Episode 22 - Grodd Lives

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"Your eye movement is normal. No signs of neurological damage." Caitlin said as she flashed a light between his eyes.

"Do you think the thief might've been a metahuman that put the whammy on you?" Cisco suggested.

"I... I don't know. When Rainbow Rider got in my head, all I felt was anger. But this was not that. This was just overwhelming fear."

Cisco leaned over his computer, a video from the crime scene played in front of him. "Huh. Looks like when you went down, the thief got disoriented, too."

"Maybe we both got whammed." Barry frowned in consideration.

"Then you know how it feels!"

Everyone in the room froze.
There in the doorway, feet away from them, from Barry in his suit, stood none other than Iris West.

"I need to talk to the both of you." She said visibly upset with her arms crossed.

"How did you find out?" Barry asked shocked.

"When I touched... the Flash the other night, I felt a jolt of electricity. The only other time I have ever felt anything like that was when you were in a coma after the accident. It has something to do with the speed inside of you, Barry. It gives you this... special charge." Iris explained.

"I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner," Iris muttered.

"I can only imagine how angry you are at us," Sophia said.

"I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed."

Barry started to pace.

"Does Eddie know?" Iris asked quietly.

Barry was silent for a long tense moment. "Yes, he does."

"Is that why he got kidnapped?"

"No, I don't know why Dr. Wells took Eddie—"

"Dr. Wells took Eddie?" Iris looked up for the first time. "Dr. Wells is the Man in Yellow?"

"Everything he's been doing... helping me... helping us... it was all a lie. Dr. Wells... killed my mom... our mom." Barry looked at her sister sadly his shoulders sagged.

"Is he gonna kill Eddie?" Iris asked tears in her eyes.

"No, he's not!" Barry stated firmly. "We're going to get Eddie back, I swear."

"Yeah, The Flash said the same thing," Iris said rolling her eyes.

Sophia and Barry frowned at Iris's response.

"Look, Iris, you have to believe me... There were so many times I wanted to tell you. You were the first person I wanted to tell. B-But everything started getting crazy, and I thought maybe Joe was right, and—"  He was cut off.

"Wait, wait, wait," Iris stopped him, fire burning in her eyes. "You're telling me that my dad knew and he told you not to tell me?"

"He was trying to protect you," Barry whispered. Sophia winced. Those words, used on a female, were the worst you could say. "We both were."

"Yeah, well, maybe it's time you both stopped." She said and stormed out of the room.

Caitlin and Cisco are eavesdropping and listened to the whole conversation. She glanced into the other room, where Barry sat on the treadmill with his head in his hands. "I'm gonna talk to Barry... you should do the same with Sophie." She whispered to Cisco. He nods.

"Hey, Babe?" She said walking to him.

"I'm guessing you heard all of that." Barry looked up at her a small smile on his face.

She turned red. "Uh, sorry. We just—"

"No, it's fine. At least now I don't have to repeat it." Barry shrugged and stood up. "What could I have done, Cait? Joe made me keep it a secret and I listened now she will probably hate me for the rest of my life, and—"

Caitlin pressed her mouth to his shutting him up. "Barry, Iris will forgive you. You two have been friends for a long time this little thing won't end your friendship with her."

"But the thing is, this isn't a little thing!" Barry burst out. "I have kept this huge part of my life from her for so long. If I was her, I wouldn't forgive me!"

Caitlin hugged him. "She'll come around, Barry. I promise. Iris can't stay mad at you or Sophie forever."

ϟ Pipeline ❆

"What is wrong with him?" Barry asked nervously looking at Eiling.

Caitlin followed Barry's gaze to Eiling standing eerily frozen before them.

"I pulled a bullet out of his shoulder." She responded.

"Which should hurt like hell!" Joe voiced loudly, imagining the pain.

"And it didn't even seem like he felt it. I did a complete body scan on him. General Eiling is perfectly healthy." She finished.

"Then why is he just standing there like a robot?" Sophia asked waving her hand in front of his face.

"I just got off the phone with A.R.G.U.S, officially Eiling is on administrative leave."

Sophia turned to welcome Cisco come striding up the pipeline, stopping beside her.

"Unofficially?" Joe said with raised eyebrows.

"I spoke with Diggle's wife Lyla and she said Eiling's been missing for the past three months and A.R.G.U.S has been covering up for it." Cisco snorted at the cover-up.

"Makes sense. Last time we saw the General was when Ronnie and Barry broke Dr. Stein out of that military facility. I'm sure they're covering that up too." Sophia added.

