A Few Weeks Later, Dick's Birthday
Areina and Dick had just had a long talk about Reiena, and it was good that they did as they both had been feeling alone...since it was Dick and Rei's birthday. The second generation fire controller had just learned about her aunt's try to save Reiena and that after it didn't take Reiena accepted her fate.
She needed to be somewhere warm...somewhere that she was safe for most of her life. She boom tubed into the Batcave and was already feeling better, but she wanted to talk to her grandfather.
As she came out of the Batcave, the sounds echoed through the house, and reached Bruce's room.
She was soon outside of his room without knocking, opened the door slightly and saw him sleeping.
Ace growled instantly.
Areina opened the door completely and saw Ace standing on the bed, his body over Bruce's and he was ready to attack.
"Ace, it's just me, boy."
Bruce woke up and turned his head. "Areina, what are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to talk to you, but you were sleeping...till Ace woke you up. I was going to wait till morning."
"Down, Ace." Bruce said as Ace jumped off the bed, sitting next to it with puppy eyes. Bruce slowly sat up. "I wish Molly could have fixed old age."
Areina giggled a bit. "Only immortality can do that...which is what I wanted to talk about." At this her voice was serious.
"Dick's? Or that Serenity tried to with Reiena." he asked.
"What she tried with mom. Uncle Dick told me something about when Mathen and Marik were born, and...I didn't know who else to talk to."
"Let's go to the den. I'll be right down." Bruce threw back the covers. Ace went to Areina and jumped on her to lick her face.
"It's alright boy, I know you were just doing your job. Come on, let's go wait on grandpa."
With that the two headed out to the den.
Bruce made it to the den within seven minutes. Refreshed from the nap, he sat in his favorite chair as Areina sat across from him and Ace sat beside her on the floor. "Ok Areina. What did you want to know?"
"If the same thing happened to you...meeting a child from the future and learning you would die at a certain point...would you have asked for immortality, even knowing that you were supposed to die when you were told you would?"
"No. Not at all." Bruce answered honestly.
"Uncle Dick said that mom did...but after it didn't take, she didn't want Aunt Serenity to try again. She said that the only reason she did it was that she was scared...I think it was because I grew up without her." Areina said.
"I can believe that. Reiena and your uncle grew up without your grandparents. She never wanted a child to deal with that. And to know that you would..."
"At least dad didn't know he had died when I was seven. Uncle Dick said one other thing, that mom realized that she would have been just like Ra's if the immortality did take."
"Roy may not have known, but your mother did."
"What?"
"It was when Vincent and Meygan were in the past during the first war. Vincent didn't give a lot of details; just that Roy died when you were seven and that it was murder. She never told her husband, and I'm glad that she didn't, Roy wouldn't have been able to handle himself if he knew that, but then again….he would have gone to the warehouse anyway."
"So true, both my parents are true heroes."
"I don't think she would have been like Ra's."
"I don't think so either, but Uncle Dick said she was talking about the whole living when you KNEW you would die at a certain point in time; although Ra's IS taking it to another level by stealing bodies."
"That's true. That must mean that Strife's body wasn't suitable for human living."
"What if he had David's body?"
"An Atlantean's power would be a bonus, but it's still earth born, so it would probably survive."
"And if he can't get David...he'd go after a young body...maybe that's why he came for the boys when I was tortured along with Aunt Serenity..." Areina said with sadness and anger in her voice.
"So the Light wants Atlantean magic and Ra's wants a body...little Bruce is in the most danger if that's true."
"It's true, that's what David and Robecca said they wanted...well Ra's will have to go through hell...and I mean ME...to get my boys."
"I know. And there is one other person that they can try for...Kaldur."
"Or even my husband...I wish this war were over with. This Master has to go down." Areina said.
"Areina...I don't think Meygan is being honest about what she knows. She knows something."
"Precog can be a pain...I'm sick of the visions." Areina said, not realizing that her grandfather hadn't figured it out about HER yet.
"You have it, don't you? The same gift as Marik once did." Bruce asked.
"Turns out Marik activated mine at mom's funeral...that's also why my fire power didn't show till I was 17. It comes from Arthur's bloodline, but when my fire power came out; my precog was suppressed….until right before the first war."
"Then perhaps...Meygan has it as well. She was here that weekend, just for a night. There was something that she knew...and she wasn't talking about it. But she was afraid that she was pregnant." He saw Areina's eyes widen. "She's not."
"You ran the test...I figured, but her uncle in the past did give her a bit of help to get pregnant, guess it's just a matter of time."
Bruce laughed. "It is the heat season for Kryptonians."
"Oh man...looks like number three will be on the way soon then." Areina said, then she thought about something. "Grandpa...would you kill...if it were the ONLY way to stop a villain?"
"No. But perhaps that's what's weighing on your cousin's mind. For the longest time, Jason did. I know it's still hard on him but he had managed to keep the need to kill at bay. Once you kill, it's almost impossible to stop killing."
"I think...that killing this Master is the only way to stop him. He's relentless and wants us all dead. Besides, what about that prophecy about Morgan. Meygan, Marik, Mathen and Molly technically kill her."
"I know it wasn't on purpose. They broke the spell that kept her alive."
"I just wanted to know. Don't tell Meygan, but she told me that this master has no pure side, and that Etrigan said the only way to stop him was to end him."
"I don't think Jason will let her. And speaking of which, I better get ready for tonight. Damien and Terry should be coming by shortly." Bruce stood up.
"Grandpa, thanks for the talk, I had a lot on my mind." Areina said as she jumped up from her chair and hugged him.
"That's what I'm here for, Areina."
"I've got to get home, the boys will be wondering where I am, and I promised that Orin could take them to Atlantis."
"When do you plan to reveal your secret?"
"When they're older, right now I don't think they're ready." Areina said and with that she called a boom tube and headed out.
"Alright." Bruce was worried. He knew things were only going to get worse from this point forward.
He didn't envy Dick's mission one bit.
