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Humans only remember what they've missed at the very last moment.
Reverse-Flash was in this exact state of mind; he was on the verge of going mad.
This time, it wasn't just The Flash and Smokescreen ganging up on him.
Reverse-Flash understood why Smokescreen opposed him—though he was itching for a chance to kill Smokescreen. To get stronger, Smokescreen needed more Speed Force, and for a Pseudo-Speedster to acquire Speed Force, they had to steal it from a True Speedster.
By constantly provoking Reverse-Flash and The Flash into fighting, Smokescreen could reap the benefits from the sidelines, naturally siphoning off large amounts of Speed Force. This allowed Smokescreen's power to grow at a visible rate—his application of the Speed Force and the scale of his reserves were all constantly increasing.
This was a major setback for Reverse-Flash.
Originally, he was the only thief stealing The Flash's speed, but now there was another damn one. In his shock and anger, Reverse-Flash, in his guise as the mentor Harrison, subtly hinted to The Flash about the possible reason for his inexplicably slowing speed increase.
"Maybe someone is stealing the Speed Force. I've been observing your growth trajectory, and ever since that guy showed up, your speed gains have slowed down. During daily training, it even slightly declines sometimes..." Harrison pushed up his glasses, a wise expression on his face.
"You mean Reverse-Flash?! I knew it was him!" Barry Allen was indeed furious.
Reverse-Flash was so angry he could have spit blood.
Cisco and Caitlin looked at the two of them with suspicion and an odd expression, exchanging a subtle glance without saying a word.
"It could also be Smokescreen... He appeared suddenly and is also a Speedster. As far as I know, Tony never possessed the Speed Force before this," Harrison said with a smile.
Barry lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he nodded heavily. "I still think it was that Reverse-Flash guy."
Reverse-Flash completely despaired of The Flash. He meticulously plotted to kill Smokescreen, but feared being taken out by Tony, so he could only wait angrily for an opportunity.
He could only accumulate Speed Force bit by bit, waiting endlessly for the slight possibility of crossing over to an Alternate Universe.
Reverse-Flash hadn't given up on his plan. Staying in the Prime Universe was a dead end. This damn world was locked down by the New Gods; there was no way out for him.
To return to his own time, he had to expend a massive amount of Speed Force to cross into an Alternate Universe, kill his counterpart there, and then travel back to that universe's 25th Century. Everything would be exactly the same.
But what Reverse-Flash didn't expect was that he had long been targeted by the super-intelligent Cisco.
If he hadn't acted as Reverse-Flash with his strange comings and goings, Cisco really wouldn't have suspected him. But the more he acted, the more something was bound to seem off.
The few of them spent their days together and knew a lot about each other's whereabouts. But every time Barry was attacked by Reverse-Flash, Dr. Harrison always had something else to do...
Cisco was highly intelligent. The more frequently Reverse-Flash struck, the more traces he left behind.
Humans are the kind of creatures that, once they start suspecting someone, will begin to view that person from the perspective of finding flaws and secrets. Every detail gets magnified.
After Cisco looked up Dr. Harrison Wells' records and secretly went alone under the cover of night to the site of the car crash that had crippled him years ago, he personally dug up a dried corpse.
This was a dried corpse that looked as if its flesh and blood had been artificially drained, leaving only skin and bones.
A gene test confirmed that this was also Dr. Harrison Wells; his genetic sequence was identical to the Dr. Harrison in S.T.A.R. Labs.
One was real, one was fake.
Reverse-Flash was too hasty. He was desperate to leave the Prime Universe.
If it weren't for Smokescreen, Reverse-Flash would have had more patience to steal the Speed Force. But Smokescreen's arrival cut Reverse-Flash's efficiency by more than half. Whenever The Flash appeared, Smokescreen would show up.
Smokescreen's identity was public. He had no scruples and could easily get close to The Flash.
This was blatant poaching. Reverse-Flash instantly went from having a monopoly to the pathetic state of fighting for scraps, and he couldn't even get rid of his damned competitor.
But there was no doubt about it—his identity was exposed. After such long-term deception and pretense, a sudden reveal would only provoke even greater anger from those who were hurt.
Extreme trust, when betrayed, incites immense hatred.
Especially when Barry learned that the "Dr. Harrison" who had guided and taught him was actually Reverse-Flash—the true murderer of his mother when he was five—this indescribable and complex mix of emotions erupted all at once.
It was only thanks to his strong willpower that Barry didn't break down on the spot.
