"Spider-Man?"
Barry was stunned for two seconds before coming to his senses, blinking blankly, "Wait, aren't you Batman?"
"When did I ever say I was Batman?"
Darian chuckled cheerfully, "Does a sunny and cheerful big boy like me look like that gloomy guy who suffers from severe persecutory delusions, looks bitter and deep, and fantasizes about being a bat?"
Barry: "..."
What a sharp review; could this guy have a grudge against Batman?
Darian waved his hand, "Then you guessed wrong. Batman and I are close friends."
Barry's back turned cold, and he blurted out, "How did you know what I was thinking? Could it be that you have…"
Darian interrupted first, "No, I don't have the ability to read minds."
Barry: "..."
It was confirmed; this guy definitely has the ability to read minds.
Barry's mouth twitched, "Since you aren't Batman, who are you?"
Darian didn't hide it and said openly, "Just like you, neither of us belongs to this timeline. I come from another parallel Universe, which is a bit similar to your original timeline. In my Universe, there are also superheroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman."
"Parallel Universes?"
Barry wasn't unfamiliar with this concept. In his original World, he had experienced several parallel Universe-related events.
As the saying goes, when something can't be explained, blame it on parallel space-time.
With that said, why Darian knew so many things made complete sense.
Darian nodded, "That's right. In my Universe, we were even teammates, forming The Seven together with other superheroes to guard the peace of Earth, and you are the most important member among us."
Barry was a bit flattered, "The me from another World is that important?"
Darian said with a sincere expression, "Of course. Once we encounter some irrecoverable crisis, we have to rely on you to reboot the entire Universe."
Barry: "..."
So it turns out I'm just a reboot button.
"Who is this?"
A low, husky voice suddenly came from the side.
Barry turned his head and saw a pitch-black figure walking out from the shadows.
That styling, that posture, that gloomy temperament…
This time it definitely couldn't be wrong. If he was wrong again, he would run with his hands from now on.
Barry's eyes lit up, "Is that you, Bru…"
"Thomas, you've returned just in time."
Darian waved his hand, "Let me introduce you. This is Barry, codenamed Flash."
Barry: ".Fu."
Good thing no one heard that.
Darian suddenly spoke up, "I heard that. You said you're going to run with your hands from now on."
Barry: "..."
You're not even going to pretend anymore, huh!
Thomas narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on Barry, "Is this the culprit who messed with the timeline?"
"It's him."
Darian nodded.
During the past few days, he had told Thomas everything about how Barry changed the timeline.
Only then did Thomas realize that all of this was a huge stunt Barry had pulled off behind everyone's back, altering history of his own accord, which turned this World into the ghost of a mess it was now, even making his own son vanish.
Thinking of this, Thomas's gaze turned cold, looking rather unkindly at Barry.
Pricked by that gaze, a chill rose straight up the back of Barry's neck.
He subconsciously took half a step back toward Darian and asked in a low voice, "Who is Batman in this World? He doesn't seem to like me very much."
Darian explained, "He is Bruce's biological father, Thomas Wayne. In this timeline, the Wayne couple didn't die; the one who died in Crime Alley became Bruce, and Thomas became Batman in this World."
Barry swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
No wonder Thomas gave him that look the moment he saw him. It turned out he had indirectly killed the man's son.
Darian patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry, he won't kill you—at most he'll just beat you into a paralyzed cripple."
Barry: "....."
"Thanks, I feel completely uncomforted."
Darian turned to Thomas and said, "Alright, put away your Death Glare first. Barry didn't mean it, and we're counting on him to fix this World back."
Barry hurriedly nodded, "Yes, I'll do my best to restore everything back to normal."
Thomas was silent for a few seconds before asking, "What should we do now?"
Darian said, "Let's restore Barry's Speed Force first. There's an old fox hiding in the shadows stirring up trouble, and we need Barry to confront him head-on."
Barry curiously pursued, "Who are you talking about?"
Darian slowly said, "Your old rival, Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne."
"Thawne is here too?"
Barry's expression changed instantly.
Reverse-Flash was born in the future of the 25th century. Because of his extreme adoration for Flash, he decided to become his arch-nemesis.
