5542/Court of Owls: Plan of Attack

Court of Owls: Plan of Attack
Date of Scene:	11 March 2021
Location:	Strix's safehouse
Synopsis:	The Bat-clan gather at Strix's safehouse for a presentation of the Court of Owls. Much needed information was divulged by the mute assassin, priming them to take out the Court once and for all.
Cast of Characters:	Strix, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Bruce Wayne

---

Strix has posed:
Strix has been busy since the day that Dick gave her some art supplies to work with. The safehouse has been decorated with pictures and paintings tacked up on various surfaces, depicting everything from still life of everyday objects to horribly gory scenes of some of her more memorable kills. What she's /really/ been working on is preparing a stack of drawings to be used when it's finally time for Batman and his cohorts to come and finally take care of the Court of Owls.

Today Strix can be found sitting at the dining room table, working on one of these drawings. She's dressed like she normally is. Cotton t-shirt underneath some overalls, and her head is wrapped in gauze to help hide the myriad of scars that line her face. In the one had that's not holding a pencil, she holds a half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which she's been slowly working on.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing is setting up a digital camera with an uplink to the Bat computer system to record Strix's presentation. With these sorts of things, it's always best to document everything so it can be gone over afterwards. He's got things ready to go by the time Batman actually shows up, knowing he only has so much time with all the things that go on nightly in Gotham.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
A few minutes late there's a knock on the door. If there's a secret knock, it's the secret knock. If not, anyone looking outside the door will see it's Batgirl.

Once she's let in, she enters with a couple of bags from Big Belly Burger in hand. "Didn't know if people had time to eat," she says. She flashes a smile over to Strix to greet her, adding, "Or, you know. Currently eating. But help yourself if anything in here looks good."

Inside are a few burgers with various toppings, and fries. Also a couple of lemon pies. "The inside of the lemon pies is probably still about the temperature of magma. So, consume at your own risk," Batgirl says.

Her rubber-soled boots make little noise as she crosses the room then to take a seat. A glance is given over to where Nightwing has things set up for recording. "Never really struck me as the type for the AV/Squad, Nightwing," she says with a quick grin.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
While he may have left this particular matter in Nightwing's hands to coordinate, this is still Gotham City and the Dark Knight tends to involve himself in just about every aspect of *his* city. Not because of a lack of trust -- at least not in this particular case. More just because it is who he is at the core.

However he is also still Batman and the Dark Knight doesn't use doors. Unless he is kicking them in. He definitely flies under the radar and that usually precludes utilizing the stairs or elevator. No, he of course quietly slips in through a window in the other room, simply appearing a couple of minutes after Batgirl arrives. It might not be his more customary appear out of nowhere arrival, but it's close enough.

Each of the trio receive a nod and then he turns his attention towards some of the artwork that Strix has been working on during her downtime. If he has an opinion, he doesn't share it however, finally turning back to the others.

Strix has posed:
Strix's eyes light up when Batgirl shows up with a bag of burgers. PB&J immediately abandoned she gets up and starts rooting around the bag until she pulls out some fries and a hot lemon pie. Since this is the first time Strix has gotten a chance to see Batgirl in light, her eyes roam up and down the costume, finally settling on her boots. She sets her food down and gets her notepad and scribbles out:

<3 I LIEK <3
<3 UR BOOTS <3

When she notices that Batman has arrived, she gives him a little wave in greeting, and sits down at her end of the table, and finishes off her sandwich before pulling the stack of art paper closer to her. She gets a serious look about her as she flips through them before finding the one she wants. She snaps her fingers to get everybody's attention and holds up the paper.

It's a simple drawing. It's of a white mask, carefully shaded to show what little features it has. Two holes for the eyes, sunken into the mask, and a indentations near where the mouth would be to give it the subtle shape of a beak. It's the mask used by the Court of Owls and is instantly recognizable.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing makes sure the camera is centered on the table, then moves over to join the group. He remarks to Batgirl, "I think we all kind of count as nerds at this point, given the amount of tech we use." and then nods to Batman when he makes his appearance, "We're all ready to go." He stands off to the side, watching Strix sort through her drawings and then begin her presentation.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl waves a little greeting to Batman as he enters, then lets others have dibs on the food before grabbing herself a burger that has a sticker on the outside saying: BBQ. A carton of fries and one of the lemon pies are placed at her seat and then she goes to get herself a bottle of water to drink.

