AN: Sorry about the long wait between postings, but real life reared up and bit back with a vengeance. Hopefully the rest won't take nearly as long to finish. I want to thank everyone who sent me such wonderful FDK, I really really appreciated it and it made me want to come back to this story even when I thought that it might be hopeless. There wouldn't be anymore if it weren't for you.
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Terry wasn't surprised to find that the glass-man was long gone by the time he managed to get to the lab that was the site of the latest vandalism. Thankfully, this time the crystalline defacer hadn't taken out any of the lab's surveillance cameras or the audio pickups, but that just might have been due to lucky placement. The lab's security was much better than a lowly warehouse's.
'Good, this time we'll at least be able to hear what Mr. Greenjeans there is ranting. It just might provide us with some valuable information.' He made short work of downloading the pertinent data from the recorders and then tucked the chips safely into compartments in his utility belt to take back to the cave and go over with Bruce later. Then he made another circuit of the mostly trashed main floor of the lab, hoping to find something of a clue amidst the wreckage.
It was when he was straightening out one of the larger pieces of lab equipment from its drunken lean against the nearest wall that he found something. When he took his hands from the large machine after righting it, he saw that his dark gloves had picked up a sprinkling of a white powder that glistened strangely. Looking around the immediate area further he soon found the source – a small pile of the same powder was in the right angle where the floor and wall met. Terry scooped up a sample for later testing and secreted that away in another compartment of his utility belt. Then he went back to his interrupted circuit of the lab looking for any more clues that he might find.
He didn't find anything until he left the building. Circling the outside of the lab was a carefully landscaped lawn, which is why the deep footprints he found were so out of place. For one thing, he didn't think that the company he and Wayne used would be so sloppy with their work to leave such obvious evidence of carelessness, and for the other they were recent and very deep. Too deep to have been made by any kind of ordinary man.
Terry's instincts prompted him to measure the depth of the prints, he had a feeling that the information might prove useful later on, and then he followed the tracks backwards along their path. He wasn't expecting the lead to pan out, so he wasn't too disappointed when the trail came to an abrupt end at the edge of the lawn. Ticked off, Terry growled to himself in frustration, 'for someone who causes so much bloody damage, this guy sure knows how to leave no traces.' Not having anything else to do, Terry headed back to the cave to drop off the evidence he had managed to gather before heading out into the night again, this time for his regular patrol.
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Terry and Bruce were sitting in Bruce's inner office talking about what had been happening to the company lately and about the results of the tests Bruce had run while Terry had been on patrol the night before.
"Fayalite? What in the hell is fayalite Bruce, and how can this guy be made of it?"
"Fayalite is a very rarely occurring gemstone, you would never find a sample occurring in nature as pure as this guy seems to be. Part of the Olivine family of silicates, Fayalite is the iron rich, magnesium light version, which is not technically a mineral but a gemstone called peridot. Colours shade from the rare dark emerald green like our fellow, to a pale yellowish green, which is much more common. And for how a man could be made of it – and still be able to move at all – I have no clue."
"Okay, so this is another one to dump under 'Freaky and not possible except that it's happening anyway' in the 'Bat'-files." Bruce snorted at Terry's ridiculous file name. "Now how does our knowing what this guy is made of help us stop him?"
Bruce shook his head, "I don't know yet. We're going to have to do some research on the properties to find a weakness we can exploit."
Terry frowned and sat back in his chair to think, his hand idly tapping the folder he'd brought from his office. It was the file that the 'Captain' had put together at Terry's request of the first attack on a Wayne Enterprises property by the mysterious 'glass' man. His fingertips hit the disc in the folder with a 'thock' instead of the 'thunk' he had been getting from the wood alone and he stilled. He asked slowly,
"Have you had a chance to watch any of the footage of this guy yet Bruce?" Bruce shook his head 'no'.
Terry got up and put the disc into the player on the wall. "I've seen most of this first one already, but maybe you'll see something I missed. Then we can watch the other one that I downloaded last night…"
Bruce waved Terry into silence as he watched the screen intently. The old man didn't make a sound as the footage of the warehouse being destroyed looped through twice. Then he stopped it and motioned curtly for Terry to put the data chips from the lab in so that he could watch and listen to the second attack.
"You're going to rue the day that you mocked me Wayne, I'm going to make you eat your hubris! Your company and you through it are going to pay for your sins – you hear me? You are going to pay! I came to you for help once Wayne and you laughed at me, now reap what you have sown old man…" Terry turned the sound way down.
