Bijin: Well, this is interesting. I've always loved Batman Beyond. Loved the DC and Marvel superheros. Never thout my muse would be in the mood to write about them. This kinda struck me during one episode with Max in it, can't remember which one, though. So I wrote this in like... thirty minutes. Hope you enjoy it.
It was the policy.
The police would not negociate. Terrorists would not receive a ransom. That was something easily-known upon the streets of gotham, and yet in desperation, he had grabbed her, the pink-haired braniac of Hamilton Hill High School. Before anyone could do anything, a gun had been pressed against her temple and she was shoved into the car, eventually finding herself in a warehouse of some kind. Money had been demanded, and at the appointed time for the drop-off... rather than money, the dark knight himself had appeared. It was no surprise, Max figured. Batman was the problem-solver. Both a night-watchman and a one-man SWAT team, not to mention a legend. And all those thoughts and dependancies rested on a single teenager's shoulders; one Terry McGinnis.
It hadn't been too long since Max had found herself with the identity of Batman in her hands, and thus had taken on the job of helping Terry escape from the day-to-day rigors of having a double-life. And yet... the two had never quite been connected in her mind... somehow. Terry was a kind, average errand boy working for a billionaire. His job was the only thing that seemed to set him apart from other teens. Then there was Batman, a figure who struck fear into the hearts of anyone with intentions of breaking the law. Seemingly unbeatable, he took on entire gangs at a time, voice deep and commanding, body strong and lithe. So how was it the two were connected?
Batman glanced at the two men, one of them staring at him with a desperate anger- someone who knows he's at his limits and he has slim chance of recovering what little lead he had on the situation. He rushed, Batman easily swinging to the side to slam his foot into the man's gut. He didn't give up, though, grabbing a metal pole from nearby and giving a swing at the bat's head. Batman stepped back, grabbing the pole and tearing it from the man's hands. "This is getting old. If you'd hand the girl over, I wouldn't have to waste my energy taking you down." The man growled at him and grabbed another pole, Batman gaining a confident smile across hidden lips. "You honestly think you can beat me?" The man said nothing and charged again.
Perhaps it was a combination of things which made Batman seem an entirely different entity from Terry McGinnis. The voice deep and powerful, and the face hidden, reduced to glowing eyes and mouth. Obviously this was merely to enhance the fear which struck the crooks he so often fought against. But Terry McGinnis was never one to say something as Batman had just said, challenging someone with a goad tucked under his tone. Terry was much more casual. How was it that he took on such an intense transformation once the mask was pulled over his head?
Batman dodged out of the way of his second swing, though wasn't expecting the man previously guarding the prisoner to sneak up from behind.
"Batman!" Max shouted, her mind rushing to catch itself before she screamed his real name.
He whirled around, changing the impact point of the man's fist from the back of his head to his jaw. Batman doubled over briefly before standing, sending his own fist up against the man's own jaw in an uppercut. Batman's mouth was bleeding, causing an odd red to stand out against the black. The first man came at the Bat another time, metal bat poised at his head, though a black-covered hand easily caught the weapon, forcing it and it's handler away from him. He turned and action stopped.
Was the man from whom Terry took orders such a good teacher than he had crafted this alter ego out of Terry? Or was it even the idea that Terry wasn't Batman at all, he merely pretended he was because they sounded alike and he wanted an excuse to disappear and goof off. Though that sounded too much like a pre-juvi Terry to be believed. Everyone knew Terry had changed. It wasn't all that possible to think that after all this time he would've reverted to a more discreet schedual to act upon illicit impulses involving things he knew he couldn't have. So what was it that connected to two. There didn't seem to be anything, though Terry himself had admitted to being Batman.
So immersed was she in the inner-weavings in her mind that she didn't notice the gun pressed once again against her temple until a few seconds after the fact. She glanced to Batman, who had gone still. He stared at the man who held her with an intense anger communicated even through hidden eyes. She couldn't imagine what his real eyes looked like if all that hate still came out after being dulled by the glow of his mask. Was it his code of not letting people die that held him still, or simply the horror of letting his friend die? Either way, he didn't move as the man commanded. A sickening crack was heard as a metal pole was roughly brought against the back of Batman's head, sending him to the ground, head spinning. In a frantic rush, his assailant grabbed a large wooden board which leaned upon the wall and gave it a shove, causing it to come down onto Batman's body. The dark knight coughed heavily, and moved about faintly attempting to dislodge himself, though this brought little result. Apparently the warehouse was storing various objects used in home-building, and it was as if a heavy wall had come down upon him.
The man smirked, over-confidence filling his veins. He had toppled the Batman. Clambering up onto the plank he wandered over and knelt in front of his head which was the only thing which protruded from beneath the wall. "You're not immortal. You're not even a bat. You're some stuck-up kid who thinks he's Batman."
He chuckled, his voice strained from the weight. "You have no idea how many times I've heard that lately."
"Stupid little brat." The man growled. Max strained against her binds which held her tightly to the pole at her back. The man nearby chuckled.
"I have an idea. Let's see just who you are. I'm sure the boys will love to hear this story." He motioned to Batman with his gun and the one sitting on top of him smirked, looking down at the Bat. Batman's face showed no change.
"If you think that scares me, you're wrong." He growled.
The man scoffed and grabbed one of the ears, giving it a yank and pulling the mask off of his face to toss it to the side. The face of Terry McGinnis glared heatedly up at him. "You satisfied now?" He inquired.
