Chapter Ten:
Find Your Way
Max had insisted that Terry be the one to deliver Caitlyn her homework over the next few days. Apparently just because Barbara and Dick allowed their granddaughter to go out and about at night as Batgirl, did not mean they were ready to see her return to a completely normal life just yet. He knew this because on the third day after her return from the hospital, early in the morning when he stopped by to pick up her homework to take it to her teachers, he overheard a rather loud argument about the matter that made him stop in the process of getting ready to knock on the door.
"Look, just because you're able to handle being Batgirl again doesn't mean you're ready for everything else in life! The doctor said give at least a week or two before sending you back to school in case there's a relapse!" Came Barbara's impatient voice.
"But Nana!" Caitlyn sounded angry and upset. "Why is it? Huh? I'm feeling just fine! I don't give a bloody wart's nest about what the doctor said, I want to get back to school and live as normal of a life as I can!"
Terry had to refrain from bursting out laughing. Bloody wart's nest? She must be mad if that's all she could come up with.
"The only friends I've seen are Titania and Terry, and I've only gotten phone calls from Melody and Max!" Caitlyn continued. "I'm not gonna be locked up this whole time!"
"You will if you want to be able to do anything apart from work, young lady." Her grandfather had come in to the fray, tired of hearing the raised voices from down in the Command Center. "With you able to do the Batgirl duties at the very least, people won't suspect who you are. I've been paying attention to the media frenzy in Entertainment News. Max is doing a good job at keeping them off your trail as to who you really are, but this is a good chance to prove it by actually paying attention to the doctor's orders."
There came no reply, but Terry could sense the mutinous glaring. Then there was loud stomping, a pause, and the slamming of a bedroom door.
Terry decided it was safe to knock on the main entrance to the house now. A moment later, a very tired, and annoyed looking Dick answered.
"Ah, Terry. Here to pick up the homework? Here, she left it on the stand." Dick picked up the pile of notebooks and handed it to the young man.
"Having a rather eventful morning, Mr. Grayson?" Terry asked, seeing Caitlyn's closed bedroom door from his spot at the doorway.
"You could say that. She's not happy about the otherwise solitary confinement. I'm going to be sending Titania out today when she wakes, so no worries while you're in school, yes?"
Speak of the devil, thought Terry when the far door on the same side of the hall opened and out floated Titania, hovering a foot from the floor.
"I thought I'd wait until the storm passed." She explained with a wave at the elderly Terran's raised eyebrows in her direction, and Terry- whom she spotted afterwards.
"Well, I best be off." Terry waved, his arms full of books now.
So with one thing and another, Caitlyn was feeling rather mutinous towards her grandparents over the next few days. The only time she had available outside her home was as Batgirl, and since the rather exciting- at least for Gotham- events involving De'Ja Vu, things had been rather quiet. It was with a jolt of surprise that her grandmother told her at dinner Friday evening that she had to start packing for the trip to France.
"I'd completely forgotten!" Squealed Caitlyn as her grandmother put plates of pasta in front of them that evening at the dining table.
Titania poked at the food rather curiously, having never seen such a dinner- Garlic Chicken Alfredo with Rice Linguini and vegetables. She took a bite, then almost instantly began to scarf it, thinking with a giggle how her mother would scorn her for such behavior at the dinner table. She'd never tasted anything so delicious, and pasta instantly became one of her favorites.
Dick was strongly reminded of Starfire and her love of mustard. At least pasta was a little more versatile, and less nauseating. He learned to dislike mustard from being around Starfire for so long.
"You sure know how to cook, Mrs. Grayson!" Said Titania, already halfway through her meal. "I love this!"
"Thank you, Titania." Smiled Barbara as she took her seat.
"So, France..." Dick was smiling too as he spoke. "Your first out-of-country trip."
"What about it? It's not like I'm going there on vacation or anything." Replied a still moody Caitlyn.
Titania thought she knew what the two Terran adults were teasing Caitlyn about.
"Isn't it supposed to be one of the most romantic places on the Terran home world? I heard a lot about Paris during my researching of Earth." Titania spoke up, and Caitlyn had to turn slightly when she spat out some of her milk.
Caitlyn stared from her grandparents to Titania.
"If you guys are all suggesting what I think you're suggesting..." She began.
"Why not? It's obvious you have a thing for that guy. You could take a little down time after the mission before heading back-"
"NO. At least... not down time in the sense that you're obviously thinking." She finished her meal quietly then stood up.
