Author's Note: Alright, I have limited time this weekend, so I doubt this is going to be anywhere near as long as the last two chapters, but we'll see, I suppose. I wasn't expecting those two to go as long as they did either :P Read, review, and enjoy!

Response to Guest Review:

Shiranai Atsune – I update once a week (normally), so you should get an update every weekend! Thanks for the lovely review!

LLLLLL

Wally had dragged the Rogues to The Hub or whatever stupid name the Outsiders' playground was called. And by dragged, Len meant that Wally picked them up and raced them over without telling them so they didn't have time to escape. There would be words said about that later. When Len had asked him why on earth Wally had been so determined to get them all into a hero hideout and researching the Light at an ungodly hour, he'd stared Len determinedly in the eye and said, "I am sick of them ruining my life. I've been afraid of them and hurt by them for almost half my life by this time. I'm not letting it go any further." Len hadn't had the heart to say no to something like that.

The heroes had been thrown immediately into chaos when it happened, of course. It turned out that the only one Wally had informed of his plans was Bart and Bart had forgotten to inform the others. Luckily, the first one Wally dropped off had been Len and not, say, Mick, so any unfortunate instances were avoided.

That wasn't to say that all the little heroes were okay with them being there. Geoforce or whatever Gregor's brother was called seemed especially irritated at their presence, scowling and stomping around the room like a little kid having a tantrum. It was irritating. Len was going to have to address that if it kept going on. But no matter what Prince Brion or some of the others thought, having Wally and the Rogues there made a huge difference. The Outsiders had just been given a huge stash of paperwork detailing Luthor's many, many crimes. The heroes had seemed shocked that Luthor would just have all of this lying around, but Len wasn't. The Rogues even practiced the same sort of thing with their Heist books. All of those were detailed plans of current, past, or future heists. If someone really wanted to nail them, then all they had to do was find those books, just like they did with Luthor.

Regardless, Wally was going through the information first, blasting through each page and separating them into piles. Each pile was themed differently and assigned to a group of children and/or Rogues to look over and gather relevant information from. At the end of the day, they'd present the information they got. Once Wally was done going through the files from the bust on Luthor's place, he would go through all the data that the Outsiders had gathered in the past and he'd organize it and add his own contributions. Beast Boy had given them a large conference room to dedicate to this issue.

At the moment, it certainly seemed to be solidly thought-out and well-prepared plan (which was unsurprising when Wally was in charge of it). Of course, Cameron was a ticking time bomb, his irritation with the fact that they were helping heroes again mounting with every given moment. Len wasn't sure what to do about that situation when they still had the threat of the Light bearing down on them. This wasn't a matter of saving the world from the Light. This was a matter of getting rid of an organization that was threatening them, their family, their reputation, and their livelihood. Len just couldn't figure out how to say that without sounding like he was against Cameron.

Len sighed. He would never, ever, ever regret adopting his four children, but sometimes he wished he had gotten them a different way. Perhaps when they were younger. He felt, a lot of the time, that any issues that the rest of the group had with any of the kids could have been solved by them just growing up with the Rogues. That wasn't to say that the Rogues didn't get some of them relatively young, but it wasn't young enough in a lot of cases. By the time they found the Rogues to be taken in by the Rogues, they'd already gone through enough trauma and horror to be child criminals. That equated to a lot of misunderstandings and trust issues and general disturbances that Len would have been able to avoid if he'd gotten to the kids sooner. But he knew that he wouldn't have ever seen them at all if they hadn't gotten to that point first.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but it didn't make it any truer. Not that that fact helped at all with figuring out how to deal with their tougher moments, like Cam's recent self-exile from the group.

Or, it seemed, like Wally's current issue.

