Moving On
By Gaeriel Mallory

NOTE: This was originally written to be episodic in nature with each part not necessarily relating to another. Well, that didn't really last very long. It took several parts just to establish the story. I got two independent 'episodes' and then I had one long storyline that just sapped my strength. As for the writing... One of my earlier works so I was still feeling the waters.
DISCLAIMER: All characters are the property of Bruce Timm, AOL/Time Warner, and DC Comcis. I own nothing and am making no money off of these stories.

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6
Part 7 ~ Part 8 ~ Part 9 ~ Part 10 ~ Part 11 ~ Part 12

Part I: Goodbye to a Friend

Terry McGinnis walked through the dark cave, gazing at the museum of memorabilia that Bruce had collected through the course of his night job. There were so many memories down here, and so many stories that possibly only Bruce knew about. He paused in front of the giant penny, and wondered not for the first time where and how Bruce had acquired it.

“Were these trophies, Bruce? Or were they reminders of days gone by?” The question echoed softly in the empty shadows of the cave.

There was no answer, of course. Terry was not expecting any.

Terry continued to walk among the cases, as if by being close to them, he could somehow be closer to Bruce. Finally, he found himself standing in front of the case with the old Batman suit in it. Terry stared at it through the glass, and remembered the words that Bruce’s lawyer had read.

 “And to Terry McGinnis, valued employee and friend, I leave the reminder of my money, my investments, and Wayne Manor including the grounds and all its furnishings. I entrust my old friend Barbara Gordon to hold these in her name until Terry comes of age.”

After the reading of the will, the lawyer had handed Terry a sealed envelope. “He wanted you to have this as well,” he had told the teenager.

Afterwards, Terry had headed straight for the cave. There, he finally allowed himself to cry. The cave had been Bruce’s life. He spent most of his time down there, in gloom and shadow.

Standing in front of his mentor’s old costume, Terry looked at the envelope in his hand. His name was written on the front of it, in his handwriting. With trembling hands, he opened it and unfolded the single sheet of paper inside.

Dear Terry,

If you are reading this now, then I am dead. I have never been good at expressing my feelings, and that had always been my downfall. Because of my reluctance to tell how I felt, I drove away everyone who cared for me, and who I cared for in return.

I may not have said it in too many words, Terry, but I’m proud of you. You lived up to the name of Batman because you had the heart and compassion that Batman should have.

I am sorry to say that in the past, that heart and compassion were things that I was lacking. After everyone left and I became a lonely hermit sitting in my cave, I did not think that I would ever truly live again.

But then a kid showed up at my gates being chased by a band of Jokerz.

You showed me the good things in life again. In many ways, you reminded me of my son, Dick Grayson. He had the spark of life and vitality in him that you have. And just like you, he never lost his good humor, no matter how many terrible things he saw during the night.

Terry, you truly are Batman now. Even without me, I know that you can carry on. I trust you. If you ever need any help, ask Barbara. For all her gruffness, she has a good heart.

Thank you, for showing me how to live again.

Bruce

Terry folded up the letter and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked at the costume again and gently touched the glass. “You’re welcome, Bruce,” he whispered. He turned and looked around the cave. “Goodbye, my friend.”

------------------------------

Part II: Old Friends and New Beginnings

Terry walked into the apartment. His mother met him at the door. "How're you doing?"

Terry shrugged and continued walking. "You have some visitors," Mary McGinnis told her son.

He saw three people sitting on the couch: Barbara Gordon, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, and a young woman with black hair. Standing in front of the window was another man, this one gray-haired.

All four turned to look at him as he walked into the room. "Terry," the commissioner greeted him and waved him to a seat.

Mary McGinnis picked up her coat and opened the front door. "I'm going to be out for a bit, Terry."

Terry sat down in the recliner and looked at the three people on the couch as his mother left. Barbara looked towards the man standing at the window. "Dick, join us, please." Without a word, he moved to the couch and perched on the armrest next to her.

"Terry, I'd like you to meet Dick Grayson, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince."

He stared with wide eyes at the three. These had been the people closest to Bruce. They had been friends and probably the closest thing Bruce had to family. His eyes narrowed a bit as he studied Grayson. One of them was family.

"I know who you are." His voice was soft and dangerous. The four stared at him in shock. "Terry?" Clark, no, Superman asked hesitantly.

"Where were you? Where were you when he was in the hospital dying? Where were you when he was alive?" Terry's voice rose in anger. "You!" He turned towards Grayson. "You were his son. He took you in and raised you. He loved you. And you never once came to visit him. You never called. He was your father!

"And you I've never even seen before today. I know from Bruce that the two of you were friends. Well, friends are supposed to be there for one another. You weren't there! You went back home to mother and forgot all about him while you were off on your little island." The woman known as Diana Prince looked away.

Terry turned towards Clark. "And you, you were his closest friend. Yet the only time you ever visited was when you were under mind control by some starfish from outerspace! You were at his funeral, but you were never there when he was alive."

Terry jumped up from his seat. "You three called yourselves his friend. Well, then where the hell were you guys? One of you is Superman, dammit! It wouldn't have been hard for you to fly down from Metropolis to visit every once in a while. Do you know how Bruce felt in that hospital room, when the only people that ever showed up to visit him were me, Tim, and Barbara? You…you…" Terry's voice trailed off and he sat back down in his seat and buried his face in his hands. "God, Bruce, why did you have to die?" For the second time that day, he cried. He cried out his grief for a good friend lost, his frustration over seeing Bruce wasting away and being helpless to stop it, and his pain of having to lose yet another father.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and another on his knee. He ignored them, focusing instead on the hurt that had filled him ever since Bruce had first fallen sick.

"We understand, son, we do." Terry looked up into compassion filled eyes of and saw that behind Clark's glasses, that even Kryptonians could shed tears.

Barbara's hand squeezed his knee. "It's all right, kid."

Dick was staring at the wall, and there was an incredible sadness on his face. "I'm sorry, Bruce," he whispered. He turned towards Terry. "And I'm sorry to you, too. You're right. I was his son. I should at least have done something…"

Diana's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Your words, though hurtful, are true. But I hope, young Batman, that it is not too late to make it up to Bruce."

"Kid, there's something Bruce asked us to do for you. A last wish of his." Barbara looked him in the eye. "He wanted the four of us to train you."

Terry stared at the commissioner in bemusement. "Train? But Bruce—"

"Bruce may have trained you in how to fight, but there is more to being Batman than just knowing how to stop a thief. I should know." Dick gave a small smile.

"In his letter, he told me that he had begun teaching you the basics, but you need more. Barbara is willing to teach you criminology and detective work. Dick and Diana are to continue training you in fighting skills. And me, I'm supposed to help you with anything else. And if I can't do it, I'll find someone who can." Clark looked Terry in the eye. "I won't let Bruce down. He was always there for us, and now, we're repaying him back."

"As much as I hate to say it, McGinnis, I've seen that Gotham needs its Batman. Just don't expect to see the Batsignal in the sky anytime soon." Barbara folded her arms and sat back.

Terry just shook his head, a little bit in shock. Even after your death, Bruce, you're still looking out for me, he thought.

"There is another thing," Dick said. "You might want to consider moving your family into Wayne Manor. It would be easier on you."

"I don't know. It would seem too much of a violation. I didn't grow up there like you did. To me, it will always be Bruce's home. I don't know if I can think of it as mine."

"Someone should still be there. I don't like the idea of that old house just standing empty."

"You move in then."

Dick stared at the teenager. "What? But Bruce left it too you."

"You have more of a connection to that house than I ever will. And you were his son. You lived there. He would have wanted you to."

Clark cleared his throat. "He has a point, Dick…"

Dick stared out the window. "There are so many memories in that place. So many ghosts."

"Remember the good times," Barbara advised. "We all should."

"I don't want to live there by myself." Dick looked at Terry again. "If I moved in, would you move there as well?"

Terry sat in thought. "Maybe. I don't know."

Diana had remained silent during this discussion, but now she spoke up. "Bruce left you the manor for a reason. And not just for what was underneath it. He … he had so many happy memories there of his childhood, before his parents were killed. I believe that he would have wanted you to make new memories. Not to replace his, but to complement them."

"I'll have to talk to my mom and Matt."

"Of course." Barbara was a bit relieved. The idea of Terry living in Wayne Manor fit, somehow. Batman and Wayne Manor…the two of them were associated in her mind.

"But what about the secret? If they were living there, then there's a chance they'll find the cave."

Clark sat in thought. "It is your house. And you turn eighteen in five months, right?"

Terry nodded.

"Well, in five months, you are legally an adult, and your mother can't stop you from being Batman. Until then, just be careful."

Terry sighed. Secrets. He had grown to hate them over the past few years. But secrets were as much a part of him now as they were to Bruce. He then thought of something. "Diana, where are you going to be living?"

She was startled. "I hadn't really thought about that. I've been staying with Clark and his wife."

"Well, if you and Dick are going to be training me, then you should be close by. It's an awfully big house."

She gave a little smile and nodded. "Perhaps it is time to bring in your mother?"

*          *          *

When Mary McGinnis returned, she was met at the door by her oldest soon. "Could you join us for a bit, Mom?"

She put down the bags she was carrying and shrugged out of her coat. She followed her son into the other room and sat down in the recliner. "What's the matter, Terry?"

"Um, Mom. You know that I went to the reading of Bruce's will today, right?" At his mother's nod, he continued. "Well, Bruce left almost everything to me, including the house."

"Oh, my…"

"Um. Mom, how would you like to move to Wayne Manor?"

*          *          *

Terry sat on his bed with Ace's head in his lap. Everything was settled. They would be moving in by the end of the week. Dick and Diana had already checked out of their hotels and were spending the night at the manor. He had told his mother that Dick was Bruce's son and Diana Bruce's friend. He found out that they were looking for a place to stay and that he had offered them rooms in Wayne Manor. His mother had frowned a little bit, thinking that strangers were taking advantage of her son, but she had not argued.

When Matt had heard that they were moving, he had sulked a bit. But then he heard where they were moving to. "Schway!" he had cried out. "Wait until Bobby hears about this!"

Ace lifted up his head and looked at Terry. He whined softly in the back of this throat. Terry petted the dog's head and looked down into his brown eyes. "I know, Ace. I miss him, too." He then looked out the window at Gotham. "I promise you, Bruce, I'll do you proud."

A bat silently flitted past the window and Terry smiled.

------------------------------

Part III: Ghosts and Memories

Terry's face slammed into the mat. "Come on, kid, is that the best you can do?"

Terry silently cursed Dick Grayson to the lowest possible hell and struggled to his feet. He crouched into a defensive stance and blocked the older man's kicks and punches.

"You're not going to win like that, McGinnis. Try and hit me!" Dick ordered.

Terry faked a punch that Dick moved to block and then dropped to the ground and swept Dick's legs out from under him. The man landed on the padded mat with an "Oomph."

Dick then leapt up from the floor using his hands, faster than Terry would have imagined possible and side-kicked Terry in the chin. Terry's back collided with the mat and spots danced in front of his eyes. "Uuuggghh," he groaned.

"Just what do you think you're doing to my son?" Mary McGinnis's voice asked loudly.

Terry looked at the indignant form of his mother standing at the door to the exercise room and winced. "It's all right, Mom. We were just sparring."

"Sparring." She said with disdain as Dick helped Terry up. She looked at Barbara Gordon sitting on one of the benches accusingly. "You're the police commissioner. And you're allowing that man to near kill my son?"

Barbara got up and shrugged off her jacket. "Actually, I was next in line." She looked at Dick as she removed her gun holster. "How about it, short-pants? One for old times sake?"

Dick grinned playfully. "Sure thing, Babs. I've missed getting my butt kicked by you."

The two took their place on the mats while Terry joined his mother. "Mom, it's harmless."

Mary looked at her son. "I don't like it Terry. He's a guest here, and I walk into a room and find you sprawled on the ground with him standing over you."

"He's Mr. Wayne's son."

"And if he was such a good son, why didn't Mr. Wayne leave the house to him?"

