Hey, sixth chapter. hope you guys like it. please tell me what you think of it with reviews. Good or bad just review. The next upload may take a while because i will be away for a family reunion this weekend. I'll try to update as soon as possible. See ya for the weekend. Catch you on the flip side!

CHAPTER SIX

J'onn hooked up an IV unit to Terry's arm and began to examine his injuries. He then prepped for surgery to stop the internal bleeding that Superman had informed him of. Every one was ushered out of the room.

Max walked down one of the many corridors in the Watchtower just looking at the floor. Under any other circumstances Max would have marveled at the advanced headquarters, but now she really didn't care. She was deep in thought about all that had happened and what she may have been able to do if the old man had just let her start working with Terry.

She had been walking for about five minutes when someone put their hand on her shoulder and brought her out of her reverie. She turned, startled, and saw that Wonder Woman was standing behind her. She looked like she was only twenty-six years old but in fact she was older that Bruce Wayne.

Max was about to say something but Wonder Woman spoke first, "What's your name?"

"Max," she gave in a somber tone.

"Max, am I right in assuming that you two are lovers?" Wonder Woman asked in a soft voice.

"Yes, very much so," Max almost couldn't believe that she was revealing her deepest secrets to a person she just met, but still, it felt so right when she had said it.

"Are you alright?" Wonder Woman asked when Max got a far off look in her eyes. Max turned back and just stared at the woman and tears started to well up in her eyes. She fought them back as best she could but she couldn't stop one from escaping and running down her face.

"He'll be alright," Wonder Woman tried to assure Max and moved closer and held the girl to her. That was it, as soon as she felt the strong arms wrap around her she remembered Terry's strong arms and how he would hold her and she broke down. She began to sob heavily onto Wonder Woman's shoulder.

As she cried she fell to her knees and Wonder Woman kneeled down with her letting her cry. "He'll be alright," said Wonder Woman again in a whisper.

Bruce and Superman, after leaving the medical bay, went to a secluded spot in the Watchtower and Began to talk. Bruce started the run over of events. "Where did you find him Clark?" asked Bruce in his monotone voice.

"I found him in an alley rapped in a ratted blanket behind a dumpster," Superman said knowing that Bruce wouldn't want him to sugar coat it.

"What was his condition?"

"He was asleep. After I called you I woke him up to see how bad off he was," he stopped to consider what he would say next. "Bruce, when he woke up he was terrified, he tried to hide it but after being around you for so long I couldn't miss it. He passed out after he realized that it was me that woke him."

"Then what happened or did you just happen to cut that invulnerable hide of yours?" Bruce asked.

"As I flew him to the rendezvous point with the javelin he woke up again and started into a coughing fit. I put him down and he started spitting up blood. He has some bad internal bleeding. He lost his strength along with his consciousness soon after." Replied the Man of Steel as he looked down at his blood stained uniform.

Bruce just closed his eyes and was silent. They were both silent for the better part of the two hours that it took for J'onn to complete the surgery. When J'onn announced over the COM system for Bruce, Superman and Max to come to the medical bay, the two legendary forms left together in silence.

As the two entered the bay where Max was already seated beside Terry's bandaged form Superman asked, "Were you able to stop the bleeding?"

"Yes, he was bleeding into the stomach but it was easily patched." Superman walked over to J'onn J'onnz. "I'll have to wake him to put his arm back in and to ask him if he knows about the device that has embedded itself in his leg. I don't want to start to extract it without first identifying its purpose." Replied J'onn to the unvoiced question.

"I'll wake him." Superman turned to see Bruce walking to where Terry lay on the table. He leaned over to touch the cut on Terry's forehead before he lightly called his name. He then gently shook him to arouse him careful not to jar any of his ribs.

Bruce knew that it would be painful for Terry to wake up so soon but it couldn't be helped. Terry woke up to the soft sound of Bruce calling him. He looked up at the old man with slightly blurred vision.

He tried to sit up but the injuries, Bruce and someone beside him soon put a stop to that. He turned his head to look at Bruce and gave a pained smile. "Looks like I messed up big this time around, huh?"

He started to cough again but this time there was no blood and he soon stopped. "You should have seen what was going on and not been so gullible," said Bruce with a proud look in his eyes.

"I guess I'll have to do better next time," said Terry to his mentor. He then looked around his surroundings and noticed Max was beside him. He looked her straight in the eye and they both began to tear. "Hey Max was the only thing to say that came to mind.

"Hey yourself, Ter," she almost choked out.

Terry then realized something and gave a worried glance at Bruce. "Where are we and where's the suit?"

Superman took this opportunity to interject, "you're on the Justice League Watchtower and your suit is being repaired." Terry looked over at him as he approached then he turned back to Bruce and received a nod.

"Terry, I know this will be hard for you but I need to replace your shoulder," said the Martian Man hunter.

"With all of the pain from my ribs and stomach I had almost forgotten about my arm." He said weakly and seemed to wince as he thought about his shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead." He said to J'onn.

"This will be quick but this will hurt," said the man hunter as he grabbed a hold of Terry's arm in a firm grip. "Ready?" he asked. Terry clenched his teeth and nodded in reply then the man hunter twisted and pushed on Terry's arm until he heard it snap back into place.

Terry let out a strangled gasp as he felt his shoulder fall back in place. He almost passed out but fought it off for the moment for Max's sake. "So, will you be able to take this device in my leg out without doing to much damage to my leg?" said Terry not showing the pain he must have been feeling.

