Episode 15 - Fallout

The explosion from Ronnie and Martin was still going as Macanese and Barry ran, Caitlin in the arms of the cybernetic human. But in seconds the dark cloud from the explosion consumed them. "Barry? Macanese?" Wells called through the communication system. "Barry, Macanese, what happened out there?"

"Are you guys okay?" Cisco asked.

Barry, Macanese and Caitlin were lying on the ground after being knocked down by the explosion. "Are you okay?" Macanese asked as she helped Barry and Caitlin to their feet.

"I think so." Caitlin answered as she caught her breath.

"I think so." Barry said into his ear piece.

"Oh, God." Caitlin gasped as he looked at the explosion. "The nuclear explosion. There's no telling how much radiation we were exposed to."

"Wait... wait, wait, wait, wait, this can't be." Cisco replied. "The Geiger counter in the suit... it's reading less than one millirad."

"But that's normal." Barry pointed out.

"There's no radiation." Well said.

"Let's go." Macanese told them as they raced back to a few feet from where Ronnie and Martin exploded, then they slowly walked over to where they were, internally terrified about what they were going to see.

"Did it work?" Cisco asked. "Did you separate them?"

"I don't know." Barry answered.

Caitlin then sees someone laying on the ground and runs over to them. "Ronnie?" She questions. Ronnie was laying on the ground with his clothes a little burnt from the blast. Caitlin kneels down beside him. "Tell me your name."

"Ronnie Raymond. Cait. It's me." Ronnie smiles before he kisses her as Macanese and Barry smile.

Martin then walks up to them, his clothes are burnt as well. "Uh, pardon me." Martin says. "Obviously, I need a change of clothes."

"Nice to see you in the flesh, Professor Stein." Macanese tells him.

"We're coming home. All of us." Barry replies.

Later, they all return to STAR Labs and Cisco walks up to them with a smile on his face. "Ronnie Raymond." He greets him.

"Cisco." Ronnie returns as he gives Cisco a quick hug.

"Man. Ohh. I missed you so much, man. I shouldn't have locked you in there." Cisco confessed.

"Hey... don't." Ronnie replies as Wells wheels into the room.

"Welcome back, Mr. Raymond." He tells him.

"Dr. Wells. Caitlin told me what happened to you. I'm so sorry." Ronnie apologised.

"I'm responsible for putting myself in this chair. You are responsible for my still being alive... thank you." Wells reminds him.

"You said you'd bring him back, and you did. Thank you." Caitlin smiles.

"You're welcome." Wells replies.

"Excuse me?" Martin said. "Are we all planning to sing Kumbaya next?"

"Professor Stein, I presume." Wells greets.

"Harrison Wells. Do you have somewhere I can freshen up and get a change of clothes?" Martin asked.

"Of course." Wells replies.

"Right this way, Professor." Cisco said.

Later at night, at the explosion site where Ronnie and Martin separated, the army were looking around with camera's broadcasting directly back to Eiling. "General, are you getting this?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Roger that, Sergeant." Eiling answered.

"Sir, look at this. Two imprints of impact." They noticed.

"Two imprints." Eiling replied. "Two different people. It's Firestorm. He's separated."

The next day, Caitlin was checking on Ronnie's health at STAR Labs. "Your vitals appear to be normal, except you have a slight fever of 100.6." Caitlin told him.

"Cait, I'm fine, I promise." Ronnie replied.

"I know, but we just need to be…" Caitlin tried to say.

"Shh." Ronnie said as he held her face, they both kissed until everyone walked into the room.

"Yep... just when I forgot how awkward it was to walk in on you two." Cisco sighed.

"Well, you can get used to it again." Caitlin smiles.

"So I did a full medical workup on the Professor." Wells informed them. "It turns out that now that he and Ronnie are separated, they no longer possess the ability to harness nuclear energy." Wells then hands Caitlin a tablet with his vitals.

"Professor Stein, you seem to be running a little hot as well. Same as Ronnie... 100.6." Caitlin told him.

"Hardly a sweat, Dr. Snow. And hopefully now the only thing Ronald and I have in common…" Martin replied.

"It's Ronnie." Ronnie corrected,

"Mm." Martin hummed.

"Hey? You gonna miss being able to fly?" Cisco asked.

"Yeah, maybe if I was the one holding the controller." Ronnie answered, glaring at Martin.

"Meaning?" Martin questioned.

"Meaning, you weren't the most conscientious body-mate." Ronnie told him.

"So you do not consider keeping you alive to be conscientious?" Martin wondered.

"Alive?" Ronnie laughed. "We were living under a bridge, eating garbage."

"I did not determine that it would be my mind that would dominate our existence, but thank God it was. I could feel your fear and panic, emotions that likely would have gotten us killed in that state." Martin argued.

"You kept me buried down. You kept me from her." Ronnie reminded him.

"Which is likely why she's still alive." Martin confessed. "Now I believe you and I have spent quite enough time together."

"Yeah." Ronnie sighed.

"I would like to go home to see my wife." Martin told them.

