Chapter 1

After his routine, Robin, aka Dan Danger, aka Dick Grayson heads to the back. He stretches back, smiling happily. He's missed the circus life, but it's time to return to his real life.

"Hey, Dan," Haly calls. Dick turns around to face him. "There's some people I would like you to meet after the show later if you'll stick around, they're admirers of yours."

"Sure, I'd be honored." Dick says.

"Excellent, my boy." Haly says happily, patting his back and grabbing some props before heading out.

"Team, I'll be a bit longer. Feel free to stick around and enjoy the show." Dick speaks telepathically to his teammates thanks to M'gann's Psychic link. After the show, Haly waits with Dick inside the tent for the patrons.

"They should be here any minute." Haly says. Sure enough, two people walk in, dressed in black with strange white masks that look like owls. For some reason, Dick feels intense fear at the sight of them. "What the hell…? What are you doing here? This isn't Gotham!" Haly asks, placing a hand on Dick's shoulder. Dick looks up at them, every instinct in his body is telling him to run, but it's like he's frozen. He isn't sure why… Why do they scare him so much…?

"My, don't you look so much like your mother, like Mary." One says, ignoring Jack Haly. Dick's brows knit in confusion and slight anger. Who are these people…? One reaches forward, but Haly pushes Dick behind him.

"You need to leave!" Haly orders.

"We had a deal, Jack." One says, stepping closer to him. "You either let us have him, or this will be very bad for you."

"Sister, he would not approve of you harming Nate's son…" The other whispers.

"Too bad." The first whispers back. "Last chance, Jackie. Give us the boy."

"Over my dead body…" Jack mutters. She laughs.

"Oh, easily arranged!" She says, grabbing the front of Haly's coat and tossing him across the tent without effort. Dick's eyes widen, mouth gaps and he steps back a bit, staring at them. He has to act quickly… He dives down between them, rolling along the floor and takes off running. "After him!" Both take off quickly, following him. Dick runs as fast as he can, cursing himself for leaving his belt. The one time he doesn't have it… He could try to take them on, but there's something about them… They strike an uncharacteristic fear in him… He feels like all he can do is run and call for help.

"Guys! I need backup!" Dick uses their telepathic link. "I'm in the tent, headed towards the front exit!" He's tackled to the ground and pinned down. He struggles, trying to break free, but they're too strong…

"We're on our way, Robin!" M'gann says back telepathically. He's bound and lifted to his feet. He continues to struggle against them, trying to pull himself free, but their grip on him is tight, almost bruisingly so.

"Why are you doing this?!" He questions.

"A business deal, between Nathaniel Haly and William Cobb. We are the Court of Owls, Richard. And this lovely circus was a front to train the next Talon, which it looks like it was successful." The owl lady says, grabbing the back of Dick's head and forcing him to lift his head to look up at them. "You're quite strong for such a small boy." Haly had managed to get back up, grabbing one of the Owl's arms.

"You're not…! Taking him anywhere!" Haly shouts, heaving breaths as he had run all the way there, through all the pain.

"Don't make us kill you." The first owl says. "We'll need more Talons in the future. Though none will compare to our Gray Son of Gotham, will it?" She stokes the back of Dick's head, making him shutter in discomfort. He tries to pull his head away. Jack growls and throws a punch at her. She lets Dick go and grabs his fist. The other Owl holds him so he doesn't break free and run. "Oh, poor Jackie." She twists his arm, snapping it instantly. Haly screams in pain, holding his arm and sinking to his knees.

"No!" Dick shouts, struggling harder to break free, but the other Owl holds him too tight. Just then, a fist comes up and strikes the back of the other Owl's head, Superboy standing behind them. The first Owl quickly grabs Dick, rather harshly, which causes him to wince a bit as they step back, blocking any attacks coming from Superboy and keeping Dick hostage. Arrows come flying, knocking the mask off her face, revealing gold eyes… Her face is like marble… Pure white with little veins of black.

The Owl that was punched gets back up and grabs hold of Superboy with amazing strength and throws him at the two archers, Artemis and Red Arrow, knocking all three of them out. At the same time however, Haly punches with his other fist at the female Owl so hard it makes her fall down, yet somehow, she's not knocked out, just slightly disoriented and very angry. It was enough to free Dick from her though.

