At this point, Thea's admiration for a certain someone could only be described as "endless like a rolling river."
This lunatic didn't just kidnap the Demon's Head's grandson — he snatched his daughter too! To bring the words "courting death" to such artistic heights… truly, only he could do it.
As a normal human with no powers, no high-tech gear, barely any combat training, daring to offend Ra's al Ghul this badly — he really was one of a kind.
Talia, Damian — none of these people had much to do with Thea. If she ignored everything, went home, and had dinner, that would've been perfectly fine.
But Batman had just agreed to take the fall for her… disappearing right now would be ugly.
And more importantly, Joker already had his eyes on her.
If she didn't eliminate him, who knew if Star City might be next on his list.
She didn't put much weight on "high-IQ criminals."
If one spell didn't solve it, she'd use two.
They didn't even operate under the same worldview — how were they supposed to fight on equal terms?
"What's your plan?"
Thea looked at Batman seriously. His partner's daughter had been crippled, his son and his lover had been kidnapped — if he had no plan, he wouldn't be a man.
"We'll split up. Did you bring your gear?"
Batman suddenly realized Thea was wearing professional office attire and high heels… not exactly combat-ready.
Thea took a travel bag out of her spatial ring and shook it at him.
Those who had seen her magic before weren't surprised.
But Jason Todd — the future Red Hood, now the second Robin — nearly jumped out of his skin. He rubbed his eyes, still unable to figure out how such a large bag appeared out of thin air.
"Joker seems to be holding them in separate locations. We each take one. Move quickly. Based on my judgment, he should be inside this chemical plant. I'll go here."
Batman pointed at the map.
"The other location — the machine workshop — is yours."
"Fine."
Thea turned, ready to change outfits with Barbara. With her physique, she could fight in anything, but normal clothing was inconvenient, and bullet holes in a blouse would definitely be… revealing.
"Wait!"
Jason Todd raised his voice.
"Mr. Wayne — what about me? It's not that I don't trust this lady. I just think she might need help."
"Your training isn't complete."
Bruce, already suited up as Batman, replied with a deep, resonant voice.
Two gunshots sounded — bang, bang.
"My shooting is more than enough for any mission!" Jason protested loudly.
"Guns are toys for the weak."
Batman quoted his father-in-law, the Demon's Head.
Unfortunately, Jason Todd didn't hear a word of it.
Batman felt a headache coming on. This second Robin had way too much initiative and zero obedience. He refused to listen to anything. Bruce had no choice but to "convince" him with his fists.
"I can't beat you — fine! But this woman? I don't believe she's stronger than me!"
Jason, bruised and furious, couldn't swallow being publicly beaten in front of everyone.
"Oh? What about women? Want to see what a woman can do?"
Thea didn't originally care about their family drama, but the moment Jason brought up women, she remembered Diana's old frustration about gender discrimination — and her temper flared.
Jason clamped his mouth shut, making his stance clear.
Thea shot Batman a look: Don't blame me — he asked for it.
Batman's eye twitched. He shook his head slightly — the gesture meant: "Teach him, but don't break him."
"Hmph."
Standing ten meters away, Thea raised her right hand toward Jason. Before he could comprehend her intent, her magic erupted.
The air cracked like muffled thunder.
Jason Todd — two hundred pounds of solid muscle — was lifted clean off the ground as if smashed by a giant invisible hammer. His body shot backward five or six meters.
If he'd been prepared, it wouldn't have been so pathetic.
But he'd never seen Thea fight.
Caught completely off guard, he hit the cave floor with a resounding THUD.
The Batcave was, after all, a cave — Bruce had installed plenty of high-tech equipment, but he hadn't exactly tiled the floors. The ground was hard and uneven. The impact was rough.
Barbara, who already had zero patience for this meathead, nearly burst out laughing.
In her heart, only one person was worthy of the name Robin — and this big oaf definitely wasn't it.
To his credit, Jason Todd's two hundred pounds of muscle weren't for show. His constitution was at the peak of normal human capability.
What would've knocked out an ordinary person for a day only left him dizzy.
He groaned, rubbed his head, and staggered up.
"That's witchcraft! I don't accept this! You… you dare compete with me in marksmanship?!"
"Sure. Let's have a civil contest. No violence."
Thea's eyes lit up — remembering a certain type of scene from certain novels.
"Civil contest?"
What the hell was that?
Nobody in the cave — not a single one — had heard that phrase before.
"You shoot at me first. If you can hit me, you win.
Then I shoot at you.
You… dare?"
Jason looked uncertain.
"If something happens to you, I'm not responsible…"
Thea hooked her finger: Go on. Shoot.
Jason now knew she wasn't normal, but he still avoided vital spots and aimed at her limbs instead.
Bang bang bang bang bang—!
He emptied the whole magazine.
And stared at her dumbfounded.
Thea, of course, didn't stand still to eat bullets. She wasn't anywhere near having a Kryptonian's invulnerability.
But after gaining half of Ares's divinity, her dynamic vision far surpassed what she had on Themyscira when she fought German soldiers.
Every bullet's trajectory was crystal clear to her.
She plucked them all out of the air — effortlessly.
Then smiled, held out her hand, and opened her palm to reveal the bullets.
"Unfortunately for you, none of them hit. My turn now, right?"
Jason Todd was completely stupefied.
He double-checked his gun.
Real gun. Real bullets.
But how — HOW — was this possible?!
Seeing Thea accept a handgun from Barbara with a sweet little smile, Jason almost cried.
He couldn't catch bullets.
No amount of muscle would save him.
But he was too proud to admit defeat.
So he braced himself.
"Alright. Barbara, take Thea to change. We're moving."
Batman saw Thea raising the gun at a leisurely pace. He knew she wouldn't actually kill his new partner.
And while Jason certainly deserved a lesson, Bruce's wife and child were in danger — that mattered more.
"Enough playing. We have work to do."