The thunderstorm raged over Gotham for a full day and night.
Whenever the rain seemed to slow, Thea had Commissioner Gordon fire two more weather shells skyward—determined to shatter every last cloud over the city.
Even so, she refused to waste the downtime.
With the storm keeping Arkham's criminals at bay, there would be no surprise attacks tonight.
The "science-impaired" team members went off to train, while the tech-savvy few stayed behind to help Batman rebuild his new sonic weapon.
Most of his old gear had been destroyed or stolen when Bane uncovered the Batcave.
But Bruce Wayne's true weapon was his mind, and that—thankfully—remained intact.
With supplies provided by A.R.G.U.S., the group rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
Bruce's hands moved with the precision of a man who'd spent years living in workshops.
Thea wasn't far behind—after all, she had built her own magnetic hoverboard from scratch.
And Felicity, who'd already survived countless late-night tech sessions in Star City, adapted instantly.
Soon, the three of them—two billionaires and one hacker—were working shoulder-to-shoulder, welding, hammering, and calibrating in a haze of sparks and smoke.
To the untrained eyes of their onlooking teammates, it looked absurd:
Two of the wealthiest people on Earth, decked out in work suits and safety goggles, sweating over machinery like factory workers.
Barbara stared at them in disbelief.
Wasn't this supposed to be the upper-class lifestyle she'd once dreamed of?
Where were the champagne glasses, the gala gowns?
She silently decided to stick to her modest middle-class life—far less confusing that way.
Midway through the work, another surprise addition joined them: Firefly, the quiet pyromaniac herself.
For once, her obsession with fire turned out to be an asset.
Her mastery over heat control was uncanny; every spark and flame responded like a trained pet.
Her welding was flawless—fast, precise, and eerily beautiful.
In contrast, Thea had wrapped herself in two layers of protective gear, unwilling to risk even a speck of burn on her "delicate" face.
Bruce was no different; ever the gentleman, he wasn't about to let his hard-earned good looks melt away in an accident.
But Firefly? She didn't even blink when molten sparks landed on her skin—they just fizzled out.
Watching her work, Thea found herself wondering if this woman had graduated from the Blue Collar Academy of Magic Welding.
With her help, their progress doubled.
By the time the device was complete, it looked crude but functional—a prototype of Batman's envisioned Sonic Suppression Field.
Next came testing.
Thea was just considering whether she should venture out into the rain to capture a test subject, when Lyla arrived like a hero with a prize.
One of her agents, apparently guided by some morbid curiosity, had snatched a severed arm from a fallen enhanced soldier during the retreat.
He'd wrapped it in cloth and smuggled it back to camp—only to panic later when his Geiger counter began ticking.
After nearly wetting himself, he promptly surrendered it to Lyla.
Now the entire group gathered around the specimen.
Up close, they finally grasped just how dangerous these creatures truly were.
"Is that… claws?" Felicity pointed at the jagged edges near the wrist.
"What kind of animal did they fuse it with?"
"Looks like some kind of lizard," Bruce said after a close inspection.
If anyone could identify a genetic mutation by sight alone, it was him.
They quickly moved past curiosity and got to work scanning for radiation and biofrequency patterns.
At this stage, Thea could only watch—she was no biologist.
Her engineering knowledge topped out somewhere between master's student and mechanical hobbyist.
When it came to genetics, she might as well have been a kindergartener.
Still, she paid close attention, scribbling notes as Bruce calculated and cross-referenced data streams.
Whenever she didn't understand something, she quietly whispered to Felicity—who, despite being a computer scientist, had read enough random scientific papers to keep up.
Across the room, Barbara and Robin watched the trio work with the pride of sports fans watching their home team score.
Finally, Gotham had some brains to rival Star City's.
Not that they understood a single word of it—but they could feel the brilliance.
Catwoman, however, was in no mood for science.
Ever since Lady Shiva had bled her dry, she'd been a walking raincloud.
Two minutes into the analysis, she'd drifted off to the corner, staring out the window and stewing in her misery.
Her man had come back from the dead—only for her money to disappear instead.
It was like fate itself was mocking her.
And worse yet, Shiva had only taken a down payment.
The full debt loomed over her like a financial apocalypse.
For a thief raised in Gotham's slums, borrowing money wasn't an option.
If she couldn't steal enough to pay Shiva off, she'd rather sell her own jewelry before asking anyone for help.
She was poor—but she had principles.
She glanced at the rain outside.
Maybe she could pull one or two heists tonight—just enough to ease the pain.
But then she remembered Bruce was back.
He'd never forgive her for returning to crime so soon.
And if he found out, she'd probably lose him for good.
Especially now that Talia was lurking somewhere out there, singing seductive songs and sharpening her claws.
So she stayed put, silently cursing her life choices.
By midnight, the rain finally stopped.
When morning came, everyone stepped outside instinctively, drawn by the silence.
Thea, who'd adjusted her sleep schedule back to something almost human, was the first to emerge.
She wanted to see for herself if Gotham's "feng shui" had truly changed.
Water still streamed along the streets, carrying filth and soot into the gutters.
The black stains on the asphalt hinted at how much pollution the storm had washed away.
Thea made a mental note to have Gordon give the sanitation workers a raise—they'd earned it today.
Good thing Killer Croc was in custody; otherwise, he'd probably be bathing in this mess like it was holy water.
She checked her watch—5:15 a.m.
One by one, the others gathered around.
Even Bruce, who'd barely slept a wink, looked steady and composed as he stared toward the horizon.
He'd once claimed he only needed an hour of sleep a night.
Was that true? Maybe Catwoman could confirm later.
"Look!" Gordon's voice broke through the dawn.
"The sun!"
At first it was faint—a thin ray breaking through the mist.
Then another.
Then a flood of light spilled across the city's battered skyline.
For the first time in years, Gotham saw the sunrise.
Thea squinted, shielding her eyes as the golden glow pierced the clouds.
Sunlight spilled through her fingers, painting her face in fiery hues.
It felt warm, alive—almost unreal.
Behind her, everyone stood in stunned silence, watching as the darkness peeled away from their city.
The last veil of fog lifted.
The sky turned blue.
And Thea, overwhelmed by something she couldn't quite name, began to laugh.
Not a polite chuckle, but a raw, joyous laugh that echoed across the wet rooftops.
"Hahaha!" she covered her face, still laughing.
She didn't even know why—only that it felt good.
Empowering.
After all this time, after everything they'd fought through…
the sun had finally risen over Gotham.
And in that moment, Thea felt unstoppable.
Arkham, Bane, the Court of Owls—let them come.
Because today, Gotham had changed.
And so had she.