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.
Hey there readers it's me Nomad88, back again with another chapter in Volume 2 of my Batman Beyond epic. Things are really heating up for our crew but thankfully they've regrouped and are ready to go on the offensive. However, the Court of Owls won't go down easily or without a fight.
Chapter 7: The Court of Owls part 7
Central Neo-Gotham- Bar
Nightwing flailed his electrified nunchucks in a defensive manor before holding out his left hand and gesturing for the Talon to come at him.
The Talon let out a roar before charging.
The two enemies met in the middle with a loud clang. The metal of the nunchucks clashed against the metal of the sword. The Talon went on the offensive several quick slashes that ranged from high to mid-range. Nightwing took a defensive position and used his nunchucks to deflect each strike as it came.
He was new to the nunchaku however Dick was a great teacher and most of the attacks thrown his way were like the ones that he learned to defend, there were a few new ones but learning to adapt to a new situation was highly stressed in his training.
The Talon swept low trying to throw him off balance however Nightwing rolled over the strike to his feet. He hit the ground and came up just in the nick of time to block the overhead strike. The Talon came down with his sword in the middle of the nunchucks. The metal hit the electrified middle and set a large jolt of electricity through the blade and back to its owner.
The shock stunned him for a moment giving Nightwing enough time to shift the sword to the side and kick it from his hand and send it flying across the room. He then slapped his nunchucks across the Talon's face two times before kicking him in the chest and knocking him down to the ground.
The Talon hit the floor; he was down but not out. He raised his arm and unleashed a stream of fire from the gauntlet on his arm. Nightwing dove out of the wave of the fire but his dive was awkward and when he hit the ground himself, he lost his nunchucks.
"Damn it." He whispered to himself.
He held his hand out and he activated the powerful magnetics that were keyed into his weapons, trying to reclaim them but they were stepped on by another Talon landing through the hole in the ceiling.
Nightwing rolled away in time to avoid a sword to his back from his new enemy. He flipped to his feet and he took a few steps back to get himself some distance from the two fierce opponents. The two of them began to take sides against him, and his eyes went between them.
'I think I might need a bit of help.' He thought to himself while reaching towards his domino mask.
Nightwing tapped the side and a silent emergency beacon began to emit.
"Enough games. You take that side and I'll take this side." Said the Talon to his left.
Nightwing knew that he was the leader or at least the one that oversaw the task of killing the Mayor so he knew he had to focus much of his attention on him. The other remained silent and only nodded his head in response.
Nightwing put his fists up and he waited for the attacks that soon came swiftly.
In the Air: Same Time
Batman took his cowl off and placed it next to him. Terry could feel the slow oozing cuts dripping down from his head, his eyebrows and cheeks. He looked at the mask and saw the cuts and battle damage that adorned it.
"You and I have seen better days." He said to himself.
Since the batmobile was on autopilot and heading to wherever Damian and Commissioner Gordon-Young was located he finally had a moment to himself to relax and reflect on the past several days. Terry had checked the logs in the batmobile and saw that he had been in the clutches of the Court of Owls for the past three days.
He heaved a heavy pained sigh as he thought about how worried his mom and brother were about him and he could only imagine what Dana was thinking right about now. They probably thought he was dead and he wanted to reach out to them but he remembered was Damian said about their comms line, it was a party line since the Owls had taken over the cave.
Terry let out a grunt as he felt the painful sting of a cut on his left side. He put his hand to it and upon inspection all he could see was blood. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off and he started to feel every single injury that he had sustained over the course of the last three days; from the electrical shocks to the knife blades and the fists to the face and body, everything hurt not to mention the sheer exhaustion he felt. However, despite that he was drawn to the surreal dream of Bruce.
'I wonder was that a dream or was it real?' He thought to himself.
It felt real, each of Bruce's blows felt like a shock to his system but that could have been the electrical shocks from Harper and her brother to restart his heart. Terry did not know what to make of his encounter but he did hear the message loud and clear. He had learned how to think like Batman from his short time with Bruce, and he had learned the ropes on how to physically be Batman from Damian however he had yet to put it all together. And if he were to survive, he would have stop pretending and he would have to become, the Batman.
"Easier said than done." He said to himself.
The batmobile suddenly swerved downward through the air and took a long curve to the right.
"Batman, come in this is Prophet." Came the comms in the cowl.
