The Floravita Industries base was a hive of controlled chaos. Medbay lights flickered as doctors and Pamela's vines worked in tandem to stabilize the wounded. The air buzzed with the hum of monitors and the faint rustle of vines, their green glow casting eerie shadows. Alex sat at his terminal, the folder of Kane's documents beside him, their weight heavier than the paper they were printed on. The video Raid on the Fuckwits had been uploaded to Parahumans, and the forum was erupting. #GREENGOTEM was no longer just a hashtag—it was a rallying cry. But the tribunal loomed in less than thirty-six hours, and the Court of Owls' shadow still hung over Gotham.
Alex leaned back, eyes scanning the Parahumans thread he'd started. The post had exploded, and the comments were a mix of awe, fear, and conspiracy. He smirked at SlaveGreen's meltdown but froze when he saw SuperMan's comment: Shame and disgrace. Was it aimed at the Court, the government, or… them? The ambiguity gnawed at him. Superman's involvement, even just a hashtag, meant the Justice League was watching. That could be a shield—or a sword.
Pamela entered, her emerald dress catching the light like a predator's warning. She carried a small vial of glowing green liquid, her "truth serum" refined from the interrogation. Her face was taut, eyes burning with purpose.
"Kane's still under," she said, voice low. "He's a husk now. Anything else you need from him before I… repurpose him?"
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Repurpose? What, into fertilizer?"
She didn't smile. "Don't tempt me. But no—his knowledge might still be useful. I can keep him docile, a living archive. Your call."
Alex nodded, his mind already racing ahead. "Keep him alive for now. We've got bigger problems. The tribunal's a trap, but the Court's not done. Kane named Wilson and Roark, but the other nine? They're ghosts. And if Superman's sniffing around, we need to move fast."
He pulled up the Parahumans thread again, scrolling through the chaos.
Parahumans Forum
Section: Rumors
Thread: The Court of Owls: Masks, Pomp, and Necromancy
Author: GreenMistress ✅
Gotham's used to weird headgear. Some wear bat ears, others clown paint, and one guy can't seem to take off his penguin suit. But there's a crew that outdoes them all—in pomp, theatrics, and sheer absurdity.
Meet: The Court of Owls.
Yup, not kidding, that's what they call themselves. Straight out of a cheap pulp novel. Or a comic scribbled on a napkin between stand-up gigs.
Legend says they're a secret brotherhood ruling Gotham from the shadows for centuries. Reality? Bored, rich snobs who think owl masks and basement whispers make them politicians, tycoons, and gods rolled into one.
Oh, and they've got Talons—elite assassins revived through something between necromancy and a bad skincare routine. Picture it: undead soldiers, immortal elites, and endless confidence that the people are just background noise.
The Court of Owls is a Venetian ball for narcissists with a god complex. They think they're the food chain's apex, but all they've managed is a botched attempt at a sham military tribunal against me. Yup, they slapped me with a subpoena (attached: [subpoena_scan.pdf]). So we raided their operation to get answers. Attached is the video (Raid_on_the_Fuckwits.mp4) showing what went down and what we learned.
We caught their pawn—Howard Kane, CEO of Arkham Infrastructure, who hid their tunnels under "reconstruction." He named three: Senator Arnold Wilson, lobbying their interests in Washington; Major General Elizabeth Roark, overseeing military projects, including Arkham-South; and himself, Howard Kane, handling logistics for their ops. The rest—shadows, hiding behind titles like "Grandmaster." Documents, catacomb schematics, ritual logs—all in the video. This isn't gossip. It's truth.
Gotham, wake up. The Court thinks you're pawns. Prove them wrong.
Comments:
SlaveGreen: OH GOD, WHEN THE OFFSCREEN VOICE TOLD HER TO KISS HIM, I WANTED TO BE IN HIS PLACE. BUT THANK GOD IT DIDN'T HAPPEN—IF I SAW THAT GODDESS KISS THAT FAT SLOB, I'D PUKE ON MY SCREEN. 🤢😍
Moderator ✅: Muted SlaveGreen for 5 minutes for violating forum rules. 🚫
Adekvat228: SlaveGreen, the undead didn't freak you out? I was more scared watching Kane try to dance Kalinka-Malinka. It was like a hippo balancing on a tightrope! 😱
Seriously, those Talons are creepy. They moved like robots from a cheap horror flick, but they still give you chills.
