Somewhere in Gotham city Robin is trying to find anything he can on a criminal know as Draco. A Crime lord that always seems to find a way to avoid getting caught by the law.
Talon on the other hand had a different mission for himself and left him to his own devices.
With Talon...
After leaving Robin, Talon headed back to the Court of Owls hideout since he got a summons from them.
He passed the other members and went into the dinning room where all the members were talking to one another.
"Grandmaster, may I speak to you for a moment?" A male Owl lieutenant asked.
Getting up the Grandmaster walks over to him.
"I sense a resistance in Wayne, Grandmaster. He could present a problem as his forebearers did." He proclaimed.
"No." Grandmaster said as he passes Talon and the Lieutenant.
"He plays to the crowds with his bleeding heart and grand gestures. But it's all spectacle and ego. At his core, Bruce Wayne is one of us." He proclaimed.
"I hope you're right." The lieutenant said as the wall in front of the grandmaster moved reveal and secret room that was filled with red pedestals.
Talon smirked but of course because of his mask no one could see it.
"In my experience the Grandmaster is rarely wrong." He said as he follows the Grandmaster along with a few high-ranking members of the Court of Owls.
The Grandmaster was pleased by that and said, "Your confidence touches me, Talon."
"How is it going with the boy?"
"He's taken the bait." Talon replied as they all stopped walking as the path that they're standing on goes down to reveal an underground chamber that was filled with multiple cylindrical glass pods that hold their sleeping soldiers, which were being monitored by the science division of the Court of Owls.
Talons looked at the pods for a moment before asking, "And your work here?" he asked.
"Progressing." Was the only thing the Grandmaster answered.
Once the floor stopped moving, they all started to walk again.
An alarm went off and they looked to see what the problem is. And by the looks of it one of the pods was getting too cold.
The Grandmaster looks at this in distaste and walks over to the scientist that's in charge of that pod and said, "Bring that setting up. Too cold and they'll shatter like glass."
"Yes. Grandmaster." The scientist replied and immediately turned up the temperature.
The pod slightly lowers down to reveal that a young woman was inside.
The Grandmaster looks at his sleeping solider in admiration "Just imagine. Some of these warriors are over 100 years old." He reaches out his hand and touches the glass.
"I envy them, their immortality." He added.
"Envy? You saw what happened to the Talons at the museum." Talon proclaimed.
"They survived outside the caskets for more than eight hours. The group before that lasted only three." The Owl lieutenant stated.
Following the Grandmaster, they walked over to a ripped apart corpse which was the body of one of the Talons from the Museum, its body was already started to repair it's while in the pod.
"And by studding our failures we've refined the resurrection process. These men will be able to live for a full day before returning for regeneration." Grandmaster proclaimed.
Talon looks down at the regenerating Talon, true it would be nice to live forever but he finds it no fun if he can only achieve such a gift for only a day before his body starts to break down on itself
"Immortality." He said. "But only 24 hours at a time." He added.
The lieutenant looks at him, "It certainly beats the alternative." He proclaimed.
"And when these indestructible warriors rise, you will be their general and lead them in a war on Gotham that will reclaim this city for the Court." He added proudly.
"After I undergo the ritual that will make me like them." He stated.
The lieutenant smirks behind his mask. "You'll die, yes. But you'll be reborn as something miraculous."
Talon rolls his eyes "One man's miracle is another man's damnation." He objected.
That sentence made the owl lieutenant angry.
How dare this mere solider talk that way about the Court! And after all they did for him. "We've trained you since you were a child!" he gets in the soldiers face "Lifted you out of the gutter and you dare to..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the Grandmaster walks over and gets in between them "Not a soulless thing, Talon. A god." He said to him.
"A great destiny awaits you and I know you will willing embrace it." He added.
Talon lightly bows his head "If that's what the Grandmaster wants."
With that the Grandmaster and his high-ranking members took their leave.
Meanwhile Talon looks at one of the other Talons in the pod before taking his leave and deciding to head back to Robin before he starts to get suspicious.
Meanwhile at Wayne Manor...
Inside Damien's room, Ruby was sleeping peacefully.
But that peacefulness was ruined by Bruce slamming the door open.
