Her mood, still shaken from the talk with Malcolm, made her too restless to return to work. Picking up her phone, Thea called home.
"Mom, I'm taking a walk. I won't be coming back to the office today."
"Thea, did he come to see you? What did he say? Are you all right?" Moira's anxious voice came through the line.
"I'm fine. We talked… pretty well, actually." Thea forced a small laugh. It had gone well, in its own odd way, but she didn't want her mother worrying, so she gave a brief report.
"My dear, whatever you decide, you must remember — your mother will always support you."
"Thanks, Mom."
After hanging up, Thea let out a long sigh. Her parents might not have been good people in the eyes of the world, but when it came to her, they were beyond reproach. No matter what it costs,she thought, I'll make sure they both live.
She and Malcolm had agreed to begin training that evening. Since it was still early morning, Thea decided to stop by the library to read for a bit — learn more about this version of the world she'd landed in.
Just as she stood to leave, a blur of pink appeared out of nowhere and crashed straight into her with a loud thud.
"Oof!" Thea stumbled back, nearly knocking over the coffee table behind her before she sat down again, unhurt.
The other person wasn't so lucky — a blonde woman in a pink dress and beige jacket sat on the floor, dazed. A pair of square glasses slipped down her nose as she blinked in confusion.
That face… I know her. The color, the style, the badge clipped to her jacket — "Queen Consolidated." And the name. Oh my God, it's her!
Suppressing a grin, Thea crossed her arms and put on a mock-serious expression. "Miss Felicity Smoak, could you tell me why you're here during work hours?" she asked, glancing around at the café.
Felicity froze. "Uh— coffee? Wait, no… I'm writing a report! Yes, a report!"
Thea had to hold back a laugh. So cute. Behind those awkward mannerisms was a genius — one of Team Arrow's future brains, a world-class hacker who would one day have the Arrow, the Flash, and even Atom wrapped around her little finger. For now, though, she was just an MIT grad trying to stay out of trouble at Queen Consolidated.
"And who's that report for?" Thea teased, pulling out her phone as if ready to call someone.
Felicity's eyes darted everywhere, mind scrambling for a name to make up — maybe she could fake an assignment later using her hacker skills. Then it hit her. Wait. Why am I even explaining myself?
"Who are you, anyway? Why do I have to tell you anything?" she snapped back.
Thea blinked. She doesn't recognize me?Apparently, there were still corners of the company untouched by her recent tour — and clearly, Felicity had been hiding in one of them napping.
She pulled out her ID and held it up.
"…Thea Queen? Who— oh my God!" Felicity yelped so loudly that even the barista turned to stare.
Thea nearly fainted. Does she have a volume control problem?
"Did I shout? Okay, maybe I did," Felicity mumbled, covering her mouth. "You're theQueen heiress?"
Thea nodded calmly. Felicity still didn't seem convinced; she whipped out her laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard, then spun the screen around.
"This is you, right? I always thought this photo was so good — really beautiful!"
Thea stared. It was her — a candid shot from the night she'd staged her "drunken runaway" at the bar. Who took this? she wondered. The angle's perfect… really captures the whole tragic beauty vibe. Then it hit her. Wait a sec — did she just hack this off some server in front of me?
"Miss Smoak," Thea said evenly, "where exactly did you get that photo?"
"Uh… the newspaper website!" Felicity stammered, pointing vaguely around as if Thea's picture were plastered all over the city.
"Felicity Smoak," Thea continued, smiling faintly, "you placed second in the National IT Competition at nineteen. You earned your master's in Cybersecurity and Computer Science from MIT. I actually know quite a bit about you."
Felicity froze, her jaw dropping. This girl hadn't even touched a keyboard, and yet she'd rattled off her résumé like a background check. Is Queen Consolidated monitoring me? she thought, feeling a chill.
Seeing Felicity's flustered expression filled Thea with delight. Ah, the advantage of knowing the script, she mused. Feels good to flex it for once.
"How about a drink? My treat," Thea offered with a smile.
Felicity pointed toward the direction of Queen Consolidated. Her expression said, Shouldn't you be heading back?
Thea laughed. "Ha! I'm playing hooky today."
"You're skipping work. I'm, uh… working remotely," Felicity said quickly, not wanting to lose ground.
"Sure. Working, playing — same thing. Order what you want; it's on me." (Of course, technically it was still on Malcolm's tab — she'd just never closed it.)
Though still wary, Felicity decided she could afford to chat a bit. Work was boring anyway.
The two women talked easily — Thea shared a few harmless jokes about company execs, and Felicity reminisced about her college days. They laughed, relaxed, and before long decided to visit the bar where that infamous photo had been taken.
At the bar, the owner's "girlfriend number three or four" immediately recognized Thea and hurried to serve them. Drinks arrived, and the conversation deepened.
Despite her neat pink outfit, Felicity wasn't the prim type — she'd once rocked heavy eyeliner and a punk wardrobe before "rebranding" after her boyfriend went to prison. Bars weren't foreign to her; they were nostalgic.
Between sips, she talked more freely. "I graduated high school at sixteen, college at eighteen, master's at twenty," she said proudly.
Thea whistled softly. A total prodigy.
Felicity, a little tipsy now, leaned in. "You're really smart too, Thea. You could finish high school in two years, easy. College is where things get fun — high school's just boring."
That gave Thea pause. She'd been thinking about dropping out altogether, what with corporate duties and training ahead. But Felicity's words planted a new thought: maybe she could just speed through it.
Four years of American high school? she mused. I could breeze through in two — maybe even faster.
And if push came to shove… well, Queen Consolidated funded half the city's universities.
A donation or two never hurt anyone.