Just as Barry was about to capture the thief who used the Speed Force to rob a bank, several figures descended from the sky, landing behind him.
When Barry turned to look at them, he was immediately drawn to their outfits.
Some of them felt strangely familiar, but most gave off an unsettling vibe.
For instance, one figure in a sky-blue suit with a billowing cape behind him resembled someone Barry knew all too well—Superman.
"Haha, these are my companions. Let me introduce them to you!"
The figure, who had been frantically fleeing just moments ago, now seemed completely at ease. He pointed to the figures behind Barry and began introducing them from left to right.
"First, we have Power Ring…"
He gestured toward the bald figure hovering in the air, surrounded by a green glow. The figure lifted his right hand, revealing a green ring that emitted a brilliant green light.
"And this one is Owlman…"
Next, his gaze shifted to a shadowy figure dressed in a black suit and wearing a mask.
"As for this beautiful lady, she's Superwoman!"
His gaze then swept past the figure floating in the air and landed on the woman standing at the far right.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Johnny Quick!"
Suddenly remembering, he pointed to himself and spoke slowly.
"Of course, we can't forget the last member—our leader, and without a doubt, the most powerful being on this planet..."
Finally, Johnny's gaze turned to the figure he had previously skipped over, a look of deep respect on his face.
"I am the leader of the Crime Syndicate—Ultraman!"
With a voice full of authority, Ultraman spoke, and just like Johnny, the rest of the group turned their gazes with deep reverence toward the figure floating in the air.
"Damn it! What kind of world is this? How did the people who should be heroes become supervillains?"
Barry was utterly shocked.
He had never imagined that in another universe, the superheroes he once knew, the ones who saved humanity from disaster, would now be villains, wreaking havoc.
Not only that, but they had formed a powerful organization, ruling over this Earth's universe and turning it into a living hell.
"In theory, I should introduce you to them as well, but now, that doesn't seem necessary!"
"Because dead men don't need to be remembered!"
As Johnny Quick's voice echoed, Barry, still reeling from shock, suddenly felt a powerful presence rushing toward him.
It was none other than the one called "Ultraman"—a being identical to Superman!
"Shit!"
Facing Ultraman's lethal assault, Barry had no choice but to use his speed to dodge with all his might!
Boom!
Though Barry successfully evaded the attack, Ultraman's fist, like a hammer, smashed into the ground where Barry had stood, leaving a massive crater as if a meteor had struck.
"Hmph!"
Seeing Barry dodge his attack, Ultraman's expression grew colder. He then exploded with lightning-like speed, charging toward Barry.
"Batman, Superman, Peter… someone, hurry up! Otherwise, they'll be collecting my remains soon!"
Barry desperately dodged Ultraman's relentless attacks while shouting into his communicator for help.
"Die!"
But in that brief moment of distraction, Ultraman seized his chance. He once again smashed his fist into the ground, but instead of continuing his pursuit, he plunged both hands into the hard earth.
"Argh!"
With a roar, Ultraman's immense strength tore up a massive chunk of the road, lifting it into the air with ease.
And unfortunately for Barry, he was still on that very chunk of road.
"Oh my God!"
Barry felt the ground beneath him give way, and the next thing he knew, both he and the road were flung high into the air!
"You slippery little bug, there's no escaping now!"
Ultraman's cold gaze locked onto Barry, who was now airborne with no place to land. His eyes began to glow with a crimson light.
Zzzzzap!
In the next moment, two beams of scorching heat vision shot from Ultraman's eyes, aiming straight for Barry.
"I'm done for!"
Barry felt the heat vision coming his way and let out a despairing cry. A surge of electricity crackled around his body, and he miraculously managed to shift a few centimeters to the side.
Ssshhh!
Those few centimeters saved Barry's life. The heat vision barely grazed him, leaving a scorched mark on his specially made suit.
Meanwhile, the chunk of road that had been flung with Barry wasn't as lucky—it was sliced cleanly in two by the heat vision.
"Let me take care of this!"
Seeing that Ultraman's attack couldn't hit the nimble Barry, Power Ring finally decided to act. In the next instant, a green beam shot from his ring, forming a giant hand in mid-air, which quickly grabbed hold of Barry.
"Come on, Barry, break free!"
Caught in the green hand, Barry frantically encouraged himself. His body began vibrating at a high frequency.
"Hmph, you won't get the chance!"
Before Barry could phase through the green energy by matching its frequency, Ultraman furiously unleashed another blast of heat vision, this time directly targeting the restrained Barry.
"Damn it! Am I really going to die at the hands of these villains after surviving so many crises?"
As Barry realized he couldn't dodge in time, he could only watch helplessly as the deadly beams closed in on him.
Time seemed to slow down as Barry, now fully immersed in the Speed Force, felt the impending fear of death even more intensely.