Terry could not respond without either lying to his mother or telling her the truth and revealing a number of secrets. Instead, he watched as Barbara and Dick circled each other, looking for openings in the other's defense. Without warning, Barbara kicked, aiming for Dick's chest, and he jumped back barely in time. He retaliated with kick that Barbara easily blocked and a punch that glanced off of the commissioner's arm as she half turned. "Getting slow in your old age, short-pants," she taunted.

"Me? Never!" Dick scoffed. She dropped down and aimed a kick at his ankles but he somersaulted backwards to avoid it.

"Showoff."

Dick flashed a grin. "Better believe it, Babs."

Terry was amazed at the skill those two showed, even after all these years. He thought back to Bruce during that brief amount of time in which the Lazarus pit had restored his youth. He felt a pang of sadness and regret. He might have allowed himself to dwell on it if not for the hand that landed on his shoulder. "This sure brings back memories."

Terry looked behind him to see Clark Kent standing there, enraptured by the two fighters. "I remember when the two of them were young. Together, they were almost unstoppable."

Terry turned back in time to see Barbara land a punch that caused Dick to back peddle a few steps in order to keep his balance. "I wish I could have seen it," he told Clark.

Mary glanced over at the two of them and frowned. "Mr. Kent, you approve of this?"

Clark looked at the redheaded woman whose lips were pursed in disapproval. "Everyone should know how to defend themselves. This isn't exactly a safe world you live in, Mrs. McGinnis."

She just shook her head and stalked out the door. In the training room, the spar continued.

*          *          *

Barbara and Dick leaned against the wall, tired. "Well, you still have the moves, Former Boy Wonder."

Dick laughed. "As if there was any doubt. I see that you haven't been letting yourself go, either." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Bruce trained me well." A hint of sadness entered her voice and she turned to look at where Diana was teaching Terry some Amazon fighting moves. "He trained us all well."

*          *          *

Clark wandered around Wayne Manor, remembering the handful of times he had visited Bruce here. He smiled as he remembered a Christmas party that Bruce had thrown one year for members of the Justice League of America. The Flash had tried his hardest to get the Batman drunk, but no matter how many drinks Bruce had downed, he was still steady on his feet and speaking clearly. The entire League had laughed when Bruce had finally revealed he had been drinking apple juice all night.

"Good times, Bruce," Clark whispered. "I think that was the one party you threw without party crashers." He grinned. Bruce Wayne had been notorious for his parties attracting some form of villain or gunmen.

He found Terry's younger brother Matt standing in front of the large picture of Thomas and Martha Wayne in Bruce's study. Clark cleared his throat and Matt jumped, surprised. "How are you doing?" Clark asked.

Matt shrugged and looked at the ground, scuffing his shoe into the expensive carpet.

Clark moved closer to the boy and crouched down. "What is it?"

Matt looked at the man in front of him. "Mr. Wayne's parents…they were killed weren't they?"

Clark nodded slowly, wondering where this was going.

"They were killed just like my dad was killed."

"That's right. Why do you ask?"

Matt paused and frowned. "Bobby says that people who are killed stay behind as ghosts. Do you think that Mr. Wayne's parents could be haunting this house?"

Clark smiled. "If they are, they'd be very friendly ghosts. Thomas and Martha Wayne were very nice people." He reflected that Wayne Manor was full of ghosts, but not the type that Matt had been worried about. Old memories, good and bad, happy and painful, filled every room of the house. They were unavoidable.

"But Bobby said--"

Clark grinned. "Bobby is just trying to scare you. Don't mind him." Clark stood up. "You hungry?" At Matt's nod, he said, "Let's go to the kitchen and I'll make you something to eat. My mother was a great cook, and she taught me all that I know about food."

*          *          *

Terry opened the entrance to the Batcave in the library and descended the stairs. Sitting at the computer was Dick. The chair swiveled around, and the older man grinned. "You're going to have to work on your stealth. I heard you coming a mile away."

Terry didn't respond as he changed into the Suit. Tonight would be the first time he would be going out as Batman since Bruce died. "Anything on the scanner?"

"Nope. Looks like it's going to be a quick patrol of the city unless something comes up."

Terry did not respond as he pulled the cowl over his head.

Dick cocked his head as he studied the young man in the Batman suit. "Say something. You're starting to remind me of Bruce."

"Sorry. It's just that…" His voice trailed off.

Dick stood up and approached the costumed hero. "Yeah. I know." He reached out and clasped Terry's shoulder. "You'll do fine, kid. I know you will. Bruce chose well when he chose you."

Terry felt one corner of his mouth quirk up. "He didn't choose me. I took the suit."

Dick grinned. "I know Bruce, and there was no way that he would have let you keep the suit if he didn't think you couldn't handle it. It was his own way of showing he trusted you."

Terry climbed into the Batmobile and powered it up. As he lifted off, he spoke. "Hey, Dick?"

"Yeah?" Dick's voice came in through his ear receiver.

"Thanks."

Back in the cave, Dick smiled. "No problem, Terry. No problem at all."

Barbara Gordon was standing at the window of her office in city hall when the Batmobile passed. "Good luck, kid," she said softly. That night, Batman watched over Gotham City.

------------------------------

Part IV: Conceptions and Mis-conceptions

Another year, another school term, Terry thought to himself. At least this was his last year of high school. Terry sighed as he walked through the front doors of Hamilton Hill High School. So many things had changed since he was last here. Bruce had fallen sick and died, he and his family had moved into Wayne Manor, and he had acquired a new set of teachers for his night activities.

Thankfully Wayne Manor and its grounds was large enough that he, Dick, and Diana could disappear for hours on end and still come up with a plausible explanation. He didn’t know how much longer his mother would buy “We were cleaning up one of the store rooms,” though. And with Matt always poking his nose in places, Terry was worried about his brother stumbling onto the entrance to the Batcave.

“Five more months,” he whispered to himself, counting down the days until his eighteenth birthday. By then, even if his mother did find out, she could not forbid him to. Well, she could, but he did not have to listen. And Clark had promised to have a little talk to her if it was necessary…

Terry shuddered. Better him than me, he thought with a smile, imagining his mother verbally scolding the Man of Steel.

He was heading towards his locker when he an arm draped itself across his shoulders. Terry looked up and suppressed a grimace. “Nelson.”

The jock ignored the cold tone of voice and grinned. “Hey, Terry. Word is that you came into a mother load of cash recently. Truth?”

Terry scowled and reached a hand up and removed Nelson’s arm. “What’s it to you if I did?”

Nelson faked a hurt look on his face. “Hey now, Terry. Is that anyway to be treating a friend?”

“I’d rather make friends with a tarantula. Beat it, Nelson.”

The jock smiled insincerely. “Aw, now, you don’t mean that, do you? Gotham’s newest most eligible bachelor?” He chuckled. “Wonder why that old bat left everything to you.” Lowering his voice, he asked, “So, what’s the secret? Think I can scam some old guy to leave me everything, too?” Nelson winked.

Terry fought to control his anger. “You don’t know anything.” There was steel behind his words. “Leave me alone.”

The other boy smirked. “Aw, what’s the matter, rich boy? Too good for us common folk now?”

Terry lost it. Grabbing Nelson by the collar of his varsity jacket, he slammed Nelson against the wall. “I won’t tell you again. Leave. Me. Alone.”

Nelson’s eyes were wide and his feet dangled uselessly, inches above the floor. He shakily nodded his head and Terry let him go. There was a dangerous glint in his eye as he smoothed his clothing. “Underneath all the money, McGinnis, you’re still just a punk.”

Terry watched as Nelson walked off and joined a group of his friends, laughing and slapping backs. “Ignore him,” a voice advised.

He turned around and smiled at, Maxine Gibson, known to friends as Max, resident computer genius and one of the few people in Terry’s life who knew his secret. She glared at Nelson’s retreating back, her arms folded across her chest. “Nelson is a pompous and arrogant jerk who’s just jealous.”

Terry sighed and slumped against the wall, pushing his hair off his forehead. “I know. It’s just that…people are going to think that, aren’t they? That I somehow tricked Bruce into leaving me everything.”

Max transferred her glared to Terry. “People can think what they want. You and I know better, and so do the other people who count. And since when have you ever cared what anyone thought of you?”

“Did you watch the news last night?” Terry went on, seemingly ignoring Max’s question. “They had something about me…‘Gotham’s newest eligible bachelor’ they called me.” He grimaced, remembering that was what Nelson had called him also. “They went on and on about me, speculating on why Bruce left his money to me and what I would do with it. It made me so mad! It’s like my life isn’t my own anymore. Like…like…”

“Like you now have to live your life how others want and expect you to?” Max’s eyes were soft with sympathy.

Terry sighed and nodded.

“Welcome to the life of the rich and famous, McGinnis.” Max shook her head. “Have you talked to Dana yet?”

“Not yet. She just got back from vacation the day before yesterday. I don’t know how I’m going to tell her about everything that’s happened. I don’t know how she’ll react.”

Max smiled and placed a hand on her friend’s arm. “As much as she’s always complaining about you, she really does care. Why else would she keep taking you back when you keep standing her up?” She grinned. “Trust her.”

*          *          *

Terry was just closing the door of his locker when he felt two slim arms encircle his waist. “Why hello there, handsome.” Dana reached up to give him a peck on the cheek.

Terry smiled and turned around, giving his girlfriend a hug. “Hi, Danes. How was Japan?”

Dana shrugged and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Same old, same old. I visited my cousins and saw the sights. I don’t know why Dad keeps dragging me back there every summer.” She tilted her head to the side and studied Terry. There was a sadness in his eyes that wasn’t there the last time she had seen him. There was also something else. Ever since he had started to work for Mr. Wayne, Terry had matured a lot, but now … now, his eyes looked old.

“Terry? Are you all right?”

Terry shook his head and looked away. “Bruce passed away over the summer.”

“Bruce?”

“Mr. Wayne,” he explained. “He died in late July.”

Dana reached over and hugged him. “Oh, Terry. I’m so sorry.” Terry leaned into her hug, enjoying the feeling of her arms around him.

“There’s something else, Dana.”

She looked up at him.

“Mr. Wayne left practically everything to me.”

“Oh.” She then looked puzzled. “Why would that be a problem?”

He let go of her and leaned against the wall. “I guess its because I feel a little bit guilty. I mean, I wouldn’t have all this money if Bruce hadn’t died. And I’d give it all back in a heartbeat to have him back.”

“Oh.” She reached out and embraced him again, and the two of them stood that way for a while, until the first bell rang.

*          *          *

Mary McGinnis was in the kitchen getting a drink of water. She froze when she heard a sound. It was late at night and everyone should have been in bed for hours. Setting down her glass, she listened. She faintly heard the low mummer of voices. They were getting louder. She frowned when he recognized Dick Grayson’s voice. She knew that he had been Bruce Wayne’s son, but she did not think he had been a very good one. To think that he left his poor father all alone in this house, never visiting him!

“Rough night, huh?”

“You can say that again.” Mary’s frown deepened. What was Terry doing up this late on a school night?

“But you did good. Bruce would have been proud.”

Terry gave a short laugh. “Bruce would have critiqued me, telling me everything little thing I did wrong. And he would have been right, too.”

“Bruce’s bark was always worse than his bite. Over the years, I’ve learned to come up with a translation guide. One grunt meant you did well. Two grunts meant you did really well. If he growled at you though, then you had better shut up and do what he wanted you to do.”

Terry laughed again. “I remember that growl a few times myself. And then there were those times he’s shouting at you to do something, and you’re shouting back that you’re a little busy.”

This time Dick chuckled. “The resident control freak. I bet he hated that it wasn’t him in the suit.”

The voices began to fade as the speakers moved past the door to the kitchen. Mary caught a few more words, but most of the conversation was muffled. Justice League? Superman? That was a bit of a jump from talking about Bruce Wayne.

Mary moved to sit down at the table, thinking. She would have to talk to Terry tomorrow about his late nights. But her main thoughts centered on Dick Grayson. When he had talked about Bruce Wayne just then, there had been true affection in his tone. Could she have judged him wrongly? But why did he leave Mr. Wayne alone?

*          *          *

Before leaving for work the next morning, Mary McGinnis paid a visit to Dick Grayson. Knocking on the door, she waited, reevaluating all that she had seen of him.

