A/N: Hi again, guys! I've been getting so emotional every time I think of Wally recently, it's depressing. My chemistry teacher said "-in a flash" in class this week, and I started tearing up. Wally, come back!

Thanks to all these lovely people, you guys make me try upload every weekend:

Black Bat Girl, Gorgeous Chaos, MusicLoverBLD, ZeroV, ingrid, spitfireforever, Arrowlover17

Chapter 4: Trust

If there was one thing Wally liked more than biomolecular science and food, it was seeing the newest addition to the team flip out.

It was no secret that Artemis wasn't exactly warm and friendly. She was always in her own little shut off bubble regardless of how many times M'gann asked if she wanted to 'hang out', or no matter how cheesy Robin's bad puns were. She was always so stiff, as if opening up was like a blade to the stomach, and anger was the only way she expressed herself.

She was like a jigsaw puzzle with 'over a thousand pieces' labeled on its box. Though it took a while before she even allowed herself to laugh in their presence- like it took some time to find the single puzzle piece to fix - Wally found himself becoming more curious as each day passed and another piece was added to the growing picture.

Some days he caught his own gaze lingering too long in her direction, and wondered if the reason she clenched her fists so frequently was due to his unintentional ogling, or if there were some inner demons she was sheltering from them. On better days, his ears strained to fully capture the archer's laugh as his brain tried to memorise the sound, and he'd find himself smiling along with her even though he'd never heard the punchline.

Maybe it's my diet, he perused often, but even his oh so reliable gut told him it wasn't so. His eyes were constantly searching for her lithe profile, and it got especially irritating during missions. The Kid Flash, fastest kid on earth, had managed to get punched in the jaw for not dodging quickly enough, just because a certain blonde silhouette had escaped from his view.

It's all her fault, he'd been fuming when M'gann had been patching him up. The Martian had persisted even though he'd told her that he healed faster than any of them did, and if it had been any other time, he would have relished the older girl's fingers on his face, but all he could feel was the ebbing ache in his jaw and emasculating humiliation.

The vexation he felt at himself for even bothering to look out for the archer's welfare, for even noticing that she didn't like the stillness of silence, for even realising that she wasn't at all bad increased, and as soon as his gaze had landed on the unsuspecting culprit entering the room, the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "You're a liability to this team."

"Wally!" M'gann gasped, her fingers pausing over his tender jaw. His anger faltered at the older girl's reprimand, but he should've known Artemis wasn't one to forgive and forget.

As usual, a fierce spark lit up in the feisty archer's eyes, and her one eyebrow rose immaculately in challenge. "Says the one cuddling his jaw like a sore baby."

In an instant, his hand left his jaw and he felt his irritation grow tenfold towards her. All her fault, the little voice in his head echoed and he suppressed a wince when he accidentally chomped down too hard on his already sore jaw. Miss Martian shot him a worried look, but he shook his head, and she stepped back. The tension in the air was palpable, even the Martian could feel its crackling pressure, and she sent both of them a brief cautious look before exiting the room.

The speedster's eyes never left from Artemis' cold gaze, and he crossed his arms. "Am not. Besides, if you hadn't been such an attention-seeking annoyance in the first place, then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Her eyes narrowed into slits, and her grey eyes darkened along with the room's ambiance. "Don't you blame this on me when you yourself f***ed up and got punched in the face. In fact, I'm glad the guy got a shot. I'm just jealous it hadn't been me."

"Like you'd be able to hit me in the first place."

"Says the fastest kid who can dodge a bullet but not a weak punch by some human."

"Not my fault you were being so distracting."

"And how was I being distracting?"

She looked at him expectantly as his tongue felt like an annealed rod of metal in his mouth. Suddenly, he wished M'gann hadn't left them alone. A million answers sprung into his mind, but all he could see was her bright hair dancing under the fluorescent light, slightly unravelling from the tight bundle she usually tied together, and the slender form of her figure accentuated by her costume.

