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Some graffiti showed up
all over Spanish Hill last week.
Someone's trying to contact the Flash.
Maybe you need an 800 number.
Well, I guess I was done.
You sure? You don't wanna lick the plate?
No.
Thank you.
You really are becoming a human
garbage disposal on legs these days.
- I get hungry.
- Save room, everybody.
We have to celebrate.
Barry, I don't think you need the sugar.
You better serve this one last, Uncle Felix,
or there won't be any left.
Congratulations, Mr.
Tomarquin.
- Has it really been a year?
- Can you believe it, Barry?
It's a year now since we're citizens.
And a lot of thanks go to you
and the rest of the precinct.
It's a policeman's lot.
We know a good meal when we eat one.
You're so skinny,
I'm going to save you a second piece.
Well, see that?
We've got half an hour.
You go ahead.
I have my ticket.
I wanna check that graffiti for myself.
Admiral Theater, please.
I'll be there before curtain time.
Tonight was meant to be a night
away from work.
Somebody is looking for the Flash, all right?
Now, I've got to find out who and why.
- Barry.
- Half an hour.
Be there.
Driver.
"Please come to the church
on Ascension Street tonight
when three bells ring at 8:00.
"
Gentlemen.
This is a bad part of town
for you to be getting lost in, man.
Good thing I'm not lost, huh?
I'm
meeting someone.
Who you meeting?
I know everyone on the block.
I'll help you find him.
Thank you very much,
but I really don't need a tour guide.
Javier! Leave him alone.
He's a policeman.
I know him.
He's okay.
Sometimes my friends forget
I'm not a kid anymore.
Listen
do you know anything
about this Flash graffiti?
- The "help" message.
- No.
This is our neighborhood, man.
We don't go around marking it up.
Why are the bells ringing now?
A little early for midnight Mass.
You see, Calderon?
It does pay to advertise.
Let's get him out of here.
We're gonna make this phantom
do all of our work.
And he won't even know it.
Step one.
Hello?
Oh, my God.
Oh, it's come to this?
All right!
I'll be right back, sweetheart.
Barry, where the hell have you been?
I've been calling you all night.
All night?
Where have I been?
We went out last night, right?
Dinner and a play.
Am I right?
And how did you like the play, Barry?
The play.
Well, I
- How did you like it?
- I wouldn't know.
I spent the entire evening
in the lobby waiting for you.
Now, you wouldn't have stood me up
without a very good reason.
So, what happened?
I went into the mailroom yesterday
and the guys were laughing
about that Flash letter.
I grabbed it.
- I didn't tell you about it because
- I'd insist on coming with you.
Right.
So
I ran into Paloma,
and there was a church.
That's all I remember.
- But I feel fine now.
- Barry, don't be so nonchalant.
A memory blackout is a serious
Doesn't that give you indigestion?
Only way to get them
before they get soggy.
Hey, do you want some?
I got boxes of them.
You know, sometimes you're a real jerk.
As your doctor,
I'm ordering you to take it easy.
All right.
All right.
I mean, who wants to lose a doctor
who makes house calls?
- Hello.
- Barry.
Yeah, Julio, where are you?
All right.
All right.
I'll be there in a second.
I mean, give me 10 minutes, all right?
- Rough night, huh?
- I wish I remembered.
That's my kind of rough night.
Anyway, witnesses say that they saw
the statues walk out by themselves.
Walk out? Okay.
Anyway, milk-truck driver says the wind
kicks in at about 3 in the morning.
Next thing, the saints
are stopping traffic.
Allen! Mendez!
When you two are ready
I don't know, Julio.
I've had a problem with miracles
ever since I found Dad's Santa suit.
Yeah, I'm hip, man.
But I gotta tell you, man,
after last night with Sabrina
I could be a true believer
all over again, you know.
Who's that guy giving us the evil eye?
That's the local santero.
A medicine man for people
who believe in magic.
Father, with all due respect,
I just can't buy it.
I mean, statues taking
an evening stroll.
It's worse inside, Barry.
Who'd wanna
do this to a church? I don't get it.
Maybe the statues just wanted
a breath of fresh air.
- Maybe not.
- Escort the saints back into the church.
Yes, sir.
Father Becerra, this is Barry Allen,
Julio Mendez from the crime lab.
Tell them what you told me.
As I explained to Lieutenant Garfield
someone rang the church bells
at 3 in the morning.
