I don't own anything but original characters and my original plot

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Chapter 10 - Bonds

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"So soon?" I dug in, shovelling the sustenance into my mouth. M'gann's cooking was unparalleled.

"Yes, so soon. You can't keep stealing M'gann's clothes. They aren't your style either," Artemis cut in with a smirk.

"True," despite my agreement, I could stop the pit of nervousness that formed in my stomach.

Finishing breakfast, M'gann dragged me away before I could put my plate in the sink. Artemis held my left arm while M'gann had a vice grip on my right.

"Wait, this is really fast. I don't want to do this anymore," I panicked.

"Come on (Y/n)," Artemis gave my arm a particularly harsh tug.

"We're getting you socialized," M'gann shifted to look human, "You need some things of your own if you're going to stay here."

They stopped in the garage where three mopeds were waiting. A dark blue one, a green one, and a grey and black one.

"We can't ride our bikes in public since we don't have licenses yet," Artemis explained, taking the matching helmet off the green moped, "You know how to ride one, right?"

"Yeah." I didn't. But it was probably like riding a bike. I was good at catching the hang of things anyway, so I'd be fine.

M'gann walked to the dark blue one, so I assumed the one in the middle was mine. I pulled on the helmet and sat down on the cushioned seat.

Following the pairs lead as they started their bikes, Artemis went first, then M'gann. Nearly falling off as soon as I gave it some gas, I loosened up and held on tightly. We rode out of the cave and onto the street in the city.

All the cars, the homes, the people. I stared, being sure to stay safe and split my attention at the same time. I had left the cave before, going to the beach with Wally, but this was my first time being out.

Artemis pulled up to a large building's parking lot, the mall it seemed. We parked our mopeds and entered the mall. I must have looked like a kid in a candy store with how wide my eyes were. I had never been around this many people, much less to a mall. It was nerve-wracking, knowing that I couldn't use my powers. I would have to be extra sure I didn't have a shadow accident.

"Where do we go..." I asked slowly. M'gann and Artemis shared a look, holding back laughter.

"We go into a store, any idea where you want to go first?" Artemis asked. I shook my head.

"Then we'll bring you to our favorite places," M'gann assured, looping her arm through mine. Artemis did the same with my other arm, they nodded at each other and led me through the sea of people in the mall.

We stopped first at a cheery store with cheerful music playing in the background. This had to be a store picked by M'gann. She excitedly led me through the aisles of brightly colored shirts, skirts, and shoes.

I picked out a couple different outfits, trying them on in the changing room. After going through the store I found a rack in the back dedicated to heroes. Looking through it excitedly I found a Kid Flash t-shirt. All of them were gone in my size and they only had one that went past my knees.

"Looks like I found a pair of pajamas," I smiled happily.

"You ready to check out"" Artemis asked me anxiously, sitting down on a chair in the store, "I'm going to go blind with how bright it is in here."

"Yeah," I looked up at the front, not knowing entirely how to do this, "How do I check out?"

Artemis laughed, grabbing the clothes from me. "Watch me."

She went up front and put the clothes on the counter, talking with the cashier before handing him a credit card. He bagged the clothes and bid her good day. M'gann met us outside the store, with a bag of her own.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," she smiled sheepishly.

"It's not like we're paying for it," Artemis shrugged with a smirk. She looped her arm through mine again, "Now, it's my turn to pick a store."

Artemis led me basically to the other side of the mall where a darker store was present. They were playing more rock type music, but not too bad. Like Fall Out Boy. The lighting was dark and so were the clothes.

"You two are complete opposites," I mumbled, looking around the store. In my mind, this is the stuff a 'bad girl' would wear. Not that Artemis was bad, she probably got her sense of style from the fact that she was raised as a villain before her dad left.

Walking through the aisles I grabbed a few pairs of jeans, a pair of black leggings, a dark red shirt, a vegan leather skirt, and combat boots. Artemis had given me a credit card now that I knew how to check out. When I was walking to the counter I passed the guy's section, a sweatshirt catching my eye. It was a Flash sweatshirt. I took it off the rack excitedly, adding it to the clothes I already had.

Walking up to the desk I placed my stuff down nervously, looking at the cashier.

"Did you find everything okay?" He asked boredly, checking out and bagging the clothes. He seemed ready to fall asleep and never wake up. Apparently it was common between customer service workers.

"Yep," I answered quickly, messing with the credit card.

"Swipe here," he pointed at the machine and I swiped the card, following the picture shown.

"Have a good day," he sighed handing me my bag I smiled at him, meeting the girls outside of the store. Artemis now had a bag of her own, showing no shame like M'gann had.

"That store scares me too," M'gann put a hand on my shoulder, reading my mind. Artemis rolled her eyes, chuckling.

"What do you say, make our way to the food court? Stop at some stores on the way?" Artemis asked us. M'gann and I nodded, liking the plan.

As we were nearing the food court- to the point where I could smell the mouth watering food- a store's display window caught my eye. It was a normal store, geared towards female clothing. A mix between Artemis' and M'gann's. Mine.

