The little orphan realized that he had made a big mistake by accepting Cobb's offer as soon as his perhaps great-grandfather had taken him out of the circus tent.
His hand on his arm was too cold and his speed was not at all normal.
After the two eluded the police, the little acrobat felt something pinch the back of his neck and suddenly he felt sleepy and disoriented to the point of closing his eyes.
Before falling into darkness, Dick swore he saw Cobb's eyes shining from behind his glasses.
The next thing Dick knew, when he woke up, was that he was standing in the middle of a huge grandstand filled with men and women wearing strange owl masks.
"Good job, Cobb. You managed to bring the Gray Son home." said one of them with a smile that was mirrored by all the others.
"Of course. The Gray Son will be essential to the conquest of Gotham." replied Cobb, clearly pleased.
A feeling of unease and fear took over Dick's body as he remained motionless, too frightened to even move an inch.
Why did these people keep referring to him by his last name but pronouncing it as if it consisted of two different words? And why the hell would he be crucial to the conquest of Gotham? And how especially?
Apparently it was obvious that his frightened and confused expression showed the multitudes of questions that ran through his mind because Cobb gave him a shark-like smile that made his stomach churn nervously.
"I know you have many questions, and I will be more than happy to satisfy your curiosity. This" he nodded around. "is the main base of the Court of Owls, a secret, underground organization that has controlled Gotham for many centuries. However, in recent times our roots on the city have loosened rather a bit, and our control over Gotham is not as strong as it once was for various reasons that do not concern you.
"Now, as I'm sure you've figured out," Cobb again gave the kind of smile that scared the hell out of Dick. "we are not good people at all, quite the contrary. All we care about is complete control of Gotham, and to do that we use both the city's most influential wealthy and much more extreme means."
He removed his glasses and what Dick saw caused his breathing and heartbeat to stop momentarily.
Cobb's face was completely pale and it highlighted the black veins. But what frightened the child most were his golden eyes that contained no emotion but pure coldness and evil.
"I am a Talon. There are so many other Talons but they are more tools of the Court. They are not even more human. Of course i am not either but unlike them I have free will and do you know why?" Cobb took a step forward forcing Dick to take one step back. The acrobat swallowed shakily as the older man's golden eyes shone frighteningly. Suddenly Cobb's fingers held Dick's jaw painfully still, forcing him to stare into those frightening and menacing golden eyes.
"Because I am the best Talon but you, my dear grandson, are destined to be the best Talon the Court of Owls has ever had. It is written in destiny: one day not very far off you will lead the Court of Owls to glory and to conquer Gotham!"
Excited applause resounded from the crowd, and the sudden noise made the child wince and shake like a leaf.
What...
What had he just accepted?
"Now I will explain to you the capabilities of a Talon, my grandson." a slow, eerie smile formed on the Talon's pale face. "Superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, resistance, hearing and sight. We are in every way dead." his grip on Dick's chin loosened and suddenly the child was forced to touch his great-grandfather's chest.
Slowly horror filled Dick.
There was... there was no heartbeat!
William chuckled, most likely because of his grandson's look of terror, fear, horror and shock.
"Besides, we have the best healing factor that heals all kinds of wounds inflicted on our bodies, even the deadly ones. I will be more than happy to show you a practical example."
His great-grandfather -and yes, now Dick was 100 percent sure that this monster was his great-grandfather- snapped his fingers and within seconds a figure crossed the room, kneeling silently in front of Cobb.
Dick stared at it and saw the same features Cobb had: pale face, yellow eyes and black veins. Only this Talon's eyes, unlike Cobb's which still showed some semblance of emotion (albeit negative), were completely impassive and devoid of any feeling.
A chill ran down Richard's spine.
Cobb was right.
The other Talons were no longer human: just empty shells that the Court used at will and for its own purposes.
A fate even worse than death.
With distinctly inhuman speed Cobb pulled a knife from somewhere and plunged it directly into the other Talon's throat.
Dick watched shocked and frightened as the Talon fell limply to the ground but more so as the black blood spilled from his wound. Dick let out a startled scream and involuntarily recoiled when, a short time later, the Talon stood upright as if he had not just been brutally killed, clearly waiting for an order.
Dick returned to stare at Cobb and shuddered when he saw an evil smirk.
By now his face was completely lined with tears that flowed like a river from his eyes.
He only wanted to return home and to his parents!
Was that so much to ask, damn it?
Yes, because now Dick had neither a home nor parents.
William Cobb was literally a monster in every way, and Dick was completely at his mercy.
"Now, I know you want to kill Zucco to avenge the death of your parents, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while." Cobb continued. "You will need adequate training to get your revenge." his words brought an abrupt halt to the thoughts of the seven-year-old who could not suppress a shudder at the mere thought of training with these Talons.
Did Dick want to deal with the Court of Owls?
Absolutely not.
Did Dick want to kill Zucco?
Hell yes.
It was Zucco's fault that his parents were dead and that Dick was now in this disastrous situation.
Dick's shoulders slumped in defeat because he already knew that the Court would never let him go free.
At least Dick could not have become a Talon and thus a ruthless murderous monster.
After all, most likely Cobb was born directly as a Talon and Dick could not be transformed as one of them.
Right?
