Ch.05: Dates

[Gotham Academy: Gotham City, New Jersey]
[November 5, 12:20:37 EST]

Jake rested against a wall, his eyes casually glancing at the blonde girl talking to her two female companions. When he took the mission, he did not know that he would have to follow her almost all day. Nyssa had made it very clear that she did not want Artemis out of Jake's sight for more than an hour. But of course, Jake had a reason to give Artemis her privacy. Jade.

The one thing Jake has learned about his sadistic teammate is that she was human. Jade felt pain like a regular human, or at least one that had been trained. And like an older sister should, Jade felt obliged to watch over Artemis from time to time. Thus, if Jake ever did decide to peep on Artemis during the girl's private moments, he would have to tread rather carefully or deal with an irate Jade. That was something he did not want to.

"Who's your partner?" Jake's eyes slowly moved to Dick, who sported a nice black eye from Cheshire. She had been itching to get back on the field and Dick- more like Robin- just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I don't have a partner." Jake answered casually. "Now, as for the other guy, his partner is named Cheshire."

"I know that! I want to know who she is!" Dick snapped back. Jake only shrugged. "You know who she is, don't you?"

"If she wanted you or me to know who she was, do you think she would be wearing a mask?" Jake saw how his taunting affected Dick and smirked. "Come on Birdbrain. Even you had to see that one coming."

"When I find out who she is-"

"You'll be in a world of trouble." Jake interrupted. "Women are naturally dangerous, but a woman assassin backed into the corner of her own home? You're just asking for trouble."

Jake noted that Dick did not verbally reply, but nodded. Truth be told, Jake had tracked down where Jade was staying. And although he successfully snuck into her rundown apartment with little trouble, escaping when she found him was hard. Instead of using the crutch to walk on, she attempted to beat him senseless with it. Thankfully Jake has gained more evasive knowledge from Talia and was able to escape without being too injured. Unfortunately, Jade was walking around now meaning she could get her revenge at any time now.

And he was waiting for it.

"Tell me something," Jake began as his eyes went back to Artemis, Barbara, and Bette. "Why is the League after Artemis?"

"That's a question I should be asking you." Jake frowned. "Sources say that Red X has been showing up wherever she is. More than a coincidence if you ask me."

"If you want the truth," Jake began his lie. "I didn't follow her those three times. Two of those times she's attempted to stop me from doing what I do best, and you know how I hate that." Dick's brow rose. "The third time… Well let's just say that someone else was on my turf and I don't like being second to anyone. Artemis just showed up."

"You're toying with her." Dick said.

"Aren't we all?" Jake questioned. Dick shrugged his shoulders. "I take it that your team is going to be guarding her now?"

"I'm the only one that knows who she is."

Jake's smirk returned. "Searching through daddy's computer? Maybe we're not so different after all."

Dick was going to retaliate, but Jake spoke the truth. The only reason he knew who Artemis was, was through Bruce's computer. If he had run into the archer on any given night without that knowledge, he might've sworn that someone was trying to take Roy's place at being Speedy. However, he knew the truth and was sworn to keep it from his teammates.

A thought occurred to Dick as Jake stood up straight and began walking away.

"How'd you find out about her secret?" Dick asked.

"You think your dad's the only one with files on everyone?" was the thief's response.

Dick frowned as he crossed his arms. While he wanted to disbelieve Jake, there really was no evidence that Jake or Red X was following Artemis. In truth, it was painfully obvious that Artemis had a crush on Jake. This is why the two were seen together at school and sometimes afterwards. Plus, there were break-ins reported during the times that Red X and Artemis met. So Jake could be telling the truth.

Though Dick detested those thoughts and quickly erased them.

[Gotham City, New Jersey]
[November 5, 15:55:02 EST]

Jake walked down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. The person accompanying him at the moment was also casually walking, though she had yet to give him a reason why they were walking together. Though it was a bit too obvious. However, Jake would complete his mission by any means necessary. Even if that meant walking Artemis home from time to time.

"So," Artemis began. "If you're free tonight, we could go catch a movie."

"Maybe." Jake said as he thought about when Talia or Jade might pop in to give him some sort of mission.

