Episode 13 - Fast Lane

Two years ago at Hundon's Roofing Tar Industries, two men had another guy dangling over to the edge. "People think of tar now as mainly a roofing product. Fun fact: it's also been used as medicine and flavouring for candy and liquor. I bet what you're thinking right now isn't 'yummy', is it? What I hope you're thinking is, 'Wow, Clay is serious about wanting to know where I put that money. I think I'll give him that account number now, so he doesn't drop me into this vat of boiling tar.'" Clay said. The man that was being dangled off the edge was muffling and groaning. "Hmm? I'm sorry, what?" Clay then rips off the tape from the guy's mouth.

"Central City Bank account 5463728." He pants. "Please, please, pull me up now. I'm so sorry!" The guy dangling was about to pull him up when Clay pushes the other guy over the railing and he falls into the tar.

"I thought you said you weren't gonna kill him." He said.

"I say a lot of things." Clay replies.

Minutes later outside, Clay and his partner meet up with their other partner who was waiting by the car. "Where's Joey?" He asked.

"Wishing he was somewhere else. Let's go." Clay said. Then there was an explosion, the particle accelerator had just gone off and it was heading their way. "Dude, get in the car! Let's go! Drive! Drive!" They all get in the car and drive away, the wabe from the accelerator hit's Joey's shoe before it sinks into the tar.

Today, Hudson's Roofing Tar Industries was abandoned. Workers were there breaking the concrete when the leftover tar started bubbling. Sudden;y a hand shouts out from the ground and it was covered in tar.

Late at night, Barry was speeding around the city on his own. "There's this song lyric I like. 'All the broken hearts in the world still beat. Mine's beating, but bruised. Hopefully not for long. The one thing I do know is: time changes everything.'" Barry said. Barry arrives at the West house but doesn't go inside. He peeks through the window of the door and sees all the West family sitting down for dinner and he doesn't feel like interrupting them so he speeds out of there.

Joe laughs. "I didn't think about how many crazy things police see." Wally admitted.

"And can't unsee." Joe tells him.

"You always wanted to be a cop?" Wally questioned.

"Yeah, my dad was one. He was my hero, so I never thought of being anything else. What about you?" Joe wonders.

"No, I wanted to be an astronaut." Wally answers.

"Wait, that's what Barry wanted to be." Joe told him and Iris chuckled.

"Really? Probably not for the same reasons. Going to space is like the fastest a human being can go, so it was either an astronaut or, like, have you heard of scramjets?" Wally said.

"Mm-mm." Joe shakes his head.

"Okay, they're like supersonic on oxygen, dude. It's nuts." Wally grins.

"You're right. Not the same reason as Barry." Joe told him and Wally smiled.

"You are really all about the speed, huh?" Iris questions.

"Yeah, I mean, it's what I love." Wally admits.

"Is that why you're still drag racing? You are, aren't you? Isn't that a little dangerous?" Iris wonders.

"Yeah, for the people that race against me. Sure is. Look, thanks for the hang, but I got to go." Wally tells him.

"It's early. Don't leave yet." Joe said.

'No, I got some stuff to do. I'll see you later." Wally then grabs his jacket and walks out of the house.

"Why'd you do that?" Joe asked.

"'Thanks for the hang?' Is he your son or age-inappropriate buddy?" Iris said as she cleared the table.

"Look, I know the dynamic is weird. I'm just trying to figure it out." Joe tells her.

"From my perspective, it seems like you're ignoring something that could, oh, I don't know, get Wally killed." Iris informs him.

"The fact that Wally even wants to get to know me is the big win here, so in the future could you try not chasing him out of the house?" Joe replied.

"Look, Dad, I'll play along if that's what you want, but which you exactly are you trying to let him get to know? Because the person that I saw tonight, I don't recognize that dad." Iris admits.

Later at STAR Labs, Harry was in the workshop and he was doing his journal entry. "Journal entry 1-14: Turtle's brain." Harry starts. "So, what I learned from Turtle's brain matter and the Reverse-Flash, as it turns out, has allowed me to complete a device that when installed inside The Flash's suit, will let me harness his speed, so that the next time he taps into the Speed Force…" Harry sighs. "I could begin... collection. Then after the Flash's speed is gone, I will do the difficult task of taking Thunder's. I wish there were another way, but there's not." Harry said into his watch.

"Oh, hey." Barry greeted him as he walked in.

"Hey." Harry returned, quickly closing his watch.

"You're here late." Barry notices.

"As are you. Shouldn't you be out... doing whatever it is that 26-year-olds do on a Thursday night?" Harry said as he hides what he is working on.

"I just came from Atchaco's house. We had a movie night. But, I thought I would tackle the breach problem. See if I could figure out how to close them. Looks like you had the same idea." Barry tells him.

"Right. I work better alone." Harry admits.

"Oh, no, haven't you heard the expression 'two heads are better than one'?" Barry wonders as he picks up a book from the table.

