Things weren't quite okay.

The next day, the city found the head of the Black Cat from Earth-2 was beheaded and hung from her hair on a lamppost in the park. These criminals weren't messing around. They needed to hurry and work out a way to fight and defeat these enemies. Gwen wasn't around as she was with her uncle for the weekend, meaning she wasn't going to be around to help.

Caitlin did her best. She helped him with all of the therapy she knew about, and spent every night at Joe's house, making sure he had what he needed. Most nights, she fell asleep in his arms, chasing away nightmares and phantom pain. It still didn't seem to be enough, though. Barry was discouraged. Peter was now no longer in need of therapy after his body finally healed from both the battle against Hobgoblin and the fight against MODOC. Every new therapy session left him exhausted, and even though he was healing way, way faster than a normal human, he was obviously starting to think he would never get his speed back again.

They were having him try walking without a cane for the first time today. Joe was at his side, helping him get to his feet and take the first few steps, but he eventually pulled away, taking Barry's cane from his hand. Barry took a few, slow steps, then lurched forward. Joe caught his arm, preventing his fall, and leaned him into a chair.

"I can't do it, alright," Barry muttered, leaning his forehead on the heel of his hand.

"Yes, you can," Joe told him firmly. "You are making so much progress."

Caitlin took her spot next to his wheelchair, gently rubbing at his shoulder. Barry looked up at his surrogate father. "Yeah, six whole steps. Someone give me a bozo button."

"Hey, give yourself some credit, you just broke your back." Cisco reminded him from his spot at his desk.

Iris nodded. "Yeah, a normal person would have been paralyzed for the rest of his life."

Barry tilted his head back, looking at Caitlin unhappily. "How long until I'm fully healed?"

She used her remote to show him the scans on the screen. "The initial MRI I took showed a complete dislocation of the T-12 to L-1 interspace- a full columnar junction." She changed the picture. "But this is the MRI I took this morning. It's remarkable, but you're almost completely healed."

She knew that "almost" was enough for Barry, but seeing him up and about was more than enough to settle her when she woke up at night, the echoes of the noise of his back-breaking over and over in her head.

"I'm still having trouble breathing," Barry told her, fingering the shirt at his chest.

"That's totally normal with a spinal injury," May said, smiling softly. "It should clear up soon."

He didn't seem to hear her, rolling forward, gaze lost on the item hanging on the wall.

Peter seemed to notice that and nodded. "We're gonna get you back in that suit, bro. Real quick. Trust me."

Barry didn't respond, save for the tiniest of unconvinced nods. "What are we going to do about Zoom and Hobgoblin?"

"There's been no sign of him since MJ nailed him with that tranq dart." Joe shrugged.

"And I haven't vibed since then," Cisco added, daring to be at least a little hopeful.

"Maybe Zoom's not coming back," Harry said, thinking that could be possible.

Wells walked into the room, a black bag over his shoulder. "I doubt that." He muttered, typically pessimistic. "Which is why I'm going to go do something about it."

"What do you mean by 'go do something about it'?" Peter asked nervously, not sure he likes the way he was going.

"I need access to your breach room and your speed cannon," Wells tells them.

"Why's that?" MJ pressed.

"Because, Watson," Wells said, finally answering the question. "It's time for me to go home."

A shocked silence followed the statement.

Joe looked annoyed. "So you show up on our Earth, screw everything up, and now you want to go home? Sounds very familiar."

"Again." Wells snapped. "That wasn't me. I need to go take care of Zoom and Hobgoblin once and for all before anyone else gets killed." His eyes slid, almost unconsciously, toward Barry and Peter.

Barry's gaze held. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"I think of something," Wells said, offhandedly. "Ramon, if you'll escort me to the speed cannon."

Caitlin surprised herself by speaking up. "No, you can't go through the breach."

"Yes, he can," Cisco argued. "Jay taught us how to send people."

"That's not what I mean. If you can figure out how to stop Zoom on your Earth, you can figure out how to do it here." Barry's wheelchair rolled up beside her, nearly bumping her legs. She held Wells's gaze. "We need you to stay here until we defeat Hobgoblin and Zoom, Dr. Wells."

"What I need, Dr. Snow," Wells responded, stepping slowly closer, his voice dangerously quiet. "Is to return home. And I'm going to do that. With our without your assistance."

Outraged, Caitlin opened her mouth, then slammed it shut again. Cisco gave her a look. "What're you doing? If he wants to go, bye!"

"Look." Caitlin sighed, anger quickly giving way to deep-set exhaustion. "Like it or not, Cisco, we need his help."

Joe, Barry's cane draped over his neck, shook his head. "I'm not sure another plan from Wells is what we need."

"Yeah, I mean, the last bright idea he had nearly got Barry and Peter killed," Iris added.

"To be fair, Hobgoblin was not on him." Peter defended him.

"I know," Caitlin said, sadly glancing at Barry. "But Jay's gone. And Dr. Wells knows Zoom better than anyone, so, until Barry is back on his feet again, we need to keep Wells around in case Zoom or Hobgoblin returns. There's no way that Peter and Bobby can take them down alone."

"And we even tried to reach out to the others, Stargirl is apparently on standby, but the JSA seems to believe that Spider-Man can keep the city safe," MJ informed them. "White Tiger and Bombshell are busy in New York with some sort of ninja gang. So, they're unavailable."

"Caitlin," Bobby said, firmly with a shrug. "If he doesn't want to be here, we're better off without him, I say we let him go."

Caitlin shook her head, more stubbornly. "I can't do that yet." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Barry's lips. "I'll see you later, okay? Keep working on your steps."

"Where are you going?" Bobby was a little worried as he watched her leave.

"To talk to Dr. Wells," Caitlin explains as she left before anyone could argue.

Then as soon as she left, there was an alert on the computers and Cisco ran to it. "Metahuman alert!" He then realized that there was a personal thing rather than an alert. "Oh, wait, no, never mind. That's mine." He then stopped the alert. "That's an alert for me."

