AUTHOR'S NOTE: How's that for a cliffhanger, huh?
Well, no need to fret, because here's the next part :P
BATMAN BEYOND:
The Second Rebirth
Chapter 2
The day had begun like any other for nineteen-year-old Melanie Walker. She had woken up early and showered, gotten dressed. Then, she had gone to work.
She had secured a grant that had allowed her to make the move to full-time student at Gotham State University, although her classes were almost exclusively morning or early afternoon classes, so that she could work afternoons and nights. As a result she had been forced to cut back slightly on her hours, but she usually tried to work at least partway through most school holidays, to make up for that. And she usually worked one day on weekends as well, which was why she was here on a Saturday evening.
The big digital clock in the back of the kitchen kept ticking the minutes, and with each one that passed, she was more and more eagerly anticipating the end of her shift. Not that she didn't mind working at the Kitchen - it was good, honest work, and it paid her bills. However, this evening was special, because it was one of the rare evenings she would not be working.
Her schedule wasn't the only thing that had changed in the past year; her living arrangements had as well.
Since moving back to Gotham after getting out on parole, she had lived in a dingy one-bedroom flat in one of the seedier neighborhoods of downtown Gotham City, not far from the Kitchen. The lease had expired six months earlier, and she had not renewed it.
Instead, she now lived with Terry on the university campus, and they split the cost of housing between the two of them. Despite this, between their classes and respective jobs, they didn't have a lot of time to themselves, and so she cherished every second that she could spend with him.
Tonight would be one such occasion; With how busy they both had been, it had been several weeks since they had been able to spend an evening together, just to themselves. She had no idea what he had planned for this evening, but she was eagerly anticipating it. Especially since he was going to be picking him up.
Any minute now, he would pull up to the restaurant on his motorcycle, parking it just outside. He would walk in through the door, and then as soon as her shift was ended, they would leave together.
He usually picked her up on evenings they were going to be going out together.
She often worried about Terry, because his job was so dangerous. But he could take care of himself.
The TV in the corner of the diner was on, but she wasn't paying too much attention. It was turned to a local news channel, which had been reporting on the biggest announcement of the day - the WayneTech/Foxteca merger - and she had caught a glimpse, when the story broke, of Bruce Wayne as he arrived at the tall (even by Gotham's standards) skyscraper that was the Gotham-based multinational's headquarters, flanked by Foxteca's CEO. And she had allowed herself a small smile when she saw Terry standing just a few feet behind them.
But that had been hours earlier. Still, the merger was the biggest story of the day, and most networks were talking of nothing else.
Melanie was washing dishes in the kitchen, so she wasn't paying attention to the TV. She thought of Jack, as she often did when dishwashing duties fell to her.
She had been crossing from the sink to put away a stack of dishes she had just finished washing and drying, when she heard Cal, the floor manager, speak up as he glanced at it.
"Man, that's some accident," he commented, "and it looks like it's just a few blocks from here."
She looked up. The news anchor, in his usual bland monotone, was reporting a vehicular collision - and she saw that Cal was right: she recognized that intersection, which was on the way from the restaurant to her former flat.
She saw a red car, its front end damaged on one side where it had hit. The anchor reported that the driver, who was intoxicated, had been arrested. Then she saw the vehicle it had hit, which was not another car, but a sleek, high-powered motorcycle, its color a distinctive pale blue-violet.
And when she saw it, the blood drained from her face.
The dishes fell to the floor and shattered at her feet with a loud crash.
Cal turned at the noise, as did several other people. And when he saw the deathly pallor, the horrified expression on Melanie's face, he became instantly concerned.
"Hey Mel, are you...?" He started to ask, but she did not hear the rest of the question. She ran, bursting through the kitchen and crossing the restaurant.
She shouldered the door open, turned, and started running up the block, ignoring the yells from Cal, who had followed.
She sprinted up the street, and as she neared the intersection she saw that GCPD cruisers had blocked the intersection on all four sides, and she saw an ambulance was there. She kept running, and as she approached, one of the cops saw her.
"Hey, Miss. You can't..."
Ignoring the cop's protest, she slammed her palm flat on the metal front of the cruiser and vaulted over it, landing in a crouch on the other side, and by the time the cop had walked around the cruiser, she was already on her feet and running towards the ambulance.
The back of the ambulance was open, and paramedics were busy around a body in the street.
"TERRY!" she screamed when she caught a glimpse of the familiar dark brown jacket.
She tried to draw closer, but suddenly felt a viselike grip on her shoulder. She turned to find herself facing a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, slightly taller than her and wearing GCPD uniform. She was olive-skinned, with black hair and keen, dark eyes.
"Let 'em do their job, kid." she said firmly. She spoke with a slight, almost musical lilt.
Meanwhile, the paramedics very carefully placed Terry on the stretcher. His helmet had been removed, and he was covered in blood. Within moments, he'd been loaded onto the ambulance, and the paramedics hopped in the back with him. The door slammed shut, and with its lights flashing and sirens blaring, the ambulance took off.
Melanie stood immobile, watching the white-and-red vehicle until it disappeared down the street.
