55

Til' Death Do Us Part

Frankie ducked out of the way of the blow coming toward her head and threw up her arm. All the years of abuse she'd suffered from, not only John, but form other foster homes at least gave her some sort means to defend herself. Her reflexes were top notch, able to keep herself from being touched again. She looked to the man that stood in front of her, who didn't move too quickly, but was confident enough in himself that he could wear her down.

A metal sheet flung off the wall along with Frankie's movement and shot toward the meta in front of her. She gasped, feeling a sudden sharp pain in her wrist and looked down, grimacing. The skin on her arm was ever so slowly peeling away, as it had when he'd first touched her. The veins of her arm turning a nasty green color, as if gangrene was already starting to take its hold. The meta hadn't had a good grasp on her when she awoke; he'd simply nudged her with his foot, taunting her as he walked around her.

She'd immediately awakened from a sharp kick to the stomach that sent her bending over, retching toward the ground. Before she was snapped in the jaw, making her spit up blood.

"Well, I'd hoped there was more that you would have been able to do for me," the meta said. "Put up a bit of a fight. After all, it's not every day I'm asked a simple favor to get my revenge. If I have to kill you to get to Joe West…the CCPD…well, then I'm all for it." He stretched his hand out toward her. "It won't take too long. But it might hurt a little, I've seen and heard the horrified screams of some of my victims, but we'll see how you do…"

He'd moved to grab her then. to It hadn't been a good grasp on her, just a grazing tap of his fingertip, as light as a tissue brushing against her arm from how quickly she jerked back, anticipating pain. She kicked his legs out from beneath him and pulled her hand into a fist, allowing a metal rod from the ceiling to swing down and strike him in the face.

Her eyes glowed a bright magenta as she did so. But this time around, she had her powers under control. The time she knew how to work them to her advantage, especially when she was facing a meta who was seriously underestimating her. Plus, it was a good way to let out any of her residual aggression that'd she knew would otherwise be pointed at John.

It'd been his upcoming trial that she had to speak at, to bear as a witness to that had brought her back to Central City. And it had been her hesitation toward that upcoming trial that'd made it easier for her to work on her powers when she was alone. Her new family didn't understand, wouldn't understand.

But at least she managed to work her way up to being able to stay in control. So much so that while this meta continued to throw everything he had at her, growing increasingly frustrated by the second, she easily fended him off, while working to stave off the infection slowly growing in her arm.

Frankie changed tactics, throwing pieces of metal at him as hard as she could, repeatedly pulling parts from the walls and ceiling to do so. But the meta, having realized Frankie had more power than he originally intended, continued to smirk at her, lifting his hands to shield himself, the metal sheet that struck him slowly crumbling away, as if it were made of dust.

"Okay, this is getting boring," the meta said.

"Really?" Frankie chuckled. Sweat poured down her face, dripping off her chin. "I could do this all day."

"That should be interesting," the meta replied. "I should be able to, too. What, with that power boost I've managed to get." He held up his hand. "Maybe I should give you an up close and personal look." He brought up his arms, crossing them in front of him to form an 'X'. He then opened his arms, sending a rippling wave of energy her way.

As the energy came nearer, extending in all directions, the ceiling and walls started to crumble away, turning to dust in seconds. Frankie kicked off the wall beside her, launching herself to the other side of the room. She heavily to her side, protecting her injured arm and crouched low to the ground. The residuals of the wave came closer to her and she clapped her hands together, releasing an electromagnetic pulse into the ceiling. Immediately, the concussive force shot through the ceiling. The bulbs all burst, plunging the room into darkness, making the walls crumble even further.

Large sheets of rock and ceiling fell around her, crashing to the ground and creating deafening booms as they did so. At the same time, At the same time, the pulse knocked down wires from the ceiling, showering the room with even more sparks. One of the few hoses that dropped sent a chill through the air, causing Clive to recoil, shielding his face from the icy blast. Within seconds, Frankie felt the temperature in the room drop.

The meta started toward her, bringing up his hand to catch the rocks that fell toward him, decomposing them as they fell. Then one struck his palm. He stared at his hand, eyebrows coming together in confusion. Another struck him, this time dropping his hand down. The meta growled and brought up his other hand, crying out when he found that the rocks continued to weigh his hands down, one hitting him particularly hard to scrape his palm open.

"No!" He cried. "What are you doing to me?"

Frankie's and the meta's breath started to form clouds in front of their faces, the air in front of them continuously growing cold as the pipe hanging from the ceiling spewed out its contents. Frankie looked down at her arm, watching as the erosion seemed to come to a halt.

She looked up once more at the sound of an enraged snarl that the meta screamed toward her, and started to charge her within the melee, hand held out to her. Frankie got to her feet and threw up her hands; creating an electromagnetic field around her.

The meta crashed into the shield and bounced back against the ground, the back of his head smacking the ground hard. Frankie lowered her arms, gasping for air as she looked over the man that lay prone before her. She walked toward him, studied him. A handsome man, she realized, but no one she recognized. No one from the Assassination Bureau or whomever else had landed in the encyclopedia the team at STAR Labs had been creating.

