"Where're you going?"
"…just down to the store. We're getting low on a couple of things."
"Can I come too?"
"'Fraid not, kiddo. You've still got homework to do."
"And you just let them leave?"
"Daddy, stop shouting!"
"Shut up! You're worthless, all of you!"
"Daddy, please!"
Why did you leave me?
Laura awoke to a pounding head and the feeling that her head was stuffed with cotton balls. She briefly panicked when she found her hands handcuffed behind her and even more so when she opened her eyes to darkness. She was lying on her side, the cuffs digging painfully into her wrists, and wherever she was, it smelled of gasoline. However, as she shifted to get comfortable, there was a small, pained groan from beside her, and Laura rolled over on to her side to see someone lying next to her. Her head hurt as she squinted to get a better look, and Laura's heart faltered when she recognized the person.
"Caitlin? Caitlin, are you okay?"
"Laur-Laura?" As her friend stumbled over her words, Laura remembered exactly how she'd ended up in this situation. Seeing Caitlin and the two men – Snart and his partner, she thought now – waiting for her at the parking lot with their weapons pointed straight at her. Being marched out to their van on the edge of the lot and forced to let herself be restrained. Then, a cloth over her face, and nothing more.
"Are you hurt?"
"N-no. They want to kill the Flash, Laura." Caitlin sounded terrified, and Laura's eyes widened. That wasn't good. She'd assumed they were just looking to show him up, something petty, but killing the Flash? Killing Barry? That was a step too far, even for Snart. She was about to reply when the doors of the van swung open, flooding the compartment with dim light and forcing her to squint to avoid being blinded.
"Glad to see you two are awake. It would be a shame to go to all this trouble if we had to rough you up a bit." A familiar voice filled her senses, and Laura was dragged from the van by a man who smelled of nothing but grease, gas and smoke. She was almost tempted to freeze him where he stood until she saw Snart, moonlight glinting off of the goggles he wore, pull Caitlin out as well, digging his cold gun into her jaw with enough force to bruise. She didn't want to risk getting Caitlin hurt, not like this, so she simply struggled like any sane woman would, even as the man holding her dragged her through the warehouse the van was parked in. It was still dark outside, which meant that in the time that they had been kidnapped, not much time had passed. She wondered if anybody had reported them missing yet.
In the far corner of the warehouse, Laura and Caitlin were forced to stand by and watch as their captors busied themselves with what she hoped was a video camera. As they watched, Laura took the opportunity to evaluate their options, despite the hammering of her heart inside of her chest and whatever drugs they'd used on her keeping her from thinking too hard. Her powers were still available to her, even with the handcuffs on, but both men were armed and if she fought, there was a chance Caitlin could get hurt. Or she could play the victim and keep her friend safe. Judging by the slightly crazed look in Snart's partner's eyes, his fingers twitching minutely against the trigger, the latter was probably the best way to go. She still found it hard to believe that he hadn't recognized her, but then again, they hadn't been this close to each other in over twelve years.
"What do you want from us?" Caitlin blurted out, and Laura grimaced as Snart stalked over to them, his mouth drawing into a tight smile.
"The Flash. You both work for him, don't you?" It appeared that Caitlin hadn't told him about Frostbite, or he was just completely clueless that there were now two metahuman heroes running around Central instead of one. That was good; that meant that they had some advantage over their captors.
"What makes you think he'll come for us?" Laura retorted, and she suddenly found the tip of the cold gun being pressed to her temple. She didn't know much about the gun itself, only that it operated at around absolute zero – the coldest temperature possible. She could feel the bite of the bitter cold against her bare skin, making her wince in pain, but he held it there long enough for her body to adjust, and within seconds, the cold meant nothing to her. Laura wondered briefly just how far her internal temperature had dropped to make absolute zero feel like nothing.
"I've tangled with the Flash before. He's not one to let two innocent women die because of him. Now, shut your mouth and you might be able to save a few of your fingers."
Laura didn't respond, choosing instead to swallow the vile words meant specifically for him and glared at Snart with everything she had; he simply smirked, returning to his partner's side seconds later. However, beneath the rage, Laura was relieved – he'd been mere inches from her and he hadn't visibly recognized her, which meant that her secret was still safe. She let out a shaky breath as he left them and turned towards Caitlin, who looked just as rattled, possibly even more. Finally, Caitlin spoke to her, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry, Laura. They asked about Cisco and I thought that you'd be okay…I'm so sorry…"
"Hey, hey, don't apologize. We're going to get out of this, I promise." Caitlin looked a bit doubtful as Laura whispered back, but she didn't get the chance to respond as Snart and his partner sauntered up to them. They both sported predatory grins, and Laura couldn't suppress a shiver before she was tugged away from Caitlin by the other man. She struggled against him as best as she could, but he merely tugged her against him and growled in her ear. Snart really knew how to pick his partners, that was for sure.
