Friction

by DarkElements10

SEQUEL TO FUEL TO THE FIRE. Barry thought saving his mom would fix his life; but Flashpoint made things worse. His best friend is doomed to die. Cadence thought she could handle the Assassination Bureau's plan. But what's harder; your rival being your best friend or knowing the impending destruction of the world is your fault? -S3- Barry/OC

29. Strike A Pose (3)

29

Strike A Pose

---

Releasing the elastic of the slingshot, Brady let loose the piece of ammo he had aimed at Music Meister. The man was then away in a flash of lightning and the piece of ammo flew through nothing. Figures. He wouldn't stand still long enough to get an idea of what sort of power he'd shoot out. Music Meister clearly was having too much fun with Barry's and Kara's powers.

Acting fast, Brady flipped his slingshot into its bow staff mode and began to circle, waiting for a sign of Music Meister. He got an early warning from the gust of wind coming up behind him and swung accordingly. He'd experienced Barry coming and going so often, he'd almost developed a sixth sense for it. Much like others being able to sense a storm coming.

Brady was halfway through his arch of trajectory when his body jarred to a stop. The motion caused him to loosen his grip on the staff, just to stay standing, and next thing he knew it was whisked from his hands. A hard yank that reverberated in his shoulders, his shoulder joints screaming in pain from the sudden and harsh movement.

Brady looked up just as his staff landed at the far end of the street. Then his gaze shifted back to the man who stood an inch or two from him, grinning away. He wasn't that much taller than him, but Brady still had to tilt his head back look up the smug face above him.

"That all you got big man? Over a year of training for that?" Music Meister sighed dramatically as he stepped back giving Brady room to act. "I mean come on! Where's the Shadowhunter that took on Metallo or helped stop the Meta-apocalypse? Geomancer?! 'Cause if you're not him, then you might as well send out the Breacher and the Ice Queen." A hand shot up to cover his mouth, the tips of three fingers resting on his lips. "Oops, sorry. Is that a touch subject?"

Brady glared from beneath his hood, readying himself as he began to build up the energy he needed for his attack. "Don't talk about my friends like that," snarled the young boy before unleashing a ball of black energy right into Music Meister's chest. The force of the blow sent him into a nearby lamp post. The post then gave way to Music Meister and his strength, snapping like a tooth pick. The blow smacked him into a building before he dropped to the sidewalk with the broken post.

"Were you always able to do that?" Brady looked over to see Deity leaning on her arms, holding herself up as she lay on the street. Brady smiled. She appeared to be getting back to normal. He then caught sight of his mother, leaning against a wall as she finished healing off. Then their eyes connected, and within seconds she was by his side.

"You need to get out of here right now." Brady had been ordered by his mom before. He'd been ordered to tidy his room, do his homework, and clean the dishes after a bit of procrastination on it. But he couldn't remember the last time he'd been told to leave or run. Not since his powers started developing at the very least.

"What?" Brady gaped in pure confusion. Cadence practically ignored him and turned to Deity.

"Are you good to get him out of here?"

"Just give me a sec-"

"We don't have a second," Cadence snapped as Deity climbed up to her feet, Brady moved to assist her, seeing her struggle. He hadn't seen her so weak before. He'd heard about her ability to power up Kryptonians from his mom and Barry but now he was seeing what really happened when they used it. Even his mom didn't look as bad when she and Barry combined forces.

Brady opened his mouth to speak, about to calm his mother down when they heard a groan. Music Meister was back on his feet, rubbing his head. He groaned painfully, similar to that of a child with a tummy ache.

"Take Deity and get out of here," Cadence ordered once more as she began to move towards Music Meister.

"But Mom-"

"I said go!" Cadence snapped breaking into a dead-sprint towards Music Meister.

But Brady didn't run. Instead he held Deity, her arm wrapped around his shoulders, and both watched Cadence as she threw her arms out to her sides. Two streams of fire erupted before suddenly cutting off at the end, as they extended to well over a meter in length. The flames then morphed into what Brady recognized as swords and he saw Cadence's feet begin to glow as her speed increased. Then with a burst of fire from her feet, like a rocket, she blasted into the air. Her arms joined above her head, as did the two swords, and the flames skyrocketed into biggest flame sword Brady had ever seen his mother use. She brought down her arms as she fell towards the ground and the flames threatened to slice the building in two before they vanished from the sky.

Next thing Brady knew, his mother was on the ground, Music Meister standing over her. Seemingly sound asleep. "Mom!" Brady called out, but she didn't move.

"Brady…Move!" Before Brady could he found himself being shoved aside by Deity as Music Meister came up to them in another flash.

His fist in pre-swing as he stopped, only to then collide with Deity and send her off into a nearby car. Brady once again prepared to use another shadow ball but found his wrists in the Meister's grasp before he could. Instinct then kicked in before his training and Brady phased out of Music Meister's grasp only to then be blown down by a harsh gust of wind. It had been the Meister, only he'd just breathed out like Brady did when he was tired.

"Quite the bag of tricks you got there," declared Music Meister as he crouched down next to Brady. "Mind if I borrow some?"

Brady went to phase but found himself sudden frozen, hypnotized by the man's eyes as subtle waves of blue passed over his irises. "I think it's someone's bed time." Brady struggled to keep from falling into Music Meister's soothing voice. He was overcome with the need to sleep suddenly. Much like when he was a young child trying and failing to stay up on New Year's, easily drifting away before the clock struck twelve.

"Yeah, yours." Music Mesiter broke his connection with Brady, ready to steal his powers, only to find the street post he'd crashed into being swung directly at him. He was so delightfully surprised that he didn't think to move and the post hit him straight on, sending him flying like a baseball into the distance.

The clattering of the street light followed as Brady found himself pulled into a sitting up position, his head resting against his mother's lap. "Brady. Brady are you okay?" Cadence quick asked, brushing her son's hair from his face as his dazed eyes looked back up at her.

Brady yawned quietly. He reached up a hand to rub the fatigue from his eyes. "I think I'm a little old for you to be carrying me…" Brady yawned out, his mother's laugh waking him up ever so slightly.

---

Music Meister never came back to the fight after his slam to the face. Cadence suspected it was by choice. She knew her own strength and there was no way she would have been able to send someone with Kryptonian strength flying that far. Far enough. But not that far. It had been like something out of a cartoon, where he just flew off as if gravity barely applied to his form. She was surprised a long whistle didn't accompany his trajectory before the sound of an almighty slam of his body hitting the ground.

There was little doubt that had been deliberate, that the Music Meister had been putting it on as part of a show. Throughout the fight he showed he was having a bit too much fun with the whole thing. To the point he nearly cackled with glee each time he saw a glimpse of their powers. With the flight ability he stole from Kara, he probably continued the flight path Cadence had started him on when she hit him with the street post.

Of course, that hadn't stopped Cadence from worrying as she tried to hold Brady up and look for Deity at the same time. Like it or not, her son wasn't as young, short, or light as he used to be. (No matter how many times she waved off his moments of falling onto her of wanting to be held by saying he was 'too heavy' and he'd counter with 'you can pick up a car'). He was growing up, though apparently not quickly enough, since he still needed to lean on his mother.

Then again, he was only eleven, she should give him a break for that.

After finding and retrieving Deity, Cadence took them back to STAR Labs, landing in a heap on the floor after a puff of smoke. Typically, she could land on her feet, or in what Cisco dubbed a 'superhero kneel' but typically she didn't carry two other people with her as she went.

"How is everyone?" Caitlin asked as she descended on the group, like the caring friend and doctor she was.

Cadence offered a smile to her best friend as Caitlin helped her up. Even without that short movement, Caitlin's eyes roved over Cadence with a keen eye, looking for any sign of injury. Alex appeared to be doing the same for Deity, as Kara and Win crowded around her, and Barry and Cisco were equally as quick to help Brady.

"I've had worse fights," Cadence sighed, stretching as Caitlin moved to let her stand on her own.

"That have had better results," Barry pointed out. Cadence fought the urge to glare at him for the very unhelpful remark. Instead, she walked over to check on Brady who had been forced into a chair, still yawning slightly.

"He's got a point," Cisco pointed out. This time, it drew the ire of Cadence's frustrated glance.

Caitlin immediately jumped in before anyone could start arguing. Either she was able to sense the temperature in the air grow around her friend or else she was sensitive to the dire situation they were in. "So, we've a had a plan that didn't work out. It at least gave us more of an idea of what Music Meister. wants to do."

"How do you figure?" J'onn asked, eyeing her closely.

Caitlin swallowed hard, suddenly feeling all eyes turn to her. "Well, uh, we know he's not trying to rob any banks for the money. He's not trying to steal any cars. So his motivations aren't material-driven. And if he was trying to get any revenge on Barry or Kara, he'd be trying to find them even without their powers." She shrugged. "That gives us a few ideas of what he's not doing, thus giving us a better idea of what it is he is doing."

"Which is?" Winn prompted.

Caitlin tapped her cheek with her fingers. "I'm not sure yet." Barry and Kara exchanged disappointed glances while Alex shook her head. "But we'll figure it out." She cast the de-powered superheroes a meaningful glance. "I promise we'll get your powers back."

"Thanks, Caitlin," Kara said quietly. She sighed heavily, folding her arms over her chest. In moment's like that, when it seemed that there was nothing that could be done, she'd take off and start flying. Now she was grounded. In more ways than one.

Cadence then turned her attention back to Brady. A stern, motherly expression came to her eyes as she reached up to pull down her goggles. Brady's lower jaw moved to the side and he looked away, tapping his fingertips together. "Mind telling me what you were doing out there?" Cadence folded her arms, looking at him closely. "'Cause I'm pretty sure I told you to stay behind."

"But I helped," Brady began to argue, flipping off his hood. Unfortunately, his pointed was undermined by the sudden croak in his voice. His checks turned a mild red, as if someone had turned on a lightbulb inside his mouth, embarrassment forcing him to lower his head.

Cadence allowed herself a small smile, shaking her head. She knew Brady helped and was more than proud of it. She wasn't telling him he shouldn't have gone just because he was her son. No, she thought he should be out in the field more often. It was the bigger picture he wasn't grasping. "Doesn't matter, you shouldn't have been out there."

"Things weren't going well, Cade," Caitlin said gently. She bobbed her head, ringlets bouncing around her face. "You needed help."