"I'm not sure. I will have to study it a bit further," replied J'onn.

'I really wish that Bruce and Max didn't have to see me this way' thought Terry. Unknown to Terry the Martian had heard his thoughts and sent a message to Superman asking him to take Bruce out of the medical bay. Superman made a suggestion to Bruce and they made their way out of the room but Max wouldn't leave. She didn't want to let Terry out of her site again.

As soon as Terry saw the old man leave, seeing that Max wasn't about to go any where soon, he allowed himself to feel the pain that was screaming to be noticed and began to breathe uneasily.

The Martian was so amazed by the boy's change in behavior that if he didn't know any better he would have thought that he was a different person.

"Are you alright?" asked the Martian in a calm soothing voice.

"Not really, no." Terry started to cough again and this time he passed out. For the next few hours Max stayed by Terry's bedside and never moved, her gaze locked onto Terry's face.

After a few hours Terry woke up on his own. Max helped him into a more comfortable position and then she called Bruce over the Watchtower's COM system. Then she went back to her seat by the one she loved.

Two minutes later, Bruce, followed by Superman and the Martian entered the room. The Martian went straight for the monitors to check Terry's vitals. Superman came up to the foot of the bed and looked Terry over, a wry smile on his face.

"Just like Bruce, never stayed out for long no matter what the injury," said the man of steel. "Just to stubborn for your own good." He got a gruff snort for a reply to that last comment and the man of steel winced at it.

Bruce then came up beside Superman at the foot of the bed. "What happened Terry? I lost contact with you after you cut the audio link," asked Bruce.

Terry closed his eyes for a minute and then opened them again. "After I shut off the link I flew at Death and knocked him away from the people on the roof. I told them to run and they did." He blinked again slowly. "Then I turned to go at Death again but he activated the device in my leg and it sent a surge of electricity through me. I fell to my knees and he started to pound on me."

He paused and took a breath. "After a minute he threw me across the roof and came at me again. He picked me up so he could stare into my eyes and shocked me again. Each time he did it he increased the voltage. Then the commissioner arrived. I was thrown off of the roof and I landed in an alley." He had started to cough again and had to stop before he could continue.

"Then what happened?" Bruce asked knowing that there was more.

"I woke the next morning and I began to make my way back to the cave. I fell around a corner and saw a guy going to get beat by a bunch of Jokerz and tried to stop them. The man got away but..." he faltered, "but they caught me and beat me to the ground."

He hated to admit to his weakness, especially in front of the audience he had, but Bruce would only want the truth. So he gave it because it was the only was to get him off of his back. "I managed to fly away somehow and landed in another alley.

I couldn't make myself move anymore so I curled into a corner and tried to just sit until I could." He took a minute to bring the tears that had escaped from his eyes under control. "I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, Superman was over me."

"Terry." said someone out of Terry's view. He searched around until he saw the Martian man hunter.

"Yeah?" asked Terry hoarsely.

"About that device in your leg. What does it do again?" asked J'onn.

Another look of remembered pain washed over the young Batman's face then disappeared. "It sends and electrical surge through my body every time the signal device is hit. Death hit me with it before our fight. He used it several times and raised the voltage constantly," Terry said finally sitting up with much protest from every one in the room.

Superman's eyes were wide through the whole thing and began to have a great deal of respect for the kid he saw in front of him.

"He didn't tell me directly but ... I think the thing in my leg is booby trapped." Terry's face suddenly turned to worry. "What time is it? How long has it been since you found me?"

"Almost six hours on the dot, Why?" Superman offered.

"Because if I'm right then ..." Terry didn't even get to finish his sentence before it was cut off with a holler of agony and spasms of his body as the device in his leg let loose with its most powerful shock yet.

Max jumped back in surprise and her mouth opened into a startled gasp. Bruce ran to Terry's side to try to hold his shaking form down only to be stopped by the look in Terry's eyes.

In his ice blue eyes there was more fear and anguish shown in them than Bruce had seen in a long time. He felt helpless along with all of the other people in the room as he watched Terry's body flex to its extreme for an eternity. In all likelihood it was no more than ten seconds but it felt like years to the spectators.

Then Terry's body relaxed and the screams turned into erratic, labored breathing as he tried to hang on to consciousness. "...Device...three hours...then...one and a half...get it out...help me Bruce," Terry managed to gasp out and gave a pleading look in his eyes to everyone in his line of sight before he lost consciousness.

Bruce stood like a statue in shock as Superman flew past him and looked to make sure Terry was still alive.

He then turned to J'onn, "What happened?"

"He was telling us he thought that the device was 'booby trapped' and from the looks of it he was right." He gave a pointed glance towards the tortured form on the med lab bed.

"Why did he do this to you?" asked Max in a whisper that was barely caught by any one in the room.

J'onn then looked at the monitors attached to Terry's leg, "It was the device that caused this alright. It sent an electrical charge through his body and I'm guessing that it has also done this at least a dozen times before and will again according to Terry."

"Then we better figure out a way to remove it and fast," came a low rumble of thunder from behind the two talking individuals.

They both turned to see Bruce brushing the hair from Terry's face and stroke the top of his head. When Bruce turned to look at them they were startled by the anger radiating from his eyes and shrunk at the intensity. Superman had only ever seen that look once and knew that who ever caused all this was going to wish they had never been born and in a very short time.