AN: I'M BACK! Now that I'm officially back home, updates will resume to being roughly once a week. I haven't checked yet, but I hope you guys have been answering the poll, because the results will probably be needed for the next chapter. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, since I've been away for a while and haven't got too many reviews lately… Please review; it's the only way I know what's on your minds when you're reading this!

Previously:

Artemis would remind Wally of a time when he tripped over his own two feet or blew their cover, and Wally would respond with a reminder of one of the rare cases where Artemis would miss a shot (but was smart enough to not mention the mission in the New Orleans). The duo felt better knowing that tomorrow they would go back to their usual dynamic of arguments and insults (not serious ones of course) but for now they could be friends enjoying dinner.

"So Artemis, out of curiosity, where did you disappear to in the fight against Adonis?"

"Don't worry about it. It's got something to do with my past, but I'm not in any trouble and I can handle this myself. Maybe one day I'll tell you, but that day is not today."

"If you're sure, then I won't push you. But you have the Team, Artemis. You're not alone unless you choose to be." Wally stated, the words echoing through Artemis's head. She knew that for once he was right, but she wasn't prepared for the Team's judgment.

'My past is in the past, and I intend to keep it that way.' Artemis thought as the night came to a close and both teens headed back home.

Chapter 8: Attack of the Scarecrow and Raven's martial arts skills

It seems that all catastrophes start off as boring, average days.

Two days after forgiving Wally, Artemis was at Gotham Academy with her best friends: Dick Grayson, the infamous ward of Bruce Wayne and the school's smartest mathlete; Barbra Gordon, the witty redhead who always knew what to say to the school's stuck-ups; and Bette Kane, the peacekeeper of this humorous and very hot-tempered group of teenagers who seemed to always know when a member of the group needed to be cheered up (and was always prepared to lift their spirits). They had all arrived in the same order they usually did, with Dick arriving first, then Bette, then Babs, and finally Artemis (The former two had faster cars and Artemis lived further away than any of them). Each had gone to their classes and handed in their homework (some better quality than others) before plopping down at their desks and listening to the teacher drone on endlessly until the bell put them out of their misery. The only remotely eventful thing that occurred before lunchtime was the hateful looks Bette received from all the girls who dreamed of going out with Dick Grayson (Bette had been informed about the incident with 'Kitten' and silently cursed the Dick and Artemis for getting her into this mess). By the time lunch rolled around, the group was on their way to the cafeteria when a loud 'BOOM' shook the halls. Once the smoke cleared, they saw Scarecrow, with canisters perched on his back and a twisted grin on his face (Well, they assumed he was grinning. You couldn't really tell when it came to Scarecrow) standing perched on top of a mountain of rubble further down the hall.

"Why is it that everyone evil shows up at lunchtime?" Artemis muttered, causing her friends to snicker (Babs was also informed of 'the Kitten incident').

"Because the police are clearly too busy eating doughnuts to stop them?" Dick suggested.

"Nerdlings of Gotham Academy!" Scarecrow boomed (AN: I've never read the comics, so I'm not actually sure how scarecrow talks. Apologies if he's OOC) "You're probably wondering why I'm here. Well, in order to complete my research, I need to know more than just the fears of adults. I need the fears of children and you adolescents too! So, I thought, why use the water supply or infect vaccinations? If I need you brats, why not go straight to a school, where I have hundreds of test subjects! The more I thought about it, the more egg-cellent the idea sounded. And so, I've but several canisters of my fear toxins in the air vents. With one push of a button, I can make them go off, and everyone in this school will be my test subject!"

As Scarecrow began laughing manically at the 'brilliance' of his own plan, the students were beginning to panic. Several tried to sneak away during his tirade, but were stopped by burly henchmen in gas masks. Dick and Artemis exchanged nervous looks before ducking into the next hall while Babs and Bette were lost in their own petrified minds.

"What are we going to do?" Artemis hissed, her worried, light grey eyes darting around the halls to make sure their conversation was not overheard. "I can get my uniform from my locker, but wouldn't it be suspicious if Artemis from Star City was suddenly saving a school in Gotham?"

"Yeah, and I can't get mine either, or it would be suspicious that Robin got here so fast, and people would wonder why Batman's not here yet. I do have an emergency distress caller in my bag, though. I can set it off, and the signal will go straight to the Batcave."

"But will he get here before Scarecrow releases fear toxin on the entire student body?"

"I don't know, but this is the only way we can help without the risk of blowing our cover."

The two exchanged another glance, this one filled with the same determination the two held when on a mission. They weighed all the possible outcomes of the situation in their heads before Scarecrow's yell of 'Time's up!' brought them back to reality. Artemis balled her hands into fists and swallowed bravely before glancing at the ward of Bruce Wayne.

"Do it."

Just as Dick (or Robin) managed to send out the distress signal, the disguised heroes heard a faint hiss coming from the air vents and held their breaths as long as they could, knowing exactly what was going to happen next.

Gotham Academy erupted in screams of terror and anguish.

Thousands of miles away at Mount Justice, the rest of the Team was currently facing a different scenario, one that a certain speedster would claim was just as bad as the situation his two teammates faced, if not worse (if he was actually aware of their predicament, of course). And what is this situation you ask?

Combat training with Black Canary.

"Alright Team, we can't wait around for Artemis and Robin forever, so let's get started on combat training." Canary announced, causing a few Team members to groan in annoyance (Wally being the loudest). "Raven, since I haven't seen you or Beast Boy spar before, you'll go against each other. Aqualad against Superboy, super strength allowed, Miss Martian against Rocket, Zatanna against Kid Flash. When Robin and Artemis arrive they can spar against one another. Only Aqualad and Superboy are permitted to use powers, for everyone else, no powers or weapons allowed. Any questions?"

"How am I supposed to fight Rae? I can't hit a girl!" Gar exclaimed. Black Canary opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Raven.

"First of all, my name is Raven, not Rae. It's two syllables Gar, really not that hard. Second, what do mean you won't hit a girl?! There are plenty of girl super villains, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Cheshire… You are eventually going to face them. What do you plan to do, surrender and let them kill you?"

"Raven is correct Beast Boy. Justice is given out to anyone who commits a crime, regardless of gender, and you should be ready to deliver that justice. If that is all, go to the center of the room with your assigned partner and begin sparring." Black Canary added.

Each member of the Team faced their opponent at the center of the room, where the computer would announce the results of each match. The matches were fairly quick. Aqualad and Superboy were relatively evenly matched, but Kaldur eventually gained the upper hand; Rocket defeated M'gann easily, seeing as the Martian always opted to defend instead of attack; and Zatanna surprised Kid Flash by flipping behind him and sending a powerful kick to his back before he could react, which ended up with poor Wally sprawled on the floor as Zatanna laughed at him. The only people left to spar (other than Robin and Artemis, who obviously were still at Gotham Academy) were Raven and Beast Boy.

As soon as they began, it was obvious who had the upper hand. Raven faked a left before throwing a punch to Gar's right side. Unfortunately for her, this was not enough to make him hit the ground, which was needed in order for her to officially win the sparring match. The changeling aimed a kick at her left side, hoping to catch her off guard, but had little luck as Raven crouched down to avoid the kick, sweeping his legs underneath him with a powerful kick that made him lose his balance and fall over, causing Raven to achieve victory. The Team congratulated Raven and encouraged Garfield, but just before they could start another round of sparring matches, Batman's face appeared on the mission computer.

"Team, urgent Mission assignment at Gotham Academy. Code red."