The Flash and His Lightning Rod~Barry Allen Love Story

Chapter 102

Mirror-Liane is in Liane's office with Mirror-Kamilla. Mirror-Liane and Mirror-Kamilla are both looking at Eva and Mirror-Liane says, "His speed has been draining non-stop. Your plan was a success." Eva says, "You've done an amazing job. Is everything okay? You seem... distant." Mirror-Liane says, "Sorry, um... I'd just like to know if you want us to proceed with the next phase." Eva says, "Yes. Go join your brother and prepare. Because tonight... I will finally have my liberation." Mirror-Liane and Mirror-Kamilla say, "Success is assured." There's a knock on the door and Eva disappears. Mirror-Liane says, "Come in." The door opens and in walks Cecile. Cecile says, "Hey. You busy?" Mirror-Kamilla says, "Hey. What's up?" Cecile says, "I just wanted to..." Mirror-Kamilla walks over to Kamilla's desk. Cecile walks over to Liane's desk and Mirror-Liane says, "You're here about me and Barry?" Cecile nods and says, "Yeah. He's in a really bad place, Liane. His heart is breaking. He won't talk to anybody about it." Mirror-Liane says, "He promised me after he took Nora to the future that would be the last time that he made a decision about our family without me. But then he took Joe into Witsec and didn't even tell me. I had to find out from Singh. How do you get over that, Cecile?" Cecile says, "Well, it-- I don't really know, Liane, but I would think the first step is wanting to. What do you want?" Mirror-Liane says, "I--I don't know. Can you feel what I want? Can you tell me?" Cecile nods and says, "You feel...sad. Sad and concerned." Mirror-Kamilla says, "I think what Liane needs right now is space to focus on what's really important." Mirror-Liane says, "Right. Um... It's important for me to take care of myself right now, Cecile." Cecile says, "Okay, yeah, um... Your husband wanted me to tell you that he misses you." Cecile walks away. Meanwhile with Barry, he's at the West house with a board because he figured that Liane is not his Liane. Cecile opens the door, but she can't get into her house, and she says, "Bar?" Barry says, "Hey." Cecile says, "There's something blocking the door." Barry says, "Yeah, um..." Cecile says, "I thought you were still at the Speed Lab." Barry moves the boxes over and he says, "Uh..." Cecile says, "Hey, Barry." Barry continues to move the boxes away from the door and says, "Hold on." Cecile says, "Why can't I get inside my own house?" Barry says, "Sorry. Hold on. One second." Cecile finally can get the door open, and she says, "Geez!" Barry says, "Cecile, I can explain." Cecile says, "What the hell is this?" Barry says, "Liane isn't Liane. So, then I thought well obviously, this can't be a Liane doppelganger from another earth because doppelgangers don't exist anymore. Because the Multiverse doesn't exist anymore. Because Crisis blew it all up, right?" Cecile's still trying to wrap her head around Liane not being Liane and she says, "Uh-huh." Barry says, "Exactly. So, if that's true, who else do we know that could be pretending to be Liane?" Cecile says, "I--what--" Barry cuts Cecile off and says, "Shapeshifters. Al right, so Everyman was my first suspect. And Cisco's report show that he is alive post-Crisis. Then I remembered something that Breacher said about Plastoids. Which made me realize, there could be shapeshifting Martians on this Earth now. This-- this fake Liane doesn't even have to be from our planet. But then, it hit me that J'onn J'onzz would sense if there was a Martian hidden among us, so that was a dead end, but it led me to my biggest breakthrough yet. Okay, Cecile, the night that this all started, Liane left to investigate a story. I analyzed her phone's GPS, and it shows that she went to McCulloch Tech. Cecile, I think that something happened to Liane that night." Cecile says, "Barry... All of this-- is this the reason you've been avoiding Liane?" Barry says, "That's not Liane! Okay, look, I didn't want to tell anyone else about this until I gathered more evidence, but now you know, so I-- what do you think?" Cecile says, "Uh...What do I think? What do I think? I think-- I think that this-- this sounds--" Barry cuts Cecile off and says, "I know how it sounds, but look. We've seen crazier. We've seen crazier. And look at all the clues. Okay, I mean, she speaks Japanese all of sudden. She smashed a bottle over some guy's head. She made terrible pancakes. She blamed me for