Chapter Summaries

Barry sought Lin Li’s help with a string of bizarre Central City murders, while Lin Li tried to find a way to access the Speed Force. The chapter left Lin Li considering Shanshan 2.0’s suggestion that they create the Speed Force themselves.

• Nine Central City murders occurred over three days, each with the same gruesome method and a different suspect who insisted they had been framed.
• Barry suspected a metahuman was committing the murders and framing ordinary people, so he went to STAR Labs to ask Lin Li for help.
• Cisco told Barry that Lin Li had been acting strangely toward him, and Caitlin blushed as she imagined a romance between them.
• Lin Li asked Shanshan 2.0 how he could use the Speed Force, and she explained that its conscious entity had not granted him permission.
• Shanshan 2.0 warned Lin Li that the Speed Force might be manipulating him and suggested that they create their own Speed Force.

Lin Li concluded that he could obtain the Speed Force by entering it and seizing its fundamental motion, and he grew eager to use Cisco’s Vibe ability to help him. Barry then asked Lin Li to help catch the Jack the Ripper killer, whose crimes seemed linked to an unknown power.

• Lin Li rejected the idea of creating the Speed Force and reasoned that he needed to enter it and claim some of its motion for himself.
• Lin Li planned to increase his physical closeness with Cisco so Cisco’s Vibe ability might help him reach the Speed Force.
• Cisco felt an ominous chill, feared his superpower was warning him of danger, and quietly left STAR Labs without telling Lin Li.
• Barry asked Lin Li for help investigating the Jack the Ripper murders after examinations of the suspects revealed no signs of mind control.
• Barry asked Lin Li to use his electromagnetic sensing across a thirty-five-kilometer radius to catch the killer before another murder around seven in the evening.

Lin Li and Barry hunted a serial killer in Greeley Avenue District, but Barry arrived too late to save the victim. Lin Li cross-referenced the Jack the Ripper case and gave Joe and the others several possible connections, including a mysterious man in a gray coat and the name Divo.

• Lin Li used his electromagnetic sensing to direct Barry toward crimes in Greeley Avenue District, but Barry failed to reach the latest victim before the killer murdered him.
• Lin Li returned to STAR Labs and ordered Shanshan 2.0 to cross-reference the victims, perpetrators, surveillance footage, and statements in the Jack the Ripper case.
• Barry told Lin Li that the killer caught in the act had admitted to that murder but denied involvement in the other killings.
• Lin Li showed Joe the results of his investigation, including repeated mentions of the Flash and the Lightning Riders, seven victims mentioning Divo, and a gray-coated man seen contacting six victims.
• Lin Li reported that all the victims had visited government aid offices, but no other shared destination had been found.

As Team Flash celebrated Christmas at Joe's house, Lin Li continued planning to free himself from the Speed Force and return to his own reality. He remained unable to access the Speed Force, and the chapter ended with him joining the others and handing out gifts.

• Several days passed without any new Jack the Ripper-style cases, while Lin Li studied the Speed Force and his plan to create his own.
• Lin Li decided he would follow Barry into the Speed Force and convert its speed into kinetic energy, freeing himself from the Speed Force consciousness.
• On Christmas, Cisco drove Lin Li to Joe's house, where Lin Li reflected on how his changes had altered the lives of Barry, Iris, Caitlin, and others.
• Lin Li tried to get Cisco to Vibe something about his situation, but Cisco asked him to stop being so physically affectionate.
• Lin Li and Cisco arrived at Joe's house, where Lin Li handed out Christmas gifts Caitlin had bought for him.

At Christmas, Barry asked Lin Li whether he should give up on saving his mother, and Lin Li refused to decide for him. Lin Li then sought to free Barry's Father by asking Wells to confess to killing Barry's mother, but Wells refused.

• Lin Li celebrated Christmas at Joe's house and looked through childhood photos with Barry, who wondered whether he should give up his family life to save his mother.
• Lin Li told Barry that only he could make the choice and decided to get Barry's Father out of prison to ease his conflict.
• The next day, Lin Li hugged Cisco before heading to the Particle Accelerator, while Caitlin complained about Lin Li and comforted Cisco.
• Lin Li brought Wells's prison pod to the ring corridor and asked Wells to record a confession that he had killed Barry's mother.
• Wells roared at Lin Li to get out.

