Hey everybody! Wow, it's been so long since I've done a story. O.o But after the young justice season finale, I just couldn't help myself. Afterwards, I kept wondering what would happen next. And this is the result. I do have to admit, the end took kind of a wonky turn into something i didn't plan, but I actually liked it. So a few notes about the story, The Point of veiw kinda switches around but it's not like ARTEMIS POV, WALLY POV, it just kinda chages with the story If anyone gets confused, message me. Also, some of the things that are said, are like something that I would totally say to certain characters. Just a niffty little fun fact for you. and finally, I will update when I can, but if I never find time or i never find interest in this story again, I've made this so that it can be percieved as a one shot until further notice. Enjoy the show! :D Err, the reading? :/
Disclaimer: If I had owned Young Justice, Wally and Artemis would have made out ages ago.
Artemis was so not feeling the aster. But at the same time, she was feeling quite asterous. Her stomach felt like it was filled with millions of over joyed butterflies. But at the same time, her stomach was queasy and she felt as though she could barf any second. She was confused and excited and scared and nervous and happy all at the same time. And the sun hadn't even come up yet.
A lot of things had gone down in the past forty-two hours. A lot of really bad stuff happened, but at the same time, a lot of really good stuff happened. But, more bad than good. Artemis could still feel the tension that lined the Watch Tower, even though it had been quite some time that the fighting had ceased.
Artemis shuttered at the thought of the fighting. It was painful, fighting her mentor. Green Arrow had become a father to her, more so than her biological one. It was hard aiming her arrows at him, and even harder to be on the receiving end of his arrows. But Artemis knew that she wasn't the only protégé affected by the fight with their mentors. Wally had to fight his uncle, M'gann had to fight her uncle, Kaldur had to fight his king, Connor fought Superman, and Robin fought his father, Batman.
Finding out Robin's secret identity had happened right after the little bird's make out session with Zatanna. He had announced that in light of the recent events, he was calling a "No Secrets" rule on the team. He hadn't really explained why he was going against the Bat's order. He just said: "A house divided with secrets cannot stand together. And right now we need to stand together more than ever." And then he promptly announced that he was Richard Grayson, adoptive son of Bruce Wayne—also known as Batman.
It was a nice moment and all, but Artemis was pretty sure he was just trying to sound manly and grown up in front of Zatanna.
Artemis suddenly found her thoughts drifting from her friend's new found relationship to her own. Artemis's lips were graced with a goofy smile as she remembered the feeling of Wally's lips on hers. She thought he'd never be man enough to make a move on her, until the moment when he scooped her up into his arms. Sure, she'd been in his grasp before—seeing as they were almost always partnered together on missions—but this time, it meant something. And the kiss certainly meant something.
Artemis was suddenly pulled from her thoughts about the speedster as the doors to the Watch Tower's conference room opened. The archer had stationed herself outside the doors, plopped on the floor against the opposite wall. She sat there waiting for a certain male to come out, waiting for nearly an hour. But it wasn't Wally she was waiting for. Neither Robin nor even Kaldur.
She was waiting for Roy.
And just to her luck, it was Roy who stepped out of the conference room, escorted by Black Canary and Green Arrow. The three of them had a strict poker face, and it made Artemis worry about what had happened in the room. But despite her doubts about the mood of the red archer, she pulled herself off the floor and approached the trio.
Green Arrow was the first to acknowledge her existence, and he greeted her with a warm smile and out stretched arms. Artemis hesitated, because hugging wasn't really her thing. Sure, she hugged her mom. But that was Mom. But then she decided that after everything that had happened, what she really needed was a hug. And who better to get one from than her mentor? (Well, maybe except one from Wally. She wouldn't mind one from Wally.)
Artemis practically launched herself into her mentor's arms, and smiled into his warm chest. She automatically could feel warmth seep through her and over take her completely. It gave her a nice fuzzy feeling, getting that hug. Maybe that's what hugs from your dad are supposed to feel like, Artemis mused. Like getting enveloped in a huge mass of…of…love? As cheesy as it sounded, Artemis knew it was true.
