What is this? A new update within the same month. Unprecedented. Hello everyone, I'm back with another update. This one came together a lot easier for some reason. This chapter is placed after the finale of (4x18). I got some inspiration from an Instagram post I saw (stevensonsdrawings). I can't post a link to the picture for some reason. It was a post with a Killer Frost sticky note in it and coincidentally its caption is the title of this chapter. I didn't plan for them to be the same but it's funny how it worked out to be like that. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter.
SavitarKhione1419: Thank you for the love, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
All characters, story plot lines to the writers, producers of The Flash and The CW. I do not own the rights to any of them just the idea is my own.
Feel free to write a review on your thoughts.
Note: Italicized words are flashbacks.
P.S. For those of you who are watching Season 5: What are your thoughts on Cicada? For me he is a little underwhelming. Sometimes he feels overpowered but then it is not consistent. I heard that he isn't the villain for the whole season so I'm interested to see where they go with his character.
Chapter 11: We Failed.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Barry released a gut-wrenching scream at the top of his lungs at the same cliff-side where he screamed at when he found out that Jay and Zoom were the same man. Damn it, Barry, you were too slow. Always too slow, prepared but never prepared enough. Always one step behind. Ralph was right. Ralph lost his life tonight because I made the same plan as I did previously. Ralph lost his life because I was too predictable. Ralph lost his life…because of me. I'm sorry, Ralph. I wasn't fit to be your teacher. Barry dropped down on his knees in grief, guilt, and defeat as tears began to fall from the loss of a colleague, a teammate and most importantly a friend. However, before Barry could dwell too much on Ralph's death, his attention was distracted by his phone vibrating in his pocket. Barry pulled out his phone to see that Cisco was giving him a call. Part of Barry wanted to ignore it due to the situation, but he was the Flash and he has a responsibility to the city to keep.
"What is it, Cisco?" Barry asked as he stood up and wiped his tears.
Cisco sounding frantic over the phone. "Can you make your way back to Star Labs right now?"
Barry furrowed his eyebrows. "What's going on? Is it DeVoe again?" Barry held his breath. He wasn't sure if he could handle anymore destruction at the hands of DeVoe tonight."
"No, it's not but- "Cisco began before being interrupted by Barry.
"-well if it's not DeVoe, then I would appreciate not being bothered right now. I really want to be alone after everything that happened. I'll see you tomorrow." Barry interjected as he motioned to hang up on Cisco.
"WAIT! Barry, please. It's not DeVoe, it's Caitlin." Cisco said urgently, his voiced filled with panic.
"Is she hurt?" Barry now realizing the seriousness in Cisco's voice.
"Not exactly, I can explain when you meet me at Star Labs. Meet us at the roof. Please hurry Barry!" Cisco shouted and before Barry could respond he was greeted with a beep indicating that Cisco had hung up.
Barry sighed as he placed his phone back into his pocket. Guess his night is not over just yet. If it wasn't one thing, it is another. Barry capped his emotions over Ralph's death for the moment and began to make his way back to Star Labs.
*Back at Star Labs on the roof*
"Caitlin, please come down." Cisco said desperately as he watched his friend walk on the edge of the roof with a bottle of vodka in her right hand.
"Noooo." Caitlin slurred. "That wouldn't be any fun Francisco. Come on Francisco, join me in having fun. Let's drink." Caitlin said as she tipped the bottle towards her mouth and took another swig.
Cisco's eyes widened with worry. One wrong step towards the left and Caitlin would be plummeting down towards the ground. "Okay, I'll drink with you but I'll only drink with you if you come down." Cisco suggested carefully.
Caitlin eyed him up and down. "But where's the risk in that? You always made fun of me for nooot having a life and now you're trying to ruin all my fun." Suddenly, Caitlin's mood dropped. "You know who is fun? Who is all about the risks? Killlllller Frost. She was always the bolder one. The one that was more fun, remember? Baking Sooooddaaaa!" Caitlin shouted as she raised her arms towards the sky.
