Welcome to chapter 16! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's pretty cute (I think).
"So tell me everything," Zatanna smiled mischievously, hanging onto on of Artemis's arms as they walked down the city street looking for possible businesses where the victims might have been taken from.
Artemis flushed, "There's nothing to tell, what are you talking about?"
"Oh don't give me that," The woman scoffed, "You took a partner. A male partner. And he's hott!"
"Zee!" She bristled.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Zatanna laughed, holding her hands up in surrender, "I'm not planning to take him away from you. I'm just saying, objectively, you know, he's really fucking attractive,"
"Hey what about that place?" Artemis questioned, pointing to a bar across the street.
Zatanna gave it a hard glance before waving it off, "That's a male gay bar. The victims are of mostly female and vetalas are usually female,"
"Fair enough," Artemis nodded, "So what about you and Dick? Still flirting around the subject," She teased.
"Of course we are," She rolled her eyes, "We've gone on a few dates but he refuses to turn it into anything serious because we barely get to see each other. He seems to think that I'm some hotty flirt that can get anyone I want,"
"But you are a flirt that can get anyone you want," Artemis pointed out with a smirk.
"But I want him!And he's under the impression that I want to be some sort of free bird so he won't take our relationship any further," Zatanna huffed.
"So be you and take things into your own hands. Ask him to be your boyfriend or something. Give him a manly bracelet with your name on," She shrugged.
"I could do that," Zatanna mused.
"You should," Artemis agreed with a smile.
"And what about Wally?" She asked.
"What about him?" The blonde retorted lightly.
"You can't not be living with this guy and be completely oblivious to his great looks," Zatanna explained, a possible restaurant catching her eye before she dismissed it. It was all reservation, not a good place to pick up victims.
"I have noticed his physical appeal," Artemis spoke with a professional lilt to her voice. Zatanna rolled her eyes.
"Dick told me that he makes you laugh, and you do seem so much more...relaxed, since I last saw you," Her voice grew soft and sincere, "You seem a lot happier, and I've barely spent any time with you already,"
"He..." The blonde took a long breath, pursing her lips before speaking, "He does make me happy. We aren't a couple, we're just friends," She clarified, "But, yeah, I am happier,"
"Then could you even imagine how happy you could be together?" Zatanna said wistfully, "I barely had to see you two together to notice the not-so-obvious flirting that was going on,"
"Can you even imagine how dangerous that could be?" Artemis retorted, her muscles tensing, "Couples don't last in this gig. They get themselves killed trying to save the other," She stated, her voice tight.
They'd stopped walking at this point, Artemis standing stiffly as Zatanna reached for her shoulders and tried to look her in the eyes.
"But wouldn't you rather live your life with him instead of someday dying before you've told him you love him? Or having him die without knowing? This life is about living without regrets," Zatanna pushed, "About doing the right thing and knowing that you should embrace what you have while you have it,"
Artemis gave a sad smile, "What are you talking about? I don't love him. And this job is all about regrets,"
"Why are you lying to yourself?" Zatanna frowned, "Why are you fighting yourself about this?"
"I'm not," Artemis said firmly, a scowl forming on her features.
"Then look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't feel something for Wally. That you don't see yourself with him ten years into the future. That you don't dream of someday leaving this job with him, and starting a normal life," Zatanna said, "Look me in the eyes and tell me that,"
Artemis opened her mouth to retort, but she froze, her eyebrows slowly turning down, "I can't," She whispered.
"Good," Zatanna whispered back with a smile, pulling her friend into a hug, "Good. Don't deny yourself happiness,"
The blonde sighed and accepted the hug, her emotions pulling on her heart and making her feel heavy with thoughts.
Zatanna pulled back and looked around at the quiet city, "We've reached the end of our section, and there weren't any possible locations. Let's head back to the motel,"
"We should call Kaldur and get more information on where this vetala might be keeping Bruce," Artemis nodded, happy to push her emotions back behind a mental curtain once more, and glad that Zatanna had realized she'd pushed her enough for one day.
"That sounds like a good idea,"
The boys were walking briskly along the street, which was Wally's unintentional fault. However Dick didn't complain, the night was cold enough that walking fast kept him warm.
"So, is it okay to ask who Zatanna is?" Wally spoke up, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"Yeah," Dick smiled, "She's kinda special,"
The redhead gave a wide grin to his companion, "You dating her, dude?" He asked, elbowing the man.
