Chapter Five: The Welcoming Committee

(Ra's Al Ghul POV)

A sleek, black limo raced through the streets of Metropolis, uncaring to the rest of the world. The two occupants inside faced each other, neither one willing to back down.

"I have great respect of the Detective," Ra's Al Ghul took another sip of the wine he was poured, staring into the ice-blue eyes of Lex Luther.

"The man, as you have said, rejected your offer several times," Luther pointed out, not breaking his gaze as he looked into cold, heartless grey eyes "A man who has thwarted your plans over and over again."

Ra's looked outside, his ageless eyes not missing a single thing as Metropolis darted past them for several, quiet moments "I do not like our…associate for this venture."

"He's certainly not as deadly as all of us put together," Luther commented, raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of wine.

"No; he's worse," Ra's looked his collogue in the eye once more. "I have once made a deal with this man; it resulted in far too many deaths than I like, far too much destruction. The world is pointless to gain if there are not many people left. It will become a power struggle between us."

"We do not want the whole world," Luther countered "Just one big part of it."

Ra's lip curled in slight disgust at his colleague's naivety. But he accepted it nevertheless. "Very well; but I warn you, this deal will cause much more pain and destruction then required. The trouble I went through to break him out," his eyes glared into Luther's eyes "I do hope it's worth it."

"It will be," Luther assured him firmly. A few moments passed in silence, both the man and the demon waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Luther asked "Phase one of the first plan is all set. I trust that your associates are ready?"

"They are," Ra's guaranteed "The plan goes on, for tonight and tomorrow."

"The plan goes on," Luther affirmed. Simultaneously, the two raised their glasses together, a silent, yet deadly pact solidifying between them.


(Wally POV)

He walked down the stairs two steps at a time, and jumped the last three. He bumped into Iris at the bottom of the stairs. "H-hi, Wally," Iris gave him a smile "Come on, the others are waiting to meet you." She led him toward the living room. He stopped at the threshold of the room, surprised at the number of people there. While Barry was playing with Bella on the couch, seven teenagers and a green parrot (probably Beast Boy) were all sprawled across the floor of the living room. Megan was the first to look up "Wally, hi!" She stood up and walked over to him. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Megan." She stretched out her hand.

Wally shook it "I'm Wally, but I guess you already knew that."

"Wally," Iris gingerly put her hand on his arm, afraid of his reaction. Wally ignored it. "This is everyone else. You met Barry, of course." Wally gave him a small nod; Barry smiled in return.

"And that's Bella," She pointed to the young girl "Bella, wanna come say hi to your cousin, Wally."

Bella bounced towards them giving Wally an energetic wave "Hi Wally!" she said eagerly "Do you wanna play with me?" His mind instantly went back to a case several years ago when they had to track down a woman serial killer who looked and acted like a child. He immediately brushed it out of his mind.

"Maybe later, Bella," Wally smiled at her; she also reminded him of Maria. No doubt the two of them would get along.

"Okay," happy little Bella returned to her seat. One-by-one, Iris introduced all them. He thought it was hilarious to learn each of the Junior Leaguers by name, and they had no idea that he knew about their other life. There were Jaime (definitely Blue Beetle), Megan, Cassie (Wondergirl), Karen (Bumblebee), the two cousins Kevin and Kara (definitely the Supers) and finally his cousin-by-marriage Bart (Kid Flash), who definitely not pleased to see him. As a matter of fact, other than Barry, Iris (despite how nervous she was), and Bella, it looked like no one was really pleased to see him. He could sense those fake smiles from a mile off.

"So, lunch should be ready in a few minutes," Iris said "I'll just go get the table set up."

"I'll help," Wally offered quickly, not wanting to be in a room with so many people who didn't trust him. "After all, I am supposed to be spending time with you." If she noticed that he faltered at the end, she didn't say anything.

"Thanks, Wally," Iris smiled at him. He followed her into the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Iris stopped and turned to face him, staring him right in the eyes. Wally flinched and looked away. "Sorry," Iris whispered. "I g-guess I'm really the last person you want to see right now."

"You are," Wally figured that beating around the bush was a waste of time "I don't buy all of that 'memory-loss' bullshit."

