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Chapter 742: Reverse-Flash's Apocalypse (2)
The night in Central City was destined to be anything but calm.
Harrison pushed his wheelchair onto the rooftop, a strange smile playing on his lips as he looked down at the city's dazzling nightlife.
For him, a man from the 25th Century, this damned era was nothing short of a technological desert. The terrible environment, coupled with the backward values of the humans of this time, was a complete nightmare for someone as arrogant as him.
Dr. Harrison—oh, no, he had now cast off this disguise and taken up his real name again—Thawne.
Reverse-Flash Thawne slowly stood up from his wheelchair. He gently removed the glasses he usually took such careful care of and tossed them aside.
The glasses were Dr. Harrison's trademark, not Thawne's.
Only that yellow power suit, so similar to The Flash's battle suit, was Thawne's trademark.
Subconsciously, Thawne touched his own face. This face, including the modified DNA within his body, wasn't his. It belonged to the real Dr. Harrison.
Years ago, he traveled back from the 25th Century, attempting to kill the five-year-old Barry. However, he was thwarted by The Flash, who had arrived from the future. The two fought a fierce battle in the room, and in the end, Reverse-Flash only managed to kill Barry's mother.
What was worse, this completely unforeseen, intense battle exhausted what little Speed Force Reverse-Flash had. He no longer had the ability to return to the 25th Century. He wasn't a Speedster; he couldn't generate the Speed Force on his own and could only steal it.
Next, Reverse-Flash orchestrated a car crash. He used a device to drain Dr. Harrison into a dried corpse, transferring all of the man's Life Factor to cover himself. And just like that, Reverse-Flash successfully transformed from Thawne into Harrison.
Then came the great explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs. The young Barry was struck by a Lightning Bolt, fell into a coma for nine months, and upon waking, possessed the Speed Force.
"I had originally planned to steal enough Speed Force and then return to my time. I've had enough of mixing with you zombies—to me, you are all people who have been dead for centuries. Even you, Barry. To the me of the 25th Century, you're an ancient relic from hundreds of years ago. By the time I was researching the Speed Force, you had long since died in the 22nd century."
"If I, a great scientist, hadn't accidentally found the remains of your tattered battle suit left in the Time Stream, I would never have had the chance to come into contact with the Speed Force, let alone actually meet you. And there certainly wouldn't be this conflict and entanglement between us across countless eras."
Thawne stood at the edge of the rooftop, his body erect, one hand in his pocket. The cool night wind blew across his face, making him take a deep breath—damn this air quality.
The 25th Century didn't have such terrible air.
"Everything was as if it had been arranged. I found your battle suit in the 25th Century, became a superhero, fought criminals, and rescued the weak."
Thawne habitually put on a very friendly smile. This was Harrison's habit, and now it was his too. After all, having kept up the pretense for so many years, he was bound to pick up Harrison's habits.
But, the volume of his voice grew lower and lower, more and more sinister. A bone-chilling coldness rose from him as his expression twisted, and he roared, "But! Every single one of them, they all frantically screamed The Flash's name! Not mine, Thawne's! No matter how amazing a rescue I performed, no matter how many families I saved, they only knew how to shout your name!"
"Who cares about me?!"
"Who even knows who I am?!"
"Those idiots who just follow the crowd, they all screamed wildly: The Flash has been resurrected! He's come from the past to the present! He's our hero!"
Thawne snatched the coffee cup sitting on the wheelchair and brought it to his lips, seemingly about to take a sip as usual. But when he smelled it, he suddenly remembered—this was Dr. Harrison's damn habit, not his.
Smash!
The cup shattered, spilling hot coffee all over the ground.
"I don't ask for rewards from those lowlifes. Money? I'm not short on it. Technology? I'm the top scientist of the 25th Century. Superpowers? I already possess the Speed Force!"
"I just want the cheers of those lowlifes! I just want to hear them shout my name, not that bullshit The Flash!"
Thawne's expression was twisted. What he was describing was the origin of the hatred between him and The Flash that spanned several centuries. Of course, he wouldn't have started a Great War across centuries with The Flash over something so trivial; he wasn't that ridiculous or bored.
