Acknowledgment:
Hey everyone, I'm back for those who remember me. I'm Vickie, and it's actually been awhile since I've written a BB fic. I'm not new to the genre however and I have written before, so I hope you enjoy this :). Please remember that I do not own any part to Batman Beyond. I write this purely for entertainment purposes, and of course I can't live up to the wonderful show so sorry if this doesn't meet your expectations. Please review if you can, I always appreciate feedback and it helps to get constructive criticism.
For reference to my other BB related works, I have written uFirst Chance/u and (not finished) uBatman Beyond: The movie.er fanfiction./u
* * *
Part 1
Gotham City was dark at night and deathly cold. It was in the middle of winter and those who still walked the streets wore heavy coats drawn tightly around their bodies and zipped up to their throats. People hurried down sidewalks, eager to get out of the cold and into their homes as they trudged through the thick snow, the ice crunching beneath their feet. Street lamps lit up the sidewalk, but not comforting with the glare of the harsh lights reflecting off the passing cars and white snow.
Only a few were left on the sidewalks as it got late. Tinsel hung from every doorknob down Main Street, decorating hotel and business entrances. A Christmas tree had been set up one side of the road, but it was covered with snow and mud splattered from beneath passing car tires. One particular man hurried past, rubbing his hands painfully together to keep them warm as he trudged through the snow, wearing a thick coat over a dirty pair of jeans. He looked around quickly before taking out a set of keys to unlock the door leading into the closest building. It was one of Wayne Enterprise's branches, obviously closed after hours, but the man apparently must have forgotten something as he opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.
He wasn't aware of the shadow watching him from across the street perched on top of another Wayne Enterprise building.
Batman watched as the man disappeared behind the closed door. There was nothing to be watching for, but the vigilante watched anyway, keeping a close on the perimeter of the street. He wasn't really looking for anything suspicious. He was just bored.
Behind him, sitting squarely in the middle of the rooftop was his batmobile. It loomed like a dark shadow, almost indistinguishable against the night. The stars shown brightly in the sky and the moon was full, giving Batman a clear view of the city. It was a quiet night.
Still, he didn't move from his spot and he kept quiet. He knew he should've been patrolling, but sometimes during a peaceful night he liked to stand up on the rooftops and just enjoy the view of the city. He never really got a chance to fully appreciate it and now that it was winter, Gotham was certainly a sight to see from the top.
The cold didn't bother him where he was, crouched over the edge. If he ever was cold he could stay inside the batmobile to stay warm, but the suit he wore kept out all forms of harsh weather, leaving him considerably comfortable. More times than none he found himself owing his life to the suit when it kept him away from death in unstable temperature conditions.
Figuring he was done with this side of town, Batman started to get to his feet. No sooner had he done that than the alarm system in the Wayne building across the street from him went off.
IOkay. Here we go./I The night was starting.
Remembering the man who had gone inside, Batman kicked reflexively into action. Spreading his arms, he fired the jetpack inserted into the soles of his boots and took off into the night sky. For a split, blissful second he felt almost weightless as he ascended over two hundred feet above the ground, feeling the wind whip in his face. Then, feeling gravity take over, he used the 'wings' built into the suit like flaps and used the air to his control, descending down softly onto the opposite building.
He landed squarely on his feet and released the jetpack control. He immediately rolled into a crouch, pressing his fingers against the rooftop.
The fingertips of the batsuit had been made specifically as a hearing tool with tiny microphones built into each chip at the ends. Wires than wove through the suit and up his arms to his ears where he could hear every single sound transmitted through the chips. It was like having ears in his fingertips, only better.
The alarm was still ringing throughout the entire building and he could hear the faint cry of a man.
That was enough to tell him there was trouble. Time to kick ass.
* * *
Frank Rodriguez was a janitor for Wayne Enterprises, working at nights while attending classes at Gotham College. He was a young man with hardly any experience at all in the business field, but he knew how to clean and he knew how to clean well and all employees working under Wayne Enterprises got paid generously for their attributions. He considered himself lucky. He had only been in town for a couple of weeks and he was able to get a job at one of the most well known companies in town.
That night he was a little late getting to his shift, but he blamed it on his Business Management class. He had gotten so wrapped up in finishing a paper he was writing that he completely forgot about his janitorial duties at Wayne Enterprises. Which was why he found himself hurrying through the cold Gotham streets with a hardly sufficient enough coat. Snow had melted through his hiking boots and his socks were slightly damp, but he ignored that as he unlocked the front door leading into the building and stepped in.
