This was inspired by Sattelites on Parade's L'Esprit de L'Escalier... sorry if i spelt that wrong. I've written it as a sequel to her story. Hope you enjoy! Review please! and heres the link to the name of the story i can't pronounce: s/7519766/1/L-%C3%89sprit-de-l-%C3%89scalier
Artemis lay in her bed at the cave, slowly drifting off to the sound of Wally and Robin's voices in the next room. She checked the digital clock on her bedside table, the extra purple bed spread from her house rustling out of her face. 3:27; in the morning. How are they still awake?! She cried in her head. Artemis willed them to sleep in her head but really, hearing their voices soothed her. Seeing Wally's face while she was trapped in the Helmet of Fate had shaken her. She and Wally were constantly at each other's throats. How could he care for her that much? Why had she never noticed it? Most importantly, why was she starting to think she returned the feeling?
Robin's cackle sounded through the wall but was quickly stifled. She smiled to herself as her eyes drifted closed and she sank into the bed. Soon she was asleep.
Her eyes flew open and she stared up at the dark chasm above her. Endless blackness greeted her eyes as she blinked them in confusion. Artemis sat up and looked around at more darkness, kept at bay by the blue spotlight she sat in the middle of. She jumped to her feet and spun in circles, recognizing the blank scenery. She was in the Helmet of Fate again. She gasped and sank down to a sitting position. Oh no. Wally. Artemis put her head in her hands for a few brief seconds before ripping back up to standing. Why did she care? It was Wally. Baywatch wouldn't care. She shook her head to clear it and spun in a slow circle, looking for the silhouette of Kent Nelson. When the elderly man didn't materialize she called for him.
"Kent! Kent where are you?! It's Artemis! I'm back again!" She stopped yelling and looked around again. Kent was nowhere to be found. Artemis rolled her eyes and stuck her hands on her hips. He'll show up when he wants to. He will. She sighed and lay back down, putting her hands behind her head. That's when she started thinking. How did she get back inside the Helmet? She didn't even remember putting it on. How she got here was blurry, like when you were trying to remember the beginning of a dream… A dream! I fell asleep at the cave listening to Wonder Bread and… Artemis sighed. Wally. What was she going to do with him? Damn you Baywatch! How did you make me feel like this?! She rubbed her hands down her face and sighed dramatically. Light laughter made her sit up. Artemis looked for the source of the sound, and traced it back to a petite brunette, middle aged woman. Artemis stood up and turned to face her, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. The brunette continued to smile at her, her pinned brown hair accenting her pretty face.
"Kent's told me a lot about you Artemis." The woman had her hands behind her back, raises Artemis' suspicion.
"How do you know my name?" the woman's smile grew.
"I just told you that. Kent told me." The woman's smile grew into a smirk as the blonde teen across from her trained her grey eyes on her brown ones.
"And just who are you?" The woman walked closer to Artemis, farther into the blue spotlight.
"My name is Inza. And you remind me of me." Artemis closed her gaping mouth quickly.
"But… you're dead." Inza's light laughter filled and echoed in the black space around them.
"Thank you for reminding me."
"Then how have you been talking to Kent? Er, Mr. Nelson?" Artemis corrected herself quickly. Inza smiled at her again and this time Artemis had a hard time not returning it.
"I don't care if you call him Kent, Artemis. To answer your question, it's been a one sided conversation. I've simply been listening to Kent from where I am. He talks to me a lot. As you can imagine sometimes Nabu isn't the greatest company." Both women chuckled at that. "He's very fond of you. You and your little Wallace." Artemis barked a laugh as Inza said Wallace; before the rest of the sentenced registered.
"He's not my anything. He's just… Wally. We're just team mates. We're nothing to each other." Inza rolled her eyes and walked forward, laying a hand on Artemis' shoulder.
"Honey, even from where I am looking down at you all I can tell you're something to each other. He may not be yours yet but he'll wake up one day wanting to grow old with you. Trust me on that." Artemis made a fake gagging sign and rolled her eyes again.
"Yeah, whatever. He'll come around to realizing he actually does want to strangle me, though he may not get a chance. Not if I do it first." Inza sat down on a chair that appeared beside her. Her pale pink dress draped gracefully over her knees. Artemis sat down on the ground with her legs crossed out in front of her. Inza looked at her posture and placed her knees slightly farther apart, leaning her elbows on her knees. The posture screamed guy.
