WHO Bruce Wayne & Terry McGinnis WHERE Bar in city WHEN Night of Bruce's arrival WHAT Terry explains some things about the future. WARNINGS Possible spoilers for Batman of the Future. STATUS Complete
Bruce liked to think he was a smart enough guy -the word genius did get thrown around at times, and sure in some situations, but that came from a hell of a lot of work and focus. But he was smart, and he could work things out off the cuff, quick thinking was necessary in his line of work -business and vigilantism.
But there was no part of all this that Bruce could fully wrap his head around. Diana seemed prepared to roll with this, and while Bruce could manage that at the moment, it wasn’t going to last once he started to mull over all the details.
It did mean the more he knew the better, the different angles couldn’t line up if he didn’t have the whole picture, and that meant finding out what he could about Terry, although he wasn’t lying about having a feeling on what the story might wind up being.
Bruce didn’t like being predictable, but there were certain areas he was definitely predictable.
The bar that Terry selected would do just fine, and a drink or two would be just what Bruce needed right then to deal with everything. He’d just need to hope Terry’s story didn’t go the way of Jason’s or Bruce was going to owe the kid a hefty bar tab.
It had been a rollercoaster of a day for Terry, so far as emotions were concerned. Excitement about Bruce’s arrival, nerves about whether he would even recognize whatever version of his mentor this was, relief he would get to see him alive again, fear. Nothing that would ever stop him from getting to that bar, but he was definitely more settled by the time it rolled around.
He glanced over at the sound of the door, as he had every time it opened in the past five minutes, and felt a tightening in his chest when he saw Bruce. Younger than he knew him, but still undeniably Bruce Wayne. He raised his hand in a slight wave, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
It wasn’t hard to spot Terry, and a quick assessment of the place meant the Bruce wasn’t going to be tense the entire time he was there either -it wasn’t like he went out to public bars that much, usually any place he ended up was too high class to be crowded.
He slipped through the space, crossing to take the seat beside Terry, unbuttoning his jacket as he sat and just hoping a few good scotches might cause the tension headache to at least settle.
“Well at least you’re not all part robot and tech, I was sure by 2045 everyone would wanna be like Vic.”
“Nah, I’m human. All the tech’s in the suit.” Terry grinned softly, nudging the glass of scotch he’d pre-ordered for Bruce over in front of him. It was hard to resist the urge to hug him, even if they weren't exactly huggers in his own time and he was a stranger to this Bruce. He was alive and Terry was glad to see him, was all.
He managed to wait a beat, only by taking a sip of his beer, before going on. “I know you don't know me, but I’m really glad to see you, Bruce.”
That was basically the point, wasn’t it, kitting out the suit to make it appear like the Bat was some kind of supernatural being too; not as much as Superman, not like Wonder Woman, the kind of supernatural that invoked fear, not awe. Typically, it came with a lot of training, and if Terry were donning the suit now (by 2045 Bruce surely, physically, couldn’t) then the tech should’ve advanced enough that it was even more possible.
He wasn’t really in the mood to go through the ‘don’t accept drinks from strangers’ thing, and Diana hadn’t delved into this place being too dangerous (even if some habits were hard broken) so he was fine accepting the drink. Of course he was glad he’d gotten the sip down when Terry next spoke, else he might’ve choked on it.
“I don’t hear that a hell of a lot.” With some good reason, but maybe he’d mellowed in his old age. “Half the time I don’t think Alfred is all that happy to see me.” Maybe this was what the girl meant by ‘excited’.
Terry grinned softly at that, giving a slight shake of his head. The Bruce he knew was plenty grumpy but also kind. A loner, except for having Terry in his life, which had happened a bit through fate and continued through stubbornness.
“Alright, short version -- back in my time, I’ve been your personal assistant for years now, and also taken over certain nocturnal activities.”
