One Step Closer

by Ryoko Lasgalen

*FIN* When Bruce Wayne finds himself 7 years in the future, he finds Batman and a group of rebels fighting for their right to live. They will not give up their fight, but is it already too late for batman?

Batman of the Future: One Step Closer.

By Ryoko.

When Bruce Wayne finds himself 7 years in the future, he finds Batman and a group of rebels fighting for their right to live. They will not give up their fight, but is it already too late for batman?

"Thanks for letting me finish up early," yawned Terry,

"It's a quiet night, any plans for the rest of it?"

"Yup, just me, my pillow and the inside of my eyelids for the next eight hours." The old man couldn't help but crack what resembled a smile.

"Good idea". The kid had been working hard this past week, then again, he always did, not that he would ever tell him that, and not that Terry didn't endlessly complain. Besides, they could both do with a rest, and it would give Bruce a chance to figure out what this thing was that Terry had brought back the night before was, and what it did.

"See ya". Terry didn't expect a response, which was good, because he didn't get one. Bruce studied the device in his hand. He was sure it was meant for Batman to find, it was left at the scene of a break in at Wayne enterprises main offices, but nothing was stolen and nothing had been damaged. This thing was simply left at the main desk with the alarms screaming all around as if to say "I'm here, pick me up". It was about the size of a mini disk, it had obviously been made recently, but it had an Aztec design with an eye in the centre. It's aged stone appearance was convincing to the eye, but was as light as plastic, it was a new form of plastic at that, he didn't need a spectrographic analysis to figure that one out. He studied it thoughtfully, the eye, the eye, there was something about the eye. It was beautiful, yes, but, but…Wayne knew there was a "but", he just didn't know what it was, not yet anyway.

"Wha?" he woke with a shudder, he had fallen asleep in his chair again. He looked at his watch, 7pm, "Terry should be here any minute" he thought to himself. He 'should be', then again, when was the last Time the kid wasn't late?

"I can't believe I slept the whole day" he thought as he waited for the friendly voice of his young protégé to come down the steps behind him-even if it was complaining about Dana, or school, Matt or his mom wanting him home by 10:30.

"Hmmm", he reached to switch on the computer-funny that, he didn't remember turning it off.

"What?" the screen didn't come on, could it be broken? Yawning, he leaned back and dusted the muck off the control panel off his hands before closing his eyes.

"Dust?" his eyes opened sharply before taking a good look around the cave.

"I'm still dreaming" he said allowed to himself. The caves looked as if no one had been inside for years. Everything was neatly in its place, all except for Terry's Bat suit. Terry's Bat suit? He was sure Terry had left it in its stand when he had left the night before.

Thinking for a moment, he took his phone from his pocket and dialled for Terry. Nothing. No ringing not lost signal, no anything.

"I don't like it boy" he said allowed. Silence. "Ace?" There was no sign of his loyal dog. He picked up his walking stick and headed for the entrance to the cave. The door creaked open. Bruce's eyes widened, he realised his house keeping had been less than perfect since Alfred died, but he was pretty sure there was a wall over there and that the place didn't look like there had been a tornado in the living room. Speechless, the old man stumbled through the space where his wall used to be and looked into the sky at the blood red sunset. "What was going on? What the hell happened?"

"What the Hell happened?" he thought to himself as he looked in awe at the sunset. "How did things get this bad? Was it all my fault?" he cast his eyes down. No, Barbara had scolded him enough times about blaming himself for all of this, at least she did, before…he felt himself cry, but no tears came to his eyes, there were none left.

"I thought I'd find you here Ter" came a voice from over his shoulder.

"It looks nice this time of day Max, it almost makes you forget"

"Almost", both of them let out a sigh. "Come on in McGinnis, everyone's eating, you hungry?"

"Na, think I'll stay here a little longer"

"You ready for tonight?"

"Easy as pie" he smiled. Max climbed down the stairs leading to the school roof. The building had been abandoned for months until they had 'moved in'. She walked through the corridor, two guys were helping an old lady to the hospital ward, and a young kid was running a round handing out extra blankets to those who needed them. "The place looked like it could do with a lick of paint" she thought smiling. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but the base; now renamed "Hell High" by the rebels was the safest place for many of these people. Most of them were homeless, many were sick and dying, and countless more had lost family and friends. The original idea was Terry's, but he was too busy being the Bat to do much about it. That's where she stepped in, Max, Mary McGinnis and Barbara Gordon got the refuge going, and it soon became the base for the rebel fighters as well as the hungry and the homeless. The rebel fighters, they were the last hope this city had-hope was becoming a rare thing, it was always something she had turned to Terry for, but she knew she might not be able to turn to him for much longer, a few months maybe? If he was lucky. What would she do without hope? What would these people do without a leader? Without their Dark Knight?

"Hey!! Max!!" Her thoughts were interrupted, it was Nelson Nash, "I found that part you were looking for, it was just sitting around in the engine of some jokers bike" he laughed.

"Great". It was amazing what near destruction could do to people-Nash had proved useful on several occasions, even if he still did do everyone's head in, at least he was still helping.

"McGinnis all set for later?" he asked, sounding much more serious, although there was a tome of worry in is voice.

"Your mom will be fine Nelson" Max reassured him. If anyone can get that medicine shipment to us instead of the enforcers, our guys can, Terry can, your mom will pull through.

"I know", he said, "'Cos if she doesn't he's gonna get the ass kicking of a lifetime." As usual, he stormed off. Funny, even after seeing Terry, as Batman in action, he still insists he could beat him if he wanted. Some things never change. Max made her way to the infirmary to see if there was anything she could do to help out.

+++++++++++++++++++

"All got it?" he asked as he pulled his cowl over his face,

"Yup"

"Sure thing"

"Yes" came the replies.

"Good" said Batman. In a breath, he went one way; the three men went the other. Minutes passed as he lay in wait for the truck. Minutes that were long and silent. He reminded himself of the sound of the old mans voice in his ear when he was out on a night like tonight. Even so many years later he could remember it, he would think of it often. His thoughts were broken by the rumbling of an old truck rolling down the other wise dead road. It contained medicine and supplies for the so-called "enforcers". They had originally been called "Law Enforcers", but who obeys the law anymore? When the "law" was that everything belonged to Wayne Enterprises, and Wayne Enterprises belonged to Derk Powers. Powers, or Blight was effectively in control of the city. Those police officers that weren't corrupt were either dead or doing what they could to help the rebels, even if it cost them their lives, like Barbara. There was no council, and no government, there was only Powers, and the outside world didn't want to care, too many problems of their own to risk loosing armies in the Hell mouth of Gotham City.

He could have sworn he heard the old mans voice directing him as he left from his position on the second story of the building he was on. Throwing two baterangs through the windshield as he fell, landing on the roof of the vehicle as it skidded to a halt.

"Funny" he said to him self "I was sure this shipment would have had a heavy escort. He thought too soon, with that the back doors of the truck smashed open and no less than eight guards jumped from inside, some were armed, some had Venom, and some had been spliced. "Bingo". He could see one of the three accompanying rebels in the shadows, he gestured subtly with his hand for them to maintain their position, they obeyed. His attention was soon shifted to the fist flying towards his face. He caught it easily, crushing it in his powerful hand, before running into a nearby garage.

