Thank you to all who reviewed. Sorry this is so late, but I had exams, Spring Break, and I had my wisdom teeth removed. So before you start mentally berating me, just remember that I'm the one who can sit upright only four days after having four teeth yanked out of my jaw and write a long chapter for all you awesome people.

"Your family wants me to do what?" Artemis crossed her arms over her chest.

"They want you to go out for dinner with them. You know, one of those awkward meet-the-family things." Wally grinned his lazy grin. "Come on, they just want to see why someone like you would ever go out with someone like me."

"Trust me. I ask myself the same question sometimes." She sighed. "Fine. When and where?"

"Tonight at six-thirty."

"WHAT?" Artemis checked the time. It was four thrity already.

"Hey, we're speedsters. Spontinaity is sort of our thing." Wally raised his hands in defense. "And don't bother to chase me. You won't catch me."

"I'm going to get you for this, Baywatch." Artemis walked past him to get to her room, and called over her shoulder, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. It's nothing fancy, so don't worry about getting dressed up." Wally sped down the hallway, laughing. Artemis sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I had to fall for a speedster." She walked into her room to get ready.


"Artemis! Come on, I'm starving. Let's go!" Wally knocked on her door.

"I'm almost ready! Go wait in the garage."

"You've been getting ready for hours."

"And if you keep distracting me like you have been all day, I will purposefully make you wait for another hour." Artemis smiled when she heard her boyfriend's grumbling move away from the door. He really had been bothering her all day with requests for a sparring partner, a videogame partner, and anything else his nervous mind could think of.

Though he tried to hide it, he was anxious about tonight. The Flash family was...different, and Wally couldn't help but be worried that his relatives would embarrass Artemis. Or worse, they would embarrass him. Deep down, he knew it was silly to worry about such a silly thing after everything they had gone through to be together. But still, it was nice to worry about such a normal thing like humiliation instead of death.

Artemis stepped into the garage a few minutes later to find Wally messing around with a motorcycle. "Hey, you know Connor doesn't want you messing with that when he's not around." Wally spun around with a guilty expression on his face.

"I wasn't messing around with it." Wally observed Artemis to see what had taken her so long to get ready. She wore dark skinny jeans tucked into black leather boots with two inch heels, a cream tank top and a soft black leather jacket. "You look nice."

"Thanks. So, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Fine. We're going to the Italian restaurant Gusto di Roma. It's casual, the food is good, and I know you like Italian." He waited for approval.

"That sounds perfect! But...it's on the other side of town, and last I checked, you don't have your license because you don't think you need it."

"Oh, yeah, well..." Wally rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I didn't think of that." Artemis kissed his cheek, and walked over to her own motocycle. She prefered the danger of the fast bike to the confines of a car. This particular motorcycle was the one she used for everyday, normal teenager stuff. She had a different one for hero things.

"Ok, Romeo. Get on." Artemis revved her motocycle. "I promise I'm a safe driver."

"Babe, that is so hot. I love a girl who can ride something to fast." He blushed. "I mean...um...you know what I meant."

"But it's so much fun to watch you stumble over your words." She handed him a helmet. "Safety first. And no, your hair is not more important than keeping what little brains you have left inside your skull." He started to protest. "Unless you'd prefer to walk."

"Fine." He took the helmet and sat behind her. "You're lucky I trust you." He barely had time to wrap his arms around her before she opened the throttle and sped off.

Gusto di Roma was one of those restaurants where patrons were treated to semi-Italian food like pasta and pizza in large quantities with the modern twist of several large flat-screen TVs tuned to vaious sporting events. It was a family favorite for the relaxed atmosphere that promised good service and good food. It was also a very popular spot for dates, and as Artemis parked her bike she was treated to many stares from teenage boys. She ignored them and walked into the restaurant hand-in-hand with Wally, who was still a little shaken from her less-than-timid driving skills.

"Wally! Over here!" Mary West, Wally's mother, waved at them from a large booth in the back. Wally's father, Rudy West, sat next to his uncle, Barry Allen. Barry was also the current Flash.

"Hey, kid. Who's this lovely young lady? Just kidding, I know who she is. You're Artemis. It's very nice to meet you. Again. You know, as Wally's uncle." Barry's fast manner of speaking was tempered by his sense of humor. "Sorry my wife Iris couldn't make it. The news never stops, so neither does she."

"It's nice to...meet...you too, Barry." Artemis shook his offered hand. She turned to Mary and Rudy. "And it was so nice of you to invite me out for dinner."

"It's just so nice that Wally finally found someone." Mary made room for the two teenagers. "So tell me, Artemis. What did you think of my son when you first met?"

