Chapter Twenty-six — Insecurity

"These are three of the truths I know: We are all going to die, the universe is cold and empty, and the single greatest act of defiance against the dark is kindness."


Arley had been in the Mount Justice Cave library reading the book on Angtuans she'd gotten from Katma on the first night of Hanukkah— the Angtuans were a species of aliens that lived under a noxious gas cloud, much like the Raxacoricofallapatorians —when Wally had blown into the the room with a sly smirk on his face and troublesome glint in his eyes.

It was how she ended up underneath the speedster; they were both on one of the small bright green loveseats that littered the room, Arley's book was open on the table a few feet away and the Lantern had one hand entangled with the hair on the back of Wally's head and the other splayed out on the speedsters back, between his shoulders blades.

The speedster, as he hovered over the Lantern, pulled back, he trailed a row of kisses across Arley's face and down her jaw and throat until he stopped at the crook of her neck; Wally nipped at the skin there and Arley let out a pleasurable hum. The hand she had on the red heads back moved down to the hem of his shirt.

Arley slipped her hand under the fabric and as the pads of her fingers skimmed up her boyfriend's spine as he moved away from the crook of her neck a spot of skin that was above her collarbone.

"I know the two of you are together and all but I didn't need a demonstration," a familiar voice said from across the room. Both Arley and Wally froze; the couple's eyes met.

Maybe if they didn't move the person on the other side of the room wouldn't see them.

"I'm not going away," the person said from across the room, almost as if they'd read the two teenagers' minds and Arley's hand slipped from under Wally's shirt and from the back of his head as the speedster sat up on his knees. Arley pushed herself up using her elbows,

"Hey Roy," Wally grinned, the older hero scrunched up his nose at the pair.

"You two are disgusting, you know that," the archer said blandly, Roy crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "This is a library, a place of learning, you two should be ashamed."

"Maybe, but as disgusting and shameful as we are, you love us," Arley said as she bent her legs away from Wally so she could swivel around him on the loveseat and stand.

"Let's not go that far Greenie," Roy retorted and Arley flipped the archer off, Roy chuckled, "Feeling boys up—" Wally's face flushed red, "—And flipping people off, someone's grown up."

Arley glared at the red headed archer; Arley loved Roy Harper and when it came down to it she'd die for him— kill for him, just as she would Dick or Kaldur or Conner —in a heartbeat but that didn't mean she liked him, and most of the time, in her opinion there was only so much Roy she could take before she found herself wanting to wrap her hands around his neck.

"What are you doing here Roy?"

"I'm joining the team," Roy said and both Wally and Arley brightened, the Lantern smiled brightly at him, her sour attitude forgotten.

"Seriously?" Wally asked with a beaming smile of his own.

"Yes."

Wally threw a fist in the air, "Sweet!"

Arley walked over to the red headed archer with her arms up and outstretched; Roy, with a groan and a smirk wrapped his own arms around Arley's shoulders as she hugged him.

"Glad to have you back Roy," Arley murmured into the taller boy's chest, "I missed showing you up."

Roy reeled back with a sarcastic laugh.

"Here we go," Wally muttered from behind the two as he got up from the loveseat and straightened out his shirt.

"Show me up? Please even on your best day you couldn't be half as great as me."

Arley's arms dropped and she pressed her hands against her hips and cocked her head to the side.

"Excuse me?" Arley scoffed, she felt Wally press as hand to the small of her back and absentmindedly she leaned into his touch, "Look I know you're not the sharpest arrow in the quiver—"

"—That got old after the third time you used it Greenie—"

"—But in case you forgot, I have and always will wipe the floor with you Harper." Roy's eyes narrowed,

"You'd like to think so, wouldn't you."

"Think so?" Arley scoffed, "I know so." Roy hummed, Arley could see the competitive glint in his eyes spark to life and the Lantern felt thrill zap down her spine; in the almost six months since Roy had stormed out of the Hall of Justice Arley had missed her dumb little competitions with the archer, even if she wanted to smother the boy to death more often then not.

