-Athena's POV-

I leaned back in my chair, stretching my arms out. Despite my protests, I had been forced to wear a tank top out in public. I placed my hands to cover as much of my arms and shoulders as I could.

"Dude, no one will care. It's not that bad," Artemis crossed her arms over her chest. She grabbed my wrists and tugged my arms away.

"I still have that jar of cover up. I can go get it," I reached up to try to take my hair out of the bun. Once again, Artemis stopped me. She had convinced me to go out to lunch with her on the condition that I wore a tank top that revealed my body. I wasn't ashamed of my figure. But rather the fact that I was covered in scars from head to toe.

Every glance my way made my heart race. I was thankful for the scorching summer sun that Gotham offered. I looked over my shoulder to stare at the ocean. I smiled as I thought of how supportive Aqualad had been.

Artemis cleared her throat and drew my attention back to her. She tossed her blond hair over her shoulder. "So...Wally has been acting really suspicious these past few weeks," She said, chewing on a pastry.

I cocked my head to the side. "How so?"

"He has been going out without telling me and then making up excuses," Artemis growled, "and he comes back smelling like flowers."

I chewed my lip. Artemis was always super jealous and protective over her friends. But, I doubted that Wally was stupid enough or bored enough to cheat on her. Artemis was truly a bombshell. She had dark brown eyes with florescent blond hair. Her skin was a light brown color, showing her true Vietnamese blood. She had a tight, fit body and long legs. For that ginger boy to even think about leaving her was a mistake.

"It's probably just a guy thing." I tried to lighten the mood, but I could feel the anger radiating off of her.

Artemis shrugged. "How can he already be having a midlife crisis? He's only in his twenties." I chuckled.

"Well, how long can superheroes be expected to live?" I joked.

Artemis spit out her mimosa and giggled. "He's already died, you think he'd be over all this!"

We both laughed until a wave of silence feel over us both. "Do you think he is upset that the life he thought he had isn't playing out like the one he has now?" Artemis asked, letting her head drop a little.

I pondered on her theory. When we saved Wally, Bart and Barry explained what they had seen. Wally had been happily married to an alternate version of Artemis with their own suburban house. But most of all, they had a child together. That was something that the real Artemis could never give Wally.

Although Wally had seemed happy before, I didn't doubt that he was accepting of the real Artemis. They both loved each other so much. There was no way Wally would ever abandon all that.

"Not at all," I said, confidently, "Wally loves you Artemis. He's not cheating on you. He's not wishing he could go back to before. He's fine here. He's fine with you."

Artemis's face softened as I reassured her. "He came home last night drunk as hell," she chuckled.

"You think he was out with a girl?"

"No, no, no," she shook her head, "he was out with the guys. Dick even--" Artemis stopped herself.

When she mentioned his name, I didn't even feel any different. But when she stopped, I felt like she hit a nerve. I awkwardly shifted. "I feel bad for Barbara then."

It went quiet again.

A few moments later, I saw Artemis's eyes following something behind me. She bit her lip. "Don't turn around right now, but holy shit," she mumbled under her breath.

As we sat in our seats, a guy walked by. Artemis stared at him. I looked up and followed him as he walked into the cafe.

The guy was attractive, sure. He was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a tight t-shirt. He had jet black hair with a single white streak through it. His muscles were popping out of his shirt, much to Artemis's delight.

"Oh.My.God. Athena, I swear, if Wally is gonna cheat on me, I will do the same. With him," she licked her lips.

"Ok, chill Artemis. You can look but you are in a relationship," I reminded her.

She sighed. "You're right. But hey! You aren't in a relationship so go get your single ass in there and get his number for...science," Artemis winked, forcing me to stand up, "and get me another donut while you're in there."

I walked inside, rolling my eyes. I wasn't in a relationship because I didn't want to be. I got in line at the register and glanced out the window at Artemis. She was giving me an obvious thumbs up.

I turned around and came face to face with the man. His hands grabbed my shoulders to steady me. He held me tightly between him and the person behind me. I was pretty tall for my age and gender, but the guy had to hold me off of the ground to meet his eyes.

I studied his face. He had bright green eyes and a strong jawline. He had a smirk on his face that was vaguely familiar. "Watch where you're going," he said, placing me on my feet. I crossed my arms.

"You watch where you're going," I sassed back.

"Why would I have to watch where I'm going? You and your friend were already watching me." My face burned with embarrassment and a bit of anger. Pleased with my reaction, the guy laughed. That also sounded familiar. 

I bit my lip. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

The guy ran his fingers through his hair. As he did so, I could see his biceps flex. He was showing off. "Doubt it. Have you bumped into me before?"

"Something about you is just so...familiar."

"With a face like this, I bet you'd remember," he smiled.

Despite how much I hated cockiness, I couldn't help but grin. It reminded me of Dick. When Dick flirted, he did everything to compliment a girl without overplaying himself. However, this guy was talking himself up without any care to me. It was such a refreshing new type of flirting.

"Well, however I know you from, I am so glad it is a distant memory," I snapped my fingers, walking away. The guy chuckled in the distance as I returned to Artemis.

-

As night fell, I left Artemis to deal with Wally. I slipped on my Nightingale uniform. I knew I was going to find Red Hood. I was sure of it.

I swung around until I found my target. Usually, the trucks used to transport cargo were big and could be confused for food trucks or business cargo trucks. But, this one looked different. It was smaller, like a mini moving truck. And it was completely painted white.

I grappled directly over where I knew the truck would drive past. Releasing my line, I dropped down. If my calculations were wrong, I would fall straight down and into the busy Gotham street, probably breaking everything in my body.

Falling through the air, I landed on top of the truck at the perfect moment. I dented the hood, alerting the drivers. They swerved around wildly. I pulled out Thalia's dagger and stabbed it into the truck, holding me onto the top while they drove.

I carefully removed and re-stabbed my knife into the top of the truck as I inched my way to the driver's seat. They smashed their windows and fired their guns at me, but they couldn't see me while they drove. With a jerk, my blade came loose and I was thrown to the hood of the car. I made eye contact with the driver before kicking the windshield open and climbing inside. I punched the driver in the face and knocked him out, quickly taking over the wheel.

I got back onto the road and drove calmly around Gotham. "Well, I could do with some music," I turned to the old driver, "what do you wanna listen to?" Laughing, I cranked on the smooth jazz and waited out the clock. The sun had gone down and it was around eight o'clock.

As I drove, I inspected my shoulder. It had healed pretty quickly, but I now had a nasty scar running down the length of my neck down to my shoulder blade. I had to do weeks of vigorous physical therapy to get my neck muscles back to par after I had to rip through them. But, I was back in somewhat perfect condition.

I pulled off into an empty parking lot. Getting out slowly, I left the truck sitting their like a prized turkey. I leaned against the buildings, hidden in the shadows.

Eventually, there he was.

~~~~~~~~Summer, summer, summer! It's here guys! And we're already on chapter nineteen! This story will be glorious. I will try to write everyday of the summer you guys!~~~~~~