It took a few seconds for anyone to realize that something was wrong. There wasn't any loud noise or shout or anything to indicate an issue. The only thing that told Len that Wally was upset was that the frantic rustling of paper had stopped. Instead, Wally was staring at one particular paper, eyes glued to the page, fingers crinkling the edges, face bloodless. After a long moment where the heroes clearly tried to figure out if they should say something while the Rogues patiently waited for Wally to speak, Wally asked quietly, "Luthor finished the Everyman Project? There are… heroes running around because of the Everyman Project?"

Len winced. If that was true, then… yikes. It was no wonder Wally was upset. Beast Boy was the one to answer, voice slow and measured, "Yes, he has. They were actually the ones who found this. They were never told that there had been such horrible human experimentation involved in the process. They thought that they were the test subjects and that everything else had been theory and maybe some tests on rats. We made sure that they knew who Luthor really was and then we gave them the chance to make their own decision from there. When we, uh, you arrested Luthor, they took their chance to fight Mercy off and get this information."

"Huh," Wally said, voice flat. By this point, even Tara was starting to look vaguely alarmed and she seemed to otherwise be fairly good at hiding her emotions. Wally continued after a second, "And what are these heroes doing now?"

"It's none of your business," Cyborg answered immediately, vehemently. He was another one who seemed to have an issue with the fact that villains were helping with their research. Then again, he was a fairly new hero as far as Len knew. There was a chance he just didn't understand yet. Or maybe he'd be one of the ones who never understood the Rogues. There were some of those out there.

Wally glanced up and seemed to take in the concern and worry permeating the room. He frowned for a moment before his eyes widened, "I'm not going to go up and – and beat them up or whatever because they made the mistake of trusting Luthor. That'd be rather hypocritical of me to do. He's good at manipulating people. I just wanted to know if they were going to get in on this too. I also wanted to see what their genetic makeup looked like. Maybe Luthor saw something in his formula for the Everyman Project that helped him figure out what caused my blackouts."

"One of them is a speedster," Bart added. A few of the others gave him betrayed looks, but he firmly ignored them, "But not, like, a speedster, speedster. She can just run really fast. None of the rest of the stuff. That's a good idea, though. We should compare our DNA and see if we can find something."

"Hm," Wally considered, "Yeah, definitely. I just… I thought for sure when I saw this that this was the key to how Luthor understood my blackouts. I mean, comparing my genetics to those of the average speedster is brilliant. Luthor obviously has my previous DNA, but that didn't give them any results. And where would he get the DNA from other actual speedsters if that chick isn't a legit speedster?"

El Dorado gasped dramatically, "The lunch!"

Beast Boy's eyes widened, "Of course! The Outsiders and Infinity, Inc. – the team created from the Everyman Project – got together for a lunch event partially to put to rest some of the bitter rival rumors on the internet but mostly so we could tell them about what Luthor was like. We ate lunch. Luthor could have easily gotten our DNA off of that."

Wally's eyes sharpened, "You didn't wipe it off? C'mon, kid. Lesson number one of being someone behind a mask at a restaurant: wipe down everything to make sure no one can get your DNA from it. Or fingerprints."

"That's so paranoid," Beast Boy complained. He started talking again before any of the Rogues could protest, "Okay, so it sounds like we have a valid lead on how to figure out what Luthor discovered about your blackouts. If, of course, he actually discovered anything. I don't trust him."

"That makes a lot of us," Wally muttered. The rest of the Rogues made quiet noises of agreement.

Beast Boy nodded to them and continued, "How many more boxes are you going through, Wally? Just so we know where we're starting at. I'm thinking, based on the number of stacks I see, I'm going to have to call some more people in. I just want to know how many I need."

Wally shrugged, "Two more boxes. Looking at the contents, I'd say that I won't be making any new stacks."

"Cool," Beast Boy said, "I'll call some people, then. See who can come help us on a weekend."

"If you get anyone from the Bat fam, then send them my way. I want to see how much they know about Ra's al Ghul and why he split from the Light. And what he thinks me, Jason, and Wyynde can do about it. I figure they're my best bets at getting information about this," Wally said distractedly, already sorting through the rest of the papers.

