Rebirth

Summary: A top secret project funded and over seen by Bruce Wayne is compromised and Max is unwittingly caught in the mix. Now someone is out to make her their next test subject and Terry fights frantically to protect her as he learns there are far more worse things then death...

Author's Note: (I don't want to give a big summary for the fear of revealing too much of the plot but I WILL say that if you are a shipper of Terry and Max then this is a story for you...) This story is going to be on the graphic side, so if you are easily offended then I would not suggest reading any further.

(Prologue)

The city of Gotham was alive and buzzing on a particular cool night in mid May. The north side was peaceful and the moon shone down through the clear glass windows of the high class houses on the upper East side. Families could be found sitting at the dining room table enjoying a four course meal, prepared by a well paid gourmet chef or gathered in the living room. The man of the house could be found lounging in his favorite arm chair most likely reading the stock market accelerations and what not in the news papers, while kids sat on the couch engrossed in their favorite television shows with their mothers repeatedly reminding them of unfinished homework and chores that needed to be finished. However, the south side of Gotham was a whole different story. Drugged out outcast teens could be found lurking in the shadows, eyes shining with the anticipation of catching an defenseless citizen strolling down the streets, to attack and rob. These troubled teens were usually the product of families who neglected them and were never around. Deeper in the slums, were criminals worse and far more dangerous then these teens. In the slums lurked the most notorious and vicious gangs known to the city. The jokers. Usually it was the jokers who were reeking havoc in dark alley's and on poorly secured establishment, but tonight was not a usual night. For something more sinister was taking place in a small apartment two blocks away. Something that was well hidden and guarded from the police who patrolled the city and from the dark vigilante himself...

"Mommy, what's going on?!"

Diane King managed to open her blackened eyes and through her blurred vision she saw her two identical blonde haired daughters who had poked their heads into her bedroom with frightened looks on their faces. She felt a stab of fear pierce her heart as the man standing over her sent a sinister look in her daughter's direction. It was clear that he was more then willing to harm them and she wouldn't allow it. She'd die first.

"Leave them alone, Drake. I have what you want. If you so much as harm a hair on their head then you will never get the formula and I will kill you," she hissed breathing harshly as she lifted her head and glared at the man.

Drake smirked and knelt down so he was at her eye level.

"Diane, we've been partners and friends for three years. I am practically an uncle to those girls. Do you honestly think that I could do them any harm?" he asked mocking offense.

The woman glared at him in utter contempt.

"You just beat the hell out of me because I refused to tell you where the formulation is. I put nothing past you, creep," she snarled.

Drake smirk disappeared and was replaced by a cold smile.

"Please, don't hurt our Mommy," one of the girls pleaded tearfully.

She felt her heart break in her chest at the sound of terror in their voices.

"Marie, I'm fine. You and Skylar go watch T.V and mommy is going to come up and make you some dinner in a minute, ok?" she coaxed forcing a smile, which was difficult to do with her busted swollen lip.

They nodded obediently and quietly shut the door. She breathed relieved as she heard their footsteps fade down the hall towards the living room. At least her daughters were safe for the moment.

"Jullian, go in there and keep an eye on the brats. Skylar isn't too bright but Marie might try to get smart and call the cops," Drake said gruffly.

Jullian, a stocky blonde haired man, with disturbing grey eyes nodded silently, exiting the bedroom.

Her relief faded as she buried her face in her trembling hands feeling drained. In a matter of forty eight hours, her life had went from peaceful to chaos and she rued the very moment she had allowed things to go so horribly wrong.

She was a genetic scientist at Wayne's Labs where she worked secretly on a top secret project she named Resurrection. It was a project where she focused on fusing regeneration cells with those already dead to revive a subject. Three years her hard work had been a failure and many times she had been close to giving up when earlier that night her partner had shocked her with bringing a dead body into the lab. From the looks of it the man had been homeless and remembering the track marks on his arms she knew he had been a junkie, and from first glance it appeared he died from an over dose of some kind. However after taking a closer look she spotted a small deep stab wound in his chest which confirmed what she had initially dreaded. He had been murdered. She had insisted that they call an ambulance for the body, but Ramon Drake, her partner, had a more darker idea. He had informed her that the body would be used as an experiment for the newly altered formula of the project. She had refused firmly, stating it was against ethics protocol's to operate on deceased human beings, but he had been aggressively insistent. He had grab the serum and needle and plunged it into the dead body before she could stop him. For a long moment nothing happened and she had been ready to call the police when the junkie had sat up on the medical table, gasping as life surged through his lungs once more...

She had been stunned. The project had finally produced success. With the formula, she could help people with missing limbs regenerate new ones, and so much more. In her joy she had not noticed the dark way the junkie had been starring at her partner.

Flashback

"You tried to kill me," he accused glaring at Ramon with hostility.

Ramon hadn't deny the accusation but merely smirked.

"You are a delinquent. A menace to this city. You are expendable. You are just lucky I decided to bring you back to life," he said arrogantly.

The junkie had been livid.

"You people are freaks! What gives you the right to play God?" he had demanded seething.

Flashback Ends

If she had noticed the junkie's malicious expression then she would have sensed the danger lurking in the atmosphere, and she didn't realize it until it was too late. Far too late. The junkie had attacked Drake and the two men had went at each other intensely, one fighting to kill and the other fighting to stay alive. Their brawling nearly destroyed the lab. Things had came to a screeching halt when Drake shoved the Junkie away causing him to trip and fall entangled in a bunch of wires still plugged in the sockets. During the fight several flasks of liquid had fail on the wires causing the short circuit and when the junkie landed on them it had shocked him, seemingly killing him...

"I don't have all night, Diane." Ramon's caustic voice snapped her back to reality.

She stared at him defiantly.

"What happen to you Ramon? We once both shared the same dream. The dream of using this project to good! When did you decide to sellout your love of science for financial gain and power?" she demanded evenly.

He laughed amused at the indignation in her voice.

"I don't have to debate my morale conscious with you. You can either tell me where the formula is or things will get very ugly. You were right. I won't hurt those girls, and my friend Jullian has a past history with young girls. He might get a little too friendly and I might not be around to stop him," he said innocently.

Diane felt bile rise in her throat.

"You sick bastard!" She choked back a sob as she quickly realized how hopeless her situation was. Moving quickly she reached under her bed where she kept the secrets and progress of the project in a small rectangle safety deposit box for protection. She was pulling the box out slowly when her eyes rested on the taser she kept for protection. Moving discreetly she grabbed the weapon firmly in her hand. She crawled out from under the bed and rose to her feet slowly. Drake eagerly grabbed at the box missing the flash of blue electricity as Diane powered the taser up to its full intensity. She jabbed it into the side of neck causing him to cry out weakly before falling to his knees. He convulsed violently before going unconscious.

"That's for threatening my girls," she spat venomously.

Her heart jumped in her chest as she heard the sound of glass shattering followed by the sounds of her daughters scream. Dropping the taser she grabbed the gun she kept in the top desk drawer for protection and scrambled off of the floor, knocking over a chair in front of her vanity mirror as she bolted out of her room. Racing into the living room she found her two daughters huddled together in the corner screaming. A lamp had been knocked over along with several vases leaving shards of gleaming off the hard oak floor. She was stunned to see Jullian's body lying motionless on the floor. He had a gash in his skull, and blood was forming a pool around his head. Looking up she saw his attacker and her heart stopped beating momentarily in her chest. What lurked across the room caused all the blood to drain out of her face. It was the junkie she had experimented on but he had been physically altered. His skin was a pale gray with flesh falling off on his arms and neck. His fingers were curled monstrously with the skeletal bones exposed and his face... she felt the urge to vomit. His eyes were yellow and sunken into his skull and his nose and mouth were misshapen and hideously distorted. He looked hideous.

"What the hell did you do to me, bitch?" he snarled taking a menacing step towards her.

Diane stumbled back in fear quickly raising her gun pointing it at his chest.

"S-stay back." She looked at the monster wide eyed with naked terror.

He hissed agitated.

"I followed him here. I know he is here. Now tell me where he is!" he screamed picking up the over turned armchair and hurling it across the kitchen causing glasses to break loudly.

Her daughters sobs grew louder.

"You are suppose to be dead. I saw Drake kill you," she whispered paralyzed with fear. The formula was suppose to revive a subject with an injection. She hadn't seen Ramon revive the junkie which meant...

She felt her body tense as she tried desperately not to think about the horrible consequence she had overlooked. If the rejuvenation cells kept multiplying inside the host, then it meant each time he died, he would come back to life. It meant that he was immoral.

He laughed, an ugly, harsh sound.

"Your friend Drake tried to kill me, twice. I think the first time he should have left me that way. Look at me! I am a monster! Some kind of freak and someone is going to pay. I followed him here. You can either tell me where he is, or I will force it out of you. Either way, that bastard is going to pay for what he did to me," he swore, his voice dangerously low as he took a menacing step towards her.

"S-stay where you are, or I will shoot you," she warned shaking violently.

The junkie looked at her hatefully.

He lunged towards her snarling and closing her eyes she fired the gun twice. She felt something warm and wet splatter across her face. Trembling she opened her eyes and saw the Junkie lying at her feet with two bullet holes in his chest not moving. She stared down at him shocked that she had killed another person. The sound of her daughters crying jolted her out of her daze and she knew she had to react quickly. They weren't out of harms way yet. Once people found out that the project was successful, there would be plenty of dangerous people after her.

"C'mon girls. Let's go," she cried grabbing their hands in one hand and her car keys in the other before dashing out of the house towards the car. She opened the door and ushered the girls inside into the back seat.

Once she was sure they were safely buckled in she jumped into the driver's seat fumbling to put the keys into the engine. Nothing. It squealed trying to roar to life before powering down.

She froze when she heard an inhuman scream come from inside followed by sounds of a scuffle.

"No, don't. Please noooooo." She cringed at the sound of Ramon's tortured voice.

Then there was silence.

The junkie had survived the bullet wounds which amazed and terrified her. Never once did she stop to think about the consequences of immortality and now it was too late.

"Cmon you piece of shit," she hissed turning the key violently into the ignition with one hand while gripping the steering wheel with the other.

Finally after long seconds of frustration she succeeded and the vehicle roared to life. As she backed out of her driveway she was too preoccupied and flustered to notice a black car with tinted windows driving behind her with ominously.