DLBot2016: Well... it's been a while hasn't it?
Omarnosian10: A while? It's been 6 years since the first chapter was uploaded!
DLBot2016: Yeah sorry folks... real life can be a bitch some times but I hope that going forward we can make more progress in writing.
Chapter 2: Recklessness and Resolve
(First Person POV)
Terry and I walked Bruce over to a nearby chair in the room and sat him down in it.
Man… I can't believe I'm inside THE Wayne Manor right now.
I made my way to a nearby couch and leaned back after still being exhausted from my fight with the Stingfish Orphnoch.
Terry stood a few feet in front of the couch with his arms crossed as Wayne walked over and sat in a chair close by. The two looked at me probably wanting explanations of what had just happened a few minutes ago.
"So… where do I start?" I asked as I sat up straight and glanced over at the two.
"How about explaining what the heck that big white monster was that one of the Jokerz turned into!?" Terry answered.
"That… was an Orphnoch," I replied as I stared at Terry and Wayne.
"An Orph—what?" Terry questioned, confused.
"An Orphnoch. A monster that claims to be the next stage of human evolution." I responded.
"Why was this 'Orphnoch' after your belt?" Wayne inquired.
"Because… that belt is the only thing that could hurt him… and the rest of his kind." I retorted.
"Wait the rest of his kind? You mean there are more of those freaks out there!?" Terry exclaimed.
"I'm afraid so. This belt is the Faiz Belt. A device that lets the user change into Kamen Rider Faiz." I nodded sadly.
"Kamen—what?" Terry asked confusedly
"Kamen Rider. Kamen means 'masked' in Japanese. And the rider refers to them as riding a vehicle of some kind. Like a motorcycle. " Wayne explained.
I slowly nod in confirmation. "Uh, yeah, that's right. Though Faiz wasn't the first Kamen Rider, that story can wait for now. But Kamen Riders have always been heroes that fought to protect the innocent regardless of the stakes or odds. Be it either someone they care about getting injured by the rider's enemy, or even dying at the hands of them. Hell, sometimes they have their own lives to save the innocent or even give up their own humanity too." I cited scenarios that a rider could go through.
"Schway…" Terry uttered in awe. Ugh, I really hate when shows set in the future try to come up with a new slang term or lingo. It usually sounds stupid. But for Batman Beyond I'm willing to give it a pass.
"So… how did this belt come to be in your possession Mr…?" Wayne wondered as he stroked his hand under his chin pondering.
"Drake. Drake Matthews, Mr. Wayne. And to be honest I just bought this thing thinking it was just a hunk of junk and that the stories and rumors I heard about it were phony. Boy was I wrong." I half lied to the man. I doubt he would buy it, but the last thing I need is Terry keeping his distance from both me and Bruce. I have to make sure not to cause too many butterfly effects. After my explanation, Bruce raised his eyebrows and gave me a look that said 'I can tell part of that is a lie and you know it.' Terry on the other hand bought the story completely. Thank Fruit Jesus (Kouta) for that.
"So… if these 'Orphnoches' are such a big issue, why not call in the military or something?" Terry wondered with Bruce rolling his eyes and me facepalming in reaction.
"Terry… have you ever seen a monster movie? 9 out of 10 how useful were the military in those?" I questioned him hoping he would get the point.
"Uhhhh… not that useful?" Terry guessed shrugging.
"Bingo. Not only that, but it could lead to an all-out war and nobody wants that." I elaborated to the young teen.
"Mr. Matthews makes a valid point—Ack! Ugh!" Wayne agreed before he held his chest in pain, fell out of his chair, and began coughing.
"Mr. Wayne!" Terry and I both shouted in fear.
"M—my medicine… in the cabinet… top-shelf… white cap… *cough*" Bruce explained while still in pain.
"Terry go get the medicine I'll help Mr. Wayne up!" I quickly ordered as I ran over to the man and put his arm around my shoulder. Meanwhile, Terry ran to the medicine cabinet and looked for the bottle Wayne needed once he did so he ran over to the kitchen we passed by on our way to this room of the manor. As he was doing that I managed to help Bruce up and sit him back in his chair.
"T—thank you, Mr. Matthews…" Wayne weakly thanked with a slight smile on his face.
"It's not a problem at all Mr. Wayne, considering you helped me and Terry out earlier. I'd say this is a good way to return the favor." I replied with a slight smile of my own as Terry soon arrived back with a glass of water and the medicine.
"I'm back. The pills were right where you said." Terry said as he handed Bruce the pill and glass of water. Once within arm's reach, he immediately grabbed the glass and pill from Terry. Then a mere moment later he put the pill into his mouth and chugged down the water in the glass. Finally, he appeared to be getting very drowsy.
Well, that was a close call. Not how it happened in the series, but close enough. Terry then began to speak up again.
"Well then, I guess you're gonna rest now, huh? You go right ahead. My dad's probably already waitin' for me anyway." Terry spoke aloud to Wayne even if he wasn't going to get a response.
And Dad? Oh. Ohhhh… that's right… Terry lost his Dad this night too… poor guy. I know that it helps shape who he is as Batman. But still, I can't even imagine what I'd do without my Dad in my own life. *sighs* He's probably worried sick about me and Mom too. Dang it, now I miss them both. And now I'm shedding a tear. No, no Drake. Push that thought aside and keep going for now.
"Drake? Dude you okay?" Terry asked in concern as he noticed my single tear as he put a hand on my shoulder.
"Uh y—yeah I'm fine Terry it's just…well I'm a long way from home and…I don't really have anywhere to live for time being that's all." I deluded him slightly. I mean I was lying about why I shed the tear, but it was true that at the moment I was homeless.
"Oh…dude I'm sorry. Hmmm…tell you what? Why don't you crash at my house for now?" Terry suggested it to me. Which had me in total shock. True the dude's a nice guy, but we had literally first met hours ago.
"R-Really? Are you sure? I-I don't want to intrude or be a bother really-" I attempted to respond before Terry raises his other hand to signal me to stop.
"Dude it's fine. Heck, I owe it to ya after saving me and Grandpa here from that Orphe-whatever, helping me fight off those Jokerz and more importantly making sure they didn't hurt Dana. After all that, dude you've more than earned it." Terry finished before smiling.
"I…I guess you're right…thanks, Terry. I appreciate it." I spoke back with gratitude in my voice.
"Anyway, Drake and I will just let ourselves out. It was nice meeting you Mr.-" Terry attempted to redirect the conversation before looking back at Bruce as he was now snoring and asleep.
Terry soon started to walk out of the room and towards the front door as I quickly followed him. Though I feel like something was supposed to keep Terry inside
He reached for the doorknob and attempted to open the door slightly.
"*RUFF!* *RUFF RUFF!*" a black hound barked in anger. Said hound being Ace; Batman's trusted dog companion.
