43

Lowered Defenses

"Is this what it feels like to be on CSI?" Cisco asked, looking down at his gloved hands.

Caitlin looked up at him and smiled, pulling on her own gloves. She paused, taking the ring off her left hand, carefully putting git in the pocket of her scrubs, before sliding the gloves onto her hands. Carefully, she pulled a mask above her face, covering everything from her eyes down, making sure she didn't jostle the necklace away from its place around her neck.

What's the matter, Caity? Are you afraid I'll come out and ruin something? Killer Frost's voice whispered through her head, much like the icy vapors her—their—powers exhibited. Caitlin shook her head, equally brushing away Killer Frost's words and letting Cisco know she was partly amused by his analogy to the Hazmat suits they wore.

The voice had started to come more often than she'd like to admit. Her dreamless nights were broken up with a whisper of her name, Caity, that made Caitlin stay up for days afterwards, only allowing herself to fall asleep when she could no longer stave off her exhaustion. When she gave herself too much time to think about Killer Frost, it was like summoning her. Nothing about her outwardly changed, her eyes didn't change color, her fingernails didn't turn blue, her lips stayed a fresh pink. But it was that damn blondes streak in her hair, the one that wouldn't go away, that let Caitlin know she was there.

The Miss me? Every time she looked in the mirror. The small nuances within Caitlin's own movements that she knew weren't her own. She was all for dressing professionally in the work place and numerous times she'd find herself halfway out the door in a pair of stilettos, tight jeans, and a tank top before she'd regain control of her mind and run back inside to change.

That was when Killer Frost didn't take control for those few moments. The black outs she couldn't explain and didn't want to think about. The ones she should've told her friends but wasn't quite sure how to bring it up without drawing their ire for multitudes of reasons. She couldn't imagine the thought of them abandoning her. The smart part of her knew they wouldn't go anywhere, they'd stay by her side.

But the sensitive part of her feared that it would be the last straw. Shed betrayed them once before, what would keep it from happening again? The necklace was only going to work for so long…the presence of Killer Frost's voice was a testament to that.

Afraid I'll come out and play?

Caitlin shook her head, cleared Killer Frost's voice from her thoughts and focused on getting herself ready. If it was a meta that'd attacked the man, turned him to a decaying corpse, she didn't need to accidentally touch something and trigger it on herself. It was hard enough for Barry to transport it to them in the first place. Something he didn't think too much about when he haphazardly dumped it onto an examining table in the medical bay. He was otherwise, too preoccupied with his conversation with Julian.

"I think, using the speed mirage, it's thrown him off the trail for a little while," Barry explained when he got back. "But not for too long. If he thinks about the sorts of things The Flash can do, he'll realize what I've done." He ran a hand over his head. "And I showed my face to him. It'd be even harder to convince him that I'm not The Flash."

"Yeah, but from what we know of Julian, he seems to be a bit short sighted," HR commented. He placed his hands on his hips. "Happens to the best of us. Can be a doozy of a flaw. But there's more than that we have to worry about, like…" he tapped his drumsticks against his lips. "What do we hope to gain from that examination they're going to perform?"

"Cause of death, time of death," Barry explained, standing a safe distance away with Wally and Jesse. "Anything on that level. The exact cause so we know for sure if it's meta related or not. Once we know that, we'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with."

"Okay, and how are you going to get the body back to the CCPD?" Wally asked. "I mean, I know there are a plethora of excuses we can use, but dad's not that great of a liar when it comes to meta stuff."

"If it is meta stuff," Jesse reminded him.

Cisco gave her a 'duh' look. "Have you not lived your life? Have you not been on Earth-1 long enough to know it's always meta related in some way?" He made a humming sound and pointed to Wally. "You better get your girl before I have to come after her," he remarked.

Wally and Jesse exchanged a glance, chuckling to themselves. Barry would've fallen along with the laughter if things weren't so serious, Caitlin surmised, watching the expression on his face. Saw the amusement flash through his eyes though the expression on his face remained the same. A scary realization for anyone paying attention.

For a moment, Caitlin studied Barry, suddenly thinking about his time in therapy. His time being mentally examined by psychologists. His time being interrogated by the police to know what really happened that night. After a while, no matter how much believed what he saw the night his mother was murdered was true, he had to keep quiet. Had to act like he'd seen his father murder his mother. All just to get them to leave him alone. How many times had he faked a smile while his eyes were dead inside? How many times had he been having fun with something, but his face refused to bring an expression that would show it, due to the injustice bestowed upon him.

