Okay, identification time again. Ace, as you all noticed, has his own names for people. These are the ones he used, with the human names afterward and some explanation when necessary.
Pack Leader- Bruce.
The Pup- Terry
Alpha Female- Barbara. Because she is one.
Yappy- Max. Do I really need to explain why? Didn't think so.
Smells Wrong- Superman. he looks human, but doesn't smell human (being an alien and all, y'know).
Not Evil- Tim. I can understand why some people might have been confused by this one. The first time Ace met Tim was when the Joker (Laughing Evil) attacked Wayne Manor. The next time was when Terry went to Jolly Jack and brought Ace along as backup. The third time they met would have been... interesting. (This will be discussed at a later point in the story) Ace would have had to constantly remind himself that Tim was a friend; eventually the reminder "He's not evil" became "He's Not Evil". Hence the name.
Now, on with the show...
**********************************************************
Tim sat in the chair and took Terry's hand. Before he spoke he looked down at the young man he'd almost come to think of as a much younger brother. Over the past few weeks the swelling had disappeared and the bruises were almost gone as well. His hair was a a dark fuzz covering his scalp, long enough now to look like a crew cut. Tim grinned to think of how Terry would react to his hair being gone; he wasn't vain by any stretch of the imagination, but there were limits.
Actually, Tim had been surprised at how little Terry thought of his own looks. Not that he considered himself unattractive, he just didn't think much about them. His face was what it was, and that was that. Tim, on learning this, had teased him about being a freak of nature- no teenage boy was that uncaring about appearances. Terry had just laughed and agreed, saying he'd gotten enough hangups that he'd had to get rid of that one to make space for the new ones.
"And you do have your hangups, just like the rest of us, don't you?" Tim said with a small sigh. Then he grinned. "I still can't believe the guy who faced The Joker without flinching freaks out over a little spider. Anyway, I'm here to give you the latest update. Josie- you remember her, I hope- my youngest? Well, she just got a role in "The Grand Duke". She's really thrilled about it. Personally, I think that stuff's kinda boring. Bruce never could teach me to appreciate opera, though I like Gilbert & Sullivan better than Wagner. At least with them you can understand what the soprano's screeching about. But Josie's playing the Baroness, which she says is a good role. I'm taking her word for it and I guess I'll see when the show opens. Lina, my oldest, the one you haven't met, she's just started dating a guy she met in Edinburgh. Get this- he's the grandson of the Earl of Glencairn. Pretty good for a girl whose father used to be a street rat, isn't it? She says it's not a big deal, but still, an Earl, y'know? And I never knew who my grandfather was- either of 'em."
Tim chuckled. "Besides, it's always good to know as much as you can about who your kids are dating. You'll find that out for yourself someday. And I'm not as bad as Bruce- any girl who flirted with Dick got investigated more thoroughly than some of the crooks they fought. Seriously. Drove Dick nuts when he found out. He said it was just more of Bruce's efforts to control his life. It wasn't, though. Like Bruce himself said, if he'd been trying to control Dick's life that way, Dick wouldn't have been allowed to date half the girls he'd dated. He'll never admit it, but he was trying to make sure they were good enough for his son. He investigated my wife too, but he thinks I don't know. She was flattered when she found out, can you believe it? I hope you don't think you'll ever be old enough to understand women, McGinnis, because I can tell you it won't happen if you get as old as Ra's al Ghul."
Suddenly he heard a loud splat behind him, as though someone had hit the window with a water balloon. He turned to see a huge blob of black liquid seeping in around the edges of the window.
Inque. It had to be. Now he just had to figure out why, and quickly.
"Ohhhhhh.... stupid kid- what-?" Inque reformed, looking around quickly. She assessed Tim, obviously dismissing him as a threat with insulting speed. Her glance at Terry became a double-take. "I've seen him before. Cute kid- pity about the hair- oh, not you again!"
"Get out of here, you- Terry!"
Tim stared at the girl who'd just opened the window from the outside. Ten. Formerly of the Royal Flush Gang. Terry's ex-girlfriend. This was about to get ugly, he couldn't reach the call button to summon security, and he didn't think he was up to handling this on his own.
