Batman Beyond 10:
Well I got a barrage of critiques from juanquesso. Very useful and I felt I should reply to each:
Chapter 1: Terry left the party because there was more danger down around the tree, besides you'd expect a few security officers to be there. Plus people were being attacked. In addition Erika technically didn't change much, I have an in-dept psychological explanation but she simply didn't let herself out. And do you think that falling a few stories onto a monorail would not cause brain damage of some sort.
Chapter 2: Glad you're reviewing each individually. Selina trained Erika and looked after her as a sort of stand in for Helena. She had promised the cowl of Catwoman to Erika but had no idea exactly what Erika intended to do until it was too late. She wants to look after Erika but she knows the risks. As for Terry's reaction to the building exploding? Well that was the fact you KNOW Terry has a dark side (he wouldn't be Batman without it) Catwoman is like a honey trap for his darkness and he doesn't even see it. That's what I'm trying to say. And you can't tame a cat. He didn't mess around with Catwoman he just accepts the attraction in a different way to Bruce. He wasn't disgusted by Mel he was shattered and crushed by the fact she was a criminal. He followed Catwoman because he analysed her as a greater threat but was also Curious for the Cat. Erika the secretary before the accident attracted him but she'd not have pursued him or even followed up on the attraction. Neo-Erika however would.
Chapter 3: Why do I hate Dana? She reminds me so much of my last girlfriend, but in addition she's a slutty nag who doesn't seem to think much of Terry's sense of duty. Besides the gal's cheating on Terry so she's putting less energy into being 100% nice. In addition she bullied Erika before and she's trying to do it again. Also, it's a new age and Catwoman needs tools. The darts for guards, the laser for glass and cutting, the cable and button bombs are from her comics and the missiles were part of CYBER cat's arsenal and I will NOT be continuing with them. Catwoman uses her fists and whip primarily the fact is that this Catwoman is more Movie like with a pinch of the cartoon. Also the cat-lair is only Erika's nickname for it really, its Catwoman's storage space and the place (in this fic) that she let Clutterbuck work in. Catwoman had her penthouse as a base, the "Lair " is a storage space and Erika spends very little time there, she repairs the stealth suit (under the vinyl, I felt making her at least able to stealth cloak like Batman would even the odds out a little). Erika doesn't have the resources of Terry or the experience but she knows what she's doing and Catwoman has always been villain with an anti-hero complex in my view. Terry's really just backing away from Dana; Erika is just standing behind him.
Chapter 4: Sketch has a heart, he just doesn't use it. He cares about Rocco and the Orphans because they're his family but he's been twisted by bitterness for society (he IS a mutant in the end of the day). Actually remember when she dumped Terry (cold) and how she never acted more then coldly around him (do you ever see the girl smile with Terry?) I just let her show great anger to Erika and flip out. Dana is weak in my view because in a Batman Beyond Graphic novel she barely put up a fight when she was being kidnapped. Selina in the comics gained a might of supernatural power from a statue...not much, enough to increase her already above average agility. Erika has some of that in her. She's got a "Fortune" factor that lets her survive a lot of tough crud (falling off rooftops, into rivers from great heights etc...). And Selina's technically a klepto but that's because she can't be Catwoman any more but still wants to keep her skills sharp. She steals pointless things for fun and replaces them later because she's not got any reason to do much else. And she's working with Bruce to inform him of certain...happenings.
Chapter 5: Terry was taken aback and really shocked from what he'd just heard/seen and his brain were still processing everything. Dana disgusted Max so she didn't want to have to talk to her, that's what I say...but hey at least I got Bruce down, I think I put too much energy into getting him right.
Ringo: Chapter 9: Actually Catwoman has caught bullets with her teeth twice that I know of (one graphic novel...can't remember the name, it's a magician's trick and again in the Catwoman movie...plus it was to point out Catwoman's supernatural side from the comic books she's in now. PLUS IT WAS A JOKE! I know, my humour is lame, I can't even get the humour in this fic right in the form of puns and villain humour...ah well) Terry followed the Cat because the rocket-powered sidecar was much faster then the bat mobile (I thought I wrote that but I'm an airhead so I probably didn't). The projectile hitting the bike would have killed Catwoman on impact by blowing the bike up; even Bruce didn't go that far. Catwoman has one thing Terry doesn't have spontaneous insanity. Terry can beat her down but he can't kill her, he holds onto sanity. Erika/Catwoman's sanity is so far out to sea at this point she's found a new continent. She is an irregular fighter who mixes gymnastics and combat with her survival instincts. Also the suit is CYBER- Cat's (villain from Catwoman the comic book in the 1990's) Selina stole the newest prototype but she can't restock the ammunition of resources of the suit. She broke into the safe on a whim because she's not Catwoman anymore; she's antsy...and curious like a cat. Thanks for the boost though. I find bad points easier to find...sadly, in my stories, they are legion.
CATgrl: Long time no shout. I don't mind about Cat Is Back. Sometimes a muse just croaks (or you croak it with a .45 mm pistol). I can't wait for more Wild Card. I'm antsy to see a few of her enemies. P.S I am going through Wild Card Withdrawal Syndrome...gegadagegada...brrrrrr...
General Lee Twisted: No! I listen to you and your slash-y Ideas too often! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. And I still haven't forgiven you for that little incident way back when, so don't think you can sway me! I'm going to repost with scene changes don't worry! (The ones I put in have flopped.)
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Chapter 10: A Cat With Claws
DAY 2
Terry tugged on the pizza, the stringy cheese drawing to twice the length it should have been. He and Erika sat in a booth at the coffee house Christina performed in. She was currently playing a song she'd written herself.
"I like music" Erika said at last. "And you?"
"I like music" Terry said with a slight frown. "Why do you ask?"
"Just me being odd" Erika said. "So...seen Darling Dana lately?"
"No" Terry said. "She's out with Craig a lot..."
"Craig being..." Erika sighed and kissed Terry passionately on the lips. "Not even half the man you are. I figure that Dana didn't respect your sense of duty and decency, the reason you look after Mr Wayne when he needs it. You're there at pretty much everything he is."
"I like my work" smiled Terry.
"I hate mine," sighed Erika. "Are you going to be willing to help me plot Cartland's downfall or am I on my own there?"
"What about the rest of her work force"
"She fobs them off with good dental" sighed Erika. She took a slice of pizza and smiled at Terry. "Then again...if Catwoman kills her –I wouldn't blame her – I won't have the problem anymore."
Terry looked at her, the strange missing-piece was still absent in her eyes, something that had gone. "What's wrong? What happened to you? I can feel something..."
"I had and epiphany" said Erika with a sigh. "Terry, when I was small I had a kind of nervous break down. Apparently "emotional repression" caused it so they used hypnotherapy and stuff to calm me. Meditation too...maybe that's what you sense"
"No" Terry said. "It's not that..."
Erika shook her head. "Then you're seeing things that aren't there," she mumbled. "Listen, I have to go and feed my cat. Plus because I'm one of the few residents in my building...well I need to pay the rent."
She rose and walked away. "I'll call you later" she added.
Terry wanted to follow her...but his watch beeped. "Yeah?" he said morosely.
"We have a situation," Bruce grunted. "Get back here ASAP."
"Aye-Aye captain" muttered Terry as he rose and paid.
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Catwoman slipped in the window of the old church and hopped over to Delphi who was tied up in a chair beneath the bell. "If there was ever a device made for you Ms Cartland...it was a gag" she smirked. "Now, It's 3 o clock and at 6 I will kill you in an unpleasant and rather malicious manner..."
She attached the clock to the wall. "Just a little psycho-warfare, this clock has the loudest tick around, it's like the Chinese water torture...but with clockwork," she purred. "You've ripped off this city too long...I'm going to make sure that you understand this much...you'll die. Then I'll shatter this city of yours and your empire and you won't stop me..."
And with that Catwoman somersaulted backwards out the window. In broad daylight she would have stood out, but the cloaking device hid her in the shadows at least. She slid down the tiles and vaulted into a swan dive off the building, her cat cable launching at the last possible second and swinging her to safety.
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"Barbara is researching Delphi's past, according to this her mother was one of my foes, the Copy Cat She-Cat" Selina said. "Then she was arrested and disappeared. But apparently her daughter had enough money to make a company, probably the few hundred thousand her mother amassed in a rather bad thieving career."
Max spoke over the com-link as she viewed the picture of She-Cat. "Ugh! She-Cat or She-Chihuahua? That is one bad costume!"
"She never had much in the line of dress sense," admitted Selina. "Sam Young is alive, still out but alive. A "tourists" camera got a picture of "Batman" throwing the batarang".
