The Flash (TV Series)

Armageddon, Part 1 (2021)

Brandon McKnight: Chester P. Runk

Photos 

Quotes 

• Ray Palmer : I think Barry's going to need a helping hand.

  Chester P. Runk : Wait, what? Like a superhero team-up with the Atom? What changed your mind?

  Ray Palmer : My friends - an old one and a new one - but I'm still not a Legend.

  [runs off to change into his Atom suit] 

  Chester P. Runk : Yeah, you're a hell of a lot more.

• Chester P. Runk : How awesome is all this?

  Barry Allen : Oh, it's pretty awesome. Have you seen the Magnus Lab's Saturn Simulation?

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, dude, I was in it.

  Barry Allen : You can get in it?

• Iris West-Allen : Flash, Atom, who are you firing at?

  Chester P. Runk : Yeah, yeah, he's right behind you.

  [Despero throws a taxi-cab at The Flash and Atom, The Atom then shrinks himself and Flash to avoid the taxi and regrow to normal size] 

  The Flash : [groans]  Now I know how Diggle feels.

• Ray Palmer : Chester, what you did back there at Jitters...

  Chester P. Runk : It was a huge mistake, I know.

  Ray Palmer : Was the best gift possible. Between that and helping Barry again as the Atom, I have now realized that there is a middle ground to this whole balance thing, which is why I want to return the favor. So, what if I created a non-profit organization to fund young scientists like your Jitters friends?

  Chester P. Runk : That would be awesome.

  Ray Palmer : Great. I was thinking I could call it the Quincy P. Runk Foundation, if that's okay. Barry told me about your father.

  Chester P. Runk : [hugging him]  Uh, yeah, if you ever need, like, a consultant or anything like that.

  Ray Palmer : I know who to call.

  [turning for the elevator] 

  Ray Palmer : Oh, and Barry, there's one sure way to prove to Despero that you'd never destroy the world.

  Barry Allen : What's that?

  Ray Palmer : Just show him who you really are, like you do with this team each and every day.

• Chester P. Runk : Okay, well, that's not good.

  Iris West-Allen : What is that thing?

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, I'm picking up some seriously advanced tech readings.

  Iris West-Allen : You just had that thing in your back pocket?

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, no. I just picked it up from right there.

  Iris West-Allen : Oh, yeah. Tech Con, right.

• Ray Palmer : Well, I am impressed. A schedule, timed to the minute, including a coffee stop to recharge. Best handler ever.

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, you're getting a whole lot more than java in Jitters, my friend. How about a dozen CCTC entrepreneurial hopefuls, each with their own game-changing startup idea ready to pitch in three minutes or less? To Ray Palmer, business behemoth, scientific genius. Am I right? Okay, okay, come on. Let's go, uh, make some dreams come true.

  Ray Palmer : Chester.

  Chester P. Runk : Yeah.

  Ray Palmer : What made you think that I...

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, oh, I... I just know how much you used startup investments to expand Palmer Tech. You just got, like, a nose for science, but I also know you've been out of the game for a little while. So I figured I'd help jumpstart the magic.

  Ray Palmer : Okay.

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, and don't worry about Tech Con, 'cause your interview with Iris isn't for another 90 minutes. So we got time. Hey, got your back, man.

  Ray Palmer : Thank you, but I'm not worried about my schedule.

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, right, right. You need a cronut first, obviously.

  Ray Palmer : Chester.

  Chester P. Runk : [calling to a barista]  Excuse me...

  Ray Palmer : Chester, Chester. Chester, I... I... I don't want to start another tech business. It's like I told Barry and Iris, the only thing I want to pursue these days is a balanced life. That's why I haven't worn the Atom suit in ages.

  Chester P. Runk : But you're a... you're... you're a Legend.

  Ray Palmer : Was a Legend. Now, I suppose, that's what, uh, Team Flash is for. Look, I-I know how that might sound for the Atom, but Ray Palmer's priorities are his wife and working in his own lab. I... I hope that you can understand that.

• Iris West-Allen : Chester, Ray. Ray, Chester.

  Ray Palmer : Ah, so you're the new team tech genius. Nice to meet you, Chester.

  Chester P. Runk : Likewise. I've been a big fan of yours ever since reading your papers on quantum qubits.

  Ray Palmer : So you're pretty stoked about the Con this year, huh?

  Chester P. Runk : Oh, are you kidding me? Ever since I found out you were gonna be this year's legacy honoree, I kind of took the liberty of signing up to be a CCTC volunteer. I'm gonna be your liaison for the entire event. If that... if that's cool? Like, if you're... like, if you're all right?

  Ray Palmer : Sounds great.