"So what Wallace said yesterday, how he reacted, that didn't get through to you? Did that mean anything at all?" Artemis was caught off guard by the question. She looked down and rubbed her left shoulder with her right hand, leaning on her left arm. She stared at the blank blue lit floor for many seconds. She couldn't regain her composure though in front of Inza she didn't feel like she had to hide anything. She looked up at the older woman, her eyes shining.
"It meant more then he can even know. But I don't know how to feel. I mean, it's Wally. He's an idiot. He's stubborn and immature and he doesn't know how what he says affects the people around him! He doesn't listen to advice and he always wants to get the credit! Sure he can be a team player but he wants every girl's attention and doesn't even care that he already has-" Artemis broke off and looked down again. The unshed tears in her eyes surprised her but she didn't try to stop them. A few rolled down her cheeks and she was suddenly very glad she was dreaming. She could feel Inza looking at her but when she looked up she didn't see pity in her eyes. Artemis scoffed and wiped her cheeks. "Obviously the fact that he has mine isn't important to him. He's always after M'gann. Ugh goddamn him! Megalicious do you want to know what I want for my birthday? Babe, you wanna give me a private tour? Ugh! He's still after her even though she and Connor have been dating for a year! He's such an idiot! And a total geek! He doesn't even believe in magic!" Inza laughed at that her cheeks contorting in a toothy smile.
"Honey that boy needs to smarten up! I never let Kent get away with anything like that!" She laughed again the sound filling the space and Artemis was smiling with her. Inza's laughter was contagious.
"So how did you handle Kent?" Inza looked at her knowingly and smiled again.
"Handle isn't the best word… It went more along the lines of; "You're fucking stupid for chasing a taken girl. She's taken! That means three people are going to rip your head off if you ever get and hurt her. The girl and the ex-boyfriend." Artemis cocked her head to the side.
"That's only two." Inza winked at her and Artemis grinned widely. She liked Inza. She liked her a lot. "You can't let him get away with nothin'. He likes you Artemis he does. Give him time. Oh god I'm getting sappy like Kent. Never let a man change who you are Artemis." She stood and brushed her dress off. She smiled back at Artemis as the chair disappeared and the light began to fade. "One last thing, from one spitfire to another; be the girl he needs, not the one he thinks he wants." Inza winked as her form blurred and Artemis felt herself fading. "He'll come around Artemis. Don't you ever give up on him." The world went black.
Artemis opened her eyes. Her purple comforter was still around her chin. She let the fabric go and stretched, turning over to look at the clock. 9:34. Good thing she was allowed to sleep in today. She heard Wally voice suddenly, yelling as he sped into her room. She laughed as he shut the door and fell against it. And obviously angry Connor could be heard running through the halls yelling after the speedster. Wally put a finger to his lips and Artemis stifled a laugh as she heard Connor run past. When Wally knew he was gone he walked over to Artemis and lay down next to her on her purple sheets. She crossed her arms and leaned against the headboard as he put his hands behind his head.
"Good morning beautiful. Wanna save me and come get some breakfast?" Artemis rolled her eyes and turned her head away before he could see the smile that became plastered on her face. She hopped out of her bed, her rabbit pajamas drawing giggles from the speedster.
"Shut it Baywatch. Like your Batman pajamas are any better." His mouth fell open and he started sputtering excuses while she simply laughed at his expression. He gave up and crossed his arms.
"You're looking uncharacteristically chipper this morning Harpy. What caused this oh so dramatic change of mood?" She smirked at him like she had the first time they had met, like she knew something he didn't.
"I had a conversation with a good friend of mine."
"Who?"
The original spitfire." She winked at him as Wally's mouth started sputtering again. After Nabu had released Artemis from the Helmet of Fate, Wally had told her about his conversation with Kent. He told her about hot Kent called Inza his Spitfire and how Wally was supposed to find one of his own; one that wouldn't let him get away with nothing. As she remembered that conversation something clicked for Artemis. Deciding to spare Wally from more of humiliation of his own making, she laughed and ran out of her door suddenly, yelling over her shoulder at the red head. "If you don't hurry up I won't save you anything!"
"HEY!" His voice echoed toward her, barely reaching her before she felt hands under her back and knees. The red head speedster carried her to the breakfast both teens laughing along the way. AS the two continued their banter when they skidded to a stop, the rest of the team all smiled knowingly. Artemis laughed and ran from Wally grabbing food along the way and trying to keep it away from him as their voices grew louder and louder. The team watched them with smiles on their faces, their heads slowly shaking at the two's own ignorance of themselves. Artemis didn't care. She knew. He was her Baywatch, and she was his Spitfire, whether either of them knew it or not. And as Artemis watched Wally chase her, pick her up, and start all over again, she knew she would never give up on him.