Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN any of these CHARACTERS, in fact ALL CREDIT goes to DC, THEY OWN EVERYTHING, I repeat DC OWN EVERYTHING I do not own anything and I'm not making any money off of this story I can assure you…so please DO NOT SUE ME…..thanks.
Hey people it's me back with a brand new chapter ready for viewing. As promised this chapter has a little more action than the previous two, so having said that remember to Read. Review (Let me know what you think) and most importantly ENJOY…
Chapter 3: The Dark Knight Reborn pt 2
McGinnis Household
Warren McGinnis heaved a heavy sigh as he watched his son angrily storm out of the house.
'Great job Warren…..you just keep pushing him away….' He thought to himself while putting his hands into his pockets but when he did that he immediately felt the compact disc that his friend Douglas Erchin had given to him earlier in the day. He pulled it out of his pocket and he looked at it with curious eyes.
"I wonder what had Douglas so spooked" Warren whispered to himself remembering the frightened look upon his face. Warren walked over to his personal computer and he touched the mouse pad and the pressed the button to open the CD-drive. He swallowed hard for a split second and was about to reconsider watching the disc but his curiosity won him over and he quickly inserted the disc into the drive. He only had to a wait a few seconds before the disc began to play and a screen popped up with an empty chair as the focal point. From the right side of the screen Douglas came into view and sat down in the chair.
Computer Screen
"If you are watching this disc…..it means…it means I've failed….but I'm getting ahead of myself….allow me to start from the beginning. My Name is Douglas Erchin and I'm a Bio-chemist under the employment of Derek Powers, CO-CEO of Wayne-Powers Enterprises. For the better part of three years myself and a few other scientist have been under the impression that we were developing cures for several diseases such as: DBT, PEF, and the new strain of Cancer that has formed, but recently…..I discovered that Derek Powers has been lying to everyone since the beginning. We weren't working on any cures, but a powerful nerve toxin…..a nerve gas."
"Good Lord" whispered Warren as the chemical compound of the nerve gas came upon the screen.
As you can see here the chemical compound is…..unique….and highly mutagenic. It's designed to be an airborne toxin and once someone inhales the gas it immediately attacks the person's DNA. First it rewrites the DNA and forces it to break down….first it starts in the skin….thick black burns appear all over the body…..then all of the major organs in the body begin to get advanced stages of cancer….and the diabolical part about this gas is that all of this takes place in the span of just a few minutes…death is almost certain….so far from what I've seen the nerve gas will cause death 13 minutes after exposure. However…..I've also seen that there is a way to counteract the nerve gas, but it involves radiation…intense radiation….the amount of radiation needed to stop the progression of the nerve gas is….is not even worth attempting, the human body can not withstand that much radiation. I….I only wanted to help people…..that's been my only goal in life….but it seems with the creation of this gas I've done the exact opposite. Whoever is watching this tape, please…..get this to the authorities…or...or someone who can stop Derek Powers. He is an evil man…he's planning on selling this nerve gas to some organization called Kobra and I…..
Warren stopped the disc and he pressed the eject button on his personal computer.
"Shit…Shit…I've got to get this disc out of here." He frantically said to himself standing up from the computer "OH NO...they saw me with Douglas earlier…..Oh God…Oh God…What am I gonna…"
DING! DONG! Went the bell to the front door of his house. Warren jumped slightly at the sound of the bell eyes dancing wildly.
"Who is it?"
"I believe we met earlier Mr. McGinnis….it's Mr. Fixx" came the voice from the door.
"J-JUST A SECOND!" he called out while holding the disc in his hands. He looked around the house and his eyes then fell upon a photo of him and a 7yr old Terry fishing on the mantle above the fireplace. Warren quickly ran to the photo and picked it up; opening the back of the picture frame he stashed the disc in inside and then he closed the frame and set it back on the mantle. Warren took a deep breath and then went towards the door and opened it.
"Mr. McGinnis….we need to talk" said Mr. Fixx who had a smile on his face.
Uptown
Terry stepped off of the bus and made his way through the actively busy Neo-Gotham street. Being in the juvenile correctional system had deprived Terry of everything that was fun so the only thing on his mind at this moment was to party….celebrate his newfound freedom and he was headed for the most popular spot in Gotham for people his age: Club 54.
Club 54 was where the youth of Gotham spent their nights, the place was massive the music was loud and the bartenders served everyone drinks no matter the age. It was a place where a little of everything went on which is probably why the Gotham PD has raided the club numerous of times but with the influx of crime in the past couple of years the police haven't been around much.
Terry arrived at the club to see a line that curved all the way around corner.
'Good to see some things haven't changed' Terry thought with a smile while looking at the line. Shaking his head at the people in line he went around to the back of the club.
Back of the Club
Terry reached the back alley behind the club and he looked at some old trash bins that were inconspicuously laying on the ground.
'Ah….thank God for small miracles…. no one has found my secret spot' he thought while going over to the trash bins and moving them aside to reveal a small window. The police had been known to raid the club and when Terry was trying to get away one time he had accidentally found this little secret entrance/exit; bending down he pushed the window back and he squeezed through.
