Hello there!
I had a blast with this one, but it also took longer to make. I am not 100% sure that I made it all right and how I exactly want, but here it is anyway.
But enough about boring stuff, we have a plot here!
Enjoy.
- ...let me think for a moment.
Bruce Wayne arrived with Ace in the morning, right before the college, and Terry only got the time to drive Wayne back to the manor. After the classes Terry returned to Batcave to tell Bruce everything that happened in his absence, as detailed as possible. While listening, Wayne just looked at Terry without asking any questions..at least for now. When Terry finished his report, Bruce was thinking inside his chair, checking Batcomputer for more data about Inque's samples, police reports, recorded videos from Terry's Batsuit and notes that Terry made himself to keep a track on things. Ace was nearby, demanding pets from Terry:
- Let's start with Inque, - Bruce finally turned in his chair towards McGinnis, - It was a hard choice to make, and accepting her plea for help was right move...but getting her involved in your investigation is outright dangerous, despite the fact that her motive is to protect her daughter by assisting you.
- And what should I do?
- ...wish I had the right answer, - Wayne rubbed his chin thoughtfully, - If you will keep her closer, she could use that to her advantage at critical moment...and if you will not, she could turn to her previous life again, - Bruce glanced at Terry for a moment before continuing, - Considering the information you provided, her talents and abilities could make a large difference.
- So either of our options are dangerous and could go wrong, - Terry crossed arms on his chest, looking at Wayne sceptically. Ace quickly reacted and pulled Terry by his sleeve, demanding the continuation of pats.
- It's never easy to be Batman, - said Wayne with a slight grin on his face, returning to Batcomputer, - You did a good job with the stabilizers. Crude, but they will keep her for a while I will see into her condition.
- You want to heal her? - Terry even came closer to Wayne, looking at the formulas he studied.
- Stabilize her, to be exact, and for a much longer period of time...her condition is a leverage that could be exploited to subdue her, and if we remove this leverage..., - Bruce glanced at Terry, expecting him finish the sentence.
- ...she will have a chance to change? Is that...possible?
- My experience tells me "No", - Bruce answered quickly, returning to the monitor, - But that doesn't mean that we have to give up on her case when she is willing to make a first step. That's something I haven't seen for a long while...that doesn't mean we will trust her, but we have to try.
- It's because of Freeze, isn't it? - asked Terry straightforward. Wayne glanced at him with a look that answered the question more than Terry hoped for, and he quickly changed the subject, - Ok, but what about her daughter?
- She is a leverage too, - Bruce quickly brought up the dossier about Deanna Clay and studied it for a short while, - And her condition connected directly to Inque, the question is - how..., - Bruce fell silent, staring at the monitor for a whole minute before he continued, - Tell Max to dig into Aaron Herbst files.
- What for?
- Inque used probably the same chemical compounds on him that was used on her, but in lesser dosage or potency, - Bruce already brought up Aaron's dossier, and Terry could help but cringe for a moment when he saw the state, which Inque put Aaron in, - And considering that he is under constant surveillance and medical treatment, his medical data could be useful. I will also look into other files, but this could take time...let's move from her case for now, I want to discuss your newly acquired asset.
- Here we go..., - sighed Terry wearily, preparing for the worst.
- Making a contact in criminal world is a dangerous act, Terry, which could be proved useful in short-term...in a longer run, those contact will try to get rid of you when they shrug off your intimidation, - Bruce leaned inside his chair, thinking about something for a while, - Let this...
- Seagull.
- Seagull, be your source of information for a while. When this is over, bust him and throw behind the bars.
- Got it. What about the black market?
- We need to get that shipment and as many perpetrators as we can. Did Barbara contacted you?
- Yes, she wants to speak tomorrow night about the raid, - nodded Terry.
- Speak with her and follow her plan - she has the experience you lack...the splicers could be moved from the priorities for now, they are in hiding and their numbers are dwindling, but I am more interested in the group that was trading with those splicers...they probably send their instructors to gangs of Gotham too.
- Maybe they preparing them for all-out war, - Terry suggested while looking at police reports.
- They definitely are. The question is, will it be against the Gotham or themselves...the "New Dawn" is too dangerous too investigate without preparation, leave them to me to investigate.
- And what options do we have now?
- Patrol for tonight, - Bruce turned in his chair to face Terry, looking at him seriously, - And nothing more. I know that you want to jump into action, but it's the time to wait.
- Waiting is always the hard thing, - Terry sighted, going to the Batmobile to suit up, but he suddenly stopped at his tracks and turned back to face Bruce, - What about Inque?
- You left her enough stabilizers, and my advice would be not use her any further...which I know you will ignore at some point, - Bruce returned to Batcomputer, setting everything up for tonight, - So you better know what you are doing.
- ...I hope I know too.
For Inque, her first night was calm, but she wasn't sure what to do when Batman left her. The answer, though, came from her criminal instincts to fresh up her connections with the underground world. Batman doesn't need to know what she is doing in her free time, but something also warned her to not make contacts with certain people, stalk them rather. Her second night was much more active - she had a lot of time before her next meeting with Batman, and she used that time wisely to tail some targets of her own for a while to understand how much Gotham changed with her absence. Surprisingly, it changed a lot in some aspects - mostly because of Batman, who kept pressing criminal left and right along with the GCPD and DA. But that all was her free time when she wasn't on guard duty.
Batman told her not to see her own daughter, and to Inque's irritation, he was right - she was not ready to see Deanna just yet, but what she could do is to watch her over from afar. She was sick, moving around the manor only with someone else's help, and doctors kept coming and examining her. It was so tempting to catch one of those doctors and press enough to get all the information...but that would be stupid. She left her only when she was sure that nothing bad will happen, and she wasn't around for far too long, quickly coming back to Deanna's manor. Something was building inside Inque, slowly, as bricks of thoughts formed a foundation for answer she was looking for, while thinking a lot about herself, her daughter and what to do with all that happened between them. In fact, she was so lost in her thoughts that she was startled when Batman called her:
- Can't leave her?
- ...y-yes, - she sighed, coming out of shadows and taking her human form, - I wasn't visiting her, but not because you told me...it's because I am not ready.
- You still don't want to talk about it?
- ...soon, Batman. Trust is something that earned, as you said, - she glanced back at Deanna's manor one last time before asking, - What is the plan for tonight? - she reached for the package of stabilizers, holding them tightly in her hand.
- Nothing special, - Terry walked towards the Batmobile and jumped in, with Inque quickly taking her place behind his seat, hiding the stabilizers in it, - And tonight we have someone working with us, - Terry closed the cockpit of Batmobile and turned it towards the upper Gotham.
- Your old man? And here was I wondering if he hit the bucket.
- I can hear you, Inque, - Wayne responded on radiolink, without the video-transmission.
- I know you can, - she leaned backwards, resting her arm on Batman's shoulders, - What can I call you?
- Gray Ghost will suffice.