How he managed to keep going every day was beyond her. I'll be glad to let you in on the secret, Caity. Once you let me out.

Caitlin took in a deep breath. Ignored Killer Frost, got her tools ready and lined up alongside the examining table.

"Until we can figure any of the rest of this out, we need to train," Barry said.

Cadence lifted an eyebrow. "You sure that's a good idea?" She asked. "We just got more information out of Julian than we could ever imagine; he proved that what Breathtaker had been saying was true. He's been around for thousands of years. And, like Jay said, Savitar has been around for who knows how long, as well. Time travel isn't difficult for a speedster."

"And we have that information written down," Barry agreed. He gestured vaguely. "In the metahuman database and Iris is working on it for her blog." Cadence gave him a look. "It's not anything that she's going to post to the public, but it's a new place to keep it in case things get to be…" he trailed off, bobbing his head back and forth.

"Even more of a shit show than things have already become?" Cisco suggested.

"Right," Barry agreed. "And, right now, Captain Singh knows I have the body and that I'm in charge of it. So long as Julian doesn't say anything about my not being at the CCPD, things should be okay."

"And we can trust Julian to not say anything?" Caitlin asked, skeptically. She looked to Cadence, who didn't appear as concerned. Caitlin lifted her eyebrows and Cadence sucked in a breath saying, "If he wanted to say something, I could claim harassment for something he said to me earlier today."

"So, we're going to blackmail now, huh?" HR asked, his grin wide. "I'd hate to see what he has on you. I guess it must be a Wells thing, keeping secrets and stuff."

"Yeah," Jesse agreed, looking toward her sister with an impressed glance. She ignored HR. "What's he got?"

HR brought up a hand, rubbing his chin. "Kind of like that whole, Breathtaker making you a meta before you were supposed to thing—"

"-We don't need to worry about it now," Caitlin quickly jumped in. She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. Working to push away the throbbing headache that was starting to form. "We need to figure out what's going on with this body."

"And until then, we need to train," Barry insisted. "The only way we're going to stop Savitar from killing Iris is if we can move fast enough to stop him. To move faster than he can move." He nodded to Wally. "And Brady and I'll help him learn everything he needs to know about phasing."

"Yes," Wally cheered.

Cisco looked interested. "You think Brady can really help? I mean, speedster phasing and his power of phasing aren't exactly one and the same."

"I know," Barry agreed. "But it's the only thing I can think of. I can give Wally the fundamentals on how to phase, but Brady is the one who's entire powerset is based on it. It gives him the ability to fly for crying out loud!"

HR stopped rambling to himself, turning his attention on to what Barry had been saying. "You know what, we should probably come up with some simulations to help Wallace learn this new skill," he remarked, tapping his cheek with his drumstick. "Run some time trials. Get his blood pumping."

Cisco's eyes widened incredulously. "And I'm going to be left out of it?"

"Cisco," Caitlin said patiently. She blinked bashfully, hoping she was able to change his mind with just the look. It'd worked many times before. "I need you here. To help me."

Her look proved not to work. Instead of falling to her whims, she was also banking on the promise of clearing out the frozen food section for some Pizza Pockets, Cisco gestured towards the fire metahuman. "But Cade is a doctor, why not get her help?"

Barry answered his question for his fiancée, "She's already training with Jesse."

"Fine." Cisco turned back toward the dead body. He pouted, folding his arms. Trying to ignore the sounds of the speedsters and fire metahuman all racing from STAR Labs, taking HR with them.

Caitlin, instead of worrying about it, simply turned back to the corpse that lay on the table. The withered corpse that lay with wide, unblinking eyes towards the ceiling. Mouth opened in a permanent, agonized scream. Skin a rust brown, sucked of any moisture and life that it had been before…before whatever met it. Caitlin shook her head, thinking. Wondering what it was like in the man's last few minutes.

"What?" Cisco's question was soft.

"I'm just…" Caitlin took in a deep breath. The front of her mask sucked in as well, pressed against her nose and lips. Her ringlets danced as she shook her head once more, mentally prepared herself to get to work. You've always been such a soft touch. She swallowed hard. "Wondering what his name is."

"He's practically a zombie, Caitlin, why does he need a name? It's not like he's a meta that we need to give a nickname to."