"Honestly...I thought he was a goofy teenage boy with nothing but girls and food on his mind." Artemis felt herself blushing under the stares of Wally's family. Suddenly Rudy laughed.

"And how has that opinion changed? Or has it?"

"Dad!" Wally looked strickened.

"Yes. Now he's my goofy teenage boy with nothing but food and taking care of his friends on his mind." That seemed to be the right answer because Mary smiled and ruffled her son's hair.

"Now that sounds about right." Mary picked up her menu. "Everything here is good. What are you getting?"

Half an hour later they had their food. Barry had ordered a large pizza for himself, Rudy and Mary were spiltting a medium pizza, Wally had ordered the alfredo pasta, and Artemis had decided to get the house special of spagetti and meatballs. Mary was right everything was good. Rudy was in the middle of telling Artemis about the time Wally tried to make his first firework.

"We always knew he liked science. But when we came home that day, his hair was sticking straight up and there was a blackened hole in the middle of the yard."

"No kidding..." Artemis nudged Wally with her shoulder.

"And all he had to say was 'Mommy, I guess I don't need to mow the lawn anymore.'" Everyone laughed.

"Sounds like something a nephew of mine would say." Barry polished off his fourth large slice of pizza.

"Tell me, Wally, why were you trying to make fireworks?" Artemis smiled at his bushing face.

"Oh, um I guess it just seemed cool."

"That's a lie. He was trying to impress a girl. She told him she liked the fourth of July, so he thought that if he could make his own...Well, the things that a nine year old boy with a chemistry kit will do." Mary shot a look at Barry.

"Tell me about it." Barry chimed in.

"Come on Mom, you promised not to embarrass me." Wally tried to sound indignant.

"I'm not! If I really wanted to embarrass you-" Mary was cut off by a booming voice from every TV.

"Hello, average citizens. This is...well, you don't really need to know who I am as long as you know what I'm capable of." Artemis's hand found Wally's under the table.

"Wally..." He knew what she meant. It was the man that had attacked her a while ago, and the man they had tried to follow back to the source of the vigilantes. The man continued.

"As you can see, I am nothing but a man. No super powers, nothing to make me special except my hard-earned skills. You all put so much faith into your precious Justice League, but I say that faith is misplaced. They will use it against you! The second you are completely reliant on them, they will take your freedom away! It is for that reason that I have assembled my own league, a nameless league of highly trained, non-superhero men and women to replace this Justice League. We have already fended off secret attacks by them. They are worried that we will take away their power and give it back to you! The citizen, the average joe! You have been forgotten in favor of large-scale criminals! Well, I can promise that if you support us, if you trust us with your day-to-day safety, we will eliminate crime the old-fashioned way. No more fancy Hall of Justice, no more tax-payer money going to repair the damage done by our so-called saviors like Superman, Wonderwoman, and Flash." Barry stiffened in his seat. "But do not mistake this as a request. Whether or not you support us now, we will do what we see as necessary to keep you safe, starting with the dismantling of the Justice League. Soon, you will come to see our side of things, your eyes will be opened to the folly of treating the superhumans as gods. All gods fall eventually, and it is their time now." The screen went black, then returned to the regular programming.

"Oh, my god. That's Sportsmaster's plan?" Barry could only be heard by his family over the loud voices of the other patrons. "Replace the Justice League?"

"There must be more to this! How can they possibly think they can make the world get rid of superheroes?" Wally put an arm around Artemis. "They already attacked Artemis when she was alone, but they caught her off guard. There's no way they could-"

"Hold on, I think that I'm getting a message." Barry pulled out his League communicator. "I have to go. Can you get back alright?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. Go, they need you." Rudy paid and then hurried everyone out.

"Artemis, are you ok to drive?" Wally's green eyes were full of worry.

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine." The whole way back she drove carefully, which scared Wally. When they got back to Mount Justice, Wally walked a silent Artemis back to her room. She looked dazed and sad.

"Artemis, talk to me."

"I'm so...sorry. This has my father written all over it. My own father is trying to take down the League of Justice! How can I justify being here?" She looked at him, and Wally was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

"Because you made a choice to be a hero. You belong here just as much as everyone else." Wally wrapped his arms around her and slowly backed her into her room so she could cry into his shoulder in private. "I love you, Artemis. Remember that." Her crying slowed until she could draw a shaky breath without sobbing, but she kept her face in his shoulder. The smell of his cologne was calming, all dark wood and leather and spices. It was an unusual combination, but it worked on him. She looked him in the eye.

"I love you, Wally." Wally took in her tear-stained face, her puffy red eyes, and her running makeup. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Of course, beautiful."

Don't forget to review!

Irenerb is fan of the week for suggesting the dinner scene. It was the perfect lead-in for what I wanted to do. Thanks!