Inside
Terry crawled through the window and found himself in a small dingy basement storage room that looked like it had been forgotten about. He stood up and wiped some of the spider webs off of himself and then pushed the window close. Terry turned around and he eyed the steps that lead up to a door. He smirked and started for the steps; once he was at the top he opened the door.
Kitchen
Terry opened the door slightly and peeked through to see all of the chefs in the kitchen running wildly around trying to keep up with all of the orders. Terry slipped through the door and closed it and walked through the kitchen.
"HEY YOU PUNK YOU CAN'T BE BACK HERE!" shouted a chef in an apron
"Sorry….I'm just passing through" Terry replied continuing through the busy kitchen; he side stepped a waitress running through the revolving door who almost hit him.
"WATCH IT!" she snapped.
"Sorry" Terry said as he went through the revolving door and into the club.
Immediately after he exited the kitchen his eardrums were bombarded with the loud fast techno music of Club 54.
Terry let a small smile creep along his face as he looked at the flashing colorful lights and the packed club full of guys and girls dancing provocatively all over each other. The band on the floating stage in the middle of the club was one of Terry's favorites.
'HELL YES' thought Terry happily as he found himself starting to dance. Suddenly he felt two arms grab him and spin him around; it was a blonde haired girl in a tight green skirt and white shirt. She proceed to dance and wiggle around him provocatively just how everyone else was dancing.
'Now this is what I've been missing' he thought as he began to dance with the pretty blonde.
McGinnis Household
"ARGH!" shouted Warren as Mr. Fixx grabbed hand and broke it.
"Mr. McGinnis you can stop the pain….all you have to do is tell me where the disc is"
"…..ARGH….I-I…..t-told you I don't have it" he replied through bloody teeth.
Mr. Fixx and his associates had pushed their way into the house when he had opened the door and once they entered they proceeded to beat him and ask him about the disc that Douglas had given him. Warren was going to tell them, but he couldn't let that nerve gas reach the public, what if sons Terry and Matt or worse his ex-wife Mary were exposed to the gas they would be killed and he could never forgive himself if that happened. So as they beat him he denied everything, but that only made them beat him harder and then had been doing it for the past 30 minutes and he knew they were getting tired of him.
"Now you see, I wish I could believe you Mr. McGinnis I really do, but unfortunately I know you have it."
"I-I…."
"SHUT UP!...I saw the security video Mr. McGinnis I know you have it….now I'm running out of patience….where is it?" Mr. Fixx growled angrily.
"….."
"Okay….fine" said Mr. Fixx, he snapped his fingers and one of his associates produced a machete. Warren looked at the machete with wide eyes.
"Wait…..Wait…NO!" Warren shouted fearfully trying to crawl away.
"Hold him"
The two guys went and grabbed Warren and brought him over to the kitchen table and held out one of his arms. One of the hitmen pulled out a cloth and then shoved it into Warren's mouth and held it there tightly.
"MMMMRPHPHHH!" Warren mumbled in fear as he saw the gleeful look in Mr. Fixx's eyes.
Mr. Fixx slowly walked forward and held the machete up over his head. He looked Warren in the eyes for a split second and with a smile on his face he quickly brought the machete down on Warren's arm.
Club 54
"YEEEEEAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" shouted the lead singer of the rock band on the floating stage in the middle of the club.
"YEEEEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" all the people in the club shouted back as they dance even faster to the techno-music.
Terry pushed his way through the thick crowd and towards the bar that was on the other side of the club.
"HEY LET ME GET A VODKA!" he shouted over the music while slamming his hand down on the counter.
The Bartender produced a glass and poured him a shot of vodka and slid it to him. Terry grabbed the shot and downed it in one gulp.
"AHH...whooo…..smooth" he said feeling the alcohol warm his insides.
"OH MY GOD!...TERRY! TERRY!" yelled a voice a from down the bar. Terry barely heard his name but he turned to see who was calling him and his eyes lit up with joy as the girl came running towards him.
"HOLY SHIT! MAX!" shouted Terry as he caught her when she jumped at him with a hug.
Maxine 'Max' Gibson was a beautiful brown skinned girl who was the same age as Terry. She was about his height as well with short pink hair, brown eyes, and a curvy slim build. Max and Terry had been best friends since they were little. One day after school some bullies tried to jump her, but Terry was there to fight them off; she repaid him back by hacking into the school computer and changing all of his D's and F's to A's and B's. Since then the two have been best friends…platonically of course.
"Max…I'm loving the hair…why did you change it from green though?" he asked in her ear.
"Turns out green wasn't my color…how long you been out….I thought they had you locked up until you were twenty one" she replied back in his ear.
"Long story short….out due to population increase."
"Schway"
"Tell me about it….so you're here by yourself?" Terry asked.
"No I'm here with some friends from school"
"Who?"
"Just some friends"
"Is Dana one of those friends?"
"…..No" she lied.
"Max you know I know when you're lying"
"Dammit McGinnis leave it alone she hates you"
"….Yeah I know which is why I have to change that."
"I couldn't believe it when she told me...…you said you loved her, had sex with her and you cheat on her and then you leave"
"First I didn't leave by choice I was arrested…and secondly I didn't cheat on her…that son of bitch Nelson was trying to sabotage me, and that thing with Melanie that...that was not what she thought it was and I meant what I said, I do love her"
"Okay."
