Katrina and Barry each lay on a bed, as Caitlin takes the fragments out of each of them, "You're gonna have to hurry, Barry and Katrina's wounds are starting to heal with fragments still under their skin" Wells says to her.
"Worry about Barry, he has the most, I can get the ones in my leg out myself" Katrina says to Caitlin as she picks up a pair of tweezers and starts to pull them out.
"It's just like that time I stepped on a sea urchin" Cisco says and they both give him a look letting him know it's nothing like that, "Only much worse" he quickly remarks.
"Ugh! Just don't pee on me" Barry remarks.
"You know that's a myth, right" Cisco tells him as Caitlin yanks a fragment out from his neck, and he groans in pain. Katrina gets the last fragment out of her leg, and starts to help Caitlin with Barry.
"I'm so stupid" Caitlin suddenly says and they all look at her, "Jason Rush, the grad student who was helping Professor Stein with his Firestorm research he said that the Army took all of Stein's material when he disappeared. I should have known it was General Eiling" she says as she goes back to take the fragments out of Barry.
"Not your fault" Wells tells her, "He still thinks you hold the keys to the ultimate human weapon, both of you" he adds looking at Ronnie.
"Okay, let's finish this, I gotta get to Stein's house, Eiling's gonna be after him too" Barry then says.
"Stein's fine" Ronnie suddenly says.
"How do you know?" Cisco asks him.
"He's right there" Ronnie says and they all look to see Professor Stein walking in.
"I don't think Mr. Raymond and I are as distinctive as we had hoped" he says to them all.
After finishing up with Barry, Katrina and him change out of their suits as Caitlin gets Professor Stein and Ronnie settled into a seat where she can look over their brain waves.
"I'm still inside Ronald" Stein says looking at the data Caitlin discovered.
"There has to be a better way to phrase that" Cisco remarks looking at Barry and Katrina who just smile at him.
"Beta, alpha, theta, delta. All your brain waves are perfectly in sync" Caitlin says," The chances of that happening are next to impossible." She adds.
"Impossible is just another Tuesday for us, remember?" Barry says to her.
"Yeah, but this is like some Twilight Zone level stuff, and I say that knowing full well we have a guy locked up in our basement who can turn himself into poison gas" Cisco says to him.
"Wait, really?" Ronnie asks.
"Yeah, that was like week three for us" Katrina says to him.
"Look, if this Eiling is as dangerous as you say, then I need to warn Clarissa" Stein says as he gets up from his chair.
"I promise, I can get Clarissa out of the city in time, but we need you to stay here" Barry says to him.
"Professor, you can trust us" Katrina tells him.
"Very well" he says turning and walking away.
"Hey, are you okay?" Barry then asks Ronnie.
"Yeah" he says taking the gear off his head, "Yeah, it's just not the STAR Labs I knew" he answers him.
"Ronnie, this isn't the world that you knew" Barry says to him.
"Tell me about it" he says to him before Barry walked away.
Later Barry and Katrina take Caitlin ad Ronnie to the West household, hoping that they would be safe there, "Alright, here we are, uh... all right, you guys can stay down in Iris's old room, it's kind of small, but..." Barry says as he walks away, "Hey" he says when he see's Joe.
"We have guests" Joe says to him.
"Yeah, we do, I hope that's okay" Barry then says to him.
"Mi Casa" Joes says to him.
"This is Ronnie" Caitlin then introduces him to Ronnie.
"Nice to meet you" Joe says shaking Ronnie's hand, "Ronnie? The..."
"Dead fiancé" Ronnie answers for him.
"Right...beer" Joe says offering him the beer that was in his hand.
"Thanks" Ronnie says taking it from Joe.
"Dad, Barry" they then all hear Iris say and look to see her coming into the house, a bag of groceries in her hand.
"Iris, hi" Caitlin then says.
"Hi" Iris says back.
"What are you doing here?" Joe then asks.
"Uh, it's Tuesday. I was gonna make us dinner, remember" she says to him.
"Yeah" "Yep" both Joe and Barry says together, "Here, I'll help you, got it" Barry says taking the bag from her and going to put it in the kitchen.
"I knew you'd forget" Iris says, "There's plenty for everyone. Caitlin, what brings you by?" she then asks.
