Chapter Summaries

Bruce Wayne proposed funding free education and medical care for Gotham’s poor children by shifting Wayne Enterprises toward Arc Reactor energy, then chose Yang Ming to lead the first school. Yang Ming resisted, but Bruce revealed he had bought the land containing Yang’s clinic and planned a 3,000-student pilot school there.

• Yang Ming and Lucius Fox warned Bruce that his plan to cover all expenses for hundreds of thousands of students would bankrupt Wayne Enterprises.
• Bruce said the Arc Reactor would let Wayne Enterprises enter the new-energy market and attract investment, subsidies, and industrial orders to fund the program.
• Yang Ming accepted Bruce’s business plan but asked who would run the school, and Bruce silently fixed his gaze on him.
• Bruce told Yang Ming he had bought Lake Street and three surrounding blocks, including the land beneath Yang’s clinic, for the first boarding school.
• Bruce proposed a first phase of 3,000 students, and Yang Ming protested that Gotham’s children could make the school dangerous.

Yang Ming agreed to become principal of Bruce Wayne’s East End school after Bruce granted him absolute control over its management and teaching. Yang Ming secured hotel accommodations for his household and Jason Todd’s children, while Bruce returned to the New Element Deduction Project and ordered Ivan Vanko to keep working.

• Yang Ming accused Bruce of using his reputation and strength to protect the planned school from Gotham’s gangs, then agreed to become principal on the condition that he have dictatorial authority over the school.
• Bruce accepted Yang Ming’s demand and promised to keep Wayne Enterprises and the School Board from interfering, as long as the students stayed alive and were redirected from gang life.
• Yang Ming negotiated relocation for his household and Jason Todd’s children, and Bruce offered them the Wayne Royal Hotel with all expenses charged to Wayne Enterprises.
• Yang Ming opened the Anywhere Door and left to tell everyone to pack for the hotel.
• Lucius Fox questioned Bruce’s decision, but Bruce defended Yang Ming and ordered Lucius to prepare a preliminary model for the New Element Deduction Project by eight the next morning.
• Bruce ordered Ivan Vanko to fix the reactor’s peripheral conduction circuits before dawn, and Ivan left with a mechanical arm.

Yang Ming told the clinic residents that Wayne Enterprises was demolishing the clinic to build a free boarding school, and he moved everyone to the Wayne Royal Hotel. Jason remained wary of the plan but accepted hotel key cards for the children, while Yang Ming noticed an advertisement for the Flying Graysons and anticipated another child’s tragedy.

• Yang Ming announced that everyone had half an hour to pack and move to the Wayne Royal Hotel, then explained that Wayne Enterprises had bought Lake Street and planned to replace the clinic with a free boarding school.
• Jason questioned Wayne’s motives and accused the project of being a publicity stunt, so Yang Ming took him aside and explained the school’s rules and his reasons for helping the children.
• Yang Ming gave Jason hotel key cards and asked him to bring the younger children for one night before deciding whether to join the school.
• The clinic’s residents and children boarded a Wayne Enterprises truck and left the East End for downtown Gotham City.
• Yang Ming saw a billboard announcing Haly’s Circus and the Flying Graysons, and thought another child was about to suffer a tragedy.

Yang Ming brought Gotham’s East End orphans to the Wayne Royal Hotel and revealed plans to build a school on the Clinic’s former site. He left Jason with the first student roster to complete by morning, giving the boy responsibility for the children’s future.

• Yang Ming brought the mud-covered children to the Wayne Royal Hotel, where Maggie showed them how to secure their rooms and Jason investigated the hotel’s heavy security.
• Yang Ming told his staff that Wayne Enterprises would fund a school and assigned Selene to watch Gotham’s crime bosses while Retsu Unohana planned medical examinations for the children.
• At dinner, Jason urged the children to eat and secretly pocketed food in case they were sent back to the streets.
• Yang Ming caught Jason with the food but gave him a tablet and ordered him to compile every child’s name, age, health, drug history, and relatives by morning.
• Jason accepted the assignment, called Gap-Tooth and Skinny to help, and ordered them to wake the others.

Bruce Wayne left the Batcave’s fusion research to visit Jack and Janet Napier after their daughter Evelyn was born. He became Evelyn’s godfather and left determined to protect her and build a better future for Gotham’s children, while the reactor and East End school remained urgent goals.

• Bruce pushed Ivan Vanko to keep working on the fusion reactor after his improvised repairs reduced palladium toxicity by four percent.
• Alfred delivered news that Jack and Janet Napier’s daughter, Evelyn, had been born, and urged Bruce to visit them.
• Bruce overcame his hesitation and went to Gotham General Hospital to congratulate Jack and Janet and meet Evelyn.
• Bruce asked Jack to let him be Evelyn’s godfather, and Jack eagerly accepted.
• Bruce promised to protect Evelyn and every child in Gotham, then told Jack to prepare to lead the Chemical Division.

Wayne Enterprises began building a free school and clinic on Lake Street, while the Court of Owls learned the excavation threatened its hidden labyrinth and Talon chambers. The Court ordered the site destroyed and Yang Ming killed, then awakened three elite Talons for the attack.

• Iron Teeth and his gang arrived to demand a security fee, but fled after seeing three criminals grotesquely hung at the construction gate and recognizing Yang Ming's warning.
• The Court of Owls discussed Bruce Wayne's school project and learned its deep foundations could uncover a dormancy chamber and an emergency entrance within three days.
• The chief judge ordered three elite Talons to infiltrate the site, plant explosives, and destroy the construction project without killing Bruce Wayne.
• The Court targeted Yang Ming, ordering the Talons to bring back his head and display it on Wayne Tower.
• Three coffins opened in the underground labyrinth, and the elite Talons awoke.

Yang Ming put Jason Todd in charge of disciplining the street children while Wayne Enterprises’ drilling disturbed the Court of Owls’ underground chamber. That night, a Talon assassin infiltrated the Wayne Royal Hotel to kill Yang Ming, who stopped the poisoned dagger with two fingers and revealed he had sensed the assassin from a kilometer away.

• Jason Todd delivered Yang Ming a detailed report on thirty-eight street children, and Yang Ming made him responsible for keeping them in line.
• Wayne Enterprises’ construction crew drilled deep beneath Lake Street, shaking the Court of Owls’ suspended-animation chamber and provoking a masked Court member.
• During a torrential downpour, two Talon assassins headed for the construction site while another climbed the Wayne Royal Hotel’s exterior.
• The elite Talon assassin cut through Yang Ming’s bedroom window and thrust a poisoned dagger toward his throat.
• Yang Ming caught the dagger between two blackened fingers, said his observation haki had detected the assassin from a kilometer away, and demanded to know why he had not used the front door.

Yang Ming captured a Talon sent by the Court of Owls and learned that other Talons were planting bombs at his Lake Street construction site. He left Retsu Unohana to examine the captive and used a portal to go help Batman before the bombs detonated.

• Yang Ming stopped a Talon's assassination attempt and kicked him through a wall, where Retsu Unohana immobilized him after he regenerated from severe injuries.
• Yang Ming recognized the attacker as a Talon of the Court of Owls and prevented him from biting down on a poison capsule.
• Two Talons planted timed bombs on load-bearing columns at the Lake Street construction site, where Batman confronted them.
• Batman fought the regenerating Talons, suffered a shoulder wound, and realized the bombs could destroy nearby underground utility networks.
• Selene warned Yang Ming that Batman was struggling at the construction site, so Yang Ming left the captive with Retsu Unohana and opened a portal to the site.

Yang Ming saved Bruce Wayne from two regenerating Talons and revealed that the Court of Owls had attacked Bruce’s school project. After learning the Court might have killed his great-grandfather, Bruce joined Yang Ming in planning to dig into its underground lair.

• Yang Ming emerged through a Space Door and killed the two Talons attacking Bruce, then sent the bombs through another door to detonate offshore.
• Bruce examined a Talon and asked Yang Ming about the attackers, and Yang Ming identified them as Talons serving the Court of Owls.
• Yang Ming explained that the Court had targeted Bruce’s free school because educating Gotham’s poor threatened its control, and said another Talon had tried to kill him at the Royal Hotel.
• Yang Ming told Bruce that his great-grandfather Alan Wayne had discovered the Court’s labyrinth and been killed by its Talons.
• Bruce asked where the Court’s entrance was, and Yang Ming proposed bringing in a powerful Tunnel Boring Machine to dig down into its lair.

The Court of Owls abandoned its underground labyrinth after Yang Ming proved too dangerous to confront, leaving the space for Bruce Wayne’s school project. Meanwhile, Haly’s Circus arrived in Gotham, where gangsters threatened the troupe and Dick Grayson sensed that his family was in danger.

• The Chief Justice ordered the Court to relocate its Talons and destroy records before Wayne Enterprises’ excavation exposed their chamber.
• Bruce Wayne told Yang Ming that the labyrinth was empty, and Yang Ming claimed the underground space for the school’s security center and storage.
• Haly’s Circus arrived in Gotham, where a gang led by a scarred bald man demanded half its revenue and threatened the performers.
• Harry refused the gang’s demand and rejected John and Mary’s suggestion that the circus leave Gotham.
• Dick Grayson watched the gangsters depart and worried that they viewed the circus as prey.

