Court of Owls – Family of the Cowl – Silent Night
/
Chapter 11: Fox in the Flock of Angry Birds Gets His Due
/
Todd wasn't impressed by this side of Cobb getting to him. He'd erased lives as killer before toning it down to help out his brothers and pop.
His, adopted father.
Well, right now Dick's mental health was on the line.
Brainwashed, how could it be so dumb already, and why was D.S so invested in occult nonsense…
Then, it all happened too quickly.
A flashback of the thief as Red – X in Jump; parading around until he was attacked and controlled by thugs from another dimension (this is of New Beginning arc (s) from my page. He's recalling the good ole days. Poor Jay…)
How the "dragon" was none other than an angry king who's spirit would not rest until he'd ruined someone's day.
Well, Slade had to stand in line. Trigon was his last mistake he would ever impose on the human race.
Yeah, Jay liked to stay out of a city that was about to go to hell and back as a teen, but now?
He got such a thrill out of doing things the hard way that it made him, literally stay in Gotham and Blud to satisfy his appetite as a reborn psycho – courtesy of the Demon's Head.
He'd go dragon hunting, alright. And Slade would give him a reason to call the man uncle. One more time.
He held up a finger – gun and play aimed it at the wall across from his cell.
"Right between his OTHER eye. I'm comin' for you, D.S." Todd promised in the dark of his small world. "As soon as I have a chance. Hold that pose for me, will ya?"
The person to come to him was instead not Slade, but a younger member of the owls who was training to become a bit more acquainted with their role as an underling.
A too young, Talon.
/
Barbie had to scratch her head as Batman and Midnighter scaled the sewers for the wall that would lead to a tunnel connected to the owl's maze; the one he'd faced noxious fumes in that tore Bruce's head apart and made him feel disgusted once he'd gotten out of there alive.
Only just, as Dick might have had his brain been any less scrambled…
Maybe, not then…
~I'm checking for infrared –
"Just do so, quietly." Bruce instructed Oracle. "We can't be detected even with a cloaking shield in place."
"I wouldn't want the walls to echo, ya know." Midnighter agreed with a nod of his masked skull. "We'll get out, with the bird and Red's life." He assured. "Otherwise, I'm hanging up my gear. No fun without Twinkle – toes."
Bruce didn't say anything about Nightwing's fan base. He didn't have to. Dick was on hiatus anyway while readying to raise a family. Kori was going to be close to her due date in the spring.
January wasn't done to Bruce. This city, Gotham, it exuded the very dreary complexion of a late winter than never ended.
That they could be in Russia in one of the largest cities there and not spot a difference in the weather patterns at all.
Bruce ignored the ache to want to clobber Cobb and Slade once he'd caught them red handed.
Or to apologize to Red Hood for having stuck to his guns. Even when Slade had told his son off so easily…
Both of them.
"We're close to the corridor, I see it." Bruce let Babs know as she got her camera ready in the eyes of his mask to see just what was beyond the naked eye's ability to deduce.
~ Here. You need to deactivate –
Bruce just did as before, expecting this to act like a trap BECAUSE it WAS a trap.
The way opened as loudly as a stone wall to an ancient mausoleum.
~ Good job…? ~
"They'll be expecting company." Bruce confirmed. "From here on, we're not to get separated. Keep your link contained. All fire walls. And increase-
~ BBxxxxzzzz………frre…..queen………c…….ccccc….eeee…. ~
"Bruce?? No! Shit!!" Babs dug her hands into her scull and groaned loudly. "TIM! I need you to head over there if you've still got –
~No good, Barbie! ~ He was still on his way there, but the link had been shattered, hacked by a pro.
"Slade….?"
~ AS if I'd need to introduce myself to the still youngest of the bat's family. Your brothers are in our care and the owls will be welcoming your father with open arms, red bird. ~ His voice sounded real, but not his face. It was just an audio file. The signal was weakened with a crackle.
"Where can I find them, Deathstroke?? You won't stop Batman from saving the others. You can't win this –
~ Win, what? ~ The man must have been annoyed to be called off by the youngest Robin, since he lacked initiative in the best of times. That brain of his could only work so well in his field.
"Dick over, to…to I dunno. Try and take over the –
~ I plan to do something like that, but nothing to…elaborate. The owls want power, and yet I only request his presence for another's sake. ~
"Why are you working for a fairy tale figure from Dick's past, anyway? What's in it for you? Dick's too old to learn to do what you want him to. He's got a reason to –
~ Nightwing isn't stuck in the life he's destined to feel for…or, so the dragon said. I simply want to help free the kid as best I can since it will benefit ME in the end. ~ Slade wasn't talking in his right mind. Tim had never heard the man speaking like Ra's or even the Riddler for that matter.
~ Wherever they do have your birds of a feather, I won't tell. You'll have to find them all on your own, little detective. Just as your brothers might be so willing to save you in their positions. ~
Tim growled at the screen, sending the files to Barbie as she checked them up and down for hidden clues. Now knowing that Slade had a hand in the pot, he wasn't just trying to turn Dick against his family or friends, he was…trying to eliminate the old him to make way for something worse. Far less, human if he meant any of that.
/
In fact, Slade didn't want to get his hands as dirty as the dragon wished of him.
They were here to steal the show, no. They were here to gather their prize and leave.
Slade would be granted the life of Dick and he'd control him to a T. Any faults? That would be on Cobb, if he didn't get skewered by Slade's new partner in crime.
The dragon fed off of the chaos Dick's mind had assembled to surround the "Prophetic child of the golden dawn." If Kori was able to somehow have the kid, he'd be able to continue the line. Make sure Dick passed over his power to another before ending up at Deathstroke's door as payment.
As for the kid, Slade might get to teach him too. During his episodes with his own kids, it didn't work out always. Though, when you had no choice in the matter, the available routes could be counted in thousands.
Eons, and he'd take that over continuing the same charade day after day.
He was being used too. Roku had taken his want for an apprentice and had made the idea infect a good chunk of Deathstroke's brain. If he ever discovered how much of a parasite this king really was, he'd not have to stay around to be slain. There was always the next kid on the way to harass.
/