F L A S H : R O U G E S

Story by Jack Kelly Written by Jack Kelly Original Characters by Robert Kanigher and John Broome

DARK SCREEN (V.O) Every story is the same. FADE INTO: INT- KEYSTONE PRISON IRIS WEST is sitting at a table in a brightly lit room. Two police officers are with her. Their arms are folded, expressionless. Sitting across from Iris is LEONARD SNART. IRIS How so? SNART Ive talked to everyone in here. Were all the same. Criminals. Felons. Villains. Obviously. They all have the same story. IRIS Can you tell me one? SNART I can tell you my own. I think it would cheer a lot of people up when they read your column. IRIS Mr. Snart, I can detect sarcasm. SNART I wanted you to. Lets begin. IRIS Why not? SNART I was five when I first rode in my grandfathers ice cream truck. I loved it. He would give me a scoop of ice cream, and put it in my mouth. Then he would put in whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Do you know how good that feels, swallowing what would be a bowl of ice cream, but in your mouth, and your grandfather doing the same? And then you get a brainfreeze, and you both laugh to make the pain go away? Do you know how it feels, doing that every other week, for three years? It feels good. Do you know what being in a car crash feels like? Do you know what a fire in a car that you are in feels like. Do you know what gallons of melted ice cream pouring onto tall grass in the woods just off your street feels like? Do you know what screaming and crying for hours next to your dead, bleeding grandfather feels like until the authorities finally free you from that prison, while you scream and cry and wail while you are being dragged away, shouting for your grandfather. Just wanting him to come back really feels like? At this point, Snart has leaned in close enough to Iris so that he breathes onto her neck. SNART It doesnt feel very good.

Snart sits back, leaving Iris stunned at what he has said. IRIS Mr. Snart, Im sorr- SNART Dont say that! You arent sorry. People like you never are. Ive said the exact same thing Ive said to you to twenty-seven other people. Cops, reporters, every last one of them! Spit flies out of Snarts mouth. SNART They all said that! Nothing else but Im sorry over and over again! So dont say Im sorry. I know that you arent. IRIS Well, then, how exactly is your story just like all the others? SNART All of us went through some form of torture. Digger had it rough. Alcoholic father, there in the outback, mother died... I pity him. You see, we all had something happen. Something that changed us. I still have a scar Miss West, right here on my arm. I tried covering it up with makeup, long sleeves, but nothing truly got rid of it. Its still there. My grandfather. His truck. All thats left besides some scrap metal and a worm infested skull is this scar. It wasnt just from the truck. It wasnt from the crash. He- my own grandfather, the man I laughed with and rode around with for years... the man I trusted. He took a knife. Youre wondering how we crashed. Well he took the knife and he- IRIS Enough! That... enough. You said that you pitied this Digger. Yet, you dont want people saying or feeling sorry. SNART I dont find pity to be the same as sorrow. IRIS Why not? What do you consider them? SNART Sorrow is a false feeling. Making yourself feel bad for someone without thinking of their problems, of their position. Pity is when you put yourself where they are, and you see the horrors theyve been through. IRIS Mr. Snart, one last question. Who... or what, do you consider yourself to be? Snart connects his fingers, forming one large fist, and rests his hands on the table. He is very calm, not at all the harsh maniac he was mere minutes ago. SNART

Miss West, I am a rogue. CUT TO BLACK CUT TO: TITLE SCREEN FLASH: ROUGES appears in yellow, with a black background. A lightning bolt strikes, and the black becomes red. CUT TO: INT- IRIS APARTMENT BARRY ALLEN is lying down on a red couch, talking to himself. BARRY Maybe I should invite Hal over. But that would require cleaning my room. I didnt really say that, did I? Im a child trapped in a mans body. Or am I a woman trapped in a childs body? Or... forget it, that last sentence didnt even make sense. But I should get Hal over here. The door handle shakes. Barry sits up as Iris enters. BARRY So? IRIS What? BARRY So howd the interview with the madman I caught for the third time last week go? IRIS Well he spit on me while he talked. BARRY Sounds fun. While you were out, I got rid of one more pest. IRIS Who? Some giant talking gorilla? BARRY Funny. I think I got four of the bad guys in jail in just two weeks. Record! IRIS Youre The Fastest Man Alive. BARRY Im also sarcastic and narcissistic. IRIS

