A/N: So I read over my last chapter, and Wally sounds like a bigger jerk. I am sorry everyone, I wasn't trying to make him sound that bad. Hopefully this next chapter will redeem him. Thank you for everyone's reviews, they are super awesome! I also know that i have been updating really quickly, but I am starting school again tomorrow, and I don't know how busy I will be getting. Hopefully not too much since I'm officially between sports seasons. We'll see. And as much as I would love to own Young Justice, I sadly do not.
The Start of A Beautiful Friendship
Artemis considered skipping class. After the way her morning had started, she just wasn't feeling it. Artemis stomped around her room, ranting in her head about Roy, Wally, her dad, everything. She flopped onto her bed and blindly felt around for the drawer in her nightstand. When she found it, she pulled out the picture of her mom, Jade, and her.
The picture was from before her mom's accident. Her parents had been two of the best thieves in Gotham, Sports master and Huntress. Her mom, for the most part, had stopped after she and Jade were born, but her dad... her dad was determined to turn his daughters into miniature female versions of himself.
In the picture, Paula Crock was standing near a pond with little Artemis on her shoulders. The smaller version of herself was grinning giddily at the ducks in the pond, while her sister leaned over the pond, throwing little pieces of food at the ducks. All three of them seemed happy.
Artemis wasn't sure who had taken the picture, but it had rested in a black frame on a table in their apartment for years, until Artemis took it for herself after her mom was sent to jail and Jade left, leaving just her and her dad.
Smiling, Artemis put the picture away again. She looked at the clock on the wall, and realized that class was starting soon. She would go, if only for her mom who had always wanted better for her daughters. Artemis got off of the bed and walked out of her room without a second glance.
Wally looked up from where he had been talking to Dick and Raquel, as Artemis walked in. He felt really bad for how he had been acting around the blonde girl. Megan and Zatanna had reamed him at breakfast for his actions. He had realized what he was doing was wrong, but he hadn't stopped. He wasn't this person.
"Hey Artemis." Dick said when Artemis walked past. She gave a little wave as she took an empty seat next to Zatanna. The girl immediately struck up a conversation with Artemis. Wally turned back to his conversation with Dick and Raquel, but a few moments later her heard laughter. He looked back over at the two girls, and sure enough, Artemis was laughing.
"Your eyes are going to burn a hole through her if you keep staring." Dick said. Wally turned back around to his best friend.
"What are you talking about?" Wally asks, defensively. Raquel begins to laugh.
"You got it bad Wallace West." Raquel states, smiling as Kaldur walks in and takes a seat next to her.
"What does Wally have bad?" Kaldur asks good naturally.
"Nothing." Wally says at the same time Dick replies, "Wally likes Artemis."
"Ah, I had my suspicions, but I did not want to say anything." Kaldur says with a smile. Wally groans in frustration.
"You guys stink. I do not like the blonde harpy, that is final."
"Good, cause I don't like you either Baywatch." Artemis said with a smirk. Wally spun around to see that Zatanna and Artemis had made their way over to the group. Wally gulped; he just had the worst timing when it came to this girl.
"I...I...I..." Wally kept saying lamely.
"Spit it out Baywatch, you know we are all just enthralled to hear what you have to say." Artemis replies. Dick, Zatanna, and Raquel snicker into their hands.
"I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry." Wally finally manages to say. Artemis looks surprised for a second, but then her normal facial expression returns.
"Thanks Wallman, but its not like I was sitting alone in my room crying because Wally West doesn't particularly like me, please. I'm a big girl." Artemis says snarkily. Wally guessed he deserved that.
"Whatever Harpy." Wally decides to just go with the simple response.
The door to the classroom opens suddenly, and Dinah Lance walks in. The teens all go to their seats. Dinah surveys the classroom.
"Where are Conner and Megan?" She asks. As if they knew that Dinah was looking for them, Conner and Megan walked into the room hand in hand. Megan was giggling and Conner was actually smiling. They stop suddenly when they notice everyone looking at them.