- Fine, Ghost...seems like you are the one in charge, - she looked at navcomputer, where she saw a beeping signal. Inque pointed Batman at it, but he already changed the direction towards it.
- Glad we cleared that out...Batman, you picked it?
- Yeah. What is it?
- Alarm from the bank. Primary security cameras are offline, but secondary are up...interesting, I am transmitting the feed.
- ...Royal Flush? - Terry and Inque watched on the small screen as several criminals, dressed in black and white, were dealing with the electronic and mechanical lock on the main vault. What also was weird about that, is the fact that their suits looked really armored.
- Take a closer look, - Inque pointed at the uniform, especially at the numbers that those criminals had at the back and front parts of their suits, - Counts from one to nine, but no main deck.
- The main deck in the prison or gave up on crime life. Those are impostors, but you can never be sure, - Bruce was working from his side, and soon he switched the camera feed, - Take a closer look at their gear. It's the same that was used in assault at Deanna's manor.
- I am more worried about those hydroabrasive cutters, - Inque pointed at two men who were using large bulky backpacks with big canisters. They were holding large tube, from which Terry could see a powerful stream of water coming out of the end of the tube, piercing through metal.
- In English?
- Highly pressurized water streams that comes out at high speed with abrasive material, - explained Wayne, - New portable models could pierce plasteel fifty centimeters thick. On the other hand, they don't have much of effective range.
- Got it, - Terry reached for the communicator, dropping one for Inque before continuing, - Did the GCPD responded to alarm?
- They should have. Try to hold them off before they arrive - even with Inque, you are outnumbered and their equipment could surprise you.
- Stealth approach. Shall we count? - Inque asked, glaring at Batman's reflection with a slight grin on her face.
- It's not a competition, Inque, - said Terry without any second thought.
- You are no fun, you know that?...I am still going to count, though.
When they arrived, Inque turned into her second form and dropped with Batman on the roof. The bank was a small one and plain looking, in fact you could count dozens of such banks everywhere. Quickly dashing towards the stairway, Inque and Terry went to the main hall of the bank, where they took cover. Inque, seeing the opportunity, slithered to the ceiling and hid in the shadows, while Terry turned on optical camo and took a look from his position. The bank's main hall was mostly empty, but the main hall was guarded by four Royal's - two were at the entrance, watching the street, and the other two were pointing laser weapons at security guards who were in the center of the hall. Another one of the Royal's was inside the corridor that led to the vault, which meant one thing - they had to deal with five for now.
- Counted five for now, - Terry said quietly, - Two at entrance, two holding the guards, one at the vault entrance.
- You have to save those security guards first. If they spot you or Inque, they will use them against you, if not outright execute them, - said Wayne on the radiolink.
- I can deal with those two, but you better save those guards when I do it, - responded Inque, changing her shape and position on the ceiling a bit.
- ...I got an idea. Be ready on my signal, - Terry silently dropped down from his position to ground floor, looking at guards in front of him. Rolling from the sleeve several smoke tablets, Terry pressed himself his back and his right foot against the wall, - On three...three!
Terry threw the tablets in the wide arc and pushed himself off the wall with two legs, activating suit's thrusters. Inque dropped down on two Royal's as large black arch, pushing them and their weapons to the floor while Terry flew under Inque and grabbed guards by their ropes, flying with them out of the smoke inside the corridor. Quickly releasing them from the ropes, he pointed them to leave the place at call the police, returning to main hall under optical camo.
Meanwhile Inque choked both of her targets just enough to make them unconscious, but soon the smoke was penetrated by laser fire, effectively piercing her from multiple directions. It wasn't bad, but the laser fire did damage to her, despite the fact that she regenerated some of it. She grabbed two unconscious Royal's and tossed them outside of the building, smashing the windows with their bodies and disappearing in the air vent before smoke dissipated.
- What was that?!
- Batman, that's what was it!...yeah, we got Bat's here! Get your asses out there!
- Oh, now I am Batman? - Inque asked with a slight growl of pain, - Ouch...those lasers hurt more than I thought...and by the way, two.
- You should avoid getting under fire - your cellar structure is unstable, - Bruce replied to her.
- Hey, I am a fast learner here, - she tried to suppress the moan from another surge of pain, and she failed miserably, - ...but thanks for advice anyway.
Meanwhile, from the vault emerged four more Royals, and now they quickly divided into several groups - two were still at entrance, another two were now holding the entrance to the vault, two more went upstairs to have a height advantage, and the one with the "nine" on his back, who was inside the combat suit, was looking around the place, checking corners:
- Bats, come out! I will kick your ass so hard you will fly to the Metropolis in a second!
- I got right above the one with the cutter, - Inque said on the radio, - But the other one looking at him from time to time and too far for me. Batman?
- Yeah, I see him, - Terry took cover behind computer desk and prepared two batarangs, - Ready.
Inque dropped down immidiately, covering the poor Royal with herself. The other one on upper level and two at entrance quickly noticed this, but Terry threw both batarangs - explosive one above those at entrance and flashbang one to the Royal at upper level.
- What?...fire! - the Number Nine pointed at Terry and pointed his wrist at Batman, releasing the laser stream. The other two at entrance started to fire too, one with his laser rifle and another was was closing in with a cutter from the side.
- Should've stayed in a deck, - Terry rolled to the side, quickly releasing a batarang towards the Nine, hitting his wrist and changing the direction of laser beam. But suddenly he heard Inque's sudden scream, and that second of hesitation cost him of taking a shot to the chest area.
When she dropped down, she tried to knock out the Royal quickly, but he managed to activate his cutter, which pierced right through her and weakened her grip. Coughing, the Royal took several steps away from Inque, but he quickly turned around to face her. Without wasting any time, he pushed the button and activated the cutter again, piercing Inque's mass and making her scream even more...but suddenly the pressure dropped down - Terry managed to fire a batarang and cut the pipes from the main tube. Inque made quite a roar of anger, rising up and continuing the fight on upper level. It was a quick one - grab the thug, connect his head with the wall two times, threw him to the Royal that Batman stunned before, and choke them both a little.
- Two more.
Two Royals at entrance already shook from the explosion and were about to fire when Batman closed in on them. In close combat Terry had better chances, and those two Royals were dispatched quickly - one went outside of the street, and another one flew into Nine, pinning him down for a short while. But he forgot about the one Royal that went from the side, but he quickly remembered him when he screamed from the hit of electrical baton. The thug stepped on Batman's chest with one foot, while another one was pinning his left arm and pointed the tube of the cutter right at Batman's face. Terry reacted in a split second, grabbing the tube with right arm and turning it away from his head just in time. Still, the tube was closing in, to the point where it started to contact with helmet's outer layer, stripping it down. But it wasn't for long - Inque stormed in, cutting the pipes and delivering a serious blow the thug's forehead, knocking him outside of the bank.