She's crossing back to her chair when Batgirl sees the note from Strix. "Thank you!" she says brightly. "Aren't they great? I just love them," she says. So much better than the store bought ones with no extra protection to them that she'd worn as Spoiler.

Batgirl is seated again, opening up her burger and starting in with small bites as she watches the Court of Owls mask shown.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
There is nothing nerdy about JUSTICE.

All things considered, the Dark Knight has been working at easing back just a little with those in his immediate circle. To try to be a little less exacting, a little less demanding and a little less unapproachable. How's it going? Well, who's to say. It remains a work in progress to be sure. The important thing is that the effort is there, right?

However, that effort does not extend to eating while on the job -- at least not outside of the Batcave at any rate. Perhaps it is carrying the mythos a little too far, but once the cape and cowl go on there is very little that ever varies in the whole avenging knight and creature of the night motif he seems to have going on. He might occasionally break that around Nightwing or Batgirl. Strix is not there.

Not yet at any rate.

As their 'host' gathers up her artwork, Batman turns his attention towards her with a scrutiny that some find a tad unsettling. That stony expression doesn't change but he picks up on what she is trying to do quickly enough, leaning in a little closer to watch just what she has planned.

Good plan on Nightwing's part to beam it all back to the Batcave for later playback as well.

Strix has posed:
Strix nods, when everybody's attention is finally on her, and roots around her stack of papers until she finds the next one in line. She pulls it out and holds it up for people to see first, before laying it down on the table for the camcorder to record.

The second drawing that Strix shows to people is the cutaway of a skyscraper. It may take a bit to recognize it, since Strix isn't anywhere near good enough to produce professional looking blueprints, but after a bit it's clear that it's a representation of the Kane Tower, one of the oldest buildings in Gotham. In the tower, she's drawn lines representing floors, and on the thirteenth floor, which shouldn't exist due to superstitious reasons she's scribbled in more of the Court's masks, marking it as one of their locations.

However this isn't all that's shown though. She's also drawn an elevator shaft that goes from the thirteenth floor all the way down through the ground into what looks like a giant cave sitting underneath the building, which she's helpfully identified with more of the little Court masks.

Dick Grayson has posed:
As he looks over the drawing, Nightwing nods, "Ok, So we've got a floor that shouldn't exist linked to an underground base. This is the sort of thing we haven't been able to track down yet. So that's target one in Kane tower then."

He continues to watch Strix, already mentally planning a visit to the building in question. The Court has stayed ahead of them for too long, this will need to be moved on quickly.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl has been known to share an ice cream cones with Supergirl, or eat a burrito while perched on a gargoyle watching the city below. She is careful though not to get bbq stains on her costume as she eats with all the energy of someone who has missed a meal earlier int he day.

She wipes a bit of bbq sauce from her lips. "The Kane Tower," she agrees. Not from figuring that Batman or Nightwing need that told to them, but just making sure Strix knows they are following along with her.

She nibbles a few fries and seems about to ask Strix something, but then decides to save it for the Q&A portion of the talk.

Strix has posed:
Seeing as there aren't any questions so far, Strix continues her presentation.

The third picture is that of an elevator keypad. Presumably the one that's in the Kane Building. Above the keypad is the note: CAR 3. She's carefully detailed the panel, and has another note pointing to one of the screws: TWIST. Then she details off to the side a panel that presumably pops open with an odd looking keyhole. Next to it she wrote: KEY + PRESS 12 14 FOR 13 FLOOR and KEY + PRESS STOP FOR CAVE.

She, then, digs through her overalls, and pulls out a very ornate and strange looking key. If one were to examine it, one could see that they keying is bizarre, and only a master locksmith would be able to pick it. On top of that there seems to be electrical leads studded throughout it, presumably sending some sort of electrical signal to the lock.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing makes certain all the details of this drawing are captured on the camera, since it's obviously a very important one given all the details added onto it. "Very nicely done, gives all the info quite well." He takes the key she has produced, looking it over with a raised eyebrow, "They're really taking no chances, I see. Nobody is going to come up with anything close to this without an original to work off of."

