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A/N: Those are actual SAT vocabulary words.
The second part kind of got away from me. Character development? Also, I'm not very good at fight scenes. I hope it turned out alright, even if it's pretty unrealistic.
Acceptance
Artemis spent a very good summer in Star City. She trained and protected the city with Ollie, went on missions with the team, and spent a few lazy afternoons by the pool.
Most of her time, however, was spent at her internship. It wasn't a terribly difficult job by any means. Her work days were mostly spent inputting data and fetching cups of coffee. The only thing Artemis felt she had learned from her work experience was that she was sure she didn't want to do anything that required her to sit at a desk all day.
It had definitely been worth it, though. Seeing the college fund Ollie had opened for her grow each week made her proud. Ollie generously matched each paycheck that Artemis earned. The archer had come to accept the fact that Green Arrow had absolutely no problems with sharing the wealth. She'd find a way to pay him back one day.
Now the summer had come to an end. Artemis was back in Gotham with her mom. She was one week into the fall semester of her junior year at Gotham Academy. It had gone pretty well so far. The mountains of coursework the teenager remembered from the previous school year seemed much more manageable now. Maybe it was because she knew how to juggle her academics with her…extracurriculars better than she did before.
The blonde girl stood outside the school library on her lunch hour. Ollie had told her the night before that he had arranged an SAT prep tutor for her and that she was expected to meet with him to discuss curriculum and strategies. Artemis would much rather have been seated at the table she frequently shared with Bette Kane and Barbara Gordon, but she had promised her mentor that she wouldn't blow the meeting off. She knew deep down that Ollie was doing his best to help her.
As she waited, she wondered how the older archer could possibly have arranged for a tutor from the opposite side of the country. She marveled at the fact that it seemed there was no door the right amount of money couldn't open.
"Artemis Crock?" an all too familiar voice questioned. She looked down to see Dick Grayson, the resident weird kid of Gotham Academy. She fought to keep from rolling her eyes. She had never understood why he seemed so fond of her. In addition to that, there was something familiar about him. Artemis could never quite put her finger on it, but it was disconcerting.
"I don't have time to play games with you, Grayson," the archer told the younger boy. "I'm supposed to be meeting my SAT tutor."
The boy grinned cheekily. "That would be me," the sophomore informed her. "Your uncle hired me." The emphasis he put on the word "uncle" made Artemis think that he knew Ollie wasn't really her uncle at all. She tried to ignore it. Dick Grayson was a weird kid and he definitely knew more than he should about everyone, not just her.
What Artemis couldn't believe, though, was that her mentor expected her to be tutored by someone who was a grade below her and, to her knowledge, had never actually taken the SATs. "Why are you my tutor?" the blonde teenager demanded as she followed Dick up the library steps.
"I come highly recommended," Dick whispered back. He led her through a maze of shelves, computer desks, and study tables to the back of the building. He sat down in an armchair tucked into an alcove. There was an identical chair next to it and a small circular table wedged between the two chairs. The boy motioned for her to sit. She did.
Dick was busy rummaging through his bag for something. Artemis fought to keep her jaw from dropping. She couldn't believe that Green Arrow could possibly think having Dick Grayson tutor her was a good idea. "Have you even taken the SATs?"
The dark haired boy snorted dismissively. "The SAT is a tool designed to measure how well a person can prepare for the SAT. Nothing more, nothing less." He showed her what he had been looking for. In his hands was a stack of work books. They all had titles such as "Preparing for the SATs: What You Need to Know."
She blinked. She had never thought of it like that. It did seem to take off some of the pressure, though. If it was only a matter of being prepared for the test, Artemis felt confident that she could do it. Her whole life had been about being prepared. "I can do that," she told the younger boy.
To her surprise, he gave her what she deemed to be a genuine smile. "I know you can." Then he opened a vocabulary workbook. "Peccadillo," Dick said, jabbing his finger at a spot on the page.
"Um…bless you?" Artemis questioned.
The raven haired youth rolled his eyes. "It's a vocabulary word," he told her. "Study this. Tomorrow I'll quiz you on pages one through five." He handed her a couple of highlighters and an almost thoughtful look crossed his face. "Can you get me your English portfolio? I'll get some sample prompts for you to work on, but I want a better idea of your writing first."
"Yeah, sure," the archer replied. She was feeling the pressure again, but she also had the thought that she could succeed. For the first time, she could see why Ollie wanted her to go to college. She looked over the pages carefully and attempted to calculate how many words she'd have to learn. It had to be close to one hundred.
Dick was packing up his bag again. "Those workbooks are for you. Your uncle sent them." He smiled again. "I know you probably feel overwhelmed, but you shouldn't. I'm a good tutor, and you're smart enough to get this stuff. I'll see you later."
Artemis nodded at the boy's words but didn't look up. She was too engrossed in her workbook. She highlighted a word she was sure she had never heard before and wondered how anyone ever did well on the stupid test. She had barely even started studying for it and she was already wondering how she was going to handle everything she had going on.
'Dick Grayson thinks you can do it,' a little voice spoke up in Artemis's mind. 'And so does Ollie.'
The blonde girl took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She could do this. It would be a lot of work, but the archer enjoyed a challenge. She didn't plan on letting anyone down.
