Justice League and Court of Owls does not belong to me.

Here it is! The sequel to Missing! Hope ya'll like it!

Be sure to check out Cho's picture on my profile!


"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 of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."

- Gotham Nursery Rhyme

"Breaking news: Richard Grayson, former ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne was seen last night at the Hotel Gotham, proposing to long time girlfriend Barbara Gordon. No mention yet of when the wedding will be.

"Also, today Bruce Wayne and his wife, Diana Prince-Wayne, announced the birth of their son, Nathan James Wayne. The baby was born two days ago, February 19th, at Wayne Manor at 9:45 in the morning. February 19th is also Mr. Wayne's birthday." As the reporter spoke, an image of the couple with their newborn was pasted to the screen.

The girl looked up from the weapon that she was cleaning. A small smile lit her face as she noticed the loving way that the new parents were gazing at their son. That baby is very lucky. What I wouldn't give to have Father look at me like that. But nothing could be done about it, unless her father changed. That isn't likely to happen anytime soon, though.

Ignoring the the reporters' happy chatter and gossip about the two stories, she examined the weapon in her lap. A, long, thin sword with razor-sharp edges. It was one of the very few presents that her father had really given her. This particular one hadn't been given out of love. To him, she was a much a tool as the sword in her lap. A means to an end, and nothing more.

At least, that's what it felt like to her.

All of her life had come to this. Every moment of every single day, since she was five years old, had been dedicated to preparation for this time. She was a weapon. She was deadly, and she knew it.

She was hardly aware of the reporter's change in stories until she heard the sound of children's laughter. She looked up to see that the screen was showing images of Gotham City Park, shiny and brand new. It wasn't like that the last time I was in Gotham. The last time she'd been in this city, she'd been ten and the old park had been abandoned, filled with long-rusted playing equipment. Even then, when there had been no chance of anyone seeing her, she'd been forbidden to play. That particular order had more to do with the Court than it had to do with her father. Father may not be a loving man, but he's not completely heartless.

On more than one occasion, the man had reached out to her in some way. Usually small, untraceable ways. A bit of extra rations here, an extra roll of bandages there. Things she knew could have only come from him. Those items had also been sorely needed at the time of their arrival, which meant that he was keeping tabs on her. Usually, that kind of thing was frowned upon by the Court. Cho was only allowed to see her father whenever he needed extra protection, usually whenever he was on another mission. Like the one he'd be undertaking in Gotham soon enough.

Change was coming to Gotham. The criminal element was declining and members of Gotham City's elite, like this Bruce Wayne and his wife, were working together to make Gotham a better place. And the Court wasn't happy with the movement. They'd controlled Gotham from behind the scenes for centuries, since it's beginning, and change not brought on by them was one thing they didn't want. If the city were to be changed for the better, then it would very likely slip through their fingers and out of their control. Personally Cho thought that was for the best, but she wasn't about to voice her opinion. The Court practically owned her and would not hesitate to kill her or turn her into one of their undead Talons if she put even one toe out of line. Which was why she'd followed their instructions completely to the letter. Thankfully, they hadn't ordered her to kill anyone. Yet. That might have to do with the fact that I was a child. But now that I'm sixteen...

The very thought sent chills up through Cho's spine. She'd been forced to watch the Talon ritual many times. It was nothing short of horrific and she still frequently suffered from nightmares brought on by those memories. She'd been constantly warned that the same fate awaited her, one day.

As the reporter, a woman by the last name of Gleeson, droned on, Cho's mind went back to her mission. Her father and several other members of the Court's highest parliament would be infiltrating Gotham's society, pretending to be new members of it's elite. She and several 'apprentices', all as deadly but not as gifted as she was, would be working behind the scenes to ensure that the higher ranking members wouldn't come across any unforeseen complications. 'Complications' meaning people like the Batman. I hope that I don't have to fight him myself. Knowing her luck, Cho would probably have to. And it will be a fight to the death, that's for certain. That thought filled her with dread.


Aside from the muggers that Huntress and Black Canary had stopped just an hour ago, all was quiet in Gotham. That was extremely rare for this city, given that it was not even midnight. For the hundredth time that night, Batman found himself yawning. Between newborn Nathan waking up every two hours on the dot, Question calling periodically for details on a case, and a board meeting at an unseemly hour in the morning, Bruce had been lucky to grab those precious three hours of sleep. Already, even though it wasn't late at all for him, he was already thinking about calling it a night.