"Mr. Allen and Lady Macanese will take you." Wells replied.

"Thank you." Martin said as he walked away.

"I need some pizza." Ronnie admitted as he turned to Caitlin.

"You got it." Caitlin smiles.

Later, Barry and Atchaco have taken Martin home. "I can't believe it. Oh... wait. Uh... what should I say?" Martin mumbles.

"I don't think you're gonna have to say anything." Atchaco admits as Clarissa walks out of the house with tears in her eyes upon seeing Martin standing there.

"Oh, Clarissa. I'm so sorry I put you through this." Martin apologises, but Clarissa hugs him and then gives him a kiss.

"Thank you." Clarissa mouths to them.

"Mister, uh... Barry… Atchaco." Martin replies.

"Yeah?" Barry said.

"Barry, Atchaco, I... I know I can be difficult, but thank you both for bringing me home." Martin tells them.

"We'll see you soon, Professor." Atchaco smiled.

Later, Barry and CyAmze walk into their lab at the precinct where Joe was waiting for them. "Hey." Barry greeted him.

"I left you three messages." Joe told him.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry." Barry apologised.

"About the lack of communication, or that new hole out in the badlands?" Joe questions.

"Uh, we're all fine, thanks." CyAmze answered.

"I wasn't calling about the explosion. I have to show you something." Joe replies.

"What?" Barry wonders. Minutes later, they all arrive at Barry's old house. "It's smaller than I remember." Atchaco grabs Barry's hand to comfort him, knowing how hard it is to be standing there.

"Yeah. It's because you're bigger." Joe reminds him. "Have you been in here? I mean, recently."

"No. I haven't been in this house since that night." Barry admitted.

Joe walked over to the device that had the mirror on it and looked at Barry. "Bar? This mirror... you remember it?" Joe asked.

"Yeah." Barry answered. "It belonged to my grandma. How is it still here?"

"Just be glad it is." Joe told him. "Look... I don't fully know how Cisco did it, but…"

"Did what Joe, what are we doing here?" Barry questioned. Joe turns the device on and Barry sees the hologram of his mother, laying on the floor terrified. "Mum."

"You can definitely see two very fast people fighting around your mother." Joe pointed out the two streaks from the hologram.

"Two speedsters." Atchaco noticed.

"You see that?" Joe asked as he pointed to the wall.

"The blood?" Barry wondered.

"Cisco and I had the DNA tested. It's yours." Joe answered.

"No, it's not. That's impossible. I wasn't even downstairs yet." Barry reminded him.

"No, Barry. Not that you. This you." Joe informed him and Atchaco looked at Joe confused. "Cisco had the samples analysed and the proteins in the blood were that of an adult, not a child."

"But that means…" Atchaco gasped.

"The second speedster, the one trying to stop the man in yellow…" Joe continues.

"Is the Flash. That's me." Barry realised.

Later, at STAR Labs, they told Wells what they had found out. "Time travel." Wells smiles.

"If the last five months have proven anything, it's that anything can exist, but to actually travel through time?" Barry wondered.

"Well, the greatest minds in human history put their collective genius towards solving that puzzle." Wells replied.

"So. Is it possible?" Joe askes.

"Yes, it's possible." Wells answers. "But problematic. Assuming you could create the conditions necessary to take that journey... well, that journey would then be fraught with potential pitfalls. The Novikov principle of self-consistency, for example."

"Wait, the what, now?" Joe questioned.

"If you travel back in time to change something, then you end up being the causal factor of that event." Atchaco explained to him.

"Like Terminator." Cisco simplified.

"Ah." Joe smiled, now understanding what Wells was saying.

"Or is time plastic?" Wells wondered. "Is it mutable whereby any changes to the continuum could create an alternate timeline."

"Back To The Future." Cisco grinned.

"Oh... saw that one too." Joe told him.

"Doc Brown. Tremendous picture." Wells said.

"Right. So what's the answer?" Joe asked.

"I might be a clever guy, Joe, but if you're asking me to give you a working theory on how to travel through time, I'm afraid I just can't do that." Wells told him.

"There is someone else you can talk to about this." Cisco replied.

Later at Central City Picture News, Iris was sitting at Mason's desk when Mason walked up to her. "Danish?" Mason questioned, holding the plate out to her.

"Why do you have a blueprint of the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator? Do you actually know anything about physics?" Iris asks him.

"Not a thing. Might as well be in Dothraki." Mason admitted.

"So what more is there with the S.T.A.R. Labs story? The only new piece of information is the fact that Harrison Wells admitted that he was warned of a potential disaster." Iris told him.

"Yeah. Why do you think he did that?" Mason wondered.

"Because he's a good person?" Iris replied.

"Is he?" Mason asked her.

"Yes." Iris answered He saved my friends' lives. They were struck by lightning that night and Dr. Wells and his team kept them alive." Iris told him.

"So? Your friends wouldn't have needed saving if Wells hadn't zapped them in the first place." Mason reminded her.

"It was an accident." Iris argued.

