Chapter Text
Dana grunted as her back hit the mats for the nth time. At this point, she’s pretty sure there’s an imprint on the mat specially shaped for her whooped ass.
“Still not right, Tan. Take a dinner break then we’ll try again.” Kairi ordered.
Dana exhaled through her nose, blowing at sweaty bangs. She hasn’t felt this frustrated since getting benched by coach for the first time after she botched a goal for her team.
She grabbed a towel and wiped off most of the sweat, carding her fingers through her hair. Long hair was gorgeous and all but full-headed cowls weren’t exactly long hair friendly. Still, the undercut bob she got afterwards totally ripped and never before has hair drying been so easy.
Stepping outside, she did a double-take when she saw Zander sitting on the rocks alone, without his bodyguards breathing down his neck.
“What, no strong-arm goons, tonight?” she asked, taking a seat beside him.
“Sorry, sometimes my guardians can be overprotective....rice cake?” he offered.
“Thanks.” Dana said, feeling rather peckish after the intense workout.
She bit into the rice cake and swallowed. Unfortunately, her stomach didn’t appreciate the friendly gesture all that much.
“God, what I wouldn’t give for a nice cheesy slice of pizza.” She sighed.
“Pizza? I’ve heard of it.” Zander mused.
Okay, back up a second, was this guy serious?
“You’re kidding, right?” she gaped.
“I’m afraid not.” He said, dead serious.
Dana stared at him, aghast. Her own dad can be a stick in the mud but for a guardian to not allow their child to experience one of the simplest joys in the life of adoslescence?! Injustice! This calls for an intervention.
“That’s criminal. Everybody loves pizza. You haven’t lived till you’ve had it!” Dana declared.
“My life is different. Ever since I was born I’ve been groomed to lead my people.” Zander explained.
“You mean, like a prince?” Dana compared.
“Sort of.” Zander replied.
“That's no reason to deny yourself one of the greatest pleasures in life. How’re you gonna be an effective leader if you’ve never eaten pizza?” Dana pointed out.
“What do you suggest?” Zander asked.
Dana smirked, tossing the rice cake into the pond.
Time for the prince to enter a whole new world.
Zander stared at his surroundings, wide-eyed.
The bold neon colors that encapsulated Cheezy Dan’s were a far cry from the austerity of Kairi’s dojo. The smell of greasy food and overly sugary snacks permeated the air. Machines lined every wall, screens bright with graphics and the cheap carpeting underfoot was craftily patterned to hide stains old and new.
There were a lot of people- people the same age as him and Dana. Unlike his peers from the dojo, whom he usually saw wearing the same gi as him, the ones here wore much more exciting garb in arrays of colors and alternate styles. The variety of it all was rather discombobulating.
“So, here’s the plan. We go in, grab a slice, and get out. No one will ever know we were gone, alright?” Dana relayed to him.
“What are they doing?” Zander asked, looking at the teens occupying some of the arcade machines.
“Playing vid games.” She glanced at him, noting his unwavering stare. “Wanna try?” she offered kindly.
“Yes.” He agreed.
“Hey beautiful, who’s your friend?” a familiar voice chimed in.
Dana perked up.
“Terry!” she hugged them in greeting before turning to Zander.
“Ter, this is Zander, he goes to the same dojo as me.” She introduced.
“Schway. I’m Terry, they/them.” they said, offering a handshake.
“Zander, he/him.” Zander replied, shaking their hand perfunctorily.
“He’s a total noobie. Mind showing him the ropes while I snag a pizza?” she asked.
Terry looked Zander up and down, connecting the dots as they took in the quality of his clothing and aristocratic countenance.
They smirked, casually slinging an arm around Zander’s shoulders.
“Today you will become a man, little prince.” They crooned before dragging him towards Sentries of the Last Cosmos.
“What?” Zander asked, befuddled.
He looked between Terry and Dana, completely perplexed and wow, that is the most emote Dana has ever seen him.
