Beware the Court
"Kal? Is there something troubling you?" Wonder Woman asked in concern for her friend. In the main conference hall of the Watchtower, the Kryptonian had remained silent and kept to himself for the whole meeting. Once it was dismissed, the Amazon decided to confront him about this.
"No, there's nothing wrong, Diana," he lied.
"Kal…" Diana pressed on. "You know I have other ways of getting the truth out of you…"
Superman sighed in exasperation. "Okay, okay." He looked behind her to make sure that the other founding members were out of earshot before he explained his silence. "There's been a murder at the Metropolis Airport. A man was found dead in one of the bathroom stalls with a knife through his throat."
"Did they find out who killed him?" Diana questioned.
"That's the peculiar part; there's no trace of whoever did it," Clark said. "No fingerprints, no DNA, not even a witness who saw anything."
"Did they find anything at the crime scene?"
"The only thing they found was this." Superman then pulled out a single feather from his belt. "It was found next to his body when the police arrived."
Wonder Woman took the feather from his and examined it closely. "Who was this man in particular? Might he have done something that someone would have wanted him dead for?"
"His name is Jonathan Wright. He was a reporter at the Gotham Gazette, clean guy, and ethical journalist. My first suspicion was that maybe he had stumbled upon some mafia or gang-related business, so he had to flee the city in order to escape, but this just disproved that theory."
"Is Gotham really that dangerous?"
"That city is known to be the crime capital of the country, but lately, crime rate has been dwindling down. The GCPD has just reported finding several corpses of prominent drug lords and mafia leaders, all killed with the same M.O."
"So you think all of this has some sort of connection with each other?"
Clark rubbed his face and stared deeply at the feather Diana was holding. "This guy knew something that no one else wanted him to know. Now the question is: what's going on in Gotham and who is behind all of these murders?"
"You know, Kal, when Cassie visited Gotham for her school trip, she told of this urban legend around Gotham. Something about a 'Court of Owls,'" Diana said.
"A 'Court of Owls?'" Clark repeated, intrigued.
She nodded. "They have this nursery rhyme that goes, 'Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time. Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word about them, or they'll send the Talon for your head,'" she recited. "Perhaps this Court may be what is behind all of these killings."
"You really think so?" Clark asked.
"It wouldn't be too strange from what we normally encounter." Diana then dropped the feather onto the conference table. "This feather is also from that of an owl's. It may confirm our suspicions."
"So should we send someone to investigate?"
"Perhaps not. This has been going on for quite some time from what I can assume, so we shouldn't make this a League matter just yet," Diana answered. "Maybe send the Titans. They are a small enough group that they won't attract too much attention, but they are capable of handling themselves."
"Alright, I'll call Conner and ask him to investigate."
"Ugh, this place reeks!" Kid Flash complained as he took in a big whiff of the city atmosphere.
"God, this place is even creepier at night…" Wonder Girl shivered as she looked down at the dark, shady streets.
"Alright guys, we need to focus," the Superboy commanded. "The League told us to investigate the killings that have going on around Gotham. A guy was found dead in Metropolis with this feather near his body," he said, brandishing the evidence, "so they think that the Court of Owls might be responsible."
"The Court of Owls? You mean that creepy urban legend that everyone in this city's so afraid of?" Cassie asked.
"I guess so," Conner shrugged.
"C'mon, man, do you really think that this scary, Illuminati-type group is behind all of this?" Bart teased in a spooky voice.
"Dude, we've faced monsters and aliens, so I don't think this is anything new to us."
"Yeah, well I'm from the future, and I'll tell you what; there is no such thing as the Court of Owls," the speedster insisted. "It's just a scary story we used to tell around the campfire, y'know, to scare little kids into thinking the owls are gonna eat them if they go out of their tents past midnight."
"I didn't know you guys still had campfires in the future…?" Cassie remarked.
"Okay, okay, guys, focus," the young Kryptonian clone said. "Now the thing is how're we gonna find them exactly?"
"We could try calling for them," Bart suggested.
"I don't think that's going to work…" Cassie responded.
"Sure it will!" The speedster then cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "HEY! COURT OF OWLS! IF YOU'RE REAL, THEN SHOW YOUR UGLY FACES TO US! IF NOT, THEN YOU'RE LAME AND YOU'RE FAKE AND I JUST WANTED TO TELL THESE GUYS THAT I TOLD YOU SO!" No response.
"…okay, well I think you just woke up the whole block…" Conner groaned. "Now let's try actually finding them. Okay, so Bart, you search the-" Rustle. Superboy stopped mid-sentence as his super-hearing picked up something closely nearby.
