Barely two days after the power armor was completed, Thea, who was still delving into her research, was called out for a meal.
The person inviting her was Shado, the little beauty working as a forensic examiner at the Star City Police Department.
"Is your father doing better?" Thea put down her bag and asked casually.
"Still the same, though his complexion is much better than before."
The two chatted idly for a few sentences. Shado checked to ensure no one was around before speaking in Chinese about her purpose for the meeting today.
"You want to be a superhero and fight criminals?" Thea was a bit startled hearing Shado's words. A person from that certain unspeakable country running across the ocean to be a superhero... no matter how she looked at it, the situation felt bizarre.
"Yes. Recently, the crime rate in Star City has shown a rising trend. Many criminals are caught but released due to insufficient evidence. Star City is my home now; I want to contribute," Shado said with a very serious expression.
Thea had heard about these things. Malcolm Merlyn's departure had created a vacuum in Star City's underground forces. Many criminals he had previously suppressed with an iron fist were starting to pop up. Coupled with the increase in immigrants over the past two years, the conflict between locals and outsiders was causing more and more violent elements in the city.
The few small troubles Queen Consolidated encountered recently were inseparable from these people's eagerness to make a name for themselves. But Thea was running herself ragged every day; she really didn't have the energy to fight street crime.
"Perhaps she's a good candidate?" Thea looked Shado up and down continuously, staring until the little beauty felt creeped out.
"What is it...? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Let's go. To my secret base. I'll introduce a friend to you... wait, no, you know her." Thea said words that confused Shado, then dragged her to the secret base.
...
"Miss Felicity Smoak, computer expert. You two should have met; she has always been my assistant, providing me with tech and logistical support from behind the scenes."
"This is Shado. She wants to become a superhero. I think you two can coordinate more, since I'm often not in Star City."
The two women knew each other previously, just not well. Now that they shared certain secrets, their relationship skyrocketed.
Thea waited for them to chat a bit before asking, "Shado, what method do you want to use to fight criminals?"
Shado didn't hesitate at all. "I want to inherit my father's mantle. I'll use a bow and arrow!" Her tone was decisive and incredibly firm.
... The corner of Thea's eye twitched slightly. She asked uncertainly, "A green suit?"
"Yes!"
Thea was rendered completely speechless. Green clothes, using a bow and arrow—wasn't this Green Arrow debuting ahead of schedule? Would her codename be Green Arrow Girl?
"Green is good! Green is good!" Felicity hadn't participated in their conversation initially, but hearing the topic of "Green," she couldn't help but jump in, giving Shado a smile that said, 'You have great taste.'
Her smile made Shado feel a bit baffled, but the gentle woman smiled back in response.
"Let me see your skills." Thea tossed her a bow and arrows.
Thwack, thwack. Shado fired ten arrows in succession. The first few were a bit rusty, but the last few fully displayed her level.
"Not bad." Thea thought about it and could only answer this way. Shado's archery would be considered stunning in the eyes of ordinary people, but in Thea's view, the power, speed, and precision were lacking. There was a gap compared to Thea herself, Malcolm, or the future Oliver.
Shado also understood her rough level. "Father once said my strength is insufficient. No matter how much I train my archery, this is the limit."
"Try putting these on." Thea threw her a pair of gauntlets. These were transitional products between the original mechanical arm and the power armor. They purely increased strength and were useless to Thea, left gathering dust after research.
"Hm?" Shado was smart and smoothly put on the gauntlets. The skyrocketing strength astonished her. She picked up the bow and pulled hard—Snap! The bow body was pulled directly apart.
"One ton of force. The gauntlets are adjustable. Try again." Thea threw her another bow and arrow set.
This time, Shado didn't exert sudden force. The result of the increased strength was that the bowstring could be drawn to its absolute limit. The speed of the sharp arrows at full draw instantly went up a level; all ten arrows pierced through the target.
This amazed Shado endlessly. She took off the gauntlets, carefully feeling the difference in power.
As a member of Thea's team on the surface, tech equipment was essential. Thea brought out the set of gear she had used that day.
"Afraid of heights?" Thea asked.
Shado shook her head. Are there archers afraid of heights? They hopped around treetops and eaves all day; if they were afraid of heights, what was the point!
Thea couldn't give her the Atom Board; first, the color was wrong—wearing all green with a red skateboard would look weird. Second, that board was bound to Thea's brainwaves, so others couldn't use it.
Fortunately, their machining capabilities had reached a new level compared to four years ago. Gideon could further optimize the structure, so it wouldn't be as cobbled together as before. In less than an hour, a new type of hoverboard was born.
Thea also prepared a Kevlar combat suit for her. Their body types were similar, with Shado being slightly shorter. She also equipped her with various trick arrows, basically replicating the loadout Thea took to Gotham that day.
Watching Shado fly happily outside for two laps, Thea decided to pour some cold water on her. "Your melee combat is no good. If you don't want to use firearms, your melee strength must be improved."
"Father only taught me archery back then..."
"Come, attack me. You can only go out to fight criminals when I'm satisfied." Thea's melee combat was currently considered top-tier in the world. In her eyes, Yao Fei's melee skills weren't that great either, and as his daughter, Shado was even worse. Expecting her to become earth-shatteringly good was impossible, but she at least needed the ability to fight back.
The next few days entered the phase of training Shado. Later, since she was already herding one sheep, Thea figured she might as well drag a second one in, so she pulled Damian into the teaching sessions as well.
Damian liked the tactic of teleporting to an enemy, stabbing them, and running away. Limited by his total mana pool, Thea didn't continue teaching him magic and could only guide his melee combat. Teaching both sides was troublesome, so she simply pulled them together.
She couldn't mention the Batman surname when introducing names, so Thea referred to Damian as "Other People's Kid," which made the brat extremely dissatisfied.
Regarding why such a small child had to learn martial arts, Shado could only interpret it as the American Empire being too dangerous—a 6-year-old child had to learn martial arts for self-defense, or else they couldn't survive!
Gentle Shado had quite a lethal effect on the brat. They got along relatively well. Plus, Shado's basic melee skills were also passed down from the League of Assassins lineage . Sparring with each other benefited them both. Occasionally, when Thea felt lazy, she would just explain the theory and let them practice against each other. Both of their strengths improved rapidly.