He grabbed the cowl.
"I hear you." He said.
"We're manually changing your coordinates. We've got a friendly sending out an emergency beacon." Said Prophet.
"What?"
He heard Damian growl over the line before the voice of Commissioner Gordon-Young came on.
"Listen kid, the Mayor is trouble we're sending you there to help him, when you get there Nightwing will already be there, do what you can but please save the Mayor and the girl with him." Said Oracle.
Terry could hear the concern in her voice, and so, even though he was exhausted and bleeding he would be Batman and he would endure. He slipped his cowl back over his head.
"You have my word Oracle. Batman out." He said.
The Bar
Nightwing struggled against the blade that was getting closer and closer to his throat. He pushed back with all his might and he was finally able to deflect the blade which only grazed the armor on his shoulder. He kneed the Talon on top of him in the side and managed to roll from under him, he got back to his feet only to receive a punch to the jaw from the second Talon.
He felt blood fly from his lips but he didn't stop, he lashed out with a kick that caught his attacker in the stomach. Nightwing whipped around and he held out his hand and his nunchucks came flying to him. He expertly flailed them about before coming around and smacking the Talon with one end in the face and then coming back around and hitting him with the other end.
Nightwing turned and he blocked the knife strike from the second Talon that charged from behind.
"GO! KILL THE MAYOR! I'LL TAKE CARE OF HIM!"
Nightwing glanced over his shoulder to see the Talon he hit turn and head towards the back where everyone was hiding.
"No!" he shouted.
The Talon struggling against him took the small distraction and apply more pressure which broke through Nightwing's defense allowing the knife to pierce through his armor and into his flesh.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Nightwing screamed.
Back of the Bar
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!' came Nightwing's voice.
Carrie Kelly grimaced as she heard the scream come from their masked protector. She peered through the crack in the door that lead to the boiler room of the bar but all she could see was snow, and smoke. However, at that moment she saw a tall figure emerge from the smoke and it was one of the Talons but his eyes were glowing red.
She backed away from the door and she turned to the others behind her.
"One of them is coming." She said.
"Oh, F*** Me." Said Montoya.
The Detective looked up in frustration and that's when she spotted a grate that would be big enough for them to fit through. She reached up and she pried the vent open. Montoya then pointed towards Carrie and helped to boost her up into the vent.
The next one up was the Mayor and then his aide Jackson. Montoya held out her hand for someone to help her up when the door to the boiler room was kicked open. The Talon raised his arm and a blade emerged from the gauntlet on his arm which was ready to kill the woman in front of him but suddenly thick black wire wrapped his ankles and pulled him off his feet.
Montoya saw Nightwing several feet away with the other end of the wire in his hand.
"GO!" he shouted before being tackled.
Montoya felt two pairs of hands hoist her up and into the vent.
"Everyone, this way I can feel the chill of outside down this way." Said Carrie.
The young teen crawled forward leading the adults through the vents.
Roof of Bar
Carrie kicked the crate off the hinge of the vent and she crawled out to the snow-covered roof of the bar. She felt her teeth chatter as the freezing wind washed over her. The others quickly followed.
"N-N-Now what?" Carrie asked while rubbing her arms.
Montoya pulled her jacket close to her body, during their brief stay inside the bar it had gotten colder outside. She looked around and she spotted a fire escape that they could go down which hopefully led to the street.
"There's our ticket out of here. We go down the side and then we flag down a car and get to the NGCPD." She said.
Montoya started forward but a scream filled her ears in the night. She turned around to see the blade piercing through the stomach of Jackson, the mayor's aide. The young man continued to scream until it was silenced by the Talon ruthlessly breaking his neck and pushing him away.
Montoya grabbed Carrie and Mayor Young out of his path and stood in front of them.
"If you want them, you'll have to go through me." She said.
"No!" Sam shouted.
The Mayor gently pried his hands out of Carrie's and gently pushed his way pass the Detective. He defiantly stared down the silent and deadly assassin whose eyes turned to yellow.
"No one else will die for me tonight. If you want me come and get me you bastard. You may succeed in killing me but you can't kill the idea that good will triumph over evil and the corrupt." He said.
The Talon inched closer but before he could take another step the wind around them kicked up a bit. And like a shadow in the night a figure landed in the small space between the Talon and the Mayor. He and the others gasped as they stared at the back of the Dark Knight.
