[ Merlyn Global HQ, Star City ]
Tommy had no idea that his best friend was in the jungle of Purgatory, being beaten up by the devil teacher Yao Fei. All he knew was that he had a terrible day.
Malcolm may have been inspired by Thea and wanted to test his son's problem-solving ability, so he kept sending his men to find Tommy with documents.
"Assistant, the president wants you to review this document and give your opinion."
"Assistant, this is the appropriation for next year. Please remember to report to the financial director after you read it."
"Assistant, one of our employees has been detained by the police, and the Legal Department is asking if bail is required."
Tommy was almost overwhelmed. Problems kept piling up, and he was completely confused. Why did his company have so many issues? Was it always like this? Shouldn't someone else be dealing with them?
Gritting his teeth, he started working. Reporting to the president? That meant talking to his father. No thanks—he put that off. Financial allocation? He flipped through it—fifteen pages of mind-numbing jargon. He nearly fell asleep on page one.
After splashing cold water on his face, he found the bail request and decided to handle it personally. On one hand, he wanted some fresh air. On the other, Detective Lance was Laurel's father, and Tommy fancied himself as his future son-in-law. This should be easy.
Except it wasn't.
...
[ Police Station, Star City ]
When he arrived at the police station, the warm, sitcom-worthy hug between father-in-law and son-in-law never happened. Detective Lance had no intention of doing Tommy any favors. When he saw the man who was dating his eldest daughter, he instantly remembered the other Queen boy—Oliver—who had seduced his youngest daughter and died at sea. As far as he was concerned, Tommy was just another pretty-boy playboy who was seducing his eldest daughter.
Let alone granting bail, if Lance were any less principled, he might've arrested Tommy himself.
All in all, a gloomy, frustrating day for Tommy.
...
[ Merlyn Global HQ, Star City ]
Malcolm, however, wasn't discouraged. After learning what had happened, he simply made a decision. Since he had plenty of black money and didn't take Merlyn Global's financials too seriously, he wasn't afraid to lose a little. He set himself a small goal: he'd endure his son's fumbling for a month to see what he could do.
And now it was Thea's turn. He will test his daughter's courage
...
[ Queen Consolidated HQ, Star City ]
While Tommy's life spiraled, Thea Queen had been running herself ragged. The fusion of her soul with the transmigrator had significantly boosted her memory and mental resilience. She was learning faster than ever, but the scale and complexity of corporate operations were daunting. Even as a 2.0 version of herself, she could only just manage.
Moira Queen's cruel side showed in how she overloaded her daughter. Though she loved her, she also wanted to know her limits. The work she assigned was enough for three people. That Thea managed to not only survive but excel made Moira love and respect her even more.
...
[ Near Queen Mansion, Star City ] [ Evening ]
Thea was walking along a small road with her two bodyguards, returning from a nearby Queen Consolidated branch in Star City. It was close to home, so she opted to walk instead of taking a car. She mulled over tasks she needed to handle the next day.
Suddenly, she felt watched. The area had gone too quiet. She sensed something off and whispered, "Stop," motioning for the bodyguard to check the tree ahead.
Malcolm, hidden in the bushes in black gear with a bow in hand, was stunned. He'd used ninja-honed techniques to conceal himself—skills sharpened over years of deadly training from Ra's al Ghul. The two highly trained bodyguards hadn't noticed him at all.
But Thea had.
That instinct—sharp, intuitive, almost precognitive—wasn't something one could learn. It was born. Malcolm had only heard of one person with such natural perception: Lady Shiva, the world's deadliest assassin. ( In this timeline, Prometheus didn't exist, so Shiva remained undefeated. )
His daughter was truly extraordinary.
He threw two darts, knocking the bodyguards unconscious, then activated a voice changer and stepped out from behind the tree. This was a test—because no matter how talented someone was, character and courage mattered just as much.
Two soft thuds. Thea saw her bodyguards drop. A figure in black emerged from the shadows. For a second, her heart raced. Was this someone from the League of Assassins?
But then she got a clearer look.
She'd watched the TV show. She'd know that silhouette anywhere—even in disguise, he couldn't fool her. Cheap dad.
What was he doing?
She couldn't just walk up and say, "Hey Dad, had dinner yet?" So she played along, feigning ignorance. "Who are you?" she asked, her tone calm.
"It doesn't matter who I am," Malcolm replied through the distorted voice, "Do you know how much your life is worth?"
This voice changer was definitely cool. Thea made a mental note to get one for herself someday. Almost every hero and villain had one. It must be standard issue at this point. Hopefully, not too expensive—her allowance was tight.
Still, she stayed in character. "I can feel you mean no harm," she said. "At least... no intent to kill."
Her soul-fusion cheat gave her an edge. She could recognize intent better than most. She could even mentally match strangers to characters she knew from the DC universe. It made judging good guys and bad guys a little easier.
"You're a very spiritual child," Malcolm said. "What is your wish?"
What a question. Wasn't it obvious from the setup? Dressed like that, sneaking around like Batman's goth cousin—he clearly wanted to teach her something. She'd waited over a month for this. Time to play the part.
With conviction, she replied, "I need strength. Strength to protect myself and my family. It's hard to be a woman in the world. I need real power."
This answer was crafted with care. She knew about Malcolm's past—how he lost his wife—and she wanted to appeal to that. It worked better than she imagined.
To Malcolm, it was as if he were hearing his own younger self. Her clarity, her purpose—it was like a mirror. If only he'd had this mindset back then, maybe his wife would still be alive.
But he had one more test.
"Power requires learning," he said. "Will you give up your wealth for it? I heard you've done very well at Queen Consolidated. Can you walk away from all that?"
Thea almost laughed.
Of course she could. Eventually, the company would be hers anyway. She hadn't been grinding through executive chaos for the joy of corporate synergy. She was doing it to get Malcolm's attention.
But she couldn't say that out loud.
So, after a short pause, she said, "Money can be transformed into power, sure. But I need strength of my own. A bullet, a knife—that's all it takes to lose everything. I can't let that happen."
Malcolm's wife had been gunned down while volunteering in the slums—for a few hundred dollars. Batman's parents had been killed the same way. The slums were cruel. Good-hearted rich people got killed, and what remained were the ones hardened by survival.
Her answer stirred something deep in him. His heart thudded, his mind raced.
He gave her a final nod. "Come here tomorrow. I'll teach you," he said, then turned and disappeared into the trees.
To Be Continued...
---xxx---
[POWER STONES AND REVIEWS PLS]