Dear Other Dad and Mom,

They took him. They took him away. They took them both away, but Aaron didn't deserve to go. And it's all his fault, that self-righteous, interfering, pernicious, atrocious, cheesy alien so called hero. Superman. He just had to stick his nose in where it didn't belong. Fine yes Dad was mad, but I could have handled it. I've been handling it just fine for over a year now. He was just cruising along over the city, apparently using his x-ray vision or superhearing to spy on everyday people, when he decided to intervene in our lives.

It's was the anniversary of Mom's death. Dad found out that I wasn't graduating at the top of my class. I don't know why but despite everything he's still fixated on my grades, which sucks because they're awful right now; I'm only hitting a low 80 average. He blew up; to be fair he'd just finished drinking more then I'd ever seen so it's not entirely his fault. And I couldn't get Aaron to stop crying, he's normally so good.

I was in the bathroom taking a shower when I heard Dad start shouting. I hurried to get to Aaron before anything could happen, I didn't even dry off I just threw on my sweater and trackpants and ran. I didn't make it in time. Dad was already in Aaron's bedroom, I don't think that Dad's been in his bedroom for months. He was drunk with a broken beer bottle still in his hand. Aaron had stopped crying and was trying to hide in the corner. There was blood. I got so mad. There is never ever an excuse to hurt Aaron.

Dad took another swing with the bottle but I got in the way this time. I didn't care about my blood, I got mad. No-one hurts Aaron while I'm around; it's my job to protect him, that what Mom would want Dad or no Dad. I couldn't control my temper any longer; I attacked him back. That was stupid, Dad's still pretty strong. I jumped on him and got a pretty good kick at his nuts, just like Mom had taught me. He threw me against the wall, it broke my arm. I went at him with one of the bottle shard, just like he did to me sometimes. Aaron was screaming. I slashed a huge cut right across Dad's stomach. There was a lot of blood, I dropped the glass and grabbed Aaron to make a run for it. Dad grabbed me again.

Then Superman came barrelling in. He pulled Dad off of me and took us to the hospital. That would have been one thing but then the cops got involved. Long story short, they told me that Dad's going to jail, that I won't have to see him again and that he has lost custody of us. I just nodded, they'd doped me up on some kind of drug to stitch me up but I wouldn't leave Aaron so they had to do it beside his hospital crib. I don't think that I could live with Dad ever again, he hurt Aaron. In fact I don't think he's even my dad anymore, he's just some guy who use to be my dad. I hate him for hurting Aaron.

But I hate Superman more because of what happened next. They took Aaron away from me. We stayed for a week in the hospital while Roger was convicted and then officially became 'wards of the state' because Mom and don't have any family left. The service worker came to talk to me, she said that they'd found a nice home for Aaron to be adopted into. She said that they were nice people who had been waiting a long time to save a nice little boy from a situation just like this. That's when I got scared, I said that Aaron wasn't going anywhere without me. I begged her to keep us together. But she didn't care, she said that they can't even keep genetic siblings together never mind adopted siblings, plus these people didn't want a girl. She said that she was really sorry but that doesn't make a difference.

She took Aaron away. I started screaming and trying to stop her, Mom would never want us split up because I have to look after Aaron. A couple of the police officers held me back, that was two days ago. I haven't seen Aaron since and no-one will tell me where he is. They said that they can't tell me because I'm a 'risk' child. Another social worker came and made me sit down; she wasn't nice like the other one. She said that I had almost killed Roger and that I should get a record but due to the circumstances they were willing to cut me a deal. I didn't have a choice. I've got a guard watching me and I've been placed on 'suicide watch'.

I have to spend the summer at a 'camp' for 'troubled kids', it's basically kid jail but the 'deal' is that if I show 'improvement' I only have to stay for the summer and I won't get a permanent record. After the summer I'll be put in a 'home' to start high school. If after I successfully complete a year of school and the camp with no 'issues' they'll tell me where Aaron is and let me visit him. I heard them talking, they think that if they tell me now I'll take him and run off. They're right. Maybe about everything, I wanted to kill Roger. I'm glad I didn't but I would have. And I do want to take Aaron and run but I'll play their game for now. But I'll always remember, I know who to blame, Flash for killing Mom, Dad for hurting Aaron instead of me and Superman for splitting us all up. They will be held accountable and I'll get my brother back.

Sarah


Superman's face was ashen.

All in the room were torn. They were all glad that Sarah was no longer stuck taking care of her brother and living with her father, but they couldn't help but feel awful for tearing her world apart and separating her from her brother.

Superman asked the question of Batman, "Did I do the right thing?"

Bruce met his eyes, "As a father, yes but if I was her I would never forgive you."

"You don't forgive anyone," Wally cracked a small smile, trying to instill some levity into the room.

Linda laid a hand over Wally's indicating that perhaps this wasn't the time, "I'm sure Sarah finds Aaron again, it's only a year."

"She almost killed him," Diana wasn't focused, "there may be more Amazon in her then I'd hoped. All that rage. The hidden despair. The hate. The focus." She buried her head in her hands, "we just wanted to keep her safe." The usual stoic Wonder Woman appeared broken, no longer a hero, a warrior or a princess, just a guilty mother. "What will she do when she finds out who Bruce and I are, that we're the superheroes she's coming to hate?"

"She'll accept you Diana," Lois said, "it'll be hard. But tell her the whole story, why you sent her away, she'll come to understand. She can talk to the other kids, hear their stories and she'll have Jay to take her around, a familiar face."

Linda jumped in it, "Wally can grab him, he can tell you everything you need to know."

"But what does she do when she finds out that Jay is Flash's son?" Diana's eyes were deep, "that he himself has the same powers?" That gave them pause.

Batman stood up, "we don't need Jay, not yet. Flash go downstairs and grab Shayara and John, J'onn too while you're at it. He might as well be here."

He nodded, eager to please, "I think they're training with the JLJ, be right back."

"Why not Jay?" Superman asked.

Batman was pacing and typically unresponsive, "Because I need to speak to John and Shayara first."