"It's working..."

***

The cut outs are in place. Jessie is secured at the horror house. Eddie is at CCPD with Singh. Iris is at CCPN with Patty. Wells and Joe have guns with meta dampening cuffs and are stationed in the old warehouse connected to the labs. Caitlin is in the cortex with all the sensors and cameras on. Cisco and Barry are in the cortex with her, finalizing the plan for when Zoom runs through.

"I say we hold it open in increments. That'll give you a chance to rest." Caitlin says.

"I don't think we'll need to. He was waiting for us last time. He'll be ready." Cisco says, his voice shaky.

"So will we." Barry says confidently. He turns to Cisco. "You ready?"

Cisco turns to Caitlin who gives him a weak but reassuring smile. He turns back to Barry. "Nope. But let's do this."

Caitlin stands up and walks over to hug Cisco. "You got this." She whispers firmly. She moves over to Barry and pulls his face down and kisses him. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and hugs him.

He circles his arms around her waist and buries his head in the crook of her neck. "Everything is gonna be fine." He reassures her. He pulls back and puts his hands on either side of her face. "Then you and I are gonna go home. Safe. Okay?"

She nods. "I love you." She breathes out.

He smiles and kisses her forehead. "I love you too, babe. Be back in a Flash." He winks.

Caitlin groans and smiles as her hair blows past her. When she sits back down at the control desk, Barry and Cisco are gone. She takes a deep breath. "Here we go."

"Everyone ready?" Barry asks from the hospital with Cisco.

"Ready." Harry and Joe both respond.

"Ready." Caitlin says, more hesitantly.

Barry turns to Cisco. Cisco nods. "Ready."

Cisco raises his hand in the air and closes his eyes. "Let the show begin." He whispers.

A blue light appears in the center of the room. Barry takes a deep breath and readies himself to run. The blue light grows, and the breach can be seen in the center. Just when the breach grows large enough to travel through, a blue streak of lightning races out of it. Barry takes off.

Barry chases Zoom around the city before stopping in an alley.

"You got faster." Zoom growls out. "Good." He says lower.

Barry takes off this time, forcing Zoom to chase him. He arrives at the labs, running into the warehouse where Zoom is stopped by a life-size cut out of his father that appears in front of him. Zoom stops, his breathing heavy. Barry runs past him, punching him and knocking him off balance. He deals a few more blows before Zoom regains his composure, turning, only to be greeted by another cut out. This time of his mother.

"It's working..." Caitlin breathes out.

Harry takes Zoom's distracted state as an opportunity to shoot him with the cuff. Joe follows his lead and shoots another at him, securing him to the floor. Zoom drops, out of breath, confused and unfocused. He looks up to see Barry who walks up and removes Zoom's cowl.

"It's over." Barry breathes out.

"How'd you figure it out?" Zoom asks, now unmasked as the man they knew as Jay Garrick.

"You underestimated Caitlin." Barry scoffs.

"I had to get her to stop looking. Stop trying to save me." Jay admits.

"We could've saved you. You were one of us, we would've done anything to save your life." Barry argues, sounding angry. Almost disappointed. "If you'd let us. None of this needed to happen."

"This was always going to happen. You can't lock up the darkness. You try Barry, oh do you try. But we're not so different, you and me. What happened to us as kids. Our desire to be faster. Our need to be faster." Jay taunts. "You could have just as easily been like me."

"I'd never become like you." Barry argues.

"Oh really?" Jay says, raising to his feet. "That was smart. Using my parents against me. Family...such a weakness huh? How about I take a page out of your book?"

"It's done, Jay. You're done." Barry says, sounding almost sorry for Jay's misguided confidence.

Barry's eyes widen as blue lightning surrounds Jay.

A menacing smile spreads on his face, and his eyes disappear behind a sheath of black. "You can't lock up the darkness." He growls out in the voice distinctive to Zoom. His smile disappears as he punches the cuffs off his leg and takes off out of the warehouse.

Barry jumps, trying to catch him but misses. He takes off running. He races through every street in town twice with no sign of Zoom.

Barry stops outside of S.T.A.R. Labs and rips off his cowl. He drops to his knees, throwing his cowl to the ground. "No." He shakily breathes out.

***

"He's family..."

***

Cisco finally gets back to the labs to see Caitlin sitting in the cortex and they run to hug each other, glad both are okay.

"Barry?" Cisco asks.

"Outside. He needs a minute." She answers.

Joe and Harry run back into the cortex.

"Where did he go?" Joe asks.

Caitlin shakes her head. "I don't know." She reluctantly admits.

Harry tosses his gun across a desk. "Dammit!" He shouts. "This is why I didn't want to reopen the breaches. My daughter is in danger again!"

"She's fine." Caitlin assures him. "I checked in. She's still at the house." Harry sighs. "Joe, did you call Iris?" He nods.

"And Eddie says nothing happened at the precinct." Joe informs them.

