02x16 - Trajectory

[bunniefuu]

My name is Barry Allen, and I am the fastest man alive. To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist, but secretly, with the help of my friends at S.T.A.R. Labs, I fight crime and find other meta-humans like me. I hunted down the man who k*lled my mother, but in doing so, I opened up our world to new threats, and I am the only one fast enough to stop them. I am The Flash.

Previously on “The Flash”...

We've got Turtle locked up in the Pipeline. All we got to do is use him to figure out how to steal Zoom's speed.

That might take longer than we thought.

Why's that?

Because Turtle's dead.

You need to figure out what triggers your vibes.

Sometimes it's when I touch something that belongs to a breacher; sometimes it just happens.

There's always a cause.

We're gonna help you save Jesse.

I'm here.

You want me to leave everything I have here?

I mean, my life...

You don't have a life here anymore.

Zoom is too powerful.

Close it. Close it now.

No!

Augh!

Jay's death was not in vain.

We will meet Zoom again.

And the next time, I will b*at him, whoever that monster is.

Whoo-hoo-hoo.

Uh, it didn't look this deep on the map.

That's 'cause maps are flat.

This is, like, 1,000 feet deep.

Well, you want to get faster.

Maybe plummeting to your death is the motivation you need.

So to reach escape velocity, you're gonna have to go... that fast.

Well, that fast is impossible. I can promise you that.

Ah, “Nothing in life is promised except death”"

Edgar Allan Poe?

Kanye West.

If it makes you feel any better, Evel Knievel cleared a line of cars that was twice this long, and he didn't even have superpowers, unless you count that sweet-ass ride.

Do you hear yourself?

What?

Look, you're gonna be fine.

I'm 80% sure of it.

Okay.

76.

Like, a strong 72.

I can't stop, Caitlin, help.

If you don't feel ready, you probably shouldn't do it.

Not helpful.

Look, Zoom's still out there.

And once I find a way back to Earth-2, I have to be faster than him.

And, I mean, right now... I wasn't even fast enough to save Jay.

I have to try.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

He's gonna make it.

No!

Oh, damn.

“Why'd you have to bring those drones along, Cisco”

“Oh, I don't know.” You're welcome, everyone.

Signed projects, including releases of solo albums.

Pop music would never be the same after Beyoncé left Destiny's Child.

Wait, that doesn't make any sense.

They mean Senator Knowles?

[loud whoosh]

Scooch.

What?

So how'd it go?

Well, he's not a red splat on the side of a mountain.

That's our new definition of success?

It's one of them.

So, you didn't make the canyon jump?

No. What else can we try?

A bigger canyon?

Okay, fine, no more canyons.

I know I cr*ck this.

I've just been going about it wrong.

I need to find my leg up. Have we factored in drag?

Wells, can we rerun the simulation?

Let it go for now.

Zoom's still out there.

He's terrorizing a whole world full of people, your world.

You know, I'm not doing this for fun.

Barry, we've been working on this all week.

You're tired, we're tired.

Yeah, what we need is some downtime.

Downtime leads to increased productivity, ergo we have to have fun.

And the best way to have fun is for us to go out to the club.

Am I right, Team Flash?

Let's get turnt!

No, but seriously, we need a break.

You know, I think Cisco's right, and if I'm saying we need a break, then you know it's serious.

All right, let's go out tonight.

Oh, yeah. Can I go?

Over my dead body.

Look, just 'cause you're stuck in this lab all day doesn't mean I should be too.

Over my rotting corpse.

Look, what happened to trying new things, meeting new people?

You said I should start a life here, right?

And Zoom's over there, and we're over here, so there's nothing to worry about.

There's always something to worry about.

Okay, well, you said Barry and them are good people and I should get to know them.

I did.

Yeah.

And you know they'll keep me safe no matter what.

Look, I have a life to live, Dad, and whole world to explore.

Please?

Please?

Fine.

But if you're gonna go, you should take protection.

Oh, Dad, I don't need... I don't know what you thought I was gonna be doing, but I...

Oh, right.

I mean, is it necessary? It's kind of, you know...

Or I could always build you an inescapable daughter cube.

Funny.

You know I'd get out though, right?

All right, fine. I'll do it.

Thank you.

[electronic music playing]

♪ ♪

[electronic beeping]

Oh, God, sorry. It keeps doing that.

My dad made me wear it.

Don't worry about it. It's all good.

I'm really glad you came, Jesse, even though this place is less than ideal.

Hey, toast?

To Jay.

I wonder what Jay would say if he was here right now.

“What's a Kamikaze”"

And then you'd spend ten minutes explaining it.

