Chương 4: Flashpoint part 1
"Okay…" Peter said rubbing his head in confusion as they were pulling up towards Wayne manor that looked like it's been abandoned for years "Your saying that somehow the world's changed, you mom is somehow alive, The Justice League doesn't apparently exist, and you have no powers"
"That's about right" Barry said as he frowned at how deserted Wayne manor was as he and Peter got out of the car "I don't know what happened but I think… I think Zoom had something to do with this"
"Makes you say that?" Peter asked as they approached the main door to the manor
"Well he killed my mom and now she's alive…I don't know, maybe it wasn't him but something isn't right, I know it" Barry said as he tried to push the door open only for it to barely budge "It's locked or something's barring it from the other side"
"Stand aside Barry" Peter said as he gently pushed Barry aside and rolled his shoulders "I've always wanted to this…"
Peter suddenly kicked the door and sent it flying into the wall on the opposite side of the hall and have it smash into an old table. Barry gave Peter a small smirk who returned it with a shrug as they entered the seemingly abandoned manor
"Knock, knock…" Peter said as he took in the state of the place. It looked every bit as decrypted inside as it did outside "Man if Alfred was here he'd have a heart attack"
"Hello?" Barry shouted as he scanned the place for signs of lives "Alfred? Bruce? Tim?"
"Cassandra?" Peter yelled out for Black bat while he used his enhance hearing, while not up to Superman's levels, to listen for any signs of life "Dick? Jason, you here?"
"Think no one's home" Barry said with some panic in his voice
"Hmm…let's check downstairs. If Batman is still around he may have set up shop down there" Peter said as he made his way to the study that housed the entryway to the Batcave
"And if he isn't?" Barry asked as he stepped over what looked like a hole in the floor
"I've been to Gotham enough times and hacked Bruce's computers to know where a lot of his secondary and back up caves are in this city and locations for possible substitutes. If this Batman isn't here, then maybe he's in one of them" Peter said as he and Barry entered the study and saw the grandfather clock leaning to the side with a tunnel partially exposed behind it
Peter snorted "Sloppy…"
He approached the clock and ripped it off the wall and threw it to the side and looked down the stair case. He didn't see any of the usual security systems, railings or lights that Bruce would normally have. He looked back towards Barry "Are you sure that Batman might be here?"
"Not really" Barry said with a frown as he started to descend the stair case "So how was it that you came to be in Mephisto's dimension?"
"He sent some kind of agent called Demogoblin to capture me and drag me back to his master like a dog with a ball" Peter said with some disdain
"What was he going to do to you, aside from torture and kill you?" Barry asked with some hesitance
"He was going to turn me into some demonic warrior of his and send me back to you all and well…you can figure it out" Peter said with a cough as he and Barry made out a light further down the stair case
Barry picked up the pace while Peter was looking at his surroundings with a worried look on his face, they should have passed several platforms housing Batman's gear by now but they haven't, another clue that even if Batman was here, he won't be the one that Barry and Peter have come to know
"Wonder if it's too much to ask for him to be less of an asshole here" Peter said to no one in particular before he heard a shout from Barry and sounds of a fight breaking out
Peter's eyes narrowed as he rushed down the stairs in a red and blue blur. He heard more shouting and what sounded like Barry trying to reason with the man based on his voice and arrived just in time to see what looked like Batman break Barry's finger and almost his whole arm
Peter rushed over and grabbed the man's shoulder "That's enough!"
Peter felt his spider-sense flare and was able to block a swipe from Batman and a kick aimed at his midsection. Peter's eyes and lenses narrowed as he slowly fell back while blocking Batman's attacks, not because he was being overwhelmed but so he can get the man away from Barry. Luckily this man's attacks weren't as refined or quick and were more akin to a brawler's style than some of the advance martial arts that Bruce has learned over the years. Peter also saw that this man was older and smelled like he hasn't showed in a few days
'Yep, not our Batman' Peter thought as he grabbed Batman's fist and brought the man into a headbutt before kicking hi feet out from under him and was about to-
"Peter stop!" Barry shouted as he got in between him and the slowly rising Batman
Barry than turned towards Batman "Look, Doctor Wayne…me and him are not your enemy"
Batman growled at them and spoke in what was supposed to be an intimidating voice but Peter thought the guy may have had one too many cigarettes "Who are you, how'd you get here?"