He looks to Strix and adds, "I assume it's ok if I keep this so that we can go pay them a visit? And do you know if it sends a signal that someone is coming when you use it?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
When Batgirl is able to get ahold of the key to examine it, she gives a thorough look. Her cowl lenses drop into place, allowing her to zoom in and see a magnified view of the key. Also Oracle is going to be able to check the recording later and get a better look for herself.

A soft whistle is given. "That could take some time to duplicate, even with having the key. Especially if the lock itself is also sending signals to interact with the key so it's responding properly to a signal instead of just always outputting the same one."

She returns the key to the spot on the table and then nods to Strix, saving questions for later, if she has any.

Strix has posed:
Strix nods to Nightwing's first question, while his second gets him a shrug. She has no idea how these things work. She just knows what she was instructed to do in order to get to where she needs to go.

The fourth picture is a top down of the cave itself. Off to one side is where the elevator exits into it, leading into what can only be a stylized labyrinth. In the middle of the labyrinth is an owl, with it's wings spread sitting on a dais. Perhaps a statue of some sort? Leading from the Labyrinth is a room with little cylinders peppered around all over the place and from /that/ room is a smaller room with what looks like an oval table with little chairs placed around it. In the center of the table, Strix has drawn a little Court mask.

This, too, she holds up for people to see before sliding it under the camera.

Dick Grayson has posed:
He nods, looking over the representation of the cave. "Ok, they like to keep things complex, huh? Once you get through the secret elevator, there's an actual maze to go through. Is the drawing correct, or do you have another that shows the proper turns to take?" He taps the Owl on the dais, "Is this something important, or just a statue?"

The table gets a simple "I imagine that's where they meet to make decisions, but what is in this room?" He indicates the one with the cylinders.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl leans a little closer to see the drawing better. "And, if they have a maze I'm guessing they aren't just going to chance it that someone doesn't know how to get through a maze if given enough time?" she says, lifting her head from the drawing to look over to Strix. "Are there other defenses in it? Traps, automated weapons, anything of that sort?" she inquires.

Her burger hasn't been touched for a bit, Batgirl finally going back to it for another bite, before washing it down with a sip of water.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
This is one of the truths of detective work -- they have probably learned more about the Court in the past few minutes then they did in all of the months proceeding this moment. Sometimes all it takes is one break, one clue -- or one witness in this case -- to begin to open the flood gates. Not everyone has the patience to stick at it -- it was probably the biggest challenge in most cases, training teenaged boys to sit still and observe instead of rushing off after this tenuous lead, or that tenuous lead. Even he might have questioned the wisdom of taking on that challenge.

But he can take his own advice too. Good things come to those who wait. Sometimes.

Like the others present, the Dark Knight studies each picture -- storing them away in his mind even as the same is done with the Bat Computer miles away. Each one tells an interesting story -- about the capabilities and priorities of the COurt -- and if every detail is not immediately apparent, at least it is a place to start.

"That might take some sussing out," he muses thoughtfully, finally offering an opinion at last. "The labryinth could have other tricks as well, if it is designed to be changed. If it can be different everytime someone goes through. The possibilities are considerable for an organization as entrenched and as paranoid as this one."

Strix has posed:
Strix nods at Nightwing's first question and taps the next picture she has ready for them. His second gets a hand waggle. Sometimes it is just a statue. Sometimes it isn't. To his third question she points at another picture in the stack. She nods at Batgirls question. Yes there are traps and such in it. She points at her head and crosses her eyes and mimes being dizzy. The maze is made to mess with people's head.

The next drawing that Strix has prepared is a detailed map of the labyrinth itself. Indeed in the center of it is the statue of an owl standing in a pool of blue. There are also rooms peppered here and there throughout the maze. One in which she's drawn little picture frames in. One has nothing but a chair. There's about half a dozen of these rooms with various oddments in them, but that really isn't the important part.

