[ Bar, Star City ]
The two heroines had been drinking from morning till afternoon. It sounded like a long time, but in truth, they hadn't consumed much—small stomachs meant even lighter drinks took their toll. After a bite to eat, they decided to rest in a room at the bar. Just as Thea Queen began to doze off, she suddenly remembered—she still had martial arts training in the woods with her father.
Hungover and unfocused, she didn't feel ready. Thea frowned at her slightly boozy smell and called the bar owner.
"Is there a place here where I can take a shower?"
"Do you think this is a resort?" the bar owner wanted to say, but instead, he forced a smile. Thea was not someone he could afford to offend. Reluctantly, he led her to a small, rarely-used bathhouse in the back.
Felicity had originally planned to go home, but hearing the bath was free changed her mind. She quickly tagged along. The bar owner, still confused about Felicity's relationship with Thea after seeing them spend the whole day together, didn't dare question her presence.
Thea changed into a bathrobe and stepped inside, only to find a modest but cozy hot spring, with a stone border encircling the pool. It was small—tight for four, snug for two, and perfect for one. Thea had assumed it was a single-person bathroom. Clearly, she was wrong.
"Oh, little Thea, you're so sneaky! You kept this gem to yourself? We should've come here earlier!" Felicity laughed, quickly stripping down and hopping into the steaming water.
Thea blinked. Wow, she really has a great figure, she muttered in her head, a little dazed.
Felicity noticed her staring and grinned. "What are you looking at? Come on in!"
"I heard it's bad to soak in a hot spring after drinking," Thea said, trying to sound cautious.
"That's only for people with health issues. We've had three hours to metabolize it anyway. Trust me, I've done the research."
Seeing no way out, Thea hesitantly slipped off her robe and entered the pool.
"Hey! Why are you still wearing underwear?"
Felicity giggled and leaned back against the stone. "Your skin is so smooth, by the way."
"Hehe, Thea, you really are quite petite."
Teased by the bubbly hacker, Thea's face flushed red—not just from the heat. Thankfully, Felicity had taken off her glasses and was too nearsighted to see clearly.
Despite the awkward start, Thea had to admit: a little wine, a nap, and then a hot soak? This was the perfect recipe for bliss. She had no idea that this moment would later inspire the tradition of future superheroines soaking in hot springs after meetings. Even though Thea would always caution them not to mix alcohol with it, Wonder Woman would just laugh and say, "We're superheroines—what's there to be afraid of?"
The two shared some harmless fun, nothing scandalous. Eventually, Felicity dropped Thea off at the jungle edge and waved goodbye.
...
[ Forest, Star City Outskirts ]
Thea scanned her surroundings. Malcolm Merlyn hadn't arrived yet, giving her a moment to center herself. She sat cross-legged under a massive tree, letting the fresh air clear her mind.
Unbeknownst to her, Malcolm had been watching her all day long. He had arrived five minutes earlier and, after being spotted prematurely last time, decided to test her perception range today.
Through careful observation, he estimated her effective range to be around ten meters. For the League of Assassins, five meters was considered gifted. The world's number one killer, the infamous Lady Shiva could detect enemies within twenty meters, but that is the result of years of training and dodge virtually any weapon—except sniper rifles.
Thea can't do this yet, but he believes that after training, she can completely dodge medium-range weapons like arrows or throwing knives within her range and potentially even dodge pistol shots. Her talent was undeniable.
Watching her meditative stillness, Malcolm felt a mix of pride and envy. She was smart, focused, talented, and determined—all while still being so young.
He stepped out from the shadows, voice gravelly. "Thea Queen, are you ready for training?"
Thea had already sensed him but remained still. Malcolm's guess was off—her perception range was closer to twelve meters. Thea 1.0 had only been a sidekick-level hero, better than most assassins but not exceptional. This fusion-enhanced Thea 2.0, though? She was in a league of her own. The difference between Thea 1.0 and Thea 2.0 was like running 100 meters in 10 seconds and running 100 meters in 5 seconds. It seems to be just a difference in numbers, but in fact the difference is too big.
She stood up. "I'm ready. Please teach me. I'm not afraid of hard work."
"Very good," Malcolm stood with his hands behind his back, looking like a master and said approvingly. "You may call me Black Arrow. From today onward, I'll train you in combat. What would you like to begin with?"
Thea laughed in her heart and wanted to say. "Can you teach me how to summon demons from the 72 pillars to fight on my behalf?"
But she instead said seriously, "Since you're the Black Arrow, let's start with archery. Let me see what you've got."
It was bold—almost too bold. Another hero might have walked away, but Malcolm is a villain. He likes her to have a bit of temper, and he will disapprove her for being submissive.
Malcolm reached into his bag and pulled out a tube of tennis balls.
"Throw them into the air," he said.
Oh, Thea recall that in the original timeline, Oliver seemed to have practiced like this too. These two really are from the same root. The Ra's al Ghul taught Malcolm, and now Malcolm is teaching me. Is she the second generation disciple of Ra's al Ghul? Compared to her brother who is third generation disciple, because the Ra's al Ghul taught his daughter Talia, Talia passed it on to Yao Fei, and Yao Fei taught his daughter and Oliver.
Luckily, the no one care about the seniority issue, otherwise her brother wouldn't be able to greet her casually, have to address her as his senior when he saw her in the future! Well being called senior by him does not sound bad at all. Thea thought.
The Ra's al Ghul lived for more than 800 years and he had many students all over the world. As an super villain, he trained many superheroes.
Not in the mood to think more about Ra's al Ghul. Thea tossed the first ball high and watched him closely. With a snap, Malcolm's black-feathered arrow pinned it cleanly to the trunk of a nearby tree.
Whoa.
This wasn't easy. Shooting something mid-air and sticking it to a tree required precision and control far beyond what Oliver ever demonstrated in his early days.
This move is difficult, much more difficult than shooting at the wall like Oliver did. After all, you have to calculate the landing point of the arrow and lodged it on the tree trunk, otherwise it will not look good if it flies far away. No wonder Malcolm had dominated Season 1. He is indeed better than Green Arrow!
She kept throwing—high, low, varied. Each time, Malcolm nailed the shot, embedding the nine tennis balls into the tree like ornaments one by one, all with pinpoint accuracy.
"That's what I want to learn!" Thea's eyes sparkled.
Malcolm exhaled quietly. He had just performed slightly above his normal level. Nearing fifty, with not much training martial arts in recent years, he had to push himself harder than ever not to disappoint his daughter. He knew he couldn't keep it up forever. That was where Green Arrow had the advantage—youth, endurance, and relentless stamina.
This is the biggest difference between him and Green Arrow. His physical strength or endurance is not as good as that of the young Green Arrow. He can beat Green Arrow if he concentrates for a short period of time, but it won't work for a long time. As an ordinary person without any enhancement, Green Arrow's ability to withstand beatings has been tested by his hero history.
But for now, he had proven his skill. And Thea Queen was more than ready to follow in his footsteps.
To Be Continued...
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[POWER STONES AND REVIEWS PLS]