- [sighs] It feels like my shift started 100 years ago.
- Drink more coffee. [distorted warping]
You're around it all day. Duh.
Besides, that place is so boring.
- [yells]
- Wait. What's that?
- Yeah. Just some guy cosplaying.
- What's he doing now? - I don't know.
Must be some sort of Comic-Con thing or something.
[distorted warping] [foghorn blares]
What in the world?
- Natalie? Natalie, what's that noise?
[loud thumping]
- [growling] - Natalie, what's that noise?
Natalie? Natalie?
[dramatic music]
- [screams]
- [roars]
[heroic music]
♪
[dramatic music]
- My beautiful boy.
I'm giving him all the strength I can to heal him,
which means I'll be weak for a bit longer.
- Because Psych and Fuerza attacked you?
- Exactly.
♪
- Do you remember what happened?
- Only some of it.
When I was reborn,
I was surrounded by light and love.
Then came the pain.
I could feel these Forces of Nature
were like me, only evil.
- If they're like you, then why are they trying to kill you?
- I'm not sure, but I think it's to feed.
That's why I had to find Barry Allen.
I thought he could keep me safe until I fully recovered.
But if the other Forces find me in this condition,
I wouldn't survive another attack.
- Don't worry.
We are gonna figure out a way to keep you safe.
Somehow.
- Holy Henry T. Sampson.
Wow, so you're the actual,
all-encompassing,
immeasurably interstellar,
and mind-bendingly cosmorrific--
- Yes, Chester P. Runk.
I am the Speed Force.
- Whoo-hoo, Chessman.
How's that isotope detection system coming along?
- Yeah, actually... [quietly] She knows my name.
- I think she does.
- Okay.
Behold, believers.
This puppy I designed can boost isotopic signals
for our satellites to scan.
Now all we need to do is build a few units,
place them around the outskirts of the city, and eureka.
- And then we would get an early warning
if Psych or Fuerza decided to come back.
- And they can detect
foundational isotopic signatures,
so we won't just know they're coming.
- We'll know whoever it is, Psych or Fuerza,
which one is headed our way.
Chester, that is amazing.
- Could we use this to follow the other Forces?
Perhaps find them before they find us?
- Not yet. Right now,
they only work in close proximity, so...
- But at least now
we have a way to help protect you.
- Cisco, how long would it take to make enough amplifiers?
- We have everything we need in the S.T.A.R. Labs van,
so we could build them
as we go.
- So let's do this, baby, 'cause...
both: Team Chesco's on the case.
- Let's get it.
- [sighs] Separated at birth.
[hip-hop music]
- Hey, what's all this?
- Norvock finally brought the rest of my stuff over
from one of Amunet's stash houses.
I was gonna throw everything away, but then muse struck.
♪
- Oh, wow. It's great.
- Yeah.
This'll really give the place some attitude when I'm done.
- I'm sorry. You want to hang that in here?
- Yeah. That empty wall behind you.
It's been driving me crazy.
- Well, you know what they say.
♪
Great minds.
What do you think?
♪
- Um...
It's missing something.
♪
Huh.
Much better.
You know, art should always
provoke a strong reaction.
- Oh, it does.
- And sensor is ready.
- Excellent.
Once the amplifier goes live,
then our early warning system will be a go.
And that means it's time for coffee and a cronut.
- Coffee and a cronut.
Actually, you know, there's a Sip-n-Dash in Masonville.
Or was, back in the day.
Oh, I used to live there,
but Grandma Runk and I moved to Central City
when I was done with high school.
- All right. Looks like we're ready to go.
- Okay, cool.
[sighing]
[electrical static]
What?
- Why?
- [sighs]
- Look at this.
What do you think?
You think it's the neutrino filtrations
glitching on it? - Cisco, Cisco, Cisco, Cisco.
[dramatic music]
What?
[both screaming]
[both heavy breathing]
- We're okay?
We're okay.
What was that?
- I have no idea.
Well, looks like the sensor's working.
- Huh.
- Did I give you my phone?
- No.
Mine's gone too.
Okay, hold up. Where's the van?
- It was just here. What...
- Uh.
Does the van have a secret cloaking mode
that I don't know about? Asking for a friend.
- That's no van.
[echoing boom]
- Whoa.
