Chapter 10

-[Evan]-

He spent the next two days studying the fog in the base and he was making great progress. He was able to understand the model and build, reconfiguring it and repurposing it to what he wanted it to do was a different case.

Though there was only so much he could do in two days, he would have more than enough time to study it with it being in their possession for the foreseeable future.

Evan, Lucas and Felicity currently stood in the latter's office, Evan being stared at by the latter two.

"We're going to miss you." Lucas said emotionally, prompting a dry stare from Evan.

"You're saying that like I'm about to die. I'll still be dropping by regularly." Evan said with a sigh at Lucas' slightly childish behavior as the latter let out fake tears.

Felicity shook her head in exasperation, slapping Lucas at the back of the head, ending the tears as he turned to her with a wronged expression.

"What was that for?!" He demanded.

"He can always run over here when he wants. Don't be such a baby about it." The bespectacled blonde said.

Lucas looked away as he muttered. "You say that but you're just as sad as I am."

Felicity shook her head at that but neither teen heard a denial from her.

He was still going to be in constant contact with them basically everyday so it wasn't like it was goodbye. Lucas was just too overdramatic.

"Get a grip. Just call whenever you need me." Evan said, slinging his bag around him.

"I get it." Lucas said with a look of realization. "You want to get back to your g-"

"Oh shut up!" Evan interjected, an exasperated expression on his face. "Just keep each other out of trouble and don't do anything stupid."

At that, both Felicity and Evan looked at Lucas who looked offended.

"Hey!" He complained but was ignored.

"I'll get the equipment you need and I'll call you as soon as it arrives." Felicity said, prompting an appreciative nod from Evan.

"Thanks. See you guys later." Evan said, speeding out of the office and out of the building.

-[Infinity Island]-

An elderly man with long white hair and a bald spot at the top of his head. His left eye had a scar over it, the actual eye being a milky white and a larger scar across his chest.

Several monitors surrounded him, white silhouettes of figures on each screen.

"What happened?" An elderly voice asked.

The man began to speak. "We're still not fully aware of that. Our operative informed us that the young group of heroes were not responsible for Ojo's defeat."

"And the weapon?" Another male voice asked.

"By the time the heroes arrived, it was gone and Ojo was unconscious. Whoever was responsible left this behind." The elderly man said, pulling up a photograph of the graffiti art left behind at the scene.

There was silence for a moment before an ancient male from one of the monitors spoke. "We were unable to gain any data on our intended targets. This new development must be thoroughly investigated and handled with utmost caution."

"Whoever this is must be found and if useful, controlled. After all, the Light cannot allow a useful resource to go to waste."

-[Artemis]-

She was practically buzzing with excitement and relief. Evan had texted her the previous day that he was coming back today and she was impatiently waiting.

The realization that she was more excited about Evan's return than the fact that she was now a member of the team was a bit shocking but she tried not to think about it too much.

Evan was a calming part of her life that she found herself wanting more everyday. The normalcy and freedom when she was around him was wonderful.

That was why she wanted to surprise him when he got back. Her mom picked up on her excitement but she expertly avoided any questions about it.

*Knock* *knock*

At the sound of someone knocking on the front door, she could jump off the couch fast enough. She barely looked through the peephole before she practically ripped the door open to see a smiling Evan standing in front of her.

The same smile that always made her heart race.

"Hey Artemis." Evan said, still smiling.

-[Evan]-

Superspeed made a lot of things easier. The trip back to Gotham barely took a few minutes and that wasn't even him pushing the limits.

Looking at Artemis who was trying and failing to contain her excitement, he couldn't help but smile.

"I'm back, did you miss me?" He asked.

It was Artemis' turn to smile as she lightly swatted his arm. "Get over yourself. Well I'll admit I missed you a little bit."

As she said that, the barks of a dog could be heard as Ace rushed out to lick its owner.

"Hey buddy." Evan said, fondly petting the dog who barked in what appeared to be joy. He then turned back to Artemis. "Are you doing anything today? We could hang out."

He would be lying if he said he didn't miss her as well. The blonde didn't waste time nodding.

"Let me go get something, I'll be right over." She said, walking back inside as Evan led Ace back to their apartment.

He was only gone for around a week so everything was still neat and in place. Feeling the familiar connections to his devices, he let out a small smile as he set down his bag.

'I could use a taco right about now.' He thought, idly wondering if he would be able to quickly get one before Artemis returned.

Sitting on the couch, a few minutes passed as a knock rang on his door before Artemis let herself in, two plastic bags in hand.

There was a knowing smile on her face as she locked the door behind her, walking up to him.

"What's in the bags?" He asked curiously.

With a smile on her face, she pulled out an item from one of the plastic bags, showing a recognizable takeout.

His eyes widened a bit in recognition.

"I know you love your tacos so I ordered a few from the taco stand you love so much. There are other snacks here too." Putting it back in the bag, she dug out another item from the other bag. "I also have The Lord of the Rings trilogy we can binge."

Looking at the wonderful combination of the two things he liked, he couldn't help the smile on his face.

'Well technically three…' he thought, patting the area beside him. "What are we waiting for?"