The Downfall of the Team

By: Malaizjan De Jesus

Author's Notes: Reina Grayson had to help me with this final chapter, so 75% of this was written with her help. I would have been stuck on this if she hadn't. We had fun writing this together and I will not start AAF (An Apprentice's Future) until after Thanksgiving. I have to pace myself for I still need to write up the few chapters I did write down. So without further ado…

Chapter 3

Mathen Grayson, aka Nightwing II, sat at his sister's bedside as both she and his cousin, Areina, were out cold and were given the cure to the Fear Toxin. He felt so guilty for letting Strife enter him and making him say what he had always not voiced. But the damage was done; the Legion of Doom wanted to tear the team apart and with both leaders damaged, they won.

He stared at his little sister. He had felt like everyone was so concerned about her after she had died and came back. He knew it was because Aunt Raven had preform a miracle and no one wanted her to be caught like that again. So everyone trained her. Taught her a skill that they felt she could use.

And he got pushed to the side. But that wasn't the worse thing. The worse thing was his guilt. HE did this to her. He let her die. He let her face Deathstroke alone. HE was the reason she died in the first place. His own twin die, leaving him and Orin'ahm to deal with the aftermath. He caused death wherever he was.

And Mathen couldn't lead the team knowing he already tore his sister apart emotionally. All Strife did was push him to say what he felt. And that guilt was just as bad.

IT was a good thing that Miss X (formerly Miss Martian), his Aunt M'gann, was able to drive Strife out of him for good. But that didn't help with how he felt.

"Mathen?" Siren came into the Med Bay, walking past the comatose Kid Flash and the newest addition to the Kent Family, Wesley Kent, before standing behind Mathen. Her hand went to his shoulder. "They'll be ok. It wasn't your fault."

"I wrecked the team, Olivia." It was said quietly, softly, so no one could hear if they came in.

"You did not. That wasn't you."

"But they were words I've held in my mind and heart." Mathen looked up at Siren and her blonde hair tickled his nose, so he pushed it out of the way. "She's never going to forgive me."

"I think she will. I'm an only child, so I don't know for sure. Why don't we head off to eat? You haven't eaten in hours." Siren slowly pulled him to his feet. "I mean, if you won't want to eat, I can enjoy my ice cream and you can watch."

Mathen chuckled. Siren was so shy and cute when she fumbled with words. "Ok. I can watch you eat."

Siren blushed but she led the distraught leader out of the Med Bay.

Med Bay, hours later…

Areina woke up.

Faces were swimming in her line of vision before it cleared up. That's when she realized that the fear was gone. "Terry?"

It was Bruce that came into view. "Are you alright?"

"Mordred had a fireball with his name on it when I see him again." She slowly sat up. She saw Orin sitting in the chair next to her med bed, Terry behind him and Bruce was off to their left.

"You were lucky," Bruce said. "You didn't get much of the Fear Toxin into your blood. I think your body was burning it out almost as soon as it entered you."

"But it still affected me."

"It was high dose coming at you," Terry added.

Areina started to think about what the toxin had showed her and she began to cry.

"It's okay, Beautiful. Whatever you saw, it wasn't real."

Areina looked over at the bed next to her. Meygan was still out, a bag hanging over her with a line going into her arm. Kevin was holding her hand, a worried look in his eyes.

"I saw Slade kill Vincent. He said he got the last archer."

"Meygan wouldn't let that happen," Kevin said to Areina. "You've been cured now. It's over for you."

"What about Meygan?"

"Both her and Mona had enough Fear Toxin in them to kill them both. That's their 2nd bag of the cure," Bruce smiled sadly. Neither of his granddaughters deserved to get hit with Scarecrow's legacy like that.

"Two bags worth!?" Areina was ready to cry again.

"Jason, Dick and I had to whip up a batch fast, "Bruce added. His voice hitched; as if he still couldn't believe he had Jason back.

Areina leaned into Orin and he took her into his lap. "She's going to be fine. Meygan will bounce back from this, she always does. She's not called the Fearless One for nothing," he told her quietly.

Areina thought about it and that's when it came to her; Meygan wasn't going to be fine; not if that much toxin was in her blood.

Terry fingered his black and blue bruise on his face. "She kicks hard."

"That would have been because I taught her how," Orin said, embarrassed.

"Oh Terry." Areina saw the bruise and it was bad. "Where is everyone else at? I want to see Vincent." She had to see her younger brother. Just to be sure.

"I'll get him." Bruce made his exit.

"Dick and Jason had a team training exercise planned. SO everyone else is there." Terry then sat on the bed behind him.

"And Mathen?" She was so going to yell at her cousin when she saw him. Why would he do that to his own sister?

"That wasn't him," Orin said. "It was Strife. He got a hold of Mathen. We think it happened when he was trying to get Strife out of Meygan and he burned her."

"He needs to burn," she said, getting heated.

"After I drown him and Kevin rips his mind apart." Orin nodded to Meygan's mate and Kevin nodded back.

"We're out of time," Terry said. "The LOD keep coming at us."