Cisco silently watched as Caitlin took another sip from the bottle. The awkwardness of not knowing what to say radiated through the air.
"But yoooouuu knowww what? I dooon't think she's realllly gone. No, no, no, nooooo. She's here, I just need to bring her out again." Caitlin muttered before Cisco could speak as she pointed towards her heart. "I just need to spike my adrenaline again like I…I…I did before. Yeah, an adrenaline rush." Caitlin said determinedly in her foggy state.
And before Cisco could respond or react properly. Caitlin flung herself off the edge of the roof without a moment notice in hopes to bring Killer Frost forth.
"CAITLIN!" Cisco screamed in horror as he raced over to the edge and quickly attempted to vibe a portal on the ground where Caitlin was falling towards or would have fallen but at the last second before she met the ground, a blur raced by, caught her and brought her back to the rooftop.
Cisco turned around and his eyes met Barry who was holding Caitlin tightly in his arms before gently placing her feet on the ground. Barry's eyes were filled with worry and lightning raced across his eyes as he almost didn't catch her in time.
"Do you have a death wish?!" Barry directed his raised voice at Caitlin who he was still holding up.
Before Caitlin could respond, her cheeks bulged, and she quickly turned her head away from Barry and proceeded to start puking. Barry sighed as he kneeled next to Caitlin and gathered her hair away from her face. Cisco placed himself on the opposite side and rubbed his hand up and down Caitlin's back. Both continued to do so and waited patiently till their friend stopped.
Caitlin sat on her knees and leaned her head backwards. "Uh, vodka and super speed. Not a good combination."
"Seriously, what were you thinking?" Barry said in a serious tone.
Caitlin's eyes lit up as she saw Barry. "Yay, Barry is here. You see, Francisco won't drink with me because he's a wimp and a party pooooper. But I know you will drink with me…although you won't feel the alcohol so that's noooot fuunnnn. But I will feel it so it will be funnnn." Caitlin jabbered, she didn't hear one of Barry's words.
Barry looked at Caitlin curiously and glanced at Cisco. "Why is she like this?"
"It's a long story- wait Caitlin," Cisco's attention pulled by Caitlin as she stumbled over to the edge of the roof.
Barry grabbed onto Caitlin's wrist and faced her towards him. "What do you think you are doing?"
Caitlin tried to shrug out of Barry's grasp. "My vodka bottle." Caitlin whined with a pout.
"Caitlin, come on. You've had enough. Let's go back inside." Barry insisted as he struggled to hold onto Caitlin.
"Noooooo, if you're not going to drink with me then you could join Mr. Dull over there and beeeeee Mr. Bore. Don't draaaagg me away from my gooood time." Caitlin stuttered as she tried to turn away from Barry.
Cisco grasped onto Caitlin's shoulders and tried to steer her towards the door. "Caitlin, stop."
"I cannn't. If I stooopp, I will become saaaddddd…." Caitlin muttered as her eyes fluttered close and her knees collapsed below her.
Barry and Cisco rushed to grab an arm each and lifted her before she tumbled to the ground and gently sat her down.
"Caitlin?" Barry said in a worried tone as her head drooped onto Cisco's shoulder. Barry watched as Cisco proceeded to carry Caitlin but not missing the lone tear that fell down her cheek.
"You mind filling me in now? Why is Caitlin like this?" Barry asked as he held the door open for Cisco.
"Yeah, I'll explain everything once we get inside first." Cisco stated as he stepped past Barry and headed towards the Cortex.
Cisco made his way through the Cortex towards the med bay. He gently placed Caitlin down on the med bay bed and Barry who was following closely behind placed a blanket around her.
"God, I don't think I have ever seen her this drunk, this is worse than the time we sang karaoke together. Barry whispered in comparison and crossed his arms before looking at Cisco. "Start explaining Cisco. Caitlin isn't usually like this. She's usually the rational one."
