.:10:.
Barry—after running back to Central City to change into his suit—hurried back into the dining room just in time to find Atomic Skull and Bloodsport moving to the far side of the room. They had managed to make it far enough in their robbery for the bags they were holding to bulge at their sides. In a few moments they would've made it through the entire room with their bounty. Hopefully they could keep from harming anyone as well, though Barry couldn't help but sweat as he watched Bloodsport shift the gun towards crouching party goers. He could see the fear move over their faces as the gun was passed their way.
He looked at his friends, finding them turned away from Bloodsport's and Atomic Skull's eyes. Laurel, ever now and then, glanced around the side of the table with Cisco and Caitlin, as if waiting for something. Felicity, who Barry saw was at a nearby table, was holding her phone to her side as she rapidly typed on it—probably to alert Oliver to what was happening. Finally, Barry started to race in circles around the room, creating a harsh wind. He ran around a few times before he found himself knocked off his feet by a sudden blast. He hadn't noticed Atom Skull suddenly whip his head his way, sending shockwave from his visor into Barry's side.
He flew across the room and crashed into the wall, releasing a low groan from his mouth. Then he felt a hand grab his arm and he looked up to find Oliver and Cadence behind him, hauling him back to his feet. Oliver glared at him from underneath the hood to his suit. Barry wondered how he managed to get it, but figured Oliver never went anywhere without bringing his suit with him just in case. "Remind me to make sure you understand the meaning of 'wait for my mark' the next time we're practicing."
"I guess that means I'm going to get a bunch of arrows in my back again," Barry replied.
"You need to learn how to get over things," Oliver shot back.
"And you both need to learn how to prioritize," Cadence commented from nearby. She crouched behind a pillar, watching and waiting for an open position to take down the two robbers. Atomic Skull turned Barry's and Oliver's way to attack them again.
Cadence held out her hand and sent a cloud of smoke his way, making him back up. Barry pulled his arm out of Oliver's grasp. "You think you can fight without your suit?" He wasn't sure how she would be able to hide her identity without a suit.
"If I can run in a pair of stilettos and make that look good, I can fight in a dress," Cadence replied. She looked around for a minute then ducked as there was as hot and the metal above her clanged loudly.
Bloodsport had turned and was now firing at them.
"Now would be a good time for that fire tornado," she said.
Barry nodded and started to do a few more laps around the room. He ran at top speed, everything around him moving in slow motion. He could see Atomic Skull sending blasts out in Barry's direction, briefly missing him as he went. Then Cadence rolled out from behind the counter and held up her hands. Instead of throwing the fire into the burst of wind as Barry expected she allowed the flames to increase in size along her hands, traveling up her arms. It was when the temperature around the room started to increase that he understood what she was doing.
Instead of taking the time to teleport to her suit, she was heating up the air around her until the air became distorted, shimmering. It kept anyone from being able to look directly at her as it would be, not only, too bright but difficult to tell whose identity was behind the shimmer. Then she turned her attention to the wind tunnel Barry was creating and threw blasts of fire into it. A mini tornado created and shot towards Atomic Skull and Bloodsport.
They leapt out of the way and Bloodsport turned his attention to Oliver as Atomic Skull turned to Barry and Cadence. Oliver lifted his bow and quickly fired off an arrow as Bloodsport lifted his pistols and fired two shots towards him. The arrow sailed through the air and split the bullets right down the middle, dropping the halves to the ground, emitting a strange green glow.
"Look at that," Caitlin whispered, nudging Cisco on the arm. Cisco pulled his hair behind his ears to keep his view from being blocked and looked over as well. "I've never seen them anything like it."
"There's a lot of things we haven't seen, and that includes metas in Metropolis," Cisco said. He shook his head. As far as they knew, Cadence was the only metahuman. As everyone knew, Superman wasn't from Earth—he just appeared one day and the citizens found someone to believe in. But there was something else that Cadence had said, something that would make sense of it all.
"Must be made from meteor rock," Caitlin said. She squirmed a little, lifting her head to look over the top of the tables. Everyone around her continued to crouch down but she could clearly see Flash, Arrow and Cadence fighting against the two robbers.