That seemed to be the breaking point for Cyborg and Brion, though. Both of them leapt to their feet, outraged. Brion spoke first, "Is he our leader now? Why is he calling the shots? I understand that he is a friend to many of you and that he is a Rogue, but he is still a supervillain. Why are we giving him – and the rest of the Rogues – so much control? Are you not concerned that they may sabotage us?"

"Sabotage you?" Digger asked incredulously. Len motioned for him to be quiet. It wouldn't keep them silent for the whole debate, but it would give them a chance at least.

Tara stood up, cheeks flushed red with anger, "Brion, you said that he was alright and that you would try to get along with him! Wally wouldn't do that!"

"Do you think I haven't been told the stories?" Brion asked, "Momentum has played heroes before. I heard that he promised the Justice League that he would report to them on the Light but was instead feeding them false or unimportant information in order to allow the Light to win."

Tara opened her mouth again to furiously protest, but Wally stepped in first. His voice was flat again when he asked, "And did you hear how I helped take back the Watchtower after it was infiltrated, and the heroes were turned against us? Did you hear how I saved the day after weeks of torture and experimentation? How about when I sacrificed myself to stop the MFD? Did you hear about that one? Are you going to let one bad decision color how you see every single one of my actions from here on out?"

"It wasn't as simple as just 'one bad decision,'" Cyborg protested, "You literally joined the Light. You were a willing member of their group."

"A highly manipulated one," Cameron defended, "Luthor spent weeks setting up a situation where Wally would feel like his only possible choice was to join the Light. Besides, I don't hear you complaining about me. I joined the Light willingly when I was a kid. The only reason I left was because of Wally. I joined it again once Wally was dead. Why are you only attacking Wally?"

"Do you want us to attack you too?" Cyborg asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Cameron rolled his eyes, "I just want to know why the Prince over there seems to have such an issue with Wally."

Brion frowned, seemingly warring with something in his head. Wally was standing with his shoulders straight and his expression smooth, but Len could read his kid by now. Wally was furious and hurt. That last bit made Len want to tear Brion apart, budding working relationship with King Gregor notwithstanding. Wally had had enough hurt for the time being. For the rest of his life, honestly. Len didn't know what Brion's problem was, but he wasn't going to stand for it. He especially wasn't going to stand for it if this was still some misguided jealousy for the affections his sister held for a supervillain. Len had been sure that Brion and Wally had come to an agreement on that point.

Beast Boy's eyes widened, and he glanced quickly to Tara. Her own eyes widened in some sort of realization. Len's eyes narrowed. Were they keeping secrets? Again? These ones were obviously affecting – and hurting – Wally. That was unacceptable.

This was why Len had an issue with working with the heroes. He understood that he and the rest of the Rogues were supervillains. He got that. It was hard to trust them. But they weren't awful people. They also happened to live on the planet Earth and had no desire to let it be destroyed. On some of these matters, the Rogues and the heroes were in perfect alignment. But the Rogues couldn't help if they couldn't get information. And, unfortunately, the heroes lied more than they told the truth. That felt more than a little ironic to Len, but he doubted that anyone would appreciate him bringing up the subject at the moment.

Beast Boy stood up abruptly, expression fierce and sure, "Brion, are you saying that because it's what you think or… are you saying that because Helga convinced you that Wally could be considered a threat?"

Brion's eyes widened dramatically. Len's did, too. Wasn't Helga that doctor who was hanging around all the children? Wasn't she the other Markovian? Brion's eyes narrowed back down again, "Have you been listening in on our conversations?"

"No," Tara said, "Not yours. I only overheard one of hers and it made me suspicious of the conversations she had with others."

"Suspicious?" Halo asked, blinking her enormous, innocent looking eyes at Tara, "What do you mean? Are you saying she lied to us?"

