Besides the more immediate crises unfolding around them, the Flash began to notice something far more insidious his memories were slipping. His original recollections, the ones tied to his true world and the events he'd lived through there, were steadily being eroded. In their place came a creeping flood of memories belonging to the Flashpoint world.
It was a slow, invasive process, but unmistakable. Every passing hour seemed to sand away another grain of reality from his mind. He realized with a growing sense of alarm that if he stayed here too long, the erasure would become complete. His identity, his very history, would dissolve into that of this altered timeline, and when that happened, the Flashpoint reality would take the place of his own entirely.
For Barry Allen, that was a nightmare he couldn't afford to let happen.
One day. That was all it took before the walls began closing in on him. Two or three years, the time Shin claimed it would take to recharge the dimensional travel device was far, far too long. He needed to reclaim his Speed Force, and he needed to do it now.
"So, we're going to find Batman?" Shin asked, a faint crease forming between his brows. "Because honestly, if all you need is to trigger the Speed Force again, you could just pick a nice tall building, set up a lightning rod, and let the sky handle it. Seems faster to me."
Barry shook his head firmly. "No. Maybe Batman can figure out something better. Just using lightning feels too… crude. And risky."
Shin gave him a sidelong look and suppressed the urge to laugh outright. What's the point of going to Batman? In this world, Batman wasn't the cool, tech-savvy strategist Barry remembered. This wasn't Bruce Wayne at all, it was Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father. And Thomas was a completely different breed of bat.
Shin remembered all too clearly how that first meeting had gone in this timeline, the Flash had approached the man for help, and Batman had answered with a fist. Not exactly a warm welcome. In the end, Batman hadn't been able or willing to engineer a solution, and Barry had wound up resorting to the same "crude" lightning-strike method anyway.
This Batman didn't stalk rooftops in stealth armor and hack into satellites. He was more like a grizzled mob boss with a cape, a man who drank hard, smoked harder, carried guns without hesitation, and favored a bulletproof sports car over any stealth vehicle.
Good luck getting high-tech lab support from that guy, Shin thought dryly. You'd be better off with a storm cloud and a copper rod.
"In that case," Shin said aloud, rolling his eyes just enough for Barry not to notice, "I'll take you to Batman. After that, I'll see if I can… delay this war a little."
Barry looked at him with genuine gratitude. "Thank you. Without your help, I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Right. Then go talk to your mom, make sure she's okay with you heading out. Once you're ready, we move."
Half an hour later – Gotham City
The trio, Shin, the Scarlet Witch, and the Flash, arrived in Gotham at a deliberately unhurried pace. Flash had taken his time saying goodbye to his mother, each farewell lingering a little longer than the last.
Shin and Wanda had let him have that time. It wasn't just about politeness, they understood the weight of every goodbye. In this twisted reality, Barry's moments with his mother were precious and fleeting.
But when Barry began to notice his real-world memories blurring again, he forced himself to cut it short. His voice had trembled when he finally told her goodbye, but he didn't look back.
"Bruce Manor should be around here," Barry said once they reached the darker heart of Gotham. "That's the Wayne estate. But Thomas Wayne is incredibly paranoid, he won't admit he's Batman to strangers. The Batcave might be easier to find than an honest conversation."
Shin glanced toward a shop window, catching a flicker of wartime news footage on a television display. His gaze sharpened. "You know what? I think I'll pay Aquaman and Wonder Woman a visit first. Try to buy some time before they plunge the world into total war. Wanda, you should go with Barry."
Barry smiled confidently. "No need. I trust Batman. I can handle meeting him on my own. After all… he's Batman."
Shin almost choked. Oh, you sweet summer child. You think 'Batman' automatically means Bruce Wayne, the same guy who saved your skin countless times. You have no idea what's waiting for you in there.
He gave Barry a flat look. "You're walking into Gotham without any real intel. Even Bruce Wayne wouldn't be the same here, and Thomas Wayne… well, let's just say you'd better hope his mood's better than usual."
Barry hesitated. The conviction in his voice wavered. "Well… maybe I should take Wanda with me."
"Good choice," Shin said, tone dry. "Without backup, you might not even make it to the Batcave in one piece. This is Gotham City, remember?"
Barry's shoulders tightened at the reminder. Without his Speed Force, he was just another man in street clothes. And in Gotham, especially this Gotham, that made him prey.
Shin turned to Wanda. "Barry's safety is in your hands. Be careful." His voice shifted to a subtler vibration, a telepathic whisper through illusion. 'Stay sharp. In this world, even Wonder Woman and Aquaman are on the brink of starting a global war. No one can guarantee what kind of man this Batman will turn out to be.'
Wanda's mental voice came back crisp and confident. 'If there's trouble, I'll get Barry out immediately.'
Satisfied, Shin nodded. Truthfully, he wasn't worried about Wanda's ability to handle the Flashpoint version of Gotham. This Batman might be more ruthless than Bruce, but he lacked the advanced tech and intricate planning of his son. Wanda could keep Barry safe.
Shin's real motivation for splitting off was far simpler... treasure hunting. With the world teetering on the edge of collapse, there were opportunities everywhere for a man who knew where to look.
With a flicker of movement, he was gone.
Barry glanced at Wanda, trying to shake off his unease. "Okay, Miss Wanda, follow me. I think the Batcave entrance should be… this way."
Leaving Gotham behind, Shin didn't head straight toward the warring factions of Atlanteans and Amazons. Instead, he banked through the air toward Metropolis.
If memory served right, the Flashpoint timeline had shifted Kal-El's arrival. Instead of landing in Kansas and being raised by the Kents, his Kryptonian ship had crashed directly into Metropolis. The infant Superman had been swiftly captured by the government and hidden away in an underground facility, far from sunlight, far from people.
If Shin could find him, there was no telling what might be gained.
Hovering over the sprawling city, Shin narrowed his gaze and activated his X-ray vision. No sign of the alien, only the blurred skeletons of skyscrapers, the warren of subways, and the humdrum pulse of civilian life.
"Well," he muttered, "they hid you well."
It wasn't surprising. A facility like this would be built with lead-lined walls, designed specifically to block prying Kryptonian eyes. Even his vision had its limits. Penetrating ordinary structures was easy enough, but lead was impenetrable, and sheer depth added its own challenges.
Still, Shin had other tools. He closed his eyes and reached outward with his Observation Haki. The sensation spread like ripples across the city, washing past countless irrelevant signals, the scurrying of rats, the shifting wings of pigeons, before sinking deeper.
And then he found it. At the very lowest levels, far beneath even the subway systems, he felt the clustered life signatures of dozens of humans… and something else. Something faint, almost starved of vitality.
A slow smile crept across his face.
*******************************
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