The Watcher kept on looking in concern as the quiet of the city was broken by the sound of sirens. It was 10:00 at night, and Barry was jogging on the treadmill.

It wasn't, however, for exercise. Cisco had gotten a little crazy during his afternoon invention session, and had created something that was going to be absolutely priceless for fighting the minor crimes of Central City.

No one knew that the Flash was out of commission, so Barry kept jogging and sweating his butt off, listening to Cisco's commentary through the comm.

"Oh?" Cisco said sassily, wagging his finger at his monitor. "Oh, you wanna play? Okay. Alright, get ready to bring it!"

"They're not slowing down." Iris said in concern, eyes also on the monitor.

"Of course not," said Barry as he panted.

Cisco reported, hand on his controller. "They're headed for the Fifth Street Tunnel. Satellite can't project in there!"

"And you just thought of this now?!" Iris exclaimed.

"I didn't think they'd actually try to outrun the Flash." Cisco said defensively.

"Then get to the other end, we'll take it from here!" Angelica called in.


Angelica flew through the air, leaving a trail of fire behind her. She descended toward the criminals, accompanied by Bobby and Miles. Peter hadn't returned to Central City yet; he had visited his father the other day. So, they were working on ways to keep the Flash alive via holograms, in order to deter metahuman criminals from using their powers out of fear of the Flash coming after them.

Bobby, you get to the tunnel and freeze the road ahead of them," Angelica began to assume a leadership role in the field. "Miles, disappear and land on the car; give one of your zappy attacks."

"We need a different name than Zappy attacks, but I'm on it," Miles said as he started to use his camouflage himself.

"I'll get on the icing part," Bobby said as he kept using his ice slide to blast ahead down the road and into the tunnel.

"What's your part in this?" Cisco asks Angelica.

"Who do you think is gonna keep them looking backward?" Angelica explained she would be the distraction.

Angelica made her way into the tunnel while Bobby slid across the street from the other side, where the drivers didn't seem to notice him. Miles made it to the trunk of the car and was beginning to get a zap-blast charge ready to release. Angelica looked and saw that Bobby was starting to shoot at the road to then freeze the tires and help stop the car.

Miles then did his part and released the zap blast, sending the truck skidding out of control as the engine exploded from the electricity. Bobby stopped creating an ice blast as he wiped the ice from his hands and laughed.

Bobby exclaimed, "Icy roads ahead!"

Miles then jumped off the car and shot out a web to latch onto it as the car skidded to a stop at the end of the tunnel. When the robbers got out of the car, they were about to take off when the Flash hologram appeared at the other end and stood there. They decided not to anger the Flash or the other heroes who slowly approached him and were ready to fight them again and surrendered.


"I need a break," Barry groaned as he got off the treadmill.

"I didn't think this hologram thing was going to work, but so far, it has," Iris said as she watched Barry walk around.

Cisco just laughs since they all thought it would be easy. Angelica, Miles, and Bobby made their way back to STAR Labs and groaned at the power level they have to keep up at the rate the criminals are coming at.

"Working for you, maybe," Angelica stated as she removed her gloves and tossed them on the table.

"I mean, I figured if they could get 2Pac rapping again at a concert, we could definitely get the Flash running around Central City," Cisco states as Wells enters the room.

"Yeah, you know how hard it was to get that stuff from OsCorp?" Harry asked him with a scoff.

Wells says, "It's not going to last." They all look at him. "It's not going to be long before someone figures out you never say anything, you never touch anything or go indoors."

"Okay, well, without Barry's speed, and Peter not around, this is as good an idea as any," Gwen said, but Wells knew there was still a better option.

"Your little video game isn't going to stop Zoom, it's not gonna save this city, and more importantly…it's not gonna save Snow or Watson." Then he looked over to Barry. "It's not gonna bring your Caitlin back. And I have a feeling when Zoom returns, you should have all hands on deck. As of right now, you have a hand missing."

Cisco says, sort of agreeing with Wells. "I hate to say it, but he's right. We got this plan for now, but somebody's going to get wise eventually."

