Chapter 3
The next day Bruce was at home sitting on his couch watching Terry read a book, which he had recommended weeks before. Bruce was actually surprised that he had taken his recommendation.
"Terry, when did you tell your mother you were returning home?" Bruce asked.
"Do you want me to go, am I too much of a nuisance for you?" Terry replied with a sneer.
Bruce just got up and left the room. He didn't know what was wrong with the boy. It had never been this hard living with the others, but those had been different times. They were all different. Something was going on in the boy's life, that much was obvious but he didn't have the patience to go digging through a graveyard to find out. Terry probably didn't want him butting in anyway. Yet something was wrong; perhaps he knew the truth.
Ding, dong. The familiar sound of the outside door gate stole Wayne from his thoughts. 'Who the hell could it be?' Bruce thought, 'I wasn't expecting Barbara today. Might as well see who it is'. Bruce retrieved his walking stick and headed towards the intercom.
"Who is it?" Bruce spoke gruffly into the intercom. Terry had come into view as he sat down in the nearest chair,
"Can't you guess, hee, he," Kaile stood outside the iron gates giggling in suspense as she awaited her chance to enter the castle that stood before her.
Inside Terry asked Bruce in a monotone voice, "Who is that?"
Bruce didn't answer and instead opened the gates although he had no idea as to who it could be.
Two figures slowly made their way up to the large door. The door was slightly ajar, so the two proceeded to walk in. They were met in the hall by a very anxious dog. The dog led them to the living area.
"Hello," the lady said when she noticed Bruce Wayne and some child sitting down.
Bruce was startled and arose to his feet to greet the visitor when he saw that he in fact had two visitors. He looked over to the women who looked to be roughly around 40 and to the other girl who looked like a teenager. "To what do I owe this visit?" He asked the adult.
"I am this girl, Kaile Kyle's social worker. I have been informed that this is your child, am I correct, Mr. Wayne?"
"Well, if her mother is Selena Kyle, then yes, " Bruce was able to blurt out. As of yet Bruce had absolutely no idea what was going on. He intended to find out. If he had noticed that Terry was still in the room listening intently, he would have ordered him out, but he had bigger things on his mind.
"Can you please explain to me as to why you both are here and that she is not with her mother?"
"Oh dear," she said with a look of sincere pity.
"What, what is it?"
"I assumed that you had been informed. Please Mr. Wayne I suggest you sit down."
Bruce sat down, he grew anxious; he could feel that the horrible stench of the bad news was about to fill the room.
"When Mr. Wayne I didn't want to be one to tell you but Ms. Selena Kyle was found last night in her apartment. I'm afraid she was not found alive." Bruce was paler by the second. It couldn't be true… and yet it was.
When the social worker noticed Bruce's silence she continued by putting all the proper papers in front of him to sign. It was at this moment that Terry decided to leave the room and get a drink from the kitchen. He had enough problems without consuming himself in Bruce's.
It was in the kitchen that the gravity of the situation finally set in. Even so it wouldn't matter much to Terry that Bruce had a daughter that was his age; he wasn't about to start dating her. He wouldn't be dating anyone for a while. He couldn't risk it. He walked back to the living room. Where he saw that the social worker had come back with the girl's bags. He saw the social worker. He heard them making introductions when they noticed him in the room.
Bruce cleared his throat and said, "Kaile, this here is Terrance McGinnis," he turned to Terry and said, "Terry this is Kaile Kyle, my daughter. "
Terry looked her over and said in a brusque voice, "Nice to meet you." He then turned his attention towards Bruce and said, "Where should I put her things?"
Bruce hadn't even thought about where he going to have Kaile stay. He hadn't really thought of anything, least of all where she was going to stay. He then swiftly told Terry to let her choose her own room.
This slightly annoyed Terry but he picked up the heavy suitcases and lugged them upstairs as Kaile followed behind him. Soon enough they had arrived at a small room that looked more like a storage room then anything else. Nonetheless, that was the room that Kaile had decided, after five minutes of looking, that she wanted.
"Terry," Kaile said shyly.
"Hmm," Terry said dispassionately.
"You can call me," Terry turned swiftly dropping her bags on the floor as she felt her voice that had turned ice cold send terrifying chills up his spine. Kaile knew she had grabbed his attention so after suppressing a giggle she whispered, "Melanie," in his ear.
He looked at her and in a single moment all of his anger reached its limit but he knew enough not to mess with anyone even tenuously related to the one and only famous Bruce Wayne. Instead of striking her dead on the spot, he just turned around and went into his room to take his things. He made sure that wherever he stayed he had a suitcase with him in case of emergencies; he also kept all the money he earned within reach. He was always prepared for the worst; he had to be.
Not caring who saw him, he walked down the stairs and walked right past Bruce without a second's glance. He knew Bruce wouldn't stop him, why would Bruce even care. He was almost out the door when he heard Kaile.
"Aren't you going to stop him? I don't know what happened to him he just stomped off looking ready to kill."
"Don't worry about it Kaile, he'll be back."
Already out the door Terry said, "Yeah, sure when you and the Joker start dating," with a sneer as he headed down the block with a lot weighing on his mind. He continued to walk and then thought for a moment that he should go say his good-byes to his family, but they weren't his family anymore, were they? 'No,' he fiercely answered himself as he recalled the conversation he had overheard a little over a week ago. It still infuriated him that his mother would disown him, just because of a few measly arguments. It wasn't that he was so enticed with the idea of living with his mother, it was that Bruce and his mother had gone behind his back and had the audacity to relinquish all parental rights to Bruce. They hadn't even told him. 'What's my name now? Terry Wayne,' Terry thought with a chuckle he couldn't repress.
