SECRET (Earth-7)

Biography 

Early Life

Greta Hayes’ life was shaped by abandonment, longing, and the desperate hope for family. At the age of 12, she was adopted into the Hayes household after enduring a violent childhood. Alongside her came Billy, a 15-year-old boy also adopted by the family. Outwardly, it seemed like the children had found safety and stability at last, a paradise compared to the homes they had known before. But beneath the surface, shadows lingered.

Greta was spirited and sensitive, but her nights were haunted by recurring nightmares of Billy committing violence. Though she tried to dismiss them, the visions gnawed at her, reflecting a deep unease that would soon prove prophetic. Billy himself was quiet, withdrawn, and increasingly obsessed with secrecy, leaving Greta to wonder what he was hiding.

Adolescence

 By her teenage years, Greta’s struggles worsened. She grew frustrated with the world, often clashing with school officials and attracting the attention of local police. But her rebelliousness was rooted in something more profound—her intuition that something was terribly wrong with Billy. Following her instincts, she began to investigate him in secret. Her search led her to a chilling discovery: Billy had been spending nights at an abandoned mausoleum belonging to the Burgess family.

Inside, Greta found disturbing signs of occult activity: complex symbols scrawled in filth and blood, wooden curses carved with hate, and an atmosphere of suffocating darkness. She knew then that her brother was entangled in something sinister.

The Ritual

Her fears became reality when one night, Billy carried out a horrific ritual, aided by the old gravedigger John Dee and guided by Harm, the emissary of inflicted pain. Greta was captured and bound in a circle of runes. Before she could cry for help, Billy slit her throat in sacrifice, believing her death would complete his dark ascension. But the ritual failed—because Greta, through her knowledge and suspicions, was no longer innocent.

Her death was brutal, but it did not end her existence. As her body fell silent, her essence ignited. Greta’s spirit burst free, becoming Secret, a spectral entity of light, sorrow, and untethered power. While Billy was cursed—his eyes torn away and twisted into fleshly relics—Greta’s soul transformed, lingering in the world of the living but forever bound to the memory of betrayal.

As Secret

Seeking understanding, Secret turned to the only name she could think of in the occult world: Zatanna Zatara, the magician of the Justice League. Zatanna, recognizing Greta’s potential and tragedy, introduced her to a circle of benevolent occultists known as the Dark League. Among them, Greta began to explore the truth of her existence—her powers, her connection to death, and her destiny as more than just a victim.