Godfather Owl: Guardian of Batman

Zur-En-Arrh.

The name had its origins in a childhood conversation between Bruce and his father, just before entering Crime Alley.

That day, young Bruce had asked his father:

"Why can't I be Zorro?"

Thomas had answered with grave sincerity:

"I'm not sure Gotham would welcome a masked man who takes the law into his own hands.

"The unfortunate truth is, they'd probably lock someone like Zorro in Arkham Asylum."

At the time, Bruce hadn't fully understood the weight of his father's words. Instead, he fixated on the phrase: Zorro in Arkham.

Phonetically, it transformed into Zur-En-Arrh.

The peculiar name lodged itself in Bruce's subconscious, eventually giving rise to his second persona—Zur-Batman.

Now, Zur-Batman temporarily controlled Bruce's body, tasked with stopping Homelander's rampage.

---

As for Bruce himself, he remained in the sanctuary of his mental palace, seated on his throne.

His gaze swept over the six familiar projections surrounding him: Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Green Lantern.

Floating beside him was the round figure of Kathoom II, still clad in Batman's suit.

"Why are you wearing the Batman suit?" Bruce asked. "Did Kathoom have some deeper meaning in mind when he created you?"

"There's no special meaning," Kathoom II replied, shaking his tiny head. "It's just for recognition. If there's ever another persona, they'll wear a different hero's costume."

"Like Superman, for example."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, skeptical of the owl's explanation.

"Well, for now, you're coming with me," Bruce said. "Zur-Batman isn't here, so you'll be sticking by my side."

With that, Bruce closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was back in the small laboratory chamber.

Kathoom II fluttered into the room alongside him.

Bruce's mental sanctuary had shattered Martha's dream constructs. This time, blinking would no longer pull him into another illusion.

He could finally focus on the battle ahead.

From the next room, young Homelander's voice shouted through the wall:

"Why won't you answer me? What's your superhero name?"

Bruce paused for a moment before replying.

"I'm Batman."

The answer wasn't just for Homelander—it was for himself as well.

"Batman?"

Homelander mumbled the name, puzzled. It sounded more like something a villain would call themselves—like "Bat-Monster" or something similar.

"John, stop dawdling."

Bruce ordered, "If you're going to be my Robin, it's time to start acting like one. Tear down this wall and get over here!"

"Robin" was a title Bruce had unilaterally assigned to the young Homelander.

Surprisingly, the boy didn't seem to mind.

"Oh, okay! Stand back from the wall!"

Without hesitation, Homelander's heat vision carved a hole in the wall, leaving a smoking gap large enough for him to pass through.

Dressed in a white lab coat, young Homelander—"John"—stepped into the room.

This was Bruce's first time seeing the boy up close.

Blond hair, blue eyes—a textbook Aryan superhuman appearance. Yet his gaze was clear, devoid of the arrogance and cruelty his adult self would later possess.

"Batman, I'm here!"

John quickly moved to free Bruce from his restraints, his superhuman strength making short work of the bindings.

Then his eyes lit up as he noticed Kathoom II hovering nearby.

"Oh, wow! A weird little owl!"

Excited, John grabbed the miniature owl with superhuman speed and began playfully squeezing it.

Kathoom II squawked in mild annoyance but offered no resistance.

Unlike his creator, the tiny owl lacked Kathoom's ever-present suspicion that everyone might be out to harm him.

John introduced himself enthusiastically, "Hi, I'm John!"

Bruce, observing from the side, corrected him: "It's Robin."

"Oh, right!" John nodded. "I'm Robin now!"

Bruce stretched his stiff wrists as he watched the boy. "I didn't expect you to recognize an owl. I thought you grew up in a lab, completely isolated from the outside world."

John explained, "I mean, yeah, I spend most of my time being experimented on, but I get to watch TV every day."

"Experimented on? More like being studied, right?" Bruce shook his head. "Enough talking. We need to get out of here and stop the villain."

John's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Awesome! Who are we going to fight?"

He was already brimming with confidence, eager to take on any enemy.

"My mom," Bruce said flatly.

John froze. "Huh?"

"Right now, we're inside Homelander's mind," Bruce explained as he led John—young Homelander—out of the room. "Oh, and by the way, Homelander is you in the future."

John froze, stunned. "I'm… just a persona?"

"For now, yes," Bruce replied. "But if I help you become the dominant persona, you'll be the real Homelander."

"Help me?"

John's voice trembled. It was the first time anyone had offered to help him.

"Why would you help me?" he asked, as though trying to confirm if he was truly worthy of such kindness.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Bruce turned, placing a firm hand on John's shoulder. "Because, my friend, you are the real hero."

