Plot

Barry meets Black Lightning at the Hall of Justice after things take a dire turn with Despero; Iris suspects something is off with Despero's vision of the future so she seeks help from a powerful ally.

At the Hall of Justice, Barry asks Jefferson Pierce to sever his connection to the Speed Force so he won't destroy the world in the future. Iris suspects that Barry was framed for Joe's death, and Joe isn't truly dead, while Despero determines that Cecile is close to finding Barry and telepathically assaults her mind to find Barry's location.—Gislef

At the Hall of Justice, Jeff warns Barry invoking the Injustice Protocols can't be revoked. Barry explains what has happened to him in the last 24 hours, and tells Jeff that per the Protocols, Jeff has to take away his powers.

Jeff says that they should call in the others, but Barry points out that they don't have time and figures that his mind is only going to get worse. He says that he has forgotten that Joe died six months ago, and reminds Jeff that Jeff he took an oath that if Barry ever said the word "Injustice", Jeff would listen, and insists that they have to do it now. Jeff says that his father had a saying: "Where's the future? Right here. Whose life is this? Mine. What are you going to do with it? Live it by any means necessary." He says that he will honor his promise, to keep people alive. Jeff reminds Barry that when he takes away his powers, they will be gone permanently.

At the speed lab, Despero mentally monitors Barry and believes that another world is lost. and it won't wait for Despero to find Barry and kill him.

At Chester's garage, Team Flash discusses whether Barry will destroy the world as Despero said. Candice says that what Barry did is scary, and the things he said really hurt. However, someone they love is going through a mental health crisis and she doesn't care what Barry will do ten years from now. They have to take care of Barry today, just like he did for her.

Caitlin says that they'll follow Candice's lead. As Iris comes in, she suggests that Barry may not be the only one thinking clearly. Iris suggests that it's no coincidence that everything happened to Barry when Despero arrived. She says that maybe someone caused everything to happen to Barry, and thinks her husband is being framed. Iris says that when Joe died, CCPD determined that he died in an accident. She looked into Kramer's file on the accident and found a video showing Joe in the subway where he died, falling on the tracks.

The video shows that Joe was knocked onto the tracks, and then disappeared. Iris says that Joe could be alive, but Cecile doesn't believe it. She says that she saw them bury Joe's body, and Barry and Iris saw the burial as well. Cecile says that it doesn't matter if Barry is innocent, because they can't find him and they've been trying to while Iris has been living in a fantasy world.

Allegra points out that Iris has trusted Barry before, and Iris was right. Iris says that she can't give up if there's a chance, and Cecile wouldn't want her to. Cecile wonders if Iris thinks she gave up, and she's done everything she could to move past Joe's death and be there for the team. Now Iris is shoving her husband's death in her face. Iris reminds Candice that Joe was her father, and Cecile tells Iris that if she pursues the lie, they'll save Barry without Iris. Iris tells Cecile to save Barry her way, and she'll save her mine. With that, Iris walks out and Allegra goes with her. Caitlin asks Cecile what she wants to do, and Cecile say that they find Barry before Despero does, no matter what it takes.

Cecile suggests to Caitlin and Chester that she knows Barry better then Despero, so she should be able to find Barry before Despero does. She suggests that Chester amplify her powers, and Chester points out that all he has to work with is the trash in his garage, then gets an idea and says that he can do it. Caitlin points out that Despero's race has four hemispheres rather than the human two, and Caitlin says that she'll need more brainpower and knows who to call.

As Iris goes to the station with Allegra, Allegra asks if Iris is okay. Iris says that she has to figure out the truth, and is glad she doesn't have to do it alone. Looking at the tracks where Joe fell, Iris sees particle. Allegra doesn't see anything with her spectrum vision, and figures that Iris' treatment are wearing off. She points out the camera wires leading to a booth, and suggest to Iris that whoever might have tampered with video would have gone there.

The two women go into the booth and talk to the security chief manning the booth. He confirms that the train that ran over Joe came in 15 minutes early, and no one else was there. Iris says that the video was missing some important frames, and he says that they're on the same power grid as Sharks Stadium. When there's a game there like there was that day, their upload gets interrupted and they lose data. The security chief says that they backup the data locally, and plays it. The recording shows the same thing, and Iris admits that it was just an accident.

Candice goes to the bar where Rosalind Dillon--the Top-is hustling men at pool. Rosalind says that the prisoners at Iron Heights cheered when they heard Joe was dead, and Candice points out that Rosalind is hustling people rather than running Scudder's criminal empire. She tells Rosalind that she needs psychic help to find Flash, and Rosalind says that everyone knows Flash went bad. Rosalind says that she can't trust Candice after what Candice psychically did to her, and Candice offers to get Rosalind's parole restrictions lifted in return for her help. The criminal finally agrees and asks when they start.

