Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. Supermassive Black Hole is by Muse.

A Lingering Feeling
V. Ignite
Find your own little spitfire—one who won't let you get away with nothin'.
- Kent Nelson, Young Justice "Denial"

Mount Justice
October 10, 19:56 EDT

Artemis yelled and threw her fist in the punching bag again, channeling her fury into her muscles, and firing it out through her knuckles. She twisted to the side as the bag swung back and threw her other fist into it—imagining, pretending, desperately believing—that it was her father's face.

Her father had returned that afternoon for the first time since leaving in August, and their apartment exploded with heated words and screaming. At first it was a caustic but quiet conversation between her father and her mother, but it quickly escalated into a wildfire when Artemis started arguing in her mother's defense.

And then he brought it up: her "extra-curricular" activities.

He had laughed—laughed in her face, and told her it was all just a stupid dream. Oh yes, he had heard all about her "crossing over the good-side", and pretending to be Green Arrow's niece, and playing all the "fun little games" with the "big boys and girls".

And then he leered at her, "One day, I will make you watch as I kill every single of your new teammates, and the best part will be because you betrayed them."

Artemis glared back. Years of his biting remarks had hardened her heart. "You will not touch them," she snarled, her gray eyes drilling into her father's, "and I will never betray them."

Her father threw back his head and laughed again. "Baby girl," he replied with a grin, "when it comes time for you to choose between your family and that pathetic team, we all know what the outcome will be."

He stepped closer and brought a rough finger to her chin. "You will always be Daddy's Little Girl."

Artemis let out another furious shout and spin-kicked the punching bag. However, her judgment was so clouded by her rage that her foot slipped on the landing and she buckled onto the floor. She remained on the mat and continued to glare at the punching bag swaying with uncanny precision for a few seconds to the beat of the song coming from a set of speakers on a nearby bench.

"So, now are you just punching the punching bag with your eyes, or something?"

Artemis twisted around, and saw Wally leaning against the doorframe with his usual smug expression. He had actually been observing her for a few minutes now, watching her beat the absolute crap out of the punching bag. Remembering the manner she took out Poison Ivy and Count Vertigo with a single kick each, he had to admit that second to Kaldur, she was probably the most skilled hand-to-hand combat fighter on their team.

She had the power, and she had the ferocity.

But watching her in the light—really observing her—he noticed she had grace too. All her movements were fluid and well-calculated, and she looked almost like she was dancing—a blood-thirsty feral dance.

Because she was wearing nothing but a white sports-bra and black yoga-shorts, it was also a dance where all her muscles could be seen releasing their hypnotizing agile force.

And was also why he had done a double-take when he passed the gym on his way to the kitchen, and had stood there for the past…however long, just taking in the scene.

And now Artemis was glaring up at him from her sitting position.

Wally nodded his head in the direction of the speakers.

"Muse?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Artemis continued to stare irately at him, and then stood and walked over to the bench.

"What, were you expecting Justin Bieber?" she snapped back, anger and adrenaline still flowing through her veins.

Wally remained unfazed by her cutting remark and sat down on the bench. "Nah, just impressed," he replied, looking up at her. He tried his hardest not to focus on her torso, which glistened with sweat and shimmered seductively every time she breathed.

"Tch," Artemis snorted, snatching her water bottle and bringing it to her lips. "So you were expecting Justin Bieber."

She slowly let the cool water wash past her tongue and throat as she regarded Wally through lowered eyelids. He was wearing red basketball shorts and a sleeve-less black t-shirt that looked pretty beat up around the seams. She had never seen him dressed so…casual? Sporty? He leaned back on his arms and his triceps and shoulder muscles flexed, and Artemis quickly focused her attention elsewhere.

This was so not conducive in removing the pressurized adrenaline from her afternoon quarrel.

She lowered the bottle down and cleared her throat. "So what do you want, Baywatch. The beach is the other way."

Wally started rolling his shoulders and neck. "Rob and I were going to work out together. But he's running late—probably had some last minute dynamic-duo thing with Bats."

Almost like they had a will of their own, her eyes drifted back towards him, and she continued to observe—in what she hoped was an extremely nonchalant and unnoticeable way—his shoulders and arms. Wally or no Wally, she had to admit she had a slight biased attraction towards muscular arms when it came to the opposite sex.

Unless his name was Red Arrow, because even a jerk with sultry arms was still a j—

"Artemis? Earth to Arty!"

Artemis snapped out of her thoughts and saw that Wally was staring at her with an amused expression.

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you," he smirked. "Too busy staring at my beautiful arms?" He playfully raised them and flexed.

"Nah," she replied swiftly, "I was just wondering how long it would take a chainsaw to cut through them, that's all."

Speedy ripostes—she had that talent wrapped around her pinky.

Wally actually laughed. "You wouldn't dare."

