Chapter Summaries

At Bruce’s party, Clark gave Ririko his reporting bonus and discussed his new job before agreeing to stay at the estate. Bruce then tested Clark’s strength for suit design, and Clark destroyed the expensive testing machine with one punch.

• Clark praised Alfred’s lamb chops and told Ririko that the Daily Planet had promoted him and provided workers’ compensation coverage.
• Clark gave Ririko his ninety-thousand-dollar reporting bonus and asked Bruce about licensing his likeness for a Daily Planet feature.
• Clark and Bruce discussed their personal possessions, and Clark shared that his parents had died and his aunt and uncle had raised him.
• After Barbara and Harvey left, Bruce invited Clark to stay overnight, and Clark agreed after Ririko mentioned the estate’s cooks.
• Bruce asked Clark to hit the strength-testing machine, and Clark shattered its armor plate and toppled it, leaving Bruce lamenting the cost.

Bruce tested Clark’s limits and designed him a new red-and-blue suit without the underwear-on-the-outside style. Later, Ririko met Clark on Wayne Tower’s roof, where she said she wanted to understand the world’s rules and gain the strength to challenge the Court of Owls, and Clark asked her to consider him.

• Clark endured Bruce’s high-temperature, cold, impact, and radiation tests, with every reading exceeding the equipment’s limits.
• Bruce designed a reinforced suit for Clark and said it would be ready in about two days.
• Bruce learned Clark could hear everything through walls, so he gave up on a private night with Ririko.
• Clark visited Ririko’s window with champagne, flew her to Wayne Tower, and reunited her with Krypto.
• Ririko said she wanted to reassess the world’s rules and take on the Court of Owls, and Clark asked her to consider him as an ally.

Ririko and Clark's rooftop romance was interrupted by an attack on Oswald Cobblepot, whom Krypto rescued. Oswald failed to recruit Clark as a bodyguard and updated his Old Geezer Direct Hire listing before Ririko left with Clark.

• Ririko teased Clark about his confession, but Krypto interrupted their almost-kiss by wedging himself between them.
• Ririko and Clark spotted Oswald Cobblepot being pursued by armed cars, and Ririko sent Krypto to stop the attackers.
• Krypto used his laser vision to disable the pursuing cars, and Oswald celebrated his rescue before Ririko called out his smugness.
• Oswald complained that he could not find a capable subordinate and asked Clark to become his bodyguard, but Clark declined and suggested Krypto instead.
• Oswald refused to hire a dog and added a no-dogs requirement to his Old Geezer Direct Hire listing as Ririko and Clark walked away.

Bruce, Clark, and Ririko watched the Gotham’s Number One Bodyguard tournament at Wayne Shopping Center, where Talia revealed her extraordinary fighting skill. Oswald mistakenly suspected the hooded contestant was a hired plant and planned to dismiss her after the tournament, unaware that she might become his next bodyguard.

• Bruce took Clark and Ririko to Wayne Shopping Center, where they discovered Oswald’s bodyguard tournament and watched from the upper-level walkway.
• Ririko and Bruce recognized the hooded contestant as Talia when she faced a much larger opponent with a wooden stick.
• Talia defeated the burly fighter in three seconds, sending him off the platform and thrilling the crowd.
• Oswald watched Talia win on the tournament livestream and suspected Old-Timer Direct Hire had staged her appearances.
• The general manager told Oswald that they had assumed Talia was a candidate he had sent, but Oswald could not remember who she was and planned to send her away after the tournament.

Talia won Gotham’s Number One Bodyguard tournament and insisted on protecting Oswald, who refused to hire her because she was a woman. Ririko went to intervene after Oswald called her, while Clark tested his new Superman suit at Wayne Manor.

• Talia praised Oswald’s civic projects after winning the bodyguard tournament, while Ririko and Bruce discussed her admiration for him.
• Ririko shopped with Bruce and Clark, and Clark bought toys for Krypto and gifts for his aunt and uncle.
• Oswald offered Talia a bonus instead of a job, but she demanded that he sign her contract; he recognized her as someone who had been with Ririko and called Ririko for help.
• Clark activated his new liquid-metal Superman suit and tested its fit and flight capabilities in Wayne Manor’s training room.
• Oswald told Ririko he would not hire Talia because she was a woman, and Ririko agreed to visit him after considering his privacy concerns.
• Ririko found Talia waiting outside Oswald’s office and learned that Talia had started protecting him before he signed her or offered a salary.