"My name is Barry Allan, and like you I have another identity, I'm the Flash. After I was struck by a bolt of lightning years ago I became the fastest man alive-"
"You were fast enough to stop me earlier you delusional son of a bitch" Batman growled before he looked towards Peter with a glare "And who the hell are you?"
"I'm Rick James bitch" Peter said in a tense tone 'Considering this guy's age and the fact that Barry called him Doctor Wayne…I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is Thomas Wayne…Bruce's father…'
Barry gave Peter a glare "He's Spider-man, he was bitten by a radioactive spider that was also connected to some weird mystical stuff and he happens to be the center of a-"
"Barry" Peter gave the man a glance followed by a shake of the head "Let's stay focused on why we came here in the first place, not my life story"
"Right sorry…okay look, I don't have my powers anymore and no one remembers me being the Flash and probably Spider-man too" Barry said as he cradled his arm that was still sore from earlier before looking up at older alternate Batman "We're not your enemy and we need your help"
Thomas gave them a dismissive snort "Than you came to the wrong place"
"Clearly" Peter said in a blank tone before looking towards Barry "You sure we can't find someone else like, I don't know, Doctor Fate?"
Barry looked unsure before he carefully approached Batman "Look Doctor Wayne we-AHHHHHH!"
"BARRY!" Peter yelled as he rushed towards his friend who was clutching his head in pain while Thomas took a surprised step back at the man
"What's wrong with him?" Thomas said not sure what was going on with the man
Peter didn't know and was about to say as much when Barry stated to talk
"It happened last year…Aquaman and Atlantis flooding Europe" Barry said with wide eyes as he held in his head
"Aquaman attacked Europe?" Peter said in disbelief
"Millions died…they were caught in the cross fire of Atlantis's war with the Amazons" Batman said in a quite tone
Peter's eyes widened at that and was about to ask the man to elaborate when suddenly Barry continued "…And before that Wonder Woman leading the Amazons on a blitzkrieg through London…"
Peter couldn't believe what he just heard from Barry, that his wife had led the Amazons to attack London, and likely killed millions
"Peter…" Barry said with horror "My memories are changing. This isn't a parallel earth or a mirror world…this is home. This is real!"
'No…it can't be because that would mean that Diana…Diana would never do that, no matter what she'd never attack innocent people or start a war with Arthur…' Peter said in shock as he tried to comprehend what the hell was going on in this twisted nightmare
"That's the first thing you've said that makes sense…" Thomas said in a grim tone
Peter was about to comment on that when suddenly his spider-sense flared to the point it almost hurt and Peter was suddenly standing and scanning the caves with his hands glowing because of his venom blasts
It was then that the three men heard a sound echo behind them in the cave
TING... TING… TING… TING…
Peter looked towards the source and narrowed his lenses at what he saw, a small golden ring with the Flash insignia on it
Barry looked equally confused as he approached it carefully and reached for it "…My ring?"
"If that's your ring Barry doesn't that mean your suit's inside?" Peter asked as he felt his spider sense stop tingling 'Why the hell would his ring set off my spider-sense? I can't hear anything inside it or smell any explosives…and even if it was dangerous my spider sense would still be ringing'
"How the hell is his suit inside that thing?" Thomas asked with confusion
"It's made of a friction proof material that expands upon contact with air, Peter here helped me design later versions of it" Barry said as he activated the mechanism that released his suit
FLZZSSHHHH!