"Coward" cried one of the guards, "What's the matter Batboy? Weren't expecting us?" The eight of them fallowed Batman into the building and surrounded him. Terry took an offensive stance and focused. Outside, the driver and co-driver were frantically trying to start up the truck and make a quick get away while the Bat had his hands full. Seven years ago, the Batman would have had enough trouble dealing with any one of these guys, splicers, venom, and top of the range weaponry, which was kind of scary considering two of them were just tossed almost effortlessly out of the garage, crashing through an old boarded up window. The drivers head quickly shot around, only to be met by a smug look and the wrong end of a sharp fist from one of the rebels, the other yelled and attempted to make a break for it, but soon he was fast asleep next to his mate, courtesy of a second rebel. Leaving the two on the cold damp sidewalk, two of them jumped into the front seats while the third climbed into the back, closing the heavy doors behind him. Back in the building, Batman was holding his own quite well, he was now down to four guards, 3 venom users, and one who had been spliced, he hissed through sharp fangs as they prepared to fight. He spun quickly, raising his leg into the air, his foot connecting with the splicers jaw, before falling to the ground and sweeping his leg behind the guy, bringing him crashing to the ground, aching and cursing.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," he reminded himself as his list of asses to kick was reduced to three. He blocked a kick as he heard the truck start up outside and make a quick exit. He smiled to himself before wincing in pain, clenching at his chest momentarily.

"Looks like you lost your prize, bub" grinned the guard as another of his well precisioned, and extremely forceful and heavy blows was blocked with little less than relative ease.

"You'd think so" remarked Batman with a smile, and no sign of his apparent discomfort before he chopped the guard at the base of the neck beneath his left ear. Another fell unconscious to the ground.

"Next" he said, bored. The two remaining guards looked at each other, each in the hope that the other would attack the bat before he had to. Each realised that the other could do nothing and they both made a break for it.

"I don't think so", they didn't get far, one swift kick as they ran took them both out. With that, he was off on the trail of the truck, with a thumbs up to the three in the front seat, he glided gracefully alongside the truck as it headed along the empty road towards the school.

On arrival at the base, they were met with both cheers and tears of joy. The supplies were badly needed and many thought it would never come, there were a few whose lives depended on it being brought to them soon. The three men revelled in the praise of those around them, they were as heroes, for a short while at least, until these started to run low. Batman, however, glided over the heads of the many people and landed on his favourite spot on the roof. He could hear the cheers bellow him, and smiled as he heard

"Nice one McGinnis",

"no problem Nelson", he thought to himself. He just wished there was something else he could do for these people other than bring them food and medicine. He wanted to protect them, he could protect them from the enforcers, Jokers which where under Blights wing, he could protect them from the Venom users and the splicers, who did as Blight commanded. More enforcers. He could protect them from the police who evicted them from their homes, homes, which they said, were property of blight, but he couldn't protect them from blight. Truth be told he has having a hard enough time keeping the "enforcers" from hurting and killing everyone in the city, they had to fight for everything, for food, for medicine, for their lives. Many were too week to do it for themselves and he had to do it for them. For as long as he could at least. He would make his predecessors proud of him no matter what. The old man would be proud, just as Barbara was. He remembered her words, words spoken only a week before she died.

"I know Bruce would have been as proud of you as I am" she said softly, "I only wish he could see how strong you've become, what you've done for these people"

"I don't know if I can do it Barb" he remembered, "I just don't know if I can keep on fighting like this, I don't know if I'm strong enough, I cant beat Blight, so why do I even try?"

"Don't, McGinnis, you're the greatest warrior this city has, you're gonna see this through to the end". The conversation faded back into the depths of his memory, Barbara believed in him, so did so many others, but they didn't know, Barbara didn't know. He wanted to tell her, "guess now I'll never have the chance" he thought.

"Terry",

"Max? what's up?" she sounded serious considering all the commotion below them.

"Come with me Ter", with that she left the doorway she had been standing in unnoticed by Batman, while he was reviewing his memories.

"Max! What is it?" he fallowed her down the stairs and down the corridor, jogging briskly after her. She turned into a room on the right, which was rarely used, he fallowed after her, pulling off his cowl as he reached to open the door.

"Ma…"He fell silent as he looked in disbelief at what he saw. Was the figure in front of him real?

"Bruce?" he asked in little more than a whisper, his voice trembling. Max smiled but Terry didn't see it.

"Terry" said the old man firmly

"Bruce!" his eyes filled with long lost tears, he swiftly covered the few feet between the two of them, throwing his arms tightly around the old man, almost knocking him of his feet. Max made a soft sound, but Terry didn't hear what it was, she left the room, closing the door firmly behind her. Terry held the old man tightly, burying his head in his shoulder.

"well, I don't know what I was expecting, but I don't think I was expecting this" said Wayne. He couldn't help but be honest.

"I thought I'd never see you again"

"Terry"

"I knew you weren't dead, I knew, I, I thought I'd never see you again"

"Terry"

"Where have you been" he loosened his grip on the old man and stared at him for a moment. "You haven't changed a single bit," he said in astonishment.

"But you have" said Bruce. He looked at the boy he had seen only hours ago, but it wasn't the same boy. His hair was slightly longer, he was much more muscular and he stood eye to eye with the old man. "His eyes" thought Wayne, they were darker, much more focused, much, stronger. Over his right eye there was a scar, it was an old scar and it had healed well. It was strange; he had seen Terry just yesterday, now he had an old scar on his face. His face, which looked much more rugged, but still the same Terry- only older. "How are you Terry?" he said smiling, thinking of nothing else to say to the man in front of him. Man? Terry? A strange sensation filled the old mans heart "Batman" he thought as the still vibrant red on Terry's chest caught his eye. What had happened to the rookie kid who needed his guidance so badly? The kid who had a lot to learn.

"I'm good," he said, smiling back, "despite everything, Max filed you in?"

"Pretty much, Blight is running the city, this is the Rebel base, the rebels who you are working with to take back the city and protect the citizens, that's about all I got out of her before she went to find you"

"And?"

"And that's it, she left out a few details I take it?"

"Well, not long after you disappeared, blight made an appearance back on the scene. He bought out the authorities, took over Wayne Enterprises and pretty much used the company to take over the city." Wayne looked at Terry and listened carefully to what he was saying. "I'm sorry Bruce, I tried, really I did, but I couldn't stop him taking the company"

"Its ok Terry"

"He hired all the Jokers going to work for him, he used splicing and venom to create his 'enforcers', corrupt police, jokers, anyone going who was willing to sit at his right hand rather than lay in his path. He started clearing the streets of people, driving people out of their homes, taking everything they had for his own" There was a bitter tone in his voice which he did not attempt to disguise. "We try our best, I try my best, but Its so hard just to stay alive, we are hunted every day, most of the rebels have 'warrants' out for their arrest, some have death sentences awaiting them if they are ever caught."

