36

She Fought

/Humans and their arrogance…/

Grodd left Team Flash with the parting thought after declaring the fight to happen. All throughout gorilla city they could hear the gorillas' excitement to the fight that was to happen. The tension around the cell continued to increase in their holding cells.

Cadence got a good look around their holding cell in the time they'd arrived. There was only so much that could be focused on when trying her hardest not to black out. Caitlin's ice powers helped a little. She didn't feel like the walls and floor were tilting and swaying, that she was inside an industrial oven set to self-clean. But she knew it wasn't going to get better until she was off Earth-2. Looks like we'll have to cross Africa off the list for places to visit, she thought, eyes roving over their holding area once more.

Looking for a way, any way to get out. She'd tried using her fire powers to melt the bars on her cell and found herself unable to do so. It wasn't just Jesse's, Barry's and Cisco's powers that had been dampened beneath Grodd's manipulations. Caitlin's was a surprise. Cadence had been only seconds away from completely falling into darkness before she felt Caitlin's hand in hers, feeling the icy cold creep up her hand like a ghost's touch.

Their holding area, she figured, was underneath the arena that was going to be used for their fight. The space that looked to be windows in their cells gave them a view of the stands that slowly started to fill with waiting gorillas. The rest of their holding area connected to a sewer system; she could tell from how quickly the temperature of the air changed when Grodd or other gorillas passed in the distance. Grodd wouldn't move too far from what he's known before, Cadence realized, he'd lived in the sewers of Central City and planned the city's demise from there. Now he's planned Solovar's from in here.

The second thing she realized was how strong Grodd had become. If not how strong all the gorillas were. As far as she knew, Grodd was the only one who had the ability to damper them. They didn't have enough information of the other gorillas on Earth-2 to know what each of them could do. Super strength, telepathy, durability…if Solovar were able to be the ruler of the entire city, they at least all had those shared abilities. A leg up on the upcoming fight.

But, maybe, it had been a mistake.

/Humans and their arrogance…/

Flashes of…of a broken body continued to fill her head. Bloody and bruised, lying on a quiet street. They continued to flash over and over, similar to the ones that came through her head when facing Grodd the first time. How strong had he become if his psychic illusions could reach so far?

Cadence closed her eyes, reaching up her hands to grab her goggles. A safety net in the stormy sea she'd thrown herself into. She could do it, she could stop Solovar. She knew she could. It was everyone else that needed convincing. She couldn't miss the looks that turned her way when she declared to Grodd that she'd go up against his ruler. It always had been one of her worst qualities; ruthlessness.

Barry'd been eerily silent since Cadence agreed to the fight. His grasp tightened on the bars in front of him, the bars he'd had his forehead pressed against long enough to create an indentation. Long enough for Grodd to rip Harry from Jesse's arms and force him into his own cell.

Silence stretched through their holding area.

The friction was growing too rough and no one wanted to set the spark that'd start the flame.

The only thing to break the silence was the mounting rumbles and roars from the gorillas waiting for the fight to start. Barry squeezed his eyes shut then, finally, turned to Cadence, whose eyebrows quirked upwards, clearly waiting for him to say something. She absentmindedly played with her goggles, waiting for him to speak.

"What were you thinking?" His voice came in a low croak. "How could you throw yourself In the ring with Solovar like that?"

"We need to get out of here, somehow," Cadence replied, almost flippantly.

She expected this response. It made her a bit of a hypocrite now that she thought of it. How she'd gone after Barry so much for making so many decisions without her input due to his trying to run away from his problems and fix things on his own. The source of their communication issues. Now she'd done the same thing. It was the second time. The first had been when she and Harrison had gone to see Amunet, she hadn't had the tie time to talk to Barry about it before she did it. Just like in the moment she listened to Grodd. She didn't take the chance to talk it out with the team.

If they waited any longer, Barry would've gone ahead and made the decision on his own. Maybe they were a match made in heaven—if there were such a thing. Their heroics had good intentions but were typically represented in the wrong way. Why else would they continue to fight about killing so often?

Cadence dropped her hand and folded her arms. Looked Barry in the eye. "And we weren't going to get out if you offered yourself up for the slaughter," she said honestly. "You don't have the strength to take him down. The speed, maybe, but not the strength."

Barry looked incredulous. "And you thought it was a better idea to put yourself on the chopping block?"

Compared to who? Cadence thought. A guy who doesn't' have powers, two metas who haven't used their powers much at all, and a speedster who is only just getting her legs as a speedster. Cadence sucked her lips into her mouth and said, "Pretty much."

"Oh my god." Barry turned on his heel and planted his hands on his hips. He exhaled hard and ran his hands over his face. "You have to be kidding me."

