Forever Bat (The final story to my Bat Trilogy)

Chapter 1: Time Flies

...

(Trigger warnings: divorce, drugs, death, abuse, etc.)

Previously on Return of Bat...

"I've decided I want to go back and live with my family. I don't want to be a part of the team anymore," I stated to everyone. The monsters stared at me in shock. Monger nodded his head. "Understandable, miss Bat. We can arrange it." I truthfully thought Monger would deny my request. I was expecting a fight, but I guess there was no need. We were free. Not prisoners anymore. The monsters didn't say anything as Monger left. A few exchanged glances, hoping someone would say something, but no one could think of anything. I decided to fill the silence gap.

"I thought about it, but after what happened at the dance-" I started. "Was not your fault. You shouldn't beat yourself up over it," Link interrupted me. Doc placed his hand on his fish friend's shoulder, silently telling Link to let me speak. Link looked over at me with sad brown eyes as he closed his mouth. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I just...I know what happened with October isn't my fault...but with my connection with John and seeing my future self get killed...I just...I don't think I can handle seeing another person die in front of me. I am not cut out for this "monsters vs aliens" situation. I'm just a teen with a lot on her plate..."

"But John has been defeated. You don't need to worry about him anymore," Susan said. Doc agreed. "Susan is right. John wont be bothering us anymore. You helped defeat him and stop his evil plans..." the scientist said.

"And you can go back to being a very tall lady," B.O.B. said but no one bothered to correct him. I sighed heavily. They didn't understand. Suddenly I felt a huge hand on my shoulder. I looked up and Link was staring down at me.

"I remember when I almost lost Insecto...It's a very painful experience. Losing someone you love, and seeing yourself die is very traumatic...we don't want to force you to stay if you don't want that...but we will miss you...and hope you will at least come and visit..." Link said. I nodded in thanks, my heart sinking in my chest. I turned away from him.

In a few hours, everything was arranged and set for my permanent departure. Everyone had come out to say their goodbyes. One by one, all the monsters came up to hug me.

Last but not least was Link. My heart was caught in my throat as I slowly shuffled up to him, looking down at my feet. He hesitated in what he was going to say. I looked up for a second before looking down at the ground again. "Goodbye, Link..." I finally said. The words were like an icepick through my heart. This was such a painful thing to do, but I knew it was never meant to be. I jumped a little when Link placed his hand on my shoulder.

"This isn't goodbye, Bat. Don't say it like we are never seeing each other again..." I kept my eyes down on the ground, not saying a word. I could feel his eyes on me. I wanted him to hug me. Hold me. I wanted him to do something. Eventually he removed his hand from my shoulder.

"Take care of yourself, Bat..." was all he said. I nodded, swallowing the lump down in my throat.

With that, I walked towards the doors. I hesitated for a second, and turned around to face my monster friends. All their eyes were on me. It tugged at my heartstrings to see the looks of sadness on their faces. I turned away before I decided to change my mind and walked out the doors...

...

9 years later...

A lot can happen in nine years. Looking back, it really felt like less. It's amazing how fast time flies...unlike me. I haven't used my wings in a long time. Got too caught up in reality, and trying to be normal. I forgot I even had them sometimes. You'd think that once you had wings you'd just use them all the time. I didn't. Felt like too much of a hassle to take my backpack off and just fly all the way across the college campus to my next class. I don't like people staring at me, or being the only one with bat features.

Yeah, I just turned twenty-six and I am in college. Little seventeen year old Bat has grown up. I have a license and my own car. My parents got divorced, so I live with my mom and sister in the same house. My dog passed away of old age. I had recently broke up with Kenneth from high school. We were together for a few years, till I found out he was cheating on me with a girl who dumped him from high school. Then I later found out he was cheating on me with multiple girls the whole time.

It's been a rough nine years, but my therapist says I'm doing a lot better these days. I'm eating better and finding more interest in things. I've been seeing a therapist since the Halloween dance incident. My therapist knows I'm a monster and doesn't judge me on the way I look. She isn't afraid of me either. Her heart rate doesn't spike up like it usually does when people see my wings in public.

Being a teenage monster was way easier then being an adult monster. I hate being an adult. Thankfully I have a family who supports me and loves me. Bat wings and all. Saying that, the last nine years hasn't all been bad.

I have made a few art friends in college, and my art career has been doing well. I've been doing commissions for people online. I have an art account on this one Art platform. This one person has been asking for commissions twice a month for the last six years. He calls himself FloridaMan54 which I can't help but to think of all those Florida Man memes. I almost want to ask him if it was a reference to the Florida Man memes or if he really did live in Florida.

He's asked me to paint Florida and California Beaches and occasionally a sunset. I wasn't good at landscapes at first, but after painting several on canvases, it has been a daily thing. My mom got concerned at first about this random stranger with all this money, but we made a deal that if he starts asking for pictures of me in my underwear or shows a dick pic, I block him immediately. Thankfully the guy hasn't, and he just keeps commissioning me. I think he's just a lonely old man who just wants to help out and talk to someone. The only thing that concerns me is that his address keeps changing every time.

I've told my therapist this and she says to not jump to conclusions and too keep a clear mind. I'm always afraid it's John or Kenneth. Ever since Kenneth dumped me, he's been driving around in a disgusting RV. I've seen it a few times down our street. We had to get a restraining order against him. He was freaking me out. I had to block him a few times on my website and other social media platforms. He was asking to get back with him again. Obviously he was not getting the hint from me not responding. He kept changing his username and pretending to be someone else.

There hasn't been any word about John. The last time I heard of him was when he was being transported to a different location from the previous hospital he was staying in. He was still in a coma. His wife filed for divorce but it has been difficult for her to divorce her husband when he was still technically alive. Hunter and his mom moved to a different state in response to the rejected divorce. I've tried staying in touch with him, but he's been dealing with his parents attempted divorce, one of his parents being a psycho, reporters and unwanted rising fame that I don't bother texting him anymore. As for John, I hope he stays in a coma and never wakes up. My therapist told me it was very dark of me to think that way, but I've told her what he has done to me and that usually makes her go quiet.

After a few sessions, I came to the logical conclusion that it wasn't Kenneth or John. Kenneth has been going through a lot of mental issues. He was taking drugs and dealing with a bad crowd. Apparently I found out from one of his ex gang friends that he stayed the night on the guy's floor since the couch was already taken up. He was so messed up on drugs that he slept with a knife under his pillow, and when one of the guys tried going to the bathroom, he slashed the guys ankles and told him to not move from his bed again. He got kicked out the next day.

Kenneth was never trustworthy. The guy couldn't hold a job even if he wanted to. There was no way Kenneth could get a good paying job with all those illegal drugs in him, and want to commission me. He was a selfish, shallow bastard. He would be wasting all that money on drugs, not me.

Also FloridaMan54 has been asking for me to paint beaches, not motorcycles or muscle cars like what Kenneth had always asked me to paint when we were together. In DMs, the Florida guy would sometimes ask how the recent commission was coming along, and how I was doing. I don't give him a lot of details about my life, just saying I've been good and what classes I'm taking for the semester. The Florida guy supports my art and tells me to keep going. I always tell him "Thank you. I really appreciate your help and support." His commissions have helped me continue my college classes and help with the mortgage for the house.

Since my dad is out of the picture, for cheating on my mom as well as being an abusive husband, my mom has had to ask for longer work hours, just to keep us all afloat. Me and my sister help as much as we can around the house. Paying for groceries, cleaning the house, and buying our own things with our own money. There was a time I had to take a break from college because we were tight on money. But ever since FloridaMan54 starting requesting commissions, we have been doing well.

My mom tells me that I can't rely on this rich Florida guy forever and that I will need to eventually find a job. I already know and have been trying to find one online. California has become harder and harder for residents to live in. With the drought, constant houses and apartments being built, gas prices, college debt, etc; it hasn't been easy.

I've been so busy with classes, projects, job hunting, cleaning the house, self healing, etc, I haven't really kept in touch with a lot of my friends. Human friends and monster friends. The only times I know how my monster friends are doing is on the news: Monsters Save New York from alien Robot invasion. Monsters Stop Alien Invasion in Nebraska. Monsters vs Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space. Monsters vs Zombie Carrots. You'd think that aliens would get the idea that Earth is not a planet to mess with; but they keep on coming.

Back in 2013, there was a reality tv show of the Monsters where Monger and the Government allowed aliens into the base. It was literally called Monsters vs Aliens. I was almost afraid it was going to be like one of those survival shows where they are on teams and have to destroy each other until one is left standing. Thankfully it wasn't like that, but there were times where Team Alien was doing something to Team Monster.

There was four aliens that were allowed into the base. A female warrior and her steed. An evil old one who floated around in a chair, and a young one just there for a school project on Earth. It only lasted a season. Nowadays, I have no idea how my monster friends are doing when they aren't fighting aliens or looking for other monsters to recruit to the team. There was a werewolf for a while, but apparently he didn't stay very long.

People stopped questioning what happened to the cyborg vampire aka, Future Bat. A few monster enthusiasts have tried figuring out what happened to her. Some say she sacrificed herself to save the monsters. Others say she was part of a conspiracy. In some cases, they weren't too far off. My therapist has told me that it was a difficult subject to talk about since she's never had to deal with someone who had "Future Self Death Trauma" (FSDT) as she calls it. I wouldn't be surprised if she was already writing a book on it.

She can only compare it to losing a loved one; like when I lost October. It took nine years, but I am now doing a lot better. Her treatments and practices have really helped me back on my feet. I've been able to sleep better and live a better life as an adult monster. I thought my life was finally changing for the better and I would remain living this normal life till the end of my days.

That was until I got a visit from an old friend...