PART 1 - Chapter 30 - Night of The Owls - Dark Night, Dark Days
A Poet, curious in birds and brutes,
I do not question thee in idle play;
What is thy station? What are thy pursuits?
Doubtless thou hast thy pleasures—what are they?
To A Captive Owl, Henry Timrod
WORD OF WARNING: This author has STILL NOT played the new PS5 Spider-Man 2 game nor watched any "let's play", trying to keep the surprises still surprising, and probably that could be the same for many other readers, so, be considerate and avoid spoilers in the reviews, please!
MORE IMPORTANT WORDS OF WARNING: there will be changes of POV throughout the of chapter. This is the final chapter of Night of The Owls, and I decided to experiment a little, focusing this story on the POV of many of its characters.
THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS OF WARNING - I AM SERIOUS!:
Everyone, in lieu of something that happens in this chapter and could possibly trigger some readers - I'm not a defendant of what is happening, nor do I advocate pro or against it -, it is something that is inspired on what happened in the original run in the comics, and I decided to explore it further than what was shown.
I hope you take my words into consideration and understand I am not trying to offend anyone.
If you are easy to be affected by this sort of event, I recommend skipping the section titled
"Meanwhile, at Gotham's Chinatown…, okay?"
Now, let's finish this with a bang!
Gotham City
The New Wayne Tower
09:14 pm
Outside of the construction site of the future mega-tower, a Talon, the one just recently called 'Professor Owl' by his quarry, had been watching over the final moments of a truly impressive battle.
The razing of a portion of the building and the accompanying large dust cloud amazed the assassin, who had never faced a foe like Spider-Man ever before.
He was glad he had decided to wait behind. He had realized, at the moment that the 'hero' had put the woman inside the vault, that their side had lost all their advantages. Not only would they have to overcome an unimpeded Spider-Man, but then they would have to also deal with a focused, highly mobile, supernaturally aware enemy in a closed off space.
His colleagues, at least, served a higher purpose. Now, after that fight, he could take advantage of the vigilante, knowing more of his capabilities and, by his heavy breathing, the limits of his body.
It was time to- "Talon?", a remarkably young male voice in his earpiece, the slight distortion effect easily recognizable as proof of the status of the person as part of the Court of Owls.
"I hear and obey", came the practiced reply of the experienced assassin. "What does my Court command of me?"
"Am I speaking with the one called… 'Duncan'?", the voice asked again, in a tone that left no illusion that they knew exactly who they were talking to.
"That once was my name, yes", the Talon confirmed.
The young person hummed in return. "One of the Tutors, correct?"
'How peculiar', the Talon wondered, as he watched Spider-Man dropping into the newly formed hole inside the Tower. "That is indeed one of my honors, Sire", he validated his status above common Talons.
Teaching the next generation was the duty of every Talon, but being nominated a Tutor by his superiors was an honor, meaning that the Talon in question would have been recognized as above the already high quality of servants the Court employed, being awakened to serve the Court by passing their skills to potential prodigies across the decades.
"Well, Duncan, there has been a change of plans." This was certainly unprecedented, the Tutor only knew of a few occasions in the last two hundred years where the Court had revoked an execution. As if his thoughts had been heard, came the assurance. "Do not distress, Talon. Spider-Man is still an enemy of the Court. Your talents, though, will be required elsewhere."
"I hear and obey", the Talon repeated the words, accepting the command to retreat. "I will pick up any potential evidence left behind and return-"
"Don't bother. Leave those behind and head to 'Silver Nest'." Duncan halted in place, his wide eyes hidden by his goggles. Not only an order to stand down, but to move outside the country? Even stranger, as Silver Nest was part of the Parliament!
'What is going on?'
"Can you arrange your own transportation, Duncan?", the voice demanded.
"Of course", he instantly replied. Whether hard or easy, a demand from a member of the Court of Owls to a Talon always had to be obeyed. Luckily, in this particular case, it would not be difficult for him to arrange a boat to leave the City. 'Quite the contrary, in fact, as the allies of the Bat would not be focused on any Talon departing from Gotham.'
But for a Talon to be recalled and being implicitly told not to use any of the Court's resources…
"As expected. You will meet your Handler there in three days, Talon."
The Tutor hid his weapons away inside his cloak. Not only was he being sent away from Gotham, but with orders to become the direct servant of one of the Court's Members. 'Highly unusual, as if this night could not have any more surprises.'