"Go, kid! Run!" Haly shouts, shoving Dick away so he can run. Miss Martian flies over to him, landing and grabbing his arm, getting him to start running.

"Hey! You want me, right?! Come on!" Dick shouts and starts running. The female Owl has gotten to her feet and shoves the ringmaster away, running after them. Haly tries to stop the other one by grabbing his leg, but he's no match for the Court of Owls and is swiftly knocked out with a painful, nose breaking, kick… But at least they spare him.

As Miss Martian and Dick run, they're being pursued, which is what they wanted as it's leading them away from the others. Then… knives fly out of seemingly nowhere and strike into Miss Martian's back. She screams and collapses, but is immediately trying to get back up.

"Miss Martian!" Dick shouts, he kneels in front of her.

"How sweet." A voice says, it's somehow eerily familiar… Why…? A figure lands down behind them, his outfit is much different, he wears a full suit, dark brown almost black, with a hood rather than a mask that keeps the owl motif, he's the Talon… He begins to approach, stopping just next to Miss Martian, taking out another knife before he steps onto her back to stop her attempts to rise. The two Owls catch up and grab Dick, pulling him to a stand, he struggles against them of course, but like before, he's unable to break free. The Talon raises his blade over Miss Martian's head, ready to strike. Dick's eyes widen, ceasing his struggling.

"No! Don't! Please! I'll go with you, just don't kill anyone!" Dick begs.

"No… Don't…" Miss Martian mumbles. The Talon presses harder onto her back, causing her as much pain as he can and making it difficult for her to breathe.

"You haven't much choice, boy." The Talon says, but he does put the knife away, stepping off Miss Martian and steps closer, looking down at the boy. "But how can I deny those eyes?" He grabs the back of Dick's head by his hair and making him look up. Miss Martian lifts her head, watching their interaction. "Those beautiful stormy blue eyes… They look so much like my dear Amelia's."

He brings another hand up, taking his acrobat mask off his face. Dick just glares at him as he places a hand on the boy's cheek, stroking it with his thumb. He shifts his head, trying to break free of his hold, which causes the Talon to pull Dick's head back more, mostly just to cause him pain, his eyes struggle to stay open. The Talon leans in next to his ear.

"How I look forward to your rebirth, then we can finally be a family." He says softly, it gives Dick all the wrong shivers down his spine… This guy is admittedly terrifying… He pulls his head away and forces Dick's head to tilt to the side. A needle is inserted into his neck. He gasps in pain, eyes widening. Immediately he feels his body grow heavy, dots spot his vision. One last bit of adrenaline tries to keep him awake as he begins to panic, but it's in vain… His body becomes numb, and his eyes slide closed as he succumbs to the drug.

"No… No…! Robin…!" Miss Martian calls, trying to get back up, but the blades in her back make it nearly impossible, the pain is unbearable. Dick is grabbed up and placed onto the Talon's shoulder, the Talon walks toward the exit of the tent. The two others start to follow, but one stops to look back at Miss Martian. Not willing to chance it, she raises her foot and strikes the Martian's head, knocking her unconscious. Then she follows the others out.

By some miracle… Superboy wakes up. It takes him a moment to remember what's going on, but it's rather quick thankfully. He jolts up, looking around, seeing everyone else is unconscious. Then he sees Miss Martian with knives sticking out of her back.

"M'gann!" He shouts, running and skidding to the ground beside her. None of the knives seem to be in deadly places, but even so… And Dick is nowhere to be found. There's a decision to make… And despite his love and care for his girlfriend, he leaves her to pursue the Court of Owls and Dick. He places one of his shields so as to have more strength and power, flying after them and using his laser vision to knock them down. They stumble, but it wasn't enough to incapacitate them completely, as if the pain meant nothing.

