Here is Part II. Part III should be up later tonight (hopefully), but just in case, please add this story to your alerts so you can receive notifications.

Once again: Characters may be OOC and events from the original Batman Beyond show may not coincide with this fanfic.


Part II

The Reason We're Broken

David Gibson stepped forward as he raised a hand and cupped a palm against his daughter's face lightly, almost like a stranger rather than a father. He watched Max intake a sharp breath and freeze as if afraid the slightest movement would raise the bowels of hell itself. Little did she know how right she might have been. Still, it ached him to see her so uneasy at his presence and touch. David removed his hand and coughed into his fist in discomfort. "Wow," he stated, looking her up and down. "You've grown. I barely recognize you!" Of course he barely recognized her: he'd hardly seen Max since the divorce was finalized. Somehow the sweet little angel he remembered lay nowhere in these new and matured features. God she looked so much like her mother.

Max fidgeted. "You too." A moment of quiet fills the room as the two Gibson family members looked at the floor. What else was there to say? They were strangers; strangers even in blood.

Well, pleasantries wasn't getting them anywhere. Guess it time to get right to it. David coughed again but folded his arms, expression growing serious once more and Max immediately fought the urge to give him a dirty look out of defensiveness. This wasn't going to head in a good direction – she could sense that already. "What took you so long? We've been waiting for nearly two hours! I told you I had something important to talk about."

Max turned, rolling her eyes when she was sure he couldn't see, and bent down to pick up the textbook she'd discarded before setting it on the counter and rounding about into the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and grabbed a glass before pausing and looking over the opening into the living room at her visitors. Right, she had forgotten manners. "You want a drink?"

At the mention of something potentially desirable, Shannon put down the lighter in hope and asked with building excitement, "You got any beer, Maxie?" Max cringed internally. She HATED to be called that. Her father used to call her "Maxie" when she was a kid, when they were an actual family; now it felt more like a put down than a cute nickname. But for right now she'd keep her trap shut; wait to see where this get together would lead before completely dragging it to the underworld.

David shook his head and gave his woman a crooked, all knowing smirk. "C'mon Shan. The girl's 15 for Christ's sake. She doesn't have any-."

Did he just say fifteen? No wonder he never gave her a proper birthday present or calls – the jerk didn't even know how old she was. Oh, but she had to remember every single little detail about his life or catch hell about it? The Oracle was on the very verge of putting them out! "Seventeen," Max corrected bitingly before opening the fridge and holding up a case of cans for their viewing pleasure…beer cans. She gave the case a smug shake. David gawked, dumbfounded as Shannon clapped her hands and bounced up and down in delight. "Regular or light?" Max asked vainly.

"Give me the strongest thing you've got."

Max nodded and broke a can out of its casing and chucked it across the living room where Shannon caught it with ease. Okay, so maybe she wasn't so much of a bitch after all if she could catch a fast one like it was handed to her. Max looked to David who merely shook his head in refusal before smoothing out his suit in a manner that basically said, "I don't want to ruin my overpriced fabric with poor man's beer." Max set her cell by the sink and grabbed the glass, pouring some flavored soda in it – figuring drinking some beer right now might make her father implode, and as tempting as that was, there was still the matter of their presence to deal with – and hovered at the entry of the kitchen and sipped before replying to his earlier questioning, "School doesn't let out until almost three."

David scoffed, looking at his watch that read 4:20pm. "And you couldn't get here any sooner than that?" The way he said it was almost disbelieving that he could be wrong; like he was implying she was ignorant…and Maxine Gibson didn't appreciate it.

Her eyes widened as she struggled to regain her depleting temper. Excuse him? And just what did he mean by that? Max bristled. What the hell was his problem? "I go to Hamilton Hill, dad. I DON'T have a car. I have to catch the subway and walk."

David Gibson grew immediately offended at her obvious attitude as he unfolded his arms and gestured to himself with his thumb. "And how am I supposed to know that? I'm a busy man, Max. I can't be wasting time-."

Max placed her glass on the counter with a little more force than she probably should have as her agitation started to build. "Well I'm so sorry if seeing your daughter is a waste of time! You should've told me when you were coming; maybe I could've got out early. OR even better, asked when I'd be home. You're not the only one with things to do or places to go – I've got a life too!"

