Killeronimbus Pt. 1
~3rd Person Past Tense~
Kadence ended up getting the job at both places. But the hours overlapped so she had to quit one.
"Bye bye CCPD." she said, telling the captain she couldn't take the job.
Some people wouldn't understand why she took the job at STAR Labs first. She took it because she has always had a love for science. A love for the ability to discover something new. A love for discovery of breakthroughs. That's why she went to college for science. But then her grandmother got cancer and she had to drop out to take care of her. She started stripping for money to pay her hospital bills.
She sat in her and Barry's apartment, staring at her phone. She considered calling Caitlyn to tell her she got the job at STAR Labs but then remembered that her family thought she was dead. Caitlyn was her cousin.
Caitlyn was her best friend. Her and Caitlyn were together every time she visited. "I wanna surprise her."
Kadence got dressed and left the house. She decided she was going to visit Caitlyn at work. Since they were gonna be working together again.
When she arrived, she walked straight into the Cortex, seeing as she'd been there so many times in the past. She knew every nook and cranny of the Lab. What she didn't expect to see was Barry, laying on the hospital bed, writhing in pain.
"What happened to him? Is he okay?" she said, hurrying to his bedside, not caring that she had just scared her cousin half to death.
The sound of glass shattering brought Kadence out of her haze of trying to see if Barry was okay.
She looked up, seeing the others staring at her in confusion and awe.
"Kadence? Is that really you?" Caitlyn said, rushing over to her.
"Yes, yes it's me. What the hell happened to Barry?!" she half-yelled.
"He inhaled some poisonous gas."
"Cut me open the poison is still in me." Barry wheezed.
"He brought us a sample. Caitlyn we need to do a pulmonary biopsy. Extract an active portion of that gas."
"I can't give you any anesthetic. Your metabolism will burn right through it." Caitlyn said to Barry.
"I heal quick, remember?" He gasped out to her.
"Do it." Dr. Wells ordered.
"Cisco give me the syringe." Caitlyn says.
She looks back at Barry.
"This is gonna hurt, a lot."
"It's a small needle, you're probably not gonna even feel it." Cisco reassured him.
"You're definitely gonna feel it." Kadence mumbled, stepping to the side, holding onto Barry's hand tightly.
Caitlyn stabs the needle right into Barry's chest and he gasped loudly, squeezing Kadence's hand.
He passes out.
"Is he going to be okay?" Kadence asked.
"Yea, he's going to be fine. He should wake up in a few hours." Caitlyn said, rushing away.
Kadence inspected Barry, fully looking at him. He was wearing his Flash suit. One she had seen many times before. One she had removed from his body. One she had violated him in.
She continuously reminded herself that it wasn't her. That she wasn't the one who had sexually harassed Central City's hero. No, it was another version of her. One she had absolutely no control over. She was going to get through this.
"So I guess now you know." Cisco commented.
She nodded.
"I've known for a while. It was easy to figure out. Barry wakes up from a coma, the blur appears. Every time Barry left our apartment at random times claiming he had work to do? Every single time he left, the blur makes an appearance. I knew he was destined for greatness. I just didn't think he'd hide it from me." she explained.
She looked over at Cisco, remembering him from all the times she had visited.
"Hey, Chewie, I'm not blaming you guys. I'm blaming him for not trusting me enough." she said.
A smile appeared on Cisco's face as he remembered the nickname she had for him.
"I thought you were dead." he said, looking at her, eyes full of raging concern.
"I'm fine Cisco. I woke up in the hospital. I was released. The only ones who knew I was alive were Joe, Iris, and Barry." she said, feeling guilty that she hadn't come to her cousin sooner.
"I was there in the hospital when they pronounced you dead. They said your heart stopped beating during surgery. They said there was no chance of your survival. But here you are, healthy, smiling, and very much alive." Caitlyn said, coming into the room.
"I'm sorry I didn't come to you Cait. I needed time to adjust. I went back to Starling City. I had to come home because I had interviews." Kadence said.
"Why did you come here in the first place? I thought I told you you started next week." Dr. Wells asked, wheeling into the room.
Kadence almost fell to the floor. The man she had always looked up to figuratively and literally, was sitting in a wheelchair.
"Started what next week?" Cisco inquired.
"Working here. At STAR Labs." she said.
"That's why I came here. I went to your house but no one was there so I came here. The only place I knew you'd be. I wanted to surprise you Cait." Kadence explained.
"Well you certainly surprised me. I'm so happy you're alive. I'm so happy you'll be working here. I'm so happy you're here." Caitlyn said, hugging her beloved cousin.
"Mm." They all heard.
They looked over to where Barry was lying and Cisco rushed over to his side. Kadence was still holding on to Barry's hand.
"The Streak lives." Cisco smiled.
"You'd be dead if your lung cells didn't regenerate so quickly." Caitlyn said solemnly.
Kadence nudged her, wanting to see her smile.
"My chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette." Barry mumbles, not registering the fact that the woman he cared for was standing next to him, holding onto his hand.
Caitlyn gave Barry a horrified look.
"Yeah. Teen me lived for danger." He said.
"This isn't funny. You could've-" Caitlyn started, but was cut off.
"I didn't."
"What now?" Kadence asked, looking over at Dr. Wells.
"Now that we have his sample, we'll get to work. Analyzing it, figuring out the make up of the poison, maybe we'll get a clue to his human identity." Dr. Wells replied.
"Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist. The Mist. Okay. That's his name. End of discussion." Cisco said excitedly.
Kadence felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked over. Barry was staring at her. It was like he was seeing her face for the first time. She felt a small flutter in her chest. He stared at her like she was the billion dollar prize. She blushed, looking down at their intertwined hands and let go. She didn't want to make this seem awkward.
Barry knew he had feelings for this girl. Hell he confessed his feelings for her at Oliver's loft. But he didn't think they were this deep. He noticed the small things about her. The way she'd flip her bangs out of her face annoyingly. The was she scrunched up her nose when she was disgusted. The way her forehead crinkled when she laughed. The way her cheeks would darken a shade when she was embarrassed. They were the things he loved most about her. Those were the things that were gonna get him into trouble.
"I have to get to the station." he said.
"You should be resting." Dr. Wells said, not even bothering to look up from his computer, knowing where the argument was gonna go. Barry was a stubborn as an ox when it came to his injuries.
"I have to talk to Joe." Barry said.
Dr. Wells knew the argument wasn't going to end on his side so he let him go.
Kadence watched as Barry sped to get up and out the door.
~AT THE PRECINCT~
"Joe, I had him." Barry said, walking into his lab.
Joe looked up curious.
"The metahuman. We were wrong. He's not controlling airborne toxins, he can literally transform himself into poison gas." Barry explained, going on further.
"That's new." Joe said, standing up from his spot at the window.
"The victim was a judge. We're going through some of her old cases to see if there was a connection." Joe says, opening a file.
"Its too late." Barry said, looking down shamefully.
Joe looked up again at him.
"I should have been faster." he says.
"Focus on the job. Don't think about that right now." Joe said, shaking his head slightly.
"You don't wanna know what I'm thinking about." Barry said, walking around Joe.
"My dad has spent 14 years in a 6 by 8 foot cell for a crime he didn't commit. I couldn't save my mom but I can save him."
"Didn't I promise you that we would get your father out of prison together?" Joe said.
"I don't need your help, Joe. I could be in and out of there with him before anyone even sees me." Barry said, turning around to face Joe.
"Okay. You break him out of there. Then what? He's on the run for the rest of his life. Something tells me he's not as fast as you are."
"You don't know what its like there."
"You think I don't understand what you're feeling? I have been a cop for almost as long as you've been alive. So you should know that every time you put on that suit, does not mean everyone is safe. For every person you save, there's gonna be someone you can't. And the hardest thing you're gonna have to face is not some monster out there with powers. It's gonna be that feeling of uselessness when you can't do anything. Or the guilt that weighs on you, when you make a mistake." Joe said.
He stands up, making Barry look him in the eye.
"Some things, Barry, you can't fight. Some things, you just have to live with." He said and walked away.