"Caitlin has a gas leak in her apartment, and I was gonna offer my place, but it's too small, so Barry suggested that they could stay here, and Barry will stay with me." Katrina explains to Iris.
"Oh, that's sweet of him, and uh, who's this?" Iris says looking at Ronnie.
"This is uhh" Caitlin says.
"This is Caitlin's cousin Sam" Katrina covers for her.
"Visiting from Coast City" Joe goes on to cover saying.
"You look really familiar Sam" Iris says.
"Yeah...yeah I have one of those faces" Ronnie says to her, "So, uh, what's for dinner?" he quickly asks trying to get the attention off of him.
Katrina sat on the couch beside Barry, as he picks up a picture of him and his mom, and his mind seems to be wandering. Joe then comes in and looks over at the two of them, "Barr, should I have not shown you?" he asks him.
"No, I had to know" Barry says putting the picture back.
"We have been through so much" Joe says as he comes over to the couch, and places his coffee on the table, as he sits with them. "You have, all your life" he says to Barry. "You have been so strong. But I....am still your guardian. And it's my job to guard you not just physically...but from heartache" Joe says to him. "I can't help but feel like I just handed you a brand-new burden" he adds.
"Yeah" Barry says, "But it's our burden, right?" he adds looking at Joe.
"Yeah...yeah" Joe says to him.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Barry then asks.
"Mm-hmm" Joe says to him.
"How did you know that the blood in the house belonged to me?" Barry asks him, "You would have had to have tested it specifically" he says.
"Cisco tested it against everyone who worked at STAR labs" Joe tells him.
"You wanted to know if it belonged to Wells?" Barry asks him and Joe doesn't say a word, "Joe..... Dr. Wells has nothing to do with my mom's murder. You believe that now?" he asks Joe.
"Yeah...yeah, yeah I do" Joe says to him.
"Barry, you can't blame Joe for doing that. He just wants to make sure you are safe, that we are both safe" Katrina tells him.
"I know" He says to her as he hugs her, and kisses the top of her head.
"I still can't believe you two are really a thing now" Joe says to them.
"Yeah I sorta can't believe it either" Katrina smiles at Barry.
Later that day they get an alert that something has happened at STAR labs and they all head there, where Wells's tells them that Eiling's men showed up.
"He didn't hurt you?" Barry asks him.
"Barry, I told you, only my pride is hurt. Unfourtantly I'm not in the position to take on armed soldiers" Wells tells them.
"Where do you think Eiling took Stein?" Caitlin asks him.
"Some off-the-books military research facility" Wells tells her.
"We have to get him back" Barry says.
"Easy, Eiling has already demonstrated he has the weaponry to disable the Flash and Bolt, or worse" Wells says to him.
"Well, we just can't let Eiling turn Stein into a weapon" Katrina remarks.
"How do we find him?" Ronnie asks, and they all look at one another before looking at Ronnie, "What?" he asks them.
Caitlin gets Ronnie set up, and is monitoring him; "No abnormal activity, all vitals steady" she tells them.
"You really thing Ronnie can feel where they're keeping Stein?" Barry asks.
"Ronnie got dizzy when soldiers grabbed Stein...and Stein developed Ronnie's obsession with pizza" Cisco explains.
"I don't feel anything right now" Ronnie says to them.
'Just keep trying" Caitlin says to him.
"Whatever this is, it doesn't have a on and off switch" Ronnie says.
"It's possible it's just some kind of residual connection. You know a temporary link to your time together" Wells explains.
"Wait, I feel something" Ronnie then says, "I'm cold" he tells them. After a few minutes, Ronnie suddenly withers in pain.
"You're okay, man, we got you" Cisco says going around the bed, to help Ronnie.
"What's happening to him?" Barry asks.
"Nothing is happening to him" Wells answers, "It's happening to Stein, and Ronnie is feeling his pain. I was wrong, their connection is not temporary, it's only getting stronger" Wells says.
"Just try and hold on" Caitlin tells Ronnie, who is looking at her, then he looks around.
'Water...water" he asks and Cisco gives him a glass of water, and he breaks the glass.
