Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

S.T.A.R. Labs

"Zoom sent me here to kill you, but I didn't want to." Doctor Light said, remorseful as she was locked up in the Pipeline cell.

"But you were fine with killing Iris West." The Flash reminded.

"I thought it was the only way to be free from Zoom. Once he'd find her corpse, he'd think that it was me and by the time he'd realize I had staged my death, I'd be long gone." Doctor Light explained.

"How was he supposed to know where to find her body?" The Flash inquired.

"Just let me go. I'll disappear. None of you will have to go after me ever again." Doctor Light begged.

The Flash shook his head. "You would spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, never knowing when Zoom is coming."

"And do you have a better idea?" Doctor Light raised her brows.

"How were you supposed to contact him after you killed me?" The Flash inquired.

"He wanted me to… get something that was yours… throw it through the breach to prove that I killed you. Then he'd come to be sure that I succeeded and take me back home." Doctor Light said. "What does it matter to you, anyway?"

"Because I want to find him." The Flash said.

Doctor Light shook her head, visibly frightened. "No. You don't. Trust me."

"He's gonna keep coming for me. He's gonna keep kidnapping people like you, forcing them to do what he wants. I have to stop him before more people die." The Flash said.

"You can't beat Zoom. No one can."

"Yes, I can. I will, but I need your help."

Doctor Light considered before nodding.

"Zoom wants Doctor Light to send him your new emblem." Caitlin summed up.

"Yes. We need it for bait. If we can get Doctor Light to take my emblem, throw it through the breach, then Zoom will come to collect my body, and we can trap him." Barry explained.

"You know it took a lot of work to make that emblem, right?" Cisco pointed out.

"Hold on." Patty stepped up. "She was willing to kill Iris to get away from Zoom? What makes you think she'll help us catch him?"

"She knows it's the only way." Barry said.

"Before I left Earth-2, I worked on a serum to dampen Zoom's speed." Harry said. "All we would need is for Ramon to develop a weapon to deliver it."

"Oh, great, that could be this year's cold gun. Maybe another criminal can get it, and then we'd have Sergeant Slow." Caitlin deadpanned, glancing at Cisco.

"I would never let that happen. Sergeant Slow is a terrible name." Cisco argued.

"We don't even know how fast Zoom might be. Maybe even faster than Barry and the Reverse-Flash." Patty said.

"Patty's right, if Barry can catch bullets, what's to say Zoom can't catch whatever you shoot at him?" Caitlin agreed.

"Surprise. The element of surprise. All we would do is rig a projectile to fire as Zoom crosses into the breach. He can't stop what he can't see coming." Harry said.

"That's great." Barry nodded.

"Thanks." Harry said.

Caitlin turned to Patty and Joe. "Guys, voice of reason here?"

Patty sighed, rubbing her face in frustration. "Look, I may not like this any more than you do, Caitlin but… if you're asking me for a different suggestion, I don't have one. And believe me, I really wish I had."

"We need a plan. That's as good as any. As long as he can deliver." Joe said, glancing at Harry.

"Don't underestimate me, Detective." Barry assured before Patty's phone rang as she looked at the text.

"It's Julian. We gotta go." Patty said as Barry left before she, Joe, Cisco and Caitlin converged, lowering their voices.

"Are you just forgetting everything Jay told us and supporting Wells now?" Caitlin whispered.

"Oh, no, I don't trust Wells at all." Joe shook his head.

"Me either but we should make sure what's he playing at." Patty said. "But we should give him some space. Eventually, he'll slip. There's definitely something off about him, just like with Thawne and sooner or later, we'll catch him in the act."

Cisco nodded. "Yeah, I'm totally with you. I think he's hiding something."

"Look, my hunch after interrogating suspects all these years, something's not right with this dude." Joe said as they turned to Harry again. "Barry told me about this thing you can do?"

"Vibing." Caitlin said.

"Oh, God, just relax." Cisco sighed, folding his arms.

"Do you think there's any way you can do it with Wells?" Patty asked.

"I can try." Cisco nodded.

CCPD

"Is that doppelganger locked up?" Iris asked, still in protective custody.

