After the group was delayed for a short while, signs of chaos had already begun to appear throughout the city.
"Everyone, first gather all the subordinates you can find and bring the city under control. We cannot let people take advantage of the chaos to loot. Then restore the power—connect all electrical equipment to Queen Group's new energy sources. Use traditional methods to broadcast television and radio signals and calm the entire city. Gather all the scientists in the city to work with me on designing this anti-atomization device. And finally—if possible—we also need to seize this alien spaceship."
Thea domineeringly assigned tasks on the spot. As for Luthor, who had always loved the spotlight, she automatically assigned him to the "scientist" camp.
Everyone felt her first few proposals were feasible, but when they heard that she still intended to counterattack the alien spaceship, the entire group was dumbfounded.
"We're on an alien spaceship?"
"Can we even fight aliens?"
"I'm not a soldier. I'll handle logistics instead…"
The crowd erupted into chaos. Even the bodyguards were rattled. Diggle—Thea's personal guard—stood there with his eyes bulging, his mind a complete mess. Thanks to Hollywood, whenever people of this era thought of aliens, they imagined dazzling, effects-heavy wars. Several bodyguards genuinely didn't believe their pistols could take down extraterrestrials, especially with Superman—a living example of an alien—standing as precedent.
Only after they gradually quieted down did Thea explain, "Aliens living among us isn't that strange, is it? With something as absurd as the entire city shrinking, you don't seriously think this was done by some mad scientist on Earth, do you?"
Everyone shook their heads in unison. They didn't believe Earth possessed such advanced technology. A few of the angrier ones were still muttering that if this had really been done by an Earthling, they'd beat the hell out of him.
"You're already this panicked—ordinary citizens would be even worse. That's why I need to stabilize the situation first before starting the broadcast. Does anyone have a better idea?"
Several people in power exchanged glances. They were qualified to compete for leadership, yet they also hoped Thea would save their lives when it mattered. Rationally, they all chose to wait and see.
The rest of the group was completely stunned by the news and had no thoughts of leadership at all.
Luthor did harbor some thoughts about taking the lead, but having lost ground earlier, his momentum was much weaker. Seeing that several major figures remained silent, and lacking knowledge of the full situation, he too chose to wait cautiously.
After gathering everyone's bodyguards and guards, totaling more than two hundred people, the question arose of where to go first. Thea made the final decision: head to the National Guard base.
With power gone and mobile communications cut off, the entire city seemed to have fallen under the devil's control. The darker sides of people's hearts quickly surfaced. As soon as they reached the streets, they witnessed several incidents of robbery and murder.
Kill on sight. That was Thea's strategy. With the Mayor of Metropolis absent, the Vice Mayor and several councilmen hesitated briefly, then shut their mouths.
Those qualified to serve as bodyguards for this group were all excellent shots. Any criminals encountered along the way were shot dead.
At the military base, they still ran into trouble. The base officer insisted on an order from the Pentagon before allowing the troops to leave the camp.
General Lane spat in his face. In this godforsaken situation, where was he supposed to find the Pentagon? In the end, the old general, together with another lieutenant general and three major generals, jointly signed a written guarantee and handed it to the base officer. Only then did they gain command authority over the garrison.
"Split half the troops to suppress the city unrest. The other half guard the armory!" Thea's order was concise. There was no helping it—there were always those who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to steal weapons and advanced equipment. Some colluded from the inside, others robbed openly. Thea had to take precautions early.
The police department's command authority was obtained smoothly. With a single order from the Vice Mayor, just like the military base, half the force went out to the streets while the other half guarded the weapons depot.
During the advance, veterans occasionally joined the ranks. General Lane also pulled his daughter into the group along the way. Thea subtly questioned the professional trouble-magnet, Lois Lane. As expected, Clark Kent had returned to his hometown in Kansas for vacation and was indeed not in the city.
It seemed Superman couldn't be relied on for the time being.
"Thea, what exactly is going on?" Diggle's wife—Amanda's assistant at A.R.G.U.S., Lyla Michaels—found the main group. Using Diggle's connections, she squeezed over to Thea's side and asked in a low voice.
In the original timeline, her first marriage to Diggle lasted only a short time. Diggle's pride couldn't endure living off a woman for long, and the two separated peacefully. They only remarried after Diggle joined the Green Arrow team.
Now, with Thea employing him, Diggle was doing quite well. Whether it was Amanda or Lyla herself, both needed Diggle to maintain contact with Thea. Although the couple still had occasional friction, their tolerance for each other was much higher than in the original timeline.
Thea could only explain everything to her again in a low voice. Halfway through, Lois Lane also joined the listeners, citing a reporter's so-called right to know.
"Aliens? We're on an alien spaceship right now?" Lyla's ability to accept reality was far stronger than that of the high-ranking officials. She made an instant decision—stay by Thea's side and not leave.
Diggle didn't know her thoughts and assumed his wife was seeking his protection. His masculinity immediately surged, and he patted his chest, declaring that he would definitely protect her.
Stabilizing a metropolis with a population of ten million was no easy task. By evening, the chaos was barely brought under control. Those acting on hot-blooded impulse were killed, while those with ulterior motives chose to wait and see.
Thea first restored communications among her own people. Luthor launched a small satellite over the city, setting up a special channel to temporarily transmit communications.
Several major city power lines were also connected to Queen Group's system. The power plant was located in the suburbs and never made it over, so the city could only rely on the new energy independently developed by Queen Group for electricity.
Using the Daily Planet's broadcast studio, Thea began her address to the entire city.
The reputation she had built in Metropolis earlier proved useful. Most people recognized Thea and knew her as a young, compassionate billionaire.
"You may recognize me, or you may not. That doesn't matter. But please listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
"Many people are wondering where the electricity went, where the communication signals went, and where the city's water and gas went. I'm here to tell you: we have been abducted by an evil alien lifeform. All of us were shrunk using extremely advanced technology and then sealed inside a glass dome. That's right—if you look up now, you can see it. That's not some special metal. It's just an ordinary glass cover you could buy on the market for two dollars apiece. Every single one of us has been shrunk."
The earth-shattering statement left everyone watching or listening to her speech stunned. Even several criminals who had been shouting about pulling off a big score stopped in their tracks. This was far beyond anyone's expectations. If everyone had been shrunk by aliens, what was the point of robbing money at all?