"General Eiling. Why were you trying to rob the Gold Reserve?" Barry probed.

Nothing. "Maybe he's in some kind of trance." Caitlin tried to conclude.

"General? Do you remember me?" Barry pushed again.

"Flash..." Eiling grunted in a low voice.

"Woah! How does he know you're the Flash?" Joe asked.

"I don't know. General?" Barry whispered.

"Eiling... not here. Eiling bad."

"Maybe it's some kind of psychotic break presenting itself as dissociative identity disorder." Caitlin diagnosed.

"Caitlin... Good." Eiling grunted.

"Oh, uh, thank you?" Caitlin said confused.

"It can't be..." Sophia whispered.

Eiling turned and looked in her direction.

"Sophia... good."

"Grodd? Is that you?" She stepped forward.

"Me... Grodd."

Everyone except Joe was shocked.

"Why are you doing this, Grodd?" Barry asked.

"Eiling... hurt me. Now I hurt him. I am Grodd fear me."

ϟ❆ϟ❆ϟ❆ϟ❆ϟ

"Oh, so, Grodd is a gorilla," Joe said.
He was looking at one of the monitors and sees Sophia and Caitlin feeding Grodd blueberries.

"Five years ago, Eiling and Dr. Wells were working on a project to expand soldier's cognitive abilities during battle," Cisco explained.

"What we didn't realize is that Eiling was trying to create soldiers with psychic abilities." Caitlin finished.

"What do you mean "Psychic"?"

"Eiling was trying to create these super-soldiers with telepathic and telekinetic capabilities. But when Dr. Wells found out about the terrible experiments that Eiling was doing, he shut down the entire project." Caitlin said.

"So, our psycho-killer has a soft spot for animals. That's sweet." Joe said sarcastically.

"Poor Grodd. He's been through so much pain." Sophia said sadly.

ϟ Flashback ❆

Every Friday Sophia along with Caitlin would sneak into S.T.A.R. Labs after hours with a bag of blueberries to feed them to Grodd. It had become a fun routine for them and sometimes they would even have lunch on the floor in front of Grodd's cage during his midday feedings. But Caitlin couldn't make it today as she had date night with Barry so Sophia had to come alone. Moments later she had made her way towards the elevator and down the way to where Grodd was being kept. Sophia only made it halfway across the hall though when she suddenly heard a carnal roar erupt through the long and narrow hallway. She started to walk a bit faster her stiletto heels clicking loudly against the floor and finally reached the room. Sophia peeks into the window of Grodd's room carefully and sees something very horrifying.

Several heavily armored people that she didn't recognize were hunched over Grodd and injected him with various chemicals. Grodd thrashed and emitted painful sounds as it tried to escape from its torture, but they didn't stop.

General Eiling paced around the group with a smirk as they kept working on Grodd. Sophia felt tears welling up in her eyes and she pushed the front door open.

"Get the hell off of him!" Sophia cried out as she pushed past one of the military men before they could shove another needle into the distressed gorilla.

Eiling grabbed her by the arm and yanked her away from Grodd roughly.

"Your services aren't required at the moment, Ms. Allen. I suggest you leave." He spoke his voice firm and serious.

"Dr. Wells won't let you get away with this. You're torturing him!" Sophia yelled trying to jerk herself away from him but the general's grip on her arm tightened.

"You won't be telling him anything." He growled.

Sophia leaves Grodd's room and heads down the hall to a quiet place. She then pulled out her phone and hurriedly dialed Dr. Wells.

"Ms. Allen? Is everything alright?" He answered.

"No. Everything is not alright, Dr. Wells. General Eiling... He's got a bunch of people here and they're hurting him. He says you know but I just... I-I know you wouldn't allow them to do this to him." Sophia said emotionally over the phone.

"Of course, I would never allow that. And I can assure you that by this time tomorrow Eiling will be banned from my facility." He spoke before hanging up.

It wasn't long until the military men left and Dr. Wells arrived. After seeing them discuss through the window, Sophia watched Wells speak to Grodd through the bars of his cage for a moment before he turned around and gestured for her to enter his office.

"I swear to you, Sophia. I had no idea this was ever going on. Eiling will not go near Grodd ever again. It was my mistake to trust him, and I will have to live with that." Dr. Wells said before leaving her alone with Grodd.

She sat on the floor just outside the cage, and unlike he always did, Grodd didn't approach her.

"It's okay, Grodd. Dr. Wells got rid of those bad people." Sophia said and reached into her purse and grabbed the blueberries. Opening the container and holding them up to the bars.

"Do you want some berries, Buddy? They're your favorite." Sophia said offering him some.

