For Ughlifeissoboring and sassyclassydiva and tigressandwally. Yeah, I updated this and not The Project, I have very little inspiration for that book and I dunno why you people love it.

Jade sat at the table, eating breakfast with Roy, Ollie, and Dinah. "I'm gonna go visit my mom today," She said. "I heard she got out of prison and I wanted to visit her."

"Have fun and be careful, ok Honey?" Dinah said.

"I will," The ebony promised her adoptive mother.

"You sure you don't want me to come with?" Roy asked.

"Yeah." An hour later, Jade slowly made her way down the torn up streets of the rough Gotham neighborhood, navigating the still-familiar roads and sidewalks to her old apartment building. Standing outside of it, she could tell it looked mediocre, but it was shabbier than she remembered. She did remember however, the inside was much worse. The owner's son, Owen, (she assumed, given that he looked like Owen but in his early twenties, with a beard) was sitting at the front desk, looking bored. He arched an eyebrow at Jade.

"Visiting family," She briefly explained. He nodded and went back to his book. She made her way up the creaky stairs, trying not to screech when a rat ran right past her. She had mostly forgotten about the vermin, but it came back to her, sending shivers up her spine.

She found the room, 317, and steeled herself. She hoped that her father and sister weren't there. She gave a few quick, gentle knocks on the door, and waited a few seconds, seriously debating turning around and going home. Then she heard someone yell, "Coming!" The voice was gentle, with a slight Vietnamese tilt to it, fainter than Jade remembered. The door swung open, revealing an old woman in a wheelchair with a kindly smile.

"Hi, Mẹ," Jade said quietly.

"Jade?" Paula's face lit up, and suddenly all of Jade's worries faded away. This was her MOTHER. Who she hadn't seen in SIX YEARS. "It is so good to see you! Come in, come in!" She rolled out of the way. Jade was still trying to get over the whole wheelchair thing.

Someone shoved past Jade. The ebony glanced up to see her sister in a forest green sports bra and running pants. Artemis glared at the older girl and walked off to her room.

"I am sorry about her," Paula said sadly.

"Don't be. It's my fault. I'm the one who abandoned her."

"You made a mistake, we all do. It was a terrible one, but not unforgivable." Paula poured two cups of tea, handing one to Jade, who sat on the worn couch. "She is jealous of you, you know."

"She shouldn't have to be. If I had just told Ol-GA about her, she would have gotten the same experience as me."

"That is true. But, the past is in the past. It is set in stone, and cannot change. But you can, and have. Just keep going, you'll make it to your destination. It is strange though. I admit, I always thought that if one of you girls followed your father and I's path-"

"It would be me? I thought so, too that's why I left. Figured it would be better. In terms of myself, I was right. But with Alice... it never occurred to me that she would turn."

Paula sighed. "Your father is completely to blame for that, I'm afraid."

"What exactly-"

"When she was twelve, your father knew he wasn't getting anywhere with her. He dragged her to a torture chamber and, well, tortured her until she cracked. It took a week. She has no memory of what exactly happened in waking. She just remembers being they way we knew her, pain, and then the way she is now."

"In waking?"

"I hope I used that right. While she's awake, she has no memory of the incident. But every night, she has nightmares. I hear her begging for him to stop, among other unspeakable things. But when she wakes, she has no memory of it at all. I only know how long it was based on accounts I've gotten from Ivy, Harley, and Selina."

"That's... horrible." Jade wanted to throw up, but this answered so many questions, like why her sister had turned evil.

Speaking of her sister, Artemis walked through the room, now in a pair of running pants and a white t-shirt with a Nike swoosh. The teen rummaged through the cabinet, pulling out a pack of peanut butter crackers, and then walked back to her room. Jade's eyes followed her little sister, trying not to vomit at the thought of how she had been turned. The blonde had clearly overheard the conversation, she had tears in her usually fierce gray eyes. A tear escaped, and Artemis angrily wiped it away.

Paula looked sadly at her younger daughter. The room was silent until the ringing of Jade's phone cut through the air. She answered it, and hung up after a minute. "I've gotta go, Mom, sorry. Something came up, so there's a mission now-"

"It is alright," Paula said, looking down sadly.

"I'll come visit soon, Mẹ, ok? I promise." She kissed the old woman's cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, little girl."

Jade gave her mother a smile and left the apartment.