Star labs is now safer than ever." Caitlin tells them since Peter and Caitlin added a few more security systems and more to protect it so nobody could just walk in when they feel like it.
But as they're talking, Peter's senses go off and somebody got in. They all turn to see a shadowy figure in the cortex doorway.
"Stay where you are!" Joe tells the figure and raises his gun while Peter raises his web shooters ready to fight him.
"Who are you?" Barry asks him.
"You don't know me, but I know you...Barry Allen." The man says and Joe warns him not to move and asks him again who he is and he stops into the light.
"My name is Jay Garrick, and your world is in danger." The man explains and they all think the same thing.
Here we go again.