"What is your problem?" Barbara asked, turning to Esau as they came to a stop a bit further away from, Bruce and Dick.
She knew that Dick had a habit of getting under people's skin, it was a good tactic for him to gain an advantage over a stronger opponent. An angry opponent would be prone to make mistakes and mistakes are costly in a fight which he needed to win. The problem was that Dick didn't see Esau as an ally and was still trying his best to get underneath Esau's skin, and it was working.
Despite knowing that, she was shocked at how easily Esau was rising to Dick's words.
After all, no matter how many guys insulted Esau in the past, he never responded.
"My problem?" Esau responded, waving one hand in Bruce and Dick's general direction. "I'm not the one that's accepting the idea that the Court of Owls has zombie ninjas like it's a common occurrence."
Barbara would give him that, even though she had seen and heard of a lot of things, undead were not amongst them. "Even so, Dick has a point." She said and Esau scoffed. "He does! We live in a world with superpowered aliens like Superman, is it really that hard to believe?"
"Yes, yes it is," Esau replied firmly, his arms crossing over his chest. "A superpowered alien is one thing, but above all else, he's alive. He bleeds, he gets hurt and that means he can be killed. There's a very clear line between alive and dead. This...blurs those lines."
Despite not saying it, Barbara could tell he was scared and she was as well because no matter how many times she had gone out and fought criminals, the fear never dissipated. It was always there, she had just learned to ignore it, but Esau was still new to this life and so, didn't have as much experience in these matters.
"I know, believe me, I know," Barbara repeated softly. "I'm just as scared as you at the idea, hell I've been scared for a long, long time, Esau. But you need to trust me when I say, there are things out there a lot worse than this."
Esau was silent before he gave a small, sardonic smile. "Trust you?" He muttered quietly, his face downcast. "Trust. That's a little hard to come by right now. You never know who might be keeping secrets from you."
Barbara flinched at his words, her eyes lowering to the ground. "I'm not the only one that's kept secrets." She said, her voice equally as accusatory as his was and Esau narrowed his eyes at her.
"I kept my secret as Black Hood for two months, you kept your secret for two years. Two years!" He exclaimed angrily. "I would have told you, every time you were with me all I wanted to do was tell you who I was and what I was really doing. But I didn't want to lose you, I didn't want you to hate me for what I did. As far as I was concerned, that's exactly what you would have done and I couldn't bare the thought of losing you too."
Barbara remained silent over the course of his tirade, her eyes slowly widening further and further as he spoke more. She could see the tears in his eyes and how angry he was, but most of all, how upset he was. He felt betrayed, betrayed that his best friend had kept such a big secret from him for two years.
In Esau's eyes, she hadn't trusted him enough, hadn't believed in him.
But above all else, he was afraid of losing her.
The emotion that had seeped into his voice as he spoke about losing her spoke of more than just friendship and despite the seriousness of the situation, Barbara felt her heart beat faster.
"I-I." She stuttered, unsure of how to respond to him in a way that would help resolve the situation.
"This," he indicated not only at himself and her but also at her mentor and partner a little ways away. "Isn't going to work. The kid, Robin doesn't trust me and I don't like him. I may respect Batman, but I don't like his code and right now, I'm not sure what to believe anymore."
Before Barbara could say anything in response, Esau walked away, leaving her there in stunned silence and unable to say what she wanted to say as he moved towards Batman. He spoke to him privately and couldn't hear anything that they were saying, but Barbara didn't have to hear what he was saying.
He was going, just like he said he was and it was all because they were too different.
They had different ideals and opinions, but those things were now tearing them apart and it hurt, so much that she felt dizzy and sick.
Barbara didn't even know how long she stood there, her eyes rooted to the spot where Batman and Esau had once stood. She didn't know when they had left, all she knew was that she couldn't believe how quickly things had gone south.
Esau was her friend, her greatest friend.
They had been together since they were kids and they had grown up together. He had always been there for her, just like she had been for him and it hurt so much to imagine him leaving her.
She didn't know when, but he had stopped being just her friend when she had stopped being content with their current relationship. Barbara didn't know when she started desiring more from their relationship, when she started looking at other couples and imagining that it was her and Esau doing those things.