...

Arley and Wally and the rest of the team crowded around Roy in the Mount Justice Meeting Chamber, Kaldur smiled as the red headed archer recounted one of his solo missions; apparently Roy had saved Duchess from an assassination attempt her fiancée had planned in order to seize control of the families money.

"Artemis," Green Arrow greeted his protegee, Arley turned and smiled at her friend, "Just in time. Look who's agreed to join the team."

Green Arrow motioned to Roy who turned to the other archer with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sure," Artemis muttered scathingly, "Team's needed a real archer."

Arley's brows shot up as she shot the blonde a concerned look. Arley opened her mouth to ask the blonde archer if she were okay only for Green Arrow to clear his throat as he turned to the large computer monitor.

Arley took her seat next to Wally and Roy took the seat on Arley's other side; Artemis took the seat farthest away from the team, with her arms crossed over her chest. Arley frowned in her direction. The Justice Leagues archer typed something onto the computer and several images popped up; one of them being of Sportsmaster.

"Okay people, listen up, the Dynamic Duo is on a case in Gotham but Batman's given me a heads up, Sportsmaster was spotted coming through Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport."

"In full costume?" Zatanna asked, "Nervy."

"In street clothes," Green Arrow corrected, "Facial recognition software picked up on the identification. Find out what he's up to."

"All of us?" Conner asked. "That seems like overkill for a shadow job."

"Perhaps a small squad is required," Red Tornado said from the side of the room, "Miss Martians camouflage abilities seem ideal."

"Sportsmaster has proved he can still see Megs though," Arley said, "Or at least sense her."

"Which is why I thought that the sidekicks-sorry," Green Arrow apologized, "Ex-sidekicks could suit up on this one. Aqualad, Lantern, Kid Flash and Red Arrow." Wally leaned back and stretched behind Arley's chair to fist bump Roy.

"Good," Conner said as Roy turned to Arley, "Stakeouts make me crazy."

"Ready to see who's better Greenie?"

"We could use the night off," M'gann said as Arley shot the red headed archer a sharp simper.

"You're on," Arley said, "What're we betting?"

Artemis got to her feet,

"I want in," the female archer said. Arley turned away from Roy to look at her friend, "With M'gann and Robin out no one's logged more hours on the bio-ship then me."

Which was true; it'd taken Arley months to convince M'gann to let her near the bio-ship's pilot seat.

"Are you sure?" Green Arrow asked and Artemis' face hardened.

"Absolutely."

...

Roy and Kaldur— leaving Arley , Wally and Artemis in the ship's cockpit —had gone to the back of the bio-ship so that they could lock in Wally's Justice League issued motorcycle. Arley and Wally sat at the front of the ship and while Artemis was geared up and dressed in her uniform, neither Wally or Arley were in theirs.

The couple turned to the piloting archer, Artemis narrowed her eyes— not angerly but frustratedly —at the floor in front of herself and Arley frowned. Arley shared a look with Wally and the speedster blinked at the girl with a shrug and a turn of his hand, so Arley looked at Artemis again.

"Arty you-you know you are a real archer right?" Arley asked, and Artemis pressed her lips more firmly together; Arley could see that the blonde held back an eye roll because her eyes had half turned in her head before dropping back down to the floor of the ship with a glare.

"Look Artemis," Wally tried, "We're jazzed about Red Arrow, we are-we all go way back, but you've made your own place on the team, okay? You've got nothing to prove, not to us."

Artemis' shoulders dropped and her face softened.

"Okay," Artemis nodded, "And Arley? Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Arley smiled softly at her friend.

...

Arley and the others were in Orleans Parish just outside the Louisiana city; the air, despite it being December, was muggy and there was fog hovering over the ground. There wasn't a mind-link established to tell Arley where Artemis and the bio-ship were in the sky or where Aqualad was in the water or even where Roy was in the brush that overlooked the boat rental they had tracked Sportsmaster too.

