"Unlike Talia back then, Jason's physical trauma isn't hard to fix. But his spiritual damage—or rather, the damage to his soul—is very difficult to treat," Thea explained patiently, afraid the others might not understand.
"Healing soul damage isn't a mage's strong suit; Shamans or Witch Doctors are better at that. The only other method I can think of is... the Lazarus Pit in Nanda Parbat. That should be able to restore his soul."
Thea dropped the name of a place they were all familiar with. Whether to take the risk or not was up to them.
Batman hesitated for less than a minute before making his decision. "We save him."
Thea was satisfied with his decisiveness. "I have another friend with symptoms similar to Jason's..."
Batman waved his hand. "Bring them. We might as well save them all."
Thea quickly contacted Shado, telling her to gear up and bring her father. The convenience of portals really shone here. In less than five minutes, Shado, clad in green Kevlar and carrying a bow, arrived with Yao Fei.
Knowing Batman's paranoia, Thea didn't teleport directly into the Batcave but waited outside with Shado. Soon, everyone gathered.
"Yao Fei!" Talia exclaimed.
Although Yao Fei was more than ten years older than her, he had indeed been trained by Talia personally. There was a bond of mentorship between them. Seeing him in this half-dead state, she felt a bit emotional.
Batman was originally curious about Thea's friend and wanted to investigate, but finding out he had ties to Talia—and seeing that Shado, Damian, and Barbara all knew him—he let it slide.
"Let's call Superman too. I'll contact Diana. By the way, do you know Martian Manhunter? If so, pull him in too!" Thea said casually.
Batman nearly choked.
Are we crazy? Is it necessary to call that many heavy hitters? My father-in-law may be a martial arts master and a master strategist, but we don't need to organize a Justice League raid just to bully an old man.
For a few seconds, Batman thought his worry for Jason was causing auditory hallucinations. But seeing Thea's serious expression, he realized she wasn't joking. He got serious too.
"I need a reason."
Thea used the Demon Sword as a starting point and explained the potential existence of Trigon behind Ra's al Ghul to Batman.
"An interdimensional arch-demon..." Batman muttered, repeating the words.
"We might not necessarily run into Him. As far as I know, that Arch-demon won't descend directly into our world; He needs a medium."
Thea's caution aligned with Batman's usual operational policy. Perhaps he also harbored the idea of using this event to completely sever the connection between Ra's al Ghul and the Demon.
"No need to call them." Seeing Thea pick up the phone, Batman interrupted her. "There is a unique barrier around Nanda Parbat. All superpowers and magic are suppressed. Superman and the others wouldn't be effective there."
Thea froze for a second, feeling a bit lucky. It seemed she was right not to steal the sword personally back then. Thinking about it, it made sense—Ra's al Ghul had enemies all over the world; if his lair didn't have protection, he would have been dead long ago.
She put down the phone, a bit bummed out. Fortunately, her combat skills weren't weak, and she had her Power Armor. Even if there was an anti-magic barrier preventing the magical functions, the mechanical parts alone were enough to crush most people.
Yes, Thea planned to visit Nanda Parbat too. After all, she had learned so many of their martial arts; she might as well go see this world-famous "Institute of Higher Learning"... No one invited her, but if she wanted to go, no one would object.
The team was quickly selected: Batman, Talia, Nightwing, Batgirl, Thea, and Shado. Six people in total. Catwoman stayed behind—whether she was the "main wife" or the "mistress," it was better not to add to Ra's al Ghul's headache. Damian, the little brat, wanted to go, but everyone rejected his request in unison. Are you kidding? A fight could break out instantly. Damian had better stay home.
How to get there? Everyone looked at Thea, waiting for a portal.
"...Where is Nanda Parbat? I haven't been there!" Thea said helplessly, seeing everyone staring at her.
"It has to be a place you've been? Do you need a visual lock?" Batman fired off seven or eight questions like a machine gun.
Thea was speechless. This guy was fishing for intel again. If you can analyze it, good for you, but don't expect me to tell you!
She didn't answer any questions but asked for the coordinates. Signaling them to wait, Thea flew directly out of the atmosphere.
Nanda Parbat was in the Middle East, and they were in Gotham—there was a whole Earth between them. Her telescopic vision could see it in a straight line, but looking through the Earth was too strenuous.
Following Batman's coordinates, she searched and quickly found a valley. But when she tried to look inside, a wave of obscure energy blocked her sight.
Ra's al Ghul's setup felt different from the A.R.G.U.S. layout, but the effect was the same: shielding all supernatural forces. She remembered that originally, Barry Allen ran to Nanda Parbat to rescue Team Arrow without issues, but later lost his Speed Force at A.R.G.U.S. Maybe the shielding level wasn't high enough back then, or there was a switch.
Thea didn't dwell on future problems. She descended, opened a portal straight to the outskirts of the valley, wrapped the two comatose patients in psychic energy, and stepped through first.
Stepping out of the portal, she began equipping her Power Armor. Once everyone was through, she released the psychic hold on the two patients. For the rest of the journey, you'll have to carry them!
Shado automatically picked up her father. Nightwing consciously picked up Jason. The group walked toward the valley at a steady pace.
"If negotiations fail, we can engage, but no killing!" Batman walked at the very front, saying this without looking back.
Nightwing, Batgirl, and even Shado—who didn't dare speak to Batman right now—nodded in agreement.
Thea and Talia had their own thoughts, but neither refused openly.
"Batman. Why have you come?"
The elderly Ra's al Ghul, dressed in fine robes, stepped out of the shadows. He looked only at Batman at the front, as if he didn't see his own daughter.
He knew Batman's true identity but had no intention of exposing it.
"My heir is gravely injured. I need the help of the Lazarus Pit."
"Hahaha!—" Ra's al Ghul laughed loudly. Only when Thea felt the old man was overacting a bit did he stop.
"I told you back then. As long as you accept the position of the Demon's Head, everyone, including me, will obey your command." Ra's stared intently at Batman.
"I refuse."
Batman gave the answer that was both expected and logical.
The negotiation broke down in just two sentences. Thea felt these two understood each other too well. The dialogue was just a formality; neither expected to move the other with words.