Iris seemed a little interested in this and leaned over. "For what?"

"Oh, it's just a reminder," Cisco explains to her. "I have a date in an hour."

"You have a date?" Bobby wasn't sure what to say.

"Okay, that's hurtful," Cisco commented on his tone. "I can have dates."

"The last time I heard of you dating was that time with Captain Cold's sister." Bobby defended his reaction.

"Why'd hon have to bring that up?" Cisco asks him. "Well, anyway, I'm gonna take her out for dinner and a movie, and then, I don't know, maybe some breakfast."

Peter seemed a little skeptical and confused. "Wait, breakfast? Why? I don't...I don't follow."

Cisco seemed a little confused about that and saw everyone else got it. "Because...you know, you go home..."

"Cisco?" Barry called his friend out before he went any further. He saw his brother get his mischievous humor. "He's playing with you."

"It's just too easy." Peter broke into laughter.


The next day, Joe gets called in on some attack at a laboratory. This was one of the following dozen of several other laboratories that have been attacked in recent days. Yuri was looking over the site and sighed when she saw the sight of the dead man.

"Joe, I found these weird-looking hairs all over the street," Yuri said as she showed the sample she collected. "I'm gonna have some of our guys run them against the database, see what they say to find."

"Well, our victim's name is Dr. Jeffery Shore." Joe showed what he found out. "A biochemist engineer here at Vaughan Pharmaceuticals. Making him the second dead lab tech in under two weeks."

"And just like the other tech, he had stolen a serum from their storage cooler. Something called Cortexin. What they use to treat encephalopathy, blood diseases in the brain." Yuri states. "And the serum was gone when they found his body. Where he died?" Then her points of death were high above the ground on the catwalk for the laboratory. "You think we looking for a Metahuman with super strength?"

"In this city, I wouldn't put it past." Joe was sorry to say.


Back in STAR Labs, the gang was basically sitting around and waiting for something to happen. They just stayed there in a comfortable silence until Cisco came in and saw them while he was holding his face like he's gotten punched.

"Hey, any of you seen Caitlin?" Cisco asks them all.

Everyone was starting to look around one another and weren't entirely sure. The last time that they saw her was earlier that same morning.

"No, why?" Bobby questioned.

"She just hit me in the face then ran away," Cisco explains and they're wondering why Caitlin would do that.

"Yo!" Joe cried in terror as he ran into the room. "It's Grodd, he's back."

Barry quickly got off his wheelchair and sped outside, just missing Grodd and he has kidnapped Caitlin.


Watching Caitlin be mentally manipulated to walk outside, making their way out without tripping off Peter's Spider-senses. She walked outside, almost robotically, and then watched as Grodd came out of the view of the cameras.

"I'm continually amazed by the similarity between our two Earths," Wells commented as he watched her get taken.

Joe was a little surprised when he heard that. "You got talking gorillas on your Earth, too?"

Wells nodded in confirmation. "Oh, yeah."

Joe was a little scared to hear that, remembering their last encounter with Grodd. "Remind me never to go there."

Bobby however was a little confused. "So let me get this straight, Grodd is a giant telepathic ape with rage issues."

Barry nodded from his wheelchair. "Yep."

"And why didn't I know about this?" Bobby asks in shock.

Peter rolled his eyes and recalled it. "Dude, you were away with your girlfriend at Attilan, remembered?"

Bobby crossed and recalled that passage of time. "Oh. Got it."

Then all of a sudden, there was a strange set of particles forming in the middle of the room. That spooked most of everyone when there was a sudden appearance from Lockjaw the Inhuman dog. His sudden appearance got in the middle of the labs caused the people in the room to jump in fear and shock.

"What-what, what the hell?!" Cisco cried in terror as he backed away.

"Ah!" Joe cried in fear. "Big dog! Big dog!"

But then a few seconds later, another figure came next to the dog and revealed it to be Crystal. She seemed to have been beaten up and even had a cut on her suit, arms, and her leg looked as if it was made out of crystals (insert joke here). She spat out some blood before she fell over, but wasn't able to hit the ground since Bobby ran over and dropped to his knees to save her from hitting it.

"Crystal?" Bobby was shocked when he saw her in this condition. "Crystal, what happened?" But Crystal didn't seem to be waking up to explain anything. He then knew there was only one person to ask and placed a hand on the dog. "Lockjaw, I need you to take me where Crystal left."

"Now, wait, no, be-" Peter tried to tell his friend when a field of energy consumed Peter, Bobby, Harry, and MJ.

Everyone who was left was a little confused about what exactly happened and looked around. They just watched some girl and a giant dog appear in their labs, then the dog seemed to have vanished, taking the younger members of the group with them. May quickly ran over to the young girl and took her to the medical bay to look her over.

"What the hell just happened?" Joe asks.


In deep space, Lockjaw suddenly appears in the middle of Attilan. The streets looked abandoned with small pieces of rubble and nobody around for miles. When Lockjaw appeared, he then whimpered and fell to his side, revealing that he had crystals growing out of his stomach.

"-specific with your words!" Peter cried about what he was trying to finish in the labs. But then he froze as he noticed he wasn't standing in the middle of STAR Labs anymore. "Uh..."

Bobby realized his mistake and sheepishly smiled. "Oh...my bad."

"Where...where are we?" MJ asks in shock.

"Attilan," Bobby informed her as he got up and looked around. "But...somethings wrong."

"What, you mean like the fact we're in deep space?" Harry asks as he looked at the edge of the entire city. "Whoa."

"I'm already getting motion sickness from this," Peter said in disgust. "Why are we here?"

"Whatever happened to Crystal occurred here," Bobby explains as he looked around the city, only to wonder why it's deserted. "But...where is everyone?"

MJ was walking around as she then tapped one of the statues that resembled the crystals that were on Crystal. "I don't know, but these statues are giving me Weeping Angel vibes."

Peter was walking around and was starting to get a little concerned about why his senses were alerting him of something coming. Then he ended up watching as there was some movement coming from the statues.

