And It Came To This

by Imagination

Terry finally closes a very painful chapter of his life ( continuation of This Is It)

Disclaimer: All these characters belong to DC comics. Don't sue me.

And It Came to This
by Imagination
The October air blew against Terry's cheek. He pulled up the collar of his jacket and continued walking. The campus of Gotham University was bustling with life; everyone had his own destination. Terry walked faster. Looking at his watch, he saw that he only had a few hours before his night job began.
In his dorm, Terry took off his jacket and grabbed a soda. "This room is a wreck." Terry stooped down and picked up an empty soda can and bag of chips. He picked up the wife beater and boxers he wore to sleep last night. He vacuumed the crumbs off his keyboard. The ring of his phone interrupted his cleaning spree.
"Hello, yeah what's up?" Terry heard the familiar voice of his long time friend and girl Max. He continued to pick the mess off the floor. "I don't know, it depends on how he feels tonight. No, he's not feeling any better. I just don't know." Terry's frustration was evident in his voice. He spent many sleepless night sitting with Bruce, making sure he had everything he needed. He often wondered if he should admit him to a hospital.
***
"Hey, Bruce, I'm here. Where are you?" Terry shouted as he opened the door. Terry walked through the house, peaking into each room and found that he wasn't there. He opened the clock leading to the Batcave and walked down the steps. He saw Bruce slumped over the computer typing rapidly.
"Come on, you're sick." Terry said concerned. "Give it a rest, you need your strength." Terry grabbed at Bruce's arm.
"No, I've almost made the connection. My plan of action for the-"
"Your plan of action? Why can't you just give up! I've been Batman for almost two years and you still can't trust me to do the job right or by myself!" Terry yelled surprised at himself.
"I trust you, Terry. It's just that-" Bruce stopped mid-sentence and looked at Terry. He remembered when Terry came to him, a teen whose life had been torn by the death of his father. Now he saw a grown man, one who had controlled his emotions and used them to help society.
Bruce reluctantly got out of the chair and made his way upstairs. Along the way he grabbed his chest and began coughing.
"You really need to see a doctor." Terry said concerned.
"I'm fine." Bruce insisted. But Terry knew that Bruce was not okay. The doctors told Bruce that he needed to slow down, that his heart could not take much strain. That was the main reason he retired from being Batman and CEO of his company. It was a decision he regretted, one he believed caused a lot of people, especially Terry, much pain.
Bruce put on his pajamas and climbed into bed. Terry brought him his heart medication and a glass of water. Bruce quickly downed the pills and lay back with a deep sigh.
"I checked the computer. No break-ins or breakouts were detected and Interpol hasn't put out any bulletins." Terry rearranged Bruce's nightstand. "I have some studying I need to do, so I'll keep the computer on page and suit up when needed." Terry turned around to see Bruce half asleep. He dimmed the lights and shut the door on his way out.
***
Terry swiped his key card and opened the door to his dorm room. He was not surprised to see Max at the table typing away at something. Terry walked over, gave her a kiss, and sat down.
"So how was he?" she asked still staring at the screen. Terry looked up with a blank expression. "Never mind, how about we grab something to eat? Then I'll quiz you for your Calculus test tomorrow." Terry remembered that he hadn't had anything to eat all day, and agreed with out hesitation.
Terry and Max strolled through the quad in silence. He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. He thought about how much everything had changed in the last year.
***
Shortly after Max had become Batgirl, her father was given a permanent position in Gotham. He never liked that Max lived by herself and, even with Max's pleading, forced her to move in with him. After a few months, Max realized that living with her dad was a positive. She was finally able to rid herself of the grudge she held against him. This, of course, didn't help out her relationship with Terry. There were no more late nights of patrol and research. She did, occasionally, suit up for a weekend of crime fighting. However, the time she and Terry shared together was all but gone. Living with her dad really changed Max. He had talked her into switching back to her natural hair color. Now she had ebony colored hair in the same cut, and had started wearing these black, thin-rimmed fashion glasses. She believed that they screamed "sleek, urban woman ready for what the world has to throw at her."
Terry had changed a lot also. His mother was overjoyed when his counselor called and told her that Terry would be able to graduate. However, he would have to take remedial courses at the university. Mary McGinnis didn't care, she was happy Terry finished school and was destined for college. This was not what Bruce had expected. He thought Terry would surely graduate, but he figured Terry could take a job with the company and climb the ladder to the top. But, Mary insisted that he go to college. She even bought him a stylish pair of reading glasses, which he did not need, in hopes that it would improve his college studies.
Terry's classmates did not go untouched by change. Max continued her internship with Wayne Powers and was working her way up the corporate ladder. She would attend Gotham University's technical school to further her computer knowledge. Dana won a scholarship with the United States Ambassadors and moved to Japan on foreign assignment. Jared went out of state to pursue his interests in pre-med. Nelson got drafted straight out of high school and was enjoying the fast life of a million dollar athlete. Near the very end of school, Chelsea pulled her last prank. Her father finally had enough and sent her to live with her mother. Word got out that Blade was three months pregnant, so she dropped out of school. It didn't matter much because her GPA was too low to graduate. Howard's social status did a 180 after his party-gone-wrong. He went out of state to pursue a degree in education. Jackie and her father moved away from Gotham to start over again.
The nucleus of Terry's life changed dramatically. A new school, a new home, a new freedom. The only constant from his high school days was Max. She had many opportunities to go away and experience new things, but she never left. It was not so much Terry, but he was a large part of it. She also valued her newly formed relationship with her father. Her sister was also pregnant with her first child, and Max was looking forward to being an aunt.
***
The quiet coffee shop was a favorite hangout of Gotham's college freshman. At every table a group of students were discussing the matters of the day. Terry and Max found a booth and placed their orders.
"So today I got promoted to the president's office. Basically, I'll observe the meetings and business deals and take hold of some of the smaller research projects." Terry vaguely listened as Max told him of her day at work. Sometimes Terry resented her job because she wasn't around as much. With Bruce's health waning dramatically, Max would be the only one left.
"Do you think he'll die?" Terry interrupted Max. Max stopped and looked at Terry. She had been to busy to notice how Bruce's state had affected him.
"Terry, I don't know. But Bruce - and Batman is a spirit that will never die. He will always be here." Max's words did little to comfort Terry. Bruce was Terry's surrogate father, his confidante, his mentor. He always wanted Bruce to let him handle things on his on, but always feared he wouldn't be able to.
***
The news ticker reported that there would be a chance of snow. Wayne Powers stock had risen eight percent. Before Terry could finish reading, they were past the ticker. Max was walking rather fast tonight. She usually liked to window shop on their evening strolls.
Back at the dorm, Max set the heat up a few degrees. Terry found plates and joined her on the couch. It was ten 'til nine and Terry checked his page. No reports.
"Those new recruits the commissioner got are making your nights less hectic." Max said, taking a bite out of her sandwich.
"Yeah, but they still haven't cracked down on Xzeron. The commissioner has done three investigations and nothing."
"You know what's going to happen. Good ol' Derek is paying them big money to make some concoction and is selling it to a foreign nation. Ho-hum."
"That's how it usually ends, but I don't know about this one."
"But you know what?" Max said as she moved closer to Terry. "You'll figure it out. You always do." Max said and kissed Terry softly. He wrapped his arms around her and slowly forgot about his worries.
As Max and Terry continued to kiss, a feathery snow began to fall on Gotham. Terry broke away and noticed the slight collection of snow on the window pane.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" he told Max as his finger caressed her cheek. They sat, with his arms around her, watching the snow continue to drift. Max felt warm in Terry's embrace. She lay her head on his shoulder and felt the soft fabric of his sweater against her face. Suddenly Terry picked Max up. He carried her into his room and lay her on the bed.
