"Pfft!"
Upon hearing Connor's words, Yuri couldn't help but chuckle, and even Tim's lips curved slightly upward.
"It's not what you guys think!" Connor protested. "Cassie has been really unhappy lately, especially after she got expelled from school. Over the past week, her mom took her to countless schools, but none of them would accept Cassie. Maybe she'll have to receive homeschooling from her mother in the future."
"Well, you better put in more effort, Connor. Try to win Cassie's heart back as soon as possible," Yuri advised. "Especially during times like this, Cassie needs your comfort and company."
"Win her back?" Connor detected something amiss in Yuri's words. "How did you...?"
"How did I know that you and Cassie were dating and broke up?" Yuri answered Connor's unspoken question. "Gar told me."
Connor: "..."
"We're here," Tim suddenly spoke up, reminding the others that they had reached their destination.
The public library appeared within their sight.
And then, they realized that something was indeed happening here. Hundreds of people were rushing out from the library, heading in Yuri and the others' direction in a state of panic.
The group immediately got out of the car. Surprisingly, Raven's actions were even faster than Tim and Connor's.
"What's happening in the library? Why are you running?" Connor stopped a nearby little girl to inquire about the situation.
"Ah!" It seemed like the little girl had witnessed something in the library that had terrified her. Startled by Connor's presence, she let out a shriek.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Connor was taken aback by the little girl's reaction and quickly tried to reassure her.
"Let me handle this," Raven suddenly walked over. She crouched down and gently placed her hand on the little girl's head.
Then, she used her emotion-transferring magic to transfer all the panic and fear the girl was feeling onto herself.
In almost an instant, the little girl's mood calmed down. She stuttered, "There are... there are ghosts in the library! Many books are flying in the air!"
After saying this, she continued running forward.
Upon hearing this, Yuri furrowed his brow. Ghosts? Flying books? Could this be Bart's doing? As Kid Flash, he could ensure that he wouldn't be seen while reading or doing anything else.
Raven paid no heed to the mention of ghosts and started expanding the range of her magic, calming the emotions of everyone around her. She made sure they left the area in an orderly manner, reducing their panic to the minimum.
The negative emotions of over a hundred people were transferred to Raven's heart, causing her to involuntarily shed tears and display a fearful expression on her face.
Yuri and the others exchanged shocked looks at the scene before them. Even Yuri, who had spoken with Raven before, had no idea her magic had this kind of effect.
Fortunately, not many people had rushed out of the library before Raven stopped casting her spell. She quickly ceased her magic, and her facial expression returned to normal.
Although Yuri had many questions, the immediate concern was figuring out what Bart was up to.
"This has got to be related to Bart. Let's go quickly," Yuri reminded everyone, and Tim agreed.
The four of them rushed into the library and witnessed a bizarre sight. In the enormous library, almost every book on every level had dislodged itself from the shelves and was floating in mid-air.
Every book had opened automatically, and the pages were flipping rapidly. Once a book finished flipping, it would automatically float to the ground and stack up with the others.
Cassie stood in the midst of this floating sea of books, constantly shouting something.
"Cassie!" Connor yelled, and Cassie turned towards them, her eyes brightening upon seeing them.
"You finally came. Bart has been in this state since earlier. No matter how I call him, he doesn't respond," Cassie said in distress as she approached.
"It's time for Bart to get out of Star Labs. How long has he been maintaining this state?" Yuri asked.
"For about fifteen minutes. At first, Bart was just sending out one book at a time, which didn't scare too many people. But later, more and more books started floating, and almost all the books in the library flew out, scaring away everyone inside," Cassie replied.
"I can't believe it. Is Bart really reading books?" Connor gasped in shock.
"From the looks of it, he is indeed reading, and he's simultaneously reading all the books in the library. He can see us here, but he can't hear us," Tim stated with certainty. "Because he's far beyond the speed of sound, to him, we're like statues."
"I know, but... Bart never reads books. He only plays games and watches animations, right?"
Connor still wore a perplexed expression. "Could it be that someone has possessed Bart as well?"
"I think that's unlikely because I didn't sense any special soul energy," Raven retorted as she stepped forward.
"Oh, who's this?" Cassie finally noticed Raven's presence.
"She's Raven, the new member of Titan Tower," Connor quickly introduced Raven to Cassie.
"Keep an eye on the entrances to the library. I'll go find out what Bart is up to," Yuri told the others, activating his omnitrix.
Speedstar!
In the blink of an eye, Yuri's world transformed. Tim and the others appeared as still as statues, neither moving nor speaking.
All the books in the library froze in mid-air, and the previously frenzied pages ceased their flipping.
Yuri scanned the surroundings and quickly located Bart. He was currently flipping through a book near a neighboring bookshelf.
Bart's ability to comprehend the contents of a book wasn't any faster than a normal person's; it was just that his speed was millions of times faster. What would take an ordinary person days would only take him minutes.
However, when Yuri saw Bart, his brow furrowed even more.
That's because Bart, who had initially appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, had suddenly grown significantly taller, almost reaching Yuri's height.
This change in height made Bart's Impulse costume impractical, so his suit had completely changed its appearance. It had shifted from white on the sides and red in the middle to predominantly yellow on the upper body, with red on the arms, and entirely red on the lower body.
Compared to the Impulse costume, it now looked more like Kid Flash's outfit.
°°°
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