Transformed into the DC World

Thea only managed to grab his hair and noticed that the guy's hairstyle was quite peculiar. He wore his hair on his head like a trident, with a pointed protrusion in the middle, similar to the Teletubbies, and two tenacious locks on each side growing backward. Looking into the man's eyes, Thea noticed a green light flickering in the forest. She thought, There must be a lot of heavy metal objects around!

So insidious! He wants to poison my lady!

After searching carefully for a long time, Thea became frustrated upon realizing that there was no ideal spot to strike his head. To ensure her own safety, she decided to switch from karate to taekwondo.

She delivered a kick to the fold of his leg, forcing him to kneel, then spun around to land another kick to his lower back. Even so, she was still holding back. If she had hit his spine directly with her current strength, that Teletubby would spend the rest of his life lying in bed. Of course, the kick wasn't light either—he'd probably lose a kidney and have half his spleen damaged.

With just two moves, she had left one of them brain-dead. The other two finally reacted, screaming and attacking. One of them resorted to a basic street fight, raising his right fist as if daring Thea to meet him head-on. The other, however, irritated Thea by running towards her with his arms open, as if he intended to embrace her with questionable intentions.

That bastard definitely isn't thinking anything good!

Thea regretted not using her bow and arrow. If he touches me, he'll get my shoes dirty! And they're brand new—I bought them just a few days ago!

She dodged swiftly, letting the man stumble forward into nothing, and in that instant, she launched a flying kick at the other man's face. He barely had time to register what was happening before she struck him again, from both sides. Finally, she shouted:

— Die!

She delivered a high, ferocious kick to his chin, making a sharp "crack" sound. The impact was strong enough to completely shatter the bone, and it would likely affect his cervical spine and collarbone to varying degrees.

In the end, only one enemy remained. Seeing his two companions unconscious on the ground, his trembling mind finally registered that staying any longer would be his doom. Without hesitation, he turned and ran toward the road.

There was no way Thea would let him escape so easily. With such a big target running away from her, it would be a waste not to shoot! Plus, this was the perfect chance to test her archery skills. She picked up the bow and arrow from the ground, drew it swiftly without even aiming, and fired.

The arrow sliced through the air like lightning in the jungle. This man hadn't done anything excessively vile, so Thea decided to give him just a small lesson. She aimed at his calf, ensuring that he'd need crutches for about three months.

At that moment, the sound of clapping echoed around her.

— Clap, clap, clap.

Malcolm, dressed in black and armed with his signature black arrows, spoke in a hoarse voice:

— Well done. It seems you've almost learned everything from me. But why didn't you kill them? They aren't good people. Are you afraid they'll come back for revenge?

Thea had been reflecting on this question ever since she suspected Malcolm was testing her. To kill or not to kill? That is an eternal theme in all kinds of hero stories and blood-soaked comics. This debate could last for days.

Most righteous heroes insist on not killing, like Batman and The Flash. Others kill without hesitation until a certain point before deciding to stop, like her brother, the Green Arrow.

In the end, her choice was not to kill. Or rather, to never kill again from this point forward. The decision to kill or not is an important dividing line between heroes and villains—crossing it means becoming a villain, while refusing to cross it means remaining a hero.

Of course, Thea couldn't explain this whole heroic philosophy to a major villain like Malcolm. Instead, she decided to borrow and slightly modify Batman's ideology to deceive him.

Pointing at the Teletubby man, she said:

— That guy over there, vomiting blood under the tree, has symptoms of subacute bleeding and spinal cord edema. If he doesn't get into surgery immediately, the pressure in his internal organs will increase, leading to spleen rupture and kidney failure.

Then, she gestured toward the man lying almost lifeless on the ground and smiled:

— This one is even worse. If he doesn't receive first aid within 30 minutes, he won't live to see the sunrise. Even if he gets treated in time, he'll spend the rest of his life bedridden. His central nervous system has been damaged, and unless there's a major breakthrough in modern medicine, he'll remain a useless shell of a person. And considering the damage to his jaw, he won't be able to speak for the rest of his life.

Finally, she referred to the last enemy, the one shot by her arrow:

— As for the one I hit, even if he survives, he'll be crippled for life. The nerve compression in his lower limbs will likely cause multiple sclerosis. The full extent of his injuries will only be clear after medical treatment.

Then, looking at Malcolm coldly, she added:

— Since I encountered these three idiots, I've been backlit. They never saw my face, and they didn't seem to have high-definition cameras or infrared scanners.

After a brief pause, she concluded:

— Because of my decision today, their destinies have changed. Their original life paths may be altered—they might turn over a new leaf and become good people. Or maybe they'll settle down, get married, and live ordinary lives. It's neither good nor bad. But for me, they have been completely ruined by my intervention. Isn't that the magic of fate?

You all love to talk about fate, so I'll talk about fate too!

Thea twisted Batman's theory of not killing villains and transformed it into a ruthless philosophy about fate. Her words were like a dark, twisted version of the Dark Knight's ideals. If Bruce Wayne had heard it, he might have wanted to punch her!

Malcolm was surprised. His daughter had not only developed her own worldview but had also built a logical foundation to support it. He pondered for a moment: Had I been killing the wrong people? Was letting them live an even worse fate than death?

Comparing it to his own experience, it made sense. His wife had died, yet he, as a living man, had suffered 20 years of torment. Thea was right.

Thinking of Robert and Oliver, Malcolm realized that they had simply died and left Moira and Thea to live in agony. Could it be that not killing is actually more cruel than killing?

Accepting his daughter's reasoning, at least partially, Malcolm decided to drop the argument and move on to the next phase of his plan.

— Right or wrong, that is your belief. And that's good. You asked me to train you, and I fulfilled your request. Now, only one final step remains. I want to see the results of your training.

As he spoke, he drew his katana, pointing it diagonally at the ground, and slowly advanced toward Thea.

It seemed like tonight's battle wasn't over yet.