.:19:.
"Gideon," Harrison said, crossing his arms. He paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side. If he was really going to do this, he needed to be sure he didn't allow his personal feelings to get in the way. This was science and the future and everything he needed to know. He needed to be prepared. "Do a future lookup of Burnout."
"Yes, Dr. Wells," Gideon replied. Harrison waited as newspaper clippings and web files shot across the wall in front of him. They scrolled around and around and his eyes followed each and every one until they slowed to a stop. Placed in front of him was a picture of a young woman that looked like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, despite her eyes being covered by a pair of goggles. Soot rested on her cheeks and her arm was thrust forward, shoving out an incredible ball of fire. "Burnout is the alias for Cadence Nash, previously known as Flash Fire."
"Yes, yes, please get to it Gideon," Harrison insisted, lightly scuffing his foot.
"Burnout came to existence in 2020 after a significant loss of her morals and values in 2016 due to an unforeseen tragedy. Because of the unblocking of that anguish and rage within her, Cadence succumbed to the darker side of her fire powers coming into her abilities of Hell-Fire. With the chaotic element, she has succumbed to the control of her powers, taken up the mantle of Burnout, and is now considered too strong to contain. Her powers have completely taken her over."
"And what about The Flash?" Harrison questioned.
The newspaper image he was used to came up in front of him once more. Flash Missing: Vanishes In Crisis continued to coat the headline. Harrison ran a hand over his mouth. He nodded, taking a step back. Okay. The same thing he had always seen before. And yet he was still getting nothing about the Black Flash. Irritation surged through his body, mixed with a sense of relief. It was hard, feeling both emotions at the same time, battling each other as they had a tendency to do. Bringing his hands up, Harrison scratched his forehead then ran his hands though his hair.
"Okay, okay, okay," he whispered under his breath, starting to pace back and forth. He ran his hands over his face once more, displacing his glasses, and then replaced them. He turned back to Gideon and waved a hand. "Thank you, Gideon. That's all for today."
"You're welcome, Dr. Wells."
Harrison turned away from Gideon and walked over to his wheelchair. He sat down and whirled it around, navigating his way out of the room. The door slid shut behind him, forming the metallic wall once more. If anyone walked by, no one would be able to see the room; no one would be able to find it. That's just the way he wanted it.
Now if only he could figure out a way to alter the future. There were some things he needed to happen, others he couldn't have happen and it was starting to weigh on his conscience more and more as the days went on. How was he supposed to deal with his plans, all of his hard work, when there was a significant part of him tearing it down one by one? He hadn't expected it to show up, the thoughts that questioned what he was doing, much like a second voice in the back of his head, had never been there before. Not until he lost Tess, not until he threw himself into his work. It was there every now and then, much like big brother was watching him. But it grew once the Particle Accelerator blew and he got to know Barry, it grew even further once Cadence came back into his life and he had to keep his parentage a secret from her. Now that she knew, it was almost a daily occurrence.
Whenever he had a thought of determination, one of stubbornness as he wasn't going to allow anything to get in his way, that voice would remind him what scientists were really supposed to do; share, invent, thrive, and that he wasn't doing any of that. He would push the voice away as much as he could but now it was a second part of him.
He wasn't sure how much more of it he could stand.
Harrison maneuvered his wheelchair through the winding hallways towards his office. He needed to write down his findings before he forgot them. So he knew what to expect when the time came. So he could create an idea of how to fix it.
"Harrison?"
Harrison turned around and smiled, feeling his body fill with happiness when he found Cadence behind him. She smiled back at him, lowering her head for a moment. Throughout the past few months their relationship grew. She and Brady went to Harrison's place for dinner and visits of just dropping by so they could get to know each other better. She slowly told him everything she had gone through from the time she had left Metropolis and first moved to Central City, first living in a women's shelter before finding someone to help her gain emancipation and access the money her mother and father had been holding from her, to landing on her feet and continuing her schooling. She explained how she was able to take college classes with a young child due to the nursery that was available within the school. When that wasn't an option or she had a later class she would bring Brady with him, where he would usually sit quietly on the floor with a book, her iPhone, or whatever books she brought along with her. (Though that wasn't to say he didn't get fussy at times and was found to climb around the classroom without a care in the world as other students smiled, laughed, and watched and Cadence wanted to die from embarrassment. By the grace of God, her professors were very accommodating when the time came).
In turn, Harrison spoke about his life with Tess; how they met, right down to the day and time, how they continued to date though he was a bit inept to really know she was interested in him, their personal studies, their life work together, their marriage, how they met her parents and became friends. They also briefly spoke about Tess's death and her funeral and their decision to give her up for adoption. Neither of them would say they were as close as any father and daughter would be but they were working on it.
"Yes, Cadence, what can I do for you?" Harrison smiled back at her.
"Caitlin and Cisco are ready with the drones to test Barry on his speed," she said. Her blue-green eyes shifted as she tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing all the way over here?"
Harrison briefly wondered if she saw him come out of his secret room then realized if she had, she would've said something. "I was getting myself some exercise." Cadence walked over behind his chair and grasped the handles, moving him in the direction of the Cortex. "I don't know if you're noticed, but my legs don't really work so I find myself wheeling around aimlessly so I can at least get some sort of a workout with my arms."
Cadence laughed lightly. "That's not dwelling on your problems," she said sarcastically. She paused for a minute. "Is your paralysis really permanent? Have you ever thought of doing physical therapy?"
"Are you suggesting that you do it for me?" Harrison replied.
"No. I was just saying you could get it done, to see if there's anything that may help your healing."
"Yes, well, considering my own practices within the sciences there seems to be more that I can do for myself rather than what others can do for me." Cadence made a humming sound and Harrison looked back at her with a smirk. "In other words, I don't particularly trust doctors to do more than what I can do for myself."
"What if you need surgery?"
"That's what I have you for."
"I can't perform surgeries, I can only…well, I can do what Caitlin does. But she's got that covered so there's really nothing for me to do here in STAR Labs."
