Disappearing Inque

It was a late night at Gotham's Cryogenics as employee Aaron Herbst walked into cryostasis room 317. This wasn't his first time visiting the room. No, he's returned multiple times. Not for his job.. but for her. He approached the giant ice block that contained his crush, his lover, Inque.

"He said no raise, just like that. Told me that what I do here isn't important enough," Aaron complained, feeling unappreciated. "Not important enough, not important enough. I'd like to see him talk to you that way. You never had to swallow any disrespect, did ya? No, not you. If you wanted something, you'd just take it," he grumbled.

Inque was strong; a quality he wished was instilled in him. He pressed his head against the ice block, "Now all you got is me, and you're just about all I got. That's why I'm staying here, even if they won't pay me what I'm worth. You..you listen to me you're the only one who ever has." He yearned for her love, her comfort. She made him feel like he wasn't alone or worthless. No one else has been there like Inque has. She's his life.

His private moment was interrupted with his phone ringing. On the other line was the receptionist informing him his boss wanted to speak. "I wonder if he's changed his mind, maybe this will bring me luck," he smiled, kissing the ice block. He was unaware of the security camera watching the interaction.

The interaction that would end up costing him his job. After playing back the tape, Mr. Chandler proceeded to fire him because of his "sick behaviour" and "unstable nature."" Well, he'd show them. No one would keep his Inque away from him.

After unpacking his desk, he promptly snuck his way up to the building's roof. Using a crowbar, he popped open the electricity panel and pulled out pliers. "Not important enough huh..we'll see about that," Aaron muttered as he sniped the wire that controlled the power to his beloved Inque's room.

The reaction was instantaneous, and the ice block containing Inque started to melt rapidly. It wasn't long until Inque burst out of her ice prison. "Party time," Inque commented as she slithered her way out of cell 317.

~8~

After six months of Terry being Batman, the opportunity of touring the batcave finally arrived. All of Bruce's trinkets from his previous vigilante life were stored in the batcave. Terry was beyond amazed at all the souvenirs and frequently asked questions. "This is totally shway," Terry said, a big smile never leaving his face. "Tell me about it, I was blown away when I first came down here too,"

Eliana bumped their hips. "I'm glad to know my collection is impressive. I take time to remember the past; the good and the bad," Bruce gestured, arms opened wide to all the artifacts. The lights flickered on to reveal the experimental Bat Armor exosuit.

While the sight made Terry intrigued, it made Eliana and Bruce's moods turn somber. "What's this little toy do?" Terry asked, flicking the suit. Bad move, as the suit moved and got defensive. Terry stumbled back in surprise and was caught by Eliana. "Careful it's an exosuit, it amplifies effort and increases endurance," Bruce explained. 

"And?" Terry was curious about the story that went along with the armor. "When I tested it, it put too much strain on my heart," Bruce said curtly, turning away. "You let a little thing like a heart problem stop you from being Batman. I don't believe it," Terry said, unconvinced. "Well, old age played a factor. He couldn't stay Batman forever," Eliana reasoned.

Bruce had yet to tell Terry the reason behind giving up the mantle despite Terry's pestering. It wasn't like Eliana could, well would, tell him either. It simply wasn't her story to tell. "Would I lie to you?" Bruce questioned. That was a trick question even though Terry knew. "Well, no, but you hold things back," Terry answered. 'Well ain't that the truth,' Eliana thought.

"Lots of things. It's taken me what, 6 months just to get you to show me around the cave," Terry continued. Bruce's reply was swift, "That's because we had a lot of distractions, haven't we?"

Still, Terry was adamant about finding out the truth. "Someday you're gonna tell me the real reason you stopped being Batman." Bruce peered over his shoulder at the serious teen until an alert sounded. "What's that?" Terry asked as the three walked over to the computer. "It's an alarm system I set up. I've got it hooked into the prison and a few other places, helps me keep track of certain friends of ours," Bruce informed. "So which one is it?" Eliana wondered. 

