Batman Beyond 'Fan Fiction Story'
By Tayla Drago
Episode# 12 – Ascension
It's night at the Gotham docks and Blight personally hosts a robbery of several canisters of polymer. After easily dealing with the dockworkers, he soon discovers more trouble when he's confronted by Batman and Batwoman.
"(Blight, we haven't seen him since he appeared with Mr. Freeze.)" Gwen said to remember the new villain. "(He's like me to turn his humanity into crime. And with that, Batman, we have to stop him.)"
And so they do for the two-crime fighting duo both put a stop to Blight's heist.
"Yo, Blight, guess who?" Batwoman taunts with the villain. "Welcome to your doom!"
Blight wasn't too happy to see his two enemies again, and for one of them to have been Gwen to know she was Batwoman.
"Batman! Batwoman!"
Batman and Batwoman both manage to stop the robbery and Blight ends up destroying all the canisters of polymer in a failed attempt to stop his enemy. However, the workers are trapped in a fire. Forced to save them, Batman allows Blight to escape.
"Batwoman, a little fire power please!" he asks for help.
For her to do just that by absorbing the fire into her body.
"You don't have to ask me twice, Batman, I got your back. You just get everyone else out of danger." she said back.
However, Batman discovers one of Blight's thugs and searches him, finding an ID card from Wayne-Powers, causing Batman to realize that Derek Powers is somehow involved in Blight's crimes.
"Hello." Terry/Batman sees some evidence. "Look at this, Batwoman, looks like some how's working for Powers and this Blight person's one of them."
This has Gwen to worry for the man put her so much to start to remember some of the things when she was created.
"(Derek Powers' the name I wish to never hear or to see in person.)"
"I know, could this mean that Powers is helping Blight?" questioned Batman.
Well, it was the other way around...Back at his lab, Blight fumes over his failure and asks how long the skin will last if they procure the materials through proper channels. His doctors say only about two weeks at most since the radiation and his temper is getting out of control. Deciding that he can no longer keep up the charade, Powers decides to call in some help.
"If I'm going to get better in a new change, I need to have Gwen's DNA to cure me." he said. "I can forget about selling her as a weapon to Kobra. This will have to do for me instead."
What did he mean by that? Well, maybe for Megan back at her company of bounty hunter work to discover more about Gwen Grayson – family, making a clone of her, powers, to selling, Powers himself, and so on.
"(Well, hello...What do we have here?)"
Looks like she did find something big. Elsewhere, out in the Verdezan branch of Wayne-Powers, people angrily crowd around the building chanting, 'Paxton Powers polluter!'. Paxton is unconcerned and refuses to listen to their demands.
"No more pollution. How do they expect us to make a profit?" Miss Winston, Derek's secretary, arrives and tells Paxton that his father wants to see him. Flying to Gotham City, Paxton speaks privately with his father, who says he's appointing him temporary chairman of the board. Derek says Paxton will be a puppet, taking orders from him, but if he does well, then he will acquire real power later. Paxton asks what's going on and Derek reveals his condition. "Oh, Dad..." Paxton sees it now. "And what of your little project?"
"I need her alive." Powers explain. "I've created Gwen as a fire weapon to sell off to the Kobra, however...I might have to cancel it to have myself cure by her next. My sister didn't aid me for nothing to make it done from a ex-couple to attend of their DNA to do so mix with a former villain from long ago who causes trouble in Metropolis...I think she want by Volcana...? Look, son, help me. I know of her weakness. We get her, I can get cured to lose some fire power coursing through her entire body."
Showing a picture of Gwen Grayson, Paxton sees that her DNA matches with Powers to be the same blood type.
"She's cute. But I guess the cures more important. Very well, I can help. And whatever it is you have in mind won't kill her completely, will it?"
And for that, is something to guess from to be hard to tell if it will or not.
"You let me worry about it." he said to his son.
Elsewhere back at Wayne Manor for Gwen was thinking a lot from her life to be going well, and some down sides.
"Gwen?"
"Hi, Uncle Bruce." she was still working. "Sorry, I have a lot on my mind right now. Ever since I was rescued and care for to learn more about myself, it makes me get worried a lot more..."
Bruce places his hand on Gwen's shoulder.
