Artemis stares at the empty telephone booth that acts as a secret zeta portal. She has not been having a good past few days. Three days ago, she got into a fight with her boyfriend. He doesn't understand that she doesn't like the way that he is always been hit on by other females. Is it not too much to ask that he tell those other girls to back off? No, instead he defends those other girls. Naruto is supposed to be on her side. He is her boyfriend after all. The two of them haven't really spoken since that argument.

Yesterday had been a good night at the start. She helped Green Arrow take down an assassin from the League of Shadows. When she went home to tell her mother all about her night, she found out a truth that had been hidden from her. All this time she had thought that Green Arrow and Batman had approached her and her mother at the same time about joining the team. Instead, the two League heroes had been begged by her mother to be taken on the team. Begged! Artemis scowled in anger. To think that she thought Batman and Green Arrow recruited her for her skills. Turns out that she is some type of charity case.

A determined expression forms on her face. "I have nothing to prove. I am one of a kind," states Artemis. With renewed confidence, she heads into the telephone booth.

December 5th, 4:56 pm CST

"Is everything alright?"

Naruto glances at Zatanna. "My problem is of no concern." A beeping sound goes off. He opens the microwave and pulls out a ramen cup. Ripping off the top, he uses a pair of chopsticks to start to slurp down the noodles.

Zatanna leans on the counter with a coy smile. "Ramen huh?" Naruto raises an eyebrow, but continues to slurp down his noodles. "Nothing, I just find it cute."

He puts down the noodles for a moment. "Zatanna, I know that you are attracted to me, at least in a physical sense." Zatanna raises an eyebrow. She doesn't deny the claim. "But you know I am with Artemis. I will not betray her."

"I know," responds Zatanna. "I like Artemis. She is a friend even if we do argue a lot. Does it bother you that I flirt with you so much?"

Naruto tosses the empty cup into the nearby garbage can. "No, I like having you around." A smile lights up her face. "But, I am with Artemis. I need you to respect that or we can no longer be friends."

She nods. "I get it."

"Hey!" Conner enters the kitchen. "Green Arrow is here. He wants us all to meet in the main room."

Connor, Naruto, and Zatanna heads towards the main debriefing room. Naruto takes a moment to sniff the air. "Red Arrow?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that Green Arrow's old sidekick?" asks Zatanna. Connor and Naruto nod. "What is he doing here? I thought he left the team or something."

"He stopped being Green Arrow's sidekick in order to gain independence from Arrow and the League."

Zatanna rolls her eyes. "Right, Red Arrow, sure sounds like he got his independence." Connor smirks. Even Naruto cracks a small smile.

The three enter the main room to find the rest of the team minus Robin waiting for them. Megan waves them over. Naruto looks over at Red Arrow. Red Arrow narrows his eyes upon the ninja hero. It is obvious to most in the room that Naruto and Red Arrow do not get along with each other. "Man, it is great to have you back on the team," smiles Wally.

Kaldur places a hand on Red Arrow's shoulder. "I am glad to see you reconsidered joining the team."

"It is not that big of a deal," shrugs Red Arrow. A smirk forms on his face. "But it will be fun to fight crime with you all again."

Connor folds his arms across his chest. "Could have been doing that this whole time."

"Agreed." Naruto keeps a neutral expression. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Someone sounds suspicious," whispers Zatanna.

"That is pretty usual for Naruto," smiles Megan.

Naruto shrugs. "I trust very few people." He glances at Red Arrow. "He is not among them." Connor, Megan, and Zatanna all smile realizing that they are among those that Naruto's trusts. Megan suddenly gains a guilty expression.

"Arriving Artemis, B06."

In a flash of light, Artemis appears in the cave. "Hey!" waves Wally. "Look who decided to join the team!"

Artemis narrows her eyes upon Red Arrow. "Great." She walks forward. "The team needed a real archer."

Naruto frowns. She has to know that no on the team believes that she is inferior to Red Arrow. Artemis has earned her spot on the team. He watches as she glances at him before choosing to stand next to Aqualad. The two of them have not spoken to each other since their last argument.

