Spidey & Speedy - Central City Rush

Chapter 14 - I Won't Give In Because I Choose To Thrive

***PETER***

The streets around Kreisberg Stadium are relatively deserted. It's not football season, and there are no concerts or other outdoor events planned for this weekend. So we have no problem sneaking into the place. Barry is the one who gets us in - he runs up the front of the building and reappears on the inside of the door in under ten seconds.

"Locked from the outside only?" I ask as he swings the heavy door open.

"Why wouldn't it be?" he says, beckoning us through. "Nobody's in here. Except maybe the ravens."

"Ravens?" Gwen asks.

"So it's true," Grayson laughs. "You guys really did steal Baltimore's mascot, and now it's made a nest here?"

Cisco (who's just joined us along with Caitlin and Wells) rolls his eyes. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"Everyone knows that's just a stupid rumor," Eddie laughs. "The Rush are NFL, not high schoolers. We don't steal other teams' mascots for kicks. No, we just give their cities' mayors fresh trout from the lake."

"Don't they do that in Seattle too?" asks Caitlin.

"Something like that," Liv says. "We're big on fish, so it's our primary export after grunge music."

"Yeah," Grayson says, "and if the Gotham Rogues lose the game, our mayor donates a live bat." He chuckles. "I think he really wants to spread a rabies epidemic on the West Coast."

"Like in Ashleigh Weigel-Barrera's book?" I ask.

"Fight to Survive. Exactly," Grayson says. "Thanks again, Olivia, for recommending that one to me."

"I'd recommend it to the kids as well," Olivia says with a wink, "but I bet their parents would object. Vociferously."

In the stands, I look up at the sky above. In this part of California, it's warm in the summer months, but frigid and even snowy in winter, so the stadium has a retractable roof to accommodate any conditions. When we first arrived at Keystone-Central International Airport on Friday evening, I picked up a pamphlet about a number of popular destinations here and in Central City's northern twin, Keystone City. Thinking back, I find it funny that I remembered something so mundane about the place where we might have our final stand against the Rogues' wormhole-borne doppelgängers. I hope it's the final stand, anyway. Gwen and I have to fly back home tomorrow morning, and I don't want to leave Barry and Grayson to deal with the bad guys without me.

"So..." Gwen drawls. "What's next? Are we gonna tear up the turf looking for ley lines?"

"I'm not so sure my secret Wayne Enterprises toy will work on these things," Grayson says. "Do ley lines make any kind of sound? Infra, ultra, or otherwise?"

"I don't think so," says Olivia. She pulls a quarter from her pocket and flips it absently. "But I think they like to take tolls."

"Are you trying to suggest they're magnetic or something?" I ask. "Coins aren't magnetic. Are they?"

With some certainty, Ravi says, "It's not magnetic. But it has something to do with the electrical properties of the alloy in the coin."

"Yeah," Gwen says. "The way I remember it, most metals tend to be positively charged, so they want to pick up electrons. Does that mean ley lines are negatively charged?"

"Something like that," Olivia says. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember it as well as I should. I'm kinda highly allergic to physics - I almost failed my electricity and magnetism course in college. Twice."

"To be fair," Grayson points out, "your professor was more concerned with sharpening his wit than the minds of his pupils."

"Yeah..." Olivia muses. "Memories...okay, okay. Now, if drop this coin down the stairs, it might just find its way to the nearest ley line and...yeah."