Ra's thoughtfully sipped the blood red wine that was elegantly being stirred around with a flick of his wrist. The color matched the blood that stained Talon's trembling body. The boy was sitting in his own little chair on the other side of the room, with Owlman boasting about how perfect he was. It was funny, he had already known that Nightwing had been Richard Grayson, but to see Slade's face when Owlman mentioned it… Slade had probably finally put together the pieces, linking Bruce Wayne to Batman.
He remembered how furious his daughter, Talia, had been when Nightwing had become Batman. He, on the other hand, didn't mind. He didn't care if Nightwing had become Batman and taken his grandson under his wing; he had long since disowned his 'grandson' ages ago. He didn't pay attention to any of the Batman drama. As long as the Bats didn't interfere with any of the big plans that he had been scheming….
Ra's thoughts were interrupted when he felt the heavy glare of Deathstroke drilling little holes on the back of his neck. Ever since they had all sat down at the fancy dining table, he had been unhappily glaring at him.
He did felt a little twinge of sympathy for the other man. He knew of Slade's strange obsession with Robin, back when they had been enemies in Jump City. In fact, the whole super villain community knew to keep their hands off of Robin- Deathstroke had claimed him first as his apprentice. Owlman had taken the former Robin anyways.
Ra's smirked as he put his wine down on the table, the red liquid sloshing to and fro. His gut felt the incoming fight that was about to go down, and usually his gut was right. Ra's liked fights. They were exhilarating, and kept his blood pumping, wanting for more. He leaned back on the plump chair, and silently observed Slade and Owlman. The two had sent hostile sparks toward each other, ever since Richard had been brought into the room. It had been wrong to Ra's too, he would have never thought of Richard Grayson, a former Robin, being the new Talon. Though he had gotten over his initial surprise, it was apparent that Deathstroke hadn't.
"Anyways," Owlman popped a violet grape into his mouth, "Richard will make a fine guinea pig for my new test."
Ra's straightened up out of his seat, the cocky look disappearing away from his face completely.
"What test?" Ra's was, surprisingly, very into science. When the Flash had first appeared in Star City, he had been ecstatic with joy. He hadn't had a nice science experiment in a while, and he was pretty sure that the Flash had gained his powers by science, pure science. He supposed that the Lazarus pits contributed to his interest in science though Ra's had yet discovered the secret behind the magical green waters. Flash had unfortunately, gotten away from the trap he had set for him, and the dreams to uncovering what genius formula made a human superhuman with speed, was shattered.
Owlman had yet to leave him stunned, even though he seemed to be immortal. Ra's was also immortal, in his own Lazarus pits ways, and a military experiment gone wrong made Deathstroke immortal also. Maybe the new 'test' that Owlman had just mentioned could be interesting.
"What test?" His question was mimicked when Slade joined the conversation. Ra's raised his eyebrow at Owlman, whom only smirked an irritating smirk that you could just see the beginnings from below his mask.
"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word about them, or they'll send The Talon for you head." Owlman said in a hushed voice, putting one finger that was clad in a black gauntlet, against his lips. He stood, and Richard followed, automatic and cold. Though his grace was there, it missed the usual flow that usually accompanied his movement.
"I'll let you think about it." Owlman said leaving his stunned guests still seated, "Please don't tell anyone about Richard. It would be an awfully annoying if I had to clean your blood off my hands." He left, Talon trailing after him like a lost ghost. The rusty door closed, making more screechy noises.
"Psh, I'm not scared of him." Deathstroke said from the other side of the room, though Ra's doubted it.
The Court Of Owls were pretty opposing. Ra's snorted at the thought of Slade cowering in fear beneath Owlman's feet. Both men had never seen his face, the mask covering Owlman's eyes, though Ra's had often imagined cold, steel orbs peering at then from the darkness.
Ra's watched as Slade left the room, the tension in the air completely dispersing. He stayed in his chair, picking up his glass of wine, and sipping the warming alcohol inside of it. Once done, he sighed and ran fingers through his hair.
Ra's stood up, leaving a considerable amount of cash on the table. He patted down his black crumpled suit and stood up. Suddenly, his sleek Samsung phone started buzzing in his pocket.
"Hello?" Ra's pulled out his phone, opening the creaky door and making his way out of the Golden Palace.
"Father?" The sweet but chilling voice of his daughter Talia, sounded on the other end.
"Hmm?" Ra's answered, waving his chauffeur over. The black limousine rolled up, looking too shiny and antique for East-Gotham.
"You should get back here." Talia continued, she sounded annoyed.
"I am coming." Ra's said, climbing into the limo and signaling the driver to drive.
"Maybe a bit faster, Father." Talia insisted. She sounded a bit urgent.
"What happened?" Ra's beckoned for the driver to drive a little faster.
"Batman came. He brought his little Batclan too."
Ra's sighed, containing his anger. He had said that he didn't pay much attention to Batman, but now that he was interfering with his plans… Ra's would have no more of it.