Hiya everyone. It's been a long time since I worked on my Bat of the Future fic. I decided to write an alternate ending to this fic because I decided I liked my girl and wanted to give her a more happy ending (and a lot of you were a little upset to see her go). So, here's an alternate ending.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Kari, and to an extent, the villains. Oh, and the doctor.
Title: Bat of the Future
Author: AnimeGirl 144
Chapter 20: Alternate Ending
The beeping sounds filled the room as machines worked endlessly to keep the patient they were hooked up to alive. Aside from the machines that were alive with beeps, the room was quiet and dark, but the latter was soon interrupted by the door swishing open, allowing light from the hallway to enter. First, a man in a white coat holding a clipboard entered the dark room, activating the lights with the clap of his hands.
Behind the man stepped a much older man in a crisply ironed black suit. The older man hurriedly scurried over to the side of the patient, a much younger girl with purple hair by his side within seconds of entering the room. A peach-skinned teen, just a little younger than the girl, entered and stood by her side. A boy wearing a red cape and a green-skinned boy walked in next, standing on the opposite side of the bed. All eyes, minus the one in the coat, were trained on the lone figure lying in the pure white bed sheets.
Kari Wayne.
While her guests were staring at her, wondering if she'd come out of her coma, the doctor went to checking her systems to make sure she'd be alive. A small smile graced the aging doctor's face after checking everything; she'd live. He felt a pair of eyes on him, and when he turned he saw the only girl awake in the room questioning him with her eyes. With a bemused smile, he nodded his head to the door. She followed him silently.
"How is she Dr. Suiksi?" Violet asked the minute the door closed.
"She'll live," Dr. Suiksi answered with a grin. "Had you not brought her when you did, I doubt we'd be having this conversation."
"When do you think she'll be conscious?" Violet asked, a smile on her face.
"Hard to tell. She's still badly wounded; not enough to kill her, but enough to keep her in her coma for some time," Dr. Suiksi answered.
"But she's already been in this coma for a week," Violet thought sadly. "Thank you doctor," Violet said with a kind smile. "At least knowing she'll be alive and well makes me feel better."
Dr. Suiksi nodded, "Don't worry, she will. You all may stay an hour more if you wish."
"Thank you doctor, but I've got something else to do," Violet said. "I've got a bone to pick."
The good doctor nodded a goodbye to her, turning and heading off to another patient. Violet watched him leave before looking back at the closing door. With a small sigh, she turned and headed down the hall.
Standing outside of the hospital was the Legion of Super Heroes leader and one of the founders, Cosmic Boy. He stood apprehensively in front of the building, unsure of whether to enter like everyone else was or to simply stay put. It was a battle he waged within himself for the last couple days. Taking a deep breath, he puffed up his chest and headed for the doors, but the minute he reached for the handle of the door, an image flashed through his eyes, and it made him freeze, his fingers just inches away from the handle. With a defeated sigh, the leader turned and headed back down the stairs, settling himself on one of the steps with his head in between his hands.
"What do you think you're doing out here, Cosmic Boy?" a voice demanded from behind him.
Cosmic lifted his head and turned over his shoulder, looking at the figure behind him. Shrinking Violet stared down at him with her fists on her hips. Upon seeing her he sent a small glare and turned away from her, resting his crossed arms on his knees.
"I don't want to hear it Vi," Cosmic shot back.
"Don't use that tone with me," Violet said, keeping her narrowed eyes on him. "At least I've gone in and seen her every day she's been in there. You only went in there once, and you barely stayed long."
Even though he had his back turned on her, she was able to tell that he was angry at her comment, but she wasn't going to back down.
"Why won't you go and see her? Dr. Suiksi says she'll live; that she'll be alright," Violet said. "So why won't you see her?"
"I can't Vi. I can't get past the doors," Cosmic said, still not looking at her. "I can't even get to the doors."
Violet, not being able to read his mind, huffed in frustration at his answer.
"That's totally ridiculous! You have to at least see her!" Violet continued, trying to convince Cosmic.
"I can't Vi," he replied crisply, sending a glare over his shoulder. "I just,... I can't."
Violet huffed angrily once more but didn't say a thing. She turned on her heel and headed back towards the hospital, still fuming over what Cosmic Boy had just said. Cosmic Boy listened, and looking over his shoulder, watched her leave. He sighed quietly to himself, feeling a bit ashamed at what had just taken place.
