This story takes place before Titans East Chapter 40
Written by: Brekat/Nightvision
Co-conspirator/Editor: Power Guy

On the night of the anniversary of Brenda’s death, Brendon thought he had a lot on his mind, yet he did not expect that his routine patrol as Nightvision would lead to his greatest challenge yet as a person and as a hero. While perched on Lady Justice, he received a signal about a break in at Wayne Tech. Nightvision said “No breaks for the weary” and shot his bat-grapple out.

When he arrived at Wayne Tech, the night sky had disappeared, giving way to the image of midday look. As he approached the door, he sees the security guard at the front desk sitting as his desk.

“Nightvision, why are you out in the middle of the day?” the guard asked

“Sir, it is dark. Did you sound the alarm?” Nightvision asked as he looked around.

“No sir” the guard said puzzled, “the board says all is clear.” Just then, Nightvision seen the elevator open but no one was there. Nightvision switched the lenses on his mask to infrared which revealed a female figure.

“Who is there?” Nightvision asked, but no one responded. Nightvision started piecing together with the illusion of day, the guard seeing nothing on his monitors, and the villain hidden from normal eyesight that it must be a villain connected to his Grandfather Bruce or Dad’s past. He was recalling his training about the rogue files when the main door opened and all appeared back to normal.

Nightvision called for his Nightcycle and raced out the door. He saw the villain getting away heading towards the East End. He shot a tracer then his bike arrived. In high speed pursuit, he finally caught up to his opponent on the edge of Crime Alley. “Great. Not the place I really want to revisit especially tonight” Nightvision said in frustration.

He grabs one of his modified Batarangs and shreds the villain’s back tire of their bike and throws the villain off. “Well, I finally get to meet the current Dark Knight. I have heard SO much about you and what you are capable up. I especially loved to hear the heartbreak you have gone thru,” said the female villain as she removed her helmet.



“SPELLBINDER! I should have known. One of the few villains the Batman and Nightwing faced that has the powers to mesmerize and trick their victims to get away with what they want. So what were you after this time as if it really worth getting out of prison for anything since you are going back?” Nightvision exclaimed.

“Well, my boss wanted to see what you capable of in combat plus they needed some Wayne Tech devices to help continue their plans” Spellbinder said.

Nightvision leaped off his bike and pulled out his Escrima sticks ready for combat. As he went to try to subdue her with one of his sticks, Spellbinder quickly sidestepped the attack and took the stick out of his hands.

“Just as predictable as Batman and Nightwing once you watch their battles” Spellbinder said as she snapped the stick with one hand.

“You have super human strength. When did that happen? The profiles on your last outing said nothing about super reflexes and super strength.” Nightvision said with a puzzled look.

“Well let’s say I have been giving a rebirth on life thanks to my employer’s help, and I am more than willing to help in their cause. You don’t know everything that happens in this town or the world even though you have all the great resources of the past.” Spellbinder said. Nightvision then went for a leg sweeping trip when Spellbinder jumped over the trip in a flip, grabbed Nightvision’s cape and lands on her feet with Nightvision above her head in a press. “Let’s see if the Bat family can still fly after this evolution. Mtshan nag khung ga ler phebs” Spellbinder said as she heaved Nightvision down Crime Alley towards the closed movie theater.

While flying in the air and puzzled, Brendon noticed a woman in the alley who he nearly misses as he flew by and collided in the now featuring movie sign by the theater as the wall collapsed on him.

“Spellbinder to base” she said, “I have what you wanted. You were right about the Dark Knight trying to stop me. He is good and possibly a hard fighter to beat until your help. Requesting transportation back to base.” Just then a black shadow appeared for Spellbinder to step into and disappear into the night.

The woman who nearly was hit by the flying Nightvision went to check on him. She removed a brick by his face and checked for his pulse. She found he was still alive but probably badly hurt. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away.

