This idea came to me after watching 'Batman Beyond' and Spellbinder is personally my favorite villain from the series. I'm usually not one for liking villains, but there is an occasional villain that I do like for various reasons. :)

Anyway, this one took root in my mind and wouldn't let go. :)

Batman Beyond belongs to DC Comics and Warner Bros. I only own Lana.


Spell Of A Family

Batman looked around. "You know, it's been awful quiet tonight," he said.

"Too quiet," said Bruce on the other end in agreement.

"That's never a good thing, right?"

"Not in this business."

Terry nodded quietly before spotting something. "Hold on. Something's up," he said, pulling over the bat plane and jumping down to a rooftop. As he got closer, he saw some punks that looked like they were...sleeping?

Standing over them was someone, a woman it looked like from the shape of the figure. She held a hand down to her side with the back of her hand facing forward, her thumb, index, and second fingers stretched out while her third and pinkie fingers were curled inward towards her palm. A soft white glow lit up the area and the punks all smiled as if having a good dream.

As if sensing Batman behind her, the figure turned and the hero took a step back. "Spellbinder?" He asked.

The figure gently shook her head and he narrowed his eyes, but saw that it wasn't. For one, the person was female, her skin-tight body suit was a royal blue color with a black spiral pattern on it, one where the main spiral was on her stomach and extended outward, almost looking like she had stepped through a spiral circle. Her mask was also different as it was the same color as her suit only was blank save for two white eyes.

"Don't worry, Batman. They are dreaming," she said, her voice soft and whispery. "They'll wake up later."

"If you're not Spellbinder, then who are you?" He asked.

The figure's eyes looked sad. "I am his daughter," she said softly. "But he has brought nothing but shame and disgrace upon me." She turned away. "Now I can shake that shame and disgrace away from me."

Terry could hear the venom in her voice as she spoke. "What did you do to these punks?" He asked.

"Made them think they are watching a fashion show in their dreams," she replied. "They were going to rob people at a party, but they ran into me."

He was curious now. "So you're doing what your father did," he said.

She turned to him and he could have sworn he saw her eyes spark with anger. "NO!" She said sharply before she surprised him by charging at him and running tackling him into a wall right behind him. He grunted in surprise as he hadn't been expecting that, but then his eyes widened as he saw her bring out a familiar sphere.

"I am nothing like him!" She snapped. "I don't use people and I'm not a thief!"

She held up the sphere. "I should put you in a trance for that, but considering you've dealt with my father before, I'll let you off with a warning this time." She let him go. "I am nothing like Spellbinder and I refuse to follow in his footsteps. He is a disgrace to me and though I might be his daughter, that is only by blood, not by family."

Terry watched as she backed away and then turned, running towards the roof. "Wait!" He cried out, but to his shock, she not only jumped, but also landed on what looked like a flying broom. He blinked his eyes as she landed on it and began flying away, sitting on it and holding on.

He shook his head. "Please tell me you saw what I did," he asked over the intercom in his cowl.

"I did and heard everything too," Bruce said. "I'm looking into who Spellbinder's daughter is."

"She sounded really mad to be compared to him," Terry said. "Not only that, she did stop these thugs."

"True, but don't be so quick to trust," the older man said cautiously.

"Don't worry, I'm not," said the younger man. "It's going to take a bit more than one good deed for her to prove that she's not going to take the same path as her father did."

"Alright, head back on patrol," said Bruce. "I should have an answer in a bit."

Nodding, Batman flew away, continuing on his patrol.


Meanwhile, in another part of Gotham...

The broom stopped at a certain alleyway and the masked girl leapt off lithely, landing and grabbing the broom, pressing her hand into a wall and the wall moved to reveal an entrance. She slipped inside and the doors closed as she flicked on the lights.

A lab came into view and she saw an old man working on something. She waited until he had finished and turned to her. "Ah, there you are, my dear," he said with a smile. "How did it go?"

"I stopped some thugs and ran into Batman," she said, removing her mask to reveal light brown hair and emerald green eyes. "He thought I was Spellbinder at first, but then saw I wasn't."

The old man nodded before looking at her. "There's more," he said.

"I told him that I had put the thugs in a dream and he compared me to my father," she said, her grip on the broomstick tightening. "I'm nothing like him. I won't be like him."

The old man came closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him. "My dear, remember, it will take time to prove that you are not like him and to earn the place you seek," he said gently.

She sighed. "I know, Sensei. I was just hoping that my actions would speak for me."

"And they will, but you can't completely judge or trust a person by just one action. Just like an experiment must be tweaked or done many times to get a desired result, you must have patience in walking your path."

She sighed again. "You're right, Sensei," she said. "I guess him comparing me to my father really got to me."

The old man nodded. "You are his child by blood, which is something you can't deny, but your actions are your own. Overtime, Batman will see you as an ally." He nodded. "Now, how did the broomstick fly, Lana?"

She grinned. "It flew great!" She said. "I now know why witches choose brooms for their rides."

He chuckled. "Let me run the tests on it while you get some sleep," he said. "You have that big test tomorrow."

"Yes, Sensei," Lana said, bowing to him and handing him the broom before going to her room. She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror.

"A daughter by blood, but not family-wise," she said before looking away. "Hope the police don't find me here. I'm not going into foster care." She then sighed. "I wish I could stay with Sensei for good, but he has his family too."

She changed from her costume and into her pajamas, doing her evening routine that she always did before bed before crawling under the covers and falling sound asleep.

The old man was pleased with the tests and smiled before looking towards the stairs where Lana had gone. "You will succeed, Lana," he said softly. "I believe in you."


Mysterious, no? Read on. :)

GoldGuardian2418