Two weeks went by since my close encounter with a madman. Again I moved into the Watchtower bringing my twins with me. I was not the only bringing a family to the Watchtower. I noticed that other members of the League were bringing members of their families up to the Watchtower. Soon the space station felt like a can of sardines as more people were brought in for safety. The close quarters of the Watchtower inspired me to make a couple of changes to my Moon Base design.

"And finally," I said flipping to the next chart. "Personal and guest quarters for the League, their families, and unexpected guests to the Moon Base. This will prevent crowded rooms and give a little privacy in case we all have to bring our families here for safety again."

The League had been silent during my pitch of the Moon Base design. The entire morning meeting had been dedicated to me so that I might present the plans. After the meeting, I was going to the mess hall and getting a Danish and some coffee. I had stayed up very late the night before finishing the plans and getting them ready for presentation this morning.

"I think," Wonder Woman uttered, "that the idea that we have more quarters available for another such evacuation as we are experiencing now is a good one. Our present base simple doesn't have the space or the facilities to care for the League and their families simultaneously."

"What steps have you taken for the care and well being of the children that would come here?" J'onn asked.

"In my detail drawings I have plans for a pediatric ward of our medical bay, a couple of rooms that could be used to hold classes so that the school age kids could continue to learn, and a specially designated area for a daycare facility for working and/or single parents such as myself and Flash," I answered. "If we have to evacuate our families again, we'll be prepared to care for the children as well as the adults."

"Who would run these facilities that you propose?" Batman inquired.

"Our family members. With the diverse nature of the League, it would not be too much to assume that there are doctors, teachers, and nurturers that could fill the positions needed. I know that the teens that would be brought here will be looking for ways to earn our respect and a few extra bucks by babysitting the younger kids."

"It's true," Flash said leaning back in his chair. "It's how I earn money in the old neighborhood as a kid. That and mowing lawns."

"Then I think we are agreed," Superman said. "Batman and Amelia will be in charge of constructing the base. Pull whatever help you need to…"

"Amelia!" Nightwing cried running into the briefing room. "You've gotta get to the medical bay quick!"

"Why? Did a circuit blow?"

He shook his head. "It's the twins…"

"Oh God! No!" I cried running out of the briefing room.

As I ran, Flash came up beside me and swept me off my feet before setting me down outside the medical bay. The bay doors opened and I rushed to my children's bedsides.

They were both pale and sickly. Dark circles were under their eyes. Heather was fast asleep with sweat beating down her face. Timothy was awake but delirious with fever.

"Mommy?" he asked in a feverish tone.

"I'm here sweetie," I said gently stroking his sweat soaked hair.

"I'm cold Mommy."

"I'll get you another blanket." I left his side and turned to Nightwing. "What happened?" I demanded.

"I stopped by your quarters. When I got no answer, I bypassed the controls and went in. I heard moaning from the twin's room and found them in their beds with high fevers. I brought them here and then went to get you," He answered somberly.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked worriedly. "They've never been this sick before."

"Well find out Amelia," J'onn said gently. "I'll get started right away."

"Thank you J'onn," I replied quietly. Turning, I looked at my children again, my eyes filling with tears. "I don't know what I'll do if I lose them." My voice was breaking as tears trickled down my cheek. "I…" I could not finish. Overcome by emotion, I buried my face in my hands and cried.

Someone put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer. I turned and wept into Flash's chest. He put his arms around me and held me as I cried.

"Flash, perhaps Amelia would benefit from a walk," J'onn replied.

Flash nodded and with one arm around my waist, the other taking me by the hand, he walked me away from the medical bay. Footfalls behind me told of two others following us.


We stopped at one of the large bay space windows. I sat on the window ledge. Flash knelt in front of me while Batman and Nightwing flanked him.

"I'm all right," I said with a sniffle.

"No, you're not," Flash said. "You're scared half out of your mind. Look you're shaking."

It was true. My hands trembled and my body shook from all the crying. Flash took my hands. Something about Flash seemed right. He made me feel…loved.

No, I thought. No good will come of you dating a superhero Amelia Jones. So get rid of those thoughts right now.

"Amelia," Flash whispered. "If there's anything I can do…"

"Not unless you can speed down to Blüdhaven and bring my cousin up here. I would give anything to have Dick here right now."

"I don't think he needs to go Blüdhaven," Nightwing replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Nightwing reach up and pulled off his domino mask. I froze when I beheld the face of my cousin: Dick Grayson. I could not believe it. My cousin. Cousin Dick was Nightwing. Wait a second. If Dick was Nightwing and Bruce Wayne raised Dick and Batman trained Nightwing, then Batman and Bruce Wayne were…

I looked up at Batman. The look he returned was one that he obviously knew that I knew that under the mask he was the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. He pulled back his mask, revealing his alter ego.

