Chapter 3: A Flash of Lightning

Central City was farther away than she first realized. The trip took several days by bus, she hadn't bought a car since she'd been back. In truth, she hadn't needed one since she lived so close to the university, well, that and she could just swing wherever she needed to go in Gotham. Riding the bus gave her a much different view of city life. She sat next to a pregnant woman for part of the trip. She had been interesting to talk to, joyful for the new life she was about to bring into the world. The young mother-to-be was traveling to visit her family. At the stop where the young woman exited the bus, an elderly woman stepped onboard. She had many stories to tell. Stories of a long, love filled marriage, with many children and grandchildren. As she recanted her long, love-filled life, she kept knitting some colorful blanket. The whole time, Carol sat in rapt attention, part of her envious of such a wonderful, content life, another part wondering if she would ever be so lucky as to be blessed with such joy and happiness.
The bus finally arrived at the Central City bus station after being on the road for a total of 3 days. Next time she'll take a plane. It was late at night, somewhere close to midnight. Carol was tired, hardly able to sleep on the bus. Drowsily she trudged through the city, trying to find a motel or an inn that she could check into this late. As she entered the 5th motel she had come across, she finally found one with a room available. The motel was in a shadier part of town, but she was confidant she could handle any person who would try to harm her. The room was cheap, and the door was sturdy and locked tight, she would be fine for the night. With her things put away for the night, her door locked, and herself bathed and dressed for bed, she finally allowed herself a good night's sleep.
With the morning came a new day. Well rested, Carol Peters prepared herself for the next leg in her journey. After a quick shower, she dressed in her armor, covering it over with her street clothes. Above her armor she wore tan pants, and a nice, short-sleeved, button-up light brown shirt. Over that she chose a brown coat, the sleeves covering her bracers. She kept her tiara safely stored inside her jacket. With everything ready, she packed her things, paid for her night's rest, and left to see what this city had to offer a young woman seeking adventure. As she stepped out onto the street, she looked around; searching for a news stand where she could hopefully find ads for an apartment, after all, staying in motels every night would become too expensive. She had noticed the money Bruce had slipped into her bag the day she had left. She would have to return it to him when she returned to Gotham. Finding a news stand she paid for a few newspapers so she could peruse the local stories and get a feel for this city. Most of the stories involved armed robberies, each of which was thwarted by what was often called "The Red Blur". Someone who could move so fast they were nothing but a blur of light? That was new, Carol thought to herself. She would have to look for more information on this "Red Blur". So she set off, looking for a low-rent apartment.
Boomerangs and ice flew all around the Scarlett Speedster; two of his rogues, Captains Boomerang and Cold, were attempting to rob a bank, again. Didn't they ever get tired of this? The "Red Blur" as the public had called him, was dashing around, avoiding attacks while evacuating innocents who hadn't fled the crime scene yet. A young voice cried out, how had he missed the child as he ran past? Quickly he looked back, seeing a small girl cowering behind a table that had been knocked over in the commotion. Thinking nothing for his own safety, The Flash stopped on a dime, and darted back to the frightened child. With the trembling girl in his arms, he turned, making his way for the exit again. That smallest of pauses in movement afforded Captain Cold the time he needed to aim and fire a blast from his Cold Gun; the icy beam reaching the fast moving feet of the Fastest Man Alive, halting his movement. The sudden lack of movement in his feet caused The Flash to fall forward, the small girl in his arms flying across the room, with him unable to reach her before she hit the floor. But before she collided with the ground, her falling was halted; the child resting safely in a pair of slender, yet strong arms of a woman he'd never seen before. She was average height for a woman, but it was her outfit that drew his attention. She wore what he could best describe as a spider-themed bathing suit with knee-high boots and what looking like large silver bracelets with a spider design on them. Who was this red-headed woman?
Arachne had been watching the battle from a near-by rooftop; the man the newspapers called "Captain Cold" reminded her of a more thuggish version of Mr. Freeze, and this "Captain Boomerang" seemed like an overly racial themed criminal whose style had made a name for him. She saw the child, cowering behind the table and was about to move in, when she saw the man in red dash back to get her. That momentary pause was all Cold needed to aim his "Cold Gun," as he called it. When he fired, he locked the speedster's feet in place, causing him to fall, and the girl launched from his arms. She leapt into action, she had to save the girl or she could end up injured, or worse. Swinging down, the child landed in her arms safely. Handing her off to police officer, Arachne returned to the bank, she would help The Flash end this before any more damage was done. Swinging in through the main entrance, she caught Captain Boomerang off-guard, kicking him square in the face and sending him backwards. By this time, The Flash had freed his feet and was circling Captain Cold, Cold firing his freeze ray, hoping for a lucky shot. One punch, square to the face, was all it took for Cold to go down.