"And upon my arrival, to whom shall I address, Sire?"
"Me", the voice confirmed the old Talon's suspicions. "You maycall me… 'Strigoi'."
Gotham City
The New Wayne Tower
09:17 pm
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, stood on top of the pile of debris, quietly observing the barely visible silhouette of a Talon fleeing into the night. 'One less problem', he pondered, not knowing if he should thank the Universe for the small mercy or curse it for the escape of one of the undead assassins.
Meanwhile, despite their superstrength, all the other Talons, caught inside the pile of rubble beneath the hero, could not manage to free themselves. 'It's one thing to have superpowered bodies, another is being trapped with no room to move, no fulcrum to lever up the load', he rationalized his foes' predicament. 'Also, based on what my body has gone through tonight, even together these guys would not be strong enough to lift all this concrete and rebar.'
Trapping them had been fortunate, Fighting those Talons, Peter had realized, would have been futile. Sure, he could beat them up, but they would stand up back again, and again, and again… and before any reinforcement could arrive, he was pretty sure his stamina would have given out before their regenerative powers did. So, until someone came up with a better solution on how to deal with these Talons, they would have to remain immobilized and broken, their healing factors working to keep them still alive, not back to their full health.
Spider-Man looked around himself, the large space spreading over three floors, happy that nothing worse had occurred on his improvised plan. 'Things could have gone much worse tonight. Instead, the bad guys were captured and the innocent was saved. Speaking of which!'
The hero leapt up and back to what once had been the inner office area of a future bank, now in ruins.
"Oracle, could you open the vault's door?", the vigilante's voice unexpectedly returned to her speaker system. "Please?"
"Spider-Man?!", Barbara could not hide the surprise in her reply. "How… I mean, what's your report?"
"Five Talons down, and I mean down, like several feet of debris down. Still alive, they're giving strong vital signs even under several tons of floor and ceiling. Also spotted the last Talon - the most problematic bird tonight - flying back to the coop." Oracle typed at the same time a message to all contacts, notifying of Spider-Man's survival. "Copy?", the man added, apparently not knowing how to finish his statement.
Barbara smiled, in return. "Amazing work, Spider-Man." There is the ping of the lock, and the whoosh of the vault door opening up, and Barbara can't hear anything clearly, except the voice of Valerie Venderman and what appeared to be crying.
Oracle smiled to herself, for every innocent saved was as if the whole world had been saved. "I'll send you some coordinates, I am borrowing one of Waynetech's bunkers, nothing short of a megaton will harm you both there."
"That's all kinds of fun and scary, Oracle," he replies, "but you guys might still need me for back up."
"That's a negative, Spider-Man", she firmly denied his offer. "You need to rest, besides, most of the Bats and their allies are reporting the capture of their respective foes."
"Oh, good timing, I suppose…", he replied, then much more quietly adding, "Would have been better an hour or two ago, but, you know, good timing."
Meanwhile, at the Annual Diplomatic Gala…
Luke just finished tying up the Talon in his own patented reinforced steel micro-cable, the first signs of ambulances joining the fire trucks at the Gotham's ExpoCenter, recently renovated and, until two hours ago, considered to be one of the most secure entertainment centers in the continent.
The Talon had used gasoline to set a fire on the kitchens to divert everyone's attention, while he, uncharacteristically to other Talons, executed security agents and staff members, before using the chaos and trying to kill Lucius Fox, Luke's father.
In the time it took for Luke to get suited up in his car, both of Lucius' bodyguards, former special forces covertly approved by Batman himself, had been quickly and brutally eliminated. Batwing, however, proved himself a much tougher challenge.
Armor piercing tranquilizer darts had practically no effect on the 'undead' man's metabolism, and all the usual tricks in Luke's arsenal could barely stop the man long enough for the guests to leave the building. Only after using a concentrated version of the bat-explosive gel to literally disarm the Talon (just above both elbows), was Batwing able to knock the assassin to the ground and wrap him up.
"Oracle", Luke started. "Talon was neutralized and captured. Lucius Fox is safe, and so are most of the guests." Then he stopped for a moment, reviewing the night's events. "Bodyguards and security were killed first. Some guests were suffocated by the fire, some received some serious injuries, but no deaths."
