For those anti-human perverts, the former Talons reached a consensus with their boss.
Such scum absolutely cannot be allowed to leave here alive.
However, Gwendolyn didn't let them discard this body.
She took it, stating she had other uses for it.
Of course, besides the mentally deranged, murder-loving, murder-enthusiastic beasts, there were also some rather amusing individuals.
The strongest Talon thought he had accidentally broken free of control, but in reality, he was still under the Court of Owls' command, so he simply pretended to still be a Talon.
No matter how the former Talon questioning him tried, this guy just hung his head, not even lifting his eyelids, as if he hadn't heard a thing, not saying a single word.
He was imitating the state a Talon should be in, according to his memories.
But how could a lie detector, jointly developed by the two smartest aliens from the Ben 10 World, be fooled by simply shutting up?
The lie detector detected that the Talon was attempting to evade the lie detection through silence and immediately activated its anti-silence function.
Simply put, it was mind-reading.
You don't want to speak, do you? I'll speak for you!!
This guy was still pretending he couldn't speak, when suddenly he heard a voice emanating from the helmet on his head.
The safe house was already quiet, and now this sudden sound echoed in the confined space, making it particularly jarring.
"Damn, I'll just pretend I'm still controlled and not speak, that's so clever!!"
Immediately, astonished that his inner thoughts had been spoken aloud, this guy fell silent.
The two former Talons, who were seeing this function for the first time, also fell silent, and the successfully activated anti-silence function continued to operate.
"Oh my god! How were my inner thoughts spoken aloud?!"
This guy, tied to the restraint bed, had his ears turn red; if his hands and feet weren't bound, he would surely have dug a White House out of the ground with his toes.
Regarding this, the organization's big boss, Miss Gwendolyn, offered a kind condolences.
"It's alright, Da Zhuang, if others didn't suspect you were still controlled by the Court of Owls, it's because they're foolish. You are so naturally suspicious; with so many mothers and sisters, no one will ever be able to deceive you on missions in the future."
"Boss, my name isn't Da Zhuang."
"It's alright, Da Zhuang, relax."
After a busy night, the Talons finally all returned to normal.
Some of these people were willing to work for Gwendolyn, while others had living family members and wanted to return to their own lives.
Gwendolyn did not stop them; she respected their wishes.
She was already very satisfied to have so many Talon enforcers at her disposal.
Currently, Batman hasn't debuted, Superman hasn't appeared, and Wonder Woman should be in hiding.
This period is the best time for development; if they don't seize this opportunity to grow stronger now, what awaits them is the explosion of DC vigilantes and superpowered perverts.
It won't be so easy to get things done then.
Therefore, she respected these people's choices, because it was already a great gain.
However, there was one thing everyone had to do!
...The small safe house was packed with people, and the air was filled with a tense and oppressive atmosphere.
These former Talons, male or female, tall or short, of various forms, all uniformly looked at the 8-year-old girl in front of them.
Gwendolyn's face did not bear her usual gentle smile at this moment; her tender face was full of seriousness.
She took a deep breath, her gaze slowly sweeping over everyone, and said earnestly: "Everyone here, I know your situations are different. Some of you are willing to work with me, to work for me, and I welcome you; you name your salary! Some of you may still have concerns and want to return to a normal life, and I understand that; I won't force you. But there is one thing everyone must do with me, consider it compensation for helping you all return to being human."
At this point, she paused slightly, then emphasized with a serious tone: "Everyone here, every single one of you, must first come with me to raid all of the Court of Owls' strongholds in Gotham City, and also the homes of those Court members!"
As soon as these words were spoken, a low murmur of discussion arose in the safe house.
Finally, Benjamin, who was standing closer to the front, stepped forward as a plant and asked the question everyone was concerned about: "During the recent interrogation, we asked everyone here, and no one knew the specific identity of even one Court of Owls member. At most, people only knew where their strongholds were."
"But the problem is, even if we destroy one stronghold, they can rebuild many more, and we can't guarantee that Court of Owls members will be in the strongholds for us to catch them red-handed, and it's very easy to alert the enemy."
Gwendolyn merely smiled gently when she heard this question: "It's alright if you don't know the true identities of the Court members; I probably know one."
Just as everyone was stunned by this news, Gwendolyn added: "But we'll have to wait a bit; these few days, I'll get everyone equipped, and we'll set off after a while."
"What are we waiting for, Boss!" A hot-headed former Talon jumped out from the crowd, "We have plenty of energy now; if we ambush them, we can capture them alive even without equipment!"
Although his words were somewhat reckless, most of the Talons present agreed with him.
After all, each of them had physical capabilities on par with Captain America in the next tent; it would be strange if they weren't confident.
However, Gwendolyn maintained her smile, her tone calm but unyielding: "No rush, I have to wait for him a bit longer."
"Wait for what?"
Gwendolyn's smile grew wider, and a cunning glint sparkled in her eyes: "Wait for the equity transfer."
...Gotham City, suburban Villa.
Before 9 PM, Douglas lay in bed.
The bedroom lights were dimmed, a warm yellow glow casting blurred shadows on the walls. He stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting far away.
As the oldest shareholder of Wayne Group, he could have retired long ago and enjoyed his golden years.
But he didn't want to retire.
Sitting in his leather office chair every day, watching his subordinates being respectful, he felt he was still young, and everything was under his control.
He didn't want to lose the people around him because he lost power; those flattering words, attentive services—once he retired and lost power, these would all vanish like bubbles.
And what he truly didn't want to lose was his place in a certain organization.
That mysterious organization brought him not only benefits but also a sense of superiority over ordinary people.
With just a word from him, he could see the head of a certain dignitary the next day.
What a wonderful feeling.
But if he lost his say in Wayne Group, he would lose his importance in this organization.
Perhaps one day, his own head would appear on the Court's table.
However, he was indeed old, and he was indeed afraid of death.
He used to work late into the night, still energetic the next day, but now, before 9 PM, he was already in bed.
He wasn't tired; he was just afraid of staying up late and harming his body.
Gently closing his eyes, Douglas only hoped that early to bed and early to rise, living a long life, wasn't just a trick to fool children.
He didn't know why, but he slept very soundly this time.
Normally, even though he would lie in bed at 9 PM, he wouldn't fall asleep so quickly.
However, today, drowsiness quickly enveloped him like a tide.
In a daze, time seemed to flow backward, and he felt as if he had returned to his childhood.
The summer sun filtered through the car window, warm on his face, with a hint of heat.
Outside the window were fields of golden yellow, the swaying wheat ears like golden waves.
Distant mountains stretched endlessly, complementing the blue sky and white clouds.
The bus drove steadily along the country road, its wheels crunching over gravel.
The driver gripped the steering wheel attentively, occasionally chatting with the teacher beside him.
Inside the bus, students laughed and played, their backpacks filled with snacks, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of candy.
The teacher leading the trip stood in the middle of the aisle, smiling as she reminded everyone to sit properly, her eyes full of concern.
That was the day the teacher was taking them on an outing, with no deceit of the business World, no infighting of mysterious organizations, only carefree laughter and anticipation of an unknown journey.
It was truly a happy memory, now relived in a dream, causing Douglas, lying in the truck, to unconsciously curve his lips into a slight smile.
The somewhat impatient former Talon member, oh, now he should be called a Plumber.
He looked at the old man's smile and asked Benjamin beside him:
"What's this old bastard smiling about?"