The human heart is greedy.
When Thawne was still a great scientist, he madly idolized The Flash. But when he, whether by fate or something else, found a fragment of a battle suit floating out of the Time Stream, his mentality began to change subtly.
The truth behind that shattered battle suit fragment was impossible to verify at the time. Perhaps The Flash had been gravely injured while fighting a powerful enemy in the Time Stream? Why did it so coincidentally float right in front of Thawne? Why did it float before the proud, ambitious, brilliant Thawne who idolized The Flash? None of that mattered anymore.
He longed to become a superhero like The Flash, using the Speed Force to help the poor and rescue the weak, admired by all.
But when he obtained the Speed Force from the battle suit and became a Pseudo-Speedster, he felt he shouldn't be his idol's stand-in, but should be his own man.
In the end, he discovered that he could never surpass The Flash, could never escape The Flash's shadow.
His mentality changed once again.
"I know you're all listening. I've been waiting for this day, it's just that it's come far earlier than I imagined. So early that I haven't even stored up enough Speed Force to comfortably travel across the Universe!"
Thawne raised his hands, but quickly lowered them again, as if trying to express the helplessness in his heart.
"Cisco, Caitlin, and... Barry, you were all the best assistants. I'm grateful for your efforts over the years, but we are still enemies. You ghosts are nothing more than mud to pave my way."
"You don't understand at all. Barry, even the you of today doesn't understand. You're too young, nothing compared to the you of the 22nd century. And there's no way you could ever understand me..."
"The first time I left the 25th Century and rushed through countless pasts and futures, I had already despaired. The things I saw... you can't even begin to imagine them!"
"It was a despair that left no choice!"
"Fate has already been sealed. Time chose me as the beginning of everything. Likewise, my life has been nailed down by something unknown... Oh, Tony didn't do this. When I traveled through countless eras, he never even appeared. Perhaps Tony's birth is also one of the prices for me traveling to the present and changing history."
"I personally witnessed scenes from countless timelines, and I personally saw... countless versions of me, fighting countless versions of The Flash!"
"Without a single exception!"
(end of chapter)
The night in Central City was destined to be anything but calm.
Harrison pushed his wheelchair onto the rooftop, a strange smile playing on his lips as he looked down at the city's dazzling nightlife.
For him, a man from the 25th Century, this damned era was nothing short of a technological desert. The terrible environment, coupled with the backward values of the humans of this time, was a complete nightmare for someone as arrogant as him.
Dr. Harrison—oh, no, he had now cast off this disguise and taken up his real name again—Thawne.
Reverse-Flash Thawne slowly stood up from his wheelchair. He gently removed the glasses he usually took such careful care of and tossed them aside.
The glasses were Dr. Harrison's trademark, not Thawne's.
Only that yellow power suit, so similar to The Flash's battle suit, was Thawne's trademark.
Subconsciously, Thawne touched his own face. This face, including the modified DNA within his body, wasn't his. It belonged to the real Dr. Harrison.
Years ago, he traveled back from the 25th Century, attempting to kill the five-year-old Barry. However, he was thwarted by The Flash, who had arrived from the future. The two fought a fierce battle in the room, and in the end, Reverse-Flash only managed to kill Barry's mother.
What was worse, this completely unforeseen, intense battle exhausted what little Speed Force Reverse-Flash had. He no longer had the ability to return to the 25th Century. He wasn't a Speedster; he couldn't generate the Speed Force on his own and could only steal it.
Next, Reverse-Flash orchestrated a car crash. He used a device to drain Dr. Harrison into a dried corpse, transferring all of the man's Life Factor to cover himself. And just like that, Reverse-Flash successfully transformed from Thawne into Harrison.
Then came the great explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs. The young Barry was struck by a Lightning Bolt, fell into a coma for nine months, and upon waking, possessed the Speed Force.
"I had originally planned to steal enough Speed Force and then return to my time. I've had enough of mixing with you zombies—to me, you are all people who have been dead for centuries. Even you, Barry. To the me of the 25th Century, you're an ancient relic from hundreds of years ago. By the time I was researching the Speed Force, you had long since died in the 22nd century."
