Team Flash stood frozen, staring at the monitor.
"Come on, I know you're in there!" Farooq Gibran yelled at the camera. At them. "Open the door! I just want to talk, Dr. Wells!" A beat passed. He turned to the breaker box. "Wells!" he screamed, pulling out two cables. "Let me in!"
The lights in STAR Labs began to flicker as Farooq started to absorb the electricity.
〰️〰️〰️
Across town, unbeknownst to the group at STAR Labs, Captain Singh had just left the precinct in Joe's hands when the lights there started to go out. William Tockman took the opportunity.
Taking Officer Rollins' gun, he fired once and Rollins fell. "Guns on the floor!" Tockman shouted. "It should take you less than three seconds to discard any thoughts of rebellion and comply." He sneered at Joe. "I take it I don't have to count." He shot at an officer, pointed the gun back at Joe. "Hm," he grunted, looking at Iris. "Striking resemblance."
〰️〰️〰️
The lights went off over the whole city and Farooq pointed his hands at the door. Under the force of the electricity he shot, the door melted. Inside, the teammates looked up as the whole facility shook.
"He's inside," Barry said, dread growing in all them.
〰️〰️〰️
Outside CCPD, Captain Singh walked up to an officer.
"Captain," he greeted. "Tockman's got at least ten hostages, two officers down." Singh swore quietly.
"Copy that," he replied louder. "When is the power back?"
"We're on gennies for now."
Singh just about yelled in frustration when his phone rang. Answering it swiftly, he snapped out a terse "Not now."
"Wait," came Barry Allen's voice. "Captain Singh, I've been trying to get in touch with Joe or anyone at the precinct."
Singh sighed. Poor kid. "There's a hostage situation, Barry, and Joe's inside. So's his daughter," he informed. "I'll call you when I know more."
"Wait—" Singh hung up.
〰️〰️〰️
Barry shoved his phone into his pocket and came back to the others. "Joe and Iris are in trouble. I need my powers back. Now."
Wells rolled over. "I have a theory," he told Barry. "It's untested."
"Aren't they all," Hayley snorted.
"I'm willing to roll the dice," Barry answered, glaring at Hayley.
"Okay, you've lost your speed, yes," Wells began, "but nothing inside you has changed on a subatomic level. In other words, your cells are still primed."
"They just need a jumpstart," Cisco finished. Barry looked at him.
"Ok, how do we do that?" Barry asked. "How do we jumpstart me?"
"Get-Barry's-Speed-Back Theory Number 5," Hayley said. Barry gave her a quizzical look. "We need to replicate the initial jolt to your system."
"There's a reason we dismissed that theory, though," Cisco interrupted. "That would mean a peak current of at least 20,000 kilo-amps."
Hayley nodded. "I know. But it might restore his speed."
"Are you insane?" Caitlin cried. "That's more electricity than give to people in the electric chair."
Hayley made a face. "Why do you know that?"
"Caitlin," Wells interrupt the bickering before it could start. "With Farooq in the building, we are all looking at a death sentence here."
"The spare generator's offline," Cisco said slowly. "If we reboot it, we could get a charge that big."
"We need something that could transmit the load from the generator to Barry's body," Wells said. "Without shorting out."
"The treadmill," Hayley suggested, pointing a pen.
"My baby could take the charge," Cisco agreed.
"What if Barry can't?" Caitlin insisted.
"Well, that's up to Mr. Allen," Wells reasoned. All four of them looked at Barry expectantly. Barry looked back at them, and started to leave the room.
"Hold up," Hayley said. "Where're you going?"
"I'm gonna talk to him," Barry said blankly.
"No, no, Allen," Hayley replied, shaking her head. "We don't talk to people who want to kill us. That's called insanity."
"Ok, you didn't see him at the substation, Parker," Barry snapped. "He needed to feed. I got super speed out of the particle accelerator blast, but his best friends died. He woke up with a disease."
"Ms. Parker has a point, Mr. Allen. Earlier today, you both worked a crime scene where this metahuman electrocuted an innocent man. He's a murderer!" Wells snapped. "And you are powerless to defend yourself against him."
Barry shrugged. "He may just need help like I did," Barry insisted, glancing over at Hayley. "I don't need my powers to offer him that. I have to try." He held Hayley's gaze for a beat. Then he turned and walked out of the Cortex.
〰️〰️〰️
"Tockman?" No answer. Singh tried again. "Tockman."