Harrison reached up and patted Cadence's hand. "Don't worry, there's always something you can do. Everyone is valuable around here. Right now we're focusing on Barry's speed, but your control and Brady's new found abilities are just as important."
Important to everything I'm working for, Harrison thought. The two came back to the Cortex and watched as Cisco held onto a plank of wood and tried to talk Brad into kicking it. "You're not going to hurt yourself, what we're trying to do is make sure that you can phase your hands and feet through it."
"What are you doing?" Cadence asked as they came in through the door.
Cisco, hearing Cadence's 'mom voice' immediately dropped the plank of wood and jumped backwards. "I told you it was a bad idea," Caitlin said with a shake of her head. "We don't really have an idea of how we're going to test Brady's powers yet and I don't think having him break his hand is the best way to go."
"It wouldn't be the first time he's broken something," Cadence remarked, casting her son a look as he smiled innocently. "But it would be the first time he's purposefully flung one of his body parts at a block of wood hoping he'd be able to phase his hand through it without knowing if he can."
Barry laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't think it really has anything to do with him wanting to figure out Brady's powers," he said to Cadence. "Last I checked he was going through a Karate Kid movie marathon."
"Those movies are classics and deserve to have the recognition they deserve," Cisco defended himself. Harrison let out a quiet sigh and Cisco immediately changed the subject. "But who wants to focus on that when we have drones that we need to start using, right?"
"Right," Harrison said. "Please pack up the van so we can get to…" Harrison blinked rapidly as there was a sudden gust of wind that battered against his eyes, causing them to tear, and ruffled his hair. Lifting his glasses, he wiped away the tears and replaced his glasses. "The Air Field."
"That is so cool," Brady said.
"Don't encourage him," Cadence remarked.
Harrison chuckled under his breath and went to the holding bay of their vans. Once they arrived, Barry was leaning against the side of the van, looking through his phone as if he didn't have a care in the world. Harrison hoped that would change soon; if he lost his head now there wasn't he was going to be able to do against the Reverse Flash as Cisco dubbed him. With Cisco at the wheel, the group took the STAR Labs van out to the air field and Barry suited up in his flash suit as the others brought out all of the equipment needed to test Barry. Once it was all set up they started to run as many tests as they could with Barry's speed.
Harrison watched with a satisfied smile as Barry continued to run circles around the drones, setting them up and knocking them down over and over again. Unfortunately, as it always happened, Barry's ego got the best of him at one point and when Cisco pulled out another drone, he started to throw missiles at him as well. Barry underestimated the tracking of one missile and was blasted out of the air when he didn't move fast enough. Harrison grasped the arms of his seat when he saw another missile fly towards Barry, the Flash wasn't moving to get out of the way as the weapon continued to speed towards him.
"Run Barry," Caitlin murmured, running her hands over the binoculars that were in her grasp. "Why aren't you running away?"
"Move, man," Cisco murmured, slack-jawed as he held onto the control box that maneuvered the drones around.
Harrison swallowed hard, tightening his grasp on the arms of his wheelchair. Before he could stop himself, he started to lift his weight off the seat. He shifted his left foot to the cracked concrete beneath his wheelchair, ready to race out and grab Barry, to knock him out of the way before the missile could reach him. He couldn't let anything happen to him, not when there was so much that needed to be done. He needed to get his speed up, to get faster. Barry had been upset about it at first, having been called back from fighting Snart and Mick when he and Cadence could have gotten the upper hand. Harrison drilled into his head they had to make sure he was fast enough to deal with the Reverse Flash as he was the most important thing to deal with.
"Leave those two to the police".
Barry wanted to protest, but he then shook his head and agreed with him.
Just as he should have.
"Why isn't Barry moving?" Brady asked.
His voice was filled with as much worry as the others. Then a gasp escaped his mouth as he slowly started to sink into the concrete. Cadence noticed and grabbed onto his arm, pulling him back out of the ground. That was something else they needed to figure out, what it was that made Brady's powers exhibit out of his control and then figure out how to control it. From what Harrison could see so far, it appeared to be when he was experiencing worry of some sort; the first time when he was stuck in a nightmare, this time because of his worry for Barry's well-being. He needed to run some more tests to be sure there was something within his DNA or molecular makeup after the Particle Accelerator explosion he wasn't missing.
"Come on, Tholly," Cadence murmured.
Harrison let out a sigh of relief when Barry leapt up toward the missile that was heading his way and grabbed onto it, shooting it back towards the drone where it blew up in a fiery blaze. Harrison slowly released his grasp from his chair and brought his foot back onto the foot rest, glad no one else saw his slip-up. It was the only time he was going to make that mistake, he couldn't do it again.
"Please don't ever scare me like that again, Barry," Caitlin said, tilting her head back as Barry walked back over to his friends. He sat down at the table that was set up and started to dig through the pile of Big Belly Burger that was waiting for him. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
"Good news is this would be the best place to have one," Cadence pointed out with a half smile as she crossed her arms. She barely paid attention to the wind that blew around them, causing the others to bury deeper in their jackets. "What with all of this equipment out here and everything." She turned back to Barry. "That was a close one with the missile though, thought I was going to have to run in and save you from turning into barbecue."
"Nah, it wasn't that close," Barry said. He smiled a charming smile. "I knew what I was doing."
"It didn't seem like it when you got hit by that first missile," Brady pointed out. He frowned, brushing his hair out of his face. "I know you're working this hard because of the Reverse Flash but it could help with Snart and Mick, too. They can shoot their guns pretty fast."
"Yeah, but the steams can only last for so long," Cisco pointed out. "As long as their fingers are on the trigger. The Reverse Flash can probably move faster than the signal of the brain moving the muscles in the fingers can." He shook his head. "If we can get an idea of how fast he can move—"
"—don't worry about that, I'm going to be faster than him," Barry insisted. He shook his head and started into his food once more. Harrison watched him but didn't say anything. He knew the young man was still thinking about Oliver, the news hadn't reached Starling City and he as sure it was because of the tie to the League of Assassins as well as Oliver's status as the Arrow. It wouldn't take too long for people to figure out the identity of the man if the eldest of the remaining Queens suddenly bit the dust as well.
