Chapter 15: Protocol

When the car slid to a stop across the landing platform usually reserved for the original Batmobile of this era, Max jumped from her chair with despair. However, an extended hand stopped her from approaching it any closer as Oracle used a laser grid pattern to bar access to the vehicle. "I'll scan the car and collect residue samples while you call your boss back and report to him on what has happened here." the redhead stated. "There is too much work to be done to leave it to a single person. Tim will let you know when we're done."

Max nodded, numb with the feeling that this last part of her connection to Terry was banned from her for now. Turning back to the computers the teenager dialed the digits that would connect her to her own world and Bruce Wayne. Slipping on her headset, the young genius leaned forward and stared at the dark skin on her fingers until Bruce picked up.

"We lost him." She said into her headset. Her voice trembled as she looked up from the open port where the car's top slid back to give the Tomorrow Knight access to the vehicle. The scorch marks on the navigation system and control panels gave her an idea of what might have happened to the vehicle. "Terry's not in the car, Mister Wayne. I don't think they believed him when he said he was from the future. A man asked me a lot about him. I answered as best I could, Mister Wayne, however, I think Terry did something he shouldn't have."

"Alfred." Bruce drawled, affection and memory thickening his voice before he moved the conversation forward. The whisper of cloth and the clack of a cane answered her as the old man on the other end of her connection breathed heavily. "We are not out of options yet, Maxine. When are you coming home? We need the information you can brief us on."

Threading her fingers together, Max leaned backward in her chair. Staring up at the ceiling of the clock tower, the young genius replied. "Mister Wayne, I want to stay here and see if I can re-open the portal back to the world Terry was lost in. Other than that, the people here seem to know about multi-dimensional jumps like what has happened to us."

"Are you certain?" Bruce asked. "We could easily lose our connection to you if the program fails to keep us connected."

"I am aware of the risk, Mister Wayne. I'm positive I want to do this. They said they'll help me get Terry home." The young woman answered, pushing a gut inclination to give Terry a further reason to get home. "Is it possible to get a message from Mary and Matt?"

The hair on the back of her neck prickled upwards when a woman's voice answered her. "Whatever you need, Maxine. Please, just help us get Terry home."

"Of course, Mrs. Kent," she answered as evenly as she could despite the breaks in her voice. "I'll do my best."

"We have some standard recording games equipment available for the message," a young blond said, setting a cup of coffee down beside Max's elbow. "I'll just go get it."

(break)

Flipping a switch, Derek Powers glared hard at the chemicals that were gathered. His cure was almost complete when the men he had hired to do the job had fled the moment they got word the Batman was looking for them. Considering why he had come to this time, the purpose of leaving behind his entire life and re-establishing himself here in the past had been a turning point in his plans. He'd had many successes since coming back through time, and he would not let the Batman, any Batman, destroy what he had worked to achieve.

"You look tense, my friend. Perhaps you should have a little something to drink." a nasal voice stated as an individual stepped into the dimly lit room. The long nose of the Penguin shadowed the ground as Blight turned to face him. The fact there was an absence of green glow in his skin eased the tension between them. Regardless of what the two knew about the other, both were businessmen. "Opportunity is knocking and the Bats are out on the prowl."

"Then you are better informed than I am, Penguin. Has there been any sighting of that little ingrate with the red bat on his chest?" Blight demanded, his hands curling tightly into fists as he thought of what the boy had cost him.

Penguin glanced towards the city. "Rumors say the Bat picked up a new prospect. Dark hair, street clothing, definitely on the younger side. Though these days it seems all the heroes are picking up new pets. The new boy doesn't seem to have on any training wheels, so there's no telling how long the Bat's had him training." he stated, "There have been no signs of your little rodent problem."

A sudden smile appeared on Powers face as he took in the information. "If that punk is who I think he is, the little pest has shown his face," he whispered. "Batman has my problem in his claws and I bet you he's no different than the other ones. Oh, McGinnis, you're going to bleed for what you've cost me."

