Summary: Between flirtatious banter and bickering matches, its moments like this that truly frustrate her.

Character Dynamics: Artemis, Zatanna, Wally

Pairings: Spitfire

Episode: Takes place directly after episode #18, "Secrets"

Manhattan

October 31, 23:17 EDT

"He had his heart taken out, but he should be back at trying to kill us in a few minutes."

Eyebrows shooting up in alarm, newly appointed Sergeant Drake paused his note taking and looked up at this self-proclaimed heroine. Never before had he heard of this girl. At least, not until a few hours ago. Reporting to the scene of random robberies and spontaneous attacks throughout the city, he and his rookie police force ( the only remaining option for less urgent crimes due to a distress call summoning half their squadron and all senior cops to some dusty museum ) were baffled upon finding that the alleged crooks had already been put to justice. An attempted robbery at Manhattan's local bank found a hysteric couple and the gunman upheld against a brick wall by a set of arrows. Masked perpetrators in possession of a stolen stash of jewels were discovered unconscious immediately outside their targeted store. What had perplexed his force most, however, were the four stupefied assaulters sprawled beneath a woman pinned against the belly of Central Park's bridge by some unknown force. After the fire department had successfully retrieved the inexplicably suspended jogger, both squads rushed to the scene of what was revealed to be an explosive motorcycle accident. After receiving an alert issued to all units that a madman ( who had escaped big shot Officer Daniels, taking out his whole squadron in the process ) was loose in the city with a legendary sword, he simultaneously kept an eye out for said madman while rushing to an apartment complex whose ground floor had spontaneously imploded. He really should have expected that this incident would have also been dealt with upon his arrival, but that observation wasn't enough to override the ego two teenage girls in ridiculous outfits ( and he doubted they were dressed for the given holiday ) wounded.

Needless to say, Officer Drake was not having a good day. But honestly, who would have guessed that two teenage girls could have stopped the currently most wanted crook in all of Manhattan, two attempted robberies, and a pursuit of assault all in one night? Certainly not him. Especially considering that one of the heroines lacked any form of a weapon.

Even after tonight's events, he had not been expecting such a nonchalant response as that. "Ex-Excuse me?"

Her ripped cowl scrunched as her dark eyes narrowed, "I didn't kick him hard enough to kill him!"

"No, no," fanning the air with his notepad, he glanced at the pale, unconscious felon currently being placed into custody. He refused to react towards her gruff tone, regaining a portion of the circulation lost to his anxious grip on the parchment. "I'm not suggesting that. What was it you said, er, about his heart?"

Thoroughly exasperated, the girl in question struck a dare with her stance, "Look, do I have to repeat—"

"What we're trying to say, Sergeant Drake," the weaponless girl intervened, "is that what this man did is completely immoral. My teammate simply retaliated when he attacked us both with his dagger by kicking him in the face. He fainted, so I tied him up until help came."

Flicking a glance towards the agents who were dragging off a mummified Harm, the blonde archer scoffed. "Some help."

Gaze rapidly shifting between the pair, he momentarily dropped his professional demeanor, unable to keep from blurting out the question that had been burning through his mind all night. "Who are you two?"

"I'm Zatanna, and this is Artemis."

Great. They even had creative alias's.

Manhattan

November 1, 01:24 EDT

"Please tell me that you know a spell that'll magically make us reappear at Mount Justice."

"I'd be lying if I told you that."

With their vehicles compromised and their considerable distance from the nearest zeta transporter, it was only natural that this bit of information upset Artemis even further. "Great. How are we supposed to—"

"Helloooo ladies."

Making a grab at her quiver, Artemis snatched an arrow out and cocked it in her crossbow in a fluid flourish, taking lethal aim at the man who dared to make a pass at her and the sorceress. Her narrowed eyes clashed with a familiar pair and widened upon recognition. Easing up on her fighting stance, she withdrew her mark. "Wally?" Under normal circumstances, a snarky or sarcastic remark would've been spat from her mouth by now. Her mind, however, was still groggy after the hectic and agreeably abnormal events of the night.

Met with a slick grin, she felt the tear in her hood reveal even more of her visage when a muscle beneath the rim of her eye twitched. "The one and only." Acknowledging her lowered weapon, a single brow rose in response to the menacing tip of the notched arrowhead. "Now, is that any way to greet your savior?"

"How did you find us?" Zatanna questioned before Artemis could spit back a scathing remark. "Our comm links were damaged and I'm pretty sure there aren't any tracking devices on us."

Offering her a sneer teeming with mirth, he turned away from the archer to confront Zatanna's inquiries. "Batman sent me. There were homing devices in the cycles you two crashed. When they went offline, he sent out a search party."

