It was too late.
As the grappling arrow tore through the air with a shriek of certain victory, Barry's brain reached a decision in one hundredth of a second.
Dodging would only send him into the next trap in the chain.
Oliver's fighting rhythm was like a precision hunting machine, each move linked to the next, leaving him no chance to catch his breath.
Since he couldn't dodge it...
Then he wouldn't.
"Barry!" At S.T.A.R. Labs, Joe West let out a horrified roar, his eyes bloodshot.
On the screen, the red figure not only failed to dodge, but stepped forward to meet the arrow!
"Has he gone crazy?!" Cisco spilled his popcorn all over the floor.
"No." Dr. Wells gripped the armrests of his wheelchair and leaned forward, his gaze behind his glasses sharp enough to pierce the screen. "He's calculating."
Inside the steelworks.
There was no fear in Barry's eyes, only the absolute calm of a surgeon facing an operating table.
At that moment, he used his Speed Force not to escape, but to analyze.
[Grappling arrow, made of high-strength titanium alloy. Three-pronged arrowhead, barbs three centimeters deep. Target: the composite fiber layer beneath the lightning emblem on my chest. Penetration will take 0.08 seconds. The barbs will catch muscle tissue, causing extensive tearing.]
[But if the target shifts...]
Just as the grappling arrow was about to strike his chest, Barry turned his body slightly, at an angle almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
He thrust his left shoulder forward.
Shrrk!
The claws tore through his costume and buried themselves deep in his flesh!
Agony shot through his entire body like an electric current!
"Barry!" Caitlin screamed, her face deathly pale.
"Nicely done!" Oliver's heart sank. He had intended to pin Barry to the wall, not have him take