22
The Hit List
Blood spurted from Cadence's nose at the same time she heard a loud crack resounding through her head. Then came the blinding pain. Her nose was broken.
She hadn't known what it felt like to have her nose broken in a long time. To have even broken anything in a long time without being able to immediately heal it within seconds. It was an ability she had to learn, she could heal other people for the longest time, but not herself. Not until they'd faced a villain bad enough that she had to sever her own limb and have it regrow to defeat that threat.
The last time that she could clearly remember breaking a bone, to where it hurt her enough to be shocked into silence, was when she was dropped by her cheerleading team off a very high stunt and broke her collarbone by slamming into the ground, her hands unable to break her fall.
That hurt.
But it didn't hurt worse than the blow that smacked her right in the middle of her face. Only followed seconds later by a kick to the side of the head. Cadence fell to the ground, giving her the vantage point of seeing Brady curl himself into a ball, covering his face with his arms and hands as the men that slapped the necklaces around his neck tried to grab him. He fended them off with a few blows, working hard to stay on the ground.
Cadence felt a hand grasp onto the collar at the back of her neck, choked, tongue flying out of her mouth when she was forced backwards. She glared up at the man that stood above her. He looked back at her, shaking her back and forth with hard yanks on the collar.
"Didn't think that'd work," he remarked. "Didn't think we'd actually find you but…" he let out a low whistle. "This stuff really works, I have to get some more. I should've thought of it years ago when the Flash and those other freaks started showing up."
Cadence spat hard on the ground, closed her eyes tightly and twisted to the side. The hand that held her arm clamped down, painfully, as she worked to get away. But she continued to pull, strained against the grasp held onto her. Gritted her teeth when her shoulder started to scream in protest but continued to pull.
Pop!
Cadence screamed in pain but threw out her uninjured arm to keep herself from falling over. Used it as leverage to kick herself back up into the air and stick her foot out, smacking the man in the kneecap. He roared in pain and surprise, glaring as Cadence rested against the wall, holding her dislocated shoulder as she glared at the men in front of her.
"Don't touch him," She growled. Then froze at the sound of a gun being cocked. Her eyes shifted toward her son, who had stopped moving at the same time. He still curled up into a ball, but didn't dare breathe, didn't dare move.
Her eyes shifted toward the man that stood beside her son, gun trained toward him with a casual air that made her nervous. The other hand rested on his hip, drumming his fingertips. "I don't think you're in any position to talk," he said. "We're the ones who are in charge here. Go on." He gestured toward Brady with his gun. "Try to use your mojo, try to get out of those collars."
Cadence clenched her hands into fists. Her eyes bounced over their faces, wondering if they'd noticed that her flames had gone out the second that the collar was placed around her. Had noticed that she'd stopped receiving the blows that were rained upon her as easily as she usually had been able to. As far as anyone else knew, the blood that dribbled down her face and dripped off her chin was the easiest tell that she wasn't in fact, a meta. Everyone at least had the knowledge that most metahumans were special enough that they didn't wound as easily as others.
Maybe it'd be enough to get them to leave them alone. Case of mistaken identity and all. Maybe they thought she was Lana Lang, last thing Cadence heard, before Lana went off to Africa, was that she'd been heavily affected by some of the meteor rock like the rest of the "meteor freaks" and had to leave for her own good.
It'd be the only time in life that Cadence wouldn't mind the mistaken identity with Lana. But she knew deep in her gut from looking the men in the eyes that they knew exactly who she was. And it wasn't because of her parents or her socialite status.
"Flare and Shadowhunter," The man that held her said, a gleeful smile on his face. "Gonna make me rich."
Cadence's blood ran cold, and for someone who always radiated more than enough body heat due to her abilities, that wasn't an easy feat. She looked over at Brady, who looked back at her. His eyes were wide with fear, not because of the attack on them, but due to being called out by their names. Their superhero names that they were sure no one else knew. They'd always been careful. Cadence made sure to train him out of calling for her by the word 'mom' because of how easily it would be to link them together and put everyone in danger.
She made jokes that Captain Singh knew Barry was The Flash and she was Flare, but it was more horrifying than she thought, that there were people out there who knew the truth and…wanted to hurt them because of it.
"But why stop here?" The main man grabbed her collar once more. "Why not go all the way to the Flash? Get a bigger pay day?" He stepped closer, shook the collar back and forth. "Wanna tell me who The Flash is? We'll make sure to let your baby boy go scott free. But we'll make sure that he gets a front row seat to our windfall."
Cadence glared back at him, mentally weighing the options she had. Wondered if it was even worth trying to fight back. But it was when he grabbed her by the collar once more, yanking her head forward with how long it took for her to respond, his face went ugly. His lips twisted into a sneer and he brought his face close to hers.
"Speak, you metahuman scum!" He spat, spittle landing on her face. "Complete filth! The world would be better off without you vermin controlling everything—Aah!"
Cadence shot her head forward, opened her mouth wide, and gnashed her teeth onto her captor's nose. She held on as hard as she could, bringing her teeth together, and yanked her head back. The piece of flesh that sat in her mouth was nothing in comparison to the fountain of blood that flowed from the man's face. He screamed, shrieked, squealed in pain, brought his hands up to his face to cover what was left of his nose.
Turning her head, Cadence spat the chunk of flesh onto the ground, then whipped around, elbowing the man that held Brady captive in the throat when he moved closer to her. The gun he held clattered to the ground, close enough so that Brady could kick it out of the way. Cadence then grabbed the man by the arm, flung him around, and with a solid kick to his chest, sent him sprawling into the other man, who continued to clutch his nose.
She hurried toward Brady, grabbed his arm, and yanked him off the ground. Grasping his wrist, she pulled them out of the alleyway and back onto the street. The street that had become busy as the morning went on, busy enough so that it was hard miss a young woman and young boy come flying out, covered in blood and with collars around their necks.
The police were called within seconds.
Not that it mattered much, Cadence couldn't teleport anyway.
Barry, Joe, and Captain Singh hadn't been in Captain Singh's office for long when he got the call that he was needed at the hospital. He'd arrived late, of course, sheepishly entering the room with a matching smile when he eased open the door.
Captain Singh leaned back in his seat and said a sarcastic, "Good Morning" to Barry that not even he could ignore. Then the Captain brought his hand up to look at his watch, despite the time being displayed clearly on the corner of his computer screen, and said, "Ten minutes late. You know, that's amazing considering you know exactly where my office is and how to get here every day."
"'I know," Barry said quickly. He slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. "But, I, uh, stopped for some doughnuts on the way in." He brandished the bag as he stepped into the room. "I thought I would—"
"—Soften the blow of your continuous tardiness?"
"Uh…yeah, that."
Captain Singh pursed his lips, tapping his finger on his desk top. "I guess there is something to the stereotype," he admitted then lifted his hand, wiggling his fingers. "Come on, bring it here." Joe started to laugh quietly while Barry gave a sigh of relief. "You better have brought me the jelly filled."
"Of course, sir. I know which one you like." Barry cleared his throat, exchanging a glance with Joe when he sat in the only other empty seat in front of Captain Singh's desk.
Joe continued to chuckle to himself. "Aren't you supposed to be on a diet?" He laughed harder when Captain Singh glared at him over the top of the bag he eagerly unrolled. "Come on."
"Whatever Robert doesn't know won't hurt me," Captain Singh replied. "And let me tell you, this diet that he's got e on his hurting me." He took a bite of doughnut, licked Jelly off his thumb, then turned to Barry. "Anyway, I really hope it was just the doughnuts that made you late, Flash." Barry's eyes widened in response. "I'm calling you that form now on, cause you're so perpetually late."
Joe noticed the way Barry stared at their boss and chuckled quietly. "It's better than Baby Face," he pointed out.
"Not by much," Barry replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He cleared his throat. "So, uh, what did you need to see us for?" He then noticed Captain Singh's sharp glare and rephrased his question to be less…bumbling. "I mean, you were very insistent that we see you today."
"Right, well, it has to do with the metahuman task force," Captain Singh replied. He changed his tone to be more professional, lacing his fingers together. "And whether or not it is something that you feel we should increase the presence of within the city." He motioned to Barry. "I know this is something that's more in your wheelhouse, you were the one who had been gallivanting all over the place trying to explain the unexplained." He paused. "Did you ever find what you were looking for when you went off to Star City?"
Barry forced himself to smile nervously. Partially, anyway. Another part of him gave a genuine smile. He'd found what he was looking for and more; a life that he didn't know he'd ever have. With powers that were far greater than he thought were possible for any man or woman to exhibit. "Oh, uh, yeah, I found it."
"I bet that doesn't compare to some of the things we've seen here in the past couple of years. Sentient gorillas, a sort of portal that appears in the sky…" Captain Singh shook his head. "And there seem to be more and more metahumans that appear as the days go by. But thank God for the Flash and Flare." Barry and Joe exchanged another glance. "But that's what I wanted you here for. As I said, there's a lot of metas that have been coming up lately and I'm wondering how you feel the effectiveness of the metahuman task force is going."
Joe shifted in his seat, eyebrows crinkling. "Well, sir, with the help of Flash, Flare, and the team of scientists that help them, I think that the task force can only improve," he said. "We've had a good success rate of taking down metahuman criminals along with the regular criminals we take down in a day."
"Yes, but without Detective Spivot…" Captain Singh trailed off, lowering his head. Barry pressed his lips together an did the same. He hadn't thought about Patty in a long time. It seemed like another life where he'd been dating her, when he and Cadence weren't together, when she was so eager to help Joe with the task force because of her personal issues with metas herself. She was a great friend…and it was horrific how easily Zoom had taken her down.
One second she was alive and the next her neck had been snapped along with the rest of the fallen CCPD members that had gone into Jitters that day. Around the same time his back had been broken.
"Without Detective Spivot, I can't help but wonder if you're starting to wear yourself too thin," Captain Singh said once he regained his composure. "There are more and more metahumans popping up by the day and there's only so many of them that will be using their powers for evil that we can handle."
"With all due respect, sir, I think we've been handling them just fine," Joe said gruffly. Barry nodded in agreement. He didn't have to say anything about all the work Team Flash was doing. They hadn't dropped anyone in the Pipeline for a long time, but they'd transferred numerous people to Iron Heights. Almost daily and mostly was the reason he was late for work. "The Flash and his team really are beacons of hope for the city, we're just working along with them."
"And I agree with you," Captain Singh said quickly. He ruffled through the bag of doughnuts and picked out another, examining it for a moment before taking a bite. "You've been doing nothing but great things here, Joe. But we have to address the elephant in the room." He turned his gaze to Barry.
Barry held his breath. Waited. Was this it? Was this when Captain Singh confronted him, asked him if he was the Flash? No, that wouldn't be his speed, Barry reminded himself. He'd tell me that he figured it out, dangle it like a carrot in front of me until I have no choice but to confess. Sweat started to collect under his fingertips, Barry yanked his collar away from his neck, suddenly feeling very warm.
"With all the new metahumans, we have to think of their safety with those that are…" his gaze turned toward the ceiling in thought. "Very vocal about how much they don't want metahumans in the city. Now, I can't do anything about Lex's presence here in the city, I can grant permits for large gatherings and shut things down if they become too frenzied, but I can't ban him from the city unless he poses some sort of threat."
"You think his dislike for metahumans and the want to put forward a Registration Act isn't a threat?" Barry asked. Joe murmured his name in a warning tone. But Barry waved him off. He couldn't keep the emotions from within him bubbling up as the MRA was mentioned, as it always did when his life was put in jeopardy. As much as those that decided to turn to a life of crime with their powers bothered him, they were still people and they still had rights.
Would you say the same if it were Thawne, or Zoom, or me who were threatened to have our livelihoods taken away? Savitar's voice swirled through Barry's head. Barry waved him off.
"Whatever my personal feelings about the matter are, my priority, first and foremost, is to make sure everyone in this city feels protected," Captain Singh said. "Which is why we were quick to hire as many people as we could to make up for—" he cleared his throat, using the time to wipe off his fingers—"to make up for those that we've lost along the way. If you feel that the task force is something we need to keep going—"
"—Captain Singh, if we don't continue to use the task force, to make sure that everyone in the city has a chance to rehabilitate themselves, even those with powers, then we'd just be failing the city." Barry tried not to smile when he said the words made famous by the Green Arrow. "We can't set them free just like we can't…murder them all because we could. Can't cast them out like they're on Survivor or something." He ran a hand through his hair, started to fidget with his fingers. His knee bounced up and down. "Without the Flash and his team…tensions would be higher. The city wouldn't look the same. It'd be filled with distrust and fear…"
"I have to agree with him," Joe jumped in. He crossed his legs the other way. "I'm not saying I don't get tired every now and then, with all the work I have to do with the metas on top of my other cases but…" he searched for the words, spreading his hand. "A job's a job. And it's my job to make sure we get the bad metahumans off the street and offer them the chance to be rehabilitated, just like everyone else."
"I'm not attacking you, Joe. I'm just asking so I know how to move forward. There's been a different surprise just about every year since the Particle—"
"—Accelerator," Barry and Joe supplied.
"—Right, since the Particle Accelerator went off and I'm trying to do my job to keep everyone safe. I've got Chief Paulson breathing down my neck, wanting me to put in more extensive measures against metahumans, but I can't do that because part of me remembers that these people didn't ask for their powers, for their lives to be changed. They're still my people and I still need to help them. So I have to ask some hard questions."
"And if you decided to dissolve the metahuman task force," Barry started. "What would happen then?"
Captain Singh opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a light, timid knocking at the door. All three men looked over as the knock happened once more, before the doorknob slowly rotated down. The door was pushed open and Jordan ducked her head in. She waved, eyes bouncing over the men in the room before landing on Captain Singh. Then they lowered, as if unable to hold eye contact for a few moments.
Barry felt himself smile a little. Did he used to act like that when he was first around the police captain You still act like that now, Savitar replied. Again, Barry waved him off. Then he noticed Jordan staring at him. "Is everything okay?" He asked her.
"Mr. Allen," Jordan said, then backtracked, blinking rapidly. "Barry." She frowned, clearly wondering if I was too familiar to speak to her superior in such a friendly way when she didn't know him personally. She started to wring her hands together. "M—Mr. Barry—Allen—"
Captain Singh sighed, running a hand over his face. "Out with it, Ms. Walker."
Jordan jumped and nodded. "Um, well, you've got an urgent call that you need to go the hospital," she explained.
Barry's heart dropped to his stomach with a sickening thud. He looked to Joe, who looked back at him in concern. A million questions ran through his head. Did something happen to his friends? To Caitlin? Cisco? Jesse? Harry? To his family? Iris? Cadence? Wally? Brady? "What…what happened?" He asked. "Is everyone okay?"
"Um, the doctor said that you need to get to your fiancée and your son,"—Barry didn't have the urge to correct her in calling Brady his son, he could only focus on his hands tightening their grasp on the arms of his chair—"That they were jumped…"
Barry was out of his seat in seconds. Second away from tapping into the Speed Force and blasting out of the office. Joe, seeming to know what Barry was thinking, rose and grasped Barry on the shoulder. He turned to Captain Singh saying, "Sir, I'll take him to the hospital, I don't think he's in any condition to go himself."
"No, no, please go," Captain Singh agreed. His eyebrows were pinched in concern. And, it looked like to Barry, that he was only moments away from going to the hospital himself. "Please let me know what's going on and how we can help. You know the CCPD is like family."
"Of course, sir, we'll let you know as soon as possible." Joe grabbed Barry by the shoulders. "Come on, son."
Barry nodded mutely, allowing himself to be pulled from the room. His breath caught in his chest. The same way it had in the days leading up to his mother's funeral. He somewhat remembered seeing her in a room for the final time. Not in the church, not in her casket, but it wasn't in a hospital either. Wasn't his house. He remembered seeing her at his house, remembered running all the way back from…wherever he was taken, and seeing her on the floor.
He remembered shouting for her, time and time again. "Mom," repeatedly and with increasing tension and fear until he was grabbed by the shoulders and pulled away. She never said anything in response. Only stared at the ceiling with glassy eyes and a fearful expression frozen on her face. With a tear the rolled down her cheek, slowly drying as the seconds passed.
His heart hammered against his chest when he saw her, willed for her to wake up. But he was equally numb when he heard the news, when he was told she was dead. Intuitively, he knew she was dead. She was as stiff as a board and wouldn't respond to his repeated called when, usually, she was there before he even knew he needed her.
He remembered seeing her again, in the funeral home. Somehow, they'd managed to make it so that she looked peaceful, not scared. That she looked like she was just sleeping, not having had been murdered with a shot to the heart with no natural origin. Made her look like she was ready to spring up and scare him half to death before bursting out into hysterical laughter at being able to tease him so well.
He went through that along, his father in prison, her family not being able to say goodbye to a woman they'd loved as a daughter, sister, cousin, niece. His fathers' family unable to say goodbye due to the backlash of what Henry Allen may have done to his beloved wife. There wasn't a big turnout; the Wests were there to help him, some of the people from Henry's office were there, but kept their eyes away. Barry could hardly remember who it was.
All he could remember was how much he shook, how much he wanted to bring his mother back. How much he wanted to bring his father back. How much he couldn't handle the thought of being alone. And that was the most sickening revelation for him. That he was going to be alone. It was what drove him to desperately cling to the idea that his father was innocent and that he could convince people of it. It's what made him continue to run to Iron Heights to be with his dad.
The warden and the CO's that worked there took pity on him at first. They allowed him to see his dad as often as he wanted, they didn't give too much of a sideways look at him when he skipped school. But, eventually, enough was enough and he had to move on.
And he thought he had, until he got the message that something had happened to his family. Where everything in his life came to a grinding halt and he wasn't sure what he was going to arrive to. The one point that kept him from completely losing it was knowing of their enhanced abilities keeping them alive. Sure, there was the vicious thoughts that worried him; maybe Breathtaker wasn't dead and had tracked them down, that the Reverse-Flash…Thawne had done something to them, that there was a new villain waiting to reveal themselves to take them down and used them to get to him, but he forced himself to focus on the good thing.
They were alive.
They were alive.
They were alive.
Barry continued to allow the words to run through his head as he sat in the passenger seat of Joe's car and they flew through traffic with Joe's reds and blues flashing as they went.
"I'm sure everything okay, Bare," Joe said gently. "If it was anything else…" he didn't finish his sentence.
But Barry knew what eh was going to say. "Yeah," Barry agreed. "I know." If something had happened, if one of them were gravely injured, or dead…he would've known the second he stepped out the door of Captain Singh's office. The police force knew just about everyone who worked in the hospitals of Central City, it came with the territory of how many calls they all worked on together. They were supposed to 'leave things at the door' when they helped rescue people. But that wasn't how Central City worked. They were a community and had each other's best interest at heart.
Finally, Joe pulled up at the hospital and Barry pushed open the door of the cruiser, nearly clipping an orderly who was going to work. Barry lifted his hand in apology and hurried into the hospital. He looked over the list that told what floor of the hospital was for what ailment, he raced to the front desk and started to babble.
"Hi, yes, my, uh, my fiancée and my son, well, my step-son—" he shook his head. "—He's not my step-son yet, but my son, and her, they were brought here, they said something happened, they were attacked. Are they okay? Can I see them? What happened? Do…do you know how bad it is?"
The poor receptionist looked a him with wide eye.
Joe walked up behind Barry and placed his hand on his shoulder. All at once, Barry felt himself relax from the touch alone. Yet, he still gripped the side of the desk, waiting for a response. Joe flashed his badge to the receptionist and said, "Detective Joe West, this is CSI Barry Allen. His fiancée, Cadence Nash, and her son, Brady, were brought here recently, saying they were mugged. Where can we find them?"
"Right, yes." The receptionist nodded, lowered her head, and started to tap away at her computer, bringing up the information. "Cadence and Brady Nash were brought in a half hour ago. They're in room 250 with Dr. Bloom."
"Thank you."
The two hurried to the room. Barry all but broke into a run, skidded to a stop when he saw the room in question. He went inside and found Cadence sitting on an examining table, her head turned to the side as stitches were put in her forehead. Her face was swollen, her eyes were black, despite blood being cleaned away, there was a light red hue of the blood that streaked her chin, her nose was covered in plaster, but she was alive. Brady stood to her side, watching his mother get cleaned up, a bruise at the bottom of his jaw.
He didn't look worse for the wear, but still hovered by his mother's side, watching the doctor closely. He looked over when Barry arrived in the doorway, his eyes lighting up. "Barry!" He moved from his mother's side and went to Barry, wrapping his arms around the speedster's waist.
He still had the collar around his neck.
Barry hugged him back, examining his face. "Are you okay?"
"Mhm."
"What happened?" Barry then moved to Cadence's side, grasping her hand. He wanted to give her a kiss out of relief but didn't know if he could do it without hurting her even further. She even winced when he brushed her shoulder. That worried him even further, he'd seen her take on a punch from a gorilla without flinching, and he barely grazed her shoulder.
"It seems that they were mugged, Mr. Allen," Dr. Bloom said with a light shake of her head. She looked toward Barry then back to Cadence. "They were both lucky that this one knows how to defend herself. Then again, I've already known what she would do when Brady's in danger." Barry looked at her, then at Cadence. "I'm Corrine," Dr. Bloom explained.
Barry thought for a moment. Corrine Bloom? Then he looked at Cadence and his eyes widened, understanding. Corrine Bloom. Wife of Michael Bloom who had been brainwashed into working with the Assassination Bureau. Mother of Hailey Bloom—now known as White Hot. Cadence nodded in response.
Yes, that Corinne Bloom.
"It's nice to meet you, Barry, I've heard a lot about you." She then nodded to Joe. "Detective," she added. "Is this an open case?"
"That depends." Joe eyed the collar around their necks. "is there anything you need to tell me?"
"'Just that this isn't the first time that we've seen something like this happen," Dr. Bloom replied. She sighed quietly. "Attacks have been on the rise around the city, innocent people, metahumans…I've seen more mugging victims come in recently than I have within the last year." She bobbed her head back and forth. "But I don't know how many times I've seen these new accessories on the victims."
Barry squeezed Cadence's hand. She squeezed his hand back. His smile faded. Something was wrong. He didn't feel anything. No sparks, no tingling, no nothing to prove that their powers were in synch. His eyebrows furrowed. Cadence noticed and lowered her gaze.
"I'll have to get those things off, see what we're working with," Dr. Bloom said. "I'd hate to think this may be holding a broken neck." She turned her back to the group, turning her attention to the tray of tools at her disposal.
When her back was turned, Cadence shot out her hand and grabbed Barry's wrist, digging her nails into his skin. Even without her enhanced strength, she was able to pull him close enough to her so that he could hear her clearly. Her eyes darted toward Corinne then back to Barry as she hissed, "If they get this off me, I'm going to start healing."
Barry's eyes searched her face, trying to take in what she was saying. "What?"
"It's a meta dampener."
Barry nodded. He looked to Joe, who nodded back. Joe cleared his throat. "Dr. Bloom, I don't think you should be tampering with the collars on them. It may be evidence."
Dr. Bloom looked at him curiously. "Evidence of what? I know there's some sick people out there, Detective, and knowing the nature of Cadence's job to help those that are abused and neglected, but even I don't think this is going to be some sort of BDSM kink." Her voice was dry though it was clear she was joking, her eyes were serious.
"Evidence of a crime," Joe insisted. "A crime has been committed here. Assault. And not just on Cadence, but on Brady as well. There may be fingerprints or other sorts of DNA left on the collar that will tie it to those responsible."
"I need to take care of my patient."
"I need to take care of my crime scene."
"I'll let you two argue about the semantics of who is in the right here, but I'm going to take her to STAR Labs." All eyes turned toward Harrison, who leaned casually against the doorframe, watching them all inside. "We have the means to ensure what that collar truly can do, what it's made from, how it works, where the materials were gathered so that we can get a clear picture of who's to blame for this." He pushed himself up off the doorframe and lifted his hand, rubbing his thumb over his fingers. "I don't think the police or the hospital has that sort of technology."
Dr. Bloom turned her attention to Harrison. "Sir, with STAR Labs out of commission, I don't think that's—"
"—Whether or not you consider STAR Labs to be out of commission is not the point of conversation that we're having," Harrison interrupted. He pushed off the doorframe and stuck his hands into the pockets of his slacks, not before pushing his glasses up his nose. "Dr. Bloom, I can assure you that we wouldn't have bene able to look after Mr. Allen here as well as we had a few years back without the machinery that we had at STAR Labs and, again, with all due respect, I'm not going to allow anyone to tell me what I will and won't do with my daughter. Especially when the fact of the matter is that the things that we've come up with at STAR Labs has been more groundbreaking in terms of the recovery we've managed to achieve at a more rudimentary level at this hospital."
A silence stretched around the room.
Dr. Bloom sighed, rubbing at her forehead. "I'll have them discharged soon."
Harrison smiled. "Thank you."
Caitlin hummed as she looked over the collars hanging around Cadence's and Brady's necks. She looked to Cisco, who hummed, lifted his gaze, and met hers. He gently shook his head and the two stepped back. "I'm not quite sure what this thing is made of, but if it truly is a meta dampener, then it's some of the best material we've ever come across."
"Does that mean you can't take it off?" Jesse asked, anxiously standing by her Earth-1 sister's side. "If any of the rest of us get trapped in that stuff we won't have our powers?"
"No, it just means that we're back at square one when it comes to anything that we may have thought we'd known before," Cisco said dryly.
Caitlin rolled her eyes and leaned over, picking up the drill that sat on the computer desk of the Cortex. Cisco picked up his own and the two power drills turned on with a press of a button on the side. The Cortex was filled with a grinding sound as the drills went to work, eating away at the collars that held firm around Cadence's and Brady's necks.
Brady flinched away, every few seconds the sparks coming close to his face. Cadence, on the other hand, held her hair out of harm's way and leaned her head to the side, eyes narrowing when there was a particularly bright flash of sparks. Caitlin held her gently, pushing the drill forward as the seconds passed.
"Are you okay?" She asked Cadence as the seconds passed.
"Mhm." But she didn't nod, didn't acknowledge her in any other capacity.
"Don't worry," Caitlin said soothingly. "I'll try not to hurt you."
"There's not many other people I'd trust to do this."
For a moment, Caitlin paused at the revelation. The sparks stopped flying. She studied the side of Cadence's face. Her puffy, swollen face. The Firestarter continued to stare straight ahead, but otherwise didn't respond. Caitlin was touched by her words, but also knew it probably wouldn't last. There was a reality hanging over their heads that may become their reality in short order.
Killer Frost was going to die, Flare was going to kill her, and…Caitlin may have to take the fall if that time ever came.
But right now, you're Caitlin, Caitlin told herself, resuming her drilling. Right now, you're trying to save your friend. Caitlin continued to push forward until she felt less resistance against her drill. The collar snapped off and Caitlin stepped back. Within seconds, Cadence's eyes were alit with fire, the swelling and bruises on her face healed until it appeared, she'd never been hit at all. The stitches placed in her forehead dissolved along with the healing, a very faint scar remained, covered by her hair.
There was another snapping sound and Brady's collar fell off, Cadence immediately swooped onto her son, pressing her hands to her face to heal him as well.
For a few moments, no one spoke. Until Harrison picked up the pieces of collar and examined them. He let out a low whistle and said, "Nice craftsmanship."
"We've got people out there with meta dampeners and you're applauding them?" Wally asked incredulously.
Harrison ignored him and walked to the medical bay, putting the metallic pieces inside. Then he turned to Cadence and asked, "What happened?"
"We were minding our own business, heading out to Jitters for some breakfast," she said it in a low monotone, still staring straight ahead. "And I felt that something was wrong. Sensed it. Then someone shot at us."
''Someone shot at you?" Jesse asked, her eyes widening at the realization.
Wally snorted. "Who would be dumb enough to do that?"
Barry sighed heavily, ignoring Wally's comment. "It's not the first time it's happened. Not long after I got back from the Speed Force, Cade and I were talking…and someone tired to shoot us then, too. They almost got an innocent couple behind us."
"So…" Caitlin swallowed hard, pushing her emotions aside. "They're really after you guys."
"I guess."
"But why?"
"They know our identities," Brady pointed out. He motioned between his mother and himself. "They called us by name. Knew we were Shadowhunter and Flare. They must've known we were metas before they put the collars on us, to give themselves an even playing field."
"Okay, but what if they were wrong?" Wally asked. "What if they put the collars on the wrong people?"
"That doesn't matter to them," Joe pointed out. "All they cared about was…getting what they wanted. If they're anti-meta, they wanted to get rid of the metahumans. And, to them, that was the bet way to make sure they'd succeed."
"Does that mean they know about the rest of us?" Jesse asked.
Harrison shrugged. "We can't know for sure." He lifted his chin, addressing everyone in the room. "I've got Tess keeping an eye out. News has spread fast that a young woman has been attacked. Mayor Bellows will have to make a statement soon. Things like this can't be ignored."
"A press conference is already in place," Barry agreed. "Iris is on her way to see if she can figure anything out." He continued to stand nearby Cadence and Brady. Trying, Caitlin could see, to catch their eyes. But they continued to look away from him. True to Barry's form, he didn't let that deter his love for his family.
"So what are we going to do?" Caitlin asked. "The CCPD already know…well, have an idea that I'm Killer Frost." She shuddered, remembering all the things she'd done when she couldn't control the frosty side of her. How she'd tried to attack her mother, so many people…" And now they know about Cade and Brady? It's not long until all of us, all of STAR Labs is found out."
"Ugh, I was hoping you were past this point of conversation," Harry drawled as he speed walked into the Cortex.
Cisco scowled at him, turning away for the computer that he'd plopped himself behind when he finished sawing off the collar. "Where have you been?" He demanded. "We're here, as a team, like we're supposed to be, and you're off doing…" he gestured vaguely. "God knows what!"
"Yes, I'm spending all my time scouring the internet for the best recipes for Avocado toast," Harry said sarcastically. "Not!" Cisco rolled his eyes. "While you all have been sitting in your feelings, and you 'what if's and 'maybes' I've been trying to figure out who may be behind them." He roughly pushed Cisco out of the way and commandeered his computer. His fingers flew over the keys. "And, this is what I found."
He swiped his hand, moving the projecting to the TV mounted on the wall across the computer desk.
A long list.
Of names.
Of all the people they'd ever known to be a metahuman.
REVERSE-FLASH…XXX
THE FLASH…700,000,000
FLARE….700,000,000
STRATOS…600,000,000
FIRESTORM…500,00,000
WHITE HOT…20,000,000
KILLER FROST…..10,000,000
VIBE…..7,000,000
SHADOWHUNTER….500,000
JESSE QUICK…50,000
KID FLASH…..50,000
GEO….10,000
Caitlin sucked in a sharp breath, seeing Firestorm written up there. Because…as far as she knew, the Firestorm they were after was with the Legends. But deep in her heart…her soul…she knew it was Ronnie they were looking for. Cadence had once said that she hadn't detected Ronnie's signature going out after the Singularity…but Caitlin had refused to give herself hope.
Until seeing his name again.
Pain flooded through her chest and she turned away.
"There's money after everyone's names," Joe remarked.
"It's like a hit list," Wally murmured.
"And all our names are up there," Jesse said. She shook her head. "Someone out there, wants us all dead and wants the money for it."
"The question is, who?" Barry said.
A/N: It took me too long to get this second half of the long chapter up and I apologize. I re-edited a lot of it and changed some things around for the emotional impact as well as the impact with the MRA and, eventually, the plot with the Thinker.
Hope you enjoyed!
Cheers,
-Riles
