[screaming and explosions]
♪ ♪
- Look at them praying for a miracle that isn't coming.
Who knows, maybe it's my curse
to leave one betrayal behind,
only to find a greater one here amongst the stars?
They could've stopped this,
but none of them had the strength to do
what must be done,
but I do.
♪ ♪
[whirring]
♪ ♪
- So what's it like walking to go get coffee
when you can run 4,000 miles an hour?
- It's nice slowing down every once and a while,
even for the Flash.
Is Frost joining us? - No.
Last night I sent her on a two-week "Eat, Pray, Love" tour
because she's still pining over Mark Blaine.
- I thought she was mad at him all summer.
- And fall, but she still misses him
even though I told her
he's a jerk who is never gonna change.
- Let me guess, she didn't care?
- Yep, she said,
"The heart wants what the heart wants."
- She's always been such a romantic.
- I have learned one thing
watching Frost go through all of this.
For the first time since Ronnie passed,
I think I'm really ready to get back out there.
I'm gonna start dating again.
- That's awesome. I'm really happy for you.
- Thank you.
Now, if I could just get some oat milk for my coffee.
[phone rings]
- Two bullet trains on the Calvert railway
are gonna collide. - Barry,
that's 50 miles south of Keystone City.
- Yeah.
[dramatic music]
[train horns blaring]
♪ ♪
- Ladies and gentlemen, authorities are now confirming
that despite a massive explosion,
caused by today's railway accident,
no lives were lost during this horrific event.
It appears our city has the Flash to thank once more.
- That was amazing.
You got everyone to safety in what, 20 seconds?
- 12, actually.
Try your coffee.
♪ ♪
- Wow, you have seriously leveled up.
If only you could teach Frost how to do the same.
I mean, bypassing anyone who calls themselves Chillblaine,
I think, would save for a lot of heartbreak.
- I mean, Frost dating anybody is a first for her.
Right? And everybody you dated before Ronnie,
I'm guessing, that was you leveling up.
You know, it's a process.
Maybe just give Frost space to do the same.
♪ ♪
- Captain Kramer, while supportive
of your transparency, you have been criticized
for your decision to disband the city's meta-task force.
Some people thinking that it will
increase meta-crime across the city.
Do you care to comment?
- Once I came to terms with being a meta,
it helped me realize how important it is
for everyone in Central City to receive
equal protections under the same laws.
- So you felt as though the meta-task force
was unfairly targeting
marginalized sections of the populace.
- Yes.
Which is why its time has passed.
- All right, thank you, Captain Kramer.
This is Iris West-Allen for "Citizentopia."
Thank you for listening.
That was great. - [sighs]
- It was great. Come in.
Allegra, you remember Captain Kramer.
- Hi.
Well, I'll--I have an appointment
with Chief Singh, so...thanks.
- You wanted to see me?
- Yes, so the last six months have been pretty intense.
- I'll say. We have three new reporters,
an IT intern, and an office manager now.
Plus, online circulation's over two million,
and your new podcast is frickin' brilliant.
- Thank you. - Oh,
we need faster Internet.
Should we call the new landlord?
- Sue Dearbon bought the building.
I think we can fix our own Internet.
- Roger that,
but seriously, I just don't see how you do it all
and still find time for an op-ed each week.
- Well, I can't.
So the bullpen needs a supervising editor,
someone who decides which stories we cover
and then assigns and pre-edits copy,
which is why I am promoting you.
- Wh--Iris... [stammers]
I've barely been staff for a year.
I--I'm not ready for that.
- Well, I think you are.
- Well, you do realize you have people on staff now
who are more qualified to handle that sort of thing.
I mean, Vanya?
She's got 10 years of experience under her belt.
Or that annoying Taylor just graduated summa cum laude
from Barnard College. Even the old guy
was a war correspondent in Beirut.
- Aariz is my age.
Girl.
♪ ♪
Look, now that we're CC Citizen Media,
I am busier with more and more administrative duties.
- Iris, are you sure?
- You got this. I believe in you.
♪ ♪
What is this?
- A candlelit pizza dinner
from our favorite place in Milan.
- Oh, thank God. I was too tired to cook.
- I can't imagine why.
Team Citizen has been in overdrive these days.
