The Court of Owls; Family of the Cowl – Silent Night
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Chapter 2: A Rough Patch
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Tim's first guess was that he could go up to his room via jump cord up on the top floor, go back into the yard from his cable line, then through the back door to the kitchen and sneak in to the hallway to join his family once he was suited and finally in his proper attire. As if he'd be as ready as a soldier on the run, the plan almost looked to be foolproof.
Except for one thing…
He wasn't expecting Selina to be snooping where her nose didn't belong.
He peeped out his doorway and shut it without a single click as best he could. Tim clung to the oaken frame and swallowed, trying not to be heard through it. "OK, so she's getting bored waiting to have…the bird…I can watch her for now, right?" His voice cracked a bit nervously as he wondered if his plan did still have a couple of holes.
A piercing bang made poor Timothy yelp and step away from his room's sturdiest, wooden barrier. The door pushed back on its hinges to reveal, a rather uninviting character to the manor. Tim's eyes narrowed at the other side timing.
"Yo! We brought the cans… You were in there?? Saw the window wide open, so I…"
Tim bit his lip and seethed. "Why don't you learn how to properly knock, Jason??" The current Robin shot up to his brother in irritation. Sighing, the teen slumped with a whine. "I'll join you in like, five minutes…. tell Al they had none left-
Tim prepared to knock over the big bulldozer that was Jason, in his way. Great, he'd made "muscle - mania" over here a bit teste…
Jay sure as ever, pulled out an electronic device from one of his belt pockets and held it up in front of his sibling's face.
"Does this thing belong to you?" He asked, suggestively tapping the sides of the metal and plastic parcel. A cracked one, his hands holding as best they could for Tim to hold his breath and wish he were downstairs about now... "Where did you find it?" He reached for the piece, but Jay wanted his answer right away.
"In the city, outside of Gotham's Museaum of Natural History." Jay said in a disconcerting tone, pulling his arm back and the device out of poor Timmy's reach. "We found most of its pieces, but not you." Jay tapped his foot, his time growing shorter; they still had to debrief on what he and Cass had seen. A man with a goggle – kempt owl mask, and talons.
"I had to stop –
" And you never called, why?" Had Jason always been so paranoid before? He looked, oddly paler. He was also trying to keep Tim from revealing their identities which, he'd realized was the smart thing to do. As if he'd seen his great great grandfather rise from the grave, Tim only nodded, trying to remain compliant.
"Tell, me what happened so we can talk to our dad later. I have something to add to your disappearing act story when we get to the man's office, if Bruce is in the mood to chat tonight…" Jay's green eyes looked to the side as Selina wandered out from the closest restroom, with that being her cover for now. "Just freshening up, boys." She smiled and never failed to hold up appearances while on her trial's best behavior. Tim looked right at the floor, while Jay just huffed and closed his eyes dismissively towards the notorious cat burglar, somehow gone cold turkey from all criminal wrong doings... There was no way she was getting Bruce's arm tonight. He had more important matters to attend, and would, as the Batman.
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Faceless, he'd come here to track it, to obliterate it to its end. Had this ugly, stunted abomination been so much as a hair's breadth away from the onlooker's target, he might have snapped its neck and called this a very good evening to terminate someone other than his contract's listed hit. He wanted this brain dead kind of competition out of the way. Slipping off into the shadowy backdrop above these city streets as the true son of Gotham might, a single dart whipped towards the figure as it ducked from the shot, yet gathering a graze from a blade a second figure had unwittingly tossed this competitor's way. He fell, trying to hold fast to the railing of a loose piece of drain pipe. It locked under his fingers and the grunting figure looked up, dazed, to see a set of goggles and claws as he fell down and to the alleyways below. All while even heavier raindrops had continued to pelt his masked complexion.
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Ava gasped and blinked up at a bolt of lightening out the window pane. She hugged her mother's arm tightly while knitting her brows in a painfully obvious display. Right now, her psychic abilities had gone into full swing. Kori looked over to Dick as the two politely excused themselves from the dinner table to quiet their toddler in private, she was shaking from whatever vision had entered her mind without anyone else's permission.