"WATCH YOURSELF, GIRL!" David hollered, taking an aggressive step forward and furrowing his brows at her with rage. The tension grew to the point it was practically uncomfortable.

Shannon sipped on her beer and rolled her eyes. "I told you this wasn't going to work, Dave."

This bitch, Max thought as she immediately regretted sharing beer with the ungrateful tramp. Max tossed her hand in Shannon's direction. "What's SHE doing here, anyway?"

At the mention of Shannon, David begins to immediately remember the cause for coming here and straightens up – allowing his anger to wash away if only for a brief time to explain. "Max," he begins softer, causing his daughter to look at him with a more settled demeanor; settled and curious. David takes a breath and then his child's hand into his own massive one, pulling her out from the kitchen entry so they could have a heart-to-heart; something they'd avoided for a long time. "Max, baby girl: I know that there's been a rift between us over these years. I know you've been lonely for how things used to be, I understand that – really I do." He gauged as Max's expression seemed to melt into a flurry of sadness. She squeezed his hand in return and his heart swelled. "Baby girl," David continues, "I wish things could have ended much better for you and your sister's sakes; but they didn't. And now we've got to mend the pieces.

"I'm here to mend those pieces, Max. I'm starting a new chapter in my life, and more than anything I want you to be a part of it. We both need to make up for the time we've lost."

"Dad," Max whispered, feeling for the first time in so long that her father was right here, tangible – like everything she loved about him had come flooding back and he hadn't changed at all. This was them. This was him wanting them to be together again. This was-.

"I'm marrying Shannon."

-Unbelievably awful! Max's mind whiplashed as the ground swayed beneath her feet. She had to reach back and grab the wall to steady her. "What?" she squeaked with terror. It was like she'd just been slapped.

David nodded with a huge smile, glancing back at Shannon who looked like she was on the verge of tears. It wasn't until then that Max noticed the large rock on her finger. "Yes, we're getting married. Next week. And then we're moving to Florida."

"What?" cried Max again, her bucked eyes darting back and forth between David and Shannon.

David chuckled, misunderstanding her surprise for acceptance. "My job offered me an executive position down there. We've got this huge house-."

"Soooooo huge!" winked Shannon with a giggle.

"-Hahaha, right. And it's a great opportunity for all of us. Max," David said as he grabbed her shoulders and leaned down with blind joy, "you're coming with us. You're going to live with us in Florida."

Astonishment overcame the girl for a while – she was too stunned to speak, to even conjure the words in her mind to form the sentences that would convey her disbelief of what her father had just informed. And then realization. 1. Her father was marrying Shannon – sure that was disgusting but at the same time was none of her business. If she made him (blindingly) happy, who was Max to interfere with that? She couldn't even if she wanted to. 2. He was moving to Florida – mother loving Florida! He was failing as a father just being in Gotham, she couldn't imagine how much worse he would be in Florida. But 3? 3 was the real kicker. 3. Max realized he said that she was going with them. Max would rather be the Joker's Harley Quinn before living in the same house as Shannon. But David Gibson didn't ask if she would like to move. He busted in her apartment and was telling her that she, without a doubt, was going to live with them.

Oh hell no.

Astonishment shifted to disbelief; and disbelief shifted to anger as she pulled her shoulders out of his hands and scowled. "…WHAT?!" her voice practically ripped with a snarl.

David stood upright and furrowed his brows. "Maaaax," he warned.

"I'm not moving to Florida," the teen plainly stated.

David caught himself before he could snatch her up in his hands. "I wasn't asking, Max."

"And that's the PROBLEM!" Max suddenly shouted, causing her father to hesitate. "You didn't ask! I'm not leaving my life here in Gotham."

"You don't understand Max," Mr. Gibson started.

"No, YOU don't understand!" Maxine yelled and standing toe to toe with her father with clenched fists. "I have a life here, dad. I'm doing great in school; I've got friends – REAL friends who care about me as much as I care about them. I am not going to leave all this behind to live with THAT," she points a finger for Shannon, "gold-digging-!"

