Blackout

A car transport made its way to Foxteca industries, and after checking in, it made its way into the industries receiving area. The main security guard watched as the car parked, "This is Miller. Sector one clear," he told his boss through his com.

"How are those new men we sent you?" His boss asked.

"Feels like we're steppin' on each other. No one is causing trouble here tonight. Miller out," he replied before walking off.

Unbeknownst to him, a black ink-like figure disguised as his shadow.

After the guard left, the figure oozed its way around the place without getting seen by the patrolling guards. The ink slipped under a door to enter the highly electrical control room. The ink then proceeded to ooze itself into a control panel in order to make everything malfunction and explode.

Buildings and transports caught in flames as firefighting hovercrafts made their way into Foxteca in order to distinguish everything. The guards were quick to move a flammable tanker out of Foxteca before it caused even more damage.

The ink escaped......her mission completed

~8~

The following morning, Terry and Eliana found themselves waiting in the lobby of WaynePowers. Bruce had gone to "talk" to Powers and see if he had any connection to the Foxteca disaster the previous night. Eliana turned her gaze to the boy sitting beside her. It was clear Terry was very agitated.

She could understand, I mean, he was sitting in the building that his late dad worked at, and especially knowing what Powers did to him didn't make matters easier.

"You know if we see Powers, you can't react, Terry. I know you want to, but please don't," Eliana begged.

Terry sighed without looking at her mumbling, "I know." There was a brief silence until he spoke up again, "Why is Bruce so concerned with Foxteca? It seems like he cares a lot about the company?"

This time, it was Eliana's turn to sigh, "Foxteca was established by Lucius Jr, Lucius Fox's son. Lucius Fox was a great friend to Bruce and a close ally at Wayne Industries. Lucius Jr. created Foxteca after Powers fired him at WaynePowers, and Bruce never forgave Powers for that. I guess you could say Bruce cares a lot about the Fox's. But don't forget, if Powers is behind Foxteca's disaster, what other industries will be next," she explained.

"And in order for Powers to stay successful, he'll have to destroy the competition," Terry said grimly.

"Let's just hope Bruce comes back with something useful," Eliana mumbled.

"Ahh, come in, Bruce! What a lovely surprise! How have you been holding up," Derek Powers greeted Bruce as he stepped off the elevator.

Bruce responded in a montone voice, "With a cane."

Powers gave a very fake chuckle, "Very clever! I must say, it is so nice to see you taking interest after all these years. We're lucky to have you as a resource. You should come by more often. I'll set you up with the finest office in the building....just not this one," he said sharply.

Bruce didn't reply. He was too busy looking around the room (investigating/analyzing) when he came upon a weird looking statue. He was about to touch it when Powers interrupted, "I prefer you not touch that."

"In case you're worried, I didn't come here to set up shop again," Bruce said, walking towards the man.

"Why, Bruce! You misread me, don't worry," Powers said, still wearing his fake smile.

"I just came to say this, keep your hands off Foxteca!" Bruce said sharply.

"Pardon me?" Powers feigned innocence.

"I may not have the leverage on paperwork anymore, but I still have friends. The Foxes were a valued part of this company for years. I'd hate to find out Wayne-Powers was involved in these attacks." Bruce said, narrowing his eyes.

Powers walked the both of them to the elevator. "Bruce, let me put your concerns to rest. I'd never do such a thing. Why Lucius Junior was still vice president when I took over," Powers commented as the elevator started going down.

"I know, you fired him," Bruce said montoned.

Powers chuckled, "Yes, well, I had to make room for the new guard, didn't we?"

"Ahh, the Mcginnis boy, and your lovely ward," Powers commented when he saw the two teenagers.

Terry immediately got up and walked over to Bruce, "Actually, I work for Mr. Wayne now."

"Well, yes, I suppose with your father gone, that would make you the breadwinner," Powers snided.

Terry curled up his fist and was almost about to punch the smug man until he felt Eliana's hand on his shoulder.

Terry inwardly sighed as he allowed Eliana to pull him back. After Bruce bidded goodbye to Powers, the trio started making their way to the exit. "So, did you beat it out of 'em?" Terry asked.

Bruce shook his head, "Not exactly, but I do have some things to check out."

Terry gave the man a hopeful glance, "Does that mean I get to have some time to myself."

Eliana smiled and answered for Bruce, "Don't count on it. You're lucky to even get an hour off."

Back in Powers' office, Powers had some business to take care of. "No more interruptions," he told his secretary before hanging up his phone. The statue Bruce had taken in interest in began to move, and a black ink transformed into a woman. "That does not make me happy," she said, making her way to his desk.

"Don't worry about Wayne. That performance was to remind me he's still breathing. And barely, I might add." Powers said, smiling at the idea of the old man succumbing to old age.