And he'd say, “Just kidding. We have those on Earth-2.”

Yeah, well, we don't have those, so...

Eh-eh, I'm sorry, Miss Underage.

None of us plan on getting m*rder*d by your father tonight.

Oh, whatever, he's all talk.

Mm-hmm.

Yo, guys, what's up?

Hey.

Hey.

Glad you could make it.

What's up, Wally?

Hey, interesting choice of venue.

The tic-tac-toe theme is cool.

Barry picked it.

Cisco picked it.

I...

For real?

Yeah, I picked it. I don't go out much.

It had four stars on Yelp, so...

Okay, fair enough.

So who's this?

This is Wally. He's my... foster, or step... adopted...

My new... this is... he's my new friend.

This is Jesse.

[electronic beeping]

Oh, hi.

Hey.

So, Jesse, are you new in town?

Yeah, you could say that.

Yeah, me too. Are you from far away?

Like you wouldn't believe.

[electronic beeping]

Oh, you know what?

Would you just excuse me?

I just need to go powder my... watch.

Mm-hmm.

Hey, so I know I'm practically your brother, and I'm, like, half Jay's size, but you want to dance?

Sure.

Come on, let's go.

♪ ♪

Stupid watch.

All right, buddy, you have beeped your last beep.

♪ ♪

Something else rising also, some dark instinct about what I would do to the person who had taken you, the things I would do.

[upbeat electronic music playing]

♪ ♪

So how's Wally doing?

Yeah, he's good; he's just diving into his schoolwork.

Good.

Yeah.

I'm glad.

Oh, God.

[laughs]

Promise me if we ever do get married, you will not do that dance at our wedding.

Oh, I can promise you that.

I mean, not the wedding, the dancing.

What?

I don't know; I just think it's weird that were married in the future and on Earth-2.

I wonder what our married doppelgangers are doing tonight.

Probably Earth-2's equivalent of “Netflix and chill.”

[laughter]

Sounds nice. I mean, for them.

[intense whooshing]

[people screaming]

It was The Flash!

My wallet's gone.

Someone took my purse.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

[gasping]

Who the hell are you?

Okay, I got it. Thanks, man.

Hey.

Hey, excuse me.

What happened last night?

I know you didn't rob these people.

No, I was bored. Thought I'd have some fun.

Well, look, whoever did this, they got everyone within a ten-block radius in under six minutes.

You couldn't catch them?

No, this speedster's faster than me, I guess.

Unbelievable. Hey, babe.

Hey, so I spoke to that girl over there.

She snapped a photo of the red blur.

Look familiar?

This is not good.

I know, it looks exactly like the photo I took of you last year.

Don't worry, we'll figure it out.

We always do.

Hey.

Oh, it's work. I've got to go.

Keep me posted, okay?

Joe, I don't want people thinking The Flash is a petty thief.

Well, we need to get to work squashing those rumors before they spread.

Here it is, people: evidence that The Flash has gone rogue.

Couldn't it be the speedster in the helmet?

The photo speaks for itself.

No helmet glare, confirming that this is The Scarlet Speedster.

We're gonna expose him as a fraud.

McKay, I want you at the police department getting any interview you can.

Okay, on it.

Williams, eyewitness encounters.

The people of this city need to know what it feels like to be robbed by a hero.

West, I want you to do a piece on it from your perspective.

You were there last night. You've seen him in action.

Okay, but why would The Flash need to make off with a couple of hundred bucks when he's saved so many lives?

I mean, he is actually a hero.

Iris, you're a smart woman. You can't be that naive.

We live in a city full of meta-humans who continually do whatever they want, The Flash included.

Write it up, his journey from streak to freak, due on my desk tomorrow.

So... fun night?

Before all the chaos broke loose?

Then I would do anything to get you back, including k*lling a man.

Tell me I'm not hearing this right.

No, that's true.

Zoom had you.

Zoom needed The Flash's speed.

And it was him or you.

And I was not going to lose you.

You know, you were my hero.

My dad, the brilliant scientist who could accomplish anything he put his mind to.

He taught me I could never dream too big.

But now... now you're a k*ller, and I barely recognize you at all.

Jesse...

No, no, no.

Don't... don't worry.

I'm not going far.

I mean, where did this speedster even come from?

I don't know, man.

All I know is that blur made 60 smackeroos off of me.

Ridiculous.

Maybe it's another one of Zoom's henchmen somehow?

The breaches are closed.

The only other way to become a speedster is from a particle accelerator expl*si*n.

Okay, but then why only make yourself known now?

You see what I'm saying?

We'd have had to seen them in action before.

