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belamy20
On the video call.
Sheldon let out a piercing scream, totally freaked out by the prank video Adam had filmed.
"Get away from it—it's a monster!"
Over the call, Sheldon shrieked and waved frantically at the projection of a Sheldon-as-The-Flash character.
"Do you like birds?" the Adam in the projection asked, voicing Sheldon's inner thoughts.
"No."
The Flash-version Sheldon gently stroked a great spotted woodpecker perched on his shoulder. "I love her! She's so beautiful—and she can fly. I keep running, running, and running—not just to zip through the multiverse for one more glimpse of her, but to push my speed to the limit. One day, I'll soar as freely as she does. Then we can fly side by side, up in the sky. With her around, every day feels fresh and alive."
"Nooo~!"
Sheldon's face twisted in horror and betrayal as he shook his head, refusing to accept that another version of him in the multiverse could be this Flash. "The horror~!" 😱
"That's just shocking," the Adam in the projection said with a laugh. "You know, in our universe, my buddy Sheldon is terrified of birds. Not as bad as his sheep phobia, but still pretty freaked out!"
"I get it," Flash-Sheldon said with a small smile. "I've zipped through the multiverse and seen plenty of 'me's. They're all scared of birds."
"Then why are you like this?!" Sheldon burst out, unable to hold back. "Have you forgotten what birds have done to us?! When I was two, a hummingbird dive-bombed my stroller and stole—no, openly robbed—the apple juice from my straw. I just had to sit there, helpless—you of all people should know how terrified I was! At seven, a psycho chicken chased me up a tree. At twelve, a magpie tried to snatch the braces right out of my mouth. At sixteen, a parrot in a pet shop called me a fatso… The list goes on! Birds are demons to us! You're the only known version of us with superpowers in the multiverse—you could zap those winged devils with lightning javelins. But no, you fall in love with one?! How could you do this to me?!"
In the projection, Adam seemed to pick up on Sheldon's anguish and asked a shorter version of the question for him.
"Fair point," Flash-Sheldon said with a nod and a grin. "In my universe, I started out the same way. From age two, I was terrorized by all kinds of bird attacks. But those were nothing compared to the bullying I got at school and in the world. The night before I was about to snap, a great spotted woodpecker flew to me. You know how rare she was? In every parallel universe I've seen, she's like a dinosaur—priceless! I figured if I wanted to beat my fear, I had to face it head-on. So, trembling like crazy, I let her land on my arm. I was this close to chucking her into the toilet and flushing her away—then our eyes met. She was so beautiful, so alive. In that moment, I wasn't scared anymore—I fell for her. Later, as I studied The Flash's origin, she stayed by my side. When I finally got super speed and became The Flash, ready to wipe out every enemy on my blacklist in a heartbeat, she flew off. I figured she didn't want to see me turn dark and start killing. So instead, I just pranked and roughed up everyone on that list—hard. Once a day, every day, hoping she'd come back to me someday."
"And then what?"
Sheldon, totally hooked, and the Adam in the projection asked in perfect sync.
No escaping it—Sheldon hated how heretical this Flash version of himself was, but it was him. Every move, every vibe—it matched perfectly. He couldn't deny it. After calming down a bit, he thought it over. If it were him… maybe he'd fall for her too. Hmm. Definitely not Stockholm Syndrome. Nope, not at all! 🙅♂️
"She came back," Flash-Sheldon said, his voice softening. "She built a nest outside my window—I helped her with it. She had a baby, then flew off again. This time, I was fast enough to keep up. She soared through the sky, and I raced below, chasing her over mountains and rivers until we reached a forest. There, I saw her old mate. She landed beside him, gave me a soft chirp, nestled in close, and closed her eyes forever. I was crushed. I sped back to my mom's place in a flash. Mom called Grandma, and they comforted me together. Once I was okay, I went back, buried them, and brought the nest to my apartment. From that moment, I wasn't just The Flash, Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper—I was a mommy too…"
"Pfft!"
In the projection, Adam couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Sure, he'd written the lines, but hearing them come out of a Flash with Sheldon's face? Too much—he cracked up! 😂
"Dr. Duncan, we still filming?" Flash-Sheldon asked, chuckling too. The script was just too ridiculous.
"What?"
Sheldon had been totally engrossed, but the laughter yanked him out of the story. He frowned, annoyed, then blinked in shock. "Still filming? This isn't real?!"
"Nope, I'm done—I can't keep going!" the Adam in the projection wheezed, clutching his stomach as he laughed. "If we keep this up, I'm scared Mrs. Cooper will fly over here and drag me off to console a broken Sheldon. Crane, thanks a million!"
"My pleasure," Flash-Sheldon said with a grin.
"Sheldon, meet someone," the projected Adam said, pulling Flash-Sheldon toward the camera. "This is Ichabod Crane—a bird guy, not a real Flash. Don't believe me? Google 'Ichabod Crane's Happy Birdwatching Adventures' online!"
"No way!"
Sheldon vanished from the video call, clearly racing off to search it up.
"Noooo!!!"
A moment later, his devastated scream echoed back.
"Was that a bit much?" Adam asked Peggy, stopping the playback.
"A little," Peggy said with a nod. "But I loved it—so fun! Did you come up with this? Your brain is wild!" 😍
"That's all I need to hear," Adam said, brushing Sheldon aside with a grin. "Wanna see what my brain's cooking up now?"
Ahem.
Lisa, who'd been quietly blending into the background as the fourth wheel, coughed lightly and hightailed it out of there. Staying any longer would've been awkward. Not that she minded, but still—she's a lady! Unless the boss said something, she wasn't about to be that forward. As she passed by, she thoughtfully hung up the video call for them.