"What? How is that possible?"
Everyone was stunned upon hearing Cyborg's words.
"Victor, are you sure?" Batman asked, his face grim.
"Though it seems too much of a coincidence, it is true!" Cyborg answered firmly, his fingers rapidly working over the machine's controls.
"Has the crisis arrived so quickly? We don't even have time to prepare."
At that moment, disbelief washed over everyone, as they hadn't expected the crisis to approach so fast.
"Everyone, I'm sorry to say that we no longer have time to prepare!" Batman announced. "From now on, we must unite and face this rapidly approaching threat together."
Everyone instinctively gathered closer, realizing that in the face of this cosmic crisis, they were likely the universe's last hope.
"Don't worry, we're all ready to fight for the universe."
"Besides, with so many of us united, we are a force that cannot be ignored!"
Although they had only known each other for less than a month, strong bonds of friendship had already formed. Even with a universe-threatening crisis on the horizon, none of them showed any sign of backing down.
"Everyone, I've just pinpointed the location of the antimatter energy. Let me show you." Cyborg's voice broke the tension as he activated a virtual projection, presenting his findings to the group.
In an instant, the scenery around them shifted, as if they were hurtling through the universe at breakneck speed. Soon, they passed by countless orbs representing individual universes and arrived at a desolate region on the edge of the multiverse.
At the outer fringes of the cosmos, the distribution of universes became increasingly sparse. As the projection slowed to a stop, they saw it: a massive wall of antimatter energy, larger than the universe itself, slowly approaching the edge of reality.
"This... this is the antimatter wall we have to face?"
Everyone stared in awe and fear at the colossal antimatter wall, which seemed capable of devouring all of reality. Their faces were filled with shock and gravity.
"Yes, this is the cosmic crisis we must confront," Barry said in a low voice, his expression serious. He wasn't unfamiliar with this sight—when the Monitor had warned him of the approaching crisis, he had shown Barry a vision almost identical to the one before them now.
The Monitor's prophecy matched perfectly with what they were witnessing: an infinite universe, and a vast antimatter wall threatening to consume all realities within it.
The memory of that vision weighed heavily on Barry. He had seen countless universes, including his own, his friends, and his loved ones, swallowed by the unstoppable wall of antimatter.
"No, we can't let that happen!" Barry shook his head violently, dispelling the hopeless image from his mind. His gaze grew resolute as he refocused on the immense antimatter wall.
"You're right, we can't let it consume our reality!"
"We still have a chance to stop it!" Batman added, though even he could tell this crisis was far worse than anything he had imagined. The antimatter wall seemed powerful enough to devour everything in the multiverse, as though nothing could stand in its way.
But he refused to give up. If they didn't act, their universe would soon be swallowed by the wall as well.
"Victor, can you calculate how long it will take for the antimatter wall to reach and consume the nearest universe?"
To stop this catastrophe, they would need to confront the antimatter wall directly and find a way to halt its advance.
"Based on my calculations, the antimatter wall will reach and begin consuming the nearest universe in less than an hour. However, our universe is closer to the center of the multiverse, so we have several days before it reaches us."
Cyborg's fingers danced across the control panel as he quickly produced a rough estimate.
"Less than an hour, huh? That's tight, but it should be enough." Batman nodded, feeling that they still had time. With several days before the wall reached their universe, they had a window to prepare.
But after a moment of calm reflection, Batman discarded the safer approach.
"Everyone, the crisis is already here, and we don't have enough time to find a solid solution to this antimatter threat."
"We may have to take a risk—travel to the universe about to be consumed by antimatter, confront the wall directly, and find a way to stop it!"
His gaze swept over the group as he proposed a daring plan that left everyone surprised.
"It's risky, but I agree!"
"So do I. I can't stand by and watch countless universes get consumed one by one by that antimatter wall."
Though they all knew the dangers involved, the team unanimously agreed to take the risk.
"Since that's the case, Barry, we'll need your help to use the Speed Force and transport us to that universe," Batman said, turning to the only person who could get them there in time.
"Uh... he just used a lot of his energy earlier. Let me handle this one!"
Suddenly, the younger Barry spoke up, volunteering to take on the task.
...
At the same time, on Earth in a distant universe at the edge of the multiverse, nearest to the antimatter wall...
Although the antimatter wall was still some distance away from this universe, the people on Earth already felt an overwhelming sense of oppression hanging over them.
Unfortunately, almost no one knew that they were on the brink of a universe-ending disaster.
In fact, this Earth's situation seemed different from a typical Earth. Here, crime and chaos had become the norm, as if good and evil had been turned upside down.
For example, at this very moment, a figure was darting back and forth between a city bank building at incredible speed. Like a lightning bolt, the figure zipped in and out of the bank, carrying bags stuffed with cash.
A speedster was robbing a bank in broad daylight—without any police or superheroes to stop him. It seemed like even the pedestrians had grown numb to this type of crime, and no one stepped in to prevent the ongoing robbery.
That was, until the speedster had nearly cleaned out the entire bank.