Plus, Deon's still helping to stabilize
your temporal sickness with regular treatments.
It's a lot to handle.
- I told you, I'm fine.
Plus, you're not exactly
an underachiever yourself, Flash.
Nice work at Calvert Railway. - Thanks.
- I guess we both earned a night off.
- And without kids too.
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great
having Bart and Nora stop in all the time from 2049.
- But if we're ever gonna have a baby...
- Uh-huh.
- We need some alone time, Mr. Allen.
- Mm-hmm.
[knock on door]
- Great. - Yeah.
Ray? - In the flesh.
- What--what brings you to Central City?
- Oh, well you guys said I could always crash here
if ever I was in town, and I'm here attending CCTC,
but my hotel was overbooked. And it's impossible
to get a conference hotel room at the last minute.
So I figured I'd take you up on your very kind offer.
- Oh, that makes sense. - Does it?
- Are you guys having pizza? - Um...
- Is it gluten free?
- No, it's from Italy. - Oh.
- So where is Nora?
Did she come with you?
- No, she's saving the world
one kid at a time and loving it.
Am...am I interrupting?
- No. - Never.
- Really? Great!
So is this a sofa bed,
or, like, a sheets and blankets on top sort of thing?
- Uh, there is a guest bedroom at the top of the stairs.
- Ah, you guys are the best.
I'll get the rest of my bags later.
both: Okay.
- I thought he could shrink things.
- Yeah.
- Truck's at the loading dock.
- Copy that.
Transport team's here.
What the hell?
♪ ♪
- In three seconds, the two on the outside
will draw their weapons and advance
while the other two hold their positions.
Jack, you're up.
[whirring]
[groaning]
- I could've melted your faces instead.
Guess you drew a lucky hand.
- Ooh, their minds are full of fear, Ten.
Show them who has the winning hand.
[groaning]
♪ ♪
- Jackpot.
- Oh, crap.
- My King, you know the drill.
[groaning]
♪ ♪
- Guess he folded. - Well, that's no fun.
- Either way, that was damn fine work,
my Queen.
- Well it's easy
when you can see each card before it's dealt.
- My Queen.
♪ ♪
- Now what?
- We raise the stakes.
- There you go, Iris.
- Uh, Ray, how often do you talk to Sara
and all the other Legends?
- Well, not very often.
Nate and I do have a standing drinks night once a month,
but he's rarely in the same century or year.
Yeah, that may be why I haven't heard from him lately.
- I'm sorry. - It's okay.
Kind of.
Yeah, it was really hard leaving the Legends,
but since then, Nora and I have been more connected than ever.
And, uh, you know I've been able to
get back to my other true love, pure research.
Plus, my life's more balanced now.
It's not just, "I'm the Atom" and science takes a backseat.
You know? So uh, yeah.
To, uh--to second acts.
[knock on door]
both: I'll get it.
- This year's legacy honoree in the house.
- Hey, Chester, yeah. Come on in.
- Okay.
- Chester, Ray. Ray, Chester.
- Ah, so you're the new team tech genius.
Nice to meet you, Chester.
- Likewise. I've been a big fan of yours
ever since reading your papers on quantum qubits.
- So you're pretty stoked about the Con this year, huh?
- Oh, are you kidding me?
Ever since I found out you were gonna be
this year's legacy honoree, I, kind of, took the liberty
of signing up to be the CCTC volunteer.
I'm gonna be your liaison for the entire event.
If that's--if that's cool? Like, if you're--
like, if you're all right? - Sounds great.
- Cool 'cause I already have
your whole itinerary planned to sweet perfection.
- So um, I'm late for work.
So Ray, Chester, I'll pop by the convention center later.
See ya. I gotta go. - Don't you dare.
[groans] - Ah, he forgot his breakfast.
- And that's a bracelet.
Uh, you know what? I have to go, too.
[laughs] Deadlines.
Uh, you got the list of questions
for the interview later, right? - Sure do.
See you at 4:00.
- Heard some paroled ex-cons
went shopping without their wallets.
- OG meta-criminals, actually.
Jack, Ten, King, and the Queen,
call themselves the Royal Flush Gang.
They were Central City's very first meta-threat.
- You work that case, too?
- Actually, no.
The first time they pulled a job, I was...