"Which part of this sounds like a joke to you?"

"You know, I always thought the worst thing about being in jail was not having any freedom," Cisco murmured. He sat on the floor of his cell, tossing handfuls of hay to the corner. "But I was wrong. It's not being able to get away from the couple's spat that's the problem."

Barry grabbed his hair, gritted his teeth. He took in a deep breath to steady himself before saying, "You haven't even gone against Grodd by yourself before."

"That's sort of the point," Cadence pointed out. "I'm your partner, Barry. But that doesn't mean there aren't certain things I can do. We each have our own strengths, why don't we we use them when we need them? If any other speedster were to come up, I'd back you up any way I could."

"If Solovar is half as strong as Grodd is, you don't stand a chance. He could kill you!" Barry's voice broke.

Cadence understood then it wasn't that he didn't support her decision, wasn't that he didn't believe in her, but that he was scared. He had an almost obsessive need to save people and to see as much justice as he could, but it was different to carry the weight of the world on your own if something went wrong than to see someone else get hurt.

"So could bees," Cadence pointed out. Caitlin made a face. "I'm allergic."

"I thought you just hated them," Cisco said.

"That, too." The only thing that could get her running faster than Barry was any sort of bug crawling on or near her. If any of the Meta-Spiders showed up once more, she'd be at the other side of the world faster than anyone could blink. She'd much rather take on a giant gorilla than even the tiniest of bugs.

"Cade," Caitlin broke in. She slumped against the wall of her own cell. She stuck as close to Cadence as she could, ready to use her powers to help her again if needed. "You really need to think about this."

"We think too much," Cadence pointed out. "That's our biggest problem, as a team." She looked around at her friends. "We keep thinking of how we have to get ahead, of how we have to come up with a plan in case this next plan fails." She gestured toward the arena. "With this happening, we need to do more than just think of a plan. The only thing that will keep us alive, right now, is stopping Solovar. And the only way to stop him, right now, is to fight him. I'm the only one who is strong enough to hold him off. If I can hold him off long enough for you guys to escape, then that's all we need. Bar that, you need to think of a way to get out of here."

At that, Barry whipped around and grabbed onto the bars of his cell once more. He held them as tightly as he could, gritted his teeth. He focused on the Speed Force within him. Could feel himself tap into the power. Could feel it surging through his body, from his chest to his arms, down to his wrists and hands. Up to his fingertips. Willed them to start vibrating, to tap into the frequency that'd allow him to completely tap into the true potential of the speed force and start to phase.

Nothing.

Barry shook his head. "I still can't phase through the bars," he said. He shook his head harder, squeezed his eyes tighter. We have to find a way out of here, so we can stop him."

"Sometimes you have to slow down, Barry," Cadence remarked, shaking her head.

"You keep saying that but what if we can't get out?" Jesse asked. She folded her arms, started to chew on her lower lip. She paced the perimeter of her cell, moving faster with each revolution. Nerves flittered through her eyes. "What if we're stuck here, what if—"

"—No, you can't think like that!" Barry declared. "Where there's life, there's hope."

"And if there isn't hope?" Harry asked. His voice was low, raspy. He, like Caitlin, leaned against the wall of his cell. But rather than working to find a way out of the cell, Harry continued to keep his eyes on Barry. The speedster looked up sharply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"It means, Allen, that at some point, hope runs out," Harry explained. "You can't live off it as an endless supply. Sometimes, you have to live off action." His eyes bore into Barry's. "There's always more than one way to handle things and letting your emotions get in the way of it isn't something that behooves a situation." He started to rub his thumb over his knuckles in a sweeping pattering. "Your desperation isn't going to be what gets us out of here so don't start believing that it will."

"What else are we going to do then?" Cisco threw his hands in the air. He laughed incredulously, "Grodd wants me to open the breach so he can attack Earth-1. Let's just think what will happen if I do it? We all stay alive…but everyone in Central City will be under the threat of becoming another Planet of the Apes." He slowly stopped laughing and ran a hand through his hair. Gathered it up into a ponytail before dropping it over his shoulders. His voice was soft as he asked, "What if I don't do it?"

Caitlin's eyebrows jerked upwards. She tilted her head to the side, watching Cisco carefully. "Are you planning to die?" She asked. "If you are, that's news to me and something that you usually want to tell your best friends."

"I don't plan to die unless you kill me," Cisco said. He smiled, but there was no humor in his voice. "This is something we have to consider. If I'm dead…" He shook his head. "Then we don't get back. Then nothing happens. They have nothing they can hold over us."

"Cisco's right," Jesse agreed. She took in a deep breath; the emblem of her suit caught the light trickling in from the holes in their cells. Quick as a flash the light faded. "if it happened, it'd change the newspaper headline in the future."