The only person's location she knew for sure was Kid Flash's and that was because he was pressed up behind her as she was parked on the side of some windy, Louisiana road, just a few miles down from the boat rental.

"Targets heading North," Red Arrow said into his communicator, Arley reeved the motorcycle's engine before she and Kid kicked off and began to head North, "Pursue but maintain a discreet distance. And that goes double for you Artemis," Red Arrow said almost snidely and Arley frowned behind her helmet at the red headed archers tone, "Sportsmaster proven adept at spotting Martian camouflaging when in motion."

Arley could see Sportsmaster boat disappear around the bend as she and Kid continued to drive down the road from a safe distance; their head light was on in order to give an air of inconspicuousness.

Sportsmaster wouldn't think twice about a motorcycle on the road if he thought it was just two lovesick kids going on a midnight ride.

"He stopped," Red Arrow said as Arley turned the motorcycle around another curve in the road, "Hold your positions. I'm moving in for a closer look."

Arley pulled off to the side of the road and turned the bike off.

Arley turned at the waist to look at Wally; "You don't think Red's still caught up on that replacement stuff from when Artemis first joined Arrow, do you?"

"What no," Wally said, "Do you think so?" Arley shrugged;

"I mean what was that whole, and that goes double for you Artemis, before? I'm not hearing things right, he sounded like a prick."

Wally swayed his head from side to side.

"Yeah but it's Red Arrow, you remember how he was when GA first introduced him, right?"

Arley did; Roy Harper had been fifteen and a complete and utter prick, so much so that Arley had ended up flipping him over his shoulder, breaking Oliver Queens coffee table and nearly dislocating Roy's shoulder before his hero career had even started. Of course they had become friends after that— but still, she remembered how Roy Harper had been when Green Arrow introduced Speedy to the world —so the Lantern nodded.

"Cheshire's made Artemis," Red Arrow said into his communicator and Arley's eyes widened.

"Leave it?" Wally asked as his eyes flickered down to the motorcycle.

"We've been made anyway," Arley said with a shrug as she whipped off the green motorcycle helmet she'd been given back at the cave and transformed into her uniform. Wally kicked the bikes stand so it wouldn't fall over and the two heroes— Wally ran below Arley —made their way to where their friends were.

Arley could see smoke clearing the communicators GPS said Red Arrow and Artemis were; Kid was only a few steps behind her as he ran below her. Arley heard the motor of a boat and she turned to see Sportsmaster getting away, but as she turned her head back to the clearing smoke and saw Artemis on the ground and Cheshire leering over Red Arrow, with a weapon in her hand, the Lantern pushed herself forward towards the clearing.

"But at least a kiss is still a kiss," the assassin said; Kid slid across the ground and elbowed the woman off of Red Arrow; Arley landed next to Artemis and helped pick the archer up, Arley handed the girl her bow.

"And a sai, is just a sai," Kid Flash smirked, holding Cheshire's weapon in his hand, "And quite the souvenir by the way."

"Artemis tracer arrow on Sportsmaster, now!" Red Arrow demanded; Artemis pivoted on her heel with her bow raised and a tracer arrow notched but the girl didn't take the shot, instead she scoffed.

"He's out of range."

"Move," Roy snapped as he got to his own feet, his bow in hand and one of his own tracer arrows notched. Red Arrow fired and the arrow sailed across the night sky before it broke apart and shot the tracer from it's tip.

The tracer landed on the motor of Sportsmasters boat.

Red Arrow took a running leap down the hill to where his jet ski was.

"You're abandoning?" Artemis snapped,

"I'm prioritizing," Red Arrow snapped back, "Lantern follow in the air."

Arley looked back at the female assassin that was still laying on the ground before she shot up, high into the air, and took off after Sportsmaster.

