Chapter Four
Wow. I'm in the Bruce Wayne Mansion.
Terry couldn't stop looking around once they entered the mansion. Bruce Wayne had him accompany him to the family room where he sat down heavily in one of the armchairs, dropping the cane to the floor and leaning against the arm.
"Do you need anything?" Terry asked, kneeling down beside him. He was truly getting worried about this man.
"Pills," Bruce said hoarsely, "table."
Terry saw the pills and brought them to him. There already was a glass of water beside the chair and Bruce Wayne took the pills, drinking deeply from the glass.
"Are you okay?" Terry asked.
The old man didn't answer right away. Ace, the Great Dane, sat down beside the chair and he rested his hand on his head lightly.
Terry shrugged and turned around, looking around the room. He couldn't believe how big everything was. The ceiling was high and there were pictures all over the walls. Most of them were classic paintings done by Monet and Picasso.
He whistled softly, taking it all in. Then he turned around. "Do you need me anymore Mr. Wayne-"
He stopped. Bruce Wayne had fallen asleep in the chair, head leaning against the side, snoring softly.
Oh. Okay then.
Deciding to leave him, Terry headed for the front door, figuring the man would be okay by himself.
Halfway there, he stopped.
Why not have a little look around?
Rarely anyone got to see inside the Wayne Manor. He had heard the rumors from school Bruce Wayne was a lonely old man living all by himself and didn't like company at all. If you wanted to meet with him, you'd meet with him in the city.
Then there were the horror stories. How Wayne Manor was actually haunted and that whoever went in there never came out again. Stories that the old man living there actually ate people. Stories that there were bodies hidden in its basement.
But now that Terry was here, all those scary stories left his mind for good. If Bruce Wayne really was the evil man everyone thought him to be in school, then he would have left the Jokerz to kill him.
Setting that aside, he started wondering through the halls, peering into the rooms and turning on and off lights as he went. Everything looked mostly cared for. Except for the dust. There was dust everywhere. Bruce Wayne apparently was the only man living here. No one stayed with him. Obviously he wouldn't be able to get around and dust everything all day.
Terry came to the family room then, and that's where he noticed the pictures. There were pictures on the wall of people, real people and not paintings. He turned on the lights and picked up a frame, looking at the picture of a good looking man with black hair. He was smiling slightly, but Terry could see a peculiar sadness in his eyes.
The next frame had four people in it. The same man from the first picture was there, dressed in a business suit and staring rather forlornly at the camera. Then there was a younger man beside him, looking to be in the early twenties. He had longer hair, tied back in a ponytail, and he was grinning. He had a certain charm about him that completely opposed to the first guy. There was a pretty young woman standing in the front and she had flaming red hair. She was smiling energetically at the camera. And beside her was a teenage boy maybe a bit younger then Terry. He was actually waving at the camera, laughing.
They were all laughing and smiling. Except for the older man in the back.
Terry set that frame down, peering at the other pictures. They were all varieties of the previous photo, and some portraits of the young woman. There were more of her than any of the others, he noticed.
He straightened up and was about to leave, when he noticed the grandfather clock in the corner.
So far during his trip throughout the mansion all the clocks he had encountered were right on the time. But this one was several hours behind.
Feeling he might as well do some service to the old man, he got up and checked his watch. Opening the clock covering he moved the hands until they were ten minutes past ten o'clock.
Then something happened.
There was a clicking noise, causing him to jump back. Then to his surprise, the clock moved, sliding across the floor to reveal an opening behind it.
Terry stared, not sure whether to leave it like that or go through. He glanced around warily.
Well.just another room on my tour through the castle. Shouldn't be bad.
The hallway beyond was dark and cold, and he could feel a soft wind blowing through. He frowned. Was he going outside?
Then the hallway opened up and he found himself in a huge, dark room. He couldn't see at first and moved his hand along the wall. Finding the lightswitch he flicked it on.
He wasn't in a room. He was in a cave.
He stood there, staring around. It was a cave, with stalactites and stalagmites, cliffs, ridges, and everything.
But that wasn't all.
There was a giant computer on the other side of the cave, larger than his apartment it seemed. He went down the steps leading into the cave and he walked along the surface, looking around.
Weird cases had been set up, and inside he could see different displays of devices. Several of them were outfits that looked older than him. One of them was a green body suit, covered in black question marks. Another one was a black business suit. But there was something different about it. Half of it had been cut off and replaced with a different fabric, lined with gruesome patterns and colors. It looked like two suits had been put together and sewn down the middle.
