05
Stark Realizations
"It's poetic, returning to your childhood home," Zoom rasped to Barry. The merry light in his eyes made Barry curl his fingers into fists. He was so preoccupied with Zoom, he didn't notice Cadence and Roy appear behind him, Roy with his bow drawn and pointing an arrow directly at Zoom.
No. Barry lifted a hand and stretched it towards Zoom. He stepped forward, foot pressing into a squeaky floorboard. It was the only other sound in the otherwise silent room. Even Henry stood still, watching his son. Barry's eyes shot to his father's. Don't worry, I'll save you. "Don't do this," Barry whispered. "I'm begging you. I'm begging you." He thumped a hand against his chest. "Take me. Take me instead." He licked his lips, swallowed hard. Throat as dry as a furnace. "Kill me. Kill me!"
"No!" Henry shouted.
"Barry," Cadence said from behind him. She exchanged a glance with Roy, he continued to hold the bow directly at Zoom, fingers slowly starting to tremble from the immense strain of pulling the bowstring tight.
"Look at me," Henry said to Barry. Barry shifted his gaze to his father. Shook his head. There had to be something else. Anything else. But Zoom was as fast as him, faster…Words were the only weapon now. "Look at me, son." Henry sucked in a deep breath through his nose, spoke through gritted teeth. "Don't take your eyes off me."
"Barry," Cadence repeated. This time with more force. The tension in the room immediately rose.
"You still won't believe me that you and I are the same," Zoom growled. "That there isn't anything that separates us from each other. That you think you're better than me."
"Come on." Had he said it out loud? Had he whispered it? Yelled it? Each word sounded like a bomb dropping. Shattering everything in sight. But the walls stood tall around them, waiting for the final nail removal that'd take them down. "Come on, Zoom."
Zoom continued as if he hadn't heard Barry say anything at all. "So I'm going to have to make you believe me."
"No," Barry whimpered. His lower jaw started to tremble. Eyes stung. There had to be something. Anything that could be done. Anything other than what was about to happen. His heart rammed against his throat. He knew what was about to happen. His blood went cold. Every part of him turned to ice.
"Whatever happens," Henry said firmly. "You've made me the happiest father."
"Dad," Barry gasped. His jaw shook fiercely. Body equally turned hot. He felt itchy, wanting to tear off his skin, wanted to tear off Zoom's head just as badly.
"This time." Zoom showed all of his teeth as he grinned. A Cheshire grin that couldn't be contained. "You're going to watch your parent die, just like I did."
"No. NO!" Barry shouted.
"This is what's going to make you just. Like. Me."
Father and son's eyes met.
"Your mother and I love—"
One last time.
"Zoom!"
And just like that, Zoom rammed his hand through Henry's heart. Blood splattered along the walls, across Barry's Cadence's, and Roy's faces, dripped to the floor, stuck to Zoom's finger tips along with tiny shreds of Henry's heart.
"NO!" The pain of Barry's scream ripped through his throat. Tore through his body, causing more damage than a bullet could. He blacked out. He didn't see Cadence and Roy attack at the same time, a fireball straight to Zoom's face and an arrow to the shoulder. He didn't see Zoom's roar of pain as he backed away to stumble into the wall where he frantically tried to rub at his face and pull the arrow form his shoulder.
Barry fell to his knees, cradling his father in his arms. "Dad? Dad?" He frantically ran his hands from his father's head to his shoulders, trying to find the best way to hold Henry to him. "Hey, hey, hey. Look at me." Henry's eyes rolled towards Barry as he gasped for air. Frantically swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing repeatedly. Tried to speak. Blood bubbled at his lips, rolled down his chin, a stark contrast against his pale skin. "Dad, don't leave. Don't leave me. Not again, not again."
Henry's movements came weaker, his hand reaching up to brush Barry's cheek. Missed. Barely got his arm. Barry grasped Cadence's arm and pulled her down to her knees next to him. He was surprised to find tears already falling down her cheeks. "Cade. Cay, please," he said. "Please." He couldn't get the words out.
Heal him. Help him. Anything that could get him back on his feet. Anything that'd take him from being so lifeless, so pale so…
Cadence shook her head.
"Please!"
"Barry, I can't," she finally said. "His heart…"
Barry looked down and saw the truth. "DAD!" Barry shouted at him. "Come on, come on. It's alright. Dad?" Henry stopped responding, stopped moving. And Barry continued to scream the word 'dad' over and over again before he broke, sobbing over his father's lifeless body. He was gone.
"I told you family was a weakness," Zoom murmured, standing above them. Immediately, Barry turned a murderous glare towards him. Zoom let out a surprised laugh. "You feel the anger don't you, Flash? And now, you're just like me."
"NO!" Barry screamed.
He slammed Zoom into the wall and started to punch him over and over. Raced out of the house after him, ran as hard and fast as he could. Ran 'til it felt like his head was exploding, ran till blood poured out of his nose. At one point Zoom ran so fast he split in two, one copy of him going one way, the other splitting off. When Barry caught up with the one copy he grabbed onto Zoom and continued to beat him mercilessly.