Cisco sighed and slouched down on a nearby chair while keeping his eyes on Caitlin as he tried to gather his thoughts together. "Well to be fair Caitlin wasn't exactly feeling herself if that is any explanation for her actions."
"Because of Ralph." Barry stated as an explanation rather than as a question. Barry mentally scolded himself for not once considering the affects Ralph's death would have on his friends as well. He wasn't the only one who connected with Ralph.
"Well sort of but it's a lot more complicated than that." Cisco said to which Barry responded with a confused glance. Cisco sighed once more. "It seems that Ralph isn't the only one we lost tonight."
Barry's eyes widened with alarm. "Wait, what? What do you mean?" Barry said, slight panic evident in his voice.
Cisco gave a knowing look to Barry. "You know what I mean."
Those words being all the confirmation Barry needed. There was only one explanation as to why Caitlin would be acting like this. Barry swallowed before speaking quietly. "Killer Frost…?"
"Is gone." Cisco confirmed with a nod.
"DeVoe, during the battle, he said melt to Frost when she touched him and…oh god. He used Melting Point's powers." Barry said as he sat down from all the information.
"Caitlin knew that something was wrong after the battle and asked me and Harry to do an examination on her. She has no traces of dark matter in her. DeVoe has officially neutralized Killer Frost from Caitlin. Cisco added as his crossed his arms.
Barry felt another weight placed on his shoulders with realization that his actions had cost two friends' lives. His friends paid the price due to his carelessness.
Cisco watched Barry's eyes dart back and forth. Guilt practically radiating from him. "This isn't your fault." Cisco insisted knowing exactly the logic behind Barry's mind.
Barry glanced at Cisco doubtfully. "Yes, it is. I'm the leader, I'm the Flash. I arranged this plan and the plan went as Murphy's Law as it could go."
"That's out of our control. We can't account for everything that can go wrong. We tried our best and we got our butts handed to us. We can't make all the right decisions."
"Well guess what Cisco? I made all the wrong decisions, I didn't even make one right one and now Frost and Ralph are dead!" Barry yelled with rage.
'WE did, not just YOU! Barry, you didn't coerce us to go through with this plan. And what? You think Killer Frost didn't like being part of the team and fighting alongside us? You don't think helping Ralph become a better guy was the right call? Do you really think that helping both become better people were wrong decisions?"
"…I don't know…" Barry stated honestly and deflated with defeat. "Seemingly, it looks like those were the right call. But Caitlin is in pain now and Ralph is gone. I'm not sure if I can defend those decisions because of the consequences that came with it."
"We have to live with what happened." Cisco said as a fact.
"Right. Hey, you should probably go get some rest." Barry said shortly. Clearly not interested in continuing the conversation.
Cisco paused, a part of him wanted to talk more. Barry undoubtedly haven't changed his mind about placing the blame on himself. But thought better on it for he didn't want to anger Barry. "I want to keep an eye on Caitlin. Don't want a repeat of the girl who thought she could fly."
"I can watch her. You should get some rest, its been a long day." Barry offered. "We can take shifts if she sleeps longer so that I can get some rest too." Barry offered alternatively before Cisco could argue about Barry not getting any sleep.
Cisco nodded and released a yawn before making his way to another room to get some shut eye. "Let me know if she wakes up."
"Will do."
*Many hours later*
Barry sat back taking small sips from a mug full of coffee while continuously replaying the security cam footage of the DeVoe battle. He tried his best not to let his emotions loose as he watched the painful reminder of Ralph's death and instead analyzed the footage. A small groan drew his attention away from the screen and Barry turned his head towards the med bay and saw that Caitlin was sitting up. Barry quickly shut down the video and notified Cisco through the intercoms before making his way to Caitlin.
"How do you feel?" Barry asked quietly.
Caitlin grasped her head with both hands. "Ugghhh my head feels like a bowling ball."
Barry sat down on the bed next to Caitlin and placed his arm behind her back as support before giving her a glass of water. "Here, drink this."
