Chapter Six
For nobody else gave me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you
Farmer's Grove, Wisconsin. September 18th 2015. Noon.
Artemis let out a yawn and nuzzled her head into Wally's chest as she awoke, sliding an arm around him. Reluctantly, she opened an eye before closing it again and trying to fall back asleep.
God, this is so comfortable. I really should fall asleep with Wally more often-
The thought had her sitting up and instantly awake. She looked at the speedster sleeping next to her, eyes lingering on him for a moment too long before she jumped out of the bed.
All she remembered was Wally asking if he could sleep in the basement and herself agreeing to it. Then she had lain down next to him and was thinking about her encounter with Cheshire. She must have fallen asleep sometime then…
The whole thing about Cheshire really had left her more confused then before. Her sister had teamed up with Sportsmaster to track her down before and had arrived to kidnap her sans warning. What made this time so different? Of course, Jade had said that their father was livid with her… But angry enough to have Jade warn her?
The thought sent a chill down Artemis's spine.
Also what did she mean by "check your front pocket"? Logically, she should have assumed that it was a distraction but Artemis knew her sister. She knew how her distractions worked. They were much more elaborate. A simple "check your front pocket" wasn't a typical distraction. Artemis had the feeling that there was another meaning to it…
Before she could further ponder the matter, Wally began to stir. In a paranoid panic that he would figure out that she had fallen asleep with him, Artemis darted behind her bow to hide, realizing only too late that it would not adequately cover her.
"Mmm… Artemis?" Wally mumbled, sitting up and scratching his head, "Are you there?"
Taking too long of moment to reply, she said, "Y-Yeah. I'm here. I'm just… fine tuning my bow,"
"Bows need fine tuning?"
"Y-Yeah because I mean like… You've got the string and that has to, um, remain taut?" Unable to listen to herself stutter along, she changed the subject, "H-How'd you sleep,"
"Really, really good actually," He said, standing up and stretching, "I should sleep down here more often,"
"Yeah," She stood up and stretched out with a yawn, "I don't know what I'm going to do today. I'm off of work for once and that means I have nothing to do until like 10…"
"Hey, we should hang out!" He exclaimed.
Artemis raised a brow, "Us? Hang out?"
"Why not?" He shrugged, "We hang out all night anyways. What's another twelve hours?"
She considered his proposition. It didn't sound that bad… Although he could be annoying sometimes, he was a lot of fun to talk to. Besides, what else would she do all day?
"Sure. Let me just change. I was so tired that I crashed in my superhero clothes the second I hit the bed," She said, lying through her teeth.
"Yeah, same…" Wally trailed off, looking at his own clothes before he jumped out, eyes ablaze with an idea, "Hey! I know what we should do today?"
"And that is…?"
"Oh, it's going to be great!" He said, jumping up and down in excitement, "I can't tell you yet. Just meet me- Wait, no, I'll pick you up. Here. In 30 minutes. Be ready," With that, he zipped around her and out the basement, muttering something about 'surprise' and 'the best day ever'.
Artemis smiled as she rolled her eyes, heading up stairs to her room as quickly as she could.
Farmer's Grove, Wisconsin. September 18th 2015. Noon.
"$3.50," Zatanna said boredly as the customer in front of her shelled out the money, "Have a nice day," She muttered, stowing the money away in the cash register.
The magician was working yet another six hour shift at the gas station she had found employment at. It was incredibly boring and tedious but it was the only place that didn't ask questions and Zatanna greatly appreciate it. Lately, it hadn't been as boring because Dick had begun to tag along and keep her company, which she honestly didn't mind at all. It made the work eons less boring.
"How much longer until you're off?" Dick asked, "This is so dull…"
"Tell me about it," She sighed and looked at the clock, "Five more hours. So sit tight, we've got a long way to go,"
"So that should be off around … 4:00?" He smirked, reminding Zatanna of the way he had been before she left, young and childish. That Dick Grayson had died when Robin had and Nightwing had turned the childlike qualities of his true identity into more serious attributes. She would always love him, serious or not, but she missed the Dick that she had known before his transformation. Perhaps it had been because she had been thrown into his change immediately as opposed to a more gradual change but she still longed for the old Dick Grayson that she once knew and cherished any moments that held his old gimmicks.
