AN: first of all. belated merry happy to everyone!
and yes yes i know it took forever for this to come out! sorry i just kept getting disappointed with Arty's character so much so, i probably liked her more when i knew nothing about her. also! i changed this to an AU because it doesn't have any new elements(ie: cheshire as actual sister, sphere or wolf) now that that mini-rant's done, i hope you enjoy the chap!
Oh She's Nobody
chapter fourteen: Spring Formal pt two
Artemis looked good. She could feel it in the stares of Wally's classmates, feel it from Wally as he confidently led her towards the gym's entrance. She knew she looked good but... she was nervous. She'd felt nervous the moment she put on the dress and it had intensified as she teleported and walked to his house.
She knew she had no reason to be. She looked damn good, and her character was perfect, but her heart refused to stop flutterring in her chest excitedly the closer they got to the gym. She had to distract herself.
Whoever said the best thing in life came in threes was right. It was as if Frances (or the glare that decided to live on Artemis' face) was a shield against stupid and cut down nearly all cat calls from Wally's classmates .
"... Aria's playing." Artemis caught the tail end of Frances' comment as they walked from the lockers to the gym.
Upon hearing her ex-partner's name, the archer snapped her head urgently into the conversation, "Who?"
"Divine Aria..." at Artemis' blank stare Frances gushed, "They're this awesome new band that started over in Central City. I heard they just got signed, but they had agreed to do this gig beforehand, so they still came. They're so cool!"
"Divine Aria... they're the ones that gave themselves Greek God names and dress up kinda like them right?" Wally asked. Frances nodded eagerly and Artemis sighed. It was only a band's name, but just hearing Aria gave way to a wave of guilt. Worrying over Aria relieved her nervousness, but it also stressed her out even more. Jade had said Aria was "tied up" a week ago. Who knew what the Shadows had progressed to by now. What did Aria do to get punished anyway?
She should've tried harder to track her down.
Wally casually pulled Artemis closer to him as if he felt her stress and Artemis forced herself to relax and lean on him even as her butterflies returned. All the secrets she kept were getting tiresome. She forgot that he only knew Aria as her sister Athena. She forgot that she kept the fact that she might be in trouble from him. Maybe this dance wasn't such a good idea after all. She should be spending this time on something useful like finding out what happened to Aria, not feeling uncomfortable at a dance...
)O(
Artemis opened her mouth to tell him she was going to leave, but before she could get a word out Frances cut her off with a slight squeal.
"Mmm-hmm! The god of war Ares, is on drums, he's so ripped and he's dark and broody, and when he sings, I swear it's hypnotic, it just gets to you," she swooned and Artemis didn't have the heart to tell her she wasn't interested, "Then there's the be-u-ti-ful Aphrodite on keyboard, they even made it look like a shell, I know, sounds gaudy but she makes it work," Frances snapped three times, then continued in a hushed voice, "You didn't hear it from me but some people say that Ares and Aphrodite date behind the scenes, but I think it's just because of their stage names." Artemis sighed so Wally flicked her subtly, making her smirk.
Oblivious to Artemis' disinterest, Frances continued, "They all sing, but lead singer and guitarist is the god of music himself, Apollo," Artemis struggled to pay attention as Wally annoyed her by messing with her ear as Fran stated blandly, "Then there's this new goddess on bass."
"What? Don't like her Fran?" Wally asked chuckling at her change in mood, and the subtle jab to the ribs Artemis gave him.
"I don't know, they say she was their super secret manager, then she decided to join and reform the band. They're supposed to be better than ever, but..."
"Well, we'll see." Artemis replied as they walked through the doors to the gym.
Oh I'll be the one who'll break my heart
I'll be the one to hold the gun
I know more than I knew before
-So sang a lovely yet familiar voice. The beat was fast enough to dance to and the ambiance was what would be expected from a school dance held in a gym.
I know more than I knew before
While the main lights were off and there was coloured spotlights that swiveled around the room in careless patterns and a fog coming from a machine in the ceiling.
I didn't rest I didn't stop
The brightest part of the room was the stage area for the band.
Did we fight or did we talk
"Heeey, you didn't tell me your sister was in a band," Wally said into her ear.
"Huh?"