"You did good, Arty. I'm proud of you." Ollie whispered in her ear, just so that the two of them could hear it. Artemis grinned, and pulled away, her eyes shining a thank you. She then turned towards Roy, who was dejectedly staring at the ground. The poor boy had been through so much. Artemis felt like she needed to pull a M'gann and make him cookies or something. But, the last time Artemis tried baking it nearly exploded the oven, so that wasn't an option.
Still standing in front of Roy, Artemis turned her head towards Black Canary and tilted her head towards the side a tad bit, implying that she leave. Not in a rude way, but in a 'let me talk to him alone' way. And then to make her feel like she wasn't getting left out of anything, Artemis turned and did the same to Ollie. The two adult heroes nodded at the younger, and silently slipped away.
Once they were gone, Artemis placed her hand on Roy's shoulder and said loud and clear: "Let's take a walk." Roy looked up at her with startled eyes, tearing them away from the ground. Artemis gave him a reassuring smile, and led him away from the large, looming doors.
It wasn't that hard to find a place to just go and sit, particularly one with a view of Earth. The window ledge that over looked the Big Blue was just a few hallways down from the conference room, and was wide enough for the two archers to sit down, their back resting on the huge columns that stretched from the floor to the huge ceiling.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Artemis gazing longingly out the window, a goofy grin on her face as she stared at her home planet. But she could feel Roy's eyes on her, staring into her, trying to figure out her motives. It wasn't like the two of them were friends, or even close. They couldn't really even be in the same room as each other before they tried to kill each other. And not to mention, Roy had always been kind of a butt to her. Not that it was really his fault, but still.
But regardless, Artemis had always felt like the two of them had a connection. Not like the connection she and Wally had, but like… a sibling connection. And Artemis had always wanted a sibling that wouldn't attempt to kill her if ordered, so Roy seemed like the perfect candidate. Not that she'd ever say any of this out loud, but she'd know in her heart. All Roy had to do was fall into the position of "older-brother" and she'd be set.
"So is this where you ask me how I'm talking everything, how I'm feeling, or how I plan to deal with it?" Roy's harsh, hurt voice pulled Artemis from her thoughts, and she turned her head to look at her fellow archer. Roy had his feet planted on the ground, causing his knees to cover everything but his face. She could see his arms crossed over his chest, and a scowl through his domino mask.
Artemis snorted and rolled her eyes at the boy. "I'm not Black Canary, Roy. I won't pretend to be a shrink." She said, raising an eyebrow at him. Artemis knew that he wouldn't spill his guts by just asking him, so she was going to force it out of him—even if he didn't realize what she was doing.
Roy growled and muttered "Don't call me Roy" under his breath before turning towards the window. Artemis rolled her eyes at him. Ollie must have rubbed off on him, because he was getting stupid.
"Okay, Roy Junior, what do you want to be called?" Roy's face turned to her, filled with confusion. Obviously, no one had bothered to ask him what he wanted to go by if he didn't want to be Roy. But he still said nothing, so Artemis pushed a little more. "I mean, you could pull a Supey and be something like… Ralphie Harper. Or Randy Harper. Oh, you could even be Red Harper." Artemis paused, "Unless you don't want to change your name."
That did it, finally breaking him free of his stiff manor and pulling forward the Roy that had been being waiting to be released—the vulnerable one. Roy groaned and threw his head back against the wall. He let his entire body slouch, and let his legs stretch out from their locked position. His arms dropped to his sides, and Artemis could visibly see exhaustion radiating off of him.
"I don't know, Artemis. I'm not Roy Harper. I'm his clone. But…I've been Roy Harper for three years now. I've lived being him, and I am him. But I'm not. I'm an experiment gone right, and I nearly took down the Justice League. I was the mole without even realizing it. I betrayed everyone. And I'm not even who everyone thinks I am. I'm just his copy. His replacement. And if we found Speedy, the real Roy Harper, what would that make me? Would I get locked up in a vault? Kicked out on the streets? Executed? And what would Roy think of me? Would I have to change my name? Would people consider me Roy just as much as him? I can't be Roy because there's already a Roy but I can't be anybody else. I just…I don't know what I am."
