— 𝒮 —
"𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒?" The look of horror on Caitlin's face was exactly what Sophia had been expecting while they made their way from the elevator doors and to the Cortex. "He really did that?"
"Mhm." Sophia nodded as Caitlin took a sip from the coffee in her mug. "It was disgusting. And he really thought that I'd want to see him again. Yeah, after he took the fork and just—wait . . ."
"What?"
Sophia held up a hand to silence her and tiptoed her way to the Cortex. She peered in to see that all of the monitors and screens were turned on, displaying maps and vitals that quickly fluctuated.
Cisco was sitting in the middle chair at the main desk, watching intensely as he sucked on a lollipop. He was wearing an earpiece, and he spoke into the microphone, "You there yet?"
Sophia snuck up behind him. She tapped his shoulder. "Cisco!"
"Nothing!" He immediately pushed a button on the keyboard, and all of the screens turned black before he whipped around to face the two women with a phony smile.
"Who are you talking to?" Caitlin asked with an irritated expression; she definitely knew who he was talking to.
"No one," Cisco mumbled, quickly shaking his head.
Sophia crouched down so that her face was level with Cisco's as she leaned forward and accused, "Are you talking to Barry?"
Cisco feigned confusion as he scrunched his face and tilted his head. "Who?"
"Barry Allen. Struck by lightning, in a coma for nine months . . ." Caitlin explained as she took a couple of steps towards him, shrugging nonchalantly. ". . . Able to run faster than the speed of sound. Ring a bell?"
He shook his head, his eyes wide. "Nope, haven't talked to him."
"Cisco, there's fire everywhere," spoke Barry through the speaker, his voice frantic. "Cisco, can you hear me?"
Both women's expressions morphed into glares as they looked towards Cisco, who gave them a nervous smile and giggle.
After a couple of moments, Barry spoke again, and they could practically hear the grin in his voice, "Everybody's out. What else you got for me, Cisco?"
Sophia sighed and stepped over to the microphone that protruded from the right side of the desk, and spoke into it, "Hey, Barry, it's Sophia."
"Oh, heeeey, girl" —Barry's voice suddenly became nervous— "how's your day going?"
"You should get back to STAR Labs," Sophia warned as she looked over to Caitlin, who was beginning to whisper angrily to an agitated Cisco. "Now."
Barry sighed. "On my way."
He arrived no less than five seconds later, panting slightly as he put his hands on his hips. He gave them the same phony smile that Cisco had on earlier. "Hey, guys, what's—"
"Have you both lost your minds? Who do you think you are?" Caitlin questioned angrily as she grabbed her tablet from the medical room on the right, leading the men back over to the desk as she walked.
"Well, I'm the ears and he's the feet!" Cisco protested with a small shrug
"This isn't funny. You could have gotten yourself killed!" Caitlin said indignantly as she placed her tablet on the desk and turned towards them. "You can't be running around the city like some supersonic fireman."
"Why not? This is what we talked about. Me using my speed to do good," Barry responded earnestly.
"We talked about you helping contain other people who have been affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Meta-humans," she reminded. "And aside from Clyde Mardon, we haven't found any."
"People in the city still need help," Barry insisted, his hands on his hips. "And I can help them."
"We can help them," Cisco added with a grin.
"Sophia, will you please say something?" Caitlin asked exasperatedly, turning to the girl who was standing next to her and sipping her coffee.
Sophia swallowed her drink before sighing. "I think what Caitlin is saying, in her own . . . angry way, is that we're just beginning to understand what your body is capable of."
"I don't want to sound like a broken record, Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells called out as he entered the room, rolling over to them and gaining their attention. "But I do caution restraint."
"Dr. Wells, I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today," Barry pointed out as he shook his head.
"In a wheelchair and a pariah. Lack of restraint is what made me these things." Dr. Wells began to turn around, a knowing smile on his face. "Know your limits."
Caitlin walked in front of Barry before she scoffed, "Don't expect me to patch you up every time you break something."
Barry's expression became baffled as she walked away, but he quickly turned to Cisco when his hand came onto his shoulder.
"Hey, uh, anything happen out there today? The sensors in the suit were kicking back some weird telemetry. Your vitals spiked for a few seconds."
Barry's face broke out into a grin that didn't seem to reach his eyes. "Never felt better."
"Barry," Sophia murmured, her eyebrows furrowing as she stared at him with disbelief. "Are you—"
"I'm fine," he reassured her, nodding.
