Chapter 225: Crisis on Infinite Earths?

"Who exactly are you, and why are you stopping me?"

At this moment, Barry's expression turned very serious.

The sudden disappearance of the once-existing universe reminded him of a crisis that he had recently learned about—one that could engulf the entire multiverse.

He had to quickly return to the universe he was familiar with to find powerful allies to prevent this impending disaster.

"Who I am is not important. What matters is whether you truly understand the real reason behind this universe's disappearance."

Peter stood directly in front of the Flash, making it clear that Barry wouldn't be allowed to leave until he answered Peter's questions.

"Damn it, there's no time to explain everything. The disappearance of this universe might mean that person has already started executing his plan to destroy the multiverse!"

Faced with Peter's obstruction, Barry's face was filled with tension. He seemed to know something, but with time running out, he had no patience to explain it all to this stranger.

"I have plenty of time. If you don't explain everything to me, I'm sorry, but you won't be leaving here."

Peter's words were calm, but the determination in his voice was unmistakable.

"I'm sorry, but I have to leave now. I need to go to other universes and find allies to fight this crisis!"

Seeing Peter's unwavering stance, Barry's anxious expression gradually turned more serious.

Then, he began running at an incredible speed, attempting to bypass Peter.

However, as Barry entered his super-speed state and tried to leave Peter behind…

Whoosh!

A figure instantly appeared in front of him, as if it had already anticipated his trajectory and moved even faster than he could.

"This... is impossible!"

At this point, it had been several years since Barry was struck by lightning, gained his powers, and became the Flash, fighting evil and criminals. During this time, he had defeated his archenemy, who had taken on the persona of Dr. Harrison Wells, and also defeated the Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne.

He had later beaten Zoom, another speedster from a different universe, and even defeated Savitar, the so-called God of Speed, who was actually his future self.

After facing and resolving multiple crises, the Flash's mastery of the Speed Force had reached an unparalleled level.

He could almost effortlessly use the Speed Force to open portals to other universes and even reverse time, altering both past and future. However, after creating the Flashpoint timeline by going back in time to save his mother, he could no longer use this ability.

In short, the Flash now had a far superior understanding and control of the Speed Force compared to most other Flashes in the multiverse.

As such, he was extremely confident in his speed. Even the former God of Speed, Savitar, wouldn't be able to outrun him now.

Yet here he was, stopped by a stranger with even greater speed. Naturally, he found it hard to believe.

Especially since he hadn't sensed any familiar Speed Force energy fluctuations from this figure.

"No, this guy had no Speed Force energy at all. How on earth is he moving so fast?"

Barry looked at the imposing figure standing calmly in front of him, his face full of disbelief.

The next moment, still in shock, Barry turned and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, trying to escape Peter's control.

But he didn't get far before he was stunned to find the same familiar figure had instantly appeared in front of him again, blocking his path.

The speed was so incredible that Barry couldn't even see how the figure had moved, as if it had teleported. This was beyond his comprehension.

"This is impossible! How can he be so fast that I can't even see how he moves?"

At this moment, Peter's speed was even more oppressive to Barry than when he had first faced Savitar, the God of Speed. It seemed that no matter how much he increased his speed, he couldn't escape Peter's grasp.

"The universe needs me to save it. I can't waste any more time here!"

Barry's face was filled with frustration as he once again changed direction and ran with all his might.

However…

Whoosh!

Even though he was fully focused on his surroundings, he still couldn't see how the figure suddenly appeared in front of him again, blocking his way.

"Damn it, I can't stop!"

Faced with the figure that had once again appeared out of nowhere to block his path, a hint of madness appeared on Barry's face. He didn't slow down at all; in fact, he seemed to be accelerating even more.

He didn't make any evasive maneuvers and directly charged toward Peter, seemingly intending to use his incredible speed and momentum to knock Peter aside and then leave.

"Damn it, he's not dodging!"

However, Barry quickly realized that Peter wasn't intimidated by his reckless charge and didn't step aside. He remained standing in place, blocking Barry's path.

But Barry, still the heroic figure at heart, couldn't bring himself to harm a stranger. As he approached Peter, he began to vibrate his body at a rapid frequency—a signature skill of speedsters that allows them to phase through solid objects.

But to his shock, Barry found that the technique, which had always worked before, was now useless.

He collided directly with Peter's body as if he had run into a wall made of solid metal, and was sent flying with a resounding thud.

Even though the Flash's physical resilience far exceeded that of an ordinary person, crashing into such a solid object at such high speed and being sent flying still left him severely injured.

At least in Barry's perception, many of the bones in his body had been fractured. Even with his accelerated healing, it would take him several hours to fully recover.

"Now, can we have a proper conversation?"

Peter, who had somehow appeared in front of Barry again, looked down at him and spoke slowly.

...

"Who exactly are you? Why are you so insistent on learning the reason behind the disappearance of this universe?"

At this moment, Barry finally accepted that he wouldn't be able to leave until he revealed everything. He looked at Peter with curiosity and asked.