Artemis figured he would say something like this. She just didn't think it would be that easy to get him to spill. Must be an archer thing.
She pulled herself of the wall she was leaning against, and scooted towards Roy, still sitting criss-cross-applesauce (Or as normal folk call it, Indian Style). Artemis placed her elbows on her thighs and leaned forward slightly, staring directly at the confused and lost boy.
"You are Roy Harper. You're right, you have lived as Roy Harper for three years, and that doesn't make you any less Roy. You've made your own person, and people love you for you, not for who they think you are. I mean, look at Connor. He's the clone of Superman, but he's his own person. Superman's like his father, or something. You're like the other Roy's brother. And when we do find the other Roy, don't you dare think for a second that it will change anything. You are still Roy Harper. You are still a member of the Justice League and an honorary member of The Team. So instead of the Justice League and The Team having three awesome archers, we'll have four. No biggy. And besides, if the other Roy doesn't like you, we can always set Cheshire on him."
The entire time Artemis was talking to him, she could see her words sink into him, and practically lift him and his spirits up. He went from slouching to siting up, staring at his fellow archer with the same intensity she stared at him with. And then he smiled. A real smile, not the sarcastic smirk she knew all too well, a smile. A smile shared between siblings. And Artemis smiled back, feeling good about herself and the words she had spoken to Roy Harper.
"Thank you, Artemis," Roy said, rubbing the back of his neck with his gloved hand. And that was all that really needed to be said. Artemis didn't need some big speech on how she changed his life and made everything better; she just needed a thank you. She had meant everything she said to him, and she knew that he meant that thank you.
So, the blonde archer stood up from the window ledge and held her hand out to the red headed archer. "Come on, everyone's probably wondering where we are. And knowing the Justice League, they're going to throw a Happy New Year/Congrats on Beating the Bad Guys party." Roy chuckled, and took Artemis's hand, and she pulled him up off the seat.
Artemis could physically feel a bond forming between them. Not a bond like the one she knew Roy was forming with her sister—which was actually kind of freaky to think about—but a sibling type of bond. And she knew that the bond that they had just formed wasn't going to just disappear. Artemis was going to show him that she would always be there for him, and he would be there for her.
Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. But, they weren't being watched by bad guys who hacked into League security footage. They were being watched by the League themselves. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Wonder Woman Martian Manhunter, Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary all sat staring at the scene unfold in front of them, and then as the two young archers left the hallway in search of their team mates.
It was quiet in the room until Flash let out a low whistle. "She's good. None of us have been able to…do that." Black Canary nodded.
"If you mean open up and then give words of comfort that actually mean something to him, then I completely agree. Not even I could get him to talk that in depth about it." Suddenly, Green Arrow's laughter filled the room, and everyone turned their head to him. He shrugged, and grinned.
"What can I say? It's an archer thing."
While the League sat around and discussed important things, the Team had taken it upon themselves to make themselves at home in the League's living room. It was incredibly similar to the team's own living room, only larger. The kitchen and dining room were almost tripled in size, and the TV and couches could fit, well, an entire Justice League.
The Team had changed out of their uniforms and into their civvies, and was spread out in the League's Living Room. And despite all that had happened recently, they looked as close to normal teenagers as a bunch of superheroes on the Watch Tower could be.
M'gann and Conner were in the kitchen; M'gann cooking and Connor sitting at the island watching her. The two were talking and laughing about some silly nonsense, enjoying the feeling of being just normal teens. And M'gann was certainly enjoying the kitchen. She had spread out all of her cooking across the five large counters that made up the kitchen. The Martian girl was covered in cooking supplies, but her Boyfriend of Steel didn't seem to mind.
Kaldur and Raquel were spread out on the dining room table, comparing notes and novels about each other's powers. To anybody else on the team, they would have seen Raquel trying to make friends with the leader of the team and trying to learn the ropes of how they ran the team. But to Raquel, she was making friends with one smoking hot hero. Kaldur was far nicer than all of the others, not that they weren't nice, but Kaldur… Raquel smiled at the Atlantean as he continued explaining about how his powers worked and how he fit in on the team. Well, Raquel thought he fit just fine.