Batwing wasn't new to violence nor new to Gotham's brand of insanity, but he had to admit, this Talon had been something he was almost unprepared for.
Almost.
Meanwhile, at Gotham City's Main PD…
Commissioner James Gordon could safely say he had never been into a situation like this.
At the top of GCPD, Gordon, Lieutenant Melody Mckenna and Batgirl - the blonde one, the one who took over after the mysterious girl, who later called herself Black Bat - were watching over the female assassin, The Talon, someone that, if the nursery rhyme is true, worked for the fabled Court of Owls.
The Talon, injured all over due several explosions she herself had caused, by setting exploding balloons afloat, laid on her knees, already healed up but tied up and cuffed by her hands and ankles, with her mask removed.
She was young, that was the first thing Gordon had noticed, at least a few years younger than his own daughter Barbara. 'What kind of life had she lived to get her to this point?', he wondered to himself, as he scanned the dark face under dark curls, pale as a corpse and covered in burn scars, a wound easily recognizable to the older cop and former soldier.
Batgirl touched the side of her cowl, informing Oracle about the capture of the Talon and the deactivation of the 'Owl'-signal he himself had been tricked into turning on, as The Court had made him an unwitting associate in their plans to take down the City.
Batgirl suddenly turned to his direction, smiling. "The Commissioner is safe, Oracle, and so is the building.", she spoke to her comms.
"We lost Renard and Sulston", McKenna quickly added, a reminder of the officers lost in the first round of explosions.
"And we are losing no more", Batgirl proclaimed, with a confident smile and a thumbs up. "All of us, we are taking back the city!"
Gordon smiled, as he felt a bit of the tiredness leaving his body. "Then what the hell are we waiting for, McKenna." "Sir?" "Let's show the people down there the Bats are not the only ones winning this fight."
Meanwhile, at the Gotham Barrens…
Blood dripped from Robin's clothes. Sadly, not something new in his life, Damian had to admit.
By the teen's count, more than twenty men and women had lost their lives on the warpath of the Talon. They had been brought that night to these swampy woods to train and become better soldiers for their nation. Instead, they were sliced and shot by an assassin on his way towards their leader, Major General Benjamin Burrows, Adjutant General of Gotham and Commander of the City's Army and Air and National Guard, his real target.
So many casualties, over an order from the Court of Owls, and a matter of personal pride from the revived assassin, a stain in his long record of servitude during the colonial days of Gotham City that carried over centuries.
As Damian learned of his opponent's story, he grew to respect him. This Talon had been raised as a weapon, just like Damian in his childhood, and grew to kill so many people in his long existence, even elders and children - a path that, if it were for Damian's mother side of the family, the teen would have done as well, probably many times bloodier and tens of times the number of bodies.
The Talon's head now laid on top of a tree, after Robin had trapped and decapitated the assassin. Whatever had been human inside that creature, raised by the Court of Owls, had long died.
Damian Wayne just showed his respect by putting to rest what had remained.
Meanwhile, at the City Hall…
The night air was chill, bitter and biting to even the sturdiest Gothamite. This was turning out to be the coldest Fall this City had faced in decades, a disturbing omen over the following winter as well.
Nightwing touched his own right cheek, one of the many injuries he had suffered that night. He had been tossed out of a window, had a blade stabbed through his left arm, three stabs to the chest and one to the right shoulder from throwing knives and a slice on his lower abdomen that came too close to hitting his left kidney.
But back to his cheek, though, that one had been from a sword. How crazy was Gotham, that Dick had to pick up a sword to fight another bird-themed guy like himself in the middle of the night? Dick already knew this was going to be one of those marks that would have to be hidden with make up later on…
And when the fight was getting to its climax, surprise! This Talon, who had killed four men while targeting Mayor Hady, quickly retreated, saying he had received new orders, orders to leave Nightwing and Mayor Hady to someone else. And who else it had to be, but William Cobb! The Talon who had started all this mess by attempting to toss Bruce from the Old Wayne Tower and was defeated by Spider-Man.
After his supposed suicide, Cobb had hunted down Batman and even managed to capture him, but got defeated and 'killed' again. Blue Beetle and Bluebird recovered his frozen body and, through an 'autopsy' - as all Talons are in this confusing dead/alive state-, Bruce proved that William Cobb was, in fact, Dick's great-grandfather, and the actual killer of Alan Wayne, Bruce's ancestor.
