This chapter dies play on some things from the Court of Owls arc. Like Calvin Rose, Strix (a female Talon), Raymond McCreary (an old friend of Dick's from the New 52 who wanted to get revenge on him and was briefly considered to be eligible to be a Talon), and the agreement Haly's Circus had with the Court of Owls.

"I thought I told Damian not to train him." Bruce sighed.

"No, I believe you told him that he couldn't make Richard Robin." Alfred reminded. "Besides, I think it's therapeutic. From what I'm told, this is also meant to open him up when they spar."

The last thing Bruce expected when he woke up and got breakfast was finding Damian and Dick in the yard training. Even less likely was Damian using League of Assassin training to do so. Bruce wasn't too enthused with this, but he couldn't complain either.

Damian was taking the initiative in this. He was trying to find something to get Dick's attention and was trying to find a He common ground for them. If it gave results, Bruce could get behind it. Damian had to get creative with how he wanted to approach the boy.

Damian and Dick had started at dawn. Getting Dick rolling was easy, especially since he hopped out of bed pretty quick. It was the most excited that Damian had seen the boy since his arrival. Training must have been something that Dick enjoyed. Or tolerated depending on how Dick really felt.

As they began training, there was a lot that Damian was able to pick up as far as Dick's training with the Talons. He was flexible and used Dick's thin frame accordingly. It mimicked what Damian had seen with the Talon's he and his father had previously fought.

After a few rounds of League of Assassin routines, they sparred. Dick won the first round, with some lenience on Damian's part. His question: What was it like to be part of the League of Assassins? Damian explained that it was strict and that his grandfather hated failure.

The next match went to Damian. But instead of asking deep questions about the Court of Owls, or his parents, he went with a subtle detail. Something for Damian to research later.

Bruce entered the Batcave to check on his eldest. Dick was asleep and Bruce was getting ready to go on patrol. Damian was sitting at the computer. He was scanning through several uploaded news pieces all with a common theme. Haly's circus.

"What are you doing?" Bruce inquired.

"Dick told me something earlier and I thought I'd investigate." Damian replied.

"Investigate what? How to raise an acrobat?" Bruce thought of the obvious. "You already read everything about his parents. We were both there when they died."

Damian turned to face his father. He appeared intently stern and eerily curious.

"I think Haly's circus was a breeding ground for Talons." Damian stated, before turning back to the screen. "I asked him about the weirdest thing a Talon had ever shared with him. He told me that one of the Talons he interacted with him spoke about growing up in Haly's Circus. If I recall correctly, Calvin Rose, the Talon that defected, told Todd about being in Haly's Circus as well."

Bruce leaned against the monitor, folding his arms. It did sound strange that there were several instances of Talon's originated from Haly's. However, Bruce knew there were plenty more that weren't. For the sake of the child, he wanted to believe that it was just a coincidence.

"It could be a coincidence." Bruce suggested.

"Really?" Damian scoffed. "Including Dick that's three people. That's not a coincidence. That's a pattern. Plus, I found this."

Damian pulled up a paper dated a few months prior to his birth. It was titles, "Young Man Claims to Have Found Gotham's Fabled Society", and told the story of a twenty year old man named Raymond McCreary. He claimed that after an accident, he was rescued by the Court of Owls, who offered to recruit him. He claimed that he was denied because, "the promised 'Gray Son' was upon them and that he was no longer needed."

Damian pulled up another paper dated about a month later. McCreary had been arrested for attempting to murder a seven month pregnant Mary Grayson. The article went onto explain that McCreary died while awaiting trial. The cause of death wasn't officially confirmed, but it was speculated that poison was involved.

"Knowing what we know now, the Court of Owls are real." Damian confirmed. "Which makes that four Haly's Circus Talons. And if I had to guess they poisoned him. They referenced a 'Gray Son', and it doesn't take a genius to see the connection to the Graysons."

"Which would explain why he tried to kill Mary." Bruce deduced, before letting out a deflated sigh. "Even if it was a 'Talon breeding ground' as you dubbed it, what does it matter now? Haly died several months after Mary and John Grayson, and the circus went out of business the following year."

Damian stiffened. It wasn't a problematic question, but it did have its counterarguments. Yes, it shouldn't matter now that Dick was with them. And he could agree that it shouldn't matter now that Haly's Circus had been shut down. It wasn't like they could take it to court. However, it was the principle of the matter that bothered him. The morbid trail that it left.

"I just want to know." Damian admitted. "I'm troubled by this revelation." Damian faced his father. "It's sick that they raised children to become killers. I know I was one myself, but from what I know, I was the only one raised from birth."

Bruce understood Damian's dilemma. It had to hurt witnessing a child go through life corrupting alterations. And from a place that Dick probably grew up loving. A place, he called home. Bruce place a hand on Damian's shoulder.

"Take it from the one who had to revert a similar tendency," Bruce stated, "It's better to focus on what's in front of you. I highly disagree with what Ra's did, but I'm not going to dwell on it. You've broken free of it." Bruce hoped that would be enough. "Now, there's a little boy upstairs who needs someone like you to show him the way."

I kind of wanted to have Bruce play Alfred by claiming that there was a "young boy who needed his attention." Kind of like how Alfred did to Bruce when Bruce was trying to find Zucco after the deaths of John and Mary Grayson.