Author's Comments:
Original:Ugh, the first few chapters of a story are usually the hardest ones for me to do. But since I've become more confident in my particular writing style and the plots and sub-plots, it's moving a lot more smoothly. Not to mention having the TIME. Between my art, wii and house work/family time, it feels like the only parts in the day I have to write are in the morning or late at night before bed.
Anyways, this chapter of the story starts out a bit differently than the rest... you'll see what I mean. I've had to do some research for it before I could start it. This introduces another new character to the Batgirl Beyond story as well... Among other things.
Edit AC: wow... I'm sorry it's taking so long to get this out guys. But there were some specifics that I needed to be sure of before I wrote this chapter out and all. Plus, my attention span right now is not that great. I can only really focus on anything for more than 15-20 minutes at a time on a good day, so having to take frequent breaks like this is hard on my story writing since I'm used to just being able to write for say 4 hours straight without stopping but for water or food or something along those lines. I'm struggling to get back to how I was, being able to update with 2 or 3 chapters in a week so please bear with me here. A lot has changed for me since my seizure 2 ½ months ago and it's hard adjusting. Now... Enough of reading my griping here, get to reading!
Chapter Two: From a Different World
One would think that a world that orbited twin suns would not be able to sustain life, but at the right distance, the planet of Lambda at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy has been able to be prosperous and beautiful for countless generations. It's managed to stay hidden from the Terrans that reside on the far away planet of Earth and their telescopes, and even the Guardians of that planet know nothing of this world's existence. The world has only known one Queen of their throne, a mysterious but beloved woman known only as the Beloved Queen of the Master Race of Lambdania, or the Beloved Queen for short, and a Princess born a hundred years ago. However, the family began to drift apart when the Uncle Shorla Jorrell decided it was time to depart and explore the galaxy.
And upon his return, the world went into chaos. Not only her own, but the one they kept watch over from afar. Observing the Terran's development over the last several millennia, the population of Lambda had been peaceful before the invasion of the Shadow. And the Princess of this world, Kallichore Cyllene, was in the midst of the fight, keeping her mother the beloved Queen of the Master Race of Lambda safe from the carnage and bloodshed brought on by the war.
The leader of the Shadow was an unknown figure, but the creatures were fearsome and had awakened the Lambdanian warriors to their true powers. While some fought with energy weapons, their Princess used violet spiritual power blasts that revealed themselves as the bursts of deadly energy. She'd been in training all her life, well over one hundred years, and knew how to fight just like the best of them in the Knighthood.
"Princess, you must fall back!" Darr'en Jorrell, the head of the Knighthood sworn to guard the Royal Family shouted.
"No! If we can reach the source of that drill, we can kill the Puppet Master and regain ownership of our land! Cover me! I'm going in!" The blond princess shouted over an explosion that rocked the earth beneath their feat.
"Princess!" Darr'en Jorell protested.
"Do we have any choice right now?" She demanded as she ducked an attack then killed another Shadow warrior.
In the towering castle set upon a cliff overlooking the valley below, the Queen stood watch. She could fight just like the rest of them, but her family insisted on protecting her. She wore elegant robes of pale blue and red, her hair like her daughter's was golden yellow, and her eyes were violet. Her face was hidden behind a veil that hung from a silver crown set upon her head. The Queen, like the castle itself had the sense of former splendor, with faded gold and crimson on the walls, a dusty chandelier of crystal and silver litherium- a priceless gemstone found on lambda- hanging from the center of the domed ceiling in the Queen's safe room.
"So... Your Majesty the Queen of Lambda resides here does she?" Came a sneering voice that was only too familiar to her.
"Shola... My brother... So you're the Puppet Master?" She turned in one swift movement despite the robes and veil that one would think would hold her back. "Your plan will never come to fruition, brother. Your niece, my daughter has already found the drill."
"Is that so?" Sneered Shola, stepping out of the shadows. Shola was just as tall as the Queen, but his hair had turned silvery white with his corruption of power and greed over the last hundred years. "That upstart that was born upon the time of my departure will never save your people... nor the Terrans. She does not know that I have already left the mother ship."
Shola's eyes were lifeless and blue, his skin stretched and pale looking as though he had not spent a day in the light of the twin suns most of his life. He looked nothing like his sister, even though his silvery white hair was to the middle of his back, and he wore a black suit trimmed in crimson at the sleeves and hems.
"So, dear Forla... Shall we just negate all formalities and get right to business? You know what I seek... Anyone who rules over this world, rules over the Terrans. Because of you, the Terrans have been able to forget about us and fall in to chaos that could very well render them extinct in the next decade."
"That same argument?" Replied Forla with a frown. "I am sorry dear brother, but you will never see this throne." She raised her hands, directing the palms at his chest.
Kallichore was so focussed on her goal that she did not notice the explosion rocking her beloved castle. The drill was huge, digging thousands of miles underground with a plutonium laser. Once she found the tip of the drill, she looked up. It was so cramped where she was surrounded by rock on one side and the drill on the other that she could barely fly around it as she attacked with the dark violet energy blasts from her hands, using the energy like her own mini welder before finding the main power source- a box with a metal casing. She ripped the box open, then sent a double shot of violet energy from both her eyes and her hands before beginning of the explosion that would set off a tremble within the very rock of Lambda.
