It was a mask no one had ever seen before, one that seemed never to have existed in any known story.
It looked somewhat like the style of V for Vendetta, with a pointed chin and elegantly curved design, but there was no smile or mustache—only gleaming silver metal and crescent-shaped glowing eyes.
In Barry's memories, the other party had indeed possessed a body, a humanoid one. But Barry had been running too fast and was hypnotized almost instantly, so he had not seen the body clearly and had instead assumed it was serpentine.
The enemy's method should have been some form of Mind Control, most likely a special application of the Anti-Life Equation. The instant Barry met his gaze, he completely lost himself.
But that at least revealed two things.
First, the enemy knew that Barry would not be carrying the Spider Totem and Tenth Metal patches Deathstroke had arranged for him at today's Flash Cup race, leaving him completely without Mental Protection.
To know such confidential details, there had to be an informant within Justice Incarnate. Put bluntly, there was a Traitor among the multiverse's vast host of Superheroes.
That was normal too. No one could expect everyone to possess Batwoman-level willpower. Once there were enough people, surrenderists were bound to slip in.
Perhaps someone truly believed Darkseid was invincible, or perhaps they had set their sights on the benefits the Dark Tyrant could offer?
Besides, Superheroes could also be controlled by the Anti-Life Equation. Even Superman had fallen victim to it in the comics.
But thinking about it that way, it was hard to say whether the Traitor within Justice Incarnate was willingly serving Darkseid or had been brainwashed as well.
Second, the enemy had never harmed Barry. Perhaps he intended to use him for something, perhaps