"Listen, little girl, I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't zapped me with Mommy's magic wand. Does she know you're playing with it?"
"I wouldn't have zapped you if you hadn't been trying to break into Delogu! Just because Batman's taken a vacation doesn't mean you can just come in to town and do whatever you want!"
"Oh, you think you're Batgirl now, do you? Honey, you're a thief just like me, so get over yourself."
"I'll never be like you no matter how old I get!"
Tim edged a little closer to Terry, wisely deciding to stay out of it. Inque was speechless, but Tim could almost hear her temper rising.
"Did you just call me old?"
"Well, I'm not the one with a grown-up daughter who scammed me out of all my money."
"No, you're just the one who threw away a lucrative career for a boy who-" Inque broke off, her blob of a head swivelling around to look at Terry again. Tim mentally reviewed every curse he knew, inventing new ones when he ran out. Inque laughed snidely. "So that's what this is really about! You wanted an excuse to see the boy, so you chased me in here! That's so sweet..."
"I did not!"
"And here I thought the whole star-crossed lovers thing never happened any more."
"Shut up!"
"You know, you could have just asked me to help. He is a looker, isn't he? So tell me, was he really that good?"
"Slimy tramp."
"Dippy tart."
"Ladies." The new voice was heavy with disapproval. Tim, resigned, looked back to the window to see Stalker glaring at Ten and Inque. Inque muttered something that Tim suspected he was just as happy not hearing.
"This is a hospital," Stalker continued, "and not a hunting ground. You will leave. Now."
Ten started to say something, then stopped. Stalker turned his gaze on her for a moment, then nodded.
"I will not allow further harm to come to the boy. We have future business, he and I, and I will see that day come no matter what it takes."
Her mouth opened and closed again with an audible gulping sound. After a few more seconds spent staring at Stalker, she fled. Stalker then turned his glare on Inque, who withstood it a bit longer. But not by much.
"Oh, all right," she finally huffed, leaping for the window. Reaching it, she turned to deliver one last shot. "By the way, would you drop the accent, Nigel? We both know you're from Cleveland."
She vanished. Stalker blinked, darting a look at Tim from the corner of his eyes. Turning to face Tim, he shrugged.
"Women."
"I hear you."
And Stalker vanished as well. Tim sat back down at Terry's side.
"I'm not even going to try to explain that one to Bruce," he said.
*************************************************
Charlie Bigelow smiled as he looked as the reports from his men. Business was up, and he knew why. It had been almost three weeks since the last Bat sighting. Every day that passed without a sighting was a day his men became that much braver. He'd expected the new slappers distribution ring to be busted inside a week, but it was actually getting better organized instead. Extortion was only slowly becoming more lucrative, but he knew it would take them longer than a few weeks to forget the Bat so he didn't waste time worrying about it. His men had carried out several succesful hits in a row, his gun-running operation was taking off, and without the Jokerz hassling his girls prostitution was really raking it in. Life was good.
"Hey, boss, mind if I ask you something?"
'What is it, Spike?"
His lieutenant, a burly wolf-Splicer, sat in one of the more comfortable chairs. Charlie was careful to let some of Major's best people act casual in his presence. It made them think he trusted them, which made them more likely to say things they might not want him to hear otherwise. Only Spike had been smart enough to see what Charlie was up to. He'd also figured out how Charlie had gotten to be in charge of Major's operation while Major was in jail. He'd let Charlie know that he knew, and that he approved. He'd said that if Major was dumb enough to get taken in like that, then he didn't deserve to be in charge. Spike had thrown in his lot with Charlie, and he'd been rewarded for it. He'd even trusted Charlie with the secret of his real name; Charlie had been stunned to learn that there really were parents that would do that to a kid. Ordinarily a litle thing like that wouldn't have been enough to gain Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow's trust, but when someone trusted you enough to admit that their parents had named them Spike Angel MacCarthy- and could prove it- well, that was different.
"It's two questions, actually. First is- what do you think's happened to Batman?"
"Don't know, don't care. He's gone and that's all that matters."
"Not if he's gonna come back."
