A/N: Belated Merry Christmas! I'm sorry guys - I've been working on this chapter on and off since Christmas day, but I've been distracted by fan girling like crazy over Les Miserables (the movie kicked that all up to a ridiculous degree), and it was hard to write this chapter when all I wanted to do was blast one of the eight Les Mis soundtracks I have and belt I Dreamed A Dream at the top of my lungs. If anyone's curious, Samantha Barks, who plays Eponine in the new film, is pretty much my mental image of Lian as a young adult (just with green eyes instead of brown). I'll let you guys know if I do any more fan casting (and please let me know if you've seen anyone that looks like your mental image of one of the main characters!)

Also, thank you for supporting me through thirty chapters. I hope I can keep the momentum going, and that you'll all enjoy the latter chapters as much as this first thirty. I'm juggling a lot more characters and plot threads than I was when I first started the fic, so any feedback you want to give me would be much appreciated. I need some tips on where to shine the spotlight.

And now, on with the show!

Chapter Thirty

Billy felt his stomach drop. "When did they set out?"

"A couple hours ago. I'm sorry kiddo, I just found out. I got here as quick as I could-"

But Billy wasn't listening anymore. He burst back into the conference room, startling the Titans based on their expressions, and approached Cassie, Bart, and Damian (who'd been having a heated discussion from the looks of it). "I need to leave. It's urgent. I still want to join your team, but I'll have to get back to you about it. I'm sorry for my abrupt departure."

"Hong, what is the meaning of-" Damian started, but Lian cut him off.

"Billy, what's wrong? What happened?"

He looked in her direction, but he couldn't quite focus on her. He couldn't focus on anything. Neron possessed unimaginable power. He'd come after Billy more than once throughout his life, but Meshta had always intervened, and Billy and his mother had emerged safe. This time though, this time he'd left his mother alone. He'd left her vulnerable. If Neron killed her, it would be Billy's fault.

"Billy!" Lian tried again to get his attention, and succeeded in holding it for more than a few scattered seconds.

"I-I'm not sure what's…it's my mother. She's in danger and I've got to help her. Excuse me." He turned on his heel and stalked back into the hall.

James was still there, looking uncharacteristically anxious. "Garth just got me an update. They're on the roof and they're waiting for you."

"They're waiting for me?" Billy repeated, feeling strangely hollow.

James' lips set in a grim line. "Yeah. They're going to throw her from the top of Titans Tower. It's not exactly a subtle message."

"Right. Right…well those unholy assholes only think they're going to throw my mother off the roof." Billy stalked angrily for the nearest maintenance door, and James trailed after him.

"Bill, don't go up there while you're angry! There's a reason your mom got you onto all this hippie dippy meditation crap! It's because you need to keep your center. Neron feeds off of this kind of stuff. He waits for you to get sloppy, to make a mistake. Believe me, I've tangoed with him myself and no one else is half as calculating as this guy! They're waiting for you to make your move. Calm down, take some time, and do it well, okay?" James' pleading was falling on deaf ears. Billy's determined stride never faltered as he headed towards the door.

Then Kid Flash was standing in front of him.

"Hey howdy! Um…wanna maybe clue us in on the sitch with your mom? We can help. We're heroes. Kinda what we do…"

"Iris, thank you for the offer, but I need to go. They already have her."

"Who are they?"

He stepped around Kid Flash and started ascending the stairs for the roof. He could hear the Titans following after him, but he didn't stop to acknowledge them. At least James seemed to have left (the green glow had been distracting).

Billy reached the roof after a seeming eternity and found it crowded with at least two dozen unsavory characters dressed all in black. Their garb was a mix between ninja and fanatical cult; somewhat romanticized but not out of character for followers of Neron.

Mindy was on her knees in the center of the roof, glasses askew, and one of the cultists was holding a dagger against her throat.

Billy narrowed his eyes at the man. "If you slit my mother's throat it will be the last thing you ever do. The moment of death has implications for your after life, so choose carefully."

"To die in the service of my master would be a great honor," the fool returned.

Billy's eyes glowed blue, and the dagger disappeared in a burst of light. The cultist was thrown to the ground and landed about ten feet away from Mindy. She tried to duck away, but two other men grabbed her and held her arms.

"Hong, we are more than willing to let your mother go free," another identically dressed man said. "In the grand scheme of things, this one human woman is quite insignificant. All you have to do is give up your plans. Our master isn't even looking for you to join him anymore."

"Billy!" Mindy shouted. "If you give in to this ridiculousness then I'll disown you as my son!"

Billy shot her a pleading look. The last thing he wanted was to see her hurt. For as long as he could remember, he'd had his mother by his side caring for him. She'd given him the guidance and strength to achieve everything he had. He couldn't imagine life without her.

