06
It Never Stops
Central City's normal, beautiful morning, was shattered by the sound of a low kaboom with a tremor that followed. In the mortgage office that looked over downtown Central City, clients and their brokers got out of their seats and edged towards the windows to find the cause of the ruckus. Their movement towards the windows was the best choice they could've made, for at that exact moment the windows were blown out with a strong wind.
Shards of glass flew across the office, sticking into chairs and the wall, the wind flattening the innocent civilians to the ground. With another pump of wind, Cadence was knocked through the open hole in the window. She rolled across the floor, crashing into office chairs and desks as she went before finally crashing into the wall behind her. She glared, flipping her hair out of her face when Stratos, with a jet stream, let himself into the whole he created. He stood above Cadence, folding his arms and studied her.
It had been a hard-fought battle, lasting for almost an hour with strong, critical blows striking each other at the most opportune moments. Stratos's left eye was swollen shut and bruising marred his face. Cadence was as worse for the wear, blood trickled down the side of her head and out the corner of her mouth, her goggles had been hit so hard into her face it cut into the skin, threatening to reach bone. She struggled to get back to her knees, failing before collapsing every few seconds.
With a tilt of his head, Stratos's blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you ready to listen to what we have to say?"
"Why bother?" Cadence managed to rasp out, voice as weak as her. Her accelerated healing should've kicked in by that point, but there was too much damage. It'd take longer for her to heal all her injuries. It was enough that she was using her energy to keep up her blitz of attacks against Stratos. The two gasped for air, trying to keep themselves upright. Even from where Cadence sat, she could see Stratos struggling to keep his eyes open, focused. This was going to end, and it was going to end soon. "Whether or not I'm with you or against you, you're going to lose." She grinned, the blood that filled in the spaces between her teeth made her smile ghastly. "You're not going to kill me."
"I won't?" Stratos replied. He lifted his hand, air swirling around his hand. It was hard to see, but the shimmering of the area around his hand gave it away; he'd created an air whip. He brought his arm back, the air whip following his movement, and shot it forward. The air whip sliced through the air and crashed into Cadence's side, ripping open her suit and skin at the same time. Blood dripped down to her legs, despite the pain, Cadence refused to cry out.
Stratos listed his gaze towards her face, taking in the scar on her cheek and lifted his hand. A quiet warning. 'I missed, but I don't miss this time'.
"You need me," Cadence said. Shakily, she got to her feet, falling to her knees once. Bracing her back against the wall, she managed to keep herself upright. She took in a deep breath and looked Stratos in the eye. "Or else you wouldn't be coming after me so much."
Stratos slowly grinned back. The wind picked up around him, tugging at his clothes and hair, making papers fly through the air and out the window. The civilians caught in the unfortunate crossfire of good vs. evil quickly and quietly made their way out of the office as the two challenged each other.
"We'll see about that," he promised.
With that, he brought up his arms and the wind blew harder. Cadence's eyes turned orange and she pushed herself off the wall, flames appearing on her arms. They started as small flickered before becoming a brilliant blaze of glory, aided by the wind Stratos created. The two launched towards each other at the same time, colliding in a brilliant ball of fire.
Thwoom.
The noise was low but deafening. Simultaneously, oxygen was given to and taken away from Cadence's flames, causing a backdraft that immediately engulfed the floor of the building. Brown smoke billowed between the two, creating a shield of darkness that covered them and the entire floor before falling out into the street below. The explosion of the backdraft between them combined with the sudden implosion of heat knocked the two off their feet, sending them straight up into the ceiling before being buffeted on all sides to fly across the room. Fire rained down onto the street below, making those on the sidewalk cover their heads and scurry away as quickly as possible.
Those that couldn't move fast enough were scorched, cars starting to melt, their windows blowing out. Inside the office, Cadence and Stratos lay quietly on the ground, thick clouds of smoke hanging overhead. Melted computers smoldered on the table tops, threatening to start smaller fires, the carpet holding smaller flames. An alarm went off, blaring loudly to warn the other floors of the building of the impending emergency. It wouldn't take long before the smoke alarms started to go off, setting off the sprinklers.
Throughout the chaos, Cadence and Stratos lay unconscious on the office floor, smoke continuing to billow around them. Creating a darkness that enveloped them long before they'd known it, ever since they had first been contacted by Breathtaker. A darkness that wouldn't go away until the day Breathtaker was dead.
