09

Chilly in Central City

Life with HR Wells around was interesting to say the least. More so in his cheerful personality compared to that of Harry Wells. HR was unflappable in the positivity he exuded even when things were difficult. And with some of the metas and criminals Barry, Cadence, and Brady came up against, they tended to get difficult.

At first, the difficulties were in getting used to Harry no longer being around. Jesse took it the hardest, Harry having decided to leave without telling the rest of the team. His reasons, as evidenced in the note he'd left behind, had been wanting to give Jesse some space to figure out her powers on her own, there was still trouble on their Earth he had to deal with, he didn't want to be in the way.

And Jesse had, through a wobbly smile, agreed to it. Saying it was better that they spent some time apart so that she was able to train. But HR…he'd quickly moved into STAR Labs and started to make the place as much of his home as possible, to the shocked and surprised stares of everyone else. His already weird idiosyncrasies—constantly twirling drumsticks around his fingers, misnaming everyone with odd nicknames, and bringing coffee every morning—were even weirder as time went on.

His connection with Harrison and Tess was even stranger.

"I'm Randolph Morgan's partner," HR explained when he was asked what he did on his Earth. Tess's eyebrows had risen in surprise to which HR turned a brilliant smile to her and said, "Ah, I see you've heard of him."

"Randolph is my brother," Tess explained. "I haven't seen him in years." She turned to the rest of the group to explain to them, "He lives in Hawaii and works as a stock broker."

"A stock broker in Hawaii?" Caitlin asked, making a face.

"I didn't say he was a good one."

"Ah." HR wiggled a drumstick in the air. "On my Earth, Randolph Morgan is a brilliant scientist and my partner. We work very well together. I guess on this Earth," he pointed his drumstick towards Tess. "That would make you my Randolph, my partner." He held out his hand to Tess who took it to shake. He grasped her hand and kissed the back of it, making Harrison, who stood next to her, fold his arms and tilt his head to the side. HR then stood up straight and tipped his head. "And you must be Harrison Prime. Such an honor to meet you." His eyes flickered back and forth between the two. "Oh, and you're married." He looked curious, rubbing his chin. "I wonder if that means I'm married to Randolph on my Earth. Or if that you two are interested in…" he broke off at the wide-eyed stares around him. "Well, that's not important right now."

And that was the first day he was there. Since then, he was a fixture in the Cortex, giving his opinions and points here and there. But as another version of a Wells to help while Harrison and Tess were working to keep Chief Paulson from turning over the MRA, the help was needed.

Jesse, however, was the only one who didn't quite warm up to HR. Despite it being another Harrison Wells in name and face, she was not used to HR Wells being around. Especially when her father's enthusiasm of her powers was everything short of being a personal cheerleader of sorts.

She scowled as she leaned forward, pressing her feet together to stretch her legs. "Does he have to be here every time we do some training?"

"Well, there aren't many times that we can hog tie him and stuff him in a closet," Cisco pointed out.

"Not to mention, that'd be rude," Caitlin agreed, stretching her arms in front of her. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and resumed stretching her arms in front of her. "He may be a little…"

"Weird?" Cisco asked.

"Strange?" Barry broke in.

"I hope it doesn't run in the family," Cadence murmured.

"You already lost that bet," Cisco teased. Brady smiled but otherwise stayed silent.

Caitlin frowned and folded her arms. "You thought Hartley was a jerk, Cisco, and he proved you wrong. Now he's a big part of the team…" she shrugged. "When he's here."

"Wait." Barry's nose wrinkled. "What?" He didn't remember Hartley being anything but a jerk, even when he didn't know Hartley personally, he managed to come across as a prickly young man. As the Pied Piper he was even more insufferable. Going so far as to try and expose Dr. Wells for something he wasn't and for the choices he made.

"He helps out with the repairs in some of our pieces of technology if we can't figure it out," Cisco said, giving Barry a strange look. Then recognition flittered across his face and he ran a hand through his hair, turning away from Barry.

"Are we going to get this training started or what?" HR called from the side of the practice room. A room that Barry also hadn't realized had been expanded since he came back from Flashpoint as well. "C'mon! I want to see some powers starting up around here. I want to see some—" he started to make zooming sounds with his mouth, waving his hands back and forth in the air. "And some—" he made 'pew, pew' sounds as he started to flick his fingers back and forth. "Okay? Let's go!"

Jesse's eyes widened as she turned back to the group. "I really hope it's doesn't run in the family."

"Yeah, you're weird enough already," Cisco murmured.

Caitlin gently nudged him on the arm. "Let me just get the first aid kit and then we can start."

"It's in the cabinet under the examining table," Brady called over to her from where he sat on the floor, resting his chin in his hands. "I moved it there the last time I helped alphabetize and organize the inventory."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Brady looked at his watch and let out a long sigh, his head dropping even further. Barry gave him a sympathetic glance before letting out a big breath.

"Okay, I guess we should get started," he said. He thought for a moment before motioning to himself, Jesse, and Brady. "We'll get started working on Jesse's speed and some of her other abilities. If we can teach her to phase, then it'll help with her all-around abilities. Cade, you stay here and work on Caitlin's and Cisco's abilities." He looped his finger in the air. "We're going to be running around a bit."

"No problem," Cadence replied. "Just don't get too tired. I still plan on kicking you butt later."

"Last I checked, I won last time." With that, Barry reached out and grasped Brady's shoulders, racing out of the practice room leaving a trail of yellow lightning behind. Jesse followed right after him, an eager smile on her face.

Cadence let out a low breath and placed her hands on her hips as she turned back to Caitlin and Cisco. "Okay, you guys have been doing a great job with training in terms of being able to control your powers and knowing the muscle memory to tap into them. But you really need to work on your fighting skills." She nodded between the two. "I know the last thing you want to do is fight, but from what Ragdoll has taught us, there's a chance people can get back here in STAR Labs and the last thing we want is for you guys to be in trouble when it happens."

"She's right," HR agreed. "Candace is right." Cadence made a face, realizing how HR butchered her name. "The last thing we want is to be totally and completely vulnerable to any attacks that come through to STAR Labs. Like, I'm talking some of the bigger things that can come in. Security risks, breaches of our fall back line, things like that."