She frowned but said no more as Cisco took a buzzing phone out of his pocket and handed it to Barry, who accepted the call and raised it to his ear as he walked away from them.
Sophia and Cisco joined Caitlin as they huddled around the main desk, speaking quietly to Dr. Wells, who was sitting behind the right side.
Suddenly, lightning zipped past them as Barry sprinted away, causing papers to fly and all of their hair to blow to the side.
Dr. Wells looked at the entrance with an amused smile. "When do you think he'll realize he didn't take his clothes?"
— 𝐵 —
Barry stepped into the gun shop that was surrounded by police cars and officers, donning the clothes that he had taken from the shop across the street (he had left money in the cash register, don't worry).
He rushed up to Joe and Captain Singh, a little out of breath as he began, "Hey. Sorry I'm late."
"Doing a little fall shopping, Mr. Allen?" quipped Captain Singh as Joe ripped the tag off Barry's coat.
"Oh." Barry's eyes widened. "I was going so fast this morning, I didn't even notice."
The captain gave a fake laugh before his expression became serious once more, and Joe held out a pair of gloves.
Barry took them quickly and slipped them on as he ducked under the yellow crime scene tape in front of them.
"I downloaded surveillance footage off the new camera," Eddie said from behind him.
Barry's eyebrows furrowed as he examined the footprints in the black gunpowder in front of him.
"Looks like only one perp," Captain Singh remarked.
Barry matched his feet with each footprint, hopping from one to the other as he tried to make sense of it all.
He turned his head to see the three giving him a strange look, and he quickly straightened up.
"Uh, footage may only show one, but it was six guys." He crouched down and gestured to the many footprints. "Look, the tracks. They're all crossing each other. Six sets of footprints. Six guns stolen. We should be looking for a crew."
Barry examined the footsteps even closer, and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Huh. Weird. The shoes—looks like they're all the same size. Men's tens, I'd guess. Just like you, captain," he added with a grin as he looked up at them. His smile quickly faded as he realized what he said, and he tried to correct himself, "Not that you're a suspect, sir."
Captain Singh only sighed in exasperation and turned. As usual, Barry was getting on his nerves.
Joe nodded for him to follow, and the two of them headed back to CCPD.
"Your ability to multitask is remarkable," Joe deadpanned as they stepped out of the elevator. "The way you can embarrass me, the captain, and yourself, all at the same time. . . ."
"Joe, I'm sorry," Barry sighed as the two came to a stop.
"I'm starting to think 'Joe, I'm sorry' is my actual name considering how often you say it to me," Joe scoffed.
"I'm dealing with a lot right now," Barry insisted.
"Look, I know you are," Joe said as he glanced to the side, his tone now much more gentle. "Believe me, I'm dealing with it too. I've always had a very simple set of beliefs. Gravity makes things fall. Water makes things wet. Until a few weeks ago, I believed the fastest man could run a mile in four minutes. Not four seconds."
"I can do it in three." Barry grinned, causing him to sigh. His grin dropped. "Not relevant."
"You haven't said anything to Iris at all, have you?" Joe murmured worriedly.
"No," Barry answered quickly, "I made you a promise. I keep my promises."
"Keep on lying like that. You're liable to get struck by lightning again," Joe quipped as he raised a finger towards him. "Get to the lab. Start processing the evidence from the gun store."
Barry sighed before heading towards the stairs and jogging up towards his lab.
He set to work, his lips pursing together as he finally poured some yellow liquid into a small vial.
He sat in front of one of his tables and put the vial into one of the devices in front of him. He quickly became annoyed as it didn't work, and he smacked the side of it, though it did nothing.
An idea suddenly sparked.
He took the vial out and watched carefully as he vibrated his hand, causing the vial to do the same. A grin came onto his face when it had done what the device was supposed to in a matter of seconds.
He put the vial away and stood up, slipping his latex gloves off as he crossed the room. Suddenly, the same dizziness that had caught him that morning did so once more, and he leaned onto the table in front of him as he tried to steady his breathing.
"This is all your fault."
Barry turned his head to see Iris, who was wearing a pink dress with matching earrings.
She marched up to him, her expression just as exasperated as her tone. "I could've taken folklore to cover my sociology requirement, but no. You said 'Take journalism, Iris. Reporters have all of the fun.' Guess what, Barry? Reporters have none of the fun. Journalism is boring. I'm bored. I blame you."
