The van could have been completely normal as it maneuvered the dark alleyways of Gotham City. It was plain, white; nothing out of the ordinary or suspicious. Until it pulled into the area behind the warehouse.
Five men jumped out, two holding semi-automatic air rifles. A shadow hovered on the top of a nearby building, a pair of high-intensity binoculars pressed to her face. "P90's?" she muttered, referring to the rare guns. "Where do they get their funding, Bruce Wayne?"
The other three men were joined by a quintet of men all wearing black with ski masks. "Cliché, much?" she murmured as the men opened the back of the truck and began to unload the stolen surplus. The girl grinned to herself as she reached back for an arrow.
"I think that's far enough, boys." She aimed directly; the arrow shot through the open window of the truck, sinking into the ignition and damaging it. "Can't let you get away; takes all the fun out of it." The girl leaped agilely across an alley, landing without a sound. She felt… great, giddy almost.
"Alright, priorities," she whispered, drawing back her bowstring and aiming at the first gunman. The arrow flew, finding its target as it dug deep into the thin nozzle of the machine gun. The gunman just stared stupidly at it, the other glancing over. The sight alarmed him just enough that the archer could get a perfect shot and…
The trigger of the second gun broke off as the man yelped, his finger bleeding from where the arrow had grazed it. The archer grinned slyly as the others pulled out weenie handguns. Now comes the fun part.
The first man yelped as the muffled arrow thudded against his chest, sending him flying backward as the air was knocked out of him. Similar arrows hit the others as they searched frantically for the source. A few were smart and hid in the back of the van as one got in the front seat. The archer pressed a button on her bow as it was compressed into a package she could fit inside her quiver. Showtime.
The archer came down like a shadow out of the night, quickly dispatching the first thug as the others ran forward. "Green Arrow?" one of them yelled.
"Thought he was in Star City," another answered.
The girl grinned wickedly as she knocked her current opponent unconscious and they got a good look at their adversary. "Hate to disappoint you guys, but I'm not Green Arrow. Name's Artemis, and I'll be your friendly neighborhood superhero this evening."
They seemed whelmed at the sight of her, which she knew would be their weakness. Never underestimate your enemy, Black Canary's words rang in Artemis's head. The obvious leader yelled, "Ah, she's just a kid. Herm, take care of her, will ya?"
A larger one approached her, cracking his knuckles. "Don't worry, princess, I'll go easy on ya."
A few seconds later, Herm lay flat on his back, growling at Artemis's grinning face. "That was pretty whelming, Herm," she said cheerily. "But maybe you should consider actually trying next time."
He snarled angrily and charged at her. A few minutes later, he found himself on the ground with a bloody nose. He coughed, wiping away the blood on the back of his hand. Artemis giggled, twirling his handgun in one hand. "Oh, and one more thing." He cried out as she brought down the butt of his handgun on his head. "I'm not your princess," she whispered into the unconscious man's ear.
The others charged her, though not all at once. Because, she thought wryly, they don't all want to get their hands dirty. Artemis fought well, and most of the men were hardly a match for her.
My terms, she thought, remembering what Black Canary had taught her. Punch, kick, but hold on until he's unconscious and another's in your reach; never give them an opening to shoot.
She was relieved to find how swift she'd become; even her basic maneuvers were precise. Knew I was ready, she grinned, panting as the criminals struggled to get up. "Had enough, boys?"
Most of them were unconscious, and it was a pathetically easy task to knock the awake ones out. Artemis hauled them all into little groups, tying them up easily. She ended with Herm. She pulled out some more rope, when suddenly huge hands seized her wrists. Artemis yelped as Herm pulled her down and straddled her, thick hands tightening around her neck. "Sweet dreams, princess," he snarled threateningly.
Artemis choked for air, but failed miserably. Just as darkness crept in the edges of her vision…
She opened her eyes and coughed. Artemis's throat hurt, and she realized she had a few good bruises on her neck. She looked around, surprised to see Herm tied up and out cold . Crouching next to him was Robin, securing the last knot in his bonds. He glanced up and smiled at Artemis.
"Morning, Sleeping Beauty."
Her eyes narrowed as she realized what must have happened. "I didn't need your help, Robin," she growled, standing up.
He gave her an injured look. "A thank you would've sufficed."
"I had the situation under control."
He looked at the holoscreen on his arm. "See, I think I missed the part where you getting strangled to death was part of the master plan."
Artemis wanted to wring that little neck of his. "I knew what I was doing; I was just about to make my move when you swooped in-"
"Right, the move where you black out and die."
Artemis tried to create a good comeback, but all she managed was, "I'm done here." She turned to walk away, but Robin grabbed her arm.
"I just have one question… well, make that two. First, how did you find out about this… 'operation'?"
She didn't turn around. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"So you went snooping on my computer?"
"The file was open, Rob. Next question?"
He paused, then asked, "Why didn't you bring any backup?"
"Maybe because I wanted to test my limits, see what I could do without help. Besides, worse-case scenario, I call you for help."
"Artemis, you know that's not the whole truth. You can tell me."
She kept her back to him, staring at the ground. "That is the whole truth, whether you like it or not."
"Seriously, Artemis. You could've gotten hurt. Think about how we would've reacted, how Kid Flash would've-"
"Kid Flash doesn't care about what happens to me."
"He cares more than you know; we all do." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Look, Artemis, even I'm not allowed to go on solo missions without Batman and I maintaining contact through radio. Even Speedy-"
That was the last straw. "Would you guys just shut up about Speedy!" She whirled around, furious. "Speedy this, Speedy that, Speedy wouldn't have missed that shot, Speedy wouldn't have done that. Well here's a reality check, Robbie! I'm not Speedy!"
His eyes widened as he stepped back. "Artemis, I didn't mean-"
"No, it was perfectly clear what you meant, Robin! Look, Speedy isn't coming back, so you're stuck with me, like it or not! Just get over it!" Her voice cracked on the last word.
Robin looked up at her, and Artemis was reminded that he was younger than her. "Artemis," he whimpered. "I- I didn't-"
"Whatever," she growled, turning away and climbing back up the side of the building, trotting off. Robin stood there a few more seconds, until the sound of police sirens ushered him to the rooftops, where he disappeared into the night.