She watched Terry teach Zander the controls and how to select an avatar. As they did, Zander’s perplexity gave way to intrigue, his shoulders loosening ever so slightly.
Dana smiled, glad she could give Zander a taste of normalcy.
Now to find some pizza to give herself a taste of greasy goodness.
Zander seemed.....alright.
Granted, when Terry first laid eyes on him, they felt something off. Then again, it was easy to tell Zander was definitely part of the uppercrust and well, they usually don’t click with that crowd, period.
But Dana seemed to trust him. Plus, seeing how thrown-off he was at the simple concept of video games made it hard to be mean to the guy. Probably the kinda rich kid with an overcontrolling guardian who didn’t let him have some fun in his life.
So, Terry will show the guy how to loosen up a bit.
Doesn’t mean they’ll go easy on him in vid games though.
“Hah!” they cheered when they beat him. “Get rekt, loser!”
They did a little victory on the dance on the spot. Okay, maybe it kinda made them look like a sore winner but sue them, it wasn’t often they manage to one-up someone at video games. Just ask Max, she’ll gladly testify to that fact.
“But, I never lose.” Zander said, shock evident despite his stoic face.
“First time for everything, sport.” Terry shrugged.
“You don’t understand. I can’t lose.” Zander said stiffly.
The intensity of his gaze briefly caught them off-guard but they quickly regained their composure.
Jeez, he ‘can’t’ lose, huh? Guess his parents were the kinda perfectionist assholes who accept nothing less than first place. That totally won't backfire on them and their son in adulthood.
“Lighten up, Zandy. It’s just a game. ‘Sides, pizza’s here.” They said, seeing Dana come over with their order.
Grabbing a slice, they shoved it into his mouth. Zander didn’t spit it out but for a long second, he held it in his mouth and just, stared at Terry. Like Selina's cats would do when they spot a bug on the wall, minus the feline cuteness.
Which was frankly, kinda unsettling.
“So....liking the pizza?” they asked to break the awkward pause.
Much to their relief, it snapped Zander out of whatever stupor he was in as he finally took an actual bite.
“Alright, but then we play again.” He said.
“Your funeral~” Terry teased before turning away to get some fiz.
“Are they always like this?” Zander asked Dana.
“Pretty much.” Dana chirped.
But alas, good things don’t last forever. The lighthearted moment was ruined by a purple gloved hand snatching Zander’s pizza slice away.
Head snapping up, Dana groaned. Great, Jokerz. Ugh, these dregs have way too much time on their hands and too much crap in their mouths.
“That’s ours.” Zander growled.
Unfortunately, his confrontation earned him a face full of pizza and roars of obnoxious laughter in retaliation.
Dana and Terry came over and both caught sight of Zander’s clenched fists. Slag, this could get out of hand.
Much to her horror, it did as one of the Jokerz doused Zander with a high-pressure water hose that sent him crashing into the machines.
Terry glared at the laughing clowns while Dana ran over to check up on Zander. Dripping wet and fuming, Zander barged past her and charged straight towards the Jokerz.
After Zander managed to hurl one of them into an arcade machine hard enough to almost knock it over, everybody stopped laughing and started brawling.
Dana had no qualms getting into fisticuffs. She didn’t have to look over her shoulder to know that Terry was handling themselves just fine either. Hell, they were always more than ready to knock these dregs down a peg.
Zander didn’t need any backup either, making it more than evident why he’s one of Kairi’s best students. In no time at all, most of the Jokerz were down save for their leader.
The sight of his defeated, hurting friends wiped away his smile and any bravado he had earlier. He held his hands up in a placating gesture as he nervously backed way.
“Not funny, man.” He said before deciding to just turn tail and run like hell.
Most people would’ve let him leave to lick his wounds, content that the trouble was over.
Unfortunately, Dana underestimated Zander’s ability to hold a grudge as he didn’t hesitate to chase after the cowardly J-Man.
“Wait!” Dana cried, worried he’ll do something he’ll regret but another Jokerz kept her occupied.
Empathizing with her unspoken worry, Terry immediately gave chase to Zander instead. They caught up in time to see Zander punching the living shit out of J-Man who was pinned under his knee.
“Stop it! You trying to kill him?!” they snapped, firmly grabbing his arm.
Zander glared at them and if he thinks that’ll get Terry to enable him, he’s dead wrong.
However, blaster fire penetrated the air. Looking over, Terry saw a pair of men; one armed and with the muscled build of a bodyguard, the other bald, stocky and walking purposefully towards Zander.
“I was handling it.” Zander said.
“That’s not the point. You left the dojo without an escort, how could you have taken such a risk?” he scolded.
Oh crap, was this guy his dad?
“It was my idea.” Dana defended.
“You will come with us immediately, do you understand?” Stocky Bald said, completely ignoring Dana.
“Wait! It wasn’t his fault.” she protested as they left.
“This doesn’t concern you.” Stocky Bald scowled.
Terry flipped him the bird the moment his back was turned while Dana’s shoulders slumped.
All she wanted was a pizza, damn it.
Surveying the dojo after her warm-up, Dana noticed Zander’s absence. Uneasy, she went to Kairi to confirm her suspicion.
“Where’s Zander?” she asked the elderly woman.
“He won’t be coming to class anymore.” She replied.
“Why?” she asked, although she already had an inkling to the reason.
“His guardians found my supervision was somewhat negligent.” Kairi replied with a knowing look.
Dana winced, lowering her head in remorse.
“I’m sorry.” She apologized.
Kairi placed a wrinkled hand over her shoulder, not angry in the slightest
“Don’t sweat it. There wasn’t much more I could’ve done for him anyway. His path was already chosen for him.” Kaira explained.
The lack of blame in her tone did nothing to ease the knot in Dana’s stomach.
Terry was crashing over at Max’s place for a much needed study date to help them cram for tomorrow’s bio quiz when Dana told them the news.
“Maybe it’s for the best. I mean, I kinda got a sus vibe from that guy.” Terry said.
“Don’t rich people in general do that?” Max pointed out.
“Eat the rich.” Terry grinned.
“Still, I feel bad about it. It’s my fault. Not just for getting him caught but having to be humiliated by the Jokerz like that.” Batwoman said.
“But he got back at them, didn’t he? Ought to give him some catharsis.” Terry mused. “Don’t let it keep you up at night.”
“McGinnis, get off the line and focus on your problems.” Bruce ordered.
“It’s my night-off, old man. I have a schway boss, remember?” Terry passively jabbed.
“Well, some of us still have work to do.” Bruce grunted before cutting them off.
Batwoman winced. “Ouch.”
Max smirked when she caught Terry glaring at the phone like it personally insulted them.
“Looks like someone forgot to take his afternoon nap.” She joked.
“Guy’s practically a fossil. 'Bout as crusty as one too.” Terry grunted, shoving their phone into their pocket.
The doorbell rang, surprising them. Then it rang again and again, which was either an indication of impatience or urgency.
“You expecting someone?” Terry asked.
Max shook her head and walked over to check through the peephole.
“Is Terry here?” a voice asked through the door, one that Terry recognized.
“Zander?” taking Max's place, they confirmed that it was in fact, Zander.
“You know this guy?” Max whispered.
“Yeah, stay inside.” Terry said, going out to meet him.
“Zander? What are you doing here?” they asked.
“You weren’t at your home.” Zander said.
His matter-of-fact response instantly raised red flags. Because how the hell did Zander know where they lived? And how did he know where Max, who's a complete stranger to him, lived to be able to track them down like this?
“That eager for a rematch?” they asked nonchalantly as they mentally plotted possible escape routes.
“Come with me, now.” Zander demanded.
Yeah, Terry did not like where this was going.
“Look man, now’s not a good time. I gotta study for a major bio final tomorrow and-”
“I said, now.” Zander repeated.
Terry opened their mouth to decline but thankfully, Max intervened.
“Hey Ter, your mom’s calling! Says she needs to talk to you.” She called.
That was a lie. If she wanted to, she would’ve directly called their cell. This was an out and Terry was grateful to accept it.
“Coming! Sorry Zandy, gotta split. Maybe next time, okay?” they said, booking it before Zander could reply.
Closing the door behind them, they exhaled deeply.
“You okay?” Max asked, concerned.
“Fine. Guy just doesn’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer.” Terry said wryly.
Both of them grimaced exaggeratedly in good humor.
The door getting kicked off its hinges was understandably not humorous.
“I won’t be ignored.” Zander said lowly.
“You weren’t kidding.” Max gulped, backing away from the dangerous man.
Terry shoved her behind him and grabbed the closest mug. Hurling it towards Zander, he knocked it aside but wasn’t prepared for Terry to tackle him down.
“RUN!” they yelled.
Luckily, she managed to get out just as Zander bucked his hip and reversed their positions.
“Cease this pointless struggle at once.” Zander hissed.
“No means no, creep!” Terry snarled, kicking him off.
Standing up, they unbuckled the belt Selina insisted they wore every time they went out, intent on utilizing it as a whip.
Zander smirked and four more men came into the room, surrounding Terry.
Crap.
“Dana, DANA!” Max’s voice came through, much to Bruce’s annoyance.
“Max, I thought I told you to stay off this-”
“Terry’s in danger! Get over here, now!” Max said.
“Wha-hey! Get away from me-!” there was a scream before the line was abruptly cut.
“Dana, get over to Max’s and hurry!” he relayed to her.
She was already going at full throttle before he finished his sentence.
Heart beating rapidly in her throat, Dana gritted her teeth. Every second that ticked by was another second two of her loved ones spent in danger. However, when Max’s apartment came into view, she turned that fear to focus.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw a pink-haired figure struggling against irritatingly familiar figures in one of the parking lots.
Jumping out of the Batmobile, a solid kick to the head took one down. A batarang freed Max from the other’s grasp and gave Batwoman an opening to punch his lights out.
“You alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Go help Terry!” Max said.
Nodding, she sprinted towards Max’s apartment. Her heart dropped when she saw the vacancy and obvious signs of a struggle.
Then a bright light shone through the window and she heard an engine rev right outside.
“TERRY!” she deployed her wings to pursue the car.
Taking out the car’s weaponry was easy.
Taking care of the car’s passengers was another story.
She leaned back, narrowly avoiding the electrified end of the nunchaku. Dodging a few more dangerous swings, she finally caught the weapon. Adrenaline roaring in her ears, it was easy to ignore the pain so she could yank the weapon out of his hands, disarming him.
Unfortunately, the loss of his weapon did nothing to faze him. Dana grunted as the bodyguard tackled her right off the car’s roof, sending both of them in free fall.
She spread her wings but before she could activate her thrusters, the bodyguard ripped the appendages off as though they were paper.
Releasing her shoulders, he managed to grab a nearby bar to halt his descent while she continued to plummet at the mercy of gravity.
Thinking fast, she activated her thrusters, causing her to move sideways instead of blindly falling downwards. However, without her wings, she spiraled out of control.
She blindly covered her face as glass shattered and when she took them away, her breath was knocked out of her as she collided chest-first onto concrete, making her ribs scream.
She bounced once, then her shoulder was set on fire as it hit the ground and dragged along it until her back collided against a stack of boxes.
There was a weight in her chest- oh wait, no that was pain, probably lots of pain, fuck but the cotton in her head and the black spots dancing across her HUD made it hard to focus on that.
Her arm slumped down and the spots smothered her vision entirely, leaving nothing but darkness.