I wasn't totally expecting using this song. This one is different from the rest of my usual stuff, but mostly because the song I chose is different from my usual stuff.
I fell in love with this song after falling in love with their other song ("Paralyzer"). This is the first time I'm going to openly advertise to DOWNLOAD this song. Please. It's depressing and enlightening, all at the same time.
Also, despite this songfic, I don't actually think Max should/would ever become Batgirl. Oracle's probably the closest she'd ever come. But this was the only way this song would ever fit, so I adapted. You'll most likely never see me write a Batgirl!Max fic, though. I'm not sure I'd be very good at it, anyway.
#3#
Title:
Rating: T.
Couple: Max/Terry
Song and Band: "Falling On" by Finger Eleven
Disclaimer: I don't own the song/band, and I most definitely don't own Batman Beyond.
4
Max grunted in pain as she pulled her body up to the metal bar she was hanging on to finish her tenth and final set of ten pull-ups. Her biceps and triceps felt as though they were aflame. She barely had the spare energy to lower herself and let her body collapse to the ground in a messy heap.
"You finish your pull-ups yet?" Terry asked from across the room, where he had been set up in front of the colossal Batcomputer for the past hour.
Max grunted again in response, letting her arms rest over her head while she lay on her back. When she finally managed to work up the extra energy, she gingerly peeled off her extra-large, green GCU Wrestling t-shirt. That left her in a black sports bra and a pair of matching green GCU Wrestling shorts.
"Good God," Max groaned, "I'm in pain. So much pain…"
Well, you
Feel so close to some resolve
You write the words that you're writing for
But your courage gets dissolved
Into what, I don't know…
"Stop whining," Terry said, barely glancing over at Max. He continued to type away at the computer, no doubt double-checking to make sure there were no break-ins or muggings or anything else illegal going on in the outside world. "You've got another hundred crunches left to go."
Max groaned yet again, bringing her knees up to her chest and clutching her legs with her battered arms. "Why do you insist on trying to kill me?" she asked him weakly, staring up at the stalactites that littered the ceiling above her.
"Because I respect you and know that you can do this," he informed her sternly, "Unlike Wayne, who neither respects you nor believe that you will be able to last a week as Batgirl."
Shaking her head, Max banged the back of her head against the hard cement underneath her a few times. "I hate you," she told him. "Did you know that, you reverse-psycho-analyzing son of a bitch?"
"And I know you only say that because you respect me, too."
When you feel that way again
You have to stop your thinking
Think of what you're here for
Let the rest of your feelings go…
Max punched the punching bag one, two, three more times before spinning to execute a perfect roundhouse kick. She continued to beat the bag mercilessly until she could no longer feel any of her limbs.
She finally fell against the punching bag, holding it to her stomach and letting her head rest against the cheap leather fabric. She slid down the punching bag, landing on hard on her ass and not actually caring. It wasn't like could she actually feel her lower half, anyway.
"I'm in excruciating pain in the majority of my limbs, the ones that aren't in excruciating pain I can't feel, and I just want to give up," Max thought aloud to herself, letting her back fall against the squishy blue pleather crap that covered the floor of the old school weight room.
"And the irony?" she continued on. "I have absolutely no doubts that I will become the next Batgirl, the old man and McGinnis be damned."
She glanced over at the punching bag with a well-placed glare. "Of course, I'll probably die first."
You've got to find your balance
You've got to realize
You've got to try to find what's right before you eyes, oh,
And if you've find you've fallen
And all your grace is gone
Just scream for me
And I'll be what you're fallin' on
Oh…
That perfect roundhouse kick? Yeah, Max was finding good use of it. In only an hour and a half, she had made use of the particular move about twelve times. Of course, it hadn't gotten old yet, but she had a feeling that the losers she was beating up might have had a problem with her repetition.
"You okay?" Batman asked from behind her. She didn't bother turning around to check that he was okay, too; it was Terry. He was always okay.
What she wasn't ready for was a second (fifth, to be technical- counting the three Terry was currently taking on) mugger with a broken lead pipe to come up behind her and to deliver a pretty brutal blow to the back of her mask-clad head.
"Batgirl!"