In the time it took for them to hurry off so that they could come up with a game plan, Felicity was able to get the facial recognition of them done and sent over. While Caitlin and Cisco were able to hear their motive of operations. They just wanted the money, knowing there were plenty of trustee members, and the rich elite around. It was probably the best time for anyone to commit a robbery, not to mention the notoriety that was to be created from the Daily Planet there for the night as well.
"We need to find a way to get it," Laurel said. She brought her hand up to her throat where the Canary Cry was nestled quietly. "To see what it is that it can do."
"I can get it," Brady whispered. Caitlin reached out to stop him but found her fingers slip into his leg as he turned and army-crawled across the floor. She gasped and pulled her hand back, not just because of her fear that someone had seen what happened, but due to the feel.
The feeling was cold, empty, almost as if he wasn't there when he used his powers. One of the worst feeling she had ever felt. No wonder Brady had been uncomfortable and afraid the first time he had—subconsciously—used them, sinking into the floor of his bedroom. Ducking out of the way of the glass and silverware that burst around him, Brady scurried forward and grabbed onto the bullet pieces. He clutched them tightly in his hand before hurrying back to his friends. "Got it," he whispered.
"It's no wonder Cade has a heart attack nearly every time you're out there," Caitlin said as he settled back beside her. The group winced as there was a loud crashing sound. Caitlin, Cisco, and Laurel all leaned over to find a blast of energy smacked Oliver into a pillar.
"Have you seen something like this before?" Laurel asked Cisco as he turned it back and forth between his fingers.
"No, and it'd be much easier if we had everything from STAR Labs back here," he declared. He jumped as there was another crash and looked at Laurel. "You think you can give them some help?"
Laurel smirked and brought her finger up to the Canary Cry. Caitlin clapped her hands over Brady's ears, Cisco held his over hers, and the three turned away as Laurel leaned forward and screamed as loud as she could, emitting a sonic cry out from her Canary Cry.
Oliver pushed himself off the pillar as the sound of the Canary Cry sent shockwaves through the room. Bloodsport stumbled to the side, crying out in pain as he brought his hands to the sides of his head. Oliver then surged forward, skidding to a stop when Blodosport suddenly teleported out of the way. "Wha?" He turned around in time to get punched in the face.
Bloodsport grinned, watching Oliver try to recover from the sudden blow. "Teleportaiotn mechanism," he said. "One of the best investments Luthor Corp has ever made."
Oliver raised his bow and shot a couple of arrows towards him, not pausing within each grab. But the teleporter worked faster than he hoped it would. Once out of Oliver's line of sight, Bloodsport lowered one of his pistols and quickly changed the ammunition inside. Then he ran towards Oliver and the two became locked in hand to hand combat. Oliver swung around with his bow when he got the chance, using it to tie up Bloodspurt's hands to keep from firing another pistol. Then he elbowed him in the face and twisted back to the front, just in time to be pistol-whipped before being shot in the shoulder. Grunting, Oliver started forward once more but was shot in the arm, causing him to lose grip on his bow.
A gasp escaped Oliver's mouth and he fell to his knee. Something was wrong. He had been shot before but it wasn't the same as before. Something different coursed through his veins, made his stomach roll and a thin layer of sweat to appear on his skin.
Across the room, Atomic Skull was keeping Barry and Cadence busy with not only his energy blasts but by his speed and strength. While not able to move faster than Barry, he moved fast enough that Barry was having difficulty keeping up. Atomic Skull managed to send a crushing punch to Barry's stomach to send him flying in time to turn back to Cadence, who teleported on his other side and blast her in the stomach. She skidded backwards on the heels of her stilettos and grabbed onto a nearby table leg to keep herself upright then teleported again.
Barry raced to Atomic Skull's side and started to punch him repeated, moving around him in a circle as he did so. Atomic Skull reached out and grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Cadence immediately tried to come to his rescue and was batted aside like an insignificant fly. Atomic Skull's visor glinted at Barry before felt an invisible punch to the chest and went flying in the air. There was the sound of breaking glass and Barry suddenly felt himself come to a stop before he was lowered to the ground. Then there was a bright colored streak that shot through the room, striking Atomic Skull in the chest and sent him rocketing backwards. The streak raced to Oliver's side of the room to come to his rescue, then came to a grinding halt.
