I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

Bruce poured cold water on the idea, saying, "On the other hand, we also don't know where these guys are based."

Depp thought for a moment and said, "They're everywhere, except in Gotham."

"Judging from your tone, you seem to know where their hideout is?" Bruce asked.

Depp shook his head upon hearing this: "I'm sorry, I don't know where their hideout is, but I think we can slowly dig it all out."

------

Deep beneath Gotham, a place that should be filled with soil and underground rivers, lies a hidden paradise.

This place resembles an underground palace, magnificent and brightly lit.

There are owl carvings and paintings everywhere, clearly indicating that this is the real headquarters of the Owl Court.

Apart from the core members of the court, no one knows exactly where this place is.

In a rather spacious conference room inside the underground palace.

Four lifelike white owls were carved around the room.

Their eyes, sculpted like those of a real owl, are sharp and eerie.

These four owls were like four evil spirits constantly watching everyone's every move.

If ordinary people believe that there are gods watching over them, then everyone in this conference room would feel that there are owls watching over them!

Inside the conference room were a dozen or so men and women dressed in well-tailored suits or formal wear.

They all wore eerie, sinister white masks and sat in a circle around the long table in the middle.

The table was laden with all sorts of delicious food, but no one took a single bite.

At the head of the conference table, the person in charge tapped the long table three times lightly with his well-defined knuckles and said:

"The meeting is now open. Please be quiet."

"Tonight, we launched the largest mass assassination attempt in over a decade."

“We have awakened a total of twenty-nine Claws, corresponding to the thirteen people we had previously agreed to bring down for judgment.”

"Of all these things, what I care about most is whether William can bring Dick back."

“For so many years, the Grayson family has been our supplier of Claws.”

"And their family will always be our best claws. We must never let go of a promising talent like Dick Grayson."

He had barely finished speaking when he heard someone running back, panting heavily.

The man, also wearing a white mask, said, "No...something's wrong!"

The leader frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Don't be so flustered. Also, when core members are having meetings, no one else is allowed in. Have you forgotten?"

The man, bent over and panting heavily, said, "The message from Owl Outpost says that all the Claws we sent out today seem to have failed."

This time, not only the leader, but also the other core members couldn't help but be surprised and exclaimed in disbelief.

"what?!"

The leader remained relatively calm. He tapped the table lightly and said, "Everyone, please calm down and don't get too excited. Number 23, you continue."

The person known as Number 23 continued, "All the life detection devices on the Claws instantly lost vital signs, and the devices themselves were destroyed. Except for one person..."

"Who?"

“William Cobb, the one who went looking for Dick Grayson, but he still hasn’t returned and we can’t get in touch with him.”

Upon hearing this, the leader remained silent for a moment, then said:

"Gotham belongs to us, and we decide what this city should be like, and that city must be what we want it to be!"

"And now, we seem to have encountered something interesting, but whoever dares to challenge the authority of the Court of Owls will be brought to trial!"

After he finished speaking, the others immediately echoed his sentiments.

"That's right, the authority of the Court of Owls is beyond question!"

"This guy must be sentenced to death!"

"No, burning at the stake!"

"No one can defy the orders of the Court of Owls, never!"

The leader was quite pleased with the current state of public enthusiasm.

clang clang clang,

He tapped the table lightly again.

He said, "Ever since that damned bat appeared, this city seems to be getting more and more unruly."

"Perhaps we should make a bigger fuss until we completely wipe out those who dare to challenge us."

"For example, Batman, Bruce Wayne, James Gordon, and... that disobedient new mayor."

"First, owls need to start by hunting bats!"

At this point, a core member asked, "What if...we fail to bring them to trial?"

The leader glanced at him and said, "Then let's destroy this city completely, and then rebuild it."

Chapter 179 Clues about the Owl

Although the Court of Owls' attack on the city failed, it still cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.

Especially those who were nearly killed by the claws.

They panicked, fearing the claws would strike them again.

Therefore, they examine their own actions, hoping to find out why they are being targeted.

But in the end, almost all of them reached the same conclusion.

