Mount Justice
August 8, 2011    19:55 EDT
“Kid Flash should be here any minute…” M’gann stated to the teams new teammate, Artemis. Robin, M’gann, Red Tornado, Batman, Green Arrow, Superboy, Kaldur and Artemis stood in the circular room. Soon enough the zeta tube announced, “Recognized: Kid Flash-B-zero-three”.
“There he is now! I’m sure you two will get along famously,” M’gann said as a red headed boy in yellow swim trunks appeared behind her. He was carrying a beach ball, boom box, green cooler, a shopping bag, red and white stripped fold up chair, a duffel bag and an over sized, purple umbrella. He had a white towel around his neck, over sized sunglasses covering his green eyes and a white nose from sunscreen.
“The Wall-Man is here!” He announced running towards everyone. “Now, let’s get his party star--” He cut himself by tripping on the pole of the umbrella. “—ed.” He finally finished when he was on the ground, sunglasses only covering one eye and spilling the carried contents all over the floor.
“’Wall-Man,’ huh?” Artemis taunted. “I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?”
“Uh, who is this?” The ‘Wall-Man’ asked Batman both eyes fully revealed now and he was standing up.
“Artemis. Your new teammate,” Artemis stated.

Mount Justice
August 8, 2015    14:55
“Recognized: Kid Flash-B-zero-three; Artemis-B-zero-seven,” announced the zeta tube.
“Artemis!” Squealed M’gann as she flew over and wrapped her in a huge.
“M’gann, so nice to see you again,” Artemis replied giving her friend a squeeze back. Wally on the other hand greeted Connor, Kaldur and Robin-now Nightwing- with slaps on the back.
“How is college treating you two?” Zatanna asked pulling away from hugging Artemis.
“Worse than the time I first saw Wally’s face,” Artemis joked.
“I love you too, Artemis,” he answered back with sarcasm trickling into his voice.
“I’m joking.”
“I know,” Wally said wrapping his arm around her tiny waist.
“But college is like a nightmare,” Artemis said answering Zatanna’s question.
“More like a living hell,” Wally snorted.
“Well, that is because you are the worst procrastinator in the world. Yesterday you asked if you could copy off of my Japanese Lit. essay. Although, when it comes down to science you get right to it, but you wait until five in the morning to do an essay,” Artemis argued.
“Well, that’s Wally for you,” Nightwing a.k.a. Dick Grayson laughed and soon everyone else joined in.
“You know, four years ago Wally and I met right here,” Artemis sighed when the laughing dispersed. “Good times, good times.”
“There’s that fiery blonde,” announced a voice behind the reconnecting group. The group turned their attention to a girl with wavy, ginger hair with dark sunglasses that matched Dick’s. It was Barbara from high school that now crime fights with Dick, in short she’s Batgirl.
“There’s troll number two,” Artemis replied submerging in a hug with her. Once the hug was over everyone gravitated towards the kitchen and bar area.
“What are you cooking, M’gann?” Wally asked sitting on a bar stool that faced the kitchen with Connor sitting next to him.
“Your favorite,” she shrugged sweetly.
“We’re having your famous cookies for dinner?!” Wally almost shouted.
“No, Wally,” she laughed. “Lemon chicken with capers.”
“Since when did you make that?” He questioned her with a silent Connor agreeing.
“Since that girlfriend of yours helped plan this get together,” she replied pointing her knife in Artemis’s direction. Wally smiled and thanked Artemis by yelling, “I love you, honey.”
“Love you, too,” she hollered back from the couch and went back to her conversation with Barbara, Zatanna and Rocket. Connor sniggered to Wally’s right.
“To think that over three years ago you two acted like you hated each other,” the three chuckled.
“When we were young stupid teenagers. Although, you two took awhile before the boyfriend, girlfriend titles became official. Ha, and the way that I would flirt with you, M’gann. Like I said before, I was a crazy, stupid teenager,” Wally retold the past. Who would know that in the nearing year M’gann and Connor’s romance would end tragically.
“Don’t forget about the constant fighting between you and Artemis before you guys started dating. I remember that we had a calendar and assigned everyone days to break up the fights. I think M’gann still has those calendars with the whole ‘saving the memories’ thing she does,” Connor chuckled getting up from his seat and giving M’gann a peck on the cheek before helping her set the table.
“Dinner is ready,” M’gann called to the team retired and still working.

Mount Justice
August 8, 2020    17:55
“Dinner is ready,” M’gann called out to the reconnecting team. The eight adults, minus Batgirl she had Gotham things to take care of, sat down at the mahogany dining table.
“So, N.W. how’s college treating you?” Artemis asked Dick once everyone was seated.
“I have been through worse, but better than how Wally made it sound five years ago,” replied the twenty-one year old with a laugh.
“Cheers, to all of us finally being together after another five years,” Wally announced and everyone clinked beer bottles and wine glasses.
“Rocket, how is your husband?” Artemis asked as Rocket twirled her wedding ring around her finger. The question signaled for small talk to begin.
“Good,” she replied after taking a sip of water for she was pregnant. “He just finished remodeling the baby’s room. Who knew he could interior decorate? I come home one day, ask if the room is done yet so I can decorate and he surprises me with it fully decorated. It actually looks really nice.”
“I wish Wally was like that because I have been trying to get him to help me redecorate the living room. He doesn’t care or when I drag him to IKEA he picks out the weirdest things. Sometimes I can’t tell if he is joking, but that’s what I love about him. He is utterly ridiculous,” Artemis told the girls.
Little did Artemis know that Wally, Dick and M’gann were telepathically communicating. M’gann wasn’t paying attention very much because she was just there for the two friends to talk.
‘Tonight I am finally going to ask her,’ Wally told Dick.
‘About time, Wally. How long has it been? Nine years?’ Dick exclaimed. If they were having the conversation out loud then he would have stood up and threw his hands in the air as if saying Wally finally made the touchdown. ‘And I thought Barbara and I took forever.’
‘You haven’t even popped the question to her!’
‘Maybe I have. How would you know?’ Dick questioned his friend.
‘Doubt it. She doesn’t have a ring,’ Wally proved his case.
‘Speaking of rings, what did you get her?’ Dick pressed.
‘Emerald cut diamond in the middle with a silver band. On the right is her birthstone and on the left is mine. I stole the sketch she made from her desk,’ Wally told him.
‘Now that is a ring, dude,’ Dick complemented his best friend. Their conversation turned verbal when they started talking about Dick and Barbara’s relationships.

