Crash!
Victor was thrown backward, smashing through the bike shop's glass display and landing hard in a pile of bicycles.
It should have worked in his favor, the clutter could have slowed the Talons down. Instead, his foot got tangled in a bicycle wheel.
"Shit!"
He cursed under his breath and immediately drew his gun, firing repeatedly at the head of the nearest Talon.
Every shot was blocked.
Before he could adjust, another Talon surged forward from behind the first, its steel claws slicing through the air, closing in on his head.
The silver blades glinted under the moonlight.
Victor spat directly at it.
The gesture meant nothing. The Talon showed no reaction. It did not hesitate, did not flinch, did not care.
The claws came down.
Victor sneered and forced his eyes wide open.
If he was going to die, he would watch it happen.
Clang!
A dark Batarang shot through the air and struck the Talon's claw, knocking it slightly off course.
Victor froze for a split second, then recognized the shape.
The Bat symbol.
"Thanks, Bruce! I owe you big time!"
"Then shut down your drug operations. I can compensate you in other ways."
From a nearby lamppost, Batman crouched in silence, his gaze fixed on the Talons below.
When Axel first began his killings, Bruce had been furious. The list had no clear logic, no visible pattern.
But now, things had changed.
Some innocent people might have been caught in it, but the Court of Owls had revealed themselves.
That alone proved Axel had struck something important.
Batman's eyes locked onto a Talon staring back at him.
Cold. Empty. Inhuman.
He exhaled slowly and dropped from the lamppost.
"Can you communicate?"
He pulled several pellets from his utility belt.
As he spoke, Alfred's voice echoed in his mind.
If anyone had wanted his father dead over the past twenty years, it would have been the Court of Owls.
Thomas Wayne had stood for Gotham's lower class. That alone had made him an enemy to the city's elite.
From that perspective, his father had not died from a random act of violence. It had been something far more deliberate.
Betrayal.
Bruce's grip tightened.
He could not forgive them.
The pellets shot forward.
They collided midair and expanded into a crackling electric net, trapping three Talons at once.
Their movements slowed for a fraction of a second.
Batman moved instantly.
He closed the distance and drove his elbow into one Talon's temple, sending it crashing to the ground. He followed with a series of brutal strikes to its chest.
Bone cracked.
The Talon paused briefly, then rose again, continuing its attack as if nothing had happened.
Batman grabbed its arm and snapped it without hesitation.
"No human stays conscious after that. You're something else entirely."
In one smooth motion, he seized the Talon's blade, spun it, and cut through its neck.
The head flew off.
The body collapsed, twitching violently on the ground.
Batman stared at it, his expression tightening.
Even without its head, it still moved.
There was barely any blood.
"Even decapitation isn't enough. Their bodies feel... enhanced. Stronger than anything from the Lazarus Pit."
He did not hesitate.
With the blade still in hand, he moved like a shadow, closing in on the remaining two Talons.
Inside the bike shop, Victor could barely follow what happened next.
All he saw was a blur of movement, Batman's cape sweeping through the darkness, followed by two sharp flashes of silver.
The Talons fell, their heads severed.
Silence returned.
Batman stepped toward the shattered display window and looked down at Victor.
"Why are you alone? Where are your men?"
Victor pulled his foot free from the bicycle wheel and stood up, brushing off his suit.
"I'm working solo. Bringing people along would only slow me down."
He adjusted his collar and continued.
"I owe you one. But I'm done for tonight. The Court has shown its hand. If I keep going, I'll just become a liability."
He reloaded his pistol and gestured with it.
"You should deal with the rest. Remember that nursery rhyme, Talons hide under every child's bed. There are definitely more of them."
He paused, then added,
"I'll head to Wayne Manor and lay low. And don't forget, I owe you a favor."
"I am Batman."
The correction came instantly, firm and absolute.
Victor smirked and nodded.
"Alright, Batman. You've got my respect now."
Before he could say anything else, a sharp rush of air followed.
Batman was gone.
Victor blinked, scanning the street, but there was no trace of him.
At the same time, Deadshot's voice echoed through the comms.
"Haha, Victor, you're still alive? Did backup show up?"
Victor straightened, his tone serious.
"Yeah. And it's reliable."
"Who, Bruce? I heard someone complaining at lunch that he sneaks out at night and leaves Rachel alone."
"Floyd."
Victor cut him off sharply.
"Remember this. He is Batman."
There was a brief pause.
"If you see him for yourself, you'll understand. His efficiency... it's on another level. Even compared to you."
Deadshot let out a low chuckle.
"Is that so? Now I'm curious."
As he spoke, he deflected a Talon's attack with a shot from his gauntlet, then drove his dagger into its neck.
He twisted the blade sharply.
The Talon's head separated cleanly.
Deadshot turned toward the next one, his voice carrying a hint of excitement.
"How about a competition? Let's see who kills more of them."
He raised his weapon again.
"These things are worth hunting."