"Well, it looks like we got back just in time," Henry said, getting everyone to face the doorway as they noticed Peter, May, and himself returning. "The city goes to crap every time we leave?"

"Henry!" Iris was a little surprised as she walked over and gave the man a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Barry asked although he was happy to see his father. He walked over and gave him a hug. "I thought you were still..."

Well, Peter came to me and made me feel like I should come back for my kids," Henry explained as he hugged his boys.

"Welcome back, sir," Bobby said with a grin.

"Sir? Henry will do fine," Henry said as he approached and gave the boy a hug. "And I heard about Caitlin, sorry to hear that."

"Peter told you everything?" Barry asks.

"Yeah, a little surprised to hear you proposed to Caitlin," Henry admitted as he approached Barry again.

"We were going to surprise you with a trip to your cabin and tell you, but things happened." Barry sighed and recounted all that had transpired in the last few days.

"It's okay, son," Henry said. "We just need to work on saving your girls."


Joe and Wally were in the CCPD, attempting to sneak out of the precinct before Singh caught them and forced Joe into some new activity. They had received a call from Iris that there was "exciting news," and while it was probably a bit too much to hope for, Joe couldn't help but get excited that maybe this exciting news could be Caitlin. Or at least a way to get her back.

He and Wally were just walking toward the entrance when a familiar slash of blue lightning appeared in the CCPD. Joe whipped his gun out immediately, his hands trembling slightly as he came face-to-face with the worst man he had ever met.

"Hello, old friend," Zoom growled.

Joe extended an arm and herded Wally protectively behind him. His son had already been kidnapped by this madman once; it wasn't going to happen again. "Stay away from him!"

"Do not move," Singh ordered, his own gun now trained on the dark speedster.

"Or what?" Zoom said. "You tried bullets on me once before."

"No!"

Joe looked up and saw Caitlin leaning over the railing. He noticed that MJ was standing behind her, peering through the gaps in the railing.

"Don't hurt them," she begged Jay, gripping the railing tightly. She seemed unhurt, though she looked terrified as if her entire world were falling down around her shoulders, piece by weighty piece. "Please let them go."

There was a long, heavy pause, during which Zoom's masked face seemed to be considering her plea.

Then...

"Tell everyone... this city is mine!" Zoom growled. "Anyone who disobeys me... will meet their end."

"Alright," Singh said in a remarkably calm, commanding voice. "Clear out!" He called to the rest of the officers, who began to file out of the CCPD.


"Caitlin and MJ are here with Zoom," Joe informed the rest of his team.

Joe told everyone what had happened, and they were seriously confused. He was back at STAR Labs, one hand still trembling slightly from the events of the afternoon.

"Why did he bring her here?" Iris asked anyone.

"To show power," Wells said. "It's exactly what he did on my Earth."

Joe shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

"The first thing he did was murder people," Wells continued. "Slaughtered a bunch of police officers and then recruited every metahuman he could find. And those who disobeyed him, he killed them too."

"Wait, where are the police officers now?" Angelica asked.

Joe said, "Outside the precinct."

"He'll kill them, Joe," Wells said gravely. "He'll kill them all."

"Caitlin was able to talk him down," Joe said confidently. "She convinced him not to kill anyone when he took over CCPD."

"That's what we're gonna rely on? Snow talking him out of it every time? You need to get them out of there; you need to get them somewhere safe," Wells warned Joe.

"What about if they set up at Jitters?" Miles offers, and they agree that's a good start.

"It's a good idea." May agreed. "It's just a block away from the precinct."

Wells threw up his hands in exasperation. "And then what? What happens next? You saw what Zoom did on my Earth—he will do the exact same thing here. Barry, we need to get your powers back."

"There must be another way," Henry says.

"Dad, I'm sorry to say, but the only way to fight a speedster is with a speedster." Peter was sorry to say they had no choice but to go through with the plan. "If we don't, Zoom will take us down."

"Even with the four of us," Angelica said, looking at Peter, Miles, Bobby, and herself, "with his new speed, Zoom is too much."

"What if we got Spider-Woman to help?" Gwen asks them.

"Last I checked, we didn't have her contact information," Peter reminded her. "So, we don't know how to get in touch with her."

