Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion own these characters. All credit goes directly to DC entertainment and comics. They are the owners not me, I'm in no shape or form making any money from this story. Alright, let's get on with the show.
Alright people here we are again, back with another glorious chapter in volume 2 of my Batman Beyond saga. Last chapter we saw a lot of moving pieces as the Court of Owls made their move against Neo-Gotham City. Dick and Brian showed up, Barbara and Yinn are fighting for their lives, and Damian faced off against the Owls. And Batman finally escaped. This chapter is balls to the wall action with of some much-needed back story. I've talked enough please remember to Read, Review, and of course Enjoy….
Chapter 5: The Court of Owls part 5
Decades Ago
Julie Madison, a beautiful red-haired young woman stared in awe at the engagement ring that was on her finger. She let a smile grace her lips as she looked pass the ring and at her fiancée Bruce Wayne. He was all smiles as she shook her head.
"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" she said.
"You have made me the happiest man in Gotham Julie." He replied
Bruce stood up from one knee and he scooped her up in his arms and swung her around. The two of them kissed as the morning breeze passed over them.
Julia had always had bad luck when it came to relationships, every boyfriend she had ever had in her young life had managed to let her down in some shape or form. She related her bad luck back to her family more specifically her father who was a low life gun runner. The evil deeds he committed cast a long shadow of karma that her family continued to pay, be it her bad luck, or her mother's suicide or her brothers incarceration, nothing seemed to ever go right for them or her but today her luck was turning around.
In fact, her luck had improved the moment she found the amnesiac Bruce Wayne under a pile of rubble. As she nursed him back to health, she fell head over heels for him and he, her. She was happy that she had finally met someone who loved her as much as she loved him and made everything perfect. They finally broke apart.
"How big do you want the wedding to be?" he asked
"Bruce you know me. I don't want a big fancy anything. A nice small gathering with the people we know and love." She said.
"That'll be easy for me. I don't really know many people, except that Alfred Pennyworth fellow who came by the other day." He said.
"I meant to ask you about that, after you left with him and came back you seemed a bit off or distracted. What did the two of you talk about?" she asked.
Bruce looked away from her for a moment, rubbing the thick black beard around his face in a contemplative manor.
"He told me a lot of things about…well about me. He told me some things I already knew like how I am Bruce Wayne and my parents were Thomas and Martha Wayne. He described to me in detail how they were murdered and how I was there when it happened but I don't remember it." He said.
"But that's not what's bothering you." She said.
"No, it's not. He told me something else, a secret, a dark secret." said Bruce.
Julie touched him on the shoulder affectionately.
"You can tell me anything Bruce. I'll never tell anyone any of the secrets shared between you and me." She said.
Bruce smiled and nodded his head.
"He told me that I am or at least I was…. The Batman." He said to her.
"BATAMN! Really, and you believed him?' she asked.
"Yes, he had proof. I was Batman. And Mr. Pennyworth does not strike me as the type of man to lie. He or any of the rest of the people in my former circle. I guess me being Batman would explain how I ended up in that pile of rubble." He said.
Julie stood there in disbelief, she had a hard time believing that the kind and gentle man before her who helped to nurse the wounded and feed the hungry people in the narrows, used to the feared night terror that jumped across rooftops, beat criminals to a pulp with his bare hands, destroyed property and destroyed countless lives in the name of some convoluted personal justice. She could not believe it.
"That's a lot." She said.
"I-I'm sorry I did not mean to burden you with this." He replied.
"Hey no, you're not burdening me with anything you are sharing with me, we share everything remember. In all honesty you're handling it pretty well." She said.
"It's like I said they tell me all these things but I can't associate any feelings with them because I don't remember. I'm a blank slate. All of the pain and trauma that the former me experienced I can't feel it so I guess in a sense Batman is dead." Said Bruce.
Julie let out a sigh.
"Good, because let me tell you about Batman, he was a menace. A true terror, he took matters into his own hands with no regards to the law and he did nothing but ruin lives. So, I say let him stay dead and let Bruce Wayne my future husband live. Now come and kiss your fiancée."
Bruce smiled a small smile and captured her lips with his, and even though he was for the moment content he could not help but hear the small voice of his conscious saying she was wrong.
Julie for a moment broke away.
"Bruce promise me something. Promise you'll never leave me." She said.
He did not answer immediately.
"Bruce"
"I promise Julie, I promise I'll never leave you." He said.
She smiled and slammed her lips to his in an intense kiss. Bruce returned it and he began to lay her down on the blanket, that they had used for a picnic. The two made passionate love on the blanket in the field that was just outside but overlooking Gotham City.
9 Months Later
Julie Madison, in the pouring rain, fumbled with the keys to the door that led to her one-bedroom apartment. She had a about a dozen bags of groceries in her hands and her pregnant belly did not make matters any easier.
She finally opened the door and stumbled into the very modest apartment and closed the door. She set her wet groceries on the table and started to take her wet jacket off. She turned on the tv and the first story she saw was that of her former fiancée Bruce Wayne. A look of hate crossed her face as she stared at him and at the gorgeous dark-haired woman with green eyes that was hanging on his arm at some gala.
