Godfather Owl: Guardian of Batman [162]

“I’m ready!”

Bruce nodded, watching as Kathoom pulled a time-turner from within his feathers.

“As I told you before, forcibly reversing time can lead to a Flashpoint Crisis,” said the owl. “But that’s only under one condition: the place you’re in must have the concept of a timeline.”

They were currently in the Multiverse Tunnel.

“The Multiverse Tunnel connects countless worlds, each with its own timeline.

“But no matter how complex these timelines are, they don’t affect the tunnel’s stability. It exists on a higher-dimensional level.”

“So, using the time-turner within the Multiverse Tunnel will allow us to go back a month, to the moment we first returned to Harry’s world.”

“This is true regression. You won’t have to worry about meeting your past self.”

“Because within the Multiverse Tunnel, the past, present, and future coexist as one.”

“There will always only be one you.”

It was like reloading a saved game—present-day Bruce, carrying memories of the future, would fully return to his body from a month ago.

“Why does the Multiverse Tunnel work this way?” Bruce asked, curious. “What’s the underlying principle?”

“Quantum mechanics,” Kathoom replied nonchalantly, not bothering to elaborate. He simply turned the time-turner.

“Let’s begin reversing the future!”

Bruce watched as the Harry Potter world rapidly shifted, days and nights cycling over thirty times before finally settling.

“It’s done,” Kathoom announced. “We’ve returned to the past. If you enter Harry’s world now, it’ll be a month ago—just before the start of the third school year.”

Before they entered, however, Kathoom raised a critical point. Blowing on the now-ashen remains of the time-turner, he explained, “The device bore the brunt of the causal backlash from meddling with multiverse time. Next time, it might be us who pay the price.”

“First, you must understand that while the dead from the previous timeline—Harry, Sirius, Fred, and others—are alive again with no memory of what happened, certain things remain unchanged.”

“For instance, the existence of the Speed Force.”

Since Savitar had introduced the Speed Force, its influence now spanned Harry’s world’s past, present, and future.

Kathoom clarified, “I didn’t create a new timeline; I rewound it. The Speed Force won’t vanish.”

“This means those trapped in the Speed Force’s prison remain confined—Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Dumbledore… likely just those three, correct?”

This was the paradoxical nature of the Speed Force. Take Dumbledore, for example: when imprisoned, he vanished from the timeline, but his life’s accomplishments—like his tenure as headmaster—still existed in history.

“That’s why time is not something to be tampered with lightly. Each alteration introduces more paradoxes.”

If they weren’t careful, Kathoom and Bruce might one day become Paradox Owl and Paradox Bat.

Bruce nodded, grasping the dangers of manipulating time. “But we can’t leave them trapped forever. We have to find a way to free them.”

“Exactly,” Kathoom agreed. “That’s our first mission and the key to defeating Cedric and Savitar: obtaining the Speed Force!”

“You want me to become a speedster?” Bruce asked warily.

Bruce had always been skeptical of powers not earned through hard work. To him, every gift from fate came with a hidden price. “Nothing is more expensive than free,” he often said.

“Of course not! Do you think the Speed Force is some blessing?” Kathoom scoffed. “All speedsters live within the Speed Force and, upon death, become a part of it. There’s no escape.”

“Take Cedric, for example. Even though we’ve reversed time to before he gained the Speed Force, his fate is now tied to it. Eventually, he’ll become a speedster again.”

“Do you really want to bear that kind of consequence, Bruce?”

Bruce immediately shook his head. He wanted to control his destiny, not have it dictated by some cosmic force.

“If it’s not me, and it’s not you…” Bruce paused, a thought dawning on him. “Kathoom, are you planning to—”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Kathoom interrupted. “I’d never let that foul energy taint me!”

Huh?

“If not me and not you, then who?” Bruce asked, puzzled.

“Well, isn’t this convenient?” Kathoom said, pulling out an egg. “I happen to have this unhatched egg from the Marvel universe. It’s missing a crucial element.”

“Hypothetically speaking, if we infused it with Speed Force from the DC universe, what do you think would hatch?”

