Episode 20 - Flash Fanfiction - A Snowy Flashmas

Chapter 7

As Barry arrived on to the scene, he was met by an ice blast. He hadn't yet been able to put his suit on so the blast had crippled him. But as he turned to see what had hit him he turned to see Harry holding his thermogun.

"Harry, what are you doing?" he called out. "Where's Caitlin?"
Harry didn't respond, instead he aimed his weapon, ready to shoot at Barry again.
Though, before he could pull the trigger, the weapon itself was struck with an ice blast, from Frost. Harry dropped the gun as a reaction.

"Frost, what's going on here?" Barry asked, as he began phasing his legs. Frost restrained Wells before the man could find another weapon. "I'm not sure, but Caitlin and Harry were both hypnotized by some Rag Doll. Thankfully I wasn't. We need to find Astrid and Cisco before the doll finds them."

"I feel so bad for not believing Cisco and Wells, before," Barry said as his speed had come back.

"Well, here's your chance to make up for it! Go put on your suit... Don't worry, Caitlin isn't looking." She joked.

Barry cuffed Wells to the table and put on his suit. "Cisco, where are you guys?" Barry asked through his inbuilt communicator."

"What? Now, you show?" Cisco said, unamused.
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't believe you..." Barry replied, "I never should of..."

Frost rolled her eyes, "Bromance later... let's just find this doll and be done with!" she said.

"Right, Cisco. We're in the cortex... meet us he..." Before Barry could finish his sentence, a breach appeared across the room. Cisco and Astrid stepped out.

"What happened to DR Wells?" Astrid asked, seeing him cuffed and still in a trance state.
"It turns out the doll is capable of hypnotism... Would you mind reversing the effects Astrid?" Barry asked.

She stepped up towards Harry. "You're free from your trance state, Harry!" she told him. It was that easy, he slipped from his hypnotic state.

"What happened to me? Why am I cuffed to this table? Barry? You actually came..." Wells said, as Barry freed the man.

At that point Cisco had taken charge of his computer and was going through the security cameras. "How do we find a toy who doesn't want to be found?" he wondered out loud. But then he saw it... "BINGO!"

"What? What did you find, Cisco?" Barry asked him.

"He's down in the main hall with all the toys and donations." Cisco readjusted his goggles to his face and created another breach to the hall.

Harry who had just seen the icicle that Frost had made of his weapon, was disappointed. "Did you really have to freeze my thermogun, Frost?" He took it, regardless.

"Look, we can argue about this, later! Let's go, let's go!" Astrid demanded as she waved them towards Cisco's breach. Barry was the first one through, then Frost, then Wells followed by Astrid. Cisco was the last one through as he closed it behind them.

Once they reached the quiet hall, Harry switched on the lights. "I thought you said that he was down here, Cisco. What a waste of time."

Astrid glared at Wells, he stopped talking as he remembered the headache from earlier.

As they stepped towards the enormous 20ft Christmas tree, filled with thousands of toys they found it hard to see the Rag Doll amongst the toys.

"Wow, couldn't we have gone with a bigger tree?" Cisco asked with humor, "I mean, I think the mall was selling them at least a couple more feet higher than this one."

"Shut up, Cisco..." Astrid said with a grin, "Let's just find this guy."

Barry ran around the tree, searching for the Rag Doll, creating a vortex around the Christmas tree and the presents that surrounded it. The group stepped backwards to not get caught within the energy.

"Please don't break anything, Barry!" Astrid said under her breath."
Suddenly the circling vortex stopped. "I think I found him!" Barry said as he pulled out a life-sized Rag Doll with a green suit. He dropped it to the floor, and it fell in bundled a heap.

"Are you sure that's him?" Astrid said in doubt. "He looks pretty doll like."

"That's where he tries to fool us!" Cisco said. The group turned back towards the tree, wondering if there had in fact been another one. But from Barry's peripheral vision, he saw the doll stand up. It contortioned it's body in the most awkward of ways.

"You guys..." Barry said. They turned and looked.

"Is it a doll or a meta-human?" Frost asked.

Astrid's stomach turned as she watched the contortionist, nonetheless, she scanned his mind. "Neither, Just, a naturally bendable man... and he's been... stealing from us?" She held out her hand, "Hand everything over, now!"

But the contortionist refused. He smiled at them with that same Rag Doll smile. Barry quickly cuffed him, "Well then, you'll be going to prison." Barry said.

The Ragdoll let out a creepy laugh, as he twisted his wrists free from the cuffs. The cuffs dropped to the floor and he ran off. "Hey, not so fast!" Barry said as he raced after him and restrained him again.

"We're going to need a tranq for this guy!" Cisco said. He made a breach back to the 97th floor and Wells went with him.

The Rag doll broke free from Barry's restraint again. Frost created an ice wall around the two of them, so the Ragdoll had nowhere to go.

Astrid focused on his mind, to compel him to stop what he was doing. But he had mentally strong will. So instead she implanted his head with a severe crippling migraine.

"He's strong you guys." She said! "I've never put my mind up against a hypnotist before."

"How are you doing?" Frost asked her.

"Good, but I wish the guys would get the tranq-gun, already."

"Do not fear... Cisco and Wells are here!" Cisco said as they arrived in time.

"Why do you always have to say your name first? I'm the one holding the weapon..." Wells shot back.

"You guys!" Barry said.

Harry aimed the tranq at the Rag Doll and shot. It brought him down immediately.

"See what happens when we stop fighting?" Astrid told Harry and Cisco, "We actually get things done!"