"No." Harry tells him.

"Must be an Earth-1 thing." Barry said.

"You understand, for me, that my Earth is Earth-1?" Harry replied.

"Yeah." Barry nods.

"Your Earth has yet to create CFL quark matter, and so it would take you too long to catch up on the science haul. Do it by myself." Harry replied.

"This science?" Barry wonders.

"Yes, that science." Harry informs him.

"Watch this." Barry smiles. He then starts speed reading through all the books on the desk.

"That's annoying." Harry comments.

Barry then finishes reading. "Wow. All right, I'm all caught up for the next, like, 30 minutes, give or take." Barry sees a few papers behind Harry. "Looks like I missed one though."

"All right, you can assist, but I'm in charge." Harry told him as he put his hands on the papers.

"Yeah, you're in charge." Harry agreed.

Later with Wally, he was getting ready to race when the other guys started whistling at someone. It was Iris who was closest followed by Atchaco and both of them were dressed in a highly exy manner. Iris smiles as they both walk over to Wally who face palms. "What the hell are you both doing here aside from trying to send me to therapy?" Wally wonders.

"I told you, I did some research which is also why Atchaco is here." Iris told him and the cyborg waves at him. "I thought it would be a good idea for a story for the paper, plus I thought this would be a great way for us to really get to know each other. I mean, I want to know what's so great about this that you can't let go, bro."

"No one here is eager to get their picture in the paper, you got me?" Wally said.

"And which part of the paper?" Iris asked and Wally sighs. "The front where they put the mugshots or in the back in the obituary section?"

"Yo, why don't you just take a page out of your dad's book. Let me do what I'm gonna do, okay? I don't need a big sister." He turns to face Atchaco. "Or a god for a best friend."

"I know, you're gonna need an undertaker." Iris replies.

"Last race of the night, people. Our reigning champ: Tail Lights." The Boss who runs the drag racing calls.

Everyone cheered and applauded, other's honked their car horns. Iris looks at Wally with the 'are you kidding' look as Atchaco sighs with a disappointed one. "Oh. What? No good luck?" Wally said as he got into his car for the race.

Later at an autoshop. "We'll have the latest on Oliver Queen's mayoral campaign coming up. In local news, Roofing Tar Industries, which was devastated by the S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator explosion two years ago, is finally set to reopen." The newscaster announced. A guy was watching the news when there was a sound of tar grumbling happening behind him. The man turned around and there was a huge puddle of tar on the ground.

"Guys, clean up before you leave!" He said.

The tar continues to grumble as he turns away. The figure starts to take shape from the tar, it was Joey who fell in the tar a few years ago. "Two years! Two years I was trapped in the ground, in that blackness. I couldn't see, I couldn't feel, but I could still hate." Joey complained.

The man Joey was standing in front of was the same guy who had dangled him over the edge two years ago. "Joey?" The man wonders.

"Did you ever wonder what it felt like when you dropped me in that vat of boiling tar? Since I went in headfirst, I actually felt my ears and nose burn off. The pain of my eyeballs searing was unimaginable, but it was the way that it burned down my throat as I tried to breathe that I thought was really special." Joey admits.

"Please." He begged.

"Why don't I just show you?" Joey replied. He reaches out to him as his arm gets bigger and turns into tarr.

The next day at the same autoshop the police were looking around. "Excuse me. Barr, you good?" Joe wonders.

"Hey. Yeah, yeah, no, it's just, you know, it's weird Patty's not here." Barry admits.

"I miss Patty too." Joe tells him. They then walk over to the body where Atchaco was already checking it out.

"What do we got?" Barry asked.

"Victim's name is Daniel Burge. Not exactly a Boy Scout, but managed to buy this garage two years ago." Joe told them.

"Brace yourselves, it doesn't look pretty." Atchaco warns as she lifts up the blanket over the body.

"It looks like he was dipped in a volcano." Joe points out.

"Oh, yeah. Actually the depth and uniformity of the burn pattern is something you would see if the body was covered in something like lava, but with a lower burn temp and an added chemical characteristic." Barry explained.

"The fire investigator didn't find a secondary accelerant." Joe informs them.

"Yeah, he probably wouldn't with a meta." Atchaco reminds him.

"All right, we're gonna take a sample back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Have Cisco run some tests." Barry said.

"Good, I'm gonna go meet Iris for lunch. She wants to talk to me about Wally." Joe replied.

"Yeah, how's that going, you and him?" Atchaco asked as Iris hadn't told her much.

"Great. Well, good. I don't know, baby steps. I'm trying to give him space. I mean, he just lost his mom. Just met me and his sister. He's got a lot on his plate." Joe tells them.

"Yeah, he just found the best dad he could've wished for." Barry replies.

"Oh, you say that now, but you didn't always think that." Joe reminds him.

"Well, you were pretty strict. That's for sure." Barry chuckles and Joe then chuckles too.

