Young socialite and media personality CASSIE ST. CLOUD returns to her upscale penthouse in Downton Gotham after a night on the town with a handful of friends. Her friends turn on some music and and pop champagne to keep the party going, while Cassie goes to her room to answer a phone call. As she does, we see the glass-paneled penthouse being WATCHED, not unlike Mayor Mitchell by the Riddler. We don't hear the other end of Cassie's call, but she goes into a repetitive argument with her older sister, Silver. Cassie rails at being treated like a child and says she doesn't want to get "political" right as her image is beginning to take off, but is interrupted by the abrupt end of her friends' chatter in the living room. She says she'll call Silver back and hangs up to investigate.

She returns to see a towering MASKED FIGURE in the center of the room, silhouetted by the glow of her TV. Her friends lie unconscious, spilled champagne around them. Cassie backs away and begins to screams when a second leaner masked assailant grabs her from behind and puts a hand over her mouth -- another masked and armored figure, a TALON. The Armored Figure raises a finger in a shushing motion, and she slowly nods. The first Talon lets her go and checks the pulses of her friends, nodding to the Armored Figure--they're alive. ANOTHER TALON then emerges across the room from her, carrying a tray of DROPS. He sets it on the table between Cassie and the Armored Figure. Cassie shakes her head. The Armored Figure looks sharply at her friends, and the Talons draw knives. Cassie tearfully relents and takes the Drops in her eye. The Figure pushes the tray closer to her, wanting her to dose again. Terrified, Cassie St. Cloud doses herself over and over until she's reduced to a convulsing, sweaty mess. Through unstable breaths, she say she did what he said, but the Armored Figure just marches towards her, flanked by the Talons. Cassie pleads and backs away, he walks her to the edge of the balcony until she goes over, screaming. Now visible, "OWLMAN" watches her plummet to her death.

Later, Owlman and the Talons skulk through catacombs beneath Gotham -- not just sewers, but OLD GOTHAM, an ABANDONED 19TH CENTURY CITYSCAPE similar to that seen in the Arkham games. They emerge beneath an upscale FUND RAISER for Gotham's FLOOD RELIEF PROJECT, where they're met with staff and security, who help Owlman remove his armor. They undo his armor, he walks through a chamber that hoses him off, then staff meet him with towels and beauty products. The tall, powerfully built Owlman now wears a thousand dollar tuxedo, styles a well groomed beard and haircut, then enters the party. He spots MAYOR BELLA REÁL, sneaks up behind her and...KISSES HER. "Lincoln!" she says with glee, "You're late!"

Mayor Reál's BOYFRIEND and CITY COUNCILMAN LINCOLN MARCH apologizes bashfully. She asks where he was, he replies that he had to handle a family matter. As donors and socialites introduce themselves, "Oh you're that new boy on the city council!" and "Oh, he's that war hero!" -- Lincoln is courteous and humble beside Bella's outspoken confidence. Sensing he's uncomfortable, she introduces him to another late guest: BRUCE WAYNE.

Now we follow Bruce, with Bella and Lincoln. The Mayor is glad to see Bruce at more functions like this, Bruce says it's the least he can do after his father's Renewal project. The subject is brought up more by ANDREW ST. CLOUD and his daughter SILVER, a wealthy philanthropic family who faced negative press for Andrew's past association with Thomas Wayne. Silver is a friend of Bella's and kind to Bruce, but Andrew is more critical of his inaction. If not for Renewal’s corruption, the Riddler wouldn’t have been radicalized, and the thousands of displaced flood survivors wouldn’t be living in a shantytown in Gotham’s Robinson Park. Lincoln defends Bruce, says no child should pay for their parents' mistakes, jabbing subtly at the man whose daughter he just murdered. Bruce is also defended by the event’s hosts: City Parks Commissioner JOHN WYCLIFFE and real estate titan MARIA POWERS. Lincoln subtly bristles at their arrival, looks off when he hears them call Bruce a son to all of Gotham.

