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"2714 times the Speed of Sound..."
Dr. Harrison watched Barry furiously running on the enclosed track specially built around the laboratory, frustratedly taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyebrows.
Reverse Flash felt bitter.
He had long since discovered that some scoundrel was lurking in Central City, snatching his Speed Force, directly making his work of gathering Speed Force even more difficult.
"Scumbag! Degenerate! Shameless!" Harrison's heart was filled with wrath. Barry Allen was his sensitive spot, always regarded by him as his hope for returning home.
Moreover, with the premise that the strongest 'nail house' in history, One-Above-All Tony, had been born in the Prime Universe, the Speed Force required to traverse parallel universes would be extremely terrifying.
Now, just great, there's another damned competitor...
"Alright, Barry's speed has stabilized. Although it's dozens of times the Speed of Sound less than the results tested a few days ago, this is a normal result, related to Barry's own mental state..."
The smug Cisco crossed his arms and nodded with great satisfaction.
Harrison's eyelids twitched wildly, but he still forced a smile, as killing intent surged in his heart.
Only he possessed the technology for collecting Speed Force, but now a Transformer was also trying to snatch it... Currently, Barry was the only speedster on Earth; there were too many hungry wolves for too little meat.
"That's enough for today," Dr. Harrison said, putting on his glasses and revealing a gentle smile. "I suggest we go for a drink tonight and relax."
"Is this a holiday?"
"Of course, paid leave," Dr. Harrison maintained his smile.
Everyone in the laboratory cheered.
...
That night, Smokescreen was still disguised as a sports car, found a random roadside parking spot, settled down, and played dead.
Many Autobots stationed on Earth liked to play this trick. It was said that some with bad dispositions would specifically wait until the dead of night to scare innocent passersby, and gleefully listen to their terrified screams as they pissed their pants...
Compared to those villains, Smokescreen felt he was truly too kind.
"Autobot! You've crossed the line!"
Just as Smokescreen was thinking about how to approach The Flash tomorrow to steal some Speed Force, a fierce red lightning arc flashed, and a person wearing a yellow battle suit, constantly maintaining high-speed vibration, appeared. On his blurred face, ominous red light emanated from his eyes.
"Leave here, and I can let bygones be bygones!" Reverse Flash, deliberately maintaining high-speed vibration to conceal his appearance and physique, roared in a low, resonant voice.
Reverse Flash arrived with an impressive display, roaring loudly at a white sports car.
Smokescreen's response was... he continued to play dead.
An Autobot who liked to disguise himself as a vehicle. Hmm, nothing wrong with that.
"Smokescreen, I know it's you. I've been watching you. You've crossed the line!" Reverse Flash growled.
Smokescreen finally stirred. His headlights flickered on, his engine started, letting out a buzzing sound, proudly displaying the powerful performance of the vehicle. Then, Smokescreen drove to another parking spot on the street, turned off his engine, shut off his lights, and continued to play dead.
It was as if he had been annoyed by a fly and simply moved to another spot to continue sleeping.
Reverse Flash was surprisingly furious.
He had always relied on his intellect to get by, but now someone was openly insulting his intelligence.
The terrifying red lightning arc flickered continuously, like a sudden burst of an electrical river. Reverse Flash instantly appeared in front of Smokescreen's car hood, raised his arm, and fiercely slashed down at the engine's location.
That highly vibrating arm was far sharper than any legendary weapon. If this strike landed, even a Level Four Transformer would be severed.
Speedsters' strongest weapon was their own body.
Smokescreen finally stopped feigning. Facing Reverse Flash's super speed, he unhurriedly used his stored Speed Force, and his speed instantly surged. Everything in the world slowed down infinitely before Smokescreen, and the passage of time also became incredibly slow.
Pale blue lightning arcs erupted, and Smokescreen narrowly dodged Reverse Flash's high-speed attack. His chassis and Reverse Flash's arm were only a few centimeters apart.
"Has no one ever told you that this way of greeting is quite unwelcome? It's a miracle you're still alive and haven't been beaten to death yet."
Smokescreen, now in his humanoid battle form, whistled and glared provocatively at Reverse Flash.
"You touched what's mine," Reverse Flash said in a low voice.
Smokescreen scoffed, exaggeratedly scratching his cheek. "Yours? Aren't you a thief yourself?"
The pale blue electricity slowly receded, recovering bit by bit into the circular device on Smokescreen's waist. This caught Reverse Flash's attention.
