A/N: These are snapshots of Artemis' life taken at sunset, from her youth to her death. I hope you enjoy. :)
Sunset
one
She and her sister had started watching the sunset while waiting for their parents to come home. It seemed like they were always gone, and Jade had almost turned into a third parent for Artemis, if one who was impatient and teased more than was pleasant (probably still a better parent than their father).
It was on one such evening, when the sun had nearly sunk below the horizon and the sky's pink hues were turning to gray, that their staggered up the stairs to their apartment.
Artemis sprung up and tried to run to her father, but caught the back of her shirt, towing her back. "But Jade, I want to go say hi to Daddy!"
"No. Artemis, you need to stay here. Let me deal with...with Daddy." There wasn't a drop of amusement in Jade's face, and if Artemis didn't know her sister better, she would say Jade sounded afraid. (But she wasn't of course; big sisters are never afraid)
So for once, Artemis hung back, watching as her sister followed her father inside. She did, however, press her ear to the door.
"You look bad." That was her sister.
Her father grunted. "That isn't new to me. Start a hot bath."
"Fine...once you tell me why Mom isn't with you."
"She fell."
Jade's response was slow, for her, and laced with poison. "She...fell?"
Her father sighed, and Artemis could visualize him sitting on the cheap, striped couch, running fingers through his hair. "She fell, Jade. The cops were already on their way, and she fell off the roof."
"And you didn't rescue her?" Artemis recognized this tone; it was the sign that her sister was losing patience.
"No. The cops were coming."
"No? You're married. Even if your both criminals, you're married. You're supposed to love each other. Till death do us part."
Her father sneered. "I'm not so sentimental as you seem to think Jade."
"Oh, I know you're not sentimental, Daddy. Believe me, I know you would leave me or Artemis in a heartbeat. I know in your mind we're just little minions to further your path to greatness or whatever, but unlike Arty, I'm old enough to notice things. Little touches of comfort here or there, surprise birthday presents, shutting up when she tells you to quit yelling at us."
Her father's voice was low, barely audible. Artemis had only heard this voice once or twice. "Get out."
two
Artemis waited anxiously for sunset, pacing the roof of her apartment. Periodically, she would stop and sweep the city with binoculars that had cost an arm and a leg to buy.
She hadn't decided why she felt like she had to this: avoiding her mother, giving back to the world what her parents had taken away, helping people, or just the fact that it felt so good to be out there, doing something. She hoped it wasn't the latter reason, for it didn't take a genius to realize the same exhilaration could be felt when doing criminal activities, and Artemis did not want to become a criminal.
When the sun set low enough that she deemed it safe, Artemis grabbed her bow and slid down the fire escape to patrol the city, not knowing that this particular patrol would change her life immensely.
three
The team sat in the bio-ship, nibbling on a little food and altogether avoiding conversation. The air was tense, with everyone aware of the unlikelihood of their mission's success. But at least everyone on their team was here now, uninfected. Even Red Arrow was more bearable than usual—probably due to the fact that now everyone knew who the mole was—though she suspected he was facing a battle of guilt; she would be in his place, but she, at least, had experience working with the other side.
Someone was not on the deck of the ship, however, and that person was Wally. Artemis stood up and walked off the deck, ignoring the gazes from her teammates.
She found him sitting on the ramp to the ground, watching the sunset with a glazed over look, as if he wasn't really looking at it. She sat down beside him. "So this is where you're hiding?"
He looked around at her. "I'm not hiding."
She snorted, but decided to let it slide, this once. "Whatever. So what are you doing out here then?"
"Thinking."
She eyed the speedster and the giant storm cloud hanging over him. Hoping to lighten the mood, something she was usually horrible at, she said, "I didn't know there was a brain in there to think."
"Hey! I have proof of my intelligence. I have great grades."
She rolled her eyes. "Not working. At my school, some of the honor-roll students are the stupidest ones. They would probably even fall for the my-dog's-missing-can-you-help-me-look-for-it kidnapping trick, except they're all selfish pricks."
Wally tried a grin, but it failed miserably, and his gaze went back to the sun. She sat there with him in silence until he asked, "How do you feel about Green Arrow?"
"About Green Arrow? What do you mean?"
"Just...about him in all of this." He gestured around them.
She guessed he didn't mean the North American Wilderness. "You mean how he's been infected by Starro-tech?" He nodded. "Well, of course I'm upset. Who wouldn't be? I'm upset about the whole league, even the people who dislike me because of my...lineage."
