Chapter 129: The New 'Little Brother' of the Family
Gorilla City.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done, Outsider."
The Gorilla Elder, having regained control, thanked Orin Vale repeatedly.
"If it weren't for you, not only would we old bones be dead by now, but Gorilla City would have likely gone to war with the humans. Annihilation would have been inevitable."
"It's nothing, I was just lending a hand," Orin Vale said with a smile.
Besides, his trip to Gorilla City had already been quite fruitful. After their discussion, the Gorilla Elder had agreed to grant him access to the literature in their library detailing research on the Speed Force, which would help him further deepen his understanding of the rules it contained.
"Are you certain you're not a messenger of the Flash?" the Gorilla Elder asked, looking at him with suspicion.
"I'm really not."
"Alright... In any case, thank you very much. You may have helped us through the greatest crisis in the history of Gorilla City. The Council of Elders has decided that we will erect a statue of you in the Gorilla Plaza to express our gratitude, and to ensure that our descendants will forever remember the helping hand you extended in our time of need. What do you think of this design?"
As he spoke, he waved his hand. A gorilla minion brought over some kind of display device, showing a concept model of the statue.
It had a pure white form and lifelike lines. Although a bit abstract, one had to admit it had captured some of the divine spirit of Ultraman.
"You really don't have to do this..."
"Of course, it's necessary. Gorilla City never forgets an ally who extends a helping hand at a critical moment."
The Gorilla Elder waved his hand, and his subordinate took the display device away.
"As we speak, our most professional sculptor has already begun his work. We plan to name this piece 'God of Noa'. What do you think..."
"No, don't, pick another one." Orin Vale quickly made a hand gesture to stop him.
*I'm not, I have nothing to do with it, don't make things up.* You can't just throw that name around.
"Oh, alright." The Gorilla Elder seemed a little disappointed, as if he had quite liked the name. "Then we'll change it."
At this moment, a nearby gorilla couldn't help but ask, "What do we do from now on, Elder?"
"Yes, we have lost the Flash..."
"We have no future, do we?"
"No," the Gorilla Elder said. "For generations, we have relied on the Flash to guide our path, on our Lord to lead us forward. But a new era is coming. It is time for us to forge our own path. Every one of us has the right to control our own destiny. We can decide the future of this city for ourselves."
"But Grodd... he said we would be destroyed because of this," a gorilla said uneasily. "Just like the Mayans in history, who were once chosen by the Flash..."
"Rest assured, that won't happen," Orin Vale spoke up. "The destruction of the Mayans was due to an overflow of Speed Force energy, but that will never happen again. The Speed Force now has its pressure-relief valve—the chosen one, the 'Son of Lightning' as you call him.
"In fact, it's the opposite of what Grodd said. If he died, the Speed Force would continue to expand, and you might have been destroyed because of it. The whole world might have suffered. On the contrary, as long as he runs, you are safe, and so is everyone else. There will be no more out-of-control Speed Force energy, no more civilizations being pulled into the rifts of time-space."
After bidding farewell to the gorillas and downloading all the Speed Force-related literature from the Gorilla City library that he thought might be useful, Orin Vale returned, fully loaded.
He first went back to Central City.
The gorilla war was over, and the remaining gorillas in Central City under Grodd's command were arrested as prisoners of war. With Grodd dead, their tenuous connection to the Speed Force was severed. Disarmed, they no longer posed a threat to the human army.
The streets of Central City were still a mess, and it looked like there was a lot of cleanup work to be done. However, voices were already beginning to be heard on the streets.
"He's called Ultraman, I've seen him online! He beat the crap out of that robot from outer space in Metropolis!"
"Did you see him fight? It was awesome!"
"I'm sure there was another hero here. One second I was about to be flattened by a gorilla, the next I was in a shelter. But I didn't see who did it..."
"..."
When Orin Vale found Barry, he had already returned home and was in his apartment, devouring a large bucket of fried chicken and a box of pizza.
"Sorry..." Barry said indistinctly while eating. "But I'm just so hungry. I never thought I could get this hungry. I feel like I've been completely hollowed out..."
"That's how it is with rapid energy consumption. You'll get used to it," Orin Vale said. "On the bright side, you can eat all the pizza, fried chicken, and chocolate you want without getting fat."
"That's a good point... By the way, I saw you take down that big gorilla. It was seriously cool, you're way too strong, man... Okay, now I'm one hundred percent sure you're not an A.R.G.U.S. Agent."
"Are you an alien? Or human? I mean... like Superman said, raised on Earth?"
Orin Vale smiled.
