Incandescence - Pouring Rain
By Lebnaniya
Disclaimer
I do not claim any rights to the Batman Beyond series in the animated format or the comic books. All copyright material belong to their respectable owners. The following story is entirely fictional and pays tribute to the amazing characters developed by said owners. As a fan, I am writing this out of respect to the owners as well as to elaborate on this couple because I don't think the series gave Terry and Ten a proper relationship and ending.
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At first, they didn't want to get out of bed. When they both woke up, the events of last night almost happened again but eventually, Terry and Ten were forced to get out of bed. Ten waved goodbye as she left Terry's room as he was getting dressed for the day. She made her way quickly back to her room, the thoughts of what happened last night resonating in her memories.
Terry finally got completely dressed and he exited his room. It was hard to let Ten go. He wanted to repeat the events of last night this morning too, but they both had to tear themselves away and today was the day he had to speak to Bruce about what they were going to do next regarding the masquerade party. If Bruce was invited, Terry would be the one going in his place but he wasn't sure what roles Carter, Max and Ten would be playing.
As Terry entered the long corridor, he saw Bruce and Ace crossing his path ahead. "Wayne!" Terry yelled, as he ran up to his mentor. Undoubtedly, Bruce was heading towards the batcave.
"What it is?" Bruce sounded annoyed but Terry brushed that thought away. When was he not annoyed?
"I think it might be a good idea to have the others join me tomorrow night. Even Max."
Bruce huffed, as he turned his back on Terry and continued his way towards the living room.
"Hey! What's wrong?"
"You still don't get it do you kid?"
Terry couldn't help himself as he flinched when he heard Bruce call him a "kid." Even after all these years, that little nick-name still irritated the hell out of him and he knew Bruce called him that on purpose, knowing it's effect.
"What don't I get Wayne?"
Bruce stopped in his tracks, never missing a beat at the tone of Terry's voice. He turned his head around to look Terry in the eyes before he continued, "You're friends are useless and I don't want them going with you."
"What?"
"Stop acting like a child Terry. Grow up and learn how to do things by yourself!" Bruce knew he was being unreasonable. Wasn't it just last night when he welcomed Terry's friends, he had made up his mind to let them get involved and now he was shunning them out? Bad habits die hard and Bruce's stubborn attitude was getting the better of him.
"You know Wayne? I wish you'd make up your god-damn mind! First you give me the ultimatum about my family, and then you have me decide about what to do with my friends. Why can't you ever trust my judgment?"
Bruce ignored Terry. He had no answer. He thought he'd let go of the reins, give Terry the chance to be his own Dark Knight, but the constant worrying, the uncertainty and the uneasiness he felt regarding Terry's friends stopped him. But then again, wasn't that how he responded to all his old team members and the Justice League. Deep in his own thoughts, Wayne didn't realize until Terry said, "whatever," before storming off. Bruce had half the mind to call out to him but ignored that inclination. As Terry walked past the corridors and kitchen, he made his way to the back of the mansion and made his way to the backyard. In the simplest of descriptions, Wayne Manor's backyard was just shy of a small forest where Terry could calm himself down as he walked past many trees and streams that decorated the property.
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Opening her doors, Ten made her way out of her room and shut the doors behind her as she made her mind to search for Terry. Even though they just spent the night together, she had decided to do what she could to help him defeat the Assassins Guild and Havoc. As she made her way around the mansion, Ten was impressed with how big yet lonely the entire place felt. She could have sworn that she spent half an hour just walking around and she had yet to see anyone, even Carter and Max. She had half a mind to go back to their rooms and knock, to see if they were there when she realized that she was in the living room with the Grandfather's Clock that Terry used to get them into the batcave.
He might be down there...
Ten approached the clock apprehensively as she studied it for a while. She opened the glass door and after a few minutes, she figured it out and pulled the cord, hearing a click before jumping back a little as the secret passage opened before her.
