Artemis shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, which did little to warm her up. Artemis was unused to feeling cold. When she was younger her father used to make her endure extreme heat and cold so she would grow used to them. It had just been part of her training, and as a result of it, she never really was bothered by the cold.
But this wasn't just a normal chill. It felt to Artemis as if her insides were freezing. Kind of like the chills that one gets when they have a fever, except it felt even worse. Artemis knew that this had been caused by Cameron. She didn't blame him though. Artemis knew that sometimes he got emotional and lost control. She didn't exactly hold that against him.
What she did hold against him though was the fact that he was trying to push her away. Again! Why was it that Cameron sometimes acted like he wanted nothing more than to be with Artemis, and yet he continually did his best to stay as far away from her as possible? What was his deal?
Artemis scowled and cursed Cameron's idiocy under her breath as she left the stupid penthouse and began to head downstairs. She didn't want to just leave Cameron alone. That was never what she had wanted. Unfortunately, over the past ten years if there was one thing that Artemis had learned it was that Cameron could be the most stubborn person in the world sometimes, and when he didn't want to see her, he really didn't want to see her.
It wasn't like Artemis was going to let Cameron's stubbornness keep her away from him forever. Not this time. No, Artemis just planned on leaving him alone for a bit, just long enough to give him a chance to cool down, as well as give her the chance to find a way to make this stupid chill go away.
When Artemis got back outside she found Dick and Wally right where she had left them...well, not right where she had left them. Instead of standing right outside the door of the building, the two boys were sitting in the middle of the road, chatting.
Artemis smiled slightly at the sight. If anybody else were to see the two of them, they never would have guessed that the boys had only met less than an hour before. They seemed like best friends. Artemis was glad for Dick. She may not know much about the younger boy, but she did know that he was lonely. Being around Wally was obviously doing good for him.
"What are you idiots doing?" Artemis' tone was harsher than she meant it to be. She couldn't help it though. She always acted more aggressive when she was uncomfortable or in pain. Wally and Dick turned to face Artemis, and by their looks of shock Artemis could assume that she wasn't doing a very good job at hiding her discomfort.
Wally noticed how Artemis was hugging herself and shivering. He quickly got to his feet, took off his jacket, and wrapped it around Artemis' shoulders. It didn't do much to warm her up, but she appreciated the gesture all the same.
Dick took one look at Artemis and quickly deduced what had happened. "What did Cameron do?"
Artemis scowled. "Why do you just assume that he did something?" Artemis asked sourly.
Dick raised an eyebrow. "Did he?"
"No...well, yes, but he didn't try to!" Artemis said defensively.
"I never thought that he did." Dick said.
"Hold on a second." Wally said. "Your friend did this to you? How?"
"He's a meta-human. He can control ice." Artemis said simply.
"That's questionable." Dick said as he examined Artemis' arms, trying to find an injury caused by ice.
"Hey, go easy on him." Wally frowned in an almost pout like way. "Having powers is harder than it looks. I know that I still lose control sometimes." Dick's serious expression loosened up a bit.
"Right. I forgot." Dick apologetically. "It's been awhile since I've been around people who haven't had their powers for at least a few decades."
Wally furrowed his brow. "What do you-" His train of thought stopped suddenly when Artemis' legs seemed to give out from beneath her. Wally caught her before she could fall to the ground. "Artemis! Are you okay?"
"What did Cameron do to you?" Dick asked, his eyes wide.
"I-i don't know." Artemis shuddered and leaned closer to Wally's touch. "I'm not even sure if he knows. But if feels like my insides are going to freeze."
"Hang on. The cold is coming from inside you?" Wally asked, equal parts concerned and confused. "I've never known an ice attack to do something like that."
"Me either." Dick said, a calculated look on his face. "This may just be nothing. A temporary side effect."
"Yeah, or it could be a big freaking deal." Wally took Artemis in his arms and, ignoring her protests, held her bridal style. He turned so his back was facing Dick. "Get on."
Dick knew immediately what Wally was thinking. "Where are we going?"
"Artemis needs help, and I have some friends who just might be able to do something for her." Wally said.
"I don't need anything." Artemis said stubbornly. Wally ignored her protests.
"They're aren't too far from here, but it'll still be faster if I run us there." Wally continued. "So get on my back."
"If you're going to be running us there, shouldn't you wear goggles or something to protect your eyes?" Dick asked. Or did Wally not do that anymore?
"Right, I almost forgot about those." Wally said sheepishly. "There's a pair in my back pocket. Can you get them and put them on me?"