Well, you
Feel so close to some resolve
You say the things that you're standing for
But don't let your courage get dissolved
'Cuz it's then the fear grows
Max rubbed a tender spot on the back of her head as everything slowly came into view. She was lying on the medbay in the Batcave. The worst part was that she had no one to blame but herself. If she hadn't been so blind and stupid, she would've noticed the dreg coming up behind her.
"I know you're awake, and I know you're beating yourself up," Terry said from some deep recess in the cave. "You didn't see the jackass. It's not your fault he cold-cocked you without a second thought."
Gently pushing herself up on her elbows, Max shook her head. "I should've been paying attention. I should've kept an eye on the actual number of muggers we were taking on."
"Hey, if you're gonna say that, you'll have to blame me, too. I didn't really check out how many of them there were ahead of time, either."
Max snorted and swung her legs over the side of the medbay, so she was in a sitting position on the mock bed. "You may not have counted, but you and Wayne never would've let yourselves get knocked out by some low-life."
Terry walked over to her with a wry smile. "While that's true, it doesn't mean I haven't made mistakes before. Like just a year ago when I let Matt get kidnapped by Crazy Stalker Guy."
"He was Crazy Stalker Guy!" Max defended him. "He killed a dangerous black panther with his bare hands! I just got knocked out by some loser who was trying to gang rape a little old lady!"
You've got to find your balance
You've got to realize
You've got to try to find what's right before your eyes, oh,
And if you've find you've fallen,
And all your grace is gone
Just scream for me
And I'll be what you're falling on.
Oh…
In a true feat of irony, Max found herself in a fight with Ten from the Royal Flush Gang on top of the roof of an ancient jewelry exhibit that was being held at the Gotham City Museum of Fine Arts. Oh, not Terry's Ten (Melanie was apparently still staying on the good side and not stealing anymore), but the fact that she was fighting with the replacement at all was particularly amusing.
"Doesn't it bother you that you're ripping off someone else's look?" Max taunted, blocking several punches and kicks as she did. "And, I mean, let's face it. Melanie Walker filled out that costume a lot better than you scrawny body ever could."
Max made grimaced sympathetically behind her mask and delivered nice uppercut to the other girl's jaw. "Sorry to break it to you, girl, but you get any skinnier and you have the option of replacing Jack instead of Ten."
"Shut up, you bitch!" Fake Ten shouted. She lunged for Max, who easily dodged her. However, what she didn't notice was that she had been standing dangerously close to the ledge of the building. When she dodged Fake Ten, she lost her balance and tripped over the ledge, causing her to plummet off of the fifteen-story building.
Just give me the word and I'll be there
Just give me the words that I'm living for
Just tell me the things you might have felt before
It's do or die- this either or
For five terrifying seconds, Max's mind went blank. She couldn't think of anything she had learned from Terry or Wayne. She couldn't remember how to use the suit, or what to when freefalling several dozen stories- nothing.
But then the ever-faithful fight-or-flight instinct kicked in and she spun around, releasing a grapple from her wrist. It never actually caught on the thick, white cement that covered the museum. Instead, Max was suddenly jerked from her fall by another person. Batman had looped an arm around her waist and yanked her against his chest.
"What the hell?"
Just give me the word and I'll be there
Just give me the word and I'll be there
"For Chrissake's, Batman!" she shouted, turning on Terry once he had released her. They had landed on a building roof a few blocks away after she tried to get out of tight grip. "I was doing just fine on my own! I had the grapple out and everything!"
Batman looked around him in shock, like maybe he was stuck in a really bizarre and unexplainable crappy dream. "I'm sorry. I'm confused," he said, rubbing his temples tiredly. "Didn't I just save your life?"
"You may have saved my life, but I just as easily could've done it without your help!" Max snapped back. "If you don't let me do this on my own, I'm never going to be able to survive out here when I'm alone and you can't stop me from falling!"
"I'm your best friend!" Terry shouted back defensively. "I'm supposed to stop you from falling!"
You've got to find your balance
You have to realize
You've got to try to find what's right before your eyes,
"Stop trying to protect me!" Max told him frustratingly, throwing her hands up in the air and stepping so close they were toe-to-toe. "If I can't do this on my own, I don't deserve to wear this stupid mask! I don't deserve to be Batgirl!"
