The Final Frontier

All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics, not DC Luder.

^V^

"Second star to the right, and straight on till morning."

Peter Pan by James M. Barrie

^V^

Growing up, I had access to a vast collection of movies, recordings and enough books to last me ten lifetimes and at he very least my adolescence. As expected, I enjoyed reading casually when I had the chance, I much preferred watching movies in the informal den of Wayne Manor. A giant bowl of popcorn, all the glass bottled root beer I wanted and the comfiest leather couches in the world. Although most of the viewings were for myself or with Alfred, occasionally I was able to snag Bruce to join me.

The best way to secure his participation was to pick a movie that was older than myself as opposed to recent releases. Unlike most kids my age, I actually had enjoyed being exposed to classic films of all varieties, ranging from Sunset Boulevard to Seven Samurai, Vertigo to North by Northwest and even the Monty Python greats, my personal favorite being Life of Brian. Even though I had kept an open mind and enjoyed most of the older films, the only ones that had truly captivated me had been the Star Trek films.

Soaring on the USS Enterprise, setting lasers to stun and teleporting to and from the ship in the blink of an eye… to an adolescent boy, it had been the first glimpse into the distant future as opposed to the past. The Red Shirts always perished on missions, the aliens spoke eloquent English and Bones was a doctor and nothing more. Looking back, Alfred had always pointed out the hidden benefits of watching the series of films, namely how it promoted team work, diversity and the never ending quest for peace in the galaxy.

Bruce had a hard time finding a viable argument to that.

I had never been a Trekkie by any means and I had never watched the later films or the reboots of the televised series. Even still, I was able to whip out a Vulcan salute, get the geeky references and understand the name Kahn is best screamed out loud. Growing older, I had always been happy to watch a stray airing of any of the movies on Spike TV or even ponder buying discounted DVD copies. The enjoyment I once felt as a child watching Kirk and Spock save the day whilst gallivanting the universe never faded, was forgotten.

That was until I had my first taste of the final frontier.

Teleporting belonged on the television screen, not twenty yards from where I changed from civilian clothes into a Kevlar lined suit. Molecules being disassembled and reformed in a matter of seconds was meant for the Star Fleet crew, not an orphaned boy and his mentor. Nevertheless, it had no longer been just science fiction. It had become a reality. My reality.

It had taken over a week for the installation of the teleportation pod to be completed in the Cave. J'onn J'onnz had been by religiously to aide Bruce in the heavy lifting and fine tuning while I did my best to watch on from the sidelines. For my brief years with Bruce, I had never seen him willingly accept help from members of the Justice League, not even from Superman. And yet before my teenaged eyes, I had witnessed my mentor working in synch with a giant, green Martian.

That week had been just shy of my first dramatic act of rebellion as a teenager and sidekick. In fact, it had been one of the last good memories I had before I finally left Bruce and Alfred and Wayne Manor behind. Instead of quarreling with my mentor, I had been in awe of him, installing computer chips the size of a large pizza, meticulously plugging in wires and winning battles with the computer panel that thought it was smarter than him. It had been a visual reminder that Batman was more than just being a master of martial arts and man hunting.