Chapter 44: To Catch A Speedster

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Silas and Victor were putting the last few touches on the speed trap. Cisco and Kari checked over the controls one last time, making sure everything was in order.

"That should do it," Cisco reported.

"Now all we need is a way to lure Reverse Flash in," Kari remarked. "Hopefully, Detective West and Barry can procure the device."

"We got it covered," Joe reported as he and Barry came inside.

Everyone turned, seeing the pair arrive with a briefcase containing the tachyon device.

"We've got the device," Barry told them. "All we need to do now is let the Man in Yellow know it's here."

"I may have an idea for that," Victor piped up. "May need some help with it."

"I believe everyone here can aid you in that endeavor," Dr. Wells spoke up. "In the meantime, Mr. Allen, may I have a word?"

"Uh, sure."

Barry and Wells moved away from the group so they could talk in private.

"Is something wrong?"

"Go home," Batman declared bluntly as he walked in.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Given the current situation…" Wells admitted. "It would probably be for the best if you weren't here for this."

"Go home," Batman insisted again. "Be with Iris. Don't be here. You're too close to this."

"Well, maybe you're not close enough," Barry challenged. "I'm the best chance we have at stopping this guy,"

"Not when you're like this. You're a liability, not an asset."

"This man stabbed my mother in the heart and sent my father to prison for it. This is my fight! You don't get to bench me from that!"

"Barry, you're over emotional and Reverse Flash will use that. Stay out of this, for your own good."

Barry just scowled before walking off in a huff.

"Pretty cold, don't you think, Bats?" Cyborg asked.

"I've seen where this road leads. I don't want him going down it."

After returning from their disastrous trip to find Ronnie, Caitlin curled up in front of the door to the pipeline, holding her legs. Iris managed to find her, wanting to make sure she was alright.

"Caitlin? Are you… okay?"

"I don't even know how to answer that. I've missed Ronnie every day since the accident, wishing that there was… some way to get him back. Now he's back, but as this… I don't even know what he is anymore."

"I… kinda know how you feel. After Barry was struck by lightning and went into a coma, it was hard seeing him like that. Him being right here, but completely closed off to me and everyone else."

"I want to help him, but… he won't even let me get close. We were going to be married, we had our honeymoon planned and everything..."

"You can still have those things. Sure, he's lost right now, but that doesn't mean you can't help him."

"Not if he won't let me."

"He might. Sometimes, you have to have a little faith."

Caitlin sighed.

"Faith… It's been a long time since I've had any."

"Then maybe it's time to get some."

At Iron Heights Prison, Barry took his seat in the visiting room. He waited patiently for a few minutes before his father, Henry Allen, was lead out. He sat down opposite his son, picking up the phone so he could speak.

"Hey Slugger. Haven't seen you here in a while."

"I've… been busy. Sorry."

"I'm just glad to see you period. How have you been?"

"I…" Barry's face dropped. "I screwed up, Dad."

"What happened?"

"I finally found him. After years of searching… I finally found the man who killed mom, and he got away. I had him and he got away. I promised you that I would get you out of here, but I failed. You're still in here because of me."

"No," Henry interjected. "Don't think that. Don't ever think that. None of this is your fault, Barry."

"I thought I could stop him, finally bring him to justice, and I just wasn't… I wasn't..."

"Fast enough?" Henry guessed. "Barry, there are some things that even the Flash can't fix."

Barry perked up at that.

"The… the Flash? What does he-
"Even in here, we get the news. You think I haven't heard of the Flash? And all the good he's done. He's made a difference in this city, but he's just one man. No one man can shoulder the burdens of the world, no matter how strong, or fast he is. Sometimes, things can't change, and we must accept that."

"It's not the easiest thing to do."

"It never is, but that's why you have to take strength from the people you have in your life. The Flash has the League, companions willing to fight and die with him, and you have Joe and Iris."