Barry only heard half of the words that came out of her mouth as he stared at her, wondering why she was dressed so nicely. A police precinct was no gala . . .
"What?" she questioned. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"You look really nice," Barry answered with a small shrug as he walked past her.
"Thanks," she said slowly as Barry began to jot notes down. "Why don't you look nice?" Upon seeing the strange look he was now giving her, she reminded, "This afternoon? Suit and tie? The university is giving Simon Stagg—"
"Simon Stagg," Barry breathed out in realization.
"—some award. You agreed—"
"To explain the science in your article," Barry finished with a silent groan. "It's all coming back to me now."
She gave him a humoured smile as she leaned against the table. "How fast can you get home and change?"
Barry stared off to the side for a second before answering, "Uh, pretty fast."
"Hey, Allen."
Their attentions turned to Eddie, who had just walked in. Barry grimaced for a moment; he had caught Eddie and Iris kissing a few days before, and now . . . Barry had no idea how to feel about the pair.
"Joe asked me to see where you're at on the evidence from the gun store shooting," Eddie continued as he placed his hands on his hips. He glanced at Iris. "Oh, hey, Iris."
"Detective," she greeted with a playful smile.
Barry looked between the two awkwardly. "Please, guys, uh, just kiss already. I already know, remember?"
He gave them an amused smile and tried to ignore their kiss as he walked over to his desk and began to type onto his computer.
"Ugh, thanks for being so cool about this, Barry," said Eddie with a smile after he pulled away. "I know it's not easy keeping a big secret."
Barry sighed as he walked off towards another table, muttering, "I'm getting used to it."
— 𝐵 —
Barry joined the crowd in applauding as Simon Stagg took the stage.
"I find it quite remarkable," began Simon at the podium, his glass award in hand, "having once been a timid freshman at Central City University, to be standing before you now as the Regents choice for Man of the Year. While I very much appreciate the award, the real honour for me is knowing that my work in organ transference helps give people a second chance at life. Thank you all very much for coming."
Another round of applause sounded through the large room as Simon walked off the stage with a wave.
"All right," Barry sighed as he and Iris turned around and began walking, "first things first: Simon's Stagg's work in cellular cloning has led to huge advancements in the future of organ replacements."
He raised his eyebrows in amusement as Iris gave a small gasp and grabbed two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter.
"Are journalists allowed to drink on the job?" Iris questioned as she handed Barry a glass.
"Okay," Barry said as he grabbed both glasses and put them on a nearby table. "If you are bored already, wait until we get to the science behind cellular regeneration."
Iris giggled as she looped her arm through his. "I have missed this, Barry. I feel like we haven't spent any quality time together since you woke up from the coma."
"Yeah, I've had a crazy few weeks," Barry sighed as she stepped in front of him and faced him. "I know."
Iris scrunched her face. "I thought maybe you'd been avoiding me because of Eddie. I know you think it's wrong, me dating my dad's partner and, I just—"
"No, that is not it," Barry reassured her with a shake of the head. "At all."
He gazed at her for a moment while chewing his lip. He wanted more than anything to tell her about his newfound power, though he knew that he had to keep his promise to Joe. Then again, it was Iris. His best friend. How could he keep something like this from her?
"Oh!" Iris leaned past him as Simon Stagg walked by, and she quickly stepped in pace with him. "Mr. Stagg, I was wondering if I could get a quote from you for my article?"
"Now not, miss," dismissed a bodyguard as he waved a hand towards her.
Iris crinkled her nose and waved a dismissive hand as they watched Simon and his bodyguard walk away. "I'll just make something up."
Barry gave a small scoff of amusement.
"So, what were you gonna tell me?" Iris asked as she turned to him. "It looked like you were gonna say something before."
Before Barry could answer, however, gunshots sounded. Screams quickly followed as everyone dropped to the ground and covered their heads.
Barry watched with widened eyes as a group of masked men went through the group of people, and one stood on the stage and yelled, "Quiet down, all of you!"
"Oh my God!" Iris breathed out as she clutched Barry's arm.
The two of them quickly lowered to the ground, watching as the men positioned themselves and pointed their guns in different directions.
"Quiet!" shouted the same man. "How considerate. You're all wearing your finest jewellery. Almost like you knew we were coming to rob you. Now everybody line up!"
Hurriedly, everyone was forced into a line, and whimpering women dropped their jewellery into a black duffel bag that one of the men was holding.