Caitlin quickly obliged and downed the glass of water and muttered a thank you. "What happened?"
"You decided that it would be a good idea to drown yourself in vodka." Cisco spoke as he entered the med bay. He reached for the empty glass from Barry and moved to refill it.
Caitlin groaned and brought her knees closer to her. "I'm sorry."
Cisco placed a full glass in front of Caitlin and Caitlin grasped it, downing small sips. "Can't really blame you too much for your actions." Cisco remarked as he watched Caitlin.
Caitlin gripped the glass harder till her knuckles turned white. "No, it's no excuse for being pathetic and being irresponsible. The last thing you guys needed after tonight was watching light weight Caitlin being all delirious and mopey."
"Trust me, I'm tempted to down some vodka as well." Barry said sympathetically.
"It's not pathetic to feel" Cisco responded but kept eye contact with Barry directing the same message to him.
Barry turned away from Cisco ignoring the message. "Are you okay, Caitlin?"
Caitlin took a long gulp from her glass before answering. "I don't really know how to absorb the information right now. It was no hidden secret that I was a mess when Frost first arose. A year ago, I would be so happy about this situation because it was exactly what I wanted. To not be connected to her anymore. But now that it happened, after everything the two of us did to try and coexist. It just feels…I feel…bro-oken again." Caitlin's voice cracked slightly as she blinked her tears away. She reached into her jacket's pocket and pulled out a sticky note.
"I'm actually…glad that we're getting along…it's weird don't you think?" Barry read out loud.
"That was the last note she wrote to me before tonight. We were making such good progress and I was just starting to get to know her. Now I've lost her, and I don't know what to do." Caitlin whispered as she grasped on to the note tighter.
Cisco sat down on the end of the bed. "Well when Melting Point took Barry's powers away, it didn't dissipate. It was just transferred to Iris. If we use that logic, your powers aren't gone. Whether it be if it's still a part of DeVoe or in someone else, we will find it when it activates. I don't believe that we have seen the last of your icy counterpart. Keep having faith, Caitlin." Cisco said in a reassuring tone.
Caitlin sat up a little straighter. "True, I can't find her if I don't believe that I can find her." Caitlin raised the now empty glass towards Cisco, silently asking him to refill it, to which he obliged and moved to get her another refill. Caitlin turned towards Barry. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine." Barry responded.
Caitlin frowned her eyebrows in doubt. "Really?"
"Cait. I'm fine."
"We just lost one of the team. Someone who looked up to you as a teacher and became a hero because of you. Ralph wasn't just a random bus victim. Forgive me for not believing you when you say that you are fine."
Barry closed his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."
Caitlin bit her lower lip preventing herself from further arguing with Barry. "Fine. That's your choice. But if you're not going to talk to me or Cisco, try and talk to someone else. I don't care if it is Iris, Joe or that couple therapist you have. It's not good for you to keep it in." Caitlin advised as Cisco stood against the door watching the two of them.
Barry nodded briefly choosing to remain silent.
"Well as long as we're awake. You know of any good hangover food places. My head is kind of killing me." Caitlin grumbled as an attempt to clear the air.
Barry chuckled lightly. "Wrong person to ask, I don't get hangovers anymore."
"Dude, poutine is the best for hangovers. Cheese and gravy are the best combination." Cisco declared as he handed the glass of water to Caitlin.
"Sounds like a plan. Lead the way Cisco." Caitlin responded with approval as she drank more water.
Cisco offered a hand to Caitlin and assisted her to her feet. "Follow me. Come on Barry. The poutine is not going to eat itself." Cisco pointed out as he and Caitlin made their way towards the exit.
"Coming." Barry replied and followed Caitlin and Cisco. He couldn't help Ralph, but he will make damn sure that nothing happens to Caitlin or Cisco.
"Don't let Caity die." Frost stated urgently to Barry.
Frost, I will keep that promise. You can count on that.
That's a wrap on this chapter. I hope you like it.
-V