"What if it wasn't?" Mason questioned.

"So you think Harrison Wells wanted the Particle Accelerator to explode? Why would he do that?" Iris asked him.

"I don't know what goes on inside that building. But I think you know some people who do." Mason answered as he handed her the danish.

"So you think I would investigate my friends because you got me a danish?" Iris laughed.

"I think that you'll do it because you really want to know what goes on inside that building." Mason retired.

Later at night, Barry and Atchaco go to see Martin at his house. "Barry? Atchaco?" Clarissa said as she opened the door.

"Mrs. Stein, we're sorry to bother you here, but is Professor Stein here right now?" Atchaco questioned.

"Well, after a year apart, I'm not letting him out of my sight. S.T.A.R. Labs did quite a few tests on Martin, didn't they... and they said he was fine?" Clarissa answered.

"Yeah. Why is something wrong?" Barry asked.

"He just seems a little different, is all." Clarissa admits.

"Different how?" Atchaco pondered.

"He's been asking for pizza. Martin despises pizza." Clarissa admitted.

"Is that the delivery man?" Martin wonders as he walks up to the door. "Oh, Mr. Allen, Lady Macanese. I suppose it's too much to hope one of you to moonlight as a pizza boy. I am famished."

"Okay." Barry smiles before zooming away and coming back with a box of pizza.

"Oh, bravo!" Martin cheers as he opens the pizza box. "Please, come in. Mr. Allen, Lady Macanese. Oh, mmm. What can I do for you?"

"We needed to talk to you about a paper that you wrote 25 years ago for the Oxford University Press." Atchaco told him.

"I've written many papers for that publication. Could you be more specific about the subject matter?" Martin questions as he takes a bite of his pineapple pizza.

"Time travel." Barry answered.

Minutes later, they were all in Martin's office. Martin pulls down the drapes from two bulletin boards, showing the two speedster a bunch of equations. "These are just a few of the random thoughts I've had on the subject." Martin informed them.

"A few?" Barry gasped.

"See, I believe that space-time is a free-flowing highway that intersects that physical world. We live in… in the moments between the on and off ramps. Theoretically, to travel through time, one merely needs to find a way onto the highway." Martin explained.

"Okay, so... so you're saying that this is actually possible to... to travel into the future?" Atchaco asked, baffled as she had only heard about the possibilities of travelling to the past on her alien planet, none of them believing that travelling to a time that has not happened to be possible.

"Undoubtedly." Martin replied.

"What about the past?" Barry wondered.

"Yes." Martin answered. "My own personal choice would be the Chicago World's Fair, 1893. I... I think Nicola Tesla and I would have some wonderful arguments. What about both of you? Would you be interested in taking a trip into history?"

"I think that I already have." Barry admitted. "Professor, um... 15 years ago, my mom was murdered and we recently discovered some evidence that... I was there that night, and not just as a kid, but as an adult."

"That must be a side effect of your incredible speed." Martin told him. "In some... future date, you actually move so fast that the resulting kinetic energy buildup smashes a hole in the space-time continuum! You seem disappointed by the prospect."

"I mean, if I do somehow make it back there to that night, then... it means that I didn't save her. My destiny is to fail." Barry sighs.

Meanwhile, Caitlin and Ronnie are sitting in Jitters, Caitlin was telling Ronnie about all the things that she has been through. "And the boomerang goes flying through the cortex, smashing everything and Cisco's all, 'My bad. This one's on me.'" Caitlin recants.

"Sounds like you had some crazy times." Ronnie laughs.

"Yeah, we have." Caitlin smiled.

"Are you ready for life to get back to normal?" Ronnie questioned.

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked.

"I was thinking we could leave town. Start fresh somewhere." Ronnie answered.

"Our lives are here. My job is here." Caitlin reminded him.

"Yeah, hunting meta-humans." Ronnie replied.

"There's more to it than that." Caitlin told him.

"And it's dangerous." Ronnie pointed out.

"It can be." Caitlin confesses. "Look. I stayed at S.T.A.R. Labs because I believed in Dr. Wells. But ever since Barry and Atchaco became The Flash and Thunder we've been working to keep this city safe, I found a new way to help people."

"Look, Cait, I'm not mad at anyone." Ronnie admits. "Okay, I know the accelerator explosion was an accident. But that building took a year of our lives. I don't want it to take anymore."

"Do you guys need anything else? We're about to close up." A barista asked them.

"I'm good. Babe?" Ronnie questioned. Caitlin suddenly sees red dots on Ronnie and she turns around to see soldiers standing there in the doorway with guns drawn.

"Ronnie, get down." She orders. They both got down when the soldiers started shooting. The barista got shot in the neck with a dart before falling to the floor while other people were screaming as they rushed to hide under the tables.

"Get out of here." Ronnie shouted.

"No, not without you." Caitlin argues.

"I'm right behind you... go!" Ronnie told her.

Back at Martin's house, he was standing in the kitchen when all of a sudden he dropped his glass of water as he felt a powerful influx of emotions wash over him. Barry, Atchaco and Clarissa were quick to catch onto this and ran over to him. "Professor?" Atchaco questioned.