She started to take her groceries out and slam them on the table, her frustration at her bad luck returning. She remembered how Bruce's memory returned just in time to fight the Riddler or some other costumed freak. He apologized to her and told her that she could keep the ring but he could never marry her. The mission to protect Gotham was too great. He had given her some money, enough to keep her art school for the underprivileged open and running but she had torn the check to shreds. She refused to take his guilt money after he promised her that he would never leave.
Julie found herself alone and heartbroken but it wasn't until a few months after that she started to notice how sick she became, and how her body went through a few changes and to her shock she found out that she was pregnant. She thought about telling Bruce but she did not want anything to do with him or his crazy bat filled night life. She would raise her child by herself without him. She would raise her child to be normal.
Julie carefully made her way over to her couch and she gingerly sat down. She rubbed her swollen belly as she watched the muted television.
"That's your father, Bruce Wayne, billionaire philanthropist as well as crazed vigilante, the Batman. But don't worry little Lincoln, I swear you will be normal. You'll never have to worry about dressing up in any type of crazy costume."
Present: Bat-Cave
The White masked Talon pointed his sword at the former Dynamic Duo, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne.
"KILL THEM!" he shouted.
The Talons swiftly rushed pass him and towards their prey.
Dick and Damian watched them come.
"What are you doing here Grayson?" Damian asked.
"After your last call about Alton Carver, I knew that whatever was going on here, you might need some extra hands." Dick replied.
The Talons reached them and the former Dynamic Duo fell into their old routine but with a few modifications. Damian in his mecha suit fired out several grappling lines that wrapped around several of their foes. Dick slipped behind the mecha suit and allowed it to take the brunt of sword attacks that came from the front. He then grabbed hold on the back of the suit just as Damian activated the rocket boots that shot the two of them up into the air.
When they were airborne Dick tossed several of his old wing-ding bombs to the ground that exploded right when they were out of range. The two flew upwards and towards another platform that was up above and overlooking down below.
Dick flipped off and landed in the front of Damian.
"You remember this spot?" Dick asked.
"Of course, I do, and I remember something else too. Computer activate training dome!" Damian commanded.
A dome of light appeared over the rocky platform that the two were standing upon. It was a protective barrier that was built with a bit of kyrptonian tech. They both turned towards the small entrance to the dome that opened to the right of them.
"One-way in..." Damian started.
"One-way out." Dick finished.
He then reached towards his back and pulled out his escrima sticks, as the Talons flooded through the narrow entrance. Dick struck the first that reached him the face with his escrima sticks and then hoped in the air and kicked him in the face. Damian used the strength of his suit to lash out at the Talons that were within his range. He knocked them back and into the barrier that delivered a nasty electric shock.
The former Dynamic Duo worked side by side to fight off their numerous attackers, who were well trained. Dick blocked two attacks from the Talons in front of him.
"Where's Barbara?" he asked before twisting his attackers off balance and jamming his escrima sticks into their jugulars, shocking them into submission.
"How the F*** should I know, probably upstairs with Yinn dealing with their own problems. She's a big girl Grayson. On your left!" Damian shouted.
"ON YOUR RIGHT!" Dick shouted.
Dick ducked under a sword that was about to remove his head from his shoulders. He elbowed the attacker behind him in the groin and then flipped him over and stomped on the yellow goggles that was staring up at him.
Damian smacked the Talon that tried to stab at the joint on the Bat-Mecha's leg away. The two of them nodded at each other briefly before going back to work.
Upstairs- Kitchen
Barbara threw her last empty gun in the face of the female Talon next to her before grabbing a butcher knife from off the counter. She deflected the sharp nails from the swipes that were aimed to open her throat or maim her mid-section. She threw out a kick that nailed her attacker in the knee making her buckle. Barbara then jammed the knife into the female Talon's hand which effectively pinned her to the counter. The Talon didn't scream and to Barbara's surprise there was no blood.
"What the hell?" she whispered.
She backed away only to receive a punch to the face from another Talon. The punch busted her lip making her taste blood and sent her stumbling into a rack of pots. She moved her head in the nick of time to avoid a sword to the skull. Barbara grabbed a skillet and a pot and faced off against the new Talon that wanted her dead.
The Talon slashed to the left, right and then back to the left again with his sword but Barbara was able to block every slash with her pot and skillet.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Went the sound of her blocks.
The Talon took a step back before stepping in with two strong slashes that cut through the metal of the pot and skillet like tissue. Barbara dropped the remnants and she glanced pass her attacker to see a door that led to the wine cellar. She steeled herself and charged forward, she ducked under the incoming strike and speared the Talon across the waist.
BANNNNNNNNNGGG! Came the sound of the two of them busting through the door which was followed by them painfully tumbling down the stone steps and finally rolling into the old but still sturdy wine cellar.
Barbara let out a pained groaned as blood trickled down her eyes and face. She could feel the toll of age beginning to catch up but as before she would not roll over and die because duty called. The Commissioner crawled away from her downed opponent who was thankfully for the moment motionless, and that was because his head was turned around in the opposite direction.
"F****r" she whispered while still crawling away.
