*****************************************************
Author's note: This part should have been included in the last chapter--kind of fits together.
****Many thanks to you faithful reviewers! Your praise and comments keep me going and delivering the best writing I'm capable of producing. I hope I can live up to your expectations.
Max's low growl was lost in the rumble of thunder that shook outside the office window. She was grateful
for nature's timely intervention because she knew it would be totally unprofessional on her part to show
displeasure at her boss in such a manner. She folded hands primly on her lap and listened calmly as he
mouthed off a list of tedious, mundane tasks that he had planned for next week. There was little doubt in
her mind that he stayed up half the night to think up this stuff just to annoy her. Three weeks of being the
resident 'gofor' and 'dofor' and Max had reached the limit of her patience.
She had hoped Tim's planned picnic getaway would have softened Terry attitude, at least for the remainder
of the day. Unfortunately it had the opposite affect. Her boss had returned late to the office, mussed,
sweaty and sullen. Annoyed by her subsequent attempts at communication he commented in so many
muttered words that she was supposed to read his mind. When she contained her indignation and calmly
told him that was not possible, he actually snarled and told her to be quiet.
Max hated Terry with such a passion at this moment that she wanted to tear the beard off his arrogant face
with her bare hands, so that when she slapped his cheek nothing would soften its effect.
She hated how she was letting him get to her and she hated Bruce for putting her in this position.
Thank God it was Friday. She would need the whole weekend to meditate and prepare for the endurance to
survive the following week with him.
The only positive thing was that the office personnel had begun to relax at the return of a more amiable
Terry McGinnis, the reason being he had focused all his ill-temper on her. She kept reminding herself that
she owed Bruce this favor. The old man had taught her invaluable lessons over the years she had worked
with him and Terry as Batman. Skills that would set her above average in any job she would decide to
pursue. And she repeated to herself the promise Bruce had made that she could leave after six weeks
regardless of unresolved circumstances at that point.
Max looked up at the sound of her name. He was beckoning to her again, saying her name with that
condescending snicker in his voice when he realized she was not paying attention to him. As if catching her
like that gave him some kind of bullyish satisfaction.
If he expected to get a rise out of her he was sorely mistaken. He would get nothing from her except
professional demeanor. That was the satisfaction she would maintain. But his next words to her almost
made her gasp in dismay.
"If you've made plans for the weekend you'll have to cancel them. Bruce wants me to go over the final
details of the EarthWatch Convention and I'll require your assistance."
"The entire weekend?" She managed an even tone.
"'Fraid so." He slapped a thick packet of material on the desk in front of her. "Will that be a problem for
you?" The lightning flashing behind him, outside the office window, gave his grim face an evil glint
"No. Of course not." She showed him an easy smile, thunder once more timed to hide the angry rumble
erupting from her throat. "Will that be all for today?"
At his answering nod, she gathered up the packet, rose and strode gracefully from the room. Terry sighed
deeply, plunking back into his chair as the door closed behind her. His thoughts groaned with self-disgust.
Why does she keep putting up with me? How did Bruce get her to do this when it was obvious she loathed
the sight of him. Not that he was giving her any reasons to change that attitude. He was being deliberately
abrasive to her and had to admit it was just to get her to react and drop that distant, professional act she
maintained. He wanted the old Max back. But then--maybe she wanted the old Terry back too. And that
Terry was gone forever.
He angled elbows onto the desktop and angrily massaged the contours of his forehead. The tantalizing
image of a filled glass of alcohol came to mind. He fought the urge to indulge in the craving, knowing it
held only temporary respite from the demons that were eating away at him.
Max was being treated unfairly. He knew it. He was the cause of it. And he had to stop it. Just like now.
Telling her he needed her assistance this weekend. It was a lie. He didn't need help with the convention
details. He just wanted to be with her, never mind she didn't feel the same. Well, here was his chance to
correct the mistake. There was still time to catch her before she left, apologize for his behaviour and tell her
the weekend was hers.
And maybe... maybe if she was in a forgiving mood, she would give him a chance to explain... everything.