In certain ways it was disappointing, but then the cynic in Bruce never really expected much to change. Gotham wasn’t going to reinvent itself just because he took down a few criminals. It wasn’t the sort of city to find hope and change, it wasn’t Metropolis and the corruption was heavily embedded in the core of the city.
The fact that certain ‘nocturnal activities’ were still needed wasn’t a surprise at all, just another indication that Bruce really wasn’t that far off with his fatalistic approach.
“Then I hope you got a good deal on the medical cover, because you’ll probably be needing it.” At least Bruce stayed true to form, training people to take over in his place, even if it made him wonder about Dick.
Taking another drink, Terry made a noise of affirmation. He did get banged up a lot, even if he was pretty good at what he did, but thankfully hadn't had any real injuries.
“I'm pretty good at taking care of myself,” he replied, smile growing a bit. “I was in Pre-Med back home, so that helped.”
He let his hands settle loosely around the bottle in front of him. “Not gonna lie, it's weird seeing you so… young.”
From Pre-Med to working as an assistant to Bruce? That didn’t sound right, if the kid was looking into medical school, got into medical school, he had the potential to do a lot more than what Bruce would likely have him doing.
“What’s a Pre-Med student doing as an assistant to a grumpy old man?” By the time 2045 hit, Bruce would be nearing his 80’s, he highly doubted he’d managed to find a less prickly personality in that time.
“It’s weird considering this young.” Bruce certainly didn’t feel young, with the numerous aches, pains and strains on his body from twenty odd years of abuse, he felt closer to that 80 than he would like.
“I was working for you before I started college,” Terry corrected , giving a slight shake of his head. Thinking about it, it felt surreal he'd had Bruce in his life for as long as he had. Six years, which was quite a bit when someone was only twenty-two.
“Grumpy old men need people too,” he added with a chuckle. “I think you did that partially as a cover for training me for the other stuff but then got better about letting me help with things. You were used to trying to do it all on your own, so I think it helped having someone to take care of parts of it for you.”
At least it didn’t sound as if Bruce had screwed up another kid, warping potential to do something better than run around fighting a never ending battle. “That might be the nicest way anyone has ever called me a control freak.” Even if it wasn’t far off.
Bruce was aware he had control issues, Alfred wasn’t one to mince words and Bruce wasn’t blind to his own shortcomings. He was also aware he wasn’t the most open of people. Trust wasn’t easily given, and even then it wasn’t foolproof.
“I tend to always have a contingency plan. Don’t rule out you being the plan all along. Succession is a serious worry.” It was why he trained Dick and then Jason, why he was set on getting the meta-humans to actually do something.
Being just another human, Bruce wasn’t going to be around as long as Diana and Clark. Someone had to pick up where he left off.
Terry paused, not sure how much he should actually get into but Bruce had mentioned ripping off the bandaid. He wasn't about to keep things from him if that was the case.
“I don't know about that, you were pretty pissed at first,” he started, giving a brief grimace. “Threw me out when I found the cave, got real mad when I kind of borrowed the suit later. No one had seen the Bat in twenty years by that point. Don't get me wrong, I’m glad it worked out and I’m proud to be carrying it on, but I think it started out of chance and both of us being stubborn.”
Borrowed. Later, Bruce would feel bad about having told Terry he was paying, but he quickly drained the scotch at that, nodding at the bartender to get him another because fuck, what was up with asshole kids borrowing state of the art tech that could kill them?
“That seems to be how a lot of things in my life work out.” Dick had been a wing and a prayer at first, but the kid had so much pent up rage it needed some kind of outlet. Jason was similar, but it didn’t quite work out the same. Taking a chance wasn’t always the best, and sometimes… Gotham was just that fucked up.
But they were both just that stubborn too, as stubborn as Bruce. Maybe more so in some ways. “Stubbornness tends to be the best trait to deal with me, according to Alfred at least.” At least there seemed like there could be a chance for something to carry on after Bruce was gone. Even if it might not’ve been the best case scenario.
