Judge of Owls

"And for your sake, I hope it is the right one because I promise you, you will not like the consequences."

Esau remained silent, glaring at the Talon in anger as the man waited patiently for Esau's answer.

"Come now, you really believe that you can survive in this world on your own? Don't be ridiculous." Talon said amusedly. "Batman is a far better fighter than you in every way and yet, he still requires the assistance of his sidekicks and was a founding member of the Justice League. If heroes like Superman and Batman require help, then what hope do you have to make a difference in this world alone."

Esau continued to remain silent, his eyes turning to look over the Talon's shoulder and watching the three heroes fight. They were good, far better than him even if he could put up a fight against Barbara and Robin.

'Maybe Talons right.' Esau wondered in thought. 'I'm not as good as them and they rely on each other to thrive in this world whereas I just barely manage to scrape by. Maybe I do need help.'

His eyes then turned to Talon once more.

If things continued and Batman couldn't stop them then what chance did he have on his own?

Batman was good, extremely so and while he didn't know just how good Talon was, the latter seemed fairly confident that he could beat Batman. If not, the Talon was still sure that he could hold Batman off for a long time, long enough for someone – the Undead Talons most likely – to come to his aide. While Barbara and Robin were good, even Esau could see that if it wasn't for Batman, they would be overwhelmed fairly quickly. However, if Talon could defeat Batman without the help of the Undead Talons then the result would still be the same.

Batman, Barbara and Robin would lose and Gotham would fall.

If that was the case then nothing could save Jim or Barbara, certainly not him on his own.

The two days of training he had undergone had certainly helped him improve greatly, turning his wild and formless style into a more fluid one. Talon also pointed out the biggest problem Esau had, which was that he had too many options. When someone attacked him, Esau had the skill and athleticism to block or avoid most of them, it was how to respond that left him hesitating and exposed. He had spent too much time learning as many techniques as possible as in his eyes, more options were better. However, the problem was that he took too much time trying to think about how to respond to an attack that his opportunity disappeared.

Talon had helped him streamline and narrow down his options making him far more effective and dangerous.

Even then, despite all the improvements Esau had given him, he hadn't managed to land a single blow on Talon which told him one of two things. Talon was stronger than Batman, or the blow he had landed against Batman was lucky.

Either way, the result remained the same, if he didn't join the Talon now nothing would stop him from killing Barbara and Jim.

I didn't ask you to become Black Hood! To become a murderer!

Just as Esau went to answer, his mind replayed the words Barbara had told him days ago.

I didn't ask you to become Black Hood! To become a murderer!

Closing his mouth, Esau clenched his fists tightly as the words once more played in his mind. Barbara was right, she didn't ask him to become a murderer, to become Black Hood even if he had done it to save her. She wouldn't accept his help and would spurn him, if not hate him if he helped the Talon and so would Jim.

He couldn't betray them like that.

To become a murderer!

His mind fixated itself on those few words and Esau released a sigh of what sounded like defeat to the ears of Talon. "I see you've finally accepted that everyone must pick a side at some point in life."

"Yeah, I did," Esau answered before swinging one arm up, the claws on his glove coming dangerously close to cutting into Talon's chest and would have done if not for his years of experience. "And it ain't gonna be yours, asshole!"

Talon clicked his teeth in annoyance, his entire form hunched over in anger as he glared at Esau who returned his gaze with one of his own. "I see, then I'll deal with you just like everyone else who gets in my way." Then Talon shot forwards and Esau met his charge, knowing from his days of training with Talon that escape was all but impossible, it was best to face him head-on and hope for the best.

Even then, the difference in skill was too great and unlike in their previous fights, Talon didn't hold back.

Gripping Esau's wrist as he went for a strike, Talon ragged him forwards slamming a knee into Esau's solar plexus, he hunching over, gasping for air as it was driven out of his lungs in one hit.

But Talon was not done as the claws on his right hand flashed dangerously in what little light was in the atrium and slashed at Esau's legs. Not deep enough to hit an artery, but certainly deep enough to make walking painful and difficult.