And Im beyond exhausted. If you need me, Ill be in my room. Barry perks up at the sound of that. BARRY Can I- Iris shoots him a look that shuts him up on the spot. IRIS No. She enters her room and slams the door. Barry lays back down. BARRY Its called a joke! CUT TO: INT- IRIS APARTMENT- LATER THAT NIGHT Barry is still in his T-shirt and sweatpants. Iris is in pajamas, that are loose at the ankles and wrists. She holds a cup of hot chocolate. They are sitting on the couch. Iris takes a sip of her hot cocoa. IRIS How can you go back? BARRY What do you mean? IRIS After the... other ones. You talked about gods and Atlantis. How can you just forget? BARRY Didnt. The whole League thing, its been covered up, you know that. But... I think about what happened every night. Faraday, Jessie, they were right. Everythings changed. IRIS Maybe thats a good thing. BARRY Maybe. IRIS It makes you think. BARRY An example? IRIS

Gods, mermaids... What else is out there? BARRY Who knows? IRIS I hope we dont find out. BARRY Why? IRIS I just dont want things to change anymore. CUT TO: EXT- KEYSTONE PRISON- THE NEXT DAY Police cars pull up to the prison. COP #1 exits, and opens the the back door. COP #1 Get out here. No one comes out. The cop reaches inside the car, and pulls out an OLD MAN by the forearm. Handcuffs are locked onto his wrists. COP #1 With me. Now. CUT TO: INT- KEYSTONE PRISON The old man is led through the front doors of the prison. WARDEN LEAR walks towards Cop #1. The warden is balding, well built, and wears a suit. WARDEN Its good to have you with us Mr... COP #1 Kadabra. Thats all the judge and I could get out of him. Abra Kadabra. WARDEN A crazy, huh? You two! He points to GUARD #1 and GUARD #2. WARDEN Escort him to his cell. ABRA KADABRA laughs as the guards take him away.

The Warden shakes his head. WARDEN -click click click click click- Insane. CUT TO: KEYSTONE PRISON YARD MICK RORY and DIGGER HARKNESS are walking together around the yard. Digger speaks with a thick Australian accent. DIGGER Colds stallin. RORY He knows what hes doing George. DIGGER Call me Digger mate. Now all Im sayin is that- RORY He knows what hes doing. DIGGER Im not sure. I mean, all of us captured? Why? How is that the best course of action? We cant go anywhere. RORY So theres nowhere for them to go. Mick pats Digger on the shoulder, and walks away from him. CUT TO: KEYSTONE- THAT DAY THE FLASH zooms through the streets of Keystone. He stops at the sight of rats. Thousands of rats. All running in the same direction. They covered the streets, squeaking and gnawing on their teeth. They seemed to be led. Flash bolts away, following the trail. CUT TO: The world is in slow motion. The rats have all but stopped. Flash is jogging. CUT TO: To our eyes, he is moving at supersonic speeds. CUT TO:

DOWNTOWN KEYSTONE- SECONDS LATER A CRIMINAL with a green hood, in a black, skintight bodysuit, green boots and black gloves. His face is hidden, but green contacts are visible. He holds a flute. Flash stops in front of him. FLASH Come from Hamelin? Did you get me a postcard? The man rushes forwards, throwing a deadly right hook. Flash starts to vibrate, and the hand goes straight through his head. He is unfazed, but the criminal is startled. The man blows into his flute, and the rats run forwards. They climb over, lunge towards, or surround Flash. He brushes some off, and finally speeds around in a circle, throwing the vermin off. He stops, and speeds towards the man. Flash stops again, right hooks the man, throws a left hook, slams his foot on the mans, and uppercuts him. The man falls with trouble and more pain than necessary, as Flash hadnt lifted his foot. The man scrambled the get up, but Flash grabbed his arms and pulled him up. FLASH Who are you? Or, who do you call yourself? CRIMINAL Piper. Flash smiles, and leads PIPER to an arriving police car. CUT TO: EXT- IRIS APARTMENT Detective PATTY SPIVOT, mid-30s, short brown hair, stands at the door to Iris apartment. She knocks, and checks her watch. Iris opens the door. PATTY Is Barry here? IRIS Hes coming. Who are you? Whats going on? PATTY Can I come in? IRIS Sure. So whats this about? Patty takes a seat on the couch. PATTY Thats... Barry needs to know first. IRIS Is he in any trouble?