The Talon holding Dick turns around just in time for Superboy to fly and strike him very hard in the face, breaking his goggles and knocking him over, dropping Dick in the process. Superboy grabs Dick and flies off to the others. His concern was rescuing his teammate, not stopping the Owls. The Talon's golden eyes glare death at him for taking the young teen away. He takes a knife and throws it after him, but the boy is too fast, even for him. However… there's still time… He can still do something… He has an affinity for the shadows after all…

Superboy takes Dick first to the Bioship which is just outside the other exit. He then goes back for Miss Martian as he needs both hands to carry her carefully, trying not to disturb the knives. He brings her to the Bioship, then heads back for Artemis and Red Arrow quickly, bringing them in as well. Superboy, or rather Conner, rips the ropes on Dick's wrists so he's more comfortable. He then begins to pilot the Bioship away from the Circus and gets the hell out of dodge, little does he know there's a stowaway… And with M'gann unconscious, no one hears Bioship complain about it. Artemis is the first of the group to wake. Seeing M'gann heavily injured, she panics. She looks at Conner, confused and worried.

"What happened?!" She questions. He looks away.

"I don't know…" He answers, voice is quiet. His hands nearly clench into fists and probably would have if he weren't piloting. "We were knocked out and I found her like this. We'll get her back to the Cave, they'll know how to help her…" He explains. Artemis nods though is rather shaky. She looks at Dick, then back at Conner.

"Who were those people? Why were they after Robin?" Artemis asks. Red Arrow, aka Roy, wakes up, looking up, seeing Artemis and Conner talking. He manages to lift his head, though he definitely feels the telltale of a concussion. They must have slammed to the ground pretty hard…

"I don't know that either. But I managed to get him back. I don't know what they did to him. Maybe Batman will have some answers." Conner states. Roy places a hand on Dick's back, shaking him, but he doesn't wake. His eyes narrow in concern for his close friend. He looks over at M'gann, seeing the knives in her back, they have strange handles on them, like maybe an owl with its wings furled out?

It takes hours to reach Rhode Island… Artemis and Roy are in seats by then, looking over to their unconscious friends from time to time. Even reaching Happy Harbor they haven't woken up… They park in the hanger and Roy stands up.

"Red Arrow to Cave, Robin and Miss Martian are injured and unconscious, requesting assistance in medical lab." Roy says into comms, grabbing Dick and carrying him in. Conner takes M'gann just as carefully as he did before. Wally heard the transmission and came running immediately to meet them.

"What happened?!" He asks, eyes wide in worry and fear.

"We don't know." Artemis answers, bringing her arm up across her chest, grabbing her other arm.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" Wally questions, looking to be on the verge of tears.

"The three of us were knocked out." Roy states quietly. He looks down at Dick. "We don't know what happened." Wally looks at Dick, seeing him unconscious and seemingly lifeless sends a pang through his heart in worry. He sighs out his nose.

"Zatanna is calling the Watchtower. Hopefully someone will come soon…" Wally says. They all walk to the medical lab, setting their two allies and friends down carefully. Conner is very careful with M'gann and Wally even steps in to help lay her on her stomach. He then starts to work setting up heart monitors. Zatanna comes in soon, looking at her two injured friends.

"What… even happened…?" She asks quietly. She steps over to Artemis who is next to M'gann's bed. Artemis shakes her head, placing her arms across herself. Zatanna places a hand on her back, lightly rubbing it in hopes of soothing her. Very quickly, Martian Manhunter, also referred to as J'onn, enters the room as well.

"M'gann…" He calls in concern, stepping over, looking at the knives in her back. He then starts taking the knives out, being very careful, but due to her biology, the wounds close up immediately, much to everyone's relief. Batman steps into the room. He sees Dick lying unconscious in bed and walks over immediately. Even though he tries to hide his concern and worry, they can almost sense it radiating off him. He turns to the Team.

"What happened?" He asks, his voice deeper than usual.

"We don't know, ok?!" Conner snaps. "We were knocked out and when I woke up, M'gann was hurt, and Robin was gone. I went after him and got him back, but he won't wake up!" Batman's eyes narrow in confusion.

"Who took him?" Batman asks.

"We. Don't. Know! They had these owl masks!" Conner explains, gesturing to his face.

"Owl masks?" The Dark Knight questions, rather confused.

"Yea, two of them, they were white. Then there was a third one who I guess came later who was wearing some type of hood." Conner explains. "It also looked like an owl."

