Brick Ballads
Chapter Eight: "Dark Knights"
Matt walked up to Commissioner Gordon's secretary, Alene Richardson, and asked, "Is she in?"
Alene looked up from her computer and answered, "Yes, but maybe you'd be better off seeing her later. She's pissed."
Matt winced. "I think it'd be better if I just get this over with."
Alene put a comforting hand on his and promised, "I'll buy flowers for your funeral."
Feeling like a gladiator walking into the arena to meet the lions, Matt entered the Commissioner's office. She watched him with no expression on her face. This was not going to be a good meeting.
"Just go ahead and yell at me," he said once the door closed. "Get it over with."
"From the sound of it, you've faced the others' wrath," she replied.
He nodded. "Kai gave me an earful while we walked back to the Simulation Room. Then I got a four-way yelling session with Superman, Warhawk, Shinobi, and Aquagirl. After that, Superman lectured me some more and handed me over to Bruce for another lecture. It was about three hours before I finally went home."
"And?" she asked.
"And I'm still going through with it," he asserted. "Stalker's already told Altima by now. We have to go through with it."
She sighed and closed her eyes. "Please tell me you changed the names on the information, kept your identities safe."
"I couldn't. The information Altima has already refers to our identities. He'd be suspicious if there were different names listed."
"You at least know the danger you're putting yourself into?" she pleaded. "This is an Omega Class threat. They have that classification for a reason. Altima has the power to give Superman a hard time."
"I know," he answered.
"No, you don't," she argued, getting up from her desk. "Kid, I may not have been with the Justice League, but I've seen the outcomes of high rank threats. My best friend was Supergirl, and I saw her after she fought Galatea—both times. She was battered in both of those fights, and that's with her having Kryptonian strength to defend against Kryptonian strength. You won't be anywhere near as lucky."
"I know," he repeated. "But I have to do this."
"You don't," she insisted. "I gave you a choice when you first started this. You could walk away from everything and save yourself and your sanity. You can still walk away. Let the Justice League handle it. They have years of experience. You have only a few months."
"Commissioner, I decided to quit as a permanent substitute because I knew it would kill me inside," he reasoned. "I saw something that I knew would haunt me for the rest of my life, and I realized I couldn't handle seeing those kinds of things every night. But this choice is different. If I didn't offer up the Batman Beyond information, the League wouldn't be able to stop Altima. They would die—Terry would die—and it would be my fault for not doing something."
"It's better to live with regrets than to die."
"I don't think you really believe that," Matt argued. "And I know no one else would either. I'm doing this because I can choose my own fate. My fate is to be Matt McGinnis, and part of being Matt McGinnis is growing up and accepting responsibility."
The Commissioner sighed again. "And I suppose there's no point in arguing with you further." He shook his head. "Fine. Don't get yourself killed out there, kid."
"Believe me, I won't," he promised.
He walked out and flashed Alene a reassuring smile he didn't quite feel. She smiled back and tried to offer comfort—she'd heard the yelling, but not the words—and he nodded, pretending that the disagreement wasn't about anything as big as it was. When he stepped out of the station, he looked at the sky. The sun was shining brightly, warming the fall air. He'd promised everyone that he wouldn't die, but if he had to break that promise, he was glad that the last day he saw was like this. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.
He pretended not to notice the people following him as he walked to his mother's house. He stayed for half an hour, trying his hardest to put all thoughts of possible death aside. But even so, he couldn't help but feel guilty. She'd lost their dad so long ago, and it had hurt her even though they were divorced; how could she stand losing him? And he wondered if Terry ever had these thoughts before missions. By the time his visit was finished, he was positive his brother did.
They were still following him, and he gave no indication that he knew.
He called Cassie when he got home, and afterward, he and David went to a friend's apartment to catch a football game. At eleven, he excused himself, mentioning some "important business" he'd nearly forgotten about, and went back to his room. Almost ritualistically, he turned on the coffeepot and took some aspirin for his sore muscles before stripping off his clothes and pulling on the lightweight armor. As he sipped his coffee, he typed an e-mail to Terry that he hoped didn't sound too much like a goodbye. When his first cup was finished and his e-mail sent, he pulled on the suit and practiced a few martial arts techniques before drinking a second cup. Finally, certain that he was going to stay awake and more or less confident that he knew how to fight his way out of a bad situation, he took a last look at the photographs in his room. Friends and family grinned back at him, not knowing what he was about to face. Seeing that made him close his eyes and whisper a prayer before pulling on the mask and climbing out the window. Kai, Merina, and Rex were waiting on the roof, just as they had been the whole time.
