S.T.A.R.
Labs.
The team had gathered alongside Joe and Barry, studying the profile of the man Barry had just confronted at Stagg Industries.
“Caitlin, this is a blood sample from Black—when I knocked him off,” Barry said, handing it to her.
“When I tested the skin sample earlier, it showed naïve cells.”
“Stem cells?” Caitlin’s eyes lit with intrigue.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Anything about Danton Black?
Why is he after Stagg?” Joe asked.
“Apparently Stagg stole his research and then fired him,” Cisco replied, pulling up files on the screen.
“So he wants revenge.
The attack at the university wasn’t some petty robbery—it was meant to kill Stagg,” Joe said grimly.
“Maybe his security head was in on it too, that is why he murdered ” Barry pointed out.
Joe turned to Wells.
“Once we find Danton Black, how do you plan to stop him?”
“With Barry,” Dr.
Wells said simply.
“Barry has already proven he can deal with Danton Black—twice.
Twice now Barry’s gained the upper hand.
We just need to figure out how to find the Prime.”
Hearing that, Joe’s worry deepened.
“This is all too much for me.
I need some space.” He turned and left the cortex.
Barry watched him go and sighed.
I need to talk to him.
“Don’t worry,” Caitlin said gently, noticing his expression.
“He just needs time to adjust to all these changes.” She offered him a reassuring smile before leaving the room.
Barry nodded.
He understood—but he couldn’t have Joe worrying every time he ran into danger.
And there was going to be a lot of danger.
“We need a place to hold them and neutralize their powers, currently neither the CCPD nor Iron Heights has a place capable enough to hold meta-human” Barry said
“Well Cisco and I will think of a way, until then if we capture him we will have to place him in a medically induced coma, Caitlin” Dr.
Wells tells the team his thoughts
“Understood” Caitlin nodded
Barry went to his penthouse to complete his exercise for today after that he went to find Joe
Barry already knew where Joe would be.
He sped across town to CCPD and found him in his lab, staring quietly at his crime board – The one he made after years of solving unnatural cases
“You found my crime board,” Barry said softly, stepping inside.
Joe glanced at him, then back at the wall.
“You know, Barry,” Joe began, voice heavy with memory, “right after your mother’s death, when you told me your father was innocent, I didn’t believe you.
But that didn’t deter you.
You proved it yourself.
If not, Henry would still be in prison.” He paused, his eyes misting.
“Maybe… maybe I should start believing in you now.”
Barry smiled faintly and moved closer, taking a seat beside him.
“You’re right, Joe.
You need to believe in me—just like you did when you let an underage teenager travel around the world.” He chuckled softly.
His tone shifted, more earnest.
“Joe, you’re one of the very few people in my life whose opinion matters more than anything.
You’re the man who kept me fed and clothed, who sat beside my bed at night until I fell asleep because I was haunted by nightmares… You dropped me off at college.
You were there watching over me.
Though my dad wasn’t with me, you tried your best to never let me feel his absence.
You are my second dad, and I’m glad I had you.
Your belief in me—it’s the most important thing I could ask for.
So believe in me, because from now on, there’s going to be a lot of strange stuff out there.
And if it threatens my friends or family, I’ll stop it.”
Joe’s throat tightened.
He tried to hold it in, but tears welled anyway.
He placed a firm hand on Barry’s shoulder, smiling through the emotion.
“You sure have a way with words, kid.”
Both chuckled, the tension breaking for a moment.
Barry’s phone buzzed.
He glanced at it.
“Well, I need to head to Jitters.
Iris just sent me a 911 text.”
He stood, slid his phone into his pocket, and with a sudden gust of wind, he was gone in a blur.
“…Still freaky,” Joe muttered, staring at the empty spot where Barry had been.
JITTERS
Barry arrived at Jitters and stepped inside.
He spotted Iris with Eddie, both watching the news.
The headline read: [HERO COP SAVES STAGG CEO].
Eddie’s interview was playing on screen.
“Nice work, Eddie,” Barry said, walking over.
Both Eddie and Iris looked up at him.
“Nah.
Right place, right time.
Couldn’t have done it without Joe,” Eddie replied modestly.
“No, you were a hero today,” Barry said.
Eddie had risked his life to keep Stagg safe.
“CCPD still has a killer on the loose,” Eddie added, his expression tightening.
“I should get back to the precinct.” He leaned in, kissed Iris, and then left in a hurry.
Barry glanced at Iris.
“So, how does it feel dating a hero cop?”
She smiled faintly.
“Proud, happy… and a lot of other things.”
Barry smirked.
“So, what’s the emergency?”
“About that—why don’t you eat first?
Then I’ll explain.” Iris nudged him toward a chair.
“I am starving, so bring something big and delicious,” Barry said, sitting down without protest.