They all let out a sigh of relief. Barry walks in, discouraged and leans against a wall.

"What do we do now?" He asks, not making eye contact with any of them.

"What did he mean by taking a page out of our book?" Joe asks.

"He's talking about family." Harry answers. "He's going after our families."

They all sit in silence for a moment, thinking about what to do next. Caitlin's head shoots up, a look of panic on her face.

"Joe." She says, her voice shaky. He turns to look at her. "Where was Wally tonight?"

Joe looks at her, fear on his face. "I asked him to stay at the house."

Caitlin turns to Barry. He runs out of the room. Her hands start shaking as she clenches them against the desk. Barry runs back into the room. He turns to Joe.

"Joe..." He breathes out, sounding apologetic.

"No." Caitlin and Joe both breathe out.

"The house is trashed." Barry tells them. "My speed, for Wally. Written on the wall."

Joe chokes and turns to face away from everyone, mumbling 'no' under his breath. Barry walks over to comfort Joe who is making his way out of the cortex. Caitlin nods to Harry and Cisco to have them come over to talk quieter with her.

"He won't wait long." She says quietly to them. "We need to decide what we're doing fast."

"What if we can weaponize the goggles. Attack him through a vibe." Cisco suggests.

"We don't have time to weaponize the goggles. And if it failed, Wally would still be there to take the blow." Harry says.

"What about another snatch-and-grab?" Caitlin suggests.

"We wouldn't have the element of surprise. And by the time we scale those cliffs, no. We'd never get there in time." Harry shuts down again.

Caitlin drops her head into her arms on the desk. "What do we do?" She groans into her arms.

Out in the hall, Joe is rested against a wall, bent over with his head in his hands.

"I can't lose my son, Bar. I just found him."

"You're not gonna lose him." Barry assures him, putting his hand on his back.

"How are we gonna get him back?" Joe asks hopelessly. He looks up at Barry and is greeted with a defeated smile. "Barry, you can't."

"There's no question here, Joe. There's no other way." Barry says softly. "He's family..."

"You can't give up your speed." Joe weakly argues.

Barry shakes his head. "That's not your decision."

Joe's face twists in pain and he stands up to hug Barry. Barry hugs him back, his face straight as he considers what he's about to do. The two walk back into the cortex to see the other three deep in discussion.

"Harry." Barry says as he walks in the room. "How would it work? Me giving Zoom my speed."

"You can't be serious." Harry scoffs straightening up and walking toward Barry.

"Decision is already made." Barry says.

Harry scoffs and shakes his head, smirking darkly. "Saving my earth..." He mocks. "Now you're damning them both." Harry walks out toward the workshop.

Barry clenches his jaw and turns away. Cisco stands up and walks toward him. "I'll go help him." Barry nods in appreciation. "Are you sure?" Cisco turns and asks before walking out.

Barry nods. "Get to work. We don't have much time."

Barry sighs and walks around the cortex, rubbing the back of his neck. He stands in front of the nook where his suit is rested on its stand. He takes a deep breath.

"He won." Barry says, turning to see Caitlin standing right next to him, looking at the suit. "After all this...he won."

"It's best for him if you believe that." Caitlin says, not turning to him. Barry turns his head and looks at her, confused. "He'll think he's won too. We'll mean nothing to him. He'll get cocky. We can beat him. We'll just need to be smarter."

"We won't have my speed." Barry reminds her.

"And speed is all he'll have." Caitlin turns to him, smiling softly. "Us? We have so much more. We have Harry's brain, Cisco's creativity, Joe's determination, and you. And everything that you give that has nothing to do with speed. Your kindness, your motivation, your courage, your love. Barry, you're willing to give up your speed for a boy you barely know just because he's family. That's what makes you the Flash. That's what makes us strong. Each other. This isn't over. This is just a setback."

"You honestly think we can still beat him?" He asks in disbelief.

"No doubt about it." She says.

Barry wraps his arms around her and the two stand and stare at the suit.

Barry sighs. "Wally is probably terrified."

Caitlin starts chuckling. He turns to looks at her. "I'm sorry." She says, biting her lip, trying not to laugh. "I just...he just moved to Central City. He barely even knows about metas. He's gonna be so confused."

Barry smiles and wraps his arm tighter around her. "You're crazy."

"Maybe that's what I bring to the table." She suggests, resting her head against his chest.

"You still think we can stop him. Crazy is definitely what you bring."

Harry and Cisco walk into the cortex, followed closely by Joe.

"We're ready." Harry informs them.

Barry turns to Caitlin who gives him a reassuring smile and nod. He turns back to Harry. "Let's do this."

***

"Take me."

***

Wally rests his head against the bars of the cell Zoom placed him in.

"What do you want?" He pleadingly asks the dark figure surrounded by blue lightning in front of him.

"Nothing you can give." Zoom growls back at him.

Wally jumps back at the sound of his voice. He regains his courage and steps forward. "Then why did you take me?"