"Hey…..why didn't you come visit me when I was in Juvie" asked Terry
"You know I hate prisons, it's bad enough I have to go see my mother every other month in prison, I was not gonna see my best friend there too"
"Fair enough...come on I wanna see Dana" said Terry grabbing Max's hand and dragging her from the bar.
"TERRY WAIT!" shouted Max as she being pulled along.
McGinnis Household
"P-P-P..lease…." Warren moaned out cradling the stump of his right hand.
"Where is it?"
"I-I-I destroyed it….I-I…looked at what was on it and I knew it couldn't be in here….so before you came in I destroyed it" Warren struggled to get out. Mr. Fixx looked Warren in his eyes before nodding his head.
"I believe you Mr. McGinnis…I do….but unfortunately I can't let you live….nor can I let your son Terrence live either; I have to be sure that the contents of that disc are never spoken of"
"WHAT!...N-No….PLEASE!" Warren exclaimed trying to rise up but Mr. Fixx kicked him and knocked him back down.
Mr. Fixx then pulled out his gun and aimed it at his victim; the two caught each others eyes for a second.
'Terry...' Warren managed to think before a thin laser shot out from the weapon and struck him right between the eyes, instantly killing him.
"So….did you believe him" asked one of his hitmen.
"No I didn't, but he wasn't gonna tell us anything and I was getting bored" Mr. Fixx replied holstering his weapon.
"So what now?"
"Now…..we find the kid and see what he knows, I'm guessing he doesn't know anything but he might know where his father might hide things of great importance." Mr. Fixx answered.
"What about him" the other guy asked pointing at the dead Warren McGinnis.
"Make it look like a Jokerz break in…and make it quick I'm starving" said Mr. Fixx while putting his gun back into his jacket.
Club 54
Max led Terry over to a booth where two people were in an intense lip lock with each other and despite how they were all over each other Terry immediately recognized both of them. The first was a very attractive girl around the same age as Terry and Max; she had medium length blonde hair, green eyes, full lips and tan skin. She was wearing a tight white t-shirt with the stomach cut out and a high riding black skirt. Both items showed her off her slim and curvy body, the girls name was Bobbi Summer but everyone called her Blade. The person that Blade was kissing was her on again and off again boyfriend Nelson Nash. Nelson was 19, about 6'1 with brown hair, blue eyes, and a clean shaven face. He was in every sense of the word: Jock. He had an athletic strong build that suggested he lifted weights. Nelson was captain of the wrestling team, basketball team, baseball team, and neo-lacrosse. Nelson was wearing a green letterman's jacket with a white shirt underneath, black pants and white sneakers.
"Hey I hate to break up the mouth cleaning session…but look who's here" said Max interrupting Blade and Nelson. The two teens broke apart and looked at Terry.
"Oh My God Terry…..how's it going" said Blade while twirling her hair and giving him her best smile.
"Blade….looking good as always" Terry replied slyly
She giggled at his statement and her smiled widen. Nelson looked at her and then back at Terry with anger in his eyes.
"McGinnis" Nelson stated coldly
"Nash" Terry stated in the same cold tone.
The two stared at each other with hate in their eyes.
"How's the jaw?" asked Terry with a smile
"WHY YOU SON OF A BITCH!" growled Nelson breaking away from Blade and standing up.
"WHOA! WHOA!" Max exclaimed jumping in front of Nelson before he could reach Terry, "COOL IT NELSON!...we came here to have a good time alright…..this is not the time for the two of you to settle whatever the score is between you guys. I think the two of you should make peace….Nelson you just got that Neo Lacrosse scholarship right and the season is starting up tomorrow, you need to be ready, not in the hospital again…..and Terry you just got out of juvie…today…..can you go one day with out fighting someone" Max reasoned trying to play peacemaker.
"No let em fight…I like it when guys rough house…gets my engine going" said Blade
"NOT HELPING BLADE!" Max shouted.
"You're lucky she has a point McGinnis….if this was any other day you and me would settle our…..unfinished business"
"Whatever Nash…like you could ever beat me. Max where's Dana I thought you said she was here"
"She was here"
"She's on the dance floor with the new guy" said Blade pointing towards a guy and girl on the dance floor. Terry turned to where Blade was pointing and then he saw her. She was dancing with some guy he had never seen before, but Terry paid him no attention, his focus was on the girl that been on his mind since he'd been locked up at juvie, the girl that invaded his every thought: Dana Tan. Dana was 5'8 with long dark hair that almost reached the middle of her back. She had a beautiful face, big brown eyes, full lips and looked to be of Asian decent. Terry's eyes roamed over lithe curvy body as she dance with the mystery guy. Dana was wearing one of Terry's favorite outfits a dangerously short and tight strapless orange dress that hugged her body.
"Damn" whispered Terry with a smirk on his face as he looked at her, "Who's the dreg she's with"
"He's not a dreg…but he does give off this weird vibe, and…."
"Max…name please" Terry interrupted.
"His name is Carter Wilson; he's in a few of our classes at Hamilton University"
"Are they together?"
