Updated Chapter Thirty-Six

Gone. She was just...gone. He could find traces of the battle that obviously occurred here but... There was no sign that the girl with beautiful blue eyes and blond hair was still on this world. Terry didn't have a wide range of emotions running through his mind, he mostly just wanted to hit something. His suite's sensors were picking up varying degrees of quantum radiation and there were a lot of spatial distortions but there wasn't a way of replicating the effects. Which meant she was on her own until he could find a way to mount a rescue. It was at that point when two people arrived which gave him a small amount of comfort in this overwhelming situation.

"What's happened here?" Jon asked as he examined the battleground that was once the Kent farm.

Terry evaluated the new arrivals, he expected a small amount of panic to show on the duo's faces or maybe even in Jon's tone, but there was none. Terry was confused, he was under the impression that Clark and Kara were family members to the younger Kryptonian… Deciding that the two might just be very good at controlling their emotions, Terry explained the situation.

Several minutes later, Terry was enraged at the pair of extra-dimensional travelers as they nodded at each other and turned to walk away from him.

"Where in the Hell are you two going?! I tell you two that people were kidnapped... People, I might add, are family to at least one of you... And you just walk away?!" Terry asked demanding an answer.

Frowning Jon turned around fury evident on his face, and stated, "What do you want from us?! None of this matters if we can set it right!"

Stepping back as he had actually received a physical blow, Terry stared at the "Super-heroes" in front of him like they were imposters. But he knew they were not. Yes, he did consider it for a second but these two had the same mannerisms and tale-tell signs of the people he had gotten to know for the last few months. Though the information he knew about them was limited, he hadn't known their purpose for being here. He knew that there was a conflict between the old man and Clark about something involving these two. But he tried to stay out of it.

Terry vowed that he wouldn't be making that mistake again anytime soon. If there was something Wayne was adamant about preventing, then he'd at least hear them out. Narrowing his eyes at the 'hero' in front of him he growled out his question, "What exactly do you mean by... 'set it right'?"

Normally Jon wouldn't let his temper get the best of him, but having his father taken from him again set all of his emotions on fire and all he wanted was to get his life back to normal again. "Set it right. Fix it. What do you not understand? This world is wrong! If I don't go back and stop it, everything I love will be burnt and, and... Destroyed."

Seeing the growing anger on Terry's face Barry interjected, "We aren't leaving because they got captured but because we now have something we didn't before. We made progress in our investigation and we have a lead on how to fix what happened. It would be a fruitless endeavor to plan a rescue if we can prevent any of this from happening in the first place." 

Terry stared at the older man in disbelief, all the delusions on who these two actually are... Was broken before his eyes.

"So... You don't even care?" He heard himself ask. His tone was dead, but not many would be able to tell that rage was boiling just beneath the surface of his calm demeanor.

"Look!" Jon shouted as his patience seemed to break at that moment, "We don't have time for this! We came to say goodbye but..."

Terry saw red, and before he could stop himself, he punched Jon in the jaw. With every bit of his strength into the strike and all of the ability Bruce and Diana had taught him in the last nine months, Terry sent Jon sailing through the cornfields and burrowing through the recently planted grains.

Before Terry realized it, Jon was on his feet and used his super-speed to rush back in front of Terry once more. Terry wasn't new to a super attack and used Jon's momentum against him and once again sent the Kryptonian tumbling through the fields stirring a cloud of dust in his wake.

"So what about everyone else?!" Terry fumed at Barry, "What about this world? The inestimable lives you will be sacrificing for your plan to succeed?"

"You need to back down, kid," Barry replied calmly, standing straight seemingly composed but Terry could tell he would react to any further provocation.

Wisely Terry didn't attack again, but he wouldn't quit his barrage of words directed at the pair, "Everyone here in this universe will be erased as some sacrificed because of a 'mistake' just on your whims. Do we not matter? You are just going to go off and erase an entire galaxy just because you miss mommy and daddy. So I guess my question is... Who made you gods? What exactly gives you the right to decide if we exist?" Terry sneered.

Evidently, Terry's words made the pair hesitate, but even more apparent, they wouldn't be deterred either by the look on their faces. Well, Terry wasn't going to be this be the thing that broke him, "No, not today," he grumbled to no one in particular.

Terry didn't want to hear their excuses and turned his back on them, "If you make an attempt to erase my world... I will do whatever it takes to stop you. For now, I have people to save." Pushing a button on his belt, the bat-jet was hovering above him in an instant. He didn't look back as he flew upwards to the plane and within seconds he too was gone from the wreckage of the Kent farm.