"You?" he whispered.
Batman glanced over his shoulder and at the Mayor.
"Stay behind me." Said Batman.
"Is my wife okay?" he asked in a whisper.
"Alive and well. She's the one that sent me and I told her I'd keep you alive, now stay behind me and take a step back." Batman replied.
The Mayor backed away towards Montoya who grabbed him and pushed him pass the giant hole in the roof that was made earlier and towards the fire escape. Batman watched them go before fully focusing on the Talon in front of him.
The Talon said nothing as he charged with the intent to kill.
Batman sidestepped the lunge from the blade and grabbed his attacker by the wrist and he flipped him over and to the ground. He then kicked the back end of the blade snapping it half. The talon rolled and got his feet and pulled out two knives. The assassin back-peddled and threw the knives towards Batman.
Batman flicked his wrists and threw two batarangs at the knives and knocked them away. The Talon turned and dashed towards the fleeing Mayor. He had a job to complete and he would do it, enough time had been wasted.
The Mayor was heading for the fire escape and the Talon almost closed the distance however Batman speared him across the back and sent them both skidding across the snowy roof. The Talon elbowed Batman in the face and then came around with a hard-right hook that knocked him back.
The two enemies quickly got back to their feet and met each other in the middle for several quick exchanges with each blow thrown meant to hurt. The Talon threw an over head strike that Batman ducked under and he came up with a hard uppercut that lifted the talon off his feet and sent him over the edge of the roof. The assassin fell and hit the several ends of the fire escape before bashing into a floating dumpster down below.
Batman rushed to the edge to see the Talon motionless in the snow.
"I hope that sonuva bitch is dead." Said Montoya.
"Not likely, there is something very strange about these Talon guys." Batman replied.
Montoya turned to him.
"Are you okay because you look like sh**." She said.
"BATMAN!" Carrie shouted.
He ignored Montoya's comment and he looked towards Carrie who was pointing towards the hole in the roof.
"You gotta help Nightwing!" she exclaimed.
"Detective Montoya call for back up, we need to get the Mayor to safety." He said before dashing over to the hole.
Batman hoped down inside.
Down Below
Batman dropped to the ground which instantly caught the attention of the two combatants.
"Batman." The Talon growled, "You escaped the nest."
Nightwing wiped some blood from his nose and he looked the battle worn Batman up and down.
"It's about time you showed up." He said.
Batman narrowed his eyes at Nightwing and at the voice that he recognized, but he could not dwell on it. He flicked his wrist and produced a batarang that he threw. The talon ducked under the thrown object but found the back end of Nightwing's nunchucks waiting for him.
SMMMMMMMMMACCCKKKKKKKKKK! Came the sound of him getting hit hard in the mask.
The attack made him stumbled right into the path of a flying kick from Batman that hit him in the chest. Batman then socked him in the face with a right hook and then a left. Nightwing stepped into view and delivered a roundhouse kick and smacked the Talon in the face again with his nunchucks.
The two of them glanced at each and nodded their heads and in unison they both lunged with an uppercut that nailed the talon in the jaw. He was lifted off his feet and sent to the ground hard and unconscious.
"Finally." Said Nightwing out of breath.
Batman turned to him full and looked him over again.
"McGinnis." said Nightwing.
It took Batman a bit by surprise that he knew his real name, however he heard the voice and he put it together.
"Brian?" Batman replied, with a bit of disbelief in his voice but the nod from Nightwing confirmed it.
The two of them fell into an awkward silence, mostly because the last time they saw each other they both fought a swarm of Jokerz and their crazed leader Terminal together and Brian shot and killed him. Terry had let him go because he had been through enough, and he thought he'd never see him again but life had other plans.
"Nice suit." said Batman.
"Thanks, it's a bit of a throwback but so far it's been getting the job done. You look like hell." Nightwing replied.
Batman ignored the comment and walked towards the downed Talon and he tapped the side of his cowl. He grimaced a bit as dozens of zeroes and ones flashed across his eyes before his semi-functioning detective mode activated. He could see that slow rise and fall of their enemy's chest.
The two of them heard sirens approaching in the distance as well as the voice of acting Commissioner Ellen Yindel who was blaring her message from earlier of martial law being enacted and anyone in a mask will be shot.
