Part 1: A Father's Choice

Bruce rubbed his eyes as he walked from his bedroom to the kitchen. Having no meetings or company functions for the day, the rush of caffeine from his usual morning coffee was a bit delayed. He almost wished he a coffee machine in his room, though, when he walked into the kitchen to the sight of Dick and Jason eating some kind of sugary cereal he was certain Alfred had not bought. The smell of processed sugars seemed stronger than they actually were as the two boys wolfed down their 'breakfast'.

"See, I told you Dickie." Jason smiled between bites of the cereal, "Gargoyles do come out during the day, too."

Bruce wanted to groan, he had not ever even thought of Jason corrupting the newest addition to their household when he took him in. Dick was still a child, and the way he latched on to Jason and Damian was sure to bring disaster; if only to the fragile balance of the household.

"Bruce isn't a gargoyle," Dick protested, actually putting his spoon down to cross his arms and turn towards Jason. "Old Jack said that the Gargoyles in Gotham came out at night. I was just wondering if you've ever seen one."

"Gargoyles are just statues that people along time ago thought would protect the city and buildings from demons or something like that." Jason laughed, seeming ignoring the look of annoyance from the kid sitting across from him. "The stories told now are probably about Batman or Blackbird."

"But there were stories from a long time ago." Dick seemed adamant about this being real, Bruce was almost amused watching from the counter, happily nursing a strong cup of black coffee.

The interactions of his children to the young acrobat both amused and worried Bruce; particularly with what he was going to do with Dick once the Zucco case was taken care of. The original plan was to return him to the circus and let things move on, but upon finding newspaper clippings and the beginnings of an investigation in the boy's room things changed. Letting him know he was Batman, that Jason and Damian were Robin and Blackbird, was an unplanned element and Bruce wondered if it was the right choice. The kid could have a better life than this, unlike the other children that were brought into this life he had a place to go besides the Batcave.

Bruce was pulled from his musings as something Jason said caught his attention. "... There may not be real gargoyles in Gotham, but there are the Owls."

Bruce knew the nursery rhyme, was not surprised that Jason knew it as well. It was something shared all over Gotham, but it had not been brought up in the Manor since Bruce had returned from the hospital after being locked in that room. The Court of Owls was just a myth, but even now it made the hairs on the back of Bruce's neck stand up.

"Owls?" Dick had forgotten about his cereal, seemingly fascinated by whatever his brain was constructing from where the conversation was coming from.

Jason smiled turned to a smirk, "Yeah, the Owls. They're supposed to be this group of people that have guided Gotham since the beginning from the shadows."

"Woah, that's cool." Dick's voice was way too enthusiastic for Bruce's liking. He may have closed the case on the Court due to their non-existence, but he would rather not have to answers. "Like some kinda secret spy movie."

Jason laughed, but Bruce spoke before he could reply. "Don't listen to Jason, Dick. The Court of Owls is just a nursery rhyme to scare small child into behaving. They aren't real." Jason tried to make a protest that he was just kidding, but was quickly silenced by a look from Bruce.

"Oh," Dick had a small frown on his face as he looked at Bruce. "What's the nursery rhyme?"

"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 your head." Bruce said, a bit of hesitance in his voice as he reached the end.

Dick looked as if he was contemplating what he just heard. "That's not a very nice nursery rhyme. I can see how it scared people. Why wouldn't they want anyone to talk about them though?"

"It was probably added so kids wouldn't go looking." Jason shrugged, standing up and grabbing his and Dick's bowl. "Just think of some kid trying to find the Court. Better to put in a warning than to risk a nosy brat poking around." Depositing the bowls into the dishwasher, Jason turned around. "I mean, real or not, children can be pest to adults, isn't that right Boss?"

"That's right chum." Bruce chuckled, reaching over to muss up Jason's hair. "And where did you get the cereal? I'm sure Alfred didn't get it."

"Stephanie got it for the kid." Jason shrugged, "Some reason it came up and she brought it this morning."

"Stephanie is here?" Bruce asked, as it was news to him. Of course, Stephanie was a constant in the activities of Batman since she had started to mess with her father's operations. Even after being fired more times than Bruce could even remember and everything else, the girl was making a name for herself. How she reshaped herself after the lost of Tim just showed that she was stronger than even Bruce thought. There was also maybe just a little bit of pride that other heroes were starting to rely on her Spoiler Network for intel sharing.

Jason made a face that Bruce did not feel like trying to interpret. "Her and Cassandra went to the Cave. I think she was going to update a file or something for Damian."

Bruce nodded, "Any other visitors I should know about?"

"Well, Alfred is entertaining Superman and his clone in the parlor and I think I saw Flash raiding the pantry." Jason counted off on his fingers, the grin on his face telling Bruce that he was a bit too much fun with the joke.

"Wait, Superman is here?" Dick jumped from his chair in excitement.

Bruce grabbed the boy's shoulder before his could bolt from the room, "Superman is not here, Jason was thinking he was being funny." Bruce gave Jason a look that told him he was going to be running laps during training before looking back at Dick. "But I'm guessing you like him?"

"Of course, he's Superman!" As if that was not answer enough, Dick continued. "He can fly and run really fast. I saw him once when we were in Metropolis, he even waved at me." And then almost as if he remembered who he was talking to, Dick added, "Batman is really cool, too."

Bruce ran a hand through his hair, "It's okay Dick, Superman's powers can be impressive." He almost debated if he should go into the diatribe about how dangerous the alien could be.

"Come on kiddo," Jason said as Bruce stopped talking, almost as if he knew what Bruce wanted to rant about. "Alfred said that the old apple tree in the back had some ripe fruit, let's go see who can get the biggest one."

Bruce straightened up and smiled, "Just don't knock too many out of the tree…"

"I know B," Jason interrupted as they were leaving, "Do you really think I'd pass up some of Alfie's pies?"

Bruce made an agreeing grunt and watched the two leave. The question on what would happen to Dick burned in his mind even stronger after watching his and Jason's interaction. It would be cruel to make the kid leave if he wanted to stay in the end. Shaking his head, he decided to go to the Cave to check in with Spoiler and Batgirl. Particularly after their recent run-in with Tim, being a solid team seemed more necessary than ever.

*Meanwhile in the Court of Owls*

"Bruce Wayne is becoming a nuisance." The man at the head of the table spoke to his associates, everyone at the old wooden table wore identical owl mask. "Like his ancestors, he thinks that this city can survive through those at the bottom. His funding of Batman Incorporated is just another mark against him as well as the apparently coincidental situation of him taking in one of candidates for a new Talon."

A voice from further down the table came as one of the Owl-masked figures stood. "Not all of us feel that Bruce Wayne is necessarily against us, Grandmaster. If we just convince him that to join us…"

"A Wayne has not been part of the Court in almost 200 years!" The Grandmaster's voice rose, filling the room as he slammed his hands into the table. He straighten after a moment, speaking with a much calmer voice. "Bruce Wayne has proven himself to be one that would be more detrimental for the court than an asset. His continued efforts to 'better' the parts of Gotham that should just be allowed to destroy themselves is like keeping alive a rabid dog. Sometimes it is best to just kill the lame instead of letting it suffer."

The man to the right of the Grandmaster stood. "This all being said, I call for a vote." Picking up two cards, he continued, "As always, there are two choices. The white card will be for sending an invitation to Bruce Wayne; the Black card will be to send our Talon for his life."

*N*A*N*A*N*A**BATMAN!*****

Thanks for reading! This is going to be a 8-9 part interlocking story starring (well, it's obvious right) the Court of Owls. Let me know what you think and I should have the next part up by Monday :)