A/N: Hey you guys! Guess who's NOT dead! That's right, it's me! I sure
was gone for awhile, but it went quickly. So, here's the story with this
chapter: I had like two more pages written, but I decided I hated it. I'm
sorry this is so short, but I'm still hammering out the details. A new
chapter will hopefully be up soon! Thanks for reading!!
Chapter 5 - Onward and Upward
Terry sat back and massaged his temples: it was going to be a long ride. The last hour was blurred together in his head and he tried to sort things out. He saw the tape with Inque on it, they demanded an explanation and he gave it. He called his mom and told her, obscurely, that he was staying out for the night, then he was hurried on to a jet with Kitty, Kurt and Rogue back to the place where he just barely escaped. This was going to be one hellish night. The sun was just starting to go down over the horizon and it was obvious the crew wasn't going to make it to Gotham before sundown. There were so many loose ends that Terry just couldn't figure things out. Terry was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Kurt say his name.
"Terry," they fuzzy blue guy repeated. Terry looked up quickly.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Just checking in. You look zoned out. How do we get to this Wayne guy's house anyway?" Kurt said, keeping his steering wheel steady with his tail.
"Oh no, we have to go there, don't we!?" The black haired boy said, as if realizing it for the first time.
"Well, duh, how else are we going to get that suit of yours?" Rogue said, quite crossly. Terry gave her a look behind her back and turned back to Kurt.
"You don't understand, the guy hates me now. I'm surprised he's letting Max walk his dog; the guy hates everyone." Terry spoke as if alone.
"But I thought you worked with him for a long time. What happened, if you don't mind me asking," Kitty said.
"Well, it's a long story, but I knew it was going to come up one of these days. As much as I hate to tell it, you guys are the ones I can trust, which is weird because trust is very hard to come by these days. Anyway, I was out on patrol one night and I see some girls getting harassed by the Jokerz - one of the city-wide gangs - so I go down to check it out. It ends up being my closest friend Max, my girlfriend, Dana, and this girl, Melanie. Now, Melanie's walking trouble. She used to be part of this gang with her family called the Royal Flush Gang. She claims she's clean but I'm wary around her all the same. Oh, and she hates Batman and screwed with me, so we're not on the best of terms. Anyway, I roughed the Jokerz up a bit and they all left, except one who was giving me trouble. We got into a fight and the girls were standing off to the side. Max told me later that her and Dana were walking when they saw Melanie being tormented, so they decided to help, but they didn't do much good.
"So me and this punk are fighting and as I knock him out, he manages to pull off my mask. I'm positive he didn't see my face, but the girls did. Max already knew but Dana felt betrayed and wouldn't have anything to do with me, and I don't know where Melanie ended up. So I got back from patrol that night and Bruce went off on me about how careless I was and how I endangered the lives of the girls as well as our own, and I yelled back and quit. That's my story, that's why I'm not Batman, okay?" By the time Terry finished everyone was quiet and there was a heavy silence around the cockpit-area. After a moment, Rogue spoke up.
"So what of this Melanie girl? Any chance she could've told on you? Or your girlfriend.Dana?" Rogue knew this was dangerous territory, but she felt the need to try.
"Dana would never do that!" Terry defended. "Melanie, on the other hand."the black-haired boy trailed off. "That's why Wayne was so mad. I can't go back now; he doesn't acknowledge my presence anymore, but apparently I'm not the first. If Melanie told, it could be all over the net, or worse, in some unwanted ears."
"All the more reason to go back, right? You'll want to redeem yourself and weed the ones that know out. I bet you don't run away easily, so this has to be a hard thing, but running away never got anyone anywhere." Kitty said, trying to boost Terry's confidence. It didn't seem to be working very well. To everyone's surprise, Terry only said:
"Oh, to Hell with it. I give up." Everyone was silent until they reached Gotham. Terry was sick of everything that was going on; maybe if he stopped trying, things would get better? No, no, that wasn't the way to go about it, Terry just couldn't think of what to do. His confused thoughts somehow lulled the boy into a shallow sleep.