Then there were the cases against the wall by the stairs.
There were five cases all together, and each had a costume set up inside. And he recognized them.
He couldn't believe it. This stuff was legend, not actually true.was it?
The first case held the original Batsuit. The ones that followed held Nightwing's, Batgirl's, and Robin's. All looked torn up and patched, no longer in the right condition to wear.
But it was fifth case was different. It was a modern design of the Batsuit. It didn't have a cape and it wasn't torn. It seemed to be made of a different material.
What is this place, a museum?
Then it slowly dawned on him. He stood there, unable to move as he stared at the costume. Was this really.?
"How did you get in here?"
The voice was surprisingly gruff and Terry jumped in surprise. He turned to see Bruce Wayne standing at the entrance at the top of the stairs, Ace standing beside him. The dog was growling again, and Bruce made no move to stop him.
Terry stepped back, glancing around. "I-"
"Get out. Get out now!"
The voice scared him. Terry made a move for the stairs, the only exit, and Bruce moved aside to let him go. Terry could feel his face grow hot as he passed him, trying to avoid the dog. Ace continued to grow, but didn't attack.
"Sorry," Terry stammered, brushing past him and back into the mansion. He made a run for the front door.
"And don't ever come back!" Bruce yelled after him.
Terry had no clue how he was going to get home, so he walked. It was the only way.
Images of the cave came back to him as he walked, haunting him. He could still plainly see the costumes in its cases. But it couldn't be real.could it?
All his life he knew about the Batman. It was Gotham legend, everyone knew about him. But by now people have said it was just that- a legend. It never happened. And no one had any proof to show his existence.or wanted to.
He was deep in thought, going over everything he had seen. What would Bruce Wayne do now? Would he contact him? Kill him?
Well. At least I know now there's no bodies hidden in its basement.
Actually that wasn't true. There were bodies. Bodies of a lost legend. And that was it.
How would Bruce Wayne contact him? He never found out his name. All he knew was that he was some punk kid picking fight with Jokerz on his front lawn. What if he didn't want the secret out and would do anything to keep it in?
Am I in danger?
Was that really what I saw?
Am I delirious? Yeah.must be. I think I am.
He hadn't realized he was home until the flashing lights caused him to look up. He was standing in front of his apartment building, but there were police cars all over the place, policemen swarming all over the place. People stood on the sidewalks and outside their doors, watching fearfully.
"Terry!"
He looked up to see his mom running his way, arms outstretched. There were tears streaming form her eyes and everything that had happened earlier with Bruce Wayne left his mind as he looked around. Graffiti covered the walls, including the crude 'HA HA' sprayed across the front.
"Mom!" he called out, running to her. "What happened? Where's Dad, Matt?"
"Matt's here, Terry," she told him, looking back. Matt was standing by the police cars, crying. "I called him from his friend's house and he just got here."
"But Dad- where's Dad?"
It was slowly dawning on him that his father wasn't around.
"Terry, oh Terry, Jokerz attacked the place and your father, he was inside when it happened and-"
She started crying again and he stared at her in disbelief. "Mom," he said, his voice shaking. "Where is he? Where is he, Mom?"
"When you weren't here I-I thought you had been taken too, that the Jokerz got you too but you weren't anywhere and the police couldn't find you-"
His eyes widened and he pulled away from her, running for the front door. "Dad!" He screamed, feeling panic rise within his chest. Police swarmed around him, keeping him from entering.
"There's nothing you can do, kid," a woman's voice said loudly, pushing him back. He looked to see an older, white haired woman standing in front of him.
"No, my father," he objected, trying to push past her. She was surprisingly strong. "Dad! Dad!" They tried to push him back, but he fought past them. "No! Dad! No!"
He finally got past them and ran through the hallway toward the office. More 'HAHA''s had been sprayed along the wall and he could feel his whole world around him collide and fall apart, sending him down a current of emotion.
It was their joke. And no one was laughing.
Not again. Not ever again.
He had been careless. He had let a careless, young teen into his house and let him walk around without supervision. How could he have been so stupid? Why did he let this happen?
It was because of himself, and Bruce Wayne knew it. Because of his weakness he had fallen sleep and left the boy to wander the house alone. Because of him this had happened.
He shook his head. Well now it wasn't going to happen again. And he was going to make sure of that.