A few minutes later Nightvision awoke and removed the bricks from around his body. “Ow. Now I know what Grandfather Bruce and Dad talked about battles with Bane and others and having things fall on them. Even with the armor, my body aches. Still need to see how Spellbinder got out of jail and what she took.” As he walked up the alley towards his bike, he noticed a scarf on the ground by the spot that Brenda was found dead years ago and ironically where the woman was standing tonight. “Odd, that woman must have dropped this in fright after I got thrown into the wall.” As he picked up the scarf, there was something eerily familiar about it. “This looks like a scarf I bought Brenda in Russia when I went there for training. I thought it was unique, but maybe it wasn’t.” Nightvision took the scarf and swung off to the Clocktower.

Back at the Clocktower, Nightvision switched out his costume and got ice out of the refrigerator and got onto his mother’s computer she used when she was Oracle.

“Thankfully, Mom and Dad kept this site functioning and connected since they retired.” Nightvision accessed the prison profiles to see what he could find out and uncover how she has super reflexes and super strength.

“The profile says she got her powers from Neron after she made ‘a deal with the devil’. She can induce genuine hallucinations as long as she is not blinded or has her eyes closed. Appears that she had run ins with Bruce, Tim, Mom, Black Canary, and Selina. It appears she was recently in Belle Reve, but she was ‘released’ after barely being in there a month. Reason for release-for a ‘new lease on life’. Wonder why that was said. Well since Belle Reve and released are in the same paragraph, I bet Amanda Waller is connected. It’s time she meets Nightvision again.”

Brendon packed his costume in his bag and left the Clocktower to his loft. He stayed up to watch some of the profile videos from the Bat-cave he had copied in case he needed them. Bruce had one for all the heroes and villains during his time in costume including battle scenes, weakness, and profiles that he put together. Brendon found the one on Spellbinder and watched in awe seeing his Grandfather and Mother fight. As he watched, he was puzzled that Spellbinder never ran from a battle and never showed any super human abilities “How did she get the super human abilities and why did she run. It was almost like she was leading me to Crime Alley.” As he watched, he realized that if he realized if she was working for others, he and other heroes could be in trouble.

Brendon fell asleep on his couch watching the video. During the night, he had a dream. It was a flashback of his time in college. He saw Brenda again, their first meeting, their first date, and how great she looked. Then the scene switched to his training in Russia. He dreamt about his training as Brenda watched. They went to the Russian flea market near the training facility. He recalled the woman he bought the scarf from that it was a precise piece and one of a kind hand stitched. Brenda really wanted it, and Brendon knew that she sacrificed some to go with him, so he purchased it. The dream continued a few days later with the meeting with the mysterious Talia and her statement as she looked at Brenda. Then the dream switched into darkness with him rushing out of training to meet Brenda. He saw her lying on the ground however that is when the story changed. In the dream, he ran off but this time he tripped on a sign marked in Tibetan “Gsar pa Srog" and he fell into a pit. He woke up covered in sweat and it was morning. He jumped into the shower and got ready for work.

At the Wayne Foundation, Brendon’s schedule was full of meetings in the afternoon, so he tried to meet his father in the morning. He got up to his dad’s CEO office and knocked on the door. When he opened the door, he was happy to see both his mom and dad sitting there. “Mom. Dad. Great to see you both. I need to talk to both of you.”

“What’s on your mind? Business or other?” Barbara said.

“Other.” Brendon said. “Can we talk about it?”

“Yes,” Dick said. “Your Grandfather made this office bug and spy proof in case he had to leave thru the secret tunnels fast for a crisis”

Brendon took his hand to his face and removed the make up covering his bruises and scratches. “What happened to you?” his dad asked.

“Last night of all nights, I had a run in with one of both of your rogue gallery members. Lady Spellbinder.”

“She did that to you?” Barbara asked puzzled, “I knew she was good in illusions, but the way you are walking and your face looks, I would say you went 10 rounds with Ted Grant instead of her.”

“I wished I did” Brendon said with a painful laugh. “I was out on patrol when I got a signal of a break in at Wayne Tech. Everything was typical of Lady Spellbinder when I arrived, but when I confronted her, that is when it got bizarre.”

“I got the report of the break in this morning from Wayne Tech. Looks like she got some experimental computer tech related to medicine and computer networking. What happened next?” Dick asked.

“Well, I called for the Nightcycle to pursue her which it is odd she ran. I got the chance to get my batarang out and broke her back tire of her motorcycle right by Crime Alley.”

