Day 1 villains AU
Warnings: some swearing not much
She'd lost Karen in the crowd of swaying, drunk, dancing people. Sister Margret had warned her about clubs back at St Mary's orphanage, oh she wished she was still safe within the confines of those walls. She wasn't exactly dressed for a club, when Karen said they were going out tonight, the naïve redhead had thought they were going out for a meal. Oh she had been so wrong. Her pale pink pastel, just above the knee, cocktail dress with a blue cardigan would have been fine for the nice, calm, civilised evening she'd been anticipating. She hadn't anticipated, trawling over the dancefloor filled with wild, colourful animals on the prowl, they oozed confidence and that feral lust was ingrained in their eyes; as far as Megan was aware she didn't ooze anything.
After an hour of chasing Karen around, trying to give her shoes back to her, she gave up and bought a bottle of water she was only 18 it's not like she could drink anyway. She flopped down on the barstool that had been wrapped in neon green strip lights, she'd always been told to keep hydrated. Somewhere in between the 1st gulp and the 5th two girls sat down next to her, one on either side. One girl was blonde, long limbed and her olive skin contrasted with the shining silver dress that was so low cut and short it left barely anything to the imagination, the other was her antithesis the ebony haired girl was petite but had curves accentuated by the black dress that was clinging to every crevice of her body. Both very beautiful. And both made Megan feel supremely anxious, these girls just screamed trouble, wicked smiles adorned their faces and a glint of mischief flickered through their eyes.
"See our friend over there." Says the blonde pointing at a tall, muscular man.
"That's our friend Kon, he thinks you're cute." The brunette continues.
"You should go ask him to dance." The blonde tells me although it's meant to just be a casual suggestion you can tell it's an order.
Megan looks between the two trying to decide is this some joke that she's just not catching on to.
"Go!" The brunette says almost pushing her towards the brooding man in the corner.
She trips over her feet on her way through towards him, "Hi." She says shakily
"Uh yeah…hey." He says slowly not quite concentration on the petite girl, making her question why she'd ever come over here, oh yeah those girls.
"Do you want to dance?" she asks him, his eyes flick to her for a moment she had his full attention.
"I really shouldn't I'm working." He half yells over the music, we were closer to the dance floor here than when I was sitting at the bar.
She looks at him quizzically, "Working?"
"Yeah, I'm a bouncer, I'm meant to be keeping an eye on my bosses' daughters, he's not here tonight and they need to be watched constantly." He explains to her.
The girl nods "Why?" she asks.
"What?" He yells the DJ had just gotten louder as he played some crazy bass thumping music.
"Why?" She yells a little louder.
"I don't know…." She loses track of his words they are lost in the beat of the music, his mouth it moving but it gets lost halfway through. His eyes flick back up to check on the girls, and his eyes widen in panic.
"Look, I have to go, but here's my number call me sometime." He says passing her the small grey embossed business card with his name and number, she tucks it into her purse and makes a note to call him later.
Kon ran off after the girls, fuck, he was in so much trouble with sportsmaster if Artemis had been kidnapped, his Italian business partner was also rather partial to his own daughter Zatanna, and although he technically wasn't watching her (Read: being paid to watch her) she was still his responsibility.
"Hey Rocket, have you seen Artemis?" Kon asks the bartender.
"Yeah, she left with some red head a few minutes ago."
"Was he about 6 foot?"
"What do I look like? A measuring tape?"
He rolls his eyes, "Thanks for the help, I'll be sure to inform the boss when he's doing Christmas bonuses."
She glares at him her neon blue eye makeup glowing in the uv lighting of the club. "You wouldn't do that to Amistad, you know I need that bonus Kon."
"Watch me."
"He was a Kansas clan boy I think, red hair, green eyes, great tush. Happy." She says deadpan.
"And your bonus stays intact. Was that so hard?"
She mutters under her breath at him.
If he was Kansas clan, Kon was in more trouble than he thought. Sportsmaster would have a bitch fit if he found out his daughter was consorting with his bitter rivals, The bat and boyscout, often referred to as the Kansas clan. Both lead the biggest drug rings in the city and were constantly butting heads, arguing about the patch of no mans land in the middle wherein too much blood had been shed, including most recently Sportsmaster's other daughter jade. That's why Artemis currently had so much security Sportsmaster didn't like other people to touch his property, he was a shoot first ask questions later kind of guy.
