Splicers

On a fine morning at Hamilton Hill High School, everyone buzzed with anticipation as Chelsea Cunningham made her way through the halls. There was not a gaze that wasn't on the teen. For you see, Chelsea had recently gotten a procedure done that left her with a new feature. This new feature was covered by the black shades she wore over her eyes.

Standing uptop a bench, Chelsea addressed the waiting crowd, "Check it out." She removed her shades to reveal green slit eyes; she resembled that of a snake. Watching a little away from the crowd was Dana, Terry, and Eliana. The three of them weren't exactly cheering like other students, especially Eliana.

Splicing is a new trend that involves interwinding human DNA to that of animals. It was a practice that was slowly gaining traction, both positive and negative. The current DA, Sam Young, aka the husband of Gotham's Commissioner, was in the process of banning splicing.

Eliana found the whole concept of splicing inhumane and frankly dangerous. She couldn't begin to fathom why anybody would want to alter their DNA structure for the sake of appearance.

"I don't believe it, Chelsea. You got spliced!" Dana cried out. Chelsea just smiled, and with her new eyes, she looked very disturbing, "You know it." "I don't know Chels, isn't messing with your DNA a bit drastic," Terry voiced his concern. "Even for you," Eliana added, frowning.

"Oh please," Chelsea shrugged off their statements. "Well then, why is the city trying to shut it down," Terry countered. "Lighten up Terry, the law's against practically everything we're in to. You gotta keep an open mind," Dana said.

Chelsea reached into her bag and pulled out some business cards. "Here's all the info," Chelsea said, giving them one each. "Personally, I'd jumped on this if I were you. If you're not the first you're the worst," she advised, handing more cards out to fellow students. Terry and Eliana looked at their cards. Printed on the card was the company name Chimera Institute with the slogan "Born to be Wild"

Later that night, Eliana and Terry were down in the batcave watching the news coverage on Splicing. "They call it "Splicing, "the new high-tech teen rage that's taken Gotham's youth by storm." Outside of Chimera Institute was a mass of people protesting. "But outraged parents and lawmakers call the use of genetic animal augmentation a crime against nature. Some say it's a matter of choice."

The news showed a clip of a spliced man being interviewed, "Splicing is like establishing myself as an individual, you know. Just like all my friends," he stated. "At the center of the controversies is the director of Chimera Institute, Dr. Abel Cuvier.

Cuvier himself appeared on screen. He had green narrow eyes with claw- like fingers and was dressed in black robes. "I want to assure everyone that splicing is safe, reversible, and, more importantly, utterly beautiful. I was the first test subject, and as you can see, I'm perfectly fine," Cuvier said, gesturing to her healthy body.

"Perfectly creepy is more like it," Eliana snorted lightly at her boyfriend's dry comment. "Yeah, him and this whole splicing fad," Eliana continued. Bruce spun his chair around to face them. "This is no simple fad; something bad will come from this splicing, something we'll most likely have to clean up," he warned.

Yeah, well, what else was new.

~8~

Terry was not having a good morning. It began when he awoke to greeting a wolf right in front of his face. That wolf was just actually Matt, who had dressed up in order to successfully scare the living daylights out of Terry, which he unfortunately did. Terry ended up chasing his brother out of his room.

After getting ready, he talked with his mom for a bit, and the topic of splicing came up. Matt, being young and naive, begged Mary for her permission to get spliced. Thankfully, she wasn't swayed on the topic. Terry mocked his mother about the tattoo she got when she was young, which she claimed is nothing like "having antlers put on your head." Terry was further tormented by Matt, who joked that he was already a donkey. Luckily for his brother, Terry was running late for school.

Boarding his usual train, Terry turned his attention to the newscast that was broadcasting a special announcement from Gotham's DA. "As your district attorney, I'm making it my top priority to outlaw splicing completely. Impartial tests clearly show a rise in aggressive behaviour -"

An adolescent who has been spliced with ram DNA broke the television screen as if to emphasize the point. He was subsequently joined by another teen who had been fused with snake DNA. "How's that for breaking news," Ramrod quipped. King Cobra high fived him and addressed the wary bystanders, "No one can stop splicing. It's the future whether you stink scared norms like it or not."