Jorrell was staring wildly as the drill began to implode in on itself as it burst in to flame, then he saw the Princess' dark navy blue cloak and blond head just before it turned in to cinders.
"You made it." He said, kneeling before her.
"Whatever it takes to defend my Mother Land, I'll do it." Said Kallichore with a gracious smile.
That was when she saw the smoke from her mother's safe room and bolted for the castle, flying as fast as she could. Seconds later, she crashed through a window in a manner that would've caused her grandmother to scold her if she knew.
"Queen Mother!" She called out, and saw her mother fallen on the floor beginning to rise once more. "Shola..." She growled upon seeing who it was that her mother fought so fiercely. Both looked winded, but otherwise unscathed. The Princess didn't give her uncle a chance to recover, but sent a triple attack of her violet energy blasts at him, forcing him to crash against a priceless holographic image of the Royal family at the other end of the room. "Shola, before you start cursing the Queen Mother, you might wanna check your drill. I think someone made it go boom."
"What?" He demanded even though he was now bleeding in the gut. He hurried to the window and saw that his drill had been damaged beyond repair as his own soldiers were now retreating back to his ship hidden by the cloud cover above the planet.
"If I were you, I'd think about reassessing your plan for double world domination. It ain't gonna happen dude." Kallichore had a hand on her hips.
Shola gave the Princess a last dirty glare before jumping out of the window that had been smashed open by her before she turned to her mother.
"Queen Mother, are you ok?" She asked, hurrying to her side.
"Yes. Thank you child." Nodded Forla with a smile. "Shola's drill is destroyed... He cannot effect this planet or the Terrans any longer?"
"No. The tremors the Terrans have been experiencing should have stopped when the drill exploded." Nodded Kallichore.
"Good. Child, there is something else you must do now to ensure peace for our races lasts." The Queen looked at her daughter. "You must go to the Terran world, and help its guardians."
"The Terran world? But mother, I am needed here!" Protested the Princess, but the Queen shook her head.
"You must go to the Terrans, child. They will need your protection when Shola turns his rage of defeat on them. You can stand guard over both our worlds from there, and you must change for your royal garb. What you wear now will not endear you to the Terrans."
"But what about the recovery efforts here? I can't leave during this crucial time!"
"No, you must go. The Terrans, even with their Guardians might not be able to hold out long against Shorla."
There was a long silence as mother and daughter stared at each other.
"Very well... at your request, I'll go aid the Terrans."
"No matter the emergency? Big or small?"
The Queen's daughter nodded sharply as the evening light from the twin suns filled the room, lighting it up in shades of crimson and gold. There were flickers of silvery light when the first rays of the evening light struck the chandelier, and the violet eyes of the two women stared at each other before the younger left to change.
Caitlyn was yawning and stretching, unaware of what was going on at the other end of the galaxy, she'd just gotten out of the Cheerleading try-outs. She had her much shorter hair in a green scrunchy, and the new outfit Melody had given her. Apparently she decided to order new outfits for the team in general, and she thought the colors weren't that bad considering she wasn't normally a fan of green. She left her canary yellow pompoms in her gym locker to avoid carrying more than she felt like.
The new cheerleader's outfit was mini skirt with a lime green or spring green color trimmed with canary yellow stripes at the bottom. The tank top was the same shade, with their school mascot name "Knights" emblazoned right in the front with the lettering in green. The shirt was sleeveless, and more like a tank top with canary yellow stripes criss-crossing in the front, while the sides were in general canary yellow and the back the shade of green as the rest of the outfit. Her shoes were more like sports sneakers, and matched the shirt and skirt, while the socks were white lined with green and yellow stripes on the top.
Max hadn't turned up in the audience to wish them luck, though she explained she'd be busy with a 'project' after school. But she wasn't supposed to have any company at any rate, she was yelled at indeed by her grandparents for staying out so late, even though Terry explain it had been because she visited Mr. Wayne at his estate after hanging out with Max. So she was going home on her own that evening.
Caitlyn rounded the corner when she spotted a different hover car parked in front of her grandparents' home. It looked like a black Marcedes Binge without wheels.
Wait... If that car is here then that means... Sure enough a strangled yell of joy reached her ears from the house. The only relative her own age from her father's family that she got along with in any way came pelting out of the home. He was a blond young man, just a few inches taller than her. His blond hair was short and wavy, with wild wavy bangs. He wore a sky blue t-shirt, brown slacks, and a matching brown vest. Then he collided with her in an impromptu embrace.
"Cate! I'm so glad we got here when we did!" Her cousin said with a brilliant grin. Her father's brother stood at the door.
"Hey, calm down." Said the man to the boy.
"B-Bill?" Stammered Caitlyn.
"Hey, didn't I tell you not to call me that? It's William!"
"Stop calling me Cate, and I'll stop calling you Bill." Smiled Caitlyn despite her surprise at the visit.
William gave a pouty look.
