Time Wraiths

Time Wraiths were actually Speedsters. But even Reverse-Flash did not know exactly where they came from.

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

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

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

They guarded the timeline, capturing Speedsters who altered the world's course?

No. The truth was... they searched the timeline for Speedsters, hunting the Speed Force.

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

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

But the Time Wraiths that had come searching for a Speedster were trapped here by Zhang Tianran's Particle Activity Inhibitor.

The Particle Activity Inhibitor could only last for a very limited time, but to a Speedster, time was nothing.

Zhang Tianran activated Super Thinking and used the Speed Force with all his strength. His own speed reached its peak, and everything around him seemed to freeze.

In this state, no matter what Zhang Tianran wanted to do to the Time Wraiths, he had more than enough time.

He expanded the Speed Force around his body, accelerating time within a certain radius. That way, Zhang Tianran could use the equipment inside S.T.A.R. Labs.

He detected the Time Wraiths' frequency and successfully made a sonic weapon capable of destroying them, but just as he was about to use it, Zhang Tianran chose to give up.

Zhang Tianran had not kept the Time Wraiths behind to play the good guy or save The Flash of the future. He had other plans.

But if containing the Time Wraiths failed, these things posed far too great a threat to Speedsters. Even Reverse-Flash was unwilling to deal with them...

Right, Reverse-Flash. A wicked grin appeared on Zhang Tianran's lips. He rushed home at top speed, only to find Reverse-Flash holding a pistol, as though he were 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 of them could finally speak normally.

"Has your speed already reached this level?" Wells was somewhat astonished. Zhang Tianran's rate of growth was 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."

At that moment, Zhang Tianran was like a child who had gotten into trouble and returned home to ask a parent to solve it. There was no trace of the tense hostility from between them some time ago.

In truth, the relationship between Reverse-Flash and Zhang Tianran was complicated. Setting aside the issue of their adoptive father-and-son relationship, their current situation alone was like two men facing a wolf, each afraid the other would bolt.

Unless absolutely necessary, neither of them wanted 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 Wraiths, his whole expression soured. His first thought was that they had targeted him, but when he saw the restrained Time Wraiths, he immediately thought of the other Speedster beside him.

As someone from the future, Reverse-Flash understood better than anyone how destructive Time Wraiths were to Speedsters. They were like natural predators, and even he did not dare provoke them.

"Are you kidding me? How many times have you traveled through the timeline? How did you attract Time Wraiths? Why haven't you destroyed them yet? You..." Wells had been holding back a bellyful of anger, and he immediately flew into a rage.

"It has nothing to do with me.

Your beloved Flash did it. He came back from the future, brought this little thing with him, then went back." Zhang Tianran gave a brief, perfunctory explanation. Reverse-Flash was speechless for a moment before blurting out, "Kill this thing now. It's too dangerous."

With that, Reverse-Flash wanted to prepare something, but he suddenly noticed the sonic weapon Zhang Tianran had casually thrown into the air, which still had not fallen.

"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 stated his idea.

Hearing that, red light burst from Reverse-Flash's eyes in fury, and he nearly lost control.

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

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

The fact that he had dared to appear before Reverse-Flash again meant he no longer feared the man's existence. 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 unspoken agreement. The nearly frozen atmosphere around them eased somewhat.

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

Naturally, Zhang Tianran repeatedly agreed. He was not an idiot; how could he not know how dangerous the Time Wraiths were?

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

First, Reverse-Flash used S.T.A.R. Labs' Separation Field to temporarily restrain the Time Wraiths, which were about to break free. Then he found the necessary equipment and successfully made a soccer-ball-sized cage.

Next came putting the Time Wraiths 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 one of the Time Wraiths.

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

Looking at the device in his hand, Zhang Tianran activated the Speed Force and spent some time reaching Antarctica, where he buried it several hundred meters beneath the ice.

For the time being, Zhang Tianran did not have the confidence to study the Time Wraiths.

But if he needed to in the future, there was no harm in giving it a try. This thing probably would not die anyway, seeing as it was already dead.

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

There were still many good things around The Flash. For example, 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?