"Oh by the way, Mr. Wayne called, he said he's chartering a Hover Ship for you so you won't be delayed in your time line. Still gonna take about half a day to get to Paris, but the private shuttle should cut back your time by several hours. Lines in the Shuttle Ports are nasty these days." Dick said.
"Thanks." Caitlyn grumbled, washing her dishes in a stormy sort of silence, grabbing a diet pepsi soda, then stalking back to her room, slamming her door shut in a way that told everyone she wanted to be left alone again. She was still in a bad mood with her grandparents for not letting her go back to school, even if it was on doctor's orders. She didn't come out of her room again until it was time to head out on patrol of Gotham, and even then she came out it her Batgirl suit already instead of waiting.
"I've made some adjustments to the suit," Dick said in the Command Center. "You'll be able to speak any language and understand it, so long as you're wearing the mask. You'll get to test it out in France. That doesn't mean you can skip out on French class at school though." He added. He knew Caitlyn had been taking French that year, at first out of her love of languages, but then after accepting the mission from Diana at the gala several weeks ago, she'd been paying even more attention than before, and when she hadn't been playing the role of Batgirl, or being with her friends, Caitlyn had been studying that particular class rather harder than usual. They both knew it would look foolish to her if she went to France for any length of time without actually knowing the language if she needed to spend some time in civilian form. Dick had just wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any confusion when she did make it to France.
"Nice." Batgirl, even in her bad mood, couldn't help but be impressed with her grandfather's apparent technological know-how with the suit.
They had broken out again. The reward being offered for this stuff was too much temptation, and the Jokerz and Princess Hart were all giddy about what they could do with those kinds of cash cards. So once the opportunity came for Princess Hart to slip past her guards when the door of her cell was opened for maintenance, she did so, the windows of Sharon and Sheryl's cells flying out from their frames with loud crashes and bangs, setting off the escapee alarms. The twins passed Knave's cell with her, and his window was pulled out as well by Harts' telekinetic power now that she was out of her own prison. Unlike some super powered people, her telekinesis wasn't linked to just one object or element, and even being in a room that prevented her from using her power, once she was out, it was like a powder keg had been let loose.
The laser proof glass hovered all around the group as they made their way out, rendering the security guard's laser weapons useless on them. Sharon and Sheryl grinned at the guards before Hart sent the lasers right back at the guards, who fell like flies struck with too much bug spray.
"C'mon..." Knave said. "We need to go to Mom's place first so I can restock..."
"The breakout occurred just after nine tonight." Oracle's voice was in both Batman and Batgirl's ears, even though the two were on opposite ends of the city. "Knave, Sharon and Sheryl, as well as Princess Hart have all disappeared since then."
"I'm gonna check their hide-outs... Batgirl, why don't you check in with Harley Quinn to make sure she's not playing host to her escaped kids?" Batman suggested at once.
"Sounds good." Batgirl replied with an unseen nod.
"I'll keep you guys informed if there's anything else that comes up." Oracle added before signing off for the moment.
Batgirl headed straight for a certain home that she knew rather well.
Sharon and Sheryl were smiling as they were in their brother's room, Hart standing guard on the house rooftop. Knave grabbed a fresh stock of his playing cards while his sisters took their laser whips, and just as they looked at their brother, a loud crash came from the door.
"I thought Hart was supposed to be on the lookout for any party crashers?" Knave glared at his sisters when the door came crashing open. "And where's momma at?"
"You got me." Shrugged the twins as Batgirl appeared before them when the cloaking device was deactivated.
"I thought you kids might run back home after breaking out." Batgirl said.
"Oh give up the act. Time Keeper told us all about you..." Sharon grinned.
"So Nana gives you a skin tight suit and you think you're Madam In Control of Everything..." Knave frowned.
"I wanna know who's hired you this time, and what you've been trying to steal every time you've been out and about." Batgirl ignored the jibe. She figured that Time Keeper had to have told them at some point who they were dealing with. But that didn't matter to her at this point.
Batman was looking through the windows of an abandoned building used by the Jokerz gang. It appeared to be empty, except for one of the leaders standing in front of the communications screen. He frowned as he reached out his index finger to listen in.
"So far you've been able to barely squeak by with what we need..." A man with a thick Russian accent was saying on the screen. Batman couldn't recognize him though, because the actual image of the man was blacked out so he would be nearly impossible to identify. "But I grow impatient."
"If you would give us more time..." The leader of this particular Jokerz gang said in alarm at the bite of impatience in his employer's voice.
"Having those kids under my employ can only get me so far. You'd better get me the remainder of my shopping list soon. Otherwise... Well... you know what happened to your predecessor." The shadowed man on the screen shrugged rather casually.
The Jokerz gang leader winced at the thought of whatever happened to his predecessor. Batman's eyes narrowed as he looked at the screen, wondering who on earth this mystery man was as the screen went completely black. Batman vanished from sight the moment the Jokerz leader turned around when he heard something behind him.
"International cooperation, huh?" Batman said, and the Jokerz gang leader stared wildly around.
"Oh you know, just getting a few allies to help pay for a few bills." Grinned the man.
"Right." Batman frowned, not buying that little tale at all.
The man pulled out three gray spheres the size of golf balls and started chucking them, one by one at Batman, who vanished from sight.
"Ok, Bats, you wanna play hide and go seek, huh?" Frowned the man, pulling out more of the bomb spheres.
Until Batman reappeared behind him, and slammed a black fist in to his face as he spun around.
"Now, you're gonna tell me who that was you were talking to." Batman grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt.
"N-No idea. He just contacts us. The most we've been able to figure out from him is the country he calls from... France." The man stammered.
Batman frowned. France,huh?
"I thought momma installed a security system to keep you guys out." Knave frowned, chucking at least four of his knifed playing cards at Batgirl, who ducked and rolled out in to the hallway.
Batgirl activated her cloaking device. She still felt a little slow to react, since the incident with De'Ja Vu all those days ago, and with the threat of her grandparents taking the suit away if she over taxed herself once while out and about until it was time for the trip to France, she wasn't about to take any unnecessary risks.
"We can't fire in our own house... Momma will get mad at us." Sharon frowned.
"Right... Come on, let's flesh her out and take it outside." Even Knave wasn't stupid enough to challenge Batgirl inside their own. Before he could think about anything else, he went flying in to the wall opposite where they were standing.
"Brother!" Both Sharon and Sheryl shouted as he fell limp and unconscious to the floor.
"You'd better talk, ladies. I'm tired of playing your little games here." Frowned Batgirl as they wins turned around.
"So... It all goes back to France..." Bruce frowned. Both Batman and Batgirl were in the cave with him.
"This trip is looking more and more interesting." Batgirl couldn't resist saying. "Normally those guys fight tooth and nail against us."
"Unless the guy who hired them just needed a bunch of standard criminals to hide his tracks..." Bruce commented, spinning around in his chair to look at the screen. Both Dick and Barbara were on the screens.
"We've been doing some research." Said Dick.
"And?" Prompted Batman.
"More than machinery has gone missing from both Gotham and France." Replied Barbara with a frown.
Princess Verity Aceline brushed some of her shoulder length, dark ebony hair behind her ears as a frown crossed her elegant face. Her baby blue eyes narrowed as she read the report on her computer touch screen. What had been going on in the last several months prompted her to call the aid of the Justice League, and a few other known icons in the world. And it was a matter that was personal to her, as it recently hit home in a very unpleasant manner.
Despite the fact that she wore a blue gown made of the finest French silk, and her wrist watch was of some of the most expensive diamonds and gold Francs could buy, the situation in her personal life was anything but glamorous and shiny.
In recent months, children started to vanish from parks and the front lawns of their homes. The world beyond France was unaware of this epidemic, but only because the French Royal Family asked the news and publicity seekers to keep it quiet until more could be done about it. The children that were going missing ranged from ages five to ten. Verity's own little brother, Arthur , had been kidnapped just a few weeks ago.
There was a knocking on her door.
"Who is it?" She asked, her blue eyes not leaving the report once.
"It's me, hon." Came her husband's voice. "I'm back from England."
"Come in." She replied.
A tall, dark skinned man in a black shirt, black slacks and boots entered. He had black hair and beetle black eyes. He held two china glasses of hot coffee.
"I came as soon as I heard what happened." He said, setting the glass down in front of her.
It was the first time she showed any reaction to her husband's untimely return. She ran some fingers through her hair, looking tired and forlorn at the loss of her little brother.
"Thank you, sweetie." She kissed him on his cheek.
He smiled in return.
"Honey, take a break. Get some sleep, the Justice League will be here in a few days, and Batgirl and Batman. They'll make sure whoever's doing this to our kids will pay." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned in to him. He frowned. Only to him would she show any signs of exhaustion or weariness. To the rest of the family and the world, she had to put on a strong front, as the next in line to the French Imperial Crown, she had to.
"I suppose zat you are right..." Sighed Verity as she put down the report. She had a strong French accent, as opposed to her husband who was half Russian.
"Come... I'll heat up a lavender oil bath for you, sweetheart." He said, leading her away from the table.