- Chess, we've just been under-the-domed.
- Nora?
[somber music]
You all right?
- Yeah.
Just making sure nothing happens to Barry.
♪
[sighs] How do you deal with all this?
- Well, it's never easy dealing with a threat,
especially when it affects someone that you care about.
But don't worry, okay?
By this time tomorrow, Barry will be back to his old self.
Healed, wrapped up on the couch, full BBB-style.
BBB--Barry's blanket burrito.
It's um... [laughs]
It's hard to explain.
- No. I understand.
It's something between the two of you.
- Actually, you know what?
It doesn't have to be.
I want to show you something. Come with me.
- We made it.
Now, we can find a phone
and call S.T.A.R. Labs before...
[quirky music]
- Tell me you're seeing what I'm seeing.
- Does it have anything to do
with "Space Jam" being back in stock?
- At that Blockbuster Video
that doesn't exist anymore?
- Yeah, and get this.
I saw a Sip-n-Dash store back there
that got torn down when I was in high school.
♪
- I think we just time traveled.
- Really?
So tonight we're gonna party like it's 1998?
[laughs]
- None of the payphones work, we don't have cell phones,
and we're trapped in an invisible barrier.
We are stuck
in the 90s?
[laughter]
- This is so epic. Epic.
Oh, wait. No, no, no.
It is off the heezy fo' sheezy.
Heezy fo--
- Okay, cheesy. Why don't you calm down?
[mysterious music]
♪
- Look, is this freaking awesome?
Yes. - [laughs]
- Do we desperately need to figure out a way
to get back home? Also yes.
- Well, how are we supposed to do that
without a DeLorean or hot tub?
- By looking at what brought us here:
a green energy wave that looks like it came
straight out of Turtle 2.0 White Whale's Revenge.
Coincidence? I think not.
- Look, I know you and Turtle 2.0 kind of have this thing.
- I'll say.
Maybe we're not dealing with a meta at all.
The amplifier showed an isotopic surge
when the wave hit.
- So it's one of our Forces. Wait.
Check the signatures. Was it Fuerza or Psych?
- Neither.
The sensor detected a temporal energy.
- So there's a new Force in town, and--
- And it can control time. - Yeah, okay.
We gotta get out of here and warn the team.
The Speed Force isn't safe.
- Not so fast.
We need to know exactly who we're up against.
You remember how the Speed Force asked
if the amplifiers could track the Forces?
If we added a transmitter diode to the sensor...
- It could localize the isotopic circuits enough
to detect a new Force within a 20-yard radius.
- Right, but we need the kind of maxed-out receiver
that just doesn't exist yet.
- [sighs]
Time to go shopping.
- Man, there's a Tech Station right here.
[metal clanging]
Chess, hurry up. This is embarrassing.
- [grunts]
See?
One man's trash is another man's--
- Another man's reason for a tetanus shot?
- I already got my tetanus shot.
- I can't believe you just used junk to fix our sensor.
- Ah, just think of it as one repurposed Force finder.
[laughs]
Aw. Rest in peace, UltraFax 4000.
Damn, they don't make them like you anymore.
- All right.
Let's find ourselves a time god.
[bell rings] To high school, huh?
The sensor seems to think they're in here somewhere.
Let's do this.
- Yo, yo, yo. For real?
Masonville's principal suffers zero fools, feel me?
- All right. Then we just sneak in.
Simple. - Uh-uh.
We gotta blend in. We gotta kick it up a notch.
[Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It"]
♪
- ♪ This is how we do it
♪ Check it out, once upon a time in '94 ♪
♪ Montell made no money and life sure was slow ♪
♪ There lived a D.J. and Paul was his name ♪
♪ He came up to Monty, this is what he said ♪
♪ You and Oji are gonna make some cash ♪
♪ Sell a million records and we're makin' tha dash ♪
♪ Ohh, I'm buzzin' because this is how we do it ♪
- All right. Here's the plan.
We ask people questions, see if anybody
has any diabolical plans to alter the future...
- Yes.
- And then we check the sensor. If it spikes...
- Then we found our time god. - Let's get it.
- This for the yearbook? - Yeah.
"Future Falcon Forecast" section.
- What's the question again?
- Where do you see yourself in 23 years?
- Mm.