"It was a hard judgement call we had to make," Cisco added.

Cadence turned her gaze to her friends. "Was it your judgement?" She asked pointedly. Caitlin and Cisco exchanged a glance. She tilted her head in the opposite direction. "Or Barry's?"

Barry shook his head. "Cade, I'm sorry, but I had to make the call, he needed to be out there." Cadence opened his mouth but he quickly combatted her unsaid offense with, "I know you want him to be safe—"

"—That has nothing to do with it," Cadence swiftly defended herself. She pointed at him. "Because if that were the case, you'd try to keep him safe, too, and he wouldn't have gone." Even Brady had to silently agree it was true. Barry's face twitched, hurt from the accusation. "This guy stole your powers, Barry."

"I know, that."

"-And you think it's going to help anyone if he steals Brady's too? I don't know if you've noticed, but Brady has the capability of being a strong meta because he's invulnerable. If he works hard enough nothing can hurt him." It was one of the things about his powers she liked the most. She didn't have to worry about him. The part she liked the least was him constantly walking through walls like Casper-the-freaking-friendly-ghost. "He can be unstoppable. Do you want Music Meister to have that ability?" Barry pressed his lips together. "But I guess that doesn't matter now, you made the call. I mean, it is 'Team Flash', right?"

Silence hung between Team Flash as Cadence silently dared him to prove her wrong. As for team Supergirl, they were all staying well out of the argument. Mostly due to stunned confusion. Four of them hiding out in the corner next to the suit mannequins while J'onn stood by himself across the room, working to figure out what Caitlin had been on to.

But Kara, in particular, was looking back and forth between Barry and Cadence. They were supposed to be a team, best friends, partners in every sense of the word… Even when they didn't agree over how to deal with Ragdoll last time they were in Central City the arguing never got this bad. This was…different. Something happened with them.

Barry took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair to steady himself. "Look," Barry started.

"Don't 'look' me," Cadence interrupted. "I already know what you're going to say."

Barry's lips pursed. His eyes flashed. Even without his powers there was a storm brewing in his eyes. His chest rose and fell with each deep breath he took, working to steady himself. He hadn't let her say much in her own explanation, now must've been a sense of karma back at him. Some sort of karmic revenge that was finally starting to come to a head.

"What am I going to say?" Barry asked, finally managing to keep himself steady. Able to speak.

"The same thing you always do, Barry. That we're a team. That we have to trust each other. That we have to rely on each other. And that sometimes it means someone's got to make tough decisions when the time comes. And the rest of us just have to follow along with it and support those decisions all because you're the leader." She turned back to Brady, who's eyes widened at seeing he hadn't been forgotten. Barry's question brought her back once more.

"Are you saying I don't support you?" He asked.

"You said it, not me."

Barry's eyes widened while Cisco and Winn both 'oohed' beneath their breath. Brady even grimaced before getting up from his seat and slowly inched his way toward Caitlin. Anything to be away from drawing his mother's ire. Or fire. Whichever was less painful.

"When I have I not supported you?" Barry snapped. His voice was loud, angry that she'd imply such a thing.

"Oh, come on, Barry." Cadence rolled her eyes. Caitlin started to speak up, but then cut herself off. She could see just from looking at her best friend that there was nothing that'd keep the brewing storm from unleashing. A hurricane that'd slowly been growing. Caitlin had sat and listened to every grievance Cadence had to say since her breakup with Barry and had seen how it was affecting her. Maybe it was time for things to be let out.

"I have been nothing but supportive since—" Barry's voice wavered when he noticed the silent focus on him. He glanced over every face in the room, wincing when he landed on J'onn's hard stare. The man was more intimidating than Joe when he was giving his 'dad-look'. Even Cadence, in the midst of the argument, took a second to see what was happening. His voice trailed off, becoming whispery when he tried to apologize, to change the subject.

His voice then vanished, his train of thought ceasing as his knees shook. All before buckling completely. Luckily Cadence spotted the obvious outcome and closed the space between them, catching him before he could hit the ground. She was angry at him, but the last thing she needed was for him to injure himself faceplanting. Without his powers, it'd probably have broken his nose.

"Barry!" the room cried, the members of team flashing rushing over to help him before a famine groan sounded from the corner.

"Kara?" said Alex as Cadence looked from Barry's unconscious body in her arms, to Kara's unconscious body in Alex's arms. She'd fallen at just the same time Barry had, obviously struggling with the same ailment. Whatever it was that Music Mesiter had done was hurting them more than the others thought.

"What's happening to her?" Winn asked as he began looking her over, checking her for a pulse as Alex held her up. He carefully, gently moving her hair back from her face, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

Alex shook her head. She had no idea, other than one of the more obvious ones. "Maybe it's all the Kryptonite around here," Alex said with a glare over to Cadence.

"For God sake." Cadence was tired of having to keep everything inside, just as tired she was of having to repeatedly explain herself. "I explained, it's just for emergencies!" Cadence shot at the D.E.O. agent.

"Tell that to my sister!"

"I'll give you something to tell her if you don't-"

"Enough!" J'onn's voice boomed over the room as over half the occupants jumped at his sudden outburst. "You want to argue, you do it on your own time. We've got two unconscious heroes here that need medical attention, might I suggest we make sure they're alright before any of you proceed with any further childish arguing?" While most of the room silently agreed, Cadence and Alex continued to glare heatedly at one another. J'onn cleared his throat and turned a considerably kinder voice to Caitlin as he asked, "Dr Snow, would you mind seeing to Kara and Mr. Allen?"

"Of course," Caitlin said as she led the way into the medical bay. Winn and Deity following with Kara and Cisco and Brady not too far behind with Barry.

"This is not over," Alex snarled at Cadence before marching off into the medical bay after the others, while Cadence remained in the room.

Alone.

A surprising reflection on how she currently felt.

---

With a childlike pout the Music Meister sat alone at the corner table of Jitters. With one hand, he dejectedly stirred his straw in his Zoom. What was the point of having this place to go to, to hang out, when there was no one to hang out with? It seemed like Barry and the others would use it as a place to get their daily fix. It should've been an obvious place to meet up. He'd gone there after leaping away from Flare, Shadowhunter and Deity. He could have easily defeated them, what with Flash and Supergirl's powers, plus the boost, but he felt he'd made his point.

And yet his lover was nowhere in sight.

That was the whole reason for all this. To put on a show, to attract his lover like a moth with an enchanting flame. To put their plan in action. But still he was nowhere in sight. It almost made Music Meister think everything he'd done up to this point was pointless. Maybe he should have gone with the dream musical idea, even though his lover said he disliked the idea. Probably just playing hard to get like he always did. But that was why Music Meister had put on this show, to prove he was just as bad and lethal as he was adorable.

He'd hoped his performance with the heroes would have been enough. Apparently, he needed to do more. The powers weren't enough, showing them off wasn't enough. Another showdown ought to do it. But he'd need somewhere big and open, somewhere more public this time. If only that Flash Museum had been built, that would have been an excellent place to put on a show. Alas it didn't exist yet, so a new venue he would have to choose.

But which one?

STAR Labs? Not public enough.

CCPD? Too many guns, fuss and people trying to ruin the show. Perhaps young Brady's school? No, too many alarms and distractions. Maybe somewhere on Earth 38? Cat Co. Madam Grant always loved a good show and story. Though she had been lacking love in the more recent years, making her more angry and bitter, at least on the outside.

Plus, Music Meister thought. The Cat Grant here is a bit more a ditz than I'd ever call anyone. How she manages to get anything done, I'm surprised. Still stirring his Zoom, Music Meister tapped his fingers against his lips.

This was definitely going to take some thought. And he needed it to be perfect too, otherwise he'd lose his only chance at true love, much like the broken Barry and Cadence. Such a shame. They had such promise. But while their relationship was at its end, his was about to flourish like a beautiful summer rose. Assuming he could just get his lover to listen to him.

Besides, they were only strong when they were together. And there were some things Team Flash and Team Supergirl needed to know.

---

Once Barry and Kara were set up in the medical bay, one by one the others began to filter back into the Cortex, leaving Caitlin to do her work. Alex remained inside, assisting where she could, seeing as she had the most experience tending to her sister when she was injured. For that reason alone, Cadence reminded in the Cortex. She would have helped but couldn't see her and Alex working without starting another argument.

They clearly weren't destined to get along. During their initial meeting Alex didn't take lightly of Cadence's dropping out of her residency due to her new focus on stopping metahumans. And, just as Oliver had to do for Team Flash, Cadence's words to show Team Supergirl that things weren't always happy and fun with metas and other villains wasn't received well either. Not that Cadence didn't know what being overprotective was. For the first years of Brady's life, she was practically a junk yard dog over anyone that came too close him.

She could see where the D.E.O. agent was coming from, but like Barry she refused to listen to her side of the story. Alex wouldn't let her explain about how Kryptonite had helped them in the field and ultimately saved lives. Not that Cadence completely blamed Alex for her reaction, if there was something out there that could hurt any of her friends like Kryptonite did to Kara then she'd want it gone. But Kara wasn't always on their Earth, Superman was, and sometimes they did needed Kryptonite. And Alex had obviously never given much thought to her sister turning evil, or being mind-controlled, unlike Cadence and even Oliver. That was why when he asked for a sample of Kryptonite Team Flash had given it to him.

It was why Bruce and Clark were the ones who had suggested it to them. The last time Barry, Cisco, Brady, and Cadence had been there at Clark's call, they had taken Barry and Cadence aside to give them the Kryptonite. Bruce had said it was of dire importance if the time ever came, that they had the means of subduing Clark if he got out of control. Barry looked at Clark with a confused expression, not understanding why he was going along with it.

"It's for the best," Clark reassured him. "If anything goes wrong, then I'll need to be taken down. And I trust Bruce's decision to have you be one of the ones who holds the power to stop me."

"My grant towards STAR Labs to further their research on metahumans includes Clark here," Bruce said. "I've done as much research on him that I can, but I know you have higher caliber machines and technology I couldn't come close to." He looked at Clark, who nodded, and Bruce reached into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out a tiny green bullet.

Immediately, Clark stepped away from Bruce, pressing a hand to his stomach, as all the veins in his body started to glow a bright green.