Caitlin's glare to him was so sharp it could've cut glass. "Because he was still a human Cisco." She lifted her head, staring him down. His eyes, the only part of him visible beneath his surgical mask and hair net, widened at his faux pas. "And your bedside manner sucks."

"I never had to come up with a bedside manner, I work in facts and figures, remember?"

"Then it's a good that you never went into this field."

"Ha ha."

For the next half hour, the two worked in silence. Utter silence. No Killer Frost to distract her. Caitlin could feel her other side's curiosity as she moved along her examination over the corpse. Cisco stayed silent as well, only making 'mhm' and 'huh' noises when Caitlin instructed him to turn the corpse one way or the other while she scraped off samples she could use to test. Once she had her samples, she'd put them under a microscope to look closer, taking notes as she went.

And that was alright with her. The less time they talked, the less she had to think about what she was keeping from them. The less she had to wonder about Killer Frost overpowering the meta dampener around her neck to take on whatever got in her way. If they didn't talk, the more they could get done. And the more her examinations failed for any of the normal bacterial and germ responses to a early death, the more frustrated Caitlin became.

She took in a deep breath, bit her lips to keep from getting too angry. If she got angry…Killer Frost would respond with glee. Oh! Caity knows how to feel! She isn't a cold-hearted monster like I am. Go on, let it out…

Caitlin hugged her arms to her chest, watching the computer in front of her whirr quietly, taking on the scraping of skin she'd placed inside. New tests. Different idea of figuring out what had happened to the body if it weren't nature made. The computer beeped, bringing up a split screen as 'SCAN COMPLETE' ran over the image of two DNA strands. Caitlin's eyebrows came together.

She tilted her head, watching the screen. Impossible. And yet, everything they dealt with was the impossible. It was something she had no choice of seeing and having to believe. Cisco, who'd taken on watching TV on his phone while waiting for a response, made a low humming sound when Caitlin took a step forward. Knowing she had her best friend's full attention, Caitlin waved her hand toward him. "Cisco, look."

Obediently, he turned off his phone and moved to her side. He looked at her. "What happened?" Then looked at the computer screen. Cisco was a man of many talent; a mechanical engineer who created technology that even the most talented could only dream of, had no idea what the split DNA strands on the screen were telling him.

Caitlin stared at the DNA on screen, watched the one on the left twist and wiggle, unraveling form itself, rapidly and haphazardly, like a child untying a knot. Turning around, Caitlin and Cisco watched the body they'd been working on rapidly rot before their eyes. Becoming a pile of dust within seconds. The dust wafted on the air from the vents that circulated through the medical bay. The two jumped backwards.

"What'd you do?" Cisco declared, tone accusing.

"I didn't do anything!" Caitlin defended herself. But you could have. She held her hands up defensively. "I just took some samples, worked on them. I didn't do anything to him. So…we know this is from a meta."

"We do?"

Caitlin gave Cisco a bemused look. "Does this look like something that was manmade or from bacteria?" She gestured wildly toward the body lying on the table. "And Barry and Joe said that it's the body they took from the crime scene."

"Define 'take'."

Caitlin threw her hands in the air. "Cisco!"

"What?"

"What's going on?" Caitlin's voice turned soft, soothing. She folded her arms. Usually, Cisco was up and rearing to go, ready to take on whatever meta problems came their way. And now? He was skeptical of it all? "You're acting very weird lately. Like, you mind hasn't been here. Like…it's been on something else." She watched him closely, watched as he turned away from. Though she knew the problems. "Or maybe, someone else."

"Do you really think this is a conversation we need to have right now?" Cisco ran a hand over his face. He turned and gestured towards the dust. "Over a dead body? Someone who needs to have that impeccable bedside manner you keep trying to push on me."

"Cisco," Caitlin warned. A 'you better tell me know, or regret it' noise. And yet, Cisco didn't turn to look at her. He merely shook his head, copying her stance, arms folded over his chest. A move to protect himself, Caitlin realized, while hers was a move of being fed up with his attitude. Two best friends who were slowly growing closed off to each other. Something she'd noticed since Gypsy's arrival.

Something flashed through her then, made her stomach clench. Hurt her heart. Something that dissipated within seconds. And, she couldn't help but notice, Killer Frost didn't have a comment about.

"Cisco…"

Their phones went off at the same time. A response to their warning app. Cisco whipped out his phone, ignoring Caitlin's disapproving glance as there was a computer nearby and she didn't want anything to contaminate their work, and check it over. His eyes widened, and he turned to face her. "Hey, we've got another body coming in."

