Batman Beyond 'Fan Fiction Story'
By Tayla Drago
Episode# 24 – Babel
Within the Batcave, Terry, Gwen and Bruce are busy repairing the Batsuit after a battle with Mad Stan while Bruce reminisces about some of his old adventures.
"You didn't think of Mad Stan would try to blow you up with a hand grenade." he said.
"I did, but he had two."
Gwen backs up Terry's story.
"I know I did, Uncle Bruce. Terry didn't see the other one coming." she said. "It was so fast."
"What she said." Terry spoke up for Gwen. "Anyways, Bruce, tell me the rest of the story." Bruce tells Terry about how he once walked into a trap, knowing it may be fatal, and taking on faith that Robin would arrive in time to save him. "How did you know Robin would get there in time to save you?"
"I didn't." said Bruce.
When Terry asks how he knew, Bruce is evasive. When Terry presses, Bruce admits the truth: he didn't.
"Then for all you knew, you were walking into a trap with no way out." said Terry.
"And it just happened knowing that you knew?" ask Gwen.
"(Must've been scary.)" her inner self said as well.
Terry is shocked and a little from Gwen's side, but Bruce admits that being Batman meant that he had to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.
"Sometimes you have to. Unlike Robin saving me, or me saving him, or sometimes...Megan."
However, Ace suddenly starts barking and violently attacks Terry and Bruce, forcing them to tranquilize him and Gwen tries to pin him down for it to work.
"Poor Ace..." she felt something from his head. "Something must've made him go mad, like he was under some type of spell."
"But what got into him?" ask Terry.
Terry and Gwen take Ace to the vet, and finds the entire place is filled with animals acting in the same violent manner.
"I guess we're not the only ones with animal problems..." Gwen to feel something out. "I know I can feel a very bad thing hurting the animals to hear things."
"Same with my cat." said Max. "My jumped on a dog."
"But none of us don't know what's causing them to go crazy."
Terry has a point and Gwen wants to know what she was feeling out. Max is there with her cat, and makes an offhand remark about what things must be like at the zoo.
"Well, for one thing...I'm glad I'm not living in a zoo." she said.
"The zoo!" both Gwen and Terry said it together.
Realizing that she's right, Terry and Gwen immediately go to investigate as Batman and Batwoman.
Upon arriving at the zoo, Terry and Gwen sees the elephants trying to escape from their enclosure.
"Oh, boy!" said Batwoman. "Who's trying to let Dumbo go on the loose?"
While Batman manages to stop one of the elephants, the others attack him for Batwoman to surround the animals to stop from the fire she releases.
"Don't hurt them!" said Batman.
"I'm not, relax, Bats."
"(We're just trying to shoot them away. Animals really don't like fires so much to scare them out of it, I'll be gentle.)" Gwen explains. "(But we still got more to deal with than the elephants.)"
Furthermore, a gorilla escapes from its cage and also goes on a rampage. Batman fights the gorilla and finally manages to subdue it. Same with Batwoman against three lions 'one male and two females' to try to warm them up a bit to feel tired out'.
"Bad old puddy tats."
Just as soon as he stops the gorilla, one of the elephants starts charging Batman.
"(Batman!)" cried out Gwen.
Batwoman jumps in to stop another elephant to save her partner. Fortunately, the elephant suddenly stops and becomes docile. What was happening? In the Batcave 'since Ace was feeling find to be patted and kissing Gwen', Bruce tells Terry and Gwen how at the time the disturbances were starting, the military was experiencing interference on their sonar frequencies.
"You two know what that means...?" Bruce asks them.
They knew right away an old enemy was back in town.
"Gwen..."
For Terry to tell Gwen about it, she can feel the person to have the power of sounds.
"I know, Terry...It's Shriek (He's back.)" she said. "Also, I may have ruined his hearing..."
The reasons why because of Batman and Batwoman were in danger for Terry to explain the rest to Bruce on Gwen's side of the story.
"We didn't want for it to happen to him, it just...happened.
As these events mainly have to do with sound, Bruce, Gwen, and Terry deduce that Shriek is behind all this. You all know what that means, right...? Another flashback from Megan Tsuki herself.
