According to Thea's calculations, this Johnny Sorrow's ultimate ability had a very short duration. Without accumulating five hundred years of power for a single burst, he had no hope of breaking through the double seal.
Of course, this was the most conservative estimate. If a former silent film actor could casually figure out the operational principles of magical power, all contemporary mages might as well find a brick wall to bash their heads against.
Thea even maliciously thought that it might take this guy five hundred years just to understand the barrier's principles, then another five hundred to accumulate power. By the time he got out, the King of Tears would probably have turned to dust.
Having played the role of anonymous hero and resolved the hidden threat, Thea spent the next few days touring various locations with Moira. After half a month of busy work, her mother finally smoothed out all the relationships and got work on the right track.
It was hard to say which was more dazzling—the halo of being the First Daughter or that of a superhero. Either way, she now attracted far more attention from outsiders.
Without deliberately avoiding public scrutiny, intimate images of her with Diana were inevitably captured.
Fortunately, Diana's true identity hadn't been exposed. Yes, that's right—the warrior's high-speed movement during combat plus flowing hair, helmet, armor, and greatsword, so different from her usual ponytail and glasses, meant these severely face-blind media outlets still hadn't recognized her...
"Superhero's Love Life." This was a tabloid, directly using eye-catching headlines to attract attention.
"First Daughter's Mysterious Lover is British Nobility." Not wrong either—Diana currently held British citizenship and, thanks to years of deep work on poverty alleviation frontlines, even had a knighthood bestowed by the Queen.
Anyone with a doctorate had to be addressed as Doctor; anyone with a knighthood had to be addressed properly. In official media reports, Diana had to be called Dame Diana Prince.
For a time, Britain and America got into a war of words over their relationship.
The British looked down on those across the pond, considering themselves superior by birth and viewing the Americans as nouveau riche. Their words dripped with sourness—Money means everything? Money lets you do whatever you want? Meanwhile, the other side couldn't stand them either, seeing them as poor relatives while simultaneously envying the old nobility's history.
Ancestral lands and manor houses might not be worth much money, but when bragging, being able to mention William the Conqueror and such carried so much more weight than some ragged folks from the Mayflower.
Their exposed relationship had media on both sides of the Atlantic attacking each other, while the two parties involved remained blissfully unaware, going about their business as usual.
"This is hilarious!" Moira had entered the White House—a place too restrictive for Thea to visit often, especially when Diana was around. Right now she was lounging in her Metropolis mansion, holding a newly published comic book.
The comic's content was somewhat wicked—it was about her and Diana's "story"...
Thea was reading it with great interest. Her image bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to a certain Artoria. The artist had probably studied art in Japan—the style was extremely delicate and beautiful. To demonstrate American superiority over the British, they'd even added a crown to her image, making her look even more similar...
Since they didn't know the warrior's true strength, they'd made up a story about a queen rescuing a frail young woman, followed by the ancient noble and modern sovereign's meeting, understanding, and eventual romance—all the beloved standard content.
The valkyrie picked up the comic and flipped through it. The entire thing was about how brilliant and mighty Thea was in fighting criminals, while she herself was just a cheerleader shouting encouragement. This really annoyed her—they'd drawn her so weak!
"How am I this weak? This is too much!" Seeing Diana's face flush red with anger, Thea burst out laughing, which led to Diana chasing her around.
Diana's original purpose had been to protect Earth without revealing her true identity. Though quite unhappy, she didn't run to the media to demonstrate her actual strength.
However, two days later she regretted it. A gang of thugs somehow tracked down her whereabouts and, trying to make a name for themselves, avoided Thea and came with automatic weapons to kidnap the "frail" Dame Diana Prince.
Even with Athena's wisdom, Diana was initially confused. It took her a long moment to realize—these people had mistaken her for an easy target.
Wonder Woman exploded, giving these deluded thugs a lesson they'd never forget.
"Still not going to reveal your true identity?" Thea asked, struggling to suppress her laughter.
Diana thought carefully for a long time before finally shaking her head. "Mother once said my duty is to silently protect Earth and humanity. I shouldn't be exposed."
Seeing her reluctance, Thea didn't push. Once this period passed, the media would naturally grow tired of reporting on it.
Time flowed slowly on. Before they knew it, March arrived. Moira had been in office for two months now, and last month she'd even personally landed on Mars—the first national leader to set foot on an alien planet. That alone was enough to secure her place in the history books.
