#ccfselfpara

[usedtobethefuture]

“Who’s there?” Though they hadn’t spoken, Mary could hear the footsteps approach-- she could hear their heart beating against their chest, whoever it was. “Say something.”

[crestfallenmurtaugh]

Stronger || SELF-PARA

Live life like you’re giving all 'Cause you act like you are Go ahead and just live it up Go on and tear me apart Hold on

With all the new things popping up in Matt’s life, things were getting both a little too weird, and a little too chaotic. Any moment he wasn’t spending in class was either spent at Jitters or in his dorm and before Asher, that worked just fine. But now, there was almost never an opportunity for Matt to get some of his beloved alone time. That didn’t mean to say that Asher was absolutely unbearable. He could keep a clean room and he followed by the rules. Mostly. He had this thing about leaving his damp towels on the bathroom floor and Matt knew he did it just to piss him off. And Matt, like the pushover that he was, would hang the towels up for Asher and grumble under his breath.

This action in itself had Matt clinging to the routine he had put into place years ago, the one that he was only now building upon for his future. Training with Christian three times a week, as early as 6AM.

Christian was a great teacher, but Matt couldn’t help but wonder what else was going on in the other’s life. They didn’t really talk about it much, instead focusing on the actual training that Matt was getting.

He had class Monday through Friday, the double major starting to wear on him. He was going to push through, he had to. But he wasn’t stupid enough to think that he maybe needed a break, too. 

His shifts at Jitters and his volunteer hours at the hospital were spread in between, usually winding him up with later shifts that kept him up much much longer than he ever wanted to be.

And every Wednesday morning, training with his father.

Matt didn’t talk about his dad much. It was a complicated subject in most manners of the word and he really wasn’t sure how he was supposed to breach it. His father wasn’t abusive. His father wasn’t neglectful. In fact, if you were to completely ignore his job, John Murtaugh was a pretty stereotypical father. He might have had too many expectations for his son, but what father didn’t?

It was his morals that created the real conflict.

He trained Matt ever since Matt could remember. Trained him to fight and kill Aliens-- and now Meta’s.

“Left,” he shouted, throwing a left fist as Matt quickly ducked, bouncing back onto his feet to keep himself stable. Matt bounced back up, coming in close to try and get a shot in, but the older Murtaugh had much more experience. “Right!” He shouted again. Matt started to move to the left but after a quick moment he danced to the right, pleased to see he actually managed to catch the feint that his father threw. This time, he went low, sending a few quick jabs to his father’s abdomen.

Feeling a satisfied grin slip onto his face, he bounced back up and spun around, aiming for his dad’s back. But John was no longer calling out his shots. One moment Matt was landing another punch and the next he found himself on his ass, staring at the ceiling.

“Fuck,” he whispered, already out of breath.

“Language,” John called out, moving until he was directly above Matt’s head. “You’re getting better, but it’s not good enough.” The words cut through Matt pretty quickly and the grin was very quickly replaced by a serious expression. John offered his hand out to Matt and the boy accepted it, allowing his father to pull him up. “You have the potential of being top of your class, but you wouldn’t stand a chance against these meta’s lately. You’re easy to read and some aliens have the ability of reading minds.”

“Right,” Matt said through a huff of breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “But-- wait, telepathic aliens? Like... psychics? Since when?” His father had told him about a lot of different aliens and he knew there were some that were able to read minds, but the Green Martians were all but extinct and most of the aliens they had to worry about were all left back on their other earth. 

“I’ve been tracking them for awhile. There’s a family of them somewhere around the city.” John paused, a careful eye on his son. “I’d like to hunt them together, but you aren’t ready. You can’t think when they’re around you, they’ll easily get the upper hand.”

Matt nodded, taking every word his father said seriously. That was the last thing he wanted. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, hurt someone else. But he also couldn’t stand to see the disapproval in his father’s eyes either. “I’ll be ready. Let’s just-- Let’s just go again.”