To be honest, Harrison was curious of the validity of the man being dead himself. Oliver helped Barry just as much as he, Cisco, and Caitlin helped him. There were only so many people Barry could lose in his life before things sent him over the edge.
"I'm going to be faster than him, I'm going to make him pay for what he did to my mother, and I'm going to find Oliver," Barry said.
"If there's anything left to find," Cadence pointed out. She tilted her head to the side, nervously bringing her hair back out of her face. She hadn't reacted well with the news of Oliver's death either, they weren't close but it still hurt. She wasn't sure if she agreed with Barry's beliefs of him still being around as well not wanting to believe he was gone, but if it was the League of Assassins, as Roy and Felicity explained it, there wasn't much that could be done.
Barry had popped over to Starling City to get some sort of a report from them and when he came back, he was as sullen as before. Seeing the team missing their fearless leader must have shown him how real things were with what they were doing.
"He's alive," Barry insisted. "I just have to work hard to find him. I have to."
"Well, with the way you're working you're certainly heading towards improvement," Caitlin remarked. She turned her iPad around to show two graphs lined atop each other. "This was where you were a few months ago, this is where you are now. Your speed has certainly increased a lot, but it's still not where it should be. Your reflexes are amazing, though." She laughed as Cadence teleported from Brady's side of the picnic table, appeared by Barry long enough to grab to burgers, then teleported back to the other side, sharing her bounty with her son.
"Hey! Hands off my food," Barry cried through a full mouth.
"Oh please, there's plenty here and even you can't eat all of that," Cadence pointed out. "You'll just burn though it within the next ten minutes." She took a large bite of her burger after inspecting it. "Two missing burgers aren't going to kill you. Besides, I'm starving."
"From standing on the sidelines all day?" Barry shot back.
Cadence's eyes glinted with and invisible flame. "Just be glad I'm not out there with you, because I could beat you."
Brady smiled, looking back and forth between his mother and his friend.
"We all know you're stronger than him, Cade," Cisco pointed out. He tried to hide his smile as Barry rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "As a matter of fact, I have video proof of it. You don't need to remind him of it."
"I meant in speed."
"What?!" Barry's voice cracked as he cried out in disbelief.
"Which part do you not believe? That I'm right or that I'm faster than you?"
"You can't run faster than me. I'm the fastest man alive."
"I can't run faster than you, but I can teleport faster than you," Cadence explained. She finished her burger and made a show of casually cleaning off each of her fingers. She nodded down the air field. "By the time you get down there I'd already be waiting."
Barry and Cadence looked at each other for a long moment before the two suddenly disappeared from sight. Caitlin whipped up her binoculars to see as far down the air field as she could. Harrison turned away. He didn't particularly care who was the faster of the two in that exact moment but it was something he should've thought about in the first place. Cadence certainly could not run faster than Barry's top speed or even come close to it, her teleporting having to aid him as she ran at his side. However it was something he should've thought of before.
Her teleporting is instantaneous, he thought. To get her from one side of a room to the other within seconds is a very helpful skill. Depending on the distance she is probably right about being able to get somewhere faster than Barry can reach. And judging as she still holds a cap of the powers she is willing to exhibit after sixteen years of having and understanding her abilities. This is something we can probably use against the Reverse Flash, against Snart and Mick, not to mention the phasing ability Brady has. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Harrison rubbed his hands together. Note to self, work on Cadence and Brady as much as possible.
A disgruntled sigh escaped Harrison's lips as his eyes widened once more when Barry and Cadence arrived back at the table, seemingly at the same time. As the group all started to talk at once, declaring Barry or Cadence the winner, Harrison smiled.
But it wasn't a warm, amused smile.
It was a smile of determination.
Mick held his breath, tapping his hands on the steering wheel of the idling car. His eyes shifted back and forth, keeping watch as Snart slowly and leisurely climbed out of the passenger seat and walked over to the warehouse door. Leaning forward, Mick glanced out the window, looking around for any security cameras or something that would tell him there was someone watching. But s Snart had said, there was no one.
Still, he couldn't sit still. Every nerve in his body was on fire, seconds away from triggering his movements. And yet he was designated to drive, so his orders were to do nothing more but sit behind the wheel and wait for his orders to move the car. Of course. He was never allowed to do anything by himself. He always had to have his orders given to him. Snart clearly didn't trust him and he wasn't entirely sure if he trusted Snart himself; the man was shifty in his own way, slow cold voice calculating everything around him.
Mick didn't work that way. He worked like the fire; dangerous and unpredictable, a force to be reckoned with. But Snart didn't seem to be taking that so seriously.
Even as he watched, Snart continued to stroll to the door of the warehouse. Finally, he came to a stop and lifted his cold gun, shooting an icy blue ray out towards the door. Mick watched as ice hardened over the door, weakening the internal structure. The icy spray continued to increase in size until Snart finally pulled it away and climbed back into the car. Once Snart closed the door, Mick pressed his foot down onto the gas pedal and shot into the icy area, the front end of the car immediately blasting through it. Once inside, Mick slammed his foot on the break and climbed out of the car. He took in a deep breath of the musty air through his nose and looked around, grinning.
There it was. Central City's collection of some of the best cars he had ever seen. And they were going to get them all. Though there was one thing he wasn't really sure of that Snart didn't explain; how were they going to drive all of the cars out of there? As far as he was concerned he could melt them all down and make his own super car if he wanted. It would be of the best quality and still be as expensive. As a thief it was really all he cared about.
He caught Snart's eye, noticing the smirk that took up half his face. "Yeah, I get it. You were right and I was wrong." He rolled his eyes before turning to a car that was under a tarp nearby and pulled off the covering. He let out a loving sigh, running his hand over the cherry red color. "Oh this is so beautiful. I can't wait to have it."
"We're not taking anything, Mick, I already told you that," Snart said. He spun in a slow circle. "We're waiting for someone else."
