Episode 16 - Flash Fanfiction - Gotham's Gladiators

Chapter 14

Caitlin was led through the halls by her handler, she wondered where he was taking her. She knew that the matches were over for the morning, they would have more that night. They had allowed her to stay in her cell as she had been a crying mess that morning. But now she had been forced to leave her emotions back in the room and visit the world beyond her door.

As Caitlin looked around at her surroundings, she didn't understand how she didn't notice it sooner. They were in some large asylum. Though it clearly was no longer used for unstable patients. The Falcones who owned this facility had gone and invested the extra money to keep meta-humans locked down.

Suddenly, her handler moved her out of the way as a cadaver bed was wheeled past them. It made her sick to her stomach to know that there was a dead body under the sheet. But it was the conversation she heard between her handler and the orderly who was pushing the bed, that made her world crumble.

"Who died this time?" her handler asked the orderly.
"She was a public icon. The CEO of STAR Labs. Carmine was delighted when it happened."
"Well, that's what happens when you pit a newbie against the Black Canary." Her handler replied.

"Well, I should get this body down to the morgue..." the orderly said as he wheeled the bed away. Caitlin's handler had to push at her to make her come to her senses. "Oh I should have known, you're from Central City, aren't you? You would have known the snobby bitch." he mocked her. But Caitlin didn't bite. She quietly allowed herself to be led to the dayroom with many of the other restrained meta-humans. But then she saw someone whom she knew was anything but a meta-human. She was sitting next to Martin Stein. It was Felicity Smoak.

As her handler locked her into the room, closing the door behind her, she made her way to Martin and Felicity. She sat on the other side of Martin and said nothing. Dr Stein clearly understood how she was feeling.

"Where are we?" Caitlin finally asked after a long silence.
"The dayroom." Felicity said in the same quiet tone. "At first it was only those without powers in here, but now they have been bringing everyone."

"I supposed that we should get used to this place... no one's coming for us." Caitlin said.
"What do you mean?" Martin asked her, "You must always have faith, Caitlin."

"I did have faith... but then... I saw them wheel Astrid on a bed towards the morgue..." Caitlin replied.

Felicity's eyes grew wide. Her hope was disappearing slowly, as was Caitlin's.

"I'm sure there is a little more to it than that." Martin said trying to comfort them, "I'm sure our friends have some sort of plan. I don't believe that we have been beaten yet."

"Well Barry was caught. Astrid has been killed..." Felicity said.

"Ronnie was killed..." Caitlin added.

"I apologize if I don't share the current pessimistic outlooks. But one thing that I have learnt in life is that everything will always turn out in the end. There are still many ways that this situation can unfold. Now, my dears... I do believe that we haven't yet heard from Oliver, I doubt that Astrid would have allowed Mr Ramon to venture into these walls... we also still have John Diggle... not to mention there is a vigilante who calls Gotham City his home. All is not yet lost as we will soon see." DR Stein told them, trying to encourage at least a spark of hope in the two.

Suddenly the door opened again and in walked the young girl from earlier. Caitlin got to her feet instantly and welcomed the child to sit with them. She seemed to be in shock by the matches that she had just witnessed and sat quietly with the group.

Dr Stein encouraged the child to speak up, they all introduced themselves and even played a few games with her to lighten the mood. It wasn't long until their spirits had all been lifted, thanks to hearing the sweet laughter of the child.

After a while, DR Stein said, "You have my word, young lady. We will get you home."
But it was as if those words had crippled the child. Tears instantly fell from her eyes.
"I'm sorry child. I didn't mean to offend." He said.

Caitlin cradled her, as best as she could with their hands cuffed. "It will be alright. We promise." She told Kara.
"It's not that," the child said after a few moments, "I have no home to go back to. My planet was destroyed, I was sent here to find my cousin... to protect him and I haven't been able to reach him. I was made to live with a family and they just don't understand me."

A crippling thought washed over Martin, Caitlin and Felicity. To any normal person, this child's story would have been brushed off as pure imagination. But after the things that they had witnessed in Smallville and after the meteor shower that had happened almost a year ago, this was nothing new.

Caitlin thought back to the conversation that she and Astrid had had with the nice lady Martha Kent about her son. Martha had said that she felt her son had been 'brought by the shower'.

"Kara. What was your cousin's name?" Caitlin asked quietly.
"Kal-El. He was only a baby when he was sent here... Our parents sent us here to protect us before our home planet, Krypton was destroyed." Kara spoke softly.