"Artemis, they're doing it again!" the archer had to hold the phone away from her ear as the Martian's voice cried out over the phone. The blonde sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Don't worry M'Gann, I'm almost there," she said quickly in reassurance. The blonde grabbed her compact bow and backpack from next to the couch, only stopping to give her mom a quick kiss on the cheek goodbye.
"I won't be home until late," Artemis called before shutting the apartment door and running down the hallway. She jumped the stairs, kicking off the wall. Hey, it wasn't the first time she'd done that and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Not when M'Gann was sending an SOS.
Artemis loved her team. The love had only grown after a team sleepover when each member had been required to say something nice to each of their teammates. She had never heard so much praise before in her life and wasn't about to forget any of the comments any time soon. But M'Gann claiming her as her Earth-sister again had been the best and Artemis was determined to do right by her new sister. Even if that included getting frantic calls to come to the Cave and break up whatever stupid fight had broken out between the boys.
The zeta tubes announced Artemis's arrival to the rest of the team, not that they could hear her over the racket.
Robin and KF were fighting over some tiny device with Conner yelling over them while Kaldur was knocked out and tied up on one of the rafters. Typical Tuesday.
Artemis dropped her bag, rolled her neck and shoulders, and grinned over at M'Gann hiding in a corner. Raising two fingers to her lips Artemis whistled shrilly, managing to break into the bickering. Startled, the three boys turned instantly to the new arrival standing like a victorious conqueror in her school uniform. The look on her face at that moment made even Robin nervous and he had been working on his immunity to the Batglare.
"Untie Kaldur, straighten this place up, apologize to M'Gann before I count to three," Artemis said softly, no need to raise her voice as the boys were practically hanging on her every word, the Cave silent with a sense of dread hanging in the air.
"One. Two. Three."
Artemis blinked and smiled at the sight before her. KF had sped around the room, straightening the furniture that had gotten knocked over during his fight with Rob, while the bird was up in the rafters, cutting their leader down. Meanwhile Conner had gone to M'Gann, a sheepish expression on his face. Following the sweet Martian's tendencies the girl forgave her boyfriend readily enough before turning to shoot a grateful look at Artemis. The archer grinned back and smirked as KF and Robin lined up in front of her for inspection, Conner trailing behind them slightly while Kaldur recovered on the couch.
"I believe we've had this discussion before?" Artemis said calmly, crossing her arms and cocking her hip out just so. KF swallowed, he knew that pose, had seen it all his life whenever his Aunt Iris was ticked off at Uncle Barry for doing something stupid. It had even been directed at him a few times and he did not like that look. It never ended well for him. Never.
"You know the drill," Artemis snapped, eyes flashing. With his usual ninja reflexes Robin knelt and threw the remote across the room to Artemis, who caught it with the ease of practice before tossing it to M'Gann. KF sped into the kitchen only to return with snacks and beverages for the girls. Conner picked up Kaldur and carried him to the med bay. Glancing nervously at the girls, Wally and Robin fidgeted on the sidelines until they got a satisfied nod from Artemis.
With a light whoop at being let off without the usual intimidation and lecture the two teens raced from the room to Robin's room for a round of video games while M'Gann and Artemis made themselves comfortable on the couch.
"So what Earth custom are you wanting to learn about today? Shopping or cooking?" Artemis asked, reaching for the bowl of pretzels that KF had set out.
"Could we watch shopping again? Learning about different Earth styles has been very interesting," M'Gann requested, holding the remote in excitement. It was only when Artemis was here and had bullied the boys that she was ever able to the sacred device that the boys fought so brazenly over.
"Sure thing. What Not To Wear repeats should be on right now," Artemis suggested to her friend. M'Gann smiled at her Earth sister, relieved that no matter how much their brothers fought, the archer would always be there to return life in the Cave to some semblance of normal.
And if the girls got a little time to control the television and enjoy some peace, quiet, and bonding time was it really that bad?
A/N So the guys are crazy and M'Gann always struck me as being kind of weak-willed during the first season. I could easily see her calling Artemis in every time the guys got to be too much for her. And even though the guys aren't really afraid of her, deep down they know they should be.