Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

Batwoman in Blüdhaven

    The alarm of a jewelry store goes off as two thieves pile into a black van, the headlights beaming into the dark night as the car speeds off. One drives while the other pours out the stolen jewelry from the burlap sacks they'd been carrying.

"How much you think we'll get for all this?" one of them asks, glancing up at the other.

The other one scoffs, shrugging it off, "More than enough. Don't worry about it-"

The van veers off to the side, throwing off the two robbers and sending the jewelry flying everywhere. One of the thieves catches himself on the van's wall as he turns towards the driver.

"What the hell was that?"

The driver, hidden in shadow, turns around, adjusting her bright blue mask. The Trickstress.

"Delivery," she quips.

The top hatch of the van is ripped open as a woman in a black and bright red cape lands on the van floor. She stands, as the robbers stare at her in shock. She smirks.

"Boys."

The first one runs at her, but she kicks him in the stomach before he can get close. The other one tries to grab at the Trickstress, wrapping both arms around her as he tries to yank her out of the driver's seat. Still holding onto the steering wheel, the Trickstress jumps onto the car seat and swings herself around, kicking the thief square in the jaw. But because she was using the steering wheel for support, it causes the wheel to be careened to the right, causing the van to take a sharp turn. It careens into a lamp post, wrenching the upper half of the post free, sending it crashing down onto the van. Sparks from the electric wire go flying, and the vehicle is set ablaze.

Police cars catch up with the van, squealing sirens and swirling lights surrounding the site of the crash. As the officers get out of their cars and shine their flashlights around the scene, their light comes upon the robbers, safely away from the blaze, all tied together with thick rope, with no sign of their capturers anywhere.

    "My god, I needed that," Barbara chuckles, as she and I sit on the roof of a Blüdhaven skyscraper, unmasked but still wearing the rest of our costume. From across the river you can see the speckled lights of Gotham City, only a stone's throw away from its sister city of Blüdhaven.

"Hey, you and me both. I needed this, I needed to get away," I confess, playing with the Trickstress mask in my hand.

Barbara leans back, "Why's that? What's wrong sweetheart? You can tell me, after all, you'd heard enough of me blabbing about my own problems-"

The two of them laugh, but I stop laughing much sooner than Barbara does. Picking up on this, she frowns, "Honey, what's wrong?"

I sigh, "Oswald, he...he-"

"That jerk again? Natalie, I don't know how that man keeps showing up in your life, but it needs to stop," Barbara interrupts, crossing her arms.

"I know, I know, but...apparently, I mean, I know..." I look Barbara dead in the eye, "he's threatened both you and Renee. He knows you're here in Blüdhaven and Renee's back with her parents. He told me himself."

Her eyes widening, Barbara covers her mouth with her hand in order to try and conceal her reaction. It's no use though, and eventually she responds, "How...?"

"I don't know. All I know is that if I don't do what he says...something could happen to you or Renee, or her parents-"

"And who's to say that Oswald will keep his promise to begin with?" Barbara wonders, shaking her head.

I nod, "You know, I was even hesitant to come see you when you called. I looked behind by back every second, making sure Oswald or his men weren't following me."

"You're a former CIA agent, I think you can out-maneuver a couple of Gotham goons," Barbara assures her, patting her on the shoulder.

I chuckle, "Ha, I guess-"

Just then, a shadow leaps out from behind the other side of the skyscraper, landing on the rooftop edge. Standing tall, he whips out two small dual blades.

"Perhaps, but you can't out-maneuver me."

A sliver of moonlight peaks out to reveal a familiar owl-like mask on the man's face.

"It's a Talon!" Barbara cries.

As the Talon comes running at the two of us, Barbara and I both leap off of the roof simultaneously. We plummet towards the ground, until we bring out our grappling guns. Firing them at a nearby rooftop, we jet off, away from the Talon.

"Hasta la vista, baby!" Barbara cackles, as the Talon grows further from our sights.

The Talon gets up on the edge of the roof, and pressing one of his feet forward on the skyscraper's brick wall, he's immediately jettisoned forward, steam bursting from his black, pointy shoes. He rockets toward Barbara and I at speeds we can't even comprehend.

"Crap!" Barbara shouts, right as we retract our grappling guns, falling towards the ground before re-firing them in order to change course.

The Talon, now above us, lands on the side of another building, only to leap off of it again with purpose and grace. Swinging out one of his blades, he glides above Barbara and I, speeding slightly ahead of us. We watch from below, confused, until my eyes widen with horror as I spot him swing his blade, severing the line on Barbara's grappling gun.

"No!" I cry, reaching out my hand helplessly as Barbara plummets toward the street below. Still above me, the Talon switches directions mid-air, now charging directly towards me. He tackles me as I'm still in flight, sending me careening off-course. My grappling gun's stretched to its limit, as the force of the Talon's weight pulls at the cord. It slows our fall, but eventually the hook snaps free, and the Talon and I collapse into the trash bags in a dark alleyway. Before I can even think the Talon is already on me, pressing my face down with one hand and raising his blade with the other. Still clutching my grappling gun, I point it at him, firing it so that the hook hits him right in the face. The wire continues to extend, wrapping around his neck. He lets go of me as he instinctively claws at the grappling wire. Standing up, I stop the gun, only so I may pull at the wire, constricting him further. However, he gets ahold of his blade and slices the wire, freeing himself.

Now free, and with one blade in hand, he whips out another, identical blade, brandishing one in each hand. In response, I whip out my two Trickstress daggers, their blue finishing glinting in the moonlight. The Talon charges at me without hesitation, and I do my best to deflect his attacks. Our blades collide, lunging and parrying as we battle in the small, cramped Blüdhaven alley. One of my slashes gets him in the shoulder, cutting into him. Angered by this, the Talon elbows me in the stomach, sending me back. He uses this to his advantage, knocking me down with the handle of his blade. I hit the damp concrete of the alleyway, looking up as the Talon poises his blades for the kill.

Author's Note: In loving memory of Adam West, the '66 Batman