Not to mention the fact that getting her killed by the pawns of his enemy was a horrendous way to repay all the sacrifices she'd made for him.

"Choose, Hong. Your quest or your mother."

He was on the point of renouncing everything when a yellow and red blur moved through the mass of ninjas, disarmed them, and tossed their weapons over the edge of the roof. "Thosearesomeprettyfreakinlou sychoicesifyouaskmewhichyoud idn'tbutc'mon!Seriously?" Kid Flash stopped in front of Billy, taking one of those stock-poses that superheroes always seemed to strike when they were about to mock their opponents. "Sides, he isn't fighting alone."

"That's your cue, Shaytun," Speedy whispered from somewhere behind him.

"Must I?" Shaytun asked in a long suffering tone of voice.

"Fine, I'll do it. TITANS TOGETHER!" And with Speedy's battle cry, suddenly the Teen Titans were assembled around Billy, fighting the strange men and doing their best to save his mother.

Billy clasped his hands and called on Meshta for strength and power. He took aim at the men holding Mindy, and was able to teleport them to a nearby jail, but when he tried the spell again it failed.

The cultists were chanting in a demonic tongue. Of course. They knew their opponent, and they knew how to counteract his magic.

"Meshta, help me," Billy whispered. He'd been in these kinds of situations before, but the counter magic usually proved futile when Billy channeled his protector directly into his body. Being a magician was one thing, but being the vessel for a God was an entirely different level of power, and he was sure the cultists wouldn't be able to counteract Meshta himself.

But Meshta never came.

Billy fought the men as best he could with mere athleticism, all the while impatiently waiting for Meshta to come to his aid. The other Titans were fighting well; Burst's aim with his energy blasts had already improved significantly since his last battle, Speedy's aim was worthy of the legacy she was carrying on, and Bart Allen, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Shaytun were fighting as admirably as they were reputed.

But they were still out numbered, and the fanatics had no reservations. They only cared about succeeding in their mission; getting out alive and well themselves wasn't a concern.

Mindy broke free from the ring of captors and tried to run to her son. She tripped, and one of them managed to grab her. Billy ran towards them, but he was too late. The cult member picked Mindy up and ran to the edge of the Tower with her. With a fantastic leap, the two of them went sailing over the edge.

Kid Flash saw what was happening before anyone else. She ran down the side of the building and raced after the falling figures. The poor girl wasn't in time to kick up a whirlwind under them, or even catch them.

She was only in time to get splattered with the mortal remains of Miranda Xiomei Hong.

Once their objective had been accomplished the cultists all stopped fighting. Any hope of questioning them ended when they all, in unison, bit down on cyanide capsules.

Lian let out a little shriek and jumped away from the man she'd been about to handcuff. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my fucking god!"

Burst walked over to Billy and placed a shaking hand on his shoulder. He immediately pulled it back to his body when Billy dropped to his knees, eyes held tightly shut, and began harshly chanting in a strange language.

"B-bart you should…go down to the…just go. Irey," Cassie put forth in a small voice.

"R-right." Bart took off, and a moment later Irey's agonized, traumatic cries reached them from ground level. She was still holding her arms out as though to catch Ms. Hong and her captor.

"Shaytun, get your team inside. I'll handle clean up, but…they don't need to deal with this end of things yet," Cassie ordered.

"Right." And then, much to Lian's surprise, Damian turned to her with a lost look on his face. "I need your help." He motioned towards Billy.

"What do you…oh, right. Yeah." Scenarios like this must have been what he'd had in mind when he asked her to be co-leader. His lack of tact wasn't just a disadvantage in delicate situations like this; it was much, much worse.

Damian escorted X'hawn from the roof and the two went downstairs, ostensibly to meet with Tech and Bart and Irey (when she was ready). Lian took a deep breath, then approached Billy, who was still on his knees, chanting.

Gently, she touched his shoulder. He immediately ceased reciting whatever he was reciting and grabbed her hand. He was breathing quickly and shallowly, like he couldn't tell whether he wanted to hyperventilate, burst into tears, or both simultaneously.

Overcome, Lian wrapped her arms around him and let him sob against her. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm so-so sorry." Her voice caught as she spoke, and she ended up crying with him.

Bart and Irey didn't end up joining the rest of the team in the conference room, so for the next hour it was just Damian, X'hawn, and Jai sitting in an uncomfortable silence, all quietly brooding on their personal responsibility in the tragedy. Though they weren't discussing Ms. Hong's death, they all seemed to be in agreement; having an innocent victim die on your property was an inauspicious beginning for a superhero team.

Lian was the first to show up, though she only walked through the conference room on her way to her bedroom. Damian stood, hoping to talk to her, but she ignored him and he let her go. She'd looked pale with worry. Detaining her seemed insensitive.