Barbara looked around the large wine cellar, her eyes going between the years until she landed on the year 1987 which had a long rack of wine stacked neatly. She was nearly there when she heard the sound of snapping and breaking; over her shoulder she could see her attacker's neck slowly twisting around to the correct side and fixing itself.
"Well now, isn't that a neat trick." She said to herself.
Barbara turned back to the wine and began to grab some of the bottles and toss them from the rack and to the ground.
The Talon rose and picked up his fallen sword and began to stalk towards the Commissioner. She was aware of him approaching but her full attention was on the button that was at the very back of the wine rack that she just cleared.
"C'mon, damn it. C'mon!" she shouted.
The Talon stood in front of her and was about to kill her when suddenly his own head was removed from his shoulders. Barbara watched as the head fell in front of her and the body tilted sideways and laded with a thud. She smiled a bit as a bloodied Yinn with a clean sword in hand stood there. He was sporting dozens of wounds and a couple of throwing stars were lodged in his body but he was still alive, which was all that mattered.
"Mrs. Young are you well?" he asked.
"I'm not dead so that's a plus, but I have about one good fight left before I pass out." She replied.
"As do I." he said.
Yinn collapsed to a knee because of sheer exhaustion, but his brief rest was lost as they both heard the footsteps of the Talons on the stone steps.
"Sons of bitches just don't know when to quit, almost makes me think they're aren't fully human." Said Barbara.
"It appears as though we shall die gloriously on this night." He said while out of breath.
Barbara finally reached the button and she pressed it. The Wine rack suddenly slid downwards and revealed a secret entrance that was pitch black. After a moment red eyes opened and peered back at the two of them.
"Relax Yinn, we're not dying tonight, but if I were you, I'd slide to the right." She said.
Yinn took her advice and from the pitch-black dozens upon dozens of screeching bats emerged and flew towards the oncoming Talons. The swarm of bats flooded the entire wine cellar, screeching, nipping, and blinding their attackers.
Barbara and Yinn through the swarm of bats made their way through the secret entrance; once they were through the threshold, Barbara put her hand on the pad that was there. It beeped and another thick metal door with a bat symbol on the front came down and blocked their escape.
Bat-Cave
Damian struck one of the Talons in front of him and then kicked another. He hated how slow the mecha-suit he was wearing could be but it was still effective for being over thirty plus years old. It was one of the first suits created to be able to go up against Superman however the Man of Steel in spite of his boy-scout nature had a couple of tricks up his cape which caused Bruce to abandon the current suit and build another one.
He heard the whistling through the air before he felt the blade strike the center of the bat-symbol on his chest.
"NO! NO! NO!" Damian shouted.
Damian hit the eject button in the suit and immediately the top hatch open and jettisoned him out right as the mecha suit exploded in a shower of metal and fire. The fire was so great that it burned a couple of the Talons that were too close.
The training dome light collapsed and it allowed the white-faced Talon to drop in and pick up his thick broad sword that was laying on the ground. He wiped the smut and dirt from it so it was clean and ready to strike. He stalked towards Damian who was picking himself up off the ground.
"Your life is at an end dear brother." He said.
"You are not my brother." Damian replied.
"Are you so sure? Our Father did have a way with women, making them love him, need him right before tossing them aside. He did the same thing to your mother did he not." He said.
Damian rose to his feet and readied himself for a fight.
"You know nothing of my mother." He replied calmly.
"Now that is true but I do know something about this blade though Damian. An exquisite sword, I believe it is the last gift given to you by our late father right before the final confrontation with Two Face. I believe you used this very sword to cut his head off." said the White-faced Talon.
Damian pursed his lips together.
"I thought that sword had been lost forever."
"What was lost, has been found."
"WHO ARE YOU!" Damian demanded.
The white-faced talon twisted the blade and he charged. Damian watched him come but more importantly he watched the sharp sword that could cut through nearly anything. As he neared, he ducked and rolled but the white-faced talon came around behind him with a swipe that caught Damian in the back.
"ACKH!" he cried out.
He quickly turned around and side-stepped a thrust that would split his stomach in half, but he missed the spinning kick that cracked him across the jaw. Damian went down to the ground with blood pouring from his lips. He gathered his strength and rolled away from the attack he knew that was to come; his sword was jammed into the spot his heart was supposed to be before he moved.
The white-faced talon removed the sword from the ground.
"If it makes you feel better brother, none of this was for you, it was for Bruce but he had to go and die. I was content with leaving you alive and letting you galivant across the globe as the Gray Ghost but you just had to come back and take over his legacy once again after breaking away from his shadow. You had to declare yourself a Wayne to the world, but the Wayne family name must die."
"LIKE HELL!" came a shout.
The white-faced Talon felt a flying kick to his face courtesy of Dick Grayson. The kick created some space and gave Dick enough time to scope Damian up over his shoulder.
"We can't win this, we have to go." He said.
Dick turned to leave but found himself surrounded. The white-masked Talon regained his composure as he looked at Dick.
"You are right about that Dick, you can't win this. You can only die." He said.
Down Below- A few Seconds earlier
Barbara and Yinn in unison pushed several rocks out of their path and they both found themselves inside the bat-cave. Barbara took a second to look around and saw that they were further down in the cave, near the water where one of the old bat-subs laid deactivated.
