Chapter 248: I’m A Speed Force New Immigrant!
The heroes, including Superman and Wonder Woman, were all drawn and awestruck by the sound emanating from the core of the particle accelerator, a terrifying shriek as if countless people were overlapping.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s happening?”
“Barry! Ian! Can you guys still hear?”
They couldn’t grasp its meaning for a moment.
Just tension.
Only Reverse-Flash.
Eobard Thawne, a speedster whose research into the Speed Force far surpassed that of The Flash or even Batman, turned pale as paper the instant he heard the sound.
His pupils dilated wildly with extreme horror.
“No… damn it!!!” Reverse-Flash’s brain raced at one-hundredth of a second, his super-human thinking speed allowing him to instantly reach a conclusion that sent chills down his spine—that sound wasn’t from any physical entity, it was the Speed Force itself screaming!
Yes, the Speed Force was screaming.
The cosmic power that formed the cornerstone of the time dimension was expressing unprecedented fear and resistance!
“Zzzzt~”
As he realized this, inside the particle accelerator, the pure Speed Force generated by Barry Allen’s running, under the guidance of a specific force field meticulously set up by Reverse-Flash, began to twine, wrap, and weave around Ian, who had just willingly entered, like living golden threads.
They formed a complex and luminous “network” of the Speed Force on Ian’s body.
“Wait, wait! I remember I collected Savitar’s armor!”
Ian, at the center of the golden energy vortex, seemed to feel this “entrance ceremony” wasn’t grand enough, and even had the leisure to rummage through his pocket dimension for some “equipment” to match the occasion.
However, the Speed Force’s effect far surpassed his reaction speed.
The next moment, a dazzling golden light completely engulfed his form, and the youth vanished from his spot, forcibly dragged into a dimension that mortals couldn’t comprehend and even speedsters had to revere.
The Speed Force Dimension.
What is the Speed Force?
The Speed Force is not merely kinetic or electrical energy, nor is it simply “the source of superpowers,” but rather a dimensional energy field that exists outside the space-time continuum.
The Speed Force is a concept existing outside the space-time continuum, transcending physical laws.
It is the origin of all speed, kinetic energy, and the flow of time, and the foundation that maintains the stability of the entire DC Universe’s timeline.
When Barry Allen was struck by lightning in the laboratory, he not only gained superpowers but also retroactively created the Speed Force itself on the timeline.
Therefore, Barry is both its user and the cornerstone of the Speed Force’s existence, known as the “Father of the Speed Force.” This is also why Reverse-Flash, who cannot do it, can do it.
It was precisely by leveraging Barry Allen’s uniqueness that Reverse-Flash opened the door to the Speed Force, and under his operation, Ian successfully entered the Speed Force through “stowaway” means.
“Oh, being a stowaway feels really bad.”
Ian felt as if he had been thrown into a rapidly spinning kaleidoscope, or as if he had fallen into a turbulent river composed of pure energy and time itself.
There was no up or down, no past or future; all fragments of time—ancient battles, future cities, ordinary breakfasts, unforgettable goodbyes—like shattered glass fragments, mixed with golden lightning and flowing geometric light bands, flashed, flowed, recombined, and annihilated wildly around him.
This was the interior of the Speed Force that Barry Allen often described.
An abstract and magnificent dimension.
“Anyone home?” Ian wasn’t dizzy from the chaos; his voice in this void was exceptionally clear, even carrying a casual tone as if strolling through his own backyard. “If there’s no one… according to the shipwreck rule 」, this place will belong to me from now on. I need to settle down here and mark it.”
Saying so.
Ian lived up to his own excellent virtue of doing what he said.
Stowaway?
I, Ian Kent, am clearly a new immigrant!
He certainly wouldn’t adopt inefficient marking methods like an animal.
As a “lord” with the identity of the son of Superman and an extra dimension, Ian believed a more effective and “civilized” mark would be to release the inherent power of his extra dimension and engage in a deeper level of… “mating” with this Speed Force space? No, that word isn’t very elegant.
A more literary way to put it would be a few “convergences.”
He believed.
The wondrous state of dimensions merging and linking together would be the most solid declaration of ownership. He saw the peculiar energy within Ian, a mixture of light and darkness, begin to surge, a trace of his personal dimensional 【 abstract entity 】 concept began to emanate, and the origin of the 【 abstract world 】 began to attempt to permeate the surrounding pure golden Speed Force.
“Stop it!”
Ian’s audacious, blasphemous act against the fundamental forces of the universe might have utterly terrified the Speed Force itself. The surrounding temporal turbulence seemed to have been put on pause, then contracted and solidified inward at an almost panicked speed! The chaotic fragments rapidly recombined, finally freezing into a scene that Ian was all too familiar with.
It was the serene landscape of the Kent family’s Kansas farm, the sun warm, the barn standing tall.
“Stop! You reckless brat!”
As the voice sounded.
Ian turned his head.
His “father,” Clark Kent, wearing that classic Superman battle suit, emerged from the farmhouse, his face contorted into an expression of extreme rage.
