Chapter 8: can the team get what they need to stop DeVoe?
S.T.A.R Labs:
After the team had returned from the trainyard, everyone could see that Amulet was furious so Mach explained to Joe what happened while Chaser and Drive stood by the doorway.
"If Norvock thinks he can steal from me and get away with it, he's got another thing coming." Amulet shouted as she punched a metal table, Caitlin walked over and stood by Amulet while Chaser ran scans over the city.
"The satellite isn't picking up any of your metal shards anywhere in the city." Chaser told her which made Amulet furious. "Mach, let's go and check the city one more time." Chaser suggested and Mach nodded, they walked out of the room and started looking for Norvock and the shards.
Hours later:
Chaser and Mach ran into the Cortex to see everyone including Amulet, Drive looked at his partners and could tell they had something. Chaser's eyes lit up and projected a holographic map of Central City with a red dot.
"We know where Norvock is!" Mach shouted as he pointed the dot, everyone looked at it which made Amulet smile.
"The Reynolds substation!" Amulet smiled then a thought entered her mind. "That's why your satellites couldn't find my shards, they're underground!" Amulet shouted, the team then got ready to roll out which included Caitlin but she couldn't get Frost to come out so she took the Cold Gun.
"Amulet, go with Chaser! Caitlin, with me!" Drive shouted as they headed to their vehicles then raced off to the location. "And Amulet, no killing! You do and I won't hesitate to take you to Iron Heights." Drive told her over the comms, Amulet looked disappointed but agreed as she didn't want to go back inside.
Reynolds Substation:
Norvock and his men were about to leave as they just sold a huge amount of Amulet's shards when several red blasts came flying past and hit the garage door which broke down and blocked the exit. Norvock looked in front of him to see that they had company: it was the Riders and their vehicles. Mach jumped off his bike and tackled both of Norvock's guards and started fighting them while the others parked up and walked towards Norvock.
"Deals off, Norvock!" Drive shouted as the Tridoron shot a weapon to Drive: the Door Gun and pointed it at Norvock. "Those shards don't belong to you, they belong to Amulet!" Drive shouted, Chaser pointed his Break Gunner at Norvock but the dealer didn't look afraid.
"If she didn't want me to steal them, why did the blonde idiot tell me where she hid them?" Norvock laughed, Drive and Chaser took two more steps towards Norvock while Caitlin and Amulet got ready.
"Blonde idiot?" Amulet shouted as her metal shards wrapped around her arm and fired several at Norvock but Drive jumped in front and shot them down.
"Amulet, calm down!" Drive shouted which angered Amulet so she ran towards Drive but Chaser tackled her and the two started fighting. When Drive turned around, Norvock's fake eye popped out and his snake fired a green mist of poison at Drive which caused him to cough. Meanwhile, the car with the shards was about to get away through another exit and before Joe could take a shot, a blue bolt flew past and hit the back tires which caused it to crash.
"Who did that?" Joe asked and Caitlin shrugged her shoulder, they looked to their right to see Mach stood close by with Norvock unconscious guards on the floor.
Meanwhile, Drive was coughing and Norvock was about to attack again but Mach had jumped in to keep Norvock busy. Drive removed Shift Speed just Mad Doctor flew in and the Speed tire changed to the Mad Doctor tire, the Shift Car was able to remove the venom which made Drive happy.
"Krim, wanna take the wheel? Give me a chance to recover?" Barry asked and the driver showed a smiley face so Barry took out Shift Tridoron and activated it.
"Fire all engine!" Drive inserted it which caused the Tridoron to head straight towards him but Barry shifted it up in time. "Drive: Type Tridoron!" The Speed form was casted away and the Type Tridoron armor attached then the yellow visor switched to red.
"Now, time to finish this fast!" Krim shouted as he ran towards Norvock who had kicked Mach into Chaser but the two ran to help Joe and Caitlin. Amulet had fired several of her shards towards Norvock but he had used a weapon to suck all her shards away.
