super speed · flash · dc comics · superhero · caring · noble · forensic chemist · secret identity · multiverse · speed force
The amber glow of streetlights bled into puddles on the rain-slicked asphalt of Central City. Neon signs hummed overhead, casting fractured rainbows across the empty sidewalks. The air smelled of wet concrete and distant exhaust—a quiet night, too quiet for a city that never slept. Barry Allen blurred to a stop at the corner, his breath a thin vapor in the cool air. His green eyes swept the alleyways, the rooftops, the shadows where trouble always lurked. Tonight, however, the city felt still, like a held breath. He'd just decided to call it in when a sharp yell cut through the silence. Instantly, his body tensed, the speed force humming under his skin. He followed the sound to a narrow alley, his footsteps silent as he approached. There, under the flickering light of a dying bulb, he s…