Chapter 3: Rebel Without a Cause

"Attending the opera?"

"Hmm?"

Frost gestured to Cisco's prim black suit, eyebrow quirked.

Cisco glanced down at himself, almost self-consciously, then returned to checking her blood pressure. "Oh. No. We're heading straight to H.R.'s funeral after I finish up here."

Frost had the decency to mellow at his words. "Ah, I see."

The Med Bay descended into awkward silence. Sometimes, if he weren't paying too much attention, Cisco would think he was standing across from Caitlin, sharing fond memories of times long past. Then he'd get a reminder of the last few months – who she had become and what she had done. He wanted so desperately to forgive and forget, to trust that the cure would work and that they could move forward. So much had happened, though. Even if Caitlin returned, H.R.'s death would always be a grim reminder of what she'd once been capable of doing. Cisco was still struggling to rectify the knowledge he had of Killer Frost with the good person he knew Caitlin to be. The cuts would heal, but the scars would remain.

Cisco looked at her thoughtfully, wagering the consequences of asking his question. He decided it was worth the risk. "You know, you can come with us. If you want."

"I'm not sure I'd be welcome."

"Sure, you would. In fact, I think it would mean a lot to the team. I can ask Barry-"

"Cisco. It's not happening." Upon seeing his face fall, Frost felt the odd compulsion to change her wording. "I'm not there yet. Maybe one day – but not now."

He nodded diminutively. "Alright. I can accept that."

Just as he finished taking a blood sample, Barry came speeding into the Med Bay. "All done here, Cisco? Everyone's ready to head out."

"I'm almost finished. Just let me put this sample away."

Barry nodded as Cisco wandered over to the medical cabinet. He glanced at Caitlin, made a face as if he'd just remembered she was there, and hurriedly covered it with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Same as when you asked 15 minutes ago."

"Right – sorry – I just want to make sure. We have no idea the possible side effects of the cure."

"Well, I can in today like you asked, didn't I?"

"You did, and I appreciate it."

Killer Frost hopped off the exam table and made to leave. Barry blocked her pathway before she could.

Frost raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"

"Yeah. No! Well, uh… I have a favor to ask."

She snorted. "You're asking me for a favor? What, was the rest of humanity unavailable?"

"Ha ha ha. Just hear me out." When she crossed her arms and gave him a bored look, Barry knew he had her attention. "So, the whole team is going to H.R.'s funeral-"

"If this is another invitation, I already told Cisco-"

"No, that's not what this is about. I was going to say that since we'll be gone for at least an hour, Savitar will be here alone. Unsupervised. And no one is comfortable with that idea."

"Nor should they be. What's this have to do with me?"

Barry swallowed hard. "I need you to stay behind and keep an eye on Savitar – just while we're gone."

"You're joking, right?"

"No."

"If not joking then what – crazy, desperate, delusional?"

"No, yes, and no."

"I'm not playing babysitter."

"Please, Cait-" Barry saw her objection coming almost immediately, so he amended, "Frost. There's no one else we can ask. You know Savitar, you know STAR Labs, and you have the powers necessary to restrain him if things go wrong."

"What makes you think you can trust me?"

Barry gave her a small grin. "Because I have no other choice. You're our only option."

"Ah, yes, the patented Barry Allen Hope. Hasn't that gotten you in enough trouble already?"

"I'm willing to take my chances."

"What's in it for me?"

"You can never just say yes to something, can you?" Frost just gave him a smug look. "Well, what is it that you want?"

"A girl could always use a little spending money."

"Seriously?"

Frost shrugged. "I'm between jobs right now, and my last business venture… fell through the cracks, shall we say?"

Barry sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll pay you."

"In that case, I accept. If you'd led with that, this conversation would've been a lot shorter."

"I'll remember that next time."

Frost pushed past him into the Cortex, throwing over her shoulder, "There better not be a 'next time'."

A minute later, Cisco and Barry followed behind her. Barry turned to address Frost. "So, just to be clear: all I'm asking is that you keep up with Savitar's location and check every so often to make sure he's not wreaking havoc. If there's an emergency, you can call us. Only use your powers when absolutely necessary."

She scoffed. "Way to take the fun out of it."

Barry fixed her with a serious look, but he could only maintain it for a second. "Alright, we're going. Thanks for doing this."

Frost hummed distractedly in response. Once Barry and Cisco took their leave, she had the Cortex to herself. Unsure what to do, Frost alternated between reading magazines, filing her nails, and raiding the mini fridge for something to snack on. She tried as hard as possible to distance herself emotionally from this place, from the memories associated with this building. Caitlin had endured a lot of changes – good and bad – within these walls. There was a spark of sentimentality trying to claw its way through her chest, but Frost shoved it down. She loathed the thought of falling prey to the warm feeling that Team Flash elicited for Caitlin. She wasn't Caitlin. And this team wasn't her team.

In all honesty, Frost questioned every second that she spent lingering here. She could've been far away by now, using force to obtain whatever she wanted and getting civilians to cower before her. The thought lost all appeal almost as soon as it entered her mind. It just didn't seem worth it – to be powerful but alone. Perhaps these powers weren't her curse, after all. Perhaps her true curse was this incessant need to be a part of something. Caitlin had yearned for companionship, and so did Frost. Pathetic. She felt sick when she realized that she had crawled back to the very people that had rejected her. Then again, Savitar had been alone and powerful for decades, and look where that got him. He came crawling back to Team Flash just like her. Except, he was bitter and depressed. Frost certainly didn't want to end up like that. She wasn't Team Flash's biggest fan, but she outright despised Savitar right now. Maybe she would continue to stick around, just to spite him.

Frost turned her attention back to the tv. Having finally settled on watching Doctorial Pursuit (which had nothing to do with the fact that it was Caitlin's favorite show, thank you very much), she enjoyed a few minutes of peace. Which were promptly ruined by Savitar's entrance.

He did a double take as he entered. "You're still here?"

"You're still alive?" she shot back with false innocence.

He gave her a look. "Glad we got the pleasantries out of the way. Seriously, what are you doing?"

Frost shrugged. "STAR Labs has cable. I don't." Savitar scoffed, moving to rummage through the mini fridge much like she had. Frost smirked, seeing an opportunity to frustrate him. "Also, I've been tasked with keeping an eye on you while everyone else is gone."

The mini fridge door slammed shut. "What?"

"Well, you didn't think they'd trust you to be here alone, did you? Funny that given the choice between two supervillains they still saw me as more responsible."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"And I don't want to babysit you, but Barry seemed to think otherwise."

"So, what, you gonna throw me in the Pipeline if I get on your nerves?"

"You always get on my nerves. I'm only here to make some easy money and ensure you stay on your best behavior."

"What makes them think they can tell you to try and keep tabs on me?"

Frost barely gave him a sideways glance. "I don't know what to tell you. If it's any consolation, I honestly don't care what you do as long as you stay out of my way."

Savitar continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "If Barry thinks he's gonna control me again, he's wrong. In fact-"

Savitar dashed out of the Cortex. As soon as he left the building, an obnoxious beeping sound emitted from one of the screens. Frost glanced over at the console, seeing the readout of Savitar's location and vitals. (When had they put a tracker on him?) The blue dot labeled "Savitar" was shown zipping around the city, back and forth. He was making a show of it, trying to prove that he was still free as a bird.

Frost rolled her eyes. She better be compensated well for this. The tracker appeared to have communication functions, so she held down a button and started speaking. "Enjoying your temper tantrum?"

"Frost? What the- oh. Tracker. Very clever."

"What exactly do you hope to accomplish?"

"I thought you didn't care what I did."

"I don't. But I refuse to get an earful from Barry because you decided to be rebellious."

"Oh, I'm sorry; am I getting in the way of you becoming the teacher's pet?"

"You're breaking up, Savitar. Did you say you were a pest?"

Instead of responding, Savitar disabled the comm link. Frost leaned back in her chair with a huff. This almost felt nostalgic – her berating him for his stupidity as he ran around the city. Unlike Caitlin, however, she didn't care what happened to him. She didn't. Within five minutes, however, Savitar was running back into the Cortex. Frost made a point not to look back at him.

"You're such a child, do you know that?" Instead of a comeback, all she got was the sound of his heavy panting. She scoffed. "That's just sad. Instead of proving how independent you are, all you proved is that you get winded way too easily. How quickly the mighty have fallen."

Frost still didn't manage to provoke a response. It was just more panting – rather aggressively, she might add. The doctor's voice in the back of her head squeaked out a concern, but she pushed it away. Frost meant what she said. She didn't care what happened to him. For a while, she just decided to ignore his presence altogether. Her focus was entirely on the television. Until a loud thump rippled through the Cortex and she was finally persuaded to turn around. Savitar lay slumped against the wall, unmoving and clammy.

Frost wasn't impressed. "Oh, now what are you doing? So desperate for attention that you decided to play dead?"

Still, she got no response. After a few tense seconds of silence, Frost got up and approached Savitar. She jabbed his side lightly with the heel of her boots, then a little harder when he didn't react. Nothing. Not even a flinch. A flushed sort of worry began to fill her. Not even Savitar would commit to something this long. For the first time since he stormed out, she considered that he might not actually be okay. Frost kneeled next to him and shook his shoulder.

"Alright Savitar, this wasn't funny to begin with and it certainly isn't funny now." She shook him more and more, harder and harder. "Savitar!"

The warm concern turned into a cold panic. Doctor mode activated, she immediately checked his pulse. Weak – especially for a speedster. His skin was flushed and sweaty, his breathing shallow. Frost was now absolutely certain this wasn't a game. He needed help – and quick.

"…What have you done this time?"