Author's note: Hey guys, hello! I'm sorry it took a while for this chapter to come, but I so happened to suddenly find myself with waaaaaaay too many WIPs in my hands, plus college, so I had to prioritize some things. BUT I'M WRITING! Slower than what's fair, but writing all the same.
I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading and reviewing, y'all rule! I hope you keep enjoying the read, and I hope I'll see you all again soon. :D
Have fun!
Chapter 2: Tape 1, Side B
Hello again, thank you for sticking around. If you are here, you're either A) Mick, and you can't wait to hear the stories that come next until you find your second tape, or B) someone else anxious to see if this is your tape.
Fear not, boys and girls, your moment will come at the exact right time.
I'm telling you, I have it aaaaaall figured out. Took some time, but I get it now, all the pieces in their places.
There was a pause there, and not because Barry hit the stop button, but because Leonard stopped talking. In the distance, he could hear voices, and if he squeezed his brain just a little, he'd guess it was Jax and Stein talking.
Barry was very worried about those tapes, but against everything he stood for, he had been forcing himself to listen at a normal pace, like everyone else.
In all honesty, he was afraid of his part in Cold's death and curious to see how Snart saw what happened since he visited him in Iron Heights a little over a year ago.
He heard the sound of steps and the light whoosh of doors closing, and then Snart sighed.
Shall we continue?
Once upon a time, there was a brother who, despite everything, just wanted the best for those he loved. No, sis, there's no need to sit straighter yet; this is not your tape.
This is your boyfriend's. Señor Cisco Ramon.
Okay, that was weird. Never in her life would Lisa have thought that Cisco would be important enough to make it to Len's list of people who deserved an explanation. Or wasn't it what her brother was doing, giving them explanations as to why he decided to take Mick's place?
Despite Lenny's words, Lisa sat straighter anyway. When the so called Legends came back the first time around, all Mick told her was that Leonard was gone. It was only when they came back for the second time that he told her the details.
Did Mick listen to these tapes before he decided to tell her? Was this the only way he had to gather the balls to face her?
She crossed her legs Indian style on the top of her bed and listened closely to her brother's words.
The short answer as to why your name is on this list, Cisco, is because you invented my cold gun. Without it, I would never, ever have gotten to where I am right now, and that's a fact. I wouldn't have faced the Flash properly, and I wouldn't have mended things with Mick after shit went down between us the way it had. I wouldn't have an excuse to spend more time with my little sister, causing havoc.
See, that's where the longer answer comes into play. It has less to do with your mad scientist vibe and more to do with your humanity.
It's not like I didn't know how human you are, that's not it. It's more like…
It's so easy to forget that people are just people, ain't it?
I know I like to pride myself as the crook who knew exactly where to hit, because I'm damn good at it, no lie. But sometimes, I just have to remind myself. I have to take a deep breath and repeat the words in my head.
We are just people. This, right here, is ephemeral and full of feelings and regrets. And humanity, ladies and gents, is manageable.
I say that because most things aren't. Fate isn't. Destiny. Legacy. Power – in a superhero kind of way. Those things are shaped as you go and make your decisions; they are apart from you, yet intrinsically connected to your being.
It's to the human side of people that we have to plead to when it comes to it. It was how I managed to bring Mick back every single time we had a falling out, even when we were kids. It's what we aim to when we really want to hurt somebody.
Savage knows that, y'all realize? All these months, he's been torturing us with what we treasure the most.
It's been making me circle back to that day, Cisco, when Lisa, Mick and I got a hold of you and your brother in order for you to fix me a new gun. We weren't very nice with the Ramon brothers, I'm aware, but that whole day, as we poked and tortured you, as I forced you into answers, one thing you said stuck with me.
Caitlin looked over across the room, where Cisco pretended to focus on his engineering. He had walked in on her trying to sneak out with his boom box, and his face shone with understanding.
"You got the tapes," he had said with a little gasp, and he pushed her back to the study. "If you want to listen to it while you work, you better do it in here. There are other people who aren't supposed to listen to it just yet."
"Wait, are you in the tapes?"
Cisco nodded.
"I'm number two," he said. He didn't look very worried. Maybe those tapes were about something lighter than she expected. "That sounds not good said out loud. I'm number two."
She saw as he tensed a little whenever Dante was mentioned, making it hard to pretend that she didn't see that he was listening, too. Again.
"How many times have you listened to those things?" Caitlin asked softly. Cisco swallowed.
"Twice the day I got them, and a third time while I decided how to pass it on."
You said I'm a good brother.
Even though that remains debatable, for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about it. Sometimes, I find myself remembering those words out of the blue, mostly after I do something good.
I'm a good person, I think. Even though I'm not nice, even though I'm unorthodox. Even though most of the time I'm good, I have my own personal reasons to be so.
That is not how I thought before our encounter, Cisco. Before, I only thought I was selfish. I didn't think I was being good for anyone but myself and maybe Lisa.
You showed me, in such a tiny, unpretentious way, that there was more to me than expected, I think. Maybe.
Maybe you didn't mean it at all. Nevermind, really. Because if you're listening to this, it's because I'm gone.
Kinda of a downer, huh? To find out you did something to someone and caused an impact when it's too late.
That's the cost of me not giving you the pleasure of me commending any of you in person, because I'm an asshole.
It's okay, I can live with the label.
So yeah, you created a cold gun and made me Captain Cold. Hell, you even gave me that alias – genially, I should add. I love that title.
(If any of you repeat that to anyone outside this list, I will haunt you)
But you also tapped into some of my humanity, managed it without realizing it, just by saying two words: You too. Instigating an internal debate to make me understand that yeah… I am a good brother. I did whatever I could and I kept us alive.
And now I'm somewhat more. And a 'more' different from the 'more' I would be, had I stayed in Central City being a Rogue.
I guess that's quite the leap.
Laying on her back, Sara fidgeted with the pieces of the cold gun that were in her bag. Ray gave it to her after he dismantled it to stop the bombing, told her that Mick didn't want to keep it anymore.
She looked over at the coffee table where the box with the other tapes were waiting, and wondered when she'd be addressed. Would it take too long? How much more about this man she'd have to find out before it was her turn to find out their truth?
Sara took a deep breath and fixed the headphones to listen to him better. As a matter of fact, getting to her tape wasn't really important, if she gave in to what her aching heart had to say. It was the last thing left of him, and she wanted to savor it.
I think it's safe to assume that you all watched Pay it Forward, and I gotta tell you, that shit… it works.
Forward we go.
Cassie, you're next.
