Chapter Thirty-Five

~Five months in Terry's past~

Things had been going pretty well for the last few months for Kara Kent. This place definitely wasn't Krypton by any means of the imagination, but each day she was here wasn't so bad either. A few weeks ago, Clark might have been more against her fighting crime, but after Infinity Island, things seemed to have changed in that regard.

Kara wasn't sure if it was Jon's appearance or fighting an invading army but Clark wasn't as against her fighting crime anymore. At least, not like he had been before. She didn't want to be jealous of Jon, especially since she was getting what she wanted… but she couldn't really help feel a little abandoned now that things had changed. Clark was now almost joined at the hip with Barry and Jon, and as much as they said she could come along… she still didn't feel comfortable with the crowd.

At least she had Terry. Well, she didn't really 'have' Terry. He was just a friend… not really. But they were often around each other ever since she helped him with the Joker King. And since Bruce had gotten in touch with some old contacts that specialized in Magic, both Dick and his daughter Angela had been following up on their own leads. Diana said she had proven herself to be valuable in recovering Bruce, and she was encouraged to patrol with him.

Before long, Kara was enrolled in the same high school as Terry. Having class with him and training with Terry in the afternoons. Before she knew it, she was just hanging out with him in their off times. At first, she didn't like him much. She had him pegged as a person that took himself 'far-too-serious' and a brooder. Yeah, she found those same things attractive too. But that was also before she really got to know the guy.

He was smart. Like Kryptonian smart. (That isn't really a description she would give most Earthlings) With perfect memory recall, which was also something rarely seen even in her own planetary system. And then he could be funny. Not in a traditional sense of the word, but he had a dry humor that caught her off guard every time. So, yeah. She might be crushing on him a little… but they were just friends… partners. She was happy.

As much as she loved spending time with Terry, she didn't want either of them to get tired of seeing each other. Whatever was going on between them was new and she didn't want to smother it. So, she often spent a little bit of time flying after school. She would go back to the farm to collect clothes, maybe speak with Clark for a few minutes before rushing off again to meet up at Bruce's mansion for training.

Today she was taking a little more time in the sky. She was just… so happy. Terry was acting strange today. He would often start a conversation only to blush and look away. He was just so cute! She had a feeling what he was going to ask her but he seemed to be building up his nerve. Terry never acted shy around anyone. His character was one of patience and calculation most of the time. This was just another side of him she had never gotten to see and a part of her loved that she could bring that side of him out.

Suddenly a sonic boom sounded out in the distance and a split in the sky opened up. It was a BOOM TUBE and it was several seconds before she realized what it meant. Apokolips was invading Earth once again… and they were attacking the Kent Farm! Her only home on this planet!

Forgetting all frivolous thoughts of boys and high school, Kara shot off through the sky. Within seconds she arrived at the main house but as fast as she was the appearance of the Farm still looked like it had already been through a great battle.

"Clark?!" She shouted, only to dodge a couple of plasma-blasts from a few Parademons. Swiftly she dodged the blasts and kicked the creatures into the distant cornfields. The strikes weren't intended to incapacitate them, she just really wanted to locate her family. Clark and Jon were her only remaining relatives and as much as she felt awkward around them, she still didn't want anything to happen to them.

Using her X-ray vision, she scanned the grounds she started to feel frustrated after a few moments of not finding anything but the damaged property.

"Don't tell me they are abducted?!" she fretted.

Finally, she spotted the Apokolips Furies with a bound Clark being tossed through the dimensional portal into the waiting hands of Darkseid himself.

This wasn't happening! With a leap, she was already standing in front of the one called Mad Harriet and punching her with all of her might. She knew these women could take much more damage than she could muster, but she also realized she hadn't been thinking much before she acted.

That point was proven when Stompa grabbed her by her long blonde hair and tossed her into the barn causing the structure to crumble down on top of her. She realized she needed backup, and if Jon and Barry weren't around to assist her there was only one person that might be able to assist.

