CCPD
The Next Day
Joe was at his desk, watching the integration of young Barry Allen tape when his mother got murdered. "There was lightning in my house. Yellow and red lightning. There was a man in yellow, then I was on the street. I don't know how I got there. Please, you have to believe me!" Then Barry & Mon approached Joe, so he closed his computer and took out his headphones. "Hey. What happened to you last night?" Joe asked.
"Got beat up by a steel-plated sociopath. Good times," Barry explained. "So he is a meta-human?" Joe asked. "Yep. That bastard," Mon said.
"That particle accelerator's the gift that keeps on giving. You okay?" Joe asked. "Relatively. Any idea who he is?" Barry asked.
"Eddie's taking point while I run down a lead. I need you two work with him until I get back," Joe said. "Wait, why us?" Mon asked.
"Because he saw something impossible that he's got questions about, questions that I can't answer," Joe said.
"In other words, say some science gibberish to throw him off?" Mon asked and Barry gave him a look. "Yes," Joe said before he walked off.
Captain's Office
Singh was handing out files to everyone, explaining the case they had. "He stole the Humvee and evaded capture," he said as Barry walked in, with Mon behind him. "So pleased you could join us, Mr. Allen. Rough night?" Singh said. "Uh, just a little beat, sir," Barry said.
"As I was saying, our perp yanked three ATMs after he boosted the vehicle. Atm security cameras caught him on video. We got a hit in the database. Tony Woodward. He's got a history of violence, petty theft, assault, going way back to juvie. Dropped off the radar a little over two years ago, Looks like he's back," Singh explained but Barry knew the name, Tony Woodward. He was Barry's school bully.
Flashback
When Barry & Iris were 11-years-old, they were walking down the school hallway as Barry was nerding out. "Increased pressure produces increased heat, and if you don't release it, you get combustion," Barry informed Iris but she didn't really understand it.
"I don't know how you remember all this stuff, Barry," she said as they turned the corner. "Because he's a little freak, just like his old man," younger Tony said, getting in Barry's face. "Don't talk about my dad," Barry said.
"Or what? Is he gonna murder me, too?" Tony asked before he pushed Barry into some lockers. "Looks like you were born to take a beating, Allen," Tony said before he walked away.
Present Day
Barry was staring into nothing, remembering the memory, when Mon & Eddie started to shake him out of his staring. "Allen," Eddie said.
"Hey, Barry. Wake up for La-Kara-Land," Mon said and Barry glared at him. Then they started to walk out of the office.
"Listen, I saw something last night I just can't get my head around," Eddie said. "Uh-huh. Like- Like what?" Mon asked. "I fired a dozen rounds at our car thief, and it was like they sparked off of him," Eddie explained.
"Huh, well, I mean, he must have been wearing some kind of body armor," Barry assured. "On his face?" Eddie asked.
"Um...," Barry started to mumble but then Iris & Kara walked in, which neither Barry nor Mon were expecting to be there, but Mon was about to have fun to watch Barry get nervous around Kara.
"Hey," Iris said to Mon and Barry with a smile, then looked at Kara, who was staring at Barry, saying nothing. "Kara," Barry said softly.
"Barry," Kara said softly before she and Iris looked at Eddie. "Hi, Eddie, we saw the news. Are you okay?" Kara asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," Eddie assured. "Which you would know if you checked your messages. I tried you three times," Iris said to Kara.
"Sorry. I...was looking for jobs online," Kara said and Barry glanced at her, knowing she was lying. "Anyway, I heard that The Blur saved a kid. You have any comment?" Kara asked.
"All I know is our perp got away, but Barry & Mike here is gonna help me find him," Eddie said which caused Kara to look at him for a second.
"Yeah. Okay. I have other sources. Thank you," Kara said to Eddie before looking at Barry one more time before walking away towards the elevators. Iris sighed uncomfortably of how awkward their first encounter was.
"Well. I will see you tonight," Iris said to Eddie before kissing him, then walked away to Kara. The whole time, Mon was crossing his arms, with a smirk plastered across his face, knowing how much Barry pissed Kara off. "What is going on with you two?" Eddie asked Barry.
"What do you mean? Nothing, it's fine. It's-" Barry started to ramble before bumping into a door behind him. "I don't know," he said before walking off. Then Eddie looked at Mon for some insight. "They broke up," Mon said and Eddie was taken back. "Huh?" he asked. "That's what I said," Mon said before he walked after Barry.
STAR Labs
Wells was wheeling down the hallway towards the elevator when the elevator opened up to see Joe there. "I guess you heard about Barry's incident last night. If you're looking for him I think he's at the station," Wells said. "I actually came here to see you," Joe said. "I need your help solving an old case of mine," Joe said. "What case is that?" Wells asked. "The murder of Barry's mother," Joe said and Wells looked at him, intrigued.
STAR Labs
Cortex
"Your childhood nemesis is now an unstoppable meta-human. That is seriously messed up," Cisco said. "I had a childhood nemesis. Lexi La Roche. She used to put gum in my hair," Catlin said.