Batman moved to activate his comlink to call Robin and let him know to head back when he remembered that the boy, young man actually, was already back at the mansion. I must be extremely exhausted if I've forgotten about that.

Seven and a half months ago, shortly after Diana had found out that she was pregnant, the Joker had kidnapped Tim and tortured him. The memories were still painfully clear to Bruce, as was Tim's condition. Thankfully, the young man was nowhere near what he'd been when the Joker and Harley had finished with him, thanks to Leslie Thompkins, but he'd never be the same again. Neither would Bruce, for that matter. If it hadn't been for Diana...

During Tim's recovery, Diana had been Bruce's rock. She had constantly been there for him, getting him to talk about it especially when he hadn't wanted to, even when she'd been suffering from the side effects of her pregnancy. He was grateful for her stubbornness. If Diana hadn't pushed him, he was sure that he would have pushed her and everyone else away again. As it was, he and Dick had had one heck of an argument about the incident and currently weren't on speaking terms. The fact that his former charge had proposed to Barbara was still a shocker to him. I thought they broke up long ago.

Batman still blamed himself for what had happened to Tim and knowing that the Joker had figured out his identity scared him. Although the Joker himself had perished by Tim's hand, Harley's body hadn't been found. Which meant that she was still out there, somewhere. What if she talks? What if she tells someone who I am? The very image of his family, baby Nathan especially, in danger made him clench his fists in anger and frustration. The very fact that he hadn't found any trace of Quinn whatsoever was unnerving.

Suddenly the need to be with Diana, to hold her and their son, became almost unbearable. There's nothing going on out here. Might as well call it a night and go home. Better make sure that they're okay. And I haven't seen Tim all day, either.

Just as he'd made up his mind, the floodlight atop the police station lit up, shining his symbol into the clouds. Wonderful. He groaned to himself, rolling his eyes.

"I've got it, Batman."

He whipped around, relaxing when he saw that it was just Batgirl. Barbara smirked at him, "You're losing your touch, old man. Usually, you would have heard me a mile away."

He rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored her jibing, "You are not patrolling on your own, Barb."

Her blue eyes softened as she picked up on what he hadn't said. You're not patrolling on your own like Tim did on that night. She put her yellow-gloved hands on her hips, her expression quickly changing to stern, "And Diana would have a cow if she knew that you have been going solo, Bruce."

"Batgirl," he warned in a low growl.

She rolled her blue eyes, "Fine. Relax, Batman. I wasn't even thinking about going on my own, okay? I've already called Zatanna. She'll meet me after I talk with Dad."

Bruce nodded, satisfied with her answer. He'd begun to tell her to call him if the situation ended up being more than the two of them could handle, but, to his chagrin, he was interrupted by yet another yawn.

Batgirl's eyes turned concerned, "Have you gotten any sleep at all, Bruce?"

"A few hours."

She shook her head, giving an exasperated sigh, "You'd think getting married and having a kid would mellow you out. You've hardly changed a bit. Go home and get some sleep. I'm sure us girls can handle Gotham for one night."

"You will call-"

"Call you if we need your help?" Barb smirked, ignoring the glare he sent her way, "Of course." With that, she headed to the edge of the roof, pulling her grappling gun out of her belt, "Night, Bruce."

And she was gone. Still louder than Artie though. Thoughts like that would sneak up on him out of nowhere. Especially since he'd held his son for the first time only yesterday, Bruce would find himself wondering how she and her family were doing. How she was handling the role of Wonder Girl, if Tommy was still as inquisitive as ever. And if Iris and Jai were doing alright. There were times when he'd also wonder how much time had passed for them. Impulse had made it clear that their two dimensions ran on completely different timelines. And Bruce was painfully aware that the kids' timeline was much faster than his own.

Batman shook his head, forcing himself to focus. Although he hated it, having the Watchtower teleport him home was probably the best idea at the moment, considering how dead tired he was. He'd call Batgirl and have her bring the car back to the mansion once she was finished for the night. Bruce looked down over the roof edge, doing one more quick sweep of the area to make sure that no criminals were about in the immediate vicinity. Not a thing. However, he couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that this was just the calm before the storm.


Please R&R.