There are no relations whatsoever to the characters name and my pen name. I just like the name cuz its kewl. Also, this is my first fanfic, so I hope it isn't too screwed up. The only characters I own are Andie, Tabby and their mom and dad. Also, if I am working on a second chapter, so if you like it there is more coming.
Smiling to myself at the thought of the Saturday morning cartoons I had just seen, I clicked the off button on the TV. Batman Beyond, my favorite cartoon, had just ended. And lucky me, it was the last episode of the season. That meant reruns, and catching up on missed episodes if school work permitted me. Plus an awesome fanfic I had been working on, and dying to finish.
"Oh, Andie!" my mom shouted from the loft upstairs.
"Uh, what?" I asked, disappointed she had ruined my good mood and excitement at the thought of seeing never before seen episodes.
"I forgot to tell you. The Booth's called and they need you to babysit every day after school, and on Saturdays. You'll have to be there by ten on Saturday, and you won't get home til about 3." she droned on. I could hear the clicking of keyboard keys as she was most likely talking to her "friends" online.
Then my brain clicked on what she had said. "WHAT?! You told them I was going to babysit, without letting me okay it?!?!" I yelled.
"You're always complaining about needing money. So I got you a job."
"But I'll miss Batman, Mom! I've been waiting forever to watch some episodes! Plus what about my homework?"
"Andie, you're seventeen years old! You don't need to watch cartoons! You should get a boyfriend like me." Tabby, my twin sister exclaimed.
"Hey! Just because we are twins doesn't mean I have to be just like you! Why don't you do the babysitting job?" I yelled.
"Because unlike you, I have a life that is not wasting away thinking of Batman."
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH BATMAN?!" I was mad now. Not only had she insulted me, she had insulted BATMAN! And insulting Batman ment insulting Terry. That made me even angrier. I was never taping her anymore episodes. If she wanted to hide her liking for Batman, she'd have to tape them herself.
"Nothing, if you're six or seven." she said, opening the door as her boyfriend walked in.
"Six or seven?!" I said, exasperated. "Six and seven year olds don't even understand the concept of being a good guy or a bad guy. They don't understand the meaning of justice. They don't even know crime! ALL THEY DO IS SEE A GUY IN A SUIT PUNCHING SOMEONE!" Not only had she insulted me, she insulted herself! She sure was doing a good job of acting like she didn't like it infront of Mom.
"So do you. Therefore I end my statement." Tabby said as she strode up the stairs to her room.
"COME BACK DOWN HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN! I-UH-MEAN WOMAN!" I shouted. I could here her giggles and her boyfriends deep laughter.
"ARGH!" I growled to myself opening the basement door and slamming it behind me. I walked down the steps, and opened the door to my room once I had reached the far side of the basement. I sat on my bed, and opened up my laptop.
Sighing, I clicked on Free Cell and played a few games. How could my own sister not understand. I thought twins were supposed to understand everything. She had to be the one to hide her liking, and make me out as the fool. Still angry, I turned on my Batman Beyond CD, and had it on disk chang so it would change to the Return of the Joker CD after it was done with that one.
I closed my laptop and locked it with my key.Laying back on my bed, I reached for my pet cat, Ariel. I stroked her a few times before her purring drowned out the music and put me to sleep.
* * *
I yawned, sat up, and stretched. I must have been asleep for a very long time, since I have been covered with blankets, and my CD's were no longer playing. The clock also said 6:45 PM.
I was glad it was dinnertime, since my stomache was growling. I knew my mom should be calling down anytime, so I flipped on my TV and pulled out my laptop again.
"Gotham's dark night has done it again. Saving the city from attacks from Blight may have been one of the toughest fights yet for this hero, seeing that Blight is highly radioactive." The news said.
"What?" I said to myself, glancing at the screen. "Batman? On a news channel?" As soon as the scene of Batman- which had seemed so real, and not like a cartoon- was done, I saw that the news caster was the same computer type image of that one on Batman Beyond. My jaw dropped. Literally.
After that news, it went on to talk about something else. I shut the TV off. Then looked around my room for a clue or something to tell me this wasa trick of my sister's. There was something missing. My Return of the Joker movie poster was gone, and so were the few action figures that I had aquired. My movie collection had also disappeared.
Ok. I thought, There has to be something reasonable about this. Like on of Tabby's pranks! I growled. Of course. She was just the type of person to do this. All a cruel game. But my CD's. She didn't know I owend them, because I had gotten my best friend from school, Selph, to buy them for me. I grinned, and opened up my CD player. They were gone.
"What?!?!" I yelled. How had she gotten those too? Unless she heard them playing.