"Another one?" Caitlin repeated.

"A Julio Mendez."

"Never heard of him." Caitlin gestured toward her computer. "Which is just as well. I'm not getting anything from any of these. And we need to be sure we can figure out what happened to this new body before it turns to ash, too. We don't know how much time we have."

"Maybe we should get Cade's help?" Cisco suggested again. He started to pace the floor of the medical bay. "Have her run the autopsy."

"You know." Caitlin gritted her teeth. Had to keep the image of throttling Cisco out of her head. As much fun as that would be. I've run plenty of autopsy's before, Cisco."

"I know, but that was her job for a year. Not to mention what she's known for going through medical school and residency." Caitlin gave him a look. "I'm just saying it's different than becoming a bioengineer. You went the actual science route, she went the hands on-route."

That's right, he doesn't think we can do it, Killer Frost whispered. That we're too weak. That we're not as good. "Meaning, you just don't want to get too close to the body," Caitlin surmised.

Cisco paused, twisting his mouth to the side. "…Yes, that, and, she has a lot of experience with it."

Caitlin shook her head. She laughed, rubbing at her face. One thing she certainly could count on was how easily Cisco made her laugh. No matter how serious thing were. Caitlin turned back to her computer, looking over the photos they'd taken of the body before it'd turned to ash. Looked for anything out of the ordinary. She found it in a few minutes. "The gradation is darker on the palm of his hand, from the point of contact." She looked back to the two strands of DNA on the computer, the one torn apart and the one holding still. "One of these must be from the killer. The other one has some sort of element in it."

"And it wasn't destroyed?" Cisco sounded incredulous. He moved to Caitlin's side, grabbing her shoulder to allow himself to lean closer to the screen. "Score one for the good guys." He squinted, tilting his head. "Have you ever seen anything like that before?"

Caitlin thought back to it. They'd done a myriad of scans and reports since Barry had explained Flashpoint to them. Come on, Caitlin, think. You're supposed to be the smart one aren't you? The one everyone cane depend on. I'm sure it's somewhere in that brain of yours. Killer Frost, if anything, was at least helpful in spurning Caitlin to figure things out, out of spite. "On the meta husk created by Alchemy…"

"So, this guy was created by Julian, too." Cisco grinned, showing all his teeth. A sarcastic smile as he brought up his thumb and said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, "Awesome!"

"I'll cross-reference it to the CCPD," Caitlin decided. She moved through the windows on her computer screen, bringing up, simultaneously, the CCPD database as well as the metahuman encyclopedia she'd created. She and Cisco waited with baited breath as numerous files and profiles rolled across the screen. Finally, it came up with the unsmiling face of a man who looked more than pissed off when being process into the CCPD.

The name beneath it read Clive Yorkin. "Mm." Cisco shook his head. "That's not the kind of guy I'd like to come up against in a dark alley. Especially not when one touch would make me Gone With The Wind."

"Do you come up with these on the spot or do you constantly think of them when things are slow?" Caitlin looked at him, jerked her head back when she realized how close their faces were. If Cisco noticed, he didn't say anything. Instead, he whipped out his phone and called Barry.

He connected the Bluetooth to the speakers on the computer and waited for Barry to pick up. He responded, sounding out of breath. "Hey, what's going on?"

"We've got a DNA match to CCPD records," Cisco explained. "The meta's name is Clive Yorkin."

"Does it sound familiar to you?" Caitlin asked. "Someone the CCPD may have arrested before?"

"If he's in the CCPD database he must be," Barry remarked. "But the name doesn't sound too…" Barry trailed off. Then, seconds later, he appeared in the medical bay, blowing papers around. He ripped off his hood and looked to Caitlin and Cisco. "Clive Yorkin, that's the name of the guy I saw in Flashpoint. He was being processed for some crime he committed."

"So, this is another Flahspoint meta," Caitlin realized. Good, Caity. Sound it out. Caitlin clenched her hand into a fist, willed the burst of anger within her to go away. Nice try. "Alchemy made this one….Julian made this one. Just like Frankie and Wally."

"But why would this Yorkin guy want to do anything now?" Cisco asked. "Why not before?"

"Maybe he's working for someone else?" Barry pointed out. He lifted a hand to his comm.-link and called in Cadence. "Cade, does the name Clive Yorkin mean anything to you?"

