After that wonderful confrontation, Terry had the most exhilarating experience of musical chairs. Only the vhs tapes were the people, and the chairs were the cases the tapes were in. Also there wasn't any music.

So you know.

Completely full of fun!

They did, however, find the first tape. It was in the case for one of the later episodes. Which means that there's a missing Gray Ghost tape somewhere.

Probably in the Godzilla case. Honestly Terry wouldn't be surprised if it was in a completely unrelated tape case.

It just begs the question as to why they were all like this. Last Terry knew Bruce had them all perfectly in place. Maybe one of the old man's friends had come by to play a prank?

Terry forced himself not to make a face at that thought. They were in the middle of the two part first episode, and he didn't really wanna be distracted by his thoughts.

One, because while Mr. Wayne was doing better with getting in touch with his friends and family (coughClarkKentandTimDrakecough) he still sucks at it. He didn't really wanna think about that depressing thought.

And two, it was The Gray Ghost. He needs to watch it with undivided attention.

"How can you be so sure it was murder?" Terry whispered along with Gray Ghost, knowing all the lines by heart.

"What are you implying?" Ophelia, a woman trying to find her twin sister but stumbled upon a dark plot, flickered her eyes over The Gray Ghost's form.

The black and white images went on as Terry went over each detail.

How Ophelia's hair was messy due to the chase they ended up in, how the park they found themselves in was empty. And how the man held up a note in his gloved hand.

"He ran away. The lad was found a few cities away, living with a close friend. I suspect that he had no idea that he's meant to be dead."

Ophelia's eyes widened. "So he's alive? Thank goodness. But wait, wouldn't there be people after him still?"

"It's more than likely."

Terry was at the edge of his seat. The good part was coming.

The scene cut to a foot stepping on a stick, causing it to break. The sound was like a shot, switching back to the two as their heads darted to the sound. They saw a group of men make their way out of the darkness, wooden bats and pocket knives in their clutches.

And one of them had a woman who looked like Ophelia, one with shorter hair. It was her twin sister.

"Hortencia!" Ophelia cried out.

"Ophelia!" Her twin, Hortencia, cried back, tears in her eyes.

It then went like this. The Gray Ghost and Ophelia worked together to take Hortencia out of the men's grasp, and once she was out, Ophelia kept her behind with a baseball bat stolen from one of the goons.

Terry always loved how Ophelia wasn't afraid to fight back. It was a bit controversial back in the day if he remembered correctly, but everyone just couldn't stop watching. With such a strong beginning people expected a strong middle and a strong ending.

And they were right. But for a while it fizzled away to obscurity. Until Simon Trent brought it back with his original reels and turned them into vhs tapes.

Terry still remembers the day they decided to run the old episodes on tv during the show's original time slot. He and Matty were both ecstatic.

"Listen, just tell me this. Did you honestly expect to get away?" The Gray Ghost held one of the goons up.

The beat up man just spat some blood off to the side. He then said, "if you were me you wouldn't have a choice either."

"Are you being threatened?" Terry continued to murmur Gray Ghost's lines. "I can help."

"Not with this. Not with me." The man grew to look sad. "Not after what I've done."

This time Terry's voice grew firmer at the next line. This was what made him love the show all over again after he spent time in Juvie.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. You deserve to receive help. Even if you spent the rest of your life repenting for your sins, you deserve to live. All you need to do is reach out, and take a hand."

But the man just shook his head. "I can't. But please. Make sure they're alright."

"'They?'"

"There's these two kids. Orphans. Siblings. Maybe. Not sure if they're actually related or not. They were homeless, lost everything. Wouldn't tell me much, but it wasn't hard to fill in the gaps. They made me feel like I was actually good. Like I could be good." A bitter laugh bubbled up. "But I'm just rotten to the core. And they could be dead by now."

It was known that The Gray Ghost, in that moment, could not promise the children's safety. Yet what he could do was this. "I will find them." He said.

Terry leaned closer, wrapped up in the fictional world. The group was taken into police custody while the twin sisters filled in some of the blanks.

Hortencia was kidnapped for being linked with the runaway boy, who was almost eighteen years old. The boy, Fredrick, or Freddy to those who were close to him, had recently become an heir to a company. The owner was a distant relative, one who had hated his family, and they him. Fredrick just happened to be close enough to be given everything, but distant enough not to hate.