Grodd was in the far corner of his cage still not moving.

"It's okay," she repeated softly. "Eiling is gone. He won't hurt you anymore."

Sophia then placed the box on the floor between the bars and waited. She couldn't in her heart leave him alone so she waited.

Grodd slowly crossed his cage and met her at the bars. He slowly reached forward and took a few berries from the container.

"There you go. It's okay," she said smiling softly.

After he had his fill of blueberries he took a seat, and just stared at her. She had grown close to him over the last couple of weeks they were almost like friends. She hesitantly reached out to touch him. Fear showed in his eyes and he pushed himself back away from her.

"I'm so sorry, Grodd."

Sophia stood up, wiped her eyes, and said goodbye to Grodd leaving the blueberries behind.

ϟ Present ❆

Iris West is leaning against a wall in Caitlin's lab and watching her work.

"Thank you, Caitlin. For listening to me. It means a lot." Iris said sincerely.

A few hours earlier, Iris had come to her in near tears and had just begun talking to her. Caitlin had simply sat and listened as all the frustration of loneliness that Iris had been harboring for the past few months came pouring out.

"Of course. For what it's worth Barry feels really terrible about lying to you." Caitlin said.

"He should." Iris frowned. "It wasn't right."

"No. It wasn't." Caitlin tilted her head. "And if I was in your position. I would feel just as angry about all of this as you. But the thing is Iris, I'm not. I can see it from both of your sides. Barry is going through so much right now, and he needs you. He needs his friend."

"He has you." Iris shrugged. "You've always been enough for him."

Caitlin smiled. "Barry and I are married. It's different. He needs as many people... friends having his back as possible right now. And if you are with him, he'll be able to focus so much better on everything else. Like catching Wells and stopping Grodd."

Iris sighed frustrated.

"My life has been... crazy these past few days. Everything has been going... wrong." She said.

"I've had times like that, on occasion." Caitlin sighed tiredly. "I find that it's easier if you talk about it. And if you have friends."

Shaking her head, Iris turned to go. "Thank you for trying, Caitlin. I'm just not ready to forgive him yet."

"I know. Take all the time you need."

ϟ❆ϟ❆ϟ❆ϟ❆ϟ

Joe is gone and Barry is a huge mess. Caitlin had just finished scanning his brain and found out that it had the same active parts as Elling's when he was being controlled by Grodd. Now Cisco and Sophia were trying to figure out a way to stop Grodd and find Joe.

"I put a tracker in the tranquilizer dart you shot Grodd with. As soon as it activates—" Cisco is cut off.

"No, Cisco, I can't wait for that. I will search every inch of that sewer if I have to." Barry's voice was rough and much more uncaring than Caitlin was used to.

"And what happens if you find him? What happens if Grodd takes over your mind the way he did with Elling?" Caitlin asks her voice shaking a bit.

Barry sighed. "I don't know. Could you guys build me something? Some sort of tech so he can't get into my head?"

Cisco and Caitlin exchanged looks. "Man, I don't know. Maybe if Dr. Wells were here-" he was cut off by his girlfriend.

"No. We don't need him. We will find a way to save Joe." Sophia said.

"How?" Cisco asked.

"Build something that neutralizes any unfamiliar neurological stimulants."

"Like an anti-telepathy strip. Cisco finished. "You're a genius." he smiled kissed her. "I'll get right on it." he smiles.

ϟ❆ϟ❆ϟ

"I'm finished," Cisco said.

"So, this will protect Barry from being mind-controlled?" Iris asked.

"That's the hope. But we have no way of actually knowing if it works."

"It'll work," Sophia said confidently.

"The tracker just came online!" Cisco called from his computer. Caitlin gave Barry the headset. "We have Grodd's location."

"Be back in a Flash." He grinned.

They all moved quickly over to the tracker screen and watched Barry's tiny red dot as it dashed through the city and into the sewer.

"What is Barry doing?" Iris asked.

"He's maneuvering Grodd. So, that he can run through a tunnel 5.3 miles away," Caitlin explained smiling proudly. Her Husband was truly a genius.

"So, Barry can do what exactly?"

"The same thing he did to Girder," Sophia added. "Super-sonic punch baby. Hit it!" Cisco said.

Barry's red dot shot forward but at the last second Grodd moved and Barry's dot went flying. "The supersonic punch failed!" Cisco yelled.

"It's okay, Cisco. The headset's working." Barry said over the comms.

"Okay, uh, try some speed punches on him," Cisco suggested.

