Author's Note: Hey guys. Thank you so much for your supportive reviews. I had fun with that last chapter. So, I decided to post a new one challenging another fanfic cliche I find annoying and illogical. Who knows, maybe I'll do some more one-shots in the future. Some might be long, others might be less than 1k. Hmmm. Hope you enjoy this! :)

He hated how his powers worked.

Wally dashed over to the kitchen sink and turned the faucet on. Then he pulled out a dish cloth and damped it under the stream before turning the faucet off again. After wringing out most of the water, he gently applied it to his nose. It still stung, but at least he wasn't dripping blood on the floor.

Recognize Artemis B06.

And here comes Miss Ice Queen.

"Baywatch."

"Speedy Wannabe."

"Wow." Artemis said sarcastically. "That almost sounded like an insult."

Wally chuckled. "So, how's your uncle handling you as his sidekick? Aside from comparing you to Spee – I mean, Red Arrow, that is."

Artemis shrugged. "You know, shooting some bad guys. Jumping across buildings. Shooting some more bad guys and hoping that they don't die from blood loss."

Now they both laugh out loud. They weren't friends, but Wally realized that he and Artemis always had a fun time ribbing each other. It took the initial sting of Roy not being on the Team away. Just as long as no one assumed they were a couple…

Then again, she is kind of hot…

"Is that an arrow in your pants or are you just happy to see me?" Artemis smirked.

CRAP! He forgot about the energy bar in his pocket. It must have shifted while he was running again!

"No! No, no, Artemis, it's really not what it looks like." Wally held up his hands in a sign of good will.

"Funny." Artemis replied dryly. "Looks to me like you're having a-"

"Problem keeping my energy bars in one place." Wally interjected, fishing the snack out of his pocket to prove it.

Artemis seemed satisfied – good – until…

"Wally, what happened to your nose?"

Wally blinked, the arm holding the wet cloth limping to his side. The once snow-white cloth was now showing a large red stain.

"Nothing to worry about, Wannabe." He unwrapped his energy bar and began chewing the snack slowly. His voice was muffled as he spoke. "Just ran into a wall again. Still not vibrating through."

"Uh huh." Artemis frowned. Her eyes started looking softer than usual. The metaphorical steel in her eyes was replaced with…aw to hell with it, Wally sucked at English and doing an inner monologue about what Artemis' eyes looked like wasn't going to change that. Ever.

Great. He was getting one of those looks again. The ones that almost lead to Child Services being called and people automatically assuming the worst.

"I'm serious, I just ran into a wall to try vibrating through it like the Flash does." Wally insisted. "It's not one of those 'I fell down the stairs' excuses."

"Wally, you don't need to lie about it. We're here for you. You can talk to me about it."

"You mean you tried running into a wall on purpose?" The joke only made Artemis frown deeper. She opened her mouth to speak again when the intercom echoed in the Cave.

Recognize Miss Martian B05.

Oooh. Megalicious was here. Maybe the presence of another female would distract Artemis and hopefully stop her poor attempts at detective work. That was Robin's job.

"M'gann, how was school?" Wally dashed over to the green Martian, trying not to think about how hot his cheeks were becoming.

M'gann smiled at him for a few seconds until she looked directly at his face. And probably noticed the blood if her frown was any indication otherwise.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Apparently, Baywatch ran into a wall." Artemis came up behind Wally. Oh sure, be sarcastic to a person whom you believe to be lying about an injury. Then again, she wasn't there that day Rob told the others about his attempts.

He had to put his foot down before things got out of hand. Wally looked at Artemis. "Yes! I did run into a wall. Miss M, didn't Rob tell you about my attempts at vibrating through solid objects when you showed us around Happy Harbor?"

"Of course." M'gann smiled.

Artemis frowned. "You know he could be ly-"

"Artemis, would you stop assuming my parents hit me?!"

Wally blinked. He could hear his voice echoing across the walls for several moments and felt his face grow warm. Artemis turned away, her head tucked down.

"Why are you even worrying about it, Arty?"

Artemis didn't turn to face Wally. "Because…because…someone has to."

"W-what?"

"Kids in abusive households sometimes feel like they deserved being treated like garbage. If one person shows that they care, then it can help the kid realize that they aren't living a good life. The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that there is one." Artemis' voice started cracking at the end.