The first thing he had to do was unset the alarm before it went off and he did this quickly. Then, setting it again so it would be safe to walk around inside, he headed for his janitor's closet.
Wayne Enterprise had huge buildings, and Frank was grateful he wouldn't have to make rounds throughout the entire building. He had been assigned a specific wing and he went there now, pushing his cart of cleaning supplies. He had brought his tape recorder from class and he played it now, plugging the headphones into his ears.
Rarely was he ever disturbed during his rounds. Normally he never was. Which was why he was so startled to see one of the offices occupied.
He flicked on the light switch and nearly jumped out of his skin to see someone standing behind the desk at the computer. His first impulse was to apologize, but then his eyes widened when he actually looked at the person on the other side of the room.
It was a man dressed all in black with a mask over his face. He was a big man with wide shoulders and muscular arms, and for a moment there was confusion as the two men stood there dumbfounded.
Frank reacted first and in his panic blurted out in Spanish "who are you?"
The man in black moved suddenly, pulling a pistol from his pocket. Frank's eyes widened in disbelief and began putting his arms up, but it didn't stop the other man. He lifted the gun, his hands positioned expertly around the handle with his finger poised over the trigger.
Frank did the first thing he could think of.
He ducked back out into the hallway as the gunshot rang out. The door where his head had just been in front of now had a smoldering hole through it. He tripped over his shoes and went sprawling across the floor, skidding the palms of his hands and his elbows. He didn't think twice about it as he scrambled to his feet and took off running down the hallway toward the stairs leading to the ground floor. He didn't look back.
He didn't realize until he was halfway down the stairs that he had the security alert in his back pocket. All employees working after hours were equipped with one, and were required to use it if anything were to happen while they were alone and needed police assistance. It was one of the latest technologies in home and business security and it sure beat the alarm-button-under-the-counter approach. He would be able to get out of the building, and alert the police of the intruder at the same time.
He reached into his pocket and found the control right as he reached the ground floor. He took it out and flipped it open, pushing hard to activate the system.
The entire building erupted in loud sirens as the alarm went off. He fumbled again in his pockets for his keys, but in his haste he didn't realize the other men dressed in black making a run for him across the lobby.
There were three of them in all, and the fourth was making his way down the stairs after Frank. The janitor looked around for an exit and made a dash for the front door when one of the men cut him off and he crashed into him.
He kissed marble floor and felt the air gush out of his lungs as he slid across on his stomach. The keys flew through the air and landed across the lobby. He tried to get up, but the punches and kicks came from everywhere as pain exploded across his body. He tried to yell for help, but one of the men grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face down into the floor to keep him from crying out. For a moment his brain was overwhelmed with pain and yells as he confused his own voice for their own.
Finally it stopped and Frank experienced a blissful moment of abandonment before he felt rough hands grab him from behind and hoist him to his feet.
His lip and nose were bleeding and his entire body ached. The man holding on to him held up against the wall while another proceeded to search him.
"Someone caught us boys," the man holding him said, looking back at the other three. "What do we do about it?"
Frank couldn't distinguish who they were through the thick black ski masks. He muttered something incoherently, holding up his hands to show that he was no threat. Even though he was sure they already knew that long beforehand.
"Kill him," the second man said, his voice softer and lower than the others. He reached into his pocket and drew out a gun. He was the same man who Frank had walked in on upstairs.
Frank felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at the reactions from the other men. No one seemed to be objecting to it. No one but him.
"No, please," he said in English. Now that he had a chance to think, he could switch effectively to the other language. "I won't say anything, I promise-"
He was cut off suddenly when a black shadow flashed past them. Before Frank could react, the man with the gun was suddenly thrown across the lobby and sliding across the marble floor several feet away. Another blink, and the man holding Frank by the collar was also gone, crying out in surprise and pain as he flew across the room and landed with a crunch on the ground.
It took Frank a moment to comprehend what was going on because it was outrageous to see in the first place. He recognized the emblem first, the red bat-sign sinking into his brain. The rest he couldn't see because it moved almost like a blur. He held up his arms in defense and sank to the ground, feeling his body give out from under him.
The Batman moved swiftly, disarming the intruders quickly before sending them flying through the air. One of them had tried to fight back but Batman responded with a smooth uppercut before finishing him off with a roundhouse kick across the face. The man landed in a twisted sprawl on the ground.
All four of the intruders lay unconscious throughout the lobby. Frank stared around with wide eyes as the Batman stood there, surveying the scene. There was silence between the two, but the alarm continued to ring on through the building.
