The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4423 Dark Prelude (Part 8)
"Hello? It's me, what's wrong?... Really? Okay, I'll go back and check now. Thank you, ma'am." Barry hung up the phone, scratching his head in confusion.

Hal looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

“The lady at the property management said my old house might have been broken into,” Barry said. “I know that in some places, if a house is occupied by strangers for a period of time, the ownership might change. But there’s no such rule in downtown. And the security there has always been good; who would steal someone else’s house?”

"Do you want to go back and take a look?" Hal asked. "Shall I go with you?"

“No need, didn’t you just get off work? You should get some rest,” Barry said. “I think the property management made a mistake. I’ll go back and check, then I’ll be right back.”

After saying that, he transformed into a bolt of lightning, left the Justice League base, and quickly ran back to Central City, arriving at the old house.

The place where Barry lives now is also his family's property, but it's not where he grew up; it was a small apartment his parents prepared for him in advance. The house in front of him now is his childhood home, the old house belonging to the Allen family.

It's a bit remote, but very quiet and peaceful. There haven't been any serious crimes in the whole neighborhood for many years, and the neighbors all get along very well; otherwise, they wouldn't have come to warn him.

Barry took out his keys, pushed open the door, and went inside. He looked around the yard; it was quite well-maintained. Whenever the neighbors hired someone to mow the lawn, they would also help tidy up their yard. This was actually because he had been kind to others when his parents were still alive, so the neighbors were happy to take care of him.

He crossed the yard and opened the front door of the house. He was stunned as soon as he opened the door because he saw his father sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper.

Like many years ago, on a weekend afternoon, sunlight streamed through the windows into the room as the family finished grocery shopping and filled the refrigerator, sorting everything neatly. Before dinner, the father would sit on the sofa reading the newspaper, the mother would water the flowers in the backyard, and he would sit on the living room carpet playing with his toys. These days went on for a long time, until one day, it all ended.

Barry thought it was a hallucination. He often had such hallucinations. Every time he returned to the old house, he would pick up the newspaper and put it on the coffee table, as if his father would pick it up and read it at any moment; he would fill the watering can, just as his mother used to make him do. The passing of loved ones is like a long, damp process. The marks they leave on you will appear and disappear at every moment of your life.

Barry stepped inside, but soon realized it didn't seem to be a hallucination. He wasn't a very imaginative person, so his hallucinations were usually blurry and indistinct. But the man in front of him was incredibly clear.

Hearing his voice, the man turned around, smiled when he saw Barry, and said, "You're back."

Barry showed no sign of gratitude or joy. He darted out in terror, like a cat with its fur standing on end, and yelled into the house, "Who are you?! Why are you pretending to be my father?!"

The man paused for a moment, then said, "I didn't become your father, I am your father, Barry. Don't you remember me?"

“But my parents are dead!” Barry raised his voice. “Don’t try to make me believe this nonsense about the dead coming back to life. It’s impossible. Even the Mother Box can’t be fully resurrected, and you’re telling me you can? Why don’t you go fight Darkseid then?!”

Soon, a woman came downstairs; it was his mother. She stood at the top of the stairs, beckoned, and said, “Come in, Barry, we were just about to tell you. For some reason, we did wake up in the cemetery. Since we had nowhere else to go, we went back to our old house.”

“Impossible!” Barry shook his head vigorously. “First of all, you couldn’t have been resurrected from the graveyard. Even if you were buried, the body would quickly become part of the natural cycle and would have disappeared long ago. Matter doesn’t come into existence out of thin air. So the bodies you have now must not be the original ones, but some strange substance made up of some unknown force.”

"And a soul doesn't necessarily mean that having the same memories makes it the same person. Your way of thinking is obviously completely different from my parents'. If it were them, they would only worry about whether going home immediately after being resurrected would scare the neighbors, and especially whether it would scare me."

"So, if you really are my parents who have come back to life, you might leave quietly, or find a place to settle down first, and then slowly contact me so that I can accept this, instead of going straight back to the original home and giving me a big shock."

Barry looked at his father and said, “You know what? My dad knows I’m afraid of the dark, so he put lights in every corner of the house, trying to make it as bright as day. My mom knows I’m terrified of crustaceans, and once when I was scared by a longhorn beetle, she threw away all the flowers that attract them, even some she really liked. They’re the ones who worry the most about me being scared, and sometimes they even overreact.”

At this point, Barry's eyes welled up with tears. He said, "I know them. If they really did come back to life, no matter how difficult their survival was, they wouldn't suddenly appear in front of me. Because they're afraid I wouldn't be able to accept it, afraid of scaring me."