"Martin? What's wrong?" Clarissa asked.

"I don't know, I... I feel terrified. My... my heart is racing." Martin answers. Meanwhile Ronnie is still being shot at before he takes off running out of Jitters and into an alley, before being surrounded by the soldiers that had previously been running after him. "I think... I think Ronald is in trouble."

"How could you know that?" Barry wondered.

"Jitters. He needs help. Go!" Martin ordered and just like that, Atchaco and Barry zoomed out of the house.

Meanwhile, Ronnie has his hands up as the soldier's are still pointing their guns at him. "Ronald Raymond. Burning Man himself. Half of him, anyway." Eiling said as he walked up to Ronnie.

"Who are you?" Ronnie asked.

"General Wade Eiling, United States Army." Eiling replies.

"What do you want?" Ronnie questioned.

"Firestorm." Eiling answers. Within seconds, Barry and Macanese arrived and they took out all the soldiers and went and stood next to Ronnie. Eiling threw a box into the air and a bunch of needles came shooting out of it before hitting Barry and Macanese, piercing through the laters metal body, and they both dropped to the floor in pain. "Stings, doesn't it? Had that one developed especially for you. Micro fragments attracted to kinetic energy. Firestorm was tonight's main objective, but getting you two... that's just gravy."

Then a van comes rushing towards them and Ronnie punches Eiling in the face as the van door opens to reveal Caitlin; "Get in!" She ordered and Ronnie helped Barry into the van as Macanese used her extendable appendages to climb in, her face relieving that it was painful.

"Gentlemen, we are at war." Eiling growled.

Later at STAR Labs, Barry and Macanese were laying on beds as Caitlin was taking the fragments out. "You need to hurry, Barry and Macanese's wounds are starting to heal with the fragments still under their skin." Wells warned.

"This is just like that time I stepped on a sea urchin. Only much worse." Cisco admits.

"Just don't pee on us." Barry groaned.

"Uh, you know that's a myth, right?" Cisco tells them. Caitlin pulls out one of the fragments out of Macanese's back and she screams in pain.

"I'm so stupid. Jason Rush, the grad student who was helping Professor Stein with his Firestorm research, he said that the army took all of Professor Stein's material when he disappeared. I should have known it was General Eiling." Caitlin moaned.

"Not your fault." Wells reminds her. "He still thinks you hold the keys to the ultimate human weapon... both of you."

"Okay, let's just finish this." Barry replied.

"We gotta get to Stein's house. Eiling's gonna be after him too." Macanese informed them.

"Stein's fine." Ronnie said as he senses something.

"How do you know?" Barry asked him.

"He's right there." Ronnie answers, turning towards the entrance.

"I don't think Mr. Raymond and I are as distinctive as we had hoped." Martin tells them, walking into the Cortex. Minutes later, they were checking Martin and Ronnie's brain waves. "I'm still inside Ronald."

"There has to be a better way to phrase that." Cisco told him and Atchaco chuckles.

"Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta... all your brain waves are perfectly in sync. The chances of that happening are next to impossible." Caitlin told them. "Even Atchaco and her AI aren't in sync."

"Impossible's just another Tuesday for us, remember?" Atchaco smiled.

"Yeah, but this is like some Twilight Zone level stuff, and I say that knowing full well that we have a guy locked up in our basement who can turn himself into poison gas." Cisco replied.

"Wait, really?" Ronnie wonders.

"Dude, that was, like, week three." Cisco said.

"Look, if this Eiling is as dangerous as you say, then I need to warn Clarissa." Martin tells them.

"We promise, Atchaco and I can get Clarissa out of the city in time, but we need you to stay here. Professor, I need you to trust us." Barry reminded him.

"Very well." Martin replied. Everyone then walks out of the room leaving Ronnie alone with the two speedsters.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Atchaco asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's just not the S.T.A.R. Labs I knew." Ronnie confessed.

"Ronnie, this isn't the world that you knew." Barry reminded him.

"Tell me about it." Ronnie sighed.

Later, they are all at Joe's house. "All right, here we are." Barry said. "Uh, all right. You guys can stay down in Iris' old room. It's kind of small, but…"

"Hey." Atchaco greeted.

"We have guests." Joe notices.

"Yeah, we do. I hope that's okay." Barry wondered.

"Mi casa." Joe replied.

"This is Ronnie." Caitlin told him.

"Nice to meet you." Joe said. "Ronnie, the…"

"Dead fiance." Ronnie told him.

"Right. Beer?" Joe replied, holding out a beer for him.

"Thanks." Ronnie smiled.

Iris walks through the door with some grocery bags. "Dad? Barry? Atchaco?" She wondered as she saw them all standing there.

"Iris, hi." Atchaco greeted her.

"Hi." Iris returned.

"What are you doing here?" Joe asked.

"Uh, it's Tuesday. I was gonna make us dinner, remember?" Iris questions.

"Yep." Barry answered.