Taking a deep breath, Ten stepped through as the door shut behind her. Finding her way down the stairs, Ten looked around as she made her way quietly and slowly down the gloomy stairs. As she made her way to the bottom of the stair-case, she raised her head up and saw the hundreds of bats sleeping on the ceiling of the cave. She gulped involuntarily, as she realized just how big and how many there were.
A cold breeze whizzed by Ten as she shivered. It's so dark. As she walked past the many antiques as she did last night, she realized that some of the outfits and costumes belonged to legendary villains that the original Batman had defeated during his time. As she made her way through the path, she noticed that the gigantic computer screen was on but nothing was on the screen and there was no one there on the chair facing the screen.
Ten heard a noise and instinctively turned around. No one was there. She heard another noise in front of her and whirled around, facing the computer screen again, still no one was there. This place gives me the creeps, Ten thought, as she realized she no longer felt comfortable in the batcave without Terry there. Abruptly, Ten turned around and stormed her way through the path she just came through, heading back towards the stairs. She would have made her way all the way back up if it wasn't for her mistake of not looking where she was going. As she was running, she looked over her shoulder one last time to see if there was anyone. No one.
That's when she bumped into something. Before falling backward, a firm hand gripped her arm, rather harshly too, and held her in place, preventing her from falling backward. Looking up, Ten realized that she had the worst of luck today.
Great! I just had to run into "him."
"What do you think you're doing here?" Bruce barked, obviously upset that Ten was in the batcave by herself.
"I was just looking for Terry," Ten said, as she tried to pull her arm away from Bruce. He only increased his hold on her. Although he was old, he sure as hell was still strong and so very intimidating.
"That's no excuse!" Bruce started to speak louder. He was upset that Terry would trust her to be down here all alone. Bruce glared at the girl as Ten stared right back at him. She had no excuses. She came down here looking for Terry and that was it. So what if he was upset? I have nothing to hide being down here.
Ten's eyes flashed before his as Bruce observed her every thought. His anger soon abated, as her resolve and eyes reminded him of Celina. He hated himself for that memory. He lost that love of his life so very long ago and never heard from her again. Now, history was repeating itself, at least in his opinion, as Ten and Terry tried to share a romance together.
"You had better leave Terry alone. It will never last between the two of you." With that said, Bruce let go of her arm as he began walking down the path she had just came from, leading to the computer screen.
Ten found herself losing her calm to that of raw emotion. How dare he? How dare he dictate to Terry or her how to live their lives just because he lived through that road before?
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ten shouted, as she followed him.
"What goes on between Terry and I is between us! You're not his father. Hell! Even if you were, it still wouldn't be any of your damn business!"
Bruce stopped in his tracks, but he didn't turn around; he was expecting this type of reaction. "Don't get all flustered over such a trivial thing kid. There are plenty of other guys out there."
Shocked, Ten spoke up, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, go find someone else. Terry can't afford to deal with this right now. He has to get his priorities straight and keep his mind cool. You'll only be in his way. You'll only make him MAKE MISTAKES," Bruce said, finally turning around.
He had expected her to rant on some speech about "love conquers all theory," but when he did turn to look at her, she was staring at the ground, her hands clenched and balled into fists as her body shook. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Ten had been raging with anger for this old man, but that all vanished in split seconds as she realized what he was saying. He was trying to protect Terry from a pain and loneliness that he assumed would follow with their relationship.
How sad. How very sad and tragic for him to be so lonely, that he would assume all lives lead the same path. How very tragic that he never got to experience what Terry and I shared.
Bruce was a little surprised, and it took A LOT to surprise him, but he was not expecting her to cry. Terry had defended her so many times and said how strong, loyal, smart and devoted she was, yet, here she was, this young girl, crying. Ten finally looked up, but her face showed no emotion. It was only when she spoke did Bruce realize how sincere she was.
