Barry speeds to a date with Patty and ends up setting his roses for her on fire. They kiss and then Zoom grabs Patty and speeds away. Barry goes after him up a building, and Zoom holds Patty over the edge and says that everything Barry has will be his. He drops Patty...
... and Barry wakes up from his nightmare.
The next day at the police station, Joe and Iris show Wally. Singh comes over and Joe introduces him to his son. When Singh says that Joe is a hell of a detective, Wally says obviously not. Once the captain leaves, Joe suggests that Barry join them for dinner. Wally says that he has plans, while an incoming prisoner calls over to Wally, asking where his cuffs are. Once they lead him away, Wally claims he doesn't know him and says that he'll see Joe and Iris at dinner. Patty comes over and asks to talk to Iris privately. Once Joe leaves, Patty says that she wants to talk to Iris about Barry.
The two women go to Jitters and Patty asks Iris to help her figure Barry out. She wonders why Barry is being guarded and having nightmares, and she wonders what's hold him back. Iris says that Barry has a bad habit of carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and advises Patty to tell him that he doesn't have to do that with her.
Harry is working in the lab and tosses things on the floor in frustration. Cisco comes in and notices Harry's equations, and Harry says that they're wrong answers. The younger scientist says that they should work on making Zoom slower by stealing his speed. Intrigued, Harry asks him what he means.
Later, Cisco calls the team together and explains that he's been working on the Turtle. When they were looking for Reverse-Flash, Cisco stumbled on crimes that were apparently committed using high speed. He plays a surveillance tape from a bank that shows the turtle walking in. the time code is still running, and Cisco figures he's slowing everything around him. Jay figures that if they can capture the Turtle then they can use his power on Zoom. The Turtle stole items of personal value, and the police dismissed them as misplaced items. Barry brings up a report on the recovery of the Vandervoort diamond and speeds off to the police station where Singh is holding a press statement.
At the station, the Flash watches the crowd and spots the Turtle approaching the diamonds. Despite the hero's superspeed, he's slowed down as well. By the time the Turtle leaves, the Turtle has escaped with a diamond ring.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry tells the others what happened. Harry confirms that the Turtle drains kinetic energy from everything around him, leaving everyone else in a state of potential energy. He walks out and tells Cisco that he's going to figure out how to work it against Zoom. Cisco irritably goes after him, and Caitlin runs facial recognition software on the video from the press conference. The Turtle is Russell Glosson, a small-time thief before the particle explosion. Once Barry leaves, Caitlin notices that Jay is distracted. He says that he was reminded of how he lost his speed, and doesn't believe Caitlin's assurances that they can get his speed back.
Barry tells Joe about the Turtle, and admits that he's nervous about dinner with Wally. His foster son assures Joe that he's the best dad ever and promises to be there. Patty comes over and asks Barry if everything is okay, and tells him that he doesn't need to feel burdened by anything. Barry explains that his mother died around New Year's and the holiday brings back his memories. He suggests that they go out on a date the next night and Patty agrees.
That night at the West home, Joe, Iris, and Barry wait for Wally. He doesn't show and Joe goes upstairs. Iris finally says that she met Patty for coffee and told her to talk to Barry. Barry admits that he's been having nightmares about Zoom killing Patty, and Iris warns him that he's going to have to tell her the truth. He insists that he can't do that, but Iris says that if he's serious about being with her then he has to. Barry considers and then agrees.
Later, Barry goes back to S.T.A.R. Labs and Cisco believes the Turtle will strike at a museum party showcasing the return of a famous painting. Barry remembers his date with Patty and tells the others that it's an opportunity. He calls Patty and suggests that they go to the museum party. Patty admits that she doesn't like art but she likes Barry, so she'll meet him there. After Barry hangs up, he tells the others about his plan. Harry is listening from the next room, and when Barry leaves Harry tells him not to tell Patty the truth. He warns that if Zoom finds out who Barry cares about then he'll take them.
At the museum, Barry, Caitlin, and Jay check the crowd for the Turtle. Cisco and Harry are outside running facial recognition software, and Harry finally says that on Eath-2, Zoom lured the CCPD into a trap to show that they couldn't stop him. The villain killed 14 officers and left one alive, and the officer referred to the villain "zooming" around. Later that night, Zoom killed the officer and finished the job. Cisco offers to vibe to confirm if Jesse is alive, and Harry insists that he's sure his daughter is alive.
