[ Cemetery, Star City ]
Thea ignored all the people who came to comfort her and kept a cold face. In truth, she didn't know most of them and had no memory of their names. It was obvious the original Thea had very few connections with these families. No one found it strange—after all, she was a fifteen-year-old girl who had just lost her father and brother. A sullen expression was expected. If she had greeted everyone with a smile, that would've been strange.
"Thea, I'm sorry." A young man ignored her frosty exterior and patted her gently on the shoulder.
The young man was the only person around her age that Thea recognized at the scene. He was Oliver's close friend—Tommy, Tommy Merlyn. He was the only son of Malcolm Merlyn… and her half-brother by blood.
It was almost laughable. Oliver and Tommy—her two half-brothers. One shared her father. The other, her mother. The messiness of it all was ridiculous.
Still, the bond felt different. Thea nodded softly and murmured, "Thank you."
Tommy looked devastated. He truly was grieving. He had practically grown up in the Queen household. To him, Robert and Oliver were like a second father and brother. Their deaths struck him hard. The hundreds of mourners were all visibly sad, but Thea knew that only two and a half people here were truly grieving—Tommy, Moira Queen… and her, only halfway, because she knew Oliver was still alive.
After giving Tommy a light hug, Thea didn't linger among the crowd. She quietly made her way back to the car.
Seeing her retreat, Moira Queen excused herself quickly and followed. The two rode back to the Queen Mansion in silence.
...
[ Queen Mansion, Star City ]
Thea turned down Moira's suggestion that they sleep together that night and retreated to her room alone.
There are still five years before the plot begins.
She couldn't afford to waste time. This world was dangerous. In the Arrow storyline, people close to Oliver were kidnapped repeatedly. Villains would abduct someone, Oliver would rescue them, and then someone else would get taken—it was a never-ending cycle. Five seasons of repetitive danger.
And that was after Oliver returned. What about now? There was a five-year vacuum. She was now the sole heir of the Queen Consolidated. Kidnapping and extortion attempts weren't just possible—they were inevitable. The bodyguards hired by the Queen family were as useless as always. The strongest among them might be John Diggle, but even he had once been mocked by the League of Assassins as being on par with kindergarten security.
What if Malcolm—the great conspirator—set his sights on the Queen fortune? Theoretically, if he married Moira and then had her killed, he'd inherit it all. If he didn't know Thea was his daughter, there was a seventy to eighty percent chance he'd do it.
It would be a cruel twist of fate—dying at the hands of her own father who never knew the truth.
In the original storyline, Thea descended into partying and depravity after losing her father and brother. Perhaps Malcolm lost interest in her then—saw her as a harmless mess and left her alone. But that wasn't going to happen now. The presence of her previous soul made her instinctively repulsed by men. Promiscuity was off the table.
If Malcolm saw me inheriting the Queen Group with such poise and strength… would he see me as a threat? If I were in his shoes—would I act? Of course I would.
Rubbing her temples, Thea felt the weight of anxiety settle in her chest. She only now realized that Moira's effort to network at the funeral wasn't about appearances—it was likely a desperate attempt to secure allies. To protect her.
A great and tragic mother. Moira simply couldn't fathom that Malcolm would harm his own daughter—because she didn't know the man's true nature. He was a wolf in a suit. A beast with no heart. In the series, even when Oliver opposed him—Oliver, whom he claimed to love like a son—Malcolm never hesitated to strike.
Even Thea, his own daughter had been betrayed again and again in the series.
Thankfully, for now, Malcolm was at his peak. As long as his plans weren't disrupted, he had no reason to come after her. But that safety hinged on one crucial question—did he know she was his daughter?
That question plagued her well into the night. Eventually, she fell into a restless sleep. In her dreams, Superman and Batman clashed in the chaos of Dawn of Justice, and she died like an insect crushed in the chaos.
She awoke in a cold sweat, unable to sleep again. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, until Moira called her down for breakfast.
"Oh, Thea, you look terrible. Should we call a doctor?" Moira asked, embracing her gently.
"I'm okay, Mom. Just didn't sleep well. I'll lie down again later."
Tommy came over for breakfast too. He spent more time at the Queen mansion than he did at home. As he chatted warmly with her, Thea had a sudden realization—Tommy was her breakthrough.
Her mother already knew the truth. There was no point in testing her. What mattered was whether Malcolm knew. If she made a show of closeness with Tommy in front of Malcolm, it would provoke a reaction—if he did know, he'd absolutely interfere.
Uncomfortable as the idea was, Thea knew this was the only way. Thankfully, Tommy was friendly and didn't mind her company. For the sake of survival, she had to endure it.
In the original series, Thea had even shown romantic interest in Tommy. Thankfully, the writers had enough integrity not to cross that line. Tommy, unaware of the truth, rejected her gently and insisted they were like siblings. In truth, they were siblings. It was a small miracle that situation didn't escalate..
Over the following days, Thea kept up appearances in front of Moira, while subtly growing closer to Tommy behind the scenes. On the surface, she was a grieving girl clinging to her late brother's best friend. In reality, she was using Tommy to draw Malcolm's attention—and protect herself from his potential ambitions.
Everything was a move to survive Malcolm Merlyn. He was the invisible emperor of Star City. Without his tacit approval, no one around him was truly safe.
Thankfully, she was his daughter. That was one truth that could never change. Once it was known, her position would be unshakable.
People didn't comment much on her daily attire of suits and leather pants. They assumed her mental state was a little shaken from grief, and that she'd return to skirts and heels eventually. In reality, Thea had shoved all those short dresses into the deepest corners of her closet. Unless Superman himself turned villain, she wasn't wearing them ever again.
To his credit, Tommy was a good friend. He didn't grow tired of her constant presence, assuming she was simply hurting. He did his best to cheer her up, even neglecting his official girlfriend, Laurel Lance, in the process.
To Be Continued...
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