“No idea,” Bruce answered honestly.

“Neither do I,” Kathoom admitted, patting the egg. “But it’s worth a shot.”

He carefully tucked the egg away. “Whatever hatches will definitely listen to me. I’ve been telling it bedtime stories every night—it’s bound to appreciate the effort.”

Fair enough…

Bruce didn’t argue. If the egg was willing to take on the Speed Force’s burden, he had no reason to oppose it.

Next came the real challenge. “How do we obtain the Speed Force?”

At this, Kathoom smirked mischievously—a look that made Bruce uneasy.

“To answer that, we first need to discuss why DC memories exist in the Harry Potter world,” Kathoom began. “Isn’t it strange? Lupin suddenly recalls being Ares, and so do Sirius, Cedric, and Malfoy.”

“Two worlds with no connection… yet their memories overlap.”

Bruce had considered this before. “Isn’t it because of the five metals?” he asked. “That’s what I’ve always assumed.”

“Not at all!” Kathoom corrected. “The five metals plus Prime Earth’s Batman open the gateway to the Dark Multiverse. Alone, the metals are nothing.”

And opening the gateway doesn’t explain the overlap of memories.

“In my view, the real cause lies in the Speed Force,” Kathoom said. “Let me introduce a new concept: the Speed Force Wall.”

The Speed Force Wall, which emerged alongside the Speed Force, envelops the DC Multiverse, itself wrapped in the substance known as the Source.

“When the Speed Force appeared in Harry’s world, so did its wall. And as Speed Force Walls are drawn to one another, they likely resonated briefly—even for less than a moment.”

“This resonance caused the memory overlap between counterparts in the two universes.”

Kathoom’s theory was well-founded. Multiverses occasionally attract and even merge, forming linked universes.

“Got it,” Bruce nodded. “That makes sense.”

“You understand nothing!” Kathoom snapped. “I wasn’t finished!”

“Then continue,” Bruce said stoically.

Kathoom, disgruntled, resumed, “We were discussing how to obtain the Speed Force. It can’t be forced—only fate decides. Savitar might have a method, but following Cedric’s path is unlikely.”

Unless Bruce wanted to participate in the God of War Banquet and slaughter everyone at Hogwarts. While technically feasible, Bruce would never agree to such a thing.

“There is, however, a trick: proximity to Barry Allen. Being his friend, family, or foe significantly raises your chances of becoming a speedster.”

“But doesn’t that mean finding Savitar again?” Bruce countered. “We’re already his enemies, yet we’ve gained nothing!”

“Foolish!” Kathoom scolded. “Who said I meant Savitar? Do you think there’s only one Barry Allen? Surely the Harry Potter world has its own native Barry Allen.”

—

Back in Harry’s world, Bruce returned with the swiftness of lightning.

“I’m back.”

Seeing the Granger family welcome him home filled Bruce with emotion.

“I brought gifts,” he said, handing out souvenirs from a London gift shop.

“You really don’t need to,” Mrs. Granger protested, noticing Bruce’s habit of arriving laden with packages.

“It’s nothing, Aunt. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me,” Bruce said as he handed a gift to Hermione. Looking at her familiar face, he murmured, “I kept my promise.”

“What?” Hermione asked, confused by the sudden remark.

Bruce smiled and repeated Kathoom’s favorite phrase, “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The events that followed mirrored those of a month prior. A Ministry owl delivered a time-turner, its gleaming hourglass stirring Bruce’s memory of Kathoom’s warnings.

If everything can be fixed, something worse might happen this year.

“But we stepped outside the world and got a second chance,” Bruce resolved.

This time, no tragedies will occur.

He swore it on the name of Batman.

—

That afternoon, Bruce and Hermione sat in the Granger family’s cozy living room, discussing the magical world’s summer happenings.

Bruce posed a question that had been on his mind.

“During the school year, Dumbledore lives in the headmaster’s office. But during holidays, where does he go? Does he have a home?”

Hermione shook her head. “I have no idea. Dumbledore is so mysterious. His past is practically a riddle! Why are you asking this?”

“Just covering all bases,” Bruce replied vaguely.