Zatanna notices the friction between Naruto and Artemis. Perhaps she does need to start laying off. As much as she really likes Naruto, she doesn't want to hurt Artemis. Artemis is a friend. She is going to make sure that Artemis knows that she is going to back off.

"Ok people, listen up. The Dynamic Duo is off in Gotham, but Batman gave me a heads up." Green Arrow types rapidly. Several images pop up in front of the team. Artemis's eyes widen. "Sportsmaster was spotted coming through the Louis Armstrong Airport."

"In full costume? Nervy," says Zatanna.

Green Arrow smirks as he hits another button. This image shows Sportsmaster in civilian clothes. "In street clothes. Facial recognition software picked up the identification."

Superboy frowns. "All of us? Seems overkill for a shadow job."

"Perhaps a small group," suggests Red Tornado. "Miss Martian's camouflage abilities seem ideal."

"I was thinking that the sidekicks…ex-sidekicks, sorry, can take on this one," states Green Arrow.

Aqualad, Kid, and Red Arrow all send smirks at each other. "I want in," says Artemis.

"Artemis, are you sure about this?" asks Green Arrow concerned.

"With Robin and Megan not on mission, no one else has logged more hours piloting the bio-ship."

"The bio-ship is capable of auto-pilot." All eyes turn to Naruto. "This is not a mission you should be taking part in."

Artemis narrows her eyes. "Don't think I have what it takes?"

Naruto glances at Artemis. He soon turns to face Green Arrow. "Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Red Arrow are more than enough to handle the mission."

"What is your problem?" Artemis gets right into Naruto's face. "You are supposed to be my boyfriend. Is it so hard to ask you to have my back?"

"This is me having your back," replies Naruto. "And I have told you multiple times, when it comes to mission assignments, I am not your boyfriend. I am your teammate."

Artemis's hands clench into fists. "Well, as far as I am concerned, I don't want you as a teammate or a boyfriend."

"Artemis!" gasps Megan.

Zatanna steps between the two. "I think that is enough. Why don't we all just take a deep breath?"

"Stay out of it," glares Artemis. She spins around to face Green Arrow. "Ninja-boy is not the boss of this team. I can handle the mission."

Green Arrow nods. "Alright then, the four of you will leave immediately."

Artemis leads the way to the hangar not wanting to speak to a single person. Once the team leaves the room, Naruto turns to face Green Arrow. "I can see why you are not usually put in charge of missions."

"Hey! Better watch it kid!"

Naruto leaves without a glance backwards. Zatanna wants to follow, but a part of her feels like it is her fault. In a flash of light, Naruto vanishes from the room. "I am going to speak with him." Megan flies over to the zeta tube. She soon vanishes as well.

Superboy shakes his head. "Come on wolf, let's go for a walk."

Tokyo

Megan quickly catches up to Naruto. In an instant she transform into her human form. "I do not want to talk about it," says Naruto.

"Naruto." Megan runs in front of him. "As tough as you act, I know you care for Artemis. There is no way you can tell me that her breaking up with you didn't hurt."

Naruto stares into Megan's eyes. "It did." He folds his arms across his chest. "But it was not entirely unexpected."

"What do you mean?"

"Artemis and I had been having arguments more frequently. She doesn't like the fact that I have so many female friends. And I do not like the fact that she behaves so jealousy. I did not want things to end, but I am not surprised that they did," says Naruto calmly.

A frown forms on Megan's face. "Are you really going to let it end like that?" Megan rubs her arms. "I mean, the two of you…"

The ninja interjects harshly. "Are done." Naruto reaches out placing a hand on Megan's arm. "I don't know much about relationships, but I do know that Artemis and I are over." He lowers his arm. "I care for Artemis. But I no longer wish to be intimate with her."

Megan nods. "I guess I understand."

"I will see you later."

Naruto forms a hand seal. In a cloud of smoke, he vanishes into thin air.

December 5th; 9:30 pm

Kid gets into Artemis's face. "Tell me he is not telling the truth. Please tell me you didn't let your stupid pride to prove your worth made you trick your own teammates."

Artemis opens her mouth. No words come out. She lowers her head in shame.

