A/N: I do not own Batman Beyond or the characters that are featured. I only own my OC's.
Friday December 31, 2051
Neo-Gotham City, New York
3:00AM
Its 3 hours past midnight in Gotham City. After being checked into Gotham General Hospital, a young woman is centered in a white sheeted bed. Nurse's pass her in a blur as she succumbs to the quaking pain inside her abdomen. Sweat accumulates the woman's forehead as she wraps her shaking arms around her swollen belly. She closes her eyes, she silently pleads to whoever's out there that her crime fighting husband make's it in time.
2 Hours Earlier
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-! A large and gruff hand reaches out to shut off the alert on his phone. The woman in his arms shifts slightly, he strokes her lower back in an attempt to lull her back to sleep. He mutters a silent curse as she turns to face him with sleepy pale blue eyes.
"Terry...?"
"I'm sorry Mel; I didn't mean to wake you. Let me just check my phone and then I can go back to being your cuddly teddy bear." Terry say's with a smirk as he runs a hand through her smooth golden hair, he kisses her cheek before getting out of bed and putting on a tank top.
"It's your fault I'm like this you know? I didn't choose to be a whiny and hormonal Humpback Whale." Melanie glares irritably at Terry as she gestures to her round stomach. Her glare intensifies as Terry chuckles, he unlocks his phone. He sighs as he runs an exhausted hand through his jet black hair. Melanie frowns in concern as Terry strides over to his closet. Her frown intensifies as Terry walks out with his Bat suit in his hand. As he undresses to change into his uniform, he explains the situation. Melanie try's her best to pay attention, but Terry's well-built body had always been a fascinating distraction, even though she was his wife and had the privilege to do anything she wanted with him. Her pregnancy had elevated her fascination. He never ceased to amaze her.
"There's a big disturbance downtown. The police are doing everything they can, but it's a stand still. They need Batman." Terry sighs as he straps the utility belt on his waist.
"I know it's just...what if I have the baby sooner than expected?" She glances at Terry reluctantly; she sets a hand on top of her stomach.
Terry freezes for a moment, his face pales slightly. After a moment, a hopeful and excited smile forms on Terry's face as he makes his way over to Melanie. "Are you having contractions right now?"
"What?! No I'm just worried that I'll be in labor when you're out there fighting crime."
Terry lets out a small laugh, which in turn aggravates Melanie. Since she can't reach his shoulder from the sitting position she's in, she settles for punching him in the bicep.
"Mel, you're not due to deliver until January 13th, that's two weeks from now."
"I know that! I just have this feeling inside me that something's gonna go wrong."
Terry nods his head in understanding. Since the beginning of her pregnancy, Melanie's concern and worry made her on edge most of the time. The elevated hormones didn't help ease her worries. Her feelings were justified though. After all, her husband was the crime fighting Batman; he faced dangerous situations on a nightly basis. In Melanie's first two trimester's, Terry would patrol most nights. Jack or Max would stay with her and make sure she was okay. Luckily crime had calmed down slightly during her third trimester, although Terry still had to patrol Gotham a few day's out of the week. But with her due date rolling around the corner, Melanie became more anxious and worried.
Terry kneels on one knee in front of Melanie near the side of the bed. He grabs one of her hands and kisses it tenderly; he places his other hand on top of Melanie's hand, where their baby resided.
He stares at her in awe for a moment longer before he smiles, "Do you remember that promise I made you after you told me we were having a baby?"
She sighs. "You promised that you wouldn't miss it for the world."
"And I meant every word."
"But anything can happen Terry. You can't promise something like that. It's like promising that you're not going to die, you can't prevent it."
"I can because I will not miss something as important as meeting my first child. But if I don't get a head start, I'll be late." Terry kisses Melanie on the lips and rubs her stomach before pulling his mask around from his back to fit his face. He turns towards his wife briefly, the glowing white lenses in his mask gleam as he sends her a confident smirk. He open's the patio door from their room, she watches him glide through the air.
Present Time
"Come on...come on, pick up! I swear to God if he doesn't pick up his phone I'-"
"You've reached the Bat Cave. Sylas Kent-Todd speaking."