Perhaps leaving her with Billy had been too much of a burden.

Cassie and Billy joined them shortly thereafter. Billy was outwardly composed, but it was a blatant act; he wasn't meeting anyone's eyes and the defiance that had subtly marked his posture was gone. He joined them at the table, and though his place on the team still hadn't been decided, no one moved to stop him.

Cassie placed a large plastic bag containing effects from the cultists on the table. The contents were mostly easily concealed weapons and talismans, but there were several blood stained photographs in the bag as well. "I know you guys are feeling pretty down right now, but those psychos were carrying a message for us and we have to get on our way pronto. Damian, do you think your team is ready for a mission right now, or should I call some friends? Remember, it's not a reflection against any of you if you need some time, but we do need to decide as quickly as possible."

Damian looked at the gloomy faces around the table. "What do you all think?"

"I'm ready. And I can stand in for my sister if she needs to take a break," Jai said. His eyes flickered to Billy for a moment, then returned to Damian, who nodded.

"I'm…I want to help. I think I need to do something productive right now," X'hawn said.

"Good." Cassie nodded. "You're ready too, Damian?"

Damian nodded. "Hong, you may remain at the Tower as long as you need while we check into this."

"No," Billy said. He stood up. "I'm coming with you. These people murdered my mother to get at me. I want to help you stop them."

For a moment, he and Damian traded stares, sizing each other up and ultimately deciding that the talents of each were worth working together around their mutual dislike. "Alright," Damian said. "I'll go see if Speedy is to join us. Wonder Girl, can you contact the speedsters while you're prepping the jet?"

"Sure thing. C'mon Tech, Burst. With me. Billy, do you have a code name?" Cassie asked.

He shook his head. "I'm just Billy Hong."

Tim Drake leaned against the brick wall of the back entrance to his and Tam's favorite café and instantly regretted it. Gotham in December wasn't exactly ideal for contact with chilled bricks, and he was racked with shivers for even brief contact with the wall. He took a few steps back, shoved the stack of papers he was carrying under his armpit, and rubbed his hands together.

He'd lured Tam out for a date under the pretense of studying together at the café, mostly for old times' sake. They'd both finally earned their advanced degrees, but Tim was trying to fix up his thesis for publication, and his girlfriend thought they were meeting up so she could look over it for him. And he did have his master's thesis with him.

There just happened to be an engagement ring taped mid-way through. Tim smiled, anticipating a wonderful night with his beautiful, hopefully soon-to-be, fiancée to follow.

He almost lost track of time while entertaining pleasant fantasies of the night to follow (once she found the ring, he was planning to sweep her off for a romantic dinner and a night at the symphony), but eventually he noticed that Tam was uncharacteristically late. Her uncanny ability to keep on schedule despite all the hurdles Bruce carelessly threw at her was the chief trait that made her so well regarded as an employee at Wayne Enterprises, so even being five minutes late wasn't like her.

Tim checked the time on his cell phone ten minutes after the hour, and was worrying enough to call her, when suddenly a body fell from above and landed at his feet. Tim jumped backwards, his phone flying from his hands as his back hit the brick wall.

He'd just managed to press the speed dial for Tam, and to his horror, a familiar ring tone sounded from the corpse in front of him. With shaking hands, Tim flipped the body over and was confronted with his girlfriend's sightless brown eyes, her pretty lips wide in a frozen O of horror.

There was a red arrow sticking in her chest with a note attached. In a grotesque imitation of the note that had been found in Jack Drake's kitchen all those years ago, it read 'Your Fault Again' with the R turned into a Robin symbol.

"No. No. Nononononononononononononono nononononono," Tim repeated until it became a wail. He hugged his knees to his chest and started brokenly sobbing.

The next thing he knew, the slim alleyway was suddenly populated by brightly clad teenagers.

"Oh no! We were too late," Speedy lamented.

Tim was pulled to his feet by Bart, who kept a supportive arm braced around his back. "I'm so sorry, Tim. Cass…"

"We'll take it from here," Cassie assured him. "You don't need to stay on-scene, Tim. We'll update you on our investigation when you're ready, okay?"

Tim barely heard her. He was leaning heavily on Bart, as his shaking limbs seemed to want him to plant on the ground.

Fitting though. On the ground, next to Tam, and all his hopes for sharing his life with someone he loved. She'd have been better off if they'd just stayed friendly acquaintances. The note was right; just like when his father died, this was his fault. Jack Drake and Tamara Fox had only been targeted because of him.

Vaguely, he noticed Speedy lift her eyebrows at Shaytun and nod in Tim's direction. He didn't react, and then she stepped on his foot and elbowed him in the side. "What? What do you want me to do?" Shaytun finally demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Take him back to the manor and call Uncle Dick and Batman. Yeesh. It's not exactly counterintuitive."

