Previously...

Barry starts to run with her in his arms. The autumn leaves fall and swirls around them. He passes a block and a half, his leg muscles still running at a slow pace. His breathing becoming low and ragged.

"Barry," she pressed her lips, "... Why are you running like a normal person?"

His leg muscles were already starting to ache. He wouldn't dare say this outloud to her face, but, she was starting to get heavy. Nevertheless, he presses onward. It was like his muscles didn't want him to stop. Barry huffs, "I - I don't know. My powers, Iris, they're gone."

And Now...


MeMories of Flash

On hot pursuit of a Speedster's trail ~ !


Description:

Barry Allen dies in the Infinity Crisis of Earth. How his friends, fiance, and his family try to cope of his absence in the aftermath. Wally West tries to pick up the mantel of The Flash but not everybody is too pleased about him doing so. Could Barry still be alive? Or could he be gone for good? Join as the Justice League investigates.


CHAPTER FOUR

RUN

Barry starts to run with her in his arms. The autumn leaves fall and swirls around them. He passes a block and a half, his leg muscles still running at a slow pace. His breathing becoming low and ragged.

"Barry," she pressed her lips, "... Why are you running like a normal person?"

His leg muscles were already starting to ache. He wouldn't dare say this outloud to her face, but, she was starting to get heavy. Nevertheless, he presses onward. It was like his muscles didn't want him to stop. Barry huffs, "I - I don't know. My powers, Iris, they're gone."

"It's Okay," She tries to calm him down, "Don't panic."

"I'm not - panicking - I," he tries to reassure her and himself through gritted teeth, "can't-stop-running. I can't -" Almost immediately he skids to a halt on the sidewalk, dumping her on somebody's brown-grass lawn.

"Oww!" She complains, landing on her ass. "Do I look like a pedestal that you can just drop off anywhere, Barry?"

"Sorry, Iris. No," thankfully he disagrees with this, bending over on his knees, panting, "You look like th - the million dollars that bought the pedestal."

Somehow, he always knew the right words to say to her to make her blush. "What in the world happened?" He asks more to himself than to her, coughing.

She frowned. Here she was, in some random person's lawn, complaining about her ass when she was being an ass. When, "You really don't look well," she observes in concern.

"I'll be fine once I -" He pauses to cough some more, "once I get my powers back, Iris. We can - fix this - right? I mean, we've done it - once before."

She eyes him in deep concern. She's already gone through the pain of losing him once, she didn't want to have to go through that a second time, "All the more reason to find Jay. Since you are in no condition to run us there… I have a pretty sweet ride that I think you're going to like."

She takes his hand and leads him to the garage.


Barry 1st P.O.V.

It was cold and musty inside the garage. I shiver and huddle closer to myself, but I instantly forget about the coldness when Iris reveals her vehicle that was covered under a tarp. My eyes go wide and my adrenaline was pumping with excitement.

"Whoaaa," I exclaim, a little too excited, "Awesome!"

Even without my speed, my feet carry me to examine every inch of it as fast as I can. "This system is like the mini drones that Cisco engineered… Only much bigger," I observe, my eyes revolving all over it. "Where is it's motherboard?"

I turn to find Iris beaming at me and my excitedness falters. As beautiful as this vehicle is, nothing could be more beautiful than Iris. Especially in that moment. "Right over here," she guides me, bending on her knees to show me a panel under the stomach of it.

I gulped, and followed her lead. I could almost feel her breath on my cheek as I remove the panel. "... And the tech inside Gideon," I recognize, aware of her eyes watching my every movement while I restore the panel. I put my hand to my chin in thought, "So, he combines the two? Hmm. That's interesting."

Iris gets back up on her feet. "We should, umm, probably get going," she suggests, "It does kinda take a few hours to get to Metropolis, but you used to always… y'know, run on over there?" Her brow rises. She uses her hand to help me to my feet.

"Right. So, how does this thing operate?" I inquire, clearly excited by the prospect of initiating this vehicle.

"Well, usually," Her cheeks redden when she moves, "You just climb on top of IT, International Technologies - Cisco's idea, like a horse or a truck."

I found myself chuckling. 'He would,' I thought, following her example. As I climbed onto IT behind her and circling my arms around her, I noticed a label that read, 'Distributed by property of Wayne and Queen Enterprises.'

"Huh, Wayne and Queen Enterprises? Never heard of them," I mused out loud, "Well, Queen industries I have heard of, but did he end up emerging his company afterall?"

Iris types something onto the dashboard, kind of like an Ipad, in front of her. "... And then you just enter cordance of where you want to go."

I could feel the plane roaring into life, levitating a few feet above the ground. I suddenly get a queasy sensation in the pit of my stomach as it starts to rise higher and higher. "Cool! But it doesn't like… y'know, cause aeroplane by unequal pressure like an airplane, does it?!"

I shut my eyes as it suddenly bolts higher into the air. Iris is laughing, probably at my reaction. Well, I mean, what was she expecting? My arms tighten around her waist but then as it starts to even itself out, my blue eyes blink open. It's a different world. My feet barely skim the tall trees. Seeing the world in a different view, gives a new perspective of life. Usually I just use my super speed to zip by everything, but this… this is Wow. To actually have the time to view everything from up above. The houses in Central City seem smaller, but the architectural on most of them are different. New and improved. We're passing over a building, that shimmers and glints with gold in the sunlight, similar to the Taj Mahal. But there is a very familiar statue of a certain Scarlet Speedster planted in front of it, I had to lean in to take a closer look. "Hey… is that? A Flash museum?" (A/N: Eh. I'm not sure if the Flash museum would look like the Taj Mahal (as we haven't officially seen it on screen yet and I tried googling it, but..), but just run with it. xD)

Leaned in far too close. Found myself falling off the plane, zooming in ever closer to the building. My feet and arms were flailing about and I tried to get my limbs in control. The ground below left like it was coming in too fast. I tucked my elbows in closer to my stomach and shut my eyes as cold wind was constantly rushing at my face. I couldn't hear myself screaming, "Ahhhh!" but Iris must have because my body came in contact with something and I had stopped yelling. I also felt something warm and soft. When I reopened my eyes once more, that something warm and soft? Yeah. That was Iris's back.

I encircled my arms tighter around her.

"Sorry," She apologized, "Forgot to mention to keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, but - kinda figured you knew that already."

My throat chortled a sarcastic laugh, but my eyes caught a glimpse of the words, 'In Memory,' engraved on the Flash statute before going past that. In Memory? In memory of what? Me? Speaking of memories, that few-seconds-freefall had reminded me of the time when Hawkman dropped me but it was Green Arrow that had shot a lifeline to me.

Memories…

Memories…

Some kind of memory flashed in my head for a split second. I shook my head, trying to clear it, 'What was that!?' I remember being introduced to a guy named Hal Jordan, but that's… impossible. In my time, I have not met a guy named Hal Jordan but somehow I knew his identity of Green Lantern.

I remember forming some type of club… Or League, I guess you'd call it. There was someone leading it. Who? I recall a red cape entering my mind, someone taking off flying into the cloudy sky. He was someone just as fast as I am. Correction: he was someone almost just as fast as me. Emphasis on the Almost. We've raced together a fair few times that I knew for sure. Instead of being fast than me, he was Super. Not like Super fast, just Super. He was a Super dude. A Superman.