Never again.
Wow. I'm in the Bruce Wayne Mansion.
Terry couldn't stop looking around once they entered the mansion. Bruce Wayne had him accompany him to the family room where he sat down heavily in one of the armchairs, dropping the cane to the floor and leaning against the arm.
"Do you need anything?" Terry asked, kneeling down beside him. He was truly getting worried about this man.
"Pills," Bruce said hoarsely, "table."
Terry saw the pills and brought them to him. There already was a glass of water beside the chair and Bruce Wayne took the pills, drinking deeply from the glass.
"Are you okay?" Terry asked.
The old man didn't answer right away. Ace, the Great Dane, sat down beside the chair and he rested his hand on his head lightly.
Terry shrugged and turned around, looking around the room. He couldn't believe how big everything was. The ceiling was high and there were pictures all over the walls. Most of them were classic paintings done by Monet and Picasso.
He whistled softly, taking it all in. Then he turned around. "Do you need me anymore Mr. Wayne-"
He stopped. Bruce Wayne had fallen asleep in the chair, head leaning against the side, snoring softly.
Oh. Okay then.
Deciding to leave him, Terry headed for the front door, figuring the man would be okay by himself.
Halfway there, he stopped.
Why not have a little look around?
Rarely anyone got to see inside the Wayne Manor. He had heard the rumors from school Bruce Wayne was a lonely old man living all by himself and didn't like company at all. If you wanted to meet with him, you'd meet with him in the city.
Then there were the horror stories. How Wayne Manor was actually haunted and that whoever went in there never came out again. Stories that the old man living there actually ate people. Stories that there were bodies hidden in its basement.
But now that Terry was here, all those scary stories left his mind for good. If Bruce Wayne really was the evil man everyone thought him to be in school, then he would have left the Jokerz to kill him.
Setting that aside, he started wondering through the halls, peering into the rooms and turning on and off lights as he went. Everything looked mostly cared for. Except for the dust. There was dust everywhere. Bruce Wayne apparently was the only man living here. No one stayed with him. Obviously he wouldn't be able to get around and dust everything all day.
Terry came to the family room then, and that's where he noticed the pictures. There were pictures on the wall of people, real people and not paintings. He turned on the lights and picked up a frame, looking at the picture of a good looking man with black hair. He was smiling slightly, but Terry could see a peculiar sadness in his eyes.
The next frame had four people in it. The same man from the first picture was there, dressed in a business suit and staring rather forlornly at the camera. Then there was a younger man beside him, looking to be in the early twenties. He had longer hair, tied back in a ponytail, and he was grinning. He had a certain charm about him that completely opposed to the first guy. There was a pretty young woman standing in the front and she had flaming red hair. She was smiling energetically at the camera. And beside her was a teenage boy maybe a bit younger then Terry. He was actually waving at the camera, laughing.
They were all laughing and smiling. Except for the older man in the back.
Terry set that frame down, peering at the other pictures. They were all varieties of the previous photo, and some portraits of the young woman. There were more of her than any of the others, he noticed.
He straightened up and was about to leave, when he noticed the grandfather clock in the corner.
So far during his trip throughout the mansion all the clocks he had encountered were right on the time. But this one was several hours behind.
Feeling he might as well do some service to the old man, he got up and checked his watch. Opening the clock covering he moved the hands until they were ten minutes past ten o'clock.
Then something happened.
There was a clicking noise, causing him to jump back. Then to his surprise, the clock moved, sliding across the floor to reveal an opening behind it.
Terry stared, not sure whether to leave it like that or go through. He glanced around warily.
Well.just another room on my tour through the castle. Shouldn't be bad.
The hallway beyond was dark and cold, and he could feel a soft wind blowing through. He frowned. Was he going outside?
Then the hallway opened up and he found himself in a huge, dark room. He couldn't see at first and moved his hand along the wall. Finding the lightswitch he flicked it on.
He wasn't in a room. He was in a cave.
He stood there, staring around. It was a cave, with stalactites and stalagmites, cliffs, ridges, and everything.
But that wasn't all.
There was a giant computer on the other side of the cave, larger than his apartment it seemed. He went down the steps leading into the cave and he walked along the surface, looking around.
Weird cases had been set up, and inside he could see different displays of devices. Several of them were outfits that looked older than him. One of them was a green body suit, covered in black question marks. Another one was a black business suit. But there was something different about it. Half of it had been cut off and replaced with a different fabric, lined with gruesome patterns and colors. It looked like two suits had been put together and sewn down the middle.
