So, before we begin, I just want to apologise for how long the wait has been for this chapter to come out. I moved house a few weeks ago and the moving process has been highly stressful and tiring. Also, I've started a new job with completely different hours from what I was working previously, so I've been struggling to get back into the routine of writing regularly. However, I intend to at least update everything once a week starting next week.
Anyway, let's get on with the chapter.
-X-
Monday 9th August 2010, 15:10.
Rhode Island,
Happy Harbour,
Mount Justice.
After having gotten changed and calming down, Esau entered the main area of the cave to see the team as well, Batman, Green Arrow and another young girl no older than Wally. She was beautiful, he would admit that with blonde hair and grey eyes with her outfit doing little to hide her toned and developing figure, but Esau focused on that only for a short moment.
"Hi, I'm guessing you're the new member of our team." He walked forwards, hand extended and a friendly smile on his face because while he didn't like the fact that a new member was about to join the tenuous team, he wasn't going to hold it against her. "I'm Esau Jacobson, Maelstrom's my codename."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Artemis." She greeted in turn with a smile shaking Esau's hand, noticeably appreciating the young man in front of her. It was the same look she had given Superboy previously and it made Barbara frown, not liking it in the slightest.
"Is that your code name? Or your actual name?"
Artemis smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry. It's both."
"Your actual name is also your code name?" Esau asked dubiously and Artemis nodded her head. "Huh, never would have guessed that. Anyway, you've met the others." He continued. "Also, just to let you know, this isn't a vacation like some people thought it was. Training is mandatory so unless you've got a good excuse as to why you're gonna have to train." He didn't look at the individuals themselves as they already knew and were taking clear steps to get away from it, but Artemis could tell who two of them were by the way shifted on their feet.
Hearing him say that made Barbara's smile grow and Esau noticed this out of the corner of his eyes.
He turned to her with a frown. "Don't say it, I heard myself and I know exactly what I sound like. So don't say it." He warned glaring at her and Barbara made a show of zipping her lips, though the smile on her face only grew.
M'gann on the other hand didn't pick up on this little cue, not fully aware of all the little nuances of human interaction. "You really sounded like a teacher in one of my favourite shows just then." This statement caused Barbara to burst into a fit of laughter that made many smile and Esau's frown deepen. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No." Esau grit out and M'gann just looked from him to Barbara who was at least attempting to muffle her giggles unsuccessfully behind one hand and then to the rest who were looking away, clear smiles on their face with a few chuckling lowly.
"It's alright. It's just Esau being Esau." Kaldur said to calm her down and Esau was insulted to see that it actually seemed to be working. "I believe there's nothing wrong with being a teacher, I'm proud of you for shouldering such burdens. It shows you really were the best choice as leader."
"What's next? Is he going to assign us homework too?" Dick whispered not so quietly and Esau released a low sigh.
Even Superboy got involved. "Maybe detentions."
"Alright, I get it." Esau nodded his head, deciding to not argue against this. "I've been getting on your asses and you're getting a little revenge. That's fair, I'll accept it. But just know this, it will not be forgotten." Despite everything though, he wasn't overly bothered by what was being said, it was actually quite funny to him, he just wouldn't admit it.
Moving away from the group that began to talk amongst themselves, Esau made his way towards where Batman and Green Arrow were standing talking to one another. Their conversation trailed off though as he approached, Esau ignoring this and instead focusing on Green Arrow when they both looked at him.
"So, how exactly did you come across her?"
"She's my niece." Green Arrow answered quickly.
"Really?" He asked dubiously, but shrugged it off, not really knowing much about Green Arrow to disagree with it. "Okay. But what made you want to take her as your sidekick?"
Green Arrow shrugged. "She showed potential. Decided that seeing as though she was interested in being a hero, it was better to give her as much help as possible to bring her here." It wasn't a bad idea, that much Esau could admit. "Though I know that this has put you in a pretty awkward position, I've heard from Dinah how difficult your team has been in the past. So, I'm sorry if this has put you in a difficult position."
"It's fine." Esau waved it off. "At the end of the day, I'm still getting paid for this. If the team ends up going to shit, it's not really my problem."
Before Green Arrow could decide whether he liked the flippant way that Esau was treating this, the Zeta-Beam activated, bathing the cave in a bright light. "Recognise; Kid Flash, B-0-3." Out from it, stepped Wally clad in a pair of swimming shorts and his arms filled with equipment for the beach, a large smile on his face.
"The Wall-Man is here. Now let's get this party star..."
The amount of stuff he was carrying was clearly far too much and proved to be his undoing as he tripped under the parasol that was far too close to the ground and he fell. Everything clattered to the floor as Wally cried landing face first on the ground, the beach ball bouncing along the floor between Batman and Red Tornado.
The former of which did not look amused in the slightest.
"...ted?"
"The Wall-Man, huh?" Artemis asked snarking and Wally scrambled to his feet, clearly embarrassed. "Love the uniform. And, what are your powers?"
