Reading settings
Chapter 489: Reverse Flash
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
Barry Allen stared in bewilderment at Tony, who was sitting across from him.
"Do we know each other?" Barry asked in confusion, looking from side to side.
"In fact, we do. The Flash, Barry Allen. I've been observing you for a long time."
Tony lifted his head, revealing the face hidden beneath his baseball cap.
"You? You are...!" Barry's eyes widened, his youthful impulsiveness immediately on full display. He exclaimed, excitedly trying to stand up and shout.
Tony gestured for him to sit down and smiled. "No need to be so tense, Barry. I just have some business with Dr. Harrison and happened to run into you."
"Oh, it's really you! I'm seeing you in person! Hello sir, I'm Barry Allen. It seems you know my name, and my identity. It's truly an honor. Then I... I mean, it's a real honor, Mr. Guardian. I grew up listening to your stories," Barry said excitedly.
He didn't try to hide anything, as it would be pointless. It wouldn't be difficult for Tony to discover his true identity. A person who could instantly control all technological devices could instantly grasp all the intelligence and information of an entire city.
Tony's eyelid twitched. Without pursuing the topic, he picked up his coffee and sniffed it. It was fragrant with a hint of bitterness, but he didn't drink it.
He still preferred tea and wasn't a fan of coffee.
"You said you're looking for Dr. Harrison? Do you two know each other?" Barry glanced at the surprised people looking their way, quickly regained his composure, and lowered his voice.
However, his action only made him look more suspicious.
"Hmm... you could say that. He definitely knows of me, and I know of him. I'm here to ask him about a few things," Tony said. "I hear Pietro is in this city as well?"
Quicksilver, Pietro, was a guy who couldn't sit still. It was no secret that Central City's Red Racer was a Speedster, and because The Flash had close ties with the police, Pietro was naturally drawn here.
Quicksilver wanted to race The Flash.
The result was a crushing defeat.
Quicksilver's speed comes from his X-Gene. Right now, he's only at a dozen or so times the speed of sound, not even fast enough to outrun Tony anymore, and his speed limit seems to be the speed of light. But for The Flash... circling the Milky Way Galaxy twice in one second is just a basic maneuver.
Take the third Flash, Wally, for instance. His speed reached thirteen trillion times the speed of light—terrifyingly fast.
Not to mention the ambitious Savitar, a corrupted version of Barry Allen who wants to become the God of Speed.
Of course, it was hard to say whether this particular Barry Allen, The Flash standing before him, could reach the level of circling the Milky Way Galaxy several times a second. After all, there were disparities between doppelgangers across the multiverse.
But he could definitely manage several hundred times the speed of sound. This was the baseline for Speedsters; anything less would be an embarrassment to the Speed Force...
"Yes, Pietro is being trained by Dr. Harrison." The topic energized Barry. Being a naturally active and impulsive young man, he said excitedly, "He ran all the way from New York to race me, but I left him in the dust. After that, he started pestering Dr. Harrison to train him."
As he spoke, Barry puffed out his chest proudly. "Dr. Harrison is someone I respect immensely. The speed I have today is all thanks to his training."
Tony asked impassively, "So, has Pietro's speed improved?"
"It has. From thirteen times the speed of sound to fourteen times," Barry said, with a hint of schadenfreude.
Tony gave a helpless smile. It was too difficult for Quicksilver to compete with Speedsters. Although the X-Gene in Quicksilver's body had astonishing potential, allowing him to barely manage timeline travel upon reaching the speed of light, one only had to look at the Speedsters...
This Barry before him, capable of moving at several hundred times the speed of sound, was already on the verge of performing time travel without even needing to reach the speed of light.
The Speed Force and time are fundamentally inseparable. By running with the Speed Force, as long as one found the correct frequency to enter the timeline, they could perform spacetime travel.
For Quicksilver to come and compete against The Flash was truly a great tragedy.
"Dr. Harrison is such a good person, willing to train a complete stranger like Quicksilver. And it seems you respect him a great deal," Tony said with a grin.
Tony knew exactly what kind of person Dr. Harrison was. He had come looking for Harrison for one reason and one reason only: the technology of the 25th century.
And most importantly, the technology to observe and extract the Speed Force.
Tony had always been interested in a cheat like the Speed Force. However, considering the Speed Force Wall—formed from condensed Speed Force—was filled with malice toward him, he could only resort to stealing to access it.