As long as I continue to live in Gotham, I will definitely be found by Claw again, and it will be a fight to the death.

So tonight, many people are starting to pack their things and leave this damn city.

Leaving Gotham seemed to be their only way to survive.

As for what industries, political achievements, and assets, they are all prepared to be sold off.

After all, what is more important than life, wealth or status?

Because it's close to sunrise, the temperature is much colder now than it was late at night.

Furthermore, with Claw's assassination attempt failing, a chilling wind swept through Gotham City once again.

In the sky, a few bats faintly streaked across the horizon, heading straight for the forests deep in the Gotham suburbs, like fearless knights in the night.

But the owls lurking in the forest had already set their sights on these fearless bats.

As bats traverse the jungle, owls follow, using their hook-like claws to snatch them back to their burrows to feed their young.

After resolving everything, Depp arrived at the rooftop of Wayne Tower.

Here, all members of the Justice League gather once again tonight.

Even Catwoman, who was far away in Smallville, was taken by Depp into his arms.

Furthermore, this time, many people who were not members of the Justice League were also summoned.

For example, there's Poison Ivy, who came with Wellen, and Mr. Freeze, Victor, who settled his wife in.

As for Havidand, he brought the still-shaken Gilda with him.

"There's definitely everyone here today," Gordon said, arms crossed.

Gilda nestled in Harvey's arms; the woman was clearly terrified and was still trembling.

Harvey was pale, clearly not at peace with himself. He asked, "What happened today? Gilda and I were in bed... when suddenly we were drenched in blood."

Poor Harvey, he was so engrossed in his pleasure with Gilda that he didn't even see the claws before fast-forwarding to the scene of the blood mist exploding.

Therefore, the most bewildered people present were the couple.

As for Selena, Depp had already told her about everything that happened in Gotham that night before he arrived.

Upon hearing this, Oswald said, "Those who carried out the assassination tonight all seem to call themselves Claws and are acting on the orders of the Court of Owls to give us... a trial and a death sentence."

"Trial?" Dick asked doubtfully. "Perhaps I am different from you. The guy who came to capture me seems to just want to kidnap me, not to trial and kill me."

Upon hearing this, Wellen shook his head and said, "Ivy and I don't know who they are or what their purpose is."

Ivy said, "That's right. They were detected by the guard plants I placed as soon as they entered the research institute, so we quickly went into battle without even giving those guys a chance to speak."

After Ivy finished speaking, Wellen threw out the claws that had invaded the Depp Botanical Research Institute.

The helmets of these claws had been removed, and they now looked extremely terrifying.

Not only were their expressions ferocious, but they were also almost completely drained of moisture, looking like shriveled zombies.

On their necks, several bright red fruits contracted and expanded as if they were alive.

It appears that the bodily fluids of these clawed creatures are being continuously absorbed by this strange red fruit.

Because the fruit constantly absorbs the liquid inside the claws' bodies, even though they have extremely terrifying self-healing abilities, they still cannot be resurrected.

And this thing is clearly one of Ivy's research results.

Upon seeing this terrifying and bizarre sight, everyone suddenly realized that claws and such weren't so scary after all.

On the contrary, the green-clad non-human couple in front of them are more dangerous.

Noticing the gazes of the crowd, Wellen explained, "Um... this thing is called the Crimson Devil Fruit. It's one of the latest byproducts that Ivy has developed. It can continuously absorb the host's bodily fluids."

Ivy explained, "That's right. Although the Crimson Devil Fruit looks a bit strange and scary, it's actually not very dangerous. As long as you don't press it onto your bleeding wound, it will remain dormant and won't be activated."

After saying that, Ivy removed the few blood-red, translucent Crimson Demon Fruits from Claw's neck, which were clearly almost saturated with their juices, and put them into her waist pouch.

Then he took out two red seeds the size of melon seeds from his pouch and stuffed them into the wound on the claw.

As the Crimson Devil Fruit seed absorbed blood, it began to gradually swell.

However, unlike the others who kept their distance, Depp looked at Ivy and her Crimson Devil Fruit with excitement.

"This thing... seems to be quite useful against certain guys with strong self-healing abilities!"