Summary: AU. Kevin Levin visits his mother only to find that she's been attacked and murdered. With her dying breath, she tells him that she's not his real mother but his mother was a woman named Mary Lloyd. He is contacted by someone claiming to be his mother and learns of a mysterious cabal known as The Court of Owls.
Chapter One
Kevin Levin opened the door of his car and walked into his mother's house. It was a routine visit, he always made sure to visit her while he was off at college with Gwendolyn. He never forgot to make time to see her while he was back in Bellwood.
He walked inside the house, he immediately noticed something was wrong. Furniture strewn everywhere broken. There was blood, so much blood.
He found his mother, lying in a pool of her blood in the kitchen. Kevin knelt and scooped her up in his arms, trying to stop the bleeding.
His mother gasped, trying to speak, "Kevin, there's something I have to tell you, I'm…I'm not your real mother."
"What do you mean, Mom, you're the only mother I have."
"Her name…her name was Mary Lloyd, she had a one-night stand with your father at Haly's Circus, she gave you up for adoption but he took custody of you and refused to let her see you. That's why you never knew who she was."
"What happened to her Mom?" Kevin asked, his mother didn't move, she was dead.
"No, no, no!" Kevin wept, his tears mingled with his rage.
"Kevin Levin, the Court of Owls has sentenced you to die!" a voice said behind him.
Kevin managed to grip the assassin's wrist and absorb the metal from the hilt of the circus throwing knife.
Kevin began smashing his metal-covered fist into the assassin's face, kneeing him in the gut.
Kevin felt the tip of a throwing knife bounce off his shoulder.
Kevin unholstered and fired his Techadorian Blaster, shooting the assassin in the head. His weapon was normally used against dangerous aliens but this was most certainly an emergency.
He watched as the assassin stood back up and continued to attack him, trying to stab him in the gut.
"What are you?" Kevin asked in shock.
"Death is merely a wound, the Court wants your head, Kevin Levin, people like you have been sentenced to die."
"If you're gonna kill me you're gonna have to work for it!" Kevin snarled.
Forming the metal covering his body into a pair of blades, he hacked and slashed at his opponent.
Kevin managed to stab the assassin again but the man was unphased by it. He just kept coming at him. The man slammed Kevin into the wall, trying to knock him off his feet.
Suddenly, a dozen red X-shaped shuriken buried themselves inside the assassin dressed in an owl suit.
The black-clad figure slammed a pair of X-shaped shuriken into the assassin's wrists, pinning him to the wall.
The thief turned to him.
"Kevin, we have to go, I'll take you to a safe house, I can explain everything there," the voice said, it was hidden behind a mask and a voice synthesizer.
"Just who are you?" Kevin asked.
"Red X," she replied.
"Are you the one that fights the Teen Titans?" Kevin asked, curious.
"No, I stole the suit from that guy, he was quite shocked. I need this for my purposes, but I was hoping to lay low in this town for a while."
"You didn't pick a good town for that, not with Benji around," Kevin chuckled.
"Call the cops, tell them what happened, I'll see you afterward," Red X vanished.
Kevin did what he was told, gave a police report, everything important. It felt robotic like it wasn't real.
Ben and Gwen immediately arrived after he called them.
"Kevin, I'm sorry for your loss, if there's anything we can do," Gwen began.
"You being here Gwen is enough," he reached out and held her. "I…I'm trying to work through this."
"We're gonna find who did this and make them pay!" Ben vowed. "Your mom didn't deserve this. Nobody attacks family, they're not going to get away with this!"
"Ben, whatever attacked me, it was human, they could regenerate somehow. Said something about a "Court of Owls", ever heard of it?"
"No, never heard of it, what about you? You've been all over space, I thought you would know something," Ben shrugged his shoulders.
"Nope, never heard of them either."
"Gwen, let's go, we're gonna shakedown all the villains in town, the sooner we get started, the better," Ben said.
"I should stay with—"
"It's fine Gwen, I need some time to myself right now, you've done more than enough, I'll see you later," Kevin said, excusing her, he needed to speak to Red X alone, and he didn't want them there for it.
Once everyone was gone, Red X reappeared.
"I didn't come here to see Ben, I came here to see you," Red X told him. "Come with me."
Kevin followed her, he found a black motorcycle parked on the side of the street. It was an amazing ride.
He climbed onto the back and let her drive him across town. This was a strange, unexpected turn of events, and he had to wonder why the notorious thief would show up in Bellwood, Red X was known for dealing with the Teen Titans, whether it was stealing in their city or aiding them in fights against supervillains. Ben had his own rogues' gallery and was not above threatening to put his enemies down permanently if they became too dangerous.