No, this man hadn't been anyone the team had seen before. She would've understood if it was Julian Albert coming after her, part of her wished it had been him that she'd seen upon waking up. But it wasn't to be, she'd see him again when her trial started. But this man, he was innocent. And didn't deserve anything to happen to him.

Using her powers, Frankie made a construction of metal that'd shield him from the still crumbling walls and ceiling. Frankie walked to him, kneeling over the man's body. She patted his pockets, easily finding his wallet. It was funny how much her life in and out of foster homes had given her more skills than even the poorest of people; able to know what it was like to live a privileged life as well as the poorest. And some of the better things she was able to do was fly under the radar, let alone figure out how to get information from people.

The funniest part was that people seemed to have a false sense of security that made them easy targets. Men never carried bags other than the most rugged looking backpacks as they didn't want to appear feminine or—gasp—mistaken for gay. They tended to leave their wallets in their back pockets and didn't go many places without it.

So much so that it was easy for Frankie to ID the meta that attacked her, and get some cash in case her trial went south. She was still holding his ID when Brady and Leah came phasing through the wall directly to her right. She jumped, looking at the young metas, who gaped back at her.

"They got you, too?" Brady finally asked.

"Looks like they've got a lot of us," Frankie replied.

"We have to keep going," Leah said. She gasped for air, rubbing sweat off her face from beneath her suit—Brady's former one before his Cisco upgrade. Her eyes shifted, as if waiting for someone to blast through the wall beside them. Or for the meta to get off the ground and come back to alive. "Find the others. Find Barry and Miss. Cadence before Savitar gets to them."

Frankie's eyebrows rose. "Savitar?" She repeated. She brought a gloved hand up to her forehead. Winced. So many memories of her time as Magenta. As Alchemy had given her powers. How she'd struggled between being Frankie and Magenta. How Alchemy had been behind all of it.

It had to have been why she was taken.

"As a matter of fact, there is," Julian remarked. His eyes shifted to the side, spotting Frankie poking her head out from around the door of Cadence's office. Cadence made a face and quickly motioned for Frankie to go back inside, but Julian was faster. He lifted the folder in his hand and pointed it towards the teenage girl. "You!" He barked.

Frankie jumped and motioned to herself. "M-me?"

"Yes, you." Julian pointed at her then turned to the others that stood around him, eyeing him carefully. Cadence's heard sank, listening to his almost feverish words. "I ran a test on the DNA sample I got from your glass the last time you were here. With that, I isolated an element that was consistent with all five husks that have been found around the city. The last one being that of Edward Clariss's crime scene. It's not one I've found in any other metahuman sample I've found."

"You think she has the same component in her DNA?" Barry asked. He folded his arms, pressing his lips together. Cadence recognized the look just as she became used to every other nuance of Barry's expressions and signs of body language. He was worried. Worried that Julian was coming too close to the truth.

"I wouldn't have done the tests if I hadn't thought so, now would I? But it's a good thing I did." He looked at Frankie once more. She gaped, taking a step back from Julian, moving further into Cadence's office. "You did it."

"What?" Frankie gasped. She brought her hand up, as if to cover her mouth, eyes widening with fright. Her chest heaved, pain flickering through her eyes with the rapid breaths she took in. "No. I wouldn't…"

"With the light post, you attacked him." Julian continued to wave his folder towards her. "I've got the proof right here." His voice raised with vehemence. "You did it."

"Julian," Joe warned.

But Julian continued his tirade. "You're a metahuman. You put your foster father in the hospital. Didn't you?" Frankie brought her hands up to cover her ears, trying to block out the accusations Julian threw her way. "Didn't you? You hurt him—"

Frankie's head snapped up frighteningly fast. A puppet on marionette's strings, she turned to face Julian, face slack, expressionless. Slowly, very slowly a smirk came to her face as her eyes glowed a bright magenta. "Oh," she said slowly, in a voice unlike her own. A voice coming deep from within her. "I want to do more than hurt him." With that she started to raise her hands in a similar manner Cadence did while igniting her fire around her hands.

She exchanged a glance with Barry, the two moving into defensive stances. They couldn't do anything yet, had to wait to see what sort of danger was coming their way. Had to case the situation and act accordingly.

"Now I'm going to do the same to you," Frankie continued to rasp. The sound of screeching, bending metal filled the air, lightbulbs cracked and erupted, showering the floor of the CCPD with shards of glass. Cadence whipped her head around, watching as all metal started to bend and twist, pulling themselves from their mounted placements.

"Frankie," Cadence called.

"Frankie, stop!" Joe commanded.

But Frankie continued to breathe deeply, holding her hands up higher and higher. As the seconds passed, the screeching sound continued to fill the air, increasing in volume by the second. Then slowly, very slowly, the golden plaque that sat on the wall started to teeter forwards, ripping off its place on the wall and fell towards Julian.