Harry's head tilted to the side. His blue eyes blinked rapidly behind his glasses. He lifted a finger in question. "Headline?"

"It's a long story," Cadence said quickly. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. Typically, she was the one who would say death was the answer. This time around, she was the only one who wasn't claiming it as an option. It was a last resort.

"But…" Barry closed his eyes. Hated how he had to admit what else he knew under a guise of the unknown. "It'd make another one come true." He looked meaningfully at Caitlin, who looked back at him, brown eyes swimming with confusion. "The one about Killer Frost."

Caitlin's breath caught in her throat. Cadence slowly felt her internal temperature start to rise onc once more. "K-Killer Frost?" Caitlin repeated. She swallowed hard and stepped closer to Barry. "What…what's going to happen with Killer Frost?"

"There's a headline," Barry said slowly, under his breath. "One of the ones I saw…it said that Killer Frost was still at large. Something's going to happen, Caitlin. I'm sorry." He looked at her, feeling his heart break as much as hers was.

"That…that doesn't mean anything," Caitlin said. She laughed to herself, a hollow laugh that barely kept her together. Her hands shook, a terrible shiver running through her body. "For all we know, it's…it's talking about the Killer Frost of this Earth. I haven't used my powers…haven't been able to since this…" she motioned to the necklace that sat around her neck.

Then how was she able to use her powers over here? Cadence thought. She sucked in a sharp breath, seeing another flash of her broken body in her head. Solovar really was doing his best to beat her mentally before he beat her physically.

"It's why I've been able to help Cade," Caitlin continued. "I guess, because Grodd doesn't know I have powers, his dampening over my meta dampener is negating each other. It keeps Barry from using his powers but makes it so that I can use mine." Caitlin lifted her eyes to Cisco's. "If you're asking me to kill you…I can't do that."

Cisco shook his head. "I'm not asking you to."

Caitlin's hands dropped from the bars on her cell, jaw dropping the same. Heard the insistence in his voice. How could he ask her…tell her to do that? Caitlin took a step back. One. Then another. Then another. Shaking her head, she turned her back on her friends.

Cadence sighed. She tilted her head back, looked through the window that'd take them to the arena. She could see the stands were almost filled by that point. She lowered her chin. "Cait," she said slowly. "If you kill someone, there's no going back from that. Not for people like you. I can handle it. Not…not you…"

"Stop!" Caitlin's voice echoed along the holding cells. Even Harry looked impressed, rolling his head to look at her. She kept her back to her friends, hands clenched at her sides. They shook with a cold fury. "I'm not going to kill you, Cisco, and neither is anyone else. So, let's come up with the next best plan that doesn't involve murdering our friends."

Cadence scratched her forehead. It started to bead with sweat once more. She ran her hands over her face. Let out a deep breath, tried to steady the nerves burning through her stomach. They increased, ten-fold, the ground shaking before a dark, incriminating shadow appeared around the corner of the hallway that led to their cells. Grodd lumbered to Cadence's cell, stopping just before it.

The door swung open by itself. Grodd took a step back, allowing Cadence the space to walk through. /It's time./

Cadence nodded and started to follow Grodd from the cell. She caught Harry's eye. Whether it was a sudden fear of what was to happen, or it was the look on his face—his face in particular—that made her stop. Something in his face changed, melted from the hardened expression he always wore to something short of fatherly concern.

Harry reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the face of his cell. His eyes searched hers. It took him a long moment to figure out what she was trying to hide from him. "You're trying to change the headline," he murmured. "You're trying to change the future."

"If Barry goes out there, he'll be killed," Cadence murmured, keeping her voice low. "If anyone but me goes out there, they'll be killed. I'm the only one that has the strength to go toe to toe with Solovar or Grodd or any of these other gorillas and stand a chance."

"Are you sure about that?" Harry's eyes searched her face. Watched the beads of sweat continue to roll down her forehead. She hastily brushed them away. "The longer you're gone from Caitlin's hold…Africa has an interesting density of humidity and temperate climates and while we're out of the jungle the humidity has already caused an unbalance of your internal temperature. Even doing a flaming fist is putting you at risk of falling in a coma."

Cadence smiled. "I can handle it. I've handled it before." Before, she didn't have a strong grasp of her powers. Before she didn't know how to handle what came to her without a strong punch and hoping for the best. This time, she had a plan. "Trust me. I'm not going to let anything happen to anyone here."

"You're playing a dangerous game, here," Harry pointed out. A small smile came to his lips. "So much like my Jesse," he said. "I can only tell her to be careful so many times before she goes and does it anyway." His face screwed up for a moment, as if something had suddenly come to him. "Like my own…" he was about to say daughter, Cadence was sure of it.

