The Flash's nightmare

A Priest in Gotham, he starts by finding Little Boy - Chapter 533

"Are you trying to run away? Nonsense, I didn't even ask that question. Haven't you already started running?" Green Lantern conjured a green pistol, wielding Chainsaw in one hand and the pistol in the other, as he chased Insomnia through the dream world.

The scenes in front of the two kept changing, with Green Lantern relentlessly pursuing Insomnia all the way into the Flash's dream world.

"Central City, perhaps it's Barry's dream." Seeing that Insomnia was hiding in this dream world, Green Lantern began searching for her.

In the cemetery on the Central City, mournful cries can be heard from time to time; this is a place of worship for Cult.

A captured boy lay on a cold stone platform, his hands and feet bound. The Cult leader held a sharp blade, ready to disembowel him.

The perpetrator was known as Old Man Cicada, whose real name was David Hersch. An architect and Catholicism missionary, he was irritable and extreme, and frequently abused his wife. On a stormy night, Hersch murdered his wife.

Overwhelmed with guilt over his actions, he decided to end his life. However, after being struck by lightning, David Hersch discovered the secret of immortality, gaining the superpower to absorb the life energy of others to prolong his own life.

David Hersch then changed his name to Old Man Cicada and founded a sect called the Cicada Cult, promising his followers eternal life and seeking to resurrect his wife.

After learning that the Flash's origin story also involved being struck by lightning, Old Man Cicada regarded the Flash as the Savior of the Cicada Cult. He believed that the Flash saved those who were supposed to die in order to provide their life force for the Cicada Cult's use, so he began to hunt down the citizens saved by the Flash and absorb their life force.

With his abundant life force, he successfully resurrected his wife, but as soon as she was resurrected, her first thought was to kill the man who had killed her, so she was killed by the Old Man Cicada again.

"Thank you the Flash, for the offering!" Old Man Cicada shouted, and the surrounding cult members prayed devoutly in response. The higher he raised his knife, the more devout the worshippers around him became.

But the instant he made his move, he was swept up by a yellow whirlwind and sent flying.

"Old Man Cicada, it's you again, you lunatic!" The Flash rescued the boy in no time, and also tied Old Man Cicada and his followers to the tombstone.

Then, just as he was about to send them all to the Police Department, he suddenly received a call from Captain Cold, ordering him to rush to Iron Heights Penitentiary, saying that something bad seemed to be happening there.

"Okay." The Flash hung up the phone, and before he finished speaking, he led a group of Cult to Iron Heights Penitentiary.

There was indeed an inexplicable strangeness about this place. The Police Station was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation, and the officers were very happy that the Flash had brought in a new criminal.

"Haha— the Flash, if you don't bring the criminals over soon, we're going to go out of business," a Police laughed. "We haven't had a single case in ages."

"The Central City is becoming increasingly safe, which is a good thing."

"Sometimes I wonder, where have all the criminals gone?"

"Maybe they ran off to Gotham City."

Warden Wolfe, also all smiles, chatted warmly with the Flash.

"Captain Cold just messaged me saying there's been some trouble at Iron Heights Penitentiary. What happened?" The Flash asked, puzzled. "Captain Cold? Who's that?" Wolfe replied with a look of pure joy, "I've never heard of Captain Cold before."

The Flash felt a chill run down his spine; the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

He returned to the Police Station where he usually worked. Every colleague was overjoyed, but it seemed not because of his return, but because they were happy every day.

"Has something good happened lately?" The Flash asked Kristen. "Everyone seems so happy, is it a collective pay raise?"

"No, but there is some good news." Kristen led the Flash into the empty detention cell. "Central City hasn't had a single case for weeks. No crimes, not even speeding tickets. Everyone's got nothing to do these days, of course they're happy!"

"No crime? Why?" The Flash was taken aback. Could it be that he really went to Gotham City for further studies?

"Hey, Barry, you're back." Just then, the Flash's boss Singh, walked in and greeted him. "It's been a while since I've seen you on vacation. No crime is a good thing, and I'm getting ready to enjoy my years of accumulated vacation time and travel the world."

"Traveling around the world is wonderful." Kristen's phone suddenly rang. "Hello, James— "

"Who are you talking to on the phone?" The Flash asked curiously.

"My new boyfriend James." Kristen showed the Flash a photo of herself and her boyfriend. For some reason, the Flash felt that James looked very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

The Central City is now peaceful and quiet, and the Police Department has closed early as well.

Singh suggested they go to a bar for a night of fun, and everyone agreed, but the Flash declined, deciding to go home first to process the fact that Central City was no longer a criminal city.

"Hey Bruce, any new developments in Gotham lately, like criminal gangs from Central City moving in or anything like that—no? Okay, got it." The Flash hung up the phone, walked out of the Police Department, still pondering what had happened.

Walking down the street, the Flash looked at everyone's smiling faces and felt a chill run down his spine.

"Looks like I'll have to ask Captain Cold," The Flash thought, deciding to head out to find Captain Cold. "Unfortunately, Central City doesn't have a supervillain as readily available as the Penguin."

The Flash instantly appeared at Captain Cold's house, but the scene before him was not the familiar one.

An empty room, a messy coffee table, and parts scattered all over the floor.

"This guy... has been kidnapped?" The Flash thought for a moment, but still felt that the possibility of him being arrested was higher, after all, Captain Cold's last phone call was to tell him to go to Iron Heights Penitentiary.

With that in mind, the Flash immediately ran to Iron Heights Penitentiary, where Wolfe greeted him calmly.

"There's really no Captain Cold here," Wolfe said unhurriedly. "The only one who could be called Supervillains is Old Man Cicada, whom you just brought in."

"Can I see him?" The Flash asked after a moment's thought.

"Of course." Wolfe readily agreed and led the Flash to the cell where Old Man Cicada was being held.

"Thank you for bringing me to such a wonderful place. I have never felt so happy and at peace." Old Man Cicada clasped his hands together and said earnestly to the Flash.

"I must be crazy to listen to your old geezer's nonsense." The Flash turned and walked away. He was now certain that something was wrong in Central City, but he wasn't sure what it was.

After the Flash left, the scene inside Iron Heights Penitentiary changed abruptly. The extravagantly designed tents, the wires used for balancing acts, the giant swing ten meters off the ground, and the burning rings of fire clearly resembled a Circus in operation.

Captain Cold was tied to a colorful pillar, his face bruised and swollen, blood still flowing from his eyes and nose.

"What a mess." A man holding a stick lifted his chin; it was the man from Kristen's photo earlier, the Trickster James Jesse.

James Jesse was born into the famous acrobatic family "Flying Jesse," renowned for their high-walking performances. However, Jesse suffered from acrophobia, and in order to perform, he invented a pair of air-walking shoes, which led to his fame in the Circus.

Still not satisfied, Jesse craves more excitement and begins committing crimes as the Trickster. During a robbery, he meets Captain Cold and subsequently joins the Rogues.

"Damn it, what exactly do you want?" Captain Cold asked weakly.

"I'm going to plan the greatest magic trick in history, and the Flash will be the Flash." The Trickster laughed heartily, directing the Supervillains to change into Circus costumes and begin their performance for him.

"You really can't forget that dead-end, crappy job—"

Soon, the Flash and the last remaining residents of Central City who hadn't fallen into the bizarre state of happiness were kidnapped and brought here. They were put into the Happiness Machine, and anyone who came out of the machine, no matter how depressed they had been before, would become incredibly happy.

Soon, the Flash emerged from the pleasure machine with a silly grin on his face.

But as he reached the corner, the Flash's eyes regained their wisdom.

When he went through the machine just now, he activated the low-frequency vibration mode to break free from mind control. That idiotic smile was just a pretense to deceive everyone.