A strangled gasp came from Superman's throat, his veins slowly turning green as he did so. He fell to his knees and looked up at Bloodsport, who chuckled and started to walk towards him. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to come Superman," he remarked. "Now, I wonder how long it'll take to kill you." He lifted his gun to shoot Superman. Oliver started to lift his bow to send out another arrow, but Barry could see he was going to be too late.
Barry raced forward and everything started to move in slow motion. His arms and legs chugged as he watched the gun fire, sending a gray and green bullet towards Superman. The same kind he had shot Oliver with before. But then he noticed something change in Bloodsport's face. It took on a red hue before slowly changing to one of pain. Barry turned his head and saw a laser-like beam of heat coming from Cadence's eyes to the pistol in Bloodsport's hand. The metal slowly started to glow as the temperature of the metal increased.
Then everything moved in real-time and he disarmed Bloodsport. He turned in time to find Atomic Skull had gotten back up from his own melee. He turned his visor towards the stage as a shaky voice rang out of the otherwise silent room.
"Please, stop!" Cadence immediately whipped around to find her mother standing up from where she had been crouching with Kent. Maya stood and faced Atomic Skull without a hint of fear on her face. Barry reached over and grabbed Cadence's wrist, feeling her trembling. She shifted her hand, pressing her palm against hist. "You have everything you want. Please stop hurting them. Just take what you have and leave."
Atomic Skull turned towards her. And in a split second he had her by the throat, moving his arm around her throat. He turned back to the heroes. "Let my partner go and we'll walk." He flexed his arm muscles, tightening the grasp around Maya's neck, which made her wince in pain.
The silence was broken by Superman's gurgling. He rolled onto his side, slowly trying to shift himself away from Oliver, who continued to kneel on the ground, obviously suffering from the affects of the meteor rock in him.
Barry glanced at Cadence, immediately seeing how torn she was. If they let them go they could continue to wreak havoc and her mom would be safe, but if she didn't let them go…Cadence's eyes shifted back and forth before landing on Barry's. He looked back at her, waiting for her to make the decision of what they were going to do.
She moved fast; teleporting around the room so fast it was hard to keep track. First she grabbed Superman and Oliver and took them out of the reception hall, keeping them far apart from each other. Then she grabbed onto Brady and Barry and took them to Oliver as well.
"I don't know what's in him, but you need to phase it out," she explained as soon as she let go of Barry. He nodded and looked over at Brady, who was already on his knees, peering at Oliver's bleeding arm. Then, frowning in concentration Brady stuck his hand into Oliver's arm, looking for the bullet. Barry then grasped Oliver's arm and vibrated his hands. The vibrations moved to Oliver's until his arm rapidly spasmed.
Oliver watched as Brady managed to pull out one of the bullets and the other clattered to the ground. He quickly scooped it up as well. "This is the same bullet that I gave Cisco and Caitlin. They said it had it's not like a regular bullet?" He handed it over to Cadence.
"Meteor-rock," She explained, looking over the gray-green bullet. "This stuff has been found all over Smallville's soil. It causes radioactive response to people who come in contact with it. It's one of the few things that hurts Superman. It won't take long for him to recover from it." She carelessly tossed it aside before grasping Oliver's arm to heal him. The puncture wounds quickly closed and the bleeding stopped, Oliver's breath returning to him.
"Are you okay, man?" Barry asked him.
Oliver nodded, already getting his strength back. "Never felt better," he growled. His grip tightened on his bow. "We'll have to attack harder. Tricks and silly tactics aren't going to stop them when they came prepared to take down Superman so easily. I won't be taken down that easily."
Barry rested his hands on his head. He hated times like these, having to get stuck between two difficult decisions. No one deserved to be hurt and yet they couldn't let the villains get away with their crime. They had already terrorized the people they had been robbing if not hurt them even worse. How were any of them to know that they wouldn't still hurt Maya. And with someone who had meteor-rock infused bullets and a teleporting machine and another who was as stronger and faster than Barry combined with energy blasts… he wished Dr. Wells was there to help. That Caitlin and Cisco were in his ears rather than being part of the hostages.