Cadence clicked her tongue, her eyes narrowing slightly, before she turned back to Caitlin and Cisco, who looked as annoyed. "Anyway, there's always a few basic moves that you can learn. The best thing at this point is to know what you can do without access to the weapons we have on hand." She waved towards Cisco. "Not that I'm dissing anything that you've created but we should use them as a fall back point."

"Then don't come crying to me when you're in a jam and have no access to weapons that can take down a meta like that!" He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"I can teleport, Cisco, I think I'll be fine." Cadence took a few steps back until she was on the edge of the practice mat. She cracked her knuckles before bringing her arms back to stretch behind her. Then she fell into a fighting stance, looking back towards Caitlin and Cisco. "Okay, now attack me. And I want both of you to use your powers to do it."

Cisco and Caitlin glanced at each other, apprehension moving over their faces. It was one thing to practice fighting skills—using punching bags and lifting weights to get stronger—but another to fight with powers they hadn't completely grown use to using yet. But Cadence didn't wait for their first move. Instead, she crouched low to the ground and did a leg sweep, a wall of flame erupting in front of her as she did so.

Throwing up their hands, Caitlin and Cisco backed away from the sudden influx of heat in front of them, giving Cadence the perfect opportunity to leap upwards and land on the ground in front of them, simultaneously bringing up a cloud of smoke that obstructed their vision. Caitlin coughed and backed away while Cisco brought up his goggles to cut out the glare and darkness. He held up his hand and sent a vibrational blast back towards her.

Cadence rolled out of the way, but didn't move fast enough for the second one Cisco shot shortly after the first one. She was caught in the stomach, sent tumbling heels over head across the practice mat. Cisco threw open a breach and jumped through it, coming up behind Cadence. She whipped around and bent back out of the way when he sent another vibrational blast. She grabbed his arm and flipped him over onto his back with a quick shift of her arm. Then she swung her arm up into the air and the smoke immediately cleared, revealing Caitlin to stand on the other side of the practice mat with her arms up, chest high.

Wisps of ice wafted around her hands. "Things are about to get a little cold in here," she said, voice suddenly holding a strange echo to it. With that, she brought back her hands and threw them forward, sending a sheet of ice across the floor of the practice mat. Cisco, who moved to take down a distracted Cadence with another vibrational blast fell as his feet slipped out from beneath him.

Cadence threw up her arm and a pyre of fire shot to the sky, blocking most of the attack. She cried out in pain when she felt an icicle shoot past her face, cutting her cheek open. Blood dripped down from the wound seconds before it closed. Then Cadence countered by stepping forward and clapped her hands together. A bright ball of fire, the size of a basketball, immediately shot back to Caitlin. She held up her hand seconds before it hit her and froze it over. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it back to Cadence.

Cadence's eyes narrowed, and she sucked in a deep breath before blowing out. The air around the ice ball immediately warmed, shimmering at the sudden temperature change, before the ball imploded into a ball of water. Then Cadence raced forward and leapt high into the air. With a flip, she landed on the ground and created a large circle of fire that exuded from where she landed.

Cisco grabbed onto Caitlin and the two fell out of the way. He flipped his hair from his face and said, "Man, now I know how barbecue feels," he muttered. He turned to Caitlin to ask, "Are you okay?" Then gaped in silence. She was cold, completely cold all over, but that wasn't what made him speechless. It was her eyes, the normal, friendly, chocolate brown eyes he loved to look into were now an icy white. A snarl pulled at her lips, a mask of anger he'd never seen before reached her eyes.

"Get your hands off me!" She snapped, that eerie echo still stuck in her voice. "I can take care of myself." She pulled her arms out of Cisco's grasp and stood up, tilting her head back and forth to crack it. She wiggled her fingers. "Let's see if you can handle this." She held up her hand and thrust it towards Cadence, who watched in confusion.

Then horrified recognition slid onto her face. She hadn't thought it was possible and yet…it was staring her right in the face. Killer Frost.

"Yes!" HR cried before clapping repeatedly. "Yes! This is…this is gold people. This is what I came to see and…and you brought it. Thank you!"

"Cisco," Cadence said slowly, keeping her eyes on Killer Frost. "Get HR out of here."

Cisco's mouth opened and closed as he slowly pulled himself up off the ground. He stared at Killer Frost, who, for all intents and purposes, was still Caitlin. The same face, the same hair, the same hair color…the only difference was the color of her eyes and the hard lines etched into her face.

"Caitlin?" He breathed.

Caitlin looked at him over her shoulder and her lips turned up at the corner. "Sorry, Caitlin's not here right now." Then her eyes closed and when she opened them again, they were back to the brown color. She let out a strong gasp, looking down at her hands. "What's happening to me?" She whimpered.

"Caitlin." Cisco took a step towards her.

"Cisco," Cadence said, warning still in her voice. Flames flickered in her eyes and around her hands. She, too, had her eyes on Caitlin. "Get out of here."

"Caitlin. I…I don't know what's happening." Cisco continued taking steps towards her. "But you have to fight it. We can help you. I promise." He held out his hand. "Let me help you."

"No," Caitlin whimpered. She backed away from his outstretched hand, hugged her arms to herself, hunched her shoulders forward. Blocked herself off from the world. "I can feel it." A soft whimper escaped her lips and she sucked in a shuddery breath, looking at Cadence, Cisco, and HR. "You have to get away from me."

HR finally stopped smiling and tilted his head to the side in confusion. He clicked his lips and pointed towards Caitlin. "Okay…that…that doesn't look good. What's going on?"

"Cisco!" Cadence was practically shouting now. Her voice cracked with desperation. With the shout, Caitlin's eyes shifted back towards Cadence and while they stayed brown, the snarl was back on her face. Without a word, she sucked in a deep breath and blew as hard as she could. Much like Cadence's ability to heat up the room with fire breath, sending flames shooting in all directions, Caitlin's created an icy vapor that filled the room.

Cadence immediately felt her temperature drop, the flames around her hands snuffed out by the lack of heat. She brought her hands to her arms, struggling to warm herself, already feeling her jaw violently move up and as her teeth chattered. It's always dangerous if my body temperature gets too high, she thought. What if it gets too low?