---
However, just as the scorching heat vision was about to hit Barry...
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly rushed from afar, positioning itself between Barry and the deadly beams.
Zzzzzap!
The heat vision, which was about to strike Barry, hit the chest of this new arrival instead, erupting in a flash of sparks like welding flames.
When the light faded, there stood a figure in a sky-blue suit, shielding Barry. The "S" symbol on his chest glowed faintly.
"Thank goodness, Superman! You got here just in time!"
Barry exclaimed, overjoyed to see the familiar figure.
"Heh, Barry, next time remember, never wander off alone in unfamiliar territory!"
Clark didn't even turn to face Barry, keeping his eyes on the figures before him as he advised.
"I promise I won't do it again!"
The recent events had left a lasting impression on the inexperienced Barry.
Crack... Shatter!
Suddenly, Barry heard a faint sound, as if someone had lightly punched him in the back.
In the next moment, the giant green hand that had been holding him shattered like glass, scattering into the air.
Then, as if someone had caught his falling body, Barry was gently placed on the ground.
"Peter, is that you? Thank you!"
Barry spun around in delight, only to see Peter standing there.
"No need to thank me…"
Peter shook his head, his gaze quickly shifting away from Barry and onto the strange figures before them.
"Barry, who exactly are these people?"
Up in the air, Clark was also staring at the unfamiliar yet oddly recognizable group, asking Barry for clarification.
"I'm not entirely sure. Some of them seem to be evil versions of the Justice League from our universe!"
Even though Johnny Quick had introduced them earlier, Barry still couldn't understand why the Justice League in this universe had become villains.
Whoosh!
As both sides sized each other up, pondering the situation, a new figure swung in from the distance, using a grappling gun.
Landing beside Barry, Batman joined the group.
"Evil versions of us?"
Although Batman arrived a bit late, he seemed to have heard their conversation and now cast a curious and probing look at the group before them.
His gaze lingered a bit longer on Owlman, noting the striking similarities between them.
"Heh, so this is Earth-3, huh?"
Though Batman and the others were still piecing together the situation, Peter had already figured it out from a quick observation.
This wasn't just any ordinary Earth. It was Earth-3, a universe where everything was inverted.
Justice became evil, and heroes turned into villains.
In this universe, the Crime Syndicate, led by Superman's counterpart, had taken control of the world.
Here, justice was weak, and evil was unstoppable.
---
"Who are you people? I don't recall ever seeing you before!"
Ultraman, the evil counterpart of Superman, stared coldly at the newcomers, trying to discern their identities.
"Boss, these guys might not be from our universe."
"One of them is a speedster. I think they're invaders from another universe!"
Johnny Quick zipped to Ultraman's side, pointing at Barry as he spoke.
"Hmm? Invaders from another universe?"
The entire Crime Syndicate was surprised by Johnny's words.
"Ultraman, what should we do now?"
Superwoman turned to Ultraman and asked.
"Hmph, invaders from another universe, are they?"
Ultraman's gaze grew even colder as he stared at the group.
"They dare to trespass on my Earth, acting like I don't exist…"
"In that case, let's make sure they stay here—forever!"
Being the evil version of Superman, Ultraman's near-invincible power had fostered his malevolent and violent tendencies.
He preferred to solve problems with brute force and had no qualms about crushing those who dared defy him.
In his mind, this Earth was his property, and no one could lay claim to it.
In some ways, he shared similarities with Peter—though Peter was far more restrained.
At that moment, Ultraman clenched his fists, emitting a sharp, grating sound that indicated his readiness for combat
"Wait, wait! I think we should talk this through. We didn't come to invade your universe. We have a much more important mission…"
Seeing Ultraman's increasingly hostile expression, Batman stepped forward, trying to explain.
"More important mission? What mission?"
Batman's words seemed to pique Ultraman's curiosity. He loosened his fists slightly and asked in a deep voice.
"You might not know this yet, but your universe is on the verge of an imminent crisis!"
"We're here to help you fend off this threat and save your universe!"
With time running out, Batman didn't mince words. The Anti-Matter Wall was rapidly closing in on this universe's reality, and they only had about half an hour left.
There was no time to worry about whether these people were heroes or villains. Batman had to reveal the whole truth, hoping that these evil counterparts would agree to join forces in the fight against the looming crisis.
"What? Our universe is about to be destroyed?"
"No way, that's impossible!"
"Yeah, they must be lying to scare us!"
As soon as Batman finished, the rest of the Crime Syndicate erupted in disbelief, even before Ultraman could respond.
"Silence!"
It wasn't until Ultraman spoke that the group finally quieted down.
"Hmph, even if our universe is facing destruction, we don't need outsiders to save us!"
"This universe, this Earth, only needs the Crime Syndicate, only me, to save it!"
....
(End of Chapter)