"Fine, you win. But only cause you're older than me!" He stuck his tongue out at her before grabbing her arm and dragging her back in to her own home.
"I'm sorry we didn't come sooner. We wanted to come after Babs called about my brother's murder, but finances wouldn't allow it." Said the man who had disciplined William.
"I wanted to meet you at the school but Mom wanted it to be a surprise for you after the tryouts." William still sounded like he was pouting slightly as they were led in to the living room.
"Hi Aunt Bathilda." Smiled Caitlyn, hugging the tall blond woman whom William took so much after. Bathilda had been sitting with Barbara on the couch clearly in deep discussion.
"Ah, so here's the trouble maker. I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree where my sister-in-law is concerned." Bathilda smiled lightheartedly. Bathilda was a German woman, while her husband was American, and even though Bathilda sometimes said things that would get people upset, people- especially Caitlyn- couldn't help but love her. "Allan, you made sure William didn't get too rowdy yes?"
"What else would I be doing with this kid?" Asked Allan.
"If you don't mind, I'm gonna change in to something else so Melody won't kill me for dirtying up the new uniform." Smiled Caitlyn.
"Oh! New uniform? And a new hair cut!" Smiled her aunt. "Come on, spin around for us, we haven't seen you in months after all."
Caitlyn shot a look at her grandmother who nodded encouragingly before she sighed and spun around on the spot like a model would have done.
"Nice. I like how there's no cleavage on this outfit. When I went to school the cheerleaders all insisted on looking like they were wearing bikinis with miniskirts." Bathilda couldn't help herself as she commented on the outfit change.
"I'll be right back." Caitlyn smiled her thanks at her aunt's approval.
In her room she made sure her Batgirl suit was in an easy to reach spot, but out of sight from her cousin in case he decided to barge in later. After that, she changed in to a light t-shirt that had dark purple sleeves, a lilac center and trimmed in dark purple at the neck. Her pants were black jeans, and she wore her favorite pair of tennis shoes. She changed the scrunchy that held her hair back to a purple one, then was satisfied with her look before opening the door again.
"Well, Caitlyn is in training with her Grandfather, so she won't be able to spend as much time with you as she normally would, William." Barbara was saying.
"Training? Training for what?" Asked William.
"Let's just say it's part of the family tradition." Said Barbara as Caitlyn came back in to the room with a diet soda.
"Oh! Can I have one of those?" Asked William, changing gears without missing a step once his cousin was in the room.
"No. You've got enough energy as it is. We don't need you turning in to some overly hyper active teenager now." Allan said at once.
"Not that he isn't already?" Asked Caitlyn.
"Awe... You're no fun." Sulked William.
"Nana, would you mind if I took William out for a treat?" Caitlyn looked over at her grandmother.
"Ordinarily under the circumstances I'd say no because you're grounded, but so long as you remember your phone I don't see why not." Shrugged Barbara, looking over at Bathilda who nodded in agreement. "Just make sure to take your tote bag with you."
Caitlyn nodded, hurried to fetch her tote, and was held back by Bathilda for a brief moment.
"Just make sure he doesn't get in to trouble or eat too many sweets, ok Cate?" Asked her aunt, and Caitlyn smiled in spite of her annoyance at the nickname.
"And make sure he gets home at a reasonable time, ok?" Said Allan.
"No worries, my cell phone is fully charged." Caitlyn waved as her cousin started pulling her to the door.
"Come on, come on!" William was saying once his parents gave the ok.
"You know, you are just one year younger than me... Can't you act your age?" Asked Caitlyn as she was dragged from her home.
There was a pause while he thought about that question.
"Nope. That's no fun." William smirked at her. "So, how've you been? I heard what happened to Uncle Jon and Aunt Claire... I wanted to go sooner, but finances wouldn't allow it according to mom and Dad."
"It's been hard, but...I've got some friends who've been helping me out." Smiled Caitlyn.
"Got a boyfriend yet?" He went on.
"Nope. Don't want one. Too much going on." Shrugged Caitlyn.
"You're lying again."
"I'm being serious!"
"Right."
Max had just finished with her project on the computer in her apartment when she decided it was time to head out. On the streets was the best way to view the results of her hard work. Even though Caitlyn had voted against publicity, Max still went for it. With a combination of recent news cubes and clips of the new Batgirl, she made sure to get the word out that Batgirl had returned to Gotham City. While on the way, she made a point of starting a few new rumors about the new Batgirl, who her mentor was, and why she chose now to resurface in Gotham City. Her favorite rumor was part of her own plans, that the new Batgirl and Batman were a couple. Sooner or later the rumors would reach Caitlyn's ears, and she couldn't wait to see the girl's reaction.
Speak of the devil. Max saw Caitlyn walking with a blond boy who looked just a year younger than she, and the boy looked like he was just full of energy.
"Hey!" She called out to the pair before they saw her. "Who's your friend?"
"My cousin from out of town. William, Max, Max William." Shrugged Caitlyn, getting the introductions over right off the bat. "We were just gonna go hang out for a while, wanna come along?"
"Sounds fun. I just finished a project, so I've got free time." Max grinned. "Where were you going? Not some lame frozen yogurt place?"
