After a moment of contemplation, Thea instructed Felicity, "Adjust the surveillance cameras in the campus area and check the nearby major roads."
It didn't take long to track the movements of these people. Felicity reported, "At 3:15 AM last night, three trucks drove out of the school area, passed Sixth Street, and headed north. After that, they disappeared." Despite still feeling a bit groggy, Felicity swiftly discovered some clues.
Over a hundred people... Thea rubbed her temples. She briefly considered letting them go—maybe they were just going out for a meal or something. But that was highly unlikely!
If over a hundred people were taken from their side, wouldn't they have taken away even more people from other places? It was obvious just thinking about it. The other side had grand ambitions, and even if she wanted to avoid conflict, it was no longer an option.
After some thought, she said, "First, Commissioner Gordon, please dispatch the elite of the police department to the last known location of the trucks to search for tire tracks, gather eyewitness accounts, and any other leads." She looked at the old commissioner. In this regard, they were the professionals. It was better to let them handle it.
"Secondly, ask the researchers from A.R.G.U.S. to test the substance in the gas masks. It should be capable of effectively trapping airborne neurotoxins. Once extracted, use this substance to create specialized gas detectors. These detectors will help monitor the concentration level of the toxins near the scene and track the enemy's escape route." Although Lyla didn't fully understand, she got the gist of it and nodded.
"Lastly, you three," Thea addressed the Bat-family. "Since you've captured quite a few criminals, you should be able to get some clues from them." Thea knew this was their forte. They were skilled at extracting information through coercion, often resorting to forceful interrogation methods. Hanging the criminals up and beating answers out of them was their specialty.
Her words were in line with their intentions. They didn't want to go out to the streets for interviews or run around like fools with instruments. Beating them up until they talked suited their style perfectly, and they were highly experienced in this regard.
"That settles it. Let's split up." Thea arranged the tasks for the rest and prepared to bury her head in the blanket and get some much-needed sleep. Maybe she could continue the interrupted dream from earlier.
BANG! The door of the command vehicle was forcefully pushed open, and a tall, white-haired old African American man rushed in.
Who is this? Thea's first reaction was that her true identity had been discovered. Should she quickly silence him or knock him unconscious and tie him up? However, she soon realized that the people in the vehicle didn't seem surprised. This person didn't appear to be an enemy.
"Lucius, what's the matter?" Commissioner Gordon didn't understand why this old friend had come at this time.
Upon hearing the name, Thea immediately associated it with Voldemort's Death Eaters but quickly realized that this black man wouldn't pull out a wand to cast an Avada Kedavra on her because she had seen his photo before. It wasn't a memory from the other world, but from when she worked at Queen Consolidated some time ago. His name seemed to be Lucius Fox, the president or vice president of Wayne Enterprises.
Seeing him rush in urgently, the others who were about to leave stopped, wondering what had happened.
"James, something has happened. You need to come up with a solution," the old man gasped for breath. Felicity, always kind-hearted, handed him a glass of water.
"Thank you." Lucius said, looking at the unfamiliar girl in front of him. He didn't recognize her, but there was no time for pleasantries now. He grabbed the old commissioner and tried to rush out.
Seeing the two old men, who were almost the combined age of one hundred and twenty, about to run off like they were eloping, Thea hurriedly stopped them. "Excuse me, what's the matter? Can you tell us?" She had just assigned tasks to the old commissioner, and it would be embarrassing if he was dragged away right after.
Lucius noticed that he didn't recognize this girl either and felt a bit confused. Could it be that his old eyes were playing tricks on him? He glanced around the command vehicle, recognizing most of the people inside. Something was definitely strange.
Commissioner Gordon was always conservative and methodical. He was excellent at following the procedures, but when it came to unexpected situations, he would be at a loss. At this moment, he didn't think he could be of much help to Lucius with his urgent matter. On the contrary, he admired Thea's intelligence and quick thinking.
"Lucius, what's the matter? Don't worry, these young people can be trusted," he reassured him.
"Alright. Although I don't think you can be of much help, I received information that Talia is planning to hold a board meeting this morning to announce Bruce's disappearance and to confirm her son's inheritance rights to Bruce's shares. We can't think of any solution, so..." Lucius explained urgently.
The people in the vehicle fell silent upon hearing this news.
Lyla and Felicity decided to stay out of it since it didn't concern them directly, and they knew there was no question about the boy being Batman's son in terms of inheritance.
Commissioner Gordon and Barbara, along with Robin, felt that this was someone else's family matter, and as outsiders, they shouldn't interfere, especially without a legitimate reason. Talia had acted decisively and left them with no recourse. With the information spreading through the League's intelligence network, everyone important around the world knew that the child was Batman's. Even Superman, Martian Manhunter, and the rest hadn't found Bruce himself—otherwise, they'd have flown over to offer their congratulations. Given the magnitude of this situation, it was unlikely to be a fabrication.
Selina, unlike the others, was visibly upset. Her knuckles cracked as she clenched her fists, torn between wanting to strike someone and not knowing whom to hit.
"Lucius, we want to stop this, but we really can't. You..." Commissioner Gordon struggled to find the right words to say to his old friend, and he could only offer a few words of support before trailing off.
"Um, excuse me, may I interject? None of you want Talia's son to inherit his father's shares, right? Who among you is included in this?"
Thea saw that they all looked as if they had lost their fathers and had no intentions to interfere, but she was afraid it would affect their subsequent actions, so she asked.
Lucius also understood how ruthless Talia's move was and how difficult it would be to counter it. He had come to Gordon with the idea of making a last-ditch effort.
In response to Thea's question, he added, "Alfred and I are against it. And... I assume Selina would oppose it as well."
Selina would definitely oppose it. She wanted nothing more than to take a big knife and charge in. Barbara, despite not being on good terms with Selina, made her stance clear: she was against it. She took the lead in opposing, and Robin switched from neutrality to opposition.
"I'm also against it, but our opposition is completely ineffective." Commissioner Gordon also expressed his support for his old friend.