You're welcome officer. The Batman here assisted me' Stripetail motioned to where the masked superhero was helping several mGPD take the jokerz away. " see to it that get the book thrown at them, for damaging the stadium."" Thats not THE batman, is it?' the officer said ' i heard stories from an older cop when i joined the force, said the Batman had been helping protect Gotham City for decades, then he just disappeared. Perhaps the Bat just changed form?" Stripetail chuckled slightly. 'well whatever form he's taken, hes back now' Stripetail said. " on the whole, I think thats a good thing. We cops like to know we have allies out there, and Gotham has been a huge mess lately. I'll talk to the commissioner, and she can handle contacting the Bat. I think theres still a Bat-Signal somewhere. Thank you Stripetail. we'll be in touch.' the officer said and the cops headed off with their prisoners.
Stripetail's pages buzzed and Stripetail created images of the damage to the kart track." more mess for me to clean up" he sighed. He said.He heard Lockies report and straightened up before putting away the communicator.' You know the fire still burning here, right?' Terry said." Young man, patience" Stripetail said as he moved towards the flames ' Diospellus! striptail commanded, and the flames began to shrink. Terry's eyes widened as he watched the flames shrink rapidly leaving only a burned out area on the football field. ' Reparum!' Stripetail intoned, and debris all around the standium rose into the air and began flying around. overturned benchs flipped back up. chairs flew back into place. grass grew over the burned out parts of the field. l exits signs were fixed. holes repaired themselves. What would take weeks or months to normally repair ,by trained construction crews , was happening instead in just a few minutes. " My boss said you were a incredibly powerful wizard. he wasnt kidding.' terry said as the stadium was rapidly restored to its previous state.
" Magic, Batman, like any other power, is a tool. It is not evil or good in and of itself, but can be used for either, based on the wishes of the one who wields them. Yes I am a great wizard, but i did not get like this overnight. it took lots of study and training, and care so that my powers did not harm others. over the ages, my powers have grown to the extent that there are few beings that i would consider as being in my league in terms of ability. Given enough time, and ability, anyone can become great. but give someone who naturally has a great gift that same time to hone his or her skills, and you'd find in due time that they are truly extraordinary " stripetail said as the repairs finished and he began walking towards the exit. "take care , though that you dont hone your abilities at the cost of others." He added. ' " i will need your help dealing with the other Jokerz in the area.
" sure, just gove me a couple minutes to check in with my boss. also i still dont know how i;m going to explain away 1 million creds " Terry said. ' I can tell that you are a young man, and not a rich one if 1 million creds is a lot to you. "I million creds would be a lot to a LOT of people, Stripetail. To you, maybe its nothing, but to me- and well many others its literally life changing. " Then do as much good with it as possible. give to the need, help out your family, go shopping with friends . you've be stunned how quickly the creds vanish" Stripetail said. He walked around Batman, taking stock of his form. '" hmm. You're a high school student, at or near 17 years of age. No wonder you say you'd have a hard time explaining the money, the vast majority of kids your age are still living with their folks. ' Terry gaped " your suit can mask your face and appearance and even your voice can be altered, but your actions reveal much about you- your youth and inexperience. . You're new at this game, so take a bit of advice from someone who has been in the so-called 'hero business' for a long time: Never pass up a chance to do good, and gain experience. I'll be at he stadium entrance while you contact your superior.' Stripetail said . Terry shook his head before patching in to Bruce at the Batcave" i've met stripetail, Waynee. Hes every bit the wizard you said he's be. ' Yes Terry, i see the stadium has been repaired and the Jokerz are gone. "He gave me 1 million creds for helping him, I can't exact explain that to my mom. ' just say you helped Stripetail find a location for the games,. " ' mom will likely either take most of it or demand i put most of it in the bank, or help out my little brother " As you'd expect. How did your meeting with the commissioner go? ' brief, and bad, She doesnt like or trust me, and sent me out after Stripetail to get rid of me " terry said. " You'll have to prove yourself, by helping the games. " wayne said as the buzzer to the Wayne Manor gates sounded " I have a guest coming terry, Keep helping Stripetail I'll be in touch." Wayne broke the link, and Terry flew off after Stripetail.
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bruce turned away from the screen and got up to get towards his cane when the secret door to the batcave opened. footsteps approached and Commissioner Gordon appeared at the top of the steps wearing a nonplussed look on her face. ' Hello Barbara' Bruce said " I see you've gotten back into the game Bruce. I'm not sure I approve ' Gordon said as she walked down the steps. " You have some kid playing dressup and breaking into my office, offering his 'help'. Masked superheros of that ilk went out with the tommy gun. 'You need help Barbara, and you know it. Street gangs run rampant, powers does whatever he wants, using the money and influence of my company. Your cops are overstretched. " I'm not my father, Bruce. You know that. He may have put up with having a masked vigilante on the night shift for 40 years, but I wont. Whoever this boy is , he stays out of police business , understand? I mean it, if this becomes a pattern, i'll drag both him and you off to jail. " Barbaras tone was clear. " Understood. How are you faring with Powers regarding that proposal to tear down the historic District?" barbara sighed ' It figures you would know about that. the Good new is, the wizard's pitching in. Hes covering the payment Powers demanded to abandon the project. " 250 million, wasnt it? so Stripetail is not only very powerful but very rich. " Bruce smiled inwardly. 300 million, hes not only preserving the buildings , but restoring them as well. " Gordon said. "if you want to meet him i can set up a meeting but you'll have to come into Gotham for it. Get out of the cave, get some sunshine. You look like you could need it." She turned to head up the Steps.