Terry had enough staying quiet, "How about not snake boy?" He said, making himself known. The other passengers backed away from the conflict, but Terry stood strong. "Listen, norm, don't even think about dissing us," Ramrod warned menacingly.

Now, any normal person would've just taken the advice in stride, but that's the thing....Terry Mcginnis isn't exactly like everybody else. "Go chew a can," Terry sassed back. Ramrod was taken aback but quickly became angered. He charged at Terry, horns ready. Terry grabbed his horns and flipped the ram over, and used the train's pole to swing himself into King Cobra.

The bystanders gave Terry a round of applause for his victory. "So, will you petting zoo rejects be needing a doctor?" Terry paused, feigning curiosity, "or a vet?" As security entered, the two spliced teens knew it was time to go.

Ramrod looked at Terry and the other passengers in disgust, "Your time will come norm you'll see, you'll all see." After watching the splicers leave, Terry pulled out his Chimera business card and studied it.

It was time to investigate more into Chimera Institute and the mastermind behind it himself, Dr. Cuvier.

~8~

Terry's big break came when Dana told him and Eliana she was interested in getting spliced. Of course, not wanting their friend to make this decision alone, they accompanied her. While investigating Cuvier was at the forefront of her mind, Eliana was also worried about Dana. She really didn't want her friend to go through this splicing process and wasn't holding this opinion back from the girl. She was currently helping Dana look through possible splicing choices.

"I don't know about this, Dana. You're perfect the way you are," Eliana told her softly. She could practically feel the nervousness pooling out of Dana. Fortunately, Dana seemed to agree with her. "I think you might be right. I know I said to keep an open mind, but..." Dana trailed off.

"Personally, I think the young lady would look stunning in spots." The group turned to see Cuvier walking towards him. Eliana and Terry eyed him in distrust. "You're smart to come here now. If my critics have their way, splicing might go the way of the dinosaurs... not that I don't plan to fight them tooth and nail," Cuvier said, essentially sneering by the end. Eliana spotted his clenched fists and knew he meant every word.

"Yo, we need to see the doc right now!" Again, the group turned to see Ramrod and King Cobra arguing with Cuvier's assistant Tigress. Terry hid his face, hoping the splicers wouldn't see him. He did not want a repeat of this morning. Having been told about the encounter, Eliana spared her boyfriend a worried glance. "Please excuse me," Cuvier said curtly.

Terry and Eliana watched as the doctor led the two splicers out of the room. "I'm going after them," Terry whispered to Eliana as he got up. Eliana caught his wrist, "Umm, I'm coming too," she said strongly. Terry crouched down and looked her in the eye, "I need you to make sure Dana gets home safely. I don't trust these guys. And I know you're still sore from that patrol a couple of nights ago." Eliana was about to protest. "Please, babe, you know I can handle this," Terry interrupted.

Eliana sighed heavily. She wanted to have her partners back, but she trusted Terry. "Okay, but if you run into the slightest trouble you call me. Got it, Mcginnis," she threatened. Terry smiled and gave her a quick peck before rushing out of the building.

"You know what, as cool as this is...it's just not for me," Dana said, looking at her friends. She was confused to see only Eliana. "Terry got a call from Mr. Wayne, but if you're ready, I'll take you home," Eliana explained. Dana bought the excuse easily.

Eliana couldn't help but feel something bad was going to happen. Being Nightwing provided her the opportunity of protecting Terry and whatever they faced, they faced together. She just prayed Terry would stay safe, but knowing him all too well...she very much doubted it.

~8~

Using the Batsuit's cloaking, Batman watched from high above as Ramrod, King Cobra, Tigress, and Cuvier talked. Ramrod was shackled in a circular machine. "It's all over the news. Those scared old stiffs are gonna shut us down," Ramrod complained. "Then we must strike tonight," Cuvier said. The doctor approached Ramrod with a gun filled with a red formula. "The splicer revolution cannot be stopped," Cuvier proclaimed.

