In the barren darkness, flames flickered.
After the explosion of the bionic body Jenny, his former self, a human-shaped silhouette like mist, filled with grief and pain, walked slowly toward the bright lights of Metropolis with heavy, sorrowful steps.
There were no accidents. Everything had perfectly replaced the original Jenny.
Except for Bardi, who was shocked several times by the truth of his own existence, everything unfolded exactly as before. Everyone in the camp perished, those damned by fate and even those who tried to save her.
The real Jenny had been securely controlled by Bardi, using the flow of nanoparticles. She was frozen and slumbered peacefully within a special space he had prepared.
Bardi moved silently, advancing and retreating, finally exhaling a long sigh of relief. Everything had returned to normal.
He had prepared thoroughly, simulating every bit of the environment from his memory, running hundreds of trillions of calculations to ensure perfection. From the explosion's angle to the flawless replacement of the bionic Jenny, every detail was orchestrated. The nanoparticles controlled the nuclear energy inside Jenny's body with absolute precision.
Natural success, no surprises.
Accidents happen only when one is unprepared.
Hidden in a dark corner, Bardi concealed his figure, his distant gaze following his past self gradually vanishing into the darkness, the lights of Metropolis growing farther and farther away.
The cold night wind blew, stirring the flickering flames.
Suspended in the air, Bardi floated quietly. The cool breeze brushed over his indifferent face as he watched the Flash struggle beneath the fallen tree trunk, buried among the shattered ice and thick foliage.
The Flash, like a battered warrior on a battlefield, had a pale face, blood at the corners of his mouth, no legs, yet still crawled forward stubbornly.
Even without legs, his crawling speed was dozens of times faster than an ordinary person's. Like a snake in the darkness, his hands flashed weak arcs of lightning, dragging himself dozens of meters at a time, leaving blood trails across the ground.
Driven by an unyielding will to survive, he carved a dirt path across the earth.
Then Bardi descended indifferently from above, gazing coldly down at him.
The Flash gave a tragic smile. "I shouldn't have brought you back. Do you even know how serious the consequences of changing history are?"
"You devil, tyrant, should live with eternal regret!"
Despite his pitiful appearance, despite his miserable situation, lying on the muddy ground, pale, missing two front teeth, The Flash still mustered defiance. His leaky grin, however, made the scene somewhat absurd.
Once a handsome and sunny figure, now he looked like a tragic clown, missing two front teeth and forcing a grim smile. Anyone witnessing this would be torn between laughter and pity.
Bardi glanced coldly and strangely at his blackened front teeth. Facing The Flash's miserable but almost comical smile, Bardi found the scene... bizarre.
"How can you even compare? For the sake of your mother, you killed hundreds of millions."
Bardi looked again at the black hole where his front teeth had been, the tragic smile, and replied lightly.
No one understood the consequences of changing history better than The Flash.
Yet, for the sake of personal emotion, for the memory of his mother, he had recklessly traveled back in time, without planning or preparation, causing the Flashpoint catastrophe.
The war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman resulted in millions upon millions of deaths.
It ultimately led to Bardi's arrival.
Without Bardi's intervention, even more would have perished.
Because Bardi arrived, the whole world turned against him, forcing Aquaman and Wonder Woman onto a different path, shifting the timeline into a new direction.
Another Flashpoint.
Hearing Bardi mention his mother, the Flash stiffened. His hands, covered in mud, clenched tightly, his pale face flushing, and with missing front teeth he roared, "You said you wouldn't touch my family!"
Although The Flash did not fully understand Bardi's deeper meaning, to him it sounded like another threat, igniting his fury.
"I have no interest in your family."
Bardi responded coldly, then reached out, grabbed the Flash by the neck, and flew up, disappearing into the dark night.
...
Three days later.
An island in the Atlantic Ocean, where the sun blazed down, casting a brilliant halo across the waves.
The Flash had reinstalled his metal prosthetic legs. Walking across the soft sand, the prosthetics sank deep into the ground. With each step, his bare joints twisted, reflecting a metallic shine under the sunlight, demonstrating incredible flexibility.
One had to admit that Barmulodi's prosthetic technology was truly remarkable. It could bring disabled people the chance to live normal lives again.
His skills and technology were impressive, but as a person... not so much.
The Flash stood by the waves, deep in thought. His mind churned with worry.
Would Bruce find the signal he left behind?
If he did not, then... his sacrifice, the loss of his two front teeth, would have been for nothing.
To this day, he still leaked air when he spoke.
Another worry gnawed at him: after returning to the future, would Barmulodi retaliate against the entire world? After all, the whole planet had once launched nuclear strikes against him.
In the Flash's mind, it seemed that nothing short of half the world's population dying would appease the tyrannical, nuclear-fueled rage of Barmulodi.
Of course, that was only the Flash's assumption.
In reality, Bardi had taken a far gentler approach. Instead of mass slaughter, he spent ten years building a team to gradually take over and control most of the Earth's countries.
His goal was a smooth transition of power. As long as civilians did not foolishly resist, they would not lose their lives. In fact, life would even improve.
But none of the superheroes, none of the Justice League, understood Bardi.
For them, the future belonged to heroes and villains. They never considered that civilians might want a different future.
"...Maybe it's better to just leave him here," Barry thought suddenly. "Trap Barmulodi here... leave him stranded forever..."
At that moment, a sharp roar sounded from the sky. A white figure, like a diving fighter jet, cut through the air, leaving a trail behind as it landed next to the Flash.
"I was seven thousand kilometers away, and I could still see that thought cross your face."
Bardi's figure blocked out the sun as he descended before the Flash. The sea breeze whipped around him as his cold gaze pierced through the Flash's mind.
The Flash's heart sank. He hurriedly suppressed his own thoughts.
"The Speed Force is sufficient. Time to return to the future."
(To be continued.)
***
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