Cadence paused. "Sounds familiar," she said slowly. "Very familiar. I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere before. What'd you find out?" Her voice took on a strange tone, Caitlin noticed. A little warble at the end of her question. She sounds scared.

Caitlin turned her head aside, catching her reflection in the computer monitor. Killer Frost looked back at her, smiling wickedly. Caitlin gasped and backed away a step. She regained her composure when Cisco and Barry turned her way, she waved them off. But Cisco continued to watch her when Barry explained.

"Clive Yorkin was someone I saw in Flashpoint, he was caught and processed through the CCPD. He's one of the metas that Alchemy made over here. Caitlin checked his DNA and it has the same element of the other DNA strands we've tested from those in the encyclopedia. From Frankie to Wally…"

"So, what does he want with things here? Now?" Cadence asked. She spoke again, her voice becoming alarmed. "Clive Yorkin? He worked with Amunet once."

Caitlin tightened her grasp on the back of a chair in front of her. Her fingers protested the pain that swarmed through them, her fingers continuing to squeeze together by the second. Clive Yorkin was from Flashpoint. He had powers due to Alchemy. Clive Yorkin, before he got powers, worked with Amunet. Amunet had some sort of a relationship with Breathtaker. Breathtaker had some sort of a relationship with Savitar.

And Savitar is going to win, Killer Frost said. Caitlin closed her eyes, lowered her head. And you know it. You know there's nothing you can do about it. Poor Caitlin Snow, able to figure out everything at the drop of a hat, it's what you were known for. What you were hired for. And yet, you ruin everything you touch

"Stop," Caitlin whispered.

"Stop what?" Cisco asked her.

Barry gazed at her. "We didn't say anything." He took a few steps closer to her. "Caitlin, are you okay?"

"Stop," Caitlin repeated. She looked to the boys. Not them. Not any of them, they weren't doing anything wrong. And yet, they're getting in the way of everything we need to do. And you know it, Caity. You know everything that's happening. You're a smart girl, you can figure it out. Do you need me to give it to you step by step? That's not very fun?

A sharp pain shot through Caitlin's head. She closed her eyes, backing away. Brought her hands up to the side of her head and fell to her knees. Her head felt that it was splitting open, she struggled to hold it together. Hoped her worst nightmares weren't coming true.

Oh, but it's not a nightmare.

"Cait?"

A whimper escaped Caitlin's throat. She grasped her hands tighter to her head. Because, you know, nightmares aren't real. Another jolt of pain. This time, accompanied with the feeling that she was flying. An out of body experience taking her from STAR Labs and floated her miles and miles away.

When Caitlin opened her eyes again, she was in the mountains. Peaks loomed in the distance, dark gray and cloudy against the ash colored sky. The clearing she stood in was filled with trees, perfectly carved away in a circle. Caitlin took a step back, continued to scan the clearing. Something about it was familiar, she knew it in her heart. Snow fell around her, her breath condensed in her face, but she didn't feel it.

Even standing in a thin blouse, slacks, and her flats, she felt warm. As if she were simply standing on the sidewalk in Central City in the middle of a warm, Spring day. A loud crack filled the air, sending birds racing into the sky. The sound of footsteps heading closer to her. Caitlin turned to follow the sound, found herself face to face with a tree trunk behind her.

Initials carved into it.

T.S.

C.S.

What was typically a gesture between lovers, carving initials into a tree, these were simply that of family. Of hers and her father's camping trip that they took to the mountains every year. A father-daughter trip. As his father's MLS continued to worsen, her mother continued to refuse her presence on those trips. Caitlin, however, didn't mind, it gave her more time with her father. She remembered watching as her father painstakingly put each letter into the three, framing them into the shot he set up with his camera on his tri-pod. She remembered giggling every time something would go wrong with it; it'd drop to the snow, the shutter would come too soon, too late, a bright flash would go off, the flash wouldn't go off at all…

And she continued to laugh the more frustrated her father became before they got the final picture; the two with their arms around each other, laughing without a care in the world.

"It still hurts, doesn't it?" Caitlin whipped back around to find Killer Frost had come to stand behind her. Her eyes were dull, without any light as she gazed at the initials. Her white-blonde hair blew in the frosty wind that encircled the clearing, kicking up sparkles of snow as it went. Killer Frost tilted her head. "That he had to leave you like that. That Ronnie had to leave you. That Jay had to leave you." She shook her head. "Everyone keeps leaving you."