"I take it you're one of them"

"You take right, I was the first, then Barbara, soon after, Max"

"Barb?"

"Yeah, she was the first, there have been a few since then, me and Max have been lucky, so far" well, Max has, he thought, but he didn't dare tell the old man, not yet if at all.

"What does he want? What does he expect to gain from all of this?"

"Power"

"Power?"

"Yeah-it's the only thing he cares about, he sees himself almost as a God, he wants everybody else to as well." Sounded like Powers alright.

"You've had such a struggle, I'm sorry I wasn't here for you" Terry looked up at the old man, but he didn't look at Terry.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know, I fell asleep and I woke up 7 years in the future. I can't explain it, I just don't know"

"Freaky" laughed Terry, Bruce looked up at him,

"Same old terry" he thought, "managing to put on a smile even after all of this".

"So" he sounded more cheery now. "Do you want the standard tour? Or you hoping for the detailed one?"

"Huh?" Bruce was a little confused for a second before he caught on to what Terry meant. "Oh, what ever you feel like"

"Down there is the kitchen, the school had one so we figured we might as well put it to good use. Through here is the hospital wing, we're pretty self sufficient, we have medicine, a blood bank, dentist and they are even capable of performing some major operations"

"Wow" said the old man, who was genuinely impressed as they walked through what was once a high school. "So you have pretty much everything then"

"Yup, and through here is the best part" he walked across the hall before pushing open the door.

"A games room?" the old man raised an eyebrow at the grinning former teen.

"Keeps morale high" explained Terry as he waved back at one of the kids playing a video game in the room.

"I can't help notice you are secret identity, or lack of" said the old man as Terry pulled the door closed, realising that Terry was still wearing the Batsuit, but not the cowl.

"There's no point Bruce, besides, people here are more bothered about staying alive that who Batman is, the novelty wears off after a bit, its hard to keep a secret like this when you are with these people all the time, plus, I don't think many people would trust either Terry or Batman if they didn't know why one was running off to and the other knew all the bases secrets without being told".

"What about you mother and Matt? If Blight wanted to get to you he could go after them…"

"No, I managed to get them both out of the city a long time ago"

"Where are they?"

"I don't know. I kept track of them for as long as I could, last I heard they were in London. That was 4 months ago, haven't heard since. With them safe there was no need to keep my identity a secret, there was no one to protect by keeping it.

"I get it, but what happens when this is all over and you have to lead a normal life again? Do you continue being Batman when everyone knows who you are?"

"Trust me Wayne, I'm not thinking much past the next few months at the most"

"Why?" his question fell on deaf ears, Terry didn't reply.

"So, as you can see we have pretty much everything we need, and everyone, as well as doctors, nurses and surgeons we have teachers, technicians, martial arts and self defence teachers, mechanics, scientists…" Bruce let the question drop, but was curious as to why it went unanswered. "This is the control room". It was a large space, but most of it was taken up with computers, machines and monitors. Bruce figured it had been the main hall when the building was still a school.

"Hey Terr" said one of the guys in the room,

"Hey Mo" said Terry. "Wayne, this is Morris Tibs"

"How do you do" said Wayne.

"Pleased to meet you". Wayne recognised two of the people in the room, one was Maxine, and one was Chelsea Cunningham, Chelsea waved and Max kind of blinked in their direction to acknowledge them.

"This is Ryu, Ken and T.J," said Terry, introducing everyone to Wayne. "These guys are pretty much the Rebel forces"

"What's left of them" interrupted Ryu. He was a tall man, Taller than Terry, with dark skin and even darker eyes and dark brown hair. He looked rough, but Terry assured Bruce he was a good man. Then there was Ken, he had sleek black hair, which hung, below his ears, he had a pale face with brown eyes and he was much smaller than the other guys in the room. He smiled at Bruce who returned the gesture, much to the surprise of Terry. Morris was also a big man, he wore a white tank top with army like trousers, his skin was a light brown and his head was closely shaved. T.J was shorter than the others with dirty blonde hair; he didn't seem interested in anything other than the blaster in his hand,

"I think I can fix it," he thought allowed.

"And that's Chelsea" said Terry, I think you already know her." Wayne nodded his head slightly.

"Hey Ter, nice job on the supplies man" said Ryu.

"Yeah McGinnis" said T.J, Mind you, He's only saying that 'cos he knows he couldn't handle one venom sucking freak, let alone eight". Wayne Lifted an eyebrow in Terry's direction, Terry was laughing with the others,

"Sure he could," said Terry,

"Oh, you would stick up for him over me McGinnis, it's because I'm black isn't it?!" They laughed,

"Your not Black T" laughed Terry,

"Oh, so now you got a problem with white people?!" shouted T.J, Trying his best not to laugh. He was failing. By now everyone in the room was trying little to show their amusement at the argument unfolding in front of them, Max's eyes were starting to water she was giggling so much. Wayne could see what Terry had meant by morale, it was important to these guys to be able to keep their heads up.

Terry slept like a log, as usual; God knows he needed the rest. Bruce however lay awake thinking. What had happened, where had he been for the past seven years? Why hadn't he changed if he had been gone all this time? What had Terry been through? He knew there was something Terry wasn't telling him, but what? Why hadn't Terry wanted to talk about his future, "not thinking much past the next few months"? What did that mean? That wasn't like Terry.

The next day, he woke to find himself in a sleeping bag with an old pillow and two blankets over him. It wasn't too comfortable, but at least it was warm.

"Knock knock" he heard a voice as he got up, he opened the door.

"Miss Gibson, good morning"

"Morning, I figured you wouldn't feel much like socialising, so brought you over a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, I appreciate it" She smiled and turned to leave. The old man thought of how many smiles he had seen since he had arrived, he wouldn't have expected it, everyone was turning into a Terry he thought to himself. "Do you know where I can find Terry?"

"Sure, same place he always is when he isn't eating or sleeping"

"Oh? And where would that be?"

"Down the hall, take a left then your second right, the door straight in front of you, you can't miss it. It's a training room, he's been in there 20 minutes already. Do you want me to tell him you're coming?"

"No, its ok"

"Ok then, but that's where you'll find him pretty much any time"

"HA!" there was a thud, "HAYA", another thud…."HA!"...One hell of a big thud. Bruce pushed open the door to find Terry going to work on a suspended punching bag-which he noted, looked pretty worn out. He watched as Terry spun around and planted a kick near the top before landing comfortably and upper cutting the bag several times with tremendous force. He looked very focused, Bruce noticed because he had never known Terry to be so big on mental discipline. Sweat glistened on his face and on his bare chest. He wore a white sweatband on his forehead; his hands and wrists were tightly and neatly taped in white. His trousers looked to be those of a black gi, around his waste was a red belt, tied neatly but slightly to the side. He could see more now how much Terry had built up, he still had a lean frame and broad shoulders, but he looked very different. He had a strong physique before, but what Bruce saw on him now made him think back to his days of twenty something, if he were that age now he'd be quite jealous.

"Max told me I'd find you here" he said finally.

