i"I had no idea that it would end like this for him."i



It felt as if they waited for an eternity to make a move, as Terry and the Slayer stood with their eyes locked on each other, and with their every attribute heightened at this tense period, it was only a matter of seconds before one stuck. Batman's hands flexed near his utility belt as if he was in a western, as the creature did the same with its hands, the only weapons it needed for any occasion. Their eyes thinned from the tension they felt from each other, as rage boiled within them that could melt or crack everything around them. And with the sound of glass being broken in the distance by unknown forces, the "knight" and the "dragon" accelerated towards each other; their power seemingly built within the blinding rush.



i"Neither did I, Barbara. At least, not like this..."i



Batman was quick to punch the man-croc in the mouth before it could bite, as he turned to kick it in the same area with even more authority than ever. The Slayer could feel some teeth on the verge of loosening, but ignored the pain while punching his adversary in the stomach. Batman landed on his feet, just as he saw the monster lunging at him with its mouth wide open. It missed, as the dark one jumped upwards vertically, and threw three Batarangs that connected to its head. It grunted from the pain of two of the three weapons that stuck into his dome, but before he could swat them off, Terry propelled downward from the ceiling fists first, and rammed into its head once more.



i"The bite marks...they were so...I couldn't believe it."i



Without warning, the Slayer quickly recovered and slapped Batman with its oversized tail, making the young warrior spin in continuous revolutions until he landed in the sewage. Terry was on his hands and knees, as he looked to where the nemesis was, quickly running towards him with its gangrene-drenched mouth opened once more. Immediate flash bombs were all that ceased the monster's attempt, as it pulled back after only being a few inches off Batman's face. It swung violently, and despite Terry's defensive efforts, he was slapped twice in the face and knocked over again.

i"He knew the risks, as did we when we first joined..."i

Terry quickly shook off the head rush, and looked back at the Slayer with a blurred vision. He could barely make out what was next from the monster, but before he could move once more, the pain from his scars returned, and he grunted loudly with his closed eyes. The crocodile-like monster could barely see as well, except for multiple targets that he hoped to lunge correctly for. After a quick call of judgement, it leapt at Batman, and with a sound as sudden as the splash of its landing...



i"He always wanted to be buried next to his father."i



The monster roared in agitation, as it knew that it missed Batman by unknown measures, which stood right beside him with baseness to his face. Terry roundhouse kicked the Slayer in its eye, and on the point of impact, ignited his boot jets to sear it. Needless to say, the monstrosity yelled in pain, and it could now feel where the Bat was. It swung at McGuiness and forced him into the wall behind him, as it turned to look at him with its remaining eye. "No one has ever gotten as far as you," the mutant bellowed, "and no on EVER WILL!" Its hand straightened so that all claws were out and ready to pierce through the knight, or even the wall just to prove its strength. Terry pushed off the wall with his legs, and as he flipped over its head, a thin string rolled from his right hand into the left. Once Terry landed dead on its back, the string was wrapped around the Slayer's throat with sheer acuity, as it began to violently choke the monster.
By now, Terry had lost whatever sense of justice he would normally give such a demon. In this case, justice was not the answer. Now it was only justifiable suffering, sheer torment, and righteous infliction of much needed retribution, personified by what was, and what still may be a victim. Even if Terry died, he would die smiling, knowing that he's reminded the bastard of its vulnerability, and that everyone's time comes...no exceptions.

Terry placed his feet on the almost slicked back of the Slayer to give more force into the strand's entrance to its neck. He even started to saw the string into the now bleeding wound, as the creature tried to shake off the gnat that was slowly gaining the win. In a final effort, the beast jumped so that Batman's head connected with the ceiling, and once it did, he fell defenselessly to the water. The Slayer turn to smile at the Bat, and with the one eye that had returned to its straight, color-blinded vision, he made sure that the vigilante was in his sight, 'cause he was sure enough needed to soothe its taste buds.



They stared off one last time, with Terry in the sewage almost on his back, and the Slayer possibly near death from the increasing blood flow from his neck wound. They were exhausted, fatigued, and tested almost to new levels never known to exist in a man, no matter the means of its birth. However, in the next moment, it would be proven who would live to use what they've learned in this debacle in the days ahead. Once it summoned the last of its strength, the man-croc dashed at Batman, as the final act of one's life came to a most surprising and inevitable close.



"Barbara, are you okay?"
"Yes, Bruce...the funeral just ended," she said over her cell phone, "it was a shame that this had to happen. Some of my own were mostly young men as well. Two were fresh from academy, but this wasn't...anyway, how are you holding up?"
"Time heals, yet there have been times I wished..."
"You'll be fine, and so will Terry. He's in a better place, I gather," Barbara forced.
"More than you'll ever know," replied Bruce with a smile, "more than we'll ever know..."


Max's room was as dark as the dismal emotion that had swallowed her apartment the next morning; even more so inside her room where she lied in tears. She couldn't eat, or even dare to go to school as she recycled everything they had been through, and how the more she saw Terry in her images, the more reason she found to love him, even if death came to him in his young life. She thanked God that it wasn't this passed night, as Terry embraced her right back with the most affectionate hold that had ever occurred in his life. Expressions of love were voiced and experienced in the hours he was with her, as Terry was glad to feel the warmth of love and life, after being once again juggled by the hands of Death.