Terry was standing in front of two headstones that had his parents' names written over it. Three days later and the young teen still felt hollow inside, like something in him died. All there was, was guilt coursing through his mind. He thinks it was his fault why it happened. Fortunately for the young teen, he was not alone. Joined behind him was Dana, and Max, who refused to let him bury his parents alone, but Terry was quiet, he hadn't said a word since the incident. He walked up to the headstones, kneeling down to lay two flowers, one in front of each headstone.
"It was my fault" was all Terry could say, feeling nothing, but defeat.
"Terry, you don't know if it was the same gang" Dana tried to comfort him, but it wasn't working.
"Yes I do. My parents are dead and it is my fault, now I have to live with that" before Dana or Max could talk to him, Terry turned around, slowly walked away, not saying another word. He had his hands in pockets. On his way down the hill, he saw a police car parked on the side of the road. Terry grunted his teeth. He didn't want to deal with another cop, especially not today at his parents funeral. He marched over, ready to tell whoever it was to leave, but when he got to the car it was Commissioner Barbara Gordon. Terry froze as she got out of the vehicle to approach him
"Hello Kid. I know, you probably think, I am the last person to be here, but I wanted to check on you"
Terry gives her a slit smile, "Thanks Commissioner"
Barbara had a look of sympathy, "Of course. I lost my father a decade back. My mother, I never really knew, so I know how you are feeling"
"Thanks, I think. Why do I feel like that's not the whole reason why you're here" Barbara sighs, "Your right. I came to let you know since you're almost eighteen it will be hard to get you into foster care especially with the record you have. However your parents did have enough money to keep you covered for the next year, so you're all set on the apartment by yourself"
"Alright thank you again Commissioner"
"No worries, now I gotta get back to the station" Barabra opened the door before getting in she turned back to Terry, "Seriously McGinnis, I want you to stay out of trouble. I don't want to see anything happen to you. Is that clear?" Terry nodded his head in appreciation as he watched Gordon take off. Dana came down to see what's going on.
"What was that all about?" Dana asked, wondering what was going to happen to Terry.
"Its Nothing"
Max came to join them, "You know Terry, you can hang at my place for right now. Its not like my mom is ever home. I am sure she won't mind" Terry shook his head. Only thing that was on his mind was revenge.
"I am sorry, but I have to go. I will see you two later" there was coldness in Terry's breath. Almost like they didn't recognize him. McGinnis hopped on his motorcycle and drove off.
Terry got home, he unlocked the door and put his helmet down on the table. Next to it was a picture of him and his parents. This was taken when Terry was a boy, his dad took him fishing. He remembered that memory. His mother was also there, watching, they were very proud he caught it on his own. This made Terry choke back his tears, then he squeezed the frame. He put the frame down, looking out in the window it was getting dark. Terry knew what he had to do. He waited till it was dark out before he got changed into his long black sleeves. He put on his gloves with holes in it and grabbed a black mask. He stepped outside without being seen and hopped on into his motorcycle. For a desire of revenge, Terry promised himself not to rest until the Jokerz that killed his parents were brought to justice. He scoured the town until he found something. Getting off his motorcycle and walking around through the shadows, Terry notices that a couple is being harassed by a member of the Jokerz. The clown was trying to take their wallets and goods, while holding a knife close to the woman's throat. That is when Terry put his mask back on before going over to help.
"Hey" Terry calls out the clown before punching him right in the face. He then urged the couple to get away. Terry glared at the Jokerz before throwing him against the brick wall. He groaned in pain, but Terry did not care. He then lifted the clown by the shirt. Trying to get a closer look, he didn't recognize this one, so Terry just knocked him out instead and continued his search. Eventually Terry stopped the search after finding nothing and went back to the apartment. He took off his mask and looked at the blood on one of his gloves. He also stared into the mask without a single emotion. If the police couldn't find his parents' killers, then he would continue the mission himself.
For weeks Terry would go out, finding members of the Jokerz and beating them up. He refused to pull back his punches, but stopped after seeing the damage on the clown's face. He chose not to kill, not wanting to be a murderer like them. Terry escaped each time before the police arrived and learned to leave the scene without leaving evidence behind after weeks of doing this.
Eventually word broke out through Gotham and made its way towards Wayne Manor, when Bruce saw what was happening on tv. Rumors were talking on tv that this was a Batman reborn, some saying it's a new vigilante. Bruce looked at the screen observeley and quitlety before looking at Luke Fox, who nodded his head before leaving.
