Lots and lots of thanks for all the reviews and comments! Bless you all! But don't stop now ;) And things will only get worse for our heroes...

CHAPTER 21

The Aerie

The setting sun showed red over Gotham City, dim as it usually was. A young acrobat fastened the last clasp on his body armor and donned the mask. He was ready, as ready as he could be. His mentor smiled warmly at him.

"Are you ready, chum?" he asked.

The boy smacked his right fist into the palm of the other hand. "I was born ready! Let's roll!" He ran for the car and leapt into it, followed swiftly by his mentor, teacher and best friend in the world. The car squealed out of the cave and was soon on the road to Gotham proper.

"So, what's first on the list?" The boy asked, fighting the butterflies in his stomach.

"First, we'll pay a few calls on various crooks and petty thieves infesting Gotham. Then, I thought I would show you my regular patrol route," his mentor smiled again. "Since it's your first night out, I thought we'd take it easy."

The boy frowned. "No fighting? You've taught me to use escrima sticks, how to box, karate and a half dozen other martial arts and I don't get to use 'em?"

"Oh, there will be fighting. Don't you worry about that, pal! Okay, we'll park and take the rooftops from here." He pulled the car over and jumped out, cape flying behind him. He extended an arm and the wrist-grapple shot up multiple stories and found purchase. The boy next to him did the same. Soon they were flying through the night air, together and in perfect accord.

"It just doesn't get any better than this," Owlman's new Talon murmured into his comm microphone.

"You're right, it doesn't," Owlman said back. "Here we are." He came to a stop on a rooftop balcony and gestured at Talon for silence. They stood in the shadows and overheard the voices inside. The loudest came through clearly.

"...skimming? Of course I been skimming! Owlman and that damned Court of his are bleeding me dry! How c'n I make a decent living if he takes sixty percent off the top? An' I tol' him so! Next time he shows up here, I'll give him what for. No pansy in a birdy getup is gonna beat Sal Maroni!"

Owlman gave a count of three with his fingers and at 'one' the two crashed through the windows and into the room. Talon quickly spotted the gunmen and moved in to take them out. He was nervous about making his first kill, but Thomas had reassured him that everyone felt that way in the beginning.

He bounced off the couch and landed behind one of the gunmen and gave his head a quick twist. He felt the bones crack beneath his fingers and knew he'd done it right. With a grin, he went to the next one.

In the meantime, Owlman was maneuvering among the rest of the gunmen. Bullets rained throughout the room but both Owlman and his partner dodged them easily, a result of training Talon with live fire. Owlman killed efficiently and soon the room was filled with bodies except for one man.

Owlman stalked over to where Sal Maroni huddled under his heavy teakwood desk. Talon closed in from the other side.

"You want me to kill him?" Talon asked with a big grin.

Owlman smiled back. The boy was eager. He'd have to work on that. Overeager could get him killed. "Not yet, Talon. I want to talk to Mr. Maroni first."

Owlman bent and dragged Maroni out from under the desk by the ankles. He reached a hand down and pulled the shivering man to his feet and dusted him off. "Sal, Sal, all this fuss over a simple payment. I know that you've had some bad advice but I'm here to help you out," Owlman said.

"Y..you gonna kill me?" Maroni glanced from Owlman to the boy and back.

"It might not be necessary, although Talon does need the experience. Don't you chum?" Owlman nodded at his protégé, who grinned right back and put a hand on Maroni's shoulder.

"No! No, don't kill me! Please! I'll pay. I'll pay! Whatever ya want!" Maroni squealed. "Don't let the kid have me!"

Owlman nodded and the boy backed away. "All right, Sal. Here's the deal. From now on I'm not skimming from the top. I take all of it. You're working for me. You'll get a cut, run the business, but all the strategic decisions are mine from now on. Capice?"

Sal, shoulders bowed, nodded. "Anything ya want, Owlman. Jus' don't kill me, okay? I gotta family."

Owlman smiled benignly. "Sal, I think you'll find that you've made a good decision today. You're just not cut out to be the CEO of a large organization, you're much better at day to day operations. Now that I've lifted a load from your shoulders, Talon will take our payment."

Talon headed for the far wall and removed a painting, leaving the wall safe bare. Without asking for the combination, the boy expertly spun the dial and listened carefully and the safe was open. He retrieved a thin nylon bag from his belt and quickly filled it with stacks of money, leaving only a little behind in the safe. He returned to Owlman's side.

"We're leaving you running expenses, Sal. If you need more, call this number," Owlman handed Sal a card. "And I'll send Talon over with more. He'll also be checking your books, so they'd better be clean. Got that?"

Sal nodded dumbly. Owlman continued.

"Talon will come here every Tuesday night to get the take. As you have seen, he can take care of himself, so don't try to give him the greeting he got tonight. Talon," he turned to his partner. "How many people did you kill tonight?"

"I got six gunmen, Owlman," Talon said proudly.

"You see why you need to cooperate, then," Owlman said, meeting Maroni's eyes. "Okay, Talon, I think he's convinced. We'll make our next stop."

They left Sal Maroni behind in his ruined office, surrounded by what had been his personal army. After the last body slipped through the window, he began to sob.

At Dick Grayson's bedside, Thomas Wayne listened to Alfred's taped voice telling the story, and smiled. Dick smiled, too. His face had momentarily taken on the cast of a much younger person, alight with pride. Dick's face was so like his own Talon's that Owlman's throat constricted. No, he reminded himself. This is my Talon and he has always been my Talon. I must remember that.

The Batcave

Tim, aka Red Robin, swept into the Batcave, closely followed by Batgirl. Bruce and Jason both stood up, startled.