"Well, strict isn't always a bad thing, especially when you know it's coming from love." Atchaco replies.

"I'll talk to you both later." Joe then walks away.

"Yeah." Barry said as he and Atchaco went back over to look at the body.

"It's disgusting." Atchaco comments as she hands rubber gloves to Barry as she puts some on herself. "Thank goodness I ate hours before I got here."

"Me too." Barry agreed.

Later at STAR Labs, Harry was sitting in the Cortex working on a device when Barry, Atchaco and Cisco walked out of the elevator. Barry was looking at an app on his phone as Atchaco was looking at it on a hologram and on her phone. "Okay, now click here." Cisco directed. They listen to him and click something on the app. "Bam, that's my app. See, the app just went live. So, you can sink up all social media postings about meta-human activity. Somebody sees something cray in Central City, I get an alert about it."

"Yo, man, you have too much time on your hands." Atchaco points out.

"Oh, I thought you were gonna say it was cool." Cisco admits and the speedsters laugh.

In the Cortex, Harry takes the emblem off Barry's suit and he puts the device he made inside of it. A couple of minutes later Cisco, Barry and Atchaco walk in. "Hey, Harry. Wait, so if that app gives you eyes and ears all over the city, then why don't you use it to find the next Ms. Right?" Barry wonders.

"Did I just make the meta-human Tinder?" Cisco asked.

"Mm-hmm." Atchaco hums.

"Nope, not starting that fetish." CIsco replied. As they continued talking, Harry stared at Barry's Flash suit.

Later at Central City Picture News, Iris was at her desk when Joe walked up to her. "Hey, baby." Joe greeted her.

"Hey." Iris returned.

"You look like you're working hard." Joe noticed.

"I am. I'm researching a story. One that you'll find interesting actually." Iris said.

"Mm." Joe hums.

"This is Curran Roberts." Iris said, opening up a file." After his head went through the windshield of his hot rod, he was in a coma for six months." She then pulls up another picture. "This kid, he died. He wrapped his car around a tree at 110 miles per hour. They were all street racers, Dad, and Wally could be the next one."

"What do you want me to do, Iris, lock him up?" Joe questioned.

"Or stop the races." Iris tells him.

"Look, I learned a long time ago, you can't stop your kids from being who they are." Joe reminds her.

"Really? Why won't you be his parent, Dad? What are you so afraid of?" Iris wonders.

"All right, you're right. I'm afraid. I'm afraid he'll reject me, us. Like the last time I confronted him about the races, it didn't go so well, remember? And I need it to go well with Wally. I mean, after all these years lost, I want him in our lives, but let me get him to trust me, then I can do something about it." Joe replies.

"Okay." Iris nods.

Later at the workroom in STAR Labs, Harry was working while Barry was sitting at a desk when Barry sighed. "What's the matter?" Harry asked.

"Um, not... I can't remember, is the helicity of a particle left-handed if its spin and motion is the same, or opposite?" Barry wonders.

"It's…" Harry started.

"No, hold on, I got it. Hold on, don't answer that." Barry cuts him off. He then picks up one of the books on the table and starts reading it really fast and Harry rolls his eyes. "Opposite. I knew that."

"You know that's really annoying?" Harry admits.

"Uh, it's, you know, just got to…" Barry clicks his tongue. "Recharge the old short-term every once in a while." He sighs. "You know, this feels like old times. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I know, obviously, this is our first time working together, but I am learning a lot from you. The last Wells was a real mentor." Barry sighs again. "He believed that I could do anything. Made me believe it."

"Okay." Harry sighs.

"He opened up whole new worlds to me. Guess he really was like another father almost." Barry admits.

Harry sighs and then he throws his marker at him. "Stop it, all right?" Harry said.

"What?" Barry wondered.

"I did not ask for your help, okay? I certainly did not ask to be your mentor." Harry replies.

"Okay, relax. I was just talking about…" Barry tried to say.

"Hey, you know what? I have a kid already. I don't need another one, so scram. Let me finish this by myself." Harry told him.

"All right." Barry replies as he gets up and walks away.

Minutes later Barry walks into the Cortex. "Hey, I ran your crime scene samples six ways from Sunday. What's wrong with you?" Cisco wondered.

"Yeah, you seem kinda off. You okay?" Atchaco questioned.

"I was... Uh, nothing. What's up?" Barry stuttered.

"Two things, very strange. One, definitely meta-human cells in the oil." Cisco informs them.

"And two, he didn't die from his burns. It was suffocation." Caitlin said, walking over to them.

"Suffocation?" Barry repeats.

"That makes sense actually. The burns indicated that the body was covered in something." Atchaco replied.

"Cross-referencing O2 levels in the organic matter, I found a direct match to animals trapped and preserved in an asphalt seep. The guy was fossilised." Cisco explained.

"Whoa. So whoever killed him is like a walking…" Barry starts to say.