"There's our ticket out of here." Said Barbara.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Came a sound from up above.
Barbara and Yinn looked up to see an explosion from one of the platforms. She squinted her eyes as she saw someone almost fall over but catch himself on the ledge. She didn't recognize the costume but she did recognize the domino mask, the hair, and the derriere.
"Dick?" she whispered.
Barbara shook herself from her stupor as she saw several Talons up above. She with Yinn next to her ran towards the bat-sub. She placed her hand on the pad and the vehicle open and allowed her inside.
Inside the Sub
Barbara wiped some blood out of her eyes as she sat down in the cockpit and began to wake the long dormant sub.
"I hope this thing still works." She said.
She finished typing into the keyboard and on her last stroke the sub began to hum and re-awaken. She smiled as she strapped herself in and began to pilot the sub towards the platform up above.
"Let's get the hell out of here but before we do let's call in the cavalry." She said.
Barbara hit a red button the console and she waited.
Up Above
Dick gritted his teeth as the Talon's inched closer. The white-faced Talon prepared himself to charge when an ear-shattering sound erupted from down below. It only lasted for a minute before the sounds of flapping caught everyone's attention. Everyone looked up to see the bats had returned and were swarming all over the entire cave obscuring everyone's vision.
Dick knew what the sound was and where it originated from. He remembered because he had hit that same button once before in a time long past when he was Robin. He looked in the direction of the bat-sub from his position and he dashed in that direction, through the swarm of bats that seemed to never touch him.
Dick with Damian in tow leaped off the platform and plummeted down below, towards the water. He spotted the bat-sub and as he neared the water, he curled his toes and the rockets in the soles activated. He glided towards the sub and the open hatch where he deftly dropped inside.
Inside the Bat-sub
Dick looked around and he saw Yinn who he nodded at, and then Barbara.
"Babs."
"Dick."
"You're looking rather well." He said.
"Shut up! Let's get the F*** out of here!" Damian shouted.
Barbara closed the hatch and she twisted on the controls of the sub and made the old vehicle dive deep into the cold water. She then pulled on a lever and the boosters activated sending them rocketing towards the opening that would lead to the frozen river however thankfully only the surface was frozen.
As they made their escape Barbara hit the rear side rockets that fired out and blasted their exit point, making dozens of rocks caved in and closed it off so the court of Owls could not follow.
"This is bad." said Dick.
"Understatement of the year Grayson. If they access any of those files in the bat-computer Neo-Gotham, and all of my operations abroad are completely screwed." said Damian before coughing.
"Relax, I activated the lockdown protocol remember. Everything is locked down including the computer. They're not getting anything through Bruce's and my old encryption codes, I mean not unless they have an army of hackers or one exceptionally talented hacker." said Barbara.
The Court of Owls' Nest
Max as well as the rest of the hackers sat on their knees, each with a Talon standing in front of them with a knife pointed at their throat. The pink-haired beauty could feel several beads of sweat rolling down the back of her neck as she stared up at the intimidating and unflinching Talon. The yellow eyes bored into hers.
The Riddler walked around behind each of the Talons surveying the visibly frightened brain trust of hackers that he himself had hand-picked. He knew each of them better than they probably knew themselves and so when he passed Max, his great mind had already deduced that she was the one who had breached his carefully guarded system and allowed the Batman to escape. The question was, what to do with this information, he could turn her over to the Court who no doubt will kill her or he could use that exceptional talent elsewhere.
'That is the true Riddle, what to do, what to do.' He thought to himself.
The Riddler stopped at the hacker that was next to Max, a plump fellow in his late twenties by the name of Esteban. He was not really the best but he had a few neat tricks, but ultimately, he was expendable.
"It was you." Said Riddler.
Esteban opened his mouth to protest but before he could the Talon that was in front of him stepped forward and ran him through with his blade. Max winced at the sound and as well as the blood that splashed across her face when the Talon removed his weapon. The body was taken away before it even hit the ground.
Max looked away and toward the Riddler who was staring right at her. A female voice filtered over head and it was a voice that belonged to one of the judges, and it was the judge that the Riddler hated most of all.
"Betrayal will not be tolerated! We are trying to cleanse this cesspool of a city from itself and so we cannot have betrayal within our own ranks. And because of this betrayal the Batman has escaped. HE ESCAPED! FIND HIM! FIND HIM NOW! OR ALL OF YOU WILL PAY THE PRICE!" she screeched.
The Talons vanished back into the darkness and yet even though they were gone everyone knew that their eyes were still trained upon them, always watching from their perch. Max heaved a sigh once the threat of imminent death was over, she took a moment to collect herself but she could hear a few of the others around her; some of them were crying and some of them were throwing their guts up.
She turned to the spot where Esteban once sat and a twinge of guilt passed through her because it was supposed to her that died, she was the betrayer but she let him take the fall. However, she was not alone in sharing the guilt of the death of an innocent. A pair black shoes found their way into her line of sight.
Max felt the Riddler's cane come under her chin and tilt it up to his eyes.
"Come with me, you and I have a few things to discuss." He said sternly.
