Title: Alice the Tiger
Song: Painting Flowers by All Time Low
Rating: T for language
Genre: Humor, Angst, Romance
Fandom: Young Justice: Invasion
Couple: Artemis/Cameron, Article Jr., Frostbite, CamArt
Inspiration: All you fabulous people who introduced me and my own wacky ideas

N/A: sorry if this may suck . . . T~T


"Strange maze, what is this place?
I hear voices over my shoulder.
Nothing's making sense at all. . ."


She was beginning to feel much like the girl who chased the rabbit, drank the wine and took the pill. Locked up inside herself, locked up inside this shaky nightmare filled with familiar faces and estrange places. Surrounded by so many and so alone.

On the nights when she was allowed sleep—it was rough the first night, four hours of sleep and then a brief meet-and-greet with her said 'team' before continuing on with a twenty hour day—she laid awake until she was lulled to bed by the sounds of the ocean, and dreamt of those she missed.

Artemis never had real dreams. Just bits and pieces.

Scraps of dreams.

Shards of time and things that happen the day before.

She blames her creativity.

Fire bright, emerald green, smiles, hugs, kisses, and warmth. Wally.

She smiles when she dreams about him because she misses him and for wild blazing milliseconds she ponders why she chose to do Nightwing this favor.

But she knows why.

She was raised on this life. Raised on blood money, taught in fatality, and fed lethal assassin knowhow with a rusty spoon. Born from the best, raised to be better.

For years she knew nothing else, but she knew it was wrong and she got away while she could.

But nothing ever just ends there. Ghosts and shadows from her past came to call and want collection on what they've taught her, want reason for why she left them, demand apologizes (that she would not mean and they would not care) for the betraying knife she'd twisted into their backs.

One in particular, a very certain, very close, particular would have wanted all that ten-fold.

Cameron Mahkent, Icicle Junior, and her once best friend.


"Wonder, why do we race?
And everyday we're runnin' in circles, such a funny way to fall. . ."


Aqualad had not informed her on who would be on this team, but it doesn't matter because nothing could have prepared her for seeing him again.

Icy cool, ocean blue, smirks, jokes, laughs, and a cool heat. Cameron.

She dreamt of him too; of when they were younger.

The shy first smiles and introduction of names, sneaking into movie theaters and running quickly when all stealth failed them, watching dirty TV shows and practicing kissing in shelter of blanket forts—hot and cold, beautiful, wonderful, and alive—and claiming innocence whenever the finger was pointed at them for mischeif.

They were quite the pair back then.

Artemis yearns to brush upon more memories but she wisely cuts herself off. Nostalgic as she was for those old times before everything started plummeting downwards towards hell, she couldn't allow herself to be compromised by her position. Too many lives, and her own, were on the line to even consider getting close to Cameron.

It was too dangerous.

She couldn't trust him.

Last time they met she'd stabbed him in the back, as did M'gann and Conner, for the good of the mission; she couldn't go through that again.

She couldn't put him through that.

She knew him, knew his life, he didn't deserve it.

One day on the main deck, the Terror Twins were stating their open questions and calling both Kaldur and Artemis out on their sudden appearance in their community. Artemis retaliated back coolly and met Terror's eyes head on, then her gaze shifted to Cameron.

Cameron's eyes bore into her, and for a moment Artemis blindly wonders if he knew.

Seeing him again he hadn't cared much for her alias's features or really anything about her; his undivided attention was focused on Tuppence Terror—which only led her to believe he had a thing for blondes—and heard him brag about his fleeting time on the jailbird lifestyle when he'd hit on M'gann disguised as her.

Sneering, the platinum blonde pinched his wrist and like a southern lady told him to save it for the Martian girl then.

Cameron walks away, impassive and grinning in Kaldur's direction. "I'm wearing her down."


"Tried to open up my eyes.
I'm hopin' for a chance to make it alright. . ."


She felt his eyes own her whilst she fought. Analyzing her movements any free chance he got to spare her a look as she swung and tackles and launches nets to capture her targets—she misses her green suit oppose to this orange one and her bow and arrows—and shoves aside all feeling as she tackles Nightwing to the ground, pinning him hard enough to bruise and viciously snapping the collar around his neck.

He winces, while fighting back, but seems to get the message that things aren't going well on her end and she's more than a little pissed.

His legs lock around her—he is way too flexible for his own good—and throws her off of him and while she takes subtle joy in shocking the crap out of him, it quickly dies when Kaldur takes his chance to pass off the flash drive (via punch to the gut) and the leave with their hostages.


"When I wake up, the dream isn't done
I wanna see your face, and know I made it home."


She watches Mount Justice go up in flames—and with it every memory, moment, every stupid human sentiment her heart had begun to carry with her cushier civvie lifestyle—and could only stare at the detonator in her hands, panic clear in her eyes as she realizes that yes she had been the one to do it.

All according to plan, but . . . it felt wrong somehow.

Mount Justice wasn't only the place where she and the Team had prepped for missions. They hung out there, became a family there, learnt each other's strengths and weaknesses and true selves.

In her mind's eye she traces the Zeta-tube room, the first time entering it in years it had not changed; the kitchen where M'gann perfected her cooking recipes; the TV room where the Team huddled for movie night and launched into furious video game battles; the couch where she and Wally had passed out on each other after cramming for SATs.

It was gone.

The place where she could trace back and remember, though the memories remained.

"Hey, cat lady!" she twitches and turns in time to find Cameron standing behind her in the corridor; the dim lights of the Black Manta's sub made the ice of his glassy exoskeleton reflect eerily blue.

Their eyes lock—how different did Zatanna's charm make her look? Could he see her? The real her?—and she matches his stare levelly with her own.

"What did you say your name was?" he asks, brows drawling together in confusion as if he was trying to place where he remembers her from.

"I didn't." she bites out. Her eyes glaze over his shoulder to find that they are now alone and she is boxed into a corner, between the door leading to her room and the wall.

Not a safe place to be.

"Well, I'm asking now aren't I?" Something flickers across his features—his voice light and curious like when they were young. His eyes narrow and his mouth curls upward, challenging her like all those times they were forced to duel each other. As usual he baits the hook and waits for her to pounce. "Care to share?"

"Tigress." She answers, and wonders if her voice sounds different too because there's lights going off in Cameron's eyes.

They stand there for a moment in silence and he nods, digesting this and with an upward grin turns on his heel to make his way back to wherever he'd come from.

"I think Alice would have been much better suited, but whatever."


He knows! *jumps out of window*

Personally, I have lots of ideas for Artemis as Tigress because I think she can expand more as herself, learn more, explore, and be with Cameron because Cameron freakin' ROCKS.

Please review, (even if it's to tell me to fix something I missed) make my day better because I swear if I have to hear my sister scream blood murder/apply for a job/think about college/think about money/think about tomorrow one more time I'm going to go bat-shit crazy here in under two seconds.

~QueenVamp