No one spoke in the meeting room.
Six pairs of eyes were fixed on the holographic projection, watching the blond man eat a hamburger in front of the surveillance camera.
The sauce dripped down his fingers and onto Gotham's damp sidewalks.
The whole process was extremely casual, no different from having a picnic in your own backyard.
Wally's mouth hung open for a long time, while Diana's hand rested on the hilt of her sword, her knuckles taut and blue.
Clark closed the comic book in his hand, placed it on the table, and said nothing.
J'onn sat motionless in the shadows.
John's hovering wheelchair tilted back slightly as he stared at Shayera's figure on the screen. She was wearing a trench coat with her wings folded up, holding a can of cola, and standing two steps behind the man.
A very safe distance, and also a very compliant distance.
John smothered the thought in his mind.
On the projected screen, Thor finished his hamburger in a few bites, crumpled the greaseproof paper into a ball, and accurately tossed it into the trash can across the street.
Then he turned around and handed the remaining two extra-large double beef burgers to Shayera.
"For you."
Shayera looked up at him, then glanced sideways at the flashing red security camera high up on the street corner.
She knew perfectly well who was watching this scene.
But she didn't say anything.
He reached out and took the two hamburgers.
Bruce's task for her was to keep an eye on this man, a task that was a joke from the start.
She couldn't keep an eye on him; even Superman couldn't. All she could do was follow along, make sure she didn't fall behind, and not get in his way.
The steam from the oil paper bag burned my palms, and the aroma of charred beef filled my nostrils.
Shayera tore open the wrapper and took a bite.
Inside the Watchtower, Bruce finally spoke.
He pressed the broadcast button on the communications panel, accessing the public address system in Gotham City's Diamond District.
The signal hijacking was completed within three seconds, and a short, static noise was emitted from the streetlight speaker next to the surveillance camera.
"What exactly do you want, Thor?"
The Bruce ' voice came from the streetlight speaker, dry, cold, and without any inflection.
In the scene, Thor was about to speak, but stopped, as if something had caught his attention.
His head was tilted slightly to the northeast, as if listening to some extremely distant sound.
The walls of Arkham Asylum have collapsed, the electronic lock system has malfunctioned, and at least two hundred hardened criminals are pouring out of their cells.
Thor grinned, flashing an extremely smug smile at the surveillance camera.
" Bruce, it seems there's something wrong with your mental hospital."
The moment the words left his mouth, the communication channel in the Watchtower conference room went off.
Barbara's voice came in almost simultaneously, accompanied by the rapid tapping of keyboards in the background:
" Bruce! Arkham riots! Three breaches have been blown in the wall, the surveillance cameras are completely black, I'm retrieving satellite data. Prisoners have begun to escape; initial estimates suggest at least 150 to 200 people have broken out of the quarantine zone!"
Bruce didn't pause at all.
He didn't even bother to investigate why Thor was able to detect the riots earlier than Barbara's electronic surveillance system; the answer to that question would only make him more uneasy, and now was not the time to dwell on it.
" Barbara, what personnel are currently available for deployment in Gotham City?"
The keyboard clicks became more frequent.
Nightwing is in Blüdhaven and can arrive in twenty minutes. Red Hood is in the East District and is already moving. Damian is at the manor and just finished training three minutes ago. Black Canary and Huntress are patrolling the southern end of the Diamond District. Batgirl Stephanie is near Gotham University, Cassandra is in the Docklands.
Barbara finished reciting the entire report in one breath, then took a brief breath.
" Kate Kane is on a mission in Star City, Tim is with the Teen Titans in San Francisco. Aside from those two, the Bat Family is basically online."
"That's enough." Bruce stood up, his chair sliding silently backward.
"All personnel assemble at the outskirts of Arkham. Prioritize sealing off the three breaches to prevent prisoners from flowing into the residential areas. Pay close attention to high-risk prisoners who may be escaping: Joker, Grundy, and Killer Croc. I'll be there in five minutes."
A series of confirmation replies came through the communication channel.
"Roger that," came Dick's voice.
"Got it," Jason said lazily.
"Hmph." Damian, his voice consisting of only a nasal tone.
Bruce cut off Gotham's public broadcast link and didn't say another word to Thor.
He strode toward the conference room exit, his black cloak sweeping across the metal floor behind him.
Clark stood up: "You need me—"
"No need." Bruce didn't even turn his head. "I'll handle Gotham's situation myself. You guys continue monitoring Thor."
The automatic door closed behind him.
On the projected screen, Thor watched the surveillance footage fall silent, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips.
He turned his head and looked at Shayera, who was holding a hamburger and chewing it heartily.
"Interested in going to see what's going on?"
Shayera stopped chewing, looked up, and a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes.
Thor didn't wait for her answer.
He casually made a sweeping motion in the air.
The trajectory traced by the fingertip exploded into a ring of golden ripples, which spread outwards, tore apart, and reformed, condensing into a two-meter-high oval portal within two seconds.
The door frame was constructed from pure Law of Space, with golden energy patterns flowing along its edges. The scene inside was clearly visible: a dark cluster of buildings, beams of searchlight sweeping across the rain, and the sounds of explosions and screams echoing in the distance.
Arkham Asylum
"Let's go." Thor brushed the last crumbs off his hands. "Coming to Gotham and not visiting Arkham would be a wasted trip."
Shayera stared at the golden door, the hamburger still in her mouth.
She didn't ask why, what she was going to do, or what Batman would think of her actions.
She simply finished the remaining half of the hamburger in three bites, wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth with a tissue, and then stepped into the portal.
Thor followed behind her, their figures engulfed in a golden halo.
The portal closed silently, and Gotham's streets returned to their usual rainy silence.
The conference room in the Watchtower.
Wally sprang up from his chair, gripping the sides of his mask with both hands, his entire posture screaming information overload.
"Oh my God—" Wally's voice rose to a high pitch.
" Thor can use magic?! That's a teleportation portal, right? It's definitely a teleportation portal! What happened to the thunder? What happened to the hammer? How many more tricks is he hiding?!"
Clark slowly sat back in his chair, his hands pressing on the table, the special alloy making a subtle sound of deformation under his fingertips.
"It wasn't magic," J'onn said, a look of extreme caution on his green face. "That door didn't emit any magical fluctuations. It was pure spatial manipulation; he simply tore open the physical distance between two points."
A deathly silence fell over the conference room for three seconds.
Wally's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Diana stood up, the tip of the Sword of Hephaestus pressed against the floor, the scraping sound of metal particularly jarring in the silence.
What's he going to Arkham for?
No one can answer this question.
The projected image has switched to a satellite view overlooking the perimeter of Arkham Asylum.
The rain was pouring down, and figures in orange prison uniforms were constantly emerging from the three gaps in the wall.
In the distance, several black silhouettes began to flit between rooftops; the Bat Family was gathering.
At the main entrance of the asylum's main building, a golden light flashed briefly before disappearing.
Two figures appeared in the torrential rain.