Elsewhere: The Nest
The white-masked female judge moved away from the screens and she turned to face the other council of judges. Although all their faces were obscured, she could tell that they were all staring at her. The Court of Owls, especially the judges always adhered to three strict codes. The first being that they are a secret organization, only spoken about in hushed whispers and in the comforts of their nest; the second code to never betray one another, if ever a grievance either within their council or out in the world, never conspire. The third and final code is to always remain calm.
She took a moment to compose herself.
"Excuse my outburst." She said, "But you all know how much keeping Batman off the board meant to our overall goals."
"We are aware, but remember Batman was never the real target. It was always Damian Wayne and the Wayne family fortune. The new man under the mask is nothing but a nuisance and of no consequence, have you heard from our assets, have they acquired his head."
The female judge held up her wrist and a holographic screen appeared in front of all of them. The screen was blurry only for a few seconds before a white masked-talon appeared on the screen.
"Is it done?" she asked.
The white-masked Talon shook his head.
"Damian Wayne escaped. He had help from his allies." He said.
"What allies?" came the icy reply from the woman.
"Gordon and Grayson." He said.
The judge looked up at the council members.
"Did you at least secure the computer?" she asked.
"Yes, the computer is secure however it is under some sort of lockdown. I need the hackers here to break the encryptions." He said.
"This is unacceptable." She said.
"I am sorry…. Mother."
The judge stared at her son for a moment longer before ending the call.
Flashback- Years Ago
"Unacceptable!" Julie Madison yelled.
"I am sorry Mother, but he had it coming. He was picking on my friend Justin and I tried to tell him to stop but he wouldn't and I had to hit him. And then he hit me back and that's when the fight started." Said Lincoln.
Julie heaved a heavy sigh as she looked at the bruised face of her ten-year-old son Lincoln Madison or rather Lincoln March. She had married a wealthy up and coming developer by the name of Henry March, not long after Lincoln was born.
"Just go to your room! Your father and I will be back later tonight and we will have a serious discussion about fighting. This is your third fight this month. I'm beginning to think you just like to fight." She said.
Lincoln folded his arm across his chest and he stormed off towards his room, the maid following him, assuring Julie that she would put him to bed. She watched them go.
'He probably does like to fight, just like his father.' She thought to herself.
Julie did marry and found some sort of happiness with Henry; he was a nice and generous man but he was not the man she genuinely wanted. He was not the man that was the father of her child or the man that she dreamed of every single night. For years she tried to convince herself that Bruce was a terrible person, but a small part of her could not forget the confused but happy man that she had fallen in love with all those years ago. She still remembered the day he proposed, it was perfect. She often closed her eyes and remembered that perfect day.
"Julie, my love, you must come to the study immediately." Came a voice.
Julie snapped herself out of the memory and she made her way to the study where she heard Henry's voice. However, as she stepped into the study, she felt her skin crawl because there were several menacing looking men and two women standing in front of the desk that her husband Henry was sitting behind. All were elegantly dressed indicating that they came from or had money and she recognized a few. She nodded at them and made her way to her husband who had a stoic expression on his face.
Henry March was a man in his early forties with salt and pepper hair, a thick beard on his chin that was the same color and a slight plump build. She kissed him on the forehead and smiled sweetly at her guest.
"Darling what's all this?" she asked.
"Julie, I'm not the man you think I am. I do genuinely love you but my love for Gotham runs just a bit deeper. This city is corrupted, it's rotting from the inside out, and it is time for a change, however we cannot mount a change because of him, because of Batman."
Julie felt a shiver go down her spine. All the eyes in the room turned to her.
"I-I'm not sure I understand dear." She said.
"Julie, tell these people, excuse me, tell the Court what you told me last night." He said
Julie felt a lump form in her throat, as the words left her husband's mouth. It was last night after drinking one too many glasses of champagne that she let her most guarded secret slip. She had told him the name of the man that had fathered her son.
"JULIE!" Henry yelled, "Please, you have to tell the Court what you told me last night. They must know the truth. I know this all confusing right now and I promise that I will explain everything but right now. You must speak." He said.
"If I refuse?" she asked
"Then you will never see Lincoln again." Henry replied.
Julie gritted her teeth. She did not know what was going on but she knew that it was dangerous and terrible. She could feel it. The hard stares and the air of anticipation as the group of rich and powerful waited for her speak. She had never felt so scared in her lift and in that moment, she wished that her knight in shining armor. The love of her life would bust through the windows like he does for everyone else and save her but she knew he was not coming.
"SPEAK!" someone shouted.
"M-My son. MY SON Lincoln, his father is Bruce Wayne." She said.
Henry suddenly stood from his seat and he went to her and stood in front of her.
"It is as I told you." He said.
The 'Court' that was gathered began to talk amongst themselves.
"We now have a way to defeat him for what can defeat a Wayne other than another Wayne." One said.
"The Court shall rise on the back of this information." A second one said.
"All resources will be diverted to this house and to the boy. He must learn from the best, and he must thrive under our tutelage." Said another
As they spoke amongst themselves Julie grabbed her husband by the shoulder. He turned his head to her and put a soft look on his face.
"What is going on? And are they talking about Lincoln? What is he going to learn?" she asked frantically.