"I'm sorry we were late, we lost track of time." Megan states, turning red. She and Conner wordlessly take their seats.
"They were totally making out somewhere." Dick whispers over to Wally.
"You're just jealous that it was not you and Zatanna." Wally replies. Dick's cheeks turn bright red. Wally smiles to himself, served the little troll right.
Class was dismissed at ten thirty. Artemis watched as Zatanna and Megan quickly hurry off to change and then go help set up the dining hall for lunch. She knew that Ollie was going to drop off polo for her to wear when working. Ollie and Bruce had picked a simple white-sleeved polo as the uniform for workers. It said Justice on the right sleeve and on the left sleeve, it said their name. It was quite classy.
Artemis walked into her room to find the polo on her bed. She debated whether to place a long sleeve shirt on underneath. She knew she had a lot of scars and bruises from her training. Her dad never harmed her or Jade, but scars and other things came with the territory of the training they did. She had always been a bit self-conscious, but maybe it just wasn't worth it.
Deciding to ditch the long sleeve shirt, Artemis shrugged off her jacket and her white tank top, putting on the polo. Artemis redid her standard ponytail, and walked out of her room, locking the door behind her.
"What's up Artemis?" Raquel says. Artemis turns around to see Raquel walking out of her room.
"Hey Raquel." Artemis says smiling. Together, the two of them walk over to the elevator, where Conner is already waiting.
"Hey Con." Raquel says smiling at her friend.
"Raquel, Artemis." Conner says, with the straight face that Artemis had come to realize was his normal expression. The elevator doors opened at the three of them stepped inside. They all wore the same polo.
"Woah, how did you get that?" Raquel asks, staring at a jagged scar on Artemis' right arm.
"Boxing, I used to box." Artemis said, trying to sound cool and collected. It was a complete lie. She and Jade used to go to the little gym down the street sometimes to workout. Artemis had always liked using the punching bag.
"Ouch, looks like it hurt." Raquel states. Artemis shrugs.
"It happens." She replied. Satisfied, Raquel turns to Conner.
"So Con, what were you and Megan doing to make you guys late for class?" Raquel asks with a sly smile. Conner's face turned bright red as he tried to sputter out a response. Artemis and Raquel spent the rest of the elevator ride laughing hysterically.
Conner shot out of the elevator as soon as it reached the main level. Artemis and Raquel walked out a bit slower, still giggling.
"So where is this towel place?" Artemis asked Raquel.
"Not far. It's you know, near the pool."
"Of course. Where else would it be? Near the arcade?"
"I'm sure all of those nerds could use towels to wipe up their sweat." Raquel states. The two of them once again begin to laugh as they approached the pool and towel stand. Artemis spotted Wally already behind the counter with a bored expression on his face. Next to him was a smoothie machine.
"See you later Artemis. I have people to save and Conner's to embarrass." Raquel says as she walks away. Artemis waves bye and joins Wally.
"So we just hand out towels?" Artemis asks.
"Nope, people can grab their own. We are in charge of this." Wally pats the smoothie machine. "Meet Francis."
"Francis?" Artemis asks Wally skeptically. He shrugs.
"Megan and Raquel came up with it. Don't ask me why."
"So we make...smoothies?" Artemis asks.
"Pretty much. Some person up in the Watchtower thought it would be a good idea. Two things get accomplished, we watch over the towels and make people happy with smoothie goodness." Wally explains.
"Got it." Artemis says, pulling over a stool. She sits as far away from Wally as possible. The two of them are completely silent for a few minutes. It drove them both crazy though.
"It kind of looks like a Francis." Artemis remarks, staring at the machine.
"I guess you could say that. You know how to work one of these things?" Wally asks her.
"Yeah, I actually have one in my room to feed my smoothie obsession." Artemis says dryly. Wally cracks a small smile, trying to stop the bigger one that wanted to form.
