August 8, 6:13 PM, Star City
"Why. Wont. You. Freaking. Start?" I growled, banging my fists on the dash of my car. It was an old Chevy Monte Carlo that had definitely seen better days – days without me driving it. I wasn't a bad driver, per se, but for some reason, this piece of crap seemed to hate me, and it's consecutive days of working were dwindling to about 2 a week. And this was not a good day for me to have to go through this. I was already behind and I had to be at the Mt. in a few hours for a mission of some sort. "I'm sorry, baby. Will you please start?" I apologized quickly, turning the key in the ignition with my fingers crossed. No dice. "Oh, so that's how you're gonna be."
Sighing, I opened the door and slid out on to the sidewalk, staring down at my ugly green car with a disappointed expression. "You know, Monty," I began, touching the hood fondly. Yes, I have named my car. "I'd really appreciate it if you'd work. I really, really would. You see, I've got to get to the hospital to see –"
"Are you talking to your car?" the ding of the coffee shop door and a bemused voice, one that I recognized instantly, talking behind me made me jump out of my slight stupor and whirl around.
"Roy?" I asked, surprised. Don't know why I'm surprised, this is his favorite coffee shop in Star City...I would know, he's taken me to it a billion times.
"Hey, Tess," he greeted leisurely, taking a sip from his coffee. Gesturing to the car with the cup, he smirked slightly. "Car trouble?"
"Nah," I replied dryly, before I could stop myself. "I just like yelling at Monty for funsies."
His mouth twitched, "Well fine then, I won't offer to give you a ride to...wherever it is you're going." It was then that I noticed his red convertible parked right in front of mine. My observancy skills are impeccable, you may applaud me now.
I gave him my best ASPCA commercial puppy look – the one that he falls for every time – and clasped my hands together in front of me. "Please?" I pouted, tilting my head to the side a little. "I was just going to the hospital..."
His expression softened a considerate amount, and he began to walk towards his car and jumped over the side and into the driver's seat, leaving me on the curb. Well crap, I was hoping that that had worked. Guess not. Roy paused, and leaned over to open the passenger door, before glancing back at me. "Well? Are you waiting for a formal invitation, or..."
I'm sure my face lit up like a Christmas tree as I quickly grabbed my bag out of my car and locked it behind me, before sliding into the white leather seat. Roy took that as his cue to start the car, and we immediately started to go as fast as the limit allowed us. Wanna know the best thing about convertibles? It's too damn loud to hear someone speak when you're riding in one with the top down, so it's pretty easy to ignore the proverbial elephant currently making a home in the backseat.
Within twenty fun-filled minutes, Roy was turning into the parking lot of Star City General. Instead of simply driving up to the entrance like I expected, he actually ended up parking the car and went in with me. In response to my question look, he simply shrugged and replied that he had nothing better to do.
We walked up to the desk, where an elderly lady I had come to known as Mrs. Whitby sat in her floral scrubs, talking on corded phone. She glanced up and smiled kindly at me, before gesturing with her finger to wait. When she finally put the phone down and let out a relieved sigh, she gave her full attention to me.
"Relda Flynn?" I shrugged, already knowing she would let me up anyways. I see her more often than I see my school friends.
"Go right ahead, honey," she replied, gesturing to the hallway to her left. "You know the drill."
I nodded politely at her, and tugged on Roy's arm to get him moving towards the elevator. When we arrived on the right floor, I wasted no time in walking briskly to the door number that I had memorized. It was open, and two young nurses were standing at the foot of the bed, conversing about something that I'm almost 100% sure didn't relate to the room's current occupant in any way, shape, or form. They both looked up when we entered, eying Roy with a slight smirk, before walking out. He watched them walk away, bewildered, before offering me a comforting smile.
"I can leave, if you want a moment alone with her," he said, gesturing with his head towards the bed. I shook my head, smiling in return, and clasped him on the shoulder before moving to the side of the bed and sitting on the chair. He took the one farther from the bed, against the wall at the foot, and sat patiently while I grasped her hand.
"Hey, mom," I greeted softly, moving to brush her fading blonde hair out of her face. The same motionless expression on her face that had been there for the past 9 years didn't move with the contact, but it hardly made me feel anything. Like I said, it's been like this for a long time. "Long time no see," I added jokingly, trying to ease up some of the tension in the room. It seems the elephant has left us alone for now, repelled by the calm air of the room. "I've been pretty busy with hero work and all that. Did you know I'm on a team now? It's pretty great. Remember Robin? He's there, and so is Kid Flash and Aqualad. You wouldn't believe what happened on our first solo mission..."
Roy watched Tess talk to her mother as if she was conscious with an awed expression. This little blonde girl, who had been through the ringer and back again, was now openly showing him the one weakness she seemed to have. He felt honored to be there, if not a little uncomfortable, and was perfectly content with listening to Tess recount all the events that had happened since the fourth of July. He noticed that she skipped around parts regarding him, but when the topic – apparently – became unavoidable, she simply said quietly, "Me and Roy? Well, we've got some things to work out," and directed her mothers attention – or lack thereof – to Artemis, GA's new partner. The thought of that didn't effect him as much as it usually did, and he chalked it up as part of the room's overwhelmingly peaceful quality.
In fact, he had already almost forgotten the Doctor he was currently hiding in Happy Harbor High School...Shit. "Tess, I...you...we need to go," he muttered, quickly leaping to his feet. The blonde jumped, whirling around to give him a shocked and confused look. "Aren't you supposed to be at the cave at seven?"
"Sh—crap!" she quickly amended, eying her mother like she would simply wake up and tell her off for cussing. She grabbed her bag off the floor, kissed her mother's forehead, before sprinting out the door. "We need to go!"
