A/N

Hm..maybe no one will notice this update....

who am I kidding.

TONIGHT I SHALL UPDATE!

we will all suffer tonight. 

You guessed it:

UPDATES WITH CLIFF HANGERS!

everyone's favorite!~

Love you all my psycho fans!,

~Ringleader_Robin

(kit)

-----

"Wait, Richard actually talked to you? He is my science partner and he barely even speaks to me." Artemis huffs.

"What's this? Jealous?" Wally smirked but then stopped when he remembered the boy's words. "Dick...he has been through a lot Artemis.. And I mean like a lot a lot."

"I always tried to keep the bullies away from him when I can...But we can't watch him 24/7." Artemis played with her hair slightly, letting out a sigh.

"What are you two talking about?"" Kaldur walked into view.

"Oh, just a kid in Gotham that I met today." Wally looked up but then stopped. He was suppose to go looking for Rue, but instead he spent his time looking after Richard and taking him home-- he even skipped classes to do so...He was in so much trouble!"

-------

"You seem to be getting the hang of things now." Richard commented poking absently at his food. "Though you are still not learning fast enough." Dick laughed softly. "Sitting with me is social suicide, Walls."

"Dick, we are buddies." Wally turned to some glowering teens staring at them. "So let them try and bring us down, they are just jealous they don't have a cool friend like me."

Dick snorted in reply, pausing when he saw a new figure enter the corner of his eyes. "Artemis."

"Richard." Artemis sat down next to them beginning to eat like it was a common occurrence.

Dick rose an eyebrow before looking at Wally. One person was new..but two? That was bizarre to him. "Uh..."

"Oh, Artemis is a good friend of mine." Wally grinned.

Dick poked at his food again, not really in the mood to eat. "You just moved here, did you know each other before you transferred?" Dick looked up from his tray to see the pale complexion of his new companion. Just as he suspected, Artemis was a hero, Wally was a hero..so why were they here. Dick knew that It could be due to him that they were here. He would need to find out. "Well..walking alone in Gotham can be dangerous especially at night." Dick nodded. "By the way, you heard of the new guy on the streets that everyone seems to want to see? The streets are even more hectic."

"Oh you mean Rue?" Wally nearly jumped out of his seat excitedly. "You know about him?"

"Like I said, everyone is talking about him." Dick waved a bit. "I have no particular interest in him, glad he is cleaning up the streets, but he is no Batman."

"A batman fan are you Richard, I never thought you the type." Artemis smiled slightly. She watched as Richard's face reddened and all of a sudden found interest in his food.

"Isn't everybody..it is not uncommon..." Dick muttered, his face heating up. "Whatever...It is healthy for people to look up to heroes...well to a degree"

Wally grinned slightly. "So, after Batman...who is your favorite?"

Dick looked up "Probably Martian Manhunter then Wonder Woman...but I do not really have a list--"

"You just made one." Artemis laughed.

Dick glared slightly at Artemis, not liking being teased about the subject. "Well i guess on the bottom of my list would be Green Arrow." The retorted. "Nothing is exciting about a bow."

Artemis stopped laughing instantly, her face twisting into a look of annoyance. "Oh yeah? Well Batman is not that exciting either!"

"Hey guys..there is no need to fight--"

"Why are you even here Artemis? Last time I checked we were not friends. I did not invite you over here." Dick scowled.

"Why you little-- If it weren't for me you would have more than just a black eye from those bullies!" Artemis spat back.

"Oh, right. Pity the orphan circus freak. I get it!" Dick shot up and grabbed his tray. "You all are the same.I can take care of myself I do not need two strangers in my life trying to play hero."

"Dick, she did not mean it like that. We are not like that I swear--" Wally pleaded, standing up to stand beside Dick. "Come on..she was only teasing for fun..it is what friends do, believe me she is even worse on me!"

Dick paused a bit, glancing back at Artemis and then back to Wally. "I am heading to class early, I need to return some books I borrowed." He turned away and started walking.

Wally watched Dick leave and sighed. " He was the one who brought it up in the first place.." He glanced around noticing how much of a scene they caused and gulped a bit. "I am going to go after him, don't want to leave this on a bad note."

"I never called him a circus freak, never." Artemis grumbled.

"I know. I just don't think he is used to all of this 'social interaction'. He will come around eventually. My charms have a way of wearing people down." Wally grinned as Artemis snorted.

-----

"Walls, I am busy. I need to copy three chapters out of this book before I return back home." Dick grumbled as he sat at his desk scribbling notes into his notebook at an alarming rate that almost matched wally's ability to run.

"I get it...but I just wanted to check and see if you are all right."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Dick said cooly, not even glancing up from his writing.

"We can't just pretend the outburst in the cafeteria never happened. Come on man, Artemis means well I promise. When I told her that we have been talking, she was totally jealous!"

Dick paused. "Jealous? Why? It's not like we communicate on a level where she would be 'replaced'. That's stupid."

"It's BECAUSE you never talk to her. She looks up to you being one of the only people to get here not due to rich families."

"Come to think of it..how did YOU get in here Wally?" Dick looked up raising an eyebrow.

Wally froze. "Uh...well...I am actually here because ..uh..." Wally floundered, but stopped when he realized in a split second he was on the ground, an explosion shaking the walls not far behind.

Wally's ears rang as he slowly sat up, smoke and screams filled the air as he quickly looked around for Dick. Where did he go? What happened!? He desperately got up and searched the room but it was hard to make out anything with the thick cloud of smoke. "DICK!?" Wally shouted in a panicked voice. "DICK WHERE ARE YO--"

"Shut up walls." a voice called out and Wally spun around, seeing Dick standing and dusting off rubble from his clothes. "I swear. Everything was so peaceful in gotham until you showed up..You speedsters surely know how to attract trouble that's for sure. What a disaster..heavy on the Dis..."

Wally smiled in relief. "You're okay! Thank--- Speedster?" Wally frowned. "Dick..how did you know?" Come to think of it, why was he so calm in this situation?

"This is the second time I saved your life. It is becoming a habit of yours." Dick ran a hand through his hair trying to get debris out of it.

"Second tim--" Wally pieced it all together, staring at his new friend in disbelief. The constant wounds, the cool distant attitude, the fondness for his idol batman.. "Dick...You're....Rue?"