Fuel to the Fire

By: Riley

Full Summary – [Sequel to Crossfire]. Now that Barry has managed to save Central City, Team Flash works its way to come back together after the events of the singularity tore it apart. But the singularity brings in the new threat of the speedster, Zoom, and the mysterious Jay Garrick. With the weight of saving the city on his shoulders once more Barry struggles to move on in all areas of his life and finds he may be too late. Cadence has finally gained control of her powers as well as her family life. Having to deal with her ex-boyfriend is hard enough when her feelings for a certain speedster grow, but to deal with a fire obsessed criminal following her around makes things one hundred times more difficult. Then an unforeseen tragedy may knock her progress askew and fan the flames of her inner turmoil. Through their own problems Barry and Cadence continue to grow closer while working to stop Zoom breaking through the reasons they stayed apart, bringing new meaning to the phrase 'love is friendship set on fire'. Throwing in Brady's and Cisco's developing powers, a time traveling villain, and a sudden decrease in temperatures around Central City and Barry finds protecting Central City to be harder than ever before. Barry/OC (yes, finally). Season 2.

Rated T: For language, violence, and mature/sexual themes. Might go up to 'M' later.

Pairings: Barry/OC (yes, finally), SnowWells (Caitlin/Harry), and something for Cisco ;)

Some one-sided WestAllen, some SnowBarry, some SnowJay

Warnings: Some heavy goreish violence and sexual moments

.:01:.

Barry Allen used to come flying into STAR Labs with a bright smile on his face, ready to be congratulated on a job well done. Ready for whatever event that was waiting for the presence of The Flash. It was a bit of a rush to know what was going on and how he could save people.

It felt like a dream.

Such a happy dream.

He turned towards Cadence Nash, who appeared behind him accompanied by little wisps of smoke and the two high-fived.

The next thing he knew he was surrounded by his family and friends; Joe and Iris West, Brady Nash, Ronnie Raymond, Professor Martin Stein—whom had separated from Ronnie, Eddie Thawne, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, and Harrison Wells as they all congratulated each other on an amazing job taking down Captain Cold and Heat Wave.

It felt so real.

Yet it could never be real again.

Too many things had gone wrong six months ago when the singularity had started to take over the city. Too many things none of them could have seen coming and all of them were his fault. As he stood in the empty STAR Labs, nothing coming alive except a monitor in the corner of the Cortex warning him of a murder that had just been committed, sending him out into the streets.

It was his job now, to take everything out on his own. He couldn't stand the idea of being around everyone else.

Cisco.

Caitlin.

Cadence.

Iris and Joe.

Not that it was any easier. They were a big part of his life, he couldn't quit them cold turkey. Yet it hurt so much it almost became a physical pain whenever he saw them. And he continued to see them through many parts of his day to day life. He still lived with Joe but as often as he was away from the house he grew up in it was as if he was never there. Whenever he could hear Joe coming to his room he either pretended to be asleep or would quickly race out before the doorknob would even turn, unable to look his 'father' in the eye. He even stopped going to see Henry in jail, knowing it would be too difficult to see the man who had dealt with the tragedy of losing his wife try to talk him through the loses he already had.

It was hard.

First there was his mother, then Detective Chyre, those at STAR Labs when the Particle Accelerator blew, the security guard that had gotten in the way of his fight with Captain Cold, Eddie, Eobard…those that had been in the skyscrapers sucked into the vortex…so many people. All gone. All because of him. And there was nothing he could do to bring them back. Hearing how they were in 'a better place' and things like that…it made him angry. He couldn't see his father and hear that things were going to be okay when they most certainly were not going to be okay.

The monitor continued to beep rapidly and his cell phone started to buzz in his pocket. So it was a CCPD thing as well, not just what needed to be done at STAR Labs. A sigh escaped Barry's lips. It was times like these were he was reminded once more that no matter how hard he tried to avoid things it was going to push harder to be noticed. Turning on his heel, Barry raced to the crime scene.

Barrels of radioactive waste sat around a body that lay quietly on the floor of the nuclear plant. As he approached, his messenger bag slapping against his side, he spotted CCPD's medical examiner, Cadence Nash, kneeling over the body, absentmindedly brushing her hair behind her ears with the hand that didn't have a glove on it. The other hand—that did have the protective glove—was gently prodding around the neck of the man. She looked up as Barry walked closer and smiled at him.

Barry suddenly found himself back at the singularity with her and Ronnie by his side, using their fire powers the best they could. They both fought as hard as they could to stop the singularity and yet things still progressed the way they had.

