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Batman soared across the dark Gotham sky on patrol engaged in his nightly duty of securing the crime infested streets of the dark city, but in reality his mind was a million miles away from the task at hand. Ever since he had departed Wayne's Manor, he couldn't stop replaying in his mind what had taken place between him and Maxine. Not only have the kiss been absolutely incredible and completely mind blowing, but it had resolved some of his conflicting feelings about their friendship. Before the had left, he had noticed an look in Max's eyes that he had never seen before, yet it completely turned him on. Her full lips were swollen and pink from their passionate kissing session, and her breathing had been shot and shallow as she was left breathless from the chemistry and sudden overwhelming desire rising between them. He had been in the middle of silently contemplating whether or not he should kiss her again, when his phone went off. His heart plummet in his stomach as he realized that Dana deserved more then his avoiding her calls, but after everything that had happened, he wasn't sure if he could find the right words to say to her.
While Terry knew that he was going to have to eventually deal with the aftermath of what happened, he could honestly said that he didn't have any regrets of what had happened with Max. The feeling he got being close and intimate with her was unlike anything he had ever experienced he still cared for girlfriend, he couldn't deny that he was feeling something different yet exciting for his best friend. Something that he couldn't wait to explore. As he headed toward downtown Gotham, Terry was rudely jerked out his pensive thoughts when his intercom buzzed softly in his ear followed seconds later by the sound of Bruce Wayne's voice.
"McGuiness? Are you there?" the old man demanded gruffly.
"Yeah, what's up?" the teenager responded clearing his throat softly.
"I just got off the phone with Commissioner Gordon. After I informed her of everything that has happened involving the missing doctor, she immediately sent detectives and the police over to her residence to see if they could find any leads. She just informed me that several of her boys found quite a grizzly scene over at the apartment," he started gravely.
"How bad was it?" Terry asked grimly.
"I'll let you judge for yourself. I'm sending the intel to your screen right now," Bruce informed.
Terry turned his attention towards the screen and seconds later, several documents began to pop up. As she studied the information he was receiving, he carefully began to read over the forensic report that had taken at the crime scene of the doctor's house where the hellish night had apparently begun. The corner had found two bodies, one who was killed with a gun shot wound to the chest, and the other who from several violent stab wounds. As he read the back ground information on the two murder victims, he was startled to find one of the victim's was an employee of Wayne's Corp while the other victim he vaguely recognized as a chronic drug user he busted a handful of times over the past year. As he continued to ponder over the information in front of him a frown began to form on his lips. Something didn't add up. Why would lucrative members of Wayne's Corp associating with an bottom feeding junkie?
"Was this all that the Commissioner was able to find out?" Terry pressed intrigued.
His response was a heavy sigh that came from the receiver.
"Unfortunately yes. The only lead we have so far is that the junkie that was killed and you have a mutual friend who might know exactly what his friend was mixed up in. I believe he goes by the street name of Rat," Bruce said wryly.
"Joey the snitch?" Terry exclaimed surprised," I find it hard to believe he is somehow wrapped up in this. His usual scene is street hustler and dope feign at the very worst. Murder isn't exactly his style."
"There is a chance that he may or may not be involve, but you won't have anything to lose by talking to him," Bruce pointed out, "I am currently having security tapes in my building of the doctor's lab and hopefully that would give me some clues as to who she had been talking to the past few days. Perhaps we can learn who knew about her project and wanted to kidnap her for it. Meanwhile, you should head out to the slums and have a chat with our little friend."
Terry immediately began to re plot his coordinates to head to the part of the city where Joey was known to frequent occasionally as his mind slowly began to wonder. The whole situation seemed to be getting a lot worse with each passing moment. Whatever the missing doctor had stumbled upon is enough to have some of the most notorious crime bosses willing to pay for the formula on the black market. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, the cold hard reality was that things weren't looking too good for the doctor. He knew that if he didn't manage to find the doctor soon, there was the grave possibility that she could already be dead. Shaking the grim thought from his head, Terry suddenly noticed that he had just arrived at his intended destination.
"Hey, Wayne. I am swooping down on our favorite informant as we speak. I'll call you once I manage to squeeze some information from him," Terry informed before shutting down the communication line.
As he ejected from the flying vehicle, Terry closed his eyes briefly as he secretly enjoyed the free fall down towards the roof he was aiming for. Seconds later, his heels gently hit the concrete pavement leading towards the roof door of the twenty story building that he was currently standing on top of. Grabbing his binoculars out of his utility belt, he gazed down at the street below and arched an eyebrow curiously as he noticed four suspicious looking men loitering near an Italian restaurant below. As he continued to watch closely, he noticed that Joey, the informant that he had been searching for, was pacing back and forth between the group of guys with an nervous expression on his face. Before Terry could pinpoint the source of Joey's discomfort, the informant broke away from the group of men, and began heading North into an alley with a sense of urgency in each step. Grinning darkly, Batman turned the invisibility notch on his belt before following closely in the shadows keeping an sharp eye on Joey weaved his way through dark alley's occasionally peeking over his shoulder to assure that he wasn't being followed.
