The Last Son of Tomorrow

TerraBull

Well-Known Member
zeebee1 said:
Terry brought a rainbow with him? How did it fit in his belt?
:snigger:

He brought a lot of Skittles with him? You know. "Taste the Rainbow"

Back on topic.

I am curious if they think Terry has powers as well, with the Escape route.
 

Prince Charon

Well-Known Member
Good part. Poor Ace. :blue: Hopefully he can help her.

crazyfoxdemon said:
Prince Charon said:
Christopher Robin said:
Prince Charon said:
Oh, my.á Well, sympathy for the parents just took a nosedive, unless they were bamboozled to the nth degree (in which case its just my opinion of their intelligence than took a nosedive).á Ace's parents might have an excuse, sort of, if she's already mind-zapped someone, but even then, it bothers me.
According to the wiki, the people Ace mind-zapped are her parents.
Well, that was in the DCAU, not YJU, but unless Ryuugi says otherwise, I'll assume it happened in both timelines. Thanks.

Doesn't make the other parents look any better, though.
They just got mind raped by their own daughter. Then an organization comes by and says that they can help. In Ace's case, its a little understandable...
Hence why I said 'the other parents'.
 

Zephyrus

Searching for the six-fingered man.
I don't read DC comics on a regular basis, nor am I familiar with YJ. However, I *am* familiar with JCU and Batman Beyond. This is a truly awesome fusion of the two. I'm quite looking forward to reading more.

It seems that other have already taken up the task of correcting your spelling and grammar, so you'll just have to be content with my praise. =p
 

Solaris

Well-Known Member
Khortez said:
The Bifrost bridge connects Asgard to Midgard.
So like a road to the place of the gods from mortal concerns?

Interesting.
 

Ryuugi

Well-Known Member
The Last Son of Tomorrow
FateÆs Shifting Path

He guided them into his backup safety room, hidden behind a false bookshelf in his library. While a number of people knew about the first safety room, heÆd had the second built as a precaution and besides the designers, only Superman, whoÆd helped build the room itself, knew about itùthe idea was that if something happened to his house and the first room was empty, someone would know that there was a second one to check as well. In design, it was more or less the same as the original, if with a few additions in the walls that would hopefully make it hard to discover if someone was trying to kill him in his own home.

Again.

He paused for a moment, giving them a moment to realize what had just happened, Ace still largely unresponsive in his arms. He set her down gently upon the bed before moving to stand by the door.

ôCongratulations, all of youùas of now, youÆre all free.ö

ôFree and with nowhere to go,ö P-12 said. ôI donÆt know about the rest of you, but I wouldnÆt go back home if they begged me.ö

Terry guessed ætheyÆ were her parents; the ones that had accepted money to be rid of her. In a way, it was understandable; he could imagine they had to have been terrified when they came home and their daughterÆs strange headaches resulted in her crushing their car like a paper cup.

Understandable, but not excusable. He had enough tact that heÆd probably never ask her, but surely P-12 had been the most terrified when that started happeningùand even more so when people came to take her away and her parents just let them take her away. She was colder now, her eyes hard enough to not show anything she was feeling, but Terry could imagine what those first days in Prometheus must have been like for a scared little girl.

Worse, he didnÆt have to imagine itùnot really. HeÆd seen worse on the Anti-MonitorÆs Prison Worlds.

And on Qwardàwell, ever since heÆd first seen it, heÆd had to wonder; was Qward like Hell or was Hell just like Qward?

ôOh?ö P-13 grinned. ôI donÆt knowùit might be fun to swing by home for a bit, you know? We can reminisce a bit about that time they had me put in a cage foràö

He suddenly trailed off and Terry had to cover a wince when he realized the cause. No, he supposed they probably wouldnÆt know how long theyÆd locked up for.

Even so, he couldnÆt let them run out to take vengeance upon the ones whoÆd wronged themùnot even the ones who deserved it more than their parents. HeÆd been taught by the best, sometimes regrettably well.

Besides, they were his responsibility now, or at least he considered them such. He had to make sure they didnÆt hurt anyone or retread the path theyÆd taken in his worldàand also, he had to keep them from getting hurt either.