"Ah! Nice doggie! Nice doggie!" I pleaded in fear while intimidated by the bat hound before Terry quickly closed the door.
"On second thought…maybe I should give my dad a call," Terry advised, clearly fearful of the dog too.
"Good plan." I agreed as I nodded and gave a thumbs up to his idea.
Terry then walked over to a nearby table that had a dial-up phone on it and picked it up. Heh. A futuristic timeline and they still haven't mastered touchscreens. Some future. Then again, flying cars are a thing, so…
"Here's where I'm grounded for life," Terry uttered as he held the phone to his face and started to dial up the numbers to call his dad.
However before he could do so, a screech could be heard from behind. I pointed out the bat trapped inside the grandfather clock to Terry. He then turned around and spoke.
"A bat? I'll get you out of there just don't bite me. Drake, help me out here." Terry told me. I walked over to help him get the clock open. But once we did get it open, it revealed a stairway inside that the bat flew into.
Naturally, we both followed it down the stairwell until we reached an entryway. To the left corner of the entryway was a light switch. Once Terry flipped it on, spotlights activated one by one. The first revealed the classic Batmobile, the second revealed the Batwing and the third revealed the Bat computer. We had finally reached the coolest headquarters in superhero history. The Batcave. In that instant, Terry and I only spoke one word.
"Whoa…" We both uttered in astonishment. As screeching could still be heard we walked down the stairwell (well I did all the way Terry just jumped to the side of it).
Upon Terry's landing, he was surprised as the Batman Beyond suit lighted up inside its domed glass display case along with 4 others costumes as well. I could mentally name them all down the line first was Nightwing's costume, then Batgirl's after that Robin's and finally to end it off the classic black and gray costume of the Batman. Terry smiled now getting the picture.
"Jeez…no wonder he could fight…" Terry realized as he reached for the costume only to get hit from behind by someone and landing on his back. Once he stood up the attacker was revealed to be Bruce as he pointed his cane at Terry menacingly. Immediately after he began looking at me with the same look. I made the smart choice and held my hands up in defense and backed away slowly.
"M-mr. Wayne, we didn't mean to intrude. Terry was just trying to help a bat get out of a grandfather clock and then—" I began to try and explain before Bruce grabbed me by the collar and pushed me to the ground. Afterward, he tossed my backpack with both the case and Faiz belt in it. Finally, he raised his cane menacingly as he looked down at Terry and me.
"GET OUT!" Wayne commanded as bats flew behind him.
Timeskip (a few minutes later)
Terry and I had been 'escorted' out by Ace until we reached the gates out of the manor.
"Alright, we're going! It's not like we did anything wrong!" Terry complained as the last lights to Wayne Manor turned off. "Freak," Terry commented as he began to walk away with me following close behind him.
Along the way, Terry and I talked to each with basic conversations as Terry asked what my folks were like.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Your mom is a middle school teacher who also does work with NASA?" Terry gawked and I smiled in response.
"Yep, it's true. She's even able to let her students ask questions to astronauts IN the classroom." I explained.
"Okay… that's awesome. Definitely sounds cooler than what my mom does. Oh! We're almost at my house. Now Drake, remember let me do all the talking. Okay?" Terry said as we were approaching his house.
"Got it." I nodded.
As we reached Terry's house however we saw that there were police cars and officers outside the house. Terry's expression changed to that of worry as he ran into the house. I quickly ran in after him and once inside we saw the walls lined with green spray-painted squiggly lines around the words 'HA HA HA!' in bright orange.
"Dad? Oh my god…" Terry said in fear as he and I walked up the stairs until we encountered several officers and a redheaded older woman speaking with one officer. This is Mary McGinnis, Terry's Mom.
Terry ran over to his mom who showed relief and hugged him as he reached her.
"Terry! You're ok." Mary responded before noticing me and looking at Terry confused. "Terry, who is this?" She questioned looking at me. I decided to step forward as I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.
"Uh, Drake Matthews ma'am. I, um, helped Terry out earlier tonight." I answered the woman.
"Oh, well thank you for that Mr. Matthews—" Mary began to thank me before Terry tried to get more information on what was going on.
"Mom, what happened?" Terry asked as he looked at her with concern.
"A robbery. The police say it was the Jokerz. They surprised your father…" Mary replied with sadness in her voice.
"Where is he? Where's Dad?" Terry questioned as while the answer should have been clear to him, he didn't want to believe it. Who could blame the guy?
"Honey I—" His mother started before Terry darted past her and shoved the two officers blocking his way aside.
"DAD? DAD!" Terry cried out as he entered the other room blocked off to him formerly.
I chose to say nothing else and remain silent as I looked down at the ground in sadness.
XXX
With that came a funeral that I stayed out of since I barely know the guy aside from a few details from the show and it isn't right for a stranger to be there, even if it's a friend of the deceased's son. Fortunately, it took a bit of convincing, but Terry managed to get me into his mother's couch after a LOT of de-Jokering.
"McGinnis leaves behind two sons, seen here with his former wife, Mary." Which brings us to a day or so after (I lost track of time), when I'm helping Terry move his stuff to his mom's place and where I'm listening to the news while unpacking utensils. "Among the mourners was McGinnis' employer, Derek Powers."
"Grrr…" Lowly growling, I glanced at the screen.
"I pledge to use whatever influence I have to see that these… creatures pay for their heinous act." Upon hearing that, I mentally scowled.
Yeah right, you power-hungry douche-bag.
Being the one closest to the remote and having finished unpacking for now, I grabbed it and muted the screen.
"It was about Dad." Matt sighed sadly.
"I know, hun." Mary nods in solemn agreement. "Why don't you get ready for bed, OK?" Mary asks as Matt stands up.
"OK." Matt looks down in sadness as he goes towards his room.
"Mrs. McGinnis, do you mind if I stay up to watch the local news a little longer?" I politely requested. Mary nods in reply before she yawns and leaves, most likely for her canon talk with Terry. Making sure that I'm alone, I un-mute the TV.
"Wayne Powers is proud to announce that there is the possibility of us partnering with another company. While I can't give away the details, I can tell you that if all goes according to plan, Neo Gotham will be in for quite a few surprises." Derrick Powers boasted.
"Hmmm… what are you up to, Powers?" I pondered to myself since that never happened in canon.
XXX
Unlike last time, I managed to keep track and found the next part of Rebirth to be around two days later when this happened…
"I'm getting the door, Terry!" I called out as I opened the door for him.
"Thanks." Terry got in with two boxloads marked 'Warren'… with the top starting to wobble and fall.
"WHOA!" It almost hit the floor if I hadn't caught it in time.
"Great, just what I wanted." As if the universe was messing with me, a picture of Terry's dad slid out from the box and cracked; the only thing to slip out unlike in canon. "I'll get it…" Sighing, Terry did so, only to frown deeper while feeling around the frame.
