The past of the Bat Owl mirrors the Cruel Knight in a way, both having lost their parents tragically, then going out to train; only one joined the military, while the other somehow ended up in the Magic Realm.
This led to their futures diverging in different worlds.
The Cruel Knight, after retiring from the army, returned to Gotham and allied with the Owl Court, becoming Zero Talon and a member of the court.
The Bat Owl had a higher starting point; upon returning to Gotham, he also joined the Owls but, due to his status as a caster, directly became a Hawk Priest, a high-ranking position within the Owl Council.
After all, from what has been seen on Earth -11, the Owls have only accumulated twenty to thirty Hawks since tribal times, which is the entirety of their warlock resources.
The Bruce of that world likely has complete control over this force, which grants him the leverage to negotiate with the Laughing Bat.
Compared to the cannon fodder like the Cruel Knight's Sharp Claws, the Bat Owl's treatment is evidently better. At least he even managed to infiltrate the inner layers of Wayne Tower.
Wayne Tower serves as the cover for Batman's false identity. There's nothing here that can link him to Batman; even the half-built Batmobile in the basement hasn't been painted black.
Despite the car looking very flashy, with its bulletproof armor and nitrous oxide booster, Dr. Fox in charge of this project stated that it's a military order, a new generation armored personnel carrier.
So what if it only seats one person? Each Wayne Group armored car is for one person, like it or not.
Lucius Fox, not only the chief scientist of Wayne Group but also its current CEO, is Batwing's father. Besides him, no one else in the group knows Batman's real identity.
Batman hasn't set up surveillance in Wayne Tower, perhaps out of consideration for Dr. Fox and Batwing's opinions, or maybe to avoid associating Wayne Group with Batman. Whatever the reason, this is one of the few places in Gotham without Bat Cameras.
Of course, there are regular security cameras, but they're not directly connected to Brother Eye; instead, they're linked to the group's security room. To view surveillance footage, Batman has to personally go to the tower's security room.
Aside from the top executives who know Batman and Bruce are the same person, many have only progressed to a stage of suspicion, with countless people scrutinizing Wayne Tower daily, intercepting signals from within, trying to prove Bruce Wayne is Batman.
In this situation, Batman simply opened up for them to investigate, as there's nothing related to Batman in Wayne Tower—it's just a massive cover.
Before emerging from the teleportation gate, Su Ming thought of numerous tactics, how to counter the Bat Owl's Reversal Curse or the Trembling Guardian Spell, the two most famous of the rebound curses, and the most restraining against physical means.
The Reversal Curse activates on delay, with a casting window of just a few minutes at dawn when dew forms. The required materials are so abundant that only someone with extreme luck could obtain them.
After casting, any damage the target receives throughout the day accumulates and rebounds onto the last person who inflicted damage, at the moment of sunset.
This is truly a ton of damage. Zha Kang once used this magic to trick others, casting a buff on himself in the morning. Then he'd go out, get hit by a car, jump off buildings, self-immolate—torturing himself all day long.
At dusk, he summoned a demon to make a deal. After gaining benefits, the demon tried to claim his soul, meeting the condition of harming Zha Kang.
The sky just darkened. All the accumulated damage for the day directly blasted the demon back to Hell, considering it breached the contract by not taking Zha Kang's soul.
The Trembling Guardian Spell is also a challenging magic to cast, with Constantine having only gathered the materials once in his life.
Unlike the Reversal Curse, the Trembling Guardian Spell acts instantly, with a short duration, but during its effect, anyone causing harm to the caster suffers tenfold damage rebound—nine parts rebounded, one part original.
In other words, during the spell's duration, the caster is virtually invincible.
Since the opponent here is Batman, just because Constantine couldn't gather the casting materials doesn't mean the Bat couldn't. Therefore, from the start, Su Ming assigned tasks to the team.
Besides Green Arrow having to disrupt enemy casting, possibly facing some risks, the others would only constrain the enemy, leaving the killing blow to Su Ming and Mackenzie.
Su Ming has self-healing and a symbiote; ordinary damage can't kill him. The Queen of Pain enjoys suffering, unrestrained and undying in the Main Plane.
So, as soon as they emerged from the teleportation gate, Su Ming blasted a Ten-Lantern Ring Energy Cannon at the silhouette within the layers.
The power was concentrated, but it certainly caused significant damage to dark creatures.
However, the opponent was easily taken down, offering no resistance. The man in the black suit was vaporized in the light beam.
The surrounding buildings were unscathed, the enemy had no chance to retaliate, and the outcome seemed perfect.
Yet Su Ming felt something was amiss.
Though the ambush was bound to be effective, with both the Cruel Knight and Gotham Nightmare eliminated, would the Bat Owl be unprepared?