"You fight like a girl," he blurted, a warm sensation tingling onto his cheeks as he continued with the first explanations he could scramble up. "And you make too much noise when you fight. Also, you're too slow."

She narrowed his eyes and even Wally knew then that his lies had been completely unconvincing. He knew the archer would think he was comparing her to Red Arrow again, and though he'd rather not face her fury since their relationship had improved somewhat, the former option was better than giving her the satisfaction of knowing that she affected him.

Much to his chagrin, the archer stormed towards him, her fists clenched to her sides and her eyes flashing with an untameable spark. He tried hard not to cower into the infirmary bed he sat on and held his head high as she slammed her fists on either side of him. She leaned down to his eye level, and scowled.

"Maybe you should follow your own 'helpful' tips yourself. Because the next time you dare criticise my skills, I'll punch you in the face."

Wally nodded hesitantly, her words registering in his mind much slower than usual. Fear should have been coursing through his veins as well as a burning fury that would've retaliated against hers, but instead, he picked up on the things he shouldn't have. Like how her warmth radiated mere centimetres away, or how her inner arm had slightly grazed his elbow, or how the curl of hair that had escaped her ponytail was tickling his collarbone.

Too soon or too long after- Wally couldn't decide- the archer retreated, sending him one last dirty look before striding confidently out of the room. As soon as the last wisp of blonde hair disappeared from his sight, the speedster released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and flung himself backwards onto the bed. What was he doing?

Just when he'd thought he'd found another piece to the puzzle, he had lost another. But that wasn't all he had lost. Gone was the deep dislike he felt for the archer, and as much as it scared him to say so, he might actually, sorta, maybe... Think she was alright.

Everything was in chaos.

Without the Justice League, the Team knew they had little chance of defeating the Injustice League. It was strange how two little letters could change so much, the Boy Wonder thought darkly as he evaded each deadly plant Poison Ivy sent his way.

Their experience was close to none compared to their opponents, and the likelihood of death seemed to be increasing with each defensive move Robin pulled. But he knew their chances weren't crucial. The mission objective was to shut down the main signalling plant, and regardless of defeating the Injustice League or not, all depended on their task.

Robin! called the Martian girl as she appeared out of nowhere, obliterating the plants blocking his path.

He narrowly avoided one rising under his foot that threw him off his rhythm, but he couldn't stop. Where are the others?

As soon as he'd asked, a glowing cage above them unhinged and he could see the faint silhouettes of his other team members falling down from the sky.

Being the only human, even though she had a slightly above average endurance, Artemis swallowed nervously at the height. She was falling rapidly and she had barely enough time to shift her position when the ground came rushing at her, and she landed on her feet- and one knee- with a painful thud. Adrenaline pumped in her veins and she rose immediately from her crouch, noticing that Kaldur was the only one next to her.

A bright orange blur caught her eye for a moment, and she glanced at Wally briefly before grabbing her bow and arrows- only to notice they were gone. Without much to work with, Artemis exchanged a glance with Kaldur. "I feel so naked... and not in a fun way."

Aqualad tilted his head. "Agreed."

He shot the unamused archer a look that she understood even before he verbally shouted one of the manoeuvres they'd been working on, and she ran towards him without pausing a beat as he threw her upwards.

Artemis flew through the air, and she did a somersault to increase the momentum of her kick. The satisfying crunch of the plant woman's face underneath her boots sent a familiar thrill through Artemis, and she fought on with this newfound confidence when she heard a sound to her left.

Her eyes flitted to its direction for just a moment, and without realising, her movement faltered when she noticed a glaring speck of orange lying in the muddy swamp water. A part of her was rejoicing that this would show him that her combat skills were infinitely better, but surprisingly, the majority of her conscience spoke differently and she let her concerned eyes rest on the figure for a while.

Anytime now...