LOCATION: GOTHAM CRYOGENICS

The three shared a grim look. There was only one criminal of the duo's gallery locked up there. Inque. Terry and Eliana immediately ran off to gear up. "Gotham Cryogenics is located in the heart of downtown Gotham, be quick," Bruce instructed. "On our way," Eliana responded as she and Terry masked up.

They were about to leave when Bruce stopped them. "Here, just in case," Bruce handed Terry the same ice gun that took down Inque in their last encounter. Eliana hoped it would be just as easy as the last time. If only she were right.

~8~

Batman and Nightwing surveyed the scene below. Police had surrounded the building but held their fire as hostages were released. Using their masks, the duo zoomed in on the people escaping. They took notice of an officer wearing a thick black coat. Deducting that it was no ordinary cloak, they flew down and tackled the officer down.

Seeing a fellow officer threatened, the rest of the policemen attacked the vigilantes. The ice gun was forced away from Batman as they both struggled from the officer's grip. "No, you don't understand," Batman grinded out. "We're trying to help," Nightwing added. Batman and Nightwing kicked off the police, sending them flying.

Deciding to make an appearance, Inque morphed off of the officer's jacket and slithered to the ice gun. Nightwing ran to intercept Inque but wasn't quick enough. Inque crushed the gun into pieces, "So whatcha gonna do now?" She teased. Forming a mallet, Inque slammed it into the heroes.

Batman and Nightwing recovered only to be wrapped up by Inque. The police, not caring about the health of the heroes, openly fired at them. Inque released them and skidded down a sewer. Well, so much for taking her down. Not wanting to stay and chat with the police, Batman and Nightwing ran into an alleyway.

"Got some bad news," Batman reported. "Let me guess, she got away," Bruce provided. "And she broke the freeze gun," Nightwing added frustratedly. The key weapon in stopping her was destroyed, and Nightwing ticked off. Inque still held the title as their greatest adversary. They barely defeated her the last time, and now it seems she's gotten greater in power. "But that's not all," Batman spoke up. "There's more bad news?" Bruce asked, somewhat shocked. "She knows where the entrance to the cave is, remember," Batman answered.

In her time of anger, Nightwing had completely forgotten about that major fact. The thought of Inque knowing where the cave was made Nightwing shudder, "We need to improve the cave's defenses, make sure that she can't seep her way in."Agreed, report back to the cave. Let's get started on that."

~8~

Aaron was thrilled to hear the news of Inque's escape. He prided himself for playing a part and getting revenge on those who frowned upon him. What he didn't expect was for Inque to show up in his apartment. "What's the matter, Aaron? Surprised to see me?" Inque asked. Aaron stumbled back in shock, "H-how did you know where I live?" Inque scoffed, "How could I not know, all those months of listening to you prattle on and on about your pathetic life."

It drove her crazy. She didn't care for this stupid love headed pig. But she could do nothing as he came back to visit and talk her ear off each day, much to her extreme displeasure. "You mean you could hear me?" Aaron asked, stunned. "Yes, Aaron, I could hear you....and see you too," she added.

His affections for her didn't go unnoticed, and she planned to use that to her advantage. Aaron blushed and face palmed, embarrassed. "But don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone. Not unless you're foolish enough to try and call the cops," she blackmailed. "I won't," he responded quickly. She yanked his face forcefully, "You sure?" Aaron nodded numbly, "Good, you play this right, and I might give you a nice reward," Inque said seductively.

As expected, Aaron gave in quickly, "I'd do anything for you, anything," "I had a feeling you would say that," Inque rejoiced. It didn't hurt to associate with the fool if it meant gaining in return.

~8~

"While you two are preoccupied with inputting reinforcements, I'll be getting to know your enemy. Inque left traces of herself on your suits, I'll run an analysis on it," Bruce informed. Wasting no time in getting to work, the teens started securing the cave entrance in order to prevent Inque from oozing her way in. "I bet some Plasti Steel should do the trick, whaddya think?" Terry asked his partner.