"I got you, Zoloman!" Barry growled, throwing him around the alleyway. "I got you!"
Zoom tilted his head back and looked Barry in the eye, allowing Barry to rip off his cowl and look him in the eye. "Use your power, Barry!" He taunted. "End me!"
Barry gasped when Zoom was ripped form his grasp. No, not Zoom. Jay. Jay Garrick. The Jay had had betrayed them. The time remnant. Zoom stood behind him, holding the cowl of Jay's suit back, choking him. "I no longer have a need for you," Zoom said, shoving his fist through Jay's chest before tossing his lifeless body aside. Zoom pulled off his hood and hissed, lips pulled back into a sinister smile. "So close, Barry. So close and yet so far. So I killed my time remnant, but what does that mean for you? You can do it, too. You just have to be ready to kill yourself." His eyes shifted over Barry's. "Yeah, you're almost ready."
Zoom ran past Barry, thrusting him into the dumpster beside him and streaked out of sight, leaving a lightning trail behind him. Barry watched after him, chest heaving until his volcano of emotions erupted. Until he was left was bawling, screaming, crying out for the pain to go away but knowing it never would.
He screamed and cried so hard he didn't notice when it started to rain, didn't notice when Cadence grabbed him and pulled him onto her lap, rocking him back and forth and holding him as she cried, too, didn't notice how much his heart was slowly breaking.
Barry slowly pushed the memory away as he stood in the doorway of his lab. His work lab. The same lab he kept multiple pieces of information for his mother's death, for his father's innocence, for everything that had plagued him over the last couple of years. All hidden around the work he did on a daily basis. He thought going back to work would've been normal, easy. But the second he stepped foot over the threshold, everything came back. Working late the same night he had been struck by lightning. He still remembered the shot of fear that had struck him seconds before the bolt did that sent him off his feet and flying across the room, crashing into shelves filled with chemicals.
It had all started then.
And things only got worse since then. He'd made great friends, of which slowly started to die away, his father was released from jail then murdered shortly afterwards. He'd stated the job so that he could find his mother's murderer, to finally bring peace to his family and what'd it give him? Nothing but heartache he tried to remedy, and that solution only made things worse.
Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother, Barry mused.
"Are you just going to stand there like a complete waste of flesh or are you going to come in and get some work done?"
The voice caught Barry's attention. His eyebrows came together and he walked further into his lab. Or, what used to be his lab. Now it had another desk situated to the side with another man sitting behind it. A man who looked at Barry with an impatient glance before lowering his head to look through a microscope once more.
"What the…what?" Barry murmured, walking closer to the man. His eyes shifted to the nametag that sat on the desk. Julian Albert, Metahuman CSI Specialist. Metahuman specialist? Barry lifted his head and moved his lips to ask a question, but found himself unable to form words.
Joe walked in behind him and tossed an evidence bag with a vial inside it in the basket that sat on the desk. "We've got another husk," he announced. "Singh wants it processed ASAP."
"A husk?" Barry repeated.
"Yes, the skin husks we've been finding around the city," Julian explained, immediately swooping in to take the sample that had been left him. "The ones we think are attached to the metahumans." Barry's eyes narrowed and he continued to look around the lab. Everything was the same, all of the beakers and containers that held the chemicals he used on a daily basis were in their place on the shelf. The only difference was the new man, the new desk, and his desk being pushed to the darkened corner of the room. "You should know by now, Allen, that this is the fourth one we've found."
"I…should?" Barry replied. It hit him a second later. Flashpoint. It was another thing that'd changed he hasn't known. Whomever, this guy was…he was a permanent fixture now.
"Yes, Allen, you should." Julian's eyes landed on Barry's, giving a laser like focus of the disdain held in his eyes. "Or has your head been in the clouds again? It wouldn't be the first time."
Barry turned to appeal Joe's help and Joe looked back at him with raised eyebrows. Realization dawned on Joe's face then and he looked back and forth between Julian to Barry understanding Barry's hesitation with the new man. He started to whisper it but Barry quickly brought up a hand to silence him. They couldn't say anything in front of Julian, metahuman expert of not, he didn't know Barry's secret. That was one less place they had around the CCPD to talk about their meta stuff.
"As it is, I'm glad to see you back, Detective West," Julian said, shifting his gaze to Joe's. "It must've been hard for you to lose your wife like that. I'm sorry you didn't raise the money in time to further her medical treatments."
Joe's gaze lowered and he nodded. "If there was any more I could do, I'd have done it," he said. "But Francine knew I did my best. As long as Wally's got a good place to stay and he and Iris are getting along, then it's all she wanted. For them to be a family." He took a step back. "Let me now if you get anything off that sample." He gave Barry a meaningful look before leaving the lab.
Barry nodded back an ran a hand through his hair. That was another thing. Francine's death. It was probably going to happen anyway, she was really sick. But…if he hadn't gone maybe she would've pulled through? Jay warned me about the consequences, Barry thought. I just didn't think they would've come so fast.
