Chapter 4

The following morning, Terry was on a vid-call with Mary and Matty, breaking the news about Bruce to them. Matty stared at Terry in utter shock before he silently walked away.

"Matty?" Mary called after him. "Matty."

"Let him go, Mom," Terry insisted. "I don't blame him."

"Oh, Terry…" Mary whispered. "Are you okay?"

Terry shrugged. "I dunno yet." He thought it over. "I think I'm… still in shock? Denial, maybe? Like… we'll figure it out before it's too late. You know?"

"I understand. How's Max?"

"She's scared. More scared… than I've ever seen her."

"I don't blame her." Mary fell silent and looked down in sorrow.

Terry studied her. "Are you okay, Mom?"

Mary took a moment to consider her answer. "Bruce came into our lives… when we were falling apart. He… he helped us out. Looked out for us. He became… the father figure you needed."

"And how," Terry agreed.

"I just… I know you love him. I know Max loves him. I…" Mary wiped her eyes. "I don't want you to lose another father, Terry."

"Yeah. Me, neither."

Max was at Mel and Eddy's sitting with them and her parents at the table, having just conveyed to them the horrible news.

"No way," Mel whispered.

"Yeah," Max exhaled.

"Oh, Father…" Lisa exhaled.

Joe wiped his hand across his face. "Is there… anything that can be done?"

"Not that we know of yet," Max answered.

"How's Mr. Wayne taking it?" Eddy asked.

"I don't think he's scared. He's about the only one. He's… hanging tough."

"How are you?" Lisa asked.

Max just shrugged.

"I don't blame you."

"How's Terry?" Eddy asked.

"He's…" Max began, "he's not sure. He's just trying to… keep pressing. Doing whatever Bruce needs."

"I'm worried about him," Mel admitted. "He's always… so strong. But this… this is breaking. For anyone."

"Yeah. I'm worried, too."

"We're here, Max," Lisa reassured. "Whatever you need. Whatever Terry needs, too."

"Thanks, Mom," Max smiled.

"I doubt this question needs answering but does Mr. Wayne need anything?" Joe asked.

"Right now, no. But… that could change. We just don't know…"

Joe studied Max for a while. "Max. What do you need?"

Max looked at Joe. Tears formed again. "I don't know, Dad," she whispered. "I… I really don't know yet."

Basem and Sally sat on a vid-call to his parents, explaining the most recent happenings. Bilal and Adeline froze for a moment then Adeline just silently burst into tears, covering her mouth to keep from crying out. Bilal put his arm around her, his eyes going to and fro to come to terms with the news.

"What, uh…" Bilal cleared his throat. "What's… what's next?"

"We don't know," Basem answered.

"I'm looking over the x-rays," Sally said, regrettably. "But, I can't… I can't find anything!"

Adeline looked up and sniffed, "Sally…"

"I'm supposed to be a good doctor, right?! Everyone says I am! So, I should be able to figure this out! A good doctor could! Why can't I?!"

"Sally," Adeline said, calmly. "You're an amazing doctor! You are the sweetest person. You are not… at all… to blame for this. I hate to put it this way, but… Bruce has lived a very long time."

"I know," Sally replied, fighting every urge she had to cry. "I just… I can't stand this!"

"Sally, have you told your family the news?"

"We're gonna call them next."

Bilal nodded. He looked at Basem, "Who else knows, Son?"

"Outside of the usual suspects, Bruce and Terry told Superman, Dick, Selina, Tim, and Barbara last night," Basem answered.

"How are they?"

"Varying degrees of grief. Which is true across the board."

"Are Hayate and Michelle alright?" Adeline asked.

"Honestly?" Basem replied. "No. They're trying to hide it, but… no, they're not."

Adeline paused. "And… Helena?"

"I won't even hazard a guess, Mom. I… I can't imagine what she's going through."

Bilal wiped a tear away. "If we're feeling this way and I haven't seen him in person in a decade… I can't even imagine what any of you are going through."

"I'll admit it, Dad…" Sally said, "…it's… the hardest thing ever."

Helena was at home, getting a few more clothes to take to the Manor. She heard her phone ring and looked at it, seeing Lincoln's name and picture appear.

Helena managed to smile a bit. She answered, "Hey, Master Chief."

"Helena, hi," Lincoln said, sadness in his voice. "I… I just heard. Tia… told me. I… I wasn't sure if you'd want to hear from me."

"Yeah." Helena swallowed. "I did. I do. I just… didn't know how to call and tell you this."

"Believe me, I understand. Just… oh, my God." Lincoln was quiet for a few seconds. "Helena, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you."

"What… I mean, can I…" Lincoln huffed. "I really have no idea what to say."

Helena felt the need to cry come up. "I… I don't know, either." She sat down on her bed. "This… this is so hard for me, Linc. I… don't know what to do or say."

"I can't even imagine what you're going through."

"That's funny. I don't know how explain it, either."

Lincoln was silent for a while. "I'll… be in Gotham soon. If… you would like…"

"I want to see you," Helena declared. "Please."

Lincoln smiled. "Absolutely. I'll let you know when I'm headed that way."