The important part is that if you look at the maze, there doesn't seem to be an entrance or an exit. Whoever gets put in the maze is stuck there. However, that didn't top Strix from drawing a dottted line through a couple of choice walls in the labyrinth to illustrate secret doors that allow access into and out of it as well as detailing a safe path.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Bruce's words are borne out by the labyrinth map, given that you need to use secret doors to get in and out of it. "Looks like you're right, Batman. These guys take paranoid to whole new levels. The maze is literally there to mess with you, because there is no solution to it." Nightwing shakes his head, "It's a good thing Strix wanted out, I don't know that we would have been able to crack this nut without inside help."

He looks to Batman and Batgirl, adding, "And I'm betting she has even more surprises for us, for that matter. If they're going to be this paranoid, they might as well go all the way."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"Or a bulldozer," Batgirl adds about what it might have taken to beat the maze. Which sparks another thought but she leaves it for now as she looks back over to Strix. "Thank you for sharing all of this with us," she says, giving the other woman a warm smile.

That's actually Stephanie's Brown's super power. Smiles.

She nibbles on more fries as she soaks in the pictures from Strix.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
There are all manner of revelations in the more detailed picture of the maze -- though admittedly none more practical or useful then the potential safe way through it all. It's pretty hard to bring down an ancient and malevolent secret society if one isn't alive to do so, isn't it?

Of course, much of this is built on a supposition that the Court doesn't know that Strix has decided to leave them -- or at the very least that she's willingly hemmoraging information to them. If they are aware of that all bets are off. There's no telling if any of what she is sharing will even apply anymore. It's unlikely they've survived this long by being careless, right?

He can be practical too, afterall. Brutally, harshly practical. That doesn't mean these aren't leads worth pursuing of course. He just tries to go in with his eyes open in all situations.

"Probably not," the Dark Knight agrees, nodding at Nightwing's assessment. "I think we can safely assume that no matter how paranoid we think they might be, they're probably moreso."

Strix has posed:
The last picture Strix has prepared is slid directly at the table. She pulls out the overview of the cave and points to the room where the cylinders are, and then points to her picture.

She's labeled the picture 'LAB' and it's the picture of a casket of some kind, held upright by some kind of machinery. Tubes and dials and other sciencey stuff are peppered around it while the domed lid holds a shadowy figure underneath. Batman will immediately recognize this as the casket that Strix emerged from when they first met, all that time ago. In order to illustrate that point, Strix has drawn her hood, and an arrow pointing to the chamber. She's labeled the hood 24x

And next to the casket is a simple equation. The one thing that Batman and his associates needed in order to fight the Talons: their weakness. Strix is taking a huge chance exposing herself like this to the batfamily, but, as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound. The equation is simply this: COLD = SLEEP

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing stares at the last drawing for a long moment before he simply says, "Thank you. That's terribly useful. Cryo weapons can put them down easily without hurting them too badly. Maybe some of them will make your choice if given an option. That would be best, of course, but at least we have a way to fight them."

He glances to Batman, "We should be able to manage some cold weapons, I imagine." He grins, "I imagine you've got a storage room somewhere full of Fries' old prototypes we could bust out."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl takes in the newest information. "Sonnova-" she says, trailing off before filling in the parental lineage in her statement. "I suppose that might have something to do with why they've been so quiet this winter," she says.

She leans back in her chair, grabbing the burger and the wrapper to catch any last bits of bbq sauce. "I captured Fries a few weeks ago in Russia. That train that Joker threatened to destroy over involvement in the border disputes there," she says. "He's still in Arkham, if it reaches a point we might need to try to use his expertise."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
He can certainly understand why someone would be a little reluctant to expose themselves and their weaknesses, even to potential allies. He keeps a lot of secrets too afterall. He can also be rather ruthless about using one's weaknesses against others if he decides that's what it takes. So the Dark Knight understands very well just what Strix is offering up with this particular revelation, inclining his head ever so slightly.

So that answers the question about the cylinger room too. Provided that they haven't fled this lair and gone udnerground once more, they might just have a fighting chance to put down the Court once and for all. Or at least put a sizable dent into their operations. He leans back just for a moment -- breaking that boulder-like stillness he has adopted -- and bracing himself against the back of the couch, arms outstretched behind him. "That will not be difficult," he agrees. The Cave is full of trophies, a traditional that Dick started in point of fact. "I have at least two non-lethal variants stored there that we can work off of at need," he adds quietly. Chances are there is at least one lethal variant as well. He rarely overlooks much.