"Wow, this sounds personal Bruce. This guy seems to have a real hate-on for you and for your company. Does anything about the guy seem even a little bit familiar to you?" Terry asked his mentor curiously. Bruce just flashed him a look from under his lowered brows that spoke volumes.
"No, of course not. I would have said something had that been the case, and Terry you know perfectly well that you can't run a multi-billion conglomerate without stepping on a few toes here and there. It's just not physically possible." Bruce said testily.
A quiet alarm began to sound behind a hidden panel in the office. Bruce swiveled his chair to see what was setting it off. "I linked the Crays into a backdoor of Wayne Enterprises security web and we have a hit, our mysterious man with a grudge is hitting another company property." Bruce explained at Terry's inquiringly raised eyebrow.
"Go suit up and see if you can catch him still at the site. Oh and Terry – " Bruce paused and Terry looked back to meet his eyes, "I wouldn't advise getting in his way, the suit won't protect you from a fanatic who weighs in at over 650 pounds swinging at you. I figured out from the depth of those footprints you found how heavy the person who made them was. It matches what I know of the specific gravity of fayalite too. So for now, if you can just get him talking to you and find out what his beef with me is specifically, I'd be more than happy."
Terry nodded and left to get into his other 'work' clothes.
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Terry was kneeling on the ground, looking for some signs that the vandal who had struck at the abandoned manufactory was the same 'gemstone' man who had destroyed the other Wayne Enterprises properties. However, the old building had already been in a bad state of repair due to neglect after Wayne Enterprises had stopped using it. So when the local 'green eyed monster' had attacked, he hadn't had much trouble in pretty much totally razing all that had been left standing. Terry snorted his disgust – finding anything useful in the mess their not-so-little green man left behind was beginning to feel like looking for the proverbial 'needle in a haystack'.
Terry sat back on his haunches and put his hand to his ear, "I know that you can see this Bruce. It's a mess. I don't think that there's anything to find here, except of course maybe some more of those deep footprints. Anything, hell – everything here has been reduced to useless splinters."
:Find me the footprints Terry. We're going to need irrefutable proof that this one is linked to all the other attacks – for insurance purposes if nothing else.:
"You're the boss." Terry said and sighed as he looked over the widespread destruction in front of him. He was trying to guess where his best bet would be to find some of those footprints Bruce wanted, hopefully without having to lift the remnants of about half the building. 'God, what a pain – hmm, I might be able to get a better idea from the air.' He rose smoothly to his feet in a fluid movement that dancers would have envied, but then paused for a moment before taking off as he sensed someone watching him.
Snapping his wings open while simultaneously firing his boot rockets, Terry succeeded in launching himself into the air within seconds. Hovering, he turned to watch the weighted net he had evaded tangle on the ground where he had been standing only moments before. Tracking back along the net's trajectory, Terry saw who had thrown it. "Stalker."
The tall, lean hunter unfolded his long limbs from the shadows of the wreckage he had been using for a blind and smiled affably at the hovering hero. "Hello Bat-man, we meet again."
Terry nodded and smiled sardonically. "Yes, and just so there's no mistakes, or me getting accused of misjudging you this time around either. Can I ask you what you are doing here – or does that net tell me everything I need to know?"
"I have watched you Batman, watched as you grew from a mere bat-pup to a fully grown Bat – one who is strong, healthy and in his prime. That is ultimately the best time for a beast to become prey for the hunt, for that is when the challenge is at its highest. I told you the last time we met Batman, that when you died it would be by my hand, and my hand alone. I have decided it is time, now, for my pursuit of you to begin."
"Fair enough," Terry said evenly, still hovering above, as he kept a careful eye on the hunter below him. "But now is really not a good time for me. So if you don't mind, I'd like to reschedule."
Stalker, unbalanced by the total lack of fear in Terry's voice, paused in mid-reach for his telescoping spear. Surprise clearly evident on his features. 'What was this – his prey was not afraid?' When Stalker looked up he could plainly see the smirk on the Batman's face, even through the mask. No – it was very plain that the man in the suit was not troubled at all by Stalker's intentions to hunt him. In fact – it looked like he was more amused than anything else. Stalker frowned and the Batman spoke lightly, mockingly to him.
"Hey, no need for the long face Stalker – you're more than welcome to hunt me later. It's just that I'm hunting someone myself at the moment and I don't feel like trying to juggle being the pursuer and the pursue-e, if you catch my drift. I'm having enough trouble alone in trying to track down my guy."