"Remember this?" asked terry, not taking his sharp gaze off his target. Again he uppercut the punching bag, this time using all the force behind his knees before bringing his left fist from behind his right ear in a smooth motion, swiftly striking bag with the back of his fist.

"Yeah". Terry moved quickly, going from the swing with his arm, turning his torso then his waste right around before again striking the bag with his left foot. "So, you remember your training after all this time?"

"Does it ever go away?"

"I guess not"

"And it's a good thing, that move for one has saved my butt many times, not to mention the numerous others I learned from you".

"Don't mention it" Bruce replied in his usual deep tone. He watched Terry train, there were times when he was speechless watching the kid, his abilities, his speed his strength, his agility. "Only one thing" he reminded himself, "He's not a kid". He was careful not to interrupt Terry's training, but he couldn't help wonder "What's he like when he's angry?" He wouldn't like to be in his way when he found out, he thought.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Where are you going?" he asked as he walked into the control room,

"There's a gang of enforcers moving through the far side of town, there are a few families still living there, we think the enforcers are 'moving them out'"

"Oh?" what if they don't leave,

"Then they're as good as dead, which is where…"

"Where you step in"

"Yup. Everyone, were moving out" he called. There were only a few of them. Him, Ryu, Morris and Ken. He looked at the screen, there were 20 or more enforcers counted on the screen.

"20 against 4" said Wayne, "sure that's enough?"

"I'm not risking any more men than I have to" Terry said sternly, fastening the clasp on his utility belt. Mo started up an open top jeep and the others jumped in.

"I'm going with you"

"No way Wayne"

"Yes way, I want to se what's going on in this city". He looked at the Black Mask over Terry's face, he understood what Terry wanted to say, but couldn't. "I promise I wont get in your way, maybe I can help". Terry thought for a second as the horn of the jeep beeped.

"Wayne, I…I know you can take care of yourself, but, I can't let you risk it, I just got you back, I'm not risking loosing you again"

"Hey, Batman!! You coming?!"

"Sure".

"Good luck" said Wayne,

"My vid link is hooked up to this screen, it works the same way as the one in the cave" he smiled. Wayne nodded before terry jumped into the back of the jeep.

"Wow" he said to himself after all had gone quiet. "Terry just told me what to do"

"There they are"

"I'll go on ahead, see if you can separate some of them with the jeep, I'll take down as many as I can, the rest of you come in waves.

"Sir". Batman stood up and took off into the air as the vehicle started to speed up and turn sharply, heading straight towards the gang. They were harassing a family of a Mother, Father and three children. The jeep calved through them, sending some running one way, and the others running the other. Batman rolled from the sky and picked up two of the children, taking out two jokers with a few kicks in the process. Leaving the two kids on the roof, he jumped back onto the scene, jumping in front of the third little boy, taking a nasty blow, which was meant for the kid. Shaking himself up he picked up the kid and flew him to where his brother and sister were now watching the commotion.

"Mommy and daddy" said the little boy crying in Batman's arms,

"It's ok, I'll get them" he reassured the kid, putting him down. Down below, the enforcers were being kept away from the parents of the children by the very aggressive driving by Ryu. Once again swooping from the building, he reached out in front of him, grabbing onto two more jokers and smacking their heads together before picking up the mother. He moved her to the back of the building where he had left her children and left her to find her own way to them before going back for their father. The father?! Where was he? After a moment of panic he was greatly relieved to se the man in the back of the jeep, all be it holding on for dear life.

"Wouldn't like to be in the back of that car" came a voice in his cowl,

"Me neither" laughed Batman. It was good to hear the voice in his cowl again, for real this time, just like the old days. Crack, he caught the back of a joker with a swift kick through the air before being caught across the head with a baton.

"McGinnis!!"

"Uuurgh" he groaned as he attempted to stand back up.

"McGinnis are you alright?" The old man couldn't help but be curious after all.

"I'm ok." The joker who was wearing a police hat swung at him again but Batman flipped backwards and landed safely on his feet, in a second reverting from defensive to offensive, beating the living heck out of the guy before turning to do the same to two more. Bruce gazed in awe at the screen as he watched Terry move. He had seen some things, but never Terry move or fight like that. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't gone with them. Terry was on a whole level to anything Bruce had ever seen, and to think, even with all his strength and skill, he was still struggling, every day almost getting killed in order to stay alive. The thought scared Bruce. Was what T.J said true? Had Terry taken out those guards, armed with venom and splicing single handidly and with hardly any effort?

Just as Batman had ordered them, they attacked the enforcers in waves, moving another three nearby people to safety before the enforcers could do anything to harm them. 20 became 10, 10 became 5, 5 was almost too easy. 45 minutes later they returned with another family for the refuge. Max and Chelsea, who agreed to settle the new family in, greeted them. As he climbed out of the jeep, Batman turned and ruffled one of the boys hair. The kid laughed innocently.

"Wow", he thought "He's so much like Matt was at that age." Max looked at Batman, she didn't say anything but he seemed to understand her, he nodded gently, Max put a friendly hand on his shoulder as he clenched his chest. It was all very discrete no one other than Bruce had noticed it. But he was good at noticing things, like he noticed Terry was in a considerable amount of pain. He hid it well, but Bruce had been the master, and he could always tell.

Later that night he managed to get a quiet moment alone with Terry.

"Did you get hurt today?" he asked. Terry pointed to a bump on his head, which had only just stopped bleeding. "Oh". That wasn't it, Terry hadn't let that bother him when he was fighting, and Max wouldn't have known about it so she wouldn't have looked concerned when he came back.

"Why?" he asked curiously,

"Never mind, that was it" the old man lied.

"I'm sorry I didn't let you come out with us," he said humbly,

"It's ok Terry, I don't think I would have been much help against those guys, I've never seen such a tough bunch of jokers in my life". Once again Bruce found himself looking at the sunset, this time with Terry. "You handled them pretty well mind you, I was impressed," Terry's ears pricked up "You've improved a lot Terry",

"I had to, we all did", said Terry, his eyes avoiding those of the old man. They were both silent for a moment. "Barbara said you would be" He said eventually, Bruce looked at him "impressed",

"Oh," he thought for a second "Barb said that?" Terry nodded. "You two actually had a descent conversation?" joked Bruce,

"Quite a few"

"Well, she was right". There was another silence, as the sky grew darker. "How did it happen?"

"She left the police after the force, or what was left of them began working for Blight. We worked together a lot"

"Oh?" Wayne sounded surprised,

"There were 2 death warrants issued, one for me, and one for her, when she was caught of guard by a group of Bain wannabes. She was taken back to city hall, that's where Blights new home is, that where he runs everything from. I went after he, I fought Blight and got my butt kicked, he's strong Bruce, stronger than he ever was before, he can control the radiation he gives off, he doesn't glow as much now, he can conserve his energy, releasing it when it is convenient, making his blasts much more powerful." He waited a moment, allowing the information he was giving Bruce to sink in. "I managed to get out of there, without Barbara, by the time I found her it was too late."