All she knew, was that maybe like friends had a habit of doing, they had grown too different and drifted apart.
As Barbara sat on the ground, she questioned if things could return to normal.
-X-
Saturday 18th April 2009, 03:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Sleep had eluded him when he returned to his apartment.
Esau had tried as soon as he got home, but all he had done was laid there frustrated and angry as he remained staring up at his damp and rotting ceiling. It had been a frustrating hour he spent laying in bed trying to fall asleep only for him to finally give up and move to the main living area of his apartment.
It was, like always a mess.
Even before becoming Black Hood, it had been a mess.
But when he became Black Hood, Esau spent most of his time training or out on the streets, too busy to actually spend time cleaning his apartment. As a result, his apartment had become an even bigger mess than it had been before quitting school and becoming Black Hood. When Batman – or Bruce Wayne as he had come to know him to really be – had hired some of the best he could to fix the apartment. It had looked really good, better than when he had first bought it, but like always, it became a mess once again.
Just like his life.
He didn't know how or when things had become so strained between him and Barbara.
No, that's incorrect as he actually did, it was the moment he became Black Hood.
The difference in their ideals slowly drove a wedge between them and while the short break he had taken from his vigilantism had helped bring them close together, it had not closed the gap fully.
Now that he knew the truth and so did she, he didn't really know what to think.
He loved Barbara, that much he was sure of and always had been for years and that's why it hurt so much to know the truth of what had become of their relationship. It hurt that Barbara hadn't trusted him enough to tell him the truth and now that he did know, it only made things worse because he didn't know if he could trust her anymore.
Sighing, Esau leaned back into his sofa and closed his eyes, he was tired but sleep continued to elude him.
"I imagine the knowledge of who Barbara is must be hurtful." Jumping to his feet, Esau spun around to see the Talon standing in the doorway to his bedroom. "Then again, I wouldn't really know how that feels so I can't really say if I'm right or not."
"What'd you want?" Esau snarled, his fists clenched as his mind replayed their previous meeting, getting to his feet in preparation for a fight.
The Talon stepped forwards and Esau moved backwards to keep the distance between them both. "I'm not here to fight, I already tested you once and you passed, albeit barely. But considering my options are limited, you're certainly better than most candidates."
"Candidates for what?" Esau demanded, never once lowering his guard for even a second.
"To become a Talon, like me." Esau's eyes widened in shock and the Talon chuckled. "Though, I imagine you won't be too keen on the idea, especially when it comes to working for the Court. Nor am I really, I don't like the Court. We're very similar you and I, did you know that?" As he was speaking, the Talon moved around the apartment, taking in every detail, but summarily dismissing everything that lack value.
Esau himself continued to keep his eyes firmly locked on the Talon's figure, just waiting for any hint of hostility. "And how are we similar?"
The Talon looked at Esau and while he couldn't see it, the blonde could just tell that he was smirking beneath that mask of his. "We're both orphans, exposed to the true reality of Gotham, at a young age." He then turned away. "And eventually when presented with the chance to change this city, took it with both hands. Yours was Black Mask and your hatred for the man as well as your desire to protect Barbara Gordon and her father."
"And yours?" While he didn't fully drop his guard, Esau did lower his arms slightly to show that he was at least listening.
"The previous Talon before myself found me, raised me, taught me and eventually handed me the duty of carrying out the Courts orders. While the Court are the visionaries, it is we Talons that put those dreams into action." The Talon clenched one fist tightly, the material of his glove groaning under the pressure.
"In return, you get resurrected as undead servants." Esau sarcastically replied and the Talon looked at him for a few moments before chuckling.
Shaking his head, the Talon turned to fully face Esau. "Yes, I do not like it. That's why I plan to change that and I need your help."
"My help?" Esau dubiously asked.
"You see, the Court is made up entirely of the rich and wealthy of Gotham. They believe it's their right to rule Gotham and they plan to do just that. Scarecrow? He was just a means to an end to create the Fearless Toxin, which in turn is just a tool for them to use."
"Just like you." Esau bluntly pointed out and while the Talon paused, he continued on soon after as if he hadn't been interrupted.
"The Fearless Toxin will create anarchy and chaos, they will use that chaos to put their agents and themselves into positions of power and when everything subsides, they will rule Gotham. The scum of Gotham will have killed each other and those that do survive will be hunted down by me and the Undead Talon." He explained and Esau listened.
"This doesn't explain why you want my help," Esau said. "Why not go to Batman? I'm sure he would be able to help you better than me." Despite his dislike of Batman's moral code, Esau begrudgingly respected and even admired him for not only his insane combat skills but also his bravery.
The Talon shook his head. "No, Batman would only get in the way. You know as well as I do that Gotham cannot change if Batman continues to act the way he does. No, it needs to be a real, meaningful change, the Court will provide that, but they are no better than the criminals they are trying to get rid of."
"No, I will not let them." The Talon said firmly. "I'm an orphan, I lost my parents to robbers and had to take care of myself until the Talon found me. I want to change this city for the better, not for the worse and that's exactly what the Court will do."
"So you plan to betray them?" Esau questioned and the Talon nodded his head.
"At one point in time, I believed in them entirely and would have never thought of betraying them. It was when I learned of the fate that befalls all Talons that I realised how misguided I was, the Court as it is cannot be allowed to rule Gotham. Their plan will continue and I will follow, but once all is said and done, the Court will be expunged of its corruption just like Gotham."
Esau nodded his head, understanding the Talon's reasoning, but there was still one question in his mind. "And the innocents? What about them? Many of them will die if the Fearless Toxin is released."
"Sacrifices have to be made." The Talon said sadly and Esau sucked in a deep breath. "I understand it will be hard, I dislike it just as much as you. But whenever has anything worth it being without sacrifice."
There was silence once more and the Talon took in Esau's tense figure, it was then he quickly realised the true reason Esau was so unwilling. He had studied Esau a great deal and watched him play at being both Black Hood and Esau Jacobson. Talon knew exactly what the true motivation behind Esau's actions was and how that made him who he was today, which in turn meant he knew how to use him best.
Saving Gotham city was never his true aim, if anything, Esau hated this city for all it took from him.
It took his father and then his mother and then his childhood.
No, saving Gotham city was simply a byproduct of his actions.
His main aim for now and possibly always would be to save those close to him and right now, those two people were Barbara Gordon and Jim Gordon. Two people who because of their occupations and sense of morality would be right in the centre of the chaos caused by the Court of Owls and their ambitions.
"You have my word, Esau Jacobson." The Talon said, using the exact words he knew would at least convince Esau of his sincerity. "I will ensure that no harm befalls Jim and Barbara Gordon."
Esau looked at the bowing figure of the Talon and remained silent, only moving to sit down, his mind trying to go over all the information that had been revealed and he found himself overwhelmed. Not only was he dealing with the revelation of who Batman and Robin were, but he was also dealing with the bombshell of who Batgirl was and the harsh reality of their deteriorating relationship.
Yet now there was this as well?
'I really need a drink.' He bemoaned internally, only to look up when he saw the Talon had placed something on his table.
Resting there innocently on the table was a pair of black gloves with metal claws at the end, he knew exactly what they were. They were the same gloves the Talon was currently wearing, but they looked newer, the material crisper and less worn even though Talon's looked to still be in excellent condition.
"I'm not accepting those," Esau said making the Talon chuckle.
"I had a feeling you would say that, you did, after all, refuse the suit Batman offered you." The blonde gave no outward reaction to the revelation that the Talon had been watching him, he was already aware that he had. "These aren't a gift from me based on ideals. This is one orphan giving another a helping hand."
Esau looked back at the gloves and noticed a patch of white peaking out from underneath them.
Reaching forward, Esau pulled it out revealing it to be a slip of paper with what looked to be an address on the back. "What's...this?" He asked, turning to where the Talon had previously being stood only to find it empty. "Seriously? How the fuck did he do that?"
Ignoring that for a moment, he looked at the address and then turned it over.
Should you decide to accept my offer, you'll know where to find me.
Sighing, Esau leaned back once more and this time when he closed his eyes, despite everything that had been revealed to him, he finally managed to fall asleep.