[candicereeves]

(( To many to tag so just gonna tag Main: @centralcitysfinest-rp ))

Standing in the Science Lab of the Waverider, Candice debated on what music to put on while she worked. Just as she was about to ask Gideon for some music, a screen near by flicked to life. Looking over at the screen she immediately recognized the man looking at her.

"Gary, to what do I owe the pleasure? I thought our usual D&D game was postponed for this week, or did I miss it? Time gets confusing." Candice said.

"No this isn't about that Candice. At least not this time around. Besides you threw off the whole campaign last session." Gary commented.

"Huh.. almost like when you sent the Legends off in 1980 London." Candice quipped back. Gary adjusted how glasses and gave an awkward chough.

"Right, well anyway I actually called for a reason. Some coincidence that I happen to call you alone in the science lab right?" He said.

"Little creepy when you put it that way." She said watching him. "You do know that if you're creeping up behind me I have no problem torching your ass right?" Candice said.

"I'm not on the Waverider, at least not yet. See the thing is, we actually need you here at the Time Bureau. See we've noticed the Legends have become rather... Well crowded..." Gary said.

"Still not liking where this is going Gary." Candice said as she watched him. Though she did have to admit, he was a bit right, the Legends were crowded on the Waverider.

"Well the thing is in order to help build bridges between the Legends and the Time Bureau, some of you will be working here, present day Central City. You'll be paid, and of course given normal hours. Sort of a nine to five kind of job." He said with a smile as he explained.

"That sounds so corporate. You do know that I like the Waverider for a lot of reasons." She retorted as she grabbed a nearby piece of tech to work on.

"Candice, we're inviting you to help the Time Bureau with tech." Gary said. Looking over she gave a small curious glance.

"Go on." She commented as she watched him.

"We've noticed the stuff you've made. That pistol alone is closer to Rip's pistol than anything our techs could come up with. Plus our time couriers could use some upgrades. You'll get to take them apart." Gary said.

"Fisrt off the Tesla Pistol is a divergent of Rip's pistol, second you're going to allow me to take apart a time courier so I can upgrade them?" She asked.

"Among building weapons and tech. You'll also be responsible for keeping track of the time map. Might of been thanks to a certain dm explaining how well you kept track of events in our D&D game." Gary boasted.

"Really Gary? You used our D&D game to help convince Ava into giving me access to all of that?" Candice asked.

"Possibly." He replied. Letting out a sigh she looked around the lab. "You still want to stay I know. Candice we need you here. Please help the Time Bureau, your our only hope." Gary said.

"You're not gonna Princesses Leia me. I'm not your Obi-Wan." She said with a sigh. "Look if I'm going to join the Time Bureau, there are a lot of things I need." Candice said.

"A list of demands? Candice I can't promise you will get what you want." Gary said. "I mean if it were up to me I would probably say yes." He added.

"That's cause you're a push over Gary. They aren't demands, you already won me over with the time courier. This is a list of things I need in order to work, and possibly to help whoever else is on my team. Wait who is on the team besides me?" Candice asked as she got sidetracked from her own train of thought.

"Well... Let's see, Rip Hunter will be the leader naturally, You as the team technician, Leo Rivera and Leo Snart as the Field Agents, and someone named Terry McGinnis as a Field Agent and History Consultant." Gary explained.

Candice let out a soft giggle at the fact that the team had two Leos. "Ah yes Team Leo, where you don't know who is who." She joked.

"Candice this is a serious list." Gary said as Candice laughed a bit. "Fia! Focus please!" He said trying to get her to focus.

"I'm sorry Gary, but you have to admit Leo and Leo on the same team is so stupid and funny." She said. Gary let out a sigh as Candice calmed down a bit.

"You had a list of demands you were going to make." Gary said. Candice rolled her eyes as she looked back at the screen.

"Not demands, requests. I need my own lab to work in. Not a small crammed room, I need space to work on multiple projects at once." She explained.

"I think that will get approved, I mean that just seems like a no brainier, but you do know that we won't be able to give you anything to big." Gary said.