"And what are you doing here anyway?" Julian barked towards Barry. He leaned back in his seat, resting his folded hands against his stomach. "I thought you had the day off today. I was relishing in the thought of not having you around for a solid twenty-four hours."
Barry couldn't help the irritation slide over him of the man he didn't even know. "Wh…what are you doing here?" In my lab, he wanted to add indignantly.
"I did tell you the metahuman conference was only two days," Julian said.
Barry's eyes shifted. It must be the same metahuman conference that Harrison and Tess went to, Barry realized. Chief Paulson must've attended as well. He didn't remember seeing the power crazed chief of police in the station that morning. "Okay, but—"
"—But this is still our lab, unfortunately. Yes, county forgot to mention that significant detail before assigning me but here we are. Looks like we'll be roomies for a little while longer than we'd hoped." Julian got to his feet and walked to the machine they used to test evidence examples. "Again, what are you doing here?"
"I, uh, there was something I had to drop off," Barry quickly fibbed. He walked over to his desk and looked over it. Everything on it was still the same; the pictures of his family and friends, his name plate, his arranged files. Barry glanced at the map of Central City that hung up behind his desk, he looked over at Julian, making sure he was still preoccupied with his evidence, before lifting the bottom of it to peek underneath. It was empty, just as he had left it. Everything of his mother's case was gone.
Okay, Barry, relax. You're starting to figure everything out. Everything here looks okay. Barry lowered the map once more and ran his hands over his face, letting out a long breath. He could handle this. He could do it. He was The Flash. He'd told everyone what was going on with Flashpoint, they'd decided not to know what had gone on in their lives and seemed to be moving on pretty well. All except for Cisco, who had some sort of comment to whatever Barry had to say.
"Hi, Barry!"
"Hey."
Barry turned around as Brady and Conner walked into the lab, looking around at everything that sat on the shelves and walls. "Hi." He looked at them in confusion before hearing the sound of rubber squeaking heading towards the lab. A few seconds later, Ryder came into view, breathing heavily as he balanced his crutches in his armpits. Finally making it over the threshold of the lab, Ryder leaned against the wall beside him.
"Barry, you need to seriously consider getting the elevator to come all the way up here," Ryder gasped. "Or maybe even an escalator. Maybe put your office on the first floor? Because the climb up here is ridiculous."
"He fell," Conner said with a grin. "And nearly slid all the way back down the stairs."
"Yeah, and Brady didn't help me," Ryder added pointedly.
Brady shrugged, making an annoyed face. "You got yourself up just fine, didn't you?" Barry's eyebrows rose in surprise. It was the second time he heard the young boy being so rude and had no rhyme or reason for it. He noticed Barry's look and lowered his gaze. "Dad's taking us to the science museum."
"The science museum?" Barry repeated, caught off-guard. It wasn't going to the museum that surprised him, it was remembering how he'd promised to take Brady there himself about a year ago…and he kept forgetting. There was so much going on, he' completely forgotten about it no matter how many times Cadence had reminded him. "Right, yeah, that should be fine." He thought to apologize about not taking Brady but he looked away, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt, looking around the lab.
"Yeah, they've been asking to go and I said I'd take them," Ryder explained. He leaned heavily against the wall beside him, balancing his crutches aside so that he could reach into his pocket. He produced two small white pills and dropped them into his mouth. "Pain pills," he explained, seeing Barry watching him. "My knee is killing me."
"Maybe you should go to the doctor," Barry suggested.
Ryder waved his hand. "I'll go in a couple of weeks, that's when I'm due to have my cast off. Anyway, we came by to see if you wanted to come with. I've got a basic grasp of biology but I'm sure there's a lot of stuff you could explain better than I can."
"You want me to go with you?" Barry couldn't conceal his surprise. They were good friends, but it wasn't like they were best friends who spent all their time together. So far they'd only just gone to a football game with Cisco and had a few conversations about Barry's dating Cadence and being there for Brady, but he hadn't expected them to…
He hadn't felt that unsure of himself since Eddie and Iris had been dating and he still had feelings for her. Eddie clearly wanted to be Barry's friend, but he couldn't put aside his own feelings of inadequacy to do so. When it came to Ryder, Barry barely knew him as anything other than Cadence's ex that she hadn't seen in years. Their relationships with Brady had been what made Barry feel a bit unease. He didn't want to move in on Ryder's 'territory' if he stuck around. And Ryder had stuck around to be there as Brady's father, no matter Barry's own feelings of being there for Brady in the same light.
It had hit him like a ton of bricks when he'd said it to Joe, before going back in time to save his mother. That he saw Brady as his son, not just as his friend and someone he occasionally babysat while Cadence was out. It was true, though. He loved Brady very much and would've liked to be there that way…He just needed to talk to him about marrying his mother, first. Changes like that could be a big thing.