"What is it?" I asked. He ignored me, flipping the frame to show a disc drive forced into the back.
"What the…" Concerned, he and I brought the boxes to his old/new room before he inserted the disc into a computer that I helped to set up.
"'In the event of my death or disappearance'." Terry and I read in sync, briefly glancing at each other before the former scrolled down the page. Seeing this up close rather than on a screen is rather terrifying.
"I'm no chem wiz, but this is bad, right?" I asked Terry, earning a nod from him before he gained a look of curiosity.
"Wait a minute." Terry scrolls to the top and points at the heading. "Why does it say 'my' instead of my dad's full name?"
I shrugged before pretending to know. "Because it wasn't his?" I asked uneasily.
Terry cupped his chin. "Maybe, and the last time I held that frame was before we had that argument." Terry realizes something before he smacks his head. "Stupid."
"What?" I asked 'dumbly' as Terry removed the disc from his laptop and put it in a case.
"Come on." Terry stands up and walks to the door. "We're going to get some answers."
"From who?"
XXX
"Un—****—believable," I muttered in false surprise as Dana parks us in front of the Wayne Manor.
"If you just keep on this road, it curves back to the freeway," Terry informed Dana.
"I can't leave you out here." Dana looks between us in concern.
Terry smiles at Dana reassuringly. "Sure you can. We just have to see this guy." And right on cue, lightning booms across the mansion.
"About what?" Dana asks as me and Terry get out of the car.
"I'll explain later. You better go before the storm hits." Terry warned Dana while going to the gates.
"Don't worry, you'll be back to your love fest with Terry in no time." I teased the future couple in good nature, earning blushes from them. Not wanting to be embarrassed any further, Dana drove away.
Sighing, Terry activates the speaker. "Come on, I know you're in there! Listen to me! Something stinks in your company! I think it cost my old man his life!" Terry yelled into the speaker before taking the disc out. "The answer's on this! I'd take it to the cops, but you know how cozy they are with Powers!"
"I had my thoughts," Bruce commented… from behind us.
"JESUS CHRIST/HOLY ****!" Terry and I jumped back, hands over our rapidly beating hearts. I'm normally not one to swear, but going through what Gordon did on a weekly basis can do that to a person.
Ignoring our frightened states, Bruce opened the gates. "I was taking an evening stroll when I overheard your plight," Bruce explained as he entered. "You coming?" Snapping out of our fright, Terry and I hastily followed.
XXX
"It's worse than I thought," Wayne commented, all three of us now at the Batcave looking at the bat-computer. "It's some kind of new DNA mutagen. Powers is making nerve gas. He's using my company to make nerve gas." Wayne commented as he looked at the data.
"It's despicable! That company should exist for making peaceful inventions. Not weapons for starting a freaking nuclear arms race!" I shouted.
"My sentiments exactly—Stay away from that." Bruce began to reply before ordering Terry to stay away from the Batman Beyond suit.
"Synaptic controls, neuromuscular amplification, flight capability. This thing might be old, but it's still cutting edge. That and it amplifies your strength by at least 10 to 1." Terry complimented as he stood near the suit.
"I told you not to touch it!" Wayne demanded
"But, aren't you gonna go—" Terry began to inquire.
"No!" Bruce quickly replied.
"You built that company and now Powers is making nerve gas there! You gotta do something! You're Batman." Terry ranted.
"Besides, don't you have connections with heroes like Superman or such? Why can't you give them a call or something!" I joined in on Terry's ranting, curious on why he hadn't done that in the show.
"They're busy right now, and I was Batman. That's all in the past. Give this to commissioner Barbara Gordon. Tell her, I sent you." Wayne replied before ejecting the disk and giving it to Terry.
"The cops? They'll never be able to—" Terry tried to reply.
"Do it!" Bruce demanded
"Something happened to you, didn't it? And it was just that; you got old." Terry responded by taking the disk and started leaving the Batcave. I began to follow after him before Bruce grabbed my arm.
"I know your secret," Bruce claimed.
"Uh secret, um, what secret?" I wondered as I scratched the back of my head nervously.
"That you're not from this dimension. I looked up your name, Drake Matthews, and analyzed your fingerprints from upstairs. There are NO records of you anywhere; no birth certificate, no parental or legal guardian ownership papers, nothing." Bruce explained as he looked me dead in the eyes. "At first, I thought you were from a different time since the contents in your bag were outdated until I searched for any quantum anomalies that occurred. Only a dimensional one was detected, and right around the time you appeared too." That shocked me. I knew he would find out how out of place I am, but for him to learn about my out-of-world origins?
DC's right, he is the MULTIVERSE'S Greatest Detective.
"*sighs* Okay fine. You've got me. I'm not from this dimension, but I didn't ask to come here! I got sucked into some kind of portal that brought me here. And… I don't know how to get back Mr. Wayne…" I elaborated.
"…does McGinnis know—" Wayne started to question.
"Of course not! He'd think I was crazy if I told him that! Look I just…I just want to go home ****it! I never wanted any part in ANY of this!" I broke down as I began to fall to my knees and cry a little.
"Then why bother picking up that belt to begin with? Why not just throw it away? Give it to someone else?" Bruce asked.
"Because right now there is no one else! No one knows how dangerous those Orphnoch are except me! So right now I'm the only one who can protect people from them? Am I scared? Oh hell yeah! But I need to do the right thing. You should do the same too, if not…you'd be disappointing Tim and Dick with how low you've fallen…" I said as I walked away slowly leaving Wayne shocked at my words.
XXX
"Hey Terry, wait up!" I called out, catching up.
"Drake… oh, sorry for leaving you there, man." Terry slowed down, realizing he forgot to wait for me.
"Eh, water under the bridge." I waved off while we reached a crosswalk. Suddenly…
"Hello, Terry! Ever had a ride in a limo?" Powers said as his limo drove by and the window rolled down to reveal his face. Ugh, I hated this douchebag and I still do.
"My dad always told me to never take rides from strangers," Terry replied as he and I kept walking.
"Who's a stranger? Besides, your dad's not around anymore. Heck, I'd be willing to let your friend ride along too." Powers responded.
"Yeah, I'm gonna say that not just no, but hell no. Have a nice day." I said as Terry and I began to continue avoiding the limo until Mr. Fixx (how'd he sneak up on us?) grabbed Terry.
"Let go of me! What are you doin'? You some kinda sicko? Help! Help!" Terry cried out.
"Hey put him down you jerk!" I said as I charged at Mr. Fixx only for Derrick Powers to step out in front of me and point a gun at my head. I reluctantly put my hands up in defeat groaning as well.
"That won't do you any good, Terry. Why don't you make it easy on yourself and give me back my disc?" Powers demanded.
"What disc?" Terry asked coyly.
