"Let's go find Barry first," Shin said, his voice calm but tinged with curiosity. "We need to confirm whether this is a completely separate parallel universe… or if Barry's little stunt has just thrown his own world into chaos."
Even in this distorted timeline, some constants remained. Barry's residence, for example, hadn't shifted it was still in Central City, still the modest home he had grown up in. That small familiarity was like a single nail trying to hold down a collapsing building.
Shin stepped closer to Wanda, wrapping an arm around her waist. A faint blush touched her cheeks at the sudden contact, though she said nothing. A warm, almost divine energy flowed from him, enveloping her in a protective field. It was the same kind of raw, impossible force that let Superman perform feats beyond physics, lifting airplanes with one hand, towing ships across oceans, even moving celestial bodies if necessary.
Somewhere in his grave, Newton was probably rolling over in protest.
With a sharp stamp of his foot, Shin shattered the still air around them. In an instant, the city blurred into streaks of color, the sound of rushing wind in their ears. Before Wanda could properly adjust, they landed smoothly on Barry Allen's doorstep.
The door opened almost immediately. Standing there was Barry, alive, alert, and looking healthier than Shin had expected, but beside him was a gentle-faced middle-aged woman. Her kind eyes softened the sharp lines of the moment, though they carried a flicker of confusion.
Nora Allen.
She was supposed to be dead.
The sight confirmed what Shin already suspected, they were in the heart of the Flashpoint world.
Hearing the commotion, both mother and son turned toward the new arrivals, two figures who had just descended from the sky as if gravity was more of a suggestion than a rule. Barry's eyes widened in pleasant surprise, while his mother's narrowed slightly in uncertainty.
"Um… who exactly are you looking for?" Nora Allen asked cautiously. Her tone was polite but wary. In this version of the world, metahumans weren't the celebrated heroes of public imagination, they were rarities, often feared, and most of the ones people had heard of were hardly paragons of virtue.
"Mom, they're here for me," Barry said quickly, smiling to reassure her. "I didn't expect you two to show up so soon. I…"
But his sentence faltered midway. Barry suddenly winced, one hand flying to his head. His expression shifted from joy to distress as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He staggered, forcing his mother to step forward and steady him.
"Barry? What's wrong?" Nora's voice was sharp with concern.
"No, it's nothing," Barry muttered, trying to brush it off. "Maybe I haven't been sleeping enough these past few days."
She frowned but nodded. "If you're sure… Well, your friends are here, so I'll make you all some coffee. Try to sit down for a while."
Barry gave her a grateful look and waved them inside.
Once they were alone in the living room, Shin wasted no time. "Barry, you've made the news in a big way. The whole world's on the verge of tearing itself apart."
Barry sat heavily, rubbing his temples. "I just had… a rush of new memories. Some good, some… bad. How bad is it?"
"Bad enough that I'm wondering if it's even worth measuring," Shin replied. His voice was flat, almost clinical. "The Justice League doesn't exist here. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are about to start a war that could level continents. Natural disasters are breaking out—earthquakes one day, floods the next. I heard Europe's basically gone."
Barry's eyes widened. Shin continued, his words like hammer blows.
"Africa? Completely under Gorilla Grodd's control. Superman? Never became Superman, he's missing entirely. Batman? Not the one you know, and his situation isn't exactly public-friendly. In short… this world's a nightmare. If it explodes tomorrow, I won't be surprised."
Barry's hands slid over his face, muffling a shaky exhale. "I just… I just wanted to save my mom." His voice cracked on the last word.
"Then you need to hear this," Shin said, leaning forward. "Your Speed Force it isn't just tied to lightning and willpower. It's connected to the events that shaped you. The Reverse-Flash. Your mother's death. If those things never happened, are you even still the Flash?"
Barry's gaze dropped, the unspoken answer hanging heavy between them.
It didn't take long to get the confirmation. Minutes later, Barry stood outside, panting heavily, his sneakers scraping uselessly against the pavement. No lightning. No blur. No Speed Force.
"So… it's gone," he said finally, sinking to the ground. His eyes wandered to the horizon as if searching for answers in the clouds. "Even if I wanted to fix things… I couldn't."
He'd suspected it the moment Shin described the state of the world. Restoring the timeline might require the very thing he no longer had. In the original sequence of events, he'd stopped his past self from interfering with the Reverse-Flash restoring history at the cost of his mother's life.
But now? Without speed, without that connection to the Speed Force, even the possibility of making that choice had been ripped away from him.
Still, a stubborn ember flickered in his chest. "No… If I could recreate the moment I first got my powers, recreate the accident, maybe I could get it back."
As Barry's mind churned, Shin re-entered the room, his presence snapping Barry from his thoughts.
"Shin," Barry said quickly, leaning forward. "Can you help me travel to another parallel world? If I could meet another version of myself, the real Flash, I might be able to stop him before he makes the same mistake."
Shin's expression didn't change, but his hand moved, producing the Karasuki, the device that allowed travel between worlds. Barry's eyes lit up in recognition, only for his hope to dim instantly. The Karasuki wasn't the same as before. It shimmered faintly, its once-vibrant energy completely drained.
"It's out of power," Shin said evenly. "To recharge it naturally would take… two or three years, maybe more. Unless you can supply it with high-tier energies like temporal energy, spatial energy, your Speed Force…"
Barry's face fell. He didn't notice the slight glint in Shin's eyes.
The truth was far simpler and far less generous. The Karasuki still held more than enough charge for another trip. Ordinary chakra could even top it up if necessary. But Shin hadn't come to the Flashpoint world to play savior. He'd come to strip it bare, to take whatever could be taken from a timeline already doomed to collapse.
If Barry restored the world too soon, that opportunity would vanish. No—better to let the chaos run its course, let the warlords and disasters burn themselves out, while Shin quietly reaped the benefits.
"Two or three years," Barry repeated numbly. He tried to muster optimism, but it came out thin. "I just… hope this world lasts that long."
Shin didn't bother to correct him. In his mind, the countdown was already shorter, two or three months at best before the entire Flashpoint reality came crashing down. And when it did, he intended to be long gone, pockets full, leaving nothing but ashes behind.
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