"Four," She nodded, "I'm not staying here a minute longer,"
"Perfect," He smirked, "I've got us booked at a waterpark for tonight and check in time is around 4,"
"Seriously?!" She asked, her smile widening when he nodded, "Oh my God! I haven't been to water park in… Since I left! I can't wait! We need to go on the toilet bowl and the drop and oh my God!" Running around the counter, she gave him a huge hug, "Thank you so much! We're going to have so much fun!"
Laughing, he responded, "Not a problem at all,"
Ever since the two had found each other again, they had been spending every waking moment with each other and it had to bring Zatanna to ask herself… What exactly were they? Were they just friends or… more? Before she had left, they had shared one tiny kiss… If it could even be called that. A tiny peck on the check, given to Dick on his birthday by her but now it seemed like they were more than friends. He took her out on dates and they spent every waking moment together. If there was anytime to define the relationship, it was now.
"Hey Dick?" She asked, uncertain on whether she should proceed or not.
"What is it, Z?" He asked, brows furrowing together.
"Well… um…" She looked down and subconsciously backed up a few steps, "Stop me if this get's too… weird but I don't know… I've just always felt like there was something more between us. Something more than friendship and lately, you've been taking me out on these little dates and we've been spending so much time together and I just…" She sighed, blowing a piece of hair out of her face in turn, "Are we just friends? Or are we something more? Do you want to be something more?"
There was a silence as Dick regarded her words, his face impassive. Zatanna held her breath and prepared herself for the worst.
I just totally weirded him out, didn't I? He never wants to see me again. Oh my God, I'm such an idiot. I should have never said anything. Geez, Zatanna, why'd you have-"
"I think we're more than friends and I know that I want to stay like that,"
Wait. What?
"I think… I want to be more than friends too," She answered, smiling to herself, "So what does that make us? Boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"I think I like the sound of that," Dick answered, giving her a smile of his own, "But a much more chalant version,"
Farmer's Grove, Wisconsin. September 18th 2015. 1:00 P.M.
Wally hit the gas pedal as hard as he could as his car raced down the empty rural highway. Beside him, Artemis was hanging onto her seat for dear life, muttering something about how he was going to kill the both of them.
"Sorry, babe," He said, winking at her, "The second fastest man alive can't slow down. Especially not in a car,"
"Well unless the second fastest man alive wants to be dragging me out of the wrecked car, he should slow down,"
"You should put more faith in me," Wally remarked, swerving around a pothole, "I'd never let anything like that happen to you and hey, I'm a good driver!"
"Whatever you say…" Artemis hummed, "Hey. Are you going to tell me where you're taking me now or what?"
"Nope!" He said, popping the 'p', "It's a surprise, Arty-"
"What did I say about calling me Arty?"
"As I was saying, Arty," He continued on, "It's a surprise. If I told you now, it would completely ruin it,"
She huffed beside him, "I don't like surprises,"
"You'll like this one," He affirmed as he pulled into a forested driveway, "Here we are!"
Wally's 2010 Toyota Corolla pulled through a forested driveway and into a small, dirt parking lot that gave way to a small pond. Empty lake houses lay on the docks around the body of water but the pond was devoid of any life above the surface although it was brimming with it underwater.
"A lake?" She asked, getting out of the car.
Following her out, Wally nodded, "This is probably my favorite spot in all of Wisconsin actually. I found this the first day I got here, after you yelled at me at Rocket's,"
"Hey! In my defense, that was a horrid pick up line,"
"Whatever you say babe, but you know in your heart that it was a great one," He said, pausing for a beat before continuing on, "I love this place. You can do anything but swimming is the best part,"
"Uh.. Wally?" Artemis commented, raising an eyebrow, "Neither of us really have a swimsuit,"
"And neither of us need one," He winked at her before running into the water, fully clothed, and diving in headfirst, "Come on! Live life on the edge a little,"
Artemis hesitated before coming up to the edge of the dock. Wally frowned. Why wasn't she getting in? This was fun, right?