She wondered if he was seeing her as Burnout or if he was seeing her as Cadence, as his doppelganger's daughter, as his own, through the eyes of someone who had mind-melded? Wondered if he was really going to stop her if it was the only thing that'd let them get the opportunity to best Solovar, get back to Earth-1, and stop the gorilla headline and…the future headline from happening.

Harry squeezed her hand in his, a soft smile on his lips. Then, Cadence felt a hold over her. Her hand dropped from Harry's, her body went rigid. Her arms and legs moved on auto-pilot and with Grodd and another large gorilla flanking her sides, Cadence was taken away from the holding cells. She wasn't let go until she was in the middle of the arena, bombarded on all sides by the screaming and hollering of the gorillas sitting in the stands.

Cadence brought her goggles up to cover her eyes, did her best to keep from swaying. It was already getting harder to breathe. She took a deep breath and faced Solovar. Even from a quick glance, she could see he was very strong. All the muscles in his body were visible beneath his skin, covered by the thin layer of white fur that covered his skin. The spear and shield he held were made from the toughest materials he knew how to work with. They were stained with blood. He'd used them before. Used them to kill.

Probably against those that had dared to defy him. Used them as a guinea pig to prove his power over all the other gorillas. Cadence sucked in a deep breath to steady herself. Thought of those back on Earth-1, Harrison, Tess, her mom, Ryder, the Wests, Brady…her son…she had to get back to her son. No matter what, he was always her goal to get back to.

But she wouldn't let her friends down, wouldn't let her failure keep them trapped on an Earth where they would, no doubt, be the next ones to throw themselves to the slaughter to stop Solovar to stop the future.

"Fire meta versus super gorilla," Cisco murmured from where he and the rest of the team pressed themselves against the concrete walls of their cells. Hoping for a better look into the fight that was about to happen. "Best worst video game ever."

Barry shook his head. Couldn't find humor in the situation. Had he been the one that was going out into the arena, he wouldn't have a problem with it. Everything would fall on his shoulders, he could handle that stress, that pressure. Had done so since he was a child. The pressure to tell the truth, to tell what the general public thought was the truth, laid on his shoulders since he was a young child. And yet, he burdened that stress and took it until he'd been able to use it as a guiding force for his life.

"Do you really think she can beat Solovar?" Caitlin asked, voice timid. Even she couldn't keep herself from watching.

"She can do it," Jesse murmured.

A horn sounded. Barry swallowed hard, watched as the gorillas in the stands started to screech even louder, thumping their fists against their chests. Harry sucked in a deep breath through his nose, rubbing his eyes. "It's starting."

Cadence clenched her hands into fists, allowed flames to ignite up her arms. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath when the ground slanted. Focus, Cade, you can fight this. You have to give your friends a chance. She opened her eyes again and stared Solovar down.

Solovar stared back at her. /After you die, your friends will follow you into the black./

A smirk came to Cadence's lips. No matter what. She had everyone on her side. They were going to get back to Earth-2. She could do it. "We'll just see about that," she remarked. She stood her ground as Solovar reared back and let out a roar so loud that it echoed miles away. If possible, it was to be heard on Earth-1.

He was ready to fight.

"Okay, Cade, I've got a plan…" Cisco's voice said through her Comm-Link. "Don't let him touch you. We need to figure out what his strengths are before he beats you to a bloody pulp."

Cadence made a face. "Thanks, Cisco," She said sarcastically. Solovar slowly started to lumber towards her. The ground shook with each step he took. Cadence struggled to keep herself upright amongst the tremors. It took a second for her to realize what was going to happen if he got to her. It was the same as if Barry would come to her. The more momentum Solovar built up, the more strength he had behind his hit. If she waited for the last second to move aside, there was a ninety percent chance she wouldn't make it and be sent flying.

Even if she teleported, Solovar could swing his momentum around and throw his spear to get her in a direct hit. Too fast for her to change directions. So she had no choice but to run. Cadence ran straight toward Solovar. With each step she took forward, flames licked up her arms and legs, igniting further from the increase in oxygen. When they got close to each other, Solovar ducked down and thrust his arm with the shield forward, catching her shoulder. With his momentum, he threw her aside as easily as flicking away a gum wrapper.

Cadence's feet lifted from the ground. She felt herself tumbling head over heels through the air. Far enough that she had the time to figure out which was the best way to land. This is going to hurt, the thought passed through her mind. On her feet and she'd injure her ankles and knees. On her hands, she'd break her wrists. On her front or back then she had the risk of knocking herself out. Or injuring her spine. She had no choice. I hope this works. Cadence tucked herself into a ball and rolled across her shoulders.