"You did your best Terry"

"I thought you would be here," said max, she acknowledged the both of them. "Terr, Its T.J, you'd better come quick". A look of realisation swept across Terry's face, he quickly got up and ran towards the door, closing it behind him. Bruce was left alone on the rooftop. What was Max talking about? And why did it make Terry go as white as a sheet?

"T?" terry called as he entered the hospital.

"Heya McGinnis" said T.J in a week voice. "I think it got me Ter, but I think I figured it out. It can kill him, I don't know if he knows it but I think it can kill him too". He started gasping for breath,

"It's ok T" said Terry softly as Max moved over to his bead side. Terry put his hand on his friend's forehead. "Its ok" he whispered. There was no sound on the machine next to him, but the line on the screen that told them if he was alive was still. Max started to cry and Terry hung his head silently. "Its ok, T" he said again"

"What did T.J mean 'it can kill him too'" thought Wayne. He walked into the control room to find Terry working alone at the main computer. "You ok?" he asked,

"Yeah" replied Terry, "just exhausted". Wayne looked at the screen.

"What's this?"

"Something T was working on".

"What happened to him?"

"He was Ill" replied Terry.

"I know there was more to it that that" he looked at a window on the screen, there was a list of names:

Sam Young

T.J

Trevor,

Collins,

Ken

_ _ _ _ _

Terry caught the old mans eyes on the window and quickly closed it.

"What's that?, why is T.J's name crossed out?…Terry"

"He had a virus" Terry finally cracked. "It was going to kill him, he knew he was going to die, that's why he was working on this". Wayne looked at the screen. His theory is that the virus can kill Blight, figured he could use his own weapon against him"

"His own?"

"Yeah, it was blight who infected them.

"Them?"

"Yeah, there were six, everyone was infected at the same time, more or less, but it effected them all in different ways. Sam Young was dead with in hours, Trevor and Collins who got caught up in the middle both died 9 weeks later. Trevor suddenly, like T.J. Collins after being sick for 5 weeks before hand, and now T.J, 6 months later". Both took a moment to comprehend this. "It's caused by radiation taken in either by the lungs or via the blood stream, it isn't contagious, but once you're infected there's no cure. It kills you. The virus triggers a mutation in the internal organs; Sam Young's lungs both collapsed which is why he died so soon. T.J's theory was that the virus would affect Blight, meaning that it should kill him too"

"Will it?"

"Don't see why not, we just need to get close enough to Blight whilst staying alive to infect him"

"How are you going to do it?"

"Max had been working with some of the science guys in the lab, they've managed to recreate a sample of the radiation" Its only enough to effect one person but it should do the job. Our scientists did some research and they are pretty sure that the radiation would react with Blight's radiation and have an almost immediate effect"

"I see, so how are you going to infect Blight with the radiation?"

"The old fashioned way, get in as quickly as possible without getting killed, do the job, get out"

"When?"

"Soon"

Wayne didn't know if Terry was sleeping that night. He knew he couldn't. What if Terry got killed? There was a good chance he would be from what he had told him. He had to let Terry know, he was there if he needed him, and he was proud of him. These last few days he had seen Terry, and Batman in a whole different way, not as a masked vigilante, but as a captain of a noble army, all be it a small one, as a friend to those who needed one, more of a warrior than a superhero. He had no doubt in his mind that Terry had what it took to beat Blight, he was just so afraid of what it might cost him.

He woke the next day to a quiet base. Where was he? No one left the base alone, no one left the base at all unless it was completely necessary. Then again, he figured, Terry wasn't anybody.

"Morning" he said half cheery as he came through the door. That must have been the first time he had ever seen Terry use 'his' voice whilst in the suit.

"Good morning"

"You sleep ok?"

"Like a log" he lied. What was he supposed to say? "No, actually I was awake all night worrying that you would be killed as soon as you get even close to Blight?!" no, he didn't think so.

"Where have you been", he asked curiously.

"Some jokers were snooping around the perimeter of the base, they were getting a bit close for my liking. We know that particular gang answers to Blight, well…they did answer to Blight, I doubt they would remember him now". The old man chuckled, much to Terry's delight. "I dropped them off the other side if the Gotham river"

"They know where the base is?"

"Nope. If they did we'd be screwed".

It had been a long time since the two had just sat down and had a general conversation, a bit more so in Terry's case, actually, the old man failed to recall a time when they did. He didn't talk to Terry about much other than 'work', maybe that was something he would need to work on at a later date.

"Well, I'd better go change," said Terry finally, "I think I spend more time in this suit now than I did when you were pulling me in at 12 in the night back in the old days"

"Huh?"

"12 In the night, I'm asleep in bed, next thing you know my 'bat' phone is ringing, I've got Matt shouting through the wall for me to 'shut up' and you screaming at me to get a move on"

"And?"

"False alarm, I get home and my mother kills me". Both men laughed.

"Terry?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I ever push you too hard?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you were younger, did I ever push you too hard into things you thought you couldn't handle? Expect too much of you?" He figured he already knew the answer, but he might as well ask.

"No." Did he just hear that? He said "No", right?

"I guess I always figured that if you thought I could handle it, then I could handle it."

"What about all the times you complained about me telling you "you have to"? Did you ever resent that? Tim, Dick and Barbara usually wanted any excuse to suit up and get out there, sometimes you needed a bit of, uh, shall we say 'persuasion'". Terry laughed a little.

"Na, you never asked of me anything more than I asked of myself. It was just with you there I never had a reason not to do something, then if something ever came up which I thought "do I have to", I knew you were there to say "yes". I mean I always knew it was yes, I guess I just needed you to tell me, you know what I mean?" He guessed he didn't, he wasn't even sure if what he was saying was making any sense.

"I think so, you always would do something, but you thought you did it because I told you to, but you realised later that it wasn't me telling you to go out, you did it because you wanted to and you felt you had to, you were Batman because you wanted to be. Nothing else."

"Yeah-I think"

"Tell me something, if I ever asked you to get into a situation you felt you couldn't handle or didn't want to go into, would you have said no?"

"I guess not, you never told me to do anything like that. Besides, if I said no, as soon as I got back you would have played merry Hell with me! Trust me Wayne, facing any situation is better than having to face you when you are in a bad mood". The old man saw the funny side, at least for a moment.

"Didn't you ever worry, worry that you might get killed?" he said, with a slight hesitation in his voice.

"Sometimes, but that's just part of being Batman, you of all people know that"

"And it never bothered you?"

"Never really thought about it, I guess I just kinds accepted it. Like you."

"Some things are easier to accept" Terry was slightly confused,

"What's harder to accept than knowing you might die?"

"Knowing you might die". Bruce wondered if he should have said that.

"Same here". Both men just sort of stared at the wall in front of them for a minute or two. "You know, one of the things I realised, although I'm not sure when, is that Batman won't ever die". It was the old mans turn to look confused. "I mean, I know I'll die, and I know that you will die-as much as either of us hates to admit it, but Batman will always be Batman, even if there's nobody to wear the suit. Maybe when the right person comes along then they can carry on what you started, like I did, but even if they don't, Batman's still Batman." Once again the old man's chest filled with pride.