“Yeah, I've noticed the stubborn thing working out pretty good,” Terry replied with a soft grin. He sat up a little straighter when Bruce mentioned Alfred, knowing the older man was likely referencing the actual person but still.
“Had you already developed an AI in your time?”
Some things didn’t change then, but it was still hard to gauge if Terry was from his version of Earth or another one, like Dick and Jason. But then it would probably take some impressive history searching to work that out. “Guess it’s a good trait to have over all.” If you were stubborn enough to get past the bullshit, it was usually a good sign.
“Not a fully functional one. The computer runs something of an AI program, but nothing fully integrated.” Bruce was still too paranoid to give total control over, and Alfred tended to know how to do what was needed. “It’s in the early development stages with Wayne Enterprises though. Why?”
“When dealing with you? Yes, a very good trait to have.” Terry offered Bruce a good natured grin. Truthfully, it helped being at least as stubborn as the old man. He needed someone to keep him in check, even when Terry was from.
“And I ask because in my time you had one,” he added, tapping his ear as if to indicate the earpiece that kept him linked with ALFRED. “Wasn't sure if you wanted me to clone it for you here. I’d give it to you outright, but I’m kind of used to the company.”
Bruce wasn’t oblivious to what he came from. He was born into a section of society that had major perks, and while the circumstances that shaped his life weren’t the norm for them, it didn’t change how many people saw him throughout his life. Alfred was one of the only people who’d held an unruly, angry teenager accountable for his actions, rather than excusing them. Everyone else around him, all through his life, basically became the yes-men.
It was dull and repetitive. So when there were people who didn’t just wander around and appease everything, that was something to build on. Alfred did say Bruce tested people too much.
“Cloning would be fine,” although Bruce did wonder about the application of the tech, he could work up to that. “Did you happen to bring any other of your tech from that time?” Bruce was only a little curious about potential suit upgrades, really.
Terry finished off his beer and slid the empty glass away from him, giving the bartender a thumbs up when asked if he wanted another one. He was grateful that Bruce agreed to have a clone of the device, because he didn't know what he'd do without ALFRED. It had been difficult enough to get used to not having Bruce in his ear all the time.
“Oh, I showed up in the suit,” he said with a light laugh, shaking his head. “I was supposed to be doing a time jump and ended up here, which wasn't great but at least I know it wasn't our fault I didn't end up where I was supposed to? Anyway, yeah, all the tech is in the suit. You can see it anytime, obviously.”
Time jump. Bruce felt a headache starting already, “Why would you need to-- You know what, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.” It was bad enough trying to compartmentalise all the different streams of reality now, this so called ‘multiverse’ where numerous versions of the same people apparently all existed in different streams. And fine, it wasn’t like he believed their reality was the only one -that would be very egotistical and even Bruce wasn’t that far gone.
“A little later maybe,” he still had to work out how to approach Dick and Jason, especially Jason, but he definitely was doing that sober. “I’m good at processing problems, but too many might short out even my brain.”
“Yeah, I’d barely even processed time travel being possible when it was happening, so it's definitely a lot,” Terry said sympathetically. Not getting into it saved him from having to think about what happened right before said time jump, when Bruce was killed. That also wasn't first night material.
“So,” he forged on, pausing to take a long sip of his beer. “Now you know what's going on when I’m from. Why don't you tell me about when you're from?”
A lot of the things took a little getting used to, at least they were starting to. Honestly he wasn’t too shocked things advanced to time travel. They already had Gods and aliens, why not go back in time too?
“Wouldn’t that just be a history lesson?” But there was still the chance that Terry’s version of things was actually an alternate and not just the future. But still, Bruce and sharing, still not all that good at it. “Well, in the last year we’ve had an alien invasion, a crazed billionaire with a God complex, resurrected a dead Kryptonian, stopped worldwide destruction and stopped another invasion.”
It’d been a tough year or so. But he could probably cover the basics, “We might need some more drinks for it.”