"Now, your time has come!" Norvock smiled as his snake eye was about to shoot venom but then he got kicked in the stomach: it was Drive Type Tridoron.
"No one is killing anyone while I'm here!" Krim told him then the pair started fighting which gave Amulet a chance to try and summon the rest of her shards from the escape car. The trunk opened thanks to Mach and Chaser while Joe was cuffing the dealers. Amulet had used her metal shards to create a helmet around Norvock's head so he couldn't fire his venom, she was about to fire shards at him but Drive walked towards her as his visor changed back to yellow.
"Amulet, no!" Drive shouted as he held his hand out to try and stop her. "You don't need to kill him." Drive told her, Amulet looked at the armoured hero as she was angry.
"He's more than earned it!" Amulet shouted, she got ready to fire when Caitlin, Joe, Mach and Chaser ran over to them. Drive walked towards Amulet with his hand out to try and calm her down.
"It's not about him, it's about you." Drive told her which confused Amulet. "Caitlin told me that you have a good part inside you. She told me that you tried to help with her problem between herself and Frost so you gave her a Splicer to convince her that it would work but you lied. The idea worked though, didn't it?" Drive spoke, Amulet looked at Drive then looked at Caitlin, she finally turned her attention to Norvock who was trying to remove the shards from his head.
"Now, don't mind me. Like Norvock, I'll take my leave." Amulet smiled, she was about to leave when Chaser placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You made a promise. Humans always keep their promises, correct?" Chaser asked, Amulet nodded then she turned around and looked at the group.
"Chase reminded me that I made a promise and I do keep my promises. I'm doing this as a favor to Caitlin and Chase, also for myself." Amulet explained, she then turned around and lifted Chaser's hand then used her powers to create a ball full of her metal shards. "There you go: Filled with shrapnel and bound with my meta gene. Pull a shard, throw it and it will deliver one concussive blast but you have one shot." Amulet told Chase and Caitlin, the pair nodded as Amulet stepped back.
"Thank you." Chase spoke and Amulet nodded, she placed a hand on his helmet and a hand on Caitlin's shoulder.
"Go and save the world, my darlings." Amulet told the pair which made Caitlin smile while Chase nodded. Amulet then stepped back and used her metal shards to create a tornado and she flew away, leaving the group to look at the ball of shards in Chase's hand.
Road:
While their way back to S.T.A.R Labs, Chase was thinking about something which to him was unusual so he moved his bike closer to Ralph's bike. Ralph to his right and saw that Chase was riding close to him.
"Is there something the matter, Chase?" Ralph asked as the pair rode past the CCPD, Chase nodded then looked at Ralph.
"Ralph, how do you know if you love someone?" Chase asked bluntly which took Ralph off guard. "I am curious to understand human emotions and it's to do with DeVoe." Chase explained, Ralph slowly nodded then looked at the road.
"To know if you love someone like a girlfriend, your heart feels like it's beating so fast you can't keep up with the beats," Ralph started as they arrived at S.T.A.R Labs. "You will do anything for them and wouldn't do anything to harm them." Ralph explained then his eyes widened and he looked at Chase. "Are you thinking that's why DeVoe hasn't launched the satellites?" Ralph suggested and Chase nodded, the pair ran inside the building and towards the Cortex.
Cortex:
Barry and Krim were sat in the Cortex talking about DeVoe when Caitlin walked in, she walked over to the pair then hugged Barry with a smile.
"I heard from Krim that you don't have anywhere to stay," Caitlin told Barry who looked at his partner who was smiling. "I was wondering if you would like to stay with me until you find a place?" Caitlin offered, Barry didn't know what to say as he and Caitlin were getting closer so he answered with a kiss on her cheek.
"I would love to," Barry answered with a smile, Caitlin blushed then smiled. They were about to kiss again when they heard running footsteps, they looked at the front door to see Ralph and Chase run in,
"Barry, Chase has just had an amazing thought!" Ralph exclaimed with a smile, he then nodded at Chase who stepped forward and looked at Barry, Krim and Caitlin.