Then there were the cases against the wall by the stairs.
There were five cases all together, and each had a costume set up inside. And he recognized them.
He couldn't believe it. This stuff was legend, not actually true.was it?
The first case held the original Batsuit. The ones that followed held Nightwing's, Batgirl's, and Robin's. All looked torn up and patched, no longer in the right condition to wear.
But it was fifth case was different. It was a modern design of the Batsuit. It didn't have a cape and it wasn't torn. It seemed to be made of a different material.
What is this place, a museum?
Then it slowly dawned on him. He stood there, unable to move as he stared at the costume. Was this really.?
"How did you get in here?"
The voice was surprisingly gruff and Terry jumped in surprise. He turned to see Bruce Wayne standing at the entrance at the top of the stairs, Ace standing beside him. The dog was growling again, and Bruce made no move to stop him.
Terry stepped back, glancing around. "I-"
"Get out. Get out now!"
The voice scared him. Terry made a move for the stairs, the only exit, and Bruce moved aside to let him go. Terry could feel his face grow hot as he passed him, trying to avoid the dog. Ace continued to grow, but didn't attack.
"Sorry," Terry stammered, brushing past him and back into the mansion. He made a run for the front door.
"And don't ever come back!" Bruce yelled after him.
Terry had no clue how he was going to get home, so he walked. It was the only way.
Images of the cave came back to him as he walked, haunting him. He could still plainly see the costumes in its cases. But it couldn't be real.could it?
All his life he knew about the Batman. It was Gotham legend, everyone knew about him. But by now people have said it was just that- a legend. It never happened. And no one had any proof to show his existence.or wanted to.
He was deep in thought, going over everything he had seen. What would Bruce Wayne do now? Would he contact him? Kill him?
Well. At least I know now there's no bodies hidden in its basement.
Actually that wasn't true. There were bodies. Bodies of a lost legend. And that was it.
How would Bruce Wayne contact him? He never found out his name. All he knew was that he was some punk kid picking fight with Jokerz on his front lawn. What if he didn't want the secret out and would do anything to keep it in?
Am I in danger?
Was that really what I saw?
Am I delirious? Yeah.must be. I think I am.
He hadn't realized he was home until the flashing lights caused him to look up. He was standing in front of his apartment building, but there were police cars all over the place, policemen swarming all over the place. People stood on the sidewalks and outside their doors, watching fearfully.
"Terry!"
He looked up to see his mom running his way, arms outstretched. There were tears streaming form her eyes and everything that had happened earlier with Bruce Wayne left his mind as he looked around. Graffiti covered the walls, including the crude 'HA HA' sprayed across the front.
"Mom!" he called out, running to her. "What happened? Where's Dad, Matt?"
"Matt's here, Terry," she told him, looking back. Matt was standing by the police cars, crying. "I called him from his friend's house and he just got here."
"But Dad- where's Dad?"
It was slowly dawning on him that his father wasn't around.
"Terry, oh Terry, Jokerz attacked the place and your father, he was inside when it happened and-"
She started crying again and he stared at her in disbelief. "Mom," he said, his voice shaking. "Where is he? Where is he, Mom?"
"When you weren't here I-I thought you had been taken too, that the Jokerz got you too but you weren't anywhere and the police couldn't find you-"
His eyes widened and he pulled away from her, running for the front door. "Dad!" He screamed, feeling panic rise within his chest. Police swarmed around him, keeping him from entering.
"There's nothing you can do, kid," a woman's voice said loudly, pushing him back. He looked to see an older, white haired woman standing in front of him.
"No, my father," he objected, trying to push past her. She was surprisingly strong. "Dad! Dad!" They tried to push him back, but he fought past them. "No! Dad! No!"
He finally got past them and ran through the hallway toward the office. More 'HAHA''s had been sprayed along the wall and he could feel his whole world around him collide and fall apart, sending him down a current of emotion.
It was their joke. And no one was laughing.
Not again. Not ever again.
He had been careless. He had let a careless, young teen into his house and let him walk around without supervision. How could he have been so stupid? Why did he let this happen?
It was because of himself, and Bruce Wayne knew it. Because of his weakness he had fallen sleep and left the boy to wander the house alone. Because of him this had happened.
He shook his head. Well now it wasn't going to happen again. And he was going to make sure of that.
Never again.