"Oh, right." Shaytun approached him. "Drake, it appears that Bat family solidarity is in order. I am to see you to my father's house, where-"

"Damian, I can't deal with you right now. Just…just shut up." Tim wiped at his eyes, trying to blink back his tears because he really did not want to break down in front of the arrogant prick.

A last desperate hope seized him. Maybe it wasn't Tam; maybe it was someone who just looked like Tam, and this was an elaborate ruse for a hostage situation! Tim turned towards Bart, eyes wild. "Is it really her? Maybe it's, it could be-" He was having a hard time communicating the thoughts that were quickly becoming a certainty, because he just could not deal with this again. Not after he'd gone on reserve, addressed his issues, and fixed his life. The costume couldn't ruin everything again.

X'hawn, whom everyone else seemed to have forgotten about, was standing over Tam's cold, broken body with a mournful look on his face. "It's really her. Oh Tim…"

Tim pulled away from Bart and stumbled over to X'hawn. He pulled the slight Tamaranian into an embrace, which was comforting for both of them. Between the actual weather and the crushing grief, Tim was beginning to feel like he'd never be warm again. X'hawn, as always, was warm to the touch, and hugging him was like holding a sympathetic hot water bottle.

"I suppose I'd better take Burst as well. Come with me," Damian ordered. Not because he wanted to listen to Damian, but because he did need to see Bruce and Dick, Tim obliged and followed after him.

Before he left the alleyway, Damian traded one last word with Cassie, demanding to be kept in the loop as they investigated the murders.

Billy had been doing a sweep of the area while his teammates dealt with the victim's boyfriend. He lightly touched down between Tech and Speedy, and informed the group that there were no signs of the young woman's assailant. "Whoever dumped her body here fled directly afterwards, possibly through magical means."

"Lucky for us our first big case involves magic users," Speedy returned sarcastically.

Billy frowned, interpreting it as censure against him. If he hadn't sought the Titans out, these attacks wouldn't be happening. That observation was followed with a minute burst of paranoia; did other superheroes resent the magic users?

Cassie was crouched in front of Tamara's body, examining it. She stopped every now and then to give a small shudder. "You okay, Cass?" Bart finally asked.

"No…the poor girl. She was such a nice person, and Tim's been through so much. It was so nice to see him happy."

"I know," Bart said mournfully.

Cassie gave herself a shake. "Anyway, to business. I think the first thing we need to do is figure out how she died."

"I'd say it's fairly obvious," Irey spoke up. "I mean…" She motioned pointedly towards the arrow sticking out of Tam's chest.

Cassie shook her head. "It was added posthumously, Kid Flash."

"Oh. Well…is it another message then? I mean, there are other ways to pin a note to someone besides using an arrow."

Speedy's face paled. She darted forward and almost shoved Cassie out of the way in her eagerness to look at the arrow. Finally, she scooched backwards and let out a sigh of relief. "It's not one of ours. Whoever the next victim is, it isn't anyone I know."

"Are you absolutely positive, Speedy?" Cassie asked.

Lian scowled defensively. "We make all our arrows by hand. Trust me, I know an Arrow family arrow when I see one. Dad and Mia are the only ones who use red, and this isn't one of theirs."

Bart frowned with sudden epiphany. "We know someone else who used to use red arrows…shit, it's another message!" But before the others could ask him about it, he was gone in a streak of red.

"Bart, waitwhatisitwhat'sgoingon?!" And then Irey was off after him.

Cassie buried her head in her hands and gave a little scream. "And that is why I hate working with speedsters!"

"Wonder Girl, do you know who Bart was talking about?" Jai asked.

Cassie nodded. "Yeah. We used to work with another archer before Mia, but she retired before we formed the Titans team. I can't see why anyone would target Arrowette though. It's been ages since she's worn a costume."

"Is it one of her arrows?" Lian asked.

Cassie knelt next to Tam's body and gave the arrow another quick inspection. "I…I mean, it could be. I was fourteen the last time I saw one of Cissie's superhero arrows. But it certainly couldn't hurt to check in on her. Guys, get to the jet. I'll…I'll make sure the body's taken care of, and I'll see you in a minute."

Lian nodded, and she, Jai, and Billy left the alleyway together.

Cissie King-Jones Khoury had fully expected her stint as bridesmaid in Super Boy and Wonder Girl's wedding to be the last occasion on which she'd be confronted with candy colored costumes for quite some time. Unhappily, she was wrong about that.