"Conner, what's wrong?" Cassie asked.
"Shh." Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat. "There's something here."
Suddenly, three figures sprang from the behind the chimneys near the teens and bolted towards them. Superboy quickly used his freeze breath to freeze them in place. Another four sprang from the other side of the building to try and ambush them. Kid Flash noticed them instantly and treated them all with quick punches to the face and chest.
The strikes knocked them all down, but slowly they got up. Creak! Crack! Krrkk! Their bones sounded as they snapped back into place. One's neck locked straight, another's shoulder popped back into place, and another's arms bent and straightened. The shrouded figures then eerily stared back at the young heroes.
"Okay, now that's kinda creepy…" Bart nervously acknowledged. They then bent over and started zigzagging at them at a blinding speed
Cassie unhooked her Lasso and threw it around the fast approaching assailants. She managed to catch two of them and sent Zeus' lightning through the enchanted rope as Superboy shot his lasers at the remaining two. The two caught within the Lasso screeched as the magical lightning ran through them before being reduced to black puddles.
Conner managed to dismember their legs, but they continued crawling at him at the same speed. One threw several shurikans at the Kryptonian, but Bart quickly intercepted them before kicking the downed assailants off-balance. Conner then leaped up and stomped right one their heads, leaving nothing but a black smear under each of his boots.
"Well… at least we know that these things aren't human," Superboy panted, wiping the grime off on the edge nearby.
"Guess I was wrong…" Bart admitted meekly.
"These things, whatever they are, they must be the Court of Owls," Cassie remarked, coiling her Lasso. She took a closer look at the frozen shrouds behind them and pulled out her phone to take pictures. "They definitely look like owls."
"We should report back to the League; tell them what we found," Conner said.
"Great. So does that mean we could finally leave? Even now, Gotham still gives me the- GAAHH!" Bart let out a pained yell as he grabbed his left thigh. "My leg! Something's in my leg!"
His two friends quickly rushed over to see his injured leg. What they saw a long knife stuck straight through the speedster's thigh. "Hold on, Bart! We'll get you medical help as soon as-!"
Suddenly, another figure leaped in front of the two, landing on the speedster's injured leg and snapping it in half. He then whipped out a weapon and smacked the two teenaged away. Lifting up his left foot, cleats protruded from the bottom and he plunged it deep into Bart's back, silencing his agonized screams into whimpers and then nothing.
Recovering, Conner and Cassie stared bewildered at their attacker standing over their friend's body. Angered, they both charged at him as his weapon extended into a bo staff. Twirling it around, the assailant easily dodged and countered all their attacks and redirected them at each other.
Cassie attempted to restrain him by throwing her Lasso around him while Conner grabbed him. But their assailant was quick; he slipped out of the Kryptonian's grip and the rope fell around Conner instead. Lightning rushed through and electrocuted him instead, while the attacker went after the Amazon. He struck her wrist and her stomach, making her release the rope. Then he stabbed a knife through her hand and knee and punched her throat, disabling her and cutting her scream abruptly before putting her in a headlock.
Conner, recovering from the shock, unwrapped the Lasso from himself, only to see his beloved with a staff pressed against her throat. "Let her go!" he screamed, his eyes glowing red and ready to fire.
"Stand down or the girl dies," the figure finally spoke. It was a tense stand-off. Cassie tried gasping for air as her eyes started to well up. She felt the bo pressing harder against her throat as her breathing was slowly cutting off. The assailant hid as much of his body behind her to prevent getting blasted by the Superboy's lasers.
Conner glared intensely at his girlfriend's captor, contemplating his next move. Reluctantly, he yielded, his eyes returning back to normal and his fists unclenching. "Fine, just let her go."
Immediately, the assailant dropped her and Cassie held her hand to her throat, coughing and gasping for air. Just as it seemed like he was about to leave, a blade protruded from one end of his staff and he stabbed the Amazon girl right through her back.
"NOOOO-!" Conner screamed, but the assailant quickly threw both of his hands towards him. Two knives stabbed through each of the Kryptonian's shoulders and pinned him against the wall behind him.
Pain shot through both of his sides as it started to get numb. His strength and power was getting sapped from him as his body went limp and weakened. "K-Kr-Krptonite…" Conner struggled out as he tried his hardest not to scream.
Slowly approaching him, the figure finally revealed himself in the light from the door lantern. "So that's what you 'Supers' look like. Heh," he smirked as he looked at his prize. Conner saw a young teenager, roughly around his age, no older than 17 or 18, clad in a black suit with gold lines decorating it. He had an owl symbol on his chest and a belt holding several knives. The teen had jet black hair, combed back and cold blue eyes that stared back into his own.
