Gotham, a city of exclusion. Few truly become part of it unless they dedicate their entire lives to it. There are many birds here, their feathers similar, soaring in the same way. Only the owls can distinguish the minute differences—who is a predator, who is prey; who is a local, who is an outsider…
"The Court, we've had an unexpected gain."
Lincoln March gazed at the pair of birds before him, his pale complexion revealing his inhuman nature. The green-eyed, black-haired Robin and Swallow stared back at him. Instinctively, he sensed a hint of danger in Robin's eyes.
"Don't let them stay together."
He gave the order thoughtfully. Despite the disparity in power, the battles between owls and sewer-dwelling bats sometimes tested wits as much as strength. Now, relying on his intuition, he felt confident he had uncovered something significant. Thus, he decided to go with the flow. After all, who said there couldn't be power struggles among owls?
In any organization, conflicts arise naturally. Whenever people gather, disputes inevitably occur.
Hearing this, a struggle flashed across Damian's face. If he backed out now, he could still ensure Swallow's safe escape. Robin could certainly control the situation; he was the son of the Demon, unflinching even when alone in enemy territory. But separating from Swallow was another matter.
After spending time together, Damian no longer simply saw Baia as a helpless target. This realization was a difficult shift for him. In the League of Assassins, everything was binary—superior and subordinate, Damian and enemy. There was always a clear dynamic defining his relationships with others. Wayne Manor, however, disrupted all of this.
Accepting Baia as an ally and evaluating her abilities from a new perspective became necessary. Once Damian recognized this, he had no qualms about overturning his previous judgment.
His current assessment was: Despite Swallow's wit and competence as an assistant, it would be challenging for her to survive in the hands of the Talons.
But Baia subtly signaled to him, using family sign language to indicate that the plan remained unchanged. She didn't look directly at him, which would have been too obvious.
Trust had always been a significant issue, something Bruce struggled to bestow. Yet, Batman was Batman, and Robin was Robin. Perhaps Robin could afford to trust something.
Damian had to clarify: This didn't mean he particularly liked Swallow or thought she was exceptionally strong. He merely decided to believe she was worthy of the uniform.
In the end, they finally exchanged a confirming glance.
For Baia, what followed was a prolonged darkness. She could sense the change in air pressure, an experience familiar from helicopter rides, especially vivid from her trips to Switzerland with Talia. This meant she was no longer in Gotham.
Lack of visual cues made it difficult to gather information. Baia took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts like Red Robin would, to prevent herself from becoming overly anxious during the journey.
Over three hours had passed.
For a secret organization's modified helicopter, this was quite a long distance. She might already be in Europe, a guess based on the fact that such organizations favored Europe.
What was unexpected was the sheer size of the place.
Greece, Crete, Chania.
Stories of the Cretan Labyrinth had been detailed in the Homeric Epics and other literary works, described with grandeur or eerie narrative techniques, depicting the massive labyrinth that housed the Minotaur. Baia remembered that a mythological figure named Daedalus built it, but she never imagined she would find herself inside it.
The owls' fascination with labyrinths showcased their cruel pleasure in toying with minds.
They didn't have much time, but enough to break her.
From Lincoln March's account, the Court had some knowledge of this Swallow. They needed her, much like how Chinese emperors sought immortality. The Court was convinced that wealth and power could bring anything, but in the face of death, everything became too fragile.
She doesn't possess the unwavering willpower of Batman.
"Think about it, during the long years of the Court's rule over Gotham, many creatures once soared under the night sky…"
"They either fell into the mire, becoming prey for the Court, or transformed into owls."
"You're not a bat, you're even more fragile, indecisive…"
"You're not Robin either, in any sense, you've never been an apprentice to that dark enterprise—"
"What else is there to patrol at midnight?"
The ubiquitous gaze of the owls surrounded Baia, and at one moment, it seemed to her as if they had all opened their sharp beaks, proclaiming her fate in a hymn-like chant.
She felt a similar fear to what Bruce had described in his narration.
Suppressing her anxiety, Baia didn't flit about the maze like a headless fly, as that would only amuse the owls. Yet, the sharp voices continued to entice her.
"It certainly isn't Swallow, Swallow can't soar at night; even without the owls' gaze, she would be torn apart by Gotham's cold night winds—"
Think about it, Baia.
