Thea showed appropriate regret at not being able to help, then kindly introduced him to Earth's superhero population.
Look, we've got three Kryptonians alone, two Martians—all incredibly powerful fighters. The remaining badass Earthlings are countless, too many to enumerate.
Knowing Reverse-Flash had never been to outer space, she pulled out the same speech she'd used to fool General Zod, introducing the cosmic situation. Earth was in Sector 2814, with 7,200 Green Lanterns across the universe.
In short: our world is full of righteous people. Hearing this, aren't you especially happy?
As a fellow "righteous person," Reverse-Flash hypnotized himself into feeling happy and uplifted. We're just looking for a way home, doing small good deeds on the side. We won't take up your time.
After speaking, the two cheerfully waved goodbye. Reverse-Flash ran back to Central City with a bitter expression.
Thea headed straight home. Reverse-Flash would probably behave for a few days. These speedsters—so unconventional and anti-scientific—should just play slowly with each other.
Returning to her lab, she didn't rest but instead took out the small mass of Speed Force she'd extracted from Reverse-Flash.
After turning it over and examining it for an hour, she could only helplessly seal it away. Just as she could never fully understand Death, she couldn't comprehend this ultimate speed either.
Perhaps it conflicted with her divine domain. Trade and Speed God? Wealth and Speed God? They didn't match at all. Whether in origin or compatibility, they were too different. Thea could only console herself this way.
Having been scared badly by Thea, Reverse-Flash didn't dare wander around at night anymore. Instead, he poured all his energy into training Barry Allen, forcing Cisco and Caitlin to work overtime with them. The two complained loudly about being unable to keep up.
Reverse-Flash ignored their complaints, single-mindedly leveling up Barry Allen so he could use his power to return to his own timeline. He didn't want to spend one more minute in this cursed world.
Late that month, the Explorer spacecraft, jointly built by Queen Industries, Palmer Technologies, and Lord Technologies, successfully reached Mars. Over a hundred technicians and workers used mature nanotech equipment to directly construct simple living quarters on the Martian surface.
News reached home, and the media everywhere went into a frenzy. Humanity had never been this close to the space age.
Thea continued working hard to build reputation. Ray Palmer and Maxwell Lord of Lord Technologies didn't miss the opportunity either. The three used every chance to promote the conveniences of the space age. Naturally, their three companies' stocks soared.
Major world powers couldn't contain their eagerness either. For a full month, launch centers didn't rest. Mars' population quickly exceeded five thousand.
The aircraft carrier conversion to space battleship plan had reached its final stages. In just one more month, it could directly ascend into space.
Throughout this process, the Red Room scientists' contributions were unparalleled. Although Dr. Silas Stone was extremely reluctant to weaponize alien technology, he had to compromise under the broader circumstances. He contributed many practical single-soldier weapons to prevent the possibly impending interstellar war.
Thea thought he had a pretty severe persecution complex, but she didn't interfere too much. She couldn't exactly tell the doctor that Ebon International Trade, this neutral interstellar commercial alliance, was already under her secret control. They'd just need to wave flags and cheer when the time came.
Creating pressure for them, turning pressure into motivation—that was the proper approach. Some sense of crisis should still be instilled.
"Hey, Thea." Shortly after arriving at work, the ever-negligent Oliver came looking for her. The two agreed to visit Barry Allen together. Theoretically, because of Oliver and Shado's "friendly match," he still didn't know Barry had become the Flash.
Oliver was stubborn, but he treated friends extremely well. Learning that Barry had been unconscious for nine months and had just awakened, Oliver prepared to bring his sister—with her amazing medical skills—along to visit.
Thea sorted through the sequence of events and felt this didn't violate any principles. She'd check on whether Reverse-Flash was behaving too.
The siblings drove directly to Central City. Thea was still slowly adjusting her mentality. She didn't want to become like H'ronmeer one day, treating everyone as burdens. According to the Martian Manhunter, H'ronmeer had once been a very kind, very caring deity. Only the erosion of time corrupted his thinking. Countless years of life made him forget his original intentions, leading to his tragic end.
Both Batman and the Martian Manhunter had said on different occasions that she was becoming increasingly ethereal, increasingly hard to read. These two wise men's words had set off alarm bells for Thea. She'd stopped using magic in daily life, deliberately maintaining an active and enthusiastic attitude toward life, trying to alleviate the psychological discomfort.
Oliver drove fast. In less than two hours, they entered Central City's urban area.
Speaking of cars, Thea had equipped the Arrow team with new gear. In the original timeline—perhaps due to financial constraints—Oliver's transportation had been a small motorcycle. How pathetically low-budget was that? Compare Batman's equipment to yours!
Thea had directly thrown his little motorcycle into outer space and loaded them up with various cutting-edge vehicles: high-polymer combat suits, fighter jets, gliders, combat vehicles, mechanical arms, plus a speed-type powered armor. The armor's main material came from the Cheetah God's body, obtained when she arrested Cheetah.
Even if it couldn't match the Batcave, it shouldn't be too shabby.
After two years of accumulation, Oliver's driving skills were now exceptional. Even if you dropped him onto a mountain pass, he could make a name for himself.
Barry's health was excellent now. He definitely wasn't like the two idle rich who wandered around during work hours or took impromptu road trips. He was still dutifully working at the Central City Police Department.
Thanks to Thea's high reputation now, plus her sponsorship of the national police system, everyone recognized her. Learning she wanted to find Barry, everyone showed envy as they led her into Barry's evidence collection office. The two siblings waited there for him.
Oliver idly flipped through a newspaper. Thea looked up at the skylight. Right here, lightning had struck Barry Allen that day, creating the Flash.
Why the Speed Force had chosen Barry among countless parallel timelines, countless universes, countless planets—whether it was fate or chance, nobody could say. It could only be attributed to destiny's wonder.
After waiting briefly, footsteps sounded. The model-student-looking Barry Allen pushed open the door.
"Oliver, Thea!" The handsome young man greeted them with a sunny smile. You could tell he'd regained his confidence.
Thea was just a bit speechless. What was with that look? When he'd entered, his first glance had been at Oliver, only then noticing her.
This was an absurd scene. Thea's charisma was off the charts, while Oliver was just a handsome guy among ordinary people.