Legacies Best Forgotten II
By: Malaizjan De Jesus
Author's Note: A fellow author (Reina Grayson) and I have been bouncing each other's OCs in the Batman Beyond series. Now eventually, it'll lead up to the final story: An Apprentice's Future. This was originally slated for my "Future" Saga that housed many of my OCs originally before she breathed new life into them and I altered them for one of Reina's fics. Now they are in the Batman Beyond series and I like the shift. So here's the list of fics we both did in regards to Terry and his new friends/heroes.
Batman's New Sidekick, By Reina Grayson
Meeting Your Family, By Reina Grayson
Meeting Your Family 2, By Reina Grayson
Legacies Best Forgotten, By Reina Grayson
Meeting Your Family 3, By Reina Grayson
Batman's Crush, By me
Batman's Crush II, By me
Batman's Crush III, By me
And now Legacies Best Forgotten II, By me
As this fic ends, I would like to thank the few that are following this fic. There are a few more one shots that are coming by Reina Grayson and myself. And all of these fic will lead up to the finale "An Apprentice's Future". And I finally got Jason Todd into these fics. So if you would like to see more of Jason as he sets on a course to redemption, keep reading. Rated T for torture and Jason's mouth.
Chapter 7
An hour later…
The team was out of commission. Only Orin (Aqualad), Areina (Red Bird) and Terry (Batman, no duh!) were remaining. In Watchtower, the rest of the team was in recovery, which left the reserve team remaining. Tigress (Artemis), Flash (Wally), Tempest (Kaldur), Ms. X (M'gann) and Superboy (Conner, no duh!) were seeing to their injured kids. Warhawk, Static and Gear were on their way.
But in the conference room, Jason and Dick were arguing. The two brothers who haven't been on the same side of the law were in a stand-off. Orin, Terry and Areina were there. Meygan was recovering in her room.
"You went to my daughter, Jay! You told her! How could you involve my kid in this crazy plan to take down Ian!" cried Dick.
"Look, your girl has done more for me than you and the old man!" Jason retorted.
"How dare you-!"
"Let me finish! She healed my soul. I don't know how except that her touch was ice cold. You and I weren't even speaking so I went to her. Do you think I was going to come to either of you!?"
"You kill people!" Dick reminded Jason.
"Most deserve it! And I did until your daughters healed me!" Jason knew it was against the code but he ripped his domino mask off. "I was being manipulated by Ra's a Ghul and didn't even realize it. Meygan noticed it! She pointed it out for me! She offered to help me."
"Wait-you said daughters. Molly healed you!?" Areina asked.
"Yeah. Little Molly healed my mind."
"And they said nothing." Dick had no idea his youngest could keep things from him. She never did before.
"Look, Meygan thought it was a good idea for me to accept Ian's invite and pass the intel to her-"
"And me," Tim interrupted. He had to step in and tell his stake in this game gone wrong. "I was their go between when I realized what was going on."
"Tim…" His baby brother too? Dick felt like all that he did years ago, the deception, the lies that kept Kaldur and Artemis safe…it was coming back full circle. "Why didn't you tell me!?" Dick yelled at Tim.
Jason moved so fast that no one saw him until he threw a punch and connected to Dick's jaw. "You don't get to yell at Tim!"
Dick punched back.
It was an all-out brawl.
Meygan woke up feeling weak. She sat up slowly, realizing that she was back in Watchtower. "Okay Mona. Get out."
Demona broke away from Meygan and she hit the floor. Her red skin and curly hair popped up as she got to her feet. "Ow."
"Sorry, Mona." She smiled at her 'other' half. "I wanted to see if I could use magic again."
"So soon? Meygan, you need to rest. You nearly died because we were separated for too long."
Meygan shook her head. She looked around her room for a cup.
"You're as stubborn as your dad!" Demona told her.
"I know." Seeing a glass, Meygan slid out of the bed and she picked it up. She went into the adjoining bathroom and filled it up with water. Returning, she placed it on a side table and went to the other side of her room.
Demona said nothing, knowing it was useless to do so.
Meygan focused on the water within the cup. She tried to get the water to move but it was still.
There was a knock on her door.
"Enter," Meygan sighed.
Lady Merline walked inside once the door opened. "Meygan." She hugged her daughter.
"I'm okay mom." Meygan made no move to pull away.
"What were you thinking?" Serenity asked, pulling from her daughter. "Teaming up with Jason?"
"He's family! And he came to me because Ian approached him."
"He turned to crime," Serenity said gently.
"Until last year. I showed him that he was being used. He didn't believe me at first."
"Wait. In Taiwan? This happened when the team stopped the industrial war?" Serenity was concerned.
"He promised me he'd never kill again."
Lady Merline couldn't believe it. But she was still leery of Jason. She had to be. Because Jason has gone back to his ways despite saying he wouldn't in the past.
