21

Ahh Home. Let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you.
Ahh Home. Let me go ho-oh-ome.
Home is wherever I'm with you.

- Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

When they all arrive at the house, the parents left the mentors in favor of calming their children and themselves down.

The mentors more or less collapse on the various seating in the living room exhausted from their battles. Still none of them had any good feelings about this.

To distract herself, Black Canary looks around the room for a while noting the different nicknacks that litters the room. It was nice, a personal touch they had. She thinks it's rather cozy.

"Hey Bats." Barry glances over at him, trying not to look down the hallway where the children were. "Where did you get that?"

"It's nothing. Just a scratch." Batman waves it off, taking the cowl off.

"He wrestled a tiger." Green Arrow says breathing out. "And outwits whatever the hell those things were."

"Speaking of which." Wally says walking into the room with the first aide kit, "Who's hurt the worst."

"Him." Clark was annoyingly helpful in this. "Everyone else doesn't seem to be hurt as badly. Orin's head is tougher than mine. So he should be fine in a bit."

"That's nice to know." Artemis tosses her mask aside and went to busy herself in the kitchen for something to drink. Nerve-wrecking, that's what it is. Though the calm reassurances that M'gann was sending to all of them helps take the edge off.

When finally the last remaining members of the family return, M'gann helps Artemis with the tea that Dick serves out to the others with Conner standing near the hallway where their children were suppose to be sleeping.

"Alright." Kaldur finally sits down, "What happened?"

"We were attacked, obviously." Oliver rubs his eyes, "Blindsided would be a better word here."

"They were obviously looking for children." J'onn adds, "Barry believes it is your children they search for."

Dinah pulls her hair up into a bun before leaning forward for her mug of tea, "Question is why." She searches the guarded faces of their former proteges. "Why would they be after you?"

"Unless," Bruce didn't even bother to pick his tea up but was looking straight at Dick, "there's something you haven't told us about them?"

Dick sighs softly before finally sitting down. The others tense but stares with guarded expressions.

"This isn't the first time we've moved." Dick finally answers. Wally rubs his back slightly but looks up at their mentors after he finished with Bruce's wounds. In this they had decided to let Dick answer the questions if need be.

"How many times before this?" Dinah's eyes narrow a little watching him. "What's really going on?"

Artemis sets her mug down a bit harder than she intend to. "We can handle this. Why don't you just go to wherever the fuck you've been for the past decade?"

"Hey!" Oliver was having just about enough of this. "We were not the ones that just up and left everyone without a word or even a damn letter! " His neck and face were turning from pink to red with his own personal rage. "Now, if this was between us, fine. I would say you know best and walk the fuck away. But it's not. You have six children, all with powers, I assume, and you need more help than you're willing to admit. So why don't you just explain to us what the hell is going on so we can help you?"

After a moment, Conner spoke up from where he was, "Keep it down. You'll wake them." He breathes out his nose before moving closer to speak with them better. "Fine, we've done this five times already."

"Do you know who's chasing you?" Barry frowns, he doesn't like the idea of them being in danger. "Why didn't you come to us?"

"Obvious isn't it?" Artemis sighs softly trying to relax a bit when she leans into Conner. M'gann's took her hand for the moment. "Why we didn't."

"We would have helped you." Orin says gently.

Kaldur only nods once but continues, "At any rate, we have yet to truly discern who it is that is following us. We know that they are after our children because..."

He trails off, touching the link between the six of them tentatively to get an idea on exactly how much he should say.

M'gann only nods once, a visible sign that they agree, mostly from habit.

"Their powers aren't entirely stable." Kaldur continues, "By the time they are Robin's age, it should be more clear. At the moment it's shifting focus due to...their genetic make up."

Clark frowns, he hates to be the one to do the obvious questions too, but it seems as if the others had already said their peace, mostly. "When you mean 'genetic make up' you don't mean the parents of each child, do you?"

"No." M'gann spoke this time, forcing those sitting on the couch and various seats to look at her. She shifts her weight slightly, holding Artemis's hand for more comfort. "Because they're all ours."

J'onn stares at her for a moment before nodding. He knew it. He had been right. From the looks that Bruce had, he assumes he wasn't alone in figuring that deal out. Though it does mean that their bet is off now.

Not that it truly mattered to him in the first place.

"You've lost me here." Oliver sounds frustrated, "What do you mean they're all yours?"

Artemis doesn't know whether to laugh or not. It was lucky then, that Wally deign to speak.

"Exactly what she means." He sits up, calling attention away from the others. "Each of them has our genetic material. Plainly put, it's not two in there but six. Five are wrapped around the core strand that is the building block. Two or three will connect, the extra is dormant mostly. It doesn't settle until they're around Harper or Robin's age from what we've seen."

Clark was having a little issue trying to wrap his mind around this. Really? Six strands of DNA floating around each of those children... His brows knit in worry as he follows this line of thought.

"No wonder they want them." He says, his blue eyes flickering from each one of them. "Why? Why...did you ?" He couldn't really articulate his question.

"Isn't it obvious?" Bruce finally rose and pulls his shirt back on. "Come now Clark, it shouldn't be that hard to guess."

Taking off the glasses, Clark cleans them for a moment, "Well..no it's not. I can see why. I just don't know how."

Dick smirks just a bit, "That is a secret."

Dinah shakes her head stifling a laugh, "Alright then, so how do we keep you all safe?"

"For one," Kaldur begins in an unhappy tone." We have to shore up everything and pack up. They'll find us soon enough."

"Yeah.." Dick sighs softly, "I was really beginning to like it here too."

"Same." Wally gets up and moves to get something to eat. "So where to now?"

"I dunno, maybe something scenic this time ?" Artemis suggests before leaving M'gann and Conner's side to clean up. "I'm a little tired of city life."

"Wait." Barry stands up, "Why don't you just move back? I mean...Where we can all watch over the kids."

Kaldur looks at his lovers then back, " It wouldn't be a bad idea..."

"At least until it's over." M'gann amends. "It would be nice if they got some training."

"I don't like it." Artemis stubbornly sent through their link. "What about all the things we hoped for them? A normal life?"

" It sort of stopped being that when their powers appeared and those things keep finding us." Dick tells her dryly. " What other choice do we have?"

She stares at the mug, glancing over at Conner's hand on her shoulder before putting a hand over his. " I know..I know..I just...don't want them to end up like us. Like we were."

She felt their reassurance through their shared link and nods slowly, "Alright, alright already." She huffs looking at them sourly, "You've twisted my arm. Lets head back..home, I suppose."

Bruce smiles slightly pulling a phone from gods-who-knows-where, "Then you won't mind me making arrangements for where you'll be staying."