Ririko convinced Oswald to give Talia a one-week trial as his bodyguard and stayed to observe her. At Oswald’s Botanical Park opening, Talia foiled an ambush but left him sprawled in the dirt before reporters, and Ririko wondered whether Talia had an unusual taste in men.

• Oswald rejected Talia’s protection and said he would hire Kane Family guards, but Ririko warned him against it and persuaded him to give Talia a one-week trial at half pay.
• Oswald asked Ririko to stay and evaluate Talia, and she agreed to remain for one night.
• Talia accepted the trial, put on a bodyguard uniform, and armed herself with a revolver.
• At the Botanical Park ribbon-cutting, Talia shouted that Oswald was under attack, tackled him to the ground, and fired at an attacker with Golden Claws in the bushes.
• Reporters photographed Oswald covered in grass and mud as he angrily berated Talia, while Ririko wondered whether Talia had an unusual taste in men.

Ririko reassured Talia after she defended Oswald, then comforted Oswald in his bedroom. A clawed assassin broke in during the night, and Talia fought them while Oswald woke in the closet.

• Oswald complained about Talia's actions, and Ririko told him to wash up while she went to speak with Talia.
• Talia insisted she had seen an attacker with golden claws, and Ririko advised her not to shield Oswald if danger arose again.
• Ririko returned to Oswald, and they went into his walk-in closet to keep quiet near Talia's room.
• A clawed assassin entered the bedroom and attacked what appeared to be Oswald beneath the covers, but found only cushions.
• Talia confronted the assassin with a Wooden Staff, and Oswald woke in the closet and was kicked back inside when he tried to look out.
• Oswald asked Talia whether she was trying to murder him too.

Talia captured William Cobb after he attacked the Mansion, and Ririko learned that the Court of Owls’ Talons could be made immortal through the Salaru Sacred Pool’s underground water. With another attack expected, Oswald ordered extensive defenses and prepared to hide in a reinforced safe room.

• Talia pursued the assassin across the Mansion grounds, restrained him with ghastly hands, and the guards captured him with an electric net.
• Ririko used command-based control to question William Cobb, who identified himself as a Talon of the Court of Owls but knew nothing more about the organization.
• Oswald realized Ririko had arranged for him to sleep outside the bedroom because she expected an assassination attempt, and he blamed Talia for his injuries.
• Talia told Ririko that William Cobb’s wounds had healed and suspected the Court of Owls had accessed water energized by the Salaru Sacred Pool to create immortal assassins.
• Ririko warned that another attack might come, and Oswald ordered his security team to fortify a basement safe room and install pressure-sensitive alarms.

Ririko persuaded Oswald to face the Court of Owls publicly, and he held a defiant press conference that drew attention from Gotham’s gang leaders. After three quiet days, Oswald believed his show of courage had worked, but Ririko spotted assassins gathering around them at the Opera House.

• Ririko urged Oswald to hold a press conference and continue appearing in public so the Court of Owls would attack again.
• Oswald agreed despite his painful back, then blamed Talia for his injury and drank the milk she gave him.
• Oswald declared at City Hall that an assassination attempt would not bring him down.
• Sofia Falcone ordered more men to watch Oswald, while Fish Mooney told Butch to find out who was targeting him.
• At the Opera House, Oswald flirted with Ririko after three days without an attack, but she pointed out figures crawling across the dome and more assassins below.

Talia and Victor helped Ririko survive a Talon attack, and Ririko followed a captured assassin to meet Elizabeth Crown. After demonstrating her power to control people, she impressed Elizabeth, who identified her as Hugo Strange’s most successful test subject.

• Talia shot an assassin targeting Oswald at the theater while Bruce and the guards fought the Talons and helped them escape.
• A Talon attacked Ririko and Oswald in the parking garage, but Victor killed it; Ririko then ordered the recovering assassin to take her to the Court of Owls.
• Oswald hired Victor as his bodyguard after noticing Sofia’s people and Butch gathering in the garage.
• Ririko followed the Talon through an abandoned church and met Elizabeth Crown in the Court of Owls’ underground room.
• Ririko revealed her many-faced power and claimed she could control Bruce, Oswald, families, and gangs, prompting Elizabeth to meet her in person.
• Elizabeth called Ririko Hugo Strange’s most successful test subject and said she could stably sustain his drugs.