He pointed at the device on Smokescreen's waist and said, "That was made using my technology, the technology Tony took from me..."
"I know, I know... But we don't think much of your outdated technology. See? This is upgraded technology, capable of recovering some of the dissipated Speed Force! Can your crude technology do that? You use up one unit of Speed Force after just a few uses!"
Smokescreen boastfully pointed at the circular device on his waist. "This is called Phase Shifter version 1.0, far more powerful than your old technology. I consume 1 unit of Speed Force, and as long as I'm in the same time-space, I can recover 0.1 units."
Reverse Flash greedily stared at the inconspicuous device. The faint pale blue lightning arcs obediently flowed back. Although it was little, every little bit counts!
Even more crucial was this technology. If he could just get his hands on this technology and develop it further...
Reverse Flash, who was practically insane with desire for Speed Force, had his eyes turn completely red.
"Give me that thing, and I'll spare your life!" Reverse Flash extended his hand.
Smokescreen glared sideways at him. "I'd give it to you, but would you dare to take it?"
"...Then lend it to me! I'll return it to you later!"
"How truly shameless," Smokescreen sneered, patting the Phase Shifter on his waist. "If you can snatch it, it's yours. If you can't, then get as far away as you can."
The red light in Reverse Flash's eyes intensified by a third. "Do you really want to die?"
Smokescreen gave a cold laugh, whistled, and pale blue lightning arcs continuously flickered in his optical sensors. The next moment, his terrifying speed instantly picked up, and he disappeared from his spot.
Reverse Flash also began to run.
In the quiet of Central City at night, red and blue lightning arcs intertwined. Two swiftly soaring figures began to clash. Wherever light flickered, illuminating the darkness, their battling figures were bound to be there.
In an instant, the entire city seemed to become an ocean of red and blue. Intense lightning arcs accumulated more and more, and countless afterimages appeared. With every passing second, Smokescreen and Reverse Flash unleashed tens of thousands of punches.
With a loud bang, Smokescreen was sent flying by the faster Reverse Flash. His body, two stories tall, flew backward, collapsing an abandoned building, and smoke and dust filled the air.
"You're formidable. Your talent in using Speed Force is no worse than mine, but you are too young."
Reverse Flash, with a grim expression, stared at Smokescreen, who lay on the ground, and raised his arm.
(end of chapter)
Dr. Harrison watched Barry furiously running on the enclosed track specially built around the laboratory, frustratedly taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyebrows.
Reverse Flash felt bitter.
He had long since discovered that some scoundrel was lurking in Central City, snatching his Speed Force, directly making his work of gathering Speed Force even more difficult.
"Scumbag! Degenerate! Shameless!" Harrison's heart was filled with wrath. Barry Allen was his sensitive spot, always regarded by him as his hope for returning home.
Moreover, with the premise that the strongest 'nail house' in history, One-Above-All Tony, had been born in the Prime Universe, the Speed Force required to traverse parallel universes would be extremely terrifying.
Now, just great, there's another damned competitor...
"Alright, Barry's speed has stabilized. Although it's dozens of times the Speed of Sound less than the results tested a few days ago, this is a normal result, related to Barry's own mental state..."
The smug Cisco crossed his arms and nodded with great satisfaction.
Harrison's eyelids twitched wildly, but he still forced a smile, as killing intent surged in his heart.
Only he possessed the technology for collecting Speed Force, but now a Transformer was also trying to snatch it... Currently, Barry was the only speedster on Earth; there were too many hungry wolves for too little meat.
"That's enough for today," Dr. Harrison said, putting on his glasses and revealing a gentle smile. "I suggest we go for a drink tonight and relax."
"Is this a holiday?"
"Of course, paid leave," Dr. Harrison maintained his smile.
Everyone in the laboratory cheered.
...
That night, Smokescreen was still disguised as a sports car, found a random roadside parking spot, settled down, and played dead.
Many Autobots stationed on Earth liked to play this trick. It was said that some with bad dispositions would specifically wait until the dead of night to scare innocent passersby, and gleefully listen to their terrified screams as they pissed their pants...
Compared to those villains, Smokescreen felt he was truly too kind.
"Autobot! You've crossed the line!"
Just as Smokescreen was thinking about how to approach The Flash tomorrow to steal some Speed Force, a fierce red lightning arc flashed, and a person wearing a yellow battle suit, constantly maintaining high-speed vibration, appeared. On his blurred face, ominous red light emanated from his eyes.
"Leave here, and I can let bygones be bygones!" Reverse Flash, deliberately maintaining high-speed vibration to conceal his appearance and physique, roared in a low, resonant voice.