I'm not saying it makes sense; I'm just saying that's the only other way to become a speedster.

Actually, there's another way.

It's called Velocity-9.

Ooh, that's a sexy-ass name. What is it?

It's a speed drug.

Jay took it when you were on Earth-2 to save the city from a meta-human.

What? How could you not tell me this?

I promised Jay I wouldn't.

Jay, what do you... why?

Because Jay knew how dangerous this drug is.

I should know, Barry; Snow and I worked on it together.

Guys, I have been busting my butt out there, pushing myself to the limit, trying to get better, trying to be faster, and you're telling me that there's been something this whole time that could've helped me?

This could've helped me take down Zoom.

It could have helped me save Earth-2 Joe, save Jay.

Jay was sick.

The drug that he took to regain his speed was also causing cellular degeneration.

It was k*lling him.

I tried to help, I tried to find a cure, but in all my experiments, the effects were just temporary.

The V-9 is deadly.

Why not tell me this? Why keep me in the dark?

Caitlin.

Where am I?

[tense music]

♪ ♪

Are you okay?

Did you vibe?

Uh...

[electronic beeping]

Meta-human.

Yeah, social media app for the win.

Bad Flash is back.

Bad Flash... what?

No. I'm losing my touch over here.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

He's coming up on Fifth and Everett.

You can use the alley to cut him off.

♪ ♪

A lady speedster?

It only took us two years, but we finally got one, a lady speedster.

Hey, here's a question for you, purely scientific, was she good-looking?

You know, I was a little busy getting my ass handed to me, so I didn't really notice.

Right, right, right, but, you know, next time, for science?

Okay, yeah, next time she punches me in the face, I'll be sure to get her number.

There you go.

But the question remains, who is she?

I have no idea.

We could run her through the facial recognition.

She had a mask on.

What was her suit like?

Hey.

Hey, it's a valid question.

It is, actually.

How was her suit constructed?

It was good. It was very good.

It was like mine.

It was made by somebody who understands the needs of a speedster.

So that would be someone with access to tech and a lab.

Oh, no. I'm having a very bad thought.

When I designed V-9, I was having trouble formatting the extracellular matrix, so I called a colleague of mine at Mercury Labs for some assistance, Eliza Harmon.

She knows how to make this speed drug?

No, I followed the protocols of information compartmentalization.

I only gave her three of the eight components necessary for V-9's structure.

Okay, so she didn't have the full recipe.

Unless she reverse engineered her own V-9.

Eliza's a genius, but that's way out of character for her.

Well, it's worth taking a look.

I'll go see her.

Hey, I'm coming too.

Great.

I'm gonna go train.

Knock-knock.

Am I hallucinating, or is that disgraced ex-Mercury employee Caitlin Snow?

Eliza Harmon, burning the midnight oil.

Don't you ever take a break?

Well, you know what they say, these thiocyanate ions won't bond themselves.

[laughter]

Hi.

Hi.

Who is your handsome friend?

Detective Joe West, ma'am.

Detective?

What brings you around these parts?

Well, that's a funny story.

You know how there's a speedster that's been wreaking havoc on the city?

Yeah, I heard The Flash went nuts.

Fame will do it to you.

I guess some people can't handle the limelight, right?

Well, we happen to know it was someone else.

That's why we're here looking into this.

Wow, how very "Law & Order" of you, Caitlin.

Do you remember that formula that you were helping me with a few months ago?

Yeah, vaguely.

We think that it was somehow involved.

How? What did you have me working on?

It's classified, but let's just say it was some kind of enhancement, and we're afraid that my research was stolen.

Not from this lab.

Okay, between you and me, the place is pretty vulnerable.

Ever since that break-in a few months ago, some of us think McGee hasn't sufficiently stepped up security, but I kept my research on lock and destroyed the originals when it was given back to you.

But hey, you're free to look around my lab if you want.

I don't think that'll be necessary.

Sorry. I wish I could be more help.

It's okay. It's actually kind of a relief.

Will you call me if you hear anything, though?

Of course. That's what friends are for.

Thank you.

So what do you think?

For now, we take her at her word.

[thunder booming gently]

West, how's your article coming?

Um, great.

I have a source who knows for a fact that this speedster is not The Flash but an imposter.

Ah, who's your source?

I am not at liberty to say.

Well, if you can't tell me your source, I'm running the original story.

Wait, wait, wait.

You're right; what's one unnamed source compared to dozens of eyewitnesses?

Honestly, I'm just... I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around your vision for the story.

Something isn't adding up.

How about we talk about it some more?

Grab some coffee? What you say?

Coffee? Right now?

