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Artemis loved sports. She was really good at super obscure ones too. If the Olympics were anything like they had been in Greece, Arty would have dominated. Her love of all things athletic was what had lead her to this event. People showcasing their strange athletic abilities. Everyone from discus throwers to archers to acrobats. She had heard about it through her brother-in-law who would be competing in the competition, and hadn’t been able to resist going. She had tried to drag her best friend Megan with her, but she had already made plans with her all to perfect boyfriend Connor. Artemis wound through the bleachers, trying to get a good view of the targets the archers would be attempting to hit. As she settled down she noticed two teenage boys around her age looking for seats. They seemed to see the two empty seats beside her, because they begane politely pushing past peoples legs as they walked through her row. One of the boys looked younger than the other by about a year. He had dark black hair and wore a hoodie and sunglasses as if he were trying to look as invisible as possible. The other boy was slightly taller with carrot top orange hair and freckles spilling across his cheeks. He had stunning green eyes that just kind of made Artemis want to scream out ‘Perfect Specimen!’ She hadn’t realised how close they had gotten or that she was staring until the orange haired boy started speaking.
“Are these seats taken?” he said gesturing to the only two empty seats in the row. Arty shook her head and the two boys settled in next to her.
“Dick, will you please take off your sunglasses, you look ridiculous.”
“No way, Wally. I don’t want anyone I might know see me. Unlike you, I don’t like showoffs.”
“Says the kid who used to be part of a traveling circus.”
“Hey! We agreed not to talk about my Flying Grayson days!”
“Whatever.” The boy, Wally, as his friend had called him, rolled his eyes before turning to Artemis. “Sorry about my pal here, but I am going to pretend like I don’t know him so he doesn’t embarrass me… You should probably do the same.”
“Well I am in luck today, because I don’t actually know him.” That caused the boy to crack a goofy grin.
“Well than I guess I will just have to work harder to compete with you in that regard then. I’m Wally, by the way. And the guy I don’t know is Dick. He is here to see the acrobatic bit and I am here for the racing. What about you?”
“I’m Artemis and archery is my thing.”
“Hey like the greek goddess!” Artemis looked at him, rather impressed with his apparent knowledge of the long dead religion.
“Yah just like that, actually.” Just then an announcer voice boomed telling the crowed that the event was about to begin and please find a seat. As the announcer talked, Arty noticed Dick whispering something into Wally’s ear. After a moment Wally went bright red and punched him in the arm. Dick shrugged, as if he had been expecting that and turned away.
The first event was discus throwing. The jumbo monitors showed the competitors and their scores. Arty wasn’t really as invested in this competition. She looked down at her program, trying to estimate the amount of time before Roy would be competing. It looked like she had about an hour, so she turned to Wally and struck up a conversation.
“So, you said you are here for the races, do you know someone competing or just really like the legs they put on runners?”
“Well actually I used to be a competitive runner so I know a lot of the guys down there.”
“Used to be? Why did you quite?”
“I had a science experiment blow up in my face, and now I don’t run like I used to.” He said, choosing his words carefully.
“That’s to bad, I bet you were really good. I don’t know what I would do if i had to give up archery.”
“I still run, I just can’t compete.” Wally said with a bit of a smirk on his face at the face Dick was making.
Wally and Artemis talked through most of the competitions. When the archers competed, Artemis stood up and cheered wildly. Wally shook his head at her and laughed as she yelled strings of curse words at the referee. When she finally sat down he had turned red from laughter and she was steaming.
“That ref knows nothing!” she panted as she watched the arena clear and the towel boys set up for the next string of events. “By the way, where did Dick go?” She had only just noticed his absence.
“I don’t know. He said he was going to get something to drink ten minutes ago.” Just then a wail washed over the arena.
