Ch - 72 Bombs?

When Barry, Oliver, Roy, and Diggle arrived at the base, the first thing they noticed was Harkness, encased in a layer of ice. Immediately on alert, they scanned the area for any threats. Their eyes quickly landed on Caitlin and Swayam, who were locked in an embrace, with a thin icy-blue light emanating from Caitlin's body. Just as they were about to question what was going on, they were interrupted by Felicity's panicked voice from the side.

Turning towards her, they saw Felicity tending to Lyla's injuries, trying to stop the bleeding.

Upon seeing Lyla covered in blood, Diggle rushed over and tried to wake her, but she had already lost consciousness due to the severe blood loss.

Oliver, noticing that Lyla wasn't responding, immediately realized the gravity of the situation. She needed to be hospitalized right away; there was no way they could save her here. Diggle, understanding the same, looked towards Barry, silently pleading for help.

Oliver, recognizing how much Lyla meant to Diggle, quickly provided Barry with the best hospital location in Starling City, "Starling General's at 8th and Wilcott." Barry didn't hesitate; he lifted Lyla onto his shoulder and, using his superspeed, raced towards the hospital.

As Barry left the Foundry, Caitlin and Swayam separated as Caitlin's condition stabilized. However, they still couldn't approach anyone, nor could anyone come near them, as Caitlin was still exuding cryokinetic energy, making anyone besides Swayam start to freeze if they got too close.

Despite being Diggle's ex-wife, Lyla was still the mother of his daughter, and seeing her in that condition awakened a primal rage within him. His eyes filled with a murderous intent that everyone around him could feel. Before he could do anything rash, Oliver stepped in front of him, trying to prevent a disaster.

Ignoring Oliver, Diggle pulled out his gun, ready to shoot the frozen Digger Harkness. Understanding Diggle's pain, Oliver remained steadfast, saying, "Diggle, I know how you're feeling, but vengeance isn't the answer. Instead of killing Harkness, I believe you should stay with Lyla and look after her."

Cisco, Felicity, and Roy all agreed with Oliver, understanding that killing Harkness wouldn't help Diggle at all.

Swayam, thinking along the same lines, used his Pathokinesis for the second time that day to calm Diggle down and help him make a rational decision.

Just as everyone thought they could finally breathe a sigh of relief, the layer of ice encasing Digger Harkness began to crack. With his left hand, Harkness pressed a button and began laughing, catching everyone's attention and making them tense up.

After a few seconds, he stopped laughing and, despite shivering, started speaking. "I d-didn't expect someone like that lady to f-freeze me, but did you seriously think I came here without a c-contingency plan? The button I just pressed activated the timer on five bombs planted throughout Starling City. Even if you've captured me, you won't be able to stop the bombs. In 90 seconds, this city will be on fire."

Everyone heard what Harkness said, prompting Barry to immediately run throughout the city to try and locate the bombs. Meanwhile, the others stayed behind, trying to deduce the bomb locations.

Felicity and Cisco quickly concluded that Harkness must have used radio-controlled IEDs to cover the entire city. If they could key into the detonator frequency, they could pinpoint the bombs' locations, and they immediately began working on it.

While they were doing that, Caitlin, still exuding cryokinetic energy, saw that the ice around Harkness was melting. She quickly approached him and reinforced the ice, freezing him again, though she left his head uncovered so he could breathe.

Felicity and Cisco managed to locate the bombs and immediately informed Barry of their positions, with the nearest one being behind a restaurant at Faith and Flower.

When Barry found the first bomb, he planned to run it out of the city, but Felicity and Cisco stopped him, warning that the bombs might be linked. Their hypothesis proved correct; the bombs were indeed linked, meaning they could only be defused simultaneously.

Initially, Barry thought it was impossible to defuse the bombs since he couldn't be in five different locations at once. But then he realized he didn't have to be—he just needed to take the others to the locations so they could defuse the bombs at the same time. And that's exactly what he did, taking Roy, Oliver, Diggle, and Swayam to the other four locations, while he went to the fifth.

Seeing Barry's plan unfold, everyone understood what he was trying to do. Once everyone was in place, Felicity, still at the base, instructed them to cut the wires exactly at the end of her countdown. They accomplished the task successfully, without any mishap.