Flashpoint when the real Liane said she didn't blame me for it. She blamed me for leaving her for the Speed Force, when the real Liane knew I was saving the world. And Cecile, I haven't seen Sky for weeks. Every time I bring it up, this Liane makes up some lie about where Sky is. The first lie she said, Sky was at the vet. I called the vet; Sky was never emitted to the vet. The real Liane would been worried sick about where Sky is. But the biggest clue was... Her throwing me out. The real Liane would never stop fighting for us." Cecile nods and says, "Okay, okay, um. Sweetie. Do you think that maybe-- just maybe-- you're feeling a little scared, you know. Because your marriage is going through a rough patch, and maybe, what you need to do is just go see Liane." Barry says, "That's not Li-- Cecile, look. Do you know why my Speed Gauge is still glowing red? It is because the moment that I stepped out of the loft, I realized Liane, the real Liane, my wife, she is somewhere else. Probably in danger. And if that's true, I need my speed back. My--my lightning, all my powers if I'm gonna save her. It's all I've thought about ever since. No matter how insane this all sounds I know in my heart that the real Liane is out there somewhere. Waiting for me to find her. I won't let her down." Back with Liane, Liane says, "I think I've come up with a new idea to get us out of this place." Liane grabs an object off the desk, and she looks at the mirror about to throw the object when Eva stops her and gasps, "Stop! What are you doing?" Liane says, "Eva, think about it. This is the only mirror that you can control. So, there's got to be something different about it. And until we can figure out what that is, we're just working blind. Move." As Liane goes to try again, Eva grabs her arm stopping her once more and says, "So to examine it, you want to smash it?" Liane says, "Yeah, I mean, we both know that you can put it back together, so let's just take this thing down, dissect it by piece, and learn what its secrets are." Eva nods and says, "Fine. You do what you wanna do." Eva walks away. Eva says, "I'm gonna go to my lab, and work on a plan that would actually help us." Eva walks out the door and slams it shut. Liane scoffs and as she goes to through the object at the mirror, she stops when she sees a button on the side. Liane presses the button, and the mirror slides open showing a secret room. Liane says, "Oh, my God." Meanwhile with Mirror-Liane, she's with Mirror-Singh and Mirror-Kamilla setting up the loft with a bunch of mirrors. Mirror-Kamilla says, "That's better. Much more homey." Mirror-Singh says, "'Closer' is how I'd describe it. Closer to our mother. It's time for our next move. You ready?" Mirror-Kamilla says, "Yes. Are you?" Mirror-Kamilla looks at Mirror-Liane and says, "Are you?" Mirror-Liane looks at two of them and says, "Yes. All that matters is Eva's will. We follow orders and assure her success. That's all I want." Mirror-Singh says, "We need to focus. There's still one item Mother needs to obtain for her liberation. And it's the most dangerous yet." Later, Mirror-Liane walks into STAR Labs and looks at Barry and says, "Hey, I saw your text. I got here as fast I could. What's the emergency?" Nash walks in and says, "You are. Apparently." The doors to the cortex close. Mirror-Liane's confused and says, "What's going on?" Barry says, "You're not Liane. That's what. And you're not leaving here until you tell us who or what you are." Mirror-Liane scoffs and says, "What the hell are you talking about?" Nash has his gauntlet pointed at Mirror-Liane and Mirror-Liane looks at Nash and says, "And why are you pointing that gauntlet at me?" Barry shows Mirror-Liane the photo that Kamilla took of her and Wally. Barry says, "This photo was taken on Kamilla's camera. You see the prismatic fragmentation? Only your image is affected. I think that the camera's filter is revealing a dimensional shift. Showing us things in the picture from another dimension. Things that don't belong in ours." Mirror-Liane looks at Cecile and says, "Cecile, you actually believe this?" Cecile says, "You seemed off in your office earlier, and-- and that photo." Mirror-Liane says, "That could've been anything. A glitch in the camera tech. Guys, this is insane." Barry grabs a device and says, "This prismatic scanner is just a more powerful version of the camera's filter. If I'm wrong, and you are from this dimension, then