When he opened his eyes, Alf was instantly worried. There was roof over him, he could see, and a gentle fuzz tucked up under his chin along with a warmth over his body indicated he was wrapped in a blanket.
Unfortunately, the material overhead wasn't the rough stone or bright blue plaster that would indicate he was home, and the cloth he could feel definitely wasn't one he was used to.
Positive thinking, Alf, He could hear his mother's voice saying. You clearly aren't in some villain's warehouse, tied up with chains.
But that doesn't mean he isn't the prisoner of some madwoman who's going to pretend he's her child, and lock him up somewhere less pleasant if he doesn't cooperate. That would be his dad's voice now. Sometimes Alf really hated having such opposite pessimist/optimist parents.
Venting a sigh through his nose, the boy started to shift his head to study the rest of the room he was in. And found himself almost nose to nose with another person.
"Hi!" The girl giggled as his eyes widened in shock. She backed up a little, allowing Alf to see the... superhero costume... Specifically, the old Impulse design.
Red hair, green eyes, Impulse... Crap. Those thoughts were all his own as Alf realized what had happened. I hope momma kills Zoom for this. And if she didn't, everyone on his father's side of the family certainly would.
"So... You're awake now." Wrenching his attention back to the girl, Alf gulped as her eyes narrowed. "You got a name, kid?"
He opened his mouth to respond - and immediately shut it again.
"Hey, it's okay. Look, my name's Impulse, but you can call me Irey." She smiled at him again. "Now can you tell me yours?" He shook his head, and the girl sighed.
"Looks like our guest is awake." A new voice said, and Alf paled further as a grown man with the same red hair entered his line of sight.
"Yeah, but he won't talk and tell me his name." The girl crossed her arms and glared at him. Alf shrank back a little as the man frowned and reached towards him. Seeing this, he paused and held the hand up, palm out.
"I'm not going to hurt you." The man said softly, though that wasn't what Alf worried about. Cautiously, the man started reaching forward again, and gently brushed his fingers through Alf's hair. The boy could feel the slight tingles of Speed Force energy through the contact, and wondered what the man was feeling from him. A soft hm was all he heard, though.
"Irey, go get your grand aunt for me, will ya?"
"Sure, Dad!" A fwoosh of red, and she was gone. The movement was enough to get Alf to look away from the man now kneeling before him and look around the room.
It looked like a regular house, with plain but comfortable furniture and plenty of pictures hung up on the walls. There was a set of stairs off to the left, a closet beside them, and a hallway on the opposite corner. Considering that Irey had run around behind the sofa he was laying on, Alf figured there were more doorways that he couldn't see.
"You've come a long way, haven't you?" The man muttered, causing Alf's eyes to snap back towards him. "I wonder if you know." Biting his lip, it was all Alf could do to avoid blabbering everything that was filling up his mind.
Then Irey was back, moving slow enough to hang onto the hand of a grey-haired woman with the same warm green eyes as the others.
"What is it, Wally?" She asked as the man stood up again.
"Can you take a look at him and tell me what you think? I don't want to bias your opinion just yet."
Nodding, the older woman came and took a seat beside him. Alf stared up at her in open shock. He'd seen the old photos of course, but it was mind-boggling to actually be meeting this woman in the flesh.
"Hello, sweetheart," She spoke softly, also stroking back a tuft of his hair. "My name's Iris Allen. What's yours?" After a beat of his silence, Irey spoke up.
"He won't say. Do you think he can?"
"Probably just wants to keep quiet until he knows more about the situation." The man, Wally, muttered. Sighing, Alf sat up and pushed the blanket off of him, revealing his uniform once more. Iris tried to stop him from swinging his legs off of the sofa, but Alf merely shot her a small glare, and the woman stopped. He missed the startled glance exchanged between her and Wally as he stood.
Walking over towards the nearest window, Alf stood on tip toe to peer outside, and his frown deepened at the sunset-lit sight.
He recognized Central City, but this skyline was slightly different than what he new. It was missing several buildings, and some of the ones here didn't have the additions he knew were supposed to be there. The adults behind him were murmuring to each other as Irey moved forward to join him at the window.
"Y'know... My grand uncle Barry, he's the Flash, he wanted to call somebody who might know more about you than we do. If you just talk to us, we won't have to, which would be good 'cause he can be kinda scary to people who meet him." Alf just stared at her. "Batman, I mean. Since, well, a friend of mine is supposed to be wearing that." She pointed to the R on his chest, which Alf self-consciously covered with his gauntleted hand.
"So, can you tell me anything?" Irey asked hopefully. Alf bit his lip again, and shook his head. She sighed, a noise mimicked by the two adults behind them, who'd fallen silent.
"Well, it's almost dinner time. You hungry?" This time, Alf nodded vigorously. His older brother always teased that he should've been the one to be born a speedster, because he ate almost as much as one.