For deities, it was inconspicuous; it couldn't even be put on display and only counted as a bonus. But for Ra's al Ghul, it was extremely precious.
The only drawback was soul contamination. After all, it was another person's lifespan. Soul contamination could result in anything from mental confusion to complete personality replacement. Thea really couldn't use it on ordinary people, but Ra's al Ghul, already corrupted by demons, had no such concerns.
"This hourglass contains seventy years of a person's lifespan. Your original demonic constitution will increase the burden on your lifespan, but extending your life another thirty or forty years is still possible." Thea noticed Ra's al Ghul's eyes instantly flash with interest and knew he was tempted.
"Now two options are before you, waiting for your choice. Resolve the League of Assassins issue today while everyone's here, or take a step back and extend your own lifespan?"
Actually, you didn't need to guess to know the old man's true thoughts. The longer someone has lived, the more they fear death. Ra's al Ghul was especially so.
Indeed, as Thea expected, he quickly made up his mind. First secure the lifespan. The League of Assassins could be shelved for two years. After all, he'd originally established the League to extend his own life—couldn't put the cart before the horse.
Thea tossed him the hourglass.
"How do I use this?" The old man looked at it for a long time. This thing didn't look edible...
"You know the Greek ritual of worship, right? Thanatos requires your devotion. As long as you believe in him and worship him from time to time, this flowing sand will slowly enter your body and extend your lifespan."
Ra's al Ghul was very satisfied. This method wasn't difficult. Although it was strange for a Central Asian man to worship Greek deities, who cared about such things when life and death were at stake? The old man gracefully departed the Batcave.
A crisis, neither big nor small, was finally resolved.
Only then did Thea have time to introduce little Cassandra to Batman. Whether for Lady Shiva's sake or Thea's, he couldn't refuse. Batman readily took over the black-haired girl's future training.
Thea sent square-jawed Nyssa back to Star City, and the siblings continued following Moira on her nationwide tour.
...
Under the strict vigilance of all parties, Moira's final campaign push ended perfectly. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the final vote.
That morning, after the Queen family finished breakfast, the three of them went together to the nearest polling station.
Reporters who'd been waiting rushed toward them like madmen the moment they saw the family of three got out of the car.
"Ms. Queen, how confident are you about winning?"
"Dr. Queen, will you vote for your own mother?"
"Mr. Queen, do you have anything to say to the media about your relationship with the Lance sisters?"
To appear approachable, Moira had dismissed her large security detail. Today she was voting as an "ordinary citizen."
The young miss similarly kept a low profile, bringing no entourage. But without the usual human wall, and unable to throw mental shocks into the crowd, she was surrounded by reporters like a tide and looked rather exasperated.
As the male, Oliver could only physically part the crowd, letting the two women enter the polling station first.
The tabloid reporters outside could be ignored, but the major media inside the polling station needed careful handling.
The three got their ballots. This wasn't the time for modesty. Ignoring the other candidate, all three chose Moira. Each filled theirs out and displayed them to the media. Only then was this procedure complete.
The media inside the polling station had fairly high professional standards. They didn't focus on tabloid news but concentrated on Moira's future governance.
Moira didn't hold back either, extensively describing the benefits of electing her as president. In short, you'd be at a huge loss if you didn't vote for her.
When it came to the other candidate, she wasn't polite either, ridiculing them mercilessly, just short of shouting into the camera that so-and-so was an idiot.
This was quite interesting. At the beginning of the campaign, when the two candidates mentioned each other, it was all courtesies—worthy opponent, extraordinary politician, and so on.
But once Moira started leading, everything changed. Both sides simultaneously adjusted their strategy: demean the opponent, elevate yourself.
TV debates still required maintaining some dignity, but now that the dust had settled, no need for courtesy. Moira mocked everything from the opponent's governance policies to their fashion sense.
Turns out the other side showed no mercy either. When the family of three returned to the mansion and turned on the TV, they saw the opponent also criticizing their clothing and appearance.
Since Moira's main card was the superhero angle, the opposing candidate completely let loose. Figuring superheroes couldn't do anything to him anyway, he thoroughly threw caution to the wind, spending ages mocking several superheroes. He especially focused on how Superman's blue tights and red cape were completely uncoordinated, how terrible the color matching was.
For poor Superman suffering collateral damage, Thea could only apologize. She was sure good-natured Superman wouldn't mind.
The entire voting day was chaotic, with rumors flying everywhere. The whole country was as festive as a holiday.
The family of three didn't go anywhere, just waited quietly at home for the final results.
Numerous staff members continuously relayed messages. Vote counting results came out extremely fast. Moira won with a large margin and directly declared victory in front of the media!
To officially enter the White House would require waiting until January 20th next year. At the inauguration ceremony, placing her hand on the Bible and taking the oath of office would complete the entire process.
That date was still over a month away, nearly two months. Thea used this time to personally arrange her mother's security. The teleportation gem remained the top priority. Although Moira's physical condition was better than the average elderly woman's, she still couldn't withstand large-caliber weapons fire.
She herself had learned some taekwondo and similar martial arts, but the effectiveness was... best not mentioned.
Thea found several less fierce-looking operatives from Deathstroke's subordinates and inserted them into the security team. The DEO would similarly provide protection. With this double insurance, she finally felt at ease.
Moira flipped through her calendar every day, waiting to reach the pinnacle of her life. Meanwhile, the current occupant of the White House, already somewhat neurotic, was also flipping his calendar. Whoever wanted this place could have it—he didn't want to stay a single extra day!
Thea made time to meet with Poseidon again.
Through rippling water, she entered Poseidon's divine realm. Several giants she'd fought alongside before led her into his palace. He was waiting outside to greet her.
Dismissing idle attendants, the two gods exchanged pleasantries. Seeing his roundabout manner, Thea got straight to the point. "This staff can be yours, but..."
Being so direct about asking for compensation, Poseidon didn't mind. Having demands was good. Demands could be worked with. What was scary was having no demands.
"One ton of meteoric iron—how does that sound?" Poseidon considered this a very high offer.
Thea almost spat in his face. Meteoric iron? Wasn't that just meteorite residue left after entering the atmosphere? She had as much of that stuff as anyone could want. If he wanted it, she could give him entire planets!
Remembering those few abnormally "precious" pieces of meteoric iron in Hades' treasury, she felt speechless. She hadn't touched a single one of those broken stones. They were among the few things remaining in Hades' vault.
Shaking her head to indicate refusal, she told him to try another condition.
"Water essence?"
"No."
"Cornucopia?"
"Our family is a high-tech commercial group. We don't farm. Thanks anyway."
Poseidon made several consecutive suggestions, some inappropriate for the times, others completely useless.
Modern society had abundant resources. What use was a cornucopia?
"How about this—open your treasury and let me freely select one treasure. How's that?" Thea finally showed her true colors.