"No, and for the record it's not lame, it's a perfectly good treat for one trying to stay in shape." Snapped Caitlyn.
"Come on, kid, you wanna go to a place much more entertaining than that, right?" Max looked at William who blinked. "I know the perfect spot for someone with your particular kind of energy. It's one of my favorites." And again, Max was taking charge of the group.
Caitlyn blinked, but followed along anyways. Max seemed to enjoy taking charge, she noticed. And once she saw where Max had lead them, she stared up at the building.
"The Virtual Reality Gaming Arcade?" She blinked at Max again.
"Sure, what, you've never been here?" Max asked.
"Not since I was a kid." Admitted Caitlyn.
"Well, you'll find a lot's changed in here, c'mon, before the line overflows again." Since Max was a regular customer here, she knew how to get in without having to wait forever. And once they were all geared up with the kits provided- visors, and fake laser guns meant for the games inside.
This wasn't really Caitlyn's thing, so after a while, she found herself against the wall keeping an eye on her cousin as he and Max duked it out on the virtual reality games. It wasn't that the games weren't fun, they were just a little too close to real life for her. And after the cheerleading tryouts earlier that afternoon, she was wore out rather quickly.
Bruce was in the Batcave as per his usual routine monitoring Gotham City. He saw on one of his screens an image that caught his eye. It was on the television channel for gossip and celebrity news, and todays topic was... He turned up the volume as Terry came in with his standard heart medicine.
"What've you got there?" Asked Terry as he handed Bruce the glass of milk he had in his right hand.
"Watch it and find out." Replied the old man in his usual curt voice as the volume went up.
"Is there a new Bat heroine in town? Our resources say yes! With these new images obtained from an undisclosed location, we have confirmed that Gotham City has a new Dark Knight roaming about." Said the reporter, a woman with short black hair wearing a blue dress suit on the screen with images of the new Batgirl on the screen behind her.
"Oh great... she's gonna love this." Said Terry, thinking that as soon as Caitlyn finds out, Max was going to get an ear full about not listening to her.
"And what's the connection between this new Batgirl and the Jokerz?" The reporter was continuing on her subject. "Seems to me that the Jokerz have been a lot more active now than they ever were in the past, and that's when the new heroine of Gotham turns up. Another thing we're all wondering, are the two Bats involved as more than just friends? They've been seen working as a team, but that has raised questions as well."
Bruce was chuckling at Terry's wide eyed expression as he put his hand to his forehead.
"Figures you'd be brought in to the mix somehow." Said Bruce. "It was the same back then for us too."
"But back then you didn't have internet and papparazi stupid enough to try and follow your every move when you were trying to do your job." Retorted an annoyed Terry. He was going to have a word or two with Max about her bad habit of starting rumors when spreading word about them. Not that she ever listened.
"True. I just had to deal with being in every comic book, tabloid magazine and news report on the television after we were done." Shrugged Bruce.
"Touche." Said Terry as he watched the news report conclude with security camera shots of himself (Not that the public knew he was Batman) and Batgirl in their latest fight with the Jokerz clan. When it came down to it, when she wasn't trying to spend her time picking fights with him, they really did make a good team. He saw the time on the computer screen below the report he'd been watching. "Crap, I'm late for meeting my brother." He said suddenly.
"Have fun." Bruce had kept silent during the report, knowing at once who was behind all the rumors and speculation. It wasn't any big mystery to him, the same pink haired girl had gotten word out about Batman and harassed the two of them till they nearly went mad when Terry first became Batman after his father's own death.
"Joy." Terry said sarcastically as he grabbed his jacket. He nearly forgot that his mother ordered another 'brothers-bonding' night tonight. He didn't want to have another 'telling off' session from his mother.
He barely made it to his home on time.
"Hey! You made it!" Said Matt as their mother poked her head around the kitchen. "I thought for sure Mr. Wayne was going to keep you out late again."
"So did I. Come on squirt." Terry waved at their mother as Matt grabbed his own jacket.
"Are we still going to that game place?"
"Yeah."
"Awesome! I wanna play the ones where you shoot those aliens from the sky!"
"I think you're a bit too young for that one yet." Their mother was standing at the door to see them off.
"Awee..." Matt pouted in disappointment.
"Have fun." She waved at them.
Once they were around the corner, Matt started pestering Terry about the game he wanted to play.
"NO for the hundredth time. I don't want to have to explain to mom why you suddenly start having nightmares if you're not even supposed to be playing that game." Sighed a slightly annoyed Terry as they got in line.
Once they were inside, it was Matt who spotted two people who were familiar to them.
"Hey!" He shouted over the people at Max and Caitlyn.
"I thought you were grounded?" Terry blinked at Caitlyn who gave an embarrassed sort of smile.
"Well, my Aunt and Uncle decided on an impromptu visit, so my cousin here saved me from that." She showed the blond boy who had just tied with Max on the meteor crossings virtual reality game.
"Cousin?" It hadn't crossed Terry's mind that she had family outside of Barbara and Dick left.
