.:Chapter One:.
Pace, pace, pace, turn.
Pace, pace, pace, turn.
Pace, pace, pace, turn.
"I wonder how quickly he could do this if he were using his speed," Cisco remarked, his eyes following every one of Barry's movements. He then snapped his fingers. "Better question! Would he burn a hole in the ground like the cartoons?"
"It's good to know that your scientific inquiries are centered on cartoon physics," Caitlin teased. She paused, tilting her head to the side. "Though it would answer questions about heat registers and friction…"
Cisco's lips stretched back into a grin.
"Maybe this'll tire him out so he wouldn't be so freakishly anxious all the time." Cisco shook his head. "It just makes me wonder what a phone call to someone he doesn't know would do."
"Mmm, probably word vomit," Caitlin remarked. Her eyebrows rose. "You know how he does that thing when he's nervous? Imagine that about ten times worse." The two giggled with each other until Barry turned and glared at them. Caitlin quickly regained her composure, moving a strand of hair out of her face with a flick of her fingertip. "Barry," Caitlin called as he started another round of pacing. She was starting to get dizzy. "They're all going to be here soon. We can't do anything more. Don't torture yourself."
"What is waiting going to do when we know Snart and Heatwave aren't? They're out there doing who knows what and we're..." Barry came to a frustrated stop. He crossed his arms his gaze over his friends, daring them to prove him wrong.
Harrison, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow and flashed Barry a knowing look. "Well then, Mr. Allen, if this was a competition of wits, I'd say they've won." As Barry rolled his eyes, Harrison wheeled his chair out from behind his computer desk and up to the metahuman's side. "All joking aside, Barry, Caitlin is right. There isn't much we can do at the moment other than wait. You've called them to return to Central City when we first got the reports that Snart and Heatwave were conducting some…peculiar activity."
He ran his thumb over his fingers as he continued to watch Barry, this time his knowing look transformed into a smile of amusement. "However, it remains to be seen that you've managed to collect quite a few names in your superhero black book. To that affect I have to ask if you plan on furthering your reach or if we can expect you to stick with Central City?"
After a second of silence—detecting the smiles that were on Caitlin's and Cisco's faces—Barry realized Harrison was making fun of him and managed to smile as well. Shaking his head, he turned and started to pace once more. How long did it take to get from Starling, Metropolis, and Keystone anyway? They weren't that far. Keystone was the closest; it was just across the river. Starling…that trip could be easily made in a few hours by train, Metropolis would be made in just about a day as well. He called early in the afternoon the day before and traveling by car shouldn't be difficult.
Barry ran his hand over his forehead once more.
His nerves were shot, though he expected that to be the case anytime someone managed to travel back in time. He never thought it was possible, to tell the truth. Impossible used to not be part of his vocabulary, especially after gaining his powers in the first place. However he was still a very scientific minded person. Dealing with data, logistics, facts, and figures on a nearly daily basis then falling into a life where things didn't fit perfectly within those categories made him nervous.
Seeing how he had managed to make things worse while saving his city was making him question himself and his heroic abilities.
But, as Caitlin drilled into his head, having the guts to ask for help showed his dedication to his city and his newfound responsibility.
"Relax, Mr. Allen," Harrison's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
He wasn't sure the word 'relax' was in his vocabulary either.
Within the comfortable silence that fell over the STAR Labs team, Barry was suddenly overcome with a wave of gratitude. He wasn't particularly as selfish person; he preferred to say he had tunnel vision. He wanted to get his father out of jail. He wanted to save Central City. He wanted to be happy. And these three people, who had lost their careers and parts of their lives, still worked with him as a team as much as they had when the Particle Accelerator had gone up in flames. His gratitude for the group was bigger than he could ever put into words. He hoped they were able to feel it as well.
The group's silence was broken at the sound of an alarm going off. Cisco turned to his computer and scrolled through a couple of screens before finding the source of the alarm. Caitlin leaned over his shoulder to get a good look as well.
"We really need to get a new security system," she remarked as he scrolled through the cameras, trying to find what tripped them. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Before we know it, there's going to be a museum tour around here."
"Wouldn't that be a sight to see," Harrison remarked, somewhat dryly. "The Flash, two of the leading scientists in their field, and a social pariah. Not only would it sell tickets, but I'm sure they'd all want to see the attraction of being able to try on the Flash suit."
At his words, Cisco whirled around and held up a slightly shaking hand. "Whoa. Whoa. We can have a parade, floats, balloons, and tours all we want, but no one touches my suit!"
