Iron Heights Prison was in a complete lockdown state because Gorilla Grodd had cut off its power supply before escaping.
The meta-human criminals, who were supposed to be locked in their cells by electronic locks, were now free due to the power outage.
Although Warden Winchester had closed off the passages within Iron Heights, those incarcerated there were essentially talented individuals who had misused their abilities.
They had various methods to unlock the gates that confined them to their cells.
Sector Two was specifically for criminals who, despite lacking superpowers, committed crimes using their superior criminal intellect and high-tech weaponry.
Their danger level was second only to the meta-human criminals in Sector One who had caused significant damage to Central City.
As a group of highly intelligent criminals, the power outage caused by Grodd presented them with a golden opportunity to escape.
Without the restraint of electronic locks, they managed to open their cell doors using only a few small spoons and pieces of clothing.
At the closed gate, Captain Cold Leonard Snart, one of the Flash's archenemies, swiped a deceased prison guard's access card through the slot, staring blankly at the numeric keypad.
"Hurry up, Snart! If you can't open this door, your head will be crushed like that guy's just now!" the murderer Girder growled, clenching his fists.
He was naturally strong, with a violent temper that made him bloodthirsty.
His powerful physique and beast-like combat intelligence kept the police constantly on their toes, and he had given the Flash a lot of trouble when he first started out.
Later, after the Flash became familiar with his abilities, he easily subdued Girder, who was then incarcerated in Iron Heights.
However, due to this accident, he had killed a prison guard and was now preparing to escape.
"Relax, Girder. If you hadn't killed that guard, we'd already be out," Snart retorted, annoyed, as he racked his brain to guess the door code.
At the Iron Heights command center, a yellow blur streaked through the prison's numerous obstacles, effortlessly arriving before Winchester and the others, who were anxiously waiting.
"How bad is it, Warden Winchester?" Barry asked, vibrating his vocal cords.
"The Flash? Thank goodness. It's terrible. Gorilla Grodd and his subordinates have escaped, and due to a sudden lightning strike and Grodd's tampering, the prison's power station has completely lost power.
The control terminals for each sector are no longer functioning.
Apart from the final emergency gate, which is still operating independently, we can't do anything.
I don't even know how many colleagues we've lost!"
Winchester's face was filled with grief as he spoke.
Although this was an unforeseen accident, and Iron Heights had lightning protection measures, who could have anticipated such a fierce lightning storm that completely paralyzed the entire prison's defense system, causing incalculable losses?
"I'll go restart the power supply. Leave the prisoners in Sector One and Sector Two to me. You organize your people, and once I restore power, begin regaining control of the correctional areas."
"I understand!"
After confirming the plan, Barry vanished from Winchester's sight again, arriving at the power station that supplied Iron Heights.
His right hand vibrated at high speed, red and yellow lightning gathering in his hand.
Aiming at the input point, Barry flicked his hand, and a bolt of red and yellow lightning struck the power station, injecting the immense energy of the Speed Force back into the dormant facility.
The cooling system restarted, and the rainwater on the power station evaporated into mist due to the high heat.
Iron Heights, which had been like a ghost town moments ago, was once again brightly lit.
The barbed wire fences were electrified, and the searchlights came on.
The dark incarceration areas also had their power restored, and Winchester, in the control center, immediately gave orders to his colleagues as soon as the power returned.
"Initiate Alert Directive One. Get these guys back where they belong.
Open the gates to Sector One and Sector Two, and let the Flash give them a good lesson!"
"Yes, sir!"
In Sector Two, Snart tried entering a few numbers, and the previously closed gate began to open.
At the same time, light returned to the dark prison.
Looking at the bright overhead lights, Snart suddenly took a step back and returned to his cell.
The others, overjoyed, grabbed the weapons of the deceased prison guards and prepared to rush out of Iron Heights.
"Snart, what's gotten into you? Are you trying to be a model prisoner?!" Girder exclaimed, completely bewildered by Snart's actions as he watched him return to his cell.
"It's too late. He's here."
"Who?"
"The Flash~"
Just as Snart uttered that magical name, the prisoners in Sector Two, who were about to leave, saw a figure in a red metallic suit at the exit.
The familiar color scheme made them grit their teeth.
It was the culprit who had put them all in prison, the fastest man alive, the Flash!
The Flash slowly walked towards them from the exit.
As he advanced, his figure multiplied from one to two, then two to four, and in no time, he had created as many duplicates as there were prisoners in Sector Two.
One of the Flash's duplicates glanced at Snart, who remained in his cell, and slowly vanished.
The remaining Flash duplicates looked at the escaping criminals and said in a deep voice,
"You have three seconds to consider. Put down your weapons and return to your designated positions. Don't make me resort to force!"
The same scene was playing out in Sector One.
The meta-human criminals who had been caught by the Flash and imprisoned in Iron Heights over the past two years—King Shark, Girder, Tar Pit, Pied Piper, Weather Wizard... each of these individuals faced a Flash duplicate.
Speed Force duplicates were a skill Barry had developed as the Flash over the past two years.
As long as his speed reached a certain level, he could create a duplicate manifested from the Speed Force.
And the Speed Force-enhanced speed thinking allowed him to control these differentiated duplicates.
"Damn it, this must be an illusion!
There are so many of us here, there's nothing to fear!"
Freedom was within reach, yet it was blocked by the accursed Flash at the closest point.
As an unruly bunch, how could they accept this?
Presuming that their numbers gave them an advantage and that the Flash duplicates before them were merely afterimages caused by the Flash's excessive speed, they launched an attack on Barry.
And Barry made them realize that in front of the fastest man alive, numbers truly held no advantage.
Dozens of lightning bolts streaked through the crowd.
The criminals, who were supposed to be charging forward, instantly froze in mid-air, then, as if a rewind button had been pressed, they returned to their respective cells.
The electronic locks re-engaged, the cell doors slammed shut, and the meta-human dampening devices activated, turning these individuals back into ordinary people.
The Flash duplicates who had accomplished all this then slowly vanished, leaving only the main body, whose steps were slightly unsteady.
He leaned against the wall, panting.
Creating Speed Force duplicates was a significant drain on him.
In the past, every time he used this move, he would consume a large amount of specially made high-calorie chocolate.
But he had left in a hurry this time and forgotten to bring it.
And outside, Gorilla Grodd, a highly intelligent gorilla with telepathy and telekinesis, was causing chaos with his subordinates.
He had to get there.
Just then, a portal opened, and Cisco and Caitlin, who had messed things up, rushed out of it.
Their first words upon seeing Barry were: "Flash, it's bad!
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