Sportsmaster looked like an ant from where Arley flew amongst the clouds.

"Aqualad, the targets made me so I'll take a dive so he can think he's in the clear and you can track him from below; Lantern I want you to follow from above, the rest if us will be right behind using the tracer."

Arley saw Red Arrow speed up and curve around Sportsmasts rental boat; the League of Shadows member didn't hesitate to throw a handful of golf ball sized explosives at the archer. Red Arrow's jetski flipped and the archer threw himself from the vehicle as it overturned.

Arley saw Sportsmaster move away from the boats steering wheel to the boats motor— where the tracer was —before he threw another handful of golf ball sized explosives into the water.

"Aqualad!" Arley shouted into her communicator as Sportsmasters boat picked up speed and disappeared into the distance; Arley shot down towards the water when the explosives Sportsmaster had dropped into lake Borgne exploded and water shot up around her, soaking her.

"Here!" Aqualad responded as the water began to settle; Arley— as relief flooded her body —floated in the air drenched from head to toe, "Artemis, Kid listen, put a tracer on Cheshire's sword and take a fall, we will find Sportsmaster by tracking her when they rendezvous."

"Got it," Artemis grunted and Arley swooped down to hover over the water that Red Arrow and Aqualad were floating in.

"You two okay?"

Aqualad nodded; "Yes."

Arley willed a platform for both Aqualad and Red Arrow to climb onto, from her ring and both boys pulled themselves onto the glowing green construct before Arley turned in the air and started back towards where her boyfriend and other teammate were.

A few minutes later, when Cheshire was gone and the train that had been on the tracts when she had attacked was no longer there, Arley and the two boys she'd been carrying via construct landed.

"Babe!" Kid said as he rushed away Artemis; Arley, when Kid got closer, took a step back with her still dripping wet hands in the air. There wasn't a reason for the both of them to soaking wet in just above freezing temperatures; Arley ring would keep her warm and while she knew Kid would be able to heat himself up by vibrating, Arley doubted they'd have time to stop somewhere for Kid to eat when he needed to replenish the calories he'd burnt.

Kid grimaced at Arley as he turned to Aqualad.

"You and Artemis managed to place the tracer?"

"Yeah," Wally said. Artemis, emerged from the brush,

"Cheshire's heading North," Artemis said as she held up the tracker Green Arrow had given her for her tracer arrows.

"Sportsmaster was headed South, kind of like this mission," Red Arrow said.

"Maybe he'll double back, maybe she will."

"Either way," Wally said, "They'll rendezvous and we'll find them."

"We had better," Aqualad said, "Sportsmaster acquired an attaché case, we need to learn what it contained, if you had stayed a board the bio-ship—"

"—I saw Cheshire sneaking up on him," Artemis said with a wave in Red Arrows direction as she cut Aqualad off.

"Then you radio a warning," Red Arrow snapped.

"And if she found you by hacking our frequency?" Artemis snapped back cooly.

"It is true, we have come to rely on Miss Martians telepathic link over our radios," Aqualad said turning to Red Arrow.

"So let's stop looking to place blame," Kid said easily, "And start looking for Cheshire."

"Here," Artemis said as she held out the tracking device Green Arrow had given her, her voice was void of any emotion, "Since clearly I can't be trusted, you track her." Artemis tossed the tracker to Red Arrow— which the red headed archer caught easily —only for Arley to snatch the tracker away from the older teen.

Arley handed the tracker back to the blonde; "Arty," Arley pleaded but Artemis shook her head as she took a step back,

"It's fine," Artemis said. It was clearly a lie and Arley's fingers curled around the tracker, "I'll follow in the bio-ship." Artemis turned around and walked back to where the still camouflaged bio-ship was; Arley threw a heated look over her shoulder at Red Arrow and Kaldur stepped between the pair.