"My suggestion," Bruce said. He continued to hold out the bullet, making a point, before finally closing his palm and sticking it back in his pocket. "Is to create weaponry of some sort. Something he can't easily defeat." He looked at Clark, who slowly regained his breathing, his veins returning to a translucent blue.

Clark nodded back. "I'm okay," he said.

Cadence tapped her fist against a closed palm as she continued to pace. None of this was because they feared Kara, quite the opposite. They got along with her easily. But Cadence had developed a need for a backup plan and a worst case scenario plan too. Not just due to what Clark and Bruce had said. But in general. For everyone she came across. Another reason they kept the Kryptonite around.

At the sound of Caitlin's voice and footsteps, Cadence looked up to see her friend stood in the doorway to the medical bay, tablet in hand. "Guys, this isn't good," Caitlin began, swiping across the tablet as she spoke, continuously rechecking her work. "The speed force levels in Barry's cells have been seriously depleted, as has the solar radiation in Kara's."

"What, exactly, does that mean?" J'onn asked, stepping towards Caitlin.

"They're being drained." Caitlin closed her eyes, as if it were too painful for her to admit. Too painful for her to admit that everything she was trying…nothing was working. The most she could do was run tests and…run more tests. Without more information on Music Meister, they were stuck up the creek without a paddle. "Music Meister is literally stealing their powers. Not just that he took them, but that they're being drained from their DNA. That's what caused the dizziness, that's why they both passed out. Think of it like draining blood. Take too much-"

"-And the body begins to crash," Cisco finished. Caitlin agreed with a silent nod.

"So are they in danger…could they die?" Winn asked nervously, as worry consumed him.

"At this stage I wouldn't think so," Caitlin said soothingly as she stepped over to the IT boy, rubbing his arm. At least she could help there. "But if we don't stop this soon it may be impossible to reverse. Barry may permanently lose his connection to the speed force and Kara, her ability to absorb solar radiation."

"So, why don't Mom, and Debby just charge them up again?" Brady suggested. "They've done it before, it could work now."

Caitlin hesitated. She chewed her lower lip, the classic sign she was worrying about something. Finally, she let out a long breath and admitted, "Even if Debby was in a state to do so, we think all that extra power would just go to Music Meister. It…might even speed up the process."

A collective groan of frustration shot through the Cortex at the revelation. "So all we need to do is find Music Meister and beat him until he gives back their powers," suggested Winn, a scowl coming to his face. "Dibs on the first punch."

"Can you even throw a punch?" Cisco asked with a sideways glance to Winn.

"Shut up."

"And is that really the best idea you can come up with? I thought you were the brains behind the team, like me?" The whole room opened their mouths to object, but Cisco continued regardless, motioning to the medical bay as he did. "I mean, I know she's your girlfriend, man, but—"

Winn immediately started to stammer out a response, his eyes flying as wide as they could go. "—Oh, no, we're not, uh, why would you think—we're not together…no…"

"It's complicated," J'onn remarked, his voice taking on a tone that proved he wasn't happy with the way the conversation turned. Wasn't happy with the way any of the events since Kara's losing her powers had gone. Setback after setback and losing sight of what was important.

"Complicated?" HR announced his presence as he entered the Cortex. Cisco did all he could to keep from visibly recoiling at the sound of HR's voice. "That's not complicated. Complicated is having to work together with your ex in and out of the field, huh, Candace? But we won't mention that breakup, huh?" The conscious members of Team Supergirl looked to Cadence.

She rolled her eyes. This wasn't the time to deal with this, she had to shove it aside and keep them on track. "Okay, so we fought this guy. And he didn't get the rest of our powers," Cadence said with a wave of her hand, effectively getting HR's attention. He seemed excited at the prospect of returning to a new meta crime to deal with. "But how come? He used that…" she wiggled her fingers. "Eye voodoo thing on me and Brady. After that I was out like a light. Brady would have been too if I hadn't woken up and stopped Music Meister."

"Music Meister," HR repeated curiously. "That's not a bad name." Everyone ignored his statement, though Cisco couldn't help but continue to shake his head at the name.

"So you think he got Kara and Barry's powers…because they were a sleep?" Alex asked as she emerged from the medical bay, standing alongside Caitlin.

"It has to have something to do with it," Cadence insisted. Her voice was low, eyes shifting as she mentally moved through all the information they'd come to receive. The circumstances around their powers leaving them. "Why else would he try and put me and Brady to sleep?"

"And when he was using his eye thing on me, he said something about 'borrowing my bag of tricks'," Brady explained. He slowly connected the dots in his head. "I think he was talking about my powers," he explained.

"But he didn't use the, 'eye voodoo', as you so eloquently put it—" Cisco said with a look to Cadence as, as both screwed up their faces at one other. "—on either Barry or Kara. They were…they were naturally asleep."

"But that would mean he can take any of our powers the second we fall asleep," Deity pointed out from her chair. Worried looks passed around the room. "And he can make any of fall asleep when he wants to." She'd managed to get out unscathed but it didn't mean he wasn't coming in to get her powers as well. If he could charge himself…?

"Alright." Cadence rubbed her forehead. She was already tired of this. "We need to find this guy. Now. And before any of us start getting sleepy."

"Agreed, question is how?" prompted J'onn as he thought aloud.

"I can go over to CCPD," Cadence suggested. Different ideas were already shooting through her head. Unfortunately, part of her remembered Captain Singh was waiting for some reports from her, but their current state was much more important. "See if anyone like this has shown up before."

"And then you could ask some of your underworld contacts," Cisco suggested with a forced smile. Cadence looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I can't be the only one thinking it," he defended it. "It's helpful, but I can't be the only one thinking it."

"That would take too long," J'onn declared. "Even with your teleporting everything would still take time. Too much time to be in two places at once." He thought for a moment then glanced at Cisco. "Do you know your way around CCPD?"

"Uh-huh," Cisco nodded. "Got myself a badge and everything."

"Right, you and I will go to CCPD and see what we can find out."

"And I'll have a word with some of my contacts," Cadence added to which J'onn nodded in agreement.

"But how are you going to get into CCPD?" Cisco asked. "Even with my badge—"

"—We get it, Uncle Cisco, you have a badge," Brady broke in.

Cisco ignored him. "-They don't just let anyone walk in and start looking through classified files. I mean, c'mon, they're a respected place of work."

J'onn smirked, "I'm good with impersonations," was all he said before nodding to the rest of the group and walking out.

"Good with impersonations?" Cisco shouted, his voice carrying as he followed after the man. "What does that mean?!"

"You'll find out," Winn called smugly after him.

"I'm really starting to hate people from Earth 38," Cisco grumbled on his way out.

"I'll leave you guys to monitor Barry and Kara and watch the city in case Music Meister shows up again," Cadence declared as she turned to the remaining members of both teams. "And you two," Cadence said looking to Deity and Brady with two authoritative fingers extended at them. "You, don't go near Music Meister unless you absolutely have to," she said to Brady who nodded. "And you don't fight him alone," she said to Deity, before then vanishing in her trademark puff of smoke.

---

Barry sighed, his eyes fluttering open. A sharp pain shot through his head. The lights swirled around his vision, making him close them once more. What happened? Oh, right. His powers were gone, he couldn't hold himself up…couldn't…couldn't defend himself. Couldn't do anything more than sit back and watch as the people he cared about put themselves in the line of fire just to keep him and Kara safe.

Even without powers, everything was his fault. Barry let out a quiet sigh, before jerking backwards, feeling something press against his eyelid before it was pulled back. Once. Then the other. Then back to the first. Barry reached up and pushed the hand away, blinking open his eyes to see Brady standing above him.

"Oh." Brady smiled. "You're awake."

Barry looked at him incredulously before bringing up the palms of his hands to rub his eyes. He sat up, rubbing at his temples to work away his splitting headache, then swung his legs to the floor. His muscles immediately tensed, seeing Kara on the bed next to him, remembering everything that was going on. The medical bay was too quiet.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Everything's fine."

Barry got off the bed, holding himself up for a second, fending off the head rush he received for standing up too fast. He pushed himself forward and started to leave the medical bay. Brady trotted along with him, almost without a care in the world. "Where is everyone?"

"Mom went to find some people who may know who the Music Meister is," Brady relayed. "Cisco and J'onn went to the CCPD to see if they could find anything." Barry winced at the mention of his former job. That still bothered him more than anything else, that he had to be forced into quitting his job. It was a good reason, he had to protect Caitlin. But to give up his life's work…? He shook his head, fending off the negative thoughts that'd managed to plague him. "Caitlin's still checking your guys' levels, Winn is working on my suit, Alex is…well, Alex is mad, Deity's bored, I think she just wants to fight, and Kara's still asleep."

Barry smiled at Brady's relay of information as the two continued to walk through STAR Labs. Barry wasn't going anywhere in particular, just wandering around. It was what he had to do if he didn't have his powers, he needed to move. To go anywhere. It seemed that the Pipeline, the belly of the beast that was STAR Labs, was his place of choice, finding his eyes drawn over multiple empty pods as they went along.

Empty of the metas they'd managed to capture over the years, ones that had been released for numerous reasons and circumstances. One step forward, two steps back.

"Are you doing okay?" Brady asked, still walking along beside Barry, looking up at him. Barry glanced back, surprised to realize he didn't need to look as far down as he used to. "I mean, are you hurt or anything?"

"No," Barry replied with a heavy sigh. "I'm just frustrated."

"Is that why you don't like my mom?"

The question threw Barry off-guard. It was worked so seamlessly into the conversation and Brady's eyes were continued to be filled with innocence that Barry sometimes wondered if he was much smarter than any of them knew. "Of course, I like your mom."

"But you're mad. So's she. And the way you guys fight I'd think you didn't like each other anymore." He paused. "I mean, I know you're not getting married or anything but you still love each other right."

"I guess."

"How do you know?"

"Because…" Barry took in a deep breath through his nose.

He stopped as he thought about it, realizing only a second later it was the pod he'd been put in when he wanted to fight Zoom. When the rest of the team had been so scared of him that they felt they had no choice but to put him inside. When Barry wanted nothing more than to tear down the one that tore his life apart as simply as ripping a piece of paper apart.