(A/N: This part of the story was inspired by CW's TV show Smallville, Season 4; episode - Run. Just imagine it being Barry, and NOT Bart. Once again, I disclaim owning this.)

Location: Metropolis.

It was a bright sunny day with almost no cloud in sight. Jonathan Kent heaved a sigh, "Ah, jeez," as he put a bottle of pills into his jean-pocket while they pass a sign that read, 'Metropolis Day Clinic.'

"The doctor said you're doing great," Clark Kent encouraged, trying to cheer his father.

"Yeah," the older man scoffed in agreement, "right before he gave me this new prescription. Red ones. At least they'll go nicely with my pink, blue, and green ones I'm already taking."

Clark gave him a light smile, "I'd rather have more colors in the medicine cabinet than not have you around."

"I just didn't want to have to worry your mother with anymore of this stuff. That's all." Jonathan Kent and Clark Kent couldn't be more different than a father and son should. Let's just say, Clark did not inherit his ragged brown hair. On the contrary to being father and son, his son was… well, Super. He was almost kind of glad that his son didn't take off after him. That doesn't go to say that he never stopped trying to teach his son valuable lessons.

"Dad, we both worry about you. What Jor-El did to you because of me…" And there it was. He was, of course, blaming himself because of his biological father.

"Wait a minute-" he paused his son there while placing a firm hand on his shoulder, "I knew what the risks were, Clark. And I'd take them again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you safe. Don't you and I have a game to catch?" He took two football tickets out of his pocket and showed it to him as if to prove his point.

Clark gave a slight nod of his head while they both continued to walk down the sidewalk, "Metropolis Sharks, 50-yard line. Lex really came through this time."

"Look, son," he began, returning the two tickets into his wallet and putting it in his jean back pocket, "I understand what that friendship means to you, but please don't forget he had you investigated. Be careful."

"I'm not going into this with my eyes closed. He wants another chance to prove he's changed,"

"Clark-"

"Dad," this time it was his son who paused him, "this is my senior year. I don't want to have to worry about Lex or Jor-El or any of that. I just want to live a normal life, hang out with my friends, and play football."

He chuckled, "Alright. Why don't you go get the truck? We don't want to miss the kickoff," while handing him the keys.

Clark took them with a pearly-white smile. While he waited he went to go examine a magazine rack, taking one out and flipping to peer inside it's context.

Suddenly screeching rubbing tires on cement could be heard. Jonathan looked up from his magazine to find a grey-and-white truck heading straight in direction; the bright headlights blinding him momentarily, freezing him in place. His heart panicked, thumping madly in his chest. It must have been after that when he felt somebody shove him.

He could hear his son's frantic voice shout, "Dad! Dad, you okay?" and the familiarity of a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Yeah," He blinked, his vision coming back into focus, "Yeah, I think so. Your mother would be visiting me in the hospital again if you hadn't pushed me out of the way."

"Dad, it wasn't me," now it was shock in his son's tone, "I saw someone who can move like I can. I couldn't believe it. He saved you."

Jonathan sighed in relief which soon turned into exasperation, "Whoever it is, not only did he save my life, Clark. He also stole my wallet." His fingers had been playing at the back of his pocket and came to realization to find that it was empty.

They returned home to Smallville soon after, pulling into their driveway and getting out of the truck.

Only to come face to face with his wife. "Hey. Aren't you two supposed to be at the game?" Martha Kent asked with an element of surprise in her voice.

Jonathan gave a light sigh, "Well, the tickets to the game were in my wallet."

"Which was stolen-" Clark added, "Some kid swiped it outside the medical building."

Her surprise reaction was instantly replaced with worry, "Oh, my God, you were robbed? Are you alright? Did he have a gun?" She placed a hand on his forearm.

"Yes, no," he reassured her, "he had a very fast pair of sneakers. But I'm gonna call the credit card company and report it stolen."

He started to head into their small yellow farm house when, "Hey, Dad, wait," he paused and turned around to his son who continued, "This kid, he was as fast as I am. I should find out who he is. Just let me talk to Chloe. Maybe she can track down where he's been using your card. Come on, Dad, if I don't find anything by the end of the day, then make the call."

Martha raised an eyebrow, her beautiful red hair blowing in the wind. He came to a decision, "Alright, but I want you to be careful, Clark. We don't know anything about this kid."

"That's why I have to find out who he is," Clark reasoned.


Later that day…

Clark found himself at an apartment back in Metropolis. He heard a shower running in the bathroom so he quietly snuck by and into the living room. The place was a mess. Junk food littered the glass coffee table, clothes were thrown about, until his eyes landed on a red backpack with a yellow lightning bolt embezzled on the front of it. He grabbed it and made space on the coffee table to dump out it's context. Several bling watches and wallets of different colors fell out. He quickly searched for the wallet that belonged to the kid. Or, it had to be for it held several fake identification cards. All with the same face, though, just with different alias from different states and even those out of the country. And man, this kid has been going places. He shook his head. He needed to find his dad's wallet. His hand reached for the stolen merchandise, when he was suddenly startled by a voice, "Dude!"

He stood up really quickly. He came to find himself staring at a boy, who couldn't have been older than he was for he had a babyface about him, with honey blonde hair and wearing a white bathrobe. "You lost? You know, because I guess you must be, because this is my room."

He nodded in a debatable sort of way, "Technically it's my dad's since you used his credit cards to pay for it."

The boy shrugged. "I didn't take anything from anybody," he disclaimed this fact.

"You can save the innocent act. I had a friend trace all the charges you're trying to stick on him after you stole his wallet," Clark challenged.

The boy disregarded this, too. He scoffed, and pointed, trying to change the subject, "...And you went through my backpack. Man, that's an invasion with privacy, messing with my stuff."

"Your stuff?" He raised an eyebrow, "You stole all this."

The boy smirked. He was on the other side of the room, having donned on clothes of a yellow undershirt with a red hoodie and khaki pants, not too mention sneakers, in the blink of an eye. He raised his eyebrows, using both his pointers to point at Clark, "Yeah? Prove it."

Clark was impressed with the kid's speed, but, "I saw you save my dad from that truck this morning," he had point to prove.

The boy scoffed at this, too, with a smirk, "Man. Nobody sees me when I'm doing my thing."

"Maybe you're not the only one who can move like that," he disclosed, glancing down at the fake I.D.'s in his hands, "... Jay Garrick, Bart Allen, Wally West, whatever your name really is."

"It's Barry," the boy finally identifies, "... but not that it matters because I'll be a thousand miles away before you can even blink."

"I don't know," Clark argues, "I can blink pretty fast."

Barry gulped. "Who are you, man?"

"I'm gonna get my dad's wallet, and then you and I are gonna sit down for a long talk," but before Clark could even turn around to bend down, the kid raced by him already with his backpack on.

Barry held up his own correct identification card, "Now see? Here's the thing. Not too big on the whole chit-chat, dude, so catch ya later… Or maybe it's if you can catch me? Yeah? Y'know what, nevermind. Later."

The camera zooms in on the window behind them, narrowing in on two very fast people running past cars in motion down in the streets of Metropolis. The view changes to a scene at the dock. Clark running to keep up with the kid but as he reaches out his hand to catch him, the kid miraculously starts running across the water. He was so stunned by this movement that he didn't even try. He returned home to Smallville later that evening, still in shock, to find his dad spreading out a red blanket on the couch. "Dad, I found the kid who stole your wallet, but I lost him down at the docks. He just took off across the water."