"The tourist disappeared at the police station before they could question him" Bruce said. "But he was rather similar to Stefan Krauss. Speaking of whom, two building sites were robbed of surveying and digging equipment last night. Their most powerful tools used for heavy but delicate work in the underground".
"They're digging for something," Sketch said. "Or rather for somewhere to put something. I did research on the holo-image I got; it was a gas canister that the Penguin had concocted. The gas is so explosive they were afraid to even consider leaking the gas out into the air in case it blew up completely. So instead they decided to lock it away...bad idea. There's no safe way known to destroy the gas".
"We should look into the gas," Selina said. "Maybe there's some way to neutralize it".
"What about Catwoman? Any sign of Ms Cartland?" asked Terry.
"She's not returned to the storage unit I gave her as a hideout. And she's exhausted all the cat-gadgets I gave her except for the button bombs. The cyber suit is damaged a little but she can repair it...the stealth engine is at full capacity and her whip is fully set..." she sighed. "I should have known something was wrong, I didn't think she'd go this far!"
"Who is she? Tell us her identity and we can stop her" Max said.
"No" Selina said firmly. "She's still my ward and there's honour among thieves..."
Sketch nodded and Bruce shook his head, a strange Irony to that simple set of movements.
"I think I have an idea where she might me" Selina said at last. "Where she's hidden Delphi. I think it might be St. Mary Cathleen's Church. It was shut down, it's also where her parents funeral was held..."
"Morbid" Terry said.
"Ironic" Sketch sighed. "Truly dark...I'm impressed".
"She's not herself," sighed Selina. "I never taught her to kill...or hurt...I taught her to steal".
"Admirable" sniffed Bruce.
"It is" Terry said. "She taught the cat to fight in self-defence not to use it to kill." He moved towards the costume vault. "I'll head out after I talk to the commissioner about something."
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Terry landed on the roof and climbed through the window of the bell tower. Tied up in her black business suit to an old chair. "Ms Cartland" he said. "Are you okay?"
He pulled her cloth gag away. "Yes Batman, fine" she said. "I knew there was something fishy going on."
"Did someone say fish?" Catwoman dropped onto Terry's shoulders and flipped backwards flinging him away. "I haven't been fed all day!" She pulled the whip from her waist as Batman pulled the batarangs from his belt. "Oh, you're at an advantage all I have is a few button bombs, my claws..."
She somersaulted over, landing in front of him and kicking straight up. "And legs that just won't quit!"
Catwoman spun at Terry again. He ducked and kicked her leg from under her. Her whip lashed at his shoulder and stung him. They rolled to their feet. Catwoman stood with the clock behind her. "Listen to that Batman..." she smiled, an insanity in her voice. "The ticking down to her death..." she paused and sighed. "Okay now it's bugged me too". She slammed her elbow back into the clock and launched into a storm of whipping backing Terry to the window. "Boys always fall for me," she said sweetly as he swayed towards the plunge.
"I believe you're out of tricks," grunted Terry.
He steadied himself and hurled the batarang at her. It sliced open the side of her costume, revealing flesh and a hint of circuitry. "Evidently you've heard I'm low on gadgets" she sighed. "How I don't know...but what the hell..."
She spun and lanced a full-length kick into him. He hit the wall and ducked as a heeled kick slammed into the wall. He grabbed her leg, propping it on his shoulder and flipped her over, slamming her face first into the floor.
"Eat floor," he grunted. "High fibre."
"Eat heel" she hissed and spun on the ground to lance a kick into his face. "Great for the figure!"
He fell back and ducked as the whip grew a set of spikes and swiped at his head. Spinning Catwoman snagged his ankles and dragged him down. He kicked his legs up into her face and she fell back.
Catwoman's talons grew out; she sliced through the binds on Delphi's chair and flipped the woman unceremoniously to the ground. She snapped the whip, using the chair to keep Terry at a distance. "Back, Back you wild beast" she cackled and slashed with the spiked whip. Terry hurled the batrangs at the chair removing its legs. Catwoman growled and slammed it down on his head before ramming the remaining legs onto either side of his body and shoving him into a wall.
"Oopsy you'll find that I'm all claws Batman" she sneered.
Behind her Delphi rushed to the ropes holding up the bell, a single sturdy rope tied to a large weight. She watched as Batman slammed a fist into Catwoman and knocked her backwards.
"Kill too furred pests with one bell" chuckled Delphi. She grabbed a nearby fire axe and hacked down. The rope snapped easily and the bell crashed down. Catwoman back flipped sharply and landed on the floor as it buckled. Terry was less agile but managed to dive and roll away. The old wooden floor cracked inwards and both costumed youths went sliding into the pit. Delphi smirked and darted to the stairs. "And my escape route is still intact."
Catwoman's whip lashed out wrapping around a support beam on the flight downwards. Terry fired a batarang and cable at the wall swinging sharply into a wall but staying alive. "Fine turn around isn't it!" called Catwoman as she climbed her rope. "She's good at backstabbing...but the killing? Not so much."
She swung up into the gap and waved down. "Hate to leave you hanging but I'll see you around!" she called then vanished. Terry groaned and shook his head.
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DAY 3
"And in a feat of daring-do and courage Delphine Cartland, head designer of Cartland fashions and CEO of the company, escaped the plans of Catwoman and Batman to use her as a tool. Acting DA Dora Greenway says that there will be Zero Tolerance for these two dangerous criminals."
Matt shut off the screen and tucked into his pizza. "Man! The media get it wrong"
Erika nodded from across the table. "I heard on a Soundbyte that Catwoman is thought to have weighed 140lbs. I wonder how these hacks sleep at night! She'd have to be in better shape then--" she shook her head and gave a small, slightly mad laugh. "You don't want to hear me rant. Do you Mattie? And if your brother ever wakes up, he'll not want to hear it either."
"Yeah, I mean he got real peeved because they said "Batman Wipes Out On Crime wave" on the News Bit today" Matt said. "I mean, the man saves millions in property damage."
"That he does" Erika said raising a slice of Pizza in a kind of toast. "Come on let's bribe your brother to join us with a deep dish pizza".
"At least you didn't order anchovies" smiled Matt. "That would be unforgivable."
Erika tossed her hair. "Remind me again why I convinced your mother to let me get you breakfast and let her take a nice day at the salon with the gossip girls?"
"Because you're a nice person...who got the morning off?" Matt said. "Because your boss had a "traumatic and emotionally draining experience"? Plus you love my brother?"
Erika gagged on her pizza. "What?"
"Oh you just haven't said it yet," Matt said. "We all know you and him are like...Romeo and Juliet or Anthony and Cleopatra"
"Matt...have you ever read those plays?" Erika sighed. "Because they're not the best examples of love".
"What? Why?"
"The four characters you named all die...suicide, all four" Erika said. "As I recall".
She lifted the Pizza carton and nodded at the door. "Let's go do the bribing thing".
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Selina looked at Sketch. "I've been meaning to ask...why did you suddenly go good?"
Sketch looked up from the diagrams of the bat gadgets. "Sorry?"
Selina sat in at the large bench with him. "Why did you decide to help Terry?"
"I---" Sketch sighed. "I amn't sure. I realized that what Victor wanted was far too dangerous for the Orphans...that's why I sent Rocco away. Then I began to lose the minimal control on my empathy and I felt the hurt and pain I caused..." he shivered. "I couldn't keep it up. I had to stop the pointless deaths that my monstrous creation would have caused..."
Selina nodded. "Alfred was once very sick. Bruce had faced off against a man called Tar-Dai, an assassin who was more lethal then any he had encountered before. He'd barely defeated him and his costume was left in tatters...Alfred used a Costume creation program to created a new outfit for Bruce, he then made a full recovery and got Bruce back on track."
There was silence in the cave.
"What was the point of that story?" Sketch asked after an expectant moment.
"There wasnt really one...Other then: that all heroes need a conscience, maybe your Empathy was trying to free yours and now its time someone stepped in and took over for it. You seem to have suppressed your powers rather then embrace them...the genetic damage of the acid on Harvey seemingly gave him a sort of...mental boost. Made him more then a common thug. Stronger in some aspects, smarter, quicker...that kind of thing. It's been passed on to you in most ways...including a sense of justice you've fought. I think it's time you get real...get a purpose."
She smiled at him and despite himself he smiled back.
==============================
Terry was grudging in getting out of bed but the appearance of Erika made him sit right up and take notice. Erika smiled and eventually he rose from his slumber to dress and eat pizza.
Matt was watching the TV. Erika and Terry stood in the kitchen, silent. "I'm sorry Terry," she said. "Sorry that I ran out on you yesterday...it's just...that...I don't want you to think I'm a good person...I amn't...I can't be...ever...not anymore".
"But you are" Terry said. "I've never known anyone---"
"You will some day," Erika said. "You only know one side of me...I can't say that I'm a good person, that'd be a lie the size of Max's IQ. I mean...you don't know me in total. If you did you wouldn't be so sure that I was a good person."