She'd been hit harder than she thought. Cadence fell ground, rolled a few times then stopped. Her muscles screamed in protest. Cadence barely had the chance to recover before Solovar was on her once more, striking her across the face with a solid punch. Cadence's jaw broke; blood filled her mouth. Her head cracked against the ground. Blood bubbled over her lips. A low hum filled her ears, accompanied by a ringing. Cadence's head lolled back and forth. She took a couple of deep breaths. Worked hard to focus her eyes. Solovar was quick with his finishing move. He picked up his spear and thrusted it forward.

Oh God. Cadence teleported just as the tip was seconds away from sticking her. Enough so that she felt the fabric of her suit snag against the tip. She landed on her feet across the arena, giving her ample space to come up with another plan. Cadence spat a mouthful of blood to the ground, already feeling her jaw heal. Solovar was going to have to put up a tougher fight than that to keep her down.

You've taken down worse than him before, she reminded herself. You have to stay alive to stop the Assassination Bureau. You can do this. She repeated the words in her head repeatedly; a cheerleading squad for herself. You can do this. You can do this. You can do this.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin's voice came over the comm. link. She sounded breathless.

"I'm fine," Cadence replied. She shook off fatigue that cemented her feet to the ground. "This is going to be a bit harder than I thought. It's like…going against a majorly muscled speedster."

"Thanks," Barry said sarcastically.

"I get it," Jesse said. "Solovar isn't a speedster, but the speed he gets with his momentum makes him a giant wrecking ball. Anything that comes his way makes it harder to stand up against. Gorillas are already six times stronger than the average human, with the PSI's of their bite being 1,300 pounds per square inch."

"And these gorillas are sentient," Harry added. "They've got telepathic powers and all the abilities that come with it. The fact they don't rely on said powers makes them even more formidable than we originally thought."

"Okay, then we'll just have to try something else," Cisco said. "Because trying not to let him touch her isn't working. He's just going to keep coming."

Cadence flicked her arm, causing more fire to twist toward her shoulder. She ignored the darkness creeping into the edges of her vision. Waited until Solovar got close enough and bent back as she could. The back of her head dusted the ground. A bit further. She winced, feeling her recent wound, which had begun healing, start to heal. Not fast enough. Solovar raced toward her. Gathering strength from her legs, Cadence swung forward once more and, with a flaming fist, punched Solovar below the jaw in a solid uppercut. Solovar roared in surprise as his head flew back, his body arching straight up into the air.

Cadence shifted her weight to the side and tapped into the fire within her. Rapidly, she teleported back and forth around the arena. Smoke stretched and curled into the air each tiem she disappeared and re-appeared. All the while, the temperature around the arena started to increase. The combination of her teleportation and the thermal heat made the air around her start to shimmer. Heat waves wiggled in front of the spectators, squiggling and squirming as the seconds passed. Finally, from the smoke tendrils, copies of Cadence started to appear.

Heat mirages.

/Your silly games won't stop me./

As the minutes passed, the arena continued to fill with heat mirages of Cadence. Over and over. Solovar thrashed about, throwing his arms and feet aside, slicing and dicing through the mirages, looking to find the original one. But Cadence continued to create one right after the other.

Sweat literally poured off the fire metahuman as she continued to move, frantically trying to store up as much energy as she could. The darkness continued to narrow her vision, turning them into pinpricks, though she always made sure to know where Solovar was. Finally, she launched herself high in the air, the speed mirages all moved with her, and threw her hands into the air. They created fireballs so large that immediately started to split and shoot toward Solovar, machine gun blasts of pure fire.

Solovar roared, trying to shield himself from the damage around him. He raised his shield, hoping to cover himself, though his large body could barely be covered. He twisted back and forth, continuing to cry out in pain. Finally, he threw off the attacks and ran forward. Ran to a clearing, knocking the heat mirages out of the way, and threw himself up into the air.

Solovar soared upwards, high, high, higher than the stands that stretched into the sky. At the crest of his jump, he threw off his shield where it dropped heavily to the ground. Grabbed his spear with both hands and turned it straight down. He fell, faster and faster before slamming down.

The impact of his connection made a dust cloud come up, immediately wiping away the rest of heat mirages. The shockwave crashed into Cadence and sent her flying into the concrete wall of the arena. She gasped in pain, feeling her back hit first, felt her upper half bend back over the wall, her bottom half holding still.

A gorilla in the stand grabbed her arm and threw her back to the ground. She landed hard, cheek scraping against the ground. Cadence groaned, placing her hand on the ground, tried to get up. She gasped, struggling to pull herself higher than the initial push-up position. Her legs wouldn't cooperate, dangling lifelessly below her

Jesse immediately knew what happened. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth, clenched into a fist. She lowered her hand and hugged her arms to herself, a comforting move. Something twisted in his stomach that she'd never felt for her her own sister, Burnout.