"Uh, son," Jonathan nods his head in the direction of the kitchen.

He turns his head to look, too, to find Barry sitting at the kitchen counter gulping down some orange juice. Barry nods his head over at him, "Hey, Clark. What took you so long?"

He made an astonished expression, completely dumbfounded.

Clark took him to show him the loft later.

"Dude, I didn't think anybody else could move like that except me! Because, hey, I'm the fastest man alive, right? Yeah. You were right on my butt, man. You know, I've always wondered if there was anyone out there like me, and it turns out to be you, Jimmy Crack Corn fresh from the farm,"

Barry playfully hit his arm. It wasn't very hard, especially not for Clark, "What kind of story did you spin to con my dad out of a free meal and a bed on the couch?"

"No story, Clark, just the truth," said Barry earnestly.

Clark stared at him hard in the eyes, "...And what's that?" as if to judge his new friend's character.

Barry looked away before turning back to him as if debating to tell his story, "Alright. Well, a few years ago, there was this… terrifying thunderstorm, right? I was working on this experiment in the laboratory with chemicals and, uhh-" He turned away again as if it brought up a bad memory, "This huge lightning bolt flashed through a window and accidentally hit me. I was in a coma for twelve months after that. When I awoke, I discovered I could run faster than the speed of sound."

"...And this happened here in Smallville?"

Barry shook his head, "Uhhh, no. This is my first time here, and no offense, man, but hopefully the last."

Clark's adam's apple moved up and down before the two of them headed up the wooden staircase of the loft, "I've never met anyone with powers like yours that wasn't from around here."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should get out more," his new-powered friend advised. "So, how did you get so fast? Did you have an accident, too?"

They stop on the landing.

"Uhh, I was kinda born this way," he revealed a tid-bit. "Why are you living out on the streets, Barry? What happened to your parents?"

"Uhhh-" mumbles Barry, looking away again, "The relations to my parents is very…" he glances back up at Clark with a smirk, "Complicated."

Barry was smiling. Why was he smiling? He wanted to find out, "Oh, believe me, I know complicated. Try me."

If his biological parents sending him to a whole other planet wasn't complicated, he didn't know what was.

Barry was sizing him up as if he could trust him with his life story. He did. "I was eleven," he began, his blue eyes already getting teary, "One night, something just came into our house like a tornado. A blur. Inside the blur, I saw a person. That same person murdered my mother in cold blood. My father went to get him, I tried to get him when suddenly…" he sighed here, "I was twenty blocks away from our house with no idea how I got there. Nobody believed me. My father was a doctor; he was trying to save her, but the police think he did it - because their eyes were to dull to see the truth. He's been serving a life sentence in jail for a crime he didn't commit. After I gained my powers I considerably thought about freeing my dad because I could have him out of there without having nobody to stop me, but I didn't… because I knew if I did? He'd also be on the run as an outcast for the rest of his life. I couldn't do that to him." Barry raised his eyebrow, "How's that for complicated?"

Clark gave him a sympathetic look, "Barry-"

"Oh! Get this. The policeman, the man who was in charge of the Allen family murder investigation? The man who declared my dad a cold-blooded murder to my face? Yeah, he kinda sorta took me in when I suddenly was without any parents. He also just happens to be the father of Iris West."

"Who?"

"Just this amazing woman who was my best friend - is still my best friend- whom I had this monster crush on before this whole traumatic ordeal arouse, except now she's kinda like my sister and I can't even look at her without thinking of - well, things are really awkward between us right now, now that we're living in the same house and practically family," he explained.

Oh, so that complicated. "So, you ran away?" Clark summed up.

"This hasn't been the first time," Barry scoffed. "I've - I've been thinking ways to free my dad… the right way. And I… I just didn't fit in. But, man, I guess you don't have that problem."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. I ran away once, too," Clark admitted.

"Yeah," Barry said as if he didn't believe him, "Why'd you come back? Mow the lawn? Milk the cows? Man, you should be out there with me, tearing it up."

"You mean - stealing everything in sight," he corrected.

Barry raised an eyebrow at him, "Did I say anything about stealing?"

"You stole my dad's wal-"

"Which I am sorry about, but I didn't even know about you then," Barry apologized wholeheartedly.

Clark questioned his priority, "Oh, and that makes it alright?"

"You know what?" Barry threw up his hands in exasperation, "Enough about me. Let's take a closer look at the mysterious Clark Kent." He swooshed around the loft area in an instant, throwing up loose paper as he went. He reappeared in front of him seconds later with a few objects in his hands. He held up a school book, "You like to study Native American mythology," he set the book down on the sofa and held up another object, "and you've scrawled the name, 'Lana,' on all your notebooks," he also set the notebook down, "And you have one of the most boring hobbies known to man - Rock collecting."

"I don't collect r-" Clark began but he was cut off when Barry opened the lid to a small box that was made out of led, revealing a green rock inside. His knees became all shaky, he scooted several steps back, and bended them. He started getting a headache and sweating excessively.

Barry turned his gaze from the green rock to him in concern, "You okay there, CK?"

The farmboy put his hand out in front of him as if he was almost afraid of the rock, "P-put that away. I'm allergic."

"Man, I've heard of people sneezing around cats and dogs and stuff, but never getting all weak in the knees over a rock," the boy from Central City analyzed, closing the lid to the box and tossing it aside.

Clark regained his posture, shrugging his shoulder. "It's a long story."

"Which is one I'm sure I would love to hear... after we get back."

"Get back from where?" Clark inquired quizzically.

"Anywhere we want," was how Barry responded, "I mean, dude, CK, we are two super-powered studs here. Why else would I come here, looking for ya? Let's go have some Fun," he showed off his pearly whites here, "Hola, have ya ever been to Mexico, boy amigo?" Then he paused to rethink, then quickly rephrased, "I mean, a boy who is a friend. Not boyfriend because that would be just really weird… unless you're into that sort of stuff - which I mean, I'm totally not but if you are-"

Clark saved him with a, "Barry. Let's go to Mexico."

"Excellente, boy amigo," He smirked showing his teeth then it faded, "Again with the whole g - !" He tried calling after but his new superstud friend already supersped away, leaving him alone in an empty barn loft. "Some friend," he scoffed sarcastically, yet with some amusement in his tone of voice.

Barry gave him a few seconds head start. Then raced after him with a smile beaming on his face.


Location: Mexico, Mexico City.

Clark discovered that the roads here were very narrow but that there were mountains in the distance. People all around them were chatting in Esponal everywhere. And Barry was making him wear this ridiculous brightly-colored sombrero on his head, well, he was wearing one, too, so he guessed it was alright. He didn't want to look silly alone especially entering this El Guero Canelo restaurant. Them two of them quickly (No, not that quick for there were citizens about) made their way to the front counter and scanned the menu.

"Beef burrito Jr., Bean burrito Jr.," Barry was muttering, appalled, "Dude, I am starving here. Don't they have anything grande-size?" He slammed his hands down on the counter in exasperation.

Clark rolled his eyes, "I thought you said you've been here before?"

