Cisco Ramon didn't know the secrets of high society. All he knew was that a drop-dead gorgeous girl was listening to him with full attention. As a guy with a common background and average looks, his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest. He didn't think too much about Thea's questions, even though many of them were ridiculously difficult. He only hated himself for not reading more books and learning more back in the day!
Thea nodded silently. Thanks to Cisco using everything he had learned in his life to explain, combined with her own efforts recently, she finally understood about forty to fifty percent of the Atom Suit. But that was the current limit.
The current Cisco Ramon was still far behind the Atom in his prime. Plus, their research directions were different. Being able to explain it to this extent was already proof enough of his research capabilities.
It's a pity, Thea thought. This guy will be famous in the future. Reverse-Flash knows his achievements and will definitely not let him go. Otherwise, dragging him to Queen Group would have made him a great helper.
The gathering didn't last long, and the group soon dispersed. After all, the workload at the lab was huge; getting to know each other was enough.
Cisco didn't call a cab. His left foot tripped over his right as he walked back to his apartment as if he were floating on clouds. He rubbed his face hard, unable to recall anything he had said or discussed that night. He only remembered that a super beauty had discussed applied science with him for half the day.
Hating his own lack of knowledge, he took out two books, intending to study some more. But regrettably, after holding the book for ten minutes, not a single word went in.
He took out his computer, preparing to search for Thea's information, just in case. In the future, he would become good friends with Felicity, so his computer skills were decent. However, the information he found made his heart go cold halfway through.
Her mother was the Mayor. She herself was the Chairman of a listed company. The most recent photo he found was of Thea and the new Mayor of Coast City at a press conference for an urban reconstruction site. The Thea in the photo looked much more mature than she did tonight, but the appearance was unmistakable. It was the same person.
"Sigh..." Cisco threw himself onto the sofa. No matter how talented he thought he was, he knew the gap between them was boundless. They weren't even from the same world!
His budding feelings were splashed with a bucket of cold sulfuric acid—that was a true portrayal of his inner state.
Even though he knew it was impossible, he still secretly observed Thea for two days. Then, one weekend, he accidentally saw Thea sharing a hot kiss with a long-legged beauty full of classical charm. That was when he finally gave up on this confused affection.
That woman was breathtakingly beautiful too! Cisco couldn't judge which of the two women was more beautiful, but he knew one thing for sure: he had absolutely no chance!
Cisco walked back to the lab alone, depressed by what he'd just witnessed. "Damn it, two such beautiful women being together... what a waste of resources!"
Since someone that beautiful and rich was studying so hard, a poor loser like him—who would be invisible if thrown into a crowd—couldn't afford to slack off! Cisco turned his grief into strength, put away his cynical attitude, and started a new round of studying.
Thea didn't know that her unintentional actions had caused some misunderstandings. Actually, even if she knew, she wouldn't care. Every weekend, she went out to play with Diana, leaving their footprints all over Earth and the Milky Way.
The situation at S.T.A.R. Labs remained unoptimistic. Thea had collected Reverse-Flash's fingerprints and found the secret door hiding the artificial intelligence. But unfortunately, there were too many people in the lab. Let alone herself, even Reverse-Flash, according to her observations, hadn't found a chance to enter the secret door.
Opportunities needed to be waited for patiently. Thea spent two days a week at the lab, studying with Caitlin, discussing the latest research results with Cisco, and when she had free time, she would throw bananas at Grodd for fun. It reached the point where, upon seeing her enter the door, Grodd had a conditioned reflex to cover his head.
Is this guy really that big villain? This thought surfaced in Thea's mind several times. Because no matter how she looked at it, this little gorilla showed no special traits. Its body was small and scrawny, its personality was weak. Let alone telepathy—even among primates, this gorilla seemed unusually dull.
Looking left and right to ensure no one was paying attention to her, Thea extended her spiritual tentacles, preparing to see if this gorilla was truly the one from her memories. Out of caution, she only used thirty percent of her power.
But Thea had underestimated her own strength. Just as her spiritual power entered the gorilla's brain, she heard a "thud." Little Grodd didn't even make a sound before fainting stiffly.
Thea felt a bit embarrassed. Her sparring sessions with Diana had become increasingly frequent recently. Although her spiritual power only grew a little each time, it added up. Combined with the blessing of divine power, her spiritual strength was far stronger than the norm.
Seeing Grodd faint so decisively, she realized she had used too much force. While she was muttering to herself about whether she should have used only ten percent, Grodd groggily woke up again.
Although the little gorilla's eyes still looked blank, Thea's spiritual power detected a difference. This gorilla had actually been stimulated by her to show the faintest sign of intelligence.
It couldn't be called mind control, and it didn't even possess basic logical thinking, but this gorilla had already surpassed its kind on an intellectual level.
"What on earth is... going on?" Thea dared not trust her memories anymore. She had saved Deadman, so could it be that Grodd's telepathic abilities were also accidentally created by her? Connecting this to the phrase Grodd always hung on his lips in the future—"Grodd hates bananas"—Thea refused to believe this had nothing to do with her smashing him with bananas every day.
Cause and effect? Past and future? Various thoughts collided constantly, making things somewhat creepy for a moment. Did she gain memories to change their fates, or was their fate originally changed by her? Thea didn't know. She could only continue to watch how things developed.
Although it was a bit unbelievable, during moments when the keepers weren't paying attention, Thea discovered that Grodd was showing characteristics increasingly different from his kind. The confusion in his eyes was gradually dissipating, and his body was getting stronger. When the keepers fed him, he could already use some simple fawning expressions and body language to get more food. All signs indicated that this gorilla was on a path of rapid evolution.
Thea observed for two more days. She decided not to wait any longer. There was a seventy percent chance that this gorilla was indeed the Grodd who would beat the Flash senseless in the future.
"Those not of my kind are sure to have different hearts"—this saying was a true portrayal of Grodd's life. He always believed he was superior to humans, and his life's goal was how to destroy humanity more efficiently.
Different from Deadman—although Deadman did jerky things, he was essentially a good person. Grodd was completely different.