"You feeling okay?" a new voice asked from behind.
Cosmic looked over his shoulder once more, and saw the hero from the past walking towards him, a friendly yet concerned smile on his face. Cosmic didn't answer; instead, he turned and looked forward, away from the Man of Steel. Superman stopped a few feet from the leader.
"Cosmic Boy, are you alright? You've been sitting on these steps for a couple of days now. Why don't you head in? They've got some really comfortable chairs in there." It was Superman's attempt to lighten the mood that had settled around the leader.
"I can't enter that building," Cosmic answered. "Something's,... stopping me."
"Stopping you?" Superman echoed. "Doesn't sound like you to give into something in your way."
Cosmic's eyes averted away from the other hero, not sure how to answer to the Man of Steel's statement. Silence continued to befall them when Superman suddenly tensed, his super-hearing picking on something that was occurring on the 74th level of the building. Cosmic noticed the hero's sudden stiffness.
"What's wrong?" he asked, getting to his feet.
"Something's going on in Kari's room," Superman replied. "Give me a second, and I'll-" He cut himself off when he noticed that Cosmic Boy was no longer in front of him, but was already heading to the hospital's front doors.
Cosmic Boy flew through the hallway of the 74th floor. He had only stopped momentarily at the front desk to find what floor level and room Kari was in. When he discovered the information, he flew to the nearest elevator and used his powers to speed it up. Superman had barely made it into the elevator and was now following Cosmic to Kari's room. Both flew in, the door opening rapidly for them. Cosmic entered with a worried look on his face. The machines were beeping loudly, and Cosmic could hear Violet's and Dr. Suiksi's voice.
"Kari! You shouldn't be moving!"
"You're still hurting, my dear. You need to lie down."
Cosmic watched as Kari slowly sat up in her bed, relaying all her weight onto her arms. He could see them shaking badly, but she didn't give up, and they didn't give out. Her skin wasn't as pale as he last remembered; it looked like it was regaining its color. Dark circles were under her eyes, and she looked tired and worn. Her eyes were scanning everything around her, as if waiting for something that wasn't there. Then, to everyone's shock and worry, her arms gave out and she collapsed back into her bed, falling ungracefully into her sheets. Her eyes closed the exact moment she hit the bed. Dr. Suiksi began to fuss over the machines while Violet tried to check on her friend. It took minutes before the good doctor could calm down both the machines and Violet, who was now demanding to know what had just happened.
"She somehow came out of her coma," Dr. Suiksi began explaining. "But she moved too rapidly for the machines. Her blood pressure was erratic and her bones and joints haven't fully healed. Her body wasn't ready."
"She gave us quite a scare," Superman muttered to himself.
"Will she be alright?" Cosmic asked from his corner.
"Yes, she should be fine, just as long as she doesn't do that too soon," the good doctor answered.
The Legionnaires in the room looked at each other then at their injured teammate. She'd awaken again soon, they all knew. When, they were unsure.
"Cosmic Boy, it is good to see you here," Dr. Suiksi greeted, a warm smile on his face.
Attention was turned to Cosmic Boy, who flushed under their gaze. Violet raised an eyebrow at him, but smiled none-the-less. He closed his eyes and looked at them. He wasn't sure how to answer them, so he instead stayed quiet. His eyes were trained on Kari, who was sleeping peacefully. He decided she looked a lot better than she had when he last saw her.
"She'll be okay?" Cosmic asked.
"Yes. Let her have some more rest and she should wake up with most of her injuries healed. She won't be able to go on duty for a month or so, but she'll be able to hang around the Headquarters."
Knowing this information, knowing she'd be okay, he turned and left without a word.
Cosmic hadn't visited the hospital in two days, and had no plans of visiting. The other Legionnaires kept him updated on Kari's condition. Cham, Violet, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad tried their best to get Cosmic to visit the hospital, but he wouldn't budge. As Cosmic relaxed in the Rec. Room, the alarm sounded, making his head shoot straight to COMPUTO, where Brainy was already working on where the signal was coming from. Downtown New Gotham; Wayne Enterprise Shipping Yards. Cosmic gathered a small team consisting of himself, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Superman, and Bouncing Boy and led them out to the shipping yards. They arrived to find surviving Scavengers ("Grrh! Don't you guys ever give up!" Phantom Girl had growled in frustration). They shot into action, beginning the fight with the villains for trying to steal their friend's items.