My growling stomache interupted the thought.
"Ok, fine. I'll just go upstairs and get something to eat. C'mon Ariel." I looked around. "Ariel?"
The cat must have slipped out when Tabby took my stuff.Oh well. I thought. Her loss, not mine. I opened my door and expected to see the basement's family room. Instead, there was a short hallway, with another door on the opposite side of the wall, and one at the end of the hall.
"Alright, whats going on?!" I yelled to Tabby. No one replied. Maybe I'm dreaming. But in a dream, I wouldn't be saying maybe I was dreaming. But if this were a dream I could possibly be thinking that-. After that, thinking got confusing. So instead, I ventured down the hallway.
At the end of the hallway, there was breakfast bar that connected the kitchen with the living room. There was a computer sitting on the counter, with the e-mail sign blinking. I decided to check it out. Besides, it could be a dream after all.
The first e-mail read:
Welcome to Gotham City! We are glad you could join our apartment complex. Due to the certain circumstane of being under 18 and staying alone, if you need anything, please call the manager. The governments okay for you worked, so you won't have to leave.
Signed
Apartment Management
Under 18 and living alone? I didn't like that. The date on the message told me it was well over thirty years from yesterday. I could have sworn I had read it wrong. I clicked on the next button. The e-mail read:
Your forms for school went through, and we accepted. Hamilton High is glad to have you as our newest student. Please call the number below to set up your first day and schedule.
Hamilton High School
There was a number at the bottom, so I picked up the phone, and dialed. It rang, and there was a lady who answered.
"Hamilton High, how may I help you?"
"Uh, yes, I'm Andie-" I didn't get to finish.
"Oh yes! The senior. We figured you might call, just not this late on a Monday. You were lucky there's a game tonight."
"Um, yeah. I need to talk about the e-mail."
"Ok. Would you like your schedule sent over e-mail?"
If this was a prank or dream, I decided to play along. "Yes, please."
"Ok. I know its hard for you to live alone, after your parent's death and sister's disappearance, but would you like to start tomorrow?"
My parents death?!? And my sister, gone? I couldn't speak for a moment. Now what was going on? This definately had to be a dream.
"Hello?" the secretary asked.
Realizing I hadn't answered her for over I minute, I snapped back into thought. "Oh, yes, I can. Sorry about the wait!"
"It's alright, dear. School starts at seven fifteen. Do you need a ride?"
"Uh, currently, no. But If things change I'll let you know. Could you send a map to my e-mail also?" I said.
"Sure thing, dear!"
"Ok, thank you." I mumbled, lost in thought. A faint goodbye was heard as I set the reciever in its holder.
I had come to realize something. I didn't know how, but some way or another, I was brought to Gotham City, when Terry McGinnis was Batman. The parents death and sister gone must have been the way I guess I was "written" in to the show.
Venturing for some answers or something on the computer, I came across my diary. Gentle, I placed my hand on the fingerprint scanner sitting beside the computer, and it let me in.
According to the date, this had been written four days ago. I clicked back two or three entries, and came to the one where my parents supposedly died. I decided it would be good to read these, so I could answer any questions from school tomorrow, if there was a tomorrow. The first one read:
Oh, God! I have just gotten to the hotel the police put me in for the night. I know, Diary, you are wondering why I am put in a hotel. Well, just about five hours ago, when it was beginning to get dark, I heard the front door being kicked open. I wish I would have payed attention, but I didn't. Whoever kicked it open must have thought I went out with my sister, and that only my parents would be home.
It was horrible! I heard the gun go off, and screams. There were soft thuds as something hit the floor. By then I was shaking with fear, wanting to scream, but not having the courage too. Not screaming is probably what saved me.
But as I went out of my room, and upstairs, oh, I hated it! I don't want to talk about it, but I know I have to otheriwse it will never come out. My parents, they were... lying, on the floor. There was blood everywhere. Not knowing what to do, I ran to the phone. Before I started running, though, I heard the screech of a car. It must have been who ever had done it, trying to get away.
I called 911, and the police arrived, took me away to be questioned, and my parents to have an autopsy. The were pronounced dead.
My sister was no where to be found. The police haven't called yet, so she still hasn't been found. They decided it was best to only get some things from my house, and stay in a hotel.
I don't know why someone would want to kill my parents. It may have been the major project they were working on for some company or another. There was a lot of competition to it. Thats all I know. Well, maybe not all I know, because I do know another thing. I hate being smart. I should be in school, with kids my age. But I'm not. I'm out of college, and the only person I hang out with is Tabby.