His voice broke slightly as he met his son's eyes, both of them on the verge of tears. "Barry, it's time to let this go. Let me, your mom… just let us go. Move on. Be happy. Be… a hero."

Back at Iris' apartment, Iris had returned so she wouldn't be around when the Reverse Flash showed up. As she began typing up a story about the Flash's battle with the evil speedster at the stadium, Barry came inside feeling more than a little defeated. She looked up, seeing him come in as she quickly rose to her feet.

"Barry!"

She went over and approached him, stopping just short of hugging him.

"What's going on? Shouldn't you be at S.T.A.R. Labs with the League?"

"They… they said I shouldn't be there. They think I'm too close to this."

"Oh Barry..."

She hugged him at that. Barry wasted no time returning the hug in kind.

"You have no idea how lucky I am to have you in my life."

"I should be the one saying that, Barry."

"You've always been someone I can count on. Someone I talk to, no matter what I'm going through, and can always help me through it. Even when we were kids, especially after my mom died. You were always… there. It's one of the reasons I've loved you as long as I have."

Iris perked up a bit at that.

"You've loved me for that long? Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I wanted to. All those late nights we stayed up talking, when I left for college, after I came back from college, all the birthdays and Christmas'. But after I lost my mom and my dad, I was afraid if you didn't feel the same way, I'd lose you too."

Iris put a hand on his face, causing him to look up.

"You're never gonna lose me, Barry. I'll always be there for you."

Barry smiled as the two leaned into kiss, feeling like there was nowhere else they'd rather be.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, the League and the Metahuman Task Force were waiting patiently for the Reverse Flash to take the bait. Cisco and Kari were at the controls, Victor off to the side as he fiddled with the holographic keypad on his arm.

"Alright, I'm sending out another pulse," Cyborg relayed.

"You're sure this trap is gonna work?" Eddie questioned.

"I've already sent out three charges across open satellites," Cyborg responded. "Trust me, if anyone's looking for tachyons, they'll know we've got them."

Everyone just stared with bated breath, waiting for something to happen. The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Finally, something sped inside to grab the device, and was instantly trapped inside the forcefield. For a moment, everyone was staring at the screens in shock, then Eddie broke the silence.

"It worked..."

"Well then," Wells spoke up. "Let's go say hello."

Mere minutes later, the League, the Task Force, and Wells all went down to the trap, with Caitlin, Cisco, Silas, and Kari staying behind to monitor the trap's power level and stability. The group slowly approached the Reverse Flash as it stood before them. GL kept his ring aimed at him as Cyborg activated his arm cannon.

"Cisco!" Wells called out. "Lights!"

At his request, the lights came on, shining down on the Reverse Flash.

"Detective Thawne, would you like to read him his rights?" Dr. Wells offered.

Before Eddie could do so, Joe stepped forward, a determined look on his face.

"Joe, what are you doing?" Eddie questioned.

"Getting some answers," Joe replied before facing the evil speedster. "Fifteen years ago, you murdered Nora Allen. I want to know why. Why?"

The Reverse Flash remained silent for a moment.

"Better answer him, pal!" GL threatened.

"Ah, the Justice League," the Reverse Flash greeted. "We meet at last."

"What do you want with the tachyonic particles?" Batman questioned.

"My goals are beyond your understanding."

"Oh, I don't know, Bats is a pretty smart guy," Cyborg quipped.

"Listen," Wells spoke up, "I know your cells can repair themselves at extraordinary speeds, so you can most likely withstand the damage this is doing to your body right now, but I highly doubt it's a pleasant experience. So, answer the question, and make this easier on yourself."

In the Cortex, the monitors were going haywire, energy readings going into the red.

"The super capacitors…" Cisco let out. "The containment field is fluctuating."

"They need to get out of there, now!" Kari exclaimed.

...

"Who are you?" GL demanded. "Why did you kill Nora Allen? And why are your powers exactly like the Flash's?"