"Caitlin!" Cadence cried, continuing to hold her hands up in front of her. "Caitlin! Stop!"

But Caitlin continued with her attack.

Across the city, Barry and Brady twisted their heads back and forth as they watched Jesse continuously run around and around the clearing they stood in. Finally, she came to a stop and with a bright smile asked, "How'd I do?"

"You ran really fast," Brady said helpfully. "Enough so that if there were anyone nearby you would've taken them down fast. Giving an opening to whomever may try to attack." Then he clasped his hands together and waited for Barry's words.

Barry gave him a small smile before turning back to the eager, young speedster. "Brady's right, you're doing a good job of what could be clearing the area," he explained. "And your pattern formations have been working out well." He gestured towards a smoldering patch in the grass that was a figure eight. "You're getting into top speed and created updrafts really well." He leaned back over to Brady. "Remind me to fix that before anyone sees."

Brady smiled and nodded.

"And?" Jesse prompted.

"The only thing you have to remember about being a speedster and running into areas that may be holding criminals or villains is that you need to case the place. Slow down and make sure you see every angle of what's going on. You have to case the place and make sure you've gone over every angle and…" he trailed off, grinning to himself. "Hey, I'm starting to sound like Oliver."

"That might not be a good thing, Barry," Brady reminded him. "Next thing you know you're going to start using everyone as a pin cushion."

"I'm not the one who's training with him."

"Yeah, but Oliver wouldn't kill a kid, he'd just kill you."

Confused, Jesse looked back and for the between the two and brought up a hand to scratch her temple. "I'm sorry," she said. "Who are we talking about and is it someone good or bad?"

"It's, uh…" Barry grimaced, realizing he may have made a mistake, speaking so candidly about Oliver Queen. Especially when Jesse was a new speedster and new to the world of metas and the rest of their vigilante team. "Just someone we know. He likes to keep in shape and be very particular about…other people…keeping in shape." He cleared his throat and brought out a hand, resting it on Jesse's shoulder. "But I was telling the truth when I said you're doing a great job. You're getting the hang of your speed really fast."

"Yeah, it took Barry months to get that fast," Brady added.

Barry cast him an annoyed glance. "You weren't even there, how would you do?"

Brady shrugged but continued to grin.

Jesse smiled back and forth between the two then rubbed her hands together. "Okay, what's next? We've done speed trials, obstacles, worked on casing places. Am I going to learn how to phase now or are there are any other formations I need to learn how to do?"

"I think we can move onto phasing," Barry said. He nodded over to Brady then took a step back.

Brady's eyes widened in surprise and he pointed to himself. "Me?" He asked. He took a step forward when Barry nodded encouragingly and cleared his throat. "Well, the main point of my powers is phasing. I can move through objects as easily as objects move through me. And it's also something Barry can do, though it works a little differently. When Barry phases, he's focusing on vibrating fast enough that he moves through solid objects. I interact with the particles of the objects around me and move through it. Like this." He held up his hand, which seemed to turn translucent, and moved it through the trunk of the tree sitting next to him. "If you focus on the object and passing through, really concentrating on its makeup and the Speed Force, then you can get through it."

Jesse shook out her hands, flexing her fingers. "Okay, I can do that. Concentrate on the object and passing through, it's make up and the Speed Force." She bobbed her head back and forth. "Yeah, I can do that." She took in a deep breath and a step backwards. Then she blew out the breath and raced forward, using a burst of her superspeed towards the tree. Barry and Brady watched as she ran headlong into the tree trunk and ricocheted off it.

"Ooh!" Barry winced, bringing a closed fist up to cover his mouth while Brady, on the other hand, followed her falling trajectory to the ground with a blank look on his face. "Jesse, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Jesse groaned, slowly peeling herself off the ground. "I think so."

"I said to run through it, not into it," Brady said.

"Sorry, but there's a lot to think about when you're running like that," Jesse said. She finally stood up, brushing leaving and dirt off her t-shirt. "A few seconds is a lot of time."

"I know the feeling," Barry agreed. He started to say something else when his phone started to blare, setting off the metahuman warning app. His eyebrows immediately lowered in concern when he saw the app was pinging from STAR Labs. "Guys, we have to go," he said. "Something's going on at STAR Labs."

The three hurried back to the practice room just in time to find the last remnants of the icy vapor Caitlin left behind with Cadence, Cisco, and HR all speaking quietly. As soon as HR saw the three, he threw his arms in the air. "It's about time!" He cried. "Honestly, you have the ability to move somewhere as fast as possible, and it takes you that long to get here? We must work on your speed Mr. Allen, and Ms. Wells, you're just as fast as him, I can't believe it took you so long. You missed everything."

"What happened?" Brady asked.

"Uh, 'everything'," HR said before Cadence or Cisco could respond. "Did you not just hear me? We need to work on your listening skills, Bradley."

"It'd Brady."

"Right."

Barry held up his hand, causing HR to fall silent, and turned to Cisco and Cadence. "What happened?" He demanded.

Cadence and Cisco exchanged guilty glances before Cisco cleared his throat and took a step forward. He twisted his fingers together and took a deep breath, shoulders slumping when he let it out once more. "It's Caitlin," he finally said.

Caitlin swallowed thickly as she stood outside, Tannhauser Industries. It was the last place she ever expected to end up. There were enough scientific and technological companies inside Central City that she didn't give much thought to the ones outside the city. Especially that one. It was the only one her resumes and applications never went to. So much so that Caitlin was sure she was blacklisted from it in some way. Every science convention or conference she ever went to, if there was anyone from Tannhauser Industries, she made sure not to spend too much time around them.

Even Dr. Wells—the real Dr. Wells—had noticed but didn't say anything about it. He, instead, directed her towards the representatives from other companies and startups that needed her attention more. And now here she was, standing outside of the one place she never thought she'd set foot in again.

But things changed, and they were more dangerous now than ever before. But this time she was the dangerous one. There were too many things that could go wrong, she had to get some answers and had to get them now.

Caitlin closed her eyes, unable to keep the images of fear and horror of her friend's faces from her mind. The way she hurt them all because she couldn't control her powers. And if she couldn't control them, she had to find a way to get rid of them completely. And that was only possible once she had some answers. Caitlin took in another breath then walked into the lobby of Tannhauser Industries.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked as she approached the front desk.

"I'm here to see Dr. Tannhauser," Caitlin said quietly, almost timidly. She curled her hands around the handles of her purse, anything that would keep her hands busy. If she had too much time on her hands, even for a second…

"Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist's voice brought her back to attention. She looked up at Caitlin expectantly, ready to type in the key points to bring up the set appointment.

"No," Caitlin admitted. "But I'm sure she'd want to see me."

"Well, Dr. Tannhauser is really busy and—"

"—Thank you for your diligence, Janice, but Caitlin is always welcome here." Caitlin turned around as she recognized the voice. She hadn't heard it in a long while, but recognized it immediately. She lifted her gaze to the immaculately dressed woman who slowly made her way down the stairs, from an upstairs office. "Even if I wish she'd call first."

"Nice to see you, too, mom," Caitlin said sarcastically. Carla Tannhauser flashed a short smile before walking towards Caitlin. She tilted her head, indicating Caitlin to follow her and the two walked down a set of winding corridors before making it to an even immaculately designed office. Caitlin closed the door behind her and looked over the room. White everything; picture frames, curtains, office chairs, computers, all white.

Then her eyes shifted over to the lone picture that sat on her mother's desk. Her heart stopped when she recognized it. A picture from when she was about six, with her mother's hands on her shoulders, and her father's arms around her mother, the three smiling into the bright sun. A picture of the last happy time in their lives. Shortly before her father had been diagnosed with MS, shortly before everything fell apart for her.

Caitlin looked over at her mother and saw her watching her closely. Caitlin felt her anger swell at her mother's stare. How dare she still have that picture on her desk, acting like they were such the perfect family when it was far from perfect. It was far from a family.

Carla continued to watch her daughter before she said, "I didn't forget your birthday, did I? I did send a card." Her lips pursed, and Carla turned to her computer, methodically typing out a few keystrokes. They sounded like gun blasts in the otherwise silent office. "I wrote it down in a memo."

"Yes, mom, you sent me a birthday card…in April," Caitlin replied, doing her best not to roll her eyes. That had been for her last birthday. Much longer than her November day. Caitlin cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Um, I read your paper on application sin cryo-medicine and I thought you might help. I have a patient who could really use it."

Carla nodded as if she expected it. "If you want to send over their file I can help." She continued to type on her computer, and Caitlin was sure she was doing anything else but working to help Caitlin out. Caitlin gritted her teeth. How many times had she been ignored by her mother, completely set aside for work. They were both adults now and she was still being treated like a child? "But right now, I have a shareholder—"

"Mom!" Caitlin slammed her hand on the table and it immediately became encased in ice, crystals forming over every piece that could be touched. Carla gasped and quickly shuffled her feet, moving her away from the desk so that she didn't get touched as well. Caitlin glared at her mother, unsure if it was herself that was coming out, or Killer Frost.

She didn't care.

"I'm your patient," Caitlin said firmly. "Me. I need your help."

Carla stared at her daughter, eyes so wide Caitlin could see the flecks of gold in her brown irises. She sat up straight and cleared her throat, reaching up her hands to smooth back the fallen pieces of her hair. She composed herself as much as possible before saying, "Then I'm glad you're here," as if that display of power was an everyday occurrence.

What does she know about metas? Caitlin suddenly thought. There's no way she could've missed them.

"We have work to do," Carla said firmly. "It appears that…your abilities are very powerful. I want to study it as much as possible." She looked at Caitlin curiously. "And I'm sure you are aware of the reputation metahumans have in this city as well as the Registration Act that nearly passed."

"Yes, mom, I'm aware of it," Caitlin said quietly.

Carla looked at her daughter sharply. "I didn't mean anything by it, Caitlin. I was simply making sure you were aware of the consequences of this sort of…predicament you're in."

"I've already covered my bases," Caitlin said coolly.

"Very well." Carla stood up from her chair. "Please follow me." She led Caitlin out of her office and to the biolab, introducing her to her assistant Nigel along the way. Caitlin smiled her greeting to the African-American man and allowed her blood to be drawn by her mother before being led to another section of the lab. Her eyes roved over an orange slab of…heat that sat in the middle of a contained tube.

"What is this?" She asked.

Carla waved a hand over the heated metal with a flourish. "We're going to test how your ability affects molecular motion," she explained. "That shaft is solid tungsten and is heated to over 2000 degrees centigrade." She motioned to Caitlin with a flick of her head. "I want you to cool it down and when we can figure out how you do that, we can figure out how to best help you."

Caitlin smirked, folding her arms. "Cadence can do more than that," she murmured.

"I'm sorry?" Carla blinked rapidly, a smile frozen on her face.

"My friend, Cadence, she can do more than that," Caitlin explained. "The fire she can exhibit, it gets to be very hot. And…I've been able to stop it a few times." She took a deep breath, thinking of how she had hurt—nearly hurt, she reminded herself—her best friend before running out of STAR Labs, a fresh wave of guilt making her nauseas. "If we can't figure things out with her abilities to help me, how can we figure them out here?"

"Just trust me, Caitlin." Carla placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder before immediately removing it as if she had placed her hand into a pile of mucus. "Having a more stable environment for it—" Caitlin glared at her mother, immediately making her change the subject. "Alright, try to freeze it and don't hold back."

Caitlin held up her hands and sent ice towards the burning pyre. She didn't use her powers the entire way at first, didn't want to change again. Didn't want to be taken over. But then she looked at her mother and saw the serious expression on her face. She had no choice. She had to do it or else they didn't have any chance of getting any answers. Eyes with horror, Caitlin froze the pyre with ease. She lowered her hands to her sides. Not holding back…she could already do so much.

But how?

She'd never used her powers for more than a few seconds. No, she reminded herself. Eobard trained you a little. And since Eobard knew the future…Caitlin shook her head. He knew a future. Not exactly the one that was going to come since Barry created Flashpoint. Or did Eobard know that was coming as well?

"How long have you had these abilities?" Carla asked, breathlessly.