--- Present-day ---

Diana arched a delicate brow as she stared at the younger man that sat in front of her. Was he even serious? That was when she noticed what he wore on his wrists. At first glance, she thought they were merely good imitations of Bracelets of Submission, but upon closer investigation, she could tell that they were made of Themyscirian silver. The minerals of which the genuine forearm protectors were made have also been dubbed the name 'Amazonium or Feminum' by a few. Which implored the question... Why would a man be wearing something made for Amazonian warriors? Then there was also the golden outline around his bat emblem... if she wasn't mistaken it too was an Amazonian golden color.

Diana wasn't a fool, she could understand what the actions that the younger man had taken so far had been leading them to a specific conclusion. One which he wanted them to understand before the actual explanation started. But what she wanted to know most was, why did he feel it was necessary to go through all of this trouble? She could only conclude that this had to do with his story. There was something about all of this that was supposed to convince them that he was telling the truth.

Meeting Bruce's eyes, she realized that he had come to the same conclusion, in fact, she wouldn't be surprised if the Dark Knight hadn't figured out most of what the boy was hiding already.

"Alright, I'll grant you this request." She spoke quietly.

Diana was never one to turn down a battle and the fact he had a few Amazonian artifacts intrigued her. Besides, it seemed like this was the only way she was going to hear what the younger man had to say.

The spar didn't take long, he was a formidable opponent but he seemed to only go half speed. The part that seemed to stand out wasn't how well he seemed to do or the fact that he was quick and precise when delivering his strikes. But... some of the moves he used regularly were ones that she had come up with herself while others seemed reminiscent of Bruce's. After about fifteen minutes Bruce called the irregular spar to an end and they navigated themselves back towards the interrogation room.

"Ok, you have our attention. Tell us what this is all about." Diana asked, feeling a little off-kilter.

Terry's attention shifted to Jessica Cruz before he spoke, "Before I tell you anything, is Jessica here clear to know your identity?"

His words were obviously for Bruce but the fact he seemed to already know the Dark-Knight's civilian persona made warning bells go off in the two female's minds… But not Batman's. The only reaction that Bruce gave away was a slight narrowing of his eyes. For several moments there was no movement in the room.

It was Batman that broke the silence with a question that threw the other women in the room for another loop, "Why only Jessica? What relationship does Diana have with me in the future?"

This response also seemed to have confused the younger man as well. Terry had come to some conclusions on his own based on the Bruce and Diana he had known in his future. Obviously, the old man had picked up on those conclusions and had derived a theory of his own. Terry knew if he didn't want Bruce to misunderstand, he had to clear up any misconceptions sooner rather than later.

Slightly shaking his head, Terry spoke, "Your relationship has little to no relevance to my being here currently. I would say you two are close… But I try not to pry. Now, I need to know the answer. Is Ms. Cruz here, cleared to know, or not?"

Seeing the impasse between the two Jessica stood up and placed a hand on Diana's shoulder giving her a nod before exiting the room.

"Alright, before I get started. Allow me to explain the one thing that will make me seem very suspicious. And as much as I detest this fact, it is going to leave a huge gap in my story." Terry stated, attempting to sound calm, although, he felt anything but at that moment.

Bruce already didn't like this, but he was willing to hear him out. Nodding for him to continue, Bruce braced himself for the story as his mind kept putting pieces of the puzzle the younger man was giving them.

"I am missing roughly six-months of my life. In my memory, I have been Batman for seven months, and then I have a few fragmented memories of the events afterward. Piecing these fragments altogether allows me to have a rough timeline. What is most disconcerting is that… I have no recollection of how we came to this time… or dimension."

The boy was right. He didn't like this a bit but Bruce thrived on mysteries. He just really wanted to know one thing.

"Are you my son?" Bruce spoke not giving any emotion away by the question.

Frowning at the question, Terry didn't know how to answer. In his mind, his father is Warren McGinnis but that wasn't the only answer to the question. Pausing for a few minutes longer Terry made a decision. Reaching up he took off his cowl in one smooth motion.

With Terry's face finally revealed to his would-be parents both Diana's and Bruce's eyes widen in response.

Terry's face was a perfect combination of their most common aspects. With Bruce's blue eyes and facial structure... Diana's nose and mouth and then Terry's hairline were similar to Bruce's while his raven hair was most similar to Diana's. There was little doubt that this boy in front of them was their son from the future, at least until they heard Terry's next words.

"That's a complicated story... let me start by introducing myself. Hello, I am Terry McGinnis son of Mary and Warren McGinnis..." He paused before continuing, "Biologically the son of Bruce Wayne and Diana Princess of Themyscira. But this really only explains part of who I am."

The confusion was apparent on the pair's faces after he stated this but a small amount of anger replaced it when Terry finished his introduction, "Cadmus gave me the name 'Project Batman Beyond'."