"Oh, I'm not like The Flash at all. Some would say I'm the reverse."

Both Kari and Cisco look at each other in surprise and confusion. Both exchanged looks, knowing only three people were privy to the naming session of the Reverse Flash, just then, and there was no way he should have been able to know that. In the time it took for this realization to hit them, Reverse Flash struck.

Somehow, the Reverse Flash managed to escape from the trap and grab hold of Dr. Wells, pulling him inside. He began wailing on the man, who could only lay on the ground and take the blows.

"No!" Cyborg let out, trying to blast his way in.

"Cisco, kill the generator!" Batman demanded.

"We do that, Reverse Flash will get out!"

"If you don't, he'll kill Dr. Wells!"

"J'onn!" Kari screamed into the comms: "The capacitor! Knock it out!"

Looking around, J'onn saw the capacitor and flew over to it, phasing his hand through and disabling it. It shut down the forcefield, and Reverse Flash instantly bolted. Cyborg went over to check on Wells as the Task Force searched for the Reverse Flash. Meanwhile, GL turned to Batman.

"You know we need him."

Batman nodded, prompting GL to make the call.

At Iris' apartment, Barry and Iris were just sitting on the couch, enjoying one another's company. Just then, Barry's JL started going off.

"Yo, Flash. We've got trouble down at S.T.A.R. Labs. we could use your help."

Barry sat up upon hearing that.

"I'm on my way," He replied before turning to Iris. "Something's happened at S.T.A.R Labs."

"Go." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be okay."

Barry then instantly sped off, hoping he wasn't too late.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, J'onn went over to where the prototype was, only to find that it was gone.

"He has the tachyon device," He lamented.

"Damnit..." Wells grunted. "We need to get it back. Where's-?"

Suddenly, the Reverse Flash appeared in front of them, staring them down.

"Freeze!" Eddie called out as he and the Task Force aimed their guns at them. "Don't move or we will open fire."

The Reverse Flash seemed to ignore him as he sped around, killing every single member of his Task Force. He stopped just shy of Eddie, giving him a look before he turned his attention to the League, eying Green Lantern as he fired an energy blast at him. The Reverse Flash easily dodged, then raced forward, grabbing GL's ring hand and bending it in the wrong direction. There was a snap and GL screamed, prompting Batman to throw an explosive batarang. The Reverse Flash caught it mid air and tossed it right back, the explosion throwing Batman hard into a wall.

Cyborg instantly started shooting at him to try and take him down, but the speedster was too fast. He got right in Cyborg's face, shoving him into one of the working capacitors. The energy it contained overloaded Cyborg's circuitry, causing him to cry out in pain. J'onn flew right up to the Reverse Flash and rammed into him, knocking him away from Cyborg. He then pulled Cyborg free of the capacitor and turned to face the vile speedster.

"You will find I am not so easily bested, monster," J'onn warned.

"We'll see about that."

Seeing the leaking fuel from the capacitor, the Reverse Flash simply snapped his fingers, sending a spark of lightning across the flame and igniting it. J'onn reeled back as the flame streaked across the floor, allowing the Reverse Flash to run up and sock J'onn across the face. As J'onn fell to the ground, the Reverse Flash loomed over him. Before he could make another move, Joe shot at him, prompting the Reverse Flash to run over and yank the gun out of his hand before pinning him against the wall.

"I warned you not to hunt me."

Suddenly, Flash came speeding in the room and yanking the Reverse Flash away from Joe. As the two raced out of the room, everyone began picking themselves up off the ground, GL forming a cast for his hand and moving his ring to his left hand.

"Bats… still alive over there?"

"I've survived worse."

"What about Vic?"

Batman glanced over at Victor, who was groaning as Silas came running into the room.

"Victor!"

He ran over to him and began checking on his son. Meanwhile, Kari rolled in with a fire extinguisher, putting out the fire and checking on J'onn.

