"It must be painful, right?"
While Harrison Wells's expression was sharp and the others stood tense, Jack Kadere suddenly chuckled, his words cutting through the silence like a knife. Pain? Why pain? Barry Allen and the others exchanged confused glances, yet a shadow of recognition flickered across Wells's face.
"Being trapped in a world that isn't yours," Jack continued, his voice calm, almost sympathetic. "Wanting to go home but unable to. Forced to create and protect your enemy just to keep your only chance alive. If anyone here cares most about Barry Allen's safety, it's you. Because if he dies or loses his speed, you'll never go home. You'll be stuck in this world… where everyone is already a ghost to you."
The basement was so quiet that even the hum of the machinery seemed to fade. Wells said nothing, but his silence was answer enough.
Jack tilted his head, sighing lightly. In a strange way, they weren't so different. Neither of them truly belonged here. That sense of detachment, that endless loneliness—Jack knew it well. The difference was that Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash masquerading as Harrison Wells, wanted desperately to return home. Jack, on the other hand, had no such desire. Still, he couldn't help but admire Thawne's patience. To endure for fifteen years, hiding behind a mask? That was its own kind of strength.
"Why do you know all this?" Wells asked, his voice low, almost dangerous.
Jack smirked, his gaze drifting around the room. "That's not the question you should be asking. The real issue is this—your trap isn't very good, especially for a speedster."
Barry stiffened, glancing nervously at the glowing pillars of the electronic fence.
"Because a speedster has more than enough time to study his environment," Jack went on. He casually gestured to the corner of the roof. "Like that little fence of yours… and like the man crouched above."
He raised his hand, a spark of electricity flashing across his fingertips before snapping outward.
Bang!
The bolt struck the rooftop, and Oliver Queen vaulted down, rolling to his feet, bow already drawn.
"Well, well," Jack said with a grin. "Green Arrow himself. Took you long enough to show."
Oliver narrowed his eyes, keeping his arrow trained on him. "You know me?"
"If I couldn't recognize you dressed like that, I'd have to be blind," Jack replied. He swept his gaze around the trap with mocking amusement. "This setup… let me guess, your handiwork?"
"Yes," Oliver said firmly, though the confidence in his voice wavered.
"Good," Jack answered simply, though the sly chuckle that followed made Oliver's grip tighten on his bowstring.
Jack turned, strolling toward Wells as though the tension in the air was nothing. His voice carried, sharp and taunting: "Cisco, you're really sure this electronic fence of yours can hold me?"
"Of course," Cisco Ramon answered quickly, eyes locked on the monitors.
"Then let's see it."
Without hesitation, Jack walked past Wells and stepped directly into the trap.
Everyone froze.
Was it confidence… or pure arrogance?
"Barry!" Wells barked.
Barry Allen didn't hesitate. In a flash, he pulled the lever.
The four pillars blazed to life, energy racing between them. A barrier of crackling light surged up, surrounding Jack Kadere in a cage of pure power.
"Phew…" Caitlin Snow exhaled, her shoulders finally dropping.
Wells slid his glasses back on, a cruel smile tugging at his lips as he faced Jack. "Confidence and arrogance are sometimes just a step apart, Jack. And you are about to pay the price for your arrogance."
"Is that so?" Jack chuckled softly. He reached out and brushed his hand against the shimmering barrier, as if testing its texture. His smile carried a mocking edge. "Finally caught me, huh? You must feel pretty proud of yourselves. Caitlin, I thought we were friends."
Caitlin Snow's expression faltered, guilt flashing in her eyes. "We are friends… but what you did was wrong. I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't have a choice."
"Different ideologies. I get it," Jack replied lightly, before turning his gaze toward Oliver Queen. "By the way, I hear you've got a very beautiful sister."
Oliver's eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening. "If I were you, I wouldn't be running my mouth right now. You're only digging yourself in deeper."
Jack grinned, ignoring the warning. "Funny. I've been holding onto a gift, not sure who it was for. Then I saw you." Slowly, he raised a finger. "One."
Everyone stiffened.
"What? What are you talking about?" Oliver demanded.
"Two." Jack's smile widened.
"Jack Kadere, don't—" Barry's voice cut sharply.
Seeing Jack's calm, deliberate countdown made everyone tense. Cisco Ramon immediately bent over his console. "Barry, wait—I'll check if he triggered something!"
"Three."
The moment Jack spoke the final number, the whole team braced for disaster.
…Nothing happened.
The tension broke.
"He's bluffing," Oliver sneered, forcing out a breath.
Jack met his glare with a smirk and silently mouthed a single word: Explode.
"BOOM!"
The explosion erupted behind Oliver before he could react. His quiver went up in flames, and the blast hurled him to the ground with a heavy grunt of pain.
"Oliver!" Barry dashed forward to shield him.
Then—bang! bang! bang!
A cascade of explosions shook the facility. Fire surged across the walls, and thick black smoke swallowed the air. S.T.A.R. Labs itself seemed to tremble as another detonation ripped through Harrison Wells' wheelchair, tearing it apart in a fiery blast.
"No!"
Cisco Ramon's horrified shout echoed as he bolted downstairs.
By the time he reached the lower level, the lab was unrecognizable—walls scorched, equipment twisted, alarms wailing. Amid the smoke, he spotted Barry helping a groaning Oliver to his feet, while Caitlin stumbled out from behind a console, shaken but alive.
"Dr. Wells!" Cisco rushed to his mentor's side, dragging him clear of the sparking debris. Harrison looked dazed, his glasses cracked, but he was breathing.
Cisco exhaled shakily. "Thank God… everyone's alive."
But as the relief settled in, unease quickly followed.
The explosions had been massive, destructive—but somehow, miraculously, no one had been killed. Not Oliver, not Caitlin, not even Wells, who'd been sitting at the epicenter. Was that luck? No… this felt deliberate.
Cisco's gaze snapped to the barrier.
Inside the glowing fence, Jack Kadere stood completely untouched, smiling like a predator watching his prey scramble. The trap was still intact, its systems humming smoothly, not even scratched by the blasts.
Cisco's stomach dropped.
This wasn't luck. Jack had planned it all—igniting chaos, causing panic, but sparing their lives on purpose.
Why?
Cisco's hands clenched as he stared through the barrier at Jack's calm, unreadable face. He wasn't just toying with them… he was sending a message.