Jumping from his chair, Terry hurried from his office in time to see Max embracing a dark, broad-shouldered
man in the reception area. He stopped in his tracks, watching and listening as her distinctive voice bubbled
with a joy he hadn't heard in months. As she fawned all over the guy and the guy over her, Terry felt a
sharp stab of unexpected jealousy. Obviously someone she knew and he snidely wondered how well. He
subdued the emotion with a ruthlessness that would have made Bruce proud and resigned himself to
approaching the couple.
He waited in polite silence for a moment, then cleared his throat when neither noted his presence. Max
whirled in surprise, an expectant look on her face.
"Mr. McGinnis."
The man beside her looked sharply at him, studying eyes showing momentary astonishment. Terry kept the
usual unreadable look on his face and replied in his practiced businessman's tone.
"Excuse me for intruding, but I wanted to catch you before you left. I just remembered a prior engagement
I have this weekend, so we'll have to put off the convention details until Monday."
"Oh - " Her dark eyes flashed suspicion. "All right, if you're sure."
"Positive. The weekend is all yours." A slight grin accompanied his reply along with a blatant flick of his
gaze towards the man towering behind her. Max reacted quickly to the cue.
"Ah... " She stepped to one side, a hand on the man's arm. "Travis Whitfield -- " The hand moved to
gesture in Terry's direction. "Terry McGinnis."
Travis reached out a hand in hearty welcome, his booming velvet voice matching his brawny frame. "Max
has mentioned that you're a good friend of hers. A pleasure to finally meet you."
As Travis' large hand closed firmly around his own, Terry deduced that the man was no couch-potato.
Good friend huh? Maybe she wasn't as angry with him as she let on. And maybe pigs could fly. Spliced
with a bird maybe, but then it wouldn't really be a pig anymore either.
"I'm afraid Max is much too professional to relay personal information to her boss, but from your accent I'd
say you're not a native Gothamite. My guess is you're someone she knows from Amurst?"
"Yep."
"First time in Gotham?"
"Yes and I can see why Max got bored in Amurst. This city kinda takes my breath away. Never a dull
moment. Everywhere I look something is happening."
Bored eh? Terry smiled and let out a soft chuckle. "As long as it's not happening to you, you'll enjoy
Gotham."
A long roll of thunder shook the walls of the building, trailing Terry's words like an ominous accent.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Al Guhl stepped outside the walls of his country estate located on the outskirts of Gotham city limits. The
spring storm had passed and while he exalted in the violence that the storm had expelled and the chaos it
caused, he was even more excited by the calm after it ended.
For a short time he could relish the century-old memories of living in a time when pollution had not
overwhelmed Earth's atmosphere. When every day he could walk a lush, plant filled environment with the
air smelling as sweet and clean as it did this moment.
Even his daughter would not begrudge him this time. She stayed silent in the mind they occupied together,
content to share this brief, pleasant peace with him. Rare moments for them, but ones that would come
more often after his plan came to fruition. Talia would stop fighting him when she saw the good that would
come from the change he would bring to the world. A slow change to be sure, but inevitable because of his
diligent brilliance.
Talia stirred as ego swelled his thoughts. Always her immediate response was to beat it back to a reasonable
level. Her attempts to regain control of her own body were becoming more insistent with a growing
strength worthy of an Al Guhl heir. She would never gain complete control though. Not unless he allowed
it and that he would never do.
Yes, he was brilliant.
The only man who had ever come close to his level of intelligence was now old and mentally decrepit
enough to think a witless boy could possibly replace him. A foolish waste of time it was teaching the boy a
lesson in humility. Would have been simpler to just kill him, but fighting Talia on that decision had been
unusually difficult. He could have had his way but decided that the effort would be wasteful. So he allowed
his daughter her desire and the boy left here alive. Perhaps his injuries were severe enough that he had died
after all, for Batman had been absent to the Gotham public since the day they had abducted him. Either that
or the boy was as he expected-- without the strength and determination of the real Batman.