She was the one who had immediately defended him against the others, despite being as afraid of him as the others were. She hadn't said it out loud, but he could see it in her face, in her eyes, when she'd stopped him from racing after Zoom simply by restraining his hand, not letting him run after the taunts. They were a team.

"Because you can't get over someone that fast," Barry finally said. "If so, you didn't really love them in the first place."

"But you were fighting."

"My mom and dad fought sometime and they were stupidly in love with each other. They liked to spend all their time together, didn't like themselves when they were apart because they got bored. They made each other better had fun together. But they still fought. Dad thought mom coddled me too much and mom thought dad disciplined me too much. But they still…" Barry sighed in frustration. A conversation about his parents wasn't what he wanted. "Was there something else you wanted?"

"No." Brady shook his head. Despite Barry's snap, he didn't take offense to it. As a matter of fact, he looked like he just realized something. "Thanks, Barry. I'm glad you're feeling better." He patted the—former—speedster on the shoulder. "We'll get your powers back."

Barry watched as Brady walked away, back to the Cortex. Back to the medical bay. He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything in his life if he were being completely honest. It was moment's like that he wondered how Oliver managed to get up every day. How he could go through the day to see what was going to have in store for him, no matter how dark and dangerous, and continue to work himself to reach his goal of protecting Star City.

Oliver didn't have any powers and yet he managed to singlehandedly save the city for a few years, before opening himself to trust others. To have a team. Something he'd learned from Barry. Which may as well have been the world ending; Oliver coming to Barry for advice about something. It was funny, how different they were, how much they disagreed, how they ran their teams differently, and yet they were still able to rely on each other.

Barry turned and sat on the ramp leading up to the pod, pressing his chin to his hands. He looked up at the doorway Brady had walked out of. Barry couldn't stop thinking about his overall relationship with Cadence. Brady was right, he did care about her, even now. Even after she broke his heart and stamped on it.

But was that his fault? Surely it had to be hers. He'd done everything he could to make things work, had pitched in when he could, never once complained or over stepped his boundaries in regards to Brady. And yet when he asked her to marry him it had been like none of that mattered.

His head had been spinning ever since she said the word, trying to figure out why she'd said it. He'd spend hours just thinking everything over, every little detail he could remember, trying to think if there'd been warning signs he missed. But there was nothing that stood out, other than old arguments they'd put to bed. Their arguments weren't enough to warrant a breakup. Every couple argues, even his parents did so on occasion, not that he remembered it much.

The more he thought about all this the more hours turned to minutes, and minutes into seconds. Time slowing down around him as he focused so hard the rest of the world just slowed down to a near stop. He was getting to that stage, wanting the world to stop and leave him behind. Maybe it'd be easier that way. Though he'd rather time had stopped, back when everything was good. When he and Cadence were still together. Before everything went to hell. Before the break up, before Savitar, Alchemy, Breathtaker's escape… before Flashpoint.

Everything always seemed to come back to that one mistake that he'd made in such a weak moment. It scared him to think he would have done it again too, had Jay not stopped him. How much would he have been willing to change, just to get what he wanted back. Would he do again now, if pushed too far and would Jay be there to stop him again?

It may not have been Jay, but if there was some God watching over him, perhaps this was his way of saying, there'd always be a friend to stop him when he needed one.

This time, it was Kara. Poking her head around the corner, she peered into the Pipeline where Barry was sitting on the ramp.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"Just…thinking over some stuff," Barry said as he lowered his gaze to his hands, fiddling with them as he rested his arms on the knees that were pulled against his chest.

"Want some company?"

"Sure," Barry said with a shrug.

Kara took it with a compassionate smile and joined him, sitting in the same position. Knees pulled into her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs to hold them in place. It was only when she sat, he noticed the picture frame in her hand. Seeing he'd noticed it, Kara showed him the photo.

"I noticed this on one of the desks in the Cortex." She handed over the picture and Barry took it.

Held it both hands, running his thumb over the glass. It was of Team Flash, from last year at some point if Barry's memory was correct. He and the rest of the team had been smiling away, beaming at the camera lens. Brady in the center with Cadence and Barry on either side, squishing him between them. All three in their suits. Cisco clung to Barry's other side and Cadence had pulled Caitlin into her. It looked more like a selfie than a proper photo and yet it had managed to capture all of them and the happiness they shared.

Barry couldn't help but wonder how long it'd been since they'd all had something to be happy about. It hadn't been that long since Cadence broke up with him, but it felt like an eternity, even longer since he last felt good and didn't have some evil shadow ruining the moment.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" Kara asked softly, gently bringing Barry from his thoughts.

Barry had to take a long breath before continuing. "Cade and I… Well, I'm not really sure there is a Cade and I now." He could tell Kara was screaming on the inside, dying to get answers to the obvious question, but she kept herself at bay with a seriously concerned expression on her face. "I proposed…and it blew up in my face." Again, Kara remained respectfully quiet as Barry began to unleash what had been bottling up inside him for a while now.

"I mean… We were in a good place, you know? A great place. And despite everything else that's going on with Savitar and Alchemy and Breathtaker and the future. Despite all that I still had her. I still knew that for now, I had her. I knew I could fall on that when I had nowhere else to go. And I just wanted to…to take the next step in that…and she said no."

Rage suddenly consumed him and Barry couldn't stop himself from throwing the picture against the far wall. Kara jumped slightly but held back her yelp as the glass smashed and scattered across the floor. A large chunk now missing from the frame as the photo crumpled up inside.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. You have a right to be mad, Barry." She took hold of his arm. He thought that might have been to restrain him in case he had another outburst, but he knew Kara was just trying to comfort him. Despite her power, she'd never force anyone to do anything. It wasn't her way of handling things. "Anyone can see you loved her. And that's obviously why you proposed."

Before he could stop himself, Barry's mind was filled with the dreadful imagines of the future that never left him for long. Him desperately running towards three of the people he cared most about. Savitar killing Iris. Killer Frost killing Cadence and vice versa. Him cradling Cadence's body as she left the world. And the all so clear sight of her left hand…without an engagement ring.

He had to be honest with someone. Maybe then he'd admit to himself why he really did propose so soon to Cade. He couldn't keep saying it was because of love—even though it was a big factor—when there had always been something tinting that perfect moment in his life. Perhaps that was why Cadence said no, sensing his impure reasons. Or maybe it was just life playing another cruel game with him.

Either way, he needed to start being more honest.

"Maybe…I did it for myself, and for the wrong reasons."

Kara's soft caring features quickly dropped into a confused frown. "I...I don't…what do you mean?"

"In the future…something's going to happen… and I proposed to stop it from happening. But it's all so messed up now and I don't know what to do. And everything is just so much simpler when I'm running and I can't do that now."

"It's the same for me when I'm flying," Kara said with an understanding smile. Barry found himself returning the smile, knowing that she truly did get it. Like Cade and how she would stand on the tallest building in Central City and just breath. Both understood the majesty of just doing something so simple, and yet so extraordinary, and letting everything else just drift away.

"Do you think you'll ever get to that stage with anyone? Proposal I mean?" Barry asked, now in need of a break from what was his currently dire life. At least with Kara she still didn't know everything, unlike the rest of Team Flash. He was struggling to look at any of them, much less hold a conversation, without thinking about everything they were all dealing with. With Kara it was like they were just a couple of old school friends, catching up after so many years apart.

"First, I'd need to find someone who's not freaked out by a twenty something year old having a teenager daughter," Kara chuckled nervously, straightening her glassed as she did so.

"What about Winn?" Barry prompted, nudging Kara's elbow with his own.

"What?!" Kara let out a snorting laugh. She shook her head, blonde hair swaying with each movement. "No! Winn...I mean, Winn he's, he's not my…he's not my boyfriend. He's just a boy, who's my friend." She swallowed hard. "He's my…nothing."

"He's clearly not your nothing," Barry pointed out.

"No, you're right he's not. He's definitely not nothing, he's…" She was struggling to find the words. Barry remembered that stage with him and Cadence. Of course, she'd never had that problem and had never been shy about her feelings like Barry. But seeing Kara struggle and squirm now, he couldn't help but find it funny. "My friend. My best friend." Barry gave her a critical look. "He is!" Kara exclaimed before whacking Barry on the arm. Even without the super strength it still hurt, though it was more because of Barry's lack of muscle than anything else.

"Me and Cade were like that before we started dating too."

"But isn't it weird, dating your best friend?"

"Maybe at first. But when we were friends, I felt like we could have been more, and once we started dating I felt more whole." Barry began to smile, reminiscing over how he and Cadence first got together. "Don't get me wrong, it's still strange knowing we could probably, literally, kill each other without much effort." He laughed humorlessly.

"But I suppose we're both used to that," Kara pointed out as the two chuckled.

"So would you? Ever consider asking out Winn?" Barry pushed, holding back a laugh when he saw Kara begin to squirm again.

"No," Kara shot out, nervously, enough to prove to Barry and anyone else she clearly had a crush on him. "That would be like, me asking you out. Or Winn asking Cade." Barry burst out into loud laughter. His first in a while. "Okay, it's not that funny."

"It is, if you knew that Cade would eat Winn alive. And I don't mean that she'd be mean to him, it's just that he wouldn't be able to keep up with her. Trust me, I've been dating her for almost two years now and I think she's starting to make me go grey." He pulled at the strands of his hair to prove his point.

"Yeah, I think it's starting to show now that you've lost your regenerative healing," teased Kara as she ruffled his hair and the two began to chuckle.

Then Barry suddenly found himself stopping. It had been so quick he hadn't even noticed until it stopped. But for a brief moment when talking about Cadence, he'd forgotten they'd broken up. He'd forgotten the pain of it all, the heart ache and had been able to talk about it. He'd been sucked into the simpler times, when they were just starting out as a couple, transferring from friends to lovers. It had been scary but also amazing at the same time, that's why they'd stuck with it.

Until recently.

Thankfully Kara didn't say anything. She just sat quietly next to him, letting him process it all while subtly squeezing his hand to let him know she was still there for him. As his friend. His other friends had been there for him, but he'd pushed them away, not wanted his personal relationship to get in the way of the team. But despite his best efforts it had.

He needed a run. But seeing as he couldn't do that, he'd have to take the next best thing. Talking to his family. "I'm just going to head out real quick. I won't be long, promise," Barry said, pulling his hand from Kara's as he stood up.