This kind of plot where a fan attacks their idol isn't rare in the DC Universe; it's a traditional art form.
Ain't that right, Bruce?
Bruce: "..."
Reverse-Flash possesses the Negative Speed Force and is similarly able to travel back in time.
Thus, he went back to Barry's childhood, murdered Barry's mother, and framed Barry's father, leaving Barry with indelible childhood trauma.
Just like Batman's Crime Alley, this event was extremely important to Barry and belonged to a timeline node that absolutely could not be altered.
Because only when Barry's mother died would he gain the Speed Force, become Flash, and have the ability to go back in time to save his mother.
But the problem was, if his mother hadn't died, Barry wouldn't have become Flash and thus wouldn't be able to go back in time.
This in itself was an insoluble paradox.
It was precisely because Barry traveled back to stop Reverse-Flash from murdering his mother that he messed up the entire timeline, giving birth to the Flashpoint World right before them.
It is worth mentioning that in the comics, Barry had traveled back to the room where Reverse-Flash murdered his mother multiple times for various reasons.
Sometimes to stop Reverse-Flash, sometimes to stop his past self who was trying to stop Reverse-Flash, sometimes just wanting to take a distant look at his mother, and sometimes even bringing his whole family along to visit…
To this day, no one knows how many Flashes were hidden in that room.
Besides, other speedsters had also come here at different times. That room once became an internet-famous check-in spot for speedsters; anyone who hadn't checked in there wouldn't have the face to call themselves a speedster.
Darian nodded, "Yes, you can understand by opening your ring."
Hearing this, Barry quickly activated his ring, and a yellow uniform instantly popped out of it.
He recognized this uniform; it was the battle suit of Reverse-Flash.
"This bastard!"
Barry gritted his teeth, knowing this was Reverse-Flash deliberately humiliating him.
Darian shrugged, "So the most urgent matter right now is to restore your Speed Force first."
Reverse-Flash wasn't some small fry like Quicksilver. With Darian's current speed, he simply couldn't keep up with the opponent, not to mention Reverse-Flash possessed heaven-defying abilities like the Speed Force. The difficulty of defeating him wasn't low.
Precisely because of this, Darian thought of helping Barry restore his Speed Force, letting a speedster defeat a speedster.
Barry also understood the seriousness of the matter and immediately stopped hesitating, springing into action.
With Thomas's resources, they quickly gathered all the necessary tools and materials.
Barry assembled these things himself into a metal chair, the surface of which was wrapped with densely packed wires, a lightning rod erected at the top, and various chemical agents placed on both sides of the chair.
Looking at the crude device before him, Thomas couldn't help frowning, "Pouring chemicals on yourself and hooking up a lightning rod can make you the fastest person in the World?"
This was too absurd and completely unscientific.
Darian shrugged, "It is just that absurd. This method only works for Barry; if anyone else forcefully mimics it, they will either be severely burned by the chemicals or directly struck to Death by lightning."
He thought it was a pity in his heart.
If this method worked for anyone, he would have done it himself long ago.
With the Speed Force, he could use the legendary SL technique—whenever a file got corrupted, he could just restart; it was simply invincible.
Barry had already adjusted the equipment and spoke up, "Now all we need is a bolt of lightning to recreate the accident from back then, but this weather…"
He looked up at the sky; the night sky of Gotham was dead silent, showing no signs of raining at all.
"Just lightning, no need to look at the heavens' mood. Just sit down."
Darian walked forward, signaling Barry to sit up.
Barry didn't understand why, but he obediently sat on the metal chair.
Immediately after, Darian pulled out the goblin scimitar, raised it high, and pointed the tip toward the night sky.
The next moment, a yellow rune appeared beneath Barry's feet, rapidly solidifying.
Rumble—!
Accompanied by a deafening thunderclap, a thick blue-and-white lightning bolt suddenly plummeted from the sky, landing precisely on Barry's body.
The powerful current instantly coursed through Barry's whole body, and the surrounding chemical agents exploded simultaneously, igniting a fierce fire that burned frantically on Barry.
Barry screamed in piercing agony, his entire body convulsing violently amidst the flames, and the air was filled with a pungent scorched odor.