"Uh...you may be on to something there." Peter was sorry to say when the statues started to move. "I think we found the population!"

"They're statues?" Harry asks as he scrambled to back up against the dog. "Okay, I've seen enough. I wanna go home now."

But Lockjaw didn't even budge as he ended up whimpering and the crystals were becoming clear. There was no teleporting out of this situation for them when Lockjaw became crystallized. Then all of the crystal people took notice of these intruders and started to circle in on them.

"No way out, and we're getting surrounded." Peter was starting to worry when he and MJ backed up together. "We gotta scatter. Bobby, get MJ. I've got Harry. Looks like we gotta see what is going on here if we wanna go home."

Bobby grabbed Harry and immediately used an ice slide to shoot off the ground and get a distance away. Peter grabbed onto MJ and wrapped her around his waist as she wrapped her hands around his neck. Then they swung away and tried their best to escape the incoming swarm of crystal people.


Back on earth, they were a little befuddled when the same version of Crystal's disease appeared with the giant dog, then the said dog came and kidnapped the kids. With no real way of following them back to wherever they went, the group decided to focus on Crystal and Grodd. May took Crystal into the medical bay where she looked her over.

Never seen this kind of disease, or whatever it was, she wasn't sure how to cure it. "I am not entirely sure what is wrong with her, but she seems stable. Enough for now. I'd really need to know what is happening to her in order to cure it."

"That's something that I have a feeling the kids are looking into." Wells took a guess. "Ramon, why would this... Grodd abduct Dr. Snow?"

"I don't know." Cisco couldn't take his eyes off Crystal, her sudden appearance startling him. "It doesn't make any sense. She was always so nice to him."

"He mind-controlled lab technicians to steal chemicals that enhance intelligence. He needs her for something." Joe said.

Barry continued not to contribute to the conversation, barely hearing it over the thoughts whirling around in his own head. He was squeezing the cane in his lap so tightly his hands were beginning to hurt, but he wanted to do more than that. He wanted to throw something, so scream at them to find her before something awful- something more awful- happened to her. What if she was scared? Was Grodd hurting her right now?

Cisco switched the feed to an overview of the city streets. "It seems like Grodd's left his bachelor pad in the sewers."

Joe shook his head. "He's a massive gorilla! He can't just... waltz through downtown in the middle of the day without anybody noticing."

Working off that idea, Wells suggested. "If there have been sightings, we could be able to proximate his location."

"I can call CCPD." Joe offered his way of helping. "They can access the tip hotline, and files on Grodd's recent attacks."

"Good."

Cisco got to his feet, face set. "We've gotta get her back."

"We will," Wells murmured. They both turned and left the room.

Joe glanced over at his son. "Barry." He said, quietly, trying to get his attention. No response. "Barry!"

Barry glanced up, startled. "Yep?" Still squeezing his cane with the grip of a viper, he twisted it back and forth.

"Don't blame yourself for this." Joe cautioned. "There's nothing you could have done."

The words didn't help. Guilt was still settled over his shoulders like an icy blanket, crouched in his gut like a rock. "I- I- I still don't have my speed back. How are we supposed to save her from Grodd?" I was supposed to save her, Joe. I was supposed to be her hero. I've failed her.

"You may not have your legs just yet," Joe said, not quite able to read his thoughts, but probably knowing, after all these years, what was going on inside of his son's head. "But you still have that brain. Use it. At least until Peter or Bobby come back because I have no idea how long the hell they are gonna take."

Barry rolled over to the layout of the city as Joe left the room. He rubbed his forehead, trying to release the tension building up behind his eyes. After everything, now he was down with all the other heroes and his family. He didn't have any help coming and was going to have to rely on himself. More than anything, he just wanted to see Caitlin again.

"Where are you?" He whispered at the maps.

But of course, no answer came.


Peter and MJ swung around the city to try and avoid the incoming constant attacks from these crystalized citizens of Attilan. They weren't exactly sure where they were going, and they were just trying to find a place to hide. He swung around the city before finding what looked to be a shelter of sorts on top of a tall tower.

"Hang on, I'm gonna ditch these guys," Peter said as he shot two webs to slingshot themselves faster.

"If you keep swinging me around like this, I am about to ditch my lunch!" MJ warned him.

Peter kept trying to make it toward the top tower with MJ about to lose it on him. When he reached the top tower, he did a quick roll and MJ whimpered and groaned in agony and dizziness.

"Whoa. Okay...ow." MJ said with a whimper and spun in fear. But when she stopped spinning, she noticed a few other things in the area. "Uh, Tiger?"

Peter was looking over the balcony when he stopped and looked toward what MJ was seeing. In the middle of the room, there was a stasis pod of sorts that had a glass roof. When they approached, they found a woman with long flowing red hair and golden eyes sporting a purple and black full-body costume. Then they also noticed that there was the same disease on her, but it seemed like the chambers were slowing down the process.

"Who is this?" Peter was curious to know.

"Think she might have the answers we're looking for?" MJ wonders.

"It's possible." Peter shrugged and pushed a button on the side of it.

When the chamber opened, a hissing sound was heard indicating some air pressure inside. When the woman inside started to open her eyes, she immediately jumped up and her hair literally came to life. The two kids jumped in fear when they then watched as she flung her hair at them and wrapped them up in the powerful hair around their necks.

"Who do you think you are?" The redhead asks as she raised them off the ground. "I am Queen Medusa, leader of the Inhumans!"

"Listen, lady, we were just brought here," Peter informed her as he tried to breathe. "We think something happened and are trying to help. Bobby Drake brought us!

Medusa then started to calm down and lowered the two of them to the ground. MJ and Peter both got a chance to then breathe and sighed to see she was allowing them to live.

"My apologies." Medusa apologizes calmly. "I wasn't sure if my younger sister was able to get the word out."

"Crystal...is your sister?" MJ was surprised to hear as she coughed on air.