Then, after all that, Bruce had revealed, through less than civilized methods, that he, Dick Grayson, his own adopted son, had once been selected to be trained as a future Talon in the future by the Court of Owls. Dick had no idea what hurt the most, Bruce's 'method' to remove the fake tooth implanted by The Court or the look of suspicion on his foster father's eyes…
Oh! Not forgetting that, days before, while Nightwing still held the fort during Batman's absence, someone had used one of Dick's escrima sticks to beat two civilians, two brothers, to their deaths, so that was a whole other investigation he would have to look into tomorrow!
('Talk about a crappy week…')
William Cobb came down swinging (and kicking, and slicing, and stabbing…), making Dick a living target. He bragged about being the greatest Talon of all times. Dick helpfully reminded The Talon about his defeat at the hands of both Batman and Spider-Man.
That's what got his arm stabbed.
Their fight spilled from the window to the streets, into a chase, eventually ending up inside City Hall's subway station, where, after pinning Dick with knives to a wall - thankfully through his costume -, Cobb started giving a long-winded history lesson over how he and Dick were family, the Gray Sons of Gotham, one adopted by the City, one to inherit it, only for Dick to betray this plan by joining the enemy of the Court and denying his 'destiny' as a future Talon.
After this whole monologue, Dick rightfully told his great-grand-whatever that he did not give a darn, released himself from the wall and revealed that getting into that subway station had been his whole idea, as he and Oracle, the blessed voice in his ears, came up with a plan to use the liquid gas cooling systems operating under the city streets. Nightwing burst a cooling pipe on top of Cobb with a well-aimed escrima stick shot, showering The Talon in liquid Nitrogen and finally putting him down.
Dick Grayson took a deep, frigid breath, knowing he would have to walk to the nearest bat-bunker that would have the necessary cryo-equipment, and started pulling along the Talon-sicle.
"You know, great-gramps", he started saying, as he kept dragging the frozen and tied up assassin. "I don't want anycoldfeelings between us. So, let me be the first to break theice…"
Meanwhile, at Gotham's Chinatown…
There is a man, knelt down at my feet, begging me to kill him.
I stopped this Talon from killing Victor Fries, almost breaking my wrist punching him in the face. When he smashed my helmet with just a knife stab, Bruce be damned, I had to change into live ammo.
Leaving Starfire and Red Arrow behind to deal with Mr. Freeze, we chased the Talon, me in the open, Black Bat in the shadows.
The man didn't lead us far, stopping at this abandoned lot. I recognized it as one of Haly's Circus' old spots, where they used to set up shop decades ago. "No fight in him", Cass provides to me in my ear comm.
The man started telling me his story: once, he was called Xiao Loong. An immigrant, an orphan, another lost soul in Gotham. He was adopted when the Circus came to town and took him into their family.
He was happy as an acrobat. He twirled. He spun. He flew. Then the Circus asked him to pay a price. To save them, those who kept him out of the street, he had to give himself away to their mysterious benefactor.
And that's what he did, and, in the process, he lost his body, his freedom, his happiness… and also any innocence left.
He tells me he is tired. He has served the Court. He had been put to rest. And yet, they brought him back, back into life and, once more, forced into servitude. Into slavery.
He tells me he is tired. He doesn't want a new life. His end had come, and he had accepted it. Why didn't they?
He tells me he is tired. Tired of the bondage. Tired of life. For him, they are the same, and the Court won't ever release him of either.
He tells me he is tired… and Goddamnit, I believe him, because I see more than Xiao Loong in front of me. I see a dark reflection.
After all he has shared with me, he knelt down and begged me, only once.
And when I put the muzzle of my gun right up against his forehead, he smiles.
As I leave the lot, I meet Black Bat.
Cass says nothing and just hugs me.
I hug her back.
Sometimes, I am so tired.
Meanwhile, at O'Donnell Park, Robinsville…
From the beginning, they knew this Talon would be giving them a lot of trouble, both Red Robin and himself, as they arrived in the nick of time to save the life of Jan Spitz, Kane County Supreme Court Justice. Tim quickly took the role of defender, while Duke was the obvious choice as a protector, because The Signal could see the world like none of the Bats could.