Dick answered the door, dressed in a t-shirt that said ‘Bludhaven Police Department’ and sweatpants. Past him, she saw a wall covered with faded circus posters. “Mrs. McGinnis,” he said with some surprise. “What can I do for you?”

Mary fidgeted. “Mr. Grayson, I … I would like to apologize.”

He smoothed back his hair. “Apologize? For what?”

“For my behavior towards you.” She sighed. “I thought that you were a poor son to Mr. Wayne and were only taking advantage of Terry. But … well, I overheard part of your conversation with Terry last night, and I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

There was a worried look in his eyes. “Conversation?” he asked.

She nodded. “About Mr. Wayne. I’m a mother, and I heard true affection in your voice. For all your difficulties with the man, you did love it. And I just wanted to apologize to you, Mr. Grayson.”

Dick studied Mary McGinnis thoughtfully. After a long moment, he nodded. “Call me Dick.”

She smiled. “Then I’m Mary.” She paused. “Now, about you keeping my son up till all hours of the morning…”

Dick grinned sheepishly and rubbed a hand through his hair. He had forgotten how parents acted towards their children. He remembered Bruce, forbidding him from going after Tony Zucco, and he smiled to himself. Thanks, Bruce, he thought. Thank you for being a great dad.

------------------------------

Part V: Inque Blot

“Oomph.” Batman landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him.

“Terry! Are you all right?” Dick’s voice came over his earpiece.

Batman picked himself up and began to circle warily around Inque. “I’m fine. She just caught me by surprise.”

“Well, don’t let it happen again.”

“Sure thing, old man.”

“Watch it, kid.”

Terry smirked underneath the mask as he jumped out of the way of Inque’s razor-sharp arm.

“Why won’t you just leave me alone?” Inque shrieked. “All I want to do is stay alive!”

“Sorry, Inque. But those chemicals don’t belong to you.”

“You don’t understand, Batman. I need those chemicals.” She flattened and then streamed over Terry’s head, trying to trap him.

Terry turned around, searching for a way out. “There are doctors that can help you. They can find a more permanent solution.”

Inque laughed. “After that fiasco with my daughter, I’ve learned that no one can be trusted. Especially not you, Batman!” She formed a sledgehammer and knocked him into the wall of the chemical factory.

He groaned as he staggered to his feet. ‘Come on, Terry. Stay focused.’ He threw an electrically charged batarang at Inque.

She screamed, dropping the box of chemicals. Vials shattered on the floor as the black blob convulsed. “It doesn’t have to be this way!” Terry shouted. “I can help you!”

“No one can help me, Batman. No one!” She sprang upwards and broke and window, and escaped.

*          *          *

The Batmobile flew past Terry’s old apartment building. Terry remembered all the times he had to sneak back in after he had finished late night Batman duties. Through the windows, he could see a new family in his old apartment. For a moment, he wondered just what it would be like to be a ‘normal’ family, minus the suit, the cave under the house, and the retired superheroes in the guest bedrooms.

Terry then snorted. “Yeah, right,” he muttered to himself. “After all this, normal would be downright boring.”

“Talking to yourself, kid?” Dick’s voice came over the earpiece.

“No. I have this hot babe in the batmobile with me.”

Dick chuckled. “Lucky.” Terry heard him yawn over the line. “Think you can head the rest of the way home without me watching over you? I’m beat.”

“Yeah. Go to sleep. One of us should get more than two hours a night.”

Dick chuckled again. “Good night, Terry.” The line clicked closed.

The batmobile flew over Gotham City and unnoticed by Terry, a black from detached itself from a shadow and followed.

*          *          *

The batmobile settled down on the floor of the cave and Terry climbed out. He reached to tug off his mask but stopped when he heard someone call out, “Batman.”

He whirled around, a batarang flashing into his hand. “Who’s there?”

Inque, in her human form, walked out from the shadows. “You shouldn’t have stopped me, Batman. You shouldn’t have. I needed those chemicals.” She lifted up one arm and Terry saw that it had trouble maintaining its consistency, almost dripping.

“Why are you here, Inque.”

“I’m dying, Batman. And those chemicals were the only thing keeping my body together. I was overdue for a dose. I had to steal the chemicals. But now, it’s too late. And if I’m going to die, I’m going to take you with me!” She transformed into a giant black blob and came crashing down onto him, suffocating him.

Terry gagged as she forced herself down his throat. His hand grasped the batarang on the floor of the cave and he threw it, praying that it would find his target. He heard the sound of glass shatter and the faint sound of alarms coming from upstairs. ‘So much for my secret,’ he thought to himself as he struggled with the shape shifter.

Ejecting another batarang from his suit, he charged it up with electricity before plunging it into the middle of the dark mass.

*          *          *

Mary McGinnis woke with the sound of klaxons ringing throughout the house. She got out of bed, pulling on a robe. ‘Fire? Burgler? What is going on?’ she thought.

She opened her door and ran to Matt’s room. She yanked open the door. Her youngest son was sitting up in his bed, confusion in his sleep fogged eyes. “Mom? What’s happening?”

She pulled him from bed. “Come on.” She then ran to Terry’s room. “Why did he pick a room so far away?” she muttered under her breath. She opened the door and her eyes flew to the empty and neatly made bed. “Where is he?!?”

Turning around, she bumped into the form of Diana Prince, dressed in a robe. “Mrs. McGinnis. Come on. Let’s get you two out of here.” She then ushered the two down the stairs, heading for the front door. After making sure the two of them were safe, she turned around and plunged back into Wayne Manor.

*          *          *

Inque’s scream tore through the air. She convulsed before regaining her humanoid shape. Terry noted that she really was dripping now, leaving drops of black on the rocky floor.

“Oh, you’ll pay for that, Batman.” She swept him across the cave and into the costume cases at the base of the stairs. Advancing menacingly on him, she shifted her arms until they were sharp and deadly blades.

Batman blinked, trying to clear his head. He opened his eyes to see Inque standing over him, ready to skewer him. He struggled to get up, but fell back down. Past Inque, he saw Dick Grayson appear at the top of the stairs. The former Nightwing took in the scene before him and somersaulted off the sides of the stairs, landing among the cases that housed the remnants of Bruce’s old enemies.

Dick ran over to the case containing the Freeze-gun, and shattered the glass with his fist.

Inque, distracted by the noise, turned. As she was distracted, a flying blur slammed into her, splattering black goo all over the cave. Diana landed in front of the downed Batman and helped him up. “You all right, kid?”

He nodded and coughed. “Yeah. Thanks.”

The black droplets rolled ponderously back together. Before she could reform herself again and attack, Dick pressed the trigger on the Freeze-gun, encasing Inque in a mound of ice.

Diana looked at the frozen shape-shifter. “I’ll deliver her to Barbara. You get Terry to bed.” She looked at Dick, who only nodded. “By the way, I left his mother and brother standing outside.”

After the Amazon had left carrying Inque, Terry leaned against Dick and pulled off the cowl. “Ugh. I hate when she tries to suffocate me. Do you know how awful she tastes?”

Dick grinned. “I can imagine. Think you can walk by yourself?”

Terry staggered a few steps before he stumbled. Dick caught him before he fell. “Come on.” He then helped Terry up the stairs and to his room. “Get the suit off. After I send your mom and Matt back to bed, I’ll come patch you up.”

Terry sat down heavily on his bed, favoring his left side. “What are you going to tell them?”

Dick shrugged. “Fire alarm went off by accident. Must of left something cooking in the kitchen.” He grinned. “Alfred was always better with the excuses than I was.” He left, closing the door.

Terry reached down to try and peel off the top of the suit but stopped when a sharp pain in his side caused him to cry out. ‘Dick can help.’ He then lay on the bed, waiting for the other man to return.

*          *          *

Dick leaned out the door. “You can come back in now!” he called to the two figures standing outside. “Just a false alarm.”

Mary sighed as she and her son entered back into the house. “Well, that’s a relief.”

The three of them headed up the stairs and Mary saw her youngest son safely back to bed. She was about to enter her bedroom when she paused. “Mr. Grayson, would you happen to know where my eldest son would be?”

He frowned. “Isn’t he in bed?”

She glared and began marching towards Terry’s room. “No, he is not in bed. And if I find out that the reason that he’s not in bed at three in the morning has to do with you, then you’re out of here. I don’t care if you’re Terry’s guest. I don’t care that you were Mr. Wayne’s son. I will not have my son out carousing at all hours on the night!” She flung open her son’s door and pointed at the bed. Whatever she was going to say caught in her throat when she saw her son sprawled on the mattress, dressed in a black suit with the stylized red bat on his chest.

Terry looked up at the door opened and froze when he saw his mother standing there with Dick. He looked down at himself. “Oh, crap.”

Diana showed up behind Dick. “Well, Inque’s safely locked up at the Gotham branch of STAR labs. How’s the kid?” She then noticed the scene before her and winced. “I’ll go call Clark and Barbara.”

------------------------------

Part VI: Revelations

The ringing of the telephone woke Clark Kent. He blindly grabbed for the receiver. “Hello?”

“Kal?”

Clark sat up in bed, “Diana? What’s going on?”

The Amazon’s tense voice came through the line. “His mother found out. Can you come to Gotham?”

He got out of bed, trying not to disturb Lois. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Kal. Could you swing by Gotham City Hall and pick up Barabara, too? I think we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“Sure thing.” Clark hung up the phone and walked over to the closet, digging out his black Superman costume.

“Clark?” a blurry voice called from the bed.

“Go back to sleep, hon. I’m going to Gotham.” He pulled on the suit.

Lois Lane reached over and turned on the light. “What’s the matter?”

He took a moment to look in wonder at his wife. She had aged slower than normal humans, possibly because of her contact with him. Clark still worried about her though. She was near Bruce’s age, and with the passing of his old friend, death taking away Lois became for him a very real possibility. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Mary McGinnis found out about her son’s night job.”

She winced. “Ouch.”

Clark flew out the window. “Ouch is right,” he muttered to himself.

*          *          *

Mary McGinnis felt the dull throbbing behind her eyeballs that always preceded a migraine. “Please tell me you just got back from a costume party,” she begged her son.

Terry tenderly pushed himself into a sitting position. She noted that he moved stiffly and winced when he put weight on his left arm. He looked at Dick hopefully. “Think she’ll buy that?” he joked.

Dick smiled weakly and ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t count on it. Your mom’s a pretty smart lady.” He grinned, flashing a million-watt smile at her. “But then, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for pretty redheads.”

Mary only glared back and his smile faded.

Terry groaned. “This was not how I wanted you to find out.” His voice was raspy.

She transferred her glare to her son. “And just when were you planning on telling me? If you ever were!”

Terry winced. “I’m sorry, Mom. I really am. And I did try and tell you that one time. Remember? When they were going to expose me on the Inside Peek but you laughed me off.”

“I thought you were joking!” She rubbed her temple. “I wish you had been joking. Oh God. This was what you were doing for Mr. Wayne, wasn’t it? Those late nights…those emergencies where you would run out.” She laughed weakly. “I was worried you had joined a gang again.”

Dick silently slipped out, leaving the two of them alone.

“Mom, I never wanted to worry you. It’s just that…I don’t know. For the first time in my life, I was doing something right, helping people.” He sighed. “Can you understand that?”

Mary remained silent, studying her son. Dick walked back into the room, carrying a first aid kit. He helped Terry peel off the shirt part of the suit and Mary gasped, seeing the bruises forming all over her son’s torso.

Dick’s fingers poked and probed expertly. “We’re going to have to tape up the ribs. Some may be fractured. Pulled shoulder. The usual cuts and bruises.” He patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll survive.” Opening the first aid kit, he added, “I’ll have Clark x-ray you when he gets here to see if I missed anything.”

As Dick was taping up Terry’s ribs, Mary asked, “How long?”

Terry answered. “Right after Dad was killed.”

“How?” Her voice was carefully neutral, but Terry still winced at it.

