The next day, Diana groaned as she looked at a picture of her friends. She hated to admit it, but she was scared. Barbara was like a sister to her. And the pursuit of this mysterious villain was crushing her.
Later that day, the girls were meeting up at the mall, but there was no sign of Barbara.
"Where could she be?" Jessica asked.
Meanwhile…
Batgirl was atop a gargoyle, looking around Gotham. She needed to find out who was behind all this.
"Who hired Slade? Who sent the Rogues? Who's after us?" Batgirl asked.
From the shadows, figures emerged behind her. They were owls from big owl (actual owls? nice), who shot lunar beams from their eyes at Batgirl. She used smoke bombs as a cover before leaping through the smoke and kicked them away.
"Oh, you are in trouble…" A voice says.
Batgirl walked around the corner, looking for the voice, and fainted.
Meanwhile…
"I have an idea." Zee says . "What?" The girls asked.
"I'll go to Royal Woods for my date." Zee says.
"Are you serious?" the girls asked
Zee sighed, canceling her date. There would be other dates, and looking for Barbara was of the utmost importance at the moment.
Meanwhile…
Batgirl was in a dark room, tied to a chair. She struggled, and strained, but was firmly restrained.
"Where am I?" She asked.
"Dinner." A voice says as Big Owl comes to the table.
Batgirl rolled her eyes. "Nice. What's the occasion?"
"Listen, we have a rival gang of owls, ones who are making our business difficult, and we wish for you to join us. We can help you track the ones who hired Slade as a settlement." Big Owl says.
"And what do you want?" Batgirl asked
"Well, It's simple. Ditch your friends. You do want the location, right?" Big Owl says.
"What?" Batgirl asked.
"Eat up, please." Big Owl insisted. He sat down and the two began to eat a nice dinner.
Big Owl wipes his mouth and resumes his argument. "The people who hired Slade have been targeting you. If you ditch your friends, they will be safe from harm." Big Owl says.
Batgirl finished eating, considering this, before a dart hit her and knocked her out cold.
Later, she woke up in a cold alleyway.
"What do I do?" She asked as she thought about this.
"Barbara!" Wonder Woman's voice called out as Batgirl peeks to see them and hides.
Super Girl gets close, but smells garbage.
"Ugh, Greendale has rotten garbage… and I think I smell corpses." Super Girl says.
"This town is messed up." Bumblebee says. The Super Girls move on, giving Batgirl a window to escape.
Suddenly, Slade arrived, still a mutant bloodhound.
"Oh, no." The girls say and get ready.
Super Girl flew in and punched Slade, sending him to the skies.
Meanwhile…
Batgirl was walking across the rooftops of Gotham, the clock tower ticking, as a low growl sounded behind her. Slade landed behind her, now a mutant of a wolf. Batgirl is terrified.
"Nice doggy…" she says.
Slade snarled. "As much as I've enjoyed our little game… My employers now want more than a fight. They want you… dead."
Batgirl paled. Now this was life or death.
Slade howled and ran at her, claws out. He swipes at her, but Batgirl leaps away, her cape scratched. She pulled out a pair of nightsticks, bracing herself for a fight. Slade pulled out his swords, and the two charged.
Their weapons met in a flurry of sparks and blurs. While Slade was precise and savage, Batgirl was acrobatic and hard to hit. Batgirl blocked another strike, and lobbed a smoke bomb into Slade's maw. It blew, covering the area in smoke and sending Slade into a coughing mess.
Slade sniffed around the smoke, but was still getting used to his nose, and the smell of smoke in his nostrils. As soon as he turned around, Batgirl smacked him behind the head with explosive gel. It blew, sending Slade down. Batgirl smirked.
"Down, boy…" Batgirl says. But Slade crawled back onto his feet, snarling.
"You gotta be kidding me…" Batgirl moaned, as she narrowly dodged a bite from Slade, Slade was now acting like a feral, angry monster.
Batgirl spotted a noisemaker on the ground, one that fell from her belt, and got an idea. She dove for it, and slammed it onto the ground.
A high pitched noise came from the device, and Slade fell to his knees, screaming and holding his ears. Batgirl jumped, launched a grappling hook, and brought her heel to Slade, knocking him out.
Batgirl heaved. "Stay down, you bad dog."
She looked up, out into the night rooftops. But… among them is a pair of orange eyes, looking at her.
"Huh?" Batgirl asks.
The figure turns and runs. Batgirl grapples after him, dashing from roof to roof.
She chases him all the way to the top of Gotham Cathedral, and lands in front of him.
"Stop!" Batgirl says.
The figure is now easier to see. He's wearing white cloth assassin outfit, a bandolier of knives held by a gold owl pendant. He wore black, padded boots and gloves with brass bracers. Beneath his white hood was a black mask with a gold beak and brow, with a pair of orange eyes. He spoke in a young, smooth voice.
"Well, I admit you've exceeded my expectations. Commendable…"
Batgirl glared. "Who are you?"
"You may call me Augury. I've been keeping an eye on you for some time." He says.
"So you hired Slade. Mutated him. Why?" Batgirl asked.
"At first, to eliminate a potential threat without my partners becoming involved. But you've demonstrated great skill to get this far. I am impressed… Barbara." Augury replied.