"Tar pit. Tar pit. Mmm, too slow. It's okay." Cisco pats Barry on the back.

"So, he's basically drowning them in tar." Atchaco notices and Caitlin nods.

"God, that's a horror show. Why did he target Daniel Burge?" Barry asked when Cisco phones starts beeping.

"Oh, that's my metahuman social media app. That's right. There's an attack in progress. 6th and Bell, downtown." Cisco informs them. Barry and Atchaco quickly put on their suits and speed out of the room.

Meanwhile, Harry was in his workroom when he finished connecting a syringe to the device. He turns it on and it starts to take Barry's speed as he runs beside Macanese.

Minutes later, Barry and Macanese arrive at 6th and Bell where their Meta was in front of the guy that had killed him. "Remember me, Clay?" Joey wonders.

"We killed you." Clay points out.

"I bet right now you're not thinking... 'Yummy.'" Joey replies.

Macanese and Barry were standing behind Joey as other people took out their phones and were recording everything. "Are you guys seeing this?" Macanese asked into her ear piece.

"Oh, yeah, we see it." Caitlin answered.

Joey shoots a fiery tar ball at Clay but Barry and Macanese speed towards Clay and grab him, causing the fire ball to hit Clay's truck. "All right, any ideas?" Barry wonders.

"Viscosity of asphalt lowers as its temperature lowers." Caitlin reminds them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it hardens. Hey, find a way to cool him down." Cisco tells them.

Macanese motions Barry to the fire hydrant, she stays to protect Clay while Barry goes over to the fire hydrant. "Hey, barbeque! Hit me with your best shot!" Barry called. Joey shoots a fireball at Barry who speeds out of the way, this causes it to hit the hydrant. Water starts shooting out of it and Joey starts getting wet before he starts melting down into tar.

"Oh, yeah! Team Flash!" Cisco laughs as he high fives Caitlin. What no one knew was that the device Harry had built was almost filled up with Barry's speed.

Macanese turns to face Clay as Barry lifts him up. "Hey, buddy. I've got some questions for you. Let's go." Macanese smiles before they grab the man and speed away.

Meanwhile, Harry pulled his device out which was now filled with some of Barry's speed. "You're coming home, Jesse." Harry said as he looked at the device. "You're coming home."

Later in the Cortex. "All right, so Tar Pit... Tar Pit, that's what we're calling him?" Barry wonders.

"That's right." Cisco replied.

"Okay. So Tar Pit was after one Clay Stanley. Stanley, as it turns out, is a suspected hit man that the CCPD has been trying to track for a while, but they haven't been able to make anything stick." Atchaco informed them and Cisco chuckled. "No pun intended."

"Do we know why he was attacked?" Caitlin asked.

"Uh, Stanley wouldn't answer any of my questions. He was pretty scared." Barry answered.

"When a hit man is scared, you know something's wrong." Cisco pointed out.

"Hey, did you get an ID on our meta-human?" Atchaco asked.

"Yeah, I'm running it through five different facial recognition systems right now, so it should take a minute." Cisco told them when the computer starts beeping. "And there it is. Who's the best hacker in the world, people?"

"Felicity Smoak." The others say in sync.

"What is wrong with you three? That's not friendship." Cisco complains.

"Our meta-human's name is Joseph Monteleone." Caitlin informs them and Joey looks pissed off in his mug shot.

"Oh, he looks friendly." Cisco huffs.

"Monteleone was reported missing. Surprise, surprise, the night of the particle accelerator explosion." Barry replied.

"And what's the connection between Monteleone and the two victims?" Caitlin asks.

"I'll call Joe. Have him and Tri run background checks on all three guys." Atchaco answered as she walks out of the Crtex.

"Okay, I'm gonna run some tests on the tar samples. See if I can find his weakness." Caitlin tells them as she walks out too.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Cisco wonders as he turns to face Barry.

"Yeah. Why?" Barry said.

"You're going slower than normal. You clocked in at 1,450 miles an hour." Cisco informs him.

"But, I'm sorry, how fast do I usually run?" Barry questions.

"1,500. Are you getting enough to eat?" Cisco wonders.

"Yes, yeah, dude, I'm fine, seriously. The difference seems negligible. Fast is fast, right?" Barry turns around and walk away. "See ya."

"Yep." Cisco sighs as he walks away.

Later at an office, the man who runs the drag races that Wally races at was watching TV. "Harvick up to fifth place by Edwards. A valiant effort." The person on the TV said.

"Just overtake him, you idiot." The man shouted even though he knew he couldn't hear him.

The race commentary continues to talk as Iris walks in. "Clark Bronwen?" Iris wonders.

"Who's asking?" Clark grumbles. "You're that chick with the cyborg who was hanging around Tail Lights."

"I'm a reporter for CCPN. I want you to stop holding the races." Iris told him.

"Sweetheart, unless you could find me another way to make five grand a night, it ain't gonna happen." Clark chuckles.

