Ch - 36 Doubts and Encouragement?

After Barry left, Harrison Wells remained quiet for some time, seemingly deep in thought. Eventually, he made a decision and, after informing everyone that he needed to go somewhere, left S.T.A.R. Labs.

Since he was presenting himself to the world as a crippled individual, he had to maintain that facade. Usually, Cisco accompanied him whenever he needed to go somewhere. But this time, Harrison Wells chose to go by himself.

After Harrison Wells left, Caitlin, being a bio-engineer, decided to run some tests on Danton Black's blood. Though it took some time, she eventually got results.

After an hour of arduous experimentation, Caitlin succeeded in replicating and making a clone of Danton Black using his DNA and cells.

The cloned Danton Black was like an empty shell, without a soul. To be on the safe side, Swayam, Cisco, and Caitlin mutually decided to call and gather Dr. Harrison Wells and Barry Allen.

While Caitlin called Barry, and Cisco contacted Harrison Wells, Swayam walked towards the cloned Danton Black, touched him, and acquired his abilities. Thanks to this, Swayam could now actively manipulate his cells.

Danton's cellular replication ability enabled Swayam to replicate his cells at superhuman speed, allowing him to create life-sized clones of himself. In addition to regenerating damaged tissue, missing organs, or severed limbs, this ability also allowed him to create multiple limbs on his body.

From Danton's clone, Swayam also acquired a minor molecular replication ability. Theoretically, after mastering this ability, he could instantly and perfectly replicate himself and other entities. In theory, he could also replicate objects with some practice.

But all these conjectures had to wait until the constantly prying gaze on him stopped monitoring him.

Barry, contacted by Caitlin and hearing the seriousness in her voice, told Iris there was an urgent matter he had to attend to and left. Using his super speed, he arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs.

The first thing he noticed upon arriving at the lab was Caitlin placing her phone on a nearby table, Swayam inspecting a man standing in the middle of the room, and Cisco staring at Swayam and the man.

The man standing in the middle of the room was none other than Danton Black, with whom Barry had fought an hour ago. However, this Danton didn't feel like a living being.

Seeing Barry intently staring at the cloned Danton, Caitlin spoke, "Barry, it's okay."

Barry, still traumatized from his previous fight with Danton, said, "It's not okay. Black is here, and he's just standing there." Seeing Danton not showing any bodily activity and just standing still, he questioned, "That's not him, is it?"

Harrison Wells, who had just arrived, replied, "That's one of his replicates."

Although it seemed unbelievable, Barry knew nothing was impossible, given his and Swayam's examples of impossibility and absurdity. But he still questioned Caitlin, "How did you get it?"

Caitlin, feeling somewhat smug, replied, "I grew him."

Barry, with an unbelievable look, saw Caitlin's explanation on her tablet, "I isolated a sample of Black's blood from your suit to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating into that."

When Caitlin finished explaining, Barry, waving his hand in front of the cloned Danton, questioned further, "Why doesn't he... it do anything?"

Harrison Wells explained, "While Caitlin was explaining to you, we did a brain scan and found that its involuntary motor functions are active. Little else."

Cisco continued, "We think it's acting as a receiver."

Swayam, appreciating Caitlin's hard work in growing Danton's clone, spoke his thoughts, "The clones seem to be empty shells without Black."

Caitlin, seeing Swayam involved in the conversation, was happy. Normally, Swayam didn't like to actively join conversations; he would only join if specifically asked questions or talked to. Otherwise, he remained a quiet listener.

After looking at Swayam, Caitlin turned to Barry and said, "Just like Sam said, the clones are indeed empty shells without Black. So if we take out the real Danton Black, all the clones will become nonresponsive and completely stop."

Although Barry understood what Caitlin was saying, the question remained: how to find the real one? He asked, "But how do we know which one's the real Danton Black?"

Caitlin, who had already found a solution, replied, "That occurred to me. Given your own passing out, Black has limits, just like you. Controlling all of those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical and mental strength. So if you look for the one showing signs of weakness and fatigue, he must be the prime."

Harrison Wells, after Caitlin explained her hypothesis, encouraged, "Although it's just a theory, you could try to put it to the test, Mr. Allen."

Cisco, who had completed his research on various ingredients for Barry's diet, walked towards him with something in his hand and a smile on his face, "Barry, I whipped up these high-calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up."

Just as Barry was about to take the protein bar from Cisco's hand, the clone of Danton Black, previously motionless, suddenly moved, scaring Caitlin, who was standing near Swayam, who was intently observing the clone up close.

As Danton moved and Caitlin panickingly shouted, Swayam used his superhuman speed to move towards Caitlin, taking her in his arms and backing away while keeping his eyes on the clone.

Before the clone could do anything, Joe, who had just entered S.T.A.R. Labs, took out his gun and shot the clone dead. After killing the clone, he asked everyone, "Any more of them?"

Seeing the situation and no one replying, Swayam, still hugging Caitlin, looked at her and softly asked, "Hey Cait, are there any more of Danton Black's clones?"

Hearing Swayam's calming voice, Caitlin regained her composure. Reluctantly leaving the comforting hug, with a blush on her cheeks, she replied to Detective West, "No, there are not."

Barry, who hadn't reacted in time to help, became angry with himself and shouted, "Why did it start moving?"

Harrison Wells immediately understood, "The prime. I guess the prime is on the move, and this one heard the summons of battle."

Just as Harrison finished, Joe spoke, "And I know where he was summoned to: Stagg Industries."

Barry, still doubting himself and not considering himself hero material, said to Joe, "You should call it in."

Shaking his head, Joe replied, "Police can't fight this." After a sigh, he continued, "What Black's become, like Mardon..." After a brief pause, he truthfully and encouragingly said, "...is beyond me. Maybe way beyond them too. The only person it's not beyond is you. You gotta do this. I finally get it. So for once in your life, do what I tell you to do. Go stop him."

After Joe's encouragement and acknowledgment, Barry no longer doubted himself. Re-donning his super suit, he left to stop Danton Black.