True to his word, Cisco didn't bring up the cloning topic again for several days. During the day Caitlin worked with the long haired man on perfecting the meta cure, only going back to Central City to sleep or to help the team. Once the bulk of the cure was made, both metas returned to S.T.A.R. only to tell the team the one part of the cure that was the bad news.
"The cure is ready to go?" Barry asked the two of them, voice hopeful. "Are we ready to use it on Cicada?"
"Unfortunately, not yet." Cisco shook his head.
"Why not?" Iris demanded. "I thought you weren't coming back until the cure was complete."
Caitlin saw Cisco's temper flare in his brown eyes and decided to step in. After all, Iris didn't like her or Frost to begin with. Might as well make herself the target since she had one painted on her back all the time.
"The cure needs to mature, to finish bonding. We have done all that we can, now we just need to wait." Caitlin held up the case full of vials, eyes shining a slight blue as Killer Frost lurked just under the surface.
"How long do we have to wait?" Ralph asked.
"28 days." Cisco and Caitlin said at the same time.
"What, a whole month?" Iris asked, throwing her hands in the air. "In that time Cicada can kill countless more metas. What are we supposed to to, just sit here and wait?"
"What if I took the cure into the speed force?" Barry thought aloud. "Time is meaningless there. One hour there should be the equivalent of a month here. That way we don't have to wait for the cure to mature."
Caitlin and Cisco looked at each other with a shrug. It could work. Caitlin handed the case over to Barry and watched as he flashed into his suit before disappearing into the accelerator. The next hour was impossible to track and remember; Nora running back in time so many times that Caitlin and Frost felt like she shredded their mind and body. Luckily they had meta healing powers just like every meta there, but none of them had the rapid healing that a speedster did. In the end, the cure was matured and everyone stayed alive.
"Let's hope Nora didn't screw the timeline over any more than she already has." Frost growled, pacing Caitlin's lab as Cisco looked on, the two of them having distanced themselves from the others once back at base.
"Yeah, we've had enough of that to last a dozen lifetimes." Cisco remarked, securing one of the vials into an injector. It was time to test the cure, and Cisco was determined to be the first.
"Are you sure you want to do that now after everything we've just been through?" Frost asked. "I would have thought you would want to get some rest before experimenting on yourself."
The women watched as Cisco stilled, thinking over her words. His movements stilled and he sat the injector down with a sigh. Caitlin breathed a sigh of relief as Killer Frost retreated.
"You're right. A good night's sleep would be good." Cisco stood up and opened a portal back to the offsite lab. "I'll see you in the morning Cait."
"Night Cisco." Then he was gone, the portal closing with a quiet swoosh. In the quiet she could hear Barry's voice in the cortex. With a sigh she moved to the door of her lab, curious to what was going on. Nora sat on the steps leading to where Barry kept his suit on the mannequin, head bent as Barry sat beside her.
"You really could have messed things up Nora." Barry was saying, voice gentle but admonishing. "Time travel is not something you just do."
"Barry would know." Caitlin stepped forward, icy mist swirling around her feet. It was time to explain things the hard way to the novice speedster. "After all, he's screwed the timeline a few times himself."
"Not now Frost." Iris glared from the main console, but when the cold woman turned to her, Iris was shocked to see it wasn't Frost who was in control, but Caitlin.
"Yes now." The doctor stated. "I'm getting to the end of my patience, and so is Frost. She needs to know the consequences of what happens when you mess with reality."
The doctor stopped before the two speedsters, arms crossed, cool mist swirling around her lazily. She could tell by the look in Nora's eyes she was scared. Even Barry looked apprehensive. Iris was still shooting daggers at her from across the room, but that didn't matter. Caitlin had a temper, Barry knew that, but it had been some time before she'd let it show. She wasn't even sure Iris had ever seen her lose it.
"Nora, did you know that when we first met Barry, neither Cisco or I had powers?" Caitlin began, voice neutral. "The first time Barry went back in time, it was just for a day, but it resulted in Cisco getting his powers. Thawne killed him in the original timeline, and with Barry reversing it, caused Cisco to vibe it and see what happened from the new, altered timeline."
"I didn't know that." Nora shook her head. "There's no record of that in the Flash Museum."
"I'm not surprised. It's not something we talk about, but you need to know." Caitlin continued, moving to pull up a chair, settling down where she could see the entire West-Allen family.
"After Barry defeated Zoom, he decided that he was going to go back again, this time to the night his mother died. In keeping her alive, he created another timeline - Flashpoint. With that, he changed things to make it possible for Frost to be born. I died and she took over."