"It's been a while, huh?" Max said with a comforting smile. She slid back on the bed as Terry climbed on her. She put her arms around his neck as he started to kiss her. She ran her fingers through his jet black hair and sighed as he started to move down her neck.
"I love you soo much," Terry whispered in her ear. Max loved the delicate feel of his warm breath on her skin. Max was completely in love with Terry. She had never imagined herself in love with someone so deeply at the tender age of nineteen. Her father often asked her about her feelings for Terry. She never told him that she was in love because her father did not approve of Terry and felt she could do better. Max never bothered to argue; her relationship with her father was moving forward, and she didn't want this to be a speed bump.
Terry also was deeply in love with Max. He knew ever since graduation that she was the one he wanted to be with. So much so, that he wanted to propose to her and get married in the next two years. Bruce, however didn't like the idea. He didn't want Terry to marry at all. But after much consideration, he felt that maybe Max and Terry marrying would be for the best. It was a selfish consideration, for Max and Terry's interests never crossed his mind. He was focused on the effect it would have on Batman. With Max at the computer, Terry could continue to protect Gotham effectively. Also, Terry wouldn't be sidetracked by romantic interests that he had to deal with. So Bruce did give his consent, although he knew Terry was going to marry Max whether he consented or not. Bruce figured the sea would be much calmer if he sat back and let Terry live his life.
***
The shrill of his alarm clock woke Terry and Max out of their blissful sleep. Terry turned and slapped the off button.
"You need to go to class," Max said half asleep. Terry looked over at his computer and read The Gotham University news ticker screensaver.
"Classes have been canceled due to snow," Terry said as he snuggled close to Max again.
"I should call the office and see if I have the day off." Max slid off the bed, taking some of the cover with her and wrapping it around her body. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she looked for Terry's cordless phone. "You really need to clean this joint up." Max pealed a candy wrapper off her foot. Finally she found the phone and crawled back into bed. She dialed the number of Wayne-Powers, confident that she and Terry would have the day together.
"What, but there's like three feet of snow out there." The person on the other line spoke again and Max hung up the phone. "Well this is some crap. It is as cold and snowy as the North Pole, and I have to go to work." Max continued to complain as she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she came out, Terry was slipping on some jeans. "Where are you going?"
"To the library. I just remembered I have a paper due." Terry slid on a clean shirt.
"When?"
"Um...yesterday." Terry gave Max a sheepish grin.
***
"Okay, here's the agenda for today. First, we are going through a new organization program, so all these files need to be arranged according to this list and prepared to be re-entered into the database. Second, these money transfers from the president need to be signed and taken to accounting. Plus, the research funds charts have been lost and need to be found for the board meeting next week. As you can see, this is why we are here on a snow day." The secretary left Max's office. Max sighed as she looked at the mountain of work she had to complete before the day was done.
The task of extracting data files and giving them the beginning of code sequences was monotonous. By the time she had reached the K section, she could do the process with her eyes closed. After a lunch break Max continued her task. When she reached the M section, she found a file that was impossible for her to extract.
"Man, just as I was getting into a rhythm and now this." Max tried everything she knew to get the file, but was unsuccessful. Frustrated with the file, Max copied it on a disk and put it in her purse to work on at home. She continued through the alphabet and finally reached Z. Her fingers were crying for mercy when she finally sent the files to record keeping.
Max moved on to her second and simpler task. She took the credchecks to the president's office to be signed. Max looked through the credchecks as she took them down the hall to the Wayne Powers postal sector. The names on the credchecks were not any that she recognized and, coming from the president himself, the amounts on them were rather large.
"Richard Haygood. Thomas McAuthur. Craig Hymers. Doesn't sound like anybody for real." Max shrugged as she dropped them in the out box for priority mail.
Max returned to her office to complete her third and finally assignment. As she sat down to her desk she caught her reflection in her black computer screen. She was astonished at how much she had changed in so little time. She wasn't the aggressive, sometimes to the point of being rude, teen that she used to be. Maybe her father being home and her relationship with Terry, both stabling factors in her life, had helped form her into the beautiful, intelligent, and finally happy young woman that she was.
Difficulty sprang up again as she tried to find the finance chart. Wayne-Powers was a company that had billions a gigs of information and it was tedious searching through the millions of subsections. Max's superior computer skills, which were essentially what landed her this position, allowed her to find the chart quicker than most others. The file containing the chart had a rather unusual name- DXFTC. Max was too tired to care what the file was named, and quickly sent it to the vice president's desk. With that completed, Max got her things and bundled up to head back to her dorm.
***
With a swipe of her key card, Max unlocked the door of her room and collapsed on the bed. She looked over on her night stand and saw that her answering machine was blinking. Against her will she pulled her body up and pressed the play button.
"Max, this is Dad. Just callin' to tell you that we're having dinner this Sunday at my place. Your sister is going to cook up a feast so be ready to eat. Love ya, bye."
Beep.
"Max, this is dad again. I guess you can bring McGinnis if you want."
Beep.
"Max, my feet are so swollen right now and that husband of mine has to work late. Will you come help out your always hungry pregnant sister ?"
Beep.
"Hey baby. I'm at work right now. Doing the west side. Call me when you get in."
Beep.
"Hey Max, this is Dana. Just callin' to see how you were doing. Call me when you get time."
Beep. End of messages. Max laid back on the bed and started to drift asleep. Then suddenly it clicked what the messages said, and she groggily reached for the phone. She paged Terry first and then called her sister to see what she needed.
"So, Nina came over to help? Sorry I couldn't come. You know I would've. Yeah, real long hours. Terry? He's fine. Sunday, I'll be there and I'll see if he doesn't have to work. I'll come by tomorrow. Bye." As soon as Max placed the phone on the charger it rang again.
"Hello, yeah I'm home. Where are you?"
"Surveying this dump site just outside of Gotham. Word is illegal dumping is heavy here. Are you extremely tired?"
"Yes, actually, but do you need some backup?"
"No, I just wanted to know if you would go and check on Bruce. He's not getting any better." Max reluctantly said yes and told Terry she would see him later. She changed out of her gray suit and into a pair of red track pants with a black long-sleeved shirt. She grabbed her matching red pullover, a soda out the fridge, and headed to Wayne Manor.
***
"You're like daddy to Terry, but you're not to me. So I don't have a problem stuffing this food down your throat." Max threatened while trying to feed Bruce.
"I'm not hungry." he mumbled.
"Does it look like I care?" Max quipped as she pushed the spoon into Bruce's mouth. She had been at this for fifteen minutes and Max was getting really annoyed. Just then she heard the creak of the clock and knew that Terry was home. Max walked into the kitchen to greet Terry. He leaned down and kissed her.
"How was work?"
"Routine. I had to organize all of Wayne-Power's files and prep them for re-entry. That took awhile. Then I had to mail some credchecks. After that I found a missing finance chart. How about you?"
Terry picked up the remote and flicked on the tv.
"In other news, Batman again saved the day by catching the band of construction workers who have been illegally dumping outside of Gotham for months. Here's what the commissioner had to say..."
"Great job."
***
The sun gleamed bright through Terry's window. He pulled the covers over his head and turned away from the window so he could get more precious moments of sleep. Soon his alarm clock would go off and another day would begin.
Terry sleep was broken early, not by the alarm clock however, but by the ring of the telephone. Max's voice sounded quite alive for it to be so early in the morning.
"Turn on the news, quick." Terry scrambled for the remote and turned the channels.