"I have," Barry admitted through gritted teeth, shrugging his shoulders, "just not to this particular restaurant. When you have the chance to go to a foreign country, man, you need to broaden your horizon by visiting different historical, cultural sites - that's how you get your fill of exploring experiences, you see. Don't go thinking I've been lying here."

"... And you think this restaurant is a historical site, do you?" He raised an eyebrow. His eyes roaming roaming around the building in indication.

Barry gave him an expression on his face that quite clearly told him, 'You're kidding, right?' "It's the burrito, man, the burrito. Why else do you think we've come here to-"

"I take it that's what you want to order, sirs?" A voice interrupted with assumption. "Anything else? What kind of burrito did you want? Might I recommend you the Very Mucho?"

Barry turned his head to find a sexy Mexican lady at the cash register though she was speaking in English, maybe because she had overheard them talking?

"Muy caliente! (Very hot)" Barry answered, grinning from ear-to-ear. His smile slipped a bit, "I mean - Muy Mucho, Si, Very Mucho (Very much, yes, very much)." He shifted his weight back and forth on his heels in an uncomfortable sort of way, embarrassed.

Clark smiled and chuckled at his friend's obvious nervous behavior. Though he said, "Knock it off."

Though his friend was the embarrassed one, he was more surprised to see the lady employee at the cash register battering her eyelashes at him; he felt his mouth go dry. Barry groaned at this, "Man!" he complained in a hushed tone, "Why is it that every gorgeous lady here have their eyes on you? You, superstud? I'm the more fun and handsome one." He straightened up his shirt collar, rising his eyebrows at this.

Clark was once again surprised to find this fact true, well, except for maybe that last part.. probably. "Clearly the ladies here think otherwise," he told him somewhat smugly.

After waiting what seemed like forever and grabbing their handful of burritos, they headed outside to eat. They sat in one of the outdoor tables, each of them had a stack of a pile of burritos next to their feet. 'Like enough to feed a whole football team,' Clark thought with amusement. Hispanic people walked past them with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

Barry was continuing on with their conversation as if this was nothing, getting ready to unwrap a burrito, "They say that in the guinness worlds records book there's a record of somebody, Canirac La Paz, gulping down the largest burrito that weighed 5,799.44 kg in under 9 and a half-hours. With all the burritos stacked up?" he indicated the large piles with his finger, "I betcha' I could eat twice that amount in a matter of seconds… Unless you care to challenge me?"

"You're on," Clark accepted with a grin, also getting ready to unwrap a burrito. They used their superspeed to eat the pile of burritos when they knew for sure no citizens were onlooking the scene or not paying any attention.

In the end, it was… "a tie."

They found themselves lying on their backs on on the beaches shore of Acapulco a while later. It was really relaxing there; listening to the waves crash along the coast and the seagulls squawking up above, kid's voices playing in the distance.

"Oh, c'mon, you know I had at least ten more burritos than you did," Barry argued.

Clark watched a white cloud form into a bunny-shape, "... Is that really a good thing?"

"I dunno. I'll blame it on my strange metabolism but, man, for once, I'm actually really stuffed."

"Like a turkey?" suggested Clark helpfully through a smirk.

"Hey! I am not a turkey, if anything…" Barry pauses as they ironically watch a cloud form into tortoise, "... I am definitely NOT slow as a turtle."

"Alright, alright. I'll agree with that to an extent, at least," Clark laughs, his sides aching with too much food. A group of teenaged girls in bikinis pass them, giggling and ogling in their direction. 'It was a crime for laughter to hurt,' he secretly thought, "but, you know, it was the tortoise who won in the end."

"Dude, every time!" Barry grumbles in irritation, "So much for a spoiler?"

"How is that a spoiler?" he scoffs, "Everybody knows of that story or they should."

"You forget who you're talking to. I had a rough childhood," says Barry, resentfully.

Clark sits up to rest on his elbows on the sand, raising his eyebrow skeptically.

Barry copies his movement except for eying at a lady in a black bikini, "Okay, okay. So, maybe I have heard of it, but the gamechanger? The hare would have won if he didn't stop to take a nap."

Okay, he knows he probably shouldn't have said this but something about Barry Allen irked him that made him want to tease him a little, "... kinda like you just did? Emphasis on the would have." Maybe it was because of Barry's snarky, playful attitude?

The Speedster flashes onto his feet in an instant, glaring, "Is that a challenge? Coming from the notorious, mysterious Clark Kent?"

"Notorious, huh?" He stands up on his feet also, "... We'll see about that."

They raced back to Smallville, Barry always gaining the lead. Everytime he managed to pull ahead, Barry was always right on his tail and would eventually pass him - always one step ahead of him with that stupid grin plastered on his face. That did not stop Clark from trying, however, for he used every ounce of his effort on his part.


Location: Smallville.

They entered the Talon, small and dainty - Clark's favorite coffee shop. They started walking toward the counter.

Barry playfully shoved his shoulders, "Dude! That girl in that black bikini was totally checking you."

"No, she wasn't," he dismisses the obvious.

"Look, the girl was eyeing you like you were a snow-cone, CK," Barry had observed, "You should've got her number."

He dismisses this, too, "I can't just walk up to a girl on the beach and get her phone number."

"Yeah, well, lucky for you," Barry pulls a paper out from his khaki's pocket and slams it into his chest, "... I can. She's says to call her next time you're in Mexico."

"Shh!" He warns in a hush tone, "I can't just run back down to Mexico."

"Why not?" Barry questions, "Too much fun, Clark? You did just practically tell me that you don't get out much - wonder why that is. Huh, introvert?"

This did remind Clark of their previous conversation, 'I've never met anyone with powers like yours that wasn't from around here.' Oh, well, that was because of people infected by meteorite but he couldn't tell Barry that. "My life's.. complicated. I'm not an introvert, I'm -"

Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and Barry reappeared in front of him, "Guarded?" he suggested a term helpfully, taking a huge bite into a chocolate chip cookie, "Looks like you and I have another thing in common then. Wanna build a fort? Oh wait - I don't tell my life's story to just anyone, y'know."

…Or maybe he can, but suddenly Clark had something else on his mind. "What are you doing!?" He inquires, alarmed.

"I'm eating a cookie, CK," responded Barry, holding the cookie up in his hands, "What does it look like I'm doing? After all the racing we've been doing, especially against you - I'm starvin' again."

Clark hastily grabs the cookie and sets it back down on the counter, "You can't just take whatever you want. My mom runs this place."

He feels kinda bad for it kinda feels like he's taking a candy from a baby.

"Look, CK," Barry points behind him, "There's a line. I don't do lines… Unless the cash-register lady looks like that."

Ah, now we find why this is Clark's favorite coffee shop. It's not because of the coffee, but because of the person who pours the coffee. He turns to find Barry staring at the beautiful Lana Lang. "Now I see why you didn't get that girl's number, and why you like coming here," he hints, "Why don't you get hers?"

He mumbled something like, "... because I already have her number."

Barry puts a hand next to his own ear as if trying to secretly listen in on a conversation, "What was that? Could you repeat that? Didn't quite catch that." That stupid smirk on his face clearly told Clark that he did get it. Damn.

Lana's green eyes light up when she spots them, her long chocolate brown curly hair dancing behind her. "Clark," she gets cheerfully, a smile playing at her red lips, "Who's your friend? I didn't catch his name."

