Terry's been shocked frequently over the past week, but the cold gut-punching, scalp-prickling, dry-mouth sensation he gets on hearing this seems no less fresh for that. But he recovers from it quickly – in the suit, he is cushioned from mental and emotional blows as well as physical ones. It is, of course, a feature of his own mind rather than the suit itself. Disbelief and rationality supplant most of the shock within a few seconds. "Excuse me, but I find that a little hard to believe." No point in freaking out completely if he's not even certain that she's telling the truth.
Milou tilts her head to the side a bit and shrugs. "I didn't think you would. But I can prove it, if you're willing to wait a few minutes."
He nods. She lifts her left arm and presses a button on her watch. A small block of text appears in the lower left corner of Terry's field of vision, informing him that the watch has emitted a high-frequency signal of some kind. "There. Now we just have to wait," Milou says.
In the meantime, though, Terry has a few questions for her. "Assuming that you're telling the truth – why tell me now, or at all?"
"A decision based on prior experience," she says. "I sent a message to the Justice League two months ago, to tell them what I was intending to do, and to ask if they would give me their cooperation and support. They said no. More than that, they seemed to be under the impression that I'd asked for their permission. I didn't like being treated that way, so I didn't try to negotiate with them. I just went ahead without their support. Although I thought you'd see the merit in it, I couldn't find a way to contact you. Until recently, anyway."
Terry remembers his own brief collaboration with the JLU, and the reasons why it had been brief. He understands why they didn't approve Milou's project – or whatever it is – and he can't really blame her for going against their wishes. "I'm still not sure whether I like what you're doing, either," he admits. Milou actually seems a little disappointed to hear it. "But I'll leave you alone unless you give me a reason to do otherwise. I think you know what I mean."
Milou nods gravely. "I do. And let me assure you that if any of my people violate the rules, I will take action myself."
Something catches Terry's eye – something coming towards them from inland. Milou notices where his gaze is going, and she turns around to look. Telescoping his view, Terry is able to make out the object more clearly: it's the proof that confirms Milou's claim.
Kitsune's armor, clothes, mask and headdress are black, but that changes when she taps a control on her wrist as she comes in for a landing. By the time she glides to a stop beside them her outfit has finished the transition to brightness and color. She hops off her hoverboard, which is floating several centimeters off the ground, and grins at him. It's a nervous grin, and though he can't see her eyes he still recognizes it as such.
He looks at Milou, who is also grinning but in a different way – she looks like she's about to laugh. "Now you shouldn't find it so difficult to believe me," she says.
~***~
Terry returns to the Batcave at about one-thirty, which is earlier than usual, but he feels that he has to try and call Wayne again. Milou – or Natalie, which is what she wanted him to call her – asked him to keep it to himself and his 'close associates.' To him, that means Max and Wayne. He's already told Max. Since he was speaking to her over the Batmobile's holophone, he got to see the interesting series of facial expressions that she went through as he related the story to her. He can't even imagine how Wayne will react to the news.
After pulling off the mask, Terry dials his employer's number on the computer and drums his fingers on the console while he waits for it to connect. Halfway through the fourth ring the call is picked up. Because of the distance between them, there's a short pause before Wayne's "Hello?" comes through.
"It's me," Terry says.
"Terry, is something wrong?" Wayne's voice is tinged with that hint of concern that only someone who knows him as well as Terry does could catch.
"It depends on how you look at it," Terry says.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'll just tell you," Terry replies. He starts with meeting Melanie in the park and goes on from there. Although it's hard to say anything at first – he's afraid of what Wayne will think – Terry begins to feel his confusion clear and his nervous tension loosen as he relates the whole story to the old man. It's good to be able to tell someone who will understand the implications. But he decides not to tell his boss everything about himself and Melanie. He knows they were close, but he doesn't need to know just how close they got.
After he concludes, there's a long pause that can't simply be accounted for by the distance between them. "It looks like I'm missing a lot of excitement back home," Mr. Wayne finally says, sounding faintly amused.
"It's not funny, Wayne," Terry insists, feeling a renewed sense of panic. "What am I going to say if the JLU decides to ask me for information? And how do I know I can trust these people?" And what about Melanie?
"If the JLU contacts you, tell them the truth – you know about it, but you've promised not to tell. I think they'll understand that."
"I'm not so sure."
"Remember, when this whole thing started they didn't tell us that they knew anything about it in the first place. They might not talk to you at all." Now he sounds a little frustrated. Terry can understand why. "If they keep insisting, just keep telling them the same thing. As long as Milou's people don't cross the line, you're under no moral or legal obligation to break your promise to her. Just remember that." Terry somehow gets the feeling that his boss doesn't feel too conflicted about withholding information from the JLU. In fact, he may even enjoy it. "As for trusting them, I wouldn't worry too much. They've got a good track record so far – even if it's short. And since Milou wanted to talk to you about it, she's obviously trying to stay on your good side." Another pause. "I've got other reasons for trusting her. Her father was one of my top researchers twenty years ago. I also saved her mother's life when she was little – so this may be her way of repaying the favor."
Wayne, unlike Terry, does not make explicit distinctions between himself and Batman, but Terry can tell the difference. "Whoa. Tell me about it – what happened?"
"It's a long story," Mr. Wayne says. "I'll tell you when I get back."
Terry really wants to hear about it now, but he knows he won't be able to convince Mr. Wayne to talk about it until later. In any case, there's a more urgent matter to deal with. There had been no way for Terry to get around telling Wayne that Melanie had found out his – Batman's – identity. He's surprised that his boss hasn't mentioned it already. "What about Melanie?" he asks. "She knows who I am."
"But she hasn't told anyone, has she?" Mr. Wayne reminds him.
"No. At least, she said she didn't."
"Do you believe her?"
When it comes to Melanie, there are a lot of things Terry isn't sure about. This, however is not one of those things. "Yes. I don't think she's going to tell anybody." He doesn't doubt that she'll keep his secret – although he's not sure exactly why. Melanie lived a double life too, but that doesn't account for his certainty. Especially since Batman was responsible for exposing her.
"I don't think she will, either," Wayne says.
"How do you know?" Terry knows that it's a stupid question before it's halfway out. Mr. Wayne may not have met Melanie, but he knows people, especially her kind of people.
Terry finds himself silently mouthing the old man's answer: "Personal experience."
"I should've known," Terry grumbles to himself.
"There's no reason to worry about her," Mr. Wayne says, "Although I doubt that makes you feel any better."
The hell it doesn't, Terry thinks to himself. He's reminded of something else he wanted to tell Wayne about. He can't believe he forgot it. "There's…one other thing," Terry says hesitantly. "Mom found out." He takes the lack of a reply from Wayne as a signal that he should elaborate on that. "She said she figured it out about a month ago. But she only told me the day you left and…hell, I was scared to let you know. We're still working it out." He feels like a complete idiot right now.
The first thing Terry expects is some angry remark followed by a lecture. There are a number of other potential reactions he has in mind.
What Wayne says, however, is not one of the things on his list. "Hm. I was wondering how long it would take her to figure it out."
Terry sputters. "What?" is the only coherent word he can get out.
"You were going to tell her at some point, weren't you?" Wayne asks.
"Well…yeah, but…" Terry attempts to collect himself. "I did tell her, during that whole thing with Ian Peek, but she didn't believe me. And that was only because I was desperate. Otherwise it…it just never seemed like the right time," he confesses.
"Terry, you should have known that she was going to find out eventually. She's your mother."
"Y'know, I wish you'd told me that. I thought you didn't want her to find out." Terry realizes how angry he sounds. This conversation is completely the opposite of what he had anticipated.
"I didn't think I needed to tell you," Wayne says calmly. "It's common sense. I thought you would tell her before she found it out on her own."
Terry sighs and looks up at the ceiling of the cave. He hears a chorus of squeaks from some of the resident bats, sees their shadows flicker on the stone above. "I might as well have the word 'clueless' tattooed on my forehead," he remarks bitterly.
"Self-pity never did anyone any good," Mr. Wayne chides him. "And things could have been a lot worse. With both of them."
Every time he thinks he has the old man figured out…"I thought you were going to be mad at me," he admits.
"Their finding out about you wasn't your fault. It couldn't be avoided." Although Wayne says this matter-of-factly, Terry finds it a little easier to breathe when he hears it. "As for the other situation, you're doing well enough." High praise, coming from him. "Just keep your eyes and ears open. Don't tell Barbara yet – wait until I get back."
"Okay. When are you coming back?"
"In two or three days, I hope." Then Terry hears a distant voice on the other end of the line – it's too faint to make out the words. The voice continues for a couple of seconds, and he hears Wayne say "I'll be with him in a minute." He gets back to the phone. "I have to go. Tracking down all the money that Marshall stole is getting to be a Herculean task. You sure you can handle things for another couple of days?"
Terry's got it tough here, but in his imagining Wayne's current work in Osaka is a lot tougher. "I think I'll be able to juggle another disaster or two before things start going critical," he says.
That gets a small chuckle from his boss. "Hopefully you won't need to. Call me if anything else happens." Then there's a click as he hangs up.