"What do you think we should do?" He finally asked.
The question wasn't directed to anyone in particular. They were all leaders in a way; Oliver with more experience than him in terms of being a hero, Cadence with more experience fighting and using her powers in battle, and someone who saved Central City on a daily basis, using new ways to take down the villains while serving as a light for the residents.
Oliver started to speak first, a strong plan of attack that focused on brute strength and force. Then Cadence shook her head and turned to him.
"No," Cadence said firmly. Oliver sucked in a deep breath, steadying himself to exert his dominance over the situation but Cadence cut him off. "We went with your idea, the same idea you always have of using a straightforward plan of attack, and it didn't work. This time you're going to listen to me." Her eyes blazed with passion. "This is my city and no matter how long I've been away it's always going to be my city, my home. And I'm not going to let any of these people fuck with it or the people I love."
Barry felt himself starting to smile. Oliver looked at her for a moment before nodding. Barry thought he saw a hint of a smile on his face as well but the shadow made it difficult to see.
"What's the plan?" He asked.
Once everyone got their assignments Barry raced back into the room. They hadn't been gone long, long enough for Atomic Skull and Bloodsport to think they had gotten away with their crime. They backed out of the reception hall and hurried towards the back of the museum, following the emergency exits, waiting for the last door that would lead them outside. But Superman flew outside, using his X-Ray vision of the building to track their movements, of which he called back to Barry, Cadence, Oliver, and Brady.
Cadence then used her heat vision to weld the last of the emergency doors shut just as the two villains arrived. Barry smiled as he heard a heavy crashing from inside then the sound of an almighty blast. He took confident steps forward and vibrated his whole body to walk through the door. Brady grabbed onto Oliver's arm and walked him through as well. Bloodsport's eyes widened in surprise as he found the superheroes in front of them. Atomic Skull hugged Maya against his body. Despite his eyes hidden behind his visor, his shaking hands betrayed his unease of the situation.
"Woops," Barry said.
"Looks like you've reached a dead-end," Oliver added, voice in a low growl from his voice modulator.
Bloodsport immediately flew into action, raising his pistol to fire at them. Brady immediately sunk into the floor, moving out of the way of the blast. He then rose up by Bloodsport's legs and grabbed onto him, sinking him into the floor as well. Then he re-appeared, leaving half of Bloodsport's body in the ground.
This gave Barry the time to use his super-speed to dismantle the pistol, dropping bullets to the ground which he picked up in seconds. Oliver went forward and used his bow to club Bloodsport in the face before sending a roundhouse kick to its jaw. Bloodsport's body flung back and forth like a rag doll. Brady grabbed the bullets and took Oliver's bow. Holding the bullets in his hand, Brady pulled back on the bow and released the meteor-rock bullets, sending them forward into Bloodsport's teleporting mechanism and through his palm.
Atomic Skull, sensing defeat, flung Maya aside and turned to run. Cadence teleported behind him, standing at the end of the hallway. Fire erupted around her, the strands of her hair standing on end as her eyes glowed a bright orange. She started walking towards Atomic Skull. He sent a blast of energy her way and Cadence bent to the side, the energy shot crashing into the wall behind her.
Atomic Skull scowled then ran towards her. Cadence started running back and when they were about to meet she leapt high into the air and grabbed the end of the light-fixture. Pulling hard she flung it into Atomic Skull's face, causing him to stumble backwards. Then she teleported around him, staying in one spot a few seconds at a time, not long enough for Atomic Skull to fight back. With strong punches she knocked Atomic Skull to his knees before using her heat vision to strike his visor, immediately causing it to crack and implode, sending shards along the ground.
Reaching up his arm, Atomic Skull grabbed onto her wrist and flung her aside. Cadence flipped through the air and landed with her feet planted firmly on the wall, using it as a spring board to project herself back into Atomic Skull, knocking him back into the wall and out.