“Before Dad died, I had a run in with a gang of Jokers. They had me cornered in front of the manor gates. Bruce came out and helped me fight them off. When he collapsed, I helped him back inside and got him his medicine. Then he dozed off…” Terry hesitated. This was one of the parts of the story he was not proud about, but he forced himself to continue. “When he dozed off, I started wandering around the house. I stumbled onto the cave.”

“Cave.”

“The Batcave. It’s below the house. Anyway, after Dad died, I snuck back in here and um…stole the suit. I went after the guy who killed Dad.” He stopped talking, lost in his thoughts.

“Did you get him?” The question was asked softly.

“Oh, I got him. I got him so bad he got me in the end.” Terry laughed humorlessly. “Mr. Derek Powers. Dad’s good-old boss. He was making this super-biological warfare gas that was incredibly lethal. In the fight, he got exposed to it. He was cured, but it took intense radiation.” Terry slammed his fist into the bed. “I created Blight. I created him!” His face tightened in anger.

“It wasn’t your fault, kid.” Terry looked up to see Barbara Gordon standing in the doorway with Diana and Clark, still in his Superman suit. How long had they been there? “It’s not use beating yourself over it. Bruce was like that; he blamed himself for the Joker. He took everything so seriously, but when that clown was involved…” Her lips thinned and her eyes flared in hatred. “He took a perverse pleasure in making Bruce suffer. You could have no idea what he did to us.” She and Dick stared at each other and something passed between them.

Dick stood up from where he was kneeling next to Terry. He walked over to Barbara and enveloped her into a tight hug.

Superman walked over to Mary. “Mrs. McGinnis?” he asked tentatively.

She snapped out of the reverie that she had fallen into after her son’s recounting of the creation of Blight. She looked at Clark, ready to lash out at someone who was in the “conspiracy” but the words died in her throat as she realized who stood before her. “S-s-superman!” she whispered.

He smiled and nodded. “We’ve met before. Clark Kent.”

Her mouth formed a little “o” and her eyes widened. “If you’re Superman, then who are they?” He gestured towards the other three adults.

“Wonder Woman.” Diana nodded her head.

“I was Batgirl,” Barbara admitted ruefully.

Dick grinned sheepishly. “I guess it’s easy enough to figure out who I was. The first Robin, and later Nightwing.”

Terry reached over to his discarded suit shirt and held it out in front of him, with the red bat standing out against the black. “And me, I am Batman.”

His mother just nodded numbly. “Excuse me. I think I’ll go to bed.” She looked around the room, full of former and current superheroes. “We’ll talk in the morning after Matt leaves for school.”

“He can’t know,” Terry told his mother. “He’s too young. And if he knows, that puts him in danger.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You mean he wasn’t in danger before? What about that tattooed man who kidnapped him two years ago?”

Terry winced. “That…that was a mistake.”

His mother only pursed her lips and moved around Diana, Barbara, and Dick to leave the room. After she left, an awkward silence fell over the room. The police commissioner let out a sigh and leaned against the wall. Looking at Dick, she remarked, “Well, she reacted better than you did, Boy Wonder.”

*          *          *

Matt ate his cereal grudgingly. “Why does Terry get to stay home?” he whined.

Terry blinked blearily at his younger brother. “Can it, twip.” His voice was hoarse and his throat hurt. When Clark had x-rayed him last night, he had discovered the bruises on the insides of his throat from where Inque had forced herself down, trying to suffocate him. Dick set down a glass filled with an orange-brown liquid. “Drink this, kid. It will make your throat feel better.”

Mary looked up from the sink where she was washing dishes. “Your brother is sick, Matt. Now finish your cereal before the carpool gets here.”

Matt sulked, shoving the bowl away from him. “I’m not hungry.”

“Then you can go clean up your room before you leave.”

Terry began laughing at his brother and Matt glared back at him. Matt the snickered when Terry had a coughing fit. Dick reached over and patted him on the back. “You all right kid?”

Terry gulped down the strange looking fluid and nodded, eyes miserable.

Diana and Barbara wandered in. The commissioner had spent the night at Wayne Manor. Thankfully, her husband DA Sam Young was out of town on business for the week. Clark, in a t-shirt, jeans, and glasses soon followed.

*          *          *

Matt studied the adults. All of the, including his twip of a brother, were tense and avoided making direct eye contact with each other. Something was up. For one thing, Clark Kent was not at the Manor when he had gone to bed last night. He had gone back to Metropolis soon after the McGinnis’s had settled into their new home and Matt had not seen him since. And then there was Commissioner Gordon. What was she doing here? And dressed in a robe! She must have spent the night.

But why?

He scowled at the grownups. He hated when they kept secrets from him because he was a kid. He was almost eleven!

A car horn honked and Mary looked up from the sink. “There’s your ride, Matt. Go on.”

Matt left the table and ran out of the room. He hated the carpool. All the kids were spoiled rich brats and they were rude to him. Terry got to stay home from school today. Why can’t he? Matt skidded to a stop before opening the front door. “Why can’t I?” He smiled.

He opened the door and stepped outside. He opened his eyes very wide and stared straight at the sun until they began to water. He then began scratching and rubbing his nose until it was red. Perfect. He faked a sneeze.

“Mrs. ‘alington?” He coughed. “I’m bot going to school tobay. I’m sick. Mom forbot to call you. I’m sorry.”

Mrs. Halington tsked. “You poor child,” she cooed over him. “You should be back in bed. What is your mother thinking making you tell me instead of coming out herself? Go back inside and you go get her to make you a bowl of chicken soup, you hear me?”

Matt nodded obediently. It was not until she had driven away that he grinned and pumped a fist into the air. “Yes!”

He then headed back inside and sneaked to the kitchen door. He wanted to know what the adults were hiding from him.

The commissioner was speaking. He never understood why she was so friendly to his brother, who was a convicted criminal! “…Look, Mary, I understand how you feel. I felt the same way; even argued it with Bruce! But I’ve come to see and accept that Gotham City needs its Batman. I may not like it, but it’s the truth.”

Matt frowned in confusion. Why were they talking about Batman?

“No! I do not want my son out there every night, putting his life in danger.” Matt winced at the tone of his mother’s voice. It was her do-as-your-told-or-you’re-in-big-trouble voice.

“None of us is a stranger to dangerous situations, Mrs. McGinnis,” Diana’s clear voice said. “For Kal, Barbara, Dick, and I, it was a very large part of our lives. We accepted it. We knew the risks, and so does your son.”

“Mom. Please, if you’ll only listen--”

“I will not listen. I refuse. I forbid you to put on that—that suit again!”

“Mrs. McGinnis,” Clark Kent’s voice said. “Your son has put his life on the line for this city countless times in the past two years. He’s had a few close calls, but he’s still alive.”

“Close calls seem to run in the family,” came Dick’s wry voice. “No one’s been killed in the line of duty yet.”

“Yet.” Mary’s voice emphasized that last word.

“I’ve been careful, Mom. You don’t know how careful I’ve been. I don’t want Matt to grow up without his older brother.”

There was a loud smack, Mary’s hand hitting the table. “Dammit, Terry!” Matt was shocked; his mother never used bad language. “If you care so much for Matt, then please, stop.”

 “I can’t. It’s who I am. I’m Terry McGinnis, high school student, but I’m also Batman. You have to accept that.”

Matt gasped softly. “Oh my God…” he whispered.

Clark’s voice said something sharply, too soft for him to catch. The voices lowered and Matt inched closer to the door, trying to hear more. Suddenly, the door opened, and the tall form of Clark Kent was staring down at him.

“Uh oh.”

*          *          *

Mary was in a losing battle. She knew that. How can you argue with Superman of all people? Not to mention the police commissioner and an Amazon princess. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She dearly wished she had not given up drinking. She would welcome the numbness that alcohol gave right about now.

She was about to reply to her son when Clark held out a hand. “Wait,” he said sharply. He then walked over to the door and opened it, revealing her other son, listening in.

Terry groaned and let his head fall onto his arms. “What else can go wrong today?”

------------------------------

Part VII: Family Meeting

Ace lay in front of the tombstone. He stared forlornly at it, as he had every day since moving back into Wayne Manor. The part of the manor grounds he was in was the family cemetery. This had been the final resting place for generations of Wayne’s.

Terry watched Ace. “Whoever said dogs were stupid never met you, Ace.” He walked over and sat down beside him. “I miss him, too.”

Ace looked mournfully at Terry, who was talking to the headstone. “Well, Bruce. You kept your secret for over fifty years. Then you died, and what did I go and do? Now everyone knows.” Terry sighed and wrapped his arms around his legs. “I really blew it, didn’t I? I let you down.”

Ace whined and looked at the boy reproachfully. “What’s the matter, mutt?” Ace growled. “What? You don’t like me blaming myself?” The dog tilted his head to the sighed and just stared.

Terry smirked. “Yeah. I know. He wouldn’t want me blaming myself either.” He got up and brushed the seat of his pants. “Come on, mutt. Family meeting. And like it or not, you’re family.”

*          *          *

Matt sat on the couch, lost in thought. He could not believe that his twip of a brother was Batman! He winced as he remembered all the times he’s told his brother how great Batman was. Terry had probably been laughing at him!

Though it had been schway to meet Superman, even if he had never thought of Superman as married and with a job, or knowing how to cook. But then again, who would have thought that Terry could have been Batman? Matt sighed. He would have to rethink everything now about superheroes and who they were.

*          *          *

Clark set down Lois and Marina and opened the front door to Wayne Manor. “Let’s hope you know what you’re doing,” he said to the two women.

Lois shook her head. “Trust us, Clark. Some girl talk should do wonders.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “And besides, if you’re going to be spending time in Gotham City, I want to be right there with you. I don’t want you disappearing for months on end like last time.”

Clark gave her a pained, and slightly guilty look. “I was under the control of an alien symbiotic starfish. I had no memory of four months of my life.”

Lois just glared back. “Well, I had to do without a husband for four months. Do you know how hard it was to make up excuses for why you weren’t there? Not to mention the emotional anguish I went through, thinking you had left me?”

Marina, known as Aquagirl, cleared her throat and little uncomfortably. “Ah, why don’t the two of you continue your conversation later, after this mess with Batman is resolved?”

The Kents looked at her and started laughing. “We did it again, didn’t we?” Lois asked her husband.

 “Would you expect otherwise, Mad Dog Lane?” Clark smirked.

Aquagirl sighed and pushed past them and entered Wayne Manor. Behind her, the couple just grinned at each other and followed.

*          *          *

Tim Drake got out of his car slowly, studying the building in front of him: stately Wayne Manor. When was the last time he had been here? He had never returned after he had moved out after college. After that incident with the Joker, he had wanted nothing to do with crime fighting again. He had just wanted to forget and live a normal life.

Normal.

There is no such word for those who have had their lives touched by Bruce Wayne. The Joker coming back and taking over his body had shown him that. But it seemed that the nightmare was finally over for him. There was just one more thing that he had to do, before he could fully put Robin behind him.

He was torn. One part of him wanted Terry to grab Batman with both hands and not let go. However, the other part remembered what the Joker had done to him, and was afraid that something similar would happen to the McGinnis kid. Fortunately, none of the new Batman’s enemies seemed to be as obsessively crazed with torturing him as the Joker had been.

But still…

Tim had learned the hard way the darker side of Gotham. He had been shot at, been hurt, seen those around him hurt, and nearly died a number of times. Did anyone deserve such a life?

With his thoughts racing around in his head, he approached the door and rang the doorbell. A familiar face opened the door. “Tim!”

Tim smiled, a genuine smile. “What’s up, bro?” The two former Robins hugged, remembering.

*          *          *

Dana Tan sighed as she watched the land pass by the window. “Are you going to tell me why you dragged me out of class to visit Terry? My dad is going to flip when he finds out.”

Max looked over at her friend. “Trust me. I wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t important.”

 “Is he hurt?”

Max hesitated. “He is hurt, but that’s not why we’re going to see him.” She clenched the steering wheel. “Let Terry explain everything.”

Dana kept silent. Max was relieved; she did not like being evasive to her friend, but it was Terry’s secret. He had called her on her cell phone during first period. Thankfully, she had that period free and was working in the computer lab. She answered, and Terry started blabbering on about how his mother and brother had found out and could she and Dana come to the Manor as soon as possible?