With a gasp, Cadence sat up straight in bed. Her sheets lay tangled around her legs, tendrils and vines that kept her rooted in place. Frantically, Cadence kicked them away, her legs were on fire. No, her whole body was. It was too hot. She need air. Desperately. She went to the window—the perpetually open window that Barry used as his entrance to her apartment and stuck her head out. The night air was cool, but not cool enough. The temperature around her continued to steadily increase. Hotter and hotter.
Uttering a strangled moan, Cadence leapt to her feet and ran to the bathroom. Of what she remembered from her schooling, the fastest way to get from point A to point B was a straight line. Unfortunately for Barry, that straight line was across the room and the bed, where he slept soundly. Cadence charged across the bed, trampling Barry out his slumber as she did so.
"Huh?" Barry jerked out of sleep, just in time to receive a kick to his kidney before his knee was trod on. He curled himself into a ball to protect himself further, waiting for the onslaught of blows to end. "What's going on?" Barry untangled himself in time to see Cadence practically fly into the bathroom, holding a hand over her mouth. "Cade?" He pushed off the covers of his legs and in a bolt of lightning was by her side, smoothing her hair back from her face. "Are you okay?"
Cadence barely managed a nod before she leaned into the toilet bowl and threw up again. "Mom?" Brady phased through the bedroom door in a run and hurried to the bathroom. He stood next to Barry, who watched Cadence with an air of anxiety. "Is she okay?"
"She's just a little sick," Barry said, rubbing the fire metahuman's back.
"Oh." Brady ran out of the room and came back a few moments later with a towel draped over his arm and a mug cradled between his hands. He went into the bathroom and knelt next to his mother, who continued to hold her head over the toilet, shoulders shaking as she heaved. "You'll be okay, mom." He ran the towel under hot water in the sink then draped it over her neck. "Here's some water." He nudged the mug towards her.
"Thanks, bud," Cadence mumbled in reply.
Brady nodded and sat cross-legged next to her. Barry smiled at the gesture and continued to rub Cadence's back. She had stopped heaving but continued to rest her forehead against the front of the toilet bowl, begging for something to cool her down. Noticing, Brady pushed the mug of water closer to her and she took it with a shaking hand to sip at it.
"Hey, Brady, maybe you should go back to bed," Barry suggested. "It's a little late."
Brady shook his head. "I'm fine," he said. He let out a quiet sigh and rested his chin in his hands, watching his mother closely. "I've been helping her since you were gone. I can still do it."
Barry nodded back.
Cadence listened to them but didn't respond. Her head was swirling with too many things, all leading back towards the time in her life she thought she was making good decisions to further her life. Leaving Metropolis, finding Central City, doing as many odd jobs—and they were odd—as she could to take care of Brady, to finding money to pay or rent, to stay in school. All of that seeming to come crashing down the moment he had said to Mindboggler that she wouldn't mind doing a delivery for her, and by extension, for Breathtaker.
No, she realized. It started before then. When you were still living on the streets. She closed her eyes, shook her head. It was all starting to muddle together but she could see how each decision, each choice she made blended into each other. That one she wouldn't speak about…how much longer could she keep all her secrets of her life in Central City from her friends when she knew the outcome? They'd hate her, not see her the same way, see her the same way she saw herself. As a murderer who was trying their hardest to achieve a sense of…finally being able to move on. Now she really knew how Barry felt, not able to move on from his mother's death for so long.
It wasn't the same and yet…maybe it was more similar than either of them would like to admit.
"Mom, did you have a bad dream?" Brady's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
Cadence shook her head, taking another long sip of water. She set the mug aside and leaned back so that she could look her son in the eye. "Memory, of when I fought Stratos." Brady nodded in agreement. "These guys are getting stronger, Breathtaker, too. If we don't stop them soon, I'm not sure what's going to happen. With this Dr. Alchemy guy running around, too…" she shook her head. "Looks like there's going to be a lot of trouble coming for us, soon."
"We can handle it," Barry insisted. "We've managed to take down every other threat that's come to the city and we can handle these guys, too."
"Yeah, but that last time we got the Assassination Bureau, they got back out of the Pipeline," Brady pointed out. He then clapped his hands over his mouth and gave Barry an apologetic look, who gave him a comforting smile in response. "I mean, well, if it wasn't for Flashpoint—"
"Flashpoint has nothing to do with it," Cadence interrupted with a shake of her head. "It's what I've been saying since the beginning. Breathtaker is the oldest metahuman I know. Like, old, old. He's been around long enough to have these abilities I haven't seen in other metas. He always has a plan, always has something up his sleeve. He wanted to be put let go the first time we saw them, wanted to get caught the second time, wanted to be put into the Pipeline."