"I need something from the Flash." Zoom answers.

"The Flash? You took the wrong person, man. I'm nothing to him."

Zoom laughs darkly. "On the contrary, Wally West." He emphasizes his name. "You're family. And family is nothing but a weakness." Zoom turns his head. "Isn't that right...Cisco?"

Wally looks up in hopes of seeing Cisco in the room but sees nothing. Zoom keeps his head turned.

Back on Earth 1, Cisco is vibing Zoom from Jay's metal helmet.

"Wally's alive." He assures them. "Jay's here. He can sense me."

Cisco's assumptions are confirmed when Zoom addresses him.

"He'll do it." Cisco informs Zoom. He pulls out of the vibe quick enough to miss the smirk that forms on Zoom's face.

Zoom soon appears in the cortex, Wally held up by his collar in Zoom's hand.

"Let him go!" Joe orders, gun in his hand pointed at Zoom.

"We had a deal." Zoom growls.

"My speed." Barry says, walking toward Zoom and Wally. "For Wally's life. Hand him over and it's yours."

Zoom pushes Wally forward, releasing him. Joe escorts a panicked and confused Wally out of the room.

"Let's get this over with." Barry says dryly.

Zoom removes his mask, fully revealing the arrogant smirk on his face. "After you...Flash."

Barry walks into the training room where Caitlin, Cisco, and Harry are waiting. Joe walks in after securing Wally in the time vault. Harry walks up to Jay holding a vial.

"This thing is how I stole the Flash's speed the first time. All Barry has to do is run and his Speed Force will transfer into this." Harry clicks the vial closed. "But only as long as I calibrate it."

Jay flicks up his eyebrow and his grin grows. "Get to work."

Harry raises the gun in his other hand.

"Harry." Caitlin softly scolds from across the room.

He turns to look at her and turns back toward Jay, not making eye contact. "One day...I'm gonna knock that smug expression clean off your face." He threatens before walking to the desk to calibrate the equipment. Jay just chuckles in response.

Barry leans to sit on the desk. "So, this was your plan all along huh?"

"Ever since the black hole opened over my city and showed me a new world. A new speedster." Jay explains. "I knew I had to come here. And once I got here, I knew what I had to do." He turns to look at Caitlin who's face is showing something most resembling disgust.

"Why the charade?" Joe asks. "Running around as the Flash."

"To give people hope detective." Jay explains. "So I could rip it away from them."

Barry's face scrunches in disgust. Nothing Jay has ever said has made him more angry than this did.

"It's so fun, pretending to be a hero." Jay says, smiling widely.

"You were never very good at it." Caitlin says dryly, her look of disgust holding steady.

Jay returns his gaze to her and holds it until Harry finishes and motions for Barry to go into the training room. Barry steps onto the treadmill. The others turn to watch as he starts running, lightning filling the room. The lightning starts to dim, and the running slows as the vial next to Harry fills up. As the levels of speed force in Barry's system reach zero, his body weakens and he loses his balance and strength, falling off the treadmill. Caitlin runs in to check on him.

"Barry." She breathes out as she kneels next to him.

"I'm okay." He assures her, reaching for her arm. "I'm okay."

They both turn in time to see Jay injecting himself with the speed force from Barry. Blue and yellow lightning circle around him, his eyes lighting up as he yells out in victory. Barry lets out a defeated sigh, sinking back against the platform the treadmill is on. Caitlin turns to look at him, only to see him ripped away from her.

Jay pins Barry against a pipe on the wall, choking him with a taunting look on his face.

"Thank you, Flash."

"Stop!" Caitlin yells. "He's not a threat to you anymore. Just let him go."

"I can't do that Caitlin." Jay says, his voice slightly softer than before, but still taunting as he smirks at Barry.

Caitlin pulls a tranq dart out of her pocket, stronger than what she usually keeps on her, and tries to catch Jay distracted, but is stopped when her hand is just inches from his neck. He grabs her wrist and harshly pins her to the wall just next to Barry, causing her to drop the dart. He looks, and upon realizing it's her, loosens his grip immediately but keeps hold of her wrist.

"Let him go." She begs.

He pulls Barry away from the wall and forces him against it harder as if to make a point to Caitlin. His stare is murderous and somehow still joyful.

"Take me." She says firmly.

He turns and stares intensely at her, his eyes slightly softening from the murderous glare they previously had.

"No." Barry chokes out.

His grip around Barry's throat tightens. She hears him choke and gasp next to her.

"Take me." She begs, her voice small and shaky.

Jay keeps his grip on Barry. A small smirk forms on his lips...

Barry takes in a deep breath as he falls to the floor, Caitlin and Jay disappearing.

"Caitlin!" Cisco yells as him and Harry run to the door Zoom just ran out of.

Barry is on his hands and knees, gasping for air, in the training room. His eyes scared, angry, and shocked, staring at the exit. "No."