Chapter 2

Barry followed Clark and Bart into the tall building known as Watchtower, the Justice League's headquarters, located in the heart of Metropolis. After Barry had introduced himself and told them he was from a parallel Earth, Clark and Bart, in turn, decided to tell him their civilian names as well, figuring there was no harm in sharing such information with a fellow superhero. Needless to say, Barry and Bart were quite surprised to learn that they were both Bartholomew Allen, which implied they were, more or less, each other's counterpart, physical differences aside.

"Your base of operations is inside a skyscraper? Cool!" Barry commented.

Glancing around, Barry noticed a guy with spiky blonde hair, a woman with short blonde hair, and another woman who had long dark brown hair. They were each sitting at a computer.

The three looked up as they noticed Clark, Bart, and an unfamiliar brown-haired young man clad in a suit resembling Bart's own Flash gear.

The blonde guy got up and started walking over to the three. "Cl... Superman, Flash," he called out, then glanced warily at the stranger. "Who is this you guys are bringing into our base, huh? Last I checked, we didn't sell Watchtower tickets to just anybody."

"It's okay," Clark nodded reassuringly. "This guy is a superhero just like us, and he has an interesting story to tell."

"Well, you're our leader, Boy Scout," the blonde guy said. "If you say it's okay, then I guess it is." Turning to the stranger once more, he asked, "So who are you exactly?"

"Uh, I'm Barry," he introduced himself, "Barry Allen."

"Barry Allen?" the blonde guy repeated, taken aback. He turned to Bart. "Bart, is this guy a relative of yours? If so, that would definitely explain him having the same last name as you, not to mention the slight facial resemblance between you two."

"He is related to me, Ollie, but not exactly in the way you're thinking," Bart said, smiling mysteriously. "It's kinda out there, to be honest, but trust me, you're gonna wanna hear his story."

"Before you get into any of that, Barry, I'd like you to meet Oliver Queen, otherwise known as Green Arrow," Clark said, causing Barry's eyes to widen in surprise. Next, Clark pointed to the blonde woman. "Over there is Chloe."

"Chloe Sullivan-Queen," the blonde clarified, looking at Barry with a smile. Granted, she was married to Oliver, complete with having given birth to his child, but Chloe couldn't help but mentally admit that the scarlet-clad newcomer was quite handsome.

Clark then pointed to the brunette woman who was sitting at one of the computers proofreading an article she'd written for the Daily Planet. "And over there is..."

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet," the woman finished. "I'm sure you've heard of this ace reporter."

"Hey," Barry said, waving at both Lois and Chloe.

He turned back to the blonde guy, staring at him with a stunned expression. Was the guy standing before him really Oliver Queen? No, he couldn't be. The guy looked absolutely nothing like Oliver. Not the Oliver he knew as his Earth's premier emerald archer anyway. Then again, Bart didn't look identical to Barry either, and both of them were Bartholomew Allen, though Bart lacked the middle name Henry. Was it really possible for people's alternate Earth counterparts to have entirely different physical appearances? Yes, it was, Barry figured. After all, ever since the day his mother had been brutally murdered by the Reverse-Flash, he'd witnessed the impossible happen more times than the number of his own age. In fact, within the last year alone, other than the fact that he, himself, was a speedster, Barry had fought a giant telepathic gorilla, traveled through time, traveled to different Earths, and encountered an immortal psychopath who had lived for no less than four thousand years. And those were just to name a few.

"So, you, uh, you're Oliver Queen? Oliver Queen, as in the Green Arrow?" Barry finally asked, after a few seconds of speechlessness.

"The one and only," Oliver answered, proudly.

"Whoa, this is, uh, this is trippy," Barry said. "I mean, you look different from the Oliver Queen on my Earth."

Oliver frowned. "The Oliver Queen on your Earth?"

"What Barry is saying is that he's from a parallel Earth," Clark clarified, matter-of-factly.

"What?" Oliver asked, stunned. "Well, that's something I didn't expect I'd hear today when I woke up in bed this morning."

With an intrigued look, Chloe turned to Barry and asked, "You're from a parallel Earth?"

"Oh, yeah, believe it or not," Barry nodded. "And like Bart, my name is Bartholomew Allen, and I'm a speedster superhero known as The Flash."

"Okay, and if that's the case, then does that basically make you, like, an alternate universe version of Bart?" Chloe asked.

"I guess so," Barry said. "I mean, where I come from, my world's Oliver Queen does look different from yours."

"Wait, I look different on your Earth?" Oliver asked, in disbelief.

"Way different," Barry nodded. "You and the Oliver I know look nothing alike."

