Author's Note: Thanks to Wombo Combi (Good question! Sadly, I can't really say much without spoiling what is coming up in the story. All I can really tell you is that the founding members of the League keeping this a secret is Tim's theory, not necessarily what happened.), soccernin19 (Thank you!), and IndiaMoore (:D) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing.

Jade managed to get a few hours of peaceful sleep before Roy gently shook her awake. "Wha-" An enormous yawn cut her off and Roy grinned at her, waiting for her to be able to finish. "What time is it?"

"A quarter til one," he told her. "I figured I'd better wake you before you missed lunch entirely."

"A wise idea," she replied, rolling off the bed and smoothing her hair. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful, as always," Roy told her, leaning down to kiss her. They pulled apart as someone cleared their throat in the doorway.

Pennyworth sent me to make sure the pair of you are actually coming down," Damian said, giving both of them an irritated glare.

"Yes we're coming," Roy replied, sounding exasperated. "Don't get your boxers in a bunch."

"That was unnecessarily crude Harper," Damian replied, managing to sound like a disapproving grandfather despite the fact that he was only ten. Jade managed to hold in her giggles until Damian was gone.

"Annoying little brat," Roy muttered and Jade's giggles turned into laughter. "What?"

"I think he's adorable," she informed her boyfriend. "Now let's go before Alfred himself decides to come upstairs." Roy nodded and arm in arm they made their way down the stairs. They had arrived at the bottom step when Oliver Queen walked around the corner. Both Oliver and Roy froze instantly. Jade adjusted her hand so her fingers were intertwined with Roy's and squeezed gently to reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere. Then she politely waited to be introduced.

It took a gentle elbow to the ribcage before Roy managed to shake off his shock. "Jade, this is Oliver. Ollie, this is Jade Nguyen."

"A pleasure," Oliver Queen said, lightly kissing the back of her hand when she offered it to him. His eyes studied her carefully, as if trying to understand what she was doing in Wayne Manor. Then he turned a questioning gaze to Roy whose grip tightened on Jade's hand.

Roy swallowed hard and then said, "Jade is my girlfriend."

"And she knows about your night job?" Queen questioned immediately.

"Of course," Jade cut in, fixing her eyes firmly on his. "I was in a similar business until recently." She gestured her free hand to her large stomach and Queen nodded once in acknowledgement. She hesitated a moment, glancing over at Roy who considered the situation and then nodded. "Before I arrived at my present state, I was known as Cheshire." She watched silently as recognition flared in Oliver Queen's eyes.

"An assassin, Roy?" Queen demanded. "Really?" Jade felt Roy flinch a little, obviously hurt, and anger began to coil in her chest. "You've never been the best judge of women but this is beyond anything I could ever imagine."

"As if you have room to talk," Roy snapped, his grip almost painfully tight on Jade's hand. "First there was Dinah Laurel Lance, who you cheated on with her sister and then there's Felicity who has obviously been in love with you forever but who you've never given the time of day. Face it Ollie, your love life is a mess."

"Maybe I'm trying to prevent you from making the same mistakes as I did," Oliver shot back and muscles in Roy's jaw went tight.

"What gives you the right to decide who I love?" he demanded. "Jade is the woman I'm going to marry and if you can't accept that then you can get out of my life." Jade pressed her hand gently against Roy's arm, muscles tight with fury, as the pair of them walked by a silent Oliver Queen and into the kitchen.

When Tim arrived in Gotham the city was in chaos. The sun had set a few hours ago and as soon as he stepped out of the airport he could hear the screaming from the nearby Narrows. That most likely meant that Scarecrow was on the loose. Instantly Tim's exhaustion was pushed aside as he scrambled for his phone, abandoning the idea of taking a cab to the manor. He'd arrange for safer transport. Tim dialed the number for the manor without even glancing down at his fingers and held the phone to his ear, listening for any signs of incoming danger. He was so focused on the world around him that Alfred had to ask who was calling twice before he responded.

"It's Tim," he said. "I've just arrived back in Gotham. I was going to call a cab but..." He let his voice trail off as a particularly ear piercing shriek rang out into the night.

"I suspect calling for more secure transport was the best decision Master Tim," Alfred informed him. "Master Jason and Master Damian are out patrolling with Miss Stephanie but I will fetch Master Dick and send him to collect you."

"Thank you Alfred," Tim said.

"It is no trouble Master Tim," Alfred replied and hung up. Tim tucked his phone away and then sank into the shadows, keeping an eye out for trouble. The last thing he wanted to do was to get into a fight with Gotham henchmen before he got to deliver his news.

Dick pulled up on a motorcycle fifteen minutes later. The screams had steadily grown closer and closer, Tim growing tenser as he waited, and the young man practically sprang out of the shadows, accepting his older brother's hug without hesitation. "Is everything okay?" Dick asked against Tim's hair.

"Yes," Tim answered, the word almost a sob against Dick's shoulder. "Well yes and no."

Dick pulled back a little, studying Tim intensely. Despite the fact that he could, often enough, lie to Bruce he found himself fighting the urge to squirm under the intense gaze. "Let's go back to the Cave," the older boy said at last. "We'll talk there."

"Okay," Tim replied and followed his brother to the motorcycle.

"Hurry up Demon bird," Stephanie Brown called, swinging from one rooftop to the next. The wind whipped around her ears, sending her blonde hair smacking against her cheeks. Behind her, Damian Wayne in on of Dick Grayson's old Robin uniforms glided through the night to join her.

"This is not a race," Jason snapped at them from across the street on top of another roof.

"That's what you think," Stephanie replied with a cheeky smile. Despite the screams of terrified Gotham citizens below, Stephanie felt alive. She loved patrolling. Being Batgirl was one of the best parts of her life and ever since Cass had handed over the mantle she had felt as if she had finally found a place where she belonged. As a child, Stephanie had known she didn't fit in with the other children around her. Her father was a minor villain in Batman's rogues gallery and her mother was a footnote in the story of her life. The other children alienated her and until she had become part of the Batclan she had never really felt free to be herself. Now her life was different, better really, all because of a now dead man who had decided to protect a city while wearing a suit that made him look almost like a giant bat.

The blonde was shaken out of her thoughts when Damian stiffened beside her. The small boy had tensed almost to the breaking point, his eyes fixed on the darkness behind him. "Robin?" she questioned gently, knowing since they were keeping their comms on at all times that Jason would hear here. "What's wrong?" The boy was shaking slightly and Stephanie was sure that his eyes where wide behind the white lenses of his mask.

"I think..." the boy said, voice trailing off as he shivered violently. "I think I just saw..." He turned to look at her, lips trembling, as Jason swung across the empty space between their buildings so he could loom up behind the boy and place a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"I believe we should head back to the Cave," Jason told them, his voice steady and cold.

"Okay," Damian said, his voice more frightened and behavior more docile than the blonde had ever seen. It was that, more than any other factor, that had her following Jason and Damian through the quiet streets of Gotham towards the safety of the Cave.