"Search party?" Artemis couldn't resist jeering at that. As far as she could tell, the city streets were barren and he hadn't even made an attempt to notify anyone else of his discovery. "More like party of one."

"Jealous that you weren't invited?"

"Yeah right! If you're the only guy at a party, I wouldn't even consider going."

"Hey," Zatanna suddenly questioned, "what happened to the dance? I thought you were going with Megan and Connor?"

"Oh, I went. But it ended hours ago. And since this wolf can't be tamed until after midnight, I decided you two might be seeing action adequate enough for my standards. And since Miss Jealousy over here is too grumpy to party—" Easing an arm around the small of Zatanna's back, he held onto her loosely, "—Guess it's just you and me, babe." Chuckling at the sight of her slight blush, he extracted the idle limb and opted to jab a finger in Artemis's direction. "Having a third-wheel would've been a killjoy, anyways."

Ripping the arrow from her stationary crossbow, she gripped the rod with an intensity that bleached her knuckles bloodless. "Take us to the Cave right now or I will gouge your eyes from their sockets."

Shrugging, the speedster swiftly scooped Zatanna up in his arms as she unleashed a yelp of surprise. "Wally! What are you—"

A sudden rush of air flooded Artemis's pores, assaulting her ears. Her blonde mane, gathered by an elastic band, sprayed out behind her like a golden geyser. Having blinked when he took off with their teammate, she had been unable to assess which direction Wally had taken off. She knew enough, however, to realize that he had flicked her ponytail along the way.

As she had anticipated, it took mere minutes for the speedster to return to her. Before he could make a move to gather her into his arms, he realized that she had yet to release her strangling grip on the arrow. Despite the threatening shaft, he advanced towards her, the velvet rumble of his throaty tone drenched with amusement, "If you're going to try any moves on me, beautiful, there's no need for toys."

Challenging his stride, she's suddenly flush against the front of him. The cool sensation of her steely arrowhead skims over the exposed flesh of his darkened cowl, advancing over the fabric to trace his strong jawline. The back of his neck bristles, hairs crackling like fire, when the lethal point drags across his full bottom lip. "Without the toys," her words are breathy, hot bursts against his skin, as she looks up to him through a fringe of smoky lashes, "we wouldn't have any playtime, now would we?"

Before she can process what's happening, he's cupping the side of her face with one hand, the warm pad of his thumb smoothing over the flesh exposed by the tear in her cowl. "Looks like you've had enough playtime for tonight." Through the red lens of his goggles, beneath the intense green pigment of his eyes, a fog of emotions swirl. She can't quite decipher the mixture and it frustrates her. Averting her gaze, she focuses on the arrowhead, wielding its sharp tip to trace the obtrusive contours the sleeves of his costume accentuate. "What happened?"

Willing herself to look up to him, she nearly shrank back upon detecting the unabashed passion in his emerald gaze. A peculiar warmth bloomed in the pit of her abdominal region. She chalks it up to the acid wash against an empty, ravenous stomach. But frankly, she can't help but feel that it was much more than hunger pangs that was eating her away. "Well..." pausing momentarily, she's acutely aware of the the way his hand hasn't removed itself from its gentle cradle against her flushed cheek, of the hot sensation his fingers kindle underneath her pores as his thumb continues to trace the slash in her mask. Piqued by her sudden urge for muscular release, to lean into his palm, she rips her face away from his touch and swiftly deposits her arrow in her quiver. Cramming her arms into a stoic gesture that crosses over her chest, a hip juts out and she tries to numb the stinging throb of her heart.

Their little flirtatious banter had been fine, if not safe. Their bickering matches helped to bleed off some of the stronger feelings she refused to fully acknowledge. But moves like this, when libidinous comments suddenly evolved to a more physical level, made their little game of whom will break whom seem absolutely ridiculous. When charm and wit nearly caused the other to vacillate, a sharp safeguard was instantly put up. The end result had always been of the two fuming and perplexed, a blaring silence settled between them. But this... how was this moment any different from the rest? Since when had he been so sincere towards her?

Glancing back at the speedster, she was met with the same fervid gaze. And maybe if she asked the right questions and screwed over his scientific beliefs, it might even turn into something lascivious.

Smiling widely and dropping her cold demeanor, she decided to entertain the idea.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

A/N: Just an aimless drabble. While attempting to write another installment for my other YJ stories ( which, by the way, if you are following any of my other fics, I apologize for the lack of updates. My life is kinda hectic right now. ), this happened. I'm really missin' this show.

So you read it... Like it? Flame it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review! (: