Tempest: Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Great Performance

AN: Roy and Amy's relationship is the best, but don't worry, we're going to test that.


After the disaster that was their last mission, the last thing she wanted to do was go out with the girls to the Transcultural Theatre to see some of Amy's friends perform. She didn't know why Red Arrow was back in the field when there'd been rumors of a serious surgery (and the buzz-cut he was now sporting was rather indicative of that), but it seemed like he was out to get her.

Amy said to look nice, but not to overdue it, so here Artemis was, changing in her room at the Cave into black pants and pretty blouse because no way in hell was she putting on a skirt. She gave herself a once over before heading in the direction of the Monitor Womb when she heard his voice, much to her annoyance.

"I know she's hiding something, how can I trust her to be out there watching your back?"

"Roy," Amy sighed. "I know where Artemis comes from, just like I know where Jade comes from. I don't really think your girlfriend is going to appreciate you bad-mouthing her sister."

Artemis stifled her choke. She thought Jade had been kidding about that!

"I think its super sweet that you worry about me, babe," Amy's assurance was tinged with amusement, "but check yourself before I punch you in the face."

He scoffed loudly.

"How's the head?" Amy asked instead.

"I'm fine," he insisted heatedly.

"The doctor didn't want you back to work so soon, so I don't think fine is gonna cut it." Artemis dared to peek around the corner. Amy was looking pretty in a simple green dress that fell to her knees, looking decidedly more fashionable than Artemis, even with her leather jacket, in tights, heeled boots, and eyeliner on point.

And Amy had her hand on her hip, leaning forward with a glare. She was the only one Artemis had ever seen Roy quail under.

"You're looking very pretty," he tried to appease her and Artemis almost laughed.

Amy remained unfazed. "I know, but nice try." Her expression faltered. "You're supposed to take it easy. What happens if—?"

Roy leaned down sharply to kiss her cheek lightly and then move past her, disappearing into the zeta-beam. Amy chewed on her lip, her worry still clear when Artemis came out of hiding.

"Sorry about him," Amy sighed, rubbing at the cheek he'd kissed. "He's…"

"On a warpath?" Artemis hoped she didn't sound as bitter as she thought.

Amy winced. "Something like that…the last time he was like this was back when Merlyn had me in a wheelchair for months." Artemis could see her scars peeking over the edge of the bodice of Amy's dress, like always. She wondered if Amy had ever been very self-conscious about the marks across her skin. "He can have a bit of temper, is all."

"Uh-huh, you don't say."

Amy turned to look at her more fully, plastering a smile to her face. "You look really nice. Guess green is a good color for both of us."

Artemis thought she was skating around the issue, but she thought it best not to bring it up when M'gann and Zatanna finally joined them, both in lovely dresses similar in style to Amy's. Zatanna was wearing purple and her cheeks were flushed -Artemis guessed that she'd just run into Robin on the way over- and M'gann was wearing blue that she'd obviously morphed because Artemis wasn't sure she had much of an allowance.

"You guys look nice," Amy grinned before gesturing to them to follow. "C'mon, Harley's got the car by the Gotham entrance, she's gonna drive us over!"

Artemis let herself be lulled into conversation with the other three, but in the back of her mind she thought of Sportsmaster, her father, showing up in her room with an offer.


"I'm Amara Isley-Allen," Amara informed the man at the ticket booth. "I think Damali gave you guys my name?"

"Oh, right, the sponsor," the man agreed, bobbing his head. "Yes, head right up to the second floor, there's a balcony roped off."

Amara gave a mocking salute before dragging her friends after her. "Geez, Amy, how much money did you give these guys that they let you in without paying?"

Amara thought about telling them, but then she decided against it. "A fair amount," she said instead. She wasn't sure she really wanted them knowing how much she'd stolen at one point to give as much money as she had towards the theatre. Some things were better left unsaid.

She led them up the stairs to where the balcony seats were located. There was a single side booth roped off with Amara's name swinging from it.

"Wow!" M'gann was in awe as she sat down in a seat, a bit close to the edge, but she didn't seem to mind. "This theatre is very big!"

"Didn't someone try to burn this theatre down?" Zatanna asked, sitting down next to M'gann, leaving Amara and Artemis to follow suit on her other side.

"Why would someone do that?" M'gann was appalled. "Look how beautiful it is!"

And it was certainly that. Amara had gotten rather used to it, of course, but it was still impressive, even to her. The heavy curtains hiding the stage were a rich red and accented in gold in a design that Amara was certain that she'd seen on Damali's hijab at one point or another, the domed ceiling carefully illuminating the audience with its lights. You could still see people finding their seats and sitting down.

"People are xenophobic, it's nothing new," Amara shrugged, drawing attention to herself. Artemis and Zatanna both understood what she meant by that, but M'gann was confused.

"M'gann, you remember when you told us about how white Martians are discriminated against on Mars?" Artemis took the lead.

M'gann flinched, thinking of the form she tried so hard to hide.

"It's like that."

"Some people don't like how…diverse the Transcultural Theatre is," Amara offered helpfully.

"That's terrible!" M'gann certainly sounded like she thought as such.

Amara hummed in agreement. "The theatre's been repaired now, though, and the GCB girls are great dancers, so who really lost?" She coaxed them into a selfie to post on twitter.

"How you convinced your dad to let you have a twitter account at thirteen, I'll never know," Artemis snorted as Amara typed out a message.

AmyIsley-Allen StarWarsGirl

At the Transcultural Theatre with my girls to cheer on the amazing ladies of the GothamiteChamberBallet ! #Ivegotabirdseyeview #itsgonnabegreat

"I can be persuasive," Amara grinned widely at Artemis.

Artemis arched an eyebrow. "Your dad? The super over-protective guy that hid your real mother's identity from you for years and literally ran around the globe looking for you when you ran off to Russia?"

Amara started suddenly. "Wait, seriously? He did that?"

Artemis sighed in exasperation while Zatanna and M'gann sniggered on Amara's other side. "The point stands."

"I've got a set of rules to follow, but as long as I do, I can have a twitter account," Amara grinned, all teeth. "And you promised to help me do a video on self-defense, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, I did, didn't I?" Artemis made a vague gesture that earned her a scowl from Amara, but it faded as the lights dimmed in preparation of the performance beginning, then the curtains drew back to expose several figures in identical tutus frozen in differing poses, only beginning to move once the orchestra began.

Artemis glanced at Amara out of the corner of her eye to see the excitement there. It was only then that she relaxed and allowed herself to enjoy the performance.


Artemis had watched Amy hug the life out of four girls that must've been the ones that she'd befriended and congratulate a pretty woman with a hijab wound to hide her hair from view before their group had grabbed some burgers at Big Belly Burger. They must've looked quite the picture, four girls all dressed really nice, eating burgers and fries without a care of anything dropping on their nice clothes.

It was good to get out and do nothing but hang out with her friends, especially with how things had been going lately at the Cave.

Her thoughts must've been shown on her face, because Amy's expression tightened with focus, then her phone buzzed and she was distracted. "Harley's outside with the car…Artemis, you don't live too far from here, do you?"

Artemis shook her head. "It's a short walk."

"I'll walk you," Amy said cheerfully before turning to the other two. "Are you okay taking the car to the zeta tube?"

Zatanna and M'gann waved their hands sleepily. Enough fun for one night, apparently. Amy laughed, apparently too used to staying up late to be affected by the late hour.

Artemis listened to Harley Quinn make Amy promise to call when she was heading home as the other two clamored into the car. It was still so strange now to think of Amy living in the same house as Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, but Artemis supposed it was no different than her own family.

Amy waved as the car pulled away before linking her arm through Artemis' and beginning to walk, her heeled ankle boots clicking on the sidewalk. "Come on, tell me what's up."

"You really are Black Canary's protégé," Artemis drawled and Amy laughed.

"I've had enough therapy to pick a few things up," she grinned. "Is it about the last mission you were on? The one with Roy?"