PATTY No, hes not. Well, knowing him, not yet. IRIS Thats for sure. How do you know him? Who are you? PATTY Patty Spivot. We were... friends in high school. IRIS Would you want something to drink? PATTY No, Im good. Thanks. IRIS So how good friends were you? PATTY I know what youre suggesting, and yes, we did. Are you...? IRIS No. Im just helping him out. PATTY Tough times. IRIS The next Depression. PATTY Whens he going to get here? IRIS Hes always late. PATTY Trust me, I know. Missed the previews way too many times. There is an awkward pause as the women look at the floor. A few seconds later, Barry walks in. BARRY (jokingly) Honey, Im ho- He sees Patty. Barry freezes mid-step. PATTY Hi Barry. Long time no see. BARRY Oh Lord. Look, whatever it is, I didnt do it.

PATTY Its not about that. BARRY What is it then? PATTY Its about your father. I had to tell you in person. BARRY My- my father? Is he...? PATTY Hes being released Barry. Look, I know that it was a misunderstanding, and that he shouldnt have had to be in there, but- BARRY No. Dont say anything else. PATTY I thought youd be happy to hear it. BARRY I am. Im just... I dunno. CUT TO: INT- KEYSTONE PRISON Barry is sitting at a table. Inmates are talking to their friends and family at other tables. Barrys father, HENRY ALLEN, is lead to the table by two guards. He takes a seat. HENRY Barry, you didnt have to come. BARRY I havent seen you in years. HENRY It should stay that way. Look, son, I know you think I didnt- BARRY I know you didnt. HENRY Dont say that. BARRY Dad, I fought for your case. HENRY

Barry, please. I dont want to talk. BARRY Dad... you didnt... HENRY Dont look for me when Im out. BARRY You didnt! Barry is standing up now, almost crying. Henry cannot bear to look at his son. HENRY Go. Now. BARRY You bastard! I should kill you! I should kill you and let you rot in hell! Two guards have grabbed Barrys wrists. GUARD 1 Sir, Im afraid youll have to leave. Barry ignores them. BARRY Do you know how many times I tried to clear your name!? I knew you didnt! I knew you couldnt! Ill kill you! The guards drag Barry away. Tears stream down his face. CUT TO EXT- KEYSTONE PRISON Barry stumbles out of the prison, almost being thrown by the guards. We hear the crack of thunder. It starts to rain. Barry puts up the hood on his jacket, hands in his pockets, and starts to walk. CUT TO: INT- IRIS APARTMENT Barry sits on the couch, not moving. He breathes slowly. It is almost as if each breath causes him pain. Iris enters. IRIS You going to talk now? She gets no response. IRIS

Barry, just tell me what happened there. Nothing. IRIS Fine. Dont say anything. But its not going to get any better. Iris walks away. BARRY He did it. Iris turns around. IRIS Did what? BARRY He killed her. IRIS Barry... Im sorry. BARRY No. No, you arent. You dont understand what its like. Do you know how it feels to find your mother dead? To see your father standing over her bloody corpse? To see them taken away by cops, and doctors? To think... to know that he was innocent? And to find out that you were wrong? Acting surprised because you forced yourself into the lie, made it your reality? No, you dont. So dont say that youre sorry. IRIS Too bad. She walks away again, leaving Barry alone. CUT TO: EXT- KEYSTONE PRISON YARD Snart, Kadabra, Rory, and Digger walk together in the yard. They walk towards Henry. SNART Hey, Allen! Henry looks at the gang. SNART We hear its your last day. HENRY Yeah. Why?

RORY We just wanted to give you a going away present. Just then, Rathaway comes up from behind Henry, and shivs him. Henry gasps. Digger runs up, and punches Henry in the gut. He drops to the ground, bleeding. He grabs at his back, trying to find the shiv, but he cannot reach it. CUT TO: INT- KEYSTONE PRISON Rathaway and Digger are tossed into solitary confinement. Snart walks by, and nods to his friends. The door slams shut.