A crackling noise came from the radio in Tockman's hand. "Tockman!"
"I am presently in control of eight of Central City's finest, three underpaid assistants, and one very brave civilian glare," Tockman sneered into the radio. Iris glared at Tockman.
"You've got demands," Singh said. "I want to hear them. But first, let the civilians go."
"Would you prefer I sent them out, uh, alive or dead?" Tockman replied. "Please! be more specific. One helicopter, one vegetarian takeout meal, one laptop with eight gigabytes of RAM will be delivered on this roof at exactly 53 minutes and 27 seconds from now, or I shoot a hostage."
Glancing behind Tockman, Joe saw Eddie rise slowly up from behind a desk, pointing his gun at Tockman. Joe shook his head very slightly. It wasn't worth it. Eddie sank back down.
"There's a citywide blackout," Singh explained. "I'm gonna need more time."
"Captain, you may delay, but time will not," Tockman retorted.
"Benjamin Franklin," Joe recognized.
"Very good, Detective," Tockman praised. He turned away from the hostage group.
〰️〰️〰️
Barry walked around the corner slowly and came face to face with Farooq. Farooq's hands came up, crackling and sparking with deadly electricity. "Hey, whoa, whoa," he said softly, holding his hands out. "Whoa, whoa, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you."
"You can't hurt me," Farooq scoffed. "Where's Harrison Wells?"
"Look, I know what happened to you," Barry said, choosing to ignore Farooq's question. "The night of the accelerator explosion, it changed you. It changed me, too."
"You were the one in the red suit," Farooq realized. "I fed from you. I have to keep feeding."
"Alright, I know this has to be terrifying," Barry replied. "That's why I want to help you, okay?"
"The night of the explosion," Farooq began, "when the light hit me, it stopped my heart. Jake and Darya..." He trailed off. Barry breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed Farooq's hands weren't deadly anymore.
"They were your friends," Barry replied softly.
"I woke up, and they were beside me, dead," Farooq continued, his hands beginning to spark once more. "They tried to give me CPR. They were touching me, and I electrocuted them!"
"This is not your fault."
"I know," Farooq answered. Barry felt a growing dread. This wasn't working. "Wells did this to me."
"Farooq, you need to listen to me," Barry tried. Farooq didn't listen. He raised his hands and blasted Barry back, through the doors. Support Team Flash immediately shut the doors.
"How'd that go, Sonic?" Hayley asked Barry. "Did talking to your enemy work like it always does?" He gave her an exasperated look.
"No, it didn't, Hayes," he retorted.
Cisco and Caitlin finished locking the doors, turning back to the others. "Not sure how long that'll hold," Cisco warned.
"Done being noble, Mr. Allen?" Barry nodded reluctantly. Wells sighed. "Caitlin, Hayley, get him to the treadmill. Cisco, bring the generator online. Make sure Barry gets the charge."
"What?" Cisco asked. "You're not coming with me?" Wells shook his head. "I'm not leaving you."
"Listen to me," Wells insisted to all of them. "Of everything I've done in my life, of everything I've invented , my most important creation is The Flash. Barry Allen must have a future. Now go." The rest of the team just stood there, gaping at Wells. "Go!"
Wells turned and rolled away as the others left. For once, he could rest easy knowing that Arg -- the Silver Archer was in the building. She would never let Barry Allen get killed. He could destroy her later.
〰️〰️〰️
Back at the precinct, Joe tried to get Tockman to surrender. "End this now," he tried, "and I'll talk to the D.A."
"It was your district attorney that denied me furlough so I could visit my dying sister one last time, say goodbye to her in person," he growled. "That's time I'll never get back!" Joe glanced at Eddie, nodding nearly imperceptibly. Eddie raised his gun slowly. "So however long I have in this life, I promise not one second more will be spent in a prison cell."
Eddie took aim and fired. "Got him," he smirked. The smirk fell when Tockman got up.
Tockman took aim and shot twice at Eddie. The bullets went past Eddie's vest, and he dropped like stone into the center of the hostage circle.
"Eddie!" Iris screamed. Joe just stared at his partner. "Eddie. Eddie, Eddie."
"An officer was just shot 9.2 seconds ago," Tockman informed Singh. "I'd pick up the pace in meeting my demands, Captain."
