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Acethebatdog2039
Chapter 4: Return of the Joker
Nightmare (Post Return of the Joker)
All he could smell was paint
That white paint
How he hated that smell
Laughter
How he hated that high pitched laughter
Another sound pulled Bruce from his own nightmare
Ace pawed at his bedroom door
The dog turned and barked at him
Pulling himself out of his bed he opened the door for the dog
Ace barked as he ran down the hallway.
"Ace"
The dog pawed at what was Terry's door.
He barked again
Bruce opened the door
Ace ran over to the side of the bed.
The boy was lying on his side with one arm under his pillow
Balled up in his right hand was the bed sheet.
Terry moaned in his sleep
Ace rested his head on the side of the bed
"…Dad…" the boy moaned
"Oh, Terry"
Bruce sat down at the edge of the bed
It seems he wasn't the only one having nightmares
Bruce placed a hand on the back of the teen's neck
After a second Terry quiet down
Ace buried his face into Terry's shirt and mewed softly
Bruce figured he was needed here more than anything
Broken Glass (Post Return of the Joker)
Terry wanted to make sure the cases were repaired by the time Bruce got home from the hospital
It was hard to replace the glass but it took time.
He deiced to replace Tim's case last.
He wasn't sure if he should try to repair the Robin suit or leave Bruce to do it.
Taking a long look at the suit that Tim wore a long time ago
Terry sighed
The last piece of glass went into place, closing the case door he was finished.
He brushed some hair from his forehead and went to suit up.
Lawless (Terry's Past, 2037, Gotham City, Terry age 14)
"I was a pretty bad kid once. Ran with a rough crowd, broke a lot of laws and my folks' hearts."
"Come on Charlie!"
Terry hit the ground running.
He could hear the sirens behind them
"The kind of kid you wouldn't have wasted a second punch on."
He almost fell he was running so fast.
"Keep running T!"
Terry stopped when the police car blocked the alley opening.
"Your point?"
"Shit!"
The stopped as the police moved in.
"Stop!" one of them yelled.
"I'm trying to make up from past sins. The state said juvie wiped me clean, but my soul tells me different."
"Charlie?"
"Put your hands on your head!" The officer yelled.
"Just do what they say T."
"Every time I put on that suit, I help people who are in trouble. I guess on a personal level…"
The boys put their hands on their heads.
"Now get on your knees!"
"It's a chance to like a worthwhile human being again."
They did just that.
"Charlie? What are we going to do?" Terry wasn't sure.
"Let me take care of it, Tiny." His best friend said.
"In my eyes, if no one else's."
Because of that night, his life was never same.
"It's what I want Bruce."
Riding away from Wayne Manor Terry couldn't pull himself from the memoires of that night.
Connect (Post Return of the Joker)
They made small talk for a while.
But small talk wasn't something Bruce was good at
That's when Barbara picked up the conversation.
"How are the kids, Tim?"
A big smile appeared on his face
"Oh they are good. Kevin just finished his second year at Northwestern University."
"What is he studying at school?" Bruce heard through Barbara about the boy heading out to Northwestern.
"He wants to be a teacher for special needs kids."
Bruce nodded
"What about Michele?" Barbara handed Bruce a cup of coffee.
"She's a year a behind Terry in high school."
Tim looked away from them.
"Is he alright?"
Bruce looked over at Barbara, and then back at Tim.
"He's fine, Tim. Just some bruises on his neck. But, he'll be fine."
Tim nodded
Barbara touched his arm in comfort.
"You didn't do that to him Tim." She told him
He nodded again
"But, I'm a parent Barb, and I had something to do with hurting a child."
Bruce spoke up this time.
"Tim that wasn't you, that was a monster. A monster that never…"
When did this get so hard?
"It doesn't matter now, thank God for Terry, huh?" Tim said looking at them both.
Worthwhile (Post Return of the Joker)
It was late when Bruce came home from the hospital.
He sat in front of the computer waiting for Terry to come back.
He noticed that the cases were fixed, very thing but Tim's suit.
That he would do himself at a later date.
Turning on the com-link, he wanted to check on Terry.
"Terry?"
There was pause
"Hey Bruce, how's Tim?"
Always worried about someone else
"He's fine, Terry. He was more worried about you."
Terry chuckled
"Did you tell him I'm fine?"
"I did"
Terry's masked face came into view as he got into the car.
"I should be home soon; I want to check the docks before I come in."
Terry cut the feed.
A beep brought Bruce's attention
The blood tests he set up before the attack on cave we're done.
Opening the test results, his picture and Terry's were on the screen.
For once he was speechless.
He was a father
He was a father of adopted children but this was different.
This was blood…
His son
A/N: Awesome, another chapter done! Hope you all liked this! Now, I'm going to bed.
Ace