Apparently the owner hated a lot of people.

And had a lot of enemies.

With just the idea of being the owner of a company alone drove Fredrick away, for it was all too much, it seemed to have saved his life. For now.

"I… I am so afraid, Lia." Hortencia wrapped her arms around her sister. "I'm so afraid for so many people."

"Me too, Cia." Ophelia hugged her twin back.

They just found the siblings, a boy and a girl, who were badly hurt. But alive.

They cried tears of sadness and happiness. They cried knowing that the man that took them in, albit illegally, was taken to prison. They cried for being so thankful that he wasn't dead.

He was the closest thing to a father they had.

The Gray Ghost watched on as the sisters held each other in the hospital. After a moment more he left. The Gray Ghost was on the hunt. And he had found the last clue.

Terry grinned as The Gray Ghost made his way to an old manor. There he cornered the owner's eldest son, Alexander Wilkerson.

"I know what you've done, Alexander." The Gray Ghost confronted the older man.

"Whatever do you mean? Who are you?"

Terry's grin grew even wider as he, rather unknowingly at this point, spoke as loud as the actor Simon Trent. "I know that you poisoned your father, Rufus Wilkerson, and tried to make a grab for his company whilst he was ill. I know that you were enraged by the fact that he hadn't chosen you to be his successor once he had died. Your relationship with him was too rocky for that. I also know that when you found out that a young lad, not even a legal adult, was to become the new head you would resort to even more heinous things. Things such as blackmail, kidnaping, and attempted murder!"

No longer was he at the edge of his seat. Terry was now standing, fists raised to mimic the actor on the screen. It's something he's done hundreds of times before, and it would be something he would do hundreds of times again.

"As for who I am?" Terry went along with Simon Trent, with The Gray Ghost, his childhood hero that rose above Gotham's famous Batman. "I am The Gray Ghost!"

The Gray Ghost's theme played as he fought with Alexander.

For a moment Terry was a kid again. He was watching the show for the umptenth time, while his dad was watching from the couch. Terry didn't hear his father's laughter. Then he was a preteen, doing the same thing as Matt was trying to do the same, following in his big brother's footsteps. Then he was a young teenager, slowly rekindling with his family and The Gray Ghost a balm on their hurting hearts.

Oh how did this show mean so much to Terry.

Soon enough The Gray Ghost apprehended Alexander, and Terry sat back down. As always he was satisfied as the narrator went on to say that the twins, the kids, the man, and the young lad went on with their lives while Alexander went on to live the rest of his life in prison.

"As long as there is corruption in man's heart, I will be here to bring them to justice." The Gray Ghost spoke aloud to the audience. "For as long as I am able to, I swear, I will bring peace to the people's minds!"

And with that, the theme song began to play once more as the scene faded away. The TV screen began to show the credits.

Terry turned to Damian, looking to see his reaction. "So?" He asked, eyes bright with joy. "What did you think?"

Damian was staring right back at him. An emotion that Terry couldn't place was within the child's eyes. While there was something simmering underneath the surface, Damian's face was rather neutral.

Hm.

Did he not like the show? Maybe he was too old for it.

Terry deflated a bit. Sure it was an older show. It didn't have color, and it didn't have all those fancy effects that shows nowadays had. Maybe some parts of the acting was a little cheesy, since this was the debut for a few actors. And the costumes might've been-

"It was satisfactory. Not all of the clues were shown so it was harder to pin down who the culprit was." Damian sniffed. "I knew it was that buffoon Alexander the moment he appeared on screen. He reeked of ill will."

A grin grew on the older teen's face as relief rushed through him.

He wasn't entirely sure how he would feel, if this kid, who looked so much like his little brother, wouldn't like the show.

"Ahem." A voice cut through.

Turning his attention, Terry watched on as Alfred stood by the door.

"If I may, dinner is ready."

They all began to stand up. It didn't pass him that they were giving him looks. He would not be ashamed for his love of the show. Not going to lie, though, any acting out the scenes were purely unintentional and was just plain instinct.

Glancing, Terry took one last look at the credits. It was near the end and he had to take it all in before continuing the night. The names of the people who worked hard were etched into his heart.

