April 12, 2011
Mount Justice
"You are a Monster," Artemis commented when she was thrown to the ground by Kid Flash.
"That hurts, darling," Wally commented with a smile.
"Fighting Killer Croc hand to hand and winning," she commented as she got to her feet to go again.
"What can I say? I know how to have fun," he commented with a smile while sending Artemis to the ground again. She let out an unfeminine snort, drawing a laugh from Wally. Both were in training clothes. Artemis wore tight green yoga pants and a sleeveless white shirt. Her hair was in its ponytail as always.
Wally only had tight pants on, shirtless and without shoes just like Artemis. Both were training at Artemis's request and Wally had no problem helping her with hand-to-hand combat. Wally seemed to be the most qualified in that, even surpassing Robin.
"Where are the others?" Artemis asked when they finished training, or as Artemis took it, testing the floor.
"Conner is with his sphere trying to figure out how it works, Megan must be with him if she isn't in the kitchen, Aqualad I have no idea, and Robin is in Gotham," Wally informed her calmly while removing the wraps from his hands.
"You've improved," Wally commented.
Artemis snorted.
"You still keep throwing me to the floor," she commented dryly.
Wally smiled at her and threw a bottle of water that she caught.
"Don't forget that you're fighting one of the fastest people," Wally commented calmly while putting away his wraps.
"You can still keep improving. You just have to keep training hard, eat, rest, and find your reason to fight," Wally commented calmly.
"What, fight for justice?" she said, rolling her eyes.
"No," Wally commented calmly.
"I am not as honorable as Superman and Batman who fight for a better world, something noble but unfixable. Human beings will always be selfish and self-destructive," he commented calmly.
"I fight because I like fighting, that adrenaline that runs through my veins when you're against the ropes," he commented calmly.
Artemis looked at him in surprise.
"Besides, Batman gives me $1200 a month for supporting the team, while Megan and Conner can live here, Robin lives with Batman so he doesn't ask for anything, and I don't know what they give you," he commented calmly.
"No one told me there was a salary," Artemis commented while looking at Wally, who blinked.
"Oh," Wally said, not knowing what to say to that.
"Wow, that made things awkward," he commented quietly at the silence that followed.
"I'll have to talk to Green Arrow about that later," Artemis commented with a frown for finding out so late that there was payment.
"Well, why don't we look for something to eat? I've spent a lot of fuel today and I need to replenish it," Wally commented calmly while heading toward the kitchen.
"You always think about eating," she scolded him, but she followed him.
"I always wonder, what kind of person would you like to save?" Artemis asked him curiously. Wally was the one who made her the most curious. Megan was very friendly, Kaldur was too serious sometimes, Robin wasn't very expressive, and Conner, well, was Conner.
Wally grabbed his chin, thinking about how to answer his teammate's question.
"In an ideal world, I would say all people," he commented calmly while his green eyes became colder and more serious.
"But in this world where nothing is fair," he commented calmly.
"I will only save the people I believe deserve to be saved," he commented calmly while preparing a sandwich for himself and making one for her as well.
"And how do you know which people deserve to be saved?" Artemis asked him with more curiosity while they continued talking.
But she tensed when she saw Wally's dark smile, who calmed down before smiling at her more warmly and handing her the sandwich.
"That's the fun part of being human, free will. I decide who to save. At some point in your career you will also have to decide who to save. You can only save one, but there are two. Who do you save?" he commented calmly while taking a bite of his sandwich.
"In life, many decisions have to be made. Whether those decisions are correct or not, nobody knows. That's why people usually choose what they believe is right," he declared with a smile.
Artemis was captivated by her teammate's answer. She did not expect that from Wally, who besides Megan was the friendliest and most positive, but he always left everyone surprised when he became serious. When he entered that state, nobody wanted to argue with him. Wally, although he is the fastest on the team, can deal with the entire team. He has that power. He could fight against people like Deathstroke, which already made him a great threat. He managed to defeat Killer Croc, another more brutal threat. She could escape from Killer Croc, but from Deathstroke she would not manage it.
"Let's put that aside. Why don't we enjoy a quiet afternoon without the others present?" he suggested with a smile.
"Fine, but I choose the movie," she commented.
"No Vampire romances," Wally commented seriously.
"I promise nothing," Artemis laughed.
Watchtower
"It seems that Wally gets along well with my new protégé," Green Arrow commented beside Canary while Batman watched the Cave's cameras.
"Both Kid Flash and Robin know about her family," he commented calmly, and the blond couple froze at that.
"Both Kid Flash and Robin have revealed that to her, not for blackmail purposes so far," he commented calmly while using the computer.
"Kid Flash's, or Savitar's, bounty has not gone up recently, but it has not gone down either, and it is a kill order," he commented seriously.
In the underworld many of the League's heads were marked, but not all were as high as Kid Flash's. Only Superman had a bounty greater than 30 million, although it was unknown by whom. Batman had his suspicions, but few were foolish enough to go after the Man of Steel. But Kid Flash was only behind him with 10 million. High, but that could change at any moment.
Gotham
Robin was handling some things on the computer in the Batcave while Batman was at the Watchtower.
"Young sir," Alfred greeted him.
"Hello Alfred," Robin returned the greeting.
"Is there any problem?" he asked, turning around to look at him curiously.