Perhaps he had been captivated by her beauty, intending to make her his lover. That might explain why she alone had been spared.
If that were the case...
But just as a glimmer of hope began to light up her thoughts, a voice as cold and merciless as a demon's broke through her reverie.
"Tch. Did I miss one?"
No. No...
Her expression froze, terror spreading across her features. She wanted to cry out, to beg for mercy. She wanted to say that sparing her would grant him not only a beautiful lover but also access to her family's wealth and influence—privileges that countless others could never hope to achieve in a lifetime.
After all, as a member of the Court of Owls, she was part of Gotham's elite, one of the privileged few who thrived at the expense of the city's less fortunate. The Court's members had always drained Gotham's lifeblood, ensuring that the city remained in a state that benefited them. They cared nothing for the suffering of ordinary citizens, focusing solely on maintaining their luxurious lifestyles and protecting their gilded wings.
Their lives were, in Avery's eyes, utterly worthless.
Avery looked at her with an indifferent gaze, his voice as cold as his expression.
"Kill her," he said.
"No! I don't want to die! Please—"
Her desperate pleas were abruptly silenced. The Talon's blade was swift and sharp, delivering death so quickly that the woman likely felt little pain before succumbing to the inevitable.
Avery harbored nothing but disdain for the members of the Court of Owls. Though he was far from being a good person himself, he loathed their deeds. In truth, Avery had never considered himself virtuous; he had rarely taken actions to aid the weak or vulnerable.
Detached from the world at large, Avery participated in its affairs only sparingly, and even then, he touched it lightly, leaving as little trace as possible.
The factors that shaped such a personality remain inconclusive, but one thing is certain: Avery's worldview does align more closely with Batman's, particularly in his disdain for those who commit evil.
This shared perspective is likely one of the reasons they managed to connect with each other. After all, if their core values had been vastly different, no matter how many ties bound them together, it would have been impossible for them to stay on the same path for long.
Avery unconsciously keeps a boundary between himself and everyone else. He knows full well that he could never truly become a hero like Bruce. Once a personality is formed, it is difficult to change, and Avery lacks both the desire and the resolve to save anyone. Still, he admires Bruce for choosing such a thorny and selfless path.
If not for his awareness that Bruce opposes resolving Gotham's problems in the brutal manner Avery might prefer, he would have long since cleaned up Gotham in his own way, rather than waiting until the Court of Owls provoked him with their actions.
"Take the bodies and hang them on the Gotham Bridge and other prominent landmarks," Avery ordered.
With a portion of the Court's members eliminated, Avery dismissed further reflection and began preparing for his next move.
The Talons carried out his orders, hoisting the corpses over their shoulders. A few among them, with particularly strong wills, appeared to be on the verge of breaking free from his control, but Avery swiftly and decisively executed them without hesitation.
This battle had been a foregone conclusion from the start. The Talons created by the Court of Owls relied solely on the unique properties of electrum to make them formidable, but they had no other superhuman abilities—no flight, no super-speed, and certainly no power to commune with aquatic life.
Before leaving, Avery assigned the Talons an additional task.
To compile all the evidence of the Court's secret crimes, amplify it with undeniable proof, and distribute printed copies across every corner of Gotham.
Thus, what was once dismissed as nothing more than an urban legend—the Court of Owls—was unceremoniously revealed to the public in a most humiliating fashion.
Creatures that had survived exclusively in the shadows of the night were now forced to face the searing burn of daylight.
Would this count as a form of misfortune?
The members of the Court of Owls were all prominent figures in Gotham's upper society, wielding immense influence over the city's economy and politics.
This made their exposure all the more shocking. When the bodies of some members were strung up in prominent locations for public viewing, and their past crimes were documented and distributed throughout Gotham—so much so that even the homeless could pick up copies to use as toilet paper—every citizen learned of the existence of this sinister organization.
The Court of Owls could no longer hide in the shadows.
Amid the shock and panic, the public began to scrutinize the remaining old noble families of Gotham's upper class, speculating loudly whether they too were members of the Court of Owls.
It was true that many of these families had played a role in the founding of Gotham centuries ago, but time had marched on, and the reverence once afforded to them had dwindled over the years. By now, steeped in arrogance and detachment, they cared little about Gotham's progress or its people.
The undeniable reality the citizens now saw was this: these individuals were like leeches, greedily draining the lifeblood of the city, even stooping to assassinate high-ranking officials and key leaders to maintain their grip on power.
Naturally, the Wayne family, as one of Gotham's most prominent aristocratic lineages, was not immune to suspicion. After all, as Gotham's wealthiest and most influential family, Bruce Wayne seemed like a prime candidate for membership in the Court of Owls—some even speculated he might be its leader.
Though Bruce Wayne was widely regarded as a playboy, the Court's recruitment methods didn't appear to be based on personal capability. Instead, it seemed to rely on family influence or even inheritance, leaving open the possibility that Bruce could be concealing his true involvement.
—And wasn't that, in itself, a kind of grim joke?