Hello everyone! I am SO sorry that it has taken me so long to get this up! It's like a week late! Augh! I warned you guys that it might be late, but I wasn't expecting it to be THIS late. Spending holiday time with relatives and going out of town for holiday stuff gave me almost ZERO time to work on this hunt. Luckily I had it half finished before the holiday busy stuff started. I finally got to start working on it again Thursday and here we are! This hunt is over 12,000 words and I'm super excited to share it because it's fabulous. I'm super proud.

Thank you so much for sticking out this lateness! I'll be posting another chapter Wednesday!

Artemis gave a great sigh of exasperation when she saw her partner start heading back down the aisle, the blonde leaning on the rickety metal cart and glancing down at its already full contents with a frown.

"Look what I got!" Wally sang excitedly, dropping his latest find in the shopping cart, "There's a sale on frozen pizzas!"

"Wally we can't buy frozen pizzas," Artemis deadpanned, already walking the cart back to the aisle she assumed he'd gotten them from, "And even if we could we wouldn't be buying ten of them,"

"What do you have against pizza?" The redhead frowned, easily keeping up.

"We don't have a freezer to keep them in, nor do we have an oven to cook them in," She explained, stopping the cart when they reached the frozen pizza section and gesturing for him to put them back.

Wally stood still for a moment, shifting back and forth on his feet with a dejected look about his face. He finally put them back after a nudge from the woman, his shoulders sunken sadly.

They began walking again and Wally's attitude brightened instantly, "Arty!"

"No ice cream bars,"

He nodded in understanding and Artemis eyed him carefully. There was no other time when Wally became more unpredictable than at the grocery store. It was as if he de-aged fifteen years the moment he walked through the doors. The redhead's posture straightened abruptly and Artemis grabbed his arm as he took a step toward the chicken nuggets.

"But-"

"Wally the only thing left to get is milk and first aid supplies. We have enough food in the cart already," She explained, looping her arm tightly around his to keep him by her side as they made their way down the breakfast aisle. He had a weakness for everything, which included bacon and waffles.

"Did we get chips?" He asked, looking down to match his foot strides with the blonde because he knew it bothered her.

"You picked up like four bags," She sighed, frowning down at their synched steps. Wally grinned.

"How about peanut butter?"

"And jelly,"

"And-"

"And honey," She continued, unable to resist a smirk at the way she was able to guess what he was going to say, "Grab a gallon?" Artemis pointed.

Wally did as she asked, pulling two gallons of milk out of the refrigerated shelves. She rolled her eyes at the double order but didn't say anything, relieved that he hadn't tried to snatch a bottled smoothie when she wasn't looking.

But when they reached the end of the aisle Artemis realized why the redhead had grown less mischievous. The pharmacy section. It was a constant battle.

Wally was gone before she could tighten her grip or raise her voice, "Damn him," Artemis scowled.

It had taken merely two weeks of joining Artemis on the job for Wally to notice her horrible tendency to not care for her own injuries. If it was small enough for a band aid, no band aid would be used. If she needed stitches, she would use butterfly bandages. He wasn't entirely sure why the blonde was so terrible at self-first aid. Whenever he got hurt she would assist him with the skill of a practiced nurse, Wally knew that she wasn't dumb. It was just neglect.

So the redhead had taken it upon himself to ensure that she didn't ignore any of her wounds. She would fight him all the way, of course, cussing and squirming like it was poison.

He picked up two different brands of burn balm, turning them over to compare. Their last encounter had them up against a vampire in a factory and one small misstep in battle had Artemis catching herself on a scorching hot pipe. The burn on her arm hadn't been any worse than first degree, but Wally could still hear her hissing at the pain while she was getting dressed in the bathroom.

Wally sighed, choosing one product and grabbing some extra gauze for good measure. He hated that it was always the blonde getting hurt. No matter what he tried, she always got the brunt of the injuries after a battle. He supposed it was largely because of his inherited speed. No one could catch him to get a hit in. They could catch Artemis, and she always held her own. Long distance or short distance, it didn't matter. She could take them down, but she didn't always escape unscathed.