ôCool down, P-13ùyou just got out. The ones that kept you locked up will be locking for you soon and your parents will be the first place theyÆll look. DonÆt go giving them ways to find youùor a justification to ætake you into custodyÆ again. WeÆre dealing with some very powerful people now.ö He soothed, aware that appeals to logic would probably get him further then appeals to morality in this case.

The escapee frowned.

ôThen what the hell should we do? I donÆt care if they do come after me; IÆve already spent who knows how long locked in a box and IÆm not gonna spend the rest of my life hiding from someone.ö

ôI said cool your head. It just so happens I have friends in high places of my own. ThereÆs a reason I brought you all here when I could have taken you anywhere in the world; thereÆs someone I want to introduce you toàin just a moment. Before I go get him, all of you have a few choices to make. I said you were free and I meant it, but like you pointed out, you have nowhere to go and, as my rescue was ratheràabrupt, I doubt you have any plans either. My friend and I can help you with that.ö

P-10 snorted.

ôWhat? You want a team of Supers too, is that it?ö

ôIt would be a lie to say the idea never crossed my mind,ö Terry said evenly. ôBut no, thatÆs not what IÆm referring tooùnot unless you want to. Your names, the ones you used to have, are unusableùtheyÆll be looking for those too. But even if your former identities are compromised, my friend can give you new ones. If you want to, then in an hour, you can walk out of this place and never use your powers again. New backgrounds, jobs, everythingùtheyÆre all in place. IÆll keep an eye out for anyone they send after you and my friend and I will see that they donÆt become an issue; you have our protection, now, though itÆll probably take you some time to learn what that means. Your new lives are all already there, waiting for you. No strings attached.ö

He paused for a moment, letting that sink in, before continuing.

ôAnd yes, there is the possibility of more, but thatÆs all it isùa possibility. I didnÆt do this so youÆd owe me a favor nor did I do this so that youÆd come work for me. I just learned what had happened to all of you and chose to save you, nothing more; IÆm not going to force you to do anything you donÆt want to do. If youÆd like to live the rest of your lives without ever using your powers again, IÆll do everything in my power to see that you can. YouÆre free nowùweÆre just going to try and give you your lives back. You donÆt need to concern yourself with anything beyond that if you donÆt want to.ö

ôYeah?ö P-11 said, trying to hide the shocked way he was staring at him and largely failing. ôAnd what if we did want to?ö

ôDonÆt worry about that right now,ö Terry said, shaking his head. ôYouÆve been through a lot and I donÆt want to plant any ideas in your head while youÆre thisàö

He searched for better way to say it before shrugging.

ôImpressionable. You donÆt even know what having a normal life, being free, is like yet and it would be wrong of me to suggest anything until you know what else you could have. So for now, letÆs consider that the end of this. IÆll return in just a moment with my friend, and weÆll get your new lives in order.ö

XxXXxX
 

Flamewolf

Well-Known Member
if with a few additions
with a few additions

locking for you
looking for you
 

Ryuugi

Well-Known Member
XxXXxX

Stepping out of the room and closing the door carefully behind them, Terry moved silently through the house, fairly certain theyÆd stay put. He made his way back to his original safe room without saying a word and entered. Once he was sure it was safe, he sighed, leaning back against the door and resting his head on it. Still resting quietly on the bed, AceÆs twitched his ears at him, but didnÆt make a noise, letting him think. As usual, that dog was annoyingly smart.

It really had been a long time since heÆd worn this suit and done the hero thing. He wasànot quite out of shape, but definitely out of practice. HeÆd done his best to ignore it, but ignoring something didnÆt make it go away; the anticipation and the nervousness that he might make a mistake after so long out of the game had sent enough adrenaline through him that now that he was done it was starting to make him shake a little, though heÆd hidden it in front of the kids. A few years ago, he would have just waltzed back into the Batcave and yawned, but here he was getting wired over a small mission. It was important, of courseùstopping crime and saving lives was always importantùbut small.

