Chapter 46

According to Green Arrow, the guy we were after was an assassin known as the Black Spider. His most well known method of killing people was pulling them out of the top level of their house, and letting them fall to their deaths.

It was pretty gruesome.

These jobs are organized by an organization of assassins who aren’t very well known. And are well known for silencing anyone speaking out about them, or silencing those who they are commissioned to.

The situation currently was the latter.

Justice League intercepted a coded message that said an assassin would be heading to Star City. Unfortunately, that’s all they had to work with, until now. Seems like the guy was going after reporters who were investigating some up-and-coming politician who was in the running to be a senator.

 One of the reporters has already gone splat, which likely means the next one is the target.

Honestly, I had no idea why Green Arrow told us all of this. It wasn’t even necessary. All he had to really say was something along the lines of ‘assassin killing reporters. Next target here. Game plan.’ What was the point of telling me everything right now?

But more importantly than that, my thoughts were elsewhere. The name ‘black spider’ had triggered something in my memory. Something that I couldn’t quite remember.

…Spider…something to do with a spider…hmm…

“Why don’t we have our protégés tackle this, while we watch just in case?”

Green Arrow stated to which Black Canary thought for a bit, before nodding. Artemis seemed rather surprised for some reason. Despite it being extremely obvious that this had been their plan all along.

Seriously, did they really think that we wouldn’t pick up on how weird it was to do introductions during a mission? If I had to guess it was likely for a similar situation to Miss Martian in which this is their way of trying to worm the idea of her joining the Titans in my head.

That or Green Arrow is being a bit of a father figure and trying to get her some friends. Which would be sad if true.

After a few seconds of thinking, Artemis finally nodded with a smirk on her face.

“About time I get to show off what I can really do.”

Green Arrow huffed in amusement and Black Canary smiled while shaking her head. She then turned towards me while giving me a look over.

“I’ll be the one to charge in, while you’ll stay back and keep watch.”

“Alright.”

I answered easily. Something she blinked a few times at.

“…really?”

“Sure. This is your terf. You know more about it than me thus you naturally have more authority than me. Why? Should I be second guessing you?”

Not to mention that whoever charges in first will be doing the wide bulk of the work. I don’t think of myself as lazy, but I wasn’t a fan of doing anything that didn’t explicitly benefit me. And showing off to Green Arrow and Black Canary would likely not benefit me much, if at all.

She furrowed her brow at my answer before coming up with a much more…in-depth plan.

*~o~*

Sure enough a guy in a dark spider costume came out of nowhere to latch onto the side of the building before climbing around it and slipping into a nearby window. Artemis immediately responded while I sat back on the road observing.

The way he stuck to the surface of the building was somewhat similar to the method I use. Meaning he likely had some sort of adhesive that allowed him to do so. Adhesive…spider…it rang a bell, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was getting at.

The sound of glass breaking up above alerted me to the fact that something was either going well, or poorly. I was proven correct when two bodies were flung out. One was obviously a child, while the other was a grown man. Some sort of sticky white substance was attached to their backs and seemed to have pulled them out.

Artemis was quick to dive out the window and quickly grab the girl in the air before preparing herself for the descent. Yeah, hitting the ground was probably going to hurt like a bitch.

But that also meant that the adult man was mine to catch…

Of course it was.

His full weight slammed into my arms causing me to wince slightly at the pull on my arms. Falling several stories didn’t do him any favors. Thankfully it was a lot less painful than I had imagined.

My eyes were drawn to a loud sizzling noise, causing me to look back over to Artemis. Who was currently laying in a large pile of clear foam like goop. In one hand was the girl, and in the other was a haft of an arrow.

Right, Green Arrow had some weird trick arrow type stuff. It made sense that he’d teach his sidekick something similar. I tried to drop the scared man who wanted nothing more than to go towards his daughter, only for his back to be stuck to my arms.

That strange white substance flexed and moved. It was hard to get off, but after coating my hand with cleaning supplies it quickly came apart. It was almost like some sort…cobweb…

Oh, that’s right! The spinneret and Langstrom’s formula. I had experimented with-

My thoughts were interrupted by a foot smashing into my face. It continued to use my head as a spring board and jumped onto the road behind me. After coming to terms with the fact someone had just slammed their foot into my face and likely broke my nose, I turned around.

