Chapter 6

Barbara Gordon was as nervous as hell. It had been three days since she began her fevered search for the “Batman” that had recently popped up in New Gotham. She even had to call in a few favors from friends like Dick and Tim to help her sift through the data she stockpiled since this new Batman had appeared. And it all came down to two names on her list. The first one she went to last night was a dead end, which made the person right behind the door of the apartment she faced the most likely suspect.

And she was nervous. She was Batman's former partner, a girl who faced down hordes of thugs and crazies on several occasions both inside and out of costume. She had no right to feel like a skittish mare on a blind date.

Why did it have to be her? Terry thought. He shook his head in annoyance as he remembered another time when the Barbara Gordon of his universe also deduced that he was the new Batman as she barged in on Bruce and Terry's after patrol debriefing in the Batcave on his first few weeks on the job.

No matter where or when you go to, some things just never change. Sighing nervously, he opened the door a bit, not completely pretending that he was annoyed at being jarred from a sound sleep.

“Whoever you are,” he said with a straight face as he glared at her. “You'd better not be selling girl scout cookies this early in the morning.”

The man in front of her looked almost like Bruce in height and stature, yet his youthful voice belied his age. Aware that she was staring at him, she tried to compose herself and started talking.

Terry's right brow shot up as he smirked, attempting to not letting this Barbara Gordon get the best of him. “Don't you think it's a little too early for that?”

Trying to reign in her temper, Barbara glared at him. “Not if you want your neighbors to know you're obsessed with pointy ears and rooftops.”

“Point taken.” He grimaced. Sparring with her in a verbal scale is almost like sparring verbally with the old man. Sometimes you just can't win. “Get in.”

Barbara took notice of her surrounding and saw that the apartment was barely furnished. Wheeling herself into the middle of the room, she turned and studied the man before her. At a glance, he could be mistaken for Bruce's hypothetical lost son, but not quite. His chin was a lot more angular than Bruce's square jaw. He had full, soft looking lips, blue-grey eyes, and eyebrows that almost looked feminine. His muscular frame, while large, was more streamlined than blocky, not even showing an ounce of fat. All in all, he could easily give Bruce's playboy persona a run for his money.

Direct little minx ain't she. Terry thought. “Funny question for a lady who already figured out who I am. So what gave me away?”

“For a good hacker and forger,” she said. “You missed a couple of subtle things when you applied at Wayne Enterprises and Wayne Tech. Just how you got through the mainframe with those mistakes are beyond me. And another thing was that most of the files were only a few weeks old. All of them were turned in on the same date.”

“Whoops.” He said, chagrined, as he shyly scratched the back of his head. “I knew I forgot something. Learning 20th century tech was confusing.”

“More like alternate future.” Terry confessed as he sat down a nearby couch. “I was kinda freaked for a few days when I arrived here. I knew I had to set up a temporary base fast till I could figure out my next move. Found out that there was a “Batman” here too. Figured out it was Wayne by doing some deep scans in looking for the Batcave.”

“How?” she asked. The Batcave and all its equipment were completely shielded from any electronic device known (and some unknown) to man. Oh yeah, she reminded herself. If he's from some sort of alternate future, then he must have some means of accessing the cave.

“My suit.” He explained. “It has a personal A.I. that can do deep level scans as well as interface with the Batcave Cray computers. It took awhile since the present systems weren't too compatible with the A.I. interface, but I was able to do enough digging to know all I can.”

“Okay,” He sighed. “I see I'm not making much sense to you. How about if I start from the top and tell you as much as I can till the moment I got here? Then you tell me more about this city and about you and your friends? Seems fair enough for you?”

“I hope you've cleared any further appointments in your calendar for today.” He smirked once more. “What I've got to say is gonna take awhile. A long, long while.”

“Great!” he said. “Let's talk it over breakfast. I haven't had much to eat last night since I was too tied up with the current crime spree that seems to be popping up in your city.”

Somewhere; something small, shiny, and bright went tumbling through the air - signaling a deadly hail of bullets as it landed on an outstretched palm.

“Fools!” a gravelly voice said as the figure walked over the fallen bodies. “Never double cross a double crosser.”