“AAAAALLLLL RIIIIIIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT’S THAT TIME! WHO WILL BE ON OF THE LUCKY COUPLES TO APPEAR ON OUR KISS CAM!” Artemis rolled her eyes, but kept her them glued to the screen. The first couple were a middle aged man and women, then there was a pair of twenty year olds, followed by a woman in her late sixties and a man that Artemis assumed was her husband. A few more couples flashed across the screen and then Artemis’s heart stopped. There was her face, wide eyes and messy blond hair hanging around her shoulders, and next to her face was Wally’s. Slowly she turned to face him. His face flushed in embarrassment. Slowly Artemis realised that the crowd had begun to chant at them in an attempt to get these two strangers to lock lips. Artemis was not easily frightened so she glanced at Wally, gave a half hearted shrug, and grabbed the front of his shirt pulling him forward into a kiss. She had only meant to peck him on the lips, but she stumbled and somehow had given him a full on kiss. Artemis felt a wave of shock that was quickly replaced by complete bliss. Wally was not a bad kisser and she found herself unable to break away. She knew that the cameras had long since found a new target, but instead she found her hand creeping up Wally’s neck and into his hair. She was startled to realise that his hands had found her back and while one hand crept up to her neck, the other was sliding down to her waist. She felt a pleasant shiver run down her spine, but it was short lived. A loud and purposeful cough had the pair jumping apart as though they had been caught doing something illegal. It was Dick. Artemis looked away as a blush crept up her face.Wally was grinning like a huge dork and Dick was smirking.
The rest of the event passed rather quickly. Artemis and Wally exchanged phone numbers, but Artemis knew that neither of them would ever call the other.
As she wound her way down to the stadium she saw Oliver and Dinah waiting for Roy.
“Hey kiddo, nice show.” Were the first words out of her mentor’s mouth. Dinah swatted at him but that didn’t stop Artemis from turning bright pink. Just then another voice chimed in.
“With all the kissing you were doing, I bet you didn’t even have time to watch you favorite brother-in-law compete.” Roy fake pouted as he slung his gear across his shoulder and walked towards her.
“Are you kidding, like I could miss your big head!” This earned a laugh from everyone as they made their way out. Artemis could handle teasing, but as she remembered the way Wally’s lips had felt against hers she felt a twinge within her stomach that was new and left her with a pang of sadness when she remembered that she would never see him again.
It had been two weeks since the tournament and Artemis was doing her usual rounds. Sure Gotham was where her home was, but Star City needed her on days like today when Oliver was out with the League and Roy was playing stay at home dad to the new bundle of joy that Arty was supposed to think of as her niece. Usually patrol was boring. If she was lucky she might pick up a burglar, but tonight everything was in chaos. There had been a minor prison break and then a bank was robbed. Arty had called for backup, but the league was busy and Roy’s phone had been switched off. When she had finally gotten through to Ollie, he had said that Kid Flash was the only one available right now. Artemis had nearly jumped for joy at the thought of getting backup, but her excitement was short lived as she got a report of a car chase that had begun between police and a small time drug gang.
Finally the young speedster had appeared. Artemis had already ended the car chase and was about to go after the the escaped convict when he showed up.
"Kid Flash at your service!" He said with an overzealous voice.
“Artemis, the archer goddess of your dreams.” she deadpanned without looking up. Her eyes were fixed to a man that fit the description of the escaped convict, a man in his early thirties that had been sent away on charges of sexual assault. “I think I have found our missing criminal, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure until I get a better look at him.”
“How close do you need to be?” The speedster asked.
“Like three rooftops over” Just then she felt strong arms sweep her out of her crouched position and felt the wind in her hair as Kid Flash ran down three buildings. Gently, he set her down before taking a step back.
“Is that him?” Looking through her binoculars, Artemis zoomed in on his face.
“Yep that’s him.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Kid flash was gone. She watched as he tackled the guy below her. Artemis shook her head in disbelief and notched one of her trick arrows that would release a freezing foam and secure the crook. As soon as she had a clear shot, she let her arrow fly.
With the criminal apprehended and the police on their way to pick him up, the two teens only had one more big catch to make that night.
“Okay so the bank robbery happened a little over an hour ago. So far the police haven’t found the guy. He was last seen driving a dark blue station wagon, but cops found an abandoned one matching that description a little over half an hour ago.” Artemis was giving Kid Flash the short version of the story, hoping to fill him in as quickly as possible so that she could go home and get some sleep soon.
“Okay do we know what the guy looked like?”
“Witnesses stated he was around six foot, weighing about two hundred pounds. He wore a ski mask so that is about all we have to go on.” Kid Flash nodded then took off. Artemis rolled her eyes and decided to give him ten minutes before she left. He was back in five.
“I just checked out the city, and I think I found them in the warehouse district.”
“Them?”
“Yah, it looks like he had a group of guys help him with the getaway and now they are dividing up the money.”
“Alright then, let’s go!” And with that Artemis had been swept off her feet for the second time in the last half hour.