She looked a little surprised, but quickly recomposed herself "I guess I do remember a lot more than I said." She replied evenly, "But that doesn't mean I remember everything." She turned to open the cabinets, pulling out plates and such. There was already food on the table, but Wally noticed that there was more still on the stove and in the oven. Wally pulled out a chair, and sat backwards on it.

"So, what do you remember," Wally asked.

"That my brother was an ass," was the first thing she said, and he was sort of glad that she did. "That all I ever saw was a so-called reformed brother who changed after he had his first and only child. That I really wanted to be a news reporter, and ignored every little sign, thinking that it was just my paranoia."

"I remember one time you bought their story that I hit a tree while I was running when in fact he hit me square in the face," Wally curled his fist, and counted backwards from ten in his mind.

"I don't remember that," Iris said softly, piling up the silverware on the plates. "But I remember how-how Rudolph, how he," she stopped talking, and for the first time in years, Wally realized that this wasn't some evil bitch who ignored him on purpose; she turned a blind eye because she couldn't accept the truth. And now she regretted it.

Wally stood up, and walked to stand beside her, taking the silverware from her hands and placing it on the plates. "Being a mom, I think, changed you," he said, not looking at her in the eyes. "Maybe even the memory loss. You used to be a lot more different than. Zee said that being a parent changes people."

"Zee," Iris sniffed, but when Wally glanced over, he saw that her eyes were only slightly red, but were still puffy, "She's your adopted mother, isn't she?"

"She was the first person to actually be a mother towards me," Wally defended, omitting the fact that during the first few weeks of his recovery, Dick was the biggest mother-hen to ever exist. "I'm happy where I am."

There were a few moments of silence, Wally silently helping Iris with putting the food on the table. It was a routine he remembered well from his childhood; he usually helped out with putting food on the table at large family get-togethers. "We have a large family." Iris commented, softly "What I don't understand is why you were adopted by complete strangers?"

"Because our 'family' sucks," Wally replied, "Because we come from a large, strict Irish-Catholic family of twelve who came here during the Irish potato famine. The religion part faded out, but not the strict upbringing."

"Yeah, I remember," her voice was quiet "That's why I wanted to get away. So I could be free."

Wally picked up the pot with the Dublin Coddle, the smell making his mouth water. "You left because you wanted freedom. I get that. Sometimes, I run away, stay away for a few hours, sometimes days, but I always came home." He placed the pot down, and turned to face his aunt. Sternly, he said "I understand that you didn't really have home then. I didn't either, until I was adopted. I guess you found a home now, with Barry, Bella and even Bart. I hope you come back this time whenever you leave."

"I never leave," Iris shot back. There was a fiery look in her eyes, so much like Wally's biological father, but this wasn't because she was drunk. It was the look of the 'angry Irish woman' that meant that the target should head in the other direction. She laughed suddenly, surprising him "I left you to be abused by the two people you should have trusted, got into an accident, and lost nearly all of my memory. And yet, you're the only one who understands me. You should hate me right now."

"I've never hated you," Wally shook his head "I just never could forgive you. I don't think I can, even now."

Iris smiled at him, understanding. Okay, so maybe, maybe he could actually start to lean towards liking her. But that would take a long time. "If you couldn't forgive me, why not just stay with the others in the living room?"

Wally snorted "Those fake smiles really irritated me. I've spent too much time around people who pretended they liked me just so they could get into favor with the Wayne family."

Before Iris could comment, a voice spoke up "Is everything alright?" Barry stood in the doorway, looking concerned "You guys were taking an awful long time."

"Just catching up a bit," Iris replied. "Everything's set now. Tell the others to come in. Food served in the kitchen, and eating's in the patio out back."

One by one, everyone filed in, eager to start eating. Wally grabbed a bowl, filled it with Dublin Coddle, and went outside. He glanced around for an empty spot, before sitting on the steps that led to the backyard. He looked up sharply as a shadow fell over him. Jaime stood behind him, looking a little awkward, before asking "You mind if I sit here?"

"No problem," Wally scooted over, giving him room.

