Frozen Flashpoint

Chapter 7: Embracing the Change

Summary: Team Flash argues with Caitlin in the middle of it. Barry and Caitlin having a heart to heart conversation. An ominous presence looming in the backround.

Caitlin looked around the room. She noticed that both Bran and Barry were gone, probably to the pipeline.

Jessie was still in a state of shock, kneeling where her dad had been lying a minute ago. But now Harry was standing in front of her, his weapon trained on Caitlin. Cisco was standing not too far from the entrance, his palm stretched out at chest height, ready to attack.

This was exactly what Caitlin had feared. Now they would only see her with fear, assuming they didn't just lock her up and forget about her altogether.

She noticed Cisco's eyes widening, and his hands lowered a bit as he asked in a shaky tone, "Caitlin?"

Caitlin found it hard to speak, so she simply nodded.

Harry, however, kept his gun trained on her and said, "It doesn't matter. Killer Frost can take control at any moment. We have to lock her up now and ask questions later."

Caitlin could feel her heart rate picking up. Harry was about to shoot her, hopefully just to stun her, but she couldn't be sure.

A million thoughts raced through Caitlin's mind. Was Harry right? Maybe she was dangerous. But the voice in her head didn't feel hostile, and it had helped her before retreating back into her mind, allowing Caitlin to regain control. Another pressing thought was whether Barry would agree with Harry. Would her boyfriend agree to lock her away until they could find a way to repress the frozen part of her? Would he still be her boyfriend after that? Would he be afraid of her?

All those thoughts came to a screeching halt when she saw Harry's finger start to pull the trigger of the gun. Caitlin was about to close her eyes, but just then, a strong wind and an orange light flashed in front of her, and a moment later, Harry wasn't holding his weapon anymore.

Blinking, Caitlin looked in the direction she felt the breeze move. She expected to see a confused Barry, but instead, she found herself staring at Jessie, who was standing with the weapon held behind her back, glaring at her father.

Harry looked shocked himself as he choked out, "Jessie?"

The teenager sharpened her glare and shouted at her father, "Are you crazy?! She's our friend! She just saved our lives—MY LIFE! And you were about to do what? Shoot her?!"

Harry actually looked insulted at the suggestion. "I was just going to stun her and take her to the pipeline so we could run some tests..."

"Oh, because that's so much better," Jessie retorted sarcastically before continuing in an angry tone. "So this is how we thank her after everything she's done for both of us? You're going to turn her into a lab rat and keep her locked up until you're satisfied with the results? Remind you of someone?"

Even Caitlin was shocked. Partly because someone was protecting her, and not just anyone—Jessie, who had lived in a world terrorized by Killer Frost, was defending her. And partly because of Jessie's implied comparison of her dad to Zoom.

Harry seemed to shake off the shock and countered, "Killer Frost is dangerous, Jessie. We can't let her walk around freely."

Jessie looked at her father as if he had just said the sky was the same color as the lab's walls. In a voice full of disbelief, she pointed out, "Killer Frost is dead. Caitlin and her other side are here—they are their own person."

Harry frowned before saying calmly, "She has the potential to—"

Caitlin felt a sting in her heart that someone she considered a close friend would even think that of her. She expected Jessie to retort, but before she could, a voice from the entrance of the cortex cut Harry off with a snarl. "And yet, of the two versions of you I know, you're the one who let a supervillain take over his world. So should we lock you up before you decide to replicate your experiment?"