"Just breaking news. Authorities have found the remains "Blight", also known as the renegade Derek Powers, off the coast of Gotham Harbor. Authorities, along with Power's son, Paxton, have been looking for him for the last past two and a half years. The cause of his death is not clearly evident, but doctors believe his high radiation levels corrupted his mind and caused him to commit suicide. Now we will go to Bill, with a live statement from Paxton:
"Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Please be assured that I am deeply saddened by my father's passing. It hurts most because he had so many people willing to help him. I hope that we can dwell on all the good things he has accomplished, not on his recent strayings. Wayne-Powers shall continue to be the economic center of Gotham, and with myself in top position we shall see much needed change. Thank-you."
"Paxton!" a reporter shouted. "When are the funeral services to be held?"
"Yes, of course. Funeral services have tentatively been set for this coming Monday at Gotham Cemetery. It will be a private service."
"Mr.Powers!" said another reporter. "How does it feel that your position is no longer threatened by the re-emergence of your father?"
"Well, let's remember that a man has just died. I don't feel any comfort or security at the passing of my father."
Terry turned off the tv and lay back on the bed. He didn't know if he should be happy, relieved, or avenged. He sat there and reminisced about the day his father was murdered, the day he accidentally made Derek "Blight". His reason for becoming Batman was gone and about to be buried. Hopefully his pain would be too.
***
"So you're actually going to go?" Terry asked while making minor repairs on his suit.
"I received a phone call to day requesting my attendance. By the way, you're coming too."
"Why do I have to go?" Terry exclaimed looking up from his work.
"Because you need to go. And if that is not enough, I pay you generously. You don't want to mess that up."
Terry rolled his eyes at the comment. "Like you are really going to lower my allowance. Well, if I go Max is coming too. Can't leave her out of the fun." Terry found himself happier than usual and was surprised at himself.
"That's not the right attitude. Don't get personal." Bruce said picking at his food.
"He's the one who made it personal." Terry mumbled.
***
Derek Powers funeral service was at the least elaborate. He was cremated and his ashes were put in an urn to be placed in Wayne-Powers lobby. His assistant was there, along with Paxton and other board members. Bruce, Terry and Max sat away from them. A short film was shown about the life and accomplishments of Derek Powers.
"Derek Powers single handedly solved one of Gotham's biggest energy crisis. He was known as a resourceful man."
"More like a bloody murderer." Terry said under his breath.
There was food afterwards and Bruce mingled with the other board members as Terry looked at the huge panting of Derek that Paxton had made. He remembered when Paxton had tricked Terry into luring Derek into a death trap that evidently didn't finish him off.
***
A week had passed by since the passing of Derek Powers. The Wayne Powers cooperation had taken on a different look. Derek's former assistant had replaced the existing president. Max found herself having to take orders form this woman who was terribly unqualified. She couldn't wait to return home and spend time with Terry or her sister whose due date was drawing near. On her free time, she worked hard to defeat the blocking system of the M file.
"Access denied." the computer generated voice said. Max was working on the file on her laptop, which didn't have all the components necessary to open the file, but it was enough. Max had tried all the textbook breaking codes and now was about to try a few of her own. Late into the night as she waited for Terry, she worked on the file. Finally she found a path into it.
"Please enter employee identification number." Max quickly entered her employee number. She was surprised that she really wanted to know what was in the file. The file, which was extremely small, so small that at first glance wasn't worth all the time she spent to open it. She read it anyway and saw that it was one of the most important things she would ever read. Her eyes widened as she scrolled down the screen. The "M" on the file stood for McGinnis. It was the documented evidence that Derek hired the Jokerz to kill Terry's father. It was a simple memo addressed to Mr. Fixx, reminding him to drop off the payment for "terminating McGinnis". Max had to read it twice because she wondered who in their right mind would save incriminating evidence like that. Even though it was locked under a difficult blocking system, it wasn't impossible to break. Derek was rich, but evidently not too bright. Max sat frozen, contemplating what she should do with the file. She, of course was going to tell Terry, but Derek was dead so there wasn't anything that could be done about it. She knew however that this file would not make it back to the office.
***
The next day, Max was cleaning her dorm and watching her spaghetti on the stove as she waited for Terry to come over. Whether or not she should tell Terry, or when she should tell Terry, was on Max's mind. Terry had been in rather high spirits all week and she didn't want to do anything to break his mood. The longer she waited, however the more it played on her mind. A knock at the door broke Max's thoughts.
"Maxine!" Terry picked Max up and spun her around. It was unusual for him to call her by her first name. "Guess what I got on my Calculus exam. Took too long! I aced it!"
"Congratulations, Terr." Max said uneasily. She didn't know how to break it to him. "I knew you were going to. Math has always been your thing." Max was searching for words to say without letting Terry know something was wrong.
"Something's wrong." Terry knew Max too well. He could always tell if something was bothering her. "Did something happen at work?'
"Not exactly." she said nervously.
"Then what is it? You know you can tell me." Terry quickly thought about what could be bothering Max. Her sister. Her father. She's pregnant. Terry stopped at that thought. "You're not pregnant are you?" he said a scared look on his face.
"No, where did that idea come from?" Max said oddly shocked.
"I don't know, you've been acting funny. But anyway what is it, I need to go see Bruce."
"I guess showing you would be better." Max set her laptop in front of Terry and opened the file. "Read this." As soon as the memo popped onto the screen Terry knew what is was. He didn't bother to read it. He put his head in his hands and sat there a moment. Max was quiet, she didn't know what to say. Terry ran his fingers through his hair and gave a deep sigh.
"Where did you find this?"
"I had to prompt all of Wayne-Power's data for re-entry. For the life of me, I couldn't get this one to open. Last night, I finally figured out how."
"I can't believe-"
"Look Terry, I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have shown it to you. I just thought that you might have wanted to see it."
"Max, I'm not mad. It's too bad we didn't find this before he died. Then the whole world could know how "resourceful" he was. But look, I got to go. I mean...man I need to think. I'll call you later."
Terry was out the door and down the hall in a flash. Max hopped up to run after him.
"Terr, where are you going?" She could not catch up with him. A horrible feeling came over her. Maybe she should have let that demon remain at rest.
***
It only took Max two phone calls to find out where Terry was. She quietly watched Terry walking Ace around the manor grounds. She turned from the window and went to check on Bruce, who was coughing violently. She handed him a glass of water and soon after, his coughing became a low wheeze. Often Max would tell her friend in med school about his conditions. She had gave her diagnosis and told her what could be done with out bringing Bruce into the hospital. Max followed her advice, but worried that his condition was worsening beyond the point of home care.
Max heard the creak of the main door open and the panting of the tired Ace. As Terry sad goodnight to Bruce, Max gathered her things and waited for Terry in the car.
***
Max listened to Terry as he talked his heart out to her. She lay there holding him, listening to his every word.
"I always thought that I would be glad to find evidence that linked Powers to the death of my Dad. But I'm just-- I don't know..." Terry sighed and he turned on his back. He stared into the blackness of the night thinking about anything, everything. "Max?"
"I'm listening," she whispered. "Terry, look, no matter what you do for Gotham, no matter what people find out about Derek is not going to heal your heart. That's something that has to be done inside of you. And if it doesn't happen you'll be a lonely old man in a cave." Max sat up and looked deep into Terry's eyes. "Your father is looking down on you with pride."
"But all the things I said, I did," Terry began.
"It doesn't matter. Terry you were a kid, and kids mess up. Your father understood that. But the important things is that you made things right. You help your mom, you've done a pretty nice job in raising Matt. I'm mean Terry it's time to let the pain go. You keep it cramped inside of you and sometimes I wonder it anything else gets in."
"Max," Terry was a little shocked, "you know have are a big part of my heart."
"And I'm not disputing that. But I just see something inside you growing. A darkness that I just don't like. Maybe it's the mantle, but it doesn't have to be that way."
