The Book In the Bleachers

At J'onn's stunned look, Logan continued. {Now don't jump to conclusions here. I simply want to make a villain persona for undercover work if it ends up being needed. This is just the beginning of an idea, but it is one I think that could prove invaluable. There are some abilities that I have been working on and not shown in public, so they aren't able to be traced back to me or you for that matter. I think it would be helpful if there were a few sightings of this new Villain fighting members of the League long before it is necessary to approach any known villains. It would also be helpful if Logan J'onzz were to be seen at the same time as this new character I wish to create. I can also push some of the young heroes towards improvement without putting them in life threatening danger.} 

J'onn was calmed down now, and he let Logan explain more. {We know that the Light exists and that they have previously infiltrated the League so it stands to reason that we should do the same. I think it would be best to keep this between myself you and maybe Nightwing and Devilbat. They have an understanding of the underworld that would help me immensely in this character creation.} 

{The trick is going to be coming up with a villain that has rules about not killing but is catchy enough to get the attention of several known members of The Light. They have plenty of super strong and deadly fighters. I can't try to go as a big brain, simply because of too many chiefs in that department. So, all I can think of is being specialized in an area they have an interest in and powerful enough to be more than a slave to their whims.} Logan was almost making this up as he went but it was definitely getting clearer as time went by.  

{It is an intriguing idea Logan, but what brought on this idea?} 

{I really can't say, it's just an idea I had from thinking about all the times they do it to us.} Logan shrugged his shoulders as he answered. He couldn't tell him about Nightwings upcoming idea about having Aqualad do the same thing. {What do you think about a scientist who studies the gene evolution of the human body? That sounds like something an organization that wants to evolve humanity would be interested in. It would take time to develop a history that would pass their deep inspection, but I think we could come up with something. The usual lab accident to gain powers, that's never questioned. Yeah, this idea is definitely snowballing. Give me a few more days and I will have a solid plan to bring to you before we decide if others should be in on it.} 

{If you are set on the idea, I will only object if I see your safety is in undue jeopardy. Now let's get some training done, especially in how to hide your mental abilities. I will also insist on you learning how to protect your mind without your telepathic abilities. There are several villains and even heroes that have the ability to remove or subdue your telepathic abilities for a time. Many telepaths think their mind is strong until that advantage is taken away.} What followed was the most intense mental workout that J'onn had ever put Logan through. Logan approached it like he did his military training, if the experienced person said it was worth it then he just gritted his teeth and endured until he saw results he could then build on.  

By the time Logan waved goodbye to Black Canary 4 hours had passed. 4 hours of torture by a Martian Manslaver who had made it his goal to provide Logan with a headache to rival the one he had the morning after drinking with Dick and Conner. He was finally released from training when he brought up his plans to talk with Pam and later work with Nightwing. 

Once Logan shambled into his room after bouncing off the door jam, he took a quick shower and called Pam. To say Pam was suspicious of her friend Luisa's death would definitely be an understatement. She vented for an hour before she finally calmed down. It sounded like she felt her friend had been insulted by being poisoned. Logan knew there was no way she would let this slide. He told Pam to contact him before doing anything rash and make sure her experimental procedures were safe from anyone copying them. To help get her mind off it, he started asking her questions about genetics and gene theory to see if it was something he could use like he told J'onn. 

After he hung up with Pam, he laid down for a quick nap in hopes that it would get rid of the headache he was still feeling. About an hour later he woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the night. Logan went up to the roof and waited for Nightwing to show up. It was one of the rare clear nights with the moon about a quarter full. He wondered if Dick was going to tell him where he and Devilbat have been. Logan spent a little time trying to look at his own mind to see if he could understand what J'onn meant about having two different colors for his mind signature now. He wondered if M'gann noticed it or not. He figured it had to have something to do with the doors in his mind. (Too bad I didn't know enough to have J'onn tell me about what he saw before we opened the green door together, that would have given some clues that could help right now.) he thought to himself.  

Making enough noise that Logan knew he wasn't trying to be sneaky he turned to see Nightwing swing onto the roof. Wearing his black and red outfit, Logan thought he looked more mature than he had in the past. These last few weeks seem to have done him some good as far as settling into his new role as a solo hero and not a sidekick. Logan put his fist out and Nightwing bumped his as a greeting. "I got the stuff you wanted about the Wayne Garden, put it all on this thumb drive." 

Logan took it and using his finger he tapped on his shoulder a couple times until Morph came out. "Hey buddy, would you run this down to our room really quick?" Morph took the drive and changed into a small monkey and jumped off my shoulder. "You going to fill me in on your adventures and where Devilbat has been? The streets are starting to talk about him not being around these days." 

"I have no idea where he is, Alfred asked me about him too. Much longer and I will have to go looking for him. I hack... I mean I checked the base computer, and his most recent entries were about the Court of Owls. As for me and the help I'm asking for, lets jump down and grab a seat, it's a lot to talk about on a roof." After saying that he jumped down and sat in one of the chairs next to the shop. 

Logan joined him and just waited for his friend to start speaking. 

Dick ran his had through his hair. "As you know I had decided to travel with the show for a while, to get my head around being the new owner and to spend time reliving my childhood, I guess. One night as we were putting on a show in Texas, I remembered the words from Mr. Haley about the secret being in the heart of the Circus. Well, that was what he called the audience at any show, no Circus could survive without an audience, so he called them the heart. I snooped around and found a set of benches that had a board that looked just a bit off and when I lifted it, I found an old book of names and the last name was Dick Grayson."

He pulled out a book and handed it over to Logan, it was old and had yellow pages as well as old style handwriting. Like Dick said, each page had one name on it and the last one was his. "Did you age the page with your name on it?"

"I did a test on every page, and it went back to the beginning of the Haley Circus in the 1800's. The page with my name was the same year that my parents died, and I left to live with Matt. So far as I can tell, a name is added every 10 years for the past 200 years. I ran the names through the Devil computer and all of the names just drop off the face of the planet, that is until me." Dick closed the book and hung his head.