Caitlin didn't respond. She dropped her hand from the tree trunk, her fingertips snagging on the grooves of her father's 'S'. She faced Killer Frost, who moved at the same time to face her. Brown eyes locked with blue. Caitlin studied Killer Frost. Everything about them was the same; same face, same body shape, same blank expression of sadness. And yet, Caitlin could sense the power and danger Killer Frost held around her. So much danger in her movements. Pure evil.

"But I guess it's to be expected," Killer Frost continued. "There's not much to stick around for."

"You're lying," Caitlin breathed.

Killer Frost's eyebrows rose. "Am I? I mean, you've been told this before. If your Earth-2 counterpart says the same thing then…" Killer Frost shrugged, her blue lips pulling back in a smile. "It must be true, right?"

Caitlin gaped at Killer Frost in dumb surprise. "You died," she murmured. She'd seen it happen. Saw how her stomach had been puncture, saw her intestines and…and everything spill out. Saw the blood that escaped her body and pooled along the floor before Zoom had taken her away. Exactly what Zoom had been about to do to her if she hadn't stabbed him.

"Having the power of healing really comes in handy," Burnout bragged, resting her hands on her hips. "Myself, others…kind of makes it like a horror movie. People just keep coming back to life, huh?"

"You've got what you wanted," Cadence said. "Zoom's got the Flash's power. You don't need us."

Killer Frost wagged her finger back and forth. "No, Zoom got what he wanted. The Flash's power. What we want is entirely different." She blew on her fingernails and rubbed them against her chest. "We want to get away from Zoom and the only way that'll happen is if you're gone!" With that she swung out her hand. Her nails shone a bright blue and icicles in their likeness shot towards Caitlin and Cadence.

Caitlin stood firm in front of Killer Frost, the icicles coming closer. She was tired of running, tired of being the damsel in distress, and would do everything needed to take down Killer Frost once and for all. She brought her hands back and thrust them forward, using all of her energy to send an icy wave back at Killer Frost. A block of ice formed and the icicles embedded themselves in the face of it.

Killer Frost frowned, almost pouting.

Caitlin smiled, pleased at being able to hold her off. Then she noticed the red glow that slowly started to form in the center of the ice block before a wave of fire caught her in the chest, sending her backwards off her feet. Then the ice block exploded as Killer Frost followed the path of fire and caught Caitlin in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. The two rolled on the ground, grabbing each other's hair and clothes, trying to get the upper hand to pin each other down. Killer Frost pinned Caitlin to the ground with a foot to her shoulder, her other knee resting into Caitlin's stomach, painfully cutting off air-flow.

"You know, I never knew what Zoom saw in you," Killer Frost drawled. "Must be something warm. Otherwise, he hadn't even looked at me as anything other than a means to fulfill his plans." She tilted her head, still looking into Caitlin's eyes. "And my husband wouldn't have had to die for you." Her upper lip trembled violently. "There've been many breachers…who says there can't be any that have managed to successfully make a life over here?"

With that, Killer Frost raised her hand high above her head, revealing an icicle resting in her grasp and plunged it down towards Caitlin's heart. With a scream, Caitlin swung her free fist upwards, it became encased in ice and when it collided with the icicle it shattered in her hand. Killer Frost reacted with surprise before crying out in pain, feeling Caitlin's icy fist smack into her palm, breaking the bones in her hand.

Caitlin lifted her legs and swung them down, giving herself momentum to get back to her feet, knocking Killer Frost away from her. Killer Frost rolled away and Caitlin wiped sweat off her forehead. It was hot. Too hot. Glancing to the side, Caitlin caught sight of Cadence and Burnout fighting against each other, teleporting every few seconds, flashes of fire shooting back and forth at the small glimpses she caught of them.

Their attacks were vicious and filled with strength, mimicking the power of fire they shared. Just as hers and Killer Frost's attacks against each other were cold and calculated, mimicking the ice they shared. Fire melted ice jut as ice snuffed out fire. Accelerants made fire grow as ice stuck together and continued to spread. There had to be something that could be done to finish this.

"I'm getting real sick of you," Killer Frost snarled, stomping her way back to Caitlin.

"Funny, I was about to say the same to you," Caitlin shot back. She and Killer Frost attacked at the same time, their icy blasts colliding with each other. The blasts shifted back and forth with the energy the two ice metahumans exerted.