"You know what I'm talking about. Or maybe you require the right motivation." Derrick commented looking at me and loading his gun that was still pointed at my forehead.
"Wait, don't! *sighs* All right. But only if you put the gun away and he lets go." Terry gave in as he made his own demands in this deal.
In response, Mr. Fixx let go of Terry and Powers put away his gun before shoving me towards Terry.
"Happy?" Terry questioned with sarcasm as he handed the disk to Powers as he grabbed me and the two of us jumped off the bridge to getaway.
Mr. Fixx attempted to go after us but Powers stopped him.
"Enough! Well, at least I've got the evidence." Derrick gloated in victory.
XXX
"Well, that could have gone a lot better," I commented, sighing a little.
"Dude look I know what you're gonna say, just don't worry about it okay? Powers played dirty and got the drop on you. There was nothing you could do." Terry assured me as he put his hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks, Terry, but still now they have the disk and we can't go to the police without any evidence," I responded.
"I know. Someone needs to stop Powers. Hmmm…" Terry ponders gaining a smile on his face that meant he was plotting something.
"Terry…? What are you thinking?" I wondered in confusion and worry.
"I have an idea… but Drake, look man if you don't want to get any more involved than you already are in this then—" Terry began to offer me.
"I'm gonna stop you right there Terry, if you are planning on doing something about the gas Powers is making I'm willing to help out however I can," I replied to the young soon-to-be Knight of Tomorrow.
"Dude…thanks. We'll meet at Gotham Central Park in an hour. And if you can bring that Faiz thing with you. Might come in handy." Terry said as he began to run away.
"What you have planned is gonna either be very cool or very reckless isn't it!?" I shouted to the teen.
"Actually, it could be considered both!" Terry shouted back before completely leaving my sight.
Having nothing better to do (along with not knowing where Central Park is), I went back to Terry's place and picked up the Faiz Gear and a map, using the latter to get to Central Park.
Fortunately, it's not too far and I managed to get there with a few minutes to spare.
I looked around and at the case with Faiz gear and I started to ask myself a question.
"What the hell am I even doing? I'm not cut out for this! I don't have professional martial arts training or hacking skills. I'm not ready for this! I haven't trained for being a rider at all! One wrong move could get other people killed… or me even…" I realized aloud as the current weight of this situation dawned on me.
Slowly my grip on the case for the Faiz gear loosened and I looked down at the ground for a moment before sighing.
"Maybe… maybe Bruce was right… maybe I should let someone else use this belt… they'd probably be more qualified than me…" I wondered aloud before walking over to a tree and gently setting the case in front of it. Not long after I started to walk away from the tree, but once I was a few feet away I heard someone call out to me.
"Oi! Excuse me young man but I think you dropped this." An old man walked up to me looking to be in his 60s as he held out the case to me.
"Oh, uh, I appreciate the sentiment sir but… I don't think I should be the one to own whatever is in that case anymore…" I explained as I looked away from the old man slightly.
"Really now? And why's that…?" The old man inquired in response.
"The item that's in there requires me to take on this job… a job that… that wasn't really meant for me… I've never been trained for it… nor do I think I'm ready to accept the responsibility attached to it…" I vaguely elaborated to the old man as I looked back at him.
"I see… and who was the last person you know who worked this same job… were they trained and meant to accept it?" The old man questioned with a smirk on his face.
"His name was… Takumi and he…" I began to answer the old man but hesitated while thinking about what I was about to say.
"Well…?" The old man wondered while still smirking.
"He…wasn't… it was just thrown at him out of the blue when he wanted no part in any of it… not only was he not trained…he didn't even want to fight the—uh, the challenges at work! And the job was…never even meant for him…" I continued to speak, though trying my best to continue keeping the job in question vague. While at the same time, the old man made me realize something with that question.
"Hmmm… sounds like this job of yours isn't as difficult as you think it is… seems like all you have to do is grab onto the opportunity presented to you." The old man said as he looked up at the moon before reaching out and trying to grab it.
"But sir… if I mess up… people could get hurt…" I replied to the old man looking him in the eyes to emphasize how serious this was. However, all he did was smile and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Listen… all you can do is give it your best. And if you make a mistake and someone gets hurt? Learn from it so it doesn't happen again. Mistakes are how we grow and mature as people after all." The old man said, imparting words of wisdom to me before handing me the case again.
"You're… you're right. Thank you, sir! I'll do the best I can at this job and make those who came before me proud!" I proclaimed triumphantly as I looked up at the night sky and raised my fist into the air.
"Heh. That's the spirit! Who knows you might already be making one of them proud." The old man reassured me smirking again.
"Why… do you say that sir…?" I pondered as I tilted my head while looking at him.
"Just call it a hunch. Anyway, I better be going. A guy like me shouldn't be out so late. Take care for now young man." The old man vaguely answered before taking his hand off of my shoulder and turning around to leave.
After watching the old man leave, curious about him, I was surprised by the next thing that happened.
"Boo." I heard a voice say into my ear.
"AHH!" I scream in surprise and fear before turning around and seeing Terry in the Batman Beyond suit holding his chest and having a fit of laughter.
"Hahaha! You should have seen the look on your face! Priceless!" Terry rubbed in.
"T—Terry?! Is that you?!" I pretended to be surprised.
"Yep. I think it's a pretty good fit, don't you?" Terry commented.
"…You stole that from the Batcave, didn't you?" I questioned the now black/red-clad hero.
"Yup." Terry replied as he had a smile on his face. What is he, the DCAU's Jason Todd?
…Wait, does he, or Red Hood exist here? Questions for later.
"…Dude you stole from freaking Batman. When Wayne finds out about this he is gonna be VERY angry and I pray for you that whatever punishment he gives you for stealing the suit is at least merciful." I said as I looked at Terry.
"Psh. Come on, he's an old man, what's he gonna do, bore me to death?" Terry snarked at my response.
"Okay, when that happens I have full reign to say 'I told you so'," I replied.
"Noted. Anyway, suit up yourself, and let's go pay Mr. Powers a visit." Terry ordered as he cracked his knuckles.
"Right right." I spoke as I equipped the Faiz belt before taking out the phone and dialing '555'.
STANDING BY!
"Henshin!" I shouted as I folded the phone up, put it into the slot of the buckle, and then flipped it down, resulting in me gaining the armor and becoming Kamen Rider Faiz once more.
COMPLETE!
"Wait, how are we gonna get to Powers?" I suddenly thought out loud. "This suit doesn't come with a jetpack."
…I suddenly don't like the grin on his face.
XXX
"YOU SON OF A ************************************************!" I yelled at the current Batman as he held me upside down by the boots while flying to the building. It's a miracle that no one is outdoors right now or I'm not vomiting in the helmet.
"Calm down, dude. It's not like I'm gonna drop you." Terry reassured me before we both arrived at the side of the building with him landing slowly before tossing me up in the air for a moment.
