Chapter Two

Venus, make her fair

A lovely girl with sunlight in her hair

A girl who wants my kisses and my arms

A girl with all the charms of you

Madison, Wisconsin. September 5th 2015. 3:05 A.M.

"On your left!" Wally shouted, running over to Tigress (As he'd dubbed her) and carrying her out of harm's way before the stink bomb send her way could detonate. He carried her over to a secluded area in the warehouse, hidden by stacks upon stacks of boxes.

"I could have handled it," Tigress grumbled as Wally set her down.

He rolled his eyes, "No. I totally just saved you…"

She huffed and crossed her arms, "Well. What are we going to do about fireball over there?" She asked, motioning towards their flamethrower carrying opponent who was stalking about aside, probably trying to get a view of the young vigilantes.

The speedster paused in thought for a moment. What would they do about him… t, "Okay, I got it," He finally responded after musing to himself, "I'm going to go taunt him. Do you see…" He trailed off, pointing a nearby fire alarm to her, "That?"

"I do now,"

"When he's about to roast me, you aim an arrow at that and set it off. The sprinklers will

diffuse the flames for a moment, long enough for me to trip him up and get under his skin. The alarm will also alert the police who can drag his ass to jail once we're done with him," Kid Flash said, a sly look in his google covered eyes, "Ready?"

"Ready," She responded, pausing for a moment before looking up at him, "Hey… Kid Flash?"

"Hmm?" He asked, prepping himself for a run.

"Just…" There was a sigh, "Be careful,"

Turning to smirk at her, he responded, "Anything for you, sweet cheeks,"

The two had been working together for the past few days. It was inexplicable. Every night during their individual patrolling, they had somehow run into each other. Dick had been staying home every night, reporting back to Batman and researching. A few years ago, it would have struck Wally as strange but now, with the transition from Robin to Nightwing after the whole Zatanna incident, it didn't really bother Wally anymore. It was how Dick fought now except instead of hand to hand combat, he did it through cyberspace.

As far as he could tell, Tigress didn't have a partner. If she did, they must have been a pretty sucky one because Tigress was literally always flying solo whenever Wally found her. Wally still couldn't get a name out of her, even through all of his nagging. He would one day though, he wasn't leaving Wisconsin until he got this mystery girl's name, team be damned.

Speeding off before she could smack him, he stood in front of their opponent. He was large and bulky, hiding behind some sort of mask. In his arms was a flamethrower that had almost torched Tigress a few moments earlier.

"Hey you!" He taunted, "Betcha can't get me!"

Wally sped around as the man turned, startled, torching everything in his midst, "Over here!"

A second later, Wally called out from an entirely different direction, "Or here!"

The speedster did another round, standing in front of his opponent with a smirk on his face.

You better pull through on me, Tigress.

"Now I've got you," The Torchbearer (Again, another testament to Wally's naming abilities). He pulled on the flamethrower as Wally ducked, sighing in relief as a ringing erupted through the building and the sprinklers showered water down on them.

It seemed to affect Torchbearer's equipment too, tipping off Wally. That was no regular flamethrower. Most flamethrowers could work in the rain, which made sense, considering that they were often designed to endure rainy, muddy conditions in a battle but this one just… sputtered out. He would have to get Dick to look into it.

"Gotcha!" Wally teased, pausing nervously when he heard sirens in the distance. He didn't want to tip police off to his presence. They would have questions, wondering what he was doing in Madison instead of Central City and Wally was under strict orders to keep the purpose of his visit completely secret from anyone and everyone, and that included the police, "Now, my partner… Er, kind of partner. Whatever, you get it, don't you? Anyways, we gotta split! Have fun in prison!" He said, throwing him a small smirk. With that, he speed up, picking up Tigress and carrying her out of the building.

She held onto him tightly, not complaining about them missing the police. He supposed that she had something to hide too. Maybe that was why she wouldn't tell him her name. Speaking of that…

"So, Tigress, wanna tell me your actual name?" He tried, coming to a stop a few dozen miles away, at an enemy field that lay between Madison and Farmer's Grove.

She scoffed, sliding from his arms onto the ground easily. Wally frowned but quickly covered it up. He kind of liked carrying her, "Not a chance, Kid,"

"Aww, c'mon," He whined, "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours,"

"Tempting but…" Tigress hummed, "I don't think so," She suddenly paused, "What time is it?"

Looking at his watch, Wally responded with, "About 4 A.M. Why?"

"Shit!" Her eyes widened through her mask, "I have work in five hours,"

The speedster's brows furrowed together, "Want me to run you back home?" He was a little disappointed. They hadn't really spoken much and she was interesting, to say the least. Wally wanted to get to know her.