"Please? Can't I go? It'll be the last time for who knows how long that I'll be able to hang out with my friends!" Caitlyn was begging her grandmother in the kitchen, her cellphone in her hands as she gave her grandmother the begging puppy-dog eyes look. "There's no telling how long this business trip to France will be!"
Barbara looked down at her granddaughter with a raised eyebrow. Caitlyn was practically begging her to let her go to the dance club that evening with Melody, Max, and Titania. A girl's night out, of sorts. It had been Melody's idea, and Melody was still on the line. Barbara glanced over at her husband who was having a mug of coffee with his morning report on television. Dick shrugged as if saying 'why not?'
"Fine. So long as you behave yourself and don't over stress anything." Barbara finally caved in.
"Hey, I've been behaving just fine since you put me in to solitary after I got back from the hospital." Caitlyn pointed out as a chorus of 'yay' came from Melody over the phone. Conveniently forgetting to mention her fit that she threw when her grandparents refused to let her out earlier that week.
"We'll meet at five then!" Melody said when Caitlyn hurried from the kitchen to talk details about what they were going to be doing that night.
Dick glanced at his wife.
"Good to see her back to her old self again, yes?" Smiled Dick.
"Took her long enough to get there." Sighed Barbara. It had been the only reason she allowed Caitlyn to go. Nearly three months since her parents' murder and she was finally back to her old self. "It's amazing it's only been three months."
"She doesn't like people to see her as being weak." Grinned Titania, who couldn't help but over hear the conversation. When the two elderly terrans raised their eyebrows at her she smiled even broader. "I've gotten to know her rather well... and I've had a few dips in to that rather unique mind of hers." She added. To her surprise, Barbara and Dick didn't look pleased.
"You've read her mind, you mean? Listen, that kind of thing isn't tolerated on this world." Barbara snapped, suddenly stern. "If I ever hear that you've read my granddaughter's mind again without her knowledge, you'll be out of this house before you can even think it's unfair. Privacy is something us humans cherish, and you have invaded that... apparently not just one time." She snarled.
Even for a Princess like Kallichore, Barbara's wrath was not one to be incurred. And though the elderly Terran didn't have any powers to speak of, she earned the Princess' respect rather quickly.
"And as a result of you being under my household... I want you to watch over Gotham tonight while my granddaughter goes out for a last hurrah with her friends. That should teach you not to use your telepathy without permission." Barbara said.
Titania backed off for a moment with a shrug as if saying 'ok, you're the boss' to the woman.
"Nice way to take charge, hon." Dick was grinning at the television screen as Titania left to her room.
"Gotta put my foot down sometime." Barbara replied.
Half an hour later, Caitlyn came out of her room looking as though she'd just cheered for the football team that won the super bowl. She wore a sleeveless purple and lilac shirt, a blue jean jacket, and a purple skirt. Her hair was back in a pony tail.
"Going out in that?" Blinked Barbara.
"Mom and Dad never had any problems with this outfit." Caitlyn answered as she put on her flat-bottomed purple dress shoes- she never liked high heels these days in case a fight were to break out.
Barbara smiled.
"Don't forget your bag. You've got the suit packed, right?" Asked Dick as Caitlyn grabbed her nicer tote bag for the occasion.
"Yes, yes, no worries. Phone is charged and all that, so I'll call if anything even slightly out of the ordinary happens." Caitlyn pecked her grandparents on the cheek before heading out when there was a honking outside.
Caitlyn opened the door to see Melody and Max sitting in Melody's car waving at her.
"C'mon girl! One last hurrah before that business trip." Max called.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hey... What about Titania?" Caitlyn looked back when she was on the doorstep.
Titania was hovering in a forlorn sort of way in the hallway, only she hadn't dressed up as she, Max and Melody had done.
"Sorry, kiddo. Gengis the khan there put down a few rules for me. I'll be keeping check on things topside for you while you go out and have some fun." Winked the Princess in a nonchalant manner.
Caitlyn smiled before hurrying off to meet Max and Melody.
"Hey, glad your grandma let you out today." Max grinned as Melody started the hover car again.
"When did you get your license, Mel?" Asked Caitlyn, scooting in to the car and buckling herself in.
"Last week, I finally passed my test. I noticed you still haven't got yours... and how many times have you taken it?" Grinned Melody in response.
Caitlyn's face went red at the jibe.
"Well, you know I have a thing against big, flying vehicles." She retorted.
"That's why it's taken you five tries?" Max blinked, having wondered why Batgirl of all people didn't have herself a Bat-mobile yet.
