The Joker quivered under Batman's gaze, wondering if the Bat was considering hurling him out the door, but Batman's mind was elsewhere, looking at the jammed brakes.

"Batman… you're going to have to stop the train manually."

"I know," Batman hissed. He and had Bruce had run this simulation before, but doing it on a real train, with hundreds of screaming passengers would be totally different. It had always been his worst nightmare.

"Get to the roof and establish and upload link, I'll contact Max," Bruce told him. From her computer, Max would be able to stop the train instantly, anywhere on the tracks.

"Right,"

"Hurry, if the train picks up any more speed…"
"I know!" Batman said, leaping to the roof of the train. His boots held him onto the roof tightly, but he had to reach the third car, where a central control system was. He dropped to his hands and knees and crawled forward slowly, gripping with his "claws", inching forward slowly, the wind was driving him backward, he wasn't making headway fast enough. Slag it. He got to his feet.

"Quit wasting time!" Bruce yelled at him."

"I know!" Batman yelled back. He released a grapnel and shot it into the room of the third car then let jumped down beside the train. Passengers gasped as Batman shot passed the car window, then cringed as they heard the thud of him landing. He had swooped down past the car in a wide arc, using the momentum to swing himself upward onto the third car.

Batman had crashed down hard, but managed to hold on, and crawled towards the control box. Inside, he found the correct wire, he thanked Bruce, but not out loud, for having made him run this simulation a thousand times.

"It's on,"

"Good, Max is hacking the upload link now, but you need to slow the train, it's going to halt suddenly, and the passengers…"

"I'm on it," On the last car was a manual brake, he could slow the car gradually before Max brought it to a complete stop. He prayed he could get the timing right. The cars were moving too fast, screeching around turns, threatening to toppled over, but if they stopped suddenly the passengers would be hurled forward very violently, there could be severe injures. Several news teams had taken to the sky and were swarming around watching Batman attempt the impossible.

He had to get to the last car. His grappling hook trick wouldn't work this time, it was too far. Just then he spotted an overpass. The train whirled underneath. Batman shot upward and grabbed a low hanging rail. The train raced by underneath him. He dropped, almost a second too late. He slid across the roof of the car, and just managed to hang on, dangling below the roof. He managed to pull himself upright, arms straining as the train seemed to be trying to shake it. It was rattling hard against the tracks at such high speeds. He climbed up, and crawled to the braking box, and flipped a switch.

At first there was nothing, then slowly, the train began to slow, he could feel it.

"Batman,"

"Yeah…" He panted.

"Is it?"

"It's slowing,"

"Not fast enough, you're fast approaching another train."

"What?"

"You're going to need to slow it more," Batman didn't need to ask how.

"You're going to have use the suit's enhancers," Bruce said slowly.

"Right," The enhancers had been installed several months earlier, but Batman had never activated them, they could increase the suit's strength up to tenfold, but the toll they took on his body was too much. He was training with the them, but he almost never needed them, and there was of course the danger of having too much strength.

Batman dropped holding the side of the car, and flicked on the enhancers. To the outside observer, the suit started glowing slightly red. He dropped more and let his feet hit the tracks. Then he dug his heels in, grabbing the back of the train and tried to stop it, Superman style. He knew he could only slow it a little, but with Max working as well. Seconds ticked by, his entire body was screaming now, his shoulders he felt sure were about to dislocate, then suddenly the train stopped.

Batman didn't realize and got flung forward slightly, hitting his head against the train, and then falling backwards. He lay on the tracks, watching as rescue choppers swooped in, he could barely move.

"I'm sending the Batmobile to pick you up." Bruce told him.

"Right," Batman croaked, getting to his knees as the Batmobile appeared overhead. He brought it down to his level, his arms were too weak and shaken, he couldn't even make a fist.

"I'll put it on autopilot,"

"K…" Batman said. The moment he was inside he pulled of his mask and gasped for air. The suit, that normally felt like a second skin was choking him.

"Good job Ter," he heard a voice, it was Max, she was on the vid monitor.

"Thanks," his voice was scratchy and hoarse, "you too."

"What was that?" She asked.

"Suit enhancement, a little super strength never hurt anyone." He managed a weak smile.

"'Cept you."

Terry would have shrugged but his arms hurt too much, "The passengers?"

"No injuries, but that last Joker got away." Bruce told him, abruptly cutting Max off. Slag it. Terry had totally forgotten about him. As if reading his mind, Bruce, said, "don't worry about it, you did a good job out there today."

"The guy… he mentioned something… about a she telling a he… or something…" Terry mumbled as the plane swept back towards the manor.

XxX XxX XxX XxX

Bruce was there to help him out of the plane, Terry leaned against him heavily. "I'm okay…" he rasped.

"The suit…"

"Is even stronger than we thought, I could take Superman on in that thing." Terry joked weakly.

"Are you hurt?" Bruce asked.

"I can barely move my arms, but I don't think they're injured."

"Let me give you something for the pain," Bruce helped Terry to the gurney and lay sat him on, Terry winced every time he tried to move his arms. "Are you sure you're not injured?" Bruce asked him again.

"I'm sure," Terry said, wincing as he felt a needle near his shoulder blade, then another one on the opposite side.

"That will loosen your muscles and numb your nerves for awhile, but you might not be able to feel much."

"Thanks," Terry said, already feeling the muscles in his arms relax.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

By the time Terry got home, his arms felt like jelly. He groaned as he thought about the five page English essay he was supposed to type, maybe Max would help him out.

"Hey there," Claire stepped out of the shadows, Terry cursed silently to himself. He had really been hoping to avoid her tonight. He could barely make a fist, much less throw a punch.

"Hi," Terry said, looking around nervously.

"You seem antsy,"

"Yeah… I just… my mom, I told her I'd be in early tonight."

"And you of course still listen to your mother," Claire mocked him.

"I do,"

"And here I was hoping for a little fun," She circled him, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. Terry knew her hand was there but he couldn't feel it. "You feel kind of tense to me," she told him. That was funny, he felt like melted rubber.

"Ahh… my boss had me moving a lot of heavy furniture for him to day, really took a lot out of me." He yawned to emphasize, barely able to move his arm to cover his mouth. He felt like he was holding fifty pound weights in each hand, if he knew where his hands were…

"Pathetic…" Claire circled him gain, this time running her finger along his chest. "I can think of something else we could do…" Her eyes looked up at him, glowing softly, her hair, illuminated like a halo, her lips, so soft and kissable.

"Claire… stop." He pushed her away, "you know I'm with Dana right?"

"Of course you are," she purred, "but we're hunters, one mate is never enough."

"I gotta go," Terry turned and spun on his heels, leaving Claire behind him, glaring.