"Ava? Baby girl, you need to listen to me. Mama and daddy are right here…" Dick took her shoulders in hand as he knelt to her level, coaxingly gazing back at her striking, lavender irises. She sniffled. His blue, kindest looking eyes were as fixed on the child's stare as Kori's was on the doorway. As long as Bruce didn't find out yet…
"Daddy, why am I seeing…. So much, scary stuffs?" With a wobbly lip, Ava attempted to hold back her tears while her parents held such concern over her sorry state. Her silvery tails bobbed as her shuddering only continued. Shaking her head, she didn't want to see the pictures of that man in pain anymore. Her dad's family was here, not out there in the rain.
Dick looked to Kori, then said by a huffed sigh, "You can see things because daddy and mommy knew you were special the very first time we met. Do you remember that nice woman; Miss Isa? She was with you and me when mommy found out she'd be having twins. It's ok though, Ava Marie…" He pushed back a strand of her falling hair and said in a soothing voice, lulling away the nightmares for a time. "We won't ever let any of those mean thoughts bother you, understand sweetheart? We are going to help you so that you don't need to be afraid anymore…shh shh…. it's ok…it's going to be alright, sweetie…don't cry. Be strong."
Ava smiled with a sniffle and wiped her face with the back of her hand.
She suddenly jumped up and hugged both of her parents in thanks, as the three Grayson family members finally wiped away their remaining tears and got ready to rejoin their extended family in the dining room.
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Alfred looked to his watch; upgraded since from his traditional pocket watch at the haste of Master Timothy's concerned gestures to get…what was this? An altimeter? Why the dev…
A small creak from the balustrade had Al peer over as he walked to see that two of his master's sons were coming down the stairs with guilty looks on their faces.
Jay broke the silence and stepped over to Alfred with a concerning frown upon his rough looking features. "Where is Bruce, Al? Did he already excuse himself?"
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"Master Wayne has left the party to monitor some "heroic" acts committed only a few, brief short hours ago…" Al raised a new brow at Tim, who looked to be red at the old man's foolhardy assumption. "They were, out of cans by the time I made it to the only store opened in Gotham….so, Oracle contacted me when we picked up the tell – tale signs of a break in –
"Dear lord, Master Tim! You didn't even keep Master Bruce or Jason in the picture – and Did Miss Gordon even know about –
"I had my feathers, ruffled…" Tim rubbed the back of his neck. "Langstrom shot me and…I enjoyed the holiday…Can we just go find Bruce? Please? MY DNA should have any traces left to explain the rest?" He begged the two men as they sneaked off to find Bruce with his office door still shut until the quarreling between Mr. Cox and Selina had died down. And of course keeping up appearances with the old colleague of Wayne's was a super idea! In fact? Why not invite the whole dang FBI, CIA, GCPD office and??...Amanda Waller as a bonus? He'd really screwed the pooch when overlooking his guest list…
A knock at his window had the bat's attention as he groaned and went to check the stability during this powerful –
Bruce stayed very still as the one there was complete with a gun, sword, and mask on.
He'd just healed up an hour or two earlier, so it couldn't be the biggest thing to catch Gotham by storm.
And speaking of storm…
" Wilson." Wayne mumbled through the glass. Slade's eye narrowed at the title. " Wayne." He added, letting the rain pelt his back as easily as a rhino on the safari during the rainy season in Africa.
"Well?" Bruce blinked at his adversary's next response.
"Aren't you going to ask why I'm here, Bruce?"
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As the door clicked shut and locked on all angles, the man at his desk left it to find a blanket to cover the drenched mercenary with. "Funny, I'm not one for sleep overs."
"This isn't what I had in mind, either. Deathstroke." Bruce huffed and stood over by his desk, while Wilson took to a fireplace mantle to dry himself off. "I would have to wonder why you've just kept to yourself on a holiday….Wasn't a fan of the commotion going on?"
"You should go as soon a possible." Bruce felt this estranged guilt like nothing had gone wrong, but he was. Slade was let in like a stray cat; preening itself by the fire and borrowing his quilt for protection.