"Your boy is very unlikable," Artemis informed her sourly as they waited to cross the street.

"Ah, he's a bit of a stick in the mud," Amy conceded, "but he's not too unlikable…he's just going hard on you, M'gann, and Conner for some reason."

"He thinks we're the moles, you mean."

Amy winced. No one liked to think that there was actually a mole on the team. There had been far too many debates on the subject. Amy had been rather high on the most suspected after she'd run off to Russia and was found to be the daughter of Poison Ivy, but they were leaning more towards the idea that Sportsmaster had been trying to stir up trouble.

Sportsmaster…her father.

"My mother," Artemis said finally, "she told me she begged the League to take me on, to keep me from following in dear old Dad's footsteps."

Amy's eyebrows rose on her forehead and then she turned, looking ahead. "Maybe that was why they looked into you, at first, but you've proven yourself over and over again that you have a place in the League, on the Team, and you're doing a better job at it than I am, and I have way more experience."

Artemis' mouth twisted and she wasn't sure if it was irritation at Amy's experience, relief at how she saw Artemis, or surprise at how she considered herself.

"I spend half my time on BlackNet, remember?" Amy pointed out with a half-smile. "Nobody's perfect."

"Is that why you haven't been on as many team missions?"

That made Amy frown, her face a bit closed off. "I'm still on probation, technically, but just because I'm not on as many team missions doesn't mean I'm not doing things for the League. The Big Man tends to stick me on information gathering for other missions, and I've got something in the works for WW."

Wonder Woman had a job for her? Now that was interesting. Artemis really wanted to ask her about that, but she thought it best not to ask.

"Sportsmaster was in my room when I got home from the mission," Artemis blurted out and Amara paused then picked up her feet again. "He thinks that when the Team finds out about my…family ties, they'll drop me."

"You think it's a coincidence that Poison Ivy's little girl has all those eyes on her?"

"You're not—" Amy cut herself off with a scowl before starting again. "Listen…Robin already knows who you are and he hasn't said a damn thing…so, I think you're pretty good."

"Robin, what?" Artemis' heart was in her throat. "Did-did you tell him?"

"I keep secrets, I don't give them away, Goddess," Amy scoffed. "Besides, I'm pretty sure my biological parents have done worse than yours." She made a general gesture towards her chest. "We aren't our parents, we make our own path. I could've stayed in Russia or gone really south after I found out about Mom, but I didn't, and that was my choice."

Artemis found herself staring at Amy. It was strange to think that even though she had inherited the shape and color of Poison Ivy's eyes and the color of Weather Wizard's, she was so very much like the Flash.

"What's with that look?" Amy was eyeing her apprehensively now.

Artemis gave a sudden and short laugh. "Nothing, you just reminded me of Flash."

Amy positively beamed. "Dad's the best, no lie. I've never met someone so willing to talk his enemies down than punch them out. A lot of his enemies have actually turned themselves in after he's talked to them."

Artemis hadn't known that, actually, but it was rather unsurprising. The Flash was known for being incredibly easygoing, he was the one that most people knew his secret identity because of how open and trusting he was. Which was why it had been so surprising to discover that he'd been keeping a secret like Amy's birth mother hidden for so long.

"Is this more about Wally?" Amy probed and Artemis flushed bright red.

"W-what?" she sputtered loudly. "Of course not!" Fear tightened her chest. "Why? Did he say something?"

"No…but he is kinda in love with you."

Artemis went past crimson to beet red and her tongue lost the ability to function.

"It's actually super cute, especially since he's stopped flirting with M'gann, 'cause lemme say, I can only stomach so much over-the-top flirting with someone who's definitely not into you that way." Amy shuddered before glancing over to Artemis. "You've noticed that he spends more time with you now, haven't you?"

Artemis had noticed, but she hadn't dared to bring it up. Wally was the closest with Amy and Robin, and it wasn't unusual for her to come to the Cave to see him playing a videogame with Robin or being tangled up with Amy, fighting for the remote in her hand, but he had always made it clear that her place was with them.