"J'onn? J'onn, wake up."

J'onn slowly opened his eyes, seeing Kari over him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We got our asses handed to us," GL answered. "Why he didn't just kill us is beyond me."

"It's up to Flash now," Batman declared. "Let's hope this ends better."

Outside, Caitlin and Cisco ran out to see Flash and the Reverse Flash burst through the skylight, circling each other in a combination of red and yellow lightning. As they landed on the ground, the Reverse Flash sped forward and rammed Flash into a nearby car, smashing the windshield. The Reverse Flash then beat on Flash a bit before throwing Flash off the car, and onto the ground. Flash picked himself up and ran towards the Reverse Flash, hoping to get a hit in. The Reverse Flash however, managed to grab Flash by the arm and punch him across the face before grabbing him by the throat. Reverse Flash pulled off his hood, getting a good look at his battered face before preparing to deliver the final blow.

Just then, a blast of fire shot out from nowhere, knocking the Reverse Flash back. Flash looked up to see Ronnie with fiery hair and hands, much to Caitlin and Cisco's surprise.

"Ronnie…" Caitlin let out.

"It seems are race isn't over yet," The Reverse Flash noted, getting back to his feet. "See you soon Flash."

Reverse Flash then took off as soon as Green Lantern arrived, instantly going over to Barry.

"You ok, man?" He asked, helping him up.

"Yeah," Barry replied, noting the green hand cast. "How about you?"

"What, this? I'll be fine. Trust me, broke my arm so many times as a kid."

While the two chatted, Caitlin began slowly approaching Ronnie. He had landed in the parking lot, killing the fire on him and just seemed to be standing there, as if unsure of what to do next.

"You came," She realized. "Thank you."

"We… had to. I… needed to see you..."

"Please, don't go. I said we could help you, and I meant it."

"No… We're… dangerous. Radiation… we're covered in it. Don't… want you to get hurt."

"I know… but I have faith we can find a way to help you," Tears start building up in her eyes. "Please… I can't lose you again."

Ronnie Ronnie looked at her, gritting his teeth in fear and trepidation. Finally, he let out a sigh.

"Okay… we'll stay. But, we need to be contained. If we're not, everyone here will die of radiation poisoning."

"I may have an idea with that," Cisco proposed.

Soon after, the three of them were in the pipeline, placing Ronnie in a small, padded cell with a glass-like door making up the fourth wall. It was suspended above the ground, and was one of about half a dozen that were inside the pipeline.

"I figured there would be a few Metas too dangerous to hand over to the police, not to mention with the League working out of here, having a place to store a few rouges wasn't a bad idea," Cisco explained. "These cells integrate the same tech from the inhibitor collars, and will ensure that whatever's causing Ronnie to be radioactive will be contained to that cell."

"This won't be a forever thing," Caitlin reassured. "We're gonna help you, Ronnie. Somehow…"

Ronnie nodded, sitting down on the floor of the cell.

"We trust you. I… trust you."

Caitlin smiled in response.

"Get some rest."

Ronnie nodded as Caitlin and Cisco walked out, the door to the pipeline closing behind them. Caitlin sat down just outside the door, leaning against it as she let out a long breath.

"You good?" Cisco asked.

"For the first time in almost a year, I will be."

Cisco smiled, sitting down next to her.

In the Cortex, Barry sat in a chair with his hood off, being tended to by Iris. She gently dabbed some antiseptic on a large cut on his forehead, smiling.

"You'll be okay. Want some Big Belly Burger? I imagine you burned a lot of calories out there."

"Yeah, I did."

Iris started heading out, passing by J'onn as he entered the room.

"J'onn," Barry greeted. "You doing ok?"

"I will be alright," J'onn reassured, sitting across from him.

"How's M'gann? She kinda disappeared after all this went down."

"She hid herself in one of the closets. I found her and suggested she return home for the night. However, the more pressing question is how are you doing?"

