Batgirl's long weekend

Right now in the McGinnis's apartment Terra was extremely busy packing a bluish black suitcase franticly. Her normally tidy closet was spewing garments in addition to whatnots all over the place. In fact her whole room looked like a tornado had just blown through it. Normally Terra was an incredibly neat as well as organized person, but it looked like today she didn't care. She was looking forward to a well deserved mini-vacation.

"Terra, honey? You okay, sweetheart? Do you need any help?" called her mom from the other room. Terra stuck her head out of her door and called back. "No, Mom. I'm doing alright. Though, if it's not too much trouble, could you make me a snack? All this last minute packing is making me awfully ravenous. And I'm on a tight schedule. So if you could make me a snack, I'd be very grateful."

Mary got up from lavender settee and smiled at her daughter. "Sure, hon. I can do that. Give me five minutes. You just finish packing, okay?"

"Thanks, Mom!" replied Terra joyfully. She paused for a minute to gaze at a silver heart shaped picture frame on her nightstand. She smiled widely and kissed it. It was of her and Danny in the park kissing under the full moon. It had been a very special day when her twin and his gal, had taken it. It was of her first date with this world's Danny. The four of them had had a Bat Twins free night, an extremely lucky break without a doubt, and so they took full advantage of it. So they had taken a nighttime stroll after taking a moonlight boat ride on the lake. It had been a very romantic and special evening. Just like the long weekend, that was upon them.

Hill High was closed for a rare, but well earned, three day weekend, for some school board conference. Therefore it was only natural that all of the students had made plans to celebrate their unexpected free time. Though for Terra her mini vacation had been planned even further ahead of time. For her it would be a dream come true weekend, for a few extremely special reasons.

Thanks to some of Gotham's elitist, Bruce Wayne included, Gotham was having a very special event happening this long weekend. A brand new luxury cruise liner had been built. It was called "Gotham's Siren" This weekend was its maiden voyage, and it was sure to be a smash, but not in the way the "Titanic" was. Getting tickets for this event had been nearly impossible. However, Terra had gotten a lucky break, and it wasn't because of Bruce this time, either. It was because of her boyfriend that she was about to embark on this magical moonlight dream boat.

Danny Tan was an incredibly talented young man in many ways. He was a genius with his saxophone, and he was an even better actor. His reputation precedes him well. So, yes, while it had been Bruce who'd submitted Danny's vid demo to the captain, whom was the son of an old friend of his, it was Danny's talent that had gotten him the chance of a lifetime. He was to be part of entertainment party. While most of the band and actors were famous and well-known, and had finish high school, Danny was one of the few who'd been offered an opportunity to shine. So he would play as part of the band, he even had a solo! And that was not the best part, even. The captain was so impressed by his vid demo that he'd also offered Danny another dream job. He was also gonna play the lead in the Shakespeare plays of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Terra could hardly wait to see him shine. It would be the first time she'd seen him perform since her reality's demise. And the best part of it? It would be three days free of being Batgirl! It hadn't been easy to get that accomplish. Seeing how Bruce hadn't ever taken a day off during his days as Batman. As he so elegantly put it "One night ALWAYS makes the difference." And yet she'd had manage it. Terry was not coming aboard. He'd not been able to get tickets. So he would at least for this weekend he'd be Gotham solo hero. Terra wasn't too worried about it. After all Terry had been able to manage a few weeks on his own before she had turned up. So she was very confident that he could hold down the fort for three days. Still just as a precaution she was taking her Batsuit with her.

She had just put it in her suitcase and was shutting it when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She jumped up and got tangled in her bed sheets and hit the floor face first. "Oww!"

"Terra! Terra! Are you alright?" her mom exclaimed concerningly, as she put the sandwich and drink on the nightstand. She helped Terra back to her feet and Terra chuckled embarrassingly.

"Sorry, Mom," she replied sheepishly as she blushed intensely, "You just scared me that all. I was so absorbed about this weekend I forget about the rest of the world for a moment."

"It's alright, honey. I'd be over the moon too if I was going on a cruise ship myself. I do hope you enjoy yourself. I do think, though, Terry might be a tiny bit jealous. Matt might not care as he's only nine, and still thinks girls and romance is icky. But I do think that Terry would've mind getting tickets to the cruise too."