The shine of a blade told him to pull the woman to the left, fractions of a second before the flying dagger ever left the hand of the assassin. There was a blur to Red Robin's right, so The Signal preemptively tossed a batarang to the exact spot, nicking the Talon's leg and cutting him off before he could use a potential escape route.
'Focus', Duke Thomas told himself, tapping into the mysterious powers brought out by his metagenes. 'I need to see!' He ordered his own body, and in response, new layers of the world came into focus, on top of it, through it, and beyond it.
Duke saw everything. The Talon's bone fractures mending themselves. The kick that Tim had blocked three seconds before, and the staff slamming against blades four seconds into the future.
He could see the minute stitches on the assassin's suit, even from thirteen feet away, the kind of stitches he learned to recognize were typical in the nineteen forties.
The Signal caught a glimpse of Jan Spitz, a blur of alive and dead inside his arms' hold. Blood splashed against his visors, his shock only lasting a micro moment before he pulled the woman to the ground, his shoulder pad fending off the tiny blade shot from the hidden mechanism in the killer zombie's shoe, the one that would have, otherwise, ended her life.
Taking the opening, Red Robin slammed his staff on the neck of the Talon, then flipped his weapon and plowed the other end of it into the undead assassin's lower right side, a particular spot on the hip that, if hit, would shut all nerve signals to his right leg for a couple of seconds.
For a normal attacker, that would mean a great advantage. For Red Robin, that meant an eternity to whale on his opponent - which he did. Jawline, right shin, left temple, both clavicles, right ear, Adam's apple, solar plexus, nothing was spared in a storm of hits… and yet, the assassin kept standing firm.
Duke could clearly see, even without his forty different kinds of visions, that Tim had long stopped pulling back and started going for the killer strikes, aware of the Talon's regeneration and enhanced physique. Nothing they tried before (choke holds, twists, breaks, submissions, even the liberal use of bat-gadgets) kept the superhuman down.
Even their earlier tag team move that impaled and electrocuted the killer onto a fountain had bought them a minute, at most!
"You know", Red Robin started speaking, and that's when Duke knew the fight was over. He knew the other former Robin enough to know, if Drake started chatting this comfortably, it was because he had seen the fight through to its end. "You're not half bad. Juiced up body aside, your technique is perfect." The staff swept low, and Talon raised his leg to prevent the blow. "It's also antique", the staff snapped upward, pushing the raised knee further closer to the assassin's torso. "Predictable", Red Robin changed into a close quarters stance, snaking the staff over his back and under The Talon's arm. "And obsolete", he twisted his staff to one direction while pushing the opponent's shoulder to the opposite, lifting the larger man off the ground.
Unable to prevent his fall, the Court's undead killer landed head first into the asphalt. "I learned that from an Amazon", the hero explained, as the Talon's slacked body kept in motion, bouncing off the floor and rolling upright.
Trying to regain some sense of control, the assassin soon spotted Red Robin, following up with a body twist flip and a staff snapping forward, clocking the undead man on his face, making him tumble even further. "And that's League of Shadows, Scorpion Style", Red Robin added.
The Talon forced himself to be upright, while unknowingly standing precisely where Tim Drake had planned him to be. Finishing off with a running double drop kick to the chest, the flying teenager vigilante shot the larger man up and backwards, his body landing on the row of spikes on top of the Gardens' iron cast fences.
"TV Wrestling", was the younger fighter's final quip.
Agonizing but still alive, the Talon tried to free himself from the spikes, but the arrow shaped tips had perforated not only his shoulders but also his upper arms, making it impossible to even reach the improvised metal restraints.
'And people think Batman is the scary one', Duke wondered to himself in shock, as Red Robin turned to give the news to Oracle about Talon deciding to "stick around".
Meanwhile, at Fashion District, The Church of St. Francis…
The irony wasn't lost on Dinah Lance, seeing their current situation, as Birds of Prey were being hunted by an Owl.
Earlier that night, Black Canary and Katana had received an emergency call from Oracle, the 'All Hands on Deck' kind of call. An esoteric secret society sent out their loyal superpowered group of assassins to hunt down and kill a series of targets in Gotham City, from politicians to social figures, from billionaires to known criminals.
('God, I hate this City.')
She and Tatsu - "Katana, while we're at work" - just so happened to be in town, coming to visit one of the Gothamite members of their small group when they picked up the call from said red-haired friend and went to help, and whose name would happen to show up in this blacklist? The other red-haired Gothamite of their group.
