Thomas carelessly stepped over the little girl's body; he had yet to receive her name. Though he killed many, he did not like to kill for no reason. Training his new Talon was a good reason, and he proudly patted himself on the back for being able to snag the little girl without raising suspicion. In his arms lay Richard Grayson, whom he had tricked into thinking that he had killed the little girl.

"Labs one, open door." Thomas said, impatiently watching as a smartly concealed door rose up. He had to give Richard more of his special… medications. Never before had he been so involved with a Talon as he had this one, but Thomas supposed it was because he was the guinea pig for his new lab.

He took one glance back at the white space where the little girl and her blood lay, there was no alleyway, and the room was illuminated by one, single, flickering light bulb. Judging by Richard's reaction, the meds were working. Thomas then stepped out of the lab room, looking at the two opposing corridors. Where should he go, left or right? To his left was Richard's room, and to his right was his own chamber.

Thomas sighed and went right. His attendants were probably still prepping Talon's room. He leaned up, and stared at a little indent on the wall near his door. There was a red light, which flashed up and down his face, and then a mechanical voice sounded.

"Recognized Owlman, access granted." The door slid up, and he stepped inside, the still unconscious Richard Grayson stirring slightly.

"Shush," Thomas said, putting one finger to Richard's lips and the other reaching into his back pocket for the syringe. It was a blue formula, which glowed brilliantly, the same thing he had used in the ritual. He set him down, onto his great king-sized bed, and gently inserted the needle into Richard's neck. Thomas smiled when he groaned and stopped moving; the medication was working.

"Sleep tight." Thomas stepped back and left the room, signaling a passing servant to watch the sedated guest that was on his bed. He crossed the hallways, and into his office with long strides. He had to tweak some things in his plans. Thomas had not expected Richard to be so stubborn. He was not supposed to remember about Robin. He was not supposed to be able to fight it!

"Ugh. Stupid Bats and their stupid stubbornness." Thomas walked into his office, his fingers rubbing his temples. His assistant handed him the phone, just as he sat down.

"Someone called." The assistant said, walking away with several folders tucked in her hands. He could only wonder who it was, since only a select few people knew his phone number. He looked at the contact and saw the name 'Ra's'.

"Al Ghul? Why would you be calling me?" Thomas was pretty annoyed, first at Richard, and now at Ra's. He was not in the mood to talk. He rolled a cabinet back, and picked up a file labeled 'Project X'.

"Sorry Owlman, but it seems that the Bats have started pestering me because of you. I'm terminating my contract. Bye." With that, the phone went back to dial tone, and Thomas almost about screamed in frustration. With the contract gone, there was nothing holding Ra's back from telling the truth to Batman.

Thomas threw the file onto the table, redialing Ra's number as fast as he could. There was no way in the world he was going to let the little traitor tell the Batman about his Talon.

After a few rings, someone finally picked up. "Hello?" A woman's voice practically purred on the other end. It was probably Talia; anyone who knew the League of Assassins knew of the wicked daughter of Ra's.

"Talia!" Thomas exclaimed, taking his rage on the woman, "Tell Ra's that-" He was cut off by the insolent woman.

"You Owlman? Anyways, don't worry. Ra's already told Beloved about your new Talon. Richard." She said that name with a disgusted tone. "Richard, that gypsy trash. I do believe that Beloved is now trying to find out your secret hideout. Bye."

"Wait!" Before Thomas could say another word, Talia hung up. It was on use in calling the line again, Ra's would have it changed. The harm had already been done, Ra's had told Batman about Richard.

He threw the phone onto the ground, enraged. There was no use in running away; he would just have to face the Batman once and for all. He picked up the file, and started to pace around. If he were going to fight the Batclan, than he would have to fix up his Talon first. Maybe show them the true might of their so-called 'Nightwing'.

Thomas sat down again when his feet began to hurt. He pressed a button that was hidden on the underbelly of the table, and watched as the surface of the table flipped around. He cracked his knuckles and started to work. The time ticked away quickly, so much that what felt like a minute was actually half of an hour. It didn't take long before he had a fully-fledged new plan that had an even stronger drug that he would give Richard a few hours of each day.

He proudly held up the new vial of the blue fizzy liquid, and though it looked the same as the one as he had just used on Talon, Thomas knew to be wary. If he accidentally broke the glass that contained the blue liquid, the fumes of it would be so strong that it could affect anyone whom breathed it in, lasting longer and more stretched out than the shots that Richard received. It could make someone dead in the brain in no time at all.

Thomas dragged one hand down his face and wiped his eyes, which hurt from the long exposure to the tiny handwriting scrawled on the file. He got up and leaned back, efficiently working out all the cricks and cracks in his back.

Thomas gently held the vial in his hands, and put the Project X files back into the cabinet. He walked out of his office, and back to his chamber. He was going to inject Richard with his new medication, and watch it take affect.

"Ready or not, Batman, here I come." Thomas whispered darkly, after stepping into his room. He was going to win the fight with Batman, and finally end the Dark Knight once and for all.

It would probably do well for the whole of Gotham if he got rid of the vigilante, hell, and even his little birdies too.

Locked deep in his thoughts, Thomas shooed away the assistant that he had sent to look after his Talon, and then jabbed the needle into Richard's neck. There was already a dark bruise forming in that area, from the previous needle. Thomas knew that he should have waited until the lasting affects of the other formula slowly circulated out of Richard's body, but he didn't care. He had read the reports, read all of his diaries, and knew that Richard could withstand almost any force.

A deep chuckle sounded from his throat, a sound that he hadn't made in a very long time.