  Chester P. Runk : Cool, 'cause I already have your whole itinerary planned to sweet perfection.

  Barry Allen : So, um, I'm late for work. So, Ray, Chester, I'll pop by the convention center later.

  Iris West-Allen : Don't you dare.

  Barry Allen : See ya. I gotta go.

  Ray Palmer : [Barry whooshes away]  Aw, he forgot his breakfast.

• Chester P. Runk : Barr, how do we defeat a ten-foot-tall red alien who thinks like Grodd and punches like Fuerza?

  Ray Palmer : By figuring out what kind of alien he is. Get that, and you may have some idea of what his weaknesses are.

  Chester P. Runk : Like Kryptonians...

  Ray Palmer : And kryptonite.

  Caitlin Snow : Great idea. I'll call Alex in National City.

• The Flash : Whoever you are, if you're looking for a fight, you found one.

  Chester P. Runk : [running in with Ray and Iris]  Oh, snap.

  Ray Palmer : Time to let the Flash do what he does best and kick some butt.

• Cecile Horton : So what do we do?

  Ray Palmer : Well, he took our best shots like they were nothing.

  Barry Allen : We need to be ready.

  Chester P. Runk : For what?

  Barry Allen : The fight of our lives.

• Cecile Horton : You gotta go easy on yourself.

  Chester P. Runk : How? The day I'm having? I feel like I might as well just gamble my per diem away at the craps table with Grandma Runk. I mean, Tech Con's paying in cryptocurrency this year, which barely feels like real money, even though it totally is.

  Barry Allen : [a thought strikes him]  What if the Royal Flush Gang didn't change their M.O.? Chester, can we find out if any Star City casinos also take cryptocurrency?

  Chester P. Runk : Yeah.

  [going to a keyboard] 

  Chester P. Runk : Hot damn. Turns out they all do, 'cause they'll happily take your money however they can. And check this out. These casinos have over 50 mil in their digital coffers.

  Caitlin Snow : So, what exactly would the Royal Flush Gang need to pull off a heist like this?

  Chester P. Runk : A computer with a next-level microchip... a massive power source to run it... and an expert in cyber espionage to execute the hack.

  Cecile Horton : They didn't change their M.O. They just leveled up. Okay, how do we stop 'em?

  Chester P. Runk : Uh, the second the hack starts, I can trace it and ping the location.

  Barry Allen : And I'll be ready.

• Barry Allen : Turns out the Royal Flush Gang kidnapped a prisoner named Jared Haywood. Had any luck trackin' 'em down?

  Caitlin Snow : Not yet.

  Barry Allen : What about the Mercury Labs chip?

  Cecile Horton : Well, Chester's still trying to figure out why the Royal Flush Gang would need it.

  Barry Allen : Okay.

  Chester P. Runk : [coming in]  Not anymore. Turns out that chip's so cutting-edge, it has, like, a thousand different applications, so... sorry. I blew it. Seems to be my thing today.

  Cecile Horton : Hey, what's going on, Chester? I'm sensing a whole lot of sadness.

  Caitlin Snow : Yeah, aren't you supposed to still be with Ray?

  Chester P. Runk : I have resigned as Ray's liaison. Turns out I messed that up, too. Now I'm, like, dead to him.

• The Flash : [after Despero is banished away]  Man, whatever you did...

  The Atom : Anytime, Flash.

  Iris West-Allen : Hey.

  Chester P. Runk : Hey, you guys okay?

  The Flash : Yeah.

  Iris West-Allen : Where'd that thing go?

  The Atom : I... don't know.

• Ray Palmer : Barry, you know you're not destined to destroy the world, right?

  Barry Allen : Yeah, I know, but the visions Despero showed me seemed so real. And he said "our world".

  Cecile Horton : But what does that even mean?

  Barry Allen : I don't know, yet.

  Chester P. Runk : What if he's mind-punking you? Like how he made you and Ray see an illusion during your fight.

  Caitlin Snow : I don't think he was. Every test I've run on Barry shows that he's completely fine, mentally and physically.

  Cecile Horton : Well, I scanned the residual feelings that Despero left behind inside your mind, and there was no doubt Despero was telling the truth. He really did see those things.

  Barry Allen : Which means everyone's in danger.

  Cecile Horton : No. No, there is no way that you're the bad guy in this situation. What we need to do right now is find out the truth.

  Barry Allen : I have a bad feeling it's gonna find us once Despero gets back from wherever Ray sent him.

  Ray Palmer : Yeah, well, uh, the tech inside his belt was so complex, uh, I could barely recognize the navigation system. So instead of sending him to a specific location, I tried a random setting. Who knows where he went?

  Barry Allen : Or when he's coming back.