"But why?" Brady asked.
"To watch us," Barry said suddenly, remembering what Cadence had said when Breathtaker had taken over her body. "And because he could. He wanted to show there's nothing that can be done to stop him."
"Except us," Brady said with a hopeful lift to his voice. His eyes shifted back and forth over his mother and his friend. "Right?"
"Right," Barry and Cadence agreed with varying levels of belief in their words.
Later that morning, after the three had gotten back to sleep, it was a normal morning in the Nash apartment. Cadence, Barry, and Brady hurried around, getting ready for their day. Barry superspeed a quick breakfast for the three, shoving it into Brady's hand as he was seconds away from leaving to go to school.
"Barry, I know you can cook really fast, but I don't think a pancake is supposed to be this crunchy," Brady said, turning the offending object back and forth in his hand as he looked it over.
"Sorry, I'm in a rush," Barry apologized. He nodded towards the backpack that sat on the counter. "I looked over your homework, too."
"Oh, thanks!" Brady took his backpack and slung the straps over his shoulders. "You know, you're really getting the hand of this whole parental figure thing."
I hope so, Barry said. He patted the pocket of his sweats. Now was a good time as any. "Actually, Brady, there's something I wanted to talk to you about—"He turned as Cadence walked into the kitchen, dressed in sports gear and tying her hair up into a high ponytail, and clammed up.
"Hi, mom," Brady greeted his other. He eyed her carefully. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better, thanks," Cadence said. She gave Brady a noisy kiss on the cheek, making him make a face and exaggeratedly run his palm down his cheek to remove the spot then turned to do the same to Barry. "Hey, thanks for breakfast." She picked up a pancake and her eyebrows came together as she turned it back and forth, much like Brady had done moments before. "I think."
"Okay, okay, I get it," Barry said. He dropped the other offending pieces of breakfast on the counter and dusted off his hands. "If you guys aren't going to eat it then I won't. Maybe Joe and Iris have something left for me."
"Wow, one day where I don't have to worry about the food bill," Cadence said with a light laugh.
"I already told you I have no problem buying food," Barry said.
"Yeah, but the last time you did that, you went extreme couponing to the point that we had cereal boxes filling up the living room," Brady said. He heard a low horn honk from outside and grabbed his keys from the countertop. "That's the bus. Gotta go."
"Bye, bud. Have a good day," Cadence called after him.
"I'll try!" Brady called back before running out of the apartment.
Barry smiled as the door slammed behind the young boy. "You know, I really liked school, but I don't remember ever actually being excited enough to go that I ran to school." Cadence lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "The bullies usually waited outside to jump me."
"Ah." She nodded at the explanation then folded her arms. "Actually, I was wondering how you managed to have such a healthy love for the academics when you were getting your stomach beat in every day."
"Blind optimism?" Barry shrugged.
"Yeah, I hope that's it. Otherwise, I'd be seriously worried about you." Cadence looked at her watch. "I've got to go or I'm going to be late." She eyed him curiously. "Don't you start work at ten now? Why are you getting ready?"
"I've got to stop by Joe's place to talk to him about some things," Barry explained. "Then I'll head over there." He gave her a kiss. "See you later." Cadence waved and teleported in a few seconds. Barry raced from the apartment and back to Joe's house, bursting through the front door so fast that Joe, who was enjoying a cup of coffee on the couch jump, splashing the scalding liquid on the floor.
"You've got to stop doing that," Joe mumbled, holding his mug as far away from him as he could. "I swear, if you don't, I'm going to have a heart attack."
"Sorry." Barry walked over to the couch, eyeing Joe warily. He lifted his wrist and looked at his watch. "Um…aren't you supposed to be at work right now?" He watched as Joe shrugged, focusing his attention on the coffee that was soaking into the floor. A scary thought entered his head. "You do still have a job, right?" Flashpoint didn't ruin that, too, did it?
Joe nodded. "Yes, Barry, I still have a job. I'm just not going today." He moved aside and allowed Barry to sit next to him. Carefully, he set the mug aside and leaned back on the couch. He picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels. "Captain Singh allowed me some time off. God knows I've needed it after these new events we've got going on. First Edward Clariss from this life that you call Flashpoint is a Speedster over here, there's this clown named Alchemy running around, and now the Assassination Bureau that decided to rear its head again." He shook his head. "To say I need a mental health day is an understatement."