"Yeah." Joe chuckled.

"Here, I'll help. Got it." Atchaco said as she took the grocery bags and took them into the kitchen.

"I knew you'd forget." Iris sighed. "Well, there's plenty for everyone. Caitlin, what brings you by?"

"There's a gas leak in my apartment, so Barry said that we could stay here." Caitlin lied.

"Oh, that's sweet of him. And, uh, who's this?" Iris asked.

"This is, uh…" Caitlin mumbled.

"Her cousin." Barry suggested.

"Sam." Caitlin smiled.

"Visiting from Coast City." Joe said. Ronnie smiles and waves at her.

"You look really familiar, Sam." Iris admits.

"Yeah, I... I have... one of those faces. So what's for dinner?" Ronnie replied.

Later, Wells goes to go and see General Eiling. "Harrison." Eiling grins.

"Wade." Wells growls

"I had a feeling you would be wheeling by." Eiling laughs. "Tell me. They still pulling needles out of Barry Allen and Atchaco Cornwall's hide? I guess your sweet little Flash and Thunder didn't want Sergeant Sans Soucie to die looking into two masks."

"I don't know how Firestorm works." Wells admits.

"Well, you may not know the how, but you know the who." Eiling replies. "Both of them. Thanks to you, it's the dawn of a new age, Harrison. Cold War, the war on terror. We'll seem like cavemen fighting with sticks once those two freaks bind together." Well shakes his head. "Well, you know where to find me when you've come to the right decision. And I know you will. After all, you're the smartest guy I know."

Barry was sitting in the living room, looking at a picture of him and his mother from when he was a kid. "Bar? Should I have not shown you?" Joe wonders as he walks in and sees him with the photo.

"No, I had to know." Barry told him, putting the picture down.

"We have been through so much." Joe reminded him. "You have... all your life. And you've been so strong. But I am still your guardian, and it's my job to guard you, not just physically, but from heartache. I can't help but feeling like I just handed you a brand new burden. Yeah."

"But it's our burden, right?" Barry asks.

"Yeah. Yeah." Joe answers.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Barry questions.

"Mm hmm." Joe nods.

"How did you know that the blood in the house belonged to me? You would have had to have tested it specifically." Barry pointed out.

"Cisco tested it against everyone who worked at S.T.A.R. Labs." Joe told him.

"You wanted to know if it belonged to Wells?" Barry noticed. "Joe. Dr. Wells had nothing to do with my mom's murder. You believe that now?"

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah... I do." Joe answered.

Later at STAR Labs, Wells was having a drink with Professor Stein. "Cheers." Martin smiles.

"Cheers." Wells replies.

"Delicious." Martin admitted as he drank a little bit of the bourbon. "This is quite an impressive facility."

"Well, it was. Now it's just a shell, I'm afraid." Wells said.

"Must have been devastating, seeing your life's work fall to pieces before your eyes." Martin told him.

'It was and yet, it was the exact same moment your life's work came to fruition." Wells replied.

"My life's work?" Martin wondered. "If living the last 14 months as a conjoined meta-human has taught me anything, it's that my life's work should have been being the best husband I could to my wife." Then, all of a sudden, Martin starts to stumble backwards.

"Are you all right, Martin?" Wells questioned.

"I apologise, it's just... I feel a little light-headed." Martin told him as he drops his glass and it shatters, he himself then falls to the floor.

Somewhere else, Caitlin and Ronnie were talking together. "Are you okay?" Caitlin asked him as Ronnie dropped to his knees, feeling the same thing as Martin.

"Uh...yeah." Ronnie answered. "Yeah, I'm... I'm fine. Just got a little dizzy for a second."

Back at STAR Labs, Martin was lying unconscious on the ground as Eiling and his men walked in. "You want the secret to Firestorm. He has it." Wells tells him.

"See, Harrison? We do work well together." Eiling smiled before leaving, his men dragging Martin for him.

Later at Central City Picture News. "You said you knew some of the leftover scientists at the S.T.A.R. Lab. What about a Caitlin Snow, M.D. You know her?" Mason asked as he ran over to her.

"Yeah, I know her, why?" Iris questioned.

"There was an incident at a local coffee shop. She was there." Mason said as he held up a picture of Caitlin and Ronnie.

"That's Jitters. I used to work there." Iris told him.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Mason wondered.

"Gimme this." Iris ordered as she took the photo.

"Witnesses swear they saw soldiers shooting the place up, so I contacted the Army's media relations division and asked, 'Are soldiers permitted to operate like that on U.S. soil?' You know what they told me? Hooah." Mason informed her.

"That's weird, Caitlin didn't mention anything the last time I saw her." Iris admitted.

"Really? When and where was that?" Mason asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there's an explanation for all of this." Iris answered and Mason nodded and walked away. Iris then walked over to her desk and looked through her blog until she found a picture of the burning man, and she noticed that it looked like Ronnie.

Back at STAR Labs, Wells lied and told everyone that Eiling had taken Martin without any help from him. "He didn't hurt you?" Atchaco asked.

