Fan Fiction ❯ Passion ❯ Reprimands ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: I do not own Batman Beyond or its characters and settings. This story is not being written for profit, only amusement.

This story contains violence, angst, adult situations and sexual content. Please do not read it if you are under the age of 18.

Bruce was waiting for him when he got to Wayne Manor. The older man looked decidedly stern, but Terry thought he caught a glimpse of relief in those enigmatic eyes.

"McGinnis, where the hell have you been?" Bruce barked, his voice harsh with irritation.

"Well, see, I-"

"Don't bother," Bruce rudely cut in, making a short gesture with his cane. "I already know. You've been with the delightful Mrs. Carlton all day."

Terry blinked in surprise. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"I saw you having lunch with her," Bruce answered, beginning to pace in the small confines of the front hall. "Really, Terry, I don't think it's a good idea to carry on with a married woman."

"She's separated, Bruce," Terry tersely corrected him, jealousy rearing its ugly head at the mere mention of her husband.

Bruce paused to glare at him. "Whatever. It's still adultery, and while normally I wouldn't get involved in your personal business, her husband is Maximus Carlton. He's a dangerous man with a great deal of influence, enough that he could discover your secret identity if he were persuaded to look into your life. Which I can assure you, he will do if you are sleeping with his wife."

Terry frowned and said, "We're just friends, Bruce."

"Right," Bruce replied, sardonically arching a whitened eyebrow at him. "Then it won't be too inconvenient for you when I tell you not to see her anymore."

Terry visibly stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "Well, I hate to tell you this Bruce, but I'm a grown man, and you can't tell me what to do."

"If it puts me at risk, I think I can," Bruce countered, surprised at his young apprentice's refusal. "If Maximus were to discover the truth about Batman, you wouldn't be the only one to suffer. I would be ruined and tried for a number of crimes in the past. You know the police don't always approve of some of Batman's methods, and there are quite a few past events they'd love to make me pay for. I don't want to spend the rest of my days in jail."

"I think you're exaggerating the situation," Terry replied, finding it hard to believe Lora's husband might have such influence.

"Do you," Bruce mused, leaning in to pierce Terry with his dark eyes. "Maximus Carlton is one of the wealthiest men in the world, boy. He has contacts in places so dirty even the criminals of Gotham turn their noses up at them. He is cold, calculating, and insanely possessive of his wife, or so the rumors say. I don't care if she's separated or not, he still thinks of her as his."

"Maybe Batman should look in on him, then," Terry answered, refusing to back down. There was no way he was going to agree to not see Lora anymore. No way in hell. Besides, if Maximus were to be put away for life, Lora would be a great deal safer. It might even be easier for her to obtain a divorce, if he were to lose power and therefore influence as well.

"Don't be ridiculous," Bruce snapped. "If Batman were to go prying into his business, Maximus would definitely make it a point to find information about you, and have you marked for disposal as well. Ever since Lora moved in, I've been doing research about her husband, and I tell you, the man is evil. He is not above using any means to get his way, murder included."

"Are you saying he is so powerful, he's above the law?" Terry asked.

"Perhaps," Bruce mused, his face thoughtful.

"I thought it was men such as him that prompted the birth of Batman," Terry softly replied. "So that they would no longer be above the law."

Bruce stiffened and regarded him with a look of admiration mixed with annoyance, but then sighed and walked to the kitchen with Terry following in his wake. The old man had no response for that, because it was true. Batman was the ultimate form of justice, striking when and where it was necessary, with little to no regard for the rules established by ancient bench jockeys, as Bruce liked to call judges.

Terry knew he had won that round, but he refrained from gloating. Battles with the old buzzard were so hard fought that he cherished any victory. No need to ruin it with juvenile antics.

Bruce poured a glass of tea for himself, took a long fortifying drink, and then muttered, "Fine, you can continue to see her. But for god's sake, try to be more discreet about it then you were today."

"I promise I'll be careful. Do you mind if I take a look at the files you have on Maximus?" Terry asked, keeping his voice neutral with Herculean effort, the notion of finally getting to see the man who rightfully had claim to Lora both intriguing and necessary. He needed to know what he was up against, in more ways then one. Lora didn't seem to be overly fond of her husband, but Terry's curiosity about the man seemed to grow with his attachment to her.

Bruce glanced at him suspiciously. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why?" Terry demanded, irritated that Bruce might try to thwart him in this.

"Because your interest in the man could be purely based on the business of busting him, but for some reason, I don't think that's the case. Or at least not completely."

Terry immediately averted his eyes. "I don't know what you're inferring."

Bruce smiled, but it was grim and without humor. "Oh, I think you do. I saw the way you were looking at Lora during your little lunch date. I'm not sure what you're telling yourself in regards to your relationship with her, but I know what I saw with my own two eyes."