Oh I'll be the one who'll break my heart
I'll be the one to hold the gun
I love you more
Aria was singing in the band. She was wearing the blue dress that Artemis thought she wore to be a "hero," but, nope.
I love you more
Athena strummed her bass deftly and Artemis flashed back to the time they fought Jade as Cheshire.
I don't know what I knew before
She thought it strange that Aria didn't follow her back to Mount Justice. She remembered her saying she had a "gig..."
But now I know I wanna win the war
"Hey Arty?" a thirteen year old Aria asked quietly.
"Yeah Ari?" twelve year old Artemis responded, not taking her eyes off her paper work. She'd messed up once already and she wasn't going to let that happen again.
Artemis waited for her partner to continue, but was met with silence. She looked up from her paperwork to see Aria looking...unsure. Urgently, Artemis barked, "Aria."
She sighed then came out with it, "What... what do you think you'd do if your dad didn't recruit you?"
Artemis paused to give it some thought, thinking the question came out of no where. Ever since she could remember, Artemis was trained for this type of work. She didn't really have any other skills but...
"I don't know... mom liked watching me with a bow and arrow..." she trailed off as she put her pen down as if contemplating her next step, "maybe... maybe I could do something with that. I'd want to make a difference with it. Something to make her proud."
Aria didn't say anything as she thought it over, "what kind of difference?"
Artemis chuckled, trying to make light of the situation, "I said I don't know. Maybe I'd want to help people."
"With a bow and arrow?" Aria's voice was filled with playful skepticism.
"Yeah, okay? Well what about you?" Artemis asked getting embarrassed.
"I always wondered what it'd be like to be a singer in an awesome band, ya know?" Aria replied quickly as though she'd been thinking about it. She leaned back as if she could see it in front of her, "Be famous, have my name in lights..."
Artemis continued with the same tone as she plopped next to her partner, "Ooh, travel around to exotic places and not worry about getting caught, not worry about escape routes."
Aria smiled and put her arm around her partner with the other out as if picturing it, "Have clean money, to do whatever I want without restraints," Aria's eyes sparkled at the thought of that kind of freedom. "Millions of adoring fans screaming for me, just me." She let go of her sister from another mister as she threw herself onto her bed with a euphoric smile on her face, "yeah... I–"
"Artemis!" Wally nudged her out of her flashback. Artemis was instantly annoyed. She glared at him, forgetting she was supposed to be "in character." There was something important she was missing. Why'd that memory pop up out of nowhere?
"Whoa, you okay? You zoned out for a second there." Wally touched her bare shoulder and she shuddered.
I'll be the one who'll break my heart
I'll end it though you started it
"I'm fine, it was nothing."
The truth lies
Artemis looked to her sister singing as she strummed her bass.
The truth lied
Athena had a spotlight shining on her, and though Artemis was standing in the back of the gym, it looked like she sang the last lines directly to her.
And lies divide
Lies divide
She was sure Athena was looking at her as she sung and strummed the last notes of the song. Despite the happy tune, Artemis had a foreboding feeling.
"Art?" Wally asked, sounding worried.
She turned her head, wishing that she left her hair down so she could smack him with it. "I said I'm fine," she turned around with what she knew was a breathtaking smile, "Puppy."
Wally was anxious about Artemis meeting Frances. He'd known Frances since first grade and he didn't want her not to approve of his girlfriend...not that Artemis was his real girlfriend, but it was nice to see the two get along despite their rocky start.
He knew Artemis was great with maintaining an undercover character, but he didn't think she could be this good. She fit in perfectly with the rest of his school friends, all the while making him feel like he was the only person in the world that mattered to her.
It wasn't as if she changed that much either. Aside from the pet name, she was still the snarky spitfire of a teammate, though she was more...affectionate to say the least, but she did it in a way that seemed so natural. Be it a subtle look, a touch, or sneaking her way under his arm, it never seemed forced. He kept having to remind himself that this was all her "character."
He caught so many glimpses of her acting skills it shouldn't have been so hard to remember, but... he was never great at maintaining a character. Artemis fit so well with him, that he didn't even have to act.
And he found that didn't want to, he liked having her under his arm, holding her hand, seeking her out even with all his friends around. He was proud to have her next to him and he knew it wasn't because he was playing any kind of "character."
