Batman Beyond 'Fan Fiction Story'
By Tayla Drago
Episode# 29 – Armory
Terry, Dana, Gwen, and Max attend Jared's birthday party. The crowning touch is his stepfather's present, a new car.
"This guy's lucky to have a rich stepfather..."
So Max was saying...
"Is it just the case of you being jealous?" Terry teases her. "It shows of him being a good father figure to Jared."
"He seems better since his mother got married to him." and Gwen. "Family is important."
Then the music starts to play again to dance to.
"Talk, talk, talk. Let's dance." said Dana to help Gwen to show off her moves. "Come on, Gwen, don't tell me you ever dance before."
"Not in public, no..."
"Then show your moves. Come on!" she does.
For Gwen gives it a try to really enjoy it a lot to dance throughout the party for everyone else likes it, even for Jared to find her cute and the other boys.
"Wow..." Terry couldn't keep her eyes off of her.
"You shake it, Gwen!" Max cheers her own.
Looks like Gwen was enjoying it a lot for Terry to step in to dance with her next.
"You're cute when you dance for me."
"Terry, you're funny. (Thanks, Dana, I'm glad we're friends now and Terry too.)" she was happy to see Dana getting along with them again.
Dana Tan has changed a lot to be happy to have them as good friends. God to know...During the party, Jared's mother, Lorraine, remarks on the extravagance, but Jim says that nothing is too good for his family. A short time later, Jim is stunned to be find out he's being laid off; apparently, Paxton Powers 'not him again' is eliminating his division, light weapons manufacture, and merging it with another. Jim tells his family not to worry he's the best there is in the business. After several days of looking, however, he is still no closer to finding a new job. He is becoming desperate when he has coffee with an old acquaintance, Istivan Hegedesh, who mentions that his company has secret, in other words illegal, dealings with a certain foreign country which would be very interested in a prototype weapon Jim was working on, a sonic beam emitter capable of blasting through steel. Jim says he'd have to break into Wayne-Powers and steal the design specs.
"What do you say, Jim, I need an answer..."
Istivan mentions a large payment for his work. With Gwen finishing up her shopping to overhear Jim talking to Istivvan about something to do that was very bad.
"(Jim? Something's wrong, I feel sadness, pain, and anger in his heart to make some type of bad deal with this man. He's trouble.)" she said.
Drawing on his experience with Special Forces, Jim dons a combat suit and a mask and infiltrates Wayne-Powers to steal the specs. He is caught on the way out by both the police, Batwoman, and Batman, but manages to evade both with an arsenal of sophisticated, but non-lethal, weapons.
"Well, we're dealing with someone not normal for a super villain..." said Batwoman. "He's too good."
"Way good." Batman added in.
The media dub the thief 'The Human Armory'.
Jim receives a down payment from Istivan, and mentions that he needs to break into one more facility to get the parts for the completed weapon. He mentions running into Batman and Batwoman, and Istivan says that all wars must have casualties, if one side wants to win. Seems likes Gwen gets something down 'from what Megan has taught her', to see that Jim might be the Human Armory. For her and her inner self sees that Jim was up to no good.
"(It can't be!)"
"I'm afraid so. Whoever Jim's dealing with, it'll only guess worse. I need to tell Terry about this to stop him from doing anymore crimes. Lorraine and Jared aren't going to like this." Gwen said to her other self. "Soon enough, it'll be both our heads if nothing's taken care of. Uncle Bruce and Megan wouldn't want this to be done right away."
Jared mentions to Terry, Gwen, and Max that Jim has been withdrawn and preoccupied, spending hours on end in his workshop next to the house.
"Lots of things are going on, I feel bad for Jim...But I just don't know what's eating him." he said to the three."
"I'm sure something will work out." Gwen tries to cheer Jared up.
"I sure hope so, Gwen."
Privately, for Gwen was on about was right for her and Terry confides to Max his suspicions that Jim is Armory.
"You see?" she tells her boyfriend.
"I believe in you, Gwen." Terry said back.
"Wait...You two think he's the Human Armory, Jared's stepfather?"
Max was right to guess it to be right about something.
"Only one way for Gwen and I to find out if he strikes again." Terry said to the two girls.
Jim commits his second robbery, and again confront both Batwoman, Batman, and the police, managing to evade both with difficulty.
"Another one...Let's go, Terry." Gwen transforms. "Burning passion. Batwoman!"
