Disclaimer: Batman Beyond and all related characters do not belong to me, but I wish they did. Diana, however, is my character, and so is this story. I'm not making any money, so don't sue me. This is just for fun to relieve some nasty college-blues.
* * * *
"Terry McGinnis, get up right this minute or you'll be late for school!" called his mother. With a groan, Terry rolled over and pulled the covers up over his head.
"Just a few more minutes, mom!" he yelled back, before drifting off again. Downstairs, Mrs. McGinnis rolled her eyes, and put her youngest son's breakfast on the table.
"Are ya gonna fry 'em, mom?" Terry's little brother asked around a mouthful of eggs. Mrs. McGinnis sighed and ran a hand through her elegantly styled hair.
"Eat your breakfast, sweetie. I'm going to go haul Terry out of bed," she said, exasperation in her voice. Walking up the steps in their apartment, Terry's mom shook her head. Though she appreciated what Mr. Wayne had done by giving Terry a job, she wondered just what he had Terry doing that was exhausting her oldest son so much.
Opening the door to Terry's room, Mrs. McGinnis stood there, pondering the best way to get Terry up. With a slight grin quirking the side of her mouth, she took the glass of water from Terry's bedside stand and dumped the lukewarm liquid on his head.
"YIPE!" Terry yelped as the water splashed down onto his unsuspecting, sleep-filled head. With reflexes honed by countless battles against the scum of Gotham, Terry had rolled out of bed and away from the source of the water before he had even comprehended what was happening.
The snicker of his younger brother was all that he needed to realize what had happened. "Mom, what was THAT for?!" he said, not bothering to hide a yawn as he ran his hand through his wet hair.
"Time to get up, mister," she said, a solemn look on her face. As she turned away, her grin appeared. "Get dressed, son, you're going to be late."
"Ha ha! Terry got soaked! Y'know, bro, it looks like you peed in the bed!" the little squirt piped in. Terry turned a ferocious glare on his annoying little brother.
"Beat it, twip, or I'll beat you!" he growled, tossing a pillow at the brat. The kid in question merely stuck out his tongue, dodged, and headed back down stairs. Alone once again, Terry grimaced, swore silently about younger siblings, and began to get dressed.
For some reason, he had a feeling that it was going to be one of THOSE days...
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Terry! Wait up!" Max called out to her friend. Looking behind him, Terry noticed Max jogging up to him, her backpack filled with computer books.
"He Max, what's up?" Terry asked goodnaturedly. Max's dark-skinned face grinned back up at him, as if the pink-haired girl had some fascinating news that she couldn't wait to share.
"Actually, Terr, did you know we're getting a new exchange student? A girl from Tokyo!" Max burst out. "I wonder if she'll be a computer genius. After all, along with America, Japan is the world leader in breakthrough technology and computers," she continue, not leaving Terry an opportunity to get a word in edgewise.
"Hey, that's really great, Max," Terry replied, not particularly enthused. After all, exchange students were pretty common. Absently, he wondered if the new girl would be cute...
"Hey, Terry, what's up?" came the soft voice of dark-haired Dana. Putting a grin on his face, Terry turned to his girlfriend.
"Morning Dana, how's it going?" Terry asked, a little worried. Because of bat-business last night, he had had to cancel another one of his and Dana's dates. Dana had not been too happy on the other occasions he had ditched her, so he was more than mildly concerned.
"Good, for me, because I finally released what a complete jerk you are! I mean, if you didn't want to go out last night, you should have let me know. I was waiting for two hours in the park for you!" she announced to the entire hall. Whispers and soft giggles were all that could be heard from the onlookers.
Backing up carefully, Max began to move away from the danger zone. "Uh-I'll see you two in class, 'kay?" and with that Max beat a hasty retreat. As much as she was for sticking beside her friends, there was no way the genius was going to be anywhere near ground zero when Dana broke up with Terry.
"What's going on?" a gentle voice asked. Turning her attention to where she was heading, Max noticed that a white-haired girl with strange, amber eyes had come up to her.
"Oh, you're the new exchange student, right?" Max asked, silently taken back by the girl's eyes. They were kinda of freaky, the way they almost seemed to glow in the right light.
"Hai, I am," she replied, turning her golden gaze onto the squabbling couple. "My name is Diana. Hajimimashte," she continued.
"Diana, huh? If you'll excuse me, but Diana isn't Japanese, is it?" Max asked, a tiny bit confused. The girl, Diana, shook her head, her mane of hair rippling like it was in its own personal breeze.
"Actually, my father's Japanese. My mom's American. I've live in Japan my entire life, so they thought it would be good for me to see mom's old country. Is it always like this?" she explained, then asking about the lover's quarrel taking place down the hall.
"Yup, at least with those two it is," Max returned, amusement in her voice. "Listen, do you need any help finding your way to class?" she inquired. For some reason, Maxfelt as if she should keep an eye on the new girl. As that thought came to her, she felt a cold chill run down her spine.
"No, thank-you. I never lose my way. If you will excuse me, I must get to class. It was nice meeting you Max, maybe we'll meet again," and with that, Diana took off, leaving Max more than slightly confused.
"Yeah, maybe," she muttered, waving to the strange girl. The chill that had taken her retreated, and Max suddenly realized something that unsettled her.
"How the heck did she know my name?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm telling you Terr, it was freaky!" Max softly exclaimed to her friend. "I mean, how did she know my name? I've never met her before!"
Terry looked up from his barely-touched meal and over at his friend in alarm. Max was usually calm, but something like this was strange. NOTHING had ever shaken Max up like that girl did. "Relax, Max! The girl probably saw you and someone told her who you were, that's all," the new Batman said in an effort to calm Max.
Max nibbled on her lunch, then shook her head. "I don't know Terr, there's just something wierd about Diana-"
"Did I hear my name taken in vain?" an amused voice broke in. Looking up, Terry's eyes bugged out. Upon turning around, Max felt a chill roll down her spine again.
"Ohayo, Diana-chan!" Max greeted her in a high voice, before recovering from her surprise. "I was just telling Terry about you."
With a friendly grin, Diana bowed to Terry. "Ah, you are the one who was dumped by Dana, yes? My apologies," she greeted Terry.
"Uh, um, thanks...would you like to eat with us?" Terry asked in a rush. Max had trouble keeping a smile on her face as Terry tried to think of something else to say. Diana nodded, and set her tray on the table, and sat beside Terry, who seemed to get even more flustured.
"Arigato, Terry. I saw Max and thought I'd come over. After all, you're the first people who haven't run for the hills when they met me!" she said, her soft laughter somewhat strained.
Terry and Max traded a look. Max could clearly understand why, for there was something unsettling about Diana, yet Terry couldn't see anything wrong. "Well," he said, finally gathering his wits, "people around here are pretty strange. Don't take it personally, okay?"
Diana smiled at Terry, and for him, it was as if the sun had just come out after a dangerous storm. As he met Diana's golden, amber gaze, he too felt a chill run down his spine. However, it wasn't a freaky-cold chill like Max had described, but one of excitement.
There was something in her eyes that was utterly unlike anything he had seen before. It was as if there was some kind of power in that gaze, a power that was wondering exactly how to release itself. Max, on the other hand, recalled something else that she had forgotten about the exchange student's gaze: upon being questioned, Diana's eyes, for just a minute, had turned hard, as if something else was looking out through them.
The more she thought about it, she realized that the moment Diana's eyes had flickered to solid amber the chill had come upon her. That realization unnerved Max, and suddenly, she became worried for Terry, who was laughing and joking with Diana as if they had know each other for ever, instead of having just met.
I think I had better do some checking on her, Max thought, as she watched the two over her lunch.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"So, what is it this time? Jokers, the Royal Flush Gang, Inque, what?" Terry asked in a bored voice as he looked over Bruce Wayne's shoulder.
"Does it matter?" the old man replied, in his as-always toneless voice. "Get out there and get to work, McGinnis."
"Yes sir!" Terry acknowledged in a deep voice, with a mocking salute. Wayne frowned and Terry took the hint. "Okay, okay! I'm going! Sheesh!"
Leaving the bat cave, the new Batman reached the site of the carnage in a mere ten minutes. Making his way into the museum, Batman activated the powersuit's stealth-mode. "Wayne, you getting all of this?" he muttered to the old Batman.
"Crystal clear, Terry. Be cautious, I'm reading a strange energy signature," came the reply.
"Gotcha! I'm moving in," Batman acknowledged as he moved towards the source of the energy...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
In her apartment room that had been rented by her father for her stay in America, Diana Shidao moaned in her sleep. Hecate had returned, and someone was in danger. With a strangled cry, Diana helplessly watched as the black-suited man walked into the chamber.
Unable to awaken, Diana was forced to watch the hideously one-sided battle. After all, Hecate was extraordinarily powerful, with the same powers that Diana held. "No, nooo..." she softly cried as the unknown man was blasted by the black witch's killing power.