"Are you ready?" Kai checked.
"As I'll ever be," he answered.
"All right, then," Rex decided. "Akira and Kal will be waiting at the Tower if we need back-up. Kal can't promise anything since he needs to keep everything under control, but he'll send out anyone we might need. The whole League's on alert." Matt nodded. "Let's go."
The stakeout was at Waller's, with Matt and Rex supposedly guarding the Batman Beyond info they'd "recovered" from her archives. Two hours had passed without any activity, and even with caffeine in his system, Matt felt like he was about to fall asleep.
No one ever mentioned how boring stakeouts can be, he thought. He wasn't asking to get killed, but he was tired of standing around, not doing anything. Every so often, Superman would check in to be sure everything was going fine. Each time he called, he sounded tenser than the last time. Not only was Matt bored, but now he was getting nervous. If something didn't happen soon, he was sure he'd go crazy.
"Green Lantern to all points," Kai whispered. "Movement detected in south perimeter, headed toward Warhawk and Batman."
"Copy, Green Lantern," Rex whispered back as he and Matt tensed for battle.
"Aquagirl calling Batman and Warhawk," Merina added. "Something's moving along the west perimeter. It's heading south."
"I think I see it, Aquagirl," Kai replied. "They've rendezvoused."
"That can't be right," Merina protested. "He's still here."
"Shadow clone?" Rex suggested. "If it's the magic-user, he might be using a replica to distract us."
"I don't think so," Merina answered. "Shadow clones need to stay within sight of the caster. If so, I should be able to see the caster."
"So we've got three instead of two?" Matt asked in surprise.
"We should have anticipated this," Rex realized. "One goes breaks in to kill the guards. The second destroys the cameras and deletes the video files so the third can steal the data." He swore in what Matt figured was Thanagarian before warning Merina, "Don't show your position. If he gets in, be ready to fight him off."
"South gate breached!" Kai alerted. "They see me!"
"Stop them if you can," Rex ordered, "otherwise call for back-up." Turning to Matt he asked, "They're coming. Ready?"
"I think so," he answered, reaching for an Nth metal batarang.
"Don't," Rex warned. "If it's not Altima or the magic-user, you don't want to waste them." Matt nodded and let a regular batarang jettison from his wrist.
"Aquagirl to Warhawk and Batman," Merina called. "Third intruder jumped the fence on the west side. I'm heading in to intercept."
"Green Lantern to all points," Kai grunted. "I have the magic-user under control. Altima is heading toward your location."
"Aquagirl," Merina added soon after. "Intruder identified. It's Bahamut. I won't be able to get him in time. Be ready for both of them."
Rex swore again. "Roger, Aquagirl. Batman and I are ready."
Matt settled into a fighting stance and watched the door carefully. It felt like only seconds had passed before a draconic-looking Atlantean broke in, blasting at them with a sphere of water. Matt took it directly in the chest and went flying; while he recovered, Rex was punching Bahamut across the room.
"Batman, Warhawk, come in!" Kai cried frantically.
"Batman here," Matt groaned.
"I have Bahamut," he alerted. "The magic-user must have used an illusion to switch places with him. You've got the real magic-user."
"Shit," Matt muttered as he got to his feet. "Warhawk, that's the magic-user!"
The warning came too late. The fake Bahamut revealed a staff that smashed Rex across his ribs, where Nth metal didn't cover his costume. Matt threw the batarang he was holding, belatedly remembering that it was a regular one. The magic-user vaporized it easily, and Matt scrambled to grab an Nth metal one.
"Watch out," Rex warned, sitting up. "That's Azoth!"