He received no answer as Eliana was lost in deep thought. "Um yeah, that's fine. Let's get to work," Eliana said curtly before running off to get the equipment. Terry watched her go in concern. She'd been awfully quiet since their battle with Inque. He worried about how she's been feeling with all of this. 

After a slow process of spraying the Plasti Steel in the cracks of the cave's entrance, the cave was fully sealed. "She can huff and puff all she wants, but she ain't gonna blow this place down," Terry joked, pulling off his safety goggles. He hoped to get a reaction from Eliana, but the girl did even bat an eye. "Hey, you okay? He asked softly, brushing her arm.

Eliana jumped and answered fast, "Yeah, I'm fine." Terry gave her a "Really, cause I don't believe you" look, making the girl sigh. "I'm just worried about Inque is all," she confessed. So his suspicion was correct. "Don't be. She won't be able to breach the cave," he said, trying to reassure her.

"We don't know that for certain. Oh Terry, this is all my fault. If I had just been more careful, maybe she wouldn't have found out about the cave or Bruce! I put his life in danger; she almost killed him last time, what if we can't stop her from trying again. If Bruce got hurt because of my recklessness, I could never forgive myself," she lamented.

Terry's eyes widened as he grabbed a hold of her arms and pulled her in close. "Hey hey, none of this was your Ellie. Do you hear me. None. You couldn't have known Inque hitched a ride on the batmobile. It was dark, and I drove fast. And if we're casting blame, then I should be included," he told the girl strongly.

He gently lifted her chin upwards, causing her eyes to look at his. "We're gonna take down Inque, together, like all the other wackjobs we've gone up against. We're Batman and Nightwing, the dynamic duo. So no more of this self doubt okay, it kills me to see you like this. And I'm sure Bruce wouldn't want you feeling this way either,"

With teary eyes and a small smile, Eliana nodded and hugged the teen. Terry took a moment to melt in her arms and savor the contact. "Terry, Eliana, I found something," Terry inwardly groaned at Bruce's impeccable timing. Reluctantly letting go of one another, the duo made their way to the batcomputer. "I figured out why she hasn't come to the cave yet. I ran some tests on her residue, and the human part of her DNA has been damaged, probably by being frozen," Bruce stated.

"So?" Terry asked. What was so important about that? "Back at the cryogenics place, weren't the both of you wondering why Inque didn't morph into her human form and just walk out of there with the other workers," Bruce inquired, smiling as the duo gave sheepish looks. If she were being honest, Eliana didn't even give the concept much thought. She had been too focussed on just recapturing Inque.

"Uh..yeah..kind of," Terry stumbled. "Right, the reason she didn't do it was because she couldn't. She can't go back to her human form," Bruce concluded. "Well, that works to our advantage. Now it won't be easy for her to hide from us," Eliana said happily. "Yeah, and if I were her, I'd be looking for a good doctor now," Terry suggested.

Bruce smiled condescendingly, "You think," he remarked. Oblivious to the old man, Terry continued on, "Yeah. There can't be too many doctors or labs that do that kind of work around here. Let's get on the computer and make a list of oh." He stopped mid request as Bruce pulled out a slip.

Eliana shook her head in amusement, Brcue was always a step ahead. "One other thing, it's not as good as Mr. Freeze's gun, but it was the best I could do on short notice," Bruce said, pulling out an electrified blue batarang. "Be careful."

~8~

This nitwit was more annoying than she'd imagined. Spending time with him was pratically torture almost as much as not being able to morph into her gorgeous human form. "Hurry up, can't you do it any faster?" Inque asked impatiently, as Aaron tried to pick a lock to gain access to Fulton's chemical lab. "I'm doing the best I c-You! What are you two hiding there for?" A police officer appeared and questioned harshly.

Scrambling to find an excuse, Inque, hating every second, wrapped her arms around Aaron while his arms wrapped around her waist. "Oh, uh, just trying to find a little privacy officer," she faked a giggled. Thankfully, she'd been wearing a trench coat and hat to hide her features. Not caring, the officer left them with a nod. As soon as the officer was out of sight, Inque pushed Aaron away and hosted in the air by his neck. 