"W—whoaaa!" I exclaimed while descending and thankfully gripping the side of the building and slowly climbing up. After that, I was breathing heavily and my heart was pounding like a snare drum. Once I regained my composure I gave Terry a look under my helmet that I made sure he could figure out.
Terry held his fingertips to the window for a moment before looking at me and noticing the look I was giving him.
"What?" Terry wondered in confusion as he looked at me.
"Dude…NEVER. Do that. Again." I started as I crossed my arms.
Sighing, Terry held his fingertips against the building while using the other hand to pinch his ear.
"I trust the film puts to rest every lingering doubt, Mr. Egans." Douchebag's voice came out of the 'ears' for me to listen. Must be a speaker. "As you can see, the results are the same. Even with animals."
"And humans? You've tested it on them, too?" The European accent of Mr. Egans is as thick as a fog.
"The laws here aren't as liberal about that sort of thing as they are in your country, but we did have a little accident." I'm so glad I'm not looking into the window right now cause there's a chance I might compromise the mission. "One of my workers. Terrible thing. It was a gas leak in his lab. This is what he looked like the next day… Two hours later… An hour after that…"
"…" Judging by the small break of static, Terry's in the same boat as me.
"There is no cure?" Note to self; research this Egans guy.
"Extreme heat or radiation, but at this stage, it's obviously not an option…" Additional note; check if Firestorm is present in this universe on the off-chance we fail. "Dust to dust… Consider what a real dose of this gas could do to those six armored divisions, your neighbors keep on your border. Gone. In a matter of hours."
"Delivery? It's in progress?" Mr. Egans asked.
"My men are loading the canisters as we speak. They leave tonight on hover transport. My assistant, Mr. Fixx, will personally supervise the shipment." Powers answered.
"Excellent. Goodbye, Mr. Powers. I will see you again soon." Mr. Egans said, being heard walking off.
"Yes, soon! Anyway, Mr. Yuji onto the business between the two of us!" Derrick said. Wait, this never happened in the cartoon!
Ignorant of my surprise, Terry continued to listen in on the businessman and his other associate. Curious, I quietly snuck by, glancing into the window to see someone replace that Kaznian guy.
"I must say the device brought for the demonstration impressed me very much, Mr. Yuji." Powers complimented the man in the shades. Yuji… hmmm… where have I heard that name before?
"Thank you, Mr. Powers, so I'm assuming that you'll be agreeing to our companies having a partnership?" Mr. Yuji questioned as he extended his hand out to Derrick Powers.
"Of course! I'll be making an official announcement about it tomorrow." Powers accepted as he shook Yuji's hand.
"Excellent. And not to worry I shall remain behind to ensure no harm or theft comes to the cargo." Yuji said as he broke the handshake.
"Wonderful! I can see why they nominated you to be their representative. I think your company, as well as mine, will get along just fine." Derrick commented with glee.
"I believe so too Mr. Powers. Anyway, I better go check on the merchandise real quick. If you'll excuse me." Mr. Yuji responded before bowing slightly and leaving the room.
"Such a polite young man… Mr. Fixx, any sign of the kid and his friend yet?" Powers questioned as he looked at Mr. Fixx.
"Not yet, but they're still looking." Mr. Fixx answered.
"Grrr! I don't have to tell you how important this deal is to Wayne-Powers! It's going to open the entire eastern block for us, so I don't need it spoiled by any snot-nosed punks!" Derrick shouted.
"Relax after all I took care of McGinnis's old man, didn't I?" Mr. Fixx replied coyly.
I could hear Terry growling slightly as he clenched his fist in anger over this revelation.
"Little early for Halloween." Terry and I look behind us to see a bunch of guards with their rifles aimed at us.
"But just in time for Fall." Terry taunted deeply, leaping and flying off the edge… leaving me in their fire.
"OH ****!" I followed his lead except for the flying part, which he helped by grabbing my pits and guiding us down the ground floor.
"Hit the alarms!" We heard a guard shout before we landed. Spotting a warehouse, I guided Terry there, letting some guards pass by. Just as I reached for the Phone to get some cheap shots…
"Batman? Faiz? McGinnis? Matthews? Can either of you hear me?" I heard a voice from inside my helmet say.
"H—huh?" I responded in confusion.
"Who—Who's that?" Terry questioned
"It's Wayne." The voice revealed.
"Mr. Wayne? Where are you?" Terry pondered aloud.
"I think he's communicating via long-distance audio transmission." I hypothesized in response.
"You're correct on that guess, Matthews. I'm contacting you on the radio receiver in your mask, McGinnis." Bruce clarified.
"Which makes sense given it's your suit, but how are you doing that with the Faiz armor?" I asked, unsure of the answer this time.
"The batcomputer scanned your suit when you fought that Orphnoch the first time. The scans revealed a com-link that's built into your armor's helmet." Wayne explained.
"Wait really?! Wow that is cool… Did it find any other features besides that?" I began to try and inquire Bruce.
"Yes, but that's not important at the moment. Now, listen to me, McGinnis. I want that suit back and I want it now." Wayne demanded.
"Now is not a good time," Terry commented as he and I tried to hide from the guards.
"That suit is not yours! You had no right!" Bruce angrily reminded Terry. Epilogue might say something different about that.
"Somebody had to do something. You sure weren't about to." Terry responded.
"Yeah besides Powers stole the disk back from me and Terry so we had nothing to go to the cops with," I added to the conversation since he didn't know that in canon.
"I'm warning you…" Wayne threatened. Well, it didn't hurt to try.
"Ugh dammit I can't hide well, this suit in the dark makes me as visible as a flashlight!" I complained in irritation.
"You do know your suit has magnetic boots, right?" Bruce questioned me.
"It does? Oh, that is cool!" I responded, making sure to whisper.
"You hide on the ceiling, I'll think of something else. Ready and… break!" Terry stated as I ran over to a corner of the room that didn't have any guards nearby. I stretched my left leg and boot to the wall and watched it attach to the metal wall as well.
"Yes!" I said in triumph before placing my other foot on the wall and slowly walking up the wall like I was Spider-Man. Soon I ended up on the ceiling looking down at Terry as he was starting to fight off some of the guards.
"This suit works even better than I thought it would." Terry complimented.
"This is your last chance. Better take it." Wayne warned once again.
"No, thanks. Havin' too much fun." Terry ignored him nonchalantly.
"Fun, huh?" Bruce said smugly.
"He's mine!" One guard commented as he walked over to Terry before his suit started surging with electricity for a moment before he stood in a pose.
"Hey, I can't move. What did you do?" Terry realized.
"It's a fail-safe device. Paralyzes the suit. In case the wrong person gets into it." Wayne explained to Terry. And it was at this moment Terry realized…he ****ed up.
"But, you can't." Terry pleaded to the suit's owner.