"No, but something might be sparking…I know for a fact our boy Carter has a serious thing for Ms. Tan"
"How does she feel?"
"I don't know how she feels about him…..but I do know that she's still carrying a torch for a certain someone…..that is if he gets his shit together" said Max elbowing Terry in the side softly.
"Things are different this time Max….I'm different." He said reassuringly
"I'm not the one you need to convince McGinnis"
Terry continued to watch Dana dance around Carter but as luck would have it she turned around and spotted him through the crowd staring at her. She immediately stopped in her tracks and gawked at seeing him. Terry saw a wide spectrum of emotions flash across her face. He saw joy, hurt, shock, and of course anger; Dana quickly turned and hurried away roughly pushing her way through the crowd of rowdy teens and leaving a confused Carter Wilson in her wake.
"DANA WAIT!" Terry called out while rushing after her through the thick crowd.
Women's Restroom
Dana entered the women's restroom and headed for the sink. She gripped the sides tightly and tried to will away the knots that had formed in her stomach. Dana felt as if she was about to vomit; seeing Terry again had brought back memories and feelings that she didn't want to remember, feeling that she though had went away over 2 years ago but apparently they hadn't and how could they….he was the first person she had ever loved and the first person to ever break her heart.
'This….this is a dream…right….it couldn't be him' Dana thought to herself while looking up into the mirror.
"DANA!" shouted Terry as he entered the women's restroom.
'Definitely not a dream' she thought while slowly turning to face him.
"This….This is the ladies room McGinnis…you're not supposed to be in here"
"Well you know me, I'm a rule breaker"
"Don't I know it…..I thought you had at least 4 more years left"
"3 more years actually but…..out on good behavior and population increase"
"I can buy the population increase…but you…..good behavior, pfft...as if" she scoffed.
"I know…shocking isn't it" Terry replied with a smile. An awkward silence formed between the two of them as they both stood there looking at each other, emotions bombarding the both of them but each uncertain of what to say but finally the words came to one of them.
"I-I missed you Dana….I…" Terry started.
"DON'T! Please don't Terry"
"Well its true…..I thought about you every day while I was in Juvie"
"Yeah well I didn't think about you"
"I heard different" he countered.
"Damn it Max" Dana whispered to herself while folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head.
"Look Dana I know things ended kinda badly between us…"
"You cheated on me with that Melanie bitch"
"No I didn't she kissed me….and...and that asshole Nelson lied to you…and…and…."
"Save it McGinnis….just save it" said Dana as she tried to storm pass him, only for Terry to grab her arm and stop her
"Dana listen to me…I meant what I said….I do Love you"
"Let go of me Terry" she snapped averting her eyes away from him.
Terry let go of her arm and she took a few steps away from him.
"I don't care Terry…..I don't love you anymore…I-I-I've moved on"
"You don't sound so sure." He said softly.
"Trust me I'm s…." she started before being interrupted by someone running into the restroom.
"AHHHHHHH IT'S A RAID! COPS! RUN!" yelled the girl
"OH SHIT!" Terry and Dana said in union, as quickly as they could they left the restroom but once they were back in the club the two saw everyone running around frantically trying to get away from the cops who were raiding the club.
"THIS IS THE POLICE! ALL OF YOU ARE OUT PAST CURFEW! YOU'RE ALL UNDER ARREST! DO NOT RUN!" came a voice over a bull horn.
Due to the dramatic influx of criminal activity in the city, the Gotham PD had issued a curfew for Gotham's youth, and anyone under twenty three caught out after the curfew got arrested and anyone caught three times would have to go to court. Terry being 18 and fresh out of Juvie could not afford to be caught.
"COME ON THIS WAY!" shouted Terry grabbing Dana's hand and dragging her towards the kitchen, she resisted slightly, but stopped and followed along.
Back Alley
A few seconds later Terry and Dana were squeezing through his secret window and into the back alley of the club. They both started to run down the back alley of the club but Dana had to stop for a second and take off her heels.
Once her heels were off the two continued to run away but they ran away hand in hand.
Few Blocks Away
The two came to a stop a few blocks away from the club to catch their breath and while they were doing that they were also laughing.
"Just like old times right" said Terry laughing huffing and puffing a bit.
"What running from the cops?" she asked huffing and puffing as well.
"No….me and you together having fun."
"We're not together McGinnis…..we're simply going in the same direction" she retorted.
"Dana…..I…
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH! From around the corner a red convertible came speeding down the street. The convertible came to a sudden stop right in front of Terry and Dana and inside the the car was Nelson, Blade, and Max.
"There you guys are" said Max with relief in her voice " I told you they wouldn't get caught"
"Come on you guys…Cops are not too far away" said Blade. Dana glanced at Terry for a split second before quickly jumping into the convertible, but Terry stood in his spot.
"Come on Terry get in" Max urged. Terry stood still in his spot looking at Dana who was trying her best not to look at him.
"Nah….you guys go ahead…..I'll be fine" he said after a long minute.
"WHAT! McGINNIS GET THE DAMN CAR!"
"Max…I'll be fine…..Dana"
"Let's go Nelson, you heard him he'll be fine…..goodbye Terry" she said dismissively.
