Time Wraiths

Time Wraiths were, in fact, Speedsters. But even Reverse-Flash did not know much about their exact origins.

Reverse-Flash had two theories. First, that all Speedsters would eventually become Time Wraiths...

Second, that only Speedsters caught by Time Wraiths would become Time Wraiths.

But regardless of which theory was right, Time Wraiths were Speedsters. There could be no mistake about that!

Were they guarding the timeline, capturing Speedsters who altered the worldline?

No. The truth was... they searched the timeline for Speedsters in order to hunt the Speed Force.

Watching Barry Allen slow down more and more, nearly getting caught, Zhang Tianran finally decided not to stand by.

A bolt of white lightning flashed past, and Barry Allen's speed immediately returned to normal. He successfully traveled back to the future...

However, the Time Wraith that had come searching for a Speedster was trapped here by Zhang Tianran's Particle Activity Inhibitor.

The Particle Activity Inhibitor could only last for an extremely limited time, but to a Speedster, time meant nothing.

Zhang Tianran activated Super Thinking and used the Speed Force with all his might, pushing his own speed to its peak. Everything around him seemed to freeze.

In this state, whatever Zhang Tianran wanted to do to the Time Wraith, he had more than enough time.

He expanded the Speed Force around himself, accelerating time within a certain area. That allowed Zhang Tianran to use STAR Labs' equipment.

He detected the Time Wraith's frequency and successfully created a sonic weapon capable of destroying it, but just as he was about to use it, Zhang Tianran chose to stop.

Zhang Tianran had not intervened to keep the Time Wraith behind because he wanted to play the good guy or save Future Flash. He had other plans.

But if he failed to contain the Time Wraith, this thing would pose far too great a threat to Speedsters. Even Reverse-Flash was unwilling to deal with it...

Right, Reverse-Flash. A wicked grin curled across Zhang Tianran's lips. He rushed home at top speed, only to find Reverse-Flash holding a pistol, seemingly on guard against something.

The enormous glass skylight in the house had already shattered across the floor.

Ignoring whatever had happened at home, Zhang Tianran injected a trace of Speed Force into Reverse-Flash's body. After awakening the Negative Speed Force within him, the two could finally communicate normally.

"Has your speed already reached this level?" Wells was somewhat astonished. Zhang Tianran's growth had been absurdly fast.

"I traveled back to the past and trained for a while. I don't have time to chat. I caught something interesting, so help me make a containment device."

Zhang Tianran looked exactly like a child who had gotten himself into trouble and returned home to ask a parent to solve it. There was no sign of the tense hostility between them from some time ago.

In truth, the relationship between Reverse-Flash and Zhang Tianran was complicated. Setting aside their foster father-and-son relationship, their current situation alone was like two men facing a wolf with a thin stick—both wary of the other.

Unless absolutely necessary, neither of them was willing to make the first move.

"What..." Before Reverse-Flash could react, Zhang Tianran had already set off.

Thus, he could only temporarily abandon the mess at home and follow behind Zhang Tianran.

The moment Reverse-Flash saw the Time Wraith, he felt terrible. His first thought was that it had targeted him, but when he saw the restrained Time Wraith, he immediately thought of the other Speedster beside him.

Reverse-Flash, who came from the future, understood best just how destructive Time Wraiths were to Speedsters. They were like natural predators; even he did not dare provoke them.

"What kind of joke is this? How many times have you traveled through the timeline? How did you attract a Time Wraith? Why haven't you dealt with it yet? You..." Wells had been holding in a bellyful of anger and immediately erupted.

"It has nothing to do with me,

Your beloved Flash did it. He came back from the future, brought this little thing back with him, then went back." Zhang Tianran casually brushed him off with a few words. Reverse-Flash was briefly speechless before blurting out, "Kill this thing now. It's too dangerous."

After saying that, Reverse-Flash was about to prepare something when he suddenly noticed the sonic weapon Zhang Tianran had casually tossed into the air, still not having hit the ground.

"Wait. I didn't bring you here to kill it. Help me make a device. I want to catch it and keep it as a pet." Zhang Tianran hurriedly stopped Reverse-Flash and explained his idea.

Upon hearing that, red light exploded in Reverse-Flash's eyes as rage nearly made him lose control.

"Do you want to die? If you do, don't drag me down with you. Now I finally understand why your existence in the timeline is so chaotic. You must have gotten yourself killed with your own stupid ideas." Wells shouted furiously, his right hand vibrating constantly as he dearly wanted to finish off the ticking time bomb beside him with a single hand strike.

"Wells, don't forget that we're partners." Noticing Reverse-Flash's reaction, white lightning flickered in Zhang Tianran's eyes as well.

The fact that he had dared appear before Reverse-Flash again meant that he no longer feared him. He had not been afraid then, and he was even less afraid now!

The two stared at each other in Speed Mode for a while, then stepped back half a pace in unison. The nearly frozen atmosphere around them became less tense.

"I have a way to lock this thing up, but don't let me see it again in the future. I won't stop you if you want to get yourself killed, but don't involve me." Reverse-Flash gave the warning reluctantly.

Naturally, Zhang Tianran readily agreed. He was not an idiot. How could he fail to understand the danger of a Time Wraith?

Even if he really locked this thing up, he would definitely hide it far away.

First, Reverse-Flash used STAR Labs' Separation Field to temporarily restrain the Time Wraith, which was about to break free. Then he found the necessary equipment and successfully made a soccer-ball-sized cage.

Next came putting the Time Wraith inside. That step was somewhat troublesome, so Zhang Tianran had no choice but to use up another Particle Activity Inhibitor.

In the end, Zhang Tianran and Reverse-Flash's first operation successfully captured a Time Wraith.

"I don't want to see this thing in this city." Reverse-Flash spoke with a grim expression before finally returning home to deal with the mess there.

Looking at the device in his hand, Zhang Tianran immediately activated the Speed Force and spent some time traveling to Antarctica, where he buried it hundreds of meters beneath the ice.

For now, Zhang Tianran was not confident enough to study a Time Wraith.

But if he needed to in the future, there would be no harm in trying. This thing probably would not die anyway, considering it was already dead.

The matter of the Time Wraith was temporarily settled. Now it was time to consider why he had to leave in such a short time.

There were still many good things around Flash. Zoom's Velocity 9, Savitar's armor, DeVoe's Thinking Cap, and so on.

Logically, he should not have given up so easily. What exactly had happened?