She thought to herself, you're not a bat, that's certain, you've never fought enemies in the darkness, that's indisputable, you're not even a caped crusader because your ideals don't involve beating up villains and punishing evil. Your ideal is to keep them safe, and they are safe, so you won't yield here.
Another difference is: she had never been alone.
Or to put it another way, they had never left her alone.
A faint rumble came from beyond the endless white labyrinth, not in Batman's style. Swallow closed her eyes, trying to deduce who was approaching.
The next moment, the owls scattered in alarm.
"A little common sense: where this Swallow wants to soar, she will soar."
A rather arrogant voice sounded, followed by the charging sound of repulsor beams. The outer walls of the building collapsed with a rumble, and owl statues quietly shattered.
Members of the Court, dressed in suits and formal attire, began to scream and scatter, apparently not expecting the intruder to be so unorthodox. After all, their opponents had always been wealthy people trying to infiltrate high society, mercenaries, and detectives.
Tony Stark builds weapons; Tony Stark is a weapons master.
The weapons master easily defeated the owls—see, that's the difference between investing in modern technology, finance, and the petty squabbles of wealthy people's boring little clubs.
Swallow's communicator emitted a crackling sound, which was a good thing. With the labyrinth shattered, the communication blockage had also failed, and now she could contact the Batcave.
Baia pressed the wristband on her wrist, and the metallic silver and blue gauntlet immediately enveloped her slender fingers, blasting a claw that pounced on her with incredible force.
"Don't show mercy to these Talons, they're all dead!" Baia shouted, "But those hypocrites in owl masks still have citizenship rights, although they don't deserve it, spare them."
Tony made a shrugging gesture in the air. "You call the shots, Miss Almost Kidnapped."
Any slight touch of pride or emotion Baia felt because of Tony's previous declaration disappeared with his sarcastic tone.
"I didn't—this is a plan!" Baia gritted her teeth.
"I'm good at making plans, but definitely not at sending little sidekicks into enemy territory to die absurdly!" Tony said, without a hint of kindness. "If I hadn't received the severed connection notice from Friday, no one would know you died here!"
Baia, displeased: "Actually, this plan was devised by me and a boy under ten years old, and I also have a locator on me, so don't make a fuss."
"If you don't want to live, just say it outright, no need to beat around the bush like this," Tony said, unkindly.
"Let's get to the point, you've caused such a commotion in Greece, the authorities must have started moving, so get out of there while you can!" Baia ordered.
At her words, Iron Man commanded Friday to access a satellite, and indeed detected several police helicopters on their way.
In this world, no one knows Iron Man.
"Alright, let's get out of here," Tony agreed.
"Wait!" At this moment, a gloomy, hoarse voice emanated from the rubble, more like the roar of a beast than a human.
A colossal figure rose from the debris, covered in fur, muscles bulging, emitting huge, bellows-like breaths. Jagged teeth protruded from its lips, and its size was at least ten times larger than an average human. It shook off the rubble from its body like shaking off fleas. If it weren't for the tattered scraps of fabric hanging from its body and the small, crooked white owl mask on its face, Baia would have found it difficult to believe that this creature was once human.
"Who allowed you to leave?" Iron Man raised his palm repulsor. "This is why I hate genetic engineering."
"The influence of the Owl Court is intricate; they may have more than just this one secret weapon," Baia said. "Now that the Court members are scattering, there's little point in continuing the fight."
Tony said, "Really? But I was hoping to find some ill-gotten gains here."
"Alright," Baia changed her mind at his words. "Let's make it quick."
Activating her rarely used Red Robin talent [Tactical View], Baia managed to break free from the scattered attacks of the Talons. The movement speed of this giant monster was extremely fast, but fortunately, in the Tactical View state, Baia could instinctively evade to the most advantageous positions.
"Want to try attacking his spine?"
"Alright, does this thing have citizenship too?"
Baia swiftly threw two explosive batarangs at the creature, temporarily slowing down its momentum, then was lifted off the ground by Iron Man, who swept her away, charging into the air.
The armor plates on Iron Man's shoulder opened, revealing a row of miniature launchers. A small missile drew a perfect arc in the air and hit the monster's spine.
It roared defiantly, then collapsed with a crash.
"I heard that a dead Minotaur and a shattered Owl Maze make quite the match," Tony remarked.
"Swallow! Report!" came Bruce's serious voice through Baia's communicator.
Baia glanced at the rubble beneath her feet. "I'm safe, but the situation here… I'm not sure if we've succeeded or messed up the plan."