"I can feel it in my heart...you're missing something, there's a hole in your heart and I want to mend it..."
Erika grabbed Terry by the collars and pulled him into a kiss. Finally she pulled back. "You can't fix it Terry, I'm too far gone...I just want to enjoy what's left of our time together."
"It's your birthday on New Years Eve..." Terry murmured.
"Yeah" sighed Erika as he pulled her into a hug. "Two minutes before midnight".
"Sounds like fun..." he said.
"I like to hear people say happy birthday to me on New Years Day...it's the start of a Fresh New Year" Erika said as she hugged him tightly. "It's a new beginning for me then."
"Well I'll wait" Terry said.
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Paxton dusted his shirt with a hand and looked at the Jokerz standing before him. "Due to the fact you really screwed up last time, I am reluctant to give you this next chance...to kill Terry McGinnis" he sighed as the Jokerz glanced at the lights in the warehouse clunking on. "These are heavy weaponry, two side car flame throwers on motorcycle side cars, three electric rifles, two pulse blasters and a crate of tear gas grenades. Kill him for me please."
He watched the Jokerz gingerly get onto the bikes, most still wounded from their beatings at the hands of a group of teenagers. "Remember, if you fail I will have to put pressure on the legal system to lock those captured away...for good!" he shouted as they vanished out the door.
He dialled the number on his phone. "Hello darling, it's your sweet sugarplum. I'll be over in a few minutes. I've just had the Jokerz set out to kill Terry McGinnis and secure the fortune to me. Wuv you too schnookims"
He snapped the device shut and marched over to his limo.
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Terry watched as Erika bashed Matt's character about. "Where did you learn to play Tekken 14 like that?" Matt exclaimed in surprise.
"Arcade" Erika said calmly. "It was –hey no fair you dirty fighter- all I could do to stay sane when I had a lunch break or late morning. I didn't like to stay –heel kick- in my apartment during the day, the smell got worse."
Matt groaned as his character dropped dead and was stamped on by Erika's character.
"Anyone want to take a walk?" Erika asked. "My legs are going dead."
"Okay" Terry said. "Give me a few minutes, I just have to make a call and...look I'll meet you guys at the park when I'm done. Get a head start on me."
"Fine by me" Matt said. "Hey Erika, ever played Street fighter 48?"
"Yes actually" Erika said as they pulled on their coats and left the house. Terry grabbed the phone and dialled Max's number.
"Hey fella" smiled Max before Terry said anything. "I bet this is about Erika."
"How did you know?" Terry asked in disbelief.
"D'uh the fact you're calling me on a land line, you'd call me on the console if it was some normal conversation. This is big, definitely Erika related."
"I like her" Terry sighed. "I mean, it was like a lightening bolt...out of the blue! I just suddenly fell for her!"
"And with Dana out of the picture no one will oppose you" Max said. "Speaking of which, she's the least favourite person in Hamilton Hill High. Remember how Craig was a sport star in Goldstein High? He's their star quarter back..."
"Wow" muttered Terry. "That was not her finest hour."
"Did she ever have one?"
Terry looked sad. "Max...I really did care about her...I liked her a whole lot"
Max sighed. "I know you did Terry, but she didn't feel the same...I mean when was the last time you saw that girl smile? Seriously! She was like a stone sculpture. You two looked good together but you didn't click."
"I drove her to that Craig guy..."
"Like I said, you guys didn't click...besides Blade and I took her apart at lunch yesterday."
"You did?"
The conversation was cut short as a mad laughing rang out. Rushing to the window Terry stared down at the road, the Jokerz had opened fire on the people and houses of the street. He grabbed his costume from the secret panel in his closet.
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Erika heard the shots. The electric rifle fired at her and Matt. The bulb of green and blue light sped at her. She grabbed Matt and performed a dazzling flip over the nearest mailbox and landed into a run straight into the Laundromat. "Hide in here" she said firmly. "I'll go call the police. Don't leave here unless the Jokerz get close and only use the back exit".
"Erika what if they catch you when---"
Erika kissed him on the forehead. "Sweet as your brother, but I'm a big girl now. I'll be fine, just make sure you're ready to run away from here. If you have to get out, go to the Cyber Café a block away. I'll meet you there."
And she was gone.
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Erika's pupils narrowed as she focused on the Jokerz. She stepped into an alcove and pulled her costume out of her purse. The vinyl over the lightweight, virtually non-existent circuitry was as patched up as the vinyl. Her black suits stitches were now twice as many and her arsenal was severely limited.
"I was losing sight of cat-womanliness with all those gimmicks any way" she sighed. She darted out of the alley into a full sprint at the nearest Joker bike.
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Terry cracked too Jokerz heads together and hurled their weapons away. The flame from the cannon on the nearest bike raked the ground. Terry leapt aside in time to avoid being boiled, landing in front of a Joker who slammed a charged knuckle duster into his ribs. Terry shouted out and slammed into the glass of a restaurant crashing through. Two of the Jokerz stepped in after him holding electric rifles.
"So much for the bat" sneered one.
"You didn't say it with a capital B" a cool female voice said. The bottle of soda shattered over the head of the first and the tray smashed across the others face. Mel brought her knee into the groin of the one who'd gotten the bottle in the head and karate chopped him down. The other rose up behind her and received a back fist to the face without Mel even acknowledging she'd done it.
"Ten" nodded Batman pulling himself up. "Been a while"
"It'll be even longer again I hope, not that the socializing isn't nice" Mel said. "Why the hell do the Jokerz have weaponry of this calibre?" she kicked a rifle and looked over her shoulder. "You don't have time to chat"
"Thank you" Terry said.
"You gave me a chance to turn my life around" Mel said. "We're even now."
Terry gave a stiff nod and jetted out to the street. Mel sighed and turned to calm the patrons who were panicking. She always felt really bad around Batman. Guilty. Almost as bad as she felt around Terry. But he'd agreed to try and be her friend at least...
Flash Back
Mel groaned and dropped to the floor to clean the spilt soda. "Mel?"
Mel's heart froze. "Terry" she whispered as she looked up at the stunned young man she'd had a crush on. She knew it had been puppy love but she still felt utterly devastated when he'd turned up at the courthouse looking betrayed and so...shattered.
"I thought you worked across town"
"I was transferred here...I suppose that's the right word..." Mel sighed. "They're going to make me manager at the end of the month."
"That's good" Terry said tightly.
Mel looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. She turned and walked back into the kitchen. A week later Terry came by with Max and they talked and...were civil. Mel was happy they were friends; she had grown up in some ways. They both had. And in doing so they'd grown apart to the right level to be friends.
End Flashback
Terry hurled the explosive batarang at the sidecar. It burst into a small cloud of flame and flipped over as the Jokerz were thrown. He kicked another in the ribs and judo flipped the man.
"I thought you only played with me baby" a voice called. A whip cracked and dragged the Joker behind Terry away. Catwoman cracked her whip and spun into a whip crack that smashed down hard on the arms of a man.
"What are you---"
"It's my girl-scout troupes day for trying to earn our Save-A-Neighourhood- From-Cheap-Knock-Offs-Of-A-Supervillain badges," she said in a sultry monotone.
She kicked hard into the face of a Joker three times then slashed him across the chest twice before finishing him with a spin kick as she muttered. "Tic-Cat-Toe!"
Terry ducked a slash of a knife and rose with both fists into the unfortunate mans face, the Joker crashed backwards with a shout.
Catwoman slammed her knee into the J-man's gut and forced him into a buckle. He swung a fist at her head. She leaned back and the fist hissed over her head as she bent back like a boneless figure. She snapped back up and slashed across his face.
J-Man pulled out a pistol. "Damn you" he snarled. "This'll do the job on you."
Erika cocked her head to one side. "Men!" she snorted. "Always confusing their pistols with their privates...and usually disappointingly for the woman."
She cracked her whip and removed the gun from play. She cracked the whip around his throat and curled into his body, flipping him over heavily. He rolled to his feet and the whip snagged his wrist. The one in the bandage.
"Now, what were you saying?" mused Catwoman.
"I-am-going-to-kill-you" intoned J-Man.
"Ah, then you can understand my reasons for doing THIS". The electric current ran up the whip and sent J-man into a dance of ragged abandon before collapsing. "Well that was brief" she sighed as she coiled her whip back around her waist and poked him with the toe of a high-heeled boot. "Just like all the men in my life..." she paused and looked from the J-man to Batman. "What men? Well there's you but you need therapy".
She sighed and watched Batman tie up the last of the crooks. "I wish I could stay," she said as he advanced. "But duty calls...HAH! What duty?"