Yang Ming took the Wayne children to Haly’s Circus, where Tony Zucco’s men sabotaged the Flying Graysons’ aerial rope. As John prepared to perform, Yang Ming sensed the rope breaking and reached for his pocket, leaving the family’s fate unresolved.

• Yang Ming invited the Wayne children to Haly’s Circus and teased Bruce Wayne about a surprise, prompting Bruce to attend in secret.
• Tony Zucco punished a subordinate for failing to collect protection money and ordered his men to sabotage the Flying Graysons’ rope with acid.
• Yang Ming, Jessica, Loki, and the children watched the circus, while Batman hid above the VIP seats.
• The Flying Graysons began their performance before a packed tent as Zucco’s men’s acid weakened the main rope.
• Yang Ming sensed the rope tearing as John prepared for the leap of death and reached toward his jacket pocket.

Bruce Wayne saved John and Mary after the Main Rope snapped, preventing Dick from becoming an orphan. Yang Ming captured the saboteurs, learned Tony Zucco had ordered the attack, and joined Batman at Zucco’s club to confront him.

• Bruce Wayne swung down from the dome and caught John and Mary, lowering them safely onto the Safety Mat.
• Yang Ming stopped two escaping thugs backstage, deflected their bullets, and forced them to identify Tony Zucco as the man who ordered the rope cut.
• Yang Ming sent the injured thugs through a portal to the entrance of the Gotham City Police Department and asked Selene to locate Zucco.
• Selene reported that Zucco operated from the Pink Flamingo Strip Club, so Yang Ming went there and fought past the bouncers.
• Batman arrived at the club as Yang Ming faced more than twenty armed enforcers, and the two prepared to confront Zucco together.

Yang Ming and Batman rescued the Graysons’ lighting technician, defeated Tony Zucco, and exposed a plot against the Lake Street school project. After delivering Zucco and his men to the police, Bruce met Dick Grayson, who asked to train with him, but Bruce sent him back to his parents.

• Yang Ming and Batman fought through Zucco’s gunmen and confronted him with the injured lighting technician as a hostage.
• Yang Ming shot a coin through Zucco’s gun hand, and he and Batman subdued Zucco’s men.
• Yang Ming found a ledger linking Zucco to corruption and sabotage, including a plot against the Lake Street school project backed by the True Master of Gotham.
• Yang Ming broke Zucco’s legs and warned the assembled thugs not to target the school, circus, construction site, or children.
• Zucco and six henchmen were delivered to the Gotham Police Department with the ledger as evidence, and Commissioner Gordon summoned the East End deputy commissioner.
• Dick thanked Batman for saving his parents and asked to train with him, but Bruce told him to return to the Graysons and protect his Flying Graysons badge.

Yang Ming began teaching the street children to read so they could protect themselves from exploitation, then went to Wayne Manor after Alfred warned him that the Court of Owls might have infiltrated much of Gotham. The Court learned that Barbatos had chosen Bruce Wayne as a gateway to the world and ordered its Talons to protect him.

• The children struggled to read the newspaper, so Yang Ming explained how illiteracy could leave them vulnerable to fraudulent contracts and announced lessons in reading, arithmetic, and rules.
• Jason pledged to learn and teach the others, and Yang Ming promised rewards for their progress.
• Alfred collected Yang Ming for a meeting with Bruce Wayne, warning that the Court of Owls might have members throughout Gotham.
• The Court of Owls debated Yang Ming and Bruce Wayne as Barbatos appeared and forbade them from harming Bruce.
• Barbatos revealed that he had chosen Bruce as a door for the Dark Multiverse and ordered the Court's Talons to protect him until the Bat Legion could enter and help destroy the world.
• A mirror showed a ruined world where a monstrous bat-caped figure stood over the dead Justice League.

The Court of Owls responded to Yang Ming’s strength by using its influence in City Hall to halt the Lake Street school project, while Bruce Wayne discovered how deeply the Court had infiltrated Gotham. Yang Ming rejected Bruce’s plan to fight the order through legal channels and set out to pay a house call on Director Elwin.

• The Court of Owls ordered its City Hall assets to shut down construction at the Lake Street site.
• Bruce showed Yang Ming evidence that the Court had infiltrated Wayne Enterprises, city agencies, police, and utilities.
• Lucius Fox reported that City Hall had revoked the school’s construction permit, claiming an archaeological site lay beneath it.
• Bruce proposed an administrative review, but Yang Ming argued the Court would empty the underground maze before the process finished.
• Yang Ming asked Alfred to locate Director Elwin and prepare a medical bag and scalpel for a house call at Elwin’s private mansion.