From his position, Batman saw that Ramrod became stronger when injected with the gun. The hero realized that the formula was the key to splicing. This must've been Ramrod's sort of booster.

"If the norms are determined to run us underground..so be it, but we'll take first blood from the throat of DA Young," Cuvier smirked. Of course, Sam would be their first target. He was the main threat against their operation. Terry had to rope Eliana and Bruce on this. Maybe his girlfriend could supply some bodyguard protection for Sam.

He was unaware that Tigress had smelled his presence. Just as he was about to radio, the batcave Batman was kicked by Tigress. He fell into some wires that electrocuted him. Dark spots were filling Terry's vision, and his head spun. The last thing he remembered before going into unconsciousness was Cuvier standing above him.

Terry awoke to a pain in his arm. He immediately registered that he was stuck in the same machine Ramrod was. He groggily raised his head to see Cuvier finish injecting him the splicer formula. "What did you just do to me, Cuvier!?" He growled. Inwardly, Terry was panicking.

"Why you've been spliced, of course, with a little something I prepared just in case Gotham's self-appointed defender ever fluttered into my business. You know splicing isn't just style, Batman, it's lifestyle, it's something that'll change the world," Cuvier explained.

Something special? What did that entail? Terry then began experiencing a strong headache but ignored it.

"Have you considered checking into Arkham for a little R&R (rest and recreation) doc? Because quite frankly your nuts," Terry bantered to mask his fear. Cuvier didn't seem fazed, "Your welcome to your opinions for the short time you'll be human enough to have them." He then smiled.

Terry snapped, with some newfound strength he tore himself of the machine. Leaping towards Cuvier, Terry held him by the collar. "Alright, Cuviver, call your freaks off DA Young or so help me I'll -" Terry stopped and groaned in pain. He fell to the ground, clutching his head, and started breathing heavily. The pain was unbearable, and his insides felt as though they were on fire.

"Tsk tsk, what's the matter Batman? I'm not feeling quite like yourself." Terry tried to focus his vision on Cuvier, but it just kept on switching from clear to blurry. Cuvier raised his hands, and his black claw-like fingers grew longer and sharper, "Don't worry about the DA, he's dead meat. And so are you."

Terry was too weary to move and, as a result, was sliced by one of Cuvier's claws. When he found some balance, he dodged another strike. But Cuvier had the upper hand and didn't rest to claw Terry once more. Terry was plumented to the ground, still dazed. He knew he couldn't win this fight, so he had to escape and get the Sam's before the other splicers got to the DA first.

Boosting off the ground and flying terribly, Terry managed to fly out of the lab's glass roof. "It's too late! You won't be able to save Young or yourself!" Terry heard Cuvier shout.

Terry was still in agony when he flew to the Commissioners home. For a minute, he thought about calling Eliana but refrained. He didn't trust himself in her presence, and he knew she'd be too worried about him to fight properly. Terry hoped he'd get to the batcave before whatever was happening to him came to pass. He wasn't just concerned for himself but for those around him.

~8~

Barbara Gordon stood in the doorway to her office room and smiled, seeing her husband hard at work. Sam had been up late for a couple of nights, trying to build a case to convict Cuvier and abolish splicing. She understood, of course, but wished for him to take a break now and then.

Walking over, she placed a steaming cup of coffee on the table Sam was working at. "Ah thanks, honey," Sam smiled tiredly. "Sam honey, maybe you should take a break. You've been at it since five this morning," Barbara suggested. Sam yawned and made no move to quit, "Can't be helped." Putting Cuvier out of business is going to mean a lot of long nights."

Too many people were counting on the DA to end splicing. "Right now, I just can't relax knowing that Cuvier and his guinea pigs are out there doing God knows what," Sam sighed frustratedly. "I bet I could relax you," Barbara suggested slyly.

The moment was ruined when Tigress busted through the ceiling and landed on the table. Sam went to grab the fireplace poker when his hand was stopped by King Cobra as the splicer popped out from the fireplace. "Evening counselor," King Cobra hissed as he punched Sam to the ground.