She flicked the button bomb up and hit a button. The explosion staggered Terry, when he looked back up; she was long gone, leaving a vapour trail in her wake.
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"I'm so glad you're okay," gasped Mary McGinnis. "I was so afraid!" she hugged Matt and Terry tightly as she fought her cries to sobs.
"Erika saved me," Matt said. "She's really schway!"
"Where did she go Terry?" Mary asked. "I'd have liked to thank her."
Terry realized he was being spoken to and turned to his mother. "She—she went home, she was wiped out. I don't blame her...she ran to the police station and grabbed some help. Literally".
Mary smiled at Terry. "Let's just turn on the evening news and have a nice cup of tea".
Terry nodded automatically and looked back out the window at the setting sun. The fact was...this was the second time high tech weapons and Jokerz had mixed and crossed his path...what was the connection?
He turned on the Soundbyte and relaxed into the chair. "And news just in! Batman has just blown up a Baxley Fashions warehouse. Thankfully there was no one inside and casualties were minor but many" the Anchorman said. The picture of the flaming warehouse blazed behind him, a black bat was spray painted on the front of the warehouse. "No one noticed the spray painting until the flames were seen. Batman is now wanted for terrorism. In addition, Delphine Cartland is offering a 500 thousand dollar reward for his capture."
"Mom! I have to go out!" Terry shouted. "To check on Mr Wayne..." he grabbed his coat and dashed out of the house with his satchel.
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Stefan gestured, the truck opened out and the large magnet descended, drawing the steel pipes to it. He gave a thumbs-up and they were loaded in. He smiled and nodded. The toughest steel pipes in Gotham were moved from the future site of the Home for Orphans and sped off to join the rest of the stolen goods. Stefan waved a hand at the others as he climbed onto his motorbike. "Have we gotten all the pipes?" he shouted.
"Yes Sir!" reported one of the Elite.
"Then let's move out!" he roared.
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"Delphine Cartland wants me framed and dead" Terry declared over the com- link.
"Well she did try and drop a bell on you" Max said. "Was that the clue?"
"Very funny" sighed Terry. He paused. There was someone waving at him from across the road. "I don't believe it," he muttered.
"I'm running a check on Ms Cartland's most recent buys and pay outs" Bruce said. "You get out of the lime light, the police are looking for you."
"Later" Terry muttered. He launched at the shape. Catwoman whirled and sprinted away from him. He glided after her as she veered and weaved through the obstacles on the rooftops. She leapt into a dive off the roof and landed in a crouch on the lower rooftop. She vaulted a chimneystack and cart wheeled off the roof onto a flagpole. She pounced off it and grappled onto a radio antenna. Sliding down she glanced at Terry and smiled as she dropped onto the roof of a church.
Terry landed on the roof and looked around, the Gargoyles leered at him. He marched past them. "Hey lover" a voice purred.
He turned and a kick cracked into his gut knocking him off the ledge onto the roof below and sent him rolling down the dark blue tiles of the lower roof. He grabbed the ledge and dangled below, his feet over air and a drop that would kill instantly. Catwoman slid down to him.
"Tag your it," she said as she stepped on his fingers. Terry gritted his teeth with a snarl of pain. He swung to one side, hitting an archway and managing to latch his arms onto it. Catwoman leapt onto it as he pulled himself up.
"Didn't you get the memo? I'm supposed to be the only one with nine lives...wait... I've lost a few. Thanks a lot by the way" she launched into a jumping straight kick on the narrow arch. Terry blocked it and grabbed her leg before spinning and flinging her. She fired her grapple at the last second and managed to swing into a private penthouse's garden.
Terry leapt after her. She leapt at him and stabbed out as he landed. He swayed aside and trapped her attack under his arm. He caught her leg as it came in for a kick and slammed his forehead into hers. Erika yowled and shoved away before grabbing one of his ears, then the other and bringing her knee up to greet his face. He staggered back as she kicked him on the inside of the thigh and snapped a leg up into his face.
Terry blocked her next kick and swung her through a wooden fence. She gasped and rolled off the edge of the building. Terry rushed to the edge, unable to see her. "Still here love" she cooed and swung up, lashing both feet into his face and snared her legs around his neck.
Terry chopped into her ankles and released himself. She went straight into a series of back flips and backed him away before finishing with a double kick into the stomach.
"That was fun," she gasped with mad excitement. Terry ducked her roundhouse and slammed a fist hard into her gut before grabbing the back of her head and shoving her over a fence. She shrieked and rolled into a whimpering ball. "How –could you be so brutal---to a woman?"
"I'm...I don't know what came over me" Terry whispered as he moved closer. She snapped a leg straight up into his face and snared her ankles around his neck before twisting on her back and flipping him onto a garden table. Terry rolled away as she slashed down.
"You fell for it again," she sang. She spun and kicked at him. He caught her leg and swept the other from under her. Catwoman landed with a thud and rolled backwards...She launched an attack at him, he blocked swiftly...and then she got close and released a full-length kick (that was quickly becoming a trademark of hers). He fell back against a lattice wall. Catwoman pounced at him. He savagely shoved her off. He darted at her; she slammed a leg into his gut and vaulted him over her head before rolling on top of him, straddling him.
"You're catnip to a girl like me...Handsome—dazed and to die for...or is that handsome dazed and about to die..." she pressed her lips close to his ear, a kiss in them that was barely real. "You're the second person to kill me this week...is it some national holiday I wasn't aware of? What does it matter? I have seven left..."
"I tried to save you"
Catwoman traced his armour with her claws. "Seems to me every woman you try to save ends up dead...or deeply resentful...maybe you should retire."
She slowly pushed up on his mask to reveal his lips, her own face covering was gone and her lenses were up revealing glittering eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
She gave a dry laugh. "The man dressed like a bat asks the woman dressed like a cat why she acts like this...the same reason as you...penance for failure and weakness...a tool for vengeance..."
She traced his lips, the mask now at his lips. He managed to sit up slightly. "But I chose to save...you chose to hurt, what's the difference?"
"Aside from the fact my weaponry didn't match yours and failed completely when I forgot to stockpile? You didn't fall a few stories in order to have an epiphany."
"What is it about you? Why do you make me feel so dark? Bring out a side of me that I can't explain? Who are you?"
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours" she purred.
Terry glanced at the mistletoe pegged to a fence over her shoulder. Catwoman followed his gaze, her knees holding his arms down as he sat up. "A kiss under the mistletoe...what a cliché".
"Mistletoe is a poisonous parasite...it can be deadly if you eat it..."
"And you should know that a kiss can be just as deadly" she whispered. "If you mean it". She pressed her lips to his and wrapped her arms around his torso. He kissed back passionately, shouting at himself that she was a thief...but he was lost in the kiss...the flame and passion, the cold truth and reality of it...
Catwoman dug her nails into his back and raked down. Terry roared in pain and slammed his head into her face. She rolled backwards, stunned. Batman rose, she swept at his feet, he leapt over the leg and grabbed Catwoman's arm. She clapped a hand into the side of his head and shoulder tackled him towards the ledge of the building.
Catwoman kicked him squarely in the groin, his groin guard saving him immense pain but still jolting him with a minor twinge. She raised a talon, it bobbed and weaved, he focused on it ...and then it crashed into his face and flipped him 180 degrees and off the roof. He grabbed the ledge and hurled a vial at her.
The tube burst on her arm and she fell back, shrieking in pain. Terry balanced on the ledge in a handstand. He landed on his feet and walked over to her. "It's over"
She looked up at him with angry, tear stained eyes. "It's not over...till the Cat Lady sings!" she slashed a leg into his ribs and knocked him back as she vaulted into a cartwheel off the building, firing her cable.
Terry moved to follow her.
"Batman! Freeze!" someone shouted.
An officer stood in the doorway, his pistol levelled on the Tomorrow Knight's chest. "You have to be kidding me" grimaced Terry.
"Don't move Batman, you're under arrest"
The owners of the penthouse must have called the police...there'd be more soon. Terry looked down at the maze of rooftops built in a slope...he stepped backwards, the shot rang out, the spike of pain...he staggered backwards and plunged into the night, his rocket boots flared, his wings snapped out...he hit a chimney, a glancing blow that shattered his right wings frame, his torso hit a ledge, he slid down, peeling the layer off his cyber suit. He slid down towards the snow below.
He crashed into a snowdrift...and lay there...
=============TBC
Well? Review! This chapter was longer then I intended because I ended up adding replies to Ringo, CATgrl and juanquesso (and General Lee Twisted). Plus it's heading towards the finale. And I will fix the story to be less lame...but as I said before I'm an airhead (with a very low IQ despite those lame Aptitude tests, they really don't tell you anything). Anyway sorry for being categorically stupid and I'll try harder.