Resting his staff on his shoulder and putting a finger to his ear, he spoke, "Hey, B."
"What is it, Tim?" a voice responded on the other end.
"You were right about the aliens. I've got one right in front of me."
"Hmm. Looks like they're onto us now."
"What do you want me to do? Should I kill him?"
"No. Leave him alive. Send a message to them."
"Copy that."
"Who… who are you?!" Conner struggled out.
"Talon. That's all you need to know," Tim smirked. "Lucky for you, you get to keep your life. Your friends are still alive, but just barely."
"What do you want!?"
"The big man wants to send a message. You and your group of super friends are going to be the example." Pressing a button on his staff, one end of Tim's bo started glowing a bright green. "Oh, and say hi to the Big Blue for me." One swift strike to his face and Conner blacked out.
"Clark! Diana!" Wally yelled frantically, running into the conference room. "What happened!?"
"Bart's in intensive care right now. He's going to be okay," Superman replied, trying to calm him down. "Conner and Cassie are in there as well, and they're expected to make a slow, but full recovery."
"It… it seems as though we've underestimated this Court…" Diana expressed solemnly. "Are the other founding members on their way?"
"Yeah, we're all here," Aquaman answered. J'onn, Kyle, Hal, and Barry all arrived shortly after and they closed the doors to discuss the next plan of action. "This Court seems much more dangerous than we thought."
"Agreed," J'onn nodded. "Only one member has managed to take down three of the most powerful Titans. It appears that he was just a human as well."
"This isn't good," Clark said, rubbing his face. "We need to find out who the ringleader is and we need to stop him as soon as possible."
"But how are we going to do that exactly?" Diana questioned. "All we have are these two owl feathers, no fingerprints or DNA that we could track from them. What shall we do?"
"I'll go over Gotham and scan the entire city. I'm bound to find something that'll-"
Beep. Beep. "There's an incoming transmission," Wally said.
"From where?"
"It doesn't say."
"…answer it," Clark said reluctantly. On the screen, the video feed activated. There was some static and breaks, but once it cleared, it revealed a suited man at a podium, wearing an owl mask. Behind him were rows and rows of well-dressed men, women and children wearing the same masks as well. Lined up behind him were five kids, ranging from ten to mid-twenties, staring coldly at the camera.
"Justice League," the man spoke. "It's nice to see you all gathered here today."
"How did you access this network?" Clark demanded.
"Let's just say I have 'friends' in high places," he replied. "Now listen to me and listen clearly: stay out of Gotham. I have worked hard to keep the streets of this city clean and I don't need any outside intervention to mess it up."
"But you're murdering people in cold blood," Clark objected. "You murdered a man in broad daylight in Metropolis. That's outside your safe zone and because of that, it has become our business."
"The ends justify the means. Now, excuse all of the other Leaguers. I just need to talk to you for a moment, Superman." The other members looked at each other, confused, and then looked at Clark. "I'm waiting."
The Kryptonian reluctantly signaled for all of them to leave the conference room and faced the masked man alone. "Good. Now time to take off this mask."
Lifting the mask off of his face, the revelation struck Clark with shock and horror. "Bruce Wayne?!"
"Yes," the Court leader answered coldly.
"But you-! I interviewed you, we're friends, we-!"
"Yes, yes, and yes," Bruce repeated. "Now I mean it, Kent. Stay out of Gotham. This city is my turf. Or else."
"Or else what?"
"I'm taking you down. Don't tell anybody else about this either. I'm not going to warn you twice," Bruce threatened. "Now drop this whole issue and carry on with your business. I've got other matters to attend to." Then the connection cut off.
Clark stood there for the longest time, just shocked, unable to move or react. The doors opened again and the founding members rushed in to ask him about what happened. "Kal! What happened? What did he say?"
"…nothing," Superman responded flatly.
"What?!"
"Nothing. Just drop the issue and let it go."
"But Kal-!"
"Diana, we just… negotiated. We leave him alone, he doesn't kill anybody else outside of Gotham," Clark sighed dejectedly. "I'm sorry, but I need some air. Just carry on, you guys." Walking through the group, the other members parted as the Kryptonian walked through, confused and muttering amongst each other. Outside, he pressed his head against the window of the Watchtower facing Earth. It seems that the Court has won. A bunch of mere humans triumphed over the world's greatest heroes. Who would have known.