"This is Barry Allen. He's from-" he begins.

"The future," Barry finishes.

Lana raises her eyebrow at him skeptically, "Really?"

"Oh Yeah," Barry agrees enthusiastically, "I ran all the way back in time to tell you that we're still in love a hundred years from now."

Somehow Clark felt that irritation again. He rolls his eyes, "Barry-"

"What's your favorite kind of flower, Lana?" Barry cuts him off.

"Uhh," mutters Lana, "Roses - red ones." She glanced up at Clark, not sure where this was going.

There was a whooshing sound and Barry reappeared a second later with a single red rose. It would have been romantic gesture except for the fact that rose had caught on fire.

"Ah!" Lana screams. She grabbed a glass of water and douses the water at the flower to immediately evaporate the flames, but accidentally getting some of the water on Barry himself.

"Uhh," Barry noises, nervous, "How about a flaming, burnt rose?" He shifts the weight again on his feet due to the sudden wetness of his pants.

"Clark!" He hears a familiar voice call his name. Sure enough, when he turned around, it was his mother.

He puts a hand on friend's shoulder. Although he was unaware that he somewhat intimidated Barry by looking into his eyes as if this was another challenge, "Knock it off." He muttered warningly before walking up to his redheaded mother.

"Your dad called," she told him. She looked over her shoulder, "is that the boy who robbed him?"

He admitted, "Yeah. His name's Barry Allen."

Martha looked at her son, "Why is he here?"

"I think he's lonely, wants to be my friend," he answered.

"Good," she accepted this, "maybe you can talk some sense into him."

Clark gave her an exasperated face, "Believe me, I'm trying."

"Oh, um, Lex is looking for you, sweetheart," She informed him, "He asked if you'd stop by the mansion. He said it's important."

"Okay," he agreed, "but I probably shouldn't leave Barry alone," unsure.

Martha looked back over her shoulder. "I really don't think he'll notice you're gone."

He turned to hear Lana giggling over something funny that Barry had said. He felt queezyness in the pit of his stomach. Maybe leaving them alone together wasn't such a good idea, but Lex needed to see him. Clark scoffed. Life as a Superhero.


Barry 3rd POV

FYI: Barry noticed when his friend disappeared. But he let it go. It was a good chance for him to snoop and get to know him better.

"Uhh," he nosies, nervous, "How about a flaming, burnt rose?"

"Oh," Lana giggles, "well, no thank you, but it's the thought that counts. If you just wait over there-" she points, indicating a nearby chair, "I'll be done with my shift soon."

"No problem, senorita," he walks over to the chair and sits down, twiddling his thumbs. Later, she finishes her shifts like she said, and comes to join him by sitting down at the same table and sets down two coffee cups.

"Thanks," He clears his throat, reaching over to grab one of the coffees, "So, what is about Kent do you like? What's the deal between you two?" he slyly asks her, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

She gives him a disbelieving look and twists a strand of lock of her hair, suddenly embarrassed, "Is it that obvious?"

He folds his hands in front of his knees. "Certainly not to him," he quickly reassures her, "I'm just good at reading people."

Her eyes flutter to the table, staring at blank space. "Well," she begins, "where do I start. He's kind, caring, strong, compassionate, and definitely hot," she pauses, thinking, "he listens, and… I love how he's always there for me. Always has."

"Alright," he acknowledges as if they have been best buds for forever, "that still doesn't explain - are you two an item, or what?"

Her face went totally pink. It was cute. "Umm… not exactly. We have this - flirtatious relationship, I guess you would call it? But Clark… he pulls away for some reason. I have no idea why."

Barry could bet almost anything that he knew why. "Give him time, Lana," he friendly advised, "Time is all he needs; he needs to come in term of his own feelings."

"Thanks," Lana smiled at him, and boy, it wasn't anything like Iris's, but it was breathtaking all the same. She grabbed a nearby knife and started stirring her latte with it, "And, Barry? This conversation never took place. Got it?"

He gulped inwardly, "Got it."


Clark 3rd POV

Meanwhile at the Luthor mansion…..

Clark Kent and Lex Luthor were discussing an important (or will be important) conversation.

"I purchased this from a private collector in St. Petersburg. Convincing him to part with it required quite a few glasses of vodka and a small fortune, but it was worth it," Lex was saying, both of the men's eyes were fixated on an object, in a glass-case, that was similar to an ancient scroll.

"It's very nice," Clark praised him for his find.

"Take a closer look at the border design. Embedded glyphs similar to the Kawatche symbols found in the cave. And no one's spent more time down there than you. Any idea what they mean?"

He did take a closer look, but then turned to look directly into the face of bald-headed Lex Luthor, "No, but I thought you weren't interested in this stuff anymore."

"Oh, I'm still interested, Clark, just not obsessed," Lex wrinkled his forehead to make him look twice as old, "Which is why I'm not keeping this from you. I'd like it if we could work on this mystery together."

"I'd like that," he admitted, "So, what is it?"

Lex walked over to his desk chair and sat down. "It's the last surviving page from a 14th century manuscript. It depicts the Grand Prince Danskoy's victory over his mortal enemy Mamaya at the Battle of Kulacova. Legend has it that this was the only object adorning the walls of Rasputin's chamber while he studied at the Verkhoture Monastery," while Lex was talking, Clark used his x-ray vision on this manuscript to discover a secret map hidden beneath it. His eyes widened as he recognized a kryptonian symbol on it. "He believed this page would reveal a path to unimaginable power. Rasputin would stare at it for days at a time, attempting to penetrate its secrets."

"It's incredible," Clark remarked in awe, reaching for the manuscript in the glass-case that was resting on a circular iron pedestal.

"Don't." Lex advised rather sharply, "I've had state of the art security installed to protect it. I'm keeping it at the mansion for a few days before it goes into the vault at LuthorCorp." He gets up from his chair and is starting to put his black coat on, "I'm sorry, Clark, I have an appointment. Why don't you swing by tomorrow and we'll, uh, roll up our sleeves?"

He agreed, "Yeah."

Clark leaves the room and into the exquisite hallway. Suddenly he feels a strong gust of wind and his raven hair is practically flying all over the place.

"Dude, you know Lex Luthor?" Barry inquires after him.

Clark asks, completely stunned, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Lana shot me down, but, you know, strangely I'm okay with that. I have Iris - or will - anyway. Man, this place is awesome! Not as cool as S.T.A.R. Labs, but, I mean, it's pretty dope," Barry rambles enthusiastically, his eyes lit-up like a Christmas tree.

Meanwhile, Clark was giving him a totally shocked expression, "You were just in there?"

"Uhh, Yeah," Barry admitted as if this was nothing, "I mean - if you got struck by a lightning bolt, what would you do? Don't worry, man, he won't have a clue."

He commanded, "You gotta get out of here."

Lex makes his appearance then, "Clark. Who are you talking to?"

Clark spun around to discover that Barry had fled, leaving him alone in the hallway with Lex Luthor. 'Well, he did tell him to get out of there.'


Clark arrives home to find his dad rearranging the furniture in the living room. "Dad!"

"Hey, Clark. You're just in time, son," Jonathan greets him cheerfully, "Your mom's working late again, so I thought maybe we'd have guys' night. You know, catch up on the highlights of the game we missed?" He walks over and pulls the oven open to check on the pizza.

