Batman Beyond: The New Dynamic Duo

Zeta

One subject both Eliana and Terry found interesting was biology. There were so many unknowns and explanations when it came to studying it. Biology was the very foundation they existed. Ms. Martel was their teacher for the class, and while usually her lectures were interesting, the last few weeks had been the opposite. Not because of the material itself, but because of Ms. Martel. Today's class was no different.

"They found that identical twins who were raised apart, never even met each other, still grew up with uncanny similarities. Now, the study proved what a powerful influence genetics has over us," Martel lectured.

Max raised her hand, "But what about free will? I mean, I'm not gonna believe that everything I am was completely decided before I was born."

"Can we choose to disobey our own drives? This troubling question endures as researchers continue to discover the extent to which human behavior is preordained by biological and environmental influences," Martel answered, and rather didn't answer.

Terry and Eliana glanced down at the article they were reading to support the lesson and found that Ms. Martel just stated word for word what was in the research article. Usually, Ms. Martel taught with examples, incorporating real-life scenarios and encouraging class discussion.

After class, Terry, Eliana, and Max discussed their suspicions. "I don't know. Has being Batman just given me suspicious nature?" Terry asked. "Yes, but there's still something weird with Ms. Martel," Max answered.

The three watched what appeared to be some maintenance workers who approached the short stubby teacher and were shocked when the workers aimed their guns at Ms Martel. Just what had the teacher done?

"Remind me never to piss off the phone company," Eliana mumbled, keeping her eyes trained on the strange sight.

Ms. Martel barged past a worker who approached her and sprinted towards the school's parking lot. The teacher took cover behind a car as the workers opened fire.

"We'll call you when we know what's going on," Terry told Max before he and Eliana rushed off to change into their alter egos.

Ms. Martel managed to steal a car and sped away with the workers on her tail. The case led through the streets of Gotham, as the two vehicles drove through red lights and busy intersections. Eventually, one of the workers succeeded in firing a shot at Martels tire, making her lose control and crash into a park.

Some bystanders who had witnessed the crash began to run over to Martel's car out of concern but were stopped when the maintenance workers aimed their guns at them.

Batman and Nightwing arrived, throwing some batarangs, which dislodged some of the workers' guns from their hands. "Where's your respect for teachers?" Batman quipped as the duo landed on top of the workers' vehicle.

A loud smash drew everyone's attention to Martel's car, and they saw the teacher's hand sticking out from the roof she had punched through. Nightwing's eyes widened, "What the hell," she whispered.

Ms. Martel tore off the rest of the roof and jumped out. With a fierce expression, she reached into her jacket pockets and pulled out a gun from each one, firing at the workers with no hesitation.

The man who first approached Ms Martel at the school and who appeared to be the man in charge of this operation popped his head out of his vehicle and looked up at Batman and Nightwing. "Special Agent Bennet. NSA. The synthoid is ours. Now, either help or get out of the way!"

With the workers, or rather agents, as now revealed, acting as the main offensive powers, Batman and Nightwing focussed on protecting the innocent civilians that could get injured in the crossfire.