She may have quit superheroics at the age of sixteen, but she'd never made a complete break with the lifestyle. She was still best friends with Cassie Kent, though they handled most of their correspondence online. She met with Traya Smith once a month and always sent Red Tornado and his wife a card at Christmas. She even talked with Tim, Bart, and Conner once in a blue moon.

And still, after all these years, she had emergency plans for the event of a supervillain attack or Crisis.

So when a dozen ninjas landed on the roof of her quiet New England home just after one in the morning, Cissie was on her feet and clutching a bow before they made it to the second floor deck. She roused her husband and three children, and by the time the ninjas found them in the living room, the Khoury family had established a defensive perimeter with gadgets that Tim had installed for her as a wedding present, and the trespassers were facing down five ace archers with arrows nocked.

When Bart and Irey arrived on scene, they found the Khoury family admirably holding their own against the attackers. By the time Cassie, Lian, Billy, and Jai arrived, the ninjas were mostly subdued.

"Flash, Kid Flash! Search one of them before they all…son of a bitch!" Cassie yelled. The ninjas, noting the imminence of defeat, had once again bit down on cyanide capsules.

Cissie turned to her guests with mock-cheerfulness. "So, a house full of dead ninjas, huh? When we get together for the next Young Justice reunion, can we do it at one of your houses?"

"I'm sorry, Cissie. We had no idea you were even on the radar for grudge attacks anymore," Cassie said.

Cissie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because I actually blame you. C'mere! I've barely seen you since the wedding!" She ran over and gave Cassie a big hug, which she dazedly returned. "How are you and the boy doing anyway? And where is he? Oh, and Tim! I haven't seen him in ages."

"I'm right here, Mommy," one of the little boys said. It was awfully weird to see children so young and so composed with so very many dead ninjas at their feet.

Then again, Lian and Irey had seen weirder things when they'd been younger than Arrowette's kids.

The bodies of the dead ninjas were searched for any hints of future victims, but none were found. Cassie concluded that Cissie had been meant to be the last victim of this particular string of attacks. She offered her friend and her family lodging in a superhero safe house, which Cissie refused.

"Our house is plenty secure. Thanks for the offer though."

Cassie was about to argue, but Bart cut her off. "I think she's got it."

The sight of the children disassembling their bows and packing their gear away inclined Cassie to agree. It was obvious that Cissie had drilled her family on what to do in the event of superhuman weirdness. The Titans packed away the bodies for future study, boarded their jet, and went back to the Tower for a much needed rest.

Damian returned to Titans Tower late Sunday afternoon. X'hawn had remained in Gotham with Tim, so all news of how the Bat family was getting along had to come from the most stoic and emotionally stunted of their number. According to Damian, Tim was bearing up remarkably well, as was X'hawn, and he expected them to make a full recovery from their grief by the end of the week.

Lian shook her head, then went to her room and texted her dad. According to what Roy had been hearing from Dick, Tim and X'hawn were an absolute wreck and had no plans to return to their apartment in the immediate future. Roy was pretty sure he'd be living without the company of his boyfriend for at least a month. Lian was disappointed, but all things considered she really could afford to spare Dick from the house for a bit. She sent X'hawn another friendly text full of condolences, then went off in search of the other grief-stricken member of her team.

She found Billy out on the grounds. He'd cleared some snow from the dead grass, laid out a yoga mat, and was meditating in a lotus position. Rather than interrupt him, Lian cleaned some snow off of a nearby garden bench and sat with him. She closed her eyes and began a meditation on the breath she'd learned from her uncle Connor.

She lost track of time while they were sitting together, but when she heard Billy shift his weight she slowly opened her eyes. He'd risen to his feet by that point. "You…meditate too?" He looked a little thrown.

"Not as often as I should, but yeah. I like it. And…I didn't want to interrupt you, but I didn't want to leave you alone either."

A slow smile spread over his face. It wasn't quite as serene as the one she'd seen him wear so far, but it wasn't nearly as troubled as his expression had been of late either. "You seem to know how to be there for people."

"I like to think so. I'm a pretty good listener too, y'know. If you need to talk." She scooted over a little, and taking the hint, he joined her on the bench.

"There isn't really much to say. My mother was the last living member of my family that I've ever seen. She's been my constant companion since I was born, and she's the reason I was able to learn how to control my powers. She's the reason I know everything I know. Without her I'm lost."

Lian gave his hand a squeeze. "FYI, you made the team."

"I'm aware. Cassie told me."

"So you're not alone, and you're not lost. I know we're a far cry from your mom, but we'll do our best to help you. I know I will, anyway."

That earned her another of his slow smiles. "I appreciate your concern. Thank you."

"So...where are you going to go?" She hoped she wasn't overstepping her bounds, but if the poor kid really had no family then there was a good chance he was homeless.