"Oh thank God! Sylas, has Terry contacted you?"
Melanie rolls her eye's at the sound of crunching popcorn on the other line. She was surprised at how the kid hasn't gotten fat yet, with how much he ate on a daily basis.
"Nope. The communicators are down."
"Shit. What about your siblings? Ryder? Haiden? Hope?"
"Nope. Sorry."
A contraction ripples through Melanie as she grits her teeth. It's a circus around her as nurses fumble to set up for the birth.
"Is that all? Cause I was kinda in the middle of repairi-"
"Listen you little Super Brat! My water broke and I'm going through the most unimaginable pain a person, let alone a woman, has gone through. If you don't use your genius level intellect to find my husband I will-"
"Geez woman, you didn't let me finish! I've been working on repairing the coms. I'll contact Ry, he's the closest one on call."
After hanging up, Sylas dials Ryder's number through the cave's cell phone. It's answered after 4 rings.
"Yeah?" Sylas can hear the mayhem of traffic through the phone.
"Are you busy?"
"No. I just finished up with a group of Jokerz out by the shipyard. I fucking hate clowns, especially after...nevermind. Why?" Ryder grips the handle of his motorcycle tightly. The hood of his red and black leather hoodie cover's the sides and the back of his head, dirty blonde hair from under the hoodie pokes out in front of his forehead. A small white tuft of hair in the middle of his hairline stands out. The moonlight casts a steady glow on the dark lenses of his sunglasses as he speeds through the highway.
As Sylas types continuously on the Bat Computer, his eye's catch on a certain camera feed in the corner of the screen. His blue eyes widen as he watches the scene in front of him unfold. Terry's held in a chokehold by a giant thug, long tubes filled with green liquid cascade along the man's arms and down his back. Sylas' face pales as he zooms in on the camera in to get a better look.
"The coms are down; I couldn't get a hold of Terry. I was able to hack one of the camera's downtown; he's not doing too good. I need you to help him."
"He's Batman, Sy. He can take care of himself. He'll pull through, he alwa-"
"Its not that simple. Melanie's in labor." Out of utter shock, Ryder loses control of his motorcycle momentarily. A car honks its horn, along with a loud insult geared towards Ryder. He flicks the guy off as he increases his speed down the highway.
"Are you fucking serious?" Ryder turns sharply into an alleyway; He parks his bike near a restaurant and hops off to stretch his limbs.
"Yes, but that's not the worst part. Terry's fighting a losing battle, he's getting pounded on by a juggernaut. The guy's got tube's covering his upper body that are filled with some kind of green substance." Sylas flinches as a heavy handed punch launches into Terry's abdomen.
"Location?"
"Downtown area. On Parker's Road, near the J-Bar. How far away are you?"
"I'm close. Be there in 10." After making sure there wasn't a witness, Ryder rapidly types onto the small touch pad in the center of the handles on his bike.
FLIGHT MODE INITIATED
Within 20 seconds, Ryder's black motorcycle had transformed into medium sized hawk shaped glider. It's wings were wide and somewhat sharp. The glider was made out of reinforced carbon steel. Before strapping on his duffel bag, he pulled out his helmet. The dark bullet proof armor and material of the helmet was made of reinforced titanium steel. Medium sized wings shaped the sides of the helmet in the front. Special red colored lenses were placed inside the eye sockets of the helmet. In order to ensure his identity, he wore a wine red domino mask underneath. He wore a navy blue Kevlar suit that went down to his ankles, a black leather jacket covered the top half of his body. Gun holsters wrapped around his waist and over his shoulders. After making sure the helmet was secured around his head and comfortably positioned, Ryder hopped on. The glider automatically secured his feet as it prepared to take off. The red hawk on his chest glowed brightly as the glider levitated into the air, he bent his legs at a 90 degree angle so that he could steer in the proper direction.