Well I got a barrage of critiques from juanquesso. Very useful and I felt I should reply to each:
Chapter 1: Terry left the party because there was more danger down around the tree, besides you'd expect a few security officers to be there. Plus people were being attacked. In addition Erika technically didn't change much, I have an in-dept psychological explanation but she simply didn't let herself out. And do you think that falling a few stories onto a monorail would not cause brain damage of some sort.
Chapter 2: Glad you're reviewing each individually. Selina trained Erika and looked after her as a sort of stand in for Helena. She had promised the cowl of Catwoman to Erika but had no idea exactly what Erika intended to do until it was too late. She wants to look after Erika but she knows the risks. As for Terry's reaction to the building exploding? Well that was the fact you KNOW Terry has a dark side (he wouldn't be Batman without it) Catwoman is like a honey trap for his darkness and he doesn't even see it. That's what I'm trying to say. And you can't tame a cat. He didn't mess around with Catwoman he just accepts the attraction in a different way to Bruce. He wasn't disgusted by Mel he was shattered and crushed by the fact she was a criminal. He followed Catwoman because he analysed her as a greater threat but was also Curious for the Cat. Erika the secretary before the accident attracted him but she'd not have pursued him or even followed up on the attraction. Neo-Erika however would.
Chapter 3: Why do I hate Dana? She reminds me so much of my last girlfriend, but in addition she's a slutty nag who doesn't seem to think much of Terry's sense of duty. Besides the gal's cheating on Terry so she's putting less energy into being 100% nice. In addition she bullied Erika before and she's trying to do it again. Also, it's a new age and Catwoman needs tools. The darts for guards, the laser for glass and cutting, the cable and button bombs are from her comics and the missiles were part of CYBER cat's arsenal and I will NOT be continuing with them. Catwoman uses her fists and whip primarily the fact is that this Catwoman is more Movie like with a pinch of the cartoon. Also the cat-lair is only Erika's nickname for it really, its Catwoman's storage space and the place (in this fic) that she let Clutterbuck work in. Catwoman had her penthouse as a base, the "Lair " is a storage space and Erika spends very little time there, she repairs the stealth suit (under the vinyl, I felt making her at least able to stealth cloak like Batman would even the odds out a little). Erika doesn't have the resources of Terry or the experience but she knows what she's doing and Catwoman has always been villain with an anti-hero complex in my view. Terry's really just backing away from Dana; Erika is just standing behind him.
Chapter 4: Sketch has a heart, he just doesn't use it. He cares about Rocco and the Orphans because they're his family but he's been twisted by bitterness for society (he IS a mutant in the end of the day). Actually remember when she dumped Terry (cold) and how she never acted more then coldly around him (do you ever see the girl smile with Terry?) I just let her show great anger to Erika and flip out. Dana is weak in my view because in a Batman Beyond Graphic novel she barely put up a fight when she was being kidnapped. Selina in the comics gained a might of supernatural power from a statue...not much, enough to increase her already above average agility. Erika has some of that in her. She's got a "Fortune" factor that lets her survive a lot of tough crud (falling off rooftops, into rivers from great heights etc...). And Selina's technically a klepto but that's because she can't be Catwoman any more but still wants to keep her skills sharp. She steals pointless things for fun and replaces them later because she's not got any reason to do much else. And she's working with Bruce to inform him of certain...happenings.
Chapter 5: Terry was taken aback and really shocked from what he'd just heard/seen and his brain were still processing everything. Dana disgusted Max so she didn't want to have to talk to her, that's what I say...but hey at least I got Bruce down, I think I put too much energy into getting him right.
Ringo: Chapter 9: Actually Catwoman has caught bullets with her teeth twice that I know of (one graphic novel...can't remember the name, it's a magician's trick and again in the Catwoman movie...plus it was to point out Catwoman's supernatural side from the comic books she's in now. PLUS IT WAS A JOKE! I know, my humour is lame, I can't even get the humour in this fic right in the form of puns and villain humour...ah well) Terry followed the Cat because the rocket-powered sidecar was much faster then the bat mobile (I thought I wrote that but I'm an airhead so I probably didn't). The projectile hitting the bike would have killed Catwoman on impact by blowing the bike up; even Bruce didn't go that far. Catwoman has one thing Terry doesn't have spontaneous insanity. Terry can beat her down but he can't kill her, he holds onto sanity. Erika/Catwoman's sanity is so far out to sea at this point she's found a new continent. She is an irregular fighter who mixes gymnastics and combat with her survival instincts. Also the suit is CYBER- Cat's (villain from Catwoman the comic book in the 1990's) Selina stole the newest prototype but she can't restock the ammunition of resources of the suit. She broke into the safe on a whim because she's not Catwoman anymore; she's antsy...and curious like a cat. Thanks for the boost though. I find bad points easier to find...sadly, in my stories, they are legion.
CATgrl: Long time no shout. I don't mind about Cat Is Back. Sometimes a muse just croaks (or you croak it with a .45 mm pistol). I can't wait for more Wild Card. I'm antsy to see a few of her enemies. P.S I am going through Wild Card Withdrawal Syndrome...gegadagegada...brrrrrr...
General Lee Twisted: No! I listen to you and your slash-y Ideas too often! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. And I still haven't forgiven you for that little incident way back when, so don't think you can sway me! I'm going to repost with scene changes don't worry! (The ones I put in have flopped.)
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Chapter 10: A Cat With Claws
DAY 2
Terry tugged on the pizza, the stringy cheese drawing to twice the length it should have been. He and Erika sat in a booth at the coffee house Christina performed in. She was currently playing a song she'd written herself.
"I like music" Erika said at last. "And you?"
"I like music" Terry said with a slight frown. "Why do you ask?"
"Just me being odd" Erika said. "So...seen Darling Dana lately?"
"No" Terry said. "She's out with Craig a lot..."
"Craig being..." Erika sighed and kissed Terry passionately on the lips. "Not even half the man you are. I figure that Dana didn't respect your sense of duty and decency, the reason you look after Mr Wayne when he needs it. You're there at pretty much everything he is."
"I like my work" smiled Terry.
"I hate mine," sighed Erika. "Are you going to be willing to help me plot Cartland's downfall or am I on my own there?"
"What about the rest of her work force"
"She fobs them off with good dental" sighed Erika. She took a slice of pizza and smiled at Terry. "Then again...if Catwoman kills her –I wouldn't blame her – I won't have the problem anymore."
Terry looked at her, the strange missing-piece was still absent in her eyes, something that had gone. "What's wrong? What happened to you? I can feel something..."
"I had and epiphany" said Erika with a sigh. "Terry, when I was small I had a kind of nervous break down. Apparently "emotional repression" caused it so they used hypnotherapy and stuff to calm me. Meditation too...maybe that's what you sense"
"No" Terry said. "It's not that..."
Erika shook her head. "Then you're seeing things that aren't there," she mumbled. "Listen, I have to go and feed my cat. Plus because I'm one of the few residents in my building...well I need to pay the rent."
She rose and walked away. "I'll call you later" she added.
Terry wanted to follow her...but his watch beeped. "Yeah?" he said morosely.
"We have a situation," Bruce grunted. "Get back here ASAP."
"Aye-Aye captain" muttered Terry as he rose and paid.
==========================
Catwoman slipped in the window of the old church and hopped over to Delphi who was tied up in a chair beneath the bell. "If there was ever a device made for you Ms Cartland...it was a gag" she smirked. "Now, It's 3 o clock and at 6 I will kill you in an unpleasant and rather malicious manner..."
She attached the clock to the wall. "Just a little psycho-warfare, this clock has the loudest tick around, it's like the Chinese water torture...but with clockwork," she purred. "You've ripped off this city too long...I'm going to make sure that you understand this much...you'll die. Then I'll shatter this city of yours and your empire and you won't stop me..."
And with that Catwoman somersaulted backwards out the window. In broad daylight she would have stood out, but the cloaking device hid her in the shadows at least. She slid down the tiles and vaulted into a swan dive off the building, her cat cable launching at the last possible second and swinging her to safety.
===============================
"Barbara is researching Delphi's past, according to this her mother was one of my foes, the Copy Cat She-Cat" Selina said. "Then she was arrested and disappeared. But apparently her daughter had enough money to make a company, probably the few hundred thousand her mother amassed in a rather bad thieving career."
Max spoke over the com-link as she viewed the picture of She-Cat. "Ugh! She-Cat or She-Chihuahua? That is one bad costume!"
"She never had much in the line of dress sense," admitted Selina. "Sam Young is alive, still out but alive. A "tourists" camera got a picture of "Batman" throwing the batarang".
"The tourist disappeared at the police station before they could question him" Bruce said. "But he was rather similar to Stefan Krauss. Speaking of whom, two building sites were robbed of surveying and digging equipment last night. Their most powerful tools used for heavy but delicate work in the underground".