"You know him?" The cop asked, and Melanie could only nod. Then the cop turned away for a moment to address the others, before stepping towards the cruiser. "Hop in. I'll give you a lift to the hospital." She said.
Despite an innate distrust of Gotham's Finest - due, of course, to a long history of avoiding them, in the old days - Melanie could not help but think that this thirty-something officer was someone she could trust.
She followed, climbing into the passenger's seat as the cop entered the driver's side. Then the vehicle tore off after the ambulance.
"Thank you." Melanie said hesitantly. The cop nodded. Then Melanie saw a photograph fixed to the dashboard. A woman wearing civilian attire, but with a badge pinned to her belt, a young child next to her.
- "Is that you?" she asked.
- "With my mother," the cop answered, and Melanie realized with a start that the cop was the child in the picture. "She's the reason I became a cop."
Funny, Melanie thought, how that sometimes happened.
It could have happened with her and her mother, too...if things had been different. She did not regret that it had not, though she regretted the estrangement from her mother, sometimes.
"I'm Elena." The cop said. "Officer Elena Montoya."
- "Melanie Walker." She answered, and she saw the flash of recognition in the cop's eyes, though she said nothing.
- "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked, referring to Terry, and Melanie nodded.
- "He was going to pick me up from work - we were going to go out tonight."
Elena made no further attempt at conversation, and soon they arrived at the hospital. Melanie thanked the cop again as she stepped out, and was heading towards the door when she heard a frantic voice cry out her name.
She turned at the sound of the voice, and immediately recognized Terry's mother running towards her, looking completely distraught.
- "Mrs. McGinnis!" Melanie exclaimed.
- "The hospital called me at work, and I came over right away." Mary said. "Do you...?"
- "The accident wasn't far from the Kitchen, so I ran over. When I arrived, the ambulance was just leaving." Melanie said, leaving out her glimpse of Terry, unconscious and covered in blood. "Then I got a ride to the hospital...but I don't know."
She saw her own fear mirrored in Mary's expression, and the two women entered the hospital.
The attendant at the desk informed them that Terry was in surgery, and still worried, they both sat down to wait.
"What about Matt?" Melanie asked after a while.
- "I called Helen and asked her to pick him up. He'll spend the evening at their house; I'll pick him up tonight, or tomorrow morning."
- "Okay." Melanie said quietly.
They sat in tense, fearful silence, waiting for some word, some indication that Terry would be okay. The alternative...Melanie refused to contemplate it.
How bad would his injuries be? What would it mean for his job?
Finally, hours later a tall, grave-looking older man wearing a long white coat stepped towards them. He was broad, with sharp features, and brown hair that was starting to gray at the temples, and a kindly expression.
"Mrs. McGinnis?" He asked, and Mary stood. "I'm Doctor Elliot."
- "How is he?" She asked immediately, fear and worry etched on her face.
- "Still unconscious, but he is out of surgery and stable, for now." Doctor Elliot replied.
- "Is he going to be all right?" she insisted.
- "At this stage, I am afraid it's too early to say for certain." Doctor Elliot replied. "He's lost a lot of blood, and his injuries were extremely severe; a compound fracture to the left leg being the most serious. Although he also suffered a fracture of the right forearm and a couple of cracked ribs. There were some fairly severe lacerations, and he suffered some mild head trauma - a concussion."
Mary gasped. She was white as a sheet, horrified at the extent of Terry's injuries. Melanie was at her side, and Doctor Elliot continued, his tone reassuring.
"Honestly, it could have been much worse - the head trauma, while a concern, is surprisingly mild given the nature of the accident."
- "He...he always wore a helmet." Mary replied in a feeble voice.
- "Well, that helmet probably saved his life." Elliot replied reassuringly. "A crash like that could have killed him; he's very lucky to be alive. Obviously, we're going to be keeping a very close eye on him, but barring any complications, he should be all right."
Melanie let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, and finally Mrs. McGinnis seemed to relax, though she was still very pale.
- "Oh, thank God." she exclaimed. Still...his injuries were so severe...she was still worried.
- "Your son's in good hands, Mrs. McGinnis. You should head home. We'll call you if there's any change."
- "Thank you, Doctor." Mary said tremulously. The doctor bade them both good night and turned away, and they slowly, reluctantly left.
- "Melanie," Mary asked as they crossed the threshold and headed towards the parking lot, "I can drop you off at the dorm if you would like. Or would you mind spending the night at the apartment - you could sleep in Terry's room. I can drop you off at the campus in the morning."
Melanie hesitated. Then she hugged Terry's mother, as if she were her own - which she might as well have been.
- "Thank you." she said gratefully.
They drove slowly from Gotham General back to the McGinnis residence.
It was late, but Melanie fixed them both a light supper, which they ate in silence before Mrs. McGinnis went to bed.
Melanie made her way to Terry's room. There, she took off her clothes and slipped into the single bed, remembering the last time she had slept in this particular bed almost a year earlier. The recollection set her heart racing, as it usually did.
But on this night, she lay awake long into the night before finally falling into a troubled sleep...
