Chapter Thirty-Seven

A Night Off...

Three Hours Later

"You had to have cheated." Artemis said as she sat on the couch.

"Nope," Kara said sitting in chair.

"What are you two talking about?" Wally asked as he entered the living room.

"I bet mom a week of me in a skirt against her taking the night off that dinner was going to be home made," Kara said smiling, "She think we cheated."

"I see." he said sitting on the couch.

"You can't boil water without something exploding, Wally." Artemis said looking at him.

"True, but I didn't cook." he said pulling his fiancés feet up onto his lap.

"I did." Kara said leaning back in her chair.

Artemis looked at her daughter and said, "No way."

Kara nodded before saying, "I called M'gann and she walked me through everything. So it wasn't take out we had for dinner."

"Are you still going to argue this?" Wally asked as he started to massage Artemis's feet.

"Not as long as you keep doing that." Artemis said as she started to relax. He started to smile when they heard the doorbell.

"I got it." Kara said getting up.

She went over and opened the door to find Roy standing there.

"Hi Uncle Roy." she said smiling at him.

"Hey Kara," he said looking at her, "Your mom in?"

"She's getting a foot massage from dad, but yeah." she said letting him in.

"I am not helping you watch Lian or corral my sister," Artemis said looking at the redheaded archer, "It's my night off. Even though I think I was conned."

Roy shifted his gaze to Wally and said, "Left foot, right were the arch of her foot meets her ankle. Apply a little pressure there."

"What's that supposed to do?" Kara asked as she watched her father do as he was told.

Artemis let out a small gasp before her entire body seemed to relax.

"It relieves built up tension in the back muscles," Roy said sitting in a chair, "But Jade wanted to know if there is anyone that you don't want invited."

"Lawrence," Kara said instantly.

"She's right," Wally said with a nod, "We don't want him there or even finding out."

"Why is Jade taking care of our guest list?" Artemis asked sounding a little sleepy.

"Wally called her and a couple of others that know about your upcoming wedding and asked if they could help out tonight," Roy replied, "Something about you needing a night off."

"You two set me up." Artemis said trying to glare at the speedster.

"Are you complaining?" Kara asked.

"No. Just surprised is all." her mother said with a slight laugh.

"Anything else you need, Roy?" Wally asked looking at his friend.

"I have a message from the League about what happened in Gotham yesterday." Roy said calmly.

"Am I in trouble?" Kara asked nervously.

"Quite the opposite," he said looking at her, "They were impressed with the way you and Tigress worked together to take down Bane; so impressed that Kaldur is extending an open invite for you to join the team once you turn ten if you want."

"Thirteen," Artemis said looking at him, "She's not joining the team until she turns thirteen."

"I'll let him know," he said holding his hands up, "Also, Barbara wants to know if she can watch Kara this weekend."

"Depends on homework and what all is going on then." she stated.

"Fair enough." he said standing up.

He started to walk towards the door but stopped as he placed his hand on the doorknob.

"There is one more thing," he said turning to face them, "Wonder Woman called for a League wide meeting last night. She wanted to vote on a new member."

"It had better not be Kara." Wally said.

"We all thought that at first," Roy said smiling, "But it wasn't. It was someone else."

"Ok then who?" Kara asked. Roy reached inside his jacket as he walked over to the couch.

"Welcome to the Justice League, you two." he said holding a League membership card out to Artemis and Wally.

"You mean we're….." Wally asked taking the card.

"Who the meeting was about, yes," Roy replied, "You both are being placed on reserves because of Kara and will only be called as a last resort."

"So we're official, but unofficial." Artemis said looking at her ID card. The image on it was split down the middle with half being her and the other half bring Tigress.

"Oh you two are official members," he said heading to the door, "But you won't be called unless absolutely necessary."

"Dick is going to freak when he hears about this." Wally said trying not to laugh.

"Wait a minute, are you serious about this?" Artemis asked looking at her brother in law.

"If you don't believe me, head to the Watchtower. Got to go, so….later." Roy said before leaving.

The place was quiet for a few seconds before Wally said, "Back in a few."

"Dad no," Kara said looking at her father, "You can find out later. This is family time, remember?"

"And besides," Artemis said as she snuggled up against him, "I'm comfy."

"Yeah," Kara said climbing up next to him and leaning on his shoulder, "We're comfy."

"I noticed," he said with a slight laugh, "So what are you going to do about your class?"

"Not now, Wally," Artemis said softly. They sat like that for a few minutes before they heard Artemis's cell ringing.

"I got it." Kara said getting up long enough to get the phone.

"It's Mr. Blackthorn, mom." she said handing it to her mother.

Artemis kicked it on speaker and said, "Hello."

"Hello Ms. Crock, this is Principal Blackthorn," they heard a voice say; "I've been receiving complaints from the parents of your students about how you've been teaching class. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this; but due to the number of complaints, the school superintendent has decided to terminate your contract with the school."

"You mean…..I'm fired?" Artemis asked.