Terra took a bite of her ham sandwich and thought for a moment. She then sighed. "I know he would've loved to come along with Dana. But, unfortunately, Danny was only allowed to bring one guest along. And Bruce wasn't able to get any more tickets, not that he didn't try."

"Well, Terra, I believe after everything you've been through lately, you deserve some time to yourself. So finish packing, dear. Mr. Wayne will be here in an hour to take you and Danny to the boat. So hurry up."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks for the sandwich!"

"Welcome, dear."

Terra quickly finished her snack and snapped her suitcase shut. She saw that her room was a mess, so she quickly cleaned it up; she had just finished putting her closet back together when she caught her reflection. Smiling she blew herself a kiss and declared loudly, "Man! I'm gonna be smoking and sexy tonight!"

Terra then heard someone chuckling. Whirling around with the grace of a ballerina she saw it was Terry. "What is so funny, bro? I mean I can expect Matt to be childish and make fun of me. I mean only yesterday did I catch him making a mess with my make-up. I didn't know he knew such vulgar words. I had to go buy more lipstick cause of him! So care to tell me what is so funny?"

Terry merely smiled at her and handed her a package wrapped up in dark blue and gold paper. She hesitated for a moment, and then she took it and ripped off the paper. It was a dark blue velvet box. Curiously she slowly opened it up and was shocked at what she saw. It was a gold and sapphire bat amulet.

She had been admiring it at the Gotham Mall for weeks now. But it had been way too expensive, even with Bruce paying them, it had been too much. In view of the fact, that Batman, and his friends had protected the city for so long, and with the new Bat Twins around, a lot of merchandise had sprung up. Furthermore every single one of it was selling like hotcakes. So she hadn't dreamed she'd ever been able to own this.

For a moment she touched her silver bat earrings. Her Danny had bought them to celebrate their anniversary; sadly it had been his last gift to her. She hadn't told anyone, not even her new Danny where she'd got them. She did know, while it might be a little suspicious to her secret identity, she did also know that, like with this new fandom for Bat Twins merchandise, that she was to some extent protected. Still it was very nice to have this necklace.

"Thank you, Terry. Could you please put it on me?" she asked kindly as she scooped up her hair. He smiled again and put it on her. It went so well with her outfit.

"You look heavenly, Terra. I hope you and Dan have a great weekend."

"I'm sure we'll have a great one. Are you sure you're not too sour about not coming along?"

"I admit it'd be the perfect weekend excursion from Gotham, and each and every one of these whack jobs and insane vermin of this city. It'd truly would been nothing short of fantastic to have nothing but the sun, moon, and the beautiful obsidian sea in front of you, for three glories days of romance and adventure. Although sadly I won't be on that dream ship, I do know Dana is crushed. But like you said Danny was only allowed to bring one guest. And I also do agree with Mom that you deserve a mini-vacation. So just have some fun this weekend, alright?"

Terra smiled amorously at her brother, then leapt into his arms and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Terry. You're one amazing brother. But I'm confident you'll be able to have a nice weekend yourself. I'm positive that you and Dana can find something to do."

"Oh, sure, Terra, I'm so positive that we'll find something as romantic as a sunset, moonlight cruise. Why don't we invite Blight or Inque, or even Mad Stan to the party?" he replied sarcastically.

"You do know, Ter, that I've never encountered Blight. If he did exist in my reality I'm positive I would've met him. However, given that my world was becoming extinct, I doubt he would've had enough free time to go on a crime spree. Shriek sounds like a piece of cake next to this walking meltdown you've fought. Pun intended."

"I'd have to agree with you. Sound boy was much easier to deal with then this glowing green skeleton. Though, I must say Inque is one tough cookie, also. That dame is one incredibly slippery lady."

"Yeah, she sure is," his sister concurred regretfully. She looked cheerless for a moment, and then continued on, "If it hadn't been for Bruce and that exo-suit we've both been dead. Though, it nearly killed him to rescues us. I get the inkling that you're right about him. That something happened to him that wasn't related to his health, or age, for hanging up the cape. But let's not talk shop this weekend, okay?"