"If that were the case, Joe, don't you think we'd all be going crazy?" Barry asked, stretching his arms out not he couch.
Joe blinked at him. "Color me this, Barry, how do you think people would respond if you told them that you were The Flash and was running around the city trying to save people from metahumans. And not only that, but you've run back in time twice to save your mom, the first time you didn't, the second you did, and then you went back a third time to have her murdered again which then caused Flashpoint, which changed your life here." He waited for Barry's response.
Barry mulled it over for a few seconds, rubbing his lips together. Then he twisted his mouth to the side and rubbed at his brow bone. "Yeah, I guess you're right. If I wasn't me, I wouldn't believe it either." He gave Joe a sly look out of the corner of his eye. "You have any tips to help me through it?" Joe gave him a confused look. "I mean, you were the one who was always saying Iris and I were driving you cray."
"Because you were. I could hardly go a day without one of you getting into some sort of trouble and don't think I've forgotten about the time you both managed to destroy my brand-new car." He patted Barry on the leg and got up to clean the spill he'd made. "Again, that's the least of my problems to need a mental health day."
Barry noticed the sad tone that had come to his voice and looked at him sadly. He clasped his hands together between his knees and leaned forward so that he could continue looking at Joe's face. Studying him. "Joe," he said slowly. "What happened with Francine wasn't your fault," he said. "There wasn't anything else we could've done."
"I know that here," Joe admitted, pointing to his forehead. "I don't know that here." He pointed to his heart. "I just…it's hard to look at Wally and Iris and know that if I hadn't…if Francine and I had tired to work things out before, then maybe things would've been different now."
Barry shook his head. There were too many 'what-ifs to think about. The same wort of things that have kept him up at all hours of the night, kept him in his head of all hours of the day. What if he did this instead of that? What if he did that instead of this? To know Joe was worrying about the same things…Barry couldn't take it. Joe was one of the strongest men he'd know and to see him so vulnerable lately…?
"Wally and Iris would've had their mother around, I could've been paying for her medical bills a lot longer."
"Joe, her sickness was terminal. There wasn't anything you could do."
"Again, I know that but…" Joe shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bare, I know I shouldn't be loading this on you. There's already so many things that you're dealing with, that all of us are dealing with. It's hard to figure out what's normal considering what's happened. And, to be honest, Barry, I don't blame you for anything you've done. For the same reason that I don't want to know about my life in Flashpoint."
Good, because I really don't want to tell you, Barry thought.
"I want to move on and the moment we can all do that, to move on from the stressors of our past and focus on the present, the better off we'll be." Joe placed his hand on Barry's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "That's one of the best pieces of advice my father's ever given me. To remember that you can't change the past and the only thing you can do is learn from it." He snorted. "Easier said than done."
"Story of my life," Barry agreed.
"And thus, the reason that I think you need to stop being so hard on yourself. Go to work, have a good day, let Captain Singh be the one that's hard on you." Joe grinned, poking Barry in the chest. "I hate to be you when he sees you today. He's been asking about—"
"—The suit," Barry suddenly remembered, closing his eyes. He smacked his palms against his forehead. "Right. I still have to get the suit."
"And you also said you'd—"
"—That'd I help him write his vows," Barry added. "You know, I don't know why he wants me to help him with that? It's not like all of the reports and everything's I've written at work has me figuring out wedding vows."
Joe gave him a funny look. "You know he's just nervous and is trying to get as much help as he can. And at the CCPD we're supposed to be family. Just like everyone was there for you—"
"—When they were interrogating me and my dad, you mean?" Barry asked.
"Exactly. I'm going to tell you a little secret, Barry, Captain Singh hated having to do that, much more than you think. And it's something he greatly regrets despite how much high esteem he has for his job. He may ride you hard on your job, but he's always trying to make you work to the best of your abilities. And, I hope that you can do the same for him, even if he is starting to become a little demanding with his wedding."
Barry smiled and nodded. Then he looked Joe in the eye, his eyes narrowing. "How did you manage to turn this conversation around to me? We were talking about you."
Joe smirked. "I've been a cop for over twenty years, and through that time I've had a lot of experience talking criminals into exposing themselves. I knew at some point that it was going to work on you." He laughed as Barry rolled his eyes.