No one had anticipated any trouble, so the resistance heÆd faced didnÆt even deserve to be called such. Its main form of security had been the fact that no one had known about it, so nothing major on that front. No super-villains, no death traps, no explosions, nothing but a few unsuspecting guards and a few old men. By all rights, this should just be Tuesday for himùat least, if Batman had TuesdayÆs this pleasant, which he generally hadnÆt.

HeÆd known it for a while but now, but here was the truth, written out in boldùheÆd gone native.

ôLook at me, acting like a rookie,ö He said, taking off his mask and letting it drop to the ground. ôMy Rogue Gallery would be laughing if they saw me now.ö

He took off the rest of his suit, letting it pool on the ground by his mask as he moved to change into his civilian clothes. God, maybe he should call them his normal clothes now? His Rogue Gallery wouldnÆt be the only ones laughing if they could see himùBruce would have ammunition for months if he was here.

For a moment, Terry just looked at himself in the mirror. He still trained. He still practiced. He studied and prepared and readied himself like heÆd been taught too, but when exactly had he stopped beingàhe wasnÆt even sure how to put it into words because he wasnÆt sure what had happened. He just wasnÆt who heÆd been a few years ago and wasnÆt sure when changed. It hadnÆt been when Reality blew upùeven after that, for a while, Terry was still Batman, if not in name. Terry McGinnis the Businessman had been the mask. But nowàit wasnÆt.

When had that happened?

Probably whenever heÆd stopped calling himself Batman in his head.

He sighed.

ôStop brooding, Terry; this really isnÆt as big of a deal as youÆre making it out to be,ö The Batsuit said, rising up headless from where it had lain on the ground. It reached down absently to retrieve its mask and put it onùor rather, attached it to the suit and made it become rigid, restoring its head. ôIt just takes a while to get back into the swing of things.ö

ôI guess,ö Terry said, turning around to look at his suit. ôEverything working okay, Mother Box? ItÆs based off of Mr. FreeÆs design, so it should be okay.ö

The suit flexed its fingers, reminding him, fairly uncomfortably, of Robert Vance. It systematically checked the range of motion the suit allowed in the appendage, sometimes bending her fingers where joints didnÆt exist on a human.

ôWell enough. Should violence occur, however, compensating for the lack of your mass could complicate matters. IÆd prefer to have more adequate weaponry to prepare for that eventuality.ö

Terry scratched the back of his head.

ôIÆll think about it,ö He promised, truthfully, as he picked up the file containing the kidÆsùGod, he just called them kidsùnew information.

Primarily, he would think about why it was probably a bad idea, though. Mother Box had interesting, though technically accurate, ideas about things like æadequate forceÆ and ænonlethal weaponry.Æ Namely, that if it gets the job done, itÆs adequate, and if they survive it, then itÆs nonlethal. Both of which are true, granted, butàwell, Mother Box had greatly expanded the list of what Terry had known people were able to live through.

It was one of those things that he, and Barda before him, had never really hidden, per se, but did his best not to draw too much attention too. It would have been pretty obvious, to anyone that thought about it much, but most people didnÆtùnamely, that Mother Box had come from Apokolips.

With everything that entails. As it was, he was worried whether giving her hands of her own could be considered a mortal sin or not.

ôI would appreciate that, Terry,ö She said, though she probably knew what he was thinking. In all likelihood, he probably would end up adding something to suit, lest something happen and made Mother Box invoke prison rules and get creative. She might not kill someone with a batarang or something. Not kill them for hours. ThatÆs Apokolipsian Tech for you. ôShall we go then?ö
 

Mereo Flere

Well-Known Member
Nice update, Ryuugi. I logged into TFF just to see if you've updated anything, so this was a nice surprise.
 

Ryuugi

Well-Known Member
ôOf course,ö He nodded, looking at her speculatively as he deftly finished buttoning his shirt. A part of Terry wondered if she enjoyed being able to actually speakùto have a body of her own with which to interact with the world. He couldnÆt imagine staying by his side day and night as he went through his admittedly oft-times boring routine was all that exciting. Then the smarter part of him reminded him that he could just ask. ôDo you enjoy having a body, Mother Box?ö

He had a feeling that if she were a human, she would have hummed in response to the question, but while she had complete control of the batsuit, it did nothing without her consciously willing it to. It didnÆt make a sound nor did it twitch without her wanting it to do so, and she probably didnÆt care enough to botch with such minor things unless she had too. Still, she seemed to be seriously considering it.

