Barry had gotten to the scene first, of course. He made sure to be about 50 feet away from the robbers, like they usually are. It was a strange sight to see. There was a man with fair hair wearing a red and black suit with a swirly tie. He was standing in front, however he wasn't even facing the bank. He was facing Barry. In fact, he was looking straight at him. The man in front was smiling a very large grin. He was holding a cane in front of him, in a pose-like position. Barry looked back at him. They both started walking toward each other, the people behind the man walked with him. It looked like a woman with blonde hair in a mask, and three other people Barry couldn't identify. Three of the people were tall and burly. Right when Barry and the man in front were about a building away from each other, the man in front held up two fingers. The people behind him stopped. Barry walked a little more forward, and put on a smug face.
"Who are you?" Barry demanded. He crossed his arms. The man in front laughed.
"Well, Flash, you can call me The Puppetmaster. My friends just call me "Master" but I don't know you well enough yet."
"Oh, I'm devastated. I heard there was a bank robbery here. Yet you're not holding any money. What are you doing here, Puppetmaster?"
"That's for me to know, Flash." Puppetmaster retorted, still smiling. Just then, a breach opened right beside Barry. Cisco and Ralph hopped out, in their costumes. "Flash, you brought your friends! Let's see, um….. Vibe." Puppetmaster pointed at Cisco, who had a shocked/horrified look on his face. It wasn't by Puppetmaster saying his name. Puppetmaster pointed at Ralph. "Elongated Man."
"Wow, you've seen the news. How impressive." Ralph mocked. Cisco walked toward Barry. Ralph watched the triangle formation, making sure they didn't move.
"This is the guy from my vibe, Barry!" Cisco exclaimed. Barry's confident, smug look melted. "The guy that was with Iris, this is him!" Barry turned his glare towards Puppetmaster. In his anger, he looked more at the triangle. Cisco told Ralph the same news. Ralph's confident expression fell as well, and he watched Barry's reaction. Barry focused on each of the faces. Sure enough, one of the burly men in the back was Hector Gafoy. The man whose blood was found in he and Iris' loft. This was also when Cisco started observing everyone in the triangle. The creepy man in front, then a woman with blonde hair and a mask, then…. Thorn. It didn't make any sense to Cisco. It did to Barry. That's why the blood on the bush, and why the trail suddenly disappeared. Thorn used his nature powers to transport them from the loft. It was all piecing together in Barry's head, while Puppetmaster knew exactly what was going on. Barry looked straight into his eyes. Puppetmaster's eyes were flashing an optical illusion.
"A woman named Iris West-Allen went missing last night." Barry was fuming. This was the man who took his wife. Ralph and Cisco stood behind Barry, making sure they weren't in his way. Puppetmaster was still smiling. "We found one of your bodyguard's blood in her house. And on a bush outside the complex." This was when Ralph and Cisco also started to piece everything together. The looks of shock on their face turned into determination. Of course these two supervillains are working together.
"That's strange Flash. Or should I say Barry." Puppetmaster boasted. Barry, Cisco, and Ralph looked at each other in defeat. He knew their identities. So Iris being kidnapped wasn't random at all. "Don't look so surprised. Now are we going to fight yet or not? My puppets are getting a little antsy." Puppetmaster twirled his cane, and a spike came out of it. He started running towards Barry. Barry sped at him as well and shoved him out of the way onto the road. Puppetmaster fell on the ground, unconscious. The burly men in the back grabbed guns from their backs and aimed them at Team Flash. They started shooting while the blonde woman and Thorn ran off to the side. Thorn contorted his hands in a twist-like fashion and wood from a tree from across the street came in front of them. Quickly Thorn contorted his hands into fists and the wood turned into a shield.