Reverse Flash arrived with an impressive display, roaring loudly at a white sports car.
Smokescreen's response was... he continued to play dead.
An Autobot who liked to disguise himself as a vehicle. Hmm, nothing wrong with that.
"Smokescreen, I know it's you. I've been watching you. You've crossed the line!" Reverse Flash growled.
Smokescreen finally stirred. His headlights flickered on, his engine started, letting out a buzzing sound, proudly displaying the powerful performance of the vehicle. Then, Smokescreen drove to another parking spot on the street, turned off his engine, shut off his lights, and continued to play dead.
It was as if he had been annoyed by a fly and simply moved to another spot to continue sleeping.
Reverse Flash was surprisingly furious.
He had always relied on his intellect to get by, but now someone was openly insulting his intelligence.
The terrifying red lightning arc flickered continuously, like a sudden burst of an electrical river. Reverse Flash instantly appeared in front of Smokescreen's car hood, raised his arm, and fiercely slashed down at the engine's location.
That highly vibrating arm was far sharper than any legendary weapon. If this strike landed, even a Level Four Transformer would be severed.
Speedsters' strongest weapon was their own body.
Smokescreen finally stopped feigning. Facing Reverse Flash's super speed, he unhurriedly used his stored Speed Force, and his speed instantly surged. Everything in the world slowed down infinitely before Smokescreen, and the passage of time also became incredibly slow.
Pale blue lightning arcs erupted, and Smokescreen narrowly dodged Reverse Flash's high-speed attack. His chassis and Reverse Flash's arm were only a few centimeters apart.
"Has no one ever told you that this way of greeting is quite unwelcome? It's a miracle you're still alive and haven't been beaten to death yet."
Smokescreen, now in his humanoid battle form, whistled and glared provocatively at Reverse Flash.
"You touched what's mine," Reverse Flash said in a low voice.
Smokescreen scoffed, exaggeratedly scratching his cheek. "Yours? Aren't you a thief yourself?"
The pale blue electricity slowly receded, recovering bit by bit into the circular device on Smokescreen's waist. This caught Reverse Flash's attention.
He pointed at the device on Smokescreen's waist and said, "That was made using my technology, the technology Tony took from me..."
"I know, I know... But we don't think much of your outdated technology. See? This is upgraded technology, capable of recovering some of the dissipated Speed Force! Can your crude technology do that? You use up one unit of Speed Force after just a few uses!"
Smokescreen boastfully pointed at the circular device on his waist. "This is called Phase Shifter version 1.0, far more powerful than your old technology. I consume 1 unit of Speed Force, and as long as I'm in the same time-space, I can recover 0.1 units."
Reverse Flash greedily stared at the inconspicuous device. The faint pale blue lightning arcs obediently flowed back. Although it was little, every little bit counts!
Even more crucial was this technology. If he could just get his hands on this technology and develop it further...
Reverse Flash, who was practically insane with desire for Speed Force, had his eyes turn completely red.
"Give me that thing, and I'll spare your life!" Reverse Flash extended his hand.
Smokescreen glared sideways at him. "I'd give it to you, but would you dare to take it?"
"...Then lend it to me! I'll return it to you later!"
"How truly shameless," Smokescreen sneered, patting the Phase Shifter on his waist. "If you can snatch it, it's yours. If you can't, then get as far away as you can."
The red light in Reverse Flash's eyes intensified by a third. "Do you really want to die?"
Smokescreen gave a cold laugh, whistled, and pale blue lightning arcs continuously flickered in his optical sensors. The next moment, his terrifying speed instantly picked up, and he disappeared from his spot.
Reverse Flash also began to run.
In the quiet of Central City at night, red and blue lightning arcs intertwined. Two swiftly soaring figures began to clash. Wherever light flickered, illuminating the darkness, their battling figures were bound to be there.
In an instant, the entire city seemed to become an ocean of red and blue. Intense lightning arcs accumulated more and more, and countless afterimages appeared. With every passing second, Smokescreen and Reverse Flash unleashed tens of thousands of punches.
With a loud bang, Smokescreen was sent flying by the faster Reverse Flash. His body, two stories tall, flew backward, collapsing an abandoned building, and smoke and dust filled the air.
"You're formidable. Your talent in using Speed Force is no worse than mine, but you are too young."
Reverse Flash, with a grim expression, stared at Smokescreen, who lay on the ground, and raised his arm.
(end of chapter)
