Funeral

"Thea, dear, we'll be... attending the funeral. Clean up, we'll be waiting for you downstairs." A middle-aged woman choked, walking down the stairs, covering her mouth as she spoke

"Okay, Mom. I'll be right there." Thea replied as she sat on the bed, watching her mother's figure disappear from her view. She was lost in her thoughts. It had been three days since she had arrived or merged with this body, gradually coming to accept her current situation.

She had transformed from a young man with a promising career to the miserable Thea Queen. Let's call the past life just that - the past life. The memories of her past were constantly emerging like movie clips. Being born, enrolled in school, graduating, getting married... it all seemed so real yet dreamlike. She currently felt no joy or resentment towards those memories. She just looked at them from an outsider's perspective, calm and indifferent.

What was her original name? She couldn't remember. Compared to her past life, her current physical condition was basically being controlled by the original Thea's emotions - sadness, grief, depression. Before, now, and in the future, she could only be Thea Queen. She had no choice but to fully embrace being Thea Queen.

Thea disregarded the black dress laid out for her. Although she was now aware that she was now in a female body, she still resisted wearing women's clothing. She put on a white blouse and black suit pants with black mid-heeled leather shoes that her mother had prepared. Fortunately, Thea wasn't yet an adult. It would be disastrous to have to wear heels to such an occasion.

She neatened her hair in the mirror. She had a thick, brown-black tresses, fair skin, pale green eyes, and a somber expression still reflecting the grief over her father's death.

After she caught up on the news during her first day here, she had determined the situation she found herself in. This was a world similar to that of CW Arrow TV series. Or at least it seemed so. There was still too little information for her to judge the specifics. She had watched parts of that show in her past life. If she wasn't mistaken, she was the younger sister of the main character, the Green Arrow, a rebellious and unreasonable problem man.

She grabbed her handbag and headed downstairs. Fortunately, during this period Thea was still an obedient daughter without the bad habits that would later plague her due to the deaths of her loved ones. With the fusion of two souls, her mental strength was far greater than that of an ordinary person. Although physically she was a petite 15-year-old girl, she now moved with purpose.

She walked up to her mother, Moira Queen, and said softly "Let's go, Mom."

Moira didn't respond, only giving Thea a slight nod before the two silently entered the car.

"Robert Queen, born in 1958 and died in 2007 at the age of 51. He was an outstanding entrepreneur in our beloved Star City, a mentor and friend to many. His passing has caused great grief, robbing us of a great father, sincere friend...he..."

"Oliver Queen, born in 1985 and died in 2007 at the tender age of 22. He was the cherished son of Star City, a gift from God...he..."

Listening to the priest's eulogies, Thea's thoughts grew chaotic. His praise for her father Robert was eloquent, yet he said little for her brother, glossing over him in just a few words.

She truly didn't have much of a relationship with her older brother to comment on. He was reckless, irresponsible - other than his good looks he had little in the way of redeeming qualities. Yet their seemingly saintly father had the rot in this city on his conscience, while her wayward sibling ended up the hero who would save everyone time and again.

The loss of her family still brought Thea tremendous grief. She covered her mouth to stifle her sobs, even knowing that her brother wasn't truly dead. But her father, who had always treated her as his beloved daughter despite their blood relation, was gone.

Yes, it was ironic that he treated her as his own despite knowing the truth. Yet her father always regarded her as his precious daughter, never showing even a hint of dissatisfaction. Reason could no longer suppress the flood of emotions, and Thea broke down crying on her mother's shoulder, head pounding.

"There dear. Just let it all out." Moira murmured softly as she gently stroked Thea's hair.

Soon after, the funeral came to a close. Two empty coffins were lowered into the graves dug on the Queen mansion's cemetery.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Moira, Thea." A middle-aged man said with a grim expression.

Seeing the man, Thea immediately recognized him as her biological father, Malcolm Merlyn. The man was a thorough conspirator and ambitious schemer. He had orchestrated the sinking of the Queen's Gambit, the main antagonist of the first season of the Arrow TV series.

Right now he looked gentle and refined, but in truth he was a dangerous man. His skills as a martial artist was formidable. He operated under the alias the Dark Archer, and he was proficient with both archery and swordplay. In the first few seasons of the show, he bested the Green Arrow in combat twice.

And this man had quite the tenacity to him. Throughout the first four seasons of Arrow he played an active role. The merge had occured before the fifth season aired, so she couldn't really know the specifics of the later seasons, but it was likely his cunning which allowed him evade death over and over again.