 ‘The things I do for you, McGinnis…’ she thought to herself as she drove through the gates of Wayne Manor. Ever since she had found out Terry’s secret, her life had been odd to say the least. Max smiled. She would not have traded a single moment of it.

*          *          *

Terry looked over the group that had gathered and felt his heart warm. He did not have a lot of friends, but those he did have were good friends, and loyal. True, the majority of the people here were near Bruce’s age, but they were still friends.

He cleared his throat. It still hurt to talk. “Thanks for coming, everyone. Um…I suppose I should have a little explanation, if only for Dana’s sake. Last night, my mother found out my secret. Then this morning, Matt listened in on our conversation and found out.” He glared at his brother, but it was only a half-hearted glare. There were more important things to deal with.

 “With the exception of Dana, you all know what secret I’m talking about. And well, Danes, I felt that you should know too.” He sighed and looked at his girlfriend. “Dana, you can never tell anyone this. I’m trusting this secret to you, and if it makes you want to break up with me, then that’s fine. I’ll deal. But you cannot ever tell. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

Dana nodded.

Terry sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. “There’s no other way to say it than to just say it. Dana, I’m Batman.”

*          *          *

She sat there numbly. Terry was Batman! On the surface, she was in shock, but underneath that…

 “Dana, say something, please.” Terry’s pleading voice broke through.

 “I’m all right, Ter.”

 “Dana…”

It made sense. Oh God, did it make sense. It had always seemed odd to her how much Batman had been mixed up in Hamilton Hill High School affairs. Not to mention that the costumed vigilante seemed to be watching out for her and Max.

 “I really am all right.” She looked Terry in the eye. “I’m just trying to…process it all. Though, I think that on some level, I had already known.” She smiled a little at his obvious surprise.

*          *          *

Terry shook his head. Now was not the time to get caught up that Dana had guessed his secret, if only subconsciously. He looked at his mother. “Mom.”

She frowned. “I don’t want you out there. And I’m not going to change my mind.”

 “Your son can be pretty stubborn, Mrs. McGinnis.” Barbara sipped her tea. “Bruce tried to keep the suit away from him, and you can see how well that worked out. When Bruce wouldn’t help him, he stole the suit. When Bruce ordered him back to the cave, Terry argued his way into keeping the suit. Bruce was one of the most stubborn men I knew and I honestly don’t think that where Bruce Wayne failed, you would succeed.”

 “That’s for sure. That man could out-mule a mule,” Tim muttered under his breath, earning a quick smile from Dick.

 “There’s something else, as well.” Clark nodded to Marina.

Aquagirl looked at the woman she now knew to be Batman’s mother. “Let me tell you something, Mrs. McGinnis. My father is Arthur Curry, king of Atlantis. He was once Aquaman, but he is now retired. When I told him that I wanted to continue in his footsteps, he forbade me to. So, I ran away to join the Justice League, anyway. He finally had to admit that he couldn’t keep me from being Aquagirl, and in the end, he stopped trying.”

 “I have a feeling that Terry will still be Batman, with or without your approval,” Clark added.

Mary clenched her fists. ‘Damn these people,’ she thought. “I…I’ll tell the media his secret if I have to.” She stared at Clark stubbornly.

 “That’s a really bad idea,” Lois spoke up. “Right now, with Batman’s identity a secret, you and Matt are relatively safe. The moment that the world knows, there will be psycho after psycho gunning for you in revenge. Believe me, I know. It was common knowledge that Superman and I were friends. Because of that, I was a target. I’ve lost count of the number of times I was kidnapped to use as bait. If people know that Batman has a family, do you think that the Jokerz or someone like Blight would even hesitate to kill you?”

During Lois’s speech, Matt had sunk deeper and deeper into the couch. He remembered that one time that the Stalker had kidnapped him.

Mary McGinnis looked small in the chair she had chosen. “Do you plan on being Batman for the rest of your life? What about family? Children? A job? Don’t you want any of those things?”

 “Mom, I do. Someday. But not right now. And there are a lot of superheroes that have other lives. Why do you think so many of them wear masks?” He looked at Clark. “Or glasses.”

Diana, who had remained silent up to this point, spoke up. “It is hard, yes, to live a double life. But it is possible. The reason it has been so difficult for you son is because he had to hide it from those who were closest to him. But now that you know, it would make Batman’s job much easier.”

 “So I’m supposed to just sit back and worry while my son is out there night after night?” Mary countered.

 “Your son will be in the best of hands.” Lois smiled. “You think I don’t worry about my husband? He may be Superman, but that doesn’t stop me. But I’ve learned to trust him. I trust him to be careful, and I trust him to know that he has someone to come home to.” Clark reached out and squeezed his wife’s hand. She smiled at him tenderly before continuing. “What your son does is a remarkable thing. While most of the people his age are living out their lives selfishly, not thinking beyond the latest fashions or the newest music hit, your son is out there saving people’s lives.”

Mary slumped in her seat. She knew when she had lost. “Fine,” she said to her son. “You’re Batman. But you are still my child and I expect you to come home every night, come Jokerz, crazies in costumes, or rabid dogs. You got that?”

Terry grinned. “Loud and clear.”

*          *          *

Dick approached Tim as he was heading out the door. “Wait a second, Tim.”

Tim turned towards the older man. “What is it?”

 “You were awfully quiet back there. Care to tell me why?”

Tim looked thoughtful. “I’m of two minds of this, Dick. I won’t lie to you. I think because of what happened with me because of the Joker, I’m more sensitive to the possibilities. That kid could easily die one night.”

Dick smiled grimly. “Hey, remember what Lois said back there. Trust Terry. Bruce did.”

 “Bruce was notorious for laying all the blame on himself, even if it wasn’t his fault. If Terry had died under his watch, how do you think the old man would have reacted? After I gave up the Robin suit, he started pushing Barbara away. You had already left. Bruce was too much of a loner. Whenever he let people in and something happened to them, those walls would come straight back up. It took a lot for him to let Terry in.”

 “It took a lot for him to take in a little gypsy circus brat. But he did it. And look where we are now. Still here, and still in one piece, and all the better for it.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Truthfully, would you have given up a single moment of flying over the rooftops?”

Tim smiled fondly in remembrance. “You know that answer to that already. Bruce would have been proud of you, Dick.” He walked out to his car. “You take care of the kid, you hear?” He then got into the car and drove away.

Dick stood at the doorway, staring after the car long after it had disappeared from sight. “I hear you, bro. I hear you.”

------------------------------

Part VIII: Down

The Batmobile flew over Gotham City. “Any activity on the scanners?” Terry asked.

Diana answered him. “Not a thing. Why don’t you call it a night and head back home?”

“Lady, you are definitely not Bruce. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

She laughed. “No one ever got Wonder Woman mixed up with Batman.”

“Can’t say I can really see him in blue shorts with white stars.” Terry grinned at the picture.

Diana laughed so hard she started coughing. When she caught her breath, she grinned. “And you, kid, are definitely not Bruce, either. No one ever accused him of having a sense of humor.” She cut the link, feeling slightly victorious for having gotten the last word in with Batman, even if it wasn’t the Batman that she had known all those years ago.

She heard light footsteps behind her and she swiveled the chair around to see Mary McGinnis staring around the cave. “So, this is the famous Batcave,” she commented.

“Home of Batman and his memories.” Diana nodded towards the trophy area. “There’s a whole lot of history in this cave. People who came and went….If these stalactites could talk.”

Mary pursed her lips. “If I may ask you something…?”

Diana leaned back in her chair. “Go for it. I won’t promise I’ll answer, though.”

“What made you become Wonder Woman?”

The Amazon thought. “It’s been a while, but at first, it was a sense of adventure. Thymiscra is pretty utopian, but it also gets pretty boring after a while. But I also felt a calling. I knew that somewhere out in Man’s World, my help was needed. So I went.”

“Do you regret it? Ever?”

“There are parts that, given the chance, I would have done over. But for the most part, not really. My friend J’onn once told me that I had a ‘hero’s heart’ and couldn’t stand idle when there was something I could do to change the world for the better.” She gave a quick smile. “He was unbelievably astute. Telepath, you know. I’m guessing this has something to do with Terry?”

Mary sighed. “I’m trying to understand his reasoning in putting on that suit night after night. I don’t know…I mean, myself, if I was given the chance, I would probably turn it down.”

“That’s you. Terry’s different. He has that hero’s heart I mentioned. He’s a good kid.”

“I know he is, and I am proud of him. It’s just that…”

“You worry.” Diana grinned. “You’re a mother. Of course you worry! It’s natural.”

The comm burst into life. “Diana! I’ve lost control of the Batmobile! I can’t keep in the air!”

The Amazon swung the chair around again, all business. “Where are you?”

“Headed on a collision course with my school.”

Diana was out of her chair and flying out of the Batcave before he finished speaking. He pushed herself to the limit, cursing the fact that she did not have Clark’s superspeed. “Hera, please let me be in time,” she prayed. But in her heart, she knew that she would be too late.

She saw a trail of smoke and heard the wail of sirens. “No no no no no! Please no.” She landed in an alleyway across from Hamilton Hill High School. There was a large gaping hole in the side of it where the smoke was coming out. Even as she watched, a police flitter landed and two uniformed officers exited.

“Crap.” Diana’s mind raced. “So much for Wonder Woman’s retirement,” she muttered to herself. She flew over the heads of the officers and into the school. She saw the Batmobile, lying inside. She opened the hatch and swore as she saw Terry’s still form inside. “Come on, kid. Don’t do this to me.”

“Hey, you! Get away from there!”

She ignored the officer as she gently lifted Terry out and set him on the ground. Still breathing, thank Hera.

“I’m warning you, miss. Get away from him or I’ll shoot!”

Diana looked up and glared. “That would be a really bad mistake,” she warned. Rising from the ground, she walked calmly over to the two officers and crushed their gun with her hands. They gasped and moved back a few steps. Her eyes hard, she said, “I would leave now if I were you. I’ll handle it from here.”

“Who do you think you are?”

“You know, I was going to help, but it looks like you have everything in hand.” The officers turned at the new voice and seeing who it was, they both paled.

Diana sighed. “Kal.”

Superman quirked an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m just helping out a friend.”

His eyes drifted over to Batman’s prone body. “How is he?”

“Don’t know. I just got him out of the car when Tweedledee and Tweedledum decided to pull guns on me.”

Superman looked at the two officers. “I think we can handle from here, gentlemen. Why don’t you go on your way?” The two men stammered something before nervously exiting.

“Wish I could still do that,” Diana commented as Clark began examining Terry. “How is he?”

“Not too bad; nasty bump on the head though. What happened to the Batmobile? Dick didn’t explain much when he called me.”

“He suddenly lost control of it. I suppose we’ll find out when we run a diagnosis scan on it.” She grimaced. Technology was not her forte.

Clark cradled Terry in his arms. “Think you can handle the car?”

*          *          *

Terry woke with a groan. He was lying on a cot in the cave. “What happened?” he croaked out.

Dick’s voice answered him. “Faulty power coupling on the Batmobile. You all right, Terry? You hit your head pretty hard.”

Terry groaned again and closed his eyes. Concussion. Definitely a concussion. He had had a few in the past and he knew what one felt like.

“Terry?” his mother’s anxious voice reached him. He opened his eyes and smiled weakly at her. “I’m all right. Nothing that won’t mend.”

“I wish you wouldn’t do this, Terry.”

He closed his eyes again and sighed. “This wasn’t because I was Batman, Mom. This was because there was something wrong with the Batmobile. Something like this could have happened when I was driving to school.”

“But it didn’t. It happened when you were being Batman. What if the police had reached you before Diana and Clark? Then what would have happened? They would have whisked you off to a hospital where you would have been unmasked, or at the very least, kept somewhere where I couldn’t reach you!”

“It didn’t, Mom. Everything’s fine.”

Strong arms picked him up and carried him up the stairs. “You rest, kid,” a voice said as he was laid onto his bed.

“Sure thing, Diana.” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Hey, thanks.”

“Not a problem. I’ll talk to your mom. You just rest.”