How Wally's hand made it to Artemis' shoulder, he didn't remember. She didn't push it away. Alright, so what happened wasn't physical…or was she still dealing with it?

"Artemis." He paused. How could he explain it to her? Without pushing her away? "I'll be honest with you. Having you worry about me of all people; that's unexpected. But you know what…I'm kind of touched."

Artemis looked at him now. An eyelash must have been stuck in her eye. God knows how much that bothered Wally when it happened with him. "How can you be so calm about this?"

"Maybe because he's not abused?"

Wally and Artemis turned their heads simultaneously to look at M'gann.

M'gann blushed. "I don't know much about Earth's culture, but Uncle J'onn told me about how some families aren't nice to their children for odd and wrong reasons. If Wally was being abused, wouldn't his mentor know about it?"

"But what if he saw the nose and thought-"

"That it was me running into a wall again?" Wally said, cutting off Artemis' question. "He'd believe it. Not because he trusts me. But because he knows what my family is like and he's also a forensic scientist. He'd know if my family were hitting me or not. If he even suspected that it were the case, do you think the Flash would let me be near my family?"

"What makes you so sure he'd protect you?" Artemis said.

"Well." Wally said slowly. "It helps that he's married to my dad's sister. Whom my dad loves and respects a great deal. If she's mad at my dad, it will be for the right reasons. Do you think the Justice League would be that oblivious if someone on the Team were being abused? Batman would have known in a heartbeat, he's the World's Greatest Detective. Black Canary would have known something was off during sparring. Martian Manhunter would have read my mind or sensed something off. Heck, even Robin would be putting the pieces together if I were being abused and would have done something about it.

"And that's not even getting into how I would be handling the situation-"

Artemis started speaking when Wally took a moment to breathe. "Kids in abusive homes could be afraid of fighting back, even if they were capable of winning-"

"True. But again, Flash or the League would have picked up on that a long time ago and hauled my dad off to prison. Let's say that the abuse started recently." Wally continued. "Say my dad's looking really sour for some odd reason – maybe he was drinking or lost his job – and decides 'You know what? I'm going to take my anger out on my son for no good reason.' So he decides to hit me…or so he thinks, because I would have seen it a mile away and dodged. My super-speed means that I don't have to worry about taking hits that often."

"What about sparring with Black Canary?" Artemis crossed her arms.

"That's different. She's a trained fighter and sparred with the Flash before. My dad is not in good shape – no offense to him, 'cause I love him to death – and isn't going to be dominating me in a fight. At. All. Seriously, you could video tape us fighting and post it on America's Funniest Home Videos, he's that pathetic. Verbal abuse? I would have packed up and called the Flash to pick my mom up the moment I realized that it was a problem.

"Sexual abuse? …I'd have to have forgotten how to fight a full-grown adult in order for that to happen. I would have to forget that I had super speed and would have gotten away ASAP. And that's only in the scenario that my mom left me with my dad. If my mom were in danger…let's just say Batman would have to pull a lot of strings to keep me out of Juvie and prison."

Artemis sighed, sounding more relaxed this time. Wally pulled her in an embrace, feeling her flinch from the sudden contact. A moment later, he felt two arms wrap around his back.

"Sorry for the scare." Wally said.

"I overreacted." Artemis mumbled.

"No, you acted like a friend. You didn't know about the power problems I've been dealing with and didn't take my word for it automatically." Wally blinked. Dear God, he was starting to sound like Black Canary during weekly counseling sessions! "To be honest, I would be a little worried if you believed me that quickly."

Artemis pushed away from him. "Then why were you getting upset at me when I didn't believe you?"

Wally sighed. "I just realized why you didn't believe me until that rant just now. Delayed epiphany?"

"Maybe your brain's not as fast as your feet." Artemis said with a smirk.

"And this is why you're still single."

Artemis punched him in the shoulder playfully, though Wally still needed to massage the area for a few moments. M'gann flew off, saying that she would get an icepack for him. Seeing the look of concern on Artemis' face, Wally stuck out his tongue and poked Artemis in the nose.

"Boop!" He said.

Artemis chuckled. "Dork."

Author's Note: The creators of Young Justice made it clear that Wally's parents were loving, especially during Wally's 16th birthday. Artemis did have a right to be worried in this chapter, she wasn't present during that conversation in Episode 2. I was a little afraid that if Wally didn't agree with her concerns that I'd be giving out the wrong idea. Thanks for reading!