Artemis could only feel one thing: exhaustion. Not the fear that had been coursing through her veins days earlier; not the sadness for her lost comrades; not the rage towards her enemies. Pure exhaustion consumed almost every thought.
It leeched her energy and motivation away, until every move was robotic.
"Behind you!"
Artemis knocked another arrow, relishing in the familiar feel of the wood between her fingers. It was the only familiar thing about this situation. The bow string slapped against her wrist as she released it, and heard the familiar explosion of an alien jet above.
She was flying now.
Someone behind her hoisted her up, whisking her away at incredible speeds.
"Nice shot," her partner in crime croaked, wiping sweat from his face as he watched a jet crash onto the pavement of Star City.
Artemis nodded. 'Nice Shot' was rarely a compliment now, just a reassurance that she still was able to protect herself— and Wally.
He was all she had left now. After her mother died in an alien raid four days ago, and Jade went missing somewhere in Asia, Artemis was totally alone save for her best friend, Wally West.
They were partners, a team. They had each other's back at every turn, ready to lay down their lives so the other could live if it came to it.
"We're going to be okay," he reassured her, offering a smile as if he could tell what she was thinking.
"We have to be," Artemis rasped, her throat parched. It had been hours she'd been clearing out this wave of invaders, hours since she had food or water. The exhaustion was winning, but she beat it back.
"I know," Wally nodded.
They were the last ones left. Most of the league had been vaporized, along with the United States' army. They had only survived due to sheer luck. Artemis and Wally had to survive. They were probably the only hope Star City had left.
"I need more arrows," Artemis ran her hand over the wood. "There will be more soon," she glanced at the burning jet.
"Want me to stay on watch while you head back to the bunker?" Wally replied.
Artemis nodded slowly, turning around and beginning to head to the bunker, but he grabbed her gloved hand.
"Stay safe, okay?" he urged, emerald eyes burning with worry.
She snorted, giving a slight smile. "Definitely. It's not like the fate of the world is at stake."
That snarky comment earned herself a smile, and the mood around them instantly lightened. It was times like these that made living worth it. There were people like Wally out there— good, kind, pure— and they deserved to live.
Wally cracked a grin and saluted her, before running off as a crimson blur.
Artemis stared at the spot where he once stood before taking a deep breath and turning to go.
.x.X.x.
Artemis tossed a shiny apple in her hand, walking towards the crumbling news station where she and Wally kept watch. It was actually a great place to keep watch over the city; it had the best communication technology and it was relatively close to their underground bunker just a block away.
She opened the door to the building, stepping over shattered glass that littered the floor, making a beeline for the office at the end of the hall.
Peeking in the doorway, Artemis found Wally spinning aimlessly in a chair, watching the monitors with disinterest.
"Catch," she said, throwing an apple and a water bottle at him.
Wally spun around to face her, easily catching the provisions. "Thanks, Arty." He wasted no time guzzling the water and devouring the apple.
"Anything happen while I was gone?" she asked, leaning against the wall.
Wally shook his head, munching on the crisp apple. "S'all been quiet. Creepy, if you ask me. We never get this much downtime."
Over the last 8 days of the siege, they'd dealt with jet after jet, robbery after robbery, fire after fire. Artemis and Wally didn't have much time to sleep, and when they did, they slept with one eye open.
"You should take a nap. You've been up for way too long," she gestured to the heavy bags under her partner's eyes that matched her own.
"I probably should," he conceded. "But do you know why I'm not going to?"
"Because you're stupid?"
"Because the fate of the world is at stake and because i'm stupid," he pointed out to her seriously.
Artemis stared at him for a full minute before snorting in disbelief. "Whatever you say."
Wally finished his apple, setting the core on the desk. "However, I do believe its been awhile since you've gotten some shut eye—"
"What happened to the fate of the world?"
"It depends on your ability to function. And you can't do that without sleep," he looked her dead in the eyes, gaze unwavering.
Artemis' lips twisted in a frown, determined to win out this staring match. After a few seconds, it began to bug her that he was this persistent.
"Well, I might as well take a damn nap since nothing will get done if we keep staring at each other," she snapped sitting down in an office chair. Wally grinned at her in satisfaction, making her grimace at him. Artemis brushed off a bit of rubble on a desk and put her head down on, her tense muscles beginning to loosen as she counted to ten over and over, hoping to induce sleep.
It didn't take long before she felt herself drifting off, sinking into darkness.