"They manifested two years ago," Caitlin admitted. "The particle accelerator explosion caused it. But it took me some time before they actually started to show compared to the others."

"And no one knows?'

"My friends do."

"Of course. Your friends." Carla took off her glasses and tapped the arm of it against her teeth as she watched the frozen block in front of her. Finally, she turned on her heel and picked up the clipboard they'd been holding. "I knew you never should've taken that job at STAR Labs." Caitlin lifted her eyebrows in offense. "You would've had access to world class facilities."

"And have all my work be in your shadow, your reputation?" Caitlin shot back sarcastically. "Yeah, that would've been the dream job for me. There's always something that I could do that would've been great, but no one would know because of you."

Carla snorted and gave a thin smile to her daughter, tossing the clipboard aside. She folded her arms. "Of course, the only time you need your mother is when you're in trouble. And when I try to help, you act like a spoiled brat."

Caitlin sucked in a deep breath. Spoiled brat? She'd never been spoiled in her entire life. She worked hard for everything she had and for the relationships she'd managed over the years. Handouts were the last thing she wanted. "What's that supposed to mean?" Her tone matched her mother's. An equal amount of snootiness and ice.

"Oh, come on, darling." Carla all but rolled her eyes. "You ran off to Central City to be a scientist with that disgraced quack—"

"I was trying to make a name for myself," Caitlin snapped.

"For three years, barley a word and then you come running to mommy hoping her to fix it."

"You have no idea what I've been through."

The two were interrupted by Nigel's shout to his boss. "Dr. Tannhauser, look at this!" Carla was by his side in a second. "I'm not sure how she did it, but she's absorbed all of the energy from the tungsten when she froze it."

"She's absorbed all that energy?" Carla gasped.

"I don't know," Nigel said, unable to hide his excitement. He sat up straight in his seat and rubbed his hands together eagerly. "But if we could figure it out, it can change everything we're doing here. We need to run some more tests."

Caitlin took a cautious step back, she didn't really like the way Nigel was looking at her. Something stirred in her stomach that she couldn't quite place. "What are you testing for?"

"Anything that can help us understand how you can absorb that much energy in molecules to—"

Caitlin folded her arms. "You know I've run those tests before."

Carla slowly stood up straight and mimicked Caitlin's stance, folding her arms. Her eyes flashed behind her glasses and she pursed her lips once more. After a second, she sucked in a short breath and asked, "Then what was the point of coming here?"

"Seriously, mom?" Caitlin gaped at her. She brought her hands up to her hair then lowered them with a slap to her sides. "I'm terrified. Terrified of what I'm becoming, of what I can become. And you haven't even asked how I'm doing. I'm your daughter—"

Carla gritted her teeth. "I'm trying to keep emotion out of this—"

"—and that's your specialty, right? Being cold? Just like after dad died."

"I did everything I could to save your father."

"And lost your daughter at the same time."

"You were the one who ran away."

Anger burst through Caitlin like a waterfall. She could feel Killer Frost starting to come out again. Could feel herself slowly starting to lose control. As she spoke next, her words started to take on the familiar echo that was Killer Frost. She only hoped her eyes hadn't changed color yet. "Because I had to. You never acted like my mother again after dad got sick. You could barely even look at me."

"I couldn't handle the pain. My work got me through it. Losing someone like that, you don't know— "

"—My husband died over a year ago," Caitlin snapped.

"I'm sorry. But you didn't even invite me to the wedding."

"Why would I have introduced you?" Caitlin shook her head, taking a few steps away from her mother, heading towards the door. "I'm glad I could help you. But I'm done now. Goodbye." Caitlin left the biolab and headed back towards the lobby. She heard footsteps hurrying behind her and looked over her shoulder to see Nigel running to stop her.

"You're leaving already?" He asked. He looked nervously over his shoulder and rubbed a hand over his bearded chin. Then he tilted his head to the empty office next to him and led her inside so that they could speak in private. "We have a lot we still need to do. I know your mother can be tough to work with, but there's a lot she can do."

"I'm done," Caitlin said apologetically. "I don't mean to waste anyone's time. But there's nothing else that can be done to help me. I don't need help with the science part…I came to get something from my mother that I realize I'll never get—" she stopped when she heard a locking sound. Nigel had locked her into the room. Her gaze shifted to him and he looked menacingly back at her. "What are you doing?" Her voice quivered in fear.

"Sorry, Frosty," Nigel apologized, though he didn't sound like he meant it. His eyes blazed with a manic light. "But you're not going anywhere."

Caitlin immediately tried to open the doors but found she couldn't. It was locked fast. "I'm sick of working day after day to have my work benefit your mother," Nigel explained, his voice taking on a growl. "With the information I can get from this, I can finally get out of this place."

Dropping her hands from the doorknob, Caitlin felt a growl come to her voice as she said, "You're not going to test me."

"Yes, I am," Nigel insisted.

"No…" Caitlin turned around and thrust out her hand. "You're not!" Caitlin grasped his arm and tightened her grasp around his wrist. There was a moment of silence then a cracking sound filled the air as she froze Nige's arm. His screams made Carla come running, opening the door with a key and hurry to Caitlin's side.

She wrenched Nigel's arm from Caitlin's grasp, taking some of his skin with it, making him yelp even louder. Then she held up her hands, standing in front of Caitlin with worried eyes. It was the most emotion she'd seen from her mother in years. "Caitlin don't do this," she said. "This isn't you."

"You don't know me," Caitlin shot back.

"I know you enough to know I didn't raise you this way."

"Oh please," Caitlin snorted.

Carla swallowed hard. "I know I wasn't much of a mother and I have a lot to work on, but I didn't raise a killer. For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry."

Caitlin's eyes shifted away from her mother's. "It's worth a lot. But it's too late." She brought back her arm and started to send out another blast of ice but was stopped by a breach opening in front of her. Cisco's upper body poked out.

"Caitlin!" He cried.

Faltering, Caitlin blinked in surprise. "Cisco?" She asked.

Cisco grabbed her arm and pulled her through the breach. When the blue swirl faded, Caitlin and Cisco crouched on the ground in STAR Labs. Shaking, Caitlin reached up her hands and grasped her head. "No," She whimpered. "No." She lifted her head and ran her hands through her hair. "No, no! Not again!"