Frank had never seen this creature before. He didn't know what to expect next. Would he come after him now? Will he not rest until every single one of them was dead? He had heard stories of the creature who patrolled the night, and not one of them was pleasant. He heard stories of the Batman being a vampire, draining blood from its victims. Others had told him that he was evil and lived in the night because he was a hideous sight to see in the light.
Now, he didn't know what to think. The Batman looked more like a man than a creature, and a lean man at that. His eyes widened in surprise as the Batman began walking toward him, and he reached for the gun lying on the ground several feet away.
"Get away!" he shouted, holding the gun up with both hands. The Batman stopped in his tracks and held up his hands.
"No, wait," he said, his voice surprisingly youthful. "I'm not the bad guy- "
He had pulled the trigger before he could even think, and the gunshot rang through the lobby echoing off the marble floor and walls. Batman jumped aside, surprised, but unfazed.
"Don't come closer!" Frank shouted.
"You don't understand," Batman began, but then he stopped, his head cocked slightly to the side as if hearing something from far away. A second later, Frank heard the faint sounds of police sirens coming from outside the building. Relieved he turned his head to see the flashing lights through the front windows. When he turned back, the Bat was gone.
Startled, he looked around. There was no sign of the vigilante. The only ones there were he and the four unconscious men lying on the lobby floor.
* * *
The Bat Cave was a place of hiding, a place of release, and a place for only the few who proved worthy to see and be a part of it. The caverns went on endlessly beneath the ground, edged by pitfalls and never ending darkness. Only a small portion of it had been carved out for use, and that was where it contained the greatest mystery of all.
The sanctity of the Batman.
The main section of the cave had been cleared out to make way for what would appear to the unknowing eye as some kind of freak museum. Large cases had been set up on platforms containing colorful costumes and objects. Against the far wall near the main foot entrance where a staircase led up out of the ground was a lineup of costumes in their display cases, all carrying the same Bat emblem across their chest except for two. Sides of the cave had been set aside for lab purposes with intricate machines looming in the darkness. In the very center however, on the edge of the abyss was the Computer.
It was a large computer, almost the size of a mainframe computer with a large screen and an entire control panel in front. It made the figure sitting in front of it look minuscule as he leaned forward, studying the screen in front of him. Sitting obediently beside him was a black Great Dane.
Bruce Wayne was an aged man containing the same fire and stamina he held when he was in his late twenties. He sat hunched over in his chair with his hands resting on his cane. He didn't look up as he heard a slight rushing sound in the distance, and he still didn't look up as the Batmobile came flying in through the cave and landed in the landing spot behind him. The dog however, a feisty character by the name of Ace, growled slightly as the top of the mobile receded and the vigilant inside climbed out. Only then did Bruce swivel in his chair to face him.
"Had a good patrol?" he asked flatly, his voice amazingly cultured and precise. It contrasted greatly to the voice that answered back through the Bat mask.
"Yeah, it was great," Batman answered with the same flat expression. Bruce wasn't quite sure if he was telling the truth, but he could tell there was something wrong. He watched as the vigilant reached up and pulled off the mask.
Black locks fell over the smooth forehead belonging to a young man not yet out of high school but had the eyes of a man far older. He was no longer Batman. He was Terry McGinnis, high school senior. He didn't look at the elder man as he rounded the mobile and reached for his backpack sitting beside the landing gears. Bruce waited silently as the boy changed from the other side of the mobile before questioning him.
"What happened back at the Enterprise?"
Terry emerged from behind the mobile, dressed in his jeans and his black shirt. It was a nightly ritual of his, and by then he had gotten used to it. Tonight however, was slightly different. His thinking was in a different mindset.
"The police came. Had to get out of there," he answered, slugging his backpack over his shoulder.
Bruce already knew that. That wasn't what he wanted to know. "I'm not talking about that."
Terry thought about it, running his fingers through his straight black hair. "The man thought I was after him. He tried to shoot me." He remembered how scared the man had looked, how his eyes portrayed such terror that he was beyond rational thinking. Suddenly he didn't want to stick around to listen to the old man.
"Listen, I got to go," he told him, "I have a math test first period, I don't want to sleep in again."
Bruce Wayne studied him for a moment. Then he turned back around in his chair, still holding the cane in his hands. "Come by after school," he said. It wasn't a request. It was an order and Terry knew that. He didn't acknowledge. He only tucked the backsuit away into his backpack and headed up the stairs and out of the batcave.
