7.

"Hey, watch it! You almost hit me!" Wally dodged the punch Artemis threw at him while she rolled her eyes.

"That's kind of the point, genius," she snapped. She had no idea why Black Canary thought it would be a good idea to pair her up with Kid Idiot for sparring practice – she would've much rather sparred with Aqualad or Superboy, who seemed like the two strongest fighters. She liked a challenge. And Kid Idiot was anything but. Sure, he was fast, but that was about it. And he wasn't even supposed to be using his speed anyway. Combat practice was meant for building up fighting skills.

The team had been at it all day – they'd all woken up to the sound of their preprogrammed alarms at six a.m. sharp and gathered in the main cave for a rundown of the day's itinerary. After a full, nutritious breakfast to build up their energy, Black Canary had shocked them all awake with her combat moves; she'd demonstrated each maneuver with precision and accuracy that Artemis envied, and she tried her hardest to emulate. She wanted to be the best.

She felt like she was being treated unfairly when she was paired with Wally for sparring practice.

But she was beating him anyway, and she took some satisfaction from that, at least. She smiled to herself as she aimed a kick at his midsection.

"Is that the best you can do?" she taunted him, and he frowned. Wally's expression became serious and focused. He knew he wasn't supposed to use his speed, and he was trying not to – but his speed had always been second nature to him, and it was a hard habit to kick. He couldn't help it if he cheated a little.

He and Artemis had been fighting for twenty minutes, almost evenly matched. M'gann had already defeated Aqualad, and Superboy had overcome Robin in the other corner. They would switch partners when everyone was finished – everyone would get a chance to spar with each other for equal opportunity. But right now, all eyes were on Wally and Artemis. Black Canary was watching them carefully. Wally tried not to let that make him loose his focus.

He could see the sweat beading on Artemis's brow and the fierce, determined expression on her face. Her long blonde ponytail swung like a whip behind her while she dodged Wally's advances and blocked his moves. She was good, he'd give her that. The problem was, he wanted to be better. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of winning.

They circled each other cautiously in their little ring, both breathing heavily. Artemis watched Wally carefully, waiting for any little slip-up he might make. Watching for her chance to strike.

Wally found his first. He feinted to the left, and when Artemis followed, falling for the trick, he grinned and ducked underneath her arm to get behind her. In another second he'd flipped her over onto her back and pinned her to the mat.

"Game, set, match," he said, standing over her with a victorious, smug smile. "And that's how it's done, ladies and gentlemen."

Their little audience applauded, and Wally beamed. Artemis was fuming from below him. When he offered his hand to help her up, she swatted it away angrily.

"Whatever," she snapped. She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, furious at herself that she'd lost. She'd been stupid – she should've known he was going to make that move. What would her father say if he'd seen that? He would've called her weak and ignorant. She wasn't paying attention enough.

Black Canary stepped forward and smiled at them.

"Well done, both of you," she said, looking pointedly at Artemis, whose shoulders slumped. "I'm impressed. I didn't expect the two of you to go at it for so long."

"Are you kidding? I could do this all day." Wally raised his chin high and smirked at Artemis, who had to hold back a growl. God, he was such an arrogant jerk.

"Oh, really?" Her hands clenched into fists and she stepped forward, getting in his face. "How about best two of out of three, then?"

"Why don't we take a break for now?" Black Canary got between the two of them before fists could start flying. "You've all done exceptionally well this morning. Take an hour or two, have some lunch and regroup before we switch partners."

Wally's stomach grumbled at the mention of lunch.

"Oh, I could really go for a Chicken Whizee right now." He rubbed his stomach and licked his lips. "Oh, man. Make that a double Chicken Whizee."

"Unfortunately, I can't let you leave the mountain for food," Black Canary smirked at him when Wally frowned. "But the kitchen is fully stocked."

Those words were all he needed. Wally zipped out of the main cave and into the kitchen, where he started crafting himself the most spectacular sandwich Mount Justice had ever seen. The others arrived a few minutes later, hindered by their normal human speed. Poor saps, Wally thought.

Artemis glared at him when she came in, trailing a few feet behind the others, and stayed as far away from him as possible. She was still angry about having lost the fight. She'd be over it by tomorrow, but right now, her brain was supplying her with every little thing she'd done wrong, every wrong move she'd made. She needed to do better in her next fight. She needed to prove herself.

Then maybe, she thought as she watched the rest of the team congregate around the kitchen island while she stood alone off to the side, isolating yourself from your new teammates isn't the best idea.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to join the conversation.

"What do you think our first mission will be?" Wally was asking over a mouthful of sandwich. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Something easy by League standards," Robin said. "They wouldn't hit us with the hard stuff yet. Not until we've had at least a year of training."

"Where do you think they'll send us first?" M'gann asked wistfully. "Earth is full of such beautiful places. I hope one day I'll get to see all of them."

"I'd love to show you around Central City sometime, gorgeous," Wally winked at her. Artemis rolled her eyes again.

"I hope they do hit us with the hard stuff first," she spoke up, feeling uncomfortable when everyone's eyes turned to her. "It would be a great way to prove to the League that we're capable of just as much as they are."

Superboy nodded in agreement, his arms crossed over his chest. Artemis smiled and held her chin a little higher.

"Whatever mission Batman assigns us, we will be ready," Aqualad broke in. He sounded confident and assured. Artemis wished she could sound like that. "I believe we all did well this morning in sparring. I was impressed by all of you."

"I think we'll do great on our first mission!" M'gann smiled encouragingly. "With all of our skills combined, we'll win for sure."

"We just have to learn to work together," Robin said, looking at Wally and then Artemis. The two looked at each other and then defiantly away, turning their noses up.

"I'm not the one with the anger management issues," Wally mumbled, and Artemis's fists clenched.

"You have a problem with me, Kid Idiot?"

"Only that you have a problem with everyone," he said, and Artemis's eyes narrowed.

"This is what I mean," Robin said, and the others nodded. "The League's never gonna trust us to work together if you guys won't stop butting heads."

"I don't know what your problems are, but you really need to put them aside and start learning how to be friends," Superboy said, speaking for the first time. Everyone looked at him in surprise, and he automatically looked down at the ground. "I mean, we're pretty much stuck with each other. Might as well get used to it."

Artemis and Wally glared at each other from across the kitchen island. Both of them hated to admit it, but Superboy was right. As much as they didn't like it, as much as they wished it could be different, they both had to accept the facts.

They were stuck with each other.