"Well, I'm gonna go call Singh, and have him set up a task force at Jitters," Joe said as he walked off.

"And then what?" Iris asks.

"I don't know yet, but I'm going to make sure Wally and Jesse are safe," Joe said as he went to get them to the Time Vault.

Meanwhile, Henry stood silently by as he pulled out his phone, a completely outdated flip phone, and began texting someone he knew.


Back at the now abandoned precinct, MJ is handcuffed to a desk while Caitlin is handcuffed to a pipe in the precinct. They were hoping that they can figure out a way to escape before Zoom returned for her. But that was diminished when the monster himself made his way into the room.

MJ says, "You know they're gonna figure out a way to stop you, right?" She puts her faith in her friends.

"Who? Barry? Wells? Peter? Angelica? The police?" Hunter asks while chuckling. "No. Nobody can stop me now. Not anymore. Not anymore. I'm too powerful."

So...what's your plan?" Caitlin asked. "You're just going to kill everyone?"

"Not everyone," Hunter says.

"Then why are you keeping me here?"

He thinks about it for a moment and understands why. "Because I don't want to be alone anymore."

MJ silently showed her disgust as it seemed she was right that Caitlin had been specifically targeted by this crazy psychopath who seemed to have developed either a crush or feelings for Caitlin.

Caitlin told him, "I'm never going to be with you."

"You think you're not like me," he says, "but I've seen the darkness inside of you, Caitlin. Just like it was inside Killer Frost. All you have to do is unlock it."

As soon as he left, Caitlin noticed a small evidence box that she might be able to find a phone in. She gestured to MJ silently who looked over and noticed the evidence box herself. Luckily, she was closer and all she needed to do was pull on the drawer a little bit and was able to grab it. When she dragged the phone over, she sighed and knew one number by heart she started to type.


Meanwhile, back at STAR, they're working on how to undo the particle accelerator explosion, while Joe places Wally and Jesse in the time vault once more to ensure that Zoom can't reach them.

Wells was working on the machine to give Barry back his speed so they could stop Zoom once and for all. Joe walked in and saw the machine was built; Wells was just working on figuring out the math.

"So this is what it takes to get Barry's speed back," Joe said, looking over the device.

"It's not easy, but we're almost there," Wells says to Joe as he works on the equation to make it operational.

Joe says to Wells, "Once Barry makes up his mind, it's impossible to change it."

Well, then we need to convince him that this is the only way, before he decides not to do it, right?" Wells says as Henry enters the room.

"You shouldn't have to be convinced to do anything against your will," Henry stated as he walked into the room, finishing his private conversation on the phone. "Joe, we're talking about Barry's life. I can't imagine you don't feel the same way about this."

Joe doesn't know what to do anymore. He says, "I mean, I don't know what the right thing to do is now."

Henry stated, "It seems clear to me."

Wells says, "This isn't just about your son's life. This is also about everyone in Central City, and stopping Zoom."

"Your daughter is safe." Henry reminds Wells. "This could kill one of my sons."

"I'm not gonna let that happen," Wells promises.

Henry says to them, "The last time he was struck by lightning, he was in a coma for nine months." He continues, "How did that happen? You're messing with something that is out of your control. And what if it does work? What then? He goes up against Zoom, the monster who snapped his back and almost killed him and took the one thing he's now convinced he can't live without."

Wells says, "This is the way. This is the only way." He continues, "Central City needs the Flash; these kids are going out there, risking their lives, waiting for him to return. They're keeping hope alive because the hope of Barry getting his speed back is giving them hope. You're talking about the safety of your one son, but you seem to forget, Peter is younger. Peter is still going out there to save people, but Zoom will stop him. He killed Spider-Man on my Earth, do you want to see that event get replayed?"

"Guys?" Joe called out, seeing that Barry was in the doorway.

"I know all of you care about me in your own ways, and you all have your points of view on this, but the decision is mine. I have to make it on my own." Barry tells the three of them as he walked away.

"Nice way of putting it," Peter said as Barry found him.

"Hey," he said as he approached. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really. The drama going on here is the only thing going on around here," Peter explained. "Are you still undecided about getting hit by the particle accelerator again?"

