I miss Batman Beyond. So I went to see if anyone was still writing fics. And there were! Sooo, I decided to publish something too! I have a story in mind, but it's still sort of forming, so bear with me. Based on current events

"So you're not going to buy out Powers?" Terry asked as the door to the limo shut behind them.

"No." Bruce leaned heavily on his cane and glared into space."The company's in too much trouble. It would cost more to repay their debts than the company is even worth."

"Oh." Terry thought he had understood the gist of the tense meeting he had just sat through. Several months earlier, Bruce had wisely (as it would later turn out) asked his board to separate Powers Corp into a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises, with their own stock offerings and completely separate financial holdings. Now, Powers had come to Wayne, begging him to buy the company's failing stock. Bruce, Terry and several other advisors had spent the last two weeks pouring over Powers Corp financial statements.

Finally they had to admit, it was a complete loss. The debt was worth more than the company, and it was best just to cut all ties.

"But I'll be ruined!" Powers Jr. had cried when they had delivered the news over the shiny boardroom table. "You can't do this to me! My father SAVED your company when you were too sick to manage it!"

Bruce had said nothing, just let Powers rant. It was only when Powers jumped onto the table and threatened to rush him, that Bruce Wayne had gestured for security to escort him safely out of the building.

"So, what now?" Terry asked.

"We'll buy a few of their better holdings off of them. They'll use that to pay back their creditors. Once they declare Chapter 11, they'll really have no choice." Bruce sighed, "We'll call it a reorganization. Save as many jobs as we can. Make it clear that we owned no stock in their company. Our stock will probably drop a few points, but it will recover."

"How many jobs will be lost?" Terry asked.

Bruce sighed, "Three thousand. At least."

"Can we do anything?"

Bruce leaned back against the plush seats of his car, "I was hoping to get the Plasticon factory up and running, but our company just doesn't have that kind of spare capitol."

"Yeah, no one does..." Terry looked out the window. He saw it every day. Crime in the city had spiked dramatically with the downturn in the economy. There were more Jokerz and Tees every day. Kids who had nowhere to go and nothing else to do. There was a wait list just for pizza delivery jobs. Terry knew he was lucky to have Wayne and his "allowance" which had grown steadily year after year. He was a junior in college now, and he, unlike most of his classmates, knew there would be a job waiting for him when he graduated. Of course, his fellow students probably wouldn't have to wear masks.

It wasn't just at the low levels. Dana's father had sold their home and "downsized." He said he was just "tired of all the empty space" but Terry saw the strain in his eyes, and Dana had gotten a part- time job as a waitress for "shopping funds."

His mother's hours at the hospital where she worked as an administrator had been cut, as had her salary, but really, due to lay offs, she was just working more hours for less pay. At least Matt could be home by himself now, and Terry had gotten him a part time internship at Wayne Enterprises, although mostly he just got coffee for the executives and sorted zero- clearance files in the database. Terry still smirked to himself when he thought about the moment Matt had realized his brother was a "somebody" at Wayne. In fact, after the big- wigs discovered he was Terry McGuinesses' little brother, they had all been much nicer to him.

Terry had been planning to move out and get his own place, but then his mother confessed that she was having trouble keeping up with the mortgage and was worried about saving for Matt's college tuition and her own retirement. Terry had received, to no one's surprise, the first Wayne Enterprise Scholarship for Entrepreneurial Excellence (at least Wayne hadn't tried to pretend it was for academic achievement) and he paid nothing to go to school. So instead of moving out, Terry had stayed at home. But now she didn't ask about the odd hours he kept. She just accepted that sometimes he had to work late for Wayne. Who, now that employed both her sons, paid Terry's scholarship, and part of the mortgage... Well, it was just something to be dealt with. Although she had told Terry many times she didn't like feeling like they were indebted to Wayne.

Terry had just assured her that really Bruce was just happy to have him. And he only knew how to show this sort of gratitude with cash. And Terry assured her that he earned every cent. And Bruce did demand that he maintain a certain GPA to keep his scholarship.

In fact... Bruce glanced down at his watch. "You're going to be late to class." He said.

Terry rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Business 303: Raising Capitol for Corporations. Maybe I'll figure out a way for you reopen to Plasticon."

Wayne just grunted at him as the car steered into the the school parking lot. A couple of people stopped to stare at the imported model. "Don't forget." Bruce said, as he tossed Terry's backpack out to him.

"Like I ever would."

Terry wouldn't be needing a ride home. From here, it'd be time to hit the skies in the Bat Mobile.