~ Rooftop of Jitters ~

"You need to stop writing your blog," Barry said.

"People need to know that you exist!" Iris persisted.

"You're not hearing me!"

"My hearing is fine... It's just selective." she smiled.

"This isn't a laughing matter you could get hurt or worse death," he warns.

Barry knew she wasn't going to back down she was stubborn but he just has to keep an eye on her and see just how much she knew. It was the only way he could keep his promise to Joe and keep her safe.

The sound of sirens alerts them.

"To be continued?" she quizzed.

"Be back in a flash."

~ S.T.A.R. Labs ~

"Barry!?" Caitlin cried.

Barry was lying unconscious on the ground in a pool of his blood.

"Barry? Baby? Are you okay?" she placed her hand on his knee and he groaned. Her heart was pounding wildly in her throat, and black spots were starting to spring before her eyes.

"Caitlin! Breathe! We are not going to be able to help Barry if you have a panic attack!" Sophia calmed her.

With the help of Cisco and Sophia, she moved him to a med bed trying not to hurt him too badly. He groaned at every step anyway, and she felt her stomach clench. Who could have done this to him?

Caitlin took his blood pressure and hooked him up to a heart monitor. Then she took an x-ray. "Oh my.." Caitlin trailed off. "What happened to him?"

Cisco stared at the screen. "I'm not even a doctor and that looks bad."

She set his bones one after another, trying not to hear Barry's pained whimpers. Eventually, he passed out fully, and that made it a little easier. She couldn't give him any drugs; his metabolism would burn right through them.

"Hey, Bub. Welcome to the land of the living." Cisco grinned.

Barry blinked. "What?" He glanced at Caitlin. "Did I break something?"

"Ha good one" Caitlin muttered dryly.
"Yeah, just a little. 13 fractures, that's a new record, and that's just in your hand," Caitlin told him, tightening the hand brace. "You also have a concussion, 3 cracked ribs, and a bruised spleen. Even with your powers... you'll need a few hours to heal."

Barry nodded. "What exactly did you hit?" Harrison asked the question they were all wondering.

"A man," Barry said croakily. "A big, bad man. Every time I punched him he seemed unfazed like... a man of steel."

"So, you're telling me you fought Superman and survived," Sophia said.

"No. It was a different man of steel. His skin changed when I hit him. Like, it turned to metal."

Wells crossed his arms. "Interesting. A man of steel..."

"So, then you went after a metahuman. Alone. Dude, why didn't you call us?" Cisco exclaimed.

"I didn't know what he was," Barry grumbled, wincing as he sat up. Caitlin frowned at him. "Besides, I was off duty."

"You're lucky he didn't knock out your teeth. Those puppies don't grow back." Cisco teased.

"The thing is I have a feeling I knew him." Barry sighed.

"What do you mean?" Sophia asked.

"Well, he said something familiar but he's going to hurt someone if we don't stop him. So, how do I fight a man of steel?"

"We will find a way." Dr. Wells assured him. "But tonight, you heal."

~ The Next Day ~

Barry Allen wakes up.

"Oh my god you're awake, how do you feel? are you okay?" Caitlin rambled throwing herself into his arms resting her head in the nook of his neck.

"I'm okay, Cait," he said kissing her.

"Dude, is this the guy you saw last night?" Cisco interrupted holding up his tablet with a photo of Tony on it.

"Tony Woodward. He was such an asshole." Sophia said gritting her teeth.

"He used to bully me and her," Barry said.

"Wow, your childhood nemesis is now an unstoppable metahuman... that's seriously fucked up," Cisco said astounded.

"I had a nemesis, Lexi La Roach. She used to put gum in my hair." Caitlin said.

"Jake Pucket. If I didn't let him copy my homework he'd give me a swirly," Cisco said with a blank expression.

"Now that we've established that we are all uber-nerds what are we going to do about, Tony?" Barry redirected the conversation to the present danger before them.

"We're going to train you. Karate Kid style." Cisco said unveiling a metal robot.

"I call him, Girder," Cisco said proudly.

"For the record." Caitlin was quick to put in. "Not my idea."

"Alright, let's do this, baby!" Cisco yelled, using his remote to jar the machine into action.

"I have ice and bandages standing by."

With a sigh, Barry turned back to "Girder.", and flashed into motion. He rapidly punched the metal side of Cisco's creation, but he didn't even make a dent. Girder lit out one metal hand and hit him in the arm. Barry fell to the ground with a yell of pain.