Me and her get teased by the local for being natural born twin geniuses. I hate it. I want to go to school. Just blend in. Act, maybe, as if I'm not smart. As if I'm not a computer genius. Maybe Tabby would do the same but I don't know and never will.
Well, Diary. It's well past one, and I need some sleep. I have a funeral and burial to set up tomorrow, after the autopsy. Plus I have the bank accounts to deal with. After this week, and the funeral, all I know is I want to get out of here, hundreds of miles away. Start a new life somewhere, as a regular teenager. The school would never know. Neither would where I lived. I would just get a grant from the government, letting me live aone underage until I'm 18. I hope they will let me. Goodnight.
Andie
"Oh God!" I said to myself. I had this horrible feeling now. It was strange, but I could actually see what was happening, and hear the noises. I could even remember being at the police station, even though the entry didn't describe the police station. I suddenly knew my whole senior year, and college years. I was a genuis in computer studies and artificial strength enhancemant. There was a technology work station in my head. No wonder I was so valuable.
Then I remember a project I was working on. Something to do with Batman. Batman?! Shaking myself, I thought of the cartoon. I knew who Batman was. Apparently, my "cartoon" self hadn't. But why choose Gotham City, with Batman in it? Why not move to Metropolis, where the Justice Leage of America was?
Because, dummy. Your favorie cartoon wasn't Superman! It was Batman Beyond! I thought. With memories still flashing through my head, I didn't want to read more, but I knew I should in order to learn more about myself. However, the strange part was that I had some how accumulated the person in my fanfic. Which meant I might knew what was going to happen. The only thing was I didn't write the past. I didn't even write whether or not she had parents. And my fanfic character didn't have a sister.
I began to not even know what to think. How could this happen, and have similarities to my fanfic. Not only how, but why? And who killed my parents? Soon I found out I needed to read the other entries. The next one was after the funeral.
Tabby never showed up for the funeral. She really is gone. Maybe forever.I hate to think of how long forever is. I don't know why, but I actually asked the police commisioner if I could move somewhere. Out of harm's way. When they asked where, I told them Gotham. I guess because of the Batman being their. Maybe I want to see if he's real. Maybe not. I just want to go. I have a feeling thats where I'll find Tabby.
To my amazement, the commisioner said yes, and I am being sent in an unmarked police van with my belongings and a grant to live underage. I don't know why, but today I didn't cry at Mom and Dad's funeral. I guess I was too stressed. But now they are buried, and I can get far away from the horrible place. I had all my sister's belongings sent to storage in Gotham, and I went through my parents belongings, grabbing only what I anted to remember them by.
Now I am back at the hotel, and I don't know what to do next. The van is coming tomorrow. I am beginning to regret my dicision. Gotham is known for crime, but the crime has been going down since the appearance of Batman. Still, I feel worried.
I guess it's just that maybe my sister isn't there. Well, I best be going. I have a long drive ahead of me. I will check back with you when I am done moving into Gotham.
Andie
This was really beginning to bug me. I guess it had to be dramatic. Hell, it was Gotham. Of course it had to be. The city was never boring. The part that made me mad, though, was that it had to be me. A technology genuis, whose genuis parents were murder because of the job they took. Makes one feel too smart for others. And although I knew all this stuff, I still hadn't even finished my senior year in real life.
There was only one diary entry left, and I decided to save it for later. My stomache had been growling forever, and the e-mail sign was blinking again. There were three messages this time. One map of Gotham, my schedule, and a message from my self that I had a pparently scheduled to send so I wouldn't forget the information.
As the map and schedule printed out, i checked into my self-sent email. It was information about my bank account. I was rich. Filthy rich. But it all came from my family's geniusness. Not quite a millionaire, but enough to live off of without a job. I also had a credit account, and it told where I had set my cred card down. The ammount stored on my card was about 3,000. Which would be enough for now. After all, I only wanted to get something to eat, and maybe a pet.
I noticed something else in the e-mail, about auto insurance. It was about my cycle. My cycle?! I thought. I own a cycle? Nifty! No, wait, not nifty. What's the word? Oh yeah! Shway! I had to remember what words were used now, and not from when I actually came from.
Not only words, I looked down at my clothing, and it was the same as I had been wearing all day. Black flared pants, and a black tank top with silver flames on it. Oh well. If Gotham didn't like what I felt comfortable in, they would have to deal with it.
Studying the map for a brief moment, I found a star that was labeled "Your apartment" and another one labeled "Hamilton High." I wasn't too far away. The rest of the places were in number code, with a key off to the side. I found a burger joint not too far away from where I was, grabbed the cred card, a wallet, a watch, and the keys to my cycle, I walked out the door and decided to see what Gotham City had in store for me on my first night in town.