At this moment, Oliver had no idea that his every move was drawing attention from all sides.
As the family left the scene to board a plane back to Star City, they spotted Amanda Waller from afar.
Thea knew this woman was signaling that she had repaid her a "huge favor." All Thea could do was give a slight nod in acknowledgment.
Oliver hadn't undergone any enhancements, but his natural eyesight was excellent. He immediately noticed Amanda and, by instinct, stepped in front of his mother and sister, staring at her warily.
Amanda paused for a moment, then instantly realized that Oliver didn't know about the connection between herself and Thea. The more she thought about it, the more interesting she found this family. Without saying a word to them, she left alone with a faint, knowing smile.
After returning to the old Queen estate and finishing dinner, Moira went to rest by herself, deliberately leaving space for the siblings.
"Let's go for a walk," Oliver suggested. Thea nodded, and the two headed outside together.
"I…" When they reached the empty graves of Robert Queen and the old Oliver, Thea found herself unsure how to begin.
"I know some of what you've been through. I wasn't on the island the entire time these past few years," Oliver said with a smile. "Yao Fei told me. You didn't know, did you? He went back to Lian Yu again."
Thea's mouth fell slightly open. It seemed Yao Fei's old habits died hard—why would he go back when things were going well? That man really couldn't live a peaceful life.
No need to guess—if Oliver had met Yao Fei again, then he must have also met Shado.
Thea scratched her head. "Sorry. I really did want to rescue you from the island back then, but later I got caught up in other things…"
"No need to apologize. Even back then, I wouldn't have gone with you anyway," Oliver interrupted.
With the knot between brother and sister completely untied, the rest was much easier to talk about.
"Your skills are pretty good. Did Yao Fei train you again?" Thea had noticed it the moment they met. It was hard to judge how strong Oliver was in the original timeline, but the Oliver standing before her now—compared to people she knew—was about on par with Nightwing, maybe even a bit stronger.
Talia al Ghul was busy reorganizing the League of Assassins and definitely wouldn't have taught Oliver. Thea doubted the two of them even knew each other. Combined with Yao Fei's return to Lian Yu, it wasn't hard to guess that Oliver had undergone new training.
"Without using any of your weird tricks, want to spar?" Oliver issued a challenge.
"Bring it on!" After days of playing a role, Thea's hands were itching for a fight.
The siblings went to the large training ground behind the Queen estate. Unlike the original timeline, Moira's physical condition had improved significantly, and she exercised regularly. Thea had recommended simple, easy-to-learn karate—relying on raw physical stats to overpower ordinary people, not to become a master, just to have some means of self-defense in an emergency.
"Melee combat?" Seeing Oliver take two wooden swords from the rack, Thea had no objections. She tied up her hair, rolled up her sleeves, kicked off her high heels, grabbed two wooden swords herself, suppressed her attributes to an ordinary human level, and assumed a stance, waiting for Oliver to attack first.
Oliver had originally planned to let his sister strike first, but the moment he felt the aura she released, he immediately changed his mind. Sharp, resolute, unstoppable—any of those words could describe Thea's presence right now. She hadn't even attacked, yet from her stance alone, he knew she was a formidable opponent.
His own sister was this strong? Thea was completely different from the girl in his memories. Over the past few years, he'd traveled widely, met many people, and fought countless battles, but in terms of sheer presence, Oliver had never seen anyone who could match her.
His competitive spirit flared, and he grew serious. Gripping both wooden swords, he observed carefully before launching the first attack, left hand forward, right hand back.
"Use your full strength," Thea said calmly, casually deflecting his overhead strike and snapping her right-hand blade against his arm without mercy.
Oliver reacted instantly. His feet shifted rapidly as he sidestepped, cleverly using the wooden sword in his left hand to block both of Thea's blades at once, while his right sword swept horizontally toward her abdomen.
Thea pushed off the ground and leapt backward, her body twisting lightly in midair as her wrist slashed horizontally toward Oliver.
The siblings traded more than ten rapid exchanges. To Thea's surprise, she hadn't gained much of an advantage.
Oliver's close-combat skills were taught by Deathstroke, but unlike Deathstroke's brutally aggressive style, Oliver's own nature was less domineering, leaning more toward offense within defense.
His defense was airtight, yet his attacks were razor-sharp. Though Oliver hadn't reached his peak yet, he was already developing a distinct fighting style of his own. Given time, it wasn't impossible that he could one day catch up to Batman.
Thea thought her brother's offense was impressive; for Oliver, however, the feeling was pure shock. Back on Lian Yu, Thea had relied mostly on magic to deal with those three enemies—he had no idea her physical skills were this terrifying.
By now, Oliver had long surpassed Deathstroke's old teachings and developed his own understanding of combat, yet no matter how he changed his tactics, he couldn't break through Thea's defense.
Sensing that trace of competitiveness in him, Thea smiled inwardly. She had no intention of knocking her own brother flat on their first day reunited. After all, they'd grown up together—their bond was far deeper than with Tommy.
To spare Oliver's pride, Thea quietly reduced her speed by another twenty percent.
Only then could Oliver finally keep up with her rhythm. After another dozen exchanges, the two finally stopped.
Thea confirmed her assessment: Oliver's melee combat was roughly on par with Nightwing's. Factoring in his exceptional long-range talent, with a bow in hand he ranked just below Lady Shiva and Batman among ordinary humans—slightly stronger than Nightwing and Talia.
With no interest in continuing the spar, the siblings strolled through the leaf-covered hills behind the estate.
"What exactly is magic? And do you know John Constantine?" Oliver hesitated before finally asking the question that had troubled him for a long time.
"Magic is a form of energy application derived by ancient humans from demonic languages and various otherworldly beings—a way of probing the truth of the world. Why? Did you run into Constantine?" Thea replied. "I don't know him personally. I just know of him—he's infamous and not exactly a good person."
She was puzzled. Oliver shouldn't have crossed paths with Constantine anymore.
Hearing his sister's assessment, Oliver thought of certain memories and gave a wry smile. "He really is a bastard. I met him on Lian Yu. He was looking for some kind of orb at the time."
"The Orb of Horus?!" Thea was stunned.
Oliver nodded. That seemed to be the name.
Thea's mind raced as she fell silent. Back then, she had taken the orb, traveled to 1918, and handed it to Madame Xanadu. Could it be that Madame Xanadu later buried it on Lian Yu again?
The artifact had gone full circle and still ended up in Constantine's hands. John Constantine had met Oliver after all—fate worked in mysterious ways.