Barry discreetly tapped his pocket, where the ring continued to sit. Thankfully, if Ryder noticed, he hadn't had any adverse feelings about it. He'd been nothing but nice to Barry since they met. They probably did need to hang out more.
Ryder gave him a friendly smile. "I just said that, didn't I? And besides, the guys would like it. I'll only be able to keep up with them for so long on these crutches and last I checked, you can grab them pretty quick." His smile widened, blue eyes dancing with mirth at his own joke. "So, what do you say?"
"It's fine if you're busy, Barry," Conner added.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want to tear you away from anything important," Brady said sarcastically. Conner elbowed him in the side and gave him a look, which made Brady shrug—he was doing that a lot lately—and twist his mouth to the side.
"No, yeah, it sounds fun, let me just—" Barry suddenly cut himself off as he slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans, fingertips brushing up against the rings inside. Metal detectors didn't catch rings did they? It'd be just his luck if that were the case. "Uh…"
"Please, Allen, get out of here and go on your little field trip," Julian interrupted, walking back to the desk, holding onto the evidence and a sheet of paper that had been printed. He barely looked at Barry or his visitors as he walked past them. "It'd leave me time to get my work done when you're not constantly asking me questions."
Barry gritted his teeth. Instead of responding, he left the lab muttering, "I hate that guy," under his breath.
"Yeah, I know," Ryder said, turning to follow him. "You tell us all the time."
Barry blinked in confusion as Brady and Conner laughed.
Cadence lifted her chin and waved to Barry, Ryder, Conner, and Brady as they left the precinct. Then she turned back to her computer, holding her phone to her ear with her shoulder to free her hands to fill out some paperwork. Just as long as she got enough of them done before her meeting with Captain Singh and she could have a clear head. More cases that needed to be looked at. It was sad, really; how many families in Central City needed to have CPS come do welfare checks. It wouldn't surprise her if she started to see more familiar names as time went on. Every day she went into work she expected for find Leah's name show up.
Wouldn't that be convenient, Cadence thought. She let out a sigh a lot longer than the one she meant to give.
Caitlin immediately picked it up and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Other than the constant fear that someone is going to burst through the ceiling of this building and spray bullets?" Cadence asked. She rested her chin in her hand. "Honestly, I don't know why someone hasn't tried that yet, take out the police force before anyone can stop them."
"Don't give them any ideas, Cade," Caitlin chided her. She stopped laughing and her voice turned soft, motherly. "But there's something else going on. Does it have to do with Barry?"
Cadence made a face. "What makes you think it has to do with Barry?"
"Nothing, just…" she paused. "Well, honestly, you didn't really seem as excited as I thought you'd be when he came back."
"As far as we knew before this Flashpoint stuff, he was only gone for a few days, Cait," Cadence reminded her. Then she smirked. "You should've seen when we were alone." She could hear Caitlin frantically stammering out a response on the other end and decided to save her the trouble. No matter how much fun it was to mess with her. "No need to blush, Cait, I'm just teasing you. Anyway, it's not Barry, it's Brady. We got into a fight this morning."
"A fight? Over what?"
"It was stupid. We were arguing over him emptying the dishwasher."
Cadence rolled her eyes at the thought, though was unable to completely push away the tightened feeling that came to her chest. It surprised her when Brady had finished breakfast that morning and started to leave the room after leaving his plate at the table.
"Could you put that in the sink and empty the dishwasher for me?" She asked. Brady continued to move out the door and Cadence leaned back in her seat, dropping her fork. "I know you heard me, Brady."
"What?" Exasperated, he turned around to face her.
"Please put your dish in the sink and empty the dishwasher."
He pursed his lips. "Why don't you do it?"
Cadence mimicked his movement then sucked her lips into her mouth, trying to keep calm. Normally she never had to ask him more than once to do anything. "Because I just asked you. It's not going to take more than a few minutes to do."
"Right." He gestured towards her. "So, you do it. That's your job, right?"
Cadence pushed her own plate away and steepled her fingers. She knew this day was going to come sooner or later but preferred it to be later. As it was, the implication that her job was solely to clean for him pissed her off more than he knew. There were enough people that found her to be a single mother and made similar comments. She had no patience for it. "My job is to make sure you have clothing on your back, food in your mouth, and a roof over your head. Have I done that?" Brady rolled his eyes but didn't respond. "I thought so. Now, if you want to go to the museum, put your plate away and empty the dishwasher."
Brady scowled, stomping over to do as he was told. He picked up his plate so hard he knocked his fork and knife to the floor. "Do you want me to sweep the floor, too? How about I shine your shoes, too?"
"This is a regular one of your chores, I'm not asking you become Cinderella." In response, Brady tossed the dish into the sink then, just as noisily, took everything out of the dishwasher and put them away before stomping out of the kitchen with Cadence sarcastically calling, "Thank you!" after him with him just as sarcastically calling, "You're welcome!" back.
Even sitting at her desk Cadence could feel her phone start to melt in her hand from how annoyed she was. Relaying it to Caitlin she got, "Well, he's at that age where hormones are starting to take over. It makes everything in him go crazy."