Phillip Goebel.

Korey West.

Jesse Hayter.

Marie O'Berne.

Wait.

Marie?

Terry nearly did a double take at the name. It was Mary! Not Marie! With a y not an ie!

Terry knew this. He knew this! He knew this because she had the same name as his mother before she got married! It was one of his favorite names on there for that reason!

Not to mention he knew all of the names like the back of his hand, but not the point!

The point was! The name! Was! Spelt! Different!

Forcing himself to calm down, Terry plastered a mask on.

He was happy to get dinner. He was hungry.

He was not confused. Not angry with the fact that something was undeniably wrong and not a single person was telling him what was up.

'But,' a part of him whispered in the back of his mind, 'what if this was a misprint?'

Misprint his ass. The film on the vhs tapes came directly from Simon Trent. They were the only surviving film of the tv show. It was what they had used when they did reruns on tv.

There was no wriggle room for a "misprint."

So what the slag was going on?

"So, you like that show a lot huh?" Tim asked, bringing Terry out of his thoughts.

Damn, this had been like, what? The third time this happened? Terry needs to up his game.

But he has the excuse of trying to figure out this whole situation.

"Yeah." Terry settled on saying. "I would watch it absolutely non-stop as a kid."

For a moment he debated on saying what he was thinking next. But. It might endure him to them. Trust him a bit more.

Maybe.

He softened his voice as nostalgia colored his words. "I would watch it with my dad. Back, uh back when he was still…"

Ah his voice was failing him.

Terry thought he was getting better, talking about his dad. Maybe the stress of everything was getting to him.

"He would carry me to bed you know? When I got too tired to continue watching. Would call me 'Little Ghost.' I still remember how he would sometimes wake me up a little by giving me a kiss, and his mustache would tickle."

Terry stopped walking for a moment. He and Tim were at the back of the group, and they hadn't quite made it to the dining room.

Tim stopped with him.

"I'll never stop missing those days. I'll never stop missing him." He declared.

A heartbeat. "He sounded like a good man." Tim spoke softly.

"Yeah." Terry wetly chuckled. "He was great."

"I… had a complicated relationship with my dad. My bio dad. He and mom tended to be gone a lot for work. I went to a boarding school, so. It really didn't feel that bad, I guess. But then I transferred to public school and… I don't know."

Tim shook his head. "Eventually after some rough stuff happened my dad tried to do better. It was good, for a while. Then uh, some more rough stuff happened. Next thing I knew… Dad was gone."

Terry looked at Tim. He was… pale. Paler if Terry was being honest. There was a slight shine to those blue gray eyes.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Tim blinked. The shine was going away. "I got adopted, you know. Pretty much all of us are. Damian's the only exception. And our dad. He's a good man."

He offered a smile to Terry. "It can be hard, but when you have people with you, they can help share the pain."

That was… very sweet. And true. The amount of times he held Matt, talking to his mom, or just being in the same space as Dana or Max. It has helped. Terry smiled back.

Dinner was similar to lunch. Instead of it being a more vegan meal, it was vegetarian. The meal was a bit lighter than lunch though. It was nice to not have something heavy sit in his stomach. Unfortunately it wasn't the food that weighed down.

It was this feeling of dread that curled and writhed. It made him not want to eat, all feelings of joy earlier gone. While the moment he had with Tim was touching, it could be a lie. The two of them put on masks, while Terry's had cracked, showing the true grief within.

Honestly Terry could be experiencing a bout of Bruce's paranoia he loved to poke at.

But.

Between the manor, the suspicious people, and the vhs tape, something was proving that this situation was wrong.

And Mr. Wayne would've shown up by now. Or at least leave a message for him. These people didn't even bother to mention him.

Terry ate a few more bites, and watched on as the underlying tension spoiled the siblings' conversation. He knows that they know something is up. He knows that they know that he is suspicious of them. It was like a stupid mind game.

'Come on, you're Batman. You can do this.' He hyped himself up in his mind. Taking a subtle deep breath, he calmed down to a more… manageable level.

Try to think of it as an undercover mission.

What was one of the first things Bruce had taught him? Reconnaissance. Always observe before taking action.

Watching on, Terry went on his way to finish his plate. Perhaps once everyone's asleep he'll take a look around the manor. See what they've done to the place. See what they're hiding.