"Don't you ever touch me like that again," she sneered. "I-I was only trying to -" she didn't let him finish his excuse, as she threw him to the ground. "Just get it open," Inque demanded, motioning to the door. He did so, and Inque sprinted inside with Aaron trailing behind. Inque felt like she was gonna burst as she used the lab's giant claw to retrieve her mutagen.

She watched hungrily as her glorious mutagen was poured into a small container. "Do they have everything you need?" Aaron asked. For a moment, Inque forgot the buffoon was there. "I'll make due,"  Inque answered, putting the container in her satchel. She began to walk until Aaron stood in her way.

"Wait, you said there'd be a reward for me," he reminded me. Ahh, yes, the deal. How could she forget. Oozing out of her disguise, Inque walked closer. "Here? Now?" She asked, surprised. Taking a deep breath, Aaron sighed, "Inque, what I want more than anything is to be like you."

Hmm, intriguing, she'd had thought he'd seek a more....lustful reward. "You're serious, aren't you," she stated. Aaron's face depicted determination, "Dead serious. The power you got, I want it..I've been wanting it for a long time," he smiled dreamily. She seductively ran herself up and around his body till she had her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Then you'll get it," she reached into her satchel and pulled out the mutagen. Aaron smiled evilly at the container. Finally, he would have the power he so desperately craved. The sound of chains rattling interrupted the moment. "What was that?" Inque asked on high alert.

Nightwing cursed as a chain made noise, no doubt giving away their element of surprise. Silently, Batman and Nightwing jumped to different pipes. One pipe they landed on unfortunately already had an occupant. Without warning, Inque spurted from the surface and pushed the duo off. They activated their suits' wings but were followed with a strong lash from Inque. Taking a shot, Batman threw the special batarang only for Inque to dodge. 

Like a weight, Inque slammed the heroes into the ground and started flinging them into machinery. As they recovered, Nightwing felt blood running down her chin, as did Batman. Gritting her teeth, Nightwing charged towards Inque, escrima sticks drawn. She expertly flipped and rolled out of the way of oncoming slashes. Nightwing jumped to kick Inque but was grabbed by the legs and thrown across the room, slamming into a wall. Batman threw explosive pellets, but Inque's flexibility made them miss their targets.

Having no mercy, Inque forced Batman's head into a metal pipe. Batman shot out and furiously punched and kicked Inque. He got a few hits in until his foot got stuck in Inque, and she launched him into a giant mutagen container. Still having a hold on him, Inque shot towards him, morphing into a blade. Batman wrangled himself free and flipped out of the way before he was impaled.

Having joined her partner's side, Nightwing flew a smoke pellet to the ground, and the heroes ran. Inque morphed into a spidery figure and chased after them, trying to claw them. Seeing as they couldn't out run her, the duo used their jets to fly upwards, with Inque climbing after them. They flew towards the electrified batarang and were close to reaching it before Inque caught them. Not even having time to process things Inque had buried them inside her, trying to suffocate them.

It was dark, and neither hero could see anything, but that didn't stop them from trying to claw their way out. Inque screamed in pain as the duo reactiviated their jets and flew out of her. This time, Nightwing grabbed the electrified batarang and shot it at Inque. It hit her, and Inque shouted in agony, and the batarang electrocuted her.

Thinking the battle was over, Batman and Nightwing landed on the ground, panting, only to be hit by a startling force. Aaron had accessed the robotic claws and maneuvered them to hit the heroes. One claw picked up Nightwing and the other Batman. After swinging the claws around and making the duo crash around the lab once more, Aaron finally made the claws slam Batman and Nightwing into the metal ground. Neither rose up, as they groaned in anguish before falling into darkness.

Using the claw, Aaron pulled the batarang out of Inque and ran over to her. He picked her up bridal style, "Inque! Inque!" Slithering quickly out of his grasp, Inque looks over at the unconscious vigilantes. "You know I once took an assignment to kill them," she stated bitterly. "Then do it, get it over with," Aaron ushered, wanting them to be punished for their actions against his Inque. 