- ♪ Shorties always be running when I start to flow ♪
♪ Balling on the stage, but my boo's a no-show ♪
♪ My girl complains my verses be weak ♪
♪ She takes the 8-ball. See? ♪
♪ Outcome looks bleak, yeah
- 23. Yeah.
- In 23 years,
I'll be like everyone else in this dumb high school.
A zombie. Totally dead.
- ♪ But I'm the bomb
♪ I'm gonna kill, in the future ♪
♪ Blowing all them rap minds, you'll be needing a suture ♪
- Dead inside, from slaving away at a thankless job.
both: Oh.
- Nice, nice, nice, nice, nice.
- Jobs are bad. - That'll be all.
- Yeah. Keep going.
- Keep spitting. Yeah, you got it, boy, hey.
- ♪ Blowing all them rap minds, you'll be needing a suture ♪
♪ Boom, and that's my "Falcon Forecast" ♪
It's Reggie Q, I'm out. The past.
both: Oh! - Dropped the mic.
- Yes, yes. - Aw, no, he was spitting.
- No.
- No? Okay.
- Carry the two-- - No, you don't carry the two.
- Hey, dog, check it out. Parents got it for me.
Said they want the NFL to be able to hit me up anytime.
- It's hella cool, right? - Yeah, yeah, nice, Deon.
- Yeah, man. [whistle blows]
You know, in the future, I want to be just like Deon.
You know, he's gonna kill it
in the state championship tomorrow.
- Yo, K Swizzle. it's time to bounce.
[beeping]
- [sighs]
Well--
That's not him.
- [sighs]
[beeping]
[dramatic music]
♪
- Wait till those dumb jocks
see what the future has in store for them.
- [sighs]
- Yo, Parker, right?
Listen, do you have a couple minutes to spare,
so we can ask you a few questions?
- Who are you? - We're students.
- Students. - Just like you.
- Yeah. You guys talk like my dad.
- [laughs] Parker.
What? - Come on.
Don't be wack, all right? We are 17.
- I'm 16. - We love "The Real World".
We like Beanie Babies and "The Matrix".
- "The Matrix" hasn't come out yet.
- Ah, shoot. See?
I had a feeling. Wait a second.
How did you know that?
- This isn't right.
You gotta help me, please.
We're trapped in the same date.
No, wait. [beeping]
It knows I broke free.
It's gonna start over. Oh, God.
- Oh, not again.
Okay.
That was freaky.
You all right, dude?
- Who are you?
Where am I?
Did you take my headgear?
- Dude, it's me. Chester.
- No.
No, I don't know you.
Stranger danger.
- Stranger danger? Uh.
Cisco, how old are you?
- I'm seven, you predator.
- Because you still think it's 1998.
Oh, no.
- Please, sir. Don't chase after me.
I don't want to get in your van.
- I'm not trying to hurt you. Listen, just listen okay?
You're not seven.
You're 30, and you're a scientist
at S.T.A.R. Labs. Remember?
What about visiting Atlantis
or King Shark versus Grodd? [laughs]
Oh, God, please tell me you remember "Game of Thrones".
- Littlefinger. - Yes.
- The Iron Throne. - Yes.
- "The Rains of Castamere."
Yes.
- Chester. - [sighs]
How did we get here?
Last thing I remember, Parker was going all "Get Out" on us.
- Oh, no. Parker is not our Biff Tannen.
A modern reference jolted him awake, just like you.
- But we're back on Main Street.
Right before the wave hit,
Parker said it's gonna...
both: Start over.
[dramatic music]
♪
- Gotta go.
both: It's a time loop.
- This isn't about changing the future.
It's about reliving one day over and over.
- When Parker woke up, it reset the loop,
but why didn't you get whammied?
- I think the sensor absorbed the temporal energy
and shielded me.
Only, by the looks of it, that's not happening again.
- Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
We have to fix this.
Otherwise, if the loop resets, we won't be shielded.
We won't remember that we're stuck in the past,
and we'll be trapped here, like everyone else.
We have to fix this now. - Okay, you know what?
I think I have the parts to fix this at Grandma Runk's.
- Perfect. Let's go there right now,
and while we're on our way, maybe we can figure out
what's so special about December 4, '98.
- Uh. You know what?