Patty comes in and Barry remembers his nightmare. He goes over and assures Patty that she looks like a dream, and Barry suggests that they talk before checking the painting. They dance and Barry admits that he works hard to hide who he is. He says that he trusts Patty and then starts to explain about what happened after he was struck by lightning. However, Barry spots the Turtle in a nearby hallway at the same time that Cisco spots him. Barry tells Patty that he has to go and runs off, and Patty spots the Turtle taking the painting. He uses his power, takes her gun, and prepares to shoot her. The Flash speeds in and the Turtle uses his power, and then shoots a chandelier down. The hero runs down and tries to get Patty out of the way. The Turtle leaves and the Flash pushes Patty out of the way just in time. The chandelier hits nearby, stunning him, and Caitlin and Jay get him out.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin examines Barry and confirms that he's okay. Barry goes off to find Patty, and Harry and Jay go to find the Turtle. Jay offers Caitlin a glass of champagne and they share a toast, and Caitlin kisses him briefly before he goes to help the others. Once she's alone, Jay takes Jay's glass with his DNA on it.
Patty is looking at an envelope she received from Midway City when Barry arrives. She asks what happened at the museum, and Barry admits that he doesn't have a good excuse. Patty complains about Barry ditching him, and says that she wants them to be closer. She tells Barry that he has to figure out what he wants and do it fast, and walks away.
Wally is street-racing and wins with a sudden burst of speed. The other driver hands over his keys and Wally realizes that Joe is watching. He goes over and says that he couldn't make it for dinner. Joe figures that Wally came to Central City to race, and Wally says that selling the cars he wins is the only way he can pay for Francine's treatments. When Joe offers to help, Wally says that he's the man of his house and the position has been filled.
Patty is listening to music when there's a knock at her door. She opens it and the Turtle bursts in. When Patty shoots at him, the Turtle stops the bullets, disarms her, and says that he's taking the thing most precious to the Flash.
Later, Barry returns to Patty's house and discovers that she's gone. He finds the spent bullets on the floor and realizes that the Turtle was there, and calls Joe and tells him to meet him at S.T.A.R. Labs.
The Turtle takes Patty to the Naydel Library where he has all of his stolen things, and says that he's going to hurt the Flash by hurting her. Patty has no idea why the Turtle is striking at her to get at the Flash, and insists that he saves everyone. The Turtle says that saving people is a waste of time because they take everything for granted, like his wife Rosalyn did. He couldn't let her go, so he made her mine. The Turtle pulls away a drape to show her corpse locked up in a glass cabinet. He then reveals another case and puts a name card in it with Patty's name on it.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Harry suggests that the Turtle is keeping everything he's stolen. Joe realizes that the villain needs a lot of space to store it, and Cisco remembers that Richard's wife worked at the Naydel Library. Barry heads out, figuring he can power through the Turtle's power.
The Flash arrives at the library, and Cisco and Caitlin tell him that he'll have to grab Patty in-between the Turtle's pulses. Bracing himself, the Flash runs in.
The Turtle prepares to inject Patty when the Flash speeds in. The villain uses his power, and the speedster grinds to a halt. The Turtle punches him repeatedly, and the Flash speeds out when the power fades out. He runs out and doubles back, and the Turtle uses his power again. The speedster slows down but then move forward between the pulses and throws the Turtle across the room, knocking him out. The Flash cuts Patty free and she hugs him in relief.
Later, the team locks the Turtle up in the pipeline. Barry tells the others that Patty is okay and walks out. Caitlin approaches Jay and says that she knows that he's sick. He admits that he didn't expect to get close to her, and the only way to save him is to get his speed back. To get his speed back, they have to stop zoom, and Caitlin hugs Jay and says that they'll stop him.
Wally returns to the West house to get his sweater. He says that he's heading back to Keystone because things are getting hot for him in Central City. Wally says that he's not going to apologize, and Joe apologizes to him for not being there when his son was growing up. He admits that he was pushing the whole father-son thing and suggests that they slow things down. Wally agrees and digs into the leftover food from the dinner he missed.
Barry arrives at the station and asks Patty if they can talk. She says that it's not a good time but Barry says that he hasn't been honest with her. Before he can continue, Patty says that she's leaving Central City. She was accepted into the forensic science program at Midway City, but she didn’t go so she could catch her father's killer. Now that she has, it's time for her to move on... from everything. Patty kisses Barry on the cheek and walks away.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Harry makes a journal entry promising to come for Jessie. He talks about taking her to the planetarium when she was 4 and lost her in the crowds. As Harry goes to the Turtle's cell and takes a brain sample, he remembers what he considered doing to the person who he thought took his daughter. That was when he realized he would do anything to get Jessie back.
Reverse Flash--Eobard Thawne--arrives on a street in Central City and looks around. He brings up his portable Gideon AI asks where he is.
Written by Gadfly on Jan 20, 2016