The Central City downtown, the political hub of Central City, where the City Hall and the Flash Museum are located, was bustling with people in the morning, but now it is filled with chaos.
A group of gorillas that escaped from Iron Heights Prison are rampaging, their immense strength and bulletproof skin making them fearless of police firepower.
With a casual exertion of force, they overturned nearby vehicles, throwing them at the police who were firing at them, creating a cacophony of explosions and screams.
People were seeking shelter everywhere, while these gorillas, relying on their agile movements, climbed a tall building, looking down at the fleeing people below.
The Flash Museum—a proud symbol of the city—was cracked down its side, rubble scattering the streets.
And in the center of the chaos, like a general leading his army, stood Gorilla Grodd, towering, intelligent eyes glowing with psychic power. Beside him, silent and cold, was Deathstroke, the assassin's one-eyed gaze scanning the battlefield, his grip firm on the stolen cold gun.
A red streak zipped into the street, scattering debris. Lightning trailed behind as The Flash skidded into the fray.
"Not in my city!"
The Flash skidded to a halt, the red bolt of the Speed Force crackling around him. His eyes darted from Grodd to the army of gorillas, then to Deathstroke.
"Grodd. You just don't learn, do you?" Barry said, fists clenched, his breathing calm despite the chaos.
Grodd's deep, guttural chuckle echoed, shaking the ground. "Flash. You will kneel, like all of them. This city… this world… belongs to Grodd."
Before Barry could retort, Grodd's mind lashed out. A psychic wave rippling through the air. Barry stumbled, clutching his head.
'He's already trying to slow me down. Can't let him in my mind.'
Barry grit his teeth, then moved—lightning flashing as he zipped through the gorillas, striking pressure points, sending two, three, four crashing to the ground in rapid succession.
But for every gorilla that fell, another roared, their fists swinging like wrecking balls. One swipe clipped Barry mid-run, sending him tumbling into a parked car with a crunch of metal.
"Fast," Grodd growled, stepping forward, "but not invincible."
Deathstroke smirked, leveling the cold gun. "And I've come prepared."
A beam of icy-blue energy shot out, and Barry barely twisted aside in time. The street where he had stood froze solid, shards of ice splintering into the air.
Barry narrowed his eyes. "Of course you'd be here, Slade. Couldn't resist siding with a giant talking gorilla, huh?"
Deathstroke cocked his head. "Business, Flash. Nothing personal." He fired again, this time grazing Barry's arm. Frost spread across his sleeve, numbing his muscles.
Barry winced, shaking it off, then blurred forward, disarming Deathstroke in an instant. The cold gun clattered away—
But Grodd was ready. With a roar, his psychic grip seized Barry mid-stride, yanking him off his feet and slamming him into the pavement so hard the ground cracked.
"Ungh!" Barry coughed, rolling over. Grodd loomed above him like a titan.
"You are nothing without speed. And Grodd controls the battlefield."
Barry's eyes flicked left—gorillas closing in. Right—Deathstroke drawing a blade, advancing with calm precision.
'I can't take them all head-on. Need to separate them.'
In a blur, Barry was gone. He circled the gorillas, whipping up a mini-cyclone that dragged debris into the air, disorienting the beasts. They roared in confusion as the whirlwind knocked them back.
Barry lunged at Grodd, aiming a high-speed punch.
But Deathstroke intercepted, sword flashing. Sparks flew as blade met lightning. Slade's strength and training made every swing deadly precise, forcing Barry to stay on defense despite his speed.
"You're fast," Deathstroke said evenly, parrying another blow, "but speed means nothing without a necessary skill to use it."
Barry gritted his teeth, zig-zagging, trying to overwhelm Slade with sheer velocity. For a moment, he thought he had him—until a psychic pulse from Grodd froze Barry mid-motion, locking his body like stone.
"Got you." Deathstroke's blade sliced across Barry's side. Blood sprayed.
"Ahh!" Barry staggered back, clutching his wound. His vision blurred, Speed Force sparking erratically around him.
Grodd's voice thundered inside his skull. "Feel it, Flash. The weakness of the flesh. Now, feels the despair."
Barry fell to one knee, panting, sweat mixing with the rain. He tried to stand, forcing the lightning to surge—
But Grodd's gorillas swarmed, piling on with crushing weight. Barry fought, fists striking, lightning exploding in bursts, but the sheer mass overwhelmed him. One fist hammered his back, another his ribs.
Deathstroke stepped forward, calm as ever. He aimed the cold gun retrieved by Grodd himself directly at Barry's chest.
"End of the line, the fastest man alive."
Barry looked up, gasping, defiant despite his broken body. "No, I am not… giving up. Not… in my city."
Slade's finger tightened on the trigger.
And then, a voice cut through the chaos.
-Clock Up!
The world shifted.
To everyone else, it was instant. Like lightning had kissed the battlefield.
But to Ryotaro, time slowed to a crawl. Rain froze midair, glass shards hung motionless, even Flash's lightning dragged sluggishly.
He moved.
Kamen Rider Kabuto, crimson armor gleaming, horn shining like a scarlet blade. His feet crushed asphalt as he advanced. In the blink of an eye, half the gorilla army collapsed, armor and weapons shredded before their bodies even realized they'd been struck.
To the civilians watching from cover, it looked like a red phantom flickered through the army, and the monsters simply fell.
Kabuto's horn lowered, voice cold beneath the mask.
"You've had your fun."
Barry blinked through hazy vision, half-conscious. "Rider?"
Ryotaro's visor gleamed. He didn't even look back at Barry, he came here for Deathstroke after all.
Grodd snarled, baring his fangs. "Another insect dares stand against Grodd?!"
Deathstroke twirled his blade, eye narrowing. "So… You finally shows up. I have been waiting."
Ryotaro replied with a voice which is cold like a winter.
"Let's finish this quick before Leagues arrived. Try to entertain me, okay."
Grodd's deep growl rumbled across the street. "I will tear the armor from his flesh. Gorillas—KILL HIM!"
The first silverback lunged, swinging a massive fist the size of a boulder. Ryotaro didn't even flinch.
"Clock Up."
The world shifted. Raindrops slowed to a crawl, falling like crystals suspended in the air. The gorilla's swing froze in place, sluggish as if caught in molasses.
Ryotaro moved. A blur of red and silver, his strikes landed faster than lightning. He weaved through the gorilla army, every motion precise—punches to throats, slashes with the Kabuto Kunaigun in blade mode, kicks that shattered bone. By the time the "present" caught up with him, five gorillas collapsed to the ground at once, their bodies crumpling like fallen trees.
Deathstroke's eye widened. "…So. You have speed rivaling the Flash?"
Ryotaro turned his visor toward him, voice cold. "No, I am more faster and stronger than him."
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