Once again, Barry and Cadence exchanged a glance. Simultaneously, they sprang into action. They raced into their suits before going back to the CCPD, all in a fraction of a second. Then Barry raced forward to grab Julian, pulling him to safety of the plaque that shattered on the ground. Cadence charged forward and wrapped her arms around Frankie and teleported, bringing her outside of the CCPD and into a nearby alleyway.

The moment they stopped, Frankie elbowed her way out of Cadence's grasp and backed away, still sucking in sharp, angry breaths. Cadence held her hand up towards her. "Frankie," she warned.

"I'm not Frankie," She growled. "The name's Magenta!"

"You're like this because of Alchemy," Cadence said, quickly putting the thought together. Strange blackouts, new, sudden powers. The same had to have been said of Edward Clariss before he suddenly turned up dead. Digging into his case, shortly after his body was found, revealed to Caitlin and Cisco his frequent complaints and worries of lost time before his arrival as a speedster.

She looked over as Barry appeared at her side.

He took in what she said and added, "He changed you somehow, didn't he? With some sort of a stone?" Frankie continued to watch the two, her eyes darted back and forth between them. "This isn't you. Just…let us help you."

Frankie shook her head. "I don't need anyone's help."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"It's too late for that."

"Let's go," Frankie said. "We're not doing much by standing here, we need to get out of here. If Savitar got the rest of us together like this, then it's—"

"—For a distraction," Brady broke in. He ran his hands over his face. He bit his lower lip and let out a sigh through his nose. "It's going to happen."

"What's going to happen?" Frankie asked.

Brady shook his head. He clenched his hand into a fist, sucked in a deep breath through his nose, and twisted, punching it into the beside him. Frankie and Leah winced, expecting Brady to let out a cry of pain. Instead, he brought his arm back to his side, barely glancing at the blood that poured over his knuckles, something dark swirling through his eyes.

Leah's eyebrows furrowed. She reached out and grabbed Brady's shoulder. "Brade? Are you okay?"

He knocked her hand away, grunting under his breath. "Come on." He turned, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders. Frankie looked back at the meta who'd attacked her once more before being phased through the wall.

Clive Yorkin.

She had to remember that.

Savitar stumbled back, pressing his hand to his stomach. Not far enough to let go of Cadence, but enough so that they could look at each other. Watch each other closely as the seconds passed. Savitar bent in half, watching as blood seeped through his stomach. Then he stood up straight, bringing his hand away from his stomach to show his wound already healing.

"I get the sentiment," Savitar drawled, watching as she continued to glare at him. "But, I could never accuse you of being the smartest person in the room. Yes, you have the smarts that'd make even the Wells family jealous, which is ironic going to you. But it seems you've forgotten I'm a speedster," he wiggled his free hand and moved his face closer to hers. "I heal fast."

Cadence turned her head away from his. "That's what I was hoping."

Savitar's eyes narrowed when he saw the look on her face. A small smile of mischief that he'd grown to love over the years. This version wasn't the same Cadence he'd grown to love, but there was still something there. He felt it simply by looking at her. Could see everything of the life they'd lived together from his time. Still, in the back of his mind, he knew it wasn't her. And he knew she'd just betrayed him.

Sucking in a deep breath through his nose, Savitar stood up straight, framing Cadence's face in his hands. He looked at her for a moment before murmuring, "I'm really going to miss you, you know?" before kissing her.

The sparks were still there; figuratively from the love they held for each other, despite being from different timelines and literally from their powers working together. But it was different; what clued Cadence into knowing it was Savitar who'd been holding her hand that time before. Just as it was different now.

Savitar pushed Cadence away from him, raced into his suit, and was back in his spot before he whipped his arm out, striking Barry across the face. Barry twisted back through the air, crashing into the wall behind him. Savitar followed him around and grabbed him by the head, slamming it into the wall behind him.

"Nice try, Flash, but you can't sneak up on me," Savitar snarled. He pushed harder, making Barry cry out in pain, the pressure of his face being pressed into the concrete slowly starting to break his cheekbone. "I am you. I know everything." He turned and flung Barry across the room once more before grasping Cadence's arm. "It's not for me to kill you," and withdrew her from sight before turning back to Barry. "It's not time for you either, Flash."

"I'm going to stop you," Barry replied, chest heaving as his body worked to heal his face. "No matter what, I'm going to stop you."

Savitar crouched low. "Then let's make sure it's a good fight," before he raced toward him.

Barry and Savitar shot around the enclosed room, yellow and white lightning zipping back and forth, fighting at superhuman speed. Anyone watching them would've seen nothing but those flashes. Flashes that moved so quickly that it would've been questioned what was seen.

But within those rapid movements was a terrible fight; devastating punches and kicks to each other, slams into the ceiling and the floor along with the walls. Blows that knocked the speedsters back before they raced forward and knocked into each other once more.

Over and over.

