Disclaimer - I don't own Batman Beyond. This story uses my alternative history for Terry McGinnis and happens to also have been a missing story I wrote back in summer of 2018 for Fanfic Bootcamp over on Wattpad for the second round.

Free Falling

Terry found himself sick of secrets. Bruce never spoke of the old days, particularly of Nightwing, nor did Gordon. Warren never let cross his lips the fact Terry wasn't his biological son. Mary – Terry's mother - kept an affair from her husband, yet never told Matt – Terry's younger brother – that Warren wasn't his father either. Superman mentioned something which indicated he knew who Terry's real father was, yet not one word of the truth.

He'd hoped Nightwing would be different.

Nightwing wasn't.

Nightwing was his biological father.

The young vigilante found solace in the sky, flying utilizing the specialized Batsuit to navigate the cityscape of Neo Gotham, the newer part of Gotham. With ease he flipped from flying normally to flying on his back, letting the gliding feature carry him through the night sky. Looking up at the sky, Terry saw no stars, a common feature of Gotham. Taking a deep breath, he put his body into a dive, a black figure gliding on scarlet red wings.

Anger pummeled through his head, remembering comments comparing him to Nightwing saying he couldn't fly like Nightwing once did. Landing on the roof, Terry easily backflipped, remembering how Dick took him under his wing when he first came back, teaching him and telling him to fly no matter what anybody else said. The young man's feet landed squarely on the edge of the rooftop.

Catapulting himself away, Terry wondered what the truth really was.

Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to dive again, letting his body nearly crash into one of the building's buttresses. Reaching out, Terry let his gloved hand slide over the building's surface before twisting sharply and kicking off the wall using his feet. Terry preferred using the suit's ability as little as possible yet flying seemed like a freedom he'd never experienced before. Flying whether in the cockpit or not let his feelings out without him lashing out at people or things he shouldn't be lashing out at.

His attention now turned towards flying through one of the bridges, letting his body twist in and out of the cables holding up the bridge between Gotham and Metropolis, taking a nice deep breath as he did. Downward he spiraled, glad for once Bruce wasn't heckling him over the coms, though why he honestly didn't know.

The young vigilante sored down, letting his hand reach out towards the water, bringing up a nice spray as he traveled over the water's edge. Thinking carefully, everything seemed to quiet. Terry soared back up, heading back into the city between the buildings. Turning his head slightly, a flash of light caught his attention. Before he could investigate, he found himself hit by something which sent him flying in a slightly different direction.

His ears then heard a sound – one he dreaded as soon as he heard it.

In truth, it was a lack of the sound, that of his boosters stopping.

Terry now found himself falling with absolutely no lifeline.