As they were battling, one Scavenger was able to get the upper hand on Bouncing Boy, hitting him when he was in his bouncing ball state and making him revert back to normal. As he laid on the ground, a gun pointed at him, a mechanical device suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hit the gun in the Scavenger's hand, making the robber drop the gun. Bouncing Boy looked at the gun and noticed the black device with wide, disbelieved eyes.
"That's,... a batarang," he muttered to himself. "That's Batgirl's batarang."
Another batarang flew out from the shadows and hit the Scavenger in the head, knocking him to the ground. Bouncing Boy stood quickly and grabbed both batarangs, looking at them in surprise.
"She's here," was his thought before he said it out loud. "Guys! Batgirl's here!"
The Legionnaires looked at their teammate in surprise. Cosmic Boy smacked a metal beam at his Scavenger then landed by Bouncing Boy, looking at him in surprise. Bouncing Boy produced the evidence, making Cosmic's eyes widen in surprise and sudden worry. His eyes began to scan the area around him, but he couldn't find her anywhere in the shadows.
In a room hidden from the warehouse itself was a Scavenger going through the safe which, he hoped, held the money. As he was undoing the combination, a Batarang flew out and almost hit the Scavenger's hand, frightening him. He turned and saw Batgirl standing at the door, her cape covering her up completely.
"Step away from the safe," Batgirl warned.
"B-Batgirl? But I thought-"
"I won't ask this again," Batgirl cut off coldly. "Step away from the safe."
The Scavenger rose to his feet slowly, grabbing hold of his gun and pointing it at Batgirl.
"Not on your life."
He shot at her, thinking that she may still be hurt and slow enough to not dodge it. He was wrong. She jumped out of the way quickly and grabbed three shurikens from her pouch and threw them at him. One of the shurikens hit the gun, sending it out of the Scavenger's hand. The other two pinned the Scavenger into the wall. Batgirl then came up and punched him in the face, making him fall unconscious instantly. She stood before him before grimacing a little and holding her side. Ignoring the pain, she took out the shurikens, placed them away, then grabbed the Scavenger and roughly dragged him out of the room.
"Batgirl! What are you doing here?"
Upon hearing her name, Batgirl stopped and looked at who was calling her. Superman landed beside her, looking concerned.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine Superman," she answered. "And I rounded up the leader here."
"Yeah. We just took care of the rest of them," Superman commented.
"Kari!" Phantom Girl said, suddenly launching at her from nowhere and clinging to the girl in a hug. "How are you?"
"Batgirl," Saturn Girl said, hugging her as well. "It is good to see you. But what are you doing here?"
None of them had noticed the pained look on Batgirl's face. The girls eventually released themselves and listened to Batgirl's explanation of how she got her suit and how she got there. She hid her pain until a pain coming from her ribs made her release a small groan of pain and her hand instantly shooting up to her ribs. Cosmic noticed and touched her shoulder in worry.
"Batgirl... Kari, are you alright?" he asked.
"F-fine. My ribs are just bothering me," she answered, not looking at him.
Cosmic Boy looked at her ribs. Removing her hand, his eyes widened when he saw blood beginning to stain her outfit. Fear was in his eyes as he looked at her wound. Seeing his look, Batgirl placed her hand back on her wound.
"Did he-"
"No, he didn't hit me," she interrupted. "The wound probably opened itself."
"Let's get you to Headquarters'," Cosmic said. "We'll check up on you there."
Batgirl looked at her leader, studying him before nodding.
"At least it's not at the hospital," she thought to herself.
Her vision began to blur as the area around her spun, making her dizzy. Her vision was beginning to darken, and even she began to feel herself fall into unconsciousness. She could faintly hear Cosmic Boy giving out orders, but she couldn't focus on his voice. The pain, dizziness, and unconsciousness were overpowering her, and finally beat her. Her legs grew heavy and gave out, making her fall toward the ground.
"Batgirl!" Saturn Girl shouted.
She had hopped her shout would make Batgirl realize she was falling and correct her stance, but it didn't work, prompting Cosmic Boy to lunge out and grab her, shouting, "Kari!" He held her bridal style, noticing she was unconscious. She laid motionless in his arms, and the only indicator that she was alive was her chest moving up and down in a rhythmic pattern. Without saying a word, Cosmic flew into the sky, heading for HQ. The other Legionnaires waited for the Science Police before taking off with Batgirl's Batplane.