The woman remained unmoved, "He knows too much."

Powers waved her concern away, "He's just fishing, I'll send up an extra basket of oranges this Christmas, and he'll be happy." Powers then got out a file and handed it to the woman, "Moving on, here's what I'd like you to do tonight, my dear."

~8~

Later that night, Eliana and Terry found themselves watching their school's game with Dana. Eliana started attending Hamilton Hill High School a couple of weeks ago, much to Terry's surprise.

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was thrilled to see Eliana outside of just vigilante business. Although he was completely shocked to see the girl walking down the hallway while talking to his friend Dana.

Speaking of Dana, Eliana had become very good friends with the girl. But it was safe to say that Dana didn't like how her friends kept canceling or refusing plans because of the Wayne internship. The trio watched as Nelson, the school's popular jock, slammed the opposing team's player into a wall.

Eliana narrowed her eyes as he sent a flirtatious wink at her. Ever since she arrived at the school, the jock had done nothing but persistently asked her out or flirt with her.

"Is it wrong for me to root for the other team?" Dana commented, obviously seeing the wink.

Eliana nudged her, "I'm with ya girl."

Terry smiled at them saying, "Not under the circumstances."

Dana gave the pair a small smile, "I'm glad the two of you came out, especially you, Terry. I know it's still gotta be tough."

Before either of them could respond, Eliana's phone rang. Knowing who it was, Eliana sighed and then answered, "Really? Yeah, he's here. Okay, we're on our way." The old man needs us, Terry." Eliana sent an urgent look.

"Mr. Wayne sure has you two on a leash, doesn't he?" Dana said with a frown.

"He needs us, but we'll make it up to you," Terry said before the duo started walking away.

"This isn't normal," they heard Dana complain.

"You have no idea," the duo mumbled.

"So is there any time of day, I get to have a social life?" Terry commented as the duo flew their way to Foxteca.

"Not in this business, Eliana and I did warn you before you agreed to this," Bruce said through the coms.

"You get a real kick out of this, don't ya? Maybe it should be you up here instead of me?" Terry remarked as they landed on a rooftop across from Foxteca.

"He's doing his part," Eliana butted in.

She was right. Back at the Batcave, Bruce was analyzing some sort of black goo. "Eliana's right, I did some digging after I saw a report on Powers desk. It seems that he and Foxteca are up for the same job. The government wants a new lunar station, and only one of them gets to build it," Bruce explained.

Terry narrowed his eyes, "So Powers is crippling the competition with sabotage."

The duo noticed some explosions happening in Foxteca's main control office. "And until we can stop him, you two are Foxteca's guardian angels. Now, tell me what you see?"

"Looks like someone's celebrating July 4th...inside their office. We're going in," Eliana stated before the duo jumped off the building.

After crashing into the place, the duo started looking around for clues, unaware of the black ink figure watching them. Eliana stood by Terry as he analyzed a black goo substance. "McGinnis, Eliana, get out of there!" Bruce abruptly shouted at the two.

"In a second, I'm lookin' around." Terry replied, ignorijg the warning.

"I said get out NOW!" Bruce warned again.

Instead of questioning him like Terry, Eliana looked behind them to see a figure about to hit them. Thinking quickly, Eliana flipped out of the way. Terry wasn't so lucky, as he was smashed into many computer screens before crashing into another room. Before the figure could attack again, Eliana threw an explosive pellet that made the figure ooze away. "What the heck was that!?" Terry asked, still in shock.

~8~

After returning to the Batcave, Terry immediately started to complain about the event that transpired. "What did you send me into? It was some kinda blob! You should've warned me!" Terry ranted.

"I tried, but you have to learn how to think on your feet like Eliana did," Bruce said while on the Batcomputer.

"Look, you and Eliana may be used to dealing with freaks and monsters, but I'm a little new at this. I don't even know what half this stuff is." Terry gestured to the souvenirs in the Batcave.

"Way before your time, now come and look at this," Eliana waved him over to the computer.

"Her name's Inque. She's a corporate saboteur. Interpole's been after her for years, and it looks like Powers is her new employer," Bruce informed as her file was displayed.

"What is she?" Eliana asked curiously. She had never seen such a creature before.

"The result of a mutagenic experiment. The details aren't known," Bruce answered.

"So the question is, how do we stop her?" Terry asked.

Bruce smirked, "That's when thinking on your feet comes in."

To cheer Terry up, Eliana finally let him pilot the Batplane for the first time on patrol. She instantly regretted her decision when Terry started doing loops at top speed. "This is unbearably cool," Terry said as the Batplane zoomed past buildings.

"Remember easy gestures, let the suit do the work. Also, mind not doing all the crazy stunts," Eliana commented.