"My Dad's brother. He married a blond German woman, and this hyperactive time bomb is the result." She explained as William was looking around trying to decide where to go next. "Isn't that right, William?" She managed to wrap her arm around the boy's neck in to a playful stranglehold to get him to pay attention.
"Who's this dude, Cate? Your boyfriend?" Asked William from his awkward spot. Terry raised an eyebrow at the young man.
"As a matter of fact-" Max started in with a devilish smirk.
"NO!" Caitlyn managed to cut her off, letting William go.
"That hurt, Cate. You've gotten stronger." Said the boy as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"He's just a friend of mine, William. Terry, this is William from out of town. William this is Terry McGinnis and his younger look-alike who's just as annoying, Matt." Caitlyn made the introductions rather quickly once again.
"What'd you do to get on her bad list?" Asked William to Terry, noting at once her treatment of the young man.
"Hell as i know." Shrugged Terry. Well, he did know, but he wasn't about to divulge the whole history of their interaction as the two 'Bats' as the reporter put it, and their lives at school. "Here I thought I was making good progress as her friend." He added as Max distracted Caitlyn for a moment.
At that moment, there was a tremor that shook the building and a few loud booms as objects began to fall over.
"Earthquake? But I thought they'd stopped!" Caitlyn was holding on to the wall for support.
They had not had an earthquake in months since the earth seemed to quiet down. Reports had been put out that the plate tectonics were going through a hundred year cycle and that seemed to be enough to stifle the rumors that something else was going on even though nothing else was ever found. After all, the Earth didn't stop in its routine just because mankind had arrived. They learned that lesson long ago with Hurricane Katrina, and the Great Japan Quake, just to name a few examples in that department.
It wasn't just that area of the city that was shaking, but the whole of Gotham was trembling without any warning as Earthquakes often strike. As she approached the legendary city from the skies above, she could see the buildings shaking like a child's rattler. So, he was here now. But the Terrans still did not suspect a thing. She looked when she landed on the tallest point in the city that she could find, her ultramarine blue cloak swaying in the wind in this high elevation.
Kallichore now looked completely different than when she'd been on her own home world of Lambda. Instead of the elegant battle robes of crimson, blue and yellow, she now wore a skin tight crimson red two piece outfit. The top was a half-turtle neck sleeveless leather top with a transparent oval above her chest, and another right at her belly button. Her pants were the same shade of crimson, and leather as well, skin tight which for her proved to present the most freedom in fights and combat in general. Her boots matched her outfit, were knee length and crimson with high heels. Around her waist was a belt that signified her ties to the royal family of the Lambdanian world. This belt matched the color of her eyes, which meant it was violet, and gleamed in the evening sunlight of Gotham City. The belt was made of amethyst stones the size of oranges but with a slight oval shape to them, set in yellow fastenings with two silver chains in between each stone. On the side of her waist hung two of these silver chains and a final amethyst stone. Her golden blond hair was now held back in a violet pony tail, her eyes narrowed like a hawk as her wild bangs rustled in the wind. Her hands were gloved in crimson red leather, elbow length gloves. Altogether, she looked like a red, blue and yellow butterfly when she took to the air in a single leap. She had to find him before it was too late. Perhaps she could even find someone to help her in her mission to save the Terrans, and her own world.
Caitlyn was glad that Gotham City had built its buildings and houses to earthquake standards years ago, especially with the two point zero magnitude that struck that day. When it stopped, she decided it was time to get William- who had now bonded pretty well with Matt- home before going on the Batgirl duty.
Terry had been on the verge of asking Caitlyn why she wasn't playing with Max and her cousin before he was interrupted by the quake.
"I'm going to be doing some looking up on the earthquakes. Let me know if you guys need any help with anything." Max was saying when they were outside the Virtual Reality Arcade.
"Looking up?" Blinked Caitlyn. She knew Max was good in class and figuring out that she was Batgirl, but she wondered just how smart and curious this girl was.
"Yeah. I'm not sure if these quakes are normal, if you get my drift." Max winked. She didn't want to go in to farther detail in front of Matt and William, and with the nod from Caitlyn, she waved at Terry before dashing off.
Caitlyn grabbed William by the arm.
"Come on kiddo." She said. And after waving at Max at the same time she was waving, Matt and Terry she dragged her cousin back home.
At that moment, Terry heard his cell phone ringing, and Matt was looking up rather curiously as he heard Mr. Wayne's voice, but couldn't tell what the old man was telling his older brother.
"Yeah, all right. Well squirt, looks like we're going to have to finish this some other time." Terry looked at his brother.
"Aww, but I was having fun!" Matt whined the whole way back.
"Mr. Wayne call?" Asked their mother when she saw who it was at the door of her home again.
"Yeah, sorry Mom. I'll call you later if I can't make it back before curfew." Terry waved as he rushed away after Matt shuffled inside.
"It's a good thing you came back when you did." Dick was saying to his granddaughter, who had to change in to her Batgirl suit in the Command Center since there was company staying that night. She had to admit, the shorter hair did make her feel lighter as she slipped on the mask over her head.
"Look at this." He had one of his many security cameras zoom in on a strange figure as the blond girl took off from the tallest point in Gotham City during the quake. "I spotted her just a little bit ago. She could be the cause of these earthquakes, or she could be trying to find the cause."