"No, not until I get the old Batman too."

~8~

An abandoned sporting arena wouldn't be her first choice to hold hostages but it would have to do. She'd worry about the pesky heroes later. Now it was time for her desire. Injecting a syringe of mutagen into herself, Inque immediately felt the effects kick in. She groaned in pleasure as she felt her strength increasing. "It's not working," Aaron pointed out. But it was. "It is, I can feel it," she disagreed. Now the ultimate test, she tried morphing into her human form but cried out in pain and collapsed.

"QUICK, I NEED MORE!" She shouted at Aaron. Aaron hastily grabbed the mutagen and poured it down her throat.  It worked, Inque felt no discomfort as she morphed into her human figure. She gazed at Aaron to see a lovey expression written on his face. "You're beautiful," he exclaimed softly. He didn't have to tell her twice. 

Nightwing felt her entire body throbbing as she became conscious again. It took a while for the dizziness to stop, but since it did, she looked at her surroundings. It was like some sort of arena. She was chained up against some post of a boxing ring.

The restraints were strong, and Nightwing was too weak from her previous fight to break them off. She looked over to Batman only to see him in the same predicament. "Batman? Are you okay?" She asked slowly, a headache pounding. "Yeah, I'm good, you?" He asked lowly.

Finding it too exhausting to speak, she merely nodded. "Terry, Eliana, can you hear me? What happened," Bruce's voice filled their ears. "What happened was Inque, and some male accomplice got the drop on us," Batman informed grumpily. "What's your location?" Bruce asked.

If they were being honest, they had no clue where they were being kept. "It's some kind of arena, big glass dome. Looks like nobodys been inside for years," Batman described. "What else can you tell me?" Bruce inquired, trying to pinpoint their coordinates. "Sorry, we weren't exactly awake when they brought us here, but -" Batman stopped. "What? Terry, Eliana! Are you both alright? ANSWER ME!!"

Batman didn't respond as Inque stood before him. She got closer and leaned into his radio receiver, listening to Bruce's cries. "It's the old guy, isn't it? This is gonna be perfect!" She grinned maliciously. "Tell him you're at the old Gotham Hills arena, and he should come right away," she instructed. But Batman didn't budge. Inque growled at the defiance; she wrapped a tendril around Nightwing's neck and squeezed hard. Nightwing grunted at the hold. "Do as I say or the little birdy gets it," Inque ordered furiously.

"Don't.......do.......it," Nightwing managed to choke out. As much as it pained him, Batman kept silent. "Alright then, I hope you're still listening, old man, We're at the Gotham Hills arena. Get over here right now. Or Batman and Nightwing die," she spoke into the com. "No, stay away, If you come, she'll kill us all-mph!" Batman's protests were cut off by Inque pulling him into a kiss.

"Get.....away.....from...him," Nightwing warned, her blood boiling. "Ooh, is that jealousy I sense. The old man will come here. What is he to you two, a father, grandfather?" Nightwing bristled at the listed titles.

"Well, I'll find out soon enough.." she released Nightwing and walked away. She almost exited the arena when, "Inque?" "What?" she spun around, irritated. "You know, my reward," Aaron reminded once more. "Oh yes.. your reward, this is how you want to be?" She clarified, morphing back to her Inque form. "Exactly," he confirmed. Stretching back to where she kept her supply of mutagen, she picked up a syringe.

Wrapping herself around him, Inque administered the mutagen. "I hope it will be everything you're expecting." There was more to the process of becoming exactly like her, and it involved more mutagen, but she didn't let him know that. Why waste more of her precious mutagen on some loser. 

Eliana was panicking. She couldn't let Inque hurt Bruce.. she just couldn't. Seeing her restless Terry tried to comfort her, "Hey, everything's gonna be okay, do you hear me? I'm sure the old man has some sort of trick up his sleeve, and even so, we'll be out of these chains when we regain some strength." Terry's comforting didn't fully erase her feelings of worry, but it did help.

They waited for another 10 minutes before Inque walked back into the room, only morphed into Batman. "Well, I think it's time for me to introduce myself to our little guest," she chuckled. She walked to one of the arena's entrances and waited.