That had also lead to the almost death of one of The Bat's adopted sons (and his unexpected departure from the city), one of his many kids, it wasn't certain how many he had. Kon headed out side to the street and caught a glimpse of the blonde, the brunette, the redhead getting in the back of a black Bentley.
Artemis knew she was going to be in so much trouble when she got home, but she didn't care she thought this was all stupid, she hated that Jade had had gone and got shot and put dad in high alert. She'd been so close to getting away, Wally and her would get out of here eventually, they'd go far away from this mess, this land of chaos in which we'd become villains.
She'd only realised what she was doing was wrong when Jade was in hospital last month, she'd been in the cafeteria when she'd met this really nice lady, and as she got talking to her she'd found out why she was in hospital, he son had overdosed on drugs. Drugs she'd sold, drugs Zatanna's dad had grown. She'd remembered him, he'd been shaking last time she saw him, he was desperate for a fix, it was just how she liked them, almost dying, itching for his next fix, and she could squeeze out so much cash from them, her dad was almost proud of her when she told him. She'd realised how twisted and messed up her family was, and then she met Wally, his parents had basically sold him to the Kansas clan to pay for his father's drug habit, so now he was a drug runner. They fell in love in a Romeo and Juliet kind of way.
Dick and Zatanna were coming too. They'd get out of here. Someday. They needed money first, Artemis had been slowly siphoning off cash from her father's accounts the odd $50 here and the odd $100 there saying it was a new dress or jewellery, disappearing off into her and Wally's joint account, so far they had $10,764 that wasn't enough to buy a house especially in the current market, Dick could only contribute his Bentley as a vehicle because The Bat was watching his money too carefully after Jason ran off after being shot and almost dying.
Artemis felt guilty about ditching Kon, she'd known him since they were little, they'd basically been raised as siblings him being 5 years younger than her at eighteen he seemed far too old and serious, Kaldur had found him wandering around when he was 4, and the shadows took him in, raising him as one of them to be a bodyguard for the higher ups to repay his debts. She texted him,
To Kon:
enjoy the redhead, meet u at big belly burger on 60th at 11:30.
He texted back swiftly
From Kon:
Damnit, stop pulling this bullshit! If ur pa or your fiancé finds out ur fucked Art, and I cant save u.
To Kon:
I'm a big girl I can look after myself, c u at 11:30
Artemis dropped her phone back into Zatanna's black clutch, she was busy anyway distracting their driver with her roaming hands, a few to many of those blue coloured drinks at the bar what had she she called them knurd? To be honest she'd wished she'd had one now Kon had reminded her about that slimeball cameron
"Zee if we crash the car, we're all going to die. Even if we survive the crash." She tells her friend she's a little drunk. And she looks back at her friend with a sly smile.
"I was thinking."
"Did it hurt?" Wally asks earning a glare for the black clad girl.
"Shut up! Why don't we rob a bank and get out of here tonight."
"Oh yeah, and we can ride off on our magical unicorns whilst the police shoot nerf guns at our asses." I shoot back at her, "Stick with the plan it'll only be a few more weeks, that's nothing compared to our freedom."
"I don't think I can last much longer, my dad's crazy, he's getting worse, I can't deal with him any more Arty, we're going back to Italy soon and I don't want to be stuck in castle Giovanni on my own again, I'm basically a prisoner in my own house." She cries emotionally, maybe she'd had too much to drink.
"Try and stay here for as long as possible, make excuses, we can say you're ill."
"Oh yeah, for how long Artemis, how long until we have to pretend we're dead or worse. Artemis I'm exhausted, I'm having to dodge bodyguards left right and centre."
"I don't think now's a very good time to pull off a bank heist." the blonde tries to reason with the emotional ebony haired girl who was currently crying into her boyfriend's shoulder.
"I suppose you're right. Can we do it tomorrow?" she asks wiping her eyes, with a small stream of black that had rolled down her face.