Speaking of seeking her out... He left for two seconds and of course she disappeared on him. He smirked to himself; she was still a pain in his ass, but he kind of liked it.
That realization lasted for about a second. He found his girlfriend, but she was... allowing Sid to flirt with her! All throughout the night she would beat off guys with a stick and the one person she let flirt with her was SID? !
He watched as Sid placed his hand at the small of her bare back and she hit him playfully while laughing nervously; it was obvious she didn't want him near her! When Sid stepped closer and used his height to tower over her, Wally nearly lost it. He forgot that Artemis could defend herself just fine, he forgot about maintaining a cover, and keeping his secret identity-
Sid's hand slowly slid down Artemis' back and towards her...
Before he knew it, Wally had Sid's hand in a death grip and threatened, "Hands off."
Sid laughed in typical bully fashion, but he could hear the bit of fear in it. Wally knew he was using enough force to almost crush it, but Sid swallowed it down and responded as if he felt nothing, "She was into it, Folly Wally."
At that statement, Artemis scurried behind Wally, as if to hide behind him. Wally narrowed his eyes, "If I see you around my girlfriend-"
"Hah!" Sid laughed then grunted as Wally twisted, and brought the big jock to his knees.
"I will do more than twist your arm. You have no idea just what you're messing with," Wally whispered with stern honesty. Sid's eyes widened with a slice of real fear and Wally easily pushed him down as he let go of his arm. He could feel his nerdy class clown image change in the eyes of the school, but he didn't care. He put his arm around his girl and walked through the path of students as they got out of his way.
Still angry, he demanded, "Why did you let him do that?"
Oblivious(or apathetic) to the deathly edge in his voice, Artemis laughed, "Operation Get Sid Off Wally's Back complete."
Anger quickly dissipated at her confident tone as he looked down at her surprised. She scoffed and nudged him gently, "Like I would go all the way to the middle of nowhere HicVille Missouri and not fix your little problem."
Stunned, he processed what she just said, then laughed. Of course that would fix it. He showed a side of himself to the school that he refused to, thinking they would catch on that he was Kid Flash. But... showing it while protecting his girl... they probably thought he was a black belt in Judo or something.
"I don't live in the middle of nowhere HicVille Missouri," he retorted while smiling. Only she would be able to fix his school problem.
"Oh yeah, we're in," she paused as she made a show of getting the chills as she said disgustedly, "Kansas."
He laughed loudly as he pressed his head to hers as he whispered warmly, "you bitch."
She laughed and he couldn't help but feel that he lov- he liked her... a lot.
Artemis found that there was a... simpleness to Wally. If one did something, Wally would react in a very obvious way, so she knew he was going to be "jealous," that's what his character was supposed to do, but she didn't he he would be... that protective.
Operation Get Sid Off Wally's Back was a very simple thing. He was to stand up to the school's main bully causing main bully to lay off a bit. But Wally effectively made all bullies stay away from him with what he pulled. He threatened Sid like a pro and she couldn't help but feel...
Proud?
She could hear the threatening promise in his voice. It was strangely exhilarating... Sure he was still, well, Wally, but now he had depth to him. She knew very well the reliable, yet annoying, teammate, but there was different sides to him she didn't know about. The one that was embarrassed by his family, but loved them no matter what. The class clown of a nerd that he played at school. And now, the fiercely protective boyfriend that wouldn't let any harm come to her- his "girlfriend."
She gulped. She was treading on dangerous water right now. If she didn't watch herself, she would forget that this was all a show. She found that it was almost too easy to fall into the role of his girlfriend.
At the thought she could feel a sense of pride and happiness.
That couldn't be good.
"Wally, I think Artemis is thirsty," Frances chirped, snapping Artemis out of her train of thought.
"I suppose I could use something to drink..." she replied sensing something was off. Frances wanted something...
"I'll go get some punch then?" Wally replied feeling like he was being dismissed but joked, "Try not to let any boys hit on you while I'm gone?"
"Urgh, like they would anymore. I'm pretty sure there isn't a boy in here brave enough to suffer your wrath," Artemis easily brought his cheek to her lips as she whispered, "don't leave me with her."
"Of course I'll miss you," he said with a mischievous smirk as he left her. Artemis chuckled then turned to Frances.