"Her back's broken," Harry remarked, voicing Jesse's thoughts. Jesse closed her eyes and turned away, hugging her arms tighter to herself. If only she were out there, if only she were able to help. She looked to Barry, noticing the pain swimming in his eyes. How hard was it to have to sit back and not have control over things like this? Maybe that what it's like, to be a speedster, she thought. Having to slow down in the worst situations.

"She can heal instantaneously," Caitlin reminded the others. Her lower lip trembled, watching her friend.

"It's still going to take time for her to get back up," Cisco said. He brought his thumb to his mouth, chewing the nail down to the quick. He blew out a long breath, running his hands through his hair. "It's a spinal injury we're talking about."

Barry's eyes steeled. He turned and started to scan the cell once more. If his powers were dampened, they'd have to think of something else than phasing and forcing their way through the bars to get out. "We have to find a way to get out there," Barry declared. "If…if we can't phase, we have to think of another way."

"What other way do we have?" Jesse asked. She shook her head, gestured feebly. "If we can't move fast enough to move through the bars. Grodd has a mental block on all of us. It's not like we can just slip through here undetected."

Barry slammed his fist against the concrete wall and turned away. He couldn't handle the animalistic jeering from the gorillas. Couldn't stand watching what seemed to be an endless fight. If he were out there, he may have had a chance. Could phase through him, could throw lightning, could create a magnetic field to send Solovar flying. Anything.

What were they missing?

"Sometimes you have to slow down, Barry,"

That's it! Barry started to smile. Cadence always knew how to put a lot of double meaning to her words. If it managed to work this time, it didn't matter if she wasn't as smart as the others.

She was a genius.

Cadence had only regained feeling in one leg when Solovar sauntered over and grabbed her neck by his thumb and index finger. His lips pulled back into a malicious smile as he shook her back and forth, her arms and legs dangling as he did so. Cadence winced, feeling his nails puncture her neck, blood dripping to stain the ground below her.

/Puny human,/ Solovar thought. He wiggled her back and forth, watching her arms and legs flail about /Can destroy but don't know how to defend themselves./

Cadence chuckled and started to smile. No matter how much pain she were in, no matter how much trouble, she always had to smile. Breathtaker tried to break her out of that habit, but failed. If she still managed to smile, she still had the strength to move on. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to brag?" She whispered.

Solovar's eyes narrowed.

Cadence's eyes flickered with flames before they burst form her eyes. The flames struck Solovar direction in the middle of the forehead. He dropped her and Cadence landed to the ground in a crouch. Cadence swung her legs in a judo sweep, knocking Solovar over. He swung his shield toward her. Cadence did a no-handed cartwheel to avoid it before doing a high kick that struck him in the side of the face. Solovar fell back and Cadence took the chance to grab the spear in his hand. She heat up her hand, increasing the temperature in the metal of the spear. Solovar immediately dropped it, waving off his meaty hand.

Cadence grabbed his index with both hands and with a scream of effort, pulled Solovar as hard as she could, throwing him over her shoulder to slam him on the ground. Cadence jumped backwards and leapt up, she teleported, did a graceful flip, and wit jet propulsion from her feet, slammed directly into Solovar's stomach.

He fell limp.

Gasping for air, Cadence rolled off Solovar and stood up, glancing around the arena. The crowd went wild, leaping up and down, slamming their fists. Grodd, who sat in a throne nearby, narrowed his eyes toward her. Cadence glanced at Grodd before taking a few steps back, speaking directly to the audience. She had something she needed to say.

"I won't kill him," Cadence declared. In their cells, her friends watched silently. Her words surprised them. "It's not the way to end this. You think we want war with gorilla kind…we don't." She took a deep breath, faced Grodd head-on. He continued to glare. She glared back at him, held a note of pride as she said the words that cemented her own destiny. "We're not all murderers and killers. We just want peace. Which is why I'm not going to kill Solovar today." She stepped back from Solovar, even further away from Grodd. "It's what we call mercy."

It was one of the first times, in a long time, she'd exhibited it. And it wouldn't be the last.

Grodd growled. His lips trembled over his yellow teeth. He leaned toward her, tightening his grasp around the arms of the concrete throne, cracking them.

/Take her out./ Grodd declared.

Barry's head whipped upwards when he heard the declaration. Heard it clear as a bell in his head. "Grodd," he growled. "What are you doing?" He and the rest of Team Flash stood stock still, waiting for Grodd's response that came quickly.

