14 Chapter 14: Ronnie & Martin

Two police cars were in pursuit of a Humvee, with Eddie and Joe inside one of them, chasing through a narrow road.

Suddenly, a bolt of yellow lightning appeared, forcing the driver of the Humvee out and sending him crashing into the nearest wall.

The Flash then halted the car by hitting the brakes, swiftly positioning himself in front of the man, who turned out to be Barry's childhood bully from primary school, Tony Woodward.

"The Flash," Tony exclaimed, quickly getting to his feet and throwing a hefty right hook.

Dodging the attack, The Flash smirked. "Is that all?" he taunted.

Tony launched a powerful left hook, but The Flash evaded by stepping back. "You!" Tony kept swinging, but The Flash continued dodging. "Stop moving!"

Eddie, Joe, and several police officers arrived, all aiming their guns at The Flash and Tony. "Hands up!" Joe ordered.

The Flash and Tony glanced at Joe, prompting The Flash to chuckle, which made Tony laugh too, much to the police's chagrin.

"One of us has super speed, and this guy has metal skin," The Flash remarked, tapping Tony's body.

Feeling insulted, Tony attempted to catch The Flash, but The Flash delivered a palm strike to Tony's chin, causing him to stumble.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but did you guys bring the meta-human cuffs?" The Flash asked.

"Yeah," Eddie replied, bringing out the meta-human cuffs.

The Flash swiftly took the cuffs and secured them on Tony's wrists.

"Now, don't be naughty and listen to the police, okay?" The Flash instructed.

Despite Tony's attempts to attack, The Flash punched him in the sternum, rendering him unconscious.

"See you later, officers," The Flash said as he raced back to Star Labs, returning the suit to its display stand.

"I already sent another meta-human to jail," Barry informed the team.

"You found one?" Caitlin inquired.

"Yeah, he can turn his body into steel," Barry replied.

"How did you defeat him?" Caitlin asked.

"Vibration. A palm strike to the chin followed by quickly cuffing him," Barry explained.

"But you didn't have cuffs with you. What did you use?" Caitlin questioned.

"The ones from the police," Barry admitted.

"Oh," Caitlin responded.

Before Barry left the cortex, Caitlin stopped him. "Wait."

"Yeah, Caitlin, what's up?" Barry asked.

"Barry, every day I see you come out unscathed. What keeps you doing this?" Caitlin wondered.

"I made a promise to someone to protect this world. Is that the only question you have?" Barry asked.

"I think so," Caitlin replied.

"Then let me ask you something, Caitlin. What would happen if I didn't save this city?" Barry questioned.

"Criminals would run rampant?" Caitlin guessed.

"The world would be destroyed," Barry asserted confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Caitlin inquired.

"Human nature," Barry stated.

"I doubt the world could be destroyed by just a few meta-humans," Caitlin countered.

"I alone could destroy the world. Hypothetically, if I generated enough force, and there's another meta-human with explosive power. If she trained hard enough, she could potentially nuke the world," Barry explained.

"Why do you think that far ahead?" Caitlin wondered.

"Because I have to. I have so many things I want to do with my powers, but I just can't yet," Barry admitted. "Caitlin, are you free?"

"Yes, I am," Caitlin confirmed.

"Let's hang out," Barry suggested.

"Okay," Caitlin agreed.

The two of them headed out for a walk.

"Do you have any idea where we should go?" Caitlin asked.

"No, let's just go with the flow," Barry suggested.

Caitlin facepalmed, then her thoughts drifted to her fiancé.

"Are you okay?" Barry noticed Caitlin's sad expression.

"I'm fine," Caitlin replied, then spotted a desert café still open and pointed to it. "Let's go there."

"Sure," Barry agreed.

Caitlin bought a few cupcakes while Barry opted for some egg tarts and cream tarts.

"These are delicious," Barry remarked as he ate.

Caitlin smiled watching Barry enjoy the treats, but out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw her fiancé. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't him.

"What's wrong?" Barry asked, noticing Caitlin's odd behavior.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw someone," Caitlin smiled. "Let's just keep eating."

"Okay," Barry replied with a smile.

After finishing their snacks, they continued walking. Barry escorted Caitlin back to her home, but beneath the bridge, they spotted a homeless person searching for food.

When the man turned around, Caitlin and Barry instantly recognized him.

"Ronnie?" Caitlin called out.

The man stood there, looking confused. Caitlin approached him, but when she touched his face, he pushed her away. Quickly, Caitlin grabbed his wrist.

"It's me, Caitlin," she said. "Do you remember me? I'm your fiancée."

The man struggled internally for control. Just before he could push Caitlin away and his head and hand ignited with flames, Barry knocked him out with a punch to the chin.

"Let's head back to Star Labs," Barry suggested.

"Why did you knock him out?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, he seemed like he was going to run away," Barry explained.

"You're right," Caitlin conceded.

With that settled, Barry carried both Caitlin and the unconscious stranger to the cortex room in Star Labs. Cisco, who was there working on a blueprint for the Pegasus system, was taken aback by their sudden arrival.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Cisco exclaimed, noticing the stranger's unconscious state. "Is that Ronnie?"

"Yeah," Barry replied.

"Where did you find him?" Cisco inquired.

"Beneath some bridges," Barry answered.

"So, he's a meta-human?" Cisco asked.

"Yes, he has fire-based abilities," Caitlin confirmed.

"I'll clean him up first. He's a bit smelly, and I'll need your help, Caitlin. I'm not cleaning a man," Barry said.

"Alright, let's go," Caitlin agreed.

Barry swiftly took them to the shower, where Caitlin took charge of cleaning Ronnie while Barry fetched some clothes for him. After Caitlin finished cleaning Ronnie, Barry helped dress him, then carried them back to the cortex.

Barry grabbed a meta-human cuff from the gadget room and secured it on Ronnie's wrist. "Now we just have to wait for him to wake up," Barry stated.

After a few minutes, Ronnie woke up in a panic, but Barry reassured him, saying, "Calm down, we just have a few questions before you can go."

Ronnie tried to struggle, but his hands were restrained, and his legs were chained to a chair—Barry's idea.

"Do you remember us, Ronnie?" Cisco asked.

"It's me, Caitlin," Caitlin added.

"I... I don't know who you guys are," Ronnie replied.

Cisco and Caitlin concluded that Ronnie had lost his memories, much like Barry had.

"What's your name?" Barry inquired.

"Martin Stein," Ronnie responded. "Unfortunately, I'm someone else, not the original body owner."

"You're not playing a prank, are you?" Cisco asked skeptically.

"No, I am Martin Stein. Is it hard to believe?" Ronnie insisted.

"Maybe the Particle Accelerator caused a split personality," Cisco suggested.

"That could be it," Caitlin agreed.

"Doctor, I trust you, but can you trust me not to run away? I have a way to fix this whole problem," Barry stated.

Ronnie just stared at Barry, leaving Caitlin and Cisco surprised.

"Do you have a solution?" Cisco asked.

"Yeah," Barry confirmed.

"Why did you call him a doctor?" Caitlin asked.

"He is a doctor, Dr. Martin Stein, a physicist," Barry explained. "You have to promise me that you won't run away, or else I'll have to knock you out again."

"Okay, I trust you on this," Ronnie agreed.

"But first, let's do some check-up on your body," Barry suggested.