.. To be continued..
Hey everyone, I'm back for those who remember me. I'm Vickie, and it's actually been awhile since I've written a BB fic. I'm not new to the genre however and I have written before, so I hope you enjoy this :). Please remember that I do not own any part to Batman Beyond. I write this purely for entertainment purposes, and of course I can't live up to the wonderful show so sorry if this doesn't meet your expectations. Please review if you can, I always appreciate feedback and it helps to get constructive criticism.
For reference to my other BB related works, I have written uFirst Chance/u and (not finished) uBatman Beyond: The movie.er fanfiction./u
* * *
Part 1
Gotham City was dark at night and deathly cold. It was in the middle of winter and those who still walked the streets wore heavy coats drawn tightly around their bodies and zipped up to their throats. People hurried down sidewalks, eager to get out of the cold and into their homes as they trudged through the thick snow, the ice crunching beneath their feet. Street lamps lit up the sidewalk, but not comforting with the glare of the harsh lights reflecting off the passing cars and white snow.
Only a few were left on the sidewalks as it got late. Tinsel hung from every doorknob down Main Street, decorating hotel and business entrances. A Christmas tree had been set up one side of the road, but it was covered with snow and mud splattered from beneath passing car tires. One particular man hurried past, rubbing his hands painfully together to keep them warm as he trudged through the snow, wearing a thick coat over a dirty pair of jeans. He looked around quickly before taking out a set of keys to unlock the door leading into the closest building. It was one of Wayne Enterprise's branches, obviously closed after hours, but the man apparently must have forgotten something as he opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.
He wasn't aware of the shadow watching him from across the street perched on top of another Wayne Enterprise building.
Batman watched as the man disappeared behind the closed door. There was nothing to be watching for, but the vigilante watched anyway, keeping a close on the perimeter of the street. He wasn't really looking for anything suspicious. He was just bored.
Behind him, sitting squarely in the middle of the rooftop was his batmobile. It loomed like a dark shadow, almost indistinguishable against the night. The stars shown brightly in the sky and the moon was full, giving Batman a clear view of the city. It was a quiet night.
Still, he didn't move from his spot and he kept quiet. He knew he should've been patrolling, but sometimes during a peaceful night he liked to stand up on the rooftops and just enjoy the view of the city. He never really got a chance to fully appreciate it and now that it was winter, Gotham was certainly a sight to see from the top.
The cold didn't bother him where he was, crouched over the edge. If he ever was cold he could stay inside the batmobile to stay warm, but the suit he wore kept out all forms of harsh weather, leaving him considerably comfortable. More times than none he found himself owing his life to the suit when it kept him away from death in unstable temperature conditions.
Figuring he was done with this side of town, Batman started to get to his feet. No sooner had he done that than the alarm system in the Wayne building across the street from him went off.
IOkay. Here we go./I The night was starting.
Remembering the man who had gone inside, Batman kicked reflexively into action. Spreading his arms, he fired the jetpack inserted into the soles of his boots and took off into the night sky. For a split, blissful second he felt almost weightless as he ascended over two hundred feet above the ground, feeling the wind whip in his face. Then, feeling gravity take over, he used the 'wings' built into the suit like flaps and used the air to his control, descending down softly onto the opposite building.
He landed squarely on his feet and released the jetpack control. He immediately rolled into a crouch, pressing his fingers against the rooftop.
The fingertips of the batsuit had been made specifically as a hearing tool with tiny microphones built into each chip at the ends. Wires than wove through the suit and up his arms to his ears where he could hear every single sound transmitted through the chips. It was like having ears in his fingertips, only better.
The alarm was still ringing throughout the entire building and he could hear the faint cry of a man.
That was enough to tell him there was trouble. Time to kick ass.
* * *
Frank Rodriguez was a janitor for Wayne Enterprises, working at nights while attending classes at Gotham College. He was a young man with hardly any experience at all in the business field, but he knew how to clean and he knew how to clean well and all employees working under Wayne Enterprises got paid generously for their attributions. He considered himself lucky. He had only been in town for a couple of weeks and he was able to get a job at one of the most well known companies in town.
That night he was a little late getting to his shift, but he blamed it on his Business Management class. He had gotten so wrapped up in finishing a paper he was writing that he completely forgot about his janitorial duties at Wayne Enterprises. Which was why he found himself hurrying through the cold Gotham streets with a hardly sufficient enough coat. Snow had melted through his hiking boots and his socks were slightly damp, but he ignored that as he unlocked the front door leading into the building and stepped in.