"Lantern, Kid, go back to the bike, Arrow and I will return to the river and we will all follow as originally planned," the Atlantean said; he and Red Arrow turned and Wally paused as Arley took a heavy step forward.

"Babe?" Arley hummed as she looked to the speedster only to see him— with a small smile —holding out his heavy and dry leather jacket to her. Arley looked between the outstretched jacket and her boyfriend, she heard splashes as Aqualad and Red Arrow got into the water.

"You'll be freezing on the back of the bike," Arley said but nonetheless Wally shrugged as he jerked the jacket in her direction,

"So that just mean's I'll have to hold on to you tighter," Wally told her and Arley's cheeks burned as she smiled at the speedster; she took his jacket from him and slipped it over her damp shoulders.

She loved him; Arley had fallen in love with Wally West's kindness years ago but every time he did something kind for her just because that was the kind of person he was she always found herself falling in love with him all over again.

...

"Arrow to Aqualad," Red Arrow said through the com-link; Arley's eyes narrowed at the sound of the archers voice, she loved the older teen but there truly was only ever so much time you could spend around Roy Harper without wanting to strangle him and Arley was pretty sure she had surpassed the time threshold trice over. "Located Cheshire and Sportsmaster, rendezvous at my coordinates."

"Acknowledged," Aqualad said into his communicator. "Sending Kid and Lantern ahead."

"Guess that's our queue, babe," Kid Flash said from behind Arley, she could hear the grin in his voice. Arley pulled the bike over and slid her helmet off herself once more; she had stayed transformed since she and Wally had remounted the bike after Sportsmaster and Cheshire had first gotten away.

"Guess so Handsome." Kid Flash's eyes twinkled under his helmet,

"Bet you a date that I beat you to Reds coordinates," Arley laughed, she flashed her pearly white teeth at him,

"I bet you a kiss that I beat you."

"Oh you're on."

...

Cheshire had Artemis cornered when Arley and Kid reached the warehouse coordinates, Kid Flash, no longer in the civilian clothes he had been wearing but rather his normal crime-fighting costume, body slammed the League of Shadows member across the room and into a float.

Arley, with a glowing green hunting knife in her hand, guarded her boyfriends back as he turned it in order to help Artemis to her feet. "Aqualad, GL and I found the tracer on a caboose-and I don't mean Cheshire's."

"She must of ditched it," Artemis said, her voice sounding off and just as Arley turned to look at the blonde archer the masked assassin lunged with her weapon drawn; Arley's construct melted in her hand and turned into whip and as the Lantern staggered back, avoiding the up-swipe of Cheshire's sword.

"Lantern!"

A flash of red illuminated the room; Arley tossed out the green whip in her hands and the loop of the lasso slipped down the blade of Cheshire's weapon and onto the assassin's wrist. Arley pulled back, the honda— the knot of her lasso —shrunk the loop of the lasso and Arley lifted her leg as she hooked her knee and foot around the glowing green rope of her weapon before slamming her foot down on the ground, pulling Cheshire forward onto the ground.

Cheshire threw her legs up and pushed herself onto her hands and Arley stumbled back in order to avoid a kick to the face; Kid rushed forward, though not before he threw a look over his shoulder at Artemis.

"We got this, go!"

From over Cheshire's shoulder Arley saw Artemis burst through a large pair of doors with her bow drawn; and the Lantern ducked as Cheshire's leg flew through the air. The assassin blocked Kid's punch and slipped the leg she'd tried to use against Arley out, sweeping Kid's feet out from under him.

Cheshire's heel shot in the direction of Kid's face and Arley threw her lasso, looping it around the assassins knee.

Arley tugged and the dark haired killer— Cheshire —hit the ground before she flashed red and turned to ice.

The icy form that had been Cheshire broke under Arley's construct and Arley's mouth fell open at the sight and she turned to Red Arrow and Sportsmaster only to see the masked villain on the other side of the room had also turned to ice.

Arley looked over Kid who stared at the pile of ice open mouthed as well.