Lin Li tried to make Wells confess to killing Barry's mother and clearing Barry's father, but Wells refused because he wanted Barry to go back and save his mother. Lin Li used a lightning sphere to scan Wells's body and Speed Force, then left him enraged in the metahuman prison.

• Lin Li asked Wells to record a confession clearing Barry's father, but Wells refused, insisting Barry needed to save his mother to secure Wells's future.
• Lin Li sent a lightning sphere into Wells's cell and made Wells dodge it with his Speed Mode as it pursued him.
• Wells mocked Lin Li when the sphere ran out of energy, claiming he had learned how to counter Magnetic Attraction Speed.
• Lin Li summoned Shanshan 2.0, who reported that she had finished scanning Wells's body and collecting his Speed Force data.
• Lin Li revealed that the chase had been a scan and said he would improve Magnetic Attraction Speed before their next clash, leaving Wells furious and threatening to kill him.

Lin Li captured Hannibal Bates and used his shapeshifting ability to impersonate Wells, confess, and arrange for Barry's Father to be released. When Lin Li returned to STAR Labs, Barry announced that he was ready to go back to the night his mother was killed.

• Lin Li planned to create his own Speed Force and worked out the conditions Barry would need to meet for Lin Li to enter the Speed Force dimension.
• Lin Li decided to free Barry's Father before Barry could try to save his mother, then searched for Hannibal Bates and tracked him through surveillance footage.
• After nearly half a month of waiting, Lin Li caught Hannibal Bates and terrified him into cooperating.
• Lin Li brought Hannibal Bates to STAR Labs, had him impersonate Wells, and arranged for Wells to confess and transfer STAR Labs before releasing Hannibal Bates to live with his grandmother.
• Lin Li returned to the control room and was surprised when Barry said he would return to the moment his mother was killed the next day.

Barry prepared to travel back in time to the night his mother was killed, while Lin Li hoped to use the trip to return to his own world. The chapter ended as the team began the time travel the next morning, with Barry carrying the burden of his decision and the news that his father would soon be freed.

• Barry told the team he would travel back to the night his mother was killed, and Caitlin explained that Reverse-Flash would be sent back to the future.
• Eddie vowed to stop Reverse-Flash even if it cost him his life, earning Lin Li’s respect and acceptance into Team Flash.
• Barry said he would also return to the moment Lin Li had arrived, giving Lin Li a chance to try to go home.
• Lin Li told Barry he had found evidence proving his father’s innocence, and Barry embraced him in tearful gratitude.
• Barry and the team began the time travel at nine the next morning.

Barry used the Speed Force to open a wormhole and travel back toward the night his mother was murdered, while Lin Li was pulled along and arrived somewhere unexpected. Lin Li found the young woman he had been separated from and embraced her.

• Martin explained how Barry would reach Mach 2 and collide with hydrogen protons to create a passage through time, while Cisco and Caitlin worried about the risks.
• Lin Li reminded Barry to wait until his future self saved his younger self before approaching his mother, and Barry entered the Particle Accelerator ring.
• Barry reached Mach 2, collided with the hydrogen particles, and disappeared as a wormhole formed; Lin Li was pulled into the Speed Force as well.
• Lin Li emerged at Wanda Plaza, where he had first been transported into The Flash's world, and saw a young woman walk out of the entrance.
• Lin Li ran to the young woman, held her tightly, and told her he had missed her.

Lin Li reunited with an unresponsive Yang Shanshan in a lifeless world and tried to keep her close by revisiting their memories and marrying her. He brought her back to their home, still grieving that the life they shared was no longer real.

• Lin Li hugged and kissed Yang Shanshan, insisting that she was the real Yang Shanshan as she tried to speak.
• Lin Li took Yang Shanshan to Daming Lake and recalled how they had fallen in, been rescued, and later learned to swim together.
• Lin Li brought Yang Shanshan to places from their past, including a stinky tofu stall, an aquarium, and Disneyland.
• Lin Li took Yang Shanshan into a church, declared that they were married, and placed black rings on both their left ring fingers.
• Lin Li returned with Yang Shanshan to their home and remembered the belongings she had chosen and collected.

Lin Li accepted the Speed Force’s offer of beyond-light-speed power after learning it wanted him to return to his own world. As the Speed Force began granting him access, Shanshan 2.0 warned that it was erasing his frequency from the real world.