She remained seated, nodding with a supportive smile as Barry looked down at her. Having her blessing to leave, Barry made his way out of the Pipeline and down to the garage. Since he didn't have his speed, he might as well try out his driving skills. Hopefully he wasn't too rusty.

---

Looking down at the small wrapped box, Brady still wasn't sure he fully understood Barry's advice. But then again when did grownups ever make sense when talking about relationships. He was getting to that stage himself, confused over how he was feeling towards certain people, not sure what it meant. He'd had the talk about his changing body with both his mom and dad. More in detail with his mom.

He tried not to think about that talk, about any of the talks with his mother right now. They only made him more nervous. Instead he tried to think about other things as he made his way along the hallways of STAR Labs. He was heading towards the Cortex, looking for Deity, when her began to hear her voice.

"Come on, Alex. You can't stay mad at her forever," said Deity from around the bend in the corridor. Brady stopped, leaning against the wall as not to be seen. He'd been told it was rude to eavesdrop, but he also needed the practise in case he ever needed to tail a meta and find out what they were up to. He'd done it with a few simple minded robbers before, but he still needed some more practise before putting his skills to the test against a meta.

"Watch me. I can be very stubborn," Alex said, holding back her anger for her niece's benefit.

"Just try to see it from Cadence's point of view."

"The only point of view I care about is my own, and right now I see you and Kara in danger, and I'm not ok with that. So don't ask me to be."

"Okay, so you're never going to see eye to eye with Cade. That's fine. But just try and remember me and Kara aren't always here. And there are other versions of Superman and Mom on this world too. What if they turn evil? What if this world's version of Astra shows up with another army of Kryptonians? And keep in mind J'onn used to stock pile Kryptonite for the D.E.O."

"That's different…" Alex said, but the defeat in her voice was clear.

It was then Brady decided to come out from around the bend. He could tell the argument was done, whether Alex was going to admit it or not. At least with his presence she wouldn't continue the discussion. No adult wanted to talk bad about a kid's parents when the kid himself was around. Though Brady had heard a few things here and there from adults when he was younger, when they thought he was out of ear shot or not listening. He'd spent so much time around people older than him, some that seemed to forget he was there, that he managed to learn how they spoke to each other.

He did, admittedly, have an issue with eavesdropping when he was younger.

"Oh. Hey, Brady," Alex suddenly said warmly as he walked around to the pair.

"Hey," Brady replied flatly, distractedly looking right past Alex and towards Deity.

Alex didn't seem to pick up on his lack of interest in her, she continued to converse with him, rather than move along. "So what do you do for fun around here?"

"Mostly just train and stop bad guys," Brady said with a lift of his eyebrows. "It's more serious than you think."

"Okay." Alex turned a slight frown to her niece, who appeared equally confused with Brady's attitude. "How about school? Learn anything interesting recently?"

"Look can I just talk to Debby? In private?" Brady gave a pointed look to the older woman. Alex did her best not to frown but Brady could see the line across her forehead sneaking through. She shared another look with Deity before then stepping back.

"Alright. I'll…leave you two to…whatever," Alex said before heading off down the corridor.

"That was a little rude," Deity said, frowning as she folded her arms. "Do you not like my aunt or something?"

"No. I just…" Brady began before falling short. He couldn't well come out and say, 'he didn't like her,' could he? That would upset Deity and he didn't want to do that. But at the same time, he wasn't a fan of the D.E.O. agent. With her arguing with his mom and obviously trying way too hard to get along with him, he found it irritating. Even then when they'd just been talking, it was painful how hard she was trying to connect with him. Just like Patty had done.

"Is everything alright, Brady?" asked Deity, watching as Brady lowered his gaze to the box in his hands. Once again, he fiddled with it, threatening to tear at the festive reindeer paper that had taken him several tries to get wrapped right.

He'd was nervous. He'd experienced it before but not often. Normally he felt so calm and cool. Even when fighting deadly metas his nerves never got to him. Sure, afterwards he'd been shaking more than a few times but before or during he'd always been fine. But this was different for some reason. He couldn't understand why. In his head it seemed so simple. He was just giving his friend a present. He gave one to Leah and—annoyingly—Alicia—one just fine. It was just a present. A present he'd picked out with the help of his mother and father and spent a whole month's allowance on.

He'd been so sure it was the right move at the time, but now he was second guessing himself. His mom and dad and even Barry had told him it was a confusing time in his life. The teachers had been saying that a lot recently about how things would start happening to them and they'd be experiencing a lot of changes.

Was this one of them?

"What you got there?" His head shot up from the present in his hand to Deity who was now looking at his hands also.

"Present for you," Brady shot out, as he held out his hands, the small box in his palms. Deity took it happily, sitting down against the wall as Brady joined her. She began to unwrap it and Brady waited with bated breath as Deity peeled away the wrapping paper until there was just the small white box left with the store's logo printed on the top. Without a second thought Deity flipped open the box and her eyes lit up in awe as she saw what was inside.

Okay, maybe he'd spent a bit more than a month's allowance on it.

"Brady," Deity gasped as she pulled out the necklace. It was a thin golden chain with a gold letter 'D' in the centre, dangling at the bottom as Deity held the necklace up. It wasn't genuine gold, Brady wasn't naïve enough to believe that, but it had still been a fairly expensive knock off. Expensive for an eleven-year-old anyway.

"Do you like it?" Brady asked. Placing his hands together in between his legs and squeezing them together as he uncomfortably waited for her response.

"It's beautiful," Deity said as she swiped her hair back, placing the necklace on like Kara had taught her when putting on jewelry. Luckily the clasp was the same as the ones she'd practiced with, so she knew roughly what she was doing. She wasn't one for wearing jewelry, but this was simple and eloquent, the kind of thing she would like to wear. And what was more import, was that it came from her friend. "Thank you, Brady," Deity said as she held the necklace, smiling down at the small piece of gold.

"It's nothing," Brady said with a shrug. A smile played at his lips. He was just glad she liked it, the nerves in his stomach finally starting to settle down.

"Two secs," Deity said, sudden energized and hyped up after receiving her own gift.

In a blur of yellow she was gone, only to return a second later with a wrapped box of her own, that had a similar style of wrapping paper to that which Brady had used. He guessed that despite the numerous Earths that existed across the multi-verse, there was still only a limited amount of Christmas paper available.

"Here," said Deity excitedly, holding out the present.

Brady took it from her, watching her energetic smile as she did. He could see Kara in that smile, making him easily forget that Kara and Deity weren't actually related. He took the gift with his own smile and leaned back in his seat before unwrapping it slowly. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but after seeing how enthusiastic Deity was, he assumed it was something good in comparison to his gift to her.

But when he finished pulling away the paper and opened the makeshift cardboard box, he was ashamed to admit his heart dropped a little at the sight. It was just a box of cookies. Christmas themed cookies that looked homemade.

"They're Eliza's Christmas cookies, she's my Grandmother," Deity explained before reaching over and taking one of the cookies for herself. "Trust me, they're addictive, so you'll want to be careful with them," she said with a smile as she bit into the cookie, savoring the taste. That had been the last batch too and no doubt sooner or later she'd end up regretting giving them away to Brady.

"Thanks," Brady said quietly, picking up one of the cookies before looking it over and then dropping it back into the box.

At a guess he assumed he was feeling disappointed. Like he had been when he was half his age now and had asked Santa for a puppy only to never get one. But somehow this felt different at the same time. It was irritating him. He didn't like it. His feelings didn't make sense to him.

He heard Deity calling his name, but he just didn't feel like talking anymore. He sat the cookies aside on the ground and got up. She continued to call after to him, trying to get him to talk but he just walked away, heading nowhere in particular.

Now he knew how his mom and Barry felt.

It wasn't fun.

---

When Barry finally returned to STAR Labs, he felt a little better, but not much. His heart didn't hurt as much, his brain wasn't as filled with enough thoughts that made him want to go crazy. No, his mind was set back on Music Meister, as it should have been in the first place. He was ready to get his powers back.

As he stepped into the Cortex he found everyone waiting for him. Cadence was back, standing with Brady who looked pretty damn miserable, and J'onn and Cisco were stood in front of the main desk, looking back as Barry entered. The rest of the members were scattered around the room, all quiet as Barry walked in.

"Sorry," Barry quickly apologized. He stared at the group, his energized resolve slowly fading away. "I was at Joe's." He ran a hand through his hair, over the back of his neck. "Did I miss anything?"

"We were just about to tell everyone what we found," Cisco explained as Barry took up a spot on the wall, next to Caitlin, leaning back as he nodded for them to continue. Caitlin smiled and squeezed his wrist, making him smile back. "Well, unfortunately, we didn't find anything about Music Meister. There's no files at CCPD that have anything to do with this guy. No one with the name Music Meister has ever shown up before."

"What about you, Cade? Did you find anything?" Caitlin asked, looking to her friend from across the room. Regretfully, Cadence shook her head.

"None of my guys knew anything. I managed to get them to reach out to some of their other contacts, but the name means nothing to any of them."

"What, so, this guy just doesn't exist?" Barry asked, lift his head. An edge to his voice. "If the CCPD can't find anything, we may as well assume he doesn't exist. We saw him at the bank, we fought against him. There can't be nothing on him."

"Of course not," Cadence bit back. "Our fight with him proved that. It's just he hasn't appeared before today. No appearance, no trail to follow."

"But there's got to be some trace of him somewhere? Even before he became a meta," Barry argued.

"Facial recognition has given us squat," Cisco relayed, motioning to the TV screen that hung against the wall next to him.

"But we're still trying," HR supplied, optimistically.

Cisco nodded in agreement. "We're still running it, but considering we've had it on the go since he first showed up, I'm doubting it's ever going to give us a name." Cisco heaved a frustrated sigh, rubbing his jaw.

"But he has to come from somewhere," Barry protested, his anger flaring as he stepped off the wall.

"Yeah, but who said he had to come from Earth." Everyone looked across to Deity who had spoken up. She shrugged, hands in the pockets of her jeans. "When he got a hold of me, he said something about being a Cosmic Deity." Then she waved to herself. "And, we all know I'm not a human, and neither's Kara. Maybe it's the same for him."