"Still scared to be around Powers no matter how hard he tries getting to you or his goons? Blight, wasn't it? That some power." said Bruce. "Look, Terry will come to aid you to go as Batwoman if something were to happen during my interviews. There's nothing to worry about. I won't let him have you nor will Terry or Megan. She's been..."
"Doing a lot of my background check for a while. I know." Gwen was aware. "Hopefully, I'll know who my sister...Or rather, who was like a sister to me was and why Powers made me into a weapon, Uncle Bruce, the waits getting to me."
The next day...Derek convenes a meeting of the Board, and several prominent stockholders, to announce his decision. Bruce is also in attendance with Gwen to aid him 'while Terry waits to overhear and watch the whole thing from back outside'.
"(You'll be fine, Gwen, just stay with Mr. Wayne at all times.)" said Terry.
For Gwen was putting on a brave face to ignore Powers, only for his son Paxton was winking at her. Creepy...! Several people protest, citing Paxton's poor track record in South America. Derek waves down their objections, but then several villagers from Verdeza barge in, shouting about what Paxton has done to their rivers. Derek tries to keep his temper, but his skin starts to flake. Then their leader, Mr. Mendez, dumps a pail full of tainted water and dying fish onto the boardroom table, splattering Powers. At that, Derek goes berserk and transforms into Blight, before the eyes of Bruce, Gwen, the board, the stockholders, and everyone watching the news.
"Powers is Blight all along?!" shock Gwen to stand next to Bruce's side to look scared. "Uncle Bruce!"
"(No way!)" same thing with Gwen's inner self.
Terry, who had been watching the press release from Bruce's car, realizes that Derek Powers is Blight as well.
"Whoa. Powers is Blight!"
Bruce tries to intervene and is attacked and since Gwen couldn't transform to be bad enough'.
"You animals!" Powers as Blight grabs Mendez. "You want to talk about poison?" he laughs. "I AM POISON!"
Bruce hits Blight on the head with his cane.
"Let him go! Gwen, stay behind me!"
She has no other choice now.
"Okay!" she said.
"Old man, I've been waiting to do this for years!" Blight attacks Bruce. "Once I'm done with you, Gwen will finally be mine!"
But Batman arrives, stopping Blight before he can kill him.
After a brief fight, Blight leaves the room and escapes but not without placing a collar around Gwen next to be strong liquid nitrogen to stop her body painfully.
"You're coming with me, Gwen...!"
This has Gwen unable to transform or use her fire powers for her other self to give in for the time being.
"(Gweny, my bad...!)" she was gone for now.
"Ah! He's got me...!" she screams in pain. "Help me! Batman! Uncle Bruce!"
Batman checks how Bruce was doing to play along in front of the others.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine...Batman." Bruce then sees Gwen has gone missing. "Gwen...?"
Batman goes after Blight to find him gone with Gwen.
"No. No! No!" Batman started to panic. "Gwen! Gwen!" This was really bad now. Powers who's Blight has a hold of Gwen now for Paxton to be part of this mess. Later that night, Bruce analyzes the data and deduces that Blight's condition was caused by his exposure to the nerve gas—meaning Terry inadvertently caused it to happen. This pleases Terry, bothering Bruce, now worried that things have gotten too personal, but Terry is unrepentant. "Do you think he was born this way?" Terry asks Bruce.
Well, about that...From the first episode event where it all happened.
"Do you remember with Gwen when Powers was exposed to nerve gas?"
"Sure, I remember. I threw it." he answers. "And Gwen fought back to...put a lot of fire to expose it."
Makes sense...
"Powers would have been treated with radiation. That, combined with the gas, may have mutated him into this. And having Gwen to use for a weapon, he would've control her to take me down, but he hasn't." Bruce thought about something else. "Maybe he has another thing to use her for from his radiation of his."
So, it was sort of an accident that both Terry and Gwen did to Powers. Knowing it was his fault, to turn into this type of mess.
"You mean...I made him that?"
"You may have, in part." said Bruce. "A little from Gwen did from her fire rage she couldn't control a while back."
And for some of the parts made Terry kind of happy about it.