〰️〰️〰️
"I'm not healing fast anymore," Barry groaned, sitting on the treadmill with the help of Caitlin and Hayley. Caitlin shook her head. "That's unfortunate."
"Don't worry," Caitlin reassured him. "When Dr. Wells has a theory, he's usually right."
Barry just looked at her. "What if something happens to Joe and Iris first?" He was silent for a moment before he looked at Hayley.
"What?" she asked.
"Hayes," Barry started. "You could call Singh."
"I could," she replied, but made no move to.
"Singh won't talk to me," Barry continued. "Will you call and get an update? Please?"
Hayley wavered for all of two seconds before Barry's puppy eyes won her over. "Fine." She took her phone out and walked a ways away, dialing as she went.
"Not now," came Singh's voice as soon as he picked up.
"Captain, hey," Hayley replied.
"I'm a little busy here, Parker, what do you want?"
"Barry told me about the situation," Hayley answered. She heard Singh sigh. "Is there any updates?"
"An officer has been shot, Ms. Parker," Singh answered. "I don't know who. Tell Allen he doesn't need to worry."
"But, sir--" Singh hung up.
"What did he say?" Barry asked when she came back.
"An officer is down," she relayed. "We don't know who."
Barry stood up slowly. "I need my speed back," he said. "I need to help them."
The door to the room they in slammed open and all three dived under the window to the treadmill room.
"Did you know the human body generates electricity?" Farooq asked the empty room. "The average person gives off 342 watts, and I can smell it coming from you."
"That's... suitably creepy," Hayley quipped under her breath. Barry and Caitlin both shushed her and all three hid in a closet, listening to Farooq in the next room.
All of sudden, there was a hum as Cisco got the generator going, and the three members of Team Flash breathed a little easier as Farooq left the room.
"Turn on the treadmill," Barry demanded.
Caitlin shook her head. "You're still hurt!"
"We don't have time for this, Cait," Hayley retorted.
"I need to help Joe and Iris!" Barry whisper-yelled.
"You can't! You're still hurt!" Caitlin whisper-yelled back at him. Hayley rolled her eyes before an idea dawned on her.
"I'll help them," she told the two scientists.
"What?" Barry asked. "How?"
"I keep a Silver Archer suit in a pocket dimension the Tesseract created," she explained quickly. She sighed when she was met with blank faces. "I'll explain later. My point is, I'll get my suit and I'll go deal with Clock King, while you guys stay here and get Barry's speed back."
"That's a good idea," Barry agreed. Caitlin nodded along, though her face told Hayley she didn't quite enjoy the plan.
"One question," Caitlin said. "How are you getting out of here?"
"Oh, Caity," Hayley answered, flicking her wrist. A swirling blue portal opened on blackness. "I'm already gone." She leapt through the portal and Caitlin and Barry were left staring at the space where she disappeared.
〰️〰️〰️
Hayley's portal dropped her in a darkened storage room. With a snap of her fingers, a blue bolt shot at the ceiling and lit the room.
Hayley stood surrounded by WWII paraphernalia and mementos. Pictures of her, Howard, and Peggy filled three bulletin boards on one wall. On another hung pictures of her parents and brother. She wasn't in any of them, but SHIELD had thought remembering what her family looked like would be beneficial. She'd never corrected them. The third held various articles and pictures from her time in Starling, and she intended to place things from Central on the same wall.
She took all of this in before turning to face the wall behind her. Her Silver Archer suit was on a mannequin in a glass case, her bow hanging beside it. Next to it was the Midnight Soldier suit she'd worn in New York. She regarded it in silence for a moment, then turned back to her Silver Archer suit. She flashed into it, then opened another portal to the precinct.
A few seconds later, a smaller portal opened up and Hayley's hand reached in and grabbed her bow and arrows.
〰️〰️〰️
"Turn on the treadmill," Barry instructed. He was already on said treadmill, gripping the handle with both hands. He looked up when nothing happened. "Caitlin!"
"I can't," she said softly, looking at him. Barry's eyes softened.
"We don't have a choice," he reminded her softly. Caitlin made no move to turn the treadmill on.
"If I turn this on," she said slowly, "it could kill you." She seemed to be the only one concerned about Barry's wellbeing right now. It frustrated her.
"If you don't," Barry reasoned, "we could all die."
Caitlin looked at him sadly. "I already lost someone I cared about in this building," she said. "I can't do it again."