The name meant nothing to Matt; Rex had only said it to keep up appearances that they had no idea the enemy knew he wasn't Terry. Azoth shifted from Bahamut's form to his own, a lean middle-aged man taller than Matt, carrying a ruby-topped staff. The staff fired a beam of magic toward him, but Matt didn't stick around to find out exactly what it would do. He threw the Nth metal batarang and ran. The batarang seemed to chip the ruby, but it didn't do enough to stop Azoth. He aimed once more at Matt, but this time the beam hit. Matt fell to the floor in agony, completely unable to move. The pain was so bad that he wanted to die.
There was a clang as the staff fell out of Azoth's hand. The magical torture stopped, and Matt took several convulsing breaths. He looked to the side and saw Rex pummeling Azoth once again. Matt took the opportunity to get up and throw another Nth batarang at the staff's crystal. This time, he made sure to destroy it.
"You all right?" Rex checked, holding onto a half-conscious Azoth.
"I'm fine," he replied. "Where's Aquagirl? She should have been here by now."
"She won't be joining you," informed a new voice. Matt turned to see a man wiping blood off of his fist and onto his blue-and-yellow suit. He felt his stomach drop at the sight of the blood, and from the corner of his eye, he caught Rex staring in just as much horror. Merina just couldn't be dead.
"Pity," Altima commented lightly. "She was on her way to help you, but she never noticed me slipping behind her. I took care of her as quickly as I take care of the rest of my victims, although not as cleanly. She fought back, so I couldn't break her neck directly. I had to settle for slamming her into the wall. She bleeds quite easily when hit the right way."
"Fucking bastard," Matt swore. "Warhawk!" Rex dropped Azoth and got into a fighting stance.
"There's no need to keep up appearances around me," Altima remarked. "I know you aren't the real Batman. I admit, killing you won't be quite as satisfying as killing the real thing, but a kill is still a kill." Matt threw another Nth batarang. It cut Altima's cheek, the energy singeing his skin around the wound. The warlord put two fingers to the cut and examined the blood before licking his fingers clean. "Another resister."
"Believe it," Matt growled.
"Keep your head," Rex warned.
"You should listen to what he says," Altima mockingly advised. "This will only be more painful for you in the end."
He rushed forward before Matt even had the chance to blink. Matt quickly grabbed the circular blade in the center of his belt and slashed repeatedly at Altima. Only minor scratches appeared on his skin—the worst it had done was cut up his suit a little. Altima grabbed Matt's hand in a grip so hard that he was forced to drop the blade. He'd never been so grateful for the extra armor layer; even though it was fairly thin, it was the only thing keeping Altima from breaking his wrist.
Rex slammed into Altima from behind, nearly knocking Matt over. Matt could only guess that he'd delayed attacking in order to be sure that Altima wouldn't kill Matt if he got too close.
"What are you doing?" Rex demanded. "You'll die here! Get out and check on Aquagirl!" The reminder of Merina's injury kept Matt from arguing. Instead, he ran directly for the west entrance.
"Batman to Superman!" he shouted into his radio. "We need back-up!"
"Superman here. What's your status?"
"Three intruders, one of which is down, another held by Green Lantern. Warhawk's fighting Altima now. Aquagirl's injured, possibly dead—we need help now!"
"Roger. I'm sending Shinobi, Barda, and Micron."
Matt finally found Merina lying crumpled on the floor, her stomach bleeding. Murmuring, "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead," he checked her pulse and sighed in relief when he found it. "Send a med team too," he added. "I found Aquagirl. She's alive, but badly injured. Altima hit her hard."
"All right," Superman answered. "Barda's coming first to get her. Stay where you are."
Matt breathed heavily, waiting a few minutes for Barda to come through a boom tube. She helped him stabilize Merina enough to send her back to the Metro Tower. All the while, Matt was shaking.
"Not used to it?" Barda guessed. "I don't blame you. I still have nightmares of my friends dying after decades of battle experience. It's not strange for you to feel the same after just fifteen years."
Fifteen weeks is more like it, Matt thought. Aloud, he asked, "Why did Altima depend on Azoth and Bahamut to get in? Why not use a boom tube?"
"The Green Lantern Corps destroyed his last generator soon after he betrayed Darkseid," she explained. "It was easy; he was still weak from the close escape. They couldn't manage to bring him in, but they at least limited his range of havoc."