What the kriffing hell, Arley thought.

...

Back at the cave, in the Meeting Chamber no one sat around at the long oval table and instead Arley and the rest of the team crowded around in a huddle together by the large computer monitor.

"Let us be clear, we failed." Kaldur said, "Though the Injustice League remains behind bars their allies still scheme, and we have learned nothing of their plans." Roy, next to Kaldur, scoffed.

"Gee I wonder why," Roy sneered in Artemis' direction; Arley's hackles raised.

"Hey!" Artemis snapped with a pointed finger, "Who found out Sportsmaster was working for Brain, Ivo and Klarion?"

"Yeah great Intel," Roy snapped, staking a step forward, "Except Ivo's been in Bel Rev the whole time, and the guards just checked, and it's the real Ivo, not a robot."

Arley's eyes narrowed at the red headed archer as her friend's eyes dropped to the floor and her shoulders hunched forward.

"You know I'm getting really kriffing tired of you being a fucking prick Roy," Arley snapped as she stepped up in front of Artemis, Roy took a step forward and Arley could feel her teammates take a collective breath as she squared her shoulders.

Roy held up a tracer.

"And?" Arley blinked, "Cheshire ditched it."

"No," Roy scoffed, "Artemis ditched it so that she could send us on a wild goose chase. This is the one Cheshire ditched," Roy pointed up a second tracer that was in Kaldurs hand and before he held up a third, "And she put this one on Cheshire."

Arley seemed to freeze.

Artemis lied about being Oliver Queen's niece, she lied about why she lived in Gotham with her mother and she lied on a mission, and yet, Arley felt more hurt then angry at the girl. But she didn't show it; Arley didn't look at Artemis, she tilted her chin up and looked defiantly at Roy.

"And?" Arley asked again, colder. Artemis was family and Arley would fall on her sword for her if she had to because she knew Artemis had a good reason to lie about everything, she could feel it in her bones.

"And?" Roy repeated, "She lied—"

"—Like you've never done that before." Arley snapped.

Wally stepped up and put a hand on Arley's arm, Arley turned.

"Babe," Wally said and Arley raised a brow at the speedster as the look in her eyes hardened and Wally's already downtrodden face seemed to crumble. Arley's heart twisted but she had meant what she said to Artemis back in October on the Manhattan bench, she was always going to be in her corner; even if she was the only person there.

"What? Artemis is our teammate, we trust her," Arley said with no room in her voice for debate; she wouldn't be swayed, she trusted Artemis.

"I'm not saying we don't but—"

"—But what Wally?" Arley snapped, "If you're not saying that, then what are you saying? She made a mistake, we've all done that, in case you forgot."

"I'm not saying that none of us haven't ever made a mistake," Wally said tightly, "But she put herself, the mission and the rest of us at risk; she pulled a dumb and selfish move because of what? She's freaked out that Roy's joined the team and needed to prove herself!"

"Or maybe she had an honest to Nortz, legitimate reason-maybe if Roy wasn't such a kriffing prick, and maybe if you weren't following right in his footsteps she'd be able to tells us that, but no Roy Harper and Wally West, you two know everything don't you?" Arley spat.

Arley stepped back, away from the speedster as he had opened his mouth to fire something back at her and turned to the blonde archer,

"You had a good reason?" Arley asked— demanded of —the archer and Artemis whose shoulders had folded in on herself looked at Arley.

"Yes," Artemis said, her voice cracked and Arley could hear the promise in her voice; Arley nodded.

"Then that's all I need to know," Arley glared over her shoulder at Roy― there were several things she wanted to tell the red headed archer; none of them were nice or anything that should be said in a heat of the moment type situation ―and looked at an almost furious looking Wally with an expression just as heated as his. But instead of saying anything else to the speedster or the red headed archer, Arley shook her head angrily in their directions and grabbed Artemis' wrist before she stormed out of the room with the blonde in tow.