Terry chuckled as he closed his eyes again. ‘Poor Mom,’ he thought. ‘She just can’t win with these people.’ He would not have it any other way.

*          *          *

Mary paced around the living room. Dick and Diana sat on the couch watching her. At least Superman had left. That man was so intimidating!

“I don’t like this,” she said again.

The two on the couch looked at each other. “We know you don’t. But you just have to accept this,” Diana said.

“Look, Terry got hurt before he was Batman. He got into fights at school, on the street. From what I can figure, at least now, he’s getting into fights for the right reasons.”

“As I told you earlier, it’s perfectly natural for you to worry about Terry. He’s your son, and you’d worry about whether he was eight, eighteen, or eighty. But you have to learn to just let him make his own choices and face the consequences of them. On Themiscrya, we are taught to be independent, to be responsible. It’s the Amazon way. We’re warriors, and every mother knows that her daughter might one day be injured, or even die. We accept that because it is the way it must be.” Diana sat back and watched the other woman intently.

Mary sat down heavily in a cushioned chair. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid. But I keep remembering the way his father died. I don’t want something like that to happen to Terry.”

Dick leaned forward. “Mary, I promise you. We’re going to do everything possible to keep your son safe. Trust us.”

Mary smiled weakly. “I suppose I have to.” She gave a short laugh. “My son is Batman. What is my world coming to?”

He grinned. “Lady, welcome to the family.”

------------------------------

Part IX: Amnesia

There’s only so much one person can do. Terry knew that, and he had accepted long ago that he could not stop every crime nor save every life. But he tried. At first, he had tried in remembrance of his father. Later, after his father’s ghost had faded away, he did it for himself; a redemption, if you will, of all the wrongs he had committed in the past. But now…now, he did it for Bruce.

Bruce Wayne. His employer, mentor, friend, and surrogate father. The first Batman.

But there was only one Batman now. Terry stood on top of the highest building in Gotham. Tomorrow was his eighteenth birthday and Terry stood reflecting and remembering.

‘Bruce, what I wouldn’t give to have you here now,’ he thought to himself. He knew Bruce had been old, but he had always seemed immortal to Terry. It was not until his Bruce had fallen ill that Terry began to be afraid that he would die. ‘Ironic, wasn’t it, Bruce? You survived villains, common street punks, accidents, and even Ra’s al Ghul. Yet what brought you down was heart disease.’

The comlink buzzed in his ear. He tapped it with his finger. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Ter. Ready to hit the books?”

He smiled. “Sure thing Max. You can quiz me while I patrol. What’s on the agenda tonight?”

“History. Test on World War Two tomorrow.”

Terry groaned. “You had to remind me.” He sighed. “All right, Max. Shoot.”

“Chamberlain’s policy towards Hitler?”

“Um…appeasement, right?”

“Got it in one. Hitler invaded this country…”

“Hold it, Max. Someone on the other line.” Terry tapped his earpiece again. “Yeah?”

Diana’s voice came through. “There’s a silent alarm at Gotham University, the science building, east wing.”

“On it.” He ignited his rocket boots and jumped off the building. “Max? Have to cut the study session short. I’ll talk to you later.” He then cut off the link.

*          *          *

DA Sam Young and his wife police Commissioner Gordon were walking out of City Hall. “Glad I could convince you take an early night,” he told her.

“It’s been quiet lately. I’m sure Gotham can handle itself without me until tomorrow.”

A police flitter set itself down right in front of them. “Commissioner!” one of the officers called out the window. He got out and helped a groggy Batman down. “We found him wandering around Gotham U. Doesn’t seem to have any memory.”

“Great,” Barbara sighed. “So much for out quiet evening at home. Sorry, hon,” she told Young.

He nodded and just looked resigned as his wife walked over to Batman.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked the masked vigilante.

He shook his head. “Sorry, but I don’t remember much of anything right now.” He put a hand to his temple and grimaced.

“Does your head hurt?”

“Yeah.”

She turned towards the officer. “What happened?”

“Alarm over at the university. Got there in time to bust some crooks trying to make off with some expensive machinery. They babbled something about braining Batman so we started searching.”

Barbara looked around her and noticed that they were drawing a crowd. “Fine,” she said to the man. “Dismissed.”

After he walked off, she hesitated a moment before deciding what to do. She looked at Batman. “Come on. You’re coming home with me.” She then shot an apologetic glance at her husband.

*          *          *

Terry entered the door. “Can I take off this mask?” he asked the woman who had introduced herself as Barbara Gordon.

She looked at the man, Sam Young, and frowned. “Better not.”

“But I don’t even know what I look like!”

Barbara frowned. “Listen, kid, there are reasons you wear a mask. And there are reasons why you should keep it on.” She softened a little bit. “There’s a bathroom around the corner with a mirror.”

*          *          *

He stared into his reflection. A stranger stared back. Black hair, brown eyes, slightly pointed nose…and none of it familiar. There was a nasty looking bruise forming by his right ear. His eyes traced the red stylized bat on his chest. What kind of person was he to dress up like a bat every night, risking his life?

A hero. The officer who had picked him up had started telling him stories of ‘Batman’ when he realized the costumed man had no memory of who he was. There had been pride in the officer’s voice, as well as awe.

He looked at his face again. Sure did not inspire awe in him. He sighed and pulled the mask on again over his head.

*          *          *

Sam Young paced in his living room. “What were you thinking?” he asked his wife.

Barbara sat on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest. “I was thinking that I would help out someone who puts his life on the life for this city night after night. I was thinking that he would at least be safe here instead of wandering the streets or in some jail cell or even a hospital.”

“What happened to Barbara ‘I will not tolerate vigilantism’ Gordon?”

“She woke up and realized that there are more things out there in the city than a single police force can handle.” She looked at her husband pleadingly. “Sam, please. Be reasonable.”

“There’s more to this you’re not telling me. I know there is. Next thing I know, I’m going to be seeing the Bat-signal over City Hall!”

“Sam…” Barbara took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Please, just trust me on this.”

A black figure moved into the room. “I’ll leave if you want me to.”

Barbara shook her head. “No! You’re staying here for the time being, until I say otherwise.” She glared at Sam, daring him to voice an argument. He remained silent.

*          *          *

Barbara had given him the guestroom and some old clothes to sleep in. He was about to pull of his mask when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

The commissioner walked in carrying a box. She closed the door behind her. “Have a seat, kid. There are some things I have to tell you.” She opened the box and began handing him pictures.

There was a red-headed woman wearing a blue dress. Standing next to her was a little boy about ten years old with black hair. “This is your mother, Mary McGinnis and your brother Matt.”

“You know who I am?”

She nodded. “Terry McGinnis. High school senior, and until recently, employed by Bruce Wayne.” She then explained how he became Batman, and the events of the past year, beginning with Bruce’s illness. “Does any of this sound familiar?” she asked him.

He reached up and pulled off his mask and looked at her with worried eyes. “Some parts of it, I can almost remember, but when I try and reach, it fades away. Oh, why can’t I remember?”

“Easy, kid. I called Dick and someone’s going to come pick you up later tonight to take you home. Familiar surroundings should help you.” She then picked up the box again and pulled out picture after picture of people he felt he should recognize but did not. The names and faces swirled together in his mind, until they became a blur.

*          *          *

Sam Young pretended to still be asleep when his wife crept out of bed. He concentrated on breathing evenly as he heard the door to the bedroom open and shut. Only then did he get out of bed.

He knew that there were parts of Barbara’s past he did not know about, and he accepted that. This incident with Batman was much more than some secrets from earlier times; this was now and Barbara was hiding something from him. All of his “district attorney” instincts were on alert, telling him that there was more to this than just her wanting to help Batman out.

Quietly opening the door, he heard voices coming from the front foyer. He walked silently down the hall until he was near the stairs, but still out of sight.

“…lost contact with him. Something must have happened to the earpiece. Diana was going frantic.” Unfamiliar male voice. Samm frowned.

“Why didn’t she come?” Barbara’s voice drifted to where he was.

“She was calming down his mother. Still hasn’t gotten used to having a vigilante in the family.” There was a pause. “Where is he?”

“Upstairs, sleeping. I’ll go get him if you want.” Hearing that, Sam began making his way back to the bedroom.

“Thanks again, Babs.”

“No problem, Dick. Family sticks together, even if it’s Bat-family.”

There was a quiet chuckle from the man (Dick?). “Especially Bat-family. Um, Babs, about when I ran off to Bludhaven—”

Barbara cut off whatever he was going to say. “Forget it. I made my peace with that a long time ago and I thought you had too. Past is past, and we’ve moved on. I have Sam now, and I wouldn’t trade him for all the boy wonders in the world.”

Dick gave a bitter laugh. “I guess not. Now, about getting the kid home?”

Footsteps started making their way up the stairs and Sam crept back to bed, thinking about the conversation he had overheard.

*          *          *

Terry stared at the house in front of him. Wayne Manor. It was huge. ‘I live here?’ he thought.

“Come on, kid. Let’s get inside. Hopefully, Diana would have convinced your mom and brother to get to bed.” Dick opened the door.

The house was dark. Instead of heading up the stairs, Dick surprised Terry by leading the younger man into another room, lined with books. He stopped in front of an antique grandfather clock. He smiled at Terry. “Well, here goes nothing.” He then did something to the clock and it opened like a door, revealing a dark recess in the wall. Dick walked in. “Watch your step.”

As Terry walked down the steps, the familiarity of it shook him. He remembered doing this many times in the past, too many times to count.

He stood on the floor of the cave and he stared at the large computer with the empty chair in front of it. His mind filled in an old man with a cane sitting in it, a large mean looking dog lying at his feet. ‘Where did that come from?’

Unbidden, a gravelly voice spoke in his head. “You’re late.”

His lips twitched. He was always late, according to Bruce. He then frowned in puzzlement.

The same voice. “Think Batman can handle it?” There was amusement in the tone.

A sharp pain coursed through his skull. Terry groaned and sunk to the floor, clutching his head. When the pain stopped, he looked up into Dick’s worried face and grinned. “I’m back.”

Dick’s smile split his face. “Knew this would work. They always advise familiar surroundings for amnesiacs, and well…” he gestured around the cave. “This is definitely familiar surroundings for Batman.” He helped Terry up. “Welcome home, kid.”

------------------------------

Part X: The Demon Returns

Barbara Gordon put down the file she was looking at and leaned back in her chair. Taking off her glasses, she wiped her eyes and sighed. Three bodies found in an abandoned warehouse and no leads. A knock on her office door caused her to put her glasses back on and sit up straight. “Come in.”

Sam Young poked his head through the door and smiled. “Ready to call it a night?”

Barbara shook her head. “Sorry, Sam. This case is driving the department crazy and I have to stay in case something comes up.”

“A break then? Some food at the diner down the street?”

Barbara smiled. “You’re on,” she said as she grabbed her coat. The two of them left city hall and walked down the block, the Gotham night surrounding them. As they passed a dark alleyway, they heard a women’s voice call out faintly for help. Throwing worried glances at each other, they entered the alley.

“Hello? Is someone here?” Sam called out.

Barbara had drawn her gun, but reholstered it when she saw the crumpled body on the ground. She ran over and helped the dark haired woman up. “Are you all right?”

The woman kept her head down so that her hair fell down to obscure her face. She shook her head.

“What’s the matter?” Sam came over to support her other side.

The woman then looked up, smiling a little bit. “Why, nothing is the matter,” she said in her accented voice. Looking at Barbara, she grinned evilly.

The commissioner’s eyes widened and she released her hold. “Talia!”

“Not Talia any longer, my dear,” Talia said with the voice of Ra’s al Ghul, before spraying a fine mist over both Barbara and Sam. As they crumpled to the ground, she added, “And not Talia for much longer.”

*          *          *

Dick woke up tied to a chair. He frowned, trying to remember what had happened. He had been in the Cave, working out on the uneven parallel bars. He had been so focused that he had not even noticed her presence until he had dismounted. She had stood off to the side, applauding him. “Very good,” she (he?) had said. Ra’s in Talia’s body had approached him and Dick had tensed. He had been so intent on the figure in front of him that he had not even noticed the other person until the hand had clamped down over his mouth, holding a cotton pad dipped in chloroform.