"Hey, I never said I was the smart one." Caitlyn flicked some of her ebony hair behind her ears imperiously as they drove on. "And no one ever said I had to be perfect at everything." She technically had a fear of anything larger than a hover car. Which was part of why so far she'd managed to avoid going out of country too often.
They reached the dance club parking lot moments later.
"Come on." Max pulled Caitlyn from the car to join the crowd with Melody, waiting in the line to get in.
"Hopefully this time you'll be able to actually have some fun." Came Terry's voice from behind them.
"Terry!" The girls spun around.
"Oh, cutie's here to join us?" Melody said eying Terry rather shamelessly.
"Boss let you out for the night too?" Asked Caitlyn.
"You could say that. Last weekend before the business trip and all that." Shrugged Terry. "Mind if I join?"
"Not at all." Max said before Caitlyn could open her mouth to object, as she could see that was clearly on her mind at the moment.
"Come on guys, tonight, we are gonna own this party." Melody said once they got through the door after what felt like an eternity standing in line.
It felt like old times, with the music blaring and the lights flashing all over.
Caitlyn, Max and Melody were in the thick of it all- Caitlyn having long since discarded her jacket- and she and Melody weren't just randomly jumping around but breaking out with dance moves from their Cheerleading, catching the eyes of many of the boys in the club. Max wasn't having any trouble keeping up with them, surprised at this side of Caitlyn. She glanced over at Terry, who was attracting some attention himself with some of the other girls from their school.
"Looks like someone's getting an ego boost tonight." Max tapped Caitlyn on the shoulder.
"Hey, you know what they need? A wake up call." Melody pointed at the karaoke machine that most kids seemed too terrified to get near. "Come on Cate, you and I get up there and it'll really be like old times."
"What? Dancing is one thing... But I haven't done Karaoke in MONTHS... Can't we have a four month practice session first?" Caitlyn said.
"Nu-uh, girlfriend. It's time to teach those chicks who's really in charge here." Melody and Max dragged Caitlyn to the stage, and many people took notice of the trio of girls- Max with her dark skin and bubblegum pink hair and smartest person in the school, Melody, the tall blond cheerleader with baby blue eyes, and Caitlyn in her purple outfit with ebony hair and a former cheerleader team member.
"Here we go," Max paid for the song they were about ready to sing. It was a retro song, but still wildly popular among their age.
For a moment, Terry thought Caitlyn was about to get stage fright when the lights were focussed on the stage. Which he thought was ironic considering she used to be in the spotlight all the time when she was a cheerleader. The girls around him were somewhat curious as well, what song the pink haired one had chosen.
"Ready?" Max tossed the microphones to the other two. Then Caitlyn surprised her again, by once again taking the lead.
"Hit it!" She pointed at the D.J., who had wild turquoise blue hair in a mow-hawk.
"Gotcha, babes." He said, and at once a beat started blaring and the kids started dancing again when the trio started up.
The girls who had dragged Terry away were grinning.
"Who wants to bet the brunette's gonna mess up first?" Said a blond with pigtails when the main song started up.
"I've got it on cam corder..." Said a red-haired girl with green eyes that Terry had no problem recognizing. "This is gonna be good..." Smirked Kina Lenne as the three girls on the karaoke stage started singing the tune that Max selected for them.
"There's nothing left for this world to give,
When everyone's done all the taking.
When there's nothing left in this world to take,
Gotta start with the making.
The sun still rises, every single morning,
with the rain still falling,
After the clouds finish forming.
But when the sun goes down like this,
On the night of no return,
You've gotta give it all you've got,
Even with no reward.
There's just nothing in the world that's worth missing this,
No turning back now,
You've chosen to move forward.
There's no being a hero,
Not on the path I've chosen,
I don't look for the gratitude,
Having come from just being a zero.
On this matter especially, I'm not changing my attitude.
I never wanted to be this city's only hero.
There's no saving the day in this business,
No thanks being given or sought.
When you watch the sunrise every morning,
I remember that's why I fought.
You won't get away from me,
You cannot escape.
But when the sun goes down like this,
On the night of no return,
You've gotta give it all you've got,
Even with no reward.
There's just nothing in the world that's worth missing this,
No turning back now,
You've chosen to move forward.
I never asked to be a hero,
I don't look for gratitude.
You might not believe this,
But I just wanna rock right here tonight!
There's nothing left for this world to give,
When everyone's done all the taking.
When there's nothing left in this world to take,
Gotta start with the making.
The sun still rises, every single morning,
with the rain still falling,
After the clouds finish forming.
But when the sun goes down like this,
On the night of no return,
You've gotta give it all you've got,
Even with no reward.