Bruce doesn't deflect blame. He bears his family's name and fortune, thus he has the duty to answer for his legacy. He still has a hard time being the playboy philanthropist, and is thankfully saved by the arrival of his friend, ASSISTANT DA HARVEY DENT. As Harvey works the crowd, Bruce sees a cop whisper in CAPTAIN GORDON's ear. Bruce politely excuses himself and trails Gordon. Lincoln bores into Bruce's back as he leaves, while Wycliffe takes Andrew aside. He asks Andrew if he's given any more thought to his proposal, and St. Cloud rebuffs him, "I'm no red-liner," he says. "It's not redlining," Wycliffe counters measuredly, "It's just making sure your loans don't help spread destructive habits." Andrew won't hear it, says "I won't have my banks punish people just for battling addiction," and he leaves. Wycliffe shares a nod with Lincoln across the room as Gordon then pulls Andrew and Silver aside.

Bruce watches Gordon guide the St. Clouds outside and tell them Cassie has been found dead. Silver is in shock and denial, Andrew breaks completely, wears a knowing face of horror. Bruce observes the exchange from afar, then excuses himself from the party. Andrew takes his leave before seeing Wycliffe again, and nods in defeat. Wycliffe smiles and toasts with Maria, then smiles at Lincoln.

New Detective RENEE MONTOYA takes in Cassie's penthouse as a shadow drifts over the balcony--THE BATMAN has arrived. She tells her officers to stand down, but they're not alarmed. If anything, they stand taller. She forgets, the Batman is a hero now. Batman is more open; not friendly, but he nods to officers he knows. Montoya says the situation seems pretty open and shut: a night on the town ends with friends passed out, an OD and a bad step off the balcony…but something seems off. Batman shines his blacklight on the Drops. Montoya says Cassie's prints were found on the droppers, which Batman confirms...but not on the tray that held them, in fact the tray is spotless. Even if Cassie didn't touch it, SOMEONE had to. Montoya points out scuff marks by the bedroom door. She assumed Cassie stumbled on her walk out, but they're all within the same radius, as if there were two more feet behind them. Sign of a struggle. Montoya calls the EMTs that took Cassie's friends and orders their blood drawn and scanned for DIONESIUM (in the comics, this is the substance the Court uses to heal and resurrect their Talons -- here, it's a powerful anesthetic the Talons use to enhance themselves to pain in small doses, or to sedate and memory wipe witnesses). Batman questions why this specific substance, and Montoya says another wealthy heiress, Sophia Starr, apparently got drunk and crashed her new sports car a few weeks ago--Starr was killed on impact, but her friends in the car were passed out with barely any injuries. Miraculous, they said, until Montoya found traces of Dionesium in their medical exams. Batman asks what street the ambulance took, then vanishes. He stops the ambulance on the road, despite the protesting EMTs and takes blood samples himself. Sure enough, his scans in the Bat Cave find traces of Dionesium...but the hospital records later tell Montoya and Gordon the opposite. Now Batman is certain — this was an assassination.

A long game of cat-and-mouse ensues, Batman first believing he's the predator. He cross-references where the most reported uses/supplies of Dionesium come from, leading to decades-old records of Arkham Asylum, where a nebbish lab assistant named JONATHAN CRANE logs them onto a drive and curries it out of town for his “Senior Chemist.” Unable to follow, Bruce calls in a favor from SELINA KYLE. Still carrying a torch for Batman, Selina scares Crane off and scoops the drive (Crane won't really come back in this particular story, it's more of a tease), only to be ambushed in her home by the Owlman, who beats her senseless and takes the drive, but armed mercenaries suddenly intervene before he can finish her. She steals the drive back and escapes as Owlman kills the mercs.

Lincoln arrives at the Powers Hotel empty-handed to meet Wycliffe and Maria, reporting that a private outfit working for their “competitor” interrupted him. Wycliffe is disappointed, but confident he’ll do better next time, while Powers coldly rebukes Lincoln as an idiot and a failure. Lincoln endures the passive aggression and abuse with familiarity. He takes a cocktail of amphetamines and Dionesium to “stay level” as a beauty team removes his armor and cleans him up for a public appearance with Bella. He keeps her distant from the truth, relishing the genuine affection and support she gives. The false life he presents to her is his only reprieve.

