[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!
You know you sound like some kind of rotten politician when you say that, right? [Wally folds his arms tight and leans back against her wall, glaring at her.] Lying to the public is sleazy. Sure, maybe they really were just trying to 'discourage panic' or whatever BS reason they give us, but using the news to lie is a symptom of a bigger disease. They don't tell us anything.
Are you even listening to me? I know it's not right. But it's what happened and yelling at me about it when the people who hurt those kids are still out there--
[She stops abruptly, his last statement sinking in.]
[Wally shrugs stiffly.] I only registered because I thought if I didn't, they'd take the job and house. But I have an interview at Starktech, and even if I can't stay in military housing I'm still a minor, so the state will have to put me up somewhere.
[Artemis rubs her wrist with the tattoo unconsciously. She thought about un-registering after the paintball games, but then she did the math and figured she couldn't afford it. Besides, she wanted to help Robin with reconnaissance and that was easier with a Registered tattoo.]
Yeah, you'll probably be fine.
[It comes out sounding clipped. Why is she upset about this? Artemis hates her Registered tattoo, but it's served a purpose. Except now keeping it seems like being complicit in what happened to them.]
Whatever. It's fine. I'm not doing it because I agree with them or anything. It's the job.
[Both the literal job at the sports store and the well defined job of being a teenager on a covert ops team with the vague idea that if she lays low long enough eventually they'll find something important.
...sure. [Wally knows that Robin's going to stay registered for the access to information, but he doesn't know what Superboy is planning on doing and it's pretty clear what Artemis is going to do.
Maybe...he should talk to Power Girl about it first.
Wally pushes himself up to his feet.] Well. I guess I should let you get back to sleep.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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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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[She has no idea why she's shouting, especially when she mostly agrees with him. She can't focus on that now, though. It won't help anything.]
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[Time to switch gears.]
I'm gonna un-register.
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Are you even listening to me? I know it's not right. But it's what happened and yelling at me about it when the people who hurt those kids are still out there--
[She stops abruptly, his last statement sinking in.]
... Are you serious?
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Yeah, you'll probably be fine.
[It comes out sounding clipped. Why is she upset about this? Artemis hates her Registered tattoo, but it's served a purpose. Except now keeping it seems like being complicit in what happened to them.]
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[Both the literal job at the sports store and the well defined job of being a teenager on a covert ops team with the vague idea that if she lays low long enough eventually they'll find something important.
Not that this has paid off in any real way yet.]
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Maybe...he should talk to Power Girl about it first.
Wally pushes himself up to his feet.] Well. I guess I should let you get back to sleep.