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.
Barry, Patty and Joe entered Wells' house as they saw the glass shards around.
"Come in." Wells said as he let them in. "Patty, Joe, look. I apologize for all of this. It really feels like a case of so much for so little. The police should not have been called. I got a prank call before all this happened."
"Seems like more than just a prank call, Doctor." Patty noted as they looked around.
"Well, there are those who feel I did not suffer enough for the particle accelerator explosion last year, and some of them act on it." Wells said as they saw the shattered roof window before Caitlin and Cisco entered.
"Dr. Wells. Dr. Wells, are you OK?" Caitlin asked worriedly.
"Dr. Snow, I'm fine." Wells assured her. "A little chilly. Otherwise, I'm fine. Hello, Cisco. Make yourselves at home as best you can. I'm gonna make a hotel reservation." He drove off, while picking up his phone.
"Yo, this place is so sick." Cisco said as he looked around.
"Yeah." Barry nodded.
"Where have you guys been?" Patty wondered. "I thought you'd be here earlier."
"We… got lost." Cisco said awkwardly.
"We've never been here before." Caitlin added, much to Barry's, Patty's and Joe's surprise.
"Really, never?" Barry raised his brows.
"He tends to keep his private life private." Caitlin said.
"I canvassed the street." Eddie said as he approached Joe. "No other reports of vandalism, no strange cars. Get this, Wells says he's right there when it happened." He looked up. "All that glass shattering down around him. He can't walk."
"And he didn't have a scratch on him." Joe agreed, both of them eying Wells suspiciously.
"How is it possible that Wells got out of it unfazed, if you look at the mess. I mean, you'd expect a guy on a wheelchair to at least have something." Patty noted.
"Maybe he got lucky." Barry shrugged but neither of them were really convinced as Barry examined the crime scene and started to reassemble the glass shards in superspeed. "There's no point of impact. No rock or bat or any solid object went through these windows."
"It's like if they somehow shattered themselves." Patty said as she took a closer look before they turned to Wells, who smiled.
"This wasn't some teenage prank?" Barry inquired.
Wells shook his head, smiling. "No, it wasn't."
"But you don't want us to help you. Why?" Patty asked.
"Because I already know who did this. Hartley Rathaway." Wells said, much to their confusion.
"Who is Harley Rathaway?" Barry asked.
"Hartley Rathaway is the prodigal son. And he has returned." Wells said.
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
Wells showed Hartley's profile on the screen in the Cortex. "Hartley Rathaway possesses one of the finest scientific minds I've ever encountered."
"Rathaway, as in "Rathaway Industries"?" Patty asked.
Wells nodded. "His grandfather founded the company, his father expanded it. Hartley was set to inherit the throne."
"What happened?" Barry asked.
"He came out to his parents." Caitlin said dryly. "Old money, old values."
"They were estranged when we met but brilliant. I couldn't have built the accelerator without him."
"You've never told us about him." Patty said.
"That's because Hartley had a challenging personality." Caitlin said somewhat bitterly, rubbing the back of her neck.
"What she means is he was mostly a jerk." Cisco clarified, clearly frustrated before turning to Wells. "But every once in a while, he could be a dick."
"Oh." Patty said as Joe chuckled.
"Let's just say that Hartley, like many outliers, had trouble relating to his peers." Wells said.
"Yes, but he was always your favorite." Caitlin shot Wells a glare.
"The chosen one." Cisco said sarcastically as Wells shot him a look. "He referred to himself like that."
"So, if you two were so close, why would he target you?" Joe questioned.
"Hartley left S.T.A.R. Labs about a year ago after we had..." Wells paused and sighed. "...a disagreement."
"About…?" Patty asked.
Wells was hesitant to say anything before Barry stepped up. "Look, don't worry. We'll stop him. I won't let him hurt you, any of you." Joe and Patty turned to him in confusion. "Let's get back to my lab."
Joe and Patty nodded as they left with Barry.
"I could have gone my whole life without seeing that jerk again." Cisco grumbled, glaring at Hartley's photo.
CCPD
Barry had a glass cup on a stand as he tapped on it with a spoon as Joe observed. "Everything has a natural frequency. Since sound is expressed as a vibration, if the pitch of the sound matches the natural vibration frequency of an object, then..." He turned the machine one as the glass shattered as he, Joe and Patty laughed.
"So you're saying that can happen to anything, not just glass?" Joe asked.
"If you know the right frequency, theoretically, yeah." Patty nodded. "It's likely that's how the windows at Wells' place shattered. Whoever did this is using some kind of sonic technology."
"I'm getting this feeling that Wells is hiding something." Joe said as Barry turned to him in confusion before Patty nodded.
