Birds of Prey Issue 120

"Mad Science"
Two Platinum Flats policeman look on in disbelief as a large, red man that looks like he's been crossed with a car throws their cruiser, remarking that he's unimpressed by Platinum Flats. He tells the officers to call for backup and tell them Carface is there, only to have an arrow fly in and knock the cigarette out of his mouth and the Huntress warn him that Californians in general "are not smoker friendly" as she hits him with motorcycle. She makes short work of him, taking time to mock his name, then apologizes to the policemen for taking so long as she's still getting used to the city layout. The policemen and bystanders, however, react angrily, saying the city had a low crime rate until recently and the vigilantes are "trouble magnets."

Elsewhere, Ram Chaudhry, CEO of "the net's most popular search engine" Findster, screens a commercial promoting the benefits of Platinum Flats for a figure he calls only Mr. Visionary. Mr. Visionary approves the commercial, then reveals that he knows about Chaudhry's recent, unauthorized start-up company in Bangalore. As punishment for his "straying from the valley" a pesticide company vented it's storage tanks in the same neighborhood his family is in.

In another part of the city, Oracle, Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, and Misfit are busy setting up their new headquarters: Clocktower Systems. While they do so, Huntress questions why they're even setting up in Platinum Flats, saying they're unwanted and have only found one crime boss needing their attention. She suggests leaving him to Green Arrow and Black Canary from the nearby Star City, but Oracle over-rules that saying it's their mess and her responsibility. She tells her that if she doesn't want to stay she doesn't have to, but her information says there's more than one boss in the area and "Platinum Flats needs [them] more than Metropolis." She also informs the ladies that she put all of their money into the new place, and the new "Clocktower Systems" will not only act as their shield, but generate income to pay salaries and run world operations.

Later, Lady Blackhawk finds Huntress in her room and tells her she's found hidden passages--one to the helipad and a slide to the jet hanger--in hers. They discuss Oracle's leadership, with Lady Blackhawk touting her craftiness and the fact that she never really has to second guess her decisions.

Oracle calls to Misfit, who's seated on the roof of the building, using the communicator in the earrings she's given her after she went missing recently telling her to get down before someone notices her and reports a suicidal jumper to the police. She bounces inside, where Oracle asks her if she's still homesick, but she instead says she was thinking about her recent entrapment in the Dark Side Club where she was told she is related in some way to Black Alive. She says it's possible, since she never knew her dad, and Oracle offers to research it for her, which she declines. Changing the subject, Misfit asks where Judomaster, Gypsy, and Manhunter are, and is told Judomaster and Gypsy are on reserve status and Manhunter is on a surveillance detail. From the top of another roof, looking through binoculars, Manhunter calls in to Oracle to report "no change", getting no response as Oracle had to get rid of Misfit because she doesn't want anyone else to know to details of her mission. While watching Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Sin in their home in their civilian clothes, she asks why not, since it's only a matter of time until they figure out they moved to be near an "ex-Bird of Prey", which Oracle denies, before saying "Birds of Prey" is not the teams official name.

While working on something, Oracle contemplates her past double life as Batgirl, contrasting that with the current secret she's keeping which she feels could tear the team apart--that the Calculator is her current source of intelligence. He contacts her, and she reminds him that the only reason they talk is because he begged her to save her life and once she deals with the "Silicon Syndicate" he told her about, the truce between them is over. While they talk she thinks back to the start of their truce, when the Calculator attempted to raid Professor Ivo's lab when he and others were deported to another planet only to be beaten to the punch. Though he only stole one laptop, he was chased from coast to coast and nearly killed for it, finally going to Oracle as the only one who could help him. She decided to help him, largely because she was already interested in Platinum Flats. The purpose of the call today, however, is to give Oracle new information, he's found name of the man that erased part of Manhunter's memory: the Visionary.

In Star City, Sin and Green Arrow are patrolling at the suggestion of Black Canary. Unbeknownst to them, Manhunter is trailing them on a parallel building, where she takes a sudden kick to the face that puts her down. She looks up to see Black Canary, who didn't know who she was kicking, just that it was someone who was trying to get the drop on her family. She apologizes when she realizes who it is, then takes it back and asks if Oracle knows she's there, because she's not cool with a known killer snooping on her family. Manhunter retorts that what she's not cool with is Manhunter taking her spot on the team, which she laughs off, and the two get into a fight.

Individuals

 * Birds of Prey
 * Oracle
 * Huntress
 * Lady Blackhawk
 * Manhunter
 * Infinity
 * Black Canary
 * The Joker
 * Silicon Syndicate
 * Gizmo
 * Gangly Man
 * Visionary
 * Mind Bullet
 * Topaz
 * Tuatara

Locations

 * Platinum Flats
 * Star City

Items

 * Huntress' Crossbow