He's always hated suits.

He can wear them, and wear them well. Sometimes a job would depend on looking like he belonged in a suit and tie, and he's always been a professional. This, however, is going to be the toughest job he's ever pulled.

His time has run out.

Tonight his baby girl is going to walk across the stage and pick up her high school diploma. She's starting college in the fall (and she thinks that he doesn't know she's planning on moving in with Wally). Getting Jade to actually finish high school had been a chore and a half, he hadn't pressured her to actually go through the graduation ceremony. He's proud of Jade- proud of both his girls- but somehow knowing that Artemis is going onto something bigger … better … that she's leaving the Life behind … makes tonight bearable.

He's smiling.

He's smiling because his girls are safe.

They've got good seats for Artemis' graduation. Him and the Team are there. (All but Kaldur and there's still a stab of grief there that he wasn't able to reach through the boy's pain and lead him back home.) Jade's at his side. She's showing now. (It's going to be a girl; Jade hasn't told him, but he can feel in his gut that his first grandchild will be a girl.) Roy is beside her, looking anxious and like he'd rather be anywhere than here.

He knows Roy is still looking for Speedy … the first Roy Harper. If the League has him, he knows that Speedy will never be found, but he won't try to stop the young man from looking. You can't bury another man's ghost.

Robin- Nightwing; he's not been Robin for years now- is sitting beside Wally, listening to the speedster ramble and cracking an occasional joke of his own. He doesn't smile as much as he used; not since the Bats lost one of their own; but his light hasn't gone out. He's been leader since Kaldur left; it's not something he wants, but he does it, and does it well. The Bat raised him right.

Wally … Crock smiles to himself when he considers his baby girl's boyfriend. Wally is lightning in a bottle. He's irrepressible. Always has been. It's a trait that Crock would have found annoying in his old life; but Wally lightened his baby girl's spirit. She needed him; needed someone who could remind her there are times to laugh. He'll always be grateful to the speedster for that …

And more than that, Wally has talked Artemis into trying a normal life. Crock wants that for her. He wants that for both his girls so bad he can taste it. He's not sure his blood will ever let them have that, but he's got the dream.

Conner- Superboy- is sitting next to Nightwing. He's not smiling; but then Crock can count on one hand the number of times he's seen the kid smile in all the years he's known him. He's more at peace though than he used to be; his improved relationship with the Big S has made the whole thing with M'Gann a little easier for him to bear.

He sighs.

M'Gann is on the other side of Roy. They aren't friends, really; but it's about as far away from Conner as she can sit. Her new boyfriend- the Atlantean boy who's a new member of the Team- is chattering excitedly in his native tongue to her. La'gaan is not a bad kid, but he's just that; a kid. It won't last.

Red Tornado is with them, too, and Crock wouldn't have it any other way. The android is family; his girls will need all the family they can get in the days ahead. He's promised to visit- if Crock will ever be allowed visitors.

Dinah wanted to come, but a League emergency came up. In a way, he's glad; there are some goodbyes he'd just as soon not make. Not again.

Still, Dinah had been as much a mother for his girls as they'd had since they had lost Paula. He knows she loves them. It'll be easier knowing she'll be there.

Jade is watching him just as much as she's been watching the stage. "There's still time." She's speaking to him in Vietnamese. Her mother's language.

"No there's not." He replies to her in the same tongue.

"There is! I have money. Transportation. You could escape."

"I gave my word."

"You stayed in custody until we were grown. You have trained their children. You have fought beside them. There is no reason you must now tamely submit to being caged! You are my father! Fight!" She looks at him, and there are tears in her eyes. "Live. For me. For Artemis. For my baby. Don't let them take you away from us, Daddy. I can't do this"- and she gestures at her belly- "I can't be a mother without my father to guide me."

He wants to live. He wants to fight. He wants to escape. He does not want this.

But … "I can't. I promised."

He's not a good man. He's never been a good man. The one thing he has always been, though, is true to his word.

He made a promise. He's going to keep it.

"I told her you'd say that." Jade closes her eyes.

"Her?" Dinah?