- One more, - she said, but suddenly she flew out too with a surprised scream - Nine was able to stand up and shot a small rocket inside Inque. The explosion contused Terry for a short while, and while he was getting his thoughts back, something hit him in the back of his head, smashing his face inside the wall while also delivering a powerful electrical surge. The suit managed to deal with some of it, but Terry felt weakened, limping on the floor with Nine standing over him.
- I would love to stay and finish both of ya, but the cops are closing in, - Nine said, kicking Batman with his armored foot before running away. When Terry got up, Nine already disappeared in the stairway to the roof, but that's not was the problem.
Inque couldn't gather herself after the explosion. She tried to, and failed one attempt after another, she couldn't even talk sensibly - all words were gargled mess that came out of her.
- Call the Batmobile to my position, - Terry called Wayne while approaching Inque.
- Already there, - the Batmobile was already descending, - We'll talk in the cave. Take examples of their gear.
- So, what's the diagnosis? - Inque tried to sound as usual, but she felt constant pain. Terry got her inside the bag while administrating large does of stabilizers, and now she was on the table with tubes connected to her. While she was resting, Terry was in safe place, dealing with his own wounds and repairing the helmet.
- I warned you about your structure, but normal lasers would not do such damage, - Wayne was in his Gray Ghost suit, covering himself fully, - Those lasers were upgraded, because you and Batsuit took slight radioactive damage. While the Batsuit is capable of holding against the radiation to some degree,you took that much harder...and I found something interesting in your samples, - Bruce opened up a file and showed Inque the info, - Boron carbide.
- It was used in the cutters as abrasive, - she quickly followed his thoughts, leaning a bit forward on her table, moaning slightly from the pain.
- Yes. Such compound is not easy to make even by today's standards, and I doubt that someone sold the boron carbide along with the cutters.
- Maybe it was stolen before the robbery?
- I thought so myself...but there were no reports from manufacturers about it being stolen, - Bruce typed something on the Batcomputer while rubbing his chin with free hand, - ...there were legal transactions of it just the day before the robbery.
- ...not so legal, - Inque tried to extend her arm to point out, but she yelped as it caused her more pain. Her arm even went limp without moving, - D-damn it...
- Tell me what you know, - Bruce turned a bit to Inque, hiding his look under glasses and gray scarf.
- Can you zoom into the owner? Because I saw really familiar name there..., - Inque had trouble with her periscope vision to read things, and had to rely on Bruce to help her, - ...The head of this warehouse they sold boron carbide has the connections to black market, - she sighed, leaning back to the table and closing her eyes, - He asks a lot of money for his services, because he deals with expensive legal stuff, paying bribes left and right to make, say...twenty kilos of carbide into fifteen. He can get a lot of things, but it's not cheap, and sometimes it take a lot of time just to make it untraceable to him.
- ...Batman, come here, - Bruce raised his voice a bit, so Terry could hear him.
- What is it? - Terry appeared with partially repaired helmet, quickly approaching Bruce with a short glance at Inque.
- Look at the company that sold the carbide.
- ..."Wayne-Powers"...you think?...
- I think we need more evidence first, - Bruce interrupted Terry before he could finish his sentence, - But I don't believe in coincidence. The equipment is also manufactured by "Wayne-Powers", - Bruce nodded towards the table nearby, where was the gear from robbery, disassembled to the last bolt, - Despite the fact that factory numbers were wiped, they still belong to "Wayne-Powers".
- You think son of the Blight behind it all? - Inque asked while looking at table with the equipment.
- Could be. He already tried to double-cross me several times, - Terry frowned, but suddenly yawned, - ...crap.
- You should sleep, - Bruce looked at Terry, and than glanced at Inque, - But we need to deal with her first.
- Excuse me? - her eyes widened from veiled threat in Bruce's voice.
- You don't believed that I will let you remain free after your very first...memorable visit? - Bruce rose up from his chair, turning to Inque and correcting a bit his Gray Ghost coat, - I don't take threats lightly, and I don't take you lightly.
- Like I am in condition to fight, especially with those things nearby, - she pointed at several devices that were designed to pump pressurized water in shotgun manner. Originally used for local fire department, Bruce bought some of those and modified them in event of Inque's second assault on Batcave, and he placed those devices around her, - And this dog, who clearly doesn't like me, - she pointed now at Ace, who was sitting nearby with a water hose in his mouth, ready to press on it anytime. When Inque mentioned Ace, he growled lowly in response.
- Trust is hardly earned, especially from someone who tried kill Batman several times, - retorted Wayne at her.
- Alright, I won't argue with that, just...do what you want, - Inque closed her eyes, making out a continuous irritated sigh.
- How can we put her somewhere if she clearly needs constant medical...chemical care? - asked Terry, since he had no idea what to do in such situations.
- We won't, - Wayne walked towards Inque, looking straight at her, - We can't. If we put her inside the cage, and her dissolving will trigger chain reaction, we will waste time trying taking you out.
- Good riddance for you - minus dangerous criminal in the world, no? - she replied sarcastically, looking at ceiling of the cave rather than looking at Wayne.
- It's not our way...my way. You out of everyone here know, that compassion is a weakness many won't share...and we share, - Inque turned towards Wayne, while looking quite surprised at his words. He stared at her for a moment before continuing, - You are desperately looking for a way out of life that sucked you for decades, and you showed that maybe you can change...but you are not on the other side yet, - he took a look around his collection of variety of trophies before continuing, - ...you can fall back easily. Just one bad day, one critical leverage, one moment of despair - and you are back in, losing all the hope you had before and ruining your life completely, closing inside the cage of desperation and madness, - Wayne took a pause, studying reactions on Inque's face and letting her retort, but she was silent, even depressed by his words, - ...something like that already happened to you. Right now I don't see that you believe in your convictions hard enough to not fall again - that is the reason I do not trust you...but unlike your previous situations, you do have a choice here, - Wayne walked towards the table, where stabilizers were, and grabbed a bunch of them on a medical plate, approaching Inque with them. Inque was bewildered, as Terry was, but soon enough Wayne made it clear, while he also turned off the water turrets and commanded Ace to drop the hose, - You can take the stabilizers, that will keep you for weeks, enough time to deal with us and/or leave to pursue whatever you want - it is the easiest way. Or...you can do it the hard way, by allowing us to study your condition and develop a method to let you off the leash, but that means that you will obey my orders. What would it be?
Inque took a hard look at Wayne, glanced at stabilizers and even sought support from Terry, but he made it clear with his silent pose that it's her own choice. She glanced at stabilizers back, and slowly her right arm rose up, hanging over the medical plate but not yet touching them. Inque clenched her palm constantly for several seconds, desperately thinking about her current situation, and she even placed her hand upon one of the autoinjectors. Closing her eyes, Inque made out a series of short heavy sighs...moved the stabilizer towards Wayne, retracting her arm from the plate.
- I hope I know what I am doing, by trusting you, - she said nervously, while also shaking a bit.