Barry nodded as his brother knew what he was facing. "Well, yeah, the process could kill me. Or I could end up in a coma again."

Peter nodded and understood his brother's concerns. "But at the same time, not doing anything isn't going to stop him from killing us eventually. One day, one minute of our guard is down, and he'll have us all."

"Well, what if it had been you?" Barry wanted a second opinion. "If the Spider DNA was removed, what would you be?"

Peter actually never considered that possibility in his mind; his powers had become a part of him. "I'm not sure," he said, almost having to use all of his imagination to consider a world without the spider bite. "If I wasn't bitten, Sandman would likely be a criminal still, Electro could have killed everyone, including you, Molten Man could have never been created, and the Lizard could have turned the city into Lizard-Central."

Barry had to admit, he almost forgot about all of the adventures his brother went on before he woke up. "Wow, yeah, I sometimes forget you have such a large rogues' gallery."

Peter chuckled as he agreed there was a lot. "Yeah, if I woke up one day and my powers were...gone...I'm not sure what I'd do. Spider-Man...he's not just a persona, he's a part of me. He's the quipster, the version of me that can help people and Peter can go on with his life." He sighed and looked at the machine. "When the particle accelerator exploded, it didn't just affect me; it affected everyone around me. Bobby was kicked out of his home and disowned by his family. It turned a childhood friend of mine into a living bomb. But these incidents turned them into something greater. The power to blow things up, but she's helping Tiger protect people. Power to freeze people solid, but he uses it to cool down the situation. In an infinite universe with now there being an infinite amount of multiverses, and after traveling and seeing almost ten of them, one thing I can say, Barry, nothing is an accident. You gave up your speed, yes, but you have a way to get it back."

"You really got physiological this year, didn't you?" Barry chuckled at that speech.

You know, watching psychopaths killing multiversal versions of you, seeing all the alternate lives I could have had, it puts your life into perspective. I could have had a better life, or I could have had a worse life. But this here, this now, is my life. And I wouldn't change anything that happened. Peter said, but then realized he would change a few things. "Okay, maybe Thawne in our lives. I'd erase him before he killed our mom."

Barry chuckled at that remark and smiled. "Yeah, that's fair."

Peter then received a text and looked down to see it was from an unknown number. "Huh?"

"What is it?" asked Barry.

"Oh, god." Peter was shocked to see it had to be from MJ.

'Prescient. Second floor. Handcuffs. Come get us, Tiger.' - unknown number

"Hey, guys?"Gwen found them in the hallways. "Cisco's back," she said. "And he's got some news."


Peter and Barry were caught up on how it seemed Cisco had a run-in with one of Zoom's henchmen. This one seemed to be the doppelgänger of Cisco's brother from Earth-2.

"He calls himself Rupture. Another metahuman that Zoom controls," Wells tells them as he pulls up footage of him.

"So Zoom is bringing more of his friends over to play. Yay." Peter wasn't thrilled by this idea.

"Zoom must have lied to Dante's doppelgänger about me killing Reverb, so we gotta do something," Cisco told them.

Barry asked Wells, "What else do you know about him?"

Angelica told them, "He gets his power from that scythe he wields." She recalled her encounters with him before. "I've fought him with my Spider-Man and Iceman. Get it away from him, he's powerless."

"Okay, so all that we need to do is get it away from him," Barry said. "Any ideas on that?"

"Not without a few ice fortresses, and some chunks of Trapster gel," Angelica said.

"Who's Trapster?" asked Peter.

"Oh, he's this seriously ridiculous supervillain who shoots sticky goo at people," Miles says of Trapster.

"That sounds ridiculous," Harry stated.

"It was," Angelica sighed.

Wells says to Barry, "You know what you have to do."

Barry looked around the room and knew that he had the choice between not helping without powers, or taking this risk and getting his powers back. He looked to Peter and remembered their conversation earlier.

"Let's do this," said Barry. "Angelica, do you think your team can handle Rupture?"

"We can handle him," Angelica said, seeing that she would be taking point on this one. But he also had a mission of his own and looked to Miles.