"I'm going back in there," he decided. "Make sure Warhawk's all right."
"He should be, but good idea," she agreed. "At least help him retreat if you have to."
Matt ran back toward the battle zone, forcing his fear and anger to dissipate. He needed a clear head if he wanted to survive this night. The rhythm of his feet hitting the floor matched his heartbeat, giving him something to concentrate on as he tried to get back.
By the time he returned, Rex was half-beaten, trying to hold back Altima. Neither of them noticed Azoth beginning to wake up, so Matt knocked him unconscious again before grabbing the staff and smashing it against the back of Altima's head. It didn't do all that much, but it got him to lose focus on his battle with Rex long enough to be thrown aside.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rex questioned. "I told you to get out of here."
"Barda, Shinobi, and Micron are here to help," Matt explained. "They got Aquagirl to safety. She's alive."
"All right," he answered. "Help until Lantern or one of the others gets to us. But the next time I tell you to go, don't come back, understood?"
"Understood," Matt answered, grabbing an explosive batarang. He threw it at Altima, who tried to destroy it, thinking it was a standard one. When it exploded on him, Rex flew forward and started beating on him. Matt, remembering that Altima was partially crippled in his right side, let Rex's attack act as a diversion as he threw electric and Nth batarangs. They hit decently enough, and Altima howled in pain as his nervous system fried.
"Batman, Warhawk, get out of the way!" Kai ordered, rushing in. His warning came just in time; neither had noticed Altima focusing the electrical energy into his right hand. Kai managed to get a shield around them before the electricity exploded, destroying the Batman Beyond archives and killing Azoth.
"At least he didn't get the information," Rex commented.
"Where'd he go?" Matt asked, trying his hardest not to look at Azoth's burned corpse. Almost as soon as he asked this, Akira sent out a call on the radio.
"Shinobi to all points. Altima just got past me. I'm trying to intercept. I need back-up."
"Batman to Shinobi," Matt answered quickly. "I'm on my way."
"Matt, don't—" Kai started, but he'd already extended his wings and fired his jets, flying out of the room.
"Shinobi, this is Batman, where are you?" Matt checked.
Shinobi groaned, "Northeast side of the complex. I can't hold him back much longer."
Matt whipped to the left, meeting only a large window at the end of the hall. He closed his eyes and put his arms over his head to shield himself as he smashed through the bulletproof glass at high speed. He hovered for only a minute to brush the shards off and locate Akira and Altima, who were fighting a few yards away. Akira had pulled a sword out of a sheath on his back and was slashing at Altima, who easily dodged each thrust. As Matt flew closer, Altima grabbed the blade and snapped it in two before backhanding Akira across the face. The ninja hit the ground and Altima continued his escape.
Matt landed next to Akira and checked his vitals. He was still breathing, and his pulse was steady, but part of his skull looked like it had fractured from the blow.
"Damn," Matt whispered. "Batman to Metro Tower. Shinobi's down and Altima's escaped again. I'm going after him. Send a med team for Shinobi."
"Wait for back-up!" Superman ordered.
"There's no time!" Matt argued. "He's getting away. I'll follow him and you can send back-up to my location."
Superman sighed, "Fine. Turn on your homing signal. And be careful." It was a pointless warning. After seeing the damage Altima had done to Merina and Akira, there was no way Matt was going to take any unnecessary risks.
Altima was heading into the city itself. Matt called the Batmobile so he could follow easier. He wanted to stop Altima before he had the chance to hurt any of the dozens of people that would be walking around Gotham, but he also knew that he wasn't strong enough to be able to. All he could do was hope Altima would avoid the civilians.
He was glad to see that Altima did. It seemed the former general had determined that it would be too risky for him to encounter civilians when he was sporting some injuries from the JLU. But at the same time, he seemed to be aware of Matt's presence. He darted into a narrow alley, forcing Matt to abandon the Batmobile.
"Batman to Superman," he whispered. "Altima's still running, but I can't follow in the Batmobile. Is my back-up anywhere near?"