Upon command Nelson slammed his foot on the gas and the convertible sped off leaving Terry standing on the on sidewalk alone in the cold Neo-Gotham Night. He heaved a heavy sigh and pulled his jacket closer to his body trying to block out the brisk breeze. He then started to walk down the street with the intentions of heading back towards his Dad's house.
1 hour later
Terry stepped off the bus and started towards his Dad's house. Walking down a familiar path that led to the modest home, Terry couldn't help but roll his eyes.
'I bet as soon as I walk in he's gonna start yelling….Terry this….Disappointed that…God I hate him' Terry thought as he walked to the door and put his hand on the pad. The door swished open and he walked in but he immediately stopped in shock. The inside of the house was completely trashed and the words: HA HA in big neon green and red letters were littered throughout the entire living room area.
"No…DAD! DAD!" shouted Terry in horror running further into house. He ran through the house until he found his father's lifeless body on the floor in the kitchen.
"DAD! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
20 minutes later
Commissioner Barbara Gordon stepped into the McGinnis household with a somber look on her face. She saw the other police officers in the house doing their jobs of dusting for fingerprints or trying to find any clues as to who trashed the house, but it was pointless because the people responsible left their signature in big neon green and red.
'Jokerz' she thought venomously
"Commissioner" an officer called coming over to her
"What do you have for me?"
"Nothing…no fingerprints were left, but we obviously know who did it."
"Jokerz"
"Yes ma'am, but I'm confused though…home invasion isn't generally the Jokerz MO"
"Don't be so sure about that… expect anything when dealing with Jokerz." She replied.
"It was payback" came Terry's voice from the couch. He was sitting there with his arms folded and a deep scowl on his face. Commissioner Gordon turned to him and he turned to her both cathing the others eyes.
"It was payback for earlier when I saved that guys life." He said again.
"That guy you saved….his name is Sam Young….my husband….my name is Commissioner Barbara Gordon Young and I never got a chance to thank you for saving his life"
"You're welcome…but I guess no good deed goes unpunished huh."
"Listen Mr. McGinnis…" she started.
"Terry...my name is Terry" he corrected.
"Okay Terry, we will find the people responsible for your Father's murder"
"I'm sure you will because the Gotham PD is known for catching the Jokerz" he replied sarcastically.
"OH MY GOD TERRY!" came a voice. Terry looked up to see his mother Mary McGinnis run into the house, she briefly search for him with her eyes and then ran towards him and hugged him tightly. Mary McGinnis was about 5'6, with light red hair, blues, and fair skin . She had a slim build, and she looked to be in her mid thirties to late thirties.
"Are you alright" she asked looking him over
"Yeah I'm fine Mom…..but its Dad…..he's dead…they killed him." He told her solemnly
"WHAT!"
"Yeah"
"Mrs. McGinnis I'm Commissioner Gordon and we are doing everything in our power to find out who did this"
"Warren" Mary whispered to herself before her legs buckled and she collapsed into Terry's arms.
Three Days Later: Gotham Cemetery
"Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust" finished the priest as Warren McGinnis's casket was lowered into the ground. It was a small funeral and only a few people showed up, mostly people that Warren worked with and his family. Warren's wife Mary, and sons Terry and Matt McGinnis his youngest son. After watching them lower Warren into the ground the remaining members of the McGinnis family left the cemetery with the intentions of heading home.
Later: Mary McGinnis Apartment- Terry's room
Terry was sitting in his room on his bed holding a photo of him and his Dad fishing.
"Terry" his mother called out from the doorway. He turned his head and glanced at her over his shoulder.
"Yeah"
"How are you holding up?" she asked walking towards him and sitting down next him on the bed.
"I'm fine…you might want to talk to Matt he was feeling kinda sad"
"I already did"
"Oh"
"The two of you had so much fun that day….do you remember?" she asked pointing at the picture.
"Yeah I remember….almost as if it was yesterday….I'm a terrible person Mom….I said some pretty hurtful stuff to him."
"Shhh…..don't talk like that Terry, your Father knew you loved him"
"I don't think he did."
"Listen to me Terry…..your Father loved you and he never not once stopped believe in you….he always kept saying that this rough patch you're going through is a phase you'll grow out of, and he always told me that you were a good kid...who maybe needs a little discipline" she said rubbing his hair.
"Thanks Mom" Terry replied smiling slightly
"No problem sweetie" she said kissing him on the forehead, "Get some sleep you've had a long day"
"Okay"
Mary got up from the bed and left Terry's room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Later that Night: 1:30 am
Terry carefully slipped out of his Mom's apartment and into the hallway. He was wearing his street clothes and he had a determined look upon his face.
'The police aren't gonna find who killed my Dad…so I guess it's up to me' he thought to himself while heading to the elevator that would take him out of the apartment building
RING! RING! Went the sound of Max's cell phone; she groggily opened her eyes and reached for the phone. Max grabbed the ringing device and pressed send.
"What?" she mumbled.
"Max"
"Terry?"
"Yeah"
"Hey…..I'm sorry about your Dad." She said sitting up in her bed.
"Yeah….me too….I need some help Max and you're the only one I can trust."
"What do you need?"
"Jokerz….where can I find them?"