To which I was greeted by the Black Spider’s back. I wasn’t sure why they called him Black Spider, considering he looked rather purple.

“Now that wasn’t very ni-“

My fist slammed into the side of his shoulder, forcing him off his feet and skittering down the road. He took a few seconds to balance himself, only to immediately be hit with an arrow to the chest.

Unfortunately, it was just a trick arrow. Which meant it exploded into some sort of reddish plastic looking goop that seemed to be rather sticky itself. As he found himself unable to get free from it.

Despite it being a terrible idea, I couldn’t help but get angry just thinking about how he had just stepped on my face. Sure, I had a mask on, but still. The fuck?

He was very lucky that there were other heroes around. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten off so easily.

…If at all…

Green Arrow and Black Canary were quick to applaud us and all that good stuff. Artemis seemed to be a bit unused to the praise, and although she tried to hide it, was obviously very pleased at it. Personally, I didn’t care for it.

Especially as I’ve already been over this exact scenario with Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian.

After watching the cops take the spider assassin guy into custody, we were once again on the move. As if nothing had happened. Black Canary and Green Arrow seemed more interested in each other than actually teaching us. Eventually leading to the two of them to ask us to do a patrol around the city together while they patrolled a different part of the city.

They didn’t wait for an answer before leaving.

“They’re fucking.”

I observed.

“Yep.”

Artemis agreed, while grimacing and going through a full body shudder. Apparently, she didn’t like the image that conjured in her head.

And now I was thinking about Green Arrow getting naked. God fucking damn it.

“So…you get the left, I get the right?”

Artemis asked, to which I answered with a raised eyebrow.

“…which side has a McDonalds?”

“Are you serious?”

Artemis asked in genuine disbelief, before cracking up when I nodded.

“Alright, I’m in.”

She stated before moving ahead of me and leading towards the big M. To which she took the wrong turn several times before finally getting to our destination. Perhaps she wasn’t as used to this part of the city as she was to the rest of it.

The cashier didn’t so much as bat an eye as we came in. Taking our orders with a rather monotone voice that showcased how dead inside they were. I also couldn’t help but notice that Artemis didn’t make a separate order herself. Instead making it seem like it was all in one order.

“What, didn’t bring your own wallet?”

“As a matter of fact, I didn’t.”

She rather proudly said with her hands on her hips. Her smug expression was trying to goad me into something, but I wasn’t exactly sure what.

“And I suppose you’ll pay me back?”

Artemis blinked at that. Her expression leaving and being replaced with a small frown as she looked elsewhere. A distant look in her eyes.

Hmm…money problems? Debt issues?

I could use that.

“Alright. Order whatever you want, just know that you owe me a favor.”

She immediately gave me a flat look. Leading me to further clarify.

“…No, nothing sexual. I have a girlfriend.”

That got her to relax, before going back and changing her order.

…Holy shit, just how many burgers did she intend to put down? Christ, if she intended to eat all of that then there was no way she was going to be a Titan. Our food budget was already being strained by Galatea and Starfire. A third person who ate enough for an entire family…

Making Breakfast would become so much harder.

And I definitely didn’t want to have to chip in to help pay for an upgraded food budget. I’d like to leave that bill for the Justice League, thank you very much.

It didn’t take long for our food to be ready. Or at least, It didn’t take long for my food to be ready, and a third of Artemis’s entire meal. I observed as she started to dig into her food. She definitely didn’t have the same voracity as Starfire or Galatea. She was much calmer when eating.

Hmm.

“So…is that really all you’re eating?”

Artemis stated, gesturing to my meal. Which comprised of a medium fry and ten piece McNugget.

“Uh huh.”

“Oh, you must have already ate before hand then.”

“No. I just don’t normally have much of an appetite.”

She hummed at that before beginning to get into her food again. Several minutes later another portion of her order came in. Leading her to get up and go get it. Giving me a pretty good look at her ass as she walked away.

…Green Arrow had to have that costume design be intentional. There was no other way. Not that I was complaining. I’d much rather superheroes and supervillains wear more attractive costumes than something plain or overly baggy.

