Chapter 77: My mother is...?

Chapter 77: My mother is...?

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On the Watchtower, the Justice League was in the middle of assessing new members, an event that always drew attention. Even the members of Justice League Dark had gathered—except for Swamp Thing, who, as always, preferred to remain within his domain unless absolutely necessary.

Despite the ongoing assessments, Batman stood at a distance, watching in silence. His expression unreadable, his sharp eyes scanned the interactions between new and old members alike. To the untrained eye, it looked like he was simply observing.

But those who truly knew him would recognize the truth—he was analyzing, predicting, and preparing contingency plans for every potential recruit.

Then, a new notification flashed across his screen.

Batman's eyes flickered over the message for barely a second. That was all he needed. His posture stiffened ever so slightly—an imperceptible shift that only a few would notice.

Immediately, he turned and strode towards Cyborg, who was engaged in a deep conversation with Platinum of the Metal Men.

"Cyborg, open a Boom Tube to the Batcave."

Cyborg frowned. Batman rarely sounded this urgent.

He almost asked what was wrong, but then he saw the way Batman's jaw tightened. He didn't need further explanation. His cybernetic eye glowed as he executed the command. "Connecting… Done. Batman, need backup?"

Batman didn't even hesitate. "Stay here. Continue the assessments. Don't follow—"

A gust of wind. A blur of red and blue. Superman was suddenly right next to him.

"Too late," the Kryptonian said smoothly. "I already heard your heartbeat change. You only react like this when something serious happens. Batman, I think I should come along."

Batman's response was immediate. "Fine. Keep up."

Superman raised an eyebrow. "Wait… you actually agreed?"

Batman ignored him and stepped into the Boom Tube.

They emerged in the Batcave within seconds. The air was thick with an eerie stillness, as if the cave itself sensed the intrusion that had taken place. Without a word, Batman walked toward a reinforced steel wall, placing his hand against a biometric scanner.

Superman watched, his brow furrowing. Nothing in the Batcave seemed out of place… and yet, Batman had moved with absolute certainty, as if he knew exactly what had been tampered with.

"Batman, what's going on?"

The door slid open, beyond it lay a hidden vault.

Superman stepped inside after him, his gaze sweeping over the rows of reinforced lockboxes. But his attention shifted immediately when he caught sight of the far wall.

He froze.

"…What the hell is this?"

The entire wall was covered with photos, reports, and documents.

From birth records, childhood photos, academic transcripts—every single detail of one person's life was meticulously documented and categorized.

And that person was Dean Hayes.

Superman turned sharply toward Batman, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Batman… you've been spying on a kid?"

Batman's expression remained unreadable. "I've been monitoring a potential disaster."

Superman was about to demand an explanation when something caught his eye. At the center of the board, a single medical X-ray stood out. Superman narrowed his gaze. "Wait a second…"

He stepped closer, inspecting it carefully.

"Batman… his heart is on the right side."

---

Qin Ke, Dean's father, arrived in Central City at the age of twenty, determined to carve out a future with his cooking skills.

His dream? To own his own Chinese restaurant. A place where he could proudly serve dishes true to their original flavors, without compromise.

To fit into this new life and ensure a better future, he changed his name to Kenneth Hayes.

However, reality was harsh.

Kenneth's dedication to authenticity wasn't appreciated. The locals found his flavors too foreign, too unfamiliar. They wanted something "adjusted" to their tastes.

But Kenneth refused to change his craft. As a result every restaurant he worked at kicked him out within a month. Dishes were sent back untouched, customers complained, and one by one, every door closed on him.

After being fired four times, Kenneth had reached a breaking point. He could barely afford rent, his savings were miserable. The dream that had driven him to Central City now seemed laughably out of reach.

Just as he was packing his bags, preparing to give up and move out,

He met a beautiful woman, her name is Libby Lawrence.

Kenneth grabbed his sunflower fan, reclining on the floor as he slowly fanned himself, eyes filled with the distant glow of nostalgia.

"I found her sneaking around the neighborhood. She looked lost. Like she didn't know where she was or what to do next."

Kenneth's voice softened slightly as he remembered the moment.

"So, I went over and asked if she needed help. But she hesitated. She struggled to answer. She only said she had recently arrived and wasn't familiar with the local customs."

He let out a chuckle.

"I remember thinking: I know exactly how that feels. I had been the same way when I first came to Central City. Clueless, awkward, and struggling to fit in."

"So, I decided to help her. I took her home."

Dean, who had been listening intently, suddenly snorted.

"Wait, hold on—Dad, you took Mom home the first time you met her? Just like that? No hesitation? You weren't even a little worried she could be dangerous?"

Kenneth raised a brow. Then, without warning, he smacked the back of Dean's head.

"You brat! Do you have to be so honest?"

Dean rubbed the spot where he was hit, scowling. Kenneth sighed and grumbled.

"Fine, fine. Yeah, okay, I'll admit it. I thought your mom was pretty. So, I worked up the courage to invite her home. Didn't expect her to actually agree."

A small, nostalgic smirk appeared on his face.

"Remember, son. All love begins with attraction. Without it, it's just a compromise."

Dean rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Old people sure love slipping life lessons into their stories.

Kenneth waved the fan, shifting into a comfortable position.

"I was so nervous. Terrified, even. Every time she asked me a question, I answered immediately, afraid I'd say something wrong and ruin my chances."

"She asked me a lot of oddly basic things. Common knowledge. Like—"

"Where does the sun rise?"

Kenneth let out a laugh.

"I told her the east, obviously. At the time, I thought she was just making conversation. Maybe she was shy and looking for an excuse to talk."

His smile dimmed.

"But looking back now… I should've been more suspicious."

Dean, who had been sitting casually, suddenly froze. His body went stiff.

A second later—

He jerked upright from the recliner, eyes wide with realization.

"Wait… Mom originally thought the sun rose in the west, didn't she?!"

Kenneth, who had been chuckling, suddenly stopped. He turned to his son, eyes filled with shock.

"How the hell did you know that?!"

"Did your mother ever tell you?!"

Dean's heart was pounding. He felt like his stomach had dropped.

This was it. The missing puzzle piece. The one thing that had bothered him for years but never fully clicked until now.

Dean had always suspected something was off. He had been only eight years old when his mother disappeared.

No warning. No explanation. Just gone.

His father had told him she died of cancer. There had even been a hospital certificate to prove it. But even as a child, Dean had never believed it.

It wasn't just the lack of a goodbye.

It wasn't even the hospital certificate.

It was the way everyone accepted it so easily.

But now, he finally understood why. Because Libby Lawrence didn't die. The woman who died was Libby Lawrence of this universe.

Dean's mother wasn't from here. His breathing grew uneven. He clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.

East is west. West is east.

A world where everything is reversed.

Such a place exists, and its name is—

Earth 3.

"No wonder Batman never let me hold Pandora's Box…"

His voice came out hoarse. The box had come from Earth 3. And only someone from Earth 3 could open it. Which meant—

Dean had the ability to open it.

A chill ran down his spine. Had he ever given in to curiosity and opened it. Earth 3 would have been linked to the main universe.

And standing on the other side, waiting for him would be the Crime Syndicate. The evil counterparts of the Justice League.

Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, Sea King…

They would have slaughtered him before he even realized what had happened.

According to the original timeline, Earth-3 was doomed. The Anti-Monitor would devour all life, and even the mighty Crime Syndicate—the dark reflection of the Justice League—could do nothing but flee, desperately seeking a way to escape their fate.

But how did his mother escape?

If it were that easy, the Crime Syndicate wouldn't have had to wait. They had their own Batman, a mastermind on par with the Dark Knight himself. If escaping Earth-3 was as simple as running fast, wouldn't the Crime Syndicate have done it long ago?

Yet somehow, his mother had done exactly that.

Dean clenched his fists. There was something missing. Some piece of the puzzle that explained why she could leave, but they couldn't.

Kenneth broke the silence, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "Do you know why I wasn't surprised when the Flash first appeared in Central City?"

Dean looked up, his mind still racing.

Kenneth smirked, tapping the armrest of his chair. "Because I had already seen someone break the speed of light before. Your mother, brat. She was Central City's first real hero. Everything the Flash is doing now? Your mom was doing it first."

A speedster.

Dean exhaled, the weight of that revelation settling in. Only speedsters could break the barriers between dimensions. He had always known that, but the idea that his own mother was the first to do it? That was something he had never even considered.

Back then, the DC universe was different. There were no world-ending crises, no alien invasions, no apocalyptic threats every other Tuesday. The biggest concern was armed crime, bank heists, and the occasional rogue metahuman.

But now?

Now, supervillains capable of wiping out cities were everywhere. The world had changed, and the speedsters had changed with it.

Dean frowned. If his mother was the first speedster in Central City, then who was her counterpart in Earth-3?

The Flash already had his evil doppelgänger in the Crime Syndicate.

So who did his mother mirror?

His thoughts raced, pulling from everything he knew about Earth-3. Then, suddenly— a possibility clicked into place.

Dean turned to his father, eyes sharp. "Dad… Mom must have told you her codename, right?"

Kenneth's expression softened as if recalling a cherished memory.

His eyes reflected something distant, something golden.

"She did," Kenneth murmured. "She called herself Reverse Lightning."