"No!" She said quickly, making Wally arch his brow. What was she so intent on hiding, "I mean, thanks but… No thanks. Just run me back to the city-"

"So you live in the city?" Wally asked, prying for something, anything to sate his curiosity.

With an eyeroll, she responded, "No. My car is just there,"

"Oh, you so live in the city," Wally teased.

"Whatever. Can we just get going?"

"Whatever you want beautiful," He responded coyly, picking her up and running back in the direction of the city, "So…" He began as he ran, "Where do you work?"

"Oh, like I'm telling you," She responded, holding onto him a little tighter as they narrowly passed a bump, "Kid!"

"Sorry, Tigress," He apologized, not really meaning it. Honestly, he liked how her grip tightened around him. It filled him with a warm surge of warmth.

They came to a stop where they had met earlier in the day; an empty road in the middle of the Polish part of the city. The apartments were all darkened, flickering lamp lights illuminating the sidewalks poorly as the grey towers stretched into the metropolitan skyline. Tigress and Kid Flash stood out in the pitch black night around them, their costumes splashes of red, yellow, and beige against the darkened night pavement.

"Same time tomorrow night?" Tigress asked jokingly as she headed out towards what Wally presumed was the direction of her car. Despite her lighthearted tone, they'd probably run into each other again tomorrow. Just like they had today, and yesterday, and the day before that…

"You bet!" He responded, meaning it wholeheartedly.

Farmer's Grove, Wisconsin. September 5th 2015. 5:30 P.M.

"$22.99," The girl at the checkout counter responded, boredly playing with the tips of her hair.

Artemis groaned, "$23.00? Seriously? All I bought was a gallon of milk and some cold cuts!"

"I don't make the rules or the prices," The cashier responded with a sigh, "Just pay up already,"

The blonde responded by slapping $23.00 exactly onto the checkout stand, "Keep the change,"

She walked to the end and grabbed her bags, heading out the store and towards her house. Today hadn't been shaping up to be a good day at all…

Firstly, she was late for work and had to operate with snobby customers all day. Not to mention that after her little… episode with that redhead a few days ago, Augustus had been watching her closely. She couldn't afford to screw up and somehow that thought exhausted her more than anything else.

Secondly, her car stalled. Of course, she had taken it to a shop to be repaired and it was going to cost her at least two weeks pay. Not to mention that she felt helpless without her circa-200 Toyota Sienna, it had gotten her out of so many situations, and been the only stable thing in her life for so long. Not having it with her made her feel kind of… helpless, in a way. It also meant that she'd have to walk everywhere, which wasn't a problem until Zatanna had told her that they were out of milk and that they only edible thing in their kitchen was some oregano. For some strange reason, Zatanna didn't have a car. She got everywhere extremely fast but was decidedly anti-automobile, not even stepping foot into Artemis's toyota. That simple fact left their only transportation on foot and, since Zatanna was working late (Which she had been doing for the past few days, curiously…), that left Artemis the only available one to pick them up anything of sustenance. Which, seeing as the nearest grocery store was five miles away, did not make her happy.

The only good part of her day had been fighting crime with Kid Flash in the wee small hours of the morning. He was a little… annoying but fun to work had been repeatedly running into each other the past few days and, seeing as no one was with her with Zatanna working late every day, they had teamed up. With no Flash in sight, it looked as if Kid Flash was working alone too. Despite her exhaustion, she planned to meet with him again tonight. She honestly couldn't wait. He was a lot of fun to talk to.

"Hey!" Artemis was torn out of her thoughts as a car pulled up next to her. It was rental, way too nice to be someone's personal car in a town like this.

"Hey?" She answered, uncertainly staring into the car and groaning when she saw who the driver was. That obnoxious redhead. Shit, "Oh, it's you,"

"Hey, Hey," He said, putting his hands up, "I just wanted to apologize,"

This caught her attention. Apologize?, "Huh?"

"I realize that I probably got you in trouble," He began, "And after some contemplation, I guess I can see how my pick-up line probably bothered you. I never meant to get you in trouble or to be disrespectful and I'm sorry that I did. Can we just start again?"

Artemis blinked at him. Wow. That was incredibly mature. Not something she expected from someone who's opening line was an incredibly shitty pick up line. After a moment of silence, she nodded, "Sure. I'm Artemis. Artemis Hunt," She responded, using her fake name. She had ditched Crock a while ago.