• Lin Li confronted the Shanshan-like figure, who revealed that she was the Speed Force.
• The Speed Force offered Lin Li permission to use power beyond the speed of light so he could return to his world and avoid disrupting its order.
• Lin Li questioned the offer and consulted Shanshan 2.0, who said the granted Speed Force could strengthen the Speed Force Lin Li created himself.
• Lin Li accepted the offer, and the Speed Force placed black lightning against his forehead to grant him access.
• Shanshan 2.0 warned Lin Li that the process was erasing his frequency from the real world.

Lin Li confronted a Speed Force entity disguised as Shanshan, which claimed he had to erase his real-world frequency to gain the power to return home. Torn between that promise and the danger of losing his only known connection to reality, he asked Shanshan 2.0 to assess both choices.

• Lin Li used Shanshan 2.0 to convert his stored energy into three seconds of Speed Force after she warned that creating Speed Force cells would take months.
• Lin Li realized the entity before him was not the real Shanshan when it calmly explained that erasing his real-world frequency would let him merge with the Speed Force.
• The entity promised Lin Li he could immediately run back to reality if he gave up his real-world frequency, and he grew overwhelmed by thoughts of going home.
• Shanshan 2.0 reported that Lin Li's hastily converted Speed Force could reach only Mach 2, and Lin Li suppressed his urge to agree to the entity's offer.
• Lin Li asked Shanshan 2.0 to analyze the two choices, and she questioned how he could know that faster-than-light Speed Force would return him to reality.

Lin Li questioned whether the Speed Force could truly take him home and refused the black Speed Force’s offer, choosing to rely on his own abilities. He left the Speed Force Shanshan and headed for Wanda Plaza, while she hinted they would meet again and that he would face another choice.

• Shanshan 2.0 asked how Lin Li could know that a Speed Force beyond light speed would return him to the real world, making him doubt the offer.
• Lin Li asked the Speed Force Shanshan whether erasing his real-world frequency would let him return home, and she confirmed it would.
• Missing Shanshan, Lin Li remembered her warning about haste and decided he would not accept the Speed Force’s power.
• Lin Li secretly used his Armor of Justice to create a temporary Speed Force and prepared to flee if the Speed Force Shanshan attacked.
• The Speed Force Shanshan respected Lin Li’s choice and said Barry would soon return him to Central City, or he could leave through Wanda Plaza.
• Lin Li embraced Shanshan, told her he loved the real Shanshan and not her, then left for Wanda Plaza as she looked forward to their next meeting and his next choice.

Lin Li rejected the Speed Force’s offer and chose to rely on his connection to reality and develop his own speed. As Barry’s Speed Force pulled him through a wormhole, Shanshan attacked him with black lightning, wrecking his body and destabilizing the passage.

• Lin Li refused to trade his connection to reality for the Speed Force’s promise of an immediate return home.
• When Barry’s Speed Force began forming a wormhole, Lin Li activated the Speed Force he had converted and entered Speed Mode.
• Shanshan spotted Lin Li surrounded by yellow Speed Force lightning and rushed to attack him.
• As Lin Li was pulled into the wormhole, Shanshan struck his back with black lightning, severing his spine and overwhelming his Speed Force.
• The black lightning spread through Lin Li and distorted the wormhole, which collapsed and swallowed him.

Lin Li survived Speed Force Shanshan’s attack by using Barry’s Speed Force to create replacement Speed Force cells, but the process left him unable to move for months. After the wormhole expelled him into a black hole, a hooded figure struck his armor and fled.

• Lin Li ordered Shanshan 2.0 to expose his brain to the destructive waves and use Barry’s Speed Force to help him create Speed Force cells.
• Lin Li’s consciousness began to scatter, but the name Shanshan awakened him, allowing him and Shanshan 2.0 to rebuild his consciousness and replace thirty percent of his damaged cells.
• Barry’s Speed Force neutralized the destructive waves, and Shanshan 2.0 calculated that Lin Li would need about four months to recover enough to act.
• Lin Li was expelled from the damaged wormhole into a black hole, where a hooded figure in black leather punched his armor and ran away across a half-skyscraper.

Lin Li endured the crushing pressure of a black hole until it ejected him, leaving him comatose and badly damaged. Three months later, he regained consciousness at STAR Labs as Caitlin called the others to surgery.