The first thing he had to do was unset the alarm before it went off and he did this quickly. Then, setting it again so it would be safe to walk around inside, he headed for his janitor's closet.
Wayne Enterprise had huge buildings, and Frank was grateful he wouldn't have to make rounds throughout the entire building. He had been assigned a specific wing and he went there now, pushing his cart of cleaning supplies. He had brought his tape recorder from class and he played it now, plugging the headphones into his ears.
Rarely was he ever disturbed during his rounds. Normally he never was. Which was why he was so startled to see one of the offices occupied.
He flicked on the light switch and nearly jumped out of his skin to see someone standing behind the desk at the computer. His first impulse was to apologize, but then his eyes widened when he actually looked at the person on the other side of the room.
It was a man dressed all in black with a mask over his face. He was a big man with wide shoulders and muscular arms, and for a moment there was confusion as the two men stood there dumbfounded.
Frank reacted first and in his panic blurted out in Spanish "who are you?"
The man in black moved suddenly, pulling a pistol from his pocket. Frank's eyes widened in disbelief and began putting his arms up, but it didn't stop the other man. He lifted the gun, his hands positioned expertly around the handle with his finger poised over the trigger.
Frank did the first thing he could think of.
He ducked back out into the hallway as the gunshot rang out. The door where his head had just been in front of now had a smoldering hole through it. He tripped over his shoes and went sprawling across the floor, skidding the palms of his hands and his elbows. He didn't think twice about it as he scrambled to his feet and took off running down the hallway toward the stairs leading to the ground floor. He didn't look back.
He didn't realize until he was halfway down the stairs that he had the security alert in his back pocket. All employees working after hours were equipped with one, and were required to use it if anything were to happen while they were alone and needed police assistance. It was one of the latest technologies in home and business security and it sure beat the alarm-button-under-the-counter approach. He would be able to get out of the building, and alert the police of the intruder at the same time.
He reached into his pocket and found the control right as he reached the ground floor. He took it out and flipped it open, pushing hard to activate the system.
The entire building erupted in loud sirens as the alarm went off. He fumbled again in his pockets for his keys, but in his haste he didn't realize the other men dressed in black making a run for him across the lobby.
There were three of them in all, and the fourth was making his way down the stairs after Frank. The janitor looked around for an exit and made a dash for the front door when one of the men cut him off and he crashed into him.
He kissed marble floor and felt the air gush out of his lungs as he slid across on his stomach. The keys flew through the air and landed across the lobby. He tried to get up, but the punches and kicks came from everywhere as pain exploded across his body. He tried to yell for help, but one of the men grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face down into the floor to keep him from crying out. For a moment his brain was overwhelmed with pain and yells as he confused his own voice for their own.
Finally it stopped and Frank experienced a blissful moment of abandonment before he felt rough hands grab him from behind and hoist him to his feet.
His lip and nose were bleeding and his entire body ached. The man holding on to him held up against the wall while another proceeded to search him.
"Someone caught us boys," the man holding him said, looking back at the other three. "What do we do about it?"
Frank couldn't distinguish who they were through the thick black ski masks. He muttered something incoherently, holding up his hands to show that he was no threat. Even though he was sure they already knew that long beforehand.
"Kill him," the second man said, his voice softer and lower than the others. He reached into his pocket and drew out a gun. He was the same man who Frank had walked in on upstairs.
Frank felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at the reactions from the other men. No one seemed to be objecting to it. No one but him.
"No, please," he said in English. Now that he had a chance to think, he could switch effectively to the other language. "I won't say anything, I promise-"
He was cut off suddenly when a black shadow flashed past them. Before Frank could react, the man with the gun was suddenly thrown across the lobby and sliding across the marble floor several feet away. Another blink, and the man holding Frank by the collar was also gone, crying out in surprise and pain as he flew across the room and landed with a crunch on the ground.
It took Frank a moment to comprehend what was going on because it was outrageous to see in the first place. He recognized the emblem first, the red bat-sign sinking into his brain. The rest he couldn't see because it moved almost like a blur. He held up his arms in defense and sank to the ground, feeling his body give out from under him.
The Batman moved swiftly, disarming the intruders quickly before sending them flying through the air. One of them had tried to fight back but Batman responded with a smooth uppercut before finishing him off with a roundhouse kick across the face. The man landed in a twisted sprawl on the ground.
All four of the intruders lay unconscious throughout the lobby. Frank stared around with wide eyes as the Batman stood there, surveying the scene. There was silence between the two, but the alarm continued to ring on through the building.