“Something big and delicious, coming right up.” Iris grinned before heading to the counter.
Barry finished the meal with surprising speed, washing it down with coffee.
He leaned back in his chair.
“Alright.
Now that I’m full—what do you need help with?”
“I found one.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Barry blinked.
“What?”
Iris was already pulling out her laptop.
“Something that actually interests me.” Her voice carried excitement.
“I know this is gonna sound crazy, but… it’s been all over the internet this week.”
She scrolled through posts and news clippings: a building fire, a bank heist, a security guard claiming he was “whooshed” out of danger.
“Something—or someone—is out there saving people,” Iris said.
Barry’s face twitched.
Joe is going to kill me.
“It’s… intriguing,” Barry said, keeping his tone neutral.
“Ever since I’ve known you, you believed in the impossible,” Iris said softly.
“What if you were right?
What if you were right about the night your mom died?”
The words caught Barry off guard, but before he could respond, his phone buzzed.
Caitlin’s name lit up the screen.
“Hey, what’s up?” Barry answered, turning slightly away from Iris.
“Barry, you need to get to S.T.A.R.
Labs.
Right now,” Caitlin’s voice was sharp, urgent.
“I’ll be there.” Barry ended the call.
“Sorry, Iris.
Emergency.
Raincheck, okay?” Barry said quickly before rushing out of Jitters.
He kept a normal pace until he was out of sight—then burst into a Violet-gold blur, streaking down the streets, lightning trailing in his wake.
S.T.A.R.
Labs
He arrived at S.T.A.R.
Labs, skidding to a halt.
Inside, Danton Black stood still before Caitlin and Cisco.
Barry prepared to strike—but then noticed something odd.
In superspeed, everything moved, even if slowly.
But Black wasn’t moving at all.
And Caitlin and Cisco weren’t panicked—just studying him.
That told Barry enough.
He eased out of superspeed.
“Aaaah!” Caitlin shrieked when she suddenly saw Barry in front of her followed by the sudden gust of wind blowing things away
“Barry, it’s okay,” she said quickly, realizing his stance.
She even grabbed his arm—then slapped it a second later.
“Oww!” She winced, shaking her hand.
“What was that for?” Barry asked, brow raised.
“For scaring me!” Caitlin pouted.
Barry’s eyes shifted back to the still figure.
“That’s not him, is it?”
“It’s one of his replicates,” Dr.
Wells said evenly.
“How did you get it?” Barry asked
“I grew him,” Caitlin said, smiling almost proudly.
“You grew him?
How?” Barry repeated,
She nodded.
“I used the sample of Black’s blood you brought.
If I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process, I thought I might learn how he multiplies.
I exposed the target cells to a protein gel—and they began replicating into that.”
Barry tilted his head.
“Did… it come with clothes on?”
Caitlin shot him a look.
Cisco tried not to laugh.
“No,” she said, sighing.
“His cells have stored memory.
They replicated his most recent state.”
“Which explains why he’s wearing the same thing,” Barry muttered,
“We ran a brain scan.
Involuntary motor functions are active.
Little else,” Wells explained.
“We think it’s acting as a receiver,” Cisco added.
“The clones are empty shells without Black,” Caitlin said.
“Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down.”
Barry thought it through, eyes narrowing.
“If these clones are shells, Black must be under immense strain to control them all.
If I find the one showing fatigue—that’ll be the prime.
Take him down, the rest collapse.”
“But what if he’s still operating from a distance, like before?” Cisco asked.
“This time, he won’t,” Wells said.
“Barry’s stopped him twice already.
He’ll be desperate.
That’s when you strike, Dr.
Allen.”
“hmph!”The clone suddenly twitched.
“Aaah!” Caitlin screamed again, clutching Barry’s arm.
Then—BANG!
BANG!
Two gunshots rang out, scaring Caitlin for the third time.
“Ah!” The clone’s body slumped to the ground.
Everyone turned.
Joe stood at the door, gun in hand, barrel still smoking.
“Any more of them?” Joe asked calmly.
“Nope,” Caitlin said, still shaken.
“The prime is on the move,” Barry said immediately.
“And I know where,” Joe replied, holstering his weapon.
“Stagg Industries.”
Barry met his eyes.
“Joe…?”
“I believe in you, Barry.
Go kick his ass.”
Barry’s lips curved into a small smile.
He nodded once, firmly.
Stagg Industries
Simon Stagg was working late when sudden gunshots echoed outside.
His heart skipped a beat—the killer was after him again.
Panicked, he bolted for safety, only to stumble upon the lifeless bodies of his security detail.
Standing among them were several identical men, all staring at him.
“Hello, Danton,” Simon said, recognizing the face of the three duplicates.
His voice trembled, though not at the sight of the clones, but at the gun pointed directly at him.