Barry sighed heavily. "Listen, someone once told me that I was struck by that lightning for a reason, that it chose me," he echoed Oliver. "I'm not sure I believe it. Right now, it doesn't matter what I believe. What do you believe?" Caitlin turned back to the lever. "Come on."
Caitlin flipped the lever.
The jolt hit Barry full force and he tried to hold on. He managed it for all of five seconds before he let out a grunt of pain and the force of the charge flung him back into the wall. Caitlin ran over.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" she cried. She crouched next to Barry's slumped form. "Did you feel anything?"
He raised a hand, managing to vibrate it for a few seconds before he couldn't hold it anymore. He dropped it in defeat. "It didn't work."
A loud boom sounded somewhere in the building as the two of them left to find Cisco.
〰️〰️〰️
Eddie lay on the floor in front of Iris, still bleeding heavily. She looked up at Tockman. "Please, he's bleeding," she told him, trying to appeal to a sympathetic side. Where was Flash? "You have to let us get him some help."
Tockman shook his head. "You'll stay where you are," he ordered from his seat on the stairs.
"And while you're killing time," Joe shot back, "he's bleeding out."
Tockman laughed at him. "As if you could kill time without wounding eternity."
Joe looked up at him. "Henry David Thoreau."
"Ooh, good," Tockman praised. He entered the circle of hostages and knelt next to Eddie. He took Eddie's tie off and tied it as tight as possible above Eddie's bullet wound. "A little battlefield trick." He dug his finger into the bullet-holes, getting enough blood to paint the time on Eddie's forehead. Iris flinched at the scream of pain Eddie gave. "If he lives long enough to receive medical treatment," Tockman explained, "they'll know the exact time the tourniquet was applied." Iris glared at him. "What? No thank you?"
"They call you the Clock King, right?" she asked, voice tight with fury.
Tockman nodded. "A somewhat florid appellation, but I've grown to see the humor in it."
"You're going back to prison," Iris informed.
"Really?" Tockman laughed. "And... And how do you reckon?'
"Because The Flash is coming."
〰️〰️〰️
Hayley landed outside the precinct and stumbled, frowning. She'd meant to end up inside the precinct. Maybe she should practice those portals more often. She shook off a sudden lack of energy and headed over to Captain Singh.
Singh looked frazzled.
"Captain Singh?" Hayley asked, her voice distorted by vibrating vocal cords. Singh whipped around and glared. "I'm the Silver Archer."
"Silver Archer," he accused. "You're from Starling! This is your madman!"
"I'm here to help," Hayley said in lieu of answering.
"No," Singh said flatly. "You're a vigilante, I'm not risking the hostages by sending a rogue element in."
"I can get in and save your wounded officer and the hostages," Hayley insisted, but Singh stood his ground.
"I'm not risking my people," He said. "Tockman's demands have almost arrived. We'll take him down then."
"I wasn't in Starling when Arrow and Canary took down Tockman," Hayley told him. "They told me about him. If you give him what he wants, he'll get away."
Singh stared at her for moment before nodding slowly and moving out of her way. "If you can get in, get the downed officer and the civilians out first, and bring Tockman out alive," Singh told her. "No one needs to die today."
Hayley nodded and stepped through another portal.
〰️〰️〰️
Barry and Caitlin moved slowly around the corner. They'd been walking quickly, but the sounds of electricity zapping had slowed them down. what they saw was not what they expected. A steel man hit the floor in front of them, hard.
"Tony," Barry said, moving towards him. "Hey, Tony, what are you doing?"
Tony lifted his head and Barry winced at the amount of blood on his face. "Oh, come on. You know me, Allen," Tony groaned. "I never run from a fight."
Barry remembered well. "Alright, well, stay with me, okay?" he told Tony. "You're good."
Tony looked up at Barry. "Run," he gasped.
"What?" Barry looked down at Tony, and panicked when he saw that he wasn't breathing. "Hey, Tony." He didn't get a response and as he watched, Tony's skin returned to normal. "No."
He sat there for a minute holding Tony until Farooq came around the corner down the hall.
"Barry!" Caitlin gasped, pulling him away from the body. They ran down the hall away from Farooq, dodging his shots.
〰️〰️〰️
Helicopter blades whirred over the precinct. Tockman glanced at his watch.
"Hmm," he grunted. "Early." He jerked Iris up by the arm.
"Tockman, no," Joe cried. "No, don't do this, not her. No, take me, please."