"Yeah I know, still nice to have room to spread out. Also this is more for the team than just me, we need a meeting room, something kind of like the study on the Waverider, actually it might be better if I just worked up a floor plan." Candice said.

"This is starting to sound like its own building Candice. Pretty sure we can't get that approved." Gary said.

"Trust me it won't be as bad as you're thinking. Just wait til you see the floor plan. In any case, I am going to need to be allowed to play music while I work. Nothing worse than being bored while working on a project." She said with a groan.

"I'll run it by Director Sharp." Gary said. "Is that all?" He asked.

"Let's see, meeting room, personal science lab, kitchen, library, relaxation room, bathrooms, ability to play music, I think that about covers it." Candice said. "I will miss Gideon though, and the others...." She added with a sigh.

"We can see if there is a way for you to keep in contact with Gideon and the others Candice. If you draft up a floor plan I will see what I can do about making it a reality." Gary said.

"I guess I should pack up my room. Well what little stuff I have here on the Waverider." She commented. Letting out a sigh she looked back at the screen. Candice could feel her heart sink a bit, she loved the Waverider and the adventure that came with it.

"I uh... I guess we'll contact you... At the very least I have your number from when we started playing D&D together." Gary said. Candice gave him a nod before the screen turned off.

Looking around, Candice grabbed a few of her items before heading off to her shared room with Zari. Peeking her head in, she didn't see the other woman. "Guess that makes this easier." She said to herself.

Walking away Candice got Gideon to make her a box to store her stuff in. Packing up what little she had, few extra clothes, couple of books, as well as some tech she had built in the science lab, she set off to leave the Waverider.

"Guess this is bye for now Gideon." Candice said as she stood at the cargo door.

"For now Ms. Reeves, but I am sure we will talk again soon." Gideon replied.

"I know, but some dumb science lab at the Time Bureau is nothing like the Waverider. I just... I don't know felt more at home here." Candice said.

"I know Ms. Reeves." Gideon said. Giving the frame of the doorway a light punch tap, she looked up at the com.

"Guess I will see you around Gideon." Candice said as the Cargo door open. Turning away, Candice left the Waverider. As she walked away, she gave one last glance before watching the ship vanish into thin air as the stealth plates hid the ship from sight.

Giving it a moment of thought, Candice didn't want to head home cause she didn't want to potentially wake Charlie, and heading to S.T.A.R. Labs would be kind of creepy without Cisco being around.

Digging into her pocket she pulled out her breeching device. Pressing the button a portal opened and she jumped through. There was no harm in heading home for a small bit, besides at this moment, Candice kind of wanted to be around her parents.

Jumping through the portal she landed in the near identical spot on her Earth. Taking a deep breath, she looked around to make sure no one had seen her. "Now to head home." She said as she pocketed the breeching device.

Walking into her parents house, she closed the door quietly. Setting the box of stuff down as she walked in, she noticed some lights on. "Hello?" She called out.

"Candice? What are you doing home?" A female voice called from the kitchen. Candice walked in and gave her mom a small smile. "Sweetie, you were just here not to long ago, aren't the Legends going to be upset with you for taking so many vacations?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah this is just for a little while, not a full vacation like last time. Where's dad?" Candice asked as she took a seat at the kitchen table.

"He's working late, but he should be home soon. So. What is wrong dear? The girl you like reject you?" Candice's mom asked.

"Mom!" Candice said like a teenager that was embarrassed. "I just.. I'd rather not talk about that right this moment." Candice said.

"Oh sweetie, come here let me give you a hug." Her mom said as she walked around to hug Candice.

"Ah gross! Mom hugs!" Candice joked as she hugged her mom.

"So what is wrong. Something is up I know it. If it isn't the girl, then it's your new team." Her mom said as she walked over to the fridge.

"Yeah. I'm going to be on a new new team. Still the Legends, but working for this group called The Time Bureau." Candice explained.