Mick let out a loud snort. "Oh right. The Flash." He pointed over to Snart. "You seriously have a strange relationship with this guy. So he managed to give you a run for your money once before, why is it such a big deal? It's not like you haven't been caught by someone before."
"Because, Mick, there's always something that I'm not telling you." Snart lazily lolled his head to the side. "Which is precisely the point." He frowned, continuing to pace back and forth. Mick leaned against the car and frowned grumpily at the cars that sat around him. They were the best things he could ever potentially have and yet he couldn't touch them. And he wasn't sure why.
Glancing into the backseat of the car, Mick stared at the metal box that held his heat gun. He wanted to use it so badly but Snart had told him to wait. Always with waiting. Fire never waited, it took down everything in its path as it wanted. Mick was then shaken out of his thoughts as he felt a shudder run through the car. Realizing Snart had gotten back into the passenger seat; Mick leaned down and glared at Snart.
"What are you doing?"
"We need to get out of here, he's not coming."
Mick could've yelled in fury for having his time wasted, he could have slammed his hand atop the car to let out the pure rage that rumbled through his belly. Instead, he did as he always did and listened to Snart, ducking back into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. He put the car into reverse and backed out of the hole they made, heading in the direction of the hideout he and Snart routinely frequented.
Once they arrived they went inside and Mick sat down in a nearby seat, staring straight ahead. He had to wrap his mind around what had gone on or he would lose control. Every now and then he would allow the fire inside him to grow too large, the flames dancing out of control and it was Snart would had to bring him back. His hazel eyes lifted to study Snart, who stood in the corner of the room, meticulously cleaning his cold gun. He was always messing with that thing. Mick trusted his gun; he knew it inside and out. It wasn't going to hurt him.
"Why did you pull us out like that?" He demanded, voice rumbling through his chest.
Snart looked up at him but didn't respond.
"What is it that you want with the Flash? He may not even be around. He could be dead."
"He's not dead," Snart finally said. "Trust me, with all of the news reports and the praises he gets in the media, he is certainly not dead." He closed a side compartment on his gun and looked it over. "Not yet, anyway." He turned his cold gun back and forth. "This time we're going to make absolute sure we get his attention."
"With?" Mick demanded.
"A portrait. The richest couple in Central City is flying home with a priceless painting, worth millions and millions of dollars. And we're going to go get it." Snart smiled, running his finger along the side of the gun. "That is…if things go out the way they're supposed to."
Mick let out a loud growl and stood up, brandishing his heat gun at Snart. His eyes narrowed when he found Snart was pointing his cold towards him as well. He should've seen it coming. Snart was always one step ahead of him. But he certainly hadn't thought the fire metahuman was going to be as strong as she was. She mesmerized him; really, the way she had such control of her flame was enticing. She wasn't afraid of it like many others were, like those that continued to run away from it at high speeds in case of burns. She didn't expect her to be as afraid of it.
Just what any guy would want, Mick thought. He slowly started to smile, lowering his gun. Maybe this was something he could use to his advantage as well. "When are these people supposed to be coming in?"
Snart looked at his watch. "Right now. It was only a matter of time until things started to fall into place. Let's just hope the Flash pays close attention to his precious city and that this last thing was just a fluke."
"So we need to figure out what cake you want for your birthday," Cadence remarked, picking up a cook book and flipping through the pages. She turned around to Brady as he sat by the kitchen table, finishing up some homework. "And what other kinds of food you want to have for your party."
Brady wrinkled his nose. "But we're going to the circus; won't we eat a lot of food there?"
"Maybe, but I'm hoping to try and save money this time so I think we should do the party with cake and presents here, and then go to the circus." Cadence closed the book and placed it aside. She took Brady's lunchbox and started to unpack the Tupperware from inside. "So how do you feel about Ryder coming to your party?"
"Fine, I guess." Brady shrugged. "You're the one that has a problem with him." Cadence lifted her gaze to him and he immediately balked. "But you had a good reason." He sucked his lips into his mouth. "Why did he leave, anyway?"
"He didn't want to, his parents made him leave," Cadence said. "So I guess in that case, they made sure he didn't have contact with us either. He really did want to be around for you, you know."
"So why are you still mad at him?"
Cadence paused. She hadn't really thought about it. Ryder had overbearing parents like she did, and they made a decision for him as well; they forced him to go away much like she was forced to go away by her own parents. So why was she still punishing him over it? She didn't have any ill will towards him and he clearly didn't have any towards her, but the two were very awkward when around each other, unsure of what to do or say. "I'm not sure," she said honestly. "I guess I haven't really thought about it." She turned her attention back to his lunchbox, pulling out a plastic baggie with orange sticks in it. "Why didn't you eat your carrots?"
"I don't like carrots," Brady replied.
"So?" Cadence sniffed them once then recoiled when she noticed they were starting to smell. They quickly went into the trash can. "You still have to eat them."
"But I don't like them," Brady insisted.
"I don't care!" Cadence shot back. "I bought them and I'm not going to waste money on food you do or don't want to eat."
With an exaggerated groan, Brady leaned forward and rested his forehead in the middle of his book. "Ugh, you're killing me."
"Oh my God, Brade, don't be so dramatic." Feeling her phone buzz in her pocket, Cadence pulled out her phone and glanced at the text Caitlin sent her. S.O.S. Snart and Mick are at it again. Get here fast! Cadence shoved her phone back into her pocket. "Something's going on at STAR labs that I have to help out with." She hesitated. "Do you think you can handle being here by yourself for a little while?"
Brady, recognizing the seriousness in his mother's voice, nodded. Cadence gave him a kiss on the forehead and started to text a reply to Caitlin. Be right there. "Is it Snart and Mick?" Cadence nodded. "Be careful."
"You got it."
Cadence teleported to STAR Labs where she found her friends all huddled around a computer screen. "What's going on?" She asked.
"Captain Cold and Heat wave are going after a priceless painting," Cisco explained, his eyes trained onto the computer screen that locked down the exact location of the heist. "The police are already on their way there."