"Yeah, well, did you ever consider that maybe I didn't want you to be Batgirl?!" Terry finally erupted, glaring at his best friend. Although, after this particular revelation, it would most likely be wiser to say "ex-best friend."
Max stared up at him, her mouth agape. Terry immediately knew what he had said wrong, and shut his eyes. "Ma- Batgirl- I didn't mean it-"
"Oh, I know what you meant!" Max yelled at him, backing away from him. "I just can't believe I ever thought I could actually work with you!"
Oh,
And if you've find you've fallen
And all your grace is gone
Just scream for me
And I'll be what you're falling on.
A week had passed, and Max hadn't spoken a word to Terry. She was still Batgirl. She just didn't speak to Batman. Instead, she went through Wayne if she had anything important to relay.
And, once more, she was battling on top of a rooftop. This time it was some skanky chick who believed herself to be the next Catwoman. Yeah, Max had met the original at a local benefit to save endangered wild cats that the Wayne Company was holding (three guess as to why he chose to hold that benefit). The real Catwoman would never wear something as trashy as a black, leather, belly-bearing halter with matching ripped pants.
"You know, I've had to put up with three of you skank-cats in the passed five days," Max growled, dodging the masked woman's vicious four-inch spiked heel. "It's occurred to me. I think you gals need to be fixed."
Max was feeling a definite sense of déjà vu when Miss Skanky Kitty decided to try and deliver a fan kick to her chest. Max was just barely able to dodge the blow, but she wasn't able to miss the skank's cat, who had managed to slip behind her legs.
Because she never saw that friggin' cat, Max tripped over both it and the building's ledge. This caused her to, once again, plummet off of the building and into oblivion.
Max was about to send a grapple into the wall so she could easily save herself, but an evil little voice in the back of her head told her to continue to fall a few seconds longer, just to be sure…
And she did. She waited one, two, three, four, five… seconds. On the fifth second, she twisted her body to send out the grapple-
You've got to find your balance
You've got to realize
You've got to try to find what's right before your eyes, oh,
And was plucked out of the air by another person. Batman, to be precise. Max was barely able to contain her anger long enough for him to land them on a safe spot on another building a few places down.
"You supreme jackass," she announced as soon as he let her go. "I was going to save myself, but I waited, to make sure you weren't watching me. And you were watching me."
"Calm down," he told her. "I'm supposed to protect you."
"Surprise!" Max shouted. "I don't need you to constantly protect me!"
Terry snorted in disbelief. "I figured that much out from the last conversation," he shot back, "It's a shame you weren't listening to what I had to say."
And if you've find you've fallen
And all your grace is gone
Just scream for me
And I'll be what you're falling on,
Oh.
Max shook her head. "Do I even want to know what you're talking about?" she asked disgustedly. She really couldn't believe the nerve Terry had. Didn't he get that she would never be able to make it as Batgirl if he continued to undermine her at every turn?
Finally, Terry snapped. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. But instead of shaking her like Max had expected him to, he chose to press his mouth against hers, hard and forcefully. The kiss was raw and desperate and needy, and Max wasn't prepared for such an emotional tailspin.
Terry broke away from the kiss and, breathing hard, told her, "Max, you're my best friend. I don't give a damn if you don't want me to; I intend on catching you every time you fall."
4
Blecch. I absolutely ADORE this song, but the actual story… Eh. I'm kinda disappointed.
But, then again, I've been disappointed with my stuff and you guys have immediately rushed to assure me that it was kick ass. Which is probably why I still write these songfics. 'Cuz I love you guys. :)
NOTE: There will be a sequel to "What's My Last Name Again?". I know you guys have been asking. Kyoko gave me some helpful advice as far as songs go, and I think I've found a good one myself, but I'm afraid it's eerily similar to this song. Which bothers me.
So, I figure, I love you guys so much: Wanna lend a girl a hand and throw out a few suitable songs? I don't do rap or scream-o, and it'd be great if the lyrics somehow tied in with making some life-altering decision or change or… something. You guys understand.
-Thanks.