"Do not worry my love. I will explain all, but just know that because of Lincoln, you and I have just been welcomed into the Court of Owls."
Present- Court of Owls Nest
The female white-masked judge linked her hands together as she stared at the other judges.
"So, no computer. Damian Wayne is still alive. Gordon is still alive and Batman has escaped. I fear that our best laid plans are becoming undone." She said sternly.
"Not necessarily, the culling of the southside at least goes to plan. Even if we must adjust, we can start to make moves in that retched area. Also, the Mayor should have met his end by now." A judge chimed.
"I should hope so, I'd hate to add the failure of killing a civil servant to a list of failures that this night has brought."
Streets of Neo-Gotham-
Brian Millwood aka Nightwing, followed the small group that consisted of Montoya Bullock, Mayor Sam Young, Carrie Kelly and a mayoral aid by the name Jackson from up above. He jumped across a building gap, rolled across the snowy surface of the next and under a washing droid before coming to stop on the edge.
He could hear them loud and clear, all arguing amongst themselves as where they should go to hide until it was safe.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Came a loud explosion.
Nightwing turned towards the direction of central Neo-Gotham and the Southside he could see explosions from above and below in the distance. It had been three years since he had stepped foot in Neo-Gotham city and while he could feel that he had changed, the city itself had not. There were still explosions and constant dangers around every single corner.
"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" came a scream in the night.
Nightwing gritted his teeth and look down below.
'You've got to be kidding me, the Mayor is being hunted and they're choosing to stop in the middle of the street and argue.' He thought to himself.
Nightwing flipped off the building and descended below.
Down Below
"We're going to die!" Jackson yelled.
"Hey jackass, I'm gonna need you to shut the f*** up!" Montoya shouted.
Montoya was in pain, her arm throbbed with pain and it was still bleeding like a slaughtered pig. She needed to get some medical attention but the most pressing issue was finding some place to stash the mayor until the threat of the Owls was over.
THUDD! Came a sound next to her. She jumped but relaxed when she saw Nightwing.
"You all need to be quiet." He said.
"Are you single?" Carrie asked.
Sam pulled her out of the way and stepped towards the young vigilante.
"Son, I don't know who you are but I thank you for your help. Did you kill him?"
"I'm afraid not, but he's incapacitated for now which is why we have to get out of dodge right now. So, everyone follow me and stay quiet." He said.
Nightwing surveyed his surroundings and that's when he spotted a bar not too far away that looked to be boarded up. He started to jog through the snow towards it and he waved the others to follow.
'I'd follow those tight buns to the end of the earth.' Carrie thought to herself.
Bar-Alleyway
In the alleyway behind the bar the small group came to a stop in front of a locked door. Nightwing stepped towards the hand pad that would give him access and he tapped a few controls on the gauntlet on his forearm. The fingertips on his gloved hand started to move and shift like sand. He then wiped the snow form the pad away and placed his hand on it. The shifting sand like fingertips came to a stop and the pad gave a beep and the door slid upwards allowing them access.
They piled inside, and while they did that Nightwing went about covering their footprints in the snow that led to the bar. After he was finished his looked both ways and above where he made out several national guard tanks flying overhead.
'Old man I hope you're doing well on your end because I have a feeling thing are really about to get interesting.' He thought as he went inside himself.
Somewhere between living and dying
"Hello!" Terry called out
He once again found himself in an all-white space, not knowing how long he had been there or where here actually was, but at least with the last time he had on the bat-suit. Terry looked down to see himself dressed in his usual black t-shirt, slacks and shoes.
"Hello!" he called out again.
The lights suddenly went dark, plunging him into darkness.
"Not this again." He said.
The light turn on and standing in front of him was a young Bruce Wayne. It took Terry only a second to recognize him.
"Old man?" he questioned.
'Bruce' reared his hands back and struck Terry hard in the chest sending him flying backwards and to the ground. The young man grabbed his chest in absolute agony.
"God, that h-hurts." He gasped.
'Bruce' stalked towards him and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him to his feet and then struck him in the jaw with a hard punch. Terry stumbled but he managed to stay on his feet this time.
"What the hell man?"
Bruce did not say anything he only charged forward however this time Terry was somewhat prepared for him. He managed to block the first to punches, and he lifted his foot avoiding the front sweep but Bruce leapt up and nailed him in the chest with his knee and just like before immense and intense pain flooded his chest. The pain set every nerve ending in his body on fire.
"ACK!" he cried out.
Terry fell to a knee in front of Bruce who stared down at him with a glare.
"Who are you?" he asked after a minute.
Terry through the pain looked up at him.
"McGinnis, I'm Terry McGinnis." He said.
Bruce shook his head.
"Not good enough."
Bruce socked him the jaw, and then spun around with a backfist but Terry despite his agony pushed through and blocked the attack. He growled jerked his head forward and tried to headbutt him but Bruce stepped out the way and shoved him forward.
"NOT GOOOD ENOUGH!"
"SHUT UP!" Terry yelled.
He threw out a back-kick but it was blocked, he jumped in the air with a spin kick but Bruce rolled under it. Terry felt his leg get kicked and he buckled to a knee again. He tried to rise however Bruce was already upon him with his arm around his throat in a choke hold.