Kind of under the weather.
It's weird. Their MO is
stealing cash from casinos, not microchips.
- Well, at least no one was killed.
This time.
- Everything okay, Captain?
- This is the kind of case
the meta-task force would've been assigned to.
- Um, so your mimic powers--
how exactly do they work?
- They only activate in times of stress,
when my adrenaline spikes, and the effects are temporary.
- That's good to--yeah.
- Allen, does me being a meta
make working for me more difficult?
- No, ma'am.
It's already tough enough as it is.
I'll let you know as soon as I find something.
- Good.
- [sighs]
- So I've gone over everyone's ideas, and they're great,
but what I'd like to do is start
with last night's break-in at Mercury Labs.
[scoffs and groaning]
- It's not news, not in this city.
- It's a high-tech theft at a huge R&D corporation.
- Which happens all the time in this town.
Was anyone killed... - No.
- Was the Flash involved... - No, he isn't.
- Tragedy sells papers, folks. - But--
- Sorry. - That's not the point.
- We should look into the rumors of embezzlement
inside the mayor's office.
Scooping a major scandal before our competition...
- Will make Iris happy.
Get in touch with someone at the mayor's office.
- I got 1,000 words to finish
on the Sharks' new GM for Iris, too.
- Wait, what 1,000 words?
- Well, I know the mayor's executive assistant.
We were in the same undergrad sorority...
- I need someone on this Mercury break-in.
- So she'll tell me everything. - Uh, Vanya,
I really need you to run with this tech heist.
- I'm gonna follow up on the Calvert collision this morning.
My source in the county planner's office
says it's gonna cost several million to repair the damage.
Talk about a budget crisis.
Plus, that is what Iris would want.
- Iri--hold on. Wait, you guys.
Seriously?
- We found this at the train collision site.
- I thought Kramer had you working
on the Mercury heist instead?
- Uh, yeah. I am. - You are,
but you think that it's related to the Calvert train collision?
- I will know in a minute.
While working evidence from the Mercury Labs heist,
I found charred marks on the guard's weapons,
marks exactly like those.
Yeah, I was right.
Heat signature's the same
as the burn marks on the weapons at Mercury Labs.
Laser burns delivered with pinpoint precision,
Jack's trademarks.
- Okay, okay.
Even if it is the Royal Flush Gang
behind all of this, why?
Why would they go through all the trouble
of causing a massive railway collision
when they haven't even stolen anything yet?
- I asked myself that, too.
Then I found out what was being carried in this case.
A bleeding-edge beryllium core
which is a highly unstable power source.
- And that's what caused the trains to explode.
- No. A beryllium-based detonation
would've leveled a surrounding 10-mile radius.
- [gasp]
The core wasn't in the case when the trains collided.
- Which means, the real question is,
why is the Royal Flush Gang
changing their MO to become tech thieves?
[door creaks]
Korber, what's going on?
- Iron Heights just lost power for three seconds,
during which every cell door unlocked and opened.
Now they've got 1,000 inmates roaming the facility.
- Barry, if they get out... - Yeah, I know.
♪ ♪
- Barry, what happened?
[men shouting]
- I got the inmates back in their cells
before anyone got hurt,
but we've got a bigger problem.
Looks like the Royal Flush Gang just leveled up too.
♪ ♪
- Well, I am impressed.
A schedule, timed to the minute,
including a coffee stop to recharge.
Best handler ever.
- Oh, you're getting a whole lot more
than java in Jitters, my friend.
How about a dozen CCTC entrepreneurial hopefuls,
each with their own game-changing startup idea
ready to pitch in three minutes or less?
To Ray Palmer,
business behemoth, scientific genius.
[applause]
[laughs] Am I right?
Okay, okay, come on.
Let's go make some dreams come true.
- Chester. - Yeah.
- What made you think that I--
- Oh, oh, I--I just know how much you used
startup investments to expand Palmer Tech.
You just got, like, a nose for science,
but I also know you've been out of the game for a little while.
So I figured I'd help jumpstart the magic.
- Okay. - And don't worry
about Tech Con, 'cause your interview with Iris
isn't for another 90 minutes.
So we got time. Hey, got your back, man.
- Thank you but I'm not worried about my schedule.
- Oh, right, right.