"She is my younger sister," Medusa confirmed. "She said she knew someone who can help us with our predicament."

"Your army of crystal statues?" Peter took a guess. "Is that normal here?"

No, in fact, it is the work of Maximus, Maximus the Mad." Medusa snarled his name like a venomous snake.

Peter scoffed as he couldn't believe that was his name. "Because you're really expecting something great from someone named Maximus the Mad."

"He's my brother-in-law," Medusa warned him.

Peter froze as he wasn't sure what else to say and looked to MJ. "Help me."

"Is he Inhuman, too?" MJ tried to get the heat off of him.

"Maximus wasn't gifted an ability when he was put into the mist," Medusa said as she walked over to another container. "My husband..." then she started to worry when she wiped the frost off the container. "Is missing!"


Seeing the trouble Barry was having with the idea of having to save Caitlin on his own and was gonna need some encouragement, Joe contacted Henry to try and help them. He came immediately, partially because of his son, and partially because of the news about Caitlin. They sat together, talking, as Henry checked out Barry's back.

"The bone fused beautifully," Henry commented and turned to his son. "You're all good, Barry. I'd give you some physical therapy, but you don't need it."

Barry pulled down his shirt, smiling a little bit at his dad. "I'm really glad you're here, Dad."

"Me too," Henry murmured. "You know, I tried to call, but you can't get a cell in Granite Peak National Park, so."

"Granite Peak?" Barry asked. "What- You went camping by yourself?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got a tent, I went fishing every day." He clapped Barry on the knee, but his son couldn't meet his gaze. "I have had my fill of largemouth bass for a while. Was gonna come back and get in touch with you guys when Peter got off school, and the truth is told, I was actually on my way back when I got the call."

"You were?" Barry was a little confused. "Without telling us?"

"Well, I was gonna drop in," Henry promised his son. "But...I actually met up with an old colleague who..." He seemed to want to tell them something but stopped himself. "She had some news. Some news that I need to help her sort out before I talk about it."

Barry seemed to understand and nodded just as Cisco came rushing into the room. "Hey, guys!" He cried, face much more animated than it had been, early. "I think we found them."

Barry turned, eyes wide, and got to his feet. He followed Cisco in a rush down the steps, toward a computer layout. Cisco pointed at the screen with a few locations pinged.

Grodd has to be in one of these three bell towers." He told them, gesturing to the red blips on the map. "It's the reason we couldn't find him on any of the cameras under the city before because he upgraded from a bachelor's pad to a penthouse apartment."

"Okay, so we know where he is, we still don't know how to get her," Barry added.

"We've got a plan for you..." Cisco told him, though his face was revealing that this wasn't his favorite plan.

"What is it?" Barry questions.

"We use me." Came a voice from the hallway.

Barry whipped around to see the Reverse Flash standing there. He moved faster than he had all week, slamming his shoulder into Eobard's gut and sending him into the wall.

"That's Wells! That's the other Wells!" Cisco yelled, rushing forward.

"Barry-" Wells choked, voice strangled by Barry's arm at his throat.

"Let him go, let him go!" Cisco urged, pulling Barry away. "I found another suit in the time vault."

Henry was staring with well-mastered shock at Wells. "I thought he was dead."

"He is dead." Barry stuffed his hands into his pockets, on edge and unhappy. "This is Harrison Wells from Earth-2."

Henry turned to blink at him, looking like he wanted to say something, but was restraining himself. "Earth... 2?"

Barry recalled he wasn't brought up to speed after everything that happened. "I'll explain later."

"If we can get Harry to convince Grodd that he's Wells- his father, maybe we can convince him to let Caitlin go," Cisco explained.

It was a crazy plan; half-cooked and slightly ridiculous. But the team was starting to grasp at straws to get their favorite doctor back, and this was the best idea they had. So Barry nodded.

"None of us are going to be able to help if anything goes wrong." He warned Wells.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take," Wells promised.


Bobby and Harry were trying to get away from the swarm, who were all trying to take them down from the ice slide. They were getting away when then their slide was crushed when a Crystallized Inhuman managed to put together where they were going. Going in for a hard landing, the two boys were sent rolling and smashing into the street.

"Okay, ow, that hurt." Harry groaned as he stood up and saw they were surrounded. "Uh, Bobby?"

Bobby groaned as he managed to soften his blow due to the fact his body had a layer of ice covering him to keep him safe. "I need a minute here."

"Halt!" All of the crystallized Inhumans suddenly came to a stop. "My apologies." A man said, and he seemed to be the most human person they have yet to come across. "We were expecting you to be someone else."

"And you are...?" Harry wasn't sure who this guy was.

"I am Maximus the Great," The man introduces himself with a bow. "King of the Inhumans."

"King?" Bobby was now a little confused. "Where's Black Bolt?"

Maximus sighed and seemed full of sorrow. "My brother...follow me."


Medusa was leading Peter and MJ through the halls of the capital building, where they saw a large group of people in actual statue form. They seemed to be the elders of the Inhumans, and Medusa was explaining everything to the two.

"Our people's ancestors originate from Earth, many centuries ago," Medusa explains to them. "We were experimented on in order to unlock the genome within all humans that grant us our abilities."

"Like Crystal's ability to control the weather and your hair?" Peter guessed. "Sounds awful like a controlled particle accelerator."

"Are the powers random or is there a way to control what you get?" MJ was curious to know as she strolled up to Medusa.

Medusa considered if she should tell her the secrets and decided to explain. "The Terrigen mist would alter the DNA so that the one strand that holds your powers and make it so that it is the dominant DNA. There is no way of controlling the power you receive as it is tied to your DNA."

"And can anyone go through the process?" MJ wonders.

"Anyone who has human DNA," Medusa confirmed. "But again, the outcome of the procedure is never one faithful to what you wish to receive."

"Yeah, I think your brother-in-law would agree," Peter commented. "So, what is this crystal stuff?"

"This plague recently appeared, slowly turning our bodies into the same Terrigen Crystals that birthed our powers," Medusa explains to them. "It seems to only be affecting us Inhumans."


