After listening to Barry's heartfelt confession, Iris smiled stiffly. She seemed startled by the suddenness of the moment, covering her mouth in disbelief.
Barry didn't understand why Iris was covering her mouth. He panicked a little and continued to explain: "But then my mother was murdered, and I had to live with the girl I had a crush on. I had so many chances to tell you—at the high school graduation ball, every college birthday, every birthday, every Christmas..."
"But I never said anything. I'm a coward. I was afraid you wouldn't like me. I was scared that once I told you my true feelings, I would lose you forever. But I can't keep living like this!"
Iris's body trembled slightly. Perhaps she had always loved this shy, sunny boy. Tentatively, she asked, "Are you serious, Barry? You're not kidding, right?"
Seeing the hopeful look on Iris's face, Barry's long-buried feelings began to take root.
He raised four fingers, pointed to the sky, and said something almost every man would say:
"I swear, my love for you is so real that if there is a lie, may I be struck by lightning!"
As soon as his voice fell, a thunderous crack echoed from the sky, and a loud 'Boom!' startled Iris.
Barry's face turned pale. Why had he sworn like that? Of all the things to happen, God had to strike him down.
Before he could even begin to explain, a dazzling yellow flash burst through the window, and a massive explosion came from the direction of the cutting-edge science laboratory. The shockwave from the explosion spread instantly.
"What the hell?" Barry paused for a second. By the time he reacted and tried to get Iris out of the laboratory, a golden lightning bolt struck from the sky, hitting him directly.
Rumble... rumbling...
"Oh my god, I didn't mean it like this!" This was the last thought in Barry's mind before he passed out.
The next day, at the Green Arrow's secret operations base in Star City.
"Have you heard? The guy who dealt with us last time, Barry Allen, seems to have been struck by lightning, and he's now in the intensive care unit at Central City Hospital!" Diggle arrived at the Green Arrow base, speaking seriously to everyone.
Oliver and the others were shocked, asking in confusion: "How can someone be struck by lightning?"
"It seems he was confessing to a girl at the time, made an oath, and then was immediately struck by lightning," Diggle shrugged.
Everyone's faces were filled with disbelief. Felicity, who was very concerned about Barry, asked, "Is he out of danger? I saw the news. The laboratory across the city exploded, and many people were injured. Barry was struck by lightning... Could this be related?"
Diana, wearing an elegant and decent white dress, also joined the discussion: "I think..."
"Iris shouldn't be blamed for the lightning strike! If anything, it's more likely that someone like Zeus's followers were involved," Kaius interjected before Diana could finish, wanting to avoid letting Iris carry the blame again.
"Actually, I was thinking we should go and visit him. After all, he's our friend," Diana said, not mentioning Ares this time by accident.
Oliver had been tracking the origin of the 'Miraculu', but the past two days had been spent following a key lead, leaving no time to visit Barry.
"Diana and I can go on behalf of everyone. It only takes me five minutes to fly to Central City, and then I'll return to the town," Kaius suggested.
No one else had any objections. Oliver sighed, "I didn't expect you to leave so soon. I wanted to spend a few more days with you."
"If you need anything, just call me anytime. I promise I'll be there within ten minutes."
Kaius's words put Oliver's mind at ease. As long as Kaius was around, there was no need to worry, even if a large number of fortified troops showed up.
After all, even with reinforcements, they wouldn't stand a chance against Kaius.
Felicity went to the flower shop, bought a bunch of flowers, packed them in a sturdy box, and brought them back for everyone to write a few words.
A while later, Kaius said goodbye to the group and took Diana to Central City to visit Barry.
Since Barry's accident, his adoptive father, Joe West, had taken a long leave from the police station to stay by Barry's side. When Kaius and Diana arrived, he greeted them very warmly.
"Mr. West, I believe Barry will get better soon. You really don't have to worry too much!"
Kaius reassured him, but Officer West thought Kaius was just comforting him. "Well, I know. Thank you for coming to see him."
After leaving the hospital, Diana said, a little unsettled, "I can feel that there is a powerful force within Barry."
"Yeah, the lightning gave him power. When he wakes up, he will definitely be reborn."
In Kaius's mind, Barry Allen in the system book was gradually changing from a white card to a purple one.
"Where should we go next?" Diana asked.
"Let's go to the small town in Metropolis. That's where my home is, and I have weapons to deal with General Zod." The weapon Kaius referred to was the Kryptonite.
As a place where meteorites had fallen, there were many meteorites in the town. Kaius had two main objectives this time.
The first was to make some weapons using Kryptonite to fight General Zod, and the second was to destroy any excess Kryptonite, ensuring Superman's safety.
In short, Kryptonite was a double-edged sword: it could be used to kill bad people, but it could also harm good ones.
Diana seemed a little disappointed. "Why can't we just go to Zod's home and I'll kill him?"
"He's in the vast universe. I don't know where he is, but he knows the location of Earth. Let me put it this way: Earth holds the key to reviving Krypton. Zod will come soon, and before that, we must be prepared."
If Clark were here, Kaius's burden would be much lighter, but Clark was still in the lonely fortress in the Arctic, and Kaius didn't know when he would return.
So Kaius had to prepare in advance.
Diana finally gave in. "Okay, but I want to take a plane. I heard from Felicity that a plane is the fastest means of transportation!"
"Don't listen to her nonsense. The fastest means of transportation in the world is me! And it's private—come on, Diana, hop on, let me take you flying." Kaius said.