INT. CAR – HIGHWAY – NIGHT
The city lights of Gotham fade into the rearview mirror as Dick and Vinny drive down the long, empty highway toward Star City. The silence in the car is thick and heavy, punctuated only by the low hum of the engine.
Dick breaks the silence, his voice flat and controlled. "Who are we meeting, and where?"
Vinny glances at Dick, a wry smirk on his face. "Evelyn said you were a natural, Grayson. Straight to the point."
He pulls a small, encrypted tablet from the glove compartment and taps a few keys. The screen lights up, displaying a series of blueprints and a map.
"We're meeting with the head of a company called 'Kord Industries.' It's a tech company on the surface, but they have a lot of off-book dealings. Weapons manufacturing, private security. All the good stuff."
Vinny points to a location on the map. "Their headquarters. It's an old industrial park just outside of Star City. The deal goes down there. We're going to set up a new distribution network. Evelyn wants to start selling the Court's weapons on the open market."
Dick's jaw tightens. Selling the Court's weapons would be a disaster, a move that would flood the criminal underworld with deadly, untraceable firearms. He knew Evelyn was ruthless, but this was a whole new level of ambition.
"And the contact?" Dick asks. "Who's our guy?"
"His name is Ted Kord," Vinny says, a ghost of a smile on his face. "He's the head of the company. A genius, they say. He's also a bit of a recluse. But he's got what we need. And Evelyn wants it."
Dick looks out the window, the world a blur of lights and shadows. He knows what he has to do. He has to get to Star City, make contact with Green Arrow and Black Canary, and stop this deal from going down. He has to stop Evelyn. But he also knows that this mission is far more dangerous than he anticipated. He's not just a pawn in Evelyn's game anymore. He's a player. And in this game, the stakes have never been higher.
INT. CAR – GOTHAM STREET – NIGHT
The car is a silent, dark shape parked a few blocks away from Barbara's apartment. Sam sits in the passenger seat, his eyes scanning the street, his body a coiled spring of tension. The air is thick with anticipation.
The front door of Barbara's building opens, and Pauline walks out, a dark figure slung over his shoulder. It's Barbara, unconscious, her hands and feet bound, a gag muffling her mouth. He moves with a brutal efficiency, a cold, predatory grace. He opens the trunk of the car and places her inside, a piece of luggage.
He closes the trunk and gets into the driver's seat, the light from the streetlamp illuminating his face. He's covered in cuts, small, angry gashes that crisscross his cheeks and neck. His clothes are torn, and he's breathing heavily.
Sam stares at him, a question in his eyes. "What happened?" he asks, his voice a low whisper.
Pauline lets out a harsh, humorless laugh. "For a librarian, that bitch can fight," he says, his voice a low growl. He pulls a small box from his pocket and tosses it to Sam.
"You'll want to see this." Sam opens the box. Inside is a pregnancy test, the two red lines of a positive result screaming from the white plastic. He looks at Pauline, then back at the test, his mind reeling. Dick and Barbara. A child. A new life. A new weakness.
"She's pregnant," Sam says, his voice flat with shock. "With Grayson's child."
Pauline nods, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. "That's not all she's hiding. She's got more secrets than a crypt. We're going to the Belfry. She probably has more secrets we need to learn."
Sam looks at Pauline, a flicker of concern in his eyes. "We're going to the Belfry? Isn't that a little risky?"
"Risky is our middle name, my friend," Pauline says, a grim smile on his face. "And besides, Grayson is busy in Star City. He won't even know we're here. Not until it's too late."
He starts the car, and they drive off into the night, a silent, deadly force moving toward the Belfry.
INT. KORD INDUSTRIES – OLD INDUSTRIAL PARK – NIGHT
The rain falls in a steady, cold drizzle as Dick and Vinny pull into the deserted parking lot of the Kord Industries industrial park. The place is a sprawling maze of warehouses and silent machinery, its windows dark and lifeless.
The only light comes from a few flickering streetlights and the car's headlights, which cut through the gloom like twin searchlights.
"This is the place," Vinny says, killing the engine. "Looks like a ghost town."
"They're not ghosts, they're just waiting for us," Dick replies, his voice a low, cold whisper. He looks around, his eyes scanning the shadows, the abandoned machinery, and the distant, dark windows. He can sense the auras of the men who are watching them, the ghosts who are waiting to make their presence known.
"The meeting is in the main warehouse," Vinny says, opening his door. "They're probably waiting for us inside."
Dick nods, grabbing his Talon mask from the dashboard. He pulls it on, the cold, smooth plastic a familiar weight against his face. He is no longer Dick Grayson, but a Talon, a ghost in the machine. He follows Vinny out of the car, his movements fluid and silent.
They walk toward the main warehouse, the silence of the night broken only by the sound of their footsteps and the steady, cold drizzle of the rain. Dick can feel the weight of his mission, the burden of his choices. He is a spy, a double agent, a man with a secret, and he is a Talon, a soldier in a war he doesn't believe in.
The massive metal door of the warehouse groans open, and they step inside. The air is thick with the smell of old metal and dust, and the space is a vast, cavernous expanse of shadows and silence. They walk toward the center of the room, where a single, bare lightbulb hangs from the ceiling, casting a harsh, unforgiving light on the men who are waiting for them.
Ted Kord, a man with a genius mind and a dangerous smile, sits at a makeshift table, surrounded by his men. He looks at Dick, his eyes narrowing. "You must be Grayson," he says, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "I've heard a lot about you. The new leader of the Talon army. Evelyn's new favorite."
