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Chapter 99: Court of Owls!
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
The Owls… they've finally appeared…
Those who know naturally understand what the Court of Owls represents. Those who don't will never figure it out in their lifetime, unless they reveal themselves. But often, by the time you understand, you're already dead.
Everyone says the Dark Knight who haunts the night is Gotham City's protector. With Batman around, Gotham citizens can sleep soundly. Even Batman himself considers himself Gotham's guardian. He loves this city and believes he is familiar with its every blade of grass, its every tree; he believes he knows everything about this city like the back of his hand.
But in reality, it's not Batman who rules Gotham City, nor is it any mayor or judge. Gotham is ruled by the Court of Owls, the owls that only emerge at night.
Though both appear at night, the owl is the bat's natural predator.
For the past few hundred years, Gotham City has had only one ruler: the Court of Owls.
“I've finally drawn you out. Otherwise, this trip to Gotham City would have been worthless.” Tony’s attention seemed focused on the Armored Batman, but his mind had already drifted to that small bird that had appeared, seemingly by chance.
Back then, Tony had been willing to provoke Batman's ire just to get Crane out, his fundamental goal being to uncover the whereabouts of the Dionysium. But unfortunately, though Scarecrow worked for the League of Shadows, he knew nothing about a top-secret substance like Dionysium. He wasn't even aware of the location of the League of Shadows' Middle Eastern headquarters.
Greatly disappointed, Tony had no choice but to turn his attention to the Court of Owls—an option he had initially dismissed.
The Court of Owls is the true ruler of Gotham City in every sense. Hundreds of years ago, when Gotham was still a small city, a group of prominent local families secretly banded together to form this underground organization. Just as their name suggests, they sit on high like a court, passing cruel judgment on any who would resist them in Gotham City. They would round up the awakened populace as if they were hunting rats, strangling them with bloody methods.
For hundreds of years, whenever someone with a "conscience" appeared in Gotham City and was on the verge of succeeding in reforming its sinful aspects, the Court of Owls would emerge, and their immortal Talons would kill everyone involved.
Batman thought he knew everything about this city, yet he had never found a single trace of the Court of Owls' existence. Never once. Ever since the Wayne family put down roots in Gotham City, many of its members had, in fact, been secretly killed by the Court of Owls, but the Wayne family simply believed their relatives had died in accidents.
In this sinful city of Gotham, the shadow of the Court of Owls is everywhere. They are the source of Gotham's evil, the foundation from which its darkness grows, the true masters of Gotham City.
“I've had to employ many methods to draw you out all this time, you bunch of old, undying mongrel birds. You finally couldn't sit still any longer, could you…?” Tony sneered, thinking to himself.
After the Joker appeared, he frantically slaughtered Gotham City's upper echelon, even killing a large portion of the middle class. Many of these high-ranking individuals were actually connected to the Court of Owls—though they themselves were unaware of it. In truth, the various shady deals they handled all bore the shadow of the Court of Owls, and many were essentially being led by the nose by them.
But this group was all but wiped out by the Joker, along with a large number of high-level gangsters he also eliminated.
And Tony? What he did was even more outrageous. He started from the bottom, inciting a popular armed revolution to overthrow everything corrupt and antiquated.
If the leadership is merely killed off like the Joker did, as long as the filthy mud remains, new flowers of evil will eventually bloom from it. So, although the Joker enjoyed his slaughter, the Court of Owls wasn't worried in the slightest.
But then that damned Tony showed up. His method was to scoop away the mud and the flowers together, then casually pave it over with a layer of concrete… In Gotham City's several-hundred-year history, nothing like Tony had ever appeared.
It would be strange if the prominent families of the Court of Owls weren't getting desperate. Their first choice was to find a way to eliminate Tony and then lie low before the Mutant Faction could launch a frenzied counterattack.
Then, a member of the Wayne family, their "good neighbor" of several hundred years, voluntarily presented them with a great gift. Batman had damaged Tony's strength, dismantling a pile of powerful Transformers and scattering them, cutting Tony's combat power by more than half.
Without those Transformers, how could Tony possibly withstand the siege of countless immortal Talons on his own?