"Perhaps we'll have more answers when Robin or M'gann wake up." Batman says. Batman places the back of his fingers on Dick's forehead a little affectionately. Wally watches the interaction, he can tell just how worried Batman is… If not for the gentle beeping of the heart monitor, one might think he's dead…

M'gann eventually wakes, opening her eyes. The first person she sees is her uncle J'onn. Her eyes widen when she remembers what was happening. She gasps and pushes her self up, looking around, searching for her friend and teammate

"Robin!" She shouts. She soon sees him lying on a bed near her. She sighs with relief and moves to get up so she can check on him. She coughs a bit, a little of blood did end up in her lungs when she was stabbed.

"Easy, M'gann, you are still recovering." J'onn says, easing her back onto the bed.

"Miss Martian, do you know what happened?" Batman asks. "Who attacked you?" M'gann tries to think, closing her eyes.

"One said something strange… Something about his rebirth? But I don't remember him saying much of anything else important… Mentioned someone named Amelia…" M'gann answers, opening her eyes to look at Batman. She then looks over at Dick, starting to tear up. "Then they injected him with something and took him away… Then one of them knocked me out… I don't know anything beyond that…" She looks back at Batman. He nods in understanding.

With knowledge that Dick has been drugged, Batman walks over to a drawer, taking out a needle, a tourniquet, and a vial. He talks over and placing the tourniquet on Dick's bicep, feeling for a vein, then inserts the needle, filling the vial with Dick's blood. He removes the tourniquet before taking out the needle, placing a piece of cotton on the injection site.

"Kid, medical tape." Batman orders. Wally rushes, grabs the tape, bringing it over and takes off a piece, taping the cotton ball to Dick's arm. Batman takes the vial of blood to an analyzer, taking a small sample to test. The machine is very quick and efficient and gives results shortly. "There are high levels of pentobarbital, more than necessary for a medically induced coma." Batman explains.

"He's in a coma…?" Wally asks quietly, heart sinking. He looks back at Dick, taking his hand, there's a slight increase in the younger boy's heartrate upon his touch. He gives Dick's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yes… Though he should wake from it naturally in about a day or so." Batman explains. He walks back over and grabs an oxygen mask, placing it over Dick's face. There's a more noticeable rise and fall of his chest upon doing so. "But we need answers and he may know more…" Batman mentions, he looks to J'onn. "Martian Manhunter, I need you to read through his memories. Only connect the three of us."

"Of course." J'onn says. He establishes a mental link with Batman, then raises his hand, starts reading, starting from what happened on the mission, how they stopped the Parasite, then after they were about to leave, Jack Haly requested Dick to stay one last show and perform. Afterward, they wait in the tent where the Court of Owls come in and try to take him away. The fear Dick felt in their presence… It's not like him… He was practically paralyzed by it… Then the team shows up, everyone being taken down so quickly and easily…

"The Court of Owls…" Batman comments, eyes narrowing.

"Does that mean something to you?" J'onn asks.

"In a way, there's a nursery rhyme about them in Gotham, but they're just an Urban myth." Batman explains.

"I would not be so sure." J'onn says.

"Trust me, no one knows Gotham as I do. I investigated the Court of Owls in the past and came up with nothing." Batman explains.

"Well obviously they're not just random fanatics with owl masks." Wally says. "They took down the entire team, right? That's not an easy thing to do…"

"They had super strength." Conner says. "They threw me across the tent so hard it knocked three of us out." Roy takes one of the discarded knives and brings it over to Batman.

"Look, there's even an owl carved into the handle." Roy mentions. "I noticed it earlier." Batman takes the knife, looking at the owl carving.

"They threw those knives into M'gann with such precision." J'onn says. "They struck in places to cause her the most suffering without killing her immediately." M'gann curls up, wrapping her arms around herself. Conner sits down beside her, wrapping an arm around her. She rests her head on him.

"Let's face it, with their resources, their power, even if they're not the original Court of Owls, they may as well be." Wally points out. Batman sighs through his nose and looks over at Dick.

"I need to think." Batman says. He takes the oxygen mask off Dick's face and turns off the monitor, unhooking him from it and lifting him up. "I can care for him at home." And with that, he carries Dick out.