The Court of Owls – Family of the Cowl – Silent Night
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Chapter 10: Trading Loyalties
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Slade's maneuver to disarm and take had Batman to call a meeting to order. Tim and Barbie both gasped at the fact that Jason and Dick had both ended up underground.
"The on thing we could do….what about his partner, Midnighter?"
Barbara looked over as Kori waited for those words to fall from Bruce's lips that he had a plan.
"He's against going in too deep." Bruce frowned, brows straight and unbent. "He's decided to cut ties with Wilson, and to come work for us to save Grayson.
"Master Dick, and Midnighter have never had another dynamic where one can't go to the other for assistance." Alfred spoke, his own eyes on his dear Master Bruce, who was holding back.
"What worries us is the Slade and Nightwing thing." Tim grunted and narrowed his masked eyes on his family. "You came back and saw Jay get taken – why did he…" Tim ran a hand to pull up his Red Robin cowl. "Slade looked pissed; I mean, we could have tracked –
"We did." Barb smirked and moved to her unit. "I made sure to let Jason be our bait this time."
Bruce nodded. "That's why I'm not running and hiding, that's why I won't bat a lash because we will get Jason and Dick back. We know where to go. Barbara? Tell Midnighter to keep watch. We're not standing by."
"Wait, please!" Starfire floated over and held onto her stomach in worry. "Will, will the Dragon not prevent this?""
"Dragon?" Tim shook his head, unaware as Barbara sighed, waiting to try and recap on their misadventures.
"So…...years before you or Jay took up the cape and boots, Robin was with the Teen Titans and Slade worked with resurrecting though kind of unaware, a dragon lord called Lord Roku who can basically…manipulate everything from minds to warping realities. He's known as a soul stealer and Dick…made a deal with Roku to keep him out of the way by housing his energy or presence so he couldn't get out. And, it worked, for a while…there is this silly prophecy that Dick's kid will be the one to stop Roku's take over again since in HIS past, his own son who was the reincarnation of "Richard" in a way...had been able to have a kid before his supposed death – and Kori…was the reincarnated princess he chose to love for that reason. In short –
"The Prophecy is something Slade is being led to restart, from Roku's words driving him to do his worst." Batman spoke, morbidly, Tim seeing this fantasy path as…. a bit odd.
"Slade. Was tricked. By a dragon?? How the –
"Trigon did so as well, so why not this dragon from various myths coming from another world?" Starfire sighed.
"Another, world?" Tim was living through a quiz he could not beat. He looked to Babs who shrugged. "They call it the "Spirit world; like an alternate afterlife but even those things like dragons, fairies, all created by the human mind exist. So, alternate reality. Dick just got caught up in it because he was similar to the dragon's son."
"Also, Richard." Bruce grumbled, seeing Tim's brows furrow uncomfortably.
"Logically, that sounds possible, but reincarnation? What happened? Is Richie still Slade's target? Was that why he was taking a break with his kid and you…Kor?"
"Yes." She nodded, finding her voice to be breaking out of her concern for her beloved's wellbeing.
"The reason that little Ava had been brought into our lives was because of the child I shall soon be having; in the prophecy, a "child of the golden dawn" has the power to end the cycle so that no more "Richards" may exist if Roku is to be vanquished. We took every precaution and even have kept in "the know" with magical guardians to –
"What? When? Are they even aware of what's going on in Gotham??" Tim sputtered. He had a point. Why was he fox crew not around? Bruce didn't push since he knew that Takahara Shoji was busy keeping his council of the other realms from taking his family out. Permanently, for undoing a sacred text. They were on thin ice since Dick had negotiated a ceasefire with the dragon. The dragon that Slade had been all buddy - buddy with for a while, even before Dick had run away.
"The guardians have disguised themselves as delegates, officials, famous celebrities. Their prime objective their leader Verra said was to mask the presence of their world from us, while still holding some sway over the world so that they can't be forgotten. Like gods."
"Wow." Tim slumped into his seat and swallowed. "That, is kind of risky. Why would we trust them, then?"
"They are almost, human. They have emotions that they do not always share and are divided in wars that hurt one another as humans might. They have orders that they give and some believe humans can create perfect harmony –
"While others want us wiped out or enslaved." Babs reminded Kori not to look too positively at these creatures of daemon tendencies. However, good or bad, power was what fueled them as well as any government or religious sanction. They have a moral, code of conduct. As if invaders that have always lived beside us for generations."