"Guy's probably just got a God complex," Winn suggested with a shrug. The scowl on his face showed he was still thinking of his first suggestion, to grab Music Meister and punch him in the face as many times as he could.

"He's certainly got a flare for the dramatic," Caitlin agreed.

"Plus, it's not like you guys get a whole lot of aliens around here. I mean, compared to us anyway," Alex pointed out.

"And don't think we haven't enjoyed the time we've got to spend with some of the finer specimens of the universe," HR agreed. He clacked the front of his drumsticks together. "Miss. Danvers, Miss. Danvers, may I say how much I've enjoyed being able to simply be in your presence for more than a minute." The two aliens, surprisingly, found themselves blushing at HR's compliment. The rest of the room rolled their eyes, used to HR's comments by this point. They'd lost their appeal long ago.

"No, I think Debby might be right about this," J'onn argued, stepping forward with a hand on his hip while the other rubbed his chin. He spoke to the room. "Where I come from there used to be all kinds of stories about Cosmic beings. Those with powers far beyond anything natural, who could come and go as they please, across any dimension."

"And you think this Music Meister might be one of those Cosmic beings?" Caitlin asked curiously.

"It'd explain how he could teleport better than mom or Cisco could," Brady pointed out.

"Not only that," J'onn said, building off of Brady's comment. "But his ability to travel between reality and dreams would suggest so to. Not only that but he entered both Kara and Barry's dreams while they were on separate Earths. That takes an impressive amount of power to do, and then to steal their powers on top of that. That's more than a normal alien or meta could do."

"He's right," Kara agreed from next to her sister and daughter. "There was sort of fairy tale like stories of similar beings on Krypton. But they were just treated as a kid's stories." She shrugged. "Something your parents would read you before bed."

"Well this guy isn't a fairy tale, and nobody's going to wave a magic wand and make him go away," Cadence spoke up. "So do you have anything about how to defeat these cosmic beings?"

"Depends on which one you're dealing with," J'onn said simply.

Brady frowned. "There's more than one?"

"Life just can't be easy for us, can it?" Cisco asked.

"Welcome to my life," Winn murmured.

"Some of them you have to trick into doing something and then they disappear," J'onn explained. "Some show up for specific reasons and only leave when they're finished fulfilling that reason. It appears that we're dealing with the latter here."

"Well, that's not going to help us," Cadence groaned.

"Maybe it does," said Barry. "Maybe if we just talk to this guy we can find out why he's here and help him do whatever he has to do."

"This guy is the fastest man alive and the strongest, thanks to you and Kara's powers, and you want to talk to him?" Cadence asked rhetorically as she stepped towards Barry, glaring at him like he was an idiot. "Like he'd give your powers back if we just asked?"

"If it will help stop him—"

"—It won't," Cadence cut in.

"You don't know that," Barry argued with a look to Cadence as everyone else in the room subtly took a step back.

"Maybe not, but I'm not chatting to someone who can kill me as quickly as snapping their fingers." Cadence then did so herself to demonstrate the quickness of it.

"Thanos," Cisco growled under his breath, receiving a glare and a shake of the head from Caitlin.

"This guy is deadly, and his clownish personality only makes him more so. And annoying. We have to deal with this, quickly and efficiently. It's not going to help us if we waste time talking to him."

"Efficiently. I suppose that means killing to you," snarled Barry.

"For God's sake will you get off your high horse already?" Cadence demanded.

"Just because killing's not my go to move-"

"-It's not mine either, jackass! And maybe if you'd just shut up and listen then-"

"-I've heard all I have to from you!" Barry exclaimed.

Cadence shook her head. "You self-centered, idiot."

"You're calling me self-centered?"

"I'm not perfect Barry, and I've never pretended to be. But ever since Flashpoint you've never spoken to me."

"I speak to you every day," Barry snapped.

"But not about what's going on in your head! You tell me the essentials, but you never even once talked to me about getting married!"

"I thought we were ready!"

"But you never asked me, Barry. You never asked. Did you think we were just going to get married and everything would be okay? What about bank accounts; are we going to get a joint one? Are we going to move again? Do you know if I want to change my last name? Do you think you're ready to be Brady's father? You don't consult me because you think you know better than me," Cadence said, pressing her hands to her chest as she began to let out what she'd been holding in for a long time now. The self-conscious thoughts she'd tried to keep and out and had been succeeding to until Barry ran away from her that night.

"I never said that."

"You never had to when it was so fucking obvious!" Cadence shouted angrily as she squeezed her eyes shut as she and Barry continued to argue back and forth for the whole room to see.

By this point it was obvious to everyone else that the argument was no longer about how to deal with Music Meister. Rather it was about everything the heroic couple needed to talk about but had been pushing down for the last few days in hopes of moving on and acting as if everything was fine. But they'd picked a bad time to start opening up and there was no chance of solving the riddle that was Music Meister while the two of them were in the middle of their shouting match.

"Hey, remember that one time you grounded me?" Deity whispered to Kara who frowned in response, looking down at her daughter. Remembering how she'd thrown Deity into a D.E.O. prison cell when she hadn't listened to her and broken her last nerve.

"Yeah…" Kara said slowly.

Then her daughter was off, in a yellow blur. Had Barry still had his speed he might have seen it coming and been able to avoid the teenager. But as he was, he and Cadence had no chance, especially since they were in such a heated argument, they didn't even notice they were moved until they hit the floor. Both shouted in confusion before sitting up to find themselves in one of the empty pipeline pods, the door sealing shut behind them.

"Debby, get us out of here right now!" Cadence shouted as she punched the glass wall.

"Yeah!" Barry agreed. He didn't have much threat in his voice, but his anger managed to carry it through and make his point.

"Actually, I think we're all in agreement that you two need time to work things out," Cisco said over the intercom.

"Cisco!" Cadence snarled.

"Don't worry, we'll let you out if Music Meister shows back up, or anything else life threatening shows up. The rest of us will figure out how to find him."

"Cisco!" Barry shouted, up at the invisible voice overhead.

"You two just focus on talking things out and leave the rest to us."

"CISCO!" the two cried out in unison, voices echoing in doom as their words bounced off the walls around them until the intercom went dead.

---

"Okay, now that we've dealt with Frick and Frack down there, we can get back to work on what's really important," Cisco announced as he turned to Winn. "Getting this suit finished."

"Right," agreed Winn as the two began to leave the Cortex, heading down to Cisco's private lab. "You know I had some ideas on how to improve the hood."

"Great, cause now that we've sorted out the cloak, I need to fix that utility belt, it looks way too big now."

"You thinking of downsizing?" Winn asked, reference to the belt.

"No, actually I was thinking of testing out an over the shoulder kind of thing, like Chewie."

"You have Star Wars here?!"

The occupants of the room stared after Winn and Cisco as their voices vanished down the corridor. "Well, Barry and Cade might be at each other's throats but at least those two are getting along," Caitlin said optimistically with an awkward smile to the room.

"Yes, it's always nice to make new friends," agreed HR, twirling his drumsticks as carefree as always.

"So other than keep looking for this guy, is there anything else we can do?" Alex asked. "I can't just sit here and wait for the guy to hurt some innocent person with my sister's powers."

"It wouldn't be your fault, Alex," Kara said gently.

"We've asked Wally to get Jesse from Earth 2, seeing as we're going to need all the help we can get against this guy," Caitlin explained with a worried look.

"Don't worry, we'll beat him, and get mine and Barry's powers back," Kara said hopefully as she smiled reassuringly to Caitlin then to Alex.

"Then until this Music Meister shows up again, I suggest we get some rest and prepare ourselves," J'onn said as he made his way into one of the side rooms. Alex and Kara followed him, three wanting to talk in private for a second, while Caitlin looked over the computer with HR hovering around her. As for Deity, she made her way over to Brady, wanting to talk to him after their last encounter.

"Hey, Brady, can we talk?" she asked as the boy stood.

"Actually, I'm going to train," he mumbled, heading for the door.

"Great, I can help, and maybe then we can-"

"I want to be alone," Brady said firmly as he left the Cortex.

Deity didn't follow, instead frowned at the empty archway that led from the Cortex. This was starting to bother her. Everything had been fine between them one minute and the next he wasn't talking to her. The only thing she could think of was her present to him. He'd clearly taken time in picking out the necklace that now hung around her neck. The cookies weren't a very good exchange she had to admit, though gift buying was still a strange concept to her.

They had holidays on Krypton, but none evolved gift exchange, at least none that she celebrated or recalled. But Brady was only a few years younger and although he probably understood that, he couldn't be expected to keep his emotions in check. So, she'd have to go back out and get him something better, more in line with the gift he got her. Something he'd keep forever and look after.

It took her a while but eventually she came up with something and made her way down to Cisco's lab. Walking in, she found the place to be a mess. Gadgets scattered all over the worktops and floor. Piece of fabric traipsing the floor like a runway as well as various uncomplete suits thrown over chairs and tables.

She spotted Cisco and Winn crowded around a computer near the center of the room. A mannequin before them with strange looking suit that was still missing a few features. "What if we move this here?" Winn suggested.

"No, no. That would put too much weight on his left side. He'd be unbalanced, and it would put his aim off," Cisco pointed out.

"Right," Winn agreed before they both went back to staring at the screen in deep thought.

"Hey, Cisco," Deity said as she approached the long-haired engineer.

"Yeah," Cisco said as both he and Winn turned around to meet the teenager's gaze.

Deity twisted her mouth to the side. "Could you help me with something?"

"We're kind of in the middle of something," Cisco said as he gestured to the screen and mannequin.

"It won't take long."

"What is you need help with?" Winn asked, more willing to help than Cisco who was now in full creative work mode. Something that he didn't seem to want to leave until he'd finished his latest suit.

"I need to get in touch with the Atom guy that helped us defeat the Dominators," Deity explained, squeezing her face as she tried to remember his name. "Um. Roy?"

"You mean, Ray?" Cisco asked, turning back around with a frown as Deity nodded. "What do you need him for?"

"Just a favor. So can you help me or not?"

"I could try," Cisco said as he tilted his head back in thought. The Legends weren't the easiest of people to contact, what with them roaming throughout all of space and time. But they had their ways. Could take a while to reach him though.

"That's fine, and could you breach me back over to my Earth real quick?"

"Wait? You're leaving?" Winn asked in surprise before Deity shook her head.