Dick says nothing. He just stares at Kord, his eyes a cold, hard gaze that promises nothing but violence. He knows what he has to do. He has to get captured. He has to get to Green Arrow and Black Canary. He has to stop this deal. And he has to do it all before it's too late.
INT. THE BELFRY – NIGHT
The Belfry is silent, the main systems offline thanks to Sam's quick work. A low, sinister chuckle escapes Pauline's lips as he and Sam enter, their flashlights cutting through the darkness. The place is eerily still, the quiet a stark contrast to the usual hum of activity.
"Looks like our boy Grayson wasn't the only one with secrets," Pauline says, his voice a low growl. "Let's see what else this little bird has been hiding."
Sam heads straight for the Oracle hub, his fingers flying across the keyboard, bypassing the security with an unsettling ease. He's looking for the digital ghosts, the hidden files, the encrypted messages that would tell them everything they need to know.
Meanwhile, Pauline, driven by a primal, almost animal curiosity, wanders away from the main hub. He's drawn to the old clock, a relic from a bygone era that stands in the corner of the room. He runs his hand over its polished wood, his fingers tracing the intricate carvings. He pushes and pulls, his movements a brutal, frustrated dance, until he finds a small, almost invisible latch. He presses it, and with a soft click, the clock's face swings inward, revealing a hidden compartment.
His flashlight beam cuts through the darkness, illuminating a black and yellow suit. A familiar symbol, a bat, is emblazoned on the chest. He stares at it, his mind reeling. He recognizes it from old news reports and whispered rumors—a legend, a ghost, a symbol of hope and fear. It is the Batgirl costume.
Sam looks up from the computer, his face a mask of disbelief. "What is it?" he asks, his voice a low whisper.
Pauline just stares at the costume, a grim smile spreading across his face. "Looks like our little librarian wasn't so helpless after all," he says, his voice a low, triumphant purr. "She's a bat. And she's a ghost. Just like him."
Sam leaves the computer, the glow of the screen still lingering in his eyes, and makes his way toward Pauline. His footsteps are quiet, deliberate, his mind already connecting the pieces of a puzzle he never knew existed.
He stops beside Pauline, his gaze fixed on the black and yellow suit. He reaches out, his fingers hovering just inches from the fabric, as if a single touch would shatter the truth.
"The last sighting of Batgirl," he says, his voice a low, disbelieving whisper, "was five years ago."
Pauline, his eyes still fixed on the costume, turns to Sam. "So?"
"Barbara Gordon," Sam says, his gaze now locking with Pauline's, a grim, undeniable realization in his eyes. "Was paralyzed from the waist down... five years ago. By the Joker."
A chilling silence fills the room. The two men stand there, the truth hanging in the air between them, a cold, brutal reality. The dots have been connected. The mystery has been solved. And the knowledge of it is a new kind of weapon.
Sam stared at the Batgirl costume, the implications of his discovery sinking in.
"The reports said that Dick found her and took her to the hospital," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "And later that same night, Nightwing was reportedly seen beating the Joker half to death."
Pauline's eyes narrowed, a new, unsettling puzzle piece clicking into place. "You don't think... Dick is Nightwing, do you?"
Sam didn't answer right away. He just looked at the costume, then at Pauline. "It makes the most sense," he finally said. "He'd be the right age to be Nightwing. And it would also explain how he knows how to fight. With Barbara being Batgirl, it would also explain why he's so close to her. They're not just a couple. They're partners. They're heroes."
Pauline scoffed, a dark, cynical smile on his face. "Heroes," he said, the word a bitter taste in his mouth. "So, he's not just a liar. He's a vigilante. An enemy of the Court. And he's working with the one person who could expose us."
Sam nodded, his mind already racing. "We need to get this information to Evelyn. She needs to know who she's dealing with. She needs to know who she's going to war with."
The two men stood in the silent, empty Belfry, the truth hanging in the air between them. They had come for answers, but they had found something far more dangerous. They had found the truth. And it was going to change everything.
INT. KORD INDUSTRIES – OLD INDUSTRIAL PARK – NIGHT
The air in the warehouse is thick with tension, the silence punctuated only by the low hum of the bare lightbulb. Ted Kord, a predatory smile on his face, sits at the makeshift table, his eyes fixed on Dick.
Dick, in his Talon armor, stands motionless, his mind a whirlwind of tactics and strategy. Vinny, meanwhile, is a coiled spring of tension, his hands hovering over his concealed weapons.
Suddenly, with a deafening crash, the silence is shattered. The skylight shatters, sending a cascade of glass and steel raining down onto the floor. Two figures, a blur of green and black, drop into the warehouse. They are Green Arrow and Black Canary, their movements fluid and graceful, their presence a shockwave of righteousness.
"Everyone," Green Arrow says, his voice a low, commanding rumble that echoes through the cavernous space. "You're all under arrest."
His gaze sweeps over the men, his eyes narrowing as they land on the Talon in the room. He draws his bow, the arrow aimed at Dick's chest. "We're not going to let you sell your weapons, Kord. We're not going to let you turn this city into a war zone."
Black Canary, a silent, deadly shadow, moves with a graceful, predatory ease, her hands already glowing with a faint, pulsing energy. She stands ready to unleash her sonic scream, a weapon that could level the entire building.
Dick stands motionless, his hands at his side, his body a mask of cold, unreadable calm. He is a Talon, a soldier in a war, and he is a hero, a partner in a mission. He looks at Green Arrow, then at Black Canary, his mind racing. He knows he has to play his part. He has to get captured. He has to get to his friends.
He takes a deep breath and waits for the inevitable. The fight is on. The stage has been set. The heroes have arrived.