++++++ And now I'm going to bed. It's 12.16 am.

Seacrest out.

I do not own ++++++

Seventeen

Oliver Queen sat in his study looking over the new plans for Queen Consolidated and Palmer Technologies when there was a soft knock on the door. He knew that knock-for the past fifteen years Moira had used that same soft knock every time she came in. "Moira? Honey are you okay?"

Moira was home sick from school today, over the weekend she'd gone from mildly ill to outright sick with a stomach bug. It was one of the reasons Oliver was home from work today and not in the office. Moira opened the door and yawned. "There's some woman in the foyer to see you, I was getting a drink so I answered the door. She says her name is Mary Lee."

Oliver got up. "I'll go see her." He closed his laptop and followed his daughter out into the foyer. "Go back to bed squirt." Oliver hugged her and planted a gentle kiss on her blonde head before she went up the stairs one at a time. Oliver rolled his sleeves up as he found the older woman sitting one a chair by the door-her focus was on that ridiculous family portrait Felicity had insisted they get a few years ago. "Mrs Lee?"

She looked over at Oliver and stood up. "Please accept my apologise for interrupting you during the day but I understand you know my daughter, Starla?"

Oliver frowned. "Would you like to join me in the kitchen? I can turn the coffee maker on."

Mary looked at her watch. "Thank you but I have an appointment in the city in an hour. My stay will be short." She stood up and followed Oliver into the sitting room. "My daughter Starla speaks very highly of you, Mr Queen. Even with your extracurricular activities…" seeing his face she smiled weakly, "…it's not hard to figure out all my daughter's friends have their secrets. She couldn't exactly have normal friends and a secret identity could she?"

Oliver shook his head. "I suppose not, Mrs Lee." Even Oliver's friends had eventually found out one by one-they'd either died or become a hero beside him. "If you're worried about Starla in her condition we've already had this discussion."

"I want to speak to you about my daughter Sophie," Mary told him.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Sophie?"

"My Starla said you know her as Scarlet," Mary answered. She wiped away a tear. "I wanted to see her but Starla said I shouldn't otherwise she'd run away again."

Oliver frowned. "Scarlet is settled, she's good friends with my cousin and my daughters love her. She's got good grades and she's completing her counselling with flying colours. She's not as much trouble as she was for Starla. Sure she had rules but I think if you were to uproot her now, she might run so yes I do agree with Starla's assessment."

"Is Sophie-" she stopped herself, "I mean is Scarlet-does she do what Starla does?"

"I think that's up to Scarlet to tell you if she wants to," Oliver informed her. "But there is something I want to ask you. So far we have three types of occupants on the planet-humans, meta-humans and aliens. With the mingling of the three groups we're getting half-breeds like both your daughters."

Mary bit her lip in the same manner that Scarlet and Starla did. "So you know?"

Oliver nodded. "Yes. I know. Most of us do know. Word travels fast. As of Saturday I have a friend who thinks she knows who their father is and she's going to confront him." Bierezz had told Oliver of her intentions but he was yet to hear from her.

"I'll tell you what I told Starla," Mary frowned, "I made a promise. I'm not telling you who their father is. I promise. It'll endanger them and endanger him."

Oliver rubbed his temple. "You see-Mrs Lee, I figured it out the moment Doctor Palmer told me that Scarlet's skin was green. His name was John Jones wasn't it? But he pronounced it differently-J'onn J'onzz?"

Mary gasped. "You know him?"

"Scarlet and I fight side-by-side with him," Oliver informed her. "I've known him for some time-in fact he delivered my twins. I think you need to tell your daughters otherwise the betrayal will be too severe."

"How can I tell my daughters when I promised I wouldn't?" Mary argued.

"I find the truth is better than nothing," Oliver admitted. "I've had my fair share of mistakes in my life, my fair share of lies but then I was blessed with a wife who loves me, three children and a huge extended family. Lies only alienate your family even more. I would know more than anything."

Mary cleared her throat. "Well thank you for your time Mr Queen." She stood up. 'I should be going or I'll be late for my meeting." She nodded her thanks and walked out of the sitting room just as the front door opened and let in three giggling girls.

