Running After You: By Luna Mrow

Disclaimer: I don't own YJ, the characters, or the show. I only own this story plot and the time I took to write it.

Warning: High T, so that means language :O

Summary: After the famous Kid Flash saves cocktail waitress Artemis, the young lady is now determined to find out everything she can about this 'superhero'. At least, she's would find the truth, if that annoying Wally West would leave her alone! Alternate Universe. High-T.

~X~X~X~

"Alright listen up you hoity-toity douchebags! This is a hold up, you hear? Which means if any shit happens that me or my buddies don't like, we won't think twice in painting the place with your blood! Now everyone keep your hands over your heads and shut the hell up!"

This was not how twenty-one year old Artemis Crock wanted her Friday night to go. She was just going to go into Gotham City Bank, cash her damn check, and then meet Megan at the club. But no, apparently that was too simple. Obviously God wanted Artemis to get caught up in a bank robbery with a room full of panicked citizens and eleven football-built guys with black ski masks and guns.

Artemis drops to her knees and keeps her hands over her head like everyone else. Even though she should be afraid for her life at that very moment (as one of the pricks robbing the place held a gun no more than a few feet away) she couldn't feel any fear. Nope, instead the blond haired girl with dark gray eyes felt annoyed. Was it really necessary for the guy to call her a hoity-toity douchebag?

The robber holding the gun looked at her through the slits in his black ski mask. "How you doing, toots?" he asked her in a gruff teasing voice.

Artemis gave him her world-famous sneer. "Just great."

He chuckled and turned his back to her. Artemis released a heavy sigh and scanned the area surrounding her. It seemed every man, woman, and child were cowering and whimpering in fear as they watched the bank tellers throw the money in the bags. Was she the only one who was remaining calm? Apparently so. This was Gotham City for crying out loud… banks being robbed were as common as catching a cold.

A flash of red and blue went off as well as multiple loud sirens. Great, Artemis thought, the cops are here. Things just got more complicated.

The robbers started yelling again. "Everyone get in the center of the room, now!" Luckily she was already in the center of the room, so all the cowering people crowded around her. Rounds of bullets started to fire off as the cops came running to the entrance of the bank and three of the men shot to hold them off. "Hey! We're going to need some hostages, the cops aren't pulling back anytime soon!" one of the men in the front lines called.

The robbers that had remained around the civilians cussed under their breaths. Something told Artemis they weren't planning on this heist to go this far. The men reached into the crowd that had gathered in the middle of the building, grabbing themselves a man, a woman, and a little boy that looked no older than five. His mother cried and screamed for her son, and the robber who grabbed him shut her up by firing a bullet close to her head.

"Hey!" Artemis exclaimed, "You can't take the kid, he's just a little boy!"

She found the gun was now pointed at her. "Shut the fuck up, missy," one of the robbers hissed.

The one who had hit on her held up his hands. "Put the boy back, Grey. We'll take this little spitfire instead."

Shit, Artemis thought. She suddenly found herself being dragged along by the robber referred to as 'Grey'. He held her arm with an iron grip and she squeezed her eyes shut to ignore it.

"Maroon just pulled around the back. We need to go," one of them said.

Grey tugged at Artemis. "Follow us, doll."

She would've snapped at him and told that ass not to call her 'doll' but instead she was being dragged away with the robbers to the backside of the bank. When she was finally out of the room with all those scared people she let herself say something. "I can walk you know, you don't have to drag me."

Grey laughed. "And risk you running away?"

"I highly doubt I'll get very far before you put a bullet in me," she replied dryly.

He scoffed and let go of her wrist. "Good point. Now keep up with us or I will shoot you."

She lets out a breath of frustration and follows the five men down the hallway of the bank, until they reach the back. There, she sees a black SUV with tinted windows and no license plates. You'd think the cops would be smart enough to surround the area, she thinks bitterly.

