Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Thanks, as always, for hanging on through this story! It means the world to me. Alrighty, this chapter is dedicated to every single one of you because I'm feeling sentimental today (it has nothing to do with the fact that I just finished watching Romeo and Juliet, nothing at all). Read, review, and enjoy!

Responses to Guest Reviews:

Stranger ways – Haha, you're never actually late, but I'll accept your apology anyways. Thanks for taking the time to review!

Guestz – Jade honestly just needs someone to help her manage her angst and Sportsmaster is not equipped to deal with that. Huh, I hadn't even thought of sending her to the Rogues. I was briefly considering Roy, but that was way too complicated for the moment. Yeah, that's the vibe I always get off of the metahuman discrimination. It seems a little more mild than mutant discrimination to me? I don't know. Thanks for reading this and for reviewing!

Zatannagurl – I know, Wally doesn't deserve anything he's going through. It's going to get better for him though! Eventually… Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Guest – Thanks for the review!

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Jade's mother gave her a soft look that didn't quite cover the hard, coiled muscles that were prepared for anything, "Do you take milk and sugar in your tea?"

Jade swallowed down the thought that mothers should already know this, and instead said, "No, neither. I take it plain."

"So do I." Her mother commented idly, moving through the apartment easily, gathering the supplies she needed to make the tea. Jade wanted to go over and help her, but she wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't sure if she'd get in the way. For a long second, she hovered just out of reach of the closed door, unconsciously leaning towards the escape route. Her muscles were taught, ready. Jade's mother looked up after a moment. She saw where Jade was and something in her expression crumpled a little bit, pained and sad and concerned. She swallowed harshly before saying, "Please, sit down Jade. I'll be over in a moment."

Wordlessly, Jade complied. She shouldn't have come here. She'd been there for only moments and she was already hurting her mother. Jade left so she didn't have to hurt her family anymore. At least, not Artemis or her mother. Instantly, her mind threw her back to the image of Wally actually tripping over himself to get away from his father and she knew that she had needed to come here. There was no other viable option for her.

In her moment of thought, Jade's mother had rolled back over to where Jade was sitting. Carefully, Paula Crock moved the tray of tea supplies from her lap to the table. She busied herself with pouring some tea for each of them. Then, without anything else to do, she settled back in her wheelchair, cradling her cup in her hand and watching Jade over the rim. There was still something sad and pained in her eyes when she said, "Jade, please relax. You're home."

"This isn't my home." Jade immediately refuted. She hadn't even really meant to say that. It had just come out, a reflexive defensive mechanism.

Paula's hands tightened around her cup, but she didn't comment on that, instead going back to her original point, "At the very least, try to relax."

"I can't relax. I can't relax anywhere. I shouldn't have come here. They'll know I came to see you." Jade said, standing abruptly and preparing to move towards the door.

Before she even realized it, Jade's mother had moved around the table and grabbed Jade's hand, holding her where she was, "Jade. Sit down. If someone comes after you here, then I think that the two of us can handle them. And if you're going to get in trouble for seeing me, then you're already in trouble. Might as well get something out of it, yeah?"

Jade stood there, torn, before finally relenting. She silently slipped back onto the couch, pulling her legs up under her. Her mom didn't let go until Jade was settled down again, tea cup in her hand. Letting out a sigh – of relief? Of frustration? Jade couldn't tell, - Paula settled back into her own spot on the opposite side of the table, "You're looking well. You've grown up to be so beautiful. You have my hair."

Jade fiddled with the teacup handle, nervously twisting it around, "I got a lot of my looks from you. At least, that's what Sportsmaster says."

Paula's lips tightened, "You call your father Sportsmaster?"

Jade's eyes flickered up to her mother for a moment, "It'd be kind of strange if I started calling him Dad on a mission. Not a lot of people actually know about our relationship. Besides, he's worthless as a father and doesn't deserve the title." Jade spat the last sentence out bitterly, one hand clenching at her side.

"He was trying to protect you, you know?" Paula commented mildly, eyes soft and mouth hidden behind her cup.

"Well, he certainly went about it the wrong way. If he was trying to protect us, he wouldn't have put us through what he did! What was he even trying to protect us from? If he'd gotten a legitimate job, there wouldn't have even been enemies coming in and attacking us at night! If you'd gotten a legitimate job, there wouldn't have been people coming after us! You two made your own enemies and forced us to deal with them!" Jade said, voice controlled but passionate, barely resisting the urge to stand again.