An hour later the friends sat talking with full stomachs and empty pie tins. Dick was telling the story about the time he let Batdog out of the Batcave and it took Barbara and him three hours to find him at their apartment.
“Batman was steaming mad,” Dick shook his head while everyone else laughed. After the good laugh Artemis, M’gann and Zatanna started to clear the table. In the kitchen the girls started to gossip while washing the dishes.
“Artemis,” Zatanna asked after awhile. “When do you think Wally will pop the question?” Artemis sighed, “I honestly don’t know, but I do hope he is getting the clues. The wedding ring sketch on my desk and the random bouquets of romantic flowers, but I don’t know.”
“With those clues I think he got the message,” Rocket said while entering the room with the dishes that the other girls missed.
“Who knows, maybe he will ask you tonight?” M’gann shrugged.
“Doubt it,” Artemis snorted.
“Hey, Artemis. The boys want to know if you can still beat me in a spar,” Wally hollered from the other room.
“I think that beer really got to him,” Artemis joked and walked towards her the training room with the girls following. M’gann was telling them everything that she knew form Dick and Wally’s psychic link.
“Why do we need to do this, Wally?” Artemis asked while walking into the room. Wally came up behind her and Artemis’s instincts kicked in. Wally was bending over in pain from being punched in the stomach. “Wally are you alright? See this is why you should never sneak up on me like that.” She didn’t know that he was pulling out the ring case and dodged the punch by an inch. The bending over turned into a kneel on one knee. He showed her the ring case and opened it.
“Artemis,” Wally’s voice was wavering with emotion. “This is where we first met none years ago, where everything began and I want it to also be the place of a new beginning.” Tears escaped from Artemis’ perfect grey eyes that Wally was staring into so deeply. “It started out rough, but we made it and will keep making it through tough times together. Arty, you are my beautiful rock and I can’t live without you. What I am trying to say is, Artemis, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she whispered nodding her head. “Yes, Wally, yes,” she exclaimed hugging him and planted a kiss on his lips as he slipped the ring on her left ring finger. When they broke away they could hear the clapping of not only their old teammates, but the new generation of the team. M’gann handed Artemis a tissue for her tear streaked face. Artemis finally looked at the ring and whispered into Wally’s ear, “So that’s where my sketch went.” He pulled her into a one armed hug and kissed her on top of her head. “I love you so damn much, Wally,” she said to him.
“Congratulations Artemis,” her mother said.
“Mom,” Artemis exclaimed and bent down to give her a hug. “You knew about this?”
“Everyone did, Artemis,” her mother told her as she fawned over the ring.
“There is my soon to be daughter in law,” announced Wally’s father Rudolph or as he likes to be called Rudy. He barricaded her in a bear hug.
“Now don’t suffocate the girl, Rudy. I still want a daughter in law, too,” Mary, Wally’s mother, scolded her husband and he released her from the hug. Just when Artemis thought the hugs were over she was pulled into another by Mary.
“Mom, you have known her for as long as I have, so do you really need to hug her. No, I think you are starting to crush her,” Wally told his mother as he hugged Paula, Artemis’s mother. Mary released Artemis glaring at her son and pulling him into a squashing hug for loving revenge.
“Mom,” Wally complained with Rudy, Paula and Artemis laughing at him.
After many congratulations and ring gazing the engaged couple started to head home.
“They grow up so fast,” Paula sighed to Mary and Rudy as she watched the two say goodbyes.
“Don’t they all? It seems like yesterday that they were just learning to walk,” Mary smiled at the memory of Wally’s first steps.
“I think that I might need even more tissue,” Paula joked with Mary agreeing.

At their apartment complex Wally and Artemis started getting ready for bed. Wally was in the bathroom changing with the door open listening to Artemis tell their white pit-bull what happened that night. Artemis was sitting on their bed with their dog in her lap as she talked and talked as if it were one of her girlfriends during their gossip sessions.
“And then he finally said, ‘Artemis, will you marry me?’” She retold to the dog holding on to her paws and shaking them with excitement. Wally couldn’t help to smile at the scene as he sat down next to the gossiping dog and girl. To him his fiancé looked fifteen like when they first met. She picked up the dog and set her on the ground and watched her run to her little bed in the corner of the room.
“Good night, girl,” she said sweetly as she climbed into bed with her, finally, fiancé. She couldn’t stop whispering that for she was still shocked that her life was that amazing. Wally wrapped his arms around her body and whispered into her hair after a while, “I can’t sleep. Can you?”
“No,” she replied turning to him with a naughty smile. With a sigh the dog left to go sleep on the couch and kick the door closed.