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 4

Saturday 2:42 PM

Gotham City Police Department

Commissioner Gordon's Office

"Hello Commish..." Terry said as he leaned against the panel of the door.

"Why are you here, McGinnis?" Barbara Gordon replied without turning around.

"I wanted to ask a few questions."

"If this is about your girlfriend, I don't know anything."

Terry stopped in mid-step. "Why does everyone know about Dana but me?"

"McGinnis," Barbara turned around from the window. "It's unrelated to Wu."

"The old man begs to differ."

"Then I don't know what you're talking about."

"How come it wasn't in the papers? Why didn't anyone know about Dana?"

A long silence followed Terry's question. He stood there, staring at the aged emotionless face. Slowly, she sat down in her chair and motioned for him to do the same. Terry sat down.

"Mr. Tan is a very influential man in this city. You have to understand the effects of power. You can do pretty much anything, as long as you have the ability to. The Wu family, on the other hand, is the average run of the mill Asian family who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Like Wayne's parents."

"Don't bring that up please." Barbara Gordon turned away. "Are you finished?"

"I guess I am," Terry said with a hint of uncertainty. He stood up from the chair. "You don't want me to be involved, do you?"

"It's not that... No, wait, it is that. We don't know what we are dealing with. It could be just a rash of recent murders. Or, it could be some homicidal maniac out for a little fun. It isn't in your job description, Terry."

"I understand."

"Bye, kid."

Terry walked out of the building with his hands in his pockets. He had never felt more lost. He supposed that he could try to speak to Dana again, but he felt that he should probably give her a little more time to cool down.

However, he felt that the Commissioners words had a little ring of truth. It really was not his place.

Saturday 4:29 PM

McGinnis Residence

Terry sat at his desk, staring at his laptop. Books were strewn all around him, piles upon piles of references on Freud's Oedipus complex. The cursor blinked on the screen slowly, the glow from the computer illuminating the room with a bluish glow.

"What an appropriate topic," he muttered to himself as he tried to think of an introductory sentence.

He couldn't think of one, not to his surprise.

As he stared at the paragraph on his lap, his mind began to wander.

Was there a female version of the Oedipus complex?

The answer was yes.

Would a daughter kill their mother to rightfully claim their father?

The thought was too disturbing to continue musing upon, but Terry couldn't help it. Even though the thought itself was absurd.

Freud was proven wrong, wasn't he?

His theories were merely theories, not facts.

And, why was he sitting there actually doing homework?

He simply could not imagine his girlfriend as a murderer. He almost laughed out loud at the idea.

Did he have an urge to kill his father to marry his mother? A little nagging voice in the back of his head reminded him that his father was already dead. A sudden grief overwhelmed him, reminding him of what he had lost.

Terry slammed the book shut. He couldn't concentrate. He turned the laptop off and walked out of his room. He opened the hallway window and peered out into the afternoon air. He had already avenged his father's death.

But that still didn't take away the fact that his father would never come back. He would never again hear his voice, never again be a part of a full and happy family. If only he had stayed home that night.

But then, he might not have made it out alive either had he stayed home that night.

There were so many unanswered questions.

Questions like Will he ever finish his paper on Freud the absurd?

He spent the rest of that weekend between the Wayne mansion and his room. It was hard juggling both a demanding job and an annoying paper that had to be done, but somehow by Sunday night he had managed both. Although barely.

It was three in the morning by the time Terry found himself lying on his bed, trying to sleep. How he hated Mondays.