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He hears the door open, and he turns abruptly around and finds himself face to face with Artemis Crock.
"Yo, Roy," she says, announcing her presence as if he isn't looking right at her.
"How did you find me?" He demands, drawing his bow. He's not going to use it on her, but he wants her to know that he can.
"You're not hard to find, Roy," she says, rolling her eyes, "you didn't even leave Star City." She puts a hand on her hip, and sends him a really look.
"I'm not Roy Harper," he says, instead of addressing any of the rest of that.
"Then who are you?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. He pauses for a moment, stumped. He's never really gotten that far. He knows that he's just a Cadmus clone designed to take Roy Harper's place and infiltrate the Justice League, but beyond that? Who he is as an individual? He doesn't have a clue.
"I'm just his clone," he says. Artemis glares at him.
"Don't give me that BS," she says, "being a clone doesn't mean you're not a person." He bites his lip. He doesn't know how to respond to that.
"People are worried about you, clone or not. GA, Black Canary, Kaldur, Rob, Wally? They're all worried sick. Hell, I'm worried about you, and I don't even like you."
"Gee, Artemis," he says, "thanks for that." She grins.
"I tell it like it is," she says. Then, she plops down on his arm chair.
"So are you gonna talk to someone or what?" she asks.
"Wasn't planning on it," he says.
"Oh come on," she says, "talk to Kaldur." He makes a face. He doesn't think he's really ready to talk to his best friend yet.
"Wally-" he grimaced.
"Robin-" he grimaces more distinctly.
"Fine," she says, "no one on the Team. Then talk to GA." Somehow, he grimaces even more at that.
"Oh come on," Artemis says, "you can't tell me you don't want to talk to him." He shrugs. The thing is, he cares about GA, more than an angsty teen would like to admit.
Even if that angsty teen is more like two years old, technically. His brain hurts just thinking about it.
He just doesn't know where he fits in with this. He doesn't know how much GA blames him for this. He doesn't know if he considers him his protege or a parasite.
But Artemis is probably right, he'll need to find out sometime.
"Alright," he says, "I'll think about it."
"Thank god, Roy," she says, "finally seeing reason."
"Don't call me that" he says, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, "I'm not Roy Harper."
"The hell do I call you if you're not Roy Harper?" She asks.
"Red Arrow," he says, "or Red, just please don't call me RA. It makes me think of those people in charge of dorm floors." She cracks a grin.
"I'll keep that in mind, RA," she says, grinning as he slams the door on her.
Red mulls it over for a day before he decides to talk to GA. He goes to the Arrow Cave. At least, he goes to the main Arrow Cave in Star City.
Red bites his lip, and puts his eye up to the retinal scanner.
He walks in on Green Arrow, Artemis, and Black Canary all talking around the little round table.
"Red Arrow!" GA says, sounding shocked and excited all at the same time.
"Hey RA," Artemis says with her shit-eating grin, "glad you decided to show up. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"I, um," Red says, "I wanted to talk."
He hadn't wanted a whole arrow family reunion.
How did he even manage to come by when GA, Artemis and Black Canary were all by. He was kind of hoping just to catch GA, but he can deal with this. Red can make this work.
"God," he says, "this was stupid. I'm just gonna go." The relationships between GA, Black Canary and Artemis were all built organically. His weren't though. He was supplanted into the real Roy's relationships, like a Cuckoo bird's egg laid in another bird's nest, stealing time and resources away from the mama bird's actual babies.
He shouldn't have come. He turns around to flee, but feels a strong arm on his bicep pull him back. He turns, and sees GA looking at him desperately.
"Please, Red," GA says, "let us help you." Red nods. He can do that. Especially when it's to help mama Green Arrow's real chick.
"Help me find the real Roy," he says.
"He's not the real Roy," Black Canary says, rolling her eyes, "he's the original Roy. You're just as real, Red." Red doesn't agree with her, but he doesn't contradict her either.
"Help me find him," Red says. He can't sleep until he finds the other him. He doesn't think he will ever feel like a real person, like someone not living on stolen time until they find him.
"Alright," GA says, "I promise Red. He's a Roy Harper, so I'll do whatever I can to save him." Red doesn't miss how GA includes him in the list of people he'd do whatever he can to save.
"I will too," Black Canary promises, "it seems like you won't be able to process this until you find him anyway."
Artemis looks at him. Apparently, she's not going to say anything.
"Are you gonna help, green girl?" Red asks. He cringes. That might be the most embarrassing nickname anyone's ever come up with, and he used to be called Speedy. Artemis shrugs.
"I don't have anything better to do," she says, "and I guess I could stand having two of you." For Artemis, that's basically saying that she cares. It's about as sappy as she gets.
Red tries not to let himself get too emotional. Green Arrow, Black Canary, hell, even Artemis. They all care about him, even though he's a parasite. It's sort of heart-warming. It makes him feel less like a parasite and more like part of the family.
Maybe, once they find the original Roy, he can stop feeling like a parasite once and for all.