"The plague made the residents of my home nearly indestructible." Maximus was relaying the same intel to Bobby and Harry as he led them to a storage area. They looked and noticed an Inhuman in a stasis container, similar to the one Medusa was in. "Their strength increased a hundred-fold. But for those with higher increases of the plague, it would prove quite fatal."

Suddenly, the doorway was ripped open to reveal Medusa, Peter, and MJ to the group. "Maximus the Mad! Unhand the king!"

"That's the king?" Harry asks as he gestured to the container. "I thought he was the king."

"By rights, I should be!" Maximus proclaimed in anger. "I isolated the Terrigen plague. I found the cure." He then gestured toward the king. "While this one said nothing, did nothing. Black Bolt is unworthy of the crown. Maximus is the true savior of the Inhumans."

"You released this plague on us and your own people, knowing it wouldn't affect you." Medusa reminded him.

"Wow, there's a lot of family drama here," Harry commented.

"And I thought mine had issues." Bobby agreed with him.

"You released this plague, hid the cure, and refused to share it unless you were crowned Supreme Ruler," Medusa said in anger as she approached Maximus. "We would rather succumb to the plague than bow before you."

Then Medusa went for an attack with her hair, but Maximus used a device to summon Lockjaw and he teleported them away. He took the case that carried the cure within it to escape. Before any of them could take in what was happening, they were met with a dozen of the crystallized people coming in and coming to attack the group. Seeing they were outnumbered, they ran over and ducked for cover, trying to avoid the gas.

"Bobby, you better be serious about this girl. You break up with her, I might just throw you into space!" Peter cried as he shot webs to blind the crystallized people.


Henry and Barry were sitting in the Cortex, watching the screens of the computers as they waited for news. They were waiting after hearing from Cisco they were approaching the third location they believe Grodd to be hiding in.

"And now we just wait," Barry tells Henry as they wait to hear back.

"So, this is what it's like every time you guys go after one of those meta-humans?" Henry asks as he placed his jacket on a chair.

Barry thought about it and saw it pretty much was. "Basically. Only, Cisco, MJ, and Caitlin are normally the ones in here, and me, Peter, and Bobby are the ones out there."

"Well, there's no reason you guys shouldn't be," Henry added as he faced his son. "I mean, I was filled in on the giant dog thing and know Peter will be back soon, but you could still be out there helping. But you...I was shown. May, she showed me what happened with Zoom and this Hobgoblin. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you guys."

Barry nodded with a sigh. "They showed everyone their heroes weren't good enough to stop them."

"Well, that's definitely how it looked," Henry confirmed and gestured to the computers. "And then while your brother was still recovering, he went through some fight with a giant head or something." He couldn't help but laugh. "Ah, still got that old stubbornness in his blood. I remember as a kid, he would always find stubborn ways to get away with."

Barry chuckled at the memories of their childhood before Reverse Flash. "Yeah, he was a stubborn one."

"I just hope his kids give him the same treatment." Henry laughed at the idea. "I'll get to laugh in his face for a change."

Barry chuckled. "I'll be sure to pass on the message."

Then Henry went serious again and tried his best to explain this to his older son. "When I went to prison for your mother's murder, a lot of our family and friends were in the courtroom. They heard awful things about what I had done to your mother. It didn't matter that it wasn't true. And every day, I am reminded that was the moment when I lost them until everyone stopped believing in me. That was my reality. I was going to serve a life sentence for a crime I didn't commit, but worse than that, every time I looked someone in the eye, they got to believe that I had killed the woman I loved in front of one of our sons. So I know what it's like being destroyed."

"How'd you get past that?" Barry wonders.

"I embraced it," Henry explains. "Accepting that it was the only way I was going to be able to move forward. But I know if I could survive that, and learn to believe in myself again, then I could survive anything. You know what lit that belief in me? You. An eleven-year-old you, running around, believing in me, gave me that hope." Barry took his father's words in and stood on his feet. "And now I'm giving it back to you, son. No more monsters can take that from us. Or your brother. But it seems he's too stubborn even for that."

Barry chuckled and pulled his father in for a hug and the two embraced one another.


Their barricades didn't work for long when the crystallized people ended up destroying their barricades like it was nothing. They ended up trying to fight these guys hand to hand while Harry and MJ were hiding. Peter leaped and spin kicked one of the crystallized citizens and kicked them away. Seems their strength didn't come with the same endurance that Peter and everyone have.

"Guys, come on, can't we talk this through?" Peter asks as he shot a net to attach them to the wall. "Can't we just hold an election?"

They were able to get through the first wave but they saw a dozen more were coming. The fight was becoming too intense, with them all being outnumbered and overpowered. Peter was grabbed and shoved into the wall, being held by the throat.

"Okay, not a diplomatic guy." Peter quipped.

And seeing they were done for, with one last attempt to escape the plague, Medusa used all of her power to punch the wall. She then shielded herself with her hair and keeps them from Harry and MJ.

"Go!" Media cried as her hair was getting attacked. She was starting to grow weaker due to the constant fighting and the plague weakening her. "You two are immune to the virus. You must escape and get the cure from Maximus."

MJ and Harry looked confused, wondering what they can do with them all having powers and they don't. But not taking the chance of getting captured, the two of them ran for it and made their way down the empty corridors. They heard the grunting and blasts coming from the walls of their battle.

Harry dragged MJ to the left, where there was an open door, where they waited and hoped they wouldn't be discovered. When they didn't hear any more rumbling and grunting, they figured that must have meant the group has moved on to find them elsewhere.

"Where are we?" MJ asks as she looked around.

Harry backed away from the door and looked to see the laboratory. "Huh. Some sort of lab." He then picked up some sword-looking contraption. "Maybe some sort of weapons factory of sorts."

"Why would a people of superpowers need weapons?" MJ asks as she picked up some small disks.

"Well, for whatever reason they made these, this is exactly what we need," Harry stated as he was beginning to get some ideas, quickly getting to work. "With this, I could whip us up some gear to help fight back."