"Heat Wave?" Cadence repeated.
Barry turned to her with a nod. "It's what he's calling Mick. Because of the fire that he can shoot out form his heat gun it's as if he's creating a heat wave."
"And I get Flash Fire?"
"We can talk about your unneeded aversion to a perfectly good nickname later," Caitlin remarked. She turned away from the computer and faced the two metahumans. "What are we going to do about these guys?"
"Barry's going to stay here," Harrison said, finally backing away from the computer. "This isn't what he's supposed to be focused on. We need him to deal with the Reverse Flash." He turned his attention to Cadence. "Let's let Flash Fire handle this one."
Cadence felt a thrill of excitement shoot through her stomach. This was the first fight she was going to do on her own since leaving the Assassination Bureau. She could understand the hesitancy of doing it before; they still weren't sure what the effects of her powers from the Particle Accelerator explosion in case she lost control, and she wasn't sure if Barry trusted her yet.
"What?" Barry asked. He shot a concerned glance Cadence's way. "No way. Let me handle this."
"I believe Cadence is perfectly equipped to handle this situation," Harrison calmly insisted. "A bit of an advantage, actually."
"No. No. I've handled Snart before, I can handle this," Barry continued.
Caitlin stood up and crossed her arms. "Barry, why don't you want Cade to do this?"
"Because," Barry said. He faltered for a second. "Because she can get hurt."
"I can get hurt doing a lot of things, Barry," Cadence said. She felt her temper spike in an instant, her body becoming warm. If it were easy for her to blush she was sure her entire body would be as red as a lobster. "Don't make me out to be something that's weak. You know I can handle myself. If I could take you down when you were whammied, I think I can take down two thieves with a gun."
"A heat gun and a cold gun. We don't know what can happen if you get hit with any of those things."
Rubbing his chin, Cisco nodded. "He has a point. How hot can your flame get, Cade?"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Cadence smiled. "Oh, the many ways I can interpret that question," she said. Then her smile faded and she scratched the side of her head. "I don't know for sure, I've never had a reason to test it. I can burn through metal, turn it into liquid."
"Then that's pretty hot, I'm not sure how hot compared to Heat Wave's gun because that can go to absolute hot. But Dr. Wells is right, Barry, she does have a bit of an advantage here. She wouldn't be taken down by the heat of the flames, and maybe she can take out Captain Cold's gun."
"We don't have any other choice, Barry," Caitlin said. Barry continued to shake his head. "You know that."
Cadence stepped in front of Barry and forced him to look at her. "Look, I understand that with the things I've done with the Assassination Bureau, with the things I've done to you, you might not trust me. In fact, I don't blame you if somewhere deep inside you still don't. I can barely look at myself in the mirror and not see the things I've done. But Central City is as much my home as Metropolis is, and if there's someone or something threatening it and everyone that lives here, then I'm going to do something about it. I'm sorry, but I can't go back and change that now. All I can do now is make amends by what I can do for this city and for you guys." She took a deep breath. "And you can't tell me what I can and can't do. I'm doing this."
She turned to change into her suit, but was stopped by a hand placed on her wrist. Turning back to Barry, Cadence eyed him, ready to be told why she was wrong, why she wasn't really part of Team Flash, why she couldn't handle it. Instead, he smiled at her.
"I do trust you," he said. "Good luck."
Cadence smiled, nodded, and changed into her suit. She walked out to the cortex, lifting her goggles from her neck and fastened them over her eyes. "Cisco, how are away are the police?"
"A few minutes, but these guys are moving fast," Cisco called back. "You're going to have to, too."
"You got it." Cadence cracked her knuckles and teleported down into the warehouse. She crouched down behind a car in time to watch Captain Cold and Heat Wave storm out behind a fleet of cars towards a jet plane that sat in the middle of the hangar. A wealthy looking couple raced aside as they started to wave their guns around.
"Don't mind us!" Captain Cold called. "We just want your priceless painting." He turned around as there was the sound of police sirens drawing closer.
Cadence continued to kneel down behind the car, waiting for her time to strike. Even beneath her gloves she could see the glow of her inner flame start to run down the veins of her arms to her fingers. She tapped into her power source, ready to use it when the time came. Police cruisers pulled up to the outside of the hangar and screeched to a halt, turning the thieves' attention their way.
"Freeze!" Joe shouted as he raced forward, gun drawn.
"I thought you'd never ask," Captain Cold said. He let out a sinister laugh, turning his gun their way.
"What are you waiting for?" Cadence could hear Cisco cry in her ear. "They're going after Joe and the others."
"Give her time, Cisco," Harrison said, his voice as calm as ever. "I'm sure she knows what she's doing."
"Be careful, Cade," Caitlin said.
Cadence nodded, though she knew her friends couldn't exactly see her, and threw her hands out. Her manipulation had worked better than she thought it would. Sending a wave of smoke over the ground, Captain Cold and Heat Wave's attention was taken away from the police. Cadence darted out from behind the car she was crouching behind and sprinted towards the two men. She leapt high into the air and teleported so that when she popped up again it was right in front of Captain Cold, her momentum carrying her forward and she struck him in the chest with her foot. Landing on the ground, she spun on her heel and caught Heat Wave on the side of the head, knocking him over.
Standing up straight, Cadence turned towards the CCPD and looked Joe in the eye. He looked back at her, gun still drawn, and nodded at her. She nodded back. Then his eyes shifted and he cried out. "Look out!"
Instinctively, Cadence teleported before she could see what was going on and appeared behind Captain Cold and Heat Wave once more. She gave a sigh of relief when she realized Captain Cold had started to shoot a blast from his cold gun her way. As she teleported, the CCPD rolled out of the way, dodging the blast themselves. Heat Wave then followed it up with a spray of his heat gun, causing them to retreat. Captain Cold turned around to face Cadence, tilting his head to the side.
"Oh, it's you," he said, voice filled with dismay.
"It's you," Cadence shot back.
"You're not The Flash."