"I just did," Bruce stated.
"Hey! Hey! Come on!" Terry pleaded as he tried to move the suit but to no avail.
"Hey, I did tell you he'd get you back for stealing the suit didn't I?" I responded in a snarky tone.
"Oh shut up and get down here! You gotta help me!" Terry snapped back at me while he was getting beat up by the guards.
"Right? Uh, how do I do that?" I tried to get down to the floor but my boots are magnetically stuck to the ceiling. I tried to pull my boot off the ceiling only to fail. Is this how all Spider-Men felt when first receiving their powers?
"Dude! Anytime now! Agh!" Terry stated while continuing to get beat up.
"Ugh! Dammit, I'm stuck! Wayne, how do I turn off the magnets in the boots?" I asked the elderly man through the com-link.
"Let me see…" Wayne replied, typing audibly. For a moment there, I felt he was gonna do the same thing to me.
I could hear Terry's screams of pain as he was continuing to get beat up by the guards.
"Wayne, you have to unlock the suit!" I spoke in concern and worry.
"He paid the price for stealing this suit. This is his punishment…" The suit's true owner has countered.
"Out of the way!" The lead guard ordered as he readied his gun and aimed it at Terry
"Wayne, they're gonna kill me." Terry pleaded to the first Batman. I could feel Bruce hesitating slightly.
"Look Terry might have stolen your suit, but he doesn't deserve what might happen next to him if you don't help him!" I rationalized to the retired hero.
Soon after The Batsuit sparked with electricity as Terry regained control and started fighting back.
"Matthews I found the solution to your problem: open up the phone and hit the cancel button that should turn off the magnets," Bruce explained to me.
I quickly opened up the phone, hit the cancel button on it and sure enough, the magnets were switched off as I fell to the ground. Thankfully I fell into a pile of cardboard boxes.
"You okay?" Terry questioned me in concern.
"Ugh yeah. But who keeps this many boxes piled here honestly?" I wondered aloud.
"Oh don't you talk **** about my boxes! I like boxes! I worked hard on making them even!" A guard shouted as he tried to attack me. In response punched him in the gut and elbowed him in the face. Wait, why did that line he said sound familiar? And what kind of badass security guard has the name "James" written on the name tag of their suit? Unfortunately, more guards were arriving causing Terry and I to try and start running away.
"McGinnis, I gave you a break. Now, bring that suit back." Wayne commanded.
"Love to, but we've got these guards all over us." I retorted.
"There's a broom closet on the north wall. Can you get to it?" Bruce inquired to me and Terry
"A broom closet?" Terry wondered in confusion.
"Ugh!" I groaned as I facepalmed.
"Just do it!" Wayne and I told the young hero.
"Okay okay sheesh!" Terry replied in slight annoyance as the two of us reached the broom closet.
"Did you see 'em? Where is he? This way! This way! OK, let's go!" Several guards shouted to each other.
"Now, we're sitting ducks. Hope you're happy." Terry complained
"The far wall. Put your hand against it." Bruce instructed as Terry and I began to push the wall. "Press hard!" He emphasized. And just as we could hear the guards about to reach us the wall turned 270 degrees leaving behind an identical wall in place of where Terry and I were moments ago.
"A secret passageway… can't say I'm not surprised, but at the same time. Cool…" I commented. It's like something out of Scooby-Doo… and that's another thing I need to check.
"I'll say," Terry added in.
"I built the place, remember?" Bruce reminded
"Then you'd know where they'll be loading the hover transport, wouldn't you?" Terry guessed.
"Forget it. You're coming back here." Wayne refused immediately.
"Powers is shipping out the virus tonight! It's got to be stopped!" Terry explained.
"That and apparently something important is being kept here that's from some new company Powers is partnering with." I included.
"It's probably nothing. Ignore it." Bruce attempted to persuade me.
"Sorry Wayne, but I have a gut feeling that tells me there's something going on between these two companies besides regular business," I claimed.
"I'll call the police." Wayne attempted to reassure me and Terry.
"Let us handle this!" Terry suggested.
"No, it's too dangerous for both of you." The old hero replied.
"I can do this," Terry stated.
"We can handle this. Really we can." I spoke up to back Terry's boast.
"I'll shut down the suit again. And this time, it'll be for good." Bruce threatened once again.
"I read up on you, Mr. Wayne. I know how you lost your folks. The guy who murdered my dad is on that transport. This is my one chance to nail him." The knight of tomorrow begged the former dark knight.
"Wayne, imagine if it were Joe Chill or someone who hurt a person who was close to you. Wouldn't you want them to face the consequences of their actions?" I attempted to elaborate.
"…The hover pads are in the north-east sector." Wayne acquiesced and revealed.
"Terry, I think we should split up. I'll go check on the 'merchandise' that guy was intent on guarding. You stop the shipment and settle things with Fixx. I'll meet you there once I'm done." I said to Terry.
"Sounds like a plan." Terry agreed as he nodded and both he and I began to head off.
"Wait. McGinnis before you go I want you to make a promise when you finally confront him." Wayne requested the teen before we tried to separate.
"Uh okay. What is it?" Terry asked. Strange, this never happened in the show, then again, I'm sort of delaying Terry so this could be some sort of Butterfly effect.
"…Don't kill him. I know what he did makes your blood boil, but if you sink to his level you'll be no better than him. I have a feeling your father would want his killer brought to justice and sentenced to jail rather than buried in the ground in a coffin." Wayne justified.
"The ends don't justify the means…" I spoke silently but loud enough to where Terry could hear me.
"*breathes in* …okay I promise." Terry agreed.
"We both better get going," I suggested.
"Right. Be careful okay dude?" Terry calmly said.
"I will. You do the same." I replied as I ran off.
I snuck around the hallways keeping my back against the wall the whole time. While I was doing so, I saw Mr. Yuji from before as he stepped out of a metal door that I'm guessing led to the room I was looking for. He turned around for a brief moment looking to his left and right before putting a code combination on a keypad mounted on the left side of the wall next to the door. I managed to eyeball the code he punched in before he turned left and walked down the hallway. Once I knew for sure that he was far enough, I quietly sneaked to the door and put in the numbers 1-9-7-9. After that, the door opened and I entered the room. It was dark at first but then several lights shined on something that was in the center of the room on a large round platform. The object in question was a motorcycle that was mostly silver with some red highlights and yellow. Now to some this may have looked like an ordinary motorcycle, but to me, I knew exactly what this was. Labeled SB-555V otherwise known as…
"Auto…Vajin?" I uttered quietly as I slowly approached the bike.
Upon closer inspection, the front and back wheels were being hindered by metal clamps attached to the platform. I could see its headlights light up as it attempted to move but could not.
"H—Hello? Auto Vajin? Can you hear me?" I asked the bike as I managed to reach it and was standing on the platform.