"Why are you here then?" Bruce crossed his arms, eyes fixed on the mercenary as he did something, unexpectedly brash. Slade took to his mask and unclipped it, letting his neckline become visible with a swollen mark just below his throat.
"Was hit. Fighting back in the rain; but it was strange how there was a pattern." Slade wove on, trying to keep Bruce's eyes on him. "I came to get some information. An old accomplice of mine was put through hell, and I want to know why Gotham was its, roost. That, other bird."
"Other?" Bruce seemed to open up to the prospects, of maybe Owlman? Was it a metaphor Slade was going for here? No. He looked as willing to slit a few throats as Bats was in kicking Slade out the window into the grassy yard.
"Other, as in an enemy of Gotham. The Bat's precious city. And, I thought they had a branch closer to Metropolis, but that didn't seem to hold. Slade draped the blanket over a coat rack casually. Letting Bruce's eyes scan his every move wasn't much of a time waster while the rest of himself "healed up." "So I came to where their scent was the clearest. Underground, and found something that might interest you." Slade's one eye stared almost excitedly in Bruce's direction. That gaze pinned the bat to his enemy. By their standards alone, this pirate of a man was asking for a toss into the courtyard.
"I'm not pulling any unnecessary strings for you, Deathstroke." Bruce refused with a frown forward. "We made it clear that you would stay far away from my ward, after everything you put him through." Bruce let that mention sink in deeply. Slade had to recall. He spoke of one person in particular. For, this story that had to do with Dick's new child; the little Ava Marie and her role in being on their world at all. About a spooky reminder of a prophecy and Slade having also been the one mentioned by Isa and the guardians that he had to set free a monster back in Bludhaven. City of Blood, according to those pages. A few years more, and Kori was blessed with twins. Or, she would be. As long as Slade stayed out of the picture. Permanently. Dick was supposed to be predicted to have some kind of change because of the dragon's influence. (This will be a part of These new Years arc, and tags into snippets which has its own story coming. Dick was turned into a super serum project when Slade saved his life on a lead through Spyral in Bludhaven, right before he returned a few months to a year later to be with Kori and his kids again. Slade granted Grayson super healing abilities but didn't tell him that it was to turn him to his side, not a one. So, here it is!)
"Robin remembers. Dick Grayson will live." Slade shrugged. "Also, here I thought that my time around them would tempt your son to the dark side." He chuckled. "He seems happy. Let them have their –
Bruce stomped over to Slade and put a fist between them. "If you are here to annoy us, then leave. If you want to relay intel that may save a life, by all means." Bruce pulled back from the now rattled wall's ornate decorations. They'd been documented, filed away page of matter that Slade could only hope to wish for. A degree that made Bruce the king of his domain. Of Gotham, and Slade was only visiting for a short while.
"Talk." Bruce composed himself. "What pattern."
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"A very decent set of tracks, leading to this location from the city." Slade looked to the door, suspecting someone to be listening in on them. "I could say more, but just do yourself a favor." Slade handed Bruce the quilt with a shove and headed with his mask towards the windowsill behind Bruce's desk. "Don't take your eyes off of Mr. Cox. Selina was right not to trust his presence at the table tonight." Smugly, Slade emphatically gave the former thief most of that accredited reason to gloat. He was in town to check up on his favorite extended family. After all; the only warrant was that he couldn't be seen with Dick circling him like the hawk that man had become. It was a very good press of fate's advances that Adeline had ties to the Wayne's once happy lives, now stricken by as many terrible working hours as before.
Bruce's eyes went wild as soon as he'd realized what Slade had been up to previously. He'd been spying on them. Typical covert business - talk. Why was it though?
Slade was left to depart early, not having said that he'd bumped Dick's shoulder in the hall once before. Ah, the nineties was the worst time to impersonate a heart throb in specs so round you could mistake that person's age, indefinitely. Alfred still couldn't get the wine stain or bloody mark out of Wayne's suit. And by, back then, Robin was only just a household name to this city. Let alone the amused Deathstroke once the Titans fell under his radar.
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