Shaking his head, Barry pushed the thoughts away and focused on Cadence once more. It wasn't like he could ignore her when they had to work together. Still, Barry wondered how she had managed to move on so quickly. She probably hasn't moved on, but is keeping things lighthearted for Brady, he realized. To make sure he's okay. All of a sudden Barry realized how much he missed having her around. If there was anyone that ever understood what he was going through with his insecurities of being a metahuman it was her. She was always able to make him laugh and easily excitable about a lot of things (of which usually ended up with her laughing at him in some way, her Zumba class being the biggest offender).

Stop torturing yourself, Barry thought. He pressed his lips together. It's not helping anyone. Instead of betraying his private thoughts, Barry cleared his throat and nodded at her. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she replied. She didn't move from her kneeling position and Barry, instead, kneeled down next to her, carefully placing his briefcase on the ground. "You're late."

"I know," Barry said. But he didn't give so much as an excuse. He didn't even apologize, all because it had become so much of a common thing. Even having his speed kept him from being able to get places on time.

He didn't need to this time around. The unspoken reason hung over their heads so thick that she had to have been blind to have missed it. Barry kneeled down next to her and looked over the body, quickly taking in the broke blood vessels in the eyes and the dark marks on the throat. The man didn't go very peacefully.

Cadence merely glanced at the body once more and continued speaking to Barry, "I covered for you with Captain Singh. I don't think he's going to ask you any questions but if he does, just say that you had some intestinal issues due to bad Chinese food."

"Thanks."

"So what have we got here?" Barry looked up as Joe West strolled over to the two, his hands in the pockets of his car-length coat. Barry tried not to look him in the eye but couldn't help it. And he saw exactly what he didn't want to see; kind disappointment. The sort of look where a parent was obvious very disappointed in you but there was something that had been done that kept them from being 100% enraged. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Victim's name's Al Rothstein, he was a welder here at the plant. A co-worker found him this morning," Joe explained to Barry.

"Looks like cause of death was strangulation," Cadence explained. She looked at Barry for added confirmation and he nodded.

He titled his head, glancing over the body once more just to be sure he didn't mess up in some way. "There's petechia in the whites of his eyes, the eyelids, and some bruising around his neck. He was strangled by someone very strong and very large."

"Or something?" Joe asked.

For a minute Barry was confused, then he exchanged a glance with Cadence, who was looking at Joe intently and a light bulb went off. "It wasn't Grodd. Trust me, there would be numerous news reports if Grodd suddenly appeared back in Central City again," Barry reassured him.

"Or else you'd hear it from Brady," Cadence added. She stood up, pulling off her gloves with a snap. "Somehow, kids always seem to know what's going on around here before the adults do." She let out a light sigh. "Case in point, they seem to know a lot more about The Flash than anyone else does."

Barry grimaced. He knew exactly where this conversation was going and he needed to get out before it got there. Almost frantically, he packed up his bag and stood up. "I'll let you know when I find more, I really have to go." But Joe reached out a hand and stopped him before he could go.

I really need to learn when to move faster, Barry thought, turning back to him.

"So this Flash Day thing…I hope you plan on making an appearance," Joe said almost firmly.

Still, Barry hemmed and hawed for a second before stating, "I haven't decided."

"The mayor wants to give you a key to the city," Cadence piped up. There was a bit of envy in her tone and Barry smile a little. Nevertheless he was annoyed at this tag team operation to get him to go to a celebration he didn't even want, need, or deserve in the first place.

"I don't need an award."

"I beg to differ. You love getting awards, Bare. Like all of those science trophies and awards you got in high school," Joe reminded him.

"Those I deserved." Barry turned away. "I'll let you know what I find."

Barry started to walk away from the crime scene and only made it a few feet before Cadence was at his side, taking steps so powerful that wind moved through her hair as if she were on the runway. He glanced at her. "I know you're the one that's supposed to confirm the cause of death but I do need some of this stuff, too."

"It's not that, Barry," Cadence commented. Her eyes squinted against the sunlight as she turned to him. "Brady's been asking about you. You said you'd take him to the science museum."

"I know; I've just been really busy."

Cadence grabbed Barry's arm and pulled him to a stop. He sighed, allowing himself to be stopped. "Look, you can avoid me all you want. As a matter of fact it's probably something that I'd do to if I didn't have the others to talk to. But you can't do that to a little kid." She paused, watching Barry when he looked away. "You know he really looks up to you."

"If you ask me he should be looking up to someone else. Maybe the Arrow," Barry pointed out.

"He doesn't look up to the Flash, Barry, he looks up to you. With good reason. But there's been enough people in and out of his life, please don't be the next one."

Barry closed his eyes briefly. It wasn't a responsibility he should have. He didn't deserve it. But on the other hand she was right. If Joe and Iris had walked out of his life shortly after his father went to jail he didn't know what he would do.

"I promise I'll take him to the museum," Barry said, giving her a meaningful look. She gave him a skeptical one in return. "Promise. I have to go."