"Uh, not exactly," Dick frowned, causing Wally to raise an eyebrow, "We've technically gone on dates, but that's about it," He shrugged.
"Did it not work out?"
"No!" He responded quickly, "No, they were great. I just...I don't think she's looking for something long-term. I think she likes being single," He ran a hand through his hair and let some air filter out through his teeth in frustration.
"Did she tell you that?" Wally scowled, glancing down another street as they passed.
"No, but-"
"Dude, don't wimp out if you like her," He beamed, "As far as I know, most girls are looking for something tangible. And you can neverrely on anything but explicit information with females. It's too easy to misread them,"
"Since when did you become an expert?" Dick teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, "Spending lots of time with Artemis?"
The underlying suggestion was obvious and Wally frowned, "High school and college," He explained simply, "And don't objectify her like that," The redhead huffed.
"Wally, you know I would never," Dick defended seriously, "Artemis is like a sister to me. I'm just fishing for information. You haven't updated me in a while," He shrugged, getting out his phone to make a note of a bar they passed. They could cross check bar receipts later.
"Nothing's really changed," Wally said, "We flirt, we take on monsters, I bandage her up, we head to the next hunt,"
"So no progress on the romantic front?" He pried.
A bright red blush spread across Wally's cheeks, "Not really, nothing big,"
"You're blushing, what happened?" Dick smiled, punching the redhead in the shoulder lightly.
"Well," He sighed, "We, uh, kissed,"
"No way!" Dick gaped, genuine shock showing in his face.
"There were these skinwalkers that we were watching, too many to take on without a plan. Some came over towards our hiding spot so I just grabbed her and started kissing her," Wally rubbed the back of his head as he explained, "She went with it and we didn't get caught,"
"That's it?" His face fell, "That's disappointing," He crossed his arms.
Wally shrugged.
"But it does beg the question..." Dick leered, "How was it?"
The redhead tensed, his mind wandering as he considered the question. He remembered the way Artemis's fingers hand tangled into his hair, her nails scratching lightly at his scalp. The way her mouth moved confidently against his own, her lips full and soft. How it felt to be pressed up against her trim frame, having his hands on her hips.
"-ally? Wally!"
"Huh?" He was snapped out of his thoughts by his friend.
"You totally spaced!" Dick laughed wholeheartedly, "That good, huh?" He grinned.
"Yeah," Wally sighed, a smile hinting at his lips, "It was amazing,"
"Do you think Kal will be awake at this hour?" Zatanna questioned as she followed Artemis to get her laptop. Artemis shrugged.
"I'm not sure, but we can try. If he isn't we'll just leave a message for him to get back to us when he can,"
Zatanna unlocked her, Dick, and Bruce's room so that they could use its outlets.
"Wait," Artemis paused, having opened the computer, "What day is it?"
Zatanna checked her phone, "It's Friday night,"
"Oh," The blonde laughed, "This should be fun, pull up a chair Zee," Artemis gestured as she pulled up the video link to their mutual friend.
Zatanna complied, intrigued by Artemis's glee, and the two watched patiently as the call rang for a while, "Maybe we should-"
"No wait," Artemis smirked.
The connection popped up and Kaldur was there, looking a bit distracted, "Zatanna!" He exclaimed with a smile, "What a pleasure to hear from you,"
"Hey Kal," The dark haired woman smiled, "We're in a bit of a tiff and we were wondering if you could get some research material for us,"
"Bruce has been taken by a vetala and we need to find him," Artemis explained quickly.
Kaldur blinked in surprise, "Oh my, well hold on and I can-"
"Did you say a vetala?" A deep voice called out from Kaldur's side of the link.
Zatanna frowned in confusion and looked to Artemis, who was holding back a laugh as Kaldur's face grew flushed.
A very fit red haired man wearing only a loose fitting pair of worn jeans walked casually into view, leaning down and resting an arm on Kaldur's shoulder as he eyed who was on the other end of the video call.
"Hello Roy," Zatanna snickered, "Do you have something against shirts?"
"Zee I'm only late to the party because I decided to put on some pants," Roy smirked as Kaldur's face grew even redder.
"Kaldur, really," Artemis smiled, "You don't need to be embarrassed. But I am sorry that we had to crash your Friday night get together," She apologized.
