Five years after Nightwing left Artemis for her own safety, he's back to reclaim his prize. However, five years after being abandoned, Artemis has had a change of heart...and alliance. Fighting for her gets complicated when she's the one he's fighting.
oOo
Happy Harbor Docks, 2:28 a.m.
Breathe. Breathe. But not audibly. And stop shaking. You're being a pansy.
Artemis set her jaw in an attempt to slow her hammering heartbeat. This is just another mission. Still, she couldn't shake this uncomfortable feeling- the feeling of eerie familiarity. She had been on plenty of covert assignments the past few years. Still, this was the first time she'd ever been part of a transport team, and the first time she'd ever set foot in the little city by the bay. Why did she feel this familiar presence so strongly? More importantly, she wondered why it was making her body quiver with nervousness.
"Black Spider to Artemis,"a voice crackled in her ear. "Are we clear on land?"
Artemis had to swallow before answering, realizing her throat was completely dry. "As far as I can tell," she replied, answering the radio. "Have you made contact with the chopper?"
"Our pilot was called away on an emergency back in Gotham. No chopper. We're on our own."
Great. No pressure at all.
"We'll have to risk it. Approaching the shipment now."
"Thirty seconds," Black Spider's voice crackled in reply.
Artemis darted to a large metal crate secured with a padlock. Unsheathing a steel-cutting arrow, she hacked at the chain until it broke and fell to the ground with a clang. She glanced at the micro-computer in her arm band. 2:30 a.m. The sound of a muffled motor boat approaching reached her ears. A few moments later Black Spider appeared, followed by several other men in black.
"We only need four or five crates," he spoke to his henchmen. "Leave the rest."
The men began lifting the smaller crates and carrying them towards the dock where the motor boat waited. Artemis scanned their whereabouts nervously. Instinctively, she strung an arrow.
"Relax, girly," Black Spider folded his arms. "Sportsmaster said the Supers are on a wild goose chase in Santa Prisca."
"I'll relax when we're back at the base," she replied hotly. She wanted to escape this feeling.
Suddenly, a flying object caused the crate to the left of them to explode, knocking them both down.
"Ambush!" Black Spider yelled over the commotion. "Get to the boat!"
The team scattered, and Artemis tried to gather her wits as a rain of gun fire sounded. She ducked behind a crate and restrung an arrow. Her eyes detected a zipline anchored to one of the large crates and shot it down. Its rider fell to the ground but landed with a graceful roll. She strung another arrow and shot it in his direction. The explosion caused a cloud of smoke to envelope the attacker.
Bad choice. She chided herself. Now she had lost the rest of her transport, and she knew that when it came to retreating for the League of Shadows, it was every man for himself. She darted between the crates towards the direction of the dock where the get away boat was harbored. She fumed in consternation as she heard the engine roar to life. If she didn't get there in the next ten seconds, she'd be completely on her own.
Well, on her own with whoever their attackers were. She dodged a wooden crate that was hurled at her from behind. They had someone incredibly strong with them. Suddenly a crate in front of her levitated and then threw itself at her. She quickly shot an explosive arrow, which demolished the wood mid-flight, but that was not what concerned her.
Damnit, a martian.
She knew it was coming, but that didn't make the brain blast any less painful. In a split second she dropped to the ground, unconscious.
The martian flew over to her location, followed by the rest of heroes.
"Oh my God," she whispered suddenly.
"Miss M? What is it?"
"It's...Artemis."
oOo
Nightwing, decked in street clothes, drove his motor cycle through the streets of Bludhaven. He smiled slightly as he passed a road sign. 15 miles to Gotham City. It's gonna be good to be back. He reached for the radio inside his helmet.
"Nightwing?" the response came a moment later.
"Yep. Listen Wally, I'm on my way back to Gotham."
"What? As in to stay?"
"Yeah, or at least to settle down for a bit. I've still got a few things to iron out."
"Hey, dude," the Flash replied eagerly. "hearing from you once every year was not what I had in mind when you said you were going undercover for a while. I don't care how many things you have to iron out."
"Yeah, it's been a long five years," Nightwing sighed.
"Before you fill me in on anything, you really need to get over to the cave."
"I was planning on it after I settled in," Nightwing responded. "Just give me a few hours to-"
"No, as in now. You're the person we need most. It's kind of a... unique case."
"You sure it can't wait?"
"Nope. Get to the nearest zeta tube. See you soon."
The beep signaled the end of the conversation. Nightwing gripped the handlebars of his motorcycle and swung it around in a U-turn. Never a dull moment.
oOo
The pain in her head felt like a physical groan from her body. She didn't dare open her eyes, knowing the light would be too overwhelming. She shifted slightly and let the spinning in her head slow to a stop. Finally, she peered through her lids, the image in front of her blurry at first, then clearing.
She was laying on a cot in a plain white room. There was a mirror, two-way she assumed, in one wall, and a table and chair in the middle of the room. She grimaced as she realized her wrists had been cuffed to the bed. Inhibitory cuffs, naturally. While it had no powers for her to inhibit, she knew that any misdemeanor on her part would mean punishment from the cuffs.