All I could do was shake my head. I felt a headache coming on. Some part of me was relieved that I had Dick up here to help me through my current crisis. But another part, a much bigger part, was angry. Why did Dick never tell me that he and Nightwing were one and the same?

"Dick, why didn't you tell me?" I asked my cousin.

"I couldn't," he replied sitting next to me. "You didn't need to know."

"I didn't need to know?" I repeated. "And you deem me worthy to know now?"

"Mia, please try to understand," Dick said using the nickname he had given me. "No outside the family could know."

"Outside the family?" I asked tightly. "In case you hadn't noticed Dick, I AM FAMILY!"

I knew I was angry. I always shouted when I was angry. There was no talking me when I was in a mood. I got to my feet and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I needed to calm down somewhere and alone. That meant one thing as my steps turned toward the gymnasium.

As the daughter of a trapeze artist, my mother trained me in the art of trapeze. As a teen I found that swinging on a trapeze cleared my head as I was making physical and emotional changes. Unfortunately the Watchtower had no trapeze, another thing to add to my Moon Base design. So I decided on the next best thing: mat routines.

Popping one of my dance mix CD's into the CD player I took to the mats for the first time in about five years. I worried whether or not I could still perform the stunts I used to. After I fell performing a simple cartwheel, I worried even more.

You can't let yourself worry about failure. Mom always used to say to me. You've gotta just close your eyes, take a deep breath and do it. Following Mom's advice, I closed my eyes, breathed in and did it.

Before I knew it, I was doing forward flips, back flips, handsprings and all sorts of twist, just like I used to. I could not say how long I was on the mats, but I finally collapsed from exhaustion both physically and emotionally. I flopped back on the mat, my chest heaving up and down as I regained my breath.

"You should get some rest."

I sat up to find Batman standing by the gym door. "How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Long enough," he answered coming out onto the mat and reaching his hand out to me. I took it and he helped me up. "You know Dick was really hurt at what you said."

"And I wasn't hurt by what he said? Goddammit Batman, I am part of his family and perfect strangers knew about his dual identities years before I did. Explain to me the logic in that."

Batman nodded. "Your points are valid and if I were in your place, I would be feeling the same way."

"Why are you here Batman? You didn't come here to admire my mat technique or to tell me that I hurt Dick's feelings, then agree with me."

He pulled back his mask again. "What I have to say needs to be said by Bruce Wayne, not Batman. Amelia what you said about family struck a cord with me. You know that my parents are dead."

"I do know," I said sitting on a bench. "I don't think that there isn't a person in the world who doesn't know the tragedy of Wayne murders."

"Well it occurred to me that when I took Dick in after his parents were killed, I deprived you of your family and of protection. If Dick had gone to live with you, you might not have had such a hard life."

"And if Dick had come to live with me, my parents would still probably have died in that fire leaving me and Dick alone in the world. Yes Dick might have prevented me ending up in an abusive marriage, but then I wouldn't have Timmy and Heather. I wouldn't have you and the Justice League as friends. You did the right thing by Dick. I am very proud of the man he has become."

"So am I."

"I probably shouldn't have reacted the way I did, but it felt like Dick didn't trust me to keep a secret."

"I think that Dick might see you as more of a civilian than family. The family he referred to is the Bat family and to be a member, you must be sanctioned by me."

"An exclusive club. Do you have jackets?"

Batman--Bruce--shook his head and managed to crack a smile, a small one but a smile nevertheless. "No, but I would like to add you and your children to the membership."

My heart skipped a beat. "Are you feeling all right? Because it is so unlike you to be so…warm and fuzzy."

"I'm serious."

"Then I accept." My face fell. "I just hope that the children live long enough to enjoy the privilege."

"Maybe J'onn has found some answers."

"Maybe."


"Anything?" I asked anxiously as Batman and I arrived at the medical bay. J'onn was standing at a computer terminal.

"Amelia, you better sit down," J'onn said.

"Oh God!" I whispered. "J'onn please tell me that I'm not going to lose them."

"No Amelia, you won't lose them. They will recover."

A tremendous weight seemed to fall off my shoulders. "Thank God."

"But…"

I did not like the sound of that but. "But what?"

"Amelia, I am going to need a sample of your DNA."

"What for?"

"I believe that you maybe a carrier for the metagene."

"And what does that have to…wait a second. Are you saying my children have superpowers?!"