Tony could never hope to be recognized by the Speed Force in this lifetime and had no choice but to use external means.
The Reverse-Flash from the 25th century was originally an ardent fan of The Flash. He accidentally obtained a Flash suit from the past, and after intensive research, he managed to uncover the secrets of the Speed Force. He then used technology to steal the Speed Force, injecting it into himself to become a pseudo-Speedster.
Whatever a Speedster could do, the Reverse-Flash could do as well. The only drawback was that he needed to periodically replenish his Speed Force, unlike true Speedsters who could use it at will.
If the Speed Force Wall were likened to a power company, the company invests initial capital (the Speed Force) in individual customers (chosen individuals) to build solar panels (the Speedsters). Once built, these solar panels continuously feed electricity back to the company (recharging the Speed Force Wall).
But the Reverse-Flash was nothing more than an outright thief, stealing electricity from the company. He used as much as he stole, and when he ran out, he would just steal more.
Speedsters and the Speed Force have a symbiotic relationship. The Reverse-Flash, on the other hand, is a thief—a repeat offender whose thieving skills are so perfected that he's known as "the man even time cannot catch."
If even time cannot catch him, it means he's nearly impossible to kill.
If you kill the present-day Reverse-Flash, the countless other Reverse-Flashes at different points on the timeline will sense it and begin running frantically. Not even the obliterating power of time correction can catch up to them.
The fact that the Reverse-Flash could battle The Flash across the multiverse and infinite timelines was no joke.
The two talked for a little while longer, then got up and headed for S.T.A.R. Labs. Tony also got to experience what it felt like to be carried by a Speedster.
In the blink of an eye, a red electrical arc symbolizing the Speed Force erupted from Barry's body, leaving a trail of red lightning about one or two meters long in the air.
The next time Tony opened his eyes, he had already been transported from the city center to S.T.A.R. Labs.
"I protected you with the Speed Force, so you didn't have to worry about the impact of the sonic boom... though I guess that's not much of a concern for you," Barry said.
"I still appreciate it, Barry," Tony said with a faint smile.
No wonder so many people liked The Flash. The man was so sincere and considerate of others, truly deserving of his title as the "conscience" of the Justice League.
(end of chapter)
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
Barry Allen stared in bewilderment at Tony, who was sitting across from him.
"Do we know each other?" Barry asked in confusion, looking from side to side.
"In fact, we do. The Flash, Barry Allen. I've been observing you for a long time."
Tony lifted his head, revealing the face hidden beneath his baseball cap.
"You? You are...!" Barry's eyes widened, his youthful impulsiveness immediately on full display. He exclaimed, excitedly trying to stand up and shout.
Tony gestured for him to sit down and smiled. "No need to be so tense, Barry. I just have some business with Dr. Harrison and happened to run into you."
"Oh, it's really you! I'm seeing you in person! Hello sir, I'm Barry Allen. It seems you know my name, and my identity. It's truly an honor. Then I... I mean, it's a real honor, Mr. Guardian. I grew up listening to your stories," Barry said excitedly.
He didn't try to hide anything, as it would be pointless. It wouldn't be difficult for Tony to discover his true identity. A person who could instantly control all technological devices could instantly grasp all the intelligence and information of an entire city.
Tony's eyelid twitched. Without pursuing the topic, he picked up his coffee and sniffed it. It was fragrant with a hint of bitterness, but he didn't drink it.
He still preferred tea and wasn't a fan of coffee.
"You said you're looking for Dr. Harrison? Do you two know each other?" Barry glanced at the surprised people looking their way, quickly regained his composure, and lowered his voice.
However, his action only made him look more suspicious.
"Hmm... you could say that. He definitely knows of me, and I know of him. I'm here to ask him about a few things," Tony said. "I hear Pietro is in this city as well?"
Quicksilver, Pietro, was a guy who couldn't sit still. It was no secret that Central City's Red Racer was a Speedster, and because The Flash had close ties with the police, Pietro was naturally drawn here.
Quicksilver wanted to race The Flash.
The result was a crushing defeat.
Quicksilver's speed comes from his X-Gene. Right now, he's only at a dozen or so times the speed of sound, not even fast enough to outrun Tony anymore, and his speed limit seems to be the speed of light. But for The Flash... circling the Milky Way Galaxy twice in one second is just a basic maneuver.