"Okay, sis, no Bat Twins talk for this weekend. Just go and have a good time. Oh and just so you know I didn't get that necklace for you."

"Huh?"

"Well, I mean I picked it up for you, but it was Danny who paid for it. He's been making payments on it for three months now. He asked me to pick it up for him because he'd to get some last minute practice in before departing to "Gotham Siren" "explained Terry to his sister.

Terra held the amulet in her hand and had to smile. She was crying tears of elation. "He's an amazing and very talented young man. One of the many reasons I love him. Well, I better go; Bruce will be here in a couple of minutes. Do I look good in this dress?"

"I told you last time you wore it, if you weren't my sister I want to go out on a date with you. It suits you very well. And with your earrings and that necklace you really look sexy," he replied kindly while blushing some.

Terra hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. Then she grabbed her suitcase and waved goodbye. "Have a good weekend, Ter. I hope if any problems arise that you'll be able to handle them by yourself for three days."

Terry simply smiled and hugged her one last time. She then left and got into the limo that Bruce was waiting in. "Hello, Bruce. Hello, Ace! How are you today?" inquired Terra merrily as she slide into the backseat.

"We're fine, Terra, "replied Bruce in his usual hardened tone. He adjusted the rearview mirror and then cracked a small smile. "You look very pretty, Terra."

"Thanks, Bruce. We've got two hours to get to Danny's and then to the boat. It will depart at exactly sunset. And I don't want to miss it. So thanks again for agree to take us. You'll be around to pick us up, won't you?"

"If I'm not too busy with any Bat Twins business, then yes, I'll be there to pick you up. I do hope you brought your suit with you. You can never too be prepared."

"Yes, Bruce, I brought it. But I'm hoping for three days of not being Batgirl. I've been so busy being Batgirl I've not had time to be myself. Besides, you've got Terry for the weekend. I'm sure he can manage without me for three days. Stop here! Danny's home is just around the corner!"

The limo stopped outside the Tan's resident and standing outside was Danny. He looked so immaculate in addition to handsome. Terra felt she could just die of happiness! Danny hugged his cousin and waved goodbye. Once inside the limo she engaged him in a passionate kiss.

They're so lost in young love that Bruce flipped on the window between the back and front so they'd have some privacy. For a moment a loving smile etched its way onto his stony face. They were still kissing by the time they'd reached the docks. Bruce almost didn't want them to get out of the limo. But they couldn't be late for such an important date. It was their date with destiny and love. So he lowered the dark blue window and said "Um, you two lovebirds your ship awaits you."

"Oh! We're here already? Wow! Time sure flies when you've fun. Come on, Danny! We can't be late! See you Sunday, Bruce!" Terra said happily as she kissed his right cheek and swiftly left the limo.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Wayne. And thank you so much for getting me this chance. I'll be living my dreams for the next 72 hours. So thanks."

"You're very welcome, Daniel. I hope you've a great time. See you Sunday." Bruce replied swiftly to the handsome young man, as he watched the pair glide up the ramp to their ship of dreams. He stayed for awhile till at last the ship set sail just as sunset began. Once it was gliding away did he leave, and the first thing he did? Was called Terry to make sure he was doing his patrol.

Terra was in awe with everything around her. The city had spared no expense in creating this ship. The "Siren" was just as alluring and beautiful as its mythological counterparts in her mind. The soothing sweet perfumes of incense, to the large and vibrant exotic flowers, to just all the cultures mixed together in all of the décor. It was just so rosy and romantic.

She dashed swiftly to the starboard section and leaned on the silvery gray rail, underneath the tiny enchanting heart and roses shaped lights, they flashed from gold, to pink, to lavender. It was as if it embodied the soul of such a magnificent sunset. She was almost immediately joined by her boyfriend who was smiling widely.

"It's truly magical, the sunset, isn't it?" he commented dreamily to his attractive angel, she merely smiled back at him, her heavenly blue eyes transfixed up his attractive features. He smiled glowingly at her with his perfect teeth; he then fixed his almond shaped dark eyes back at the sunset which was almost now twilight. It would be in another few minutes, "I say God himself paints such lovely images. To remind us of the beauty and hope that resides within our hearts and souls. He granted us the sun as the biggest symbol of hope, and then he granted us the moon, to light our way into the dark night. I know there is no such thing as true perfect. But I say for moments like this one, it's as close to perfect as we're gonna get."