He closes the oven door when Clark seemed panicky. " I saw something at Lex's, Dad. It was a page from an old manuscript and it had Kryptonian symbols on it."

Jonathan walks over to the coffee table in the living room to set a jug of lemonade down on it, "Kryptonian symbols? Were you able to read them?"

"It had a message repeated over and over. "Look deeper." I used my X-ray vision, and I saw a map hidden underneath."

This got Jonathan a bit curious, "A map? A map to what?" He walks back to the oven to get the cheese pizza out.

"I don't know, Dad, but I think it has something to do with Jor-El and what he sent me after when he was controlling me."

Jonathan puts a comforting hand on his son's shoulder on his way to set the pizza down on the coffee table, "I want you to leave this alone, Clark."

"No, Dad-"

He turns around and looks directly into Clark's eyes, "Son, you were just telling me how you want to have a normal senior year, right? Well, how does traipsing around the globe on Jor-El's crusade fit in with that?"

"It doesn't." Clark agrees to an extent, "But hanging out with Barry reminded me that I'm not normal, Dad. Maybe it's time I stopped running from who I really am."

"What you really are is a 17-year-old boy," Jonathan identified him, "Now sit down."

They both sat down on a red leather sofa. "Dad, it doesn't matter how old I am. Whatever Jor-El sent me to find, I have a feeling it's very powerful and dangerous. Especially if it falls into the wrong hands, and I'm the only one who can stop that from happening."

His dad made a quizzical expression, "How? By stealing this manuscript from Lex?"

"No. He has no idea what he has." He told him, " All I have to do is sneak back in there and get a better look at it.

His dad was still having misgivings about this, "Clark, it's a bad idea. He could see you."

"I'll be in and out before he even knows I'm there." He countered with a confident smirk.

After dinner and watching the football game, Clark made his way to the loft. He tore a page out of one of his notebooks. That's when Barry arrived with that familiar whooshing sound. He was so startled that he accidentally let go of his paper; it flew into the air before landing on the wood landing.

"Dude!" Barry exclaimed, ecstatic, jumping every other step on the shorter staircase, "Lex's place was so dope! I gotta step it up a notch because that is definitely how I want to live."

He bended down to pick up his fallen paper and shoved it inside his jean pocket, "Listen, Barry, there's something I've got to take care of, alright?"

Barry raised his eyebrow. "Can I come?" he asked hopefully.

"Uhh, No." He dismissed, "It's, um, personal. But maybe we'll hang out when I get back."

They start walking down the longer staircase together. "Oh, dude, there's this midnight showing of "Speed" at the Mann's Chinese Theater. The best popcorn, and Keanu rules in that one. So, do you want to go?"

"You know, it sounds great," Clark commented, the manuscript still in his mind, "but, uh, just don't mention it to my dad, okay?"

"Okay." They reach the landing. Clark starts making his exit of the loft when, "Hey, uh, thanks for being my friend, CK," that made him turn around to face Barry.

Barry was smiling from ear to ear, but he could still detect pain behind it even without his xray vision. Barry continued, "It's been really cool with you hanging out with somebody like me, you know?" His smile fell, "But I know when I'm not needed."

He was about to take off running but Clark stopped him with a, "Hey - wait! That sounds like you're running away again. That's not gonna help you solve all your problems like that, Barry."

"Sounds like you should take your own advice," Barry suggested coldly, shaking his head in disagreement, "Y'know, I've been told to run all my life. But it depends on how you look about it from all angles that counts. I'm not running away. I'm running toward something with determination and deep concentration, Clark. What are you running towards? Hope? Dreams? Or is fear holding you back?"

Barry could hear Harrison Wells voice taunting him in the back of his brain as always, 'Run, Barry, Run!'

He whooshed and left Clark alone in the barn once more, but this time, with something to think about. What is he running towards?

Well, for now, the Luthor mansion. He needed to get a better look at that manuscript. He made it back into the room, where it was kept, okay. Like he expected and hoped, Lex wasn't in the room. He moved closer to the manuscript, resting his hands on his knees, his eyes roaming about it. That's when there was another, 'Woosh,' sound and the manuscript was no longer in it's glass-casing. It was gone. It being gone meant it triggered the silent alarms, well, not so silent anymore.

"Barry," he muttered with a groan under his breath.

Lex entered the study with two guards, with guns, that flanked by his sides. They started pointing their guns anywhere, looking for any sign of the intruder. "Don't move!" one of them shouted, aiming his glock-22 pistol at him.

He gulped. Lex came right up to him and demanded, "What the hell are you doing here, Clark?"

Shortly after the alarm went off, Lex got rid of his bodyguards and closed the double door behind him, "Would you like to explain what you're doing here?"

Clark was staring at the empty case, disappointed and nervous like a kid who was caught with his hand stuck in a cookie jar. "I, uhh," he mumbled, "just came by to say hello. The next thing I know, all these alarms and lights were going off."

Lex started moving closer toward him, "It's a little late for a, uh, social call, Clark."

"Yeah, I just- I should've called, but I just figured you'd be up," he tried explaining, making up an excuse.

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone else when you came in?" Lex interrogated slyly, raising his eyebrow.

Clark shook his head, "No. I - I didn't see anyone."

"Then you don't know who did this?"

"No, I don't," he declared more firmly.

Lex now had his back to him, his long red-sleeved shirt made visible. "I believe you. I know a real friend would never lie to me."

This made Clark feel guilty because he did see who took the manuscript. He swallowed, "I better go and let you take care of this."

"I'll let you in on a secret," Lex told him, turning around to Clark who now his his back to him. "I'm not that worried."

This information did surprise him a bit for he turned around and faced Lex, "You said this manuscript page was worth a fortune."

"It is," Lex agreed, walking closer toward him, "And there aren't that many fences in Metropolis that can move such a high-end item. If I put the word out, I'm sure some fiscally challenged citizen will point me in the right direction."

Clark raised his eyebrow, "You really think that'll work?"

Lex came closer to him still, the candlelight flickering in the distances foreshadowing his face. "Don't worry, Clark. Our thief is gonna learn that there's nowhere on earth he can run from Lex Luthor."


Barry returned to his apartment at a breakneck pace. He got comfortable by sitting down on the tan sofa and kicking off his sneakers to reveal his white socks, sighing in relief. No one had caught him. He flipped over the manuscript he had swiped to examine it. 'It was exquisite,' He scoffed, rolled his eyes, and set the manuscript on the coffee table. He leaned back onto the sofa and rubbed his eyes, 'but Why Clark would be interested in something like this -' He didn't get it.

The door to his apartment burst open then, startling him to a standing position. Two men with big-builds entered, carrying guns. One of the men Barry knew only went by the name of Harrison (A/N: NOT the Harrison Wells. A different Harrison, FYI. So you don't get confused); he was a Con-Artist, and Barry had been undercover working for him for months. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you, kid."

"Yeah?" Barry muttered sarcastically in his direction, "And - what would that be? Your conscience?"

Harrison licked his lips together, clicking off the gun-safety, "Don't play dumb with me here, kid."

Barry was so occupied with the gun pointing at him that he didn't notice the other guy sneaking around behind him. He suddenly felt a sharp blow to his head, his eyes rolled up and he got the feeling of falling down a deep, black tunnel.