"Your quarry, he is elusive?" Stalker asked, the dark mood he had been falling into lightening. When Batman hadn't been scared of the thought of being hunted, Stalker had gotten depressed. After all, how much of a hunt can you have when your prey is laughing at you? You don't – if you don't have fright and flight it isn't a hunt at all, is it? But perhaps his trip to Gotham hadn't been wasted this time either – he and the Batman had sought out Falseface together, maybe they could work in concert once again? Would Batman even accept his offer of assistance if he were to make it?
Batman snorted, and as if he could sense that Stalker's attention had been diverted from hunting him, descended from his cautious hovering position in the air to land a few feet from the hunter.
"You could say that, but only in certain ways." He gestured to the wreckage they both now stood in, "This mess here is his handiwork. It was a freely standing, if a bit on the rickety side, building only a few hours ago."
"One man did all this – how?" Stalker asked, taken aback as he looked around himself. 'No wonder the Batman wasn't impressed with the danger I might have represented. It looks like he's already busy with something more dangerous than I.' Stalker could feel the seductive, siren-like call for a hunt run through him. The urge for him to start tracking the prey Batman sought was strong, but he didn't want to step on any toes – literally or proverbially – so he made his offer. The one he'd been toying with since he'd figured out that his hunt of the Batman was a washout.
"Batman, you and I worked together once before, when we were seeking the criminal Falseface. That time the NSA had requested my services, and you volunteered to aid me. Now I think that I am in the position to return the aid you gave me then, if you would be willing to accept it. I would give you my oath that no harm would come to you from me while we are allies as an assurance."
He had surprised the Batman. Reading the darkly clad man's body language, he could tell. Not that the Batman was making an effort to hide the way he was feeling, something that he could easily do if he really wanted to, as Stalker was well aware. He obviously didn't care about whatever conclusions Stalker might arrive at from his openness, or did he?
When the Batman had looked like he had let down his guard Stalker had relaxed also, and it now looked like that had been the vigilante's goal all along. When the hunter had relaxed, so too had his stoic demeanor and Batman was able to read his intentions –good or bad – with ease. 'Devious,' Stalker was appreciative of sound tactics, 'but not mean spirited about it. I can deal with that.'
Apparently, what Batman saw when Stalker's guard was down appeased him because his feigned frankness became genuine – or at least that is what the hunter guessed at from the man's actions. Stalker looked askance at the masked hero as he seemingly started muttering to himself, pausing here and there like he was having a conversation with an invisible friend. He realized fairly quickly that Batman was communicating with someone via a radio link and was startled – somehow he had never really thought of the Batman working with anyone else. He always gave the impression of being a solitary type, not one who would willingly have anyone watching his back.
Suddenly, the dark defender of Gotham's nights laughed, startling the lean hunter yet again in the short duration, and then he looked Stalker directly in the eyes. Even through the white eye-patches in the mask Stalker could sense the sheer power behind the gaze leveled on him and the weight of that stare was a bit disconcerting.
"Here's the deal – you and I both know that you know what I look like under this mask, and if you watch the vids at all you probably also know who I am."
Stalker nodded, that the Batman's alter ego was a high-powered and very visible businessman had been a bit of an eye-opener to the hunter. Unexpected was an understatement.
"Well, if you are going to help me with this, then you are going to have to follow me back to my other job, and I want no mistakes made there. Let me put it this way – since you are going to end up meeting a lot of people that I work with and others that I care about while you're working with me, I'm going to want you to extend your oath to me of an ally to them as well. You use or harm any of them, and you will find yourself has become the hunted rather than the hunter – I hope I am making myself clear."
"Certainly, I pledge to you on my honour that I will cause no-one any ill while I am in Gotham – except, of course, your prey." It was a fairly easy promise to make, as Stalker had already been having doubts about his pursuit of the Batman as it was.
Batman cocked his head as if he were weighing the conviction behind the hunter's words. Then seemingly satisfied with the first condition being met – he grinned. Stalker immediately felt wary at the expression. What could make a dark being smile so?
"Okay then, here's the other thing – you can't walk into Wayne Enterprises looking like that –" Batman indicated with a wave of his gloved hand Stalker's near nakedness, which was only interrupted by the briefest of loincloths and numerous tattoos. "My Boss insists that you have to get some respectable clothes to wear while you're there."
Stalker raised an eyebrow at the information of Batman having a 'boss', he guessed that is who he had been talking to when he muttered out loud to nobody. Then what the dark clad man and his 'boss' had requested sank in – they wanted him to wear western clothing. He couldn't stop the look of disgust from passing over his face the idea gave him as he said, "The clothes you wish me to wear are very constricting and uncomfortable, but do not worry yourselves about any improprieties - I am able to accommodate you."