The door slid open, and she recognized the martian girl entering the room.
"Good, you're awake," she smiled cheerfully. Artemis rolled her eyes. "I'm Miss Martian, but you can call me M'gann, or Megan, if you like."
Artemis wasn't amused by her pleasant demeanor. "And I suppose you already know who I am?" she asked in a dull tone.
"Well, yes," Miss Martian replied sheepishly. "Only from what the League has told me. You're Artemis. You used to work with some of the team."
"I wouldn't say that," she muttered, more to herself than to her alien companion. She felt uncomfortable. This wasn't anything like the interrogation she'd been expecting.
'Yes?" the martian suddenly spoke, and Artemis realized she was speaking into the radio piece in her ear. "Understood," she responded to the invisible person on the other end. Then she turned back to Artemis. "We'll talk more later." Giving the blonde one last smile, she left the room. She took a deep breath once she was in the hall.
"That was a little more friendly than I had intended for you to be."
The Flash stood outside the two-way mirror, watching the blonde situate herself on the cot.
"I figured that if she's going to be here a while there was no use in making her feel unwelcome." M'gann placed her hands on her hips.
"We don't know if she's going to be here for a while. It could be too risky. She can't be trusted."
"Wally, she was your teammate once," M'gann pointed out. "Maybe she'll come around."
"A lot has changed since then," he replied evenly. "And besides, the decision isn't mine. What happens to her is up to-"
"Recognized: Nightwing B01"
"Hey, buddy!" Wally dashed over to his friend and patted him on the back. "Welcome back!"
"Thanks," Nightwing replied with a half smile. "I like the new uniform."
"Speaking of new, you haven't been here since all the new members joined! We've got Tim and Conner, and of course M'gann," he gestured to the martian, who flew over.
"Welcome back," she said with a smile. "Long time no see."
"Where's everyone else?" Nightwing asked, looking around.
"Almost everyone is following a lead from earlier this morning," Miss Martian replied. "A transport from the League of Shadows got away with some goods from the dock, but we have a tracer planted on their motor boat."
"Which brings me to the issue at hand," the Flash scratched the back of his head. "There's someone we picked up...God how do I say this? You see, Artemis is here-"
"Artemis?! Where?!" Nightwing's voice rose an octave.
"She's in one of our containment rooms, but she's not really up for visitors-"
"Containment room? What do you mean?"
Wally sighed. "Dude, I have a lot to catch you up on."
oOo
Artemis was going crazy. She had been told imprisonment was maddening, but this was unbearable. She didn't know how long she had been sitting on this stupid cot. Wasn't the League humane enough to feed its prisoners? If she could even stand up and walk around, she would be happy. The handcuffs were certainly not ideal. And she had never been a patient person.
Her stomach was on the verge of growling again when she heard a beep signaling the entrance of a visitor. Her hopes of being fed were lost when she saw who it was, the color draining from her face and her appetite disappearing completely.
"You..." She could only stare in disbelief at the face she hadn't seen since that lonely night five years earlier.
"Hello, Artemis," Nightwing said awkwardly, somewhat at a loss for words himself.
Something caused the girl to turn away from him. This was much too overwhelming, and much more torturous than she was expecting imprisonment to be. She didn't like the conflicting feelings welling in her chest and stomach. One thing she knew: it was quite probable that she would vomit. She took a deep breath.
"You." She repeated the word again, looking back at him with daggers in her eyes. "You have a knack for timing, you know?"
For once the boy wonder looked as though he genuinely wasn't at all prepared. He scratched the back of his head. "I was expecting this as much as you were. There was no way I could have known that you would be here-"
"Oh and I suppose if you had you wouldn't be within a 200 mile radius of here would you? Forget acrobatics- I think you're best at keeping yourself as far away from me as possible."
"Artemis," he said quietly, as if he was afraid someone would overhear. "I told you I would come back for you when I could."
"Don't tell me," she laughed spitefully. "You're here now. Well here I am! I've just been waiting right here for you for the past five years."
"You were in danger! Any contact with you would have put you at risk. The League of Shadows might have-"
"Well they got me any way, now didn't they?" she spat. "Did you really think you could leave me hanging on the edge of a cliff and expect me to dangle there waiting for you to come back? I had to make my own decisions to save my life-"
"I didn't come here to argue about this," Nightwing cut her off with severity. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "The Justice League has an offer for you."
"I don't want their pity," Artemis muttered. Nightwing ignored her.
"You stay here and work, under a sort of house-arrest, and once you've proven trust-worthy. they might put you out in the field."
"'Trust-worthy'? You can't trust me," she was still speaking with bitterness. "I learned from the best."
Nightwing turned away, his mouth in a tight line. "Think about it, Artemis." With that, he left the room, thankful he had a mask to cover the tears that had found their way into his eyes.
oOo
So... what do you think?! Decent? Let me know! This is a sequel to my recently completed piece "When Shadows Become Light," which I would love for ya'll to read but you should be able to follow this one even if you haven't.
I've got a busy summer ahead of me but I'm hoping to update regularly! Until next time!