"...You hadda say that, didn't you?"
Spike stretched. "Gotta make sure we're ready for anything, right?"
"Right. Okay, I'll start working on a plan for what to do if he comes back. What's the second question?"
"McGinnis."
Charlie scowled.
"He was a friend, right? So how come you ain't been out there bashin' Jokerz like everyone else?"
"Tiny was never my friend. He just wanted to be close to someone with power. Soon as he got cozy with Wayne he didn't need me anymore. Way I see it, the Jokerz did me a favor. I'd probably have had to kill him some day anyway."
"Yeah, but he's still alive."
"Big deal. I checked with one of the doctors- if he ever wakes up, he won't be able to walk. I'm not gonna waste time with a cripple."
"You got to one of his doctors?"
"Yeah. She's a real piece of work- don't care about anything but her bank account. I'm thinking of asking her to come be our private doctor."
"What if she's wrong?"
"Then I'll just kill him later. I'm not goin' anywhere."
Spike nodded. Question answered, problem solved. Business as usual could continue.
***************************************************
"-and he just looked up at me and said, 'I didn't know you could even do that with a teapot'. He never realised it was pure luck. I certainly wasn't going to tell him." Bruce gave a half-smile, remembering the Mad Hatter's expression on that particular capture. "That's something you should remember- always make them think you'd planned every aspect of their capture. After a while they start capturing themselves half the time. Of course, the other half does get that much harder, so it balances out."
Bruce checked his watch.
"I have to go now, Terry. A meeting. That's one of the things I didn't miss when I lost the company. But I'll be back later tonight. Maybe I'll even tell you how the Riddler ended up married to Veronica Vreeland by accident."
He reached for his cane, but froze with that hand in the air. It was his other hand- the one holding Terry's- that had his attention. Had he just imagined-?
"Terry- do that again!"
Nothing. Or maybe...
"Terry, please. Do it again."
This time there was no mistake. He saw Terry's hand move slightly, felt the barest increase of pressure on his own hand. Terry was waking up.
*******************************************************
Dramatic plot twist! ...or not. What, you didn't think I was going to leave him like that forever, did you?
Pack Leader- Bruce.
The Pup- Terry
Alpha Female- Barbara. Because she is one.
Yappy- Max. Do I really need to explain why? Didn't think so.
Smells Wrong- Superman. he looks human, but doesn't smell human (being an alien and all, y'know).
Not Evil- Tim. I can understand why some people might have been confused by this one. The first time Ace met Tim was when the Joker (Laughing Evil) attacked Wayne Manor. The next time was when Terry went to Jolly Jack and brought Ace along as backup. The third time they met would have been... interesting. (This will be discussed at a later point in the story) Ace would have had to constantly remind himself that Tim was a friend; eventually the reminder "He's not evil" became "He's Not Evil". Hence the name.
Now, on with the show...
**********************************************************
Tim sat in the chair and took Terry's hand. Before he spoke he looked down at the young man he'd almost come to think of as a much younger brother. Over the past few weeks the swelling had disappeared and the bruises were almost gone as well. His hair was a a dark fuzz covering his scalp, long enough now to look like a crew cut. Tim grinned to think of how Terry would react to his hair being gone; he wasn't vain by any stretch of the imagination, but there were limits.
Actually, Tim had been surprised at how little Terry thought of his own looks. Not that he considered himself unattractive, he just didn't think much about them. His face was what it was, and that was that. Tim, on learning this, had teased him about being a freak of nature- no teenage boy was that uncaring about appearances. Terry had just laughed and agreed, saying he'd gotten enough hangups that he'd had to get rid of that one to make space for the new ones.