Barry's phone suddenly started to ring, and he quickly pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the text on screen. "Uh, Joe, I know you wanted to take the day off, but this may be something that you want to postpone it for." Joe's eyebrows rose in confusion and Barry turned the phone to face him. Joe read the message his eyes widened. "Can you take a day off for metas?"
"Just because we were able to keep the MRA from going through doesn't mean there's not a chance that some other meta incident will have it come back under a new name," Joe said. "Just give me a chance to get dressed and,"—he pointed directly in Barry's face— "don't even think about super speeding me through it."
Barry and Joe arrived at the CCPD just in time to find Iris heading out the door. She noticed the two and smiled brightly, stopping to wait for them to reach her. "Hey," Barry greeted her happily.
Iris smiled back at the two. "Hey," she said. "What are you doing here?" She asked the question at the same time as Joe then said, "I'm here trying to get some more information on the man who was attacked by a lamp post last night. What about you? I thought you were taking the day off."
"So was I, but anything meta related, you know I can't miss that," Joe said. He looked up and nodded as Captain Singh waved for them to go into his office. Barry leaned over and saw a teenage girl sitting on the couch on the far side of the office, her glove covered hands clasped between her knees. "Looks like they need us now."
"Yeah, let me know if there's anything you get from him," Iris said. She shook her head towards him. "I've always known Captain Singh to be a bit of a hard ass, but I never thought he hated the press so much." She pursed her lips, pressing her hands to her hips. "Do you think I could convince him that he should only speak to me to get his side of the story out?"
"I could try to convince him," Joe said. "Nepotism has to work sometime." He smiled and leaned down to kiss the cheek Iris offered him. "I'll let you know if we get anything you can use, baby."
"Thanks daddy." Iris smiled and turned to Barry, grasping his arm. "Tell Cadence that I've got something to tell her later and then I've to talk to you about something."
Barry's mind reeled, trying to keep everything straight. "Okay, I can meet you at Jitters later."
"Awesome. See you guys."
Barry exchanged a glance with Joe, who shrugged in response. He had no idea what it was she'd need to talk about. Though with a deduced guess, it may have to do with Wally or Joe or Francine or all three. Rather than dwelling on it, Barry tilted his head towards Captain Singh's office and the two went inside. The girl looked up at him and Barry took her in. Shoulder-length brown hair with reddish purple streaks dyed into it, a large, multi-layered leather jacket, a ratty t-shirt, black jeans ripped at the knees, black boots, and fingerless gloves covering her hands.
"Frankie Kane," Joe greeted her. "I'm Detective Joe West, this is Barry Allen, we're here to ask you a few questions about what happened last night. Is that okay?"
Frankie nodded, twisting her fingers together. "Um, yeah, that's fine," she said. She pulled on the wrist of her gloves, moving them up her hands to scratch her palms. "I'm not sure how I can help but…"
"Well, I just want to make sure of some information that the CCPD received since last night," Joe said. He looked at Barry who nodded back. It was a case of high importance with Captain Singh relaying all the information they needed for the case on their way to the CCPD—which would've been a shorter trip had Joe not insisted that they drive there rather than Barry running. "So, it says you were in the room when your father—"
"—Foster father," Frankie quickly interrupted. "John. He's…my foster father."
"Right, foster father," Joe quickly corrected himself. He gave Frankie a small smile and she gave one in return before starting to chew her lower lip. Her eyes darted towards the door of the office every time a sound was heard from the rest of the office. She gasped as there was a crashing sound, jumping nearly a foot in the air with a flinch.
Barry looked over to see a criminal being brought into the front desk, arms clasped behind his back with handcuffs stuck around his wrists. He thrashed back and forth to break himself free while shouting at the top of his lungs. He got up and quickly closed the door, immediately sealing the noise off from the room. He flashed Frankie an apologetic smile, noticing she immediately relaxed once the noise was gone.
"Frankie," Joe said gently, grasping her attention once more. "You were in the room when he was struck by the lamp post."
"Yeah, but, I don't remember that," Frankie mumbled, still running her hands over each other. Her eyes flickered over Barry's and Joe's faces, unable to stay still for a second. "He came home and yelled at Karen, my foster mom, to get him dinner."
"Is that when you blacked out?" Barry pressed.
