[Wally follows her up, silent and wondering why he came over at all. He should've just left it alone; it would've been the kindest thing to do, for the both of them, but- shit, he doesn't know. He wanted to make sure she wasn't curled up in a ball, screaming about her dad, which is just absurd.
She lets him into her room and Wally thinks dully, I've never been in her room before as he sits down, cross-legged, on her floor. He looks around. ...he doesn't know what he expected, but this isn't it.
He glances back up at her.]
...you look like you haven't even showered since we got back.
I'm just saying, personal hygiene is important, [Wally mutters defensively, but he doesn't push it. He sits, picking at a loose thread in the bottom of his tee, and looks around her room for anything to settle on. Why does she have so little stuff? His own room's already loaded down with bullshit, dumb knick-knacks that he barely looks twice at.]
Look, I didn't come here to tell you to shower. [Pause.] Even though you probably should. Maybe brush your teeth too. I wanted to ask you something.
[He can keep looking, but the most sentimental thing Artemis has is a mug with her name half scrubbed-off in Sharpie. And that's in the kitchen cupboard because that's where mugs belong. Everything else in her room is either regulation issue or related to her archery equipment.
She bristles at his comments about hygiene. That is definitely none of his business and like he's been Mr. Social after what they went through.]
You have about ten seconds to spit it out before I totally regret letting you in here.
[Wally takes in how her arms are crossed tight over her chest, can't quite look her in the face long enough to see if her jaw is clenched (it probably is) and how she's leaning against that wall like she's about to push off it and punch him in the face. Bringing this up is not a smart plan.]
I wanted to...ask you about your dad. [But then again nobody goes to Wally for the smart plans.]
[Wally's in luck because the tense, ready anger fades away, leaving Artemis awkward and uncertain.]
Oh.
[She's not really surprised. Even though the line in her memory between thought and action is blurry, she remembers what she thought she saw in the arena. And although she can't remember what she said, she's pretty sure she said something.
It isn't the first time she's slipped in front of Wally. After the super awkward ninja boyfriend conversations (that Artemis seriously wishes she could get scrubbed out of her memory) he never really pressed her about it and she assumed he just forgot. Whatever she did or said in the arena though... that's got to be harder to forget.
[Whenever Artemis doesn't respond in the way Wally's expecting he like he's been set adrift in a dingy. That loss of control kind of irritates him, and then he's irritated with himself for being irritated at the lack of attitude she's given him.
He takes a minute, because even if he's annoyed, the last thing he wants right now is a fight.]
Look.
[He clears his throat. He's never done this, despite the endless PSAs schools tend to put out for this sort of thing. He rubs the back of his neck, an uncomfortable mixture of awkward, unsure and concerned.]
If...if your dad's hurting you, you know you can tell somebody, right? Like the League, or even just one of us. Kaldur or something. We can take care of it. We won't even go to the cops, the League can handle it.
[He'd expected something like abuse. Like her dad was controlling, one of those nutso parents who hated heroes maybe. There were lots of people like that, who worshiped at the altar of G. Gordon Godfrey and believed that "self-governed super freaks" needed to be kept on short leashes. He'd just thought her father was someone like that. Not-]
Sportsmaster? Your dad's- [Wally stares down at his feet.] Okay. Well. That explains why you thought he wanted you to kill me back in Bialya.
Wally casts around for something to look at before remembering he's already done that twice and found nothing.]
Do you still...live with him? [The second it's out of his mouth Wally realizes it's a stupid question, but he just can't- him? She had to grow up in a house with that sadist?]
[Things would have turned out very differently if she did. She might have still become a vigilante, but... Artemis has a pretty good idea of where she would have ended up. She got a taste of it when she put on the orange jumpsuit and let herself be put in juvie for the ice villain mission.]
I live with my mom now. [Her mouth twists wryly.] Do you remember a criminal called Huntress? They caught her about six years ago. It made the news.
[Not that she expects him to remember. They were both nine at the time, and for Wally that probably meant playing baseball and watching cartoons and eating snacks after school or whatever it is normal kids do when they're nine. When Artemis was nine, everything in her life was turned upside down.]
[She's right about him not remembering at least, judging by the look on his face.]
Oh.
[So, she's probably not Green Arrow's niece. Which means Batman and GA lied to the team (which annoys him), but considering Artemis has kept it a secret too it was probably because she asked them to. Green Arrow is a notoriously bad liar.]
...okay. That explains a lot. [That probably came out completely wrong.]
[She can't really say. For trying to kill him? For lying to him and the whole team ever since she met them? For not being the kind of person she pretends to be?
She shrugs.]
... Are you okay?
[She hasn't asked him yet. And maybe after just revealing that she's Kid Supervillain isn't the time.]
I'm fine. [This has just been the first time he'd left his house since they got back but hey, it's the weekend anyway.] ...it's weird. It's like everything's supposed to go back to normal. I guess it is, though.
[This is a girl who has washed her hair once since she got out of the arena. With hair that thick, there are probably still bits of plant stuck in there from their seaweed fight. She is in no place to judge.]
It isn't.
[She says it with sudden viciousness. She's been remarkably calm throughout telling Wally about her family, but this brings out her anger. Helpless, pointless anger.]
Why not? [Half of Wally wants to just shove everything that happened behind them, forget they were ever there. He'd seen the news reports; it was just a tragic accident with a volcano. Nothing about what actually went down in there.] You think we should hunt down the people responsible? [That...sounded way more on board than he thought he was.
