Artemis's POV

"And that, class, is how Copernicus assisted in the scientific revolution."

I sat at my desk in my 8th period history class.  Five minutes until the bell would ring.  

"Finish this worksheet by Monday," the teacher said as she passed around a worksheet about the European Scientific Revolution.  Due by Monday?  Today being Friday?  I might be able to get it done.  But with working this Red X cave, I wasn't too worried about school assignments.

Finally the bell rang, and I was done with school at Gotham Academy for the week.  Now to head to the cave. 

As I walked through the halls, I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I turned around to see Barbara Gordan standing there.  She was just one of my very few friends at the academy.

"Hey, Artemis," Barbara greeted.

"Hey, Barbara, you need anything?" I asked, a little impatient.

"You free to hang tonight?" she asked.

"Um, not tonight, Barb.  I have a thing," I stuttered.

"What exactly is this thing?" Barbara asked, crossing her arms.

"Umm," I started.

"Great, you have nothing.  I need to talk to someone tonight, and since you are free, I will meet you at six," Barbara said, walking away.  "We can discuss where later!"

"Ugh," I groaned to myself as I walked down the steps of Gotham Academy.  Robin was going to be there tonight for training, and I do not want to be the one to leave to hang out with a school friend.

I made my way home, basically slamming the door behind me.  

"Artemis?" my mom asked me as she wheeled into the living room.  

"Sorry, mom.  I got to go," I said, brushing past her with a kiss on her forehead.  

"Everything alright?" Mom asked.  She sat in her wheelchair outside of my room while I changed into my hero attire. 

"No, not really," I said. 

"What happened?" 

I opened the door to my room, facing my mom.  "Robin is training with us tonight."

"Robin?  As in the Robin?" Mom asked in disbelief.  "Why is he training with the team?"

"We are working on the Red X case with him.  He is doing work with us tonight on it, and Black Canary suggested he train with us," I explained.

"How do you feel about that?" Mom asked with a hard gaze.

"What do you mean?" I asked with confusion.

"You have heard the stories of Robin from the League members and your team.  No one knows who he is.  Most of the League thinks he is a villain in disguise."

I leaned against my door frame, contemplating what my mom just said.   "I guess I can relate," I said.

"Relate?" she asked in disbelief.

"It is just like how it would have been for me if the team knew who my family was.  They all already thought I was a villain when I was suspected of being the mole," I explained.

"How does the rest of your team feel?"

"I don't know.  None of them really trust him.  They all believe what the League thinks about him.  I mean, they had never met him before this case.  Batman didn't even bring him in to be a part of the team," I said.

"And you truly feel different?"

"I don't know how to feel.  I only just met the kid.  He is younger than everyone on the team!  I just don't know why there is so much stacked against him.  I don't even know how the League is allowing us to work with him!" I exclaimed.

"Just don't do anything stupid, Artemis," my mom warned.

"I'll do my best, Mom."

<~>

The Zeta tube announced my arrival as I entered the cave.  In the middle of the training room stood only Robin.  

"Am I early?" I asked.

"It seems so," he replied.

We stood around awkwardly for a couple of seconds before I attempted to make conversation. 

"So, the League has a lot of stories about you," I said nervously. Seriously, Artemis?

"Yeah, they do," Robin said simply.

"Any of them true?" I asked.

"What do you think?" Robin glared.

"Sorry, dude.  Just saying, you aren't the most popular kid on the block.

Robin snorted.  Yes, snorted.  "You can say that again."

"Why exactly do does the League not trust you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?  Besides the fact they don't know my identity?" Robin asked sarcastically.

"Well, I mean, they didn't know Batman's identity when he joined the League.  You haven't even joined the League and you are the protege of Batman himself.  There has to be a story behind that," I said.

Robin gave me a curious look. He turned fully to face me, placing his gloved hands on his hips.  "You sure ask a lot of questions."

"And I bet you have a lot of answers."

Now, Robin crossed his arms.  "Indeed I do.  The League would trust me if they just didn't know my identity.  But, there are two factors that make them uneasy."

"And those are?" I asked.

"One," Robin started. "Batman hasn't been able to figure out my secret identity for five years.  When the world's greatest detective can't figure out who their own partner is, people seem to get suspicious."

"And second?"

"When I started this gig, I was too good for the League's liking.  It took six months for Bats to trust me.  He was also suspicious of my enhanced combat ability and agility when I started working with him.  You can't be talented without a cause."

I stood, giving Robin a hard look, processing what he had just said.  "That's. . . rough," I said.

"Yeah, sure is."

We stood around for another few awkward moments.  Robin had moved so that just his side was facing me, his arms still crossed.

"Want to spare?" I asked. "We are probably going to be waiting around for a while.  Might as well do something."

"Okay," Robin said, falling into a fighting stance.  

I took off my bow and arrow, setting them on the ground.  I held out my arms, lifting them defensively in front of my face.  Robin and I starting circling around each other.  

After a few more moments, Robin rushed forward.  He acted like  he would strike high, so I prepared for a high attack.  But, at the last moment, he dropped suddenly and swept my feet out from under me.  

I landed with an oppf.  Robin stood up straight, reaching out his hand for me to take.  I grabbed his hand, pulling his arm down and whipping my legs into his.  He joined me on the floor.  

He dropped into a backwards summersault, crouching on the floor.  I simply jumped up into a fighting stance once again.  

"Nice," he commented.

"Back at you," I replied as he rushed forward, flipping over my head in a double flip.  Before I could turn around, Robin kicked me in the back, causing me to kneel forward on the ground.  

Robin, not done with his extreme acrobatics, turned around, put one hand on my shoulder, flipped over me, and ended up kneeling in front of me.  

"I got your back," Robin smirked.  

I sent a punch forward, successfully hitting his shoulder.  Robin replied by putting his fists together and sending a jab into my stomach.  We both took two flips back, ending up in our starting positions.  

"Nice hit, but you left you left flank open for attack," Robin commented.

We were about to advance into another attack, but were interrupted by the sound of the Zeta tube announcing the arrival of the rest of the team.