Young Justice: Red Beetle

Chapter 18 - Heart to Heart

Artemis

"Watch your center of gravity." I say, as I duck under a punch and get on the ground. I sweep out my feet to knock her to the ground but Remy does a barrel roll to the side to avoid my attack.

She gets up with her fists ready and excitement gleaming in her eyes. Never have I seen anyone so happy to fight, well, besides Wonder Girl.

She charges forward with a punch. I crouch down while grabbing her arm and throw her forward using her momentum. Remy hits the floor.

"Ouch." She says, then, "No, I'm training, not killing somebody. Calm down for a second, would ya?"

I stare at her as she gets up. She and Jaime both like to talk to themselves I've noticed.

"You like to use as much force as possible, Remy. You don't have too. If you get carried away, reckless, your enemies will use that against you. Try to rein in a bit." I tell her.

She has her hands has on her knees, bent over and breathing heavily. "Got it, Artemis. Water break?" Remy looks at me and I loosen my stance.

We're both sweating and breathing heavily from our training sessions. Remy is a strong fighter, she likes the straight forward method of just punching someone in the face. And she's tough, I've been beating her senseless these past hour and she still gets up every time. Grabbing our water bottles, we sit down on a bench in the training room.

It's been about a week since the whole exploding Reach ship adventure. Dusk has come around but she's even more cold and mean than ever. Especially towards Cassie and Jaime. Remy's neck bruises healed up and the week has been filled with training. Remy's good, but I'm going to make her better.

Nightwing and Kaldur showed Remy the video of her being taken by Black Beetle just before her month of torture on the Reach ship. She asked if they knew of any family or friends she had in Brooklyn, but of course, we had no idea. She now knew that she was Red Beetle for three years. That's when she revealed that she's seventeen years old, saying that the Scarab figured it out for her. It surprised me, I was thinking she was fifteen at most, because of her short body. We figured out that Remy become Red Beetle at the age of fourteen.

Remy guzzles her water down, while I take sips. She wipes her mouth and narrows her eyes.

"I already told you, it's hand to hand combat training, not plasma cannon training." She growls, looking forward into the room.

I turn to her, "Remy, who are you talking to?"

She considers me for a moment, before gesturing to her back and turning to reveal the red Scarab on her spine. It nestles right between her shoulder blades, visible because of her tank top.

"The Scarab, my armor." She starts out, trying to find the words.

"It has an artificial intelligence programmed into it. Basically really annoying and sometimes helpful." She says, smiling and she takes a moment to drink from her water.

"The Scarab, let's say, very trigger happy. But, the Scarab has helped me a lot in the past, like the technical stuff."

I glance at her back, puzzled. I can't imagine what it's like to have alien technology fused to your spine permanently, and with a voice in her head.

"Is it hard to have the Scarab talking to you?"

"Not really. The Scarab is always telling me to fight or leave the Team and I tell the Scarab to shut up. And when I talk back, everybody things I'm just talking to myself. They think I'm weird. I don't care, nobody defines me but me."

I see her trademark look on her face. Eyes narrowed and chin up. That's her 'I won't take any crap look'.

"Her name is Khori Ja." She says, randomly.

This thing has a name? "Her?"

"Yeah, well, it have a female voice."

Interesting.

I look at Remy. I'm glad were having this heart to heart. I feel bad about being rude and untrusting towards her, but now we're past that.

"Is it hard to be fused with a Scarab?"

She glances up at me, and I see softness in her usually intense eyes.

"Sometimes. Sometimes it makes me insane to hear the Scarab. Sometimes all this power disorients me."

She takes a moment and leans back, looking up at the ceiling. I see Remy, the girl who loves her friends and hates being controlled.

"At the end of the day, you have to remember who you are, and who you love."

I never really realized how strong Remy is. She never gives in to anything, and she already defines herself.

"Who do you love?"

"Cassie, Bart, Ja-" Her eyes widen as she cuts off. I glance at her.

"Remy?"

She's still before coming back to her sense, she looks at me.

"I love Jaime. Wait! No, I love him just as a friend!" She quickly says and she reads the expression on my face.

I raise an eyebrow. Those two have been looking at each other, and finding any excuse to touch each other for the past week. Remy always make sure to give Jaime a hug before he leaves, long hugs. When Jaime was guarding Red, they spent all night talking in the kitchen. It's Conner and M'gann all over again, until somebody tells them, they will never know they're in love.

Or at least Remy. She's obviously not the most romantic girl out there and she's not very. Jaime on the other hand, I bet he knows exactly how he feels.

"Are you telling me, or are you telling yourself?"

She looks up at me, and I see the thoughts running through her head, maybe she will figure it out for herself.

"What about you and Kaldur?" she blurts out.

That catches me off, making me freeze for a second "You're changing the subject." I retort.

"Still doesn't answer my question." She says. She's genuinely interesting about me and Kaldur though.

"I don't know..." I answer. Wally still flashes through my mind when I think of a new partner.

"Kaldur is... I need him. But..."

"Is it because of Wally?" Remy asks quietly. Always the one to be blunt and direct.

"Yes, no. I don't know!" I answer. I'm so frustrated with myself. I have no idea how to find my own happiness.

"Artemis." Remy places a hand on my knee and look up at her. Her usually wild hair is pulled back into a pony tail, revealing the sincerity in her eyes.

"It sounds like you're afraid."

"Afriad?" I ask, bewildered. Guilty, lonely, maybe, but afaid?

"You've come to peace with Wally's death, I can tell that much." Remy says, still locking me in her powerful gaze. The horrible truth is coming.

"Remy." I warn.

"You're afraid, Artemis. You're afraid to somebody else. Wally isn't holding you back, you are."

"I am not afraid." I nearly scream as I stand up, jerking away from Remy's hand. Remy stands up with me.

"Artemis, that's the truth, and you know it."

I don't want to know it though.

"Training's over for today." I growl, practically running from the room.

Remy's right. No. No. Remy's right.

I'm not afraid.

Am I?