/Solovar means nothing now./ Grodd replied. /I told you, I needed you. I could not defeat Solovar in combat. Even if he manages to win, my bretheren have seen the battle. I will be the ruler of gorilla city and all the gorillas will follow me./

The truth fell over the team like cold water. Caitlin was the first one to regain her composure. The first one ot figure it out. "Solovar never wanted to attack central city," She gasped. "You did."

/You took my home away from me and now I'll take it back,/ Grodd growled. /They saw what you can do, and now they're afraid of humans and what they'll do anything I order and I will order them to invade your Earth and your city will burn./

"You played us this whole time," Cisco growled.

/Yes, father taught me well, always think ahead. And I've had plenty of time to think in cages buit by you and Solovar./

"Then why not kill us?" Barry demanded.

The answer was short, sweet, and to the point. /Still need you./

Barry shook his head. His upper lip curled, trembled with fury. He'd had his niceness, his positivity taken advantage of one too many times. He wasn't going to let it happen again. Not when he had the chance to keep everyone safe, even if it meant making the hardest decisions. "I'm not doing anything for you." If he died on Earth-2, then so be it. He'd saved enough people.

/Not you, Flash. The braecher./

"Me?" Cisco practically squeaked. "I mean, I don't know about that. My powers…they're useful but also sort of…they don't always work so well—"

/You will open a breach to first earth, my army will cross that breach and all humans in Central City will burn./

Barry shook his head. He turned his attention back to the arena, watched as the battle continued to rage on. He wasn't sure how much more he could take, if he were honest. "You're smart, Grodd," Barry remarked. Almost pleaded. His hands shook around the bars of the cell. "Smarter than all of us. Smart enough to know you can not do this. Intelligence and violence are opposites of each other. What you want to do is not logical. Not for someone as wise as you are."

/You forget, Flash, I am an animal, I am a gorilla. Kill or be killed!/

"I'm going to get out of this cell and I'm going to stop you," Barry declared.

/No, you won't. You will die./

Solovar's eyes shot open. A lot happened at once. First, he sent out a psionic blast that had Cadence falling to her knees, clasping her hands over her ears. Then, he was back on his feet, punching toward her with his fist and shield. Cadence threw up her hands, exerting the last of her energy.

The battle between the two raged on for almost an hour. Fatigue started to set in. Cadence felt the lats of her energy continue to drain away as she fought to defend herself. Slowly, flames encompassed her entire body until she was covered head to toe. She threw up her hands, catching Solovar's before it could pound her into the ground. She screamed in pain and exertion, her feet skidding out beneath her, buckling under Solovar's power.

She fell to her knee. Threw Solovar's hands above his head. At the same time, the two reared back and threw the hardest punch they could to each other. Their fists connected, a boom of energy that forced them apart. The force of the explosion sent them spinning backwards. Cadence followed the momentum, using it to come back around for another punch.

Ready to take it straight to the middle of his face. Just as her knuckles were about to reach him, she came to an abrupt stop.

"Gah!" Cadence gasped.

Her eyes widened.

She coughed.

Solovar stood before her, arms extended.

Blood spurted over Cadence's lips. She looked down, watching the tip of Solovar's spear bob in his grasp, sticking out her stomach. Then, she lifted her eyes to Solovar, who continued to stand in front of her, chest heaving with his breaths. Cadence coughed again. Blood dripped from her mouth to the ground.

Cadence wrapped her hands around the handle of the spear, locked eyes with Solovar. "You should see the look on your face," she gurgled.

Her lips curled into a smirk. With an extra boost of flame, the spear in her hands melted, dripping to the ground. She flicked her hands creating a long fire whip in her hand. She threw it, wrapping it around Solovar's neck, the fire burning straight into his flesh.

Solovar roared, showing all his teeth. Cadence created two more fire whips she threw and wrapped around Solovar's arms. Leaning back, she pulled as hard as she could, leaving Solovar immobile. Cadence dug her heels into the dirt, creating small grooves that deepened the more Solovar thrashed against them.

Lightning streaked through the arena. It ran in multiple circles of the arena before coming straight into Solovar, striking it hard in the chest. Cadence immediately let go of the fire whips, allowing Solovar to drop back to the ground, falling limp. This time, knocked out. She gasped, arms dropping to her sides like a stone.

The ball of lightning stopped behind her. Cadence looked up to see Jay standing in front of her, the sun and Grodd's glare reflecting off the tin of his helmet. "Looks like I made it just in time," he remarked, bundling her into his arms. "Remind me to teach Barry how to do it."

Cadence started to answer, found herself unable. No strength left for such simple words. She held onto Jay as he raced away from the arena and back to the holding cells. He stopped short, seeing Barry and Jesse both lying quietly, lifelessly on the ground.