There's just nothing in the world that's worth missing this,
No turning back now,
You've chosen to move forward.
I never asked to be a hero,
I don't look for gratitude.
You might not believe me now,
But I just wanna rock this world, right here tonight!"
With the final notes from the D.J., the crowd broke in to an unexpected applause.
"Not too shabby babes!" The D.J. said over the noise.
"I think someone earned a few more points in McGinnis' favor too." Max whispered in Caitlyn's ear, pointing at Terry, who had a grin on his face with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Not too bad of a send off, if you ask me." Came a voice as the three girls jumped off the stage to let another group do their best to trump the first karaoke singers of the night.
Caitlyn turned to see none other than Kina Lenne walking over. She had her brilliant red hair hanging loose tonight, and was wearing a green and black spaghetti strap knee length dress.
"What are you talking about?" Caitlyn asked as Max had to grab an arm to make sure her friend didn't start throwing punches.
"Oh come on, I was behind you in the line, overheard you talking about your business trip to France you're taking on behalf of Mr. Wayne. Going with McGinnis too, of all people." Kina's green eyes landed on Terry, who had spotted the possibility of trouble the moment Kina joined their group. Even though Melody had no clue what Kina was supposed to have done to incur Caitlyn's wrath, that didn't mean Caitlyn wasn't about to try something.
"What's your point?" Snarled Caitlyn when Terry had grabbed her free arm that she was looking like she was about to put in to use against Kina.
"Just saying be careful. France might be every couple's dream vacation hot spot, but there are things going on there that I wouldn't wish on anybody. Can't a former cheerleader teammate pass on a message of warning to another?" And Kina turned and walked away, joining her own group of friends.
"What was that all about? What's going on in France?" Asked Melody.
"No idea." Replied Caitlyn as Max let go of her once Kina was well away.
"So, karaoke huh?" Terry said to change the subject.
"It's stupid, I know. But Leia, Melody and I used to be really big on it back before Leia turned out to be a nut-cake." Caitlyn actually looked embarrassed in front of him as she brushed some hair behind her ears.
"Is there anything you can't do?" Asked Terry.
"Well, she can't drive." Grinned Melody before anyone could stop her.
"What?" Blinked Terry in surprise. "I thought you were waiting to turn eighteen to drive?"
"Nope, taken the test about five times and bombed every one." Replied Caitlyn. "I have this thing about things bigger than Melody's Hover Car."
Terry was staring at her in disbelief. He'd been wondering lately if she had any weaknesses at all. It looked like he accidentally stumbled on one.
"You're kidding? I thought you never failed any of your classes?" Blinked Terry.
"Since when have I ever led you to believe that I was completely invincible in everything I do? Nobody's perfect." Caitlyn said, not able to go in to detail about what she was saying with that comment due to Melody being there. But she figured he would get the gist of it.
"Ok, ok. So I guess you're not looking forward to that little business trip then?" Grinned Terry, thinking he finally had something to use as blackmail if he ever needed it. This was a far cry from the typical Caitlyn, who normally didn't want anyone to know her weaknesses or faults.
"Sorry ladies-" Said a group of girls who'd crowded over Terry earlier.
"You can't hog this fine young man to yourselves all night." And they pulled him away from the three and in to the crowd.
"Aren't you gonna do something?" Asked Max.
"He's not MY boyfriend." Caitlyn shrugged. "You two go have fun and blend, I'm gonna sit this one out." She said, walking away, feeling rather tired suddenly and remembering what her grandmother had pretty much ordered her to do, in regards to not pushing herself. "I guess I'm still not entirely one hundred yet." She added in an undertone to Max, who nodded in understanding. She found the table she'd set her bag and jacket at, and sat down, glad that the table was still empty.
She dug around in her bag and found what she was looking for. It looked like a simple piece of plastic as a slower song started up finally. She leaned against the wall of the window, glad to have a little corner of peace, at least for a little bit while she thought about things. After pressing a corner of the square plastic five inches wide and tall but only two millimeters thick, images started appearing on the screen. It was something she'd put together during some free time due to her being stuck in the house during the day time hours for the last couple of weeks, and it showed images of her parents that she'd gathered. While she didn't ever want to visit their grave site again, she didn't want to forget them.
"I nearly forgot... it's the three month anniversary, isn't it?" Terry had managed to get away from the girls by distracting them, when he saw that Caitlyn decided to go solo for a while. He was leaning over the booth chair to look at what she was so absorbed in.
"You could say that." She said, hastily shoving the disc back in to her bag.
"You know... you don't always have to be so tough." He decided to venture on the topic.
