Artemis POV
It's been about three and a half months since I had joined the Team and everyone was getting along with me and I was getting along with everyone else -"Turn your music down Blondie!"- well almost everyone.
I look up. Kaldur was talking to Robin by the coffee table, probably about hacking something, Zatanna was practicing her spells, Megan was baking with Conner...again...and Wally was glaring at me from across the room.
"Can't handle it?" I yelled back to the red haired kid on the couch in the living room of the Cave and turned it up louder.
"Yeah...your bad taste in music! You know I could always give you a few lessons in music."
"I don't even think the bands you listen to even like their music."
"At least they know how to play music."
Robin looked up at us and smirked. "What?" Wally and I both asked simultaneously.
"Oh nothing," Robin went back to pointing at something with Kaldur, "They always say the most unlikely with fall in love."
"Shut up Dick!" I threw a pillow at him which he ducked under while Wally's face burned almost as red as his hair.
I was used to life in the Cave; the smell of Megan's cookies, Conner's silence, and even Robin coming out of nowhere at the most random of times. It was my home now, no more worrying about my sketchy neighborhood and definitely no more random pop-ins from Dad. I had never felt safer and I am definitely going to keep it this way. I smiled and went back to my History homework that would probably take hours; thank you Gotham Academy.
"Hey!" A hand yanked the headphones and soon a certain red head was in my face.
"What do you want Baywatch?" I pushed him away.
"Just wondering, when you're gonna go to bed?" He leaned back on one of the other chairs in the living room and gestured toward the empty seats where the rest of the team was sitting earlier. "It's like 11:30. Or are you just a vampire that sucks that happiness out of people and you stay up all night?"
I stood up and stretched, "Oh you are soo nice to me. What would I ever do without you?" I gathered my stuff and started walking back to my room where I stayed during the week. I stayed in my mom's apartment with her sometimes, but I liked the Cave better; the atmosphere had less bad memories.
"Oh shut up Blondie! " Wally shouted after me, "You can't live a day without me! You'd be a damsel in distress for the rest of your life!"
"You wish Wallman. Oh, and did you just acknowledge me as a damsel? That's a first!"
"I did; my mistake!" Wally called after me whom I ignored.
I walked into my room and shut the door. I didn't even bother changing, with a Gotham Academy test tomorrow, I'll need all the sleep I can get.
"Recognizing Artemis B-07"the zeta tube called my name and I cringed at how loud it was. I tried to slink past the team in the kitchen. I was not in the mood to listen to Wally's stupid comments or listen to Conner and Megan flirt. I just wanted to go to the archery room or maybe hit the punching bag in the gym. I woke up late, the snobby kids at Gotham Academy "accidentally" poured soda on me at lunch, the physics test was a failure waiting to happen, and not to mention that I broke three of my arrows at archery class in school. TGIF!
"Hey Artemis," Robin came over with a cookie in his hand. "How was the test?" I tightened my ponytail and grabbed the cookie. "If you need more cookies, Zatanna has a stash hidden especially for me, but I'll share." Zatanna laughed and smiled at Robin.
"I don't want to talk about it." Everyone seemed to get the message but Kid Idiot.
"How murch yerg wanda besh thu falled?" Wally tried to say as he shoved five more cookies in his mouth.
"You are disgusting. You know that Baywatch?" I rolled my eyes. "At least I take classes my grade level."
"Why do I need brains when I got these sexy good looks?" He smouldered, well at least tried,which made him look in pain and earned him a laugh from Megan. "See, someone loves me."
Conner put his arm around Megan's waist bringing her closer to him. Zatanna and I smiled at each other sharing a "lovebirds" look.
"Sorry," I rolled my eyes at him, "Your moms the only one that could truly love you, and last I heard, she's at her house right now. Not here."
"But you love me, don't you Babe," Wally wiggled his eyebrows.
"More of loathe you Baywatch."
Wally opened his mouth to say something else but before he could Batman walked through the kitchen to the debriefing area. "Follow me."
Wally's POV
Batman pulled up images of Sportsmaster and Lex Luthor. "Sportsmaster has recently escaped from prison. Teens have gone missing across Gotham and surrounding cities and signs all point to Sportsmaster. Lex Luthor has formed a new organization that's public goal is "to lower diseases that occur early in life". However his real goal is to find out ways to make normal people into supers using chemicals and nuclear exposure."