"I'm afraid so," he replied, "I'm terribly sorry about this. If you would, please stop by while the students are at either recess or lunch to clean out your desk."

"I understand, Mr. Blackthorn." she said closing her eyes.

"Mr. Blackthorn, this is Artemis' fiancé. My name is Wally West," Wally said calmly, "If you don't mind, we will be contacting a lawyer and requesting a copy of all those complaints about this."

"I was hoping you'd say that," the principal said almost sounding happy, "I will be waiting for that call and have all the information ready for them. Have a good evening."

"Is mom no longer a teacher?" Kara asked after the call ended.

"I'm afraid so, sweetie." Artemis said setting her phone in her lap.

"Then that's not my school." the young girl said, leaning against her father.

"But you need to go to school, Kara." Wally said, looking at his daughter.

"I could homeschool her," Artemis said taking her fiancé's hand in hers, "Like I did in Keystone with we stayed with your mom."

"I think we need to seriously talk about this first before we decide anything." he said sounding a little worried.

"But why did you say you were calling a lawyer?" Kara asked looking at him.

"Because I want to know what all these complaints were in particular." he said.

"Can we not worry about it now?" Artemis asked lifting her head up to look at him, "I'll give Dinah a call tomorrow before I head to the school and see if she can come with me to get that stuff. Right now, I just want to relax."

"You're right." he said looking at her, "We can talk shop tomorrow."

She smiled and laid her head back on his shoulder.

They sat like that for a few minutes before Artemis sighed and said, "Get your shoes. We're heading to the Watchtower."

"We are?" Kara asked surprised.

"Yes, now hurry." her mother said.

"You feel it too?" Wally asked zipping over to get there shoes. She gave a curt nod before taking her boots.

"What about Brucely?" Kara asked as she finished tying her shoes.

"He'll be fine, don't worry," Wally said, reassuring his little girl, "Time to go."

He scooped Artemis up in his arms as Kara hopped onto his back after she grabbed her jacket. A slight spark of electricity discharged from the corner of his eyes before he zipped out the back down. The world zipped by as he ran to the Zeta tube. When he finally stopped, Kara slid off his back and onto her knees before throwing up her dinner.

"Holy crap, Wally, have you gotten faster?" Artemis asked as he sat her on her feet.

"I shouldn't be," he said before helping Kara up, "You ok, kiddo?"

"Please don't do that again." the young girl said, a little dizzy.

"I'll try not to." he said before picking her up. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, they stepped the old photo booth.

"Recognized: Tigress; Three Seven. Wally West: Three Eight. Kara: A-Two Nine."

"Huh, so they did vote us in." Wally quietly said as they walked to the main area.

"Hush, Wally." Artemis said as they saw the dark knight watching a holo-screen.

"Batgirl and Robin was able to get into your place and get your dog and a few other things out," Batman stated.

"Guess all that senses training with Lawrence wasn't for nothing," she said trying to keep her temper in check, "So you know what's going on?"

"Yes, you were lucky to have picked up on something being wrong." he said as an image of a woman appeared on the screen, "This is Janet Hudson. She is the mother of one of the boys that was expelled for bullying Kara on your first day."

"Never met her, but I remember her son." she said coldly as Kara shivered at the memories of THOSE days.

"Wait a minute. If she's trying to get even with Artemis, why did she wait till now?" Wally asked.

"She didn't have the money or resources," Batman said as an image of a man appeared on the screen next to Janet's, "Two weeks ago, she married Evan McMahon. He is believed to have ties to one of the mobs in Metropolis."

"And now she's put a hit out on me? Great," Artemis said sarcastically, "If that stupid watch wasn't bad enough."

"Um, Batman, what did you mean Barbara and Robin got some of our stuff out?" Kara asked.

The dark knight was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "Police and fire crews have responded to a report of a massive fire at your home."

"You mean we don't have a home anymore?" Kara asked sounding a little frightened.

"Oh now she's going to pay." Artemis said as they heard the Zeta tubes kick on.

"Recognized: Batgirl; B-One Six, Robin; A-Two Zero,"

The two announced heroes then came walking over toward Batman and the Wests' dog jumped from Batgirl's arms.

"Brucely!" Kara said before flying over and giving her dog a hug.

"We got just about all your things out thanks to a call to Bart, Conner and M'gann," Batgirl said kneeling next to her friend as she pulled a stuffed doll out of the one bag, "And I made sure to grab this." The young girl's eyes widened before she latched onto the doll and held it tight.

"Thank you." Kara whispered looking at the redhead.

"You're welcome." Barbara said with a smile.

They walked over to where the others were standing before Robin said, "Fire crews were able to contain the blaze to the first floor, but it looks like there's heavy structural damage."

"It won't take long to fix it depending on how bad it is," Wally said looking over at his daughter, "The question now is how we're going to get this chick?"

"I know a way," Artemis said closing her eyes, "But you're not going to like it."

"Does it involve me doing some trolling?" Kara asked.