Robin and Zatanna, well, they were currently making out on the couch. Wally had long since given up on breaking up the raven haired couple. Robin was currently feeling quite asterous. And he was pretty sure that the girl on his lap felt the same way. He had no idea someone's hair could be so soft, but Zatanna's hair seemed to take the prize for soft hair. Zatanna on the other hand, was shocked about the fact that she was lip locking with Robin, The Boy Wonder, The Dark Knight's protégé. Robin was every girl's dream of tall, dark and handsome. Well, minus the tall.
Wally was the only one alone in the room. He was sitting on the couch, a few feet away from the spit swapping couple, playing Justice League: the Sidekicks for Wii. The Justice League apparently found the video games revolving around the heroes—and their sidekicks—amusing, and had two of every single superhero game out there. And Wally, being the gaming nerd that he was, automatically picked the newest, most updated version of the Justice League's series of video games. And it just so happened to be about sidekicks. But you don't get to play as one of the already alive sidekicks. You get to design your own character and pick a mentor. And along the game, you got to meet all of the sidekicks. So far, Wally had met himself (which was totally awesome), Robin, Aqualad, Superboy, Artemis, and a few other made up characters, like Wonder Girl, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Black Rose, and of all people: Batgirl. Yeah, it was a weirdly awesome game.
Wally assumed that because they had fictional characters in it (Cyborg? Beast Boy? Really?) the public would assume that the real not so well known sidekicks would be assumed fictional (Artemis, Superboy, and if he ever met Zatanna or Miss Martian). But in all honesty, he was bored. The meeting with Roy and the Justice League had ended a while ago, and both Artemis and Roy were missing. But he wasn't worried.
He knew that Artemis really liked helping people, and right now, Roy really needed help. Wally's longtime friend had just discovered he was the clone of Roy Harper, also Wally's longtime friend. But it didn't bother Wally that Roy was a clone of Roy. That would be getting mad at Connor for being… Connor. You just can't help these things. And besides, he had become friends with Clone Roy just as easily as he had become friends with Real Roy. Wally growled at himself. It felt wrong to call Roy a clone, but there wasn't really anything else you could call him.
Unless, they called him Roy's brother. The thought struck Wally as a brilliant idea, one that he was positive Roy would like. It was similar to how they turned Connor into Superman's son, even though technically, he wasn't. Wally grinned to himself as he came to the conclusion that having two Roys around wouldn't be such a bad thing. They'd be like twins. And that would lead to lots of good times.
Wally was suddenly distracted by the sound of a door opening and closing, and two pairs of footsteps entering the Living Room. And it was two of Wally's favorite people: Artemis and Roy.
The first thing he noticed was of course, Artemis. How could he not notice her? She was stunning, and no matter what situation they were in, his eyes were automatically drawn to her and her beauty. Artemis grinned at the sight of Wally, who had been distracted from his game to stare at her with a smile. She laughed, and sauntered over to him. She leaned down next to his face and whispered: "I think you just died, Baywatch."
Wally's eyes darted back towards the screen, and sure enough, his character—Kid Flirt—was lying on the ground with the word FAIL flashing beside him. Gee, wonder where they got that idea. Wally made a protesting noise, and turned back to Artemis, who was smirking at him.
"You owe me for that, Blondie." He said, with mock anger. Artemis just smirked at him again before crashing her lips on to his, silencing another protest. Wally would have gladly deepened the kiss and pulled Artemis over the couch to his lap, but before he could really process anything other than the initial shock of Artemis kissing him (certainly wasn't the first time, but it made his mind go fuzzy every time), the archer pulled away. "Okay, we're even," Wally said, grinning at her.
Artemis laughed at him, and swung her legs over the couch, so that she was right next to him. She tucked her legs underneath her and leaned her head on Wally's shoulder as he started playing again, watching him play his character (Kid Flirt? Really?) and defeat the baddies with his ninja skills. Or at least, the ones the computer gave him.
