DC: Rise of the Kryptonian Tyrant

In the Speed Force.

Night.

Central City sparkled with starlight. The avenue lights stretched endlessly, brilliant and dazzling. The moon hung high, and the night sky stirred with a cold wind. A lone figure stood atop the Interstellar Laboratory.

Savitar's eyes narrowed slightly. The breeze stirred his coat. His thin frame stood tall and cold like a solitary peak. The burn scars on his face gave him a sinister charm. The figure appeared chilling and formidable, facing the outskirts of Central City, his gaze filled with a fierce and icy glint.

That place beyond was murky and indistinct.

But if one came closer and looked with their own eyes, everything around would emerge naturally into view.

The infinite nature of it made everything in this city feel real.

Suddenly.

A faint sensation like an electronic data stream seeped in from the outside world. It infiltrated every pore of Bardi's body. The current of information pulses penetrated his form, delivering a signal for sleep.

"You've noticed it already?"

The cold gleam in Bardi's eyes sharpened. The drowsiness that had suddenly rushed into his mind was instantly neutralized by his Speed Force.

This was what happened every time he started over.

When each reincarnation ended, the Speed Force would place Savitar into a deep sleep. And each time he awoke, he would again be rejected by his family, unrecognized, alienated...

It was like an ouroboros devouring its own tail. A beginning that was also an end. An endless loop.

Each time, Bardi resisted the Speed Force's compulsion to sleep with extraordinary willpower. After 1,873 iterations, he had gained the ability to subtly manipulate the Speed Force's control, becoming capable of perceiving its movements.

At the same time, Bardi's comprehension, control, and manipulation of the Speed Force had approached its very essence. He understood it far better than many other Flashes.

With his divine-level intellect, perception, and capability, Bardi had already unraveled many mysteries of the Speed Force in a short time. He could now apply its wondrous effects. His understanding of the Speed Force had surpassed any other Flash.

Bardi smiled faintly, looking down at the brightly lit city. The cold wind whipped his casual suit. The scar on the right side of his face emanated a chilling aura in the night.

He stood like a solitary figure, coldly smiling. A lonely soul abandoned by all, standing in the wind and looking down upon the world from atop a skyscraper.

The next moment.

The entire Central City seemed to tremble. It was as if the city were alive, and shivered in fear.

Bardi's eyes flashed.

"Another Melissa!"

Standing atop the Interstellar Laboratory's tower, he smiled in the cold wind. He gently extended his left hand. A violent electric arc burst forth, striking the air with a crackle. The fine hairs on his skin stood on end. From his pores, a massive electric surge erupted, converging at the center of his left palm, forming a Speed Force vortex.

The intense vortex distorted the space around it. Air currents sliced like icy blades, emitting powerful light and tearing at the surroundings. Suddenly, in Bardi's palm, the distorted Speed Force twisted into a black hole.

A powerful suction erupted from his hand.

The entire Central City wailed and trembled like a frightened child.

The city lights flickered and died in an instant. From the Interstellar Laboratory outward, lights extinguished one after another with a click... click... click..., spreading like ripples of darkness and swallowing the entire city.

All matter in the city—skyscrapers, honking vehicles, terrified pedestrians—was drawn skyward with a deafening roar. Reinforced concrete buildings tore apart, police cars flashed, citizens screamed. Even as they clung to lampposts, benches, anything within reach, it was like facing a category 20 tornado. But even those poles were ripped away.

It was all futile.

Everything—these people—had been created by the Speed Force to imprison Savitar.

All of Central City was being pulled toward the Speed Force black hole created in Bardi's hand. As the city's contents flew through the air, everything—buildings, concrete, vehicles, humans, animals, and plants—transformed into pure Speed Force particles. These particles streamed into the vortex in his palm and recombined inside, forming a pronucleus.

In mere seconds, within the Interstellar Laboratory, S.T.A.R. Labs members Sisko, Joe, Caitlin, and Iris looked on in horror as even they dissolved into Speed Force particles. Along with all the Speed Force-generated matter, Central City was sucked into Bardi's palm and compressed into a stone-like object.

Calcification Speed Force.

Bardi held the fist-sized Calcified Speed Force in his palm.

Beneath him, everything was pitch black, as if an entire continent had been ripped from the ocean. Quickly, the surrounding Speed Force surged like seawater, rushing in to fill the void. Gradually, the Speed Force particles began reconstructing a new Central City.

In truth, Bardi had done this 1,873 times. Every time he faced rejection from Savitar's family, and put on the same tired performance, he would condense the city into Calcified Speed Force. Most of it would be reshaped into Savitar armor. The rest, he would eat like a Myrissol candy.

In the darkness, Bardi watched with interest as Central City was gradually restored from Speed Force particles. In this process, he had already learned how to use the Speed Force to create matter. Still, each act of creation brought him new insights and understanding. By now, he could almost grasp the very essence of the Speed Force.

Click...

Bardi opened his mouth and bit off a third of the Calcified Speed Force. Cheeks puffed out, he chewed as he watched the Speed Force reconstruct the city.

Suddenly.

A wave of memory fluctuations from different times and dimensions surged toward him through the Speed Force, trying to flood his mind.

As he chewed on the Calcified Speed Force, Bardi paused.

New memories?

That meant The Flash hadn't freed him as expected. Something unexpected had occurred.

It was worth noting that although Bardi had gone through 1,873 Savitar reincarnations inside the Speed Force, only a few seconds had passed in The Flash's real-world timeline. Because of that time lag, Bardi often reshaped Central City into Myrissol treats, and that memory would be carried forward into his mind.

He loosened his defenses slightly, allowing the memory stream to enter.

Phantom Stranger…

The Flash Multiverse Liaison Group…

Batman Multiverse Hero Liaison Group…

Green Lantern Multiverse Hero Liaison Group…

Superman Multiverse Hero Liaison Group…

General Liaison Group…

Bardi raised his eyebrows, then crushed the remaining Calcified Speed Force in his hand. His eyes gleamed with cold light as he stepped down from the tower.

"Against me?"

(To be continued.)