"You know it would probably be easier, faster, and way less awkward if you just put Artemis down for a second and do it yourself." Dick pointed out. Nevertheless, he grabbed Wally's goggles for him and struggled for a moment to get the goggles over Wally's eyes. He had been right about it being awkward, and Dick was pretty sure that they didn't feel very comfortable, but Wally didn't make any complaints, so Dick let it be.
Once Wally was wearing his goggles and Dick was situated on his back, he took off at lightning speed. Dick would have liked to see where they were going, but they were moving too fast and the rush of wind was making his eyes hurt. Dick ducked his head and held on to Wally as tight as he could. Dick wasn't really a fan of moving at such a fast speed, and he just hoped that this whole thing would be over soon. At the same time though, he didn't want it to end.
Fortunately (and unfortunately) speedsters had a tendency to get places quickly, and it wasn't long before they had reached their destination. It was a cave that Dick assumed was on the small mountain just outside of Star City, because he could tell that they hadn't gone very far, and there were only so many caves near the city.
The thing was, this wasn't a normal cave. For one thing, it looked like a cross between a normal boring cave, and a high tech lair or something. Kind of like the Batcave, except not nearly as impressive. Also, the cave was much too large to naturally be a part of the mountain that Dick was still pretty sure it was a part of.
"What is this place?" Artemis asked as Wally put her down.
"Uh, it's kinda like a refuge for anybody who needs it." Wally said. Dick immediately understood that this was the hideout that Wally and the others had been using for the past few years.
"And you brought us here?" Dick raised an eyebrow. It seemed to be a rather hasty decision. Yeah, he and Artemis were both trustworthy, but what if they weren't?
"Well, yeah." Wally shrugged. "Why wouldn't I."
"Because you're not supposed to bring strangers here." A voice from behind said. The three teenagers jumped and turned to face a young man who seemed to be a few years older than them. Dick's breath hitched at the sight of another familiar friendly face...even if he didn't look very friendly at the moment. He actually looked very angry.
"They needed help, Roy." Wally said. "What did you want me to do, just leave them out there?"
"That is exactly what you should have done." Roy said angrily. "Do you have any idea who those two are?"
"Uh...yes?" Wally said questionably, which meant that he didn't know who they were. Or, more importantly, who their parents were.
"Artemis Crock and Richard Grayson." Roy said impatiently, and Wally's eyes widened in recognition. He may not have recognized them on sight, but he was familiar with those names. "They're villains."
"Technically, we're the children of villains." Artemis said snidely. She hated it when somebody categorized her as a villain simply because her dad had been one. Did nobody stop to think that maybe she didn't want to follow in his footsteps?
"And Bruce Wayne isn't exactly a villain." Wally pointed out.
"And he's not technically my father either." Dick added. Roy glared harshly at the three of them.
"The point is, you shouldn't have brought them here." Roy said.
"Why not?" Wally asked. "Aren't we supposed to be the heroes here? And heroes help people, regardless of who they, or their parents, are." Roy glared at Wally, whose glare was just as fierce. After a minute Roy scowled and gave in.
"Exactly what kind of help do they need?" Roy asked. "They look fine to me."
"Artemis says that it feels like she's freezing from the inside." Dick said. Roy narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He reached behind him and grabbed an arrow from the quiver on his back. Without a word, Roy strode over to Artemis, grabbed her arm, and used the arrow to cut at it slightly.
"Ow! What the hell?!" Artemis snatched her arm away from Roy and held it protectively against her chest.
"Roy! What was that for?" Wally admonished. Roy held out the arrow to show them that Artemis' blood was in a semi-frozen state.
"What is that?" Dick asked. He had never seen anything like it before.
"Her blood is beginning to freeze over." Roy said as he cleaned off his arrow and put it away. "She will die if the effects of what Junior did to her are not reversed."
"Die?" Wally's eyes widened and his voice cracked slightly.
"Hang on." Artemis held up a hand and glared at Roy suspiciously. "How did you know that Cameron did this?"
"Because he did last time." Roy said.
"Last time?" Artemis felt a chill run through her body that had nothing to do with her blood freezing. "This has happened before?"
"About ten years ago." Roy said. "I'm not surprised you don't remember. You were unconscious the whole time." Roy though remembered that night clearly. He remembered staying inside the cave as Brave Bow went out to speak with Sportsmaster and Icicle. A few minutes later his guardian had returned to the shelter of the cave with a young Artemis in his arms. Brave Bow had healed the small girl, and Roy had assisted in whatever ways he could. Even back then though, Roy had wondered why.