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, a little caffeine never hurt anybody, right?

Sure.

I'm so tired.

Oh, well, you've been pushing yourself too hard.

No, not hard enough.

I'm sick of always being passed over for the grant, for the promotion.

I'm underpaid and understaffed and six months behind on my research.

That's why I started all of this.

Your problem is you're too much of a perfectionist.

You don't have to be. There's beauty in chaos.

I don't have time for chaos.

This was supposed to fix things, and it ended up making it worse.

Oh, silly girl.

You know it makes you feel better to blow off some steam.

You will say anything for a fix.

It's your fault we're hooked.

It's Caitlin's fault; if she didn't want us to find out what she was working on, she shouldn't have made it so damn easy.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

There's not enough for both of us.

We... we need to save it for an emergency.

You take it now; worry about getting more later.

You'll thank me.

♪ ♪
♪ ♪

I know what's best for us and where to get more.

Whatcha doing?

Training.

Training?

Allen, don't be stupid.

I know you took the V-9, Allen.

No I haven't.

Oh, no?

No.

I took it, but I haven't taken it yet.

Good.

Tell me why I shouldn't.

Figure it out.

If the game is already rigged, why can't I level the playing field?

I mean, if everybody else is cheating, how can... I want to be fast enough to stop Zoom and any speedster that tries to hurt my friends.

Shouldn't I use everything in my power to do that?

You want to take a shortcut; is that right?

You want to take a shortcut? Remember this.

You lose a chunk of your humanity every time you compromise your values.

[laughs]

Sorry, that's really good coming from you.

So don't be like me.

Be better.

Be like Jay.

[glass shattering]

Are you okay?

Oh, yeah, I'm fine.

Hey, any luck locating our speedster since Eliza checked out?

I'm still working on it, but...

[electrical zapping]

[tense music]

♪ ♪

Hey!

[laughs]

Time to have some fun.

Hey! Cisco! Hey, Joe!

Hey, she's got me in the Pipeline!

[glass shattering]

What do you want?

Where's the V-9, Caity?

I need a fix.

Eliza, is that you?

Oh, Eliza's not here right now.

My name is Trajectory.

Oh, why do the crazy ones always name themselves?

Look, Eliza, Velocity-9 is very dangerous, okay?

It made a friend of mine very sick, and he already had the speed force in him.

Look, your cellular system...

Enough!

You are boring me to death.

Hand over the V.

I'm a physician. I took an oath.

I can't give you anything that will hurt you.

Right, so either hand over the V, or the cat guy gets it.

Oh!

Hey, move, now.

Look, all the flasks are gone.

There's nothing left.

Hey, I was really hoping you wouldn't make me do one of those “I have to k*ll you each one by one until you give me what I want.”

Oh, well.

Wait.

Wait.

You want V-9?

We'll make it for you.

Dad, you can't.

We have all the ingredients.

I'm not a patient person, so better move fast.

♪ Hey, baby ♪
♪ I know we wasn't ready yet ♪

Ah, latte for me, and a Flash for you.

Wow, this guy even gets a drink named after him.

Yes, he does; he's saved a lot of people's lives.

They just want to show their appreciation.

A little too much, if you ask me.

Why can't you see what everyone else sees?

A few years back, I won the Dornfeld Award for Investigative Reporting for my story on corruption in the mayor's office.

I investigated a man that everyone loved.

The mayor was young, telegenic, a former w*r hero.

He was voted in with overwhelming popular support.

It was... [chuckles]

But... but I knew that his campaign was bought and paid for by the mob.

Okay, but not everyone is a corrupt mayor.

But I saw him for what everyone else was too blind to see.

Everyone wants a hero.

Yeah, but in this case, The Flash actually is one.

Iris, Iris, it's our job to ensure that people, even heroes, are held accountable for their actions.

[chuckles]

[chuckles]

So I'm guessing on your list of dating pros and cons, being anti-Flash is a major dealbreaker.

Dating pros and... did you think that this...

Oh, what? No, no.

No, forget what I said. I get it.

You just wanted to talk about the story some more...

To stall. [chuckles]

Right, because you're trying to get out of writing this article altogether.

Scott, wait, please don't leave.

I'm sorry, I didn't know that this was...

Why would you?

Excuse me.

It's what you wanted.

Now let her go.

How do I know the two of you didn't lace this with a sedative to put me on my ass?

We wouldn't do that.

You can never be too safe, right?

No!

Thanks for the fix, Snow.

Get Barry.

Are you okay?

Well, good job on the cell, Cisco.

Jesse.

What happened?

Turn her on her side.

Eliza sh*t her up with V-9.