Barry nodded and left the room, and Peter knew his brother was doing what he wanted to do.

Peter said as he led Miles out of the room. "Miles, come with me. I've got an assignment for you."

That's when it dawned on Gwen what Angelica had said. "Wait, did you say ice fortress?"


Back at the CCPD, Caitlin was happy to see MJ was able to get word out for them and they just needed to wait for some news. That's when they heard what sounded like giant boots and saw Rupture return with Zoom speeding into the room.

"And?"

"He got away," Rupture says to Zoom. "But I can track them down."

Zoom states. "Later."

"He needs to pay for what he did to my brother!" Rupture proclaimed.

"And he will. Later, Rupture!"

"What do you want me to do?" Rupture saw Zoom had a plan for him.

"The police have gathered again. They think I've spared their lives. Tonight...show then they're wrong."

Caitlin and MJ are filled with fear when they see Rupture leave. Zoom approaches Caitlin while removing his mask.

Hunter says, "You disapprove?"

She said, "You said you would spare them."

Hunter says, "I need to teach them a lesson."

"Is that why you always change your voice?" MJ asks him. "So that everyone would be afraid of you?"

As you once said… I'm nothing but a monster." The hunter spoke those words and sped off.

MJ quickly got to work sending another text to Peter to alert him they had bigger problems with Rupture. That's when they heard something hit the floor and watched a spray can roll off the table.

"Ooh!" A sheepish voice called out. "That wasn't good."

MJ recognized the voice and was shocked. "Miles?"

Before Caitlin could even comprehend what was happening, the handcuffs that had been holding her down suddenly snapped in half, leaving her bewildered and confused. To her surprise, MJ's handcuffs also snapped in half, freeing her.

Okay, let's get the hell out of here," Miles whispered as he remained invisible. "I've got a plan, but this is going to be difficult."

"How difficult?" Caitlin asks.

"I've only done it a handful of times, and you need to hold on as hard as you can," Miles said as he grabbed the girls, who both wrapped their arms around the small boy. "Okay...let's do this!"

Caitlin and MJ then noticed him running toward the window and began to panic. "Wait!" "This is the plan?" "This is gonna hurt!"

Zoom wasn't even aware of what was happening until after the windows shattered and he zipped down to the other floor. He was enraged when he saw the cracked cuffs and no sign of Caitlin or MJ. He had lost his only advantage over the heroes.


Cisco, Harry, and Wells had created a beautiful machine. It was basically the particle accelerator, but it would isolate all its power on Barry, instead of the entire city.

"So, Barry just gets in, we turn it on, and that's it?" Iris asked. She wasn't particularly on board with this plan, but Barry wasn't going to be convinced to change his mind.

"Yeah," Harry said, a little breathlessly, as he turned around from the part of the machine he was working on.

Joe and Iris stared back at him, both looking disbelieving.

"Not exactly," Wells corrected. "Because in recreating what happened with the Particle Accelerator explosion, we also have to recreate what happened to Barry."

Barry realized he had been struck by lightning again.

Wait, so how are you going to do that? It's not even raining," Gwen said, confused.

"Well, Ramon, you have the wand?" Wells asks.

"The one you made for Mark Mardon?" Cisco asked, his brow furrowing.

"No, the one you built for the Harry Potter convention," Wells said sarcastically. "Yes, the one you built for Mark Mardon."

Cisco gave him a long, strange look. "How do you know about that Harry Potter convention?"

Wells said, "Get the wand and get on the roof."

Joe frowned. "Why the roof?"

"Because we're gonna need a lightning rod," Wells answered, almost looking like he was enjoying this. "And that, Ramon, is going to be you."


Meanwhile, everyone at Jitters was preparing for Rupture since Angelica said it was most likely going to be his next stop. Since she was there to witness Zoom's rise to power, she knew exactly what he was likely going to do next.

"Okay, we're all set up," Singh said as he approached the heroes. "You sure the Flash isn't coming?"

"Sorry, we're on our own." Angelica was sorry to say.

Bobby assured the police captain, "We can handle him; don't worry."

"Where's the other Spider?" Singh wondered. "The one in the black suit."

