"Me?"
Barry pointed at himself, his face full of surprise, and everyone in the lab turned to look at him.
"How can I help?"
"I need your speed."
Ethan's words left everyone confused, so he had to explain to them what the Speed Force was.
In fact, Ethan didn't know much about the Speed Force either, but the people here had never even heard of it. This was their first time hearing the term from Ethan. Barry finally realized that the reason he could run so fast was because of the Speed Force.
"Not dark matter?"
Everyone, including Barry himself (except for the Reverse-Flash disguised as Harrison Wells), had always believed that his powers came from the dark matter released during the particle accelerator explosion. But now Ethan was telling him that the true source of his power was something called the Speed Force, which was entirely different from what they had thought.
"So... you want this power called the Speed Force?"
"Yes."
As Ethan explained further, they finally understood his goal—to obtain the Speed Force from Barry.
"How do we do that?"
"For now, you just need to keep running faster and faster."
"Make me run faster and faster?"
Barry's running motion, stride length, and posture hadn't changed much, but his speed continued to increase. That was the effect of the Speed Force.
The strength of Barry's connection to the Speed Force, or rather, the amount of Speed Force he himself "generated," directly affected how fast he could run. In other words, the faster he ran, the more Speed Force he produced.
Ethan wanted the Speed Force, so he needed Barry to run fast enough.
"So... run hard, Barry."
It sounded like encouragement, but Barry got a strange feeling from it, as if he were livestock being fattened up, just waiting to be slaughtered when the time came.
"You want to get this power called the Speed Force... You're not planning to kill me and take it, are you?"
"Huh?" Ethan waved his hand. "No need. The Speed Force can be extracted easily."
Let alone Ethan, who had excellent control over energy, even Caitlin and Cisco could extract the Speed Force using technological means.
"And you don't have to worry. It won't harm you or place any burden on you."
Ethan explained his goal and repeatedly emphasized that it wouldn't hurt Barry. This finally allowed Joe West to breathe a small sigh of relief.
Of course, that didn't mean he would completely let his guard down around Ethan and the others. Even with Ethan's repeated assurances, he wasn't the kind of person who would believe everything at face value.
In the days that followed, the Flash continued dealing with metahuman criminals in Central City. Ethan also visited S.T.A.R. Labs from time to time, occasionally offering suggestions. However, he found that Barry Allen was even more stubborn than Oliver Queen.
Even after repeated failures, Barry often ignored Ethan's suggestions. So, after a few attempts, Ethan gradually stopped offering advice.
He simply waited for the Speed Force in Barry to reach the required level, then he would extract what he needed and complete his plan.
During this time, Ethan wasn't idle. From his last encounter with the Reverse-Flash, he had "collected" a small sample of the Speed Force.
Ethan studied that sample in detail and even conducted some tests. He concluded that he only needed to extract a very small amount of Speed Force from Barry to meet his needs.
That was good news. It meant he didn't need to interact directly with the Speed Force itself, only with Barry Allen.
Compared to the mysterious and seemingly self-aware Speed Force, Barry was obviously much easier to deal with, especially since Barry was a good person who generally wouldn't refuse to help others, as long as it didn't hurt anyone.
At that moment, Barry had just encountered the person he suspected of killing his mother. But he was completely no match for that individual.
In both speed and combat experience, Barry was thoroughly overwhelmed, beaten easily and helplessly.
Frustrated and unable to think of a solution, Barry sought out Ethan.
"You want me to help you figure out how to deal with that person?"
Ethan had been spending a lot of time at S.T.A.R. Labs recently. He was like one of the team, and everyone had gotten used to him being around.
Although Ethan wasn't a scientist, the suggestions he offered during Flash's battles with metahuman criminals were rarely accepted (actually, none were adopted). From Ethan's point of view, it was much simpler to just kill those guys than to go through the hassle of capturing them. So his suggestion was always: Barry, use a knife!
