Caitlin ran a hand through her hair, glancing at it as her fingers reached the ends and still a little relieved it was brown instead of white. There was precious little relief to be had at the moment.
A meta had shown up with the power of separating those with split identitiesâa power so unscientific Caitlin felt like she should get a refund on her doctorate. He had separated Barry from the Flash, Oliver from Green Arrow... and her from Killer Frost. Now her alternate self was out there somewhere, doing whatever she wanted.
Caitlin felt like a jailer who had failed to keep a dangerous prisoner locked up. The fact that she was also, in some way, the prisoner... maybe that was why a part of her was glad Killer Frost had gone. She was free of Frost herself, escaped herself
from
herself. It boggled the mind, but maybe, if they could capture Frost and lock her up in the Pipeline, then she could have her life back... with Frost cut out of her like a cancer.
Caitlin looked at herself in the mirror. Her black lace negligee looked thin, sheerâsexual. She wondered if it had been Frost's influence that had made her buy it. It didn't seem very much like her at all. But Caitlin did enjoy her look. Perhaps it was just that for the first time she could remember, she didn't see Frost in the reflection. Didn't feel her pushing at the walls, scratching at the doorsâeven knowing she couldn't get out, still wanting Caitlin to
feel her.
"We do look good, don't we?"
Caitlin whirled to see Frost coming in through the window, hands outstretched, freezing the door to the bedroom. Frost was wearing a blue halter-top leotard, elbow-length gloves and knee-high boots adding to the look, striking a balance between biker punk and something outright sexual. She could've been anything from a lingerie model to a streetwalker and Caitlin would never be used to seeing her own sense of self
twisted
from Caitlin Snow into... that.
"No screams," Frost purred. "I know you've probably got a few friends staying over just in case you need a pick-me-up... believe me, I've heard a
thousand
damn pep talks from inside you... but if you let them know I'm here, I'll hurt them. I might even hurt you. And what a waste that would be of such a pretty face..."
She slunk closer to Caitlin, watching herself in the mirror, eying Caitlin too, comparing them, weighting them. Caitlin felt her breath coming up short. She'd never been looked at the way Frost did,
seen
in such an intimate way.
This must be what a reflection feels like when you look at it...
"Now, let me
guess."
Frost flounced down to the floor at Caitlin's feet, kneeling and taking her hand. Her touch was cool, but not unpleasant. The chill of holding a glass full of ice water. "You overworked yourself as usual, burying yourself in 'Team Flash' to avoid dealing with your personal issues... I should know, I've been
waiting
for you to come back ever since I got a little shopping done... but
finally,
they sent you home for your own good, because you need your sleep, Caitlin, we'll be fine without you for one night..."
"What do you want?" Caitlin insisted, and Frost's china-blue eyes snapped at her like a cracking whip.
"It'd be nice not to be
interrupted,
for one," Frost fumed, her eyes glowing, her hair so radiant it could've been red-hot. Caitlin managed to pull her hand away from the frostbite grip her double had. The mirror was frosting over. "How do you think it feels, Caitlin, being
stuck inside you
all this time and the moment I get out, you
still
won't let me talk!?"
"I'm sorry," Caitlin said, trying to control her shaking. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."
Taken aback, Frost considered Caitlin's apology, then gave her a friendly smile. "We're getting off on the wrong foot. That's not what I wanted. I want you to be
happy."
"You hurt my friends," Caitlin said gently, not sure how assertive she should be and how much she should acquiesce. Even if Frost was part of her, she didn't know herself nearly well enough to judge Frost's intentions now.
"Your friends don't appreciate you," Frost groaned, coming up to her full statuesque height. She began to pace. "And they try to keep me locked away. Like you, Caitlin. Just like you."
"You're dangerous," Caitlin countered.
"Not to you!" Frost insisted, wheeling back to Caitlin. "I have done
everything
to protect you. I liked being inside you, I
wanted
to take care of you, but you keep trying to get rid of me and control me andâ"
Lips pinched together, Frost fumed again. Caitlin instinctively wrapped her arms around herself as the temperature in the room dropped precipitously.
Frost laughed suddenly. "God, Snow, you are
fucked up.
Look at us. Even your repressed issues have issues. We're going to need to vent. Clear the air, so to speak."
Frost laughed again as Caitlin's quivering exhale showed up visibly white and she swept her hand through the misty breath to dispel it.
"Are you going to kill me?" Caitlin quaked.
Now Frost laughed so intensely that it was
silent,
only choking wheezes coming out as she stared at Caitlin, mouth lolling open, pointing intently at her. "Kill you?