The young huntress screams in shock and quickly grabs the knife that Damien keeps hidden under his pillow and threw it.
Lucky enough Bruce saw the light bounce of the blade and managed to ducked in the nick of time.
He looks at the knife in shock "Why do you have a knife?" he asked.
Ruby looks at him annoyed and squints her eyes at him. "I'm in Damien's room, do you really find it surprising that there's a knife in here?"
"Fair enough."
"Now do you know where Damien went?" he asked.
"No. he'll come back-"
Bruce cuts her off and says, "I don't have time to wait for him to come back. I was just kidnapped."
Ruby looks at him in shock. "Explain."
"While trying to make it to my date with Samantha, I was attacked on the road and then kidnapped by a secret organization known as the Court of Owls. They wanted me to join their ranks." He answered.
"Furthermore, they wanted to take control over Gotham, and the only way to ensure that this happens is that they have to get rid of Batman and what do you think that implies?"
Ruby looks at him confused then she gasped when she realized what he meant. "Damien!" She grabs her scroll and immediately starts to track him.
She sighs when she sees that the tracking device was still moving. "He's still moving." She stated.
"I thought he got rid of the tracker?"
"Oh, he did. But when he left tonight, I put another tracker on him just in case." She answered as she gets out of bed.
Bruce lightly smiles, *She really is Wayne material* he thought.
With Talon and Robin...
After meeting back with Robin, the boy wonder told him where they could find the crime lord and they both went to the location take care of the criminal for good.
Meanwhile at a small Latin restaurant a waiter takes a glass of wine to a back room where Mr. Draco was stalking to his men.
Telling them about the story on how he became the man he is today. "So, I put four bullets in Big Frankie's head. He never saw it coming." He bragged and took a bite of his chicken.
"I was 23 years old and with those four shots, I took control of all the crime families in the East End."
The waiter sets down the crime lord's wine and was about to take his leave when he noticed a beat up, malnourished man that is suspended up by his arms on the ceiling.
The man looks at him weakly but fell unconscious again.
The waiter grimaced and quickly left before he overstayed his welcome.
As Mr. Draco continued on with his story at one point him and his men started to laugh but unfortunately for the crime lord he was laughing with food in his mouth and started to choke on it.
He stood up, knocking his seat over and took a few steps back but a pair of arms went behind him and did the Heimlich maneuver on him.
"Holy Jesus" he proclaimed and took a few deep breaths.
He then smiled "I might have croaked on the spot if it not for-" he looks behind him to see who saved him, but the person was Talon.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked.
"I'm the evening's entertainment." Talon said and takes out his daggers.
"Can I get the volunteer from the audience?" he asked.
Everyone took out their guns and pointed them at him.
They started shooting but Talon moved out the way and went back to the darkened part of the room.
While they were distracted a smokescreen started to appear which got the attention of some of the men.
But they didn't have time to think as Robin came out and took out two of the goons and then going back to hide under the smokescreen.
Because of this both Talon and Robin managed to subdue them until only Mr. Draco was left.
He looks at them in fear and takes a few steps back.
"I can pay ya more money than you've ever seen." He said.
Robin kicks him in groin in retaliation, the crime lord groans and falls to his knees in pain. "I don't give a damn about money." He proclaimed and punched him to the ground.
"What I care about is payback for the lives your drugs have ruined." He said kicked the man.
"For the widows and orphans left in your bloody wake." He proclaimed and kept kicking him.
Draco looks up him with a smirk, "You want to help widows and orphans, punk? Go join the Salvation Army." He stated.
Robin didn't like that answer and jumps off the ground and jabs his knees into the man's torso.
Talon then hands him one of his daggers "Finish him." He ordered.
Robin looks at the dagger and brings it to his neck but then he started to think about his father's training and especially training, what he might think if he found out about this...or what Ruby might think.
She hates killing with a passion, if he did this would she understand and forgive him, or would she reject him and call him a monster?
All the different scenarios played through his mind and most of them were bad.
He might want to make his father proud, but he doesn't want Ruby to hate him and see him as the bad guy.
He takes the dagger away from the crime lords' neck and looks at Talon "We've found enough evidence to put him away for he rest of his life." He stated.
