Chapter 2

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"As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a hell from which we cannot escape."
-John Lancaster Spalding

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The gunshots were still echoing in his head when he woke up. Bruce clamped his eyes shut and waited until the reverberating noise died down to a whisper. It was almost like a calling, a constant reminder of his failings that he could not let go. To him, healing, like most luxuries of the soul, was too high a price for him to pay. Healing would involve letting go of his pain and his life's mission, and Bruce had resolved to let nothing interfere with keeping Gotham safe long ago.

He had broken that promise to himself. Three times to be exact. He should've known better after the first time; in fact, he never should've broken his promise. It showed that he had a weakness and one's fragility is always exploited and twisted to cause grief. His philosophy had never forsaken him, but he failed his perfect life standards three times and was not willing to be burned again.

Terry would be back soon. Bruce briefly considered the boy he was determined not to allow to become his forth Achilles heel. While Terry was brash, foolish, and rebellious, he also had the skills and shared the mission. A mission that had once been more of a dream shared with three other people, leaving three puckered scars on Bruce's soul.

The kid had spirit, it had his idea to become Batman. Terry stole the suit without Bruce condoning it - there was no way that Bruce could've twisted Terry's will. Terry wanted it, not Bruce, but Bruce couldn't bring himself to examine their arrangement too closely in case he could no longer tell when he was manipulating someone.

Bruce didn't have time for self doubt or pity. Locking his insecurities in the back of his mind, he concentrated on Batman's random good deed of the evening. After stopping two muggings, one robbery and a bomber, Terry still found time to return a child to his home. Maybe Terry understood the role of Batman after all.

While screeching tires no longer announced the entrance of the Batmobile, Bruce still could hear it's approach. It had been a late night for Batman and Terry had missed his time with his brother. Alfred would've given Bruce one of his looks for letting duty come before family, but he wouldn't have said anything. He never had verbally lectured Bruce when it came to protecting Gotham, but he was always there to keep Bruce in line. Alfred would've wanted Bruce to give Terry a night off, as long as there were no psychos out. But Alfred wasn't here and Terry would soon have to learn the sacrifices Batman had to make, and that included spending time with ten year old brothers.

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Somewhere between the car and the command center, Terry remembered he was going to be facing the man who had defeated such criminals as Bane, Killer Croc and the Joker with only his wits, some Batarangs, and a Kevlar suit. He couldn't remember a time when he was more desperate for an army of androids to come after him because of a bounty on his head. Of course, Gotham had never slept quieter.

Leaving Dick in the Batmobile had been a necessity. If there was one thing that Terry had learned about Wayne was that the man hated surprises.

Terry removed his mask as he walked towards Ace and Wayne. He had to face this decision as Terry McGinnis, not as Batman for two reasons. The first was that it would look more forceful without a mask to hide behind and the second was he didn't want Batman to take the blame for this. Terry never had much of a problem with "McGinnis" and "Batman" coinciding, and he wanted to keep it that way. It was obvious what happened when the Batman persona became the dominant identity and the concept frightened Terry more than one of Blight's or Shriek's schemes ever would.

Trying to approach the computers naturally, Terry doubted he would succeed at tricking Wayne. It was difficult to do when he was dealing with someone who knew seven ways to tell if someone was lying, and had probably invented some of his own along the way. If he couldn't deceive Wayne, that meant that he had to tell him what happened, straight away. Unfortunately, Wayne didn't give him the opportunity.

"I want to review your performance tonight."

If Terry hadn't been so worried about keeping on Wayne's good side, he would've groaned. He hadn't worked in the cave long, but Terry already spoke "Bruce." Roughly translated it meant that he was going to get home far later than curfew and would most likely be grounded by his mother. The exact translation was worse: It could've been accomplished better if you had done it like this, my way. If I had been out there tonight, things would've been executed quicker, more efficiently and with less bruises.

Dealing with Wayne was never easy, but understanding that what Wayne said wasn't out of malice towards him was harder for Terry. He had forced himself into Wayne's life, and while he wasn't afraid to push the older man, he knew any of Wayne's social graces had long been used up. He had tried to be light-hearted through everything, but sometimes Wayne would still manage to make being Batman a chore.

'Fear is the mind-killer, McGinnis,' he lectured himself as he interrupted the speech on how the cloaking device didn't make him completely invisible. "Um, sir, what I really think we need to talk about it that boy I rescued." Terry tried to gauge the elder Batman's reaction.

"Oh?"

Leave it to Wayne to show no physical emotion outside the clenched jaw. "Well, you see after I had helped him, he fell asleep and I couldn't just leave him in the alley."

"So you said before."

"I was just going to take him to his house when he woke up and-"

"And?"