"What if DeVoe has his own reason for not releasing the satellites?" Chase started, he then walked over to the board and wrote down DeVoe's reasons for his plans. "Each time DeVoe has done something in the past, he had a reason. So what if he has a reason for not continuing his final plan?" Chase suggested, Barry nodded as he walked towards the board.
"He doesn't have what he cares the most," Barry spoke then he turned and looked at Caitlin. "Or who he cares the most about." Barry corrected, Chase and Ralph nodded in agreement.
"His wife," Krim spoke and Chase nodded. "Chase, can you fire up the satellite and try to track her down?" Krim asked and Chase nodded, he started scanning through the computer while Krim turned around to see the Rumble Dump Shift Car carrying the metal shard projectile. "Meantime, I'll try and find a way to launch this into space and hit one of his satellites." Krim told the team then Hooking Wrecker towed him towards the workshop with Massive Monster acting like a trailer for Krim.
"Barr, why don't you head on home? Me and Chase will call you if we find Marlize." Ralph suggested with a smile, Barry nodded as he had to pick up some clean clothes from the loft as he was staying with Caitlin for a while.
"Thanks Ralph, see you two later." Barry waved to his friends then left the Cortex, leaving Ralph and Chase alone to work.
"Ralph, why don't you go home? You still have a missing person to find, correct?" Chase asked without looking up from the computer, Ralph nodded then walked over to Chase with a smile.
"Yeah but you're my buddy, Chase. You and me are best friends and we always help each other out." Ralph told him then he sat over by the other computer and used the data the CCPD had on Marlize to see where she could be.
"Friends?" Chase asked as he was puzzled. "Me and you are friends?" Chase asked as if he had never heard of the word. Ralph smiled then span around and looked at Chase.
"You and Barry are friends, right?" Ralph asked, Chase nodded which made Ralph smile. "Me and you are best friends which means we're closer; like brothers." Ralph explained and Chase nodded, Ralph then held out a fist and Chase gently punched him. "Let's get back to tracking Marlize, Chase." Ralph suggested and Chase nodded, they then stayed up all night to try and find Marlize DeVoe.
Next day:
Barry was racing on the streets in Tridoron as he just had a call from Cisco: DeVoe was after Fallout. Thanks to Diggle, they knew where he was so Barry was on his way and was later joined by Ralph and Chase on their bikes.
The CASTLE:
At ARGUS' secret facility, the trio arrived outside the location to see that there were several unconscious guards. Chase ran over to check on them and they were still alive while Ralph checked the scanners inside the building.
"We've got a problem inside!" Ralph called over to the others. "DeVoe's got hostages on top of electro-shock pads. And Fallout's readings are hitting critical." Ralph told them then the trio put on their drivers and ran towards the building as they transformed into their forms.
"Fire all engine! Drive: Type Tridoron!" Barry transformed into Type Tridoron as it had more protection against the radiation. "Signal Bike/ Shift Car! Signal Bike! Rider! Deadheat! Chaser!" Meanwhile Ralph had transformed into Deadheat Mach and Chase had transformed into Chaser as they were going to save the hostages.
"Good luck, team!" Barry shouted and the two nodded, they were running as fast as they could to Fallout's chamber.
Inside:
The trio were almost at Borman's chamber when they felt the ground beneath them shake, they steadied themselves against the wall then Barry had an idea.
"Come On! Dump! Mixer! Gravity!" Shift Tridoron announced as Barry hit the button, he then shifted it up which caused the three tires to merge into the Tridoron tire. "Tire Kakimazel: Kouji Genbar! (Construction Site)" The Tridoron tire was now black and yellow with a builders hat on it, Drive was now armed with Rumble Dump's drill and Rolling Gravity's 10-ton weight.