"What, and leave all the glory to you, Mr. Pointy Ears?" Grinned Caitlyn.
"Not what I meant." He took a seat at the opposite end of the table as a waitress came over. Once she had their orders, she went away without another word. "You know what it's like, what this kind of work is like. If I had my way, you wouldn't be involved."
"Here we go again-" Caitlyn leaned back in her seat, her arms crossed with a smile on her face.
"I'm serious, Cate." Terry said. "If it weren't for the fact that I know from experience how stubborn you are-"
"What? You'd lock me away so I wouldn't be able to follow in my grandmother and my mother's footsteps?" She asked.
"Something like that." Frowned Terry as the waitress came back with their drinks. "I know you've been getting training, and your grandparents are strict as it is right now."
"You don't know the half of it. Apart from work, I'm not even allowed out for school right now." Caitlyn said, looking and sounding rather bitter in spite of the music and vibrant lights around them.
"Only because they worry about you, and don't want you getting hurt, Cate." Sighed Terry. "They lost Claire and Jonathan... they don't wanna loose you too." And neither do I, he kept that thought to himself, thinking it wouldn't be smart to get her temper up again so soon. "You all went through hell that day. And the Jokerz and those other gangs are still after you-"
"Don't remind me." Frowned Caitlyn, taking a drink of her soda. In latter days, she would've blown up in his face and stormed off.
There was an awkward, tense silence between them. He knew she understood his feelings for him, but that didn't make these talks of theirs any easier. He could tell she still didn't fully trust him.
"What's really eating at you, Cate? You look like you've been frustrated about something for some time now." He asked, and grinned when she looked at him in surprise. "Come on, I'm smarter than I look. And I know you, Cate."
"People always seem like they know Batgirl because my mother and grandmother had been under the mask." She burst out finally. "But I'm a completely different person than my mother. And yet I feel like I don't know anything about her since I found out she never trusted me enough to tell me about the fact that she'd been Batgirl."
"Maybe it wasn't a lack of trust." Terry ventured. "Maybe it was because she didn't want that kind of lifestyle for her daughter. Maybe she wanted something better for your future?"
"Yeah, well, you can see where that went. And thanks to the Jokerz, I'll never know what she wanted." She sighed. "What about you? You mentioned before that you lost your old man to them long ago."
"Yeah," Terry looked at the table. At least they were talking, and not shouting. "Long story short, he's part of the reason I keep on working." He said as a group of kids walked by rather close. "Gotta make sure Mom and Matt keep that roof over their heads."
Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at him with that coded response. So at first, it had been all about revenge?
"You're certainly different than the old man." She said, referring to Bruce.
Max watched the two talking at the table, wondering what could be so serious. For once, though, she decided not to get in the way. Not when she saw Kina Lenne lurking around with a cam corder at hand recording the party.
"So... You think people have been judging you base on your predecessors' track records then?" Asked Terry.
Caitlyn didn't say anything, but at this point she didn't have to.
"I know the feeling." He said with a shrug.
"Seems like we have a lot in common after all." She said quietly.
"Why so surprised?" He asked with a smirk and she raised an eyebrow at him, to which he shrugged as if to say 'what?'
When it came time to head home that night, Caitlyn was yawning outside the club as she put on her jacket.
"And I've still got evening shift at work to do too." She grumbled to Max, who grinned.
"Mind if I take you home instead, Cate?" Terry asked, and Melody and Max looked at each other.
"Huh? Sure, why not." Caitlyn said distractedly, zipping up her jacket as the fall breeze whipped through the crowds of school teens going home after an evening of partying.
"Have fun, love birds." Melody cat-called, an evil glint in her blue eyes.
"Whatever." Caitlyn mumbled, shooting a glare at Melody and Max.
Instead of a regular hover car, it turned out Terry drove a motorcycle, which had Caitlyn impressed against her will to keep hating him. Terry tossed her an extra helmet, and she got on the bike behind him.
"Hang on." He warned her.
Kina, who'd been in the crowd departing from the dance club raised an eyebrow as a motorcycle went zipping by. There was no mistaking the outfits worn by the pair riding it. She had to remember to ask for a ride on that motorbike sometime.
Caitlyn had expected to have to get in to the Batgirl suit right after getting back home, but Barbara explained that Titania was doing the night shift that night for both her and Batman due to a little spat between the two of them that occurred while she had been out. It reminded Caitlyn that her grandmother could and would be strict to the bone when she needed to be.
"But, I am glad that you behaved yourself." Barbara said after Caitlyn's inquiry about Titania.