Terry was suddenly glad that they hadn't been anywhere near the cliffs of the cave. He knew about Batman's unique way of getting the information he needed and could see clearly why it had been effective. "And when the child woke up-"

Ace's ears perked up the same time that Wayne cocked his head, listening for a repeat of the noise. 'Please be because of some stray bat . . .' Terry prayed, not really considering the words in his head. He knew he couldn't stop Bruce from investigating the sound, but he had to cushion the discovery.

". . . I brought him here." He was too late though. Wayne had already seen the boy in a pile in front of the old Nightwing costume. Bruce's utter stillness was worse than any lecture that Terry could've dreamed the man had given him. Maybe dangling headfirst over a cliff wasn't such a bad alternative after all.

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Terry had pulled some idiotic stunts since he had earned the mantle of Batman, but this one had shocked even Bruce. The teen had dared to bring a civilian in the Batcave. The notion shouldn't have even crossed his mind. There was more at stake here than just his and Terry's identities. Reflexively, Bruce considered banning Terry from the Batcave; he did not tolerate insubordination. But Gotham needed her protector, and Terry had done a good job until this. This would have to be dealt with immediately, starting with the boy on the ground.

Though mulling over Terry's actions, Bruce's keen senses had started to carefully assess the boy's condition. The angle which the boy was holding his head prevented Bruce from seeing his face, but it was obvious that he was young and had been on the streets. His matted hair stuck to the back of his neck and his oversized clothes were torn, but he could tell that the boy hadn't been on his own for too long. Despite the dirt, he still looked relatively healthy. His athletic build was well disguised to someone who didn't know what they were looking for. It was apparent the boy either had recently started living on the streets or he had found a sufficient supply of food.

Terry fidgeted, something Bruce hadn't seen the teen do in a long time. Clearly the teen needed more training in hiding his emotions. He had fallen quiet after his failed attempt to explain anything. The next lesson Terry would have to repeat was on timing –- if there were any more training sessions.

Bruce had known that something was bothering Terry since he walked in. He was almost glad to be interrupted during the stealth speech. Like so many other things, it had been another obstacle that Bruce had driven between himself and his second family: another criticism to push them further into the void. To Bruce's regret, it had worked.

Bruce's world plummeted as the boy looked up at him with eyes that reminded him of looking into the sky on the first day of spring. Time hadn't erased his memory of that reassured smile which took over the boy's face upon seeing Bruce. That voice, that hair, it couldn't be the same person, but somehow it was.

But it wasn't, it couldn't be; Bruce wouldn't let them be the same person. Spinning on one heel, Bruce walked towards the stairs without saying a word. Behind him, he could hear Terry talking to the boy in a reassuring voice, but Bruce didn't pay attention to the words. He needed to begin the safety protocols for a security breach. He needed to contain the threat and prepare to abandon his "Bruce Wayne" persona and step into a contingency life. He needed to tighten security for a full assault on the cave.

He needed to escape, to be anywhere but near the boy.

Terry stopped him near the top of the steps. "What's your problem?"

"You know perfectly well what my problem is."

"What was I supposed to do, leave him out there? He claimed to be Richard Grayson, said he lived in Wayne Manor."

"And you bring everyone who knows about my former ward into the Batcave now?"

"No, it's-"

"Did you even think before you brought him here? He could be a plant, quite literally. You just brought our enemies straight to us."

"Or I could have brought your great grandson to meet you or even your son from a different dimension or something. Look, I'm not pretending to know who this kid really is. I couldn't even begin to explain how he got to be only nine if he is whom he claims to be, but what I do see is someone who needs our help."

"You didn't know the situation, you didn't properly weigh the risks, and you did not ask permission. You do not make decisions that affected more than just you without consulting the rest of the people involved."

"You say that, but what you mean is I can't do anything without consulting you. Would you have believed me if I told you whom I found? And I didn't know this wasn't a trap; it was instinct."

"Your instincts will one day compromise everything we have worked for."

"You showed me what instincts were and then you taught me to listen to them. I trust in your ability to teach me and that forces me to trust in myself. I thought the trust went both ways, but I guess I was wrong. I should've consulted with you first, yes, fine. I can accept the responsibility for that, but don't turn your back on someone who needs you until you have proof that he is a deranged clone or something. Not everyone in the world is against you Mr. Wayne, and not every situation needs you controlling it. I'm going to show Dick where he can get cleaned up. You could be helpful and find some new clothes for him, I'm sure you have clothes somewhere that could fit him."

Bruce waited as Terry stormed down the steps back towards where the boy was sitting with Ace. Making his decision, he finish ascending the steps and shut the passage behind him.

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