"I don't know about you, Barry but Joe and I are not sure he told us everything about this Rathaway guy." Patty added.
"I mean, it sounds like this Hartley guy was a pill before he went all super villain. So I get why he never mentioned him." Barry said.
"Like he never mentions his girlfriend that got killed." Joe said as they turned to him in confusion.
"What?" Patty asked.
"How do you know about her?" Barry straightened himself.
"He's taken up a big part of our lives. I wanted to know more about him." Joe said.
"Well, if you wanna know more about him, you could just ask me." Barry said.
"Unless you don't know Wells as much as you believe." Patty realized as Joe nodded.
A moment later, Eddie entered. "Joe, multiple 9-1-1 calls. Rathaway Industries is under attack. Sector cars are en route."
Joe and Patty went out with Eddie as Barry answered Caitlin's call. "Hey."
"Barry, it's Caitlin."
"I think I know why you're calling." Barry said as he went out.
Rathaway Industries
Hartley used his gauntlets to fire sonic blasts, shattering the windows of Rathaway Industries building before disabling police cruisers approaching the scene. The Flash then sped in, knocking him down.
"It's over, Rathaway." The Flash said.
"You know my name." Hartley chuckled, flattered. "I know some names too. Caitlin Snow. Cisco Ramon. Harrison Wells. I can hear their radio waves emanating from your suit. About 1,900 megahertz. Is that them on the other end listening? Are they gonna hear you die?"
"No." The Flash shook his head. "They're gonna hear you get your ass kicked."
"OK." Hartley shrugged before blasting the Flash back with his gauntlets as he crashed against the Rathaway Industries sign.
The Flash got up and dodged another sonic blast before throwing nightsticks at Hartley. As Hartley prepared to blast him again, Barry disarmed him of his gauntlets. "Looks like you're not as smart as everyone says."
"Smart enough to have figured out who Harrison Wells really is." Hartley sneered. "You see, I know his secret."
S.T.A.R. Labs
Just as Barry, Cisco and Caitlin were completely confused as they stared at Wells.
Later, after locking Hartley up and Wells confronting him as they listened to the conversation, Wells returned to the Cortex, once Barry, Cisco and Caitlin overheard them about Wells turning on them as Wells seemed ashamed.
"I assume you were all listening." Wells said. "Hartley was telling the truth. I have not been honest with you. With any of you." He stretched his arms and took a breath. "The accelerator. Hartley warned me that there was indeed a chance that the accelerator could explode." Barry, Cisco and Caitlin seemed shocked.
"What?" Patty demanded as she entered as they stared at Wells in disbelief.
"His data did not show 100% certainty. Just that there was a risk but it was a real risk and yet I made the decision that the reward, that... everything we could learn, that everything we could achieve, that all of that..." He took a breath. "...simply outweighed that risk. I'm sorry."
Everyone glared at him in disappointment as Caitlin especially seemed heartbroken and betrayed because of losing Ronnie.
"The next time you choose to put our lives and the lives of the people that we love at risk... we'll expect a heads-up." Caitlin sneered as she and Cisco left.
"I've wanted to give you a benefit of the doubt so much because you helped Barry." Patty said bitterly as she left.
"After the explosion, when everyone else left you, Caitlin and Cisco stood by you." Barry glared as Wells looked down, ashamed. "You owe them more than an apology."
"They might seem to get more than that with Hartley so intent on sending me to the next world." Wells said.
"What... that wouldn't make it right with them." Barry shook his head. "You broke their trust, our trust."
Wells folded his arms with a passive expression on his face as Barry left.
"I wanted to give him a benefit of the doubt so badly because he helped you." Patty said as she turned to Barry. "Now I'm starting to think that what the people said about Wells after the explosion might be true. I just—"
"I'm not sure if I can trust him anymore either." Barry nodded as they both looked betrayed. "But Caitlin and Cisco might feel even worse."
Later, CCPD
"Why the defeated faces?" Iris asked as she entered Barry's lab, while he and Patty were going over some reports.
"Let's just say we got a lousy case tonight." Patty said dryly.
"What about you? You look so beaten yourself too." Barry asked Iris.
S.T.A.R. Labs
Hartley used the devices in his ears to break out of his cell, blasting through the door as the explosion knocked Cisco out before he entered the Cortex, knocking Caitlin out and downloading from the computer files they had on the Flash as he seized his gauntlets as well.
Later, Cisco was on a stretcher as Barry and Patty entered as Cisco came to.
"Hey. Welcome back, Mr. Ramon." Barry said.
Cisco smiled but groaned as he tried to get up, clutching his head. "Oh. Oh, man. Caitlin."