"I can't believe I am about to say this…but the wannabe ninja was right. You shouldn't have come along on the mission." Artemis's eyes widen. Kid snatches the tracer out of Red Arrow's fingers. "This is the proper souvenir for the mission." The speedster walks off in a huff.

Aqualad sends a disappointed look at Artemis before he too leaves. Red Arrow leans forward. "You aren't who you say you are." He brushes past the girl.

Artemis stood there silently. It is official. This is the worse day of her life.

Tokyo

A black portal opens up. Raven steps out of the portal. It closes silently behind her. She is about to take to the air when she senses a presence. Out of the shadows emerges a person dressed in all black. Her eyes narrow. "I have not come to fight." The ninja kneels down. "I have come to ask you to deliver a message to Uzumaki Naruto."

Raven hovers in the air. "If you wish to speak to Naruto, you can do so on your own."

"We have ways to track down magic users." Raven raises her hand to catch a scroll. "As long as you deliver that message, you need not worry about us continuing to follow your movements."

"You don't frighten me."

The ninja stands up. A pellet hits the ground and explodes releasing a black cloud of smoke. Raven doesn't need to wait until the smoke clears to know that the ninja is gone. She glances at the scroll. Reluctantly, she places the scroll inside her cloak. As much as she hates playing messenger, she knows that Naruto will want to know about this incident.

Star City, 10:03 pm

Dinah reaches over ruffling Naruto's hair. "You should be more excited. Soon enough you will be the youngest member to join the Justice League. That is a huge honor."

Naruto slurps down the noodles. "I am very grateful."

"I can tell," smirks Dinah.

The two are sitting at a small outdoor Asian café. Dinah ordered sesame chicken with shrimp fried rice. Naruto ordered several bowls of ramen noodles. Both are trained fighters that tend to eat a great deal healthier, but tonight is a celebration. He was invited out in order to hear some great news.

"Artemis broke up with me," says Naruto.

"What happened?" asks Dinah. The joyfulness disappears.

Taking a moment to finish his noodles, Naruto puts down the chopsticks. "Green Arrow came with a mission. It involved tracking down Sportsmaster." Dinah listens intently. "Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Red Arrow were assigned to the mission, but Artemis stepped forward wanting to volunteer for the mission. She came out with a weak excuse to join. Judging from her sudden decision and excuse, I could tell that she was trying to prove a point."

Dinah nods. "I am sure. She probably felt threatened by Red Arrow's presence."

"I agree." Naruto stares up at the stars. "But, Red Arrow or not, Sportsmaster's presence alone made her a liability for that mission. She is still afraid to reveal her family ties. One little threat by Sportsmaster might make Artemis reconsider bringing him in."

"Do you believe that she would compromise a mission to keep her secrets?"

"Yes."

A frown forms on Dinah's face. "So what happened exactly?"

Naruto answers honestly. "I told Green Arrow that Artemis should not be allowed to go on the mission. I refrained from giving the exact details to maintain her secret."

"Naruto…"

"I do not regret my decision." Naruto raises his left arm. Hitting a button, a holographic image of the cave appears. It shows Kid, Red Arrow, Artemis, and Aqualad debriefing from the failed mission. Dinah listens to the entire argument. Naruto cuts the feed once Kid marches off in anger. "The mission failed due to her actions."

Dinah sighs. "You were right." The woman shakes her head. "But you could have pulled her off to the side to discuss the matter."

Naruto shrugs. "Perhaps, but I have told her countless times that when it comes to missions, I am a teammate first." He stares at Canary. "I stand behind my decision."

"I take it she broke up with you after you voiced against her joining the mission?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay with that?"

"I am." The ninja stands up. "I think it is best that Artemis and I are just teammates. Especially with the new promotions that are coming." Naruto bows respectfully. "Thank you for the meal."

Dinah stands up and places a hand on her hip. "You're welcome." She is disappointed that Naruto and Artemis broke up. The two made a cute couple. A smile soon appears on her face. Oh well, the two are young. Naruto's ability and willingness to date is a huge improvement from when she first met him. Dinah is confident that the right girl…woman will come along. 'You made a mistake, Artemis, I hope you can realize that before it is too late. I am rooting for you.'