These parts ain't at Grandma Runk's.
Someplace better.
- Please don't go dumpster diving.
- This blanket is quite well-loved.
[laughs] - He's had it for years.
- How does swaddling himself help?
- Well, it's not about the blanket.
It's more like wrapping himself
in the memories and the comfort
associated with the blanket.
- [sighs] [laughs]
It's like being hugged by warm, loving arms.
[somber music]
- His mother made it for him.
He doesn't really talk about her much, so...
- Not even with you?
♪
- [sighs]
They were so close.
Being reminded of what happened,
he's forced to think about that night.
[grunts]
The violence of it all-- it stays with him,
and I wish I could take that away from him,
but I can't.
[electrical whooshing]
- TI-82.
Girl, you still fine.
- Stop flirting with the calculators.
We've got a problem.
- What? - The X-76 power converter.
They just sold the last one to that guy.
- [sighs]
[beeping]
Okay, chill. It's not that big a deal.
He actually looks pretty reasonable.
I say we just offer to buy it back from him.
- No, no, no. We can't go after him.
- Okay. Why not?
Chess, what's going on?
- We can't go after him because
he's my dad.
I'm the last person he'd want to help right now.
- Chess, you wanna tell me what's going on?
- [sighs]
Look, my Pops was
a very smart guy
who traveled all the time trying to get rich
off of his latest invention,
so he never had time for me.
[somber music]
It was always, "Sorry, son.
I don't believe in quitting."
♪
- Look, whatever happened--
- Tomorrow, my dad dies in a car accident
on his way to some big meeting in Coast City.
Today's the last day I see him alive.
- I'm sorry.
That's heavy for anyone,
let alone a kid.
What if...
What if you're here for a reason?
[dramatic music]
This could be your chance
to talk to your dad.
- I'm good with that, dude.
I can't save his life.
That would just reset the time loop, so...
[sighs]
Now I just gotta--
just gotta stay firm. Keep doing my thing.
- I understand.
Don't worry about the converter, all right?
I'll get it from him.
- Wait. You're gonna go talk to my dad?
- Just long enough to get the X-76.
Then I come back here,
we fix everything,
and it all goes back to normal.
That is what you want, right?
- [sighs]
Oh, thank God.
I thought you might go somewhere Barry knows,
but you weren't at S.T.A.R. Labs,
and CCPD seemed unlikely.
- Yes, and I know how he loves the coffee here.
[somber music]
I never took into account how much his mother's death
might still weigh on him.
What have I done?
♪
I'll change my appearance. Appear in my true form
to all of you, from now on, as lightning,
because I can't keep hurting him like this.
- You're not causing him pain. You're giving him a gift.
- How?
- It's like how his blanket
reminds him of his mom,
and that memory gives him comfort and peace.
It's the same thing with you.
- So I'm not a painful reminder?
- No, not at all. You are a happy one.
I may be his lightning rod,
but you are his lightning.
- Thank you.
[both chuckling]
[beeps]
[computer beeping]
- [clears throat]
- Can I help you, kid?
- Me? Uh, yeah.
I'd like to buy your X-76 converter.
- What makes you think I have one, Mr...?
- Boyega.
John Boyega.
The clerk at the tech shop said that you bought the last one,
and they don't get another shipment for a week, so...
- Look, I'd like to help you,
but I need this X-76 power converter too.
- You need it for some important invention right?
- Nope. I'm throwing it away.
- Uh...
Ha, my son Chester is working on a project.
I've looked at his plans.
Two days from now, he's gonna need that part,
but I'll be back on the road by then.
I'm throwing it away now so that he can find it later,
when he needs it.
Do you have kids, Mr. Boyega?
If you do, someday you'll understand.
- Wait, so why not just give it to him?
- It's my way of teaching him to be resourceful
and a problem solver.
- It's kind of brilliant. - I know.
Plus, he gets the joy of learning to see treasure
where other people see trash.
- Do you do this kind of thing a lot for him?
- Everything I do is for him.
He's the reason I get out of bed in the morning.
- [sighs]
But don't you ever resent
having to work so hard 24/7?
- I'm the boy's father...
And Chester's worth any sacrifice I have to make.
Besides, when it comes to him...
I don't believe in quitting.