- I hope we both know, - Wayne placed plate back on the table, - I will not pushing you into telling your story, but we will start to looking into your condition. You will not like the process, but it is for your own benefit..., - he glanced at her again, - You move from here without my word - you are out, you touch anything here - you are out, you will try anything against me or Batman - we send you to the Justice League in ice lump, because this is your only and last chance. That clear?
- Yes.
- Now we can begin.
After the college Max and Terry were at the parking lot. Max, as usual, was busy with her laptop, and Terry was resting after another long day and probably failed test:
- Is it safe to leave him alone with Inque? - Max was clearly worried about what happened this morning in the Batcave when Terry told her, - I mean, he was Batman, but you can't argue with age...and he is, like, a walking fossil.
- He wears his exosuit under all that Gray Ghost outfit, - Terry closed his eyes for a moment and yawned again, resting on his bike, - He put some modifications to it, but I hope she won't force him to use it.
- So...was she helpful?
- ...yeah, - Terry opened his eyes, staring at cloudy sky, - It's funny thing - when she was on the other side, she was really scary, but right now?...she makes some things much easier, - Terry rose up, stretching his back for a little, - And she knows a lot...teaches a lot. Some things were way out of my head before she pointed them out, and I am sure that it's just scratching the surface.
- You think she can change? Because I dug up those files on that Aaron guy, and that's some really crazy stuff...brutal even, - she looked at Terry with a slight terror in her eyes, - She can live a normal life, in theory, but this guy? He's ruined, and nothing can help him.
- That's something we will talk about with her...if she passes our trust-test, - Terry looked at his digital watch and reached for the helmet, starting the engine, - Send Wayne everything you got, Max, I got a new session of berating today.
- Gordon? - Max chuckled a little.
- Gordon, - sighed Terry, closing helmet's visor and waving Max before dusting off.
Inque could not even remember that someone tested her that much and with such scientific thoroughness - Wayne was using all the resources he had inside the Batcave, and his experience with other villains conditions proved useful, especially the data on Clayface. Despite the face that the process was different for both Inque and Hagen, they had the same problem of mass degradation. They also shared zero tolerance to water, and further test confirmed that she reacted badly with anything that had water particles in it, while not reacting on many chemicals at all. The files Max send him later also proved useful, but it wasn't enough to make even boldest conclusions. Glancing back at Inque, who wasn't talking until Wayne talked to her first, he asked:
- Was the formula you used on Aaron same, that was used on you?
- ...it was, - she frowned and nodded, but Wayne saw how she tensed when he brought up Aaron.
- If you want me to help you...
- I will give you the formula, - she quickly interrupted Wayne, who even turned in his chair to face her. She clenched her firsts ad added, - For mass and the process, but it won't be easy to make.
- Nothing is easy.
It took time for Inque to remember the formula in many details, but Bruce helped her with right questions. His chemistry knowledge surprised Inque, as his other traits she observed during their conversations and watching him work. But while Bruce was studying formula, Inque had a lot of time to observe the cave and think about Gray Ghost, when it suddenly hit her with realization:
- ...you were the original Batman, - she suddenly spoke after a long pause. Bruce didn't stop typing, but she knew that he tensed from that statement, - It figures - the exosuit, the Cave, the experience...you are the one who retired twenty years ago.
- And?
- From what I see, you are much more smarter than the current Batman...not that he is a lost case of stupidity, but he is not a fast learner.
- You like saying that a lot, - Bruce was studying the sample under the Batcomputers microscope, carefully dropping liquid substances on it.
- Why you don't train him properly? - she asked impatiently, - You must know a lot, and to me you look like the type that do not like to share, while having vast experience.
- And you do?
- I had to, because I wanted him to succeed when you were gone, - she snorted crossly in response, - And I have a feeling that he learns a lot more from me rather than from you.
- ...your formula is not easy to make, but it's doable, - Bruce finally spoke, returning to Batcomputer, but hearing her irritated snort again, he closed his eyes for a moment before speaking, - Our ways of becoming Batman are different, and we are making the best out of limited time we got...but you are, in a way, right - he needs more training and knowledge.
- At least we agreed on something...
- I hope it will be the last time.
Terry arrived at evening, as usual, and he almost forgot to put his mask on before entering the Cave. In fact, Bruce told him to put suit on before entering, as both of them need to hide themselves from Inque. When Terry entered Batcave, Inque was pushing hydraulic press upwards with some tubes attached to her mass, while Batcomputer was registering the results.
- Sheesh, - she gasped and went limp for a moment, trying to recollect herself, - I am much weaker that I thought.
- Can you morph into other shapes? - asked Wayne, typing endlessly on Batcomputer.
- Right now?
- Right now, - he nodded without even glancing at her, - Try something round.
- Round it is, - Inque slowly morphed into a ball, but Terry could see that she couldn't morph completely due to mass loss.
- Now try cube.
- ...it's a bit harder, - she said after a lot of attemps to shape herself as a cube, but the problem remained still - right under her formed a large mass of goo that wasn't reacting with her body.
- Batman, gather the samples that are inert, Inque, hold that from for a while.
- Guess you had a lot of fun while I was out, - Terry approached Inque and gathered her inert mass inside the glass tubes, which he turned over to Bruce, who inserted tubes inside Batcomputer.
- Try a triangle shape.
- I hate you so much right n...argh! - she growled as her mass suddenly broke down and she became a pool of goo on the floor.
- Terry, stabilizer, - Bruce reacted immediately, turning to face Inque. When Terry injected her once, Bruce glanced at the monitor - Inque's tubes were still attached to her gooey form, and he quickly noted, - Make three injections, she broke down a lot.
- Got it.
- I am sorry for that, - Bruce said when Inque managed to pop her head out of her mass, looking distressed more than ever, - But this provided vital research for your condition.
- No freaking way, - she said sarcastically in a weak voice, still trying to gather herself to stand up.
- ...and it provided a way to deal with that condition, - said Bruce after a pause, still typing formulas on Batcomputer, - But we need a good facility for this operation, and cover up the chemicals we need to buy...I have an idea, but I need time to work on it, for now I can make a better stabilizer and probably your mass, - Wayne looked at Inque for a moment before continuing, - For now I suggest you to rest, even with the stabilizers you can't perform for long under stress.
- And I have a meeting with commissioner who would not like to see you.
- Fine, fine, no arguing here, - she finally managed to rose up and sighed, returning to her table and resting on it, - I don't want to see her too. But I hope we can spend this time with something useful.
- Oh, we definitely will.
Terry called Gordon once again, and after short while she appeared on a roof with her husband again. Both of them were looking not so great, and after short greeting both DA and commissioner were briefing Batman on recent developing:
- We still can't find the group "Nocturnality" were talking about, and they are really hard to crack, so you can forget about this...the most interesting things we uncovered were about train wreck, - Gordon took her personal data-pad and showed Terry a digital copy of a contract between "Wayne-Powers" and "New Dawn" PMC, - First this, the "New Dawn" was hired to secure the train, and while medical commission confirmed their alibi, I don't trust them. Second - this, - she now showed Terry several pictures of disassembled equipment, - No factory numbers, and those things were not on the manifest.
