Chapter One

Oh my god, won't this day ever end? Wally West thought to himself, sitting in a Stanford classroom on a warm August day. He was hot and anxious, the way he always was on the first days of school. But this was worse, way worse—he knew somewhere not too far away (well, not too far for him at least), his friends and teammates were all having fun without them. He slumped back in his chair—he couldn't believe he was missing out. Cool ocean waves, piles of roasted hot dogs, Miss M in her bathing suit; he wasn't sure which of the last two had him drooling more. His stomach grumbled. Only a few more hours, he reminded himself, patting his belly. But god, does time pass slowly when you're a speedster.

Artemis placed her mask across her face and cocked her hip out. Deep breaths, she reminded herself, No one will know it's you. She examined her face in the mirror. Yeah, she could cover up more, but still. Unless she ran into someone looking for her, they wouldn't recognize her just through her eyes and lower half of her face. Artemis shook out her long hair. Hmmmm, that might be a problem.

Sighing, she pulled her hair back. It was her pride and joy, but it was also a flag— Oh, hi I'm secretly Artemis, just running around pretending to be someone I'm not. If she was smart, she'd dye it, maybe black like her mother's or sister's. Or cut it short, guarantee it would stay out of her way, but she couldn't. Not yet at least. Artemis quickly put her hair in a ponytail, a compromise, she told herself. A compromise for now. Besides, she thought bitterly, who knows how long I can even keep this up before they find out what a fraud I am? After all, she'd done this before. Green Arrow had approached her years ago, in Gotham and she'd started to train with him when her mom got sick. Between the cancer treatments, the job to help make ends meet, and school (She remembered her shock when she received a scholarship to Gotham Academy and her mother's desperation that she didn't lose it), something had to give. Artemis still trained, joining the archery team at school and meeting up with Green Arrow when she could (he was generous enough to come to Gotham so she could train and fight close to home), but officially she was retired before she started.

But this was different. Her mother was in remission, she was feeling more comfortable at college, and she was getting that prickly feeling for action again. So when Green Arrow and Batman approached her about a covert youth team, she could not say yes fast enough.

A firm knock on her front door had her setting her jaw firmly. She slung her arrows onto her back and nodded to herself in the mirror. Today's the day .

Wally nodded eagerly as his final class of the day wrapped up, yeah yeah, I get it—we all know how to access the website. Who keeps us the whole class on the first day?? Well, it seems as though everyone keeps them based on today. He'd been hoping to sneak away between classes, but today every professor seemed hellbent on keeping their students until the last second. He tapped his foot against the linoleum floor. Finally, Dr. Brandeiss placed a stack of syllabi on the edge of her desk, a sure sign that class was about to be over. Wally perked up.

"And that's it! Everyone grab a syllabus on your way out." And this is why Wally snagged a seat in front, so different than his typical last seat, last row spot. He was able to subtly snatch and run, barely using his speed at all, before anyone else in the class was even done packing up. Yes, yes, yes ! He checked his phone. Even with the time difference and a quick snack, there should still be three or four hours left of sunlight.

His apartment wasn't far from the university, but it was still all he could do to not speed there. The California sun beamed down on him like a promise as he walked. Wally smeared some sunscreen on his face (the highest SPF he could find), grabbed a few bites of Chicken Whizzes, and changed into his swimsuit. Luckily, there was a zeta tube close by. He grinned to himself as he juggled his beach gear on the walk—there was some benefits to living with the Boy Wonder besides the nice digs for cheap rent. Wally was sure it was no coincidence that there was both a Wayne Tech and zeta tube so close to Stanford. Just a quick step into a broken elevator, and he was on his way to some classic "team building."

Not bad so far, Artemis thought to herself. She stood tall beside her "mentor," her "uncle," Green Arrow and coolly answered Nightwing's and Kaldur's polite questions. She was glad Nightwing was there. They'd met a few times before, the only other sidekick she'd ever gotten to know at all. Still, in the cave, standing as part of this group, he cut an impressive figure. These are some hot boys, she thought to herself, eyeing Superboy's silent figure. She shook her head, But that's not what I'm here for.

As the guys turned to Batman and Green Arrow, M'gann floated beside her and excitedly whispered in her ear, "No need to be nervous. I'm sure we'll be best friends soon!" Huh, Artemis thought to herself, guess not that cool . Still, there was something just so sincere about M'gann that she couldn't help it—she had to smile back at her. And the butterflies in her stomach didn't disappear, but they seemed to calm a little. Suddenly, the zeta tubes announced a new arrival.

Recognized--Kid Flash, b03

The light flashed and the dorkiest guy Artemis had ever seen stood in front of her. He was holding a million things, from a sandwich and thermos to a folding chair and surfboard. Across his nose was a white strip of sunscreen. He was wearing bright yellow and red swim trunks and, she couldn't help but notice, no shirt. He had a trail of freckles across his shoulders and a lean body. A dork, but a hottie.

"The Wall-man is here!" He announced stepping into the room, "Now let's get this party star-ungh" he tripped over his feet, dropping balls and gear everywhere before landing at her feet, "-ted."

Quickly, Artemis felt back on more comfortable ground. She pursed her lips and blinked her eyes lazily, like the cat she was supposed to be. Unable and unwilling to keep the laughter and flirtation out of her voice, she looked down at the young redhead sprawled in front of her,

"Wall-man, huh? I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?" She was pleased to see him flush slightly before he stood back up.

"Uh, who's this?" He asked his friends. Artemis narrowed her eyes briefly, but bit back on a hiss. Instead, she allowed a derisive smile to play on her lips as she answered him in full false confidence.

"Tigress, your new teammate."

"Kid Flash. Never heard of you."