Floating City landed at its destination in stealth mode.
"We're finally here," Ian breathed a sigh of relief. "Quickly confirm what time point we are at now?"
"According to my calculations and data analysis, it is now the fourth year of Flash, which is the fourth quarter."
Ian snorted, "So we didn't land in the years when he first gained his abilities?"
"It's enough Luck to be able to navigate such chaos Multiverse, don't expect to land exactly where you want it to be," Morgana said. "So, what is our plan? According to our simulations, Barry is not as reasonable or cooperative as the doctor."
"That's why I wanted to land at an early point in time. We could easily get inside Team Flash by working on S.T.A.R. Labs and get what we want."
"Now that the situation has changed, how should the plan be adjusted?"
"We don't know how much time is left until the end of the Great Merge. So, let's adopt a tougher but still peaceful approach."
"What does this mean?"
"Barry traveled back in time in the third year and changed his mother's death, thereby creating a parallel reality named Flashpoint. Although he left that reality, it should still exist. Our first stop is to go there. Lock its location."
"As you wish."
Morgana can monitor the entire planet and the surrounding realities and dimensions connected to it. Even if she can't, she can use Causality Spell to find the reality connected to Barry.
"Eureka," she announced, and the team set off for that alternate reality without hesitation. Even though they weren't sailing in Multiverse, the journey wasn't smooth.
"What are the scan results?" Ian asked.
"As we expected, Barry·Allen is not here. However, the strange thing is that I can't find any trace of Savitar either."
"It seems that Barry is not the only one who escaped from that reality," Ian muttered to himself. "So, is Kid Flash the only one left?"
"Yes."
"Catch him."
This process took some time and energy, but was finally completed successfully. Ian looked at the young Wally West who was locked up in a special prison specially built for speedsters.
"Show me the scan data and preliminary results."
Their first knowledge of speedsters is that they cannot read their minds or control them because Speed Force is protecting them.
Ian frowned at this result, because he knew that this was not an innate ability of any Flash. On many occasions, Gorilla Grodd had controlled the thoughts of Barry.
After reading the preliminary results, he looked at Life Code from Wally, and as the show reveals: Dark Matter altered his cells and DNA, allowing him to access a special power in the universe - Speed Force. Ian is not too concerned about the changes in Life Code, his attention is more focused on Speed Force.
In order to conduct experiments, Ian altered a clone of Life Code using Dark Matter to copy Kid Flash, creating his own speedster. He then conducted multiple tests on the experimental subject.
"This can only be regarded as a failed attempt," Morgana commented.
"Indeed." Although they created a speedster, the latter was not sufficiently connected to Speed Force, which prevented them from exploring its true nature.
"More importantly, it's the same with this subject - we can't read or control their minds."
This anomaly is worrisome.
"So, what should we do next?" the purple-haired clone (the incarnation of Morgana) asked.
"Let's clone a Wally West and see if there is any difference."
The results of the second round of experiments were completely different, even worlds apart. The clone had a deeper connection with Speed Force, which not only made him faster, but also allowed him to use different abilities.
However, compared to the original version, they are still not on the same level. Although Ian promised to release Wally upon completion of the experiment, Wally refused to cooperate; he was even indifferent to threatening his family, which is completely inconsistent with Wally's character.
Therefore, Ian had to create the illusion that the dungeon system where he was being held was malfunctioning, allowing him to escape. As he ran, Ian collected all the data he needed before recapturing him.
"Now we can conclude that the connection with Speed Force is not only related to the body, but also to the mind and even the soul," Ian said. "However, the Soul Dimension and fire of Wally are normal. So, where is the source of their talents?"
"Do you think the reason for these anomalies is because this is a parallel reality?" Morgana asked.
"That could explain some of the anomalies, but not all of them."
"Do you have a better theory?"
"Yes," Ian replied. "Speed Force itself is also a living entity, or it has consciousness. It doesn't want outsiders like us to pry into its secrets."
He should have thought of this a long time ago, because in the play, Speed Force once appeared in front of him as Barry's mother.
"That makes sense. But why do these time-related concepts suddenly become conscious?" Morgana complained.
"Suddenly? As far as we know now, it may have always been like this, we just happened to discover two worlds with similar concepts in succession."
"That's true, but we have to pay attention to whether the same situation will occur in the next world."
The two continued their research and collected more data. Ian went to Earth-3 to observe another speedster, Jay Garrick. In the comics, Jay Garrick was the original speedster, but his power came from a genetic mutation. Later, the setting was changed and his power was connected to Speed Force.
Ian did not interact with Jay in any form, but secretly observed and recorded. The end result was that Jay's connection to Speed Force was stronger than any experimental subject he created, but still not as good as Wally, let alone Barry.
[Side note: In the comics, Wally West is the speedster with the deepest connection to Speed Force, not Barry. There are similar hints in the show, but since Barry is the protagonist, this plot line is not developed in depth.]
"The data we have now are enough to take the next step," Ian said, starting to build a device that would allow him to plug into Speed Force. In the process, he proved some of his theories.
There are four fundamental forces in a normal universe: gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force, and strong nuclear force. However, there are other forces present in this universe, including Speed Force.
"You're right," Morgana said. "Speed Force can use speed and motion to affect the space-time continuum. This application is unique enough to be used against Time Game."
"Indeed," Ian replied while testing the final product. "However, this is not enough." The Speed Force he could access was not enough to break the limitations of the space-time continuum, so they needed more data.
"It seems that Barry is the key to our success," Morgana commented.
"Yes. To a certain extent, he is the son of Speed Force."
The team's next target is not Barry and his team, but the main villain of that year - the Thinker. He is a person with unparalleled intelligence. After being exposed to Dark Matter, his brain mutated.
Seeing Ian suddenly appear, the Thinker was shocked and stammered some incomprehensible words, saying that Ian was an anomaly and should not have appeared at all.
"Do you think we should study more deeply the impact of Dark Matter on Life Code?" Ian asked after analyzing the brain structure of the Thinker.
"Maybe, but you should consider that this world is different. The laws here allow for greater plasticity and change in people's Life Code. Elsewhere, Dark Matter would not have such a positive effect."
"That makes sense," Ian nodded. "Okay, let's go meet our protagonist."