- We can't present that to court because we can't connect that equipment with the train - it's not a solid evidence, - Sam Young took his turn to talk, looking at Batman, - But you can.
- You want me to dig on "Wayne-Powers" and "New Dawn"?
- We can't press charges if we do not have anything...and right now our only option to get something is to raid the shipment, but after that...yes, we need your help, - Barbara corrected her glasses, strictly looking at McGinnis, - Are you ready to perform in real police work?
- Got some ideas when you hunted me...that's in the past, I know, - Terry quickly retorted when he saw Barbara's irritated look on her face, - What do you want me to do?
- First I want you to ask to not patrol Gotham neither today nor tomorrow, - she said straightforward, keeping her arms inside the coat.
- Can understand why. Second?
- Second - you have to be on the briefing tonight and tomorrow night.
- That's new.
- I know, - she smiled tiredly, - Ready for it?
- Sure, - nodded Terry, following Barbara inside the GCPD.
While McGinnis had some experience with the police - as a spoiled brat in younger age and as Batman now - and despite the fact that Bruce kept filling him into details how it all worked, learning about it from the inside from the Gordon herself opened many shrouded secrets. Of course the assembled strike team has mixed reactions on Batman - some of them nodded and raised their fists up, being on "Batman-team", some of them were indifferent to Batman's presence, and some...well, they openly asked Gordon why their briefing turned into costume-freak show. Barbara quickly discarded those talks, focusing everyone in the briefing room to the task. Wayne was listening to the briefing too while he was working on Inque's condition, and Inque herself talked with Wayne mostly about chemistry and reactions, but sometimes they had another topic to discuss - Wayne was interested in Inque's connections and working of the underground world of Neo-Gotham, and Inque had questions nearly about anything. When Terry returned from the briefing, he nearly put his mask off put of habit, but Inque's straight glance with a slight grin stopped him just in time.
- That's the police work, - said Wayne, working at makeshift chemistry lab and wearing an apron with protective gloves over his Gray Ghost suit, - Hard, with a lot of barriers and talking.
- Some things never change, huh? - Terry even sounded tired, not to mention how he felt after the briefing, - Gordon asked me not to patrol the city until the raid. Thoughts?
- She is right - you have to be in better shape for it, - Wayne was still mixing components, but he suddenly took a quick glance at Inque, - What do you think?
- Same. Tired Batman - bad Batman, - she shrugged her shoulders, - And if something happens, he better stay here - the bigger fish right now is more important.
- I hope nothing major will happen. Gordon said that she has a bad feeling about all of this, - Terry said, crossing his arm together, - And now I am thinking same - the gangs were in hiding for far too long, and new groups emerged after the train wreck.
- I know, but we have to focus on raid right now...take your time off, try to sleep.
- Will I be ready for the raid?...oh come on, - Inque made a sour face when she saw how Wayne looked at her, - I want some action, this is what I do best. Besides, we worked a bit together already, he even stopped shrugging when I am moving myself, - Inque pointed at Terry with her tentacle arm suddenly, making Terry take a step back instinctively, - ...maybe not. But the point is that Batman needs all the help he can get...and I want to stretch myself.
- ...think you can handle her? - Bruce turned to Terry.
- Can I handle you? - now Terry asked, turning to Inque.
- I handled you before, so it would be nice for a change, - she grinned at Terry, remembering their previous encounters with each other.
- I can handle her, - Terry nodded to Bruce and turned towards the exit of Batcave, - I will...return to my place and get some rest, you two behave well.
With Terry back home for several nights, his family quickly got him to help around the house. Matt, of course, wanted to spend some time with Terry too, and they visited the newly opened amusement park. Virtual reality, simulators, holomovies and other things were designed to draw money from the wallet, though Bruce payed Terry a lot, he learned both from Bruce and his mom how to use them wisely. Matt, of course, called Terry a "stiff", but still they got the night for themselves. In one moment, where Terry watched Matt climbing up an artificial mountain side, he got himself thinking about how it would be turned out if Inque was normal. It was clear that she lost years and years while being a world's dangerous criminal, even for a reason to support the only thing she had left. And, as Terry kept thinking, Inque before the betrayal and after felt different, but Terry wasn't sure how different. Sometimes there were moments when she wasn't hiding behind the mask, revealing what she truly kept inside, and inside was a broken woman who had no idea what to do.
Bruce Wayne thought the same. He analyzed Inque not only from medical side, but from psychological one too, slowly opening her inner demons with the right questions. She wanted to talk, since there was nothing else she could do anyway, and her reactions to some questions were a signals to her mental condition. While she was a sadistic person with perversions on her mind, the inner layer was quite the opposite from what she wanted convince everyone and herself. It was something that reminded Bruce about many others before her, who also sought help from the side or from Batman himself, and this motivated Bruce even more, even if on subconscious level, to succeed to some degree with her. And to achieve that, Bruce was working on the plan behind Inque's back, making right arrangements.
The day of raid finally came after days of waiting and Batman not being around Gotham. Despite how Terry was worried about it, the crime rate was still low enough, and resting with family did good for him. He returned to Batcave in high spirits, and he decided to take Inque with him right away. She was ready for action, as she jumped around the cave towards Batmobile, slithering inside the cockpit to her place behind the seat.
- But you will stay inside the Batmobile and listen, - Terry warned Inque, starting the ignition sequence and slowly taking off, closing the cockpit and turning all sensors inside completely dark except for navcomputer, - Gordon doesn't need to know that you are here, and you will need to follow the plan.
- I can be a teamplayer. No killing again?
- No. Zero. We take as many as we can into police custody for questioning, - Terry kept looking at navcomputer to flew outside from the Batcave.
- Alright...and you can stop with trying to fool me, it just takes time and I still don't know where you are, despite having some ideas.
Terry decided to not respond on that, and he spend fifteen minutes flying around before he decided to turn all sensors on again, making city visible from the inside. Inque only sighed again and rested her hands on Batman's shoulders all the way towards GCPD, where she listened to Gordon's plan along with Terry and Bruce. She admitted, that Gordon knew, what she was doing, even with the suggestion to let Batman recon the area before the raid and take out most dangerous targets. It all sounded like a plan, and Inque along with Batman were on their way to port area when suddenly Gordon called:
- Batman, we have a problem, - from the first words Terry and Inque exchanged one's eyes, because Gordon sounded really pissed off, - Ten blocks away from the raid area Jokerz and T's appeared and started a massive shootout, with usage of heavy weapons.
- Great. How what we do?