Making it back to Gotham, she slips the intel to Batman, and Batman gives her shelter, Alfred concealing his face as he tends to her wounds, while Bruce slowly decrypts the drive, which holds much more than Dionesium records. It's not fully unlocked yet, but Bruce sees enough to learn who’s behind this:

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THE COURT OF OWLS, once a Gilded Age social club that governed much of Gotham’s construction, before disastrous industrial fires and labor strikes left an entire plaza abandoned, something Gotham was eager to forget and build over. This became Old Gotham, beneath Gotham's east side, the catacombs we've seen the Talons use. Following the Riddler attacks, the Court has re-formed under John Wycliffe and Maria Powers to shepherd Gotham back to its "glory days,” with the aid of their assassins the Talons, led by Lincoln March. Their goal is to buy the land destroyed in the floods, then rebuild and gentrify it, pushing out 40% of Gotham’s lower income class with mass evictions, by mass incarceration and if need be, slow “sterilization” by pumping the community with laced drugs, tainted food and unclean water. In their mind, the falling quality of life will incentivize the remaining labor class to build a New Gotham, bringing wealth and prestige back to the city. However, many prominent figures pose a potential threat to this: progressive Mayor Bella Reál, socialite Silver St. Cloud, public defender Harvey Dent, incorruptible Captain James Gordon, underworld kingpin Oz Cobblepot...and newly public philanthropist Bruce Wayne. Bruce has Alfred monitor the drive as it continues to decrypt, and find addresses to private chatrooms used for communications. Bruce leaves in the morning, arriving to a lunch with Silver and Harvey, to discuss ways of combatting flood relief. Bruce tries to maintain his facade, but notices various staff with his camera contact lens. Silver’s new publicist and the head of Harvey’s security detail are both Court agents he saw from the drive, and then Lincoln himself arrives to join the lunch. Bruce can’t warn his friends without giving himself away, so he forces himself to be social in a tense scene.

That night, Lincoln threatens the Penguin into moving his drug operations out of the “right neighborhoods” that the Court has interest in, Oz plays ball and agrees. Once they leave, Oz takes out a CAMERA CONTACT LENS AND EARPIECE before flipping off Batman through the window, on another rooftop — Batman reluctantly let Oz know a mutual threat was going to lean on him soon, and Oz recorded the meeting in return (Batman remotely disables his gadgets so Oz can’t use them again). Batman tips off Gordon and Montoya in their car nearby, and follows the Talons from a distance, tracking them through Old Gotham to the partly-rebuilt sea wall, where they assassinate a handful of union heads and hijack trucks of construction supplies to slow down reconstruction. Batman pursues in the Batmobile, Gordon and Montoya racing to catch up. The Talons fire on him, shooting at the tires and windshield to test his defenses. Finding them bulletproof, Owlman leaps onto the hood himself and fires directly into the engine. Batman tries to shake him off, but the car slows to a stop as Owlman tears the door off. Batman fights back, Owlman equals him in skill and overwhelms him in strength, but Owlman retreats as Gordon and Montoya draw near. Montoya tries to call for backup, but Batman argues these people have eyes and ears everywhere, and Gordon is on their list. Gordon compromises by calling on officers he trusts, while Batman angrily destroys the wrecked Batmobile and departs.

Batman returns to the Cave to find Alfred at the computer station while Selina recovers in a makeshift living space in an abandoned railcar, making for an interesting camera dynamic: Selina faces away from the work station to respect Alfred’s anonymity, while Bruce is still in his mask, so he can go between both of them, visually displaying both sides of his world. He’s furious at himself for his overconfidence — he failed to save those workers, then let one man blindside and overpower him after thinking he’d prepared for anything the underworld could throw at him. Selina reassures him that she thought she’d seen it all too, but then watched Owlman shrug off everything she’s seen floor other men. Alfred agrees as he delves further into the data, bringing up psych profiles and videos: this man was a trained killer even before he was sent off to the military, where he earned status and notoriety as a war hero, then went into politics seemingly without advanced education, yet rose higher and higher with knowledge and insight he shouldn’t have had. He is Wycliffe and Maria’s ultimate “product,” raised to chase approval they’ll never fully give, because he could never be what the Court truly wanted — Bruce Wayne. Selina scoffs “Wayne? What could these guys want with that creep?” Bruce ironically agrees, and uncovers the Court’s obsessive writings on his family. They revered the Waynes as one of Gotham's founders, but the Waynes never joined the Court. Though they did not murder Thomas and Martha, they wanted to raise Bruce as one of their own. Luckily, Alfred kept him insulated, he didn’t know the Court’s full power, but his intuition knew they were trouble. With Bruce out of reach, Wycliffe and Maria made do with a no-name orphan who’d eventually be called Lincoln March.