Check to see if they found the Batcave.

Plan in mind, Terry thanked Alfred before excusing himself.

"I think I'm still a bit tired after everything. I'll be heading to my room."

A chair scrapped against the floor. "Oh let me help you."

Blue eyes moved to blue eyes. Dick was giving him a grin, and was already walking towards him.

"Oh you don't have to-" Terry tried to politely decline.

"But I want to. Besides, what if you experience some lingering effects from earlier? Don't wanna pass out again right?"

Ugh on one hand, Dick's right. It was best to keep an eye on him while walking in case he did pass out again. On the other hand, Terry really didn't want to walk with any of them right now.

'Just walk with him dude. For recon.' He convinced himself.

Mentally sighing, Terry caved in. "Fine. Let's go."

Dick looked. Oddly happy. Kinda like that sort of way when he returned with what he thought was the first Gray Ghost tape.

Weird.

As they walked back Dick chatted on and on about elephants. Honestly something Terry wasn't expecting. Dick didn't really look like an elephant type of guy.

As Terry nodded and hummed at the right parts, he just. Looked at Dick. Observing him.

There was a sort of familiarity in the way Dick moved. It was with Tim, Damian, and Jason too. Cass moved… similar yet different in a way than her brothers did. But somehow it was closer to Damian than the others.

He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"And like, elephants are just so smart you know? If one of them gets hurt and they never met a human, they end up going to humans they know can help! Which means that elephants communicate!"

"Hn." Terry grunted. A part of him grimaced.

Great, he's turning into a caveman like the old man.

Inwardly he snorted at that. Caveman. Bruce certainly spent quite a bit of time in his cave. Maybe he should change his name from Batman to Caveman.

Hm. Cave. Bats.

Terry tilted his head as Dick's hands fluttered around.

Bats… no.

"Bird?" Terry muttered.

Dick stilled. He then came to life a nanosecond later, as if he never froze in the first place. If Terry had blinked he would have missed it.

"What was that?" Dick asked, head tilting.

Ah, there it was.

"Has anyone told you, you move like a bird?"

Hm, should he have asked that? Because there it was again. That underlying tension.

Dick put a hand to his chin, in thought. "Well, I think people mentioned it to me a few times, yeah."

He watched on as the man glanced away. There was some relief losing up any remaining tense muscles. Dick found something to change the conversation.

"Here we are! Your room!"

Or end it pretty much.

Looking around, Terry saw that yeah, they were in the hallway Terry found himself earlier.

Dick opened the door. Letting himself in, Terry turned on the light switch.

The room looked the same. Curtains were still closed. Oh but wait. The bed was made. Must've been Alfred.

"Listen," Dick started.

Terry turned his head back to him. Dick was just standing in the doorway. His eyes looked suspiciously shiny. Maybe the light was too bright? Not everyone was okay with sudden light changes. Just how the human body worked.

When Dick didn't say anything else Terry prompted with, "I'm listening."

That seemed to have startled him a bit. "Yeah um. I just wanted to tell you to have a good night and everything. I know the police are doing everything they can to find your almost kidnapper. We'll do everything we can to keep you safe, okay?"

Huh. He sounded… very honest.

With nothing much else to do, Terry nodded. While he may not believe them, they might believe in themselves.

They both turned away from each other. Terry to make his plan. Dick to get back to the others.

Just as the door closed Dick whispered something that made Terry pause.

Did he hear him right?

Did Dick really say that?

"Good night Bruce."

Not seen by Terry;

Batkids: oh dear god he was worse about Gray Ghost as a kid

Sooo, I may have written a good chunk of this as the Gray Ghost's episode as a way to kinda procrastinate on moving the plot a little. But also to help hint at things being different. Because while some things are almost point for point the same, there's still minor differences. Such as spellings of names.

Also all the names were randomly generated. I'm in a Batman Beyond discord and we talked about how McGinnis is an Irish name and if Mary is Scottish or Irish. Well, considering that I made Mary's last name also O'Berne was a bit last second, it was a toss up for me.

Anyways, Terry's getting more clues. But they're so spread out he hasn't the faintest idea of what the picture he's trying to paint. Hope you've enjoyed it!