**************************
Author's note: This part should have been included in the last chapter--kind of fits together.
****Many thanks to you faithful reviewers! Your praise and comments keep me going and delivering the best writing I'm capable of producing. I hope I can live up to your expectations.
Max's low growl was lost in the rumble of thunder that shook outside the office window. She was grateful
for nature's timely intervention because she knew it would be totally unprofessional on her part to show
displeasure at her boss in such a manner. She folded hands primly on her lap and listened calmly as he
mouthed off a list of tedious, mundane tasks that he had planned for next week. There was little doubt in
her mind that he stayed up half the night to think up this stuff just to annoy her. Three weeks of being the
resident 'gofor' and 'dofor' and Max had reached the limit of her patience.
She had hoped Tim's planned picnic getaway would have softened Terry attitude, at least for the remainder
of the day. Unfortunately it had the opposite affect. Her boss had returned late to the office, mussed,
sweaty and sullen. Annoyed by her subsequent attempts at communication he commented in so many
muttered words that she was supposed to read his mind. When she contained her indignation and calmly
told him that was not possible, he actually snarled and told her to be quiet.
Max hated Terry with such a passion at this moment that she wanted to tear the beard off his arrogant face
with her bare hands, so that when she slapped his cheek nothing would soften its effect.
She hated how she was letting him get to her and she hated Bruce for putting her in this position.
Thank God it was Friday. She would need the whole weekend to meditate and prepare for the endurance to
survive the following week with him.
The only positive thing was that the office personnel had begun to relax at the return of a more amiable
Terry McGinnis, the reason being he had focused all his ill-temper on her. She kept reminding herself that
she owed Bruce this favor. The old man had taught her invaluable lessons over the years she had worked
with him and Terry as Batman. Skills that would set her above average in any job she would decide to
pursue. And she repeated to herself the promise Bruce had made that she could leave after six weeks
regardless of unresolved circumstances at that point.
Max looked up at the sound of her name. He was beckoning to her again, saying her name with that
condescending snicker in his voice when he realized she was not paying attention to him. As if catching her
like that gave him some kind of bullyish satisfaction.
If he expected to get a rise out of her he was sorely mistaken. He would get nothing from her except
professional demeanor. That was the satisfaction she would maintain. But his next words to her almost
made her gasp in dismay.
"If you've made plans for the weekend you'll have to cancel them. Bruce wants me to go over the final
details of the EarthWatch Convention and I'll require your assistance."
"The entire weekend?" She managed an even tone.
"'Fraid so." He slapped a thick packet of material on the desk in front of her. "Will that be a problem for
you?" The lightning flashing behind him, outside the office window, gave his grim face an evil glint
"No. Of course not." She showed him an easy smile, thunder once more timed to hide the angry rumble
erupting from her throat. "Will that be all for today?"
At his answering nod, she gathered up the packet, rose and strode gracefully from the room. Terry sighed
deeply, plunking back into his chair as the door closed behind her. His thoughts groaned with self-disgust.
Why does she keep putting up with me? How did Bruce get her to do this when it was obvious she loathed
the sight of him. Not that he was giving her any reasons to change that attitude. He was being deliberately
abrasive to her and had to admit it was just to get her to react and drop that distant, professional act she
maintained. He wanted the old Max back. But then--maybe she wanted the old Terry back too. And that
Terry was gone forever.
He angled elbows onto the desktop and angrily massaged the contours of his forehead. The tantalizing
image of a filled glass of alcohol came to mind. He fought the urge to indulge in the craving, knowing it
held only temporary respite from the demons that were eating away at him.
Max was being treated unfairly. He knew it. He was the cause of it. And he had to stop it. Just like now.
Telling her he needed her assistance this weekend. It was a lie. He didn't need help with the convention
details. He just wanted to be with her, never mind she didn't feel the same. Well, here was his chance to
correct the mistake. There was still time to catch her before she left, apologize for his behaviour and tell her
the weekend was hers.
And maybe... maybe if she was in a forgiving mood, she would give him a chance to explain... everything.