After walking nearly two blocks, Joey finally stopped on a corner occupied with several women who were barely clothed and far too friendly. Batman frowned disgusted realizing what particular late night activity his informant was preparing to engage in when he noticed Joey handing two of the women several credits with an excited expression on his face. As the hookers began to fumble with Joey's belt bucket, Batman decided that it was time to break up the party. Making himself visible, the dark knight made his way into the alley causing a soft cry of surprise to escape the lips of one of the street walkers. Narrowing his eyes, he managed to look fierce and as intimidating as possible causing the girls to scatter abruptly, leaving Joey and Batman standing alone in the dark alley behind an shutdown Chinese restaurant.
"Jeez, Batman. You got to let somebody know when you are creepin' up on them. You nearly gave me a freakin' heart attack," Joey complained, his face completely pale as he clutched his chest tightly.
"Well the line of work you are isn't exactly for the faint of heart," Batman smirked as he closed the distance between him and the nervous informant.
Joey swallowed and smiled nervously.
"I don't know what you are talking about. Ever since I got out of the joint, I've been contributing as a well rounded member of society," he tried weakly.
Batman narrowed his eyes and laughed rudely.
"Don't bother trying to convince me that you are legit. I know for a fact that you still hang with slum. Now I need some information, and fortunately for me, you are going to tell me everything I want to know, dirt bag," Batman growled grabbing the thug by his collar and slamming him down hard against the concrete ground.
"Please don't hurt me," he pleaded frightened.
"I won't unless you make the wise decision to cooperate," he warned dangerously.
The informant swallowed nervously as he began to shake and tremble beneath Batman's dark glare.
"Listen, I want to help you out. I really do, but I can't keep being your snitch. If the wrong people learn that I've been running my mouth to the dark knight, the next time you come looking for me, I will be swimming with the fishes in the ocean," he hissed fearfully.
A part of the dark knight felt bad that he was putting the other man in a precarious position in order to get the information that he needed, but he knew that if he didn't bleed the snitch dry, he would fail to get any leads about the doctor's abduction. Thinking of the innocent faces of the little twin girls back at Wayne's Manor, Batman narrowed his eyes, strengthen his resolve, and tightened his grip on Joey's collar.
"Maybe after tonight, you might want to reconsider your career choices, now talk," he growled menacingly.
Joey gulped before nodding in compliance.
"The only thing I know is that a buddy of mine came to me a few days ago completely tweaked out of his mind. He swore to me that he witnessed my dealer Mitch get stabbed by some guy in a suit. He watched them put his body in some vehicle before speeding off. At the time, I thought my buddy was high and whacked out on something, but when I failed to get in contact with Mitch, I knew that something was wrong, so I started poking around in the streets to see if anyone had heard anything," he said faintly.
"What did you find out?" Batman interrogated.
"Several people told me they had seen Mitch yesterday morning alive and well. They said that he was ranting and raving and desperate to find this doctor broad, and that they were people experimenting on him. They said that he appeared to be high," Joey informed softly, "That's all I know."
Batman frowned confused. What he was hearing wasn't making any sense.
"If your friend said that he saw Mitch murdered, and other people believes they had seen him yesterday morning, how does that explain his time of death?" he mused aloud.
Joey shook his head confused.
"Hey, listen. I have no clue. I'm just repeating what I was told," he admitted defensively.
Joey had secretly hoped that his half hearted confession would get him on good terms with the dark hero, but he was horrified and dismayed when Batman reached out and grabbed him once again, rather abruptly, while glaring at him with an threatening look on his face.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he complained as Batman quickly began to bind his wrist together tightly.
"Waiting for Gotham finest to come and take you to what's going to be your home fore the next couple of months. Hopefully you will use your time incarcerated to chose a better way to spend the rest of your miserable little life," Batman advised amused before handcuffing the informant to the telephone pole and rushing off towards his Batmobile.
As Terry headed towards the roof, his head was beginning to cloud with doubt and worry. If he didn't find the doctor in time, he knew that he would lose track of a very important formula that could prove to be a major medical break through that could potentially cripple Wayne's company, but worse, two precious little girls could end up losing their mother, and he wasn't about to let that happen. As he soared through the sky towards the South side of Gotham, gritting his teeth in frustration, he silently made a a solemn promise to himself. As long as he had breath in his body, he was going to do everything in his power to protect his best friend and the two little girls at all cost. As far as t he doctor was concerned, Terry could only hope that he wasn't too late.