The bullets were getting closer and closer to Team Flash so Barry sped and caught them all. He dropped them on the ground, and zoomed towards Puppetmaster. Cisco breached behind one of the bodyguards and took his gun. Ralph stretched both his arms and took the other two guns from behind the other bodyguards. They both simultaneously crushed the guns. Ralph and Cisco had triumphant looks on their faces, until the bodyguards swung at them with their fists. Cisco absorbed one to the gut. He grunted and fell on the ground. Barry ran up to them and punched at all three of them in superspeed. Each bodyguard collapsed to the ground. Just then, Team Flash heard Caitlin on the comms.
"Guys! Behind you!" She shouted. Barry turned his head in speed-time and saw Puppetmaster about to attack him with his cane. Barry sped away and brought Cisco and Ralph with him. Cisco was still on the ground from the punch.
"Thanks, man." Ralph sighed. Cisco nodded in thanks. He was finally able to get up of the pavement. The bank was still ringing the sirens and the sun rose up more and more. There were no cars on the popular road, but far away you could hear police sirens. Puppetmaster got up from the road with his nose bleeding. He growled at Barry, however a moment later he started smiling. He fixed his gaze on where the blonde woman and Thorn were. The optical illusion got stronger and the blonde woman walked out of the wood-shield. Thorn came out with her.
"Oh, Flash." Puppetmaster sighed. The woman came to Puppetmaster's side. Thorn on his other side. The woman pulled out a strange looking gun and Thorn started contorting his hands again. You could hear rumbling below the ground. Roots. Puppetmaster still had his cane-spike in hand. His eyes were still doing the illusion. Team Flash looked at them and each other in worry. "That little fight with those dumbos was just the beginning!" The rumbling got bigger and bigger and eventually the road split open. Team Flash lost their balance. Barry ran them over to the bank, which was stable. They held onto the bank walls for balance.
"I'll get Puppetmaster," Barry panted. The ground shook underneath the bank now. Ralph stretched his arms around a column. "Cisco you can take Thorn."
"And I'll get the girl." Ralph agreed. Cisco nodded and breached behind Thorn. Barry ran up to Puppetmaster. He almost tripped by the break in the pavement. Cisco hit Thorn with a vibe blast, and the rumbling stopped. Thorn fell on the ground. It seemed like he was knocked out. Ralph stretched his legs to the blonde woman and tried to take her gun. She put pressure on the trigger and the neon pink liquid came out. Ralph was hit all on the torso. Under her mask the blonde woman smiled. At first, the liquid did nothing to Ralph. After a few seconds, the blonde woman dropped her gun in disappointment and Ralph looked triumphant. Then the liquid started smoking, and went through his clothes. He screamed and tried to wipe it off. Unfortunately, by wiping it off it got on his skin. The liquid made him fall asleep.
"Ralph!" Caitlin yelled on the comms. Cisco ran over to him. Barry was still dodging Puppetmaster's hits. "Cisco we need to get him the antidote, breach him over here!" Cisco looked at Barry for permission, and Barry nodded.
"It's fine, Cisco! I got Puppetmaster! Just get Ralph to S.T.A.R. Labs." Barry ordered. Cisco created a breach and dragged himself and Ralph through it. Barry was alone with the blonde woman and Puppetmaster.
"All alone, Barry!" Puppetmaster teased. The blonde woman walked up to Puppetmaster. Her body language revealed that she was proud of herself. She looked at Puppetmaster. He grinned devilishly at her. "I think it's time, my little puppet." He proposed. He handed her his cane that had a spike. Thorn got up and ran to Puppetmaster's side. Puppetmaster stopped him from attacking Barry. The blonde woman was observing the cane. The Flash glared at Puppetmaster.
"Where's Iris?" He demanded. He knew Puppetmaster took her. After all this fighting, he deserves to know. Puppetmaster laughed. He didn't stop laughing. Thorn joined in, but the blonde woman just kept staring at the cane. Even though her mask was smiling, she seemed solemn. Almost at odds.