"He's busy with something else," Peter reported. "We're all you've got."

"I wouldn't be so sure," a voice said, causing everyone to look up and see Jessica dangling from the ceiling. "Boo!"

Bobby snapped his fingers (not easy, considering they were made of ice). "That's what I forgot. There's a roof entrance."

Peter eyed him in annoyance. "Okay, you, I'll deal with you later." He then looked over at Jessica. "Spider-Woman. Didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, you guys aren't exactly subtle about all of this. And a friend told me Flash was unavailable, so you could use the help." Jessica explained to them. "Mind if I helped?"

Peter looked over at Bobby and Angelica, and they both had the same shrug look on their faces. They were open to the idea of help, especially since they were down a few members who could use it.

Peter said, "Let me fill you in on the plan."


It didn't take long for Cisco to get set up. "Alright, I'm on the roof," he reported through his com. "Wow. I've never actually been up here before. I think I can see my apartment from here."

"Head straight for the satellite, Ramon," Harry said, not taking his eyes off of the work. "When I give you the signal, you'll create a lightning storm above you."

"I'm just supposed to stand here in the middle of a lightning storm?" Cisco asks.

"Really, Ramon, the chances of being struck are slim at best," Wells said, not sounding very reassuring.

"Yeah, not when you're the one causing it!" Cisco argued.

"All we need is one lightning bolt to strike the satellite," Wells said. "The satellite is connected to the circuitry, which is connected to the breach room; Barry's in the breach room. Just do it."

"Yeah, I'm doing it," Cisco said. "Mozart better watch out. Cisco Ramon's about to conduct something nasty."

Meanwhile, Barry loaded himself into the machine. The clamps closed around his legs and wrists in a way that was painfully tight.

"You're going to feel these clamps," Wells said, hearing his own grunts. "But they're necessary."

"Are you okay?" Joe whispered from the floor.

"Yeah," said Barry honestly. "You?"

Joe's mouth twisted; he didn't respond.

"I'll be fine, Joe," Barry assured him. He sounded a bit more confident than he felt, but this was probably the calmest he had been since Caitlin's kidnapping. He was finally doing something that could lead to his saving her. To bring her home.

Iris gave him a weak smile and followed her father down to stand beside Wells. Henry replaced them. He smiled up at his son. "Son," he said. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Barry sighed, closing his eyes for a moment against the torrent of emotions inside his brain. "Being the Flash, that's the best version of me. If I don't have my speed, I can't be that person anymore. I'll never be able to protect the people that I love and I'll never be able to get Caitlin home. And without Caitlin, I'll never be able to be whole."

Henry swallowed. "Okay," he said.

"You ready, Allen?" Wells asked from the control panel.

Taking a final deep breath, Barry nodded.


Back at Jitters, the handful of officers that had stayed behind were hiding and waiting for Rupture to show up. Angelica was hiding on the second floor behind the couch, trying to stay out of sight. Peter was hiding above the sign above the door. Bobby was waiting behind the first-floor waiting area. Jessica was hiding behind the counter.

It didn't take long for Raptor to finally make it to Jitters, as he smashed through the glass door and marched inside. A little overdramatic, but okay.

Rupture asked, "Now where did everyone go?" as he looked around.

Peter was the first to strike as he shot tel strands of webbing. He latched onto the weapon, quickly yanking it out of his hands before he could use it.

"Are we the heroes you were looking for?" Peter asked sardonically.

Jessica saw that Rupture was looking away from her and it gave her an opening. She charged up one of her Venom-Blasts and sent it directly toward him, sending him groaning as his armor wasn't able to block the strike. While he was distracted, Bobby then made himself known as he blasted a heap of ice at him. Then it was Angelica's turn as she leaped from the second floor and charged up a heated punch to the face, burning his mask off, and sending Rupture toppling to the ground.

As he hit the ground, Singh and the rest of the cops emerged and shot him with the B.O.O.T. to stop him from gaining his Meta powers. It was mainly a precaution since they weren't entirely sure if he required that weapon all the time.

"Hope you like being alone," Singh says as he cuffs him. "Because you won't be talking to anyone at Iron Heights."