"We need to get out of here." Said Batman while bending down and picking up the fallen Talon.
"The hell are you doing, leave his crazy ass here." Said Nightwing.
"No way. You heard what this dreg said. I escaped the nest; he knows where it is and the ringleaders behind the Court of Owls. I wanna see what he knows. I'm sure your sponsor would agree." Batman replied.
"How are we gonna get him out of here?"
Batman hoisted the talon over his shoulder and he headed to the hole.
"I brought my car." he said while firing a grappling hook from the underside of his wrist.
On the Roof
Batman with the Talon in tow and Nightwing made it to the roof just in time to see several police cars flying towards their position. The police car was being escorted by a National Guard tank. The dark knight commanded the batmobile to lower down.
The back of the batmobile opened and Batman tossed the talon inside; magnetic restraints activated and kept him secure. The back closed and the top-half opened to which Batman and Nightwing both hopped inside.
A dozen bullets rained down upon the batmobile until it rose into the air and the cloaking ability activated. Batman circled around the roof and the police cars watching intently as the National Guard and police descended and secured Mayor Young, Detective Montoya and Carrie.
Once they were with the authorities Batman pulled on the controls and flew away.
"It's cramped in here." Said Nightwing.
"Deal with it." Batman replied.
Elsewhere: Clocktower
Oracle switched away from the cameras that showed Sam and Carrie being rushed into a police car. She felt better knowing that they were in police custody rather than on the street somewhere. And now that they were safe it was time to start planning against the Court of Owls.
She blocked out the voices of Dick and Damian as they argued behind her on how to proceed now that Sam was safe. Damian wanted to storm the Mansion and take it back while Dick wanted to head to the NGPD and try to convince acting Commissioner Yindel to listen to reason and work with them to take back Neo-Gotham.
She had to smile to herself just a little because hearing them speak behind her brought her back to how it used to be all those years ago. Oracle half expected to see Bruce standing beside her with a contemplative look on his face before coming up with a plan but he wasn't there and it was up to her to see all the angles and make the plan
The first part of her plan involved deciphering the repeating code that she had intercepted from Batman's cowl. When they had contacted him, she had patched herself into the cowl and there was a sudden influx of codes, one that no one else noticed but her. At first, she did not think anything of it but the several other times she saw it through Batman's cowl she noticed that it was some sort of repeating code.
Oracle had recorded the code and now it was time to crack it. She let her fingers fly across the keyboard and she started up one of her old deciphering programs. She affectionately called it the Oracle cracker, which Damian and Dick often made fun of in the past but it had gotten them out of many jams. She let her smile grow just a bit bigger when she remembered when the Oracle cracker busted through the Cluemaster's network and allowed Batman and Robin to take down his ring of thieves.
Oracle's program continued to run and while it did that, she felt a slight rumble coming from up above. She looked to another screen and she saw the Batmobile briefly de-cloak outside the Clocktower.
"They're here." She said over her shoulder.
Outside
Batman made the batmobile silently hover above the old clocktower. He had seen the trajectory and path he was originally going before making a detour to Mayor Young. And so, it was easy for him replot the course and the clocktower was the destination.
He opened the hatch and both he and Nightwing stood up.
"Is there a secret entrance or something?" Nightwing asked.
Batman was about to respond when they both saw part of the roof slide back revealing some sort of access hatch.
"There's your entrance. Follow me."
Batman jumped over the edge and he landed on the roof. He slipped into the access hatch and slid down the rusty half frozen metal hatch and dropped down to the ground and he was followed by Nightwing. The two of them came face to face with the veterans of crime fighting Oracle, Damian, Dick and Yinn.
Dick nodded his head to his protégé of sorts before shifting his attention to the new Batman. He eyed him up and down noting the suit, which he only briefly seen years ago on TV after the Jokerz battle that happened in Neo-Gotham. He liked it and it looked like cutting edge Wayne-tech, which was right up Bruce's alley. The former vigilante took note that this Batman was about as tall as himself, but stronger in the shoulder and chest but not as big as Bruce used to be. He still looked the part.
"It's about time you showed up." Came Damian's voice.
Batman scoffed.
"It's nice to see you too." He replied, "Who's this guy?"
Dick smirked at the curt comment.
"I'm Dick Grayson." He said.
"Wait a minute, Nightwing Dick Grayson?" Batman question.
