I Forgot to Mention

Deception and Explanations

So Damian didn't MEAN to adopt the enormous dog who conveniently wandered into the hiding spot Grayson had begged him to wait in while he found their gear, but...it had sniffed him, and then licked his hand, so now it was his. His new dog was certainly an upgrade to his usual pets, and while he still cared deeply for Goliath the bat pup, Alfred the kitten, and Jerry the turkey poult at the petting zoo who had attacked Drake, they seemed a bit underwhelming compared to the snowy coated behemoth of a dog. It stood far taller than himself, and probably even Grayson, which meant he was perfect to intimidate the other two fake heirs.

"Let's see Todd threaten to flush YOU down the toilet," Damian smiled with a dangerous look in his turquoise eyes.

***
If she survived this seemingly endless night, Artemis was definitely going to give herself a pat on the back for holding her tongue as long as she had. The second she had properly regained her wits, she had connected the dots.  Honestly, she had debated her conclusion for the better part of fifteen minutes.  They were just a local story, one privy only to the inner most of Gotham's villains.  Her father had mentioned them once or twice before, though his descriptions usually varied between tellings and really only served as a precaution to keep her on her toes. Besides, after joining the team, and after meeting the Batman himself, Artemis had felt confident that it was all nothing more than folklore. If Batman possessed any students under his wing, then surely they would also work alongside the Justice League...wouldn't they?

Artemis bit her lip, too many questions were still cropping up. Her eyes darted across the room, taking in the scene that had barely changed since she first arrived. Kaldur was busy watching the door, Megan and Conner were keeping to themselves for the time being, and all while Roy continued to pace like a neurotic Arkham patient. He was resolved to trap them all together for the rest of his watch, and Wally's disappearing act was seriously throwing a wrench in that plan.

Just like Baywatch, Artemis turned her gaze towards the ceiling. Even when he's not here, he's still causing problems!

And, what the grief he'd unknowingly caused them all! After a couple more laps around the length of the room, Roy stalked over to Conner.

"Hasn't your super-dog found him yet?"

Artemis never noticed how whiny her "adoptive big cousin," which is what Ollie always refers to Roy as due to his delusions that they are all one big happy family, actually was. Conner wasn't having it, as he practically growled out his response.

"He's not a dog, he's a wolf. It's literally his name!"

"Yeah, whatever." Roy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Either way, you told me Krypto could find him over twenty minutes ago. Where are they?"

Megan jumped in before Conner could respond. "I told you both, mind-linking with an animal is much different than with a more advanced being. All I could tell Wolf to do was to search for the 'human male pup not Superboy.' We're lucky he regards Kaldur as a fish, or else he wouldn't be able to look for Wally at all."

Suppressing a groan, Artemis let the squabble fall into the background as she turned her focus back to Wally. It had been at least a little worrisome that he hadn't shown up yet. His last check in, where Roy and Megan both assured everyone that he said he was on his way, had been almost an hour prior. After that, Wally had pretty much blocked out the Martian girl, and refused to respond to any of her calls. Needless to say, Roy was pretty ticked off, and willing to take it out on the rest of them. Kaldur had offered to go retrieve the wayward member, but Roy was quick to veto any ideas that involved anyone leaving the souvenir room. Unfortunately, that limited the options to just waiting around and hoping that Wally wasn't in any trouble and was just living up to his uncle's reputation for always being more than fashionably late. The decision to send Wolf on the hunt resulted soon after, seeing as there were plenty of reasons to believe that wasn't the case.