"Hey, let's try this store," I stopped in front of the window, turning to the girls. They nodded at me.

I went into the store, looking at was on the shelves. This was perfect, they had everything, from shoes to underwear. Music from the radio was playing quietly in the background and there were several sections for different types of clothes.

At this store I grabbed several shirts, shoes, pants, shorts, etc. I had everything that I would need to live at the cave and a bit more. Now with a basket full of clothes, I looked for the girls to see if they were ready to check out.

"(Y/n)," Artemis grabbed my arm, popping out of nowhere. I jumped, putting a hand over my heart.

"You gave me a heart attack. You're lucky shadows didn't crawl out and get you!" I laughed nervously, glaring at the corner closest to us.

"That's not the point," M'gann appeared on my other side, scaring me again.

"We found you the perfect dress," Artemis spoke again, pulling my hand. I opened my mouth to protest before M'gann cut me off.

"You're wearing this on your first date with Wally." M'gann beamed, shoving a dress into my hands before I could even glance at it.

"What? We aren't-"

"You will be," Artemis cut me off, pushing me towards the dressing rooms, "He stopped flirting when you came along, that's not a coincidence."

Both of the successfully pushed me into a dressing room. I sighed, looking down at the dress. They wouldn't let me out until I tried it on, so I slowly changed into it. I set my clothes neatly on a chair in the room and looked at myself in the mirror.

The dress was a bright red, probably purposely picked by M'gann and Artemis because it was Wally's favorite color. It went down to my knees and had lace on the bottom. The sleeves ended just above my wrists.

"Okay, the dress is on," I called out to M'gann and Artemis. They opened the door, grins plastered on their face, "Happy?"

"Very." Artemis nodded, a grin like the Cheshire Cat's.

M'gann handed me a pair of short heels, I gave them a look and they nodded encouragingly. I slipped the heels on and spun around on my toes. They nodded at each other, proud of what they made of me.

"I'm getting the dress," I started, rolling my eyes at their smirks, "But not because I want to wear it for a date with Wally that will not happen, but because I like it. It makes me feel confident."

I walked back into the changing room and closed the door behind me, changing out of the dress and heels back into my clothes. I added the dress to the clothes I was going to buy and brought them to the checkout counter.

After I checked them out I was carrying 4 bags while M'gann and Artemis carried three each, two of which were mine. We stopped at the food court and got some junk food before calling it a day.

It was when we stood in front of our mopeds outside that I was curious about how exactly we would fit all the bags on the small vehicles.

"Tada!" M'gann lifted up the seat of her moped to reveal a storage compartment, motioning for me to do the same. I lifted up my seat and managed to cram the bags I had in there, thankful all of them fit in the surprisingly large compartment of the seat.

We all put our helmets on and rode back to the cave, talking excitedly on the way back. I said thank you to the girls before grabbing my bags and walking to my room. Halfway there I dropped two of the bag and sighed. I couldn't bend over without dropping the other ones.

"Need some help?" A familiar voice asked.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Robin leaning against the wall. I nodded thankfully, glad I didn't have to have shadows carry the bags to my room. He took the two bags from the ground and two from my arms, leaving each of us to carry four.

"What are you doing here on a Saturday off?" I asked as the door to my room opened and I dropped the bags in relief.

"I actually wanted to talk to you," he spoke up as I put some of the clothes away in my closet and drawers. I held off putting away the bag with my undergarments in it away since he was there.

"Oh yeah?" I nodded, putting the 'first date' dress on a hanger and pushing it to the back of my closet.

"Can you just sit down, please," Robin sounded frustrated with my lack of direct attention.

"Sure," I gave him a confused look before sitting down on my bed, he sat down in my office chair, determination and seriousness covering his face.

"First off, Bruce told me you found out the secret identity, good job," he took off his tinted glasses and set them on my desk, "Next, you and Wally-"

"Do we really have to talk about this?" I cut him off, resisting the urge to burrow under my covers.

"Wally is my best friend, and I need to talk to you about this." He was no longer the laughing Robin I was first introduced to, this was a best friend who was looking out for Wally, "Wally's a great guy, and you've changed him. He used to constantly flirt with M'gann, and it stopped soon after we went on the mission where we found you. If you have feelings for him, if you're going to start a relationship with him, don't break his heart. That's the last thing he needs in his life."

"I don't understand," I shook my head in confusion.

"I know everything about Wally, he knows everything about me. He's the only other member of the team who knows who I really am, and I told him. He knows my mom's favorite color... And I know that he used to count how many times his parents hit him in a day. They stopped maybe a year ago, when he started doing more hero work. He was flinchy and easily frightened when we first met, then he got better, happier, more like the Wally you know now. If you're going to go out with him, don't break his heart. Because that scared fourteen-year-old who didn't know how it felt to be truly loved will come back. Don't do that to my best friend."

I leaned back, shocked by what he had just said. I knew Wally's parents weren't the best, hell; they weren't anywhere on the list for best parents, but I didn't know that they... I made eye contact with Robin, saying in a dead serious tone.

"I promise Richard, I won't break Wally's heart."

"I'm holding you to that promise (Y/n)."