It was then that Lex Luthor arrived to the apartment, his bald head shining brighter than ever against his pale skin.

"Mr. Luthor," Harrison greeted, retrieving the manuscript, "I believe I have something that belongs to you."

Lex ignored this, going over and standing above a kid who was passed out. He was skeptic, "Is this the dangerous criminal you warned me about?"

Harrison urged, "Hey, he's not your problem. Come on, let's talk about that finder's fee."

Lex turned to face Harrison, his black trench coat twirling, "He's just a kid. Let him go."

"No," Harrison contradicted, "You have no idea what this freak is capable of."

"If I were you, I'd be more concerned about the police right now, Hanison." Lex suggested.

"What did you do-?" Harrison grunted, running a hand through his scraggly brown hair.

Lex warned, "In about five minutes, this place will be swarming with Metropolis P.D"

Harrison grunted again, "Well, okay, then I guess we better hurry this up, huh? Tony."

His other friend, Tony, aimed his gun. But Lex was one step ahead of him by grabbing Tony's wrist, making him drop the gun, and punched the guy several times in the gut and the face.

Tony tried to sit back up again with a bloody nose but Lex did a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking him out cold.

Lex wheeled around again, but he did not expect Harrison's fist to be already flying at him. It knocked him out.

It was around this time that Barry was starting to regain his conscience, his vision coming back into focus. But then he felt a hard blow to his stomach; he clutched at it in pain, his eyes watering.

"Look at what you've done, kid!" Another hard blow to his gut. "See the mess that you made!?" Another blow.

Barry gritted his teeth through the pain, but he still joked, "Mom always told me t - told me to clean my room. W - what did your mom tell you?"

(A/N: This was before she died, obviously.)

"Shut up!" Harrison demanded loudly, kicking at the boy again and hearing him groan. "Yo momma was a bitch, just like you," he spat into the kid's face, getting his gun ready and aiming it, "Let's see if you're fast enough than a speeding bullet."

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass could be heard. It was a memorable moment for Barry to see Clark Kent come crashing through a large window; the glass shards falling to the floor. A memory that he would never forget.

Very startled, Harrison turned his gun on Clark and pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! They hit Clark's shoulder one right after the other.

"Nooooo!" Barry screamed, horrified. He tried to sit up, but his sides still ached from being kicked. His horrified expression turned into astonishment as he watched the bullet's shell casings fall off of Clark's shoulder and onto the floor - all dented.

Clark smirked. It was Harrison's turn to be frightened; he tried to make a beeline for the door, but Clark roughly pulled him back and tossed him out the same window that he came in like he was a sack of hay. They heard Harrison screaming before not hearing it anymore.

"Y - you shouldn't have done that," Barry reprimanded, "What if - what if he died?"

Clark was still smirking, "Oh, he's still alive. Believe me. I can hear him breathing."

"How can anybody survive that?" Barry muttered in awe, reeling in the shocking information to his head.

Now holding the manuscript, Clark walks over to Lex and turns him onto his back. He is bleeding from the side of his head. Clark checks Lex's neck for his pulse, "Lex. Lex?"

Barry suddenly holds up a small led box, with the green rock inside, in his hands that made Clark go weak in his knees, "I am sorry, Clark. This doesn't change anything."

"Ahh," noises Clark in pain.

He sets the box down by Clark's feet and picks up the manuscript. "No, you don't understand. It'll kill me. You're not a murderer! That's not who you are!"

Barry wheels around to face him and shouts, "You don't know who I am!"

"Yes, I do!" Clark insists, trying to sit up while gasping in a low breath, "You're Barry Allen. A fun, slightly nerdy, but loveable guy who cares about the people around him. I saw you save my dad. I've seen the good in you. And you've brought out the good in me, too. Barry, you've got to stop running or in the end you'll just be alone. You don't want that. I know you don't. I know because deep down, we're the same."

To Clark's surprise and utter relief, Barry squats down and shuts the lid of the box containing the kryptonite. "I wish that were true, Clark." He gave him one last dejected look before racing off.


It was a sunny cloudy day when Clark returned home later. The windmill was blowing, and Jonathan Kent was climbing down the ladder. "You have no idea where Barry could be?"

Clark was leaning up against a wooden picket fence. He put his hands in his jean pockets, "Lex was unconscious. I stayed with him until I heard the police sirens, then I went after Barry. By then, he could've been halfway around the world."

"Well, I think it could be for the best, Clark," said Jonathan, his brown boots touching ground-level.

"But, Dad-"

"Now, look, I know how much you wanted to help him out, but you can't force people to change no matter how strong you are." Jonathan pulled off his tan gloves.

They start walking across the gravel driveway. "He's not a bad kid, Dad. He's just different, at least he's willing to accept that."

They pass under a shady tree. "Clark, embracing your abilities and flaunting them are two entirely different things."

"I know," he shrugs his shoulder, "It's just sometimes there's a part of me that wishes I could be more like him." [They stop walking.] "I mean, I spend so much time trying to hide who I really am, I'm starting to feel like two separate people."

Jonathan put a hand on his son's shoulder, "Clark, I think you'd be really surprised to find out how many normal people feel exactly the same way. Son, everybody has secrets. Yours are just - just bigger than most."

"Well, I better go check on Lex."

"Alright. You want to use the truck?" Jonathan asked him.

"I, uh-" Clark mumbles, thinking, "No. I, um, I kinda want to stretch my legs."

Jonathan smirks at this, and Clark takes off running with a woosh.

In hardly no time at all, Clark was entering the Luthor mansion once again. He entered the study to find Lex sitting in his chair at his desk. "Clark! Good to see you keeping normal hours." Lex took a sip of his cold, ice wine.

He walked up to the desk, "I just came by to see if you were alright. I heard you had some trouble in Metropolis."

Lex set his glass wine on the glass desk in front of him, "News travels fast."

"Curse of a small town," said Clark, "So what happened?"

"I decided to play cowboy and got my spurs handed to me. To be honest," Lex pauses briefly, but gratefully, "I don't know why I'm not dead."

He smiled, "There must be someone watching over you."

Lex smiled as well, "In more ways than one," he turns his head in a direction.

Clark follows his example by turning his head to see what the multi-billionaire was looking at. It was the iron pedestal, but the missing manuscript was back in it's place where it belonged inside the glass-case. He walked over to it, awed, "How'd you get this back?"

"I didn't," Lex remarked, getting up out of his seat and walking over to look at the manuscript, too, "It was sitting on my desk when I returned from the hospital. Whoever took it must've had a change of heart."

He smiled, "I guess he did."

"Look we'll have plenty of time to study this later. Right now I'm still nursing a bit of a headache," Lex told him, walking back to his expensive armchair and sitting down.

"I'm just glad you're feeling better," Clark said earnestly. He used his xray vision on the manuscript and finally got a better look at it.

He started to walk out the door when, "Clark," he heard Lex's voice call him and he turned around to look in his direction, "I thought you'd like to know how I had the manuscript page examined by a team of experts as soon as it turned up. Do you know what they discovered?" Lex opened the vortex of his laptop, "That I paid too much for it."

They both smiled. "Thanks for checking in on me."

Once Clark had left, Lex pressed a button on a Luthorcorp program with his mouse. The laptop screen displayed the manuscript, but after he clicked the button, it transitioned to the hidden map underneath it. He smiled.