You need a cronut first, obviously.
Excuse me-- - Chester, Chester.
Chester, I--
I don't want to start another tech business.
It's like I told Barry and Iris,
the only thing I want to pursue these days is a balanced life.
That's why I haven't worn the Atom suit in ages.
- [nervous laugh]
But you're a--a Legend?
- [chuckles] Was a Legend.
Now, I suppose, that's what Team Flash is for.
Look, I know how that might sound for the Atom,
but Ray Palmer's priorities are
his wife and working in his own lab.
I--I hope that you can understand that.
- I-- yeah, no, no.
I--I get it, and--
I am--I'm so sorry.
- It's okay, it's okay. Ah, but we should--
- Everyone--
today's pitch sessions are officially
cancelled. - What?
- No, that's not fair. - Guys? Guys?
We are impinging on a great man's time.
So get.
Go on, go on.
- Sorry, everyone.
I still believe in you.
- I like your sweater.
And I will, um...
I will leave you to get your privacy on.
[chuckles]
And again, I am...
I'm so sorry.
- Chester, I...
♪ ♪
[sighs]
♪ ♪
- Thank you so much for coming.
It's so exciting to have you here.
When I founded this conference five years ago,
I never would've dreamed we'd get coverage like this.
- Well, this is pretty impressive.
- Hey, your press pass gets you into our afterparties.
Are you a fan of filk music by any chance?
- Boss? Excuse me.
Can we talk?
- We'll gab later. [laughs]
- Hey.
- So I totally blew it at the office.
I told you, I wasn't ready.
- You got resistance from the staff.
- They barely listened to me.
I'm pretty sure they think I don't have enough experience,
which I don't, and they think that
my suggestions for which stories to cover are wrong.
- Yeah, I figured that might happen.
- Then why put me in charge?
- Well, because you can handle it.
And dealing with this is a part
of growing into your new position.
- Well, I am not growing. I am crashing and burning.
Iris, I can't do this.
- Yes, you can.
- Well, how do you know?
- Because you're exactly what CCC Media needs.
You have a point of view that's entirely your own,
and you know this city better than anyone in that room.
You grew up here.
You not only survived Iron Heights,
you came out on the other side a hero.
- I could melt Taylor's face.
- You went from juvenile delinquent
to voice of the people,
and I'm talking about your writing, not your meta-powers.
Your articles speak to people because you're one of them.
That's your point of view.
It's also how CCC Media speaks to the city
and why people respond so strongly.
- Okay, but being a journalist
and being in charge are way different.
- Look, I know that it's scary,
but think how you leveled up as a meta.
I'm sure that was scary, too.
- Try terrifying,
but somehow I knew I could handle an upgrade.
- Okay, then do that at the office, too.
Your point of view is perfect for this company.
You've already learned how to own it.
Now go, sell it. Go.
- Sell it.
- Turns out the Royal Flush Gang
kidnapped a prisoner named Jared Haywood.
Had any luck tracking them down?
- Not yet.
- What about the Mercury Labs chip?
- Chester's still trying to figure out
why the Royal Flush Gang would need it.
- Okay. - Not anymore.
Turns out that chip's so cutting edge,
it has, like, a thousand different applications, so...
sorry. I blew it.
Seems to be my thing today.
- Hey,
what's going on, Chester?
I'm sensing a whole lot of sadness.
- Yeah, aren't you supposed to still be with Ray?
- I have resigned as Ray's liaison.
It turns out I messed that up, too.
Now I'm, like, dead to him.
Oh, my God, Cecil, I am--I'm so sorry.
I shouldn't have said that. - No.
No, no, it's okay. Hey...
you gotta go easy on yourself.
- How?
The day I'm having?
I feel like I might as well just gamble my per diem away
at the craps table with Grandma Runk.
I mean, Tech Con's paying in cryptocurrency this year,
which barely feels like real money,
even though it totally is.
- What if the Royal Flush Gang didn't change their MO?
Chester, can we find out
if any STAR City casinos also take cryptocurrency?
- Yeah.
Hot damn. Turns out they all do,
'cause they'll happily take your money however they can.
And check this out.
These casinos have over 50 mil in their digital coffers.
- So what exactly would the Royal Flush Gang need
to pull off a heist like this?
