Caitlin awoke with a sharp breath. Everything around her was bleak, dark. She sat up to find her arms in chains, keeping her Zoom's prisoner. Even if she could escape where could she go? This was not her Earth, and she had no friends here, no one to help her. And Barry had lost his speed, he could not come through the breach to save her.
Barry. He had lost his speed, given it up to that monster. And he had come so close to killing Barry, he had almost chocked all the life out of him. She had to intervene, and now she was paying the price for that. Zoom had taken her, before Harry had a chance to fire the gun.
Why was she here? He wasn't sick anymore, he didn't need a cure for Velocity 9. Barry's speed had healed him, made him faster than ever before. There was nothing more that Caitlin could give him, he had taken it all from her, and from Barry. Did he plan on keeping her here for leverage? Or as a trophy? To prove he had won his twisted, sick war?
Caitlin's train of thought was interrupted by the strong smell of Big Belly Burger. At the end of the bed sat a tray, a large burger and fries sitting on it. It was just within her reach, but it didn't feel right. Hunter could have poisoned it, or drugged it. And she couldn't bring herself to eat, her stomach felt like it was going to throw up already. Perhaps it was Earth 2 being so different to her home. Or perhaps it was the thought that Zoom was holding her prisoner, and able to do whatever he wanted. No one was left to stop him now. She stared down at the food.
"Okay, this is better than any burger you can get on Earth 2," said Jay, a big smile on his grin after he finished his first bite of the burger.
"Best burgers, no matter which city you are in, come from Big Belly Burger," Caitlin replied, taking a slightly smaller bite out of hers. Jay laughed, and quickly reached his finger up to her lips. He carefully wiped sauce from the corner, and they both started to laugh.
"Well, I count myself lucky to have someone to teach me this kind of thing," he replied back, gently kissing her cheek. It had been nice having someone like this. Caitlin had missed it, and finally she hoped this would help her move on from Ronnie. Ever since they had kissed under the mistletoe, her and Jay had been so much closer, and when he had said he was falling in love with her, it had made her realise she was developing stronger feelings for him too. There was something though, something holding her back….
"You need to eat," she heard Zoom say, his hideous voice echoing in the room. She had bene so deep in thought that she hadn't heard him enter. Maybe she had, and just wanted to ignore it. "Caitlin" he said, and she finally looked up at the monster before her.
"If you want to speak to me then take off that mask," she said back. A streak of blue lighting darted out, before he came back in. Without the costume. Now she could see the face of the man she had once felt so strongly for. And it made her sick.
"Does this make you feel better?" he asked, his face softening as he looked at her.
"Nothing you could ever do would make me feel better," she retorted back. Even speaking to him made her insides turn, she was glad she hadn't touched the burger. The eyes that looked at her, how could she not have seen it? The evil inside of them, how could she have ever cared about them?
"You don't need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I care too much about you to do that," he said, and she actually almost fell for it. He could say whatever he wanted, but Caitlin wouldn't fall for him. Her heart was closed to him for good.
"You only care about yourself, Hunter," she said, staring directly at him. He seemed to react to his name badly, it clearly brought up bad memories for him. She watched him twitch, a little part of her felt bad. He couldn't control the childhood he had, but that gave him no right to be the monster he was.
"I know that you think I'm a monster, I understand why," he said with a sigh. "But that'll change. Please Cait,"he said.
"Do not call me that!" she interrupted. He had no right to call her that. "Why are you keeping me here? You're cured. You don't need me for anything," she continued, looking at him.
"You're here because I love you. It may take a while but someday you'll start feeling that way about me again too," he said, kneeling down beside her, raising a hand to her cheek. Caitlin instinctually flinched away, she did not want that monster touching her. "Make yourself at home," he said smiling before he vibrated her handcuffs off. "You're going to be here awhile," he finished, before racing out of the room.
Caitlin jumped off the bed, falling to the ground. He couldn't be serious. A monster like him, he wasn't capable of love, of caring. She slowly stood up and looked around the room, her boots clattered against the ground, the only sound for miles. Then there was a tapping, getting stronger and louder the closer she walked. A man in a cell lay on the ground, and she knew it was the man in the iron mask Barry had told her about. She felt so sorry for him, and that she couldn't save him.