Terry found himself in an alley, following a member of the Jokerz. He recognized the clown walking and remembered it was the same clown that went after him the night his parents were murdered. He was tall and huge and wore clown makeup. Terry snuck up behind him. The big guy swung a punch after noticing, causing Terry to duck. Terry upper cutted the clown's face, sending him flying against the wall. McGinnis then hung on to the gate and kicked him back, then grabbed the knife that was about to be drown and punched him back hard. Terry then grabbed him by the shirt after kicking the weapon away, "I have questions that I expect answered"
"Are you Batman"
"You will wish I was" Terry put his foot on the clown's arm. He would press it if he tried to move, "Tell me where your friends are"
"What friends?" Terry pressed his foot down more, causing the clown to scream helplessly, hoping someone would hear him, but it wasn't. No one was coming, "The night the McGinnis's were murdered, where did they go"
"We murdered no family. Are you kidding me?" Terry pressed again, this time even harder. Finally the clown broke, "Alright I will tell you. I left that group a week ago to do my own thing, but they are usually at the abandoned spot of Neo Gotham's Beach. That is where they hang on their down time"
"Don't you mean after you guys terrorize the people of this city?" Terry said coldly.
"Whatever man, I swear that's all the information that I have" Terry then let go and kicked the big guy in the face, knocking him out. Terry left him unconscious before going to his motorcycle. Before he took off, Terry looked behind him, feeling a shadow over him, but it was nothing, so instead he left, driving off to go after the ones that murdered his family.
Terry arrived at what was once the beautiful beach of Neo Gotham. He stepped off his vehicle to look around, he remembered this place. He once has been here with his parents before it shut down ten years ago. That was the past though, Terry looked down to recognize the same Jokerz he encountered. One was a female clown, who had long hair and wore a pink dress. The other two wore green jackets, almost looked like twins, and the one incharge wore a purple suit and had his hair completely green. Terry walked down to confront them. The Jokerz turned over to see someone was standing behind them.
Terry stared them straight in the eye. The female of the pack walked over to him and smiled, "So who are you behind the mask mister? Want to have some fun?"
"Not really" Terry then punched her in the face. When she got up, she tried to punch him, but kneed her in the stomach. The others went after him. Terry punched the other in the stomach and kicked the other. The lady got back up and kicked Terry in the side. He fell back and then found himself pinned in the back by one of the gang members. McGinnis headbutts him and gets out, but not before the leader of the faction pulls a gun from his pocket. He was ready to stab Terry while he was distracted fighting the other Jokerz. Before he could pierce him in the back, the leader of the gang found himself hit in the back of the head, falling down. Terry was in the middle of fighting the other three, he didn't notice Luke Fox standing over the leader of the Jokerz. Terry grabs the woman's leg, who was about to kick him. He then swung as hard as he could again't one of the male clowns. The other one went head to head with him, but Terry blocked the punch and knees him in the stomach, then he kicked the Jokerz in the face, knocking him out.
Terry looks behind him to see the leader of the Jokerz fighting Luke fox. He just looked almost surprised that Luke is doing damage. The one leading the Jokerz gang tried to fight back, but Luke kept dodging and punching back. He then uses his good leg to kick him towards Terrys direction. The clown looks up to see McGinnis standing over him. Terry then grabbed him by the collar, then moved to his neck. Luke already figured out who it was under the mask. He knew the anger from underneath the mask, which is why he came to stop him, "Terry its over. You can stop now"
Terry didn't respond to his name or was surprised. His eyes were just fixated on the man that killed his parents, "He killed my parents! You expect me to do nothing?"
"You can be better than them. Cross the line and there is no coming back, trust me I know how you feel"
"Do you now" Terry says in a dark tone
"Yes my own father was murdered" Terrys face dropped into a look of shame. He already had his hand on the clown's neck, but let it go before knocking him out. He turned Luke, "I am sorry, I had no idea"
"Its fine, it has been a decade and I learned how to deal with the grief, but what you're doing isn't right. Beating criminals to death isn't the answer. The only thing you can do is bring justice to your parents murder, or you be like them. The choice is yours"
Terry just stares directly at the clown. His eyes were filled with fear looking at Mcginnis's eyes through the holes of the mask. Terry just punches him in the jaw, knocking him out. He stared back at his parents' murderer, then at Luke, who gave him a nodd. Terry removed his mask that was covering his face, "Now what?"
"Justice" Luke says. Terry raised his eyebrow curiously. Luke calls Barabra to tell her he was attacked by the Jokerz, not wanting Terry to be caught. He waited until the police arrived to take the clowns away before meeting McGinnis in an alley.
Terry stepped out, "Thank you for covering for me. How did you find me anyways?"
"I been keeping an eye on you since we have met"
"You mean since your boss kicked me out" Terry jested referring to the batcave without saying it.