"Maybe I should have figured that out a long time ago"

"Maybe you did, you just never knew it". 'Where does he get off being so full of answers?' thought Wayne. Terry didn't get around to changing out of the suit, other than taking of his cowl. The two had a surprising amount to talk about, even if it was nothing in particular.

………………………………

"It should do it McGinnis," said Ryu, technicians say this capsule thing should hold the radiation no problem for long enough, it's pretty durable but it will break if, oh, I don't know, Batman is too rough with it".

"Ok, I got it, shish". The old man stuck to Terry like glue, not that Terry would have it any other way for as long as Wayne was there.

"As long as the radiation reacts with his radiation, were home free"

"Bye bye Blight" interrupted Ken.

"Yeah" sniggered Ryu, "And not before time either". Bruce looked at the screen. Even he didn't understand some of what was on there. There were numerous complicated looking equations, which apparently showed how this stuff could kill Blight. He would have to take their word for it. His eyes moved from the main screen to a smaller one, he noticed that Ken's eyes were firmly fixed on it, but they looked empty.

Sam Young

T.J

Trevor,

Collins,

Ken

_ _ _ _ _

There were two other people who had been affected by Blights poisonous radiation. Ken was one of them.

"4 down 2 ta go, eh Ter?". Bruce looked at Terry for his reaction.

"3 ta go" he replied with a smile, after an almost un noticeable pause, holding up the capsule Ryu had just handed him.

"Poor Ken" thought Wayne to himself. "Still, at least Terry seems determined to keep a smile on the guys face",

"Well then guys, we off?"

"Sure thing Ryu" replied Ken. "McGinnis?"

"Na, think I'll stay here a bit then get an hour or two training in, you need me?"

"Na, its only patrol, we're showing some guys how do use some of our weapons and stuff. Some basic training, not like we're gonna have them gliding off buildings or anything"

"Oh, you sure? 'Cos that I could show them easy"

"What would happen if they copied?"

"Uh…oh, see your point." Wayne and Terry were left alone in the room.

"Could you help me with some of these?"

"Phew, I was starting to feel like a spare part around this place"

"Never gonna happen Bruce. Could you search for these two people for me?" Terry gave Wayne a scrap of paper with two names on.

"Who are they?"

"One has a rare blood type, there's a little girl in intensive care who needs a donor"

"And the other?"

"The other is Kens brother, he's been trying to find him since he-"

"-Since he became infected?" finished Bruce,

"Yeah, don't really blame him". Bruce's eyes again passed over the small screen.

Sam Young

T.J

Trevor,

Collins,

Ken

_ _ _ _ _

"There were six people effected right?"

"Uh-yeah, right. You find anything yet?"

"No, your systems a bit slow"

"Tell me about it".

Bruce couldn't help but keep his attention on the list. Sam young had died when both his lungs collapsed soon after he became ill. T.J had just died; his body had pretty much stopped working all of a sudden. Trevor and Collins were two Jokers, 'wrong place wrong time' he had heard Maxine say. They both died a few months later, and he knew Ken was ill, even if he wasn't showing it, or if it hadn't done anything to him yet. That was five.

"Agghhhh"

"Terry?"

"Agh, Oh, I'm ok,

"What is it?" Terry was clutching his chest, the same as he was after his fight the other night. He was in more pain this time. Bruce figured he had to be to let on in front of him like that. In that way Terry was like Bruce, at least he was now; he wasn't going to make a scene if he could help it. Bruce's eyes moved back from Terry to his screen, then to the small screen next to him;

Sam Young

T.J

Trevor,

Collins,

Ken

_ _ _ _ _

And then back to Terry who was standing looking at another screen displaying an underground map of Gotham. A horrible feeling rumbled in him as he looked again back at the list:

_ _ _ _ _

His eyes widened;

T e r r y,

"Arrrrgggggghh, man-not again" The youths eyes were closed tight, his chin was tucked in and his face was quite screwed up making his scar stand out more. He legs were bent at the knees and his left palm was now on the floor beside him, his right still clutching at the red bat on his chest. He was struggling to breathe.

"Terry!" Terry didn't seem to be able to reply. "Terry!" The old man quickly moved from his seat to the boy's side. It was probably the fastest he had moved in years.

"I'm, I'm ok" he said softly after a moment, although he was still having trouble getting a decent breath.

"Terry, why didn't you tell me?" he pleaded, his hand on Terry's right shoulder." Why didn't you tell me?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++

"I did want to". They both sat with a cup of coffee, although both were debating with themselves whether they were going to drink it.

"Why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to worry you"

"Who else knows? I take it its not common knowledge?"

"No, Max, obviously, Ryu and Ken, well, and T.J, other than that the whole thing is just hear say"

"What about Barbara?"

"No, no she was devastated after Sam, she told me I was going to see this through to the end. I didn't want her to think otherwise, I didn't want to think otherwise."

"No, I suppose not"

"You can't let it get to you Bruce". Bruce looked up at his protégé. "I know it's hard, but you can't let it, our first priority is Blight." Why hadn't he seen it before? The world's greatest detective, or former anyway. It was so obvious. Even the things Terry had said when he first saw him;

"I knew you weren't dead, I knew, I, I thought I'd never see you again", he was afraid he would die before he would see him again.

"Hey, don't look so worried"

"Hmm?"

"You look like you just saw Robin on 'Gotham's Most Wanted'"

"Hey Terr". Max popped her head around the door,

"Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all" said Bruce,

"Oh, Terr, Nelson and Chelsea thought they saw something on the west perimeter, wondered if I'd take a look" she explained walking over to one of the monitors.

"Vid-link 5a" she ordered the computer. It beeped and displayed an image of 4 jokers, all be it a fuzzy one.

"Ah crap"

"Don't worry Max, I'm on it"

"You sure?"

"He's already gone," Bruce pointed out.

"Are you ok?" she asked, she could see the Old man was more miserable than his miserable self. "Oh, you know then"

"Yeah, yeah I know". He put down his mug and buried his face in his hands for a moment. Max sat opposite him in the chair which terry had previously been sitting in. "How long?" Max looked at him, "How long does he have?" Max looked at the screen, Terry was kicking Joker butt, top form as usual.

"Don't know, not long though. It's getting worse and more often. The other day he almost passed out it was so bad"

"T-Terry told me that its either breathed in or taken into the blood stream?"

"Everyone else was infected when they breathed it in-"

"-And Terry?"

"No, the scar, on his face". Bruce had wondered how he had gotten it, but he hadn't yet inquired. "Terry fought Blight after some of our men were killed by him-about 14 of them, I don't know if Terry told you, but Blight can control the radiation he emits"

"He did mention it"

"He formed a beam of radiation, energy, whatever, he used it as a sword, a kind of light sabre gone wrong. Terry was fast, but he caught him here" She pointed to the place where the scar was on Terry's face. "It wasn't a bad wound, well, not as far as Batman is concerned anyway", her speech was slow and she sounded upset. "I mean, it was a nasty cut and all, but the cowl prevented the thing taking his whole face of. Anyway, it was enough; the radiation off Blights beam thingy was the same as the radiation that affected the others, it got into his blood". She looked at her feet; she didn't seem to be able to think of what else to tell the old man.

