The chest of his dark jacket was torn apart. The guy had a huge fist print on his chest. His powers were slowly repairing his body, but the injury was too severe. Recovering to perfect condition would take considerable time.
On the other side, China White with her rolled-back eyes was entirely Thea's handiwork. Lost in continuous nightmares, she didn't know which were her real past and which were illusions, struggling through self-denial until completely losing consciousness.
In simple terms, the mental overload had shut her down.
Withdrawing the fear emotion she'd planted, China White's self-awareness immediately noticed something wrong. Experiences one had lived through would leave deep impressions—every detail genuine. This formed a stark contrast with the false, hollow nightmares.
She wasn't some street beggar, not some tragic... woman. She was the Triad leader!
China White's consciousness instantly reclaimed her body. Though she was extremely weak, her head foggy, she still tried to stand up to defend against enemy attacks.
"Who's there...?" Like someone with a high fever, she shakily stood up, struggling to open one eye. Seeing Green Arrow's bow aimed at her, her heart sank.
"What were you planning at City Hall!" Oliver, wearing a voice modulator, pulled his bowstring tighter and demanded sharply.
I was going to City Hall? Why would I do that? China White's memories were currently jumbled. After quite a while, she finally sorted things out. Just seeing her companions tied up like dumplings around her confirmed the operation had failed—but where exactly had it gone wrong?
She'd never imagine there had been a whole bunch of superheroes at City Hall. She just felt she'd lost unfairly. Having climbed from the bottom, she'd always believed in learning from defeat—lose today, come back stronger tomorrow. That had always been her fighting creed.
But today's operation was utterly baffling. To say the Green Arrow team before her had defeated her—she wouldn't believe it in a million years. They'd been going back and forth for half a year. If they had the means to capture her silently, could she have survived until today?
Still, a wise person doesn't fight when outnumbered. She understood these principles too well. Very honestly, she said:
"Planning to kidnap some City Hall officials and extort some money."
Oliver was somewhat incredulous. You mustered all your courage to challenge every superhero in the world for just a little money? His tone carried a hint of doubt. "That's all?"
China White looked at him blankly, her mind racing to analyze the information in Oliver's words.
But before she could think it through, a blur of white crossed her vision, and she fainted again.
Thea had knocked her out. "Looks like a coincidence. This woman only knew about the City Hall Christmas banquet. She thought it was just a regular Star City event—didn't realize so many dignitaries would be there."
Oliver understood his sister's meaning. Moira's mayoral term still had two years left. Today was just a small-scale preliminary test, not heavily publicized. These two unlucky fools didn't know the Vice President and a bunch of congressmen were on-site. All that talk about democracy and equality was nonsense—kidnapping a clerk was a criminal case, but kidnapping the Vice President was practically treason.
The Vice President and congressmen had arrived fairly late. Their insiders hadn't seen these VIPs. If they'd known the venue's detailed situation beforehand, they definitely wouldn't have courted death like this.
The incident was over. Whether to send these unlucky guys to the police or handle them otherwise was Oliver's call. Thea went directly to Diana's London apartment.
Late at night in London, silence surrounded them, with only occasional dog barking quickly soothed by owners—disturbing the peace was no joke.
In the quiet room, a subtle fluctuation instantly woke Thea. Spatial teleportation!
Her first reaction was an ambush, but she quickly realized—this disturbance wasn't subtle. An ambush was unlikely. With her skills, very few on Earth could beat her now, and with Diana beside her, even if Superman turned evil and attacked, she wouldn't be afraid.
Diana reacted just as quickly. Both sat up simultaneously, watching the uninvited guest alertly.
The transparent teleportation ripple dispersed. A young woman stumbled out—short blonde hair, wearing a shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, clutching a key tightly. She looked around nervously, then seemed to sense something and looked toward the bedside. Four brilliant eyes stared at her.
"Hi, Diana..." The young woman didn't know Thea. She just felt this woman's gaze was too sharp, as if trying to see through to her internal organs. Kind of absurd—how could human eyes see internal organs?
The sudden arrival in an unfamiliar environment made her extremely nervous, but fortunately she quickly spotted a familiar face. She knew Diana.
"Zola? Why are you in my house? I remember you went back to your hometown," Diana indeed knew this girl. She was very caring and had worked at her foundation for a while.
"Uh, I was at my farm—my farm in Virginia, you know? But just now a strange blue-skinned person came saying he'd protect me, then... then we were attacked. He gave me the key, and I ended up here."
The woman named Zola incoherently recounted the events. As for why she was telling Diana, she didn't know—it just came out naturally.
"She's my employee—or former employee. I think I should help her," Diana explained to Thea.
What could Thea say? She could only chuckle wryly. This woman who'd suddenly appeared had an identity even she herself didn't know—she was Athena's mortal avatar. Yet Thea checked repeatedly and saw not even the slightest trace of divine power. She was completely ordinary.
Her physical features weren't obvious now, but in a while, she'd discover she was pregnant. The official story would claim Zeus had sired another child.
But Thea knew the truth was far stranger. The King of Gods was staging an elaborate scheme to evade his eldest son—and the child would be Zeus himself, reborn. A desperate play for survival and transformation.
Thea's gaze kept scanning the young woman. Nothing—just an ordinary person, at least until the divine will descended. Completely flawless.
As for the blue-skinned person she mentioned, that should be Hermes—the Greek god of speed and thieves. Though he seemed upright, he had ulterior motives too.
Seeing Diana seemed inclined to get involved, Thea could only accompany her.
Soon she'd reunite with Ares and accidentally kill the War God in battle. Thea had to prevent this.