Chapter Summaries

Joe realized Roy G. Babble’s metahuman ability depended on eye contact, and Team Flash rushed to stop him after police tracked him to a warehouse. Lin Li knocked Roy unconscious while Barry encountered Green Arrow, then Barry asked Lin Li to meet a friend.

• Joe spotted that Roy G. Babble made eye contact with everyone in the bank, and Wells concluded that the contact triggered their rage.
• The police tracked Roy to a warehouse at 1600 Puth Street, so Joe, Eddie, Barry, and Lin Li rushed to the scene.
• Roy made SWAT officers attack one another, leaving one officer with a leg wound and two others hit by arrows.
• Barry saw Green Arrow climb a support beam and disappear from sight.
• Lin Li sensed Roy escaping through the warehouse’s rear entrance and knocked him unconscious, then tied him to a car.
• Barry arrived and excitedly asked Lin Li to meet a friend.

Barry reunited with Team Arrow in Central City, where Lin Li’s armored arrival impressed Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity. As Lin Li prepared to leave with the captured meta-human Roy G. Babble, Roy used his red eyes to affect him.

• Barry arrived at Team Arrow’s shack at superspeed, startling Diggle and greeting Felicity and Oliver.
• Lin Li arrived on the Lightning Rider wearing the Armor of Justice, introduced himself to Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity, and explained that his armor was technological.
• Felicity showed Barry a silver boomerang from a Star City murder and asked to use STAR Labs’ equipment to test it, while Oliver agreed to let her go alone.
• Barry carried Felicity to STAR Labs, and Lin Li told Oliver and Diggle that the captured meta-human on his vehicle could make people angry with his glowing red eyes.
• Roy G. Babble pretended to be unconscious, then opened his red eyes at Lin Li and caused Lin Li’s eyes to turn red before they returned to normal.

Lin Li discovered that Roy G. Babble’s power had infected much of his brain and threatened to make his anger uncontrollable. He brought Roy to STAR Labs and left to avoid lashing out while he planned a way to undo the effects.

• Oliver and Diggle saw Lin Li depart on the invisible Lightning Rider and worried about his unsettling behavior.
• Shanshan 2.0 scanned Lin Li and found that Roy G. Babble’s power had altered about sixty percent of his brain circuits, especially those governing emotion.
• Lin Li learned that the Resurrection Coffin could not fix the damage and planned to build a powerful light-emitting radiation lamp to correct it.
• Lin Li threw Roy G. Babble into a solitary cell at STAR Labs, where Roy shouted threats that further irritated him.
• Lin Li stopped Cisco’s boomerang with a pen, warned everyone to be more careful, and left the control room to avoid losing his temper.
• Caitlin followed Lin Li and caught up with him around a corner.

Lin Li delayed separating Firestorm while he worked to control the rage affecting him, then completed the Quantum Splicer. Ronnie and Martin were separated successfully, though they emerged without clothes.

• Lin Li told Caitlin that a meta-human’s rage had affected him and that he needed to address it before separating Firestorm.
• Shanshan 2.0 suggested Lin Li work on the Quantum Splicer while waiting for calculations for a light-emitting device, and Lin Li agreed.
• At Jitters Cafe, Oliver warned Barry that Lin Li seemed dangerous, but Barry said he trusted Lin Li.
• Lin Li completed the Quantum Splicer after two sleepless days as his anger continued to build.
• Caitlin gave Ronnie the device, and Ronnie used it to separate himself from Martin; Cisco realized they had not prepared clothes for them.

Caitlin reunited with Ronnie and Martin after their separation, but their brain waves remained identical, meaning they would eventually become Firestorm again. Meanwhile, Lin Li’s anger threatened to overwhelm him, and he left to build a machine that could restore his emotional control.

• Caitlin embraced Ronnie, and Cisco brought Ronnie and Martin clothes after their reunion.
• Ronnie and Martin argued over their time sharing a body until Lin Li angrily warned them that their identical brain waves meant they would become Firestorm again.
• Lin Li recognized that he was losing control of his emotions, told the others he had only two days left, and went to the laboratory to assemble the light-collecting radiation machine.
• Caitlin explained that Roy G. Babble’s furious gaze had damaged Lin Li’s emotional control, and Wells decided the others should leave him alone while they examined Ronnie and Martin.
• Caitlin’s tests showed Ronnie and Martin’s brain waves were completely synchronized, and Martin and Ronnie went with Barry and Caitlin to see their loved ones.