- I left the rectory, reached for the door
- This is where it gets nuts.
Listen to this.
- And then suddenly the doors flew open,
and I was surrounded by the saints.
- You saw no one.
- Only the blessed saints.
And then a burst of wind
lifted me off my feet
and deposited me right over there.
And the words above the door
appeared from nowhere.
This is not God's work.
This is a sacrilege.
Any notion who "him" is?
Not a clue.
If you'd excuse me,
I have work to do.
- No problem, Father.
- But we might wanna talk to you again.
Like I said, nuts.
You got any ideas
so my report won't sound
totally like The Twilight Zone?
This is heavy.
When them saints go marching in
Come on, Murph, this is serious.
Oh, when them saints go marching in
This is a weird one, man.
I mean, someone
set those pews up like dominoes, right,
and then just knocked them over.
- Yet nobody heard anything?
- I don't have a clue.
- You folks know anything?
- Oh, I'm sure it's nothing.
Just kids pranking for
the Day of the Dead festival.
- Gangs maybe?
- It's the voice of Chango.
A reminder of his power
and his anger.
How can you listen
to this bogeyman crap?
- Paloma, please.
- No, you, please!
This is a lot of superstitious junk.
Chango has nothing to do with
what's going down on the street.
- What do you mean?
- She doesn't mean anything, Barry.
- She's a child.
- Beware
of the scarlet lightning with the voice
of fear and the voice of thunder.
Just beware.
All this mumbo jumbo makes people
into scared, stupid peasants.
If you do hear anything,
call me at the precinct, all right?
Aren't you gonna ask me
for my phone number, officer?
I quit babysitting
when I left the academy.
You heartbreaker, you.
Hey, what did he mean
by "the scarlet lightning"?
Beats me.
This is Joe Kline, the voice of the city.
The testimony of DEA Bureau Chief
Peter Paul Aguilar
is expected to break one of Central City's
major conduits for hard narcotics.
Aguilar infiltrated a ruthless
East Coast drug cartel
This Kline guy is much too intense.
Much too.
He doesn't learn to relax, he'll be
major coronary material.
Major.
Major.
I guarantee it.
Aguilar testifies,
and years of my work is destroyed.
He won't testify.
And, no, you won't lose your nice
little narcotics empire.
That's what you're paying me for.
Come on.
That's right.
Half a million dollars,
and for what?
To put statues out in the middle
of the street?
Now you've got this
This red devil, this Flash, on a leash.
You make him find
Aguilar's daughter now.
What do you think I'm doing?
Come on! These people, they're ignorant.
They're superstitious.
Once we scare them to death
they'll hand us the girl.
Three days.
Three days until Aguilar testifies,
and we know nothing about this girl!
We don't even know
what she looks like!
We know she's here.
We know she's here in
this refugee neighborhood.
We know that.
And
l've also got more than these two eyes
to search with.
I got the Flash's hands.
And
I got his eyes too.
How can we lose?
I got his eyes.
I got his hands.
Hey, hey.
Julio, do we really have to go in there?
All this satanic stuff makes me
a little bit nervous.
Look, we've got to.
It's Garfield's orders.
Besides, this has nothing to do
with the devil.
See, Santer�a is a worship
of the spirit saints.
Oh, swell.
Like voodoo.
- Yeah, but with a Spanish accent.
- I beg your pardon.
Excuse me.
We'd like to ask you
some questions about last night.
Torso Van Nuraso
and the Muchacho Buscaro!
I didn't know you were a fan.
Oh, yeah, Jay used to take me
to the fights all the time.
He told Mom we were
going to the library.
Hey, the Muchacho was
my first real hero, man.
He used a double sleeper hold.
He should be barred.
Yeah.
When he went bad,
I didn't sleep for days.
Listen, do you mind if we ask you
a few questions?
It's a waste of time.
You have no respect for my faith
my knowledge.
Respect is a two-way street.
It would help
if you had a little respect for us.
Listen, man
what happened last night
is the work of Palo Monte
the black arts.
Now, these magics
have no place in my shop.
- Are you saying black magic is behind this?
- Listen.
And know this:
A dark spirit has been called to earth.
In Santer�a, there is no black or white
good or evil.
There is good and evil
in all gods and all men.
Chango's dark spirit
has been awakened.
And you can only put him down
is through a sacrifice.
