If Thea were a pure Earth hero, there would be no question—kill first, talk later. But unfortunately, she wasn't exactly one...
If being non-human meant deserving death, what about all the aliens in the universe? Although Grodd was one hundred percent an anomaly in the eyes of Earthlings, thrown into the vast universe, there were countless creatures even weirder than him. She couldn't just raise the banner of justice and kill them all.
Thea wanted to plant her own brand in his mind before he fully grew up. This imprint would grow stronger as he matured, but at the same time, it would grant him power. This was none other than the suggestion spell Thea had used against the heads of the Court of Owls in Gotham.
As Grodd's own spiritual power broke through his racial threshold, he would welcome an unprecedented period of explosive growth. At that time, this suggestion spell carrying Thea's spiritual power would merge completely with him. Barring any accidents, this would become his famous powerful skill in the future: Mind Control!
"Hard to imagine... I actually created this guy..." Thea muttered to herself. Everything was just so wondrous. It was precisely due to her secret interference that the gorilla who would one day shake Central City was created. This guy wasn't a mutation caused by military experiments at all. Once she understood the cause and effect, everything made sense: the military had done thousands of experiments, so why did only Grodd stand out? Because there was a mastermind behind him. The military just took the blame.
With zero self-awareness of being a mastermind, Thea's spiritual implantation went incredibly smoothly. The opponent's resistance was weak and feeble, almost non-existent. Her spiritual power was like a vicious bandit; it kicked open the door and moved into the best house. No matter how much the owner screamed, it made no sound.
Thea didn't stay in Central City for long before rushing back to Star City, because Malcolm Merlyn had returned from traveling the world...
The laboring Malcolm Merlyn was unlike his usual gloomy self. Whether it was from the sun or something else, his originally fair skin was trending towards a tan.
"Great harvest. I've already found important clues about the Merlyn family!" This was the first thing Malcolm said when they met.
That necklace didn't mean much to Thea anymore. Her foundation was already complete. The first half of that necklace was a wind-attribute haste spell, and the second half was a water-attribute healing spell. With Thea's current magical attainments, she could cast them easily.
But seeing Malcolm attach so much importance to this matter, she didn't say much.
"You're getting quite involved with the military now..." Malcolm asked with some concern.
"Cooperating with the military is unavoidable for the development of Queen Group. On the other hand, it can also deepen my mother's foundation in politics. They complement each other," Thea answered with certainty. In a global hegemon like the United States, the power of the military was far greater than what the news media revealed. Although she knew there would be a lot of trouble, this was the price of climbing to the top.
Malcolm stared into her eyes. After a long time, he nodded. "Alright, I trust your judgment." Then he took out a stack of documents and handed them to Thea.
What is this? Thea flipped through them casually. "Merlyn Group shares? You mean?..."
"Yes. Your achievements far exceed mine. Merlyn Group is just the past for me, and a burden for Tommy. Although I don't know your plans, obtaining it will also add weight to your leverage with the military."
Although Malcolm's face was serious when he said this, his words were full of fatherly love. Even though Thea rarely showed her emotions easily now, her nose felt a slight sting. She didn't know if she should accept this gift.
"Take it. I will be stationed in the UK for the next few years to continue the investigation. Tommy... I see he's doing quite well in Gotham. I still have a large amount of real estate that he will inherit, which is enough for his daily expenses."
"My daughter, you are my pride, you are a gift from the gods. There isn't much I can do for you, so you must accept this. Our relationship must not be exposed. You know how much Tommy loves his mother. If he knew the truth, our father-son relationship would be completely finished... You must keep it a secret."
Thea's nose twitched slightly. The "father-son relationship" was just an excuse; Malcolm was afraid that her identity as an illegitimate daughter would become a stain on her. He used a relaxed tone to gloss over this relationship.
"Dad!" Thea couldn't control her emotions anymore. Although she felt sorry for old Robert, she was still moved by Malcolm's fatherly love.
"Alright, alright. You're so busy, hurry up and take the documents. Hold a press conference in a few days." Malcolm put the documents in her hands and pushed her out of the room without a word. Thea smiled; this old man who wasn't good at expressing feelings spoke harsh words, but his eyes were actually red...
Back at her place, Thea looked over the documents. They were notarized share gift documents; they would take effect immediately as long as she signed them.
Thea put the documents away after looking at them. She wasn't in such a hurry. She took out the few drops of divine blood she had collected after the great battle with Horus that day.
A total of six drops. Four were ordinary, and two had high energy content. One ordinary drop of divine blood was used to save the Atom, and Thea absorbed another one on Themyscira.
She also absorbed one of the high-content drops later on.
"Only three left... How do I divide this?" Thea rested her chin on her hand, thinking. Originally, she planned to give one to each parent and keep the rest for herself. But now, divine blood didn't help her body much anymore. Even sparring a few times with Diana was more effective than the divine blood.
Leave one drop for Tommy. Although he didn't know about their sibling relationship, he had given up the Merlyn Group. From any angle, she should give him compensation.
But that drop of high-energy divine blood put Thea in a difficult spot. The energy was too high; ordinary people couldn't absorb it. Anyone who took it would die.
Thea could only continue flipping through magic books and constantly consulting Cisco in Central City. Finally, she came up with a method combining magic and technology.
Whether it was Malcolm or Moira, their bodies had already entered a period of decline. Even absorbing ordinary divine blood would be incredibly troublesome.
Although Cisco didn't know what she was doing, he still came up with a good idea: divide one drop into twelve parts, intravenous injection once a month. Sustaining this for a year would allow them to absorb about seventy or eighty percent of it.
As for that drop with higher energy, Thea divided it into twenty-four parts. To be fair, she gave half to Tommy and half to Oliver! Two young men practicing martial arts jointly absorbing one drop of high-concentration divine blood—presumably, they wouldn't explode and die, right?
"What is this?" Malcolm was very curious why Thea hadn't announced the news yet. Anyway, he had already completed the handover with several CEOs and subordinates. At this moment, he was packing his bags, ready to leave for the UK to continue tracking down clues about the Merlyn family descendants.
Thea came to his door and asked him to dismiss the servants, then handed him a silver-white suitcase.