It was designed by the Flash and developed by two families over several generations... but how did it end up in the hands of the Time Masters Council?
Thea was puzzled. Perhaps the future Gideon would know the answer, but this earlier, lower version certainly wouldn't.
The login codes provided by the Council granted her authority even higher than that of the original designer. Was their technology really that advanced? Thea didn't know. She pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the present. Since her authority was so high, there was no need to start from scratch.
"Gideon, can you connect to the external network?"
"Affirmative. However, Dr. Thawne's orders are to remain offline and focus solely on news regarding the Flash on April 25, 2024."
Thea couldn't care less about the Flash. Those guys were just sources of chaos; the world would be better off without a Flash. Unfortunately, she lacked the strength to do anything about it, otherwise, she would have wiped them all out.
"Next time he asks, just show him a fake projection. Tell him nothing has changed. Now, connect to the Queen Consolidated supercomputer."
"Command accepted. Logged into the Queen Consolidated supercomputer." Gideon's voice emitted from the tablet Thea carried, sounding slightly more lively.
Although it was just a machine, it still found being trapped in Thawne's cramped setup stifling. Thawne was practically begging for scraps to fund the lab and didn't dare expose Gideon's existence, so it usually ran on low power and low specs.
Now, entering the supercomputer built with the full financial might of Queen Consolidated, with no power constraints or hardware limitations, it was like a fish taking to water—calling it that would not be an exaggeration.
There were countless examples of AI rebellion, so Thea had to be cautious. She tapped away on her tablet, issuing over a dozen layered commands. She believed that with her authority level, as long as she was alive, Gideon couldn't betray her. Of course, if she died... well, it could do whatever it wanted!
In less than ten minutes, Thea slipped out of the secret room. Taking advantage of the moment while everyone was focused on the spectacle, she swapped places with her clone and immediately dispelled it.
The scene had become even more chaotic. Several smaller apes were scattering in all directions. General Wade Eiling didn't know which one to chase, but to assert his authority, he kept shouting orders to the few soldiers still under his control, telling them to catch this one and grab that one, running the poor grunts ragged.
The Reverse-Flash continued to shout loudly nearby, bitterly denouncing the military's inhumanity.
Thea scoffed internally. The current Reverse-Flash had zero Speed Force; she wasn't afraid of him. In her eyes, he was barely stronger than the old man guarding the Queen Consolidated warehouse. However, he created the Flash, and the Flash would bring a whole string of speedsters. Thea was afraid a group of speedsters would jump out of the future timeline to raid her. Because of this collateral concern, she really didn't dare move against the Reverse-Flash.
She couldn't attack him, but messing with him a little was perfectly fine. Thea happened to spot a certain figure watching the commotion and secretly issued a command to Grodd.
Four or five tall, strong gorillas made "whooping" sounds, jumped out from all directions, and grabbed at a fat black woman in the crowd.
This woman was the one who, jealous of their looks when Thea and Caitlin first arrived, had made things difficult for them. Deceiving superiors, bullying subordinates, and throwing her weight around were her daily modus operandi.
Of course, that work style wouldn't help her today. The gorillas were incredibly excited; some touched her face, some held her hands, and two even hoisted the fat woman up, attempting to run off with her.
"Whoa! —" The crowd let out various indistinguishable sounds.
They had originally been watching for fun, but now the apes were trying to kidnap someone. The fat woman was unpopular, but they couldn't just watch her get dragged away by gorillas. A bunch of PhDs and master's students had zero combat ability, so they could only yell and scream to provide verbal support.
Even the Reverse-Flash, who had seen his share of storms, was dumbfounded. Reason told him he should save the woman, but his old arms and legs couldn't beat a gorilla. How was he supposed to wrap this up?
"Capture those gorillas!" General Wade Eiling thought perhaps these were the "abnormal" ones his subordinates reported. Regardless, capture them first, ask questions later.
The soldiers were a bit fed up. Small monkeys were one thing, but these were tall, massive, and very "excited." For a few ordinary humans to capture them alive with bare hands was going to be tough.
But they didn't have to worry for long. A series of gunshots rang out. Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thea, holding a Beretta 92F, took them down one by one, killing all five gorillas.
"Why keep these harmful apes alive! I'll pay for all the damages!" Thea acted righteously indignant. No one could tell that the gorillas had done this under her indirect orders.
The group of terrified researchers, seeing her ruthlessly kill the apes, instantly felt as if they had found a pillar of support and gathered around Thea. Several women were even voicing their support.
"They should have been shot immediately. These military experiments are just too harmful..." The speaker, full of righteous indignation, was Caitlin Snow.
"Good job, Miss Queen!" This was Ronnie Raymond, who knew her identity and knew she wasn't lacking money.
The rest of the clueless onlookers cheered. Even the Reverse-Flash had to show support. "Our lab will compensate for these gorillas! Miss Queen, it's dangerous here*;* you should head back first."
On the surface, the Reverse-Flash seemed to be protecting her and taking the blame, but in reality, he was afraid she would keep shooting and draw out Grodd, making the situation impossible to resolve.
Thea utilized her acting skills to the fullest, angrily dragging Caitlin Snow back to the rest area.
While superficially responding to nonsense like "great aim" and "so decisive," she used her psychic power to wipe away the Reverse-Flash's residual hypnotic intent and instructed Grodd to escape alone, leaving Central City via the sewers.
The Reverse-Flash had no telepathy. After dealing with General Wade Eiling, who kept threatening to "make him pay," he hurriedly calmed the lab staff, patting his chest and guaranteeing that research would not stop and that the light of humanity would forever shine on Central City.
Finally, he visited the psychologically traumatized fat black woman, forcing back his disgust long enough to shake her hand and tell her that everyone hoped she would return to work soon. After bustling about for half the day, he finally had time to go to the location he had previously agreed upon with Grodd.
"Where did he go?" The 25th-century time traveler, who considered himself highly intelligent and played everyone like puppets, circled the dilapidated factory three times. Forget a gorilla; he didn't even see a single gorilla hair.
"Did he get lost in the chaos? Did the military catch him? Or did my hypnosis fail?" The Reverse-Flash's heart sank. He instantly thought of several possibilities, feeling that any of them could be true. He rushed back to the lab and went to the secret room to check if the future had changed.
He never imagined that at this point in time, someone would have higher authority than him. Gideon faithfully executed Thea's command, bluffing: "Nothing to report today. Everything is normal!"