When Terry woke up, the jet was landing on the estate of Wayne Manor. Great, thought Terry, God I wish this wasn't about to happen. Kurt managed to land their craft safely and the group prepared to get out. When all of the noises stopped, Terry could hear one thing: a dog barking. Not a friendly bark either, more like the bark of a massive Dane mix that wanted to know who the hell was bothering him. Terry was almost relieved at the sound of Ace's bark: it was reassuring in a very strange way.
The X-men exited the jet first, letting Terry take his time. As Rogue, the last out of the X-men group, got off, a giant black shape came hurdling towards her. Rogue let out a little yelp before two very big paws knocked the breath out of her. Terry was getting off of the jet when he saw Rogue go down.
"Ace! Off!" the boy commanded. The dog ceased his aggressive behavior at once and perked up his ears. This time Terry was charged at by the dog, but Terry ended up with the wind knocked out of him and a very wet, slobbery face.
"Eww.Stupid.Mutt." Terry found himself forgetting his state of mind to play with the dog. The boy finally managed to haul Ace off of him and the dog was beside himself with joy. Terry scratched his ears, but an all-too- familiar voice brought him back to reality.
"What are you doing here?" the dry, apathetic voice of Bruce Wayne said. Terry looked up, he noticed the X-men had migrated behind him.
"We should go inside for this," Terry said, surprised at the confidence in his own voice; inside he was as scared as all get-out. Wayne didn't move.
"What do you want," Bruce said again.
"Listen, we have a situation that's not exactly intelligent to speak about in the open, so if you could take us inside, I could tell you what's going on. It's not like you have anything better to do," Terry said, getting very impatient with the old man. His brief happiness from seeing the dog was long gone and he just wanted to get things done. After a moment, Bruce turned to leave and Terry followed, motioning for the others to do the same.
The group advanced to the cold, dark house. Once inside, Rogue made a sarcastic "Cheery" comment, but Wayne's glare shut her up. The old man did not offer his guests anything: no food, no drinks. It was obvious he didn't want them to stay. Terry sat down and the dog jumped up on the couch, preventing the others from sitting down. The boy stroked Ace's strong features then turned to his once-mentor that had already settled himself in a chair.
"Well.?" Bruce questioned.
"To make a long story short," Terry started, "I met these guys, the X-men, and went over to their mansion. They have this 'danger room' and one of the kids got caught up in it when it mysteriously turned on. I helped him out, I told the group I was Batman, I saw a security tape and confirmed it as Inque. Now, as I am one of the only hopes against mass destruction, I would like to have the suit." Bruce didn't move for a moment after Terry finished, but then he spoke up.
"Why can't they do it?" Bruce said, indicating the three other people. Terry looked at the X-Men. They all cowered for a moment but Kitty finally managed to speak up.
"Um, Sir? We'd be happy to help fight this Inque chick, but it's really not our jurisdiction. Like, I know you and Terry don't get along real well, but one of our friends was almost killed and we don't know anything about this lady. Batman could really help," she said. Bruce deliberated for a moment; the tension was binding. Bruce finally spoke up.
"No, I can't let you do this anymore. This shouldn't be your problem; it's too dangerous. Go home and live your life; don't come back, it won't do you any good. Goodnight," the old man said, signifying the end of their conversation. Terry was infuriated but he didn't say anything. He was formulating a plan.
Outside of the manor, Terry didn't speak for quite some time. The air was heavy and the breeze was cool. Once they reached the jet, Terry pulled out his phone and started dialing numbers. The X-men had no idea what was going on. The old man said no, so they leave, right? Absolutely not. The three heard the conversation from Terry's side, but they were still confused.