"Yet you're not happy with the job are you?" Her mom asked. "Aren't they the ones that trapped you in London?" Her mom asked. Candice gave a nod of confirmation. "So why are you working for them instead of being on the ship?" Her mom asked.

"It's a new way to alleviate the crowdedness of the Waverider as well as build bridges with the Time Bureau. I get to be head tech girl for the team, and helping outfit the Bureau with new stuff." Candice explained.

"I get to do a lot of cool stuff for the bureau. I get to take apart some of their closely guarded tech to help improve it and I get my own lab which is nice since I've always been sharing it with someone. However the Waverider afforded me visits to the unknown and being stuck in the present is going to be boring." Candice said.

"It sounds like a more stable job though. One that would afford you more time with that woman you were telling me about last time." Her mom said with a small smile.

"I know and I can go back to volunteering at the hospital for the kids, I missed that while zooming around on the Waverider." Candice said.

The front door opened and a small sound of someone almost tripping came from the main hall. "Lonnie! Why is there a box of crap in the hallway?" A man's voice called out.

"Ted! That isn't a box of crap, that is Candice's stuff." Her mom called back. Though she did give Candice a parental glare at leaving stuff in the hallway.

"Sorry Dad! I thought you were home when I set that stuff down." Candice called out.

"What are you doing home?" He called out as he closed the door.

"Just needed a place for the night. I'll be back on Earth-1 in the morning." Candice called out. "Here let me come move my stuff before you trip again." Candice said as she got up from the table.

Heading into the hallway, she smiled as she saw her dad. Wrapping her arms around him, it was clear that she caught him off guard. The man gave a soft chuckle before hugging her back.

"Everything okay Candice? This is twice in what? A few weeks?" He asked as Candice pulled away from the hug.

"Yeah, but like I said I'm heading back in the morning, just needed a place to stay for the night, and all my Earth-1 places were just not where I needed to be for tonight." She explained as she grabbed her box of stuff.

"Alright pumpkin, what happened?" He asked her.

"Just got transferred from adventure to a lab. That's all. Mom knows more gonna go put this in my room." Candice said as she headed upstairs.

"Wash up while you're up there! Dinner will be ready in a bit." Her mom called out as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Ugh! The worst!" Candice jokingly called back. Reaching her room, she placed the box on her bed before heading to clean up. She didn't really need to eat, but Candice wasn't going to pass up her mom's cooking.

Heading back downstairs she smiled at her parents. "I'd say I'm starving, but I don't lie." Candice joked. Her mom rolled her eyes a bit.

"Doesn't stop you from eating." Her dad joked.

"Look even a nuclear reactor needs fuel and mom does cook some really good food." Candice said.

Her mom slid a plate in front of Candice with a smile. "I caught your dad up on everything." Her mom said.

"So... I have to ask, what is so bad about the Time Bureau?" Her dad asked.

"Well one they have hated the Legends for a while, even getting us stuck in 1980 London for a short time. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm going to go join the Time Bureau branch, but I'm going to miss being able to zip around time." Candice explained.

"You know you didn't used to need time travel to have adventures Candice." Her mom said.

"Yeah well that is cause I worked with the Flash, got kicked off the team, help stop Reverse Flash, sealed up the world ending breech, came back and helped stop Godspeed." Candice explained. "Even then between vanishing and showing back up I was in a new Earth and learning new things." She added.

"Sweetie, you can always learn new things from a stable job like the one at the Time Bureau." Her mom said.

"I know Mom, it's just... I don't know saving time was fun and different. It was learning more about Earth-1 from actual history instead of reading about it in books." Candice said.

"What's wrong with book?" Her dad interjected.

"Nothing dad. It's just what is better, reading history written by the winner of an event, or living through that event in real time?" She asked.

"Fair point, but still I'm sure there is plenty for you to learn from in books." Her dad said.

"I know dad, just I'm going to miss it is all." Candice said.

"There feels like more you're not telling us." Her mom said.

"The Waverider, and the Legends felt like home away from home. We we're all a bunch of people who didn't fit anywhere and oddly enough fit together like a big weird family." Candice explained.