"Here's a preview of the exposé that I am writing." Iris said as he puts a photo of her article in front of the man. "You are the star of the piece. I had a little chat with some of your previous associates and dug up some revealing details about you. Like the gambling rings you run or the thefts you've been involved with. I'm sure the CCPD will be interested in this one."

"You're forgetting something in here." Clark stood up. "Aggravated assault. You think you're the only one that can play this game?" He leans in real close to Iris. "I could find out where you live, what you eat, when you sleep, every little detail about your life. Hmm? Publish that trash, we'll see what happens to you, hmm?"

Iris pulls out her phone. "This entire conversation is being recorded and sent to CCPN and Lady Macanese. If you or any of your people lay a hand on me, my colleagues will send this to cops immediately and you will get an unwanted guest." Iris warns.

"Get out of my office." Clark ordered and Iris quickly walks out.

Later at night at Central City News, Iris was getting coffee when Wally walks in. "You got a death wish?" Wally wonders.

"You are not the first person to accuse me of that, so maybe." Iris tells him.

"Going down there, threatening them? These people, Iris, they live in the dark. They're cockroaches, except they don't scatter when someone turns on the lights. They're looking to bite." Wally replies.

"If they are so dangerous, Wally, then why are you in so deep with them?" Iris ponders.

"I'm not. I can stop when I want." Wally reminds her.

"So why don't you?" Iris said. "You said that you were only street racing to earn money for Francine's medical bills. Well, there are no medical bills anymore, so why are you still doing it? Look, I am not going to pretend that Francine meant to me what she did to you, but in the short time that I got to spend with her, I saw what kind of person she had become. She was smart and kind and loving, so I can't even imagine how much you miss her."

"You don't know what I'm feeling." Wally tells her.

"Well, let me tell you how I feel." Iris replied. "I know that you were trying really hard to convince everyone that you were a badass, but I know that you're a good kid, Wally. And you didn't get that way raising yourself. You had a single mother who cared for you, so my dad and I care whether you wrap yourself around a tree or get shot by one of these gangsters. Having someone care about your well-being cannot be a new sensation for you." Iris then walks over to her desk.

"Show up there again, and I won't be able to protect you." Wally warns as he walks away.

At STAR Labs, Barry was working on the white board in the workroom when Harry walked in. "Just going over some research." Barry tells him.

"Ten-year-old determination." Harry said.

"What?" Barry said.

"When my daughter was ten she…" Harry mumbles. "Science teacher had her do a project, you know, and this project... I spent every waking hour tinkering and perfecting her solar-powered oven. Anyway, ten-year-old determination, you remind me of her."

"Did you scold her as well?" Barry asked.

"Yes." Harry answered.

"Mm. Look, I know that this has been hard for you, but you're not in it alone." Barry reminds him.

"Yes, I am." Harry argued. "Hell yes, I am. I... as much as you all want me to be part of your team, that's never going to happen. I'm always going to be a father first. And one day, Zoom is gonna make me choose between you and my daughter, and every time, unblinkingly, unflinchingly, I would choose my daughter. I will betray you."

"That's binary thinking. It doesn't have to be either-or." Barry said.

"Life is either-or... yes/no, black/white, love/hate... from the dawn of time to this moment right now." Harry reminds him.

"I guess I just have more faith in you than you have in yourself, and by the way, I came up with an idea or... a notion rather, on how we could close the breaches for good." Barry said as he handed Harry his paper.

"This is... This... who wrote this?" Harry wondered after he read it.

"You did. Yeah, the other you. Evil, not stupid. I think the answer might be in the electromagnetic insulator of the quark matter. Like I said, we are a team." Barry answered.

"I'm gonna take a look at this." Harry told him.

"I'm going to stick around and run some computer sims on the formula." Barry informs him.

"I'll see you tonight." Harry replied as he walks out the workroom.

"Yeah, see you later." Barry said.

Later at an abandon warehouse, Harry is waiting when a breach opens up and Zoom jumps out. "Drink up." Harry said as he tosses Zoom a deceive with a little bit of Barry's speed inside. Zoom then injects himself and it gains him more speed. "Had enough?"

"Not even close." Zoom tells him.

"Give me back my daughter and I'll get you the rest." Harry replies.

"You're not in the position to negotiate." Zoom warns.

"You won't kill me and you won't kill my daughter because if you do, then you won't get what you want." Harry reminds him.

"I don't need to kill your daughter." Zoom informs him. He then grabs Harry, who groans, into a death grip. "I can torture her. Bring her right up to the edge of death, so I can do it again the next day and the next. Bring me the rest of Flash's speed and then Thunder's." He lets Harry go and then speds away.

The next day at STAR Labs, everyone was in the Cortex when Joe walked in. "Hey. I ran background checks on everyone involved in this Tar Pit mess, came up empty. I mean, they all have records, but they're sealed, so I can't read them." Joe tells them.