"Do you want to be alone with it?" Caitlin teased.
"Can we start calling it my suit yet?" Barry asked earnestly. "I get that you made it, but I'm the one that wears it."
"Well, once you've managed to successfully apologize for getting it blown up, we can talk."
"Not that I'm not entertained by two grown men fighting over a piece of clothing like soccer moms at a yard sale," Caitlin interrupted. "But I think the more pressing topic we have is whether or not the reason our security system went off is for someone who wants to expose us." As soon as she finished her sentence, the doors at the back of the Cortex opened and the four whirled around, letting out a collective sigh of relief.
Barry moved over to the three that came in through the doors, rubbing his hands together "I'm so glad you guys made it."
"Yeah, Barry was only seconds away from bouncing off the walls," Cisco added.
"Can he bounce?" Sage asked with a light lilt to her voice. "Like, is that part of his powers, too? Because if it is and he didn't mention it, he hadn't been doing a good job of controlling that aspect whenever he was thrown around like a ragdoll."
The speedy metahuman stopped in his tracks long enough to roll his eyes before he reached the girls. "Funny, Sage, real funny. I need your help." He stopped then slapped himself on the forehead and looked back and forth between the three young women that stood before him. "Oh, sorry, have you met yet? Sage Moreaux this is Averey Moore, my…sister—"
"—Sister?" Sage and Cadence repeated.
"It's a long story. And this is my…friend Cadence Nash. Sage is—"
"—Iris's cousin," Cadence interrupted. "Yeah, we've met before. At Jitters maybe?"
Sage smiled. "Actually, you bumped into me at the carnival last year."
"I work at Jitters," Averey supplied.
"Oh!" Sage grinned. "I go there all the time. I've seen you behind the counter."
"Caramel Macchiato!" At Sage's incredulous look, complete with throwing her hands into the air, Averey shrugged sheepishly. "It's easier to remember customers by their orders, mate. And you do consume a lot of coffee."
"It's good!" Sage defended herself, her voice growing high-pitched at the end. She then turned back to Cadence and studied her. "And you're in some of my dance classes. I've seen you around before…isn't there normally a little guy with you?"
Barry watched the three girls converse with an expression of confusion on his face. He glanced back and forth between them and Cisco, Caitlin, and Harrison. His friends didn't seem to think it was odd that the three knew each other. But that wasn't possible…
"Right," Barry agreed. The low tone of his voice betrayed his confusion. Then he suddenly glanced around Cadence, suddenly appearing worried. "Where is Brady?"
"He's—" The fire metahuman cut herself off. She twisted around then let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped. "Ugh! I'll be right back." With that, she disappeared in a puff of smoke as she teleported out of the room.
A second later, Averey and Sage jumped as there was another puff of smoke and Cadence appeared beside them once more, carrying an nine year old boy on her back. She allowed him to slide off her back before grabbing his shoulders and moving him in front of her. "I was just looking at the cars," he protested, obviously sad that he had been caught. "I never get to explore around here."
"With your sticky hands I'm not surprised," Cadence replied. She let out a light sigh and turned him towards the two women. "This is my son, Brady. Brady this is Sage and Averey."
"Hi." Brady waved at the two of them. He then tilted his head as he took in Sage's appearance. "I like you hair," he remarked about her honey blonde tresses. "Is it real?"
Cadence siwftly reached out and slapped her hand over Brady's mouth. "I'm sorry about that, he's a blabber." She reached around and tilted his head back so that he noticed her disapproving frown. "And it gets him in a lot of trouble."
"That's okay!" Sage chirped, "happens to me sometimes too."
"Understatement of the year," Barry remarked.
"Mom!" Brady grabbed Cadence's shirt and gently pulled it, pointing over at Averey. "She's the one that took our picture. Remember? At the park?" He then beamed. "She's the one that called me sweetie."
"I should be thanking you for that day," Averey remarked as Cadence smiled her thanks. "You two were some of the better clients I've had in a while, yeah? Not only that but it greatly helped out my portfolio."
"Glad we could help."
"Now that we have our introductions aside," Harrison announced himself as he wheeled over to the metahumans. "Let's get to why you all were brought here." He shifted in his seat, resting his weight to one side. He lifted his hand and started to rub his thumb over his fingers. "You each have your own unique set of powers that will aid us in the termination of the Rogues and whatever plan it is their concocting this time around."
"Those blokes are back in Central City?" Averey questioned.