- So you don't care
about your work more than your son.
You care about your work because of him.
- I'm just a man trying to do the right thing.
Make my son proud.
Yeah. This is weird.
- Sorry. It's pretty inspiring.
And I hope I can be a great dad too someday.
- Something tells me you will be.
I'm still not selling you that part though.
But if you really need one,
I think I have an idea.
[mysterious music]
Hold that. [laughs]
- Cisco, my Pops is pretty cool, man.
- Yeah? It sounds like it.
- I'm just really glad
we had a day to hang out.
[somber music]
It made me realize that my Pops isn't just smart.
[scoffs]
Dude's a genius.
Check it.
[dramatic music]
Pops and I built it together.
[both laughing]
- [sighs] - Wow.
You know what this means.
Now, we can disrupt the temporal isotopes...
both: And go home. - Yes.
- Yo, nerds! Been looking for you.
- Hey. Yo, Deon.
We were just going to-- thinking of going to...
both: Blockbuster.
- You ever see "Space Jam"? - Four times, man.
- Oh, man, it's so good.
- Now, it's time to kick you wannabe Urkels to the curb,
because whoever you two are,
you don't belong here.
This is my time...
And you two gotta go.
- Time god.
- Thanks for ruining my perfect day, not.
- Yo, Deon.
Why bum around 1998? Man, I thought you left
the small-town life for college and the NFL.
- That wasn't me!
[both grunting]
[dramatic music]
- You will have 30 minutes to create...
an amuse-bouche that will tickle--
[energy wave whooshes]
[Pulse's "Another Woman"]
♪
- Oh, crap.
- ♪ Could make you see
- Katie, I think we got a problem.
♪
[dramatic music]
- What do you mean?
Grandma Runk said that after you won state--
- It was the second-string quarterback
that led the team to victory.
Not me, dumbass.
I got injured and taken out in the first quarter.
He got all the victory.
Me?
I got four pins in my knee
and a job selling used cars.
I came back to the past
because I have no future!
- That's weird,
'cause your future looks bright to me.
- [grunts] [heavy breathing]
♪
- [laughs]
You dweebs really think you can stop me?
You tripping.
- Oh, not good. - Oh, snap.
I just erased it from time. My bad.
[jazz music]
♪
- Could somebody please tell me
what this green energy is doing to my city?
- There are geothermic isotopes all over the city,
which means we know it's one of the Forces.
We're just trying to figure out which one.
- This used to be a tablet.
[funky music]
♪
- So it's not just me?
- Baby girl.
You look incredible.
- So do you, Dad.
Frost.
Caitlin.
- Thanks for trying. [sighs]
- Nora, Iris told me you were here,
but it is so good to see you.
- It's good to see you too, Captain.
[alarm blaring]
- Scans show the isotopic foundation is unstable.
The green wave is spreading and heading toward downtown.
[foghorn blares] - What's that noise?
- [growling]
- Natalie? Natalie!
Natalie?
- [screams]
- [roaring]
Oh, my God.
- [roars]
[computer beeping]
- I was able to trace the energy to a nearby town.
- Masonville? - Cisco and Chester
were installing an early warning system by there.
- Looks like something triggered
the amplifier's sensor.
- If I can access the data drive,
I might be able to figure out what set this off.
- Temporal, as in time travel? - Yeah, but this energy
doesn't match Psych or Fuerza, which means...
- Which means that we're dealing
with a new Force of Nature that can alter time.
- Buckle up, fools,
'cause once I reset my time loop,
you'll forget everything.
- We gotta get out of here. He's too powerful.
We can't fight him on our own.
Come on. Chess?
- I don't believe in quitting.
- These isotopic signature are moving at speeds
that should be impossible.
This new Force
is rewinding time at random,
and we can't stop it.
- What happens if we get stuck
in one of these time pockets?
- We could end up in the Stone Age.
- Oh, my God.
It's up to Cisco and Chester now.
- Hey. Yo, Deon.
Listen to me.
You can make us
forget our futures,
but there's no power in the world
that'll make you forget yours. - Yeah, tell me about it.
I've tried to rewrite that night 100 times.
No matter what I try to do,
I can't change what happens.
- What happened to you must be a fixed point.
You can't change it.
So maybe you should stop trying,
and instead choose to see
the possibilities in every new day.