"This 'other Earths' thing kinda sounds like that whole ordeal with the mirror box from a few years ago," Lois noted. She looked at Clark. "You know, that alternate reality where your other, not-so-heroic self was found and raised by Lionel Luthor, version 2.0?"

"So you guys do have some experience with alternate Earths," Barry said, his voice filled with hope.

"Actually, of all the members of our League, Clark here is the only one who's ever been to one," Oliver said.

"So how many of these other Earths are there in this multiverse? Do you know?" Chloe asked Barry.

"I guess there are infinite," Barry answered, "along with infinite possibilities. For example, there could be an Earth where, uh, the Nazis won World War II. Or one where Kennedy was never assassinated. Or..."

"Or one where all of us are evil while all the bad guys are good?" Bart added, suggestively.

"Been there, it sucks," Barry said, thinking back to his, Cisco, and Harry's journey to Earth-2 not too long ago, where they'd met villainous doppelgangers of Cisco, Caitlin, and Ronnie in the form of Reverb, Killer Frost, and Deathstorm, respectively. "Uh, so all of the Earths in the multiverse occupy the same place in space, but they vibrate at a different frequency so they can't see one another."

"And let me guess," Chloe said. "If you're capable of moving fast enough, then it's possible you can, like, open a breach and travel between worlds. And that's exactly what you've done to get here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Barry nodded.

"Then how come I never been able to do that?" Bart asked. "Travel back and forth between dimensions." He turned to Barry. "I mean, aside from the weird yellow lightning streak thing you got going on whenever you run, our powers are pretty much identical. I've pushed myself to the limit tons of times, but I never entered another dimension while doing it."

"You know, Bart, if I didn't know any better, I would say someone sounded awfully jealous," Oliver remarked.

Bart rolled his eyes. "Me? Jealous? Come on, Ollie, that's not true. It was just a question, that's all. Besides, I don't get jealous about anything."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Speedy Gonzalez," Oliver said, smirking.

"Well, I see Oliver Queen actually has a witty side to his personality on this Earth," Barry noted. "Clearly, it's not just your appearance that separates you from my world's Oliver."

"What are you saying? That, in your universe, I'm a straight-up no-nonsense, brooding Grumpy Pants?" Oliver chuckled.

Barry also chuckled. "Honestly? That would be one way some would describe you... uh, well, him. But, at the end of the day, none of those traits make the you from my world any less a heroic figure."

"So, Barry, traveling between alternate universes, is that something you can do at will or did you end up here by accident?" Clark asked.

"Uh, this happened by accident," Barry answered. "I have traveled through time before by accident as well."

"Holy frak! Dude, you can time travel too?" Bart asked, enthusiastically. "That's so cool!"

"Not really, Bart," Clark said, sternly. He made eye contact with both Bart and Barry. "Trust me, time travel is something you guys do not wanna play around with. It's not a toy and it shouldn't be treated as such. Take it from someone who's been there and had to deal with the consequences."

"Right," Barry nodded. "Anyway, as I was saying, I've time-traveled accidentally before, but I never jumped parallel dimensions without meaning to. So, until I can figure this out, I'm... stuck here."

"Don't worry, Barry," Clark said. "We're gonna do whatever we can to help you get back to your Earth."

"Okay, thanks," Barry nodded. "Uh, first things first. Food. I have to consume about ten-thousand calories a day."

"Yeah, you're definitely another version of Bart," Oliver remarked.

"Speaking of which, I'm feeling pretty famished right now too," Bart said. He turned to the other red-clad speedster. "What do you say, Barry? Big Belly Burger? Dude, if you don't have that joint in your universe, you're seriously missing out."

"Actually, I think it's safe to say that Big Belly Burger is one of the biggest constants between all Earths," Barry said.

"What about you guys?" Bart asked, looking around the room at Clark, Oliver, Chloe, and Lois. "Anyone else down for a little Big Belly?"

"No, I'm good," Oliver said.

"Same here," Chloe added. "I've already eaten not too long ago, and the last thing I want is for a Big Belly Burger to give me a big belly."

Clark turned to his wife and said, "Lois? Can I get you something to eat?"

"Maybe later, Smallville," Lois answered, as she got up from her seat. "Right now, I should be heading back to the Planet and getting this article turned in pronto."

She and Clark shared a brief, but passionate, kiss before Lois left Watchtower and started making her way to the Daily Planet.

"Well, I guess it's just gonna be us three then," Bart said to Barry and Clark. "Last one to arrive is buying, by the way."

With that, the two speedsters and one Kryptonian whooshed off. Even if he was destined to be stranded on a different, yet very similar, Earth for a while, that didn't mean Barry Allen couldn't have a bit of fun in the meantime and enjoy the company of his new friends/fellow superheroes/potential allies, starting with enjoying a tasty lunch from the multiverse's favorite burger chain.