"Formerly known as, but I think Nightwing is standing right next to you. I'm just Dick." He answered.
Nightwing removed his domino mask and revealed the face of Brian Millwood. He moved away from Batman and towards his mentor.
"You okay?" Dick asked.
"Nothing a good stay at a ten-star hotel wouldn't cure." Brian replied.
"Heh, that's something I can arrange once we get back to Bludhaven but for now we need to handle this Court of Owl crisis." Said Dick.
"Which is exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm trying to crack the hidden code that the kid is carrying in the cowl." Said Oracle.
"What?" Damian demanded.
Oracle turned to him but she looked away and towards Batman.
"I know you've seen it right, the zeroes and ones." She said.
He nodded his head in response.
"I just thought it was the suit malfunctioning, it's banged up pretty bad." He replied.
"No, it's not that. Here, give me the cowl."
Batman hesitated for a moment, glancing towards Dick and Brian.
"We're all friends here McGinnis just give it to me please we don't have much time." She said.
Batman removed his cowl revealing the bruised and bleeding face of Terry McGinnis. He handed the cowl to Oracle who took it to her computer. Terry nodded his head and Brian who nodded back. Dick only smirked and turned towards the computer as did Damian and Yinn.
The men gathered around as she connected the cowl to the computer, it was still running her deciphering program and it had cracked part of the code but now that the actual signal was in proximity the program could work a bit faster. Oracle quickly hacked into the cowl's operating systems and then downloaded the repeating code into her system.
PING! PING! PING! "Oracle Cracker complete. Code Cracked." Came the automated voice from the system.
"Whoa." Said Terry.
In front of the screens dozens of files appeared each with a listed name about that ranged from banking, infrastructure, hideouts, contacts, and an assortment of other things. Oracle went to one of the files labeled equipment. The file opened and out poured information across the screens about the Court of Owls armor the substance it is composed of as well as its capabilities.
She backed out of that file and went to another file and the same thing appeared, information about the Court of Owls infrastructure.
"How the hell did you get this McGinnis?" Damian asked.
"I-I don't know." He replied.
"Think!" Damian shouted.
Dick put a hand on Damian's shoulder.
"When has yelling ever helped." He said to him.
Oracle pushed them both out of the way and stepped towards Terry. She calmly laid her hands on his shoulders.
"Just relax and walk me through when the code first appeared." she said.
"Alright, I was trapped in the maze that the Court of Owls set up. I was about to be killed when…. when suddenly that code appeared across the cowl and the lights went out. After that, my comms came back on and that's when I got in contact with Yinn."
"Someone hacked into your bat-suit operating system, not an easy feat, it's quite impressive really, and they implanted that code. Then it seems they helped you to escape and talk to Yinn. Whoever did this had to have been near you and they had to have access to the Court of Owls network." Said Oracle.
"So, we've got a spy in the Court of Owls, the question is who." Said Dick.
Terry was exhausted and it was hard for him to think but at the mention of someone hacking into his systems and being within the Court of Owls he immediately knew who it had to be that helped him but a sinking feeling followed by a knot forming in the pit of his stomach at the thought of the person being with them. He knew she had to be a prisoner but how would she have gotten access to a computer or better yet what has happened to her now that he was free.
"Oh my god." He whispered.
Oracle, Damian, and Dick heard the whisper and they looked at his face.
"You know who it is don't you." Said Damian.
Terry was about to respond when another thought crossed his mind. He turned towards Brian and he looked at him suspiciously.
"Does she know that I'm Batman?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" Brian returned.
"Does Max know I'm Batman, did you tell her before you left town?" Terry asked.
"No! But what does she have to do with this?" Brian asked while starting to feel that same knot forming in the pit of his stomach.
"Calm down. Max, as in the Max Gibson you told me about Brian?" Dick asked while stepping in-between the two of them.
"I hope not." He replied
"Before the Court of Owls attacked, she was one of about dozen people that were kidnapped. And now it makes sense why they kidnapped her or maybe they sought her out, I don't know." said Terry.
"Why her?" Oracle asked.
"Max is a hacker, the best hacker I've ever seen. I will bet everything that she is the one that hacked into my suit and put that code there, and she helped me to escape." Terry replied.
"You can't be sure of that McGinnis." Damian replied, "For all you know it could've been anyone, like you said there were a few other people kidnapped too."