"No! I just need to get something from home is all," Deity explained.

Cisco frowned. "You have a real problem with jumping around the multiverse, young lady." Deity smiled at that and chuckled as the engineer smiled back.

---

Barry gave up slamming his fist against the wall of the pod once he couldn't take the sting against his hand anymore. Angrily, he spun away from the glass and looked at Cadence, who glared at the glass, as if she were trying to burn it down. But they both knew it was futile.

The security on STAR Labs may've sucked, but Cisco did a great job with dampening meta powers to keep any prisoner from getting out. They weren't leaving until they were let out. "For real?" Barry murmured. He roughed a hand over his hair. "I can't believe they locked us in here."

"Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't knock us out, first," Cadence remarked first, finally taking her eyes away from the glass but still pointedly away from Barry. She brought up a hand to rub her temple, a headache was starting to form. "I was starting to get on my own nerves."

Barry, who had resorted to pacing the pod, which wasn't far enough for him to adequately relieve his restlessness, turned back to her. He held up his hands, a sign of peace and resignation of everything that'd transpired between them. He was tired. Not just because his powers was gone. He was just plain tired of everything.

"Okay, fine." Barry couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't take the constant torment. He needed some answers somewhere. Anywhere. And if it was the start they needed to finally take down Music Meister in any way. Then he'd take it. Or else life had a funny way of dealing his hand and he was tired of backing away from the table. "Fine. When I asked you to marry me…why'd you say 'no'?"

Cadence leveled her gaze at him. "Because your mom's dead." Her words, so short and blunt made him pause. "And so is your dad. And so is mine." She sniffed. "They're all dead, Barry. They're not going to be at the wedding." Barry continued to stare at her. "Had you even thought of that? Had you thought of any of that?" She ran a hand through her hair. "My dad's been gone for about a year now, I know that's why my mom is here. She told me herself and yet…I ignored it. For a year, I ignored it, every day I expected him to call me or email me a joke. But that's never going to happen. It's never going to happen."

Barry took in a deep breath. "I know," he said. "I know they're not going to be there. I know they're never going to…"

"Do you really?" Cadence pressed. Her voice cracked, tears coming to her eyes. But she didn't let it fall. "Barry, you went back and created Flashpoint because you couldn't handle it. Are you telling me you can handle it now? Do you really know they're never coming back?"

Barry swallowed hard. He knew. He knew the consequences of it. Knew the consequences of trying to change things. To fix things. Knew from the past and from the future. He couldn't keep people from leaving him. He knew that now. If they were going to leave…he had to deal with it. No matter how much it hurt.

Cadence looked hard at him, watching as he struggled to respond. "Is that when you ran back?" She asked. "Is that why you keep running into things now? Because you're still grieving? Or…because you're not grieving? I haven't. I haven't thought about my dad for the last year and now that my mom's around…I don't have a choice to. And it's made me realize that I haven't…that we haven't been happy in a long time."

Barry smiled to himself. Even when they were apart they still managed to be in synch in some way. He'd struggled with the same thoughts so long, he should've known it had to be hurting her, too. "I haven't been to any of my Zumba classes, I haven't been practicing any of my gymnastics, I bury myself in my work and….I'm tired of it. I'm tired of feeling that way."

"So am I," Barry said. He leaned back against the wall of the pod, crossing his arms and legs. "That's why I went back. I had to go back because I was tired of feeling so much pain. I thought if I went back and changed things…then everything would be different, everything would be…better."

Cadence mimicked his stance on the other side of the pod. They were only a few feet away from each other but they may as well be standing on different sides of the world. "How's that working out for you?"

Barry shook his head. "I'm not the only one who's made mistakes, Cade."

"I know. Inconito's body chilling in the basement morgue could tell you that." Cadence shook her head. "It's like I said, Barry, I know I'm not perfect. I made mistakes." She took in a deep breath. "It's like you said before, I'm just stupid."

Barry's eyebrows came together. "I never said you were stupid."

Cadence nodded. "Yes, you did. When you were whammied by Rainbow Raider. You said I was stupid for getting pregnant."

"Cade—"

"—And I know I was stupid. I was stupid for having sex when I wasn't ready for it. I was stupid for putting so much love on someone and in a relationship, that wasn't going to work after high school. I was stupid for moving out to Central City with an infant instead of letting my mom and dad raise him. I was stupid for not giving him the chance to have a better life instead of being a meta and endangering his life every day. I was stupid for falling in with a terrible group of people who, guess what?—" she gave a sarcastic laugh—"are still trying to kill me." She scratched at her temple. "But the thing is Barry, I don't need you to remind me of that."

"Cade, I was whammied," Barry reminded her. "I said a lot of things I didn't mean." He still remembered the way Captain Singh and Oliver looked at him when he spouted off his hate-filled rant against them. But he'd only just started out as The Flash then, was struggling with so many things. Struggling with how to be Barry, how to be The Flash, how to…how to deal with his love for Iris.

It was funny how much had changed over the years. Back then things were fun with metas around. His father was still in jail, but alive, and nevertheless, happy. Joe and Iris were some of the best family he had, whom he spent every day with. He was in love with Iris. Now metas were serious, his father was dead, caught up in his life as The Flash, he hadn't spent as much time with Joe and Iris as he did his Flash family, the woman he loved was telling him why she couldn't marry him.

"That's the hardest part, though, Barry." Cadence looked him in the eye. Once again, tears threatened to fall. "You meant what you said. I know you did. Because I know you. Whammied or not, it was what you've wanted to say. And, as much as I loved—love you," she quickly corrected herself, making Barry's heart rise with hope, hearing her say the words the eased his pain. "It was hard to be with someone who thought I was stupid. Because it just reminded me of everyone in my life who thought I was, all because I got pregnant. I tried hard to get away from it; studying everything I could about engineering, hanging around STAR Labs, changing my careers to something more stable and that I enjoyed, but the worry still nagged in the back of my head. And, in many ways, I felt lonely, because I didn't have your support."

"I've always been there for you, Cade," Barry insisted. "I've always supported you." He paused, remembering their argument from earlier. He licked his lips. "Okay." He nodded, reminding himself to listen to what she had to say, no matter how much it hurt. "When…when haven't I supported you?"

Cadence managed a small smile. "Well, let's just say that Flash "and friends" day,"—she used air quotes around the words—"wasn't so much a walk in the park. And while I think a Flash with some Flare is actually a pretty good drink, I'd like to have one of my own. Preferably a hot chocolate." She licked her lips, briefly closed her eyes, working herself up to the real problem. "You don't support me on the choices I make as your partner. You proved that today, when you sent Brady out there."

"I was trying to help," Barry croaked. "I can't…I can't just sit back and stop helping people, Cade." His voice broke with emotion, with desperation. "Even without my powers, I can't see other people getting hurt. I can't have Central City fall apart. I have…I wanted nothing more than to go out there and punch him like everyone else but I couldn't. I helped in the best way I thought I could."

"And you did the same thing you always do, Barry. You go and make all these decisions and all these mistakes and expect us to sit back and understand why you chose to do what you did. And we do, every time. No questions asked. But when I make a decision and I make mistakes, it's when you suddenly decide to throw everything I've ever done back into my face! Not just with this, but with my past with the Assassination Bureau and…" Cadence closed her eyes. Revealed the biggest secret she'd ever held. "The first time I killed…it wasn't with them. It was an accident."

"What happened?"

Cadence sighed. "Brady and I were sleeping on the streets. We'd only just gotten to Central City and we didn't have a place to go. I stayed up every night holding him to me because I was afraid of what would happen if I went somewhere to try to find some food. But if I took him with me, people would start to ask questions about who I was and why I'm carrying a baby around. And then this guy showed up, demanded money. I don't know if I saw a knife or if it was my eyes playing tricks on me, but I saw something, I panicked, I lost control of my powers and…I burned him. All over." Cadence frowned, lowering her eyes, seeing an image from along ago. "He screamed for a long time. I don't know how long because I ran away. And I didn't look back. And that stuck with me for years. So much that I need to atone for it. When I worked in the hospital I killed again, helped those that were terminal or in terrible pain to go. I'd heal them a little, to give them some peace, before putting smoke into their lungs. Some people asked me to do it." She shook her head. "There's a lot that I've been through that I need to talk about, and a lot that I'm never going to tell you. But I need you to stop punishing me and support me."

"I—" Again, Barry took a deep breath. "Okay," he finally said. "Okay. I can do that. I can try. But, it's not like it's something I can do very fast." He chuckled. "Even with my powers…I can try." Cadence managed a small smile. "Why'd you never tell me this before? Why'd you wait…why?"

Cadence's gaze was so piercing that this time Barry had to be the one to look away. "You just never listen, Barry," Cadence said simply, letting the words sink in as Barry lowered his head.

He could hardly deny everything she was laying out for him. The evidence was all there. She didn't like making him feel this way, but she had to show him what she'd been going through these last few months, how he'd been making her feel. It wasn't entirely his fault, but he wasn't helping either. That had been part of the reason she said 'no,' because she couldn't just keep going on with things while she was suffering on the inside.

"You're preaching to the choir there, sister."

Simultaneously, Barry and Cadence turned their heads to look out the glass door of the pod, seeing that a man was leaning with his back against the door. They couldn't see his face, but his cloths were as frantic as anything Cadence had ever seen. Multi-colored with patches of different fabric here and there on what Cadence guessed would have been a leather jacket. Only without the leather. His hair was then spiked up, the very tips a scorching blue that looked almost gothic when you took away his outrageous outfit.

"I'm in the same boat myself," he said, placing his hands on his chest. A short, sweet sigh escaped his lips. "My dear, sweet, boyfriend, can't hear what I'm saying. I tell him I'm fine staying in and watching a movie, what does he then do? Drag me out to the Broadway. I say I hate cats, he gets me fifty. I tell him not to steal people's – Well you get the idea." As he finished is miniature rant, the man looked over his shoulder to Cadence, letting her see half his face. He looked rather young, hints of hair beginning to grow around his jaw line, with cool blue eyes that were oddly calming, a perky ski slope nose adding to his overall youthful appearance.

"Sorry, who are you?" Barry asked with a frown. The man swiftly pushed off the glass and bum shuffled forwards before twirling around with folded legs to meet the two. He was just as ridiculous to look at from the front as he was from the back.