"…Why would you want to find those assholes Terry?"
"Because one of them knows who killed my Dad…..and I have to find out who did it"
"Terry…I'm you friend so I can not in good conscience give you information that might harm you"
"MAX PLEASE! I can take care of myself; you of all people should know that by now"
"I know you can…..but God I'm gonna regret this.…..look all I know is that the Jokerz are usually concentrated around the eastside of town…..more specifically around the abandoned fair grounds….from what I hear it's like Joker city"
"Thanks I owe you one"
"McGinnis"
"Yeah"
"Be careful….the Jokerz…..while you've been in Juvie they've stepped up their game….they are more violent and more prone to killing than beating people up like they used to do"
"Max I'm not afraid of those animals, if anything they should be afraid of me….bye" said Terry hanging up the phone.
"Bye" Max whispered before closing her cell phone and laying back down in her bed, "God if you're listening, please….keep him safe"
Abandoned Fair Grounds
Terry hopped the metal gate that was in front of the rundown and abandoned fair ground. The east part of Gotham was one of the most underdeveloped portions of the futuristic megalopolis that was Neo-Gotham. It had massive rundown and condemned buildings, dilapidated houses, homeless people, vagrants and finally it had the old fair grounds, which had been shut down due to low funds and several deaths years ago. It was the perfect place for a Jorkez hideout.
After hopping the gate, Terry wandered around the place looking for any sign of where the Jokerz might be.
'Where are they' he thought right before he heard the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle engine. Terry peeked around the corner of a beat up prize stand and saw about 5 Jokerz riding their motorcycles and laughing loudly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA" they all laughed. The Jokerz rode their bikes towards a funhouse and got off and went inside. Terry balling up his fist ran from his hiding spot and to the funhouse.
Inside the Funhouse
"HAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA, well that was fun…So what shall we do tonight my fellow hooligans" laughed one of the Jokerz as he laid down on a beat up old couch in the open area of the funhouse.
"I don't know if we should do anything tonight….. Terminal said we should lay low for awhile….something about a big plan he's got cooking up against the knightbreed" said another of the jokerz
"I'm sick of that punk Terminal calling all of the shots" another Joker snapped.
"Hey if you wanna do your own thing then go ahead….but I've heard stories about Terminal….they say he's as crazy as the original joker."
"Pffft please….I could take Terminal any day of the week"
While the Jokerz were talking amongst themselves Terry was looking at them and deciding on what he was gonna do.
'There's five of them…..I can take these clowns…no problem, thank God I learned Kickboxing when I did' he thought to himself while he standing up from his hiding spot and making his way down towards the five Jokerz.
"HEY WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" yelled one the Jokerz as they saw Terry walk into the funhouse.
"Doesn't matter who I am Dreg…all that matters is the information I need."
"Informa…Does this look the fucking library to you asshole"
"It looks like a place where lowlifes like yourselves come to hang out"
"Funny guy…..well now you've pissed me off, Jokerz let's show our new friend here how we handle intruders."
The two jokerz that were closest to Terry blindly charged at him. Terry stood his ground and waited, the first joker to reach him threw a punch but he ducked and responded with a hard uppercut. The second joker grabbed him by the shoulder; Terry elbowed him in the mouth and the flipped him over his shoulder. The other three jokerz grabbed seeing how he dealt with those two chose to grab whatever they could get their hands on and then rush at him. One of the jokerz who had a pipe in his hands tried to swing at Terry, but he missed because Terry took a step back avoiding the blow. Terry grabbed the Jokerz by his shirt and tossed him into a girl joker who had a knife in her hand and approaching him from the side. The last Joker had a chain that he was twirling around in his hands. He swung the chain at Terry, but Terry saw it coming and ducked, Terry then sprung forward with a hard punch that nailed the joker in the face knocking him down. Terry went over to the downed joker and grabbed him by the shirt and began to rain down blows on his face. Over and over Terry pounded on the Jokerz face, specifically the man's nose. On the last punch Terry could feel the broken cartilage so he grabbed it earn a shout of pain from his unfortunate victim.
"AHHHHH!"
"Are you ready to talk now Dreg" said Terry squeezing the man's broken nose.
"…s-s-srew you" he replied
Terry punched him the face and on the nose again.
"GAHHH!"
"Listen dreg….which one your friends murdered a man on West Avenue…Kingston housing complex three days ago?" Terry asked through clenched teeth.
"…s-s-crew y….." he didn't get a chance to finish because Terry punched him in the face again.
VROOOOOOM VROOOOOOOOMM!
Terry turned towards the Funhouse entrance because he heard more motorcycles pulling up outside.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA you've fucked up kid…..those would be my friends out there and once they find you….oh…they are gonna cut you up something fierce" said the Joker through bloody teeth.
"Shut up" replied Terry punching him again but this time knocking him out. Terry looked around the funhouse but didn't see another way out, but he did however see a boarded up window. Running towards the window, he kicked out the boards and tried to leave through the window, but just as he stuck his foot out of the window he heard the other Jokerz come in.
"WHAT THE HELL!" someone shouted as they saw their crew members on the ground.
Terry turned and saw that the Joker that had shouted was a guy dressed up like a scarecrow.