"They're digging for something," Sketch said. "Or rather for somewhere to put something. I did research on the holo-image I got; it was a gas canister that the Penguin had concocted. The gas is so explosive they were afraid to even consider leaking the gas out into the air in case it blew up completely. So instead they decided to lock it away...bad idea. There's no safe way known to destroy the gas".
"We should look into the gas," Selina said. "Maybe there's some way to neutralize it".
"What about Catwoman? Any sign of Ms Cartland?" asked Terry.
"She's not returned to the storage unit I gave her as a hideout. And she's exhausted all the cat-gadgets I gave her except for the button bombs. The cyber suit is damaged a little but she can repair it...the stealth engine is at full capacity and her whip is fully set..." she sighed. "I should have known something was wrong, I didn't think she'd go this far!"
"Who is she? Tell us her identity and we can stop her" Max said.
"No" Selina said firmly. "She's still my ward and there's honour among thieves..."
Sketch nodded and Bruce shook his head, a strange Irony to that simple set of movements.
"I think I have an idea where she might me" Selina said at last. "Where she's hidden Delphi. I think it might be St. Mary Cathleen's Church. It was shut down, it's also where her parents funeral was held..."
"Morbid" Terry said.
"Ironic" Sketch sighed. "Truly dark...I'm impressed".
"She's not herself," sighed Selina. "I never taught her to kill...or hurt...I taught her to steal".
"Admirable" sniffed Bruce.
"It is" Terry said. "She taught the cat to fight in self-defence not to use it to kill." He moved towards the costume vault. "I'll head out after I talk to the commissioner about something."
======================
Terry landed on the roof and climbed through the window of the bell tower. Tied up in her black business suit to an old chair. "Ms Cartland" he said. "Are you okay?"
He pulled her cloth gag away. "Yes Batman, fine" she said. "I knew there was something fishy going on."
"Did someone say fish?" Catwoman dropped onto Terry's shoulders and flipped backwards flinging him away. "I haven't been fed all day!" She pulled the whip from her waist as Batman pulled the batarangs from his belt. "Oh, you're at an advantage all I have is a few button bombs, my claws..."
She somersaulted over, landing in front of him and kicking straight up. "And legs that just won't quit!"
Catwoman spun at Terry again. He ducked and kicked her leg from under her. Her whip lashed at his shoulder and stung him. They rolled to their feet. Catwoman stood with the clock behind her. "Listen to that Batman..." she smiled, an insanity in her voice. "The ticking down to her death..." she paused and sighed. "Okay now it's bugged me too". She slammed her elbow back into the clock and launched into a storm of whipping backing Terry to the window. "Boys always fall for me," she said sweetly as he swayed towards the plunge.
"I believe you're out of tricks," grunted Terry.
He steadied himself and hurled the batarang at her. It sliced open the side of her costume, revealing flesh and a hint of circuitry. "Evidently you've heard I'm low on gadgets" she sighed. "How I don't know...but what the hell..."
She spun and lanced a full-length kick into him. He hit the wall and ducked as a heeled kick slammed into the wall. He grabbed her leg, propping it on his shoulder and flipped her over, slamming her face first into the floor.
"Eat floor," he grunted. "High fibre."
"Eat heel" she hissed and spun on the ground to lance a kick into his face. "Great for the figure!"
He fell back and ducked as the whip grew a set of spikes and swiped at his head. Spinning Catwoman snagged his ankles and dragged him down. He kicked his legs up into her face and she fell back.
Catwoman's talons grew out; she sliced through the binds on Delphi's chair and flipped the woman unceremoniously to the ground. She snapped the whip, using the chair to keep Terry at a distance. "Back, Back you wild beast" she cackled and slashed with the spiked whip. Terry hurled the batrangs at the chair removing its legs. Catwoman growled and slammed it down on his head before ramming the remaining legs onto either side of his body and shoving him into a wall.
"Oopsy you'll find that I'm all claws Batman" she sneered.
Behind her Delphi rushed to the ropes holding up the bell, a single sturdy rope tied to a large weight. She watched as Batman slammed a fist into Catwoman and knocked her backwards.
"Kill too furred pests with one bell" chuckled Delphi. She grabbed a nearby fire axe and hacked down. The rope snapped easily and the bell crashed down. Catwoman back flipped sharply and landed on the floor as it buckled. Terry was less agile but managed to dive and roll away. The old wooden floor cracked inwards and both costumed youths went sliding into the pit. Delphi smirked and darted to the stairs. "And my escape route is still intact."
Catwoman's whip lashed out wrapping around a support beam on the flight downwards. Terry fired a batarang and cable at the wall swinging sharply into a wall but staying alive. "Fine turn around isn't it!" called Catwoman as she climbed her rope. "She's good at backstabbing...but the killing? Not so much."
She swung up into the gap and waved down. "Hate to leave you hanging but I'll see you around!" she called then vanished. Terry groaned and shook his head.
====================================
DAY 3
"And in a feat of daring-do and courage Delphine Cartland, head designer of Cartland fashions and CEO of the company, escaped the plans of Catwoman and Batman to use her as a tool. Acting DA Dora Greenway says that there will be Zero Tolerance for these two dangerous criminals."
Matt shut off the screen and tucked into his pizza. "Man! The media get it wrong"
Erika nodded from across the table. "I heard on a Soundbyte that Catwoman is thought to have weighed 140lbs. I wonder how these hacks sleep at night! She'd have to be in better shape then--" she shook her head and gave a small, slightly mad laugh. "You don't want to hear me rant. Do you Mattie? And if your brother ever wakes up, he'll not want to hear it either."
"Yeah, I mean he got real peeved because they said "Batman Wipes Out On Crime wave" on the News Bit today" Matt said. "I mean, the man saves millions in property damage."
"That he does" Erika said raising a slice of Pizza in a kind of toast. "Come on let's bribe your brother to join us with a deep dish pizza".
"At least you didn't order anchovies" smiled Matt. "That would be unforgivable."
Erika tossed her hair. "Remind me again why I convinced your mother to let me get you breakfast and let her take a nice day at the salon with the gossip girls?"
"Because you're a nice person...who got the morning off?" Matt said. "Because your boss had a "traumatic and emotionally draining experience"? Plus you love my brother?"
Erika gagged on her pizza. "What?"
"Oh you just haven't said it yet," Matt said. "We all know you and him are like...Romeo and Juliet or Anthony and Cleopatra"
"Matt...have you ever read those plays?" Erika sighed. "Because they're not the best examples of love".
"What? Why?"
"The four characters you named all die...suicide, all four" Erika said. "As I recall".
She lifted the Pizza carton and nodded at the door. "Let's go do the bribing thing".
=============================
Selina looked at Sketch. "I've been meaning to ask...why did you suddenly go good?"
Sketch looked up from the diagrams of the bat gadgets. "Sorry?"
Selina sat in at the large bench with him. "Why did you decide to help Terry?"
"I---" Sketch sighed. "I amn't sure. I realized that what Victor wanted was far too dangerous for the Orphans...that's why I sent Rocco away. Then I began to lose the minimal control on my empathy and I felt the hurt and pain I caused..." he shivered. "I couldn't keep it up. I had to stop the pointless deaths that my monstrous creation would have caused..."
Selina nodded. "Alfred was once very sick. Bruce had faced off against a man called Tar-Dai, an assassin who was more lethal then any he had encountered before. He'd barely defeated him and his costume was left in tatters...Alfred used a Costume creation program to created a new outfit for Bruce, he then made a full recovery and got Bruce back on track."
There was silence in the cave.
"What was the point of that story?" Sketch asked after an expectant moment.
"There wasnt really one...Other then: that all heroes need a conscience, maybe your Empathy was trying to free yours and now its time someone stepped in and took over for it. You seem to have suppressed your powers rather then embrace them...the genetic damage of the acid on Harvey seemingly gave him a sort of...mental boost. Made him more then a common thug. Stronger in some aspects, smarter, quicker...that kind of thing. It's been passed on to you in most ways...including a sense of justice you've fought. I think it's time you get real...get a purpose."
She smiled at him and despite himself he smiled back.
==============================
Terry was grudging in getting out of bed but the appearance of Erika made him sit right up and take notice. Erika smiled and eventually he rose from his slumber to dress and eat pizza.
Matt was watching the TV. Erika and Terry stood in the kitchen, silent. "I'm sorry Terry," she said. "Sorry that I ran out on you yesterday...it's just...that...I don't want you to think I'm a good person...I amn't...I can't be...ever...not anymore".
"But you are" Terry said. "I've never known anyone---"
"You will some day," Erika said. "You only know one side of me...I can't say that I'm a good person, that'd be a lie the size of Max's IQ. I mean...you don't know me in total. If you did you wouldn't be so sure that I was a good person."