"I'm sorry. I feel so sorry for you even though I know you don't care nor do you want my sympathy. Don't you know that I would do anything for Terry? I would fight, fight to the end even if it cost me my life. I love his laugh. I love his soul. I love the feeling he gives me when I know I'm his. I feel broken without him, even after all these years without him, something was always missing in my heart and I never realized it was because he was not by my side. I never felt right, only when I met him did I feel like I was whole…and you lost that, didn't you?"
Bruce glared, upset that somehow, she had managed to see beyond the mask. Beyond his facade that he was perfectly fine the way he was. Bruce found himself drawn and sympathizing with her but he would not let her see that. He remained ever cold and distant. Ten looked at him and for a second time, she startled him by smiling with the tears still flowing down her face.
"I'm sorry Mr. Wayne. I'm sorry you lost everything despite what you've done for this city. You've saved countless children's lives yet your life was never rescued. No one saved you from your despair. But I just want you to know, I'm sorry. I don't care what happens. All I want is Terry. Just Terry." And with that, Ten turned around and ran back up the path and the stairs, not wanting to let Bruce see her cry anymore.
As she ran up back the familiar path, Ten raised her arms as she wiped away the tears. Running harder, wanting to put as much distance as possible from her and Wayne, Ten made it past the stairs as she pushed her way through the clock. She ran through the living room towards the hallway that would take her to the front doors. Maybe if she had some fresh air she would feel better. Unfortunately, just as she passed the living room, she found herself bumping into someone, again.
Damn-it! Twice in one day?
Looking up to see who it was, Ten was startled to see it was Terry. Terry steadied her as she regained her footing after bumping into him.
"Ten? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"Nothing's wrong! I just..." but before she could find an excuse, everything that transpired between her and Bruce came flooding back into her memory. She did not want a world without Terry. She did not want to live in a world where he wasn't in it. Ten closed her eyes, tears clouding her eyes again but she would not let them fall. "I don't want it..." Ten said, as she moved forward, taking another step closer to Terry, their eyes locked together.
"What?" Terry asked, as he took another step closer to her, not understanding what she was saying, as he rubbed her arms up and down to reassure her that he was there.
"I DON'T WANT A WORLD WITHOUT YOU IN IT!" Ten said, as she threw her arms around Terry and buried herself into his chest. Shocked at how sad she was, Terry could only return the embrace as he stroked her head and lower back. He didn't understand why she was in this state, but he was also more madly in love with her than ever before. Her words were resonating in his mind, the true depth and meaning behind them only strengthening his resolve to be with her.
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When Max woke up, she got dressed and hopped onto the computer. She knew that today would be important; they would talk with Wayne about the plan and decide on everything that needed to be done. As she opened her door, she was a little surprised to see Ace sitting in front of her door. Great! He must think we're part of the family now cuz we've been livin' here for a night.
Max closed the door behind her before petting Ace's head as she made her way down the long corridor that she remembered from last night. She was hoping that it would take her back to the living room. At least there, she could probably run into someone from the group, preferably Terry.
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When Carter woke up, he made his way out into the hallway and recalled every step he made. He easily found the living room that they had been through where the secret passage to the batcave was. Deciding that he might as well take a look around, Carter soon found himself walking and exploring the depths of Wayne Manor. Whoever said it was ridiculous to get lost in a mansion never thought of Wayne Manor before. It was huge.
Carter walked through the long halls before he found another room that resembled the living room. It too, was furnished nicely and comfortably. He walked to the sofa and plopped down before he kicked his legs up and rested his feet on the coffee table.
If we're goin' to be livin' here for a while, might as well get comfortable.
Carter looked around before he found two remote controls. He picked one up and clicked the power button. The cabinets automatically moved around and a giant TV screen appeared. This brought a smile to his face. He then used the other remote to turn on the TV, however, even as he flipped through the channels, he couldn't help but smile to himself as he recalled seeing Ten and Terry in the gardens from the window. Apparently, Jack's little sister wasn't doin' well because she was leaning on Terry's arms as they walked together outside. Smirking, Carter continued to flip through the channels but this time, his concern was not on the couple outside, but on the mission. No doubt everyone would get together today, sometime today, and they would be discussing their next moves.