"You did break in" Luke pointed out. Terry just stayed silent without a comment.
"So what happens now" both see the sun go up. Both of them realize how late they stayed out Luke turns to Terry with a grin, "Breakfast?" at first he thought Luke was joking, but realizes he was being serious.
The two went to Gotham's Diner. The two sat down with each of them having a cup of coffee. Terry only had his brown jacket. The two stayed silent for several minutes until Terry broke it, "I didn't realize that you could handle yourself in a fight Mr. Fox"
Luke chuckled, "First of all we met already, call me Luke. Second I served in the military for years then I worked as a security officer at Wayne Enterprise not long after"
"Then you started working for Bruce Wayne" Terry then cut himself off. Luke just glared at him through his glasses before having another sip, "I learned of my fathers connection in Wayne Enterprise later on. It was easy, I have been coming since I was a kid. I knew there was some connection to the company and Batman, but I never said anything. When he died I used his tech to hunt down his killer, then later joining Bruce, Dick, and all the rest until I had my accident"
"What happened?" Terry asked, then Luke pointed to his right leg. Terry looked down, "Oh?"
"Decade or so ago I was on patrol with Bruce. Mr Freeze was on a rampage. Blaming Gotham for his suffering, he decided to take his misery out on the people of the City. Threatened to freeze the whole city. Of course I got too careless and got caught in the middle of the cross fire. Lost my right leg in the process. Same day we lost Barbara's father"
"Commissioner Gordon?"
"Thats right, Bruce felt guilty for both me and Barabra. He already lost Alfred. Losing Gordon left a massive hole in him. After that, Bruce vowed to never take another partner again"
"What about his other partners? Nightwing or Robin" Terry was reluctant to ask, but did anyway.
"Nightwing left to do his own thing and Robin, well its a long story. What about you? I see that you can take care of yourself"
Terry stared at his cup when asked the question, "I've been fighting my whole life. Keep getting in trouble. After Juvvie, I trained myself for a little while before I stopped. I was always a headache to my parents. Now they are gone because of me"
Luke had a look of sympathy, he knew it was hard losing a parent. He was older than Terry when his father died. He didn't know what to say, but he wasn't Bruce, he genuinely wanted to help this lost teen out, "Look I am sorry about your parents, but you had know idea, it wasn't your fault"
Terry looked down at his cup again. He remembered all the arguments he had with his parents. He never felt like he appreciated them and now it's too late. That guilt will eat him up forever. He then turned his head at Luke Fox, "I appreciate it Mr. Fox, but I have to go. I have school to catch up on"
"Wait Terry" Terry turned to meet Fox's gaze, wondering what he had to say, "Don't go out doing this again. I don't plan on telling Barbara, but if you continue to do what you do, I will" Terry said nothing, but thanked Fox again for the coffee before leaving him to go home.
Terry drove his motorcycle home. His empty home with just him, everytime he walks in, he feels hollow. Terry thought about what Luke said, but he didn't have to worry. He could rest easy knowing that the people responsible for his parents murder are brought to justice. With that being done McGinnis can put this vigliante life he created from himself behind. He has to focus on school now because in a year his coverage will go away and will be on his own. Terry yawned, but before he decided to go to bed he saw the picture he had with his parents. He picked it up to look at again. This time he analyzed it, remembering it being taken at the beach in Gotham. Staring at it, he sheds a tear before throwing it across the room in frustration. Realizing what he had done, Terry rushed over to look at the smashed frame. He picked it up, ignoring the glass. Once he noticed there was something in the background, he opened the frame and a disk fell off. Terry picks it up to stare at it, not sure why it was in here. Almost like it was intentional.
Terry headed into his fathers office to analyze the disk. He hasn't been in here since most likely before the accident. It was unsettling, but Terry was eager to know what was on it. The disk went into the drive and Terry waited for it to load. It took several minutes before popping up on the screen. Terry looked at it and his eyes widened. In this drive it played on the computer screen the information containing the chemical incidents that have been occurring at Wayne Enterprises. It made him horrified, he saw pictures of the experiments. One of them was a picture of one of the employees' bodies that was exposed to it. At first it was minor, but the next several pictures it spread so fast that Terry couldn't recognize him. According to the information on the disk the employee who got into this accident had died. This happened to several people who had this chemical compound splashed on. Scrolling down, McGinnis decided to turn it off and sat back into his chair, trying to put the pieces together.
Terry had come to the realization that it wasn't the Jokerz who were responsible for his parents murder, but Derek Powers the CEO of Wayne Enterprise. He bit his lip, debating what to do. The people who are responsible for his parents murder were still out there.