The two stared at one another as the band played an upbeat song. The silence between the two girls stretched and it suddenly felt very awkward. Artemis knew Frances had something to say, but she didn't want to rush it. Maybe if they stayed quiet long enough, Wally would get back and-
A threatening aura abruptly surrounded Frances and Artemis braced herself, "You know that I've known Wally for... forever right?"
"Now I do," Artemis replied matching the threatening aura. If this Barbie-like best friend thinks she could just scare Artemis away, she's got another thing coming. Wally was hers and she was here to stay–
Wait...Where'd that come from? !
Frances laughed and the aura dissipated slightly, "He likes you, a lot more than that other crush he told me about..." she trailed off and Artemis took a deep breath. He liked her? Warmness filled her at the thought and she had to fight to squwash the feeling. "So if you hurt him... I will hurt you."
Artemis choked back the scoff at her threat, Frances was only doing this because she cared about Wally's happiness. Though she highly doubted his friend could do anything to her, she made a show of being slightly threatened.
"Good news, they had your favori-" Wally stopped himself as he took in the mood between the girls, "What's going on?"
"Just girl talk," Artemis smiled beautifully as she took her drink from him. She noticed a couple of boys hovering behind Wally as if waiting to be introduced, "Who's this? More friends?"
An hour passed in a flash. Artemis enjoyed Divine Aria's music, it was easy to dance to and she couldn't remember ever seeing Aria so happy. Wally's friends were sweet and made Artemis feel welcomed which helped with her unnecessary nervousness. And, she admitted it, this was fun.
What would her friends do if they'd been here? Dick would have acted like a kicked puppy over not having her attention all night... Cyril... well he wasn't really a friend... Athena?
Artemis would've laughed if she wouldn't have look crazy for doing it. If Aria met him, she would've given him a version of Frances' "talk" that would've had him running for the hills.
She almost envied Wally. He was one of those people who attracted... good people to him. She supposed it was because he was such an integrally good person too. He was raised with a loving and supportive family and he became a magnet for loving and supportive friends. She remembered hearing that he choose to be like Flash. He preformed the experiment to turn him into a speedster... and Flash, instead of getting angry, took him under his wing..
And what did she have? A deranged father who forced her into a life she never wanted to be apart of and because of that she didn't know how to do anything else. A past of crime and thievery that seemed to want her back even as she fought to leave it behind. And an inability to figure out how to react to a team that actually cared about her. Sure she had a loving and amazing mother, but that ray of goodness was diluted by their meager living situation and Artemis' guilt over lying to her on a daily basis so she wouldn't worry.
She didn't know how much longer she could last. All the lies and secrets were really getting to her. Sure she acted as though nothing was wrong. 'Live the lie until the lie eventually becomes your life', was her mantra ever since Aria taught it to her. But the guilt was nearly suffocating her.
She didn't want to live a lie. Artemis finally had a team that cared about her. If she figured out a way to tell them that the Shadows were after her without actually telling them she had been a part of them, she knew they would do anything in their power to protect her. Not that she wanted to be protected, but she... she wanted to feel to feel how Wally did on a daily basis.
He didn't have secrets. He didn't have to look over his shoulders for shadows from his past. He had a group of genuinely supportive family and friends that could do that for him. She watched him retell a funny story about an adventure he and Frances went on and felt a sadness envelope her.
Wally got to his punchline and Artemis watched as his friends laughed happily around her. She wondered what it would be like to be so carefree...
"Artemis," Wally prompted, his voice full of concern. Geez, look at her! She was so consumed with her thoughts that she actually let it show through!
"I'm fine," she said smiling half-heartedly. He looked like he was going to say something when claps started. They looked to the stage where the handsome Apollo stood, smiling and asking the crowd to settle down.
"Alright, I hate to do this, but it's our last song for the night," the lead singer announced only to be met with disappointed groans. He charmingly raised his hands and shook his head, "I know, I know, but Athena made me do it."
"Oh yeah, make me the bad guy," Athena replied, replacing her bass with an acoustic guitar .
"Yup," was Apollo's shameless reply.
"Ooh, let's play a song for all the lovers out there to cozy up to," Aphrodite chimed in while pressing a few lovey dovey chords on her keyboard.
"Urgh, no 'Dite." Ares groaned from behind his drum set.