"Caitlin, relax, you're safe," Cisco said to her. "You're safe now."

"No." Caitlin shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm not safe. It's too dangerous to be around me." She started to pull away from Cisco's grasp. "I can't be here. You have to get away from me, I'm too dangerous."

"Cait!" Cisco tightened his grasp on her. His hands were warm. Warmer than her skin, a contrast to the chill she felt. She slowly felt herself calming down. "Caitlin, you're in STAR Labs. You're back here. You're with me. You're safe. I promise." He lifted her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "It's me. You're okay."

Caitlin felt tears start to come to her eyes. "Cisco, I don't know what's going on," she said tearfully. "I didn't want…I never wanted to hurt you guys like that."

"Caitlin, we're okay," Cisco said. "None of us are hurt."

"I needed answers," Caitlin continued, as if she hadn't heard her friend speak. Tears started to drip down her cheeks when she realized how scared he really was. "I needed my mom."

Cisco took a deep breath, knowing how his friend's relationship with his mother was. Estranged was the nicest way to put it and even that was hard. "And…did she help?" Cisco asked.

"Yes." Caitlin nodded. She reached up and wiped at her eyes. "In more ways than I thought she ever could. It was something I've wanted my entire life but it's too late. Too late for me. I'm dangerous. I hurt someone."

"When it comes to family, you have to do whatever it takes because one day you may not be able to do that anymore. You're my family and I'm going to do everything I can to help you," Cisco said gently. He pulled Caitlin into his arms and gently rubbed her back. "I'm glad you're back."

"This is home," Caitlin said, hugging him tightly.

Cisco continued to stroke Caitlin's back then gasped as everything around him flickered and shimmered. It took a few seconds before things flickered into focus. He looked down, no longer holding onto Caitlin. Instead, he was standing in the middle of a clearing, a forest, maybe. His breath condensed in front of his face, snow falling around him. Then he heard a commotion and turned back to see Caitlin throwing icicles towards someone.

No, not someone.

Cisco gasped as he recognized himself. It was him. Caitlin was attacking him.

Then everything shifted back to focus, and Cisco was back in STAR Labs, continuing to comfort Caitlin. He looked up when he heard the shuffling and saw Barry standing in the doorway of the room, looking at the two anxiously. Cisco tightened his grasp around Caitlin and nodded to Barry, reassuring her she was okay.

Barry nodded and walked away.

Cisco lowered his head, resting his cheek atop Caitlin's head. Maybe if he held onto her long enough, she wouldn't go away again, and everything would go back to normal. Maybe they could pretend that nothing was going on and Killer Frost didn't exist.

Brady tossed his phone to his lap after checking the time. He settled back into the couch and tilted his head back, resting it on the back of the couch as he stared at the ceiling. Not much longer. And even then, he still didn't know what to do. If there was anything to do. He didn't even know how to feel.

Upset, guilty, and then guilty for being upset and upset for being guilty when things with Caitlin were starting to go so badly. Maybe it was how his mother felt, that there were serious things going on and some things needed more attention than others. Especially when it came to metahumans and keeping the city safe. But he hadn't been a metahuman for too long, and if it weren't for being in Central City during the explosion he may not have turned into a meta in the first place.

But you can't predict the future, Brady thought. It's not anything you can change.

That's what Barry had told him when he explained everything to him. How he and Conner were doing everything they could think of to keep Conner from moving away. And all of Brady's ideas hadn't worked. Conner could stay in Central City with him and his mom. Conner would miss his mom too much. He could stay in Star City with Oliver. His mom didn't like that idea. Oliver was the reason they were leaving.

Then Barry had said it was more likely that Flashpoint was the reason he was leaving. Through his look into Star City to see what had changed—Barry got into contact with Felicity shortly after he got back—Barry had found that Oliver's mayoral run and work with Damien Darkh had meant there were a lot of things that had to change and would be affected by him if he kept moving forward. He hadn't realized until Brady said Conner was moving it was likely that they were being moved to be kept safe in a witness protection capacity.

And he was going to be moving anyway, no matter how hard Brady tried to get him to stay. He didn't even know if they were still fighting or not. He didn't even know if he were still mad at his mom now knowing what he knew, that she didn't even know he was leaving. That Conner's mom hadn't said anything to her about it. And he'd gone and called her so many mean things because he was upset.

Finally, Brady lowered his chin and looked over to his mom, who was texting on her phone. He took a deep breath and asked quietly, "Hey, mom?"

"What?" She didn't look his way.

"Is Aunt Caitlin going to be okay?" He asked. "With this whole Killer Frost thing?"

"She'll be fine," Cadence said, setting her phone aside. Brady craned his neck to see she was texting with Iris. He couldn't quite see what the text had said, though. "Barry said Cisco was looking after her and that she was fine." She looked at her phone. "He should be back with the pizza any second, so you should wash your hands for dinner.

"Okay." Brady nodded but didn't move. He took a deep breath. "Hey, mom?"

"What?" Her voice sounded a little sharper now, as if she were annoyed.

Brady ducked his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Are you sure she's going to be okay?" That hadn't been what he wanted to say, but it came out before he could stop himself. His chest started to hurt.

"I just said she's safe," Cadence said. "Apart from the faulty security we've got at STAR Labs, we're keeping an eye on her, bud. If anything was going to happen, we'd know as soon as it did. And we'd do something about it."

Brady's voice got caught in his throat. The second he heard her say 'bud', the name she'd been calling him since before he was born, he knew things were going to be okay. That they were okay. That his words hadn't made her stop loving him. As soon as he said the words 'I hate you' and saw the look on her face, he knew he'd made a big mistake. Not just for saying such nasty words, but because he knew how badly she hated losing people she loved. It nearly tore her apart—as much as she tried to hide it—when his grandfather died and with how much she tried to keep her him and the rest of their friends safe meant it was a battle she probably worked through every day.

"Mom," he said, voice wobbly. "Conner's moving away."

Her eyebrows immediately came together as she looked at him, dropping her phone. "What are you talking about?"