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Meanwhile across town at Maxine's apartment, the moody pink haired girl sat alone in her bedroom with her door closed stretched across her bed with a heavy heart inside of her chest. Earlier that day she had learned her parents had arrived in Gotham, and rather reluctantly, she had packed her things and took a cab from Wayne's Manor back across the city to the home she had previously occupied alone. Reuniting with her parents had been awkward and bitter sweet to say the least. The moment she had stepped foot inside of the house, her sister and parents had immediately rushed to her side while constantly asking her how she felt and inquiring endlessly if there was anything that they could do for her. If it hadn't been for her mother shooing her sister out of the apartment to go grab dinner, Max was certain that a blood vessel would have exploded in her head. If there was one thing that Max absolutely hated, it was being the center of attention. While she had once longed for her mom and dad's affections and undivided attention, at that particular moment, she didn't desire either from her parents. All she wished for was to be left alone and heal in peace and quiet in her own solitude.
After Max's father had finished drilling her over every injury she had sustained in the car accident, he had insisted on her getting some much needed rest before finally leaving. After he had had finally exited the bedroom, Max exhaled a deep sigh of relief. For the first time she had been home, she was finally getting her privacy and a little peace and quiet. As she made herself more comfortable in her bed, the pink haired girl's thoughts began to drift towards Terry. She had been secretly been hoping that Terry would call her while he was on patrol so that she could escape her uncomfortable home life situation, but so far her phone hadn't rung once. She knew that there were several reasons as to why she had yet to hear from him. Max realized that he was either too busy handling the crime infested streets of Gotham, or he was avoiding calling her due to the explosive kiss they had shared earlier.
Thinking about the intense moment that had taken place back at Wayne's Manor, caused Max's face to grow hot. The moment that he had kissed her had completely taken her by surprise. As she recalled their hot and sexually charged encounter, Max blush deepened as she recalled how she had practically melted when Terry's lips had captured hers. There had been something so hungry yet so tender about the kiss, that it made Max shudder slightly at the memory. While she could truthfully admit that she had once fantasized about being with the dark knight, she was only now realizing that the attraction she had for him also extended to the man beneath the mask, her best friend.
Before she could fully contemplate the full extent of her feelings for Terry and the consequences that came with those feelings, her thoughts were momentarily halted by the sound of a soft knock on her bedroom door. Placing her cell phone on her nightstand, Max sat up straight in her bed before expressing her permission for whoever was behind her door to enter the room. Seconds later, the door slowly opened and the pink haired girl felt a ghost of a smile spread across her lips as her mom crossed over the threshold of the room and walked in carrying a tray containing a bottle of water, her medication and thick turkey sandwich. Max couldn't help but smile as a overwhelming sense of nostalgia washed over her. She remembered her days as a young girl whenever she was sick and feeling down, her mother would bring her snack and sit with her in bed rubbing her hair soothingly in attempt to make her feel better. The moment quickly faded fast as Max realized that she wasn't genuinely happy at her parents abrupt return back into her life. She had learned to be sufficient and independent without them so long that, and now that they had resurfaced back into her life, she felt as if they was invading her space.
"Max, sweetie, is there anything else that you need?"
Her mother's gently voice abruptly jolted Maxine out of her deep pink haired girl shook her head appreciatively as her mom placed the tray on her nightstand.
"I'm fine, mom. Thanks for the snack," she said softly.
Her mother surprised her by smiling sadly and instantly Max became concerned.
"What's wrong?" she asked worried.
"When I heard that you were involved in a terrible accident, I almost lost my mind. I was so worried about you. When I heard that you were hurt but were going to make it it killed me inside that I wasn't able to be with you and comfort you sooner," she started quietly.
Her mother words made Max's heart twist in her chest, but her expression remained neutral. While she was touched and happy that her mom was expressing genuine concern over her well being, she couldn't help but still feel the bitterness and resentment that her parents absences had caused.
"I'm fine, mom. I'm just a little tired, that's all," she lied quickly.
Mrs. Gibbs smiled down at her youngest offspring sympathetically.
"I know, baby. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," she said quietly before placing a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead.
She was halfway out the door when she suddenly paused at the entrance of the bedroom.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that your friend Dana Tan stopped by. She's in the kitchen catching up with your sister. I told her that I had to come and check to see if you were up to having any visits," her mother informed.
At the mention of Dana's name, Max felt her chest tighten from guilt, but she quickly forced a smile.
"I'm okay. You can send her in," she said softly.
"Are you sure?" her mother asked warily.
Max nodded.
"I haven't seen any of my friends since the accident. I'm totally up for having visitors," she assured.
Appearing satisfied with Max's response, Mrs. Gibbs flashed her daughter one last warm smile before exiting the room. Minutes after her mother had disappeared from the room, Dana appeared at her door with a friendly smile on her pretty face, and a large stuff panda in her arms.