"I still can't believe it..." Barry clutched his head in anguish in front of Cisco, his face a mask of despair.
Much of the time, Barry had seen Dr. Harrison as a father figure. That was no exaggeration.
When he was five, his mother was murdered. After the police investigation came up with nothing, they decisively concluded his father had done it, throwing him in prison with a life sentence.
Besides his adoptive father, Joe, no one had ever been as patient with him as Dr. Harrison.
But the facts are always the cruelest reality.
"Gideon, why are you helping me?"
Barry clutched his head in pain, looking at the artificial intelligence that Reverse-Flash had brought back from the 25th Century, and asked in a low voice.
He had found the Time Vault that Dr. Harrison had set up in S.T.A.R. Labs and activated Gideon.
Gideon replied in a monotonous tone: "Because you created me, Barry. Your commands will always be my first priority."
"The future from the 25th Century again..."
Barry was stunned for a moment, his expression darkening.
The artificial intelligence itself was a minor detail now.
The priority now was to find a way to expose Reverse-Flash's false facade.
"I need your help. I have to see it for myself. I want to make him admit it with his own mouth!" Barry gritted his teeth, like a wounded beast.
He had respected and admired this so-called Dr. Harrison so much... but reality had viciously slammed him with a shoulder throw.
From start to finish, he had been a fool, an idiot so stupid that he was exploited until he had nothing left, yet was still helping the villains count their money.
Cisco slowly put on his glasses. "Of course I'll help you. I'll use my powers to monitor all of that guy's things. Maybe I can see his true origin."
Cisco's power was Vibe, a very versatile ability. Not only could he see images related to a person by vibing their belongings, but he could also create an Interdimensional Portal for long-distance travel.
When developed to its full potential in the future, Cisco would be able to create tunnels for Inter-Universal Travel.
Unfortunately, Reverse-Flash didn't know this. In the history he was familiar with, Cisco never had an awakening of superpowers and died of old age as a genius scientist.
Everything changed after Reverse-Flash returned, killed the real Dr. Harrison, and took his place.
That night, the explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs not only allowed Barry to come into contact with the Speed Force many years ahead of schedule, but it also changed the fate of many people, including Cisco and Caitlin.
(end of chapter)
Reverse-Flash was in this exact state of mind; he was on the verge of going mad.
This time, it wasn't just The Flash and Smokescreen ganging up on him.
Reverse-Flash understood why Smokescreen opposed him—though he was itching for a chance to kill Smokescreen. To get stronger, Smokescreen needed more Speed Force, and for a Pseudo-Speedster to acquire Speed Force, they had to steal it from a True Speedster.
By constantly provoking Reverse-Flash and The Flash into fighting, Smokescreen could reap the benefits from the sidelines, naturally siphoning off large amounts of Speed Force. This allowed Smokescreen's power to grow at a visible rate—his application of the Speed Force and the scale of his reserves were all constantly increasing.
This was a major setback for Reverse-Flash.
Originally, he was the only thief stealing The Flash's speed, but now there was another damn one. In his shock and anger, Reverse-Flash, in his guise as the mentor Harrison, subtly hinted to The Flash about the possible reason for his inexplicably slowing speed increase.
"Maybe someone is stealing the Speed Force. I've been observing your growth trajectory, and ever since that guy showed up, your speed gains have slowed down. During daily training, it even slightly declines sometimes..." Harrison pushed up his glasses, a wise expression on his face.
"You mean Reverse-Flash?! I knew it was him!" Barry Allen was indeed furious.
Reverse-Flash was so angry he could have spit blood.
Cisco and Caitlin looked at the two of them with suspicion and an odd expression, exchanging a subtle glance without saying a word.
"It could also be Smokescreen... He appeared suddenly and is also a Speedster. As far as I know, Tony never possessed the Speed Force before this," Harrison said with a smile.
Barry lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he nodded heavily. "I still think it was that Reverse-Flash guy."
Reverse-Flash completely despaired of The Flash. He meticulously plotted to kill Smokescreen, but feared being taken out by Tony, so he could only wait angrily for an opportunity.
He could only accumulate Speed Force bit by bit, waiting endlessly for the slight possibility of crossing over to an Alternate Universe.
Reverse-Flash hadn't given up on his plan. Staying in the Prime Universe was a dead end. This damn world was locked down by the New Gods; there was no way out for him.