Tears welled in John's eyes, his emotions overwhelming him.

"Now, let me tell you what we're going to do next," Bruce said as they walked down the laboratory's corridor, John cradling Kathoom II in his arms.

"Your original persona has been corrupted by Joker's madness. If we let him stay in control, things in the real world will spiral out of control.

"We need to find him, defeat him, and make you the dominant persona.

"John, from the moment I saw you, I felt like I was looking at family."

John nodded vigorously, accepting Bruce's words as truth.

Though he didn't yet realize that being part of Bruce's family might not be the blessing he imagined.

But then, John frowned as a thought struck him.

"What does this have to do with your mom? You said earlier you needed to fight her."

Bruce sighed. "I don't want to fight her, but she'll force my hand. When you face the original persona, she'll try to stop you. I'll handle her."

"Oh, so it's all your mom's fault?" John nodded thoughtfully. Then something occurred to him. "Wait! You want me to fight the original persona?"

"Who else would it be?" Bruce raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the question.

"But…"

Before John could finish, the lab's alarms blared, and red lights flashed across the walls.

A squad of heavily armed guards stormed in, aiming their weapons at the two boys.

"I knew it wouldn't be easy," Bruce muttered, patting John on the shoulder. "Robin, it's your turn now."

John hesitated, visibly unsure.

"Don't worry!" Bruce encouraged him. "These are just projections in your mind, not real people.

"You can fight freely!"

---

Meanwhile, in the real world.

Zur-Batman wasn't idle while Bruce maneuvered through Homelander's psyche.

He quickly summoned the remaining members of The Seven and made his way to Vought's command center.

By the time he arrived, the others were already seated around the round table: Queen Maeve, Starlight, The Deep, and A-Train.

Their faces were pale with fear, the devastation caused by Homelander's rampage feeling like the end of the world.

"Now that everyone's here, let's get straight to the point," Zur-Batman said, taking Homelander's usual seat at the table. His tone brooked no argument, drawing wary glances from the others.

This wasn't the Bruce they were used to.

But Zur-Batman didn't care.

"You've all seen it. Homelander is a global threat now. If we don't stop him, the consequences will be catastrophic."

"As members of The Seven, it's our duty to protect innocent lives."

His bluntness caught the others off guard.

"You want us to stop Homelander?" A-Train asked incredulously. "We're no match for him, even if we work together!"

It was an undeniable truth.

Homelander hovered in the sky outside, relentlessly firing heat vision at the city below.

And none of the heroes present could fly, let alone reach him.

"You don't need to worry about that," Zur-Batman said coldly. "I'll handle the direct confrontation."

You?

Their expressions varied—shock, doubt, and concern.

Queen Maeve seemed stirred by Bruce's determination, her sense of justice pushing her to support him, yet her firsthand experience with Homelander's power made her hesitant.

Starlight nodded immediately, ready to stand by Bruce's side.

The Deep, on the other hand, was already planning to flee to the ocean if the world ended.

A-Train scowled but stayed silent.

"I know what you're all thinking," Zur-Batman continued. "But I have a plan to defeat Homelander. All I need is your help."

"What kind of help?" Queen Maeve asked. "What can we even do?"

"I need your strength," Zur-Batman replied. "If you lend me your power, I can fight Homelander on equal terms."

The cryptic statement puzzled them.

Sighing, Zur-Batman realized he had no time for lengthy explanations.

"You know I'm a sorcerer," he said. "I have my methods. If you fight alongside me, I can channel your powers into my own."

While his explanation was vague, it offered a glimmer of hope.

Starlight nodded eagerly. "What do you need us to do?"

"You're aware I can summon magical battle armor from other realms," Zur-Batman said. "Your powers will become part of that armor. The details don't matter now. Just come to the lab one by one to assist me."

Without waiting for their response, Zur-Batman left the command center, heading straight for Vought's tech lab.

There was no time to waste. Every step had to be precise and efficient.

Once in the lab, he extended his hand, summoning a jet-black suit of armor.

The armor, folded using an undetectable extension charm, had been hidden in Bruce's sleeve all along.

"Zur-Batman, I haven't said much, but now you owe me an explanation," Kathoom said, appearing at his side. "How are you planning to forge this armor? As far as I know, Bruce isn't exactly a blacksmith."

Kathoom pointed out the flaw in Zur-Batman's plan. Bruce could summon powers like Wolverine's through the Patronus charm only because of their shared history.

But bonding with The Seven was an entirely different matter.