Iris fought to get free. Tockman just gripped tighter. "Something tells me you will not be a docile passenger," he told Joe. "She will."
"Dad," Iris cried. "Dad."
"Wait, wait!" Joe said desperately. "Let her say goodbye." Tockman turned to face Joe. "This is her boyfriend lying here dying, and I think you and me both know that he probably won't make it." Tockman seemed to waver and Joe tried again. "It's wrong that you didn't get to say goodbye to your sister. Give them what you deserved."
That did it. Tockman pushed Iris over to Eddie. "You have twenty seconds."
Iris fell to her knees beside Eddie. "Eddie. Eddie."
"Sorry, babe," He whispered.
"No, please," Iris told him. "You have to hang on for me, okay? I'm gonna be right back." She leaned down to kiss him and as she pulled away, Eddie whispered to her.
"Let's go," Tockman ordered, and jerked her back up. He dragged her upstairs and Joe watched his baby girl disappear. A sound caught his attention and he turned around to see a swirling blue portal open up in the middle of the precinct. Joe watched as black combat boots stepped out, followed by grey leather pants and jacket and a hood covering the face, the edges of a pale grey mask just visible under its shadow. A silver and black bow was gripped in her left hand, a quiver of silver arrows just visible over her shoulder. The portal closed behind her.
"Detective West?" said the Silver Archer. "Flash sent me. He's a little, uh... held up right now." Joe stared. He knew it was Hayley under that hood, but, damn, if she wasn't intimidating. She moved towards Eddie and draped his good arm over her shoulder. Another portal opened up.
"I'll be back," she assured Joe, "but my first priority is making sure no one dies." She stepped through the portal with Eddie and Joe watched as the portal began to close, then open up again. The Silver Arrow came back through, looking around. "There's a hostage missing."
Joe looked up at her. "He took her. He took my baby."
"Don't worry," Silver Archer said. "I'll bring her back." She nocked an arrow and headed towards the stairs.
She was almost to the roof when she heard voices.
"Quickly," Tockman said to Iris. "Time and tide wait for no man."
The Silver Archer stepped into his view, an arrow aimed his throat. "Let the girl go, Clock King."
"Silver Archer," Tockman said. "We haven't had the pleasure of meeting."
The Silver Archer noticed Iris slowly reaching for... holy crap, where'd she get a gun?! She decided to stall. "Pleasure's all mine, thanks. Heard you shot my friend."
Tockman sneered. "The annoying little blonde one? She got in my wa--" Tockman fell to the ground, his leg bleeding.
The Silver Archer lowered her bow, looking towards Iris, who was still holding the smoking gun. Iris looked back, panting. She smiled hesitantly at the archer.
Someone shouted Iris's name in the distance. The Silver Archer held out her hand and Iris passed her the gun. They had a silent conversation and then turned to walk down the stairs. As they walked downstairs, the Silver Archer used Tockman's radio to contact Singh and give him the green light.
Iris ran to her father and hugged him tight as the police entered the bullpen. Paramedics rushed by the Archer with Tockman on a stretcher in handcuffs. He glared at her.
"This isn't over, Archer," he screamed. She lifted a hand in a wave, smirking.
"Sure it isn't," she muttered. Singh approached her cautiously.
"I'd like to thank you for your help today," he said lowly. "Detective Thawne might not be alive if not for you."
"It's my job, Captain," the Archer said. "This may not be my city, but I help people, no matter where they're from." Singh nodded at her, then headed off to talk to the hostages.
Iris immediately took his place. "Hi."
"Hi. Iris, right?" Iris nodded. "You're a hell of a shot."
"Thanks," Iris replied. "My dad said the Flash sent you?" The Archer nodded. "Tell him thanks. And thank you for coming."
"You're welcome, Ms. West." Iris watched as the Archer flicked her wrist and a blue portal opened up. "Don't forget, a girl's got to be her own hero sometimes."
And then she was gone.
〰️〰️〰️
"You're winded," Cisco remarked as Barry and Caitlin entered the room he was in. "That's... not good."
Caitlin rushed around getting her medical supplies. "I need to take your blood and figure out what happened."
Barry sat quietly. "I can't believe he's dead."
"Dr. Wells?" Cisco asked. Barry shook his head.
"No, no," he replied. "Tony Woodward."
"He escaped from the pipeline," Caitlin told Cisco as she started taking Barry's blood.
