Author's Notes: I probably should have published this closer to when this episode aired but whatever, better late than never. Enjoy!

We were racing down the corridor, still looking for Bart, when you turned the corner.

"You!"

You turned; your pale green eyes widened in shock as I landed in a fighting stance. I wasn't going to give you a chance to hurt either of us. Not again.

"Murderer!"

I attacked. The mere seconds you had to build up a mental defense were nowhere near enough to stop the full force of my power, pain and fury.

I wasn't going to just brain-blast you into submission. I didn't just want to hurt you; more than that I wanted answers, answers to the hundreds of questions that had been plaguing me ever since you left.

Why?

Why had you left the Team? I could understand wanting to grieve, like Garth; I could understand being afraid or wanting a normal life now, like Wally and Artemis. But how could you be so angry with us? Did you think we wanted Tula to die, that we just didn't care what happened to her? She was our friend, Kaldur! Don't you know how guilty Nightwing felt about ordering her on that mission? Didn't you see how much the rest of us mourned her, and how much we tried to help you while we were suffering ourselves? Or were you so wrapped up in your own twisted grief that you ignored it, all so you could have an excuse to blame us instead?

Why had you gone to Black Manta, of all people? You blame us for not preventing Tula's death, but how many times has Black Manta tried to kill her, not to mention Aquaman, Garth and you? He never cared that you were his son, so why did it matter when you found out that he was actually your biological father? I've seen you with your mother, and I've seen you with Aquaman and Mr. Durham, both of whom always treated you like a son. Was this secret they kept from you so horrible that it destroyed every other relationship you ever had, including with all of us? Did our love and friendship really pale in comparison to a few measly pieces of DNA?

Why did you kidnap La'gaan, Gar and Bart, and taken them to this horrible place to be tortured? What kind of monster are you?! Even if you could do it to Bart, what about the others? La'gaan idolized you—he wouldn't even have joined the Team if not for you, you were practically his mentor, and now this is how you treat him? And Gar—he was in awe of you before he even met you, back when he lived in Qurac and had an Aqualad poster up in his room. You were like a big brother to him; have you forgotten all the times you took him exploring the ocean, how much he loved all the weird sea creatures you showed him. Did none of that mean anything to you? Was there anyone on the Team you cared about enough not to sell out to the Light and these invaders they're working with?

And why, why, why had you killed Artemis? She was your teammate, your friend! And you just...murdered her in cold blood, like she was nobody! How could you put us through that again?! Losing Robin, losing Tula, losing you, all that wasn't enough pain for everyone, you wanted more?! You lost one person you loved and you wanted to add to the body count?! Did you even think about Wally, think about Artemis' mother, think about me or Zatanna or Nightwing or Raquel or any of the people who loved her as much as you loved Tula?! Did you really hate us all so much, now? Or did you just hate Artemis? That was it, wasn't it—you hated her for proving how good someone with bad parents could be, and proving that whatever excuses you give, you're really just sick and evil, a monsterwho had somehow convinced all of us that you were our friend?!

I tore through your brain looking for the answers, and I found them, ripped them out of your mind so that I could finally know why you did all these horrible things. I saw the plan you made with Nightwing. I saw the way you faked Artemis' death. I saw that you were acting, that you were passing information to us, that you were trying as best you could to prevent Black Manta's plans and hating yourself every time you failed.

"No..."

I fell to my knees, like you. I heard, as if from a thousand miles away, Gar call my voice as he shook my shoulder. And I saw Tigress—no, Artemis—turn the corner, registered her shock seeing you broken on the floor.

And all I could think was one last question.

Why hadn't I listened to Conner before?