"Hey, you're working for him now? Good. Have you been down.no, okay, well you wouldn't happen to know if the suit's in the same.it is? Okay, great. Thanks, bye." The phone beeped off and Terry turned to the group. "I have a plan," he said, "And it's very fortunate all of you came along."
Chapter 5 - Onward and Upward
Terry sat back and massaged his temples: it was going to be a long ride. The last hour was blurred together in his head and he tried to sort things out. He saw the tape with Inque on it, they demanded an explanation and he gave it. He called his mom and told her, obscurely, that he was staying out for the night, then he was hurried on to a jet with Kitty, Kurt and Rogue back to the place where he just barely escaped. This was going to be one hellish night. The sun was just starting to go down over the horizon and it was obvious the crew wasn't going to make it to Gotham before sundown. There were so many loose ends that Terry just couldn't figure things out. Terry was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Kurt say his name.
"Terry," they fuzzy blue guy repeated. Terry looked up quickly.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Just checking in. You look zoned out. How do we get to this Wayne guy's house anyway?" Kurt said, keeping his steering wheel steady with his tail.
"Oh no, we have to go there, don't we!?" The black haired boy said, as if realizing it for the first time.
"Well, duh, how else are we going to get that suit of yours?" Rogue said, quite crossly. Terry gave her a look behind her back and turned back to Kurt.
"You don't understand, the guy hates me now. I'm surprised he's letting Max walk his dog; the guy hates everyone." Terry spoke as if alone.
"But I thought you worked with him for a long time. What happened, if you don't mind me asking," Kitty said.
"Well, it's a long story, but I knew it was going to come up one of these days. As much as I hate to tell it, you guys are the ones I can trust, which is weird because trust is very hard to come by these days. Anyway, I was out on patrol one night and I see some girls getting harassed by the Jokerz - one of the city-wide gangs - so I go down to check it out. It ends up being my closest friend Max, my girlfriend, Dana, and this girl, Melanie. Now, Melanie's walking trouble. She used to be part of this gang with her family called the Royal Flush Gang. She claims she's clean but I'm wary around her all the same. Oh, and she hates Batman and screwed with me, so we're not on the best of terms. Anyway, I roughed the Jokerz up a bit and they all left, except one who was giving me trouble. We got into a fight and the girls were standing off to the side. Max told me later that her and Dana were walking when they saw Melanie being tormented, so they decided to help, but they didn't do much good.
"So me and this punk are fighting and as I knock him out, he manages to pull off my mask. I'm positive he didn't see my face, but the girls did. Max already knew but Dana felt betrayed and wouldn't have anything to do with me, and I don't know where Melanie ended up. So I got back from patrol that night and Bruce went off on me about how careless I was and how I endangered the lives of the girls as well as our own, and I yelled back and quit. That's my story, that's why I'm not Batman, okay?" By the time Terry finished everyone was quiet and there was a heavy silence around the cockpit-area. After a moment, Rogue spoke up.
"So what of this Melanie girl? Any chance she could've told on you? Or your girlfriend.Dana?" Rogue knew this was dangerous territory, but she felt the need to try.
"Dana would never do that!" Terry defended. "Melanie, on the other hand."the black-haired boy trailed off. "That's why Wayne was so mad. I can't go back now; he doesn't acknowledge my presence anymore, but apparently I'm not the first. If Melanie told, it could be all over the net, or worse, in some unwanted ears."
"All the more reason to go back, right? You'll want to redeem yourself and weed the ones that know out. I bet you don't run away easily, so this has to be a hard thing, but running away never got anyone anywhere." Kitty said, trying to boost Terry's confidence. It didn't seem to be working very well. To everyone's surprise, Terry only said:
"Oh, to Hell with it. I give up." Everyone was silent until they reached Gotham. Terry was sick of everything that was going on; maybe if he stopped trying, things would get better? No, no, that wasn't the way to go about it, Terry just couldn't think of what to do. His confused thoughts somehow lulled the boy into a shallow sleep.