"He must have got out when the blackout hit," Barry reasoned. Cisco shook his head.
"Not possible," he told them. "The Pipeline was designed to withstand a power outage. Someone had to have let him go."
"I did." All three turned to see Dr. Wells rolling through the door. "I released him." He looked around. "Where is Ms. Parker?"
"Why?" Barry asked.
"To divert our intruder's attention while we worked to restore your speed," Wells explained.
"You used him as a distraction?"
"An unnecessary one, as it turns out," Wells answered. "It seems the plan has failed. Where is Ms. Parker?"
"She left to deal the hostage situation at the precinct," Caitlin piped up. A spark of anger and hatred flashed through Wells' eyes, gone too fast for any of the others to notice.
"I... I have his blood on me," Barry said slowly. "How could you do that?"
"You're showing a lot of sentiment for a man who tormented you as a child," Wells observed. Barry glared fiercely at him."
"Tony might have been a bully then and now," Barry argued, "but he didn't deserve to die!"
"Does Caitlin or Cisco or me or you?" Wells shot back. "I had a choice to make, him or us. I chose us without a second thought."
Barry looked at him as though he didn't know him. "All your talk about miracle cures and scientific breakthroughs, but you don't care about people at all," he accused.
"Maybe you care too much, Barry," Wells told him, sighing. "I know being a hero is important to you, and I respect your ideals. I just don't have the luxury of sharing them."
"I forgot," Barry spat. "Your game's chess. We're all just pawns to you, right? So what's your move, doctor? Which one of us gets sacrificed next?"
Electricity crackled outside and all four of them looked at the door, tense. No one saw the portal open and no one saw Hayley step out, still dressed as the Silver Archer.
"You could cut the tension in here with a knife," she said, watching them jump in amusement. "Seriously, I wasn't gone that long. What happened?" She leapt up onto the table and lowered her hood.
Cisco whistled. "Damn, girl, that suit is fine. Wish I'd made it."
Hayley grinned. "Thanks, Cisco." She looked at Barry. "Joe and Iris are fine," she reported. "The situation has been taken care of."
"Thanks, Hayley," Barry said. "Who got shot? Are they okay?"
"It was Eddie," she told him. "He's in the hospital, but I think he'll make it."
Wells interrupted. "Ms. Parker, was it wise to go rushing into that situation when we needed you here?"
"We didn't need her here," Caitlin answered. "Barry and I could handle the treadmill by ourselves, and knowing Hayley was at the precinct helped Barry worry less."
Wells opened his mouth, but was cut off by the crackle of electricity, louder and closer than before. "We have to get out of the facility," he told them.
"We just left him on D level," Caitlin informed. Barry groaned.
"We'll never make it to the main entrance from here," he said.
Cisco looked up. "What about the garage, the mobile lab van?" Wells and Barry stared at each other.
"It's my move, Mr. Allen, and I say we make a run for it." Barry nodded. Hayley looked confused.
"Your speed," she wondered. "What happened?"
"It didn't work," Barry started to explain. Caitlin interrupted.
"Oh, my God. Barry, look." Caitlin shoved a tablet in Barry's hands. "Your cells, they're rapidly regenerating."
"I still don't have my speed," he said, confused.
Hayley gave him a thoughtful look. "It must be mental, not physical," she told him.
"Oh, you have the yips," Cisco said. Hayley glared at him.
"The whats?" Barry asked.
"You know," Cisco began to explain, heedless of Hayley's glare. "When a second baseman all of sudden can't throw to first or a golfer tries to putt and they get all embarrassed and upset, and then that makes the yips worse, and it's a hot mess, and then they feel like even more of a failure."
"That's not helping," Barry squeaked.
Hayley whapped Cisco on the back of the head. "What part of 'don't mention the yips to Barry' did you not understand?!"
"It was relevant!" Cisco defended. The two of them dissolved into arguing and Wells rolled over to stop them.
Caitlin pulled Barry away from the bickering duo. "Look, you asked if I believed you were struck by lightning for a reason, if you were chosen. I believe." She laid a hand on his arm. "You should, too."
A loud boom quieted the room. Hayley looked at Team Flash.
"Let's move."
〰️〰️〰️
Despite Barry not having speed, he reached the doors to the garage first.
"Second van," Cisco called to him. "Keys are inside." Barry jumped inside the van as soon as he reached it, turning the keys to start it up.
