I don't own Batman Beyond. Though I do own Torch/Hotaru.
"Hope you enjoy your little vacation while it lasts babe, because when you come back. You will never leave again." -Jester-
Terry was peacefully sleeping on the couch when he heard three people scream. Terry's eyes shot open and he fell off the bed.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Terry's mother, Mary, screamed. Terry got up and ran to his room to see his mother yelling at Hotaru with his little brother behind her.
"I'm a friend of Terry's." Hotaru replied looking very worried.
"Yeah, Mom it's alright." Terry told his mother.
"Terry who is she? Why was she sleeping in your bed? How do you know her? And why is she here?" Mary asked.
"Mom, her name is Hotaru. I gave her the bed and I slept on the couch. I know her from school and she's here because she needs my help." Terry lied. Hotaru nodded in agreement.
"Oh, well why didn't you tell me this yesterday?" Mary asked him.
"Uh, I didn't tell you because…" Terry tried to think of a lie.
"Because he had to work for his boss and I was packing my stuff." Hotaru said for him. Terry's mom nodded after a few seconds.
"Alright…Hotaru it's um nice to meet you." She said walking out of the room, dragging Matt with her. Terry and Hotaru looked at one another.
"That was too close." Terry said as he then looked closely at Hotaru. "Why is the bed wet?" Hotaru glared at him.
"Because your little brother tried to wake 'you' up with a cup of cold water." Hotaru replied. Terry nodded and pointed to the bathroom.
"Bathroom is right there." Terry told her as he left the room. Hotaru got up and went into the bathroom. On the way to the couch Terry stepped on one of his brother's action figures.
"Ow! Twerp, pick up your toys." Terry yelled then laid back on the couch and went back to sleep. Suddenly he heard his cell phone start to ring. Terry groaned as he picked up his jacket and answered his phone. "Hello." He answered with a yawn.
"McGinnis, how is your friend?" Bruce Wayne asked him.
"Oh Hotaru is fine. Me on the other hand, tired beyond belief." Terry mumbled.
"Ok, I just called to tell you that Hotaru begins school with you on Monday. That and I have found an apartment for her. It's actually near yours, two rooms over. Bring her by later today to pick up her keys." Bruce instructed. Terry looked at the phone in disbelief.
Gez, he's thought of everything. Then again, what do you expect from the man who used to be Batman? Terry thought. "Alright, we'll be back later. But I don't think she's going to be too keen on the idea of working for rent money."
"Don't worry, I have a job for her." Bruce said mysteriously and hung up the phone. Terry looked at his phone and hung it up.
"Doesn't anyone say good-bye anymore?" Terry asked himself as he closed his phone and put it on the table. Terry pulled the covers over his head and tried to go back to sleep. He heard his shower turn on.
Hotaru stepped into the insanely hot water. She put her head under the water and began to think. God what am I going to do? If Terry gets hurt I won't be able to forgive myself. Should I tell him about my powers? Maybe not, I don't want to scare him; there are just some things that Terry can't know about me. Not yet anyway.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNone of the Jokerz has ever seen Jester so mad.
"I tell you to bring her back? Is that such a hard thing to do?" He demanded. Jester threw his glass bottle at the wall, making it shatter. The Dee-Dee twins gasped and held on to one another in fear.
"We're sorry boss, it's just that she had help." The Dee-Dee twins said.
"I don't care! I want Torch back!" Jester yelled.
"But sir, we don't know what she looks like without her face paint." Ghoul replied.
"How hard can it be to find a teenaged pyromaniac that has red and black hair?" Jester asked in a low tone. "I don't care what you have to do to get her back! Hell, kill the Bat; I've been telling you to do that for so long maybe now you will listen to me!"
The Jokerz ran out of the warehouse to find their runaway. Jester walked up to the room Torch was usually tied up in. He glared down at the burned ropes. Jester started to think about her powers.
"I can't take away air because then she'd die. Her weakness isn't water, then what the hell could it be?" He asked himself as he leaned against the wall looking at the spot where Torch used to be tied to. Jester crossed his arms and just stared down at the spot. After a minute Jester's frown turned into an insane smirk. "I got your weakness Torch. No sunlight, no powers." He whispered to himself. "Hope you enjoy your little vacation while it lasts babe, because when you come back. You will never leave again."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was around noon when Terry got up and took Hotaru back to the Batcave.
"So how am I going to make money for my apartment?" Hotaru asked Terry.
"I don't know, but you start school with me on Monday." Terry told her. Hotaru groaned.
"I'm starting to like my chances with just running from the Jokerz." Hotaru muttered.
"Oh yeah, you seemed to be doing a great job with that until I saved you." Terry said to her. Hotaru growled glared at him making her eyes turn into yellow jaguar eyes then back to normal.
"Now that is just creepy." Terry said as they walked over to Bruce.
"After all you've seen you think that's creepy?" Bruce asked sarcastically. Terry shrugged his shoulders.
"So how am I going to pay for my apartment?" Hotaru asked.
"Simple, you are going to work for me." Bruce said.
"Explain work? Cause If I have to go around saying I'm Batgirl, I'll take my chances with the Jokerz." Hotaru protested with her hands on her hips.
"No you won't be Batgirl. I don't know what you will be called yet." Bruce said.
"Why not just call her Jaguar?" Terry joked.
"Alright." Hotaru said.
"Right. So when does she start?" Terry asked Bruce. Bruce handed a black cat suit to Hotaru with a mask.
"Monday night, I think the city can handle themselves for a night." Bruce replied he then turned to Hotaru. "You will get your weapons then."
Hotaru held up the suit in front of her and smirked. This should be fun to redo. She thought.
"So am I going to watch over the city while Terry is in school?" Hotaru asked hoping that Bruce would forget about her going to school.