Once more, Barry turned and walked away from Cadence resisting the urge to use a boost of his speed to get as far away from Central City as possible.

Once her work day was over, Cadence headed over to STAR Labs as soon as possible. Stepping out into the cortex she couldn't help but smile. It certainly was becoming her second home, she spent more time there than anywhere else. Especially over the last six months where she was essentially working to save Central City on her own. Or else she hadn't run into Barry so often when she was out in the field. Rebuilding Central City was going along well; she had pitched in with that effort and Ryder's contracting company was making good money off it as well, but Barry was doing the bulk of the work in that aspect, leaving her to handle the day to day criminal activities.

On the positive side it was giving her a chance to be there for Central City and to show there was someone else to help if The Flash wasn't there, not to mention her powers were increasing day by day with the extra effort. On the negative side doing it on her own was starting to take its toll; she couldn't bounce back as quickly as Barry could. Not to mention their team dynamic continued to fall apart.

"Caitlin's still not back?" She asked, walking further inside. Iris West, who was standing behind Cisco Ramon as he sat at a computer, shook her head.

"I haven't talked to her much since she started working at Mercury Labs," Cisco commented over his shoulder. "I guess things are still pretty hard for her around here. Though, honestly, I can't really blame her." He turned around and gave her a knowing look. "But I think I should be asking you that question considering your familial connections around here."

Cadence placed her hands on her hips and gave him a look. He gave her a look in return and she started to smile though it faded quickly. Things certainly were strange around STAR Labs with both Harrison and Tess around. It had to be harder for Caitlin who not only lost the man she was engaged to, but had fallen for someone else, who turned out to have his body taken over from a being from the future, whose wife turned out to be not quite as dead as they originally thought, became engaged once more, got married, and now lost everything around her once more.

And even then having Harrison and Tess was a little weirder than she thought it was going to be. Mostly because she didn't have to look down at Harrison in a wheelchair anymore, but because of the relationships that had to be formed. (Or re-formed as the case may be). She didn't know Tess at all as anything other than her biological mother who gave her up for adoption and had to form that relationship. Then there was Harrison who she had created a relationship with over the past year...who had also been a villain from the future intent on killing one of her best friends. But it had been discovered once he was released from the hospital that he had every memory of his time at STAR Labs and working with Team Flash, just that Eobard controlled his body at the time.

Of course that confused Brady a little but as soon as he realized it meant he would get even more attention he was okay with it.

"Everything's fine with me, I'm just worried about Barry," Cadence insisted. "Joe and I were talking at the crime scene about Flash Day and he didn't seem interested at all."

"I don't think it's anything he can really ignore though; they're giving him the key to the city," Iris insisted.

"Even though as members of Team Flash we should all be getting keys," Cisco mused.

"If anything, we should be mentioned on the damn poster," Cadence said.

"You're on the poster," Iris pointed out. At Cadence's confused glance Iris picked up a flyer lying on Cisco's computer table and handed it to Cadence, pointing it to the small words under Flash Day. "See? It says 'And Flare' right there."

"You've gotta be kidding," Cadence remarked, frowning at the poster.

That was something else she had been combating for as long as she could remember; trying to get the recognition she truly deserved, having worked with The Flash for so long. At this point she was starting to find it funny in a ridiculous way.

Iris shrugged. Then she reached out her hand and placed it on Cadence's shoulder sympathetically. "I've been working hard on my blog to mention all of the good you've been doing for the city. But this is a good start, you're going to get the recognition you deserve soon."

"Thanks Iris, that really helps," Cadence replied. She looked over as the elevator doors to the Cortex opened and Brady rushed into the room.

"Uncle Cisco!" Brady called as he ran over to the STAR Labs employee. His backpack bounced across his back as he went. He hopped onto the chair next to Cisco and leaned into him, looking at the blue prints Cisco had been pouring over. "Have you finished my suit yet?"

"Not yet, I've actually been commissioned to do some for the CCPD metahuman task force that I'm putting the final touches on," Cisco replied. He held up the blueprints to his friends before turning so everyone could see. "I call it 'The B.O.O.T.'."

"The boot?" Iris repeated, tilting her head to the side. "You mean, like slides and pumps?"

"I can't believe you would even joke like that! No! The B.O.O.T. is created to restrain and subdue a metahuman due to emitted electrical shocks that neutralizes the wearer," Cisco explained.

Cadence blinked once. "So it's an industrial strength taser?"

Pouting, Cisco placed the blueprints back onto his desk. "Well, when you say it like that…"

"Honestly, Cadence, coming from a family of scientists you'd think you'd learn not to put down the excitement of inventions," Harrison Wells commented as he walked into the Cortex. He pushed his clear framed glasses up his nose before sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "This is something that Cisco and I worked on together and it should yield some positive results from the metas."