"The only time I'll be concerned about hormones is when he comes home and tells me he got someone pregnant, other than that I can typically handle it. It's just…I'm trying to figure out what it is I could've done that'd annoy him that much and I'm drawing a blank."
"It might not be you, Cade. It might be him. He's starting a new school year and meeting new people…I'm sure things are fine."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Cadence agreed. She looked up, seeing Captain Singh knock on the door to her office and quickly said, "I'll call you back. Captain Singh is here, just let me know if you need anything." Their secret code if caught talking about meta stuff when on the job. Cadence quickly hung up and turned to her boss with a wide smile. "Hey, Captain Singh, what's up?"
"I wanted your opinion on something," Captain Singh said abruptly. Cadence studied him for a moment. He clasped his hands in front of him, looked over his shoulder and around the room every few seconds, twiddled his thumbs, did everything but stand still and regard her with the hard, command stare he usually did. He was nervous.
"I get the feeling this has nothing to do with work…?" she said slowly, motioning for him to sit across from her. His message for the meeting had sounded important, but now…she had never seen the police captain so nervous before. He sat down and immediately started to bounce his knees. "Let me guess, the wedding, right?"
"Allen hasn't responded to my messages yet," Captain Singh said, confirming Cadence's suspicions. "Has he gotten his suit yet?"
Cadence smiled a little. "Not that I know of. But I can ask him once I get the time." She watched as Captain Singh continued to bounce his knees, seeming to alternate between them. "I know Barry can be really slow with somethings, but I think he'll be quick on this one." She smiled at her own joke then frowned. Was this a Flashpoint thing or something that was always supposed to happen; Barry being in Captain Singh's wedding? There were some changes she noticed as soon as they happened, such as her powers starting to change, others she wasn't sure of.
Then there was the life she had in Flashpoint. Brady had told her a few things after Barry had broken down and told him, but what else about that life was different? Both of her parents were alive…she would've given anything to see her father again, would've loved to see him on Earth-2, but the pain of it…it probably would've killed her. Having to come back and seeing he was gone. But then that also meant she would always be adopted away from Harrison and Tess, was there a life of hers out there where they didn't give her up? How would that life have turned out? Would she have ended up in Central City with all of her friends and Brady?
Cadence shook her head. It was starting to hurt, thinking about everything Flashpoint could've done. Instead, she asked another question. "Have you finally decided what kind of flowers you want to get?"
Captain Singh shook his head. "I say they're a waste of time but he feels it's not a wedding without flowers."
That was the same thing he'd said to her when he asked her opinion on it the first time. He'd phrased it nicely, asking for her help, 'Because you're a young woman and I felt you'd know what you would want for a wedding' before he consistently went to her whenever a challenge popped up. It was getting to the point Cadence felt she was starting to plan her own wedding than Captain Singh's. Not that she didn't enjoy him showing off his anxieties with it, for anyone it was a big day and the rest of the CCPD were working hard to make it a good ceremony for him and his soon to be husband.
"I'm sure a few for the centerpieces won't be a problem," Cadence said diplomatically. She tucked some hair behind her ear, musing she should've sicked her mother on Captain Singh to talk with instead. If there was one thing she was good at, it was planning a party. And I don't have to worry about being bombarded the next time I come into work.
"Well, enough with that." Captain Singh cleared his throat and straightened his tie. His knees stopped bouncing and Cadence could see he immediately moved back into his 'captain mode'. Nothing but business and straight to the point. 'I wanted to speak with you about your performance review."
Cadence's eyebrows rose. "My performance review?"
"Yes." Captain Singh nodded. "We have it done every time someone switches positions within the department. Now, it has come to my attention that you've really seemed to have found your place working with our Child Protective Services division."
A smile of relief graced Cadence's features. So she wasn't being fired. That was good to know. "I really do love working this position. The people I work with talk back to me." Even Captain Singh smiled at her little joke.
"I hope things continue to stay as pleasurable in this position of work, however I can't help but notice your attendance as well." Cadence thought back to her last few months of working with CPS. She'd been on time every day and even stayed late for the few cases that kept her attention. Captain Singh eased her worries as he said, "You've continued to exhibit regular attendance. Would it be too forward if I asked what it was of your last positions that have made you miss days or call out?"
Other than metahumans that don't seem to have a time clock? Cadence thought. An excuse came to her quickly. "Brady has had some doctor's appointments lately, check-ups and stuff. Sometimes I've needed to suddenly take him from school."
"And we can all understand that," Captain Singh said. "Especially with what has happened this past year with the elementary school being attacked by metahumans and other criminals." He looked Cadence in the eye. "It's been good to have Flash and Flare around to help out."
Cadence pressed her lips together before nodding in agreement. "Even better that the Registration Act didn't get passed. Or else they wouldn't be able to keep the city safe."
"I'm sure the day job they have are just as important," Captain Singh continued, looking Cadence in the eye. "I doubt they sit and wait for something to happen. With their need and want to help the citizens of the city, I'm sure they find ways to do it in their everyday life as well."
