Episode 21 - The Trap

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"Flash Missing. Vanishes in Crisis." Cisco said looking over the title of the newspaper article.

Barry's eyes followed as Cisco read out loud unable to comprehend what he was seeing and hearing. What the hell was this?! As his eyes scanned over the candid photo of The Flash, Barry focused on the article. He needed to know what happened.

"After an epic street battle with the Reverse-Flash, our city's very own Scarlet Speedster disappeared in an explosion of light," Barry mumbled as he read the words projected in front of him.

"Barry, look at the date." Sophia voiced.

Barry then looked up to see the date of the newspaper article and that read: April 25, 2026.

"April 25, 2026... Guys, when I fought the Reverse-Flash during Christmas he said that we'd be fighting for centuries."

"Wait, you can't really believe that this is from the future, right?" Caitlin said already dismissing it.

"That means Dr. Wells or whoever the hell he is... is also from..." Sophia said beginning to piece things together.

"...The future," Barry said finishing her statement.

"I have to say I'm really digging the brighter red suit and the white on the symbol that's dope," Cisco spoke smiling and admiring the suit.

"Wait a second, suppose we now change the color on your suit will it be because we got the idea from this picture that would mean that we're living a causal nexus... wow this is so trippy. Like Marty in the polaroid trippy." Cisco's said his voice pitching up ever so slightly in excitement.

"Hey, look at the byline." Caitlin pointed out. "It was written by Iris West-Thawne." She said.

"Looks like Eddie and Iris are married in the future," Sophia said with a smile on her face.

Suddenly the article in front of them was replaced by a 3D hologram of a beautiful woman. She is tall and slender with long blonde locks and piercing blue eyes.

"Good Evening Barry Allen." It spoke.

"Ugh, H-Hi! Y-You know who I am?" Barry stammered as he looked on at the hologram.

"Well of course. Barry Allen. Director of Central City Police CSI division. Also, known as The Flash. Founding member of the Justice League." It replied.

"Director?" Barry mumbled as he looked back at Caitlin with bewilderment.

"Guess you get a promotion," Caitlin said shrugging her shoulders at Barry.

"Also, what is the Justice League?" Cisco asks.

"It's a group of individuals with special abilities united to stop any threat that endangers earth." the female A.I. said.

"And you are Sophia Allen, Mayor of Central City." It continues.

"Mayor?! That is so awesome," Sophia squealed.

"Congratulations, Babe," said Cisco.

"What are you?" Barry asked.

"I'm Carol. An interactive artificial consciousness."

"Huh, A.I. Sick!" Cisco responded in awe.

"You know Dr. Wells?" Barry interrogated needing answers.

"Yes."

"Do you know who he really is?" Barry was pressured eager to learn all he could.

"I-I don't understand the question." Carol stammered.

"What is he doing here? Why did he come here?" Barry asked settling on the burning questions as to why now, why everything.

"To kill you." Carol answers.

"Dr. Wells is in the building!" Cisco panicked.

"W-What? How do you know that?" Caitlin stammered in anxiety.

"I put a tracker on his wheelchair... which if we're wrong about him and he is paralyzed, then I'm going to hell for that one," Cisco mumbled under his breath.

"He's in the Cortex as we speak. So, ask questions FAST!"

"Why did he kill Nora Allen?" Barry asks.

"Because he was angry." Carol answers.

"Maybe that's why Wells let the particle accelerator explode. So, that you could get powers," Sophia suggested darkly.

"Why? I mean... for what reason?" continued Barry as if his sister had not spoken.

"We've got to go. He's almost here," Cisco warned them.

"Barry..." Caitlin pleaded with him, her voice rising with panic.

"Alright." Barry agreed, taking Caitlin's hand in his leading them out.

"Wait... wait... a second."

Barry stopped in his tracks turning to Cisco and Sophia.

"What if holo over there tells Wells that we were in here?" Cisco muttered.

"That would be bad," Caitlin whispered.

"If I could get into its operating system maybe I can disable its memory core." Cisco implied.

Right. Letting go of Caitlin's hand, Barry moved back over to Carol.

"Uhh, Carol? Can you show us where your operating system is?" Barry asked hastily.

"Certainly." Carol complied.

From behind Carol a part of the wall opens revealing some sort of highly advanced, alien-like technology.

