The Flash's First Time Travel

Faced with Zhang Tianran's hands-on lesson, Barry Allen had not paid attention at all. He simply went over and untied Martin Stein without even using the Speed Force.

"Ah... forget it. You've suffered enough losses already. Maybe you'll learn your lesson on your own." Seeing this, Zhang Tianran completely lost interest in continuing the lesson.

"Barry, take Professor Stein and leave first. I still have some cleanup to handle." Since he had no intention of teaching any further, Zhang Tianran sent Barry away.

Barry nodded at those words. He immediately hoisted Martin Stein over his shoulder and left without wasting a second.

Only after Barry had completely vanished did Zhang Tianran activate Speed Mode, storing the remnants of Barry's Speed Force within his body for future research.

Afterward, he went to the military base's archives to see whether there was anything there that interested him.

Generally speaking, military equipment was several levels ahead of civilian technology. But in this world, the gap did not seem nearly as obvious.

He found a few interesting toys, but there was not much else. Zhang Tianran left in disappointment without killing anyone.

Even if he did not kill this so-called General Eiling, the man certainly would not let the matter rest. But killing him offered no major benefit and would only cause more trouble.

So, whatever. The military in this world had some power, but it was not particularly important.

Barry brought Martin Stein back to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Caitlin immediately began treating his wounds.

Although the military interrogation had only been carried out halfway, it was still a severe burden for an old man, even if Martin Stein was no longer just himself.

While Martin Stein's wounds were being treated, Zhang Tianran spoke up.

"I found a drug that can temporarily suppress both of your abilities, but there's currently no way to completely remove your supernatural powers."

"However, according to my calculations, the two of you can actually separate now. You just need to merge once more, then inject the drug I made."

At those words, joy immediately appeared on both Martin Stein and Ronnie Raymond's faces.

If possible, neither of them actually wanted to become Metahumans.

"Really? Ronnie can return to being a normal person?" Caitlin asked in disbelief.

Zhang Tianran shook his head and explained.

"No. I only said that I can separate you completely and temporarily conceal your supernatural abilities. The changes to your bodies won't disappear. If you want, you can transform into Firestorm at any time, but you'll need some equipment to assist you then."

Just as Caitlin began to look disappointed, Zhang Tianran spoke again.

"Although the changes to your bodies can't be reversed, there's no problem with living normal lives. After all, the two of you can only become Firestorm when you're together."

Martin Stein finally seemed to understand what Zhang Tianran meant. "You mean the changes caused by the Particle Accelerator explosion can't be removed from our bodies, but you can separate us completely?"

"Mm, that's right..."

In the end, Martin Stein and Ronnie Raymond chose to separate completely. As for whether they would continue living as Firestorm afterward, neither of them had decided yet.

After all, the government military had already set its sights on them. Living normal lives would not be so simple anymore.

Everything seemed to settle back into an ordinary daily routine.

Zhang Tianran continued working in his newly renovated private laboratory, while Barry and the others kept watch over all of Central City, occasionally catching thieves or rescuing people trapped in fires.

More than a week passed in a flash. Just as Zhang Tianran began wondering why the change Reverse-Flash had mentioned had yet to arrive, it happened with startling suddenness.

As usual, Zhang Tianran was making little toys in his private laboratory when Caitlin's voice came through the emergency channel.

"Dr. Zhang, Barry needs help..."

But in the next moment, everything around him froze, just as it did when Zhang Tianran used the Speed Force.

Only this time, Zhang Tianran was certain he had not used any Speed Force.

Soon, the frozen world began moving again. But instead of continuing forward, it was moving backward...

Before long, the rapidly reversing time completely shattered everything. Like someone forgotten by time itself, Zhang Tianran could only watch as everything disappeared and transformed into something else.

This was... a change in the timeline.

Turning into a streak of white lightning, Zhang Tianran immediately found Barry Allen. Even though he had already anticipated it, he still asked, "Barry, what did you do?"

"Dr. Zhang, I... I don't know. Just now, I was stopping a tsunami from destroying Central City, but now..." Barry instinctively glanced at the dark streets, utterly bewildered.

"Barry, what happened? I saw you stop..." Cisco's voice came through the communicator, leaving Barry even more confused.

"Stop? Where am I supposed to go?" Barry became even less able to make sense of what was happening.

"To the morgue. Weren't you going to examine the crime scene?" Cisco asked, puzzled.

"Didn't I go yesterday? Why is it now..." Before Barry could finish, Zhang Tianran directly pulled him into Speed Mode.

"Dr. Zhang..." It was Barry's first time being pulled into such a state by someone else, and he was not quite used to it.

"Barry, listen carefully. I don't know what happened to you, but you clearly crossed through the timeline. Or rather... this isn't ordinary time travel. You turned time back to last night."

Without time to understand what he had just experienced, Zhang Tianran immediately said to Barry Allen, "Remember, from now on, don't change anything. Even if you know everything, you must do exactly what happened yesterday."

"Don't toy with time. Any attempt to change the timeline will bring about even greater tragedy."

"Forget it. You probably won't listen. But this is an experience. Remember what happened this time, and then... never try to change the past."

Although he knew Barry was very unlikely to listen, Zhang Tianran still warned him. Then he turned into a streak of white lightning and vanished.

"Wells, I need to speak with you." After returning to S.T.A.R. Labs, Zhang Tianran immediately found Reverse-Flash, still seated in his wheelchair, his expression grim.

Wells glanced at Cisco beside him, then controlled his wheelchair and left with Zhang Tianran.