Barbara pulled her husband up and turned to see Ramrod. "Lookin good, Comissh," Ramrod said, lifting her chin. "But not for long," Tigress sneered and leaped towards her. Barbara grabbed Tigress' hands and kicked her into Ramrod. The splicers were impressed, "Woah Sammy, your hunny's got some hectic moves," Ramrod commented.

Barbara wasn't quick enough to free Sam from King Cobra's grip, and she eventually found herself pressed up against Ramrod. "Too bad she can't stop us anymore than you can stop, Dr. Cuvier's dream. Break him in half," Ramrod instructed King Cobra.

Barbara continued to struggle in Ramrod's grip, but to her relief, Batman flew in, crashing into King Cobra. While she let Terry deal with the splicers, Barbara crawled over to her husband. He was knocked out, but okay.

Turning her attention back to the fight, Barbara noticed there was something off with Terry. His punches were way more aggressive than usual, and at one point, King Cobra hit the hero with a chair.. but Terry didn't even move a muscle. At this point, Terry was dealing with just Ramrod. The fight was over, Ramrod was on the ground, but to Barbara's surprise, Terry kept punching the splicers violently.

Leaving her husband's side, Barbara ran over to Terry and held back an arm. "Batman, stop, you're killing him!" She shouted. But when Terry looked in her direction, Barbara's eyes widened.

Terry let out a screech showing off his sharp fangs, and froth was coming out of his mouth. Barbara jumped back in horror as Terry slammed his fists into the table, splitting it in two. The other splicers left, but Barbara kept her focus on Terry. Something had happened to the young teen, but she had no idea what.

"Batman, Terry! What's gotten into you?" Barbara asked. Terry must've snapped back to his senses just a bit as he backed away from Barbara and flew off.

"Dear God, what's happened to you?" Barbara mumbled worriedly. She found herself running to the phone and dialing a familiar number.

~8~

Eliana paced back and forth in the batcave on edge. She was waiting for Terry to check in, but he hadn't yet. "How's the splicer antidote coming?" She asked her guardian absentmindedly. "Finished," Bruce curtly answered, loading a small antidote capsule in a gun. Suddenly, the batcomputer lit up with an incoming message.

Eliana practically bolted to the computer and answered, "Wayne." She was not expecting to hear Barbara Gordon's voice on the other side of the line. "Eliana, Bruce, it's Barbara, is Terry there?" She asked urgently. Eliana felt dread in the pit of her stomach. Eliana gulped, "No, we've been trying to reach him all night." She responded, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice. "Listen to me, there's something wrong with him, something terribly wrong," Barbara warned urgently.

But before either could inquire what she meant, Ace started barking loudly. Bruce and Eliana turned away from the computer to stand beside Ace. "What is it, boy?" Eliana asked softly. She saw a tall shadow in the distance and pulled out a batarang. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Brcue demanded.

Eliana studied the shadow further and noticed the shape of a bat. Was it Terry? But what did Barbara's warning mean? Something isn't adding up.

"Bruce..Eliana," a distorted voice called out. Terry's cowl was thrown in front of their feet. Eliana gripped the batarang harder, "Terry?" She asked, voice shaking slightly.

Her breath left her when out from the darkness came a monstrous bat wearing a torn Batman suit, and Eliana knew exactly who it was. "Help me," Terry pleaded. Eliana dropped the batarang in shock, her eyes horrified at the sight of the man she loved. "Oh my God," she whispered.

Whatever human part of Terry was just shown left, and the man-bat leaped towards them. Eliana was still frozen in place. No, this had to be a nightmare. This couldn't be reality. She was shot out of her thoughts when Ace smashed into the suit display case. She pushed back all the thoughts of her boyfriend and got in a defensive position.

Right now, Terry wasn't himself, which meant he was a threat, and as much as she loathed to admit it, he needed to be dealt with. She had to protect Bruce and herself.

Intercepting Terry before he struck Bruce, Eliana climbed onto his back and pulled one of her escrima against his neck. Screeching and acting crazily, Terry tried to shake her off. He slammed backward into the caves wall, and Eliana grunted at the impact but held on.