Terry apologized, and Eliana gave him a chuckle, "It's okay. The first time I flew this thing, I did many tricks. Almost got me banned from ever flying this thing, so be careful."

Suddenly, Bruce's voice rang through, "I just picked up a radio call. Foxes shipping unit, Pier 18."

"We're on our way," Terry
announced.

When they reached pier 18, a flying forklift was heading their way. "Let's test out these weapons," Terry smirked as he sent a missile. After exploding the machine, the duo noticed Inque trying to escape.

"Get close to her, then hit the autopilot so we can eject," Eliana instructed.

Terry did as she said, and not even a minute later, the duo exited the plane and landed on Inque. Unfortunately for the duo, Inque easily oozed away and morphed her arms into swords, which she sent towards the duo.

Eliana used her escrima sticks to knock the swords out of their way. Terry shot out two batarangs that Inque shot back at an even greater speed. Due to the fast speed at which the batarangs were coming, neither of them could dodge them. Both Terry and Eliana got nicked. Inque then shot herself towards them, and Terry reacted fast by grabbing a manhole that blocked the attack.

"Not exactly a fast learner, are you?" Inque commented. The duo tried to hold her under the manhole but Inque shot out then flung the manhole at the duo. With the two knocked back, Inque fled and jumped down to another platform.

The duo flew down and landed right in front of her. They noticed how Inque cautiously looked at the water surrounding her. "What's wrong, afraid of the water?" Eliana called out, and she used her foot to flick some water at Inque. Eliana was right as Inque dodged the water in fear. Big mistake, Inque went into the platform and started breaking it apart.

The duo ran as Inque was breaking the platform behind them. She eventually caught up and threw the duo over the edge into the water. While Inque escaped, the duo pulled themselves out of the water panting.

'Well, at least we know she has a weakness', Eliana thought as she laid down.

~8~

The next morning, Derek Powers was in his flying car on a call with an employee, "Unfortunately, last night's damage was minimal. They're still meeting their schedule."

"Splendid," Powers growled as he ended the call.

Suddenly, Inque made her way into the car and transformed into her human form. "We need to talk," she said.

"This better be good. What happened?" Powers asked.

"Some people have been interfering, this is the second time," Inqe commented, looking out the window.

"Who?" Powers questioned.

"I don't know. They wore costumes. One was male with black and red and the other was female wearing black and blue." Inque described not seeing Powers' face break away and be replaced with neon.

"Batman and Nightwing," Powers growled as his face cracked even more.

"What's happening to you?" Inque asked her eyes widening seeing the mans face.

"I have a condition. I trust you'll be discreet. I'm putting you on a new assignment, find and kill the vigilantes," Powers ordered.

"They have an accomplice. I heard one of them speak with someone over a radio link," Inque informed.

"Then do them both! I'll pay you whatever you want! Now, I suggest you leave. It's not healthy to be around me when I'm shedding," Powers said as more of his skin peeled off.

Inque smirked, "No wonder I like working for you," and then she left.

Later that night at the Batcave, the duo were suiting up after receiving word of another attack at Foxteca. "Powers is really persistent in trying to sabatosh Foxteca," Terry told Eliana.

"Let's just hope Inque is there for us to catch once and for all," Eliana answered, walking to the Batplane. "Oh, and this time I'm driving," Eliana stated much to Terry's disappointment.

After arriving at Foxteca, the duo immediately started looking around for clues. "Bad news, we're too late," Terry told Bruce.

Eliana spotted a familiar black goo, "Well, at least we know who's been here," she said, pointing at the goo. Unbeknownst to them, Inque was watching their every move.

She watched the duo analyze the goo she left behind in order to distract them. "They're here," Inque told her employer through her communication radio.

"Excellent, I'll see you when you're done. At which time, I should be back to my old self," Powers exclaimed.

"There's nothing for you two to do. Come home," Bruce told the duo. As the duo flew their way home, they were unaware of the hitchhiker that was attached to the Batplane.

~8~

Something was wrong with the Batplane. As Eliana piloted home, she noticed how it was almost like the plane got heavier. "Hey, you need to run a diagnostic test. The car's feeling a little sluggish," Eliana said over the coms as she flew into the cave. "It's too heavy," Bruce said as the two hopped out.

"That's what I thought, but why?" Eliana questioned as she walked over to the man. Unfortunately, they all didn't notice the figure right behind Terry before it was too late. "Batman, look out!" Bruce shouted when he turned and saw Inque.

It was too late, Inque had already grabbed Terry and repeatedly smashed him around the cave. "You take cover and find something to conceal your face. Then go grab the hose. Water is her weakness," Eliana instructed as she ran towards Inque.

Eliana gasped as she saw Terry in Inque's hold up at the top of the cave. She tried throwing some batarangs only for them to do no damage. She looked up again only to see a horrid sight, Inque was filling Terry's mouth with her ink.

