Chapter 32 The Last Glimmer of Humanity Welcome! Welcome! A warm welcome! ...
The place was empty except for the kidnapper who brought Dick, who stood idly beside him and even answered a phone call (the main content of which was that he refused to work close to midnight, even if there was overtime pay, and he would not go even if his head exploded).
Dick took the opportunity to look around and discovered a door behind him.
This is strange. Even if Dick had never been kidnapped before, he had seen some works of art about kidnapping. How could a kidnapper not restrict the hostage's movements at all?
He quietly moved his feet, trying to slip away, but a hand landed on his shoulder from behind.
"Don't wander off. There are traps everywhere outside. You won't get out without someone to guide you," the guy in the strange uniform, who was wearing the same uniform as the kidnapper, warned him.
Dick nimbly ducked and slipped away from his opponent.
The other person didn't stop them, but simply lowered their hand and stood idly to the side.
Round goggles, two protruding long pointed horns... it's clear these people's clothing is imitating an owl.
Combining Gotham City's horror legends (well, those things sounded rather interesting when he was still an outsider, and he heard quite a few), these people are probably...
Are you Night Owl?
Dick had a sudden inspiration and asked the owl-like man who answered the phone a question.
I almost wish I were him; I haven't seen him for a whole week. He's living a carefree life, while I have to work during the day and at night, plus two bosses who want me to work overtime, and they even hold my life in their hands.
Kelvin put down his phone (even though it was a Wayne Enterprises phone) and calmly retorted, "No, I'm not. Night Owl will probably be here in a bit."
"What do you want?" Dick demanded loudly.
Kids have such good voices; they didn't get hoarse even after shouting for so long.
"How would I know? You'll have to ask Night Owl."
Who knows what Night Owl is up to? He hasn't come for days, and today he suddenly notified Claw to expel all the other members of the Court of Owls. He also had Kelvin kidnap the Wayne family's new member and bring him here. He even planned out the invasion and escape routes for him in detail. Could it be that he wants to personally demonstrate how to kidnap someone?
"You...are from the Court of Owls?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
It's nothing, I just think it's really cringeworthy that an evil organization calls itself a court and dresses like an owl.
But Dick didn't provoke the kidnappers at this moment. He calmly watched as several strange men in owl uniforms entered the room. Some of them even exchanged a few words with their colleagues (if members of evil organizations also call each other colleagues), while others just stood there like wooden stakes.
Dick noticed that the owl-like monsters were no longer focusing on him, nor caring about the danger outside, and were trying to escape again.
He stealthily moved to the door, quickly opened the heavy door a crack, and squeezed out, only to bump directly into a tall, silver-gray figure.
The other party was only one person, and Dick tried to use his short stature and agility to get around them, but the other party anticipated his move and grabbed his wrist immediately, pulling him back into the room.
Dick was completely unable to break free and could only observe this strange newcomer.
The newcomer was also dressed in owl-like clothes, but he was clearly different from the others; at least his armor was much more advanced than theirs.
Upon closer inspection, the previously carefree owl monsters had lined up in neat rows.
...
No wonder they ignored me; it turns out the big boss has arrived.
This person must be the legendary Night Owl?
"Are you going to demonstrate how to properly kidnap someone yourself? Should we call Wayne Manor now?"
“What are you thinking? I’m not so poor that I have to resort to kidnapping to earn a few tens of thousands of dollars. And don’t even mention kidnapping anymore. Your flawed operation is a disgrace to Gotham’s criminal history, a disgrace to me,” Night Owl said. His voice sounded deep, suggesting he was a middle-aged man… These things were obvious to everyone. Quickly think of a way to escape!
"If it's not kidnapping, then what do you want?"
Dick asked Night Owl a question, intending to stall for time as much as possible, hoping that Thomas would come to rescue him, or that Bruce would return to Wayne Manor, find someone missing, and then call the police.
Dick remembered someone saying that in Gotham only Thomas could rival Night Owl... or vice versa, whatever the argument, Thomas was probably about as good as Night Owl.
Alfred was not on his agenda for the time being; Alfred was just the butler… He hoped Alfred and Thomas were alright, but he didn’t know if those owl-like monsters had made a move on them.
So why doesn't such a large estate have any bodyguards? The security is terrible! Anyone from an opposing force could easily break in. How can Bruce, Thomas, and Alfred sleep soundly?
“Hold a welcoming ceremony,” Night Owl replied, bowing his head.
"Welcoming ceremony?" Dick repeated, puzzled.
Is it like in some horror story, where a new member of an evil organization has to kill an unlucky guy as part of a welcoming ceremony?
So he was chosen to be the unlucky one?
"Yes, I also prepared a cake and a gift for you, but the gift arrived before I had time to set up the venue. Because I was worried about the gift, the ceremony could only be held tonight." He pushed open the door again and pulled in a trolley with a large onboarding cake on it. It must have been specially made and looked like it was made with money.