Just because I didn’t plan on sleeping with all of them didn’t mean that I couldn’t appreciate their form. Besides, I’m pretty sure they have similar thoughts. Or at least Starfire has made her thoughts very apparent.

I never thought I had much in the way of dignity until Starfire brought up the idea of me wearing a cat suit into bed.

“Heard you made that deafness cure thing.”

Was the first thing Artemis said when she came back. I hummed in response.

“Something like that.”

She proceeded to start eating her meal once more, but this time with a lot less gumption than previously. Curious, if she was already slowing down at this point, how was she going to handle the next batch?

“How did you do it?”

I got the feeling that she wasn’t asking for an actual detailed dissection of the process. Nor was I particularly in the mood to give such an explanation.

“My ability helps with most of it. But a lot of it was just running tests repeatedly.”

She hummed at that. Getting quiet for a bit before speaking up again.

“So have you already thought of a new project or something?”

Yes, but I doubt it was the kind of projects she was talking about.

“Not particularly. Why? Did you have a suggestion?”

I prodded her innocently enough. Trying to get to the root of this conversation. She sputtered a bit before waving me off.

“What? A suggestion? No, I don’t know anything about that kind of stuff.”

She denied. Hmm…this seemed to be a good avenue to attack…

“Fair enough. But if you had to think of something to cure…”

I said, leading the end of my sentence with a pause as if I was actually thinking about something. Which got Artemis’s attention. She was thinking about saying something alright. Or at least weighing the pros and cons of saying something in her head, which honestly told me a lot already.

“Well, what about just…continuing to fix things that are physically wrong with people?”

Oh?

“Like what?”

I gently pressed her for more information, causing her to wave her hand in a circle. Trying to appear as if this was all coming from off the top of her mind. It was quite amusing really.

“You know, stuff like people being blind, or unable to walk. That kind of stuff.”

Interesting…

“Blindness huh?”

“Or people unable to walk.”

Artemis tacked on. Immediately highlighting what she was getting at. So someone close to her couldn’t walk, could they? A parental figure maybe? Or possibly a sibling?

While it would be quite interesting to see if I could in fact somehow regenerate someone’s spinal column and reconnect nerves, that would take quite a lot of time and investment. Things that vastly outweighed anything Artemis could bring to the table in terms of repayment.

Besides, I was already rather busy with my own projects at the moment.

“Interesting idea, but I think I’m not going to do any big projects for quite a while.”

Artemis gave a noncommittal hum at that. Though obviously she looked a bit dispirited in turn. Not by a lot though. She likely had already thought that it was a long shot but that she might as well try anyway. Still, she must have had a small bit of hope if she felt disappointed at my answer.

It didn’t take her too long to finally stop eating. Bringing over her last portion of her order before bagging it up to go. Along with what remained already on the table.

Ah, I see. She never intended to finish it. At least not in one sitting. Artemis seemed pleased about her leftovers and thanked me for it. A bunch of Mcdonalds food as leftovers for a few meals…how she had eaten…how she acted…

They all indicated that she likely didn’t just forget her wallet. She likely had money issues of her own.

Normally I wouldn’t care much about these things, but Artemis wasn’t a normal person. Heroes and Villains were the two types of people that everyone wanted under their thumb. Why wouldn’t you?

People with superpowers were objectively much more valuable than people without. Meaning it was better to invest in such people than to not. The only real risks were with villains, as they could easily turn on you in a second.

Heroes on the other hand, had morals. Pretty strict and borderline mentally ill ones otherwise they wouldn’t be beating up random people they’ve never met before without any sort of reservations. Which meant they were already built to be more loyal.

But that was all just thoughts. It was one thing to think about this, and it was another to do it. In truth I probably wouldn’t try to manipulate Artemis just because I didn’t see much in the way of real value.

At least, I didn’t see much now.

But who’s to say what will happen in the future?

After we said our goodbyes to each other and went our separate ways, I continued to just run around Star City. Taking in the sights and getting the lay of the land so to speak.

Though in truth I just really didn’t want to risk going back to Black Canary’s hideout in case they chose that place to have sex or whatever it was they were doing. Besides, investigating the city wasn’t too bad. Who knows what I might find?