Downtown
Terry groans in pain as he struggles to stand on his feet. Screams of terror emitted from the people on the street as they avoided the psychotic brute near them. A loud and angry roar emits from the giant red headed brute as he tosses a car at a building nearby, destroying it instantly. Terry spits out blood before limping quickly behind a car, he prodded his mind in desperate need of a plan. He could hear giant stomps of feet move behind him.
"You lied to me! This isn't killing me, it's making me stronger! They said they would help me, but they lied! Everybody lies!" He lifts up a tanker with his big arms, and with intense force, tosses it over the car Terry hid behind. It explosively lands 25 ft. away from him, he closes his eyes slightly from the bright flames. Terry's ears ring slightly as he runs a hesitant hand over his abdomen; he winces slightly as his fingers brush up against the bruised flesh. His ribs were most likely broken. He had to find a way to end this.
"Come out and fight me, you coward! I came here to fight Batman! Not a prissy punk!"
"A prissy punk could take your fat ass any day of the week." Iron Hawk's auto tuned voice echoes throughout the area as he glides gracefully through the air, hovering over the large and insanely pissed off tyrant. Terry rolls his eyes at the snarky remark. Iron Hawk disengaged from the glider and landed on the ground, jumping down from 15ft in the air. His feet left a giant crater in the ground as he landed, he circled the man in front of him.
"You'll regret getting in my way small fry!" The giant lunges forward, he swings a heavy fist at the leather jacket wearing vigilante. He dodges the punch as his head sways to the right. Another punch is aimed towards Iron Hawk, but he blocks the fist as he twists his arm around the brutes shoulder in a 360 degree rotation. A loud shout of pain emits from the man as he clutches his broken arm, his eyes widen in surprise at the vigilantes strength. In blinded anger, he charges forward. Iron Hawk backflips over him. While in the air with his back behind him, he reaches backwards and lifts up the large man from his shoulders. While using the momentum from his landing, Iron Hawk throws his body towards a nearby pick up truck.
Terry decides to look up from his hiding place, the lenses from his mask zoom in on a shadowy figure on the rooftop of a nearby building. Before Terry has time to warn Ryder, a gunshot rings out. A loud grunt of pain is heard from Ryder as he collapses on the ground with a loud thud. The man from the rooftop disappears.
"Holy fucking Hell. What the fuck was that?!" He grips onto his exposed ankle as his eyes scan over the bullet wound under from the disguise of his helmet. He curses under his breath as snatches out the small kryptonite bullet. He pulls out a blood red bandana out from behind his jacket and wraps it tightly around his ankle, effectively stopping the bleeding. He stands up slowly, limping slightly. But before he even gets a chances to walk, a hand pulls him back and shoves him roughly into a wall. Ryder smirks under his disguise.
"Ready for me to break your other arm?" A rough hand thrusts Ryder's weak form in the air roughly. A smirk is shown on the brutes face as he uses his foot to put pressure up against Ryder's wounded ankle, he grimaces.
"You can't touch me now. That green stuff is making you weak!"
Ryder's eyes glint in amusement. "I'm half-human dipshit, a dumbass like you can't even comprehend what I'm capable of!" A foot smashes into his wounded ankle, releasing a small shout of discomfort.
"This dumbass has you pinned down!"
"This dumbass forgot one little detail." Iron Hawk nods his head towards Terry's direction, catching the brutes attention.
As he dashes towards the other side of the street, Terry throws a small batarang towards the brute as Ryder slips away from him. It lands in the left side of his back, immediately triggering an electric charge. He screams in agony while being electrocuted, smoke emits from his body as he passes out. He lands face first into the concrete, emitting a loud thud from the impact.
"I could've handled this by myself." Terry helps Ryder up, they lean on each other as they walk slowly towards the glider.
"Yeah, probably. But we didn't have time for that. Your wife's in labor." Terry freezes mid-step, the arm that was wrapped around his bruised abdomen had moved to roughly rub against his face.
"What...what are you talking about?! How long ago?!"
"An hour and 30 minutes ago, she's at Gotham General."
"Are you kidding me? Its fucking 4:30 in the morning, oh God...she's two weeks early! I have to go, she'll murder me if I miss this!" Terry presses a button on his utility built. Within 25 seconds, the Batmobile appears and lands in front of the two. Terry hops in.