In truth, Tony himself knew that luring out the Court of Owls was a risk, a gamble with his life. He also knew better than to underestimate them just because they were formed by local prominent families. They possessed the technology to create Dionysium and could mass-resurrect the dead, transforming them into undying assassins of the night.
If the normal timeline had played out, Batman would have gathered a large number of people years later to form the Bat-Family, specifically to combat the evil in Gotham City with remarkable success. Then, Batman would have been attacked by Talons and nearly died on several occasions.
Batman's "Thresher Suit," an armor set sufficient for world-class warfare and capable of combat in outer space, was destroyed during a siege by a group of Talons armed with long swords and daggers. He himself nearly died, and in the end, only managed a narrow victory through clever tricks.
The Court of Owls was an extremely terrifying opponent. However, if one could win, the rewards were enough to drive anyone mad! The technology to create Dionysium could not only be used to mass-produce self-regenerating Transformer bodies, but even if used on a flesh-and-blood person, it could at the very least grant them a long life. If Tony could get his hands on this technology, it would be a massive bargaining chip, one that anyone would go crazy for.
Of course, the Dionysium possessed by the League of Shadows and the Court of Owls is not strictly the same thing. The Court of Owls holds the technology to create Dionysium, whereas the League of Shadows does not. However, the method they use for extending life utilizes the same raw material as Dionysium. The League of Shadows calls this peculiar material the Lazarus Pit.
The Dionysium, the even more important technology to create it, and the "raw materials" of unknown origin but astonishing efficacy—all of it was Tony's goal. What Tony coveted most was the technology. Although the raw material was precious and scarce, he at least had the League of Shadows as a channel. If he could obtain it through proper negotiations, he would. If talks broke down, he would simply take it by force. Did they really think he was good-tempered?
“Dionysium, plus Wolverine's special Adamantium skeleton infused with a Healing Factor... As long as I obtain these two things and find a way to mass-produce them, the organic bodies for the Cybertronians can be completed.”
“For now, I first need to solve the problem of Batman. I should just dismantle his entire suit of armor into pieces and take it with me. The materials are very valuable...”
(end of chapter)
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
The Owls… they've finally appeared…
Those who know naturally understand what the Court of Owls represents. Those who don't will never figure it out in their lifetime, unless they reveal themselves. But often, by the time you understand, you're already dead.
Everyone says the Dark Knight who haunts the night is Gotham City's protector. With Batman around, Gotham citizens can sleep soundly. Even Batman himself considers himself Gotham's guardian. He loves this city and believes he is familiar with its every blade of grass, its every tree; he believes he knows everything about this city like the back of his hand.
But in reality, it's not Batman who rules Gotham City, nor is it any mayor or judge. Gotham is ruled by the Court of Owls, the owls that only emerge at night.
Though both appear at night, the owl is the bat's natural predator.
For the past few hundred years, Gotham City has had only one ruler: the Court of Owls.
“I've finally drawn you out. Otherwise, this trip to Gotham City would have been worthless.” Tony’s attention seemed focused on the Armored Batman, but his mind had already drifted to that small bird that had appeared, seemingly by chance.
Back then, Tony had been willing to provoke Batman's ire just to get Crane out, his fundamental goal being to uncover the whereabouts of the Dionysium. But unfortunately, though Scarecrow worked for the League of Shadows, he knew nothing about a top-secret substance like Dionysium. He wasn't even aware of the location of the League of Shadows' Middle Eastern headquarters.
Greatly disappointed, Tony had no choice but to turn his attention to the Court of Owls—an option he had initially dismissed.
The Court of Owls is the true ruler of Gotham City in every sense. Hundreds of years ago, when Gotham was still a small city, a group of prominent local families secretly banded together to form this underground organization. Just as their name suggests, they sit on high like a court, passing cruel judgment on any who would resist them in Gotham City. They would round up the awakened populace as if they were hunting rats, strangling them with bloody methods.
For hundreds of years, whenever someone with a "conscience" appeared in Gotham City and was on the verge of succeeding in reforming its sinful aspects, the Court of Owls would emerge, and their immortal Talons would kill everyone involved.