when the prismatic wave hits you, you'll look completely normal. But if I'm right, you're gonna look just like that photo. And you're gonna tell is where the real Liane is." Mirror-Liane shakes her head in disbelief and says, "Barry, how could you do this? For God's sake, I'm your wife." Barry shakes his head not believing her. Mirror-Liane says, "Okay. You wanna see who I really am? Fine. I'll show you." Back with the real Liane, she steps into the secret room and Sky hops over standing next Liane. Liane looks around the room and presses a button on the podium and the screens start glitching making her head ache. Liane screams in pain getting on her knees. Sky whimpers wondering what's wrong. Liane pants, "No, no. I have to know. I have to know." Liane stands up and concentrates on the screens and she finds out it was Eva who brought her into this dimension. It was Eva who made the mirror version of herself. Eva's the one who's keeping her here. As Liane is hurting from the pain, she falls to the ground and sees Eva standing above her and she says, "I know. The truth hurts." Liane then passes out. Back with Mirror-Liane, she is sitting in a chair and before Barry tries the device on Mirror-Liane, Mirror-Liane says, "Barry. I just want you to know that if anything happens, I-- I forgive you." Barry points the device at Mirror-Liane and turns it on, but nothing happens. Mirror-Liane says, "What's happening?" Nash says, "Nothing." Cecile says, "Okay--okay, that's-- that's enough." Barry says, "No, something's-- something's wrong, all right? Just give it a minute." Mirror-Liane sighs and stands up turning off the device. Barry says, "Look, I-- I don't know how she did this, but-- but you have to see that this isn't my wife." Mirror-Liane says, "No, you're not my husband, Barry." Mirror-Liane grabs the device and says, "You want to know what the real test is? The real Barry would've fought harder. He would've fought to come back home. A whole week went by, and you never even tried. You used to say that I was your lightning rod. Now let's see if you're still mine." Mirror-Liane turns on the device, points it at Barry, and reveals his prismatic image. Nash and Cecile go over and stand next Mirror-Liane. Mirror-Liane turns off the device. Barry looks between Cecile and Nash and says, "Guys. I'm me. I'm the real Barry." As Nash goes to use his gauntlet at Barry, Barry says, "I'm-- hey!" Cecile says, "Wait! Nash, no!" Cecile stands in front of Barry, and she says, "Back up." Barry says, "Cecile?" Cecile looks at Barry and Barry says, "You believe me?" Cecile nods and says, "Yes. I do." Cecile then cuffs Barry with the meta cuffs and Cecile says, "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Barry. I'm sorry." Moments later, Barry's in the pipeline cell and he says, "Nash! Cecile! Don't listen to her. That's not Liane." Mirror-Liane says, "You know, you can stop playing this game, or rot in there. I don't care. Either way, I'm going to find my husband." Mirror-Liane mutes the speaker and Nash says, "Ah, I should've noticed something. I should've figured something out--" Mirror-Liane cuts him off and says, "No, no. No one's to blame. He or it was pretty convincing." Cecile says, "If that's not Barry, then what is he? He's like some mirror version of himself. Guys, Joseph Carver." Mirror-Liane says, "Wait-- you think that this is related to Black Hole and their reflective chip technology?" Cecile says, "Yeah." Mirror-Liane says, "I don't know. That seems almost--" Nash cuts her off and says, "No, that's possible. I've seen that McCulloch tech up close and it-- reflective chip technology, it's--it's far-reaching to say the least." Mirror-Liane says, "Okay, well, um, then this might be our best lead. Why don't you see what you can find, Nash? I will regroup with Kamilla and do some digging of our own." Mirror-Liane sees that Cecile is a little out of it and says, "Are you okay, Cecile?" Cecile snaps out of it and says, "Uh, yeah. No, um... Something just doesn't feel right." Mirror-Liane says, "Yeah, no, I understand. But we're gonna get to the bottom of this and get the real Barry back. I promise." Mirror-Liane walks away. Later, Mirror-Liane meets up with Mirror-Kamilla and Mirror-Singh at ARGUS. Mirror-Singh says, "Everything went according to plan?" Mirror-Liane says, "Yeah. Yeah, we're fine. Everything went as planned." Flashback to when Mirror-Liane was explaining the plan to