Superman from the comics: Starting with the Black Robe

Chapter 58 Reverse Lightning's Delusions

"I thought it would be a while before you noticed me."

This speedster noticed the Kryptonians approaching from the sky and stopped running. He was wearing a red and yellow uniform similar to the Flash's, but unlike the Flash, whose uniform was predominantly red, his was predominantly yellow.

Upon catching up with the speedster, Joey immediately identified him: "Reverse-Flash, Elberd Swann."

The person running across Western Europe is Reverse-Flash, the lifelong nemesis of The Flash, Barry Allen (in his opinion).

In the far future of the 25th century, Alberd Swann, through his research on his idol The Flash, replicated the lightning strike accident and gained the Flash's powers, but subsequently became the Flash's mortal enemy by a twist of fate.

Reverse-Flash Alberd Swann is not as self-disciplined as the Flash. He has traveled back in time countless times to try to eliminate Barry Allen before he became the Flash, but ultimately found that he could never do it.

Because Reverse-Flash gained his Speed ​​Force from research on The Flash, Barry Allen, if The Flash didn't exist, Reverse-Flash wouldn't exist.

The fact that his own existence depended on the existence of The Flash drove Alberd Swann, who considered The Flash his lifelong enemy, mad.

He began to make destroying the Flash his sole pursuit in life. He launched attacks on the Flash at various points in history, and from the moment the Flash was born, he pondered how to inflict the greatest pain on him.

Reverse-Flash stole the Flash's lover from his youth, erased his childhood friends, and even killed the Flash's mother when he was young, framing the Flash's father for the crime.

This action completely created a perfect time loop between The Flash and Reverse-Flash.

Barry Allen became a crime scene investigator because of his mother's death and his father's wrongful imprisonment. He worked tirelessly every day, trying to find out the truth about his mother's murder from some clues at the crime scene and to clear his father's name.

It wasn't until one stormy night, when Barry Allen was working overtime in his office, that he was struck by lightning, which led to the story of The Flash and Reverse-Flash.

Reverse-Flash stared at the Superman who recognized him instantly, his face first showing surprise, then a knowing smile spreading across his face:

"Ah, I see! Logically speaking, you shouldn't know me, someone who has never appeared before, but you do know who I am, so you must also be an outsider. This explains why I can't just rewrite this timeline after Barry Allen's death, because there are still observers from the outside world here."

As a speedster, Reverse-Flash could easily keep up with Joey's pace; in a single second, they could exchange hundreds of conversations.

"Superman, what about the world that Barry Allen created? As he wished, his mother survived, but in her place, thousands of other people will die."

Reverse-Flash sensed the hostility in Joey's eyes. He enveloped himself in the Speed ​​Force, his form blurring as he created afterimages to ensure he wouldn't be easily struck.

"Don't even try it. While thermal vision can indeed shoot at the speed of light, it cannot aim at the speed of light."

If I were you, I would focus on more pressing issues first, such as the fact that the Western European Plain is about to sink in 62 seconds.

And you, Superman, I've calculated it; your speed isn't enough to get everyone to safety in time.

Reverse-Flash was originally on the island of Britain observing how far the war between the Amazons and Atlanteans would escalate, but the sudden appearance of this ridiculously powerful Kryptonian made him abandon the idea of ​​intervening in the war.

This Kryptonian might not be able to kill him easily, but he also didn't have a foolproof way to kill him in one blow. The other party had countless chances to try, while his own margin for error was so low that he only had one chance.

"How about we discuss a deal?"

Reverse-Flash felt that now was the time for him to make a difference: "You can't move everyone to safety by yourself, but with me, currently the 'fastest man in the world,' it's definitely enough."

Joey turned to look in the direction from which the seismic waves were coming, and casually asked, "I don't think you're the kind of person who would help for free, Reverse-Flash. What do you want?"

Reverse Flash received the expected answer and was even more overjoyed: "What do I want? Well, I want the whole of America."

"Everyone in this world can see that you and your other Kryptonian partner are about to create a new order on this planet; and to me, you are not the same as the blue-shirted Boy Scout I used to know."

In the new world order, people like me need a place to settle down. So, give me the future rule of America, and I'll help you relocate all the inhabitants of Western Europe to Asia Minor right now.

Joey rejected Reverse-Flash's offer: "The mortal world doesn't need someone like you to rule."

In his plan, the world would continue to operate as it did before the war, with only minor improvements, and there would be no place for Reverse-Flash and his ilk in these minor improvements.

"Oh, I didn't expect that!"

Reverse-Flash discovered that the Superman before him was even more different than he had anticipated: "You'd rather let most of Western Europe die than carve out a small piece of America from your world for me?"

"I never said I was going to abandon those people."

While Joey negotiated with Reverse-Flash, his eyes were meticulously scanning the Earth's crustal structure along the path of the seismic waves. He now had a general plan for a solution:

"Don't try to think like a speedster for others, Reverse Lightning, I'm not a speedster."

In Joey's opinion, instead of spending time and effort transferring hundreds of millions of potential earthquake victims at super speeds that might not even be fast enough, why not just use the Kryptonian superpowers to beat the earthquake and make it stop on its own?

Seismic waves, as mechanical waves, are essentially a release and propagation of energy. They rely on the Earth's crust and the ocean as a medium. As long as the energy release is offset or the propagation path is blocked, the earthquake will naturally be resolved.

Before leaving, Joey solemnly warned Reverse-Flash once again: "Don't get in my way, Reverse-Flash. The new world order can accommodate anyone who wants to live a normal life."

And you, to me, are like a fast-moving, annoying fly; don't force me to waste my time killing you.

"Don't worry, Superman, I definitely won't trip you up this time, but I'd like to see what you can do about it."

Joey's threat didn't bother Reverse-Flash; he was more curious about how Superman would stop the devastating earthquake and was eager to see what would happen.

"What to do? In your time, did people still have building blocks? Stopping an earthquake isn't much harder than assembling a few building blocks."

Joey uttered only those words before plunging into the ground, with Reverse-Flash following closely behind.