Batman thought he knew everything about this city, yet he had never found a single trace of the Court of Owls' existence. Never once. Ever since the Wayne family put down roots in Gotham City, many of its members had, in fact, been secretly killed by the Court of Owls, but the Wayne family simply believed their relatives had died in accidents.
In this sinful city of Gotham, the shadow of the Court of Owls is everywhere. They are the source of Gotham's evil, the foundation from which its darkness grows, the true masters of Gotham City.
“I've had to employ many methods to draw you out all this time, you bunch of old, undying mongrel birds. You finally couldn't sit still any longer, could you…?” Tony sneered, thinking to himself.
After the Joker appeared, he frantically slaughtered Gotham City's upper echelon, even killing a large portion of the middle class. Many of these high-ranking individuals were actually connected to the Court of Owls—though they themselves were unaware of it. In truth, the various shady deals they handled all bore the shadow of the Court of Owls, and many were essentially being led by the nose by them.
But this group was all but wiped out by the Joker, along with a large number of high-level gangsters he also eliminated.
And Tony? What he did was even more outrageous. He started from the bottom, inciting a popular armed revolution to overthrow everything corrupt and antiquated.
If the leadership is merely killed off like the Joker did, as long as the filthy mud remains, new flowers of evil will eventually bloom from it. So, although the Joker enjoyed his slaughter, the Court of Owls wasn't worried in the slightest.
But then that damned Tony showed up. His method was to scoop away the mud and the flowers together, then casually pave it over with a layer of concrete… In Gotham City's several-hundred-year history, nothing like Tony had ever appeared.
It would be strange if the prominent families of the Court of Owls weren't getting desperate. Their first choice was to find a way to eliminate Tony and then lie low before the Mutant Faction could launch a frenzied counterattack.
Then, a member of the Wayne family, their "good neighbor" of several hundred years, voluntarily presented them with a great gift. Batman had damaged Tony's strength, dismantling a pile of powerful Transformers and scattering them, cutting Tony's combat power by more than half.
Without those Transformers, how could Tony possibly withstand the siege of countless immortal Talons on his own?
In truth, Tony himself knew that luring out the Court of Owls was a risk, a gamble with his life. He also knew better than to underestimate them just because they were formed by local prominent families. They possessed the technology to create Dionysium and could mass-resurrect the dead, transforming them into undying assassins of the night.
If the normal timeline had played out, Batman would have gathered a large number of people years later to form the Bat-Family, specifically to combat the evil in Gotham City with remarkable success. Then, Batman would have been attacked by Talons and nearly died on several occasions.
Batman's "Thresher Suit," an armor set sufficient for world-class warfare and capable of combat in outer space, was destroyed during a siege by a group of Talons armed with long swords and daggers. He himself nearly died, and in the end, only managed a narrow victory through clever tricks.
The Court of Owls was an extremely terrifying opponent. However, if one could win, the rewards were enough to drive anyone mad! The technology to create Dionysium could not only be used to mass-produce self-regenerating Transformer bodies, but even if used on a flesh-and-blood person, it could at the very least grant them a long life. If Tony could get his hands on this technology, it would be a massive bargaining chip, one that anyone would go crazy for.
Of course, the Dionysium possessed by the League of Shadows and the Court of Owls is not strictly the same thing. The Court of Owls holds the technology to create Dionysium, whereas the League of Shadows does not. However, the method they use for extending life utilizes the same raw material as Dionysium. The League of Shadows calls this peculiar material the Lazarus Pit.
The Dionysium, the even more important technology to create it, and the "raw materials" of unknown origin but astonishing efficacy—all of it was Tony's goal. What Tony coveted most was the technology. Although the raw material was precious and scarce, he at least had the League of Shadows as a channel. If he could obtain it through proper negotiations, he would. If talks broke down, he would simply take it by force. Did they really think he was good-tempered?
“Dionysium, plus Wolverine's special Adamantium skeleton infused with a Healing Factor... As long as I obtain these two things and find a way to mass-produce them, the organic bodies for the Cybertronians can be completed.”
“For now, I first need to solve the problem of Batman. I should just dismantle his entire suit of armor into pieces and take it with me. The materials are very valuable...”
(end of chapter)