"And you feel like you're loosing that family by being at the Bureau." Her mom commented.

"Yeah.. a bit.. plus the ship has an A.I. named Gideon and I'm going to miss having her around. I asked the Time Bureau if there would be a way for me to keep in contact with Gideon, but stuff has to be approved and what not so I gave them a list of requests." Candice said.

"Please don't tell me you demanded stuff just cause you hate the group." Her mom said with a sigh.

"Mom! I said requests not demands. I plan on working there I just need some things in order to be efficient, my own space to work of stuff hence my own lab to build and tinker with and the ability to play music while I work." Candice said.

"Music can distract you Candice." Her mom said with a sigh. "Don't expect them to hand over that kind of stuff, they are going to have to justify allowing you that kind of freedom. If it comes down to it they might find someone else." Her mom explained.

"Mom, they need me the Legends can make due, Zari is really good at tech for the Waverider, but I built the Tesla gun after getting a glance of Rip's pistol and my speed force knowledge of how to throw lightning. That kind of engineering skills is not something they are just going to avoid just because I asked for some music and my own space to work." Candice said.

"I hope you're right sweetie, I'd hate for you to not get that job." Her mom said. The rest of the meal, they talked about mindless stuff, how things were since she was last there a week ago.

Once they were finished eating, her dad headed off to bed while Candice stayed and helped her mom clean the dishes. "Candice, are you sure you're alright with the job change?" Her mom asked.

"I mean we've already talked about this, I'm having to leave my family for some corporate job." Candice said. Her mom gave a small chuckle at her.

"It's not going to be a corporate job like you say it is dear. If they truly want you to be the head technician of this new team, it sounds like they hold you in high regards. I know another man that wanted to hire you for a corporate job as well." Her mom commented.

"Yeah, but Wells was impressed by my frozen spiders." Candice said with a smile.

"Please don't remind me of those. Do you know how many times I nearly put them in one of my drinks." Her mom said. "And do not get me started on that pet scorpion you had." She added.

"Look you guys bought me the scorpion, not my fault dad got spooked as smashed him with a hammer." Candice said.

"You left him out of his cage. Of course your father freaked out." Her mom said.

"I know, I just left him for a few seconds so I could go to the bathroom. I didn't really he would of traveled so far." She said. "Though I do have to say I was rather impressed by the scream dad let out." Candice said with an amused smile.

"You're dad couldn't speak for a week cause he damaged his vocal cords." Her mom pointed out.

"I know, and I helped be his voice at work that week remember, you guys pulled me out of school so I could help him." Candice said.

"You know, your dad and I worry about you." Her mom said as she dried off her hands.

"I know Mom, I'm okay I promise. I'm still working on the Multiverse phone thing, that way we can stay in contact more often, but it's been challenging getting it to work. Needs more tests and stuff." Candice explained.

Her mom smiled at her and handed over the hand towel. Candice took them and dried off her hands. "Go get some sleep, you have somewhere to be in the morning." Her mom said.

"Mom..." Candice said with a pouting lip. Her mom stared her down and Candice smiled at her. Wrapping her arms around her mom she let out a content sigh. "I love you." She said before heading up to bed.

Her mom smiled at her and returned the words before heading to bed herself. In the morning, Candice grabbed her box of stuff and headed downstairs. She said her goodbyes to her parents before heading out to find a hidden place to breech.

Jumping through the portal, Candice was once more met with the sounds of Earth-1. Letting out a sigh, she headed home to her place, at least long enough to set down the box of stuff. She couldn't lug that around all day.

[usedtobethefuture]

Trapped || Self-Para (Mary)

Mama said, don't give up, it's a little complicated All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting They say it's all been done but they haven't seen the best of me-e-e-e So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see-e-e-e

Waking up surrounded by darkness was a nightmare that Mary had often. Her vision was impeccable, something that she had inherited from her mom. If she focused, she could see miles away or even see through things. She wasn’t really good at focusing, so most of the time everything just looked more clear to her, but... She hated the dark. She hated not knowing where she was or what was happening.