“Of all nights. I am so sorry.” His mom said, “but that does not explain the bumps and bruises.”

“I don’t know if anything will Mom. I got off the Nightcycle to confront her. I was going to use the Escrima sticks to subdue her, but as I went towards her, she stepped out of the way and grabbed the stick out of my hand. Then she proceeded to snap the stick with one hand. I tried the leg sweep trip only for her to flip out of that and end up above her head. Next thing I knew, she said something in a foreign language, talked about Bat evolution and threw me from the end of Crime Alley into the old movie theater. I always wondered what it felt like for Superman to fly into walls, and now I know. In the process, I nearly hit a woman. The odd part is I swore someone kissed me while I was in the rumble. When I got out, there was a scarf in the alley that looked like a scarf I bought Brenda while I was in Russia.”

“That is extremely odd.’ His dad said, “Lady Spellbinder never showed any super strength or reflexes after her deal with Neron years ago. Wonder what happened that she changed. You mentioned she said something in a foreign language? Did you catch what she said? Did you see what the woman you almost hit looked like?”

“No on the woman. I was basically bracing for impact as I was thrown so hard that I didn’t have time to shoot a grappling hook to stop my momentum. I think Spellbinder said “Goodbye Dark Knight” in Tibetan, but isn’t she American?”

“As far as the intelligence I had, she was, “his mom said, “What are you going to do next?”

“Well I went to the Clocktower and checked out her profile. Appears she was in Belle Reve for less than a month, but she was released to get ‘a new life’. No other explanation was given. I figured Nightvision is due for a meeting with Amanda Waller tonight.” Brendon said

“Be careful and let us know if you need anything.” His mom and dad said together.

“Sounds like you may be getting led into a trap.”

“I will.” Brendon said. “I love you both. Mom I will see you later. Dad I will see you in the meeting after lunch.”

Since Brendon was running late for work, he had to go out for lunch. On nice days, he would walk to Robinson Park to get a Perez sandwich at the Kane sandwich stand then go on a walk around Wayne Botanical Park before going back to work. On this day, he ordered his sandwich and though that he would pick up a paper to see if it would shed any light on his mysterious night. As he wanted to newsstand, a woman was standing there looking in the direction of the park. As he crossed the street, Brendon noticed the woman vanished.

“Nice day we are having Mr. Grayson” Stephen Brown who ran the stand said. “What brings you here today?”

“Just a newspaper today unless you recommend something else” Brendon said.

“There was a magazine article about you and the computer division at the Wayne Foundation in GBS, but a young lady was interested in the article and bought my last couple. I should have more in a couple days.”

“Thanks Stephen. If you can keep a copy for me, your stand is the best in town, and I won’t buy from anyone else.”

“Thank you Mr. Grayson and you have a nice day”

Brendon ate his sandwich and took a walk around the Gardens and headed back to his office. When he got back to the office, his dad caught up to him, “Ready for the meeting son. It is in a few minutes”

“Yes Dad. I got my work done a few days early in case I got tied up with ‘business’. I need to get the information from my office and I will meet you in the conference room.”

When Brendon got back to his office, he noticed his door was not all the way shut. He knew he could not expose his secret identity in the office, but he knew he had to be ready for a fight. He opened the door, and everything appeared to be alright except the addition of Tamaranean Orchids in a vase on his desk. He grabbed his meeting materials and stopped by his secretary’s desk. “Tatiana, did anyone come by her or my office while I was out.”

“No Mr. Grayson. I have been here the whole time, and you just got the regular mail. Why do you ask?’ Tatiana said.

“No reason. Thank you.”

Brendon got to the conference room just as his dad was starting the meeting. He took his seat and started listening to his dad. Soon though, his mind wondered. He recalled finding the scarf last night, the girl watching him and buying the magazine during lunch, and then finding the flowers in his office. He was wondering if he was just imaging this, if Spellbinder was involved, or why this was all happening around the anniversary of Brenda’s death. Suddenly, his dad spoke up, “Brendon, are you ready to report on the developments and information from your department.”

“Yes, sir”, and Brendon went to the front of the room and presented his slideshow about his departments success, struggles, and their budget. Then another director asked him about if he read the GBS interview. “No, unfortunately or fortunately, the magazine was sold out at the newsstand I go to.” The room laughed and the meeting continued.