Kevin knew that firsthand, Ben had been quite ready to put him in the ground if Gwen hadn't talked him out of it.
It seemed that Red X was interested in him, but what the thief wanted, he was unsure of. This didn't seem like the Red X he'd read about in the newspapers, that Red X would have stolen something valuable. This one hadn't broken into any high-security buildings in Bellwood or they would have fought them already.
She opened up a warehouse door and entered. Kevin followed her inside. He was quite surprised, there were computers and equipment everywhere, state-of-the-art for Earth.
"Are you all right?" Red X asked, concerned.
"I just watched my mother die, how am I supposed to be all right?"
"Death is a hard thing to deal with, whether you are the victim or family. She'll take us into the mystery."
"She? Death is female?"
"One of her forms yes, it's the one she prefers for dealing with humans, but aliens see her as their culture's incarnation of Death. She is very kind and cares about us. She wants us to live the best we can until we see her."
"Yes, I've seen her, because I died a long time ago," Red X looked at him, quirking her head.
"So dead people can just come back to life?" Kevin asked.
"Well, certain dead people, I shouldn't be special, but the Court of Owls deemed me worthy of reanimation. They picked the wrong person for it, I hate rich people."
Red X pulled the mask off her face, "My name is Mary Grayson, and I am biologically speaking, your mother. Unfortunately, your father didn't want me to see you, but since my life was on the road at Haly's Circus, seeing you would be difficult anyway."
Kevin felt his mouth drop open a little. This woman was gorgeous. Blond hair, and green eyes, she was a bombshell for her age, she had to be in her mid to late thirties.
But wait, should she be in her forties or fifties? Kevin was confused.
"I was expecting you to be…" Kevin trailed off.
"Ah, I see, you're right, I should be older, but if you search my name on the Internet you'll find that I died in front of a thousand people."
"You're one of the Flying Graysons," Kevin realized.
"Yes, I am."
"But you're not dead now."
"I'm not right now, I was brought back to life, and not out of any good intentions. I was resurrected to be an assassin. I managed to get away, I stole this suit and I'm currently in hiding here in Bellwood. I was hoping to see you and have some peace and quiet."
"Isn't that the Red X suit Robin used to go after Slade?" Kevin asked, he remembered newspaper stories about it, which caused a big uproar.
"Yes, it's a very excellent suit. My son does get that from me," Mary told him.
"So you're also saying that Robin is my half-brother by you."
"Yes."
"Can I run your DNA against mine?"
"Of course, it will prove what I say is true."
He ran her DNA, it was a genetic match for her. Kevin was stunned.
"You do look like your father, I do remember him. He had a one-night stand with me long before I married my boyfriend. I was drunk and we wanted a good time with no strings. I didn't expect to get pregnant so I gave you up because I wasn't ready to be responsible. My best friend said you wouldn't hate me for it so I felt better about putting you up for adoption but your father said he wanted you, but that I wouldn't get to see you."
"He was abusive," Kevin scowled.
"I'm sorry, you deserve better, enough about him, tell me about you," Mary smiled.
"I have a garage that I work out of while my girlfriend Gwen is at college. I help her cousin Ben with the hero stuff, I'm sure you've seen the papers.
"Ben 10, hero of the Omnitrix, yes, I've seen the papers," Mary smiled. "You live a good life."
"So, why are you here…"
"Don't feel you have to call me Mom if you don't want to. I need your help, to investigate the Court of Owls," Mary told him.
"Just what are they?"
"A clandestine criminal cabal, a cult of demon-worshipers that want to open a portal to the Dark Multiverse."
"The Dark Multiverse is theoretical."
"It's very real Kevin, and I need your help to stop it."
"Why can't you get Robin to do this for you?"
"Because he's not willing to cross lines, you are, and I too have a criminal past that you'd understand quite well. If you don't want to, I understand, I'll do this on my own."
"How deep does this all go?" Kevin asked.
"Very deep, the Court of Owls is a secret cabal, they're everywhere. Whether it's politicians or ordinary citizens, they are always controlling things from the shadows."
"So they're here in our town," Kevin steepled his fingers.
"Yes, they've always been here, they're everywhere, and they'll use you and your friends to their advantage. After all, the spotlight's on Ben 10 they can hide in the shadows, why would anyone bother looking for a criminal cabal in a city that has its superhero."
"I loved my mother, she was one of the few people not put off by my mutation. Why'd they kill her?"