- I hope your brought backup, because we can't spare prepared team for raid, they are dispatched to deal with the shootout...the coast guard will be in place, and I will send you everything I have, but you have to stall them.
- Will try to. Anything else?
- No...good luck.
- Two of us versus God know how many...the odds are really bad for them, - Inque grinned, looking at the coming port area with the large ship already coming inside the abandoned port.
- Aren't you afraid of water?
- Add tension. Come one, Batman, it must be at least some joy in what you are doing, - she even bumped his shoulder with her fist a little, but Terry decided to not respond.
The port area kept coming closer, and Batmobile switched to silent running and turning optical camo on. Zooming in on the area, Terry noticed how serious was the operation - Batmobiles sensors picked up at least thirty targets, ten on the ship and twenty all over the port area, armed pretty good for a thugs.
- They don't have weapons that were stolen from the train wreck, - Inque said, while Terry was looking for a drop point, - ...that's weird. If they are dealing with weapon shipments, why they don't have the same powerful weapons they sell? Why they have common black market stuff?
- I find it strange too, - agreed Bruce with Inque, - Be careful out there. They might have a surprise under their sleeve.
- Counting again? - asked Inque, taking radiolink from Terry, - No?...suit yourself, but drop me right on his head, - she pointed at the thug nearby, that went too far away from the group.
- Remember - no killing or brutalizing.
- Can't promise last one, - she took the communicator inside her mass and dropped down thorugh the hatch, taking on her Inque form. When she dropped on the thug, she pinned him to the ground and delivered quick blow to the head, quickly hiding him inside the crates, - First one on me.
- Try to pick those from the perimeter, I'll check the ship, - Terry slowly pointed Batmobile towards the incoming ship, taking it just a bit to the right.
- About time you said something nice, - Inque took more compact form and started to move in a short jumps across the port.
As Terry approached the ship, he took the Batmobile a bit higher in order to drop down on an old port crane under his own stealth camo. Wayne took control over Batmobile and led it away, while Terry pointed his fingers with sonic enhancers towards the group of thugs that were unloading some secure crates without any haste:
- So, is it solid? Because I saw police aerocars coming in.
- Nah, my contact said they will make a decoy for cops just before they will try to bust us.
- Yeah, right...wait, they knew that cops were after us?
- Of course. They even distracted the coast guard, so we can leave right after the unloading is done. And you?
- Well, we were told to hold there, unload the crates and wait for further instructions.
- Sucks for you, huh!...no sweat, just kidding. Call the watchers.
- Nayce, you there?...Jimmy?...Pola?...Shayne?
- Yeah, I~ mmmglm!...
- The hell?!
- It's Batman! Secure the ship, don't let him!...
But Terry was already gliding towards the ship when he heard muffled screams from the thug that was probably choked by Inque. He smashed two thugs from the ship into the water and fired a batarang at one that was nearby with laser pistol, pointed at Terry.
- Bat's here! Waste him, waste him!
The battle on she ship was fierce and for Terry it went without any pauses - thugs were trying to pin him down, threw grenades at him, electrical discharges and even tried to enter close combat with Batman in large numbers. Without Inque covering him it was difficult and not ideal battle - Terry managed to take many hits on him and suit. Meanwhile, Inque was on a rampage of stealth knockdowns, creatively using the environment and her own fantasy to do something unexpected and effective. When thugs alerted everyone about Batman, she sighed with relief and decided to allow herself play loudly with others - without Batman nearby to watch her, she became the living terror for everyone that was unfortunate enough to cross her, and to make things a little bit more interesting, she decided to break a bone or two when she could. The weapons still did some damage to her when hits connected, but it wasn't enough to stop her.
Batman wasn't bad either - slower, yes, but he cautiously picked targets off one by one. When last thug fell down, Terry sighed and looked around to find more opponents, but it was it:
- Got at least most of them on the ship. Going to check holding area.
- I will deal with the rest of the perimeter security. Do not worry, they are alive, but won't go anywhere.
- ...I hope you did it with accuracy, - Terry slowly approached the ladder towards the holding area and quickly descended into large section of the ship with lots of containers, - No markings, custom-made, airtight sealed.
- Be careful, they could smuggle anything inside them, - warned Bruce, looking at transmission from Batsuit.
- Good idea, - Terry activated his gas mask function on the suit, and started to slowly open the crate when it suddenly opened by itself, revealing the contents, - ...scrap!
- Get out of here! - Bruce rose in his chair, yelling so suddenly that Inque stopped in her tracks and jumped on the roof of nearby warehouse to look at the ship.
The sudden explosions tore ship apart in several places. Without hesitation, Inque dashed forward towards the sinking ship. She saw Batmobile coming in, but little he could do - the ship was slowly descending under water, with Batman inside...who probably could not survived the explosion. Jumping from pier towards the ship, Inque slithered inside the holding area, quickly turning around to see where Batman could be.
- He is more to the center of the ship, - suddenly said Wayne on the radiolink, who was doing his best to help her by tracking the suit's signal and Inque's radiolink.
She started to jump around, trying to avoid water at all costs, but ship kept sinking and craking, releasing more water all around her. Soon it wouldn't be any place to maneuver without her dissolving in the process...with those thoughts, Inque finally jumped on a broken container and stared at Batman that was underwater. The suit from the explosions was damaged severely, pieces of metal pierced the suit in several places, including helmet, and to make things worse he was pinned down by some metal support beam.
There was a clear temptation to just run away. Forget Batman, forget his old man, forget everything and hide somewhere - it would be more pleasant than feel pain and risking herself to be dissolved again, and she stood there for long precious seconds, trying to make up her mind and made the decision. She looked at her reflection in the rising water and quickly shrugged off hesitation, jumping into the water. The pain she felt was abnormal, as she was screamed as loud as she could, while her dissolving tentacles grabbed Batman and lifted the metal beam just enough to drag him into the surface. When she jumped out of the water, she was still screaming while trying to hold Batman in her weakening arms. The Batmobile managed to land as close as he could and shoot large grappling hook from it's nose, grabbing both Batman and Inque, who saw herself rapidly losing mass. Groaning from pain, Inque reached for stabilizers inside the Batmobile and dropped down, quickly slithering away.
Inque disappeared from the radar right after she saved Terry from certain death. His condition was much worse than Bruce thought, and he had to put him into trusted private clinic, where no questions were asked and no records of patients were held. Creating the alibi for Terry's family was crucial task, since they had to believe in what happened and not relate that to Batman in any way. The genuine feel of guilt helped the cause, as Wayne make an apologies to both Terry's mother and brother, since both lie and truth were about his fault. Terry took a heavy beating, but doctors assured Wayne that he will be alright if Terry will go full treatment.
Gotham also was hit by the news:
- Commissioner Gordon said, quote, "that operation was sabotaged from the beginning to lure out Batman into the abandoned port area, and the sudden gang war for zone of control was a part of the decoy for GCPD forces". The Batman himself was not around for several days after the explosion, and many believe that he is either severely wounded or dead.