"GET HIM" he shouted.
'Shit' thought Terry jumping out of the window. The Jokerz ran towards the window and saw Terry running around the Funhouse.
"HE'S GOING AROUND AFTER HIM!"
Outside
'SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!' Terry thought as he ran around the funhouse and towards the entrance. He saw the parked Jokerz motorcycles, and he jumped onto the nearest one and started it up. He revved up the engine and zoomed towards the exit.
The jokerz ran out of the funhouse and saw him jump onto the motorcycle and take off.
"THAT ASSHOLE STOLE MY BIKE!" one of the Jokerz shouted but the others ignored his comment; they each jumped on their motorcycles and took off after Terry.
Terry weaved through the Neo-Gotham traffic trying his best to out run the Jokerz that were steadily gaining on him. Looking in the side mirror he counted about ten Jokerz hot on his trail laughing and yelling loudly. Terry applied more pressure to the gas and he pulled ahead of the Jokerz slightly but they were relentless and they continued to gain upon him. Two Jokerz pulled up along side of Terry and one had a chain. The joker with the chain raised it and tried to hit him, but Terry gripped the brakes and the two passed him. Terry suddenly took a hard left and made his motorcycle fly off highway and to the street below. The Jokerz followed suit but not all of them made the jump, three jokerz ended up crashing their bikes and tumbling along the road, but that didn't stop the other Jokerz it only made them double their efforts to catch the fleeing Terry.
Off Road
Terry was so busy trying to out run the Jokerz that he didn't notice that he had veered off the main roads and was now riding along a winding beaten up dirt path that was on the outskirts of Gotham. Looking in the side mirror again he saw the Jokerz were still on his tail. Turning his gaze back to the rode his eyes widened because standing there in the road was and old man who looked like he was in his eighties with a cane.
"SHIIIITTTTT!" yelled Terry swerving out of the way; the sudden swerve caused him to lose his balance and crash the motorcycle. Terry and the motorcycle skidded and tumbled across the ground, "Ow…..dammit" grumbled Terry and he slowly rose to his feet.
VROOOOOOOOOM! VROOOOOOM! Went the sound of the motorcycle engines as the Jokerz pulled up to the scene.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Dead End" Shouted one of the Jokerz looking at Terry. The jokerz got off their bikes and started towards the slowly rising Terry McGinnis.
"Leave him Alone" came a voice from the side. The jokerz turned and to the left and saw the old man with the cane.
"Hey I know you…..aren't you that rich old bastard Bruce Wayne" said a Joker pointing at him.
"Well Boys and girls it looks like tonight is our lucky night…not only do we get to teach pretty boy here a lesson; we got ourselves a rich hostage"
"HEY! You're your fight is with me leave the old guy out of this" said Terry running/limping to stand in front of Bruce, "Listen old man I got this…..get someplace safe"
Bruce merely looked at him and then turned his hard gaze back to the Jokerz.
"JOKERZ TIME TO GO TO WORK HAHAHAHA!" the leader shouted as he and the other Jokerz charged at the two.
Terry delivered a straight punch to the first joker right in his face sending him stumbling back. Another Joker came in from the left and went for Bruce, but Bruce stood his ground and when the joker came in close he swung his cane and hit him hard in the jaw sending him flying back. In tandem Bruce and Terry fended off the Jokerz attack. One joker tried to stab Bruce with a knife, but Bruce side stepped the strike and hit the joker in the arm with the cane making him drop the knife, Bruce then hit him in the stomach and then kneed him in the face sending the Joker to the ground. The leader of the small Jokerz gang was fighting Terry. He came in with a high strike but Terry blocked it and responded with a strong kick to the stomach he then grabbed his arm and then tossed him away. While Terry was fighting the leader another one was trying to sneak up on him. The joker was about to stab Terry in the back when she felt her arm being snag by a cane. She turned and looked at the cane and she saw Bruce holding it, and that bought Terry enough time to turn and kick her in the stomach sending her flying back and to the ground.
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" one of the downed Jokers shouted. The rest of the Jokerz got up and limped towards their bikes and got on.
"NEXT TIME!" they shouted before they all drove off leaving Bruce and Terry standing there.
"Whew….that was a close one….hey old man you got some moves" said Terry turning to face Bruce, but he saw Bruce hunched over grabbing his chest in pain.
"Hey old man are you alright?"
"N-N-o…..m-my…me-dicine….h-house" Bruce managed to say before he collapsed, but before he hit the ground Terry rushed over and caught him. He put one of Bruce's arms around his neck and started for the gate. Bruce weakly reached into his coat and pulled out a remote and pushed the single button; the large gates opened and immediately a black dog came rushing out and up to Terry barking loudly.
GRRRRRRRRRR BARK! GRRRRR BARK!
"DOWN MUTT!"
"ACE DOWN!" shouted Bruce. The dog hearing his master shout quickly stopped it's barking but it still growled at Terry.
"Nice dog"
"Not really" Bruce replied weakly. Terry with Bruce in tow started up the long and winding path to Wayne Manor.
Inside Wayne Manor
"Okay….uh….Mr. Wayne….have a seat" said Terry as he guided Bruce over to a chair in the massive living room.