Hoping her phone wasn't damaged when the barn collapsed on her, she quickly dialed Terry and began to escape in the opposite direction the Furies were.

---

Terry leaned over the massive computer in the bat cave, sifting through the data on his most recent case. He and Kara had been compiling as much info on the recently self-proclaimed 'Joker King', AKA Doug Tan.

His ex-girlfriend, Dana Tan's criminal brother, and (by his own admission) King of the Jokerz. After an awkward conversation with said ex-girlfriend they had managed to compile a workup of his past, surprisingly Doug was a lot more elusive than most common Jokerz boss leaders. Mr. Tan, a troubled youth who readily admitted to admire and even often emulated the original 'Clown Prince of Crime'.

 After years of practicing the unhealthy obsession, Doug was stripped of all his Joker paraphernalia by his parents. But Doug continued his idol worship of the original Joker and eventually joined up with a local gang of Jokerz. After further investigation, Terry found that Doug was dissatisfied with the childish nature of these gangs and the petty crimes they committed. 

Terry believed that Doug had planned to unite the various Jokerz around the city and bring honor to their namesake. If what Kara brought to his attention recently about a new gang coming in and taking over several territories by larger crime families. Which meant Doug's plans might have farther reaching plans than what he had originally projected.

He wished the old man around to talk about this new development, but both he and Diana had left with Dick and Angela weeks ago. He was trying not to panic about that, in fact, he threw himself into the Joker King case to get his mind away from those thoughts. There had been no contact with them, and it had already been eight days.

He was starting to feel like he was over his head in this entire case. At least he had Kara. As much as she annoyed him at first, he had grown to like the blonde. Much to Terry's frustration, Dana was an aspect of this case that kept coming up. Doug was her brother and he couldn't help feel responsible to her while contemplating how to take her criminal brother to justice.

Kara was the only ray of sunshine that graced his day and would take his mind off of the depressing thoughts of his Ex. As if his wandering thoughts had summoned her his phone rang.

Shaking his head, he glanced down at his holo-band on his wrist and accepted the incoming message from the blonde that plagued his mind in recent times. 

Looking worse for wear, Kara answered the call, "Terry! They took him! and they are after me. I'm trying to shake them off but they have Kryptonite... I'm not sure how long I can keep this up!"

Energy blasts were raining all around her and the scenes in the background were a blur of motion. Panic quickly shot through Terry's body as he jumped to his feet and dashed across the room for his suit. If she was close to the Kent farm even at his fastest speeds it would take him fifteen minutes to get there.

"Who was captured? Who is after you?!" Terry asked, pulling out his bat-suit.

"It's Apokolips. They took Clark!" Kara replied out of breath.

"Kara I'm on my way. Stay calm and attempt to find a way to hide until I get there." Terry said his voice becoming lower and calm, even though that wasn't what he was feeling at that time.

Kara's call was canceled as a fist hit her face and sent her spiraling out of control. Terry didn't allow himself to focus on the panic that was welling up inside of him as he pulled the mask over his face. He couldn't let this happen, not again.

---

~Present Day~

The interrogation room was silent as three people occupied the heavily guarded area. In Terry's memory, he had never been in space before and he had to say… This experience was totally not what he expected. Sure, he could look out and see stars clearer than a Gotham night sky could ever offer, and that was great and all… But he kind of liked the idea of being weightless. It was what they showed in all of the movies that he had seen when growing up about this time period. But apparently, the Justice League had artificial gravity beat. He should have guessed, after all, he knew the financial backer of the League was Wayne, and his wealth of technology was well past what the citizens of Earth knew about.

Although he was a little disappointed, at least Terry wasn't treated harshly. The League in his time was, In Terry's opinion, lazy. They allowed the nations of the world to bind their hands, even when it really mattered. But the Justice League of the here and now was what heroes were measured by in Terry's time. Although he was held prisoner, these people were always humane and weren't treating him like a common thug.