Yang Ming broke into Director Elwin’s villa and tortured him until he confessed that the mayor had bribed him to halt Wayne Enterprises’ Lake Street project. After securing Elwin’s signed permit reinstatement and recorded confession, Yang Ming headed through a Space Door to confront the mayor.

• Yang Ming entered Elwin’s villa, incapacitated Elwin’s mistress, and injected Elwin with adrenaline before inflicting intense pain to make him talk.
• Elwin confessed that the mayor had paid him three million dollars to issue the stop-work order and fabricate an archaeological site, but said he knew nothing about the Court of Owls.
• Yang Ming made Elwin sign and stamp a document revoking the stop-work order, then recorded Elwin repeating his confession.
• Yang Ming knocked Elwin unconscious and rendered the driver unconscious outside the villa.
• Yang Ming opened a Space Door to the mayor’s private underground garage and stepped through with his medical case.

Yang Ming rejected Mayor Hamilton’s offer to join the Court of Owls and let it control Lake Street School. As four Talons burst into the office, Yang Ming declared that he would put everyone who made Gotham’s rules on his Dissection Table.

• Yang Ming entered Mayor Hamilton’s office and learned that Hamilton belonged to the Court of Owls, which had sent four Talons to guard the meeting.
• Hamilton described the Court’s control over Gotham and offered Yang Ming funding and influence if he joined, on the condition that the Court controlled the school.
• Hamilton explained that the school would sort children into useful workers and eliminate those deemed disobedient or worthless.
• Yang Ming rejected the offer and said he intended to put the people who made Gotham’s rules on his Dissection Table.
• Hamilton ordered the attack, and four Talons smashed through the office windows as Yang Ming challenged the mayor to book an appointment.

Yang Ming foiled Mayor Hamilton’s attempt to frame him, saved a hostage, and survived Hamilton’s suicide bombing, but Commissioner Gordon arrested him on suspicion of terrorism and murder. At GCPD headquarters, Bruce Wayne secured a brief visit with him while pressure mounted for his release.

• Four Talons attacked Yang Ming in Hamilton’s office, but Yang disarmed them and used a Space Door to remove the planted evidence and recording device.
• Yang Ming disabled the bomb strapped to Hamilton’s secretary, but Hamilton revealed a suicide vest and detonated it, killing himself and wrecking the office.
• Commissioner Gordon arrested Yang Ming after finding him at the blast site and ordered officers to get medical help for the unconscious secretary.
• At GCPD headquarters, Gordon rejected a Wayne Enterprises lawyer’s demand to release Yang Ming on bail.
• Bruce Wayne persuaded Gordon to let him visit Yang Ming for ten minutes.

Bruce Wayne questioned Yang Ming after the mayor’s explosion and agreed to protect the secretary, while Yang warned him the Court of Owls might target her. Left alone in custody, Yang Ming resolved to recruit more heroes and assemble the Justice League to face Barbatos and the Dark Multiverse.

• Bruce Wayne told Yang Ming he knew he was not the killer, and Yang urged him to protect the secretary from the Court of Owls.
• Bruce said the secretary was at Gotham General Hospital under Gordon’s officers and Wayne Enterprises’ protection, and promised to go there himself.
• Yang Ming asked Bruce to keep his companions from learning he was in trouble, especially Retsu Unohana, and warned Bruce not to go to the hospital alone.
• After Bruce left, Yang Ming recalled the mayor’s reference to Barbatos and recognized the Court of Owls as guardians of the Dark Multiverse’s gate.
• Yang Ming decided to recruit the Flash, find a Green Lantern Ring, and bring in Cyborg so he could assemble the Justice League.

After Yang Ming was framed for Mayor Hamilton’s death, Bruce uncovered an attack on Emily and protected her from the Talons. Yang Ming was released after Emily identified the mayor as the culprit, then told Retsu Unohana he was leaving Gotham and entrusted the people and projects there to her.

• Gordon suspected that someone had framed Yang Ming and ordered the original mayor’s-office footage investigated.
• Talons disguised as police and paramedics attacked Emily in the hospital, but Batman defeated them with super-freeze bombs.
• Emily told Bruce that the mayor had kidnapped her, planted the bomb, and detonated it, and that Yang Ming had saved her.
• Gordon released Yang Ming after Emily’s statement cleared him, while warning that the investigation and public scrutiny would continue.
• Yang Ming returned to the Wayne Royal Hotel and told Retsu Unohana he was leaving, entrusting Gotham and its people to her.