He remembered times of that happening when he first moved in with Joe and Iris. There were times he'd be sitting on his bed, staring into space, or staring at nothing, and the next thing he knew, hours had passed. Hours he didn't remember and couldn't get back. Other times he'd be so angry and yelling at Joe or he'd be running away and the next thing he knew, he was further away than he thought, or was sudden alone.
Even when he was being interrogated, there were times where he'd have people asking him question after question and he'd black out. There were many moments in the transcripts that were blacked out with marker or mentioned long moments of him staring in silence. He didn't remember any of it until speaking about it much later. He hadn't realized how concerning it was.
"Yeah, I think so," Frankie murmured.
"Has that happened before?" Barry asked, leaning towards her. "You…blacking out?"
Frankie lowered her gaze as she nodded. Then abruptly changed the subject to ask. "Is John going to be okay?"
Joe and Barry exchanged glances. Joe took a deep breath then said. "He's in Central City hospital, he's pretty banged up." There was a knock on the door and Joe stood up to open the door. His eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Cadence standing on the other side. "What are you doing here? This isn't…"
"I've been working with Frankie for a couple of months now," Cadence explained as she squeezed into the room. She nodded to Barry, who looked back at her in confusion. "Captain Singh told me she was asking for me specifically." Her eyes shifted to Frankie. "No skipping school this time?"
Frankie shook her head. "Not since last time. I guess they really don't believe that I could be over eighteen."
"The fake ID had nothing to do with it, you just have a really young-looking face," Cadence reassured her. Then she turned her attention to Joe and Barry. "So, I'm assuming that the whole attacked by lamp post thing is why you two are here?" She asked. Her eyes met Barry's and he lifted his eyebrows in response, making her nod.
That was all the confirmation she needed. There was no need to even say it out loud, they knew each other well enough to convey certain things only through a look. When it came to metahuman stuff, that was a conversation that was easily explained without any looks or words at all, they were on the same wavelength. So, when Joe excused themselves and the three left the office for some privacy, it didn't take more than a few seconds for Barry to launch into his findings of the case.
"The outer layer of the lamp post is a half an inch thick," Barry explained, placing his hands on his hips. "But to bend even a quarter inch of steel it requires 177 tons of tensile strength, so…"
"So, we're looking for a meta with super strength," Joe surmised.
"How many metas do we know have that power?" Cadence asked. Barry and Joe both looked at her and she held up her hands. "Besides me, I mean. And for those that have that power, why would they want to attack Frankie's foster father?" A sneer came to her face as she folded her arms. "Other than the obvious, I mean."
"What's that?" Barry asked.
Joe ran a hand over his head. "Frankie has been in and out of the hospital since she was placed with her foster family. Broken bones here, bruises there…"
"I'm sure he's abusing her," Cadence explained. She jutted out her hip, shaking her head. "In fact, I'm 100% sure he is. I just haven't been able to get any proof. Whenever I talk to Frankie about it, she shuts down or acts like nothing's happening. If I don't have any concrete proof, I can't have him arrested. All we can do is continued welfare checks."
And that's why she asked for you, Barry realized. He smiled a little. It wasn't so surprising. Cadence had always been great with kids, helping Brady, Conner, and Leah when she had the time and opportunity. Her career change to CPS was certainly boding her well if she could figure that out for Frankie so easily. So, what did that have to do with her foster father being attacked? There was a link there they had to have been missing.
"I suppose you're all conversing about the case of the man attack by a lamp post," Julian said as he walked over to the group, eyeing the three. "Detective West. Cadence." Joe and Cadence nodded in response to Julian before the latter's green eyes landed on Barry, barely concealing his disgust. "Allen." Barry rolled his eyes. "I couldn't help but overhear your explanation of the force needed to bend the lamp post. The only problem with that sad little theory is that there are no fingerprints on the post."
"He could've been wearing gloves," Barry defended himself. "Or maybe he didn't need to touch the post at all."
"Yes, perhaps, but the curvature of the post shows that there was an equal amount of pressure put on the post at the same time," Julian explained, his eyes still on Barry. "So, unless our strong man has a wingspan of over twenty feet—"
"—Something else caused it," Joe said. "Something like a meta."
"Or, rather, someone like a meta," Julian said. He nodded towards the office they just left. Frankie continued to sit on the couch, bringing her hands up to rest her face in them, almost as if she were unaware of what was going on around her.
Barry and Cadence exchanged another glance and understood immediately. Julian thought it was Frankie that had attacked her father. "You can't be serious," Barry said.