There was a huge flash of guilt across Barry's face. Good. The spiteful person inside Caitlin was overjoyed that he was hurting. Iris, however, was turning red under her dark skin and makeup.
"It was another one of Barry's mistakes that would haunt the team next, albeit one from a future timeline."
"Savitar." Nora piped up. "He was in the Flash Museum. It told all about how he wanted to kill mom and that dad killed him for it."
"No, Nora. I killed him." Iris stated, coming around the console. There was a victorious and vicious look in her eye. "I shot him in the back, then the speed force did the rest. That was also when Caitlin went all Killer Frost and tried to kill us."
The look the dark skinned woman sent the ice meta was full of venom. Caitlin just shrugged, ice creeping along the back of her hands. Nora was looking back and forth between the two women as was Barry. Killer Frost cackled a laugh, deciding it was time to take the wheel and shake things up a bit. The change was instant, no fading from Caitlin to Frost. One second the good doctor sat there, the next, the ice cold meta was smiling back at them.
"I will say, I was the closest one to pulling it off too. None of you could stop me. Only Cisco was able to reach Caity." She turned her attention to Nora.
"Savitar was this close to killing your mom, but HR swapped places, changing the future. Then I killed Hunter Zolomon in his Black Flash wraith form, and it was like a weight was lifted of Caitlin. After that, once Caity had been reached, we left and almost didn't come back."
"Why did you come back?" Barry asked, green eyes troubled. "Caitlin never told us."
"Why should she?" Frost waved her hand, sending a puff of cool air into the room. "She did her job, and never got anything more than a simple thanks in return. Honestly, I'm the best thing that has happened to her."
"For a long time Caitlin didn't think that way. She was afraid of you." Barry pointed out, voice dark in tone, frown on his face.
"Please, it was an unfounded fear." Frost scoffed. "I am the only one here that has a vested interest in her happiness and well being; none of you were willing to help her when she needed you. When I first woke up I was disoriented and not sure who or what I was. Luckily Savitar showed up, otherwise we would be locked up in A.R.G.U.S. being used for the Suicide Squad or worse. Anyways, back to the point."
Caitlin and Killer Frost looked Nora in the eye, one eye blue, one eye brown, hair slowly darkening back into brown.
"When you mess with the timeline, you are manipulating and in some cases ruining peoples lives. Barry has actually erased someone from the timeline. John and Lyla Diggle had a daughter named Sara, but after Flashpoint, she was erased and replaced by John Junior."
Nora looked like Frost had just kicked her puppy, but she needed to know. Just thinking of it now made Caitlin sick to her stomach. Sara, if Caitlin could remember her, would likely have been the sweetest baby in the world. Unfortunately, she only remembered things in direct correlation to her own life.
"Now do you understand Nora?" Barry spoke up, eyes turning soft as he looked at his daughter. Job done, Caitlin stood, back in control. The younger woman nodded, tears running down her cheeks. Having come and said what she wanted the doctor turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped by a hand on her arm.
Barry stood behind her, face solemn. Caitlin's heart broke just the smallest bit, but Frost covered it with a sheet of ice, protecting her partner. Caitlin took a deep breath and asked,
"What Barry?" a touch of frost on her breath, emotions running high. She needed to get away and collect herself, to pull the icy pieces of herself back together. Behind him Iris stood awkwardly next to a still softly crying Nora.
"I think we need to talk." Caitlin shook her head, narrowing her eyes. Her body temperature dropped even more, chilling the air around her.
"Not right now. Take care of your family first."
"You are family too Cait." Barry sounded like a broken record, and it took everything she had to not roll her eyes. Reminded Killer Frost of when he tried to break through to Caitlin, echoing every line and verse of the speech he gave, courtesy of Savitar.
"Not anymore. Iris and Nora are your family. I'm just a co-worker." A fake yawn split her face. "And we need to sleep. See you in the morning."
She was able to break his grasp easily, turning and walking away, heels clicking on the tile of the silent lab. She felt him watching her walk away, but she no longer cared. Caitlin had finally had enough at letting the green eyed speedster into her heart. She knew she was still capable of love and friendship because of how she felt for Cisco and Joe, but the little West-Allen family was beyond her care now. She was numb to them, almost painfully so.
"I saw all of that." Cisco stated once Caitlin stepped out of the portal. "I have all of S.T.A.R.s security feeds coming here. That was a little harsh."
"They all needed to hear it." Caitlin said settling down onto the spare cot that was set up for her in the corner. "I've reached my limit of bullshit that screwing with the timeline creates. Iris is obtuse to the point of insanity, so wrapped up in 'destiny'. Then Barry doesn't know how to convey how serious it is to mess with the timeline. I figured a physical demonstration would help get it through Nora's thick head."
