"Scientific methods, you say?" If she weren't being forced into it, she wouldn't want to use her holy sword either. A weapon with such tremendous power would indeed be troublesome if she couldn't control it properly.
Thea ran through all currently available technology and her advanced-tech arsenal in her mind. Sure enough, she actually thought of something.
When Luthor had been collecting Superman's cells, he'd used nanoscale robots. Thea had initially assumed the robot needles used kryptonite, but later discovered Luthor had employed a type of pseudo-kryptonite to avoid Superman's detection.
It functioned the same as kryptonite—capable of degrading Kryptonian cells—but the process was extremely subtle and unnoticeable.
Being able to bypass Superman's super-senses and openly collect cells, Luthor was truly formidable.
Pseudo-kryptonite should solve Kara's current problem. In the future, it could even help Superman shave, or Faora trim her hair and eyebrows...
This technology definitely wasn't included in the commercial acquisition. Apart from asking Luthor directly, the only option was to check his records.
Fortunately, Thea currently had a good relationship with Lena Luthor. Leaving Diana to keep Kara company, she teleported to LuthorCorp.
Upon learning her purpose—though of course Thea didn't mention it was for ear piercing; her excuse was dealing with Kryptonian bio-weapons—Lena readily agreed to let her view Luthor's notes.
Luthor's knowledge was extraordinarily rich, with deep achievements across all industries. Thea spent most of the day at the Luthor estate before finally finding the pseudo-kryptonite's composition and manufacturing process in the vast ocean of records.
She didn't need to rely on modern equipment for production. Firestorm had the ability to create inorganic matter from nothing. Finding the old professor, she explained Luthor's notes in detail, consulted Lobo Rob's opinions, and directly manufactured a large chunk of pseudo-kryptonite.
Clutching this lump of kryptonite, she returned to Themyscira. This time it finally worked—Kara successfully got two ear piercings and flew home to play, utterly delighted.
After bustling about all day, Thea was too lazy to go home and simply decided to spend the night on Themyscira.
The two rode horses around the entire island twice. Seeing Diana's spirits high, Thea happily went along with her wild playing.
By the end, they were perfectly fine while the two horses nearly collapsed from exhaustion. They'd been staying with Hades every day before this—when had they ever needed to run so crazily?
The two goddesses took pity on the poor horses and strolled through the mountains on foot. When they reached the summit, they happened to catch the slowly descending sunset.
"I really envy Kara—so carefree. That's true happiness." The twilight illuminated the side of the valkyrie's face, accentuating her perfect cheeks and straight nose. For a moment, she seemed enveloped in a sacred aura.
Thea said nothing but sat down on the ground. Diana sat beside her, and they leaned close together.
"You seem a bit anxious lately. I haven't seen this emotion from you in a long time?" Diana turned Thea's face toward her, gazing into her lover's eyes as she asked.
Thea didn't mention that it was the King of Tears incident that had suddenly triggered her sense of crisis. Not strong enough—so what if she reigned supreme on Earth? In front of those truly powerful beings, she was just a matter of one finger.
Especially since she'd already invested so much in this world. So many people had bonds and connections with her. Initially she might have been able to say "if I can't win, I'll run," but could she run now? Even if she could run, how many people could she take with her?
The Martian Manhunter was a perfect example. Though he'd never said it aloud, Thea knew he'd always regretted lacking the ability to save his people. When facing a true catastrophe, how much stronger could she be than him?
But these words weren't suitable for Diana to hear. The God of War required high confidence. If Diana knew there were so many powerful beings above her, advancing further would become extremely difficult.
After thinking it over, she offered a different reason. "I've told you about New Genesis and Apokolips, right? Recently both sides have been preparing intensively. The great war could start at any moment. This battle might determine the multiverse's ultimate fate."
This topic was equally heavy, but a battle between good and evil perfectly aligned with Diana's values. She wouldn't prevent her lover from participating in such combat—she even resented herself for not taking that final step despite working so hard, despite feeling she was only one line away.
"Don't pressure yourself. There can't be many in this universe stronger than you, right? I have great confidence in you!" Diana said with a smile at the corner of her mouth.
"There really aren't many stronger than me now!" Thea declared energetically, then looked at Diana's red lips glowing brilliantly in the evening light and couldn't help kissing them...
After staying on Themyscira for two days, Thea felt there was no need to put so much pressure on herself. She'd already reached the peak of the current era. If she was still afraid and timid despite that, how could ordinary people live?
Reducing work time and increasing leisure and entertainment—that was her method for relieving stress.
Following comics turned out to be a good solution she'd discovered during this period. Many comic artists had already illustrated her and Diana's story with vivid detail. The content was so "wicked" and the art style so bold that even she, as one of the subjects, felt her heart race while reading.
Today, while following the latest comic release, her secretary walked in with steady steps. Thea quickly closed the website and put on an extremely proper expression.
"An unknown person sent a USB drive. My computer skills can't crack the password on it." Miss Mercy said, handing her a flash drive.
Thea's attention was caught. Miss Mercy had spent years at Luthor's side and could be considered a talent proficient in various fields. Things she couldn't crack were genuinely rare.
Plugging the USB into her computer and mobilizing AI to forcibly decrypt it, the secretary casually reported on several work matters before calmly leaving.
Even with Gideon's power, cracking the USB's encryption took three minutes.
Opening the drive, she found only a single video file.
Seeing Gideon hadn't transmitted any warning signals, she directly opened the file. Harrison Wells's—or rather, Reverse-Flash's—gaunt face appeared on screen.
"Dr. Queen's technology is truly commendable. This encryption uses technology from five hundred years in the future, and your world is truly terrifying," he said.
"From start to finish, I had only one goal: to go home. When you see this video, I'll most likely no longer be in this world. Oh no, no—I won't die." Reverse-Flash waved lightly at the camera.
"I've already found my way home, but I want to say—these fifteen years here, I was genuinely happy." Reverse-Flash removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead.
"I hope you'll give this next segment to Barry at an appropriate time."
"Hello, Barry. When you see this video, I should already be gone from here—not in your world. Whether I've returned home or gone to another parallel timeline, I can't say for certain."
"Fifteen years... I silently watched you grow from a boy to a young man. Though you'll hate me for killing your mother, I feel... I feel..." Reverse-Flash grew very uncertain at this point.