Batgirl gets a nod as well. "A possibility, though I do not know how much I would trust Fries to be cooperative. Or honest, if it comes down to it." Still, more options are always preferable to the alternative.

Strix has posed:
Now that her presentation is over, Stirx lets out a little breath of relief. Something is going to be done. She's finally going to be free. She won't have to kill for anybody ever again. Satisfied, she leans back into her chair and starts to pop fries into her mouth, looking at each one of her cohorts directly. Any questions?

Dick Grayson has posed:
He's running the info through his mind, going over what they have been shown. Looking over to Strix, he asks, "Ok, so 24 Talons, do you know anything about other forces they may have there? Would hate to go in and run into 50 goons as well as the Talons. Were there guards or soldiers, anything like that?

He reaches over and steals one of Batgirl's fries, chewing it while thinking over other questions to ask befoire the interview ends.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl's burger is finished, the wrapping wadded up and tossed towards the trash can. A no-look shot. Nothing but net.

She sits forward in her chair, looking thoughtful. "So our goal is the room where they are at. The maze is something it would be better to bypass if we could. So... what are the possibilities of skipping the warm up acts and just... tunneling through to where they are at? Hopefully coming up with something better than a big ole drilling rig, but in any event. Just coming out on the other side, hopefully undetected, and skip a lot of threats that way?"

Batgirl looks over to Bruce. Not bringing up the number of powered friends he has, knowing he is loathe to bring such into Gotham. But not knowing what else Wayne Enterprises might have up their sleeves.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Certainly anything that will let them avoid the bulk of the Court's defenses is preferable. Basic tactics. If you can attack from a direction that your foes can't anticipate you'll definitely have an advantage. Of course that pre-supposes that the COurt hasn't anticipated someone burrowing into their secret lair and having a suitable response prepared. Still, on the scale of probabilities, it does seem like a more hopeful possibility. He might not be willing to rely on luck, but that doesn't mean he is unwilling to play the odds.

"It might be possible. We did do some work on the Cave," he says quietly, getting no more specific in mixed company. "Doing so stealthily is likely out of the question though, short of getting J'onn to phase us all down. Any other approach will have to rely on speed or they will know something is coming at the very least," he muses before glancing towards Nightwing to see if he has any notions.

Strix has posed:
Strix shakes her head at Nightwing, and picks up her pad of paper.

NO GOONS
ONLY TALONS

she scribbles out. It doesn't seem like the Court trusts outsiders all that much to do their dirty work. She looks at Batgirl curiously, when she mentions drilling down into the lair. It's obvious by her expression that it's something she hadn't thought of, which, by extension is probably something the Court hadn't thought of either. They may be paranoid, but they're not omniprescient like they make out to be.

Dick Grayson has posed:
A break there, it seems. Limited numbers, and those susceptible to cold. Even if they're all awake, this is doable. He looks over to Batman and shrugs a little, "Tunneling will take time and give warning, it's either use the key and elevator or bring in someone like J'onn to get us down there fast. Honestly, I kind of like the J'onn idea. I know you're not huge on involving outsiders in our business, but it would be a major advantage to just appear in there without any possible warning."

He considers the diagram, "We can also add to that by having one or more of us enter by elevator and having the others phased in, hit them from both sides at once. Misfit could get in, but she'd be alone, so not the best option unless just as distraction."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl finally slides her lemon pie over. Testing the temperature outside, and then tearing open a corner to see if it is still the same temperature as the core of the Earth or if it has cooled off a little bit.

She takes a bite without combusting so it must have cooled some. "I assume we'll want to see if any of the Talons are willing to pursue better lives than what they do with the Court," Batgirl says. Any Talons. Not any OTHER Talons, as if Strix no longer gets that term applied to her. "If so it might take time. We'll need a facility to hold them and be able to work with each one at a time. Unless there's somewhere else we'd trust to do that?" she says, looking over to Batman again.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
It's true. On the whole Batman does not overly like engaging outsiders in their business here in Gotham. It is not because he is a control freak -- or at least it's not just because of that. But more because he knows very well what sort of discipline and training his people. They have to be a little more focused, a little better trained to get by in a world with heroes and villains alike with superpowers. It doesn't make them the best people for every job. But it does mean that there is a much lower chance of a careless error.