She didn't want to hurt Terry, just subdue him. But she couldn't exactly stop Terry from hurting her. Eliana let out a small cry of pain when she felt Terry's claws slash her backside. She didn't have time to stop Terry from grabbing her and tossing her to the ground. She looked up to see Terry heading towards her before she heard a gunshot. She watched as Terry fell to the ground unconscious.

She looked over at Bruce, who was holding the splicer antidote gun. "Are you alright?" Bruce asked. She looked at Terry's unmoving monstrous form, "I will be," she said breathlessly.

~8~

Terry opened his eyes but shut them immediately from the hard light. He groaned and turned his head to see Bruce petting Ace. 'What happened?' Terry thought. The last thing he remembered was seeing the Commissioner's house and then nothing. What he didn't understand was why he was so sore. His bones were aching.

Terry sat up from the gurney he laid in and rubbed his head. His headache was gone, but he was a bit groggy. "Nice to see you too," Terry said in a raspy voice when Ace growled at him. Terry thought he was on friendly terms with the dog. I guess he was wrong. "Can't say I blame him. You roughed us up before I could cure you," Bruce informed, still staring the teen intently. "Cure me?" Terry paused, then he remembered, "Cuvier, he spliced me in his lab."

"With a massive overdose of vampire-bat serum." At this, Terry was horrified. He scanned his body to see his suit all torn up, barely clinging to him. "I figured we'd be needing to create an antidote to counteract the effects. I didn't think it would be so soon," Bruce finished. "Thanks," Terry mumbled, still in disbelief. "Barbara told us about the attack,"
Bruce said before turning on the news.

"After Batman foiled the assingnation attempt on DA Young, police raided the Chimera Institute, but Dr. Cuvier and his followers had already gone into hiding." The news then panned to Sam Young, who looked a little battered, "I can assure you Cuvier will be found and prosecuted for this attack."

"Cuvier will be deadlier than ever now that he's being hunted," Bruce frowned. "Question is how do we find him and his little band of animals," Eliana piped up for the first time. Terry jumped slightly. He didn't even see her. Looking over his shoulder, Terry saw his girlfriend sitting on a similar gurney.

When Eliana met his eyes, however, she was quick to look away. Terry beat himself up internally. No wonder she was apprehensive around him she must've seen him spliced. He couldn't imagine how terrifying he appeared. The last thing he ever wanted to do was scare Eliana. Terry hissed and felt pain release from his abdomen. He looked at Bruce to see him holding a bloody black claw. No doubt having been lodged in him from the lab fight.

"It's one of Cuvier's claws, too bad we can't use it to find him," Terry shook his head. Bruce had other ideas, "We can't." Terry looked at Bruce and saw the old man staring down at Ace.

"Ace will be able to track him, huh boy?" Eliana softly as she walked over to pet Ace. Terry's eyes flickered over her figure and stopped at her back. "What happened?" Terry asked worriedly. Eliana noticed what Terry was mentioning and closed her eyes with a sigh. Bruce, seeing the two needed to talk, walked with Ace out of the batcave.

The teens stayed in silence for a good few minutes. Terry was becoming nervous about what had happened to his girlfriend. "Eliana, please, just tell me what happened to you," Terry begged.

Since she was wearing a sports bra and shorts, Terry could see the bruises on her backside along with a white bandage. Wordlessly, Eliana backed over to Terry. Terry traced the light bruises before gently peeling off the bandage. Terry didn't breathe as he studied the claw scratches.

"You roughed us up before I could cure you." Bruce's words rang through Terry's head.

No, he didn't. He wouldn't have.

"Terry baby, you need to calm down," Eliana said loudly. Terry didn't realize he was hyperventilating, and he barely registered Eliana, grabbing a hold of his face. He flinched away. "Terry, listen to me, it wasn't you okay. It's not your fault." But it was his fault. He hurt her. He hurt his love. He didn't deserve comfort. He deserved to be shouted at.

"Oh God, Ellie, I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Terry cried out. He broke down in tears in the arms of his girlfriend while she whispered comforting things in his ear. How could he look her in the eyes again? Beast from or not, in Terry's eyes... he considered himself a monster.

~8~

Terry avoided Eliana after his brief breakdown. He didn't look in her direction or even speak to her, which bothered the girl. She knew it was self guilt that dictated his actions, but it still hurt. The only time Terry did speak to her was when he tried to convince her not to join him in tracking down Cuvier.

Terry claimed she was hurt, which granted she was, but Eliana wasn't about to leave Terry to confront Cuvier alone. Terry recoiled when she hinted at the past events and reluctantly agreed for her to come, knowing he couldn't stop her from doing so anyway.

After suiting up, Terry wearing his repaired suit and grabbing an antidote gun each they set off with Ace. In a Gotham alley, Nightwing held Cuvier's claw to Ace's nose. "Alright boy, track it," she commanded. Ace sniffed the claw and picked up a scent instantly. The duo followed Ace, almost losing the fast dog multiple times, before stopping at the taxidermy facility.

Rounding the back of the building, Nightwing turned to Ace, "Good job, now we'll take it from here." But Ace disobeyed her orders and started moving to go inside a crack in the wall. "Woah, woah, stay, stay!" Batman ordered sternly. Ace whined but conceded. "Good, Bad Dog. Now, don't move until we get back," Batman said as he and Nightwing scaled the building.

Once inside, the duo readied their guns and awaited the arrival of Tigress, Ramrod, and King Cobra.

Popping out of nowhere, Tigress and King Cobra caught the heroes. The splicers held them in place and let go for Ramrod to ram into them. After falling to the ground, Batman and Nightwing ran to pick up their guns. Nightwing fired a couple of shots at Tigress, but the splicer flipped out of the way. "We could smell your human stinks right away," King Cobra hissed as he practically slithered down to him. Just like his partner, Batman fired multiple shots at King Cobra, but none hit.

Unhinging his jaw, King Cobra leaped at Batman and bit him on the shoulder. Batman screamed in pain and tried to yank King Cobra off him. Nightwing saw Tigress about to join Cobra and kicked the splicers away. While this is happening, behind a pillar, Cuvier was injecting himself with more splicer serum.

After finally punching King Cobra away, Batman didn't have a second to spare as Nightwing crashed into him from being hit by Ramrod. In the entanglement, the duo dropped their guns. King Cobra picked one up, but before he could fire it, Batman yanked it from him and shot it. The shot was successful as King Cobra fell unconscious and transformed back to his human state.

Batman heard a growl from Tigress and turned to fire at her but saw the splicer had been already hit with a dart. Like Cobra, Tigress slipped into a deep sleep and went back to normal.

"What did you do to them!" Ramrod shouted. Aiming their guns, Nightwing answered, "Lets just say we took the wild out of them."No, I'll never go back to being a nobody. You hear me!?" Ramrod exclaimed angrily. Both heroes pulled the trigger to their guns, but nothing shot out.

They were out of ammo. Not good. Well, they had to improvise.

When Ramrod charged at them, the duo grabbed the bull ring in his nose and used their feet to push the splicer over them and into a glass display case.

Loading their guns with new cartridges, Nightwing pointed her gun at Ramrod. "Have a dose of reality, buddy, you need it," she quipped and fired at Ramrod. And just like his friends, Ramrod was taken out and cured. Now it was Cuvier's turn. Seeing movement out of the corner of their eyes and a door closing, the duo followed the culprit, which was no doubt Cuvier.

Taking cover behind a wall, Batman called out, "We fixed your pets, doc, now it's just you and us. So why don't you come out and fight us humans to freakshow." Walking around the room, the duo listened to Cuvier's sick laughs. They saw a crate of splicer serums and noticed some empty ones.

Hearing something coming towards them, the duo fired. They grunted as a big hand punched them hard. Batman and Nightwing recovered and fired some more shots but were beaten up again. The duo watched as Cuvier came into the light, or should they say slithered.

His lower body was that of a snake, while his upper half was a mix of tiger and hawk.

"Cuvier?" Nigthwing asked warily. "No longer, now you both face a true Chimera," Cuvier stated. He grabbed the duo by their legs and spoke to them as they hung. "You two bring out the beast in me," Cuvier told them, as he slammed them to the ground.

He threw the two at a metal beam, but the duo bounced off the beam and punched Cuvier repeatedly. Cuvier tossed them up in the air and used his snake body to curl around them.

"Look at me. The abilities of the entire animal kingdom are at my command. What can one blind little bat and bird do against that?" Cuvier said arrogantly. During his monologue, the duo saw they were hovered just above the crate of splicer serums and grabbed a bunch. "The best we can," Batman responded.

Taking a page of how they defeated Chappell, the heroes injected multiple serums into Cuvier. They were given an excessive amount of the substance that gave them their strength. When Cuvier let them go, the duo ran over to the crate, grabbed more serums, and leaped on Cuvier to inject him further.

Eventually, Cuvier did knock them away, but the damage was done. Cuvier changed even more, becoming a colossal beast that has no resemblance to any living thing.

Cuvier became more erratic as he couldn't control his changes. He caught Nightwing with a newly formed tentacle and Batman in a claw that resembled that of a crab. "What have you done to me!?" Cuvier yelled. Cuvier opened his disformed mouth and was about to eat the two before Ace intervened.

The batdog managed to bite Cuvier in the face, making him collapse. Jumping off of Cuvier, Ace growled and stood protectively in front of Batman and Nightwing. But as fierce as Ace was, he didn't stand a chance against the humongous monster that was Cuvier. Cuvier slammed a fist into Ace, sending the dog into a wall before picking him up.

Batman and Nightwing stopped Cuvier's tentacle from hurting Ace further. "Don't touch our dog!" Nightwing spat out. The vigilantes used their jet feet to boost upwards and stab Cuvier with his own tentacle, which made him drop Ace. When swinging outlandishly, Cuvier's claw hit a power cable, and he got electrocuted.

The electrocution caused some gasoline to ignite. Batman and Nigthwing grabbed Ace before escaping the building. They made it to safety in enough time to see the building explode. There was no chance Cuvier survived.

Terry and Eliana changed out of their costumes just as firefighters and police showed up. Seeing the familiar face of Barbara Gordon, the two made themselves known. "Terry?" Barbara said warily.

The teen in question barely managed to look the woman in the eye, "I'm okay now."Listen to experience, kid. I appreciate what you did tonight but ditch the costume. You can't live a life a narrow escape forever. It's a frankless existence, and the rewards are small, if any," Barbara cautioned.

Terry crouched down to pet Ace, "Well, sometimes the small rewards are the best ones," he smiled genuinely. Eliana was happy to see Terry feeling a bit better after his whole ordeal, but they still had much to talk about.

~8~

After their brief talk with Barbara, Terry and Eliana reported back to Bruce as per usual, except Terry didn't stay long at Wayne Manor. Walking out the main doors, Terry made his trek to the gates. "So that's it then, you're just gonna ignore me, huh?"

Terry stopped walking but didn't turn around.

"What? You can't even look me in the eyes now?" Eliana asked. Terry could hear the sadness in her voice and wanted to tell her the opposite, but then he would be lying. He couldn't look her in the eye. How could he after what he did? Frankly, Terry didn't know how to live with himself. He heard her footsteps getting closer, and he knew she was right behind him.

"I know you feel guilty about what happened, but you have to understand Terry it wasn't your fault. You had no control over your actions. I know you'd never hurt me," she said softly. Spits of rain began to pour from the sky, but neither teen paid no mind.

"But what you're doing right now... hurts me more than what you did while you were spliced. Terry, please, I need you, and I can't imagine my life without you in it," Eliana's voice broke. Terry's eyes started to water.

Eliana bawled her fist so tightly her nails dug into her skin. She was getting frustrated at her boyfriend's silence. "Well, say something, anything!" Eliana cried out. Finally, Terry turned around. The two just stood there staring at the other.

Slowly, Eliana opened her arms, and Terry ran right into them. The rain was coming down heavier as the teens slid to their knees. Eliana pushed back Terry's wet hair from his face and brought their foreheads together. "I love you more than anything," Terry whispered. "I love you too," Eliana whispered back, smiling before they both kissed passionately.

It would take time for Terry to move forward and heal, but Eliana was gonna make sure she was there every step of the way.

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