With the two villains defeated, The Flash looked over to see the woman with Captain Boomerang tied up in what looked like some kind of spider web, the unconscious man slung over her shoulder. The two Rogues were left with the police as the two heroes left, meeting up several blocks away on the roof of a department store. "Thanks for the help," the Scarlett Speedster said. "No problem," the woman responded. "I've never seen you before, who are you, where'd you come from?" The Flash questioned. "You can call me Arachne, and I came from Gotham," the red-headed beauty answered. "Arachne, like the story from Greek Mythology? I thought she was half woman, half spider," stated the fastest man alive. "That's where I picked the name from," Arachne said. "So, what brings you to Central City?" The Flash asked. "Crime in Gotham was dwindling, and while I've traveled the world, I haven't really traveled the country. After hearing stories about you, and your city, I decided to travel around and help out where I can," she responded. "One last thing; why don't you wear a mask? Aren't you worried about your identity?" he asked, feeling almost guilty that he was asking so many questions of this beautiful woman. "In Gotham, there was a crisis where I didn't have time to put my mask on, so I went in without it. My secret is less important to me than the lives of innocent people," she said sincerely.
With that the two went their separate ways, not crossing paths until the next crisis. Carol noticed that, while sharing similarities with Gotham's criminals, Central Cities "Gallery of Rogues" didn't seem to have the "Grand Master Plans" of causing chaos and destroying the city. They seemed more focused on stealing, and trying to kill The Flash. The arrival of Arachne certainly seemed to throw a wrench in their plans though. While many of them were enticed by her beauty and her costume, the knowledge of her powers and skills kept them away. Another thing that she noticed was that the city loved the Scarlett Speedster, and he loved the city. She observed him, on many occasions, helping people with seemingly menial tasks. He would chat with people about everyday things. He was far different from Batman's brooding and fear inducing image. He didn't want to inspire fear in criminals; he wanted to inspire hope in the citizens. Lastly, while The Flash certainly was attracted to her, he made no attempt to be anything more than friends; he didn't flirt with her, or ask her out to dinner. He was respectful, and kind. In a way he reminded her of Dick Grayson, Nightwing, who she'd met a few times before she left; except that Dick was more flirtatious. He was cute, she had to admit, but he was too young for her; that and she didn't want a serious relationship at the moment.
Soon it was public knowledge in Central City that Carol Peters was Arachne, and that she was there to help. The stories of her beauty and heroics spread across the city. They even added an exhibit of her in the Flash Museum. It was still hard for her to believe that they'd made a museum dedicated to The Flash. They had exhibits detailing his deeds and his heroics; they even had a spot for his Rogues Gallery. The museum was occasionally the target of The Rogues, on the rare instances they teamed up. Even after all the damage caused from the battles, the city was quick to restore the place to its glory, usually adding in a new exhibit to detail the victory.
Of all the villains, it was Professor Zoom, Eobard Thawne; a demented man with a weird name. Supposedly he's from the 25th century. He had the same powers as The Flash. His costume, while similar to the Scarlett Speedster, has the colors reversed; where The Flash has red, Thawne has yellow, and vice versa. One battle with the twisted "Reverse Flash" showed that even the lightning fast villain had trouble laying a finger on Arachne, whom the people had nicknamed "The Spider Queen," mistaking her tiara for a crown. Unlike other criminals, fighting Thawne pushed her to her limits, the evil speedster almost winning the fight, had The Flash not been there to take advantage of their distracted adversary. After the first encounter with Professor Zoom, Carol learned that "Red" as she liked to call him, was an accomplished scientist; he'd designed special restraints that negated abilities related to super speed. Affixing these to Thawne, the criminal was taken to Iron Heights Penitentiary, escorted by The Flash and Arachne to ensure he caused no trouble. Once he was locked up and secured behind bars, the duo left to return to the city, parting ways to return home.
Over the next several months, The Flash and Arachne battled and defeated several foes and averted many disasters. The "Spider Queen" found The Flash to be quite inventive with his speed based powers; being able to vibrate through solid objects, spin his arms to create and direct small tornadoes, even creating large tornados by running in circles. Although not an ability, she did notice that the faster he ran, the more small bolts of electricity danced over his body. When she asked him about it, he said "That's the Speed Force." At her raised eyebrow, he continued "It's a force of energy that allows me, Kid Flash, and Professor Zoom to bend the laws of physics." "Ah," was all she said in response, science had never really been her strong suit. Kid Flash was another speedster, his costume yellow with a red lightning bold, red gloves and pants, and yellow boots, his mask, unlike his mentor's, didn't cover his hair. He wasn't as fast as The Flash, but that was more likely due to his youth. The kid had a good heart, although often felt like he was being left behind by his mentor. Arachne was pleased to see that the young speedster took after The Flash, the two acting more like family.
Her time in Central City, while short, had come to an end. She packed her things, turned in the key to her apartment, and headed to the train station. It was here she was met by The Flash. The two said their goodbyes, ending with a hug. It wasn't long before her train arrived and she boarded. Her next destination, Starling City; she had heard reports of some hooded guy with a bow putting arrows into criminals. The Flash had warned her against going there, speaking of how half of the city's poorer district had been leveled in a freak earthquake. She wouldn't be deterred, stating that there was all the more reason for her to go and help. With that, her train left the station, taking her to a new city and a new adventure.

End Chapter Three