But he is.] Since the military's not gonna tell us crap about it, you think we should do it ourselves?
Rob said something about them following signals to find us. Maybe they found something else out while they were searching. [Wally clasps his hands together and leans forward. He's not sure if they should dig into this without more help, but a lack of backup has never stopped them before.]
You saw what the press said about what happened, right? [And this almost gets Wally as heated as he gets when he thinks about the assholes that grabbed them and forced everyone to fight in the arenas.]
What were they going to say, though? You've seen the way people freak out about imports and anything that happens to them. They can't just say "sorry, we got all these kids kidnapped and tortured."
They could at least just say something happened and they're looking into it instead of lying- Some poor mom is probably sitting at home, thinking her kid is dead because they fell into a volcano. It's not right!
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She lets him into her room and Wally thinks dully, I've never been in her room before as he sits down, cross-legged, on her floor. He looks around. ...he doesn't know what he expected, but this isn't it.
He glances back up at her.]
...you look like you haven't even showered since we got back.
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Thanks, asshole. I have.
[Once. Right after she got home. But not since then. It didn't seem important.]
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Look, I didn't come here to tell you to shower. [Pause.] Even though you probably should. Maybe brush your teeth too. I wanted to ask you something.
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She bristles at his comments about hygiene. That is definitely none of his business and like he's been Mr. Social after what they went through.]
You have about ten seconds to spit it out before I totally regret letting you in here.
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I wanted to...ask you about your dad. [But then again nobody goes to Wally for the smart plans.]
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Oh.
[She's not really surprised. Even though the line in her memory between thought and action is blurry, she remembers what she thought she saw in the arena. And although she can't remember what she said, she's pretty sure she said something.
It isn't the first time she's slipped in front of Wally. After the super awkward ninja boyfriend conversations (that Artemis seriously wishes she could get scrubbed out of her memory) he never really pressed her about it and she assumed he just forgot. Whatever she did or said in the arena though... that's got to be harder to forget.
She sits down on the edge of the bed.]
... Okay.
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He takes a minute, because even if he's annoyed, the last thing he wants right now is a fight.]
Look.
[He clears his throat. He's never done this, despite the endless PSAs schools tend to put out for this sort of thing. He rubs the back of his neck, an uncomfortable mixture of awkward, unsure and concerned.]
If...if your dad's hurting you, you know you can tell somebody, right? Like the League, or even just one of us. Kaldur or something. We can take care of it. We won't even go to the cops, the League can handle it.
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You have no idea... The League already knows, Wally.
[She takes a deep breath. There's no point hiding this anymore.]
My dad is Sportsmaster.
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[He'd expected something like abuse. Like her dad was controlling, one of those nutso parents who hated heroes maybe. There were lots of people like that, who worshiped at the altar of G. Gordon Godfrey and believed that "self-governed super freaks" needed to be kept on short leashes. He'd just thought her father was someone like that. Not-]
Sportsmaster? Your dad's- [Wally stares down at his feet.] Okay. Well. That explains why you thought he wanted you to kill me back in Bialya.
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[Her fingers dig into the bedding at her sides. So Wally didn't forget.]
He... does stuff like that.
[She can't look at him.]
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Wally casts around for something to look at before remembering he's already done that twice and found nothing.]
Do you still...live with him? [The second it's out of his mouth Wally realizes it's a stupid question, but he just can't- him? She had to grow up in a house with that sadist?]
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[Things would have turned out very differently if she did. She might have still become a vigilante, but... Artemis has a pretty good idea of where she would have ended up. She got a taste of it when she put on the orange jumpsuit and let herself be put in juvie for the ice villain mission.]
I live with my mom now. [Her mouth twists wryly.] Do you remember a criminal called Huntress? They caught her about six years ago. It made the news.
[Not that she expects him to remember. They were both nine at the time, and for Wally that probably meant playing baseball and watching cartoons and eating snacks after school or whatever it is normal kids do when they're nine. When Artemis was nine, everything in her life was turned upside down.]
She's retired.
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Oh.
[So, she's probably not Green Arrow's niece. Which means Batman and GA lied to the team (which annoys him), but considering Artemis has kept it a secret too it was probably because she asked them to. Green Arrow is a notoriously bad liar.]
...okay. That explains a lot. [That probably came out completely wrong.]
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She can't really blame him for saying it--after all, she did just try to kill him with her bare hands.]
... Sorry.
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She shrugs.]
... Are you okay?
[She hasn't asked him yet. And maybe after just revealing that she's Kid Supervillain isn't the time.]
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It isn't.
[She says it with sudden viciousness. She's been remarkably calm throughout telling Wally about her family, but this brings out her anger. Helpless, pointless anger.]
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But he is.] Since the military's not gonna tell us crap about it, you think we should do it ourselves?
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And now that he knows who she is, there's no reason for her to hold back either.]
We have a team.
[At least, Artemis hopes she still has a team. She'll have to tell Superboy now, she realizes. Maybe she should have told them all sooner.
But the important thing is that she's not saying no.]
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Somebody's got to stop them. It might as well be us.
[Even if she doesn't feel like doing much more than staying in bed right now.]
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[It bothers her, but clearly not as much as him.]
What were they going to say, though? You've seen the way people freak out about imports and anything that happens to them. They can't just say "sorry, we got all these kids kidnapped and tortured."
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