"The city burns, your allies are scattered and your enemies are many. It is obvious that Terry McGinnis is not good enough. So, who do you need to be?" Bruce whispered in his ear.
Terry felt Bruce hit him in the back of his heart with a punch and it sent a jolt throughout his entire body.
"WHO DO YOU NEED TO BE!" Bruce shouted.
Terry gritted his teeth and grabbed hold of Bruce's arm and with a mighty jerk flipped him over which made him release his chokehold. Bruce sprung off his hands but Terry was there with a flying kick to the solar plexus. The two exchanged a heated amount of punches, blocks, and kicks. Bruce came with an overhead strike that Terry caught and turned into a lock. Bruce rolled out of the lock but found himself on the receiving end of a hard punch to the jaw that knocked him off his feet.
Bruce held up a hand when he saw that Terry was heading towards him for another attack. He let a small smirk grace his lips.
"Who do you need to be?" he asked him again.
Terry thought about the question and then he caught Bruce's eyes.
"I need to be Batman." He said.
Bruce rose to his feet.
"Yes, now go be Batman."
Bruce touched Terry on the chest.
Southside Neo-Gotham
"OKAY! ONE MORE TIME! CLEAR!" came a shout
KRZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ came the sound of the electricity
"GAHHHH!" shouted Batman as he shot up from his spot on the ground.
The dirty sewer water spilled out of his lungs and he coughed and breathed in the fresh air. As he caught his breath the first thing the Dark Knight of Tomorrow saw was the smiling face of a teenage girl no older than seventeen. She had blue hair shaped into a mohawk, blue eyes, and piercings on her nose and lips. She was wearing a black jacket with a blue scarf wrapped around her neck.
"HE'S ALIVE! ALIVE!" she screamed.
Batman took in several deep breaths as more thing started to come into focus. He saw that on his chest were a set of jumper cables that went towards a car that was to the right of him. He continued to take in several deep breaths of cold air and once the adrenaline from the jumper cable began to die down, the cold made itself known as well as the pain. He was hurting all over, and his limbs felt heavy but he was drawn to the dream he just had with his former mentor.
'Be Batman.' He thought to himself.
Batman groaned to himself as he started to rise.
"Hey, Hey whoa big guy you need to rest. You literal just had an obscene amount of electricity sent through your body. In all honesty you should be dead, or at least in the hospital, so take a knee."
"What's your name?" Batman rasped.
"I'm Harper Row." She said.
"Thanks for the assist Harper but I got a city to save, no time to rest." Batman replied.
He fought his way to his feet, and he looked around trying to figure out just where he had washed up. He remembered the escape and being caught in the flowing sewage water which looked as if it had washed him out into a spillway. And from the smell, along with the buildings and cars that were flying in the air it told him he was on the southside, particularly old Neo-Gotham.
"HEY HARP! LET'S GO WE SAVED HIM NOW LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE BEFORE THE FIRES STARTS!" came a shout.
Harper and Batman turned towards the car where a teenage boy also with blue hair however his was short, he too had blue eyes but only he had one piercing in his right eyebrow. He was wearing a thick red coat, with a blue scarf around his neck.
"Just hold on a minute Cullen." She said.
"Fires? What fires?" Batman asked.
"Have you been under a rock or something? The Court of Owls are fire-bombing the southside." Said Cullen.
"Our Grandmother's house was one of the first buildings hit, we barely made it out but she wasn't so lucky." said Harper.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Came a loud explosion.
"I told you we needed to get out of here!" Cullen shouted.
"We have nowhere to go Cullen!" Harper yelled, "The southside is our only home and these owl bastards are destroying it, and that's why I saved you Batman. You have to do something."
Batman nodded his head.
"You two find someplace safe. I'll take care of them." He replied.
"How?" she asked.
"By being Batman."
Streets of Neo-Gotham- Southside (Old Gotham) few minutes later
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Came the sound of small bodega being blown apart.
Batman, from his spot in the shadows watched the pandemonium that was erupting on the streets of the southside. He could see the fires and the fear that had gripped the people.
The snowy old streets of southside were filled with screaming and running from the fires and from the Owls that were gliding up above. One of the Owls landed on the ground and fired out several mini bombs from his arm and into an apartment building that was looking old and dilapidated.
He was about to detonate the bombs when he a batarang smacked him in the side of the head. The Talon barely had time to register Batman rushing from out of the shadows and grabbing him and pulling him into the darkness. After dealing with the Talon he continued his scouting of the area.
'How am I supposed to beat these freaks, they're too many of them, my suit is trashed, my body is trashed and I'm pretty sure I died for a moment, but even still I at least have to try." He thought to himself.
Batman steeled himself as he stepped out of the shadows and he started down street, through the running people. A few of them stopped to look at him but he paid them no mind. He kept his eyes fixated up above at the Talons that were gliding up above. He flicked his wrist and he threw the batarang upwards where it struck a Talon.
The Talon looked down below and spotted Batman standing down below, he signaled to the others and the group of them glided down below.
THUD! THUD! THUD! Came the sound of the Talons landing.