"I can feel it in my heart...you're missing something, there's a hole in your heart and I want to mend it..."
Erika grabbed Terry by the collars and pulled him into a kiss. Finally she pulled back. "You can't fix it Terry, I'm too far gone...I just want to enjoy what's left of our time together."
"It's your birthday on New Years Eve..." Terry murmured.
"Yeah" sighed Erika as he pulled her into a hug. "Two minutes before midnight".
"Sounds like fun..." he said.
"I like to hear people say happy birthday to me on New Years Day...it's the start of a Fresh New Year" Erika said as she hugged him tightly. "It's a new beginning for me then."
"Well I'll wait" Terry said.
======================
Paxton dusted his shirt with a hand and looked at the Jokerz standing before him. "Due to the fact you really screwed up last time, I am reluctant to give you this next chance...to kill Terry McGinnis" he sighed as the Jokerz glanced at the lights in the warehouse clunking on. "These are heavy weaponry, two side car flame throwers on motorcycle side cars, three electric rifles, two pulse blasters and a crate of tear gas grenades. Kill him for me please."
He watched the Jokerz gingerly get onto the bikes, most still wounded from their beatings at the hands of a group of teenagers. "Remember, if you fail I will have to put pressure on the legal system to lock those captured away...for good!" he shouted as they vanished out the door.
He dialled the number on his phone. "Hello darling, it's your sweet sugarplum. I'll be over in a few minutes. I've just had the Jokerz set out to kill Terry McGinnis and secure the fortune to me. Wuv you too schnookims"
He snapped the device shut and marched over to his limo.
==========================
Terry watched as Erika bashed Matt's character about. "Where did you learn to play Tekken 14 like that?" Matt exclaimed in surprise.
"Arcade" Erika said calmly. "It was –hey no fair you dirty fighter- all I could do to stay sane when I had a lunch break or late morning. I didn't like to stay –heel kick- in my apartment during the day, the smell got worse."
Matt groaned as his character dropped dead and was stamped on by Erika's character.
"Anyone want to take a walk?" Erika asked. "My legs are going dead."
"Okay" Terry said. "Give me a few minutes, I just have to make a call and...look I'll meet you guys at the park when I'm done. Get a head start on me."
"Fine by me" Matt said. "Hey Erika, ever played Street fighter 48?"
"Yes actually" Erika said as they pulled on their coats and left the house. Terry grabbed the phone and dialled Max's number.
"Hey fella" smiled Max before Terry said anything. "I bet this is about Erika."
"How did you know?" Terry asked in disbelief.
"D'uh the fact you're calling me on a land line, you'd call me on the console if it was some normal conversation. This is big, definitely Erika related."
"I like her" Terry sighed. "I mean, it was like a lightening bolt...out of the blue! I just suddenly fell for her!"
"And with Dana out of the picture no one will oppose you" Max said. "Speaking of which, she's the least favourite person in Hamilton Hill High. Remember how Craig was a sport star in Goldstein High? He's their star quarter back..."
"Wow" muttered Terry. "That was not her finest hour."
"Did she ever have one?"
Terry looked sad. "Max...I really did care about her...I liked her a whole lot"
Max sighed. "I know you did Terry, but she didn't feel the same...I mean when was the last time you saw that girl smile? Seriously! She was like a stone sculpture. You two looked good together but you didn't click."
"I drove her to that Craig guy..."
"Like I said, you guys didn't click...besides Blade and I took her apart at lunch yesterday."
"You did?"
The conversation was cut short as a mad laughing rang out. Rushing to the window Terry stared down at the road, the Jokerz had opened fire on the people and houses of the street. He grabbed his costume from the secret panel in his closet.
======================
Erika heard the shots. The electric rifle fired at her and Matt. The bulb of green and blue light sped at her. She grabbed Matt and performed a dazzling flip over the nearest mailbox and landed into a run straight into the Laundromat. "Hide in here" she said firmly. "I'll go call the police. Don't leave here unless the Jokerz get close and only use the back exit".
"Erika what if they catch you when---"
Erika kissed him on the forehead. "Sweet as your brother, but I'm a big girl now. I'll be fine, just make sure you're ready to run away from here. If you have to get out, go to the Cyber Café a block away. I'll meet you there."
And she was gone.
======================
Erika's pupils narrowed as she focused on the Jokerz. She stepped into an alcove and pulled her costume out of her purse. The vinyl over the lightweight, virtually non-existent circuitry was as patched up as the vinyl. Her black suits stitches were now twice as many and her arsenal was severely limited.
"I was losing sight of cat-womanliness with all those gimmicks any way" she sighed. She darted out of the alley into a full sprint at the nearest Joker bike.
======================
Terry cracked too Jokerz heads together and hurled their weapons away. The flame from the cannon on the nearest bike raked the ground. Terry leapt aside in time to avoid being boiled, landing in front of a Joker who slammed a charged knuckle duster into his ribs. Terry shouted out and slammed into the glass of a restaurant crashing through. Two of the Jokerz stepped in after him holding electric rifles.
"So much for the bat" sneered one.
"You didn't say it with a capital B" a cool female voice said. The bottle of soda shattered over the head of the first and the tray smashed across the others face. Mel brought her knee into the groin of the one who'd gotten the bottle in the head and karate chopped him down. The other rose up behind her and received a back fist to the face without Mel even acknowledging she'd done it.
"Ten" nodded Batman pulling himself up. "Been a while"
"It'll be even longer again I hope, not that the socializing isn't nice" Mel said. "Why the hell do the Jokerz have weaponry of this calibre?" she kicked a rifle and looked over her shoulder. "You don't have time to chat"
"Thank you" Terry said.
"You gave me a chance to turn my life around" Mel said. "We're even now."
Terry gave a stiff nod and jetted out to the street. Mel sighed and turned to calm the patrons who were panicking. She always felt really bad around Batman. Guilty. Almost as bad as she felt around Terry. But he'd agreed to try and be her friend at least...
Flash Back
Mel groaned and dropped to the floor to clean the spilt soda. "Mel?"
Mel's heart froze. "Terry" she whispered as she looked up at the stunned young man she'd had a crush on. She knew it had been puppy love but she still felt utterly devastated when he'd turned up at the courthouse looking betrayed and so...shattered.
"I thought you worked across town"
"I was transferred here...I suppose that's the right word..." Mel sighed. "They're going to make me manager at the end of the month."
"That's good" Terry said tightly.
Mel looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. She turned and walked back into the kitchen. A week later Terry came by with Max and they talked and...were civil. Mel was happy they were friends; she had grown up in some ways. They both had. And in doing so they'd grown apart to the right level to be friends.
End Flashback
Terry hurled the explosive batarang at the sidecar. It burst into a small cloud of flame and flipped over as the Jokerz were thrown. He kicked another in the ribs and judo flipped the man.
"I thought you only played with me baby" a voice called. A whip cracked and dragged the Joker behind Terry away. Catwoman cracked her whip and spun into a whip crack that smashed down hard on the arms of a man.
"What are you---"
"It's my girl-scout troupes day for trying to earn our Save-A-Neighourhood- From-Cheap-Knock-Offs-Of-A-Supervillain badges," she said in a sultry monotone.
She kicked hard into the face of a Joker three times then slashed him across the chest twice before finishing him with a spin kick as she muttered. "Tic-Cat-Toe!"
Terry ducked a slash of a knife and rose with both fists into the unfortunate mans face, the Joker crashed backwards with a shout.
Catwoman slammed her knee into the J-man's gut and forced him into a buckle. He swung a fist at her head. She leaned back and the fist hissed over her head as she bent back like a boneless figure. She snapped back up and slashed across his face.
J-Man pulled out a pistol. "Damn you" he snarled. "This'll do the job on you."
Erika cocked her head to one side. "Men!" she snorted. "Always confusing their pistols with their privates...and usually disappointingly for the woman."
She cracked her whip and removed the gun from play. She cracked the whip around his throat and curled into his body, flipping him over heavily. He rolled to his feet and the whip snagged his wrist. The one in the bandage.
"Now, what were you saying?" mused Catwoman.
"I-am-going-to-kill-you" intoned J-Man.
"Ah, then you can understand my reasons for doing THIS". The electric current ran up the whip and sent J-man into a dance of ragged abandon before collapsing. "Well that was brief" she sighed as she coiled her whip back around her waist and poked him with the toe of a high-heeled boot. "Just like all the men in my life..." she paused and looked from the J-man to Batman. "What men? Well there's you but you need therapy".
She sighed and watched Batman tie up the last of the crooks. "I wish I could stay," she said as he advanced. "But duty calls...HAH! What duty?"