"Which means Max could be right... She said she didn't believe they were natural." Batgirl explained upon a raised eyebrow from her grandfather. "She's doing some more looking up on those quakes, I think it'll help us in the long run here if she can find something and not leave it all up to you and Mr. Wayne to do all the work."
"So you trust this Max?" Asked Dick suspiciously.
"Yeah, she's a friend of Terry. He introduced us." Batgirl didn't get why he was so suspicious about this whole thing.
"And you trust Terry?" Dick continued slowly.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Just a week ago you couldn't stand him, and hated him. And now you're acting like fast friends all of a sudden. That's why."
"I'm not saying I love the guy or anything, he does have his good points. But I'm still not sure I've forgiven him and the incident with my parents yet. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do." She snapped at her grandfather, storming out before she lost her temper completely at him when he didn't deserve it. He was only asking a simple question, after all. But it still annoyed her greatly. What was so wrong about people trying to be friends outside of work? Some of the stories her grandmother told her about Bruce Wayne and his many affairs made her skin crawl. She put those thoughts out of her mind as she took to the air from one of the strategically hidden and placed passageways to the Command Center.
Batman found the stranger first and landed quietly, using the cloaking device on the Batsuit to keep himself hidden from sight. At least until she spoke.
"You might as well show yourself, I heard you a mile away. You Terrans are so careless about these things." The blond girl.
"Terran? So you're not from Earth." Batman blinked, impressed against his will at her apparent ability to detect any approaching being.
"And you've dealt with outsiders before have you? To assume something like that so quickly." She turned, her violet eyes narrowed at the strange Terran. He had no powers that she could sense right away, and there wasn't anything extraordinary about him that she could see. Yet she knew from what she'd seen on the Gotham City news that day that there were two guardians of this town. "Where's the other one?" She asked.
Batman could only assume she meant Batgirl. Max had certainly done her job about getting word out so quickly.
"Not here yet. But in the meantime, who are you and why are you here? Does it have anything to do with those earthquakes?" He asked, getting straight to the point. Not every encounter required fists and Bat-a-rangs or fighting in general.
"I think I'll save the headache of a double explanation and wait till she finds us." The blond girl said. "Or I find her, then she can tell you." It wasn't that she didn't trust Batman, it was just that she knew a lot of Terran men to be not so trustworthy when it came to certain things. But she was impressed by this Terran just by her encounter with him now. She understood that there were quite a few Terran men who were the 'shoot now ask questions later' type. She decided to make sure this behavior would be rewarded. She turned when she heard someone approaching from behind her and saw Batgirl with her wings spread out and the rocket jets at her feet going full speed. But this girl also surprised Kallichore.
Kallichore chose to use one of her 'gifts' from being the daughter of the Queen of Lambda when she felt that something was different about this Batgirl.
"What's going on?" Batgirl asked.
"That's what I was just trying to get from her." Replied Batman.
"Well, at least I won't have to comb the whole city for you." Smiled Kallichore. She personally hated people who wore full face masks like these two, because she couldn't tell exactly what they were thinking or thought about her. But at least she could still read their minds- not that they knew it yet. In time, if they decided to work together, she would be able to show them all of her strength and power. She put her hands on her hips when she thought about the strange bond the two Knights of Gotham seemed to share, since she rarely sensed or felt anything quite like it on Lambda. It wasn't quite like friendship, and trust was barely there, yet there was something else there that she couldn't put her finger on yet. She made a mental note to observe these two Terrans for a while, especially since she learned who they were just by reading their minds. "First off, I am Kallichore Cyllene, Crowned Princess of the Lambdanian throne. You may refer to me as Titania, from here on out, Batman and Batgirl. It's easier than all what I said. Now... down to business." She said sharply. "Why have I come here? It's because a madman from my world is trying to destroy yours. My world, Lambda, is at the center of this Galaxy, and is linked to the Earth. Whatever happens to Lambda, happens to the Earth, and vice versa. The tremors you spoke of, Batman, are not natural by any means. They are caused by events happening on my planet which I have stopped there, but the one who caused them has fled to the Earth now that I halted his plans of multiple world domination."
"Wait, back up..." Batgirl held up her hands at the sudden flow of explanation. "You say all those quakes that have steadily been worsening over the last few months are because of a war going on at this parallel like world, and these planets are connected somehow?"
"That is exactly what I am saying. For a Terran, you catch on pretty quick." Nodded Titania.
"So what can we do to make sure it doesn't get any closer to damaging the city?" Asked Batman, eyes narrowed at Batgirl's reaction.
"That's why I'm here. To ask for your help." Replied the Princess.
"Why couldn't you ask one of the Justice League?" Suggested Batgirl before she could restrain herself.
"Because, that is what he would expect me to do. You two, however, are plain and ordinary Terrans with no super powers whatsoever and can go about his fortress undetected." Said the Princess with a slight edge of impatience to her voice. "My people can generally detect anyone approaching if they've got some kind of what you would call, a super human ability. I found out about you two by watching the news cubes in town earlier. I thought I would wait for evening before making myself known. I am surprised you spotted me so quickly honestly."
