After deciding to split up and recruit new members, the three of them hastily ate breakfast, then got straight to work laying the water pipes for the base.
They were busy from eleven in the morning until two in the afternoon. Once the pipes were done, they finally set the recruitment plan in motion.
Bruce glanced at the clock and nodded.
"Perfect timing. I'll take off shortly—I can reach Amnesty Bay by evening and, with any luck, be back tomorrow."
"Oh, in that case, hurry back. The two of us can wrap things up here in a flash," Clark said with a grin.
"I… Fine, you guys are fast enough!"
Bruce pursed his lips in resignation. He was just about to leave when Heisenberg suddenly spoke up.
"You're heading to Amnesty Bay, right? Why don't I give you a lift?"
"A lift? You mean that rainbow-colored beam that appeared and vanished in an instant last night?"
Bruce's interest was immediately piqued.
"I've been keeping an eye on that Atlantean princess all night, but she never once left the ship. I couldn't exactly ask questions, so all I saw was that flash of rainbow light. Unless something made her stay, she must have been transported by that rainbow. And that—could that be the Bifrost, famed in Norse mythology?"
"Exactly."
Heisenberg rubbed his forehead, his face full of exasperation.
Oh, Bruce, you're as sharp-eyed and straight-faced as they come—just look at what you've been pondering. What do you mean, "couldn't exactly ask questions," and "unless something made her stay"???
Lowering his hand, Heisenberg continued.
"You've got it right. That's the Bifrost. So, want to experience it yourself?"
"Of course."
Bruce nodded, then glanced around the ship and sighed.
"Kryptonian technology is truly terrifying. Their research into warp travel and wormholes—I can barely wrap my head around it. Yet you people mastered it tens of thousands, even millions of years ago. Science truly has no limits!"
"Heh, you're overthinking it. The Bifrost isn't science—it's theology."
As the words left his mouth, Heisenberg casually patted the table. Rainbow light descended at once, engulfing Bruce in his full Batman armor.
Bruce, now bathed in that radiant glow, tensed up.
"Wait, I'm not ready y—"
Whoosh!!!
Gone.
Watching Bruce's vanishing figure, Clark stared blankly.
He turned to Heisenberg slowly, hesitating before asking, "Great-grandfather… didn't he just say he wasn't ready?"
"Hm, yeah, seems like it. Want me to bring him back to get ready?"
"Hold on—"
Before Clark could finish, Heisenberg clapped his hands once more.
...
Near the old wooden pier that had stood for countless years in Amnesty Bay, a blinding rainbow light suddenly descended.
Within moments, the few residents of the little harbor town all turned to look toward the light.
Inside the tavern, a man by the window was startled by the rainbow column.
He gulped down a mouthful of beer, eyes widening, and hurriedly called out to a burly man drinking alone nearby.
"Arthur!"
"Hm?"
Arthur frowned and looked toward the man who'd called his name. Then, through the battered window, he saw the Bifrost vanishing outside.
In an instant, he shot to his feet, muscles coiling unconsciously. His worn-out linen tank top couldn't conceal his raw, fierce presence.
He barged out the tavern door and charged straight at the black-armored bat figure emerging from the rainbow light.
Bruce had barely touched ground and hadn't yet taken in his surroundings when he saw an enraged Arthur Curry barreling toward him.
"Damn it!"
Even for the Batman, this was exasperating. Apparently, his flashy arrival had deeply offended the Aquaman charging straight at him.
Bruce understood perfectly. He knew Arthur spent all his time rescuing fishermen from shipwrecks along this coast—Amnesty Bay was Aquaman's home turf.
Him dropping out of the sky was no different from some unknown Superman hovering arrogantly over Bruce's own Gotham City.
So Bruce instantly devised a plan: first he'd do this, then—
Rainbow light descended once again, forcing the furious Arthur to stop in his tracks.
An instant later, watching the vanished Batman, Arthur Curry was completely baffled.
As a kid who grew up in Amnesty Bay, Maine, how could Arthur not know who Batman was?
The moment he laid eyes on the Bat, he immediately assumed trouble had come to his town.
But before he could even ask, the Bat disappeared?
What…
This makes no damn sense!!!
...
Meanwhile, back on the ship, the newly returned Batman wore an expression of utter deadpan resignation.
The makeshift plan he'd just come up with…
Ruined. Again.
Before Heisenberg could say a word, Bruce couldn't help muttering under his breath.
"That was one memorable teleportation!"
"Haha, forgot you weren't ready. Go on, get ready, and I'll send you back."
Heisenberg chuckled teasingly. His words made Bruce draw a deep breath.
Then Bruce shook his head in frustration.
"I'd originally planned to approach him in my Wayne persona. But too many people saw me arrive. I'm afraid I'll have to recruit him wearing the armor, face hidden. I hope his wariness is a little less than I'm projecting. But that's nearly impossible—I'm never wrong."
