Everyone parked their aircraft on the open ground inside the campus.
The police officer who had temporarily acted as pilot couldn't help but fondly touch the control stick.
Judging by his expression, he seemed ready to live in the helicopter forever so he could make a "strategic retreat" whenever necessary.
But the commissioner's orders had to be obeyed, so he reluctantly looked back three times before following the group.
On the other side, Thea and Felicity lightly jumped down from the hoverboard.
Just as Thea was about to ask Selina where the other two teammates were—
"Dad, you're finally back! Are you alright?"
A fashionable red-haired girl threw her arms around Commissioner Gordon's neck and refused to let go.
Behind her stood a thin, dark-haired young man.
"I'm fine, Barbara."
The old commissioner wasn't used to such public affection.
After a brief hug, the two quickly let go.
So, this girl must be Batgirl, and the young man was Robin—later known as Nightwing.
Thea didn't step forward to greet them. First, there was no need; second, she was only support, not the main force here.
Everyone couldn't just crowd around the door to talk.
Commissioner Gordon waved for everyone to go inside.
Along the way, no one spoke except Barbara, who kept asking questions nonstop—
"Has Batman been found?"
"Has the state government sent troops?"
Halfway through, Gordon introduced Thea and Felicity, but Barbara merely nodded coldly, then continued talking to her father.
Sure enough, people in this city all seem a little… off.
What are you so arrogant about? Thea thought. You'll be the one begging for my help later.
As they walked, she quietly observed that this woman really had no manners—
she only spoke to her father and to Robin,
not sparing a word for the officers who had risked their lives alongside her father.
Whether she was clever or not Thea couldn't tell,
but emotionally she was definitely tone-deaf.
No wonder she later got crippled by the Joker, sitting in a wheelchair for three years before she finally wised up.
Thea recalled that after being injured, Barbara trained under Richard Dragon
and learned the long-lost "fight-while-sitting" technique—
the legendary skill of the wheelchair warrior.
Just imagining the scene gave Thea chills.
Still, I must witness that someday—not to mock, of course, but purely for "academic study."
As they walked, Thea suddenly noticed something off—
"Wait, where's Selina?"
Glancing back, she saw Selina quietly walking at the very rear of the line,
her expression unreadable.
What's this? Are these two not on good terms?
Indeed, she guessed right.
Barbara had always been unbearably proud and looked down on Selina's "thieving trade,"
considering it an insult to justice itself.
Add to that Robin's blind devotion to Barbara—whatever she said was law—
and Selina's decision to leave Gotham to seek reinforcements
was at least partly because "out of sight, out of mind."
If it hadn't been for the need to rescue Batman,
Barbara would have been long gone.
Whether Gotham lives or dies—it's none of my business.
"Hey, is there a place I can change clothes?" Thea stopped and waited for Selina to catch up,
asking in a low voice.
Her combat suit was hard to wear and even harder to take off.
At this moment, she greatly envied the Flash's "change-clothes-in-a-blink" speed.
"Come with me," Selina said.
The two told the others they'd rejoin them soon, then headed off to the side.
"We'll meet in the conference room later…"
Commissioner Gordon quickly called out,
and Selina waved from a distance to show she'd heard.
After changing into a lighter outfit, Thea returned to her harmless "innocent girl" look
and followed Selina to the conference room entrance.
Along the way she noticed that classrooms were crowded with wounded citizens—
some in business suits, others in shorts and T-shirts—
but they all shared one trait: lifeless faces, many with bandaged limbs.
Inside the conference room, the group held a round of formal introductions—
a job naturally handled by Selina, who knew both sides.
"This is Thea Queen, codename Red Arrow.
And this is Felicity Smoak, a computer specialist."
"Over here are my teammates: Batgirl Barbara Gordon and Robin Dick Grayson."
Now that introductions were done, Barbara could no longer ignore Thea like before.
She forced a few polite phrases—"Nice to meet you, how's your father, how's your mother?"
Thea thought silently: My father's long gone at sea—do you even know who you're talking to?
Clearly, Barbara didn't take her seriously at all, or simply didn't know who she was.
After a few hollow pleasantries, the small room fell into a strange silence.
Except for the two girls from Star City, everyone else just stared at one another.
Even Barbara, who had talked nonstop moments earlier, fell quiet.
The atmosphere was odd.
What's wrong with them? Do they all have telepathy like Professor X?
Impossible—if they had that kind of power, Bane would've been beaten already
and she wouldn't have had to come this far.
She glanced at Felicity and subtly shook her head: Let's just watch first.
Barbara, perhaps recalling something, suddenly gathered her courage and said passionately,
"I saw you brought a helicopter—that's perfect!
We should fly over and launch a surprise attack on Bane!
Once we take him down, Gotham will be free!"
At first she spoke timidly, but the more she talked, the more excited she became,
as if Bane were just a watermelon lying on the ground waiting to be picked.
Thea didn't understand her logic but kept quiet,
pretending not to know that the helicopter belonged to her own family.
Resting her chin on her hand, she waited to see what else Barbara would say.
"What do you all think?" Barbara looked around, growing uneasy as no one responded.
"Good, great idea," Robin said at once—
he was in love, and whatever his girlfriend said was gospel.
Selina neither agreed nor disagreed,
while Commissioner Gordon looked helpless.
Normally, Batman handled the thinking,
and the rest simply carried out orders.
But with Batman missing,
there wasn't even one real decision-maker left.
He wanted to take charge, but none of them would listen—
not even his own daughter, stubborn as a mule.
Within this team, his authority was weak.
Just as he was about to voice his approval,
Thea finally realized the problem:
these people had almost zero initiative.
To put it bluntly—they didn't think.
Every one of them was an ordinary human—
no enhancement, no superpower.
And they wanted to storm Bane's base head-on?
Did they even know his strength?
Charging blindly like this was suicide.
She had to take the lead before they marched themselves to their deaths.
At least she could fly away if things went south;
Felicity, on the other hand, could barely do a pull-up.
She'd never outrun anyone.
Shouldn't have brought her…
"Clap, clap." Thea clapped her hands to get their attention.
"Great idea! Really great!" she said, giving Barbara a thumbs-up—
then, deadpan, added,
"Did you come up with that brilliant plan while sharing cookies with a gorilla?"