"Even though you look like Caitlin, I would swear I'm talking to Killer Frost." Cisco shook his head. "I really need to make you that body Killer Frost, you're turning Caitlin into you."
"I - we haven't really had time to talk about it yet." Caitlin admitted. "It would be nice to have my body back, but I would miss having powers."
"Would there be a way to imprint our powers into Caitlin and then just copy them over to the new body?" Frost asked out loud. "Basically just copy the structure and then implant my mind into the new body? That way we both have powers."
"It's a possibility, but I won't know until I begin the process. Once I begin, there's no going back." Cisco warned. "There is a possibility that one or both of you will be lost once we begin the neural transfer."
There was several moments of silence as each woman pondered their options. Cisco let them be, knowing that they would let him know when they had decided. Caitlin wanted to have her own body back, to feel normal like she used to. She also didn't want to risk losing Killer Frost though, having fought so hard to get her back. Killer Frost wanted her own body, hating that she was unconscious more often than not. She wanted to be in control all the time, to have a real life. In her own body she would still be able to protect Caitlin, it would just be in a more physical way.
"I'm willing to try and see if I can have my own body." Killer Frost spoke up first. "As long as you can promise that Caity won't be hurt in any way."
"I can't promise that there won't be discomfort during the procedure, considering this has never been done before." Cisco replied honestly, dark eyes solemn. "But I do promise to do my very best."
"Very well, that will have to do breacher." Killer Frost moved into the background, letting Caitlin come forward.
"I think I want to try." Caitlin nodded. "It's a risk, but living a half life like we are is no way to really have a life. One thing though; this stays between the three of us. NO ONE on Team Flash can know what we are doing."
"Agreed."
In the meantime Caitlin and Killer Frost commuted back and forth between the two locations. Days were spent with the team while nights were spent working on how to manufacture a body for Killer Frost. Team Flash finally had a win; the cure worked, removing Cicadas powers. Cisco had already been without his powers for several weeks. There were no side effects to the powers being eliminated, and Cisco was perfectly healthy to continue his work in secret. Orlan Dwyer unfortunately passed away from the wounds he received that turned him into a meta, his niece passing a few days later. Her mental link to her uncle was severed when Dwyer was given the cure, so her link to life was cut as well.
It was a bittersweet celebration for the team. They stopped the bad guy, but dozens of people had to die in the process. Up until this point, any body count had been kept to a minimum, but Devoe and now Cicada had upped the stakes. No longer were they just fighting for their lives, but the lives of the people in Central City.
Barry took it especially hard. He always wanted to protect life, to make sure that no one was hurt. Between Devoe and Dwyer though, nearly 50 people had been murdered, each one for no reason other than they had powers. Powers that were either coveted or despised. Caitlin stayed around enough for the others to not grow suspicious, but it was getting close to time for the neural transfer.
"I am officially taking a vacation." Caitlin announced one Friday morning once everyone had arrived at the lab. "I am going to take a cab to the airport and just go somewhere for a week. No phones, no work, nothing. Killer Frost and I need a break."
"No phones?" Iris asked. "Doesn't that seem a little extreme?"
"Oh no." Ralph interjected. "You cannot take a vacation. The minute you do all hell is going to break loose. It's Karma."
"That's superstition and has no place in a scientific lab." Caitlin shook her head before pointing her hand at Ralph, ice blooming into a sword. "And so help me, if you interfere with my vacation, I will cut something off that will not grow back."
"Woah, Caitlin." Barry scolded. "That sounds more like something Killer Frost would say, not you."
"How do you know it's not me handsome?" Killer Frost replied with a cold smirk. "Caity wants a vacation and so do I. You will live without us for a week."
"You can switch back and forth that quick?" Barry asked, suddenly wary. The whole team stared at her with different levels of shock. Apparently none of them had been paying close enough attention to realize the near constant back and forth between the personalities. It made Caitlin sad, but also didn't surprise her that no one noticed the changes.
"Yep." Frost popped her P.
"Seriously though, I NEED a break. Otherwise I'm just gonna let Killer Frost take over full time." Caitlin pleaded. "It's quiet, the perfect time for me to go. I'll be back before you know it."
"Safe travels then Dr. Snow." Sherloque smiled at her and tipped his hat, tone suggesting he knew more than he was willing to let on. "Return to us rested and refreshed."
"Thank you, and I will." Caitlin stood and collected her car keys. "I'll see you guys later."
Everyone called out their goodbyes and Caitlin took off without a backwards glance. She drove her car back to her apartment, and once inside her residence, she opened a portal to the Tannhauser site. Next time she came home, she would be herself once again.