"Do you and Dick know each other?" The question caused Jake to chuckle. He shook his head for no, though Artemis was not buying it. "Come on, you two seem to know a lot about each other. Plus, no one gets under his skin like you do."

"I have a natural talent for it." Jake responded, mentally adding Jade to the list of people he just seems to annoy naturally. "Dick and I met earlier this year. It was at one of the Wayne's charity functions." Artemis nodded a bit. "But I didn't start talking to the guy until you brought him over to my table. I've always found him to be a little…"

"Childish?" Artemis suggested. When Jake nodded, she smiled. "Yeah, Barbara says the same thing."

"She's a smart girl." There was a pregnant pause that followed before Jake sighed. "Tonight would be a good night to catch a movie." Jake saw the smile on Artemis's face grow. "I could pick you up around seven-ish?"

"Cool! I mean, great." Jake raised an eyebrow. "It's-"

"You're okay with that. I get it Goddess." Jake interrupts as they stepped to her apartment complex. "See you tonight?"

"Sure." Artemis said before taking walking up a couple of steps. "Jake, thanks."

"Oh no," Jake replied. "You're gracing me with your company. It's I who should be thanking you, Goddess."

Artemis smiles once more and disappears into the complex. Jake continues down the sidewalk while his eyes were roaming the rooftops of every building. He had the strangest feeling that he was about to fall prey to a cat-like woman. And while falling prey to Catwoman wouldn't be as bad as it sounded, she was not the person he was thinking about. It was his assassin partner Cheshire that he feared was following him and he feared that for two reasons.

Reason one: Jade genuinely cared for her younger sister and didn't think Jake met those boyfriend standards.

Reason two: Cheshire owed Red X a severe beating for breaking into her home and raiding her drawers.

[Jake's Apartment: Gotham City, New Jersey]
[November 5, 16:26:58 EST]

Jake stepped out of his bathroom in nothing but his towel. Despite his date with Artemis not being for hours now, he needed a shower to relieve himself of stress. His body seemed to agree as the warm waters calmed him mentally and physically. However, once he closed his bedroom door, his senses kicked back in and he glanced to see his partner lying across his bed reading a magazine.

"I hope you weren't expecting Playboy. They cost too much." Jake joked as Jade flipped through the latest edition of Sports Illustrated. Jade casually glanced at him before returning to the material. "Not that it matters or anything, but why are you here again?"

"Nyssa said that you are needed for some training. She sent me to get you." Jade answered.

"And you just so happened to break in when I'm naked? I'm not buying it." When Jake saw the anger flash over his older teammate, he smiled. "I'm kidding."

"You'd better be." While she was clearly dressed in her Cheshire uniform, Jake could not spot her mask anywhere.

"You know, I can't do any missions with you tonight." Jake stated.

Jade frowned. "And why not?"

"I have a date," Jake paused and smirked. "With your sister."

Despite his warnings to Dick earlier, Jake could not help but taunt Jade no matter what. Sure, she was a woman assassin and he had just told Dick not to tempt fate with said gender of killers, but he honestly could not help it. Jade's angered facial expressions were becoming somewhat of a sick turn-on for him. He would rank it number two of his more exciting things to do, only behind a grand heist.

"A date?" Jade finally said. Jake nodded, waiting for some physical retaliation. However, the young woman merely turned her attention back to the reading material in her hands. "Don't be a dick. If you can help it."

"Are you going to leave so I can get dressed?" Jake asked.

Jade gave him a small glance. "Too embarrassed to show your smallest tool to your partner?" Jade saw Jake grimaced. "I kind of figured you weren't as big as you make yourself out to be."

Jake ignored her as he went to grab his clothes from the bed. He paused in his reach for his boxers as an idea crossed his mind. If Jade wanted to play games with him, he would see just how far she was willing to play.

"What are you doing?" Jade questioned when she saw Jake letting his towel unwrap.

"Getting dressed. This is my room, isn't it?" he replied. "I can understand if you've never seen a man's-"

"Ugh!" Jade gave Jake a strong kick to his gut, causing him to nearly drop due to the lack of air. "You're disgusting!"

Jake smirked as she stormed out of his door. That went exactly as he planned.