Jade points to a woman who's sitting by herself … watching the stage. He knows her. Knows that profile. The name escapes his lips before he can stop himself. "Paula ..."

"No. That … thing is not my mother." Jade looks at him. "But she offered to help you escape."

"I suppose I should talk to her then."

"Good luck with that."

"Nightwing, I'll be sitting over there for a few minutes." He smiles. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. I trust you."

Crock is oddly touched by that. "Best be careful. The Bat will put you back in short pants for going around saying things like that."

In response, the younger man smiles.

There's no good time to block anyone's view of their child graduating, but he makes it as quick as he can … moving from his seat over to where Paula's clone is waiting for him. She doesn't stop looking at the stage, but he knows she's aware of every move he's making. If he tried to attack her, she would be ready. If he tries to run, she'd be ready to back him up.

She's good.

"You're not coming."

"No. I can't." He takes a deep breath as he sits in the seat beside her. She looks younger than Paula did when she died. Barely older than Jade. It breaks his heart every time he meets her. "I'm sorry."

"She said you wouldn't. I should have listened. This was all a waste of time."

"It's not a total waste. At least you're here to see Artemis graduate."

"She's nothing to me. I'm not her mother. She's my enemy. You're all my enemies."

"Then why did you offer to help me?"

"Because … you would be an asset to the Shadows … to me." As Jade did before her, she speaks to him Vietnamese. "It's be like old times, Lawrence. The Huntress and the Sportsmaster together again."

Old memories.

Moonlight and murder. Danger and debauchery. Living by their wits, and what they were strong enough to take for themselves. It was not a good life … but it had been living.

"You have no idea how tempting that sounds." He smiles at her. "But I can't."

"Because I'm not her." She looks at him with Paula's eyes, but there's a pain in them he'd never seen when they were hers. "Because I'm not good enough for you."

"Trust me, that's not it." He touches her cheek. It's more dangerous than it sounds- it wouldn't totally surprise him if she decided to tear it off for trying. One does not lightly caress a tigress … "It's not that you're not her. It's that I'm not that guy any longer. I'm older. Wiser maybe. That life … it takes you to places I don't want to go back to. Not now."

"Why not? You loved it. I know." She touches her forehead. "Everything she knew- I know. I know what you had. I know what you were. What you were always meant to be."

He smiles in spite of himself. Those memories are powerful. He remembers feeling young and strong, like he could take on the world. Life was simple … then. "I miss those days, sometimes." But then his eyes flicker to the stage where Artemis is waiting for her chance to pick up her diploma. They go to the seats where Jade is waiting for him. "But only sometimes."

"You're a fool, Lawrence."

"Probably."

"They're going to lock you away. You'll grow old in some dark cell. Your children's children will nothing know of you- nothing but shame."

"That's not true." He's surprised by how calm he is. "That only happen if I go with you."

"I am done wasting my time with you." She starts to get up, but he grabs her hand again.

"Not yet. Stay. You should watch this." He nods to the stage. "She's part of you too."

"She's not my daughter."

"No she's not. But they are part of who you are." He's not sure why he wants this- wants to try to forge some sort of connection between this woman and his children. She's not Paula, but he wants her to be more than just another assassin. "Part of who you could be."

"I am not you, Lawrence. I am the Huntress. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Stay. Watch. You'll regret it if you go now."

She stares at him for a moment, and then sits back down.

And when Artemis crosses the stage, she holds onto his hand just as Paula would have done.

And for a moment, he lets himself pretend that it is Paula.

"This changes nothing," she says when Artemis's moment is over. "The next time we meet she will still be my enemy."

"Maybe." And he knows she's probably right. "Someday maybe she won't be- and this will give you a memory to build on."

"You've grown foolish in your old age, Lawrence." She gets up. "I would have saved you. I would have set you free. The heroes- their children- they will cage you and forget you. Remember that."

And she walks away.

He sighs as he makes his way back to his little girl. Jade squeezes his hand.

After the ceremony is over, Artemis comes out and greets them. She's not smiling. Her eyes are filled with tears.

She knows what tonight means.