He made a turn and walked steadily as he neared his past; his old gang, his, the one that he had created. Now the question was would they accept a traitorous leader. He hoped so; he had nowhere else to go. He had no one to turn to, but then again when had he had someone really on his side. Well, there was Melanie but she was gone now. They really could have had something. Terry stopped dead in his tracks and wondered nervously if he would see Elizabeth. Would she even want to see him? After all, of all of them, he had thought that Elizabeth would have visited him in juvenile detention, and she hadn't. No one had. He missed her; he was willing to forgive her. Maybe they'd even rekindle their romance that had gotten smashed when he was hurled down to 'juvie', as he called juvenile detention. That was quite a thought; them back together. He resumed walking, now at a faster pace. He now had someone to look forward to seeing. Elizabeth would surely welcome him. Before he knew it, he was at the entrance. He knocked in the code that he had devised himself. He heard someone near the door. This was his only chance for a home; he hoped that he wouldn't blow it.
The first thing Terry felt was an embrace like one he hadn't felt in years. When the embrace was over he was led into the main headquarters. The very same man who had embraced him seconds earlier now slammed him into a chair and tied Terry's hands to the back of it. Terry didn't protest knowing that it was all part of the procedure. A man who looked to be older then Terry by a few years appeared out of nowhere and landed a swift punch into Terry's ribs. Although outwardly Terry bore calm, albeit pained expression, his mind was racing with panic at the wheel. He knew that a beating wasn't part of the procedure. Then again things could have changed, or perhaps these people just had it in for their 'leader'. All he had to do was hold out for a few minutes and then they'd let him speak; he was sure of it.
After a few torturous blows the beating finally ceased. As a crowd formed around him Terry noticed all of his old friends, and wondered for the first time how much he had actually hurt them. He had been their constant and then he had betrayed them without a second's glance; at least that was how they probably viewed things. He realized then that he had become everything in a person that he loathed. Well, he vowed that it would end that day.
After a few cautious minutes, Terry felt it was okay for him to speak up.
"I would like to reclaim my rightful place in this family, " Terry was careful with his words and hoped that these people he had known for years would accept him back.
It seemed to be an eternity till Jeremy, who appeared to be in command, spoke up, "McGinnis," he spat with disgust, "what makes you think that you even have a place here to reclaim. You deserted your family, and then turned against us. We knew."
Terry took a moment to think about had just been told to him. He had always suspected that they knew of his secret identity, after all Terry had only recruited the best and he had people there that easily could be said to be smarter then Max could ever be. He knew however, that since he had been forced some of his own people on Bruce's orders, that trust would be even harder to gain.
"You can trust me, I started this family and was an ingrate to desert it. I will do everything in my power to prove myself to you," said Terry trying not to sound as he though he was pleading.
A smile formed on Jeremy's face. "Well Terry that's all we needed to hear. You just better not let us down, because if you do you know what'll happen you do".
Terry did nut he also knew that he what they did wouldn't matter to him but he couldn't risk being alone once more.
"Hey can you untie me now," Terry said with mock annoyance.
"Sure," said Jeremy who now had a wide grin decorating his face.
When Terry stood up he was surprised when he heard shouts of joy at his arrival, as if he was the prodigal leader come back to lead his people. He was led into the kitchen that looked even homier then he had remembered it.
"Hey Elizabeth, guess who's here?" It was then when he heard those five words that memories of an old girlfriend who had hadn't seen since the night before juvie. He thought he had loved her and perhaps he would try to have relationship with her, if she still had feelings for him.
Elizabeth spun around, her brown hair doing a dance of sorts behind her, and she said, "Who?" The bowl in which she had been mixing food, fell to the floor as she laid her eyes on the love of her life, the man she always knew would return. She ran to him, and held him in an embrace. Then she abruptly took a step back, rationalizing that he had probably lost all feelings for her. Her thoughts were discarded as she was pulled into a kiss that felt more like a tornado of love that was quickly pulling her in; that only Terry knew how to give.
When lack of oxygen forced them apart they just stared at each other, and quickly took notice of the watching spectators who were just itching to find out what would happen next. Elizabeth and Terry just laughed and Terry knew he was finally home.
Although they seemed to believe in him, Terry still felt a touch out of place, and couldn't put it out of his mind until that night when they showed him to his former room, which incredibly had been left in the same condition Terry had left it a little over a year ago. He walked up to the dresser, Elizabeth in tow and noticed a picture had been turned over. He knew what the picture was and knew he shouldn't look at it but he couldn't resist. He gave in and turned the picture face up. He could feel the tears threatening to descend so in rage threw the only picture of himself and his parents he had, across the room. He didn't seem to hear the glass smashing against the wall as he slumped onto his bed. Elizabeth could see his pain and wondered what had caused it. That didn't matter though, she just had to console him for now, let him know that she would always be there for him.
"It's okay," she whispered in his ear to let him know that he didn't have to act like a hero around her. Elizabeth wondered if his days of being a hero were truly over or if he was still the Bat.
"Are you still Batman?" If Terry was surprised by the question he didn't show it but he answered truthfully, for he trusted Elizabeth.
"No, that just wasn't me."
"Thank you."
"What…why?"
"For choosing me"
They just stopped talking at that moment and laid on the bed together in silence. Although neither knew for certain of the other's virginity they knew that they weren't ready to complicate things. Terry would wait until he loved someone, and although he knew he could care deeply for Elizabeth he couldn't help thinking that it wasn't going to last. Nothing ever did with him.