"It looks like they never left," Cisco supplied. "It's bad enough they've gotten their hands on the Cold and Heat Guns but now they've gotten more people on their side. At least," he paused. "We think so. They've been doing a lot of strange things as of late."
"Strange how?" Cadence asked.
"Knowing them, strange is an understatement," Sage remarked.
Barry rubbed the back of his neck then laced his fingers behind his head. "Strange like they've been robbing different places than they'd normally rob," he commented. "There's the usual jewelry stores, banks, art museums. Anything expensive and artisanal to sell on the black market I'm sure, but there are some others that are more brash."
"Like top secret government facilities," Caitlin supplied. She turned from her computer, where police reports that were all tied back to the two Rogue members piled up. Crossing her legs at the knee, she cleared her throat. "There have been a few hits on the differing government buildings in the city and we think they may be headed towards some others that are out of our reach. Like in Starling, maybe all the way out to DC."
"So what does this have to do with us?" Cadence asked, copying Barry's stance. "Barry's managed to outsmart them before. How can this be any different? Just set up a sting."
"Because now, Cadence, these hits have happened at nearly the same time," Harrison explained. The girls exchanged glances. "Which highly suggests there are other people that are working alongside them. Unfortunately, the CCPD haven't been able to pinpoint who they are, as they would eventually be scattered across the city as well."
"Captain Cold is the one the CCPD are mostly going after," Barry explained. "Not only because of the crimes he's committed before, but because he has no problems being the face of the organization he's running with."
"Sounds like him," Sage remarked, a low tone suddenly coming to her voice. "He must've manipulated the others into working with him. Heat Wave wouldn't be so hard, he's easily amused."
"Well, from the way you were talking on the phone, Barry, it seems like there's some more to what you're telling us," Averey commented. "Having a few more people around to stop the Rogues, that's fine. But…it sounded like a life or death situation going on." There was a long silence that stretched throughout the room. "Did I say something wrong?"
"There have been a lot of victims to these…admittedly strategic hits over the city," Harrison explained. "Some of them being citizens that have gotten in the way, others being parts of the CCPD police force. As it is, we can't afford any more casualties in this senseless war."
A chill moved through the room as Harrison spoke. Was this really what it all came down to? A war? Were they now soldiers locked into a responsibility too big to handle themselves?
"Okay, but what do these guys want with these government files? The jewelry and stuff I can understand, they need funding. They may be keeping some of it themselves because they can. But what is it they're going after within those government offices?" Cadence smirked. "It can't be because they're trying to get rid of the records of their parking tickets."
"That's what we need to figure out as well," Caitlin pointed out.
"At the moment, we're stumped," Cisco agreed.
"Aren't you guys all supposed to be super smart? Can't you just type something on your computer and find out?" Brady asked innocently. His eyes widened as Cadence's admonishment of his name. "What? What'd I say?" He frowned, scratching the back of his head.
"It may take some time to figure out what it is they're up to, which is where each of your expertise comes in," Harrison said. "As it is, the CCPD haven't been really…forthcoming with their information."
Cadence's eyebrows furrowed together and she looked at Barry for confirmation and he gave a tired nod.
"That is, if you want to help. We're not going to force you to uproot your own plans to come back."
"Central City is just as much our home as it is Barry's, hey," Averey explained, nodding over at her half-brother. "Of course we'll help. We wouldn't have come back otherwise." She then turned her attention to Cisco. "That reminds me, I need you to take a look at the Cisco-Cycle, it may have gotten in a bit of an accident on the way in."
"I need you to check out my bike, too," Sage agreed. "If we're going to be fighting the Rogues, I need an upgrade on it as well. I think it can handle turns better."
"You two got cars?" Brady's eyes widened. "Can I see?"
"That's not fair." Cadence frowned. "I don't get a car."
"That's because you can teleport, Cade," Caitlin pointed out. She laughed as the fire metahuman shrugged, twisting her mouth to the side.
Cisco leapt up out of his seat, rubbing his hands together as he grinned. "Well, if it's an upgrade you want, it's an upgrade you get. Ooh, this is going to be so sweet! Spending my whole night tinkering on some of my greatest inventions." He looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hmm, that means I'm going to have to move my Walking Dead marathon back until I finish. But that's okay, this is so much better than watching Netflix all night."
Barry and Caitlin exchanged glances as Harrison smiled.
. . .
. .
.
Stretching her arms over her head, Cadence walked into the kitchen and stared at the piles of dishes that had been moved there. Of course when Barry had moved everything of hers and Brady's stuff into it, before she had left for Metropolis, he didn't put everything in the right place, leaving her to have to do it herself.