Cadence smiled. Then her attention was diverted by a call coming on her cell phone. She looked at the number, immediately recognizing it, and turned back to Captain Singh. "I'm sorry, Captain Singh, I have a call I need to go to," Cadence said quickly.
"Of course. I'll let you go." Captain Singh stood up, brushing off the seat of his pants. "Please come to my office after your call so we can go over the rest of your performance review."
"I'll be there." Cadence grabbed her car keys from her desk drawer and hurried from the CCPD. She went to the parking lot and got into the car. She drove straight to the mall, knowing what she would find once she got there. It wasn't the first time she'd been called from there.
Cadence pulled the car to a stop and got up, spinning her keys around her finger as she headed to the mall's security office. She walked inside and followed the security guard who motioned to the chair at the side when she went in. Frankie glanced at her and Cadence tilted her head to the side, giving a knowing smile.
"Skipped school?" She guessed. Frankie nodded. Cadence held out her arm. "Come on." She put her arm around Frankie's shoulders as she stood up from her seat, nervously glancing at the security guard as they left. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Frankie shook her head.
"Good. I can always eat again."
Brady looked up at Barry a he continued to explain the exhibit that stood before them with even more depth than the placard would show. He tried not to laugh. It was too obvious how into science Barry was, no matter whether others were still listening to him he always had something to say about it. Then again, Brady didn't know that Jupiter could fit 1,300 Earth in its size, nor did he know that there were scientists who were working hard to make it so that Jupiter could be inhabited by humans if Earth became depleted of their resources.
Looking to the side, Brady exchanged a glance with Conner, who pressed his lips together and tried his hardest not to burst out laughing. Brady clamped his teeth down on his lips, hoping not to laugh, too. Seeing Barry's childlike excitement over things like that was always so funny. Even Ryder listened patiently, leaning against his crutches as he waited to move onto the next exhibit. Brady caught his father' eye and Ryder lifted a finger to his lips, motioning for them to keep quiet.
Brady smiled back and ducked his head. Finally, Barry stopped talking long enough for Brady and Conner to move onto another exhibit. "Is he like that all the time?" Conner asked, lowering his voice as they moved along.
"Only when it's about science," Brady said. "And math…and zombie movies…and Star Trek…and Star War…"
"Okay, I get the point." Conner held up his hands, cutting Brady off. Then he looked around before looking at hi phone. Brady followed his gaze and asked, "Nothing yet?" to which Conner replied, "Not yet."
Brady frowned and lowered his voice as they passed others who were in the museum. "How are we supposed to help these guys if they won't respond to our messages to help them?"
Conner shrugged. "We just have to give them time. We know they're glad to have found other metahumans like them, but…we can't force them to want to use their powers." He shoved Brady on the shoulder. "Not everyone is like you, who wanted to have powers as soon as they found out it was a thing."
Brady grinned back. "You have to admit, it's pretty cool."
"Yeah…" Conner shrugged and turned away. "I just wish I could help you more."
Brady frowned. "You are helping me."
"Yeah, but after I'm gone—" Abruptly, Brady walked ahead of Conner, making him jog to catch up to his best friend. "You can handle things on your own. And Leah can help you, too. All I do is let you know how powerful the metas we find are."
"That's still something," Brady insisted stubbornly, sticking his hands into his pockets. "There's still something we can do. I promise." Conner lifted his eyebrows. "Don't give up yet. I'll think of something."
Conner nodded then changed the subject. Only slightly. "I know you're mad at me. But you don't have to take it out on Barry and your mom."
"I'm not mad at you."
"Mhm."
Brady sucked in a sharp breath through his nose then started to respond, but topped. His gaze shifted over Conner's shoulder, eyes narrowing when he spotted a silver-haired young man standing nearby, looking at an exhibit. "Hey, do you see that guy?" Brady grabbed Conner's shoulder and turned him to face the direction he was looking in.
"Yeah, why?" Conner asked.
"He's been following us since we got here," Brady replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Maybe we should tell Barry and your dad." Conner looked over at the two, who were still chatting away, moving slower over the exhibits behind them.
"Yeah, maybe…" Brady tilted his head and studied the guy for a second longer. His eyes widened when he realized he recognized him from the play they had put on months before. The man that had disappeared through the wall. There was only one reason he knew as to how someone could do that. "I think that guys' a meta."
"Really?" Conner leaned over to look. "What makes you say that?"
"Remember the guy at the play?"
"No. I was a little busy to pay attention to a guy sitting in the audience," Conner shot back sarcastically. He looked over as the man started to move in their direction. "He's heading this way. What do we do?"
Brady clenched his hands into fists. There was a lot he could do. He had his yo-yo in his pocket, he finally convinced Cisco and Caitlin to have either that or his slingshot on him at all times so that he would be prepared in case a meta was nearby. But there were also his other abilities. He could use them…but potentially be seen on any of the security cameras that seemed to be everywhere. He pressed his lips together, watching the man get closer and closer.