Aphrodite wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him, she looked like she was going to say something nasty, but Apollo loudly played a rift making the bickering stop. "Slow song for the lovers, but not a love song. Athena go!"
Athena exaggerated a sigh, and Artemis could have sworn she winked at her as she said, "How about the one I wrote for my little sister?"
"Oh goody! I love that one!" Aphrodite gushed as she started playing the beginning chords of the song
)O(
"C'mon," Wally said leading Artemis to the dance floor. Artemis raised a brow at him and he chuckled, "we can't not dance to a song your sister made for you."
Artemis rolled her eyes even as a smirk spread across her lips. Her heart started that weird fluttering in her chest again as she danced at arms length to Wally. Sure they'd danced together all night long, but that had been when she was still in character. Now... it felt as if it was just her. Dancing with Wally...
It should have felt awkward; up until a couple weeks ago, she thought he was the bane of her existence, but being around him..it was so natural for her. As if she'd always done it. Athena's hauntingly beautiful voice was calling her a little shadow in the song and she couldn't help but remember all her secrets. She couldn't look at Wally directly, she felt as though he would see through her lies if she did.
"Is Athena calling you a shadow because you used to follow her around a lot?" he asked cheerily and it almost snapped her out of her depressing thoughts.
She looked at him and he smiled down at her happily, though his eyes said he knew there was something off, but he didn't ask about it. Urgh, of course he choose now to be sweet and give her space.
She held him closer and rested her head on his shoulder to avoid his eyes and felt him easily tightened his arms around her waist in response, relaxing as he held her gently she sighed, "Yes Wally. She called me her Little Shadow when we were younger."
"Little Shadow, to the night will you follow me?" Athena sang and Artemis couldn't help but remember the times Aria would look back at her as if asking that question before they had to leave for a Shadow mission.
"So you going to tell me what's up?" he asked bluntly, obviously unable to take it any more. She smiled at his impatience. What she once found annoying, she now found endearing, who would've thunk it?
"No," she mumbled burying her face into the crook of his neck to distract him. "Your friends are nice."
"Well, they love you," he said happily though she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or honest. Another smile crept up on her as she pressed her ear to his neck as if wanting to hear his heartbeat over her 'sister's' song.
They kept quiet for a moment, but Wally wasn't a very patient boy, "C'mon, it can't be that bad."
"It's not," she admitted while chuckling, but she didn't want to talk about it, it was embarrassing to say the least. She was envious of his life for crying out loud! How would she even begin explaining that?
"Then..?" he asked nudging her slightly with his head.
She laughed and nudged back, "You just..." she started tracing lazy patterns on his back, "your life is so... carefree."
"Yeah and you're just a little stressed ball of stress," he joked snapping her dress' back strap. Instead of biting his head off as she was prone to do, she simply snuggled closer to him, making him hold her gently. "Hey... I'm not so carefree," he said, and then continued as she scoffed, "we've all got our stuff... I just..." he trailed off.
"You, have people you can talk to about it," she mumbled though she knew he heard it. She wanted to walk away from him, but he gently held her in place. Good thing too, she wouldn't know what she would've done if she were looking into his pitying green eyes.
"You don't?" He asked sounding surprised. She squeezed him angrily and she knew he instantly felt like a jerk. This was so embarrassing. She never unloaded this type of worry to anyone except...
He rubbed her back gently, "You can talk to me..."
But it fell onto deaf ears as the rest of Artemis' flashback played before her eyes.
Aria threw herself on her bed with a euphoric look on her face, "yeah, I'd want to be a famous singer."
Artemis stared at her partner. She'd never seen such... happiness from her. She never talked candidly about anything before like this. Not liking that feeling, she covered it by joking, "Too bad you can't sing."
Artemis giggled as Aria threw a pillow at her, "I can so sing." Artemis hugged the pillow as she stared into Aria's yellow eyes as she said like a vow, "one day, if I ever get out of the Shadows. You'll hear it."
Every shape and size,
Deep and deep we dive,
Turn and turn aside,
To a fantasy
That's why her instincts brought up that memory. Did that mean Aria was out of the Shadows? She looked at Aria hum and felt the mystery of an unanswered question from it. "I have to talk to Ari–Athena."
