InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "No, Alf, no!"

Terry Mcginnis (batman2point0) wrote in parabolical,
@ 2009-07-31 14:43:00

Entry tags:

bruce wayne/batman, terry mcginnis/batman

Who: Batman and..Batman. xD. Yes Terry has his colors and suit back finally.
What: nothing good.
When:July 31st, midnight
Where: In the city, the not so good side.
Warnings: TBA. BUT NOT GOOD THINGS XD;.
Rating: Medium, potential NPC death.

Terry had been up and down in emotional hell since Dick went into the hospital. Earlier still, since he took a life for the first time. He didn't know how to cope with it and move past. He was starting to get comfortable with the idea that the Joker had tortured him, that Bruce was his dad. Then more bullshit fell on him. He was at the end of his rope. It haunted him every time he closed his eyes he saw that one's face. The one who pushed him to far, and he worried if it would happen again. Held back too much. Or maybe not enough. Night time he didn't sleep anymore, they were spent in the cave running scenarios of the fight. Each one ended in the same result. He had no choice. Kill or be killed. Was that what this was really about? Every death he caused tore at a piece of his soul. That's what made him different. He cared. But why couldn't he see it?

All he saw was that he was forced to kill after all the times he heard Bruce say there was always another way. His victim wore Bruce's face. That's what scared him the most. Maybe all this really was a curse. The curse of Batman. Everyone around him died. Why should he fight it anymore?

Terry was on patrol pressing a demon for information when he heard the sound of police sirens. Robbery at 35th and main he heard over his comm links in his cowl and crouched in the shadows of a building storefront to watch police begin to flood the streets. 35th and Main wasn't to far. Extending his arms he left his demon contact behind and used the wind currents and his glider to touch down ontop of a rig following the police cars. Maybe this was the lead he'd been waiting for on Dick's shooter. It was a long shot but that was all he had, he'd take it.

Silently he jumped from the top of the truck to a police car that came to a stop. Using the police cars like stepping stools he silently, in the shadows went from one to the other. The sky was cloudy and a light rain began to fall. Perfect. Terry really hopped Bruce designed the suit with traction. So far so good. He over heard the police shouting orders to eachother. Always a bank. Haven't they learned about silent alarms yet? Terry rolled his eyes and shot a grappling hook to the roof, So far unseen-so he thought. He knew he shouldn't have been out alone, but he needed it. To get out. The mansion was starting to feel suffocating. And weird. He had butlers.

Terry found his target. A skylight. Silently he unlocked and opened it with little difficulty and slipped down inside onto a rafter. Looking around. That's when he spotted them. The robbers. Not Dick's shooter..but robbers that needed to go down none the less. Terry counted them. 1,2,3,4... a handful. So much for getting back home in time for the Late Show and a pizza. Damn and it was a new episode tonight. Landing in the shadows on the ground he smothered the lookout. "If you want to make a withdrawal I suggest coming back during normal banking hours." Terry quipped as he stood.

They ran for him. Jump. Another. Sidestep. Something from behind he hadn't seen before. Pain. Terry saw red and fell forward. The video link in his visor flickered and blacked out. come on, not now The two still standing were striking him with something heavy. Bats it felt like. Ironic. Painfully ironic. They thought he was unconscious. Silly thugs always thought he was unconscious. That was their first mistake. He grabbed the bat from the one behind him, threw him forward. Stood with his head throbbing, and sent the bat into the last one's shoulder. The man crumpled, Terry stood over him.

Creep. Dreg. Didn't deserve to get back up. His hand tightened against the bat. His eyes trained on the robber. Murderer. Killer. Terry heard those words in his head like a broken disk stuck on repeat.

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad here, right now: $0

(Post a new comment)

caped_crusader
2009-07-31 10:39 pm UTC (link)

The bat is Terry’s hand didn’t belong there. The way his fingers tightened around it, the way he held it, the manner in which he gazed upon the criminal in his line of sight. Everything about what he was doing and how he looked doing it was wrong. Batman, standing in the dark, observing, watching everything, didn’t like what he saw. It was twisted and done in a way that he did not approve of. And it was only just beginning.

Terry wasn’t ready to be back out there, facing down demons and vampire and criminals who were very human and very breakable in hands that could shatter and rip and tear on a whim. It was his mistake. He’d allowed him to step out alone and this was what he got for being stupid and not thinking things through. He needed time and he needed help and this was hurting the kid’s chances at ever going back to how he used to be. He needed only one last shove. One more would be enough to send him over the edge and Bruce wasn’t sure that he’d be able to pull him back up after that.