When Terry woke up, the jet was landing on the estate of Wayne Manor. Great, thought Terry, God I wish this wasn't about to happen. Kurt managed to land their craft safely and the group prepared to get out. When all of the noises stopped, Terry could hear one thing: a dog barking. Not a friendly bark either, more like the bark of a massive Dane mix that wanted to know who the hell was bothering him. Terry was almost relieved at the sound of Ace's bark: it was reassuring in a very strange way.
The X-men exited the jet first, letting Terry take his time. As Rogue, the last out of the X-men group, got off, a giant black shape came hurdling towards her. Rogue let out a little yelp before two very big paws knocked the breath out of her. Terry was getting off of the jet when he saw Rogue go down.
"Ace! Off!" the boy commanded. The dog ceased his aggressive behavior at once and perked up his ears. This time Terry was charged at by the dog, but Terry ended up with the wind knocked out of him and a very wet, slobbery face.
"Eww.Stupid.Mutt." Terry found himself forgetting his state of mind to play with the dog. The boy finally managed to haul Ace off of him and the dog was beside himself with joy. Terry scratched his ears, but an all-too- familiar voice brought him back to reality.
"What are you doing here?" the dry, apathetic voice of Bruce Wayne said. Terry looked up, he noticed the X-men had migrated behind him.
"We should go inside for this," Terry said, surprised at the confidence in his own voice; inside he was as scared as all get-out. Wayne didn't move.
"What do you want," Bruce said again.
"Listen, we have a situation that's not exactly intelligent to speak about in the open, so if you could take us inside, I could tell you what's going on. It's not like you have anything better to do," Terry said, getting very impatient with the old man. His brief happiness from seeing the dog was long gone and he just wanted to get things done. After a moment, Bruce turned to leave and Terry followed, motioning for the others to do the same.
The group advanced to the cold, dark house. Once inside, Rogue made a sarcastic "Cheery" comment, but Wayne's glare shut her up. The old man did not offer his guests anything: no food, no drinks. It was obvious he didn't want them to stay. Terry sat down and the dog jumped up on the couch, preventing the others from sitting down. The boy stroked Ace's strong features then turned to his once-mentor that had already settled himself in a chair.
"Well.?" Bruce questioned.
"To make a long story short," Terry started, "I met these guys, the X-men, and went over to their mansion. They have this 'danger room' and one of the kids got caught up in it when it mysteriously turned on. I helped him out, I told the group I was Batman, I saw a security tape and confirmed it as Inque. Now, as I am one of the only hopes against mass destruction, I would like to have the suit." Bruce didn't move for a moment after Terry finished, but then he spoke up.
"Why can't they do it?" Bruce said, indicating the three other people. Terry looked at the X-Men. They all cowered for a moment but Kitty finally managed to speak up.
"Um, Sir? We'd be happy to help fight this Inque chick, but it's really not our jurisdiction. Like, I know you and Terry don't get along real well, but one of our friends was almost killed and we don't know anything about this lady. Batman could really help," she said. Bruce deliberated for a moment; the tension was binding. Bruce finally spoke up.
"No, I can't let you do this anymore. This shouldn't be your problem; it's too dangerous. Go home and live your life; don't come back, it won't do you any good. Goodnight," the old man said, signifying the end of their conversation. Terry was infuriated but he didn't say anything. He was formulating a plan.
Outside of the manor, Terry didn't speak for quite some time. The air was heavy and the breeze was cool. Once they reached the jet, Terry pulled out his phone and started dialing numbers. The X-men had no idea what was going on. The old man said no, so they leave, right? Absolutely not. The three heard the conversation from Terry's side, but they were still confused.
"Hey, you're working for him now? Good. Have you been down.no, okay, well you wouldn't happen to know if the suit's in the same.it is? Okay, great. Thanks, bye." The phone beeped off and Terry turned to the group. "I have a plan," he said, "And it's very fortunate all of you came along."