"Did you have a good Halloween?" Paula Crock's voice hits her as soon as she slips back into their apartment. She nods, even managing out a "It was pretty fun" just to assure her mother that she's alright.
After Zatanna and her slipped away before the police caught them (and watched Harm get arrested and bundled into a patrol car), she had requested that the magician change her clothes back. Zatanna had agreed, and reverted to her Halloween costume as well. "I'm not getting grounded again."She had said with a slight grimace and a laugh.
"You sure you don't want to talk, Artemis?" Zatanna had asked gently, before they parted ways. There had been a slight moment of hesitation before Artemis' decision held firm, as it had before, and assured Zatanna that it was okay.
Except that it was not.
She made her way to her room and shuts the door behind her. Artemis slumps on her bed, not even bothering to change out of her costume and into her normal attire. She is just tired, exhausted from their fight with Harm (there were a few bruises hidden underneath her costume from when the pure Harm had bested her in combat) and mind still whirling from the fact that he had murdered his sister.
His sister.
Her dark eyes drift to the poster that is still tacked on the wall of the room she used to share with her sister. The Alice in Wonderland poster, featuring the blond girl named Alice that had been thrust into the topsy-turvy world, and the cryptic Cheshire Cat, with its mysterious intentions. The both of them; Jade and her, had loved that story when they were younger. Jade evidently took a shine to the Cheshire Cat, going as far as to use the name for her alter-ego as an assassin now.
An assassin.
Artemis bites her lip. What if, one day, they cross paths again? No, her gut told her that they would definitely meet again, her arrows pitted against Jade's sais and shurikens. And with Artemis working with the heroes, and Jade with the League of Shadows… what if, like Harm and Greta's case, a sister would be killed? Artemis could not imagine her sister being as heartless as Harm, but still, a nagging doubt lingered. Would Jade kill her if it did indeed come down to it? And what if she was forced to kill Jade, in the name of justice?
"No." Artemis whispers and buries her face in her hands. "No." She couldn't ever kill any of her family, not even her father, but there was also the team whom she had always considered as a pseudo-family of sorts…
"M'gann." She murmurs bitterly, remembering when Zatanna had pointed out to her that M'gann and Conner were together. Even though it seemed that she hadn't known, she had a sneaking suspicion from before. It was just that she had always been waiting for M'gann to tell her, and Artemis would have hugged her and said she was happy for her. Because she had always thought of M'gann as a sister; so different from her own sister who had abandoned her, kind and happy and trusting. It had been a blow to her, to realize that, yes, M'gann and Conner were officially together, but M'gann apparently didn't trust her enough to tell her that.
It hurts. Tears begin to slide down her cheeks as her chest throbs painfully.
I've always wanted a sister. Here on Earth, I mean. I have twelve back home.
I … wouldn't know. But thanks.
And there is guilt too, because Artemis knows that it is such a petty little thing to be angry over. She is the one keeping a huge secret from the whole team; she isn't Green Arrow's niece. She isn't related to a hero, and surprise! She is related to villains, instead! It was a fear she has had to live with; knowing she is related to those the side she fights against while she pulls back her quiver for justice.
She still doesn't want to tell them, despite acknowledging Black Canary and Zatanna's concern. Artemis had almost wanted to tell Zatanna. To have someone to talk to about this, that she felt could understand her apprehensions because of what they had seen in Harm and Greta, it was so tempting. But Zatanna was related to a member of the Justice League. She wouldn't understand how Artemis felt, in the end. To be related to the League of Shadows is like an abomination, a ticking time bomb on her career as a hero.
If M'gann didn't trust her enough to tell her that she is dating Conner, then she certainly would not trust her enough to still stick up for her if Artemis told the truth. And if Wally; that insufferable idiot of a speedster, had such a prejudice against her just because it seemed as though she took Red Arrow's place, then how would he react to the truth as well? She can only imagine the look of horror and disdain on their faces when they realize that Artemis; the person they had been working alongside all this time, was related to Cheshire. An assassin who fought for the League of Shadows, an organization that they despised.
Artemis closes her eyes, and turns, burying her face into her pillow. Hot tears drench the fabric as they leak from the corner of her eyes. It takes all of her self-control to hold back the urge to sob it all out. In case her mother hears, and worries. Her mother doesn't need to worry, not with all the scars she already has.
That night, a green and white striped Cheshire Cat taunts her its claws at her throat, raking long thin lines over her skin. She cannot move no matter how much she tries, cannot even scream for help. There are grey figures that look eerily like her team a few feet away from her, but they do not seem to care. M'gann's arm is linked with Conner's and Wally, Robin and Kaldur are busy talking to Red Arrow, smiles alight on their faces. Only Red Arrow turns but his expression is cold.
He shoots an arrow at her, but it disintegrates before it pierces right into her chest.
The Cheshire Cat laughs in her ears and wraps its tail around her throat, choking her… as the team starts fading away, walking into the distance…