From Jim taking out the Polices' cars to all shut down and Batman getting shocked twice now, Batwoman steps in to use her fire shield to stop Armory herself.
"Don't move, mister, or I'll turn you into crisp!"
Trying to touch her, only to get soaked in water to slow Batwoman into trying to heat it up to save herself from her Bat-Suit to come with it allowing the villain to drive off again.
"Batwoman!" Batman was worried of his partner's condition.
"(We're good!)" said Gwen. "(A close one at that!)"
"Man, that Megan comes up with something good with her rich husband. I should be thanking them both..." Batwoman does tell Batman some news after getting his suit fix from getting electrocuted. "I place a tracking device on the Armor up guy to locate him with luck, right Gwen?"
It was better than nothing.
"(It's our only shot left.)"
After saving the police officers from their cars exploding to having everything on fire 'for Batwoman to absorb it and Batman putting the rest out using a load truck of sand', now they can track Human Armory down.
"In that case, let's get to it." said Batman. "Gwen, you might be on to something for your powers to know that something's not right."
"(Yes it does.)" said Gwen. "(We better hurry.)"
Before Jim arrives home, Jared sneaks into his workshop, wanting to know what's going on. Hearing his stepfather coming, Jared hides as Jim returns and meets Istivan. Jim assembles the completed weapon and demands his final payment. But a spider accidentally gives Jared away and confronts his stepfather. Hearing their raised voices, Lorraine also comes in, and learns her husband's secret. Jim pleads that he has only done it for them, and as a temporary measure, but they are having none of it. The tracker leaves to Jared's house.
"You were right, Gweny and Bats. Jared's stepdaddy's the Human Armory." said Batwoman.
Batman and Batwoman arrived outside. Istivan grabs the weapon and opens fire with it, tearing a hole in the workshop for Gwen to sense the danger coming.
"(Watch out!)"
He then runs outside to finish Batman and Batwoman off. Using the weapon to topple a large tower onto Batman, Istivan renders him helpless, and points the weapon—but is disabled by a shot from Jim's adhesive rifle.
"Bats!" Batwoman worries.
"One step, Missy, and he gets it!" Istivan warns her.
Jim says the war is over, and they have both lost. In rage, Istivan charges and knocks Jim to the ground, but Batman takes hold of Istivan once Batwoman burn his hand badly, while Jim gratefully hugs his family.
"Jared..." said the said wife.
"Oh, Jim, why?" Jared felt bad.
"I'm sorry..." said Jim. "I'll turn myself in to make it right. I promise.
For Jim to surrender quietly, Istivan was going away for a long time.
"Take that, weirdo!" Batwoman said to the man. "This guy gets it for his family, and you'll never had it."
At school, Jared tells Terry, Gwen, and Max that Jim cooperated fully with the authorities, and so received a reduced sentence for his crimes. That's good for Jim to get out real soon to not stay in jail for long other than tell what happened and fill some paperwork, to then get a good job later.
"Good, Jared, I'm so glad everything worked out for him!" said the happy Gwen. "(Enough to put that man away instead to getting rid of the weapon too."
"Thanks, Gwen."
"So the judge was lenient, I'm glad." Terry said to Jared.
"My dad cooperated in every way. Of course, he won't be home for a while, and there's that fine..." he said for a few things to happen.
"Yeah, I heard you lost the car."
Anything was better than not doing anymore crimes.
"You meet more interesting people on public transportation." he tells Terry and Gwen about it.
He will be incarcerated for some time, and the family had to pay a stiff fine, but he's bearing up.
"You know, I've got my sister's car while she's out of town." Max offers to Jared. "You ever need a ride, I'm there."
Max, who had been feeling jealous of Jared's affluence, perks him up by flirting a little.
"You never made that offer to me." Terry said.
"Maybe 'cause you're spoiled."
Max has got Terry there, for it looks like she and Jared started to go out 'a little'.
"Wait...Jared and Maxie...? I never thought they would end up as a couple." surprised Gwen. "Good for them. Love does something when you get to know a certain someone in your life."
"For the riches to the normal people, it's a odd but beautiful pairing."
Terry puts his arms around Gwen to do a fine job today and saving one man to stop a very bad one for Jared to get a happy end, and a girl like Max. What luck! And remember – don't turn your money making by doing crime, it's not worth anything at all to ruin your life.