This is what we're fighting for, my boy. Breakfast with loved ones. A relaxing evening in front of the television... When we're finished, this can be your life. Forever. 
Talon #5 is an issue of the series Talon (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 2013. It was published on February 27, 2013.
Synopsis for "Churning"
In Gotham City, Batman has been following the trail of a rogue Talon, who has, for some reason, been crippling the Court of Owls' resources. Though Nightwing is present in the Batcave, he refuses to be Bruce's sounding board. Even so, he looks at the image Bruce captured of the rogue Talon, and feels as though he recognizes him from somewhere. Ignoring Dick's warnings that he is not interested, Bruce remarks aloud that these aggressive attacks by the rogue Talon could spark a war that puts hundreds of innocents in harm's way - unless he gets in between them first.
Calvin Rose, meanwhile, has been staying the past two weeks in Sebastian Clark's underground bunker with Casey and Sarah Washington. Though they are stuck in hiding, Calvin has been enjoying the chance to do something other than run, and to have the semblance of a normal life, sharing breakfast with this surrogate family. Casey, though, is eager to get out. Sebastian interrupts their breakfast to check on Calvin's recovery from his encounter with The Gotham Butcher - he should have gone back to training by now. Casey presses them both for information on when they will strike against the Court next, but Calvin avoids the question by choosing to go train.
Sebastian points out that Casey is right, that Calvin is ready to return to work. Calvin admits that he has been reluctant to leave, because of the feeling of happiness he has had being a family with the others. Sebastian assures Calvin that there is nothing wrong with wanting that, but that the chance to have lives and families is what they have been fighting for. Once they deal with the Court at last, they will be able to have those kinds of lives forever.
Calvin is worried, though, that Casey will not handle their next target well. They plan to hit Securitus, the company her father created. Sebastian reminds that Securitus is the biggest government-contracted security company on the planet, and one of the court's strongest assets. They need to take it away from them. Having been eavesdropping, Casey interrupts to say that she would love for them to attack Securitus next. After all, it was the company that drove her father insane, and it now belongs to the people who tried to kill his daughter.
Nearby, Felix Harmon - Talon turned mass murderer known as the Gotham Butcher - waits for any sign that Calvin Rose has come out of hiding. The Court grows impatient with him, demanding Calvin's death, but Harmon has tracked him to within a city block. As soon as Calvin steps outside, he will be caught. The Court will not hear Harmon's excuses, and, annoyed by their arrogance, he destroys his radio transmitter, and seeks out some lives to end while he waits.
Casey briefs the men on the defences of Securitus Island. Though no complete schematics exist, she alone remembers how her father told her of his plans for it. Already in the grips of a deeply seeded paranoia, Eric Washington had called his young daughter in to listen as he explained how he intended to keep the owls out of his fortress. All of the fortress' outer surfaces are electrified using solar-powered generators, and if a bomb was dropped in the vicinity, the computers would automatically wipe themselves. In order to prevent an aquatic entry, he designed an ingenious array of turbines, which, while maintaining the appearance of calm waters, would create such a powerful undertow as to destroy any ships or boats within a certain radius.
As such, there is no way in - other than the front door, which is protected by DNA recognition technology. Thanks to that technology, only the current CEO could walk through the required areas of the base to plant their bombs - and Casey doesn't know who he is. Calvin suggests that they infiltrate through the turbines' run-off tunnel, but the DNA recognition would still be an issue. Calvin points out that if the computers wipe themselves when a bomb goes off, there'd be no DNA recognition software to contend with.
After getting inside the tunnels, Calvin loses radio contact with Casey and Sebastian, leaving him to complete the mission on his own. Meanwhile, Casey discovers that the current CEO is named John Wycliffe. This is a name that Sebastian recognizes, and it fills him with distress. John Wycliffe is the Grandmaster of the Court of Owls, and this mission is even more dangerous than they originally thought.
At that moment, Calvin is captured by three Talons in the tunnels.
Appearing in "Churning"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Casey Washington
- Sarah Washington
- Sebastian Clark
Villains:
- The Gotham Butcher (On a TV or computer screen)
- Court of Owls
- John Wycliffe (Behind the scenes)
- Talons
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Batcave
- The Metropolitan (On a TV or computer screen)
- The Orchard Hotel (On a TV or computer screen)
- New York City
- Hudson Financial (On a TV or computer screen)
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Talon: Scourge of the Owls.
See Also