"Fight back?" MJ asks with a scoff. "How do you plan for us to take down our friends, with no powers?"

"They might have powers..." Harry then activated a sword he just created, which gave off a glow around the edges. "But we have the technology."


The second they arrived at STAR Labs, Barry was out of the Cortex and running/limping down the hall. He gathered Caitlin into his arms as she barreled into them, pressed her face hard into his shoulder, and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso.

When she pulled back, there were tears in her eyes, but not for the reason he expected. "I- I just left Grodd there- it wasn't his fault-" She sniffled, and Barry's heart did a strange sort of twisting motion in his chest. This woman was literally the most amazing thing in the world.

"I love you." He said simply, watching as her face spun between surprise, confusion, happiness, and then a few emotions that were somewhere in between. She had opened her mouth to respond -whatever her response would be-when Cisco called from inside the Cortex.

"Caitlin! Wells needs your medical expertise."

Barry reluctantly let go of her upper arms, which he had been gently grasping, and with one that look over her shoulder, she disappeared into the Cortex.

Wells would be fine. After Caitlin did a quick, mandatory checkup, he was rolling off the bed to stand on his own. As she worked, she told them what had happened while she was kidnapped, what Grodd had wanted, and why he had taken her. Crystal was laying on the conjoined bed, still just laying there as her body succumbed to the plague.

"I'm impressed." Barry complimented her, tucking her under his arm as soon as he could. "I think we all are."

"We need to do something about Grodd," Joe stated, unnecessarily.

"Like what?" Iris asked.

"Like get rid of him. For good."

Once again, Caitlin's unfailing compassion shone through. "You want to kill him?"

"Considering how many people he's killed?" Joe gave her a weird look. "Yeah."

Caitlin's gaze fell to the floor, and Barry tightened his grip fractionally. "This isn't Grodd's fault." She said, repeating her statement from before. "He's only like this because Wells made him this way."

"Yes... but Cait, he kidnapped you, and you could have died." Barry reminded her, pulling her closer.

"You didn't see what I saw." Caitlin insisted. "Grodd's getting smarter. He's lonely and sad. He wants more apes like him."

Cisco narrowed his eyes. "What are you suggesting? That he wants kids?" Caitlin shrugged. "Because I'm pretty sure one telepathic ape is enough for this city."

"I know somewhere we could send him." Everyone turned to look at Wells. He pulled a gray sweater over his head. "Gorilla City."

Everyone continued to look blankly at him until he explained, "There's a population of gorillas that are like Grodd on my Earth. If we stick with our breach plan, we could send him through. We'd just need to find the right breach."

"I've already got that bit figured out," Cisco informed them. "I found a way to open one. It uses that Quark Matter stuff that Jay gave us, and the Speed Cannon. It should work.

"Should?" Iris asked suspiciously. Cisco nodded.

"It sounds like the best plan we have," Barry said with a shrug. He glanced down at Caitlin. "Work for you?"

She nodded, shooting him a smile. "Let's do it."


Back in Attilan, Maximus was in the throne room and was now sitting on the said throne. He sighed and laid back with a smile. He had sat down as he watched Bobby, Peter, and Medusa all being held back by his soldiers. Medusa couldn't even lift a hair with most of her body covered in crystals, even her hair itself.

"You thought that you could escape," Maximus said with a smile and approached Medusa. "You could be my Queen with me. All you need to do is bow before me."

Medusa snarled as she practically spat in his face. "I'd rather die."

Maximus shrugged and walked off. "Suit yourself. When the crystal fuses with you, then maybe you will want to be by my side."

"Only because she will have any other choice." Bobby comments.

"Oh, and, crystallize solders? Kill the humans." Maximus tells them. "Lockjaw will take us to where they're hiding her sister."

"Hostage-101. Don't insult the hostagee until after we escape." Peter commented with a sigh.

Just before the crystallized soldiers could begin to crush their enemies, a small container rolled into the room. When it exploded, it released a blinding light that caused everyone to be blinded for a moment. Then when it was gone, Maximus saw that Bobby, Peter, and Medusa were all gone.

"What?!" Maximus was shocked to see they were gone, "Where did they go?!"

"You gotta hand it to Dad." A voice said, causing Maximus to look upward and see Harry flying on a makeshift hoverboard with a helmet and sword in hand. "He knew how to make a good appearance, and it seemed to be genetic."

"You think that your little...trinkets can save your friends?" Maximus asks. "Citizens, destroy him!"

And that's when all the attention went straight to Harry, who was flying around to avoid getting pummeled to death by crystalized people. He used his sword to slice through the debris that he threw at them and kept their attention on the skies. Medusa, Peter, and Bobby were starting to get their vision back and saw they were within a hidden corridor inside the walls.

"Hey." MJ greeted them, giving them the look of the makeshift suit that she was wearing, looking more like an unfinished Iron Man suit. "Good morning."

"What's going on?" Peter asks.

"You guys just hang back. We've got this under control." MJ promises as she sneaked into the room.

"Did I miss something?" Bobby questions.

If you did, we're on the same boat." Peter commented.

Outside, MJ sneaked around using the columns at the edges of the room. She hit a few buttons on her wrist that warmed up a small repulser on her palm. Harry kept giving everyone a run for their money until finally one of them got a good hit in. His glider was damaged and he was sent falling and crashing into the crowd. He was grabbed and one stomped on his weapon to destroy it. He was grabbed by the arms and dragged to his knees in front of Maximus.

"Did you think you by yourself could take on all of us?" Maximus asked.

"No, of course not." Harry scoffed with a laugh. "I was just the distraction."

That's when MJ made herself known as she came out and used the exo-suit to then shoot the container with the cure in it. With that explosion, the entire room started to be infused with gas that cured all of the Inhumans. They all started to come undone from the crystallization only to become confused.

"What?" Maximus was shocked. "No! This can't be happening!"

