Hooked Up

A giant arena was filled with thousands of fans. The lights were blinding, and the music being produced was almost deafening. In the center performing was rockstar Danny Grosso.

The crows cried out his name and sang along with the lyrics. Flipping his bright blue hair and passionately playing his electric guitar, the rockstar basked in the spotlight.

After the show was over, Danny walked backstage to his dressing room. Girls being held back by security watched him, begging for photos and autographs.

One blonde girl managed to bypass the guards and get close to Danny. "Donny, please give me your autograph. You can sign me anywhere you want!" The girl begged and began to lift up her top before security pulled her away.

Danny ignored the fans and the staff. He approached his manager, who held out a tablet for his signature.

"Killer show, Donny. You hear that crowd? They love you. Here, sign these contracts. The two label execs were literally fighting over who got to sign you." His manager said happily. Donny signed wordlessly.

When he finally entered his dressing room, his 3 girlfriends were waiting eagerly. Donny smiled flirtatiously and went to kiss one of them.

All of a sudden, the girls disappeared as well as his surroundings. Donny gasped as he fell from a green force bubble. He looked to his side and saw other people floating unconsciously in their own green force bubbles.

A spotlight turned on sharply, making Donny flinch away. "Rise and shine, Donny. Time to pay the Piper." A male voice called out in the dark room. "Please, put me back in. It hurts out here. Please!" Donny whimpered.

The cruel reality of life was too hard for him to bear, especially after living out his dream life. He craved escapism. It made him feel whole.

"Now, now. Love like that doesn't come cheap. You want more, you know what you have to do."

Donny gritted his teeth in determination. He was out of money, but that wouldn't stand in his way. He'd do whatever it took to get back to his true life.

~8~

Eliana could not stop yawning.

She and Terry had a very late night in which they only gained 3 hours of sleep. Not to mention, they had to get up early to attend school. Max's words flowed through one ear and out the other.

Terry was currently sitting against his locker, resting his eyes. He, too, yawned non-stop. He opened his eyes to see Max crouching to his level. "Rough night," she teased.

"Aren't they all." Terry mumbled back, closing his eyes. Max sat beside him, "Maybe you two need someone out there with you. You could do worse, you know."

Eliana frowned and became more alert. "Forget it," she told Max. There was no chance she was going to endanger her friend by having her help in their nightly job. Eliana tried being gentle in her responses, but no more. If being more stern and threatening would work to get Max to drop the subject, then so be it.

Max looked up at her. "Why should you two get all the fun?" Eliana's blood boiled. Was Max really this naive? "Max, it's not fun," Eliana cut in tersely. Her tone made Terry awake in concern.

Max waved her hand, oblivious to her friend's growing anger. "What? Flying, intrigue, power?" Eliana slammed her locker shut, startling Terry and Max.

"You think fighting homicidal maniacs is "fun"? News flash Max, it's not. Every time I put on that suit, I'm not only risking my life, but the countless innocents that could potentially be impacted should I fail. You have no idea what it feels like to carry a burden like this. And I'm certainly not going to let you kill yourself, just because you think what we do is a game."

Terry and Max could only watch Eliana storm away after the burstful rant.

"Is she okay?"

Terry stayed silent, a grim expression on his face.

~8~

The rest of Terry's day was spent attempting, and ultimately failing, to uncover the mystery as to what was bothering his girlfriend. After her slight blow-up at Max, Eliana retreated into herself. She refused to let him in, but Terry kept hold of faith that she'd come to him when ready.

Currently, on their nightly patrol, Terry scanned an area for any threats. The usual banter between him and Eliana was replaced by awkward silence. The only talkative companion was Bruce. And that was saying something.

Hesitant to bring up a certain topic, Terry glanced over at his girlfriend before speaking to Bruce. "I got a problem. It's with Max." "The girl? What?"

Another look to his partner, who still remained silent.

"Well, she wants to get more involved," Terry stated very slowly. "Over my dead body. If you think you're gonna overrule me on this-"

"Will you relax? I feel the same way you do, for once. We both do." Terry cut in quickly. "But she's been a big help to me. How do I tell her no?"