The speedster's eyes narrowed. "Uh, who's this?" Wally didn't even look at her as he asked the question, instead turning to Aqualad.
Before Esau or anyone else could run damage control, Artemis introduced herself. "Artemis, your new teammate."
"Kid Flash never heard of you." He shot back a cocky smirk on his face, recovering quickly from his earlier embarrassing stunt.
Seeing that situation was quickly going south, Green Arrow stepped in, something Esau was extremely pleased about. "Eh, she's my new protégé."
"W-what happened to your old one?"
At that exact moment, the Zeta-Beam activated, the automated female voice sounding throughout the cave. "Recognise; Speedy, B-0-8." Out from it, materialized Roy Harper, one who had gotten rid of his old, childish outfit, this time replaced with a more tactical and mature suit.
"Well for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow." He walked forwards, taking a stop directly in the place where Wally had face-planted, they could all see the smudge of sun cream that he had left behind. There was a moment of tense silence, Red Arrow looking out other the group as they stared back, before Green Arrow broke from his stupor.
"Roy!" There was a tint of happiness in Green Arrow's voice at seeing his old protégé again, but there was also bemusement as well. "You look-"
"-Replaceable." Roy finished his sentence in an almost petty fashion and Esau could almost sympathise with the guy. It was clear he had taken being lied to by his former mentor the hardest and Esau knew full well what it was like to be lied to. However, Esau also shared a lot of people's confusion as to why Roy was here now of all times.
Was he here to join?
Was he here to see Green Arrows' new protégé?
Was he here to cause problems?
Esau didn't have an answer to any of these questions and so he remained silent, cautiously watching to see what would happen.
"It's not like that." Green Arrow quickly replied, hoping to appease and make amends with his former protégé. "You told me you were going solo."
"So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?" This time Esau rolled his eyes, and he wasn't the only one, Barbara and Superboy sharing his sentiments. Roy had already made his intentions to go solo clear and Green Arrow allowed that, there was no rule stating that he couldn't find another protégé nor any clear time limit between what was an acceptable time to search for a new protégé.
It was obvious to them, that his words were born out of petty jealousy.
However, Artemis despite the petty words wasn't going to allow such an insult to slide without some form of response. "Yes." She shot back, walking right up to him and staring him dead in the eye. "She can." Yet, despite her invading his personal space, Roy remained firm and unflinching, staring right back at her.
"Who are you?" Wally exclaimed, asking the question that had been on all their minds.
"I'm his niece."
"She's my niece." Green Arrow and Artemis answered in perfect timing, both of them couldn't have looked or sounded more guilty if they tried.
"Another niece?" Dick questioned, just as disbelieving as he was, no one has bought their words.
Kaldur took a much more, diplomatic approach, choosing to ignore the ridiculousness of their claims and instead seeking to calm the situation as a whole. "But she is not your replacement. We have always wanted you on the team and we have no quota on archers."
Wally, ever the insensitive decided to add more fuel on to the fire that Kaldur had attempted to put out. "And if you did, you know who we'd pick."
Seeing Artemis's frown, slightly hurt that one of her teammates was already willing to get rid of her, Esau decided to intervene. The last thing he needed was for Wally to already alienate a new teammate and throw more fuel onto the burning mess that was this team. He had enough on his plate already without adding even more problems.
"Actually, you don't." Esau's words were sharp and to the point, attracting attention to himself, most of the looks being neutral and a few being negative. The latter mostly came from Wally and even Dick who glared at him, the former more openly than the latter as they disapproved of his words. Esau ignored them and instead stepped out, Roy turned to look at him, eyes trailing over Esau's uniform and a sneering scowl appearing on his face.
"While Dick, Wally and even Kaldur would choose you, that's only three people. There's still mine, Barbara's, M'gann's, Superboy's and Artemis' votes that count." He stressed the last bit to make it clear that Artemis was a member of the team, even if he didn't like how it had come to be so, it didn't change the fact that she was part of this team now. At the end of the day, it was Batman's decision on who could and couldn't be part of this team and as team leader, it was partly his decision on who got to stay and leave.
His words only made Wally's frown become more pronounced, his glare more heated and even Dick didn't look too pleased. But Batman's young protege at least looked mollified by his words and stressing of the fact that Artemis was already a member of this team. Even Kaldur agreed, nodding his head in understanding, though Esau had never doubted that the Atlantean would have understood this fact better than the other two.
"You choose to go solo and I can understand why you're angry. But that doesn't give you the right to target Artemis for something she had nothing to do with. Especially not when she's a member of my team. If you have a problem with her, then I suggest you leave." Again, there was a tense silence as Roy grit his teeth, almost looking like he was about to argue, but his eyes flickered slightly over the looks of everyone else, yet it was when his eyes looked to Batman that he decided against it.
No one tested Batman in matters such as these.
Not even a hotheaded and angry Roy Harper.