Then again, while the speedy metahuman could do basically everything fast, she knew he hated to do chores and would continuously put them off each time he got. If anything of his setting up Christmas decoration the 'slow way' was any indication.
With a light sigh she glanced at the time on the microwave, debating whether or not she really wanted to try or at least order in. Eating on the floor was a better prospect than actually having to try and quietly put everything in its place. It was late enough to get back from Metropolis to hear that there was enough damage due to whatever it was the Rogues were concocting. If they had gathered more people to their team, that was going to make it worse. If anything she had been told about the Rogues was as bad as the stories, they were in for a lot of trouble.
Cadence took a stack of dishes and started to move them into the cabinet on the other side of the room. Heatwave would be the muscle. But if there if was enough people so that even Barry couldn't get there in time, that we had to come in to help, then there's definitely a bigger threat than even the Reverse Flash to deal with.
She continued to move the dishes back and forth, keeping track of the time to know when to go back to STAR Labs to get Brady. It was a win-win for both of them that he wanted to help out Cisco with the upgrades to Sage's and Averey's vehicles, giving her plenty of time to get things switched around without having to chase him down to for him to help. Only nine years old and he was already really good at avoiding his chores when he got the opportunity.
"Definitely been spending too much time with Barry," she commented.
There was a sudden gust of wind and Cadence whirled around, half expecting to find the Flash behind her, with him having come through her open bedroom window, and then jerked her head back in surprise when she spotted Lucas standing in front of her. Her eyes widened before quickly falling into a glare, flames erupting around her fist. "I was thinking the same thing," Lucas commented, flicking his hair back out of his face. "Though for an entirely different reason."
Cadence stared at Lucas, sucking in a sharp breath. Almost immediately, flashes of the time she had spent with him and the rest of the Assassination Bureau, a league of metahumans that had tried to kill Harrison as well as Barry shot through her head. Not only did she have nightmares over the things she had done while under their control, but the guilt was an issue as well. She could barely look at any of her friends at STAR Labs that day, knowing how badly she had betrayed them before.
"Unless you want the smoke alarm to go off, I suggest you stop that," Lucas said, pointing to her hands. Cadence slowly uncurled her fingers, allowing the flame to dissipate. As she didn't move fast enough for him, he lifted his hands and shot a blast of air towards her hand, immediately snuffing the flame. She shook her hands out before rubbing them, hoping to warm them once more.
Lucas paced around the kitchen. "Nice place you have here, it's definitely a lot better than the last dump you were in. Though it was a lot harder to find you."
"What do you want?" She watched him warily as he turned from examining the TV and faced her once more. His blue eyes widened into a manic expression before returning to a serene state. "I already told Breathtaker and the others that no amount of money would get me back in the group." She was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of fear as Lucas moved towards her. Oh, how could you be so stupid, Cade.
Before she got a chance to ignite any sort of flame, Lucas was on her, jet propelled by a gust of wind. He shot forward and punched her in the stomach. It was enough to immediately knock the wind out of her, knocking her back into the wall before her. Before she could fall, the stormy metahuman had her around the neck with one hand, squeezing it painfully. He brought other hand up and held it by her mouth.
Choking, Cadence's brain screamed at her to bring her hands up, to fend him off, but found that she couldn't move her body. His ever increasing grip continued to crush her windpipe, making it hard for her to even gasp or swallow. Tears sprang from her eyes as Lucas's manic eyes locked on hers and he clenched his left hand into a fist.
Her vision went dark as she felt the wind immediately sucked out of her lungs and her throat collapsed.
Cadence sucked in a sharp breath as she pushed her face out of her pillow. Flipping around, she smoothed her air back off her forehead, eyes darting around the darkened room. Bringing her hands up to her neck, she rubbed the skin, thinking she was going to find some bruising or some sort of pain. There was no indication she had just been strangled as her nightmare had made her believe, though there was a painful crick in her neck. That was it; she had slept with her head tilted at an odd angle. That's all.
Breathing heavily, she sat up straight, resting her back against the headboard and brought her hands up to her face, wiping away the beads of sweat that appeared on her forehead. Once she calmed down, she pulled back the covers on the bed and quietly slipped out of her room. She went to Brady's room and quietly opened the door, peering inside to find him in his normal sleeping position; on his back with one arm up underneath the pillow, the other resting on his chest.
With a small smile, the fire metahuman closed the door once more then returned to her room. She turned her body to the side and sat on the window sill, watching Central City for any abnormal movement.
Better safe than sorry.