From his characterization in the show, while he was devious, he genuinely loved his children. Perhaps she could learn martial arts from him? In the plot during season 3, he originally trained Thea to become the Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy. Could she set that training in motion earlier?

Thea felt very vulnerable right now. Although it was still five years before the show's official plot began with Oliver returning from the Island. But glancing at the guest list earlier, she spotted a concerning name - Wayne Enterprises. If she remembered correctly, that was Batman's company! What kind of world had she found herself in?

She had no idea if Malcolm currently knew she was his daughter. As her mother, Moira definitely knew, but would she have told him? She couldn't recall if it was ever addressed in the show. But Malcolm was dangerous, if he didn't know the truth, her bringing it up out of the blue could prove to be disastrous.

At the same time, Thea's heart refuses to accept Malcolm on any level. After all, he killed her adoptive father and stranded her half-brother for five agonizing years. Although that trauma catalyzed Oliver's journey into becoming a hero, the cost was still far too great. In any case, she didn't have a clear path forward yet regarding Malcolm. For now it wass best she put that line of thought aside.

Thea stood silently next to Moira, watching her mom graciously thank each guest for their condolences. She was a complicated woman. She knew all of Malcolm's plans, yet claimed to love her family above everything else. And that does prove accurate, she did devote all her emotional energy on their family, willing to sacrifice her career and even life for her children.

Yet she allowed the sinking of the Queen's Gambit to happen, leading to her husband and son's death. After the shipwreck she showed regret and hatred, her grief was clearly genuine. She was a mass of contradictions. Perhaps the best way to describe her is using the ostrich effect, if she never directly witnessed the tragedy which had befell her loved ones, she could cope better? Maybe Malcolm took advantage of this mentality of hers.

"Thea, let me introduce you. This is Walter Steele, your father's right-hand man." Moira says, gesturing to the bald dark skinned man before them.

From the Arrow plot, this man would become her stepfather a few years down the line. Thea behaved in a detached manner, simply nodding to Walter without a word. Her feelings towards Moira were complex, she could neither show outright intimacy but also refrained from being cold. Her relationship towards her was neutral for now. As for her Mom taking another lover at some point, she had no opinions either way. Perhaps that ambivalence aligned with the original Thea.

Thea ignored all those who approached trying to comfort her, keeping her expression cold. Honestly, she was unfamiliar with most of these people and held no memories of them.

It was clear the original Thea had very little interaction with these elite families. No one was surprised by her aloofness - after all, she was a fifteen-year-old girl who had just lost her father and thought her brother was dead as well. A gloomy mood was only natural, no one expected a grieving teenage girl to be cheerful and sociable.

"Thea...I'm so sorry." A young voice said, ignoring her cold expression to give her shoulder a sympathetic pat.

This young man was the only person close to Thea's age that she recognized - Tommy Merlyn, the lifelong best friend of her supposedly late brother Oliver. He also happens to be the son of Malcolm Merlyn...which made him her half-brother.

Thea had to hold back an ironic laugh. Oliver and Tommy, two completely platonic best friends...yet one was a half-sibling to the other's sister, with neither the wiser. Their relationship web was absurdly convoluted.

Still, Tommy clearly viewed them differently - he saw her as his best friend's beloved little sister, nothing more. Thea appreciated his sincerity all the same. "Thank you." she murmured softly to him.

Tommy was utterly devastated. He had grown up with the Queens as an honorary member of the family. To him, Robert and Oliver were the father and brother he loved dearly. Their sudden deaths gutted him. The hundreds gathered today to pay respects were surely grieving as well, but the three who felt the loss most keenly were Tommy, Moira...and herself, although she could only count as half given her knowledge of Oliver's continued survival.

Thea gently returned Tommy's hug before withdrawing from the crowds, walking alone back to the parked car.

Seeing Thea head for the exit, Moira quickly extricated herself from the guests to join her. They rode home to the Queen mansion without exchanging a single word. She rebuffed Moira's suggestion to spend the night together. Instead she retreated to her room, craving solitude.

She had five years until the plot of Arrow formally began with Oliver's return. She couldn't afford to waste time. This world was far too dangerous. Throughout the entirety of Arrow innocents close to Oliver were constantly kidnapped to force him into action. Each rescue only prompted the next abduction, fueling an endless cycle of violence.