What kind of sacrifice?
Well, that's the problem with gods.
They never tell you
what would satisfy them.
We're not finished here.
I think he is.
Come on.
Do you believe any of that stuff?
Hey, it's not what I believe
that matters, man.
It matters if you believe
any of that old fool's mumbo jumbo.
Real life is scary enough.
You mean, you never hexed an enemy
or bought a love potion for your friend
with the knife?
- I don't need love potions.
- Paloma, I told you to stay indoors.
- T�a, I can take care of myself.
- Everything's okay, Mrs.
Tomarquin.
You're in no position to judge.
I thought you were one
of her favorite customers.
Yeah, so did I.
Sorry, pal.
Get out of my chair, man.
I got work to do.
The rent-paying species
gets the best seats, you know.
Which was it that you didn't like?
Was that Swiss or cheddar?
Here you go.
Oh, Chango!
Oh, Chango!
Chango!
What the hell is that?
- Yes.
Hello.
- Barry?
Oh, thank God.
Where have you been?
Tina
l've lost eight hours.
Eight hours.
Very good, Barry.
Now let's try it with your left eye.
I can't.
I can't.
My fingers won't respond.
Because the hemispheres of your brain
aren't communicating.
So, what my left eye sees
isn't reaching my right hand, is that it?
The two sides of my brain aren't connected?
Apparently.
If both halves don't learn something,
you can't remember it.
Oh, great.
Swell.
So now not only do I eat like a pig
but my jacked-up metabolism
is screwing with my memory.
- What are you scratching?
- What?
It looks like a bad bite.
I wonder if insect toxin
is the problem.
- I've gotta go.
- Barry.
You may be my best friend,
but you've become my worst patient.
It was the angry wind.
Chango came in the night
and tore me from my sleep.
That sounds like the same spirit
that the priest saw in the church.
- Chango's the god of the storm?
- Chango is the wind rider.
The bearer of lightning.
Oh, great.
First the Flash, now this.
What do we got here,
a convention of ghosts?
You believe in nothing.
And yet you have contempt for my belief.
Just leave my botanica.
And leave me alone.
I have to purify my store.
We got another message for "him.
"
Out! Everybody out!
Wait.
Don't you wanna
press charges here?
You don't press charges
against the gods.
- What do you mean?
- He means, you don't press charges
against the gods.
Wait a minute
Paloma
you have to tell me.
What's happening here?
- Nothing you can't see, Anglo.
- Why is he so interested in you for?
He's just another guy
madly in love with me.
Look, first the church and now this.
And nobody knows anything?
Look, if there's trouble down here,
please tell us so we can help you!
Take it.
Take it!
Please, Paloma!
You are the one.
You brought this problem
among all of us!
- Cool it with the camera.
- This curse among all of us.
The gods must have their sacrifice!
- Get an ambulance!
- Move behind the line.
Let's go!
You have to pace yourself
if you wanna sprint like that.
- How did you do that?
- I didn't mean to scare you.
- I'm not afraid.
- Of me maybe.
Paloma
I need some help.
And I'm hungry.
What do you say?
I knew we could scare the santero
into pointing us towards the girl.
There she is.
The only thing that Aguilar loves.
Once we have her, he'll never testify.
Trachmann
I must admit, your toys did the trick.
You see, a brain and nerves
is just like a machine and its wires.
Once you map out the circuits, you can
punch a button and get anything you want.
You can get hate.
You can get fear.
You can get pain.
It makes no difference to you
between a man and a machine?
It makes one difference:
You can't scare a machine.
Are you sure you don't want
those plainteros over there?
You're a cute guy,
but if you don't watch it
you're gonna end up
with a butt like a Buick.
Well, thank you.
But I work out.
A lot.
I hope so, for that girlfriend of yours.
Girlfriend?
Tina.
No, no.
No, you got that wrong.
Oh, then you're available.
Yeah.
Listen, Paloma
what was that thing
the santero gave you?
It's a black-magic talisman
for a human sacrifice.
But I thought you said
that was a lot of mumbo jumbo.
I must come forward
or a loved one will suffer in my place.
- A loved one?
Peter Aguilar.
My father.
He sent me here in secret
to hide with my aunt and uncle after
The drug lord, Calderon
he butchered my mother
and my brothers.
And if Calderon finds me
he'll use me to stop my father
from testifying.
