Hello friends! I wrote a super long chapter for you all to enjoy! I do hope you enjoy it and leave me some reviews. Things you like, things you don't like, maybe even somethings you would like me to incorporate into the story. Or send me a message of story ideas and prompts, I think it would be super fun to do one of those! Stay happy and healthy.

lil-fledgling.

Chapter 4

"You're missing the point here. The Star Ship Enterprise has warp speed capabilities. There's no way the Millennial Falcon could beat it in a race." Dick Grayson shook his head at Wally West clearly disagreeing.

"Han Solo and Chewbacca are better pilots. It doesn't matter how fast the ship is, it's all in how you fly it." Wally snorted.

"Yeah right, you keep telling you're self that." Wally looked around and raised an eyebrow at Dick, cutting off their argument mid sentence.

"Bro, not that I don't love hanging out with you, but why are we in the slums of Gotham? I was kinda thinking we were going to tour around you're neighbor hood. Yeah know, cruz around in one of Bruce's Lamborghini or something." Dick shoved his hands in his pockets and studied the dirty buildings and homeless people.

"Consider it unofficial patrolling." He said. "This area is Little Vietnam. I've heard that theirs been some major big time drug deals going on down here so I thought-"

"Holy shit, is that Artemis?!" Dick's head swung around to look at where Wally was pointing. A tall girl with long blond hair pulled up in a ponytail was haggling with a crusty looking man and waving something that looked like turmeric around.

"Doesn't she live in Star City?" Wally exclaimed, confused. Dick cleared his throat, desperately trying to come up with a believable lie.

"It looks like she's having some difficultly," Wally said, before Dick could answer his question. "We should go help."

"Wally no-!" But he was already jogging across the street, calling out apologies to bikers and motorists, who mostly yelled back in angry Vietnamese.

"This is going to end so badly." Dick muttered to his self as he quickly followed his friend.

"Look I only have five dollars! Please Hao, I- I'm begging you. My mother needs this!" The large man barred his teeth in Artemis's face, showing off missing incisors and stretching the old scar on his neck left by a knife fight.

"You shoulda thought of that before you came here Artemis." He spat, ripping the turmeric out of her hands and setting it back out on his display. "The final price is fifteen dollars. If you can't pay than get out of my stall. You're wasting my time!"

"But my mother-"

"What?" Hao sneered, a mocking look of pity and disgust on his face. "You finally run out of money to pay for poor dear Paula's hospital bills?" Artemis snarled at the man, her fingers itching to pull the knife in her boot. "Can't afford the real deal so you're trying the old fashioned ones eh?" Hao laughed harshly. "Not even that will help her now." The reality of his words hit Artemis hard and she stepped back, shaking from anger. Watching his bleed out from his eye sockets would make her feel better. But it wouldn't save her mother and, she considered as an after thought, it would probably get her put in jail too.

"You're a cold hearted son of a bitch." Artemis hissed at him. "If I were you-"

"Artemis, hey!" A long freckly arm swung over Artemis's leather clad shoulder and Wally's freckly face beamed down onto Artemis, who's face was a mixture of confusion, fear and annoyance.

"Wally what the hell are you doing here?!"

"He's with me," Dick came up on the other side of Artemis and smiled apologetically. Artemis narrowed her eyes at him, she had known for a while that Dick was Robin and they had agreed to keep their two lives separate. Now both him and Wally were here, on her side of town! And that was defiantly not considered keeping this separate.

"Grayson." She bit out between gritted teeth. Reluctantly she shrugged off Wally's arm, missing its warmth and security around her shoulders, and all the little butterfly's she felt when he touched her.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked, innocently fiddling with a hunk of turmeric and hoping Hao didn't see.

"We were… in the neighborhood." Dick quickly lied. Artemis saw right through that.

"The both of you just happened to be in Little Vietnam at the same time?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in Star City?" Wally blurted out. Dick resisted the urge to face palm. Really subtle Wally. Artemis opened her mouth to answer when Hao turned around and caught Artemis playing with the turmeric.

"I told you to get out of here!" He yelled, storming up to the three of them. "You have no money and you can't pay, you can't pay anyone here!" Artemis backed up horrified, how did he know? As if reading her mind he continued. "You've been bargaining with all of us for weeks and you're prices are ridiculous! We all know you don't have two penny's to rub together Crock. And another thing," His voice raised and more heads turned, seeking out the commotion. "We know you don't have the money to pay you're rent. The only reason you're still in the building is because you're whoring you're self out to you're land lord!" Artemis felt her stomach drop and the horrified eyes of her friends. Bending for her knife a swish of hair rustled her pony tail and Wally had the vendor up against the crumbling brick wall by the front of his shirt.

"You never, ever, speak about her like that again." He said in a deadly quiet voice, his skin almost vibrating. "And I don't think I need to tell you 'or else'." Hao shook his head adamantly quivering in fear. Dispassionately Wally dropped him to the pavement, turning to see Artemis sprinting down the street with Dick hot on her tail. Throwing down a twenty-dollar bill and grabbing the turmeric Wally followed.

"I'm not whoring my self out." Wally and Dick had cornered Artemis in an ally way and after several minutes of hand-to-hand combat and a dictionary of death threats, she had finally calmed down.

"You believe me don't you?" Artemis asked desperately. "I swear I would never do that, I'm a virg-." Wally held his hands up to stop her.

"We believe you." He told her firmly. She visibly relaxed and she nodded her thanks.

"I don't know why he said that, or who told him." She said truthfully, rubbing pocket lint between her fingers. "Just some stupid rumor though." She looked at her friends warily. "How much did you two hear? Before you came into the conversation, I mean." Wally handed her the turmeric as an answer and Dick asked, concerned, "Is you're mother really sick?" Artemis stiffened and looked away.

"That's non of you're business." Dick raised an eyebrow.

"It kinda is now, actually."

"No," Artemis said stubbornly. "It isn't"

"Look," Wally interjected, breaking up the pointless argument, which was strange since it was usually Dick breaking up their pointless arguments. "It's," He looked at his watch, "Six thirty, why don't we go get something to eat and talk this over dinner. Dick's treat." His friend looked sharply at him and Wally gave him a shit-eating grin.

"Six thirty?" Artemis cried, pushing past them. "Oh god I'm late, I am so late!"

"Wait, no come back!" Wally called as she sprinted away. "What are you late for?"

"Babysitting!" Was the reply, and she disappeared around the corner.

"Babysitting?" Wally looked at Dick bewildered. "Artemis and children?! Is that even legal?"