Oliver had forgotten the girls had a half day. "You might want to stay in here," he warned her, walking out. "Afternoon girls."

"Hey dad!"

"Afternoon Ollie!"

"Hello Oliver!"

"I've got a client in here so can you mosey on upstairs?" Oliver asked them.

"Sure dad," Shado grinned. "Come on guys!"

Scarlet hesitated at the bottom of the stairs but she shook her head and followed Shado and Suki up the stairs.

"Hey twin!" Shado grinned seeing Moira hovering at the landing. She had a dark frown on her face. "Oh Moira-did you get in trouble for skipping school?"

"I know who your father is," Moira frowned as she stared at Scarlet.

"Who?" Suki and Shado gasped, looking at Scarlet who was suddenly very interested in the floor.

Moira stepped over to her and gripped Scarlet's hands. "Scar, we love you okay? Please don't leave us. Do you want me to tell you?"

Scarlet bit her lip and nodded. "I do. I need to know."

"Martian Manhunter," Moira answered. "J'onn J'onzz. I heard dad talking about it with that woman in the sitting room. He doesn't have a client in there. Mary Lee, your mother is here."

Scarlet ran over to the window and looked at the back of the woman who was walking to her car. "Man why does this shit happen to me?" she muttered.

"Dude that mean's Megan is your cousin," Suki teased.

Moira raised an eyebrow. "I half expected a meltdown, Scar. What's wrong?"

"This shit keeps getting piled on me so much it's getting boring," Scarlet frowned, "with each cliff-hanger that is dumped on me it's getting harder and harder to respond the way that people want me to. Boom you have a sister. Boom your part alien. Boom your father is one of the most important people in the Justice League."

"Wow I think you broke her Moira," Suki muttered.

Scarlet rubbed her head and went to her room to spend some time alone.

-XXX-

That afternoon Scarlet was supposed to be going on a date with Teddy but instead of going to meet him at Coffee Cookie she asked him to meet her at the emergency Zeta point in Star City. When she got there, Teddy was waiting for her.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Teddy asked her.

"I need to get to the Watchtower," Scarlet confessed. "I want to talk to the big green guy. I figured you'd come with me."

Teddy grinned. "Absolutely." Scarlet hadn't been on the roster with Teddy yet but he often accompanied his father as the Red Arrow. The two of them entered their ideas into the zeta command control and as a yellow-white light consumed them, they found themselves standing in the hanger bay in the Justice League Watchtower.

The two of them walked through the Watchtower completely ignored by some of the other heroes that were there on duty. They found their way to the control room

"Theodore Harper and Scarlet Lords," J'onn spoke up as the two teens walked into the control room. "What are you doing here? Must I call your parents?"

"I dunno," Scarlet shrugged, "my father's right here. Aren't you, dad?"

He seemed to tense up before turning around. "Theodore will you please excuse us? I believe your father is in the common room."

"Um-sure," Theo gulped. He threw Scarlet a sympathetic look before he walked out.

"What can I help you with, Scarlet?" J'onn asked her. His voice as detached as Scarlet's on most days. At least now she knew where she got it from.

She yanked off the bandages that were hiding the pale green skin underneath them. "It won't go away and it's spreading!" she panicked. Scarlet lifted her shirt up and showed where the green was spreading down her torso and across her chest. "What's happening to me and why isn't it happening to Starla? Why me?"

"Because your sisters alien DNA has been supressed almost to the point of non-existence," the martian confessed. "Yours wasn't before you were taken."

"Can you fix me?" Scarlet demanded to know. "I don't want green skin. I want to be who I am."

"You would want me to supress your martian heritage?" he asked her. "Most humans would be furious with such an action."

"Well it'll be easier to supress is than for you to teach me it!" Scarlet snapped. "You get the award for World's Worst Father."

"What did you hope to achieve by coming up here and speaking with me?" he inquired.

"A reminder," Scarlet told him. "That there is nothing but me to be content with. Now fix me."