"I don't know, your mother seems very ordinary, nothing in her life shows that she's involved with them or even knows the Court of Owls exists."
Mary glanced at him, "I know this is a lot for you to take in, but I'll be here for you, no matter what you decide. I only wish I could have been able to find you sooner. I wasn't even allowed to know your name. Your father Phillip Levin made sure of that, but he legally changed his name from Vanaver to Levin, which made it harder for me to find you."
"Phillip Vanaver?" Kevin didn't recognize the name.
"The Vanaver family is a very influential family in Gotham City, one of the "First Families" there, like the Elliots, Cobblepots, the Crownes and Waynes."
"Never been to Gotham City," Kevin admitted.
"It's not a nice place to go, Haly's Circus has an annual show there, it's how I met your father."
"You seem like a nice person, why didn't he stay with you?" Kevin asked.
"It's too embarrassing for a rich, powerful man like him to be caught in bed with a carny," Mary laughed.
"I don't know if he would have stayed with you…"
"Couldn't fix him, we're too different. The only reason I did anything with him was because I was very drunk. It was consensual so don't worry about it."
Kevin sighed, he was still taking in all this information.
"You can stay here, I have a bed you can sleep in," Mary gestured to the bed.
"I was going to see my girlfriend," Kevin said, "But thanks for the offer."
"I'll drive you home, then you can take your car," Red X offered.
Red X drove him back to his house. She watched him get into his car and drive off.
Gwen saw her door open and Kevin walked into the house. She'd been waiting up for him.
"Kevin, we went all over town, no one knows anything about the Court of Owls."
"I appreciate it, but that's not something you need to worry about right now, I'll deal with it."
"If there's anything I can do for you…"
"You're doing enough right now, Gwen," he pulled her into a hug.
"I'm going to make them pay, but just stay with me right now, all right?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Gwen stroked his hair, holding him tightly.
"That's all I need for now."
Kevin stood in a suit in the rain at his mother's grave, his eyes glanced down at her gravestone, her name the only reminder of her existence.
Gwen and Ben stayed with him after everyone had gone.
"I'm going to keep digging, Kevin, there has to be clues somewhere," Ben told him.
"I'm searching for anything relevant to the Court of Owls, all I got was a nursery rhyme from Gotham City," Gwen sighed.
"Beware The Court of Owls, which watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."
"It doesn't matter who they are, they're going to be stopped, permanently," Ben said to himself.
"We shouldn't cross that line," Gwen warned.
"We're not Batman, some people won't stop unless they are stopped permanently."
"You're serious about this, Ben," Gwen said, warily.
"Yes, these people think they're dealing with Batman, I'm not him, I'll make them wish they were."
"Shouldn't we get the Teen Titans to deal with this stuff? Or the Justice League?" Gwen asked.
"Unfortunately kids, both teams are currently off-planet," Red X answered her question.
Ben and Gwen turned to face her.
"You're the supervillain, Red X," Ben said, "What are you doing in our town?"
"I have personal reasons for being here, but you people look like you could use a hand. I'm not the Red X that fights the Teen Titans, I stole the suit and I have my reasons for using it."
"There are no secrets when we work together, if you want to help us, you have to tell us who you are," Ben told her.
Red X removed her mask, "My name is Mary Grayson and Kevin Levin is my son."
"But isn't Mary Grayson a dead acrobat?" Gwen asked.
"Yes, I was dead, let's just say I was brought back to life and leave it at that."
"But how'd that happen?" Ben asked.
"Kevin's existence or my resurrection, for the former, I was very drunk and had a one-night stand, the latter is something called Electrum, do you know what that is?"
"It's a compound on the periodic table," Gwen answered, "But it shouldn't resurrect the dead."
"Yes, but this is a special kind, and I know very little about it, I'm offering to help you if that's what you want."
"And if we say no?" Ben asked.
"I can work alone, I have enough Xenothium to power the suit for a good long time," Mary held up the vial.
"So, what do you think?" Ben asked. "Kevin, is she your mom?"
"I ran the DNA test, she is."
"I'm not sure if I can trust her, but all the things I've heard about the Flying Graysons is that they were good people," Gwen said. "She seems to know a lot about what's going on."
"I'll do whatever it takes to make the Court pay for murdering my mother," Kevin clenched his fist.
Ben turned to Red X, "We'll work with you, this is going to be big isn't it?"
"This'll be one of the hardest opponents you'll ever face, are you prepared? Mary asked, putting the Red X mask back on.
"Yes," Ben replied, "The Court of Owls made its nest in the wrong town."