"We can't get a boom tube to open in such a narrow area," Superman replied. "And there's too many people around to safely open one in Gotham City proper. Our flyers can get to your location faster, but it's still going to take some time."
Matt was about to respond when a snake-splicer attacked him from behind. He managed to throw her off, but she landed in front of a group of others. They were fairly standard bruisers—not even enough to be called Batman's lesser rogues—but they would be enough of a distraction to keep Matt from chasing Altima. Now he had to agree with Kai's assessment of Altima the night before as a "cunning tactician."
A blond fox splicer launched himself at Matt, who quickly threw an electric batarang at him. As the fox splicer fell, a bear splicer came up and swiped at Matt, throwing him against a wall. Before he could get up, the splicer grabbed him, intent on squeezing the life out of him. It got harder and harder to breathe, and Matt felt his ribcage starting to give under the pressure. Thinking fast, he activated his jets and broke free, flipping in the air before almost landing in a heap on the ground. The other splicers came in as he tried to catch his breath, but suddenly, someone in black leapt ahead of him and took on the other splicers.
Matt pulled himself to his feet and stared in utter confusion as someone in Bruce's old suit advanced on the bear splicer, looking ready to perform a roundhouse kick. The splicer anticipated this and stepped back, but the second Batman whirled forward and turned it into a tornado kick. The splicer dropped with a thud, and the others moved in for the kill. Knowing that his ally was outnumbered, Matt ran forward. An eagle splicer flew at him, but he flew up before propelling himself down over her. She broke one of her wings when she landed, but she was far from prone. She clawed at Matt with her talon-like nails before he hit her underneath the chin with a front kick. This time, she didn't get up. When he turned around, the other Batman had taken care of the snake splicer already and was fighting off a tiger splicer.
"Duck!" Matt shouted, and his ally moved away seconds before an Nth metal batarang hit the splicer. He went down harder than Matt intended—he'd meant to pull out an electric batarang, after all, but in the rush of battle, he'd mixed up the compartments on the belt. The other Batman looked like he was about to thank him, but a last splicer interrupted. It had been spliced so often that gender and species were impossible to determine. Matt readied another batarang, but the other Batman grabbed the chimera's arm and hooked his leg around one of its. He then pulled it to the ground and punched it in the face, knocking it out.
"Yet another good reason splicing's illegal," he commented sarcastically. Matt blinked at the voice.
"Terry?" he recognized, and his brother removed his mask. He considered asking what he was doing here, but it never came out. Instead, he wryly said, "You look good in the suit."
"Thanks," Terry answered. "Bruce told me about the stakeout. I got my motorcycle and headed over as fast as I could. When I noticed your signal coming over here, I followed."
"Why'd you take that suit?" Matt questioned. "Why not your old one?"
"It's been disconnected," he explained. "It would have taken too long to reconnect it to the system, and I figured I needed to find you fast."
"Right," Matt replied with a bit of disappointment. There it was: big brother here to take over and save the day. Matt would have to go back and tell the rest of the League that the situation was under control, and everything would be okay.
Terry pulled his mask back on and said, "Lead on." Matt stared. "It's your case, isn't it? You should see it through."
A smile found its way across Matt's face, and he sorely regretted being a brat to his brother for so many years. "Thanks."
The brothers continued their pursuit, Terry on the motorcycle and Matt flying just ahead of him. Along the way, Matt called Superman back and told him he didn't need the back-up, and Terry explained why he'd cut his honeymoon short:
"I was a bit worried when you called and said you weren't sure you could handle everything," he admitted, "but I didn't think I had to come back until you sent me that e-mail."
"Oh," Matt answered. "That."
"Yeah," Terry replied. "I trained as a detective for fifteen years—I think it would be disappointing if I couldn't read between the lines and realize something was completely wrong. Dana called up the airline and told them we needed an immediate flight out because of a family emergency."
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault. I just wish someone would have told me before my little brother offered to sacrifice himself to an Omega Level threat."
"Yeah," Matt replied awkwardly. "I got a lot of lectures about that."
"Expect more later, just not from me. I've done enough stupid things to know I shouldn't talk. But first, we've got to find Altima."
Matt squinted and activated the zoom on his visor. A figure was running farther ahead, limping as he dragged a barely responsive right side.