"The name's Flash Fire." She took a step towards them. "I think that's good enough."
"Not for me," Captain Cold said dismissively. "I only work to fight against the Flash. This battle has no merit to me." He smirked over at Heat Wave, who stood transfixed, staring at Cadence. "I think you'll want to deal with this guy yourself. It might make for some interesting conversation. Maybe a spark will grow between you two." He lowered his cold gun and Heat Wave started to stride towards Cadence, his gun raised.
Cadence watched him come closer, and then she had enough. She teleported behind him and with her forward momentum, did a cartwheel so that her feel struck him on the back of the head. He whirled around and shot a blast of fire towards her, which she ducked under, rolled across the ground in a somersault. He turned after her and Cadence raced towards the wall she now faced, ran up it, flipped over Heat Wave and kicked him again, sending him into it. Instead of getting angry, he turned around and laughed, grinning at her.
"Got a feisty personality to go along with that fire of yours," he murmured. "I like that."
"Let's see if you like this!" Cadence shot a stream of fire to Heat Wave's feet. It started off as a small spark then increased in size as it arched towards Heat Wave. He lifted his gun and shot a blast right back at her, cancelling out her blow. Dammit! That really is hot! Cadence clenched her teeth and started to send wave after wave of fire towards him, which he continued to counter with his own gun. Disgruntled, she started to teleport around, but Mick seemed to have his eyes trained on her for every place she teleported to he would follow her and cancel out her attacks.
"It's beautiful isn't it?!" He shouted as they continued their dance. "The power of the flames?"
Then he held his finger against the trigger and started to walk steadily towards her. Cadence created a shield of fire and held it in front of her, walking backwards as Heat Wave continued to walk towards her. His sadistic grin grew as the heat of the flames enveloped the two of them. Cadence's eyes started to tear, blurring her vision. It was hot. Hotter than hot. She could handle most increasing temperatures but the combination of their powers was making it hard. Every few seconds she felt a sting on her exposed arms and legs, embers singing her skin. She could see tiny streams of smoke coming from Heat Wave's jacket sleeves, a smoldering spot on his shoulder, though he continued straight towards her.
"The fire can make you see your true self," Heat Wave continued. "This is my true self. What's yours?"
Cadence fell to one knee and closed her eyes. She focused on the power source inside her. She managed to use it to her advantage once before, with Mindboggler and Stratos. Hopefully she could do it again. Cadence opened her eyes as her vision started to blacken, as if smoke swirled in front of her eyes. Her eyes started to burn much like the fire around her and her shield increased in size and power. She pressed forward and Heat Wave let out a cry of surprise, stumbling back away from her at the sudden surge of power against him. Cadence flipped forward onto her feet and with screams of effort and anger, shot blasts of fire towards Heat Wave, some shooting just over his shoulders and by his head, others striking him.
Heat Wave screamed in rage and started to charge towards her once more. Eyes transfixed in a psychotic stare down. Cadence slammed the sides of her hands together and the flames surrounding them changed colors from a yellow to orange to red to blood red, the blood red shifting to an angry deep maroon as the seconds passed. The flame then extended into a bow and arrow made of flames. She pulled back the arrows in the bow with quick succession and hey whizzed forward, striking Heat Wave in the arms and legs, slowing him down.
She raced forward once more and did a high jump kick, knocking him in the chest and throat. She landed on the ground and moved forward, grabbing Heat Wave around the neck with her hands, squeezing as hard as he could. He didn't struggle, and merely looked up at her with a dream-like expression on his face as she continued to squeeze, her arms shaking with the effort.
All of a sudden Cadence was overwhelmed with a cloud of dust and dirty flying into her face. Instinctively, Cadence breathed back and the dirt went flying down her throat, choking her. Coughing, she backed away from Heat Wave, the flames dying down from her hands. She fell to her knees, bringing a hand to her throat. Captain Cold's boot came out of nowhere and struck her in the stomach. The force of the hit was so hard that she flew across the hangar and crashed into a nearby parked car. A grunt escaped her lips as she fell against the car and slumped to the ground. She couldn't move. The dirt combined with the blow had taken the air out of her lungs. She struggled to breathe.
She heard footsteps coming her way and looked up to see Heat Wave kneel down in front of her. He brought out his large hand and gently, almost delicately pushed her hair off her forehead, making her tremble under his touch. She tried to push herself back away from him or pull in enough energy to teleport but still found herself unable to move. Heat Wave moved his hand under her chin and stroked her cheek with his thumb in a lover's touch. He used his other hand to stroke down the side of her face then grasped her goggles. Cadence struggled to pull away but he had a firm grip on her face. Heat Wave pulled the goggles away and looked down into her face.
"Beautiful," he repeated the word from before. "Mine."
A shot fired, ringing off against a back wall, making Heat Wave jerk, but tighten his gasp on Cadence's cheeks. She was sure she would bruise.
"Mick, we don't have time for this!" Snart called. "Let's go!"
Heat Wave dropped Cadence's head and she slumped to the ground. She took in a deep breath, suddenly finding herself able to breathe, and watched as Captain Cold and Heat Wave made their getaway. She looked over towards the CCPD, who raced into the hangar to check on the status of the wealthy couple.
Cadence clenched her hands into fists and teleported back to STAR Labs. As soon as she arrived she was pulled into Caitlin's whirlwind of being checked out, though performed some of the tests on herself, to aid in the process. She even went as far as to press her finger against the end of a thermometer to get her temperature so that she didn't accidentally have the instrument shoved down her throat in Caitlin's haste.
"Can you heal yourself?" Caitlin asked anxiously as Cadence gently kicked her legs back and forth, sitting on the end of the examining table. "I know you can heal other people but…"
Cadence rubbed her neck, already feeling the tight muscles loosen. Her back was going to be bruised for a while, her shoulders ached, and she felt the crushing feeling of disappointment weigh her shoulders down. "Maybe," she mumbled. "I've never done it."
"Why?"