It was a fight that lasted a few seconds. He didn't stand a chance the moment he attacked. The doors at the back of the hallway were ripped open and Superman walked inside. He grabbed onto Atomic Skull and Bloodsport, nodded to the group, and flew back through the opening behind them.
Cadence smoothed her hair from her face as she watched her father stride up to the podium. She was surprised to see him want to continue the night but after she and Barry had gone through to fix ups the reception hall, everything was as good as new. Her mother stood by her father's side, proudly walking along with him as they went to the podium. She didn't seem fazed by what had happened to her before.
The thing is, you remind me of her more and more every day. And I mean that in the best way possible.
She took the time to look around the room, taking in the sea of faces that decided to stay once the threat had been thwarted. Maybe they were used to the countless threat, or maybe it was their own resilience to the fear that kept them going. She looked over at Oliver and Laurel, who both helped her despite the threat to their identities to a city that wasn't their own. Laurel smiled and nodded at her while Oliver nodded as well. She didn't expect a smile from him, not so much, he had been knocked down a peg by her taking the lead. But then again she could see the light twinkle in his eye as he nodded. He was doing his best not to crack his façade.
Felicity and Ray sat across the room and Cadence watched as Oliver and Felicity looked towards each other. They may not be together at the moment but…
Cadence turned back to her parents as they reached the podium. "So, I'm sure I'll be getting the award for an unforgettable night." He paused to allow the low chuckle that moved through the audience. "And not just because of Superman's presence, not just because of the other heroes that came to save us, but because of the love I feel through this room. As a city, as Metropolis, we're always there for each other and I'm glad to know that you're here for me tonight."
Kent took a breath, looking away for a moment. "I'm sure everyone here knows that I haven't been in the best of health. There are those that know the extent of it and those that don't. But I hope each and everyone here knows how much love I give back to you for the love and support you've given me as I've continued to grow Nash Advertising. Without you all I wouldn't be able to advertise not only your businesses and livelihoods but what makes our city as amazing as I've known it to be. You're my family, my friends…and if you leave tonight with one thing, it's to know not to take anything for granted." He sniffed. "Through my sickness I've made that mistake before and it's a mistake I will never forgive myself for." He sniffed again then looked over to Cadence and Brady.
Cadence lifted a hand to her forehead, suddenly feeling that everyone was looking at her. She hated that feeling; it was tortures combined with the whispers and pointing and snide comments that continued to plague her within her insecurities.
"I made the mistake of pushing away a part of my life because I was too stubborn to understand that you don't get a second chance at life. Because of that, it's made things harder to accept knowing that I can't take those mistakes back. And I'm so very sorry about that. So very sorry. I can blame specific things for it, knowing part of it wasn't my fault but I do need to take responsibility." He took a moment to wipe at his eyes. "Through it all my wife, my Maya has continued to stand by me and keep me going. Even with your help it wouldn't have been possible without her." He put his arm around her waist and drew her closer. "I know I can be difficult to deal with at times," Kent paused to smile, "and so can you." He stopped again as the audience laughed. "But I can't imagine any woman stronger than you by my side. My inspiration for all of this goes to you."
Maya smiled as Kent gave her a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug.
"And to everyone who has been a part of my team, my life, my livelihood. I thank you so much."
Kent's speech received a standing ovation, even so far as for Brady to stand on his chair to clap for his grandfather. (Though as far as Cadence could tell it was also because he couldn't see). Cadence brought a hand up to wipe away a tear that came to her eye and found that she was already crying. Surprised, she turned to find a napkin and locked eyes with Caitlin and Cisco. Cisco smiled and nodded and Caitlin tilted her head, silently urging her. Cadence took a breath and amongst the clapping, grasped Brady's shoulder, and moved away from her seat and walked to meet her parents at the stage.
They looked at her in surprise as they descended the stage. Cadence wiped her eyes and reached out to hug her father, who held her tightly. "I love you, daddy," she said to him.
Kent smiled, framing her face with his hands. "I love you too, Cadey," he said. His voice then broke as he started to cry. "I love you, too." Cadence hugged him tightly. Then she moved to her mother as Kent reached down and grabbed Brady, lifting his grandson up into his arms to give him a hug.