“You illiterate child, I believe the rule you wanted to say was ‘finders keepers,’ which only applies to unclaimed territory, and medieval pirates…” The “Superman Clark” transmuted by the Speed Force spoke, his voice laced with suppressed anger, trying to arm himself with knowledge and logic.
“If you want me to fear you… you should speak more gently,” Ian tilted his head and interrupted him without fear, his tone even carrying a hint of accusation.
“Because my dad never spoke to me so harshly.”
Honestly.
Ian felt the other party was somewhat hindering his immersion. He knew, of course, that this wasn’t the real Clark, but an image conjured by the Speed Force.
He had seen this kind of tactic used by the Speed Force when watching 《 The Flash 》 before; it was ancient.
The reason it chose Clark instead of Lois might be because the Speed Force didn’t dare to appear before him without this form.
“Are you trying to conceal something with your anger?” Ian probed. Indeed, as he took a few steps forward, the Superman formed by the Speed Force retreated a few steps.
As if Ian were a deadly plague, it was afraid of being touched by Ian’s “body.”
“Oh, it seems the actual situation is that you’re afraid of me?” Ian exclaimed, as if he had discovered a new continent, surprise and understanding flashing in his eyes.
He stared thoughtfully at the vigilant Speed Force manifestation.
His super-intelligence spun rapidly.
An intellect in the triple digits truly thought fast.
“Don’t come near me!” the Speed Force’s warning sounded bravado, utterly lacking in deterrence. It truly seemed somewhat shaky. To be honest, facing most beings in the universe, even top-tier deities, it wouldn’t experience such strong emotional fluctuations; after all, it was the embodiment of cosmic rules itself.
It was unbreakable supremacy.
Even the Infinity Family gave it some face.
However.
This boy before it happened to be, out of the two hands, perhaps even a single hand’s worth of exceptions. There was a trait about him that made it feel… extraordinarily uneasy.
“Is it that if I touch you, I’ll gain the ability to use the Speed Force and become a speedster?” Ian voiced his thoughts, his attempt to approach the other party not stopping.
He even ran incredibly fast.
His feet were practically kicking up sparks on the ground.
“No! You guessed wrong!” The “Superman” manifestation of the Speed Force almost screamed. It dared not admit it, for it clearly foresaw what would happen after that touch—not a simple granting of power, but a more profound, irreversible “contamination” or “binding.”
The boy before it absolutely wouldn’t stop because of its refusal!
As the source and symbol of time, it clearly understood that it could actively refuse and repel most attempts to control the Speed Force, but this youngest son of the Superman family was the sole exception. He seemed to bear a unique tag, one that even it couldn’t fully comprehend.
It was the terror of 【 God’s Promise 】.
“Oh? Is that so? I’m not good at guessing other people’s thoughts.” Ian showed a pure and innocent smile, but his feet suddenly accelerated, closing the distance again.
Naturally, the Speed Force was also retreating.
Its manifestation was like a startled rabbit.
Retreating at the same rapid pace.
“I already told you! You can’t touch me! You’ll be torn apart! You’ll be flung away! If you keep this up… I’ll become your true nightmare!” The Speed Force denied it weakly while issuing a threat devoid of any conviction. Its denials precisely exposed its fundamental inability to lie.
“Alright! Then let’s all stand still, one, two, three, statue!”
Seeing that Ian was completely disregarding the rules of engagement.
As he said this, he charged forward like a wild dog that had broken its leash, and the Speed Force manifestation could no longer maintain the Superman’s image, directly transforming into a stream of golden light.
Fleeing in disarray!
This was true flight.
“Damn it! If I don’t come out, you’ll mess with me! If I come out, you’ll still mess with me!”
It was deeply aggrieved.
“Do you even know what a new immigrant is? This is the classic American overt maneuver. Clearly, you don’t pay much attention to American history!”
“We have a tradition for this!”
Ian’s reply was impeccable.
“Don’t come any closer!”
The Speed Force shouted loudly while fleeing, “You have no idea what you’re doing!”
“Hm? You’ve questioned my intelligence for the third time! Such malice! How despicable!” Ian chased relentlessly from behind, retorting with righteous indignation.
His tone was even more aggrieved than the Speed Force’s.
“Of course I know what I’m doing! I need to become a speedster and then save the world! The Justice League can vouch for me! I’m a superhero!”
“You’re the bad guy who’s stopping a superhero!”
“Rotten to the core!”
Ian’s tone was righteous.
“It’s because of you guys!” The Speed Force roared in anger, its voice trembling: “You foolish lot! You are destroying the balance of the entire universe!”
This statement clearly wasn’t just a scolding of Ian, but also encompassed the entire Justice League. Of course, ninety percent of its anger was probably directed towards The Flash and Reverse-Flash, those two speedster traitors.
In the sacred dimension that maintained the flow of time, a jaw-dropping, absurd chase unfolded. In reality, Ian wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
“Stop, and I’ll listen to your quibbles. I won’t be someone who causes great disaster without understanding anything. I’m a superhero of the new era who knows what strict interrogation means.”
However.
His earnest pleas.
