The Lantern (A Young Justice/Artemis Fanfiction) ON HOLD

Prologue

"If you're evil, you best hide

If not, you're in for one tough ride

I may just seem to be a pearl,

But this Green Lantern's one tough girl!"

------

Jessica Cruz hovered over her the sleeping figure of the girl, a glass of ice water gripped tightly in her hand. In one quick flick of her wrist, the water splashed over the girl, drenching her hair and face.

Quick as a flash, the girl's eyes opened, pale blue orbs searching for the source of the cold.

"Wha?" The girl muttered, her voice still thick with sleep. After only moments, her eyes landed on Jessica. The girl let out a groan, pulling her blankets up and over her head.

"Leave me alone, Jess." The girl said, the blankets muffling her voice ever-so-slightly. Jessica let out a small laugh, a light tinkling noise. "We both know I won't. Come on, up and at 'em."

The girl pulled the covers down to her neck quickly, giving Jessica the most intense glare she could muster. "I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

The girl's glare faltered, replaced with a pout. "Why are you waking me up this early?"

"Because," Jessica sung. "Hal and I need to talk to you."

"Oh hell no," the girl protested. "Not this early! I don't want to do push-ups at, what, nine o'clock?"

"Eight, actually."

"That's even worse!" The girl spluttered.

Jessica rolled her eyes, grabbing the girl's blankets and ripping them off. "He won't make you do push-ups. Well, maybe he will. But that's beside the point. Let's go."

The girl grudgingly swung her legs over the side of her bed, standing and hissing at the feeling of the cold floor against her bare feet. She followed Jessica through the doorway of her room, taking a seat on a kitchen stool and sipping a cup of coffee that had been pre-made for her.

Hal sat beside her, ruffling the girl's hair and quickly (and wisely) retracting his hand as she let out a hiss. "Not feeling the morning, huh, kiddo?"

The girl gave him a vicious glare.

"Well, someone's not a morning person," Hal chuckled.

"Never have been, never will be," the girl replied dryly. "Now, what did you guys want to talk about?"

"Well," Hal started, taking a sip of his own coffee. "Remember the other day when Jess and I were going to take you to the Hall of Justice with the other proteges but we got... caught up?"

"Tried making an alien Slip-n-Slide, yes," the girl hummed.

"The details aren't important," Hal chuckled nervously. "Regardless, let's just say the proteges did some of their own exploring, found a Superman clone and started their own team. Like a Young Justice League."

"Uh-huh," the girl replied, not quite listening.

"And Batman would love for you to join!"

"Uh-huh," the girl replied again.

"So, what do you think?" Jessica asked, leaning her elbows on the counter and looking at the still half-asleep girl.

"Whatever you say," the girl replied.

The two adults exchanged looks.

"Hey, kiddo, could you do me a favor and clean my apartment?" Hal asked with a grin.

"Yeah, sounds good," the girl replied again, staring at the swirling coffee in her mug.

"And could you run some errands for me? I have a list," Jessica added on.

"Yeah, sure," the girl replied once more.

The two adults exchanged amused grins. Jessica turned back to the kitchen, preparing food for the girl as Hal stood, walking to the family room and plopping down on the couch, turning on a sports game.

Five minutes went by with no talking.

"Wait," the girl said at last. "did you say a Superman clone?"

———

"The six of you will be that team." Batman's, well, Batman voice informed the other teenagers. The girl smirked, ready to reveal herself to the team. She had convinced the League members to let her have a cool entrance. Well, more like she eventually wore them down after a solid thirty minutes of her begging.

"Cool," A boy voiced. He then hesitated. "Wait, six?"

From her hiding spot on a little ledge high on the wall, Reyna could see a girl, a Martian presumably, walk forward into the light with Manhunter at her side. Her skin was a light, almost apple green that contrasted with her flaming red hair. She wore a deep blue skirt that matched her boots, gloves and cape. Her belt was just barely more red than her hair, a white t-shirt covering her torso with a large red 'X' across the front.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian," Batman informed the group.

"Hi," she gave a small wave.

"Likin' this gig more every minute," one of the boys stated. His hair was the same color as Miss Martian's, a small smirk painted on his face.

"Welcome aboard," the same redhead spoke, walking forward towards Miss Martian. "I'm Kid Flash, that's Robin, Aqualad, it's cool if you forget their names."

"I'm honored to be included."

The three boys walked forward to greet Miss M, leaving one boy behind. He was dressed simply in jeans and a black t-shirt, the red Superman symbol painted across his chest.

"Hey, Superboy, come meet Miss M!" Robin called over to the boy, waving him over. As he walked over, Miss Martian's shirt turned from white to black, mirroring Superboy's own shirt.

"I like your t-shirt," Miss M said, giving him a sheepish grin. He smiled back at her, causing the Martian's cheeks to blush red.

"Today is the day," Aqualad stated, giving his friends a grin. Reyna had to admit, it was an awesome moment until Robin coughed, ruining it.

"Wait," the Boy Wonder stated, giving Batman a look. "didn't you say there were six of us?"

Batman nodded simply, eyes flicking up towards the ceiling. Reyna took this as her cue to drop down from the ceiling, creating a glowing green mattress on the floor. Although wearing her civvies, Reyna's ring was in its normal position on her finger.

She was dressed simply in jeans and a green tank-top. She felt it was weird being mask-less around people that she didn't quite know, but Jessica and Hal assured the girl it would be okay.

"Hello," Reyna greeted, hopping gently off the mattress. It disappeared instantly as she waved to her new team members. "You can call me Emerald."

"Well helloooo," Kid Flash spoke, flashing her a cross between a grin and a smirk. He leaned closer to Robin, assumedly to whisper to the boy, though his voice had the natural quality to be louder than he intended. "I'm telling you, this gig is sweet."

"I can drop kick you."