Cobblepot stared hard at Powers as the white-haired man began to laugh following his brief drop of information. Crazy was not good for business however when you had a man like Powers offering valuable information you could overlook the fact. Shrugging it off as Powers pulled himself together, Cobblepot waited to see what the white-haired man was going to do next.

"We need to set a trap. Some kind of robbery of medical equipment, the more expensive the better. Something not quite leading edge, but new enough it'll cost the company we take it from billions. If I remember…. Yes, yes that would do nicely." Powers suddenly began talking again as he smiled. "Company espionage and I go back several decades, Mister Cobblepot. We need a man or a woman insane enough to do the job."

Frowning for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, Cobblepot offered a solution. "I know just the woman. She's got a thing for cats and will do just the kind of work you're looking for."

"I think a man with a little more muscle might be more up our alley, Mister Cobblepot. I've heard about Bane. He's easily hired for the right price." Powers stated, daring the rotund man to argue with him as green cracks appeared at the edges of his eyes.

(break)

As Batman, Bruce had reasons to be wary of developing situations. One of those was the unexpected levitation of Terry's car as he was approaching. He had been sure the vehicle was disabled until then and had intended to collect evidence of Terry's intentions when he got there. The machine hovered ominously for a few seconds before extending a pair of prongs from its front fins and projecting an energy wave that slowly formed a round hole in the very fabric of space.

Hunching down on the branch he was perched on Batman waited to see what it would do. Within just moments the car was edging forward and disappeared into the strange anomaly before he jumped down to get a better look at the grass where Terry had tried to hide the machine. Static on the radio in his cowl brought the Batman to answer. "Robin."

(Break)

That punk kid. Dick thought the moment he was able to get his mask on. He's got to be stopped before someone gets hurt. Pulling on his gloves, Dick finished dressing in his Robin costume before he made his way for one of the spare bikes and took off after the two males that had driven away. They needed to cover as much distance as possible before the little ingrate escaped.

Running the radio wire up to his ear, Robin leaned down over the handlebars of his bike and radioed Batman. "What are we going to do about him, Batman?"

Static responded for a second before he got his reply; "Terry's transportation has just disappeared into some kind of anomaly. I'm taking samples of the soil and will continue pursuit when I finish here. Be careful, he might have been telling the truth. If he doesn't know his transportation is gone, we might still be able to catch him."

The moment he joined Bruce on the edges of a clearing, Robin waited for his partner's direction. "He's scared of something," Batman told him as he scooped a portion of soil into a small evidence container and slipped it into his yellow belt. "He's gone to Gotham, though I doubt he realizes his vehicle is gone."

"What do you intend to do with him when you catch up to him?" Dick asked, masked eyes turning away from his mentor to scan the depression in the ground where the car had been kept during its last few hours.

Standing, Batman let the folds of his cape draped around his body as began walking towards his own bike. Following, Dick barely caught the words the older male used to respond. "He will have to go to Arkham."

(Break)

Barbara was still reeling from the after-effects of Terry's little sneak attack as Alfred pressed a warm compress to her hands. Lifting the warm cloth to her brow the young woman gave a pained groan as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to be doing next.

"Perhaps an explanation is in order?" Alfred asked. "The security cameras we've placed along the walls and in the house explain some of it, however, the reasons behind Master Terry's actions elude me."

"We were discussing a few cases. The one with the man calling himself Blight, Terry's own strange case, and assorted other things. We were also discussing that kid Jason." Barbara answered, pulling the compress away from her aching head. Her eyes widened as she recalled the costume their attacker had been wearing. "Terry was dressed up in some kind of Bat-suit, and he was really upset. He told Bruce that Blight was his. You wouldn't know why, would you, Alfred?"

"Master Terry has gone through some unfortunate events in his life, Miss Gordon." Alfred responded, "I must, of course, bid your aid in helping settle young Master Jason before I can relay any further news about what's been happening since you last visited."

"Damn. I almost forgot about him. What did you need me to do, Alfred?" Barbara asked as the butler stood up from where he was sitting.

"Monitor the computers and make sure to record any incoming information from either Batman or Miss Maxine." Alfred responded, carefully cleaning his suit of debris and removing the latex gloves he wore. "Call me immediately if anything changes and you are needed on site."