"She's not going to hurt anyone, ever again." Barry said. "I'm sorry you got put into danger. It—"

"No. Don't. I mean, she caught you off-guard, it's not like you could've expected that she was gonna look like me. This isn't your fault." Iris said. "But at least I'm safe now, right?" Barry and Patty nodded. "I think I'll head back to work."

"Iris, are you sure?" Barry asked as she was getting up.

"Look, Barry, I know you're trying to help but you said that Doctor Light is locked up, so I'm safe, right? Besides, if I'm gonna be surrounded by cops one more minute, I might go nuts." Iris said as she left before she bumped into Julian, who had in his hands some folders. "Oh, sorry."

"Careful there." Julian said as the papers fell off his hands and Iris and Patty helped him collect the papers before Patty looked closely at what it was.

"Light spectrum?" Patty asked. "I thought we closed the Doctor Light case, Julian."

"I'm just trying to cover all bases. We never got her, didn't we? It makes me wonder… if she can control light spectrum, she might be able to become invisible. Maybe that's why neither the Flash or the police has been able to find her." Julian mused as a terrible idea hit them before Barry got an alarm about Doctor Light escaping on his phone.

Later, S.T.A.R. Labs

"Doctor Light managed to hack into the lights of her cell. The whole building runs on fiber optics that operate on pulses of light, so she turned off the dampeners and used her powers." Cisco said.

"I told you how dangerous she was. You should have listened to me and sedated her." Harry scolded.

"I thought I had convinced her that helping us was the only way she'd free herself from Zoom." Barry said.

"Well, you thought wrong." Harry drawled.

"Yeah." Barry sighed, cursing himself.

"Look, we can point fingers at each other later. We should figure out what to do next." Patty said.

"Do you think she's gonna try and take Iris again?" Caitlin asked.

"I'm here." Iris said as she entered. "I doubt she's gonna come after me here."

"How are we doing with the speed dampener?" Barry asked Caitlin.

"I think we isolated the composite." Caitlin said.

"And we're modifying the dart the Arrow used to take down Wells." Cisco said.

"He's not Wells. I'm Wells." Harry muttered.

"Whatever, Harry." Cisco sneered.

"But we don't even really know if this thing works." Joe argued.

"Until we try it, no. This will be a field test, so can we end this scintillating staff meeting and get back to work?" Harry demanded.

"Or how about I say what everybody's thinking? Maybe it's a good thing that Doctor Light is gone." Joe said. "Maybe it's the universe stopping us from doing something really stupid."

"No." Barry shook his head. "No. Keep going. I'm gonna figure out another way to get Zoom."

"Look, Barry, don't you think there might be another way? I'm not saying I see one but you have to admit, this is crazy, what you're suggesting." Patty said.

"Patty, look, I know what I'm doing." Barry assured.

"OK, I don't, so why don't you clue me in?" Joe drawled.

"I'm trying to stop Zoom. I thought you were on board with that." Barry stared at Joe incredulously.

"I'm keeping my options open." Joe said.

"I don't understand why you think we have a choice. Zoom wants me dead." Barry reminded. "The metahumans that he's sending from Earth-2, they don't care how many innocent people get in the way. Look at what happened to Iris's and Linda's boss. He was just collateral damage in Zoom's war. The next time, that could be you or Patty."

"Look, Barry, we just think you're getting way ahead of yourself. We barely have any idea what is Zoom capable of." Patty pointed out.

"Wells does." Barry said.

"You're putting a whole lot of faith in the man wearing the face of your mother's killer." Joe said with sarcasm in his tone.

"What about Jay?" Patty asked.

"Yeah, Jay made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to help get me killed, and we can't just sit around and wait for Zoom to make his next move anymore. We can't." Barry said as he turned to Joe. "Aren't you the one who told me life isn't about playing defense, sometimes the only way to succeed is by working the offense?"

"I think at the time we were talking about your high school football tryouts." Joe reminded.

"You said you'd never bring that up again." Barry countered.

Patty held him by his shoulder, when he was about to leave. "Look, we want to take Zoom down as much as you do but what you're doing, that's suicidal and reckless."