Cadence hugged Maya as hard as she could, hoping it would let her know how sorry she was. Maya hugged her back then smiled down at her, the look she gave let Cadence know things were going to be okay. "Thank you," Maya whispered. Eyebrows furrowing together, Cadence tilted her head to the side. "That was you that help save me, right?"
"Why would I want to try and fight someone in an expensive dress?" Cadence shot back. "I like to have fun, but not that kind of fun." But she didn't have to look at her mother to know she knew the truth. She had kept her abilities secret long enough. "You know I never used to get mad before I got my powers. The only thing that could get me there was someone saying something about my family. But actively attacking you…?"
Maya smiled and grasped Cadence's shoulder, pressing her cheek against her daughter's. "And your friend…is he The Flash?"
"I have no idea," Cadence said with a straight face.
"But he's cute, not really the kind of guy you normally go after, is he?"
That's the best part, Cadence thought. "You see, this is why I tell people you're crazy, mom." She skillfully deflected the question. "Your moods are like a freaking light switch. One minute you're thanking me for saving your life the next you want to know who The Flash is, then you question my love life." She looked over at Kent, who was busy telling Brady some silly jokes that she had heard when she was a kid, making him laugh. She smiled then turned back to her mom. "It's hard to keep up with you."
"Your father says the same thing."
A look of horror crossed Cadence's face as Maya laughed. "I didn't need to know that, mom."
Maya laughed her tinkling laugh and rubbed Cadence's cheek. "Have a good time, sweetie. I mean it. Don't worry about us."
Cadence went back to her table, letting out a heavy sigh as she sat down. The weight of the world had been removed from her shoulders, she felt better than she had in a long time. Barry handed her a handkerchief to wipe her eyes and Cadence laughed for a second, shaking her head. "You and my dad would really get along," she commented. "I think you two are the only people that have these things."
"I know it's a little old fashioned," Barry said, bashfully
"Refreshing is the better word, thanks." Cadence dabbed at her eyes. When they were dry she folded up the handkerchief and rested it on the table. "I know the circumstances suck but…I get why you tried so hard to make sure that your dad's name was cleared." She briefly closed her eyes. "I'm not trying to say what happened tonight is anything like what happened to your mom but I get it. No one ever wants anything to happen to their parents…not matter how mad I was at mine."
Barry nodded in agreement, falling silent. Cadence knew he was thinking about and allowed him that moment of silence. She looked around the room and found Caitlin and Cisco at Oliver's and Laurel's table, talking enthusiastically about something with Cisco motioning towards Laurel's Canary Cry ever few minutes. Leave it to them to be incredibly interested in the mechanics of her weapon. Chances were they weren't going to stop hearing about the meteorite bullets soon.
"You know she asked if you were The Flash," Cadence said, grabbing Barry's attention once more. "After thanking me for saving her."
"Maybe I should tell them," Barry suggested. "It'd be nice to have someone else know who isn't planning on killing me when finding out."
"Chances are you'd have a better response than they did with mine." Cadence laced her fingers together and rested her elbows on the table. She grinned. "I should probably be worried though, I think my mom was hitting on you."
Barry laughed nervously. "I doubt that."
"Well, she mentioned that you're not the kind of guy that I normally go for. She wasn't wrong. But I've found you much more interesting." She flashed him a teasing smile. "The powers are just an added bonus."
"Oh, thanks." Barry laughed back. "Good to know you just want me for my powers."
"Well it definitely isn't for your public speaking," Cadence continued to tease. She turned to face him. "I mean, unless I was imagining that you were asking me out again through your stuttering. And at the skating rink and before Atomic Skull and Bloodsport attacked." Cadence shrugged. "Could've just been wishful thinking."
"You weren't," Barry said. He looked her in the eye. "I was…I am actually asking you out this time." He thought for a minute then grabbed her hands. "I know that we were going out as a group tonight but I want this to be a date."
"In that case…" Cadence reached up and placed her hand against Barry's neck. She smiled and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him.
She was done holding back.
A/N: I really enjoyed writing this one. I apologize if the action was a little hard to follow but it played out well in my head. It always seems better in my head, haha. I hope you guys liked it.
Cheers,
-Riles