"We don't know what she said to all of you, so we can't say for sure whether she lied or not or what she's doing," Beast Boy took over, "What we can say is that Tara overheard her talking to some as of yet unidentified third party about getting information on Wally."

"Unidentified until now," a new voice interrupted smugly. Len rolled his eyes when he saw Dick stroll in. The two brats behind him looked familiar too. With a bit of thinking, Len realized it was the other two Robins – the dead one and the current one. Their entrance was entirely too dramatic. And that was saying something if Len was the one telling other people they were too dramatic.

Dick opened his mouth, clearly planning to make a big show of what was likely a simple reveal. He didn't get a chance, however. Wally saw the dead Robin and laughed delightedly, "Jason!"

"Wally?" Jason asked incredulously, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we were in a hero base. What are you doing here?" Before Wally could answer, Jason smirked at him, "The allure of heroism too strong?"

"I literally hate you," Wally deadpanned, grin dropping straight off his face. Jason kept smirking.

Dick, on the other hand, pouted, "Wally! Not only did you ruin my dramatic reveal, but you also greeted Jason before you greeted your fiancé! I'm more important!"

Wally zipped over and pecked Dick on the cheek, "Of course, dear. I would never imply otherwise. Love you, babe." Half the room cooed while the other half rolled their eyes at the sappy display.

Then the words seemed to catch up with them. Cyborg's jaw dropped and he shrieked, "Fiancé?"

"I proposed two days ago," Wally announced smugly, "And he obviously said yes. It was all very romantic. Because I am a very romantic person."

Dick sighed, "Anyways, what I was trying to say before I was interrupted is that I traced who the call came from. It's from a Cassandra Savage. We have confirmed that this is Vandal Savage's daughter. She spent some time with Tara in training with the League of Shadows under Lady Shiva's tutelage. It is thought that she typically spent most of her time in the War Planet with Savage but has recently been conducting business down here on Earth. I have to assume that Cassandra was connected with Helga through Baron Bedlam. It then goes to reason that Helga is with the Light. Now, I'm not sure for how long or why. I know that the Light is promising to return something to her. What that something is, I'm not certain. I'm trying to figure out what it is right now, though. Tara noticed that Helga has been having private conversations with members of this team, though, and leaving them upset in the aftermath, so we wanted to figure out where her allegiances lied so we could see if what she told you is true."

"She might have lied?" Halo pressed, looking more and more intent with each question she asked.

Tara glanced over at her cautiously, "That is possible, yes. Did she say something to you?"

Halo hesitated. The rest of the group hesitated with her, staring at her like she was a bug under a microscope. Len rolled his eyes and decided it was time to step in, "You don't have to tell them Halo. Fact is, only your team leader needs to know the particulars. He can get the details and check to see if its true without airing out your dirty laundry to the whole group. I know heroes like to be nosy brats, but you don't have to let them." Brion looked hilariously outraged, clearly torn between being happy that Len was stepping up for his girlfriend and being angry that Len prevented him from learning his girlfriend's secrets.

Halo gave him a blinding grin, though, and turned to face Beast Boy, "Then, I would like to tell you in private, please."

"That's totally cool. Do you need to tell me now or can it wait until we've all gone back to work?" Beast Boy asked cautiously. It was clear that he wasn't entirely certain what he was doing. If Len remembered correctly, the kid was incredibly new to his leader role. It probably didn't come anywhere near naturally. Still, he was doing an alright job of it.

"So," Wally interrupted, "What's happening now? Is this Helga chick being arrested? Who is she? Do we know why Savage is interested enough in me to send his daughter after me? Because I was under the impression that it was just Luthor who wanted me and I'm a little concerned that there's more than one person."

Dick frowned, "We need to see what Dr. Jace's role was supposed to be. If we know what her assignment was, we can figure out the answers to your questions, Walls. Does anyone know where Dr. Jace is at the moment?"