"You can call me Peter Parker. As for why I'm so focused on the reason behind this universe's disappearance, it's because I'm searching for the culprit responsible for making this universe vanish."

Peter smiled and slowly extended his hand to Barry, who was lying on the ground.

"What? Mr. Parker, you mean you're also searching for the person who caused this universe to disappear?"

Accepting the situation, Barry hesitated for a moment but then took Peter's hand and used it to pull himself up.

Of course, Barry's ability to stand up now was partly due to Peter's subtle use of a bio-field to protect him.

Had Barry crashed into him at full speed under normal circumstances, even with his Speed Force protection, it might have left him seriously disabled for a long time.

It could have ended up like a scene from some TV show, where a person struck by a hero called the Train would be left in a bloody mess.

It was certainly impossible to get up so easily otherwise.

"That's right. So I need you to tell me everything you know, including the whereabouts of the one who caused this universe to disappear!"

With Barry now standing up, it seemed that a more harmonious conversation could finally take place between them.

"Are you sure you want to know all of this? If so, you might be dragged into this massive crisis that could engulf the entire multiverse!"

Barry's expression shifted through various emotions, seeming to hesitate, but he eventually relaxed and confirmed with Peter one last time.

If possible, he didn't want to involve Peter, a stranger, in this crisis, even though he seemed to possess formidable strength.

"A multiverse-threatening crisis? Haha, you might have forgotten to tell you that I've dealt with more than one universe-threatening crisis on my own before."

Upon hearing Barry's words, Peter showed a nonchalant smile.

"And perhaps, after you tell me everything, I might be in a good mood to help you out…"

"Alright, since you put it that way, I won't hide anything anymore!"

"It all started with a dream I had a few days ago…"

...

"A few days ago, while I was fighting a super-powered criminal and running at extremely high speed, I suddenly entered a very strange, dream-like space!"

"In that space, I encountered a very peculiar individual who claimed to be a Monitor!"

As the Flash recounted his special experience, a familiar name emerged from his description, catching Peter's attention.

"Wait, did you say Monitor? Are you sure?"

Peter's expression became serious as he asked Barry for confirmation.

He knew the name Monitor well.

Just as the Marvel Universe has its Observers constantly watching over its development, the DC Universe also has a Monitor overseeing the operation of the entire universe.

Of course, there are some differences between them.

While Marvel's Observers might occasionally intervene in the natural development of the universe, they mostly refrain from interfering in the evolution of individual universes.

In contrast, the DC Monitor's purpose was to maintain the balance of the universe.

Because in the universe, there is also an opposite entity known as the Anti-Monitor.

The Anti-Monitor's goal is to use immense anti-matter energy to completely engulf all matter universes!

In doing so, he would gain even greater power to defeat the Monitor and become the ruler of the universe.

"Yes, he did claim to be a cosmic Monitor, and his duty is to manage and maintain the normal operation of the universe, monitoring crises that could lead to the universe's destruction."

"And the reason I encountered him was that he sensed an impending crisis that could annihilate the entire universe. At that time, all existing universes would be engulfed by an unstoppable wave of immense anti-matter energy!"

"And I haven't yet figured out the exact cause of this massive crisis."

"I only heard the Monitor say that the culprit is a very powerful entity, possessing strength comparable to his own!"

"He also told me that the only way to save the universe is to travel to other universes and find a few powerful heroes to fight this crisis together."

"And that's why I'm here now, urgently seeking allies in other universes!"

At this point, Barry did not hesitate further and openly shared all the information he knew with Peter.

"So, you actually don't know everything. It comes from a prophetic dream where that Monitor told you about the crisis."

"Even you yourself are not sure if everything he said is true?"

"Didn't you ever doubt whether the cosmic crisis he mentioned would really happen?"

Peter couldn't help but ask Barry seriously.

"Of course, I did have doubts about the authenticity of this information before."

"But to me, it's better to believe it might be true than to ignore it!"

"Even if the crisis might not happen, informing other heroes in the universes I know might not be a bad thing!"

"If the crisis does occur, we'll be better prepared to deal with it."

"And the result was clear. As soon as I learned that a universe had indeed disappeared, I realized that everything must be true!"

As Barry spoke, his face showed a hint of seriousness.

In fact, when the Flash first learned of this situation, he also had doubts about whether the so-called Monitor's words were true.

But he didn't let his doubts prevent him from acting. Instead, he prepared to inform heroes in other universes in advance.

Unfortunately, it seemed he was still too late.

Because just recently, a universe that once existed had mysteriously disappeared.

This situation made Barry fully confirm that the crisis sweeping across the universes was likely real.

"So, could that powerful dark energy be the anti-matter controlled by the Anti-Monitor?"

"And did the sudden disappearance of this universe result from being completely consumed by the Anti-Monitor to enhance his power against the matter universe?"

At this moment, Peter, having learned everything, fell into deep thought.

The situation seemed somewhat familiar to him.

If he wasn't mistaken, this multiverse crisis caused by the Anti-Monitor seemed to be the famous DC event—Crisis on Infinite Earths!

"But why do I have this unsettling feeling?"

...

(End of Chapter)

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