The Immediate Task

Pfft Felicity couldn't help but laugh, and the cola she was drinking almost sprayed out of her nose. She quickly lowered her head, trying to indicate that she was just a bystander.

From this incident, one could see Selina's quick reflexes. She was already laughing, but then, remembering her connection with Barbara, she managed to pull back her laughter to regain composure, looking somewhat like Mona Lisa's distant sister.

Robin wanted to speak up for his beloved, but by the time Thea entered the room, she had returned to her usual appearance. It was evident to anyone that she was a woman, and a beautiful one at that. Remembering Batman's warnings about not antagonizing women, especially pretty and dangerous ones, Robin automatically switched to observer mode.

"You jerk! How dare you say that about me," Barbara exclaimed, shocked that Thea first praised her and then metaphorically kicked her into a ditch. She thought this woman's words were too harsh.

Thea didn't get angry. She carefully examined the furious Barbara. This woman was proud and strong headed. She was so similar to Thea's original trajectory in life.

If it weren't for her own experiences, she might have been just like her now. Watching Barbara's angry display, Thea's gaze held no anger, just a tinge of pity.

"What's with that look? You better explain yourself properly. Do you have a better plan?" Despite Barbara's rising anger, she still retained a level of rationality, undoubtedly thanks to the teachings of Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and others.

Thea was somewhat satisfied with Barbara's response. If Barbara had slammed the table and glared at her, Thea would have walked away. If Gotham ended up in ruins, it had nothing to do with her.

"First of all, let's talk. Can we defeat Bane with just the few of us? Catwoman told me he defeated Batman barehanded. Are any of us as capable as Batman?"

Barbara had a somewhat disdainful tone. "What's the problem with that? We can use guns. Why bother fighting him hand-to-hand?"

"Have you studied the map? Bane is currently at City Hall, where the view is very open.. It'll be difficult to find a good angle for long-range sniping, and handguns may not be very effective either."

Barbara pondered for a moment. "Then what about missiles? Wayne Enterprises has some concealed launchers."

"Seriously, do the words 'reconnaissance' and 'intelligence gathering' even exist in your dictionary?" Thea was a bit exasperated. 

Instructing Felicity to transfer the data to the indoor monitor, Thea opened a photo and pointed to it. "This is what we observed through the City Hall's internal cameras. These individuals are hostages, right? Although I don't know them personally, I compared them with available records. Is this bald guy your mayor? And is this African American woman a prosecutor or a judge?"

"Are you planning to launch a missile and blow up all these people?" Thea looked at her with a somewhat teasing expression.

Before Barbara could reply, Commissioner Gordon, who had been pretending to be invisible, hurriedly said, "No, we can't do that, we must rescue the hostages first."

If government officials were killed by a superhero's missile, it would definitely make headlines tomorrow. Batman wouldn't need to come back, as these guys were all his underlings. As the boss, he'd better run away quickly.

Barbara felt a bit frustrated but still stubbornly asked, "Then what do you suggest?"

"What do I suggest? Will you listen to me?" Thea smiled at the group.

The members of the inner circle glanced at each other but remained silent. Selina, taking advantage of the slight rapport they had, broke the silence, "You go ahead and tell us your plan. If it makes sense, we'll listen."

Her words lacked sincerity, and Thea had no intention of leading these people. After all, Batman would be back in a few days, and these guys were just strangers to her.

"I don't understand your individual capabilities, but I'll share my personal opinion. In my view, this guy currently poses no significant threat and can be dealt with later."

Thea pointed at Bane, who was seen daydreaming on the surveillance feed, addressing everyone. Indeed, Bane posed no threat at the moment. With the intention to cause havoc, but fearing the hostages might escape, he was caught in a dilemma. Yet, if he stayed put, there was nothing for him to do except maybe release the hostages and play cards.

Seeing some hesitation, especially from Barbara, Thea had to intensify her approach.

"The immediate priority now is what? I don't think you've figured it out yet. Is it this guy on the screen?" Thea continued, "I know you're not afraid of sacrificing yourselves, but is it meaningful to risk precious lives to rescue a few officials? Even if we take him down and save those government officials, will it solve the city's problems?" Thea said, looking at Commissioner Gordon after addressing the group.

"Those guys are definitely not up to it," Commissioner Gordon replied. He knew those scumbags too well. In front of Thea, an outsider, he couldn't directly say that they were corrupt and utterly incompetent. It was already a moral dilemma for him not to use missiles to blow them up. He would never agree to let his beloved daughter risk her life to rescue these scum.

Seeing the Commissioner's clear stance, Thea knew she finally had some say. "Anyway, they're not in any immediate danger. Instead of using our precious time to rescue these guys, we should organize everyone to save the civilians in the city."

"My companion has made a plan. Let me share it with you for reference." Thea motioned for Felicity to continue.

As the future CEO of Palmer Tech, Felicity didn't shy away. Confidently, she pulled up a map of Gotham's districts.

"We are currently at Gotham University. My plan is to establish a quarantine zone at Harris Square and Adams Street, making this area our operational control zone. We'll call on citizens to gather around us, while continuing to rally scattered police officers. In feasible situations, we'll expand the control zone until the entire city's crisis is resolved. That's my proposal." Felicity began with enthusiasm but realized there was no reaction from the other end, her voice trailing off.

Barbara and Robin were a bit stunned, while Selina seemed to have realized something. She nervously said, "Are you trying to start a war? Erecting fortifications, establishing quarantine zones, oh God, have I gone back to the war era?"

"Selina, I don't know what to say, but I hope you understand the reality. Isn't this already a war? With over fifteen hundred inmates escaped from Blackgate Penitentiary, plus hundreds from Arkham Asylum, the whole city is swarming with adversaries. Are we going to catch them one by one? How many civilians will die in the meantime?" Thea looked at her with a somewhat playful expression.

Selina's thinking represented a large part of superhero mentality - always willing to shoulder the blame, whether it's noble responsibility or self-centeredness.

Thea could guess that, had she not been involved in this incident, they would have swiftly dealt with Bane, then embarked on a painstaking pursuit of each escaped criminal. The prior apprehensions of criminals and lunatics were the culmination of a decade's worth of arrests. With existing records, the process might be expedited, yet a rough estimate suggests it could still take five years to apprehend them all. For comic book artists, this was good news – they could revisit all the characters again. However, for ordinary people in reality, it wasn't good news at all.