At Military Base 27, Wade Eiling learned that Wells had separated Firestorm and ordered Martin Stein captured for his share of the matrix code. At STAR Labs, Barry found Lin Li working under the influence of the anger meta’s power and fled after Lin Li roared at him to get out.

• Wade Eiling blamed Hartley’s failed operation and ordered his soldiers to bring him Martin Stein after learning Wells had separated Firestorm.
• Hartley resented Wells’s scientific achievement and silently contemplated him with hostility.
• Barry returned to STAR Labs to check on Lin Li, while Cisco and Felicity warned that Lin Li was working in an unstable state.
• Barry entered Lin Li’s lab and found him frantically building a large lamp with red flickering in his pupils.
• Lin Li roared at Barry to get out, and Barry backed away, trying to calm him.

Barry and the team discovered that Wade Eiling had taken Professor Martin Stein to Military Research Institute No. 27, where Stein’s suffering was also hurting Ronnie. Barry left alone to rescue Stein, while Lin Li continued suppressing his unstable condition.

• After Caitlin reported that military personnel had taken Professor Martin Stein, Felicity traced the Hummers that had carried him away.
• Caitlin brought Ronnie to the control room, where his shared brainwaves with Stein let him sense Stein’s abuse and suffer severe pain.
• Ronnie carved a message into his arm, and the number 27 appeared as a clue to Stein’s location.
• Barry used Speed Force thinking and Felicity’s computer search to identify the destination as Military Research Institute No. 27, about three hundred miles away.
• Barry stopped Cisco from contacting Lin Li because Lin Li risked losing control, then suited up and raced off to rescue Professor Stein.

Barry entered Military Research Institute No. 27 to rescue Martin Stein, but the base cut off his communications and trapped him underground. With Ronnie suffering and Barry missing, Cisco told Lin Li what had happened, leaving Lin Li to decide whether to intervene despite his dangerous condition.

• Wade Eiling tortured Martin Stein and ordered researchers to study the Firestorm matrix code in his body.
• Barry arrived at the base, followed Felicity's directions through its upper levels, and lost contact with her and Cisco on the second underground level.
• The entrance behind Barry closed and locked, while Cisco and the others waited more than ten minutes without hearing from him.
• Ronnie suffered a severe painful episode, and Caitlin urged Cisco not to risk sending Lin Li into danger.
• Cisco broadcast that Wade Eiling had captured Martin Stein and that Barry had gone missing, causing Lin Li to stop entering code and look up.

Lin Li’s anger overwhelmed him, and Shanshan 2.0 merged with him after he removed her restrictions. He blasted out of STAR Labs and raced toward Barry, while the team feared what he might do in his enraged state.

• Lin Li briefly used Super-Speed Thinking to resist his anger, but the fury returned and spread through his body as a crimson Bio-Field.
• Lin Li put on the Armor of Justice, ordered Shanshan 2.0 to remove her restrictions and merge with him, and she obeyed.
• Lin Li smashed through a corridor wall at STAR Labs and flew away, leaving Felicity, Cisco, and Caitlin alarmed.
• Barry told the team he had found Professor Martin Stein but was trapped behind reinforced steel doors, and Cisco warned him that Lin Li was still enraged.
• Lin Li broke the sound barrier above Central City as people recognized him and began chasing after the Lightning Rider.

Barry rescued Martin Stein from Military Base 27 but found the base’s exits sealed and its equipment mysteriously shut down. After a violent assault began aboveground, Barry found a hidden route to the surface and emerged to a horrifying scene.

• Barry rescued Martin Stein from a freezing room, but they found the staircase sealed by a thick steel plate.
• Barry returned with Martin to the sunken control section and discovered everyone gone and the equipment powerless.
• Wade Eiling watched Barry on the surveillance feed before an explosion struck the base and chaos erupted among the soldiers.
• Barry suspected Lin Li was fighting Wade Eiling and hurried to find a way out, fearing Lin Li might kill the soldiers.
• Barry used vibration to remove the screws from a massive steel door and escaped with Martin up a staircase.
• Barry reached the surface of Military Base 27 and cried out in horror at what he saw.