The two teens made short work of the thugs. Their fighting styles worked well together and Artemis couldn’t help but feel like she has met him before. Finally the police arrived, taking the thugs into custody.
“Hey, I am starved. Do you wanna go grab a victory meal?” Kid Flash said with a lopsided grin.
“I would love too, but I feel like maybe street clothes would be a little less conspicuous. Come on, we can go to my sister's house and get changed.”
After giving Kid Flash the address they arrived in two minutes.
“Hey, I know this building! This is the same apartment that my buddy Roy lives in. What a weird coincidence.” Artemis shrugged.
“Not really, because if you are talking about Roy Harper, he’s my brother-in-law. I guess most supers know of each other, if not know them personally.” Wally made a gesture, as if to say ‘you are right and I should have guessed that the super archer would have a super archer family.’
“Okay now we do need to be quiet because my niece is probably asleep and if we wake her up my sister is very skilled with knives and will use them to carve us like a turkey on thanksgiving.” This earned another grin that for some reason made Artemis’s heart flutter. Slowly she pushed open the door to the apartment. Roy was sitting on the couch, drink in one hand baby in another. He looked up and his face brightened when he saw who it was.
“Arty! What’s up? And hey you brought me a friend! KF how is it going dude?” Sometimes Artemis forgot that roy was only five years older than her, and other times it felt like he was the child. This was one of the times when Artemis felt like the only responsible one around. Roy dumped the baby into Arty’s arms before going over to talk to the speedster.
“Lian, is your daddy a big doofus? Yes he is!” Artemis cooed as she put the baby in her crib. “I’m gonna go get changed, please don’t forget you have a child that depends on you for basic living needs.” Roy waved her off, causing Artemis to roll her eyes and walk away. She grabbed the spare clothes she kept in the linen cupboard for when she crashed on their couch and went into the bathroom to change. She stripped out of her sweat soaked costume, making a mental note that she needed to repair it, and pulled on a ratty pair of jeans and a faded old tee. She ran her fingers through her hair before deciding to leave it up. Gathering her clothes, she tossed them into the laundry hamper.
“Alright, ready to go?” she called out, knowing that Kid Flash would be done getting changed by the time she got to the living room. As she rounded the corner, her heart skipped a beat. Standing in front of her was none other than the boy she had made out with two weeks ago. A shock wave ran through her body as she stood dumbfounded, mouth hanging open. Apparently he had not been expecting this turn of events either, because he looked just as surprised. Artemis quickly tried to regain control of the situation, but it was too far gone.
“Hey Roy, think you could give us a minute. My secret identity had just been compromised.” Artemis said rather forcefully. Roy looked a little bewildered then inspected their expressions, and promptly doubled over with laughter.
“Yah fine.” He scooped Lian into his arms and walked away shaking his head and mumbling something to the child. After the sound of a door closing confirmed they now had privacy, Artemis began an awkward attempt at explanation.
“You know I meant to call but-” Wally made a gesture cutting her off as if to say ‘don’t say it, because it will make this situation worse.’ Artemis sighed. “So you're a superhero…” She said half heartedly.
“Yes, and apparently you are the, what was it? oh that’s right, ‘Goddess of my dreams.’” Artemis blushed.
“So should we still grab that bite of dinner?” She said with a hint of fear, as if he wouldn’t want to spend time with her now that he knew she liked to shoot bad guys with arrows.
“I would love to. Besides, now I can get to know the real you.” he said with a devilish grin that made Artemis a little weak at the knees.
The two teens made their way to a small diner where they could discuss their predicament freely. The two of them had been able to get over the awkwardness pretty quickly. They both understood why the other hadn’t called, getting into relationships with civilians was hard. Then again dating other heros was not easy either.
“So what are the odds that two superhero teens meet at a sports tournament even though I know your brother-in-law.”
“Not likely. Then again, it is even less likely that we would sit next to eachother, end up making out on a big screen, and then a few weeks later I would need backup.”
“Hmmm. It seems to me that the universe is trying to tell us something… So how about I take you out for a night on the town next weekend. We can grab a bite, catch a few crooks, it would be fun.”
“I would like that.” Artemis said with a smirk.
“Good, because there is no way I am letting someone that is as good a kisser as you slip through my fingers.”
“Play your cards right and you may get one tonight.” Artemis said with a wink that made Wally do that goofy grin that had really started to grow on her.