He's not insane, and he is undoubtedly clever; to go down so simply would betray his status as a warlock.
"Everyone on alert!"
Su Ming raised his hammer, signaling a tactical formation, indicating everyone should form a circle, ensuring no blind spots.
"Clap clap clap..."
A teleportation gate opened in the mid-air not far away, and Bruce, dressed in a black suit, stepped out with a smile on his face. He landed with ease, applauding while greeting others.
"An impressive hit, I couldn't even read the energy index... Hello, my friends, it's great to see you all again."
He appeared older, yet the Owl transformation hadn't turned him into a mummy-like bird monster. It infused him with an aura of authority far surpassing the Bruce of the Main World.
Su Ming frowned slightly; the light cannon had definitely hit its mark, and the ten Lantern Rings had confirmed the destruction of the target.
But now, the opponent reappeared unharmed, seemingly well-prepared and fearless.
A prepared Batman is undoubtedly the most difficult enemy to deal with.
The phenomenon's underlying principle was still unclear—Su Ming opted for a second probing strike.
He shot Green Arrow a glance; Oliver instantly performed a flash, shooting a poisoned N Metal arrow from behind the opponent.
Simultaneously, a surge of black tendrils burst from Su Ming's body, wielding various weapons in a sweeping assault towards the target.
Using the Magic Floating Cloak's speed, he charged forward, bringing down a hammer onto Bat Owl's head with relentless force, crushing it like a rotten watermelon.
Green Arrow put away his folding bow and approached Su Ming, looking at the Bat Owl, pierced behind like a flower arrangement: "Is he dead?"
Observing the headless corpse on the ground that occasionally twitched, Su Ming's expression didn't improve: "Something's off; he shouldn't have died so easily."
"But the Cruel Knight died quite easily too," Green Arrow shrugged, confident that his ambush and poison ensured Bat Owl's demise.
"That's because the Cruel Knight didn't anticipate Zorro's appearance and was ambushed by us; he didn't possess means exceeding natural laws." Su Ming surveyed the surroundings; it seemed like a typical Owl Court safe house, equipped with various weapons and spare Sharp Claw uniforms: "Bat Owl is different; he was prepared and is a Warlock Batman."
While they conversed, another teleportation gate appeared from a corner of the house, and Bat Owl, still smiling, emerged from it.
"Oliver, my old friend, your attack was ruthless, but this young Deathstroke is right—I don't die so easily."
Su Ming put away his hammer; the situation had complicated, yet he needed to uncover the mystery of the opponent's undying nature.
Is it a Demon Contract? Or some other ability?
"You don't seem too worried."
Su Ming crossed his arms and asked, as the Justice League members intuitively stepped behind him.
Bat Owl shrugged: "Why worry? You can't kill me. Besides, I have deep feelings for you all, unlike other Bruces."
"Oh? Tell me more." Su Ming hid his hands behind his back, subtly making a few gestures, signaling everyone to remain calm as he gathered more information.
Bat Owl shrugged and pulled over a chair to sit: "Indeed, I prefer dealing with smart people. I thought you guys would keep trying to kill me a few more times."
Su Ming glanced at the corpse on the ground, which still remained, while another Bat Owl stood before him alive.
"In combat between Warlocks, standing undefeated suffices; you cherish your life dearly."
Bat Owl nodded proudly: "Thank you, I am the undying Batman, the presence in the Multiverse most restraining to you, though I bear no animosity—in fact, I merely leveraged the Laughing Bat's power for a shortcut; I dislike him greatly."
"Oh? How's the Joker in your world then? Or has your world already been destroyed?" Su Ming pulled over a chair and sat down, facing Bat Owl across the open space.
Dust floated between them, the morning light from the small windows allowing tiny particles to drift visibly, their movements dissipating and settling after the earlier commotion.
The circular goggles of Sharp Claw reflected their images, the yellow-black striped Deathstroke, and the completely black Bruce.
"With me here, my world isn't easily destroyed." Unlike ordinary Batman's demeanor, the adversary always wore a gentle smile and possessed the grace and elegance of Gotham Nobility, a trait from a bygone era.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Unlike the many maddened Owls, when Barbatos sought to dominate the Dark Multiverse, some opposed me, suggesting our world be sacrificed to the Dark God for ultimate power." Bruce nodded: "However, I knew it was nothing but a lie; Barbatos is a god reclaiming worlds, its nature devoid of concepts of empowerment and creation, only destruction."
"So?"
"Ah, so I cleansed all opposition, leaving only my voice in the Owl Council. I pointed the mighty Dark God to other worlds, hiding mine, sparing it from catastrophe... You know, I'm just an ordinary person, and this is the only feasible approach."
Bat Owl sighed, appearing troubled but soon earnestly continued looking at Su Ming:
"Someone must be sacrificed, but it won't be me."