Laughing nervously Cisco backed away with his hands raised. "Nope... that's not going to happen."

"Guys, he's in the corridor!" Caitlin informed them.

"Ugh, Umm, Carol could you just like not tell him that we were in here," Barry asked.

"Sure. Of course. I will accept your command." Carol replied.

"BARRY!" Sophia shouted.

Tired of waiting Cisco grabbed Sophia's arm and got her out of the time vault.

"W-Wait... Why would you accept my commands?" He asked curiously.

"Because... you created me," Carol said lying. In truth, Eobard was her creator and he has already planned this and knew that they were gonna be in the time vault. Eobard told Carol to accept any commands given by Barry while they were in there.

"Barry..." Caitlin called.

Seeing the fear in her eyes, Barry raced over to her, picked her up, and flashed out of the time vault, just as Wells was coming around the corner.

"That was close," Caitlin muttered.

ϟ Barry & Caitlin's Apartment ❆

Barry opened his apartment door and welcomed an angry-looking Joe and Eddie inside.

"Really? For four smart people that was pretty stupid. What if Wells had caught you in that—" Joe scolded as he threw his jacket over the back of the sofa, staring judgingly at Barry.

"Time vault." Cisco finished.

"Thank you." Joe nodded back to Cisco.

"Okay, I know we've seen a lot this past year but time travel?" Eddie said not buying it.

"I did it," Barry mumbled.

Suddenly all eyes were on him. Staring at all the baffled faces in the room, Barry pushed himself off his kitchen counter stepping forward as he spoke.

"Or I will do it I mean." He continued.

"Excuse me?" Eddie coughed.

"One of the two speedsters in Barry's house the night his mother died was Barry. I mean the Flash. He was there... which means that one day in the future Barry will travel back in time to that night." Cisco explained.

"Okay," Eddie said dumbfound.

"Actually, I wasn't talking about that. I... kinda... already time-traveled... by accident," Barry whispered as he looked around to everyone in the room.

Caitlin and Dr. Wells were the only ones he told about it.

"What?" Joe questioned his whole body turning to face Barry.

"Well... I was running to try and stop this tsunami from hitting the city—" Barry began to explain fast.

"When was that?" Sophia interrupted.

"A few weeks ago... right before you started getting those dreams," Barry replied muffled.

"Oh, you mean the ones where Wells uses his super speeding hand to shred apart my heart, those?" Cisco replied as he silently relieved those nightmares.

"Yes. Right, So, what if they're not dreams?" Barry suggested.

"What else could they be?" Caitlin replied.

"Memories," Barry stated.

"I'm not following," Joe interjected taking a step back lost.

"Oh, alright. What if that day Cisco found out that Wells is Reverse Flash and then Wells killed him but when I ran back a day I changed the timeline. So, that event never happened." Barry took a stab and explained.

"If that never happened then how can Cisco remember it?" Joe pointed out.

"I don't know... Uh, I think the important thing is he does." Barry said looking at Cisco.

"Umm, we have to access Cisco's memories somehow. Somewhere in his subconscious is the key." Barry continued.

"The key to what now?" Joe asked.

"Getting our Dad out of prison," Sophia responded looking at her brother.

"And how are we going to do that?" Caitlin questioned.

"We are going to get Dr. Wells to confess to killing our Mom."  She said.

ϟ Sophia's POV ❆

ϟ Barry's Lab ❆

"Okay, can we go over this one more time?" Cisco said taking a deep breath.

"Yes. You put the glasses on, fall asleep and start dreaming. Not that hard." I started handing Cisco the glasses.

"Yeah except I'm pretty sure I die in this dream. If I go back into it... am I going to die in real life? What are we talking about here? Is this like Inception or Dreamscape?" he rambled on.

"Here drink this." Joe rolled his eyes handing him a half-filled glass of milk.

"Do I look like I'm five?" Cisco mumbled sarcastically.

"Just drink it," Joe ordered.

"Okay, I'll drink it."

As Cisco downed the glass, Caitlin took it from him easing him down gently on the stretcher.

"You're going to be fine, Cisco," Caitlin reassured him.

"I'll take good care of you," I said kissing his cheek.

As he settled down, I placed the glasses gently over his eyes.

"The glasses are emitting a low-level delta wave. Which should help you fall asleep." I informed Cisco.

