Chapter 3: Flash

After an uncomfortable few hours of sleep, Peter woke up to the sound of cars and a breeze blowing over him. 'Where am I?' he thought.

Before long, Peter's memories of the previous night came rushing back to him. The glowing blue portal, the alley, the library. He wasn't anywhere near home. He doubted he was even in the right universe. But how could they have traveled to another universe? Was that even possible?

Peter and Ned had slept on the roof of the library that night, having very little money on them. Luckily, it was nearing summer and it wasn't unbearably cold out.

Peter heard his stomach growl and he knew that they should probably find some food soon. "Ned," he whispered as he tried to shake his friend awake. "Ned!"

"What?" Ned asked groggily as he started to sit up.

Peter chuckled at his best friend. "We should go find some food. I remember seeing a place a block away."

"I'm starving," Ned replied. "Let's go."

The two made their way off the roof of the building and down onto the streets below. Before long, they found a little cafe named "Jitters". The inside of Jitters was busy, but just how you would expect it to be on a weekday morning.

Peter and Ned pushed through the crowd and got into line. Peter heard his stomach growl again and was glad they had found this place so quickly. He noticed the line was moving fairly quickly for such a busy place. Maybe luck was on his side today, unlike yesterday.

When Peter got up to the front, he was ready to order. "I'll have a black coffee and a blueberry muffin," he said. He quickly paid and moved out of the way. Ned quickly followed, both of them not having eaten anything since lunch at school yesterday.

When they got their food and drinks they quickly turned to find a seat. That's when Peter ran into something big. Peter's coffee spilled all over.

"I'm so sorry." He quickly realized it was a person as the guy started speaking. "Let me buy you another one."

Peter smiled, not wanting to give off the wrong impression. "Thanks, but I'm okay, rea-" He was cut off by his stomach growling. Loudly.

"It's really no problem," the guy replied. "I'm Barry."

"Peter."

"Well, Peter, what type of drink did you have?"

Peter and Ned quickly learned that Barry Allen was a really nice guy. After he bought Peter a new drink, he sat down with them and they asked Barry a lot of questions. Peter learned that he was, in fact, in Central City. Barry worked for the local police department, the CCPD, as a forensic scientist.

"So," Peter started, trying to think of a way to ask his question, "about this... 'Flash' guy…"

Barry's expression changed slightly, only for a millisecond. But this millisecond was just enough time for Peter to catch it. "What about him?" Peter noticed Barry's tone had changed too.

Peter knew that this wasn't a topic that Barry wanted to talk about, but Peter's curiosity got the better of him. "What does he… do?"

"What does he do? I guess he stops crimes, catches the criminals, and fights anyone who threatens the city."

This sounded to Peter like any other superhero, but that was a good thing. It meant that Peter could probably trust the Flash.

Now that Peter had food in his system, his feeling of uneasiness was starting to return. When Peter looked back at Barry, his feeling got stronger. Barry was something causing him to feel this. Was there something Barry was hiding?

The door to the cafe was bursted in by two guys wearing all black and masks covering their faces. Jitters was being robbed.

Ned and Peter shared a looked before ducking down behind a table. Loud gunshots could be heard, probably the robbers firing a warning shot at the ceiling. Peter clutched his backpack tightly and was about to bolt to a better hiding place, where he could change into his suit, when he heard the door open and the sound of wind. He looked towards the robbers to find the Flash already holding them in handcuffs.

"You could at least try to make it more difficult," the Flash said, looking bored.

Something about his voice was familiar to Peter. If only he could place how. But Peter could place something familiar about the Flash. When Peter looked at the Flash, he felt the same level of uneasiness as he did when we looked at Barry Allen.

The Flash turned towards the people working and said "Sorry for this inconvenience. You can go back to work now." With that, he was gone, along with the two criminals. In the blink of an eye, the Flash had run off carrying two other people.

"What just happened?" Ned asked before Peter could say anything.

"Spider-Man isn't needed here."

"I guess that's good, right? I mean, we won't have to worry when we leave."

"Yeah…" Peter trailed off, still staring at the spot the Flash had stood only a minute before. When he looked around, he noticed that one other thing was off. "Where's Barry?"

"He was just here," Ned stated.

Peter knew that there was some connection between Barry Allen and the Flash. He knew there was only one spot where he could figure that out. "We should head back to the library."

I hope you all had a great Easter! I really want to thank you for all the positive support I've been receiving. I'm looking at you, Thedragonofdeath2, Fear the Fuzzy Bear, the Guests, and everyone who has favorited/followed this story. You guys have made it so I haven't given up on this story :D.

To all my readers: you guys can also ask me questions! Just ask if there's anything you want to know about the story. Once again, thank you for the support!