"I know I don't have strong enough bonds with The Seven," Zur-Batman admitted. "And I'm no blacksmith."

"But I'm not relying on their powers directly. I'm using this instead."

He opened his palm, and the Owl-Signal materialized.

Its appearance seemed almost mystical, as if conjured from nowhere.

Then, with a single motion, Zur-Batman crushed the signal.

A golden liquid metal pooled in his hand, shimmering like molten sunlight.

Even in its semi-fluid state, it held its shape, refusing to spill or disperse.

This was the metal Barbatos had hidden within the original Bat-Signal, detectable only by Zur-En-Arrh.

"Bat-Metal," Zur-Batman said. "Different metals attract one another. While the five metals together open the door to the Dark Multiverse, with only four, we can use them to our advantage."

Turning to Kathoom, he added, "I need a drop of Dionesium and a fragment of Promethium."

These rare substances were part of Kathoom's collection.

"You're using such priceless materials for a suit?" Kathoom frowned. "Fine, but I'd better see something impressive."

Kathoom plucked a test tube of Dionesium from his feathers, carefully extracting a single drop.

He also handed over a shard of Promethium from Deathstroke's armor.

"Thank you," Zur-Batman said, his tone unwavering.

Zur-Batman spoke softly, "To open the gateway to the Dark Multiverse, all five metals must enter Batman's body. Since we're using them for armor instead, we don't meet that condition. No need to worry."

As he finished, a beam of light pierced through the walls of Vought Tower, stopping right in front of him.

The light faded, revealing a dagger.

After Homelander had broken free from the metal egg, the fragmented shell had reassembled itself into the weapon once more.

"I knew Barbatos would leave some tricks behind," Zur-Batman muttered. "Metals of this nature are drawn to one another."

Grasping the dagger, he effortlessly broke off a small piece.

The remaining Nth Metal reshaped itself into a dagger again, slightly smaller than before.

Zur-Batman then took a portion of Bat-Metal and handed the dagger and remaining Bat-Metal to Kathoom.

"Consider these a trade for the Dionesium and Promethium."

Kathoom accepted without hesitation.

Now, Zur-Batman possessed four distinct metals:

Promethium: a solid metal.

Dionesium: a liquid.

Bat-Metal: a gel-like substance.

Nth Metal: a shapeshifter's dream.

As the four metals merged, they coalesced into a glowing, radiant sphere.

Zur-Batman tossed the glowing orb into the black iron suit before him. It sank into the armor, seamlessly fusing with it.

"That should do it," he said. "Next, we need the powers of The Seven."

He listed the necessary elements:

Queen Maeve's super strength and resilience.

Starlight's electrical energy.

A-Train's super speed.

The Deep's underwater capabilities.

These would be integrated into the armor, transforming it into a one-of-a-kind magical exosuit.

Kathoom nodded in understanding.

The owl couldn't help but dub it: The Hellbat Youth Edition.

Or, more aptly, The Anti-Homelander Suit.

"This came from Barbatos, didn't it?" Kathoom asked abruptly. "There had to be instructions hidden in that Bat-Signal. Was he the one who taught you how to do this?"

"Yes," Zur-Batman admitted without hesitation. "But Barbatos wanted me to absorb these metals into my body. I chose not to follow his plan and instead forged this armor."

"Whatever my motives, I am still part of Bruce. I would never harm him."

Kathoom squinted at Zur-Batman, his expression unreadable. Sure, and I'm the Queen of England, he thought.

The owl was certain Zur-Batman had tampered with the armor. If Zur-Batman failed to seize control of Bruce's body, this suit would undoubtedly serve as his contingency—a new vessel.

Of course Zur-Batman had used the best materials for this purpose.

Kathoom decided not to push the matter further. This was an internal struggle between Bruce's personalities. If Bruce failed to detect Zur-Batman's subterfuge, he'd deserve whatever consequences came his way.

"By the way," Zur-Batman suddenly said, turning to Kathoom. "I'm also Bruce. I'm also Batman."

"Why did you choose him over me? Why not even consider me?"

Kathoom rolled his eyes.

"Because I don't have time for such nonsense," he said. "Besides, I left you a Kathoom II, didn't I?"

"Fair enough."

Zur-Batman let it go. The time wasn't right for him to overthrow Bruce anyway.

The armor, originally a repurposed Iron Man suit, had undergone a complete transformation.

Its exterior now resembled Batman's iconic costume, except it was pitch black, with a large, crimson bat symbol stretching menacingly across the chest.

Ding-dong.

The lab's doorbell rang.

The first member of The Seven had arrived to imbue the armor with their power.

---

T/N: this is so cool!!

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