Right as Artemis is about to get pushed in the SUV, she gets pushed in the opposite direction, hearing a whish of wind as she does so! Her head spins and she sees a flash of yellow and red! Oh my god! The Flash is rescuing me!

The robbers yell back and forth at each other. Suddenly Grey, who was standing next to Artemis, gets slammed back into the bank's wall! There are more red and yellow flashes and suddenly all the robbers are flung against the walls, flying at least forty or more feet! They're already unconscious as they hit the ground and in a matter of seconds Artemis is the last one standing.

That is, until the red and yellow flash stops right in front of her. Artemis is abruptly face-to-face with her rescuer. She freezes up when she sees brilliant green eyes staring directly into hers. Her rescuer gives her a sloppy grin and runs a hand through his fiery red hair. "Sorry if I scared ya."

She was face-to-face with Kid Flash, the partner of the Flash. He towered over her by a good five or six inches, his body tall and lean but his muscles evident by his costume. He looks her age of twenty-one, maybe twenty-three, which is weird considering he still refers himself with 'kid'. The oddest thing about him? He smelled like pizza and licorice.

"Uh, babe? Are you okay?" he then asked her.

Artemis blinks and remembers that in order to stay alive she has to breathe. She's completely enthralled by him. Or at least, she was, until he called her 'babe'. "I have a name," she snapped. "Babes not it."

Kid Flash smirked. "Yeah, well you look like a babe. Coulda fooled me."

"I'm Artemis," she confirmed.

"Ah. Isn't that the name of a Greek God?"

"Goddess. Yes, I'm named after a Greek goddess."

"Cool. Well I'd love to chat babe, but I've got to finish up and make sure everyone else is alright."

"Isn't that the cops' job?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. But it's my job to make sure they do their job. It's complicated. Later."

Literally the second he's about to run off at unimaginable speeds, a bullet ricochets off the hood of the SUV. Artemis shrieks in surprise and before she can close her mouth she's lifted off the ground and into Kid Flash's arms. The young man speeds off and Artemis has to shut her eyes from the sudden impact of wind that's pounding on her. She barely has enough time to register that Kid Flash is holding her bridal style in her arms before she's suddenly on her feet again.

Artemis staggers and fall down, but Kid Flash catches her again and her face is buried in his sculpted chest. "Damn it," she breathed. She could feel his chest rumble as he chuckled and she looked up at his smiling face. "For the record, I'm not the damsel-in-distress type."

"I figured. You seem more like the 'get-things-done-myself' type," he replied, his voice still amused.

Very observant, she thought. Artemis doesn't bother in getting distance with the superhero; she's much more intrigued at staring in his candy green apple eyes. A sudden feeling rushes over her, like she wants to kiss those smiling lips, just to know what it's like. She inches her face closer to his, and he stands still instead of flinching back.

She takes that as permission, and right as her plump pink lips are going to kiss his, the infamous Kid Flash slams his against hers first.

Whoa.

She never thought he would kiss her. But he did, Kid Flash slammed his mouth on hers and Artemis kissed him back just as passionately. For maybe thirty seconds she molded her mouth with his, and right when she was going to go for tongue, he broke off and laughed mischievously as he ran away.

Artemis was suddenly by herself in an alleyway, heart pumping, lips parted, and breath taken. She decided at that moment that she was going to find out everything there was to find out on Kid Flash. Because that was a damn good kiss. And she was going to get another one.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! So this is my first Young Justice multi-chapter story. I'm a little nervous of what y'all thought, I know that AU can be tricky. In this story, Artemis is just a regular joe, with no superpowers or bow and arrow. However, she does have her wit and determination, a huge part in the story. I haven't decided if the other YJ characters will be in it (obviously Megan is, and probably Robin).

Um, I hope you guys like the first part, and I'd really love reviews telling me what you think. If it turns out to be no good I guess it could stand alone as a one-shot. But hopefully you guys like :D

Thank you for reading!

~Luna