• Lin Li and Shanshan 2.0 realized the black hole connected to Earth-2 and that Firestorm's destruction might eject them, while Lin Li suffered worsening injuries.
• The unstable black hole spat Lin Li out, and the sudden release from pain caused him to fall into a coma.
• At STAR Labs, Cisco used electrical nutrient solution to help Lin Li recover after he had shrunk under the pressure.
• Lin Li heard Caitlin explain that Ronnie had died by choosing to sacrifice himself, and he inferred that Eddie would eventually die and Reverse-Flash would be erased by time.
• Shanshan 2.0 checked that Lin Li had not become an idiot and said they could upgrade his Speed Cells and address the strange metal cell nucleus.
• Caitlin saw the cardiac neural monitor fluctuate and called everyone to surgery when Lin Li regained consciousness.

At STAR Labs, Caitlin, Cisco, Martin, and Barry learned that Lin Li was recovering from being compressed into a Hobbit inside a black hole, though his strange cells left Caitlin unsure how to treat him. Lin Li responded to their questions through the neural monitor, revealing that he needed an enormous amount of electricity.

• Barry rushed to surgery after Cisco told him Lin Li had shown signs of waking, and he blamed himself for the disasters that led to Lin Li's condition and Ronnie's death.
• Caitlin explained that Lin Li's neural activity was improving but that his unusual cells made his condition difficult to treat.
• Cisco suggested giving Lin Li electricity, while Caitlin warned that it could damage his nerves.
• Lin Li reacted to Caitlin's and Cisco's questions through the cardiac neural monitor, confirming that he could hear them and needed electricity.
• Lin Li's neural monitor stayed elevated for more than ten seconds, indicating that he needed a huge amount of electrical energy.

Lin Li awakened the Speed Force, sacrificing his electrical and electromagnetic abilities while planning safeguards for his body and armor. After seven months in the hospital, he suddenly rose as Jay Garrick arrived, showing Cisco why he believed Lin Li could defeat Zoom.

• Lin Li let Shanshan 2.0 transform his body, multiplying his Speed Cells and destroying his electrical-energy abilities.
• Lin Li abandoned his incompatible plan for Speed Force Electromagnetic Cells and ordered Shanshan 2.0 to isolate strange metal cell nuclei to stabilize his body and block Vibrational Phasing.
• Lin Li rejected Shanshan 2.0's proposed armor design after seeing its lightning-shaped skirt.
• Cisco brought Jay Garrick to Lin Li's hospital room and boasted that Lin Li would stop Zoom once he recovered.
• Lin Li suddenly sprang up from the hospital bed with silver arcs flashing in his eyes, and Jay saw the source of Cisco's confidence.

Jay took Cisco to see the unconscious Lin Li, secretly intending to judge whether he could threaten ZOOM. Lin Li suddenly woke, struck Jay with overwhelming speed, and left him unconscious in his grasp.

• Jay asked Cisco to take him to Lin Li, while repeatedly insisting that ZOOM was too powerful for Lin Li to defeat.
• Cisco defended Lin Li and recalled the destructive feats he had witnessed, expressing confidence that Lin Li could stop ZOOM.
• Jay dismissed Lin Li and privately imagined killing him in front of Cisco.
• Lin Li suddenly sat up with silver electricity flashing in his eyes and launched himself across the operating room.
• Lin Li slammed Jay into the wall, shattered bones throughout his body, and lifted him by the neck, asking, "You punched me?"

Lin Li awoke from his coma and immediately attacked Jay, leaving him badly injured before Cisco and Caitlin stopped him. After Lin Li reunited with them, Caitlin ordered him to help repair the surgical ward, and he began cleaning up with Cisco while they talked.

• Lin Li woke up, seized Jay by the throat, and slammed him into a wall, leaving him unconscious and seriously injured.
• Cisco and Caitlin confronted Lin Li, and he tossed Jay past the bed and onto the floor.
• Caitlin checked Jay and treated him, while Cisco hugged Lin Li and welcomed him back.
• Lin Li embraced Caitlin and thanked her for caring for him during his coma.
• Caitlin ordered Lin Li to clean the wrecked surgical ward and put Jay on the bed, so Lin Li and Cisco got to work together.