Spidey & Speedy - Central City Rush

Chapter 10 - I Never Understood The Frequency

***PETER***

Turns out I spoke too soon. Two blocks away from where Barry is still fighting Captain Cold, another wormhole pops into existence in front of us. Cisco, who's ahead of me and Gwen because he's leading the way, stops short and whispers, "Don't tell me it's Heat Wave."

I saw a picture of Heat Wave before heading out from the hotel, and this guy isn't him. He's not as big and intimidating, and he's downright ugly, especially with the huge sunglasses he's wearing over half his face.

Is it too much to hope that he was just wearing those sunglasses because it was broad daylight on the other side of the wormhole from whence he came?

"Excuse me?" I ask, waving at the guy. He doesn't respond, other than giving a thousand-yard stare right through me and the others. "Everything all right, buddy?"

No answer. This is even creepier than it sounds.

Seized by a sudden urge to quote one of my favorite books, I switch to French and ask the guy the same question (with one key change based on the current time of day) Dirk Pitt asked of the guys on the Benin gunboats in Sahara: "Bonsoir! Pouvez-vous me recommander un bon restaurant?"

"I speak English, you know," the guy says, sniffing loudly.

"So why didn't you talk to us?" Cisco mutters.

Pointing at the Captain Cold fight still in progress, Gwen says, "Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but we kinda have urgent business elsewhere, so if you please...?"

The guy raises his sunglasses, but Cisco's ready for him. He punches him in the face and runs past him. Gwen and I gape at the sight for a second before following him. "I take it this guy was seriously bad news?" I ask.

"We call him Rainbow Raider," Cisco says. "Never look him in the eye, especially when his eyes are glowing red. They'll really put the whammy on you, if you know what I mean."

"I don't think we wanna know what you mean," Gwen says.

"You should," Cisco says, "in case we face him again. But enough on Double-R for now - Captain Cold's demanding more of our attention!"

Actually, I'd say he's demanding more of Barry's attention. Which he's getting, as Barry's zipping around, dodging repeated shots of frigid blue energy. Cold, as a result, has truckloads of trouble locking on to any one spot long enough to nail his target. It's like a million video game boss battles I've played in my time, from Crash Bandicoot to Jak and Daxter to Kingdom Hearts. Except here, the boss has a weapon that could give Barry practically a one-hit kill, so it's absolutely imperative that he not take a single hit.

Caitlin and Wells have taken refuge behind a row of trees, but she's got an idea. As soon as Cold turns her way, she turns on her phone's flashlight. I've always hated it when people use those things - they're extremely bright, so looking at it even sideways can blind you for a second if you're not careful. But today, it proves to be very helpful, because even with his dark goggles, Cold is stunned by the sudden flash of white in front of him. He instinctively covers his eyes with his hand, then fires at Caitlin and Wells, who manage to jump out of the way just in time.

Equally instinctively, I hit my webshooter and snag the cold gun from his hands. I level it at its previous owner. I'm not sure exactly how to work it yet, but all I need to do is project power into my voice as I yell, "I don't think you're wearing enough layers for this, Common Cold!"

"That's Captain Cold to you," he says, glaring at me.

"Yeah, thank you, Captain Obvious."