She's going into shock. It's too pure.

Stay with me, Jesse. Stay with me.

What do we do?

We've got to get the V-9 out of her system.

She needs a blood transfusion.

The new blood will flush the drug out of her system.

What blood type is she?

PZ negative.

Yeah, that's not a thing on this Earth, man.

I'm a match.

Jesse.

Hey.

What happened?

We... you're fine. You're... you're gonna be fine.

We got the drug out of your system.

Oh.

Looks like you saved the day again.

Look, honey, I know that this isn't enough.

I promise you, though, I'm going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you for the... for that terrible thing that I did.

Yeah?

Yes.

And how many more terrible things are you gonna do to protect me?

What does that mean?

I mean, everything that you do and everything that you have done for me, it's so dark, and... and you don't even see it.

I mean, you didn't even hesitate out there.

Of course not.

I'm not going to lose you, Jesse.

Okay, but you just gave that crazy speedster everything she wanted without even blinking, without even thinking what other lives could be at stake.

It is my job to keep you safe, to protect you; that's my job.

That's all that matters.

Well, maybe it shouldn't be.

Caitlin, I know she was your friend and all, but homegirl has gone cuckoo bird.

Now she's out there with more V-9.

What she doesn't know is, I put in micro tracker in the drug.

Hmm, that's a brilliant idea.

You can run, but you can't hide.

I'm the one to blame for all this, so I need to help fix it.

There's plenty of blame to go around, Snow.

What's her location?

Central City bridge.

Why is she running back and forth?

Villains gonna vill.

She's creating friction, and at that vibration and speed...

What?

Complete chaos.

She could destroy that whole bridge.

And everyone on it.

[all screaming]

[people screaming]

Guys, this bridge is coming down.

Barry, there's about 200 people on that bridge right now.

You're ruining all my fun.

Trajectory's too far away.

You won't get to her running across the river.

I will if I jump.

Barry, to make that jump, you'll need to go Mach 3.3, but only for a second.

Okay.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Yeah, buddy!

It's over, Eliza.

It is never over.

Wait, hey!

Stop doing this to yourself.

You don't actually want to hurt anyone.

You don't know anything about me.

No, I know you're not a bad person.

This is the V-9 in your system.

I also know what it feels like to want to be the best.

It makes you feel like there's not enough time to accomplish things the right way, but it's a cop-out.

And this is k*lling you.

Look at yourself, Eliza. You're not well.

[gasping]

Let us help you, please.

That is all the help I need.

How does it feel to know that I am faster than you will ever be?

[laughs]

See you around.

The lightning, it's turning blue.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[screaming]

Your article was well-written.

Thank you.

You know, it's a lot easier to write when it's the truth.

Not every hero is a fraud.

It's okay to believe in them.

So I've been told.

And sometimes, even great journalists, smart and brilliant journalists, can misread situations.

And sometimes they can be caught off guard.

Look, about the other night, it... it just surprised me.

But once the surprise went away, I, uh...

Not a dealbreaker.

Noted.

Okay.

Hey, have you seen Jesse?

No.

Hey, Dad.

It's me.

Listen, your job over the years has been to shield me from harm.

But now it's my turn to go out into this new world on my own, no shield, and discover what this Earth can offer.

You know, you are the best teacher I've ever had, but I don't know what more you can teach me.

I love you.

Please, don't come looking for me.

[beep]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

So Eliza just evaporated from running too fast?

Looks like cellular degeneration, same as Jay's.

Jay warned us V-9 was dangerous.

At least now we know why.

You find Jesse?

She went out.

Barry, what is it?

It's just right before Eliza disappeared, her lightning, it turned blue.

Right.

What if it's a side effect of the V-9?

Yeah, but Jay took Velocity-9, and his lightning didn't turn blue.

About how fast was he running?

Not as fast as Eliza.

All right, so what if V-9 is what turns your lightning blue?

I mean, that would explain why Zoom is so much faster than me.

If that's true, then that means he's sick, right?

He's dying.

That's why he wants your speed.

He's dying, and he needs a cure.

Same as Jay.

No.

Jay? No.

See, he d*ed right in front of us.

Zoom k*lled him right in front of us.

Cisco, we've seen a speedster be in two places at once before.

Then I guess there's one way to find out.

I guess now would be a good time to tell you all I've been vibing Zoom.

What?

You... for how long?

It started when we closed the last breach.

And every time it's happened, I've been near that thing.

[sighs]

[glass shattering]

We need to know.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Oh, no.

No, no...

[mournful music]

I saw Jay.

He's Zoom.

♪ ♪

Barry!

♪ ♪

[screaming]