Frank had never seen this creature before. He didn't know what to expect next. Would he come after him now? Will he not rest until every single one of them was dead? He had heard stories of the creature who patrolled the night, and not one of them was pleasant. He heard stories of the Batman being a vampire, draining blood from its victims. Others had told him that he was evil and lived in the night because he was a hideous sight to see in the light.
Now, he didn't know what to think. The Batman looked more like a man than a creature, and a lean man at that. His eyes widened in surprise as the Batman began walking toward him, and he reached for the gun lying on the ground several feet away.
"Get away!" he shouted, holding the gun up with both hands. The Batman stopped in his tracks and held up his hands.
"No, wait," he said, his voice surprisingly youthful. "I'm not the bad guy- "
He had pulled the trigger before he could even think, and the gunshot rang through the lobby echoing off the marble floor and walls. Batman jumped aside, surprised, but unfazed.
"Don't come closer!" Frank shouted.
"You don't understand," Batman began, but then he stopped, his head cocked slightly to the side as if hearing something from far away. A second later, Frank heard the faint sounds of police sirens coming from outside the building. Relieved he turned his head to see the flashing lights through the front windows. When he turned back, the Bat was gone.
Startled, he looked around. There was no sign of the vigilante. The only ones there were he and the four unconscious men lying on the lobby floor.
* * *
The Bat Cave was a place of hiding, a place of release, and a place for only the few who proved worthy to see and be a part of it. The caverns went on endlessly beneath the ground, edged by pitfalls and never ending darkness. Only a small portion of it had been carved out for use, and that was where it contained the greatest mystery of all.
The sanctity of the Batman.
The main section of the cave had been cleared out to make way for what would appear to the unknowing eye as some kind of freak museum. Large cases had been set up on platforms containing colorful costumes and objects. Against the far wall near the main foot entrance where a staircase led up out of the ground was a lineup of costumes in their display cases, all carrying the same Bat emblem across their chest except for two. Sides of the cave had been set aside for lab purposes with intricate machines looming in the darkness. In the very center however, on the edge of the abyss was the Computer.
It was a large computer, almost the size of a mainframe computer with a large screen and an entire control panel in front. It made the figure sitting in front of it look minuscule as he leaned forward, studying the screen in front of him. Sitting obediently beside him was a black Great Dane.
Bruce Wayne was an aged man containing the same fire and stamina he held when he was in his late twenties. He sat hunched over in his chair with his hands resting on his cane. He didn't look up as he heard a slight rushing sound in the distance, and he still didn't look up as the Batmobile came flying in through the cave and landed in the landing spot behind him. The dog however, a feisty character by the name of Ace, growled slightly as the top of the mobile receded and the vigilant inside climbed out. Only then did Bruce swivel in his chair to face him.
"Had a good patrol?" he asked flatly, his voice amazingly cultured and precise. It contrasted greatly to the voice that answered back through the Bat mask.
"Yeah, it was great," Batman answered with the same flat expression. Bruce wasn't quite sure if he was telling the truth, but he could tell there was something wrong. He watched as the vigilant reached up and pulled off the mask.
Black locks fell over the smooth forehead belonging to a young man not yet out of high school but had the eyes of a man far older. He was no longer Batman. He was Terry McGinnis, high school senior. He didn't look at the elder man as he rounded the mobile and reached for his backpack sitting beside the landing gears. Bruce waited silently as the boy changed from the other side of the mobile before questioning him.
"What happened back at the Enterprise?"
Terry emerged from behind the mobile, dressed in his jeans and his black shirt. It was a nightly ritual of his, and by then he had gotten used to it. Tonight however, was slightly different. His thinking was in a different mindset.
"The police came. Had to get out of there," he answered, slugging his backpack over his shoulder.
Bruce already knew that. That wasn't what he wanted to know. "I'm not talking about that."
Terry thought about it, running his fingers through his straight black hair. "The man thought I was after him. He tried to shoot me." He remembered how scared the man had looked, how his eyes portrayed such terror that he was beyond rational thinking. Suddenly he didn't want to stick around to listen to the old man.
"Listen, I got to go," he told him, "I have a math test first period, I don't want to sleep in again."
Bruce Wayne studied him for a moment. Then he turned back around in his chair, still holding the cane in his hands. "Come by after school," he said. It wasn't a request. It was an order and Terry knew that. He didn't acknowledge. He only tucked the backsuit away into his backpack and headed up the stairs and out of the batcave.
.. To be continued..