Suddenly, in the midst of the desolate city streets, a massive blue portal appeared. In an instant, several figures emerged from the newly-formed portal.
"Is this our destination? The universe that's about to be consumed by antimatter energy?" one of the figures asked, looking around curiously as if it was their first time here.
"Wait, something feels off about this universe," another remarked, the strange atmosphere around them making them uneasy.
"Yeah, the security here seems way too lax!" Young Barry pointed toward the distance, where someone had just thrown a Molotov cocktail into a building, igniting a large fire. He could hardly believe his eyes.
"Seriously? In this city, no one cares about arson in the middle of the street?" someone else added, frowning as they too grew concerned about the state of the city.
"This place seems full of crime and corruption... I feel like I've returned to somewhere all too familiar..." Batman muttered, clenching his fists. The situation reminded him of the darkest nights in certain cities—places dominated by crime and lawlessness.
"Well, it's not just arson. Look over there! A speedster is robbing the bank!"
Suddenly, a blur of motion streaked past them, a speedster zipping by like a flash of lightning and dashing into a nearby bank.
"Damn it! That guy's using the Speed Force to rob a bank? Unforgivable!" The sight of someone abusing the Speed Force enraged young Barry. Without hesitation, he transformed into a bolt of lightning and raced after the criminal.
"Wait, Barry..." The others tried to stop him, but it was too late.
"Forget it, let's go help him. Once we stop that speedster, we can get some information about this universe."
The group exchanged glances, understanding that their priority was to gather as much intel about this universe as possible. They needed to contact this universe's Justice League—or any other superhero organization—and inform them about the approaching antimatter wall, so they could work together to prevent the impending crisis.
...
On the other side, just as the figure who had infiltrated the bank finished filling the bags with money and was about to dash out of the door, another figure blocked his path.
"Damn it, drop the money now! What you're doing is a disgrace to speedsters and the Speed Force!"
"I can't stand thieves who use their powers for crime!"
Young Barry stood in front of the speedster robbing the bank, pointing at him without hesitation and calling him out.
"Huh? Who are you? How dare you get in my way?"
The other speedster was clearly surprised by Barry's appearance and stared at him with a confused expression.
"I'm a hero of justice here to stop your crimes!"
Barry responded proudly. Not too long ago, he had been a nobody struggling to find a job, but now, at this moment, he felt like a true hero.
"Hero? Justice? Oh my god, do those things even exist in this world anymore?"
"We already crushed all those weak heroes and their fake justice. We threw them into the gutter!"
"In this world, crime and evil are what reign supreme!"
The speedster looked at Barry with disdain, as if crime and evil were the dominant forces in this universe.
"That's impossible! Don't tell me there's no Justice League in this universe?"
Barry was shocked and couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Justice League? Sorry, but in this world, the only league that matters is the Crime Syndicate—our universe's supreme government!"
The speedster boasted proudly, then instantly accelerated, rushing toward Barry.
Bang!
Barry was knocked back several meters, and the speedster took the opportunity to dash away again.
"Damn it, what kind of world is this?"
Barry quickly got to his feet, chasing after the speedster while marveling at the strangeness of this universe.
Whoosh... whoosh...
Soon, two figures were speeding through the streets of the city, both moving like lightning as they chased each other.
"Stop right now, or I won't go easy on you!"
Barry shouted sternly as he pursued.
"You'll have to catch me first!"
The speedster ahead of him didn't seem to care, his voice full of mockery and amusement.
"Damn it, looks like I'll have to try that move my mentor taught me."
Seeing that the other speedster wasn't going to stop, Barry decided to use a special technique.
The next moment, Barry began to channel the Speed Force into his right arm, making it glow with bright electric energy.
"This is your last warning: surrender now, or else…"
Barry felt the Speed Force gathering in his arm, and he issued a final warning to the fleeing speedster.
"If that's all you've got, you'd better run back home to your mom... Oh shi—!"
The speedster ahead of him had been about to mock Barry again when he suddenly sensed a surge of violent energy rushing toward him from behind. Panicking, he dodged to the side just in time to avoid the attack.
Whoosh!
A brilliant bolt of lightning shot past him, barely missing, and slammed into the road ahead.
Boom!
An explosion followed, with a roar like a missile going off.
"F***!"
The shockwave from the explosion blew the speedster off his feet.
"Well, I guess I overdid it a little with that move,"
Barry muttered to himself as he surveyed the aftermath. He had intended only to stop the speedster, not cause such a massive explosion.
Still, it seemed he had accomplished his goal—the speedster had been forced to stop.
"Now, are you going to surrender?"
Barry approached the speedster, looking down at him.
Cough, cough "I didn't expect you to have a move like that..."
"But too bad, looks like it's your turn to run now…"
"Because my allies have arrived!"
Even though the speedster was lying on the ground, he still looked at Barry with an excited grin, showing no signs of fear.
"What?"
Barry turned around in shock to see several figures descending from the sky.
"Superman? Wait... no, you're not Superman!"
Barry stared at one of the figures clad in a dark blue suit, a red cape flowing behind him, his face filled with disbelief.
...
(End of Chapter)
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