"I see him," Matt declared. "He's just entered the old Crime Alley. How fast can your bike go?"
"Not fast enough right now," Terry replied. "Go ahead. I'll catch up."
Matt fired his jets as much as they would allow, catching up to Altima quickly. Rather than dropping, however, he lowered himself and barreled directly into Altima, knocking them both across Crime Alley. Matt got to his feet first and ran up to kick him, but Altima grabbed him by the leg and threw him against a brick wall. He felt something crack as he hit, and he prayed it wasn't his spine.
"I must admit I'm impressed," Altima commented. "I did not expect a replacement to give me so much trouble. It was fun while it lasted."
Altima came closer, ready to finish him off, but he fired back batarangs, forcing Altima to swat them away as Matt got up. Next to him was a large dumpster, so he shoved it toward Altima, trying only to delay him for as long as humanly possible. He was not going to let himself die.
Altima tossed the dumpster aside and came for Matt again, but Matt drove three consecutive punches into his stomach. Thanks to the enhanced strength the suit's circuitry lent him, his blows were strong enough to leave Altima winded for a moment, giving him time to bring a drop kick down on his shoulder. But Altima reached up and backhanded Matt on the right side of his face. He barely registered the sound of Altima running again as he blacked out.
He could only have been out for a few minutes because he opened one eye to see Terry leaning over him, mask off and first aid kit in hand. He carefully opened his right eye, feeling tears slide down his face. The right lens of his mask's visor was cracked, indicating how hard he'd been hit.
"You all right?" Terry checked.
"I think so," he answered, ripping off his mask and clutching his eye. "My eye's killing me."
"Let me take a look at it," Terry ordered. Matt reluctantly took his hand away and saw a streak of blood on his palm. "Looks like a broken blood vessel. You're going to have a black eye in the morning."
"Guess I weakened him enough to keep him from hitting as hard as usual," Matt commented. "He nearly killed Merina and broke part of Akir—Shinobi's skull." He groaned and tried to sit up. "Thank God he doesn't finish off his enemies when he thinks he's beat them enough." Terry handed him a piece of gauze and he placed it at the edge of his eye to slow the bleeding.
"Think you can keep going?" Terry asked. Matt shook his head.
"No, this is it for me. I think he nearly broke my ribs when he threw me against that wall. I won't be able to fight him off again."
"All right. Let's get higher up." He put one arm around Matt and fired a grappling hook, letting it carry them both to the roof of one of the buildings. Matt called the Batmobile over, and it soon landed next to them. He rested against the warm metal as Terry handed him a cold patch from the first aid kit. He put it over his eye and winced at the cold against his bruise.
"Are you going to be okay here?" Terry checked. Matt nodded. "All right. I'll keep going after Altima."
"In that?" Matt questioned, gesturing at the costume. "Terry, that thing's made of Kevlar; it'll never stand up to a laser, much less Altima." Ignoring his injuries, he pulled off his suit, remarking, "You've got a better chance in this."
"You're sure?" Terry asked, taking the suit.
"You're Batman, not me."
"Thanks," Terry replied. It took him a short time to get out of Bruce's suit and into his own, and when he was done, he looked back at his brother and promised, "I'll be back."
"I know you will," Matt answered. Nodding, Terry flew off.
With a groan, Matt pulled himself up and opened the canopy to the Batmobile. It hurt when he tried to climb in, but he nearly sank into the seat in relief when he managed it. Placing the first aid kit and Bruce's suit in his lap, he pulled off his shirt-armor and started bandaging his ribs. His wrist was bruised from when Altima forced him to drop his blade, so he bandaged that next, slipping in a couple of cold patches between the bandages. A little more digging through the medical kit revealed a bottle of aspirin. He took one pill and pulled his shirt back on before accessing Crime Alley's remote cameras. Even though he wasn't going to fight the battle, he could still watch it.
Just like old times, he reflected. In a way, there was little difference between his watching the battles on the news as a child and what he was doing now. He was just more involved this time.
