Barry pushed the door open. Two people were sitting inside.
He still had his keys in his hand when the one at the table looked toward the door.
Black hair hung beside his neck, armor showed beneath his dark coat, and he held a Batarang. A cold appearance, a cold set to his mouth, cold eyes.
He was sitting in Barry's favorite swivel chair, turning around with quite a practiced motion.
The other guest stood by the wall, half leaning against Barry's second-favorite chair, wearing a red suit with a spider on his chest.
"How did you get in?"
"The door wasn't locked." Peter pointed toward the entrance. "We knocked, but no one answered, so we came in to wait for you. Sorry."
Barry stood in the doorway for a moment, his gaze moving from the spider to the Batarang.
"You're here for me?"
"Barry Allen. It's time to put your abilities to use. This Earth needs you now." Chen Mo tucked the Batarang into his palm, keeping his voice deep and his mouth set in a flat line. "I'm Batman."
Peter looked over, amusement in his eyes, and followed up with the line they had agreed on along the way.
"I'm Iron Man."
Barry stared at the emblem on Peter's chest.
"Iron Man? I've never heard of you... Isn't that a Spider-Man suit you're wearing? I watch the news."
Peter looked down, then raised his face and nodded.
"Okay, I'm Spider-Man."
"That's what I thought."
Barry put his keys on the table, closed the door, and walked toward Peter. The books piled beside the table blocked his way. Barry reached out to move them, and the cables underneath fell out with them, dragging the top two books off the pile.
A red blur swept past the table leg. Barry