Crying out, Esau dropped to one knee before a kick to the head knocked him back and his head slammed against the wall behind him. The force behind it sent Esau crumpling as he lay there groaning in pain, clutching his temple in an attempt to stop the world around him from spinning.

"You picked the wrong side, Esau," Talon said standing ominously over Esau's form. "But don't worry, I won't kill you just yet. I'll keep you alive long enough to see Barbara and Jim Gordon suffer for your weakness." With that said, the Talon turned and left, heading straight for the Judge of Owls who was still trapped under rubble.

Esau meanwhile clenched his fists tightly in anger, glaring murderously at the Talon's back as he walked away. 'You dare!' Esau growled internally; his fists propped against the floor as he pushed himself up into a kneeling position. 'I'll kill you!' Even with his head pounding and blood flowing out from the deep cut in his leg, Esau pushed forwards.

Knowing that he would be unable to move properly on his injured leg, he compensated by bracing his right foot against the wall while placing his fingertips on the ground for support. Then, using just the muscles in his right leg so as to not aggravate the injury on his left, Esau pushed off the wall, even pushing off his hands to give him that extra boost and jumped through the air.

Talon must have seen the shadow descending upon him and looked up, but it was too late.

Esau swung his right fist round and rocketed a punch into his jaw, the force behind it knocking the Talon over the edge of the wall. The two plummeted to the ground where the fight was still going between the three heroes and the undead Talon. Yet Esau was not done, with those few precious seconds as they fell to the ground, Esau swung his left hand around this time and instead of curling his hand into a fist, he instead let the claws dig into Talons chest.

With a cry of pain, the two landed on the ground, the air rushing out of their lungs as they rolled to a stop at the edge of the battle.

The three heroes temporarily froze at the sight of Esau but were quickly forced to turn their attention to the undead Talon who did not stop coming for them.

Meanwhile, Esau and the Talon slowly rose to their feet.

Clutching his bleeding leg, Esau looked to see that the Talon was also clutching his chest where blood rushed freely from his wound. "You!" Talon growled and Esau smiled through the blood in his mouth, though it quickly changed to a wince when his leg reminded him of his own injuries. "I'll make your death slow for this!"

Saying nothing, Esau instead got to his feet slowly as Talon advanced on him.

"Black Hood!" The cry caught their attention and they turned to see Batman burst from the battle, knocking aside one undead with a kick and rushing forwards, while Barbara and Robin began to withdraw.

Talon attempted to intercept Batman, having also seen their attempt to escape.

However, as the two skilled fighters met, the difference was clear.

Batman while slightly winded from his fight against the undead Talon was not hindered by a chest wound that made moving painful and cumbersome. Even though the Talon was trained to ignore the pain, the muscles connecting his chest and arms were not responding as well as they should. As a result, Batman quickly made use of this and with a quick dummy to the right with a straight jab, something Talon moved to dodge, he couldn't react in time as Batman also swung with his left leg around.

The blow struck, striking the Talon in the side and sending him to the ground.

Using this opportunity, Batman moved forwards quickly taking hold of Black Hood and throwing numerous smoke pellets into the ground.

As the smoke slowly cleared it revealed that Esau and Batman had disappeared, Talon snarled angrily. 'I'll make him suffer for this.' Talon thought thinking of how to make Esau suffer the most.

-X-

Monday 20th April 2009, 22:00

New Jersey,

Gotham City,

Wayne Manor.

Grunting, Esau gripped the bottom of the chair he was sitting on as Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred slowly and methodically stitched up Esau's leg. Meanwhile, Bruce sat across from him, with Dick leaning against the wall and Barbara pacing up and down the living room. The three of them conversed and theorised as to what had happened in the atrium and what the Court of Owls could be planning.

"There, all done," Alfred said, standing up and wiping his bloody hands on the towel he had placed on the table. "I would suggest avoiding putting any pressure on the leg so as to not rip the stitches, but if you are anything like some people I know, I doubt you can do that much."