"I agree. We need to find their true headquarters and invite ourselves in," Kevin told them. "Hit them where it hurts."

Areina then heard the door slide open and Vincent ran inside. His costume was a little dirty, which meant he had been training. She got up and ran to her brother, crying softly. She had to be sure he was ok.

Vincent held his sister close. He was happy she was ok too.

"Promise me that you won't ever face Slade alone."

"What?" Vincent was confused.

"He killed you in front of me."

Archeron nodded. "Meygan would have my head if I did intentionally," he said to his sister.

"So would I but I can't lose you, little brother," Areina said, tears flowing harder.

They were the same height so 'little' was relative. "I promise." He understood why his sister felt that way. They were Red Arrow's only living children. They were all the other had. He looked over at Meygan. He knew what both she and Mona dealt with. Their bond worked both ways and it took all of his self-control to stay sane. Mona had watched her own skin get peeled off of her. Meygan had died again. Meygan was afraid of Slade. Because he already killed her. And the bond-siblings knew he would do it again.

In another part of Watchtower…

Ace was getting closer to the source of the oddly familiar scent. He sniffed along the wall, heading for the power generators.

The Rottweiler mix then found a black puddle by the generators. He sniffed it. A low growl came from the dog's throat. This was the scent he had picked up.

The black puddle then lashed out, catching Ace and threw him into the wall, knocking him out.

"Stupid dog," the black puddle said, slithering away.

Back at the Med Bay…

Meygan woke up. Her eyes were red, taking in her surroundings. She wasn't cold. In fact, she was numb.

Again.

It disappointed her.

It had been so long since she had felt anything; hot, cold, anything and everything.

She sat up & felt her hand being held. Then she saw she was in her bra and panties.

Kevin was asleep next to her med bed and she blushed, remembering how she ended up like that; Mordred stripped her.

Meygan shook her head to clear it. She looked at her arm, seeing the fading scars of the thorns piercing her skin. She trembled, remembering that Mona tried to take in the Fear Toxin but it was too much for the demon to take. She followed the line from her arm to the bad hanging above her.

"Hey." Kevin sat up, wiping at his eyes.

Meygan pulled the sheet up to her chin. "Hi."

"Shy, my princess? I've seen every perfect inch of you," Kevin teased gently.

She knew she wasn't. She peered down at the scar right about her heart. IT was the only scar that never healed. Her eyes were to blue, blushing as it happened. "Behave, Kevin Kent."

"I always do."

Meygan watched as he gently pulled the sheet down to her waist. Then he took her into his arms and held her. "I thought you were going to die."

Meygan let him hold her. "I didn't mean to make you scared."

"I was terrified for you!"

"But I'm fine now." She gently eased herself away from his arms. "I'm cured." Meygan used her well-trained complacent smile to hide everything as Mona set herself up to not let Kevin read the truth.

"You're not, you know." Kevin sensed that she was but his instincts said otherwise. "Your grandpa wanted this bag finished before you can leave." Kevin probed her mind and everything seemed fine. "Mathen's been worried sick about you."

"You boys treat me like I'm fragile but I'm not."

"We know you're not."

"Um, where are my clothes? I want to get dress." Meygan knew she was temping Kevin as she was.

"Do you have to?" he pouted.

"Yes. Unless you want the others to see me like this. Or maybe Brian should wake up to me like this."

Kevin mumbled as he reached for a pile of clothes and handed them off to her. "Fine. But I want you later."

"Easy there, my Kryptonian Prince. Let me get all of this cure into me first."

It took some time, for the line had to be removed before she could get dressed. She wore jeans, a red flannel tee over a black long sleeved thermal. Then she pulled the sleeve back up to let Kevin reinsert the line.

Just as Meygan lay back on the bed, the Med Bay door opened and this generation's Dynamic Duo came walking through. "Meygan! It's great to see you're awake! I was worried about you, especially after I got a dose of the Fear Toxin. I told Kevin to tell Grandpa and Uncle Dick about it, and they got the cure ready," Areina told her cousin.

"Thanks cuz. I appreciate it. I'm all better now." Meygan knew it was coming though. She was going to have to put on a performance of a lifetime.

Areina and Terry shared a look.

"You were screaming and kicking at everyone once I got you free from those vines. You broke Terry's eye socket. What were you seeing to get you to react like that?" Areina asked, curious as to what scared her cousin so badly.

"And that's not what Bruce said. He said you and Mona would have been dead, you two had so much of it in you."

"Nothing, Areina. I'm good now. And Grandpa's getting senile in his old age. I can't die."

"Meygan, what did you see?" Kevin asked.

"Meygan…I saw Slade kill Vincent and that was just a tiny dose. You had tons more in you and Mona; please, what did you see? It's okay, it's only us around." Areina added, concern in her voice.

"I didn't see anything; it was all Mona." Meygan wasn't going to let anyone know she feared death. Especially if Slade was dealing it out. "And sorry about your eye, Terry."