Jaime sat down. "So," he started, attempting a conversation "You're Mrs. Allen's nephew huh."

"Uh, yeah," Wally quickly took a bit of his Dublin Coddle, and nearly moaned; while Alfred was an excellent cook, he couldn't quite get the Dublin Coddle right. "She never talked about me, has she?"

"Well, no, not really," Jaime replied "Honestly, she didn't even know you existed until, I think three or four months ago. We were all surprised."

Wally shrugged, unsure of how to respond. "How'd you know Bart?" he changed the subject.

"Oh we're friends," Jaime responded quickly. "We go to the same club."

Wally could tell that it was a half-lie, being a master of the trade himself. "What club?"

"Hey, Jaime and Wally," Kara called out; Wally wondered if she planned that. She walked over to them, looking exactly like one of those rich girls who wore booty-shorts, and a t-shirt that was just small enough to show a little waist and a bit more cleavage. Her flip-flops slapped annoyingly against her heels. She stopped a few feet in front of them, "You boys wanna sit with us?"

"Sure," Jaime said a little too quickly.

"No problem," Wally shrugged, standing up, and following Kara to go sit with the others. They all formed a circle on the patio. Wally, unfortunately, got the seat with the sun in his eyes. Iris, Barry, and Bella were nowhere to be found; probably inside. He stayed quiet, listening to the others just laugh and talk amongst each other.

"So Wally," Kevin leaned against wooden railing of the patio, with a rather condescending smirk on his face. Wally hated him immediately. "Tell us a little bit about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" Wally stared right back at Kevin, who was giving him the 'look-over'.

"What's it like having everything at your disposal?" Bart bit out rather rudely.

"Bart," Megan warned.

"Don't know," Wally replied, unfazed, "I'm not spoiled, by the way."

"So it's true that Grayson's just using you as his boy toy, then?" Kevin asked smugly.

A pin-drop silence could be heard; everyone stared horrified at Kevin, though Bart looked a little smug.

"No," Wally tried really hard not to smash the idiot in the head with his bowl. He kept thinking of the hundred reasons that wouldn't work. "Not everyone has daddy issues, Kevin."

"Boys, enough," Megan said, glaring at the two of them. "Kevin, that was completely uncalled for. Show some respect."

Kevin glared right back at her; Wally wondered if there was something more going on between them. "Sorry," he said unapologetically to Wally.

"Don't mention it," Wally replied, with just a hint of sarcasm. Maybe this behavior of Kevin's was just an effect of the drug; he wasn't sure. He'd like to 'forget' to give Superboy the antidote, but Batman wouldn't be too pleased with that. The number one lesson each Bat learned was 'Never go out angry, never go out reckless, and never, ever make it personal'.

"What's Blüdhaven like," Karen asked, changing the subject as quickly as possible.

Wally took it "Eh, it's alright. It's like any other city in the world. You could walk the streets all day, and no one would notice who you really are. You can be anyone you want; same thing with Gotham except all that crazy sticks to you."

"I heard that there was a bat worshipping cult," Jaime said.

Wally groaned "That's the second time I heard that today. Actually, that's probably true. We're pretty crazy about the Bat Clan."

"Aren't they just a bunch of vigilantes?" Cassie asked.

"Isn't the Justice League?"

"Hey the Justice League is a UN certified organization," Kevin defended "Unlike the so-called Bat Clan."

Wally didn't responded; deciding to first finish his Dublin Coddle; it was starting to get cold. Afterwards, he said "So they're just another group of people tossed out by the system to do 'good'."

"You don't sound like you like the League," Kara observed, narrowing her eyes.

Shit; he almost forgot who he was talking to. "It's not that," he quickly amended "I know that the League saved a lot of people from natural disasters, the world being destroyed, or the human race from being enslaved. But I'm just saying that they're not really relatable at all."

That surprised them, even Bart and Kevin. He snickered at their shocked expressions, and explained "You see, there're a group of people who wear a bunch of colorful tights, have these awesome superpowers, and do all of these crazy things that no normal human could do. Hell, some of them aren't even human. So how can you expect people to relate to them? Or for them to relate to us? Sure, they give out speeches once in a while that say 'hey, I'm just like you guys', but I always thought that it seemed different. Like most of them actually don't know what it feels like."