Around them, Cadence and Burnout continued to fight, showcasing abilities Caitlin didn't even know they could do. She hadn't seen Cadence's fire aura get to be so big before, so destructive. Everything she came near seemed to melt under her presence. Adding in Burnout's power and there didn't seem to be anything that could stop them. The sheer strength either of them showed was much stronger than anything she'd seen before. If that was them not at full power then…who knew what it was that Killer Frost could do, too?

Caitlin twisted her wrist, shooting her ice attack to the ground. Killer Frost growled, feeling her feet get frozen to the ground. She switched tactics, shooting icicles towards Caitlin with each punch. Caitlin ducked out of the way of each blow, continuing to enchase Killer Frost in ice up to her waist.

Killer Frost bared her teeth at Caitlin. "Who would've thought you'd have as cold of a heart as me. Must be having your husband murdered right before you. Now that you know how I feel…it sucks doesn't it? Not having anyone I could touch without hurting him. I feel so bad for you, soon, the way your powers will develop, you'll do it, too. And everyone will turn their back on you." Caitlin twisted her mouth to the side. She stopped sending ice towards Killer Frost and, instead, focused it on her hand. She walked closer to Killer Frost, who smiled smugly at her. "I guess I struck a nerve."

"No," Caitlin replied. "I struck yours!" With that, she brought back her hand and smacked Killer Frost so hard across the face she immediately went limp.

Caitlin's eyebrows came together. Intuitively, it made sense as to how Killer Frost knew that. Killer Frost was a part of her. But there had to have been some things that changed from Flashpoint. A lot of things she hadn't wanted to know. But to be that in-depth with what Killer Frost knew…? A wave of suspicion nearly bowled her over.

Killer Frost's eyes flashed with glee. "Yes?" She asked. "Are you getting it yet?"

Caitlin's hands moved to her head. "No, she whispered. No…that doesn't…I don't….no…." She squeezed her eyes shut. Fell to her knees. Her mind whirled, pain shot through her entire body as the realization hit her. It didn't matter what she did as Caitlin, didn't matter how many dampeners they had, didn't matter what they put on her.

Her hands fell to her sides.

"Are you ready to give yourself to me, now? I must say, it's been so boring living in your head like this." Killer Frost walked closer to Caitlin with each word.

"No!" Caitlin flung her hands upwards, releasing two handfuls of snow. Killer Frost cried out and stumbled back. Caitlin launched herself upwards and tackled Killer Frost to the ground. Killer Frost cried out in pain and fury as she hit the ground, Caitlin punching her hard on the side of her face.

A hard slap nearly sent her reeling. Caitlin turned back and struck Killer Frost in the face once more. Another hard slap, a force so powerful that Caitlin fell to her side. Killer Frost rolled atop of Caitlin, pushing her face down into the snow.

Legs flailing, Caitlin reached up with her other hand, clawing through the air. Her nails dug into Killer Frost's cheek, scratching straight down. Blood dripped down Killer Frost's cheek, dripping onto and mixing with the blood that came from Caitlin's. Caitlin wrapped her arm around Killer Frost's wait and pushed hard, flipping Killer Frost off her and onto the ground.

Caitlin backed away, giving herself space from Killer Frost, who returned to her feet in a swirl of snow. The two looked at each other, breathing heavily. Killer Frost flipped her hair from her face, started taking confident steps toward Caitlin. Caitlin watched her come closer and close. When Killer Frost was close enough, she kicked up her foot, sending a wave of snow into the air. Killer Frost lifted her hand and with a flick of her wrist, waved the blinding snow aside.

Just in time for Caitlin to take a tree branch and swing it toward Killer Frost's face. Killer Frost grabbed the branch, flipped it around, and shoved it through Caitlin's stomach. Caitlin gasped, stumbling backwards in surprise. She stumbled and fell to the ground, gasping, stomach spasming.

Calmly, Killer Frost stepped over Caitlin and straddled her waist. She grabbed the branch and pulled it out, making Caitlin's hands drop to her stomach, fingers sliding over the blood that poured from the wound. She coughed, blood splattering around her chin. Killer Frost smiled devilishly, leaned over Caitlin, her shadow darkening her face. Killer Frost moved her hands to Caitlin's neck, gently stroked the skin, before pressing her thumbs into Caitlin's throat.

Caitlin's choking increased. She coughed and sputtered, weakly attempting to push Killer Frost off her, pressing her bloodied hands into Killer Frost's cheeks and forehead. Killer Frost's maniacal grin increased.

She leaned in, voice lowering to a whisper. "Face it, Caity," Killer Frost hissed. She tightened her grasp around Caitlin's neck. "You. Just. Lost."