"Gah!" Barry growled. "This isn't working!" he was getting frustrated.

"Well, what if you tried—" Suddenly Barry's body scan showed signs of intense squeezing around the neck area.

"Oh, no," Sophia muttered horrified.

"Barry!" Cisco yelled. His friends red down smashed, not around, but through a wall, and Caitlin saw that Barry was now lying in the middle of train tracks.

"Barry!" He tried again.

"His headset is offline," Sophia muttered.

"Barry's brain activity is off the charts. This is worse the last time." Caitlin said.

"What's happening?" Iris asked.

"Grodd's attacking him psychically. He's paralyzed." Caitlin answered.

"Oh, no. There's a service train coming!" Cisco informs them.

"Do something, please!" Iris begged.

"I can't stop the train!" Cisco said running his hand through his hair with anxiety.

"What do we do?" Caitlin asked.

"Talk to him, Cait. He'll listen to you." Sophia said.

She leanest forward towards the mic her voice calm. "Barry, Listen to me, okay? You've got to concentrate on my voice. Whatever is happening to you, you have to fight it. I know you can do this. I know how strong you are. Stand up to Grodd and fight back. Come home to me, Barry. Please, I love you."

In the sewer, Barry closed his eyes and listened to Caitlin's sweet and loving voice. Memories of his wife surged through him and his love for Caitlin overpowering any other emotion.

He moved away from the train. He was safe and his vitals were back to normal.
The team lets out a sigh of relief.

Barry was in the treadmill room resting. He looked up and smiled as he was joined by his team.

"Maybe it's a good thing we didn't catch Grodd. I mean, where would we even put him?" Cisco jokes.

Barry smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "The pipeline isn't exactly equipped to hold a supergiant telepathic gorilla," Caitlin said and sits down next to him on the treadmill.

"Joe mentioned that Grodd called Wells father. Wells must have told Grodd to go after us. That's why Grodd didn't kill Joe." He paused. "I think Joe is right... I-I think everything Grodd did... It was just to distract us."

Cisco remained silent and his girlfriend noticed. "What's wrong? Are you okay, Babe?" Sophia asked concerned.

"I'm just thinking about the headset. It wasn't strong enough. I could have killed your brother out there." He said looking at her his voice heavy with guilt.

"No, dude, your tech worked." Barry insisted looking at him. "You were right, Sophia. We don't need Wells. The four of us took on Grodd and rescued Joe. Together we can do anything." He reassured them.

"Actually, it was the five of us." Caitlin smiled.

"True that. Well, I'll leave you guys alone... Come on, Sophia. I'll buy us some ice cream." He said grabbing her hand and kissing it.

"Aww, you're so sweet." She gushed kissing his cheek.

"Anything for my angel."

Barry and Caitlin laugh and said goodbye as the pair left them alone.

Barry looked at his wife lovingly and smiled.

"I love you too."  He said and gently kissed her.

ϟ Flashback ❆

"You know, if we keep meeting like this, my boyfriend is going to get jealous," Caitlin said jokingly as she passed him an entire heart of celery.

A few minutes later Barry appeared.

"I thought I would find you here, Snowflake." He kissed her on the cheek and sat next to her.

"I told you he would get jealous," Caitlin joked as she snuggled with him.

"Are you trying to steal my girl, Grodd?"

"You better step up your game, Allen."  Sophia teased walking in the room with Cisco.

Barry wrapped his arms around Caitlin's waist and pressed a kiss to her neck.

Grodd emitted a series of grunts as if telling him not to hurt her. Caitlin giggled.

"It's okay, Grodd."

"He's jealous?" Barry asked.

"No. Those are warning sounds. He probably thinks you're hurting me." Caitlin replied kissing his cheek.

"When Grodd retires, let's take him home." She joked.

"I don't know if he'll fit at the foot of our bed, Cait," Barry said playing along.

"Are you ready for kids?" Barry asked.

Caitlin flushed and Barry kissed her cheek.

"I think so. I'll be a good mother to our little Scarlet Angel." She said.

"You'll be an amazing mother. How about we get married first then we can start trying to have kids. Deal?"

"Deal."

Everyone had gone back to work. Barry stayed a bit longer with Grodd.

He inched a bit closer and spoke.

"Hey, Grodd."

He picked up a handful of blueberries from Caitlin's lunch and carefully offered them to him.

Grodd hesitated at first but accepted the blueberries.

"I'm going to marry her one day." Barry smiled and emitted a soft chuckle. "Is that okay with you?"

Grodd grunted and then held out his hand for more blueberries which Barry happily gave him.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said and smiles.