Megan: Walter Shreeve was a talented sound engineer and owner of Shreeve Sound Laboratories. After consuming all his money on his research, he inevitably drove his company into bankruptcy. Derek Powers eventually saw the prospect of his work, so he acquired his business and funded his experiments. Shreeve developed a sound suit with four built-in sound generators, each of which capable of different effects. He intended this technology to be used in demolition work. However, Powers had other plans for it. Shreeve was commanded to use the suit to murder Bruce Wayne.
He followed Bruce to Gotham City's historical district, where he attempted to kill him with focalized sound vibrations. Thanks to Batman, Shreeve failed in directly killing Bruce, but he hurt him enough to be committed in a hospital. Before escaping, Shreeve left behind his right-hand sound generator, which was vital for Batman to track him down. Later that night, Terry posed as a pizza delivery boy who got his address wrong in order to get into Shreeve's lab. Shreeve couldn't resist an offer of a free pizza, so he let the pizza boy inside his lab. Shreeve allowed the pizza boy to look around his gizmos, and even explained to him how sound masking worked. He then asked him to leave so that he could get back to work, but as soon as the pizza boy asked him about sound vibrations, Shreeve realized he was being duped, so he tackled the impostor. He put on his sound suit and wrecked most of his lab in an attempt to kill the pizza boy. He followed him outside, where he was intercepted by the GPD. Shreeve repelled the police blimps and escaped. Now turned into a wanted fugitive, Shreeve sought retribution against Powers, whom he blamed for his current status. Powers appealed to Shreeve's vanity, arguing that he should be contented with the absolute power bestowed by his suit. He even gave him a new name, which would fit his new persona and impart fear in others. As of that moment, Shreeve adopted the moniker 'Shriek'. Though Bruce was on a secured hospital, Shreeve had managed to implant a two-way radio in his bandage by bribing a nurse, through which he goaded him to commit suicide. When that failed, and Bruce was transferred into the psychiatric ward, Shreeve tried to drive him insane (and eventually kill him) by suggesting his food was poisoned. However, Batman discovered the hidden transmitter, and traced the signal back to the Zanti factory near the hospital.
Inside, Shriek battled with Batman, making use of several sound effects. He blasted him with vibrations, and then suppressed the sound of the contiguous area, and turned up his suit's volume to hear Batman's footsteps. Batman destroyed his sound masker with a batarang, canceling its muting effect. Consequently, Shriek was overwhelmed by the surrounding sound amplified by his helmet, leaving him permanently deaf. Shreeve was arrested but refused to testify against Powers.
Elsewhere, Shriek shuts off his equipment and explains to his new assistant, Ollie, that his test was a success. Ollie believes Shriek's plan is to hold Gotham for ransom, but Shriek says that he wants revenge on Batman and Batwoman, who Shriek blames for his hearing loss. He'll force Batman to surrender his life rather than let the city be destroyed – and if Batman doesn't, his reputation as a hero will be destroyed. As opposed to money, Shriek awards Ollie with use of 'the Fork', an electronic device that uses sound to directly stimulate the human brain's pleasure center.
"Much better." said Ollie to be loving it.
Later, Terry, Gwen, and Bruce try to figure out how Shriek is doing this.
"It turns out that Shriek got out for being cured, Uncle Bruce, that's what his record shows." Gwen shows on what she could find.
Seems like it, but knowing Bruce it was far from over.
"And you believe that?"
"Said the guy who lost his hearing, I say no." said Terry.
"I told Megan about it so we can get some leads to stop Shriek before he hurts anyone else or animal again."
Good thinking, Gwen, for Megan to get right to it on her end. However, in the middle of their conversation their speech becomes incomprehensible to each other. All but Gwen to be affected by it. For Megan to call, she tries telling one of them who could understand the problem to respond.
"Ah, hey, you guys...In case anyone can understand me in this message...Do something! Hearing other people talk is like being in a backwards world!"
"We're on it, Megan!" Gwen tries telling Terry on what he and she had to do next. "Terry. We. Have. To. Go. Find. Shriek. Before. He. Messes. With. Our. Words. To. Get. Words. Come. On."
He gets that part as Terry immediately heads out as Batman. And Gwen to transform as Batwoman.
"The. Let's. Go." he said.
"Right." she transforms first. "Burning Passion. Batwoman!"
Through typing, Bruce and Terry communicate over the Batmobile's computer, and Bruce theorizes that Shriek has altered the vibration frequency of air molecules carrying human speech.
"Well, looks at this...Gweny and I are not affected to understand me, even as myself to become Batwoman. Still, it's quite annoying on what Shriek's doing. We better put a stop to it right away, Bats."
The interference is happening all around the city and people are getting violent with one another. Worse, a lift operator can no longer understand the spoken instructions of a landing director and crashes into a crane. Batman only barely manages to avert disaster.
"(Terry!)" Gwen panics.
"I. Got. It."
After a time, Shriek turns off the interference and then calls Commissioner Gordon. He demands that Batman and Batwoman to surrender themselves to him. Barbara protests that she can't deliver Batman, but Shriek refuses to listen.
"You're out of your mind!" said Barbara.
"Duh!" Shriek said back.
She contacts Bruce, who refuses to give up Terry and Gwen or offer them as a bargaining chip, angry that some are talking about using Terry in such a manner and Gwen to be human type of weapon and related to Barbara and Dick to be created.
"He wants Batman and Batwoman." Barbara tells Bruce. "That's his price."
"He wants us...?" shock Gwen. "He's that serious, isn't he?"
That's not going to happen!
"If he wants Batman, he can have me."
Barbara sees how bad this is to not put two other lives in danger, something has to be done. For Terry to leave, Gwen goes to find him.
"I'll get him, Uncle Bruce." she leaves. "We'll come up with something to find Shriek somehow, somewhere..."
Terry faces a dilemma, and goes to talk to Max. It seems that the right thing to do is to give himself up, but she reminds him that he will be hurting both his family and friends and even Gwen. It doesn't help that word of Shriek's demands has gotten around, and several citizens are appearing on the news and saying that Batman and Batwoman should give themselves up 'or one of them' rather than cause them to suffer. Some of these include the zookeepers and the construction worker that Batman saved earlier. Seeing all this, Bruce is disgusted at how ungrateful the city is after all that Batman has done for them.
"That's who're sacrificing for?" Max asks Terry. "For all of us, your family, and Gwen to admit your feelings towards her will be hard not to lose. And since you and Dana..."
"I know...But if I have to save all of you and Gwen, I rather go than her with me."
Gwen overhears the whole thing to meet up with Terry on where they first met together and... what ended Warren McGinnis's life.
"(Man, this is a dumb way to decide, huh Gweny?)"
Still trying to make his decision, Terry goes back to his old home and remembers the incident that inspired him to become Batman in the first place with Gwen tagging along.
"Gwen?" Terry was surprised to see her. "You followed me?"
"I had to, Terry, I wanted to. Uncle Bruce didn't say anything." she tells him. "I see you're in your old home from the time your father was killed, and..."
"Where you and I first met before we became Batman and Batwoman. I remember."
"Then remember this. Other people like our work while others just don't get it. Shriek's way of getting into our minds." Gwen stands up for Terry. "For all you have to care for like Maxie, your mom, brother, other friends, Barbara, Megan, Bruce, a rival like Nelson, a heartbroken to leave Dana to still be her friend, and... how you care about me. Do you think your father wanted for you to give up? Or Bruce? You can't let this get you down, I know I won't from my powers for others to understand from school and those who know about us. If you do this on your own, then I'll stop you." she leaves. "I'll do it alone-!"
But Terry stops her.
"Wait, Gwen, not alone...Please."
From Bruce watching and hearing the rest on the news to hate what the people are saying about bad things from Batman saving them.
"Spineless fools." he said to himself.
Having made his decision and Gwen's, Terry and her return to a surprised Bruce, who says he wouldn't blame him for refusing to sacrifice himself for such an ungrateful citizenry.
"Sorry, Uncle Bruce, but we both decided to do this." Gwen said.
"Gwen..." Bruce tries saying something to Terry next. "I wouldn't blame you if you stayed home. Not after what all those ingrates have been saying."
Terry notes that like Bruce, he did not become Batman for gratitude, but will meet Shriek to try to avoid loss of life. T
"I didn't get into this for gratitude." he said. "I have a feeling you didn't either."
"Or me either as you said, Terry."
Terry's plan, however, is to Shriek at the arranged spot, not to surrender, but to fight. Neither of them had figured out how Shriek was managing to project his interference over such a wide area of the city, but Terry points to something on the Batcomputer, suddenly understanding.
"Wait...That's it!" he sees it. "That's how Shriek's been doing all of this! Gwen!"
She gets it too.
"Oh, yeah...To get that far to make sound seem to do weird things, it makes much more sense. Uncle Bruce, we're going in!" Gwen transforms. "Burning passion. Batwoman!"
Bruce is perplexed, but Terry and Gwen take the Batmobile, unable to explain because the interference has started again. Bruce looks back at the computer, and suddenly realizes he sees a twin-towered building remarkably similar in shape to a tuning fork. There we go, even Megan tells her husband so to have something from all four of them to understand one another in time.
"No problem, Bruce, just leave it to the kids and me to hack into the rest with Gwen as backup."
"I understand." Bruce smiles.
As soon as Batman and Batwoman arrive in the area where their enemy is at, Shriek attacks them.
"(He's here!)" said Gwen to be feeling him out.
"Then here we come, Shriek, ready or not!" Batwoman was ready to fight.
The three seem evenly matched until Shriek creates an extremely painful ultrasound tone with the towers that incapacitates Batman and pushes against Batwoman's fire powers. To protect himself from the tone while he is outside the towers, Shriek removes his helmet and hearing aids, restoring his normal deafness.
"This isn't how I wanted it!" said Shriek. "You two were supposed to give yourselves up to me!"
"Really?" Batwoman questions the man. "We don't take those who use cowardly moves against us, mister!"
"You should have gotten it in writing!" Batman tells Shriek.
Fortunately, Batman manages to distract Shriek long enough for Gwen/Batwoman to get to the tower's controls but Ollie attacks him and the controls are destroyed.
"You're in, Gwen!" said Megan on the other line. "We're in. Now, burn up the wiring."
She does so to make this nightmare end for good.
"(A little fire power should do the trick from our hacking skills.)"
"In that case..." Batwoman prepares to fire up a big one from her double staffs. "Ready...Aim...Fire!"
Now overloaded, the frequency causes the towers to fall.
"You're dead, Batman!"
Batwoman flies back down with the defeated Ollie and flies over to stop some parts from falling above Shriek to saving Batman in time.
"(Batman, get down!)" Gwen warns her partner.
Shriek, still deaf, is unable to hear either the sound of their collapsing behind him or Batman's warning and disappears under the falling building. It looks like it was finally over, but was the villain dead or has he escaped? Hard to say really?
"Well, I can't find him." said Megan. "I'll go report to Barbara about this."
Emergency crews respond on the scene to search for survivors, only for Batman to excavate himself from the debris and Batwoman. They attempt to help Batman, who treats them coldly, remembering that hours before, they were willing to sacrifice him.
"Let's go."
For him to say that, only for Batwoman and Gwen herself to still be supported to him.
"Make up your minds, dumb idiots." said Batwoman. "Hey, Bats, don't let them get to you. Let just go home and think about how lucky we are to still be alive."
Terry and Gwen return to the Batcave and works to repair the Batman suit. Bruce thanks Terry for reminding him why he first became Batman.
"Thanks to you two, it reminds me again why I became Batman, it's been ages." said Bruce.
And for Gwen to being herself to use her powers to control as Batwoman or trying to aid others who do care.
"You know...I never thought of becoming a superhero can change our lives for the better to do so much for others...Others who understand what you, Terry, and me to go through a lot." said Gwen. "But I'm glad. Without you, Uncle Bruce, we wouldn't have the legacy or Batman and others to not be around today and be in big trouble if we did, but we're not."
That's true, but for Bruce to had one thing on his mind to ask Terry about next.
"Tell me, what if you hadn't figured out how Shriek was using the towers? Would you have handed you and Gwen over to him at midnight?"
He also asks if Terry would have given himself up to Shriek, but Terry, evasive, refuses to answer.
"In case you haven't noticed, we've got a suit to repair here." he said back.
Gwen's inner self laughs to say this line next.
"Something's are better left unsaid!"
And this makes Gwen herself feel a bit better too.
"Oh, Terry."
Terry holds Gwen's hand to say something to her next.
"Thanks, Gwen." said Terry.
"For what?" she asked.
"For reminding me on who I am to begin and yourself. Don't know what I do without you."
This makes Gwen happy for Terry say it to her.
"It was nothing really..." said the happy Gwen.
Without Batman and Batwoman around, Gotham will be a mess for others to think twice the next time they need saving from a villain to threaten so many lives. No kidding!