"Sounds like something out of a comic book," I grumbled maybe a little too loudly. Batman glared at me before he continued talking at which time I avoided eye contact with.
I glanced over at the rest of the team. Everyone seemed hungry for a new mission, except for Artemis. Her knuckles were snow white as she grasped her green bow and she looked kinda nauseous. What's her problem? I tuned back into Batman.
"...island off the coast of Miami. It can only be reached by boat and is under high security. Your goal is to go, rescue the teens, maybe get one or two of the scientists out, and then destroy the facility. But, you won't actually go to the facility for a few days, maybe even a week or two. From our own intelligence, we have learned that Sportsmaster will be out of the country for another job so you have time to prepare. Until the infiltration you are going to try and find any access points. The League is busy with more important matters so you are doing this on your own. Don't mess up."
"So Sportsmaster won't be there? Why?" Artemis asked in voice I was sure came from a kitten.
"Unknown," Batman held eye contact with Artemis and it seemed they had a conversation with their eyes. Weird, normally this only happens with Robin and Bats, "If any of you don't want to participate in this mission-"
Robin stepped forward, "I think we'll be fine. All of us."
"Good," Batman looked straight at Artemis and nodded to Robin.
"So since Sportsmaster isn't going to be there-" Artemis breathed a deep sigh.
"Don't worry, you'll get your chance to beat him later," Robin responded already pulling up blueprints of the facility.
"You scared or something?" I laughed as I walked over to Robin.
"No." Artemis said confidently but as her eyes flashed fear for a moment so quickly I may have imagined it.
"Why do we need the scientists?" Megan asked. She seemed to notice Artemis' change in mood and tried to diffuse the tension.
"These scientists may be forced to work for Lex. If they are, they will help us," Batman said.
"If they aren't being forced?" Conner asked beside Megan.
"We can make negotiations for them to help us," Robin grinned rather creepily.
"You can be very creepy when you want to," I joked, "You know that Rob?"
Artemis POV
"I got the scientist's names you wanted," Conner handed a couple of papers to Robin. It was only the second day since the debriefing for the new mission and we were already neck deep in papers covered in codes, scientist's names, guard I.D.s and blueprints.
"Thanks Conner," Robin looked pretty stressed surrounded by papers and laptops, "Everyone these are the blueprints for the facility floors we will be on for the mission.
"How are we getting in again?" Wally stuck his head out of the kitchen with a sandwich in each hand.
"On the west side of the island is a tunnel used during the construction for carting out debris. It's accessible by water only, so we are taking the bio-ship to the tunnel's entrance. Once there, we travel through the tunnel into the containing area for the teens. We get out the teens first, then loop back to the main lab and get two scientists who are...? Robin pointed at me.
"Peter Simone, red head like our very own Cave idiot, and Rachel Teed. Right?" I waited for him to nod before looking at the door codes again.
"Next, we plant bombs in the labs and rendezvous back at the ship. Blow the facility off the island, then leave and come back to the Cave." Robin finished with a sigh of relief.
"Rob," Zatanna smiled reassuringly and put an arm on his shoulder as she sat on the ground next to him, "The whole plan is going to go off without a hitch. Our missions always do. Have a little faith in yourself. Batman sure does."
"Thanks Z," Robin smiled back before looking back at his computer.
"Hey Rob," I put the door codes into a folder, "Since I have the door codes memorized, can I-"
"Study for your AP Chemistry exam?" Kaldur didn't even look up.
"Thanks Kaldur. Uh, how'd you know?"
"You've been freaking for it all week, "Robin laughed, "And of course you can study for it."
"What!?" Wally slapped the papers he was holding onto a table, I smirked right back at him, "Why does she get to study while I memorize all this?"
"The classes I take have killer hard tests," I grabbed my iPod and Chemistry book and plopped myself down on my favorite green couch in the living room, "And I'm probably going to fail. And I can't fail."
"Whatever," Wally grumbled.
I stared at my book in a hopeless daze. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and just focused on AP Chemistry. Time to study my least favorite subject.