He stuck his hand out at her, "Wally. Wally West,"

The archer shook his hand and shifted a little, the gallon of milk being seriously heavy, "Nice to meet you,"

Eyeing her bags, Wally responded with, "Likewise. Hey, you want a ride? I'm not really in a big rush. I could give you a lift,"

Perhaps a few years ago, Artemis would have accepted it but now, after years of being on the run from her father and his strange assassins, she had to decline, "No, I'll be fine, thanks,"

"How far away is your house?"

"Apartment. And it's a good five miles,"

Wally raised an eyebrow, "Just get in. It beats walking,"

"No. Frankly, Wally, I don't even know you very well. I'm not getting into a car with you," She said, crossing her arms and scanning around for an exit. If he made a move, she could get out of there in a few seconds, provided that she found a way out…

"Suit yourself," He responded before sighing, "Listen, I feel bad leaving you out here by yourself with those bags. Let me at least take some and walk you home,"

Artemis stopped to consider it. It didn't sound bad. She'd give him the milk so that, just in case, it would slow him down. There wasn't much he could do without a car…

"Sure," She said, sticking the milk out towards him, "I have a gallon of milk that needs carrying,"

To her surprise, he took climbed out of his car and took both bags, "I got it," He smiled at her, "We should get walking,"

Although she felt a little guilty for making him leave his car behind, she knew that it was for the best. After all, she wasn't new to this and she had to stay safe. Especially when her dad was involved…

"So, Artemis," Wally began as they started walking back to her apartment, "Have you lived here your entire life or… ?"

The question put her a little on edge. Was he a spy? Or sent to collect intel on her?

Using her rehearsed response, Artemis responded, "Actually, no. I'm from Vietnam,"

He raised his eyebrows and whistled, "Vietnam? How was it there?"

"It was really nice. I lived there with my mom. My dad was kind of always… Out of the picture," Yeah. Until she was eleven at least…

"I get it. I don't have a good relationship with my father either," Wally confessed, catching Artemis's attention.

"Where are you from, Wally?" She asked, trying to divert attention from her, "You're new to town,"

"That obvious, huh?" He responded sheepishly.

"Kinda," The blonde grinned, "But hey, don't worry. I only got here a few months ago myself,"

"From Vietnam?"

"I lived in Starling City first," That was partly true but then again, Artemis had lived in many places the past few years, "Then I moved here. I kind of wanted an escape from the city,"

"I can see what you mean… I live in Central City. Er, I do when school isn't in session,"

"What school do you go to?" She asked, looking at him.

"Stanford," Wally replied, earning an approving nod from Artemis. She had gotten accepted into there but had to take off immediately afterwards. Honestly, not going to school was one of her regrets. If her father ever stopped his search of her, she would finish her education before she did anything else, definitely, "You know, I bet I could woo you with my mad scientific skills,"

The archer scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Please. Enlighten me,"

"Babe, do you have eleven protons? Because you're sodium fine!"

Admittedly, that made Artemis laugh a little. Okay, maybe that was a funny one…

Besides her, Wally smirked, "Oh, I got a lot more where that came from,"

"Well, you're going to have to save it for our next meeting," Artemis said, turning to face him, "This is where I must leave,"

Wally pouted, "I don't get to see your apartment?"

"Nope," Artemis said, taking the bags from him, "I have to cut you off here,"

"Fine," He sighed, "Are you working tomorrow?"

"Only if you aren't there,"

"Come on, Artemis," Wally whined, "I promise I won't misbehave. I'll put in a good word for you and everything!"

After a few minutes of pretending to contemplate, Artemis mock-sighed and responded, "Fine. But only if you sit in my section,"

"Scouts honor!" He responded, making a motion of crossing his heart, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"See you tomorrow," Artemis concluded, turning on her heels towards her apartment, "Bye Wally!"

"See ya Arty!"

With that, the two marched on towards their separate destinations; Artemis towards her house and Wally towards his car, neither of them having any idea that they'd see each other again in a few short hours.

Farmer's Grove, Wisconsin. September 5th 2015. 8:55 P.M.

"Nightwing in," Dick said, speaking into his communicator, "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes," Batman answered from the other end, "I'm pulling you from this mission,"

The former boy wonder was flabbergasted. Why? He had been doing nonstop research on the

town, on Cadmus, on nanotechnology for their cause. He had been so busy researching that he hadn't even seen the town. It wasn't like he was doing nothing, "What? Why?"

The next sentence made Dick's heart skip a beat, "Zatanna Zatara is in town,"

Yup. I'm going to leave it at that little cliffhanger. Don't worry though. The mystery of Zatanna will soon come to light.

Please review? If you read this and liked it, just leave a comment. If you didn't like it, tell me why. Even you guys, who just sub and favorite (Yeah, I seeee you).

New chapter will be out sometime this weekend.