2/6/18

…..…..….

Cursed

Chapter Twenty-Five: Runaways

….

As it turns out, Leo isn't the worst person to be stuck with. He's stubborn, and at times a bit insensitive, but I've dealt with worse (example: Angela). I manage to talk him into going back to Split City until we can make a more concrete plan, and we end up walking laps around the park where I met Dinah. Neither of us say anything for a moment, and that's fine with me. Silence is golden.

I try to come up with an idea, but I can't think of a single place we can go next. Central City is out of the question, but it's the only place I want to go. And while there are so many other places out there, none of the others draw me in the way Central does. For as long as I can remember, I've felt a connection with the city, and just when I was about to go my chance was ripped from me. Sure, I visited when we went to pick out a house (I even got Zippy as a souvenir), but to know that I could've lived there in another life is heart-shattering beyond belief.

"I know what you're thinking," Leo snaps. "You might as well say it."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

Leo scowls, crossing his arms and stopping in place. "Same thing everyone asks. If I'm really Captain Cold's son, how did I get these stupid powers he doesn't have."

Leo's dad is Captain Cold? I didn't know that. A small glimmer of excitement flickers through my brain, only to dampen the moment I discovers its existence. Captain Cold is one of The Flash's deadliest foes. A few years before my family was going to move to Central (which was roughly around the time the new Flash took over for the old one), he formed a powerful new group of supervillains known as The Rogues. I was terrified of them as a little girl, yet at the same time there was something so intriguing about them. But now, their name only brings to mind Madame Rouge, and the betrayals I faced the day I met her. I have a new hero now, and it won't do me any good to dwell on the foes of my old one.

"To be fair I had no idea you were related," I offer quietly.

Leo seems puzzled. "You didn't?"

I shrug. "I've kind of been living under a rock these past few years. Though if you're not tired of explaining it, you can tell me."

Leo sighs, sitting down on a nearby park bench. I sit next to him, watching the squirrels scurry around on the grass.

"I have what's called an adaptive meta-gene," he mumbles.

I nod understandingly. We learned about this in science class only a few days ago. Meta-genes are the part of your genetic code that decides whether or not you can obtain superpowers. While an inherited meta-gene has a predetermined set of powers, an adaptive meta-gene will give you powers based on whatever high-stress situation you encounter first. While I suspect that my meta-gene is adaptive as well, there's still a sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that perhaps someone in my biological family is as messed up as I am.

Leo continues. "When I was little, I used to goof off and play with my dad's cold gun. He knew I did it, but I guess he never cared enough to stop me. Until the day I nearly froze my face off. Next thing I knew, I was shooting ice from my wrists. Dad shipped me off to Darkway the first chance he got- didn't want to deal with the consequences of his own mistake."

"I'm sorry," I say, because what else is there to say?

Leo shakes his head. "No, you're not. Because it's not your fault. It's Dad's. And the thing is, every time I tell that stupid story, everyone tells me the same thing. But you know who never once apologized?"

"Your dad?" I guess.

He doesn't answer, but the silence tells it all.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "I was kidnapped, when I got my powers," I say quietly. "If my family saw me like this, they wouldn't want me either."

Leo nods. "So neither of us can go home, huh?"

"Yeah," I sigh.

Leo crosses his arms again and leans back against the bench. I pretend to take interest in the squirrels, but they don't occupy my attention.

"Can you tell me about Central City? I understand if it's a touchy subject, but I was about to move there before… you know."

Leo stares at his hand, and nods bitterly. "Yeah. I guess that's fine. What do you want to know?"

I lean forward and turn my head to face him. "Everything I guess. I mean, whatever you want to tell me."

"Well, first of all it's not called Central City anymore. They merged it with Keystone City, so now everyone just calls it Central-Keystone."

This news alone is a bit too much for me to wrap my mind around, but I nod my head and encourage him to go on anyways.

"I live kind of on the outskirts of town, on the Central half. Everyone on my street is weirdly close. And I mean weirdly. The Flash's little reporter friend, Iris West-Allen? She lives on my street too. Big surprise how she hasn't figured out the Captain Cold thing yet. Dad's too stubborn to move though. Probably because my sister's best friend lives just down the street from us. Man are they annoying," Leo groans.

I feel a little defensive, mainly because I'd do anything to see my own sister again.

"She can't be that bad," I insist, playing with a strand of bubblegum pink hair that fell out of my pigtails.

"I'm sorry, but have you met Catherine? She's obnoxious," he says with a scowl.