Paula never outwardly reacted other than her eyes softening further and her fond smile finally peering out from over the rim of her cup, "Oh Jade, we lived in the wrong world. We made mistakes. We did everything parents could do wrong. We forced you to grow up too fast. But you're not here to talk about that. I have the strangest feeling that you won't be really ready to talk about that for a long time."

Angry tears burned the back of Jade's eyes. How dare her mother just sweep away her issues like that? How dare her mother be so right? Turning her head to the side, Jade muttered, "I shouldn't have come. It was stupid." She ignored how similar she was acting to Wally. This was what he always did when he got mulish or angry with the turn of a conversation.

Paula took another sip of her tea. She set the cup down, letting it clink gently against the saucer. She leaned forward, across the table. Jade looked up just in time for Paula to gently grab her chin, fingers momentarily splaying across Jade's face. The assassin sat frozen for a second, eyes wide and heart far too hopeful for the life she lived. Paula murmured gently, "Please, Jade. I know I've messed up far too many times to be able to ask anything from you, but please. Please trust me with this. Please let your mother help you. Even if it's only this one time, please let me be there for you. That's all I ask."

Tears welling in her eyes again, only kept in through pure force of will, Jade spoke. She told her mom of her life with the League of Assassins, how Ra's al Ghul had won her loyalty. She talked about the formation of the Light and how Jade was sucked into that world. She mentioned meeting Wally and manipulating him and finished with his most recent deal with the Light in order to save his and Cameron's lives.

The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a long time. Jade was emotionally drained, feeling bare like she hadn't in an incredibly long time. She wasn't sure if she'd ever just sat with someone and spilled out all her worries before. She had never been able to trust her mother or father with this kind of thing and she was never willing to put all of that on her little sister's shoulders. Then, with the assassins, they weren't exactly close to each other. Being an assassin did not equal making close connections. Her mother was regarding her silently, expression deeply sorrowful and horribly understanding.

Finally, her mother spoke, "I went through what you're going through, once. It ended up with me giving up being a villain. Are you still willing to listen to my advice?"

Jade couldn't speak, so she nodded. She wouldn't give up being a villain just because of some advice. Paula looked at her carefully again before she finally began, "For a long time, I loved your father. He was someone like me, someone who was always there for me. We did things together. He gave me two beautiful children. He taught me new tricks in the field. We were unstoppable. And then he let me take the fall for him. I was paralyzed and imprisoned because he let me go. It was a side of him that I'd never seen before, even though we were married for so long. I didn't know what to do with myself.

"Obviously, that's not exactly the same thing that you're going through with Ra's al Ghul, but it's similar. You were loyal to him, a trusted student, a trusted soldier. He gave you a purpose, if not a home. He was a force that was backing you for a long time. And then, he did something that you didn't understand. He supported this horrible plan that tore down the child who you considered to be so kind, so unsuited for something as dark as he was pulled into. You thought that he was genuinely interested in Wally, that maybe Wally could become a potential recruit for the League. And then they were experimenting him, getting him captured by the Team, tearing him down and bringing his father back just to torment him. You didn't know what to do with yourself.

"I had a long time to think about my decisions. I had six years to think about what I had done, what my decisions had meant for myself and the people around me. I mean, you two were just little girls. Instead of playing with dolls, you were dismantling bombs. Instead of cute little dresses, we had you outfitted for stealth outfits. I was so wrapped up in my love and in my ideal little world that I couldn't see what was surrounding me. And so many people suffered for that. I realized that your father had been changing for a while, but that I had blinded myself to it. I could see that he was getting more intense, more paranoid. I assume that was when he started with the Light. That's just based on my own feelings and assumptions, but I think it's true. I hurt your father by leading him on, by not addressing the changes I was ignoring.

"I hurt you by leaving you alone with your father and Artemis. I put the responsibility of an adult, of a parent on you when you were just a little girl yourself. Every day I thought of what I had put you through and I cried. I hurt Artemis by not even giving her a chance to experience what it would be like to grow up semi-normal. I mean, you never had a normal life, but for a while you at least weren't pushed as hard, wasn't trained as mercilessly. When I was pregnant with Artemis, Lawrence thought that I was going to need extra protection because I definitely couldn't fight as well. So, he trained you harder. Then, oh I don't know, I guess he got a taste for it? He thought he found his calling? I don't know. But he was stuck like that. You were pushed harder than ever. Artemis never got a chance to live a life of anything but being pushed like that.

