The Man in Disarray

My name is Iris West.

I live in Central City and have a boyfriend who is a cop.

Barry always corrects me, saying he is a forensic science investigator.

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

And I just love calling him my cop, which makes me feel like every hard-earned evening we spend together is full of romance.

He often shares things about his work with me, some terrifying, some disgusting.

But this also proves that Barry trusts me deeply, which makes me extraordinarily confident in our relationship.

Except for one thing, which he kept hidden for a long time.

Of course, once I learned that he was that fast man, I didn't blame him either.

Barry is a very shy person, but he would still whisper to me that being with me was his good fortune.

He also started sharing another part of his work with me, telling me every time he came back, whether he was happy or depressed.

Until last night.

Barry came back earlier than ever before.

He curled up on the couch with the television on, his gaze staring blankly ahead.

I put down my bag, walked over, wrapped my arms around his head, and ruffled his short blonde hair.

"What's wrong? My little cop?"

This time, Barry brewed over it for a long time.

He used many words to describe it, and to prevent himself from speaking too fast and making me miss anything, he often paused to wait for my feedback.

It took about ten minutes for me to figure out the core of the little story he shared tonight.

With the help of a teenager named Shane, Superman found a family member.

Barry grabbed a pillow from the couch, held it in his arms, and his eyes had a blank look.

The light and shadow of the television played across his face, but his pupils seemed to be looking at something else.

"Clark was especially happy when they parted ways; he said he finally had a blood-related family member on Earth."

I knew Barry was missing his mother.

"I want to go see her."

Barry said suddenly.

I pinched his ear.

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

"I know, I know."

Barry pleaded.

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

"I mean what I say."

My heart softened.

But I knew my Barry wouldn't lie; he was just going to take a look.

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

I picked up the pillow he had just been holding and continued sitting on the couch to watch television.

But in reality, I couldn't focus my attention on those TV programs. Time travel sounded too science-fictional, and I always couldn't help worrying about him.

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

Yet the whole night passed.

Barry still hadn't returned.

Until a wisp of sunlight slanted in through the window.

A figure covered in blood abruptly appeared in the middle of the living room.

"Oh, god!"

I was startled.

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

That person turned around. His helmet was damaged, blonde hair covered him in a messy tangle, and blood was clearly dripping from his head.

Filthy and chaotic, I couldn't clearly see his face.

"Iris?"

He looked at me as if very confused.

"What's going on? If I succeeded and the entire world changed, why would I still be wearing this suit?"

He muttered rapidly to himself, his entire person filled with anxiety and unease.

I knew that at times like this, Barry usually needed an embrace.

Yet he pushed me away.

He seemed somewhat incoherent.

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

"Where did you learn this? You couldn't come up with such interesting romantic words before."

"Oh, god, how am I supposed to explain this!"

He gestured wildly with his hands and feet to show me.

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

Then he glanced at me quickly again, and actually began to critique me.

"But seriously, Iris, you're so young you're practically glowing."

By this point, I finally knew this wasn't my Barry.

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

After his much more composed wording and description, I finally roughly understood.

Time and space are always closely linked. This Barry thought he could return to his own timeline, but never expected to arrive in another universe.

Although I didn't quite understand, I pretended to understand completely because I intended to soothe this Barry's emotions.

He looked very tired and had suffered some kind of scare.

I began to use my imagination to pick up the threads of his conversation.

"No wonder my Barry hasn't come back for so long. It sounds like you and this world's Barry swapped places with each other."

Unexpectedly, these words seemed to have the completely opposite effect.

This battered Barry instantly jumped up like a cat whose fur had been ruffled.

"He went to my place?!!"

Then his wide-open mouth froze, as if there were some words that were very hard to speak.

"He's not as eloquent as you, and he wouldn't hit on your Iris."

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

"No, god, I mean, then what happens when this world needs him?"

"Aren't you here? You're more mature in age and look more like a warrior. You're also the Flash. You'll help protect this world when its Flash isn't around, right?"

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

"He'll also help protect your world when you're not around. I believe he'll do that."

This Barry fell silent for a long time.

The look he cast at me was filled with complex emotions.

Pain, regret, and—

Guilt.

"I will."

He lowered his head as if having made some kind of determination, and then avoided my hand.

Then a certain device at his waist suddenly lit up.

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

Although the worlds were different, it seemed the signal frequency belonging to the Flash was connected.

Then the sound of a crying adult male's voice came out from the communicator.

"Oh, Flash, why couldn't I reach you all night!"

He recognized the voice, and seemed somewhat excited besides.

"You're... Shazam! Hearing you speak again is truly heartwarming."

"Don't warm your heart, a huge problem has happened, everyone's arguing! An hour ago, Aquaman used Cyborg to pull together an online meeting, and he said that as the King of Atlantis, he's quitting the Justice League!"

"What?!"

This Barry seemed exceptionally shocked.

"And a lot of other people are saying they need to re-examine the meaning of the Justice League. Even Wonder Woman blasted Batman, saying that before investigating the hidden dangers of Themyscira, she's temporarily quitting too!"

I watched as this battered Flash trembled all over.

His expression was agonizing, as if his heart were being fiercely squeezed by someone.

"Explain clearly, what on earth caused this kind of thing to happen!"

"What did they say at the very end when they parted ways!"

He even began to roar at Shazam.

Shazam's voice grew louder as well, almost roaring back at the Flash.

Shazam used his brain to summarize everything to the absolute limit in a short amount of time.

"Aquaman said that if not for Shane, he almost would have let down all the people of Atlantis. Wonder Woman said Batman has always been so untrustworthy of Shane's sincerity, yet everything Batman does falls far short of that sincerity."

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

In the television that had been left on all night, a live broadcast suddenly broke in.

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

The communicator cut off its connection at some unknown point. The Flash quietly watched the content inside the television until his eyes began to fill with bloodshot veins from anger.

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

He looked back at me, making a promise regarding my words just now.

"You're right, Iris. I need to replace—temporarily replace the Flash here. I'll correct every wrong trajectory in this world."

"I mean what I say!"

Looking at the vanishing golden lightning, I suddenly felt a bit terrified.

His final gaze was too terrifying.

He wasn't my Barry!