"Well, that's 'cause you're bound by ethics, Detective West." Cisco replies as he starts typing quickly on his keyboard.

"How many felonies are we committing breaking into sealed court records?" Joe asked.

"Eh, three or four. Nope, five." Cisco corrected himself.

"Well, they were sealed because the records are all juvenile offense." Atchaco informed them as she read the files.

"They weren't arrested together." Joe noticed.

"No, but look at this. They served in the same juvenile detention facility. Actually, Monteleone and victim one were bunkmates." Cisco tells them.

"Who do we have shacked up with vic two?" Barry questioned.

"Bronwen, comma, Clark. Good luck finding him. He has a ton of addresses and I can't seem to find anything current. I'll run his picture through facial recognition." Cisco tells them.

"That won't be necessary." Iris said as she walks in. "In this case, I am facial recognition. I know exactly where we can find that guy, and, Dad, you are not gonna like how."

"Okay, you can tell me about it on the way." Joe said.

"I'm coming with you." Atchaco tells them as Harry walks in holding something.

"What is that?" Joe asked.

"Breach implosion reactor." Harry answered.

"Sorry I asked." Joe said. Atchaco then gives Barry a quick kiss before walking out of the Cortex with Joe and Iris.

"You ready?" Harry said as he turns to face Barry.

"Yeah, let's do it." Barry replied.

"Have fun fixing the universe, you two." Cisco told them.

Harry and Barry then grab their jackets and walks into the hallway. "Hey, hey, hey, what's going on? You seem like you're in pain." Barry tells him.

"What? No, no, I have a...headache." Harry lied.

Later, Barry and Harry were outside a warehouse. "If our calculations are correct…" Harry starts to say.

"And they are." Barry tells him.

"And they are." Harry repeated. "When this device detonates, it will collapse the event horizon on this side of the breach, thereby shutting off any connection to Earth-2 permanently." Harry said, tinkering with the reactor when Barry yawns. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired. I don't feel like myself. I'm good though." Barry said.

"Yeah." Harry replied.

"It's gonna work, Harry." He reasures him.

"Yep, yep. Okay. You ready?" Harry wonders.

"Yeah, give it to me." Harry said. Harry then hands Barry then reactor. Barry walks forward and uses his speed to throw the reactor into the breach. The reactor goes inside the breach and close it instantly.

"Come on." Barry mumbled. They walked over to where the breach was, Barry feels for it and there was nothing. "We did it!" Barry laughs as he gives Harry a big hug before quickly pulling out. "Come on! You just rewrote the laws of physics! Don't smile or anything."

"I guess that was pretty cool." Harry admits.

"Yeah, I'd say so. One down, 51 to go." Barry replied.

"Yeah. Allen…" Harry tried to say.

"Yeah?" Barry wonders.

"Thank you." Harry tells him.

"It's just the first step in getting your daughter back. Come on!" Barry calls as he walks away.

Meanwhile, Atchaco, Iris and Joe arrive at the drag race. "Welcome to the wrong side of the wrong side of the tracks." Iris said.

"Fun." Atchaco mumbles sarcastically.

"So where's Clark?" Joe asked.

"That's him." Iris points to him.

"Oh." Joe said. They weren't the only ones there, Tar Put was also there because Clark was the one who drove the get away car the night he fell into the tar so Clark was on his hit list tonight.

"There's Wally." Joe points to him. Wally was inside his car and was getting ready to race.

"Now, if our fly flag girl can step up, we're ready to begin." Clark said. Everyone was cheering as the race begins. But as they were racing, the road begins to get bumpy because of Tar Pit.

"What the...?" Joe starts to say. Suddenly a huge hill shoots out of the ground. "Atchaco, call Barry."

"Done." Atchaco replies.

Meanwhile with Barry and Harry. "We good? Been a little quiet ever since we closed the breach." Barry noticed.

"Listen, Allen…" Harry tries to say but Barry phone starts beeping.

"Hey, sorry, it's... real quick. Hey, let me call you back, Tri, I... I got to go." Barry said before using his speed and quickly placing Harry in the drive seat before speeding away.

Back at the race, Wally's car flips over as Barry arrives and pulls Wally to safely before he saves Clark from the car. The car then crashes and the side mirror breaks off. Barry ends up getting the side mirror but a piece of broken glass from the windshield shoots out. It was heading towards Iris and Barry couldn't reach it. Atchaco uses her speed and quickly steps in front of Iris and the shard of glass goes through her flesh shoulder.

"Atchaco!" Iris yelled as she runs over to the cyborg as Barry speeds to her.

"Get her to the hospital!" Joe ordered. Barry then picks up Atchaco and speeds away. Wally sees it happens and has a guilty expression about seeing Iris almost get hurt only for her best friend to get hurt saving her.

In the morning, Atchaco is laying on her bed in the hospital. "Why am I here, my wound's healed." Atchaco complained.