"And when I realized that? When I came to those conclusions and realized that my naivety, my inability to see what was going on around me, my… my foolishness in trying to mold my children to be exactly like me? I stopped. That exact moment was when I stopped. I loved being a villain. If I could still do it, I would probably still love being a villain. That urge will never go away. I lived by my own rules for far too long to completely accept society's understood moral boundaries. But I gave it up anyways. Because the day I gave birth to you, and to Artemis – no, not the days I gave birth to you two. The day I saw you and loved you was the day I stopped living for just myself. The moment I started loving my children, the moment I took responsibility of the adorably little girls who were so beautiful and so strong willed, I gave my life to you two.

"For far too long, I neglected that. I ignored that responsibility I felt, the one that Fate placed on me in order to change my life. And everyone else suffered for that. I hate that it took until I was suffering as well for me to realize it, but I can't change something that already happened. I gave up the life that had torn my family apart in order to save my family and I will never regret that. I told Lawrence to leave and when Artemis decided to become a vigilante, I helped her get the supplies and I helped her train. When Batman and Green Arrow came here looking for her, I begged them to not turn her in. I knew that she was still a vigilante, so she was still technically breaking the law, but she was doing good. She was helping people. And I convinced them to let her join the Team, to have Green Arrow take her on as his apprentice.

"I can't change what's already happened, but I can work until my fingers bleed to make sure that the rest of your lives are better. Those boys, Cameron and Wally, that girl Shimmer, all those other teens. Fate has placed them in your hands, as your responsibility. You can save them all and yourself at the same time. Go to the heroes and beg them to help." Paula finished before her lips snuck up into a smirk and she teased, "Or go to that vigilante boyfriend you've got."

Unexpectedly, Jade's cheeks heated, and she hissed, "I do not have a vigilante boyfriend!"

Paula raised a single eyebrow, "So, you didn't kiss that Red Arrow boy? Because I've heard that you did."

"That was one time!" Jade defended, cheeks heating further.

Paula laughed, "Oh, from that reaction, it most definitely was more than one time. When else did you kiss him? That's just too sweet. Talk about star-crossed lovers."

"We're not star-crossed lovers!" Jade defended hotly, "We're just… he doesn't even like me! He's… he's my mark! I'm one of his handlers. He's the double agent for the Light!"

Paula raised an eyebrow, "So, not so star-crossed then. You're on the same side?"

"No!" Jade huffed, "We are not on the same side. He needed a handler because he didn't know that he was the double agent."

Both eyebrows raised that time, and Paula smirked, "So… star-crossed lovers?"

Huffing much more emphatically, Jade practically pouted, "No! I only got close to him, so I could activate him."

"Ah." Paula said, nodding wisely.

Jade narrowed her eyes at her mother, "What are you 'ah'-ing for? That was not an 'ah' moment."

Paula shook her head, adopting an innocent expression, "Oh nothing, I was just saying 'ah' because I realized that you fell in love with your mark. The number one no-no for an assassin."

Jade opened her mouth to argue but realized that she couldn't find the words. She closed her mouth before opening it again, "Oh my god."

For a moment, mother and daughter stared at each other. Then Paula burst out laughing, "Oh, you should have seen your face. You were so shocked. Did you really not realize that you liked him that much?"

"What can I do about it, though? He's a hero! I'm an assassin! Even if I change, there's no way he'd want me. I was the one who activated his code word to make him give up his friends. I did it so many times. He could never forgive me." Jade lamented. Briefly, she thought of how wrong this scene was. She was discussing a crush with her mother! How strange was that? This wasn't something that she did. It wasn't natural.

Something soft overtook her mother's features again and she took a hold of one of Jade's hands, "Jade, I don't think you understand how much trying means to a hero. Not all of them started out their careers so innocently. Not all of them used to be heroes. If you try to become someone for their sake, they'll accept it. It might not start out all that great, but it will get there. Jade, this is your opportunity, your time. If he's let you kiss him more than once, that says something. Go to him. Tell him everything you told me. Tell him how you feel. Help him save you."

"It's not that simple, Mom." Jade said, fists clenched and tears resolutely not falling.

"Ra's al Ghul took me in, trained me, trusted me. I can't betray him, betray the organization. I swore my life to the League of Assassins. I genuinely enjoy being an assassin even if it wasn't what I would have originally pictured for myself. What kind of person am I if I abandon the group that protected me, gave me a new life?" Jade argued, heart wanting what her mother suggested, but head telling her to stay with the Light.

"What kind of person would you be?" Paula repeated, eyes blazing, "You would be the exact same person who you were before? A strong, strong girl who does what's best for her. You are an independent woman who doesn't need a single person to stand on. All your accomplishments are yours alone. Be proud of that. Keep fighting for that. Stay strong. You enjoy being an assassin? Who said you had to give that up? I never said to change who you are for him. You can be an assassin who kills for good. I know this is not what I'm supposed to say as a parent, but it's the truth. You be who you want to be. I believe that as long as you do good, he'll accept it. And maybe, someday, you'll eventually change your mind."

There was another long silence after that declaration. Jade was the one who broke it, "I don't want to be responsible for those kids. I didn't ask for that."

"You don't always ask for it. Sometimes it finds you. And sometimes that sucks, but most of the time, it'll be worth it." Paula responded.

"Will it really? They're not my kids. They're going to disappear into the world if I get them free. I'll have given everything up for nothing. No return. No reward." Jade threw back.

"Won't freeing them, seeing them happy and not pulled into the Light be worth it? A reward in itself? Besides, that Wally will most likely go back to the Rogues. He might even end up working as a CI for Red Arrow again, and then you'll surely see him all the time." Paula ended with a wink that sent Jade to blushing again.

Shaking her head again, Jade ran her hands through her dark hair, "It's not that simple. A villain doesn't become a hero, or an anti-hero, or vigilante, or whatever in one night. It doesn't happen. None of this would work."

She would have gone on, but Paula grabbed her hands again, holding them tightly, "I became a civilian overnight. In one single night, I made the decision to stop being a villain. That part is the easy bit. The rest is what requires the strength. I hate that I can't do this for you. I hate that I can't really be there for you. But advice is one thing that I can give you.

Carefully, Jade extracted one hand and, after a moment of hesitation, settled it over her mother's hand, gripping her mother as hard as her mother was gripping her. Why had she avoided this for so long? Then again, how would she truly understand what she was missing when she had never experienced it before?

She opened her mouth to say something, but the rattling of the door startled her, stopped her from speaking. Jade whirled around to face the door, hand going to one of her many hidden weapons. She was halfway to a window before she remembered her mother, sitting defenseless in her wheelchair.

The door opened, and Artemis walked in.

All three women froze. Jade couldn't tell if she wanted to look at her mother or her sister. Artemis was staring at her in open shock. Paula was giving Jade a pleading look, begging her to stay.

Shaking her head, Jade finally let her tears fall. Within a second, she was hanging out the window, sending one last forlorn glance through the opening before she leapt off the edge, free-falling into the night.

She hadn't thought that Artemis would come home. She had thought that the Team was all still holed up in their Cave, searching for Wally. Then again, the blood puddle they'd left behind was rather gruesome. It would be understandable for the heroes to send their mini-heroes home for the night. They probably needed some comfort after that.

If the mini leaguers needed comfort after that, then where was the comfort for Cameron and Wally. The two had experienced it real time. Now, instead of comfort, they were going through more and more unimaginable pain.

How was that fair? Why could Artemis go home to her rehabilitated mother and neither Cameron or Wally had that option. The only family they had left was their fathers, and, honestly, they didn't really count. Wally's father was the one hurting him, and Cameron's father was not only in jail, but also treated his son horribly. It wasn't fair that they didn't get the same sorts of relief that the heroes got. It wasn't fair.

And it wouldn't be fair until Jade did something about it. They would never get out of this world on their own. Jade was certain that they were planning something, that they at least understood the level of danger that they had gotten themselves into. She knew that they were that smart at least, but they were limited in what they could do. In their positions, there was no room for error, for a slip up. They were being way too tightly watched to do anything but comply with the Light's wishes.

Jade wasn't under those same restrictions. No one would even expect anything otherwise. She was practically opposite to the two of them. She was sorely needed to get the plan back on track, but that was only a portion of her time. She needed to train Wally too, but she'd give him a day to… settle in. That wasn't the right word, but she wasn't sure that there was a right word for that. That meant that she practically had free reign. She could… she could…

Without her even realizing it, she was walking towards the main room of the Light compound. She hadn't even realized that she'd gotten to HQ. She'd made the entire drive there without realizing it. Nevertheless, she'd made a plan on her way back. She knew what she needed to do.

Carefully, she cut through the living quarters. Luckily, it wasn't too late, only about eight o'clock. She had a chance of catching the main members of the Light before they called light's out.

As she was stalking through the hallways, Jade noticed a solitary figure, standing silently in the middle of one of the side hallways. It only took her a moment to recognize the highly distinctive shock of white hair and pale, pale skin. Deciding that this was worth taking time from her mission, Jade went down the side hallway and called out, "Icicle Jr.?"

He didn't move, just stood there, "What?"