- And right after the explosion the crime rate exploded too - new gangs and groups appeared in Gotham and other major cities, praying on the weak. With that sudden explosion of crime rate, various private security corporations started to market themselves as the alternative to current police force. While they do not have authorization as GCPD has, the US Congress is discussing the possibility of increasing the role of private security and military forces to help fight crime.
- To other news - today Bruce Wayne will open a new eco-friendly refinery facility, that was a cooperative project of "Fox Techa" and "Wayne-Powers". Many sources claim that mister Wayne prepared a speech against various companies...
The main hall of new facility was filled with many guests - hired engineers, constriction teams, scientists, sponsors from both "Fox Techa" and "Wayne-Powers", reporters and other people that wanted to attend every main event in the city. Gathering his thoughts, Wayne was sitting with closed off eyes, trying to put on his mask of philanthropic billionaire, remembering his speech over and over just trying to concentrate. Maybe it was due to old age, or because how Terry and Bruce got close, but the thoughts were hard to shoo away. When he heard his name from the announcers and heard the applause, he opened his eyes and walked to the stage, putting both of his hands on a stand:
- Thank you for coming. This facility will not be the last - it will the one of new top-of-the-line refineries that "Fox Techa" and "Wayne-Powers" will build in recent future, - he quickly glanced somewhere at the end of the hall, where he saw several aerocars landing, - Our planet, with our technology, needs rest from the mindless resource exploitation and ecology catastrophies. We will...
The sudden explosion blew the door inside the hall, pinning down some guests. The hall was quickly stormed by some armed raiders who engaged in combat with the guard and local police. One of the police officers quickly grabbed Wayne and dragged him from the stage, shouting about emergency exit. Bruce was following for a while, but suddenly police officer fell down from a laser shot, making Wayne quickly entering refinery room...which proved to be a dead end. He closed his eyes as he heard familiar noises and felt a tight goo on his neck, just holding him tight enough so he couldn't move. Wayne also noticed how door opened with the thugs talking:
- Yeah, she got him! Told ya, Batman was just keeping her on a leash, and no Batman - no leash, you know what I am saying?...Inque, come one, we have to waste mister Wayne.
- ...just one bad day, one critical leverage, one moment of despair - and you are back in, losing all the hope you had before and ruining your life completely, - said Wayne, opening his eyes with a slight breath as he tossed his cards on the table.
- What? Oh, to hell with that crap, he's gonna waste our time!..but I am gonna waste him myse...
The goo quickly released Wayne's neck and pushed him to the side just in time for a shot. Wayne took cover behind some empty metal pods and watched, as Inque was dispatching group of thugs, constantly roaring and beating the crap out of them in very brutal fashion - smashing heads on pipes, breaking bones, throwing bodies around like they were empty sandbags. As she finished, she took some time to breath and calm herself, turning towards Wayne. As she approached him, Inque changed to her human form and extended her hand. He skeptically looked at her hand, since she was much smaller than him, but she had her strength back at least to help him stand up.
- We have to go, other's are looking for you, - she approached the door, carefully looking outside.
- Why?
- ...I was afraid, - she turned towards Wayne, trying to get her face straight, but it was clear that she was about to break down, - I was so afraid that I...I contacted someone, and took the job as soon as they gave it to me, - she approached Wayne, tooking her palm inside her mass and releasing the container with half the dosage, - Don't know why I took only half and hid it, but...I thought I was set for easy kill, and..., - she fell silent and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and taking small black tears out, - ...you were right, all along.
- It's not about me being right, it's about you making your decision, - he glanced at her for a while before continuing, - I exposed my secret to you. What will you do?
- I want you to help me, - she answered with a decisive look in her eyes, - I want to get out from...this, - she kicked one of the thugs pretty hard with a scorn and disdain. She returned her eyes towards Wayne, - Can you do this?
- Now I can...or we both can. Lead the way and try to find a guard uniform to blend in.
Inque blend in with other guards and helped Wayne to safely escape from the facility and lead him towards the cops. Wayne pointed Inque at his car, make a commentary for the press and excused himself for hospital visit. Dismissing the driver, Inque took his place and left the facility, carefully driving along the road. She was silent for some time, but as she glanced at Wayne and met his gaze, she finally asked:
- Why you risked yourself? I know that it's not for me...
- On the contrary, - he interrupted Inque, - It was for you, because Terry started to believe...and I saw what you truly are the night you saved him. You maybe not a saint, but you doubted herself for long enough time to be someone, who can change...who always had potential to change.
- Am I the first one?
- In a long time - yes. In my lifetime - no.
- ...I am not a good person, W...Batman, - she corrected herself somehow, - I know it, you know it, but...
- But you want to finally be free. To be what you want to be, to stop being a hostage of yourself. Those long days won't change your nature, I am not naive to expect that - you will be brutal, sadistic, you will enjoy what you are doing...but those long days changed your direction where you were going, from a dead end to endless road, - he made a pause to look into the reflection of her eyes in the mirror, - And now you are convicted enough to walk on that road...but there is one thing left for you to do today.
- What thing?
When they arrived at hospital, Wayne told Inque the needed floor and room. She slithered up and got under the closed window, slowly appearing inside the private ward where Terry lied unmasked. He was in bandages with some machines placed nearby that were connected to McGinnis with some sort of tubes. When Wayne came in and closed the door, she was still looking at him in utter shock:
- He's...young...like my daughter, - she even shook her head and sat on his bed, looking at Wayne for an answer, - Why is he doing it?
- You are about to find out, - Wayne took a seat near bed and slightly shook Terry's shoulder.
- Uh?...what? - Terry slowly opened his eyes, looking firstly at Bruce, - Ah, mister Wayne...I was wondering when..., - but then he noticed Inque nearby, who looked with a mixed expression of disbelief and terror on her face. Terry blinked several times and slowly reached his head only to find out that mask was long gone, - ...oh crap.
- I think it's time for us to talk, - Wayne crossed his palm on a cane, looking back and forth from Inque to Terry, - Inque, if you do not mind to start first...
- ...I don't mind, - she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before starting telling her story, - I...don't remember the country I was born, but it was torn down by war...
Inque unfolded her story from beginning to the end, where she repeated for Terry her reason why she left and why she took the contract. Bruce was listening with his usual expression, while Terry's eyes widened in several sections of her story, and when she finished talking, Terry took his turn. His father, Power/Blight, murder, his meeting with Wayne, battles against Blight...Inque also listened closel to Terry's story. But two of them were surprised when Bruce decided to tell his rising as Batman, while avoiding many moments and trying to compress it. When Bruce finished, he looked at Terry and Inque, saying this:
- I had a family before, and it was a long time ago. With new Batman rising in Gotham and new threats appearing, creating a new family would be the most logical thing to do...and if you accept, you will be the first in new family.
- ...I have a choice? - she blinked in shock, looking at Wayne sceptically.