"Now, let's get started." Snart snapped and Caitlin was suddenly beside her as well, her eyes wide with fear as Snart's partner pulled her close. That was when she saw the camera in Snart's hands, linked to a small device that she could only guess was transmitting the video throughout the city. So that even the Flash would be able to see it, to see his friends being threatened by his enemies.
"Greetings, citizens of Central City…"
"Tie those tighter, why don't you?"
After Snart had completed his little speech to the Flash, he and his partner had dragged them up to the main floor and sat them down back-to-back. Laura grimaced and turned back to his partner with a sharp glare as the zip ties around her wrists tightened to the point of cutting off circulation, just like her ankles, and she caught the eye of the flame enthusiast, his grin widening at her remark. There was something dangerous hiding in those eyes, something wild and uncontrollable, and it made her worry for her safety. However, the longer she looked at him, Laura had the distinct feeling that she had seen him before, but she shook it off as he tightened the bonds with a final tug and leaned back on his haunches.
"You're friends of his, right? The Flash? I like him. He's fast…like fire."
"Who would have thought; the man wielding a flamethrower likes fire. Congratulations, you'd give a psychologist an easy paycheck." Laura couldn't stop herself – as always, humour helped alleviate some of the stress.
"Watch your mouth, little girl. Fire…fire is undefinable. Heat, light, energy. It's an evolution when things burn."
Laura watched, her stomach churning in response, as the man took out a lighter from his grease-stained coveralls and raised his hand above it, letting it lick his palm without even flinching. She could just see in the deep scabs and burns that had never healed over in the light of the flame, leaving most of his body a mottled mess. Something was seriously wrong with this man, and Laura decided then she was never going to find out why.
"You're sick." Caitlin ground out.
"Maybe you're the sick ones. Ever think about it that way, princess?"
"Not particularly. We tend to think of people who like to burn buildings to the ground as the sick ones, if you don't mind."
The man smirked, his lips twisting upward just the tiniest bit, and Laura saw a flash of interest in his eyes. She forced herself to keep his gaze.
"What do they call you?"
"Rory. Mick Rory."
The name didn't exactly click, but Laura couldn't get rid of the feeling that she had seen his face somewhere.
"You have third-degree burns all over your body. Why didn't you get skin grafts?" Laura was impressed by the degree of calm with which Caitlin was handling the situation, her voice just level enough to disguise any fear. However, Rory must have caught the tremor in her voice the same time she did, and Laura heard him chuckle.
"The thing is, the fire, when it burned me, it revealed my true self; it showed me who I really am. I wonder – what will the flame reveal when I burn the Flash?" Now Laura was more than just concerned; there was a gleam in his eye that reminded her all too much of a predator laying claim to its prey, and from the sounds of it, he would have no problem burning Barry until he was nothing more than a charred skeleton. The mere thought of it made her shudder in disgust, and she forced herself to calm down, to push back the cold that was coursing through her fingers.
"Do you whatever you want to us. Just leave him alone." Caitlin spat, tugging against her bonds valiantly.
Rory didn't look one bit fazed.
"You and this Flash must be really close if you're willing to die for him. How about I test that loyalty?" Suddenly, he had his weapon inches from Caitlin's face, and Laura felt the urge to let him die of severe frostbite even if he didn't hurt Caitlin. He could hurt her, he could hurt Barry – but Caitlin Snow was off limits. She was brave, yes, but ultimately, she was human. And she was a friend.
"Don't you dare touch her." She growled, every word dripping with anger, and suddenly found herself face-to-face with the pyromaniac. His eyes were alight with excitement, long ago twisted into fatal obsession, and she forced herself to keep eye contact with him, even as his gun pressed into the underside of her jaw. The heat it emanated made her hiss in pain before her body adjusted, and Laura had to fight back the cold that was pushing insistently from beneath her skin – her whole body pulsed with the desire to fight back against the flame.
"You want me to show him who you really are? Would you like that?"
"Tell you what, Sunshine – when I get to hell, I'll save you a front row seat. How's that sound?"
"That's funny. I wonder if the Flash'll be laughing when I show him your true self." She could practically feel the flames licking at her already as his finger tightened on the trigger.
"Enough, Mick." Laura almost sighed in relief as the gun moved away from her head, Rory's shoulders sagging with disappointment at the mention of his name. Snart emanated impatience and irritation, as if his partner were a pet that he had reluctantly brought along, but there was a excitement buried underneath those well-crafted layers that she had learned to see through all those years ago. Back when those layers had still collapsed for her.