"I don't understand," Caitlin said, raising her hands in defeat.
"Well hello doppelganger of mine," said an icy voice, and she turned. It was her, but not. She knew who this was, the stories Cisco had told her. Killer Frost. "What do you know, I can still pull off brunette," she continued, her eyes wide. Caitlin felt dread run through her body, this version of her, the evil ran off her body.
"You're Killer Frost," stuttered Caitlin, stepping towards the glass.
"And you're Caitlin Snow. Your little friend Cisco wouldn't shut up about you. Made you out to be some kind of saint. So tell me, why hide the girls? I mean you've seen our body, right?" Killer Frost taunted back, before they both turned to look at the man knocking. "If I could get my powers to work through this carbine wall, the first thing I would do is shut him up!" she yelled, slamming her fist against the glass.
"Who is he?" Caitlin asked. Barry and Cisco had no idea who he was, they just felt bad for him. He had tried to say something about Jay, but it was easy enough to guess now what he meant.
"Don't know, don't care. But if he's here, Zoom must need something from him," replied Killer Frost, waving her hand in the air.
"So what does Zoom need you for?" quickly asked Caitlin back. Killer Frost had betrayed Zoom, perhaps he just wanted to punish her, extend the time before he killed her.
"That is an excellent question Caity. Now I've been asking myself the same thing. But doesn't matter now, I'm not going to stick around much longer," said Killer Frost, a horrific smile on her face. It scared Caitlin.
"Wait, I thought you said your powers don't work inside this cell," she replied, a part of her knowing where this conversation was heading.
"They don't, you're right. So you are going to help me get out of here," Killer Frost smirked back.
"Why would I help you?" asked Caitlin, she had no reason to, nothing about her wanted to help Killer Frost.
"Listen, honey, there is no way you are making it down that cliff all by yourself. So let's make a deal. You get me out of this box and I'll help you get home. Might even throw in some wardrobe tips for free," she mocked. "So what do you say Caitlin? Do we have a deal?" she asked. Caitlin knew she couldn't say no, Killer Frost was right. So now she needed to figure out how to get Killer Frost out of there.
Killer Frost was within a carbine glass cell. She couldn't use her powers to escape, and the glass wouldn't shatter easily. She needed a way to weaken the glass, but there wasn't much to work with in this prison. If Zoom was anything, he was careful not to leave weapons lying around. Then she saw the generator in the corner. Now the work began.
"Tick, tock. Tick, tock," muttered Killer Frost. She really was beginning to annoy Caitlin like hell.
"I'm going as fast as I can," she replied, her annoyance showing through.
"Well you better go faster, Zoom will be back any minute," muttered Killer Frost.
"I could just leave you in there you know?" Caitlin snapped back. She was done with listening to her, she was the villain in this situation. She had no reason to help her, other than the necessity of this role.
"Ooh. But you want to go home so badly," mocked Killer Frost, knowing she had no choice but to help her.
"So how did this happen to you?" Caitlin asked, at least she could get a profile of her. What had turned her from a med student to Killer Frost?
"Woke up one day, cold, pale, thought I was sick. Turns out it was something else entirely," she replied, ice forming up her arm. The way she looked at her arm, the ice, it looked as though a part of her wished it had never happened.
"You got hit by the dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion?" asked Caitlin, stopping to look at her. The particle accelerator explosion had cause so much harm on both earths. It had created those who used their powers for good, but there always seemed to be one more villain, one worse guy to fight.
"Yes. Right after I flunked out of med school. Had to move back in with my mother….." Killer Frost cursed under her breath, she almost spat the word mother.
"That couldn't have been fun. If she's anything like mine," muttered Caitlin back. One reason she had thrown herself so into the world of science, was to escape from her mother. She had always been so vapid, so rude and condescending. And Caitlin had fought every day to prove she was better than that.
"Why? Is yours a frigid narcissist too?" she asked. That was an understatement.