Barry watched as the man closed the bag and gestured to the others, and the group began to head out.
He had to stop them.
Just as he stepped forward, Iris pressed a hand against his chest and muttered, "Don't."
Reluctantly, he relaxed.
"Freeze!"
Everyone turned to see that one of the security guards was running up, his gun pointed to the group, who then paused and turned towards him.
Simultaneously, the group turned and pointed their guns toward him.
The security guard's gun was shifting toward each one of them, and it was clear that he was nervous as he stammered, "D-Drop your weapons!"
Time slowed down as the men all fired bullets, and Barry rushed the security guard out of the way. He ran him out to the hallway, leaving him on the staircase before speeding outside to catch the crew.
He could hardly make it to the leaving car, however, as the wave of dizziness came back, and he stumbled against a large recycling bin. He tried to catch his breath but shut his eyes as the dizziness worsened.
And then, he fainted.
— 𝐵 —
"You lied to us," Caitlin said angrily as Cisco measured Barry's blood pressure, a tablet in his hands as Barry sat on the edge of the hospital bed, his white shirt unbuttoned. "How could you not tell us you're experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors. God knows what's going on inside your body. Even Sophia doesn't know and she knows everything!"
"Not everything," Sophia mumbled from beside Dr. Wells, watching as Caitlin rounded the bed and stepped in front of Barry.
She ignored Sophia and continued, "Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure, or a transient ischemic attack."
Barry's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked over to Sophia for help.
"Mini-stroke," she clarified before giving him a reassuring shake of the head. "Probably not."
"You, of all people, should know that in science, we share. We do not keep secrets."
"Wow," Cisco commented as Caitlin walked away in a huff. "I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie." He handed the tablet to Sophia before following Caitlin out.
"Ronnie was Caitlin's fiancé?" Barry questioned quietly, looking towards the remaining two. "The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?"
"Yeah," Dr. Wells confirmed as he stared out the door that the others had just walked out of, "he is . . . missed." He rolled a few feet forward and sighed. "Now, let's figure out why this is happening to you."
— 𝒮 —
After setting the treadmill and all other equipment up, Sophia entered the small training room that they had prepared, where Barry was staring at the wall of cardboard boxes that had the STAR Labs logo printed on them.
"We're all set," Sophia told him, glancing out the window at the side that revealed the other three that were huddled around the computers. She gave him a nervous smile as she patted the cardboard boxes that had been stuffed with feathers. "A little padding. Just in case."
His eyes flickered over to her and he gave a short nod, obviously a little more nervous than she was. "Yeah."
She gave him a thumbs-up before heading out of the room, making sure that the door was closed before joining the other three in peering through the window and watching as Barry climbed onto the treadmill that she and Cisco had tweaked.
"You sure about this, Sophia?" Barry called out to them, unsure as he looked around at the various tech that they had set up.
Sophia took a seat between Cisco and Dr. Wells as she pressed the button on the microphone and leaned forward to speak, "Most home treadmills have a maximum speed of about twelve miles per hour. This one has been fixed—"
"Cisco'ed!" Cisco interjected.
"Sure, Cisco'ed," she sighed as Barry turned around and gave her a scrunched nose. She was quick to reassure him, "Don't worry, I helped. So just trust me, it can handle your speed."
"Okay," Barry exhaled, although he still seemed a little bit unsure.
Cisco nodded and began to run the treadmill.
Barry's pace was a little slow at first but it only took about five seconds for him to become a blur as the treadmill reached unthinkable speeds.
Caitlin's eyes quickly ran over the readings on the computer monitor in front of her as she informed them, "Heart rate, blood pressure, nerve conduction all normal."
"For Barry," Dr. Wells added as he leaned towards her, his eyes set on the readings as they fluctuated slightly.
"Brainwave function within standard limits," she continued.
"Heh, told you the treadmill could take it," Cisco practically squealed, the largest grin on his face as they watched Barry run.
Sophia sighed as she looked over at Caitlin's computer and she reached over and nudged the other girl. "Cait, look at the glucose levels."
"Oh my God, of course," Caitlin exhaled, realization dawning on her face. "It was so obvious."
"Glucose." Dr. Wells nodded before pressing the microphone on. "Barry, we think we know why you keep—"
Before Dr. Wells could finish his sentence, Barry flew backwards into the wall of cardboard, and feathers fluttered all over the room as he limply laid.