"Ronnie, no!" Caitlin shouts at him, as he starts to cut into his arm.
"Caitlin wait!" Katrina tells her.
"He's cutting himself" she cries out.
"I know, but just let him" she tells her, and Ronnie finishes carving the word where into his arm.
"Anything?" Caitlin asks him.
"Nothing, nothing, just cold, like a metal surface, pressure on and on and off" he tells her, "Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap" Ronnie then says.
"Morse code" Wells realizes.
"I got this" Cisco then says.
"Same thing again, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap" Ronnie goes on to say.
"Twenty-Seven" Cisco then says.
"What does that mean?" Caitlin asks.
"It's an army base, they sometimes go by numbers like Area 51" Katrina tells them.
Cisco then starts looking on the computer, "Facility 27 about 300 miles away, it was shut down in 1961" he tells them.
"That's where they're keeping Stein" Barry says.
"Betcha that's where they're keeping the aliens too" Cisco remarks.
"I'm coming with you" Ronnie says as he gets up from the bed.
"No, you're not, you can't" Caitlin tells him.
"I'm connected to Stein, I have to go" he tells her.
"But did you ever stop to think why your connection to him is growing stronger by the minute; maybe you're being drawn back together. Maybe your proximity will cause you to re-merge into one" Caitlin tells him.
"And what happens to me if he gets killed?" Ronnie asks her. "Cait, Barry was right, the world's different now. Look, 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" he tells her and she just smiles at him, holding back tears.
"The quantum splicer, it was used to separate you once, maybe it could be of use to keep you, you" Cisco says.
"Thanks" Ronnie says as he then looks over at Barry and Katrina, "Okay, let's go"
"Wait" Caitlin says giving Ronnie a kiss, "Come back" she says as she then looks at Barry an Katrina, "All four of you"
"Let's go" Ronnie says as follows Barry and Katrina out of the room.
Barry brings Ronnie to outside the facility, with Katrina coming up right behind them, the three of them look around and see drones flying around, "oh yeah this place doesn't look shady at all" Katrina says.
"Steins inside" Ronnie then says, "I can feel our connection growing stronger like he's pulling me.
"It's as I feared, the Firestorm matrix is building toward a proximity re-emergence. Like all matter, it yearns to be whole" they hear Wells say, "If you two merge...we might not be able to separate you again" Wells tells them.
"Eiling has a gun to Stein's head, he's about to pull the trigger" Ronnie says and Barry then runs off, and comes back within seconds with Stein.
"Ah! Oh, Whoa! I never thought I'd be happy to see you" he says to Ronnie.
"Likewise" Ronnie says to him.
"Umm let's get out of here" Katrina then says as they hear trucks approaching. They all turn to look, and see an army man leaning out the roof of the truck, with what looks like a rocket launcher. He then shoots at the four of them, and Barry runs at the rocket, and grabs it. It explodes on contact and covers Barry in ice, "Run!" he says to the them,
"Okay, come one, come on" Ronnie says grabbing at Stein, and the take off, as Katrina stays back to help Barry.
"Barry I'm picking up some serious PH numbers on your suit" they hear Cisco say.
"Yeah, they hit Barry with some sort of chemical" Katrina tells him.
"It's 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" Wells says to him.
"Go, check on Stein and Ronnie, I got this" Barry tells Katrina as he runs off.
Katrina runs the opposite way, catching up to Stein and Ronnie, who are hiding in some nearby woods.
"We have to merge again" Ronnie says to Stein.
"What, no" Caitlin says to him.
"Cait, we're dead if we don't" Ronnie tells her.
"Listen to me, the last time you two combined you both fought it, this time, don't. Accept the change, accept the balance, and accept each other" Wells tells them.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friend" Stein says to him.
"Cait, whatever happens, just remember I'll always love you" Ronnie says to her, as he then places the quantum splicer on his body. Katrina steps back as Stein and Ronnie take each other's hands, and they begin to merge into Firestorm.
"Professor?" Katrina then hears Ronnie says as he walks away going toward the army men. She follows them out of the woods, as Firestorm takes the men out. Katrina stands beside Firestorm as they look at Eiling, "Eiling this ends now" they tell him.