Flash, flash, flash, flash, flash.

Until the flashes stopped, Savitar and Barry raced from the room, and all was silent.

Killer Frost looked over as Cadence was dumped in the middle of the clearing in front of her. She smirked, finally allowing herself to rise from her seated position on the flight of stairs that she'd been perched upon, waiting. Flicking her hand, Killer Frost created a long icicle and tapped it to the top of the railing next to her.

Shiiiiiink.

The sound echoed among the empty space around him. Cadence turned toward her and glared, immediately flicking out her hands, flames appearing at her fingertips. Killer Frost continued to walk towards Cadence, her heels snapping against the ground as she did so.

'I'm giving you one last chance," Cadence said.

"There must be something about Caity you like if you consistently want to keep from killing me," Killer Frost said. "But what's destiny to a little bit of affection between girlfriends, right? Let me guess." Killer Frost tapped her icicle against her palm. "You think she's still in me and you may want to keep her safe."

Cadence rolled her neck.

"She's gone, Cadey," Killer Frost mocked. "There's nothing left for her in me." And to prove her point, Killer Frost held out her arms and tilted her head back, leaving herself open for attack. But she searched inside for Caitlin, searched the snowy, mountainous region within her for the bioengineer, smiling cruelly when she found her still knocked out, curled up in the snow. "And, soon, there'll be nothing left of you."

Cadence tilted her head, watching Killer Frost closely. "You think being Savitar's lackey is going to help you beat me?"

"No, I think your refusal to kill me is what will make me beat you," Killer Frost replied. Her leather skirt dusted her knees, as she continued toward Cadence. "You're not strong enough."

"And you are?"

"More fun to rein in hell, and all that."

"Believe me, the only person who knows about hell is me," Cadence lifted her hands, flames rushing around her fingertips. "'Fire in the heart and all that," She mocked.

Killer Frost's lips pulled back into a snarl. She bent low at the knee, thrusting her hands out in opposite directions. As she did so, she created an ice slide that erupted from beneath her feet that twisted her up into the air. Projected by the ice she threw out behind her, Killer Frost slid forward on the ice, arching over the Central City landscape. Cadence ran forward and leapt onto the ice slid, using her fire powers to propel her forward, melting the ice behind her as she went.

Glancing behind her, Killer Frost smiled to herself as they arched around the city, the ice path twisting and turning like a roller coaster as they went. Loop over loop, turn after turn they slid through Central City. Every now and then, Killer Frost threw a blast of ice towards those on the street, prompting Cadence to teleport them to safety before following back behind Killer Frost once more.

Killer Frost then twisted towards the ground, in an increasingly narrowing spiral, the edges of the path coming closer and closer. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Cadence still following her. Killer Frost bent her knees as she came closer to the ground.

Bamf!

She gasped, seeing Cadence suddenly appear in front of her once more…but she was still behind her. Killer Frost tried to change direction of her trajectory path and found herself unable to move fast enough. Both Cadences—the real one and the fire mirage—struck her in the back with hard kicks at the same time. Killer Frost's feet slipped out from beneath her, sending her across the street and into a parked car.

She fell to the ground and got back to her feet in time be kicked in the chest by another mirage, that melded back to Cadence in a rush of flame. Killer Frost spat on the ground, blood marring the sidewalk as she did so. She drew her arm across her mouth, smearing the blood over her cheek.

Then she got to her feet and threw a vapor of ice towards Cadence. Instead of it slowing her down, Cadence simply counteracted it with a wave of fire. She stomped hard on the ground, an orange, hellish glow covering her as a ring of fire encircled the two. Killer Frost snarled and moved forward.

She threw as many punches and kicks to Cadence as she could, each one Cadence managed to fend herself off from. Each punch that moved toward her head was blocked by a convenient place of her wrist. At one point she grabbed Killer Frost's arm, twisted her body down; spinning on one foot in an illusion, and maneuvered herself around Killer Frost and kneed her hard in the back.

Killer Frost fell to her knees then turned back, rushing towards Cadence. Cadence leapt over the parked car that stood between them, bringing her legs up to keep from catching them on the roof of the car. She kicked Killer Frost in the chest.

"Ugh!" Killer Frost turned around and moved to punch Cadence in the back, forming ice around her fist as she did so. Cadence placed her hand on the side of the car, lifted her feet, and spun herself around, then pushed off with her hands.

Lifting her arms and legs up, she flew back over Killer Frost's head, landed gracefully on her feet, and sent a solid punch directly to Killer Frost's face. She backed away, giving Killer Frost some space to catch her breath.

Killer Frost threw her hair back from her face. Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Looks like you've really stopped holding back," She said. "I'm impressed."

"I'm not looking to impress you," Cadence replied.

"Right, we're just trying to kill each other," Killer Frost agreed. "I didn't forget." She reached out and placed her fingertip against the flame. The circle of flames immediately hardened into ice. "Now it's my turn." She turned and punched Cadence across the jaw, hitting her so hard that she flew across the clearing and crashed into the ice wall. "Did you really need to make it that easy?"