"Let's see if this works!" Barry shouted then tossed the 10-ton weight which flew and hit the ground, causing it to stop shaking. "It worked! Come on!" Barry shouted as he ran off, Chase and Ralph ran close behind and the weight flew back into Barry's hand.
"According to schematics, we're almost there!" Chase shouted as they ran around a corner to see the floating hostages. "Gravity? DeVoe shouldn't have that power as I took it from him using my finisher." Chase shouted as Barry knelt down and examined the plates.
"I've got an idea!" Barry told them then they heard Shift Cars racing towards them: it was Road Winter, Burning Solar and Dimension Cab. "Solar; absorb the energy from the plates. Cab; open a breach to outside the CASTLE. Winter; as you lot leave, create a shield to protect you from a blast in case DeVoe planted a secondary explosive." Barry explained the Shift Cars shook themselves, Ralph placed a hand on Barry's shoulder.
"Go after DeVoe. Me and Chase will help the Shift Cars." Ralph told his friend, Barry nodded then ran towards the cell to see that DeVoe's portal was still open.
"Good luck!" Barry shouted then he jumped through the portal. Mach and Chaser then started helping the Shift Cars save the hostages.
City streets:
The portal led to the streets of Central City, Drive looked up to see DeVoe's five satellites flying into the sky. He looked around to see if he could spot anyone nearby that looked DeVoe but there was no one that looked like they had launched the satellites.
"Barry, we've got to take out one of those satellites." Krim shouted and Barry nodded, he turned the key on the driver then pressed the red button on the brace.
"Hissatsu!" As the power built up, Barry jumped as high as Type Tridoron could then shifted up the Shift Car once which caused his entire right leg to glow red. "Full Throttle! Tridoron!" Drive then flew towards the closest satellites to him and kicked it with all his power but it wasn't enough. Suddenly, the concussion bomb from Amulet flew out from behind Drive and the metal wrapped around the kick: causing the satellite to blow up. Drive then flew back down onto the road and looked up at the destroyed pieces of the satellite fall into the river.
"Once upon a time in some remote corner of that universe, there was a star which upon beasts invented knowing." A voice spoke, Drive looked around but there was no one hear him.
"Really? You're quoting Neitzsche at me from the shadows?" Drive shouted as he continued to look around him. "Why don't you come and show yourself, DeVoe?" Drive shouted, DeVoe chuckled then Drive heard footsteps behind him only to see a gold and black version of his Type Speed form but without the tire.
"You destroyed a satellite, so what?" DeVoe asked as he slowly clapped his hands. "Have you not learnt anything, you idiot?" DeVoe asked then he punched Barry in the face which sent him flying into a trash can. "The Enlightenment will erase all the terrible things in the world and it will all change as I will lead them to a better future!" DeVoe explained, Drive shook his head then looked at DeVoe as he clenched his fists.
"Remind me; when did Neitzsche talk about wiping minds?" Drive joked as he dusted down his suit. "I must have fallen asleep during that part of class." DeVoe looked up into the sky and shook his head. "Your Enlightenment will take away memories: parents won't remember their kids, husbands won't remember wives. How can you be happy with that?" Drive shouted, he ran towards Gold Drive but he kicked Barry in the chest and into a wall.
"You hit the point!" Gold Drive answered as he dusted his forearm and looked at Drive. "Emotion is the father of all errors. They control our actions, our decisions and everything else that we do. I want to erase it all!" DeVoe explained as he walked towards the fallen Drive. "But the biggest error is what you lot call love. I learnt that from experience." Gold Drive explained as he slowly held up Drive's head so he could him in the eyes. "But don't worry, you will too." Gold Drive slowly got up and kicked Drive down the street then opened his portal and walked through it. Meanwhile, several civilians ran over to the unconscious Kamen Rider Drive to see if he was okay but then a blue breach opened and it sucked in the Rider.
Chapter 8 ends but the end is still far away. Can the team defeat DeVoe's new form? Will Marlize be the key to stopping her husband? And where did Thawne disappear to?
See you all next time!