them. Mirror-Liane says, "You guys go to the rendezvous. I'll handle this, and I'll meet you there." Mirror-Kamilla nods and her and Mirror-Singh leave. The mirror changes and Eva's face pops up and she says, "I've been watching Barry Allen. He's planning on exposing you." Mirror-Liane says, "Tell me what to do." Eva says, "Go. Meet him. Leave the rest to me." Flashback over. Mirror-Liane says, "Now, let's get what we came for." Mirror-Singh says, "One of the benefits of being chief of police is I can request prisoner interviews-- even for press." Mirror-Singh hands them a pass and as they walk through security, the girls show their passes and are let in. They then walk into a room and walk up to a cell where Ramsey is. Ramsey says, "Well...if it isn't Kamilla wang, Chief Singh... and Liane Lane-Allen. To what do I owe the honor?" Mirror-Liane says, "If you help us, we can get you out of there." Ramsey says, "And why would I trust the wife of the Flash?" Mirror-Liane says, "Because I'm not Liane Lane-Allen. I'm a reflection of her. We're all reflections. Faster, stronger than our human counterparts whose faces we share. And our only will is to serve our Mother." Ramsey smiles and says, "The real Liane would never offer to release me. Tell me more about your Mother." Mirror-Singh says, "Eva McCulloch. She was the sc--" Ramsey cuts him off and says, "I am a scientist. I know who Eva McCulloch is. But she disappeared years ago." Mirror-Liane says, "She's been trapped in another dimension. A mirror one. And she needs something from you." Ramsey smiles and says, "You need my blood. How grand. Even in here, fate continues to cast me in the role of savior." Mirror-Liane says, "We just need one drop." Mirror-Singh says, "But you need to decide now." Ramsey says, "I accept. Release me and you shall indeed have my life blood. How, this is no crude metacell in Iron Heights. How do you propose to disrupt a bio-degenerative containment matrix with triplicate backup protocols?" Mirror-Kamilla says, "Mother has a theory. I am the answer." As Mirror-Kamilla walks up to the cell, Mirror-Liane says, "Wait! You'll die." Mirror-Kamilla says, "Then it is Eva's will." As Mirror-Kamilla walks up to the cell she presses herself against the cage disrupting the cell and burning to bits. The cells down and the alarm goes off. Mirror-Singh checks his watch and says, "We have 60 seconds until the guards--" Mirror-Singh is cut off by Ramsey grabbing him and Mirror-Liane by the neck. Ramsey throws Mirror-Singh away and he crashes into a wall. Ramsey then looks at Mirror-Liane and he says, "You're almost human. Maybe something more. You follow your master Eva's will, but I see hesitation in your eyes. You have a modicum of will. Are you planning to trick me? Tell me now! What do you want?" Mirror-Liane gasps, "Only Eva's will." Ramsey angrily says, "Lies! Last chance. What do you want?" Mirror-Liane gasps, "To be alive." Ramsey then drops Mirror-Liane, and she starts coughing. Ramsey says, "And you are worthy of it." Ramsey steps back into the cell and the alarms stop. Mirror-Liane says, "What are you doing? We had a plan. Don't you want to escape?" Ramsey says, "There are walls beyond these walls. I was never gonna just walk out of here. But there's more than one way for me to be free. Let's just call this 'the long game.'" Mirror-Liane looks down to see some of Ramsey's blood on her and she gets out a vile and the blood goes into it. Mirror-Singh looks at Mirror-Liane and says, "Now go. I'll stay here and over our tracks. Now!" Mirror-Liane runs away. Later, Mirror-Liane's at the loft and Eva says, "Good work. You'll apply Ramsey's blood on your side of the mirror. Once it is fully absorbed, I will activate the R-CEM on my side. Together, they will reconfigure the molecular stability of the dimensional barrier that burns organic matter. Creating a safe passageway between the two worlds. Next time I speak to you, I will be standing right next to you. Liberated." Mirror-Liane says, "Sucess is assured." The mirror changes as Barry speeds in. Barry says, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Where's my wife? I'll ask you one more time. Where is my wife?" Mirror-Liane throws Ramsey's blood onto the mirror and Barry says, "What are you doing?" Mirror-Liane tosses the vile on the ground and she yells turning her arms into swords and starts fighting Barry. Back with Liane, she finds herself tied to a chair. Liane