But as Wally played, he noticed that Roy was still awkwardly standing near the doorway. He looked less tense than when he had seen him last, like he wasn't as upset about the whole clone thing anymore. No, what the archer looked awkward about was that no matter where he went in the room, there was some couple doing couple-y type things. And so Wally, not wanting his bro to feel left out, paused the game, grabbed another Wii controller, and chucked at Roy without a warning.
And of course, being the trained hero that he was, Roy caught the Wii remote on simply the instinct of something flying at him. Roy looked over at the grinning speedster in confusion. "Come on, Roy. It's a two player game." Wally wriggled his eyes brows in excitement, and was practically bouncing. Roy's eyes then turned to Artemis, who was looking at him with a knowing grin. Something about those two just made him feel, accepted. Not that he didn't get that feeling from anyone else, but it was just something about those two.
Roy grinned back, and made his way over to the couch. He plopped down next to Wally, and soon the speedster had explained the game and Roy had made his own character—the Mad Archer. He wasn't really sure why he had chosen the combination of the Mad Hatter and archery, but it just seemed…right. He heard Artemis snort, and he brought his gaze over to her.
"Lost in Wonderland, are you Hatter?" She grinned slyly, and then grinned even more when Roy's face turned bright red. Of course, that's where it came from. His mind just connected everything that had to do with Alice in Wonderland to her—Cheshire. Refusing to acknowledge Artemis's statement, he turned back to the game, and tried not to think about the black haired assassin that haunted his thoughts and dreams. And soon his thoughts went from Cheshire to Wally, and how the archer was totally kicking his butt at a game he just picked up.
"Dude, you are totally cheating! Not fair!" Wally groaned in protest as he died yet again. Roy was totally not helping him impress Artemis. Not cool, Roy. Not cool. Roy laughed at the red head's equally red face. "Dude, lay off the butt kicking. Trying to impress my girl here." He mumbled under his breath, so that Artemis wouldn't hear. Artemis was actually asleep on Wally's shoulder, curled up tightly with a soft orange blanket she had magically pulled from under the couch tucked neatly over her.
Roy laughed again and pointed at the sleeping blonde, whose boyfriend apparently didn't notice her slumbering. Wally glanced her, and his expression went from confused to blissfully goofy. He grinned at the sleeping beauty, and then lightly kissed the top of her head. He then turned back to Roy, and muttered "I still think you're cheating" to a grinning Roy.
And for the first time in a while, Roy felt normal. He was sitting playing video games with one of his best friends; the boy that was like a brother to him had finally manned up and got a girl; said girl had teased him about the girl he had struck a fancy for. He was just a normal teenager in normal teenage clothes, with his normal teenage friends in their normal teenage hang out place.
Oh, if only that were so. Roy's moment of normalcy was snatched away from him by the sound of the doors to the Living Room open, and the sight of the Justice League entering the room. And quite frankly, Roy had to bite his lip not to burst out laughing. The reaction of the League to the happenings in their living room was priceless. Several things had happened in the room since Roy had first come into it. But he had only heard it, not seen it. And when he finally did see it, he completely understood the League's reaction.
Starting off with the less crazy, Artemis, the toughest chick of the entire team, was curled up like a baby against Wally West, the boy that had caused never ending arguments with the blonde. And if that wasn't enough, the two of them looked so…comfortable together. That alone was a scary thought.
Then Roy's eyes turned towards Kaldur and Raquel. The sight he saw certainly shocked him. Raquel was sitting on Kaldur's lap, and the two had all of the League's books spread out across the table, the chairs, the floor; books piled on top of each other in a sloppy, almost dangerous fashion, seeing as they were all teetering of one another. And not to mention that it looked like some books had been written in, and pages torn out.
But that wasn't nearly half as bad as Connor and M'gann. It had gone from M'gann having a light dusting of cooking supplies on her to both Connor and M'gann and the entire kitchen were covered in any and all cooking/baking supplies. It looked like a full on food war had gone down. Even the appliances were covered in food. All of the Justice League's state of the art, extremely expensive kitchen was covered in food.
But all of that seemed incredibly minor compared to the couple that was getting incredibly…physical on the couch closest to the Justice League. In other words, Robin and Zatanna were having intense make out session DIRECTLY INFRONT OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE.
Oh, how the hell was going to break loose.
Everyone on the team completely froze at the sight of their mentors, well, except for Artemis, who was still asleep. Even Robin and Zatanna had frozen; their faces inches apart and staring straight at the League.
"WHAT. HAPPENED."The dark, deep, almost scary voice could have only come from Batman, and sure enough, the Dark Knight was practically seething, and Roy could almost see Steam coming out of his ears. But he wasn't the only one who looked like he was going to implode.
Green Arrow was staring at Wally through slits, and his fingers were clenched in a tight fist. Flash's mouth was practically at the floor, staring at his nephew and the girl curled up next to him. Superman was staring at Connor with an open mouth and a gaze that could burn holes through the young Kent—literally—and he looked like he was about to release Kryptonian fury. Martian Manhunter also looked like he was about to release some alien fury. But he didn't look nearly as mad as Aquaman, who looked like he was about to strangle Kaldur. The other members of the Justice League just looked shocked.
It only took a few seconds for the entire team to leap up out of their seats and frozen positions and start a very jumbled explanation. It wasn't long before each individual mentor had gone into the room to their protégés and demand answers. Superman and Martian Manhunter were angrily staring down Connor and M'gann, who were awkwardly standing apart and stuttering explanations. Aquaman was trying his hardest not to yell at Kaldur and Raquel while Icon simply glared at the two with his arms crossed.
Batman was giving his famous bat-glare to Robin and Zatanna, the latter of the two who looked like she was about to cry. Robin on the other hand, was smoothly explaining to his mentor what had happened. But as smooth as his voice was, nothing could hide the pure fear etched on his face. And the worst part was that he didn't even have his sunglasses or mask on.
But by far the funniest was Wally and Artemis's mentors. For one thing, Artemis was still asleep, lying down on the couch while her boyfriend stood and face both mentors at the same time. And oh how they screamed at him. Okay, Flash wasn't screaming at him that much. Flash was more of screaming about the fact that his nephew finally got a girl. Green Arrow, was the one screaming. Ollie was going on full out daddyarrow mode, a thing Roy knew all too well. Ollie was about to make Wally pee himself by the looks of it.
Roy couldn't hold it in anymore. He laughed. Now, you'd think someone in his situation wouldn't be in the most laughable mood. But in that moment, with everything that had happened, he really needed a good laugh. And this was just begging to be laughed at. Roy laughed until he cried, and soon the only thing he could hear in the room was his laughter, and he could feel all eyes on him. But he didn't care. He laughed until his stomach hurt.
And when he did finally stop laughing, it was the Caped Crusader who spoke first, through gritted teeth.
"Tomorrow, the Team is being moved to Mount Justice, where everyone is mandated to stay until further notice. Further instructions will be given tomorrow at the cave. For now… clean up this mess and BEHAVE."
And with that, the bat swept out of the room, and soon all of the mentors left, with nothing but a final glare towards their protégé.
Silence filled the room (aside from the slight snoring coming from Artemis. The fact that she managed to sleep through all that amazed Roy.) And nobody spoke until the Boy Blunder spoke, his groan echoing through the room.
"He's going to kill me," And despite all of them having just faced the wrath of their mentors, they laughed. They laughed like normal teenagers in a not so normal situation.
And in that moment, Roy realized that no matter how bad things got, he would always have the team to fall back on. No matter how much he doubted himself; there was always a group of people to make it right. No matter how much he hated himself, there was always going to be people who loved him.
No matter how bad the aftermath was, they were always going to be there to help him feel the aster.
WELL, there you have it. My take on what happened at the end. And incase you didn't notice, I really stressed the thought of normalcy. Becuase I figure that it was what Roy wanted and needed after learning he was a clone. Just so you know. ^_^ Also, I made a small Teen Titans reference. If you got it, congrats! if you didn't, feel ashamed. I love the Teen Titans. :D
Oh, and please ingore the spelling/grammer mistakes. i'm a sleep deprrived woman running on coffee and red vines. O.o
Fairfarren! :D