"Okay, I got to warn you though it usually takes me a long time. I mean I'm not saying I'm like an—" Cisco trailed off falling into a deep lucid dream state.

"Ah, So, that's how you get him to shut up." Joe piped up with a laugh.

I giggled at Joe's comment.

"He's entering REM. It's working." Caitlin said.

"Cisco, can you hear me? You're dreaming, Bub." Barry soothes gently.

"Guys, this is mad freaky!"

"Okay, well, where are you?" Barry asks.

"Umm, in the Cortex. I mean I know I'm just dreaming I'm in the Cortex but it feels so real."

"What are you doing in your dream?" Barry asked.

"Caitlin just left. I asked her to take Dr. Wells to Jitters." He said.

"Why did you want Dr. Wells out of the Lab?"

"I think he may have tampered with my work but I need to check. Okay, okay, I'm walking to the bunker with Sophia. Oh, Man. I love this t-shirt and I thought the dryer ate it."

I look over my shoulder to see Joe trying to stifle his laughter. I smile and return my attention to Cisco.

"Focus, Babe."

"Okay, Okay. Now I'm running tests on the containment system. This data doesn't make sense. All the supercapacitors are all fully charged there's no way that the man in yellow should have escaped. Oh my god. It's just a hologram. He tricked us. Oh, God! Dr. Wells is here!"

"Cisco, it's just a dream. He can't hurt you or me." I soothed him.

"You better be right about that..... Eobard Thawne."

"Thawne? Like Eddie Thawne?" Joe pushed in asking.

"You killed Nora Allen."

"Wait, Nora? What about my mom, Cisco?" Barry probed.

"He didn't want to kill her. It was you, Barry. He was trying to kill you, Barry." Cisco said.

"His blood pressure is 200 and his heart rate is 147. Guys, he's losing higher brain function. Cisco, you're going to be okay. It's just a dream. You and Sophia are going to be okay." Caitlin said.

"His hand it's vibrating he's going to kill us!" Cisco began to panic. "Stay away from her!" Cisco said.

"Oh my God! He's going to have a stroke!" Caitlin yelled.

"Okay, get him out of there!" Barry instructed.

"Sophia, NO!"

Caitlin spun around immediately to one of the other computers linked to the glasses. Typing away furiously at the keyboard Caitlin worked as fast as she could to bring Cisco back and power down the device.

"Cait!" Barry's voice rang out strained.

"Oh god! Help! Sophia is dead!" He screamed.

I ripped off his glasses.

"You're okay. It was just a dream. You're okay." I said trying to calm him down.

"Just breathe, Cisco. Just breathe." Caitlin said.

"Oh, God... It felt so real," Cisco said shaking. "I-I saw you die, Sophie." He said tearing up. "I couldn't protect you." He said softly crying.

"It's okay. I'm right here, Baby." I said tearing up a bit. He looked so scared.
"I'm not going anywhere," I said softly and hold his hand.

ϟ Cisco's POV ❆

That was horrifying. I never wanna do that again. I was in the Medical Bay resting. Apparently, I almost had a stroke luckily my Girlfriend was able to rip the glasses off me in time. I couldn't stop thinking about the dream. If Barry hadn't run back in time Sophia would have been dead right now.

"Hi," Sophia greets me.

"Hey," I greet back.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"A little shaken up," I said sadly. "It all felt so real. Dr. Wells showed up and started coming towards me. He was gonna kill me but you sacrificed yourself for me." I said trying not to break down.

"It wasn't real, Cisco. It was just a dream."

"What if it was real? What if Barry didn't go back in time? I-I saw you die in my arms." I said crying.

"I'm right here, Cisco. I'm not leaving you. I promise. I'm with you till the end of the line."

She looks into my eyes and wipes the tears from my face.

"Everything is gonna be okay. What you saw in your dream will never happen. I'll always be here to support you and love you."

She hugs me tightly and I hug her back.

"Everything is going to be okay. I've got you." Sophia said softly.

"I Love you."

"I Love you too."

ϟ Caitlin's POV ❆

I had successfully gotten Dr. Wells down to the Bunker, leaning foreword I whispered into the mic. "Here he comes." I  grabbed my computer and yanked it open pulling up the feed from the Bunker. Sophia and I stay back and watched from afar.