"—passing out."
— 𝒮 —
Barry, who they had transferred back over to the hospital bed, woke up about twenty minutes later.
He groaned as he got up. "I passed out again?"
"Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia." Caitlin nodded as she and Sophia helped him up.
"I'm not eating enough." Barry shrugged. "So an IV bag, and I'm good to go."
Sophia placed her hand on his shoulder and swivelled him around to see the rack of bags as she scoffed, "Try forty."
"Guess you were thirsty," Dr. Wells remarked before he took a sip of his water, an amused smile on his face.
"We're gonna need to fashion you a diet based on your metabolic changes," Caitlin informed Barry, before walking back to the desk.
"Give me a second . . . You need to consume around a hundred and ninety thousand calories a day." Sophia calculated with a small sigh. Cisco gave her a look, and she instantly understood which units he preferred to have. "Or as Cisco would prefer . . . about eight hundred and forty tacos."
"Did you just calculate that in your head now?" Barry's eyes widened as he looked at her.
"Yeah." Sophia shrugged. "I know that tacos are two hundred and twenty-six calories each because Cisco never fails to remind me whenever I calculate anything—"
Cisco suddenly gasped, realizing something. "Unless we're talking cheese and guac because that's . . . Sophia?"
Sophia thought for a moment. "Seven hundred and one tacos."
"For Mexican, I recommend Tito's on Bruckner Avenue," an unfamiliar voice spoke. They all looked to the entrance to see Joe. "Best burrito in the city."
A welcoming smile grew onto Dr. Wells' face. "Detective West, what brings you to STAR Labs?"
Barry sat down on the hospital bed, nervously glancing up at Joe.
Joe raised a finger at the boy. "When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing a little research. Turns out, there have been reports of a red streak around the city. Stopping muggers. Rescuing people from burning buildings."
Sophia looked at Barry, her eyebrows furrowed. "You didn't tell him that we were working together?"
Barry looked at her, his face full of guilt as he shook his head. He looked back at Joe as he stammered, "Joe, I can explain—"
"You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry," Joe interrupted, his eyes hardened. "I suggest you get back to it."
"Mhm," Caitlin hummed in agreement. Joe looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed. Her face became surprised as she exclaimed, "Don't look at me like that, I'm on your side!"
"Detective, we all want what's best for Barry," Dr. Wells spoke up, giving a slow nod.
Joe turned to face him. "If you wanted what was best for Barry, you'd talk him out of this instead of encouraging him going out there to risk his life."
"You saw a man control the weather. What are the police gonna do against someone like that? Since the accelerator explosion, we suspect there may be more like him," Barry protested, a serious look in his eyes.
Joe folded his arms as he scoffed, "And you're gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? You think because you can run real fast that you're invincible? You're not! You're just a kid. My kid."
"I'm not your kid, Joe," Barry said viciously as he shook his head. "And you're not my father."
There was a moment of silence as Joe stared at Barry with moistened eyes.
Barry continued, "My father is sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted." He stood up, beginning to slowly walk towards the detective. "You were wrong about him. And you're wrong about this. Now, I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building, or stop some armed thieves, I'm gonna do it!" His voice had become a shout. "And you can't stop me! So don't try."
Joe took a breath, and then looked around at them. He looked back at Barry. "You think you're so smart. All of you." He turned to look at them, his gaze meeting Sophia for a brief moment before moving on to the rest. "But you don't know what you don't know. And I hope that you're clever enough to figure it out before someone gets killed." He turned and left, leaving them in an unsure silence.
— 𝒮 —
The next day, to interrupt the fun banter and the peace of being blissfully unaware of any danger, Barry came back with a face littered with bruises and cuts, much to their alarm.
It was a meta who could duplicate, Barry explained to the stunned group. Someone who could make exact copies of themselves that could move and talk and do anything a normal human could do.
Caitlin gently dabbed Barry's bloody wounds on his face with a cotton gauze.
"Sorry, the abrasions are already healing," she apologized with a small sigh as Barry winced, moving onto the other side of his face.
"Yeah, I got my ass handed to me," Barry said glumly.
"You got blood on my suit," Cisco, who was wearing a headlamp, grumbled as he wiped the blood with a rag.
"I think some of it belongs to him." Barry nodded. "Another not-so-friendly meta-human."
Dr. Wells projected the image of a man onto the monitor. He looked to be in his mid- to late-thirties, with black hair and a lab coat slipped on.