"Can you get a ride?"
"Yeah man, don't worry about me. Go meet your kid."
Terry smirks at Ryder before speeding off through the air. Ryder blows out a low whistle. He pulls out his phone and activates the auto pilot mode on his glider, he sets the appropriate coordinates. He then dials a number, activating the speaker.
"Hello?"
"Hey man, can you drop me off at my apartment? My ankle's busted and I can't ride my motorcycle in my condition." Within 15 seconds, a green blur passes by him, quickly investigating the scene and handcuffing the large body on the ground before stopping directly in front of his best friend. The man behind the green, white, and yellow cowl crosses his lean muscular arms. His dirty blonde hair hung over his mask, his sea blue eyes glinted in slight amusement, but his lips formed a stoic and firm line.
"What kind of poor bastard was dumb enough to piss you off." The speedster smirks as he nods at the mass of the heavy body behind Iron Hawk.
"A really ignorant poor bastard?" Ryder hops onto the speedsters back.
"Since when did I become a taxi driver?"
"Since the day you made the stupid mistake to become my best fiend. Iron Hawk and Kid Mercury, the dynamic duo!"
"Its Professor Quick..." He mutters irritably as he speeds off into a blur.
Gotham General Hospital
4:40AM
"I swear if Terry misses th-" Melanie cuts herself off as she positions herself upright and bears down, she whimpers slightly in pain from the contraction. She's only been in labor for an hour and a half, but it felt like 3. She's been wanting to push ever since her water broke, but the stupid doctor advised her not to; she would have did it anyway if it wasn't putting herself and her baby at risk. And the fact that her assigned doctor wasn't here made things worse, not to mention that a man she didn't know stared at her lady parts. It didn't matter that he was a professional doctor.
"The head is crowning, push Melanie!"
With a drawn out grunt from Melanie the head slips free. The door of the delivery room opens aggressively, an anxious Terry rushes towards Melanie. A pair of sharp daggers are glared towards Terry as Melanie breathes heavily in exhaustion. His resolve is tested under the heated and annoyed eyes of his wife.
"I can explain. I was in a tough spot, got a few bumps and bruises. But Ryder helped me out. And what matters now is that I'm here, I haven't missed anything." Terry whispered. Before she can reply, Melanie groans in pain as another contraction tears right through her. Terry wraps his arm around her shoulders as he helps her sit up, she bears down hard. After a few more pushes, a shoulder emerges.
"Come on Mel, your almost there!"
"After this is over, your getting a vasectomy." Terry winces, Melanie grips his hand tightly as she deliver's one last push. The baby announces its presence with a loud cry. The baby is lifted up and placed on Melanie's covered chest.
"It's a boy, Mel..." Terry's eyes water slightly as his son is whisked away to be examined. Melanie's eyes glisten as well as she observes her son with a close eye, she notices the dark fine mop of hair on the infants head. After being thoroughly examined, the boy was handed over to his mother. Melanie's muscles tensed up as she cradled her newborn son, the contact being so unfamiliar. Terry leans in and kisses his wife on the cheek, his rough calloused hand reaches out to stroke his son's chubby cheek. The sudden contact causes the newborn to open his eyes. His parents are stunned as they stare into a small pair of pale blue eyes. Silent tears trail down Melanie's pale cheeks as she stroked her son's scalp.
Melanie hands her son over to his father. Terry smiles as he holds the boy's small hand inside the palm of his large hand.
"I was thinking that we could name him after your father, maybe his middle name can be Bruce. After the old man." Terry stares at his wife in shock, she new how much both men meant to Terry. After a moment of stunned silence, Melanie trashes the idea.
"Its okay, Terry. If its too much, we don't have to. I just thought-"
"What? No! Melanie, I love the name! I'm just a little shocked...it means a lot to that you even considered this, Mel. Thank you.." With the newborn secured in his arms, Terry leans in and plants a soft and passionate kiss to Melanie's lips. Afterwards, they both glance down towards their son with big smiles plastered on their faces.
