Chapter 23: Chapter 23 The first battle?
Detective Lance's hand suddenly gripped the doorframe tightly, and for a moment, Thea feared he might pull the entire door off its hinges.
"Listen, little girl, I can forgive the Queen Group, but I will never forgive Oliver Queen. Not now, not ever. Remember what I said." After speaking, he shot Thea an irritated look.
Well, the negotiation had failed. This grudge certainly wouldn't be easy to resolve. Oliver was reckless in his actions—how could something like this happen? Even Sun Ce, when faced with two beautiful women, knew to share Zhou Yu. Oliver, on the other hand, had made a mess of everything, even betraying his own sister.
Despite not achieving the ideal outcome, Lance wasn't completely opposed to cooperating with the Queen Group. That alone was a victory. There was still a police inspector above him, but that man had a very good personal relationship with Lance and didn't involve himself in day-to-day affairs. Essentially, the Star City police force was Detective Lance's domain.
This issue had to be resolved as soon as possible. Otherwise, if left unaddressed, it would fester, and Thea's carefully designed plans could fall apart.
At the same time, she needed to rescue Sarah as soon as possible. Once Sarah returned, many of these grievances could be settled—at the very least, the conflict between the Queen family and Lance could be resolved. As for whether the two sisters would end up fighting over a man, well, that was a family matter. Thea decided she didn't care.
Frowning as she recalled the plot, she remembered that Sarah Lance should be on that ship right now. As long as Oliver hadn't made a move yet, she was likely still safe for a few more months.
Knowing she still had some time, Thea put the rescue plan on hold for now and turned to look at Laurel, who sat beside her with a sorrowful expression. It was hard to tell whether she was grieving her sister's presumed death or still heartbroken over Oliver. Either way, Thea couldn't just ignore her.
She pulled Laurel into a hug. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Thea. You're stronger than I thought," Laurel said, her voice slightly choked with emotion.
Although Thea knew Oliver and Sarah were still alive, she still felt sadness over the death of her adoptive father, Robert. Quickly changing the subject, she said, "Can you give me a ride home? You know, I don't have a driver's license…"
Laurel chuckled softly, and the two women headed toward the slums together. When they arrived, Thea realized that her so-called software department was located very close to Laurel's law office—just across the street. "Let's grab tea together next time," she suggested.
That evening, as usual, Thea went to the secluded forest to train. Without realizing it, she had already been training for half a year. She had become proficient in archery, hand-to-hand combat, and knife techniques. According to Malcolm, she had reached the skill level of a standard member of the League of Assassins, though she still lacked real combat experience.
This was different from the original storyline. The Flash had multiple speedsters in his team, while the Green Arrow squad had its own ranged attackers. Oliver, Roy, and the original Thea had all used bows. The original Thea had focused entirely on archery, with fencing as a secondary skill and hand-to-hand combat as a last resort.
But Thea no longer saw things that way. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to join the Green Arrow team in the future. She'd help if necessary—after all, Oliver was her brother—but she wasn't interested in permanently joining them.
Her focus had always been on unexpected confrontations. If she had time to prepare in advance, she could equip herself with the necessary tools and technology. In those cases, she wouldn't say she was invincible, but she could at least hold her ground.
However, ambushes were another story. No matter how skilled she was in archery or fencing, they would be useless in a surprise attack. After all, in the real world, people rarely walked around with their weapons drawn. Of course, if someone had antisocial personality disorder and carried a large blade everywhere, that was a different matter…
But Thea wasn't that kind of person. She had some dignity. So, she focused her training on hand-to-hand combat—karate, joint locks, judo, and KGB fighting techniques. In unarmed combat, she could match Malcolm at a four-to-six disadvantage. Of course, this was only because Malcolm held back. The natural differences in strength, body size, and years of experience between men and women couldn't be ignored.
As she waited in the dense forest, she found it strange that Malcolm, who was usually very punctual, hadn't shown up yet.
Sensing something off, she turned her attention to a group of figures approaching from the right. Their movements felt malicious.
Three men emerged from the shadows. It was hard to determine their ages because their makeup was bizarrely eerie. All of them wore dark, heavy eye makeup, and the dim lighting made them look even more sinister. They were also dressed in all black. From a distance, they resembled the criminals from Detective Conan!
Several decorative rings hung from their clothes, the only sources of light on them. Their movements were strange, almost as if they were gliding instead of walking.
Where did these weirdos come from? Thea wasn't afraid of them, but she didn't want to get involved. She turned away, intending to leave the forest and wait for Malcolm elsewhere.
"Hey, there's a woman!" one of them suddenly called out.
The other two, clearly drunk, didn't even think before reacting. Their bodies moved instinctively, charging toward her like animals on the hunt.
Seeing them approach, Thea didn't plan on running. She had a vague feeling that this was a test set up by Malcolm. Otherwise, what were the chances of three lowlifes showing up in such an isolated area?
Might as well use them to test her combat skills. She wasn't afraid of fighting—she was only worried that their disgusting remarks might ruin her appetite for dinner.
She still had her bow and knives with her, but she moved quickly, preparing to fight hand-to-hand. It wasn't difficult to deal with three idiots like them, but deciding who to take down first was a minor dilemma.
"Hey, little girl—" One of them started to speak, but he didn't get to finish.
Thea had already chosen. It wasn't because he spoke first—it was just scientifically proven that people who start trouble first tend to be the most annoying.
She didn't need any flashy moves to handle these thugs. At this stage, her so-called "big moves" were KGB-style takedowns similar to Black Widow's techniques in Marvel.
But those moves were too showy. Whenever she used them, Thea felt uncomfortable. For one, they were extremely lethal—if executed poorly, they could break someone's neck or skull. For another, it felt odd to practice these techniques with Malcolm, her own mentor and father figure.
Without hesitation, she grabbed the lead thug's right hand and twisted it in the opposite direction. A sharp scream filled the air.
Seeing his back wide open, Thea planned to use a karate move to grab his ear and kick him down. But as she reached out, she hesitated.
His ear was covered in piercings—dozens of studs and rings, making him look like a porcupine.
Would it hurt too much if she grabbed it?