Terry had caught up with Altima rather quickly. They were currently in hand-to-hand combat, Terry blocking one of Altima's powerful blows. As he did this, however, he kicked Altima's feet out from underneath him—something neither Matt nor anyone else had thought of. Altima fell, giving Terry the chance to go on the offensive. Watching each punch and kick, Matt was surprised at how fully and deeply Terry had become Batman. There was no transition from one to the other; one minute, he'd been the sometimes annoying older brother Matt had always known, and the next, he was the Dark Knight of Gotham City. Matt would never have managed it.
Yeah, he thought. That's Batman, right there—my big brother.
And then, just as suddenly, he was Terry again. The fox splicer Matt had fought earlier had also caught up, attacking Terry from behind. He was pinned, trying to fight him off while Altima escaped.
What the hell? Matt wondered. How'd he miss that? It was something Batman should have been ready for, but it was something Terry wouldn't see.
And finally, Matt understood his brother's duality.
Altima was heading farther into Crime Alley. Matt could call the League for back-up, but by the time they got there, it would be too late to prevent Altima from hurting anyone. Matt grabbed the Batmobile's controls and followed Altima's trail, ignoring the bumpiness of the ride. He could throw up later if he had to.
When he found Altima, he didn't even land. Instead, he brought the Batmobile low enough so that he could drop to one of the roofs and climbed down an old fire escape to the ground. The rusty ladder nearly broke when he reached bottom, but he jumped off and ran after Altima's retreating form. He'd only brought a bola with him, something he'd found in Bruce's utility belt, remembering how Terry had thrown Altima off-balance. He had only one shot, and he didn't intend to screw it up.
His leg muscles burned and it hurt to breathe, but Matt kept running. Finally, he'd caught up with the limping Altima, who looked like he was also worn out. Matt paused to aim and throw the bola, which hit its target. Altima tripped and fell forward. He was trying to untie the bola from around his ankles when Matt reached him. They looked at each other for all of one second before Matt smashed a roundhouse kick in his face. When Altima finally fell, Matt collapsed in a heap nearby.
"I thought you were going to leave it to me," Terry commented, walking over. Matt gave him a tired grin.
"After you got blindsided by that splicer?"
Terry shrugged. "So I'm not perfect." He reached out a hand and helped Matt to his feet. "Batman to Superman. Altima captured. Send Green Lantern for pick-up." And silently, the brothers stood against the wall, waiting for Kai as the long night ended.
Matt spent the whole next day in bed. A short visit to the Metro Tower's infirmary took care of some of his worse injuries, and the personnel determined that he had fortunately managed to avoid breaking anything. Nobody asked any questions about the mysterious civilian Batman had brought back, so Matt assumed everyone else had taken care of the explanations, side-stepping the Batman Beyond issue.
He was still sore when he made his way to Commissioner Gordon's office, and he worried the secretary when she saw him. Alene insisted on making him sit as he waited for the Commissioner to finish with her meeting, and she handed him aspirin from her purse. When the officer the Commissioner had been talking to left her office, he stared at Matt for a few minutes before walking away. Matt took that as his cue to enter.
The Commissioner was sitting at her desk, covering a grin with one hand. Matt grinned back. He supposed he did look somewhat funny to someone who had seen worse injuries in the line of duty. With his black eye and staggering walk, he looked like he'd come out as the loser in a bar fight. His cover story of a football game gone horribly wrong didn't help matters any.
"Terry told me what happened with Altima," she commented when he sat down. "Sounds like you're quite the hero."
"Two days ago, I'm an idiot. Today I'm a hero?" Matt asked. The Commissioner merely smiled in reply. "Kai's trying to get the Green Lantern Corps to give me a medal or something. The Royal Family of Atlantis wants to reward me too for capturing the guy who nearly killed their princess. And on the record, Superman's awarded Matt McGinnis honorary membership in the Justice League Unlimited. Off the record, he says he doesn't know any other way to thank me other than to say that temporary or not, I definitely earned that Batman III status. But they're the ones who did all the work—Altima only exhausted himself fighting Terry, Warhawk, and Shinobi, so he was nowhere near his strongest when I got there."
"You're still the one who brought him in. That's what really matters."
He shrugged. "I guess."
The Commissioner went over to her coffeepot. "Coffee or tea?"
