Electric: Part Two

Chapter 1: The Change

Metropolis.

In the small confines of her dorm room the blonde archer lies on her bed pondering the little things in her life. What was she going to eat that night? Can she be bothered to go to the party across the way? and should she finally make a start on that assignment that has been sitting on her desk for the past two days. She let out a sigh, it's been almost a year since she finished High School and got accepted into Metropolis University, Artemis missed her superhero life but she needed normal. 'Normal' seems to be something Artemis doesn't deserve. Her entire family were notorious assassins, Her father: Sportsmaster, Her sister: Cheshire and her beloved mother: The Huntress. Even just a glint of normal would make her happy.

Artemis reached towards the necklace she wore and dangling from the small chain was a ring. It had a two small but beautiful diamonds placed in the center which would draw your eyes away from the fact that the ring was old and worn down. Her thumb began to run around one side of the ring and she remembered the good and the bad. Two years ago he left her and it still hurt like it was yesterday but she still didn't know how to feel about him, she believed that she hated him. He made her fall madly in love with him, he made her wear her heart on her sleeve when she was around him. That boy crushed her heart and left her alone in a cold bed surrounded by tears and memories, and he still had the nerve to leave an engagement ring on the bedside table. She hated him.

A knock came to her door. Artemis stood up from her bed and made her way to the entrance of her room. As she opened the door she was met with the smile from her dorm mate, Tyler, who liked to do the mail runs. Nothing really stood out in his appearance, he was just a regular University student. That's how Artemis wanted to see him anyway. Tyler showed a nervous smile and asked why Artemis had such frown on her face as he passed her an envelope. She took the envelope and apologized, closing the door behind her. The Ex-Superhero took a seat at her desk and slowly pulled the lined paper from the sleeve, on it read "Arty x". She immediately pushed the paper back into the envelope and stuffed it into the lowest draw in her desk, It took a few tries to slam the drawer shut since it was now beginning to fill up with letters from that boy.

If he was going to say anything to her then it will be to her face.

London.

'Who are you?'. It was a question he asked himself daily. He asked himself this at the end of every night so he didn't lose sight of who he believes he is. His belief seems to be heading over the horizon as each night he gets closer to crossing that line, becoming someone else. As the cold water turned red he searched for a cut on his hands, for a sign that the blood on his hands was his own and not someone else's. Again, no cut was found. He cupped the murky water in the palms of his hands and washed his face. As his hands reached down to turn the tap off he looked in the mirror. His hair had grown longer and more messy, His Jaw and mouth were now covered with a small beard which was one of the few things he maintained with his appearance. A feint scar around one and a half inches long ran down his right cheek, It was a battle wound he had earned from his first month back in London.

The white-haired man made his way to the rundown bathroom and leaned against the door-frame, "Most 20 year old's spend their Saturdays going out and getting smashed on cheap alcohol. But hear you are bloodied and bruised." he snickered. The 20 year old man turned to face his partner and chuckled at the statement. "Most Saturday nights in the UK you end up bloody and bruised. It wouldn't be a good night out otherwise." he sarcastically responded as the two of them made their way to the flat's entrance. They were heading back out again.

The two men had been partnered together for two years, By all rights Garth should hate this man's guts for taking him away from the love of his life but at the same time he was thankful that he was being given the chance to finally put his mothers soul to rest. The man had now become the mentor to him that Black Lightning should have been. Sure The Doctor sometimes went too far with his methods but he never crosses the line. The man has his reasons for what he does, the same way Garth does.

Metropolis.

With the evening progressing Artemis' dorm mates were now attempting to get her out for the night, she isn't one for peer pressure but at the same time she hates people pestering her more so she eventually gave in with roars of happiness as her name began to be chanted. The girls of the group led the way with their arms linked with Artemis as they squealed and giggled as they made their way to the the party on one of the upper floors, her face grimaced with each squeal she heard.