The Speed Force might not have understood.
It even conjured hundreds of 【 big trucks 】 in an attempt to induce 【 mental illness 】 in Ian.
It had some effect.
But the stressed Ian was not truly scared away.
“Damn it!! You’re scaring me with the Great Fortune Heavenly Venerable!! You’re finished! I said so! Even Jesus would be finished with you!”
He merely transformed himself within the Speed Force space into a colossal, furious giant capable of crushing several 【 big trucks 】 with one foot, and still running fast.
…
Although the interior of the Speed Force was in turmoil due to Ian’s intrusion, as if a long chase had occurred, in the real world, the passage of time was almost negligibly brief.
In the super-human dynamic vision of Wonder Woman Diana and Aquaman Arthur.
Ian’s form seemed to have only entered the golden vortex of the particle accelerator in the preceding moment, not even the dynamic action of “disappearing” had been fully captured and confirmed by their eyes.
At this moment.
“Wrong! All wrong!”
Reverse-Flash’s roar and Ian’s disappearance occurred almost in the same nanosecond!
An unprecedented crimson Reverse Speed Force erupted around him, and like a dying beast, he charged indiscriminately towards the spot where Ian had vanished.
It was clear that Reverse-Flash was attempting to seize the fleeting temporal window, and using the characteristics of the Reverse Speed Force, forcibly drag the “harbinger of disaster” that had caused the Speed Force’s scream back from the timestream!
Did he succeed?
Of course not.
After all, if he had succeeded, what was happening in the Speed Force dimension wouldn’t be happening. His attempt was doomed to fail, and not just because his speed might not have been fast enough.
Behold.
“Bang!”
Reverse-Flash had only taken a few steps.
He hadn’t even truly approached the entrance of the particle accelerator.
A hand that seemed forged from steel, at a speed he couldn’t comprehend, arrived later but first, and precisely and violently seized his entire cheek!
“CRUNCH!!!”
A muffled, heavy thud.
Reverse-Flash felt an irresistible force, and in a dizzying spin, Superman Clark Kent grabbed his head and smashed him fiercely into the nearby concrete wall!
The brick and stone shattered and dented like fragile cookies, spiderweb cracks spreading. Intense pain surged through his body instantly, and Reverse-Flash felt his skull groaning.
“No!”
He didn’t even care about his injuries, because Superman’s eyes, glowing with a dangerous red light, were now inches away, his icy killing intent nearly freezing his blood.
“What are you trying to do?” Superman’s voice was unnervingly calm, but the calmer he was, the more Reverse-Flash felt a shudder originating from his soul.
“I wasn’t trying any tricks! Clark! Look around you! Look quickly!” Reverse-Flash didn’t try to resist; he knew any resistance against that absolute power was futile. He just yelled with all his might, in a panic, his voice distorted by his crushed face.
Superman turned his head.
“What do you mean?”
Wonder Woman and Aquaman immediately scanned their surroundings alertly, and Cyborg activated his full body scanning system.
And The Flash, Barry Allen, who had just stopped running and emerged from the particle accelerator’s tunnel, immediately provided the answer to everyone’s questions with his actions.
“Thawne! You said this plan was feasible! You lied to us again!” The Flash angrily questioned, his senses more direct than anyone else’s.
As a speedster.
He felt the stability of the surrounding spacetime collapsing at an unprecedented rate, which was why his expression changed drastically, and he instantly rushed to Reverse-Flash, who was pressed against the wall.
The Flash grabbed Reverse-Flash by the neck!
For a moment, Reverse-Flash’s head and neck were held by Superman and The Flash respectively, putting him in a desperate situation. However, he seemed to no longer care.
His expression was very complex.
“Ian’s been sent in! But why! The world’s changes haven’t stopped! Instead, they’re accelerating!” Barry questioned anxiously, pointing out the window of the laboratory, where buildings distorted and flickered at an obviously increased speed, even beginning to show some bizarre outlines that didn’t resemble Earth-made creations!
“You know why, Barry. You know, you just don’t dare to think about it.” Reverse-Flash’s expression was vacant, his eyes filled with regret, unwillingness, and despair after discovering a terrible truth.
“It’s… we…” Reverse-Flash’s voice became weak and ethereal. He struggled to move his eyes, looking at The Flash, who was choking him, his gaze filled with terror and helplessness.
“Batman might have been wrong too. We… our actions just now are what caused the world to start changing not long ago… the real reason…”
A classic time paradox arose.
Damian, Jordan, and Jonathan were not the culprits behind everything.
Their actions.
The plan to send Ian to the past.
was the true cause of all the changes.
Now.
The origin has been anchored.
It was like knocking over the first domino, triggering a chain reaction, accelerating the collapse of the entire Time Structure, and also accelerating Reverse-Flash’s own demise.
“Time… isn’t it.”
Reverse-Flash gave a wry smile.
Everything was sliding irrecoverably in the worst direction. His body began to become somewhat transparent, the ends of his fingers were as if being erased by an eraser.
Slowly disappearing.
That erasure from the Timeline had caught up to him, the Speedster.