?
Did I transmigrate to some parallel world where "Dick wasn't adopted by Wayne but instead joined an evil organization"?
Not only was Dick surprised, but the Claws were also shocked.
“While it may be unlikely, is the Court of Owls about to welcome a distinguished new member?” Kelvin asked first. Lately, he had been living under the constant pressure of Thomas’s world-destroying ambitions and no longer feared the night owls as much as he used to.
Although he asked that question, Dick would never have become a member of the court if the Night Owl hadn't been determined to send him to the Court of Owls.
Anyone could see that Dick was completely unsuitable for the selection criteria of a senior member of the Court of Owls. He was of foreign descent, grew up in another country, and by no means could he be a true Old Gotham native.
“Of course not. I refuse to acknowledge that there is an organization called the Court of Owls, which is full of fanatical scum,” Night Owl said. “Fortunately, we are about to completely wipe out those dregs that occupy the name of the Court of Owls.”
...Aren't you the biggest fanatic?
But Kelvin wasn't foolish enough to raise the question in front of everyone.
"Wait, what's going on?" Dick looked at Night Owl standing next to him, puzzled.
"Huh? You didn't know?" Night Owl asked him back, "Your ancestors were one of us, and so are you."
"What evidence do you have?"
“Your wisdom tooth,” the owl replied, “has the mark of the Court of Owls on it, and it probably won’t grow in for a few years.”
But aren't those claws? Kelvin wondered.
Is being a Claw a good profession? Considering the selection criteria for Claws, what's the difference between welcoming a child to be a Claw and welcoming him as an orphan?
But of course he wouldn't undermine his boss, of course he wouldn't.
“I’m glad you’re my first new claw since becoming a Supreme Court Justice,” Night Owl said, looking down at Dick with a hint of a smile. “Now is the perfect time. We no longer need to take orders from a bunch of good-for-nothings who rose to their positions through blood ties, no longer need to risk our lives for some idiotic plan…”
This is a little trick of speaking; Night Owl deliberately puts himself and Claw on the same side, even though he himself is the biggest power in the Court of Owls.
This was certainly not an act for the other henchmen, but an act for Dick.
"No need to summon the gods anymore?"
"What kind of trash would believe in such a thing as summoning an evil god to rule the earth?"
The Crime Syndicate, with some members being idiots and others just coasting along, almost managed to rule the Earth. Meanwhile, the Council of the Owls, such a large organization that gathers people from all walks of life, has absolutely no presence. Their progress in ruling the world relies solely on messing with the Wayne family in their attempt to summon an evil god. What else can they be but trash? They are the worst of the worst.
“Now we are the masters of the Owl Court,” Night Owl announced to the Claws. “I hope you will all consider yourselves the masters here from now on. I’ll talk about the duty roster, salaries, and household registration tomorrow. Let’s enjoy the welcome ceremony today.”
If we don't enjoy our lives now, we'll all die together in a few years. This is the last glimmer of humanity in the night owl's heart.
Anyway, Claws can't help much with building the quantum bomb. They don't understand mechanical engineering, advanced mathematics, quantum mechanics, materials science, or computer science... And Owl originally planned to reduce the Court of Owls' activity to avoid Batman's notice, so he could take this opportunity to loosen his control over Claws and also win over Dick to clear his name.
“But there’s something more important to do before we eat the cake,” said Night Owl. “Dick, you haven’t seen the present yet.”
"What, what gift?"
The poor child is completely confused now.
Night Owl doesn't seem like a bad guy, does he? But didn't he harm Thomas?
Could he be acting? But what's the point of fooling a child...?
The owl didn't answer him; the door opened by itself.
Zuk was tied to a wheel for knife throwing, and several men dressed in similar claw suits pushed him in.
“I’m sorry, kid,” Night Owl said in a low voice. “You have a happy family, and I didn’t want to drag you into our dangerous organization, but none of us expected this bandit to have such audacity.”
Dick looked at Zuk, who was tied up, and said nothing.
Night Owl pulled two knives from Claw beside him, handing one to Dick while he held the other tightly in his own hand.
Zuk seemed to want to say something, but his mouth was taped shut.
Dick stared blankly at his enemy, gripping the knife tightly in his hand.
"Some hatred can only be washed away with blood," the owl whispered.
He stood behind Dick, his hand holding the knife resting on Dick's shoulder.
The blade was very close to him.
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Author's note: As I wrote this, I felt like I was writing about a landmine guy ( ).
Look, the pink Lego character is sweet-looking (not really, but does the Wayne family have any ugly people?), controlling, dark-hearted, emotionally sensitive, easily out of control, and prone to exploding...
How can you not call him a landmine guy?
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