Lincoln returns to the Powers Hotel. Though successful with Cobblepot and slowing the reconstruction effort while the Court positions itself, he’s again met with disappointment and scorn for attracting unwanted attention. The data he lost has officially jeopardized their secrecy. They don’t know Batman’s identity and thus far only considered him a nuisance, but they know he and Gordon are beyond bribery or coercion. Lincoln says he’ll handle it, but Maria says he’s screwed up long enough. Lincoln finally pushes back and stares down Maria, saying if they give him time, he can solve these problems and secure their assets in one day. Maria is angry, but gives way to Lincoln’s physical intimidation, while Wycliffe is almost PROUD of him.

Bruce has now gone three straight days without sleep, meeting with Gordon and Montoya at the Bat Signal to report everything else he’s found and urge them to lay low. Montoya raises that she isn’t on the Court’s hit list, so she’s in an ideal position to move on this. Gordon doesn’t want her taking the risk, but Batman gives her a comm device just in case. He races back to the cave at dawn, where Alfred urges him to rest, but the Court’s chatroom suddenly has activity. Selina says it’s unlikely they’d use the same places to communicate if they knew their security was compromised, but Batman doesn’t listen, breaking the coded messages between the Court and the Talons to uncover their next move: Three simultaneous assassinations during the daytime: Silver St. Cloud, Harvey Dent, and Jim Gordon. Against Alfred's pleading, he rushes out, sending word to Montoya. Selina knows he can't be three places at once, and she leaves as well. The climax follows Montoya racing to the GCPD, dodge the Court agents Batman identified and find Gordon, Selina casing Silver’s penthouse like a heist, and Bruce rushing in his civilian guise to the courthouse to warn Harvey. Selina and Montoya get in position…but nothing happens. Montoya finds Gordon safe and sound in his office, and Silver’s home is undisturbed. Bruce arrives at the courthouse to find Harvey, but only finds one court hall occupied by Lincoln March. “So it IS you under there,” Lincoln confirms.

It was a trap. Bruce let his fixation with having the sole responsibility of fixing Gotham lead him straight to it. He and Lincoln talk for a while, and Bruce then asks about Bella. Lincoln angrily deflects — Bruce sees he has genuine feelings for her, and tells him someday the Court will kill her too, but Lincoln says he’ll never let that happen. “Why, because you’re irreplaceable?” Bruce asks. “Yes!” Lincoln barks, and Bruce scoffs back “Think about this, you’re already a replacement for me!” Lincoln snaps and attacks him, along with every other Talon. Bruce fights valiantly despite lacking his armor and equipment, but they eventually beat him down, Lincoln preparing to stomp his head in when Wycliffe and Powers enter and order him to stand down. “That’s enough, son,” Wycliffe soothes, “You did well. So, very, well. But now you need to step away.” Lincoln sneers down at Bruce, who is calm despite his injuries. “I pity you, Lincoln,” Bruce says, “The only time anyone loved you was under a lie. I’m sorry for that…” Lincoln nearly attacks again, but Wycliffe and Powers move in, easing him away from Bruce as the Talons pick him up. They tell Bruce he’s coming home, where he was always meant to be, and Lincoln sees his grand gesture of loyalty to them unravel — he didn’t prove he was better than Bruce, he just brought him to them. He panics internally as they take him away, growing desperate and angry…

After Bruce’s capture, two Talons infiltrate Wayne Tower to kill Alfred. Selina returns to the cave not long after, and finds Alfred, unharmed, saying their mutual friend is in trouble. She asks what happened, and he reveals one Talon shot dead with a shotgun, the other severely wounded and restrained. Selina says she never thought she’d say this, but she has to call the cops, reaching out to Gordon and Montoya to begin a secret search and rescue for the Batman.

In the closing moments, Wycliffe and Powers take Bruce down to Old Gotham and DRUG HIM WITH DIONESIUM, saying they have to deconstruct his mind so they can rebuild, make him theirs. Bruce is stripped naked, slowly feeling the drug set in and is cut loose in the ruins. When he heads for exit points, a Talon stops him and doses him again. His mind begins to falter and he starts hallucinating, but he finds an unexpected ally hiding in the ruins. The Court’s “competitor,” who promises to help Bruce out of this…if his mind proves strong enough to endure.

This man overseeing the Batman's psychological crucible is none other than HUGO STRANGE.