"Sorry, baywatch, but this is my favorite shirt and I don't intend to ruin it with pond water,"
"Aww, c'mon Arty…" He muttered, swimming up to the dock with a mischievous smile on his face, "You wouldn't want me to… push you in, would you?"
Her eyes widened in horror, "You wouldn't-" But before she could complete the sentence, Wally jumped onto the dock and, using his super speed, wrapped his arms around her and jumped into the pond, making sure that he hit the water before she did.
"Oh, that's it! You are so getting it, Kid Idiot," She growled, twisting around in his arms and attempting to dunk him by putting pressure on this head.
Wally thought it was a really cute effort for he obviously wasn't going to go down so easily, "You can try but I assure you, you will fail to-" He was cut off as he actually went below the water, shocking even himself. She was a lot stronger than he had given her credit for.
"As you were saying?" Artemis said, smirking as he resurfaced.
Wally's eyes narrowed playfully, "Oh, you are going down," He said, swimming towards her. She laughed, bringing a smile to the redhead's face, and swam in the opposite direction but it was to no avail. Wally caught up to her quickly and picked her up bridal style before throwing her a few feet deeper into the pond.
"Gotcha!" He said, smirking and crossing his arms as he waited for her to resurface. A few seconds later, when she didn't, Wally felt panic set in. Oh shit… Had he hurt her? Could she swim?
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh my God. If I hurt her or… worse, I'm never going to forgive myself for it.
He ventured deeper into the pond, "Artemis? Artemis? Shit-"
"Surprise!" Her voice called out from behind him, giving Wally a small moment of relief before he felt her jump onto his back, her legs wrapping themselves around his shoulders as she attempted yet again to dunk him, "I totally got you,"
"Nope," He smirked, lying back in the water and dunking her in the process, "I totally got you!"
Artemis huffed as she came back up, "You asshole…"
"You know you love me." He teased as she got off of his back and swam around so that she was in front of him.
"I don't know if I'd use 'love', Baywatch," She said, treading the water, "Hey, Wally?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for uh.. Showing me this place," Long wet strands of blonde hair fell in front of her face as she looked at the water, glancing up at Wally only out of the corner of her eye, "I really like it here,"
Her words of thanks brought a smile to his face as well as the somewhat embarrassed look on her face, "I'm glad you like it," He laid down on his back and floated, "Hey Arty?"
"Yes, Wallace,"
"Oh ew, I now understand your feelings about Arty," He made a face, "Still gonna call you Arty though,"
"Damn it,"
"As I was saying," He replied with a smug look on his face, "Do you want to maybe skip patrolling tonight and just take a break? We could have a movie night or something?"
"I wouldn't mind a break honestly," There was silence from the archer's end as she pondered her next words, "On one condition though,"
"What?" He asked, opening one eye and glancing over at her. She was floating on the water with her eyes closed, hair spread out around her like an angel's halo. Her clothes were soaked and dripping but she didn't look like she minded. This was the first time that he had seen Artemis truly content and it was quite the sight to behold.
"We watch a ninja movie. I love ninja movies,"
"Anything you want, babe,"
Jump City. September 18th 2015. 6:00 p.m.
Lawrence Crock smirked to himself as he surveyed the photos of his daughter. Two shots of her in Kid Flash's arms as he raced away, three shots of her waiting on various customers, and another two of her getting into a car with a redhead. All seven shots reaffirming his suspicion: Artemis was in Farmer's Grove and if she was in Farmer's Grove, then the biotech chips were too.
"Jade can't always hide your tracks, baby girl," He said, slipping on his Sportsmaster mask, "And you won't be able to get away from me this time,"
OHHHHHH SHIT
Run Artemis run
I hope you guys liked this. We're in like Act II of the story now. This chapter was a lot fluffier but the next one will be v intense. The next few will be very intense actually. Prepare yourselves.
Please review?:)