Trying my hand at writing.
We all know Robin and Superboy can speak a lot of languages. However, it always made more sense to me for Wally, who could actually use all the languages as he ran through countries, to be able to speak multiple languages. Also, with his increased mental processing speed, picking up a language (no matter how bad he might be at learning languages) would take him a fraction of the time it would most normal people.
So, this is AU, but only slightly. I tried to squeeze the story in the actual timeline of the show.
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or DC Comics or whatever else. Anything you recognise? I don't own it.
1.
Undisclosed location
September 25 (After 'Alpha Male'; before 'Revelation')
Arrows.
Why? was the question on Artemis' mind as the hired mercenary dodged a hastily fired arrow.
Why on earth did she pick arrows of all things to be her weapon of choice?
Sure, she knew why. Technically. They were precise, controlled – everything she wanted for a weapon meant to maim at the most.
But it was times when MercNumberWhoCares pulled out a machine gun, that she really wished for something… a bit more substantial.
Yes, life was unfair, but it irked her. No? It angered her.
Truthfully, it scared her – the desire she sometimes had to just pull out one of her less friendly arrows and shoot the random killer in an eye. Frightful to think of how easy it would be to take out criminals with the mere push of a button.
Or you know what? Some superpowers would be nice too, she thought angrily as she ducked and rolled behind a crate, seconds before a barrage of bullets turned the spot where she had stood into a maelstrom of dust and debris.
The merc's aim shifted, following to where she now hid, without lifting his hand off the trigger. Bullets thudded against wood.
Artemis looked down at her bleeding hand and quickly pulled a piece of emergency tape from a side pocket. Whilst wrapping her drawing hand, Artemis took quick stock of her surroundings, searching for an exit and waiting for the merc to run out of bullets.
Maybe it was the adrenaline, but her ears heard the empty click, her mind winced at the sharp pain from her hand and her eyes spotted the faded label of the convenient crate: x-sive. Strange how, to her perception, everything happened at once.
Huh? She thought, almost lazily, her mind trying to process multiple sensory inputs at the same time.
Oh, she silently mouthed as realisation dawned.
Before she could utter anything more appropriate, her ears pricked. Instead of reloading his machine gun, the merc had chosen a different toy from his arsenal. One with a very distinctive sound – the reason why Batman had sent the Team on the recon mission in the first place.
Recently, more and more lone thugs and street gangs had been showing up armed with energy based weapons that emitted a high-pitched, yet melodic sound as they were charged. The oh-so-creative media people had dubbed them 'Nightingales', and though they were nothing exceptional, the unbelievably low price combined with the shocking quantity of weapons available, made for a destructive result.
And now Artemis was literally in a corner behind a crate full of explosives armed with arrows. Yay….
Smoke arrow, foam arrow, flash arrow, magnet arrow, net arrow… explosive arrow.
Unfortunately, she had used her two zip-line arrows to enter the manufacturing plant. Not that there was anything to attach them to in the concrete basement she was currently in, anyway.
Resigned to her fate, Artemis stuck her rebreather in her mouth, pulled out her foam arrow and closed her eyes.
And opened them.
Wally's bright green eyes were way too close and without being able to see the rest of his face, she knew he was wearing that cocky grin. "You called?" he drawled, putting her down. She found she was now two levels up from where she had been, on one of the floors the Team had already cleared.
Angrily, she pulled out her rebreather and wiped her mouth, to give her mind a moment to go from praising the heavens that she didn't have to wash that disgusting foam out of her hair again and back to snarky, sarcastic Artemis. "I didn't," was the best she could come up with.
Strange enough, Wally frowned at that. "I know. And I also know you are more than capable of handling things, but there's a reason why we're psychically linked."
Artemis' mind reeled. So used to Wally being, well, Wally, it threw her for a loop when he actually said something without flirting, joking, or joking flirtatiously.
She was saved from responding when Robin's voice resounded at the front of her mind. We've gotta go. I have all the data; erased everything they had. And we're starting to attract more attention than we should.
When yet another tremor shook the building and the floor rumbled beneath their feet, Artemis amended Robin's statement. We're way past starting. Honestly, it was only due to Batman and Robin's superb computer skills, that the (covert) Team of prodigies were still relatively secret.
"By the way, how good is your Vietnamese?" Wally asked out of the blue whilst checking his small wrist computer.
The abruptness of the question was likely the only reason why she answered him truthfully. "Fluently. I speak it at home."
Immediately, Wally's head shot up, his eyes lighting up like a kid's at Christmas. Or maybe it was just the reflection of the (switched off) computer.
"Wait. How did-. "
"Great! Practice with me some time? I mean, I visit Vietnam sometimes to freshen up, but it's such a drag to go all the way. And my allowance is kind of iffy, if you know what I mean. Actually, I just spend it on Chemistry stuff. But food. I'm gonna pick you up now, 'kay?"
Artemis dutifully nodded, mind completely blank.
Before she could blink, they were outside the factory and inside the bioship. Mechanically, she walked over to her seat and sat down, thankful that the seatbelts enveloped her automatically. She did not think her mind ready to perform such a complicated task just yet. When a worried M'gann brushed against her consciousness, she sent back acceptance.
/You okay?/ M'gann asked privately. /Are you hurt?/
/I'm fine. Just tired, I guess./ She responded, making sure to keep her thoughts light at the forefront of her consciousness.
M'gann probably sensed that something was bothering her, but she respectfully retreated from Artemis' mind.
Artemis was okay, though. Really. She was just having trouble with the fact that Wally (Wally?!) had just had a perfectly normal conversation with her. Except, of course, for where it was done in near-fluent Vietnamese.
This fic is working its way to 'Misplaced'. If you speak a foreign language that you feel Wally would know or should know if he ever visited your country, please comment and leave a translation for "Protect them" which is the instruction he repeats in English, French, and Mandarin (I believe) respectively.
Thanks so much for reading! If there are any corrections, suggestions or other ideas you would like to see in a fic, please don't hesitate to tell me.