Cadence gave her a funny look. "Because it'd look weird if I went to the hospital with a bruised rib that's gone within the next few seconds. It's why I don't let anyone look at my medical records." Her eyes shifted. "Amongst other reasons." She tried to laugh, but found her entire body seize with pain as she did so. "Ow."
"You almost had him." Cisco shook his head, arms crossed. "You would have had him if Captain Cold hadn't caught you off guard." He slapped himself on the forehead. "Dirt. I should've seen it coming. He was smothering your flames."
"It's no one's fault, Cisco," Harrison reassured him. "No one thought they'd have the chance to get so close."
Cadence shook her head. "So they know who I am."
"They know what you look like," Harrison corrected her. "Not who you are. That's something that we can still hope they don't ever put together. But it is unfortunate they've managed to figure out your identity. If Snart is as smart as we think he is…that may not be good."
"What does that mean for Barry?" Caitlin asked. She chewed her lower lip in worry. "We're all around him all the time. Do you think they'll figure it out by process of elimination?"
Harrison smiled. "Certainly not. Because they don't realize our Barry is their Flash. The way they act and react are different. For now we're all still safe." He reached out his hand and placed it on Cadence's. She allowed him to hold his hand until he ran his thumb over it, causing her to shudder and back away. "You're safe," he repeated.
Cadence nodded. Then she frowned. "Where's Barry?" Probably couldn't stand watching me screw up so badly.
"He went to go see that Joe was okay," Caitlin said. She tilted her head to the side. "Are you going to be?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Cadence slid down from the examining table, slipping her arm around her best friend's waist. "Thanks for patching me up, Dr. Snow."
"You're welcome, Dr. Nash, Caitlin replied. She smiled and the two hugged tightly, Caitlin being careful not to press too hard as she rubbed Cadence's back. When they pulled back, Cadence smiled at her and nodded. "Go get some rest, you really deserve it."
"With an eight year old whose birthday is coming up, I'm probably not going to get any," Cadence joked. "I've deserved time to rest since I was sixteen." She chuckled. "I'll see you guys later." Cadence teleported to her apartment and flopped down on the bed.
The second she curled up into a ball she was fast asleep.
Zig-zagging through the streets of Central City, Barry made his way to Cadence's apartment. He needed to see her after he stopped by to see Joe. He hadn't expected it to be as much of a trap as it was, and the CCPD were not prepared, especially since Barry hadn't gotten a chance to warn Joe about Mick Rory, Snart's new accomplice. He was just glad no one had gotten hurt.
Finding the fire escape that led up to Cadence's apartment, Barry headed up to it and ducked in through the window without looking first. "Hey Cade, I came to see if you were…" Barry looked over at Cadence as she turned around in mild surprise, holding her shirt in her hand. His eyes widened when he realized she stood before him in only her bra and a pair of shorts. She didn't seem too worried about it and continued to slowly work the shirt over her head.
Barry blushed and turned away, running a hand over the back of his head and neck.
"Well," Cadence said with a light lift to her voice. "If you came by a few moments earlier you certainly would've gotten a show."
"I'm sorry, I should've knocked or something."
"No need to apologize Barry. I have a son and I'm a doctor. Nakedness doesn't embarrass me." She paused, bobbing her head. "Other than that time at STAR Labs. That just caught me by surprise; I've never actually tried to set myself on fire before."
"Hopefully not on purpose," Barry joked. He smiled when Cadence laughed.
"No, definitely not on purpose."
Barry turned back around, frowning when he noticed the subdued tone to her voice. "I know I'm really busy with my speed and everything, I came by to see that you were okay." He eyed the bandage wrapped around her shoulder that peeked out from the neck of her off the shoulder shirt. It looked good on her, he noted. Probably able to keep restricting clothes from irritating the area, too. "Are you okay?"
"As okay as I can be I guess," Cadence said. She paused for a moment. "During our fight, Mick got my goggles off. He and Snart know what I look like."
"I know," Barry said. "The others filled me in. I'm sorry, Cade."
She shrugged. "Don't be. I was the one that said I could handle things myself."
"And you did, none of us could know that Captain Cold was going to catch you off-guard like that. He's really good at that."
"I noticed that, too."
Cadence turned on her heel and walked out of her room. Barry followed her into the kitchen where she pulled out two cartons of ice cream and a couple of spoons, handing one of each to Barry. He fidgeted with them in his hands as the two went into the living room and sat down on the couch. He watched as Cadence winced and grimaced, slowly sinking into the cushion. Finally, she relaxed and started to dig into her food.
"They were setting the trap for you, though," Cadence said after a few minutes of the two sitting in silence. "Whatever it's, Captain Cold really has something against you."
"Yeah…" Barry smacked the frozen treat with the back of his spoon. "This isn't the first time we've run into each other." And he explained the entire story of Captain Cold; the first time they met, how he had killed an innocent person, how he had tried to do the same with a train full of people, and how he had been scared off. "I think he was embarrassed that we tricked him so easily and now he's trying to get revenge on me. I should've known he would've worked with Mick. The last time they worked together, the last time Snart was arrested; Mick got caught up in a fiery blast and got badly burnt. But he escaped the ambulance and ran off." He took a bite of ice cream and set the carton aside, bringing his hand up to his neck once more.
"Does your neck hurt?" Cadence asked. He shrugged. He hadn't really noticed if it hurt or else it was a nervous habit. "It wouldn't surprise me if it did; you hold all of your tension in your shoulders." She shook her head. "That's not good for the way you heal yourself. It means you have some scar tissue down in there."
Surprised, Barry lowered his hand from his neck. "How'd you know that?"
Cadence shrugged modestly. "I was going to be a physical therapist before I switched to going for the pediatrician track. Actually, Harrison suggested that I go into it, to help around at STAR Labs more. I mean, I could always be Caitlin's assistant with her medic work, but you know how she can get with the whole thing."
"Frighteningly motherly?" Barry guessed.
Cadence laughed and nodded. "And I thought I was bad."
"Yeah, but you're a really good Mom, Cade," Barry insisted, knowing how much she always worried about it. "And don't worry about the CPS; they wouldn't be dumb enough to take Brady from you. Anyone with eyes can see you're taking care of him."
"It's not that." Cadence frowned. "Brady was asking me earlier why I'm so mad at Ryder. And I didn't realize until today that I'm not. Not really. Not anymore. He had the same problem I did, where we found that our parents really did rule our lives. They were the ones that made him abandon me and my parents were the ones that made me leave Metropolis. Ryder paid back all of the child support I should've had and he's going to Brady's birthday party. And he watched Brady when we had to go face these guys the first time. I don't know, I'm just a little anxious of him getting to know Brady; the kid talks a mile a minute, but he can be pretty shy sometimes. I don't expect having his powers and now being able to get to know his Dad is going to be easy for him.
Barry couldn't stop himself before he asked, "What about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You and Ryder, I mean…are you going to try things again…?"
She looked surprised. "No. Definitely not. Not on my end, anyway. I don't have any feelings for him. I mean." She sighed heavily. "Do I love him as a person? Yes. I dated him since I was thirteen; I liked him since I was twelve. I was in love with him. I'm not anymore. I'm going to love him for the rest of my life because we shared something special. But I'm not in love with him. And I'm always going to. But as a boyfriend, as a husband? No. He's always going to be Brady's father, though, and I have to respect that. So I guess I need to let them hang out more."
"And Ryder?" Barry pressed.
"He'd say the same thing," Cadence said after a moment of hesitation. "In fact, I'm sure of it."
"Yeah, he said the same thing to me when I ran into him around Christmas," Barry said. "I was just wondering how you felt about the whole thing." Cadence gave him a curious glance and he rushed to explain. "I-I meant, y-you know, it can't be easy, is all."
"It's not," Cadence admitted. She reached out and patted his knee. "But thanks for being there so I could talk to you."
"I thought I could return the favor, you gave me that chance when we first met. To find another metahuman that I could talk to. You know…before everything else happened."
"I know."
Barry smiled and made quick work of the rest of his ice cream, though Cadence made light work of hers. She could barely move without making a face. "Does it hurt that bad?" He asked.
In response, Cadence reached up and pulled down the collar of her shirt. Barry hesitated, his eyes shifting for a moment, in the opposite direction he was supposed to look. Then he leaned forward and peered down the back of her shirt. Where her bandage ended he could see a large bruise taking up the most of her back. It was no wonder she was in pain.
"Am I interrupting something?" Barry quickly backed away as Cadence calmly moved her shirt into place. He looked over to find Brady standing in the doorway, his arms crossed as he looked back and forth between the two. "You're supposed to be resting," he finally said to his mother, walking to her. His voice was slightly accusing, but Barry could see it was more because he was missing out on ice cream than anything else.
"You don't call eating ice cream resting, bud?" She asked him.
"No." Brady sat down on the couch in between Barry and Cadence. "Not unless you share." He smiled as Cadence handed the carton to him and he took a mouthful of the frozen dessert. "What are you going to do about Snart and Mick?" he asked through a full mouth.
Barry sighed. "We don't know yet. But we'll think of something soon. We have to." He changed the subject, ruffling Brady's hair. "But on the plus side, at least we have something to look forward to. Excited about your birthday?'
"Yeah!" Brady smiled. "I can't wait to see the circus. And I want to see if I got that Xbox One I've been asking for since Christmas." Cadence rolled her eyes and shook her head, ignoring her son's statement. "But I want everyone to have fun, too. So I hope these guys are thrown in jail soon."
"You and me both, bud," Cadence mumbled around her ice cream.
"Don't worry, we'll get them. We'll work together to do it." Barry lifted his gaze above Brady's head and caught Cadence's glance. "I should've been there with you to face them today. None of this would've happened."
"It's alright, Tholly, you can't change what already happened, right?" She shared a secret smile with him and Barry smiled back. His gaze shifted down when Brady tilted his head back and looked between the two of them once more, this time a big smile on his face. Cadence noticed. "What are you smiling at?"
"Nothing," Brady said. He laughed when Cadence started to tickle him, repeating the question. "Nothing. I'm not laughing at anything." She continued to tickle him and Barry joined in on the onslaught. Brady laughed harder, squirming away from them. Finally, Barry and Cadence stopped their tickle torture and Brady curled up into his mother's lap. "You're going to be okay, Mom," he said confidently. "I promise."
"Thanks, bud."
Barry smiled at the two then turned his attention to his watch. "Oh, I have to get going. I just came by to see that you were alright." He got up from the couch. "Thanks for the ice cream. And I'm really sorry for what happened."
"Something tells me you're going to be sorry about a lot of things, no matter how many times I keep telling you that it's not your fault, Barry," Cadence said. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I should've expected Captain Cold to do something. But don't worry, like you said, we'll figure something out. I mean with your brain, I don't know how we couldn't. We all have faith in you, Barry."
Barry nodded. He lifted his hand in a wave. "Bye guys," he said.
"Bye," Cadence replied with a bright smile.
Barry zipped out of the apartment the same way he had before, via the fire escape, and headed back to his apartment.
Everyone really did have faith in him. Caitlin, Cisco, Harrison, Joe, Cadence, and Brady. He should've known that.
He just needed a reminder.
A/N: Wow, this was a really long chapter but woohoo, Cadence's first fight by herself and she didn't do so badly did she? And I've had some requests for more of Barry and Cade so here you go. And that's just the beginning.
So, some people have asked that I bring in more Barry/Cade scenes so here you go guys. I hope you liked it. It actually has been a long time coming since the last time I had them have a scene together was when Barry found out about Brady.
Wait until you see the next chapter, guys. There are a lot of things coming up in that one. Thanks for reading guys, let me know what you think.
Don't forget to check out my sisters' stories In a Flash, on this account, and The Mark of Sage on Crystal Manning's profile as we have an upcoming story called Flashpoint that'll cross the three stories.
And thanks to babyj, Ethan, and Josephguy217 for reviewing.
Cheers,
-Riles