Look, your future's still not written, Deon.
- I hate my future!
- [roars] [both screaming]
- I'm supposed to be the next Patrick Mahomes, man.
- Look, I know it's easy
to hold on to the bad stuff.
Ever since I was a kid,
I thought my Pops cared more about his job than me.
- Boo-hoo, man.
- And I carried the hurt around with me for years.
But today,
when I looked at my past with fresh eyes...
I saw that my dad worked hard to give me a better life.
And once I saw that, it helped me let go of that pain, Deon.
And you can do the same.
But not until you stop letting one moment in your past
define all the moments in your future.
[thunder rolls]
- [roars]
- [screams]
[somber music]
♪
- The future's on me?
- Yeah.
- So I get to figure out what it looks like.
So I get to decide what happens from now on.
Not just for me...
But for everyone.
[dramatic music]
♪
Time to bounce.
- Well, Barry, looks like your vitals have stabilized.
How you feeling?
- I feel fine.
So no luck finding Deon yet?
- So far, satellites haven't found
any traces of his temporal energy signature.
- And he's a time god, so who knows where
or when he might be hiding?
- Plus, I think Deon's only just now starting to realize
the full scope of his powers.
But I don't get it.
Not once did he mention chasing after you.
- Well, unlike the others,
he might not know that I survived.
- That makes sense. - You know, it's weird.
Every time you and Chester talk about Deon,
he sounds a lot more reasonable than Psych
and a lot less lethal than Fuerza.
- Even so, being able to control time
makes him the most powerful Force yet.
- He could stop you in your tracks anytime, anywhere.
That's his power.
It's like he's the opposite of the Speed Force.
He's the Still Force.
Which I guess would make Fuerza
the Strength Force.
And that would make Psych the Sage Force.
- [laughs]
- If this new Force is more powerful than me,
then how did you defeat him, Cisco?
- [laughs] Uh, I didn't defeat him.
Chester P. did.
- Uh, I got lucky.
Yeah, I'm gonna leave the going mano a mano
with big bads to the Flash from now on.
[cell phone dings] - Oh, that's Kamilla.
Supposed to meet up at Jitters. Caitlin, you still in?
- Absolutely. Let me grab my bag.
- How about you, Chess? You still down?
- No, I actually have an errand to run,
but bring a brother back a Vibe-a-ccino?
- Duh. [both laughing]
Hey, you didn't get lucky, all right?
What you did out there...
I'm proud of you.
- Yeah.
I guess I'm just a man trying to do the right thing.
Make my Pops proud.
- Caitlin, hurry up.
I'm trying to get this coffee and a cronut.
- Iris, thanks to you,
I'm seeing things a lot clearer now.
Well, I imagine you two are anxious to get home,
so I'll see you in the morning.
- Wait.
You're staying here tonight?
- Well, I want to know right away
if the satellites find the other Forces.
- Yeah, no, I get that,
but we'll get an alert if that happens.
Nora, we have clean sheets
in our guest room and plenty of blankets.
- Sounds cozy. - Yeah, it is.
You should stay with us tonight.
Right, Barry?
- Um, sure.
Yeah, of course.
- [laughs]
You have no idea how much that would mean to me.
Really.
- It's our pleasure.
- I got you, Pops.
Time to finish what you started.
Okay.
[quirky music]
♪
- Oh, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Is that damn time bubble back?
- Oh, no. I just liked the look,
so I decided to swing by a thrift store.
Picked up these bad boys too.
- Listen, we need to talk. - Ugh.
Nothing good ever starts with, "We need to talk."
- This new state liaison that's auditing CCPD,
her name's Kristen Kramer,
I just found out that she's here to catch
a dangerous fugitive meta-human.
- Hmm. - She's here for Killer Frost.
- That's not who I am anymore. - I know.
I just got to find a way to make her see that.
In the meantime, you need to lay low.
- Yeah. That's not gonna happen.
- She's former Army Intelligence, Frost.
- I don't care if she's Xena, Warrior Princess.
I am finally free to live my own life,
and no one is gonna take that away from me.
So if this Kristen Kramer wants to come after me,
then I say bring it on.
[dramatic music]
♪
- Greg, move your head.
[thunder rolls] [electricity surges]