"Jake Puckett. If I didn't let him copy my homework he'd give me a swirly," Cisco said as Mon quietly judged them since no one on Daxam bullied him. He was after all a Prince, but they didn't know that.
"Okay. Now that you've established that you're all uber-nerds, what are we gonna do about Tony?" Mon asked. "Glad you asked. We're gonna train Barry, man. Karate Kid style," Cisco said. "What is a Karate Kid?" Mon asked as Cisco took them to a room, where a metal robot was.
"Behold! I call him Girder," Cisco said and the rest of them stared at him with clear judgment in their eyes. "For the record, not my idea," Caitlin said.
"Fighting is physics. It's not about strength. It's not about size. It's about energy and power. Channel your speed the right way and you can totally take this bad boy down," Cisco said before he got a controller. "Now obviously your Girder is a moving target," he continued but Mon stopped him.
"No, no. You should fight someone who actually has super strength," he said. "Like who?" Barry asked.
"Me," Mon said and Barry quickly shook his head no. "Oh come on. It's either me or Kara," He said. "Well, I choose...Girder," Barry said and Mon rolled his eyes.
"So...I have ice and bandages standing by," Caitlin said. Cisco started the controls and Barry punched the side of Girder, but then Girder swung at him, but Barry ducked. He then punched the other side of Girder, but then Girder hit Barry in the back twice, which caused him to fall in pain. "I'm pretty sure I just dislocated my shoulder," Barry said.
They brought Barry to a bed, where Barry was still groaning in pain. "Okay, not gonna lie. This is gonna be quick but extremely painful," Caitlin warned but then Mon's phone started to ring. "Oh, speaking of pain," Mon said before he answered. "Eddie, Hey," he said when he answered.
"Mike, we found the stolen Humvee in the alley at Fremont and Lawrence. Need you & Allen down here to do your thing," Eddie said through the phone.
"Great. We'll- see you in a sec," Mon said before hanging up. "Okay. Okay. Let's do this," Barry said as he laid back.
"So Barry, when you said you were off-duty last night, you weren't visiting Kara again. You know, in disguise? Even though, you broke up with her, right?" Mon asked.
"Cause that would be reckless and a little creepy," Caitlin said but Barry hesitated. "No," he said. "Good," Caitlin said before she joint popped Barry's arm, making him scream.
Fremont & Lawrence
Mon & Barry arrived just a little later to the crime scene. "Allen, you really need a car," Eddie complained. "I usually manage on foot okay," Barry said.
"What do we got?" Mon asked.
"The rig Tony Woodward boosted last night. No sign of the stolen ATMs. Probably got those where he's holed up, though he's gonna have one hell of a time breaking 'em open," Eddie said. "I wouldn't be so sure," Barry muttered. "So, about you and Kara-" Eddie started to say.
"Look, Eddie, they had a really bad fight, and he really doesn't wanna talk about it. I mean, he won't even talk to me about it," Mon said.
"I can hear you," Barry said, who was on the ground, getting the equipment from his suitcase that he needed. "That's the point," Mon said and Eddie laughed a little.
"I can see why Iris is friends with you. Honestly, I was a little threatened by you, Mike," Eddie said and Mon tried to hold in a laugh. "You were threatened by me?" He asked.
"Sure. I mean, I've seen how close you two are, but you seem like a good guy, and Iris, I just want her to be happy. From my experience, good relationships are hard to find," Eddie said and Mon nodded softly but Barry had another flashback.
Flashback
Young Barry had boxing gloves on, punching Joe's palms, trying to let out his anger, but it wasn't working. "Come on, Barry! You can do it!" Iris exclaimed, on the sidelines. "Barr, focus!" Joe exclaimed. "I am!" Barry exclaimed.
"Son, son, son. You're getting frustrated. You need to learn how to control your emotions," Joe said, to calm him down, then looked at Iris, who also had boxing gloves on. "Iris, come here, sweetie," he said and Iris walked in front of Barry. "You want me to hit a girl?" Barry asked. "He wants you to try," Iris said.
"Relax, Barry. I've had her in gloves since she was six. She's tougher than she looks," Joe assured, then Barry threw a punch at Iris, who dodged it, but then punched him, accidentally too hard, sending him to the ground.
"Sorry, Barry," Iris said as Joe helped him up, putting his arms around him, in a tight hug, as he placed his chin onto of Barry's head.
"Son...Sometimes the best way to win a fight is not to start one, but if you do come up against somebody you know you can't beat, be smart. It's okay to run the other way. All right?" Joe said and younger Barry nodded.
Present Day
Barry blinked out of his daydream as Eddie walked up to him. "So what do you think?" Eddie asked as they walked towards the truck.
"Judging by the mud and kegs I'd say he got hammered, stole a big-ass truck, and went joyriding. I bet the kegs are stolen, too. Rusty Iron Ale, it's a micro-brewed right over in-" Barry started to explain. "Keystone, I know the place. Let's check it out," Eddie said and Mon awkwardly smiled at him.
"Great," he said before following Eddie to his police car. But then Barry saw something on the car floor, so he picked some of it up, and put it in a small baggie. Then he put it in his suitcase and closed it.