"If I, a great scientist, hadn't accidentally found the remains of your tattered battle suit left in the Time Stream, I would never have had the chance to come into contact with the Speed Force, let alone actually meet you. And there certainly wouldn't be this conflict and entanglement between us across countless eras."
Thawne stood at the edge of the rooftop, his body erect, one hand in his pocket. The cool night wind blew across his face, making him take a deep breath—damn this air quality.
The 25th Century didn't have such terrible air.
"Everything was as if it had been arranged. I found your battle suit in the 25th Century, became a superhero, fought criminals, and rescued the weak."
Thawne habitually put on a very friendly smile. This was Harrison's habit, and now it was his too. After all, having kept up the pretense for so many years, he was bound to pick up Harrison's habits.
But, the volume of his voice grew lower and lower, more and more sinister. A bone-chilling coldness rose from him as his expression twisted, and he roared, "But! Every single one of them, they all frantically screamed The Flash's name! Not mine, Thawne's! No matter how amazing a rescue I performed, no matter how many families I saved, they only knew how to shout your name!"
"Who cares about me?!"
"Who even knows who I am?!"
"Those idiots who just follow the crowd, they all screamed wildly: The Flash has been resurrected! He's come from the past to the present! He's our hero!"
Thawne snatched the coffee cup sitting on the wheelchair and brought it to his lips, seemingly about to take a sip as usual. But when he smelled it, he suddenly remembered—this was Dr. Harrison's damn habit, not his.
Smash!
The cup shattered, spilling hot coffee all over the ground.
"I don't ask for rewards from those lowlifes. Money? I'm not short on it. Technology? I'm the top scientist of the 25th Century. Superpowers? I already possess the Speed Force!"
"I just want the cheers of those lowlifes! I just want to hear them shout my name, not that bullshit The Flash!"
Thawne's expression was twisted. What he was describing was the origin of the hatred between him and The Flash that spanned several centuries. Of course, he wouldn't have started a Great War across centuries with The Flash over something so trivial; he wasn't that ridiculous or bored.
The human heart is greedy.
When Thawne was still a great scientist, he madly idolized The Flash. But when he, whether by fate or something else, found a fragment of a battle suit floating out of the Time Stream, his mentality began to change subtly.
The truth behind that shattered battle suit fragment was impossible to verify at the time. Perhaps The Flash had been gravely injured while fighting a powerful enemy in the Time Stream? Why did it so coincidentally float right in front of Thawne? Why did it float before the proud, ambitious, brilliant Thawne who idolized The Flash? None of that mattered anymore.
He longed to become a superhero like The Flash, using the Speed Force to help the poor and rescue the weak, admired by all.
But when he obtained the Speed Force from the battle suit and became a Pseudo-Speedster, he felt he shouldn't be his idol's stand-in, but should be his own man.
In the end, he discovered that he could never surpass The Flash, could never escape The Flash's shadow.
His mentality changed once again.
"I know you're all listening. I've been waiting for this day, it's just that it's come far earlier than I imagined. So early that I haven't even stored up enough Speed Force to comfortably travel across the Universe!"
Thawne raised his hands, but quickly lowered them again, as if trying to express the helplessness in his heart.
"Cisco, Caitlin, and... Barry, you were all the best assistants. I'm grateful for your efforts over the years, but we are still enemies. You ghosts are nothing more than mud to pave my way."
"You don't understand at all. Barry, even the you of today doesn't understand. You're too young, nothing compared to the you of the 22nd century. And there's no way you could ever understand me..."
"The first time I left the 25th Century and rushed through countless pasts and futures, I had already despaired. The things I saw... you can't even begin to imagine them!"
"It was a despair that left no choice!"
"Fate has already been sealed. Time chose me as the beginning of everything. Likewise, my life has been nailed down by something unknown... Oh, Tony didn't do this. When I traveled through countless eras, he never even appeared. Perhaps Tony's birth is also one of the prices for me traveling to the present and changing history."
"I personally witnessed scenes from countless timelines, and I personally saw... countless versions of me, fighting countless versions of The Flash!"
"Without a single exception!"
(end of chapter)