The media storm around Thea and Diana gradually subsided in official outlets, but on certain indescribable websites, the two had become hot search terms. Various images and comics proliferated.
Some artists were genuinely talented. Thea had even registered an account just to follow the latest releases...
Between daily entertainment, she hadn't forgotten business. Tech products were slowly transitioning toward civilian use. Though the military was somewhat dissatisfied, their complaints meant little in the face of massive corporate power.
Clean energy projects had always been a key development direction for Queen Consolidated. Even during old Robert's time, it had been the corporation's flagship product. Now, with Thea full of advanced tech, she'd maximized this advantage.
She didn't need to control all resources—she didn't have that much energy anyway. Trade and wealth weren't about accumulation but circulation.
So distributing some work and profits was the immediate priority.
In just one month, Queen Consolidated had continuously negotiated partnerships with corporations worldwide. Things that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, swam in the water—clothing, food, housing, transportation—every industry had people coming to seek cooperation.
The one currently discussing matters in her office was also an old acquaintance: Lena Luthor, Lex Luthor's sister.
This young woman was two years younger than Thea. She'd inherited her brother's mess early on and worked hard in the business world. LuthorCorp, which had been eroded by various capital interests, now showed signs of resurrection.
Though Thea was one of those capital interests, it didn't affect their relationship. Especially after the young woman learned she was a superhero, she'd actually developed a bit of admiration for her.
"All right, Lena. I've reviewed your plan. If you can master the maglev car technology, then we can cooperate..."
After settling on the cooperation framework—the specific details could be negotiated by subordinates—LuthorCorp, despite its decline from former glory, remained a behemoth thanks to previously accumulated technological achievements. Handling several major projects could completely revitalize it.
Lena didn't resemble her evil-looking mother or her arrogant brother—she could be called the Luthor family's outlier.
The two chatted briefly before Lena stood to take her leave. As she pushed open the door, she came face-to-face with another young woman.
Neither recognized the other, but the good-natured Lena still greeted her.
The two nodded at each other and passed by. Only then did Thea look toward the doorway's visitor, somewhat surprised. "Kara? Looking for me about something?"
The troubled Supergirl looked back at Lena's retreating figure for a long moment before slowly walking into the office.
She looked around for quite a while, leaving Thea completely baffled.
Thea had no idea what she was up to, so she sat calmly in her chair and waited.
Today Supergirl had come in normal clothes. Whether it was the Martian Manhunter, Superman, or even her adoptive mother, they all required her to keep a low profile. So low-profile that her fashion sense had become utterly terrible. Even expensive dresses of fine quality somehow looked frumpy when she wore them.
"Thea..." Supergirl removed her glasses and looked around carefully. Seeing the environment was safe, she finally spoke in a small voice.
Thea sat with her legs crossed, waiting for what came next.
"...Can you look at my ears?" After considerable effort, Supergirl finally managed to complete a full sentence.
Thea looked at the other's delicate, fair earlobes, completely bewildered. What was she supposed to see?
Seeming to know her behavior was somewhat absurd, Supergirl explained with great embarrassment. "That... that... I don't have ear piercings."
Thea looked at her constantly touching her ears and couldn't help touching her own. Why was she suddenly bringing this up?
"Oh! Why don't you understand!" The young woman grew anxious. "I want to pierce them, but... but... Earth's tools don't work..."
Holy crap! Thea finally had an epiphany! You've been talking in circles—how was anyone supposed to know what you meant? So you want to get your ears pierced, but Kryptonian steel-body physiology poses this unique problem? She'd never imagined the Man of Steel would have this particular struggle.
Faced with Supergirl's pitiful eyes, Thea scratched her head.
A divine body didn't have this issue—she could freely control every muscle and automatically generate piercings. Diana was the same way.
But she genuinely didn't know how to handle Kryptonians.
She first contacted Faora, who was currently presiding over work at the Alien Commerce Alliance and vigorously developing trade.
The female adjutant initially thought it was something major. Hearing it was this kind of problem, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. However, her ear piercings had been done on Krypton, back when she hadn't absorbed yellow sun radiation and her body strength was only slightly above that of Earthlings—she had no experience with Kara's current problem.
Kara had left Krypton at just twelve years old, still too young, so she'd missed the best timing.
Now Faora couldn't think of any good solution either.
Thea then asked Superman. Clark didn't need ear piercings, but how did he manage all those whiskers? Thea called to ask.
