Title: I've Been Away For Too Long
By: Xmarksthespot
Disclaimer: I don't own YJ
Notes: Slight OOC, written pre-Intervention. Red Arrow's POV, cause I miss him.

X-X-X-

There was something wrong with this picture. Really wrong. And it shouldn't have been wrong at all. After all, they had just defeated the REACH, the League had just come back from their space adventure, and the old team was reunited. Not to mention his best friend turned out to be a good guy, meaning his wife wouldn't be having sushi for dinner.

But the picture was still wrong.

For one, there were too many kids he never remembered meeting, each with their own powers. They were surrounding the other new kid—Blue Beetle—who was finally in control of his actions. The fact that the kid was this year's selection on who-was-secretly-evil-and-betrayed-the-team peeved him a bit. It was like he started a trend.

And second of all…Kaldur's new friend, the assassin by the name of Tigress, had just jumped into Kid Flash's arms. It had taken him a good year to warm up to Artemis and everything, but Wally could've at least given him a bit of warning before moving onto another one with a bow and arrow in her arms. It was like the kid had a thing for archers.

Mental note: keep Arsenal away from Wally. That is, if he could find Arsenal. The kid with more anger management that he himself had back then (and he was Aresenal's clone), had picked up and left after the battle. Though not without flipping the bird at the team's own bird—for firing him. Nightwing had the gall to fire his double from the team despite spending half of his superhero career trying to convince the cloned version to join the team.

Huh, maybe he was better than his genetic donor. Or at least more loved…That's going to boost his confidence now.

And since Arsenal's gone, Wally won't be able to find him for his archer's collection.

Mental note #2: keep self away from Wally.

This was just too much to wrap his head around. There weren't this many changes the first time he skipped out on the team.

In one year, he had went from a bum on the streets – according to Jade—to a father, and now he was making friends with more newbies, dealing with a kid version of himself entering puberty and showing the finger to people he shouldn't be fussing with (he suddenly gained a much bigger appreciation for Ollie), and watching one of his best friends make out with an assassin.

Okay.

Artemis came from a family of assassins too. Maybe Wally had a thing for assassins?

Mental note #3: keep Jade away from Wally.

"I'd hate to interrupt this little reunion, but maybe we should start heading back…and you know, getting our own rooms," Nightwing suggested and he agreed. Though he wasn't quite sure how they were all going to fit into Miss Martian's ship, but after loading onto the alien vehicle, somehow there was still room. At least, enough room for another speedster to zip around the ship. It was like the kid was on a permanent sugar rush, and he knew (from experience) that speedsters should never come into contact with sugar.

Ever.

He still got goose bumps thinking about it.

Then there was the fact that he was positioned in between Miss Martian and the scaly kid with anger management issues towards Superboy. Eugh. He'd rather be put next to Kid Flash and the new chick sucking his face off.

Scratch that.

He suddenly wished he was back on the Justice League. He doubted they had this many hormones. Like Batman's going to have women wrapped around his finger—pfft.

And wasn't someone going to question this oddity? How was he going to be able to go home later tonight, knowing full well that Wally had moved on so quickly after Artemis' death? Jade was going to go on another rampage, this time after tiger meat and Wally's throat.

Lian's going to enjoy watching that.

Mental note #4: keep Wally away from Jade. It didn't matter if the kid can run as fast as the speed of sound—she was going to castrate him in his sleep, though by the looks of it, neither Wally nor his new girlfriend were going to do any sleeping tonight.

Speaking of Lian…

"Whoa, you're auntie Lian's dad! This is so crash!" The other speedster exclaimed.

Auntie Lian? Just what was this kid on?

"Uh, who are you?"

"I'm Bart, but you know me as Impulse. I'm Wally's cousin once removed and the Flash's grandson!"

"…Jay Garrick's grandson?"

"Nope," he said with a pop on the last syllable. "Barry's!"

"Barry Allen…the one who just had twin babies?"

He nodded fervently before zipping to the other side of the ship to join the Blue Mole—er, Blue Beetle.

It's official: he's been away from the team for too long.

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A/N: Please review! :)