Chapter Two
November 2nd 1991
The police had been called in, and one officer was questioning Dan.
"…you see, I designed the Electric Owl for a quick knockout," Dan explained, "I'd be surrounded by ten or twelve knot-tops, and then I'd switch the Electric Owl on, they'd be on the floor. I took it with me in case anything went wrong with Veidt's invention."
"Did you expect it to?"
"Well, no, but I just don't trust Veidt. I mean, who can judge the world's smartest man?"
"Yeah…anyway, Mr. Dreiberg, you're lucky that President Redford pardoned all Keene Act dodgers. Do you need a ride home?"
"No, I'm good."
***
Dan walked outside, and to the parking lot. A valet came up to him.
"Which car is yours?" he asked
Dan pointed to a lamp post.
"That one,"
Dan took his computer console out, and pointed it at the lamp. Right next to it, there was a slight shimmer in the air, and Archie appeared. He had been slightly altered in the last seven years, updated for the brief period when Nite Owl and Silk Specter worked together. There were visible guns, and a beak at the front where the Screechers came from, plus bulkier armored panels.
"His smooth paint and magnetized hull make him easier to cloak," Dan explained, "I designed it myself."
Dan climbed up the ladder, and sat in the pilot's seat. He retracted the ladder, and pressurized the cabin.
"Preparing for flight," Dan sighed
***
Suddenly, Dan felt a gloved hand on his shoulder. He turned around, and gasped.
"Hello, Daniel," said Rorschach
The shock almost made Dan lose control of Archie.
"Rorschach!" he breathed, "You're…you're…alive! I thought…I saw Jon…he…"
"I know," Rorschach said, in his monotone voice, "Not sure what happened. Suddenly appeared in Veidt's party room. Shot him with empty grapple gun, compressed air charge."
"Did you see what happened to him?"
"Yeah, bullet through remains of heart. Fate was on our side, wanted him out of the way. Pay for crimes against…"
"Rorschach…" Dan interrupted
"Yes?"
"It's good to have you back."
For a moment, Rorschach didn't know what to say.
"…thanks."
Rorschach sat down, and fastened his seatbelt.
"Owlship's running smoother. And there's lot more equipment than last time. Are you using a nuclear power source, something stronger?"
"No…" Dan flicked a couple of switches on the cockpit roof, "I'll show you when we get back to my house."
"Where are you living now?"
"Oh, same place, I bought it when Laurie left."
"What happened with you and Miss Juspeczyk?"
"We were married for a few years, had a couple of kids, but then Jon came back. While he was gone, he created life on many planets, one a race of pacifists. Laurie wanted to raise the kids there, I said that wouldn't be the right way to do it, we had a fight, and the next morning, she was gone, left me a note, saying she wasn't coming back, and she'd taken the kids."
"…right…"
***
The Owlship descended into the abandoned warehouse that Dan owned, and made its way through the abandoned subway tunnel, back to Dan Dreiberg's basement. His basement, his 'owl's nest', had also changed. Instead of the dreary workshop/storage area, Dan had placed several trees in there, along with several sun-lamps. He also had a few owls living in the trees, King Arthur, Morgaine Le Fay, and Merlin. As he climbed out of Archie, Dan slipped his Nite Owl gloves on, and extended his arm out. King Arthur flew down and landed on him, gripping his claws into the hard leather.
"Good boy, King Arthur," Dan said, stroking him
"Daniel, are you going to show me the power source?" Rorschach asked
"Oh, yeah," Dan lifted the glove up, and King Arthur flew away, "You've got to admit, this is pretty cool. I got inspired by that movie that Nixon banned, Silent Running."
"Hurm…"
Dan quickly changed into his Nite Owl gear. It was an update of his last gear. He wore a brown shirt and tights with black briefs, boots, and gloves. His mask was updated, having glowing yellow eyes and larger ears. Nite Owl led Rorschach over to his safe, which was embedded in the wall.
"When Hollis Mason died, he left most of his stuff to me," Nite Owl explained, "Most of it was just some books, a famous picture of the Minutemen, but this…"
He opened the safe, and took out a metal object shaped like a crescent moon.
"…Hollis wore this on his belt every day. This diverted bullets around him, let him see in the dark, and doubled the force of his famous left hook. He said he accidentally took it home after stopping a museum robbery, and when he picked it up, it transformed him into Nite Owl."
"Why doesn't it work on you?" Rorschach asked
"I don't know," Nite Owl sighed, "When Hollis first retired, he tried to give it to me, but it wouldn't work."
"So the power…?" Rorschach growled
"That's how I get my power; I found out that if this is linked up to a rechargeable source, then it fills it up in seconds. It took me months to figure out how to regulate it so it wouldn't melt my batteries."
"You mean ship's battery," Rorschach corrected
"No…"
Nite Owl rolled up his sleeve, and then the layer of skin underneath, revealing complex bionics.
"Underboss came out of his coma," Nite Owl explained, "I didn't have you to help me, and he tore my arm off."
"Is he still out of prison?" Rorschach asked
"No, Laurie was watching from Archie, and set him on fire,"
"…dead?"
"I managed to get him to the hospital in time," Nite Owl replied, "The next place he terrorizes better have air conditioning"
Nite Owl pulled his skin-glove off of his hand, and placed it over the Moon. It instantly recharged.
"Anyway, you want to go upstairs? The Mark of Zorro is on NBC tonight."
"Hurm…TV gives me…Tyrone Power was a…I have a…"
"Come on," Nite Owl grinned, "Maybe you'll enjoy it."
***
As Nite Owl and Rorschach sat back on the couch, preparing to watch a classic film, Adrian Veidt sat in his office in a windowless building, watching them on his personal computer.
"Fools," he growled, "You have no idea what's coming to you…"