"What are you two doing here?" Bruce demanded. "I sent you both on missions."

"Why didn't you tell us that Dick had been captured again by Owlman?" Tim demanded, stomping towards his mentor. "You said he was safe!"

"You said that he'd left Owlman on his own and he was staying with Jason!" Batgirl added, then took a good look at Jason. "What happened to you?"

Jason flushed with embarrassment. "Nothing," he grumbled. "Nothing happened to me."

Bruce backed away, pulling his cowl back into place, folding his arms across his chest. "Owlman happened to him when he tried to keep him from taking Dick. Jason hit the emergency beacon but Owlman was gone by the time I got there," he said. "Looks like Dick is missing again."

"Where do you want us?" Batgirl asked.

"I don't want you, any of you, involved in this," Batman said crisply. "That includes you, Jason. In a moment of weakness I told you that you can help. This is dangerous, too dangerous for any of you to be involved."

"What makes this Owlman-person any more lethal than the Joker or any of the other criminals we've fought?" Tim said, his own arms folded, mirroring Batman's stance.

"Owlman has all of my skills, but with one addition," Batman said slowly. "He kills. I don't think he enjoys it, but he has no compunction about killing any of you."

"Huh!" Tim said defensively. "That's no different than any of the mooks Gotham comes up with."

"I said, he has my skills," Batman said. "Jason is lucky that he chose to send a message instead of killing him outright."

"You mean, Jason looks like that because Owlman didn't want to kill him?" Barbara whispered, eyes drawn to Jason's glorious set of bruises. Jason sat back down onto his bed and tried to sink into it.

"I'm still here, you know," Jason muttered. "And I can fight just fine. Owlman got the drop on me, that's all."

"I don't want any of you out there when I go for Owlman," Batman concluded.

"But, what about Dick?" Batgirl said. "What if he's hurt or drugged? You'll need help with him."

"And that creepy zomboid butler," Tim added. "You should be able to keep all your attention on Owlman. You'll need us." He glanced at Jason. "All of us to watch your back and get Dick out safely. You always told us that there is strength in numbers, especially if the team is well trained. So, ask our trainer whether he did a good job with us!"

"He has you there, sir," Alfred commented, bringing in a tray filled with sandwiches, coffee and his famous cookies. "I thought that you might be a bit peckish, so I brought some comestibles."

The atmosphere calmed as Alfred handed around the food. Even Jason took some, chewing carefully to avoid his loosened teeth. While everyone was occupied with their snacks, Alfred cleared his throat. "It seems to me, sir, that Master Timothy and Miss Barbara have a point, as does Master Jason. You are not the only person in this family who cares about Master Dick's welfare."

Bruce, cowl pulled back again, scowled at Alfred but didn't put his sandwich down. "You're saying I should lead them into deadly danger?"

"I am saying, sir, that you have trained a fine group of fighters. It would be a foolish waste to refuse to avail yourself of their gifts because of your pride," Alfred sipped his own tea and sat calmly in his chair.

Bruce thought a moment, then exchanged glances with Jason, Tim, Barbara and finally with Alfred. "I'm outnumbered, aren't I?"

"I am afraid so," Alfred replied. "Miss Barbara is remarkably good at data retrieval, perhaps she could add to the dossier we already have on Owlman. There may be hidden files that you were unable to access. Masters Tim and Jason could comb the area where Dick was taken to see if there is any additional evidence. Admittedly, you were in a hurry, given Jason's condition at the time."

"And what am I supposed to do while all this work is going on?" Bruce asked.

"I would suggest that you go upstairs and sleep. You haven't slept adequately since you found out about Master Dick." Alfred stood. "I can provide pharmaceutical help if needed."

Bruce gave the group a half smile. "All right, I know when I'm beaten. I'll go upstairs if it will make you happy, Alfred. The rest of you, I will be back in five hours. Give me a complete status then."

The Aerie

"I want you to wake him," Owlman said quietly to Alfred.

"Why, sir?" Alfred asked in surprise. "You know that the conditioning takes concentrated time to set the new memories."

"This will take time. We need to mold his muscle memory as well as his physical. He remembers how to act like a talon, but his body doesn't know that yet. Can you put him in a light trance? Enough to let him train with me?" Owlman asked.

Alfred frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose I could. Mind you, I wouldn't want to do this too often or the memories won't set as they should."

"Go ahead and do it, then. How old does he think he is now?" Owlman donned his gauntlets.

"About age fifteen or so," Alfred said, adding chemicals to the iv bag. "He will come around in a few minutes. But when you're done training, he must go right back to the conditioning."

"Don't worry, Alfred. My goal is to have a well-rounded talon when we're done. I don't want to jeopardize the work already done, " Owlman said. "Look, he's waking!"

Dick Grayson looked up in bewilderment. "Uh...Owlman?" he said slowly. Alfred helped him to sit up and began removing the IV needle from Dick's arm. Dick watched and licked his lips. "What...what happened? Was I injured?"

"Something like that," Owlman replied. "But we need you to get up for a bit and exercise before your muscles lose tone. I thought that a gentle workout would help."

Dick nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess so. But what happened to me? Why do I feel so woozy?"

Owlman put a hand on Dick's shoulder and guided him towards the workout area. "Batman kidnapped you, remember? He gave you drugs, terrible drugs to make you into his own henchman. But we got you back and we're cleaning the drugs out of your system."

"Oh, yeah," Dick said, sounding more confident. "That's right. You saved me again, Thomas. Thank you!"

"You're welcome, chum," Owlman replied. "And now, lets get in some practice. We'll take care of Batman when we see him, won't we?"