“Goodbye, Simon,” Danton Black said coldly, pulling the trigger—
—but a streak of Violet-gold lightning cut across the room.
In a blur, Barry rushed in, snatching Simon away just in time and depositing him back inside his office.
Barry returned in an instant, now standing before Black and his countless duplicates, each armed and ready.
“Black, I know Stagg stole your research,” Barry said, his voice steady, “but that doesn’t give you the right to murder.” He already knew this talk would fail—it had before.
As expected, Black and his clones opened fire.
Bullets streaked toward him, but to Barry, each one crawled through the air in slow motion.
He exhaled quietly and stepped aside, weaving past their paths with ease.
In the next instant, he blitzed through the room, tackling clones and disarming them in one smooth motion.
Yet no matter how many he stopped, more kept coming.
One clone raised its weapon at him.
“You think this is about my job?” it sneered.
The shot fired—but Barry blurred, instantly disarming him.
Another clone appeared behind him.
“This is about Elizabeth.
She was my wife.” He fired again, but Barry struck him down just as fast.
Unlike before, the clones weren’t dissipating into dust.
Black was maintaining them, his rage anchoring every duplicate.
“She had a degenerative coronary disease… she was on the transplant list for years… but time ran out…” Each clone shouted fragments of his grief as Barry methodically disabled them one by one.
But no matter how many he dropped, the numbers weren’t thinning.
Where’s the Prime?
Barry thought, scanning the horde.
Then the idea struck.
He stopped moving, placing himself at the center of the lobby.
“You were going to grow her one,” he said, loud enough for all of them to hear.
That hit the nerve.
“I was so close until Stagg stole my research,” the real Black’s voice rang out, laced with fury.
“He took everything… I lost Elizabeth… and I was left with nothing!”
The clones vibrated violently, splitting into more.
The room flooded with duplicates.
Barry anticipated this.
That’s it.
Push yourself further.
Show me where you are.
He darted between attacks, his lightning trailing like golden ribbons as he struck down any clone in his way.
Then he saw it—the only Black drenched in sweat, struggling to keep control.
“Got you,” Barry murmured.
In less than a blink, he was in front of the Prime.
He seized him, dragged him at super speed, and smashed him into the wall with a resounding crack.
Black crumpled, unconscious.
The other clones collapsed instantly, rag-dolling on top of one another before vanishing to dust.
“Barry!
Are you all right?” Joe’s voice buzzed in his earpiece.
“I’m fine.
I got him—it’s done,” Barry replied, smiling faintly as he glanced out the window at the glowing city skyline.
“Bring him back” Dr.
Wells said
Barry carried Black to S.T.A.R.
Labs, he placed him in the medical chamber still unconcious, He went to the cortex
He was greeted with wide smiles.
“Barry, you were amazing out there!” Joe exclaimed, pulling him into a tight hug.
“Dude, you handled that like a pro,” Cisco said, giving Barry a quick dab.
“You did great,” Caitlin added warmly.
“Well done, Dr.
Allen,” Wells said with calm approval.
Barry smiled.
“All thanks to you guys.
Rest up to you Joe and Caitlin”
Joe sighed, already dreading the captain’s questions.
“I’ll smooth this out at the precinct.
You’ve caused me enough paperwork for one night.”
Hours later, the incident at Stagg Industries was plastered across the headlines:
[Central City Police identifies Danton Black, ex-Stagg Industries scientist, for the attempted assassination of Simon Stagg.]
The team watched the news in silence.
Unsurprisingly, the truth about how Black had ended up in custody was conveniently omitted.
That’s when Caitlin came in, her expression grim.
“Blacks dead,” Caitlin explained quietly.
“Strangled to death somehow?”
Barry was somehow not surprised “He must have cloned his arms to strangle himself”
“He didn’t want saving,” Wells said, pessimistically.
“It seems his resolve to die overpowered the medicine.
Some people, once broken, can never be put back together.”
“Some people heal stronger than before,” Barry replied evenly, his calm but firm tone clashing against Wells’ cynicism.
Wells only gave a measured glance back.
“I hope you’re right.”
“At least Multiplex won’t hurt anyone else,” Cisco said, breaking the tension.
“Told you I’d come up with a cool name.”
“Good name,” Barry nodded.
“Hey, check this out,” Caitlin suddenly spoke up, holding out her tablet.
“Someone just anonymously posted records of numerous illegal acts committed by Simon Stagg.
Looks like this isn’t the first time he’s stolen someone else’s research.”
“Dude’s a habitual offender,” Cisco muttered.
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Not surprising at all,” Wells added calmly, sipping his coffee.
“I had a similar suspicion when he approached me with a proposal.
That’s why I turned him down.
Turns out I was right.”
“I think we all had enough for one night” Barry got ready to leave ” See you later”