"She's with Jefferson," El Dorado threw in, "They're having a long lunch date."

Dick winced, "That's going to be awkward. I guess I'll call Jeff and try to explain the situation. Oh man."

"Have fun with that, babe," Wally added, squeezing Dick's hand and leaning their foreheads together briefly. Dick gave him a wan smile before kissing Wally's temple and walking out of the room, phone in hand.

Jason made a gagging noise, "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

Wally glared at him, "Clearly you've never looked in a mirror."

Beast Boy choked on a laugh, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Do I need to separate you two?"

"I'd like to see you try," Jason growled, clearly imitating Batman.

Wally smirked, "The separation anxiety getting to you again?" Jason tackled Wally. Len honestly hadn't even seen it coming. The rest of the Rogues jumped up, clearly preparing to separate the two by force, but Len held up a hand to stop them. They glanced at him curiously, but ultimately listened. Len could tell that the two weren't actually trying to kill each other. It seemed more like when Hartley would chase James down and the two would start to play wrestle. It was cute.

And… Wally was laughing. Really, genuinely laughing. It was a sound that Len had heard a couple times recently but not nearly enough. He was certain that no amount of Wally's joy and happiness and laughter could replace the two years where Len went bereft and Wally suffered, but… might as well make sure Wally got as much of it as he could.

HHHHHH

Helga and Jefferson both blushed and laughed when they're phones went off at the exact same time. Helga looked down and noticed the unknown phone number, so she smiled at Jefferson and said, "Patient privacy." She walked away to the sound of his laughter and a quiet greeting to Dick.

Helga flipped the phone open and pressed it to her ear, "Hello? Dr. Jace speaking. How may I help you?"

"I heard you may help me a lot," the voice responded. Helga's heartbeat quickened. The voice continued, "You know information that might help me."

The voice didn't need to identify itself. Helga knew who it was, "I know who the key to your Anti-Life Equation is. I will give you that person if you guarantee that I will have two others."

"Interesting," Darkseid responded, "And who will you be asking to keep?"

"Brion and Tara Markov," Helga answered instantly, "The Light said that I could have them, but then Tara betrayed the Light and our plans fell to dust. They kept demanding more without giving myself and my children a place to live freely and without worry of pursuit. They promised to ensure that Brion and Tara would listen to me long enough for me to show them that they are my children and that I will protect them."

There was a long pause before Darkseid asked, "And the key to the Anti-Life Equation?"

"I will be keeping that information for myself until the time comes when Tara and Brion are mine. Do we have a deal?" Helga asked. She was scared – terrified, even – but it didn't matter in the long run. This was for her children's protection and Helga would push through any fear to ensure that. It didn't matter that this was a being so powerful and terrifying that Vandal Savage had been forced to create a secret plan that spanned decades. It didn't matter that Darkseid could easily torture her for the information on Violet. No, all that mattered was that Helga was going to get her children and she was going to protect them.

She could hear the grin in Darkseid's voice when he responded, "We have a deal."

The line went dead.

SSSSSS

Savage tapped the edge of his chair faintly. Dr. Jace had to know that Halo is the key to the Anti-Life Equation at this point. That was an inevitability. It was also an inevitability that she would sell that information to Darkseid. What Savage needed to know was whether or not the heroes would be ready to stop Darkseid and protect Halo.

In the end, there was only one thing Savage could do to ensure that. He needed to inform the heroes. He needed to tell them everything. Without that vital information, everything could fall apart. And Savage had spent far too long on this to lose.

First things first, though, to ensure conversation would happen, Savage needed a hostage…

Author's Note: So, I don't know about you guys, but this chapter is super bleh to me. I was not pleased with it at all. But, you know. Plot happened, I guess. I don't know. It was a weird chapter. I'm also sleep deprived and can think of nothing but the eight mosquito bites on me, though, so I guess there's a possibility that that's at least part of the problem. Anyways, thanks for reading!