"Don't worry about her, Cisco." Patty assured him.
"You need to rest. You have a concussion. You're lucky." Caitlin held Cisco's shoulder as he turned to Barry and Patty.
"Please, tell me you got him." Cisco asked.
Barry shook his head. "I guess the attack on his family's company was a fake-out so we'd catch him."
"And give him direct access to S.T.A.R. Labs." Caitlin agreed.
"But what did he want here?" Patty wondered.
"I should've known he was up to something. This is my fault." Cisco grumbled.
"Hey, man, this is on me too." Barry said. "I shouldn't have left before—"
"This is no one's fault but mine." Wells said as he entered the Cortex and they all turned to him. "I earned the blame. I'm not interested in sharing it. Hartley doesn't think I've paid for my crimes. He's right. He won't stop until I do." He drove away.
"Where are you going?" Barry asked.
"To earn back your trust." Wells said.
Later, CCPD
"What is going on here?" Iris asked as she was in the precinct with her boss Mason Bridge.
"Press conference." Mason said.
"Thank you for coming on short notice." Wells said, approaching the microphone stand. "And for those of you that read the 10-volume report issued by the Norris Commission, well, I commend you on your tenacity. You already know, then, the circumstances that led to the explosion of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator. Or rather, you think you do."
Central City
Hartley was watching the press conference on TV as he seemed intrigued by Wells owning up to his sins before he started to remodify his gauntlets.
CCPD
"Now, the commission's finding was that the catastrophe was caused by a chain of events that nobody could have predicted, including myself." Wells continued. "The truth is, I was warned there was a chance the particle accelerator might fail. I was warned by a former colleague. A friend. I chose to ignore the warning, and in so doing, I let down all of you." He turned briefly to Barry. "As a new friend pointed out, I failed this city. I failed this city, and I failed those who trusted me the most. But coming forward today, it's my hope I'm taking the first step toward regaining that trust. And your trust as well. Are there any questions?"
"Mr. Wells..." Mason stepped up. "Do you have any intention of rebuilding the particle accelerator?"
Wells turned to Iris, who was behind Mason. "Ms. West. Do you have a question for me?"
Iris stepped up. "I don't believe you answered my colleague's question, Dr. Wells, so I'll ask it again. Do you have any intention of rebuilding the particle accelerator, either now or in the future?"
"Of course not." Wells smiled.
"Thank you for your answer, doctor." Iris nodded.
"It's my pleasure." Wells said before more reporters started shooting questions. "No further questions."
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
"Has Hartley made contact yet?" Wells asked.
"What makes you so sure he will?" Caitlin questioned.
"Because he's Hartley, and he'll wanna have the last word." Wells said, as if the answer was obvious.
Patty entered as they saw Cisco back on his feet. "Shouldn't you be resting, Cisco?"
"The answer to why Hartley fooled us into catching him is in here, and I'm gonna find it." Cisco said, clearly frustrated by that Hartley had fooled them all as he approached the workshop table.
"You have nothing to prove." Wells assured him.
"Not true." Cisco shook his head.
"Do you know why I hired you, Cisco?" Wells asked.
"You said you saw something in me. I know." Cisco nodded, not looking him in the eye.
"What I saw was humanity. You and Hartley, Cisco, you're both brilliant. You both have mental..." Wells clapped his hands. "...sparks, but his brilliance subtracted from the experience of working here, whereas your brilliance, your heart, your warmth, your humor, it just adds to it." Cisco stared with a contemplative look as Wells continued. "There's no chosen one, Cisco. There's no second or third favorite. Never was. It's just us."
Suddenly, they all heard strange sounds.
"What's that?" Caitlin demanded before sparks flew from above.
"Nice gambit, Harrison, but this isn't over." Hartley called out over the P.A. speakers.
"Hartley, what do you want? What do you want? I already gave my mea culpa today." Wells said.
"The city already hated you. You don't think I noticed that press conference was a pathetic bishop sacrifice?" Hartley gloated. "No, no, no, I've played with you too many times to let you get away with that. This is between you, me and the Flash."
"You don't wanna play for those kinds of stakes with me, Hartley." Wells warned.
"Actually, I really do. What do you say? One last game of chess?" Hartley challenged.
"You and I both know that the winner of the game is the one who makes the next to last mistake and you clearly have a move in mind."
"You're right, and I'm already at the board. So why don't you move your precious scarlet knight while I take out a few pawns?" Hartley taunted.
Barry quickly suited up. "All right. All right, Cisco, where do I go?"
"I can't trace his signal. He could be sending messages from anywhere." Cisco said as he approached the computer.