Dean slapped his forehead, frustration and disbelief mixing in his expression. Sure enough, he guessed correctly. The pieces were all falling into place now, and none of them made him feel any better about the situation.

On Earth-3, where everything was reversed, The Flash wasn't a hero—he was a villain. If that was true, then it made perfect sense that his oldest enemy, Reverse-Flash, would naturally take the role of a hero.

That meant Reverse-Flash—someone he had always associated with villainy, obsession, and chaos in the main universe—was fighting against the evil version of The Flash on Earth-3, much like how their roles were reversed with the rest of the Justice League and the Crime Syndicate.

But that wasn't what truly made Dean's chest tighten.

It was his mother.

The name Libby Lawrence echoed in his mind, and now, the connections were unavoidable. She wasn't just anyone—she was the wife of Johnny Quick in the main universe. The mother of Jesse Chambers. And most importantly, she was a hero known as Liberty Belle.

A hero.

Dean's hands clenched into fists. His mother was never a hero. Not in the way people thought of them. She never spoke about powers, never mentioned fighting crime. She never taught him how to run faster, never hinted at the fact that she might have once worn a mask.

She was just his mother.

Warm. Kind. Protective. Not a hero, not a speedster, and certainly not a Reverse-Flash.

But then—why did her Earth-3 counterpart seem to fit the role of a Reverse-Flash so perfectly?

Reverse-Flash wasn't just a villain. The title meant something. It meant an obsession with The Flash. It meant defying the natural order, breaking the laws of time and space, rewriting destiny itself.

And yet, no matter how hard he tried to recall, there was no mention of a female Reverse-Flash anywhere in his memory.

There were many Reverse-Flashes in history—Eobard Thawne, Hunter Zolomon, Daniel West—but none of them were women.

And yet, if Earth-3 twisted everything in the main universe…

What if she had escaped before she could fulfill that role?

Dean felt an uncomfortable tightness in his chest. Had his entire life been a lie? His mother—his real mother—was she a hero who had run away from her own fate? Or was she something far worse?

"Dean, hey! Wake up, you've been staring at me for a long time now."

Dean blinked, snapping out of his deep thoughts.

"Ehem, should we say the son inherits his mother's legacy? My mother and I both want to overthrow The Flash."

Wait— what?

If the Flash and the Reverse-Flash were destined to be enemies, and his mother was Reverse Lightning…

Then didn't that mean he was automatically a generation below Barry?

That would make him…

Dean shook his head, dismissing the ridiculous thought. No, that was nonsense. Now wasn't the time to get distracted by weird technicalities.

He took a deep breath and refocused.

"Did Mom say anything when she left?" His voice was steady, but there was an edge to it. "There had to be a reason. No one abandons their husband and child without one."

Kenneth sighed, rubbing his temple as if the memory still weighed on him.

"She went to do what she had to do, so we don't have to worry about her."

Kenneth's voice was complicated—tinged with an understanding that Dean didn't have.

"Ever since you left Central City and ran off to Gotham, I had a feeling this day would come. You are her child. The child of the hero Reverse Lightning. Of course, you'd grow into something great. You were always going to become a hero, Dean. That's just how it is."

Kenneth paused, exhaling slowly. "Don't let your parents hold you back."

Dean didn't respond. He stood up, walked to the table, and picked up a familiar, well-worn fairy tale book. It was the same one his mother had bought him as a child. Before he turned five, Libby used to read him bedtime stories every night.

Dean knew them all by heart. But he had always listened anyway. Because it was her voice.

Even now, just seeing the book made him remember. She would read, and no matter what had happened that day—no matter how restless or anxious he felt—her voice had always helped him sleep. His fingers brushed the cover, and his eyes landed on the title.

Kenneth turned, expecting his son to say something, but Dean was gone.

The only thing left behind was the opened book, resting on the table.

Kenneth glanced at the illustration inside.

"Tadpole Looking for Its Mother?"

He let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.

"…Figures."

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Here's the remaining 1/4th, plus a chapter.

Regarding Dean's mother, her name is Su Ming. I read the next chapters and there's not that much clue whether she's an OC or a character from DC.

I search for many woman speedster but there's no Female Reverse Flash.

There's Meena Dhawan, who got exposed to Negative Speed Force, making her possible Reverse Flash.

There's Jesse Chambers too, Johnny Quick and Libby Lawrence's daughter.

I'm contemplating between the two when i came across Jesse's mother, Libby. Then i thought 'why not'. She makes more sense and it fit her. Although she's not really a speedster in any DC comics.

Her superhero name is Liberty Belle, By ringing the miniature replica of the Liberty Bell, Libby's strength and speed is temporarily increased.

This reminds me of the bell that Dean gave to Ivy.

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