10
Mixed Signals
"Okay! Here we go." Iris beamed as she placed three plates onto the table. "Wally, Dad, Barry…" She made sure each of the three men in her life had their food before taking her own plate and sitting down with them. She grinned at the three, who weakly grinned in response. "Okay, dig in! No need to wait."
Barry kept his smile frozen on his face, gazing at the spread before him. At the impossible thick and equally burnt blobs of pancake on his plate that looked to be in the shape of…
"Are…are those lightning bolts?" Wally asked, wiggling his finger toward his plate but studiously avoiding eating it as well. Joe sat across from him, nursing a mug of coffee, gazing at his daughter over the rim of his mug each time he brought it up to take a sip. Or, as Barry was sure, pretended to take a sip.
"Yes!" Iris wiggled excitedly in her chair, then nodded to Barry. "A testament to my best friend's return from the Speed Force and his first day back at the CCPD." She lifted her glass of orange juice, prompting Joe and Wally to do the same. "To Barry."
"To Barry," Joe and Wally repeated.
Barry grinned, Iris watched him tentatively. Watched as he took a long sip from his own glass of orange juice and glanced at his plate. He stared at it for a moment, took a breath, then picked up his fork, gently twirling it in his fingertips. He lifted his head, locked eyes with her. Iris gave him an encouraging smile. He smiled back and cut a piece of the pancake, sticking it into his mouth.
Iris raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"Mmm," Barry said quickly. He moved the piece to his cheek, bulging it out. "This…you've really improved, Iris."
"Thanks!" Iris grinned and looked to her father and brother. They both blinked back at her before slowly, very slowly getting their own pieces of pancake and sticking it into their mouths with smiles. Iris beamed and reached for her own mug of coffee. Orange juice may be her favorite, but nothing quite got her day going like coffee from Jitters.
Not just because she worked there long enough to know how to make the best cup; figuring out the ratio of water to coffee beans to milk and sugar, but due to the sort of comfort it brought her. Jitters was a special place for her; it was where she conceptualized her topic for her dissertation. Where she spent many days of undergrad and grad school working late night shifts in between studying with her friends. Where she and Barry continuously met up for breakfast when he moved out and she was still at home. Where she and Eddie had their first date. Where she saw Barry back from the dead for the first time. Where she met Oliver Queen…
Where everything happened.
Barry being back from the Speed Force and not having Jitters coffee was…unimaginable. Almost as unimaginable as it was for Barry to be there, in the flesh, right across from her. She'd seen what he'd had to go through with big bads and world destroying scenarios time and time again, knowing he'd come back. But knowing he went into the Speed Force, left them all without a 'goodbye' was harder than she'd imagined it'd ever be.
The anger gnawed at her for days. During those days, she sat in her apartment, wondering what it was that made Barry decide to make such a foolish decision and not talk to anyone about it. What made it so that he became so impulsive and selfish. Then, she realized, it was all because of his father's death and she felt nothing but sorrow for him. His mother was already dead, he was taunted and hunted by the speedster that killed her, lost his father to another speedster, got struck within his grief and created Flashpoint to try and rid himself of the pain. Came back from Flashpoint and not only had to live with the grief of having lost his family once more, but then having to deal with the consequences of having had created Flashpoint and all the pain coming from that…
Iris shook her head. Barry was a hero in his own way, even before having had his powers. He cared so much more about other people than he did about himself. Somehow, she knew his going into the Speed Force was the same thing. The city was being destroyed by that lightning, she reminded herself. But she was still human enough to be angry about his sudden disappearance. Had to grieve it like a death. Like a part of her was missing.
But now that he was back…it was like she was whole again.
"What?"
Iris blinked and looked up at Barry. "What?" she repeated.
"You were staring," Barry pointed out.
Iris grinned. "Sorry, I can't help it." She shook her head. "I know the Speed Force was hard on you but that whole thing…" She waved her hand in a circle around Barry's face, indicating his mustache and beard. "That's not doing anything for you."
Subconsciously, Barry reached up and rubbed at his chin, fingertips creating a scratching sound as they ran over the patches of hair that sprouted on his chin. "Shaving wasn't must of an option in the Speed Force." He shrugged. "'I don't know, I'd thought this would keep the others from calling me Baby Face all the time."
"Believe me, son, nothing will keep these guys from calling you Baby Face," Joe remarked. "Just like Jonesy will always be Jonesy and Jordan is always going to be Dolphin."
"Mm?" Barry's eyebrows rose. "Jordan?" He looked around the table. "Who's Jordan?"
"Jordan's the new intern at the CCPD," Wally explained. He waited until Iris wasn't looking to superspeed his pancakes into the napkin in his lap. "She works reception." A large smile worked its way to his face. "Much better looking than the old receptionist."
Iris shoved Wally hard on the shoulder. "Hey, you didn't forget about Jesse, did you? You know she can open up a breach and set you straight whenever she wants."
"Don't remind me," Wally replied, laughing lightly. He nodded toward Barry. "A lot of things have been going on at the CCPD while you've been gone. I mean…they even won the CCPD/CCFD softball game this year."
Iris caught Joe's eye and the two cleared their throats, glaring at Wally, who's eyes widened. Iris then looked to Barry, who seemed oblivious to the light dig as his…less than stellar athletic ability, even as a speedster. But he didn't seem to notice, instead, he watched the three with a light smile on his face. As if seeing them for the first time. Iris smiled back, an encouraging smile for not only him, but herself as well. She quickly changed the subject, just in case Barry started to feel badly about his absence.
She didn't want to add to that.
"So…how come Cadence and Brady didn't come?" She asked.
She'd extended the invitation to all of them, to come to breakfast to celebrate Barry's first day back at the CCPD. It wasn't completely out of the ordinary, she and Cadence and Brady had spent a lot of time together in STAR Labs, long nights, and even longer days, working to keep the city safe while Barry was gone. They, Cisco, and Wally had spent multiple nights on the floor of the Cortex eating takeout and watching movies as they brainstormed how to take down a meta and what to do to increase the difficulty of their training programs.
But she'd thought it'd be different if they actually had breakfast together. Like…a family.
"Cade had to go into work early," Barry explained. "Something came up with a case she's working on. And Brady asked to be taken to school early." He pushed the pancakes aside and started on a plate of sausages. Blowing through them in seconds.
"Oh." Iris nodded.
"But they're sorry they couldn't make it," Barry quickly added.
"Right. Of course." Iris shook her head, smiled. "Things came up. I get it. We'll just see them later at STAR Labs with our next training session." She cleared her throat, flapping open a napkin into her lap. "Or something." She cleared her throat again. Changed the subject once more. "But you must be excited." Barry's eyebrows rose. "With the wedding coming up and everything. Dad and I've still got the save the date and I'm looking around for a plus one."
"At this rate, your plus one is going to be Cisco," Wally teased.
Iris rolled her eyes. "We can't all have inter-Earth relationships. And Cisco's not a bad date! He can dance, he's considerate, he tells a lot of good jokes…and he'd been on enough dates to know how to charm anyone." She laughed along with the others.
Joe made a low humming sound, looking over at Barry, throwing his arm over the back of his seat. He studied the side of Barry's face in a way that Iris knew he was going to ask a question that may bring up a difficult conversation. Nevertheless, Iris saw nothing but love in her father's eyes and couldn't help but smile. No matter what Barry'd gone through, he'd always been there for him. Just as he would for any of the children he came across through his cases at the CCPD.
But Barry wasn't just a case. Wasn't just a kid that Joe would send to child protective services or other family members and move onto the next one so that he didn't become too invested. Barry had been part of his life for so long, through his friendship with Henry and Nora Allen, that he may as well have been his son long before the Reverse-Flash came to their lives.
"I still can't believe you're getting married," Joe mused. He nodded towards Iris. "I always thought it'd be her to get married first." Barry made a face, prompting Joe to hold his hands up defensively. "I'm sorry, Bare, but your interests didn't make it so easy for girls to be interested. I remember the one time you had Becky Cooper over here,"—he broke himself off when Iris let out a low groan, then smiled sheepishly when all eyes turned toward her—"and you were tutoring her about something and…" he started to giggle. "I watched that poor girl's eyes glaze over the longer you went on about polynomials and…whatever else it was you were studying."
Wally burst out into hysterical laughter. "Oh man!"
"Well…she asked me for help!" Barry defended himself, cheeks turning red. Nevertheless, even he was laughing at himself, shrugging. "I was trying to help her. I didn't know she wasn't actually interested in me."
"No one cares about polynomials," Wally said. "That should've been your first clue." He looked to his watch and quickly pushed from the table. "Speaking of which, I have to go. I need to do a patrol of the city before I go to class."
"See you later, Wally," Barry said.
"Yeah, and thanks for breakfast, Iris." Wally surreptitiously turned his back and superspeed the napkin into his pocket. He turned back around and said with a wave, "It was…uh…it was great." He blasted from the living room and out the door in seconds.
"I know you're lying, Wally!" Iris shouted after him. She turned back to Joe and Barry. "It's not that bad, right? I followed the recipe this time." Joe and Barry babbled responses for a moment, and Iris shook her head. "Forget it. Talking about the wedding is more exciting. I get it. It wasn't that long ago that Eddie and I…" Iris sucked in a sharp breath, eyebrows coming together at the sudden pang in her heart.
She hadn't thought about Eddie in a long time. A very long time. Almost forced herself not to. But then there were times where it'd suddenly hit her. Where she couldn't quite remember how his voice sounded. Where she couldn't remember how he laughed. Couldn't quite remember the way he'd smile upon seeing her at every point of the day, whether it be when they just woke up or if they were about to go to sleep.
But then someone wouldn't mention his name, or simply just "Thawne" and she'd remember what she didn't have. Within seconds, the pang in her heart changed from hurt to…something that caught her off guard and made her lower her head, biting her lower lip and ask, "But, back to your wedding. Have you made any more plans?"
Barry frowned for a second. Then it flashed into a small smile. "Actually, we, uh, we haven't really talked about the wedding since I got back. There hasn't really been much time." He rubbed the back of his neck. "The only thing we did was the save the dates, so…"
Iris's eyes widened. "Barry! Your wedding is in November! Do you know how little time that is?" She shook her head. It was no time at all. She hadn't had gotten past being engaged to Eddie, didn't think about the wedding much herself before he was murdered. But at least she had the chance to look at wedding magazines and websites. If a date was set, then a venue had to be picked. And once the venue was picked, the colors of the wedding had to be decided. And when the colors were decided, it was time to figure out the décor, the dining ware, the table cloths, the flowers, everything.
"I know. But…we didn't know I'd be gone for six months and we already had the date worked out."
"Uh, Iris, you don't need to freak him out about the details before it's anything to freak out about," Joe said, coming to Barry's rescue. "Your mom and I had even less time to come up with a wedding and it went well."
"Yeah, but you weren't inviting half the city," Iris reminded him.
Joe paused. "She's got a point."
"Thanks." Barry made a face.
Iris held up her hands. "Sorry, Bare, I don't mean to freak you out. I just…I guess I'm just a little upset that Cadence and Brady didn't show." She folded her arms and shrugged against the curious glances put her way. "I mean…we haven't spent a lot of time with them. All together. And, when you get married, we'll all be a family, you know?" She shrugged. "I guess…I guess I just want that."
"Hey." Barry reached out his hand and placed it on Iris's. He squeezed it in her hand, making her squeeze his in response. "There's plenty of time for us to be family. Especially now." He didn't have to finish the rest of his sentence. She understood. Especially now meant, Especially now that I'm back. Especially now that there's nothing stopping me.
Especially now…
No. Iris shook her head. That last one was wishful thinking. Was a selfish thought she couldn't even begin to imagine scrawling across her brain like a news headline. Reminding her of something that should've been obvious. That probably was obvious to people on the outside looking into the history of her relationship between herself and Barry.
"Well, not right now." Joe looked at his watch. "We've got to get going or we're going to be late. And even though I'm sure he expects it, I don't think Captain Singh will be so excited to see you're late on your first day back." Barry nodded and stood as well, his hand sliding from Iris's with troubling ease. Joe looked him up and down. "But you might want to think about shaving your beard, first."
"Yeah, and, uh, do something with your eyebrows," Iris added.
Barry frowned. "Have you been talking to Brady?" He disappeared in a flash of lightning while Joe went to the car.
Iris smiled. She cut a piece of her pancake and bit into it. Cold. Hard. Thick. Crunchy. Not what a pancake should be. "Ugh!" She spat it back onto her plate and looked around at the table, at the plates filled with barely eaten pancakes, and shook her head. "You could've at least said something, guys!"
The last thing John James expected when walking into his house was to see Cadence sitting on his couch with Karen at her side. Cadence couldn't help the tiny smile that came to her lips, pulling it up at the corners when John paused, hand tightening on the doorknob. He then quickly regained his computer and closed the door behind him with more force than necessary.
Cadence chuckled quietly, folding her arms and crossing her legs at the knee. Leisurely bounced her foot up and down. It was funny, she mused, how quickly men did their best to seem imposing when they were the ones who felt the most vulnerable. It must've been a shock for him, she realized. Considering the last time they'd seen each other, she was in court and working to get the judge to realize how much pain and trauma John had put Frankie through in her time within their case.
"And you're telling me that John James was the one who Frankie mentioned as being the one who hurt her?" The defense attorney asked as Cadence sat on the stand. "The one who caused her enough trauma that she created a split personality to…" the defense attorney examined her notes. "Escape from the pain he'd inflicted upon her."
"That's correct," Cadence agreed, her voice magnified by the microphone in front of her. Her eyes swept the crowd, first landing on Barry and Cisco—feeling a sudden pang in her chest that Caitlin wasn't there—to Brady, who gave her an encouraging smile despite his obvious bewilderment of the situation—to Frankie, who continued to sit slumped in her seat, kicking her legs back and forth.
Cadence had insisted that Frankie only be in the courtroom when her testimony was needed but had quickly been denied. She wasn't a prosecutor, the defense, or part of anyone's legal team. Just a portion of the CCPD who was brought in as a witness. If Frankie were dead, and Cadence were still a Medical Examiner, it'd be easier to have her say…
"But her split personality was the one who attacked John James, is that correct?" Cadence frowned. "She attacked her foster father and sent him to the hospital with life threatening injuries."
"As a means of self-defense," Cadence protested.
"Defense against a man powerless against her metahuman abilities?" The defense attorney started to pace, turning his attention to the jury and to the audience of the court. "Let's just say that your accusations are true. That he's injured Frankie, but is it due punishment for her to attack him in a way he was powerless to defend himself against? Should we allow metahumans to get away with their crimes when they're not of the same caliber as the rest of us?"
"Metahuman or not, she's still a kid!" Cadence spat, unable to keep her temper down. Unable to keep her own thoughts about metahumans to herself. It was harder than she thought, to keep quiet when she herself was being attacked, despite no one knowing. She saw Barry, Cisco, and Brady shift uncomfortably, knowing of their own abilities. "And children need to be protected from people like John! For whatever reason, Frankie decided to confide in me what's been going on with her and I'm glad she's found someone to indulge the information in. Keeping something like this a secret is hard, it's no wonder she's created a split personality. Holding in that much anger…it's never a good thing for anyone. Your brain attempts to create a safe space for you to go so you don't get caught up in the trauma."
"And how are you able to speak on that Miss. Nash?"
"I'd like to think my MD, my experience as a medical examiner, and my experience within Child Protective Services had made it so that I have the training and the means to determine what I see in those I see have been harmed in some way." Cadence pressed her lips together. "Just as I would in my own son, I can see it in other children."
"What do you think John should do, then? The next time he's being attacked by a metahuman, he shouldn't fear for his life?"
"That's not—"
"—So he should keep that child in his home and hope she doesn't become so aggravated that she'll actually kill him?"
"There's no actual danger of a metahuman being inherently evil. It's people that are the problem. And John's the worst of them all."
"Miss. Nash, you've, so far, been unable to give a compelling case as to why Frankie is the one in danger against John James, so far it seems that John and Karen are the ones who should be put into protective custody. And I see no point in further questioning you." He stepped back. "The defense rests. I'm finished with this witness."
It still angered Cadence how easily she was cast aside the moment the subject of the case was turned towards metahumans. Part of her was angry at the defense team, part of her was angry at Julian for outing Frankie as a metahuman in the first place, but an even bigger part of her was angry at herself for not being able to help Frankie to put John in prison. Or even in jail.
So, sitting in front of John James in his house, to get the final warning out, was the icing on top of a cake that'd been waiting a long time to be eaten. Cadence's smile wilted just slightly, watching as Karen tightened her grasp on her fingers, shifting nervously under her husband's gaze. It would've all worked out had Karen not lied under oath. That was the saving grace Cadence relied on; where Karen would finally out her husband as the abusive monster he was.
But that was the problem with those that had been abused for so long, after a while, they became so dependent on their abusers that they'd continue to stay with those causing them harm, feeling they had no other place to go. Nevertheless, Karen wasn't her target. John was, and she wasn't going to let him forget her presence the next time he decided to even think of Frankie's name.
"What do you want?" John demanded. He didn't move from the doorway, eyeing her suspiciously. But not enough so that he knew to leave the apartment.
"Please sit down," Cadence said. John hesitated for a moment, Cadence nodded towards the dining chair that sat across from the couch she and Karen perched upon. John's upper lip curled. He gritted his teeth. Glanced at the door behind him. Did as he was told. He shuffled towards the chair, high-stepping at a few points. His jerky movements, and means to keep himself upright, made Cadence shake her head.
So early in the morning and he was already drinking? Or else he's still hungover from the night before. Karen had said John had been out for most of the night when Cadence arrived at the apartment that morning under the guise of wanting to talk.
Cadence watched as John came closer, his eyes darting around the room, toward the kitchen. She knew he was planning some sort of escape, some way to threaten her. He could do whatever he wanted. Looking in the kitchen he'd see that the knife block had been removed, and there wasn't much to attack her with in the otherwise dilapidated apartment.
He spends a lot of his money on booze, Frankie had told her in the silence of the interrogation room once Julian had, finally, left her alone. Whatever he makes from work…we don't see much of it. Even Karen doesn't know how much money John has, she only sees it when he forces her to go shopping. And even then, it's for food for him.
John came closer, eyes trained on her. Obviously making a move to intimidate her.
"Stop," Cadence commanded.
He ground to a halt, eyeing her with so much disdain Cadence was sure she'd burst into flames if he had the ability to do so. As it was, she was doing her best to keep from sending him into a blazing inferno just from the sheer rage she had against him for making Frankie fear for her life as long and as badly as she had. The hard lines in John's face—wrinkles that were a bit premature for a man of his age—hardened, his glassy eyes taking her in. "What do you want?"
"You have any weapons on you?" Cadence asked.
"No."
"D'you mind if I verify that"
His upper lip curled. "Keep your hands off me, slut."
Had it bene years before, even shortly before having met Barry and the others, that word would've sent her into a tailspin. But being older, really coming into herself, the word merely made her realize how little people knew what to say when trying to be intimidating.
Cadence tilted her head towards Karen. "Do you treat her like that? Makes me wonder how you can stay married. I'm sure your sex lives must be exciting." Her eyes flickered over John. "For you, anyway. To keep everything under your control." Cadence's eyes narrowed. Stared to burn. "But there's one thing you don't seem to understand about control…" she shrugged, standing. "It's not yours to keep. Every once in a while, something you don't expect will take you down."
The elevator doors opened and the girls went out onto their floor. The second they did so, Cadence sensed something was wrong. Something sinister was around. She knew it was coming, it was the primal sign of danger that everyone got. Whether or not one listened to the feeling made for the fight, flight, or freeze response. And, unfortunately for whomever was causing her discomfort, Cadence was a fighter.
Her eyes swept back and forth over the faces of the doctors and nurses that passed her. Then, as she approached the receptionist's desk, she spotted John James, the biggest thorn in her side. When he saw her approach, he stopped pacing and demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"I was called here," Cadence said calmly. She reached to her hip and produced her badge. "Or did you forget that I was specifically assigned to this case?"
John glared at her, red, watery eyes narrowed so tightly she wondered how he was able to see. As she watched, he lightly swayed on the spot, mentally confirming Cadence's suspicion that he was drunk. "This isn't a case! This is my daughter!"
Cadence felt her temper flare. And at that exact moment, a stack of papers sitting on the receptionist's desk down the hall burst into flames. The receptionist shrieked and moved to smother the flames as quickly as possible. "Your daughter, if I have my way, will be far away from you." She put her badge back on her hip. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few questions I need to ask her." She took a step forward but John continued to stand in front of her. Cadence tilted her head back and stared hard at him. "Get the fuck out of my way." Her voice took on a low, dangerous tone. "Now."
Cadence wouldn't be scared away from the height and weight John clearly had over her. She'd faced too many metahumans for her to be intimidated by a . Then, finally, John stepped out of the way so Cadence could walk by. She went into the hospital room, pushing the door open with a flattened palm.
A friendly smile came to Cadence's face. "Hey Frankie," Cadence greeted as she walked into the hospital room. Frankie Kane looked up through her bangs, pulling her jacket back over her arms. She fiddled with the gloves that rested over her hands. "Long time no see, huh?" Frankie shrugged and her eyes shifted over to Jesse. "This is my friend, Jesse. Jesse, this is Frankie Kane."
"Hi," Frankie said with a wave. Then she brought her hands back to her lap, playing with her fingers. "Um. How are you?"
Cadence continued to smile. "As fine as can be, considering the run in I just had with your father—"
"—Foster father," she interrupted then bit her lower lip, lowering her gaze.
Cadence made a sound of agreement. Then she tilted her head to the side, getting another angle of Frankie's face. Of the bruise that seemed to take over the entire right side. No wonder she had been called back in. How many times had she met up with Frankie over the years? Enough so that her suspicions of abuse not being listened to was really starting to piss her off. But there was only so much that could be done when Frankie wouldn't cooperate.
"Right, right. So, what'd he do this time?" Cadence asked, folding her arms. "Throw you down the stairs? Push you into a wall?"
"No." Frankie shook her head.
"Knock you down?"
"No."
"Kick you?"
"No!" Frankie lifted her head and stared, eyes wide at Cadence. "No, he…he hasn't done anything. I'm just a bit of a klutz."
Cadence backed down a little. At least she had her answer. Every time Frankie would deny anything was wrong, her eyes would flicker over towards the door as if expecting her father to barge right in. "I understand that. Part of the reason I got into gymnastics and cheerleading was because I kept falling over all the time."
"Really?" Frankie continued to play with her fingers.
"Really?" Jesse repeated with a laugh.
"Yep." Cadence nodded. "I couldn't go anywhere or do anything without tripping, falling, or hurting myself in some way. So I did those to get a better sense of balance. Not to mention I loved it since first saw it." Frankie smiled at her. "What about you? Are you into anything? Any sports?"
"Not so many sports, I guess," Frankie said. "Field hockey, maybe. But…I really like to draw."
"Can't hurt yourself drawing, can you?"
"No. Not really. Not except the stray paper cut. Those always hurt."
"You're right." Cadence's smile faded. "But it can't hurt as much as a punch to the face." Frankie's smile faded. "I've had a few of those myself. I'd recognize the swelling and bruise pattern anywhere." Frankie ducked her head. "Frankie…" Cadence rested her hands on the end of the examining table and leaned towards the young teen. She waited until Frankie lifted her chin and looked her in the eye. Tears brimmed her lashes and her breath shook. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on. And I really want to help you."
Frankie looked back at Cadence and for a long moment it was like she zoned out, was anywhere but in the moment.
"Frankie?" Jesse asked after a minute.
She continued to stare.
Cadence frowned. "Frankie?" She repeated.
Frankie blinked and her eyes came back into focus. She pulled her sleeves down to meet the ends of her gloves. "Nothing's going on," she said in a low murmur. "I'm fine. Can I go now?"
Cadence nodded and backed away, so Frankie had some space. Frankie jumped down from the examining table and left the hospital room, immediately swept up by her father.
Foster father, Cadence corrected herself.
John's punch came without premeditation. He swung. Cadence sidestepped it with ease and laughed. "Sorry, looks like I touched a nerve."
"What do you want?" John growled, lifting an arm to wipe away the beads of sweat that suddenly appeared on his forehead.
Cadence narrowed her eyes. They burned. Not the same kind of burn of restless nights with a screaming infant who had no other ways to communicate his discomfort. But the burn of her fire powers slowly but surely kicking in. "Sit down, please." This time he did as he was told, wiping his forehead once more. Karen shifted, pulling at the collar of her blouse buttoned to her neck, unable to hide the purple splotch that made its way to her jaw.
John sat facing Karen. Her normally pale face seemed to be void of any color and she was breathing in short, audible pants. Worried. Afraid. Her eyes flicked from Cadence's, down to the left, as if she were trying to find some sort of escape from her captors. A man who'd abused her for most of her relationship and the woman who may or may not be helping her.
"Get comfortable." Cadence motioned to the coffee table where glasses had been set out, a single bottle in the center of the table. "Have a drink if you'd like. Pick your poison."
John regarded her carefully. "What's in it?"
"Nothing. Whiskey."
He snorted. Sweat dripped from his chin. "What do you know about whiskey?"
"You really are a piece of work." Cadence shook her head. "How long did it take for you to convince Karen you were such a nice guy?" She sat up, tapping her fingertip into the table, leaving scorch marks with each tap. "How long did it take for you to convince her that to be happy you needed children? Just so you could exert your power over them, too." John scowled. Cadence "You can drink." She nodded to Karen. "You too, it's okay."
Karen was shaking as she took the glass in front of her. The whiskey spilled and dripped down the backs of her fingers. They all took a drink.
"What…the fuck…do you want?" John demanded. Breaths coming out more and more labored.
"Since you asked so nicely, I wanted to give you an update on Frankie. You know, your foster daughter." Cadence leaned back in her seat. "I don't know if you know, we're still in contact once I finally had the time to return her calls. Good news. Frankie's pretty well adjusted now with her new foster family." Cadence clenched her hand into a fist. "I still can't get over how you managed to hurt her so badly over the years." She crossed her arms. "Not to mention, that you were granted to have another foster child." She nodded to the toys sitting by the front door that John had stepped over as he came into the apartment. "You see, I couldn't sit back and let that happen." She tipped her head toward Karen. "Especially not when your wife let's you get away with all the pain you've caused your foster kids and herself." She looked toward the woman who sat quietly next to her, hands clasped in her lap, eyes darting towards John.
John clenched his hands at his sides. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to turn yourself in. Bar that, because I don't think you'll do that so easily, I want you to admit you have a problem."
"I don't have a drinking problem," he snarled.
"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how much you like little kids. As much as you like to beat them up…you use that to hide what it is you're really doing to them. So tell me, tell the truth." Cadence leaned forward. "When did you start touching Frankie?" She smiled at John's wide-eyed gaze. "Don't like that I know that?"
"Don't care. It's not true."
"Try again."
"Fuck you!"
"Do you understand how imperative it is for us to be honest with each other?" Darkness slowly started to swirl around them, filling the room in a haze. Cadence's eyes, now taking on an orange glow, was the only thing that shone through the darkness, giving her a demonic look. "How badly this might end if you make one bad decision? To lie?"
"Sure."
"Then let's try again. When did you start touching Frankie?" he stayed quiet. "Okay." Cadence licked her lips. "How long did your wife know." She turned her gaze to the woman beside her, who flinched and backed away. "How long, Karen, did you let him get away with it?"
"I never touched her!" John spat.
"But you just beat her. That's convincing." Karen started to say something, but Cadence held up a hand. "Karen? I've still got the floor."
John leapt to his feet. Coughed. "This is stupid. You won't trick anyone. You want police to believe we got drunk and passed out!" He gestured toward the glasses on the table. "You'll get caught."
"Is that what you think?"
He coughed again. "It's what I know."
"Getting tired?"
"No."
Cadence stood to stretch. Things were moving a bit slower than she'd liked. As she did so, John grabbed the neck of the whiskey bottle. He swung it up in one continuous motion, aiming for her face. He moved well despite the fogginess in his brain. Sure it'd work.
Her speed was incredible.
Where her head offered a clear shot, nothing but air waited. She pivoted and leapt in a fluid motion, avoiding the contact but maintaining balance. She pointed the gun at John's face. "You're faster than I thought," she remarked.
She hadn't expected Karen to move. Let alone attack her. Expected Karen to see the error in her ways and leave her husband. But, no, she defended him. Somehow, someway, she loved him. So much so she leapt into Cadence's side. It was unfortunate for Karen that Cadence had enhanced strength as part of her abilities. Karen bounced off her as if running into a wall and fell.
Cadence looked down at Karen with pity. "You two deserve each other," she said sadly. With that, she lifted a hand and let smoke fill the room. John and Karen moved to the floor, coughing as the smoke continued to fill the room. It wrapped around her, making her appear demonic as she stood over the two. Then she knelt towards John and placed a hand on his wrist, made sure not to curl her fingers around his arm.
Burned him.
He threw his head back and screamed.
She leaned toward him. "Touch anyone again, hurt anyone again, and I'll haunt even worse than this. I'll make this burn feel like a bee sting compared to what I'll do to you." She removed her hand and stood back, waiting patiently as the whiskey finally took their hold and knocked John and Karen out, then she removed the smoke that filled the apartment.
Cadence left the apartment as she had arrived, teleporting out of sight from anyone who'd come by. Cameras didn't worry her, with how much he spent on booze there weren't many upscale places they could afford. And you haven't been caught before, how would you get caught now? She thought, glancing at her watch.
Finished in enough time to get to work.
"Speak of the devil," she murmured, phone ringing. She watched Barry's name flash across the screen and quickly answered. "Were you late again?" She teased, mood immediately flipping. "First day back and you're late."
"Have you been talking to Captain Singh?" Barry asked.
"No, I haven't seen him yet today. I'm on my way back from a case."
"That's why I called you." Cadence paused, looking around as if to find Barry streaking toward her, ready to take her back to the CCPD or wherever else they needed to go. "I'm on a case, too. At the Hillside Apartments." Cadence blinked. The Hillside apartments were the most upscale penthouses in the city, to the point that even she would've barely looked at the rent before buying it. But utmost swank had been more Oliver's thing than anyone else's. "Yeah, it surprised me, too. People here tend to keep to themselves."
"That's because their noses are so far in the air they can't see anything below them," Cadence replied. "You were brought on there?"
"Captain Singh and Joe met me here. Apparently, something happened last night. A murder. It doesn't look too good. Something with the elevator malfunctioned and it made a mess of the guy inside."
"Okay." Cadence waited for him to continue. "What does that have to do with me?" He knew she worked in a different part of the CCPD and while there were times that with her previous experience as Medical Examiner would bring her in to help certain cases, if the person was that messed up, there wasn't much to examine into the person's death. It was more of Cisco's area of expertise.
"It doesn't…" Barry took a deep breath. "It has to do with your mom."
A/N: And now Iris's POV. I haven't shown it since Flash Fire, but, then again, I haven't had needed her as big of a character since Flash Fire, so there's that. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As I said on Twitter and Tumblr you may hate, agree with, be confused by, or be in the middle of how you feel about Cade in this chapter. But, she's changed in the six months that Barry's been away as well. She still has the fundamental qualities of Cade but some things are different. Whether that was her own choice or something else…?
Also, sorry, but had to push my action sequence back one chapter!
Cheers,
-Riles
