Artemis didn't let Avery shoot another arrow for the rest of the day. That didn't stop the blonde from continuing teaching. She went through the motions of teaching Avery fighting moves that Black Canary wouldn't have on her teaching dossier. Avery asked a few times to change into clothes that offered better motion, but that was turned down with the reason of having to occasionally fight in civilian clothing.
Nightwing checked in a few hours later, and much to his delight, Artemis was teaching Avery basic acrobatics. The bird didn't waste any time imparting his own knowledge on the subject. Soon the teaching team had Avery walking across the room on her hands. Sure, Avery fell a lot throughout the teaching process, but that's where fast healing really helps. Artemis and Nightwing were having a side conversation as their student kept going through the motions of getting back up, walking on her hands for a little bit, then falling down.
"Did you know she has a tattoo?" Artemis asked almost right off the bat.
"Of course, don't undersell me that much 'Mis," Nightwing put a hand on his heart in a dramatic fashion.
"Wouldn't even think about it. Just wanted to be sure you knew," Artemis waved her hand to erase the subject. "So who's joining us for movie night?"
"The Team, you and Wally are all givens. Kaldur said he's going to try and make it up from Atlantis. Zee and Raq might even make it; they said they'd at least try to."
"We're getting the band back together," Artemis smirked.
"Yup," Nightwing popped the p. "We're going to need a lot of snacks."
"That's always a given with two speedsters," Artemis shrugged indifferently.
"True, but I want to actually eat tonight," Nightwing bumped Artemis with his elbow teasingly, "Just keep a leash on your boyfriend."
"Hey, he's your best friend," Artemis poked him in the ribs.
"Yeah, but I don't have to go home with him, thankfully."
Artemis narrowed her eyes at Nightwing. "Don't make me sic Spike on you," She taunted.
"S'alright, I'll just send Ace." Nightwing grinned fully.
"Touché," Artemis admitted.
Their conversation was interrupted by a crash to their right. Avery had fallen into the weight rack.
.:Back to Life:.
Training wrapped up about an hour later. Avery got a pat on the back for walking the entire length of the gym on her hands. She accidently broke a small bone in her hand shortly after, but the success was the focus of the time period.
"Good job today," Artemis complimented. "You learned pretty quickly."
Avery shrugged, "Eidetic memory."
The blonde scoffed. "So you can remember everything that's happened in your life, and all that you've learned?"
"Yes," she sent a sideways glance at Nightwing for him to get the gist of how bad having a perfect memory in the situation would be.
"That's pretty cool," Artemis mused.
"Blessing and a curse." Avery did her best attempt at a carefree chuckle.
"True, you have to remember all the horrible math lessons from witch teachers," Artemis laughed, remembering one of the teachers she had at Gotham Academy.
Avery shrugged again and admitted, "I have never really had a math teacher."
Artemis stopped in her stride for a second. "So you didn't go to high school?"
"Nope, and from what I have heard, I am not missing much."
Artemis let Avery walk on ahead to the living room while she pulled Nightwing to the side. "You're going to enroll her aren't you?"
Nightwing put up his hands in surrender, "I've talked it over with Bats. Once we finish the paperwork she'll be attending Happy Harbor High. She'll be a little late into the year, but she'll at least be entering at the beginning of the semester." He continued walking down the hall, "You sure seem concerned."
"I've been taking care of Lian too much lately. Jade says I'm developing motherly instincts." Artemis scowled and continued walking alongside her old friend.
"I'll tell Wally to make sure you have a child of your own soon then," Nightwing snickered and dogged Artemis' well-aimed slap.
"Very funny, Dick," She seemed to mean it as more of an insult than a name.
"Well I thought so."
.:Back to Life:.
Everyone invited, except for Kaldur, was sitting in the living room. The Atlantean had already warned he might be late, so it was expected. Zatanna and Raquel appeared a few minutes previous and were reacquainting themselves with the Team and the Team's food supply. The two Leaguers had donned their approval on Avery the second she smacked Bart on the head for stealing the bag of chips in her hand. They also gave her tips for getting back at speedsters in general. Tripping them and hiding the food seemed to be at the top of the list.
Avery fiddled with the sleeves of her shirt that she changed into before meeting up with everyone as Wally finally gave up trying to sit still and suggested a game.
"It's called the Never Game," He started explaining to the perplexed inhabitants of the room. "The rules are simple. Everyone takes a turn around the room saying a thing they've never done. If someone else in the room has done it, they raise their hand. It can't be anything ridiculous. Got it?"
Everyone agreed and the game began. Wally went first, "I've never been in prison."
M'gann and Conner raised their hands, claiming the reason was because of an early mission on the Team.
Raquel went next, "I've never had caviar."
Nightwing, Robin, Wally, Barbra, and Zatanna raised their hands. La'gaan shot them a distressed look. The five apologized and claimed it was against their will; the Atlantian didn't buy it.
Cassie took her turn after that, "I've never gotten a tattoo."
Nightwing, Bart, La'gaan and Avery raised their hands. Everyone knew La'gaan's tattoo was for the purposes of magic, so that was brushed off.
Garfield shot up in excitement at the other three, "You guys got tattoos? Can we see?"
Nightwing shook his head, "I've got an identity to protect, remember?"
The green boy rolled his eyes and went to Bart next.
Bart responded similarly, "Mine disappeared because of my healing."
"Can you at least tell us what it was of?" Gar pouted.
"It was a Green Lantern tattoo," Bart mumbled, embarrassed.
Gar laughed, "I'm so telling Hal and John about that." He turned to Avery next with a pleading face of a kicked puppy, "Do you still have yours?"
Avery tried to contain her laughter at Gar's efforts. "Yeah, I got it before my healing set in, so it is still there."
"Can we see?" He pleaded.
Avery looked at Nightwing for guidance. The only response was a vague gesture roughly translated as 'do what you want'. Avery decided to go for it. She pulled back her sleeve to reveal the four numbers. "It is not much to be excited about."
"One six three two," Garfield read off. "What's that even mean?"
The answer was interrupted by the zeta tubes announcing Kaldur's arrival. The Atlantian strolled into the room casually, exchanging greetings with the familiar members. Then he noticed the newest member sitting off to the side. The two locked stares for over a minute.
Kaldur finally broke the long, awkward silence. "You look familiar," He pondered aloud.
"I should," She retorted. Avery quickly forgot there were other inhabitants in the room and marched straight up to the Team's former leader. She looked at him with a mixture of contempt and gratitude, "You are the son of Black Manta after all, correct?"
"Yes," he answered, although slightly confused. He tried to exchange glances with the rest of the Team, but they were as clueless as him.
Artemis interjected."So I take it you know each other?"
"Not closely," Kaldur answered as it clicked where he'd seen Avery before.
Everyone waited for an answer.
Avery stepped away from Kaldur to sit down. "I suppose I have some explaining to do."
A/N: Cliffhangers for everyone! Well next chapter is the much awaited one with explanations galore. This one included the headcanon I have that Nightwing has a tattoo. Sidenote, you guys are too nice to me. I'm serious. Best. Reviewers. Ever. There's still a prize for the 125th reviewer so look out for that. I'm already working on the next chapter so it shouldn't take to long to update. Have a great day.
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