"You're cute and you kick ass, what's not to like?" Amy shrugged as they came to a stop outside Artemis' apartment complex. "Talk to Wally, he won't judge you for your parents. It might freak him out, but he'll get over it."

Then Amy looked around for cameras or anyone passing by before gathering the air around her and rocketing up into the air, vanishing above the clouds.

Tomorrow. Artemis would talk to Wally tomorrow.


Dorian Grey: How's math been going?

Countess de Winter: Ugh, don't even ask. The upside is that at least I'm not failing, but how people like this subject is a miracle.

Dorian Grey: Hey! I'm one of those people!

Countess de Winter: NERD


Operation: TempleofDelphi was a go. Amara had finally gotten the new site up and running after triple encrypting it, Dick might call her paranoid, but paranoid or not, no one was going to say that Amara Isley-Allen didn't get shit done.

The TempleofDelphi was set apart from BlackNet, and though the moderators and creators of BlackNet would be sad to see her go, Amara knew that it was a good idea to leave the site and make her own way, especially since Oracle was more about helping people and not as much about half the crimes that BlackNet was involved in, it made more sense.

She kept the layout, though, with the icon someone had once made her mostly as a joke, a green head with jagged lines on the head to indicate hair or snakes (Amara was thinking Medusa was the inspiration of the picture, not her). She'd decided that there would be five Oracles total, all girls because Soothsayer had definitely put her off of boys for a good few years, and that meant she needed to change names, because they would all be known as Oracle so she needed to find a way to differentiate between the five.

It took her a couple of minutes of searching through Greek mythology before she settled on Pythia for herself and Sybil, Pasiphaë, Tiresias, and Cassandra for the other four.

Now all she needed was some Malbolge code to paste on BlackNet to find out who was good enough to figure it out…

Her phone buzzed and Amy checked the ID before lifting it to her ear. "Hello, Jade, how was it making out with your boyfriend in front of your sister?"

Jade's tell-tale snigger turned to static over the phone. "Heard about that, did you? I love it when he gets all hot and bothered, makes him ninety-percent more sexy."

Amara mimed gagging even though Jade couldn't see her face. "There are so many things I never needed to know, and that was definitely at the top of my list."

Jade laughed then. "Oh, don't be such a prude, Storm, you've kissed me before."

A faint pink dusted Amara's cheeks at the memory of the event. "Actually, you kissed me, which you did to get on Roy's nerves, and then you knocked me out, remember?"

"Didn't I dislocate your arm, too?" Her tone was almost coy and Amara had never hated it so much.

"Yeah, you did, how good of you to remember." Amara rolled her eyes. "What can I do for you, Jade?"

"You wouldn't be willing to do a side job, would you?" Jade asked, all business now.

"Depends on what it is." Amara could practically hear Jade's smirk.

"Oh, you'll love this one, I promise," the assassin assured her and Amara's lips curled into a grin.


Artemis steeled herself, standing outside Wally's house and wavering. It took her a good fifteen seconds before she finally knocked. She could hear footsteps inside, then the door opened.

Artemis had never met Wally's parents before, but she could see that Wally had inherited a lot from his mother, the fiery hair, the green eyes. She'd seen Flash's wife once and she was starting to think almost everyone in the West family had red hair and green eyes.

"Can I help you?" Wally's mother asked with a kind smile that Artemis usually saw on Wally's face when he was indulging Amy.

"I'm, um, looking for Wally," Artemis managed to fumble out. "Is he home?"

"Just got home actually," Mrs. West smiled. "What's your name?"

"Artemis."

There was a knowing glint in Mrs. West's eyes at that. "Oh," she said, sounding almost gleeful before turning back and calling up the stairs, "Wally, there's someone here for you!"

"Coming!"

Wally's mother gave her a wink before inviting her to step inside as Wally bounded down to the stairs to widen his eyes at the sight of her.

"Um, hi," Artemis said helpfully and Mrs. West made herself scarce. "Can we talk?"

