GOTHAM KNIGHT: YEAR THREE-VOLUME TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: THE TALON

SOMETIME LATER, THE BAT-BUNKER:
After the party, Bruce had returned to the bunker, with Alfred when Bruce suddenly asked him, "what do you know about The Court Of Owls?", this was very random to Alfred, as he wondered, "where did that come from?", "when I was a child people from school spoke about them, I asked my father who they were and now I realise that he knew something". "I want the truth, was my father involved with The Court Of Owls?!", Bruce questioned, looking very serious as he starred at Alfred, as Alfred answered, "your father was involved with a lot of people, he loved you very much and would have done anything to keep you safe, but I don't know...I do know your father wasn't always involved with good people, however I swear to you Bruce, if he was involved with these people, I was unaware", Bruce listened and took a moment, realising Alfred was telling the truth by the look in his eyes, and responded with, "alright...well, what do you know about The Court?". Alfred took a breath and told him, "The Court are a mysterious society that have been rumoured to have run Gotham for centuries, I've never really taken much notice of them if I'm going to be completely honest, however can I ask what brought all this up?". "The other night in the morgue, I discovered the victim had a silver tooth with the symbol of an owl, I noticed the way he was killed, seemed more like a threat or punishment, he had no finger tips either, seems like they didn't want to be found, however put out a warning, looks like they forgot about the tooth though. My theory is, the victim was a member of The Court, and did something to piss them off which they then 'sent a talon for his head', as the kids used to say...", Bruce then added, "and back at Blackgate when Walker was broken out, the guards were killed in a precise way only skilled swordsmen could be capable of, my original theory was something else, but this all adds up. The question is, where are they?, what are they doing?, and why all of a sudden have they come out of hiding?, what's their next plan?". "I want you and Lucius to do some digging into this, lay low though, incase this is all right, then we must keep this a secret from everyone", Bruce explained, as Alfred took in the information and Bruce's plan, and responded, "right then, very well, yeah...I suppose you're off to bed for the night then?", "still need to eat and shower?, Dick should be back soon, just hold up a little", Bruce answered as he entered the elevator to reach his office in Wayne Tower.

Moments later, Bruce had reached his office in Wayne Tower, as Lucius Fox was CEO of the currently, due to to Bruce not really having an interest in business, however this was all he had left of his father's legacy. He entered his office, when he felt someone's presence, as all of a sudden knives came flying towards him, so he jumped up into the air, dodged and rolled behind his desk. "Bruce Wayne", he heard a voice say, as he peaked over the desk, to see a mysterious figure wearing all black armour, with his mask resembling an owl's face. "We've been watching you for a long time", he said, "I take it you're a Talon?", Bruce questioned, "so then...The Court Of Owls really are behind all this?", however the Talon didn't answer, and leaped towards Bruce. The two began to fight aggressively, the Talon seemed to be getting the upper hand, as Bruce was mainly countering his attacks, keeping in mind that Bruce wasn't armoured, unlike the Talon, he was just wearing a tuxedo. Suddenly, the Talon kicked Bruce through the balcony doors as he landed on the balcony, with the wind blowing around him, as the Talon slowly walked towards him. Bruce attempted to knock the Talon to the ground by sweeping his legs, however the Talon jumped upwards, attempted to land on Bruce and stab him, with a hidden blade which sprung from his wrist, however, Bruce dodged by rolling to the left, quickly standing up, punching the Talon in the head, kneeing him in the chest, knocking his head off of the brick balcony wall, as Bruce held the Talon against the wall, with his head hanging in the air, "I want to speak to the leader of The Court Of Owls!", Bruce demanded, The Talon still didn't talk, "I'm going to ask you once, who is the leader?!", Bruce raises his voice, "not many people have lasted this long", the Talon told Bruce, as he kneed him in the groin, punched him in the face and tossed him over the wall, as Bruce fell through the air. The Talon then dived off of the edge, falling after Bruce, as he managed to catch up, as he grasped onto him, they began punching each other, "how I love killing Wayne's", the Talon said, making Bruce confused and think about what he just said, however Bruce noticed a grapple gun on the Talon's utility belt, as he reached for it, grappled onto a near building, and kicked the Talon away from him, being the only option at this point, meaning that this would be The Batman's first kill.