"It is inappropriate for you to be aware of when I am being intimate with my boyfriend," Kaldur explained, glancing over at said boyfriend.
"Ah, but when else am I going to get to talk to my little sister?" Roy chuckled.
"You're a pain in my ass, Roy," Artemis rolled her eyes.
"So about the vetala," Zatanna chipped in.
"The vetalas," Roy corrected.
"Sorry?" She frowned.
"There won't be just one," The redhead explained gravely, "Vetalas hunt in pairs, and you will never deal with just one. I dealt with some in Las Vegas and they're very good at capturing victims, each pair has it down to an art,"
"How do they do it?" Artemis asked.
"It might be different with each pair, but usually one of them distracts the victim and the other attacks while the victim isn't paying attention to their surroundings. The venom works quickly and it only takes one bite to paralyze someone,"
"How quick?" Zatanna spoke up, twisting a lock of her hair as she began thinking.
"Less than a minute, maybe quicker." The redhead narrowed his eyes, thinking back to his experience with the creatures.
"Do you have any suggestions for taking them on?" Kaldur questioned, his blush having finally settled and his speech returning properly.
"There's four of us," Artemis chipped in, "Dick, Wally, Zee, and me,"
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are," Roy sighed, running a hand roughly through his hair, which Artemis noticed was rather wild at the time, "You've gotta be smarter than them,"
"We can do smart," Zatanna assured them.
"We're back!" Wally called out as he and Dick came through the motel door, "What are you doing?"
"Is that Wally?" Roy asked, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"No!" Artemis yelped, looking briefly at Zatanna for backup. Dick laughed as Wally ran up to look at the screen.
"Who're you?" Wally asked, resting his hands on Artemis's shoulders as he bent down to get a good view.
"I'm Roy," The other redhead introduced, "Kaldur's boyfriend," He said, a hint of warning lacing his voice.
"Roy don't get pissy, Wally isn't going to steal Kal away," Dick smirked, joining in the group call.
"So you are Wally," Roy mused, scrutinizing the screen to get a good look at him.
"Well I think we've got all the information we need," Artemis coughed. Zatanna flicked the blonde's leg.
"I think we need to have a little chat West,"
"Really Roy?" Artemis huffed.
"Alright, do you want my number?" Wally offered, oblivious to Roy's threatening tone.
Roy wrinkled his nose in confusion, "Where'd you get this idiot, Artemis?"
"Don't insult him," The blonde snarled.
"I'm not an idiot," Wally frowned, his tone serious, "I was offering my number because I know what you want to talk about. You have no idea what kind of person I am and you know that I'm new at hunting. You want to make sure I won't get Artemis killed,"
Dick and Zatanna glanced warily at each other as the conversation continued.
"Yeah, actually, I do. I don't want her dying because of a stupid mistake on your part," Roy responded tetchily.
"Well I can assure you, she won't," Wally shot back. His usual lighthearted tone was entirely gone, replaced by one of grave purpose, "I'm watching her back and she's watching mine. And I won't let her die,"
Both sides of the chat grew quiet after Wally's statement. The redhead's were still glaring at each other and Artemis was staring at Wally with her mouth agape. Zatanna held her hand over her shoulder and Dick gave her a silent high five.
Kaldur cleared his throat.
"You're alright, Wally," Roy declared, a genuine smile on his face. Wally nodded and Artemis sank down in her seat, her cheeks a bit flushed, "Now, do you think you have all the information you need? I think I told you everything I know," He asked, talking business again.
"Yeah, I think we'll be able to handle it now, thanks," Zatanna smiled.
"No problem, I guess it's good to see you all," Roy said, his tone noncommittal. Kaldur smirked at him and turned back to the screen.
"I am glad you called for assistance," He said, "However, Artemis,"
The blonde smiled innocently, "Yeah?"
"In the future please do not interrupt our date night," Kaldur said, raising an eyebrow at her.
Artemis laughed, "Oh all right. Thanks guys,"
Everyone quickly said their goodbyes, a round of overlapping "Nice to see you"s and various statements that crowded the speakers. When the couple was gone Wally and Dick turned to the girls to hear the information they'd missed.
Surprise! I ship Koy! This chapter was so ship-filled it's ridiculous. But whatever, it's fun anyway.
Please review and let me know what you think! The two vetalas are going to be familiar characters, who do you think they're going to be?
Love, Veg