Hello, hello! This was a speedy update eh? I kinda had the day to do as I liked, well almost, apparently I'm not aloud to nap all day. Thats considered unproductive. Anyways, let me know what you think, as always. Its great to get feed back. This story is almost over, I can foresee a maximum of three chapters left, more likely two. Then I'll be on to other projects, so keep an eye out for them!

lil-fledgling

Chapter 10

The store was surprisingly busy, which only irritated Artemis more. She didn't want to deal with people, not after her evening with Ollie. He was upset with her and Artemis hated the feeling of knowing she had done that.

"Have a nice night." Artemis ground out, shoving the change for a pack of condoms at a pair of love drunk teenagers. Could they be anymore annoying? God they were practically groping each other in the isles. Artemis glared at them until they left; glad to see the love struck idiots gone. Deep down Artemis knew that she was only jealous, that really she wanted someone to look at her the way that guy looked at his girlfriend. Artemis sighed and propped her head up in her hands. What would it be like to have someone listen and care about everything you said? Surprise you at school with lunch or take you on dates. Sunday night ice cream or-. Artemis shook her head and stomped out from around the counter. What was she thinking? She was a super hero, a poor, struggling super hero with a family of super villains on her tail. Even if she managed to find time for a guy, who would want to date a girl like her? Artemis grabbed the broom and stalked over to the picked over chip display, someone with muddy boots had left a mess in their wake. She swept angrily, her mind mulling over the endless reason of why nobody decent would ever take interest in her.

"Are we seriously doing this again?" Cameron looked up at his father curiously, trying to hide his distain. "Convenience stores? Aren't we supposed to be the best villains in the business? We should be going for museums or banks or at least somewhere with a little worth and challenge, right?" Icicle looked down at his son with an unreadable expression.

"This is a job from Sportsmaster." Cameron raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And he specifically said that you would enjoy this case." Icicle Jr. heard Captain Cold chuckle behind him and couldn't help but feel his irritation grow. He hated it when they knew something he didn't. When they all treated him like a kid and left him out of the loop.

"Why don't you go in first?" Killer Frost purred, trailing a seductive finger around the young criminals shoulders. "There's a surprise waiting for you inside. And she's all for you." Cameron turned around quickly to look the woman in the eyes. A fierce, wicked smile crept across her sharp, beautiful face. "Go on," She whispered, pushing Icicle Jr. towards the entrance of the run-down convenience store. "We'll be right behind you." With a deep breath Icicle Jr. reached for the door, preparing for the mysterious surprise inside.

Artemis heard the little bell above the door ring and out of habit she called, "Good evening, may I help you?" When she heard no reply she simply rolled her eyes and continued with her sweeping. Ten bucks said it was some stoner who was so fried they couldn't tell left from right, let alone understand what she was saying. Artemis snorted and knelt down with the dustpan. She didn't even have 10 bucks to bet, so it was a good thing she wasn't actually talking to anyone. Artemis halted her actions for a moment, listening to the heavy footsteps that clunked around the store. Of course, it could be Mr. Agnellutti and the man neither spoke nor understood any English, seeing as he had just moved from Italy. Artemis felt her heart soften a little at the thought of the funny Italian man and his struggle to find simple groceries at the corner store.

"If you're looking for cornflakes, we're all sold out, but we still have a couple of boxes of Raisin Bran if you're interested." Artemis said brightly, hoping that at least he would understand her tone of voice.

"Now what would I want with Raisin- Artemis?!" The archer stumbled to a halt, coming face to face with the best and one of the worst parts of her childhood.

"Honestly, what's with all the convenience store robberies? These guys are usually all over highly organized crime and going after millions in cash. Not a couple hundred." The team was in the Bioship on rout to where the criminals had been sighted and all the members of the team were completely confused by what could be driving these attacks.

"Perhaps it is a trap." Kaldur said, considering what Batman had theorized before the team had left. "Although I am not entirely sure why the target would be a convenience store but I am sure that today we will find out." Kaldur had a determined look on his face, clearly having faith in his words of justice.

"Has anyone been able to get ahold of Artemis?" M'gann asked quietly, looking at Robin specifically, who was tapping furiously on his computer.

The Boy Wonder shook his head, throwing his phone over to Kid Flash who caught it easily and moved to punch in the archer's number. With a start he stopped, realizing that he didn't know Artemis's number.

"Does she even have a cell phone?" Superboy voiced Wally's thoughts, and the others paused to think about this revelation.

"I've never seen her with one," M'gann said after a moment, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "Is it possible she doesn't have one?" Kid Flash and Robin traded meaningful glances and nodded.

"It's more than likely." Robin admitted, and the Bioship sped into a puff of dark clouds.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Artemis glared at Cameron, curling her lip at her once childhood friend.

"I-I'm not actually too sure," Icicle Jr. stammered, looking the tall, lean girl up and down. Defiantly, Artemis crossed her arms and cocked her hip in the classic sassy manner that she had harbored since she was a child. For a moment the two teenagers looked at each other in confusion and contempt. She had gotten more beautiful from the last time he had seen her. She had filled out more, finally had some curves to her lithe frame. Then, cliché as it was, a light bulb went off in Cameron's head as his father's plan suddenly fell into place. He knew what he was here to do.