"Danton Black," he read out. "He's a bio-geneticist. Specialized in therapeutic cloning—growing new organs to replace failing ones."
A look of recognition came onto Caitlin's face as she quickly nodded and added on, "Stagg stole his research and then fired him."
"I saw Black create duplicates from his own body," Barry told them as he got up and walked over towards Dr. Wells, his lips pursing.
"That's pretty ironic. The guy specialized in cloning. And now he can make Xeroxes of himself." Cisco stared at the screen, his eyebrows furrowed.
Sophia folded her arms, thinking for a moment before slowly saying, "If he was experimenting on himself when exposed to the dark matter wave released by the accelerator explosion—"
Cisco grinned. "Meet Captain Clone."
They all turned to look at him, their faces scrunched in disgust.
His grin faded. "Don't worry, I'll come up with something cooler."
His eyebrows knit tightly together, and the corners of his lips now pulled down, Barry crossed the room, shaking his head.
"Where are you going?" Sophia called after him.
He turned around, his eyes hardening as he shifted his gaze between the four of them. "Joe was right. I'm in way over my head. Yeah, I'm fast, but I am no warrior. I could barely fight one metahuman, let alone six."
"Barry . . . I understand. Today was a setback." Dr. Wells gave an encouraging smile. "But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times."
Barry looked up at the ceiling to think for a moment before looking back at Dr. Wells. "This wasn't a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells. This was a mistake."
— 𝒮 —
A few hours later, Sophia, Cisco, and Caitlin stood at the entrance of the Cortex, proudly gazing at their creation.
Sophia was able to replicate one of Black's duplicates with the blood on Barry's suit, and the duplicate was standing right in the middle of the entrance, staring straight ahead with its empty eyes.
"Okay, now call Barry," Cisco instructed Sophia, gesturing to the phone that was in her pocket.
"But what if he says no? It seems like he wants nothing to do with us now." Sophia frowned, shaking her head.
"Just—just sound super panicked and scared." Cisco snapped his fingers. "Then he'll come."
"Sounds kinda mean to trick him, but . . . okay." Sophia shrugged and pulled out her phone, dialling his number quickly before pressing the phone against her ear.
Barry picked up, and spoke right away, "I told you. I'm through with this."
"I know, but you need to get to STAR Labs right now," she said quickly, trying her best to sound afraid. He swiftly hung up, and Sophia took that as a positive sign that he was on his way.
He instantly sped in, facing Black with an expression of anger.
"Barry, it's okay!" Caitlin reassured him as she fixed her hair.
"It isn't okay! Black is here, and he's . . ." Barry swiftly analyzed the figure, and then stood straight up upon realization. ". . . Just standing there. That's not him, is it?"
Dr. Wells rolled up behind them. "It's one of his replicates."
"How did you get it?" Barry turned back to the duplicate, inspecting its face.
"I grew him," Sophia explained excitedly from behind him, folding her arms. Upon receiving a look of confusion from the man, she elaborated, "I isolated a sample of Black's blood from your suit to see if I could trigger the in-vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So I exposed the target cells to a protein gel and they began replicating into that."
Barry poked the duplicate's chest and then waved his hand in front of its face as he tried to gain its attention. "Why doesn't he—it doing anything?"
Dr. Wells rolled up his sleeves as he sighed, "We did a brain scan. Involuntary motor functions are active. Little else."
"We think it's acting as a receiver," Cisco added.
"The clones are an empty shell without Black," Caitlin explained. "Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down."
"How do we know which one's the real Danton Black?" Barry furrowed his eyebrows, now inspecting the side of the duplicate's face.
"That occurred to me given your passing out," Sophia explained with a small smile. "Black has limits, just like you. Controlling all those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical strength. So, look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue. He's the prime."
"Just a theory, but one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen." Dr. Wells nodded, looking over to the monitor.
"Plus!" Cisco walked up, having grabbed something from the desk. He held out a nutrition bar that had been wrapped in saran wrap, a brown, brick-like snack that looked utterly disgusting (though Sophia told him it looked delicious). "I whipped up these high-calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up."
The duplicate suddenly gave a grunt, and Sophia screamed in surprise, stumbling back. Caitlin caught her before she could fall over.
Then, the sound of two gunshots rang through the air, and bullets flew into the duplicate's chest, the impact pushing him onto the ground. Sophia looked towards the entrance to see Joe, his gun raised in front of him as he kept his stare fixated on the body.
