Author's Note: Another happy chapter. Thanks to those who reviewed!

"Thanks for coming with, Max." Terry told her as he handed her the spare helmet.

"No prob, Ter." She replied, putting on the helmet and getting on the motorcycle behind him. "Always up for being involved. Speaking of which…You do remember you're dating Dana, right?"

Terry put on his own helmet and started up the cycle. "Of course. What'd you bring that up for?"

"No reason." She said. "You have been hanging with Sammie a lot lately."

"Sammie?" He asked. "Since when is it Sammie?"

"Her uber-cool friends get to call her that." She teased. "And don't dodge the question. Or lie. You know you're not good at lying to me."

Terry was silent as the turned a corner. "I dunno, Max. Sam's awesome. And she's so understanding…Every time I have to bail on her, she's so cool about it. I can't help but compare her to Dana."

Max shook her head. "You're starting down a road that you won't be able to get off, Ter. I think you need to talk to Dana."

"And tell her what?" Terry demanded. "Sorry I can't hang out with you more, but I'm Batman?"

Max shoved him slightly. "Don't be stupid. But you should tell her….Something."

Terry shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Look, can we drop it? We're almost there, anyway."

"All right." Max agreed. "But don't expect me to be done with this."

Terry turned down a residential street and slowed, checking house addresses with the one Wayne had given him.

"There it is." Max told him, pointing.

Terry parked the motorcycle in front of the house and the two slid off.

"Here goes nothing." Terry commented as they walked up and rang the doorbell.

There was a pause, then the door opened and a woman who looked to be in her late twenties peered out at them. She had brown hair, brown eyes, and was rather unremarkable.

"Yes?" She asked in a soft, melodious voice.

"I'm Terry." He told her. "This is Max. Uh, we were refer…"

"Sabin." She interrupted with a nod. "Come in." She held the door open for them.

They entered, looking around the house. They were in what looked like a living room, as it had a couch, a love-seat, a blue armchair, a coffee table, and a huge wooden housing for an entertainment system. Instead of a TV, stereo, or gaming systems, however, there were large crystals of all shapes and colors set in it. More crystals were scattered around the room.

Terry and Max exchanged glances as a male voice called, "Is it them, hon?"

A tall, handsome man entered the room. He had blond hair and crystal blue eyes, along with the most perfect tan possible. He was muscular, had a killer smile, and was, without a doubt, an absolute hunk. As noted by Max, who murmured that into Terry's ear.

"Yes." The woman replied, then turned to Terry and Max. "Please, sit. I'm Andrea, and this is my husband Warren."

Terry and Max obeyed, and they spent about two unnerving hours talking to the couple. Andrea and Warren continually took breaks in the conversation to consult with their crystals, and halfway through the little meeting, Warren took a pear-shaped green crystal into his lap and started stroking it like a pet. Terry and Max looked at each other uneasily when the crystal glowed softly after every pet.

Finally, the four bid each other farewell and Max and Terry gratefully left the house. They hadn't gotten much, just that Andrea was the more powerful of the two and she didn't sense any big evils coming in, which more or less ruled out the possibility that Ferinus was out to get them. Andrea kept fairly good tabs on the newcomers to the city, and couldn't find any that had the power Ferinus would have had to have. Then she and Warren started talking with their crystals again in hushed tones about Guardians and was Gotham due to have one? They wouldn't elaborate, though, so Max and Terry figured that was a good time to head out.

"I'll start looking up any info about Pagan 'Guardians.'" Max told him as he dropped her off at her house.

"Great." Terry said. "Oh, hey, Wayne's having a business party tomorrow night that I have to go to and Dana is apparently busy. Wanna tag along and keep me company?"

Max considered. "Tomorrow night? Oh, I can't. My mom's actually taking me shopping."

"Yeah?" Terry asked with a smile. "That's great. I'll see you tomorrow, Max."

"Later, Ter." Max called, waving as he drove off.

Terry headed home, vaguely grumpy about the fact that he'd have to spend another boring business party with no one there his age. He ran into Samantha at the elevator and smiled. "Hey Sam."

She turned, a big grin on her face. "Hiya Ter."

"What's with the big smile?" He asked as he pushed the button for their floor.

She told him about Zeus and Wayne letting him stay there.

"How'd your dog get here?" Terry asked. "I thought he was in California with your neighbor."

"He was." She replied. "Guess he missed me or something. I'm still not sure how he got here."

"Well, it's good that he's okay." Terry commented. "So, you met Wayne, huh?"

"Yup." Samantha replied. "You never told me how nice he was."

"Only to dogs." Terry joked, then found himself saying, "Hey, he's having this business party tomorrow night that I'm gonna be bored stiff at. You wanna come so there'll be someone else there my age?"

Samantha blinked at him. "Shouldn't you ask Dana?"

"I did." Terry replied. "She's busy. Told me to get Max or you to go with me."

"Oh." Samantha thought for a moment. "Then, sure." She paused. "Wait…will I have to get dressed up?"

"Yup." Terry told her gleefully.

Samantha winced. "I changed my mind."

"Can't, now." Terry replied. "Too late, you already said you'd go."

Samantha stuck her tongue out at him. "What time is it?"

"Six." Terry told her. "Be ready by five, okay?"

"So I hear you're going with Terry tonight." Dana commented as she sat down next to Samantha.

Samantha nodded. "He was bummed you couldn't go."

"Yeah?" Dana asked, grinning. She then looked guilty. "Don't think I'm a bad person or anything…But it kinda feels good, you know, putting him in my shoes?"

"I don't." Samantha replied. "Think you're a bad person."

"It's just, Terry's always gone. I never get to see him anymore." Dana explained. "I know it sounds selfish, but it's like he likes his job more than me."

"I don't think that's it, Dana." Samantha told her. "Terry really likes you."

Dana sighed. "I really like him, too….And I can understand. To a point. But you know, a girl's gotta have her limits, right? I can't just let him walk all over me. I mean, sometimes, we're on a date, and he doesn't even say good-bye. He just vanishes."

Samantha frowned slightly. "You're right. That's just not right….Terry's a friend, and I sympathize with him, but you don't just disappear during a date. You want me to maybe talk to him?"

Dana shook her head. "I should probably do it…But, if the subject comes up…"

Samantha smiled. "No problem."