Peter felt his blood run cold and the blood left Barry's face as they stared at the suit…the suit of Barry's greatest nemesis…
"This isn't my suit" Barry whispered in shock
"Barry…just before the ring appeared my spider-sense flared…" Peter said as he scanned the room for any signs of the owner of the suit
"Is he here? He could be moving so fast that he's invisible" Barry said in a tense tone as he scanned the room with Peter
"Nah if he was still here my spider-sense would have picked it up by now. It's sudden actions from guys like you at that speed I can't sense but if they stay around long enough it adapts to at least warn me that their nearby" Peter said as he relaxed somewhat "Assuming they're not working with Spider Slayer…again"
"Who?" Batman asked with confusion
"Eobard Thawne, the owner of this suit" Barry looked towards Batman with a grim look
"What kind of name is Eobard?" Thomas questioned in wonder
"One that shows his parents hate him" Peter snorted with grim humor
"He's from the future" Barry said in a serious tone "He's a scientist from the twenty-fifth century who became obsessed with the power I have…had. He turned himself into his own era's fastest man alive by replicating the accident that transformed me into a living kinetic engine"
Barry than looked down at the suit he was holding with a frown "He calls himself Professor Zoom…The Reverse Flash"
"The Reverse Flash…" Thomas said with his red lenses narrowing "Why would his uniform be in your ring?"
"Thawne must have put in there" Peter said as he looked at the suit with a feeling of unease. He's had his own less than thrilling encounters with the future speedster "He wants us to know it's him"
"I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind this. He's taunting me" Barry nodded in agreement "Like always"
Batman looked more than skeptical about the entire situation playing out in front of him "Your more paranoid than the Joker. You belong in Arkham"
"Says the man dressed like a giant bat and lives in a cave like one" Peter said sarcastically
"I'm not crazy Doctor Wayne" Barry said as he shook his head "Thawne's as fast as I used to be… and he could do things I never could"
"And what would that be?" Thomas asked suspiciously
Barry adopted a serious expression that also seemed to be full of pain "He can change history. My mother was murdered when I was ten and my father was convicted for it" Barry let out a sigh as he rubbed his brow in exhaustion "I spent my life studying forensics to prove he was innocent and to catch my mother's real killer"
Barry than let out a humorless laugh "But my father died in prison and I never found my mother's killer...Until I became the Flash"
"Turns out that Thawne was the one to do it" Peter said as he made his way over to a table and leaned against it and crossed his arms "Man had the nerve to even admit to Barry like it was some sort of achievement"
"My entire life had been targeted by an enemy I hadn't even made yet. It was Revenge in reverse" Barry said with some anger in his voice
The three stood there in silence for several moments before Barry spoke up again "But she's alive now. There's no doubt that Thawne altered history again. I mean everything's gone to hell. No one's heard of Superman, Aquaman's at war with Wonder Woman and-"
"What about Bruce?" Thomas said with caution "You called me Bruce when you came in here"
"That's because in our world, you were shot and killed instead of him. Bruce became Batman and waged war on crime in Gotham City" Barry revealed
Thomas looked shocked to hear that his son Bruce had lived "Bruce…he survived?"
Barry nodded "Your son was one of my closest friends…is one of my closest friends"
Tomas stared at Barry for a moment before he turned his gaze towards Peter "Were you and Bruce close?"
Peter was quite for a long time and he saw that Barry was watching him with a sympathetic look. Aside from Clark and Hal. Barry was the only one who was aware of Peter's and Bruce's feelings for Diana and how often…Peter came second place to her affections for years which was largely responsible for their falling out as time went on
Peter took a shuddering breath before looking back towards Bruce's father "We were…but that was a long time ago mister Wayne"
Thomas watched him for a long time before he nodded and turned towards Barry "If your both telling the truth, can you change this? Changed it so I die and Bruce…Bruce can live?"
Barry had a calculated look on his face as he ran over the possible scenarios that could happen when they find Eobard before he nodded "Maybe, but we're going to need to find the Reverse Flash and figure out exactly what it is he did…"
"And make him fix whatever it is he screwed with in the first place" Peter said with a growl
Thomas looked back and forth between the two with a slightly hopeful expression on his half-covered face "Can you really change this word?"
"We have to" Barry said in a determined tone but first things first Doctor Wayne, I need my speed…Before I forget everything I knew"
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