Konspirolog: WAKE UP, SHEEPLE! IT'S A SETUP! THEY PRE-CONTROLLED KANE, THE VIDEO'S EDITED TO FRAME HIM. YOU THINK A SECRET SOCIETY LETS YOU WALTZ INTO THEIR TUNNELS? WAKE UP, FOOLS! 🧠❌
Moderator ✅: Banned Konspirolog for 6 hours for violating forum rules. 🔨
NoMisses: Konspirolog, just waltzed in? Haha! The lead guy spotted traps—barely visible in the video, like that hair-thin tripwire. And the Talons? They only survived thanks to those vine rounds. If the army or feds went in with the same numbers, half would've dropped at the start, then hit an ambush. Normal bullets don't faze those zombies, and you call that easy? That lead Talon, the one who cut them up? Terrifying—fast, like he predicted shots. Without the AOE smoke attack, they'd all be dead. 💥🔫
MysterWho: There are cuts at 4:31, 6:11, and 7:59, but editing's minimal, so the video's legit. What's the government gonna do? Insider info says Batman's been tearing through Gotham for over seven hours—right after the raid. He saw the video before us. 🦇🔎
Adekvat228: MysterWho, what about the tribunal? Isn't what they did and posted a crime? 🤔
MysterWho: Tricky. First, the government screwed up, and now everyone knows. If they don't cancel the tribunal, they'll screw up more—talk of protests in Gotham already, and Superman's probably watching since he posted #GREENGOTEM. They'll likely drop the charges. Second, yeah, it's a crime, but with what they uncovered, consequences are unlikely. 🏛️🚨
SlaveGreen: Yeah, let them try touching her—I won't hold back! 😤💪
RabbitInAhat: God, they're cultists! Let me break down the Talons, no manual needed. They're loyal dogs with no will or desires. To make one, you need about ten normal souls or one mage's soul, plus a special brew to preserve the body. From the interrogation, they stole kids, raised them as ninjas, then fed them herbs that killed them. Alchemy embalms the body from within. A sacrificial ritual and blood magic revives them, "signing a contract"—easy without a mind. Bullets don't work because the body's just a vessel; the souls of victims are the engine. The ritual's rooted in Sumerian necromancy. 🕯️💀
SlaveGreen: WHAT?! Magic's real?! Souls exist?! NOOO, I'M GOING TO HELL! 😱🔥
Adekvat228: Nothing surprises me anymore. Alien invasion tomorrow? I'd shrug and say, "Typical Tuesday." SlaveGreen, relax, who'd want your perverted little soul? 😎👽
SuperMan ✅: Shame and disgrace.
Adekvat228: …
MysterWho: …
NoMisses: …
SlaveGreen: Wait, what?! Shame on me, the government, or all of us? Be specific! 😣❓
Alex's fingers hovered over the keyboard. The forum's reaction was a wildfire—some believed, some doubted, but all were hooked. The Court's mystique was cracking, and Gotham was stirring. He glanced at Pamela, who was studying the vial in her hand, her expression unreadable.
"The video's doing its job," he said. "But we need to hit harder. If the tribunal's a trap, we don't just dodge it—we burn it down."
Pamela's eyes met his, sharp as thorns. "And the Court? Kane's just a cog. The real players are still out there."
Alex nodded, pulling up a new file on his terminal: a list of OwlEye Solutions transactions, cross-referenced with Kane's confessions. The money trail led to Arkham-South and shell companies tied to Gotham's elite. He typed a new message to WhatmanPaper, keeping it curt:
GreenMistress ✅: More dirt incoming. OwlEye financials, tied to Roark and Wilson. You've got 4 hours before it hits the darknet. Move.
He sent it, then turned to Pamela. "We leak the financials next. If Batman doesn't act, the public will. Protests are already brewing—check the forum. We're not just fighting the Court; we're turning Gotham against them."
Pamela set the vial down, her voice low but fierce. "And if the Justice League gets involved? Superman's post wasn't just a quip. They're watching us."
Alex leaned forward, his power humming, catching patterns in the chaos. "Then we make sure they're watching the Court, not us. We've got Kane, the documents, and the video. The tribunal's dead in the water—they can't justify it now. But the Court's got nine more heads. We cut them off, one by one."
Ross burst into the room, his armor scuffed but intact. "Boss, medbay's stabilizing the wounded. We lost two in the sewers, but the rest'll pull through. What's next?"
Alex stood, the weight of the documents in his hand grounding him. "Next, we raid Arkham Infrastructure. Kane's office. We grab the encrypted files, blow their servers wide open. Pamela, you're with me. Ross, prep the team—full gear, same as the sewers. We're not done hunting owls."
Pamela's lips curved into a dangerous smile. "Good. I've got a few new spores I'd like to test. Let's see how these birds like a taste of their own chaos."
The monitors flickered as the Parahumans thread updated with new comments, the city's pulse beating through the screen. Gotham was waking up, and the Court of Owls was running out of shadows to hide in.