"Thank you."

Michelle got home from work before Hayate did. Not that uncommon with his work as a nurse at a clinic, but this was one time Michelle wished they were home at the same time. Michelle sat on the floor and stared out of the windows, focusing on the bay. She couldn't help but feel this was the opposite side of caring for people: the hurt when they were leaving. However, she did understand this pain; it wasn't the first time she'd experienced it in the past year.

The first was barely 10 months ago.

When Amanda Waller passed away.

Michelle remembered, vividly, getting a call from Bennet. He never called her before or since. She knew it from his voice. In the past, he never let any emotion but anger come through his voice. But, when he made that call, Michelle heard the sadness Bennet never let show.

What no one, not even Bennet knew, was Waller had already told Michelle, months before, she was sick and didn't have much longer. They had even met in Gotham in secret and shared a meal together. Michelle even talked Waller into taking a selfie; it was a picture Michelle still hadn't shown anyone. Michelle remembered her and Waller insulting and laughing with each other. It was one of the best nights Michelle had in her life.

Waller died six weeks later.

Michelle didn't talk about Waller's passing with anyone, not even Hayate. Though everyone knew, despite it not being public knowledge. With Waller's shadowy positions in the government, a big deal wasn't made about her death, which was exactly how Waller wanted it. Only a handful of people even knew where she was buried.

Everyone was even sweeter to Michelle than they usually were after the news quietly broke; no one ever brought it up or even revealed they knew. But Michelle knew that they did. And she managed to take it all in stride, never letting on how much it actually hurt.

She couldn't hide it this time.

With Waller's passing, it was as close as Michelle had ever come to losing a mother. Now, in the case of Bruce, despite their clearly defined relationship of student-and-mentor/employee-and-employer, this was as close she had ever come to losing a father. And the pain was just as strong. Maybe even more so.

A few minutes later, Hayate walked in and saw Michelle staring out of the window. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Hayate walked over, sat down behind her, and wrapped his arms around her.

"This sucks…" Michelle whispered.

"Yes," Hayate agreed, "it does."

That night, Terry and Max were home when they heard the doorbell ring. Terry and Max went to the door and opened it to find Zaria Zatara standing there.

"Zee!" Terry exclaimed.

Zaria hugged Terry, immediately.

Terry hugged her back. "You heard…"

"Mom called me after she talked to Mr. Grayson." Zaria looked at Max then hugged her.

Max wrapped her arms around Zaria, "It's great to see you!"

"I should come by more." Zaria released the hug and smiled, sadly, "See my niece and nephew more often."

"Yeah," Terry whispered. "Come on in."

Terry closed the door and they walked into the kitchen, everyone sitting at the table.

"Where are the kids?" Zaria asked.

"Asleep," Max answered.

"You tell them?"

"Not yet. But… Grace is super observant. She knows something's wrong."

"Oh, God…"

"What about your mom?" Terry asked.

Zaria shrugged, "She's gonna come see Bruce… once she stops crying. God only knows when that'll be."

"Yeah…" Max exhaled. "Same for Selina."

The three sat in silence for a while.

Zaria looked at the couple, "Can I… do anything? I mean… for you guys… or for Bruce? Maybe even, ya know…" she wiggled her fingers a bit, "…magic it away?"

"I wish," Terry whispered. "We don't think Bruce will think about any other treatment, outside of conventional methods."

Zaria leaned forward and rubbed her forehead. She sniffed. "Jeez." She exhaled and studied Terry and Max, again. "What about you two? What do you need?"

"As soon as we know," Terry said, "we'll tell you."

"Don't hesitate. Whatever it is."

"Thanks, Zee," Max smiled. "You're the best."

"I'd say you are," Zaria smiled back. "But, then again, I have a biased opinion."

"Doesn't make it any less right," Terry grinned.

The following morning came with Bruce holding a press conference about his diagnosis. While he put on a brave face and Terry, Max, and Tiana did the same, the admission came with a huge emotional weight for them all. Helena and Diana were in the room and managed to keep their composure as well, if just barely. Declaring it to the public somehow made it more real for Bruce. He still wasn't afraid of what could happen next, but, now, the last remaining bit of uncertainty was eliminated.

The rest of day seemed to zoom by and, soon, it was the evening. After escorting Bruce and Diana back to the Manor, Terry stared at them as they headed to their room. Terry exhaled rubbed his face, letting out a mild groan.

He needed to work.

He needed to patrol.

That night, Terry was in the Cave, standing stoically before the display cases and gazing at Bruce's last Batsuit before the current one.

Entering the Cave, Helena walked down the steps and saw him. She walked next to Terry and took hold of his hand. She stared at the old Batsuit, as well. She had seen it before. And just like then she felt a pull to it. It felt stronger than it ever had before in this moment.

Helena opened her mouth then closed it. She exhaled. "I… need to ask a dumb question."

Terry scoffed a bit. "Sure."

"Will we… after Dad's… are… are we still gonna be… f-family?"

Terry looked at Helena, in shock. "You're kidding, right?"

"I told you it was dumb," Helena reminded.