"Hey, I better let everyone know you're okay." Kevin kissed Meygan on the cheek and took his leave. He knew those three were going to be arguing in a few minutes. Maybe that would wake Brian up.

"I'm not buying it, Meygan. I get that you're co-leader. I get that you are revered by the guys. But don't lie to us," Terry told her.

"I'm not," she said convincingly.

Areina heard the slight tremble in her voice. She had been raised to notice such things. "You're keeping it from us, that's the same as lying. Please Meygan, what's wrong?" the fire controller said.

"I told you both nothing! I won't betray Mona's trust in me! Her fears are no one's business!"

Terry was about to say something but Areina touched his shoulder. "Let's go, Terry. I'm sure Meygan and Mona will tell us when they both are ready."

Meygan's eyes went red. "Wow, Areina. You're so quick to give up already." But it wasn't Meygan's voice. The raspy voice was Mona, Meygan's demon.

"Hey, how about a warning next time," Terry said, seeing the wavering image of Mona over Meygan.

"Sorry, handsome. Meygan's just looking out for me. I didn't mean to hurt you though. It was me kicking, not her. I'm sorry."

Terry heard the remorse in her raspy voice. Demons…

"Mona…we don't know you very well, but I personally respect what Meygan said; if you don't want your trust in my cousin lost. When you're ready, you can tell us," Areina told the demon.

"I saw my family rip my skin off of me." They both gaped. "You're worried about Meygan. I didn't want you two to think it was some big secret."

"Some fears need to be shared. But you don't have to answer if you don't want to…why would your family do that to you?" Areina asked.

"When I agreed to help keep Meygan alive, I left my family behind. Destruction Demons don't help mortals; we feed off of them and kill them when we're done. SO I did the ultimate betrayal and helped a mortal. I can never return home. Because if I do, once my skin is peeled from my body, I would be hung from a pole and eaten alive."

Areina didn't know what to say and Terry was still trying to process it all. That was when Mona saw a single tear come out of Areina's eyes.

"Don't cry for me, Fire Master. I am 109 years old. I knew what I was risking when I left." Mona felt terrible for what she revealed to them. Terry looked ready to hurl once his mind processed it all. "You revealed your fear, Red Bird. I could at least reveal mine."

Terry still looked green. "So it was all you?"

"I tried my hardest to spare Meygan. But don't let her fool you into thinking she was unaffected."

"So she saw her fears too," Areina mused sadly.

"What did she see?" Terry asked.

"I can't tell you that, but I will tell you both this: when Meygan came back to life, she visited your father's grave, Areina."

Areina's jaw dropped. "What…why would she visit Roy's grave?"

"She made a vow to your father about Vincent. She overheard the adults the day he died. She knew from the age of 5 that Red Arrow was Vincent's father. So she vowed to him that Vincent would never die."

More tears came to Areina's eyes. How could someone so young make a promise like that? Meygan was just seven when Slade killed her and she was now keeping a very big promise to Roy.

"Now that she knows you're his child too, that promise covers you as well."

Now Areina understood why when they had been captured by Drow and Stalker together that she wanted to make sure she stayed alive.

"Meygan had the power to make Vincent an immortal, because of their bond. But he would have to choose that."

"What happened when Slade was here?" Terry asked Mona.

"I can't tell you that. But Vincent can." Mona then shook her head. Terry thought she was going to faint but Meygan's blue eyes returned. "Happy now? You got her to open up." Meygan sounded mad.

"We were just worried about you," Terry said.

"I don't want to lose anyone else to the LOD. I lost my dad to Slade and my mom to Ra's. You and Mona don't have to be alone in protecting everyone else. You have us," Areina added.

"We are alone, Areina. We are demon. We do what we must." Meygan folded her arms. "Now, if you don't mind, I like to check on Beta Squad." She unceremoniously pulled out the line and slid off the bed.

"You need to finish that bad," Terry told her.

"Make me, Batman." But Terry had briefly changed to Slade and back again on her suddenly. She maintained her composure, but just barely. She could deal with that on her own. She was a tough girl. When neither did anything to her, she shook her head in disappointment and walked from the Med Bay.

Areina watched her cousin go and she grew even more worried. Meygan was keeping so much from them all and Mona only gave her a small idea. She believed she knew what her cousin's fear was. IT was about Slade.

But to confirm it, she would ask her brother about when Slade invaded Watchtower when they were the only ones there. She wanted to know what happened to them.

*** That's it! It's time for the climatic story arc of this BB saga! Coming after Cyber Monday: #27: An Apprentice's Future:

The Flash was gone. Wally West, who had replaced his uncle as The Flash in the BB universe. The Legion of Doom has taken over the Earth. The heroes, their children and allies are trapped at Watchtower in space. Can Archeron (the son of Tigress and Red Arrow) and Rave (the eldest daughter of Nightwing and Lady Merline) save their Uncle Wally in the past and defeat the LOD? What role will Batman (Terry McGinnis), Red Hood (Jason Todd) and Kid Fate (the son of Nabu, the Doctor Fate) play in the outcome? Stay tuned to find out!