"Hey, Iris. Guess what?" I smiled excitedly at my best friend.
"What is it, Barry? I'm a bit busy if you haven't noticed," she asked impatiently from her spot in the room, which was in front of a computer typing away wildly on it.
I did know that she was very busy with her little report on The Flash. But that's exactly why I needed her attention right now. I had a big surprise for her, one that would give her a much-needed break from her position on the Newspaper. I had no clue why it was called a Newspaper though since those things had gone out of style a decade ago. We got our information from the Reel now, and her company was part of it.
"I don't even know why you focus so much of your time on that guy. Doesn't your boss ever give you an assignment that doesn't involve that speedster?" I raised an eyebrow in disappointment even though she was looking at me.
"That, speedster, gained me a position on the Central City branch of the news. Besides I'm the only one he'll speak to. Every other reporter that has tried is always shunned. Not that I'm complaining. At least someone is loyal," she cast a side glance at me.
I took that chance and flashed a holocard. It was my gift to her. These holocards were expensive. For me to get one, I had to work over-time and take extra shifts at CCPD and strike up some favours. But it was all worth it to see Iris's face light up.
"Is that what I think it is?"
It was indeed. The holocard's unmistakable pattern revealed its purpose immediately. It was a ticket to Earth 2. The last time I went to earth 2 was back when I was seven. Thanks to my dad's profession as a doctor, we had enough money for several trips to earth 2 back then. But since I no longer lived with them, I didn't want to be asking them for loans. I wanted to do things with my own two hands. I was a registered superhero after all. And if I couldn't work for the things I wanted then how would I be able to call myself a hero?
"Indeed. It is the holocard to Earth 2. What many people in our situation would call mythical," I grinned.
Iris and I shared the same 1 bedroom apartment. We've been living in the same place for the past 4 years now. She and I left our homes together to try and start a new life together. But we ended breaking up. I just couldn't get over someone I met long ago. That didn't mean that we wouldn't be friends though. Despite our complicated history, we actually got along so well.
My work at CCPD paid for the rent while Iris's job as a journalist got us the money needed for groceries and living essentials. And whenever we wanted a little something extra for entertainment I used the funds I got from being a registered superhero, though Iris didn't know about it and just thought that I spent my time gambling.
"That must've cost an eye, a leg, and the rest of your body! I've told you to stop gambling, Barry," she chided.
"I didn't gamble this time," if she thought I was gambling instead of discovering that I was the legendary superhero of Central City, then why should I do anything that might get her to the pieces together. "I've been working overtime and striking up favours for the past year. All so we could get a well-deserved vacation. Besides, don't tell me that you don't want the perks that come with this holocard."
Because holocards were so expensive, they actually came with a few benefits. Only a few of them would apply to us though. Those are that we would both get a temporary paid leave for the amount of time we spent on the other side. The other one was that during my absence because I was a superhero, the government would construct some excuse on why the Flash isn't in Central City and is in Earth 2 the exact moment that Barry is over there too, and another hero would take my place protecting my city. And finally, we will have access to the shared funds of all the Earth jumpers. That means that we could basically buy anything we wanted during our time over there.
"So, my lady. What'll it be? Stay here breaking your head over your one and only?" I teased her, "While I go with Cisco? Or come and have the best time of your life with me?"
"Okay then. But you have to take me, I don't want to leave my car alone for god knows how much time," she gave in after giving it a moment's thought.
"I just hope that I won't get fined for using them in public," I sighed.
"Don't worry about that. As long as you don't go all vigilante along the way you should be fine. Besides, those officers only go after the ones who look different, like me."
It was true. Majority of the Cadmus Keepers were made up of those people of European descent. And their racism was obvious. They were lenient with the people who were white in appearance, but if a person of colour were to display their powers in public without a permit, they would most likely jail them. Sometimes they didn't even care if those people had permits and gave them a lot of grief.
Iris and I finished packing very quickly, thanks to my super speed and were ready to go out to the transit breach.
"You ready?" I asked her.
She nodded giving me the okay. After slinging the bags over my shoulder, I put my hands on her waist gently. Bleu lightning began to generate around me before zipping off. The closest transit breach was located in the heart of Central City in STAR LABS. It was only a 40 sec run from where we lived on the outskirts of the city. And although we've done it dozens of times together before, Iris always ended up throwing up afterwards.