"And you do have your hangups, just like the rest of us, don't you?" Tim said with a small sigh. Then he grinned. "I still can't believe the guy who faced The Joker without flinching freaks out over a little spider. Anyway, I'm here to give you the latest update. Josie- you remember her, I hope- my youngest? Well, she just got a role in "The Grand Duke". She's really thrilled about it. Personally, I think that stuff's kinda boring. Bruce never could teach me to appreciate opera, though I like Gilbert & Sullivan better than Wagner. At least with them you can understand what the soprano's screeching about. But Josie's playing the Baroness, which she says is a good role. I'm taking her word for it and I guess I'll see when the show opens. Lina, my oldest, the one you haven't met, she's just started dating a guy she met in Edinburgh. Get this- he's the grandson of the Earl of Glencairn. Pretty good for a girl whose father used to be a street rat, isn't it? She says it's not a big deal, but still, an Earl, y'know? And I never knew who my grandfather was- either of 'em."
Tim chuckled. "Besides, it's always good to know as much as you can about who your kids are dating. You'll find that out for yourself someday. And I'm not as bad as Bruce- any girl who flirted with Dick got investigated more thoroughly than some of the crooks they fought. Seriously. Drove Dick nuts when he found out. He said it was just more of Bruce's efforts to control his life. It wasn't, though. Like Bruce himself said, if he'd been trying to control Dick's life that way, Dick wouldn't have been allowed to date half the girls he'd dated. He'll never admit it, but he was trying to make sure they were good enough for his son. He investigated my wife too, but he thinks I don't know. She was flattered when she found out, can you believe it? I hope you don't think you'll ever be old enough to understand women, McGinnis, because I can tell you it won't happen if you get as old as Ra's al Ghul."
Suddenly he heard a loud splat behind him, as though someone had hit the window with a water balloon. He turned to see a huge blob of black liquid seeping in around the edges of the window.
Inque. It had to be. Now he just had to figure out why, and quickly.
"Ohhhhhh.... stupid kid- what-?" Inque reformed, looking around quickly. She assessed Tim, obviously dismissing him as a threat with insulting speed. Her glance at Terry became a double-take. "I've seen him before. Cute kid- pity about the hair- oh, not you again!"
"Get out of here, you- Terry!"
Tim stared at the girl who'd just opened the window from the outside. Ten. Formerly of the Royal Flush Gang. Terry's ex-girlfriend. This was about to get ugly, he couldn't reach the call button to summon security, and he didn't think he was up to handling this on his own.
"Listen, little girl, I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't zapped me with Mommy's magic wand. Does she know you're playing with it?"
"I wouldn't have zapped you if you hadn't been trying to break into Delogu! Just because Batman's taken a vacation doesn't mean you can just come in to town and do whatever you want!"
"Oh, you think you're Batgirl now, do you? Honey, you're a thief just like me, so get over yourself."
"I'll never be like you no matter how old I get!"
Tim edged a little closer to Terry, wisely deciding to stay out of it. Inque was speechless, but Tim could almost hear her temper rising.
"Did you just call me old?"
"Well, I'm not the one with a grown-up daughter who scammed me out of all my money."
"No, you're just the one who threw away a lucrative career for a boy who-" Inque broke off, her blob of a head swivelling around to look at Terry again. Tim mentally reviewed every curse he knew, inventing new ones when he ran out. Inque laughed snidely. "So that's what this is really about! You wanted an excuse to see the boy, so you chased me in here! That's so sweet..."
"I did not!"
"And here I thought the whole star-crossed lovers thing never happened any more."
"Shut up!"
"You know, you could have just asked me to help. He is a looker, isn't he? So tell me, was he really that good?"
"Slimy tramp."
"Dippy tart."
"Ladies." The new voice was heavy with disapproval. Tim, resigned, looked back to the window to see Stalker glaring at Ten and Inque. Inque muttered something that Tim suspected he was just as happy not hearing.
"This is a hospital," Stalker continued, "and not a hunting ground. You will leave. Now."
Ten started to say something, then stopped. Stalker turned his gaze on her for a moment, then nodded.
"I will not allow further harm to come to the boy. We have future business, he and I, and I will see that day come no matter what it takes."
Her mouth opened and closed again with an audible gulping sound. After a few more seconds spent staring at Stalker, she fled. Stalker then turned his glare on Inque, who withstood it a bit longer. But not by much.
"Oh, all right," she finally huffed, leaping for the window. Reaching it, she turned to deliver one last shot. "By the way, would you drop the accent, Nigel? We both know you're from Cleveland."