Snorting, Esau nodded his head at the sarcasm shown by the British butler. "Thank you." Inclining his head, Alfred left the room in order to prepare some refreshments.

"That's the thing, Dick," Barbara stressed, irritated not at her young friend, but at the situation as a whole. "We only know that they plan to take over Gotham, not how." Esau remained silent as Dick and Barbara continued to argue until he noticed Bruce staring at him questionably.

Realising what the look meant, he sighed and nodded his head. "The Court is planning to use the Fearless Toxin to have the criminals and the people of Gotham cause as much chaos as possible," Esau spoke, gaining the attention of the squabbling pair. "In the chaos, the agents they have scattered around Gotham will move and seize control of positions of influence giving the Court control."

Bruce nodded his head silently as if expecting the answer while Dick and Barbara still looked confused. Not about the plan, that they understood, but as to how Esau knew what it was and the answer their mind came to was not a pleasant one.

"But the Judge of Owls who runs the Court, won't stay in power for long." By the raised brow on Bruce's face, he had left them all stumped by that particular piece of information. "Talon plans to betray the Court and take control himself. I don't know why exactly; all I know is that he was promised something by the Court and they betrayed him. I think the Judge of Owls is the one responsible because the Talon despised him from what I saw. He also wasn't too pleased with the knowledge of what fate had befallen his predecessors and himself upon his death."

"How'd you know all this?" Dick asked. "Hell, how did you even get down there in the first place?" His tone changed to more hostile and suspicious, something Esau didn't react to having expected the question to be asked at some point.

"Dick," Barbara said, her voice calm, too calm. "It's obvious, isn't it? Look at his gloves." Her face was blank, carefully keeping her feelings hidden as to what she knew to be true. Dick did so and his eyes narrowed in a mixture of anger and distrust, not that he already didn't distrust Esau in the first place. But Esau did not do anything, instead looking at Barbara who was continuing to look anywhere but at him.

Robin went to open his mouth to speak. "Dick," Bruce spoke firmly and while Robin protested initially, he quickly gave up when he saw that his mentor was not going to budge in this matter. "Though I too would like to know why you were down there."

Taking a deep breath, Esau nodded his head. "I-I, Talon." He corrected himself. "Came to me the night after you were taken and he, talked to me, gave me the gloves as a gift and then gave me the offer of training. I refused at first, but he made a lot of sense to me. It was like he knew exactly what to say to get me to listen."

"He's been studying you." Bruce pointed out and Esau agreed.

"I guess, I just got tired of constantly getting my ass kicked and so I accepted," Esau said. "He was always asking me to join the Court, to become the next Talon. Said that he was going to change things not just in the Court but in Gotham and he wanted my help. At first, I just planned to use him to get some training and then, I guess I started to agree with some of his plans, some of his ideas they lined up exactly with what I wanted."

"He got in your head." Barbara inferred from what Esau was saying. "He figured out exactly what you wanted and said exactly the right things to get you to agree and help him." She explained and then asked the question that had been on her mind since Esau had begun speaking. "What made you change your mind?"

"He threatened people close to me, people, I cared about," Esau replied firmly, staring directly at Barbara. "He grew tired of my stalling and told me to make my choice, using those I cared about as an ultimatum. Guess he didn't do as much research as he should have done." Esau's lips twitched upwards into a smile. "If he did, he would have realised that I'm not exactly one to respond well to threats."

Despite herself, Barbara smiled.

"So, the Talon's going to betray the Court and take over." Dick summarised quickly. "Great, now that makes things so much easier." His voice was practically dripping with sarcasm and Esau's smile grew just a tiny bit wider, he may find the kid to be annoying as hell. But when he wasn't being a sarcastic, confrontational little shit – at least not to him – he seemed to be pretty alright.

"Sir," Alfred said as he entered the room. "You should see this." Quickly he pressed a button on the remote, the TV coming to life to show an image of the Judge of Owls standing in front of a wide window, the sight of Gotham clearly seen in the background.

"Greetings, I am the Judge of Owls."