Author's note: I revised part of this chapter after realizing that I didn't take into consideration certain things that Max and Terry would have done under the current circumstances. Also, the situation I wanted to lead up to with that section would not have contributed much, if anything, to the overall story. I'll have to just skip over it, which means changing the phone conversation here.
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Once Terry's back in the cave and out of the Batmobile, the first thing that comes into his mind is that he has to call his mother. It's only been twenty minutes since he left the Rawlings building, but in these situations the reporters inevitably arrive on the scene just minutes after the police. So if anyone asks how Terry McGinnis knew about what happened there so soon after it took place, he'll have a perfectly good answer for them – one that won't make people suspicious.
When Terry's wearing the suit he keeps his regular clothes in his backpack, which he keeps in a storage box near the costume display cases. He goes to retrieve it, removing his mask as he does so, and goes through the pockets, looking for his cell phone. It's in the pocket of his jacket, which he put in the bottom of the pack, so he has to take out all his other stuff first to get to it. The little screen on the top says that he has a message waiting for him. Terry makes a mental note to check it after he's spoken to his mother.
He presses the speed-dial button for her personal phone number and waits nervously while it rings. Even though he knows she's okay – he saw her walk out of the bank unscathed, after all – he can't help but worry. She's probably pretty shaken up by the whole thing.
Fortunately for his nerves she answers after the third ring. "Hello?"
"Mom? I heard something happened at the bank. Are you okay?" He hopes she'll get the hint. Since they're talking to each other over cell phones, he has no idea who might be listening in. Better play it safe.
"You heard..." She pauses for a moment. "Oh! On the news, you mean?"
Terry smiles to himself. "Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm all right, Terry. A little scared, but all right."
"Do you want me to come home?" he asks. That's when it really hits him – if things had been a little different, this morning might have been the last time he saw her alive. All the panic he's been holding back for the last hour suddenly washes through him like a torrent of icy water. It seems to sap all the strength from his body – for a couple of seconds, he has trouble staying upright. Then the horrible feeling subsides, leaving puddles of stomach-twisting anxiety in its wake.
His mother, on the other end of the line, is silent for a few seconds. "Yes," she says, in a weak voice that sounds just the way Terry feels. "Please come home."
For a moment Terry wonders if he should really be doing this – it will probably mean taking Batman off the streets for a night. Then he decides, to hell with it: Gotham can do without him for a little while. Right now, someone needs Terry McGinnis.
~***~
With the way things turn out, Terry doesn't get a chance to check the message on his phone until several hours later, when his mom and his brother are asleep. Luckily it's good news – from Mr. Wayne, who will be returning home the day after tomorrow. That makes Terry think of the research he was doing before he got the alarm about Mad Stan. Now that his mom is all right, he should probably go out. Kitsune's around now, but this is still Batman's city.
As he's heading downstairs to the garage his phone rings. It's a late hour and Wayne is away, so it can only be one person. He opens the phone and presses the TALK button as he puts it to his ear. "Hi, Max."
She's not surprised to be greeted by name. On the contrary, she probably expects nothing less of him. "Hey Terry. I thought you'd have called me from work by now." They don't make overt references to Batman when using regular channels of communication. It's Max's thing, not Terry's, although he can understand why she's so careful. She, of all people, knows how easy it is to hack a cell connection.
"Sorry, Max. But mom was pretty shaken up by what happened this afternoon."
For a couple of seconds Max doesn't say anything. "She didn't get hurt or anything…?"
"No, just scared." He'll have to do whatever he can to help her for the next few days, until she recovers.
"How about you?"
Terry resists his first impulse to say 'fine,' because he knows she won't believe him. "I haven't been scared that badly since…" He was going to say, 'since dad died,' but somehow he can't manage it.
Max knows what he means, though. "I guess it hit way too close, huh?" Terry has rarely ever heard her speak in such a grave tone of voice. He doesn't know what to say in return, and an uncomfortable silence is the result.
Naturally, Max is the one to break it. "You're still going?" she asks tentatively.
He knows what she's referring to. "Yes," he answers.
"I thought so," Max says. "You know the drill – call me when you're ready."
"I will," Terry replies. He's thankful that Max isn't talking too much about what happened earlier today. They can discuss it later, but he doesn't feel up to handling it at the moment.
They say goodbye to each other, and Terry hangs up, then puts his phone back in his pocket and continues down to the garage. He revs up his bike and goes out on to the street, heading for Wayne Manor. Even though it's ten-thirty at night, there are still a lot of cars out. Gotham's traffic patterns don't make much of a distinction between AM and PM.