Terry agreed with Stalker's assessment of a business suit, but he really couldn't see how the loincloth could be any less uncomfortable. He said as much to Bruce over the com-link and was rewarded with only a long-suffering sigh from his mentor before a very loud and final click let him know that Bruce had signed off. As he led Stalker to Wayne Enterprises with a couple of quick detours for their wardrobe changes, Terry snickered quietly. God – he still loved to do stuff like that to the old man, it was too funny.
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Matt felt very uncomfortable, like somehow overnight he had sprouted a second head or something. Beth kept throwing him these really strange looks throughout the school day – he almost thought they were suspicious glares and he couldn't think of any reason for her to be either suspicious or angry. He was at a loss, he didn't know what could have happened overnight to change her from the girl who had given him that toe curling kiss yesterday at her door when he dropped her off, to now.
The mental discomfort from her sudden suspicious scrutiny added to the physical discomfort he was still in from his exertions of the night before were combining to make one hell of a miserable day. Nevertheless, the end of the school day found him leaning up against his locker in the usual pose, waiting for Beth to show up so that he could walk her home. Matt was worried about his girlfriend, her personality over the day had been so off from her normal manner. He began to worry even more when she showed up at her locker much earlier than she normally did and without any of their friends in tow – something big was definitely up. Matt knew from his training with Bruce and Terry that people didn't change their patterns like this for no reason, there was always something that had acted as a catalyst.
Beth still hadn't said a word, not to him or anyone else. In fact, their entire walk to her place was done with an uncomfortable silence hanging between the two of them. Punctuated only by more of those strange looks from Beth, the same ones that she had been throwing his way the entire day. Matt was starting to get really tired of them, especially when he was very aware of every single one she threw at him. She might have thought that she was being subtle and only doing it when he wasn't paying attention, but he was always paying attention nowadays. He noticed everything going on around and directed at him, and Beth – bless her – wasn't the best at being subtle anyway.
As the distinctly chilly walk drew to an end, Matt watched Beth carefully from the corner of his eye. He was trying to think of a tactful way to bring up her odd behavior over the course of the day. When they had finally reached her doorstep, Matt couldn't take it any longer – he had to know what the hell was up with her – so he decided to just bite the bullet and come out and ask her.
"So Beth – " he said trying to sound casual and concerned at the same time, "you've been acting kinda strange all day – is there anything bothering you? Something happen that you care to tell me about?"
He involuntarily flinched when she spun around on her top step to face him – he was still standing on the sidewalk so they were eye to eye – and her eyes were furious. Her voice when she spoke was at odds with the expression in her eyes, it was almost cloyingly sweet. Even if Matt hadn't seen the look in her eyes, he would have taken that as a danger sign anyway – Beth was not known for having a sweetness and light kind of disposition.
"Bothering me? Why ever would you think that there was anything bothering me Matt? What about you? Is there something that you would care to tell me about? Say – something that you know I would find very interesting?"
Matt was beyond confused, he had no idea what his girlfriend was trying to get at with her questions to him. Shaking his head slowly back and forth he said cautiously, "Nooo…"
Beth stomped a foot in anger at his answer and Matt blinked. Amused he thought, 'did she actually just do something as clichéd as stomping her foot?' Then his amusement at Beth's actions dried up, as she demanded with narrow eyes.
"No? So I guess that you don't think the fact that your getting a ride in the Batmobile last night, and that you seemed awfully chummy with Batman too, is something that I would find interesting at all?"
Matt's mouth hung open with shock. 'She had seen Terry dropping him off last night! How?' Then Beth's tone sunk in and Matt's shock and fright morphed into anger. "How the hell would you know anything about the Batmobile dropping me off last night? Were you spying on me or something?" he snapped.
"Oh aren't you full of yourself? No, I wasn't spying for your information – I was just in the right place at the right time because my mom had sent me out for ice cream." Beth spat out angrily, and then in a lightening quick change of mood, her face crumpled and she started to cry.
Matt immediately felt like a heel for yelling at her and began to reach out to comfort the crying girl. After all, it wasn't Beth's fault that Terry had been in a hurry last night and so had been a bit more careless than usual, but Beth wasn't about to let Matt comfort her. She jerked away before he even touched her and ran still crying into her house, loudly slamming the door shut behind her.
Great, now what was he going to do? Beth was royally pissed at him and Terry and Bruce weren't going to be all that thrilled with recent developments either. Matt looked mournfully at Beth's front door and sighed sadly. Then he jammed his fisted hands into his jeans pockets and walked stiffly away. This was turning into a record crappy day.
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To be continued…