'All the evidence we found in Pam's old hideout at Gotham Zoo showed us we had arrived too late', Dinah reasoned, a break in, lots of destruction and a trail of green tinted red blood through back alleys, pointing towards the Eastside Docks. 'Katana assured me, though, that Pamela Isley still lived, because the immortal soul of her husband, trapped inside the arcane Japanese sword she carried with herself, told her so'. And Dinah believed her, of course.
Soon, Pamela's pursuer had met them, a man clad in leather and brass, and he was infuriated. Apparently, Isley gave him the slip, so he thought that her friends would be able to find her, instead. The assassin - a Talon, as Oracle informed them - charged forward, like an amateur. Dinah thought the man stupid, attacking them bare handed, but soon realized that he was more than just an S aficionado, he had speed and strength beyond normal human level.
Of course, Dinah Lance was no ordinary crimefighter, herself.
"You must not know us very well", Dinah warned the assassin. "We're not Bats. We're the Birds of Prey, we are not known for taking it easy with scum." Dinah had sparred and fought with the best, evading two of the Talon's punches and, using the man's momentum against himself, tossed him onto the ground, open for the sword that stabbed straight through his heart.
"Take my friend here, Katana, for example. She's got my back", Dinah explained. "I would have advised you about not getting killed by her. See, her sword traps the souls of its victims." When the man laughed at that, in response, and kicked them away, Dinah knew they would have a long night ahead.
'Katana told me the man had no soul left. It's either that or he can regenerate too fast for the curse to work on him', Dinah pondered, as even a point-blank Canary Cry, her supersonic scream that could shatter rocks, had only made the bastard stagger for a moment. She knew he had been hurt, gray blood pouring out through his suit, but he soon stood back up and kept coming after them.
Oracle pointed them to that church, warning about reinforcements on their way, and while Dinah and Tatsu were fast enough to make it there, so was their stalker, catching up with the heroines at the steps of the old building… when, unexpectedly, a pair of light beams shone on them, and the Talon had no time to dodge, being rammed by a banged up 1985's Shelby Van and crushed against the church's front stone wall.
Black Canary did not recognize the woman that left the driver's seat, her blue mask was odd, the punk mohawk hair was pretty distinct, and she definitely approved of the biker getup, but the blue bat-like bird-shaped logo on her chest was enough to let them both know, this was a friend. "Tell me I got the bad guy", the driver had asked them, "Driving into a church is bad enough without running over the wrong man".
And Canary smiled in return with a reply on her lips, but their small taste of victory was short lived, as the car was slowly pushed to the side. "Yeah, that's the bad guy." Black Canary explained, instead. "Strong, quick and can heal himself."
"Of course", the newbie replied, distancing herself while pulling out strange looking firearms from her holsters, "Hate when they do that." And Dinah was starting to like her even more.
"You're the reinforcement?" Katana cut them off, already standing into a defensive stance, and Dinah chose a more open approach. "Don't be offended, we were hoping you'd bring something with a little more 'oomph' than a piece of crap on wheels."
The Talon finally pushed the large vehicle to the side, his body finally piecing itself together. The three vigilantes started spreading themselves, keeping the assassin in the middle of them, at a distance.
"First of all, I built that car back together from scraps myself." the new hero explained, offended by the blonde's remark. "Second, what reinforcement? I was supposed to be retired, but I could not ignore Oracle's call."
"I think they meant me."
The voice that came into their comms was new, male and recognizable by Canary, as four rocket propelled spikes dropped from the sky, tied together by a large net made of metallic cables, trapping the undead assassin into place.
Descending from above, the floating aircraft known as 'The Bug' opened up its doors and a hero dressed in black and blue came down from it, by means of his Beetle-Rappel gun, and landed between Dinah and the new girl.
"Long time no see, Canary!", the older hero declared with a smile, then full on beaming at the youngest one on the scene. "We meet again, Bluebird, have you given my offer any consideration?"
Dinah looked between the two heroes, making her own guesses. "Bluebird? New sidekick of yours, Beetle, or are you poaching from the Bats?"
"You know I already have my own kid in training, Canary, and Bluebird here is already retired."
"That's what I told her!", the newbie agreed with the older hero.