And that was the storyline only after Oliver returned to Star City. What about the five year gap when he hadn't returned? She was ow the sole Queen heir - wouldn't that make her an ideal target for extortion and coercion? The security hired by the Queen family has proven laughably unreliable time and again. John Diggle was probably their most competent bodyguard, yet even he would be mocked by the League of Assassins.

Her most pressing concern was whether the master schemer Malcolm will set his sights on claiming the vast Queen family assets for himself. In theory, by marrying Moira and then arranging an "accident" for herself, he could seize control. By her estimation, if he was currently unaware her as his illegitimate daughter, there was a 70-80% chance he would pursue this course of action. It would be too tragic to fall victim to a plot by my unknown father.

In the original storyline following her father and brother's death, Thea spiraled into self-destructive behaviors. But with her current stronger mental fortitude, she won't be going down the same path. Reckless partying and promiscuity hold no appeal. With the influence of her past memories, she currently found the notion of intimacy with men disgusting.

How would Malcolm react if he witnessed her buckling down to inherit the Queen empire with focused discipline? Putting herself in his shoes... she likely wouldn't allow it!

As She rubbed her temples, anxiety over her situation mounted. She realized with dawning dread that at the funeral, Moira was constantly steering her towards certain guests she wanted her to connect with. She likely wanted to find a husband for her amongst the sons of the guests, seeking new "protectors" for her vulnerable daughter.

Her poor mother was blind to the wolf in sheep's clothing by her side. She remained ignorant of Malcolm's true nature and thus failes to grasp the danger he posed to her as his illegitimate child. To him there were no friends, only living enemies and dead enemies. Despite repeatedly claiming Oliver was like a son to him, when they became adversaries Malcolm showed no hesitation or mercy.

He has ruthlessly used his own daughter Thea time and again. At least for now, while at the height of his power, he had no reason to harm her unless she directly threatened his plans. But that rested on him knowing she was his own blood!

She couldn't risk approaching Malcolm about combat training yet - survival must take priority. The lingering question of whether or not he currently knew the truth about their relation haunted her current thoughts.

After pondering well into the night, she eventually fell asleep. Her dreams were consumed by images from "Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice." in which she died, confused and powerless.

Thea woke up in a cold sweat, her heart racing as she layed there until Moira called her down for breakfast.

"Oh Thea dear, you look dreadful. Should we call a doctor?" Moira asked, face etched with concern.

"I'm fine Mom, just had trouble sleeping last night. I'll lie down and rest awhile longer." Thea replied softly.

At breakfast, Tommy dropped by as well, seemingly spending more time at Queen manor than his own home lately. Seeing how naturally he blended into the household, an idea struck Thea. She realized he was the key to uncovering what Malcolm knows.

Her mother definitely knew the full truth; all she needed to discern was whether Malcolm was similarly aware. Appearing intimate with Tommy in front of his father would force a reaction if he understood their blood relation.

While the notion of physical intimacy with any man still disgusted her, this seemed like her only recourse. Fortunately she and Tommy had already share a casual familial closeness, so it shouldn't be too uncomfortable. For the sake of her safety she would only have to endure it!

In fact, in the original show Thea did harbor some attraction towards Tommy initially. Thankfully the writers demonstrated some restraint there, with Tommy firmly rebuffing her advances by highlighting their sibling bond. Of course, the ironic tragedy was that they truly were half-siblings, talk about a cruel twist of fate. In any case, she was grateful that the sordid dynamic had been averted.

Over the next few days when facing Moira she maintained my detached norm, while secretly growing more tactile and flirtatious with Tommy whenever possible. On one hand it may draw Malcolm's attention, and on the other Tommy could also act as a shield, dissuading Malcolm from openly antagonizing his own son's love interest. Of course her main goal centered on Malcolm either way. He was the invisible emperor casting his shadow over Star City. If she was to survive here, gaining his acceptance was paramount.

Fortunately no matter what happened she could rely on their unbreakable blood connection. As long as he knew the truth, she would be safer.

She refrained from drastic changes in outfit or demeanor around the few acquaintances she had, maintaining a neutral everyday style of suits and leather pants. They assumed trauma from her grieving process explained the shift, expecting balance to return in time. In truth, she had buried those skimpy skirts and towering heels in the deepest recesses of her closet, unless Superman turnes into a villain, those would stay locked away for good.

It had to be said that Tommy proved to be a genuine friend. He didn't get tired of her company, despite her clinging to him daily. Recognizing her past struggles, he constantly adapted to make her happy, even to the point of neglecting his formal girlfriend, Laurel Lance.