"His mom's making him move away," Brady explained. "She says being around you and Oliver isn't safe and that they need to move so they don't get in any more trouble. But they won't tell me where they're going and they're moving today and—" he took in a deep breath. "I didn't know you didn't know. I was talking to Barry and he said you probably weren't doing anything about it because you didn't know."

"I didn't," Cadence agreed, blinking rapidly. "I don't." She ran a hand through her hair. "You had to have known that if something was going on with Conner and I knew about it, I would've done something."

"I know," Brady mumbled. "But I thought maybe you were too busy to care and he'd known for a while and…" he broke off, shaking his head. "I thought you…" he shrugged. "I don't know."

"You thought I cared more about metahuman stuff," Cadence said. She turned to face him completely, looking him in the eye. "I know I've told you this before, but I don't mind reminding you. The minute I knew I was having you, you became my number one priority. And until I feel that you're able to take care of yourself or you turn eighteen, whichever comes first, you're always going to be my first priority."

"Only until I turn eighteen?" Brady asked.

"Well, with your powers and everything, I think you have a slight advantage above everyone else." She reached out and tilted his head up. "If there's anything that's bothering you, whether I know or not, you have to know I'll always be there to help you." She reached out and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. "Even if you do hate me."

"I don't hate you, mom."

"I kind of figured that part. I don't know anyone who hates someone and continues to bug them every five seconds with 'hey, mom?'" Her smile faded. "But you really did hurt my feelings."

"I know. I could tell when I said it. I'm sorry, I was just mad."

"Your best friend leaving? It's not the easiest thing to get through. I went through the same thing when I left Central City and had to leave Mallory behind."

"Auntie Mal?" Brady tilted his head to the side. "I don't really remember her."

"She hasn't been around a lot, so I don't expect you to. But it still hurts when I think of her, and how I had to leave. Just like it hurts when I think Cisco or Barry, or Caitlin are in trouble. And when I think I can let any of you down." She looked at her phone. "When does Conner leave?"

"Soon," Brady said. "I didn't know if I wanted to go—"

"—We're going," Cadence declared. She had just gotten off the couch when Barry came blowing into the apartment holding onto a long, flat box.

"Hey, I got the pizza," Barry said once he came to a stop. "Sorry it took so long. Normally it wouldn't' have but at first they tried to give us Pepperoni when I said we really didn't want it and then they messed up the order and—" he paused, noticing the two looking at him. "What?"

"We're going to Conner's house right now," Cadence explained.

Barry looked startled, setting the pizza box aside. "We are?" He asked.

"Yep!"

Cadence grabbed Brady's arm and dragged him over to Barry and grasped his wrist as well. Barry looked at Brady in complete bewilderment and Brady shrugged and said, "If I knew she was going to end up like this, I would've said something sooner."

They teleported to Conner and Samantha's house just as the last of their possessions were being loaded into their van. There was no moving van in sight and as Brady peered into the windows, he saw most of their things were being left behind. They were leaving fast. "Maybe if you're there, you can help explain things," Cadence said as she dragged Barry to the van. "How we had to keep everything a secret, I mean."

"Right. Got it." Barry nodded in agreement.

Brady stopped at the back of the van and leaned over to look inside. He saw Conner's baseball caps, soccer shoes, and soccer ball tucked neatly into a box and frowned. "Conner?" He called. There was a shuffling sound and Conner's head popped up from the backseat, eyes bloodshot and holding onto his phone.

"Hey," Conner greeted then sniffed loudly. "What are you doing here?" He lifted himself up and climbed over the backseat into the trunk of the car, scooting forward until his legs dangled out the back. He spotted Barry and Cadence and smiled a little. "Hi, Miss. Nash. Hi, Mr. Allen."

"Hey sweetie," Cadence greeted him warmly. "Is your mom still around? I wanted to talk to her?'

"Cadence." Samantha's voice came coolly from behind her and she and Barry turned to face her. Samantha folded her arms after putting down a box of plates. "You have a lot of nerve coming here," she said. "Or should I say, 'you have a lot of nerve teleporting here'."

Cadence winced. "I know you're mad," she said. "About the whole Flare thing, but you need to know I kept that a secret for a reason. I couldn't have anyone around me get hurt if they knew."

"Then you and Oliver are more alike than I thought," Samantha said. "You keep secrets so well that it does nothing but keep hurting everyone around you. And now, because of you, Conner's been through something so traumatic that we have to leave Central City."

"Look, this wasn't something that we could just come out and say," Barry said. "Having to keep that secret is really important to keep the people we love safe. Yes, every now and then things will happen, but everything we do is to keep everyone safe. You have to believe that. Oliver, too."

"Oliver's been nothing but selfish since I met him…"

Brady turned away from the conversation and looked at his best friend once more. "Your mom's angry," he said matter-of-fact.

"And I thought she was mad when I accidentally turned all her clothes pink," Conner said. He sniffed and wiped at his nose. "So…what are you doing here?" He nodded towards his mother. "It looks like you and your mom aren't fighting anymore. That's good."

"Yeah, I apologized. She didn't know you guys were leaving."

"I think my mom was too mad to say anything to her. She blames her and Oliver for what happened and…and why we have to leave."

"And Barry blames himself."

Conner looked confused. "I know he's The Flash, but I don't think Barry had much to do with this. He didn't know mom as well as Oliver and your mom do."

"That's…a long story," Brady said. "So…do you know where you're going?"

"Yeah, but I can't say. Everything has to be secret."

"Can we still talk to each other?"

"Not on the phone. I have to change my number and everything. Mom says it might be too dangerous. I don't get it, though. How can talking on the phone or you knowing where I live be dangerous?" He sighed. "I guess she thinks metas are going to come after us or something. I don't know." He suddenly perked up. "But she doesn't know about our Instagram account or that we're trying to find other metas. I can still help with that!"

"Yeah!" But the excitement in Brady's voice didn't match his face. "So, uh, have you said goodbye to anyone else?"

Conner blushed. "Leah and Alicia were here earlier to say goodbye." Then he noticed the look on Brady's face and said, "Alicia's not so bad. She just likes things to be a particular way…" he paused. "All the time. But otherwise, she's not that bad. We had fun at her Halloween party."

