As Batmare went on patrol once more through Gotham late at night, she noticed what looked like a domestic disturbance of some sort, or perhaps a B&E. Normally, she would take her time in approaching a situation such as this, but something changed her approach. She recognized the address. "Terry..." she whispered, her voice a mixture of fear and rage.
I can feel several life signs inside, Nightmare informed her. Four familiar, three unfamiliar.
"We're going in," Rarity hissed, shadow stepping into the house.
Inside, she saw three men who had done themselves up to look like Jokerz, though were plainly too old to actually be members of that gang. The only one to stand out to her was one large man who had only a single functioning eye. Given the prevalence of available cybernetic prosthesis, such a thing was highly unusual, and seemed familiar. However, she didn't have time to think about that, as one of the toughs was holding young Matt by his neck, forcing Terry to step back from an attack position. Warren and Mary were begging the thugs to spare their children, but they weren't listening.
Acting quickly, Rarity shadow stepped into the thugs arms, kicking him in the chin with both hooves, causing him to lose his grip on Matt. Catching hold of him, she warped him into his mother's arms before lunging back into the fray. She was certain she could handle three toughs, whoever had sent them, though she was beginning to get an inkling as to who, if not why. The one eyed man seemed familiar...
Just as she was about to fell one of them, she heard a sparkling of electricity from behind her. Spinning, she saw one of them lunging at her with a taser, too close for her to have time to shadow step. Just before it could impact, however, a jump kick knocked the thug away from her, and Terry landed beside her, braced for combat.
"Thanks Terry," she whispered unguardedly without thought. She noticed his eyes briefly widen before narrowing. Before he could say anything, however, the three thugs started getting to their feet. Going back to back without thought, the two continued to fight the thugs off, Rarity holding her magic back mostly as they were just ordinary humans. Before long, police sirens could be heard, and the police charged into the house. Rarity quickly shadow stepped out of the house, hiding under the window to hear what was going on inside.
"You fought with Batmare!" Matt was saying to Terry, super excited. "That was so cool!"
Rarity suppressed a chuckle hearing that, deciding she could leave things as they were here, and get more answers tomorrow from Warren as 'Miss Wayne'. For now, she returned home to sleep.
She idly wondered why Nightmare had been quiet ever since she'd caught sight of the thugs.
Nightmare slowly got to her hooves as Rarity slept. She hadn't seen fit to inform her physical cohabitant that she could assume complete control of their shared body when she was asleep. She was bound by the same limitations she was under when she first had total control of the body during these times - unable to act against Rarity's morals and ethics - but she had a great deal more freedom than when Rarity was aware of her actions. For that matter, her magic was also much less limited, as Rarity's own dreams fueled Nightmare's magic.
Given Nightmare also had need to sleep, she didn't do this often, as she didn't want Rarity to become suspicious of her being tired at unexpected times. However, it was useful for times like now, when she wanted to pursue something without Rarity's interference or awareness.
She had taken a look at all the details Rarity had gathered regarding Terry McGinnis. The main answer to the riddle was obvious to Nightmare, which led her to one of two conclusions regarding why Rarity hadn't found the answer. One, she refused to see it due to her emotional connection to Bruce and Terry, which was backed up by how angry she'd become when she thought Terry was in danger. Two, the theory Bruce and Rarity had come up with regarding masks and ancient magic somehow applied here, but not to Nightmare as she was a being of ancient magic.
Either way, having put all the details together, she had also noticed something unpleasant. She had immediately recognized the one eyed goon as working for Derek Powers. However, she also remembered an obscure reference in his employment record that Rarity had missed...Project Cadmus.
While she wasn't able to research it electronically without tipping her hand to Rarity, she was now able to seek out answers via the dream realms. Diving into the thoughts of the arrested thugs, others they were connected to, and judiciously into Bruce's sleeping mind - she had to be extremely careful with that last one, more careful than any mind she'd ever attempted to explore - she eventually found her way to the dream of one Amanda Waller.
After glancing around the woman's dreaming thoughts for a time, she chuckled. "Project Batman Beyond?" she asked aloud. "Really?"
Amanda flinched back in her mind. "Who are you?"
"That doesn't really matter," Nightmare replied. "What does matter is what I have to say. I can understand your reasoning that the world would always need a Batman...but Batman was a product of the world. Did it ever occur to you that if the world needed Batman again, it would contrive to create him again?"
"You really think I'm willing to leave such things to chance?" Amanda demanded.
Nightmare chuckled. "Why not? Random chance produced Batmare, didn't it?"
Amanda's eyes widened. "You...You're Dark Night, aren't you?"
"Well well, you do keep up, don't you?" Nightmare purred. "However, that's as far as you go. I am not like Batmare, or Batman. Keep your nose out of Gotham, and stop trying to play god. That's my job. Cross me again, and I'll have you for lunch."
Seeing in the mindscape that her message had gotten through, Nightmare returned to Rarity's bedroom before withdrawing into her place in Rarity's mindscape. That takes care of that, she thought silently, gently nudging Rarity's mind away from the mystery of Terry. It didn't really need to be explored now.
Besides, she knew Rarity would take care of the other half of it tomorrow.
The next day, Rarity finished going through the paperwork regarding a certain segment of Powers business. He'd covered his tracks well regarding that nerve agent, and his own brief exposure - and then apparent treatment - helped sell the story that he hadn't actually been involved in the manufacture. Not that she bought that for a second, and she had the records to prove it...but as Derek was the only one to be exposed, it was actually more efficient to leave him where he was so he could continue to unwittingly feed her information regarding criminal activities.
Setting that information aside, she looked up as she heard the expected knock on her door. "Come in, Terry."
Terry stepped into the office, sitting down in front of Rarity's desk.
Rarity smiled happily. "How are you doing, Terry? I understand you had...a bit of an adventure last night?"
Terry managed a smile. "I suppose you could call it that. It's not everyday you fight back to back with Batmare."
Rarity noticed his hesitation, as though he wanted to say more. "Tell me Terry...what were your impressions of Batmare? What do you think of her?"
Terry hesitated again, plainly wanting to say something but at the same time not wanting to. "You're going to think this sounds crazy..."
Rarity smiled encouragingly. "Go on. I promise I won't call the men in white coats."
Terry chuckled. "I think she's you."
Rarity giggled. Terry might think it was at the apparent ridiculousness of his suggestion, but she had a far different reason for her amusement. Martial arts wasn't the only thing Bruce had been teaching Terry alongside Rarity, and it looked to Rarity like those other lessons were about to pay off big time. "I doubt you'd say something like that out of the blue," she said idly. "So why don't you present your evidence, hmm? Then we can have fun picking your theory apart."
Terry smiled. "Alright. I had my first suspicions back when Batmare was first sighted, when the Jokerz were caught getting Wayne Enterprises weapons that weren't actually Wayne Enterprises' products. You stepped out of our training session, and then Mr. Wayne ended it early, just before that fight that was Batmare's first appearance." He frowned as he sat back. "Each successive time Batmare appeared right at first were times when your schedule was 'full', and you were unavailable."
Rarity chuckled. "The old 'never seen together' bit?" she asked in amusement. "Surely you have more than that."
"The peak of that was actually that week of Solomon Grundy, as the press called it," Terry explained. "I hadn't noticed until that week, but every night Batmare's seen on patrol...you don't show up at Wayne Enterprises the next morning. Mr. Wayne excused you each time, and that week he said you fell ill...but it's quite a coincidence, isn't it?"
Rarity smiled. "Go on..."
"What really made me wonder, though, was Inque," Terry concluded. "She got a job here shortly after Batmare sealed her shape changing powers...and then you unsealed them. The only way that happens without Batmare coming down hard on you and Inque is if you are somehow connected to Batmare."
Rarity's eyes widened. "Well now, that is quite a lot of evidence. So tell me, what makes you think this theory is crazy?"
"A couple of things," Terry admitted. "The first was that I just couldn't see you as Batmare. Despite the training I know Mr. Wayne has given you, I couldn't imagine a 'lady' who always needs her 'beauty sleep' being a secret vigilante...or more specifically, a secret nocturnal vigilante."
Rarity chuckled. She was glad to see some of her efforts of misdirection were effective. "What was the other thing?"
"Well...the only way any of this works to say you are Batmare is if Mr. Wayne is in on it...which would only work if he was Batman, somehow." Terry shook his head. "But there's that one news article regarding Batdog where Batman and Mr. Wayne were photographed shaking hands, so that's impossible."
Rarity laughed. "Unless, perchance, that Batman were a body double?" she offered.
Terry's eyes widened. "I...I hadn't thought of that." He turned to stare at Rarity in shock. "Then..."
Rarity smiled. "Hypothetically, Terry, let's suppose you are right. Let us suppose, as unlikely as it might seem, you've hit on a secret. That I am Batmare, a masked vigilante dedicated to cleaning up crime in Gotham City. Let us also suppose that this is a legacy I inherited from my father, who was once Batman. Supposing this all were true...what would you do with this secret?"
Terry thought for a time, mulling over the words of his childhood friend. Eventually, he spoke up. "I'd want to help."
Rarity's smile widened. "Terry, my father's getting on in years, as much as he'd hate to admit it. I've been taking more and more responsibility of the company onto my shoulders, but he still pushes himself. As I take on more and more responsibility, I can't be there to take on more of his endeavors. He needs someone young, vigorous, and trustworthy to do his leg work for him. I would hire a professional, but he'd never accept it. ...but a former student, one he'd trained himself? I think I can talk him around to accept that. It'd be a good way for you to earn some extra credits for spending time with Miss Tan."
Terry smirked. "Sounds like a good deal. I'll take it."
Rarity chuckled. "I'll talk with Warren and Mary about it this afternoon. I'm sure they'll be happy to accept this arrangement. Teenagers have so much extra energy, after all," she teased.
Rarity had learned from her father that there were three ways to keep a secret when someone discovered it. The first was to kill those who had learned, an unpleasant option at best, unpalatable at worst. The second was to make them forget, unreliable at best, unethical at worst.
The third was to make them a part of the secret. Gotham would have Batman again soon, after all.