Batgirl's eyes widened. Her breathing hitched.
Augury chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. But rather… I would like to make an offer."
"What offer?" Batgirl asked.
"To join us. To seize control of Gotham once more. Of perhaps much more. Under our guidance, we will make Gotham a beacon of civilization."
"Wha… no. I can't. You can't." Batgirl responds.
"You cannot see. My partners have always sought what's best for this city. We are so close, and you could help restore this city. No more crime. No more sorrow. No more need for a Bat to prey on criminals at night. And no more nights where a father spends sleepless nights among the scum of the city… rather than with his own daughter." Augury says.
Batgirl freezes. Her father… no more nights where her father risks himself with criminals… no. not like this.
"No… I won't…" Batgirl says.
"Pity. You would've made a fine Talon. But I can't have you sharing. So… goodbye.." Augury laments, and jabs at Batgirl, who barely dodges.
Meanwhile…
"We could use a tracking spell." Zatanna suggested and began looking in her book.
"This will take some time." She says as the girls groan.
"Well hurry! Who knows what Batgirl's doing?" Bumblebee urged.
Meanwhile…
Batgirl rolled on the floor, barely dodging a knife from Augury. She tossed a smoke bomb, but Augury tracked her every move. Augury threw another dagger, grazing Batgirl.
Meanwhile…
"I got it!" Zatanna says and chants a spell. A portal opens, revealing Batgirl fighting Augury. Batgirl spotted the portal and flung herself right into them, causing the portal to close. Augury cries after her.
"Ow…" Batgirl says.
"Barbara!" The girls cried and hugged her.
Batgirl sniffed and sobbed.
"I'm so sorry! I… I chased after that… that… myself, and he would've killed me!" She sobbed.
"We all make mistakes. And I promise, we have your back, and will do everything we can to stop him." Wonder Woman says. Batgirl sniffed, and nodded.
"Now come on, I think we can still catch this villain." Wonder Woman says.
The Super Hero Girls leap onto the rooftops, out to find a hooting of owls.
The Super Hero Girls landed on top of a building, and a flock of owls flew in screeching..
Wonder Woman grabbed Batgirl, lifted her up, and tossed her to the owls as Batgirl spun, punching and kicking them. Wonder Woman leaped and punched one and grabbed Batgirl's hand, smiling as they spun and kicked a few more and landed.
Green Lantern used a shield to protect Bumblebee.
Zatanna opens multiple portals as Super Girl shoots her ice breath. The ice came through the portals, freezing them.
"Awesome!" The heroines say.
Blue and Red Owl flew in, but Super Girl grabbed them and smacked them together.
Suddenly Big Owl arrived, glaring at Batgirl.
"I see that's a no." He says and charges for them, but Batgirl uses judo and other martial art skills to knock him back. She leaped and punched his head as he fell.
The Owl King was spying on them, but decided enough was enough. He landed before them, wings outstretched.
"Whoa!" The girls say.
"Don't worry, I got this." Super Girl says as she charged first, but he used a kryptonite gauntlet to punch Super Girl. She was sent down.
Wonder Woman leaped and tried to attack him, but he dodged and leaped and kicked her. Zatanna teleports behind him, but kicks Wonder Woman instead as he shoves them down.
Batgirl screamed as she leaped in and tried to attack the Owl King, who dodged and smirked, seeing Bumblebee shrink. He used a magnet to catch her as he leaped and kicked Batgirl.
Green Lantern made a shield, but he shot lunar beams, freezing it as he flew behind her and kicked her down.
"I win." He said and stepped on the ground as the building was about to collapse.
He flew off as the girls ran to start saving people, but saw the cosmic buddies doing just that.
"Nice." Green Lantern says as Zatanna uses a spell, teleporting them to Metropolis.
The girls sigh.
"It's official, we're being hunted. Zee, we can't have you going on any dates until this whole mess blows over." Diana says.
"What?!" Zee screamed.
"Luke knows a hero's work is never done. He's a hero himself." Karen says.
"He is?" The other girls asked.
"Yes." Karen says.
"Girls, I'm so sorry I went rogue." Barbara says
"You looked pretty cool, like some kid willing to do anything." Kara says.
"We forgive you." Diana says
"Oh, joy. Wait, Jessica, what's up with Carol? Why didn't you tell us she was Star Sapphire?" Barbara asked.
"This coming from the one who didn't tell us Harleen was really Harley Quinn." Jessica says
The other girls look annoyed.
Barbara looked out, looking worried.
"What is it? Still thinking about Augury?" Diana asked.
"He was skilled. Deadly. He kept mentioning his partners. How they wanted Gotham and now more, for centuries. That I would make a good Talon. I can't piece it together, but…" Batgirl thought aloud.
"I have a feeling this isn't over."
Meanwhile…
The Owl King was walking as he sighed and then smirked. "Test complete." he says before melting, as it was just a clone. The real one laid in wait…
Meanwhile…
In a dark chamber, Augury was going over some papers, looking at the mutants he made, the deals he struck, and the plans he proposed to his partners.
He turned to a line of dark figures standing at attention. "Keep hidden. Keep vigil watch. Should anyone let slip our friends… silence them."
End of chapter
A/N GothmogOnslat: This is a full blown Parliament of Owls! I'm loving this!