"I'm glad to see there are those your age who continue to be interested in the sciences," the man aid. His eyes shifted over the room. "Though I can't say it's my personal, favorite subject."
"What do you want?" Brady demanded. "Why are you following us?" He gestured behind them. "You've been watching us since we got here and you were at our play, too. What do you want?" His fingers inched towards his pocket where his yo-yo was held.
The man's eyes shifted to Brady's hand and he smiled. "I merely want to train you."
"Train him?" Conner repeated.
"I'm already being trained," Brady said. Oliver was always one of the best people he had to train him. And he had the rest of Team Flash to help him out when it came to different scenarios he may be faced with and weight training…
"You're not being trained in your abilities, the stronger grasp you have on that, the better off you'll be," the man said. He looked above their heads then back at the two boys. "I can help you do that."
Brady continued to study the man, then his gaze lowered to his arm, noticing a mark on the inside of his wrist. He'd seen that many times before, all the while facing off against his own demon. Brady's eyes widened and he looked up at the man. "You're Black Blade," he realized. Brady and Conner looked at each other and then over their shoulders towards Barry and Ryder.
When they turned back to Black Blade, he was gone.
"Who was that?" Ryder asked, coming to a stop by them.
"Black Blade," Brady replied.
Barry's eyes shifted. "Who?" He asked. But he couldn't miss the sudden change in expression on Ryder's face, to one of equal measures of fear and anger. "I'm guessing we should head to STAR Labs."
Ryder nodded. "Right now."
Caitlin chewed her fingernails as she paced the floor of the Cortex, trying to stay calm with the explanation that Brady, Ryder, and Conner had just explained to her. She and Cisco continued to exchange glances as they went on, before Barry asking the question, 'Who's Black Blade?' It was then Caitlin remembered how much Barry didn't know about what had been going on with them since he'd been in Flashpoint.
Honestly, she was really curious to know what her life was like over where he had been. Her mind immediately shifted over to Ronnie, where they married over there? Was he still alive? If Barry had run into him, had he brought a message to her? Did she still have her powers over there? Did she want to give them up?
Caitlin lifted her hand and looked at her fingertips. They weren't glowing then, she had a pretty good grasp of controlling her powers after having had worked with Cadence during training. Nevertheless, she still wanted them to go away. There was nothing she wanted more than to go back to being normal. Working behind the desk was A-OK with her. And if there was a life out there where she had that…
"Long story short, Black Blade and White Hot are to Brady and Cadence what the Reverse-Flash and Zoom are to you," Cisco explained, arms folded. "But, of course, with much better names." Caitlin lowered her hand and glared at him, making his eyes grow wide. "I'm being diplomatic, Cait, I'm not saying it's a good thing."
"So, you figured out who he is?" Caitlin asked Brady instead.
"Not really." He scratched the back of his head. "But how many gray haired young guys do you know?" He folded his arms.
"Do you think facial recognition could get it?" Cadence asked. "With the security cameras and everything put in place? Since the first attack on their school and the MRA being worked on, there's been nothing but added security measures around here."
"Means you're going to have to be extra careful with your identity and speed," Caitlin said to Barry, who was slowly grasping everything that was being said to him. "Anyway, I ran my facial recognition software as soon as you told me what's been going on and it's getting nothing."
"But that's impossible," Ryder protested. "There's cameras all over the place."
"Well, he's a metahuman, he probably has other means of getting in and out of buildings that can't be captured on camera," Caitlin said, apologetically. She tucked her hair behind her ear, and chewed her lower lip. "It' just another thing we have to look for, for him."
"But what does he want with Brady?" Barry asked.
"He said he wants to train him," Conner explained then shrugged when all eyes turned to him. "We didn't know what he meant. But he said he wanted to train him."
"Wouldn't all of the fights they've been in so far be training enough?" Cisco asked. "I don't know about you, but I think a good meta fight can do it."
"Well, what about this White Hot person?" Barry asked. "What does she want?"
"Same thing Breathtaker wants," Cadence said calmly. "To kill for money. She basically took my spot within the Assassination Bureau." She bobbed her head back and forth. "When they're not trying to torture me, anyway."
Caitlin looked over when she noticed the stricken expression that came to Barry's face. "What's wrong?" She asked gently.
"Before I went back," Barry said slowly. "They were in the pipeline. We were about to go against Zoom, and…Cadence confronted Breathtaker to know what it was he wanted with her. He said her being part of them was her destiny." He brought his hands to rest on his head. "They were in the Pipeline…"
"Barry, they've been out of the Pipeline for months," Caitlin whispered. She gestured towards Cadence. "We've been keeping track of them the best we can but—"
"—But as well as they've trained me to track people, they're even better at not being found," Cadence interrupted.
"…That means," Barry said slowly, finally able to finish his thought. "Flashpoint got them out of the Pipeline…and they're going after you again." He leveled his gaze at Cadence, a wounded expression reaching his eyes. "It's my fault. All of this is my fault."