Terry buried his face in his pillow. Max was right. He felt the same darkness growing inside of him, and he didn't like it. But letting go of his pain, of his will, of his desire would not come easily. Terry wrapped his arms around Max and tried to go to sleep, but sleep would not come easy tonight.
***
Max awoke rather groggier than usual. She had a twelve hour day at work that she was not looking forward to. She climbed over Terry and stumbled into the bathroom. In a half hour she was ready to catch the subway to Wayne Powers Corporate Headquarters.
Max spent the majority of the day finishing up the data re-entry. Like the week before she had to get the president's signatures on cred-checks. Again, they were to Richard Haygood, Thomas McAuthur, and Craig Hymers. It was going on six o'clock, and Max still had a couple of hours of work left. She decided to get the president's signatures before it got too late and headed to his office. However, a conversation between her boss and an unknown party caught her attention.
"Yes, I've made sure the payments have been made. They're very satisfied with the amount. Like I've told you, don't worry. I have Paxton melting in my arms. I'm actually surprised though, being your son and all I'd expect him to be smarter."
"Your son." Max's ears perked up.
"So is our tryst still on for this weekend. Don't worry about him. He thinks I'm going on a business trip. Yes, don't want anybody tracking you. Bye baby." Max's boss hung up the phone and Max continued down the hall. However the boss heard the click clack of Max's shoes. "Who's out there?" Max turned around and leaned her head in the door.
"It's me. Do you need something?" Max said, trying to look innocent.
"Well I'm about to leave. I'm taking tomorrow off so I need you to stay a few hours extra to finish up the loose ends of this statement I prepared for my press conference Wednesday. That is all." Max breathed a sigh of relief. Her boss didn't notice her snooping, but now she had to stay and do more work.
Max continued down the hall to the postal sector. She saw her friend in accounting was still at work and stopped in to chat.
"Here pretty late aren't you, Rob." she said as she sat on the table.
"Yeah, the new boss lady has us on these whacked out schedules. Hey, what you got there?" he said nodding toward the checks in her hand.
"The presidents has to sign these. The company has been sending these folks cash for a few weeks now." Rob glanced at the name on the checks.
"That's interesting." he remarked.
"What?" Max said interested.
"These checks haven't been through accounting. Money isn't sent to anybody until it leaves my desk, and I haven't seen these."
"Oh, really. Hey it might be something personal from the Prez. Anyway let me get him to sign these before he leaves." Max hurried down the hall to the president's office. By the time she returned to her desk, her boss was gone. Curiosity got the better of Max, and she snuck into her office. She checked the caller ID but didn't see the previous number. She pressed redial and the number appeared on the LCD screen. She hung up the phone before anyone answered. Then she jotted down the number and left.
***
When Max arrived at her dorm, Terry had left her a message asking her to go see Bruce. Normally she would have been in a funk about this, but tonight she needed to use the batcomputer.
After getting Bruce squared away, Max made her way down to the Batcave. Being in the Batcave annoyed Max. She got tired of all the bats flying above her head. Plus the cave was dark and being down there made her paranoid. She made herself comfortable in Bruce's chair and use the tracking program to find out where the number lead to. Her attempts were unsuccessful, so she decided to find out who those people were on the cred-checks. The computer quickly brought up a profile of the three men. They were all medical department heads at Gotham University's Hospital. Max wondered why these men, and not the university itself, were receiving so much money on a regular basis. Before she knew it, Max was pulled into a tangled web of investigating that gave her few if any answers.
She worked late into the night using the prodigious resources of the Batcomputer. She found out information that was key, but didn't lead her to any real conclusion. Richard Haygood, Thomas McArthur, and Craig Hymers were responsible for deciding which research programs the University and the hospital were going to pursue. Haygood and McAuthur had held their positions for fifteen years and Hymers had been with the company for only three years. Max found about the research projects that were currently being supported by the university.
"DNA Reconfiguration, Nucleotide Breakdown, Deoxibonucleic acid Synthesis. What the heck?" Max said a loud, breaking the silence of the cave.
"I know what that is." Max quickly swiveled around in the chair. She did not hear Terry come in.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Basically, it's a process where the genetic structure of a person, and now more recently the mind of an individual, is synthesized in a host body. It's only theoretical, never really been tested because of ethical matters. How did you come across it?"
"I was just searching through the research programs active at Gotham University. I thought maybe I could find some kind of connection."
"Connection to what?" Terry asked, eyeing Max suspiciously. Max wanted to kick herself. She had told Terry too much.
"It's nothing really...something, I don't know, I was thinking about. Spawned from a conversation at work." Max hated lying to Terry. "Oh," Terry replied, really too tired to probe into the situation anymore. He pulled the skin tight bat costume off and spread it out on the table to work on the wiring that had malfunctioned that night. Terry skillfully repaired suit with the dim light of the cave casting a shadow over his face.
"Terr," Max said after a long period of silence.
"Yeah," he said without looking toward her.
"How did you know what dna synthesis was? I mean that's not a product of a Hamilton-Hill High education."
"Well, I found out about it maybe three years ago. There was this guy, Victor Fries, an adversary of Bruce. He wasn't really a guy, he was a well,.... a head."
"A head?" Max leaned forward, very interested in the story. "And why have I never heard about him before?"
"Hey, it never came up. Anyway Victor, probably more known as Mr. Freeze was used as a test subject for DNA transfer. Everything worked fine at first but there were some complications and anyway he and Derek got into a....he's dead now."
"Wait, what did Derek have to do with it?"
"Well, Victor was the guinea pig for Blight. They used him to see if they could successfully transfer Derek into a new body. Evidently it didn't work and now Blight is hopefully burning in h-"
"Terry!" Max exclaimed. She was shocked but she couldn't blame him.
"I know. Anyway, there was this doctor who had performed the procedure. She was a former employee of the university. I have no clue of what happened to her."
Max began to rapidly type on the batcomputer. In seconds the information she was looking for loaded onto the screen.
"This newspaper article says that after that incident funding was cut from that project."
"Why are you so interested in that anyway? "
"Terry, I really don't know."
***
Max did not sleep well that night. Everything she discovered fit together in some way. It was like she was putting together a puzzle. She had the border but was working on the inside. Max finally grew tired of tossing a turning and got up. She got a glass of water and sat at her desk.
"How do these three men, Wayne Powers, Gotham University, dna transfer connect?" she thought to herself. Through the night, she stared at the wall, the floor, the bed thinking about how it all connected.
The sun gleaming through her window, awakened Max. Luckily she had the day off, so she decided to get back in the bed and get some real sleep. Just as she had gotten into a comfortable slumber, wonderful news woke her up again.
"Max! The baby is coming!" her sister yelled through the phone. Max was too sleepy at first to realize what she had said, but moments later it dawned on her.
"Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Max rolled out of the bed ready to make a mad dash to her sister's place.
"No, just come to the hospital!" In an instant, Max was dressed and on her way to the hospital. She called Terry so he could come and share this special moment with her.

***
"He's so cute!" Max said as she looked at the cuddly ball of warmth in her arms. Her sister had a safe delivery to a beautiful little boy. "Here, Terry, hold him." Terry carefully cradle the newborn as it squirmed in his arms.
"Looks just like Max. Same smile and cheek bones." Terry let the little boy hold his finger. "He's got a grip too." Max took the baby from Terry and place him in his mother's arms.
"What are you going to name him?"
"He looks like a Jerren, don't you think?" Max's sister said looking deep into the eyes of her child.
***
Max decided to stay the night with her sister. She made herself as comfortable as possible in the hardback hospital chair. But even in the peace of the hospital room and even with the joy of her new nephew, sleep did not find Max. All the information she discovered swarmed around in her mind. She knew there was a connection. Tired of even trying to sleep, Max decided to take a walk around the hospital.