Dick tested his bonds but they were tight and secure. Where had Ra’s taken him?

A soft moan drew his attention and he swore quietly under his breath. To one side of him were Barbara, her husband Sam, and Mary McGinnis. To the other side was Matt. All were in the same position he was, only still unconscious. Diana was shackled to the wall so that she was in an upright position. It had been her that had groaned.

“Diana!” he called out. She moaned again and opened her eyes. “Dick?” she mumbled, trying to get her eyes focused. “Where are we?” Her words were mumbled and she was focusing at a point somewhere over his shoulder. Drugged.

She tugged at the shackles ineffectively. Giving up, she sagged against the wall. “What happened?”

“Ra’s al Ghul.” Dick growled.

Diana blinked, trying to get her eyes to focus. “Him again? Wasn’t he dead?”

“Not dead enough, apparently,” Barbara’s quiet voice muttered. She looked up at Dick. “What do you think he wants?”

Dick shrugged and closed his eyes, trying to ignore is throbbing head. Chloroform hangovers…He had forgotten. Around him, the others began to waken. He answered Mary’s frightened questions and tried to comfort Matt, leaving Barbara to handle Sam.

*          *          *

Sam Young sat in his chair, listening to the others talk about rescue. They seemed positive that someone would come to find them. He was not so sure. There was more going on than just a simple kidnapping. Barbara had known that woman in the alleyway, and she knew these people who were with them as well, though he had never seen them before.

Though he recognized one voice. Dick. Now he could put a face with the name of Batman’s friend—and Barbara’s, too, apparently. He did not know who the other two women were, or the boy, but he would bet that they were somehow connected to Batman as well.

The door opened and the woman who Barbara had called “Talia” entered, followed by two dangerous looking men. She was dressed in a skintight leather jumpsuit and her hair was loose, covering one of her eyes. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see the two of you again.” Sam shivered at the deep male voice that came from her.

Talia stalked across the room and knelt in front of Barbara. “It saddened me to hear of the Detective’s death. He was a worthy adversary. It was a pity he never saw it fit to become my heir.” She then got up and walked over to Dick. “But then, events might turn out right in the end. There is a new Batman, and I will content myself with him.”

“What are you up to, Ra’s?” Dick snarled.

“I had thought to use you, at first,” Talia (Ra’s?) continued, ignoring Dick. “But then the Detective took on a new apprentice. You, for all your talent, never took up the mantle of Batman. He found you unworthy. But this new one…he will do nicely.”

Barbara struggled against her bindings. “You leave him alone, Ra’s al Ghul, or so help me…”

Talia threw back her head and laughed. “You still amuse me, after all these years, little girl. For that, I may spare you when this is over.” She gazed over the group of prisoners. “I may spare all of you. I am not a cruel man.”

“No, only insane.” Dick glared at him.

Talia just grinned and motioned for the two men still standing in front of the door. “Untie these two,” she said as she motioned towards Dick and Barbara. “Be careful though; they are dangerous.”

Barbara glared at the man who approached her. He untied her legs first and when he moved to do the same to her hands, she swung a leg over and kicked him in the head. She stood up, freeing her wrists from the loosened ropes. Next to her, Dick was struggling with the other man. “Get Ra’s!” Dick called out to her.

The commissioner charged the immortal, but at the last second, Talia/Ra’s pulled out a canister and sprayed Barbara with it, rendering her unconscious. Putting the canister away, Ra’s glared at the man who was getting off the ground. “Pick her up and follow me.” Dick was half guided, half dragged to the door. The goon he had been fighting had landed a punch to his face that had left Dick woozy.

The door closed and the rest of the prisoners stared at it long after the group had disappeared through it.

*          *          *

“Mom?” Matt asked. “Terry will find us, right?”

Mary longed to be able to take her youngest son into her arms to comfort him. “Of course he will. It’s his job.”

Diana stirred from her drugged stupor. “You know, Kal’s off planet with the Justice League. I bet Ra’s planned for that…Nabbed us once Superman and the rest of the JLU wasn’t here.”

Mary glared at the closed door again. “What is he…she? going to do to them?”

“Who knows? Ra’s has always had this obsession with the Bats.”

Sam spoke up. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on here? Why did they take my wife? What does this have to do with Batman? What is GOING ON?!?”

Diana blinked blearily at him before turning to Mary. “Mr. Young, I wish I could. I only know some. For the whole story, you’ll have to ask Barbara or Dick.”

“Why would they know?”

Diana groaned and tugged again at her shackles. “You’ll have to ask Barbara. It’s not my place to tell.”

Sam sat back, deep in thought.

*          *          *

About half an hour later, the metal door clanged open again. The two goons entered, each dragging an unconscious figure. Dick and Barbara, but much younger than when they had been taken out of the room. Barbara’s red hair shone faintly in the light from the lone light bulb from the ceiling. Dick’s hair was as black as Matt’s.

Diana stared at her two friends before swearing at the two goons in Greek. She tugged at her bonds and the muscles in her arms strained. With a grunt, one iron shackle ripped free from the wall and hit goon number one in the head. He yelped and held a hand to his forehead, trying to stop the bleeding.

The Amazon pushed against the wall again, trying to get free of the other manacle. Suddenly, a tiny dart flew through the air and imbedded itself into her side. She struggled to resist the drug, but she was soon slumped against the wall again, hanging by one still restrained arm.

Ra’s strode into the room holding a pressurized dart gun and regarded the unconscious body of the former Wonder Woman. “That was a very foolish thing to do.” She motioned for her two men to retie the rejuvenated Barbara and Dick. “One more session should do it,” she commented as she studied them. “To make it permanent. It would be quite ironic to have two of his most loyal companions for my servants.” She smiled and left the room, her two men following. The door closed.

*          *          *

Terry felt like hitting something. The commissioner and the district attorney kidnapped without a trace. Then Dick taken right out of the cave and his mother, brother, and Diana from the house. He hit the play button again on the computer and watched the screen as Ra’s al Ghul walked into the kitchen of the manor to stand over the drugged from of Diana.

Terry’s hand clenched into a fist. He will find Ra’s al Ghul. And he will make him pay.

------------------------------

Part XI: Young at Heart

Barbara woke up with a moan. That knockout gas of Ra’s was powerful and left her with a throbbing headache. Through the pain, she recognized her husband’s voice, raised in anger at confusion. Dick’s voice answered, though there was something different about it. It seemed…younger?

She opened her eyes and blinked repeatedly but her vision remained blurry. “Dick? Why is everything blurry?”

“Take off your glasses, Babs.”

She maneuvered her body so that she was able to use her knee to scrape off her glasses. It was surprising how easy it was; she had not been that flexible in decades. Blinking in surprise at her clear vision (the last time she had been able to see this clearly with glasses was when she had been Batgirl), she asked, “What happened?”

Dick answered tersely, “Lazarus pit. He put both of us in.”

Barbara glanced over and saw Dick Grayson, the one she had known over thirty years ago. Swearing under her breath, she tried to smile. “Well, Boy Wonder,” she said, “At least now, if we can get free, you and I have a fighting chance. The benefits of youth.”

Something on the floor caught her eye: the shackle that Diana had broken free from the wall. “Dick.” She gestured towards it. It was near the far wall and would be quite a distance to travel when tied to a chair. But if they could reach it, they could use it to cut through the ropes.

Barbara rocked her chair until it fell. She fell onto her face, but she ignored the pain and began making her slow way across the floor. She could only move her torso so it was only possible to move a few inches at a time. But it was the only chance they had.

*          *          *

Terry stared at the aerial view of the compound on the computer screen. It looked as if it had been abandoned for years. “Are you sure this is the place?” he asked.

Max’s voice came in over the comlink. “Positive. Talia al Ghul has holdings throughout Gotham City, but this is the only one that isn’t in use. And last week, there were reports of lights coming from it.”

“It’s in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for a secret hideout.”

“Or a trap.” Max’s voice was shadowed with concern.

“It is a trap. It’s too easy.”

“But you’re still going.”

Terry smiled sardonically as he reached for his cowl. “Or course. I’m Batman, remember?”

*          *          *

Ra’s stormed into the room with the prisoners. There would be no time for a second submersion in the Lazarus pit for the two Bat-children. She had noticed a computer search on her holdings in Gotham City. Apparently, she had underestimated the new Batman. It would not happen again.

The prisoners looked up as she entered the room. She scowled, taking the in scene. Kicking the shackle away from Barbara, she pulled her chair upright and dragged her back to her place. “That was a nice try, commissioner. A shame it didn’t succeed.”

Taking a small box out, she approached Barbara. Opening the box revealed two microchips. “Jervis Tetch was insane and his attempts at being a criminal mastermind were laughable. However, he was a genius in the field of mind control.” She picked up one of the chips with a pair of tweezers. “I have improved on his absurdly large cards, creating this. Now hold still,” he ordered Barbara as she tried to move away. Ra’s planted the chip behind Barbara’s ear and then repeated the procedure with Dick. The two sat perfectly motionless in their chairs, blank looks on their faces. “Better.”

“What did you do to them?” Mary cried out.

Ra’s ignored her. Instead, she opened the larger box she had carried in with her and removed two bundles of cloth. Unrolling them revealed a familiar black and blue costume as well as a black and yellow one. Untying Barbara and Dick, she threw the costumes into their laps. “Change into these.”

Their motions were mechanical and the blank look never left their faces. Soon, Nightwing and Batgirl stood in the room. Ra’s studied the two critically. “It should give Batman much pause to be have to fight you two to get to me.” She chuckled. “And when he makes his mistake, I will have him.”

*          *          *

Sam stared at his wife. At Batgirl. That was her secret, he realized. That was her connection to Batman.

Ra’s al Ghul had left, instructing the two costumed figures to guard the prisoners. “When Batman shows up, subdue him,” she had added before closing the door.

Sam stared at his wife. “Barbara? Hon?”

No answer. No sign that she had even heard him. He looked over at Mary and Matt. “What do we do now?”

Mary just shook her head. “I don’t know.”

*          *          *

Terry was cautious. It had been far too easy to get into the compound, even if it was a trap. Ra’s had something up her sleeve and Terry had no clue what it could be. In camouflage mode, he crept through the deserted hallways, ready for the ambush that never came.

As he turned another corner, Terry muttered, “Maybe this maze is the trap.” There seemed to be no logic to the way the hallways were laid out. It also did not help that he had no clue where the prisoners would be held. He just had to keep searching.

He froze when he heard Ra’s voice from overhead. “Welcome, Batman. I’ve been expecting you.”

Terry ejected a Batarang from the suit and held it at the ready. He relaxed somewhat when he saw the speaker mounted on the wall above him.

“I suspect you have come to rescue your companions. A very noble gesture; the Detective would have approved.”

“What’s your game, Ra’s?” Terry called out.

“Find your friends and rescue them, if you can. Succeed, and I shall let you and them go. If you fail…well then, my young Dectective…I shall name my prize.”

“And what’s the prize?”

Ra’s laughed and Terry felt a chill down his spine. “You shall find out in due course. I wish you luck; you’ll need it.” The speaker turned off with an audible click and the lights blinked off. Then, the lights in one hallway flickered to life, one by one.

“Guess I’m supposed to go that way,” Terry muttered as he advanced.

*          *          *

Sam glanced from their two mind-controlled guards to Mary. “I want to know everything. Tell me, now! What is your connection to Batman?”

Mary looked away from him and did not answer. It was Matt who spoke up instead. “Terry’s Batman.”

Mary glared at him. “Matt! Keep quiet!” Her son shrank into his seat.

“Who’s Terry?” Sam concentrated on keeping his voice level and on suppressing his frustration. “Is he your husband? Your brother?”

Mary stared at the unconscious form of Diana that hung limply by one wrist. “He’s my son.” Her voice was quiet and Sam had to strain to hear her.

“Your son.”

“My name is Mary McGinnis. My son’s name is Terry.”

Sam’s eyes widened, his brain working fast. “Terry McGinnis! Then that means that--”

“Bruce Wayne. He was the first Batman. Your wife was a member of his team many years ago.”