Take the third Flash, Wally, for instance. His speed reached thirteen trillion times the speed of light—terrifyingly fast.
Not to mention the ambitious Savitar, a corrupted version of Barry Allen who wants to become the God of Speed.
Of course, it was hard to say whether this particular Barry Allen, The Flash standing before him, could reach the level of circling the Milky Way Galaxy several times a second. After all, there were disparities between doppelgangers across the multiverse.
But he could definitely manage several hundred times the speed of sound. This was the baseline for Speedsters; anything less would be an embarrassment to the Speed Force...
"Yes, Pietro is being trained by Dr. Harrison." The topic energized Barry. Being a naturally active and impulsive young man, he said excitedly, "He ran all the way from New York to race me, but I left him in the dust. After that, he started pestering Dr. Harrison to train him."
As he spoke, Barry puffed out his chest proudly. "Dr. Harrison is someone I respect immensely. The speed I have today is all thanks to his training."
Tony asked impassively, "So, has Pietro's speed improved?"
"It has. From thirteen times the speed of sound to fourteen times," Barry said, with a hint of schadenfreude.
Tony gave a helpless smile. It was too difficult for Quicksilver to compete with Speedsters. Although the X-Gene in Quicksilver's body had astonishing potential, allowing him to barely manage timeline travel upon reaching the speed of light, one only had to look at the Speedsters...
This Barry before him, capable of moving at several hundred times the speed of sound, was already on the verge of performing time travel without even needing to reach the speed of light.
The Speed Force and time are fundamentally inseparable. By running with the Speed Force, as long as one found the correct frequency to enter the timeline, they could perform spacetime travel.
For Quicksilver to come and compete against The Flash was truly a great tragedy.
"Dr. Harrison is such a good person, willing to train a complete stranger like Quicksilver. And it seems you respect him a great deal," Tony said with a grin.
Tony knew exactly what kind of person Dr. Harrison was. He had come looking for Harrison for one reason and one reason only: the technology of the 25th century.
And most importantly, the technology to observe and extract the Speed Force.
Tony had always been interested in a cheat like the Speed Force. However, considering the Speed Force Wall—formed from condensed Speed Force—was filled with malice toward him, he could only resort to stealing to access it.
Tony could never hope to be recognized by the Speed Force in this lifetime and had no choice but to use external means.
The Reverse-Flash from the 25th century was originally an ardent fan of The Flash. He accidentally obtained a Flash suit from the past, and after intensive research, he managed to uncover the secrets of the Speed Force. He then used technology to steal the Speed Force, injecting it into himself to become a pseudo-Speedster.
Whatever a Speedster could do, the Reverse-Flash could do as well. The only drawback was that he needed to periodically replenish his Speed Force, unlike true Speedsters who could use it at will.
If the Speed Force Wall were likened to a power company, the company invests initial capital (the Speed Force) in individual customers (chosen individuals) to build solar panels (the Speedsters). Once built, these solar panels continuously feed electricity back to the company (recharging the Speed Force Wall).
But the Reverse-Flash was nothing more than an outright thief, stealing electricity from the company. He used as much as he stole, and when he ran out, he would just steal more.
Speedsters and the Speed Force have a symbiotic relationship. The Reverse-Flash, on the other hand, is a thief—a repeat offender whose thieving skills are so perfected that he's known as "the man even time cannot catch."
If even time cannot catch him, it means he's nearly impossible to kill.
If you kill the present-day Reverse-Flash, the countless other Reverse-Flashes at different points on the timeline will sense it and begin running frantically. Not even the obliterating power of time correction can catch up to them.
The fact that the Reverse-Flash could battle The Flash across the multiverse and infinite timelines was no joke.
The two talked for a little while longer, then got up and headed for S.T.A.R. Labs. Tony also got to experience what it felt like to be carried by a Speedster.
In the blink of an eye, a red electrical arc symbolizing the Speed Force erupted from Barry's body, leaving a trail of red lightning about one or two meters long in the air.
The next time Tony opened his eyes, he had already been transported from the city center to S.T.A.R. Labs.
"I protected you with the Speed Force, so you didn't have to worry about the impact of the sonic boom... though I guess that's not much of a concern for you," Barry said.
"I still appreciate it, Barry," Tony said with a faint smile.
No wonder so many people liked The Flash. The man was so sincere and considerate of others, truly deserving of his title as the "conscience" of the Justice League.
(end of chapter)