She trusted Artemis, she did; so she ignored the hurt inside of her because she trusted that Artemis' reason to lie was good enough.

...

Later that night, in the Mount Justice Gymnasium, Arley found herself alone as she, with wrapped hands, worked on the sand bag that hung from the ceiling in the corner of the room.

Wally hadn't spoken to her before he'd gone home— and she was sure he had gone home because of how late it was —and she had heard Conner lead M'gann away from the door hours ago, citing that Arley needed to be alone and she was sure that Kaldur wasn't back from the Batcave so when she heard the door be pushed open Arley had turned expecting to see Richard Grayson or Zatanna; Roy Harper was the last person she had expected to see.

"What do you want?" Arley asked as she paused, her hands still up in front of her,

"To talk," Roy said simply, Arley shot the archer a dry look, "We're friends right?" Roy wondered, "Friends talk."

Arley's jaw clenched.

"If this is about the shit Arty pulled on the mission I don't want to hear it, pal," Arley snapped as she turned back to the bag, "She made a dumb mistake, we've all been there."

Dick and her had almost been killed by Black Mask; Dick, when he had first gotten the cape, had thought that he and Arley could impress Batman and Hal by taking down the Gotham Kingpin.

Wally had once put a bank full of hostages at risk when he had leapt before looking, causing the bank robbers to nearly blow the building and the innocent civilians up to kingdom-come.

Roy, wanting to dazzle Oliver and the other adults, had once been held captive for nearly three months in Northern Rhelasia because he had snuck off in the middle of the night to investigate a mission of his own and Kaldur had once almost caused a building to collapse when he had thoughtlessly pulled the water from the buildings pipes, leading to serious structural damage thus endangering his, Aquaman and civilian lives.

"And what if it wasn't?" Roy snapped back, "Arley there's a mole on your team—"

"—And it's not her!" Arley spun, "Roy I get it, you don't like her—"

"—I don't trust her. You know as well as I do she's not Oliver's niece."

"So? Rob won't tell Conner, Artemis, Megs or Tanna who he really is so I guess they shouldn't trust him either."

"That's not the same," Roy tried to say but Arley shook her head,

"The hell it isn't, Roy back on Oa the first thing we learn in bootcamp is that you can't be on a team if you don't trust the person you're fighting with because then you'll be too paranoid and get everyone killed."

"And sometimes there's something called too much trust, Arley you look at every hero out here like their your brother in arms and you're ready to die for them, but in case you forget this isn't Oa, it's not the Corps, humans can't be trusted. Artemis is the mole and she has you fooled."

"You're wrong," Arley denied.

"And if I'm not?" Roy hissed, "If she gets Wally killed-if she kills him herself, what are you going to do then, huh?" Arley flinched back at the hypothetical, "Or what if she got Conner or Robin killed; what if one night while you and her are having a sleepover she slits Hal's throat, because she's the mole."

"And what if she's not!" Arley snapped back angrily, "What if she's an honest and good kind of person and we push her away because she'd not telling us everything about herself-Roy she's entitled to privacy, and kriff why would Oliver say she's his niece if she's not on the up-and-up?" Arley's hands balling in front of her, "I trust Artemis and I trust her with the lives of everyone I care about."

"I don't," Roy said.

"You don't have to, but I'm asking you as your friend to stop trying to burn her at the stake every time she so much as moves. She's good." Roy didn't nod, he didn't reply for what felt like forever.

"If it's not her," Roy said quietly, "Then who do you think the mole is?"

Arley pressed her lips together, unable to answer because when it came down to it she didn't think there was a mole, she didn't care what Sportsmaster had said to Kaldur, none of her teammates would betray her or the others. Family didn't do that to each other.

"None of them," Arley said firmly.

"And if you're wrong?"

"I'm not." She wasn't; there wasn't anyone on the team that would betray her or the others.

"I hope, for everyone's sake, you're right."