Artemis simply raised an eyebrow in challenge.

Wally continued, his tone haughty once more, "Then you would have nothing to stare at, and proceed to zone out when I ask you a question."

Artemis had never so badly wanted to wipe that arrogant grin off his face with her knuckles, and briefly wondered how Flash would react to the news of his sidekick in a coma.

Wally saw her jaw clench and her eyes narrow, and inwardly laughed. Vexation at its perfection—he had that talent wrapped around his pinky.

"I asked if you need a sparring partner," he repeated, leaning back again and staring up at her, his eyes glinting.

Artemis regarded him in surprise and almost laughed. Had her greatest wish just come true?

"Why not?" she agreed, putting her hands to her hips. She stared down at Wally with a smirk. "I'm always up for a laugh or two."

Wally stood up and it was his turn to lower his gaze at the shorter Artemis—a fact he relished. "From me?" he responded. "Oh I know."

"Don't feel like you need to take it easy on me just because I'm a girl," said Artemis, walking to the center of the sparring mat with him.

Wally tapped a finger to his chin pensively. "Now that's quite unfair, isn't it?" he pondered out loud. He then took off his shirt in one fluid motion and tossed it to the side. "And you shouldn't feel like you need to take it easy on me just because I'm shirtless," he said, grinning cockily.

Artemis let her eyes freely roam from his chest to his abs, if only to further goad him.

"I'm not taking off my shirt if that's what you're hinting at," she said with a speckle of mirth.

"If I wanted you to do that," countered Wally playfully, "I would be doing more than just hint at it."

Artemis narrowed her eyes and raised her fists into position. She was more than ready to rip him to shreds. The two circled slowly to their right, measuring distances and eyeing each other in anticipation.

The current song ended, and a new one erupted through the speakers, energizing the entire room.

"'Supermassive Black Hole'," noted Wally with approval. "I like this song. Must be a sign."

Artemis tilted her head and started singing the first verse, her burning eyes never leaving his, "Oh baby don't you know I suffer? Oh baby can you hear me moan?" When she sang "moan" she tilted her head down slightly and sent Wally an electrifying stare, startling him. "You caught me under false pretenses, how long before you let me go?"

And then she launched herself at him, and threw a front-footed head-kick, which Wally partially blocked. However, her foot still glazed across his forehead, causing him to stumble slightly. With a leer, Artemis lunged back with a flurry of punches, alternating between body and head-shots. Wally continued to play defense and shielded her shots using his arms and fists, and waited patiently for the opportune moment to strike. He wasn't going to forget all of Black Canary's training just because he was fighting a girl.

Artemis snarled. Why was he making this so unchallenging? She might have well stuck with the punching bag—at least it swung back.

She threw a wide right-hook, and Wally suddenly saw his opening. He quickly intercepted her hit in mid-swing with his arm, and grabbed onto her wrist. With one smooth motion he stepped under her arm and bent it behind her, applying an arm-lock from behind and rendering her defenseless and trapped under his control. Artemis winced as he swiftly grabbed her other arm and also pinned it behind her, and then gasped as he pulled her into him so her back slammed into his chest.

She felt his breath against her neck and bristled. The second verse of the song flowed through the speakers and he started singing along into her ear, his voice an octave lower.

"I thought I was a fool for no one. Oh baby I'm a fool for you. You're the queen of the superficial, and how long before you tell the truth?"

Despite feeling heated from her work-out, Artemis felt a short burst of chills run down her spine. That geek could sing?!

She felt a tendril of her hair quiver from Wally's fast exhales, and gritted her teeth. Singing geek or not, she wasn't going to let him win.

She quickly sidestepped to the left. With her right leg she swept Wally's legs, throwing him off balance for a split-second, and giving her just enough time to slip his hold and retaliate with a jab-jab-cross combination.

Wally brought up his arms to shield her hits again, unable to find the urge to go on the offensive, even if it was sparring practice.

He just couldn't bring himself to hit her.

So instead, he dropped his body down towards her knees and wrapped his arms around both her legs, bringing both of them down. As they hit the floor, Wally swiftly moved into a full mount, pinning Artemis's arms above her head and caging her thighs with his legs.

Artemis gasped and looked up at his eyes in shock, her mouth slightly open as her breaths left in short hot bursts from her pink lips. Wally gazed down and for once wasn't wearing a smirk. The song ended, and suddenly the room was filled with only the sound of their heavy breathing.

All his senses became highly acute, including his sense of touch. He could feel the soft skin of her wrists beneath his hands, and could even discern her fast pulse, coming through like a hummingbird's heartbeat. He squeezed his legs, and felt her own tighten in retaliation.

And then drawn by her eyes, he slowly lowered his face, inch by inch, breath by breath, until he could actually see specks of dark blue in her quivering irises. He suddenly felt her breathing quiet, but that may have been because all of his other senses were dampening, and only his vision remained crystal clear.