There was very little activity in the hospital at 3 o'clock in the morning. As Max walked she saw the nurses station. There, a sound asleep nurse had a stream of drool flowing down her chin. Max chuckled at the sight of that and wondered if she should wake her up. There was nothing of interest on that floor so Max decided to take the elevator to the office sector. It was odd that the section was still open, considering it was so late at night. Max strolled down the hall reading the name of each room. When she reached medical records, curiosity got the best of her and she decided to peak inside. Because she was once under the training of the head Bat himself, getting into the room was no problem. The fact that it was unlocked helped too. Max settled herself Indian style on the floor and opened the electri-file marked "G". She pulled out her medical record and scanned through it.
"Man, I never knew I came to the hospital to get sweet peas removed from my nose." Max laughed at herself. Next she went to the "M" and found Terry's file. "Let's see, he broke his arm when he was seven and got a broken nose when he was nine." As she replaced his file, she saw his father's file in front of it. She read down the document, learning about all of his illnesses and hospital visits. She looked at the document behind it. It was his death certificate, along with a summary of his cause of death. Max felt like she wanted to throw up as she read through the gruesome details of his murder. She wondered if Terry knew about what really happened. She quickly tucked the file back in its place and held her head in her hands. She finally understood what Terry had to remember everyday of his life. It was at that moment that an idea popped into her head that would finally reveal to her the connection of her previous discoveries. She quickly found the "P" section of medical records. She ran her fingers along the files and found Derek Powers' file. Her eyes ran along the document not finding anything unusual. Then she looked further into the file looking for his death certificate. It wasn't there. Thinking she might have overlooked it, Max dissected the file piece by piece and still did not find it. After replacing it, she leaned against the cabinet and thought.
"There's no recorded evidence of Derek's death. Money sent to medical research heads of Gotham University. Deoxyribonucleic Acid synthesis."
***
The next day Max returned to her dorm. She peeled off her wrinkled clothes and climbed into bed and tried again to find sleep. This time she was interrupted by a phone call from Terry.
"Will you patrol with me tonight?" Terry asked eagerly. This was very unusual for Terry who, unless completely necessary, preferred to not have Max come along.
"Why, I mean, is something big about to go down?"
"Yeah, something real big. Bigger than you could ever imagine."
With that thought in mind, Max finally drifted off into a needed slumber. When she awoke that evening, she prepared to face whatever Gotham had in store for her and her caped counterpart.
Max found Terry's coordinates through the batcomputer and headed to the west side of Gotham. When she arrived she saw no sign of Terry, but dropped out of the plane and allowed it to return to the batcave. She walked around the roof of building, scanning the street below in search of her man.
"Boo!" Max nearly jumped ten feet.
"A good crimefighter would be prepared for anything," he teased.
"Yeah, whatever. So what did you want me to come here for anyway." Max said as she and Terry took a seat on the ledge of the building.
"No reason, just wanted you here. Plus, you look so sexy in your suit." Terry pulled off his mask and then Max's and kissed her softly.
"You're going to have the whole city of Gotham watching us."
"No, I'm not." Terry pressed the invisibility button on Max's suit and then on his.
The night belonged to them, and Terry relished the time they spent together. Little did Max know about the suprise Terry had for her. Little did Terry know about the about the events that were soon to unfold.
Terry broke their embrace and reached into a secret compartment in his suit. In it was a ring, nothing fancy, just a simple engagement ring. His proposal was by no means rehearsed, it was straight from the heart. "I love you Max and I want us to be together forever." It's not necessary to reveal her answer, it was what we all expected. She was to be his and he was to be hers. But at least for now, both of them belonged to something even greater, something that would close the book on this chapter of their lives.
***
Terry and Max returned to the batcave to a horrible scene. They found Bruce, barely conscious, slumped over in his giant armchair. On a sheet of paper next to his hand was a name and number. Terry hoisted Bruce over his shoulder and succeeded in getting him back into the house. Max contacted the person on the sheet of paper. Fear and uncertainty ran through their veins.
The individual on the paper took no time to reach Wayne Manor. The female, one Terry had never seen or even knew about, seemed to know plenty about him and the manor. She quickly stabilized Bruce and prepared him to travel to her estate. As they rode along, she began to explain exactly who she was.
"Yes, I'm Alfred's daughter and I have known Bruce since I was a little girl, which was long before you. My father never told me who Bruce Wayne really was, but I stumbled upon it one day while I was snooping around. When I found out, they didn't hesitate in telling me everything."
"So you knew about--"
"Dick, Tim, and Barbara. Yes, I considered them a nothing less than my brothers and sister. When things got rough between them, it really hit me hard. But I don't like to dwell on that."
"So why did Bruce want us to contact you?" Max asked, suspicious of the woman who knew so much.
"I'm a doctor. I own a little office with enough equipment to take care of a few critically ill patients. Bruce always trusted me, and came to me when he or one of his colleagues was injured past the point of his care. That's why he wrote down my name and number before he passed out."
"So is he going to be okay?" Terry had worry written across his face.
"I can't really say. He's not in good shape. But maybe...we'll just see okay."
The group finally reached the doctor's compound thirty miles outside of Gotham. Bruce was settled in a room in no time, and the doctor proceeded to give him advanced medical care. Terry and Max sat in a side room for the outcome.
Max finally reached the point where she had to let Terry know what she felt was going on. Her inclination had horrible timing, after all they were just engaged and Bruce was in a critical condition.
"Terr, look, I know this isn't the best time, but I need to tell you something." Max stared at the floor, not wanting to meet Terry's eyes.
"What?" Terry mumbled. His nose rested on his folded hands.
"Okay, look. This is hard to follow but try to understand." Max took a deep breath. "See, Wayne-Powers has been paying money to these medical department heads at Gotham University. Those department heads have been greatly supporting the dna synthesis study."
"And that's unusual because?" Terry asked somewhat uninterested.
"Well, when I was at work one night, I heard my boss say "your son" in reference to Paxton over the phone. Then the night I spent with my sister at the hospital, I snuck into medical records and found Derek Powers' file. He didn't have a death certificate." Terry was now very interested in what Max had to say.
"So what are you saying? I don't follow." Terry said with a confused look on his face.
"That's the thing. I don't know either. I just know that there is no record of his death and my boss was talking to him."
"So he's not dead?" Terry asked. Max gave a slight nod in affirmation.
"I just can't figure out how Gotham University and dna synthesis fit in the picture."
"Max, how long have you been sittin' on this." Terry was quite angry now, although he tried his best not to show it.
"Terr, don't get upset with me. The only reason I didn't tell you was because it sounds sooo crazy. Plus, it's been so crazy the last past few weeks, I never got around to it." Max looked at him searching for some sign of forgiveness.
"Look, I have a feeling something is about to go down." Terry said getting out of his seat. "I'm sending for the plane. We have some work to do." Before they left, Terry checked up on Bruce one last time. He stood there with his eyes closed, hoping with everything inside of him that Bruce would pull out of this one.
***

Terry didn't say anything to Max on the way back to the manor. He wasn't mad at her really, he was just frustrated. A lot of things had been happening lately and he just needed time to sort through them all.
"Terry, talk to me." Max finally broke the silence.
"What do you want me to say?" he said, sounding more annoyed than he really was.
"Anything, I mean, we're engaged now and how do you expect our marriage to be if every time things go wrong, you withdraw from me."
"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you have been kinda distant from me lately." Terry stared ahead in the darkness of the night.
"That's because I was trying to sort everything out.'
"Well, now I need time to sort everything out."
Terry and Max did not speak for the remainder of the flight.