"Yeah, but none of them with Max's level of skill. She's the best and if she doesn't know I'm batman then the only other reason she would help batman is because Batman saved her life three years ago, with that whole Terminal situation."
"And not to mention she has a good heart so if she is mixed up in this it's not of her own free will. She's being threatened. We need to stop talking and go save her." Said Brian while putting his domino mask back over his eyes.
It shocked him a bit to hear that Max was involved, he had been hoping that this little excursion to Neo-Gotham would be straightforward and he would not have to face her however in the back of his mind he knew he would see her. And truth be told there was not a day that went by that he did not think of her.
"What's the plan?" said Nightwing
Oracle turned away from them and back to her computer screens, she contemplated what Terry just said to her and on a hunch, she pulled up the screen that had the batcave cameras. She narrowed her eyes as she spotted a young woman sitting in the chair in front of the bat-computer that was full of zeroes, ones and coded data.
"Does your friend have pink hair?" Oracle asked.
"Yes." Terry replied.
The gathered group looked towards the screen.
"That's Max." said Terry and Brian at the same time.
"And I'll be damned, it's the Riddler too." Said Dick
"If he's involved then this just went from worse to extremely worse." Said Damian
Oracle put her hands to her face and let out a loud frustrated sigh.
"Damn, Max. She's good, I can tell from the hacking code that she's using that it will only be a matter of time before she unlocks the bat-computer and once that happens, it's game over. They can download or copy an information that's stored in that system and we all know how detailed Bruce's files were." She said.
"So again. What's the plan?" Nightwing asked.
Oracle's fingers went back to the keyboards, she kept the screen with the bat-cave up but she then pulled up the secret files on the Court of Owls. She studied the files for a second before her eyes landed on a file labeled: CORE CONTROL. She opened the file and several data files appeared before her.
"It's obvious what the plan should be, we need to need to take back the Mansion and the Cave." Said Damian.
"The house is swarming with the Owls though Master Wayne and they are formidable opponents." Yinn replied.
"And what about the other Owls that are out in the city. We can't forget about them." Said Dick.
"Well then we need some sort of distraction. We have to draw them to us, use their own tactics against them." Said Damian.
"The only problem is what's a big enough distraction to get them to leave the cave, the streets and the shadows and come running?" asked Terry.
"How about forty-five billion credits, give or take a credit or two." Oracle chimed in.
They all turned to the screen again as she pulled up the map of Neo-Gotham city, there were three different locations highlighted upon the map and above each of the spots had an amount of money.
"A billion credits!? I'd come running for that." Said Terry.
"Exactly. It's gonna take time for me to go through these files and that's time we don't have, but this secret organization has a weakness and it's the same weakness that every secret organization has and that's money. If you f*** with the money then chances are you'll get the response you're looking for. Damian, Dick you remember that time Ra's and Talia tried to steal the Wayne Fortune."
Damian hung his head as he remembered that battle with his mother and grandfather. The two of them conspired to usurp his father's money through various means and it was by sheer luck that they were discovered in time. It took the whole bat-family to take them and the League of Assassin's down and once again drive them back to the shadows of the underworld.
"One of the many embarrassing defeats my mother till this day continues to bring up." He said while folding his arms across his chest.
"I say we focus our attention on one of these hubs. I unfortunately can't crack the code from here, someone will have to remotely install a drive that will allow me access. And once I have access, I can siphon off the money, and hopefully get their attention."
"Once we have their attention what then?" Yinn asked.
"We take back the Mansion and we beat any information we need out of the Riddler." Said Damian.
"And save Max." Terry and Brian said at the same time.
Dick nodded his head in response however he was still very apprehensive about this make-shift plan. They were outnumbered and outgunned but out of any other options because once again time was against them. He briefly let a small smirk cross his lips as his mind took him back to a time where the type of threat, they were facing was just a normal Tuesday. He blinked and for a second he could see Tim, Stephanie, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, a young Damian Wayne, a young Barbara, and finally Bruce Wayne himself. They were all gathered around the computer inside the Clocktower talking about something.
He looked at them, his family, and then he blinked again and they were gone. Dick found himself back in the present with a few new faces in front of him. He was uncertain about how everything would turn out but he was certain that whatever happened he would fight to the very end. He owed his late mentor that much at least.
