Chapter 6:

Batman,

You've probably done something I am not going to approve of and you know I'll be waiting for a report the moment you make contact. Be prepared.

With that said, are you able to make contact? If you're near the cave try to access the main terminal. The suit or the car should have what you need to make contact. Don't introduce compromised equipment into the cave computer systems. There are few things you should discover first. What time are you in? Second, what dimension are you in? Assume you're in either of our past (Don't try to change anything.) Or in a parallel universe. There should be a cave with the necessary gear, and assuming you're in contact with friendlies, get access to the computer. There is a code and there should be backdated enough to get you access back to us. If it doesn't work then you'll have to wait for either Kent or the League. Don't share any details about yourself, your family, or Gotham.

Batman, look after yourself. Remember what we've discussed. It's not the name or the suit that makes you. It's what you do with it.

B.

(break)

Life is like a hurdle race, just because you get over one doesn't mean there aren't more in the way. Terry stood in front of the antique computer that for all intents was purely useless to him. The teenager ran a hand through his hair as he glared at the machine. While the current Bat-computer was entirely ahead of its fellows, it was not something he knew how to use, it'd probably be slow with results, and definitely way behind his time.

Terry paced in front of the computer looking for something he could use. "I'm looking at this wrong."

Dick Grayson leaned forward and quickly snatched the note from Terry. Quickly scanning the contents, the first Robin winced. "Hey, Terry, you can't just dial home and expect to get an answer."

"I know this is not going to be easy but I can't stay here. I want to go back home to my family, my friends, and my job… But I don't know how." Terry said as his shoulders sagged forward. Catching himself against the mainframe of the computer, the Batman of Tomorrow felt defeat barking at his heels before he had even gotten started. The damned computer virus and the experimental technology for boom tubes had seriously messed up his life plans. He really wanted to blame the League or whoever was behind that virus for this mess he was in.

"Master Terry, there is probably not a single person in this house who doesn't understand that feeling, but you can't blindly throw yourself at the situation expecting to resolve it," Alfred said as he entered the room just a few feet behind Bruce Wayne. "We'll have to come up with a way to contact the proper location in due time. As it stands…"

"As it stands Mister McGinnis, you're a teenager, even if you are a very resourceful one." Bruce interrupted. "Our technology and resources may not support this venture for several more years. You have to accept that possibility while we try to resolve this problem. Is there any way to isolate the original malfunction in the car's systems?"

Terry blinked, his mind leaving behind the threshold of panic as Bruce 'Batmanned' his way into the problem and forced the teenager to stop and actually think. "I don't know if I mentioned a virus in the car's software or not. I connected to a lot of locations back home and we were testing some new tech for…. for some allies when something went wrong. A glitch or a virus of some sort jumped in the car's mainframe and attacked the programming that controlled navigation and autopilot. You'll probably run across the information in the next few years but…"

"You're hesitant to share the information we need to know because of restrictions on the future?" Bruce asked. "What we need to know is if you're even in the right time line as you seem to think there are other dimensions."

"We can't do that without the right technology," Terry said as a reminder.

"Not necessarily. It would be slow but perhaps we can compare what you know about the future to our current time. Newspapers, dates, things like that would go a long way to telling us what we need to know." Dick said. "Another thing we can do is compare when your Bruce and our Bruce were orphaned."

Both Bats flinched, though Bruce had to conclude there was some merit in comparing the fates of his parents.

"Bruce, how old were you?" Terry asked hesitantly knowing just what he was dredging up with the question.

"Ten." he answered, stuffing his heart under the guise of Batman to keep as much emotion out of his voice as possible.

Feeling his knees weaken, the young Batman sat heavily into the chair that sat in front of the computer. "He was eight… I'm not even on the right Earth."

"Then how are you genetically related to our Bruce Wayne? There doesn't seem to be the same kind of connection between your Bruce and ours." Dick questioned, remembering the earlier revelations he had been made privy to.

"I said it before. Time travel, other dimensions, things like that have been known to happen back home. I've been trained to expect it but…" Terry answered automatically as he stared up at the three men. "But my father is Warren McGinnis. He worked for the Wayne-Powers company for a long time."

"Terry, this might be hard to accept but there is probably a reason. We just need to find out what that reason is." Bruce said, kneeling down in front of the teenager and staring him in the eyes. He was alarmed at what he was learning. Terry McGinnis was biologically his child, from another dimension or otherwise, did that mean he was going to go through the same thing the boy had? Would he be forced to leave behind his Gotham to go to Terry's? Would he be again forced to lose a family? What did all of this mean and how was it going to affect the long term length of his life? "Terry, we're going to have to experiment. Test different things until we find a way to get you back to your family."