Then they heard someone floating and watched as Black Bolt came down and landed in front of his brother. A look of anger that is easily visible on his face.

"Heh...hello, brother." Maximus greeted with fear. "I...I just discovered a cure for the..."

"Silence." Maximus whimpered in a small, small, whisper.

That's what ended in sending Maximus into the wall and shattering parts of it. Medusa, Peter, and Bobby walk out of the wall and was shocked when Medusa's crystalized body started to morph back to normal.

"Black Bolt, my love" Medusa was glad to see her, and ran toward one another.

Peter, Bobby, MJ, and Harry were all unsure of what they were going to do next. That was when Lockjaw appeared and held a canister in his mouth, showing it was a canister of the cure. Recalling the fact there's still one person that needs it, they knew they needed to get going.

"Lockjaw, take us to STAR Labs, we've got one more person to see," Bobby said as he held the dog.

Then the dog took the group and they were sent back to Earth, seeing the Inhumans have the rest of this situation under control.


The plan included using Caitlin as bait, which made Barry nervous. But after she nearly yelled at him because of his overprotectiveness, he agreed to let her try. Barry flashed her to an alleyway, near the clock tower where they had found Grodd. Then he ran off.

Caitlin stood in the damp, cold alleyway, staring up at the building in front of her. "Grodd!"

There was a long pause. Then a voice spoke inside of her head. "Caitlin..."

Grodd thrust himself through the wall, falling long and hard to the pavement. The ground shook when he landed, but Caitlin barely had time to feel the shockwaves before Barry grabbed her and was running away.

"Flash!" Grodd was becoming mad already.

He placed her a good distance away, then flashed back to the gorilla. "You want Caitlin, Grodd?" He shouted. "You're going to have to catch me first."

Their chase began with Barry, keeping to the streets, making sure he never got too far ahead, so that Grodd wouldn't give up and try to find Caitlin a different way. Grodd hopped from rooftop to rooftop, never tiring, always keeping the flash of lightning in sight.

Barry lead him to the breach, trying to take a slightly less direct path so that Grodd wouldn't guess he was being led into a trap. They didn't have a guarantee that Grodd would fall for this. They also didn't have a plan B.

"Cisco? Almost there, are you ready?"

"I'm in position," Cisco responded, speaking into his phone.

"Now," Wells said, spraying paint on the ground. "Once you turn on the Speed Cannon, the quark matter will stabilize, stretching the breach about this big." He demonstrated with his arms. "Anywhere within this circle will suffice."

The two men ran over to the side to wait. Cisco scanned the rooftops, waiting for Grodd to come into view. Barry arrived first, his speed lightning lighting up the night like a torch.

"Right on time," Wells murmured.

Barry slid to a stop, gravel sliding beneath his feet. "Here we go." He whispered, preparing himself. "I don't have eyes on Grodd, does anyone see him?"

A growling sound filled the night, and Barry looked up just in time to flash out of the way of Grodd's jump to the ground.

Grodd stalked foreword. "Where is Caitlin?"

Grodd's mind-controlling images flooded Barry's head, but this time, they were his own. Zoom, breaking his back, stabbing him, defeating him, over and over, playing on a loop inside his brain. Stunned, Barry wasn't prepared as Grodd hit him across the face, sending him flying backward. Before Barry could get to his feet, Grodd had stalked over, slamming the speedster to the ground with a foot on his chest.

"Where is Caitlin?!" He demanded angrily in Barry's mind.

Barry struggled to move Grodd's foot, the air coming shorter to his chest. He went cold at the sound of a very familiar voice.

"Right here," Caitlin said. Grodd's head spun in her direction, as did Barry's. He shook his violently, telling her to leave. She seemed scared, but did a good job of hiding it. "You need to let him go, Grodd,"

"Flash is my enemy," Grodd growled. "Now you, too..."

"No!" Caitlin protested, and Barry was terrified to see her take a few steps foreword, closer to the gorilla. "He was trying to save me from you. We didn't understand what you wanted, but now we do. I can give you what you want." She stopped right in the center of the circle Wells had drawn, eyes pleading. "I can give you a home. You just have to trust me."

Grodd's entire posture relaxed, and, slowly, he lifted his foot from Barry's chest. Barry rolled over, weak and coughing, and Caitlin had to resist the urge to run to his side.

"Alright, here he comes," Wells murmured, and Cisco tensed preparing to press the button that would open the breach.

Grodd stalked toward Caitlin, and as Barry got painfully to his feet, he saw her trembling. But she held her ground, the only movement being the clenching of her fists as Grodd came closer and closer.

"Be ready to flip the switch," Wells instructed. Then he waited for the perfect time. "Now, Barry!"

Barry sprinted into action, dragging Caitlin out of the way as the blue breach spun to life. Grodd howled, straining to free himself from its grasp. Barry set Caitlin on the ground, and, without even realizing he was doing it, took a step in front of her. One arm went out, protectively shielding her from the massive, struggling animal.

Even with the breach at full power, Grodd's brute strength was beginning to win. He took a struggling step forward. Then another.

"Barry." Henry's voice rang in Barry's ear. "You can't let Grodd get free. Conquer your fears, son. Believe in yourself."

Barry stood up straighter, his whole being filled with a new purpose. He narrowed his eyes at Grodd and flashed off. It took him no longer than a second to get to 5.3 miles away, then back at the giant gorilla.

Barry super-punched him in the stomach, and the breach took its hold on Grodd, pulling him into its swirling depths. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and relaxed, but Barry, looking up at Caitlin, saw her gazing into the spot where the breach had been, still seeing in her head Grodd reaching out for her one last time.

Still, she offered Barry a weak smile, and, once he had gotten to his feet, he crushed her in one, massive, all-consuming hug.

"I love you." He whispered, for the second time that day, into her ear. "I love you so much."

She leaned back and smiled again a real one. "I love you too, Barry Allen."


Later on with the ordeal all said and done with, they all went back to STAR Labs and are currently looking at the Reverse Flash suit.