"I've to agree, Danny," Terra replied gleefully, as she placed her right hand over his. Sighing blissfully she turned her gaze back to the twilight show over the obsidian waters, "Of all the strange and wonderful things, of both man's creation and God's, only God himself can truly grant us these moments of pure magic. Furthermore, my love, I must confess, I've seen as well as done a lot of strange and beautiful things in my lifetime already, and I'm sure I'll encounter even more bizarre things in the coming years," she said out loud, but added silently in her head, "Particularly in my line of work as Batgirl,"

"Well, let's hope we both have a bright and hopefully future in store for us. Though, no-one should know what their future holds, we must shape it ourselves, in accordance of how we live," he remarked solemnly.

"You're an extraordinarily philosophical soul, Mr. Tan. I find that it only emphasis the reason I hired you for this weekend. Considering every other staff member on this ship is 21 or older," spoke a deep and soothing voice up from behind them.

The couple whirled around and saw the captain and his first mate. The captain looked so handsome in his snow white uniform trimmed in gold. His hair was the same golden orange of the departing sun, and his eyes were the same color as the gentle waves below him. Next to him was a most stunning and ravishing young woman with ivory skin and lengthy wavy sapphire hair.

Danny blushed crimson and respectfully bowed to the captain. "Thank you, sir, for such a rare honor as this. A chance to demonstrate and perfected my talents."

To their surprise the captain merely chuckled merrily. "You don't have to be so formal, Danny. And you may call me Jeremiah. Not even my lovely wife here, Marina, calls me Captain Dawson. So who is this lovely lady with you, Danny?"

"Cap…I mean Jeremiah is my lovely and beloved Terra McGinnis. It's because of her that I'm even here tonight."

"Actually, I just happen to work for Bruce Wayne part-time, Jeremiah. He donated a substantial amount of money, and heard you're short on entertainers. So I told him about how my boyfriend Danny here is a true genius with both music and acting," she explained while blushing.

"Well, I can't argue that, Terra. From the vid demo you sent in, I must admit that neither my husband nor I have ever seen someone so gifted at such a young age. I'm sure you'll make a lot of people very happy. How is Mr. Wayne holding up? He helped my father-in-law some years back, when he was hit with an embezzlement scam. I like to know how he's doing," Marina Dawson inquired benevolently.

"Bruce is holding up well. Thanks in part to me and my twin brother Terry; who unfortunately couldn't come aboard tonight. I strongly believe he's a little less lonely since me and my twin started working for him. Furthermore, I imagine Ace, his dog, is incredibly joyful to have some extra company too. So all in all I think the two of us have had a good influence on him."

"Well, that delightful to hear. Would you two care for a tour of the ship? We still have two hours before dinner is served. And of course at dinner, Danny, you'll be sending passengers to jazzy dreams of love and romance. Then after everyone had a little time to digest, we shall go to the theater and watch Macbeth." Marina said to the couple who agreed.

Both Jeremiah and his wife were such good hosts. So kind showing them around and treating everyone with a lot of respect, kindness and made the whole experience worthwhile. Unlike with the "Titanic' people weren't in stupid social orders. Everyone was free to go and do anything they pleased.

As soon as it was finally time for dinner Terra was once more in awe. She couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not. The dining room was so gigantic it made the Batcave seemed small. The whole room was mixed with both Persian carpets and gleaming polished floorboards. Up above them was three crystal chandeliers and the ceiling were painted with huge murals and the windows were made of stain glass. The tables had scented candles and white silk tablecloths.

Terra was guided to a table by Jeremiah and Marina which was right next to the stage. She knew Danny would've a chance to at least eat some dinner, which was to be served at exactly 8, and followed by him at 8:45 joining the band, and about 9:15 he'd have his solo, afterward at ten they go to the theater and enjoy the play. It would end about midnight. Then everyone would be off to bed. So it was very well thought out.

