You guys!!! I'm am sooooooooooo incredibly sorry! Words cannot express how sorry I am for putting this off! It's just, well, you know how things get. I hope this is okay, and more importantly, I hope I figure out where this is going. Honestly, any advice (and I mean any) is warmed and welcomed. Again, major apologies! This chapter is longer than most, so I hope something got accomplished. I'll really try to be more punctual next time, but I'm obviously not good at keeping the promises in the author's notes. Love ya all! BTW: Did anyone else notice the incredibly STRANGE similarity between Terry's eyebrows and Will Friedle's (his voice, of course) eyebrows? Maybe it's just something I, the insaneness herself, noticed. But honestly, check it out.
Chapter Seven – The Collection
Terry sped back to where he told the X-men to hide the jet. Time was of the essence. It didn't take him long to find the massive black vehicle and as soon as he got there he yelled out his friend's names. A fuzzy blue German, a Goth Southerner and a peppy Illini emerged from the jet as they were being called.
"What's goin' on?" Rogue asked.
"No time to talk. Kitty and Rogue, I need you to go pick up my mother and brother. Kurt, you and I are going to pick up two more people. You got that?" Everyone nodded, noting the severity in Terry's voice. Kitty and Rogue then got into the jet and took off as Kurt and Terry squeezed into the Batplane, which Kurt had retrieved in Batman's absence. All he had to do was pop in, touch the plane and pop out. The old man wasn't even in the cave when Kurt did it, so it caused fewer complications.
"It is a tight fit, ja?" Kurt asked, rather uncomfortable.
"The dog never complained," Terry said back. Kurt remained quiet for the short remainder of the trip. He looked out through the red-tinted windows to the magnificent city. Kurt was, in fact, so absorbed that he barely realized it when the jet landed. As the German got out, he realized they were on the top of a building. Terry walked purposely towards the door on the roof that led to the inside. Once within the building, Terry and Kurt (who had activated his Holo-watch, even though he was with Batman) ended up in front of a door. Terry knocked. A tense moment passed, but finally, the door opened, allowing a girl Terry's age to step into the hallway.
"Hel-" the girl started, before she saw who was standing before her. "Ter-" again, she did not finish her sentence as a big, black-gloved hand clapped over her mouth. Once he was sure she got the idea, Terry let go and the trio stepped inside. Kurt walked into the modest apartment, his mind temporarily taken over by the electric pink color of the girl's hair.
Max looked first to Batman, then to the scrawny boy standing next to him. She had no need to act surprised for the newcomer, seeing Terry standing in front of her was enough.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, still glancing back and forth. In the traditional Batman fashion, Terry not only ignored her question, but also asked one of his own.
"Is your apartment secure?" His tone was no-nonsense.
"Let me close the shades." Max walked towards the windows. "There's no way this place can be bugged, though, if that's what you're referring to." After she closed the shades, Max heard Terry sit down heavily on her couch, letting out a long sigh. When she turned around he had his mask off and was running his fingers nervously through his raven-black hair.
"I'm assuming our new friend knows about you. Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. He obviously knows about-" For the third time that evening, Max was cut off by her best friend.
"Max, you're just filling up space. Now, we don't have much time. There's no saying when King might show up." Terry's statement got Max's attention.
"King's coming for me?" she said, her voice trembling slightly with fear.
"I don't know, that's why you have to leave."
"Why is King coming for me? Is it because of you?" Max said, prying.
"Get a bag and pack some necessities in it. You be with Bruce until the loose ends are tied up," Terry said, once again ignoring Max's questions. The girl opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again; knowing that there would be no argument. She left the room to pack. As soon as Max left the room, Terry leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts were jumbled and confused, and luckily broken by Kurt's timid voice.
"Tell me if this is a bad time, but vy did you bring me here again?" The German boy asked, very curious. Terry looked at him, paused, then replied.
"You need to stay with Max when we get back to the cave, so I can go get…another friend. She'll need to know someone friendly."
"But…zat man, Bruce? He will be there, ja?" Kurt said. Terry almost laughed at the statement.
"The operative word was friendly. That's hardly an adjective used to describe Wayne. I'm going to drop you guys off at the manor, okay? All you need to do is convince him that your life is in danger and that the Cave is the only safe place. If he doesn't consent, bamf in. Max'll have a good argument up her sleeve as well. She always does."
"So, I finally get to see the almighty Cave," Max said as she reentered the room. Although Terry didn't expect her to jump into the conversation, he didn't act surprised that she reemerged. Terry stood up, signaling Kurt to do the same. Max scribbled a quick note to her sister, grabbed the key to her apartment and the trio left.
Once inside the Batplane, Max couldn't help but comment.