"What are you doing, Cameron?" Jade asked, coming to a stop next to him. He shrugged but didn't answer. She pursed her lips, "Go back to your room if you're just going to sit there."

"Maybe I don't want to go to my room! Maybe at least the whole building is a larger prison than just my room!" Cameron finally exploded.

Jade could see her breath in the suddenly chilled air. There was frost swirling over the floor. Cameron was practically flickering between ice and skin. Jade chose not to comment on any of that, preferring to not further upset the volatile teen, "A few rules never stopped you before. I mean, you are a villain."

Startled ice blue eyes flicked up to meet hers. She met them steadily for a moment before she turned and walked away. He could make of that what he would. She wasn't going to give him any more hints than she'd already given. Even as much as she'd said was too much in a place watched as closely as this.

Jade made it the rest of the way to the main meeting room without incident. She pressed the button that would summon all of the main members of the Light and waited patiently for them to assemble. She understood that it was hard for all of them to meet at the same time.

Finally, they were all there. Ra's al Ghul asked, "Cheshire. What did you summon us for?"

"I had an idea that I thought might be useful." Cheshire answered respectfully.

"Well? Spit it out! I was trying to sleep!" Klarion pouted.

Licking her lips slightly under her mask, Cheshire responded, "Of course. I thought that it might be prudent to see how far the League is in undoing the mole's programming. I could stage a regular fight with him, get him away from prying eyes, and attempt to activate his programming. There's a chance they haven't figured out how to completely clear him. We could use this to our advantage. If it fails, well, at least I would have gotten some exercise out of the experience."

The Light stared at her, uninterested and uncaring. Ra's al Ghul idly responded, "The idea has some merit. It could only help. If it does not help, then at least it does not harm the organization either. I say we forward it."

"Fine." Queen Bee yawned.

"I concur." Brain beeped.

"Yes, yes. Goodbye! Let me sleep this time!" Klarion hissed.

"Go ahead." Savage muttered, far too exhausted for how early in the evening it was.

"Whatever you want, al Ghul." Luthor sighed.

Ra's al Ghul nodded to Cheshire, giving her the go ahead and then motioning that she should hold until morning to act. She nodded respectfully to him and then waited until all of them turned off their video chats. It was disconcerting how little interest they held in that conversation. The interest that they watched Wally with was disgusting compared to the reaction they gave her.

Shaking her head, Jade swallowed down her apprehension and moved towards the one place she least wanted to be. Navigating through hallways that had long since become familiar, Jade moved towards the science labs. She found the room she'd manipulated Wally into entering the first time. She moved through that room, ignoring the guilty memories it brought up.

Easily, Jade slipped through the white hallways, being careful to keep track of where she was. It was easy to get lost in here. Personally, Jade thought that the reason it was so mazelike was to keep the prisoners from escaping. It didn't work with Wally the first time, but that was the only known escape of a test subject. Those were some impressive stats. She wondered what made it, so Wally could escape that one time. How could she recreate them?

Heart practically in her throat, but footsteps gentle and perfectly placed, Jade finally found the cellblock. Swallowing her nerves, she found the only occupied cell.

Huddled in the far corner of the practically barren cell was Wally, shivering in the dark. The door to the cell was thick and tightly shut, not a window in sight. The only place Jade had to look at Wally was through the one-way window. Wally would think that it was a small mirror placed above the sink next to the toilet. There was no bed, blanket, or pillow.

Wally already looked terrible. He had an inhibitor collar on, the material surrounded by scratch marks. His fingernails were practically torn to pieces. She had the most awful feeling that he'd been trying to get out of or away from something. In sleep, he was curled protectively in a fetal position, the only odd part out being the broken leg that extended slightly, unable to be pulled inwards without hurting him further. Strangely enough, though, he didn't look like he was in pain while he slept.

There were a lot of missions they'd run together where he'd fall asleep on the way home and he'd always looked stressed. There was always a divot between his eyebrows, a tenseness to his frame that hinted towards a lack of comfort. He never smiled in his sleep, never seemed to have good dreams.

Yet, somehow, something happened that allowed him to be having a good dream that night. He seemed happy for the first time in a long time, body still and relaxed, despite being curled up protectively. He didn't look any younger or more innocent, though. He still looked older than his years and world weary. It was a contrast and a contradiction, but then again, when was Wally anything but?

Heart still locked in her throat, creating a lump that she just couldn't swallow around, Jade put one hand to the small window. After a second, she took her hand off and walked away.

Author's Note: There we go! I tried to add some humor (kind of sort of?) in this chapter, so, yay? Haha, anyways, thank you guys so much for reading! Until next weekend!