So he hurled the batarang. It cut through the air and flew passed the bat, made a clink as it brushed up against the aluminum and then crossed the distance to the wall. The batarang was Terry’s wordless command to stop what he was doing. He could have gone straight to him, could have grabbed him and yanked him away, but he gave him the benefit of the doubt, offered him the chance to right himself before he did it for him.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

batman2point0
2009-08-01 12:15 am UTC (link)

Terry should have known Bruce would be watching on his first night back out "without" him. He didn't know what to feel. Mixed emotions really. Everything was mixed. His judgment was so cloudy he could barely see. He was so confused he didn't know what to do. So lost he could only stare down coldly at the cowering criminal. This man was human. Another life. But if he let him go, wouldn't he just do the same thing all over again? What would he learn? His gloved hand gripped the bat tighter as he heard the warning sound against it's metal handle.

He didn't look up. He couldn't. He was becoming everything he was afraid of. The bat slid from his hands and fell by his feet with a hollow clatter that was lost to his ears. He closed his eyes and the criminal breathed a sigh of relief. He started scrambling back and Terry glared something deadly. "No, Really. Don't get up. The police will be here soon. Just..hang around." The other criminals were down for the count, this was one bank robbery that couldn't happen, so why did it only feel like a partial victory? Why did he feel like he lost.

His eyes found Bruce but he didn't go to him, not there. Instead he shot a grappling to the roof and disappeared through the same skylight he appeared from. Terry felt sick inside as he stood on the roof and looked down at the city. "..Who am I?" He pulled off his mask and took a breath. His face and hair quickly drenched with the falling rain. They were high up enough where no one would see. He didn't worry about that, he worried about feeling suffocated. That the mask was only a curse.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

caped_crusader
2009-08-04 12:38 am UTC (link)

Bruce found that it was uncommonly simple for him to lay the blame on himself whenever something went wrong with Terry. It wasn’t like that with anybody else. Terry was different because he was his flesh and blood, the only family he had. Of course he was going to trail behind him during his first night back out on the streets. Allowing him his freedom was one thing, but allowing it while Terry had yet to get himself back on track was a whole different story. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him. Bruce did trust him. He’d killed a man and most people knew Batman’s view on murder. He didn’t approve, didn’t accept it, but Terry had resorted to breaking his rule for a very specific reason. He had saved his life. And yet, that didn’t seem to be enough to mend the damage that had been done.

“You heard him. Stay put,” he growled, giving the criminal on the floor one last glower before mimicking the younger Batman’s move and shooting his own grappling hook up toward the roof. He put his foot down to regain his balance and stood watching Terry as he looked down at the city below, holding onto his discarded mask, the Batman’s face.

He hadn’t gone to him but that didn’t mean that Bruce wasn’t going to go to Terry. Abandoning him there would have made it worse. He couldn’t do it. Batman was supposed to be sturdy and hard and harsh, undaunted. But it was nearly impossible to keep it up when the problem he faced was his son.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

batman2point0
2009-08-04 01:16 am UTC (link)

"I'm not ready." Terry paused as he felt Bruce behind him. "You gave me back my colors, my suit, you've given me everything..I killed you." His voice was quiet but still audible. Terry didn't need to turn around to know that Bruce was there. Bruce was always there, and honestly Terry wouldn't have it any other way. "Everyone keeps telling me to let it go. I took a life. Not just any life.." Finally Terry turned to look up at him. He was lost. "I should have found another way."

"There's always another way isn't there? You always said there was. It all happened so fast. " Terry was scared, he didn't know of what part either. Was it of taking the life, or not feeling remorse? It was throwing him off. That Bruce had hurt him. Helped re break his ribs. Destroyed Gotham beyond repair. Wasn't it justified? Deserved?..he couldn't answer those questions. Terry knew he needed some space between himself and the cowl.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

caped_crusader
2009-08-13 04:58 am UTC (link)

Terry didn’t understand in the way that he understood, that the man he’d killed wasn’t Bruce Wayne in the way that he was Bruce Wayne. That man hadn’t been Batman the way the Batman was supposed to be and killing him had given back whatever Gotham he had inhabited its chance of healing itself. He had faith that someone would come in and put the pieces back together. They wouldn’t be able to do that if he’d returned. Their Batman wouldn’t have stood aside and let a savior into his city without putting up a fight.

That place was better off without him. He’d seen and he’d experienced what thousands of people went through every day. Bruce wanted there to be another way, but sometimes you didn’t get what you wanted, and sometimes, what he disbelieved in was the best method. He would have done it himself if Terry hadn’t gotten to him first. He would have done it so that Terry didn’t have to. No such luck.

“You didn’t kill me. You killed a monster. There’s a difference. There was no other way.” Bruce had started to firmly believe that and changing his mind wasn’t going to happen. It was the truth and he didn’t want to ignore the truth. Not this time.

(Reply to this) (Parent)