BATMAN BEYOND

Reality Shift

Terry's mother looks upon Inque, the fridge open and her chewing on a piece of chicken, with the chicken leg still in her right hand, and a banana in the other, while looking right back as Ms. Mcginnis.

She gulps down whats in her mouth and blinks twice. Ms. Mcginnis looking at Inque perplexingly, her mind is blank since she had expected to see her son standing in the kitchen. But only to be met by a well known criminal, she's at a loss for words.

"Uh-... Hello... you must be Terry's mother."

Inque manages to say at least that much as she places the food back in the fridge and slowly takes a step back from the refrigerator.

"Um... ye- yeah. Yes, that's right. Um... you don't have to put that stuff away, you can finish it if you want. You look really hungry."

Not wanting to anger Inque, Mary Mcginnis would rather have the criminal woman eat until she's satisfied, instead of causing some frustration and anger.

But... wait a minute... why is she here? And why does Inque know her last name? And... wait up just a second... Terry's room... the door... it was open when she came out of her own room. She noticed that no one was in there.

WAS INQUE THE WOMAN IN HER SONS BEDROOM?

"Thank you Ms. Mcginnis. I'm actually really hungry and haven't eaten anything in the last three days."

She pulls out the chicken leg and continues eating while looking at Mary Mcginnis.

"Um... where you the person in my sons room?"

Please say no, please say no, please say no. PLEASE SAY NOOOO-

She continuously states those words in her head. She already knows the answer to her question but she can still hope.

Inque swallows the food she's chewing on and smiles softly... and... blushes a little. His mother notices this and she turns a pail white after hearing Inque's answer.

"Well... yes. I have had... more than a few encounters with your son. We have gotten close after a few years."

A FEW YEARS? Has Terry been seeing this... WOMAN for god knows how long?

"Has... Has he been... physical with you?" She gulps and holds her breath until she hears the answer from Inque. But she didn't get the answer that she wanted.

"Uh... I guess you could say we got physical on more than a few occasions. Your son can be a little... physical when he needs to be. You honestly raised quite the athlete."

WHAT THE HELL? WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT? SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO TELL HER THAT MUCH INFORMATION!

"Are... are you pregnant?"

Those words just sort of seemed to slip out without her even thinking about it. To be honest, that was a natural female instinct coming from her inner self.

But her words are only met with laughter.

"Hahahahaha! Oh dear me no. I'm older than you I believe. Probably by three or five years even. When I said we were physical, What I actually meant... Wait... actually forget I said anything."

HUH? Just what the hell is she hiding now? Nothing could be worse than having physical relations with... unless...

"He didn't hit you did he?"

Her expression changes and her physical stance is adjusted. She narrows her eyes as she takes a breath and starts to walk into the kitchen. Her eyes lock onto the tea kettle.

She slowly picks it up as she waits for the answer from Inque. The silence between them builds up the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. And Mary wonders why Inque isn't talking anymore as she fills the kettle with water, and then places it on the stove to heat the water.

"Did he hit you? Is my son physically hurting you?"

Well this isn't exactly what Inque had expected to happen while getting a bite to eat. If she tells this woman the truth, it's going to complicate things between her goal... which is getting to date the new Batman and clean her criminal past. And atone for her wrong doings.

But if she lies then how is she going to have the same story as Terry when his mother interrogates him?

Alright... she only has one option... beat around the bush and don't give complete answers, but open ended ones. Make it so that no matter what she says, it can be molded with any answer that Terry gives... God... she feels like a teenager that got caught with a dirty magazine.

"He's not physically hurting me. And even if he was, I'm the type of girl that likes rough S&M."

That's her style. Shock and Awe. Throw his mother off the trail. Guide the conversation into the path that she wants. Think two and three steps ahead.

This woman has a criminal standing in front of her. It doesn't matter what she says, Ms. Mcginnis will take her words at face value. The least she can do is confuse her.

...

ELSEWHERE

Chelsea Cunningham exits the shower and picks up a towel, she begins to rub down her body and remove the dripping water covering her skin.

She looks upon herself in the reflection of the foggy mirror and smiles a little at her youthful beauty.

"You are one sexy girl Chelsea."

She says to herself with a seductive smile as she leans in, closes her eyes and kisses her reflection.

"Why thank you for the kiss Chelsea."

She quickly stops and turns around with eyes wide open in total shock, a voice coming out of nowhere in her most vulnerable of moments. Quickly her arms adjust the towel to cover herself and her head turns left and right, seeking from what possible location could that voice have come from.

"Who- who said that? Show yourself!"

Her voice trembles as she fights tears that are building up.

"Oh you don't have to be afraid or cry Chelsea. I can't hurt you. Heck I would never hurt you."

Quickly she turns around and opens up the medicine cabinet and pulls out her father's straight razor, opens it up and holds it like a knife ready to defend herself.

"Darling you don't have to go that far. You should put that thing back where you got it, you could end up hurting yourself."

Agitated and fearful with adrenalin coursing through her body she shouts at the top of her lungs.

"JUST SHOW YOURSELF YOU COWARD!"

A soft sigh comes from the voice and it tells her.

"Turn around."

Chelsea's eyes widen as she turns... she already knows the answer the voice is trying to tell her... because the only thing that she can look at... the only thing she can see... is her reflection.

"I... I don't understand... What are you trying to say?"

The voice is slightly agitated with how Chelsea is trying to pretend to not understand.

"Don't lie to me. I'm the one person that you can't hide your inner most thoughts. Your inner most feelings. No matter what dark secret you have, no matter how small or how large. I know everything about you. Everything you know, I know. Everything I know, you know. Because I am YOU Chelsea. We are one."

To Be Continued