Killer Frost then lifted her head, blue eyes growing even brighter. Snow stared to fall around them, freezing before it hit the ground, droplets pinging off the sidewalk around them. Cadence got back to her feet.

"You're forgetting something, sweetie," Cadence said, lifting her head. Her eyes slowly started to burn a solid, scary shade of red. The flames around her hands turned so darky, they were almost black. "Breathtaker made me stronger."

"You should show it off once in a while," Killer Frost replied, looking at her dark blue polish on her nails. "I'm getting bored."

"Believe me. I plan on it."

They moved at the same time.

Thwoom.

Their movements blurred together, fire vs. ice. Killer Frost's head twisted to the side when Cadence punched her in the face. Then grabbed her by the front of her jacket and threw her hard across the street. Caitlin flew through the air and smacked into a lamppost, falling to a heap.

Growling, Killer Frost got to her knees, punching her fists forward, sending snowballs to Cadence. Cadence lifted her hands and punched back. Instead of shooting fireballs back at her friend, she simply used the movements to melt the ones that were coming towards her. Her eyes stuck to Killer Frost's face, watching to see where she'd move next.

So much so that when Killer Frost's eyes lowered, ready to take down the fire metahuman with a slick sheen of ice over the ground, Cadence used her heat vision to melt it back to Killer Frost's hands, who squealed in pain when the heat reached her fingertips.

Then Cadence teleported forward and grabbed Killer Frost by the neck, slamming her to the ground. Stunned, Killer Frost could only grab onto Cadence's arm as the fire metahuman started to teleport back and forth across the street.

Cadence continued to throttle Killer Frost, moving her back and forth across the street until Killer Frost got the upper hand. Then the tables were turned with Killer Frost gaining the upper hand on Cadence, knocking her around with savage blows reinforced by her ice so it was a solid strike among her body. Almost as if she'd gotten an exo-skeleton from her ice powers.

When she knocked Cadence back, Killer Frost froze her legs to the ground. Grunting, Cadence placed her hands on the ice, struggling to free herself. Killer Frost chuckled and walked over. She grasped Cadence's jaw, looking her in the eye.

"Do you want your death to be fast?" She pulled her arm back, icicles forming on her fingertips. "Or slow?"

"I was going to say the same to you," Cadence said. She let out a blast of fire from her eyes, striking Killer Frost in the cheek when she, instinctively, moved her head aside. The fire struck Killer Frost's cheek, streaking off a strip of skin from the apple of her cheek. The outer line of the burn blackened and curled away.

Killer Frost's mouth opened in a long scream, her hands going to her face to cover the bubbling skin. Cadence kicked the ice away from her legs, in time for Killer Frost to conjure an icicle and threw it towards the fire metahuman, striking true and getting her in the thigh, making Cadence's screams mix with Killer Frost's.

Cadence recovered first, sending flames around her body to melt the icicle before teleporting forward. She grabbed and Killer Frost.

Bamf!

They appeared high above the ground and fell, with Cadence twisting Killer Frost beneath her. They crashed against the ground and bounced apart. Slowly, they got to their feet and stood apart from each other, breathing heavily.

Their eyes flashed as they looked to each other.

Killer Frost licked her lips, creating an even thicker icicle. Cadence followed suit, forming a fire sweord in her hand. Killer Frost swallowed hard, nodding once. "Tell Caity I'll miss her," Killer Frost declared. "And I hope that heaven treats her well."

"Tell her, yourself," Cadence replied.

At the same time, they pulled back their arms and plunged their weapons into each other.

Barry gasped as he rolled across the ground, feeling Savitar's clawed hand shove him hard across the back. Finally, he came to a stop and looked at the sky. The sky looked so beautiful, a serene sky of inky black with the most brilliant stars and littered above.

The same stars he and Brady would look at every night through his telescope. The same ones he went through time and time again, explaining the names behind each one and how they were named. How the constellations were created and the mythos behind them with Brady listening in rapt attention though, there were times Barry could tell he'd lost the young boy in what he was saying, but he still listened quietly.

Where Cadence would sit nearby, curled up on the window seat either with a book or just watching the two with a half-smile on her face. The times where he, Cisco, and Caitlin would pull all-nighters at STAR Labs where they'd work to catch an elusive metahuman or do rounds of endless tests that resulted in them going to the garage that held all the STAR Labs vans. Where they'd open the side of a van and sit inside, eating late night Big Belly Burger and Pizza Pockets while opening the garage door to look out over the city, watching the sky as the hours passed, growing lighter as they continued working.

Barry remembered all of that, stuck it in his memory as he got to his feet. Knowing and reading what was coming the second he saw the CCPN news box staring at him the second he stood up.

"In other legal news, the highly publicized trial of Jared Marillo, aka Plunder, has come to a close. Marillo was found guilty of grand theft and aggravated assault after he was caught by the Flash robbing the Central City Museum earlier this year."