0o0o0o0
The school year was slipping by quickly. It was already December and Artemis was not sure where the time had gone. She was juggling everything pretty well, but it was definitely difficult. Every spare moment she had was spent on preparing for the SATs or double checking her homework. Her grades were good, Dick said her practice tests were improving steadily, and her partnership with Ollie was stronger than ever. Artemis felt like a zombie at times, but the girl knew it would be worth it.
Artemis shook her head. She seemed to be thinking that a lot lately. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. She was currently perched on a rooftop in Star City with Ollie. They were on a stakeout. Green Arrow had heard that the head of a fight club was receiving a shipment of Kobra venom. The trade off was supposed to happen at midnight.
She went over her instructions again. When the trade off occurred, they were to swoop in and prevent it. Hopefully they'd be able to capture the people involved, but Green Arrow's main concern was that the Kobra venom didn't get into the wrong hands. It should be simple enough.
But midnight was still an hour away. Artemis had to admit that she was getting a little bored of waiting. The cold breeze coming in from the bay wasn't helping, either. It was freezing outside. She wished she had the jacket from her arctic uniform.
Ollie crouched beside her, completely silent. He'd been pretty quiet all night. Artemis had no idea what he was thinking about. Maybe he was preparing for the worst when they ambushed the criminals, or maybe he was just thinking about getting home to Dinah. It was hard to tell with Ollie sometimes. Artemis had already proven that she wasn't good at guessing what her mentor was thinking.
Finally, he turned to look at her. "How's it going, Artemis?" he asked. "With your tutoring and your schoolwork and everything? Are you keeping up with it? I know it's a lot. Can I help you with anything?"
Artemis thought for a moment and then nodded. She opened one of the pouches on her belt and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. "These are SAT words I'm still having trouble with. Can you quiz me?"
Green Arrow took the paper from his protégé. "Censorious." Then he frowned. "Is that even a real word? It sounds like a Harry Potter spell."
"It means disapproving or critical." The younger archer made a face. "Like Dick is every time I turn in a practice test."
The older man put a hand on her shoulder. "It's just practice, right? That's what it's for. When the time comes, you'll be ready. I know you will." He smiled.
Before Artemis could respond, there was a sudden movement across the street. The cargo door was being opened. A small man stepped out from the shadows. He was surrounded by a group of thugs. He moved towards a hulking figure – the supplier, Artemis guessed.
"Time to move," the Emerald Archer said. He fired an arrow made for zip lining and slung his bow over it. Artemis followed suit. As the pair of archers descended, Ollie landed a kick to the supplier's face. He went sprawling backwards before falling over.
Artemis almost didn't stick her landing when she saw who it was. "Surprised to see me, baby girl? I have to say, I was hoping I'd run into you." Sportsmaster pulled himself up from the ground. Even behind his mask, Artemis could see the sneer on his face.
"I didn't know he'd be here," Green Arrow spoke up as he shot more arrows at the head of the fight club and the pack of goons. "I understand if-"
"I'm on your side, GA," the teenager said. She dodged an attack from her father and swiped at him in a hard kick. He stumbled and fell again. She took advantage of the fact that he had yet to right himself. She shot more arrows at him to keep him pinned to the cement. Then she turned and attempted to help Ollie take down some of the escaping criminals. "They're out of range. Should we pursue?"
The wail of a siren pierced the air. "Not now," Ollie decided. "We can hand Sportsmaster over, as well as the Kobra venom. Talk to the police when they get here, alright?"
Artemis nodded. It was pretty clear that Ollie was dismissing her. She moved away but turned around when she heard Ollie's footsteps heading towards her father. "I am going to make sure you stay away from her," the Emerald Archer informed the other man. "She doesn't need you messing things up for her anymore."
Sportsmaster smirked. "Think you're a better man than me, don't you Arrow? All the fancy schooling and training you're giving her isn't going to change where she comes from and who she is. Waste of time if you ask me."
"Artemis is better than you," Ollie said quietly. "She's better than where she grew up. She's going to go to college and she's going to have a future. And you aren't going to be a part of it."
If Artemis had been the crying type, she might have shed a tear or two upon hearing Ollie defend her like that. There was definitely a tightness in her throat as it was. She turned away again as the squad car arrived. The young archer relayed the chain of events to the officers.
The police took Sportsmaster and the Kobra venom away. Ollie came to stand beside her once more. "I know that wasn't easy for you," he said.
She looked up at the older archer. "Did you mean it?" she asked him. "That I'm better than all of that?"
"Of course I did."
Artemis felt her mouth turn up at the corners. "Thanks…that means a lot. It really does."
Green Arrow gave her shoulder a squeeze. Then he took out her vocabulary list and consulted it once more. "Here's a good one," he said. "Enervate."
She thought for a moment. "To deprive of force or strength; to weaken." She grimaced. "I feel like that just happened to me," the young blonde groaned.
Ollie chuckled. "Let's get you home then." He escorted her through the streets of Star City to the zeta tube disguised as an old phone booth and watched as she stepped inside. "Goodnight, Artemis. You did well."
She bobbed her head and pulled the door shut. It wasn't until she got home that she realized she didn't really know what he was referring to. Then she decided it didn't really matter.
A/N 2: You guys have no idea how bad I wanted to have Dick say she must be just whelmed. Of course, it would have been too obvious and Artemis would have figured out his secret identity right away. Can't have that, can we?