Snart was excited to kill the Flash.
Rory smirked at them both, and leant down to switch on the device he'd set underneath their chairs; she couldn't see what he did next with it, but she was fairly certain that she heard the familiar sound of wire being unwound. "You better pray the next people who comes through these doors is us." He growled into her ear, and Laura grunted, fighting against his hands as he gagged her, then Caitlin. She caught Snart's gaze for just a second as he made his way to the exit, and Laura could have sworn that she saw a flicker of recognition on his face before it was washed away by contempt and triumph.
"You'd better pray that the next people who walk through those doors are us."
And with that, Caitlin and Laura were left alone in the cold, dark warehouse, awaiting rescue.
Or death.
Part of Laura wanted to do nothing more than slam an icicle in Snart's and Rory's chests, but there were more important matters at hand. She couldn't even be sure what time it was when she finally decided that the two criminals were far away enough for her to try and break free. There was no way she was throwing away her identity that fast, especially to someone like Snart. It was getting dark outside – that was about all she knew, considering the fact that she was tied down to a chair and she could only see one window.
Whatever device – a bomb seemed likely – Rory had placed underneath them, it didn't seem to operate on motion. Despite a small part of her urging her to stay still and wait for rescue, Laura had rocked her chair a few times, but fiery death hadn't arrived, so she set about getting them free. Rory might have been crazy, but at least he knew how to keep his hostages in place – there was very little wiggle room between her hands, the armrest and the plastic ties. As she slumped back down in the seat, Laura took another look at the ties. She really wasn't looking forward dislocating her thumbs again – but there was another option.
It wasn't that hard to gather up cold in her hands – Snart definitely didn't have the resources for shock handcuffs like the Reverse Flash did – and Laura forced herself to block out everything else as she let the cold spread throughout both of her arms. She could still remember the way her arm had been the night of the Reverse Flash, but forced those thoughts away by focusing on letting the cold out, bit-by-bit. The ties quickly froze over, but Laura let a bit more seep out until she was certain that they were brittle enough to break. It only took a few tugs before they fell away, the icy pieces clattering silently against the metal floor, but Laura couldn't care less.
Within minutes Laura was free. However, as she stood up to get to Caitlin, something caught against her foot, and an innocent beeping filled her senses.
Laura didn't stop to think as she pushed Caitlin's chair as far away from the device as she could. A wave of scalding heat passed over her as she dived to shield her friend, but as the explosion rattled her, a violent wave of cold passed through her body, and the sound of the explosion mingled with the crackling of ice forming. The last thing Laura knew before everything went dark was the soothing feeling of cold passing over her and a burning pain in her shoulders.
"Laura? Laura? Come on, Laura, you have to wake up."
"Don't do this to us."
"Please, just hold on."
"I love you, sweetheart. Take care of them for me, okay?"
Why did you go?
"She's waking up!"
"Come on, give her some space."
"Laura? Laura, can you hear me?"
Laura groaned, unconsciousness falling away in stages. She had the distinct feeling that she was underwater, if the distorted and distant voices were anything to go by. Her back ached with an underlying stinging, and Laura just realized that not only was she lying on her side, her jacket had been taken off. It took some effort to open her eyes, but when she did, there were no words to describe the looks of utter joy on the three faces looming over her. Both Cisco and Caitlin looked close to tears, but Joe seemed just plain ecstatic to see her awake and relatively okay. All three of them were crouched beside her, and Laura couldn't help but wonder how long she had been unconscious when she saw that they were still in the warehouse.
"He – Hey." She grimaced at the sound of her voice, but that did nothing to damper the others' smiles. The world spun wildly as she tried to sit up, but Caitlin pushed her back down with a stern glare.
"Cait-"
"No, you have to stay put."
"Caitlin, I-"
"Laura."
"Sorry. What happened?"
"What do you last remember?"
Her last coherent memory was shoving Caitlin out of the way and diving to cover her – and the cold. In a beat, Laura's eyes shot up, and her jaw dropped at the sight of the jagged wall of ice that curved over the four of them like a shield. It looked like something out of a nightmare, the sharp edges sending a shiver down her spine, and for a moment, Laura couldn't fathom the idea that she had created something like that as she studied her reflection in the smooth, yet broken, surface.
"Did…did I do that?" Caitlin nodded.
"Yeah. Caitlin told us that it just came out of nowhere right when you threw her out of the way."
"Then you passed out on me."
"Huh." Cisco smiled at that, and Laura couldn't suppress a shaky grin as well, despite the way her entire body ached. There was something akin to worry and trepidation in his eyes, but it gave way to joy as she smiled back at him.