"So who is 'he', and what do we do now?" Asked Batman, feeling slightly irritated at her 'mightier-than-thou' behavior. He never really enjoyed working with the Super Humans for a reason. Though he would when it was necessary.
"My Uncle, Shola. He is bent on controlling Lambda and the Terran home world. And we need to wait for him to act first. Otherwise it will be pointless in trying to find something that cannot be seen by the naked eye." Titania explained. She felt a twinge of annoyance at the thoughts running through Batman's mind at the moment. But she put that aside. "Until then, do whatever it is you normally do. I'll contact you when I find something or if Shola comes out in the open." She turned on her heel before taking to the air in a single, swift and elegant movement.
Max was typing away on her computer. The reports from the geologists in Gotham City council were not making sense to her. She wasn't stupid enough to believe the whole 'hundred year cycle and not sure how long it lasts' excuse. While geology wasn't her thing, if it concerned Gotham City, she wanted to figure out what was going on and if it would endanger its people. She decided to do a wide range scan of the city to see what she could find when there was a knocking at her window.
"So, this is where you live?" Batgirl had been talked in to visiting Max by Batman after Titania had left.
"Yep. I was just settling down to do a more wide spread scan of the geological features in Gotham City. Find out anything?" Max asked when Batgirl saw how complex and full of technology Max's apartment was.
"Well, the quakes aren't standard by any means. Apparently they're being caused by some guy called Shola who wants nothing short of world domination." Shrugged Batman.
"So what else is new? Don't the bad guys ever come up with anything new for a change than world domination or causing hell and destruction here in Gotham?" Shrugged Max, not looking very surprised at the news. "Seems to me the bad guys need a new lease on life if they keep trying the same old same old."
"We're not sure if this 'dude' is trying the 'same old same old'. That's the problem, Max." Batgirl said. "We can't pinpoint where he is until he strikes. If we act now, it could ruin everything Titania's been doing."
"Hold that train of thought." Batman said at once. "We don't even know Titania all that well. She just got here. For all we know she could be in league with this Shola guy and be trying to set a trap for someone."
"Well, for one, she didn't come here guns blazing and trying to pick a fight. And another-"
Again Batman interrupted her.
"That doesn't matter. I know from experience that just because a person doesn't pick a fight with you right off the hook doesn't mean they aren't enemies in the long run." He was shaking his head.
"Ok, Mr. psycho-analyst. Like you know everyone's main objective by one visit? I say we give this girl a chance. She was honest with us from the get-go."
"When the two of you are done bickering like an old married couple..." Max got annoyed when the two of them got in an argument so easily and forgot where they were at. Batman had opened his mouth to retort after Batgirl had cut across him without skipping a beat. "Let's get back to the topic here." She pointed at her computer. "You came here for a reason, right?"
"You're scanning the city for the main source of the quakes?" Asked Batman after shooting an unseen glare in Batgirl's direction. Max nodded. "Scan around the country outside of the city too while you're at it, then send us the reports from your findings. We need to find this guy BEFORE he strikes if it's at all possible."
"And keep an eye out for Titania." Batgirl gave a surprisingly accurate description of Titania. Just because Max wasn't an 'official' member of the team didn't mean that she couldn't be a tremendous help to them after all. "Oh, and another thing... Didn't I specifically tell you not to put out the word about me?" She said as though in afterthought. "I saw the stories on the news cubes." She added after getting a raised eyebrow from Max.
Not all of them, apparently. Thought Batman. Otherwise you'd be going nuts. Well... More so than usual at least.
"Hey, word's gotta get out somehow, and wouldn't you prefer that it was good that people were hearing about you?" Replied Max as she was busy typing.
Batgirl had nothing to say to this, so she just frowned. Max smiled in satisfaction, knowing she at least managed to head off Caitlyn before she could blow a fuse for once.
"We'd better get going and let you get to work." Batman said when he saw things weren't going to escalate, but Max needed to focus on what she was doing.
"Thanks for everything." Batgirl at least knew to give credit where it was deserved.
"I need a word with you." Batman said once they left Max to her work.
"About what?" Asked Batgirl, and the two landed on the top of a skyscraper several blocks away from Max's apartment.
"You're trusting this Titania girl too easily, that's what." Batman decided to get straight to the point. "She comes out of nowhere after the earthquake and warns us about something because we're 'ordinary Terrans'."
"What's your point?" Asked Batgirl, her arms crossed as she stared at him.
"My point is I want you to be more careful. This world isn't black and white, I thought you would've realized that by now." Replied Batman, marveling at how dense she could be. "Even people who seem trustworthy are not always so and can still find a way to hurt you."
Batgirl looked at him long and hard while she thought about it. Sure he'd had more experience in this field than she had, but she still had a good feeling about Titania. Then again, she'd had the same feelings about Sharon, Sheryl and Leia.
"I just want to see more caution from you, and I don't want to see you have to go through that again." Batman continued as though the pause in the conversation hadn't happened.