[CineMaxx Theater: Gotham City, New Jersey]
[November 5, 19:41:00 EST]

Jake had noticed something off about Artemis the moment he picked her up. From the weak smile she had given him when he arrived to her solemn facial expression now, he knew that something was wrong. The problem was what this mysterious problem was.

"So what movie do you want to see?" It was the first time that Artemis had actually glanced at the choices. When Artemis finally chose one and Jake paid for the tickets, Jake gave her the question that's been bugging him. "What's wrong with you?"

Artemis shrugged. "Nothing."

Jake frowned. This "nothing" was going to bother him and he did not even know why. Once more, it brought him back to his former days with his sister. Whenever Rose would be angry- most likely at their mom- she would run off and keep her problems to herself. It took much prying on Jake's behalf to get Rose's side of the story from Rose and took more patience to wait for Rose to calm down.

His sister had some serious anger issues as a kid.

"Do you want to talk about this 'nothing'?" Jake asked as the two entered the building.

Artemis looked at him, obviously contemplating on whether she should or should not. Jake honestly did not care either way, so long as whatever it was didn't interfere in his mission in staying near Artemis.

Finally Artemis sighed.

"I saw my dad earlier today." It took all of Jake's willpower not to show any kind of reaction. It was no secret that Sportsmaster wasn't getting the Father of the Year award in this lifetime. "He…"

"What?" Jake asked, pulling Artemis to a small bench to sit.

"He asked me to join him." Now Jake's eyes widened. Was this what his mission was about? Was he just here to woo Artemis into joining the League of Assassins?

"What did you say?" Jake questioned.

"I told him to leave." Artemis's words showed that she had some regret about those words. "I guess…"

"You just want a family?" Artemis gave Jake a confused look but then nodded. "I understand what you're saying. More than you know."

Slade had come back for Jake and Rose. Rose left with their dad and Jake stayed. And in the end, Jake ended up working with his father while Rose…

"My mom threatened to call the cops if he returned." Artemis announced.

Jake mentally questioned: "Would that stop him?" but instead changed his question to hide his knowledge from the blonde.

"Is he that bad?" Artemis nods. "Oh… Is there anything I can do to help?"

Not really, Jake thinks to himself. He knew better than to challenge Sportsmaster at this time. Maybe if Jade helped, but not by himself. Of course, there was Deathstroke who could either help his partner or his son. That factor, depending on which way Slade voted, could be the deciding factor.

"I don't want to drag you into my family drama." Artemis says with a smile.

Too late.

"I understand." Jake replied. "How about we get some snacks and get ready for the movie?"

"Sure." Artemis stated.

Jake gave her a small smile. The four of them were in some serious jam. Jake was friends with Artemis Crock but Red X was becoming a common foe for Artemis the archer. Artemis Crock had a crush on Jake Cross but Artemis the archer had a hatred for Red X. If Artemis Crock was in danger and Red X saved her, she would probably have mixed feelings but be thankful to be saved. If Jake Cross was in danger and Artemis the archer saved him, he would also have mix feelings yet be grateful of her rescue. The complications came when Artemis the archer was in danger and Red X saved her or vice versa.

"Jake," Artemis stated. "Thank you."

Jake gave the girl a grin while he was mentally questioning what she was thanking him for. He wondered if she would be thanking him if she knew that he worked with her father. He doubted that she would be as thankful. And he did not know how angry she would be if she knew that he worked with her father as her sister's partner.

Jake sighed quietly. He wondered if Tara and Raven got to live the normal lives that they wanted.

[Gotham City, New Jersey]
[November 5, 20:35:29 EST]

It was thirty minutes into the movie that Jake received a call from Jade. He attempted to ignore it, but after the third call, he knew it was important. But that's not what the strange moment was. The strange moment was when Artemis claimed that she forgot to do something at home and practically ran out of the theater. Jake waited ten minutes before leaving as well.

Now as Red X, Jake raced his X-cycle through the streets of Gotham. Jade had given him a few details about her location, but nothing about who she was fighting. Parking his bike in front of a large building, Jake realized that this must be the place or someone had knocked out several windows for some other apparent reason.

"Oh Jade…" Jake said before cutting his earpiece on. "Alright, I'm here. Where are you?"