"We were between habitations. My things are in a hotel room, but I'm to move them to the Tower. I spoke with Bart and Cassie, and they said it shouldn't be a problem for me to live here."

Lian glanced behind them at the cold, impersonal building, and gave a little shudder. She didn't like to think of any of her friends spending too much time there alone. "So you're going to live at the Tower? Like right away?"

"Yes…"

Lian shook her head. "That doesn't work for me. Christmas is this week and you are so not allowed to spend Christmas alone in Titans Tower."

"Lian, I'm a Buddhist. Christmas has no meaning for me. I've never celebrated it. I promise you, I'll be fine."

She chewed her lip. "Look, you're joining the team, which has more obligations than just superheroic duty. The Teen Titans is supposed to be like surrogate family, which means we need to look out for each other. I absolutely refuse to allow one of my friends to sit alone in a big empty building when he just…when we failed you like that."

"You didn't…" But he didn't finish the thought. "Look, if there's an alternative you have in mind, I wouldn't mind hearing it."

"Oh, that's easy. Just come home with me and spend Christmas with my family."

"Would that be okay?" Billy asked, looking uncertain.

"Course it's okay. I wouldn't have invited you otherwise." She jumped to her feet, grabbed his hands, and pulled him up from the bench. He looked hesitant, but she managed to smile him into submission and he shakily returned it. "Now c'mon inside and warm up while I pack up my things. If nothing else comes up, Cassie's giving us a ride to Coast City in a couple hours."

"Coast City? Why are we going to Coast City? I thought you lived in Keystone."

"We're doing Christmas at my grandpa's this year."

She'd been tugging him towards the Tower, but at that news Billy stopped walking. "Lian…are you sure this is okay? I don't want to intrude on your family's traditions."

Lian laughed. "I promise, it's one hundred percent okay. We're the Arrow family. We're nuts, but we're chill. An extra guest won't bother anyone, I promise."

"Alright then."

A calm Sunday did a lot to relieve the stress of the, by all accounts, absolutely miserable Saturday the Titans had shared. By sunset the speedsters had run home, and when Lian emerged from her room with her bag slung over her shoulder she found Damian sitting at the conference table looking up bus schedules on his phone. He'd already changed into street clothes, and so looked intimidatingly handsome in a classy sort of way, as opposed to the overt eroticism of his skintight costume.

"Hey Dami," she greeted. "Not hitching a ride with us in the jet?"

He shook his head. "That seems a bit extravagant. Gotham's not very far from here."

"No, I guess not. Well…tell Uncle Dick I said Merry Christmas, and that I'm sorry he doesn't get to spend it with me and Daddy at Grandpa's."

"I'll let him know," Damian promised. "He'll likely say something polite in response, though I'm sure his true sentiments will be otherwise."

"Yeah, he's dodging a bullet. Uncle Connor's gonna be pissed. His girlfriend is coming over for her first Arrow Family get together, and I'm guessing he was hoping Daddy and Uncle Dick would deflect Grandpa's attention from hassling them about making more grandbabies."

"It still may be more pleasant than the Christmas dinner we'll be sharing."

Lian set her bag down and plopped into a seat next to him. "So you noticed that Tim and X'hawn are gonna need more than a couple days to grieve over Tam Fox?"

"I hadn't put it into the proper perspective. I suppose to them, losing Miss Fox feels something like how I felt when you died."

Lian wasn't quite sure what she'd expected him to say, but that had not been it. There really wasn't much to say to a comment like that. She sat in an awkward silence for a moment, wondering what a polite response to 'your death traumatized me, but it's helped me learn empathy' might be. On the plus side, Damian didn't seem to find the silence awkward at all.

When he finally broke it, he looked to be completely at ease. "So…how does your family celebrate Christmas?"

"Same as everyone else, I suppose. We trade presents and then glut ourselves on obscene amounts of food. And everyone tries not to feel like hypocrites for observing a Christian holiday when none of us are Christian."

Damian frowned. "Did your uncle…come to an understanding about his faith?"

Lian giggled, but schooled her expression into something polite when she noticed Damian wince. "Yeah, he's fine. Uncle Connor's girlfriend is Buddhist too, and she hooked him up with all these meditation groups and dharma talks and whatever. He's been doing a lot of study, and he seems really fulfilled. He said that principles he didn't get before are a lot more clear now."

"Go figure. Are the rest of you Buddhist as well?"

Lian shook her head. "Grandpa Ollie says he's an agnostic, but he practices a lot of the meditation stuff anyway. And me and Daddy are Navajo."

"Oh. Most of my family is nominally Christian. As such, our observance of the holiday is rather secular, though I believe Pennyworth attends a midnight mass. Dick is the most enthusiastic of the household. It's actually something of a shame you don't get to take him off our hands this year; I get the feeling he'd find a more receptive audience in you and your family for his feel good movies and other attempts at holiday cheer."