	-0-0-0-0-0-0-0- -0-0-0-0-0-0-0- MEET JOHN “BATMAN” DOE Barbara Gordon was as nervous as hell. It had been three days since she began her fevered search for the “Batman” that had recently popped up in New Gotham. She even had to call in a few favors from friends like Dick and Tim to help her sift through the data she stockpiled since this new Batman had appeared. And it all came down to two names on her list. The first one she went to last night was a dead end, which made the person right behind the door of the apartment she faced the most likely suspect. And she was nervous. She was Batman's former partner, a girl who faced down hordes of thugs and crazies on several occasions both inside and out of costume. She had no right to feel like a skittish mare on a blind date. Yet she WAS nervous. But so was the man right behind the door as he peered through the peephole. -0-0-0-0-0-0-0- Why did it have to be her? Terry thought. He shook his head in annoyance as he remembered another time when the Barbara Gordon of his universe also deduced that he was the new Batman as she barged in on Bruce and Terry's after patrol debriefing in the Batcave on his first few weeks on the job. “I'm screwed.” He muttered with a shake of his head. No matter where or when you go to, some things just never change. Sighing nervously, he opened the door a bit, not completely pretending that he was annoyed at being jarred from a sound sleep. “Whoever you are,” he said with a straight face as he glared at her. “You'd better not be selling girl scout cookies this early in the morning.” The redhead's eyes just widened as her jaw dropped. -0-0-0-0-0-0-0- The man in front of her looked almost like Bruce in height and stature, yet his youthful voice belied his age. Aware that she was staring at him, she tried to compose herself and started talking. “Good morning. Are you by any chance Mr. Terrance McGinnis?” She asked. “Yep, waddayawant?” Terry answered as he faked rubbing sleep from his eyes. “May I come in?” She continued, now in control of herself. “We sort of need to talk privately.” Terry's right brow shot up as he smirked, attempting to not letting this Barbara Gordon get the best of him. “Don't you think it's a little too early for that?” Trying to reign in her temper, Barbara glared at him. “Not if you want your neighbors to know you're obsessed with pointy ears and rooftops.” “Point taken.” He grimaced. Sparring with her in a verbal scale is almost like sparring verbally with the old man. Sometimes you just can't win. “Get in.” Moving aside, he opened the door wide enough for her to wheel herself through as he closed the door behind her. Barbara took notice of her surrounding and saw that the apartment was barely furnished. Wheeling herself into the middle of the room, she turned and studied the man before her. At a glance, he could be mistaken for Bruce's hypothetical lost son, but not quite. His chin was a lot more angular than Bruce's square jaw. He had full, soft looking lips, blue-grey eyes, and eyebrows that almost looked feminine. His muscular frame, while large, was more streamlined than blocky, not even showing an ounce of fat. All in all, he could easily give Bruce's playboy persona a run for his money. “So…” she began. “Who are you? Really?” -0-0-0-0-0-0-0- Direct little minx ain't she. Terry thought. “Funny question for a lady who already figured out who I am. So what gave me away?” “For a good hacker and forger,” she said. “You missed a couple of subtle things when you applied at Wayne Enterprises and Wayne Tech. Just how you got through the mainframe with those mistakes are beyond me. And another thing was that most of the files were only a few weeks old. All of them were turned in on the same date.” “Whoops.” He said, chagrined, as he shyly scratched the back of his head. “I knew I forgot something. Learning 20th century tech was confusing.” “Learning 20th…?” she sat up sharply at hearing this. “Are you from the future?” “More like alternate future.” Terry confessed as he sat down a nearby couch. “I was kinda freaked for a few days when I arrived here. I knew I had to set up a temporary base fast till I could figure out my next move. Found out that there was a “Batman” here too. Figured out it was Wayne by doing some deep scans in looking for the Batcave.” “How?” she asked. The Batcave and all its equipment were completely shielded from any electronic device known (and some unknown) to man. Oh yeah, she reminded herself. If he's from some sort of alternate future, then he must have some means of accessing the cave. “My suit.” He explained. “It has a personal A.I. that can do deep level scans as well as interface with the Batcave Cray computers. It took awhile since the present systems weren't too compatible with the A.I. interface, but I was able to do enough digging to know all I can.” She just gave him a blank look of confusion. “Okay,” He sighed. “I see I'm not making much sense to you. How about if I start from the top and tell you as much as I can till the moment I got here? Then you tell me more about this city and about you and your friends? Seems fair enough for you?” She nodded, “Sounds fair.” “I hope you've cleared any further appointments in your calendar for today.” He smirked once more. “What I've got to say is gonna take awhile. A long, long while.” “I think I'll manage.” She smiled. “Great!” he said. “Let's talk it over breakfast. I haven't had much to eat last night since I was too tied up with the current crime spree that seems to be popping up in your city.” “So I've noticed.” -0-0-0-0-0-0-0- Somewhere; something small, shiny, and bright went tumbling through the air - signaling a deadly hail of bullets as it landed on an outstretched palm. Later, when the smoke lessened, a pile of dead corpses littered the warehouse. “Fools!” a gravelly voice said as the figure walked over the fallen bodies. “Never double cross a double crosser.” The figure espied a bloodstained newspaper in the ground and saw the headline: BATMAN SIGHTINGS CONTINUE! IS THIS THE RETURN OF A LEGEND?! “Well, well, well. It looks like I'm not the only one who's back in town.” The figure smiled. He couldn't have done it better himself if he'd planned it. But then again, he did. “Just like old times. Eh, Bats!” He laughed. “Its just you, and me…” “… And ME!” Manic laughter echoed throughout the warehouse in the mid-morning air. -0-0-0-0-0-0-0- TBC -0-0-0-0-0-0-0- Previous page