"Disappointed… but… still ok. If that makes sense."

"Vaguely."

"I'm still pissed the Man in Yellow, or the Reverse Flash, got away, but… it's not eating at me like it is earlier."

"Why is that?"

"For the longest time, I've been fixated on what he took from me. Killing my mom, framing my dad. But lately, I've been reminded of what I've gained recently. I've got the League, Caitlin and Cisco, Dr. Wells, Joe, and Iris. People who I can depend on when things get tough. That will stand by me no matter what. Honestly, I have no idea where I'd be without them."

"I have… come to understand what that feels like."

Barry perked.

"Really? M'gann?"

"Yes, and… someone else."

Barry just smirked a bit in response.

"Then why don't you go check on her? I'm sure she'd enjoy the company as much as you would."

J'onn thought for a moment before responding.

"Perhaps you might be right."

Meanwhile, Joe and Kari were downstairs looking at the speed trap to figure out what went wrong.

"I don't get it… it should have worked..."

"Maybe he got here before us and sabotaged it," Joe suggested.

Kari sighed, leaning back in her chair and removing her glasses, rubbing her eyes.

"That would align with him knowing about the Reverse Flash Moniker, but given that speedsters tend to leave a lightning trail in their wake, then chances of us missing them are-"

She suddenly cut off, sitting up in her chair and putting her glasses back on.

"Trail… Lightning trail… Detective, when Barry was a child, what did he describe seeing again?"

"A ball of lightning with a man in yellow in the middle of it."

"What color was the lightning?"

"Red and… yellow…"

"Reverse Flash's lightning was red. Barry's is yellow. I don't know how, but there was more than one speedster in Barry's house that night: Reverse Flash to kill Barry's mom..."

"And a second to save Barry..." Joe finished.

"But the thing is there were no other Metas aside from Reverse Flash, but where did he come from? And why hasn't this second speedster shown himself?"

"Perplexing questions indeed," J'onn replied, entering the room.

"J'onn," Kari noted.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were-"

"It's cool," Joe replied. "I was just heading out."

Joe stepped out of the room as J'onn and Kari moved towards each other.

"What's up?" Kari asked. "You find M'gann okay? I tried to warn you that bringing her along was a bad idea."

"Perhaps, but… her presence was soothing."

Kari paused, facing J'onn with a more serious expression.

"J'onn are you okay? You've been off since the Injustice League incident. I didn't want to pry before, but you're starting to worry me."

"I didn't want to say anything to worry you but… I feel that's unavoidable now. When we encountered the Injustice League to rescue Batman, I confronted the Joker and… peered into his mind."

"Whoa, whoa, you what?! How are you not insane yourself after that? Joker is like… Mega-insane! There is no scientific description to accurately label the level of madness in that man!"

"Believe me, I know. The horrors inside that man's mind would rival even that of my brother."

Kari winced, reaching out and taking his hand.

"What can I do to help?"

J'onn just tightened his grip on her hand.

"Dinner?" he requested. "Somewhere quiet. Just the two of us? You can tell me about your latest projects until your voice gives out."

"Big Belly Burger in my lab? Oreo milkshakes?"

"Sounds perfect."

While everyone else was going about their business, Dr. Wells, after being patched up for his injuries, made his way down the hall and placed his hand on a part of the wall. The wall opened up, revealing the entrance to his secret room. Once he was inside, he stood up from his chair and discarded his glasses. He then pulled out a small gold ring with a lightning bolt on it from his pocket and placed it on his hand. He then placed the ring on the wall, opening up a compartment with a black mannequin in it. Wells then place the ring on a small red circle in front of the mannequin, causing the Reverse Flash costume to shoot out and drape itself over it. Once the suit was in place, Wells took the tachyon device and placed it on the suit, charging ti with tachyonic energy.

"See ya soon, Flash," Wells promised in a voice eerily similar to that of the Reverse Flash.