A few moments later, Wally struggled to his feet and relief rushed through her when she released a breath she'd been holding. Thank god.

The archer's surroundings kicked in, and she shook her head to clear her mind, starting for Poison Ivy again when the latter used the brief distraction to her advantage, and a stem shot towards her, knocking her backwards.

Artemis had barely gotten onto her feet when the havoc around them paused as an earth-shuddering explosion shook the ground they fought on, and the air was suddenly leaden with smoke. The archer narrowed her eyes to peer up at the triumphant shadows of her teammates, and she felt the glow that accompanied success rush through her. Mission accomplished.

Except it hadn't been a recon mission, and as soon as the fight halted, the chaos ensued again. Too quickly for her mind to fully comprehend, one by one her teammates were apprehended and she'd just come to her senses when a ringing sound entered her ears as a mind numbing pain started across her forehead. Cradling her head in her hands, she could see the figure of Count Vertigo towering over her, and she closed her eyes shut tightly when the ringing doubled.

"Leave her alone," came an authoritative voice to her left, and she opened one eye to catch a grim look on Wally's face. If she hadn't been in such agony, she would've gaped at the speedster. His hands shook with the rest of his body, no doubt a sign of weakness from having been thrown around like a rag doll, but despite that, his vivid viridian eyes glared at the count, his gaze as steady as steel.

But then, things turned for the worse. Artemis had caught several flashes of light from her closed eyelids when a force hit her side and it shoved her to the ground, keeping her still. She had only opened her eyes for a few moments when the pressure disappeared, and she caught a figure dressed in gold, the Helmet of Fate on his head, floating towards Wotan. She stood up, eyes searching for the speedster and what she saw made her breath halt in her throat.

Without hesitating this time, the archer ran to his still figure and shook his shoulder.

"Kid! Hey, Kid! Wake up!"

He moaned and shoved her hand away with his other arm. "I think my arm's broken."

Artemis felt her eyes widen in shock as she stared at his arm. The confident, ever a pain in the arse Wally was injured, and she had always thought that it would be a day she'd look forward to, except in reality this was much more different than what she'd expected.

"Move your ass, Wally. You're going to get smashed," she tugged gently on his other arm as she helped him to his feet.

A small, feminine groan echoed behind them and Wally's head whipped towards its source, his broken arm forgotten. "M'gann!"

In an instant, the speedster whirled past Count Vertigo, ripping off a piece of his cloak in the process, and despite the shock still running in her system, Artemis relied on her instincts to run as fast as she could towards them, jumping to aim a kick to the count's jaw once she'd gotten close enough.

As soon as she'd landed on her feet, her eyes searched for her teammates again, spotting the redhead behind a tree trunk and M'gann levitating towards Robin's direction.

Artemis wasn't sure what made her follow the speedster. In her mind she had already turned around to join Miss Martian and the Boy Wonder, but instead her feet had led her straight ahead towards the fiery orange behind the dark oak of a tree. When she caught the speedster's expression however, she could care less why.

Wally's eyes were shut tightly in pain as he tried to move his arm to press it against his torso, and his teeth were gritted together to suppress a yell. With a feather touch and quick fingers, Artemis grabbed the piece of cloak from his other hand before making a makeshift sling for him.

"Hey! That's my souvenir!"

She glanced up at him with a cynical, raised brow before lowering her gaze back to his arm. "Stay still."

She'd just finished the knot around his shoulder when she looked up, shocked at the vulnerable, slightly moist state of his deep eyes staring into her own. They knew they would never mention whatever had passed between them at that moment, but Wally gave her a slight nod of appreciation and she returned his gesture with a small twitch of her lips.

The danger was far from over, but somehow, in all the midst of the Joker gas threatening to overtake the world, the two teammates had done something that would affect their lives more than their mission objective or saving Earth; they began to trust each other.

It's not a fantastic chapter, but I've decided to revise everything once I finish uploading every chapter I've planned. Thanks for reading! :)