Lian pouted at that. "He's a Christmas geek too? Oh boo. Daddy teases me for always getting so into it. Y'know, picking out just the right tree and coordinating all the ornaments and baking everything myself from scratch."

"That does seem like rather a lot of trouble," Damian observed.

She shrugged. "Christmas is pretty much the only day of the year when I can guarantee my dad will be home with me, and that he'll be safe. You must have noticed that supervillains seem to celebrate the holiday too. If anyone pulls anything, it's usually just a silly caper, and no one calls Red Arrow for those."

Damian considered. "We always patrol…but I suppose it is rather slow. Come to think of it, yes, there is a certain safety in Christmas. Though considering what happened with Ms. Hong and Miss Fox, perhaps not for the season as a whole."

"Oh my god, yeah. Poor Billy."

"He seems to be handling himself well. Have you been speaking to him?"

Lian nodded. "The poor guy…he didn't have anyone else but his mom. And they were always travelling so he could learn about his powers, so he hasn't set down roots anywhere. I just can't even imagine…I mean, at least Tim and X'hawn have your whole family and lots of friends beside." She had to stop for a moment, as her throat constricted with trying not to cry. "Anyway…I didn't want him to spend Christmas alone in the Tower, so I invited him to come to Coast City with me."

"You what?" Damian snapped. He set his phone on the table and swiveled his chair towards her, giving her his full attention. She was surprised to see anger, real, true anger on his face. She'd provoked impatience, annoyance, and small fits of temper from those expressive amber-brown eyes before, but never anything like this.

It was disconcerting, to say the least.

"Lian, you cannot take that strange boy to your home for a holiday celebration. As the leader of this team, I absolutely forbid it!"

She sat back in her chair, and returned his angry stare with one of her own. "Listen sweetheart, you made me co-leader of this team and you told me to watch out for my teammates-"

"Hong has barely made the team, and only then because of pity. He's an unknown quantity! He's still essentially a stranger to us and I don't trust him. Therefore, you are not to take him home with you!"

Lian jumped out of her chair. "That's not your call, Damian. Billy's my friend, he's hurting, and I'm going to do everything I can to help him."

Damian stood as well, and glowered down at her. "He's not your friend! You barely know him, and besides that I'm your friend. I care about you enough that I resurrected you. Doesn't that give me some measure of concern in your business?"

"Excuse me?!" Lian shrieked. "Are you honestly saying that because you resurrected me, you get to control my life? Are you seriously acting like you own me right now?"

"The wording's excessive, but the sentiment is just. You wouldn't be here were it not for my actions."

She gaped at him in stunned abhorrence, then spit in his face and ran from the room.

Damian still looked a bit shell shocked when he arrived at Wayne manor some hours later. He walked through the large house until he found Dick and Tim, where they were absorbed in a private and intense looking conversation. In fact, unless he was much mistaken, Drake appeared to be concealing tears.

Damian calmly walked up to them and tapped Dick's shoulder. "When you're done here, I could use a few minutes of your time." He then exited the room and made his way to the Cave to conduct a vigorous workout while he waited for Dick.

Dick arrived after about twenty minutes; enough time for Damian to have worked up a sweat significant enough to justify shedding some clothes, and for him to have punched his knuckles raw.

"Lian?" Dick asked.

"She's having a stranger to her grandfather's house for a family dinner. Apparently she does that with every socially aloof and vaguely threatening teenage male of her acquaintance."

Dick handed Damian a water bottle, then sat down on a nearby bench. "This stranger wouldn't happen to be the kid whose mother was just murdered, would it?" Damian didn't answer, but he really didn't need to. Dick had spent the last day consoling X'hawn as well; he must have heard all about Hong and his mother. "You know Lian's a compassionate girl. She's probably just trying to help."

"I know I should have sympathy for Hong. He's just become an orphan, and if you're particularly attached to your parents I understand that that's traumatic."

"If you're attached?" Dick repeated. "Is there something I need to tell Bruce?"

"This isn't the time for your pathetic attempts at lightness, Grayson. You know I hold my father in high esteem. But if I were to lose my mother, I can't say I'd be all that bothered. At any rate, I still don't like Hong."

"Because you think Lian does?"

Damian scowled. "It's more than that. But apparently my feelings for her discredit my concerns over my team's interloper. No one asked him to join, and since we've been stuck with him we've been facing his assailants and cleaning up his messes."

"Well…you must have noticed by now that these things happen when you get a group of heroes together. I mean, I know this weekend was really rough for you guys…but honestly, it's not out of character."

"But we were just starting out!" Damian fumed. "More than half the team is comprised of complete amateurs. I was supposed to have time to train them to keep things like this from happening."