"Both."
"Cool." Barry handed him a slice of pizza. "Want a piece?"
"No thanks. I have things to do, I need to get back. But before that..." Orin Vale reminded him, "Are you sure you haven't forgotten something?"
"Huh?"
Barry stopped eating and tilted his head, thinking for a moment.
Then his eyes widened, and the pizza in his hand slipped to the floor.
"Ah!" He smacked his lips a couple of times. "D-Deadshot! Damn, it's all those gorillas' fault, I completely forgot about him..."
"..."
A few minutes later, the two were back on the rooftop where Deadshot had been sniping.
"I've been tied up here... for a whole day!"
Lawton was furious the moment he saw them.
"I sat here watching an entire city of gorillas jumping around, with explosions everywhere.
"And then there was that biggest gorilla—do you have any idea how close those two freaks were to me when they were fighting!? I was almost swatted to death!"
"Sorry about that, I was so busy I completely forgot about you..." Barry said, his face full of apology.
"And what's with that stupid cat on your head?" Deadshot squinted.
"Hey, this is Hello Kitty, what's stupid about it?" Barry adjusted his headgear. "Superheroes have equipment problems when they're starting out, more or less. Be understanding."
"What's the point? I already know who you are," Lawton said coldly.
"Good point..."
As the saying goes, to die before the battle is won. The Flash was facing an identity crisis before he had even debuted. A little discouraged, Barry turned to look at Orin Vale.
"By the way, what are the chances he'll keep my secret for me?"
"He's a killer. What do you think?" Orin Vale shrugged.
Barry counted on his fingers as if doing a calculation. "Hmm, rounding it up and down, that's approximately zero..."
"Ha, that's right," Lawton sneered. "I've already memorized your face, kid. Nothing you do will shut me up."
Barry looked at Orin Vale. "Is it possible... that we could drug him and give him amnesia?"
Lawton: "!?"
"Or something simpler," Orin Vale suggested. "Maybe you could punch him. Hit him hard enough and he'll get physical amnesia."
Lawton: "!"
*Is it really okay for you two to be conspiring so loudly right in front of the person involved?*
The person in question could no longer sit still. He threatened viciously, "I swear, if you dare to do that, I'll..."
The two turned their heads in unison, staring blankly at Deadshot.
Lawton swallowed the rest of his sentence.
"...Please don't do that," he said. "I promise I won't tell."
His tone was almost pleading.
Barry glanced at Orin Vale. "Do you think he's trustworthy?"
"Not very. But I have an idea." Orin Vale shrugged. "I'll ask a mage to cast a memory-loss spell on him. He'll wake up from a nap and forget everything."
"Really!?"
Barry's eyes lit up, but then he seemed to think of something and hesitated, "A mage that powerful must charge a hefty appearance fee, right? You might not be aware of my situation, but I'm struggling to even pay rent right now. I probably can't afford it..."
"It's fine, he doesn't ask for much," Orin Vale smiled. "You just have to give him a pot."
"Give him a what?"
Barry suspected he had misheard.
And so, for the price of one pot, Barry managed to hire "that Wizard" who guards the Rock of Eternity, successfully making Deadshot forget his superpower. Everyone was happy.
Orin Vale returned to the cafe, bringing back a new friend.
"Come and say hello to Titano."
Orin Vale put the little monkey down in the shop. The little guy clutched his teddy bear tightly, cautiously observing his surroundings.
"So~ cute!"
Kara zipped over as if teleporting and scooped up the little monkey.
Just then, the Kryptonian cat Stryker happened to walk by, yawning.
"Stryker, come meet our new friend."
Kara placed the little monkey in front of Stryker.
"Meow?"
Stryker tilted his head.
Titano looked down at this tiny little animal, even smaller than himself, and instantly felt a surge of confidence.
After being shrunk by Ultraman, everything had seemed so huge and disorienting. Now, he had finally found someone smaller than himself again.
"Chee."
Titano gave a friendly greeting, then pounded his chest as if flexing his muscles, as if to show off his immense strength.
The meaning was probably: *Don't be afraid, big bro will protect you from now on.*
"Meow?"
Stryker tilted his head again. Though he didn't understand the language, he generally understood that the monkey was showing off its power.
And so, his eyes lit up, and with a *swoosh*, a blast of heat vision shot out with a wave of heat.
"Chee!?"
*Holy crap, this cat can shoot lasers!*
Titano trembled all over, then quickly came to a horrifying realization.
Could it be... that he was the weakest one here?
So this is my place in the family hierarchy?
(end of chapter)