.x.X.x.
Artemis awoke to being jerked out of her slumber and lifted up by someone. She was in a daze as the sound of shattering glass followed them, the roar of fire quickly growing. Her almond eyes snapped open, glimpsing the sight of an explosion reaching its crescendo before being rushed out of the building, the fire following them.
Artemis caught sight of her savior, Wally, as he tucked her to his chest once the blast hit. She yelled as the force knocked him off his feet, sending her flying out of his arms. Artemis hit the ground with a heavy thud, her head snapping back against the concrete.
Ears ringing, the archer cracked open her eyes, glancing around for Wally, or better, her bow.
"There you are," she mumbled, dazed and confused as she spotted her trusty weapon on the ground a few feet away. Crawling towards it, she vaguely became aware of someone screaming.
As Artemis' hand closed around her bow, she spotted Wally, dodging blasts from an alien spacecraft. He was covered in soot and dust, and a large gash stretched across his midsection, but there he was despite it all. Still fighting.
Robotically, she pulled an arrow from her quiver, eyes glazed over but focusing in on her target: the vaporizer that was directed at her partner.
Artemis shakily stood, nocking the arrow at a sluggish pace, struggling to place her mark. The light from the fire glinted against the metal of a cannon, and the head of her arrow trailed after it.
Finally, she released it.
It smashed through the side of the cannon, piercing it, but not damaging it to the point where it was completely unoperational. It sparked, but turned towards her, glowing yellow with the charge of its next attack.
The bow dipped towards the ground as Artemis realized she was the next target.
"Shit," she stumbled back, trying to muster up the strength to dodge the yellow. Internally, she begged her body to move, to do anything. But her head felt like it was filled with cotton.
"Arty!" Something hit her with the force of a ton of bricks, sending her sprawling onto the concrete several feet away. She groaned from the hit, rolling onto her side to catch a glimpse of Wally's body enveloped in a yellow light— and then gone.
The world stopped turning for the split second she lay on the ground, waiting for some sign of Wally's return. But there was no sign and there was no Wally. He was gone.
That very thought sent a tremor through her body. She wanted to scream, cry, laugh. She wanted to do something. But her head felt very, very heavy, like each thought was made of lead.
Artemis could feel the exhaustion crashing down on her now, threatening to steal away the last little bit of determination she had left. It would be so easy to let them disintegrate her now that he was gone.
But then she caught sight of that arrow stuck in the cannon. The cannon that she had failed to disable. The cannon that killed Wally.
Artemis had failed. She hadn't disabled the weapon and saved Wally. She failed.
So, as she saw the flash of yellow light in her eyes, she grabbed her bow off the ground, clambered to her feet, and began to sprint. Stumbling behind a car as the cannon went off, she barely dodged the alien's latest blast.
"Not today," Artemis snarled, wrenching an arrow from her quiver and letting it fly. Her shots came robotically, like always, but there was more emotion in them now. All the rage she had came out in those shots.
And, firing arrow after arrow, she finally lobbed the disintegrator off in one clean shot.
The engine came next after Artemis fired into its turbine, and it began to fall.
But it was falling fast.
Falling down towards her, leaving the archer to desperately scramble back. Disoriented, she tripped over her feet, landing on the sidewalk, and in a desperate attempt to shield herself, she covered her face with her arm.
And then...Nothing. No crash. no roar of fire. Just nothing.
Artemis peeked up, gazing upon a floating figure in front of her.
A green girl with orange hair that fanned out like flames . The debris of the alien craft were also floating, but shrouded in a green aura.
Gently, it descended until it reached the ground, and the mysterious girl turned to her, saying some inaudible words.
"What…?" Artemis squinted in confusion, unable to make out what she was saying. The ground seemed to tilt beneath her, and she felt a familiar trickle down her forehead. After wiping her gloved fingers along her brow, she recognized the telltale color of blood.
"I-I'm bleeding," she croaked, but the sound came out muffled, like she was hearing it from miles away. Wiping more blood off her forehead with the back of her hand, Artemis became aware of a large gash on her forehead. "Shit," she groaned, the fatigue beating against her.
The strange green girl landed on the ground gently, approaching her cautiously. Artemis could see her speaking and catch little pieces of words, but most of what she was saying was intelligible.
Her vision grew blurry, dark spots creeping in. Finally, Artemis allowed the wave of exhaustion to consume her, the light growing distant as she slipped down.