Why didn't your father go to the police?
You don't understand.
Calderon has bought policemen before.
My father knew I would be safe
here on Spanish soil with our people.
But with this devil, with the spirit scaring
everyone, I don't know anymore.
- Come with me.
- Where are we going?
Someplace safe.
Until we can figure
a way out of this mess.
I'll have the CAT scan in an hour.
How's Paloma doing?
I tell you to be careful, and you
play the knight in shining red armor.
The girl's in danger, all right?
Damn it, Barry, so are you.
You keep blacking out.
Nobody's after me.
She needs a safe place to hide.
And here I thought you two
were just good friends.
If my being here is a problem,
I'll take care of myself.
Don't be silly.
It's him I'm worried about.
- He can never take care of himself.
- They're all alike.
In spite of all the fun
we're having
I do have to show up
at the lab from time to time.
We do have four other cases
that we're working on at the moment.
- Oh, really?
- Yeah.
Keep the fun level down
to a minimum while I'm gone.
And keep this place locked up tight.
Tina, I've had another blackout.
The last thing I remember
was leaving the lab.
Oh, my God.
What happened to your face?
- Are you all right?
- I'm fine.
- Where's Paloma?
- She's gone, Barry.
- Somebody got her?
- I don't know, but you have to look at this.
- No, I've gotta go find Paloma.
- Shut up and listen!
Okay, all right.
Oh, my God.
It's me.
Paloma!
Barry.
- Barry.
- Don't! No!
Barry.
It's okay.
It's okay!
You're back here with me now.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Come on.
Come on.
Now, can you tell me what you saw?
I
was
in the Botanica Chango.
The santero was there.
And Paloma.
And someone else, but I can't
quite picture who it was.
- Tina, I think I'm losing it.
- I won't let that happen, Barry.
I promise.
But I saw him!
I saw the guy who's behind all this.
It's buried in the side of your brain
you can't communicate with.
You couldn't even reach it
through hypnosis.
Let me show you what the problem is.
A tiny microwave receiver.
It's rerouting the impulses here and emitting
neural signals of its own to program you.
Where did it come from?
- Brain surgery when my back was turned?
- Injection, most likely.
That's what happened.
In the church.
They lured me with the graffiti
and stuck this in my brain.
I led them to Paloma
and hand-delivered her.
I can't wait till you get this out
and I get that guy.
- You can't take this chance, Barry.
- Why not?
A similar device was tested on animals
at Stanford University.
The diode in your brain
is like a generator.
The more you use it,
the more it builds up a charge.
You have maybe 24 hours
before it overloads.
And fries my brain?
We can fight this thing.
I'm on to
the networks to find out how to turn it off.
You must stay here with me so I can
sedate you and slow down your metabolism.
Oh, no, you don't.
I've gotta find Paloma
before they get to her father.
- But, Barry, you
- Just keep working on it.
Turn it off, jam it.
You'll think of something.
I know you will.
Only one Stanford researcher left
who worked on brain implants.
And his name's Trachmann.
- Yes, sir
- Julio, damn it!
- Don't do that when I'm working, all right?
- All right.
Just cool out with
this nuclear assault, man.
- What are you working on?
- Nothing.
Damn it, I went off-line.
Are you okay, Barry? I mean, look,
you've really been on edge lately.
Yeah, I'm fine.
I just haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately.
I've got a lot of things on my mind.
How about this? You and me, tonight,
hit the Day of the Dead festival.
One of my friends is playing
in the Nortano band.
I gotta find Paloma.
Garfield's got half the division on her trail,
on top of the feds
who don't wanna lose
her father's testimony.
I owe her.
The call is bouncing off satellites,
don't bother trying to trace it.
Here, say hi to your dad.
- Forget about me.
Put these pigs away.
- Paloma! Are you all right?
- Paloma!
- It's you for the girl, Aguilar.
Unless you want this Day of the Dead
to be something special this year.
- lf you hurt her, I will kill you!
- Bye.
Somebody ought to plug you
in a wall socket, wire head.
Wire head?
Won't your daddy be surprised at
the sharp tongue that you've developed.
Excuse me, buddy.
Hey, pal.
Can you get out of the way, please?
I gotta do a shot here.
Thanks a lot.
Joe Kline, voice of the city.
The case against drug lord Falco Calderon
has been delayed yet again.
