"Really?" Barry was still somewhat skeptical. He looked at Thor, thinking the claim was too exaggerated.
" Bruce... I mean, the Batman I know, he's powerful, I admit that. But to say that he could easily defeat us if he gained any one of our abilities, I still don't quite believe it."
Thor merely raised an eyebrow at this and countered, "Then let me ask you, Barry. Suppose neither of you has any superpowers, and you two fight Bruce Wayne bare-handed, do you think you could beat him?"
This question doesn't even require thinking.
Barry Allen shook his head decisively.
Just kidding, that's Batman, the pinnacle of human physical fitness and fighting skills. I'm just a forensic pathologist, even with years of training, I'm not even in the same league.
"That settles it." Thor shrugged, looking completely matter-of-fact. "Even with equal physical abilities, you're no match for him. Now, if he gains your Speed Force, do you think you have even the slightest chance of winning?"
Barry opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
An image flashed through his mind: a the Flash with Batman's combat intelligence, tactical mind, and ruthless determination... That would be every criminal's nightmare, including himself.
"Fine," Barry sighed, finally accepting reality, "Looks like Batman in every universe is a monster."
He stopped dwelling on the question, pointed to Kara who was still unconscious beside him, and glanced at Diana, who was bound by the Lasso of Truth and glaring at them with fiery eyes. He asked urgently, "So what do we do now? Take Diana hostage and force Themyscira to cease hostilities with Atlantis?"
At this moment, outside the airplane window, the iconic, somber, and oppressive skyline of Gotham City was getting closer and closer. The plane was slowly descending, preparing to enter the secret passage beneath Wayne Manor.
Thor merely glanced at the Amazons princess on the ground, then uttered a sentence that made Barry's brain freeze.
"No, let's eat first."
"What?!"
Barry Allen's voice rose instantly. He looked at Thor with a bewildered expression, wondering if he had misheard. "Are you serious? Eat first? Those Kryptonian are still hanging in Earth's orbit! The war between Atlantis and Themyscira could engulf the entire world at any moment!"
However, Thor paid no attention to his anxiety, simply repeating lazily, "Eat first. You'll have the energy to solve the problem when you're full."
Thus, an extremely bizarre dinner unfolded inside the Batcave.
At a long metal dining table, only Thor and Thomas Wayne were eating with great relish, devouring their food in no time.
Death Tetiyu also behaved quite well; she seemed very interested in the food of this universe, sipping it slowly and gracefully.
Barry Allen, on the other hand, couldn't eat at all. He was restless, fidgeting with his knife and fork on his plate, his mind completely elsewhere.
As for the fifth "guest" of the dinner— Diana —she was suspended in mid-air by a yellow energy rope hanging from the ceiling, and she was also bound by her own Lasso of Truth.
Her mouth was stuffed with a ball of energy, and she could only let out a "whoosh" of anger. Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to her from beginning to end.
Barry felt like he'd endured an eternity during that meal.
When Thor finally put down his cutlery and wiped his mouth with a napkin, Barry couldn't hold back any longer. He jumped up, bracing himself on the table with both hands. "Can't we get down to business now? How exactly are we going to solve these problems? And you too!"
He looked directly at Thor: "You're so powerful, why won't you lend a hand? It should be a small favor for you!"
"Of course I can." Thor leaned back in his chair, watching the agitated Barry with a composed expression.
"I could easily destroy Kryptonian Spaceship, push the Atlanteans back into the sea, and then pack up the Amazons and send them back to Themyscira. But then what?"
He held up a finger and shook it. " Barry, you're a superhero, not a sidekick. You can't always rely on the Justice League, you can't always depend on Superman's power, or Batman's brain. Do you really have complete control over your own power?"
"So," Thor's lips curled into a meaningful smile, "Next, it's special training time."
"What special training?" Barry asked, looking bewildered.
Thor didn't answer, he just snapped his the Snap.
Buzz--!
An invisible, mysterious power instantly spread out from him, enveloping a huge open space inside the Batcave.
The scene in that space distorted slightly before returning to normal, but Barry keenly sensed that the flow of time there had changed.
"That's the power of time," Thor explained calmly. "One minute outside is ten years inside. So, you have plenty of time."
He looked at Barry, then at Kara, who had woken up sometime earlier and was standing silently to the side, and gave the mission instructions.
"You and Kara, your task is simple: survive ten moves from Thomas."
"Ten moves?" Barry's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you sure? I have the Speed Force!"
Even against Batman stronger than the one in this universe, to think he could withstand ten moves would be a gross underestimation of him.
"So I temporarily severed your link to the Speed Force Dimension." Thor smiled, uttering words that sent chills down Barry's spine.
As soon as he finished speaking, Barry felt something innate within him being instantly drained away.
The Speed Force that allowed him to feel the pulse of the world and be one with it all vanished without a trace, and he returned to being just an ordinary forensic pathologist, Barry Allen.
Thor ignored the ashen-faced Barry and turned to Kara.
The Krypton girl, who had just awakened, no longer had the confusion on her face; instead, she possessed a resilience beyond her years.
" Kara," Thor said, "If you want revenge for your cousin, work with Barry and find a way to defeat this Old Bat."
"I believe you can do it."
After saying that, Thor took Tetiyu and turned to walk towards the elevator leading to the ground.
He had just stepped onto the elevator platform when he heard Barry's piercing wail behind him.
"Wait! Thomas! I'm not ready yet! Hold on!"
His response was Thomas Wayne's cold, emotionless voice.
"The enemy won't give you time to prepare, kid."
"Bang!"
A heavy, muffled thud, accompanied by the sound of bones dislocating, rang out clearly.
Thomas's fist, as big as a sandbag, slammed down solidly.
The elevator doors slowly closed, shutting out the screams of the two people inside.
The elevator ascended smoothly.
Tetiyu sat in the chair next to him, tilted his head, looked at Thor, and said softly, "You should know that even after the reboot, the future of this universe is still a tragedy."
"Of course." Thor nodded.
He knew, of course, that according to the normal Flashpoint Paradox timeline, Superman in this world would ultimately do something reckless, leading the Justice League to attack Apokolips, resulting in heavy casualties, and in the end, Barry Allen would have to run again to create a new Flashpoint to end it all.
However... Thor's thoughts drifted away. Since this world had become a Flashpoint hodgepodge, the final outcome was hard to predict.
Just then, a female voice, filled with divine majesty and boundless rage, faintly came from the Batcave below, piercing through the heavy metal door.
"I command you to release me immediately, mortals! Otherwise, you will face the wrath of the Olympians!"
It was Diana's voice.
Thor and Tetiyu exchanged a glance, then simply smiled, neither of them paying any attention.
The elevator continued its ascent, leaving that powerless rage far behind.