"Yes, but a lot of people saw you get stabbed in the shoulder. It would seem suspicius if you didn't." Joe reminded her.

"It's true." Iris agreed.

"Should have taken me to STAR because I'm a cyborg." Atchaco moaned. "And I hate hosiptals."

"Me too." Iris admitted and Joe chuckled. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Wally walks in with flowers. "Wally, hi."

"Hey, can I come in?" Wally wonders and Atchaco nods.

"Uh... I got you some flowers. I don't know what kind or anything, I just... Or maybe you're allergic... is she allergic to flowers?" Wally wondered and Atchaco chuckles.

"No, she's not, Wally." Iris reassures him.

"Thank you, Wally." Atchaco said.

"Cool. Um... I'll just leave them here." Wally places them on the table.

"It's okay, Wally." Iris told him.

"Feel better." Wally said looking at Atchaco.

He walks out of the room and Joe follows him. "Hey, hey, hold up a minute." Joe said.

"I got somewhere to be." Wally told him.

"Yeah, you do. With your sister. Iris came to that race last night because she cares about you." Joe reminds him.

"Look, man, her friend getting hurt… this ain't on me. I didn't tell her to go to that race Or to brng a friend with her." Wally said.

"Look, I know you didn't." Joe reassured her. "This ain't a blame thing. Just hear me out, okay? Look, I know you just lost your mother and you just found us, it's been like a whirlwind. Now, I... I can't tell you how to live your life, but I can tell you this: you're not alone. You have people that sit up at night worried sick about you, and they're not going to stop worrying about you. That's what a family does. They put up with each other and they put each other first, before ourselves."

"So you're not mad at me?" Wally asked.

"For being reckless with your life? Yeah, hell yeah, I'm mad at you. But I'm more mad at myself for being something I'm not. I'm not your friend, Wally. I'm your father. I ain't letting you go." Joe answers.

"Okay." Wally said.

Iris walks out. "Barry called."

"Thanks." Joe said.

"I'm going to get Atchaco's discharge papers." Iris told them.

"I'll go with you." Wally said.

"Thanks." Iris replied. Then they walk away together.

Later at STAR Labs, Barry was looking at his suit. "Don't worry, we're gonna get him." Cisco reassures him.

"I'm sorry, dude. What?" Barry said.

"Tar Pit. You shouldn't worry. We're gonna get him with these." Harry tosses him a device. "With these nitrous grenades. Each of these has ten times the concentration of a hot rod's nitrous tank and is triggered by extreme heat. We're talking 650 degrees. That's the boiling point of asphalt, so one of these puppies makes contact, you got a Tar Pit popsicle for dessert." Cisco explains.

"All right, that's great. Um... Hey, look, I think that maybe you were right. I felt slower tonight. You know, not by much, but enough. Well, do you think there's something wrong with the suit maybe?" Barry wondered.

"It's unlikely." Harry said.

Cisco looks at Harry confused. "The readings from the suit are normal. You know I take care of that thing." Cisco replies.

"Yeah, what? Am I sick?" Barry asked.

"I don't know, dude. Feel any different?" Cisco questions.

"No, not really. I mean, I know that I'm slower in the moment, but I can't tell by how much." Barry tells him.

"2%." Caitlin informs them as she walks in with her tablet. "Tests on the components in your blood show the Speed Force at a 100% for the last 60 days until today, it dropped to 98."

"Zoom stole Jay's speed. Do you think maybe, during your fight with Zoom, yours might have diminished?" Cisco wondered.

"But that was weeks ago. Why would I just be feeling those effects now? Dr. Wells?" Barry said.

"Yeah." Harry turns around.

"You've studied the Speed Force more than anyone. What do you think could have happened?" Barry asked.

"It could be any number of things." Harry told him.

"Yeah. All right. I just looked, I mean, Iris could have gotten hurt tonight and Atchaco could have died." Barry said.

"She's gonna be okay, Barry." Caitlin reassures him.

"And I heal fast, remember." Atchaco smiles as she walks in.

"Atchaco, I though you were at the hospital." Caitlin said.

"Iris got me discharged." Atchaco replied and faces Barry. "Barry you have to stop worrying about me. Look at me, I am fine."

"I know, this time, but the fact is, you got hurt because of me. I wasn't fast enough to protect Iris just from some metahuman tonight. When Zoom attacks again, I need all of my speed and then some. I can't lose anyone else." Barry tells them.

"You won't." Harry said as he faces them. "I did it."

"What?" Barry replied.

Harry then walks over to Barry's suit and pulls out the device he stuck on Barry's emblem. "Whoa, whoa, what is that?" Cisco asked as Harry tosses it to him.

"I stole your speed. I gave it to Zoom." Harry informs him.

"No, no, no, this isn't... What…" Barry mumbles.

"You're working with Zoom?" Atchaco questions, anger in her voice.

"No, not at first." Harry tells him.

"We trusted you. I trusted you!" Barry reminded him.