***
When they arrived back at the manor Terry sat down at the computer and began typing rapidly. In a matter of minutes he had pulled up many windows of information. After awhile he just sat there, not knowing where to begin. Max sauntered down the steps an hour or so later. Their relationship was beginning to get rough, and she was determined not to let it go. She climbed on to Terry's lap and lay her head on his shoulder. She was surprised that he did not push her away, instead he adjusted a little so she could have more room. That night they brainstormed together as one.
"So how does this sound?" Terry asked after a few more hours of thinking. In their time at the computer Max had filled Terry in on every little detail she had come up with. "Derek Powers had Gotham University endorse the study of dna synthesis in hopes of his mind and genetic structure being transplanted into a new body. However, since that study was not important enough to the medical center, the university didn't put enough money into it for any real progress. Powers paid big money to the three medical heads to go further into research."
"Okay that makes sense but what about Derek's death?" Max asked. Terry thought some more.
"Evidently the research team succeeded in dna experiments. So Derek faked his death so he could be transplanted into another body."
"Okay, but whose body? I mean who did they find for him."
"Maybe they didn't find anyone at all. Maybe they made a body for him."
"A synthoid, but that's soo illegal and they tend to well... malfunction." Max said, remembering her run in with a very jealous female synthoid. " Besides, the commissioner shut down every plant that made them years ago. There's no way."
"Xzeron!" Terry blurted out. He suddenly sat up and began to type rapidly. Terry did a search through all of Xzeron's files, but found no connection to synthoid production. "Okay, Max you have a little assignment."
"Yeah," Max yawned. It was 3 in the morning and it was a struggle for her eyes to stay open.
"Today at work you need to find something, anything on Wayne-Powers or Gotham University's connection with Xzeron. Call me as soon as you find something."
***
Max was surprised at the all the post-it notes on her office door. "Just arrived and I'm already swamped." Once again her boss had another business meeting which was probably nothing but a shopping excursion in Paris. And of course there were more checks that needed to be signed and mailed to the same three department heads. Instead of following her same routine, Max decided to get the checks signed first and then pay a visit to Wayne Powers accounting sector.
As Max walked toward the west wing of the building, she noticed how quiet the place seemed. While Derek was on top, the place was bustling with life, but the new boss lady drastically downsized. Max was sure the Bruce was the only reason she still had a job. Max was relieved when she reached the accounting sector and saw her good friend Rob was working today.
"How are the numbers," Max casually said and took a seat in the plush leather chair in front of Rob's desk.
"Well, we've been tied up with salary re-adjustment due to the-- decrease in faculty. I believe you should be happier with next week's check."
"Really," the thought of more money meant more shopping for Max, but it was bittersweet because it came at the expense of others. "So that's the only thing you guys have been doing down here."
"Well, no, but that's what most of us are doing. Now, I have been assigned to build a special project fund just for the top executives of the company. Wayne Powers has been around for a while and I've never heard of this."
"Why do you think the execs need this extra money all of a sudden?" Max said as she leaned closer. Something in her mind told her that she was about to discover some very valuable information.
"Max, I honestly don't know. Finances here have been so crazy since you-know-who came along. I mean everything with dollar signs was supposed to cross my desk. That doesn't happen anymore. The company is dishing out substantial amounts of money to everyone in Gotham and not keeping records of it. Makes my job really difficult." Rob leaned back in his chair and fiddle with a paper weight. Max could tell he was in a mood for talking.
"Do you think something dirty is going down. You know this company's track record." Max said trying to get deeper into financial information.
"I wouldn't be surprised. Like those checks that you get signed every other week, now that's something we all know isn't right."
"It makes me feel uneasy too, but hey I'm just doing my job. I wonder, though, what the money is for. I mean, between you and me, of course, it seems suspicious for these medical heads and not the University itself to be receiving all this money on a regular basis."
"Well as long as we're talking-between you and me-the vice president has be setting up a substantial money transfer between the company and Xzeron."
"Really, what for?" Max said trying not to sound too interested.
"See, he never gave me a title to the account. Like you said I'm just doing my job. But it's interesting that Wayne Powers would decide to work so closely to a competitor."
"But Xzeron isn't really a competitor, they don't have as many ventures as we do." Max replied.
"True, not in the science areas, but manufacturing is another story. They're a few steps ahead." Rob was shaking his head, feeling a little smug about all the information he knew.
"Like manufacturing what?" Max felt she was almost close to what she wanted to hear.
"Well, robots and things. You ever heard of a G.O.L.E.M?"
"Yeah caused a big mess a few years back."
"Before they became a public hazard, Xzeron specialized in them. Oh yeah, and before synthoids became illegal, they used to manufacture them too."
"Yeah but plenty of companies did that."
"Yeah, but Xzeron's were different. Very intricate. I went to an expo with my brother once and I sat there talking to this guy for like an hour and never realized he was a synthoid."
"They're that life-like?" Max eyes grew wide.
"Yep, in fact I'm surprised that the commish didn't shut them down first. Now she's having a hard time getting anything on them."
"That's the GCPD for ya'. But hey, I need to get back to the office before they send out a search party."
"Alright then Max. Nice talking to you." Rob said as he turned back to his computer.
***

Max returned to her office and plopped down in her plush leather chair. She picked up the phone and called Terry's dorm. No answer. She hung up and called Wayne Manor. The phone rang seven times without an answer. On the eight ring, Terry, breathing hard finally picked up.
"You could called the Batcave line you know." Terry said still breathing hard.
"Yeah, but I don't like making calls to the Batcave at work. It can be traced too easily."
"Max, Bruce is a genius. You know he has a block on this line. Anyway, I'll assume this call means that you've found something."
"Yep, a connection to Xzeron. My friend in account-" Max abruptly stopped as an executive secretary burst into the room.
"Yes you may come in," Max said to the ceiling, clearly annoyed. She held the receiver to her chest. The secretary caught her breath and began talking really fast.
"There's a big problem. The boss has a meeting today that I forgot to remind her about, and she's on a business trip." the secretary said wearing a sheepish look.
"Max!" Terry yelled through the phone.
Max slowly raised the receiver to her mouth, "I'll call you back as soon as I can." She quickly hung up the phone. "So what am I supposed to do about that." Max said with a hint of attitude from her high school days. It didn't help that she wasn't to fond of the secretary.
"Can you handle the meeting please? If you don' then I'm toast and you know she'll fire anybody in a heartbeat. Pleas Max?"
"I have no idea what the meeting is about. What am I supposed to do, sit in there and look? You know how things are so hush hush around here. The guy who cleans the toilets probably knows more than I do."
"Max, please." the secretary pleaded.
"Who is the meeting with?"
"Umm a Mr. Haygood, Hymers, and McAuthur."
***
Max sat in the posh meeting room waiting for the three medical heads to arrive. She sifted through a few files making herself look busy. Max had no idea of what to say. Heck, she didn't even know what the meeting was about. But she knew this could be the key to cracking this whole case wide open. She took out a pin and began to scribble on the sides of the file. The three men were late, and Max was getting bored. She began reading the logo on the side of her pen. She even tried to see how many words she could make using the letters. Suddenly and idea popped into her head. She reached in her coat pocket and took out a pen Bruce gave her a few months back. It was capable of recording up to two hours of conversation. She turned up the volume and set the recording mechanism for one hour. Just as she lay the pen down, the door opened and the secretary escorted the three men into the room. Max could see the confusion in their eyes and immediately began talking.
"My boss had to attend a very important business meeting. So I'll be filling in for her." Max said extending her hand.
"That's unlike her. She'd never had fill-ins before." Haygood remarked.
"It was a last minute ordeal. I'm sure this meeting completely slipped her mind." Max said as she took a seat. "So...uh..um...I trust you're satisfied." Max stammered trying to get the three men talking.
"With the payments, yes, couldn't be happier." Hymers, the youngest medical head said. "We just stopped in to tell you that all the processes are completed and we are expecting our last check by 12 a.m tomorrow."