Kari felt dizzy and light-headed, but at least the pain was gone. That was the biggest problem. Slowly, she opened her eyes but they closed in protest at the bright light shining down. Once again, and much slower, she reopened her eyes. She immediately took in everything around her. She wasn't in that too white hospital room, but in a room filled with warm colors. It was easily identified as HQ's medbay.
"Great," she thought. "Never thought I'd see this place ever again."
Close her eyes and breathing deeply, she reopened them and tried to get her arms to pull her up off the bed. They were obeying slightly, but fighting her along the way. Pain shot up from her arms to her shoulders then to her spine, making her stop midway, but she didn't fall back on the bed. Biting her bottom lip, she withstood the pain and continued onward, finally sitting up, her arms supporting her. Closing her eyes, she took another steady breath, hearing the door slid open.
"I would tell you to knock that off and lie back down, but I know you'll just ignore me."
"Glad to see you're catching on."
Cosmic Boy shook his head with a sigh, doing his best to fight the smirk his lips wanted to form. He walked over to her side and propped up the pillow. Raising an eyebrow, she laid against the pillow. Cosmic took a step back and looked at her, seeing if he could find any damages on the skin that was revealing. She was still in her Batgirl costume, only minus the cape, cowl, boots, and the top of her bodysuit (they had to cut off the material from her belt up so that they could get take it off; in its place was a black spaghetti-strap shirt, something she wore underneath the suit).
"So, how long have I been out for?" Kari asked.
"After the fight with Jester? A week or so. Scavengers? Two hours," Cosmic responded.
"Two hours? Has the hospital freaked out?" Kari asked nonchalantly, looking herself over.
"Yes. While we were out they contacted us. Brainy had only intercepted the message and relayed it to us by the time we were halfway here," Cosmic said.
"Lazy doctors and nurses," Kari muttered. "Can't even keep an eye on their patients."
"In their defense, you're sneaky," Cosmic said.
"True. So, have you contacted Alfred?"
"Yes, just recently," Cosmic answered. "The hospital had contacted him before they contacted us, and after we were contacted, Alfred called. You're going to give him a heart attack one of these days."
"I know," she thought to herself. She turned her attention away from him and to the wall to her left.
"It's weird," she said suddenly.
"What is?"
"It's weird to be alive, when I thought I was dead," she commented. "Maybe it's the Batgirl in me that refuses to die."
"Or maybe it's in the Kari in you that refused to die," Cosmic commented.
Kari looked over at him with a very small smile on her face.
"Corny," she said. "Sweet, but corny."
A small sided smirk appeared on his face as he shrugged a little.
"So, when am I going back on duty?" she asked.
"Not until we're sure you'll be fine. Brainy averages a week or so," Cosmic said.
"So, next mission then," she thought to herself. A sudden sharp pain made her wince. "Okay. Make that a day."
"Will you continue to be Batgirl?" Cosmic asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"What?" she asked, looking at him.
"Now that you've,... taken your revenge on Jester, will you discontinue being Batgirl?" Cosmic asked.
"I may have taken my revenge on Jester, but I've made a promise to the Legion, New Gotham, and Earth. I won't stop until I'm dead, so to answer your question, no," Kari answered. "Besides, I've been meaning to design a Bat-Hover bike."
A relieved smile appeared on the leader's face, but he hid it as quickly as it came.
"As fun as that sounds, you need to rest. Alfred will be here soon," Cosmic said, turning towards the door.
"Yeah yeah," she said, waving him off.
Cosmic smiled a little before leaving the room. Kari watched him leave before sighing to herself and leaning into her pillow with a content smile on her face.
"I may not be vengeance. I may not be the knight. But...
I am the Legionnaire Batgirl."
Me: And, once again, done! I hope it wasn't too bad; it's been nearly two years since I worked on this fanfic. I had originally planned to not kill off Kari, but decided to since the other plan for her was a dud (I had planned to have her to meet descendents of the original Justice League (this included a Superman offspring) but decided against it cause I realized it would take focus off the Legion). So, hopefully this wasn't too bad. Until next time! - AnimeGirl 144.