"Mom, if Jason is faking all of this, Demona would tell me. And I would make his soul die, since I healed it."
Demona nodded, agreeing.
"All I'm going to say is to be careful." Serenity would be watching him too.
"Mom, I know you're mad."
Serenity sighed. Meygan read people better than her dad. "Why didn't you come to us when Jason came to you?"
"I thought I could handle it. Dad did."
Serenity sighed. "You aren't your dad."
"I know that! But Ian's been trying to take us out for years. And he's now trying to free Slade. Do you think I want him out!?"
"Of course not!" her mother snapped. "But you didn't have to try and save the world by yourself!"
"Mom, he reformed the Legion of Doom! That's scary enough…"
"Meygan…" Lady Merline had to take a calmer approach. "We will stop Ian. No more secrets. No more hiding anything from us, okay?" Serenity got ready to leave. Her word was often the final word. But she stopped and turned. "I sense magic."
"Mona," Meygan said quickly.
Demona smiled.
Serenity's hope tanked. She thought maybe… it didn't matter. She left her daughter's room. Her hand went to her stomach. She hoped for a water wizard. She wanted to have a wizard for each element. And she was so close now. Just another kid ought to do it. Then Morgan would be gone forever.
As soon as Serenity left, Demona growled. "You should have told her. She's your mom!"
"I'm a joke of a sorceress. What happened at the warehouse was a fluke. I'm not going to get my mom's hopes up thinking my magic came back," Meygan said. "I'm already a disappointment to her."
"You're not, you know. She's proud of you. And it wasn't your fault that you died."
Meygan stared at the water in the glass. She was a joke. Born into a wizard family and no magic to show for it because she had to go and be a hero and that got her killed. For giggles, she said, "Pu esir retaw."
Seconds later, the water rose up out of the cup on command.
The girls were shocked.
Meygan had tears in her eyes. It wasn't a fluke. Her magic had indeed returned. But she was a water elemental, not fire. "Nruter." And the water returned to the cup.
"Still think you're a disappointment?" Demona asked quietly.
"We can't tell anyone. I need to train, to study water magic. I want to make my mom happy again. The four elemental wizards of Merlin will rise again if I can use this magic."
"We'll have to separate often. But I don't mind. This is important," Demona agreed. "You can do it Meygan. You can prove Doctor Fate wrong. Your parents love you. Unlike mine…"
Back at the conference room…
"OW!" Dick grabbed his butt as Areina's fireball hit him.
Jason swore as the same thing happened to him.
Both Terry and Orin tried to intervene but they got more injuries and had to go to the Infirmary. Areina stepped in to end the nonsense. "You two act your ages! Uncle Dick, would you have believed him if he came to you?"
Dick paused. His own niece was calling him out on how he was acting. Reiena would have done the same. He realized that he wouldn't have. He would have beaten the crap out of him for daring to come to him. "No," he finally answered.
"So he went to Meygan. Being a leader isn't easy and she's co-leader. She made a choice. You're her dad. Didn't you do the same thing?" Red Bird saw the look on Dick's face. "Batcomputer," she added.
"Oh." Damn. She was right, his niece. Meygan was just doing what he had done decades earlier. Batman was proud of him in the end. He didn't want another Bruce on his hands though. He made sure that was the only time he pulled that stunt. And Meygan had to learn that lesson too.
"Look, I knew Meygan would believe me. Don't blame her; she's every bit like her dad," Jason added.
Oh, that settled it. She had to be reprimanded. "Jay…thanks. Thanks for helping," Dick forced out.
Jason read his "older brother's" body language. "Hey, don't throw a parade or nothing. Not for me." He stalled Tim's coming protest. "Look, I may be an asshole-" He saw Dick's glare. "Ok. I'm a complete asshole. I did things against the code. I still believe some villains still need a bullet to bite. But this past year, I've learned to be creative and your daughters saved me, Dickie-bird. I don't regret killing but I will keep my promise to your girls."
"You agreed to that!?" said Tim.
"Yeah. Meygan's persuasive."
Dick walked up to Jason. His wayward brother was in a fighting stance. But Dick wasn't looking for round 2. He stared hard into Jason's eyes, looking for the lie hidden away. But there wasn't any. Jason was speaking from the heart. He threw his arms around Jason.
Jason was stiff. He didn't like hugs.
"Group hug!" Tim announced and he joined them.
"Oh, come on!" Jason protested.
Areina giggled. The scene before her felt right. She wished her mom was there to see it happen.
"Let go or I start shooting," Jason threatened.
Tim and Dick let go and backed away in 3 seconds.
Areina laughed.
The three "brothers" looked over at Red Bird.
Jason's eyes turned serious. "Red Bird, can we talk before I go?"
"Wait. You're leaving?" Tim asked.