Ririko negotiated with Elizabeth for a place in the Court of Owls and was tasked with getting Thomas Wayne to approve resource extraction in the Clement Strait. She and Bruce flew there for a vacation, arriving to find Dick deeply tanned and dressed like a local.

• Ririko demanded membership in the Court of Owls and 60% of the profits from projects she joined, and Elizabeth offered to consider admitting her if she secured Thomas Wayne's authorization for resource extraction in the Clement Strait.
• Ririko returned to the damaged opera house, where Bruce confirmed the Talon Assassins had been enhanced with sacred pool water and learned Victor had become Oswald's bodyguard.
• Ririko persuaded Bruce to vacation in the Clement Strait, and Alfred arranged for the Wayne private jet to depart within two hours.
• During the flight, Bruce explained that Thomas had banned commercial extraction in the strait because of unexplained shipwrecks and danger to local fishers.
• Ririko and Bruce landed on the island and were greeted by Dick, whose sun-darkened skin and vacation clothes made him look like a local.

Ririko and Bruce arrived at the Wayne family resort, where Ririko learned that unexplained shipwrecks and eerie sounds were stopping Thomas from pursuing marine-resource extraction. The chapter ended with Ririko and Bruce getting close in a hot spring before a group of monkeys gathered around them.

• Dick picked up Ririko and Bruce at the terminal and drove them to the resort, describing its hot springs and local attractions.
• Bruce arranged adjoining suites after Alfred asked whether he and Ririko should share a room.
• Ririko suggested that Thomas explore marine resources, but Thomas explained that strange incidents in the strait had made him wary of proceeding.
• Ririko relaxed in her suite's outdoor hot spring, and Bruce joined her from the neighboring suite.
• Ririko teased Bruce about smelling like bananas, then warned him about his new friends as monkeys gathered around the pool.

Bruce and Ririko fled monkeys at the hot spring, then joined Dick at a struggling beach bar owned by Arthur Curry. Arthur served them mojitos and said he would return home after finishing what he needed to do on the island.

• Bruce and Ririko escaped the monkeys chasing them from the hot spring and returned to their room.
• Dick finished his lifeguard shift and led Bruce and Ririko to a beach bar, explaining that its owner was struggling to make money.
• Ririko recognized the bar's owner as Arthur Curry, Aquaman, who described his failing business and its slow sales.
• Arthur made mojitos for the group, and Bruce praised the drink before Dick stopped him from offering Arthur a business opportunity in Gotham.
• Arthur said he would head home after completing his business on the island, then turned up the music and called for the party to start.

The group’s celebration at Arthur’s bar was interrupted by villagers accusing the Wayne family of disturbing the island and causing strange incidents at sea. After Bruce revealed his identity, an eerie wail sent the villagers fleeing, and Dick warned that the sound had always preceded trouble and was closer than before.

• Dick danced and performed circus bottle tricks, while Bruce sang and Ririko danced as Arthur opened the bar’s bottles for the party.
• Glenn and the villagers arrived with tools, stopped the music, and accused the group of disturbing the sea god.
• The village chief blamed Wayne Hotel for sinking fishing boats and sick divers, and Bruce identified himself as Bruce Wayne and ordered the villagers to leave.
• A piercing wail rose from the sea, frightening the customers and villagers into fleeing the bar.
• Arthur charged Bruce for the drinks, and Dick told Bruce that the strange sound preceded disasters and had sounded closer than ever.

After the village chief died, Ririko, Bruce, and Dick learned that the villagers planned a burial at sea. When the sea pulled the chief’s body beneath the waves and a familiar wail sounded, Arthur rushed to get Ririko and Dick away.

• Dick told Ririko and Bruce that the village chief had been found dead, and Bruce decided to investigate the cause and close the beach.
• Ririko, Dick, and Arthur grilled fish on the beach, where Arthur warned them that things on the island were complicated and urged them to return to Gotham.
• The villagers carried the chief’s body to the shore and sent it out on a bamboo raft as part of their burial tradition.
• The raft and body stopped offshore and plunged beneath the water, terrifying the villagers and shocking Ririko and Dick.
• A piercing wail sounded over the sea as the clouds churned and the wind grew violent, so Arthur grabbed Ririko and Dick and urged them to move.