He didn't appreciate being separated from Kara the moment they arrived, but he could understand the reasoning behind the situation. However, as much as he understood their reasoning, he disliked not getting the answers himself. And it wasn't helping his case that their stories were going to be different. Kara has probably told them a version of events on how they got here, and the moment he tells them he can't remember anything for the last several months… It would be at the very least suspicious.

Diana, Wayne, and female Green Lanterns sat in front of him, each wearing stern unfaltering masks. He knew this tactic. In fact, this was the same interrogation tactic that the-old-man used each time Terry went outside of visual and comm range. It didn't scare him, in fact, it made him feel a little better having the familiar interrogation used on him.

Wayne was the first to speak, "Who are you?"

It was a little basic, but not unexpected. He tried to hide the smirk unsuccessfully, as he replied, "Batman."

Wayne's eyes narrowed but didn't take the bait. Again, Terry was a little disappointed, but he had to remember this was a version of the-old-man. Wayne was always tougher than he looked on the surface, but he knew Wayne was never a person to appreciate not having all the answers.

The Green Lantern spoke next, "Batman is little more than a codename. I am one of many Green Lanterns', therefore, we wish to know your identity outside of the suit."

Terry scowled at the brunette, he couldn't help thinking, 'Was she seriously thinking he misunderstood the question?' Taking a longer look at the woman in the Lantern garb, her personal information appeared in front of him.

Terry surprised the room again when he spoke, "Jessica Cruz. From Portland, Oregon. You are a pacifist by nature. When you were sixteen you went on a camping trip with a few of your friends… Only to discover a group of criminals attempting to cover up a murder…"

Bam! A huge sound echoed throughout the room while a large dent appeared in the steel table in front of him cutting off Terry's words. "Are you playing with us?!" Diana demanded. The look of rage on Diana's face made him rethink his actions a little. Maybe he went too far, just now. He definitely didn't want Diana thinking he was an enemy.

"Look, there is a reason I began speaking about your history." Terry said keeping his attention focused on Jessica as he spoke, "Is because the name Batman is not 'little more than a codename.' As you stated." Taking in a deep breath he then continued. "It was a gift." He could feel Wayne's attention on him… Calculating his sincerity. "Batman is just as true of a name as say… Jessica Cruz, or Diana Princess of the Amazons or even…" He stopped speaking and looked at Wayne as he kept his face blank of any expression. There was something that passed between Terry and Bruce in that second, an understanding… Maybe or maybe not. It was hard to put his finger on what it was, but he could sense curiosity emanating from the other bat in the room.

"We can argue semantics later, for now, we will call you 2." Diana interrupted. Annoyance laced in her voice. In many ways, she was different from the woman he knew in his own time. She seemed far more battle-ready. The intensity was something they both shared but she seemed different, or maybe it was she lacked familiarity with him. He couldn't help but feel weird being around people he knew very well, yet, they knew nothing about him. This was something he was sure Kara was feeling too. He wished he had a chance to speak with her… try and explain things.

"So, what is your story?" Wayne asked his gaze level on Terry using his high level of intelligence to take apart the new mystery in front of him.

Meeting the younger version of his mentor's sight, Terry replies, "Can you be more specific?"

Wayne's expression gave nothing away as he expanded what he wanted from the younger bat. "Well, you recited verbatim, I might add, Jessica's backstory. Almost as if you were reading it out of a document. What about your own. Tell us how you became Batman. You can leave out any details that could lead to your own identity if you wish."

Terry watched the familiar, yet, at the same time, not the people he quite knew. Attempting shake off the eerie feeling that had started to run up his spine, Terry shook his head. He really just wanted to find his way back home, he didn't want to explain what events led him to become the new Batman…

"How about a spar?" Terry said, once again surprising everyone in the room.

Bruce smirked at the young man in front of him. He liked the unpredictable nature he was showing, it said a lot about his character. To be honest, he was interested in what gives him so much confidence as well.

Rising to his feet, Bruce spoke, "Sure." as he began to stretch.

"No.," Terry said, shaking his head.

Looking confused, Jessica Cruz spoke first, "But you just said..."

"I want to spar with Diana," Terry replied unable to keep the smile away from his face.