"Good." Bruce glares art Terry. "Hey, this guy had my father murdered and all he's done since is hide from the law. Well, no more hiding for Mr. Derek Powers. Now everyone can see him for what he is...even in the dark. And what's he doing, he could kill Gwen to get himself cure, this could kill her than himself. And I won't allow him to have his way with her. Not Gwen...! It has to stop."
Powers has hidden behind his legal power and his money committing his evil deeds, but he's finally as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside, and now, Terry says, everyone can see him for the monster that he really is and to save Gwen as well. Like him, Bruce was also worried about Gwen too like Terry was the most.
"Look, we'll save her. I don't want for Powers to hurt Gwen for you to get upset about. Megan will also be helping us out, but there's something else you should know about Gwen..."
Lots more? Like what?"
"Tell me." Terry listens in.
And so, Bruce does. In Derek's absence, Paxton assumes leadership of Wayne-Powers. Derek calls him on the phone, telling his son to arrange a hideout for him. Paxton refuses, instead he calls for an ambulance so he can get medical treatment. Derek calls his son a fool and destroys the phone. From there, I think Paxton might be having some second thoughts to also worried about killing someone like Gwen.
"No matter...I have what I need." he looks at the chain up Gwen. "At last, we meet again, Gwen. I've placed a special device that'll keep you feeling very cold to be unable to burn me completest. I've come prepared."
For that, Gwen couldn't get out to use her fire powers to feel very weak.
"And becoming a criminal solo will do you better to use me against Batman and Uncle Bruce? I'll never hurt innocent lives..."
"Not for that anymore, Gwen, I also need to have some of your blood into me. You are the cure to my radiation problem." said Powers.
And seeing the things around the room to become a test subject.
"What? No!" she couldn't break free no matter how much she tried. "Let me out, Powers!"
"Scream all you want; I'll be ready to stop Batman the next time he shows up. And for Bruce Wayne himself..." he make a cutting sound. "I will watch him suffer until he has expired."
"Why are you doing this?! Why was I made into a weapon?!"
That's when Powers tells Gwen everything, the same with Bruce telling Terry too on what Megan just discovered to let Barbara Gordon know as well, for she's Gwen's biological mother, and the biological father was Dick Grayson. A half human and clone she was to become a fire type of human weapon with feelings.
"I guess I'll tell you everything...The woman cared, raised, and love you like a true child when growing up was my sister. Well, she was once my sister. We had to make weapons like you with others to be...far different than you think. A project to test out to have a local cop and some street thug volunteer in it to offer life to combine into a shell for she and I did wonders to sell it off to the organization terrorist group known as Kobra – they make things to using them to take over what they want. From things, people, or companies they see fit to be most wanted all over the world for many years; I had one to make the best human-like clone with super powers...from a old villain's fire power, mix in with the DNA life of two other humans who knew each other, and a sick girl to become a brand new ones of fire with real human feelings my sister did to raising you, it was supposed to be for a short term. But it wasn't...I thought I sold you to Kobra to make money to get away with it, and during the time I did add some of my same blood type as yours to be a cure in case I was sick of any kind to be my walking antidote, leaving my own sister against it to raise you as her own child, and what happen to her you may say? Well, not a good one to have her life ended...a bit to soon in a radioactive accident from the event I was doing the time you escaped from me."
From the first episode, remember? It was a proto-type during the time. So Derek Powers killed his own sister to hide it all, Paxton's aunt.
"You mean...? So that's what happened...You murder her! She was like a real sister to me! She was your own sister!" angered Gwen to also be crying too.
More to the story...
"She was going to sell me out, I had no choice to tell my son that his aunt was killed in a robbery, and he believed in it! And for me to have some cure from your body to use on me to become Blight, it's my only shot left before I knew about shipping you out to Kobra, I was lucky to have second thoughts during the time before you've escaped. And because you found a new life, I knew you are Batwoman with the same fire powers to keep to myself about it to be going to school with McGinnis's kid, work for Bruce Wayne as an uncle to take you in and thinking you're such a special one...Even if I want you for myself, Kobra will be coming after you too. And for the other kinds of their fates..."
Of course, Powers had something to do with it too. Killing them all in their sleep of the tanks they were in, right? And now we know all about Gwen Grayson. How she had the last name from Dick himself who was once Robin to Nightwing instead of Gordon? Who knows.