She squeezed tighter.

Caitlin struggled for air.

Suddenly, she gasped.

Her eyes shot open and she found herself lying on her back on the floor of the Cortex. Her meta dampener lay in her left hand, tightly clutched between her fingers. Her entire hand shook among the force she held on the necklace, not letting it out of her grasp.

"Caitlin!" Cisco was calling her name repeatedly, kneeling by her side. "Caitlin!"

"You need to go," Caitlin breathed. She pressed a hand to her stomach. A cold chill ran down her spine. Hands wrapped around her neck. Caitlin struggled to lean up, Barry and Cisco assisting her on the rsides. Her vision, whatever it was, had only lasted a second for them, felt like an eternity to her. "It's a trap! Savitar is going to attack."

"What?" Cisco asked. "Caitlin, what do you mean?"

"You have to go!" Caitlin cried. From her vantage point on the floor, she could see to the Cortex, where the location of Team Flash was indicated. "He waited for all of us to get together. Wanted it to be easier to take us down." She turned to Barry, grasping his arm. "Barry, you have to get down here. Both of you!"

"What about you?" Cisco asked.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Caitlin insisted. "You have to go before something happens. They can't hold him off themselves." Cisco hesitated. Caitlin reached up, placed her hand on his. "You have to," she insisted.

Cisco nodded, turned, and punched toward the wall. A breach opened, Barry whisked the two through it in a matter of seconds. Carefully, Caitlin climbed off the floor and calmly walked into the swirling vortex. Once she finished going through, she dropped the dampener necklace to the ground where it made a light 'tink' sound.

She looked up in time to see Cadence, Wally, and Jesse turn to Barry and Cisco in confusion. "Where'd you go?" Cadence asked. "Training was your idea."

"Savitar's going to attack," Cisco reported. He gestured toward the vortex Caitlin stood in front of. "We have to get out of here, now."

"What?" Jesse's eyes widened behind her domino mask.

Wally shook his head. "But there's been no sign of Savitar. The city's speed cameras would've clocked in on him."

HR waved his tablet overhead. "And this nifty gadget here, as Cisco has been sure to loudly tell me, is connected back to STAR Labs. If this Savitar fellow were to come along, we would've gotten an alarm of some sort from our home base." He chuckled. "And, let me tell you, this can emit some pretty nasty sounds."

All eyes turned to Caitlin. She grinned and held out her hand, an icicle forming from the length of her arm to her palm. She flipped it once and caught it. "You caught me," she said mockingly. "You guys will believe anything Caitlin says won't you?"

"Killer Frost," Cisco breathed.

"But that's impossible, she was wearing the dampener," Wally protested.

Caitlin's smile widened. "You may want to make sure it actually works, first. Look into the word 'dampen'. While it's been keeping me back, I've been gaining more energy. Soon, poor, precious Caitlin couldn't handle me anymore." Barry started forward. Caitlin threw a sheen of ice to the ground, making Barry's feet slid out from beneath him and he crashed to the ground. "Sorry, but I'm saving you for Savitar. I have my own problems to deal with."

With that, she flung a slide of ice forward, and jumped onto it. Her momentum carried her forward at such blinding speed that she was able to grab Cadence around the waist, slamming her shoulder into the fire metahuman's chest, knocking her up into Caitlin's grasp.

"Let's see you heal from this!" Caitlin flipped the icicle in her hand and stabbed it into Cadence's thigh, making her scream in pain.

Caitlin tightened her grasp around Cadence and used her ice slide to take her away from the scene, just as Savitar appeared.

A/N: This chapter directly continues after the last one, just so you know. That being said...it's all starting! Everything with the end is starting now. Don't worry, the story isn't ending any time soon; It's going to be a long journey to the end, but it does start here. Honestly, this portion was going to be all from Barry's POV, but with the change I made at the end, it sounded a lot better for Caitlin's. If you're confused with anything, I'm open to answer questions. Things may, sort of, seem that they were coming out of nowhere, and started abruptly, but it is cut off from the last chapter.

I just hope it was all enjoyable.

Cheers,

-Riley

Review Replies

Ethan: Yep, there's something I haven't mentioned about Ryder's leg breaking that is going to be explained soon. A lot is going to be explained soon. Glad you liked that twist. Did you get the twist I added into this one?

DarkHelm145: Black Blade may or may not be dying. We'll see soon.