"Affirmative… Analysis: Unknown user of the Faiz Gear. Revelation: User is not Mari Sonoda, Inui Takumi, or the latter's AR counterpart. Question: Where are they and how is the user able to wield said gear?" The bike responded, sounding like Metal Sonic from Sonic Rivals.
"You…you can talk?!" I questioned in complete shock and surprise, ignoring the Decade reference for now.
"Affirmative… now please answer previously stated questions as well as a third such as where we are currently." Auto Vajin replied.
"To answer the first they're not here, the second no idea, and third well for lack of a better term we're in another dimension," I explained to the AI.
"Processing… User's answer, while it may sound highly unlikely to ordinary organisms, does properly explain the reappearance of Orphnochs and absence of humans Mari Sonoda and Inui Takumi. Hypothesis; User could be of help to Auto Vajin." He retorted.
"Uh sure how can I help?" I inquired curiously.
"Answer: Hit button with Faiz insignia on it located at the of the rider seat. Result: Will allow Auto Vajin to break free of restraints." The silver motorcycle elaborated.
"Alright. In that case…here's your freedom!" I slammed the button with the Faiz logo on it. Then immediately…
BATTLE MODE
It started shifting like a Transformer and turned into its Battle Mode, destroying the clamps that restrained it, thereby freeing itself.
"Awesome," I whispered like a certain kung fu panda before the Auto-Vajin's visor started flashing for some reason.
"Observation; we are not alone," Auto-Vajin stated, confusing me slightly before I look behind me, seeing one of those guards enter through the door I used.
"Faiz…" The guard growled as Orphnoch markings appeared on his face. Soon, his form shifted like Stingfish. He's a pale gray with a rune on his buckle like all Orphnochs and he looks like he's wearing old clothing stitched over his body, with some kinda cotton fabric coming out of his shoulderpads. But the most defining feature is the medieval helmet with holes instead of grills, a wing on the back facing its right, and a long-beaked bird head decorating facing the same direction.
That's the Pelican Orphnoch.
"Oh great, Paradise Lost Orphnoches are showing up now too?" I questioned myself in annoyance.
"I see Stingfish wasn't up to the task of defeating you. Fine by me! If I defeat you and return the stolen gear, I'll probably get a big promotion!" He proclaimed with glee.
"Speaking of your company, who's your boss birdbrain?" I asked the Orphnoch as I got into a fighting stance.
"Can't say sadly. You know how it is, company confidentiality and all that. Heheheh." The Pelican Orphnoch replied mockingly.
"Grrr. Enough of the chit-chat birdy I'm about to pluck your feathers! HYAH!" I announced before throwing a punch at the Orphnoch's chest.
However before the punch could connect, the Orphnoch fired 3 bursts of water at my chest.
"Gah! Agh! Gagh!" I exclaimed as I held my chest in pain after tanking those attacks.
"Haha…what's wrong Faiz? Having some trouble!?" The Pelican Orphnoch inquired, mocking me again.
"Gah…what the hell was that, water?" I wondered in confusion while still holding my hand in pain.
"High pressurized water shots. It hits with the same force as a punch, but it can be delivered at long-range…" He said before kicking me hard in the chest and shooting more water shots at me, both knocking me back and onto the floor as a result.
My injured and wet body slid directly over to Auto Vajin causing me to look up at his face while trying to recover from that last hit.
"Ow…that's gonna hurt tomorrow." I groaned silently while in pain.
Auto Vajin's visor lit up as he looked down at me.
"Observation: New Faiz user appears to be losing." Auto Vajin observed.
"Really now? I hadn't noticed~!" I retorted sarcastically to the machine.
"Sarcasm detected. Trait also was found in user Takumi. Query: Would new user prefer to hear advice on how to defeat this Orphnoch?" Auto Vajin replied.
"That would be nice, yeah. Want to help me tag-team this guy?" I offered to the robot.
"Offer acknowledged but due to lockout by captors of battle systems, this unit cannot engage in direct combat. Alternative, however: This unit can offer something else to new user." The robot bike explained.
"Okay and that is…?" I inquired in curiosity as I stood up and looked at Auto Vajin.
"Grab the left handlebar located on this unit's back." He explained it to me.
I then reached for the left handlebar used for bike mode, pulled it out, and was rewarded with a one-handed red lightsaber-like blade with a motorcycle handle on the end. Faiz's signature weapon. The Faiz Edge.
"Suggestion: Use Faiz Edge to defeat the current enemy Orphnoch. Weapon theoretically might have the ability to deflect the Pelican Orphnoch's water attacks." Auto Vajin theorized to me.
"Okay…this I can work with…round 2 feathers… Hyah!" I said as I leaped at the Pelican Orphnoch before slashing down at his chest causing sparks to come off his chest.
"Gahhh! You'll pay for that!" The Pelican Orphnoch threatened before trying to fire a water shot at me that I quickly managed to deflect the projectile like a Jedi before stabbing my blade at him.
As I kept dealing more slashes and stabs to the Orphnoch he was getting noticeably weaker and weaker until the point that he was breathing heavily.
"Hmmm, Auto Vajin even though your combat systems are locked out could you at least use your flight systems?" I questioned the robot as I looked over at him.
"Processing… Answer: Unit can still access flight capability. Query: why does new Faiz user ask such question?" Auto Vajin responded.
"Cause I've got an idea," I replied with a thumbs up.
"Ughhh…damn human when I get my hands on you I'll—" The Pelican Orphnoch began to speak.
"Elevator going up!" I shouted while on Auto Vajin's back as he flew up towards the Orphnoch and rammed it with his wheel while plowing the corner of the room and bringing us up to two floors before he was slammed in the back by a pipe on the wall.
"GYAAAAGHH! GAHHHH! AGHH! Ughh…" the Pelican Orphnoch shouted out as he fell to the ground dazed.
"Yes! Nice one Auto Vajin! Fist bump!" I said in victory as I held out a fist to the machine.
"Fist bump? This unit does know what that is. Recommendation: Deliver final blow to Orphnoch while new Faiz user has the opportunity." He tilted his head in confusion and suggested.
"Don't gotta tell me twice. Alright time to slice and dice!" I said as I pulled out the Faiz Mission Memory from my belt and put it into the slot hole in the Faiz Edge.
READY!
I folded open the phone before hitting the enter button.
EXCEED CHARGE!
The Photon Blood flowed into the blade as it flowed red.
"Ughhh…I won't…let this happen!" The Pelican Orphnoch cried out as it tried to charge at me.
"Ha!" I exclaimed before doing an underhanded slash that unleashed a stream of red energy to the Orphnoch once it reached him, trapping him in a red energy ring and suspending him in mid-air.
"Bye-bye birdy! Haaaa…Hiya! Ayah!" I claimed as I charged at my foe before reaching him and first doing an underhanded right diagonal slash then stabbing forward.