"You dregs have done enough, if the Court of Owls want the southside or any side of Neo-Gotham you'll have to go through me!" said Batman.
The Talons said nothing as they charged at him. Batman faced off against the group of Talons by making sure to keep his distance. He jumped backwards and tossed several batarangs at them. One of the Talons broke from the group and so Batman engaged him hoping to put him down quickly but he was tired and the Talon was relentless.
He blocked a mid-ranged knife strike with his fins and he lashed out with a jab and then a spin kick. The kick nailed his opponent across the jaw however another Talon appeared from behind and tackled Batman down to the ground.
Batman elbowed him in the side of the head and rolled from under him but just as he tried to rise, he felt two other Talons jump on top of him and keep him pinned. He was able to see the Talon that he had been fighting stand and remove his sword from his back and wordlessly raise it over his head.
Batman gritted his teeth however at that moment a gunshot rang through the snowy night. A laser round went through the Talon's left eye and out his head. The Talon dropped to the ground dead.
Batman and the assassins turned to see an attractive blonde-haired woman with a smile on her face.
"I believe they call that a bullseye, isn't that right Dee-Dee." She said.
"That's right Dee-Dee."
The Talons and Batman spotted another blonde-haired woman step into view and she was identical to the other. She too pulled out a gun and she pulled the trigger.
POW! Came the sound. The laser round went through another Talon's goggles and out his head on the other side. He too went down dead.
Delia and Deidre Dennis stared down at the two dead Talon before laughing.
"Oh, how we have missed this." Said Deidre, blowing the smoke away from her weapon.
"It's been so incredibly boring." Said Delia
The two twins turned to the small group of men behind them that were carrying pipes, bats, shattered glass bottles and any other things they could get their hands on.
"SOUTHSIDE! LISTEN UP!" Delia yelled.
"IF AN UPTOWN FREAK LIKE BATMAN IS WILLING TO RISK HIS LIFE FOR OUR LITTLE SLICE OF HELL THEN WHAT ARE YOU MOOKS WILLING TO RISK! THIS IS OUR TURF AND NO OWLS ARE GONNA RUN US OUT! YOU HEAR THAT! THE COURT OF OWLS CAN GO F*** THEMSELVES!" Deidre shouted.
"YEAHHH!" came the shout from the men and a few women behind them.
"CHARGEE!" Delia and Deidre shouted at the same time.
The twins led the charge as the citizens of southside faced off against the Talons.
Elsewhere- Neo-Gotham Bridge
The old school bat-sub emerged through the ice of the frozen lake that laid beneath the Neo-Gotham Bridge. The hatch opened and out stepped the ragtag group; first it was Barbara, then Dick and finally Yinn who was slightly helping and carrying the poisoned Damian Wayne.
The four of them took a moment to rest on the bank but that moment of rest was interrupted by the sound of flying tanks flying over the bridge up above.
"Oh no, Yindel must've called in the National Guard." Said Barbara.
"Who?" Dick questioned.
"I've been gone for longer than twelve hours anytime that happens an appointed acting Commissioner will step in to keep order. The next in line after me is Ellen Yindel, a real piece of work."
"With a name like Yindel how can you not be." Dick replied in a joking tone.
Barbara ignored the attempt at levity and she looked around the bank that they were currently on, and the part of Neo-Gotham they were currently situated in. She then spotted a ladder that led upwards.
"C'mon. I know where we need to go." She said while rising to her feet.
"Where is that?" Dick asked.
"My old home away from home." She replied over her shoulder.
Dick turned and looked at Damian who caught his eye, it only took them a moment as they both realized where they were and where they were going. They knew nothing about the Court of Owls and so any time in the past if they needed any information there was only one place that they could count on and one person they could count on to give them a nudge in the right direction.
"Where are we going Master Wayne?" Yinn asked him.
"Yinn, my friend you're in for a treat, because you are about to witness the return of Oracle." He replied.
Dick, Damian and Yinn made their way away from the bat-sub and after Barbara who was already climbing up the ladder.
End Chapter: Read and Review: Hey readers it's me Nomad88 back again with the closing comments. Dear God, this chapter was long, LOL. I'm sure it's long for you all to read and do trust it was long for me to type. I considered breaking this chapter up but I was like nah because then it would make the Court of Owls arc even longer, so I had to keep going.
I hope everyone stuck with it and read all the details laced within the chapter because a couple small details in this chapter will be carried over into the rest of the story.
Also, I hope everyone enjoyed me tweaking not only the bat-family but the Court of Owl history a bit. My inspiration came from the actual story so I'm sure some of you can recognize a few scenes from the actual comic (Which is awesome give it a read).
There will more on their history and the training that Lincoln went through and more twists, turns and surprises.
Again, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter because more will be coming your way soon. And I hope to see all of you there, this is Nomad88 saying later….
Next up: The Court of Owls part 6
Summary: Oracle Returns, and Barbara, Dick, Damian, and Yinn regroup. Batman continues his struggles in the Southside of Neo-Gotham. Nightwing faces the Talons while protecting the Mayor. More of Lincoln March's history is explored. And Max and the Riddler bond on a field trip to the Bat-Cave. Be there!