"Macanese, I told you... only my pride is hurt." Wells reminded her. "Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to take on armed soldiers."

"Where do you think Eiling took Professor Stein?" Caitlin asked.

"I imagine some off-the-books military research facility." Wells answered.

"We have to get him back." Barry said angrily.

"Easy…" Well sighed, sarcasm in his voice. "Eiling has already demonstrated he has the weaponry to disable The Flash and Thunder, or worse."

"Well, we can't let him turn Stein into a weapon." Caitlin argues.

"How do we find him?" Ronnie asked and everyone turned and stared at him. "What?"

Later at night, Ronnie was laying back on a chair when Caitlin was checking him over. "No abnormal brain activity. All vitals steady." Caitlin informed them.

"You really think Ronnie can somehow feel where they're keeping Stein?" Atchaco asked.

"Ronnie got dizzy when the soldiers grabbed Stein, and Stein developed Ronnie's obsession with pizza." Cisco reminded them.

"I don't feel anything right now." Ronnie admitted.

"Just keep trying." Caitlin told him.

"Whatever this is, it doesn't have an on and off switch." Ronnie complained.

"It's possible it's just some kind of residual connection. A temporary link to your time together." Wells told him.

"Wait." Ronnie said. "I feel something. I'm... I'm cold."

Somewhere else, Martin and Eiling were talking with each other. "It's freezing in here!" Martin complained.

"My apologies. It should warm up pretty quick." Eiling lied as he turned off the thermostat.

"I know what you want. But my research was never intended to be used as a weapon." Martin replies.

"I joined the military when I was 20 years old, Professor." Eiling informs him. "My father had me convinced that our greatest threat was the Soviets. Our greatest fear... nuclear war. Then came terrorism and Ebola. And now, it's the age of Firestorm. Soldiers enhanced by your project, Professor. Soldiers who can generate energy blasts with their bare hands. Soldiers who can fly."

"I would gladly die before I see my life's work perverted in this way." Martin tells him.

"Good." Eiling replied. "Because you will die, Professor. How soon I let that happen, though, is entirely up to you." Then some men walked into the room with a cattle prod.

"What's going on?" Martin asked.

"Last time I did this was to a gorilla." Eiling admits with a smile on his face and Martin screams when they start to electrocute him.

Back at STAR Labs, Ronnie suddenly arches his back as he starts screaming in pain, causing Cisco and Caitlin to run over to see what is happening. "You're okay, man, we got you." Cisco comforts him.

"What's happening to him?" Atchaco asks worryingly.

"Nothing's happening to him." Wells answers as Ronnie groans in pain. "It's happening to Stein, and Ronnie is feeling his pain. I was wrong. The connection's not temporary. It's only getting stronger."

"Just try and hold on." Caitlin tells him.

"Water. Water." Ronnie groans. Cisco goes to hand him the glass of water but Ronnie quickly takes the glass out of his hand, pours out the water and breaks the glass.

Back with Martin, Eiling had finally stopped electrocuting him. "My, my, my, my, my, my." Eiling chuckles. "You show remarkable grit for a teacher. I am impressed. Why don't we let you catch your breath? Think about how much more of this you want to endure. Hmm?" Martin breathes heavily as Eiling and his men leave the room, but then he starts to feel a burning pain in his arm.

Back at STAR Labs, Ronnie was cutting his arm with a piece of broken glass. "Ronnie, no!" Caitlin orders as she tries to stop him.

"Wait, Cait, wait." Barry told her.

"He's cutting himself." Caitlin reminds him.

"I know. Let him." Barry said as Ronnie continued to cut his arm, only stopping when the word 'Where' is on him.

Where Martin is, the same word appears on his arm. "Ronald." Martin sighs. He then looks at the sign on the wall and starts tapping the side of his chair with the handcuffs he was in.

Back at STAR Labs, everyone is standing in the cortex. "Anything?" Caitlin asks.

"Nothing." Ronnie answers as he puts pressure on his cut with a small towel. "Nothing, just...just cold. Like a metal surface. Pressure on and on and off. Tap, tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap."

"Morse code." Wells notices.

"I got this." Cisco said.

"Same thing again. Tap, tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap." Ronnie tells them.

"27." Cisco said as he wrote it down.

"What does it mean?" Caitlin asked.

"Army bases... They sometimes go by numbers, like Area 51." Atchaco answers.

Cisco quickly searches it up on the computer and finds some good results. "Facility 27, about 300 miles away. It was shut down in 1961."

"Well, that's where they're keeping Stein." Atchaco said.

"Bet you that's where they're keeping aliens too." Cisco joked.

"I'm coming with you." Ronnie said.

"No, you're not. You can't." Caitlin begged.

"I'm connected to Stein. I have to go." Ronnie reminded her.

"But did you ever stop to think why your connection to him is growing stronger by the minute?" Caitlin questioned. "Maybe you're being drawn back together. Maybe your proximity will cause you to re-merge into one."