ôItÆs certainly an interesting new experience. I cannot say IÆve ever had such a thing before and itÆsànice. Yes, I suppose I do enjoy it.ö She admitted.

He hummed at that and made a note to let her out more often now that theyÆd tested the new circuitry in the suitùthough he might need to find something a bit less conspicuous for her to wearàand lay down some more detailed ground rules, though she had a pretty good grasp of the whole æspirit of the lawÆ thing.

Really, the main issue was whether or not sheÆd break the rules if she thought that it would be better for himùand the fact that the answer was æin a heartbeat.Æ

He shook himself once, realizing he was letting his mind wander again, and opened the door for Mother Box who walked through wordlessly.

ôSo, what do you think?ö He asked, knowing he wouldnÆt have to specify beyond that. TheyÆd worked together long enough that he was fairly sure he had accounted for most of what sheÆd say, but a second opinion from a divine machine never hurt. Well, at least not when it came from his divine machineùsome of the other ones had tried to kill him.

ôThat investing in a good therapist would probably be a good idea.ö She replied easily. ôTeachers as well. They respond well to you, thanks to the way you rescued them, but it is unlikely they will respond well in the outside world. They missed over a decade of their lives eachùtheyÆve missed what most people learned in that time of their lives, including how to act with other people and in society. It is likely that signs of that will show if they are put in frustrating or stressful situations. Given that their powers make them potentially dangerous to both others and themselves, it would be wise to deal with the matter as quickly as possible. They are also very behind on modern events and do not know a number things they likely should. They will all likely need both a dietary and a physical regiment to bring them back up to the standards of human health and will likely need a number of vaccinations that they missed due to their time in captivity. I feel it wise, given the circumstances, to remind you that it would likely be a good idea to explain to them the exact nature of these vaccinations lest they react badly to attempts to inject them.ö

ôIndeed.ö He nodded. HeÆd been looking for both teachers and psychiatrists he could trust, but hadnÆt found anyone he could be completely sure of yet. He could handle all the medical stuff himselfùTI had started as a pharmaceutical company, after allùbut he needed to find people with both the skill to help them and the tact to not push any of the wrong buttons and cause the kids to react violently. Which could be tricky, since he had no idea what would make them react like that and wouldnÆt until they actually did. But with the recent reports from Prometheus, heÆd been forced to act quickly. ôBut we already knew that. What do you think of them?ö

Mother Box entered that complete silence again, considering it.

ôThey seemàbetter than they could have been. As you noted, physical abuse and punishment was likely uncommon with the collars on them, so while their physical and mental states are not good by any means, they could have been greatly worse. They seem unlikely to react with hostility to our attempts to help them, if nothing else. Complete recovery could take an undefined amount of time, but should be possible. As for them personally, I have no opinions yet, except that they do not appear to be threats to you at this point in time and could be potential allies in the future. They currently like you more than their former captives, which given their circumstances likely makes you their favorite person in the world. Or makes me that, currently.ö She said. ôBeyond that, I cannot draw any conclusions with the information currently available. The possibility and desire for vengeance and retribution against their parents and captors may influence them later, though currently reason seems to be enough to keep them from doing anything rash. I cannot predict how they might react if put in the same room as Lex Luthor or their parents, however. I would advise that you try to avoid such confrontations.ö

Terry chuckled and nodded. Amusing mental images aside, that was likely to end badly, but it wasnÆt an issue. Keeping them as far as possible from Luthor was pretty high on his list of priorities to begin with.

Stopping before the door, he adjusted the files in his hands, going over the details in his head one last time.

