Ian was wearing a well-tailored black suit, leather shoes, and a long suit jacket, and walked towards a room where the sound of conversation was coming from. In the distance, he could hear Team Flash talking about recent events.
Last year, in order to save the city and the world, Barry had to enter Speed Force, causing him to be trapped inside. However, the team did not give up on him and tried to bring him back. After several failures, Barry opened a gap from Speed Force and returned to the real world.
However, this breach released Dark Matter. Unfortunately, a bus full of passengers happened to be passing through the area at that time, and they were mutated. These Superman classes have been a major source of trouble for them over the past few weeks.
"Who are you?" asked Joe, who was Barry's adoptive father and Iris's biological father; he was the first person to notice Ian walking in.
"Oh, you are all here; this saves me a lot of trouble," Ian replied with a smile. "I am Ian·Bones, agent of the Superhuman and Vigilante Oversight Bureau. It's an honor to meet you all."
He handed the ID to Joe and then walked towards Barry: "You must be the famous Flash - it's a real honor to see you."
"To each other," Barry responded casually, but anyone could see that he was just being polite. "What kind of department is this super..."
"It's Superhuman Oversight Bureau," Ian explained. "Over the years, the activities of Superman types and vigilantes around the world have been on the rise. In the past, the United States government turned a blind eye to you because the benefits you brought outweighed the disadvantages. But recent events have caused concern to many people. So, in order to promote a good relationship between vigilantes and the government, my department was established."
"You want to spy on us, that's a nice thing to say."
"You must be Iris West, I like your article," Ian commented. "You are right. However, I suggest you not to view it in such a negative light. This project has just been launched, and you are the first batch of pilot subjects. You may not believe it, but some of my superiors have suggested starting with Oliver and his team at Star City." Ian shook his head to show how ridiculous this idea was.
"We don't need supervision," Barry retorted bluntly.
"I agree with Barry on this matter," Sisko Ramon echoed.
"Letting the government control how superheroes act? That's a recipe for disaster," said Harrison Wolfgang Wells.
"Harrison Wells? Shouldn't you be dead already?" Ian asked. "Let me guess, from a parallel earth?"
"Earth-19, and you are changing the subject."
Ian smiled and then looked at Sisko. "Do you mind if I use your computer to show you something?" Sisko hesitated for a moment and agreed. Ian pulled up a report with a number highlighted in red bold: 22,345,976,898.
"This is the economic damage your team has caused the government since its inception: $22 billion over four years. All of that money comes from taxpayers."
"How is this possible?" Caitlin, the team's doctor, interjected.
"The cars that are destroyed every time you run, the windows, or the insurance premiums that are paid to compensate people for their vehicles and property that are destroyed, or even the earthquakes or tsunamis that are caused during some of your fights - all of that costs money, and the government has been footing the bill for you."
"You can't blame all this on Barry," Iris argued.
"Indeed, but that doesn't change the fact that he was responsible for most of the losses," Ian explained.
"What exactly do you want to express?" Sisko asked.
"I'll tell you the truth. According to the order I received, your team has three options: disband and become ordinary citizens; repay the debt and continue your vigilante activities; or, accept supervision. I suggest you choose the last one."
Ian looked at Harrison Wells, "Personally, I suggest you choose to pay back the money. Many people are interested in the technology of traveling between parallel dimensions; the benefits are endless."
"Don't even think about it," Sisko flatly refused, while Ian shrugged.
"What if we disobey?" Barry asked, looking directly into his eyes.
"You don't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation," Ian sighed. "Many people are worried that Barry or one of his speedster friends will one day travel back in time and get rid of the founding fathers, thereby erasing the birth trajectory of this great country. Now, can you imagine what the United States government with a powerful military will do to prevent this from happening?"
Ian looked back at him, "In that bad situation, you might be able to escape unscathed, but others won't be so lucky."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No, I just want you to see the reality clearly."
"What reality? Barry would never do anything like that," Joe added.
"One thing I've learned in life is that fear never follows logic. When people with state power behind them start acting out of fear, that's a recipe for disaster."
The room fell into dead silence. After a few seconds, Ian continued, "I understand that this contains a huge amount of information. I will give you one day to think about it. I will come back at 1500 tomorrow."
Ian took the ID back from Qiao and walked out. The team members immediately began to discuss countermeasures.
"What should we do?" Caitlin asked.
"Check that department with the weird name first," Iris said while operating the computer. "Dad, do you remember his ID number?"
"Remember, I memorized it."
Soon, the team found out the identity information of Ian, including some semi-confidential files.
"Former Special Forces member: served two terms in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was originally ready to retire, but was transferred to this new department," Iris explained.
"So, his identity is legal?" Ralph Dibny, also known as Elongated Man, a new Superman class born because of the bus accident, asked. When Ian was present, he remained silent.
"It seems so."
"You said he is a former member of the special forces and has served?" Barry asked.
"That's right."
"In this case, let's contact Diggle to see if he knows anything."
Subsequently, the team contacted Star City's Team Arrow and asked Diggle if he had any relevant information. A few minutes later, they received a call back.
"I got some information from several informants," Diggle said. "Ian·Bones once led a task force named 'Silent Diplomats'. Their mission was to penetrate into hostile territory and negotiate various shady deals for the government."
"Diggle, have you heard of this SDMV?"
"No. Obviously, the confidentiality level of this department is top secret: before its establishment, no information has been leaked. However, I must warn you. As far as I know, Ian·Bones is an expert negotiator and manipulator, and will do whatever it takes to complete the task. You must be careful when dealing with him."
"Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome. I have to deal with Oliver; he was a little irritable after learning that the government knew his true identity."
The call ended and the room fell into silence again.
"Then what should we do?" Ralph asked, but no one could give him an answer.
Ian and Morgana looked at the screen in front of them.
"Are you sure you shouldn't choose a gentler identity?"
"No, they are bound to be suspicious. So, handling it this way can make things appear credible."
"You have the final say. What do we do next?"
"Analyze the data we collected."
They cannot read Barry's mind, but this is not the case for the other members.
People like Caitlin and Sisko have worked with Barry for a long time, and as scientifically minded people, they have a deep understanding of Speed Force.
In their minds, Ian collected massive amounts of data. He learned from Caitlin how Barry's cells and DNA reacted to or connected to Speed Force.
At the same time, he learned about the mechanism of this power itself from Sisko's thoughts.
After summarizing and analyzing the data, Ian appeared in the laboratory the next day as he said.