Then appeared Bruce, dressed in a trench coat....that looked suspiciously bulky on him. Thinking it was Terry in front of him, Bruce walked closer, "You got out? Where's Nightwing?" Inque morphed back to herself and wrapped a tendril around Bruce, crushing him. "Neither of them did, and you won't either."

Bruce struggled and cried out, but suddenly armor plates snapped shut over his body, and he burst out of the trench coat. To Terry and Eliana's horror, Bruce had donned the exosuit to fight Inque.

"NO!" Nightwing yelled out, struggling heavily to break from her restraints. In the armor, Bruce manages to send Inque flying into the far wall, but she attacks with a vengeance and throws him to the ground.

The damage was done as the exosuit started to short-circuit. As she advances, preparing to kill him, Aaron crawls between them, who is now a shapeless, unstable blob: robbing him of his cohesion but leaving him unable to shape-shift like her "You promised... you promised!" He moaned.

She sneered, "Loser!" And tried to swat him aside, but Aaron, enraged that he gave up everything for nothing, wrapped his shapeless body around her. As she struggles to get free, she accidentally knocks down the center ring, allowing Batman and Nightwing to free themselves.

Inque threw Aaron aside and advanced on Bruce again. Thinking quickly, Batman threw a batarang at the glass ceiling, smashing it and letting in the rain. Inque began to melt away. She lurched desperately towards the flask containing the remaining mutagen but fell short and dissolved away into the drains.

Nightwing ran to Bruce and fell to her knees beside him. Bruce revealed his face and looked at Terry, "Now, do you believe me about why I retired?"Not entirely, but tonight I'm glad you didn't decide to stay retired," Terry said gratefully. Eliana didn’t harbor the same feelings. "No, he should have stayed retired. What were you thinking putting on that suit. The consequences could've been severe, especially pertaining to your heart," she ranted.

Bruce stood up calmly, "I was thinking that I wasn't about to let you both get killed, not when I could do something about it. You should know by now that you mean too much to me that I can't afford to lose you, either of you." "Well the feeling's mutual," Eliana said softly, hugging him the best she could with the armor.

They all looked over to a semi conscious Aaron. "Poor deluded fool," Bruce commented. Despite his involvement and actions, the duo couldn't help but agree.

~8~

Aaron had recovered, and thanks to Inque's deceit, it had been rendered an invalid. With no hard tissues, he has no substantial locomotion and was kept in a simplified glass enclosure with a blanket, and he could only eat liquid foods fed to him through a funnel. Now he was the one trapped with an annoying and cheery attendant who told him about all her problems.

~8~

A nice relaxing break was all Eliana needed after the chaotic events that transpired. Stargazing on the manor's balcony seemed to be the best choice. "Bruce told me I'd find you here." She turned to find Terry smiling. "Well, he does know me better than anyone else, I suppose," she shrugged, looking back at the view.

She felt Terry by her side and from the corner of her eye saw him staring at her. "You know it's rude to stare," she remarked. Terry tried not to, but how could he not? Under the stars, she was beautiful. 

"Thank you, Terry."

Crap did he say that out loud?

"You did."

Terry groaned and face palmed, which made her giggle, making him eventually join in. They stared up at the stars once more, enjoying the peace. "Hey, I want to thank you." Eliana faced him. "For what?" Terry asked genuinely perplexed. Eliana shuffled, "For being there for me. This whole thing with Inque and Bruce scared me big time. Not to mention my overbearing protectiveness." He laid a hand on her shoulder, "I get it. He's practically your second father....he means a lot to me too." 

"As for the comforting, I'm always here if you need me, Ellie, no matter what," he told her somewhat shyly. "That goes the same for you," she smiled. She leaned her head on his shoulder and gazed back at the view. Hesitantly, Terry put his arm around her. Nothing would break their special moment, and Terry basked every second of it. He wouldn't trade this feeling for the world.

'So this is love?' Terry thought contently, as he placed his head upon hers.

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