Dick stared at the map and at the three hubs, he zeroed in on one of them and he hit a button on Oracle's keyboard. It zoomed in on the location.
"What are you thinking Dick?" Oracle asked.
"This is the spot we'll hit first. It's a power plant." He said.
Everyone turned to him.
"As good a fighter you are old man, I don't think you can hold a spot like that alone." Said Nightwing.
"Which is why I was hoping you'd come with me Brian." He replied while turning to his protégé.
Nightwing shook his head.
"I have to rescue Max." he said strongly.
"No. I have to rescue Max." Batman corrected.
The two of them turned to each other and stared at the other long and hard.
"She's my girlfriend." Said Nightwing.
"Ex, you mean." Batman corrected again, "You running away without so much as a goodbye kinda cemented that fact."
"You have something you want to say to me McGinnis?" Nightwing asked in a challenging tone.
"Buddy, you made Max cry and then abandoned her so I got more than a few words." Batman replied.
Oracle stepped in-between the two of them.
"BOYS! This is not the time or the place for whatever the f*** this is, we need to focus on the Court of Owls!" she yelled.
As the two settled down an alarm started to go off on Oracle's computer. She moved away from the two of them and she hit a couple of keystrokes on the keyboard. An image of the batmobile appeared and they all could see that the alarm was coming from the trunk compartment of the vehicle. She hit a few more and an outline of a person illuminated her screen.
"Umm do you have something you would like to share with the rest of the group McGinnis?" she asked.
Batman and Nightwing looked between each other and then back towards the veteran vigilantes.
"Yes. I might have forgotten to mention that when we rescued the mayor, we might have taken one of the Court of Owls for questioning." He said.
Damian let out a loud growl.
"AND YOU'RE JUST NOW MENTIONING THIS!" he yelled.
"I'm sorry. I am suffering from blood loss which can affect memory." Batman replied calmly.
"We need to know what he knows." Said Dick.
"Leave that to me. I will get all the information out of him" Said Yinn.
Damian immediately turned to him, he understood what he meant from his tone of voice. He could also see his long-time friend shift uncomfortably in his spot before straightened up and putting a steely look upon his face.
"Yinn, are you sure? I know how you feel about…such things." Said Damian carefully.
Yinn heaved a heavy sigh and folded his arms across his chest as a dark look crossed his features.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures Master Wayne. The Court of Owls have proven themselves to be extremely dangerous. They must be stopped before more innocent people are murdered or put in harm's way." He replied.
"Thank you, old friend." said Damian.
"Wait, how are we supposed to take back the mansion with that many Owls swarming the place?" Batman asked.
"That's why I picked the power plant, it's the closest to the mansion. If I suddenly lost a billion credits, I'd call whoever is closest to go check it out." Dick replied.
Batman nodded his head in return at his sound judgement. The small band of heroes began to take their sides, Batman and Damian huddled together while Dick and Nightwing murmured amongst themselves. Yinn walked towards Oracle.
"Excuse me Mrs. Young, but is there a place where I can have a moment alone with our uninvited guest?" He asked politely.
"Yes. The service tunnel we came through, there's a spot where I used to keep one of my motorcycles. It should be big enough and quiet enough for whatever you've got planned." She replied.
"Good." He said with a dark look upon his face.
Batman cleared his throat getting everyone's attention. He looked between all of them and for a moment he could almost hear Bruce in his ear, whispering to him.
'Be, the Batman.'
"We have our missions, and a few hours before daylight, either they win or we do, now let's go."
END CHAPTER: Read and Review: Hey there it's me Nomad88 returning with another chapter in the new year. Happy New Year to everyone. Let's hope that 2021 is better than 2020 LOL!
Anyway, I had to cut this chapter just a little short, just so I could get it out before February. I'm gonna try to update at least once or twice a month. With a third update possibly being one of my other stories. I'm also gonna do my best to complete another story before the end of this year.
Anyway that's all I got for you my loyal readers. I will be back with another chapter very very soon, but until then please leave a review and let me know what you're thinking or hit me up with a PM and I'll get back to you ASAP. This is Nomad88 saying later….
Next Up: The Court of Owls part 8
Summary: Batman and Damian, Dick and Nightwing, Yinn and Oracle all hit their marks and the Court of Owls come running. Be there!