Terry put his arm around Helena. "I know most people don't know about our blood connection. But we do. That's what matters. We're family, Helena. Always. You and me. And we always will be."

Helena started crying.

"Nothing will ever change that. Bruce is our Dad. We're brother and sister. That's forever. And that's thanks to him."

Helena wrapped her arms around Terry and hugged him, as tightly as she could.

"Why do I feel like you're the older sibling?" Helena joked.

Terry chuckled a bit.

They stood silent for a while as emotions washed over them again.

"I'm scared, Terry," Helena whispered.

"Yeah," Terry replied. "Me, too." He sighed. "Let me get ready."

"Right."

Terry gave her a quick squeeze then headed off to change. Helena wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her upper arms as she stared at the display cases. She walked closer to Bruce's suit and stared into the eyes of the suit. The pull she felt before was getting even stronger. Staring into the eyes of this suit was something she couldn't describe. It didn't scare her, it didn't make her nervous. But, while her fear wasn't erased completely, she did feel calmer looking at the suit. And stronger.

She realized she was staring at the suit longer than she meant to when she heard Terry approach, fully suited up except for his mask.

Helena smiled. "I really do get why Max is so jealous of you."

"Please, don't help that," Terry chuckled.

"Can't help it! I just love her so much!"

"Well, she is easy to love."

"So much so."

Terry studied Helena. "You gonna be okay?"

"No," Helena admitted. "But… I'll be okay alone for a while."

"Still got Diana."

"She needs to be alone with Dad." Helena shook her head, "I… I don't have it in me to interrupt that."

"I feel ya." Terry sighed. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No, not right now. Go. You've got a city to protect."

"Okay. We can talk whenever you want, Helena. I mean that."

"Thanks, Terry."

"Well, I'm headed out," Terry said, putting his mask on.

"Be careful…" Helena whispered. "…little brother."

Bruce was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn't really thinking about much more except for what came next. He looked to see Diana standing at the door to the bathroom.

Whenever she looked at him, he could clearly see how in love with him she was. And that always made him feel guilty for all he put her through. Now, he was putting her through even more.

Diana walked over and got in bed. She kissed him on the cheek and stared at him.

Bruce stared into her eyes. "Part of me wants to do everything I can to make you hate me. So, you'll leave… and you won't have to go through this."

"That's the part that's foolish and stupid," Diana smiled. "Stop listening to it."

Bruce huffed.

"What's the rest of you say?"

Bruce gazed into her eyes again. "The rest of me… doesn't want you to go. I… want you to stay Diana. Sooner or later, I'm going to get scared."

"If that happens, when it happens, I'll be right here. I promise."

"I love you, Diana."

"I love you, too."

Batman flew through the Gotham sky in the Batmobile, but patrol was secondary on his mind.

Bruce was prominent.

After all, Bruce was dying.

Somehow, knowing that ahead of time made it a hundred times worse. While Terry saw everyone dealing with it as best they could, he still wasn't sure what to do or what he needed. He would take Bruce to every doctor they could, of course. But Terry knew, from the moment Bruce confirmed the diagnosis, the options were limited at best. No matter what, however, Terry knew he had to stay strong. For everyone, especially Bruce.

Batman kept his eyes open all over the city when he heard alert come through from Oracle.

"Go ahead," Batman said.

"Terry…" Tiana said. "I… umm…"

"What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you wanna be out right now?"

"I haven't been out in, like, three days. That's a record for me."

"I know, but… with… everything going on…"

Batman thought for a while. But soon exhaled. "Yeah. Thanks, Oracle. But… I need to work. I just… gotta keep my mind occupied."

"Understood," Tiana replied. "So far things are quiet."

"Anything from Valerie about those weapons?"

"Not yet. No prints or anything from that hidden bunker. She's trying to trace the communication devices they found but they seem to be custom made. The signal I picked up was just a residual from whatever line of communication it was disconnected from."

"Couldn't be easy," Batman mused. "Something will turn up. Sooner or later."

"Yeah," Tiana agreed. She looked at another screen, "Just a moment. I just got word about a kidnapping near Longview. Sounds like the T's."

"I'm on it."

As the Batmobile flew past another old GothCorp building, Bane stood at the window and stared at the Batmobile.

Bane smiled. "Young Bat. We will have our time. Very soon."

A/N: I know I kinda dropped that Amanda Waller bomb a little suddenly. But, believe me, it was just as hard for me to write as it was for you guys to read.

In other news, I found myself being inspired by T'Challa and Shuri for Terry and Helena's relationship, specifically from the Black Panther movie (Rest in peace, Chadwick Boseman). I just wanted to mention that because I think it works and I can't praise that movie enough.

So, I have a special announcement! With the number of scenes that could easily take place in this story, it could be a new story all by itself. So, I've made a decision. I'm going to add another story soon to "Chronicles - Part 2" but soon... I'll be launching "Chronicles - Part 3"! I never expected "Chronicles" to be so detailed but I'm loving writing for it!

So, Bane is in Gotham now. What will happen when he and Terry finally meet again? You'll find out soon! See you next time, Dreamers and Bat-fans!