ôAnd also, Terryùa word of advice.ö Mother Box spoke again as he put his hand on the doorknob. ôAs someone whoÆs looked after children before, I have found this to be true: You can help them, you can protect them, but you canÆt choose their lives for them. Do not be surprised if they donÆt become what you expect.ö

Terry paused, before slowly laying his hand against the concealed entrance of the door. He just looked at it quietly for a moment, thinking. No, things hadnÆt happened quiet how heÆd expected them too, either, and to say he regretted nothing would be an awful lie. But what happens, happens, and whatÆs done is done.

ôIÆm sorry to disappoint,ö He said.

Mother Box shook her head quietly; a human gesture, made for his sake.

ôNo; I am not disappointed. Not in you and not in Barda. You became something I did not predict, but that is what children do when they grow up. While there have been several who might have tried to challenge me for the title before, believe me when I say that in our current point in time and space, there is no one prouder of you then I, Terry.ö She stated matter-of-factly.

Terry tapped his finger against the wall a few times, glancing silently at his companion. He looked away then and nodded once in acknowledgement.

ôThanks,ö He said, not looking at her as he opened the door.

XxXXxX
 

007

Well-Known Member
The sentence "They currently like you more than their former captives" should be "They currently like you more than their former captors."
 

Thrilhouse

Well-Known Member
I'm a bit late, but it's been awhile since I've visited TFF. Logged in today to see this had several updates I've missed. Elated to see that. :)
 

zeebee1

Well-Known Member
You could find a valid substitute if you found a picture of Damien being decapitated while Jason is being stuffed back into his grave.
 

Ryuugi

Well-Known Member
XxXXxX

Terry rubbed his eyes and yawned.

ôLong night?ö Superman said, stirring his coffee on the other side of the screen. Terry looked at the screen with one eye, still rubbing the other with one hand, and nodded sleepily. ôWhat are you working on now?ö

ôHIV,ö He murmured sleepily. ôIÆm gonna make a cure for it using a combination of Crocodile Blood and Cobra Venom, but IÆm stuck on how IÆm going to convince my PR guys to let me make a commercial about a crocodile and a cobra riding to a hospital patients rescue in the Cobradile Mobile. I ran it past them a few days ago and they all looked at me like I was a crazy person.ö

ôI do that too, sometimes,ö Superman admitted, honest as ever.

Terry picked up his coffee mug and frowned at it.

ôEven so, IÆm their boss. They shouldnÆt look at me like that to my face; thatÆs what you do behind your bossÆs back. ItÆs unprofessional.ö

Superman chuckled at that, smiling easily.

ôSo,ö Terry said, taking a sip of his coffee. ôWhat happened that would make you call me from your satellite in space that IÆm not supposed to know about?ö

His friend managed to keep from rolling his eyes, but only barely. The holographic projection of the Fortress of Solitude behind him dropped away.

ôHow is it that you know about everything?ö

ôBy being awesome,ö He replied solemnly. Then smiled and shrugged. ôThough in this case I found out during the preparations for the satellites; I needed to make sure the trajectory wouldnÆt hit anything and had to run scans to see if anything would interfere with transmissions, and a bunch of other tests. One of my boys in the Science Department reported some oddities in what was supposed to be a normal asteroid, I checked it out; you get the picture. I figured you didnÆt want it known about, though, so I made sure it wouldnÆt appear on record and moved my satelliteÆs intended position just to be safe.ö

ôThanks for that,ö Superman nodded. ôItÆs not a complete secret, really; a number of government officials know about it, but we didnÆt want any of our enemies to attack out headquarters.ö

The æagainÆ went unsaid, so Terry ignored it.

ôI only brought it up because you must be really worried to have called about it from your secret base. WhatÆs wrong?ö

His friend frowned, and Terry heard a sound from off-screen that he assumed were SupermanÆs fingers drumming against something.

ôMaybe nothing,ö He said at last, though he seemed doubtful of the words nonetheless. ôThere was a record of some activity at the Prometheus Institute that I wanted to ask you aboutàö

Terry raised an eyebrow and brought his mug to his lips again, hiding them from sight.