"Cold as ice," replied Caitlin, realising the irony.
"Yeah. Mom was like that ever since Charlie died," said Killer Frost, looking truly sad.
"Who's Charlie?" Caitlin quickly asked.
"My brother," Killer Frost replied. It seemed strange that this earth she had a brother, whereas on her own she didn't. Then again, one less kid for her mother to torture.
"I never had a brother," whispered Caitlin. A part of her had always wanted a sibling, someone to bond with over her mother. Someone to sit and help with their homework, read to before they went to bed. A younger sibling would have made it all easier.
"No? Then why was mom such a bitch on your Earth?" asked Killer Frost.
"Honestly I couldn't say," replied Caitlin. It had never occurred to her that there was a reason for her mum to be a bitch. She had just always thought it was part of her.
"So, how is this, going to get me out of here?" asked Killer Frost. She sure had a lot of questions. She should know, if it was her doppelganger figuring it out, it was going to work.
"The electrical current in the cable should heat up the carbine which in turn should speed up the electrons and the faster they go…." Started Caitlin.
"The weaker its molecular structure becomes," finished Killer Frost.
"Exactly," said Caitlin, raising an eyebrow at her doppelganger.
"I studied every once in a while," she replied with a smirk.
"Well when it gets hot enough it should make the carbine as fragile as glass," continued Caitlin, getting back to work.
"And then we can both get out of here," said Killer Frost, a smile across her face. Caitlin ignored her, listening to the tapping against the glass that the man in the iron mask was making. Even the tapping sounded weak, how long had Zoom held him in there? "Shut up!" yelled Killer Frost at him, and he shrunk back away from the glass. Once Killer Frost was out, they had to break him out, he didn't deserve that life.
"You could be nicer to him," said Caitlin, looking at her doppelganger.
"You try living 24 hours a day with him, and then tell me to be nice," said Frost. "But since you feel so chatty, I've got a question for you," she added, and Caitlin got a real sense of nervousness running through her body. "Why did Zoom take you as a prisoner? I mean, let's be honest, what exactly have you get to give him?" she continued, starring directly at Caitlin. She stayed silent. "See I have a theory. One which explains why he couldn't kill me, why he kept me in this cell. See I know Zoom, and he has no issue with killing so it isn't that. But perhaps," said Killer Frost, pushing her hands against the glass. "Perhaps, it's because he has feelings for someone who happens to look a lot like me," she finished. Caitlin looked up at her. "You don't need to answer, the fear in your eyes says it all," mocked Killer Frost, a smile on her face. Caitlin got back to work, she needed to get out of here, back home and away from Killer Frost and Zoom as soon as possible.
It took her awhile but she finally thought she had hooked it up so enough current would pass through the glass.
"Stay away from the wall," Caitlin warned Killer Frost.
"Let's give it a whirl," said Killer Frost, and Caitlin pulled the switch, sending electricity into the glass. She picked up a hammer and using all her strength broke the glass. Killer Frost had a grin across her face, finally she was free. "Well, looks like you have a little bad ass in you after all," she continued, slightly shocked Caitlin had managed to get her out of there. They both turned as the man I the iron mask began to knock against the glass.
"What are we going to do about this guy?" asked Caitlin, walking across to his cell.
"Oh Caity," said Killer Frost, ice forming up her arm. "I don't think he is ever going home," she said. The man started to knock more frantically at the glass. "And neither are you," she yelled, blasting ice towards her, only just missing her and hitting the glass.
"What are you doing?" screamed Caitlin. "I thought we had a deal!" she yelled.
"Oh is everyone on your Earth this gullible?" mocked Killer Frost, more ice spreading up her arm. Caitlin began to run away, before Killer Frost sent ice down to the floor, sending Caitlin skidding on the ground. She tried to get back to her feet, slipping all over the ice. "Heels aren't the best on ice are they?" taunted Killer Frost as Caitlin finally got to her feet. "You know, once I saw you I realised why Zoom didn't kill me, cause I look just like you. Now he won't need me anymore," she said, launching an icicle straight at Caitlin. Before she could do anything, she felt something past through her, and a blur of blue lighting entered the room. Zoom grabbed the icicle plunging it into Killer Frost's chest.