"Well how old is she?" I ask.

Leo has to think for a moment. "Seven I guess."

My heart twists inside of my chest. That's probably around the age Felicity would be now, isn't it?

"It's probably just because she's little," I decide. "I know I was pretty bad a few years ago. And if memory serves, you were too."

Leo rolls his eyes. "Well yeah, but this is the kind of stupid you can't outgrow. Especially when she's with Lissy."

He doesn't seem to want to talk about her more, so I don't push the subject. However, he's already in the mood to rant, and it continues into the next subject.

"Neither of them are as bad as Aunt Lisa though."

"Golden Glider?" I guess. He nods.

"She's way closer in age to me than she is Dad, so he treats her more like his kid than his sister. She's clearly the favorite. If she would've been the one who had the accident with the cold gun, Dad would've killed himself or something. But no, it was just me. And we all know that I don't matter since I'm not perfect like Lisa. It doesn't matter than I'm at the top of my classes- what matters is that Lisa just got accepted into the S.T.A.R Labs internship program. Who cares that I'm working my butt off in boarding school? Lisa's hockey team made it to finals. Clearly, that's more important to my dad!"

I put a hand on his shoulder, and he swats it away as tears begin to roll down his cheeks.

"I'm nothing but a failure," he sniffles.

I shake my head. "I don't think that. Have you tried talking to your dad about this? Maybe..."

"What's the use? At least I'm away most of the time. And you know what? I've realized something while I was gone. Dad's going soft. He's let all those weaklings like my aunt and Top join the Rogues. It's contaminated us. Held us back from our true potential. He needs to weed out the weaklings and get rid of that code of honor. If he did that, who knows where we'd be right now?"

There's something about the gleam of maliciousness in his eyes that makes me uneasy. I look away and see an arcade sitting across the street from us.

"Hey, look over there!" I say, trying to change the subject. "Wanna check it out?"

Leo glances in the direction I'm pointing in. The gleam fades from his eyes, instead replaced by confusion.

"You really want to waste your time at an arcade?" he says, almost sounding bored.

I roll my eyes. The thought isn't very thrilling to me either, but Leo clearly needs something to distract him. "Oh come on. It's been forever since I've been able to be a normal kid. You coming or what?"

Hesitantly, Leo stands up. He reaches for my hand, and I feel my cheeks heat up as they lock together. We start walking over to the arcade, when a teenage girl in a puffy black coat runs up to us.

"Leo!" she yells. The wind tosses her blonde curls around, making her look a bit disheveled in spite of all the makeup she's wearing. She looks equally terrified and out of breath, yet also relieved at the sight of us. Leo, on the other hand, doesn't seem as thrilled to see her.

"Where were you? Me and your dad have been looking all over for you!"

Leo lets go of my hand, crossing his arms. "Sorry Aunt Lise. I was busy."

"Busy? Doing what, making Catherine cry? Just… come on. It's a long way home."

Golden Glider turns to leave, expecting Leo to follow her. Instead, he turns to me and whispers, "Meet me here again on January 15? I'll be back then."

"Deal," I whisper, watching as he walks away with his aunt.

I watch them until they're only specks in the distance, pondering what to do next. If only Leo would've put up a fight to stay here with me. But he didn't. If I run away, I probably won't see him again. And while it shouldn't matter to me, I find that it does. I blush as I remember the feeling of his hand in mine.

My mind wanders back to Angela, the reason I left to begin with. If I never go back, won't that mean she won? And if I don't go back, I won't ever graduate. Which means by default that she'll graduate before me, which again means that she won. My happiness turns to outrage, and I begin to take the first steps of the familiar journey back to the HIVE Academy.

Maybe I will have to face Angela again, but that doesn't mean today was wasted. If anything, I have Angela to thank. If it weren't for her, I never would've ran into Leo again.

….

So there we have it! More on Leo, plus a Golden Glider cameo and a name drop for Captain Cold and Ice Kate. I had a lot of fun stringing this chapter together, since it foreshadows a lot of things coming up in future fics.

Thank you Loftcat27 for following and adding to your favorites, and GrimReaperGirl14 for following.

Reviews:

KF fan- Thanks! :)

Silver-Infinite- Me too. I was tempted to go off outline and have them get a little farther than they did, but last time I went off outline was… a disaster to say the least. ;)

Quote of the day!

"Don't forget that you are being a clown, and don't forget that that's not normal behavior." -Inspirobot

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess