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"You're here?" Cadence asked, the words coming out in a breathless whisper. Burnout shrugged in response. Actions spoke louder than words, and her words were saying she was herself but…peaceful?

"All of us come here," Young Cadence said. She practically beamed toward Burnout, who gave a small smile in response. "Now I don't have to be alone."

Cadence looked toward Young Cadence and Burnout. The two parts of her life that were the most different. Young Cadence showed her youthful enthusiasm, her excitement, everything that showed just how much it made sense she eventually ended up becoming a cheerleader. While Burnout, sort of, reminded Cadence of her teenage years. Where she hid how annoyed and angry she'd been at her parents for how much of herself she had to keep a secret. It'd all blown up eventually.

Thankfully, things ended up working out. She couldn't say the same for Burnout. Hearing about Burnout's life made it easier for her to appreciate what she had. If there was anything that made it so that she could see the life she could've given herself, in a way, she was glad Burnout had shown her. A doppelganger with a different life to answer the questions she didn't she had.

And, thankfully, it didn't appear that Burnout held any bad feelings for her. As a matter of face, despite the scowl on her face, she appeared to be more peaceful. Not as happy, but peaceful. There wasn't the hint of malicious villainy in her eyes that made it unclear whether she was going to kill someone within seconds because she felt like it, or toy with them and listen to their screams for hours on end.

"All of us?" Cadence repeated.

Young Cadence nodded, pigtails going along with her nods. "When a Firestart's fire goes out…" She gestured around her. "They go to the Fire Fall."

"All Firestarters come here?" Cadence asked. She thought for a moment, then rephrased her question. "Fire metas?"

Burnout's nose wrinkled, as if she were unsure whether Cadence was being serious. "Firestarters are anyone who has the ability of fire, who have a special relationship with the element." She lifted an eyebrow and added almost deadpan, "I just hope Mick doesn't find his way in here."

"Oh God." Cadence rolled her eyes. "That'd be a disaster. He'd probably burn the place down himself because he could."

Young Cadence shook her head once more. "He can't come in here; this is your Fire Fall." She pursed her lips trying to figure out the best way to explain it. "The Fire Fall creates its own reality for each firestarter." She gestured toward the stained glass that stood beneath their feet. "This is tailored especially for you."

"Have you never looked at it before?" Burnout asked.

Cadence shook her head. She lowered her gaze to the stained glass below their feet, starting with a few steps backward. Then she continued going further, the picture coming ore into focus as she went. Step. Step. Step.

She saw a picture of her younger self, seeming to sleep soundly in some sort of bed. Saw a picture of flames that encircled her. Then it morphed into another pictures, as if they were flames themselves, twisting and turning, starting anew. Not burning. The picture morphed to what looked like Burnout, staring out into space, eyes as haunted as ever. Surrounding her were the darkest of flames, morphing from the brightest blues and greens to the darkest, reds and purples. Then the picture changes once more, showing not just herself, but Team Flash.

And not just Team Flash, but when they were fighting against Breathtaker and the gauntlet of villains he'd thrown towards them. There was Flash, Vibe, Shadowhunter, Geo, Magenta, Kid Flash, Jesse Quick, Killer Frost…

Cadence sucked in a breath and stopped walking. She lifted her chin and looked toward her younger and teenage self, seeming to understand what it was they were trying to say. "I died when I was a kid," She murmured. "When I was in the hospital and Harrison—" she cut herself off, closing her eyes at the sudden, sharp pain that stabbed her in the chest. "When Eobard gave me my powers. I was supposed to die that night." She already knew that. It was always in the back of her mind. A little niggling thought, making her wonder why her parents had suddenly become very protective as she'd grown.

Beforehand, they told her she could do anything, be anything. After that stay in the hospital, they were more careful. Watched her closely. Wondered if there were any side-effects of the stay. Wondered if something bad was going to happen. And there was one, the biggest one. The one they, surprisingly, took in stride when she ran screaming into their bedroom saying she had set her bedding on fire with her mind. They laughed it off until her hysterical sobbing became a transfixed stare, losing control of her powers once more, that then set the flowers on their bedside on fire.

And, somehow, they managed to think that was 'normal' and just a 'family secret that needed to be kept'. Sure, there was the fact that everyone in Metropolis seemed to be transfixed by the strange happenings in neighboring farm town of Smallville with the 'meteor freaks'. But they took it too well.

"It was my powers that kept me alive."

"Yes and no," Burnout replied. She exchanged a look with Young Cadence, who lifted her eyebrows and shrugged. Always a woman of few words. "Your powers did help heal you, but it was your spirit that kept you alive. You're destined for great things, Cadence. A future even you're not understanding of yet."

"A future that you understand?" Cadence asked. She clenched her hands into fists. Took a step toward the former part of herself—her younger self—and the biggest part of her—the version she'd mind-melded with. "Why can't you tell me?"

Burnout smirked. "Didn't your husband let you know the dangerous of time travel?" Then she paused and said, "Right, you're the one who's marrying him. There's always crazy things we do for those we love." She shrugged and turned away. "Knowing the future isn't something that would help you right now, Cadence. You'd just dread it like the rest of us." She brushed her hair back from her face. "Do you think I would've lived life the way I did if I knew how it would end?"

Cadence shook her head. "You didn't know how it was going to end."

"And how do you think I would've been if I could?" Burnout shot back. "Even more bitter than I already was? Maybe I would've done more with Brady." She turned her gaze back toward Cadence, watched her for a long moment. Her eyes were almost lizard-like, flickering over Cadence's face, then moving up and down. Watching her closely. Her head tilted and her smirk widened. "But that's not why you came here. You don't have questions about the future. You're curious about the present."

"You said you have a lot of questions," Young Cadence piped up.

"A lot of questions about my powers," Cadence agreed. She chewed her lower lip. "Breathther enhanced my powers—"

"—Breathtaker took out the block you were putting on yourself," Burnout interrupted. Her upper lip curled into a sneer. "You were afraid of your abilities and, instead of embracing it, you allowed your parents to block you. To hold yourself back." Cadence glared. "You could be just as strong as The Flash, even stronger…but you continue to hesitate."

Young Cadence listened quietly, locking her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her heels.

"If trying to be a good person means I'm hesitating—" Cadence started.

Burnout cut her off again, this time with a loud, mocking laugh. "—Being a good person? We were never meant to be good people. Those with the power of fire are never meant to be good people. We're called Firestarters for a reason! Speedsters are just the opposite of us. Similar in the basis of power, but moving in opposite directions at different speeds."

Cadence closed her mouth. She could feel her body temperature rise. Felt herself, her real self, still sitting on the metal bench of the Heat Locker. Could feel herself let out a surge of anger that knocked the limits of the Heat Locker to its straining points. Could hear the roar of fire that made the metal around her scream and strain.

She looked directly at Burnout. "Or you're speaking of your own pain," She remarked. "Of knowing the life you could've lived, had you not allowed yourself to give into the darker side of our powers."

"If you hadn't, you wouldn't have been able to take down Breathtaker. Your powers are stronger than any metas, maybe even stronger than Reverse-Flash's, you had that ability, Breathtaker gave you that chance and you shit all over it. You still do."

Cadence's eyes narrowed. "We already know what'll happen if I lose control."

"Then don't lose control!" Burnout replied. Her words were harsh, but her voice remained almost monotone. The biggest, visible different between herself and her Earth-1 doppelganger. Cadence was lively, enthusiastic, ran on energy and emotion. Burnout's energy and emotion was subdued, almost completely stoic. She watched her fire with a detached air, through eyes that weren't her own, while Cadence watched her fire with excitement and wonder. "You're stronger than that."

"What other questions did you have?" Young Cadence asked.

"What are the extent of firestarters?" Cadence asked. "You said they all have a Fire Fall…what made it so that this place came to be? The Seed Force…" she thought for a moment. "Does every set of powers have a place like the SpeedForce? The Fire Fall?"

Burnout snorted. "I thought you went to school."

"I didn't drop out during high school," Cadence shot back.

"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I'm sure your husband has told you that at some point. When he was too busy with his scientific rambling and ideologies." Burnout waved a hand and turned. A wave of sorrow passed over her face, making Cadence wondering if she were thinking about Earth-2 Barry. "There's a reason Breathtaker had the four of you…the four of us as his henchmen. The Four Horsemen. Why he'd chosen us specifically. You're just about to find out why."

"Cade?"

All at once, Cadence was jerked back to the Heat Locker. Her eyes shot open and she took in a sharp breath. Her eyes, glowing orange as the flames continued to run around her, dancing and swirling through the confined space of the only thing that could withstand her fire power. She regained control of her powers, pressing on every muscle, every nerve, every thought within her body to ensure she wouldn't accidentally burn anyone who came through to talk to her.

Finally, she sucked in another calming breath and stood, pushing her way out of the Heat Locker. Jesse reached out and handed her a towel that she immediately took to blot at the sweat that dripped down her face and neck. The body's natural way of cooling down, her ass. It was one of the more annoying things about being a fire meta, sweat everywhere no matter how much she could regulate her own body temperature when working out or allowing herself to release control for the time being.

It was to be said how many clothes she had to throw out because the sweat smell wouldn't go away.

"Thanks." Cadence smiled at her other-Earth half-sister. Then she paused and looked at her almost suspiciously while Jesse took a step back so not to get hit by any flying beads of sweat. Looked a little uncomfortable. A little…familiar. "You met up with my mom, didn't you?" She asked.

"She cornered me!" Jesse burst out, making Cadence laugh. "She was asking if I'd gotten my bridesmaids dress yet—"

"—I haven't even asked anyone to be my bridesmaids let alone my maid of honor," Cadence said incredulously. Then she shook her head. Leave it to her mother to be so excited the longer the days passed and the closer the wedding became. But there were things to do, people to save, work things to finish, watching to make sure some assassin wasn't going to jump out and kill her and Brady. That seemed to be a little more important than a wedding. "You fell for that?"

Jesse shrugged. "She said she wanted to get to know me. Because, I'm, technically, her daughter, too." Her face screwed up before she laughed to herself. "And I thought getting together as a 'family' with my dad and Joe and Wally was weird."

Cadence laughed along with her. She draped her towel around her neck. "Also, I…don't think mom gets that our familial line doesn't work that way but… okay." She rolled her eyes. "What do I know about DNA matching between Earths?"

"Our fathers are the most brilliant minds on either Earth and there's still some things we don't know," Jesse said. She folded her arms and gently shook her head. "Your mom is really excited about the wedding."

"No, my mom is really excited about throwing a big party and putting her name on it," Cadence corrected her.

She thought back to her time in the Heat Locker and twisted her mouth to the side with the kick in the gut that her guilt hit her. There were more than enough times she and her father had done their best to make sure she was protected, and no one would know there was anything to her other than being a young girl with excess energy. In many ways, she was grateful to them for it. She saw and feared what happened to those that'd been dubbed "meteor freaks"; sent to Belle Reve.

And, as they said, history was repeating itself. Metahumans were sent to the proverbial noose simply because of a few voices that hated the presence of metahumans. She worried more and more about the future of metahumans, not just for her and Team Flash, but because of everyone they surrounded themselves around. But, especially, because of Mayor Bellows' arrest. It was news that still circulated around the city, adding fuel to the fire.

The news that he wasn't truly with metahumans, that he wasn't truly on the side of the Flash. That he hated metas as much as Lex Luthor, and that he was the one who had tried to ensure that they were eradicated. Iris had done a great job with the article that came out, Cadence had said.