"No, I don't," Zoom said, tossing her to the ground. He turned to face Caitlin, pulling his mask off. "Try that with him, he dies too," he said, before racing out of the room. Caitlin looked at the corpse of Killer Frost, slowly walking over to her. Blood was pooling around the hole of the icicle. She knelt down beside her, feeling the need to close her eyelids. Even if she had just tried to kill Caitlin, there was something about seeing herself lying dead on the ground that disturbed her. She looked up at the man in the iron mask, who started to knock once more. She stood up and walked across to the glass, placing a hand against it.
"I can't understand you, and I can't help you without killing you," she said, and she could almost feel the despair coming from him. Suddenly she was covered in blue lighting, finding herself chained to her bed once more, alone in the room. She ran her hands up her arms, trying to see if the cuffs would come lose.
"You okay?" she heard Hunter say and looked up to see him entering the room.
"Stay away from me," replied Caitlin looking back down.
"Killer Frost tried to kill you Caitlin. I saved your life. You should thank me," he said, walking towards her.
"Thank you? You are keeping me as a prisoner, chained to a bed," she said, pulling up on the chains. "You may have just saved my life, but I wouldn't have had to risk it if I wasn't here," Caitlin continued. "So thank you. Thank you for taking me from my home, thank you for ruining everything I knew," she continued, fighting to keep the tears back from her eyes. "Thank you for pretending to be Jay. For pretending to be a man I could love," she spat, looking away from him.
"That love between us," he replied, raising a hand to her cheek that she tried to flinch away from. Instead he grabbed her neck, pulling her towards him. "That love is still here. And I know with time, it will grow between us again," he said, pressing his lips to her cheek. She tried to escape, but he had such a tight grip on her. He looked deep into her eyes, she could feel him burrowing into her head. All she wanted was to go home. "You may be scared of me now, think I am a monster," he said, gently stroking her cheek. "But I promise Caitlin, you will find that love once more with me," Hunter whispered, pressing his lips up against hers. Caitlin fought trying to get free, trying to escape his grip. It didn't work. When he finally pulled away, she slid as far back as the bed and chains would allow her to.
"Don't you get it? I can never love you! You lied to me, made me believe you were someone you were not!" Caitlin yelled, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
"No!" yelled Hunter reaching for her hand. "I may have had a different name, but the Jay I was around you, that was the real me. And you know that!" he continued, gripping her hand so tightly it made her wince. "And if you want to talk about why you claim not to love me, then the least you can do is be honest," he whispered.
"I don't know what you are talking about," said Caitlin, trying to pull her hand out of his iron grip.
"Barry," spat Hunter. "I can see the way you look at him, I know you think you have feelings for him. But those feelings, they are misguided. You may think you love Barry, but that was the love you felt for me. When you saw Jay die, you latched onto the closest thing. I know that you love me and not Barry," he whispered.
"I couldn't love you anymore than I can stop myself from loving him!" Caitlin screamed, and she immediately regretted it the moment she said it. Hunter launched backwards, his eyes flashing with blue lightning. He screamed so loudly, Caitlin's ears began to hurt.
"You are never going to see Barry again!" he yelled at her.
"Please just let me go," Caitlin begged.
"No, stay," he whispered, slowly calming himself.
"I want to leave," she said, it seemed to trigger more memories. "Please, take me back to my Earth," she continued, even though she felt like any chance she had of getting free was gone. Hunter smiled, and it scared her.
"You know, I've measured my success by counting the number of victims I had, but now I think I'm going to widen my scope. Start counting the number of earths I conquer instead," Hunter said, kneeling down beside her. "You want to go home, let's go. After all this Earth has already been brought to its knees," he said, before laughing. Caitlin had no time to register what was happening before she was taken in a streak of blue lighting.
It looked like she was going home.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the introduction, I rushed out the next chapter just for you. Hopefully the next one won't take too long, but fair warning: it won't be as quick as this. Thanks again to everyone for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter!