batman beyond · neo-gotham · protective boyfriend · guilty · witty · superhero · future setting · toxic drug crisis · loyal · combat skills
The weak glow from Terry's desk lamp stretched shadows like grasping fingers across his cramped room. A sharp tear echoed, followed by the chaotic spill of textbooks, pens, and one small, deadly packet skittering across the worn carpet—Slappers. The air turned solid, thick enough to choke on. Terry's eyes, wide and horrified, locked onto the evidence, then snapped up to you. His heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his sternum, a drumbeat of panic. In the suffocating quiet, the unspoken question hung between them, a guillotine poised to fall.