"Are you saying that the League isn't worthy to save the human race?" Kara asked hotly.

'No, I'm saying that the members of the Justice League have either lived normal lives among humans, or have never even connected with the human race personally,' He thought.

Instead, he shook his head and said "I have no idea where you even got that idea, but that's not what I meant. What I'm trying to say is that the Bat Clan is more human, they connect with the people better. You walk around in the streets of 'Haven and Gotham all of those cities that have Bats, and you'll see that people talk about them a lot more differently than they do about the Justice League."

"The Justice League is a lot better than those vigilantes," Kevin said hotly. Wally wondered if he was pissed about the three Bats that got away from the League. "Bad guys are a lot more scared of them because they're much more powerful than any human on earth. Your stupid Bat Clan won't stand a chance."

Wally rolled his eyes "Jeez, you guys are just asking questions, and I'm answering them honestly. Don't know why you need to get all upset over it."

"So why do you like the Bat Clan so much?" Cassie asked.

Wally shrugged "Maybe because I'm not afraid of them getting abusive with their power and becoming overlords of Earth."

Someone whistled behind him "Now that's a scary thought." Wally twisted around to see Barry Allen standing in the doorway of the balcony. "I just came out here to tell you guys that there's plenty of food on the table, so feel free for seconds."

Wally noticed how, after that, only Jaime, and much to his surprise Cassie, were the only ones who actually engaged him in a conversation. He also pointedly ignored the fact that Bart and Barry kept sneaking around him to eat a lot more food, more than what was acceptable for a normal human. 'Well, that's speedsters for ya,' Wally thought.

At one point, after he finished, he started to feel a little dizzy, and nearly cursed; he needed to take his medicine. It had been a long time since he actually had to take it, but he figured that with the emotional chaos today brought, he should have realized he would have needed it. Mumbling an excuse to Cassie and Jaime, he grabbed a glass of water, and headed upstairs to the room he'd be staying in. Inside, he fumbled around his bag and his backpack, praying that Zee or Dick slipped his medicine inside. Much to his relief, it was in his backpack, front pocket. "Thank-god," he mumbled, pouring two pills onto his shaking hand. He took one, then the other, and swallowed them down with water. He pressed his hands on the edge of the bed, leaning over, gasping, and taking moment to recover.

When Wally was unadvisedly injected with the Bat-Syrup all those years ago, other than healing quickly, he was given major virus in his brain. The virus was, at first, thought to be a tumor up until three months ago. When his monthly check-up with Dr. Gupta revealed that it was a virus, he tried not to cry. Tumors, sure there were ways to heal them, like cutting them out if you're going to the extremes. The only reason that his was never cut out was due to some anomalies. That monthly visit was supposed to figure out the anomaly, not say that it was a virus. Viruses can't be killed or destroyed; only weakened. And to make matters worse, this virus was clustered in two large chunks. One was in his limbic system, which controlled his emotions, and the other in his cerebellum and brainstem. The two clusters contacted with each other somehow, probably by electrical pulses or something. Any strong, intense feeling, such as extreme happiness, or extreme sadness, would result in dizziness, nausea, and feeling off balanced, highly uncoordinated, unawareness of his surroundings, high blood pressure, digestion problems, fast heart rate, and the lack of unconscious breathing. In other words, he'd be dying for a long time before he was dead.

The new medicine was just as good as the old one, only this time it worked on weakening the virus. There was no way he could escape this.

But he tried not to think about it too much. The only people who knew were the people who'd have to have all legal access to guardianship over him in case both Dick and Zee die, as well as Dr. Gupta and the Wayne and Grayson family lawyers. Meditation helps a bit, especially if he was getting an attack.

The door opened unexpectedly, and Wally turned around to find Bart. "Look here rich boy," the thirteen year old snarled "Let's make one thing clear. You're just here for a few days, and then you leave and never come back. Got it?"

Wally blinked, caught by surprise, "Um, sure?"