Brendon left the room with everyone else, and his dad caught up to him before he got back to his office. “You OK, son. It isn’t like you to be distracted in a meeting.”

“Yea Dad. Can you come back to my office? I want to make sure I am not seeing things.” Brendon said.

“Sure.” Dick said in a curious voice.

When they got back to Brendon’s office, Brendon opened the door and asked his dad,

“Do you see those flowers on my desk?”

“Yes, Why?”

“Because I don’t know how I got them. Tatiana said no one came to my office when I was gone and no flowers were delivered.”

“OK, maybe your Mom took them in before you left, and you were so busy that you missed them.” His dad said.

“I thought of that. My report for the meeting was right in the same spot as the flowers are now. Mom wouldn’t have put them so close in case it would ruin my presentation.”

“Is that why you were distracted in the meeting? About these flowers?”

“No, Dad. It is more than that. Yesterday was the anniversary of Brenda’s death which you know I am still coping with after all these years. Well after feeling like I was kissed and finding the scarf like I bought her in Russia, I was like ‘OK, I must be dreaming. Then when I went to lunch today on my usual out of office path, a woman appeared to be looking at me from the newsstand when I bought my sandwich. Well when I got to the newsstand, she had vanished, and Stephen said she was talking about me in the GBS magazine. Then I came back to find these flowers.”

“Why are the flowers bothering you? They are very rare” his dad questioned.

“Do you remember the holiday trip we took to Tamaran that Kory invited you, Donna, Wally, and other Titans and their families and made it like the famous camp outs that you had years ago.”

“How can I forget? Seems like ages ago and one of the last good times we all got together.”

“Well the night before we got together for the dinner and present giving, you and the other former Titans were gathered by the fire with the others telling old Titans stories while roasting marshmallows, popping popcorn, and cooking other foods. Well Brenda whispered to me that she wanted me to take a walk with her. Well we left while you were telling a story and found a path to a lake not far from the campsite. When we got to the lake, Brenda found a clump of the orchids and loved them so much she pulled her art pad out from her backpack. I always loved how much she was into computer design, but for art that she really wanted to see and keep, she rather draw it by hand. She drew the picture of the moon shining off the lake and the orchids right beside the lake. When she got it done, she said she wanted to put it above the fireplace in our house. For some reason with that trip, I felt she really connected to me and some things changed. That was really the first time I thought about and we talked about being together forever.”

“I never knew you guys even left. I can understand why these flowers upset you then.” His dad said with sympathy.

“Actually there is more Dad. We sat by the lake talking all night. Brenda said if we did get married, she wanted a Tamaranean wedding and if possibly to have it by that lake with the orchids as the flowers. I asked her what she really thought about us being together. She asked if I trusted her and loved her, and I said yes. Then she talked about what was going to happen when we graduated. She basically knew about me going to the Wayne Foundation to work, but she wanted to get her own jobs based on her own merits and without my help. We laid back and looked up at the sky when a shooting star went by. I asked her what she wished for. She said she had all she ever wanted, and she didn’t want to lose me for sure. We continued talking until we fell asleep. The next morning, we both woke up early enough that we got back to camp before everyone woke up. Ironically Kory gave all of you Titans an orchid plant and the supplies and instructions to how to raise them on Earth.”

“Remember you are a Titan too, son.” His dad interrupted.

“I know Dad, but these are rare flowers. Why would someone give them to me?”

“I don’t know son. Just go home and relax after work today.”

“I can’t Dad. I am going to visit the Wall about Spellbinder tonight and then go on patrol.”

“Well just don’t overdue it. You need to clear your mind especially with you still coping around this time of year.”

“I know Dad. Are we still on for a barbeque this weekend?”

“We sure are. Remember it will be at your Grandpa’s manor.”

“Thanks for listening Dad. Love you. I will talk to you later.’

“OK. Love you too. Be careful and be smart.”

Brendon finished his day at work by talking to his staff to make they had everyone they need and knew he was there to listen to them. He took the flowers and headed for home. When he got back to the loft, he got ready for his night and used the secret passage to get to his jet and head for Waller’s home.