"And what happens to me if he gets killed?" Ronnie wonders. "Cait, Barry was right. The world is different now. Look, I... I thought we could get away, start a new life, a normal life, together. But there is no normal life for us. You will always risk your life to try and help people, and I will always be the guy that runs into that pipeline for you." Caitlin nods as her eyes start to water.

"The quantum splicer." Cisco said as he handed the device to Ronnie. "It was used to separate you once. Maybe it could be of use to keep you, you."

"Thanks." Ronnie replies. "Okay, let's go."

"Wait." Caitlin ordered before kissing Ronnie and slowly pulling away. "Come back. All four of you."

"Let's go." Ronnie said.

A few minutes later, Barry, Macanese and Ronnie had arrived at the military base, and there was light shining everywhere as helicopters were flying around above them. "This place definitely doesn't look too shady." Barry gulped.

"Or creepy at all." Macanese whispered.

"Stein's inside." Ronnie told them. "I can feel our connection growing stronger, like he's pulling me."

"It's as I feared…" Wells gasped. "The Firestorm matrix is building toward a proximity reemergence. Like all matter, it yearns to be whole. If you do merge... we might not be able to separate you again."

Inside of the military base, Eiling was walkin back of the Martin with one of his scientists. "We've been able to isolate the Firestorm matrix inside the subject's cellular structure." The scientist informed him.

"Excellent." Eiling grinned, turning to Martin. "Professor Stein, I'm afraid you have made a terrible assumption... That I need you alive."

Outside of the base, Macanese, Ronnie and Barry were standing and waiting. "Eiling has a gun to Stein's head. He's about to pull the trigger." Ronnie told them and Macanese and Barry zoomed inside the base, grabbed Martin and got out just as Eiling took a shot at him.

"They're here." Eiling smiles.

Barry and Macanese had gotten Martin to where Ronnie was standing outside. "Ho! Whoa... I never thought I'd be happy to see you." Martin admits.

"Yeah, likewise." Ronnie replied.

"Let's get out of here." Barry said. Then the army shoots a missile towards them and Barry runs forward and grabs it, but then it explodes and Barry gets covered in ice. "Run!" Barry screamed.

"Okay... come on, come on." Ronnie said as he and Martin took off running.

"Macanese." Barry shouts. "You go to get out of here!"

"No!" Macanese yelled. "Not without you by my side!"

"You have to go." Barry screamed and Macanese looked at Barry with a sad and worried expression as she zoomed out of there.

"Barry, I'm picking up some serious pH numbers on your suit." Cisco points out.

"They hit me with some kind of chemical." Barry informs him.

"It's a weaponized phosphorus. Water or foam won't extinguish it." Cisco tells them.

"But you can't burn in a vacuum, so you need to create one. Run, Barry. Run!" Well orders and then Barry takes off running in a circle as his suit starts to burn.

"I'll hold them off." Macanese calls as she runs off and uses her speed to distract the soldiers.

"We need to merge again." Ronnie informed them.

"Ronnie, no!" Caitlin cried through Ronnie's earpiece.

"Cait, we're dead if we don't… Macanese can't hold them back forever.

"The last time you two combined, you both fought it." Wells reminded them. "This time, don't. Accept the change, accept the balance. Accept each other."

"Once more unto the breach, dear friend." Martin said.

"Cait... whatever happens, just remember I'll always love you." Ronnie tells her.

Then Ronnie puts on the splicer and Martin and him grab each other's hands and merge in Firestorm. "Can you hear me, Ronald?" Martin questions.

"Professor?" Ronnie wonders.

"It appears we merged properly on this attempt." Martin noticed. "Wells was right about balance and acceptance. Behind you!" Ronnie turns around and sees a military truck coming towards them so he shoots a ball of fire at it but the soldiers jump out before the truck explodes.

"Ronald, there's more of them." Martin pointed out. They then took out the soldiers that were after them and took out the ones that Macanese surrounded before Macanese went and stood next to them.

"Eiling, this ends now." Martin/Ronnie ordered.

"Yes, it does…" Eiling laughed. "For both of you… For all three of you." Ronnie/Martin pushes Macanese out of the way as it explodes and sends them to the ground. "An ion grenade. Just bombarded your cellular structure with enough ions to destabilise your matrix. Mr. Raymond, Professor Stein, you're both fine Americans. Your country thanks you for your sacrifice. Barry then zooms in and takes the gun as Macanese knocks Eiling to the ground.

"That was a lot of running." Barry complained as Ronnie/Martin lit up and walked up to Eiling.

"Ronnie? Home?" Macanese wonders.

"Yeah." Martin/Ronnie answer before they take off flying in the sky as Barry and Macanese zoom away.

Later at STAR Labs, Barry lifted up his shirt to reveal a big burn bruise on the side of his body. "I think it looks much worse than it actually is." Barry tried to say.

"Are you lying so I won't worry, despite you knowing that as I am a cyborg I can just scan your whole body for injuries." Atchaco questioned.

"Is it working?" Barry wondered.

"Nope." Atchaco chuckled.