At the Hall, Barry tries to get the last conduits. Jeff suggests that he put some music on, and Barry puts some Blue Monk jazz on. He explains to Jeff that Joe played the music on the record when Barry grew up, and the music playing "was" Joe's favorite. Jeff says that he lost Bill Henderson, a cop like Joe, and he was Jeff's best friend and a brother. Bill died saving Jeff's life, and he sacrificed himself like Barry sacrificed himself the other day. Jeff tells Barry that Joe would be proud of him, and Barry remembers Despero saying it was Flash all along.

Barry finishes the conduit and tells Jeff that the next time his suit materializes, Jeff will have enough voltage to disrupt Barry's Speed Force connection. They step apart and Jeff materializes his suit, and then blasts Barry with electricity. Barry screams in pain, and there's a flash of white light.

Iris is sitting in her office looking at photo of Joe and her. Allegra comes in and reminds Iris that the guard said the train was running early, and Allegra says that the train never ran early. She also checked the records and confirmed that the train passed a routine inspection two days earlier. However, the hydraulics failed. Allegra notes that all the coincidence line up perfectly to cause Joe's death, and Iris was right that someone was pulling the strings. Iris says that she was wrong about everything, and the last six months have been the worst six months of her life.

Allegra says that she understand because she also lost hope when Esperanza died. What saved her was remembering that when they keep the ones they've lost alive in their hearts, there's always hope. With that, Allegra pushes the file on the train to Iris. Iris takes the file, sees the same particles she saw at the station, and goes back to the station after telling Allegra that she didn't see the evidence.

At the garage, Chester presents the Neural Conjoiner to Rosalind, Candice, and Caitlin. He explains that with the Cojoiner, they'll be able to expand their psychic ability across the continent. Chester will use another device he's made out of an old TV to capture the visual data and triangulate Barry's position. The two women use their enhanced psychic abilities, and Candice yells that it's too loud. Rosalind says that they can do it, and tells Candice that there aren't too many thoughts and Candice is letting her own feelings hold her back. Rosalind tells Candice to bury her feelings of loss and find Flash, just like she got rid of her feelings for Scudder,

Candice returns to telepathically scanning, joining Rosalind's efforts. She hears Barry saying that he still has some of his speed and his connection to the Speed Force hasn't been totally severed. Their mental abilities overload the Cojoiner, and Rosalind admits that she's impressed by Candice's telepathic abilities. Candice tells Chester to repair the Cojoiner, and he says that he need an hour.

Despero mentally monitors the Team's efforts, and figures that their emotions are blinding them to reason and give them power. However, he'll follow their efforts and reach Flash first.

Iris arrives at the station, and time freezes because of Deon. He comes in and reminds Iris that she didn't arrive at their scheduled appointment. She says that she wanted Deon to find her there, and Deon realizes that's where Joe died. Iris explains about the particles she saw, and figures that someone is leaving the particles behind and screwed with the timeline. Deon points out that he can't sense anyone having altered the timeline, and Iris tells Deon to undo her treatment so she can sense more about the particles. Deon warns that if he reverses the treatment, Iris will start moving in and out of timelines again. Iris says that she'll take the risk if she can save Barry and Joe.

Deon removes the treatments, and Iris sees more of the particles floating around the station. Deon uses his powers to see what Iris sees, and identifies the particles as temporal isotopes. They're decaying instead of growing, and that's why he couldn't sense them before. Deon figures that someone tapped into the Negative Speed force to rewrite the timeline, and someone changed the past to make sure that Joe died.

That night at the garage, Caitlin tells Candice that Rosalind wants Candice to repress her feelings for Joe, and it's not the first time Caitlin has seen Candice depress her feelings. Candice angrily says that Caitlin doesn't know what she's going through, and Caitlin says that she went through the same thing with Ronnie. She explains that she was traumatized by Ronnie's death, and she feared her grief instead of facing it. Caitlin figures that Candice is heading down the same path.

Candice explains that she thinks about Joe every second of every day, and due to her powers she feels the grief of those around her. It takes everything she has to push it down and move forward, because otherwise she'll drown in grief. Caitlin tells Candice that her strength comes from her feelings, even the hard one.

Chester's phone goes off, and he says that it's still plugged into the STAR Labs emergency sensors. Someone just turned on the particle accelerator.

At STAR Labs, alarms go off. Hackshaw asks his hazmat team there what's going on, and one technician, Susan, reports that the power is spiking. Despero appears and says that he activated the accelerator, takes mental control of Hackshaw's team, and have them attack Hackshaw. Going to the controls, Despero sticks his hand in and absorbs the power, and says that with the power no mind will shut its door to him.