"Welcome to the world, Warren Bruce McGinnis..."
Gotham, New York
North Side Apartments
6:00AM
Ryder limps towards the refrigerator, he grabs a bottle of chilled beer from the cooler. He opens it and chugs down a third of the beer and lets out a loud burp, he rubs his chiseled stomach. After straightening out his red undershirt, he walks towards his small living room and sets the beer bottle on a table near the couch. His body collapses into the soft cushions. He leans over to position a hand held lamp over his wounded ankle, the sounds of the news reporters on the television act as background noise.
"Its not natural sunlight, but its a good substitute. It should help with the healing." A sudden wave of exhaustion consumes Ryder, he repositions the lamp and his ankle to make his position more comfortable. He leans backwards into the cushions, succumbing to sleep.
"Haiden, you need to leave. Now!"
"No, Ry! I won't leave you. We can still get you out!
"There's no time! You guy's need to go, before its too late! We need to finish this mission, its the only hope we have stopping him!"
Ryder moves slightly, his eyelids moving as he murmurs incoherent words.
"Guy's, I can't hold them off for much longer!" A female dressed in green and black barricades the door, her emerald green ring mimics a temporary shield. A red laser strikes her left shoulder, almost making her lose focus.
"Jen!"
"I'm fine Jai! Just hurry up and get it working!" The blonde speedster ignores the worry in his gut, knowing that his girlfriend was perfectly capable of looking after herself. He types a few numbers into a large computer, activating the device on his and the rest of his comrades chest's. Unfortunately, Ryder's was broken.
"Its done! Now all we need is a little speed!" He disappears into a speeding green blur.
"No, Ryder! We're not leaving you!" The young dark haired woman glares at her boyfriend, her red bow was surrounded in a tight grip. Another female stood next to her, her trident held firmly in her grasp as she sent water from a nearby puddle towards their enemies. They called her Riptide. Another one of their comrades stood by the guarded door, he swung one of his sterling silver kusarigama's towards a cyborg; impaling it through its eye socket. He wore a sleeveless black hoodie, a chalk white 'W' symbol centered in the middle.
"Babe listen to me, I need you to be strong. I need you guys to stick it out, fight and defend each other. Jaiden's the leader now. Jai? I trust you."
"I won't let you down, buddy." The blur's speed increases, a tight and uncomfortable feeling envelopes inside of him.
"Ryder!"
"Lian..."
"Ryder? Babe, wake up! RYDER!" He jumps up in shock, sweat drips down his body as he shakes uncontrollably. Small hands wrap around his face, gentle fingers caress his face as he calms down. He stares into those warm eyes of hers, she strokes his hairy cheek softly.
"Lian? I thought you weren't supposed to be back until this weekend?"
"I finished the assignment early...are you okay babe? Your kind of freaking me out."
"I don't know what that was. It was a like a really weird nightmare, it felt real. My feet were pinned, I could feel the pain."
"Maybe you should talk to Jaiden? Maybe it was a really weird vision? Look, whatever it was, no matter how real it felt; whatever happened didn't happen. This..." She gestures in between them. "This moment we're in right now is real, babe. No matter what, nothing is going to change that." She pulls him into a hug, her chin settled in the crook of his neck. Ryder didn't know what to believe or think about what just happened. But whatever it was, he was sure that it happened.
Ryder J. Todd- Iron Hawk: Cody Christian
Lian Harper- Speedy/Quiver: Erika Tham
Haiden M. Todd- Super Boy: Nick Robinson
Iris West- Impulse: Kat McNamara
Jaiden West- Kid Mercury/Professor Quick: Ross Lynch
Jennifer Jordan- Green Lantern: Peyton List
Mark "Marcus" J. Kent (Mir Alor-El) - Wonderboy: Tye Sheridan
Marinna Curry- Riptide: Odeya Rush
OC's and personas that I own:
OC's:
Ryder J. Todd
Haiden M. Todd
Jennifer Jordan
Marcus J. Kent
Marinna Curry
Persona's:
Iron Hawk
Quiver
Riptide
Kid Mercury/Professor Quick