"Yeah. I need to adjust. Yesterday, I was a villain. Today…I…I need time."
"I'm going to check on the kids." Tim was quick to leave.
"I'm going to talk to Meygan." Dick headed for the door.
Jason caught his arm as he walked by. "Go easy on your girl."
There were a few tense moments before they nodded and Jason let Dick walk away.
Areina had watched the exchange. She walked over to Jason. "So…what did you want to talk about?"
"I'll tell you once I get a tube."
Dick knocked on Meygan's door minutes later.
"Come in." Meygan was at her comp when her dad walked in. She knew she was in trouble.
Dick walked in, went to his daughter and pulled her into his arms. "I was worried. Your mom and I were worried."
"I'm ok." Meygan knew it was coming. She knew her dad well.
Dick slowly let go of his oldest girl. "You should've come to me when Jason came to you."
"Dad, you still thought of him as a villain. I knew better." Meygan folded her arms.
Dick felt the headache coming. "You two didn't have to try and take on the Legion of Doom yourselves."
"But you did with the Reach and the Light."
"That was different."
"How?" Meygan challenged.
Dick sighed. His daughter was just like him. But there was a bit of Brice in her too. He was worried about that. It took him a long time to get the others to even talk to him. Some still wouldn't to this day. "You put your team in danger. Your brother, Brian, Billy Vincent and Kevin are down. All because they didn't know who they were fighting!"
"I didn't know either! I'm sorry they got hurt! But I didn't plan on getting captured!"
"And you didn't say anything about fixing Jason." Dick was doing his best to not get mad. But he was failing.
"You didn't try to help Uncle Jason. Unlike you and Grandpa Bruce, I knew he wasn't a lost soul. I had to try. And I'm glad I did. He so valuable, even the bad guys wanted him first."
"Meygan's, Jason's marked. Word of his apparent side switching will get around. And if the LOD survived the warehouse, they will go after him."
"He didn't want Slade out! And neither do I! He killed Uncle Roy! He killed me!" Meygan cried. "So we delayed them. Job done."
"The prison is on high alert. But why do they want Slade out?" Dick asked her.
"I don't want to know," she admitted.
"Meygan…a covert mission's meant to know every possible angle. What if the LOD decided to go without Deathstroke? Then what?"
"I…" Meygan had no answer.
Areina and Jason were in the Mother Box room. The Red Hood felt the strong protection spells keeping the few boxes safe. Red Bird picked up one. "So…"
"Yeah. Listen Red Bird…. I knew your parents. You dad told me about your trip to the past. He was proud of you. Both of them were." Jason saw the few tears in her eyes. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to make you cry."
"These…are happy tears." Areina wiped them away.
"I better go." Jason saw Areina activate the box. "One more thing. Listen to Dickie-Bird. He will keep you safe."
"What about you?"
"I promised your dad I would do the same. So I'll be there when Dick isn't." Jason then left, via Boom Tube. He needed time away, to think. To decide if he wanted to see the team again.
Dick took a breath and let it out slowly. "You almost destroyed the team, regardless if it was intentional or not."
"Dad, I-"
Nightwing held his hand up. "You kept a mission from the team, the League, even me. I will not let another Bruce infiltrate this team. Nothing, no mission, is worth losing your team, your friends, or your family over. So, from this moment forward, you are suspended from the team. I will decide when you can rejoin." Dick's stomach knotted tight. He didn't want to do it, not to his own kid. But he had to.
"Hey Dick? It's Tim."
Nightwing touched his comm. "Yeah Tim?"
"Conner wants to talk to you."
"Ok. I'm on my way." He cut the comm.
"Dad, I'm co-"
"I know. A leader sets the example and follows it. You're still suspended and that's final." Dick then left Meygan's room.
Meygan was mad. The rage inside was seething. Her dad suspended her. Her!? She then let the rage out and Demona was more than happy to help.
Jason touched down in Bludhaven, about 4 blocks away from his weapons cache. If his brother knew he was in his turf, the two would have clashed before now.
He headed for his stashed bike and headed out. It was time to head home to Western Metropolis. The new cesspool of crime was there.
Meygan teleported into her room in Bludhaven, her anger under wraps for the moment. She looked down at her bloody hands and went to wipe them up before bandaging them.
She knew she had to leave. To avoid exploding at her dad for what she felt was the right thing to do, she had to runaway. She knew how important Plan Bs were and she had one. Meygan went to her closet and popped off the panel and pulled out her backpack. She grabbed it and her leather jacket, placing them on her bed.
After a quick change into jeans, a tee, combat boots and fingerless gloves, she braided her hair and slipped her jacket on. Backpack in place, she grabbed her magic satchel. Meygan needed a few spell books before she set off to train alone.
Jason took longer than he would have liked. He had all his guns packed and loaded up on his bike. He was heading out of Bludhaven, was a few miles away from the border when he saw his niece Meygan flying just ahead of him. "Meyg!" he called out. He sped up to meet her.