"Are you okay?" I tried to steady her while she was bent over.
Some guy behind us whistled at what I assumed was the sight of her rear, "Fuck off man!" I couldn't believe the nerve of some people.
If what I remember from my time in Earth 2, I'd say that the citizens of that earth were a lot more respectful than those from here.
"Thanks, Barry. I appreciate you standing up for me," Iris sighed as she finally pulled herself together.
"No problem. I'll always be here for you, you know that." I gave her a small smile.
"You have any gum? Or mints? I always hate the taste of vomit. Though the rush of the air is exhilarating," she stressed the last word.
"Yeah, I got some." I pulled a box of gum from my pocket from which she got two.
STAR LABS used to be some kind of science laboratory in the past. But now it was more of an airport with bundles of people coming and going. Most came by taxi or their own cars. But there were others who were able to get passes to use their powers without becoming registered heroes. It was a lot of money to give for such an opportunity. Though some daredevils, like me I guess, ignored the law once in a while to use their powers. It was easy to get away with since the Cadmus keepers couldn't keep track of so many people at once. I guess that's why they resorted to racism to target certain groups of people.
This is why I was able to let Iris in on my abilities without her thinking I was the Flash. That and when I wore my suit, my lightning changed colour. From Bleu to an Orangish Yellow. It also helped that Super Speed was a sub-common ability that Dark Matter helped generate. Though most speedsters didn't have the connection to the Speed Force I had, nor did they help generate it like I did along with several other people in the multiverse.
But being a Speed Force user did have some drawbacks. For one, we were one of the beings most sought after. That meant that most of us ended up being murdered. Though since I was a hero, I was able to hold my own against them. I also had a partner with a connection to it. He happened to be Iris's brother though. Daniel West.
Our journey to the main terminal was not an easy one. We had to push through the crowds of people. Breach's that lead to Earth 2 were quite rare. And because Earth 2 was a popular place to go to, it meant that there would be a lot of tourists wanting to cross over.
The event that created the breaches was an explosion that affected the whole world. It opened up several million breaches around the globe. And only 52 of those lead to Earth 2. Other breaches lead to other worlds. But most of them were inconsistent. Because of the fact that each multiverse orbited the same gravitational point, it meant that breaches would end up changing their destinations to accommodate which was the closest world to us. It only gave the window of a year or two to those places. When the time got closer to the world being out of reach, Cadmus would send teams in to deport the Earth 1 residents back to their homes.
But Earth 2 didn't have that problem. She was our sister dimension. That meant that no matter how much time passed, it would always be the closest dimension. It kinda made sense too. Earth 2 was exactly like Earth 1 save for a few historical deviations. Or so we were taught in school.
"HOLOCARDS 7731!" a man in Cadmus uniform shouted.
That was us. We had to get there right now or we would lose our opening.
"EXCUSE US! Coming through!" Iris and I began shoving our way up to the front.
We finally arrived. Going through the crowd reminded me of the time when I fought Girder. The Breach was mesmerizing. It was a deep blue. Each Breach had a different colour that depended on what earth it leads to. And Earth 2 had the most beautiful colour in my opinion.
"It's beautiful," Iris agreed with my thoughts.
"Ladies and gentlemen! If I may please have your attention. I will give you all a crash course on dimensional travel!" It was Cisco, Harrison Wells' preferred meta.
That man went by the codename, Vibe. He had a unique set of metahuman powers. He was a form of psychic, he had precognition and clairvoyance. He was also able to open breaches to other worlds and use the materials that make up the breaches to cause concussive blasts. So far he was the only person with this specific set of powers and from what we know, each alternate Earth has one meta like Cisco.
That man also happened to be my friend. He helped me get the hang of my powers when they took hold after being struck by lightning. Though he was busy a lot lately and as a result, we didn't get to see each other very much anymore.
/AN\\\\\
Well, I guess it's time for me to finale begin this story. If anyone was waiting for it then thanks for your patience. But be sure to follow my main FlashFic, The Flash Beginnings. The second season has just begun for it. Or I guess the first season is starting and season 0 wrapped up.