"The roof. And get here now!" Jake rolled his eyes behind his mask.

"So commanding." Jake said before firing a grappling hook for the top of the building. Sure teleporting would have been quicker, but he had no idea what was up there. However, when he reached the roof he immediately saw the problem. "…"

"So," Green Arrow stated. "There's another one of you, huh? Doesn't matter." Jake saw the hero take aim at him. "I'll beat you both."

"Sorry. The only blonde in green that I have eyes for is about thirty years younger than you old man." Red X replied.

"I hate comedians." The archer said as he fired the arrow towards the thief.

Jade watched as her partner slashed the arrow with the wrist-mounted saw blades. The blades spun quite noisily as Red X stared down his opponent.

"The moment you heal," Cheshire's brows rose beneath her mask, knowing he was talking to her. "You go fight a member of the Justice League. And you call me the idiot."

Cheshire, now gripping her sai, growled.

"I'll deal with you later for that." The young woman said. "For now, let's take finish this."

Jake nodded before following Cheshire as she charged toward the Green Arrow. The archer instantly back pedaled for a number of reasons. The main one, being obvious as ever, was his caution about being hit by one of Jake's blades. The thief was a well-known threat amongst the members of the Justice League as one of the more evasive thieves there was. It was noted that his full potential has never been revealed and his identity was as far from known. Even Robin, the boy who had encountered Red X the most, had given no clues on who the skull-masked vigilante could be.

Oliver Queen has always been quite prideful about his fighting abilities, but even he admitted that the teamwork between Cheshire- a well-known assassin- and Red X- the evasive thief- was practically flawless. He was the defensive one as they backed him to the edge of the roof. A kick from Red X had the archer slide to the edge where he stopped.

"Should've picked another annoying girl to fight. This one is with me." Red X mocked him.

Red X craned his head dodging an arrow that would have seriously wounded him, if not killed him.

"And maybe you should've picked another teacher to fight. This one is mine." Cheshire did not give the newcomer a look, though Red X turned his body completely to see Artemis preparing another arrow. "One more chance. Leave."

Jade was a little annoyed when Jake stopped his blades. While she wanted her sister alive, she did not want Jake to take Artemis lightly.

"Hello Archer," Cheshire rolled her eyes. It was one thing hearing about Jake flirting with her sister, it was another to actually witness it. "What a lovely night, don't you think?"

"This time, I'm taking you in." Artemis declared aiming at the thief. "Whether you like it or not."

"Oh how I would love for you to take me in…" Red X mused.

In an instance, Cheshire stuck her hand out to her partner, who grabbed it and twirled. The act was to knock Green Arrow's bow out of his hand, which Cheshire successfully did with a kick, and sling the assassin towards her sister. Red X may not have super strength, but he was clearly strong enough to give Cheshire an added boost in speed if he pushed or slung her like he did. And while Jake witnessed Cheshire capitalize on Artemis's shock, he turned his attention to the veteran archer.

The male blond on the roof was stunned when the thief and assassin seemed to pull the move out of their asses, but quickly snapped back to the fight at hand. While dodging and blocking most of Red X's blows, he quickly assess why the disbanded Teen Titans had such a hard time dealing with the skull-masked vigilante. His strikes were precise and well-powered for one his size. Green Arrow questioned if the suit gave him the power to do this or if it was the man's or boy's true strength. If it was the suit, then the hard part was just detaching the suit from the person wearing it. If it was the wearer's strength…

A kick landed into Jake's stomach, but instead of flinching or crouching in pain, he simply grabbed the man's leg. With a sharp elbow strike to the back of the knee, Jake figured he had successfully injured his opponent to land some strikes.

And he had.

The archer hobbled while taking punches to the gut and arms. Those to the face were blocked or dodged. Oliver Queen would never be seen with a shiner from some second-rate thief. With those thoughts in his head, he sent Jake a quick right jab that met its mark. The boy, however, looked hardly fazed.

"What are they feeding this kid?' Oliver silently questioned.

As for Jake, the punch had done little damage to him for two very good reasons. Reason one, his mask was pretty solid despite not restricting him of air. He had almost complete protection without limiting the amount of oxygen available to him. The second reason was due to his training. The al Ghul sisters did not relent in their training with Jake and there were times when Jade had hit him harder than he predicted. Therefore, he has learned to take a blow, though he would still prefer to dodge the shot completely.