Meygan looked back and stopped flying. She landed as he pulled up. "Hey, Uncle Jason."
Jason saw the bags and knew. "Where you going?"
"Don't know. Don't care," she answered.
"What happened?" Jason asked.
Meygan sighed. "I'm suspended."
"Damn, little girl. I'm sorry."
"Guess dad can only be dad."
Jason's eyes narrowed. He knew something was up. "Come with me. Tell me all about it over dinner."
"I shouldn't…"
"Look, I got you into trouble. And you shouldn't be on the streets alone." Jason took off his motorcycle helmet and held it out to her.
Meygan thought about it for a minute. She then took the helmet from Jason, put it on and then hopped onto the back of the motorcycle.
"Hold tight, kid. I'll take you to my place." Jason started up the motorcycle and he smiled. He was finally feeling like he was part of something good again.
The motorcycle tore down the road and was out of Bludhaven in 4 minutes flat.
Tigress held her son's hand as she waited for Vincent to regain consciousness.
Behind her was Flash, who was anxious for his son Brian to open his eyes.
Conner and M'gann were with a conscious Kevin, who was getting all traces of the Kryptonite flushed from him. Luna sat on her dad's shoulders.
Serenity sat with her son, Mathen, who was recovering from being poisoned.
Gear had arrived just a few minutes earlier and he was at his son's side. Billy was resting.
Tim watched as Static talked to Shock and Warhawk praised his son, Airhawk. He eyed Kaldur with Orin. Orin was talking to Terry while Areina held Orin's hand.
His eyes narrowed.
Dick walked into the Infirmary.
Conner got up. "Dick, what the hell's going on!?"
"Looks like there's a new Legion of Doom, being led by Stalker," Dick explained. "Red Hood and Rave thought to take them down from within."
That got everyone's attention.
"She didn't," Kaldur said, the memories of his time as "the traitor" returning.
"Don't worry. Jason broke his cover to save her and Areina."
"But I don't understand why," Areina said out loud. "He called us his nieces."
"He had a dangerous crush on your mom," Wally said, forgetting to sensor his words. "But Roy put him in his place fast."
"Wally," both Tim and Dick said at the same time.
"But…my mom and him were sibs…"
"Not by blood," Dick told his niece.
"He was sick but I fixed him." Molly poked up behind her mom. "I could felt how damaged he was."
"Speaking of, Molly. Come here." Molly did as she was told, standing before her dad. "What happened last year in Taiwan?"
Molly shifted in place. "I-I felt his mind. How jumbled it was. He-Uncle Jason- didn't deserve that. He was trapped in this bad cycle. Meygan knew his soul still had good in it. So I begged her to help me. Help me fix him."
"Molly…" Dick sighed. "I warned you kids to stay clear of him."
"I can't help my magic! Mey-Mey understood. She showed him he was being manipulated into situations that made him kill. And I had to help him. You, Uncle Tim, Aunt Barb, Grandpa Bruce, the League, NO ONE helped him!"
"Molly, we believed Jason was beyond all help," Ms. X said. "None of us has you gifts."
"I asked Mey-Mey to help me and it worked. Don't be mad at us."
"Wait-so Jason's back?" Conner asked.
"He is. But Mey-Mey said that Talia needs to be stopped. So Uncle Jason doesn't get tricked into killing again." Molly got real nervous when her dad kneeled before her.
Dick couldn't believe that his daughters did the impossible. Jason had been taken from them. Then Ra's a Ghul brought him back. A dark gift. To know that Ra's had other reasons to bring Jason back…he should have known. He was proud though. Dick hugged Molly. "Thank you, sweetie. For saving your uncle."
Molly giggled.
Now Dick felt guilty. He stood up. "I'll be right back." He left the see Meygan. He hurried over to the living quarters. He understood now. Having Jason on their side again…it was a wish come true.
If only Reiena was here. She'd be so proud.
The girls wanted to heal their extended family. Molly had wanted to heal Bruce's heart, but he refused. But getting Jason back, that was something he didn't think was possible. Molly was truly a miracle.
Dick got to his oldest daughter's room and knocked on the door.
He got no answer.
He went to the keypad. He typed in her code and the door slid open.
Nightwing was not prepared for what he saw.
The lights were barely working. The walls and circuitry were ripped apart with claws. The ceiling was gone, shredded and on the floor. Every piece of furniture was torn apart and shredded in anger and rage.
"No…" he whispered.
Meygan was gone.
***Meygan is gone from the team and with Jason Todd. What kind of trouble will she get into being with her Uncle Jason? And what will happen when Serenity finds out what her husband did? And will the team be able to bounce back and find Meygan? All this and more when Reina Grayson picks this up in her next fic! So stay tuned! ***