At least in his opinion.

Still, having so many different contacts in the superhero community does open up a lot of doors. And provide a lot of options. Again, from a tactical perspective options are always a good thing. There are a number of possibilities really, though Batman nods Dick's way. "We can take it away and decide on the best approach," he agrees quiely before glancing towards Batgirl with a thoughtful nod. "Another consideration. There are definitely people that we don't want to get their hands on them," he agrees.

Strix has posed:
Strix silently munches on her fries, watching the others as they make plans. She wishes she had anything more to contribute to this discussion, but her skills are singularly geared towards the murdering of people, rather infiltration.

Seeing as Batgirl has managed to successfully take a bite out of her pie without injuring herself, Strix pulls that towards her and takes a bite, eyes closing in delight.

Dick Grayson has posed:
He nods to Batgirl, "That's a good point. Doesn't matter if they want to change or not, we need somewhere safe to put over 20 programmed assassins. Arkham is obviously out, not secure enough. It's something else we'll have to plan before we hit them."

He looks to Batman, "We need to sit down and plan this as quickly as possible, discuss contingencies and things like where to put the Talons. We'll want to have Oracle online for this one too, I think. This will be a definite group effort."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl nods slowly. "Weather is already warming. They may start being more active if that was why their activity has been reduced. So time may be of the essence. A lot of bases to cover." She sets her lemon pie down and looks to Strix.

"We don't know where or how we're going to manage any we're able to bring back. But if it's possible, would you want to take part in rehabilitating them?" Batgirl asks Strix.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
One more priority to balance. Nothing new for them at this point!

Still, the Dark Knight nods to the other two thoughtfully. "We will make it a priority," he agrees. Of course, pretty much everything is a priority. Still, they will do what they can. "I'm sure she'll have something to contribute as well," he agrees without hesitation. If nothing else now that they have the basics from Strix perhaps Oracle will be able to dig up even more. She might be a the next best thing to a miracle-worker when it comes to the information game, but a place to start helps absolutely anyone.

Finally glancing back towards Strix, the Dark Knight inclines his head. "Thank you. You've given us a head start on perhaps finally putting an end to the Court of Owls."

Strix has posed:
Strix takes a moment between bites of pie to think about Batgirl's question. She pulls her pad of paper to her and thinks about what she wants to write. Eventually she scribbles out:

FEW WILL
TURN

and then she flips to a new page and writes:

BUT I
WILL
HELP

To Batman she nods, and flips through the pages of her notebook until she finds:

YOUR
WELCOME

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing picks up the key from the table and slips it into one of the compartments on his belt. If Batman wants the thing, he'll pass it over, otherwise he'll keep it safe until it is needed. To Strix he says, "I'll add my thanks, and promise you we'll get this dealt with as soon as we can so we can start getting you out of this safehouse. I know you didn't leave the Court just to be stuck in an apartment forever."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl finishes off her lemon pie and then disposes of the what's left of the containers that held her meal. There are extra burgers, fries and desserts in the bag so Strix will have some delicious but not good for you grub to enjoy later on as well.

She rises to her feet and walks around to offer Strix her hand, and if given she gives Strix a two-handed shake. "Thank you for this," she agrees with the others.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
They might still have some details to work out, but at least know they understand who, what and where they are aimmed at. Now they can turn their resources to properly dismantling the COurt and unravelling all of their myriad of threads that the secret society has managed to wrap around the city's various power structures. It's a start.

Those matters will have to wait, just a little while longer though. They will sort through them soon enough, but it is something that deserves a little consideration. Something that bears study, and thanks to Strix's illustrations, they now have something worth studying. "Hopefully the Court will be a distant memory soon," the Dark Knight asserts with a small nod of his head, moving towards the closest of windows leading out onto the fire escape. "We'll be in touch soon," he promises with one backwards glance.

And then he is gone, out into the dark night of Gotham City. The Court is important, but there are other matters, other potential victims out there waiting for their help.

And the Bat-clan will deliver.