He tilted his head and gradually lowered his lips to her ears, finally whispering, "Looks like I'm the one laughing."

All of a sudden he felt her warmth breath float in quicker bursts across his cheek. "By the way," he continued, satisfied with her flustered reaction, lowering his voice even more, "you owe me a souvenir."

"Seems like someone's feeling the aster."

Wally twisted his head up at the sudden voice and spotted Robin snickering at them in the doorway. Artemis used his momentary distraction to twist her hips to the side, causing Wally to lose his balance and allowing her to slide out, simultaneously yanking her wrists from his hands. She hooked her leg over his torso and shoved him to the ground by his shoulder, effectively turning the tables and pinning him down beneath her instead. She straddled him just inches above his groin, grabbed his arms and shoved them onto the mat next to his head, and finally smirked in triumph.

Wally's eyes widened, shocked by her swiftness and strength and their…current position. He imagined his face was reddening, but figured it wasn't obvious as both of them were still flushed from sparring.

However, there was no fooling Artemis. She sensed the discomfort in those bewildered green eyes, and felt how he was holding his breath, and definitely saw the emerging blush surrounding those freckles.

Two can play this game, she decided, and gradually lowered her face to his. The loose tendrils of hair first brushed against his forehead, and then pooled into soft curls. When she was an inch away, and finally felt Wally gasp for air, she licked her lips and cooed huskily, "We should wrestle some time—just you and me."

Wally exhaled sharply, as if in physical pain. This was just too much to handle—too much. He briefly had the strangest urge to lift his head and slam their lips together.

And for the taunting and tortuous cherry on top, Artemis slowly winked at him, her eyes igniting with mirth as the surrounding dark lashes floated down and up.

"You guys, I am right here you know," Robin interrupted exasperatedly. "Or, should I leave you two alone," he added in a suggestive tone.

Artemis rolled her eyes and moved her hands to Wally's chest, and pushed off of him as she stood up. The momentary touch of her hands on his bare chest sent a jolt of heat through him, and he had to hold his breath again to stifle the animal-like noise trying to claw its way out.

"Minus one point for losing," Artemis said, putting her hands to her hips and gazing coolly down at him.

Wally hurriedly discovered his sanity again and smiled as he propped himself up using his elbows. "But plus two for showing you a good time? I can live with that."

Artemis continued to hold his gaze, her emotions unreadable, but seemingly bordering on amusement and annoyance—typical for all her interactions with Wally. She finally looked away and gave Robin a knowing grin, grabbed her water bottle from the bench, and walked wordlessly out the gym.

Robin turned back to Wally. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Ha," laughed Wally, standing up. "Yeah—me kicking Artemis's—Ow!"

He was cut off by an object flicking into his face and then falling on the ground. After a nanosecond of registering what the heck just happened, he reached down and picked up a green hair-tie.

At that moment Artemis walked back into the gym, with her long hair flowing loosely behind her in a river of gold.

"What was that for?!" cried Wally, dangling the hair-tie towards her.

Artemis snatched up her iPod from the speakers and gave him a piercing stare. "Your souvenir," she answered simply with an emerging grin, before stalking off again.

Wally smirked at her retreating figure and found Robin raising an eyebrow at him.

"Souvenir?" Robin repeated.

"Yeah," replied Wally, slipping the hair-tie onto his wrist and walking towards a set of weights. "She owes me one after using the arrow."

Robin's eyebrow remained raised, and Wally could tell by the "uh" forming on his mouth that he was about to say something snarky, but in the end all he muttered as he followed Wally to the weights was, "Well that was whelming…not."

Central City
October 10, 23:08 CDT

Wally didn't even realize he was still wearing Artemis's hair-tie on his wrist until he emerged from the shower at home later that night. As he wiped away the condensation on his bathroom mirror, his eyes landed on the band's reflection, and he slowly brought his wrist up to eye level. Suddenly, he realized it was the same exact shade of green as his eyes—the match was uncanny.

Artemis's favorite color was the same color as Wally's eyes.

He looked away and dried himself (the speedster way of course), slipped on his boxers, and walked into his room. He sat down on his bed and slipped off the hair-tie, and with one last lingering gaze and silent smile, he place it on his nightstand.

And that night he had the most curious dream. He was back inside Dr. Fate's helmet, and was face to face once again with a smiling Kent Nelson. There was also a ring of playful fire surrounding them, casting a golden glow onto Kent's wizened yet venerable features.

Wally felt the fire's heat, but instead of causing alarm, it filled him with arousal.

He continued to stare at Kent. Neither said a word, and not a word needed to be said.

A/N: Robin you little cock-blocker.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out my tumblr (jncera)! You'll find all sorts of crazy Young Justice and Spitfire stuff on there. Satellites is on there too under the username brella.