The Croydon Compass.
Thea held the palm-sized device in one hand and tested it randomly several times.
Its first function was to search for magical signals; its second function was to locate people. However, due to the limitations of its original creator, it could not detect artifacts, magical equipment, or individuals at the demigod level or above. Its effective range was restricted entirely to mortals.
In addition, in modern society, interference was everywhere. Many places—such as A.R.G.U.S.—could not be scanned by the compass at all. Despite its many shortcomings, its advantages were equally striking. For ordinary people, it could genuinely be considered an artifact.
Scenes instantly surfaced in Thea's mind: a destitute youth following the "don't bully the poor" trope, obtaining the compass, discovering a hidden inheritance, and soaring to greatness. If this item were released into the outside world, it could easily create a great deal of trouble.
At this moment, she could finally appreciate some of John Constantine's painstaking intentions. That man—whose moral bottom line was even lower than a transmigrator's—collected magical artifacts across the world not for personal ambition, but for the sake of global stability. This was an era of mortals, an era of technology.
Thea had no grand ambition to revive the glory of a magical age, because she knew Earth's future would continue down the technological path. This trend had long been destined. The Reverse-Flash of the 25th century, the Emerald Empress of the 31st century, and the Magician of the 64th century—these time travelers were all elites of the technological path. By the 64th century, technology and magic would be indistinguishable, and humanity's way of life would undergo earth-shaking changes. What modern society called "magic" could all be realized through technology in that era.
She did not spare much thought for whether people four thousand years in the future were happy. She still had many matters to deal with in the present.
First, she returned to Star City to check on the progress of her two disciples. The children were simply too intelligent; she had almost run out of things to teach them. Now, having acquired the lifetime memories of Sargon the Archmage, misleading—ahem, instructing—two troublesome kids was effortless.
Long stretches of theory left Damian Wayne completely stunned. Even the Demon King's Princess herself, little Raven, widened her eyes, her mouth forming a perfect "O."
Thea taught both of them Gem Magic and Reverse-Incantation Magic. Raven strongly disliked the idea of throwing glittering gemstones at people; with her nearly limitless magical power, there was no need for such a method. The gemstones Thea gave her were secretly hidden away, though her Reverse-Incantation Magic improved rapidly.
Damian was the exact opposite. His innate magical power was insufficient, making Reverse-Incantation Magic difficult for him to practice. However, he became obsessed with Gem Magic. In his view, it was no different from throwing grenades. Armed with his father's credit card, he went on a shopping spree and bought an entire bag of gemstones to practice with.
Ignoring Batman's near heart attack upon seeing the credit card bill, Thea privately hired three expedition teams to search for the temple mentioned by Felix Faust in the Peruvian jungle.
In the original timeline, this site was discovered by Constantine's close friend Nick Necro. Unfortunately, the unlucky man was soon abandoned by Constantine after the latter shifted his affections to Zatanna. On the eve of discovering the temple, Nick was killed by the two of them, and his soul fell into Hell.
Later on, Faust sacrificed his own lifespan to retrieve Nick from Hell. Now, however, Nick remains there, and Faust himself has been sent to Hell by Malcolm to keep him company. For the time being, Nick would have to reside in Hell for several more years.
These villains all held back secrets from one another. Without Nick's resurrection, there was no detailed guidance, and Faust only knew a rough location. The temple's power still lingered, blocking the compass's detection and shielding itself from the Eye of Horus. After trying several methods, Thea could only resort to the most primitive solution—casting a wide net and searching manually.
Each expedition team included mercenaries loyal to Deathstroke. Once the target was found, Thea could arrive immediately.
A full month passed. Aside from Batman complaining that Damian's expenses were slightly excessive, there was no new information.
After finishing her work at the Committee, Thea let out a long sigh. All seven alien cities had been stabilized. Under a policy of both coercion and incentive, many aliens had registered.
However, this process had only just begun. Of the more than one hundred thousand aliens, fewer than thirty thousand had completed registration; the rest remained hesitant or suspicious.
General Sam Lane initially proposed mandatory registration, but Thea dissuaded him. For several of the cities, although their developmental paths differed somewhat, overall they were no more advanced than Earth.
These aliens had been living peacefully at home when enormous domes suddenly descended upon their cities. Chaos followed until Thea led a team to rescue them.
Unlike Thea, they had no "informed individual" to explain the broader situation of the universe. They knew nothing of Brainiac. Seeing the Committee's advanced technology, many believed Earth had abducted them—some cried, some begged, some threatened revenge. The range of reactions was vast.
Upon learning that Earth was considered a developed planet by alien standards, General Lane was quite pleased and temporarily abandoned the idea of forced registration.
With the general's sense of honor satisfied, and under deliberate guidance from the Committee, news of alien landings was slowly released to the public, like boiling a frog in warm water.
After the initial panic, many bold individuals emerged. One such incident had already crossed Thea's desk.
A woman codenamed Roulette—an ordinary human with no enhancements or powers—was a notorious underground casino owner. Recognizing the value of aliens, she had abducted or trafficked dozens of them from the seven alien cities within a single month, forcing them to fight in her casinos to satisfy the perverse tastes of the wealthy.
When John Diggle, former bodyguard and now one of the commanders of the armed forces, first reported this, Thea had been skeptical. Could an ordinary Earth woman really be that audacious? Yet the evidence left no room for doubt—human boldness truly knew no limits.
Dressed in a red, high-slit gown and bearing a green dragon tattoo, the woman's business spanned the globe. Her underground casinos catered perfectly to the wealthy: humans versus beasts, humans versus aliens, aliens versus beasts. There was nothing she could not arrange—only things one could not imagine.
"Mr. Diggle, arrest this woman."
Thea gathered intelligence from organizations such as A.R.G.U.S. and handed Diggle a thick stack of files. These ordinary criminals were not worth her personal intervention.
She left troop deployment entirely to Diggle. Equipped with a mechanical exoskeleton and Thea's freeze gun, leading several hundred men against a woman who relied solely on manipulation left no possibility of failure.
Just as Thea was considering where to spend her weekend, Faora rushed in.
"News from the Pentagon. Ten minutes ago, an unidentified flying object landed on Earth."
After checking that no one else was nearby, Faora lowered her voice.
"Based on the images, it appears to be Fort Rozz of Krypton. It is different from the Black Zero prison that once held us. Fort Rozz imprisons only Krypton's most dangerous criminals."