"No tears, baby." He hugs her. "We had a good run. We got more time than I ever had a right to expect. You're where you were meant to be. With your friends." He nods at M'Gann, Conner, and Nightwing. "With your family." And he hugs Jade to his side one more time. "And with the man you love. This isn't a time to be sad- this is a time to celebrate how far we've come."

Artemis hugs him tightly. "Mom would be proud of you, Daddy. I'm proud of you." She hugs him tighter. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, baby girl." He smiles and kisses her forehead. "And I'm proud of you. Both of you." He pulls Jade into his embrace and hugs both his girls again.

One final time.

"You two are the best part of me. Of your mother. Nothing will ever change that. No matter what happens to me- you two are the legacy I leave behind."

"Crock."

Superman. Batman.

The crowd parts around them. Awed- and intimidated- by their presence.

"Guess it's time for me to go, kids."

"This isn't right!" M'Gann says softly.

"There has to be another way!" Conner agrees. He reaches out to take the Martian girl's hand, and then stops when La'gaan glares at him.

Nightwing says nothing, but his eyes speak volumes.

Jade is holding Artemis. Roy has his hands on both their shoulders. He looks over at Crock. "They're right. This isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair. You all know that. And I've still got a debt to pay."

It's a debt he will never be able to pay.

There's too much blood. Too much death. He will never be able to balance the scales.

But he can keep his word.

"Red." He shakes the android's hand. "Hope to see you soon."

"I believe you will, Lawrence Crock."

"All right, boys. I'm ready. Let's go."

He doesn't want it to end this way. He doesn't want his daughter's graduation night marred with his arrest in front of her friends, her classmates. He had hoped the League would give him a chance for a dignified exit from his daughters' lives.

But apparently that wasn't going to happen.

"You're not going anywhere, Crock." The Bat's voice is as cold as ever. As unforgiving as the night.

But there's a twinkle in Superman's eyes. "Not tonight, at least."

"You're going to give me the rest of the night?"

"Yes. Though I'd advise cutting it short and getting to bed as early as possible. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"A big day?"

"Yes. You're starting a new job."

"New job?"

"Yes." And Nightwing is smiling- a smile he's not had since Kaldur left. "You know the Team has gotten pretty large these days. It's a good group, but they're still pretty rough around the edges. We've decided the team needs an adviser. A permanent adviser."

"Red-"

"Between my duties with the Justice League and my upcoming marriage to Kathy Sutton, I'm afraid I won't be able to devote as much time to the Team as I have in the past. I suggested to the League we find someone who could be there full time to offer the Team a … unique perspective."

"But the deal- The cops-"

"I talked to them," Superman says with a smile. "Most of the League did, actually."

"You're still on probation, Crock." Batman wraps his cloak about him. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Probation? Again? But-"

"There's one thing that Batman and I have in common, Lawrence." Superman says with a smile.

"Capes?" M'Gann asked brightly.

Batman glares at her. "Justice."

"Sending you away for the rest of your life won't help the people you've hurt, Crock. It won't make the world a better place. It won't make it any safer. And it won't rehabilitate you." Something that's almost a smile crosses Batman's lips. "You've already done that yourself."

"Daddy," Jade whispers. She clutches his hand. "Do you know what this means?"

"You don't have to go away." Artemis throws her arms around his neck. "You're not going away!"

He wraps his arms around his baby girl and hugs her as tightly as he's ever held her in his life. Then he lets he go and pulls Jade into his embrace. "Guess you're going to have Grandpa around to babysit after all, little girl."

Jade laughs. "Just don't give her her first weapon until she's done teething."

He holds her tightly for a moment and then looks over at Superman and Batman. "I don't deserve this, but- thanks."

"Maybe not." Batman nods to the Team. "But they do."

And then the Team- Nightwing, Conner, Wally, M'Gann- his other kids- smile at him, and he pulls all of them- even Conner- into his arms.

He's not a good man. He's got blood on his hands an ocean couldn't wash away. He's done terrible, unforgivable things. Nothing will ever change that. He can never forget that.

He's not a good man.

But he'll never ever stop trying to be one.