Artemis was the daughter of a villain, and would probably grow up to be just like him. Why should they heal somebody who would just grow up to be evil? When Roy had questioned Brave Bow, his guardian told him something that he still remembered to this day.
"This child's soul is innocent." Brave Bow had said. "And even if it were not, I would still heal her."
"But why?" Nine year old Roy Harper had asked.
"Because it is not my part to pass judgement upon another." Brave Bow had said. "It is my responsibility, however, to help who I can, whether I feel they deserve it or not."
Roy didn't always agree with the philosophies and teachings of his old guardians and mentors, but he did his best to respect them. Treating others with kindness had always been important to Brave Bow, and Roy knew it would be disrespectful to his memory to turn somebody in need of help away. Besides, what would have been the point of helping Brave Bow heal Artemis if he was just going to let her die ten years later?
"Alright." Roy said coldly. "The main room is just down that tunnel. Somebody down there might be able to help you. I'm not making any promises though."
"Why can't you just do what you did last time?" Artemis asked. Roy clenched his fists.
"I didn't do anything." Roy said. "My guardian, Brave Bow, was the one who healed you. But he died of cancer a few years ago."
A guilty look crossed over Artemis' face, but Roy ignored it. He wasn't looking for her pity. As Artemis began to make her way to the main room, Roy turned to Dick, who was frowning and touching at his ear, which did, in fact, look injured.
"Don't tell me you need help too." Roy said.
"No, I'm fine." A thoughtful look came over Dick's face. "Actually, there is something that I need." He took a small object out of his ear. Roy bristled when he saw what it was. An earpiece, albeit a broken one. Still, what on earth was this kid doing with an earpiece?
"Bruce can get overprotective sometimes, and he likes to keep tabs on me when I leave Gotham." Dick explained. "I haven't called in for a while though, and he's probably getting worried." That was an understatement. Dick knew that the earpieces also had a tracking system in them, and Bruce had probably been freaking out ever since his earpiece had gone offline.
"If I had another earpiece, I can easily hack it onto the frequency that I need." Dick said. Roy frowned. Did this brat seriously think that they were just going to hand over one of their earpieces? Not likely!
...And then Wally handed Dick his own earpiece.
"Wally! What the hell are you doing!" Roy shouted. Wally looked at him innocently.
"What's the big deal? He just wants to call home." Wally said. Roy shook his head. How could Wally be acting so naively? He was usually much smarter than this.
Wally, a word. Now." Roy growled. Without waiting for a response he grabbed Wally's arm and dragged him into another room where they could speak privately.
"Do you have any idea what he could do with your earpiece?" Roy berated. "He could use it to get information about you. About all of us."
"Well, yeah, theoretically he could." Wally admitted. "But Dick's my friend, he wouldn't do that. We can trust him."
"Trust a guy that you met tonight? Are you insane?" Roy hissed. He wondered just what had gotten into Wally. Yeah, he was always a friendly guy, but he wasn't usually this trusting. Wally was smart and logical. He should know better than this. He did know better than this. So what could have possibly possessed him to befriend and trust those two?
Then suddenly, it his Roy like a ton of bricks. That Grayson kid's personality. His dark hair, short stature, and even that impish little grin of his, it was just likeā¦
"No." Roy sighed exasperatedly and ran a hand through his hair. "Wally, don't do this."
"Don't do what, exactly?" Wally asked with fake innocence
"You gotta know that Dick isn't Him." Roy said directly.
Wally stiffened. "I-I know that." He said defensively.
"You're not acting like it." Roy crossed his arms and looked at his younger friend sternly.
"What, so it's a crime now to just befriend somebody?" Wally asked.
"We both know that that's not what you're doing." Roy said.
"W-well so what if their personalities are similar?" Wally asked defiantly. "What's the big deal? I'm just-" But Roy had heard enough. Wally's obsession had gone on for far too long, and it needed to stop. Roy couldn't let Wally get close to the child of a villain, just because the kid reminded him of an old friend of his. It was high time that Wally moved on.
"Robin is dead, Wally!" Roy shouted. "He's not coming back. Get over it."
The room was silent for a minute. By taking one look at Wally's face Roy could tell that he had gone too far. Before he could apologize though, Wally had hightailed it out of there. Roy groaned and hit the wall in anger. He had been way too harsh with Wally, and he felt like such a jerk for it. But Wally had to understand. He needed to accept what had happened in the past and move on from it...they all had to.
Roy sighed and left the small room. Knowing Wally, he was probably off running somewhere to calm down and clear his head, and he wouldn't be back for awhile. Roy would make things up to him then. While he waited though, Roy figured he might as well check in on the others and make sure that everything was still going fine.