- A computer with a next-level microchip...
A massive power source to run it...
And an expert in cyber espionage to execute the hack.
♪ ♪
- They didn't change their MO.
They just leveled up.
Okay, how do we stop them?
- The second the hack starts,
I can trace it and ping the location.
- And I'll be ready.
- So it's all done?
- Transfer completed.
Who wants to be a millionaire?
- I do.
- Exactly, and since more people
means smaller shares for us...
- Someone's out of chips.
- What the hell, man?
We planned this for years, and now you're gonna kill me?
- Of course not.
Jack is.
- I'm all in.
♪ ♪
- It's over, people.
Haywood's back in Iron Heights.
Who wants to go next?
- Ah, usually, I know when to fold them.
You know 50 million--it's a lot to leave on the virtual table.
- And since my Queen is a psychic who knows everything
you're going to do before you do it,
go ahead, Flash, we call.
- Four to one, I like these odds.
- Go ahead, Flash-y, pick a card, any card.
♪ ♪
Execute a full house maneuver, all of you, now.
♪ ♪
- [groans]
♪ ♪
- Hey, bud.
♪ ♪
- What? This is impossible.
I read your mind. I saw what you were planning,
and then I trumped your hand by going all in.
How did you-- - You can read minds.
I can think at super speed.
- Your thoughts-- after I read them,
you reshuffled the deck.
- I guess the house doesn't always win.
♪ ♪
- I'm so sorry, folks.
I know today did not go as planned,
but the rocky road of science will not stop me
from bringing you the best Tech Con coverage ever.
I-- - Hey, Chester, you left
before I could thank you for helping--
- Yo, yo, it--it's my fellow science geek, CSI Barry Allen.
- Hi. - Good to see you, man.
Good to see you. - Yes.
- So ixnay on the ashFlay. - Yeah.
- Thanks for coming to my livestream, dude.
- For sure. - And this is
his first Tech Con ever.
- Somehow that's true. - Yeah.
Yeah, so Barr. - Yeah.
- How awesome is all this? - Oh, it's pretty awesome.
Have you seen the Magnus Labs' Saturn Simulation?
- Oh, dude, I was in it. - You can get in it?
Hey, Ray.
Hey, this is legacy honoree Ray Palmer.
Hey, come say hi.
Have you seen some of these displays?
- Yeah, I mean, the imagination on display
is just stellar. Hey, Chester--
- Welcome to my livestream, Mr. Palmer.
But hey, it's been a great first day of webcasting.
So how about we take a break?
- Good, good 'cause then we can talk about--
- See you in ten, party people.
- Hold this, please. - Okay.
- Talk about what happened earlier.
- See ya.
Well, he's not avoiding me.
- Chester surprised me earlier with a pitch fest
to mentor aspiring scientists in the intention
of forming a startup with one of them.
- I--that sounds great.
- And it would've been before, but I...
I've grown a lot the last few months.
- So you don't miss any of this?
- I'm still a scientist, Barry.
- [chuckles]
- But, you know, if I start another big tech company,
next thing I know, I get lost in all this again.
This is all so intoxicating,
and I--I don't want to fall back into the trap.
- I get that, but,
I mean, I'm not the same that I was
the first time I put on the cowl either.
You know I'm faster, more confident,
more at ease with myself.
- Yeah, you've grown too.
- Yeah but one of the ways that's happened
is learning to take time out to help Team Flash grow, too.
Yeah, I've learned just as much from them
as they've learned from me.
It's like being a CSI, every day I work
with all my fellow officers in all departments.
- I mean, I do miss scientific collaboration.
Just like I told Chester, I'm not a Legend anymore,
and, uh, I don't have the CCPD.
- So what?
You're Ray Palmer, legacy honoree.
If you want something that doesn't exist, invent it.
[light music]
♪ ♪
- [sighs]
This copy is damn well-written.
What exactly are you looking for?
- If you even know.
- Look, these stories aren't bad.
They're well-sourced, thorough,
but CCC Media is about more than just providing facts.
It's the voice of the people,
which means it needs to have something to say.
- It's literally the opposite of objective journalism.
How about we leave the editorializing to Iris?
- Okay, it's right there in the name,
"Central City Citizen."