There was a roar, louder, angrier than Solovar's. It didn't take more than a few seconds for Grodd to appear down in the cells. Jay backed into the darkness, still holding Cadence close to his chest. He motioned for her to be quiet. She nodded, trying her hardest to keep form making her sucking gasps, working to catch her breath, waiting for the wound in her stomach to heal.

Caitlin pleaded to Grodd, kneeling on the floor of her cell. She wept quietly, tears frozen to her cheeks. They sparkled and glittered under the sunlight. She shook her head, lifted her gaze to Grodd before looking over Barry and Jesse. "I don't know what happened," She whimpered. "They just…they just started coughing. They fell, they…something happened. All the trauma must've made them go into shock."

Grodd growled. He reached into Jesse's cell, pressed a giant finger to her neck. No pulse. Then he moved to Barry, who appeared blue and did the same. "Cold," Grodd murmured. The door to their cells opened by themselves. Grodd reached in and gathered the speedsters by their feet and dragged them from their cells.

Cadence watched Jesse's and Barry's arms slide above their heads as they were pulled across the floor before their bodies were haphazardly tossed aside. "They were of no use to me anyway," Grodd murmured, lumbering away.

"No," she Cadence whispered, watching them lie softly. Then, to her amazement, Barry sucked in a sharp breath, vibrating rapidly. The color rose to his face. He sucked in sharp gasps of air. Jesse, on the other hand, opened her eyes and flipped to her feet rapidly. She brought a hand to her chest, eyes growing wide.

"Whoa," she cried. "What a rush." She looked to Barry. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I didn't free you too much, did I?" Caitlin asked.

"No." Barry stumbled forward. He grabbed onto the lever that controlled the doors to the cells and leaned heavily against it. "Just enough." He nodded to Jesse. "Help…help me open this." Jesse nodded and moved to his side, throwing her weight against the lever.

Slowly, but surely, the gate opened.

Jay carefully placed Cadence on the ground and held her arm, holding her up as her strength returned. "You look like you could use some help," he remarked, turning all eyes to him.

Cisco's jaw dropped, and he pointed to Jay. His eyebrows came together as he tilted his head. "What the hell? When'd you get here?"

"Better question," Harry declared. "How did you know we were here?"

Jay shot a smile his way. "A friend came by and told me what was going on." He looked to Barry and nodded. Barry nodded back but looked more confused than ever before. Amazed and grateful for Jay's appearance but confused. "Said that you could use my help."

Barry's eyebrows furrowed. Something about Jay's words were calming but…there was something he equally wasn't sure of. With Jay's help, the three opened the cell doors. Once the doors were opened, Caitlin and Cisco rushed out, immediately heading towards the stairs that'd make it to their escape. Jesse moved around Jay and grabbed onto Cadence, framing her face in his hands.

"Are you okay?" She asked her other Earthly sister. Cadence held her just as tightly.

"I should be asking you that,' Cadence shot back. She looked at where Jesse had just been lying so still, so quietly, so…she looked dead. "What happened?"

"I stopped my heart," Jesse explained. "Well, I made it look like my heart stopped. I made it move fast enough that it slowed down." She frowned, feeling a tingling sensation under her fingers. Brought her hands back and noticed Cadence standing up straight. As if shed suddenly, completely, regained her strength.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Cisco cried.

Barry, Jesse, and Jay grabbed their friends and raced them form the holding area, not stopping until they made it back to the humid woods. "We should be far enough out for you to use your powers," Barry said to Cisco, gasping for air once he skidded to a stop. "We gotta go before they realize we're gone."

The group all winced at the sound of a loud roar accompanied by the sound of thumping footsteps. Grodd was already coming after them. Caitlin grasped Cisco's arm, looked at him with wide, pleading eyes. "Open a breach!"

Cisco nodded and thrust out his fist, creating a swirling vortex in front of them. "Time to warp out of this mad house." Harry and Jay were the first ones through the breach. Caitlin, Jesse, and Cadence were the next ones to go through.

Barry and Cisco were last. Looking over their shoulders as they watched Grodd come closer and closer. They leapt through the breach, the swirling vortex growing smaller and smaller as the seconds passed. Grodd pulled closer and closer, racing as fast as he could.

The vortex blinked out, but not before Grodd leapt through.

A/N: So, what did you think of this one? I had a lot of fun with it. I'm equally excited for you all to see everything work out together with the next chapter as well. What did you think of the arrival of Jay? How do you think he knew how to get there?

Cheers,

-Riley

Review Replies

Ethan: Well, it was also hinted from Julian/Alchemy's speaking to Savitar before that something was going to happen when he mentioned that Barry and the others were going to Gorilla City just like Savitar needed him to.

DarkHelm145: That was done on purpose, of course. Just to add in a bit of mystery before it's revealed.

Guest: I hope it lives up to your expectations.