Later, Wests' House

"Hey, any progress with Doctor Light?" Iris asked.

"Not really." Barry shook his head and she sighed and wiped her face. "I don't think she's gonna come after you again, don't worry."

"I'm not worried. I'm angry." Iris snapped. "Larkin died trying to protect me and it only makes it worse that the person who did it looks just like me. I mean, if I had Doctor Light's powers right now..."

Suddenly she smiled as Barry shook his head, immediately realizing what was she up to. "No. No. That's a really bad idea."

"Do you have a better idea?" Iris challenged and Barry stared, his mouth opened, no sound coming out.

Later, S.T.A.R. Labs

"For the record, I don't like this. Not one bit." Joe said, glaring at Iris, while he and Patty were preparing the targets looking like Joe, Wells, Patty and other people close to them.

"Iris, are you sure about this?" Barry asked as Iris put on Doctor Light's suit and gloves retrofit by Cisco.

"Honestly, not as sure as I was ten minutes ago. But I can do this." Iris took a breath, turning to Barry. "But I hope I'm not gonna hurt you too badly."

"The suit can absorb the blasts." Cisco assured.

"For real or ish?" Iris raised her brows.

"What does a terrible idea look like to you, Cisco?" Joe asked.

"OK, you know what? I like to think I can see the bright side of things, OK? Positivity, people." Cisco said.

Iris turned to the targets, taking a breath before she attempted to blast Barry's target but the recoil from the weapons made her stagger back as she hit Cisco and Joe instead. "It's a bit too much!" She turned to Cisco and Joe apologetically. "Sorry."

"Uh, you know what? I'm just gonna adjust those a little." Cisco said, picking a screwdriver and readjusting Iris's blasters.

"I don't know if I can do this." Iris said.

"It's gonna be OK, honey. Just deep breaths and remember, when I taught you how to fire from a gun." Joe assured as he held Iris's hand. It took a few tries but Iris eventually got a hang of it.

"Are you sure about this?" Barry asked.

"You've done whatever you could to protect me from Wells. Now's my turn to do the same for you." Iris said.

Cisco and Harry were in Cisco's workshop, working as Cisco turned to him, trying to vibe him as he got up, offering his hand. "Listen, I just want to bury the hatchet and say thank you for all your work."

"You're welcome." Harry said, not even looking at Cisco.

Cisco sighed. "OK." He tried something else as he picked a flask of oil, about to pour it on Harry's machine. "I think maybe the trigger mechanisms are just sticking."

"It's not the trigger mechanisms."

"I think—"

"It's not the... don't, no—"

"It's just a little bit of oil."

Cisco spilled some of it on the worktable as Harry stretched his arms in annoyance and sighed. "Ugh, I'm just gonna clean this up really quick."

"Do not touch me." Harry snapped, noticing Cisco was leaning onto him.

"I'm just trying to help." Cisco then touched Harry's hand as Harry was grabbing some tools before Cisco got a vibe.

A young girl was in restraints in a cage, sobbing as Cisco appeared in some kind of a lair that would be fit for a supervillain before he saw Zoom.

"I know Wells went to the other Earth. Why?" Zoom demanded.

"I don't know, I swear." The girl sobbed.

"Your loyalty is admirable… Jesse." Zoom said as the girl screamed.

"I'm sorry." Cisco pulled away and left as Harry sighed.

Later, Central City

Iris, dressed as Doctor Light, was at the docks, near a breach, as she and Barry were executing the act they had been practicing.

"I'm here to kill The Flash, and no one can stop me!" Iris shouted before tapping her earpiece nervously. "Was it fine?"

"Uh, it's a little too much. Uh, stop messing with the earpiece." Cisco said.

"Yeah, you don't want to dislodge it." Caitlin added.

"Sorry." Iris sighed.

"Iris, take a deep breath. It's gonna be OK. You got this." Patty assured.

A moment later the Flash sped in. "All right, Doctor Light, here I am." He and Iris circled each other. "But we're gonna skip the part where you say you're gonna kill me and go right to the part where I don't let you." He said, as he and Iris were playing the act they had been practicing earlier.