"You're not the only one with heart trouble, except this is even more serious than that, if that's possible"

"My God Max, how do you do it? How do you be around him all day and not, not, want to cry?" Wow, had he just said that?

"It's hard, but you have to, for Terry's sake, if he sees it's hurting you it will hurt him even more. He's got enough on his plate without feeling guilty about hurting my feelings."

"Max, Max, are you there?" Terry's voice came over the computer. He was still fighting with two of the jokers as they could see on the screen. His boot connected with one white painted face before his fist met another.

"Max!"

"Yeah! I'm here"

"They found us Max"

"What?! Terry, you serious?!" He didn't sound like he was kidding.

"Vid-link 5b" she commanded the computer. Nothing. "5c", nothing. "4d?" The screen changed again. "Oh shi-"

"Max!"

"Terry! Get out of there now!" Wayne looked at the screen Max had just consulted. There must have been a hundred or more figures, marching towards their position, Jokers, Police, splicers, a dozen or two who were obviously pumped full of venom. Many had weapons Wayne recognised, some that he didn't, but he knew they were bad.

"How many are there Max?" asked Terry, there was evidence of panic in his voice. Not 'out of control' panic, more 'we are so in trouble' panic.

"Uh, I don't know-don't even think about it McGinnis, there are too many for you to handle, get back here NOW!!"

"Uh-Max?" Max pressed a button and spoke into it

"Everyone to the basement levels NOW, anyone capable of fighting report to the armoury, everyone else get to safety, this is a level one alert, I repeat, level one alert"

"Max-"

"Terry's on his way, the others should be here in a min-oh no"

"MAX!" He was really sorry to interrupt, but this was something he felt she had to see

"Oh my God" she gasped as she finally saw what Wayne was trying to show to her. She pressed a button on the computer that Wayne knew well, it was how he always communicated with Terry when he was out. "Guys, we need you here now, get back, were under attack"

"On it" came Ryu's voice.

"What the Hell is going on?" The voice of Batman came through the door; his eyes soon caught the screen. Behind the army of enforcers was Blight, commanding his troops, and loving every minute of it. He was more or less how Bruce had remembered him, but like Terry had said earlier, he had less of a glow, his colour was darker. He still wore his black trousers, but not the smart black suit he had used to wear. If it was possible, he looked more evil. "Move out" he ordered Max,

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Around 60 people piled onto the armoury before being met by Batman, Max and Bruce. Most had already picked up weapons, and obviously knew how to use them, others who didn't look too sure, and some who had never picked up a blaster gun or stunner in their lives, although they did seem to be the minority. Max picked up a blaster, it looked like a newer version of one Bruce had seen just a few weeks ago, which by now was probably ancient. Some people had their own weapons, there was one woman with a blade similar to the one Curare had used. Another, a man, who Wayne took to be one of the martial arts teachers Terry had told him of, took no weapon, only tightened the knot on his belt.

"Wayne?" asked Max,

"Got everything I need-" he waved his stick at Max "-don't think I'm sitting this one out." He got in quickly before either Max or Batman could interrupt and tell him otherwise.

"There are 3 in the basement with the families" one of the girls informed Batman as she loaded her gun. "We would have had more stay with them, but we didn't know if we could afford to have many more not fighting".

"Right, we need all the fighters we can get".

"Where's ken and Ryu?" asked Nash, who to Bruce's surprise had also turned out to fight.

"Hopefully they'll be here soon, but don't count on their help-stay in regular contact with everyone possible" warned Batman.

"Sir."

"We need to hold them back while we get everybody out of here, the underground passages haven't been discovered yet, we can still use them, but they cant take everyone at once."

"I'll organise a party to get everyone out of there safely" said Nelson

"No, you'll have to do it alone" said Batman "we can't spare the man power, can you handle it?"

"Uh-sure, I think-"

"-Do it"

"Sure"

"You'd only get your butt kicked anyway" commented Chelsea, someone else Bruce was a little surprised to see, "urh-on second thought…" Batman nodded in agreement at what she was saying. The two of them left in a hurry.

"Defend as much of the inner perimeter as much as you can, keep them at arms reach for as long as possible, we can't let them get to the basement levels" With that, everyone moved out, some stayed in groups, some went off in partners. "Try not to become separated" was his last order/comment as the room emptied.

Bruce was used to hear Batman talking authoritatively, but he wasn't used to people listening, these people regarded him as an officer, a leader, when was the last time he had heard an 'order' from Batman acknowledged as "sir"?

"Wow" he said quietly to himself, he had almost forgotten that Terry was the one under the mask, he still couldn't help but think of the Terry who had snuck into the cave and 'borrowed' the suit. He still couldn't get over the "sir" of five or six people. 'This is what it takes for Batman to get a little respect?' he thought to himself before leaving the room with Batman and Max,

"Partners?" She asked him.

"Sure" he smiled.

"Be careful," he said to the two softly, looking back before he took off. Max smiled then he was gone.

++++++++++++++++++++++=

There was quit the battle scene when Ryu arrived. Tailed slightly by Ken, who seemed to have trouble keeping up. There were shots and blasts all around, some which sounded like bullets, some which sounded like the more familiar energy blasts, as well as the clunking and slashing of metal, and of course, the sound of fist fights in progress. The rebels were outnumbered, that much was obvious, some of the enforcers were highly skilled, some were not, as were the rebels, some were fighters, others just did what they could.

"Point and shoot right? How hard can it be?" he had faintly heard someone saying one time. He saw Maxine and the old man fighting, Max had a pretty good aim, and the old man who had been with McGinnis was coping well, which Ryu was surprised at. His walking stick was a lethal a weapon a weapon as any he could see, and the guy sure knew how to use it. The old man swung his arm forcefully, his stick knocking 3 police out cold.

"Cool" remarked Ken, "What's his connection to McGinnis?" he thought allowed as he ducked a blow from a man with what looked like scales and red eyes, Crack, that guy didn't last long, he now had one heck of a fat lip.

"I'm guessing he's the first Bat," replied Ryu, putting his martial arts expertise to good use on a guy he could tell had a venom patch or two somewhere on him. The guy was tough, but either he had been on the venom too long or he was just so stupid he couldn't see a hit coming.

"You think?"

"Sure, why not, the old guy is spry and seems to know a lot about Batman and McGinnis", he turned his head quickly to see the old man take a kick to the back before turning around and sending another enforcer crashing into the concrete wall nearby with his stick. "Besides, they seem to have a similar technique". Their attentions were moved from the old man back to the problem at hand. Thump, they were giving as good as they were getting, but they were getting a lot.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Where is it?!" Exclaimed Batman to himself as he shifted clutter out of his way, "Got it!" He picked up the capsule, which held the radioactive liquid, hopefully the key to Blights downfall.