"I can't believe something good finally came from that suit," Caitlin commented.

"First and hopefully last." Barry agreed.

"That thing seriously gives me the creeps," Cisco tells them. "We should destroy it."

"Let's do that, but maybe we should see how he got his suit to fit into his ring, first," Barry tells Cisco since they're both curious to how he managed that.

"I can help with that." Wells offered to them. "I know a thing or two about microtechnology."

"You know a thing or two about a lot of things," Cisco replied.

"Well, as long as what he knows keeps my son's alive, the better," Henry stated. "Also, what's the standard wait time until you guys start to worry about them?"

That was when the dust appeared and suddenly Lockjaw appeared in the middle of the room, causing everyone to jump back and leave an open space for the dog to appear. Once he came in, the others were close behind him and Bobby ran to the medical wing to find Crystal with May, and she was still in her coma.

"Guess who's back," Peter said as a joke when he noticed Henry. "Dad? When'd you get here?"

MJ also noticed it seemed like everyone was tired and it was late at night there on Earth. "What did we miss?"

"We'll have to fill you, kids, in on a lot," Joe commented with a chuckle. "You missed a thing or two."

"Come on, we'll catch you guys up." Henry offered as he and Barry showed the kids out.

"So, this place where we sent Grodd, what is it exactly?" Caitlin wonders, since nobody really explained it.

"It's a refuge where gorillas subjected to lab experiments, like Grodd, can roam freely," Wells explains and showed her and Cisco a map on his Earth.

"I know it's for the best, but I still feel like I betrayed him," Caitlin tells Cisco.

"What? Don't say that. You didn't betray him." Cisco promises her. "You gave him a better life."

Meanwhile, Crystal was starting to wake up from her coma. When she looked at her skin, she saw that her entire body was returning to normal. She groaned and when she opened her eyes clearly, she saw Bobby was sitting aside her.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Bobby tells her.

Crystal smiled and moaned a little in relief. "I knew you guys would find a way to save me." She then jumped up in worry. "Wait. Attilan. Maximus!"

"All taken care of." Bobby quickly assured her. "Maximus is imprisoned. Your sister is back to full power. And your king is back on the throne."

Crystal smiled and started to sit up. "Thanks again. You are a lifesaver."

"Well, you owe thanks to MJ and Harry, they're the true heroes," Bobby admitted. "So...how long are you gonna be in town?"

Crystal hummed and gave it some thought. "I have to run to Attilan, let my sister I'm okay. But..." she then leaned over and gave Bobby a peck on the lips. "I'll be back when I can."

Bobby was a little frozen due to the kiss and chuckled. "Okay with me."


After everything was said and done, and Henry stuck around for a dinner at the Parker household, he went off to conclude his business. He made it towards the door and knocked on it. The door opened and it was revealed that Miriam Drew was who he came to visit.

"Hey." Henry greeted her.

"Hey." Miriam was happy to see him. "Worried you weren't gonna show."

"Sorry about that, had a family emergency," Henry explains and gestured inside. "She expecting me?"

Miriam nodded and allowed him inside. "Second room on the top of the stairs."

Miriam then moved upward towards the room as Henry followed. When they reached the room, Miriam allowed him to enter on his own as Jessica was sewing together a different version of her Spider-Woman suit.

"Hey, Jessica." Henry greets her.

"Henry, right?" Jessica was a little nervous about meeting him.

"That would be me," Henry confirmed with a chuckle. "Your mom's talked about you a lot. Let's talk."


MJ was walking, just making it outside of her house when the giant teleporting dog reappeared in the middle of her backyard. She had to admit she let out a gasp of fear when she saw it and Crystal appear out of nowhere.

"If your dog drops a load, I'm not cleaning it," MJ warned her friend.

Crystal chuckled and looked down. "Don't worry, I always have him go before we teleport."

"Right." MJ didn't seem to believe her. "What are you doing here? Figured you'd have a high jump to go back to Bobby."

"Well...I had a talk with my sister, and..." Crystal then held up a Terrigen Crystal for her. "We have Harry some of our technology to play with, but... This is Medusa's way of saying 'thank you'."

"That's one of your Terrigen Crystals?" MJ asks as she looked it over in awe. "How does it work?"

"Basically, you just throw it at your feet, and the mist will grant you powers," Crystal explains to her how it works. "You may use it, or you can keep it hidden for a special occasion." She then backed away and touched Lockjaw. "It is for you. Your choice, your decision. It isn't something you should lightly consider. Take your time. Keep it somewhere safe. Make your decision when you have made it up."

Then Crystal left the backyard, leaving MJ alone with the Terrigen Crystal in her hands. She caressed the Crystal, wondering just how fragile the thing was. It didn't feel like it was going to be easy to break by just dropping it. Then came the inevitable question to ask: should she?

She has already been kidnapped by both Zoom and Goblin. If she got powers of her own, this could level the playing field between her and them. She didn't need to use her powers on all missions, but she could use them to protect herself. Yet again, she wasn't even entirely sure what powers she would get. She could be gained abilities, but she could also be given some disfigurement like Black Bolt.

Black Bolt can't speak for the rest of his life because of his power. Medusa however has a power that she knows would be beneficial, with indestructible hair. Yet again, she wasn't sure how it would work if she ever decided to get a haircut.

She just looked down and kept staring at the crystal.

Should she take it?

The Watcher looked down at the crystal from behind her shoulder. "It's your choice, Mary Jane. But there are consequences for every action. And this is the biggest decision you might ever make. It could lead to anything. Any power. Any ability."


The Watcher then began to hear mumbling and looked away from the girl and off into the multiverse. He heard what sounded like a whispering of sorts.

"I will find you." The voice of that strange Spider-Man who noticed him was heard echoing through the BRANCHES. "I will find you."

"Oh, no, you won't." The Watcher knew there was no chance that HYDRA H was going to be capable of escaping his universe. He already conquered his entire multiverse, he couldn't let him or his disciples escape into the BRANCHES.