Nonetheless, that did not stop Clark from knowing about it. He now sat on a haystack just outside his barn, trying to draw, an image of the map from memory, in a sketchbook.

There was that familiar whooshing sound. Barry was back, looking over his shoulder. "Dude, your drawing sucks. Stick to the hero thing."

Clark closed his sketchpad and stood up upon his sudden arrival, "You mean like returning a priceless artifact to its owner?"

"Oh, hey," Barry shrugs, "I wanted to thank you for that - that - man leaps through window in a single bound to save his friend; news headline - back there? Hadn't got a chance to do that, but I totally had that. I was getting ready to make my move."

"Uhhh-huh," Clark agreed as if he didn't believe him, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow, "What move? The one where you struck down and looked like you were trying to do the jelly-leg breakdance on the floor, squirming?"

Barry rolled his eyes and chuckled sarcastically, "Haha, very funny."

Clark chuckled, too, but then became serious. "About the whole leaping through window, I'd really appreciate if that didn't make news-headline-worthy?"

"Hey, you keep my secret, I'll keep yours," Barry reassured, running his thumb and pointer finger over his red lips as if zipping them, "We're square. Don't worry. I won't tell a sole. Although," he pauses briefly, "you really might want to consider becoming headline news material. You could bring hope to a whole lot of people - me included. Not everyone is like Lex Luthor."

"Thanks, Barry," Clark acknowledged, "Sounds like you should take your own advice," he smirked and winked.

Barry laughed, "Alright, alright. Tell you what - when you start making the headline? I'll follow suit. Deal?"

Clark grinned, "Deal," he agreed before becoming serious again. He let his arms fall to his sides, "So, what are you gonna do now?"

"I dunno," Barry shrugged, "Maybe head back to Central City? Still gotta free my dad from prison."

"About that," Clark suggested with a smirk, "... Have you ever considered a career in law enforcement?"


Barry 1st P.O.V.

I blinked, cold wind whipping past my face. I remembered! I recalled the time where and when I first met the Man of Steel. But that can't be, it's hasn't happened… yet, in my time period. Which must mean, the memories I'm remembering? Must be from the future. Right?

All this thinking made my head hurt. I know, it didn't even make sense to me. I had almost forgotten that we we're airborne. I want to land. I want to run again.

"CAN IT GO ANY FASTER?!" I complained loudly over the wind.

"SORRY, BARRY," Iris apologized, also hollowing over the wind, "IT's GOING AT THE FASTEST SPEED CAPACITY RIGHT NOW. IT'S REACHED IT'S LIMIT."

I groaned, "SO SLOW!" and shivered. I huddled myself closer to Iris as best I could, "CISCO AND I ARE GONNA HAVE A LONG CONVERSATION ABOUT IT'S SPEED WHEN I GET BACK HOME."

"DON'T DO ANYTHING TO RUPTURE THE TIMELINE!" Iris warned, using her hands on IT's handles to jerk a sharp turn to the right.

"I KNOW, I KNOW!" I was the one who told her about that. The fact that I met Iris here in this time period and the fact that we're having this conversation about it right now, means I probably changed something in my timeline. I'm worried about that.

But not as worried as I am right now about dodging birds and airplanes while riding on the back of IT. That ridiculous name for a large drone. Gideon is such a cooler name title. I grin at that. While passing over big cities, I notice that it got a lot busier up in the sky. Thousands and thousands of people riding on IT. I laugh inwardly at that. Again, it still sounds so ridiculous. It's like an upgrade from a car, except traffic in the sky. Well, that's new. What do you expect? Give to the year 2032 to have upgraded new technology. With that thought in mind, I wonder what else the year 2032 has in store.

Exactly 2.3 miles away from Metropolis, Iris shouts, "TRY NOT TO TALK TOO MUCH!"

When I ask her, "WHY?"

She answers with, "I DON'T WANT THEM TO KNOW YOU'RE HERE… YET."

My eyebrows furrow. I wondered who she meant by them. CK and Green Lantern? Does she really think they'll hear us from miles away!? This puzzled me. And why would she want to keep me quiet anyway?

She need not worry about having them, whoever they were, hearing us. Upon arriving in Metropolis and our destination, it was Iris who made the first sound. She gasped inwardly. I looked over her shoulder to see why she did that. I sucked in a gasping breath, too. IT starts to descends.. IT lurches and jerks, and my stomach churns. My breakfast from this morning makes it all the way back to my throat but I swallow it with a gulp. My eyes water from the smoky air, and I try not to breathe it in while IT descends but I do anyway, and cough. Air pressure rises to my ear and it feels weird; almost like I can't hear anything. I had been right. Meanwhile Iris shifts the gear to a 'parking' position, IT hovering above a concrete sidewalk. I swallow hard and turn my head to lean on my shoulder. My ears pop and I can hear everything a lot clearer than before.


Iris 3rd P.O.V.

Smoke was rising from the Justice League headquarters, and a huge chunk of the righthand side of the building had been blown away, as if it had been bombed. 'What had happened here!?' She stared up at it in deep concern. She had friends in there.

"Umm, Iris," Barry mutters.

She noises, "Mmh?"

"Is the building supposed to be on fire?" he inquires, also concerned.

A moment of silence. Then, "Nope."

She gets off of IT. Barry follows her example, "Shouldn't we like, y'know, call the fire department or something?"

"Nope," she responds again, going back to the back of IT and opening up a secret latch; it was supposed to be like a trunk, only smaller.

"Why not!?" he asks, quizzically.

"Because," she pressed her lips, grabbing a tan duffel bag from the 'trunk' and throwing it over her shoulder, "Knowing Clark and Bruce, the fire department will already be on their way. We're going to go check in on our friends."

"Who?" Barry asks quizzically, again.

"Nevermind," She forgot that this Barry didn't know Bruce, "Just - just follow me."

He did so. They crossed the lawn and to the back of the building where there was a pool of water and a statue planted in the middle of the water. The statue was an image of a really large golden crystal. Iris zipped open her bag and took out two breathing masks, turned around and handed one to Barry. He took it, still a bit confused, "What's this for?"

"Batman constructed a secret tunnel underwater, a passageway in case of emergencies - which often happened a lot," she explained while she put on her own breathing mask.

Barry made a shocking expression, "Batman really exists!?" but he puts the breathing mask on over his head.

They stepped into the pool and duck their heads under the water. Swimming closer to the bottom of the pool, it got warmer than she anticipated. 'Or maybe it was really Aquaman who came up with the idea. It did seem like more of his thing,' Iris thought wildly as they swam beneath the statue. Their heads resurfaced a bit later to a room in the basement. She felt chills stepping out of the pool but ignored them. The bag she was still carrying was soaking wet; droplets of water dripped on the marble floor. She zipped it open once more, put the breathing mask away, and got out a lump of wet clothes. Or, in this case, a particular red suit.

"Never was a fan of swimming," Barry commented, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair to wrinkle the water out while he also handed her his own breathing mask which she also stored away in the bag, "Preferred to Run." He grinned his famous smirk at her, making her heart race.

TO BE CONTINUED...


Author's Note: And that's it for this chapter! Iris & Barry finally made it to Justice League Headquarters. But, what will they find inside? How will Barry run? Now that he has his suit again but doesn't have his powers?!

STAY TUNED!

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