She, Barry, and Brady curled up on the couch, reaching each letter of the article, wondering and worrying if there was any way that it'd come back to them in some way. Their identities being revealed. Anything that would make it so that there would then be more policemen who'd break down their doors and taking them away in the middle of the night. Only to be torn apart and…what? Be prosecuted from the 'normal' people who chanted 'death to metas' daily?

Barry had read the article fifty times by the time that Cadence and Brady had finished. He concurred with Cadence's comment that it was well written. And he'd been relieved to know there was nothing identifying to have things come back to them. But it hadn't stopped them from having an all-night, whispered conversation of what they should do to move forward safely.

"It's your wedding day, Cade," Jesse reminded her.

"Believe me, I can't forget. Everyone around me always wants to talk about it."

"It sounds like you don't want to get married to Barry."

Cadence's eyebrows rose in surprise. Was that how it was all coming across? Her trepidations of it? Her worries of whether it was a good idea to have the public party, the news in all the papers, when it was probably more sense to just elope? She'd floated that idea with Barry and he'd seemed hurt, sure, but understanding? As the days went on, it seemed a better option.

"And you can't," Jesse continued. She grinned. "Not until you have your bachelorette party, anyway."

Cadence smiled. "Why do I have the feeling that that's the only reason why you came back here?"

"And to get to celebrate my beautiful big sister's big day."

"Ha ha." Cadence rolled her eyes. "You know I can tell when everyone's lying." She started walking toward the Cortex with Jesse falling in step alongside her. "You really only care about the bachelorette party." She eyed Jesse closely, bringing her hand up to her chin. "Because…you're trying to get away from your dad."

"I did mention that we were supposed to have a family dinner with Wally, Iris, and Joe, right?" Jesse shook her head. "I don't know, things with my dad…they've been strained for a while. We've been fighting a lot lately."

"Harry Wells, fighting over something? Color me shocked."

"It's just…he's really been trying to help me with my team, but his help is more like taking charge and…" Jesse brought her hands up over her hair. "I really need some time away from him. And from the team and all that mess." She slung her arm around Cadence's shoulder. "So, this party and wedding is the best thing to happen to me." She then pointed to Cadence and herself. "To you, but for me."

Cadence started to say something else but stopped the second that confetti was thrown into her face. She blinked it away, blowing a stray piece off her tongue in enough time to see Iris and Felicity grinning at her. "There you are!" Iris declared. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what? Asphyxiation?" Cadence brushed the confetti out of her hair.

"Okay, I'll admit the confetti might've been a bit much," Felicity said hesitantly. She wrung her fingers together, gently chewing her lower lip. "But it's the thought that counts, right? All that excitement and pizzazz! And…" she motioned toward the balloons gently bobbing behind her. "Balloons."

"Feather boas," Iris agreed, waving the multi-colored neck pieces in the air. Little feathers fell off the aforementioned pieces when she wiggled them back and forth. "Do you want the pink or the blue?"

"Feather's aren't really my thing," Cadence replied carefully. "I think I'm allergic." She eyed the color choices in front of her. "Do they not have orange?"

"Sorry, Miss. Royalty, but they don't have any tiaras," Jesse said with an eye-roll. "We looked. I ran all over the city for that stuff and the best I could come up with were feather boas."

It took a moment for Cadence to figure out what Jesse was saying. "You lured me here?" Jesse smiled smugly. "You little sneak, and here I thought we were having some sisterly-bonding. I should've known you didn't meet up with my mom. She would've bombarded me with texts and sent a SWAT team after me for not responding by now."

"Your mom wouldn't really do that." Felicity laughed. Then she paused, looking around at the unsmiling Cadence, Iris, and Jesse. "She…she wouldn't do that, would she? I mean, not that I know anything about good moms, mine's the worst."

"Or you don't know a good one when you have it," Cadence replied.

Iris cleared her throat, stepping forward and in between the two. "Hey, uh, where's Caitlin? We should really get going, right? Can't have a party without all of the Team Flash ladies, huh?" She started toward the Medical Bay while Cadence watched her, unsure of what to say.