"I'm here to kill you, Flash." Iris said before she and Barry realized how awkward the situation now was. "Oh, God…" She took a breath, cursing Cisco for writing such a dreadful dialogue. "Uh, I am loyal to Zoom, so get ready to fry."

S.T.A.R. Labs

"Next time we're doing this, I'm writing better dialogue." Cisco muttered.

"Next time?" Caitlin and Patty asked in unison, raising an eyebrow at him.

Central City

Iris fired but grazed Barry in the shoulder as he tried to mimic screaming in pain. "Gotcha." Barry rushed at her but she blasted him few more times before Barry fell down. "Told you, Zoom always wins." She said before she picked Barry's emblem as she lowered her voice. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'm OK." Barry whispered as she sighed in relief before she got up and looked around. "Here it is, Zoom, I did what you wanted. Now bring me home." She threw the emblem into the breach as Joe and Harry were waiting a bit afar with rifles ready to shoot a dart at Zoom.

"Come on." Harry whispered as they waited for minutes and then almost an hour passed.

"Guys, I think he didn't buy it." Iris said.

"Yeah." Patty agreed.

"Next time, we need to come up with a better and more convincing act and dialogue." Iris noted.

"Hey!" Cisco exclaimed, offended.

"It was kind of cringeworthy." Caitlin noted as he glared at her in betrayal, while Harry threw down some cans on a box, frustrated.

"I think we should abort. It didn't work." Iris said as she turned to Joe. "Sorry, Dad."

"No, you did fine. It's not your fault. But Wells ain't taking this well." He saw Harry walk off, clearly angry.

"Mm-hmm." Barry nodded.

"How about you?"

"Yeah, it just sucks, you know." Barry put his hands into his pockets, frustrated. "You were right a little bit about this not being just about Zoom... about it being about the Reverse-Flash.

"OK." Joe nodded.

"But not for the reason that you think, not because I didn't beat him. It's... Wells..." Barry sighed. "…he said something to me on that video before he confessed to my mom's murder. He said that even if he was dead, that he still won because I wasn't happy, that I'd never really be happy."

"How the hell would he know?" Joe demanded.

"He knew me. He knows future me." Barry said.

"That's future you. This is the you here and now." Joe assured.

"I still think that Wells is right. Ever since I went back to that night and I didn't save her... I didn't save my mom, I just... there's just been this void in me. You know, I just feel like that is always gonna be there." Barry took a breath. "For better or worse, Wells... He knew me."

"Better than I know you? He may have stalked you for 15 years, but I raised you. Look, Wells said what he said to you to mess with you, to get in your head one last time. If you listen to him, you let him win." Joe pointed out.

Barry nodded. "I know. I don't want that."

"You're responsible for your own happiness, Barry. Forget about Wells. Think hard about what you want and what makes you happy. Go out and get it. Think about Patty. Simple as that. Alright?" Joe assured.

"Yeah." Barry nodded.

Patty's apartment

"I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted them to." Patty told Barry, who shook his head.

"Don't be. It's…" Barry sighed. "I've spent years letting an evil speedster get into my head and make me afraid he might take away everyone and everything that makes me happy." He smiled at her. "Never again. And you make me happy, Patty."

Patty smiled. "Good to know you're still an optimist." She neared him as they kissed and started to make out as they laid down on the couch as Barry was taking off her jacket.

CCPN

"Hey, Iris." Linda said as Iris entered the office. "You look tired."

"Yeah, I just… long night, you know. I just needed some-"

Suddenly, a speedster in black with demonic mask and with blue lightning entered, facing Iris, who paled, terrified before Zoom sped her out, while Linda screamed.

"Iris!" Linda exclaimed before she picked her phone and dialed a number. "Detective West? It's Linda."

Patty's apartment

Barry and Patty pulled away as they were halfway towards taking off their clothes before Barry's and Patty's phones went off.

"It's Joe." Patty said as she answered the call and turned on the speaker. "Yeah, Joe?"

"It's Zoom! He's got Iris!" Joe panicked.

Barry and Patty shot up from the couch. "What? Where are they?"

"On the rooftop of S.T.A.R. Labs!"