Thomas's expression changed slightly, and just as he was about to step forward, Darian had already taken a step ahead, picking up a fire extinguisher nearby and giving Barry a fierce spray.
White powder smeared all over Barry, and the fire was quickly suppressed.
When the thick smoke slowly dispersed, Barry was paralyzed on the metal chair, charred all over, and the air was full of the smell of burnt flesh.
The injuries looked very severe, and indeed they weren't light at all.
Yet even so, Barry tenaciously survived, locking his health in place.
Saying this physique belongs to a normal person is unbelievable.
Darian squatted down beside Barry, took out a healing potion, pried open his mouth, and poured it in.
The effect was immediate.
The shocking wounds on Barry's body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, and most of it recovered quickly.
"Cough… cough cough… I actually survived…"
Barry spat out a mouthful of pitch-black soot, looking terrified.
That strike just now almost gave him a life review.
Darian waited for him to ease up for a few seconds and asked, "Has your Speed Force recovered?"
Barry closed his eyes and sensed carefully.
After a moment, he shook his head in disappointment, "No, I can't feel anything."
"Looks like we failed."
Darian wasn't discouraged; he stood up, turned to look at Thomas, and said, "Prepare for the second attempt."
Barry widened his eyes, "Wait, the second time so soon? I haven't recovered ye—"
Before he could finish speaking, Darian pulled out a piece of cloth from somewhere and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
Darian kindly explained, "I forgot just now, the current will cause people's muscles to spasm uncontrollably, making it easy to bite your tongue. To prevent you from biting your tongue and committing suicide, it's better to block your mouth in advance. You don't have to thank me."
"Mmm-hmm-mm!"
With a cloth stuffed in his mouth, Barry could only make muffled sounds.
Darian didn't know what he wanted to say; after all, he didn't have the ability to read minds.
He rearranged the chemical agents and raised the goblin scimitar once more.
"Barry, I'm coming in, bear with it."
Rumble—!
A bolt of lightning struck down, and Barry turned into charcoal once more.
After Darian's rescue efforts, Barry still couldn't feel the Speed Force.
Darian encouraged him, "Failure is the mother of success; trying a few times and it'll work out."
Barry: "Mmm-hmm-mmmm!"
Thus, the third time.
Rumble—!
The fourth time.
Rumble—!
The Nth time.
Rumble—!
For a time, lightning flashed and thunder rolled over Wayne Manor, with bolts of lightning striking down one after another in rotation.
Pedestrians passing by in the distance stopped one after another, poking their heads to look toward the manor, wondering which wretched fellow was being chased by lightning to be struck endlessly.
And at this moment, an exploded charred black person sat paralyzed on the metal chair, his body convulsing uncontrollably nonstop.
This person was none other than that wretched Barry.
The clothes on him had long since burned away, leaving only a few charred cloth strips barely hanging on his body, his whole body emitting blue smoke, and the air filled with an indescribable scorched smell. That appearance was simply too miserable for anyone to bear looking at.
Thomas, who had harbored quite a bit of resentment towards Barry, felt a sense of relief at this moment.
He watched as Darian pulled Barry back from the gates of hell yet again, and suddenly noticed Darian stop his movements, raising his head to look at the sky, frozen in place like he'd been hit by an immobilization spell.
Thomas's heart tightened, and he asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Is he a goner?"
Darian closed his eyes and suddenly spoke, "He's back."
Thomas didn't hear clearly, "What did you say?"
Darian slowly opened his eyes, "I can feel it. The Flash is back."
Hearing this, Thomas subconsciously looked toward the metal chair.
As a result, the chair was completely empty; the person who had been paralyzed on it half-dead just moments ago was already gone.
Thomas asked in surprise, "Where did the person go?"
Darian smiled slightly, "He should be right beside us, but his speed is too fast; we just can't see clearly."
"I am right beside you."
A voice suddenly came from right beside their ears.
Darian praised, "Such fast speed! Much faster than the Flash in my Universe. I actually can't see a single trace of his trajectory—only hearing his voice without seeing his person."
Barry, standing in the darkness: "..."
Barry walked up close to them, flashing a row of dazzling white teeth, "I said, I am standing right beside you!"
Darian: "..."
Thomas: "..."
*******************************
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