"Of course, I'll see that you are fully compensated. I must say, you all do wonderful work."
"All in the name of science or money rather," Max shared a round of laughter with the three men.
Max decided to take a chance and probe deeper into the matter. "But I trust that my boss will be able to contact you for support if anything happens to go wrong with Derek."
"We've have made it impossible for anything to go wrong." Haygood remarked smugly.
"Well then, I guess this is it for our meeting," Max said as she arose from the chair. "Wayne Powers is pleased that our partnership has worked out so smoothly."
"Likewise." McAuthur said as he left the room.
***
As Max got on the subway, she pulled out her cell phone and called Terry.
"Hello," Terry said with a yawn.
"Where are you?"
"At the compound sitting with Bruce. What about you?"
"I'm on the subway, I'll be out there as soon as possible. We've go some work ahead of us."
In no time Max arrived at the compound. Terry greeted her with a half hearted kiss and sat back down next to Bruce.
"So what did you find out?" he asked with a sigh.
"Well, Wayne Powers is definitely working with Xzeron. You remember my friend Rob? Well he told me that he has been instructed to make a new project fund for the executives. Also, he has been preparing a substantial money transfer between Wayne Powers and Xzeron. And on top of that, I had to sit in for my boss for a meeting with Gotham University's medical heads."
"Well, aren't you the busy body." Terry said cracking a slight smile.
"So that's enough for you to take them in right. I mean you know inform the commish and-"
"Max, Commissioner Gordon is retired remember?" Max had forgotten just that quick the retirement party for the commissioner she went to. "I had a connection with her, one that I don't have with the new guy. I'll have to take this one on myself. And I have to be completely sure because if this doesn't check out I, scratch that, we will be in major trouble."
Max sat back and pondered that thought for awhile. Even though she and Terry were regarded as Gotham's protectors, that still didn't keep them from facing charges if something went terribly wrong.
"So how are you going to solve this?" Max finally said.
"For starters I'm going to pay Mr. Hymers a little visit. He's only been a medical head for three years right?"
"Yeah."
"He should more apt to talk. Much less to loose for him." Terry said as he stretched. He leaned to give Max a kiss, got his coat, and left. Max sat there in the dim light of the room. She looked over at Bruce and sudden sadness overwhelmed her. While she thought, the doctor came in the room and put her arm around her.
"Tell me the truth, I can take it. I wasn't as close to him as Terry was. But is he going to make it?" Max curled up in a ball and rested her head on her knees.
"It could go either way. I mean his heart problem has progressed so far that if he does get up from this, he won't be around for much longer."
***
Terry flew toward the southern suburbs of Gotham. He glanced out into the still night wondered what it had in store. Terry knew exactly what was going on. He even wondered why it took so long for him to figure it out. But at this point he didn't care anymore. All he knew is that Derek Powers was out there, cheating death and the law once again. Terry finally knew why the feeling of peace would not stay with him long. The thought of Powers living, breathing without a care in the world bothered Terry. It was the source of his darkness. But what probably bothered Terry more was what he could not do about it. His code would not allow him to kill Derek, although every muscle in his body was aching to do so. His code told him no, his heart told him yes.
Terry finally arrived at the Hymer's estate. He parked his plane in the bushes of the woods and put it in camouflage mode. He scanned the area looking for alarm triggers, watchmen, and dogs. After he made sure everything was clear, he climbed over the brick fence and gently lowered himself down. He carefully walked around the swimming pool, and noticed all the pool toys that were laying around. Terry guessed that Hymers had little children and was proved right when he nearly slipped on a Barbie. He picked the doll up and saw that he had snapped her head off.
"Sorry, babe." Terry threw the doll over his shoulder and continued. Finally he reached the glass patio doors. Deciding not to enter the house just yet, he looked up and shot a batarang with rope. He silently climbed up careful not to bump anything. He peered the first window and saw a sleeping brunette girl cradling a baby doll. Terry climbed up another story and saw the sleeping Craige Hymers and his wife. He noticed a blinking light at the edge of the window sill. Out of his finger came a little fork that was capable of disarming any system. Once the light stop blinking, Terry took a glass cutter out of his belt and carefully placed the suction on the window. With a quick turn, he had made a hole just big enough for his hand to go through. He pulled the latch on the window and pushed it up. Terry eased through the window without a sound. He stood over Hymers patiently waiting for him to realize he was being watched. A few seconds later, Hymers stirred and slightly lifted one eyelid. He noticed the dark figure in standing in a ray of moonlight. He opened his mouth to scream but Terry's hand quickly silenced it.
"Batman," Hymers muffled.
"That's right. Now listen closely. Your are a medical head at Gotham University who specializes in dna synthesis. Nod your head once if I am correct." Hymers gave a slight nod. "You have also been receiving funding from Wayne Powers to continue the research. Now I know what dna synthesis does, and I also know that its use on humans is very illegal."
"Honey who are you talking too- ahhhhhhh!" Hymer's wife screamed. "What are you doing in my house, get out of my house!" Mrs. Hymer screamed. Batman, knowing that this would happen quickly reached into his belt and pulled out a small gun and injected a serum into Mrs. Hymers.
"What did you do to her?" Hymers said shaking his wife.
"A sleeping serum, nothing stronger than over- the- counter sleep aides. Just happens to work instantly."
"What do you want from me?"
"To know where Powers is?" Batman growled.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Hymers said nervously." Our research was just theoretical, never tested on humans."
Batman picked Hymers up by the collar of his pajamas. "Wrong answer. Now let's try this again. Where's Derek Powers?"
"I told you-" Before he could finish his sentence he was hanging half way out of the window. "I'll have your head for this Bat..argh!" Batman tightened his grip.
"Not unless the GCPD gets you first. Tell me what I want to know, and when this all goes down you may get off easy. They already have evidence against you guys." Batman lied. "Think of your little girl. Wouldn't want her growing up with a father who has life in prison."
"Alright," Batman loosened his grip on Hymers. Hymers rubbed his throat and tried to catch his breath. "Last time I spoke with Derek, he was vacationing in Nova Scotia about a week ago. He has a villa up there. That's all I know about his whereabouts I swear!"
"That's all I need to know." Batman started toward the window, but looked over his shoulder. "If you know what's good for you, you won't remember this in the morning." Batman leaped out the window and glided toward the woods.
Back in the Batplane, Terry contemplated his actions. Breaking and entering, especially into people's houses, was not one of his favorite ways to find information. Terry tried to push his thoughts to the back of his mind and set his course toward Nova Scotia.
The batplane was running smoothly at Mach 3, and Terry was in Nova Scotia in no time. The tiny island off the coast of Canada was home to a little more than 6,000 people, so Terry didn't expect finding Derek to be too hard. As he flew over the island, he browsed through net files on Nova Scotia. He learned that the majority of vacation homes were on the south west side of the island. Terry landed the plane near the shore close to a rocky cliff. He put the plane in camouflage mode, and flew to the top of the cliff.
Terry could taste the salt of the sea. He scanned the area, once again looking for alarm triggers, watchmen, and dogs. Feeling that he was relatively safe, Terry began to scale the wall that protected the villa from high waves. As he was going over the wall, Terry noticed a cottage that still had the lights on. Terry glided toward the cottage and gracefully landed on the roof. He made himself invisible and peered through the skylight at the living room below. There he saw Power's former assistant and Wayne Power's new president. She had changed a lot in the last three years. She no longer wore the thin rimmed fashion glassed and sported the black and white mini with a matching jacket. She actually fit the description of the head of a worldwide cooperation.
She was slipping out of her business suit into a silk black night gown that fit her form perfectly. Then she sat on the couch in front of the fireplace and began brushing her shoulder length brunette hair.