"Any more of them?" He raised his eyebrows, glancing to the sides to check himself.
"Nope." Caitlin shook her head, patting Sophia on the arm comfortingly as she stared at the duplicate in horror.
"Why did it start moving?" Barry questioned in puzzlement, his eyes shifting over to Sophia for an answer.
She thought quickly before concluding, "The prime. My guess is the prime is on the move. This duplicate must've heard the summons to battle."
Joe slid the gun back into its holster on his belt, peering over at the dead duplicate. "And I know where he was summoned to: Stagg Industries."
Barry looked at Joe, his eyes wide. "You should call it in."
Joe shook his head. "Police can't fight this. What Black's become, like Mardon . . . beyond me. Maybe way beyond them, too. The only person it's not beyond is you. You gotta do this. I get it. So for once in your life, do what I tell you to do. Go stop him."
A smile grew onto Barry's face, and he gave a small nod. He walked up to his suit, staring at it with longing before he sped into it and away, the familiar sensation of wind rushing past all of them.
As soon as he had dashed off, the group rushed towards the main desk and huddled around the computers, where Cisco pulled up security footage of the entrance room of Stagg Industries.
There was the sound of a gunshot that came from the floor above, and Barry sprinted there. Sophia watched as he moved Stagg out of the danger and returned to the room from before, now seeing the many versions of Black patrolling the area as they held their guns in front of them.
Barry spoke out to the prime, "I know Stagg stole your research, but that doesn't give you the right to murder."
He walked in front of one of the men, who then shot at him. He moved away in time, and then grabbed him, speeding past and knocking over another one.
"You think this is about my job?" Black's voice echoed around the room. "This is about Elizabeth. She was my wife."
"You were gonna grow her a new heart."
They watched as Barry and the Black fought, now on the main level of the building.
Sophia flinched as the sound of a bullet ricocheting off a stone column could be heard, reassuring her that Barry hadn't gotten hit.
Black continued, "I was so close until Stagg stole my research so he could reap the glory . . . and I had to bury my best friend."
He walked through the room, looking for Barry, who had hidden somewhere.
"Now . . . I'm alone."
He noticed that all the other duplicates were gone. Unfortunately for Barry, Black began to multiply again, tons of duplicates rushing towards the speedster.
They all circled around him as he tried to fight them. Unluckily for him, they overpowered him, beating him to a pulp.
He managed to escape, the yellow lightning zipping up all the walls of the tall building before storming back down and knocking all the attackers out.
"Barry, remember, you have to find the prime," Sophia spoke hurriedly into the comms. "The weakest one."
"I can't," Barry panted as hundreds of Blacks began to flood the room. "There's too many of them. It's impossible."
"Barry, nothing's impossible. You taught me that. You can do this," Joe encouraged.
There was silence for a short moment before Barry appeared in the small open space in front of the army. He took a deep breath, looking at the group with a new determination.
Barry sped through the crowd, punching the Blacks left and right. The lightning flashed through the dark group, getting rid of each duplicate one by one. He finally found the prime, grabbing him and bringing him up to the second floor.
Barry knocked him out, effectively causing all of the replicates to drop to the ground simultaneously.
"It's over," Barry said over the comms, relief in his voice.
From behind, the prime Black got up from his position, about to attack Barry from behind. Noticing at the last moment, Barry jumped out of the way.
Black hit the window behind him instead, the glass shattering as he began to fall. Barry sped over to the broken window, grabbing onto Black as he dangled on the outside.
The group watched with horror as Black forced Barry to let him go, causing him to fall to his death. Barry stepped back, his eyes shiny with tears as he attempted to process what had just happened.
He sped back to the Cortex, wiping his eyes with the back of one hand while he took off his mask with the other.
Sophia walked over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder as she gave him a smile. "You did a good job."
"Thanks, Sophia." His voice cracked slightly as he gave her a half-hearted smile, but his eyes remained focused on hers as she patted his shoulder.
"Well, thank God Multiplex is gone, that dude was kinda creepy," Cisco sighed loudly.
Everyone looked up with him, looks of surprise turning into ones of pleasure after processing the name.
"Multiplex?" Sophia raised her eyebrows as she turned to him, thinking over the name as she crossed her arms. "Not bad. Better than the last one, at least."
Cisco grinned as he took his seat at the main desk. "Told y'all I could come up with a cool name."