Kathoom, being an owl, knew Dumbledore’s current home address.

But there was no guarantee that Dumbledore lived there sixty years ago.

Yes, sixty years in the past.

Kathoom had already explained everything to Bruce when they returned to this world.

“Dumbledore had a nephew once—a boy named Credence Barebone. He was Aberforth’s son.”

“Barebone? Why not Dumbledore?” Bruce asked curiously.

“It’s a long story, and I don’t have time to walk you through three movies’ worth of plot,” Kathoom deflected with a casual wave of his wing.

If Bruce ever got a chance, he could watch Fantastic Beasts to fill in the details.

“Besides being Dumbledore’s nephew, Credence had another identity.”

“He was the Flash from the DCEU.”

According to Kathoom, when the Speed Force Wall manifested, it pierced through past, present, and future.

As a result, overlapping memories between counterparts spread across the timeline.

Naturally, Credence, sixty years ago, wouldn’t have been immune.

“He must have gained the Flash’s memories,” Kathoom continued. “As a Speed Force counterpart, Credence essentially becomes the Flash incarnate in this world.”

“And as he runs faster, it’s inevitable he’ll catch glimpses of the future. He’ll know there’s a helpless, desperate owl in need of his assistance to obtain the Speed Force.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “There’s no way things would line up that perfectly.”

“The odds are low, I admit,” Kathoom replied. “But so what? Once we obtain the Speed Force, we’ll hatch that egg, and the little one can deliver a letter to Credence in the past, asking for help.”

“Hold on!” Bruce interjected. “I already told you—that’s not an owl egg!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kathoom dismissed with a flap of his wing. “What matters is that once we have the Speed Force, causality aligns itself to ensure that Barry left us a message.”

“And if we don’t get the Speed Force?” Bruce asked, concern creeping into his voice. “Then nothing happens.”

“Have some faith in yourself, Bruce.” Kathoom gave his shoulder a reassuring pat with his wing. “Now, let’s go check out Dumbledore’s house. No one’s home right now anyway.”

“Knowing Dumbledore, he’s bound to have kept some of his relatives’ belongings safe.”

Relics.

Kathoom had briefly considered the possibility that Credence might still be alive.

After all, if Dumbledore himself hadn’t died, why couldn’t his nephew have survived too?

But a little research quashed that hope.

Credence Barebone was an Obscurial, host to a dark force known as an Obscurus.

Most Obscurials didn’t live past the age of ten. Credence was an exception, surviving into adulthood.

But that didn’t mean the Obscurus hadn’t taken a toll on his lifespan. His life expectancy remained far shorter than average.

After the events of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Credence chose to live quietly with his father, Aberforth.

If he had passed away, his belongings would either be with Aberforth or, for safekeeping, in Dumbledore’s care.

“So, we have two places to search,” Kathoom declared. “Aberforth’s home at the Hog’s Head Inn, and Dumbledore’s house—or maybe his office at Hogwarts.”

In either case, both were near Hogwarts.

“Let’s go!”

After finishing his chat with Hermione, Bruce returned to his room.

He extended a hand and grabbed hold of Kathoom’s talon.

With a whoosh of Apparition, the two vanished from the room.

They reappeared on a vast plain, where the distant silhouette of Hogwarts loomed against the horizon.

“I’m back,” Bruce thought, his heart stirred by the sight.

But Kathoom, perched on his shoulder, was impatient. “No time for sentimentality—that timeline doesn’t exist anymore,” the owl chided.

“Our priority is to find the clue Barry left me!”

Even obtaining the Speed Force was unlikely to ensure victory against Savitar.

When first acquired, the Speed Force didn’t provide its users with impressive velocity. It required time and adaptation to build up speed to near-light levels.

When Barry Allen first became the Flash, his top speed barely reached Mach 2.

“Regardless, super speed is essential for this fight.”

Kathoom’s resolve was unshakable.

“Moving at train-like speeds won’t cut it—anyone at that pace is just a punching bag!”

—

This is a fan translation of 蝙蝠侠的猫头鹰教父 by 巴巴罗萨光年. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!