"Sorry, rude. Manors aren't my strongest suit. Now as for a name, let's see…" He tapped his chin in thought, peering up at the celling as if he was flipping through an imaginary catalogue trying to choose one. "Where I come from, we don't really have names. So, how about…Claire!" Cadence and Barry stared back at the man, not getting whatever they were supposed to from that name. "Short for Clairvoyant… "

Barry made a face.

"Not a fan, I see. Alright, let's see what else can I come up with…" He started to pace, then snapped his fingers. "Oh! Josh? I look like a Josh, right? I've been told by many people I look a lot like Josh." Still Cadence and Barry weren't sure how to react. Staring back at the man in complete bewilderment.

"Okay," the stranger said, chewing on his lip as he thought. "We'll give it one more go. Give the old box another shake." Playfully shaking his head back and forth, the man suddenly stopped before smiling. "I've got it." He spread his hands. "You can call me, Lover."

"Lover?" Cadence said slowly.

"Yes. What a name, huh?" Lover smiled serenely. "I know your friend, Cisco will be upset I named myself, but such is life. Oh." He tapped his temple. "Remind me to tell him that he's going to have a very eventful time in the next couple of months. Things are going to get really exciting for him, if you know what I mean." He winked. "Don't worry it'll make sense later," he said, waving the subject away. "The real question is, what are we going to do about you two?"

"What're you talking about?" Barry demanded.

"Well, we both know this isn't going to last," Lover said as he waved his finger back and forth between the two. "You don't need to be clairvoyant to know that." Abruptly Lover stopped, laughing hysterically as Cadence and Barry shared a look. This guy had to be properly unstable. "Sorry, personal joke," Lover said, wiping his eyes. "But clearly you two aren't going to sort anything out in a cramped little cell. What you need as a hotel pool, or maybe just a bed with a fire." He looked directly at Cadence. "I'm sure you can take of one of those things."

Cadence shot him the finger.

Lover cheerfully ignored the gesture. "But I happen to know, whatever relationship needs, is time to breath." And as the Lover sighed out his last word, the door to the pod began to open. But as it rose up, allowing Barry and Cadence to leave, he vanished from sight. As if the door had cleaned him away like an eraser would a mark on paper.

Neither moved as they stared out into the corridor that lead away from the Pipeline. Both said trying to understand what had just happened. "You saw that guy in the weird jacket, too right?" Cadence asked slowly, still staring out into the corridor.

"Yeah…" Barry said, equally as slowly while nodding his head. "So we should probably-"

"-Go and check on the others?"

"Yeah," Barry agreed before the two climbed to their feet and ran out the pod. Both bolted it up the stairs of STAR Labs heading for the Cortex only to find that everyone was fine and had gathered in the room. From a quick glance at the monitors around the room, it was obvious they'd found Music Meister again. The various screens showed maps with blinking red dots and a few others showed different news reports of the man prancing around Centre City park.

"How did you two get out?" Cisco cried as the room turned to see the couple standing in the archway of the Cortex.

"Some guy let us out," Barry answered as the two stepped into to join the massive group.

"You weren't joking about their security," Winn muttered to Deity as the girl smirked, hiding it when the members of Team Flash looked her way. Not that they could really deny what was being said.

"Where is he, then?" Alex asked, not wanting to deal with any new threats until the present one had been resolved.

"Don't know, he just vanished," Cadence answered before looking to the news feed of Music Meister prancing around Central City Park, zipping all over the place with Barry's speed while lighting the place on fire with Kara's heat vision. "But right now, this guy's our main priority."

"People are in danger and we've got to stop him. He's clearly trying to get our attention, I say we give it to him," J'onn said firmly.

"My thoughts exactly," Cadence agreed. She looked over to Jesse and Wally who had returned, both already suited up. She hoped all the introductions had been given, then had to squash the urge to give Jesse a hug. There was time for catching up on things on Earth-2 later. "You two been briefed?" She asked, then smiled when they nodded. "Then you know what we're up against." Her gaze moved onto Deity. "You good to get back in the field?"

The girl held up her hand, closing her fist as she tried to use her powers. There was flicker of light around her fist before it burst out, never to return. "Sorry," Deity said regretfully, with a disappointed shake of her head. She wanted nothing more than to go in and fight, but even without her powers it'd be dangerous.

"It's fine, join us when you're ready." Her next targets were Cisco and Caitlin. "You two, in or out?" She had an idea of Caitlin's answer, which was confirmed by the hesitation in her best friend's eyes.

"I'm…I'm not ready," Caitlin said shyly, shaking her head nervously as she played with her hands. Cadence smiled back reassuringly, she wasn't going to push her friend unless it was life and death, currently it wasn't so she was fine with Caitlin sitting this one out for now.

"It's alright. Cisco?"

"Yeah, sure," Cisco said, a little surprised and excited he was being asked. He then turned to Winn. "You can help Caitlin if you want." The engineer then leaned over to Caitlin and whispered, "Just don't let him eat my snacks." She smiled back at her goofy friend and nodded.

Finally, Cadence turned to Brady. She looked at him for a long minute then sighed ruefully. "I suppose there isn't anything I can say to make you stay out of this?"

"I doubt it," Brady admitted.

She smiled back. "Alright, you can come. But I want Wally and Jesse watching your back. You all have been training, but you still have the least experience, it's better if you're all together."

"Of course," Wally said eagerly.

"Yeah, you got it," Jesse added.

"I'm coming, too," J'onn declared.

Cisco chuckled, holding up his hand. "Look, J'onn, I admire this special force's thing you've got going on," Cisco said. "But this problem right here, needs someone with…" Cisco trailed off as J'onn folded his arms and transformed in front of them. Taking on his true alien form, standing tall amongst the others. "Green skin and a sick-ass cape," he murmured.

"Call me the Martian Manhunter," J'onn declared, voice taking on an aquatic-esque rumbling as he spoke.

"I think you'll find that J'onn's a lot more than a pretty face," Winn declared, throwing in a wink for good measure.

"Don't wink," Alex snapped playful.

"Sorry."

"When we're out there, we stay together and watch each other's backs," Cadence spoke up addressing the team. "This guy's strong, but he can't take all of us when we work together. Especially since we've trained for this. We've trained against Barry and we've trained against Kara and Deity. They're able to be defeated."

"Hey," Kara said, offended.

Cadence shot her a reassuring smile. "We just need to figure out how. We know he's tried to take Brady's powers before. If he tries to do it again we stop him. Wally, Jesse, I want you two running as much interference as possible. J'onn, Brady, and I will try hit him hard and Cisco keep your distance and be ready to get us out of there if things take a turn for the worse." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Anything you want to add, Barry?" Cadence said as she turned to him.

"…no," Barry said, taking in Cadence as she commanded the team. It was as if he was seeing her in a light he'd never let her stand in before.

"Alright then," Cade said with a nod back to him.

"Actually, we've got something to add," Winn said as he ran up to Cisco's said and whispered something into his ear. The two then began to smile like giddy fan boys waiting for the next Star Wars movie and ran over to where the suit mannequins were stored.

"Alright Brady, consider this your joint birthday and Christmas present from both Team Flash and Supergirl," Cisco declared.

"Does this mean I'm not getting another gift?" Brady asked. Barry shot him a disapproving glance and Brady lowered his head apologetically.

"Just for that, I don't think you deserve this. But seeing as it would be a crime to keep it from you…" Winn said, wheeling out the latest version of the Shadowhunter suit.

Brady's eyes widened at the sight. It looked like the cloak he'd worn before, but more was certainly added to it. Rather than wearing his own clothes beneath his suit, which before was nothing more than a cover for him, was a pair of brown boots with buckles enclosing the front, a pair of black pants, a gray and white mandarin style top, and his cloak to go over top. Around the mannequin's neck was a pair of goggles with gray-blue tinted lenses, resting nearby were two arm-bands and what looked like a utility belt.

"How the hell did you get that in here without any of us knowing?" Alex asked with a frown. "There's been someone in here the whole time."

"This place is like Hogwarts," Cisco said with a modest shrug.

"You've got Harry Potter too!' Winn said excitedly. "I love this Earth."

"What do you think, Brady?" Cisco asked as the boy approached the suit.

"I think it looks awesome," Deity said in admiration.

"I like it," Brady whispered as he ran the hand over the suit. He turned to Cadence. "And, look, mom! Matching goggles!" She grinned in response.

"Jeez. Hours of work and he just 'likes it'," Winn grumbled.

"Tell me about it, my talents are wasted here," Cisco agreed.

"Mope later guys, it's time to stop the bad guy," Alex pointed out.

"Right," Cisco said. He quickly went through the components of the suit, from the individual holsters that held his sling-shot and yoyo, introducing a frisbee which would turn into a large shield if worked the right way, and containers in the arm bands that held the pieces of ammo for his slingshot, rolling into his palm when needed. "And of course, this." He presented Brady with an item that he turned back and forth in his hands.

"A watch?" Brady asked.

"Not a watch," Winn said. "We managed to fasten a device that'd ensure you to get into your suit in a moment's notice."

"You press your hand against the top and it'll before suiting up along with everyone else. It took a lot of work with nano-particles and studying Eobard's old ring that helped us figure it out. I mean, that quick side-trip we took to see Ray really helped out," Cisco said.

"Wait." Barry frowned. "I've been asking you to make me some sort of a ring—"

"—And a vehicle for me," Cadence jumped in, only to be met with exasperated responses of, "You can teleport!" from Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Brady, and HR.

"But you can make Brady a Ben 10 Omnitrix?"

"Really?" Cisco looked offended at his best friend. "I'm thinking of a Power Ranger Morpher. 90s baby for life, yo!"

"Cisco." Cadence gave him a look and waved her hand to say 'wrap this up'.

"Right. Sorry."

"Let's suit up."

Once they were all ready and Brady had on his new suit, Cisco opened up a breach and the six heroes jumped through to take on Music Meister.

---

A/N: Sorry this all took so long. I've been working a lot lately and I just needed some time to rest and not think about writing or anything else. But PowerHero432 and I've gotten this chapter polished up for you guys. I hope you enjoyed it. And, now you finally know why Cade said 'no'. What'd you think? Sorry, no review replies this time. But thank you all for sending them in!

Cheers,

-Riles