"Cozy," she said, as if to herself. Kurt didn't say anything at all. He had already been reprimanded once that night for commenting on the small space, he didn't want to go for twice. Besides, Max was so close to him that he felt if he moved, she would bump his fur and react none-so-nicely.
Aside from the girl's comment, the ride was painfully silent. When they reached the manor, everyone got out to escape the shroud of discomfort. Terry sent them on their way and returned to the plane. This next visit was going to be by far the hardest. Terry's drifting train of thought was interrupted by an incessant beep coming from the cockpit.
That's funny, Terry thought, I don't remember giving Kitty and Rogue access to the communications system. He pressed the button.
"Terry, what the HELL do you think you're doing?! I'm not a babysitter-"
"Good," Terry interrupted, "Because you're not getting paid."
"I can – and will – freeze the suit if you don't get these kids out of here and return the suit!"
"Cool it, old man, you think I didn't override that ages ago? You just can't stand the fact that I am trying to redeem myself! You-"
"You wouldn't need to redeem yourself if you hadn't screwed up in the first place." Those few words pierced Terry. Bruce hung up on the other line and the silence was maddening. Great, Terry thought, Now I'm just a screw-up to everyone. Why is it I can't keep a father figure?
Terry soaked in his self-pity even when he landed in the private Zen garden, which really didn't help his case. Batman climbed out of his Bat-plane and ended up on the first-story roof, looking into a teenager's decorated room. Inside a thin girl with ivory skin was combing her long black hair. Terry just looked at the girl for a minute, momentarily forgetting his woes. Unfortunately, momentarily is not synonymous to infinitely, and the boy was soon brought back to his sense. Taking a deep breath and gathering all of his courage, he tapped lightly on the window. The girl turned around, hands stationed mid-stroke, eyes wide with fear. Then she saw who was on the other side of her window and that fear turned to anger. She turned back around and faced the mirror, brushing her hair with much more conviction than before.
"I thought I'd try to be polite, Dana, but that didn't seem to work," Terry said, startling the girl. She started to speak, but Terry interrupted her. "Ah ah! You can't tell me to knock next time, I already did."
"You know very well I wasn't going to say that. You have some nerve coming here, you know. I'm still mad with you and I don't particularly feel like talking right now."
"Good, because I don't either. Get a bag and pack necessities for the next few days."
"Oh, so now you're a kidnapper!" Dana hissed. She didn't stop brushing her hair once, though she wasn't brushing because her hair had knots in it anymore.
"Only if you don't do it voluntarily. Believe me, I can live with you hating me for awhile. I can't, however, live hating myself forever if I don't protect you. Now lets get going, I don't want to have to drag you out."
"You wouldn't!" Dana said in a surprised tone.
"I could," Terry threatened. Dana gave him a fierce look, and started packing with conviction. When she was finished, she looked up at Terry. "Better write your dad a note," he said. "We may be gone for a few days."
"What?" Dana said, even more disbelieving than before.
"Hey, I don't know how long this ordeal will take to wrap up," Terry said defensively. Dana glared at him once more, scribbled down a note and posted it on her bedroom door.
"Fine. Let's go."
Once again the Bat-plane was clouded with silence, only this kind was much more damaging than the last. After a few minutes in the plane, however, Dana spoke up.
"What exactly is going on?" she asked, staring out the window.
"I was wondering when you'd ask, it's not like you to blindly jump into something," Terry replied. Then he explained. "King found out I'm Batman, and I'm afraid he'll go after the people most important in my life. Some friends are retrieving my mother and brother, and another friend and I picked up Max and, finally, you. So that's about it. It's honestly for your own good. I know you're still mad at me for not telling you about this life sooner, but I was afraid this exact thing would happen."
"Terry," Dana started. She concentrated fiercely on the city below, hoping that Terry wouldn't notice the tears creeping down her face. Her quivering voice, however, gave her away. "I was mad at you because I felt like you betrayed me. We were friends, and friends share everything. However, that's not why I'm mad at you now. Sure you could've – and probably should've- handled things differently, but I forgive that. What I'm really mad at you for is running away. It is not easy to find out your boyfriend is Batman and not talk to anyone about it. You should've stayed. At least then I could've talk to you about it and we could've worked something out."
"I wasn't running. It was, however, very convenient that my mother got a job transfer around the same time, and it's true I didn't fight it, but that's not the point. You could've talked to Max, she was in on it," Terry said, defending himself.
"You are the whole reason I talk to Max, Ter. She's a nice girl, but she's definitely more your friend than she is mine. It would be too weird just to start talking to her about this situation, and even if I had, that wouldn't change the fact that you left. That hurt me much more than any secret life."
"But I'm back now, right?" Terry said. It pained him to hear Dana so upset.
"Yes, and I don't want you to leave."
Terry lowered the plane to the ground and the pair got out.