With me is federal prosecutor
Marguerite Giarelo.
What is the reason for today's delay?
Well, certain legal motions have been put
before the court
Is it true that Peter Paul Aguilar will not
testify, and thereby the case falls apart?
Mr.
Aguilar will withhold his testimony until
he has a chance to review his evidence.
But that does not mean, as you succinctly
put it, that the case will fall apart.
Calderon has a relative of Aguilar's.
That's
the reason he won't testify.
True or false?
I'm sorry, I cannot comment
Cut! Cut! What the hell was that?
Did we get anything we could use? God.
- Lord Chango.
- Why did you betray the girl?
But it was your wish, my lord.
You were the angry wind
demanding penance.
But, lord
please tell me.
Why have I sinned?
You have done nothing wrong.
And I'm not a god.
I'm a man.
A man with a certain gift.
Someone forced me
to do his bidding.
- Black magic.
- Black science.
I'm sorry.
I must find Calderon.
Calderon? He's in the shadows.
But his minions
the face of white death
in the streets.
Calderon! Now!
Aguilar wants to make
the switch at midnight.
On the Day of the Dead
festival at Spanish Hill.
I don't like it.
Too many people around.
Why worry about people
when we got these puppets?
- Get away from me!
- I'm here to help you.
Don't touch me!
I'm not going to hurt you.
- Leave me alone!
- You heard the young lady.
Whatever you did, it worked.
I was an inch away from being
scraped off a semi's grille.
I found the frequency broadcasting to the
diode and blocked it with another signal.
Thanks.
- You saved my life.
- Not yet.
The diode is still there.
An ultrasound pulse could destroy it,
but I've got to jury-rig that instrument.
Well, Trachmann won't let Paloma
or Aguilar live past morning.
And if he's not controlling me,
I'll have a chance.
I got a reading
of the transmission signal.
Your metabolism has accelerated
the power buildup.
The time tomb in your brain could go
at any second.
Well, he's exchanging Paloma
for Aguilar at midnight.
That gives me a few minutes
to find them.
- That's all the time I need.
- Get back as soon as possible.
I will.
That's the signal.
Thank you for all of your help, Javier.
Take care of Paloma.
These men are ruthless.
They cannot be trusted.
I know, Senor Aguilar.
Paloma!
Day of the Dead, Daddy.
Paloma.
Paloma!
What? What, what, what?
Why aren't you part of the highway?
Paloma.
All right, Pinocchio.
Time to reattach your strings.
Paloma! Paloma!
Paloma.
Aguilar, how should I kill you?
What am I, chopped liver?
Let Pinocchio do it.
He can drag him down the street
at 600 miles an hour, huh?
Or he can whirl him like a dervish
until he flies apart.
- What are you looking at?
- Sorry, pal.
Your broadcast days are over.
It's no use, Geppetto.
Pinocchio's a real boy now.
Are you fond of lightning?
I got your lightning.
Paloma? Paloma, what did they
do to you?
I can help her.
Do it.
Please.
You'll find Trachmann and Calderon
at the end of the street.
Hold them there.
Okay.
Hey, the red suit!
That's one cool drape, man.
- Barry.
- Trachmann put a diode in her head.
I barely stopped her
from killing her father.
- Where is Trachmann?
- He blew a fuse.
Which left Paloma
like an open circuit.
I've modified the ultrasound scanner.
I think I can fry the diode.
Better test it on me first.
Following incriminating testimony
from DEA Agent Peter Aguilar
East Coast drug lord Reuben Calderon
stunned the court
with a three-hour-long confession
of criminal activity dating to the early '80s.
- All right!
- All right!
There was someone I was unable
to thank for all his help
and I'd like to salute him now.
Wherever and whoever he may be,
to the Flash.
To the Flash.
What happened to Trachmann?
He is in the hospital.
They're not sure how much brain damage
he suffered from the circuitry in his head.
Yes.
It's a pity his genius
was used for evil
and not for the benefit of mankind.
- Watching the late-night Fright Fest again?
- Oh, shut up!
A small gift
for the fan of the greatest wrestler
el Muchacho Buscaro.
Thanks.
Don't ask.
Let me see
It's in Spanish.
I can't read it.
- It's a love potion.
- Love potion.
And what exactly do you intend
to do with that?
I don't know.
But I think it would be
an unforgivable insult to give it back.