The group of drunken and rowdy young adults made their way through the entrance of the party and were again met with cheers as bottles of alcohol and shots of spirits were handed to the group, which were quickly consumed. The blue haired girl, Ellie, who was Artemis' closest friend at Metropolis University took her arm and led the ex-archer to a table with a barrel ready to pour. Artemis grabbed a plastic cup from the table which gave some resistance as the spilled drinks stuck it to the table. She poured two drinks and turned to give Ellie one except she was met with some guy in between the two of them. Artemis pushed him out of the way, gave her friend her drink and the two of them made there way to the makeshift dance floor, "Thanks Arty, he really wasn't my type. I could smell the fucker's aftershave as soon as I entered the room." The blue haired girl grunted.

The night progressed and the effects of her nights drinking began to take it's toll on Artemis, Her head was spinning and was ready to head home. One guy had been trying to get her attention for most of the night and she was nice enough to brush him off gently, only now this guy was just as drunk as Artemis was. He began to pester her even more as she continued to dance which really began to piss her off. She didn't have time for punks like him. She pushed him away from her, "Back off you little fucker. I've told you to leave me alone countless times tonight." she shouted. This grabbed the attention of the surrounding students and most of the guys were ready to drop this douchebag but Artemis beat them to it. He stumbled forward clearly attempting to say something offensive to Artemis when her fist connected clean to the right side of his face and with a loud thud he hit the ground. Artemis made her way back to her room.

The archer barged through her room and threw her bag against her wall, kicked her shoes off and resisted the urge to destroy the room. She couldn't even have one night with her friends without something going wrong. Something always goes wrong, and now she is going to have to put up with the story of her punching some drunken asshole that will inevitably go around campus. She fell backwards onto her bed and covered her face with her hands. She just wanted to see her old friends again.

London.

"So this is the place?"

"It seems that way, Garth"

"You'd think the bad guys would move away from 'inconspicuous' warehouses"

"At least it makes our job easier."

The two men exited their car which was parked on a small hill overlooking an 'Inconspicuous warehouse, which had scheduled patrols from the widespread gang known as "The Union". Garth had left his 'Supersuit' in Gotham City and instead now wore a black duffel coat with the hood reaching up over a black baseball cap, he had also covered the lower part of his face with a dark red scarf. The white haired man led the way towards the warehouse as he waved his hands and the guards began to fight each other thus drawing out their comrades to try and break the little skirmish up. Garth absorbed the energy from a nearby lamppost and redirected its flow of electricity into the skirmish, knocking out the seven guards.

The duo walked up to the doors of the warehouse and slid them open. They didn't come here to sneak about. They walked forward into the center of the warehouse and Garth looked around and saw the drug operation for himself. The two men were met with a a middle-aged mane with a gruff beard and a shit eating grin plastered on his, "I was honestly expecting you two to be dressed up in one of those costumes." he chuckled. Garth took two steps forward to make his way closer to this scumbag when he heard the sound of guns being aimed his way. Ten men had encircled Garth and his partner, "Take one more step and my lads will light you up." the cockney sounding man stated. His chair squeaked as he stood up and gave a disgusted look, "You've clearly come 'ere to send 'The Union' a message. So go ahead and send it."

Garth turned to his partner and the white haired man nodded. The surrounding goons dropped to the floor, setting off some of the weapons by accident. One of the bullets from the guns landed into the side of the man behind the desk. Garth walked over to the desk and pulled the man up from the desk and gave him a deadly stare, "Your boss. where is he?", The bearded man spat blood towards Garth. The electric boy sighed and punched the man, "I asked nicely and it's a one strike policy. Now you have to deal with The Doctor." The red-eyed devil walked towards the man and placed two fingers onto the cockney's forehead. Five minutes later he told them everything he knew. The leader of 'The Union' Is brokering a deal with the rival gangs of the London, he wanted to grow the size of his organization exponentially by encompassing them. He didn't know when or where the deal was happening but he knew where Garth could find the information. The boss' assistant. She tends to frequent a local club each Wednesday and that they could make her tell them everything. After the two had received the Intel they had wanted Garth called the police and requested an ambulance, much to The Doctor's dismay. The two made their way back to their hideout and began to plan for their next outing.