He placed a hand on her elbow. "Don't...don't worry about that. Their profession doesn't change you or what you've done."
She smiled, a genuine smile, not her usual smirk. "Thanks. But you know...as much as I hate them, they aren't all bad." He raised an eyebrow. "I think Red Arrow's has taking a liking to my sister."
Wally blanched.
"Anyway, I like Oliver a lot, and I'm upset and everything, but...I'm not upset as you are."
He looked at her questioningly.
"Well, I mean you've known the Flash for a long time, and...he's your real uncle isn't he? I've only known Oliver for a few months." Their conversation drifted off into silence, and they both watched the sun set over pine trees.
Some time later, M'gann telepathically told them "Dinner is ready, if you'd like some food."
Artemis stood up and offered a hand to Wally. "If you don't want food, there is seriously something wrong with you." He grinned and accepted the hand up. "Or at least, something wrong beside the usual things wrong with you."
four
"I'm sorry." Artemis whispered down to the cowering man. "I'm so sorry." She pointed the gun at him and shot, barely flinching when blood splashed up onto her face.
"Good job, Tigress. No hesitation." Deathstroke came over, patting her on the back.
"Assassins don't hesitate."
"Yes, quite. Some of my men thought you might be growing soft, because of your reluctance to kill, but it must been their imaginations."
"I try to challenge myself." She had been trying to think of an excuse ever since Deathstroke directed her to kill this man.
"What?"
"It's harder to incapacitate without killing. Shows more skill, if not always more artistry. I need all the experience I can get for when we finally fight the League instead of these kids."
Deathstroke considered this. "I guess you're right. I suppose it would a shame to kill the kids so soon, especially since we all might gain from your exercise. Besides, I think you enjoy toying with them."
She grinned, though inside she felt like she was about to puke.
She walked out of the subway tunnel without looking at the corpse. Her heart was sinking along with the sun. That had been the first person she killed in years.
five
Artemis swallowed before finally gathering her wits and knocking on the door. He answered quickly—he was a speedster, after all. For a moment he just stared causing her to fidget nervously. He had every right to refuse her entrance.
"Artemis? Are you...are you real?"
"I," she bit her lip, "I think so."
And then all of sudden she was in his arms, almost sobbing, and it was so very warm, and so very unreal. But almost instantly, he let go, and she stumbled back. "You're...you're pregnant." His green eyes were wide, for he knew as much as she that they had not had sex in a very long time. Almost as if he didn't believe, he whispered, "You're real. And you're pregnant."
"Wally, I...I understand if you do after, after all of this, but," she took a deep breath in and looked him in the eyes, "I still love you, more than ever, and I-" Her voice was muffled by his lips on hers, and she snaked her arms around his neck and brought him closer, closer.
Finally, they broke the kiss. "You're back. You're back, and your real, and unhurt. You love me and I love you. That's all that matters for now. We can take care of the rest later."
She smiled up at him and followed him into the house, just as the sun slipped under the horizon.
six
Big and round, she teetered onto the porch, where Wally sat, rocking back and forth in a rocking chair. He looked up, hearing the screen door close. "You okay?"
"Glowing." With a sigh, Artemis sat down. "I feel like my stomach's bigger than the sun."
"Impossible. The sun is like" Wally started to count on his fingers.
"Wally, no."
"Right, no scientific facts for the pregnant lady. Gotcha."
Artemis rubbed her temples. "Am I really that hard to deal with? You've been tip-toeing around me for the last...four months."
"You're always hard to deal with."
She made a sour face. "Thanks."
"But always beautiful too." She grinned and reached out, ruffling his hair. "Any idea what you're going to name him?"
She shook her head. "Nope. I'm not going to name him after a reindeer though."
He playfully glowered at her. She sighed. "Wally, I'm too tired for that sort of thing." She looked down. "And too big."
He smiled at her, understanding. "Then let's just watch the sunset, together."
She nodded, and they fell into silence, watching the sun sink away. Suddenly, Artemis sprung up. "Wally—It's-The baby's coming."
even
"Let's get married."
"What!" Artemis dropped the glass of water she had been holding, Wally catching it using his superspeed before pecking her cheek.