Suddenly Batman's attention was diverted to a limousine pulling up outside of the small cottage. Paxton Power's stepped out of the limo wearing a large black overcoat. He handed the driver a large wad of bills and started walking up the steps. The woman inside the cottage heard the tap of shoes on the walkway and quickly went to the door. She peered through one of the windows and saw it was Paxton. She quickly spun around knocking a plant near the door crashing to the floor.
"What's all that noise down there, baby?" A voice called from upstairs.
"Derek, we have a problem," she yelled back.
"What?" said Derek as he emerged from the bedroom. Batman's eyes grew big as he saw the man who emerged from the bedroom. He favored Derek, but instead had jet black hair in the same style. Batman also noticed the absence of wrinkles from his face, and the sleek outline of his muscles. "Who's outside?" he asked hurrying down the wooden steps.
"Paxton," she said nervously." I don't know how he found out where I was. I mean I told him I was going to Paris. I don't know how-" She was interrupted by a forceful knock at the door.
"I know you're in there you lying wench!" Paxton yelled.
"GO back upstairs. I'll handle him." she told to Derek.
"Please do," he growled. "I'm up to here with him getting in my way."
The young woman took a deep breath and opened the door. Paxton was furious as he slammed the door. The house shook as the force vibrated through the walls.
"Where is he?" Paxton growled as he moved to the young woman. "Dead, huh, dead. I must admit you guys pulled it off with style. Where is he?" Batman could see the veins popping out of Paxton's throat.
"Listen, Paxton. I can explain." she said slowly backing up.
"I bet you can, but it's a little late for that." Paxton growled as he grabbed the gun from his coat pocket.
Batman stood up ready to break through the skylight at any second.
"Paxton, put that gun down. You look like a maniac." Derek said coming down the steps perfectly calm, puffing a cigar. Paxton slowly lowered the gun. "I declare, this is getting old."
"Playing dead huh? That's original." Paxton said suddenly becoming furious again.
"You seemed to have been enjoying it. Took the top position in the company and not to mention," Derek paused and gave the young woman a kiss, "my lady. Didn't bother you a bit, did it? I should have known you were still going to be a problem. You have too much of you mother in you."
"Yeah and you can tell this to my mother," Paxton said as he aimed the gun toward the young woman. But he caught the sight of another gun out the corner of his eye.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You know how I feel about her." Derek still spoak calmly, the aroma of his Cuban cigar filled the room.
"Evidently she didn't feel the same way when she was in bed with me." Paxton snapped.
"Just an act." the lady finally spoke up. "Had to get close to you some how. And by the way, you weren't that good." she said with a devilish smirk.
Paxton looked at the gun again. "You wouldn't kill, me your only son."
"You didn't have a problem trying to kill me, your only father now did you?" Derek said with another puff of the cigar.
"You'll blow your cover. The neighbors will hear and call the police. You'll be out on the run again."
"Neighbors, what neighbors? It's December, nobody in there right mind vacations up here in the winter."
"Yeah, and I think it's time for Paxton to check out." the lady sneered.
"I'll drink to that," Derek said as he took quick aim and fired. At that same instant, a shower a glass sprinkled into the living room.
"Any vacancies?" Batman said as he glided to the floor.
"After you're gone there will be!" Derek said as he took the gun and fired. Batman skillfully dodged every bullet. The young woman dashed behind the couch and Paxton tried to crawl out the door. Suddenly Derek stopped shooting at Batman and aimed at his son. "Not again." One shot in the back was all it took. Batman through a batarang and knocked the gun from Derek's hand. Derek reached down and threw a sculpture at Batman, who smashed it into a million pieces. "I know there has to be some scum in Gotham running the streets that worth more of your time." Derek gasped.
"Yeah, but this is personal." Batman quipped as he through a batarang with rope around Powers, knocking him to the floor. Derek took his cigar and tried to burn through the ropes. Batman ran over Derek ready with more rope. As he approached, Derek gave him a kick straight to his stomach. Batman reeled back as Derek got up off of the floor. He tried to rush him, but Batman gave a swift kick to his jaw, knocking the cigar out of Derek's mouth on to the area rug. Derek fell on the floor and rolled and hit the coffee table. As Batman came toward him, he picked up the lamp up and swung it around and knocked Batman through the glass doors that led to the patio. Derek sauntered through the broken glass and stepped on Batman's chest. Batman grunted at the force of Derek's weight. Then he grabbed his foot and twisted his leg around. Derek yelled out in pain, but managed to kick Batman with the other leg. Batman slid against the railing. Derek limped over and picked up a patio table , hoisted over his head and crashed against Terry's head.
"If I was still Blight, I'd Bar-B-Q your behind. But hopefully my new, customized body does you justice."
"It does me just fine." Batman said through gritted teeth. He gave another quick kick across his face. Derek fell hard against the patio railing. Batman picked him up by the collar and hoisted him above the shore below.
"Oh Batman, kills now." Derek said with a slight smirk. That smirk the same smirk he had when he tried to get that disk from Terry. The same smirk the Jokerz had when they killed his father. A surge of anger ran through Terry's body. He felt heat travel up his spine. Terry caught the reflection of fire in a piece of broken glass. Not the reflection of the fire in his soul, not the deep hate he had for Derek, but the light of the flames that were engulfing the house. Batman glanced over and saw the flames quickly spreading to the patio.
"Come on Batman, you must want me dead pretty bad to chase after me for three years." Derek sneered with blood running down his nose.
"I've wanted your head on a silver platter ever since that night you killed my father."
"Killed your father," Derek paused to think, "McGinnis. A man who didn't have the guts enough to keep secrets. Who couldn't hang with the big boys. Coward." Derek said with a cackle. Terrance McGinnis is Batman."
"My father is the best man that ever lived, and it's because of you that he didn't live long enough for me to tell him." Terry loosened his grip slightly.
Suddenly the patio began to tilt forward. "It's now or never. The legend of Batman won't be too scarred by tonight." Batman lowered him farther over the railing. "Go ahead." Derek wheezed.
Terry felt the darkness tugging at his soul. Asking, tugging, pleading with him to drop him. It traveled through his veins into his grip. But the grip would not release. It could not release. Batman took a step back pulling Derek with him. He couldn't drop him. He wouldn't let the darkness inside of him consume him. He dropped Derek on the little part of the patio that was not consumed with flames. In a matter of moments, the patio would tumble down into the freezing cold waters below. As Batman turned to leave Derek rose up once again and pushed him over the side. As Batman fell the patio followed. Batman quickly flew to a nearby rock, and landed down just in time to see the patio and Derek plunge into the dark, rocky waters below.

***
"Good morning Gotham. This is Sandra O'Neale reporting. Gotham is still shocked by incidents of last week. The GCPD has finally compiled a report describing what they believed to have happen. They are not quite sure of how the fire started, but have ruled out the possibility arson. Also, they believe that Paxton and his lover, the newly appointed president of Wayne Powers, were asleep and unable to escape the flames. A private funeral was held for them yesterday at Gotham Cemetery. In related news, I am sad to report that Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Powers for over forty five years, has passed. He died in his sleep of heart failure in a upstate private medical facility. In his will he left over seven hundred million dollars to the city of Gotham to be used for the benefit of the poor and various orphanages. City officials have decided to build a monument in Gotham Square dedicated to the memory of Gotham's most famous citizen. Now more news concerning Wayne's business empire. It has just been announced that according to Wayne's will, Terrance McGinnis, the personal assistant of Wayne's until his death, has been appointed the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises. He is pictured here with his mother and brother along with his fiancee Maxine Gibson, paying his last respects to the late Bruce Wayne. In other news, the commissioner has finally cracked down on Xzeron....

The End