"Long time no see-Batman" Batman swung around quickly, although the green glow in the room was a bit of a give away.

"Never long enough"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Where's T-Uh, Batman?" Wayne asked Max before beating down a wolf-man with his trusty stick. There was a huge crash as a wall blew through near by, Max and Wayne could see the bricks flying before crashing into some enforcers.

"I'm guessing" as she shifted her head slightly towards the direction of the blast.

"How could you tell?" They both hurried off in the direction of the blast.

Batman ducked as a pillar of radiation crashed in his direction. The suit would provide some protection against radiation, but against this it was relatively useless. There was still no way that he knew of fighting back where Blight was concerned. He was too dangerous to get too close to; normal weapons had no affect on him. He had already tried freezing him, which had ended with a very wet Bat suit, but not much more. They had tried fire, Max's suggestion a while ago. That was useless too, although it did tick him off a bit. Their only hope was this sample of radiation; the thing that had killed his friends was their only hope.

"Aagghh" Speaking of which,

"What's the matter Batman? Not feeling too well?" Batman said nothing, but gave Blight one hell of a dirty look, which was apparent even through the blackness of his cowl. His chest twisted and thumped painfully hard beneath his suit. He Stumbled backwards and hit into the desk behind him.

"Got it" he whispered under his breath as his fist clenched around his weapon.

"Look fast Bat". Another spear of radiation and light flew through the air, Batman jumped and spun in the air, narrowly avoiding it. He landed on another table nearby before quickly throwing a batarang at Blight, it wouldn't harm him but at least it was a distraction. He quickly drew another and threw it, it was on a direct course for Blight's temple, but it had more or less melted by the time it had touched him. Batman moved quickly, Blight spread his arms out in front of him and focused his energy on the black figure, which was obviously lagging. A stream of energy provided a new sunroof in the otherwise dismal room. Batman managed to avoid the falling rubble, just. His jet boots activated he seemed to dive upwards, having no trouble squeezing through the large hole.

"Get back", Bruce had ran ahead of Max and had been the first to see who was in the room with Terry. He swung the girl around by her arms-his grip as tight as ever, she wasn't getting anywhere near Blight-or Terry.

"Why not come out where I can see you Batman?" Blight taunted. Above, Terry was furiously thinking of a way to get close to him without getting fried. "Have it your way". A blast through the wall to his right blocked the escape route of Max and Bruce. He raised his hand and his palm faced in their direction. Max gasped, but it was enough for the nearby Batman to hear. He fell silently through the hole in the roof, landing as near to blight as he dare get, at least for now.

"Let them go" he demanded calmly. Blight suddenly looked more interested. "These two mean something to you?" asked Blight sarcastically, "shame." He focused his energy, as he had done many times.

"NO DON'T! -AAAGGHH"

"Too late Batman". Terry looked up, his hand again on his chest. Blight closed his eyes and the glow around him faded drastically; the glow around his hand became greater,

"Aggghhhhh" Batman was struggling for breath, he was on one knee no the floor, as much as he tried he could barely concentrate on anything other than the pain in his chest. His vision was blurry, and getting worse. His head began to hurt, he felt dizzy and light. Blight opened his eyes, smiling evilly,

"You might wanna watch this Batman, then again, maybe not," he laughed before turning to face his two hostages. Terry's hand moved weakly along the floor beside him. 'Got it',

"Haaaaaa" the blast from Blights hand was tremendous,

"NO!" Terry screamed at the top of his lungs, pushing himself up from the floor with one hand, diving towards Blight, hurling the tube of radiation towards him.

He must have passed out for a second as he hit the ground. His heart filled with a different kind of pain as he realised what was going on around him, "Ma-aahh", he tried to get up but he just couldn't. He could sort of hear blight screaming at the top of his voice, but there was no sign of Bruce and Max. "Wayne-Bruce? Max?" they couldn't be? They just couldn't be-they couldn't! There was a tremendous red and green glow, Blight was still screaming, it looked like the radiation had worked. The whole room was hot and long dark shadows were cast over everything. Then it went quiet.

"Terry?" Max lifted her head; there was dust and rubble all around them, but no sign of Blight. Wayne was close to her side but he seemed it bit disorientated, if only for a second. The old man lifted his head up, coughing for a moment before looking around him,

"Terry!" They both hurried to their feet, Max practically dived towards the figure on the floor near by, the old man was close behind her.

"Terry? Terry wake up, come on Terr…" She put his head on her lap and shook him slightly "come on…please Terr please" she sobbed, her own tears mixing with the blood and dust around her. Bruce lowered himself to the floor beside the two of them, there was tremendous pain in his eyes, and he had to force himself to breathe.

"Terry?" his voice was week and frightened. Batman didn't move, or make a sound, the vibrant red bat on his chest was still, a trickle of blood fell from the side of his mouth. Max couldn't help it any longer. Her eyes were already full of tears.

"Hey, you did it Terr, you got him, everything's going to be alright". Bruce put his hand on her shoulder, only taking his eyes of Terry, Batman, when she fell into him, almost pushing him over and soaking his jacket with tears. He put his arm around her, not trying to hold back his own tears.

"Its ok Max," he whispered as he put his hand on Terry, "It's ok".

"Can you believe it?!" The old man opened his eyes with a shock

"I put two steps out the door and there's an army of police moving towards Gotham Central Park!" his speech was rushed as he jumped down the last half dozen steps.

"Wha?"

"You must have given me the night off! There's something going down at the park". Bruce looked at the kid blankly. After a moment of thought he swung around in his chair to see him already suited up. "You all right?" he asked as he pulled on his mask.

"I'm fine," said the old man, hesitantly, standing up as Batman jumped into the car, starting up the engine. "Terry?"

"Yeah?"

"…Be careful". Terry was a little taken back,

"Sure".

The engines of the car screamed as the machine lifted and sped out of the mouth of the cave. In the following silence, Bruce eased himself back into his chair. What the hell had just happened? He wasn't dreaming, he just wasn't! According to Terry he had left only a few moments ago, yet it was three days ago to him, seven years ago to Terry, well sort of, it made no sense. He didn't know what to think. It was real. He knew it was, there was no way he could imagine something like that, and how had he seen all that in only a few seconds? What to think, what to do, what…what was this? He brought his had up so it was level with his eyes,

"Blood? -Terry's blood, it had to have been, but could he be sure…."

…He placed a small dot on a plastic slide and placed it under a lens on the computer. A few beeps and a top of the range search programme, and the name appeared on the large screen. 'McGinnis'. Bruce let out a sigh before relaxing into his chair. Something caught his eye in front of him. He picked it up and studied the eye on it carefully. Had it changed? It was closed-it hadn't been before, what was it? Was it the Key to all this? He thought for a second then leaned over the computer. His hands moved quickly over the keyboard. There was a lot that he needed answered, but none more important than the nagging feeling deep in his blood.

"B L I G H T"

He knew he was out there, and he was going to find him, and a way to beat him.

"I'm nearing the park, Gordon and her men are already there, looks like something big is up" came the voice over the computer. Bruce smiled,

"I'm sure you can handle it."