"That appears to be the case," J'onn replied bringing up an image on the computer screen. It was two sets of DNA double helixes. He typed in something and the screen stopped at a particular sequence. "Their sudden illness is their body's reaction to the gene becoming active. Only time will tell what their superpowers are."

"And since I don't have any superpowers, you assume that I am a carrier."

"Indeed. For the metagene to be present both parents must be carriers or one parent is a metahuman. Your former husband might be a carrier or a metahuman."

I sighed as I leaned on the wall. "If he was, he sure kept it quiet." I reached up to my head and pulled out a couple of strands of hair. "Will a hair sample suffice?"

J'onn nodded. "Amelia I suggest that you inform your ex-husband about the possible danger he is in. If this anti-metahuman group tracked you down, they might have him in mind for another target."

"I think about it," I replied with a shrug.


Not about to leave my children alone, I set up a cot in the medical bay and I was not leaving until my children did. J'onn's suggestion that I contact my ex still resonated in my mind. Could I do it? Face him after five years. Looking at my children as they slept, I worried. If I did contact Mike, would he try to take my children away from me? Had he changed his view on parenthood since our divorce? Would he….?

"Guess who?" someone asked covering my eyes. Only one person would do something like this.

"Hi Flash," I said with a smile.

"Wrong answer," he said uncovering my eyes and sitting next to me. Next to me sat a man not much older than me with red hair, green eyes and a smile…that…would… not…quit…

"You! You were that man who winked at me at that restaurant."

"Q did tell you I was there."

"Well it's not like I've ever seen you face."

"True. I'm Wally West by the way," he said holding out his hand to me.

"Amelia Jones," I replied shaking his hand.

"How are the munchkins?" he asked turning to the kids.

"Doing better. J'onn gave them something to bring down their fevers and help them sleep."

"And what about you? How is Mom doing through all of this?"

"I'm fine."

Wally shook his head. "Amelia, this is me you're talking to. Who better than I knows what it's like to watch someone you love and care about lying in a bed and not being able to do a thing about it."

"To be honest. I am still in shock. I mean, you probably had some idea that you would father another speedster."

"Charlie is the world's fastest baby."

"But for me, I had no idea until now. Twins are hard enough by myself, but super powered twins. Tell me how I am supposed to cope with that?"

Wally sighed. "I haven't got the answers. But I promise that I'll help you through it. The twins can rely on Uncle Wally to be there."

"And Cousin Dick will be there too," Dick said from the door.

I turned to Dick as he walked into the medical bay. He thrust his hands into his pockets and stopped in front of me.

Wally cleared his throat. "I better get going. Remember, if you need anything Amelia, you know where to find me."

"Right."

Wally left me alone with my cousin. "Listen Amelia," Dick said. "I wanted to apologize for what I said. I don't know why I said it, but I shouldn't have."

"Dick it's okay. I shouldn't have shout. But you will admit that your timing wasn't the greatest."

"I will admit that. I just didn't want to see you go through this alone."

"Do you think that the Justice League would let me go through this alone?"

"No, but you don't know the people behind the masks very well."

"That may be, but I am starting to getting to know them at last."

"Bruce tells me that he's asked you to become apart of the family."

I nodded. "Yes he did and let me tell you it scared the hell out of me."

"He has a habit of doing that. But underneath it all, he is a good man. Mia is something else bothering you? I mean besides the twins being sick and all."

"J'onn suggested that I tell Mike what's been going on."

Dick clenched his fists. He had had it out for Mike ever since I told him about the abuse. It came to a point that Mike could not even blow his nose without Dick knowing about it and now that I was a part of the Bat family, I had a feeling Batman would be keeping an eye on Mike as well.

"Are you going to?" Dick asked.

"I haven't decided yet. Honestly Dick I don't know what scares me more: being the mother of super powered twins or facing my ex-husband."

"Well I'll be there for both cases. Maybe I should move the Central City to be closer to you and the kids."

"No Dick. You've got your own life. All I'm gonna ask is that you visit a couple of times a year."

"It'll be more like a couple of times a month," Dick said with a smile. "Now Mia, tell me what's up between you and Wally?"

"Me and Wally?"

"Oh come on Mia. I've seen the way you two look at each other when you think no one is looking. You've got a crush on him."

"Dick, we're just friends," I protested as my face flushed red.

"Ah huh. Mia, I know you and I know Wally. You're interested in him just as much as his interested in you."

Wally West was interested in me?! The Flash was interested in me, a single mother of two without superpowers? Dare I pinch myself to make sure that I was not dreaming? I cleared my throat. "I don't know what you're talking about Richard Grayson."

"Whatever." Dick leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "Get some rest Mia. You're gonna need it for what's ahead."