When she tried to sit up she learned that her arms and legs were bound and after a few moments of tugging, she realized she wouldn’t be able to break free. Her strength had never quite been like her mothers, but surely she should be able to break out of bonds like this. Unless-- “Red sunlight.” A voice called out, echoing around the room. It had to be a small room, judging by the way the voice traveled.

“We had to weaken you enough to keep you all tied up, but don’t worry, we need your powers.” Not that they were going to tell Mary, but they wanted to see what she was capable of. They needed to know what her sister was capable of and the best way to do that was by running experiments. But it was more than that. As a Kyrptonian Legacy, she had to be extinguished, sure. That didn’t mean they couldn’t have their fun first.

Mary struggled against her bindings again, realizing that she was on some sort of metal table. “Let- Let me go!” She shouted, twisting her head to see if she could get any sort of idea on where she was. She didn’t have to wait long. Lights turned on all around her and for a moment she felt blinded, closing her eyes. Before she could even take a moment to adjust, her eyes were forced open and she found herself staring at some man in a white coat.

“No no no, that won’t do,” he crooned, placing some metal device in front of her eyes. 

“Wh-” Before she could even ask what he was doing, the device latched onto her face, keeping her eyes open. “What are you doing?” Her question was panicked and as she tried to struggle away, again she realized where she was. She was in a lab, pretty small but fully equipped with different tools and devices.

The man smiled down at her, but it wasn’t meant to reassure. “We’re just running some tests,” he said simply, pulling out a scalpel and a cattle prod. “Now, we know you can fly and you’re pretty invulnerable to the average human weapon, but I haven’t seen any heat vision as of yet. I’d really really like to see that heat vision.” His voice was soft, but the look on his face made it very clear, he would do whatever he needed to make her use her heat vision. The only problem was, Mary had no idea how to do that. She didn’t even think she was capable.

[crestfallenmurtaugh]

Easier || Self-Para

Face up, untouched Craving for some healing Take off better than the rest Game's up, it's too much Oh you’re the king of healing Take off, I'm staring at the ground

Matt wasn’t sure what time of day it was or even where he was. School, his brain supplied, though there was a part of him that knew school didn’t look like this anymore. It was his high school auditorium, but he was in college. Looking down at his clothes he realized it was his college graduation. He was actually graduating.

A moment of comfort passed through him and-- god, how long had it been since he felt like this? He remembered the feeling when he was a kid, hanging out with Lena while his dad did unspeakable acts that, at the time, had gone over his head. He remembered the feeling during his freshman year of high school when his biggest concern was whether or not he’d be able to sit next to his best friend. He remembered... Was that the last time he’d felt this kind of relaxation? Freshman year of high school?

Hearing someone call out his name, he stumbled onto the stage, blinded momentarily by the lights. He couldn’t tell who was there, he just knew that the auditorium was full and... he knew exactly what he was getting this diploma for. Reaching the pedestal, he accepted his diploma before turning out to the crowd and grinning. He was going to be a doctor.

The scene flashed forward to some sort of afterparty, hosted at his parents house. Banners of Red and Gold lined the ceiling and there were so many people there-- people Matt hardly even recognized, all there to shake his hand and congratulate him. He walked down the line, shaking each hand, unable to fight the smile from his face. He came face to face with so many people in his life: Rip, Lena, Celeste... All of the people who had made him feel safe and warm. There were even people from his past, patting him on the back. Even his old bully was there congratulating him. His entire family was there, beaming at him.

At the end of the line was the one person he cared the most about. The one person who could have ruined the entire thing. At the end of the line stood his father, a soft smile on his expression. That creepy feeling of anxiety started to move through his skin like an itch, but almost instantly it was dissipated as his father’s hand landed on his shoulder and he said the one thing Matt had always wanted to hear.

“I’m proud of you, son.”

Tell me it gets easier, tell me it gets easier Tell me it gets easier, that I'll figure it out