Yeah, you guys landed some pretty major interviews,
but every person's voice in this city deserves to be heard,
not just the most famous or high-profiled ones.
- So what, we're not even supposed to talk
to the DA or the mayor anymore?
- Yes, talk to them,
but then go talk to the janitor who cleans the mayor's office
or a mom working two jobs just to pay her bills,
because corruption in this city--
it affects them more than anyone.
Don't you guys see?
When we're at our best,
our readers see themselves reflected in our stories.
So try again,
but this time, remember who you're writing for.
- You've already accomplished so much,
and now you're a CCTC legacy honoree.
What's next for you? Retirement?
- [chuckles] Uh...
Well, honestly, I...
I'm not sure.
That question's come up for me a lot today.
And, uh, you know I have been doing a ton of research lately,
but I also don't want to repeat my previous achievements.
So um...
I guess I'm having conflicting thoughts about it.
It's a--it's a tough decision.
So you know what?
Maybe--maybe we should all find out together
next year.
[applause]
- Okay, and on that note,
let's thank Ray Palmer for joining us today.
[cheers and applause]
[gasps]
♪ ♪
- You all should run.
♪ ♪
While you still can.
[voice echoing discordantly]
- Everybody, go.
- Go.
[screaming]
- Flash, don't make this difficult.
Show yourself.
♪ ♪
- I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone.
Why don't you tell me what it is you want?
- Of course.
I came a long way to find you, Flash.
Now that I have...
I'm going to kill you.
- Whoever you are,
if you're looking for a fight, you found one.
♪ ♪
- Oh, snap.
- Time to let Flash do what he does best
and kick some butt.
- You're nothing like I expected,
not that it matters.
Those who were once good
die just as easily.
[whirring]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Okay, well, that's not good.
- What is that thing? - Oh, I'm picking up
some seriously advanced tech readings.
- You just had that thing in your back pocket?
- Oh, no. I just picked it up from right there.
- Oh, yeah. Tech Con, right.
- I think Barry's going to need a helping hand.
- Wait, what?
Like a superhero team-up with the Atom?
What changed your mind?
♪ ♪
- My friends-- an old one and a new one--
but I'm still not a Legend.
- Yeah, you're a hell of a lot more.
♪ ♪
- [groaning]
[groaning and screams]
♪ ♪
- I was born amongst the stars, Flash.
Trapping me in a vacuum in pointless.
Now, surrender,
and I promise you won't suffer.
♪ ♪
- And the suit still fits.
Hey, you been working out?
- Yeah, thank you for noticing.
♪ ♪
- All right, you ready? - Yeah.
- Flash, Atom, who are you firing at?
- Yeah, yeah, he's right behind you.
♪ ♪
- [groans] Now I know how Diggle feels.
- This guy isn't just strong,
I think he's messing with our minds.
- Correct. This isn't your fight, Atom.
Now, leave while you still can.
- Everyone has a weakness.
- I'll keep him occupied.
♪ ♪
- You can't fool me with a speed mirage, Flash.
My mind is too powerful.
- Wait, you said I was good once.
What happened to me?
You owe me that.
- As you wish.
♪ ♪
Bear witness to a coming Armageddon
that you create ten years from now,
one that destroys your own planet.
It already happened, Flash.
That's why I, Despero, have to kill you.
It's how I save our world.
[roars]
[groans]
♪ ♪
[groans] No!
- Man, whatever you did... - Anytime, Flash.
- Hey. - Hey, you guys okay?
- Yeah.
- Where'd that thing go?
- I don't know.
- Barry, you know you're not destined
to destroy the world, right?
- Yeah, I know, but the visions
Despero showed me seemed so real,
and he said, our world.
- But what does that even mean?
- I don't know, yet.
- What if he's mind-punking you?
Like how he made you and Ray see
an illusion during your fight.
- I don't think he was.
Every test I've run on Barry shows
that he's completely fine, mentally and physically.
- Well, I scanned the residual feelings
that Despero left behind inside your mind,
and there was no doubt Despero was telling the truth.
He really did see those things.
- Which means everyone's in danger.
- No.
No, there's no way that you're the bad guy in this situation.
What we need to do right now is find out the truth.
- I have a bad feeling it's gonna find us
once Despero gets back from wherever Ray sent him.