- You always have a choice. I looked at Terry and saw, that he doesn't want to quit after what happened to him, - Wayne let out a short sigh, quickly glancing at Terry, - ...but if he asked to quit, I have no rights to hold him. Same goes for you.
- And what is the other choice?
- Several: you can go to prison, you can join the family, you can escape and do what you want, or we can try to figure how to make you suitable for society, - Wayne rose up in his chair, - You can think of it while you driving me to manor. Terrance, have a good rest, alright?
- Yes, mister Wayne, - Terry nodded slitghly, - Will try not to escape it too soon.
The rest of the trip towards the manor Inque and Wayne were silent. Inque was thinking a lot about her next choice, while Wayne was studying Inque's reflection in the mirror. When they arrived and automated gates opened, Inque still was not sure what to to with the choices she had right now. She stepped out of the car and followed Wayne, leaving guards uniform inside the manor, observing the interior throughly. Wayne walked towards the large hall, where fake watch were located, and turned to face Inque with a demanding look on his face.
- Made up your mind?
- ...I thought about choices you listed, and I tried them all...with the exception that I wasn't around my daughter, - she turned away, looking at the sunset for some time, trying to be honest with herself, - ...I asked Batman to help me, because I wanted it to end, and I joined him because my daughter was...is in danger, - she frowned and turned back to Wayne, - I need to be near her. I want in.
- That's your final decision?
- It is, - she answered fimly.
- Welcome to our world, Inque, - Bruce extended his palm towards Inque, and she shook his hand after second thought. After they shook hands, Wayne approached the fake watch and opened a passageway to the Batcave.
- ...right under the manor? - she followed Wayne, closing watch behind him. The descend towards the Batcave and her new entrance felt much different than before, but there was something that quickly got her attention - large pool of liquid, that was of her own color, right above the pit.
- I must explain, that your daughter had a condition due to experiments on you, - Wayne waved Inque to come closer to study the liquid inside the secure round container, - Your story only proved it right, and whatever your choice could be, I was ready to spend some money in order to help her.
- Why you didn't tell me before?
- If we did, what choice did you had? - Wayne glanced at Inque firmly for a moment, - You were denied of making a choice your whole life, everything was a leash or leverage...and now I am telling you that we can cut the leash from you by helping you daughter...and yourself.
- Will it work? Because...I used a lot of time to cook it, - she slowly approached the pool, sitting on the edge of the pit and touching liquid with her own hand.
- With the previous techniques and methods - yes, but technology changed...and I got a lot of connections. This new formula will make you very resistant to water and will stabilize you.
- For how long? - Inque slowly forced her arm inside the pool, shivering from strange sensations from draining the liquid.
- A decade.
She looked at Wayne in utter shock, but the sensations were telling her the truth. Slowly, she reached the liquid with both hands and dove inside, absorbing it slowly for a long period of time. When the pool was emptied, she emerged from it as a big mass, that started to take shapes as she was moving around - cube, sphere, triangle, six-sided dice, twenty-sided dice, sea lion...but suddenly she stopped right where were the costumes of previous bat-family. Inque started slowly taking her human form with the return of her feminine features to make a distinctive appearance. Later she slowly changed her face to be reminiscent of a Terry's helmet - long pointy ears, changeable white eyes, but no mouth and with her elegant ornament all over the "mask". A big mass formed from her shoulders into some sort of cape, that was long enough to touch the floor and it was looked like constant-moving mass of black goo with her human form ornaments. But the most important thing was the white logo of flying bat that appeared on her chest, which was looking watery and elegant. She turned to Batman and performed famous "bat-glare" by narrowing her eyes.
- I will try to make a better compound to upgrade your state further, but for now...One more thing, - Wayne pointed to one of the sections of the Batcave where was a large cliff, going to darkness.
- What is it?
- Meaning. Have a good look.
Inque raised her "eyes", but walked towards the edge of the cliff. She turned her cape around herself and gazed into the dark abyss. There was only silence for some time, interrupted by familiar noise of the bats that were flying around...but than she saw several dozens of eyes opening in the darkness, and she heard such a loud noise that it was quite intimidating. Suddenly from the darkness emerged a large flock of bats, making Inque instinctively bending her knees and changing her arms into sharp objects. But as bats flew upwards, Inque returned her arms back to normal and slowly rose up, being inside the literal bat-storm. She looked at Wayne, who was suddenly smiling at what he just saw.
Barbara Gordon was on the roof, and when Batmobile arrived, she nervously looked as something liquid-ish dropped from it, changing shapes into a vision of Batman. Gordon slowly approached Inque at took a good look at her, especially at her symbol before asking:
- You are temporary replacement?
- More like a something of my own, - answered Inque, narrowing her eyes a bit, - Will we have a problem?
- Considering that I am standing near world's dangerous criminal without alerting the Justice League or Interpol...let's say that I will slide this until first warning, - Barbara took a pause before asking again, - Took a new name?
- I love mine too much to change it, but we are wasting time. Batman is out of the game, and criminals are feeling themselves safe. I don't want them feel safe anywhere in Gotham.
- What are you planning?
- I will return Batman on the streets until his actual return, but old man asked you to do one thing.
- What, exactly?
- Turn it on, - said Inque, retreating to Batmobile and dusting off to patrol Gotham. One hour later she was grinning as she saw the bat-symbol in the skies of Neo-Gotham.
One of the biggest challenges was Bruce Wayne. I had to rewatch some episode of TAS and Batman Beyond, and I prey to Kevin Konroy that I did it at least 10% justice to his iconic character. Of course I took some...liberties by making old Wayne feel greater impact from Mr. Freeze's finale, which was to be the decisive point of learning for old Wayne. Learning about the ability of criminals turn to good life, and how fragile they can be. That what, in my opinion, Batman is - a constantly learning individual, who gained his strength back to not give up at cases he can at least try to save. Remember Clayface from TAS? He tried to save him. Catwoman? Tried to help her. There were other cases which showed that Batman has the compassion for his enemies, even for great one, and old cynical man could return to his roots, to some degree.
And now Inque. She had quite a story, I suggest you to read it to understand how bloody awful her life was. Out of all B:B villains she is the one who has the ability to change sides due to her love for her daughter, even if latter betrayed her, Inque still cares about her. That was a powerful motive buried here, and now we have Bat-Inque as the first part of the family.
Yes. First. The one thing that also bugged me was that Terry did not had many allies - Max, Wayne, Gordon at the end of Return of the Joker...and that's it. I have an idea about futuristic bat-family, and as with Inque, they will walk their own arks. Some choices could be obvious to someone who will dig up the B:B, but I have a hunch that I can make quite a surprise. And, of course, there is something-something called escalation is in order.
Despite how few readers there are, I have a hope that the numbers will increase, since the worst thing that could happen to any writer - is to not have any, even negative response to his work.
See you in the next chapter of Neo-Gotham.