Lin Li attacked Wade Eiling’s military base in a state of extreme rage, overpowering its soldiers and nearly killing Wade Eiling. Barry stopped him, but Lin Li ended by asking whether Barry had ever helped him return home.

• Wade Eiling emerged from his room and saw Lin Li hovering over the wrecked base as soldiers fled and fought.
• Lin Li blocked a soldier’s gunfire with his Bio-Field, then killed him by spearing him and his Humvee.
• Lin Li seized Wade Eiling with his Bio-Field and choked him while demanding to know if he expected Lin Li to hunt metahumans obediently.
• Barry shouted for Lin Li to stop, and Lin Li released Wade Eiling; Barry caught the general and sent the other soldiers away.
• Barry told Lin Li he would help him, but Lin Li laughed and asked whether Barry had ever helped him return home.

Lin Li confronted Barry about his failure to help him return home and gave him a chance to make amends. He revealed three possible ways back, including a dangerous black hole, and left Barry asking how Cisco's future Vibe powers could help.

• Lin Li accused Barry of neglecting his efforts to help him return home, and Barry admitted he had let the matter slip.
• Barry begged Lin Li to return to STAR Labs and promised to help, and Lin Li agreed to give him a chance.
• Lin Li explained that one route home involved Barry exceeding Mach 2 and traveling through time, and Barry realized his future trip to his mother's murder might be possible.
• Lin Li named creating a singularity as another route, and Barry protested that a black hole could destroy Earth and promised to reach Mach 2 instead.
• Lin Li identified Cisco's Vibe powers in the second season as a third route, and Barry asked whether Cisco could help him get home.

Lin Li revealed that he planned to destroy Central City to create a black hole and return to his world, and threatened Barry’s loved ones to force him to reach Mach 2. Barry resolved to stop Lin Li and restore his faith in him, just as someone behind Lin Li offered to join the fight.

• Lin Li’s longing for the world he had left behind overwhelmed him, and he announced his plan to create a black hole at Central City’s clock tower in three days.
• Barry begged Lin Li to wait and promised to reach Mach 2, but Lin Li warned that he would test the black-hole method if Barry failed.
• Lin Li threatened to kill Joe and then Iris if Barry did not reach Mach 2, leaving Barry furious and hurt by Lin Li’s distrust.
• Barry decided to stop Lin Li from harming anyone and vowed to make him come to his senses.
• An unseen speaker behind Lin Li asked what would happen if they joined Barry.

Lin Li, overcome by rage, confronted Barry and Tony while explaining how his emotional restraints had broken. He knocked Tony through a building with one punch, and the live news helicopter captured his frightening appearance.

• Harlan Vulton reported from a news helicopter as crowds and street racers rushed to follow the Lightning Rider.
• Tony arrived behind Lin Li and joined Barry in confronting him.
• Lin Li told Barry that rage had removed his emotional restraints and that he would do anything to get home.
• Tony charged at Lin Li and was sent flying through a building by Lin Li's single punch.
• The helicopter filmed Lin Li surrounded by red mist, leaving viewers wondering whether he was the Lightning Rider.

Lin Li confronted Barry at the ruined military base and challenged him to use the Supersonic Vibrational Fist, while people around the world watched the clash as a battle between hero and villain. Barry steeled himself to attack, and the two speedsters powered up for their next exchange.

• Harlan Vulton and viewers interpreted Lightning Rider’s attack on the base as an act of justice and cheered him on.
• Felicity asked whether Barry could stop Lin Li, and Cisco admitted that he had little hope.
• Lin Li urged Barry to attack and dismissed his phantoms, while Barry resolved to stop him before he could open a black hole in Central City.
• Lin Li taunted Barry’s hesitation and gave him one chance to use the Supersonic Vibrational Fist.
• Barry decided to strike Lin Li’s shoulder, believing Shanshan 2.0’s Resurrection Coffin could revive him if needed.
• Barry surrounded himself with yellow lightning as Lin Li’s Bio-Field and silver lightning surged, and the two prepared to fight.