Barry barely glanced at the box. His legs moved forward on autopilot as much as he screamed for his mind to stop. As much as he wanted to change the future, to take it back from what was going to happen. He couldn't think of a solution.

For once, he wasn't the hero he set himself out to be.

He wasn't going to save them.

No.

It was happening.

No.

Lifting his eyes, Barry took notice of the street sign he stood under; the sign reading in bold letters INFANTINO STREET. Barry twisted on his heel and raced across the clearing, stopping at the foot of the plaza before him when he saw Savitar waiting.

Just like the future had predicted.

Barry gasped for air, like a fish out of water. Struggled with the overwhelming tidal wave of emotions that suddenly crashed into him. It was happening.

"Don't!" Barry cried.

He inched towards Savitar, who had a tight grasp on Iris's shoulder. Beside him, Killer Frost stood with an icicle pointed directly towards Cadence's—who was in her suit—heart, Cadence holding onto a flaming sword pointed at Killer Frost as well. The two gasped for air, shoulders heaving from the fight they'd put themselves through only moments before.

"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Killer Frost, Cadence, and Iris. "Who will be saved?"

"No, no!" Barry cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Step after step. Closer and closer. He couldn't run yet. If he started to run…he pushed the thought form his mind, eyes bouncing from Iris to Caitlin and Cadence, who continued to tear into each other. Repeatedly, Barry's eyes darted around the arena, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. He looked closer at Killer Frost, noticing the blank look to her face.

Panic swelled within him.

No, they couldn't die.

No.

He had to save them.

Had to stop Savitar.

Where were his other friends? Where was everyone? Cisco? Wally? Jesse? Were they safe? Did Savitar get to them too? Where was Brady? Joe? What happened to them? Were they hurt? Dead? Barry couldn't run fast enough to save them all. Not when Savitar was faster than him, when he still "Please, I'm begging you."

"Make your choice," Savitar declared. "Life is full of choices, Barry, and now it's time for you to make yours. Who do you want to save?" He shook Iris in front of him like a ragdoll, breaking Barry's concentration, trying to come up with the best plan of action in seconds.

"Don't do it, Barry," Iris bravely warned. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. But he could see her shaking, saw her hands trembling as she tried to hold them steady in front of her. Barry looked into the eyes of his oldest friend, saw the determination in her eyes, how strong she was. Somewhere, deep inside, she truly believed she was getting out of the situation alive. "Don't worry about me."

Barry shook his head. Iris looked back at him, eyebrows coming together. Confused. Was he giving up? I'm sorry, Barry thought. He stretched his hand out toward Savitar, watching as Savitar held Iris tighter. Savitar tilted his eyes, watching Barry as the seconds passed. Barry's mind whirred a mile a minute, working to figure out what to do.

Where to run first.

"Please," Barry continued.

"Choose!" Savitar spat.

"I can't!"

Savitar pulled his arm back. "You already have." And he thrust his arm forward, driving the spike directly through Iris's heart. Savitar lifted his spike and flung his arm to the side, Iris's body slid off and dumped to the ground.

"No!" Barry yelled, squeezing his eyes shut.

He turned, finding Killer Frost and Cadence came to their demise at that exact moment. Watched as the ice metahuman and fire metahuman shot forward at the same time. Both finding just the right opening. He watched as the spear of ice and the tip of the flame sword slid through each other like butter. Blood sprayed the air, in a wide sprinkler arc.

For a few seconds, they stood still, staring at each other. Then Killer Frost pulled back her icicle and Cadence's flame sword slowly dissipated. The two looked at each other before letting out low groans and slowly falling to the ground.

"NO!"

Barry raced over and knelt over Killer Frost—Caitlin—pressing his violently shaking fingers to her neck. No pulse. He moved to Cadence, hearing her gurgle and cough, blood spraying over her lips and chin. The Flash grabbed her and cradled her in his arms, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"No, no, no," he whispered, wheezed, gasping for air. "Cay. Cay! Stay with me." Barry shook her, Cadence's head lolling back and forth. Her eyelids fluttered, before her eyes focused on him. Barely focused. She didn't seem to recognize him.

Even for a second seemed scared. Unsure of who was holding her. Barry held her tighter, stroked her hair, brushed it back from her eyes tenderly. So, she could see, so she knew it was him that held her. Not Savitar. Barry, not Savitar. She looked at him, tried to focus, face spasming with pain before it relaxed. He felt her whole body relax, saw a ghost of a smile come to her lips.

Barry managed a small smile in response, noticing and ignoring her healing not kicking in. Blood dripped over his hands and arms, weighing down his leather suit. "It's going to be okay," Barry whispered to her, voice hoarse. "You're going to be okay. We'll get you back to STAR Labs and…and…" his words died on his lips as he glanced at Killer Frost.

One of his best friends, laying prone on the ground.