As he was walking back to the cart, Artemis's annoyed glare piercing into the burn balm in his hand, Wally wonder if she could take him down.

The blonde had more experience and was a much better shot, but Wally was faster and stronger.

Artemis would win. He decided quickly. There would be no competition; Wally would never be able to bring himself to hurt her.

Wally had just reached her when his phone began ringing in his pocket. He gave Artemis a glance but she shrugged in confusion. He flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Wally! Where are you guys?" Dick's voice came through the phone, sounding a bit panicked.

"Uh," The redhead paused, "Atlanta, Georgia. I think," He looked to Artemis, who nodded as she pushed the cart to the checkout. Wally followed, walking as he talked.

"Kal was right, that's only like two hours-" He mumbled quickly.

"Dick?" Wally cut him off. Artemis slapped his hand when he reached for the candy at the register and he sneered at her.

"I need you guys to come to Columbus, Georgia. It's a two hour drive, but I need your help,"

"What's up? You and Bruce okay?" Wally questioned.

"Not entirely, just head over here. Call me when you get close and I'll tell you our motel name. Don't waste time, okay?" He told him.

Wally was going to ask another question, but Dick had hung up after he finished speaking. Artemis handed him some of the bags of food and he followed her toward the exit.

"What's going on?" She asked, concern etched into her features.

"He wouldn't tell me, but it sounds like they're in trouble," Wally frowned, "They're in Columbus, it's about two hours from here,"

"And he needs us right away?" Artemis checked, dropping the food unceremoniously in the trunk. Wally followed suit. Her normal annoyance at being pulled off a case wasn't present.

Dick and Bruce never asked for help. And they were asking for immediate assistance.

"We better head out," She declared.

Wally closed his phone with a snap and pointed to the upcoming intersection, "Dick says to take a left here, it will be the first motel on the right,"

"Finally," Artemis sighed squinting through the glare of eager drivers' sunset headlights to try and see the street name. The two had driven for far longer trips and destinations, but Wally easily understood why the blonde was worn out. It had been a very long two hours, conversation was scarce because both were thinking up worst case scenarios that they would be arriving to. Although neither would voice them out loud.

After they'd parked at the motel it was a silent decision to get a room before taking on 'The Bats' as the Gotham duo was often called in the hunter society.

Wally let out a wide yawn as they got out of the car and Artemis grabbed his arm before he tripped over the sidewalk. He gave her a smile in thanks and they headed into the motel office.

"Hi we'd like a room," Artemis spoke up as soon as she'd entered. Wally began digging their credit card out of his pocket.

"Artemis! Wally!"

The two turned to see a woman jogging toward them, having just come through the side door to the office. She had dark black hair and dramatic sapphire eyes, a smile blooming across her face.

"Zatanna!" Artemis gasped, opening her arms immediately to embrace her, "Dick didn't say you were here," She said after the woman released her from a tight hug.

Zatanna smirked, "Of course he didn't. How are you?" She asked, fondness in her voice, "I haven't seen you in forever,"

As Artemis playfully complained Wally silently handed the credit card over to the manager, allowing the two to catch up.

"You must be the infamous Wally West," Zatanna spoke up louder, catching the redhead's attention as she turned to face him, "I'm Zatanna Zatara,"

Wally smiled and reached his hand out for a handshake while Artemis retrieved their credit card and room key, "I'll admit, I don't know as much about you as you probably know about me. Artemis did know she needed to debrief me. But it's nice to meet you,"

"Don't you worry," Zatanna crooned, "Artemis wouldn't have been able to do me justice. Dick's told me all about you," She grinned.

Wally faltered, "Uh, all about me, huh?" He laughed nervously.

Artemis laughed loudly, "Oh I can't wait to talk to the troll," She said, nudging Wally slightly with a mischievous look.

"Yeah we should probably go to our room before Dick blows a gasket waiting," Zatanna snickered.