Barry confronted Lin Li and tried to bring him back, but Lin Li defeated him and left him with a three-day ultimatum. Lin Li flew away on Lightning Rider, leaving Barry injured and the watching public terrified.

• Barry vanished, and Cisco recognized that he was preparing to use the Supersonic Vibrational Fist against Lin Li.
• Barry reached a new level of speed and charged Lin Li, who met him with a full-power electromagnetic punch.
• Lin Li's punch blasted Barry fifty meters away, leaving him with a badly shattered right arm while Lin Li remained unharmed.
• Barry vowed to restore Lin Li even if it cost his life, and Lin Li warned that everyone around Barry would die unless he reached Mach 2 within three days.
• Lin Li summoned Lightning Rider and flew away as the helicopter broadcast his terrifying image.

After Lin Li lost control and defeated Barry, Wells and the STAR Labs team planned to restore him, with Ronnie and Martin offering to merge into Firestorm to help. The chapter ended as Wade Eiling publicly branded the Lightning Rider a murderer, blamed him for seventeen deaths, and announced a five-million-dollar reward for his capture.

• Wells angrily confronted Cisco and Barry over Lin Li’s rampage before agreeing that they needed to restore him quickly.
• Cisco offered to finish Lin Li’s light-radiation machine, while Barry questioned how they could get Lin Li to look at the correct colors.
• Ronnie and Martin agreed to merge into Firestorm to help Barry, and Barry said he would find another helper.
• Joe, Eddie, and Iris arrived and asked Cisco to show them a news report.
• Wade Eiling accused the Lightning Rider of destroying Military Base 27 and killing seventeen soldiers, then announced a five-million-dollar reward for his capture.

After Barry explained Lin Li’s attack, the team planned to evacuate people near the clock tower and debated revealing The Flash to Central City. Barry ultimately agreed to follow Lin Li’s original plan and set out to find another hero.

• Barry recounted how Lin Li had killed seventeen soldiers and threatened Central City, shocking Joe, Iris, and Eddie.
• Dr. Wells urged Joe to evacuate residents near the clock tower before Wade Eiling’s forces caused more casualties.
• Dr. Wells asked Iris to reveal The Flash’s identity in a blog post, but Iris and Barry initially objected to using Lin Li’s fall to promote Barry.
• Dr. Wells rebuked Barry for letting Lin Li bear the burden of heroism, and Barry agreed to help restore Lin Li by becoming The Flash publicly.
• Barry left to find another hero.

Barry intervened when a Jitters Cafe patron threatened Lance over Lightning Rider, then asked Oliver to help stop Lin Li from creating a black hole. After Oliver agreed, Barry went to Military Base 27 and found Wade Eiling with a bespectacled man.

• Barry deflected the burly man's punch when he attacked Lance, then warned both men to stop fighting.
• Barry told Oliver about his battle with Lin Li and the danger that Lin Li could create a black hole, and Oliver agreed to help.
• Barry left Jitters Cafe and ran to Military Base 27.
• Barry found Wade Eiling and a bespectacled man in a room above ground at the base.

Barry tried to persuade Wade Eiling to cooperate against Lin Li, but Wade set out to capture him instead. As the military gathered at the clock tower, a beam of ionized light vanished into the sky and storm clouds began to gather overhead.

• Barry confronted Wade Eiling and refused to hand over the Lightning Rider, warning that Lin Li could create a black hole and that powerful metahumans were needed to stop him.
• Wade Eiling dismissed Barry’s warning and ordered Hartley to prepare his device for an attack at Central City's clock tower.
• Barry told Dr. Wells that Wade planned to face Lin Li, then said he would watch the clock tower to protect ordinary soldiers.
• Wells studied the future newspaper, considered meeting Lin Li, and closed the newspaper.
• Oliver put away Barry’s eye mask and began organizing his bow and arrow equipment.
• Wade Eiling’s troops assembled as fighter jets flew overhead, and a beam of ionized light shot up from the clock tower before dark clouds gathered above it.