"Terry, I'll be fine. I will be careful though." She added when she could practically sense the doubt behind his mask. And was caught off guard a bit by his statement. But then again, she told herself, friends naturally looked out for each other like this.
It was something new that he had learned about her that day. And he decided to be upfront about this too, since she seemed to be more cooperative and friendly when a person didn't beat around the bush.
"Even with everything that's happened, you still trust too easily, Cate. Until this Titania, whoever she really is, somehow proves she's on our side, I'd still keep my distance." He warned.
She was working hard at staying calm and civil, when normally by now she'd have exploded then stormed off. There was a moment's silence between them, which was broken by a rather loud explosion from the bank.
"You wanna take this one?" She asked with a shrug and he smirked before turning. She meanwhile set about to returning to her normal patrolling of the city while he took off to round up the bank robbers.
Over the next several days, things were increasingly tense in Gotham City. Not just on the streets, but in the schools and public buildings as well. The people knew something was up, the Dark Knights were doing more patrols and rounding up the 'bad guys' quicker than ever before looking for something that none of them knew about.
Caitlyn was kept busy with school, homework, studying, cheerleader's practice every night with Melody helping her choose new teammates, and at night, she was getting used to the long days on limited sleep. It felt like their search for this guy Shola was never ending. He was a good hider, and knew what he was doing apparently. Her training by Wonder Woman still wasn't making any headway, at least that she could tell. But her grandfather made the comment that she was getting stronger from the results on the suit readouts.
William and his parents decided to leave on Thursday evening after she got back from school.
"I'm going to miss you!" Sniffed her cousin, who had wanted to stay longer. "This city is so much fun and you know all the best places to hang out! Not to mention, I didn't get to see Batman or Batgirl on any of those trips." He added in a grumble.
"Maybe next time. You never know when they'll show up." Smiled Caitlyn at her cousin's pout as his parents were putting their bags in the car.
"Yeah, next time you should do something to get in trouble and Batman'd show up." William had his cocky smirk again. "I'd like to thank him for saving my favorite cousin's life more than once!"
"I'm sure he'll get the message somehow." Caitlyn felt an eyebrow twitch at the mention of Batman. But as far as her extended family was concerned, it was just because of him that she survived the slaughter all those weeks ago. So far they managed to keep that she was Batgirl a secret from William, Bathilda and Alan.
Barbara and Dick were standing on the front porch of their home waving as William gave his cousin one last hug, then dashed to the hovercraft his parents drove.
"Ugh... finally..." Mumbled Caitlyn, stretching her arms as she went back in to the house. "He was causing so much racket I could barely focus on my studying except late at night."
"That's not very nice to say, Cate. They went out of their way to come here and see us even with everything that's happened." Barbara reprimanded her granddaughter at once.
"Regardless... at least I won't have to stay up past three in the morning unless there's an emergency that Terry can't handle on his own." She retorted. She was getting a little annoyed at the fact that Max hadn't caught something yet. But then again, there hadn't been any quakes since the one at the beginning of the week. It was also harder to hide her Batgirl suit from her family when during the visit, she had to still find a way to keep up with her duties at night. It got easier the more time she spent on it, but the late night patrols of Gotham City were still difficult when she was expected to live a double life. There was still no word from Max about the quake or the cause of it, but judging by the yawns in class, Max was working just as hard on her computer than Batman and Batgirl actually being out in the city. So far the most exiting thing that happened that week after the earthquake was the bank robberies that didn't call for her assistance- which was good because she was still busy with cheerleaders' practice after school.
"I'll be on the roof." She said to her grandparents after putting her school things in her tote bag.
"Be careful up there." Replied Barbara. She knew most parents wouldn't let their kids study on the rooftop, but she also knew her family wasn't like most. And she understood for whatever reason, Caitlyn studied her best on the rooftop of their house.
Bruce and Terry happened to be out on errands at that time and Bruce was the first to spot Caitlyn on the roof of her home as they drove by.
"When you think you've seen it all." He commented, and Terry- who'd been focussing on the road- glanced over at what Bruce was disapproving of. He didn't stop driving, but raised a brow and made a mental note to ask her why she liked to hang out on rooftops.
Terry was busy taking Bruce to his family business for a meeting that evening.
"I hear there's a game next week." Said Bruce. "At the school, I mean."
"Yeah. Apparently it's a big one."
"You thinking of going?"
"Might be. Depending on if the boss is going to let me. But my friends are all going to be there." Replied the younger man with a bit of snark in his voice.
"It might be a good break from all of this. And with all the kids there, it would be a prime target for our mystery friend." Explained Bruce.
"So it looks like I'm going after all." Shrugged Terry. Naturally Bruce would find something worth thinking about in regards to possible targets for trouble makers. They drove by one of the buildings that had televisions at the windows running on the news networks and saw the news covering another Batman and Batgirl story. It was starting to annoy him, all the attention and publicity.
He made sure to drop Bruce off at the Wayne Enterprises building before going on to his next errand for the old man. He would have to stop by again later to pick him up, but those meetings just weren't his thing so he opted to run errands and do the shopping. It was going to be a long evening if there was nothing for Batman to do but shop and wait for his boss's meeting to get over with.