Caitlin snapped. "I told you this was a stupid ass idea."

"I'm pretty sure I just dislocated my shoulder." Barry wheezes pitifully.

Caitlin and Sophia helped him up and led him to the checkup table. Caitlin carefully grasped his wrist and moved his arm. He groaned. "Okay, not going to lie this is going to be quick, but extremely painful."

His phone then rings. Barry picks it up.

"Hey, Eddie," he answered breathing out heavily.

"We found the stolen vehicle. So, do you mind coming down and do your thing?" Eddie said.

Barry listened as Eddie relayed to him the address of the crime scene while watching as Caitlin impatiently looked down at her watch indicating to him that he needed to pick up his pace if he wanted his shoulder popped back in.

"Great... I'll see you in a sec."

"Okay... Let's do this," Barry said taking in a deep breath as he eased back onto the bed.

"So, Barry, when you say you were off duty last night, you were visiting Iris again weren't you in disguise? Because that would be reckless she could get hurt or worse."

"She's stubborn. I tried to tell her not to write about me but she won't stop. I have to keep an eye on her to see how much she knows."

"Okay, but you better know what you're doing." she then sighed "This is gonna hurt, Babe," Caitlin said, and then she popped his arm into place.

~ Much Later ~

Barry flashed into an abandoned warehouse, dust and paper blowing in his wake. Then he flashed off again, looking for any sign of Girder. There wasn't.

When he arrived back where he had started, he saw steel leaking out of a large container. So, this was how Girder had been made. He bent down closer to examine it, and noticed footprints in the puddle of hardened metal on the ground, leading away to somewhere.

Barry followed the footprints, noticing a few bottles of beer on a table, and a few rolls of cash. He pressed a finger to his com. "This is definitely the place."

Then he turned and was met with a metal fist to the face. Barry flew across the room, pain blinding him for a moment. He crashed into a filing cabinet and fell to the ground. "There's nowhere left to run." Girder growled and upturned the cabinet.

Barry's last thought was, What will Caitlin say when she finds out I'm dead? He then blacked out.

"Barry!?" Sophia yelled.

"Barry, where are you?" Cisco caught a glimpse of some red. "Sophia, he's over here!" He points.

The three ran toward a collapsed filing cabinet. "Barry?!" Caitlin cried. She gasped when she saw his bloodied face peeking out from underneath the wreckage.

"Please say something so we know you're okay." her stomach was in knots, and she felt like she was going to vomit.

Cisco grasped Barry's arm and began to gently pull. "Ow..." Barry moans in pain.

"Get him out of there!" Caitlin yelled.

Caitlin, Cisco, and Sophia managed to remove Barry from the debris and bring him back to the van. Caitlin was near hysterics the whole time until Barry took her hands and met her eyes.

"Caitlin... I'm going to be okay." He whispers.

She calmed down some after that, which was probably good because Dr. Wells was far from calm when they brought him back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

~ Much Later ~

"He stopped!"

"He's miles away..." Sophia paused slowly glancing over to Caitlin. "Exactly 5.3 miles away" she finished.

He was going to do it. Caitlin felt her heart skip a beat.

"Barry? Barry, you there?"

"Cait, I have to try!"

"Barry, wait!" Caitlin begged and leaped out of her seat.

"No way he's going to do it. GO! MAN GO!" Cisco enthused beside her.

"SUPERSONIC PUNCH BABY! WOOHOO!" Cisco shouted jumping up in the air.

"I'm alright, Snowflake," Barry whispers back.

She let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes leaning forward she managed to hold back the tears that had started to fill her eyes. Thank god he was okay. she could finally relax. It was over.

~ S.T.A.R. Labs ~

Sophia and Barry were doing a victory dance outside of Tony's cell.

"Guy's that had to feel awesome." Cisco grinned.

"You have no idea." Barry agreed.

"Yeah finally getting some sweet ass revenge," Sophia said.

"All I wanna know is which childhood bully are we gonna take down next Mine or Caitlin's?" Cisco asked.

"I vote mine dude, don't walk away!
I'm serious!"

"Caitlin's" Barry called back.

Caitlin grinned. "Ha."

"That's favoritism right there that is!" Cisco protested.

"Dude, I'll always choose Caitlin you should know this by now," Barry said and kisses her softly.