There was some small amount of surprise which ran through Max's body. However she had pictured it, she had never imagined seeing Terry's face once the mask was pulled off. Half of her expected to see someone else, announcing that Terry was covering for him or something. But no, it was true. Terry was there, in the suit, beneath the wall, talking arrogantly and angrily at the man he opposed. He began to suddenly choke.
The man on top of him growled at his comment and pressed his thumbs to the vulnerable throat of his unmasked victim, cutting off a large amount of his air-supply.
Max froze.
It was not Batman which now was suffering at the hands of an enemy, but it was Terry. There was no denying it in her mind now. Terry and Batman were the same entity. Terry wasn't just Terry. Terry McGinnis was the fabled Dark Knight. The problem-solver. The legendary Bat. The one-man army. Gotham's lone SWAT team.
He was Batman.
"Get your hands off of him!" Max shouted, leaning foreward against her binds. This did little, but produce a wave of the gun from the man beside her. The first man halted his choking and looked over to her. "You know him, eh?"
"She's got nothing to do with this!" Terry insisted, his body giving a jerk as he attempted to unwedge his body.
"Really? For someone who is uninvolved, you seem interested in her." He shot back, his eyes wandering around the room in search of a different weapon.
"Comes with the territory." He grumbled.
The man stood, wandering to a wall and picking up a rather thick chord, glancing to it, then at the switch behind him. "Ah... a fuse box. And how considerate, they even gave us a cable." He flipped one of the switches, and the cable came alive, sparking brilliantly. The man carried the end toward the fallen hero, the chord in one hand. "You know... people say that your suit is actually enhanced by a computer. That's why you can lift things so heavy and fly and perform the acrobatic moves. So imagine how it feels if this comes in contact."
Terry stared unflinching at him. "I've been electrocuted before." He scoffed. "And I'm still here aren't I?"
Max blinked at him. Well, that sure sounded painful.
Her face contorted to a wince as the chord was pressed against Terry's partially exposed shoulder, forcing a wail of pain from his throat. It was touched a second time, for only a few seconds, then a third. On the fourth attempt, Terry's hand lashed out, grabbing the chord and throwing it back at him. The man screamed and fell to the floor, unconscious, the cable hot beside him. The wall was propped up and tossed away, allowing him to stand. He looked down at his fallen enemy. "Well, you were mostly right. The acrobatics are me." He looked to the other man, who instantly pointed the gun at Max's head.
As was the traditional response, Terry shot out his hand, a bat-arang shooting from the compartment on the back of his wrist and knocking the gun flying. "Easier now that there's only one of you to worry about." He chuckled. The man took a few steps toward him, though Terry was the first to move this time. He dropped to the floor, hands supporting him as he threw his left leg out, hitting the man's ankles. He did not fall as expected, though. Rather, he grabbed a small pile of boxes, the pile giving way and causing him to stumble backward. His foot landed right on the hot cable's end and another scream echoed in the warehouse. He stood, giving them both a smirk. "And for the record... I am Batman." He paused before wandering to their sides, pressing gloved hands to their necks before standing.
"Are they alive?" Max inquired from her position as Terry headed over and cut her loose.
Terry nodded. "Yeah. A little fried, but they'll live." He turned away from her once more, picking up the tossed mask and bringing it up once more. Max placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. "What?"
Max gave him a long look. "You really are Batman, aren't you?"
He blinked at her. "Um... yeah." He paused before slipping the mask on. "Haven't we already been through this discovery thing?"
Max chuckled and followed him to the window. "Suppose it hasn't quite... sunk in yet."
The bat sighed and warpped a hand around her waist, shooting a grappling hook into the rooftop above them and lowering them both to the ground. "Believe me... it hasn't sunk in for me yet either." He let her down and reeled the grappler back in. "I'll let the commissioner know what happened. You get home and get some rest." He commanded.
There was tat commanding voice again. Once again he seemed detached from the Terry she knew. Normal Terry would've merely suggested the idea, but Batman was forceful. He commanded her. In the suit, somehow he had the authority to say such things. Of course, she wasn't going to disobey an order like that. Batman's hand waved in front of her face. "Yes, Batman... I'll do that." He suggested, nodding his head.
Max blinked herself from her reverie and nodded with him. "Yes, Batman. I'll do that." She repeated with reduced vigor. He sighed and pressed a finger to her belt. She gave him a look. "What was that for?"
Batman spread his arms, wings flaring to life beneath them. "A tracer. If you get stopped on the way home, I'll know. Then you won't need a gun pressed to your forehead to get my attention."
"Yeah whatever." Max waved him off and turned. "See you."
"Bye." Jet boots activated and as he reached a certain altitude, the car he flew in appeared and vanished with him inside. Max sighed and her walk quickened.
My friend is Batman... My best friend is the Batman. "Man, this is so schway!"
Bijin: Please don't ask me if that's how you spell 'schway', cause I dunno. I guessed, based on how they say it. Anyway... there you have it... Max's introspection. I assume I'll probably end up reposting this tomorrow as I wrote it at 2:00 in the morning and there's bound to be a plethora of mistakes. I'm actually working on another slightly longer one-shot called 'Scare Tactics'. Hopefully I can get that finished soon. Anyway... thanks for reading and tell me what you think!