After resting for seven days, the main group was eager to storm Arkham, especially considering Talia's mention of a secret weapon. They had been itching to charge in, but out of concern for Thea, a vital combatant who needed time to recover from significant blood loss, they waited a full week.
As for whether they could go without her, the group felt it was safer to have her along. A few extra days wouldn't hurt, so they decided to wait.
In the meantime, Thea dragged a few of them to the Wayne family's private beach for a half-day photo session. It couldn't be helped; she had told Moira she was going to Malibu Beach, so she needed some pictures to back up the story.
While changing into her swimsuit, Thea noticed she had grown slightly taller. The martial arts training scars that once marked her body had completely vanished after her bloodline ritual. Her skin was now tighter and smoother than ever.
Thea's skin was now remarkably smooth and soft to the touch, earning gasps of admiration from the other women in the group.
She also had a discreet conversation with Bruce. Regardless of how this assault turned out, she told him she needed to return to Star City. Whether it was to serve as Moira's campaign mascot or to prepare for college, those plans were now on her agenda.
Bruce, of course, didn't object. She had been helping voluntarily, and fighting in Gotham for two months was already a significant favor. Moreover, Thea had dealt with Talia, removing a major complication for him, which was a huge help.
Seven days later, at dusk, the team launched their assault on Arkham. Thea was initially surprised to hear they'd attack at night—Bruce still seemed hesitant to operate in broad daylight, it seemed—but she had no reason to argue. If he preferred the cover of darkness, so be it.
Bruce and Thea's command styles were similar. Neither liked showing their faces, so they remotely directed the seemingly fearless Commissioner Gordon.
Unsure of what the enemy's secret weapon might be, Bruce brought every piece of gear he could muster.
The police force consisted of handpicked elites. Felicity's earlier reconnaissance confirmed that Arkham's original gang of thugs had been largely wiped out in the last massacre. Despite the Court of Owls' efforts to mediate, the major crime families ignored them, and ambushes and skirmishes were frequent.
Given the cramped indoor combat environment, the group decided to bring only fifty seasoned veterans and two hundred officers.
Thea bit back a sarcastic comment about the numbers; thankfully, she wasn't the one leading them.
Entering Arkham went surprisingly smoothly. The fire set by Firefly during their last retreat had left its mark—about a third of the asylum was still in ruins. Coupled with recent gang skirmishes, the exterior was a mess.
However, no one let their guard down. Bruce didn't join the main group, vanishing somewhere to play his mysterious vigilante role. Thea stuck with her old partner, Firefly, as the ranged attacker. Though their rapport was lukewarm, they'd worked together enough to have a slight understanding.
That understanding quickly faded. Bruce, using some gadget, detected Mr. Freeze and ordered Firefly to take him on solo via comms.
Shortly after, two Talons leaped out to cause trouble, and Bruce sent Robin to deal with their familiar foes.
Sporadic groups of gangsters fired potshots, forcing the team to leave small squads behind to handle them. As they pushed deeper into Arkham, Gordon's available personnel dwindled.
Gunfire and explosions echoed from all around. Was this going to be a battle of attrition? Thea found the tactic messy. Even a victory would likely come at a high cost. But given the situation, they had no choice but to press forward.
A roar cut through the chaos as a hulking figure with green gas leaking from a tank on his back charged at Gordon, swinging a fist at his head. Before the blow could land, a Batarang struck the attacker's arm. Modeled after Thea's barbed arrows, it lodged in deep, tethered by a tough line to a nearby pillar. If he continued forward, he'd lose the arm whether he hit Gordon or not.
"Bane!" Bruce's low, modulated voice rang out from above.
Thea mentally rolled her eyes at the sight. She'd sensed him lurking behind the group earlier. After spotting an enemy, he'd leapt onto a platform for dramatic effect. Couldn't he just fight normally? He'd put in all that effort to climb up, probably with his grappling hook, only to bask in awe before jumping back down.
Green Arrow had the same habit, always posing in odd spots like window ledges or rooftops for that "heroic" vibe. They really were cut from the same cloth as Ra's al Ghul's sons-in-law, with different faces yet the same flair for theatrics.
"He's mine. You continue downwards. There's a level beneath Arkham," Bruce ordered through the comms before engaging Bane.
Bane, it seemed, hadn't used his Venom this time, likely still wary after his last encounter with Thea. He relied solely on his martial skills against Bruce.
Thea watched for a few moments. He was indeed formidable; she likely couldn't take him down alone in a straight fight. However, if she used her magically-enhanced version of fighting two-handed, with two Theas attacking simultaneously, he wouldn't last a minute.
Seeing how seriously Bruce was taking the fight, Thea decided against intervening. Defeating Bane was something Batman needed to do himself to overcome his own mental block and truly become the invincible Dark Knight again.
She and Selina protected Commissioner Gordon, leading the remaining group deeper into Arkham. Selina, a master lockpicker, quickly found and opened an elevator to the lower levels.
They encountered no enemies in the underground section, nor did they find the secret weapon Talia had mentioned. Instead, they discovered a large number of Gotham citizens.
There were far too many—easily over a thousand. They all looked weak and listless, and many had already fainted.
Gordon and Thea's current group, numbering less than fifty, couldn't possibly evacuate them all. The elevator could only carry a dozen at a time, and with the chaos above, sending them up was a death sentence. But with more collapsing every minute, something had to be done. Lacking immediate solutions, Gordon looked to Thea—Bruce was busy, so it was her call.
Thea pondered for a moment. "Felicity, how far underground are we? Run a 3D model. Are there any other tunnels or passages near our location?" There was no way a single elevator brought over a thousand people down here—it'd take months!