"Oh, Barry Allen!" Puppetmaster cackled. "She's closer than you think!" Barry's angry face dropped as Puppetmaster ripped off the blonde woman's mask. It was Iris. Thorn watched both Barry and Puppetmaster's expressions with triumph. Puppetmaster couldn't stop laughing. He dropped the mask on the pavement and pointed at Barry. His eyes were still flashing the optical illusion, as was Iris' usual dark brown eyes.
"Iris. Iris!" Barry yelled. She was still messing with the cane. "Iris!" She looked confused and torn. Puppetmaster rubbed his teary eyes. He smiled a toothy grin. Thorn grinned as well.
"She can't hear you, Barry! See, the liquid made her pervious to my mind controlling abilities! She is fully under my control now, Flash." He explained.
"Oh my god is that Iris?" Cisco said on the comms. Caitlin was now treating Ralph in the lab so Cisco took over the monitors. "What happened to her?" Barry was frozen. This was Puppetmaster's master plan.
"Come on, Marionette. Attack him." He urged. Iris looked at Barry. Her mask and blonde wig were on the ground. Her eyes looked at Barry. His eyes looked back into the illusion, urging her to come back. Her expression turned angry, and she ran at him. His eyes widened, but he didn't try to get out of the way. It was only until the spike was a foot from his stomach, and Cisco's yelling, that he sped away. Iris looked discombobulated for a moment, but then saw Barry. She ran toward him again. This time, she was faster, and she held the cane like a jousting stick.
"Uh… Barry… I know we're dealing with Iris trying to kill you and all, but we have a different problem. Joe's coming to S.T.A.R. Labs. Right now. We still haven't told him that Iris is missing." Cisco described. He started whispering. "Barry he's in the Cortex now!"
Barry was still frozen. This couldn't be Iris. His Iris. Puppetmaster had kidnapped her and turned her into this… Assassin. There had to be a way to fix it, if he could get his brain working and legs moving. How was he supposed to fight someone he didn't want to? She was running up to him again. He got the idea to carefully grab her arms, take the cane, and handcuff her. He sped up to her, and pinned one arm behind her back. He then sped to get the other one and knock the cane out of her hand. He pinned that arm behind her back, but pinned it too hard.
"Agh!" She yelled out in pain. His eyes widened and he immediately let go of her. She smiled slyly and punched him in the face. His head went down and he felt immediate pain in his cheek and nose. Iris grabbed the cane-spike, and while Barry was distracted, stabbed him with the spike straight in the stomach. He cried out in pain. His stomach rushed out blood.
"Barry! Caitlin, Barry just got stabbed in the stomach by… Someone!" Cisco yelled. Joe was right beside him, and Cisco was trying not to let Joe see the monitors showing what was happening on the bank's security cameras. Cecile was trying to calm down a crying Jenna. Caitlin was busy trying to cure Ralph, who wasn't waking up. Barry held onto his side, and leaned on the ground. Iris' smiling face dropped. Her eyes widened and she dropped the cane. Thorn in the background became concerned, and Puppetmaster started to get angry. Iris' eyes lost the optical illusion. Barry was still looking at his wound. Thorn started contorting his hands, and a bush from the side of the street started flying toward him.
"Barry?" Iris asked, worriedly. He looked up at her, with hope in his eyes. Also pain. He was still bleeding. Puppetmaster looked ready to explode with anger. He pushed Thorn, who was trying to form the bush into a cloud-like form.
"Iris?" He grinned. She looked at his wound, her face was horrified. She kneeled down and reached her hand toward his stomach. Puppetmaster freaked and snapped his fingers quickly. Iris' hand fell as well as her body and head. She fell asleep on the pavement. Barry's eyes widened, and he tried to grab her. However, Thorn had sent roots, and he tied Iris up. He brought Iris to the bush, and he and Puppetmaster hopped on. The bush hovered over the road, until it went into the sunrise.
"Iris!" Barry called. "Iris!" He started crying, and he cursed. His fist hit the ground several times. He couldn't chase the laughing supervillains, he was too injured and they were already gone. So he sat on the road, missing his wife who was just at arm's grasp, wondering if he would ever see the real her again.