She flicked the button bomb up and hit a button. The explosion staggered Terry, when he looked back up; she was long gone, leaving a vapour trail in her wake.
==========================
"I'm so glad you're okay," gasped Mary McGinnis. "I was so afraid!" she hugged Matt and Terry tightly as she fought her cries to sobs.
"Erika saved me," Matt said. "She's really schway!"
"Where did she go Terry?" Mary asked. "I'd have liked to thank her."
Terry realized he was being spoken to and turned to his mother. "She—she went home, she was wiped out. I don't blame her...she ran to the police station and grabbed some help. Literally".
Mary smiled at Terry. "Let's just turn on the evening news and have a nice cup of tea".
Terry nodded automatically and looked back out the window at the setting sun. The fact was...this was the second time high tech weapons and Jokerz had mixed and crossed his path...what was the connection?
He turned on the Soundbyte and relaxed into the chair. "And news just in! Batman has just blown up a Baxley Fashions warehouse. Thankfully there was no one inside and casualties were minor but many" the Anchorman said. The picture of the flaming warehouse blazed behind him, a black bat was spray painted on the front of the warehouse. "No one noticed the spray painting until the flames were seen. Batman is now wanted for terrorism. In addition, Delphine Cartland is offering a 500 thousand dollar reward for his capture."
"Mom! I have to go out!" Terry shouted. "To check on Mr Wayne..." he grabbed his coat and dashed out of the house with his satchel.
======================
Stefan gestured, the truck opened out and the large magnet descended, drawing the steel pipes to it. He gave a thumbs-up and they were loaded in. He smiled and nodded. The toughest steel pipes in Gotham were moved from the future site of the Home for Orphans and sped off to join the rest of the stolen goods. Stefan waved a hand at the others as he climbed onto his motorbike. "Have we gotten all the pipes?" he shouted.
"Yes Sir!" reported one of the Elite.
"Then let's move out!" he roared.
======================
"Delphine Cartland wants me framed and dead" Terry declared over the com- link.
"Well she did try and drop a bell on you" Max said. "Was that the clue?"
"Very funny" sighed Terry. He paused. There was someone waving at him from across the road. "I don't believe it," he muttered.
"I'm running a check on Ms Cartland's most recent buys and pay outs" Bruce said. "You get out of the lime light, the police are looking for you."
"Later" Terry muttered. He launched at the shape. Catwoman whirled and sprinted away from him. He glided after her as she veered and weaved through the obstacles on the rooftops. She leapt into a dive off the roof and landed in a crouch on the lower rooftop. She vaulted a chimneystack and cart wheeled off the roof onto a flagpole. She pounced off it and grappled onto a radio antenna. Sliding down she glanced at Terry and smiled as she dropped onto the roof of a church.
Terry landed on the roof and looked around, the Gargoyles leered at him. He marched past them. "Hey lover" a voice purred.
He turned and a kick cracked into his gut knocking him off the ledge onto the roof below and sent him rolling down the dark blue tiles of the lower roof. He grabbed the ledge and dangled below, his feet over air and a drop that would kill instantly. Catwoman slid down to him.
"Tag your it," she said as she stepped on his fingers. Terry gritted his teeth with a snarl of pain. He swung to one side, hitting an archway and managing to latch his arms onto it. Catwoman leapt onto it as he pulled himself up.
"Didn't you get the memo? I'm supposed to be the only one with nine lives...wait... I've lost a few. Thanks a lot by the way" she launched into a jumping straight kick on the narrow arch. Terry blocked it and grabbed her leg before spinning and flinging her. She fired her grapple at the last second and managed to swing into a private penthouse's garden.
Terry leapt after her. She leapt at him and stabbed out as he landed. He swayed aside and trapped her attack under his arm. He caught her leg as it came in for a kick and slammed his forehead into hers. Erika yowled and shoved away before grabbing one of his ears, then the other and bringing her knee up to greet his face. He staggered back as she kicked him on the inside of the thigh and snapped a leg up into his face.
Terry blocked her next kick and swung her through a wooden fence. She gasped and rolled off the edge of the building. Terry rushed to the edge, unable to see her. "Still here love" she cooed and swung up, lashing both feet into his face and snared her legs around his neck.
Terry chopped into her ankles and released himself. She went straight into a series of back flips and backed him away before finishing with a double kick into the stomach.
"That was fun," she gasped with mad excitement. Terry ducked her roundhouse and slammed a fist hard into her gut before grabbing the back of her head and shoving her over a fence. She shrieked and rolled into a whimpering ball. "How –could you be so brutal---to a woman?"
"I'm...I don't know what came over me" Terry whispered as he moved closer. She snapped a leg straight up into his face and snared her ankles around his neck before twisting on her back and flipping him onto a garden table. Terry rolled away as she slashed down.
"You fell for it again," she sang. She spun and kicked at him. He caught her leg and swept the other from under her. Catwoman landed with a thud and rolled backwards...She launched an attack at him, he blocked swiftly...and then she got close and released a full-length kick (that was quickly becoming a trademark of hers). He fell back against a lattice wall. Catwoman pounced at him. He savagely shoved her off. He darted at her; she slammed a leg into his gut and vaulted him over her head before rolling on top of him, straddling him.
"You're catnip to a girl like me...Handsome—dazed and to die for...or is that handsome dazed and about to die..." she pressed her lips close to his ear, a kiss in them that was barely real. "You're the second person to kill me this week...is it some national holiday I wasn't aware of? What does it matter? I have seven left..."
"I tried to save you"
Catwoman traced his armour with her claws. "Seems to me every woman you try to save ends up dead...or deeply resentful...maybe you should retire."
She slowly pushed up on his mask to reveal his lips, her own face covering was gone and her lenses were up revealing glittering eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
She gave a dry laugh. "The man dressed like a bat asks the woman dressed like a cat why she acts like this...the same reason as you...penance for failure and weakness...a tool for vengeance..."
She traced his lips, the mask now at his lips. He managed to sit up slightly. "But I chose to save...you chose to hurt, what's the difference?"
"Aside from the fact my weaponry didn't match yours and failed completely when I forgot to stockpile? You didn't fall a few stories in order to have an epiphany."
"What is it about you? Why do you make me feel so dark? Bring out a side of me that I can't explain? Who are you?"
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours" she purred.
Terry glanced at the mistletoe pegged to a fence over her shoulder. Catwoman followed his gaze, her knees holding his arms down as he sat up. "A kiss under the mistletoe...what a cliché".
"Mistletoe is a poisonous parasite...it can be deadly if you eat it..."
"And you should know that a kiss can be just as deadly" she whispered. "If you mean it". She pressed her lips to his and wrapped her arms around his torso. He kissed back passionately, shouting at himself that she was a thief...but he was lost in the kiss...the flame and passion, the cold truth and reality of it...
Catwoman dug her nails into his back and raked down. Terry roared in pain and slammed his head into her face. She rolled backwards, stunned. Batman rose, she swept at his feet, he leapt over the leg and grabbed Catwoman's arm. She clapped a hand into the side of his head and shoulder tackled him towards the ledge of the building.
Catwoman kicked him squarely in the groin, his groin guard saving him immense pain but still jolting him with a minor twinge. She raised a talon, it bobbed and weaved, he focused on it ...and then it crashed into his face and flipped him 180 degrees and off the roof. He grabbed the ledge and hurled a vial at her.
The tube burst on her arm and she fell back, shrieking in pain. Terry balanced on the ledge in a handstand. He landed on his feet and walked over to her. "It's over"
She looked up at him with angry, tear stained eyes. "It's not over...till the Cat Lady sings!" she slashed a leg into his ribs and knocked him back as she vaulted into a cartwheel off the building, firing her cable.
Terry moved to follow her.
"Batman! Freeze!" someone shouted.
An officer stood in the doorway, his pistol levelled on the Tomorrow Knight's chest. "You have to be kidding me" grimaced Terry.
"Don't move Batman, you're under arrest"
The owners of the penthouse must have called the police...there'd be more soon. Terry looked down at the maze of rooftops built in a slope...he stepped backwards, the shot rang out, the spike of pain...he staggered backwards and plunged into the night, his rocket boots flared, his wings snapped out...he hit a chimney, a glancing blow that shattered his right wings frame, his torso hit a ledge, he slid down, peeling the layer off his cyber suit. He slid down towards the snow below.
He crashed into a snowdrift...and lay there...
=============TBC
Well? Review! This chapter was longer then I intended because I ended up adding replies to Ringo, CATgrl and juanquesso (and General Lee Twisted). Plus it's heading towards the finale. And I will fix the story to be less lame...but as I said before I'm an airhead (with a very low IQ despite those lame Aptitude tests, they really don't tell you anything). Anyway sorry for being categorically stupid and I'll try harder.