"If we can get me home…" Terry said glumly leaning away from Bruce as the butler closed in on them.

"That's quite enough, young sirs. Perhaps a night on the town will expose some new insight." Alfred said as he rolled a tray of folded uniforms in the light. "Master Bruce, Master Dick, I do believe Master Terry needs a distraction. I will, of course, remain here and try to work something out over this puzzle." The answer was there and Alfred wondered if this was something they too were going to have to deal with. There was enough of a base that the Butler could work on contacting the other Earth while they dealt with Gotham. "Master Terry, I repurposed one of the costumes to suit your needs at this time. It is a little different but I believe until we find a way to properly keep your possessions it will do."

The dark emblem of the Batsuit Terry was used to seeing in a glass case, side by side, with the original Robin, left the teenager stunned. The familiar R symbol stood out. "Why?"

"To give you a purpose, young man. If I have read you right you are the kind of individual that does better thinking on his feet." Alfred answered, quickly moving on to explain this other suit.

The Tomorrow Knight let out a shaky, uncertain breath. "No offense, Mister Pennyworth, but I think I can make do with a few things of my own."

Bruce glanced at the dark haired teenager as he moved away to give him a chance to stand up. As an afterthought, he realized the costume alterations were completed suspiciously fast.

At a questioning look from Alfred, Bruce growled. The Butler, his former guardian, was wanting him to occupy the teenager in their custody. Terry had arrived from an unknown origin and Alfred protected the child even going so far as to obtain an identity for the child based on a few DNA tests. Dick had taken a passive role during the investigation and Terry... he didn't seem to know what he was doing.

So be it.

"Terry, you're going to borrow some of Robin's gear. I'm sure Alfred will have something for us later." Bruce ordered, removing his uniform from the trolley and heading in the direction of the shadows.

(Break)

Children had a way of surprising their elders. There was too much evidence they couldn't make sense of or explain away. Alfred, despite his obvious support for the boy, wasn't about to forget that this could be a carefully contrived plot to undo the Batman.

It was possible however that the boy was being manipulated or even outright lied to. Their enemies were numerous and outside forces were at work. There were Superman's foes, the vigilantes of Star City, and the Speedster from Central City. Any of their enemies could have decided to make Gotham and Batman a target. Rumors said there were other powerful forces at work as well. Nothing in his former line of work had taught Alfred how to manage things like this.

Setting his fingers to the keyboard Alfred began to type. Different search parameters were filled as well as a moment set aside to set the piece of paper aside for a few more copies should something unfortunate happen when he moved on to actually testing the letter.

(Break)

Tragedy. It marked every breath Bruce had taken since he was a small child. He questioned everything and rarely took others at face value. He had worked hard to become Batman yet now he was inclined to trust this boy… The teenager carried his own type of fight and seemed to know what he was doing as he drove an elbow into a thug's gut. Different things occurred to Bruce as he ducked under a desperate move designed to take his head off with a tire iron. Kicking out with his foot, the Dark Knight sent his opponent reeling into a stack of trash cans on his left. Robin ran up the left side of that same building to avoid a pincer move from the remaining thugs when Terry rolled his recent foe off his shoulder and into the sides of the two thugs attempting to corner the sidekick.

The street lamp at the entry of the alley and the two street walkers who had been watching the fight slowly showed the caped Batman to the leader of the ragtag group. Pulling the man to his feet, the Batman dragged him away from his cohorts as Terry and Robin's zip tied the others. Double checking the last of the restraints, Terry reached up to press a hand to his ear before he stopped and shook his head.

"Something wrong?" Robin asked, lifting up an eyebrow from behind his domino mask.

"It's nothing." Terry huffed, "I just forgot myself for a moment." He wasn't in his own gear, though he wore a facsimile of it. There was no sharp red emblazoned bat on his chest, nor did he wear an R for Robin. His belt was the same as Bruce's and he lacked a cape. A domino mask from Robin's gear concealed his features….

Terry had thought over actually going out like this. Only the fact he needed to be moving had kept him from saying anything about the lack of Kevlar or basic armor. His Bruce would probably have thrown him into a simulator for that. As it was, he contented himself with wearing his Neo-Gotham street clothes which had earned some rather questioning looks from the three members of the Wayne family.