Then everyone walks into the lab, including Ronnie/Martin. "Ronnie or Stein?" Caitlin asked.

"It's me, Cait." Ronnie answers.

"Excuse me." Martin said, clearing his throat.

"It's both of us. Somehow." Ronnie told her.

"She's quite lovely." Martin told Ronnie.

"Acceptance is a powerful thing." Wells reminds them.

"Powerful enough to reverse it?" Barry asked.

"I'm game if you are, Mr. Raymond." Martin said.

"We could try." Ronnie said before closing his eyes and lighting on fire before separating.

"I think we're getting the hang of this quite nicely." Martin admits.

Caitlin walks over to Ronnie and hugs him. Ronnie and Martin then look at each other and then Ronnie looks at Caitlin. "I understand. You have to go." Caitlin tells him.

"How'd you know?" Ronnie asks.

"I'm connected to you too." Caitlin answers and Ronnie smiles at her.

The next day, they are at Stein's house as Ronnie and Martin get ready to leave. "Where will you go?" Caitlin asked.

"Pittsburgh, maybe." Ronnie answers. "Professor Stein has a colleague he thinks can help us learn more about our abilities."

"We can help you here too." Caitlin replied.

"Eiling has already breached S.T.A.R. Labs." Ronnie reminds them. "We need to stay one step ahead of him... for all of us. I'm coming back."

"We'll have pizza." Caitlin told him and Ronnie chuckled, kissing her.

"Godspeed, Mr. Allen, Lady Macanses." Martin said.

"You too." Atchaco replied.

Martin then turns to Barry. "As to our earlier conversation, I believe in second chances. You'll get yours. Give it time." Martin tells him before walking over to Ronnie. "Ready, Ronald?"

"Please stop calling me that." Ronnie sighs.

"I'll see you soon." Clarissa smiled as Martin walked past her on the way to the door.

Ronnie and Martin walk out of the door and stand in the backyard as Clarissa and Caitlin watch them as they merge once again. "We love you." Ronnie/Martin said before they took off, flying high into the sky.

Later, Caitlin and Cisco are at Jitters. "I had Ronnie, then I lost him." Caitlin said. "Then I found him again, but he wasn't actually Ronnie. Then I got him back but just for a day until I lost him again."

"You guys are like 10 seasons of Ross and Rachel, but just, like, smushed into one year." Cisco summarised.

"I am not heartbroken this time." Caitlin smiled. "I love Ronnie. I always will, but there's not this devastating hole inside me. I have a life, and it's a good one."

Iris walks then walks up to them. "Hey, guys."

"Iris, hi." Caitlin greeted her.

"Hi. Where is your cousin?" Iris wondered.

"Uh, he went home." Caitlin told her.

"Oh. Uh, where was that again?" Iris asks.

"Uh, Midway." Caitlin answers.

"Oh, I thought you said Coast City." Iris questioned.

"Uh, Midway via Coast City. He moved around a lot." Caitlin reminds them.

"That's always really hard. All right, well. Enjoy. Bye." Iris smiled.

"See you." Cisco replies. Iris then smiles and walks away.

Later, at Central City Picture News, Iris puts a picture of the burning man in front of Mason. "Am I supposed to know what that means?" Mason wonders.

"It means that I'm gonna help you figure out what's going on at S.T.A.R. Labs. I think our Burning Man used to work there." Iris grinned.

Later, Barry meets up with Joe at his old house. "So why'd you bring me here?" Joe asks.

"I don't know how and I don't know when, but one day soon, I'm gonna be in this house again, 15 years ago. And I'm gonna fail... Unless this time, I don't." Barry answered.

"What are you saying?" Joe questioned.

"Knowing that I'm supposed to lose gives me the advantage." Barry reminds him. "Those images are a lesson in what not to do. When I face off against the man in yellow, I won't make the same mistake twice."

"You're gonna... change the past?" Joe wondered.

"Joe... I'm gonna save my mom." Barry admits.

At the military base, Eiling was sitting at his desk in his office having a drink when the lights started to flick and electricity started buzzing around him. Suddenly, a streak runs into the base and hashley grabs Eiling and drops him off in the sewer. "What... What the hell was that?" Eiling mumbles.

"It's good to see you again, General." A distorted voice says as he appears in front of the other man, revealing it to be the Reverse Flash.

"Who are you?" EIling asked.

"Who am I?" The Reverse Flash laughs as he takes off his mask to show Eiling his face.

"Harrison…" Eiling gasped. "You're one of them. A meta-human."

"Yes, I am. And I protect my own." Wells replies when suddenly a growling sound could be heard coming from behind Eiling.

"Who was that?" Eiling asks.

"Now, that... is an old friend of ours." Wells answers

"General…" An eerie voice calls out from the darkness.

"That... voice…" Eiling shivers "It's in my head. Dear God."

"Not God. Grodd." Grodd snarls as he grabs Eiling by his leg before he lifts him up and drags him away. Eiling screamed as Grodd took him, and I can surely say that it looks like it might be the last time that Eiling will be seen for a while.