"Get in!" Barry yelled as the engine started. "Come on!"
They had almost reached the van when the door to the garage opened again.
"He's here," Wells said quietly.
Farooq entered the garage and immediately saw Barry in the van. Barry's eyes widened and he threw himself from the van seconds before Farooq shot the van. Caitlin, Cisco and Hayley ran over to him, leaving Wells safely behind a different van.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Caitlin worried.
"I'm okay," Barry told her as he pushed himself up. "Come on."
"Did he hit you?" Hayley asked him. Barry shook his head.
"I'm okay," he repeated.
"Guys?" Cisco glanced back at them and jerked his head towards the approaching Farooq.
"Oh my god," Caitlin said softly. "Oh my god, no, please."
Hayley stood and stepped in front of her friends, notching an arrow. "You don't want to do this, Farooq."
"You can't stop me," he growled at her. She aimed her arrow at his eye.
"Wanna bet on that?" she asked.
"Hey!" Wells rolled in front of the door, taking Farooq's attention away form Hayley. She lowered her bow. "You're here for me."
Hayley moved back to her friends and they all watched in trepidation.
"Finally you show your face," Farooq sneered.
"Well, I wasn't exactly eager to be killed," Wells reasoned, rolling back a bit as Farooq got closer.
"Neither were my friends," he growled.
"I know," Wells agreed. "I hurt a lot of people that night."
"People?" Farooq said, accusatory. "You don't even know their names."
"Jake Davenport," Wells began listing. "Darya Kim. Ralph Dibny, Al Rothstein, Grant Emerson, Will Everett, Bea Da Costa, Ronnie Raymond." He glanced at Caitlin, who looked down sadly. "I know the names of every person who died that night. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something that I have to live with every day, but these people," he gestured at Team Flash, "these people have done nothing wrong. You want to punish me? Fine, let's do that, but let these people live."
"You died that night too," Farooq sneered at Wells, his hands lighting up. "You just didn't know it till today."
Time slowed down as electricity shot from Farooq's hands towards Wells. Hayley was more than halfway there already -- how had she done that?-- but she'd never make it in time to save Wells. It was up to the Flash. Barry felt the lightning in his veins, felt the speed and power. Something mental snapped, his eyes crackled with lightning and Barry ran. He pulled Wells out of danger and moved Hayley back to the others, then ran in front of the energy blast and stopped. It hit him full on.
Farooq tried pulling energy from Barry again, but Barry held tight to the feeling of lightning and speed and pulled back. Farooq screamed and fell, dead. Barry slumped, panting.
"You got your speed back, Sonic," Hayley noted as she came up to stand beside him, looking at the body. Barry nodded, before he stiffened.
"Iris," he whispered and took off again.
"Where is he going?" Cisco asked. Hayley grinned.
"He's got to check on Iris and Joe," she told them all. "Gotta know what damage was done while he was decommissioned." She looked back at where Farooq laid. "He'll be back soon."
〰️〰️〰️
Later that night, Team Flash met in the Cortex.
"We could have called him Blackout," Cisco remarked, catching the ball Hayley threw at him from across the room. Caitlin gave them both a look.
"He had a name, Cisco," she pointed out.
"I'm just not sure what happened," Barry interrupted before Cisco could retort. "Why didn't he just siphon all my powers like before?"
"What, did you want that to happen?" Hayley asked.
"Ms. Parker," Wells reprimanded. He turned to Barry. "It's because you finally stopped thinking about your powers and just connected to them."
"Look," Caitlin interjected, pulling up a display on the screens. "This is a sample of your blood from just after you were struck by lightning." She pulled up another display next to the first. "Now your cells are generating more energy than ever before."
"It was more energy than the meta could safely handle," Hayley finished for her.
Cisco smirked. "It's almost like he choked on you."
"But what does that mean?" Barry asked Wells.
Wells gave him an inscrutable look. "It means you've kicked it up a notch."
Caitlin and Cisco stood and made their excuses to leave. Hayley followed them out, stopping to lay a hand on Barry's shoulder.
"I'm going to the hospital to see Eddie," she told him. "See you later, Sonic." Hayley gave him a smile and left, leaving Barry and Dr. Wells alone in the Cortex. Barry looked at him, suddenly feeling guilty.
"Dr. Wells," he began, "what I said, about how you don't care about people, I..."
