Always Running

Day to Celebrate

"Looks like he's not gonna come." Cisco states, thirty seconds into the awkward silence after the mayor introduces the Flash, who is nowhere in sight.

"Give him a minute." Caitlin says, staring at the stage. Something told her he'd show. He didn't like recognition, but he wouldn't let Singh and Joe down like this.

After another thirty seconds, right as Captain Singh turns to start apologizing for his absence, the Flash appears next to him on stage, staring out at the crowd. Captain Singh smiles at him and reaches his hand out to shake. The Flash returns the handshake and accepts the key from the mayor. The mayor steps aside, motioning for him to step up to the podium and make a speech. Barry did not prepare for this. His eyes widen as he looks at the podium. He looks for Joe and Cisco for support and all the air leaves him when he sees who is standing in between them. Caitlin. Smiling encouragingly back at him. He takes a step toward the podium, a wave of courage washing over him. As he takes a breath to start speaking, he sees a bright light in the air coming toward him. The closer it is the more he can make out what it is: a metal hot dog cart.

He runs the mayor and Singh off stage to get them out of the way of the cart. Cisco, Caitlin, and Joe are looking around to see where the cart came from. Barry runs over to them.

"Where did that come from?" Barry asks.

"There." Cisco says, eyes wide. He's pointing at a large figure, dressed in all black with a black mask, walking quickly toward him.

Barry runs toward the man and he swats Barry away like a fly, sending him flying into the front of a police car. The other cops surround the man and start firing their guns at him. The man appears unphased, stripping off his coat and revealing a very muscular, and partially armored body. He pushes a police car into a group of cops and turns to Cisco, Caitlin, and Joe. Joe and Caitlin take a step back, but Cisco stands his ground.

"Cisco!" Caitlin yells. He doesn't move. "Cisco!" She reaches forward and grabs him, pulling him back and almost knocking him off balance. "What are you doing?" She asks, panic in her eyes.

He shakes his head and looks at her, confused.

"Cisco, the boot!" Joe yells.

Cisco turns to him and his eyes focus again. "Right, the boot." He runs to Joe's car and comes back with what looks like a gun with a large, rectangular barrel.

"What the hell is that?" Caitlin asks.

"The boot." Cisco says, as if that answered anything for her.

He hands it to Joe who aims it at the man and fires. A large cuff fires out of the gun and wraps itself around the man's ankle. He struggles for a moment as the cuff appears to electrocute him, but he is soon standing straight again, and growing bigger, breaking out of the cuff. The man in front of them is now almost twice as big as he was a moment ago.

"I'm assuming it wasn't supposed to do that." Caitlin says to Cisco.

"Nope." He says, stepping back with her this time.

Barry appears next to them holding a propane tank in each hand. He looks at Joe. "I'll throw. You shoot."

Joe aims his gun and Barry tosses the tanks. Joe fires at them and they explode on the man, who shrinks back down to normal size. Barry turns to block Caitlin and Cisco from the blast. The four of them are thrown against the car. They are all laying at the hood of the car, Barry's arm over Caitlin who is partially shielding Cisco. She turns to see a large piece of shrapnel in Barry's leg.

"That's Al Rothstein!" Joe says, pointing to the now unmasked man. "The dead welder we found this morning."

"Doesn't look so dead to me." Cisco states, crawling out from behind Caitlin.