Should she stop her and explain that Caitlin had been invited to the party, and was in the running to be the maid-of-honor long before everything with Killer Frost happened? And that, despite how Cadence was allowing her back on the team, that she didn't know if she could truly get over Killer Frost still being a problem? Being a threat? That they were still arguing over whether it was a good idea to have put Ralph in the Pipeline?

She knew the tension was still there when the group wandered to the opening of the Medical Bay, where Caitlin had turned and worked to block what was on the computer screen behind her. Cadence's eyes flickered toward the screen, noticing, as a page was minimized, the logo for the city's biggest airline. She shifted her gaze back to Caitlin, keeping a neutral expression on her face.

As their eyes met, Cadence sense Caitlin's body temperature rise. The bioengineer lowered her chin, quickly licking her lips. Then she lifted her chin once more and put on a small smile as the girls surrounded her.

"Come on, we're about to go party," Felicity insisted, leaning into the doorway behind Iris. The smile on her face was big and bright. "You can put the work down for a minute, right? I mean, Oliver works me like a horse, but even he gives me a break sometimes." There was a light pause around the room as they took in Felicity's innuendo.

Jesse quickly took over the plea. "This is the ladies night to end all ladies nights." She jerked her thumb over toward Iris. "Or, that's what Iris told me to say. I don't think it'll be that spectacular but…" she trailed off when Cadence turned her head and gave her a look. "Oh, come on. You know what I meant."

Caitlin chuckled quietly. Then her smiled faded. She dropped her hands to her lap, running one over the other, as if trying to warm a chill that came to her fingers. "If it's okay," She said slowly, her eyes flickering to Cadence's face and away with each word. "I don't think I'm going to make it tonight. I'm just…not feeling up to it."

Cadence's eyes narrowed just slightly. A fraction of an inch. Another lie in such short cadence from the one before. Interesting. I wonder what she's trying to hide this time? Nevertheless, she couldn't keep herself from asking, "Are you feeling okay?" with the genuine amount of concern that suddenly hit her.

"I feel fine, I just…" Caitlin's eyes shifted toward her former best friend once more. Something flickered in them that made Cadence frown. "Sometimes life catches up to you, you know?"

If there were something in her words, something she was trying to get across, the moment passed when Iris clasped her hands together and stuck out her lower lip. "Please? Come on, we work together every day. We never get to do a dinner just us girls."

"She's right," Felicity added quickly. "Please?"

Sighing, Caitlin looked to Cadence once more. Looked away. Shrugged. "Wouldn't miss it," she finally said. "When are we leaving?"

"Reservations aren't for a few more hours," Cadence explained. "But if you wanted to go sight-seeing, we can leave right now." A sly smile started to form on her face. "Luckily for you, you've got a teleporter in your midst and so long as you don't let go of me too early, we'll all make it there in one piece."

"Why?" Felicity's eyebrows came together in worried confusion. Eyes shifted back and forth. "Wh-what happens if you let go too early when you teleport? Do you get bounced back or something?"

"Your fingers may get burned off," Cadence said casually. She waved her hand as if waving away an intruding thought. "I don't know for sure; it hasn't exactly happened yet."

"Where are we going, anyway?" Caitlin asked.

Cadence beamed. "We're going to Gotham."


A/N: So, I'm super excited for you all to see what'll happen with the guys in Star City and the girls in Gotham. As you can tell, I'm in the Girls Night Out episode, but I'm putting my own twist on them. I really did love the guys' part of that episode, not so much of the girls' part, but that's why I always change some things around whenever I get to certain episodes, lol. I hope you all enjoyed this one!

Cheers,

-Riles

Review Replies

Ethan: I wish the Fire Fall was on screen, it looks amazing in my mind! Lol.

DarkHelm145: There's plenty coming up with the Fire Fall, some things are revealed here, but there's a lot more of it coming up!

Guest: We're almost there!