"And considering Flash Day is coming up, that's probably the best time for it to be used," Cisco added. He rubbed his hands together. "There's going to be a chance that someone might come to try and ruin it."

"If Barry even goes," Iris pointed out. "He's one of the most stubborn people I've ever met and if you can't convince him to do something the first time, it may take some time to get him to listen to reason." She took a deep breath. "That being said, I think we should just force him to go, instead of asking just tell him to do it."

"From the tone of your voice I assume that you'll be taking on that job?" Harrison asked.

A smile crossed Iris's face. "I've known Barry a long time and I think I can convince him to go. He deserves it, even he doesn't think so. Maybe every one telling him how much they appreciate his work will get him to realize that nothing was his fault."

"I hope so." Cadence glanced at her watch then motioned for Brady to come to her side. "Well, let me know if anything else is going on. I've got to take Brady to Ryder's house."

"It's his weekend with him already?" Harrison asked.

"Yep. And considering CPS is watching us closer than ever since the singularity I need to stay on schedule as much as possible. Let me know if there's anything else you need me to do and I'll see you guys later." With that, Cadence took Brady's backpack into her hand and the two left STAR Labs, heading out to her car parked in the parking lot.

"Mom?" Brady asked as they went. "How come Aunt Caitlin doesn't come to STAR Labs anymore?"

"Because she works at Mercury Labs now," Cadence patiently explained. She placed Brady's backpack in the backseat of the car, pausing for a moment. She could've sworn she left the doors locked before going inside the building. Maybe they finally got some security around here, she thought before getting into the driver's seat. "You can't go somewhere you don't work anymore."

"But why doesn't she want to work with us?"

"I don't think it's that she doesn't want to work with us. She's just really hurt over what happened and needs some time to process it."

"Like Barry?"

"Like Barry."

Cadence tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she drove to her ex-boyfriend's house. On one hand Caitlin and Barry certainly did deserve to have as much time as they needed to get over what they were going through, but on the other hand it was good to see him again that day. Within the CCPD their jobs didn't cross paths as much as she originally thought; typically her job needed to confirm a cause of death, to have families come in to identify a body mostly within violent and suspicious cases of death. In other mundane areas; heart attacks, aneurysms, and car accidents, collecting physical evidence was something that Barry's job was a big part of.

Being able to see him that day gave her a sense of relief to know that he hadn't done something stupid or ran out of Central City. He looked as good as she hoped he would; there were no bags under his eyes to show long hours of work. He didn't look wasted away like he was working too hard to eat properly. He was just MIA and she greatly missed having him around.

"Are you thinking about Barry?"

Brady's question caught Cadence so off-guard that she almost forgot to brake before running her car into the one in front of her when the light turned red. Then she glanced at her son who looked at her curiously.

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

"Because you always get this look on your face whenever you're thinking about him," Brady said matter-of-fact.

"Yeah…I just miss him."

"Me too."

"So?"

Mick Rory growled a little as he lifted his gaze to meet Leonard Snart's. He sat at the head of the table with an impatient glare on his face, running a cloth over his cold gun almost lovingly. Realizing he had his partner's attention, Snart's steel eyes shifted over to Mick.

Mick's eyes flickered with the light of the flames in front of him in an almost demonic way. He sat with a computer directly at his side and the heat gun right next to it, hooked up with some strange wires. Even from where he was sitting in the darkness Snart could see Mick was growing frustrated. He looked over at Lisa, who sat on the other side of the room, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine. Every now and then she would hold it away from her and study the picture.

Then Snart turned his attention back to Mick. "I told you that this computer from STAR Labs was going to be hard to use. And that's saying something coming from me, even I haven't found a way to crack into it."

"Please," Mick muttered. "There hasn't been anything I've gotten my hands on that I haven't been able to figure out."

"Other than keeping a woman?"

"A woman isn't useful to me at this point," Mick pointed out. "Except one." He turned his attention back to the computer screen and his eyebrows came together even tighter than it had before, a dull headache starting to pound at his head. "And I'm not going to stop until I can figure out how to get this to work."

"Well don't hurt yourself," Snart said.

Mick grumbled in reply.

A/N: So what do you think for the opening? We've seen Barry's struggles as well as what's changed in the six months that's passed between the last story and this one. Things are going to move forward in what I hope is a faster pace than last story because I feel like it dragged a little at some points.

Again this had a part from the original Sparks Fly as my original idea for that story had been incorporated into this one while others are sticking with its re-write When We Collide, Sparks Fly. As an added bonus to reading this, I'm updating that story this week its long awaited fourth chapter.

So, please let me know what you think about characterizations from the six months passing, plots, pacing of the chapter, what have you.

Cheers,

-Riles