Dr. Wells walked into the room clapping. "Hello, Cisco. You are quite clever." He laughed with an evil grin.

"You're him..." Cisco played the part alarmingly well. "The Reverse-Flash. Joe was right this whole time, wasn't he."

"Good old Joe." Wells closed Cisco's computer. "Joe West had his doubts all along- Even from that first night in the hospital. Joe knew something wasn't right. Cops. Be it now as they will be in a hundred years."

"You killed Barry's mother." Cisco breathed. "I wanna know why."

"It was never my intention to kill Nora. But, from my perspective, she was already dead. It just happened sooner than it was supposed to." Dr. Wells walked towards Cisco with his hand raised, and Cisco fell over the steps of their trap, trying to get away.

"Something not right. Wells hadn't admitted anything." Sophia said.

"You're not going to get away with this," Cisco growled.

"I'm not going to get away with it?" Wells asked.

Cisco activated the shield, and Wells stopped moving, looking around with a sardonic chuckle. "Oh, you're smart. You're smart Cisco."

He stepped through the shield.

"But you're not that smart," Wells said.

"Cisco!" Sophia cried. Quickly we turned from the computer screen and raced towards the bunker.

When we got there, Wells was lying on the floor with a bullet in his chest. "Cisco.." Sophia reached him and grasped his arm. "Are you okay, Baby?" She said.

"Yeah..." Cisco said. "I'm never gonna sleep, ever again. But yeah, I'm okay."

I looked down in horror at the floor, where the body of Dr. Wells was lying. I crouched down beside him and felt his pulse. "He's dead," I said.

"He didn't confess," Barry said. "Joe, this was it. Our Dad is gonna be in prison forever." He said looking at Sophia.

I reached out to him, but he stood up, tears running down his cheeks. "Barry, I'm sorry," Joe muttered.

"Hey, uh, whoa!" Cisco pointed to the body on the floor. It shifted and turned to a faceless blob. "What the fuck?" Cisco cursed.

"I told you this before." A very familiar voice came out from the speakers in the Bunker. I stepped closer to Barry. "I am always one step ahead. Flash." It was Wells. How was this possible?! "Allow me to re-introduce to you: Hannibal Bates! And his amazing ability to transform into any person he touches."

"I knew that ability would come in handy." Wells, or whoever he was, continued. "I did not expect it to come in handy this soon."

"You used him!" Barry yelled. His voice was rough, and a little scary to listen to. "Like you used all of us." He bellowed.

"He served a purpose," Wells said simply. "It didn't take much convincing. Just the simple promise of his freedom."

"You ruined my life. All of our lives!" Barry walked towards the door, glaring up at the speaker with a terrifying fire in his eyes.

"We stood by you, after everything that happened." I cried, tears running down my face.

"I can see how this must be difficult for you to understand," Wells admitted. "But, trust me, your lives are now so much better because of what I have done for you."

"You son of a bitch! I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to our family!" Sophia yelled.

"You don't have to hide anymore, we know you're not Harrison Wells." Joe accused. "Just tells us who you are!"

"A confession will get you nowhere. You've seen who I am. You know what I can do."

"You wanna kill me? Go ahead." Barry croaked. "I'm not gonna fight you. Just.. tell the police what you did. Get my dad out of prison!"

"I don't want to kill you, Barry!" Dr. Wells sounded legitimately horrified. "I need you. And I also did not anticipate, as long as those 15 years have been for me, how much I would come to love working with you. With all of you. And yet. That does not change what needs to happen."

"Then face me now!" Barry screamed, stepping in front of me protectively. I reached out and took his hand. It was trembling.

"Oh." Dr. Wells chuckled. "We will face each other again. I promise you. Soon, Barry. Very soon."

Cisco's phone buzzed. "He's in the Time Vault!"

Barry was out of the room before anyone could say another word. "Barry!" I cried.

ϟ General POV ❆

Barry walked into the time vault, and his heart froze. On the wall were hundreds of images of all the people he loved. Scenes from every day of the past year flew out to him. Iris and Eddie were there, in their shared room. There was one of him kissing Caitlin, one on the treadmill, the other on Sophia. There were videos of Joe, of Cisco, of Henry, of everyone he cared about. "It was all a setup." Barry breathed. "We thought we set a trap for him. But he... set a trap for us. This can't be happening."