"And you two monsters, not only do you not care about me at all, but you've also occupied my house and shamelessly claim to be my parents. Now, leave right now, or I'll call the police!"

“Don’t do this, Barry. You have to hear our explanation. Your mother and I really are…”

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of blue lightning illuminated the scene. Then, with a whoosh, a red-rimmed Barry appeared before the house, pulling a bewildered Hal along. Barry pointed to the front door and exclaimed, "It's them! They've turned into my parents! Hal, get those monsters away!!!"

Hal was startled. He went over and looked them over, sizing them up, then said, "They don't look like monsters at all; they seem like ordinary humans..."

“Impossible!” Barry kept shaking his head. “They can’t possibly be my parents. This isn’t their house. Get them out!”

“Alright,” Hal said, respecting Barry’s wishes. “Are you two leaving on your own, or should I escort you out?”

"us……"

Before he could finish speaking, two police cars arrived at Barry's doorstep. Barry turned around in shock. An officer stepped forward and said, "Someone called in a trespassing report. What's going on?"

Barry was about to explain when Hal gave him a wink. If it wasn't the two of them who called the police, then it must have been the two imposters in the room. Even they themselves couldn't see through their deception; how could the ordinary police officers possibly tell the difference?

If they overreact and try to argue their way out, they'll easily give those two an opening. Hal, though not in good shape lately, had improved somewhat after learning the meditation method Sinestro had described. And, always quick-witted, he immediately said, "Officers, don't go near the house yet! There might be Martians inside!"

"What?!" The two officers nervously drew their guns.

“Here’s the thing,” Hal winked at Barry again, then said, “You should know this is the Allen family’s old house, right? The Allens have been dead for many years, and he was the only son in the Allen family. Just now, he received a phone call from someone claiming to be his parents. He thought it was a prank, but the neighbors also said that there seemed to be a shadowy figure in the house.”

"He was worried that someone had broken in, so he rushed over to check and even called the police. Unexpectedly, the Allens, who had been dead for many years, came back to life. Of course, they claim to be resurrected, but I think they are just Martians disguised as the Allens!"

"Remember the Martians' declaration? They wanted to launch a full-scale invasion of Earth to prevent us from pulling out the nail, so they're definitely increasing their manpower to infiltrate the planet. They didn't have time to prepare from scratch, so they tried to take over the identities of the dead. Luckily, Mr. Allen was quick-witted and prevented them from succeeding. You have to help us!"

The younger officer seemed a little confused. But the older officer looked Barry up and down, then said, "I know you. When I was transferred here, you were just starting elementary school, weren't you?"

Barry thought for a moment and realized the policeman looked familiar. He said, "Yes, you bought snacks near our school gate. Mexican fruit cups?"

The old policeman was completely convinced this time. Hal moved aside a little, peeked inside, and was so shocked he almost dropped his gun.

"Headquarters! I...I...I need backup...I need backup!! There might be Martians here!!!" the old policeman screamed into the communicator.

While he only vaguely remembered Barry, he was deeply impressed by the Allens. The couple were kind; whenever they encountered police officers while picking up their children from school, they would buy them coffee. The old policeman had met them a few times. He knew perfectly well that even if the Allens weren't dead, they couldn't possibly be this young. Those two in the house were definitely imposters!
When Hal looked at the couple's expressions again, he noticed they weren't angry or embarrassed at being exposed, but rather genuinely helpless. He realized that even if the other party had been sent by someone, they probably didn't know the truth and genuinely believed they had been resurrected.

Even so, we absolutely cannot let this go. This matter is too bizarre; we must investigate it thoroughly before making any decisions.

Soon, the police station dispatched a large number of reinforcements. Not only police cars, but also armed helicopters arrived. They quickly took the two men out of the house. It was expected that the two men would put up a fierce resistance, but in fact, they did not and obediently followed the police. Of course, Barry and Hal were also taken back for questioning.

Upon learning that the two were members of the Justice League, the crowd's attitude softened considerably. Although the Justice League now collects taxes, their primary focus is on targeting a very small number of individuals who resist relentlessly; they don't target ordinary people.

Moreover, those who dare to commit crimes at this critical juncture are usually even more wicked. An investigation always uncovers a whole host of other criminals. They have recently solved many such major cases, exonerating many innocent people, and therefore enjoy high prestige among the public.

If they were members of the Justice League, then this wouldn't be unusual. Now is a crucial moment for implementing the new policy, and its implementation is crucial to humanity's success in removing the thorn in their side. Since they can't touch the new president, they'll target his personal guard first. It's perfectly normal for Martians to have such a plan.