Later, S.T.A.R. Labs

The Flash sped on the rooftop of S.T.A.R. Labs as he faced the demonic speedster with in black suit with blue lightning as Zoom chuckled, holding Iris by her throat on the edge of the rooftop.

"Put her down." The Flash said.

"You like to fish with bait? I do too." Zoom taunted as he let Iris go and she screamed, about to fall down but the Flash got down and created cyclones, slowing Iris's fall before catching her.

"You need to get out of here, OK?" Barry ordered.

Iris shook her head, terrified. "Barry, no, that thing… it's… you can't fight it…"

"Just go." Barry insisted as Iris saw blue lightning behind Barry and ran off, while Barry faced Zoom. Zoom looked like a demon in black, giving him a terrifying appearance but Barry wouldn't let Zoom get to him. He had beaten an evil speedster before, he can do it again.

"Zoom cannot be human." Caitlin said as she and Cisco eyed him in fear in the CCTV footage.

"He is... Or was." Harry assured.

"How the hell is Barry supposed to defeat that?" Cisco demanded.

Barry sped off as Harry stared. "Why is he running away?"

Cisco noticed that Barry was circling around S.T.A.R. Labs. "He's not. He's not scared." Then it hit him. "Ooh, he's gonna thunderbolt him!"

"What?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Jay taught him how to throw lightning." Caitlin explained.

Barry threw lightning but Zoom dodged and caught it and threw it back at Barry as he crashed against a billboard, groaning in pain.

"Did you guys see that?" Barry whispered as he got up.

"See him catch a bolt of lightning with his demonic claws? Yeah, saw that." Cisco snapped, him and Caitlin now worried about Barry.

"Jay was right. He cannot do this alone." Caitlin said.

"He's not alone." Harry said as he picked his rifle.

"Run, Barry." Caitlin ordered.

"No." Barry said as he pulled out a dart. "I'm gonna see if Wells' speed-dampening serum works." He got up, facing Zoom. "What do you want from me?"

"Everything." Zoom said, his voice demonic.

"You want to be me? Is that it? You want to be a hero?" Barry taunted.

Zoom chuckled. "Heroes die."

"Only if you can catch them." Barry said as Zoom started to chase him but much to Barry's surprise, Zoom seemed just faster than him, maybe even faster than the Reverse-Flash.

"How is Barry gonna match Zoom's speed?" Caitlin demanded.

"Genius. He's not gonna match it. He's gonna take it out of the equation altogether." Cisco said, realizing what was Barry doing.

"What are you talking about?" Caitlin asked.

"Terminal velocity. The highest velocity attainable by a falling object." Cisco explained.

"Falling through the air?" Caitlin raised her brows.

"Yeah, freefall fight. Their drag force equals the downward force of gravity, making the net force zero, making..."

"…equal velocities. That is genius." Caitlin nodded, smiling, hoping Barry's plan would work.

Barry and Zoom sped up on the rooftop before they were in the air, exchanging blows before they crashed to the ground, with Zoom on top of Barry before both men got up on their feet, with Zoom brutally beating Barry up and him unable to fight back due to Zoom being even faster than him before Zoom knocked Barry down.

Harry fired a dart but Zoom caught it. "Never forget, I am the fastest man alive." He jammed the dart into Barry's chest as Barry groaned.

"He's killing him!" Caitlin stared in shock as Barry's vitals were beeping rapidly on the monitors.

"Barry." Cisco whispered, worried.

"You're next." Zoom said as he turned to Harry before speeding off with the Flash in his hands.

CCPN

Zoom sped into CCPN, holding subdued Flash as some kind of a trophy as the cameras were recording him. "Look at your hero. This man is no god. He is nothing!" He then sped off with the Flash as everyone stared in horror.

Patty's apartment

"Oh, my God…" Patty whispered, eyes getting wet as she saw the live footage on TV before she rushed to her car, picking her jacket.

CCPD

Zoom appeared on the upper level with the Flash in his hands as Joe, Julian, Singh and other officers looked at them in shock, while the cops aimed their guns at Zoom. "The days of the Flash protecting this city are over."

