[ Underground Secret Base, Queen Consolidated's Software Division, Star City ]
The original skateboard had undergone three major modifications and now bore no resemblance to its initial design. Thea was convinced Dr. Hoffman wouldn't recognize it as his own creation anymore.
The flat base had been transformed into a V-shape with a broader front and narrower rear. Thea's position was at the front, and upon activation, a frame extended from the body to secure her legs and waist. Theoretically, it allowed for all kinds of flashy maneuvers.
The Green Goblin relied on enhanced agility to control his board, flinging himself around like a stuntman in a circus. Maybe it had started as self-defense against Spider-Man, but eventually, it became a signature style. To Thea, it was reckless—like bungee jumping without a rope. One wrong guess, one blurry vision, and splat. No thanks.
Being a regular human, Thea valued her life far too much for that. That's why she'd designed a locking mechanism to keep her firmly strapped in. It limited her lower body movement, but safety always came first.
The board's base consisted of distributed chromium magnets. Once the system was activated, it released a downward repulsive force against Earth's magnetic field, making the whole board float. Increase the force, and it could reach over a thousand meters in altitude.
Directional control came from modulating the magnetic vectors, allowing long-distance travel with minimal energy consumption. No noise, no pollution—very eco-friendly. But if Earth's magnetic field ever collapsed, Thea would plummet. She'd have to chalk that up to bad luck.
Weapon-wise, Thea stuck to her trusty recurve bow. At 91 meters per second and 150-meter effective range, it was reliable. High-tech gear was great, but she and Felicity were broke. Arrows were quiet, carbon-friendly, and sustainable. That had to count for something.
That night, they went outside. Thea suited up, got into the pilot seat, and locked herself in. She took a breath and muttered "Start" as Felicity watched with glittering anticipation.
The board rose quietly, smooth and steady.
"Yes!" Thea pumped her fist toward Felicity.
"Thea, the monitoring shows your blood pressure and pulse are steady, but your heart rate is a little elevated… probably just excitement. The preliminary diagnostics are done—let's move on to other metrics," Felicity said while holding a tablet that continuously relayed Thea's biometric data in real time.
They began by testing the skateboard's floating height. Since they weren't sure how many radar stations were active across the city, they had to be cautious. While the board itself could be coated in stealth material, Thea had no such luxury. Technically, the board could ascend up to a thousand meters, but they decided to cap it at just one hundred meters to avoid unwanted attention.
Even so, a hundred meters was plenty. Considering that one floor was about three meters tall, this gave her the elevation of roughly thirty-three stories—more than enough to patrol the city and respond to crime from above.
Next, it was time to test the skateboard's top speed.
"Accelerate, Thea. 120 km/h—no discomfort."
"Push it. 150 km/h—still good."
"220—blood's pumping faster, but vitals are stable."
"300—STOP! That's close to your redline."
Since there was no need to push herself to the brink, Thea gradually eased off and brought the board to a stop. It appeared that around 300 kilometers per hour was her current maximum. Still, she was confident that as her physical condition improved and her training intensified, there would be room to push that limit even further in the future.
She basked in the rush—the wind in her face, the freedom, the absence of burden. No politics, no calculations. Just her and the speed. No wonder people loved racing. It was pure bliss.
She circled the city at 50 meters and was ready to take Felicity for a joyride, only to discover her friend had a fear of heights. Thea couldn't help laughing.
It was now time for vigilante duty—for them, heroics; for criminals, horror.
Thea layered a red leather jacket over the anti-gravity suit. The suit alone was too conspicuous—anyone with sharp eyes would recognize it as tech-heavy.
She considered adding a bulletproof vest, but it turned her slender frame into a lumpy mess. Vanity won. She removed the vest and instead inserted two fiber-reinforced plates for minimal protection.
Her hair was tied up. Cutting it would be practical, but she wasn't ready for that. She pulled the hood up and looked in the mirror—just like her 1.0 version.
Well, obviously. She was still herself. No eye mask either—that was too cliché. She wore infrared goggles made from bulletproof Lexan resin.
Equipped with her bow and arrows, her usual samurai sword, and dagger, Thea set out under Felicity's watchful, excited eyes.
...
[ Star City ] [ Some Time Later ]
Although Thea had mentally prepared herself for all sorts of emergencies and rehearsed countless possible scenarios, it turned out she had overestimated the situation. Star City in the middle of the night resembled a ghost town—there wasn't a single pedestrian in sight. And without pedestrians, there were naturally no robbers. While internal conflicts among criminals might have been tolerated, it seemed their superiors strictly prohibited them doing so.
That was exactly the predicament Thea now found herself in. No civilians meant no criminals, which in turn meant her noble plan of robbing the rich to help the poor had no target.
"Damn it," she cursed inwardly. Was all this effort going to be wasted? She really should have done a proper market survey first!
Just then, Felicity's voice came through her headset. "Thea, there's movement from Frank Portinal, who you asked me to keep an eye on last time. Three of his men are chasing a young man named... Michael Esther. Do you want to go take a look?"
Could that be Helena's fiancé? A father sending hitmen after his would-be son-in-law? Now that was dramatic. "Where?" she asked.
"At the intersection west of Cypress Street, the surveillance camera showed that they were driving very fast. You have to be careful, they are all armed."
How could they possibly be faster than her? After all, she was traveling in a straight line through the sky. Thea quickly raised her altitude to 100 meters, locked onto the correct direction, and pushed forward at full speed. It didn't take long before she spotted two cars speeding down the road—one in front, one chasing closely behind.
Gunfire erupted from the rear car, echoing through the otherwise silent night. Thea quickly assessed the situation: the attackers had to be in the back vehicle. She reasoned that Michael, who wasn't a metahuman or ex-special forces, couldn't possibly be chasing down three armed men alone—he had to be the one fleeing.
She drew a special arrow—her so-called "ice arrow." It held compressed liquid nitrogen, ten times stronger than standard thermal tanks. Upon impact, it could drop the temperature enough to cause frostbite above -100°C.
She didn't plan on killing anyone. She didn't care much for either side. She was out because she was bored. Helping people she recognized? Sure. Otherwise? Meh. She took aim at the rear car's wheel.
To Be Continued...
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[POWER STONES AND REVIEWS PLS]