To return to his own time, he had to expend a massive amount of Speed Force to cross into an Alternate Universe, kill his counterpart there, and then travel back to that universe's 25th Century. Everything would be exactly the same.
But what Reverse-Flash didn't expect was that he had long been targeted by the super-intelligent Cisco.
If he hadn't acted as Reverse-Flash with his strange comings and goings, Cisco really wouldn't have suspected him. But the more he acted, the more something was bound to seem off.
The few of them spent their days together and knew a lot about each other's whereabouts. But every time Barry was attacked by Reverse-Flash, Dr. Harrison always had something else to do...
Cisco was highly intelligent. The more frequently Reverse-Flash struck, the more traces he left behind.
Humans are the kind of creatures that, once they start suspecting someone, will begin to view that person from the perspective of finding flaws and secrets. Every detail gets magnified.
After Cisco looked up Dr. Harrison Wells' records and secretly went alone under the cover of night to the site of the car crash that had crippled him years ago, he personally dug up a dried corpse.
This was a dried corpse that looked as if its flesh and blood had been artificially drained, leaving only skin and bones.
A gene test confirmed that this was also Dr. Harrison Wells; his genetic sequence was identical to the Dr. Harrison in S.T.A.R. Labs.
One was real, one was fake.
Reverse-Flash was too hasty. He was desperate to leave the Prime Universe.
If it weren't for Smokescreen, Reverse-Flash would have had more patience to steal the Speed Force. But Smokescreen's arrival cut Reverse-Flash's efficiency by more than half. Whenever The Flash appeared, Smokescreen would show up.
Smokescreen's identity was public. He had no scruples and could easily get close to The Flash.
This was blatant poaching. Reverse-Flash instantly went from having a monopoly to the pathetic state of fighting for scraps, and he couldn't even get rid of his damned competitor.
But there was no doubt about it—his identity was exposed. After such long-term deception and pretense, a sudden reveal would only provoke even greater anger from those who were hurt.
Extreme trust, when betrayed, incites immense hatred.
Especially when Barry learned that the "Dr. Harrison" who had guided and taught him was actually Reverse-Flash—the true murderer of his mother when he was five—this indescribable and complex mix of emotions erupted all at once.
It was only thanks to his strong willpower that Barry didn't break down on the spot.
"I still can't believe it..." Barry clutched his head in anguish in front of Cisco, his face a mask of despair.
Much of the time, Barry had seen Dr. Harrison as a father figure. That was no exaggeration.
When he was five, his mother was murdered. After the police investigation came up with nothing, they decisively concluded his father had done it, throwing him in prison with a life sentence.
Besides his adoptive father, Joe, no one had ever been as patient with him as Dr. Harrison.
But the facts are always the cruelest reality.
"Gideon, why are you helping me?"
Barry clutched his head in pain, looking at the artificial intelligence that Reverse-Flash had brought back from the 25th Century, and asked in a low voice.
He had found the Time Vault that Dr. Harrison had set up in S.T.A.R. Labs and activated Gideon.
Gideon replied in a monotonous tone: "Because you created me, Barry. Your commands will always be my first priority."
"The future from the 25th Century again..."
Barry was stunned for a moment, his expression darkening.
The artificial intelligence itself was a minor detail now.
The priority now was to find a way to expose Reverse-Flash's false facade.
"I need your help. I have to see it for myself. I want to make him admit it with his own mouth!" Barry gritted his teeth, like a wounded beast.
He had respected and admired this so-called Dr. Harrison so much... but reality had viciously slammed him with a shoulder throw.
From start to finish, he had been a fool, an idiot so stupid that he was exploited until he had nothing left, yet was still helping the villains count their money.
Cisco slowly put on his glasses. "Of course I'll help you. I'll use my powers to monitor all of that guy's things. Maybe I can see his true origin."
Cisco's power was Vibe, a very versatile ability. Not only could he see images related to a person by vibing their belongings, but he could also create an Interdimensional Portal for long-distance travel.
When developed to its full potential in the future, Cisco would be able to create tunnels for Inter-Universal Travel.
Unfortunately, Reverse-Flash didn't know this. In the history he was familiar with, Cisco never had an awakening of superpowers and died of old age as a genius scientist.
Everything changed after Reverse-Flash returned, killed the real Dr. Harrison, and took his place.
That night, the explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs not only allowed Barry to come into contact with the Speed Force many years ahead of schedule, but it also changed the fate of many people, including Cisco and Caitlin.
(end of chapter)