He swallowed hard, the truth striking him then, sitting in his gut like a dropped bowling ball. Landed with a sickening thud. None of the metas he'd ever gone up against before, none of the attacks he'd endured hurt more than the truth.

He wasn't fast enough, strong enough, to save anyone.

Barry looked back at Cadence, whose breathing started to slow. Coming out in choked gasps and gurgles, rather than actual breath. His lower jaw trembled horribly, painfully as he watched her struggle to regain her breath.

"Cay!" Barry brought up his hand and ripped off his glove with his teeth. Once the leather was free from his hand, he gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "I love you. C'mon. Don't do this." He sucked in a deep breath, tears gathering on his chin, dripping onto her face. They washed away the blood but couldn't keep it from coming as it bubbled up over her chin. "Don't do this." He felt her body growing colder. "Don't do this, Cay. Please." He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his before moving it to press against his cheek.

Hoping it'd start their joint power.

Maybe he could heal her.

Maybe…

Her hand slid from his cheek and dropped heavily to the ground.

"Cay…don't…no…"

Barry bent forward, howling in only the way a man could when he lost everything, his body violently racking with sobs. He cried. Oh, he cried. Enough so that his muscles ached when he breathed in to start sobbing once more. Barry held her tighter, memories of their relationship, all the ups and downs flashing through his mind. Of how they first met…

"Barry Allen?"

The voice nearly made him jump out of his skin as he pulled his eyes away from the TV screen. How much time had passed? The waiting room wasn't as full as it had been before. Maybe he found a way to speed up time while he was waiting. Taking another deep breath, Barry got to his feet and walked over to the nurse who waited patiently for him, holding a clipboard against her light pink scrubs.

She looked to be about his age, greeting him with such a warm smile that he felt his anxiety wash away. "It's good to see you in here, Mr. Allen. You seem to have missed many appointments," she stated, allowing him into the hallway right before the examining rooms.

"Yeah, I've just been, really busy." Barry reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I have crazy work hours and they're always changing so..."

"Trust me, I understand the work hours thing, mine are changing all the time," the nurse said with a light laugh. "I'm in residency. This is my last day here before I move to work at the hospital." She motioned for him to stand against the wall, so she could record his height.

Barry did as he was told, taking off his shoes, and pressing his back against the wall and shifting his heels back. He watched as she reached up to pull the meter down, so it rested on his head. His eyes flicked down to her face. She looked back at him and smiled, making him smiled back nervously.

"You're in residency?" It surprised him when he spoke. Unsure of what was the best way to start conversation.

"Is there a problem with that?" She asked, a teasing lift to her tone. She took her gaze from his to write down his height.

"What? No! It's just...you look a little young. Not that you can't be young to be a doctor. But that must mean you're really smart to get through school and into residency." The nurse gave him a look and Barry gritted his teeth, rushing to fix his blunder. "Not that I don't think you're smart or that you don't look smart. It's just...really cool," he finished lamely.

The nurse laughed. "I'm glad you think it's cool." She gripped his shoulder, a stronger grip than he anticipated. "Relax, Barry. I don't think you want a heart attack before your physical." She then motioned for him to stand on the scale which he did as well. "And if it helps you, I'm twenty-four."

Barry let out a deep breath and waited for that to be done as well. Then he followed her to the examination room, sitting down on the table. The nurse left the room for a minute before coming back with his shoes in hand. She glanced at the bottom, eyes flickering over the lowered heel compared to the level of the rest of the sole. "I think you might need these," she said.

"Thank you." Barry leaned over to read her nametag. "Candace."

"Cadence," she corrected him with an easygoing smile. "Cadence Nash."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"That's alright, it's a common mistake." The way her eyebrows twitched upwards as she lowered her eyes to the keyboard proved how common it truly was.

"Right. Yeah, I mean, I, uh, haven't really met many people with your name. Not that it's a bad name, just unusual." He started to babble even further, hoping to dig himself out of the whole he just fell into. "Not unusual in a bad way. B-but, uh, you, uh, unique. It's unique." He let out a long breath. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Barry Allen." He squeezed his eyes shut and brought a hand up to smack himself on the forehead. Then he brought his hand through his hair. "Which you already knew because you were the one...who called me in here...yeah."

And their relationship had simply blossomed from them, becoming easy friends, working through the betrayal of her work with the Assassination Bureau, through his grief from Zoom, and everything in between as partners, friends, and lovers.

And now…

Barry felt something cannonball into his side, nearly knocking Cadence from his grasp. Barry simply held on tighter, more protective, then looked to his side. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Brady kneeling over his mother, goggles around his neck, much like she did when she wasn't too concerned of her identity being revealed.

"Muh…muh…" whimpered form his mouth, unable to form the word. Brady's eyes searched his mother's face for any sign of life, wide with horror, darkened with despair at seeing his mom, the person who'd protected him long before he was born, who, in his eyes, was the strongest person he knew, struck down.