"Dana," Max exclaimed grinning as her dark haired friend leaned down and hugged her gently, "What are you doing here?"
"When my dad told me that he spoke to your dad and heard that your parents were back in town, I figured this was the best time to drop in on you and see how you were doing," she informed with a warm smile, "I'm glad to see that you are okay. Every since I heard about the accident, I have been so worried about you."
Max shifted slightly
"Chelsea is already planning a get well party for you. Zane said that it's suppose to be totally sway and the biggest event of the year," she informed with a sly smile.
Max smiled amused and shook her head.
"If you didn't notice, I'm not exactly in the condition to cut a rug," she said wryly.
Dana laughed softly before glancing at her phone. Reading the expression on her friend's face, Max she could tell that something was bothering the other girl.
"What's the matter?" Max asked gently.
Dana sighed troubled.
"I don't know if Terry said anything to you, but I can't help but notice that he has been acting pretty cold and distant lately. He hasn't been answering my phone calls and he's been dodging my texts. Things are really tense between us and I don't know if there is a way we can work through this," she said sadly.
Max felt a lump form in her throat as a wave of guilt wash over her. A part of her wanted to sympathize with Dana, but she felt like a hypocrite doing so when hours earlier she had been making o ut with Terry as if she didn't have a single care in the world. Max knew that if for one second she had allowed herself to think about Dana's feelings and her relationship with Terry, then she probably would hadn't got as physical as she did with her friend's boyfriend. Suddenly Max began to get a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She realize that when it came to her feelings for Terry, she couldn't explore a relationship with him while remaining friends with Dana. She knew that eventually she would have to chose between a relationship with Terry or her friendship with Dana, and while Max knew what the obvious choice was, she knew that her decision would be anything but easy.
Groaning she closed her eyes feeling the pending symptoms of a headache coming on. All she wanted to do was crawl under her covers, and hide until she had a chance to figure everything out, but Max knew that time wouldn't allow her the luxury to submit to her cowardice. She had to find a way to fix things, but she had no idea of how she was going to do that. Before she figure it out, Dana began to speak again.
"Did he say anything to you about us? Does it seem like he misses me?" she asked softly with morbid curiosity reflecting on the surface her of her dark almond shaped eyes.
Max swallowed deeply growing more and more uncomfortable with Dana's line of questioning with each passing moment.
"He didn't go completely in depth," Max started quickly," I just remembered mentioned something about it vaguely."
Dana still seemed more then a little distraught as she stared down at the pink hair, her attractive face filled with tension.
"Did it seem like he wanted to work things out, or did he look like he was completely over it?" she asked anxiously.
Max shifted in her twin size mattress feeling more then a little uncomfortable.
"I don't think it's my place to say," she started nervously.
Dana stared at her desperately with her thin lips trembling slightly.
"Please, Max. I really care about Terry and I don't want to lose him. I just really wish he would talk to me and tell me what he wants," she said quietly frustrated.
Max swallowed nervously.
"I'm pretty sure that he just have a lot on his mind. I think that if the two of you made time to sit down and seriously talk, then everything will be ok," Max assured quickly.
The raven haired beauty sighed heavily.
"I wish that Terry felt that he could talk to me the way that he talks to you," she said quietly, "I honestly think that if could trust me more that we could make things work."
Max inhaled sharply as she began to cave beneath the weight of her guilt. She couldn't do it anymore. Watching Dana in emotional distress was causing Max's heart to slowly break inside of her chest. She was slowly mustering up the courage to come clean to Dana about her feelings for Terry when fortunately her cell hone began to ring. Being nearest to the phone, Dana grabbed it off the night stand and went to head it to her pink haired friend when she caught a glimpse of the name that flashed across the screen and a look of surprise and hurt flashed across her face. Forcing a smile, she placed the phone into her friend's extended hand.
"It's Terry. I've been calling him for the past two days. I guess when it comes to you, his phone works just fine," she said bitterly.
Seeing the devastated on Dana's face, Max felt absolutely terrible.
"Dana, wait," Max started.
The Asian girl cut her off by shaking her head stubbornly trying to conceal her emotion as she headed towards the exit of Maxine's bedroom. As she rested her hand on the door know, she turned back towards her pink haired friend briefly with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Your mom told me that you needed your rest, and I promised her I wouldn't stay too long. I'll let myself out. I'm really glad that you are okay and I'll see you soon," she promised with a ghost of a smile of her lips as she headed towards the door.
She was almost through the exit with her hand on the bronze door know when she stopped suddenly, before facing Max. The look on her face revealed that she was hurt, angry and struggling to fight back tears.
"When you see him again, can you tell him that he has finally made it clear of what he really wants," she said barely above a whisper before disappearing out of the room closing the door softly behind her.