Mother Dearest

A Batman Beyond FanFiction

Written by: Celestial Moon

E-Mail: ArmaniGirlAX@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I do not (sadly) own Terry McGinnis. This story is purely fictional. Some of the characters are my own, etc etc. This is just for the enjoyment of all of you. Please leave some feedback :D

Part 2

Friday 7:58 PM

Wayne Residence

"You called?" Terry said loudly. He bounded down the long stairs, taking two steps at a time. His voice echoed off the large expanse of stone. A figure sat in front of a large computer screen.

"Took you long enough."

Terry threw his bag into a nearby chair. "I ran into a teacher." The old man turned around to look at Terry. "It's nothing," he assured.

"Good. We have more perplexing problems at hand."

Terry walked to Bruce's side and stared at the screen. "What's wrong?" It was a copy of the current day's newspaper.

"What do you know about Christina Wu?"

Terry squinted his eyes. "Well, she's in my grade... I don't know her very well. I don't think she's friends with Dana or Max. We had the same math class last ye-"

Bruce's fingers tapped the keyboard. "Well, McGinnis, you're going to get to know her."

"Why?" A picture of Christina Wu came up on the computer. It was her senior picture.

"Because her mother was found murdered in her own home. Slashed, gutted, skinned."

Terry grimaced. "That's not a pretty sight." Bruce grunted a reply. "Since when did I become a detective in homicide?" Terry asked, half joking.

"Since you donned the cowl."

Five minutes later Terry was slipping on the black costume as Mr. Wayne sat at the computer, pouring over hundreds of files.

"You don't think that this is just a one time thing?" Terry asked as he slipped the cowl over his jet black hair.

Bruce shook his head. "It's not. Look at this -- A year ago, two apparently unrelated murders in Gotham. The victims were two women. Two women unrelated in every way.

"So?"

"So, there is enough evidence to see a connection between them that probably wouldn't have occurred to anyone else without the recent murder."

"What's the connection?"

Bruce pressed a button and the screen changed. "All three women have a child in Hamilton High. Two senior females, one senior male."

"Who?"

The screen showed two more pictures. Terry's heart stopped when he recognized the picture in the middle. In the picture, his longtime girlfriend smiled at him.

Terry tore out of the bat cave after peeling off the costume and stuffing it back into his bag. The rain had begun to fall in buckets but Terry continued running. How could he possibly have not known? Confused thoughts ran through his mind as he approached his motorbike. The wind and rain attacked his eyes and helmet as he sped down the hill into the core of the city. His bike dodged several cars and trucks, speeding to reach Dana's house in record time.

Ignoring the angry honks of the horns behind him, he made an illegal left turn onto Dana's street. The buildings were familiar as he accelerated down the block to a large white house at the end. He screeched to a stop in front of the gate.

"Dana!" he called as he burst through the gate and through the Asian garden. Japanese maple trees hung over him, shielding his body from the heavy storm. Terry pounded the door loudly after ringing the bell several times. "Dana! Come on Dayne... Open up! It's me!"

The door creaked open an inch. Before him stood a short, yet stocky, Asian man. It was her father.

"Yes?" his voice was cold and dripped with sarcasm.

"Mr. Tan, may I speak with Dana please?"

"She's busy," he replied curtly as he started to close the large door. Terry blocked him and pushed the door open.

"Please, Mr. Tan. It's really important!"

"Why?" His eyes pierced daggers at Terry.

"I can't explain why... I just --" Terry found himself unable to finished his sentence. He couldn't tell Dana's father everything.

"She can't talk to anyone now. Come back later." Mr. Tan forced the door shut. From the outside, Terry could hear the lock click. He had to restrain himself from pounding on the double doors to attract her attention.

"Dana!" he cried through the door. "I know you're there! Please Dana, I need to talk to you." There was no other sound except the whistling of the wind through the trees and the drumlike beat of the rain against the roof. Terry turned around and hurried through the garden to his bike. As he pulled away, a curtain in an upstairs window opened. Dana looked through the window, watching Terry pull away from the curb and into the street. She disappeared back behind the curtain, closing herself off from the world.

Terry gripped the handle of the bike with his left hand as he pressed the speed dial button to Bruce Wayne's mansion.

"Yes?" he answered on the second ring.

"Why won't she speak to me?" Terry demanded. The roads were slick and he had to slow down to avoid skidding into another car. He braked gently.

"Give her time," Bruce answered after a long pause.

Terry stopped at a red light, feeling the hurt and anger boil within him. "Wayne, what's going on?! What is happening here?"

The old man's voice was soft as he responded, "I don't know."

"That's a first," Terry muttered as he accelerated his bike ahead of the traffic behind him. He didn't know where he was going and frankly, he didn't care at all. The lights whizzed past him as his speed increased. If Dana wasn't going to talk to him, he would simply have to look to other sources. His bike slowed down in front of a low rent apartment building. He parked the bike and walked to the entrance of the building. His finger lingered on a small rectangular button.

"Yes?"

"Max, open up. It's me, Terry."

The door buzzed and opened. Terry pushed through the door and shut it behind him, keeping out the cold and the rain. As he ran to the elevator, he could still hear the wind and rain howl outside. It was as foreboding as his heart felt.