"You had them killed as well? To hide the truth..." Gwen took a guess. "Powers, you're more of a monster than I am. At least for Kobra, they'll be easier to find and to stop, and you...Batman will save me and stop your plans for good and for Uncle Bruce's sake! Even if I can't fight back, I won't give in to having you cure from me."
Powers laughs to have no doubt to be winning this one.
"Is that so, Gwen?" he monks her. "When I'm done with you, you'll be nothing but a fragile girl with nothing int you but a dry up personality."
That's mess up. Can Gwen be saved from Powers/Blight or what? Meanwhile...
Batman goes out on patrol to try to find Gwen and soon sees the Bat-signal 'which he hasn't seen in a long time now' in the skies of Gotham. He follows it to Paxton's office at Wayne-Powers. But not until after Terry/Batman destroys the Bat-signal after Paxton used it to call him out.
"Next time, use e-mail." said Batman.
Paxton says he's worried for his father and believes Batman is the only one who can help him and might find Gwen. He shows Batman a device that Wayne-Powers scientists have developed that can absorb his father's radiation and subdue him. Batman agrees and heads out if it'll lead him to Gwen.
"Careful, Terry, you're sounding a little too vindictive." Bruce warns Terry. "I gave Megan more updates, she'll give you something to lead you to her on Gwen's location."
"Please do. (Gwen, hang in there. I will save you.)"
For Bruce to have a strange feeling, they will find Gwen and save her for Megan to aid Batman on this one. However, just after he leaves, the villager, Mr. Mendez, arrives, revealing that he is actually Paxton's henchman. Paxton doesn't believe Batman's been entirely fooled by his 'good son' act and tells Mendez to be ready to kill him as well. All but Gwen to have for himself to stop his father to not have for power, but as his girlfriend.
"I think Gwen's too cute not to be a weapon or a medicine for my father." he said. "She's mine."
Seemingly the only person still loyal to Derek is Miss Winston. Batman follows her to an abandoned nuclear submarine moored at the docks, where she delivers a sandwich to her employer. Batman figures out that the submarine's background radioactivity hides Blight's from radiation searches. Batman passes on the location to Paxton. And to see Gwen all tied up on becoming a blood drainer to give it all to Powers to have her killed.
"(Terry...Please save me...I wish I was stronger...)"
The next night, Blight hears Batman's voice taunting him over the intercom. Blight angrily prowls the submarine, searching for him. For the curing can begin and for Batman to get Powers' partner away from the scene.
"Its time." he starts up the machine. "Okay, Gwen, time to cure me...all the way through. This might hurt a little to go away once you're nothing for me to end your life when its down. So hold still."
It starts up for the blood was too powerful to get out of Gwen's body to be in pain a lot more than she gets water on her body or really cold all over.
"No! NOOOOOO! Stop it, Powers! It hurts!"
It was starting...Well, Megan steps in to try to put a stop to it all.
"What the...?" Powers/Blight knows of Megan Tsuki herself. "Megan Tsuki - the Psyche bounty hunter of Gotham?"
"Yo, Powers, or should I say...Blight." she has her gun out. "Stop the machine and release Gwen Grayson before I have to get serious with you!"
He won't go down without a fight.
"Sorry, but I don't have time to play...maybe a little before my fifteen-minute medicine kicks in."
Using his powers once more to slow Megan down to not get near Gwen to saving her to fire back with gun firing a lot. It was too hard to stop Blight to be having radiation powers.
"Trying to kill me!?"
"You could say that, yes!" Blight laughs.
Gwen had to do something to feel weak to be dying what felt like it...She grabs the lining needle from her veins to pull it out, and even more help arrives for Batman appears.
"Ahoy Captain!"
For Megan and Gwen to be happy about it, Blight wasn't.
"Batman!" said the villain.
Trying to finish with the cure, Gwen uses some of her powers to point at the pack of blood to make it get bigger from the hot bubble to inflate to give it her all to stopping the whole mess for good, Megan joins in with her ESP powers to make it even bigger.
"Grow, baby! Grow!" said Megan.
And from it, boom! It pops for Gwen had enough energy to fight back to getting frees from the machine, Megan removing the collar and to get her warm for more of her fire powers to grow back, as this blast pushes Blight aside to still be himself to not be cured at all, for he has loss. Weak to transform for today, at least it has failed, and Gwen was alive and well.
"No... No! My cure! It's ruined!"
"(Terry...) Batman, we're in here! I'm okay!" she tells her friend. "Blight miss his chance to getting cured."
Now trying to fire a gunshot to hit Blight's shoulder to outrun the two girls to make his getaway and finding Batman next. Searching all over the sub to hear his enemy's voice all over, Batman tells Blight that his vendetta is partially personal, but refuses to divulge anything other than that Blight murdered his father.
"Who are you?!"
With Blight demanding to know.
"You really want to know?" Batman questions Blight.
"Yes!" he answers again.
And then, Batman reveals himself from out of the shadows.
"You killed my father."
Megan helps out Gwen to carrying her out of the room to watch and hear the whole showdown to be happening. For Blight didn't know who Batman was talking about...
"Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?" he asked.
As Powers has murdered many people, this gives him very little information to figure out just who Batman might be.
"Too bad. That's all you get. And trying to kill Gwen to get you better? I won't ever forgive you more than you've already did." Batman then shuts. "CAPTAIN ON THE BRIDGE!"
However, he finds he has walked into a trap and is captured in a net connected to the radiation-sucking machine, operated by Paxton. To Batman's horror, Paxton turns the machine to full power, intending to drain his father to death.
"What's going on?" Megan was confused.
Gwen feels out it was doing more than stopping Powers. No matter how much she hates him for hurting her life and killing someone close to be his own sister, it doesn't have to end like this.
"Batman! Powers is getting killed! Do something!"
Paxton was planning this to kill his own father all along to own the company and to learn about him murdering his aunt.
"Did you really expect me to believe you'd ever give me power?" Paxton questions his own father. "That I'd ever have an ounce of control as long as you were alive? You taught me by example, Dad. The only way to get power is to seize it!" he then looks at Gwen to point his gun at Megan to shoot hers out of her hands and kicking the bounty hunter to the ground. "Stay down, I got business with you. Come, Gwen, I'll protect you from my father who almost had you killed. Come to me."
"Don't do it, Gwen!" Batman tells her.
For her to be scared to help out Megan, she refuses to go anywhere with the Powers family.
"No! You're worse compared to your father, at least he wants to be human! But not like this...! The only person in the family I could trust more was you aunt!"
In spite of Terry's hatred for Derek for his father's murder, deep down his sense of morality refuses to let Derek die.
"Leave Gwen alone and killing your father isn't the way!" Batman steps in. "You said you were going to help your father!"
"But I lied." he approaches to Gwen to have her. "I said come here, Gwen, I don't want to use force upon you, but if I must...She'll die."
Paxton was threatening Gwen to come to him or he'll shoot Megan. As Batman was trying to stay alive to from getting shot, she had to do something to control her powers without the bracelet on for today, the question is – how? Paxton signals Mendez, who enters and opens fire on Batman, but misses from Gwen to make the gun feel all heated to burn Mendez's hands and destroys the controls for the machine.
"(That's it, I can do this. I can still fight back without being Batwoman.) Leave my friends..." she powers up. "ALONE!"
Well, it works for Batman to use a fire hose to cool off Paxton's henchmen and away from Gwen to not get hit from it at all.
"Nicely done, you two." said Megan to getting back up again to stopping the other henchmen in seconds.
For Batman to see Gwen for them to be hugging next.
"Gwen!"
"Batman!" she was happy to see him. "(Terry, I knew you would come for me. I knew it...For you, Megan, and Uncle Bruce to never leave me behind...!) Thank you for saving me, Batman."
A cute moment here for them to embrace for Terry was really worried about Gwen.
"I'm glad you're not dead." he said. "Thanks to this suit, your fire doesn't hurt me at all. See?"
It sure wasn't which was a good thing.
"I'm glad."
"You did fight back to not have Batwoman to help out." said Batman. "Now we can bring both father and son to justice, and your powers can do a lot more. I don't care if they know who you are, we'll both knock some sense into them together."
"Right." said Gwen.
Blight revives and Paxton flees the sub in panic. In rage, Blight releases so much radiation that it causes the submarine to sink.
"We're going down!" Megan said to alert the others. "Batman, get the other men and I'll aid Gwen on my end. We need to get out of here!"
Blight was really mad at his own son and not getting cured by Gwen anymore, it was over for him.
"PAXTON!!!"
Saving Mendez and another henchman, Batman manages to escape the sub along with Megan and Gwen too, but Blight is last seen inside the sub as it goes down. For Gwen to use fire to keep the radiation smoke from spreading from air or water to save many lives, she hopes it didn't kill Powers.
"Did I murder him...?" question Gwen.
Well, it was hard to tell for Batman and Gwen to see the submarine sinking down below the ocean. I don't think Blight didn't survive from it at all from the looks of it, for Megan checks from her computer book to try getting a reading.
"He's dead."
The two were shocked to hear and so was Bruce.
"Are you sure?" he asks his wife.
Gwen thought it would upset for murdering someone, but...that's not what killed him for Megan discovered something else from earlier.
"The fire didn't kill him or getting drowned...Derek Powers got a quick spread from the radiation, he devolved skin cancer since you two stopped him from spreading the stuff in Gotham, it spread a lot faster due to his anger and stress. His treated didn't last long, even if he got a hold of your entire blood, Gwen, it would've last about a month or so. That's it. From the explosion he caused to letting out his rage on his own son for almost murdering his father, its what really ended Blight."
Its true, Derek Powers/Blight was no more to make Gwen feel a bit better, same with Bruce to have the company back to normal now. Leaving Terry/Batman hug Gwen again to be happy that all of this was over. Even having his revenge for his father, the nightmare's over to have Powers' sister to finally rest in peace.
"(What's done, its done. About time too.)" said Gwen's inner self. "Looks like I'm back, Gweny..."
She was happy and so was Terry.
"Looks like your sister can rest in peace now, Gwen."
"And so can your father, Terry." she was crying with tears of joy now to not burn her face. "I'm so happy I'm free. With a lot more to do and not to become a weapon from Kobra."
"I'll make sure it doesn't happen, trust me." he said. "I'll protect you."
"Thanks again Terry. (And with this, I can still fight as myself and Batwoman."
For this moment, Terry was showing off his feelings more to Gwen, to hopefully be closer than friends soon enough and crime fighting duos, right? Hopefully...And for Gwen to place her bracelet back on to keep her powers under control 'just in case'. Paxton returns to his office, where he is confirmed as acting Chairman of the Board. Batman and Batwoman arrive and tells him that he made a bad enemy.
"You made a bad enemy tonight." said Terry/Batman. "And having Gwen, was a even bigger mistake."
"What are you going to do? Testify against me in that mask?" Paxton mocks Batman. "And what about you, Batwoman?"
Good thing Paxton doesn't know that Batwoman was really Gwen.
"I don't know, Paxton, I heard a lot of things you did tonight..." she said. "Although I can't do anything to you for the time being, that doesn't mean this is over just yet."
"Oh, really? I find Gwen cuter than you are. I'm not worried."
"Oh, I wasn't talking about me or her." Batman said. "We're the least of your worries."
Paxton is unconcerned as he sees on the news that Blight's body was never found and believes that he melted with the submarine. See? He was dead.
"I guess he is dead." said Paxton.
Batman, unconvinced, ominously warns him that he shouldn't be so sure.
"Believe what you want."
I guess Paxton Powers was the new enemy now to Batman and Batwoman, he shouldn't be a bigger problem now than his father was. As for Gwen to look over Gotham to hopefully be ready for anything to not become a human type of weapon, and other things to be coming along, she won't back down anymore to be afraid to fight back.
"(From one problem solved, more to do, and others to be stopped...Paxton is the least of our worries, Terry. But I'll be ready for anything to continue to train my powers, as long as you, Uncle Bruce, and Megan are around. I'm more than Batwoman with fire powers, I'm just a normal teenage girl name Gwen Grayson, and I'm proud to be me.)" she said.
With other villains with bad superpowers, both Batman and Batwoman will be ready for anything next time. With Derek Powers/Blight long gone, the jobs not over yet.