"Damian, look at the other group of crime fighters you're a part of."

"I'm not on any other teams-"

"We're not an official team, but I think the Bat family still counts. Would you say any of us are under trained?" Dick asked pointedly.

"Dra-"

"Be fair. Tim's not under trained, you just don't like him. Now c'mon, are any of us amateurs or at all incapable as crime fighters?" Dick asked. Damian begrudgingly shook his head. "And we still lose. A lot. People die on our watch, even when we're doing everything we can to help. You won't ever be able to train up your team enough to keep the tragedy away entirely, and no one expects you to."

"I expect better of myself than most people."

Dick let out a sigh, and muttered under his breath. Damian didn't catch most of it, but he thought he heard the words 'bat-teen.'

The trip from Titans Tower to Coast City was incredibly uncomfortable for Billy. Once Cassie dropped Jai in Keystone City, it was only him and Lian sitting in the passenger area, and he was at a loss as to how to make conversation with a pretty young girl. He'd never had to before.

His phantom father, who was hovering around Lian loudly talking about how cute she was, knowing that only Billy could hear him, wasn't helping. Lian seemed to be taking his slightly dazed look as a side effect of grief, so there was that, at least.

They disembarked the jet and entered the airport, and Billy found himself overcome with nerves. He wanted to make a good impression on Lian's family, whom he'd heard were all veteran superheroes. Billy figured they were probably already predisposed not to like him, as his only connection to the community was through his reformed supervillain father, and he'd already had Shaytun take a shot at him over the Trickster.

He was still lost in anxious thoughts when he noticed that he'd been abandoned. "Lian?"

"She went running as soon as you guys got out of the terminal. Look, I know this is a bad time, but I gotta get back to the pit. Are you gonna be okay? Do you want me to wait until someone finds you?" James asked.

"No, you can take off," Billy muttered.

"I'll come by again later," James promised before being enveloped in green light.

Billy glanced around the busy airport, and was just able to see his friend pounce on an adult male over by the Starbucks. The one armed man had been holding a cup, and when Lian jumped on him with a strangle-hug he spilled the contents all over himself.

Based on the string of expletives, the contents had still been very hot.

A young blond man went to the counter and returned a moment later with napkins. By that time, Billy had managed to catch up to them.

Lian's face was red, but it looked to be from attempting to hold back laughter rather than mortification at scalding another human being. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I thought you expected my hugs by now."

'Daddy?' Billy thought with some surprise. They didn't look alike at all. Lian's father was a tall, muscular, pale red head. The only physical feature they had at all in common was their eyes, and even then, Lian's were softer with femininity (the course of his stay at Oliver Queen's house would eventually reveal further similarities between the two Harpers to Billy, and he'd note similar temperaments and a certain emotionally explosive tendency).

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to buy you another mocha after that," the girl's father snapped. He accepted another napkin from their acquaintance and wiped at his hopelessly stained shirt.

Lian pouted, and threw a regretful look back at the coffee shop. "But Daddy, it's not like I meant to spill the mocha. Can I please have another one?"

"Fucking no! I'm wearing the first one because of you."

Billy hung awkwardly to the side while they argued and whined with each other, and drew the notice of their other acquaintance. The quiet young man cleared his throat, threw a pointed look Billy's way, and Lian finally thought to introduce him to her family members.

"Oops. Um, Daddy, Uncle Connor, I want you to meet my friend Billy. I invited him to spend Christmas with us."

Mr. Harper looked away from the spreading stain in his shirt and up at Billy, but his expression of annoyance didn't shift in the slightest. "You brought a strange boy home to spend Christmas with us?"

"Uh huh…"

"No. Absolutely fucking not. Tell him to go home."

Billy's face fell, even though it was the reaction he'd expected. He couldn't imagine anyone would be happy to have a stranger intruding on their family gathering.

Lian grabbed her father's arm and yanked him a few feet away. She really needn't have bothered, as Billy and Connor were perfectly able to overhear the essentials of the conversation.

Billy was surprised to hear that Mr. Harper's objections weren't based on Billy being a stranger, just on his gender. Interesting.

"He's a protective father," Connor said, looking a touch mortified when Mr. Harper shrieked something about Billy being a possible sexual predator.

"It would seem so."

Lian hissed a quick explanation at her father that they couldn't hear. It must have clued him in on Billy's recent circumstances. They spoke more quietly after that, and after a few minutes rejoined Billy and Connor.

"Alright, you can come with us. But I don't know how much an Arrow family Christmas is going to cheer you up, kid."

As he had with Damian Wayne, Billy resolved not to be intimidated by Lian's father. He politely shook the man's hand, and calmly followed them out to the parking lot.