The night plans went on without any type of emergency or hitch. Terra felt maybe her wish to have a Batgirl free weekend might actually come true. She was truly happy for the first time since her reality's demise. She wasn't thinking about the pain, anguish and depression, nor the hard work and secrecies that came with it and her job as Batgirl.

On the third night when they're going back to Gotham she and Danny were once again gazing at the sunset. Knowing the full moon would rise in its place. For a moment Terra wanted to tell Danny the whole truth, but he wanted to talk about a few things himself.

They leaned against the rail and spread their arms wide to fly on the nightly breeze. Then they took a seat on a bench. Danny pulled out some photos that the one of the ship's photographers had taken of them. He had to smile at them. All of them were perfect and he especially like the photo of them kissing at twilight on the bow of the ship.

"This has been the best weekend of my life, Terra. For once in my life I feel I finally belong somewhere. You make me feel not lonely or an outsider. I'm so glad you came into my life. I've heard of true love and love at first sight, but I didn't really believe it till I met you."

"I think you've saved me too. I felt so alone and depressed I thought I'd die. Even with finding a new family, it hasn't been easy. I've lost both the parents I grew up with and my little sister, and its shocking that they weren't my blood family. And it saddens me to know that I won't ever know my blood father, and he shall not ever know he had a daughter. I've thrown myself into my job, you and school, just trying to keep busy so I would not have to feel the pain. I don't know if you could understand how I feel."

"Terra, I understand you complete. I've been uprooted so much that I never could've had a friend, or even a girlfriend. My mom's work for the government kept her busy, so she really didn't have a lot of time for me, and my dad is who knows where. I've not seen him since I was six."

"You really don't talk much about your family. If you've got something you want to get off your chest you can tell me. We don't make port for another three hours. So if you want to you can tell me all your secrets."

"Well, I can tell you that I've inherited a few talents from both my parents. My mom met my dad at a nightclub. He too was a good musician. He gave my saxophone when I was four. As for how my parents met? Well, I guess I better start at the beginning. My mom, Aleena Tan, was until the end of time interested in politic and government stuff. She was her high school class president. She for ever and a day had big dreams, dreams of making the world a better place for all of humanity, in uniting people and saving lives and such," Danny articulated as he took a sip from his drink and Terra took a sip of hers.

She was feeling funny. Despite the fact that she did know that this Danny Tan wasn't the same one she had lost, she also did know, he was very much like the one she'd lost too. It was hard to deal with all these new faces and people in this reality. And yet she'd be grateful and blessed to still have some form of her people in this reality too. So she'd too admit that this was the first time he really talked about his family. He'd told her a lot that it was ancient history and he didn't care to dwell on it. And yet she was happy she was finally getting to know him better.

Danny took one more sip of his magenta punch, then flipped his long hair out of his face, and carried on. "My mom had just walked into the club hoping to find a cup of coffee, while she prepared for a conference with two Kaznia diplomats. It was the sound of my father's sax that she fell in love with. Or I guess they thought they're in love. Both were physical attractive and it they seemed to have great chemistry. Nevertheless she was still a diplomat, and he was just a penniless instrumentalist, who'd barely mange to get bye. Still they got married and had me. I got my musical talent from dad, but from my mom I got my acting talent. She didn't read fairytales to me as a kid; she read my great works of literature. She was extremely well-educated. As a result instead of the "Three Little Pigs" I heard the stories of "Othello" and "Taming of the Shrew" So I soon memorized the books and I was naturally talented as an actor. Still my parents eventually divorced. I guess I was right when they seemed more in love with the idea of love, or that it just wasn't meant to be. But either way they went their separate ways. I've not heard from my father in a long time, and as I told you we moved so much due to my mom's work. That I finally told her I'd enough and I got to stay with my Uncle Darren"

"You're uncle is a good man, but a little harsh, and a teeny overprotective. I know my twin spent three months in juvi. But he's making admen's. Still I'm glad I've gotten to know you better."

"I love you, Terra McGinnis."

"And I love you Daniel Tan."

They kissed and soon arrived home. Both holding hands as Bruce drove them home. And he was pleased to report that things had remained uneventful while they'd been away.

For Terra is had been a dream come true.