"Bluebird?", she asked for confirmation. The young woman ('Teen? Bruce did like to hire his Bats young.') nodded in response. "If you ever decide to change routine, the Birds of Prey could always use a talent like yours, and you already match the theme."
"Oh my God, what part of 'Retired' don't you guys-" There was the sound of tearing, as the metal net started to come apart by the Talon's sheer strength.
"Sorry, my bad, completely forgot…", the hero sighed, pushing a button on his belt, bolts of energy coming from the spikes and running across the mesh, electrocuting the villain…
… who kept still pushing through. "Well, that's not good.", Beetle quipped, pressing other buttons on his belt, apparently to no effect.
"I AM… A TALON… OF THE COURT OF OWLS!", the man shouted, while enough electricity ran through his body to make him smoke. "YOU… WRETCHED SCUM… WON'T KEEP ME FROM… MY TARGET! FROM… Serving… the will-?"
The assassin went quiet, before his masked head dropped off from its still electrocuting body.
Blue Beetle, Black Canary and Bluebird stared at the scene, specifically at the woman that had appeared from behind the Talon, sheathing back her cursed blade.
"... what?", asked Katana, in confusion.
'... you know, maybe it's time I look for my own Baby Canary to train so I can retire as well.', Dinah wondered to herself.
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
Catwoman would still not respond to any calls from Oracle. Tonight was a 'big job' kind of night, not a 'helping Bruce's hobby' kind of night.
She had been happy to hear about Batman reappearing, she would never deny it, but Oswald Cobblepot had been emptying the Iceberg Lounge from everything worth a damn to steal in the last couple of days, and she had had her eye on a particular old ornate knife that would finally complete the set at her home…
So tonight was most certainly a 'now or never' kind of night.
It would be hours later, as Catwoman unwittingly saved the Penguin's life from a Talon, that Selina Kyle's actions would become part of a chain of events that would have great consequences for all of Gotham City, and for a certain wall-crawling hero.
But that was a tale to be told at a later date…
Gotham City
The Chrysalis
The Day after.
01:13 pm
Peter Parker rose from his couch, his hair messy and his body still recovering from the previous night's abuses.
Bleary eyed, Peter stretched, recalling the events of the previous night, saving the freefalling Commissioner of Cultural Affairs of Gotham City, Valerie Venderman, from half a dozen Talons, superpowered assassins brought back to life to serve the Court of Owls, the mysterious organization that had manipulated Gotham City from the shadows for centuries, according to Oracle.
'Nothing in the fridge', Parker groaned inwards, feeling the hunger that came after pushing his body beyond its normal limits. He would have to dress up better to go to the cafeteria.
After defeating the Talons, by trapping them under tons of concrete, Peter, as Spider-Man, retrieved Valerie Venderman from her improvised hideout and carried her to the promised Wayne Bunker, then, after hours of healing himself on a couch, Peter safely took her to Commissioner Gordon's care, who promised to take Ms. Venderman to the best doctors of the City, with some of Commissioner Gordon's finest men as her own personal guard. Danger may have passed, but it never hurt to be prepared, so Peter left her with his Spider-Signal, just in case.
It was late lunch hour, and, far from the usual quietude, everybody from the Chrysalis' scientific community was still in the cafeteria, most likely talking about the previous night's events.
"Parker!", came the voice of someone that Peter's sluggish mind struggled to finally recognize as Ariana Dzerchenko, Kord's Russian Futurist. Several other voices joined her as Peter was 'forced' to join his group of colleagues.
"Crazy night, eh, Parker?", asked the youngest member of the think-tank, Metron Jackson, who Peter had not spoken to since their pep-talk back in the preteen's lab area.
"Hey, M", the scientist saluted back. "What night?" Met with several disbelieving looks, Peter gave them what he hoped was the appearance of confusion. "What? I worked two days straight with a new project, so I ended up crashing in my lab and just woke up. What happened?"
Peter had enough experience of being a night vigilante to prepare beforehand a list of convincing excuses for suddenly disappearing or not being 'in the know', in case something major had happened.
"Dude, the New Wayne Tower completely collapsed, hours ago!", Metron spoke up, still in surprise.
"WHAT?!" Peter's loud voice piqued the interest of many other people around him, but he did not care, at the moment.
"Look, they're showing it again", Jurgen, who Peter had barely noticed before, called out, pointing at one of the several flat screens of the cafeteria.