Terry stared at him in sullen silence, no longer wishing to have this conversation.

But Bruce was a strong willed man in his own right, and would not be silenced. He leaned closer to Terry and lowered his voice to a near whisper. "Be very careful, boy. She can bring you a great deal of pain if you don't take care."

"I hardly think you're one to be giving love advice," Terry bit out, resentful of being forced to bare his feelings in any way.

Bruce shrugged. "Fine, have it your way. Just don't say I didn't warn you. Now, regarding Maximus, I'm certain it's safe to say that your interest in him is quite personal, and I'm not sure I should give you access to his files."

"Why not?" Terry demanded, his voice exploding with anger.

"For just that kind of behavior," Bruce calmly answered. "The woman makes you on edge, unbalanced. I can't trust your judgment where she's concerned. If I show you the files, how do I know you won't take off after the man half cocked? Maximus Carlton is a dangerous person to challenge, and you'll need an extensive plan to deal with him."

Terry glared at Bruce for a moment, seeing the older man wasn't going to budge. "What if I give you my word to wait until you've designed a plan that you think could handle the mighty Maximus?" he asked, his voice tinged with sarcasm when referring to Lora's husband.

Bruce sighed and studied him intently. "If you gave your word, I would show you the files."

"Fine," Terry replied. "You have my word. I won't go after Maximus without an adequate plan of action from you."

"Alright," Bruce quietly replied, but his expression was grave as he studied his young companion. "Passion is a dangerous thing, Terry. It can override all caution and common sense. Remember that."

"I will," Terry answered, his thoughts already turning to viewing the files on Lora's husband. "Let's go take a look at old Maxie boy."

Bruce shook his head and said, "No, not tonight. I have been on my feet all day and need rest. We'll go through the files first thing in the morning."

Bruce turned and left the kitchen without another word. Knowing this was one battle he wouldn't win, Terry gave in gracefully and went home for the night.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~

Lora was feeling caught between bliss and guilt. She'd had a wonderful time with Allen. He made her feel so alive. He was so very kind and attentive. And Lora was positive that her lover wouldn't like that one bit. Batman. What a strange name. But it suited him. Apparently he was a man with a passion for justice, no matter the cost. A vigilante, members of law enforcement would say. But Lora knew better than most how money and power helped very evil men escape the law, and she appreciated what men like Batman did because of her firsthand knowledge of just how fallible the law really was.

Dane was waiting for her when she got home. His truck was no longer parked in front of the house. She smiled as she thought of how jealous Allen had seemed to be of someone else being at her home. She wondered how he'd react if he ever found out about her lover. Dane was pacing in the main greeting room when Lora walked in, and his face was drawn and haggard with worry. He looked up as the front door closed behind her, and his expression went from worried to thunderous in an instant.

"Just where the hell have you been, young lady?" he roared, the force of his voice seeming to shake the rafters.

Lora blinked at him in surprise. "I went into town."

Dane gaped at her, stunned. "You went into the city by yourself?"

Lora frowned at him. "Of course not. I went with Allen."

A look of male knowing crossed over his face, but was quickly banished behind anger. "I see. And you didn't think to mention this to me?"

"I didn't know where you were," Lora retorted, folding her arms and tapping one foot. "You were so hammered last night that you left your truck outside, and I had no idea what corner you crawled into to pass out. Nice job, driving home drunk by the way. Very responsible of you."

Dane blushed dully, but grumbled, "You could have at least left me a note. When I woke up and you were gone, I thought Maximus might have…"

He trailed off, unable to voice the unspeakable things he was afraid might have happened to her. It would have been all his fault, too. He had failed in his duty to protect her by allowing himself to get so intoxicated he wouldn't have been able to protect her if Maximus had sent anyone to retrieve her. Lora, hearing the quiet anguish in his words, rushed to his side and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'm fine, Dane. Nothing happened, don't worry about it. So you went out and got a little rowdy last night, so what? You're only human, although I am serious about the drunk driving. That was stupid of you. And I do apologize for not leaving you a note. That was thoughtless of me. I promise I'll leave one next time. I'll even put it on the fridge, where I KNOW you'll find it."

Dane hugged her for a moment, his sense of relief nearly overwhelming. She was like his little sister, he loved her more then life itself. If anything happened to her, he'd be devastated. He had no family to speak of, only her. They'd taken care of one another for so long he didn't know how to live without her.

He leaned back to look down at her with a smirk. "Next time, huh? He's another next time guy? Your love life sure seems to be rather climactic lately. No pun intended, of course."

Lora stuck her tongue out at him and then said, "I am not going to dignify that remark with a response. I think I'll go to bed. It's been a long day."