Joe walks up to Harry and punches him in the face. "Joe, stop!" Caitlin yelled. Joe then grabs Harry and takes him down to the pipeline and throws him into a cell and seconds later everyone walks in. "Why did you put him in there?"

"Because if I didn't, I would've kill him. Let's go find this tar freak." Joe said as he walks out of the pipeline.

Later at night, Joe is dragging Clay out of the precinct. "Yeah, what the hell, man?" Clay said.

"Shut up." Joe growled.

"I thought I was being transferred." Clay said.

"You're not being transferred. You're the bait." Joe chuckles.

"What?" Clay mutters.

Suddenly, Tar Pit appears out of the ground in front of them. "This is for two years ago, Clay." Joey said.

He was about to throw a fire ball when Macanese and Barry speed in and the each throw a nitrous grenade. Once they go inside Tar Pit, he instantly freezes and then breaks into pieces as Joey was in his human form again.

"Stay." Joe ordered to Clay. He then walks up to Joey and punches him in the face for almost hurting Iris and getting Atchaco hurt.

The next day at STAR Labs, Barry walks into the pipeline to see Harry with Joe and Atchaco behind him. "You know, it's ironic. I was just saying how much you remind me of the old Wells, and now, here we are, just like I did with him, standing on either side of this glass with me asking you, 'why?'" Barry said.

"I'm doing what I have to do to save my daughter." Harry told them.

"Yeah, at any cost, right? The cost of Joe's daughter." Atchaco replied.

Harry then turns to face Barry. "Allen, I told you, 'I would betray you.' I told you, 'I would have to choose.'" Harry reminds him.

"You chose wrong." Joe said.

"Really, did I? Because I just sacrificed my daughter. Because I just sentenced my daughter to death to save your son." Harry replies.

"You want a pat on the back?" Joe spits.

"I want you to send me home." Harry told them. "Send me back to Earth-2. Think about it. Zoom wants you to get faster. He wants you to have more Speed Force in you, for when he finally takes it, when he then takes Atchaco's speed, send me back, use the implosion reactor to shut down the breach. Shut down all the breaches. Close them all and Zoom will never be able to crossover, ever again, and that'll be the end of it."

"What about your daughter?" Barry asked.

"Jesse's my battle to fight, not yours." Harry said. Barry looks at Joe and Atchaco and then he closes the door to th pipeline and they walk away.

Later at Central City News, Iris was working at her desk when Wally walked in. "Hey." Wally greeted her.

"Hey, Wally." Iris returns.

"How is your friend?" Wally asked.

"She's good, being a cyborg means she's a quick healer." Iris answered.

Wally nods. "You know... growing up, we didn't have a lot of money to go to the movies or buy toys." Wally informs her. "Instead, she would just take me in the car, we'd would go for these long drives. Just her and I and her music. I remember being on the road with her and just watching the scenery flash by and feeling so happy. And now, when I race, feeling that rush of speed it's like... It's like I get to back to those days. I didn't want to stop because if I do…"

"See, that wasn't so hard." Iris noticed.

"Actually, it was pretty hard." Wally admitted and they both chuckle.

Later in the Cortex of STAR Labs, they were looking at samples of Barry's cells on the screen. "This is a sample of Barry's cells after whatever Harry did to them. As you can see, not only is it drained of the Speed Force, but it's also presenting itself as chromosomal damage. If Harry kept doing what he was doing, he could have taken your powers permanently." Caitlin explains.

"Even Evil Wells couldn't figure out how to do that one." Cisco replied.

"Well, look, somebody better send his ass back to where he came from or I'm gonna shoot him." Joe warned.

"Amen." Cisco said.

"No." Barry replied.

"What do you mean, no?" Joe asked.

"What would we have done if we were in his position?" Barry said. "I mean, what would you do if it was Iris, Joe? And Cisco, when Snart kidnapped you, threatened to kill your brother unless you helped, you did, and none of us judged you for that. We still don't because when it comes to family, when it comes to the people that we all love, we're all vulnerable. None of us are above making a wrong decision. He could have done it. He could have stolen my speed, stolen Atchaco's speed, gotten away with it. None of us would have even known, but he didn't, and now his daughter's gonna die and we're okay with that? I can't just give up on her. I can't give on a world. This is a world full of people who are facing death. I don't know, I may not be fast enough to beat Zoom yet, but I'm not gonna just close the breaches and forget about it. We have to help Wells. Look, guys, I... I was the one that trusted him first. I own that. I let him stay when literally all of you told me not to, so everything that's happened up until this point, it's on me, but this has to be a group decision."

Minutes later in the pipeline, Barry opens the door to Harry's cell. "Come on." Barry motions for harry to walk out.

"Well... I guess this is good-bye." Harry said.

"No, it's not." Barry replied and Harry looks confused. "I told you, we're a team. Now you're a part of it. We're gonna help you save Jesse. We're not sending you through alone. We're going to Earth-2."