Chapter 81 – The Quiet Before
For the next few days, Central City returned to its usual rhythm. The buzz of everyday life flowed on as if the recent battle with the Black Order had been nothing more than a bad dream.
The streets were calm, the sun shone brighter, and people went about their business, unaware of the storm that still simmered beneath the surface.
Occasionally, a random metahuman stirred trouble. But whenever that happened, Dante was there — swift, ruthless, and precise. His battles were brief and brutal. Most of the time, the metahuman didn't even realize what hit them before Dante was gone, disappearing like a streak of red lightning.
At Star Labs, the hum of machines and the soft glow of monitors filled the silence.
Barry and Jay sat across from each other in the lab's conference room, the sterile atmosphere offset by the weight of their conversation. Both men wore the tired expressions of warriors who had stared death in the face and survived by a thread.
Jay leaned back, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
"So… tell me about that fight. The one with the Black Order. How close was it?"
Barry ran a hand through his hair, eyes darkening with the memory.
"Close enough that I'm still feeling the pain," he admitted. "He's fast — faster than anyone I've ever fought. He moves through time and space like it's nothing. He punched me through decades in seconds."
Jay raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"And Dante showed up at the end to fight him?"
Barry nodded. "Yeah. He came out of nowhere and just took the fight to him. Kept him off me long enough for me to get up."
Jay looked puzzled, then leaned forward, voice low.
"Wait. Dante fought the Black Order? I thought you said Dante isn't a speedster?"
Barry gave a small, bitter smile.
"No, he's not. At least, not like you or me. He uses something else."
Jay frowned.
"Something else?"
Barry glanced over his shoulder, lowering his voice.
"He calls it the Void Force. We don't really understand it yet. It's like... darkness and speed combined. The more Dante gets angry, the stronger and faster he becomes."
Jay sat up straighter, eyes wide with sudden realization — or was it fear?
"The Black Order uses the Void Force too," Jay said, his voice barely a whisper.
Barry's eyes met Jay's, a question burning in his gaze.
"How do you know that?"
Jay exhaled slowly, shaking his head as if trying to dispel ghosts from his mind.
"It's a story we don't talk about much. But the first speedster — the original — he didn't just use the Speed Force. He corrupted it with something darker, something that twisted the energy into a void of destruction."
Barry's fingers clenched into fists.
"And that's the Black Order?"
Jay nodded grimly.
"Yes. The Black Order is that original speedster, or at least, what's left of him after centuries of draining the Speed Force across worlds. He's not just fast — he's a force of annihilation."
Barry looked down, thinking of Dante's furious battle, the glowing red void force swirling around him like a living storm.
"I don't know if Dante can win if the Black Order comes back."
Jay placed a steady hand on Barry's shoulder.
"Then we make sure he doesn't have to fight alone."
---
Outside the lab, the city's normalcy was deceptive.
Underneath, something stirred.
The Black Order's shadow loomed — silent, patient.
And the calm days were the calm before the storm.
---
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