"You're asking me for advice on handling women?" Came Bruce's dry response.

Oh, right. For a second, Terry forgot who he was talking to. "Ah, I see your point. One sec." Terry caught Eliana's attention as just below them, a teenager was in the process of robbing a woman.

With their advanced technologic masks, the duo were able to identify the robber. "I think that's Donny Grosso." "Who?" Bruce questioned. "Kid from school ran away last week. Guess he didn't run far," Eliana broke her mute state.

The heroes launched into the sky and landed in front of Donny. "Give back the bag. It doesn't go with your shoes." "Get away from me!" Donny yelled, swinging the woman's purse at Batman.

Batman didn't even flinch at the hit. "Wouldn't bother. I'm stronger than I look."

They weren't, however, expecting Donny to leap off the roof's edge in total desperation to get away. Batman and Nightwing were astonished. "What is he, nuts!" Nightwing cried out. Why go to such lengths, and for a handbag no less.

Donny somehow managed to grab onto a bar of an elevator traveling upwards. The bar began to crumble under his weight and eventually broke off, causing Donny to freefall. Batman and Nightwing raced down after him.

They caught him and weaved through a highway. But when they flew upwards out of the traffic, Donny used the bar in his grip to hit them, sending him to freefall once more.

He landed onto a truck and toppled down in the crevasse between the vehicle and its cargo bed. When he saw the heroes approaching him from uptop the truck, Donny pulled the lever that detached the vehicle from its cargo.

The cargo container rolled and crashed down the highway, dragging Batman and Nightwing with it. They were forced to break off the pursuit to prevent a major crash.

Each shooting a cable, with one end into the ground and the other into the container, they were able to stop the container before any more damage was caused.

~8~

Donny burst into the parlor. He tripped over his feet, spilling the money from the stolen purse. "That's all I could do. Batman and Nightwing were after me. Please, hook me up, just... just for a little while. I promise I'll get more later." Donny begged profusely with his hands clasped together.

The bright light shining down upon him dimmed out, to reveal a hand with an eye on it. "Yes, Donny, you will. Now come, your fans are waiting," Spellbinder told him.

Spellbinder watched his clients in their vision booths. It was time for his favorite part. Shutting off the booths of all of his clients, he walked past each one of them. "On your feet. I'll put you back in once you've run some errands."

He looked down at an unconscious girl. "First, dump this mess across town," Spellbinder kicked the girl over on her side. "Then find me some more recruits."

~8~

Eliana stared intently at the batcomputer, which displayed the picture of a teenage girl.

"Most of them have turned up in hospitals with overdoses of serotonin on their brains. They're comatose but stable," Bruce explained. "And they were all runaway's?" Terry asked. "That's why I thought of it when you mentioned your friend Donny."

"Except he's not comatose," Terry pointed out. "Not yet anyway," Eliana grimly informed. "I think we should pay a visit to Donny's home, talk to his parents, and see if we can get a lead."

An idea came to Terry, but convincing Bruce and Eliana might be the problem. "There's someone who could help us with that." Bruce and Eliana gave him their full attention, "Who?" Bruce inquired.

"...Max."

As predicted, Eliana was first to shut him down. "No! Absolutely not! I thought we agreed it was in best interest we'd keep Max from getting involved." Terry was quick to diffuse the situation. He raised his hands in a peaceful manner. "We did! Just hear me out, please." Eliana gestured for him to continue.

"Max knows Donny's parents, she's said so before. We could use her as leeway into the Grosso's home," Terry pitched. Bruce and Eliana were silent for a moment before exchanging a look.

"Alright. But just this once, Mcginnis." Bruce warned. Terry looked to his girlfriend, needing her approval as well.

Eliana sighed but begrudgingly nodded in agreement.

~8~

"Remember, we're only bringing you cause you said you know Donny's parents. So don't get any ideas."

Max ignored Terry and strutted past him to knock on the Grosso's front door. "When you both see how I'll handle this, you're gonna be beggin' me to help you," Max gloated. Eliana gave her a "We'll see about that" look. Things between her and Max were still...rocky.

