Fowl Play

The call had reached Gordon first… It was still to early for the Bat-personas to take to the night… but it was a DOA call from the outset. Mario Falcone had dropped from his penthouse apartment and landed face first into the concrete sidewalk… By the time the call had gone out, it was for a clean up crew not a medical intervention. Kara and Barbara had heard Jim take the call and head out. After he had left, Barbara went to work digitally… She opened the back door to security system installed in the heir to the Falcone family’s fortune’s building.

“The reason they do this during the day is they are afraid of us at night,” Kara muttered, “If we could operate in the open the criminals would never have a chance…”

“Let’s see,” Barbara said, “Digital code entry via RFID card at the hidden back door, no cameras. No cameras in the corridor to the hidden elevators… RFID Card authorized the call of the elevator… No cameras in the elevator car. RFID card authorized call to go up to the penthouse… authorized by the PIN entry in the Penthouse.”

“So nothing to get fingerprints off of?” Kara asked.

“Tried many times,” Barbara rolled her eyes, “Let’s see. Shadow moving just out of the view of the cameras. Mario standing on the balcony with a can of soda, turning and looking at the visitor. Let’s turn on the audio.”

“So… You are here,” Mario said, “What do you want? The Silent Treatment? Really? Are you going to kill me? If you, are just get it over with…”

Kara arched an eyebrow at the statements.

“A message?” Mario asked, “What? Leave Gotham? Sure, I hate it here anyways. I have a place outside Settle and a retirement account, that good?”

Mario watched for a minute and watched the figure leave. The shadow moved back to the hidden elevator being careful to make sure they stayed out of view of the cameras.

“Well shit,” Kara said.

“RFID activates the Elevator car and it automatically is heading down to the ground floor,” Barbara said looking at the code information…

“Mario is still alive…” Kara noted.

“Yeah…” Barbara arched her eyebrow.

She clicked play and kept the main display running the feed from the balcony… Mario was grumbling about how much he hated Gotham and all the freaks that seemed to be coming out of the wood works. He finished his soda and put the can on a table and looked back out over the setting sun.

“Still, I think I might just miss this hellhole,” Mario chuckled…

Mario leaned over and looked down at the city streets below. It was then that a mass came out of the sky above and landed on Mario’s back. The extra weight unbalanced the man and he fell forward. The mass fluttered up and expanded out it wings. It was a Great Horned Owl.

“A three kilo mass?” Barbara estimated.

“Landing out on the shoulders at speed,” Kara added, “Enough to push him over the edge…”

“And the landing on concrete finished him off…” Barbara said.

“Yeah… but was it a random accident?” Kara asked.

“Shit,” Barbara said looking around, “Where is the vodka!”

“Babs,” Kara said.

“Think about the rabbit hole you just opened up,” Barbara said, “How do we prove if it was or was not Cobblepot’s trained birds used to commit a murder verses an accident?”

“What if it wasn’t Cobblepot?” Kara asked, “Those guys said ‘the Owls pass judgement…’ What if it was someone else that used an attack owl?”

Barbara and Kara looked at each other for a long moment. A moment that was ended by their ‘special phone’s’ ringing.

“Bruce?” Kara answered hers using the speaker phone.

“Boss man?” Barbara asked.

“You know what is happening? You opened the exploit in the security system?” Bruce asked.

“Yes and Yes,” Barbara said.

“Let me guess,” Kara said, “You watched it too, now the question is can we prove it was or was not Cobblepot’s trained bird and or just an accident?”

“Carmine was found with an owl’s feather on him too…” Bruce said, “But his death was different… and Cobblepot has an iron clad alibi… He is under armed guard 24-7 at Bob Kane General’s Police Wing.”

“So how do we even start investigating this?” Barbara asked.

*

“What do you want with me?” Jason asked as he sat back in the desk.

“There is some weird shit going on around here and everyone is pretty tight lipped,” Rose Worth snapped, “But you seem to be at the center of a lot of it.”

“Oh-kay,” Jason said, “How about you take a seat and calm down, or at least lower your voice before we get yelled at?”

Rose looked around the library and saw people staring at her and Jason. So she took a seat across the table from the red haired boy. Rose brushed a few strands of her white bangs out of her eyes. Jason for his part remained calm and even leaned back from his books.

“So how about an introduction?” Jason smiled like Bruce taught him, “My name is Jason Todd…”

“Can the charm,” Rose said, “Don’t bother trying to seduce me.”

“This is me being friendly,” Jason’s tone carried a knife’s edge of malice, “I save my ‘seductive’ talk for someone else…”

“The goth chick Roth,” Rose noted.

“Right,” Jason said, “She would be very upset if I was trying to seduce strangers, and you don’t want to see her mean side.”

“Spare me,” Rose said, “What is with this place and why is everyone acting like everything is a government secret?”

“This is a private school for people who like their privacy,” Jason smirked.

“Like the Teen Titans?” Rose asked, “You are one of them, aren’t you?”

Jason made a few posses, and then stopped and looked at Rose.

“Hmmm, seems I don’t have any superpowers,” Jason almost chuckled, “No. I am not a Titan.”

“Then why else are you here?” Rose asked.

“Well,” Jason looked around the library, “Are you the illegitimate love child of a multi-billionare? Are you the victim of genetic experimentation by your parents? Is your father a very wealthy mercenary?”

