Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters depicted within, obviously. Jason Blood/Etrigan is copyright to DC Comics.
Author's Note: So I just recently finished the entirety of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and loved it, and I really loved the backstory that they gave for Jason, even though it's probably not so easy to follow in the comics. This story takes place chronologically before the beginning of the episode "A Knight of Shadows" (this opening prologue even more so), and is in line with both the DCAU continuity and my own personal DCU continuity, so it probably won't match up to the comics very well. Please note that this is my first time writing publicly and that I will (hopefully!) get better in time, so for the meantime, please enjoy!
It just keeps getting worse!
The young sorceress pacing around her cottage was so stressed she seemed ready to have a fit at any moment. How am I going to tell Arthur? Should I tell Arthur? Should I just run away from this whole kingdom and never return? It had been at least four months since she'd had that wonderful moment of weakness with her half-brother, a moment that she could never bring herself to completely regret, and now she had become fully aware of the growing bump in her stomach that she just couldn't ignore. My life, it just keeps getting worse! The amber flames in the fireplace seemed to crackle in agreement with her frantic movements. She was going to start wanting to kill things if this agitation didn't let up soon. And she didn't really feel like mustering up the strength to go and start terrorizing innocent civilians, even if it would take her mind off of this pounding in her chest.
With a small cry of anger, the young woman collapsed into her small chair near the fire and buried her face into her knees. Come on Morgaine, she thought to herself, You can do this. All you have to do is ask Arthur to take in the child once it is born. Even if it can't be royalty, it can at least have a father who loves it. Even if I can never see it again, I will at least know that it is safe deep within Camelot's walls. Morgaine began to tug at her long, black hair, that damned nervous habit that she could never seem to get rid of, and looked into the small mirror on her mantle. She had always tried to give off an air of confidence and sophistication, like her mother and sisters had always seemed to do with ease, but in the end, all she really was was just a scared young lady with magical powers. In the end, she was what she'd always feared she'd become. And at this moment, she wondered if that was all she'd ever be. I'll do it, she decided, I'll go to-night and make him listen to me. I'll take on every guard in the castle if I have to! Although she sincerily hoped that she wouldn't have to use her magic for this venture. It was one thing to magically force someone to love you for a night, another to completely destroy their home.
) O (
Night had fallen in Camelot, and since it was a new moon, the land was blanketed in a darkness far more advanced than was normal. Because of this, along with the fact that the kingdom was currently experiencing one of the coldest winters in memory, Morgaine found it rather easy to get through the castle gates undetected. The cold had spread illness to many of the palace guards and had left the entire complex quite short of staff. Turning into a shadow and gliding across the walls was almost too easy. She slunk through the familiar surroundings like a cat does its territory, remembering how a few months earlier she'd taken this route almost exactly, just so that she could get to her beloved half-brother. Of course, her intentions at that point in time had been rather different, but it was technically because of him that she was making this trip anyway, so she felt the need to compare it to something.
At last, she reached the chambers of the great King Arthur. A simple sleeping spell on the guards in front of the room and she walked inside, practically holding her breath in tension. "Arthur?" she spoke tentatively, "May I have a word?" Arthur stirred and looked around his room for the source of the voice, causing Morgaine to shrink further into the darkness. Arthur's wife, Guinivere, had begun to stir as well. Morgaine used a bit more magic to make her voice only be heard by Arthur, and said with much more assertion, "Arthur, I wish to speak with you!" "Morgaine?" the tired king spoke with uncertainty. "Yes, it is I." she replied, "Now come out of your room immediately. This is urgent."
The king was understandably irritated with this intrusion into his quarters, and left his bedroom nearly fuming. "Alright Morgaine," he spoke in a voice that was quiet yet seemed much louder, " I am out of my room, and now you tell me what was so important that you dared to show your face in my palace again!" Well, this reunion seemed to be going quite well. At that little outburst, she stepped out into the faint light of the castle walls, revealing the sight of her now swelled midsection. At first, it seemed as though Arthur didn't understand why she wasn't speaking, but over time, a look of realization slowly spread across his face. He turned his face downward, looking simultaneusly angered and bewildered. It really was a sight to see. "I was hoping that you would consider taking in the child as your own." Morgaine said solemnly.
"That was quite a wishful hope."
Morgaine was shocked by how much spite managed to fill every word of that sentence. "You don't even care that it is your child, Arthur?" "As far as I am concerned, that isn't my child." the king said with acidity. Morgaine could feel her magic burning her hands as she tried to remain calm. Arthur saw the faint glow from her hands and shifted his face to a haughty smirk. "Go ahead." he said with a challenging tone, "Use your magic on me once more, sister. That's how you've gotten everything else in your life is it not?" Morgaine was getting more flustered by the minute. "You know that isn't true, brother!" "Are you sure? From what I recall, you couldn't even get the man you loved to lie with you without the use of magic." Morgaine couldn't think of a response besides gritting her teeth harder than she ever had before. "And now," Arthur continued, "you expect me to care for this welp that you created through your perversions," his voice was becoming close to a yell, "and soil my good name by caring for this bastard child I wanted nothing to do with! Well I have news for you dear sister," he was getting close to Morgaine's face, "I. will. never. raise. your. little. abomination. EVER!"
"Is that your final decision?" Morgaine was almost in tears from frustration. How could her brother be this uncaring? Even when she had come to him in this, her most desperate and humiliating moment? She was starting to wonder why he'd ever been considered a worthy heir to the throne. "Yes." Arthur said as blunt as a rock. The young sorceress couldn't take anymore, and through tears and strained voice managed to croak out "Fine then." She fled from the castle as fast as her magic could carry her and didn't bother looking back. She figured that her brother would probably make up some story to explain his shouting to his wife. She didn't care. She was more focused on the fact that she was truly alone with this child, and no one was ever going to help her again. Arthur would make sure of that.
) O (
A few months later, thanks to some help from her magicks (You'd be surprised what wonders some herbs and energy work could do), Morgaine gave birth to a healthy, screaming baby boy. Exhausted, she held the child to her chest and looked at it in happiness, however her contented smile didn't last very long. She noticed that although the boy was lovely, his features looked almost exactly like Arthur's, from his blonde locks to his royal facial structure. She stared at the tiny royal laying in her arms and gained a new, bitter smile. She would now have to be reminded of this mistake for the rest of her life every time she looked at her son. She held the sleeping babe to her chest and wept late into the night.