Carter knew that if he wanted to, he could easily crush Terry and Wayne within seconds. Now that he had that knowledge, if he chose to betray Terry, he could become a big shot within the Jokerz Gang. That's what the old man feared. Too bad Wayne didn't know him better. Carter eased back even more into the couch. He was upset. Pissed to be exact. He had been working so hard ever since he got out on probation and after trusting Terry, he thought things were great until Terry revealed his secret.
Carter closed his eyes. He wanted revenge but not on Terry. He wanted revenge on Batman, but not Terry. Those words rang through his head. No matter how mad he got, he didn't want Terry, his friend, to suffer. The idea of Terry living a double life was difficult enough, but to find out that Bruce Wayne was the original Batman, that was just as shocking as well. The old man was right though. He could easily manipulate or blackmail them to his liking, but Carter would never do it. It was a nice concept to know that he had the power to break Batman, but it was also a dangerous power that Carter did not want to have or use. For he knew, that he would never be able to bring himself to do it, especially after all the months that transpired between them. They were friends and even though Terry betrayed them by concealing his identity, Carter would not do anything to betray Terry.
Carter brought his hand up and weaved his fingers through his long jet black hair. Before, in high school, he had worn a wig. Now, he had grown his hair out to the same length of his old wig and then dyed his hair black. Although his look could be intimidating with the right amount of make-up and clothes, he noticed that he got many more looks from the girls with his new look. This new look...this was who he truly was. Everyone called him Carter, but no matter what, just like Terry, Terminal would always be a part of his identity.
Terminal blinked before he extended his hand and reached for the phone. He dialed a number that he knew by heart. After a couple of rings, the person picked up and answered.
"Hello?"
"Blade? How are you?"
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In the gardens, Terry and Ten were sitting under a tree on a bench with a small stream nearby. It was a cloudy day by midafternoon and it looked like it was going to rain, but that didn't stop Terry from bringing her outside.
After Ten had embraced him in the manor, Terry led her outside to the Garden. He could have sworn he saw Carter in one of the windows, but just as quickly, he disappeared and Terry assumed it was just his mind playing tricks. They had been walking for more than an hour, just roaming around the premises of Wayne's gardens when they finally found that little bench under the tree. They sat down together and Terry kissed the back of her hand before the both sat together in comfortable silence.
Finally, Ten spoke up. "Sorry about earlier. I was just insecure for a moment."
"What happened back there?"
"I ran into your boss."
"Wayne?"
Ten nodded her head. "He uh, didn't think we would make it Terry. He thinks you're making the same mistakes he did."
Terry laughed a little before he turned to stare at Ten straight in the eyes. "Well, the boss is wrong Ten. You and I are meant to be no matter what anyone else says. History does repeat itself, but there are also individuals out there who shape it. And I'm one of those people Ten. I will create my own destiny the way I want it. And you," Terry said, as he put his hand behind her neck and pulled her closer, "...are definitely in my future." And with that, Terry kissed her. After pulling from their kiss, the two breathed deeply. Terry was the first to talk. "I live by my own rules, Ten. Don't you forget that." And with an Evil Grin, Terry pushed Ten backwards, with him on top of her as he began to tickle her. Ten yelped but she began to laugh as Terry continued his assault. Outside, under the tree, it began to pour but the two didn't care. They began to tickle each other harder, Terry having the upper-hand, before the two finally got up and ran back towards the mansion.
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Additional Notes
So what do you guys think? Was it good? I hope you all liked it. Terry and Ten are having difficulties and Bruce isn't being any kinder. He's trying to keep Terry leveled and not worrying about his friends but he doesn't have to be so mean to Ten. Oh well, intimidation is one of Bruce's best qualities! Be here next time when I update because it's just getting good. And, just to let you know, the final chapters are going to be here sooner than you think!
