Chapter 5

A bank heist in progress, the suspects fleeing the scene of the crime… One of them unloaded a few shotgun rounds at some of the guards who had given chase, sending two through the bank windows, showering the ones inside with flying glass and falling bodies.

As the gunman crowed out in victory, he was suddenly lifted airborne as a black-clad vigilante hovered in mid-air above him. The perp nearly wet his entire pants as he stared into twin pools of righteous anger.

Shaking his head, the perp learned the hard way as he was thrown though a department store window displaying quality mirrors - sixty yards away, and down the street.

The rest of his buddies were in no better shape either as they were welded shut inside the getaway van, thanks to an unknown micro-molecular solvent. “Batman” drove his right arm through the engine chassis and wrecked it beyond repair.

“Next time,” the bystanders heard him say as he faced the ones inside the van. “Learn to make a deposit before you make a withdrawal.”

Terry was eating lunch on the top of Wayne Enterprises when his A.I intercepted another call on the police band. He quickly finished off his burger and flew to where the call originated.

Now this can't be good, the neo Batman thought. He had arrived in stealth mode, landing atop of the adjacent building overlooking the scene. Terry was watching a drug bust gone bad as rival dealers caught the cops inside a deadly crossfire between them. It was a free-for-all to whomever gets the goods and the cash as they screwed the cops and each other.

Geez, he winced as he spotted several people go down. Some of them were practically kids! Activating armor mode, he dove into the melee. Using his speed as leverage, he did the best he could to stop the casualties from mounting.

“Look out!” A commanding voice rang out at the same instant Terry's threat-alert sensors warned him of a possible attack coming from behind. The Tomorrow Knight turned and launched a fist in an effort to subdue the attacker when a sharp retort of sound knocked the said creep down. He saw an elderly plainclothes cop holster his weapon and approached him.

“You're good.” Terry said as he inspected the downed, unconscious criminal. “But that was unnecessary. I could've taken him.”

“Didn't know that. And I wasn't going to take the chance. You all right?” The cop asked, giving him the once-over as the black-clad figure nodded. A look of concern and confusion showing on the old man's face as he gazed at Terry.

“I'm Batman.” Terry said. “Just not your city's Batman. But I'm just like him. If you ever need me - I'll be around.”

“No.” Terry's eyes narrowed, that was the second time someone brought up Nightwing as the obvious “Batman” replacement. “And who, may I ask, are you?”

“James Gordon.” The man answered. “Semi-retired Commissioner of the GPD.”

“Like I said,” The Tomorrow Knight's voice held nothing but admiration toward the man before him. “You're good, I hope your daughter will be able to follow in your footsteps.”

Gordon barked back a bitter laugh as he heard this. “I doubt she'll be doing that for a long time to come.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Terry didn't like where this seemed to be heading.

“She was paralyzed from the waist down from one of the Joker's random psychotic rages.” Gordon said, bitterness and raw pain shown in his voice.

Terry was in a state of disbelief. You've gotta be slaggin' me! He thought.

“I'm sorry.” Terry said, trying to sound comforting. Then he realized something. Some of the things he noticed since he had come to this world were beginning to make sense to him now.

“If you ever need me,” He turned to leave, noting that most of Gordon's men were watching him leave peaceably. “Just call.”

This is getting ridiculous, the Tomorrow Knight thought as he loosed a barrage of homing batarangs toward the enemy's left flank, effectively taking out some of the current irritants. His A.I. was able to match a third of the groups present as the ones he had apprehended not too long ago.

“How the hell did you slackers get out of jail so fast?” Terry muttered as he dropped down and went hand to hand. Tough as these guys were, most of them had glass jaws.

No one answered back as they tried to overwhelm him through sheer number alone. It seemed that both gangs decided to join forces to take him down before they resumed their “little” dispute.

Terry was glad he wasn't claustrophobic in a large crowd as they piled on top of him. Using the suit's thermal shielding, he sent pulses of electrical charges running down the length of his entire costume. He had, in effect, become the world's first man-sized electric stun gun.

Soon thereafter, the ground became littered which moaning bodies. Sighing at the waste, he approached the leaders of the two factions and tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

“What is wrong with you people?” he hissed as he lifted them both off the ground. “Getting your kicks out of killing each other? For what?”

“Nah,” the black teen he held aloft in his left hand said. “Yougodda buentah de re-yazunn, man! Dis ferall demarbuz on de yole aree, fo' queen heself, yay?”

The neo “Batman” blinked his eyes in confusion, his face slack. Even his A.I. was having trouble processing that one. He looked at the other perp he held on his right hand, then back at the black perp. Blinking his eyes again, he looked back to the one on the right. “Okay, I have no clue as to what he just said.”

The other guy wasn't able to answer as he slipped into dreamland. Terry let both crooks slip onto the ground as he heard the sirens in the distance grow closer. There will be time enough to puzzle it out later as he flew into the wild blue yonder once more.

The rest of the night was a blur of mayhem to Terry. After that last job he headed back home to unwind. The fact that he had minimal bruises did not ease the tiredness he felt. Bruce was right about work being tougher in “his” day. Being Batman in this type of timeline that parallels Bruce's prime bat days had him almost working non-stop in the suit.

Some of the highlights of today's cases didn't even make sense! It was as if the city had advertised “open season” for all the crooks to come out of hiding. Trying to find a connection between each criminal incident was proving to be just as frustrating trying to get home.

He had no idea how the criminal element here worked, and it infuriated him. Bruce had taught him better than this. He must not fold to depression. It was a bitter pill to swallow as he realized that he really needed the help of those female vigilantes.

He massaged his temples, better to sleep this off and deal with it in the morning.

Terry woke with a start as he heard a knock on the door. Huh? He thought. Who the heck would know he was here?

He warily peered through the peephole and saw the last person he expected to see.