"I happen to be very serious, I don't tend to joke a lot," Julian commented. He put his hands to his hips and cocked his head to the side. "The circumstances surrounding this case are staring you right in the face and you're not taking the obvious course of action."
"Of priming her as the suspect?" Cadence's eyebrows rose. "To echo Barry, 'you can't be serious'."
"Well, I understand you used to work with the CPD as a medical examiner as your past position but that is very different from the active case we have going on now. Are you sure you can handle this case the way it's meant to be handled? I'd hate to think that your feelings for this girl are going to cloud your judgement."
A slow smile came to Cadence's face and she smiled sweetly at Julian. Though Barry knew it wasn't quite as sweet as it should be, seeing the flames flickering in her eyes. Barry's eyes flickered to the metal railing she was leaning against, what was used to help those in wheelchairs to traverse the stairs of the precinct. Fast enough that neither Joe nor Julian noticed, Barry rubbed his feet back and forth along the floor so that static was created then stuck out his hand, pressing a finger to the metal railing. Electricity shot up the rod and into Cadence's hand, making her yelp and pull her hand back.
She glared at Barry, who lifted his eyebrows innocently. Sufficiently calmed down, Cadence said to Julian, "I can keep my feelings out of my cases so long as I know where they're going. This one,"—she pointed towards Frankie—"is either going to end up with her dead because of her foster father or put under scrutiny of a witch hunt because of you."
"Too right," Julian agreed. "So maybe I'll be able to refrain from saying 'I told you so' when I'm proven right." He held up a finger. "But I'm warning you now it'll be very hard." With that, Julian walked into the office and knocked to grab Frankie's attention. "Hello, there. I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself, my name is Julian Albert."
"I'm Frankie," she said. "Frankie Kane."
"Right." He looked at the glass in her hand. "Can I get you some more water?" She nodded, and Julian took the glass from her. With a nod, he turned and walked back out of the office. "This will give us all the evidence we need but you may want to give her another glass." He tossed it into the air and caught it in his palm, unable to stop the smug smile on his face. "Again, I want to warn you that when I say, 'I tell you so' it'll be very sweet."
With that, he walked away.
"Man, I hate that guy," Barry murmured.
"We know," Joe and Cadence chorused.
Brady was already in a bad mood when the school day ended. Hearing about what was going on Frankie and the CCPD wasn't helping matters much. How was it that everything in his life could've been going so well then completely fall apart? One minute he had a great life with great friends, who were okay with him having powers and helped him as much as he helped them? He and Conner were doing everything they could to find other metas in their school and were soon going to start meeting up with them.
Conner's idea of the private Instagram account had been a good one. Even Leah opted to help when she could. But it wasn't enough to keep things from falling apart. Black Blade's want to train him confused him more than anything else. Black Blade was someone who he'd been fighting for months now, every now and then he would show up in Central City and cause a ruckus just for Brady to run to find him. It had been exciting at first, knowing he had a rival who wanted to fight him just as White Hot did with his mom and all the speedsters did with Barry.
But to train him? Train him to make him stronger? Train him to make him a better foe against the Assassination Bureau and this Alchemy guy? He wasn't a little kid anymore and could do a lot. Sure, he had to work on his flying and there was also that new energy field thing he could do, but he'd saved Central City from as many criminals and metas as his mom over the summer, even when he was away on trips. What else was it that he needed to do to be taken seriously.
Be part of work, obviously, Brady thought, still listening to everything his mother was saying about Frankie as they went into their apartment. Brady tossed his backpack aside and ran a hand through his hair, blue hair dye sticking to his fingers as they ran over the tips. He was going to need a touchup soon. Not that she'd even notice, Brady thought.
"Is Frankie a meta?" He asked, interrupting her explanation.
"Not that I'm aware of," Cadence replied, taking a long gulp of water from a water bottle that sat at her side. "Why?" She asked, wiping off her mouth and re-capped the bottle.
"I'm just wondering why you're suddenly so interested in her," Brady said. "If it's a meta it'd make sense." He shrugged. "You're always so preoccupied with meta stuff. When you're not too busy with Barry, anyway. Not since he got back."
Cadence leveled her gaze at her son and looked at him seriously. "What are you talking about?" Brady stared back at her. "Okay." Cadence set her water bottle aside and folded her arms. She continued to look her son in the eye for a long moment before asking, "Did something happen at school today?"