He quickly found Captain Cold, and just as he was about to rescue Captain Cold, the Trickster blew him away with a screaming chicken. The sound was deafening, almost knocking him unconscious.

"How did you do that?" The Flash felt a wave of weakness wash over him.

"It's the Sage Force." The Trickster's lips curled up. "I stole your future technology and found the Sage Force that was sealed by the Speed Force."

19

The Sage Force possesses supernatural abilities such as controlling others' emotions and creating illusions or falsehoods. It is a force field that existed in ancient times alongside the Speed Force and the Still Force.

"No wonder I didn't recognize you in the photo—" The Flash struggled to his feet.

"I've gathered all the Sage Force, which allows me to devise a magic trick that will go down in history," The Trickster laughed. "Before that, I used this power to bring a little joy to everyone."

"James Jesse!" At that moment, Wolfe Wolf's expression instantly turned ferocious. He roared the Trickster's name and charged forward.

Past.

But before he could even touch the Trickster, he was knocked to the ground with a single punch.

Although the Trickster aren't known for their fighting skills, it would still be too easy for a Circus member to take on a warden who sits in his Office all day.

"Stop!" The Flash watched as the Trickster continued to crush Wolfe Wolf's face with the sole of his shoe, stumbling as he tried to rush forward to save him.

"Tsk tsk tsk----Truly a superhero, still wanting to save people in this situation?" The Trickster let out a burst of the Batman Who Laughs. "Hey, Wolfe, do you think you should be saved?"

"Barry —run! The Trickster was a criminal here. For years I tortured him like Little White to test the prison's security. After he escaped, I burned all the evidence, making him an undocumented immigrant—it's all my fault!" Wolfe, his head bleeding from the beating, spoke with a happy and satisfied expression as he recounted his past actions. "Barry, run!"

"The bigger picture is what matters!"

Urged on by Wolfe, Barry ran out with Captain Cold; the Trickster's Happy Machine had already plunged the city into chaos.

To hold onto happiness, everyone is willing to do anything, including fight each other.

"This is really... terrible." The Flash sighed and said to Captain Cold, "Could you freeze them all for now?"

"Of course." Captain Cold smirked and fired a shot at the Flash, freezing him in place.

"Damn it, he's also under the control of the Sage Force!" This was the last thought that flashed through the Flash's mind before he lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, when the Flash woke up, he found himself tied to a pillar.

In front of him was a huge surveillance camera; the last time the Flash had seen such a large camera was in the Batcave.

In the surveillance footage, the city was in chaos, and the Trickster in front of him smugly enjoyed the disorder.

"Barry, how are you feeling now?" The Trickster laughed. "Or you could give me five dollars to unlock the paywall, and I can show you the whole thing live."

"These can't bind me, the Trickster!" The Flash broke free of his Rope. "I will free people from your morbid games!"

Then, before he could even take a step, the Flash crashed heavily to the ground.

"Don't rush off if you don't want to pay. I knew you were broke, the Flash. You're always so strapped for cash—but that's alright, that's alright. Your legs are more effective than dollars." The Trickster laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight, his saw dripping with blood.

The Flash stared at his severed leg, his eyes filled with disbelief. Even now, he couldn't believe it was real, yet he continued to tremble uncontrollably, because if it were true, he would have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair or walking on his hands.

"You've only lost a leg, but you've gained happiness," The Trickster comforted the Flash.

"Screw you!" A flash of azure light appeared in the Flash's eyes. He suddenly stood upside down, crawling on his hands, the Speed Force lightning still shooting between them. "So what if you cut off my legs? Even if you cut off all four of my limbs, I'm still the fastest maggot in the Universe!"

"Huh?" The Trickster's smile turned into one of utter astonishment. Could someone who had just learned their leg had been severed really utter such a thing?

He felt it was just a hair's breadth away; the Flash's fear was about to materialize the Nightmare. Unexpectedly, in this near-desperate situation, the Flash suddenly broke free from his fear.