"Okay, as long as you've got a plan!"
Heisenberg nodded, then watched Bruce return to the jet and pull out a small case.
"Ready," Bruce said.
Seeing Bruce was set, Heisenberg gave a light snap of his fingers.
At the sound, Bruce vanished again, reappearing before the utterly bewildered Aquaman.
Once Bruce was gone, Heisenberg clapped Clark on the shoulder.
"You go find that Cyborg. I'll hit Central City."
"Sure. Oh, and Great-grandfather, could you pick up a Dyson Sphere souvenir for me from Central City? They're holding a tech expo there right now."
"Ha, Lois got stuck with another interview and missed out on the trip, didn't she. Don't worry, I'll bring one back for you."
With that, the ship's ceiling hatch slid open. Heisenberg floated up and out, then vanished.
Outside the ship, countless little sentry robots all swiveled toward the sky in unison. The motion tipped off the watching crowd that Heisenberg had appeared, but before they could even lay eyes on the divine figure, he was gone.
A wave of disappointed sighs rippled through the crowd.
...
Central City.
...
Barry Allen had always known he was special, but he never really thought of himself that way.
A freak lightning storm had given him his astonishing speed. The power he called the Speed Force had elevated him far beyond the limits of ordinary men. And his ability to trace time itself brushed against the realm of gods.
But even so, he hadn't been able to change his tragic life. At least, not yet.
When he was eleven, he'd watched a bolt of lightning kill his mother. The police refused to believe the story of a child. His father went to prison for it; everyone was convinced his father was the murderer. In a single day, he lost both parents.
The one consolation was that he could still visit his father in prison from time to time. Today was one of those days.
As usual, Barry spent the weekend chatting with his father behind bars. Now that Barry had graduated college, his father was deeply concerned about his employment. When his dad asked, Barry smiled shyly and laid out his plan.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'm going to apply for a position at a laboratory. I've even got my résumé all written."
Saying this, Barry pulled a sheet of paper from his hoodie pocket and showed it to his father. His dad had barely glanced at it when Barry nervously folded it back up. He didn't want his father to see the details of his application.
Because what he was actually applying for wasn't a research fellowship—it was a job as a kennel attendant at a pet store…
Nerves getting the better of him, Barry failed to notice that when he stuffed the résumé back into his pocket, he accidentally tore off a corner.
"Hey, you brat, I didn't even get to read it! It's a shame I won't be able to cook you dinner after your interview, son. If you're lucky enough to get into a research institute, make sure you defer to your supervisor to a reasonable degree. I used to know a few academics—they all had their quirks and were hard to deal with."
"Of course, I—"
Before Barry could finish, the guard in the distance cut them off.
"Buddy, time's up. You two meet every week; I practically know you by now. No need to rush. Go on, don't make this hard for us."
Hearing the guard, Barry nodded helplessly. He glanced around, then lowered his voice and said one last thing to his father.
"I'm still investigating what happened back then. Believe me, I will find evidence. I swear!"
His father, already turning to leave, heard Barry's words and let out a deeply regretful sigh. In the final second before setting down the phone, he said to Barry,
"Don't let what happened all those years consume your whole life. I've already failed you enough. Don't make it even harder for me, Barry."
"Alright, let's go."
The guard led Barry's father away, and the two gradually vanished from Barry's sight. Only when they were completely gone did Barry shake his head ruefully.
"I will get you out. Sooner or later."
He turned and strode resolutely out of the prison.
He had an interview to get to.
He walked thirteen blocks, from before lunchtime until nearly ten to two in the afternoon. He really was fast, but he rarely showed it. When no one needed his help, the faster he could go, the more he enjoyed walking slowly like this.
Of course, he absolutely refused to admit it was because every time he accelerated, he got ravenous, and right now he was so broke he couldn't even afford a pizza!
He simply liked taking walks. It had absolutely nothing to do with money.
Soon, he came to a stop at a street corner. Ten steps across the road lay the pet store where he was set to interview.
He nervously rubbed his cheeks, steadied his expression, and headed toward the shop.
As he walked, his gaze landed on a girl, and for a moment he lost his focus. She wasn't strikingly beautiful, but she had an extraordinarily serene presence, like a quiet lotus blooming in the chaos of the world.
After passing her by, Barry immediately slowed his steps and couldn't help glancing back at her retreating figure.
As if by some woman's intuition, the girl turned back with a puzzled look, following some sixth sense toward Barry. In that split second, Barry averted his eyes bashfully and kept walking toward the pet store as if nothing had happened.
Seeing no one looking at her, the girl shrugged it off. She must have imagined it. She took a couple more steps, then suddenly whirled around again. Still, no one was watching. She let out a breath. Yep, she'd definitely imagined it.
What she didn't know was that right behind her, Barry was taking a deep breath.
Good thing I'm fast enough.
/-\
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