"What's up? He sounded really panicked over the phone," Wally asked, following the two girls out of the office.

"It's better if he tells you, but there is a big problem. One he's never faced before," Zatanna told them, her tone growing more serious.

Artemis and Wally shared a look as they stopped at the door, Zatanna turning the key before letting them in.

"Finally you're here!" Dick exclaimed the moment they were in sight, his dark hair messier than usual and his baby blue eyes tinted red with lack of sleep. Zatanna closed the door as he rushed them, crushing Artemis in a tight hug, his tall form smothering her. The blonde snickered into his shirt and hugged him back, already used to his close contact welcomes. Dick had always been a hugger.

"We left right after you called," Wally said, a smile on his face, "It's good to finally meet you in person, man,"

Dick pulled away from Artemis and turned to the redhead, a grin in place, "It's so cool, dude," He agreed. Wally held out his hand for a dude-shake but laughed when he got a hug as well.

After Dick finished the welcomes his smile fell and grave features took its place, "We have a big problem,"

"Well we're here now, so what's up?" Artemis asked as he led them into the room, everyone taking seats in various places. Dick kept standing, leaning against the motel table.

"It's Bruce," He grit out, "He's been captured, taken by a vetala,"

"A vetala?" Wally questioned, having actually never heard of the creature.

"They're pretty rare," Artemis mused, explaining to the redhead why they'd never gone over them.

"Vetalas are creatures that have fangs and claws but can look completely human; they take victims and drink their blood over the course of a few days. They're very strong and their venom can paralyze anyone," Zatanna explained, "I was hunting one but I couldn't find it, so I called in Bruce and Dick. They came down and this is what happened," She shrugged guiltily, her eyes trained on the floor.

"We had split up in different sections of the city to look for a common connection between the victims, looking for a bar or restaurant or something that all of the victims were at. But Bruce never came back,"

"So we only have a few days tops to find him," Wally sighed, running a hand through his hair, "But we do know that the vetala is based out of the section of the city Bruce was searching,"

"We should search that part of the city, like Bruce was. He found it that way," Artemis suggested.

"But that's exactly how Bruce got captured," Zatanna cut in sharply.

"We can go in pairs," Dick spoke up.

"How do you kill a vetala?" Wally asked, resting his elbows against his knees.

"A silver knife," Zatanna said, pulling out one of her own, "You stab it in the heart, but you have to twist the knife or it won't do anything but disorient them,"

"That's weird," The redhead frowned.

"Don't start analyzing it," Artemis narrowed her eyes at her partner, "You can study the scientific aspects of them after its dead," Wally wrinkled his nose in displeasure.

Dick let out a small laugh, "Are you guys too tired to head out tonight?"

"I'm fine now, I've woken up," Wally said, turning to Artemis.

She shrugged, "Yeah I can head out,"

"I call Artemis," Zatanna declared loudly, throwing her arm in the air for emphasis.

Wally rose an eyebrow and the blonde laughed.

"Then I get Wally," Dick counted with a glare.

"And we don't get a say," Wally deadpanned. Artemis gave him a halfhearted punch to the arm.

"Alright, let's go now and not waste any time," Dick decided, standing up straight and heading over to his collection of weapons.

"Check in with us every half hour," Wally said, turning to the two women.

"Sure thing, but we'll switch back and forth. We'll call you and then you call us the next half hour," Artemis told him.

"Uh, I guess that's fine," The redhead frowned in confusion, not entirely sure what the benefit of the plan was.

"Just don't forget to call me," Artemis smirked.

"I won't," He smiled.

Zatanna stood silently next to the two hunters, a smile growing before she grabbed the blonde, "Alright, we're heading out. We'll take the north part,"

"Stay safe," Dick called.

"You too Stud!" Zatanna laughed.

Tada! Special Guest stars for this hunt? Zatanna, Dick, and Bruce! Are you excited? What do you think I made Zatanna, if anything?

Please review and let me know what you think!

Love, Veg