ôIt was only for a little while and we donÆt technically have anything that points to them being suspicious, but Batman has several hunches that it may be loosely related to LexCorp, which makes me worry about what could be happening. Legally, thereÆs no reason to be suspicious, but if LexCorp is involved, people could be getting hurt. I wanted to ask if youÆd think I would be going too far if I tried to check the place out; I know I donÆt always act completely rationally when LuthorÆs involved.ö

Terry nodded.

ôI do know.ö He said, making a decision. ôDonÆt bother; I wouldnÆt put it past Luthor to have something in place to monitor you and we donÆt need him making accusations of you breaking the law. To the public, he is still an upstanding business man, after all.ö

Superman grimaced but nodded slowly, but Terry wasnÆt done.

ôI can tell you want happened anyway.ö He said, deciding to trust his friend. ôI was responsible for it, after all.ö

SupermanÆs eyebrows shot up at that.

ôTerryàö

ôWhat? You didnÆt think IÆd just stand around and do nothing after all the times you told me about Luthor, did you?ö Terry challenged. ôI couldnÆt just do nothing after all the times heÆs probably tried to kill both of us, so when I noted some weird things about Prometheus, I did a little digging. And then a lot of digging. And I did not like what I found. IÆll tell you if you promise not to do anything rash.ö

ôWhenever you make me promise that, you always follow it up with stuff that makes me want to punch someone in the face.ö

ôHence the ædonÆt do anything rashÆ part, yes.ö

Supes sighed.

ôI know. I promise.ö

ôThe Prometheus Institute was researching something they referred to as the æmetagene,Æ a natural part of human biology that allowed certain people to manifest extraordinary abilities under special circumstances. They sought to discover the secrets of this gene and figure out how to awaken it artificially, ostensibly to raise mankind as a species, though IÆm naturally dubious, given whoÆs involved. In order to aid these experiments, they kept a number of metahumans in the facility itself to test and experiment on. There were twenty cells in the Institute. All but five were empty.ö

SupermanÆs face twisted and Terry heard something crack off-screen. He continued anyway.

ôAfter I discovered this, I thought about contacting you or the League, even if, and I admit it, I didnÆt acquire all this evidence legally. After thinking about it, however, I was forced to consider the repercussions of involving you; that is, the possibility of a counter-strike directed towards you or the other League membersùor worse, your families.ö

Worry fought with anger in SupermanÆs eyes, and for a moment came out on top.

ôDo you think he might know our secret identities?ö

Terry paused, thinking about how to answer.

ôI donÆt know,ö He admitted at last. ôThereÆs no way of knowing except finding out the hard way. But he could. Superman, youÆre my best friend, and you deserve to keep your secrets. I apologize for the way I put things together in my head and if you want, IÆll just pretend to forget everything I know. But itÆs hard to keep a secret identity in this day and age, where a lock of hair, some drops of blood or saliva, or even just some shed sin are all enough to run a DNA test on. And Lex is smart, we have to admit. I hope heÆs too arrogant to see things the way they really are, but I canÆt rely on hopes. I cantÆs just assume heÆs never seen Green ArrowÆs breadùwhich went out of style before the bow and arrow, by the wayùhair color, skill with a bow, and didnÆt deduce anything from that. I canÆt assume heÆs never been able to acquire something after Batman was wounded, or managed to triangulate the movements of the Batmobile, or even just put together the likely cost of his many tools, Caucasian, height, likely body weight and age, and other factors and manage to come to the right conclusion. I canÆt assume he couldnÆt link that kryptonite filled meteor shower years ago with your age, or recognize you past your glasses. I hope he doesnÆt, but thereÆs an old married couple out in Kansas I canÆt risk on it, you know?ö

ôYeah,ö Superman said quietly. ôI know.ö

ôSelective amnesia time, then. What were we talking about?ö
 

MTing

Well-Known Member
Man, Batman is gonna have a field day with what Terry just revealed. When Superman tells Batman that Terry, the unknown, knows League secret identities, Terry's probably not going to be able to Batsuit up for quite some time.
 

Flamewolf

Well-Known Member
Green ArrowÆs bread
Green ArrowÆs beard

unless of course he and Ollie make the same kind of bread
 
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