Peter watched in shock the newsperson speaking, while scenes of recordings, from a distance, of the large structure collapsing on itself played on a loop, "For those joining us now, there is still no news about the toppling of The New Wayne Tower, the beginning of Bruce Wayne's newest plan for Gotham's renovation for the…", the black haired man raised a hand to his ear. "One moment, we have just received news, we are cutting live to City Hall, as Mayor Hady's office is releasing new information."
The transmission cut to a blonde reporter, some famous Gothamite, Vicky-something, but Peter's mind was completely focused on the memories of last night.
'I couldn't have made that much damage, could I?'
The woman's voice finally made the scientist's focus return, and, to his horror, the universe decided to give Peter Parker an answer.
A guy, some official looking man, was speaking on a microphone about evidence that had been delivered to the City Hall hours before, a serious matter of security that only at that moment could have been revealed to the public.
Some footage started showing live, cheap security camera quality, but enough to show Spider-Man fighting off Talons while he appeared to be destroying everything around himself with complete disregard. Many people watched the news in shock. "Pete, you okay?", someone asked him in a low voice, but his mind was completely blank.
'... oh, no… what have I done?'
Peter could barely think, realizing that the reporter's face had been replaced by Mayor Sebastian Hady, his expression reddened and furious, flanked from behind by a somber and clearly uncomfortable James Gordon.
"... For years, this City has had to deal with these so-called vigilantes and their disregard for the safety of Gotham's people. And now, this level of destruction and mayhem is the result of previous administrations' negligence in taking real and definitive measures against the real problem affecting our City. As the Mayor of Gotham, I say, 'Enough is enough!'"
Barely a handful of people appeared to cheer in the cafeteria, but most kept quiet. The vigilante felt a shiver going down his spine, not unlike the ones he felt with his spider-sense.
"As of this moment," Mayor Hady kept speaking, "this City Hall has instituted new zero-tolerance policies against super powered individuals, who think they can intimidate our good people." the Mayor smiled. "In the next few weeks, Gotham will be the first City in the Country to count with its own Registry of Metahumans and special policy on dealing with super powered criminals. I spoke earlier this morning with several proud supporters of our good City, such as LexCorp and our very own Daggett Industries, and with their help, Gotham will have the means to fight against these threats, once and for all!"
And, if things had not felt horrible to the undercover superhero, Mayor Hady pulled a paper from one of his aides' hands. "To set an example, starting today, I'll be personally setting a million dollar reward for the capture of the Menace that knocked down the New Wayne Tower himself."
Spider-Man's own masked face appeared on the screen, zoomed in from the captured footage, printed on the sheet of paper, large red letters on top of it that read "Wanted: Dead or Alive".
"No metas in Gotham!", Mayor Hady declared. "Our City has no place for Freaks!"
Cheers came from the television, and more people around him started to manifest support to the radical new idea. Amidst the noise of celebration, disapproval and discussions, Peter's voice came out, in a low whisper.
"Oh, what the f-"
To Be Continued!
Author's Notes:
Well, this is going to be an awkward 'Author's notes' , I guess!
First of all! Sorry for the delay, I was supposed to post this last weekend, but there were personal things that delayed me, including medical situation and my office space getting renovated.
Second!
"Night of the Owls" is over, and it's time to shake things up for our hero. Those who think they know what happens after in this story, this is me saying, we are about to go off the rails, folks!
This arc had been in the plans for months, I wanted to give it the attention it needed, because I already wrote many chapters and partial chapters that would come after these chapters. Batman meeting Spidey, who is pulling the strings in the backstage, Peter meeting the Bats out of costume, they are almost complete. But Night of the Owls had a function, to show Spidey facing Talons, sure, but for him to be recognized as a new piece on the board that would change the equation.
I hope people can keep reading this story after this chapter, this is by far the one that worried me the most, and it would originally be part of last chapter if I had not decided to split them apart. Imagine how much longer that would have been!
The Theme of this arc, in my opinion, is the power of one. One individual, one idea, one person, how much one can change the tide of History and Society, may it be a hero, a villain or simply a Commissioner of Cultural Affairs.
Time to abandon the comics and start shooting for the Undiscovered Country!
Next Chapter, the beginning of the end of Part 1:
"Epilogue"!
