The Disordered Person

My name is Iris West.

I live in Central City, and I have a boyfriend who's a cop.

Barry always corrects me, saying he's a forensic scientist.

So his job is even busier than a cop's, and he often has to work overtime.

But I love calling him a cop. It makes every night we finally get to spend together feel full of romance.

He often shares his work stories with me, some are scary, some are disgusting.

But it also proves that Barry trusts me a lot, which makes me incredibly confident in our relationship.

Except for one thing, something he hid for a long time.

Of course, when I found out he was that fast man, I didn't blame him.

Barry is a very shy person, but he would still quietly tell me that being with me was his luck.

He also started sharing his other job with me. Every time he came back, whether happy or frustrated, he would tell me.

Until last night.

Barry came back earlier than ever before.

He was curled up on the sofa, the TV was on, but his eyes were dazed.

I put down my bag, walked over, and hugged his head, rubbing his short blonde hair.

"What's wrong? My little cop?"

This time, Barry took a long time to compose himself.

He used many words to describe it, and to prevent me from not hearing him if he spoke too fast, he would often pause, waiting for my feedback.

It took me about ten minutes before I finally understood the core of the little story he shared tonight.

With the help of a boy named Shane, Superman found a relative.

Barry grabbed a pillow from the sofa and held it in his arms, his eyes a little dazed.

The light from the TV cast shadows on his face, but his pupils seemed to be looking at something else.

"Clark was especially happy when they parted. He said he finally had a blood relative on Earth."

I knew Barry missed his mother.

"I want to go see her,"

Barry suddenly said.

I twisted his ear.

"You've said more than once that changing time is a very dangerous thing."

"I know, I know."

Barry pleaded.

"I'll just take a look from afar, and then I'll leave. I won't change anything, you know."

"I promise."

My heart softened.

But I knew my Barry wouldn't lie. He was just going to look.

Then he put on a jacket and walked out the door.

I picked up the pillow he had just held and sat back on the sofa to watch TV.

But in reality, I couldn't concentrate on the TV shows. Time travel sounded too sci-fi, and I couldn't help but worry about him.

I started counting, calculating how long Barry would likely be gone.

But a whole night passed.

Barry still hadn't returned.

Until a ray of sunlight slanted through the window.

A blood-soaked figure suddenly appeared in the living room.

"Oh my god!"

I was startled.

"Barry, what did you encounter in the past?"

The person turned around. His helmet was damaged, his blonde hair was messy and covering his face, and blood was dripping from his head.

Dirty and disheveled, I couldn't see his face clearly.

"Iris?"

He looked at me, seeming very confused.

"What's going on? If I succeeded, the whole world would have changed. How could I still be wearing this suit?"

He muttered quickly, filled with anxiety and unease.

I knew at this moment, Barry often needed a hug.

But he pushed me away.

He seemed to be rambling.

"No, no, no, wait! Iris, you're a bit too young!"

"Where did you learn that? You never used to say such sweet nothings."

"God, how do I explain this!"

He gestured wildly as he spoke.

"This isn't my universe, I think I came to the wrong place. I thought I'd corrected the timeline this time, but for some reason, I ended up here!"

Then he quickly glanced at me again, and actually started commenting on my appearance.

"But seriously, Iris, you look young enough to be glowing."

Now I finally understood. This wasn't my Barry.

His personality was too different; he wasn't shy at all.

After his more composed explanation, I finally got the gist of it.

Time and space were always closely connected. This Barry thought he could return to his own timeline, but unexpectedly arrived in another universe.

Although I didn't quite understand, I pretended to, because I intended to calm Barry down.

He looked very tired and seemed to have been through some kind of shock.

I started using my imagination to pick up his conversation.

"So that's why my Barry took so long to come back. It sounds like you and the Barry of this world have swapped places."

Unexpectedly, this had the opposite effect.

This battered Barry instantly leaped up like a startled cat.

"He went to my place?!"

Then his mouth hung open, as if he couldn't bring himself to say something.

"He's not as good with words as you are, nor does he flirt with your Iris."

I had complete confidence in my Barry. Even though he was young, he never made mistakes.

"No, God, I mean, what happens if this world needs him?"

"Aren't you here? You're older and more mature, you look more like a warrior. You're also the Flash. You'll be here to protect this world when the Flash isn't, right?"

Even though this wasn't my Barry, I still reached out and ruffled his hair.

"He'll protect your world for you when you're gone too. I believe he will."

This Barry was silent for a long time.

His gaze towards me was filled with complex emotions.

Pain, regret, and...

Guilt.

"I will."

He lowered his head, as if making a firm decision, then avoided my hand.

Suddenly, a device on his waist lit up.

I recognized the device; it was a Justice League communicator.

Even though the worlds were different, it seemed the signal frequency belonging to the Flash was the same.

Then, a man's voice, tinged with tears, came from the communicator.

"Oh, Flash, why haven't I been able to reach you all night!"

He recognized the voice and seemed a little excited.

"You're... Shazam! It's so heartwarming to hear your voice again."

"Never mind heartwarming, something big has happened. Everyone's arguing. Aquaman called an online meeting through Cyborg an hour ago. He said that as the King of Atlantis, he's withdrawing from the Justice League!"

"What?!"

This Barry seemed exceptionally shocked.

"And many others are saying they need to re-examine the meaning of the Justice League. Even Wonder Woman berated Batman, saying she's temporarily withdrawing until the threats to Themyscira are clarified!"

I saw this battered Flash tremble all over.

His expression was one of intense pain, as if his heart had been fiercely squeezed.

"Explain clearly, what exactly caused this to happen!"

"What did they say to each other at the end!"

He even started roaring at Shazam.

Shazam's voice grew louder too, almost roaring back at Flash.

Shazam used his mind to summarize everything to the limit in a short period.

"Aquaman said that without Shane, he would have almost let down the people of Atlantis. Wonder Woman said Batman had always been distrustful of Shane's sincerity, but his actions were far from matching that sincerity."

"Who is Shane?! Why have I never heard that name before?"

A live broadcast suddenly cut into the TV, which had been on all night.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lois from Planet Media..."

The communicator had somehow lost contact. Flash quietly watched the content on the TV until his eyes began to fill with blood from anger.

"This can't happen again. I'm going to investigate personally!"

He looked back at me, making a promise based on what I had just said.

"You're right, Iris. I need a replacement—a temporary replacement for Flash here. I will correct all the wrong trajectories in this world."

"I keep my word!"

Watching the golden lightning disappear, I suddenly felt a little scared.

His final look was too terrifying.

He wasn't my Barry!