Wells cut him off. "No, look, Barry. There is a reason that my biography describes me as arrogant, prickly, brusque..."
"'At times contemptuous,'" Barry interrupted. He rubbed his neck a little sheepishly. "I read it twice."
"You were right," Wells continued. "I don't care much for people, Barry. I find them misinformed, shortsighted."
"So why do you do what you do?" Barry asked him. "Why get up in the morning?"
"Because I believe in a better future, one that I very much want to see, one that you are a part of," Wells explained. He smiled at Barry. "I might not much care for people, Barry, but I care about you."
Barry returned the smile and grabbed his coat. "I should be going. See you tomorrow, Dr. Wells. Have a nice night." He left the room.
"You too, Barry," Wells said softly, watching him go. "You too."
He rolled slowly out of the Cortex, making sure no one was coming back. Rather than go to the elevator, he turned left and headed to the pipeline and opened it up, bringing Farooq Gibran's cell forward.
He stood from his wheelchair and took out a syringe. Leaning down, he jabbed it into Farooq's neck.
"Now, you," he said slowly, watching the syringe fill with Farooq's blood."Had the ability to steal the Flash's powers, and I," he pulled the full syringe out of Farooq's neck, holding it up to the light, "would love to know how you did that."
He stepped out of the cell and closed the pipeline, going back to his chair. Sitting back down, he rolled away.
Tonight had been quite a night.
〰️〰️〰️
Barry walked into Eddie's hospital room, holding flowers he bought from the gift shop.
"Hey, Allen," Eddie slurred. Barry smiled at him.
"Hey, Eddie," he replied. Hayley waved from her spot in the corner behind Joe.
"Flowers," Eddie noticed. Barry set them in down on Eddie's table. "That's so nice." Eddie giggled.
Iris looked at Barry. "Where were you all night?"
"Home," Barry lied, "trying to eat all the ice cream before it melted."
"I love ice cream," Eddie laughed. Barry gave him a weird look.
"He is on pain meds," Joe explained.
"Lots of 'em," Hayley interrupted. "He's more than a little loopy right now."
"But he's going to be okay," Joe finished, giving Hayley an exasperated look.
"It's been some night," Iris sighed. "I am gonna get some coffee. I'll be back." She kissed Eddie's forehead and left the room.
Joe waited until she'd left before reaching out and casually pushing the red vase off the table. Barry caught it in a flash.
"Dude," Eddie breathed. "Awesome."
Joe chuckled. "I guess you're feeling better."
"Oh, yeah," Barry nodded. Hayley grinned at him and he smiled back.
"Did you guys see that?" Eddie asked them. The three of them exchanged a look. Joe laughed and patted Eddie's leg.
"You're just high, partner," he lied.
"Right," Eddie laughed. "I forgot."
Barry quietly left the room. The Flash needed to be somewhere.
〰️〰️〰️
Iris stood at the coffee machine, waiting for her cup to fill, when a gust of wind blew by her. She turned to see the Flash standing there.
"Oh, now you show up," she said, crossing her arms.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you today," he apologized. "It couldn't be helped."
Iris shrugged. "It's okay. A girl's got to be her own hero every now and again," she told him, echoing what the Silver Archer had said to her earlier that night.
"I promise I'll never be late again," Flash said. Iris scoffed.
"My best friend is always saying that," she retorted, "and he is always late."
Flash stared at her. "You're worth being on time for."
Iris began to walk away before turning back. "Hey, Flash," she called. "Thanks for sending her." Then she continued on to Eddie's room.
The Flash stood there for a moment, watching her go, then sped off.
〰️〰️〰️
Iris walked back in, looking deep in thought. Joe looked at her, concerned.
"Honey, you alright?" he asked. Iris looked at him.
"Yeah, why?"
"You forgot your coffee," Hayley told her. Iris looked down at her hands.
"Oh, uh..." Iris trailed off, then shrugged.
Hayley gave Barry a look. He looked at her, then at the ground avoiding her eyes. She stood.
"I'm gonna go," she announced. "I'm glad you're okay, Eddie."
"Thanks, Hayley," Eddie replied, a little more sober.
"See you all tomorrow." Hayley began walking out of the room, stopping at Barry's side.
"I know what you did, Flash," she whispered, then left. Barry turned to watch her go.
When he turned back around, Iris winked at him. He flushed and went to sit down.
Sometimes he really hated that Iris knew him so well.