Mrs. McGinnis had stayed up that evening watching the news while she waited for her eldest son to get back home- Matt was having a slumber party at a friends' house that evening since his older brother got to go to the dance club.
"Hey mom, sorry I'm so late." Terry said.
"It's ok, Terry. There's dinner in the oven for you." She replied.
"Why is it so quiet?" Asked Terry when he realized that he wasn't having his ear talked off by his brother the moment he came through the door.
"Matt went to stay at a friend's place overnight. It's so nice to have a break once in a while." Mrs. McGinnis admitted, stretching her neck a little as Terry heated up his dinner. "So, you have everything packed for the trip?"
"Yes mom." Replied Terry as his mother began to reel off all the things that he had needed to pack for the stay in France. "Yes, yes, and yes-" He continued as his mother went on relentlessly on her check-list to make sure he was all packed. Even though she knew he could take care of himself by this point, that didn't stop Mrs. Mary McGinnis from worrying about basic things that might be forgotten halfway across the world... Like deodorant, for example. "You don't have to worry so much, mom." Said Terry after nearly choking on his dinner.
"Didn't you say Mr. Wayne had requested someone else go with you too?" She asked.
"Yeah, he wants the Commissioner's granddaughter to go with me." Shrugged Terry as though this was old news.
"You mean that nice friend of yours, Caitlyn?" Prompted Mrs. McGinnis.
Youthinkshe'snice?Thought Terry, also thinking that Mrs. McGinnis might not think she was quite so nice if she got to really know Caitlyn... More like a time bomb waiting for the right moment to go off, suited her more likely than not.
"Something like that." Terry scratched the back of his head.
"Well, at least it's not like you'll be completely on your own then." Mrs. McGinnis seemed reassured.
"Like you or Mr. Wayne would ever let me go solo." Terry grumbled. "Thanks for dinner, mom." He said as he finished his meal and made sure to put the dishes in the dishwasher.
Finally, the day of the trip came, and Bruce had decided to see them off at the HoverPort.
"You'll make sure to call us when you get there?" Barbara was saying to Caitlyn.
"Sure... If I haven't lost my lunch before then." Replied the younger woman.
"Oh please, don't be such a drama queen." Titania said, her hands on her hips.
"Awe... I wish I could go to France with you guys." Matt grumbled jealously.
"It's not a pleasure trip, twip." Terry ruffled his little brother's hair.
"Hey!" Matt swatted at Terry's hands wildly until Mrs. McGinnis grabbed the young boy by the collar of his shirt.
"Don't start anything, young man." Warned Mary.
"But he started it!" Whined Matt, jerking his finger at Terry.
Bruce stood slightly off to the side with a small smirk on his face.
"You will bring me something, won't you?" Matt whined at his brother.
"I'll think about it. Maybe I can find some fancy foreign coal to add to your stocking at Christmas this year." Terry grinned.
"Coal? But...But... MOM!" Matt pouted at his mother, who had to hide her smile.
"Don't worry, I'm sure your brother will think of something much better than coal to bring back to you." Mary said, and Matt blew Terry a raspberry.
"Ah, brotherly affection." Commented Bruce, having been reminded of some of the squabbles between the Titans when they were younger and he'd been around long enough to witness one. "Never a dull moment around those two." He added to Mrs. McGinnis, who sighed as if to say 'unfortunately.' "And here's the pilot." He said suddenly, and Caitlyn and Terry looked away from their families.
"You must be the two appointed by Mr. Wayne for this business trip?" Said the man, who looked to be in his fifties, with graying hair and a weathered look to his face. "I hear this is rather important for Wayne Enterprises." He looked at Bruce, who nodded.
"Yes. Since I'm not as spry as I used to be, I need to rely on others to help get the word out about my company and it's expansion in to foreign nations. If all goes well during this trip, there might be some raises in store for some key employees." Bruce answered, giving just enough to peek a few people's interests, while still being vague.
"Only problem with that, is I'm not getting paid for this trip." Caitlyn shrugged.
"Yes you are." Bruce smirked again. "Didn't you tell her there was going to be a benefit allowance?" He looked at Barbara, who to his surprise, was smiling.
"We wanted that to be a surprise." Said Barbara.
"Well, whenever you're ready, please feel free to board the Hover Ship." The pilot smiled. "Oh, and you can call me Glenn Brown, by the way."
"See you whenever we get back." Terry gave his mother a last hug, and Matt one last ruffling of the hair while Caitlyn hugged Dick and Barbara once more before following Terry and Glenn. She giggled as Matt was giving Terry a farewell raspberry behind his back.