- Yeah, well,
the tech inside his belt was so complex,
I could barely recognize the navigation system.
So instead of sending him to a specific location,
I tried a random setting.
Who knows where he went?
- Or when he's coming back.
- Barr, how do we beat a ten-foot-tall red alien
who thinks like Grodd and punches like Fuerza?
- By figuring out what kind of alien he is.
Get that, you may have some idea
of what his weaknesses are.
- Like Kryptonians... - And kryptonite.
- Great idea. I'll call Alex in National City.
- Yeah, so what do we do?
- Well, he took our best shots like they were nothing.
- We need to be ready. - For what?
- The fight of our lives.
- Iris,
this account of Despero
fighting Flash and Atom is amazing.
Is Barry okay?
- Yeah, it's just, Despero
is like no one we've ever faced before.
Any notes?
- Just one. Publish this now.
People need to read it.
You saw everything and survived.
The city needs to know it can too.
- By the way, I read the revised articles
that you had Vanya, Aariz, and Taylor write.
- And?
- We're going straight to print with all of them.
[chuckles] - [sighs]
- Whatever you did to inspire quality work like this,
it must've gotten through.
- Thank God,
but they're still not happy with me.
- Hmm, welcome to management.
♪ ♪
- Are you sure you don't need me to stick around?
Nora can handle any
supernatural emergencies while I'm gone.
And like you said, Despero could come back at any minute.
- It's okay, we're on it.
And if Despero comes back again...
- The Atom will embiggen. Yeah?
No? All right.
Keep working on that one. - No, it...
- Chester, what you did back there at Jitters--
- It was a huge mistake, I know.
- Was the best gift possible.
Between that and helping Barry again as the Atom,
I have now realized that there is
a middle ground to this whole balance thing,
which is why I want to return the favor.
So what if I created a non-profit organization
to fund young scientists, like your Jitters friends?
- [laughs] That would be awesome.
- Great. I was thinking I could call it,
the Quincy P. Runk Foundation, if that's okay.
Barry told me about your father.
♪ ♪
Oh. [laughs]
- Uh, yeah if you ever need,
like, a consultant or anything like that.
- I know who to call.
Oh and Barry,
there's one sure way to prove to Despero
that you'd never destroy the world.
- What's that?
- Just show him who you really are,
like you do with this team each and every day.
♪ ♪
- Barry, we got an alien signal coming in hot.
- Barry, are you sure about this?
- Yeah, it's like Ray said,
the only way to convince Despero
I'm not a threat is to show him who I really am.
[whirring]
♪ ♪
- Prepare to die, Flash.
- Every life ends sooner or later.
- Wise words from a dead man.
- Despero, I'm not gonna fight you again.
- Really? I'm disappointed.
Striking down a defenseless foe?
Well, there's no pleasure in that.
- So you enjoy killing?
- Twist my words at you own risk.
- You wanted to kill me. I'm not running anywhere.
- Then neither am I.
In another time, on another world,
we could've fought side by side, you and I.
There's great strength in you, Flash,
but I've seen your future.
The lives you take, the betrayals you revel in.
You're the most dangerous kind of killer
because you hide in the body of a hero.
- I'm not a killer.
I'm not whatever you think I am.
I can prove it if you let me show you the truth.
Or you can take an innocent life
just to prove you're right.
- You're either very stupid or very brave.
I can't decide which.
- Well, find out. Scan my mind.
See for yourself, then decide.
♪ ♪
- I see no deception in your mind.
But I do see truth.
And honor.
Flash, you're asking me to risk allowing
the future I've already witnessed to unfold.
I'm sorry.
But there's too many lives at stake.
Don't you see?
This is why I came back.
This is the purpose I swore to uphold.
- What if you're wrong about me?
I've spent my entire life protecting this world.
All I'm asking for is a chance to prove
I'd never turn my back on it.
- Why should I believe you?
♪ ♪
- Because my name's Barry Allen,
and I've nothing to hide.
- Your boldness impresses me, Flash...
And it's earned you a stay of execution.
You now have seven Earth days to prove that you won't become
the monster I've already witnessed in the future.
If you can't convince me in that time,
or if I find any trace of a darker nature,
I will end your existence.
♪ ♪
- Greg, move your head. e.