In the garage, Chester wonders why Despero would turn on the accelerator. He finishes repairing the Cojoiner, and Candice and Rosalind begin again. Rosalind tells Candice to suppress her feelings like she did last time. As they mentally search for Barry, a picture of him and Jeff appear on the TV. As Chester triangulates, Rosalind tells Candice to bury her grief. Caitlin tells Candice not to listen to Rosalind, and Candice knows her powers better than Rosalind does.

Rosalind says that it's ten times better than meta-juicing. Despero appears, letting only Candice see him, and tells her that she should be proud of the power she's displaying. She turns to face him, and he tells her to open her minds to him and show him Flash. Caitlin realizes that Despero is there, and Rosalind uses her vertigo powers on Chester and Caitlin. Once they're done, Rosalind tells Despero that if she lets him see where Flash is, they'll kill Flash together.

Despero says that he isn't there to bargain, and uses his telepathy to cause Rosalind to have a brain hemorrhage. He tells Candice that he took half of Flash's location from Rosalind, and the other half must be in Candice's mind. He insists that he's trying to save the world, saying that he's willing to trade a few lives for billions. Despero says that Candice won't stomach the sacrifice, and uses his full powers backed by Py'tar on her.

Candice screams in pain, then says that she's not alone, and launches a psychic attack at Despero. He disappears, and Chester and Caitlin recover. Caitlin confirms that Rosalind is barely alive, and Candice says that she gained the power necessary by thinking about Joe.

Chester confirms Barry's location and says that he's at the Hall. Candice figures that Despero was in her head and also knows where Barry is.

Jeff continues to blast Barry, then suggests that they take a break. Barry refuses and mentions Despero, and Jeff demands to know everything. When Barry says that Despero has told him that in ten years he's going to destroy the world, Jeff asks if Barry believes the alien. He reminds Barry that he said they're not quitters, and Barry figures that if he gets rid of his speed, he can stop the future Despero has told him about from happening. He admits that Despero will kill him if he fails to lose his speed, and didn't tell Jeff because he figured Jeff would go after Despero rather than follow the Protocols.

The older hero tells Barry that Barry is just afraid of becoming the man Despero said he would become, and insists that Barry is a hero. Barry insists that it's going to happen, and losing his speed is the only way to stop it. When Barry says that he's saving Jeff's family as well, Jeff tells him to keep his family out of it. Barry angrily asks if Jeff is going to give up after all they've done, and instinctively throws speed lightning at Jeff.

Jeff avoids the speed lightning, and Barry tells him that Black Lightning's going to help him finish it. Barry points out the damage he can cause, and speeds around Black Lighting. Black Lighting insists that he's saving the world by protecting one of the world's protectors. Barry knocks Black Lighting into the air, and Black Lighting uses his powers to land safely. Barry throws more speed lightning at Black Lighting, and Black Lighting uses his own powers to throw it back at Barry.

Black Lighting suggests that they stop the insanity and offers his hand to Barry. Barry reminds Black Lighting that if one of them goes rogue, the world doesn't stand a chance. He grabs Black Lightning's hand and speeds around the Hall, finally throwing Black Lighting through the case holding Arrow's costume.

Barry recovers from his effort and sees Arrow's gear laying on the floor. Jeff asks Barry if what he's doing is what Oliver would have wanted, and reminds Barry that during Crisis, Oliver sacrificed his life for Barry's. The older hero says that Oliver did is because Barry is the best of them, and Barry shouldn't dare quit on himself. Barry apologizes, and Jeff asks him where the future is, whose life it is, and what Barry is going to do with his life. Barry says that the future is there, it's his life, and he's going to live it by any means necessary.

Jeff helps Barry up, but Despero appears, knocks Jeff unconscious, and grabs Barry by the throat. Despero reminds Barry that if he found any trace of Barry's of his true nature, he'd kill him.

Deon and Iris teleport in, and Iris says that someone altered the timeline and killed Joe, to drive Barry insane. Despero telepathically confirms that Iris believes she's telling the truth, but doesn't care. Jeff recovers and blasts Despero, and tells the others to go while he holds Despero off. Barry figures that they have to go to the future to see who really caused Armageddon. Despero starts to break free of Jeff's electrical grapple, and Deon loans his Still Force to Barry so he can travel to the future. Deon says that the temporal isotopes will pull Barry toward any unusual temporal activity.

Despero breaks free, and Jeff tells Barry to run. Flash speeds into the future, and Despero tells the others that they just killed the world, then teleports away.

Central City, 2031

Flash appears and finds a sign mentioning the West Party. He removes his costume and goes to the Party, where Iris is there with Mark Blaine, Ryan Choi, Ryan Wilder, and Alex. Eobard is giving a speech of congratulations to Iris, saying that she's part of something wonderful. He says that she'll never know what face fate is wearing when it shows up, and changes Iris's life forever. Eobard says that Iris is the love of his life, and he offers a toast to their future together. Iris sees Barry in the back, and everyone glares at Barry in anger while Eobard smiles.