"Yes it does, for both of you" Eiling says to Firestorm and before Katrina can react he throws a device at Ronnie/Stein, causing them to flame out, and he then tosses the fragment bomb at her, and she tries to get as far away as she can, but some hit her in the back and she falls down.
"An ion grenade bombarded your cellular structure with enough ions to destabilize your matrix" Eiling tells them, "Mr. Raymond, Professor Stein, you were both fine Americans. Your country thanks you for your sacrifice" Eiling says as he takes gun out, and before he can shoot them, Barry comes running by, knocking Eiling out.
"Ugh, that was a lot of running" he says as he helps Ronnie get up, before seeing Katrina on the ground, "Oh God, are you okay?" he asks her.
"Yeah...it's not as bad as it looks" she tells him as they see Ronnie flame back up and start to walk over toward Eiling.
"Ronnie...home?" Barry then asks him.
"Yeah" he agrees, as he then flies off. Barry picks up Katrina, and runs back to STAR Labs.
Caitlin gets the fragments out of Katrina's back, and when she is done Katrina gets changed, and comes back in the room, to see Barry showing the chemical burns on his body.
"I think it looks worse than it is" he says to Caitlin as they then see Ronnie enter the cortex.
"Ronnie or Stein?" Caitlin asks him.
"It's me, Cait" he tells her, "it's both of us, somehow" he then adds.
"Acceptance is a powerful thing" Wells says to them.
"Powerful enough to reverse it?" Barry then asks.
"We could try" Ronnie says and Caitlin nods at him. They all then take a few steps back, watching as Ronnie and Professor Stein try to reverse their merge. After a few moments, they watch as Stein and Ronnie, split back apart, Katrina looks at Barry smiling at what just happened.
"Oh, I think we're getting the hang of this quite nicely" Stein says to all of them. Caitlin then walks over to Ronnie giving him a hug, as they break apart he looks over at Stein.
"It's okay, I understand you have to go" Caitlin says to Ronnie.
"How'd you know?" Ronnie asks her.
"I'm connected to you too" she smiles at him.
They head back to Professor Steins home, so he can explain everything to Clarissa, "Where will you go?" Caitlin asks Ronnie.
"Pittsburgh, maybe. Professor Stein has a colleague he thinks can help us learn more about our abilities" he tells her.
"We can help you here too" Caitlin tells him.
"Eiling's already breached STAR labs; we need to stay one step ahead of him, for all of us." Ronnie tells her, "I'm coming back" he assures her.
"We'll have pizza" Caitlin tells him, and they kiss.
"Godspeed Mr. Allen, Miss Ivory" Professor Stein comes over to them saying.
"You too" Barry tells him.
"As per our earlier conversation...I believe in second chances. You'll get yours, give it time" Stein tells him, before heading back over toward Ronnie.
"Ready, Ronald?" he asks him.
"Please stop calling me that" Ronnie tells him.
"I'll see you soon" Clarissa tells Stein as they all head to the back yard. Ronnie and Stein step outside, as Ronnie places the quantum splicer device onto his body. They all stand there and watch as they merge into one, and they flame up. "We love you" Ronnie says to Clarissa and Caitlin as they then fly away.
Later that night Barry asked Katrina and Joe to meet him at his old house, Joe knocks on the door, as Barry opens it allowing them to come inside. "So why'd you bring us here?" Joe asks him, as they walk over to the device that was displaying what had happened the night of his mother's death.
"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 tells them.
"What are you trying to say Barry?" Katrina asks him.
"Knowing that I'm supposed to lose gives me the advantage. 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" Barry tells her.
"You're gonna....change the past?" Joe asks him.
"Joe, Kat...I'm gonna save my mom" he smiles at them.
"You're not going to do this alone either Barry" Kat says to him.
"I don't want you to try and go back in time with me, cause we know you weren't there, and if anything happens back there, I know you will be here keeping the city safe." Barry tells her.
"I agree with Barry, Kat I don't want you messing with whatever he does cause it could change both your futures" Joe tells her.
"Okay, but I just don't want to lose you that's all" Katrina tells him.
"You won't and you know I need to do this Kitty Kat" he says to her.
"Fine, just when you do promise me you'll be safe" she says to him.
"I promise" he says hugging her.