"Finish him!" Talon ordered again.
Robin jumps off the crime lord "He's already finished." He stated.
Talon grimaced at this and just walked away.
"Hey" Mr. Draco said.
He smirks "Ain't you the Batman's brat?" he asked.
Robin stomps on his face "Not anymore." He replied and leaves.
But before that he used a Batarang to cut the tortured man down.
Once he made it outside, he went to find Talon and found him on the top of a roof. "I know you're there." He stated.
"If you got something to say, say it." Talon stated.
"I just wanted to tell that I gathered up the evidence." Robin replied.
Talon looks at him for a second before jumping of the roof and making his way towards the boy wonder.
Making him step back into a chimney. "Draco's got an army of lawyers that have kept him out of prison for years. But we could have erased him from the equation." Talon said angrily.
He turns around and walks away "Three nights we've been together. Three nights I've allowed the Batman to come between us. But no more." He proclaimed.
He looks at him, "Now is the time to step across that line. Become what you were born to be, or I promise you, I will find someone else." He threatened.
Robin looks down "It's just...I have to be sure." he replied.
"His voice is still in your head. Justice not vengeance. His voice is wrong." He stated.
"He's like a father to you, isn't he? You look up to him." Talon stated.
Robin looks down at the ground "fat from it. But yes, I guess I do look up to him."
"But there's something else isn't there?" Robin looks at him in confusion, what did he mean by that?
Talon tilts his head to the side "Something like a certain red hooded girl perhaps?" he asked amused.
The boy wonder looks at him in shock. "W-what?!"
"What gave you that idea?" he asked.
"You two seem very close. What is she to you? is she friend to you or is she a love interest?"
The boy wonder's face turns red in embarrassment, "She's just a friend!" he said quickly and looks away.
Talon looks at him more amused than ever. But then looks at the ground saddened as he thinks about his past.
"I had a Batman and Red Huntress in my life."
"He was a thief, a damn good one. And from a very young age. He made certain I was too. I was his shadow. His echo."
"I worshiped him, and more than anything. I wanted to please him."
"And did you?" Robin asked.
"No, and no matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough. But, what could I do?"
Talon clenches his fist as he thinks about all the abuse he suffered over the years by the hands of that man.
"The only reason I put up with it was because of my Red Huntress; Evangelina was her name...she was my everything; my reason to live. She was the first person I trusted, and ever since we met, she was always there for me when no one else was and I did the same for her."
Talon grits his teeth as he thinks about her revolting parents. They were the bane of his existence just like his father, which is why he took great pleasure in making their deaths slow and painful.
"And just like me, her life wasn't any better, she had an abusive drunk of father and a whore of a mother that would sleep with any rich man that she could get her hands on and used said money that she got from them for her own selfish needs. Not once did she buy anything that would help her family survive."
"Like food for example, there were days at a time where Evangelina would go hungry and it got to the point that she would steal food from school just to ensure she wouldn't die of starvation in the middle of the night."
"Evan at such a young age we deiced that we couldn't live a life without each other and so, we made a plan that once we were old enough, we would leave our damned lives and live out the rest of our days happy and would never look back."
Unknowing to Robin, Talon was in fact crying as he thinks about his poor Evangelina. "But then one day, when I was 12...somehow my father found out and so not only did he kill her right in front of me, but he also made me dig up her grave. And then he beat me up for my treachery for 2 weeks."
"If she hadn't died that day, we both would've probably been married and had our own kids by now!" He exclaimed in anger.
"But it was because of this that I finally had enough and made sure he paid the price. I called in anonymous tip to the authorities and of course he tried to fight back which ended in him being killed at gunpoint."
"And me? I was already gone by this time and left. And not long after that I was recruited by a secret society. The Court of Owls, they took me in, raised me, trained me, gave me strength and purpose. Even though that purpose never felt complete because of my sweet Evangelina not being by my side."
"In past I thought about taking my own life and even now I still think about it. But I managed to stop myself since I know that Evangelina would want me to live." He stated.
"And after everything the Court of Owls have done for me, I want to do the same for you."
Suddenly Batman appeared and landed on the roof "You've done quite enough." He proclaimed glaring at the Owl themed man.