"Duck!" The order came from his partner.

Moving out of the way in time, Jake heard the arrow whizz by, the air whistling as it did so. It was at that moment that he saw a green boot making its way to his face and was sent toppling backwards.

"Damn…" Jake muttered. That kick hurt more than he expected. "I guess talking is out of the question now."

"Kid," Green Arrow said loading his bow. "Talking has been out of the question."

Jake did not even give the archer time to fire before he teleported from his spot. With his main target out of sight, Oliver lined up with Cheshire, who was singlehandedly beating his apprentice as if she was child's play. He pulled back on the string before a taunting voice stopped him.

"Ah, ah, ah," Artemis froze at the cold object against her neck. "Kill my partner and I kill yours."

"You wouldn't." Jade mentally agreed with the hero, but said nothing as the bluff allowed her to slowly move to the edge of the building.

"I'm an assassin. It's what I do on a daily basis." Jake's bluff worked as the Green Arrow's focus was solely on him. "How about I spare your beautiful archer and we go on like nothing happened, hmm?"

"Whether you kill her or not," Green Arrow said, his eyes narrowed. "There's no way you're going to dodge this next arrow."

Artemis gasped when she saw Jake extend his right arm in front of her. His wrist-mounted blades now out and spinning dangerously close to her. Maybe, she figured, Green Arrow was right? Maybe there were things that were people just too dangerous for her to take on by herself. Cheshire had easily beaten her and now Red X was threatening to kill her.

"Let her go X." Green Arrow demanded. "Final warning."

Jake chuckled. "You're warning me? I doubt you have the balls to look her innocent mother in the eyes and tell her that it is your fault that she died." The thief sighed. "But, if that's how you want it."

Artemis was not going to scream. That's what she continued to tell herself as she saw the arm jerk. Her mentor fired an arrow that would probably hit the vigilante behind her a second after the saw chopped her head off.

But none of that happened.

A sai from Cheshire had successfully blocked the arrow, and a second later, the two assassins were gone. Artemis was able to release the breath she was holding and drop to her knees.

"Do you see why I wanted you to join the Team? Going against those two is hard for me." Artemis nodded as the man limped over towards her. "Come on. Let's get you home."

"Sure…" The girl said as she rose to her feet.

[Artemis's Apartment: Gotham City, New Jersey]
[November 5, 21:18:54 EST]

Jake watched the girl smile at him as she neared her window. He had to admit that her current attire enticed him in ways that Jade would castrate him for. Artemis wore a rather large shirt and he assumed she wore shorts beneath. Her long blonde hair was down and flowing behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Artemis whispered as she opened her window.

Jake shrugged. "Just wanted to see you. You kind of bailed on me earlier, remember?"

"I'm sorry. I had something to do." she told him before frowning. "How'd you know which room was mine?"

"I kind of knocked on a few ones already and got some seriously hideous looking people." Artemis's smile became quiet chuckles as Jake rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous fashion. "Safe to say that I'm no Casanova."

"More like Romeo." Artemis told him. "And I'm free tomorrow. We can catch the movie again if that's alright. I'll even pay."

Jake shook his head. "No. I'll pay. I won't even tell you how it ends."

"Thanks. After what happened tonight, that's exactly what I need. A break." Artemis told him before sighing quietly. "I'm really glad to have you…" Artemis paused. "Here! I'm glad to have you here, is what I mean."

Jake chuckled. "I will always be here for you, Goddess."

On the roof, Jade found herself seething. She could hear the entire thing thanks to the microphone that Jake had just planted on the window. Honestly, the assassin did not know why she was so angry. Jake had a mission to follow her sister and he was doing that mission better than half the League of Assassins could ever do. Jake was Artemis's best friend and apparently love interest. Red X was a common foe of the girl who appeared randomly. He was a huge part of Artemis's life, the school-girl and the archer. But something inside of Jade would not allow her to listen to this innocent flirting and be happy that the mission was going well. She raced through all the possibilities before she silently gasped at a random thought.

Could she be jealous?