“Uh,” Rose stammered.

“You are right, Gotham Academy is a place of secrets,” Jason said, “Just personal ones… I am the most open one here.”

“Right,” Rose said with a disbelieving smirk.

“I had a choice, Juvenal Hall or Wayne Manor…” Jason said, “I am not sure I didn’t end up in Juvenal Hall anyways…”

Jason waved around the school library.

“I thought I would get the high life at Wayne Manor,” Jason smiled, “Don’t get me wrong, food is great, bed is comfortable, but I miss the freedom to do what I want that came with living on the streets. I am here, because there is no way in hell a street rat like me could get in or stay in a proper prep school. So, I am here with all the others that are trying to lay low and get a good education so they can maybe live a normal life in-spite of what life handed them.”

“So…” Rose started, “I was right, people do have secrets.”

“Yes,” Jason smiled, “But they are all personal, not some conspiracy. And people don’t take kindly to poking around in people’s personal lives. So tell me, do you have any secrets you want hidden? Or uncovered?”

Rose sat there looking back at the red haired boy feeling uncomfortable.

“Makes you feel a little uncomfortable…” Jason went back to his books.

*

The Hotel Room was technically still being used by Nasthalthia Luthor, but it was clear that Nasty had already left and in a hurry. Batgirl let go of Oracle and then landed on the balcony next to her. Oracle had already disabled the security systems and was working on getting the sliding security door open. Batgirl just pushed the handle and it slide open.

“You can’t pick the lock if it is unlocked,” Batgirl smiled.

“Smart ass,” Oracle sniped.

The pair entered the room and looked around. Oracle turned on a black light and looked in the bed sheets.

“She is a drooler,” Batgirl noted.

“And if she did have a guest in here with her,” Oracle said, “They didn’t do anything that would leave wet marks.”

“I don’t know which is a more disturbing thought, Penguin getting laid,” Batgirl said, “Or Nasty getting knocked up?”

“I doubt there was any romance in that arrangement,” Oracle said.

“No left clothing, no left stuff in the bathroom,” Batgirl noted.

“Towels are used, doubt the DNA would tell us anything beside Nasty using them,” Oracle concurred as she looked in.

“I think she left this morning…” Batgirl said looking at the residue by the sink of toothpaste.

“But she was seen in town,” Oracle said bringing up a security camera feed from a jewelry store, “This is here at Owl Court…”

“Owls and Owl court…” Batgirl said, “If I were inclined to believe whacky conspiracy theories…”

“Beware the Owls of Gotham, for each night they watch the deeds of men, and each morning they gather to pass judgement on those who fail to live up to their standards…” Batman intoned.

“Oh shit!” Batgirl shuttered, “Is that why Sup’s wears the red diapers? Because you keep sneaking up and scaring the crap out of him?”

“That’s a bit cryptic even for you boss,” Oracle clutched her chest, “Great scare, cryptic poem.”

“It would make my panties wet, if I were wearing any,” the feline purr came from the balcony, “You are filling out nicely there Digimon, got to get some shots of you on the internet so we can get some rule 34. Taking your daughters out for a refresher course?”

“Catwoman,” Batman started to intone.

“Robin is tied up on the roof, he didn’t put up to much of a struggle,” Catwoman smiled, “Let a real pro show you how it’s done…”

The purple and black feline fem-fatale danced around the room looking around. She then stretched her out her left arm in it’s black leather opera glove and clenched her hand so the hidden claws extended. The pose struck Batgirl as if she was supposed to be holding a ball or making a cage for a bird in her hand. Catwoman used the claw on the middle finger to reach up from below and hook the base of the top of the night stand, she made the smallest hint of movement to pull it towards her and then stopped and smiled. Like a cat with a bird in it’s sights, Catwoman smiled and maneuvered her body around, she laid down on the floor with her head in the hollow of the night stand looking up at the drawer from below and reached up inside the nightstand. She then got up and pulled the nightstand from the wall and looked.

“That looks like the keys to a self-storage unit,” Catwoman smiled, “Tomorrow I am sure the buyer will come by to pick it up, why don’t you send the kids to track it down and take me to bed stud, right here, right now…”

“Phantasm is in town,” Batman intoned.

“Call her up and lets make it a three way,” Catwoman purred.

“Oracle, scan it and run it in,” Batman said pinching the bridge of his nose, “Batgirl untie Robin…”

“One of these nights,” Batgirl said as she walked past Catwoman, “He is going to take you up on your offer and you are going to have sextuplets Miss Kitty.”

*

“Well these would be the Luthor Rogacks,” Robin said, “Every one of them is multiple felonies in the State of Connecticut.”

“You don’t get to talk,” Oracle said, “You let Catwoman tie you up.”

“Quite, all of you,” Batman said, “Can we disable them without being obvious?”

“On it,” Batgirl said.

“I will plant some beacons,” Robin said.

“Registration?” Batman asked.

“Working on it,” Oracle said, “Looks like it is a manual place. Maybe a PC in the office.”

*

Kara sat on a bench next to Babs and Jason, they were still in their batsuits without their cowls. Batman paced back and forth.

“Maybe Kara should go have dinner with spit curl and snoop around Metropolis,” Jason said.