Jumping from his chair, Terry hurried from his office in time to see Max embracing a dark, broad-shouldered
man in the reception area. He stopped in his tracks, watching and listening as her distinctive voice bubbled
with a joy he hadn't heard in months. As she fawned all over the guy and the guy over her, Terry felt a
sharp stab of unexpected jealousy. Obviously someone she knew and he snidely wondered how well. He
subdued the emotion with a ruthlessness that would have made Bruce proud and resigned himself to
approaching the couple.
He waited in polite silence for a moment, then cleared his throat when neither noted his presence. Max
whirled in surprise, an expectant look on her face.
"Mr. McGinnis."
The man beside her looked sharply at him, studying eyes showing momentary astonishment. Terry kept the
usual unreadable look on his face and replied in his practiced businessman's tone.
"Excuse me for intruding, but I wanted to catch you before you left. I just remembered a prior engagement
I have this weekend, so we'll have to put off the convention details until Monday."
"Oh - " Her dark eyes flashed suspicion. "All right, if you're sure."
"Positive. The weekend is all yours." A slight grin accompanied his reply along with a blatant flick of his
gaze towards the man towering behind her. Max reacted quickly to the cue.
"Ah... " She stepped to one side, a hand on the man's arm. "Travis Whitfield -- " The hand moved to
gesture in Terry's direction. "Terry McGinnis."
Travis reached out a hand in hearty welcome, his booming velvet voice matching his brawny frame. "Max
has mentioned that you're a good friend of hers. A pleasure to finally meet you."
As Travis' large hand closed firmly around his own, Terry deduced that the man was no couch-potato.
Good friend huh? Maybe she wasn't as angry with him as she let on. And maybe pigs could fly. Spliced
with a bird maybe, but then it wouldn't really be a pig anymore either.
"I'm afraid Max is much too professional to relay personal information to her boss, but from your accent I'd
say you're not a native Gothamite. My guess is you're someone she knows from Amurst?"
"Yep."
"First time in Gotham?"
"Yes and I can see why Max got bored in Amurst. This city kinda takes my breath away. Never a dull
moment. Everywhere I look something is happening."
Bored eh? Terry smiled and let out a soft chuckle. "As long as it's not happening to you, you'll enjoy
Gotham."
A long roll of thunder shook the walls of the building, trailing Terry's words like an ominous accent.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Al Guhl stepped outside the walls of his country estate located on the outskirts of Gotham city limits. The
spring storm had passed and while he exalted in the violence that the storm had expelled and the chaos it
caused, he was even more excited by the calm after it ended.
For a short time he could relish the century-old memories of living in a time when pollution had not
overwhelmed Earth's atmosphere. When every day he could walk a lush, plant filled environment with the
air smelling as sweet and clean as it did this moment.
Even his daughter would not begrudge him this time. She stayed silent in the mind they occupied together,
content to share this brief, pleasant peace with him. Rare moments for them, but ones that would come
more often after his plan came to fruition. Talia would stop fighting him when she saw the good that would
come from the change he would bring to the world. A slow change to be sure, but inevitable because of his
diligent brilliance.
Talia stirred as ego swelled his thoughts. Always her immediate response was to beat it back to a reasonable
level. Her attempts to regain control of her own body were becoming more insistent with a growing
strength worthy of an Al Guhl heir. She would never gain complete control though. Not unless he allowed
it and that he would never do.
Yes, he was brilliant.
The only man who had ever come close to his level of intelligence was now old and mentally decrepit
enough to think a witless boy could possibly replace him. A foolish waste of time it was teaching the boy a
lesson in humility. Would have been simpler to just kill him, but fighting Talia on that decision had been
unusually difficult. He could have had his way but decided that the effort would be wasteful. So he allowed
his daughter her desire and the boy left here alive. Perhaps his injuries were severe enough that he had died
after all, for Batman had been absent to the Gotham public since the day they had abducted him. Either that
or the boy was as he expected-- without the strength and determination of the real Batman.
**************************