They were alive.
They were okay.
When they finally arrived at the precinct nearly half an hour later, all eyes were on them, and Laura let herself smile as she and Caitlin were led to the paramedics, despite the stinging in her shoulders. As an EMT sat her down in a chair, Laura realized just how much she was shaking, and forced herself relax while they cleaned and bandaged her wounds. As she suspected, there were some blisters and a few first-degree burns on her back from the explosion, but there was no shrapnel or any other significant damage to be worried about. Laura dreaded to think what would have happened had her body hadn't been there to save her.
However, just as she was starting to drift off, the room was filled with thunderous applause, and Laura looked up just in time to see Leonard Snart and Mick Rory being dragged into the room by several officers, Captain Singh leading the cavalry. Rory didn't seem to be taking it so well, snarling and throwing off his escort like an animal before the officers managed to drag him away. However, his partner was much more passive, but it wasn't defeat that Laura saw in Snart's eyes as they met hers. A smirk played on his lips, but the contempt that lay in his eyes was temporarily replaced by confusion before he broke eye contact to sneer in Joe's face. Being so close to him, especially after what he had just done, made it hard to ignore him. Luckily, Joe wasn't feeling too gracious, and the last look Laura got of Leonard Snart that night was his blue parka before he disappeared from sight.
Later, when everything had quieted down and Captain Singh had finally thanked Cisco for his help, Caitlin and Laura were slumped against each other on one of the precinct's benches. Being kidnapped and nearly blown up had taken a toll on them; her shoulders still stung just a bit, but other than that the paramedics had given her a clean bill of health. Laura was just starting to drift off when Barry approached them for the first time that night. She was fairly certain that he had been there when Snart and Rory had made their entrance, but by now she couldn't even be sure of what day it was, much less what time.
"Is she okay?" Laura looked over to see Caitlin drooling on her shoulder, the blanket from the EMTs wrapped tightly around her, but Laura couldn't really bring herself to care.
"I think I've found a way to find Ronnie."
There would be time for questions later; her friend deserved some rest.
"She'll be fine. How did your fight with Snart and Rory go?"
"Good, I guess. It just sort of feels like someone set me on fire inside of a freezer and then barbecued me in the Artic. Oh, that reminds me. I had to dismantle that wall of ice you made back at Snart's warehouse before the police got there."
"Sorry about that. I really should have taken care of that, huh?"
"Hey, don't worry about it. I heard about your back, by the way."
"It's nothing to lose sleep over. I just have to see a doctor for a few weeks and I should be fine."
A peaceful silence fell in between them, and Laura pulled the blanket around her tighter as she felt herself starting to nod off. However, when she looked at Barry, the conflicted expression on his face that made her sit up.
"Alright, Scarlet. Spill."
"What?"
"Something's obviously bothering you, and I'm not going to be the one to beat it out of you. That's Caitlin's job."
"…I heard about what happened at the warehouse. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you and Caitlin."
"Barry…"
"I – I just feel stupid for not going after them when I had the chance. When they showed that video on TV…"
"You felt helpless." His head, which had dropped into his hands, shot up, and Laura was surprised to find herself thinking with an amazing amount of lucidity. Barry looked distraught, and she scooted as close to him as she could without waking Caitlin up.
"Barry, you know what I was thinking when I was sitting in that warehouse?"
"What?"
"I was thinking…I was thinking that I was glad to have met you. I'll be honest with you, these last few months have been the best of my life."
"Right."
"I'm serious. Before I met you, I was closed off from everyone at S.T.A.R. Labs. Yes, Caitlin and Cisco will swear up and down that I wasn't that bad out of pity, but I was. I really was; I didn't let anyone in. I thought I could handle the world on my own. And then I woke up, able to do things that are impossible, and I met you. You changed my life, Barry, and for the better. And even though you weren't there to save me tonight, you've helped me in some many other ways than you could possibly imagine. So don't feel bad if you can't be there for me all the time."
It was a while before Barry spoke again, the clouded look on his face slowly making way for sheepish gratitude.
"I guess I should have more faith in my partner."
"Hey – they don't call me Frostbite because I sit around making snow cones and singing Disney songs."
"…we do work well together, don't we?"
"Yes, we do."
"…to partners, then."
"To partners and psychopaths who never take a day off."
"Amen."
"…we should really get going, though. It's almost midnight."
"Oh, right. Caitlin, get up."
"I'm awake!"
Not such a bad night after all.
Hello, all! I hope you enjoy this new chapter - I really liked this one too. Also, if you'd like to send me prompts, I'm thinking of starting a drabble series for Laura and Team Flash.
Stay tuned for more chapters! Reviews are loved!