"So all you need to do is make sure there is enough ice in this top compartment." Wally explains, pointing. "And then based on what they ask for, you add the fruit to the other top compartment. Press the button, and presto, you have a smoothie."
"Sounds easy enough."
"It's actually very difficult. Only the best rocket scientists can actually do it right." Wally states.
"Then how can you do it?"
"I'm awesome, and a rocket scientist in training."
"You? Really? I never could have guessed from the dorky periodic table shirt you were wearing last night."
"You know, you are just so funny, you should be a comedian."
"I'll make sure to make my jokes about annoying red heads." Artemis replies back. Wally was impressed; he had never met anyone like Artemis before. And Artemis would never admit it, but she was actually having...fun.
"I would expect half of the profit then. If you're making jokes at my expense, I should get some benefit."
"Maybe."
"You can call your show, the Blonde Harpy Who Thinks She is Funnier then She Really Is."
"That's a tad long, how about Baywatch: The Red-haired Walking Disaster." Artemis replies.
"Me? A walking disaster? You ran into me yesterday." Wally states.
"Me? That was all you Baywatch." Artemis replies.
A little girl asking for a strawberry smoothie interrupted them. Artemis handed her a towel while Wally made the smoothie. When she was gone, Artemis turned back to Wally.
"Wow, that was just so complex." She states.
"It takes a certain skill."
"For a boy named Baywatch, I bet it is quite challenging."
"Can we stop taking digs at my smartness. I am a highly intellectual being."
"One that says smartness?" Artemis states. Wally rolls his eyes.
"I couldn't think of anything better to say." Wally says. The two of them begin to laugh hysterically. Artemis realized that she was even smiling. Who knew that she and Wallace could get along? Once they were calmed down enough, Artemis started to talk again.
"So what brings you to this fine ship? You already know why I'm here." Artemis says.
"My uncle Barry is a scientist. He worked for a lab in Central City and knew Bruce and Ollie through his work. They contacted him and asked him to come out here with them. They had a lab built and everything and it would give hands on chance my uncle to study marine life while at sea. The past few years he has been studying the effects of global warming on the environment and this would give him great chance to study the effect on the oceans of the world and plants and animals and stuff." Wally explains. "All he had to do in reply was give some science lectures as an opportunity for something the older members on board could do."
"That's cool." Artemis states, "But that doesn't explain why you are here."
"Would you believe that I wanted to come along purely for the adventure?" Wally asks. Artemis shakes her head. Wally sighs. "I had some trouble at my old school with bullies. You know, the age-old gang up on the science nerd stereotype. They didn't bother me too much since I was also really good at track and they respected that, but they would still steal my homework and shove my face into lockers. I didn't have a lot of friends, and just really wasn't happy.
When I heard that my only real friends, Dick, Roy, and Kaldur were coming onto this ship with their guardians/parents, I realized that I wanted to come too and be with people who actually got me. My parents agreed since they had heard about the bullying, and two months later, here I am."
Artemis is quiet for a moment. She felt so bad for Wally. She had seen kids get bullied at Gotham North and had always been too scared to do anything about it. She always felt bad though when she saw their sad faces.
"I'm sorry that that happened to you Baywatch." She said quietly. Wally looked over at her in shock. She had lost the sarcastic barrier in her voice.
"It's fine. I'm here now and I have an awesome group of friends." Wally states. "They all really like you, even Conner. I've never seen the big guy warm up to somebody so easily. You belong with our little band of misfits now too."
"Really?" Artemis asks, looking over at him. Wally looked right in her grey eyes when he replied,
"Really." Wally replies, knowing that he was speaking the truth.
A/N: Aw, I really love those two together. I know I kind of took some liberties with the characters this chapter and I hope they seemed realistic and stick with their characteristics on the show. Read and Review. I don't know when Chapter 5 will be put up, hopefully sometime this week. Thanks for reading!