glares at Eva and says, "I saw everything. You targeted me from the very beginning." Eva says, "You suffered a fraction of my pain. But in just a few, I will be liberated." Liane says, "Barry is going to stop you. We both will." Eva says, "I used to think my love gives me strength too. The mirror showed me the truth. Let me do the same for you." Eva shows Liane Mirror-Liane fighting Barry. Barry's dodging all of Mirror-Liane's attacks. Mirror-Liane then slices at Barry's arm, and he groans. As Mirror-Liane slices at him again, Barry uses his speed to dodge the attack. Mirror-Liane says, "She says you're always gonna be in her way. And now you're too slow to stop me." Barry says, "Who's way? Who's making you do this?" Instead of answering, Mirror-Liane attacks Barry. As Barry tries to fight Mirror-Liane, she slices him in the face. Liane winces feeling helpless that she can't do anything to help. As Barry tries to fight Mirror-Liane once more, Mirror-Liane slices his leg. As Mirror-Liane inserts her arm into the mirror she slices at Barry's other leg. Mirror-Liane does the same thing through another mirror slicing his back. Mirror-Liane says, "You should really mind your surroundings." Mirror-Liane looks up at the ceiling mirror and Eva breaks the mirror making all of the pieces fall down and pierce Barry's skin, while Mirror-Liane continues to slice at him. Barry yells in pain falling to the ground with a grunt. Mirror-Liane makes her arms go back to normal. Barry groans, "Where's my wife?" Mirror-Liane says, "She's all you can think about, huh? What do you think about me, Barry? All those days... Weeks. It wasn't her. It was me. Enjoying meals together. Talking about our day. Sharing your bed." Barry grunts, "Oh, shut up." Mirror-Liane laughs. Liane glares at Eva and says, "I'm going to destroy you." Eva says, "Unlikely. I have been working on this plan for half a decade. This is my creation. She is me, and I am her. What she feels, I feel. And we cannot lose." Liane says, "Do they feel what you feel for Carver?" Eva says, "What?" Liane says, "Do they still love him?" Eva says, "I don't love my husband. I want to end him." Liane says, "If that were true, then why do you keep calling him your husband? You are just as blinded as you were before. And he is going to trick you in the exact same way." Eva says, "Stop talking." Liane says, "Because you still love him." Eva yells, "No! I don't!" Eva's scratching her arm. Mirror-Liane hears a high-pitched ringing sound, and she groans grabbing her head. Liane says, "Your brilliant mind couldn't figure out that he didn't care about you." Eva yells, "Shut up!" Mirror-Liane then starts scratching her arm. Liane raises her voice and says, "How long did you sit here, Eva, pining for rescue before you realized that you had been abandoned?" Eva angrily yells, "I hate him! I want him to suffer! Suffer, suffer!" Eva starts hitting the wall. Mirror-Liane says, "Suffer! Suffer! Suffer! Suffer! Suffer!" Eva keeps hitting the wall and says, "Suffer and suffer and suffer!" Mirror-Liane says, "Suffer! Suffer!" Barry says, "Liane. Liane. I won't fight you. I won't fight you anymore. You were made from Liane. A part of her heart is inside you. I've seen you be kind. I've seen you laugh. I know that wasn't all a lie. You can be more than this. Not Liane, but... yourself. You have to want it." Eva watches and shakes her head and says, "No." Barry says, "You have to choose it." Mirror-Liane starts crying and she nods. Mirror-Liane smiles with tears in her eyes and says, "I--I choose me. Go find Liane. Go find her, Barry. Go save Liane. Go." Then Mirror-Liane starts breaking because of Eva and Barry catches her into his arms. Mirror-Liane says, "Barry. I feel alive. I feel alive." Then Mirror-Liane shatters completely. Then Eva walks into the mirror and the mirror changes making Liane not see anything anymore. Liane then gets herself out of the ropes and looks into the mirror with tears in her eyes and says, "I know you probably can't hear me, Barry, but... Being away from you hurts more and more every day. But I still have hope because I know that you are out there fighting to get me back home. I love you. And that love is constant. And I'm gonna find Kamilla. And I'm gonna find Singh. But most of all... I'm gonna find my way back to you." Liane places her hand on the mirror with tears streaming down her face. Sky whimpers putting her paw against the mirror also.