A Blade at Their Backs

By the time Zhang Ye and Kara arrived at the Batcave, the plan to restore Barry Allen’s Speed Force had already concluded successfully.

With Batman’s full assistance, Barry Allen sat in a specially made steel chair, surrounded by an array of chemical agents meant to replicate the conditions present when he had first gained the Speed Force.

In addition, the back of the steel chair was connected to a metal conductor cable that stretched straight into the clouds. At the other end was a Bat-kite—though calling it a "kite" was not quite accurate, since it was assembled from all manner of high-tech equipment.

Its purpose was simple: to create sparks high in the sky, drawing in the electrical charges drifting within the storm clouds and serving to attract lightning.

The plan went smoothly. A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket struck the Bat-kite in an instant, and the violent voltage surged down the conductor, blasting through Barry Allen’s body in the blink of an eye. The terrifying energy seemed ready to tear him apart at any moment.

At that very moment, thanks to Zhang Ye’s earlier warning, Little Barry Allen knew it was time for him to act. He immediately entered Speed Force time. In an instant, every object around him froze, as if someone had stopped time itself.

Watching the current race down the conductor cable, Little Barry Allen hesitated no longer and began to run. Bolts of Speed Force lightning burst forth, answering the thunderous explosions in the sky.

Everything seemed to freeze at the instant the two Barry Allens’ bodies made contact. An immensely powerful, unobservable force erupted without warning. Yet strangely, it could not be seen or felt, so almost no one realized how wildly that energy had raged through the Batcave just moments ago.

Neither Barry Allen noticed it. Perhaps Zhang Ye alone in the entire world knew that the Batcave had nearly been torn open by the Speed Force, creating an out-of-control time passage.

Of course, Zhang Ye only discovered this because Miss Minutes sent him a text message through the Time Twister. Otherwise, he likely would never have realized just how dangerous this lightning-strike plan had been.

Fortunately, the result was satisfying. As the Speed Force within Barry Allen’s body reactivated, the hideous wounds carved across him by the lightning began healing at a visible rate.

Even Old Batman could not help stepping closer for a better look. It was his first time seeing a metahuman with such immense power. After all, abilities of this level were rare in Gotham City.

"What did we miss?"

As Old Bruce Wayne, Little Barry Allen, and Pietro examined the still-unconscious Barry Allen, Zhang Ye and Kara approached them.

At the sight of the two, Little Barry Allen became visibly excited. "I think we succeeded. All his injuries have healed, but I don’t know why he still hasn’t woken up."

"That’s normal. Reactivating the Speed Force isn’t a simple matter. Every function and cell in his body needs to adapt to that power again. You can think of it as his body rebooting," Zhang Ye explained casually.

"I see." Little Barry Allen wore an expression of profound admiration despite not understanding much of it. Even if he did not quite follow Zhang Ye’s explanation, that did not stop him from agreeing with it.

After confirming that Barry Allen’s life was truly no longer in danger, Old Batman immediately turned his attention to Zhang Ye and Kara. Unlike the others, Bruce Wayne had not seen aliens in decades—especially aliens who looked so much like humans.

"Looks like our Kryptonian girl has recovered as well," Old Bruce Wayne said meaningfully.

Zhang Ye nodded, stepping aside to reveal Kara behind him to the others. "I haven’t introduced her yet. This is Kara Zor-El, a genuine Kryptonian, and Superman’s cousin, just as Barry Allen described."

"Hello, hello. I’m Pietro, from another universe." Pietro seemed eager to prevent an awkward silence.

Little Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne quickly came to their senses as well. Each introduced himself, and they also told Kara about the unconscious Barry Allen.

But everyone had clearly forgotten something important.

Each of them had been through all sorts of experiences. Zhang Ye and Pietro had escaped from another universe, while Batman had protected Gotham City for decades. Even Little Barry Allen, the least experienced among them, had faced his own doppelgänger.

But Kara was different. Ever since she had been sent to Earth at fifteen and crashed near the border of Mao Country, she had barely communicated with anyone. In other words, she had no experience whatsoever with things like the Multiverse. To her, it was merely a hypothesis proposed by Kryptonian scientists.

Thus, this relatively "ordinary" introduction dealt a tremendous shock to Kara’s young heart.

Perhaps because it was her first time interacting with the others, Kara was somewhat reserved. Or perhaps because she already trusted Zhang Ye, after everyone had finished greeting one another, she could not help moving closer to him and asking with wide, curious eyes.

"Zhang, what do you mean when you say I’m the cousin of the Superman Barry mentioned? And what does it mean that Pietro came from another universe? Are you talking about parallel universes?"

Zhang Ye felt his teeth ache. These matters really were not easy to explain. Strictly speaking, they could be explained, but it would take a rather complicated chain of logic to sort them out.

Before Zhang Ye could answer, however, Little Barry Allen—the naturally friendly type—excitedly poured out the entire story to Kara in one breath.

Sure enough, when Zhang Ye saw Kara learn that this universe had been driven toward destruction because Barry Allen had decided to travel through time and save his mother, her expression instantly darkened.

"So what you’re saying is, under normal circumstances, my cousin wouldn’t have died, right?"

A dangerous glint flashed through Kara’s eyes. Under that gaze, the three men led by Little Barry Allen instantly understood what it meant to feel a blade at their backs. Her overwhelming presence pressed down on them so heavily that they could barely breathe.

Seeing this, Little Barry Allen hurriedly tried to patch things up.

"Uh, what I mean is, this was an accident, wasn’t it? And in a way, it’s also a good thing, right? Because under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t even exist in the original universe."