"You heard me. Let's go get married. I know a priest in town who will marry us and no questions asked. We could honeymoon in Vietnam and find your parents or whatever family you still had over there." His face was still red from being outside; he had been mowing the lawn before he came inside. The glass of water had been for him, but she snatched it out of his hands and downed it in a few gulps.
"This is...sudden."
"Babe, I'm Wally West. Sudden is my thing."
She smiled, biting her lip. "I guess...but what about Dorian?"
His grin faded for a moment as he thought. "We could ask Jade-"
"No."
"Take him with us? I'm sure your relatives would be happy to meet him."
"I doubt the priest would approve."
Suddenly, Wally slammed his fist into the kitchen counter. "I've got it!" Artemis raised an eyebrow in question. "We get Ollie to baby-sit while we get married. Then we pick Dorian up and head to Vietnam."
Not much later, Wally lifted his bride up bridal style, the toddler in her arms, and sped off into the sunset.
eight
Artemis smiled lazily, watching her children and Lian play in Jade's backyard, bathed in the warm late afternoon sunlight. Lian, a spitting image of Paula except for her blue eyes, had been commanding Artemis' children for the past several hours, the trio would changing games at her will. Now though, she had relaxed, and was content with Dorian pushing her swing.
Dorian had inherited Artemis' blond hair, pale skin from his genetic father, and—to Artemis' distress—both her ex-beau and current's beau's awful corniness, even though he was only seven. For reason unknown to Artemis, he had practically worshiped the ground Lian walked on ever since they arrived. She hoped he hadn't developed a kid's crush on the girl, because gross.
Out of all her family, Gabrielle looked surprisingly the most like Jade, if you discounted her crop of scarlet colored hair anyway. Even though she was only three, she was stubbornly trying to keep up with the older children, resulting in a great many scrapes and bruises that Wally would have a fit over once they got home.
"Artemis."
Ten years ago, Artemis would've screamed if someone had managed to creep that close without her hearing them. Now, she simply pulled out a hand gun and wheeled around to point the gun at... "Dick?"
He was in costume, which could only mean something really bad had happened, or was about to. "Wally."
She dropped the gun into the lawn chair. "What's wrong?" Artemis tried to keep her voice down, but she knew the children's attention had already been drawn by the sudden appearance of a costumed man in the yard. "Has he been hurt? What can I do?"
Dick shook his head. "It's Barry who has been hurt. It looks really bad, and Wally...Wally's just going crazy."
"But I can't just...just go up into the tower. We didn't want our children knowing who we were, to be in so much danger. I need to call Ollie so he can take the kids."
Dick shook his head. "He's on a mission right now. So is Dinah. Artemis," He placed his hands on her shoulders, "You know what it will mean for Wally if Barry dies. I might respect his wishes, but...the world needs a flash."
"Bart-"
"Is still a teenager. He's not ready."
Artemis bit her lip. "He's the same age I was when you sent me undercover."
Dick winced. "I know. I'm sorry, but Wally needs you up there, and soon."
Artemis paused, then once she had made her decision, she turned, only to find the three children staring at Dick. If they had been cats, she was sure they would be hissing and spitting. Quickly, she explained, "Kids, Nightwing here came to tell me your Uncle Barry has been hurt. Your father is already with him. We're going to go visit him in a special hospital, alright."
As Artemis took a last look at the yard on their way out, cursing the setting sun's light which made the world look gentle.
nine
"You look bad." That was Jade, blunt as always. Her sister, who was nearing forty, shaded her eyes from the sun as she watched Artemis approach the house Jade and Roy shared. Artemis walked up the steps to the porch, eying her sister's stomach, which was larger than usual.
"Don't tell me you're pregnant again!"
Jade smirked. "What can I say? I like kids. I think my maternal side developed when I had to take care of your team of kids."
Artemis rolled her eyes. It was true, though, that Jade had become...very motherly, in a way. She had had three children: Lian, who was now a teenager, and twin boys, Oliver and Jason, who were both five. And now, another on the way.
Artemis had three children as well, but she had told Wally after the excruciating painful birth of Paula four years ago, that if he wanted anymore children, he would have get pregnant.
"Here." Jade shoved Artemis a mug of Vietnamese tea and pushed her down into a chair. Jade sat down in a chair too, and they watched the colors of the sunset. "I remember doing this when we were kids."
"Me too."
Jade asked the inevitable question. "So why do you look like you belong in a hospital?"