She was too in shock to notice Bruce, wearing the Gray Ghost cowl, come up behind her with a hose. He sprayed the water at Inque, making her scream, letting go of Terry in the process. Eliana grimaced as Terry threw up all the ink that was shoved into his body.

"What took you so long?" Terry coughed out.

"Sudden case of shyness," Bruce retorted. The moment was interrupted by Inque regaining her composure and sending spikes their way. The heroes backhandspring out of the way, but one of the spikes managed to cut the hose in half, stopping the water from flowing.

"This isn't good. She's heading upstairs!" Eliana exclaimed as she saw Inque going up the caves stairs.

Bruce didn't seem too worried as he made his way to the Batcomputer and nonchalantly pushed a button that locked the caves door. "Someone's got a secret," Inque commented as she tried to ooze her way through the door.

Fortunately, Bruce also had a button that electrified the door, making Inque scream as she was electrocuted. "Man, you really are prepared," Terry said, amazed.

Inque then tried to bust through the cave's ceiling, "She won't get through that way either. There's a layer of solid steel," Bruce commented.

"I think she had something else in mind," Eliana said worryingly as pieces of rock started crumbling down.

The Batcomputer sent out electricity as it was pierced with rocks. The explosion from the computer separated Eliana from Bruce and Terry. After all the rocks stopped falling, Eliana was clearly able to see Terry fly Bruce away from the giant coin souvenir that was crashing down. Terry managed to throw Bruce to the side before the coin fell on his leg.

Eliana saw Inque about to kill Terry, so she had to figure out a way to distract her while Terry would get free. "Hey Inque, forget about me!" Eliana yelled as she threw some explosives at Inque.

"ARH! I'll deal with you first, little birdy!" Inque shouted, giving Nightwing her full attention.

Eliana tried to dodge as many slashes Inque threw at her, but eventually Inque managed to nail Eliana, sending her back. Before Eliana could get up, Inque used her body to hold Eliana down.

Terry desperately tugged his leg in order to get it free. His blood stopped as he saw Inque hold Eliana to the ground. Inque had formed one of her arms into a spike and raised it above her head. "Say goodbye, little birdy," Inque stated.

"NOO!" Terry shouted. His adrenaline pushed him to get free, and he picked up a random gun from one of Bruce's souvenirs. Having faith that it would work, Terry pulled the trigger and ice shot out, blasting Inque away from Eliana. Inque screamed as she was encased in ice, her figure crumbling into ice pieces.

Terry quickly ran to Eliana and helped her up, "Are you okay?" He asked, checking her over.

"I'm fine, Terry, though I owe you a thanks for the save." Eliana smiled, which eased his worry.

"That's it. You're showing me everything in this cave," Terry told Bruce.

"So what are we gonna do with her?" Eliana asked as she gestured to the pieces of ice.

Bruce smiled, "I think it's time to introduce Inque to Commissioner Gordon."

In Commissioner Barbara Gordon's office at GCPD, the commissioner was on the phone with an old friend. "Gordon, I'd figure I'd hear from you. Word is you've wrangled a new errand boy along with your ward," Barbara said with a smirk.

"I never wrangled anyone. Everyone of you came to me," Bruce said.

"Maybe once, you should talk someone out of it," Barbara stated seriously.

"Did it work with you? I don't suppose you wanna meet them?" Bruce asked.

"You know I can't," Barbara responded.

"Because they're leaving you a "get acquainted" gift right now. And I'd keep it on ice," Bruce informed.

Curious as to what Bruce was talking about, Barbara pulled back her curtains only to gasp. Outside her window was a bat drone holding little pieces of black ink in ice. She watched as a familiar Batplane flew away in the distance.

~8~

Dressed in training clothes, Eliana and Terry entered the gym. "Alright, Mcginnis, if there's anything this whole Inque fiasco taught us is that you need to think on your feet and be aware of your surroundings," Eliana advised.

Terry rubbed his side unconsciously, "You think I can feel the bruises coming."

They both walked onto the sparring mat, "I think we should start with the element of surprise. Lord knows how many times people have snuck up on you," Eliana teased.

Terry rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, Ellie, you're the master."

Eliana's eyes widened at the nickname, "Ellie?" She questioned.

Terry, now realizing what he said, began to stumble his words. "Oh uh I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you that." Eliana gave him a soft smile and moved closer to him.

"Don't apologize, I like it. And from here on, you're the only person who's allowed to call me that. Okay, Mcginnis." Eliana smirked as she saw a blush form on his face. Before Terry could answer, Eliana grabbed his hand and flipped him on the mat.

"Okay, we are definitely working on the element of surprise," Eliana laughed. It took only a few seconds for Terry to join her as well.

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