"No, hold your fire." Joe said.

"Let him go!" Singh ordered.

"Now what will you do without your precious hero?" Zoom taunted.

"Shoot that thing, now!" Singh ordered.

Zoom caught all bullets in superspeed before dropping them as the cops stared in shock. "Nice try." He sped off with the Flash again, as the policemen looked shocked.

S.T.A.R. Labs

Zoom entered the Cortex as Harry, Cisco and Caitlin stared in shock.

"Barry!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Harrison Wells, you thought you could defeat me with this?" Zoom mocked, ripping Barry's mask off.

"I made a mistake." Harry pleaded.

"Yes, a costly one." Zoom growled before he drove his fingers through Barry's hip as he groaned. He put Barry up, about to finish him off. "Goodbye, Flash. You, too, weren't fast enough."

Cisco fired from Harry's rifle the dart and Zoom groaned, screaming in agony as he fell down. But much to their shock, he recovered, getting up and speeding off.

"No. No!" Harry shouted as he turned to the direction in which Zoom had run off, while Caitlin was trying to revive Barry.

"Stay with me. Stay with me, Barry. Stay with me. Please, Barry, please." She whispered.

Later, they put Barry on a stretcher, trying to stabilize him, while Joe slammed Harry to the wall. "This is all you! If Barry dies, you die." He glared at Harry hatefully.

"Joe, Barry's vitals have stabilized. Let's let him go." Caitlin said.

"No, Caitlin." Joe snapped as Patty pulled him away.

"Joe, I'm as angry as you are but this is not gonna help Barry." Patty said.

"It's gonna help me." Joe growled as he was about to beat Harry up before Cisco helped Patty pull him away.

"Joe, stop." Cisco turned to Harry. "Who's Jesse?"

Harry turned to Cisco, completely shocked. "How do you..." Then it hit him as he held Cisco by his shoulders with a pleading look in his eyes. "Jesse's my daughter. Zoom has her. You've... you did vibe me."

"Yes." Cisco nodded.

"What did you see?" Harry demanded.

"I saw your daughter. She was with Zoom." Cisco explained.

"But she's alive?" Harry breathed out.

"Yeah." Cisco nodded as Harry pulled away, sighing in relief.

"Did Zoom send you here just like the other metas from Earth-2?" Patty inquired.

"You kill The Flash, and you get your daughter back?" Joe demanded.

"The only way I get my daughter back is, I capture Zoom." Harry turned to Joe. "Do you understand? You love Barry." He slammed his fist to the doorframe in frustration. "I love my daughter. And none of these children are safe as long as Zoom is here. I tried on my Earth to capture him. I failed. I thought I could bring him down here with Barry's help. I was wrong." He walked off, not wanting to have more pain in Team Flash on his conscience and deciding to take down Zoom on his own.

In the morning, Barry was slowly opening his eyes as Cisco turned to him. "Hey, I think he's waking up."

"Barry. Barry?" Caitlin asked.

"Can you hear us?" Patty asked.

"Hey." Barry whispered as they sighed in relief.

"You scared the crap out of us." Cisco said, chuckling.

"Zoom did quite a number on you, you were out for hours." Patty said.

"How bad is it?" Barry asked.

"Bad. If you didn't heal so quickly, I'd be very worried." Caitlin said.

"How's Iris?" Barry whispered.

"She's OK. She left to Metropolis to see some of her friends." Patty assured, holding Barry by his hand. "Don't worry about her or Zoom, OK? You need to rest."

Barry tried to get up but Caitlin held him by his shoulder. "Oh, no, you're staying put."

"Yeah, seriously, you got your ass kicked." Cisco added as Barry was touching his legs, looking completely shocked.

"No, guys, I can't feel my legs." Barry said, much to everyone's shock. "I can't feel my legs."

God, this was so painful to write. But, phew, at least it's done. Again, I swear that none of this had anything to do with my dislike towards Iris. I have softened around her in Season 6 of The Flash but let's face it, even in the actual episode, Barry's and Linda's act was quite cringeworthy.

Stay safe from coronavirus, guys.

So, what do you guys think?

Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.