Roy sighed, shaking his head and following her, albeit a little slower. "Didn't I just say that?"
YOU, GOOD SIR, DESERVE A PAGE BREAK HEEEAAUUUHHHRRRE
"Artemis," GA announced, much to Roy's displeasure. "She's my new protege."
"What happened to your old one?" Wally, or as he would apparently like to be called, 'The Wall-Man' responded indignantly. That boy has such a bro crush on Roy, sometimes I wonder if it even measures up to my o...Wow, how about that weather we're having? Crazy stuff...
Red and I walked in, both dressed in our costumes that we changed into on our way here (don't ask, it's way too complicated). "Well for starters," he began, as the computer chimed in with the announcing of our arrivals. "He doesn't go by Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow."
"Roy..." Ollie began, stepping away from Artemis to greet his son. "You look..."
"Replaceable," he interjected.
"It's not like that; you told me you were going solo."
"So why waste time in finding a sub?" Roy laughed. "Can she even use that bow?"
"Yes, she can," Artemis replied, getting up in his face. Oh god, I didn't even realize how much they were going to hate each other until just now. This may or may not be a major setback on the whole 'let's all be best friends' plan I had going since my last talk with Artemis yesterday. Dammit.
"Who are you?" Wally jumped in angrily.
They both mumbled something about her being his niece, which I'm sure nobody really believed. Roy obviously would know the difference, having been with Ollie since before he could ride a bike, and so did I, but just by the way they seemed so defensive about it you would have to have no sense for you not to notice something was up. We'll have to work on that.
"Another neice?" Robin snorted.
"But she is not your replacement," Aqualad said, walking up from behind Roy and I to place a hand on his shoulder. "We have always wanted you on the team. And we have no quota on archers."
"But if we did," Wally began, making me want nothing more than to punch him in the throat. "You know who we'd pick."
"Oh for the love of..." I groaned, gesturing to Artemis. "She's right freaking there, Twinkletoes! Discreetness is so not your power."
"Whatever, Baywatch." Artemis brushed it off as if it wasn't a big deal. I knew it was. And where the hell did that nickname come from? "I'm here to stay."
Aqualad decided that a fight will most likely escalate from all of this, and moved the conversation along, "You came here for a reason."
"Yeah," Roy agreed. "A reason named Doctor Serling Roquette." Within seconds, Robin was spewing out random facts and projecting holograms throughout the room of said doctor like a human supercomputer.
"Nanorobotics genius and electronics expert in Star City," he read off the page on his holographic watch. "Disappeared two weeks ago."
"Abducted two weeks ago," Roy corrected. "By the League of Shadows."
"Whoa! You want us to rescue her from the League of Shadows." Probably not.
"Hardcore!" Wally grinned, fist pounding Robin.
"Already rescued her." See, told you. "Only one problem; the Shadows have already coerced her into creating a weapon. Doc calls it the fog, comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel...flesh, bone." Artemis and I exchanged worried looks. This was obviously getting worse and worse as he continued. "But its true purpose isn't mere destruction; it's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons of strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech –"
"Perfect for extorsion, manipulating..." Artemis interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, sounds like the Shadows."
"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Wally snorted. Artemis smirked knowingly at him. "Who are you?"
"Roquette's working on a virus to render the fog inert," Roy continued, and I noticed he was trying not to smile at the two's exchange.
Robin's eyes widened behind his mask, "And if the Shadows know she can do that –"
"They'll target her," I finished for him. "Do they know?"
"For right now she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab." I love how we're talking about her like she's an object.
"You left her alone?" Ollie asked.
"She's safe enough for now," Roy answered.
"Then let's, you and I, keep her that way."
"You and I? Don't you want to take your new protege?" GA opened his mouth to say something else, but Batman placed a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. "You brought this to the team; it's their mission, which means it's hers now, too."
Roy scoffed, striding past us all. "Then my job's done." I grabbed his arm when he walked past me, and he went to shrug me off, but I kept my grip tight. Glancing back at the rest of the team for a moment, I then pulled him down the hallway towards my room. The double doors slid open and I shoved him inside. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Just...chill out for a second, okay?" I hissed, running my fingers through my windswept hair as I paced in front of him. "Let me think about this."
"Think about what, exactly?"
"If I want to apologize or not!" I stopped pacing long enough to stare angrily up at his surprised face, before starting up again. "I really, really want us to be friends again, but you're making it so hard."
"Yeah, well..." he sighed, seemingly losing his fervor to oppose me. "I really want us to be friends again, too." He sat down next to me on the bed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I, hesitantly, laid my head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," I began, quietly. "For everything."
"Yeah," he agreed, resting his chin on my head as I turned to hug him around the waist. "I'm sorry, too." Well, this certainly went a lot better than I expected.
We sat there, holding each other in silence and simply enjoying the small moment of peace we had in our rocky friendship. It was definitely different for me, being able to simply hug him and never have to let go – at least, not for a couple more minutes. My eyelids slid closed in both tiredness and content, and I didn't even notice the door slide open until the sound of a granola bar hitting the floor shocked us out of it.
Breaking apart, we turned to stare at the intruder – Wally, with his mouth open wide enough for us to get a full view of its mushed contents. "What the..." he began, grasping for words but not finding any. "I don't...even..."
"Get out, Wallace!" I thundered, jumping up from my seat and pointing towards the door. He made to run away, but I grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him in. "Say anything about this ever again, and I will make it my personal duty to guarentee you will never have children, ever."
The redhead gulped and, swiping up the granola bar from the floor, nodded ever so slightly, before sprinting out of the room.
"Damn," Roy whistled, watching him practically leave skid marks on my carpet. "You're really scary when you're mad."
I shrugged, smirking. "I try."