“But, how?”

Mary shook her head. “I don’t know. They never told me the full story. Maybe if Diana ever wakes up…” Her voice trailed off as she stared at the Amazon, hoping.

“Who is she?”

“Another hero from back then. She was Wonder Woman.”

Sam sat contemplating the revelations. It would take time to adjust to the fact that Barbara was Batgirl. Had been Batgirl. When she returned to her senses, would she even want to change back to the way she was? Because of the Lazarus pit, she was young and strong again. Would she still want him? He looked at Nightwing. He remembered when he was younger, there had been rumors about the two costumed crime fighters. Could they have been true?

*          *          *

The trail of lit hallways had led him to a metal door. Batman stared at it, wondering what he would find on the other side. His friends and family? A trap? Only one way to find out. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

“Terry!” his mother cried out.

He froze when he saw Batgirl and Nightwing in front of him. The pair tensed when he entered the room and they crouched into fighting stances. “Barbara? Dick?” Terry gasped out in shock.

The two lunged at him. Terry barely managed to leap out of the way. Damn they were quick. The two circled around him, their faces blank. “What are you doing?” Terry yelled as he blocked a kick.

“Terry! They’re being mind-controlled!” Mary called out.

“Great,” he muttered. “Just what I need.” For a moment, he worried about his mother using his real name in front of Sam Young but he pushed the thought aside as he concentrated in fighting. Kicking Batgirl in the chin, he knocked her into the wall. She got up after a second, unfazed.

Silently, Terry cursed. He used the suits capabilities to their fullest extent. He was no match for the two of them in fighting ability. He had to use every possible advantage he could and even then he was not sure he could beat the two of them.

Firing his rocket boots, he slammed Nightwing into the wall, hard. “How did Ra’s do this?” he yelled to Mary.

“She put some kind of computer chip behind their ears.” Mary watched the battle with worry. She knew that Terry could handle himself but he was still his son. And she had seen Barbara and Dick when they had been sparring. She knew how good they were.

Nightwing grabbed Terry’s wrist when he reached behind his ear. Terry winced at the other man’s strength. “Come on, man. Snap out of this.”

Terry jammed a knee into Nightwing’s stomach and the older man doubled over, releasing him. When he reached out to remove the chip, a fist slammed into his face. He hit the floor and barely managed to roll out of way of Batgirl’s kick. ‘This is not my day,’ he thought to himself. He grabbed her leg and pulled her down on the floor with him. They wrestled and Terry managed to get a hand under her cowl. He grinned with triumph when he felt the computer chip and picking it off of her skin, he crushed it.

Barbara stared up at him in confusion. “Batman! What--” She was cut off when he pulled her up and out of the way of Dick’s fist.

“No time for a long explanation, commish,” he said as he continued to fight Nightwing. “Long story short, he put some kind of mind control chip on you two.”

Barbara ran forward and jumped, kicking Dick in the chest with both legs. “I’ll handle Nightwing. You get the others free.”

Batman nodded before going over to the prisoners. He untied his mother. “Can you deal with Matt and the DA?” he asked her. When she nodded, he went over to Diana and started cutting through the remaining shackle with a laser from his belt.

*          *          *

Barbara grunted with pain when one of Nightwing’s kicks landed. She clenched her teeth and returned with a heavy punch to his chin. ‘Come on, go down already,’ she thought. ‘Always the stubborn one, Grayson.’

The chip. She had the reach the chip. But so far, he had prevented every single one of her attempts. She knew Nightwing’s moves and she knew how to counter them so at least she was faring better than if it had been Terry in her place.

She saw a chance and she took it. She grabbed his arm and wrenched it around his back, slamming him into the wall. One chance…She pawed blindly behind his right ear, hoping that was where the chip was. Was that it? Yes! She pinched it off him and squeezed it between her fingers. Nightwing sagged against the wall.

“Welcome back, Boy Wonder,” she said when she let him loose.

He gently rubbed his chin and winced. “Why do I think this bruise on my chin will match your fist?”

“My boot, actually,” she informed him with a smile. “Ready to blow this joint?”

He took in her costume and then his and raised an eyebrow. “This was Ra’s al Ghul’s master plan? Have Batman fight the two of us?” He tsked. “He sure has lost his touch now that he’s a woman.” He cried out when Barbara slapped his arm. “Watch it! I have a bruise the size of an elephant there.”

“If the two of you are finished?” Batman’s voice reached the two of them. He had Diana slung over one shoulder.

Barbara and Dick looked at each other and grinned. Together, they saluted with precision. “Yes, Bruce!”

Terry growled.

“You’re getting the Batman down pat, kid,” Barbara informed him. “Bruce has taught you well.”

Batman stalked past them and opened the door. “I don’t believe it. One dunk in the Lazarus pit and their whole mentality reverts back along with their bodies.”

Dick snickered as the rest of the freed prisoners followed Terry.

*          *          *

They ran into trouble almost immediately. As they rounded the corner, ten men greeted them, rifles pointed towards the escaped prisoners. “Ra’s, I thought we had a deal,” Batman called out.

The speaker on the wall crackled to life. “I lied.”

“What happened to your sense of honor, Ra’s?” Nightwing asked. “Lose that when you stole your daughter’s body?”

“Talia’s sacrifice was one made out of loyalty. It was a noble one.”

“You just keep telling yourself that if it will make you sleep better at night. I’m sure that Bruce felt that the exact same way when you tried to take his body.”

There was no answer from the speakers. The men with the guns shifted nervously, waiting for some sort of signal.

Nightwing glanced over at Batgirl. “This sure feels like old times, doesn’t it?”

She flashed a quick smile at him as she shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet. “Want to take a walk down memory lane, Boy Wonder?”

The two of them launched themselves into the fray.

Batman bit back a curse as he pushed the others back around the corner. He handed Diana to Sam. “Watch over her,” he ordered before heading into the fight.

*          *          *

Within fifteen minutes, it was over. Batman surveyed the unconscious men lying on the ground. “Remind me to never get on your bad side,” he told his two fighting companions.

Batgirl looked up from where she was binding up a cut on Nightwing’s arm. “Ready to get out of here?”

“Commish, I’ve been ready.” Terry collected Diana back from Sam and they continued on their way. They had almost reached the exit when Ra’s voice shouted, “Stop!” She leveled a gun at them.

Batman turned, readying a batarang. “You’ve had your chance, Ra’s. We’re going to be walking out of here. The only choice you’ve got right now is if that will be before or after we pound your face into the wall.”

“Petty threats do not impress me, boy. I have grown tired of this body and I want another one. Yours.”

“Lady, you need help.” Batman shifted Diana’s weight and resumed walking.

“Don’t turn your back on me!”

Terry crouched suddenly and half-turned, throwing the batarang. Ra’s cried out in pain as the gun was knocked out of her hand. Nightwing then leapt and knocked the demon to the ground. Checking to make sure she was out cold, he got up. “Let’s go home.”

*          *          *

A flitter landed in front of the group as they exited the compound. The door opened and the ramp extended. Aquagirl smiled down at them. “Going my way?” she asked.

Terry felt his lips twitch beneath his mask as he walked up the ramp. ‘I owe you one, Max,’ he thought. He had not been sure if she would have been able to get in touch with the members of the JLA who had not gone on the mission. Apparently, he had not given her enough credit.

In the distance, sirens could faintly be heard approaching. Score another one for Max.

In the flitter, Mary held both of her sons’ hands during the short ride back to Wayne Manor. Home.

------------------------------

Part XII: Family

Both Barbara and Dick had changed out of their costumes and into street clothes. The two of them sat on the couch. Facing them was Sam Young. They sat in silence.

Terry walked down the stairs. “Both Mom and Matt are sleeping and Diana’s tucked into bed. I got a call from Max. Ra’s is now in police custody.” He took a seat on the couch next to Barbara. “I wonder what they’re going to think of him…her…” He shrugged. “Whatever.”

“He’ll be out again in no time.” Dick avoided looking at Sam. “He’s had centuries to build up his power base.”

Silence again fell in the room. Sam finally cleared his throat. Looking at his wife, he asked, “Are you going to stay that way?”

Barbara looked down at her hands. “I don’t know, hon.”

Terry cleared his throat. “When Bruce got his youth restored, it wore off eventually.”

“How long?” Dick asked.

The younger man frowned as he tried to remember. “Two weeks? Maybe more.”

Barbara sighed and held her face in her hands. “I cannot just disappear for two weeks. I’m not a hermit like Bruce.”

“Say you’re recovering from your ordeal. You’re taking a highly earned vacation to some remote resort somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” Terry shrugged.

“How do you know that you will change back?” Sam asked. He stared at Barbara and tried to see his wife in the stranger sitting across from him.

“I don’t. I just have to trust.” Barbara’s voice was flat. She sighed and leaned back in her seat. “But this isn’t the issue here, is it?”

Sam did not look at her.

“Fine. I was Batgirl. Are you happy now, Sam? It’s out in the open.”

“No, I’m not happy, Barbara. You were hiding something this big from me for all those years! I thought that you trusted me.”

She reached out and grasped his hand firmly in one of her own. She stared into his eyes, blue to brown. “I do trust you, hon. But you have to understand, there was a lot more to this than just me. There was also Bruce, and Dick, and Tim. And then Terry came along … It wasn’t just my secret to tell.”

Sam frowned. “Tim?” he asked.

“Robin. He … he went through some pretty traumatizing things right before he retired. Having it dragged out into the open would have hurt him more than I would ever be willing to do.” She squeezed his hand. “Sam?” she asked gently.

He squeezed back. “I can’t say that I like it, Barb. But I do understand.” He smiled weakly at her. The smile became more concrete when she got up and changed seats so that she was sitting close to him.

“So, we okay, Sam?” Barbara asked softly.

He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “Yeah, hon. We’re okay.”

Dick and Terry shared a grin.

*          *          *

When Clark finally returned from the JLU mission, both Dick and Barbara had aged decades. Her hair still had a reddish tint to it and his was still darker than it was before but for the most part, they were back to normal.

Clark landed on the front porch of Wayne Manor and rang the doorbell. He was surprised when an African-American man answered the door. “Excuse me…”

The man grinned and stuck out his hand. “Sam Young. You must be Clark.”

Clark shook hands with Sam. “You’re Barbara’s husband.”

“That’s right.” There was a note of pride in his voice. “Come in. They’re all in the kitchen.”

“What’s going on?” Clark followed the other man. He could hear voices in the distance.

Sam shrugged. “Nothing really. We’re just having a little get together.”

When they entered the kitchen, greetings were called out to the new arrival. Clark sat down at the table and accepted a plate of food with a smile at Mary. “So, I heard you had an adventure without me,” he said as he took a bite.

Dick grinned. “Aw, it was nothing the Bat-family couldn’t handle.”

Barbara smirked. “You know us, Kent; we’re like that bunny. We just keep going and going and going…” She ducked as Dick swatted at her.

“And here I thought that it was Grayson who made the lame jokes,” Diana commented with a wink.

The adults laughed at Terry’s confusion. He shared a look with Matt and they both shook their heads.

Clark put down his fork. “Well, Bruce would have been proud of you. All three of you.”

The smiles faded a bit as they remembered the first Batman. Finally, Terry spoke up. “Thanks, Clark. That means a lot.”

Dick and Barbara nodded in agreement.

Clark smiled and picked up his fork again. “Don’t mention it. I’m just telling the truth.” He put a piece of chicken in his mouth.

Terry sat back and looked around the room contentedly. Three years ago, his family had consisted of only two: him and his father. And then, with his father gone, he had a new family with his brother and mother. And then there was Bruce, which made four. Now…now his family had more than doubled. He mentally ticked them off in his head. There were seven currently in the room, plus Dana and Max, which made nine. Then there was Ace, so that was ten. He cannot forget Tim, who was still family in the hearts of Dick and Barbara. And finally, there was still Bruce. He may be gone physically, but he was still very much there in spirit.

Eleven.

Enough to fill both hands and still have one left over. Terry smiled and he wondered how his family will grow and change in the days to come. He looked forward to it.

--fin--

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