"GAAAAAAGH!" The Orphnoch screamed out as he disintegrated into dust and blue flames as the Faiz symbol appeared in place of where he was standing.
"Wohooo! Hell yeah! I rock!" I said victoriously.
Slow clapping is heard coming from a dark corner. "Who's there?!" I raised the Faiz Edge defensively.
"I didn't expect the one who stole the Faiz Gear to come to my shipment."
My blood ran cold, especially when whoever was hiding galloped out like…
"Horse…" An Orphnoch with the lower body of the animal, yet a humanoid; not too different from a centaur. The upper body is also knight-like, with a horseshoe on the chest and horse heads as shoulder guards and a helmet, the latter hiding everything but two eyes. "Yuji… Kiba…"
"What?!" The next thing I knew, my back was against a wall while a gray hand strangled my neck. "How do you know my human identity?!"
"Gack… does the name… Takumi Inui… ring any bells?" I choked out, hoping to reach out to the humanity he had. His muscles relaxed, but…
"I have no recollection of that name." Hopes of mercy from him were dashed, especially when he conjured his sword. "Now die!" Just as he prepares to thrust it toward my stomach—
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
Stopping, Yuji looked up. "Sounds like my business partner ran into a bump on the road to success." He drops me before turning towards an exit. "We'll meet again, Faiz."
As soon as he left, my shoulders slacked as I breathed in relief, rubbing my collar. If he stayed, I would've been screwed six ways to Sunday, especially if he goes Raging.
"Wait… Ter—Batman!" Recalling my partner-in-heroism, I turn to my Rider Machine. "Auto, can you give me a lift?"
"Request accepted." Fistpumping, I climbed onto Auto Vajin's back before he started hovering off the ground. Soon, he started flying me out of the building and descended onto the docks. Seeing all the guards knocked out and canister debris, I hissed.
"Looks like we missed Blight's birth," I noted.
"Question: Who is Blight?" The Auto Vajin asked. Cursing mentally at thinking out loud, I looked at the water, hoping for Terry to fly out.
Imagine my surprise when I see Terry fly out of the ship with Mr. Fixx before landing in front of me, dropping his dad's killer like a sack of potatoes.
"Why'd you save me?" Mr. Fixx asked, his electrically-burned hands on full display. Can't expect the guy to be unscathed after all.
"The ends don't justify the means." Terry quoted me, getting a hidden smile from me. Mr. Fixx only had time to look up at me when…
"Lights out, Fixx." And with that, I knocked him out with a punch.
XXX
With all that over, Terry cuffed the guy close to some canisters along with a chip containing an almost clear confession of murder. I said almost clear because while there's enough to convict Mr. Fixx of murder if you exclude his knuckles matching Warren's bruises (it's a guess; I haven't seen the body out of respect), the fight damaged the suit a bit to the point that some of the audio is unrecoverable, so Blight walks free.
**** it.
Anyway, after returning the suit, Terry and I are leaving Wayne Manor, the former positively vibrating.
"Dude, I think you need to calm down," I noted.
"Oh, like you aren't feeling schway about busting a weapon deal." Terry retorted.
"…Touché." Nodding, I dug my hands into my pockets… only to pull a piece of paper out of one. "Huh?"
"What's that?" Terry asked. Opening the paper, I raised an eyebrow.
"An address," I answered, showing it.
"Hmm… I know where that is; I pass it every time I head to school." Terry said. "You still have your map?"
"Never leave home without it." I took it out of my bag to prove my words. Taking it and a pen from his jacket, Terry started scribbling on it for a moment or two before giving it back.
"This is the route I take, and the X is where that address is," Terry explained while I looked over the map.
"Thanks."
XXX
"…This is the place?" After having a good night's sleep at Terry's place and waking up early, I took everything and followed the route he gave me. Suffice to say… It looks like a planetarium mixed with a shrine.
I entered this strange location and looked around seeing that the inside seemed like a dojo but several different space decorations hung in certain areas. I noticed an old man in his 60s using a cane as he was observing a holographic star chart.
"Ummmm… hello? I was sent here by Mr. Wayne… am I in the right place?" I asked as walked towards the elder slowly.
"Oh yes yes. You must be that Drake kid that Bruce mentioned. He told me you got some decent fighting skills." The elderly fellow spoke as he looked at me.
"Uh well I'm no black belt in martial arts but I get by—" I started to reply humbly to the man before he pointed his cane at the case holding the Faiz gear.
"Take out the belt. Put on that armor. And then throw a punch at me." The elder immediately demanded after cutting me off and surprising me. Wayne told him about the Faiz gear? Why? Then again if freaking BATMAN trusts someone with a secret they're probably on the up and up.
"Ummm are you sure sir…? I don't want to accidentally hurt you or something—" I began to explain before the old man looked me dead in the eyes giving me a menacing look that said, "Do what I say now or something bad will happen to you next."
Before breathing in, I quickly opened the case, took out the belt, and equipped it to my waist before punching in the code.
STANDING BY!
"Henshin!" I called out before folding up the phone and placing it into the belt to complete the transformation.
COMPLETE!
I quickly donned the armor of Faiz before I cracked my knuckles and reared up a right hook towards the dojo elder.
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" I alerted the elder before delivering the punch to him.
However, to my surprise, he not only caught the punch but held it back. Seemingly with ease!
"W—What?!" I exclaimed in surprise still struggling to get my punch to connect with the dojo elder but failing.
"Hmmm… Bruce was right. You're definitely lacking… now it's my turn kid." The elder stated as he smirked while looking up at me.
Before I could even react the dojo elder struck several pressure points on my body making me completely immobile.
"Hooo… WATCHA!" The elder screamed out as he then delivered the one-inch punch knocking me far back and sending me to the floor on my back. The attack was so powerful it knocked me out of my armor even.
Damn that hurt… guy punched as hard as a freaking asteroid! Wait… asteroid… hold on, hold on, hold on! The space decorations… the fighting style… the scream… that attack… no… nononono, no way… is he…?
"Welcome to the Evereset dojo kid. You'll be living here from now on and be trained by me. Don't worry you're in good hands. After all, your fate… is mine to decide." The elder declared to me with a smirk… and a familiar hand gesture…
"Y—You're! Sakuta Ryuusei! Kamen Rider Meteor…" I realized as I looked up at the elder Ryuusei in awe and confusion.
XXX
Open your eyes for the next Faiz
'It can't be… Smart Brain!?'
'Please give the new student a warm welcome.'
'I'm Max Gibson, welcome to Hamilton High.'
'Find these costumed meddlers and kill them!'
'She's working with an Orphnoch?!'
'Let's dance, Inque!'
DLBot2016: And that's it for this chapter folks. I know it's been a while, but I appreciate your patience and Omar and I have some outlines for chapter ideas going forward.
Omarnosian10: So until then see you guys later!