"Only because she gave away great goodie bags," Brady commented. "And I had to leave early to stop that meta."

"But that was cool, too," Conner said. "I saw the footage on TV that night. But Black Blade was there, too?"

"That's a long story," Brady said with a roll of his eyes. "And I don't think we have enough time to talk about it." He looked over to his mother, who was still speaking to Barry and Samantha, but with a softer expression on their faces. "So, um." He kicked at the ground, watching as a rock skidded under a nearby car, disappearing in the shadows of night. "I just wanted to say I was sorry, about making you so mad before."

"You didn't make me mad," Conner said. "I was just mad about leaving so soon. I didn't think mom would've found a new house so fast. And I'm going to miss everything here. My house, Central City, all my friends, metahumans…" He twisted his mouth to the side. "It's not going to be the same."

"I know," Brady agreed. "Now I'll be stuck with two girls to hang out with and unlike my mom, I don't really like to shop so much."

"There's nothing wrong with hanging out with girls."

"I know, Leah's cool. I'm just…I don't know, I guess I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too."

There was a sharp slam sound that made Brady and Conner both jump. Brady looked up to see Samantha had just closed the door to the house and was locking it. She placed the keys under the mat and walked down the front steps towards the van, looking through a few more keys.

"Well, I guess it's time to go," Conner said in a low mumbled. Brady nodded back and took a step back from the van. "I'll try to talk to you as soon as I can. Let me do it first, because I don't know if you'll get in trouble if you call me or whatever."

"Okay."

Conner jumped down from the van and went to Cadence. "Bye Miss. Nash. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Cadence gave him a hug and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too." Conner smiled as Barry reached out and ruffled his hair. Then he turned to Brady and held out a small notepad. "Here. It's all of the information I wrote about the metas you guys have come across. I can do some more when I watch the news coverage."

"Thanks." Brady took it from him and held it tightly in his hand. "Bye."

"Bye."

Conner gave a small smile and nod before climbing into the back of the van and closed the door behind him. Brady stepped back onto the sidewalk and watched as Conner flipped back over the seat and buckled up so that Samantha could drive away. He waved until the van pulled out of sight before turning to press his face against his mother's shoulder, doing his best to keep back his tears. He felt his mother gently running her fingers through his hair as she comforted him.

"You'll see him again, Brady," Barry reassured him. "Things like this always have a way of working out."

"I know," Brady agreed.

He continued to hold his mother for a few more minutes, until the bulk of his sadness passed. He wasn't going to cry, but it was going to hurt for a long time. Having his best friend around to help him with metahumans was the best part of having powers. What was he going to do now without him around?

"Can we just go home?" Brady sighed, taking a step back. He started to say something else when he noticed Barry's head suddenly whip around, eyes shifting back and forth. "What?" Barry continued to look around, his head turning this way and that.

"Barry, what's wrong?" Cadence asked. She reached out her hand to take his wrist. The moment she touched him, he was suddenly lifted off his feet and into the air. Barry gasped, bringing his hands up to grab his neck while Cadence and Brady let out yelps of shocked surprise. "Barry!"

"What's going on?" Brady asked.

"I don't know."

Barry struggled to get out a response, but his windpipe was crushed too far. His eyes frantically darted from Cadence and Brady to the figure in front of him. The tall, mechanical figure dressed head to toe in a silver suit with blue glowing from the inside. It reminded him of the transformer toys he used to play with when he was young, moving mechanically in a way he hadn't expected.

Its hand tightened around Barry's neck as the seconds passed. "You may serve the Speed Force Flash," its mechanical voice rasped. Its voice swirled around in and out of Barry's ears, almost taunting him. "But I rule it. You're only a man, but I am a God. Your God." He threw Barry hard to the ground.

Barry yelped in pain as his body collided with the ground. He rolled onto his side and did his best to push himself up to his knees. Gravel dug into his arm, knees, and palms, blood already trickling from some puncture wounds from the road rash—the speed of his body skidding over the ground.

Before he could get himself back up, the speedster was in front of him once more. Again, he grabbed onto Barry's neck and lifted him into the air.

With that, Savitar streaked out of the neighborhood and in seconds he was in front of the CCPD, being hefted to the ground. In the next second, he as in the harbor district, being thrown into the statue standing in the middle of the fountain. His body broke it with the ease of Savitar's throw, and even before he hit the ground, Savitar had grabbed his arm and punched him in the face.

Then with a swing of his arms, Savitar lifted Barry up and when he was slammed straight to the ground it was grassy. A park area just outside of Central City. He could see STAR Labs looming in the distance. Coughing hard, blood splattered out of Barry's mouth, dribbling down his chin as he painfully rolled to his back.

With each deep breath, pain shot through his body. His ribs were broken, he could feel it every time he moved. He was sure he damaged his back from how slowly his legs shifted up and down, working hard to get back to his feet. His arm couldn't handle his weight, his wrist was broken, eyes bruised shut.

Then Savitar was above him once more, blue eyes boring into his. He knelt on Barry's arms, holding him still. Savitar clasped his hands together and brought them up above his head.

"I am Savitar."

Barry barely got a chance to release another breath before everything went black.

A/N: Well, things certainly are heating up for everyone now. With the arrival of Killer Frost and Savitar all in one chapter. There has to be some good moment soon, right? Right. Things won't always be so dramatic. But I'm excited for you guys to see what I'm going to do with Killer Frost and Savitar as the story goes on.

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

Review Replies

Ethan: Nope, only two Wells. It would've taken too much time to differentiate HR, Harry, and Harrison to make sure they each got their time to shine when having two of them was easier. So Harry is gone, for now, and HR is there. I actually already really like writing HR. It's always so fun for him to be a bit of an annoyance to everyone.

Laura: Hope this was a good start for you for Savitar. There's more with him coming.

Guest: No, just HR and Harrison.

DarkHelm145: I'm an anime fan myself (though I haven't had much time to watch as of late) and usually take a lot of inspiration from anime as well as comic books for my Flash stories so there's a lot that I pull from. Glad you liked Black Blade.

Yummers: We had a great Christmas, actually. Hope yours was as good. Thank you for taking the time to review as always.