The busy signal on Gotham City's communicator had been sounding for a full forty-seven minutes.
Nick stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, holding that cup of coffee he never seemed to finish, his brow slightly furrowed.
Gotham City's signal towers had gone completely offline half an hour earlier. They had not been destroyed, but blanketed by some kind of power.
It was as though someone had plucked the entire city off the world map and stuffed it into a dark little room of its own.
"Have you finished entering the coordinates?" Nick asked without turning around.
His adjutant's voice came from beside the teleporter. "It's as if Gotham City has been erased. We can't establish any communications."
Nick took a sip of coffee. "Enough. Someone's more anxious than I am."
As soon as he finished speaking, the teleporter's light flickered once, then went out again.
The roar of an engine came from high above.
It sounded nothing like an ordinary motorcycle, more like the roar of some beast mixed with the high-frequency hum of an electric current.
A dark silhouette plunged from the clouds. As its wings folded, an extravagantly designed motorcycle landed firmly on the rooftop.
It had a streamlined body, a dark alloy shell, and two sharp wing blades extending from either side of the front.
Instead of exhaust fumes, its tailpipe released ghostly blue particles of spirit power.
Owlman removed his helmet, revealing his signature bat mask.
His gaze was cold, but now a suppressed fury lurked beneath that chill.
"Gotham, I'm back."
He looked down over the city he had protected for so many years, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
Gotham City had changed.
From above, the entire city looked as though an invisible hand had squeezed it into one enormous theme park.
The streets were no