She vanished. Stalker blinked, darting a look at Tim from the corner of his eyes. Turning to face Tim, he shrugged.
"Women."
"I hear you."
And Stalker vanished as well. Tim sat back down at Terry's side.
"I'm not even going to try to explain that one to Bruce," he said.
*************************************************
Charlie Bigelow smiled as he looked as the reports from his men. Business was up, and he knew why. It had been almost three weeks since the last Bat sighting. Every day that passed without a sighting was a day his men became that much braver. He'd expected the new slappers distribution ring to be busted inside a week, but it was actually getting better organized instead. Extortion was only slowly becoming more lucrative, but he knew it would take them longer than a few weeks to forget the Bat so he didn't waste time worrying about it. His men had carried out several succesful hits in a row, his gun-running operation was taking off, and without the Jokerz hassling his girls prostitution was really raking it in. Life was good.
"Hey, boss, mind if I ask you something?"
'What is it, Spike?"
His lieutenant, a burly wolf-Splicer, sat in one of the more comfortable chairs. Charlie was careful to let some of Major's best people act casual in his presence. It made them think he trusted them, which made them more likely to say things they might not want him to hear otherwise. Only Spike had been smart enough to see what Charlie was up to. He'd also figured out how Charlie had gotten to be in charge of Major's operation while Major was in jail. He'd let Charlie know that he knew, and that he approved. He'd said that if Major was dumb enough to get taken in like that, then he didn't deserve to be in charge. Spike had thrown in his lot with Charlie, and he'd been rewarded for it. He'd even trusted Charlie with the secret of his real name; Charlie had been stunned to learn that there really were parents that would do that to a kid. Ordinarily a litle thing like that wouldn't have been enough to gain Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow's trust, but when someone trusted you enough to admit that their parents had named them Spike Angel MacCarthy- and could prove it- well, that was different.
"It's two questions, actually. First is- what do you think's happened to Batman?"
"Don't know, don't care. He's gone and that's all that matters."
"Not if he's gonna come back."
"...You hadda say that, didn't you?"
Spike stretched. "Gotta make sure we're ready for anything, right?"
"Right. Okay, I'll start working on a plan for what to do if he comes back. What's the second question?"
"McGinnis."
Charlie scowled.
"He was a friend, right? So how come you ain't been out there bashin' Jokerz like everyone else?"
"Tiny was never my friend. He just wanted to be close to someone with power. Soon as he got cozy with Wayne he didn't need me anymore. Way I see it, the Jokerz did me a favor. I'd probably have had to kill him some day anyway."
"Yeah, but he's still alive."
"Big deal. I checked with one of the doctors- if he ever wakes up, he won't be able to walk. I'm not gonna waste time with a cripple."
"You got to one of his doctors?"
"Yeah. She's a real piece of work- don't care about anything but her bank account. I'm thinking of asking her to come be our private doctor."
"What if she's wrong?"
"Then I'll just kill him later. I'm not goin' anywhere."
Spike nodded. Question answered, problem solved. Business as usual could continue.
***************************************************
"-and he just looked up at me and said, 'I didn't know you could even do that with a teapot'. He never realised it was pure luck. I certainly wasn't going to tell him." Bruce gave a half-smile, remembering the Mad Hatter's expression on that particular capture. "That's something you should remember- always make them think you'd planned every aspect of their capture. After a while they start capturing themselves half the time. Of course, the other half does get that much harder, so it balances out."
Bruce checked his watch.
"I have to go now, Terry. A meeting. That's one of the things I didn't miss when I lost the company. But I'll be back later tonight. Maybe I'll even tell you how the Riddler ended up married to Veronica Vreeland by accident."
He reached for his cane, but froze with that hand in the air. It was his other hand- the one holding Terry's- that had his attention. Had he just imagined-?
"Terry- do that again!"
Nothing. Or maybe...
"Terry, please. Do it again."
This time there was no mistake. He saw Terry's hand move slightly, felt the barest increase of pressure on his own hand. Terry was waking up.
*******************************************************
Dramatic plot twist! ...or not. What, you didn't think I was going to leave him like that forever, did you?