When he gets within sight of the manor gateway he sees something that worries him. There's a person standing outside the gates – Terry can't make him out from here – and a black shadow moving back and forth on the inside of the gateway. That's Ace, and he's probably growling at the stranger. As Terry gets closer he tries to figure out why the person is there. Definitely not a burglar, or he wouldn't be waiting by the gate. It can't be a courier because Terry does all the courier work for Mr. Wayne. Maybe it's…
He almost skids off the road when he recognizes the visitor. It's Superman, who he hasn't seen in person since his time with the JLU. And he knows why he's here. Terry wishes that the JLU had waited until Wayne's return, but it looks like he'll have to deal with this himself.
Superman smiles at Terry as he slows his cycle and removes his helmet. "Hello, Terry," he says. "It's nice to see you again." He's ignoring the frustrated growling and pacing of the canine inside the gate.
"You too," Terry replies. He tries to remind himself that he has no reason to be scared. Just do what Bruce told you, he tells himself. That helps him regain some of his equilibrium. It then occurs to him that he should do something about Ace's growling, which is impolite at the very least. "It's okay, boy," he says soothingly. "He's all right." Ace met Superman when he last visited the cave, but he wasn't around long enough for the dog to get to know him. And it's hard to earn Ace's trust.
Terry presents his eye to the retinal scanner, which confirms him as an authorized person and unlocks the gate. He and Superman walk through, Terry pulling his motorcycle along by the handlebars. Ace stalks along next to Terry, regarding Superman warily.
About half a minute of uncomfortable silence passes.
"I think you know why I'm here," Superman says gravely.
For a second Terry feels like he's done something wrong – then he chides himself for thinking so. "Yeah, I do. It's about Kitsune, right?"
Superman nods. "After we heard that you met her this afternoon, I decided that I ought to talk to you in person."
Terry almost admits that he met her for the first time last night, not this afternoon, but he stops himself. He doesn't want to tell Superman about that until they're in the Batcave, where he can have the home field advantage and more control over the situation. If you can have any control over it at all, says a nasty little voice in his head. He pushes it away. Just keep your cool. Try to do what Wayne would do. Slag it, why is he kidding himself? The only one who can do things like Wayne is Wayne. Terry can't even come close.
"What's your impression of her so far?" Superman asks.
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Terry asks as they reach the circle in front of the manor house. He decides to leave his bike there, because he wants to get down to the cave as soon as possible. So he engages the security lock and flips out the kickstand. Then he heads for the front door.
Superman seems to be giving Terry's request for clarification some serious thought. "Let me put it another way. As Batman, you follow a strict code of conduct – the same one that the League follows. Our duty is to keep innocent people from being hurt." He pauses as Terry opens the door. The three of them enter the house and walk across the hall to the salon, where the hidden entrance into the Batcave is located. "Most of the time, this means we have to deal with criminals. Especially in your case."
Terry doesn't know exactly how this relates to Kitsune, but he does have some vague idea. He looks at Superman attentively as he opens the front of the grandfather clock and pulls down the lever inside, causing the door to slide open.
"I know I'm stating the obvious, but there's a point to it," Superman assures Terry. Ace runs ahead as Terry and Superman start down the stairs. "Our job, contrary to what many people think, is not to get rid of criminals. Our job is to protect people, and if we forget that, we're not far from becoming criminals ourselves."
They reach the bottom of the stairs. Terry's already feeling more comfortable now that he's down here. "I think I know where you're going with this," Terry says.
Superman nods. "That's what we're concerned about – that Kitsune and her friends may not follow the same code of conduct that we do. Some of the other members are convinced that, sooner or later, one of these people is going to break the rules."
"That I can understand," Terry says. "What do you think?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure," Superman admits. "Most of the League members, however, consider them to be dangerous to public welfare. The police in Philadelphia, Miami and Chicago consider them 'armed and dangerous,' which means that they won't hesitate to use deadly force. Some government agencies, including the Pentagon, are thinking about taking action against them."
Although Terry had no idea that things were that bad, he doesn't say so. "I hope they'll change their minds," he remarks.
Superman shakes his head. "They'll see them as a threat until they've got good reason to do otherwise. And if that doesn't happen soon…" He trails off, leaving the rest up to Terry's imagination.
Terry realizes, with a sinking feeling, that the fate of Natalie Milou's whole project might very well be in his hands.