Be part of work, obviously, Brady thought, still listening to everything his mother was saying about Frankie as they went into their apartment. Brady tossed his backpack aside and ran a hand through his hair, blue hair dye sticking to his fingers as they ran over the tips. He was going to need a touchup soon. Not that she'd even notice, Brady thought.

"Is Frankie a meta?" He asked, interrupting her explanation.

"Not that I'm aware of," Cadence replied, taking a long gulp of water from a water bottle that sat at her side. "Why?" She asked, wiping off her mouth and re-capped the bottle.

"I'm just wondering why you're suddenly so interested in her," Brady said. "If it's a meta it'd make sense." He shrugged. "You're always so preoccupied with meta stuff. When you're not too busy with Barry, anyway. Not since he got back."

Cadence leveled her gaze at her son and looked at him seriously. "What are you talking about?" Brady stared back at her. "Okay." Cadence set her water bottle aside and folded her arms. She continued to look her son in the eye for a long moment before asking, "Did something happen at school today?"

"Nothing ever happens at school, mom, or else it'd be all over the news. That's the only time that you'd care." Brady's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You don't like the PTA and you don't like doing any of things school puts on because you're always so worried about what the other parents have to say about you."

"I just don't have patience for it," Cadence corrected him. "I always know what they're saying or at least thinking."

Brady continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "And the guys in my class, they're always saying things about you." He looked her up and down, taking in the blazer over the blouse that barely touched the top of her jeans. Different from the usual crop-tops, cold shoulder blouses, and shorts she typically wore to stave off the warmth her body gave off. But not by much. "Why do you have to dress like that? And why do you always have to act like nothing else exists when you and Barry are together."

Cadence lifted an eyebrow and let out a short, frustrated breath. Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she closed her eyes before saying evenly, "What is it you want me to do?"

"Stop embarrassing me," Brady snapped, cheeks flushing when his voice cracked.

Cadence immediately matched his temper. "What is your problem?"

"I just want you to stop dressing like—" Brady cut himself off, crossed his arms, and stubbornly looked away. It was like a gun had gone off. The silence that stretched after Brady cutting himself off was excruciatingly loud. She got the message loud and clear.

"Like a slut?" Cadence surmised. With a roll of his eyes, Brady turned and walked to his room. Cadence followed him. "I'm still speaking to you. Like a what?"

"Nothing," Brady said.

"No, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing! God!" Brady snapped back. "You ruin everything." He went into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Cadence gritted her teeth and entered the room after him. Brady grabbed his pillow and threw it at his mother. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Cadence batted the pillow aside and grabbed him by the arms. Jerking him around, Cadence grasped his chin, forcing him to look at her. Her eyes blazed with fury. "Never in the eleven years that you've been alive have I ever wanted to hit you, but right now I'm really holding myself back from doing it. I'm an adult, Braden, and I'm the one who decides the way I dress and the way I act with whomever I'm seeing. And you know that I've always respected you and kept things to a minimum if I ever thought it'd make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry if you can't handle the way your friends talk about me, but I'd prefer it, if you're embarrassed, that you tell your friends that their comments are inappropriate, and you don't appreciate it. And that they're the ones who need to change, not me. You know you're the most important thing in my life and accusing me of not caring about you is pure bullshit."

Cadence dropped her hand from his chin.

Still glaring, Brady turned away from her.

"But then again, what do I know?" Cadence asked, voice quiet. "I'm just a mom, right?" Brady's back to her was like a stone wall, but she saw his shoulders hunch up. Tense. She got him as easily as he got to her. Cadence turned to leave his room, reaching to close the door behind her.

"I hate you," Brady murmured. Quiet enough that he knew it slipped from his lips, but loud enough for her to hear.

Brady reached out, pressing a finger to one eyelid to lift it, waited a second, then did it with the other. He dropped his hand back, waiting for a response. "Mom?" He waited and did it again, pressed his finger to her eyelid, lifted it, then lifted the other.

She didn't stir.

Eyes stayed unfocused, though continued to shift ever so slightly, trying in vain to find him. Brady leaned forward, pressing his cheek against his mother's gently rubbed his face against hers.

"Brady," Barry started, then stopped when Brady tightened his grasp against his mother's suit. He grasped Brady's shoulder. "Brady—"

"No," Brady murmured. He pushed Barry away. "No, no." He shook his head, looking down at his mother, jaw dropping.

It trembled viciously, giving him strength to suck in a deep breath and let out the most bloodcurdling, tragic scream that echoed across the empty streets, and struck Barry's heart like a lightning strike, filled with only the horrendous pain of child losing their parent could muster, "Mom!"

Brady's scream echoed to silence.

A/N: Honestly, I was a bit surprised people hadn't wondered where Barry was this whole time. Anyway, what did you think of the chapter? I hope to have the story updated a lot sooner than I had for this one to come up. I apologize for that, a long stretch of long hours at work can zap my motivation quickly.

Well, I'll see you at the next one. I'll add review replies tomorrow, right now I'm too tired.

Cheers,

-Riley