"No, because you are going to be there with him." Bruce replied.
"What?" They both asked.
"Terry she will be going to your school." Bruce repeated.
"Whoa, wait a minute. At school trouble finds me, I don't go lookin' for it." Hotaru explained.
"Simple, don't talk back to teachers." Terry replied.
"How do you know that I talk back?" Hotaru asked.
"You always talked back to the leader of Demons From Below." Terry said. Hotaru nodded at the memory.
"I wonder what happened to them." Hotaru shrugged off the thought.
"Here are the keys to your new apartment." Bruce said as he gave Hotaru the keys.
"Thanks-for everything." Hotaru said as she then started to walk out of the batcave. Terry started after her until Bruce called him back.
"Yeah?" Terry asked.
"The Jokerz called Hotaru, Torch." Bruce said as he thought.
"Yeah, that's what she told us." Terry replied.
"If she was a Joker, why didn't they just give her some clown name instead of Torch?" Bruce asked him.
"I don't know. Jokerz aren't the smartest people in the world." Terry replied.
"It doesn't make sense. Be careful around her McGinnis, I believe there's more to Hotaru then she's leading on." Bruce said.
"You're worrying too much. Hotaru is one of my best friends, she wouldn't lie to me." He tried to explain. Bruce nodded and Terry left the cave.
Terry took Hotaru back to their apartment building. Hotaru got her stuff out of Terry's room and took it into her new apartment. Terry helped her get settled in for a few hours.
"Do I really have to start school on Monday?" Hotaru asked. Terry smiled and nodded. "No possible way, I can get him to change his mind?"
"None what so ever." Terry replied. Hotaru's look of hope disappeared.
"I need to go shopping then." She said as she got up. Terry looked petrified. "What?"
"I've gone shopping with you before, it's scary. I don't want to go." Terry replied. Hotaru laughed a little.
"Fine, I guess I can just get in trouble with my shirt then." She sighed. Terry groaned and put his face on the table.
"Alright, I'll go with you. Wait, how do you have money?" He asked. Hotaru looked away from him and scratched the back of her neck.
"You're Batman right?" She asked. Terry nodded at her. "Then you don't wanna know." Terry shook his head now knowing the answer.
"Just don't tell Wyane." Terry told her.
"What? I worked long and hard to get this." Hotaru stated. Terry looked at her like she was crazy.
"You stole it. How is that working hard?" He asked. Hotaru just smiled innocently.
"Come on lets go shopping, Ter-Ter." Hotaru said as she dragged him out the door.
It was now Monday morning. Hotaru woke up at six in the morning. She slowly got out of bed and made her way to her bathroom. Hotaru looked in the mirror and Jester was in back off her.
Hotaru shot up in her bed; she was breathing heavily. The teenager looked around her room to make sure she was alone. Hotaru sighed as she then calmed down. She got up and went into her bathroom and got into the shower. When she got out Hotaru put on a black shirt that reached her hips. On the front it said, "doesn't play nice with others" in red letters. She put her black cargo pants and belt on. Then reapplied her black eyeliner, black eye shadow and lipstick.
Hotaru walked into her kitchen and got something to eat. After a few minutes she heard her door bell ring. Hotaru picked up her mailbag and black leather jacket that she bought. She opened the door to see Terry waiting for her.
"Hey, Ter-Ter." She said with a yawn.
"Mornin'. Ready for your first day of school?" He asked. Hotaru just glared at him. Terry laughed a little as they left. They went down to his bike and speed off to the school. Hotaru got off Terry's bike and gave him the helmet. They started to walk up to the doors when someone called Terry's name. Terry turned around to see Dana, Max, Chelsea and Blade come towards him. Though Blade and Chelsea didn't look happy.
"What's wrong?" Terry asked them as he wrapped his arm around Dana's shoulders. They just ignored him.
"Oh they're just mad because Cole blew them both off when they asked him out." Max replied. Terry nodded.
"Who's your friend Terry?" Dana asked looked at her.
"Oh sorry. This is my friend Hotaru. Hotaru this is Dana, my girlfriend, Max, Chelsea and Blade. So Blade you finally broke up with Nash?" Terry asked. She nodded.
"Only now the next hottest guy in school won't go out with me." Blade said annoyed.
"Or me!" Chelsea added.
I'm sure he would if your skirts were shorter. Hotaru thought with a small laugh. "That's too ba-" Hotaru started to say. Blade and Chelsea turned around to see Cole coming up to them with a small smile.
He had dirty blond hair to his shoulders with dark green eyes. Cole wore a black beater with black baggy jeans. Around his neck was a black choker with silver spikes; he had matching bracelets on both of his arms.
"Hi Cole. Shway choker." Both Blade and Chelsea said with dreamy eyes. Cole only nodded at them.
"Hey Terry, Dana, Max." Cole said. Terry nodded at him, while Dana and Max gave him a friendly smile. "You must be new here." He said to Hotaru.
"Yeah, I am." She replied as he smiled at her.
"Name's Cole." He introduced himself. Hotaru just nodded and he chuckled a little. "So got a name, red?" Both Chelsea and Blade started to glare at Hotaru.
"It's Hotaru." She replied.
"So need help with finding you classes?" Cole asked her.
"Sure. Uh, Ter-Ter I'll catch up with you guys later." Hotaru said as she walked into the school with Cole.
"How?" Blade and Chelsea asked.
"Looks like she just found herself a boyfriend." Max said amused. She and Dana then looked up at Terry.
"Ter-Ter?" They both asked. Terry groaned.
"She only says it to get on my nerves." He replied. Dana laughed a little.
"Ter-Ter, it's kinda cute." She giggled.
Well tell me what you all think. So R&R. Bye for now.