Patty checked her phone. "There's a maniac using some gauntlets and smashing things around on Cleveland Dam. What are the odds that…"
"…it's Hartley." Cisco said, checking the readings. "Quake activity but no fault line."
"Barry. Don't underestimate him. He's brilliant." Wells cautioned as Barry was about to leave before he nodded.
"Well, good thing I'll have you in here." Barry said before he sped off.
Central City
The Flash saved a woman as her car was forced over the dam before facing Hartley.
"Barry, you need to disarm Hartley immediately. Immediately. Do you hear me?" Wells instructed. "He is a master of distraction. He is a master of hiding his true endgame."
Hartley fired another sonic blast, sending cars flying before Barry saved the civilians in the cars.
S.T.A.R. Labs
Cisco went over the data on the computer. "Aha." Then he paled. "Uh-oh."
"'Aha' what?" Wells asked.
"I figured out what Hartley stole from S.T.A.R. Labs, why he let himself get caught." Cisco said.
"Which brings us to the 'uh-oh.'" Caitlin realized.
"He has all the data on Barry's molecular scans." Cisco explained.
"Why would he want that?" Caitlin wondered.
"Oh, no." Patty paled as it hit her and Wells.
"He can get Barry's frequency." Wells said.
"If he knows how, he can use the gauntlets to kill him." Patty realized.
"Barry, you need to get out of there, you need to get out of there immediately!" Wells ordered.
Central City
The Flash kept dodging the blasts before he disarmed Hartley of his gauntlets as Hartley fell down.
"It's over! You lose." The Flash said.
"Amazing." Hartley smirked, amused. "He replaced me with you, a total moron. I got you with the same trick twice." Suddenly, the gauntlets vibrated as Barry groaned, trembling as he held his head, falling down on his knees, feeling excruciating pain. "I got the idea watching you and Harrison chit-chat. To use your suit's own speakers to kill you." Barry groaned as he fell to the ground, blood spilling out of his mouth. "That feeling? That's your organs shearing apart. And you activated the frequency when you disarmed me. In chess, we call that 'a discovered attack'. You don't see it until it's too late. Right, Harrison?"
S.T.A.R. Labs
Cisco, Caitlin, Patty and Wells watched Barry's vitals dropping.
"There's no way Barry can survive that, can we do something?" Patty demanded.
Wells approached the computer as Cisco let him. "What are you doing?"
"Barry's on the travel road of the dam at rush hour surrounded by cars. Those cars are gonna have satellite radio." Wells started typing. "Satellite sends a signal, song comes out the speaker..."
"Yes, I know how satellite radio works. How does that help?" Caitlin snapped.
"I'll have a satellite send something other than a song." Wells said, hacking a satellite. "Hartley is about to hear something he was not expecting. A sound wave that'll meet the frequency of and then destroy his weapons.
Central City
"You don't seem so special anymore." Hartley said as Barry was on the ground, trembling. "Given how easy it was to bring you down, I wonder if Harrison will even miss you."
Suddenly, the car radios started sending a frequency that overloaded Hartley's gauntlets. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." He approached his gauntlets before they overloaded and sparked. Hartley then started hearing a high-pitch sound and started to scream in agony as he fell on the ground.
S.T.A.R. Labs
"Checkmate." Wells said.
Later, Hartley was apprehended and back in the Pipeline as Barry entered the Cortex. "OK."
"How do you feel?" Caitlin asked.
"Fine. I mean, there is a little ringing in my ears." Barry said loudly. "But other than that, I'm good, so..."
"Barry, keep your voice down a bit, please." Patty chuckled, holding his shoulder.
"Sorry." Barry said.
"It's OK. It'll pass." Caitlin assured him.
"Nice moves." Cisco said as he and Barry high-fived.
"Thank you." Barry said.
"Anytime." Cisco nodded. "I think I'm gonna take my doctor's advice and go lie down."
"What a great idea." Caitlin nodded, chuckling.
Cisco chuckled back. "Man, I feel like I'm hungover times ten."
"Not surprised." Caitlin said as Barry and Patty turned to Wells.
"It's difficult for me to admit when I'm wrong. Certainly in front of an entire city, but also... also to my closest friends." Wells said as Barry and Patty nodded. "So I hope one day... to restore your trust and faith in me."
"That day was today." Barry said.
"You've saved Barry's life many times, Doctor. That's all I can ask for." Patty said as they shook hands with Wells.
Patty then went out before she dialed a number. "Hey, Joe."
"Patty. I'm know I'm asking for a lot but—"
"Don't worry." Patty said before lowering her voice. "I'll keep a close eye on Wells here."
Wells entered his hidden room as he had a device attached to his chest. "The real endgame is almost here."
So, what do you guys think?
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