After a tsunami swept Ririko, Arthur, and Dick into the sea, Ririko revived on a rock and learned that her new underwater-breathing skill could help her dive. She persuaded Arthur to seek the Trident of the Sea God before Orm, and they descended toward the Trench territory together.

• The Trench sent a massive wave crashing onto the beach, sweeping Ririko, Arthur, and Dick into the sea.
• Ririko woke on a rock after dying and using her final resurrection, and the system granted her an underwater-breathing skill.
• Arthur explained that Orm had provoked the Trench by entering their territory to seek the Trident of the Sea God.
• Ririko urged Arthur to find the trident before Orm, and Arthur agreed to take her into the Trench territory.
• Arthur pulled Ririko rapidly down through the water as her underwater-breathing skill counted down.

Ririko and Arthur entered the Center of the Earth Sea after meeting the Trench chief, who sent them into a vast cavern. With Ririko’s underwater-breathing skill expired and the trident still missing, they began exploring, and Arthur carried her to help keep her warm.

• Arthur explained that the Trench sentries could detect disturbances in the water as he and Ririko descended to the chief’s palace.
• The chief appeared to mistake Ririko for a prospective wife, but she told him to let them enter the Center of the Earth Sea.
• The chief summoned a powerful current that swept Ririko and Arthur into a cavern filled with vegetation and breathable air.
• Ririko discovered that her underwater-breathing skill had expired for 72 hours, while Arthur confirmed they still needed to search for the trident.
• As they explored the cold, damp cavern, Arthur offered to carry Ririko, and she let him scoop her into his arms.

Ririko and Arthur searched a cavern for treasure, where Ririko found the trident that ruled the Seven Seas and discovered it had chosen her. Arthur told her she was now the King of the Seven Seas, but the trident refused to leave her grasp.

• Arthur explained that he was half Atlantean and half human, that Orm had the stronger birthright claim, and that Orm might use the throne to start a war against humanity.
• Ririko insisted Arthur should take the throne if he was strongest and demanded a thousand chests of treasure in return.
• Arthur and Ririko found pearls and gems hidden beneath the cavern moss, and they gathered as many as they could carry.
• Ririko pulled a golden trident from a crack in the rock and discovered that she could wield it while it avoided Arthur's touch.
• Arthur said the trident had chosen Ririko and made her King of the Seven Seas, but when she tried to hand it to him, it stuck to her palm.

Orm confronted Arthur over the Trident of the Sea God, but learned that Ririko had become its chosen master. After Ririko struck Orm with the trident’s power, Mera tried to get her out of the cave and kissed her to help her escape through the waterfall.

• Orm accused Arthur of stealing the trident and threatened him, but Mera stepped between them to stop the fight.
• Mera discovered Ririko hiding with the trident and a bundle of jewels, and Arthur revealed that the trident had chosen her as its master.
• Orm moved toward Ririko, so Mera grabbed her and fled while Arthur fought off Orm’s attacks.
• Orm’s water blade tore open Ririko’s bundle, spilling the jewels, and Ririko retaliated with the trident, smashing Orm’s harpoon and hurling him into a rock wall.
• Mera led Ririko toward the waterfall exit, and when Ririko said she could not escape alone, Mera kissed her.

Ririko escaped the Trench with the golden trident and returned safely to Bruce and Dick, then woke at the Hotel still regretting the treasure she had left behind. By evening, she was considering returning to the underwater cave.

• Mera gave Ririko oxygen and shoved her out of the cave, and the golden trident carried her past the Trench chief and sentries.
• Ririko used the trident to scatter the Trench sentries, then traveled toward the surface as sea creatures followed her.
• Bruce, Dick, and Alfred searched for Ririko until the rescue ship’s sonar detected her approaching with dolphins and a giant squid.
• Ririko leaped from the sea, and Dick jumped overboard to meet her before she returned to the ship with him.
• Bruce carried the tired, hungry Ririko back to the Hotel, where she told him about the trident and the treasure she had left behind.
• After sleeping for a day, Ririko considered returning to the underwater cave for the treasure.