Jessica wiped the imaginary dust off her hands and sighed. "That was fun." She then looked to the others. "Is it like this all the time?"

"No, we usually get our butts kicked," admitted Bobby.

Peter nodded in agreement. "This will be our first attempt. The second time, we usually succeed."

"Yeah," Angelica admitted, "that's usually how it works."

"Well... I've had a blast." Angelica said as she tossed Peter a phone. When he caught it, he looked at it and saw a number on it. "In case you need me in the future," she added.

Peter was a little surprised as he then saw her walk out the door and swing away. He shrugged and saw that this crisis was over; however, he needed to hurry if he wanted to get to STAR Labs in time for them to activate the Accelerator.


Cisco summoned a lightning bolt that got everyone in the entire city to watch the event and see what he was trying to do. Zoom sped his way toward the building to try and stop it. Caitlin and MJ saw the event going down as Miles was sneaking them through the backstreets so Zoom wouldn't find them. Jesse and Wally managed to get out of the Time Vault and were running through the halls. Peter had just reached the building and made his way through the halls.

For a long moment, all Barry felt was pain. Chemicals, in his blood, burning his muscles and making the world spin.

Lightning then streamed through the controls, causing him to throw his head back and scream in pain. This was the most agonizing thing he had ever felt. It felt as if the very fabric of his being was being dissolved, filtering into the air in tiny particles.

It wasn't supposed to hurt this much; something must be wrong.

Then everything went white, hot, and blurry.

Barry couldn't remember anything after that.

To everyone else's eyes, he flaked away and vanished into the air as a giant shockwave of the particle accelerator went off. The shockwave went down the halls as it then hit Jesse and Wally. They were flung down the hall as Peter was making his way to the room. However, when he was approaching, his senses alerted him that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

When the wave of energy reached him, Peter was thrown into the wall. However, when he hit the wall, only his costume remained, scorched as if it had gone through an inferno. Bobby was making his way down the halls when he saw the Spider-Man outfit without the owner and started to panic.

Bobby cried out, "Peter? Pete!"

"It worked!" Cisco cried, entering the bunker. "Is everyone okay? What happened?"

As the blast doors opened, the smoke began to clear. The machine that had held Barry was empty.

Iris let out a choked sob and Henry got to his feet, glaring at Wells. "No... What did you do to my son?"

Before Wells or anyone else could say anything, a familiar flash of blue lightning shot through the bunker, and Zoom stood in the center of the room.

He slowly held up the tattered remains of a red leather suit with a lightning bolt emblem on the front. "You thought you could give the Flash his speed back? Well done. You killed him instead."

He flashed out of the room, leaving the group standing in pained, grieving shock. But to add insult to injury, Bobby walked into the room, carrying the Spider-Man suit with a look of shock and horror.

"What?" Gwen was now scared when she saw Peter's suit. "Where's Peter?"

The Watcher was just as confused as he wondered the same. "Where is he indeed?"


Peter wasn't entirely sure where he was; all he could see was darkness. Every once in a while, when he flickered his eyes a certain way, he managed to catch a glimpse of what looked to be a spider web. He wasn't sure what it was, and then he started to hear voices.

"His soul is that of a champion; his flesh, the physical embodiment of a perfect balance between chaos and order."

"Hello," said Peter as he called out into the darkness. "Is someone there?"

"Yeah! Everyone should have their own thread. But, they are all woven together. So, who knows where they will go? We can only watch and admire their work. It's our creation, but it's their beautiful web. And it's pretty, isn't it?"

"There are many threads, but time doesn't run the same across all of them."

"This better not cut into my time to get this assignment done."

"Peter!" That voice he knew.

"May?" Peter looked around. "May, can you hear me?"

"Peter!"

"Peter, where are you?"

Peter called out, "Gwen? Harry!" trying to make sure they hear him.

"Peter Parker," someone called, causing Peter to turn around and watch as an ankh symbol appeared and began to glow. "Guardian of the Web!" He had to shield his eyes as the brightness became too much for him. But then he felt a hand grab and then drag him into the ankh, and he was blinded by the light. "I have found you!"