As soon as Max's fist hit the wooden door, it opened creakily. The home was barely lit and appeared vacant. "Hmm, the Grosso's never were big on home security. Mr Grosso! Mrs Grosso!" Max called out. The trio walked into the home and began exploring.

The common area was filthy and full of disarray. It seemed the Grosso's weren't big on cleaning, either. The group approached a door with what appeared to be a punch hole in the middle.

Max opened the door to find an even messier room. The room was reminiscent of that of a teenager. "Donny's world," Eliana remarked.

The trio searched around, trying to find some clues. Terry noticed a pile of used cred cards lying on a dresser, but he couldn't dwell on his finding for long. "What do you want?" The trio turned to see an older woman looking fearful.

"Mrs Grosso!" Max ran quickly over to the parent. Mrs Grosso went to speak, but a scowling Mr. Grosso joined her side, making her gasp. "Who are you?" The man questioned sternly, pointing his finger at Max.

"I'm Max, Donny's friend. You remember me, don't you?" Max addressed stepping closer. "No," was Mr Grosso's hard answer. Max recoiled. "Donny ain't here, so get out!" Mr Grosso ordered. Byt as the trio were making their way to the door, Mrs Grosso stopped them. "Have you seen Donny? Did he want something from his room?"

Eliana's eyes softened at the concerned mother. It was clear she cared about her son, like all mother's should about their children. "Quiet, Elaine. We don't care!" Mr Grosso interjected, grabbing his wife's arm. "Get back in the kitchen!" Mrs Gross looked down sadly and left the room.

The softness in Eliana's eyes disappeared was replaced with anger. She frowned at Mr Grosso's attitude and actions. How dare this man speak to his wife in such a terrible way, no less lay a hand on her.

"You know how many times the cops brought him home and told us we just had to show him some more TLC? A lot they know! We tried everything with that kid, and now we're done trying. If you do know where he is, tell him not to come back!"

Eliana processed Mr Grosso's words and came to the conclusion that HE was the problem. With a father like Mr Grosso, she could see why Donny ran away. He was escaping this lousy excuse of a man.

"You mean you're done trying. He's your son. How can you just give up on him? As a father, it's your job to protect him, to make him feel loved! Your son is out in the world, alone, while you sit here and refuse to find him! Donny deserves better. Your wife deserves better. You-you ignorant abusive man!"

During her tirade, Eliana got into Mr Grosso's face, which prompted Terry to grab her and pull her away. "Thank you for your time!" Terry smiled falsely as he struggled to keep his girlfriend at bay. When they were out of the home, Terry dropped the happy facade.

"Will you cut that out, babe! What's gotten into you!"

Eliana pushed herself out of Terry's arms. "Nothing, I'm-I'm okay." She took a moment to compose herself. Breathing in and out deeply. She combed her fingers through her hair before turning back to an expectant Terry and Max. "Let's get out of here."

"Nothing like a visit to Donny's to make me appreciate my own mom and dad," Max said, breaking the tension. "I know what you mean." Terry pulled out one of Donny's cred cards from his jacket. "Now let's see where Donny was spending his creds."

He handed the card over to Max, who inserted it into her tablet. A bunch of charges appeared under the name VRROOM. "Vroom?"VR Room, it's an arcade downtown," Max corrected Terry.

"Donny was spending his creds escaping reality." Eliana scoffed lightly, "Can't imagine why," she mumbled under her breath. She ignored Terry's concerned gaze.

~8~

When the group arrived at the arcade, Max immediately dragged Eliana and Terry over to a specific game. 3 people were floating seemingly unconscious in their own green bubble. "Hover VR?" "Pretty shway, huh? Total freedom of movement, total sensory immersion. Latest trend," Max informed.

Eliana got right to the point. "Think this is what's frying kid's brains?"Come on, Eliana, if it was dangerous, you think they'd let kids do it? Anyway, we're here to investigate, aren't we?"

Eliana paused, "Me and Terry are here to investigate. You had your chance with Donny's parents, and you blew it," she reminded. But that didn't sway Max.

"Yeah, but I got us here, didn't I?"

This time, Terry was the one to frown. "Tell you what, I'll do some background research on Doom Racer," Max relented before running off to play the other arcade game.

Coincidentally, Donny and his runaway buddies entered the building. They eyed the crowd of people searching for the perfect candidates. Then Donny spotted Max.

Max was patiently waiting in line for her turn when a person called her name. She turned around to face Kip, another teenager she knew from school. "Kip, haven't seen your face around," she greeted kindly. "It's been behind a pair of VR specs," he hinted, expecting Max to inquire more. "Here?" Max questioned.

"Not likely. There's this new VR. Gives you the realest real ever. It feels like love all over you," Kip whispered into her ear. Max's senses were tingling. She smiled as if interested, "Yeah?" This was the lead she'd been looking for! If she brought it to Terry and Eliana, they'd have to change their minds about her helping.

"I could take you if you want," Kip said, unaware of the thoughts buzzing through Max's head. "Can I bring some friends?"The more the merrier," Kip encouraged.

Walking hand in hand together, Terry and Eliana searched around for more clues about Donny. They found nothing, unfortunately, until Max approached them excitedly. "I think I got something. There's this new kind of VR. I made us an appointment."

"Great. Except there's no us. It's just men and Eliana from here on, remember?" Max crossed her arms and scoffed, "Come on, Terry!"

Watching the argument unfold from afar, Kip's face hardened. "Do I detect reluctance?" Reluctance from any person was bad. It put Spellbinder's whole operation at risk. If anyone were to report Spellbinder, it was bye-bye VR.

"I'm telling you, it's too dangerous," Eliana warned. "Dangerous? It's just VR. How could it be dangerous?" Kip and his group joined the conversation. "Why don't you ask Donny?" Terry clapped back.

Kip looked to Donny, who was shaking uncontrollably and sweating profusely. The teen seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.

"Look, if you don't wanna come, just say so. Max doesn't need a chaperone, do you?" Kip's question caught Max off guard and put her on the spot. "Uh, I guess not." She answered unsurely.

"Then it's settled." Kip smiled creepily. He grabbed Max's forearm and started to drag her away until Terry pulled her back. "Max, I don't think this is a good idea," Terry cautioned, hoping his friend would agree. "I'll call you guys later, I will!" Max assured as she was hauled off by Kip.

"Max!"

Eliana and Terry made a move to go after their friend, but Donny and his friend Jacob stood in their way. "You both don't know what you're missing."Yeah, Spellbinder hooks us up real good!" Donny added enthusiastically.

Eliana cursed herself. Spellbinder! It all made sense now. He's the only person they knew who specialized in hallucinations of the mind. And of course teenagers would be the easiest targets. She and Terry pushed past the teens and ran in hopes of catching up with Max.

They didn't get very far, however. Donny and Jacob viscously tackled them to the ground, and a brawl broke out between them all. Eliana punched Donny straight in the jaw and then proceeded to crush his manhood as well.

Terry quickly headbutted Jacob and kicked the boy hard in the abdomen, knocking the teen into an arcade game.

Surprisingly, Donny managed to recover. He made one last attempt at Eliana, but the girl merely stuck her foot out and tripped him, sending the teen to crash right next to his friend.

Yanking Jacob from his t-shirt, Eliana pressed the boy for any information. "Where did they go? Where!?" Jacob blearily gazed at her before slipping into unconsciousness.

~8~

Spellbinder stared at his new subject, and while viewing the intoxicating fantasy, the girl was living out.

Inside her virtual reality bubble, Max was experiencing the reality she desperately craved. A family who was supportive of her achievements and showed the love and adoration she desired in the real world.

"To feel love, you never get in the real world. It's no surprise that the addiction follows so quickly..." From under his red and black swirled mask, Spellbinder was grinning happily. Another person to fill his pockets.

~8~

"Max, what are you doing?"

After disappearing for almost two days, making Eliana and Terry riddled with guilt and concern, Max turns up all of a sudden. And how do they find her? They catch her breaking into a car on their night patrol.

"Go away, you wouldn't understand!" Max climbed out of the vehicle with stolen cash in hand. "We understand Spellbinder's got you hooked, and you're stealing for him." Eliana retorted. With barely a glance, Max strolled past them.

"So what."

The VR had already done its damage. Her mind was twisted by Spellbinder, and Max wasn't herself. The duo couldn't change the past, but they could fix the future.

"So keep at it, and you'll end up a veg," Terry exclaimed, trying to reach the logical part of Max deep down inside her. "Listen to me. You both don't have a clue how good it feels. Everybody wants you in there. And the second your back out here... your whole body hurts for more. I just wanna get back inside," Max shied away.

"It's an addiction, Max. He messed up your brain chemistry. Let us help you," Terry pleaded softly. He pulled Max to him, but she struggled to get away. "If you wanna help me so much, then leave me alone, let go of me!" She banged her fists against him repeatedly.

Eliana pulled out a tranquilizer and injected it into Max. Max's actions slowed until she eventually slipped into unconsciousness.

"I'm sorry," Eliana whispered.

~8~

Eliana opened the door for Terry to bring in Max, who was still loopy in his arms. "The couch will be fine, James," Max mumbled. "James?" Eliana mouthed to Terry. Was that Max's brother's name? "Your whole family lives here?" Terry commented, placing Max on her couch.

Eliana looked around, noticing Max's home was very small.

"Whole family is just me and my sister most of the time. The folks split up as a kid, and mom's on the road a lot. I guess we all have secrets. Except mine seems kind of pathetic right now."

Max rolled over, her back to Terry and Eliana. "Hey, at least you don't have to wear tights," Terry said, trying to lighten the mood. "Speaking of secrets, I think it's time we call you know who." Eliana reminded her boyfriend. "Then you'll take us to Spellbinder," Terry added.

The pair turned away from Max and went over to a corner for privacy. Eliana pulled out her phone and dialed the Batcave. "It's me. Yeah, she's fine. We're letting her rest for a bit, and then-Arh!" Something heavy smashed into the back of her and Terry's head. They both dropped to the ground and were knocked out.

Back in the Batcave, Bruce stood up from his seat alarmed. "Eliana!" "Whoever you are, when they wake up, tell them I'm sorry," Max informed guiltily.

~8~

"Hey, easy on the car."

Eliana ignored her mentor and continued piloting the batplane at high speeds. They were dangerously zooming through the city in desperation. "I can't believe I got her involved in this." Terry growled. "Now you sound like Batman."

Terry raised his brows in surprise, not that Bruce could see. "What?"I've been right where you are, more times than I can count. And like you said, there's no way you could've stopped her."

Eliana looked down at the streets below them and saw a sickly Donny. "There's Donny. I'll feel better once I wring Spellbinder's location out of his face."Or you could just cool your jets and just tail him," Bruce calmly suggested. Eliana gaped slightly, "Oh. I guess that's a good idea, too."

She shook her head, trying to clear the raging thoughts swarming in it. For Max's safety, it would do no good for her to be blinded by fear. Fear and anger made her reckless. And recklessness was a luxury they could not afford.

They trailed Donny to an abandoned medical laboratory. Moving through halls and doors, Batman and Nightwing eventually entered a room and saw Donny on the floor breathing shallowly.

Nightwing placed her hand against Donny's forehead. The teen had a very high fever, so it was no surprise when he finally succumbed to sleep. His body was too overworked to keep functioning.

They found Max floating around in a VR bubble. Batman swiftly went over to the control panel and switched the booth off. Max was definitely not thrilled to see them once she stumbled back to reality.

"What are you two doing here?" She hissed. "It's gonna be okay," Terry consoled. "Yeah, when you both get out of my life! This is what I wanna do. You have no right to stop me!"

"You can't just live in a fantasy world!" Eliana reasoned. Max stood up from her booth platform and yelled. "Why not? What's so great about reality? People care about me there. I have my family. Why can't you just let me have that!" She jumped off the platform and started walking to the control panel.

"You're smarter than this, Max. And if you'd cut the lonely act for a second, you'd see we're doing this for your own good!"

The painful shock of electricity coursed through the heroes before they were knocked across the room. Spellbinder stood tall on the platform they were just occupying. "Why couldn't you both listen to me!?" Came Max's distant shout.

"Yeah, Batman, Nightwing, why couldn't you listen? Who made you the pleasure police?" Spellbinder walked over to the duo and kept his gaze on them even as he addressed Max. "Don't worry dear, they won't interfere again."

Max turned on her VR again but took one last look at her friends. "Don't kill them, okay? They won't come back, I'm sure of it," Max pleaded. Shame began to fill her. She knew her actions weren't right..but the urge..it was too strong.

"This is none of your concern," Spellbinder snapped, then with a sweeter tone, he said, "Go on. Your dream world awaits."

Nightwing watched in almost slow motion as Spellbinder raised his hand with the hypnotic eye device and prepared to use it on her partner. Without thinking, she pushed Batman out of the way, letting her forehead connect with Spellbinder's hand.

Memories of different periods in her life flashed rapidly in her mind. Her mother tucked her in while her father told a story from his past. Her parents cheered her on from the stands of a karate competition. The trigger is being pulled twice. Shaking her father's corpse. Meeting Bruce. Meeting Terry.

Batman went to attack Spellbinder, but Max beat him to it. Swinging from a light fixture, Max kicked Spellbinder away from Eliana. Spellbinder crashed into the control panel, and the loose wires zapped him. Max stood on top of the villain, keeping him in place until the electricity stopped.

Terry crouched next to a crying ball of his girlfriend. The lenses of her mask expressed her dilated pupils but could not hide the tears that were slowly streaming down her cheeks. Terry gently pulled her into his arms and rocked them. Whatever composure Eliana was clinging onto left her.

~8~

"And that's how doctor's have studied Spellbinder's VR technology. They're successfully treating the psycho psychologist's remaining victims."

Max and Terry looked back at each other after listening to the newsperson on the screen above them. "You can say it already, I almost got us all killed cause I wouldn't butt out," Max said. Terry bumped her shoulder, "It worked out okay."

"I just wanted to be a part of something. Something that makes the world a better place," Max stated somberly. Terry tried to hold back his grin. "Well, congratulations, 'cause you're a part of it now."

Max gasped and smiled excitedly. "But we'll take it a little slower from now on," Terry added, but his tone conveyed his happiness.

"And Eliana's okay with this?" Max questioned after some thinking. The mention of his girlfriend dropped Terry's mood. Gone was the smile. Max placed a hand on his shoulder, "How's she doing?"

Terry took a shaky breath, trying to keep his deep emotion at bay. "Eliana... she's gonna be fine. She just needs some time to recuperate, that's all."I'm glad to hear, give her my regards, will you Terry?"

Terry couldn't trust himself to speak, so he merely nodded.

~8~

"Why didn't you tell me this week was the anniversary of your parents' death?"

Despite sitting on her bed and being in such proximity, Eliana avoided Terry's eyes and instead focussed on her bedsheets.

"I had to find out from Bruce. If..If you'd told me, I would've been here for you from the start. We shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other, Eliana. I love you, but you shouldn't feel the need to hide yourself from me."

Eliana screwed her eyes shut. She regretted her actions. She didn't know why she kept her parents' anniversary a secret. Maybe to not feel weak? To not burden anyone, let alone the person that meant the world to her?

Her insecurity about always needing to stay strong made pushing away people easy. But she didn't want to push away Terry, never Terry.

"I'm sorry," Eliana wept out, her voice choked up. Terry hurriedly climbed up to his girlfriend, resting his back against the bed's backboard. He pulled her to his chest and secured her in a loving hug.

"I m-miss them, Terry. I-I can't lose anyone else, Terry. Not Max, Dana, Bruce, and not you. Please don't leave me, please," Eliana cried desperately, burying herself deeper into Terry.

Terry kissed her forehead and rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm not going anywhere."

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