"Yes, we can do it tomorrow." She says with a grin drunk Zatanna was easily placated, it was easier to calm her down than sober Zatanna. Dick pulled over just outside the city limits, and pulled a carrier bag or five out from the trunk. Wally ate a lot, even as an adult in his 20's probably the reason his parents ended up in debt in the first place.
The boys set about making the little picnic whist Artemis tried to fix Zatanna's make-up with the meagre supplies they'd bought out between the two of them. Although they stopped when the boys were attempting to build a fire, it was too entertaining to watch, eventually though it pained the girls and whilst they were bickering about the way the small logs should go, the girls built the fire lit it and started to toast the marshmallows.
"How'd you-"wally starts
"Do that." Dick finishes at the boys look at each other in shock.
"Our dads used to make us camp in the weed field in Italy each year when we'd go over to inspect the crop." Artemis explains
"It was fun until we almost froze to death." Zatanna says bitterly.
"Hey, let's forget about that and eat, yeah?" Artemis asks, although Zatanna had sobered up a little she was still a little emotional.
They'd been sitting under the stars for a good hour when cars came rumbling past, they could see them from their little semi-circle by the woods, it was like no one could reach them here, their own little sanctuary. None of them were particularly worried cars had driven by frequently, they only started to worry when one of the cars stopped and out of it emerged The bat himself.
"Shit, run." Dick says pulling up Zatanna.
Artemis barely recognised her legs moving into the woods, if only she'd been paying attention, Wally pulled her along though the thick shrubbery. She barely felt the scratching sensation of the vines on her long legs as they tore at her skin and she pulled the roots with her, Wally yelled something she didn't register to Dick. They split into pairs, Dick with Zatanna and Wally with Artemis. Wally pulled his gun out of nowhere and attempted to shoot their tail, but he was a terrible shot and his hand was shaking, artemis grabbed it off him and fired two shots one to the heart and one to the head, just as her parent had taught her on her 6th birthday, they'd both be so proud. Not. She'd done it without even thinking regretting it instantly, she'd promised herself she'd never do that again. She barely noticed the scenery change as they looped back to the clearing where they'd originally started to come from and they sprinted toward one of the black range rovers, praying no one was still with them.
Then she saw Kaldur, the boy she'd been raised with, the boy who'd assumed the position as her older brother in her life. He had a gun and it was pointed straight at her chest. She looked into those familiar eyes grey that was swirled with light green that gave the impression of the sea on a story day, she also knew that look in his eye, it was the same pained look he had when he'd told her that her mother had died. It was the regret flowing through his eyes that made her heart stop because she knew that her oldest friend would be the one to shoot her.
She braced for the pain, she knew how it felt, her father had shot her once to prove a point, it had left and ugly scar. Wally had made that scar feel beautiful. Wally had made her feel beautiful. Wally had saved her from herself. Wally was probably one of the few things she did not regret. She stood tall waiting for the burning sensation and then hopefully nothing because it was certain she was never going to heaven. But it didn't burn, it barely stabbed, if anything it felt like a pin prick, but what it lacked in oomph it packed in sound, and that was the sound she remembered as Her body fell to the ground with a thump followed by Wally's.
When Artemis woke up a few days later she thought for she was in some kind of heaven Wally was next to her, as was Dick as was Zatanna. And they appeared to be in some kind of farm house, she'd only guessd farm house because of the overwhelming sense of horse shit.
"Kaldur, tranqued us." Wally tells her.
"Yeah, and he messed up the dosage and nearly killed her." Zatanna protests.
"Yes, my apologies, Artemis, I mixed up your dart and Wally's dart." Kaldur says from his position on the doorframe.
"It's fine." she croaks her voice huskier than normal prompting Wally to pass her a cup filled with water.
He then proceeds to tell her a story, Kaldur's been a mole for the FBI since he was 15, Kon was the son of the FBI agent that owned this house he'd been a double agent since the age of 4, over the last 12 years he's been collecting information for them and feeding it to the feds so that they could build a case against both clans. The farmhouse would be their temporary safe house until they could organise spaces for them in witness protection, providing that they promised to testify.
They were finally free.
A/N: yeah so this is for young justice writing month I own nothing and please don't expect them all to be this long because this is unusual for me. I don't own young Justice. Tor out xoxox