The Court of Owls — Deep Below Gotham
The chamber's torches flickered as the Court gathered around a massive, frost-covered vault.
Dozens of masks turned toward the giant iron door.
Each elder Owl looked disturbed.
Some trembling.
Some sweating beneath their masks.
These were assassins who controlled empires…
yet what waited behind this door terrified them.
One noble whispered:
"Those Talons were unstable.
Uncontrollable.
We sealed them away for a reason."
The Matriarch of the Court raised a gloved hand.
"He killed a Commander," she said.
"Burned him to nothing."
"It was witchfire—" someone murmured.
"No," another corrected.
"It was… worse."
The Matriarch continued:
"To capture the Fire Shadow, we must use… them."
She signaled.
KRRRRRSHHHH—
The vault opened.
Freezing fog spilled across the marble floor.
Inside were five bodies, suspended in thick ice, still wearing ancient Talon armor from decades past.
They were larger.
Twisted.
Wrong.
Experiments the Court abandoned.
One's spine was reinforced with metal rods.
One's arms had blades fused straight into the bone.
One had no eyes—just carved runes.
One breathed frost.
One had a heartbeat so slow it sounded like thunder.
The Court all stepped back as the ice cracked.
BOOM.
One Talon moved.
Another shuddered.
Another lifted its head.
The Matriarch whispered:
"Awaken…"
CRACK.
"...my monsters."
Jump City — Damian Feels a Storm Coming
Damian sat on the roof of an empty hotel, looking out over the ocean.
He felt it.
A chill.
A pulse.
Death moving through shadows.
Transparent World showed nothing yet, but his instincts screamed.
"…They're coming."
He stood, rolling his shoulders.
Flame flickered around his fingertips.
"If the Court wants to escalate—"
He inhaled.
Sun Breathing — Full Concentration Constant.
His spine straightened.
His lungs expanded.
His heartbeat synced like a war drum.
"—then I stop holding back."
The Retired Talons Arrive
The sky darkened—not with clouds, but with five shadows leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
Silent.
Predatory.
Not human anymore.
Damian narrowed his eyes.
"…So that's what they sent."
One Talon dropped behind him, frost breath filling the air.
Another landed in front, runes glowing where eyes should be.
The bladed-arm Talon clicked his fused metal claws.
The reinforced-spine Talon cracked his neck, making a sickening POP-POP-POP.
Damian rotated his wrist.
"Five vs one.
You're going to need more."
None of them spoke.
They simply attacked.
The Fight Begins — And Gotham's Monsters Learn Fear
WHOOSH—
The frost-Talon exhaled a freezing blast.
Damian stepped forward into it, flames swirling around him.
Fire met ice in an explosive burst.
Damian shoved his palm into the Talon's chest—
FOOM!!
—and incinerated the monster into molten sludge.
"Next."
The rune-eyed Talon moved.
Fast.
Unpredictably.
His runes allowed him to predict Damian's attacks.
But Transparent World let Damian predict his.
They danced through slashes.
Dodges.
Counters.
Perfect read versus perfect read.
The Talon finally lunged—
Damian exhaled:
"Sun Breathing — Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance."
A spiraling blaze of precise cuts erupted around him.
The rune-eyed Talon was sliced apart in perfectly symmetrical burning lines.
Two down.
But the Last Three Are Worse
The bladed-arm Talon charged, swinging metal limbs at sonic speed.
Damian blocked with flame-coated forearms until sparks showered the rooftop.
The reinforced-spine Talon punched him—
BOOM!!
The entire rooftop cracked.
Damian skidded back, lip bleeding.
"…Okay."
He wiped his mouth.
"You hit hard."
The last Talon—
the largest—
leapt in and slammed both fists into the ground.
A shockwave split the building.
Damian leaped into the air—
—and the bladed-arm Talon teleported behind him.
A forbidden experiment.
Short-range teleport.
Perfect ambush.
The blades stabbed toward his spine—
Damian smirked.
"Sun Breathing + Flame Body."
His entire body ignited into a human wildfire.
The teleporting Talon stabbed into pure flame—
and melted instantly.
Three down.
Damian Stops Holding Back
The reinforced-spine Talon charged again.
Damian inhaled deeply.
Very deeply.
His lungs glowed.
His ribs vibrated.
His chest radiated sunlight.
The last two Talons lunged—
And Damian whispered:
"Sun Breathing — Thirteenth Form."
FWOOOOOOOM!!
A column of solar fire erupted around him like a miniature sun.
The two Talons were caught instantly.
The reinforced-spine's metal liquefied.
The heavy bruiser turned to glowing coals.
Both evaporated into nothing.
Silence fell.
Smoke drifted.
Ash floated like snowflakes.
Damian stood in the center of the crater, breathing steadily.
The rooftop was gone.
The top two floors were molten.
The air shimmered with leftover heat.
He whispered:
"Court of Owls…"
He looked toward Gotham.
"…is that all you've got?"
Deep Below Gotham — Panic
The Matriarch slams her fist on the table.
"Five retired Talons… lost."
"Impossible!"
"He burned them like kindling!"
"No human should wield that power!"
Then a Councilman stands.
"We must find his identity.
Now."
The Matriarch's eyes narrowed.
"Call the Detective."
Silence.
Another voice asks:
"…Batman?"
The Matriarch nods.
"Yes."
"He will lead us to the Fire Shadow."