"Shaved with heat vision?" Hearing this answer, Thea was genuinely amazed. Superman must have spent considerable time training to perfect that technique.
Thea hung up the phone and told Supergirl somewhat uncertainly, "Try heat vision! Control the temperature and use mirror reflection!"
As it turned out, Supergirl was indeed a remarkable warrior—she learned any combat-related ability instantly.
Unfortunately, heat vision could only shave whiskers. Trying to pierce her body, too much heat would break the mirror, while too little had no effect.
Thea tried her own gaze as well, but the effect was minimal. She was afraid of accidentally using too much force and annihilating Supergirl's ear... that would be a huge sin.
"Let's go with brute force! Follow me." The office wasn't suitable for such extensive work. Thea pulled Supergirl to Themyscira, and Diana came over when she heard the commotion, curious to watch.
"Adamantium drill bit, paired with an electric drill I've enhanced with a bit of Speed Force energy. Come lie down here, let's try!" Thea rolled up her sleeves, donning a cap, mask, and white coat. Looking like a mad scientist holding an electric drill, she indicated for Supergirl to lie down.
Looking at the gleaming drill in her hand, Supergirl claiming not to be afraid would be a lie. But thinking about how everyone else could wear earrings and studs while she couldn't, she gritted her teeth and endured!
Kara lay on the stone slab like someone facing execution. Thea gathered up her hair, made some adjustments, aimed at her ear, and drilled down.
It had to be said that after advanced-tech modifications, this drill's Speed Force conversion rate was quite high. Combined with adamantium's naturally maximum hardness plus added durability and sharpness enchantments, she still had about thirty percent confidence in successfully creating an ear piercing...
However, reality delivered a harsh blow. The Speed Force stolen from Reverse-Flash ran frantically, the drill bit sent fragments flying everywhere, and Supergirl howled in protest.
Thea thought something had gone wrong and quickly stopped, only to learn after asking that it was just too loud!
Sealing off Supergirl's five senses and ignoring her pained expression, Thea went at it with the drill.
After three minutes of drilling, she sheepishly stood up.
The adamantium drill bit had worn down to nothing! Under ultra-high-speed rotation, it had completely turned to powder. After pulling the dusty, disheveled Kara upright and blowing the adamantium dust off her face, Diana and Thea looked at each other. Kara's earlobe remained small and smooth—not even a trace.
"Maybe adamantium's toughness isn't enough. We could try something both harder and more resilient—dragon fangs?" suggested Diana, the master blacksmith.
A quarter hour later, the dragon fang was reduced to half its length, while Kara's desired ear piercing remained nowhere to be seen. The young woman seemed to realize she'd troubled her two big sisters and shrank back without daring to speak.
Diana stood with arms crossed, head tilted in thought for a long while, then produced a dark green slender sword. "Hermes's Caduceus Blade. Even among divine artifacts, it ranks at the top. It contains a trace of spatial properties."
"Great!" Thea cheerfully accepted it. Without consulting the young woman's opinion, one sat on her body while the other held down her feet. From a distance, it looked like they were up to no good as they gave Kara another round of treatment.
Having worked both goddesses into a sweat, perhaps because that trace of spatial property took effect, they finally saw results—a small hole appeared in Kara's ear.
However, they'd celebrated too soon. Before the three women could rejoice, they watched the ear piercing instantly seal itself.
Thea was so angry her eyes went wide, gasping for breath. "You... you! You're forcing me to use kryptonite!"
Kara was nearly in tears too. This healing ability being so strong—I can't help it either!
Kryptonite could only be mentioned as a threat.
Unlike Superman who had a complete worldview and outlook on life and could, to a certain degree, resist kryptonite's effects through willpower and conviction, Kara Danvers was just a young woman. What willpower did she have?
The moment Thea brought out her kryptonite, before it even made contact, Kara went limp like a rag doll.
If this actually touched her skin, wouldn't the poor girl instantly die?
"Why don't I just use my holy sword? It can permanently wound Doomsday—creating an ear piercing for you should be pretty easy!" Thea said, drawing her sword with a shwing.
Did they need to make such a huge deal of this? Kara looked at the gleaming greatsword, feeling her liver quiver.
Diana shot her lover an exasperated look. "That sword's hard to control precisely, isn't it? Any scientific methods?"
"Right, right! Scientific methods!" Kara nodded like a pecking chicken. She was afraid the holy sword would slice her whole ear off...