Thea had finished everything she needed to do. She now sat alone on the roof of an apartment building, waiting for Parallax to arrive. With the yellow suit, black cape, and half-covered face, she wasn't worried about anyone recognizing her.
But she was still discovered quickly.
A Chevrolet barreled across the sidewalk like a mad bull. Amanda Waller—fully armed—kicked open the door, stared at the half-hidden Thea for two seconds, and her agent-trained eyes immediately identified her.
She climbed up the building with practiced agility.
"What's with the outfit? And what you said—was that real?"
Amanda, who often dealt with Batman, understood the type. These heroes loved covering themselves head to toe, terrified someone might figure out who they were.
But Thea… Thea was in a league of her own when it came to making headlines.
First she wanted to demolish a temple, and now she was claiming an alien monster was coming.
Why couldn't this girl behave like a normal person?
Look at her brother Oliver—give him a handgun and he could solve anything.
Thea could only explain again, briefly. She didn't bother mentioning yellow energy.
She simply insisted that the monster coming was attracted by the alien corpse Amanda's people had dissected.
Believe it or not—but when that monster arrived, every casualty would be her fault.
That accusation hit Amanda so hard she almost saw stars. And yes—she was guilty.
She had personally dissected Hal Jordan's predecessor.
She truly hadn't expected the consequences to spiral like this.
So when it came to evacuating the city, she didn't dare treat it lightly and immediately ordered her agents to act.
As always, A.R.G.U.S. used methods that were brutally direct.
Moments later, explosions thundered through downtown, sending masses of civilians fleeing toward the outskirts.
"…What did you just do?"
With a battle about to begin, Thea didn't want to waste her divine power on observation. She could only ask the dark-skinned woman beside her.
"Detonated the gas pipelines near the central avenues."
Amanda said it casually, as if she hadn't set off explosives but merely stolen a turkey from a neighbor.
One of her subordinates whispered something to her. Amanda's expression sank.
"Seventeen bodies found on-site. Over a hundred injured. If your intel is fake, I'll be executed on the spot."
"Relax. Thea's telling the truth."
A dark silhouette dropped down beside them with a whoosh—Batman in full gear.
Using his cape, he'd jumped straight from the plane.
Following him was Dick Grayson, the first Robin, now in blue-black armor and going by the name Nightwing.
"My satellite detected a massive figure near Jupiter's orbit. It's approaching fast."
Batman still disliked operating in broad daylight, but he explained anyway.
Batman's credibility was solid. Amanda believed instantly, dropped the "execution" topic, and started calling government contacts like a machine gun.
Then decided it wasn't efficient enough and switched to video conferences with top officials.
Thea greeted Dick—Nightwing.
Away from Batman's shadow, he looked far more confident than before… though the twin metal batons he carried were a little ridiculous.
Do you even know what Parallax is?
Those sticks looked fierce, sure—but could they even snap off one of Parallax's nose hairs?
Thea had serious doubts.
"What exactly is coming?"
Batman asked.
From the satellite imagery, the monster was far larger than he'd anticipated—but he came anyway.
So did Nightwing. Both of them arrived with a level of resolve that bordered on suicidal bravery.
Thea had always admired these "ordinary" heroes—Green Arrow, Batman…
No powers, yet enough courage to step forward.
Those were real heroes.
People with godlike powers—herself included—were merely fulfilling the "with great power comes great responsibility" category, not true heroism.
She told Batman and Nightwing everything she knew.
"Fear… I see."
Batman immediately connected it to events from years ago.
His lips twitched, but he forced the emotion down with sheer willpower.
Thea noticed and silently sighed.
His willpower rivaled Sinestro's.
If only she could make Yellow Rings… but even if she could, Batman would never accept one.
"Where's your red-caped friend?"
"He should be nearby. He doesn't want to be seen by too many people.
He can hear everything we're saying."
Hearing Superman was here finally gave Thea some confidence.
Superman's magic resistance was often criticized, but his courage was undeniable.
His resistance was only "weak" compared to his otherwise invincible physique.
The greatest superhero in history had limitless potential—surely he could handle Parallax.
"Hey—you came back to Earth? And that guy beside you—is that Batman?
You two know each other…?"
It was impossible not to get noticed—five people in tight suits standing on a rooftop in broad daylight.
Hal Jordan, though confused by Thea's yellow outfit, still recognized her.
He flew up with his girlfriend.
"Who is this guy…?"
Batman and Nightwing asked at the same time, already annoyed by Hal's chatter.
Thea introduced everyone's codenames.
For some reason, Hal also introduced his girlfriend.
Only Thea spared the future Violet Lantern a glance—Batman and Nightwing acted like she didn't exist.
Batman's face—what little of it was visible—darkened.
"So you're telling me… a former Green Lantern crashing onto Earth is what triggered all this?"
Hal nodded honestly.
And Batman immediately ignored him.
"Will Sinestro come? What about the rest of the Corps?"
Hal continued cluelessly.
What could Thea say?
Sinestro wanted Earth to get blown into cosmic dust.
If Thea died in the process, even better.
As for the Guardians…
They knew Earth's hidden potential.
No way would they send the Corps to die as cannon fodder.
Thea shook her head and didn't answer.
She sat alone, centering herself, preparing to absorb Parallax's energy.
The closer Parallax came, the more she could feel the Book of Parallax and her Yellow Ring almost trembling with eagerness.
Once they absorbed Parallax, the book would likely unlock functions even the Guardians didn't know about.
Meanwhile, the panic of Coast City continued to feed her ring.
Fear of the unknown, fear of the future—these emotions flooded the city.
But the absorption process was suddenly cut off.
A more massive suction descended from the sky, sweeping away all fear from Coast City in an instant.
"The enemy is here!"
Thea stood up sharply, eyes locked on the distant sky.