"Wally. He—I worry about him. He's such an idiot. And I feel stupid, just staying at home with the kids or at work."
Jade stared out into the distance, her face a thoughtful one. "You could always...do like me."
Like Jade. The thought had never occurred to Artemis. Her sister, while regarded by the League as a reformed criminal, had taken to being a vigilante. Not a hero like Roy or Wally, but just someone who did good deeds while costumed by the dark. Jade's measures did tend to be more violent than the League would've approved, and she might have occasionally gifted herself with other people's stuff—Roy knew better than to mention these—she still did good for the world. "I guess I could."
"You could even follow Wally around. You're still authorized for using the zeta tubes after all. Dick would notice, of course, but he wouldn't dare to confront you."
Artemis and Jade continued to chat, Artemis working out the problem in the back of her head. Eventually, Roy came home. The two sisters agreed as they watched him approach from a distance, that his hair only looked as if it was on fire because of the sinking sun. They soon realized, however, that his hair was actually on fire.
ten
"I said no, Lian."
"Please, Aunt Artemis."
"No, your mother would kill me. Your father would kill me. Your uncle would kill me. I would probably kill me."
"Now you're just being silly. Uncle Wally would never kill you."
Artemis sighed, rubbing her temples. Curse her niece's stubbornness. "Okay, you're right. He would just be very angry with me. Very angry."
"And Mom would have no right be upset. After all, she-" Artemis placed a finger over her fifteen-year-old niece's lips.
"I do not want to know your mother's doing. But believe, she would not be happy with you becoming my sidekick. I'm not even a proper hero."
Lian suddenly grinned, a grin very familiar to Artemis, even if she usually saw on Jade's face. "I'll tell Uncle Wally."
"Tell him what?"
"That you're working as a vigilante."
Artemis bluffed. "He already knows."
"Oh really?" Lian started to walk toward the edge of the building overlooking the bank robbery Wally was thwarting as the Flash. "Hey, Uncle Wally! Uncle Wallyyy!"
Artemis grabbed her shirt from the edge. "Fine. You win. I'll train you. But get down from the edge; it's still only sunset so they'll still be able to see you."
eleven
Artemis cursed, sincerely hoping she was not this stupid as a kid. Just a minute ago, she had been restraining Lian, who had been trying to go help Wally, who was surrounded by a score or more of goons. The girl had broken free, despite Artemis' insistence that Wally would be fine, that he could face double these two.
"Uncle! On your right; there's a big guy with a pigsticker!" Wally did not question the voice, too occupied with his fight, but turned to face the giant brute.
Despite herself, Artemis' heart swelled with pride at the girl's bravery and skill in evading the one or two men that tried to get her. Suddenly, she spotted a sniper aiming for Lian.
The angle was all wrong for all of her projectiles; her arrows, her throwing knives, and her shurikens were all useless, and there wasn't enough time to call for Wally.
"Lian!" Artemis screamed her niece's name and jumped. Jumped so she could knock her niece to the ground, jump so she could take the bullet meant for Lian.
"Aunt Artemis!"
"That's Artemis!"
"Aunt Artemis! Are you okay?"
"Of course she's not okay. She's been shot! Babe, don't..."
The voices began to fade and she blinked, her eyes weary. She turned, only to be met with the setting sun blazing in her face. It was blocked out by red spandex; Wally.
"Babe, Artemis, don't die on me now. I can get you to the tower; there's a zeta tube nearby. I-"
Artemis shook her head. It was hard to see the tears glimmer in his eyes, though she too was crying and she could hear Lian sobbing in the background. "No," The bullet had gone into her head. She would die any minute now, and if were somehow miraculously saved, she would spend the rest of half-life in a hospital. "Let me die here, in yours arms, as a hero."
He was sobbing now and had pulled back his cowl. He pulled her up into his arms, rocking her. "But the kids, but the kids?"
"Wally, you're the science guy. You know what my life would be, how much we'd all hate it."
"I hate you! I hate you so much!"
"I love you too, Wally. I always have, I always will. And," she swallowed, "I'm sorry." Then her eyes closed as the sun sank behind the horizon and the world descended into night.
A/N: I didn't mean to make the end so sad. Please don't mob me. Anyway, feel free to check out my other YJ fanfictions or my tumblr: .com.
I hope you enjoyed, in spite of the ending, and don't hesitate to PM me question. I realize this did leave stuff out, though they were snapshots.
DFTBA