"You mean, right now?" he asked confused, yet worried.
"Yes right now," she rolled her eyes as she tried to get away. He held her hand to stop her. She didn't have time to play happy relationship with him anymore. She had reality to deal with and she needed answers. Was that why she was "tied up?" Because she was leaving? How? Was it really over for her?
"But..." Wally stated, hiding well his disappointment at their ruined moment, "The band already walked off."
Artemis ignored him and let her instincts guide her to her freed partner. She pushed through side doors thinking it would lead her into a hallway but was met with a blast of cold spring air.
"Whoa, where's the fire, Artemis?" He asked coming up from behind her. She pushed forward just so she wouldn't have to turn around just yet. She was "tied up" because she was leaving them...
"There's no fire, Wally, I just need to talk to her."
"You're running away," he stated as the door closed behind him.
"I'm what?" Artemis snapped sharply, turning to him with a dead glare.
"I get it, if you want to take things slow between us, we can take it slow, but you don't have to make something up about your sister to get away from me."
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down," Artemis responded, her tone losing its venom, "this has nothing to do with us." He always jumped to the strangest conclusions.
"But today... You can't say that this was all an act," he stated, his voice certain.
"Urgh, you can't be that naive, Wally," she said striking at the heart. This night, hanging out with his family, his friends... It was doing something to her. She broke a Shadow rule and was confusing her "character" with her self.
"There isn't an 'us'," she said, more for herself than for him.
Well that shut him up, but... she couldn't bring herself to leave. Had this been a year ago, she would've turned around and left him without a second thought. Her time with the heroes had made her soft. There they stood, the sounds of the new DJ and happy partying washing over them. And there she was, standing in a suddenly cold-as-hell spring night, unable to look her teammate in the eye, but unable to leave.
She couldn't take this quiet, the awkwardness of the situation finally became too much for her. She needed to find Aria anyway...
"Look, I have to find-"
"Why..." Wally's fists clenched making Artemis meet his eyes, "why can't there be?"
It was Artemis' turn to get shut up. She stared at him and saw so much conviction that she started to question why as well. It wasn't as though she couldn't be with him... Wait. no that's not right.
She had to get away from him. This night was messing with her, and not in a fun way. Suddenly, her mind made up an ingenious way to get out of this, "You said it when you met me and it's still relevant now... You've never heard of me."
"So?"
"So you don't think there could be a reason for that?" she asked, annoyed as she turned her back to him. The cold night, just had to get colder as it started to snow. Urgh of course it did, only in Kansas. She would roll her eyes if she wasn't afraid they would freeze.
"I don't give a rats ass about who you were, you're here now," Wally said and she felt the weight of his blazer on her freezing shoulders. An icy breeze blew around them as she glared at him. "You know I missed that look," he turned her around and kept his hands on her shoulders. Being so close to him, she saw the honesty in those words. He brushed a loose bang off her cheek and she furrowed her brow when his hand stayed on her cheek.
"Wally–"
"No, it's my turn to speak," Artemis scoffed at his statement, and he smiled, "Where was I?" he asked, pinching her cheek when she groaned, "Oh yeah, I couldn't care less who you were before you bulldozed into my life. I–"
"But you will," her Shadow missions flashed in her mind and she pushed away from him.
"I doubt it; I've made up my mind and I don't not want you in my life," he said with so much confidence it almost covered up his denial.
"Urgh! You don't know that!" she yelled as a sudden gust of wind whipped around them furiously, as if mother nature herself was on Artemis' side.
"What's the big deal? ! I'm trying to say I really like you. Why do you have to make it so hard?" he retorted, matching her anger, oblivious to the sudden change in weather.
"I'm making it hard? Oh yeah, I forgot you don't care about making terrible decisions."
"You're damn right!"
"Urgh, you can't even take an insult properly!"
"I would, but this isn't a terrible decision. You wanna know why?"
"Please! Oh please enlighten me."
"Because for the hundredth time: I." He poked her, "Don't," poked her again, "Care."
She slapped his hand before he could poke her again and he roughly grabbed her chin and kissed her. Not being one to back down from a challenge she growled as she treated him with the same respect. He held her head in almost painful stillness while pulling her flush against him. She ran her nails down his scalp and into his back to assure that not even a single snowflake could go through them. Their kiss was just like their relationship. Angry, fiery, neither backing down from the other as they argued over nothing.