Aside from that, Barry and Ethan often sparred in their spare time, a spectacle that was difficult to watch.
Barry, who thought he was unbeatable thanks to his super speed, was taught painful lessons by Ethan again and again. Ethan always seemed to know what Barry would do next. Each time, he would place water balls, fireballs, or other spells right along Barry's path.
Even if Barry avoided them using his enhanced reflexes and speed, the next moment he would be hit by Ethan's wide-area spells, followed by a brutal beatdown once Ethan took the upper hand.
Their training matches were often watched by others, so naturally, Dr. Wells had also seen how Ethan handled the Flash.
Compared to the naive Barry, Wells noticed more details: Ethan's reaction speed easily kept up with Barry. Even without using large-scale magic, Barry wouldn't be able to win just by fighting hand-to-hand. As someone who had personally experienced Ethan's power, the Reverse-Flash had every right to make that judgment.
This showed that Ethan was far stronger than Wells had originally estimated, making the Reverse-Flash even more hesitant to act rashly.
With the Reverse-Flash intimidated, Ethan's life at S.T.A.R. Labs became even more comfortable. His relationships with Cisco, Caitlin, and the others also improved steadily. At the very least, those two now treated him as a good friend and often joked with him.
Even his relationship with Barry was no longer as awkward as before, which was why Barry came to him now when facing trouble.
"Yeah, I don't know how to beat him."
"You said he's faster than you, and that's why you don't know what to do?"
"That's right."
Ethan thought for a moment, as if considering how to respond. Cisco and Caitlin looked at him expectantly, curious to hear what solution he would offer, or what kind of training plan he might devise for Barry.
But Ethan's answer almost made them have a fit.
"It's simple. Just become faster."
"..."
Barry's face was full of awkwardness. He felt like Ethan had misunderstood the problem. If he could just become faster, why would he even need to ask for help? He felt like he'd already hit his limit, which was why he was trying to find other solutions.
But Ethan didn't give him the chance to speak, cutting off that thought immediately.
"Barry... you're a good person. You have noble character, and you've done a lot for this city... but you're not a qualified warrior."
In Ethan's eyes, Barry wasn't even passable, let alone excellent. His combat awareness was practically nonexistent, and the restrictions he placed on himself prevented him from using many effective techniques. Strictly speaking, the Flash was just a law-abiding citizen with powers who liked doing good deeds. He wasn't much different from a normal person who helped elderly people cross the street every day.
With someone like Barry, even if Ethan gave him a combat plan, it wouldn't produce great results. It might even drive Ethan crazy with frustration.
Since Barry definitely wouldn't follow his training methods, Ethan might as well let him continue on the path he was already good at.
"Even if I teach you all the combat skills I know, how many could you actually use in a fight?"
Barry opened his mouth but then fell silent. He suddenly understood what Ethan meant. The combat skills Ethan referred to would likely hurt or even kill the enemy, which wasn't something Barry wanted to do. Even when dealing with criminals, he didn't want to harm them, let alone kill them.
"So in the end, there's really only one path forward for you."
"I understand."
Barry finally accepted that he had no other option. If he wanted to defeat the mysterious speedster, the only way was to become faster than him.
"Thank you for your guidance."
"I didn't guide you in any way."
"No, you helped me realize what suits me best."
Barry sincerely thanked him and began thinking about how to further improve his speed.
Maybe it was because Ethan's words strengthened Barry's resolve, but his speed did improve again. At that point, Ethan was also ready to begin extracting the Speed Force from him.
After Ethan mentioned this idea, almost everyone gathered at S.T.A.R. Labs. Even Tony, who had been off somewhere for a while, came back specifically to witness the event.
"I thought you already went back."
"How could I? I already missed the time you got smaller. I'm not about to miss the moment you grow up again."
Their conversation made no sense to the people around them, but no one pressed them for answers. People like Joe West were more concerned about whether Barry would really be unharmed.
"Don't worry. Absolutely not."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)