Max's face suddenly turned as her father's enlarged palm struck her with enough force to make her stagger back against the counter. David loomed over her with flared nostrils. "I told you to watch yourself! You're going to apologize for disrespecting Shannon."

"Disrespect?" Max scoffed, pulling herself to her feet and cradling her face with teary eyes and a tight frown. "Shannon needs to be apologizing to me! To our entire family!" David gawked and Max shook her head with a sneer at his amount of surprise. Did he honestly think his family was that stupid? "Oh yeah, dad," the pink haired daughter exclaimed. "We ALL knew you were screwing her while still married to mom. We know about the late night rides and business meetings. We know about Sunday nights at the Westin – room 504. SHE'S the epitome of disrespect! BOTH of you are!"

While an embarrassed David tried to think of an excuse and pull his life back together, Shannon stood to her feet, insulted. "I don't have to sit and listen to this. Take me back to the hotel, David!" Shannon was at the door in the blink of an eye. "I told you she wasn't going to want anything to do with us. She's an ungrateful little twip. We don't need her shit fucking up OUR marriage like I'm sure it fucked up yours."

David gave Shannon a look to silence her, but it was too late. Max cocked her head. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Shannon sassed, giving Max the stink eye. "David told me how HAPPY he was after leaving you all behind. And look at you! Pink hair? What? You're trying to make a statement or something? You're unoriginal, PATHETIC!"

And there, ladies and gentlemen, went Shannon's miss innocent façade…and Max's temper. "That's it!" Max lunged with claws ready to dig into that pretty little blonde weave. She wondered if she tugged hard enough would it come out covered in red? "C'MERE YOU BI-!" She gripped the hair near the root just as she hooked over her father's extended arm in a failed attempt to separate them. Max's free fist slammed repetitively into Shannon's skull, who screamed bloody murder and swung wildly, though missing her target. Max yanked, making Shannon stumble before commencing to drag the young woman back into the apartment by the head. "COME HAVE ANOTHER COLD ONE!" David wrung his daughter's hands free from Shannon, allowing his disheveled fiancé to retreat back into the hall and he stood between them. Obviously underestimating how much Max could take was a huge mistake on both the two adults' ends.

He looked down on her like she was trash, like he regretted having her – and Max regretted having him as a father. "Is that what you think?!" Max demanded, breathing heavily and pacing back and forth, eyes occasionally fixing on the form of Shannon over David's shoulder – debating, judging the distance. "You were happy to leave? So what, we weren't good enough for you? Huh? Were we holding you down DAD?! You just couldn't wait to enjoy your freedom from your unoriginal, pathetic wife and kids." Max stepped back and rose to her full height. "No wonder mom divorced you; I wouldn't want to spend another minute with you either."

"Hey!" David raised a finger to caution her alongside a fierce scowl. "I'm coming back, Max. And you're going to come with me back to Florida whether you like it or not."

The father and daughter stared one another down in silence – a silence that solidified the reasoning for why they had drifted apart, that showed just how broken this family was. Her outburst shocked David more than anything, Max was never one for violence or conflict…yet he had been blind to her limits and unconsciously, uncaringly, continued to push them until finally they broke. He had no idea how to fix the damage, because he'd been so ignorant to the depth of it. Yet the thought that he could still force things back in line by dragging Max to live with him, DESPITE what had just broken out here, dared to steadily present itself.

That was enough for her. Max huffed and removed her hand from her red cheek, showing him his handiwork to accompany her response. "You don't get it. You abandon me for years, act like our family was some weight keeping you trapped – and then just up and expect me to act like everything is okay? Like these past years without you haven't been the worse? Like I'm not ANGRY with you?" David narrowed his eyes and Max grits her teeth. "Well you're wrong, dad. I am VERY angry with you. I'm angry you would even say that stuff to her about us, that you'd look down on me like I'm the problem when she just INSULTED me…but I guess it's not an insult because those were YOUR words, right? You've always chosen yourself and everyone else over ME! I'm tired of it!" Max bit down hard on her bottom lip and stepped away, tossing a piece of synthetic golden hair out in the hall and grabbing on the doorknob. "Don't bother coming back." And without another word, the door closed.

TO BE CONTINUED...