"Good," Bart looked like he was about to cry "You're not welcome here, especially since you came from Blüdhaven. And by the way, you don't need act like you're not Grayson's boy-toy." With that Bart, quickly left.

"Hey!" Wally shouted, silently counting back from ten. He ran after Bart, grabbed his shoulder, and turned. He was glad that his height of five feet ten inches gave him an advantage over the five-foot three inch Bart. "Listen," he growled, his heart hammering in his chest "I'm not here to stay, alright? I'm just here because my parents want me to reconcile with my aunt."

And because I'm on a fucking mission to save you asses, he mentally added.

"So let me make this clear," he continued aloud. "I'm not going to stay here. I already have a home, I'm just here to visit. And don't you ever imply that Dick uses me as his boy-toy. I'm his son. I'm his son in all but blood. Dick is as likely to use me as a boy-toy as Barry is likely to use you. You got that kid?"

Wally thought he saw a shimmer of something in Bart's eye, looking a lot like fear and…satisfaction? "Yeah," Bart's voice sounded odd; happy and fearful was a weird mix.

"Good, and tell your friend Kevin to back off," Wally let go of him, "This is America and I have the freedom of speech; if he didn't want my opinion, he shouldn't have asked for it."

Bart gave him a curt nod, and headed downstairs. Wally thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and turned to find Barry staring curiously at him. "Um…" he figured that no reason was a good reason for this man by a teenager who nearly beat the life out of his son.

"I heard what he said," Bart explained, looking oddly calm. "I don't blame you for getting mad Wally. I do admire the fact that you tried to hold in your anger. I'll talk with him later today." He walked downstairs.

Wally blinked, surprised at how calm Barry was at the little fiasco that just happened. Looks like not all Leaguers live in paradise, he thought. He followed after him.


(Ra's Al Ghul POV)

When the limo pulled up to his building, Luther set his wine down, and got out when Mercy opened the door, followed by Ra's. The trio quickly entered the building, not seen by anyone significant. Up at the top, in Luther's penthouse, the entire living room was destroyed. Dead guards gathered in a circle around the largest couch, where a pale figure dressed in orange and chains laid down freely, eating pork with a bloody fork.

"Oh hello," wide, blood-red lips grinned wildly at the three newcomers. Ra's narrowed his eyes; already the clown was giving them too much trouble; Luther and Mercy looked shocked. A cold, cruel voice added in a mock regret "Oh right. I'm so sorry about the mess. You see, after being locked up for a long time-what was it, five years? Time sure does fly!-I got a little…fidgety. Besides, they didn't tell me whose honor I had to…"a green eyebrow quivered in amusement "honor. But, now I know." It started out as a giggle, but soon enough, it turned into a full-blown, spine-chilling laugh. Bits of pork flew out of his mouth, landing on the bodies below. Flies were already swarming the cadavers.

Ra's carefully stepped across the room, and stopped right in front of the Joker. "Do you know why you're here?"

The Joker giggled "Of course! I've been invited to a party! Although, it's an awfully long wait. I got pulled out a little early haven't I? Perhaps to enjoy how much shittier the world has become while I was away, hmm?"

"And you know what to do once you are there?" Luther asked, stepping up beside Ra's. The demon could sense exactly how uncomfortable the man was, but he managed to keep a straight face.

The maniacal smile grew wider "Of course! Now, why would you even have to ask?"

"You will only provide a distraction," Ra's said harshly, hoping that the insane clown would get it through his head. "We have already sent off assassins to kill the Waynes. You will do nothing else, but only be a distraction."

A hint of cold steel flashed in the fanatical eyes, and the Joker's lips tightened ever so slightly "I know my job," he replied in a cold tone "Don't tell me how to do it."

'We've made a deal with a mad man,' Ra's thought privately. 'But the chances that his actions will provide us with a very satisfactory result are high, despite the cost. I shall wait and see.' Ra's walked away from the couch, and towards the one-way window. The Joker resumed his laughing. Ra's looked out onto the clean streets of Metropolis. The time has come, Detective, for you to suffer as I had always by your doing. But don't worry. After all, you don't have a family to watch as they burn down a very painful descent. Nonetheless, you will watch as your kingdom falls.'