Caitlin's heart hurt for Barry, hearing the pain cracking in his voice. It was hard enough for them, to know what Barry did, to know there were things he's done that changed their lives. It was another for Barry to live with the decision, with what he'd seen, and to know things had changed later. "Barry, none of us knew this was going to happen."
"The rest of us probably would've made the same choice," Ryder added. "Don't beat yourself up, man."
"Mm, I'm not sure all of us would," Cisco said. Caitlin glared at him and he looked back at her. "What?"
"Not helping," Caitlin snapped.
"No, Cait, it's okay," Barry said. "I can understand why he'd be mad. Why any of you would be mad."
In dismay, Caitlin struggled for something to say but found herself stuck. Instead, she reached up and started to run her fingers through her hair, right behind her ear. It was a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child. Tilting her head to the side and almost lovingly pulling her fingers through her hair. Her mother always made a comment about it, saying it made her look like a ditz or that she was too preoccupied with her looks when there was always something more important to worry about.
Then her fingers moved over her ears and she stopped, frowning. Caitlin lifted her head and brought up her hand, running them over and over the spot once more. She touched the fastening of her earring and pulled it out to look at it. Her eyebrows came together as she looked over the obsidian drop in her hands. She didn't remember every having the earring before. All of her pieces of jewelry were blue, silver, or white—crystal in appearance. This was black; a cold, cold black.
Caitlin held it in her palm, running her thumb over the stone. Wasn't there something on her credit card about making a recent purchase at a jewelry store? She remembered it being flagged in her email account and getting the call for it. Had she really bought it?
Then something else caught her attention, made her heart stop. A streak. A blonde streak in her hair. She almost didn't notice it, it had been covered by so much of her hair before. When had she gone and gotten a blonde streak done? Why would she have done it?
Heart pounding, Caitlin took off her earrings and arranged her hair behind her ears in a ponytail before lifting her gaze to look around the Cortex. No one else seemed to have noticed her trance-like state, they were still talking quietly to each other. All except Cadence, she noticed her staring off into space, an intense expression on her face.
Barry noticed Caitlin's look and followed it to Cadence. His eyebrows came together when he saw her. She stood as if she were in a trance. "Cay?" Barry asked. "Cade, are you okay?"
Brady leaned over. "Mom?"
Cadence continued to stare. Then her face became a mask of fury and she whipped her hand out, grabbing Barry around the neck. With ease, she lifted him off his feet and held him above the ground. "Heed this warning, Flash," she said, voice not of her own. It was dryer, raspier, sounding like death. "You're not going to win." Barry gasped, feeling Cadence's hand tighten around his neck. His face slowly started to turn red. Everyone else stood frozen with fear. "This not something that can be stopped. Destiny will always be fulfilled."
Cadence pulled back her arm and threw hard. Barry sailed across the Cortex and landed hard in the medical bay, knocking over the computer, the examining table, and a tray filled with supplies as he did so. Before he hit the ground, she teleported over to him, grabbed him, and threw him back in the opposite direction. Barry landed hard on the ground and skidded across the floor. He looked up at her, only looking away when a bolt of yellow lightning shot through the room, following behind Jesse.
She raced towards Cadence and ran around her in quick circles before throwing a punch. Cadence turned around and caught it. Causing Jesse to gasp in surprise. With a smirk, Cadence twisted Jesse's wrist until she fell to her knees and did an illusion, kicking Jesse in the face. Jesse fell back and whipping her head around like a rattler's, Cadence set her sight on Barry once more.
Brady and Conner grabbed his arms and lifted him up as he stared at Cadence in shock, watching her stalk towards him, flames shimmering along her arms. Halfway to him, she stopped in her tracks and the flames went out. With an anguished cry, Cadence grabbed onto her head and backed away so fast she crashed into the wall behind her. Feeling the solid wall, she bent forward then threw herself backwards, smacking her head against it.
Caitlin hurried across the Cortex to stop her. She wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Cade, it's okay. It's okay!"
Cadence suddenly stopped thrashing and her head fell forward. With a gasp, she lifted her head and stared, wide-eyed at her friends, who looked back at her. Her eyes landed on Barry and widened. "Oh God," she whispered. "Not again."
"What was that?" Ryder asked. He looked to Cisco. "Did she lose control of her powers?"
"Not my powers," Cadence explained. She swallowed hard. "My mind…my body…Mindboggler must've done it or…or Breathtaker. It felt the same, exactly the same as it did before when he'd force me to kill. And when I saw my vision."
Caitlin's eyes widened in horror at the implication. If they were able to get her when she was driving and in STAR Labs without being traced…They were much stronger than they thought. "Why would he do it now?" Caitlin asked.
"To show he can," Cadence said grimly.
A/N: So Barry's causing Flashpoint made the Assassination Bureau get out of the Pipeline and it's revealed that Breathtaker wants her to know what's going on. That can't be good. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. What do you think of the pacing? Is it a little too fast?
Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.
Cheers,
-Riley