Alex had barely tossed Green Arrow and the Flash onto the living-room floor when a sonic boom rolled across the sky.
He sighed.
Of course.
Clark.
Clark Kent was great in every way—except for his compulsive need to stick his nose into everything.
Creaaak.
Sure enough, when Alex opened the door, Clark was already standing outside.
Because the two heroes were still lying unconscious inside, Alex didn't invite him in. He stepped outside instead.
Clark raised both hands slightly, showing he meant no harm.
> "Homelander, I'm not spying on you—I swear. You know as well as I do that sometimes, with our hearing… we catch things we don't mean to."
> "And don't get the wrong idea.
I trust that whatever you're doing, you have your reasons.
I don't always agree with your methods, but you've never hurt anyone innocent."
> "But… Oliver is my friend.
So I had to come ask—
Is there some kind of misunderstanding?"
> "What are you planning to do with him?"
Exactly what Alex expected.
He knew Clark would come for Green Arrow.
What he didn't expect was that a farm boy from Smallville somehow knew Oliver Queen personally.
> "You know Oliver?"
Clark nodded.
> "We once chased the same meteor freak—kind of got to know each other that way."
That made sense.
From a normal perspective, their worlds were completely different.
But in the superhuman world?
Heroes meeting heroes wasn't strange at all.
Clark's expression hardened again.
> "Homelander, whatever happened, I can vouch for Oliver—he's a good man.
If there's a misunderstanding, I want to help clear it up."
Alex shook his head.
> "Relax.
Yes, there's a misunderstanding.
But I 'invited' him over only because I want to work with him."
Clark finally exhaled, shoulders dropping.
> "If you ever need help, you know you can ask me anytime."
Alex didn't comment.
---
Inside the house
While Alex and Clark talked outside, Barry Allen slowly regained consciousness.
He blinked, sat up, and looked around.
A normal living room.
Not a dungeon.
Not a secret lab.
> "…What?"
The speedster checked himself.
Not restrained.
Not injured.
Just knocked out.
Barry's head snapped toward the motion beside him.
> "Oliver!"
He rushed over and shook his friend awake.
Oliver groaned and rubbed his jaw.
> "Barry—are you okay?"
> "Yeah. You?"
> "Same. Just a headache."
Both men examined themselves—
No wounds.
No restraints.
Nothing missing.
Just unconscious.
Oliver frowned deeply.
> "Hold on.
Me getting knocked out makes sense.
But you? How did you get taken down?
Don't tell me Zoom stole your speed again."
Barry rolled his eyes.
> "He didn't. And I told you—Hunter only stole my speed because Zoom threatened him. We patched things up."
> "I got taken out because the guy we fought is another speedster."
Oliver stiffened.
> "Zoom? The Earth-2 one? He showed up here?"
Barry shook his head quickly.
> "No.
This was someone completely new.
I've never seen him before.
And he's not from Central City."
Oliver blinked.
> "There are other speedsters out there?"
Barry spread his hands helplessly.
> "Apparently."
A beat of silence.
> "So what's the plan now?" Barry asked.
Oliver exhaled sharply.
> "He knocked us out… but didn't hurt us. And he brought us somewhere normal, not a prison."
> "Whatever he wants, he hasn't acted hostile."
> "If you want my opinion, we hear him out."
Barry nodded.
They didn't really have a choice.
Given that speedster's speed, running was pointless.
Lying low was pointless.
Pretending ignorance was pointless.
And worse—
He clearly knew their identities.
They needed to handle this carefully.
Creaaak.
The door opened.
Footsteps.
Then a calm voice:
> "I'd like to discuss a collaboration."
Alex entered.
Barry tensed. Oliver raised his chin.
> "Before that," Oliver cut in, eyes sharp, "you said Luthor works for you."
He needed clarity.
If this man was the mastermind behind Luthor's human experiments, Oliver would never work with him—no matter the consequence.
Alex shrugged.
> "Correct.
But like I told you—that lab isn't what you think it is."
He then explained the true purpose of the facility.
By the time Alex finished, both Barry and Oliver looked stunned.
Skeptical—but thoughtful.
Because what they saw inside the base… really did look different from Luthor's other labs.
The meteor mutants were treated far better than expected.
Barry and Oliver exchanged a look.
They weren't convinced yet—
But Alex's explanation wasn't exactly unbelievable either.
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