Wally bit the inside of his cheek and furrowed his brow and Artemis hated how cute he was when he did that. Then he was a blur and the next second he was wearing his coat and shoes and opening the door behind her.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" His hands were stuffed into his pockets and Artemis wondered if they were fists. Maybe she'd blown her chance, she thought despondently.

"I wasn't trying to throw you, Kaldur, or Roy off of Sportsmaster's trail because I wanted him to get away," she said when they'd put a bit of distance between them and his house. "I thought…I thought it would be better to take him on alone because I know how he fights."

Wally scowled and Artemis winced. "Because he's my father."

That drew Wally up short. He turned to her, startled, his breaths fogging in the cold air. "He's -he's your father?"

"Sportsmaster's my father, Huntress is my mother, and Cheshire is my sister," Artemis said in a rush.

"What?" Wally managed to choke out, looking a bit faint.

"I didn't want you guys getting hurt because of him," Artemis said, "especially you, that would—" Her eyes widened and a flush rose in her cheeks that had absolutely nothing to do with the cold and then she felt the panic and contemplated running -running away from a speedster? God, that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard of- when he snagged her arm suddenly.

"You know, I found out pretty early on about Amy's dad," he told her, almost conversationally. "It wasn't really the villain part that bothered me…it was everything else."

"What're you talking about?" Artemis frowned.

"What bothered me the most," Wally was looking down where his hand was encasing her wrist, "was that he hit her and shocked her…physical and emotional abuse. You've seen her scars."

Artemis swallowed, trying not to think of Amy as small and scared, terrified of her own father.

"Amy turned out okay, despite him, and you…" Wally sucked in a breath. "You're a great sidekick and a great archer. I still think taking him on alone was a bad idea, but…" He shook his head before his eyes went steely. "You're one of us, you know that, right?"

Artemis' breath had caught in her throat and she could see every freckle dotting his cheeks and the exact color of green that were his eyes -a few shades off from Amy's-, and how the wind swept through his hair.

And then she was kissing him, tangling her fingers into his hair, and diving straight into the deep end without a care.

Wally made a noise of surprise under her mouth, releasing her arm, and it was only then that Artemis stepped back, startled at her own daring.

His cheeks were flushed from something other than the cold. Artemis felt inexplicably cold and that maybe she should apologize, but then he grinned and wound an arm around her waist, pulling her to him and all Artemis could feel was his mouth on hers.

"Especially me?" he hummed when his mouth was free, eyes gleaming like they did when he talked about science and Artemis, flushed and breathless with her hands hooked lightly over his shoulders, choked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said airily, though she was delighted with the kiss he pressed to her cheek when he couldn't get to her mouth as she tilted her head away from him.

Wally's lips curved. "You doing anything for dinner?"

"No?" There was a fire blazing in her chest. "Are you asking me on a date, Bay Watch?"

Wally grinned widely and kissed her again and it was the best thing ever.


Roy's head wasn't aching as much, which was a good thing, but his temper needed some work. He couldn't help but feel an irrational anger towards Amy for taking Artemis' side. She was dangerous! And Amy was choosing her over him! He'd known Amy longer! He'd been Amy's partner first!

He shut his apartment door behind him with a slam, pinching the bridge of his nose as he turned the light on, and it was only then that he realized he wasn't alone.

"Hello, Roy William Harper," came a low voice like a rasp and a tingle ran down Roy's spine. The only person who had ever used his full name was Dinah, not even Ollie had ever reprimanded him with his full name.

He froze at the sight of the man standing in his living room, heart racing in fear. The man standing there had skin several shades darker than Roy's own with three slashes scarring his face at a slant, at his right eye, over the bridge of his nose, and through his lip. His dark eyes gleamed and Roy found it hard to keep his eyes open.

"Don't worry," Vandal Savage said as Roy fell to his knees before falling sideways onto the floor, "you won't remember this when you wake up."

And then Roy, paralyzed where he'd fallen, fell blissfully into unconsciousness.


AN: Only a few chapters left until the big finale! Do you guys want a big finale chapter or do you want it split up?

As always: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!