He was about to say coffee when he thought otherwise. "I'll have tea. Less caffeine. Plus it feels like I've been living off of coffee and aspirin for the past two days."
"And this has nothing to do with the fact that you went through something harder than you've ever faced before?" she teased, pouring milk into the cup and handing it to him. "So was it strange seeing your brother wearing Bruce's suit?"
"Yeah," he answered. "Probably weirder than he must have thought it was to see me in his."
"Did you ask why he didn't just take his old one?"
Matt took a sip of his tea before nodding. "He said it got disconnected or something and it would have taken too long to reconnect it."
"You've seen the suits in the Batcave, right?" He nodded. "Have you wondered why Terry's original suit is in the first case?"
"I tried asking Bruce about it, but I never got the chance. What's the story behind that anyway?"
The Commissioner leaned against her desk and explained, "It happened a few years ago. Terry was twenty-five. Someone managed to hit him with enough electricity that it fried the suit's circuits. He should have been completely paralyzed, but he managed to fight off his attackers and make his way back home."
"How?"
"The old-fashioned way: by grappling hook, then by foot. Anyway, Bruce had stopped monitoring him sometime after the Joker's return, so he had no idea what had happened. I was supposed to meet up with Terry, but when he didn't show, I went to the Manor to find out why. We tried searching for his signal, but the suit's connection to the cave was completely cut off. I nearly started a search of the city for him when we found him at the front door, passed out. He'd exhausted himself trying to get back. After Terry woke up, Bruce showed him how the suit worked and taught him how to build a new one. The one he's wearing now is the one he wound up building."
Something lingered in the back of Matt's mind. "When he was twenty-five?"
The Commissioner nodded. "He'd proven himself plenty of times before, but this time he really managed to prove to himself that he was better than he gave himself credit for. Bruce put up that old suit in place of his own, and I stopped calling him kid." They were silent for a minute before she asked, "So what did you come here for? I know you didn't pull yourself out of bed just to show off your battle scars."
He laughed. "Actually, I was wondering how I'd go about enrolling in the police academy."
She returned to her chair and stared at him intensely. "You want to be a cop?" He nodded. "Why?"
"It's just like I said when you tried to talk me out of being Batman. I like the detective work and being able to help people. In the past few days, I've saved three people from a burning building, civilians of two major cities, and the entire JLU. I may not be able to handle the pressure of saving the world, but the little things mean a lot."
"Being a cop isn't easy," she warned. "Just like being Batman, sometimes you have to make the toughest calls, and you can't save everybody. In some ways, it's harder. Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes."
"All right then." She smiled. "I knew we'd be having this conversation sooner or later. The day you came in and told me you couldn't continue as Batman, I realized you were still going to be dedicated to protecting what you love. Technically, you should be starting the academy in January, but I did manage to find other college students who have applied and couldn't make the July academy deadline. I'm going to see about starting a special academy class next month. I should be able to manage it. Now, about your regular schooling—have you taken psychology yet?"
"No."
"You'll want to. Work up through criminal psychology, and be sure to take a class in forensics. Gotham State is the best in the state for classes in criminal justice."
"Why am I not surprised?" Matt remarked with a grin. "But what about academy training? Won't it take up too much time for me to be a full-time student?"
"Your best bet would probably to switch to part-time schooling," the Commissioner agreed. "You've just started classes, right?"
He nodded. "Well, close enough. We've been in school for about a month now. But if I talk to my advisor, I should be able to switch. He'd probably be delighted to hear I finally have a major I'm going to stick with." He got up and headed for the door. "Thanks, Commissioner."
"Matt," she interrupted. He noticed the shift from "kid" immediately and turned. "As long as we're not on duty, call me Barbara."
"All right, Barbara," he answered somewhat hesitantly. "Thanks."
"I'll try to get you assigned to me. I can't promise anything, but I should be able to pull it off without much problem. It'll be nice to have a protégé of my own." He smiled and walked out the door, on his own road to the future.
While it may have seemed like Matt took care of Altima a little too easily, like he said, Altima fought Rex, Akira, and Terry, who are a lot better than Matt and have a lot more training. Even supervillains get exhausted sometimes. Only the epilogue left, now.