"Nothing ever happens at school, mom, or else it'd be all over the news. That's the only time that you'd care." Brady's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You don't like the PTA and you don't like doing any of things school puts on because you're always so worried about what the other parents have to say about you."
"I just don't have patience for it," Cadence corrected him. "I always know what they're saying or at least thinking."
Brady continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "And the guys in my class, they're always saying things about you." He looked her up and down, taking in the blazer over the blouse that barely touched the top of her jeans. Different from the usual crop-tops, cold shoulder blouses, and shorts she typically wore to stave off the warmth her body gave off. But not by much. "Why do you have to dress like that? And why do you always have to act like nothing else exists when you and Barry are together."
Cadence lifted an eyebrow and let out a short, frustrated breath. Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she closed her eyes before saying evenly, "What is it you want me to do?"
"Stop embarrassing me," Brady snapped, cheeks flushing when his voice cracked.
Cadence immediately matched his temper. "What is your problem?"
"I just want you to stop dressing like—" Brady cut himself off, crossed his arms, and stubbornly looked away. It was like a gun had gone off. The silence that stretched after Brady cutting himself off was excruciatingly loud. She got the message loud and clear.
"Like a slut?" Cadence surmised. With a roll of his eyes, Brady turned and walked to his room. Cadence followed him. "I'm still speaking to you. Like a what?"
"Nothing," Brady said.
"No, what were you going to say?"
"Nothing! God!" Brady snapped back. "You ruin everything." He went into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Cadence gritted her teeth and entered the room after him. Brady grabbed his pillow and threw it at his mother. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"
Cadence batted the pillow aside and grabbed him by the arms. Jerking him around, Cadence grasped his chin, forcing him to look at her. Her eyes blazed with fury. "Never in the eleven years that you've been alive have I ever wanted to hit you, but right now I'm really holding myself back from doing it. I'm an adult, Braden, and I'm the one who decides the way I dress and the way I act with whomever I'm seeing. And you know that I've always respected you and kept things to a minimum if I ever thought it'd make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry if you can't handle the way your friends talk about me, but I'd prefer it, if you're embarrassed, that you tell your friends that their comments are inappropriate, and you don't appreciate it. And that they're the ones who need to change, not me. You know you're the most important thing in my life and accusing me of not caring about you is pure bullshit."
Cadence dropped her hand from his chin.
Still glaring, Brady turned away from her.
"But then again, what do I know?" Cadence asked, voice quiet. "I'm just a mom, right?" Brady's back to her was like a stone wall, but she saw his shoulders hunch up. Tense. She got him as easily as he got to her. Cadence turned to leave his room, reaching to close the door behind her.
"I hate you," Brady murmured. Quiet enough that he knew it slipped from his lips, but loud enough for her to hear.
Cadence closed her eyes and took a calming breath as she closed the door behind her. She went straight to her room and pulled the door shut. She went to her bed and sat down, pulling out her cell phone. For a few moments she held it in her hand, trying to keep the tears from falling down her cheek but soon found herself in the losing battle with her broken heart.
Sniffling, she dialed a number and put the phone to her ear. "Hey," she said shakily when the other person picked up. "Can you come over? I need you." She waited for the confirmation on the other end. "The door's open, you can just come in."
Then Cadence hung up her phone, it started to ring seconds later. "Hey Cait," she murmured, wiping at her eyes. She tried to sound composed. "What's up? What's going on?"
"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, instead of answering her friend's question.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Cadence took a deep breath and steadied her voice. "What's up?"
Caitlin took a deep breath. "Edward Clariss is dead."
Harrison Wells and Tess Morgan waited for the secretary to let them into the office. Hand-in-hand they strolled over the carpeted hallway and into the spacious office that overlooked downtown Central City. That overlooked the construction being done on the office building that had been destroyed by Flare's and Stratos's fight a few months before.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Harrison asked, making the large leather chair behind the desk turn around.
"It sounded really important if we had to come in so fast," Tess added.
Lex Luthor smiled, his eyes darting back and forth over their faces. "You have no idea," he said pleasantly. He reached out a hand towards the chairs that sat across the desk from him. "Please, sit down and I'll tell you everything."
A/N: Ooh, Cade vs. Stratos did not go well at all. If anyone's confused, while it was a dream here, it was a dream of a memory as it was a fight Cade had with Stratos while Barry was gone. And, oh Brady, he and Cadence really are at odds. I promise, things aren't going to be as dark as they were on the show, there are plenty of lighthearted moments in this story.
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