"They've been here all this time…so what about the Pope? Or the pres –
"They are simply there to negotiate, from the side lines." Bruce said. "Verra owns a tech giant in Japan, we've stayed in close contact ever since the reveal that this was all happening under our noses."
"Bout time, too." Babs grinned at the younger hero. "You'd been left out of the loop."
"Yeah." Tim snorted, rolling his eyes at the celling. "About damned time…"
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Tapping heels made Jay uneasy. He'd just woken up to a caged corner of the room, his body bound to not allow him the privilege of scratching an itch in some mot vulgar of places. For these purist owls, they sure were neurotic. Daylight only scared them if they didn't have a pushy pal like DS to muscle through the crowd. They liked to remain heard, yet unseen.
"Hey!" Jay yelled over past his cell bars.
"I need to take a leak! HEY! Owl – heads! You know I'm this clo –
"You should be careful with that tone of yours."
Jay growled at the person at his cell door.
"Buddy, I don't give a, heh – hoot, what you're akin' to do. Right now, it's the crapper or I soil your precious prison walls with the worst case of IBD an' spastic colon in history." He sneered, letting Cobb watch that face with well, disgust.
Just, to piss him off.
"Go ahead." He shrugged. "We can always sedate you and you can regress to that tot who can't hold it in. Wallowing in urine like some cockroach out of the –
"FUCKER!!!" Jay slammed his weight against the bars, Cobb not stepping back as far as he'd wanted. This was bad. Cobb was impervious to his wit. Shit. Who wasn't?
"Give Dickie back to us, or I'm no gonna wail off of you – the whole place will get blown sky high. I won't quit until you pay…you and your stooge, DS the BS artist."
"Charming offer, but we are planning a big event with my grandson as the guest of honor. You won't be missing much, trust me." Smirked the cad below his owl – face plate. "Deathstroke though, I was going to offer you over to the bride as her lap dog, but…Maybe Death should claim you. Tonight."
"What??" Jay stood, offended that he'd be told he was trash be Dick's own…. sonnova.
That would not happen.
"Shove that idea back down there, dipshit." Spat the anarchist.
"I'm here for my big bro and you? Oh…You just are gonna get gutted once my clan has this place under rubble. I won't rest on just a bullet."
He snickered, making the owl flinch.
"Nope. You'll have to learn to fly higher to get away from me and the big. Bad. BAT. I mean it, you are roadkill. Cobb. You and your old, fat white sex cult."
(Hats off to Harley Quinn series for the orgy joke.)
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Cob thought about just chopping up the ignorant turd and pushing him on Wayne to fix. Well, it was a thought but his right. His grandson's role…
He'd give Deathstroke a ping. He needed to take out some unwanted trash. It was starting to reek something awful.
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Midnighter checked out the manhole cover where they'd had DS on the run before. Tim and Babs stayed on the bat computer's line while Bruce and Slade's ex – partner had a chat via their comm links.
~ You chose to team up with Slade, but why such a soft spot for my ward. ~
The enigmatic killer shoved himself towards the ledge of a five story. He grunted and started to talk once he'd dragged himself up and over. "I got lucky with meeting the kid. He's, kind of respected in Blud. Not like the Bat or Supes. He's a bit more, well…he treated me more like I had to matter. Even if I told him to piss off, he's a pain."
~ You care in a way that, isn't ok now. ~ Bruce shot a grapple off to let it take him to his next stop. ~Richard has a family, a wife and child. I don't know much about how he treated you in the past as Nightwing, but you need to back off if you do respect him as you say you do. ~
Midnighter didn't answer. It was the fights. The words that bordered on conversation and even so…Deathstroke was the same. Had to be a trick. By that, dragon…. maybe?
"I don't think those are my real emotions."
~ Why are you telling me this? ~
"I had to. After that dragon crap Slade swore himself off of, I might be the same. Just, dragged along for the ride."
Bruce wondered that; if a "power source" was what Roku had used his kids as…was Dick just still taken by that energy until –
"Coming up on a lot, there. Owls. Got a lock."
~I'm on it, keep them busy. ~