"M-My….Medicine….t-table" he said pointing to table by the window. Terry went over to the table and saw a medicine bottle; he grabbed it and brought it over to Bruce. Bruce grabbed the bottle and opened it; pouring out two pills he quickly lifted them to his mouth and swallowed them. He leaned back in his chair closing his eyes and letting out a sigh of relief as the pain in his chest began to subside. Terry watched him for a long moment before rubbing the back of his neck.
"So…..uh….Thanks for the help dealing with the Jokerz….and uh…I guess I'll be going now" said Terry
"….." Bruce didn't reply, he still had his eyes close seemingly asleep.
"Right…see ya"
EEEEEEK EEEEEEEEEK!
"What the hell was that" Terry gasped looking all around. He had heard something like a bird squawking echoing throughout the Mansion. Following the squawking noise Terry found himself in front of an old Grandfather clock; looking at the clock he saw a bat was trapped inside in the face..
"Hey little guy are you trapped…." He said softy.
EEEEEEEEEEK EEEEEEEK
"Alright Alright…you better not bite me if I let you out" said Terry as he grabbed the face of the clock and pulled, but as he pulled he inadvertently hit a secret button. The clock suddenly slid backwards and lifted up revealing a set of stairs leading downwards and into a darkened cave.
"What the…." went Terry as he saw the stairs. He turned and looked behind him to see Bruce still sitting there with his eyes closed sleeping. Terry shrugged his shoulders and ventured down the stairs letting his curiosity get the better of him.
As he went down the stairs he noticed that it was getting darker and darker. Feeling along side of the wall as he walked deeper into the cavern he felt a lever towards the end of the stairs. Grasping the lever, he pulled it up and there was a spark of electricity and a few lights began to turn on in the cave.
"Whoa" said Terry as the lights began to illuminate the Bat cave. First it was the batmobile, then the bat computer, next it was all of the souvenirs that Bruce had collected and then the final lights illuminate a set of cases. Terry turned towards the staircase that led to the cases and he cautiously went up and to the cases.
Once he reached the top his eyes widened at what he saw. He saw the all of the bat suits. He started going down the line looking at each suit. He looked at the original Bat suit, the Batgirl suit, he looked at the Robin suit, the Red Robin suit, the Nightwing suit and finally his eyes landed on the most recent bat suit; the one with the blood red bat symbol on the chest.
"Schway" he whispered looking at all of the suits "Bruce Wayne….was Batman…..I gotta try one of these on" he said to himself attempting to open the case, but before he could open it he felt a someone grab his shoulder and sweep his feet from under him making him fall down hard.
"OOOMPH!" he grunted, he looked up to see an angry Bruce Wayne staring back at him.
"…Hey…"
"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE NOW!" shouted Bruce with an angry scowl on his face that suggested certain death if he didn't get out of the cave. Terry quickly got to his feet and ran down the stairs and then up the stairs that would take him out of the cave.
Outside
Terry made it outside and as soon as he had gone through the gates they slammed shut with a loud CLANG!
"YOU'RE WELCOME BY THE WAY!" Terry shouted "Freak" he added as he moved away from the gate. Terry went over to the bike that he rode to the Mansion, but he noticed that one of the tires was busted meaning that it was useless.
"Damn it" he growled in anger seeing the tire. Dropping the bike Terry heaved a heavy sigh. He knew that without the bike there was only one way he was getting home and that was by walking.
"Great" he said to himself as he pulled his jacket closer to his body and started the long walk home.
3 hours later
After walking through the downtown south area of Gotham Terry found himself standing at the corner waiting for the bus that would take him back towards his side of town.
"Where is the damn bus…its 5:30 am…it's late" he said pulling his jacket even closer trying his best shield himself from the cold wind 'God….what a night….and I'm still no closer to finding out who killed my Dad….that Joker didn't tell me anything….so I guess that means I'll have to find another one and get some answers out of that one... tonight' he as he sat down on the bench that was by the bus stop.
As Terry was sitting down on the bench he looked to his left and saw a black limo with the windows blacked out slowly pull up in front of him.
'The hell' he thought
The window rolled down and a brown skinned man with a missing left eye and a scar going down the same eye leaned out of the window.
"Mr. McGinnis I've been looking for you all night…..you and I need to talk"
"My mother told me to never talk to strangers" Terry quipped.
The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a high powered gun and aimed it Terry.
"Feel like talking now" said the man. Terry looked at the gun and let out a sigh of frustration, 'I just had one of the longest nights of my life….and now it looks like it's gonna be a long day too' he thought as he got up from the bench and went to the limo.
End Chapter. Read and Review. Hey people it's me again with the closing comments. Hey I'm sorry for the long delay it's just this chapter took me awhile to type and to write, this chapter went through so many revisions it not even funny, plus some real life stuff got in the way, but anyway I hope you readers out there enjoyed the latest chapter, drop me a review and tell me what you thought because next time things heat up even more for Terry, as he becomes Neo- Gotham's newest defender…..Batman…this is Nomad88 saying until next time…..
Ps: This is the third revised chapter and I hope I eliminated all of the mistakes that I made in the first go round.
Next Up: The Dark Knight Reborn pt 3