Panting as they broke apart Artemis laughed, "So... you liiiike me, huh?"
"Well..." he kissed her gently stopping only to give her a goofy smile.
She leaned up to smack the stupid smile off his face, but the music screeched to a stop and screams were heard from inside the gym. Oh, what now?
Artemis and Wally ran into the gym only to be met with utter and complete pandemonium. Artemis got a sinking feeling in her stomach as she caught a glimpse of Athena on the other side of the gym doing a very good job of looking confused but in charge. Their eyes met and Artemis saw that flash again. The one that said Aria was forced to do something she didn't want to.
Before Artemis could react, a red blur exploded through the gym's eastern wall. Wally reflexively sheltered her from the debris as the rest of the students went from pandemonium to absolute chaos. She looked over Wally's shoulder and she saw three sinister silhouettes in front of a furious blizzard. One of whom she knew very well.
Artemis pushed away from Wally and began rummaging through the debris, probably for a weapon. Though he didn't know what was going on, he followed her lead and flashed into his costume. He could see his Uncle Barry get up from the debris; it looked like he was what crashed the party... literally!
He sped next to his mentor, "What's going on?"
"Heat Wave, Sportsmaster, and Weather Wizard," Flash replied, "Sorry I literally crashed your party, kid."
Wally laughed despite the situation they were in, "So how'd you get here?"
"I was following the blizzard Weather Wizard was making when Heat Wave found me and blasted me through here," he said nonchalantly as arrows shot past them and towards Sportsmaster. Looked like Artemis had gotten into the archery club's stash. He watched her as she shot arrow after arrow towards Sportsmaster who expertly dodged and avoided all of them, making his way towards her. Sportsmaster took out an expanding javelin and threw himself the rest of the distance to Artemis.
What was going on between them? It was as if they were ignoring everything else and just attacking each other... he should help. No. Artemis could take care of herself, just because they were together now was no time to smother her, but... were they really together, now?
"Hey sexy, get your head in the game!" Though it sounded like Artemis, he knew it wasn't her. The voice was too melodic, not to mention she called him sexy. Even if they started going out he couldn't ever picture Artemis calling him that. A heat blast zoomed past him and he watched Athena hit it out of the way.
"What she said!" Barry replied fending off hail the size of melons from Weather Wizard.
This didn't make any sense, why was Sportsmaster here? Weather Wizard and Heat Wave Kid Flash could understand, they were local super baddies from Central City, but Sportsmaster was completely out of place.
It didn't take long for the local Police to come, but when they did, Kid Flash swore he'd never seen bad guys flee so fast. No parting monologues, no "We'll get you next time"-s. Just Heat Wave blasting through yet another wall and Weather Wizard making the blizzard so dense, even his goggles couldn't see through it.
Normally, he and Flash would speed after them, but besides the ruined dance and the gym being blasted all to hell, it seemed like there was literally no point to all this and they didn't want to risk being led into a trap.
"Wasn't that the girl that fought Cheshire that one time?" Flash asked, "She was pretty good."
"Yeah, her name's Athena," Kid Flash answered absently as he surveyed the beat up gym for his probably-girlfriend. A door was shoved open and he fully expected Artemis to walk in with an annoyed look on her face. Instead, Athena limped through heavily leaning on her spear. She had obviously seen better days, her dress was torn and she had dirt and blood on her.
Where was Artemis?
Flash raised a brow and sped over to help the girl. He frowned as he watched Athena refuse to let his uncle help her. She argued frantically, "There's no time, you've got to help!" she cried out, even as she shoved him out of her way and locked eyes with Kid Flash, "The guy in the tacky hockey mask took my sister!"
AN: so there ya go! that was my first(probably last) attempt at a song fic, hope you liked!
as an added bonus, i tried to write it out so that you could listen to the song as you skimmed through it. just start the songs where you see )O( . the first song used was "I Feel it All" by Feist and the second one was "Little Shadow" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs(just to warn you, this song doesn't sync up like the first one and plays longer than the scene it's in because it would take me twice as long to update if i attempted it).
i've got some epic stuff planned so REVIEW if you want to see it! also i would love to improve so hit me up with some critiques!