Angels- By Lavatiger

Angel

-Lavatiger

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(Mount Justice, 4PM)

"One cup of vinegar, three pounds of garlic, and a stick of butter!" M'gann called out as she read from the cookbook, the said ingredients floating out of the cupboards and onto the table. Artemis stood in the kitchen, trying to help M'gann "bake," when suddenly a blur came into the kitchen.

"M'gann? What are you making?" called the now still Kid Flash.

"Cookies!"

"Cookies? How could she be making cookies with vinegar and garlic?" She shook her head and asked, "Robin?"

"Robin," confirmed the speedster. All the sudden he called out "TRUST FALL!" and started to tip over.

"NO MORE!" Artemis screeched as she dodged the falling Kid Flash. He had been at it for three days now, and had annoyed the heck out of everyone.

"Oh, come on Arty! One more time!"

"NO! And you said that two days ago! Go bug Robin!" Artemis ordered.

"I already did, and he said to go bother you." Wally countered, grinning.

"Okay then, go bug Superboy."

"I would, but last time I did, I had to run back from China."

"Kaldur?"

"He said to go see Robin."

"Why don't you help M'gann in the pantry?"

"Last time I did that, I had to run back from Nigeria."

"Possessive much, Supey!" Artemis murmered. "Is there anyone else you can go annoy besides me?"

"Trust Fall!" he exclaimed as he started to fall over again. Artemis reacted quickly, bringing a leg swinging around into the path of the falling KF. Sadly, she missed where she had been aiming, the stomach so she could flip him, and the cry of pain could be heard throughout Mount Justice. And Happy Harbor. And Southern Rhode Island.

"ARTEMIS!" squeaked the teary Wally, as he fell to the ground and writhed in pain.

Artemis stooped down next to him and exclaimed, "Sorry! I was trying to get you in the gut! Not the…"

"Well, your aim needs work." The speedster's voice was raised by at least two octaves.

Just as she was about give a stinging retort, a voice crackled over the intercom. "Thank you Artemis, for finally doing what we have wanted to for the last—"

Team, return to the mission room. Batman is here.

Artemis bailed as fast as she could, running at speeds that would have given the Flash a run for his money. Oops. Funny, but oops. She ran into the room, and lined up with her teammates, who were all there, except for Wally of course.

"Do you have a mission for us, Batman?" asked Robin eagerly.

"Yes, but I will wait for your teammate," growled the Batman, thouroughly angry at the absent Kid Flash.

The team stood in a row, waiting for their comrade. Robin was still giggling from the 'incident', Kaldur was stoic, M'gann had totally spaced minutes ago, Superboy was wondering the difference between Chris and Martin from Zaboomafu.

They look so much alike. Maybe one is an allusion.

A few painful moments later, a very late Wally trudged through the door, with a bag of frozen peas held firmly to his pelvic-area. Seeing the Batglare that followed his entry, he hurrildly explained, "Sorry I'm late. I had an accident.I think I might of cracked my pelvis."

He shot daggers at the archer, who indignantly replied, "IT. WAS. AN. ACCIDENT!

The Dark Knight mentally face palmed himself. "Robin, what happened?"

"Wally tried to do a trust fall and Artemis kicked him in the bad place."

"I was trying to kick him in the gut to flip him over so he could land on his—"

"ENOUGH!" Suprisingly, the shout didn't come from the Dark Knight, but from Aqualad. "I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU AND WALLY FIGHTING ALL THE TIME! YOU EVEN GO FAR ENOUGH TO HURT ONE ANOTHER! I AM TAKING YOU BOTH OFF THE TEAM UNTIL YOU TWO CAN GET ALONG!"

The team stood in shock for a while, while Kaldur began to calm down. None of them had ever seen Kaldur that mad before. Ever.

Batman broke the silence by saying, "Follow your leader's orders."

Shell-shocked, Artemis and Wally slowly left the room, and headed to their separate rooms.

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(Top of Mount Justice; two hours later)

Artemis sat down of the top of the sheer promontory with a sigh. []iWell this sucks. These are my only friends, and I just got thrown off the only team I ever made. The worst thing about it is that I have to apologize to Baywatch.[/i]

She looked out on to the tumbling ocean, and sighed again. I didn't even kick that hard. Dad wouldn't even be moved. But wait. He's the Sportsmaster. Nothing fazes him. Her shoulders sagged, and she sighed again. Not even beating him own wife to a pulp and permanatly paralyzing her. Just to get at his daughter who missed a target by an inch. A tear slid down her cheek. If I lose this job, me and Mom will… I don't know. She shook with silent sobs. If I go back to the Shadows with news of my being kicked off, they'll kill her.

"What's the matter?" asked a new voice of to her side, snapping her from her thoughts and an arrow from the quiver on her back.

Artemis was about to fire, before she realized who it was. "Oh, it's you."

"Not the answer I was looking for, but.. What's with the tears?"

"I got salt water in my eyes. They hurt like no ones business."

"Yeah, right. Now tell me what really is going on."

"Nothing. I'm fine. And I'm sorry that I nearly broke your pelvis. Even though it was an accident." She hoped that would get Wally away from the subject they were on, which was quickly becoming to close for comfort to the truth.

"I'm sorry too. That really hurt, and I—"

"Wally, I am really not in the mood for your whining. So go away."

"I wasn't going to whine. I was going to say that you don't have to cry on my account." This earned the speedster a firm punch to the arm, effectivly wiping the stupid grin off his face that had been there previously. "OWW!"

"You deserved it. So deal with it." As the words came out, she instantly realized why they were so familiar. That was what Sportsmaster had said when he had shown up at the hospital after paralyzing her mother. This made the archer look down and another tear to fall.

"Artemis, tell me what's the matter!" Wally stared at her with an intensity that she had never seen in his green eyes. "Please. I want to help."

"I'm turning into my dad." Was all she could choke out, and she quickly turned away, and started to get up, but Wally pulled her down again.

"Was he… bad?" asked Wally, who's curiousity had been piqued. He of all people would know what it was like to have a terrible father.

"You have no idea."

"How… how bad?" it was his turn to choke on his words.

"My mom's in a wheel chair now."

This statement hit home. "Oh my God, Artemis, you never told us! You never told me." He added that last part quieter.

"Why would I tell you? You haven't exactly been Mr. Nice and Helpful and Understanding. Calling me a replacement for Speedy. That's what I was in his eyes, too. Just a replacement for his non-existent son. And it's not like you can change the past." She shook with another sob, and Wally put his arm around her, and she leant into him.

"Artemis, I'm really sorry for all I've said, but I know how it feels to have 'Daddy issues.' My dad beat me and my mom, too, until Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris took him to court in a custody battle. He's now in a fancy rehab center in the middle of Nevada."

"Really?" asked the archer weakly. She looked up into his eyes, and could almost see the past in his eyes. He wasn't lying.

"Barry was a saving angel from God himself. Was that how Ollie was for you?"

"No. I had to do it alone. I was the one who decided to leave. My mom would have, but she was still weak, and scared. So, I packed all our stuff, took out two thousand dollars from the bank and moved us to our current place. It's not luxurious, but we get by."

"That's how it was for my mom. But she survived and is now a hot-shot lawyer in California."

"That's nice." The archer went quiet for a few moments, until Wally realized she had fallen asleep.

As he felt his consciousness starting to fade, he realized something. He had needed Uncle Barry to help him get out of his father's shadow. An angel. A super- fast freaking angel. And Artemis needed one too.

And Wally was determined to be it.