Up in Smoke
Fic for Day Three of Traught Takeover Week
Disclaimer: Young Justice © DC Comics
Artemis couldn't help herself. She couldn't tear her eyes away, no matter how much pain the sight was causing her. She pulled her knees closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, whimpering as tears silently carved tracks into the flushed skin of her cheeks. The shouts filling the air around her fell on deaf ears.
Water poured down on the building. With a hiss, another tongue of flame was extinguished, sending black smoke billowing into the atmosphere. The efforts of the firefighters, however, seemed to be in vain, for no matter how much water splashed onto the tile of the building, the flames continued their trek skyward, orange, red, yellow, and blue flames licking up her old life into its fiery mouth. A shudder wracked Artemis' body. She curled up even more into herself, squeezing her eyes closed, trying to shut out the screams echoing in her head.
"Mom! Look out!"
The window exploded beside her mother's head, tearing a screech from her throat. Immediately, Artemis' hand flew to her back, reaching for and noching an arrow onto her bowstring before rushing to her mother's side. Plaster wall immediately reverted to one coated in reaching tendrils of fire. Though the fire alarm had gone off and tap water now rained down from the ceiling, it had little effect on the inferno blazing before her. The air shimmered and sweat was already forming on Artemis' brow as she knelt at her mother's feet. "Mom. Are you okay?" Paula Crock smelt of singed hair. Her right sleeve was slowly burning. Artemis quickly tore it off.
Smiling gently, her mom lifted her eyes to meet Artemis'. "I'm fine," she whispered, cupping Artemis' cheek in her hand. Though she was trying to stay strong, Artemis noticed the threat of fainting glistening in her eyes.
Artemis concluded she'd been spending too much time around Dick.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll get you out of here." Artemis slung her bow over her shoulder and grasped the handles of her mom's wheelchair, pushing her towards the front door. It seemed impossibly far away now. The slightly melted rubber on the chair impeded her progress immensely. The temperature rose steadily the closer she moved to the door, the fire stalking her no more than two metres behind. Artemis had certainly sweated through her shirt by now and her mother's hands had slipped from the armrests of her wheelchair onto her lap. Artemis gritted her teeth and clenched her fist tighter, each step she took burning into the soles of her shoes. Both women panted slightly. After what seemed like an eternity, Artemis laid eyes on the front door. With a grunt and a final shove, Artemis forced her mother's chair out the door and into the hallway filled with a thickening black smoke. Coughing, Artemis removed her own jacket and covered her mother's mouth gently with it, trying to shield her already delicate lungs from the burning smoke. The screeching fire alarm blocked all other sound from Artemis' ears as she reached down to carry her mother bridal-style. Her eyes widened in shock.
Her mother's breathing came in shallow gasps. Her skin was bright red, both from burns on her arms and from the blistering heat. The hallway was offering a brief reprieve, but Artemis knew it was short lived. Paula's eyes were rolled back slightly in her head and her ebony hair had plastered itself onto her forehead and the back of her neck. Artemis could feel her mother's heartbeat pounding unevenly against her own chest. She must've passed out from the heat. In fact, Artemis wondered how she herself was still standing.
With shaking knees, Artemis took a step, struggling to hold her mother's weight. It's not like she was heavy—on the contrary, she was actually rather light—but the heat had eaten through Artemis' storage of energy. She was now running simply on adrenaline. Grinding her teeth together, she forced herself to move towards the stairwell. People sprinted past her, screaming at the top of their lungs and soaking wet from the spray that continued to rain down. Artemis couldn't help but wonder where the hell the fire department was.
As the thought crossed her mind, the stairwell door flew open and the sounds of thundering feet and shouts reached Artemis' ears as the fire fighters entered the hall. Without hesitation, Artemis handed her mother into the hands reaching out to her. With another cough, she yelled, "You better take good care of her!" The fire fighter grinned at her, kindness glittering in the dark blue depths of his eyes. A pang of remembrance hit her heart: he reminded her of her boyfriend. How she wished he was here right now.
"Don't worry, miss. I'll see to it personally."
Artemis nodded as the fire fighter rushed back out the door. The other four fire fighters had spread out, searching the rest of the rooms as the fire worked its way through them. One of them took her by the arm. "C'mon, miss. We've got to get out of here, alright?" With one final glance over her shoulder at her apartment and her old life, Artemis let herself be escorted out of the building.
The ambulance had rolled away before Artemis had left the building, pulling her mother away with it. At least the fire fighter had kept true to his word. She didn't even have her bow to keep her company anymore: it had been taken from her right away to be investigated. Not that they'd find anything, though. It was all too easy for her to tell them her practiced lie of how she was in the Archery Club at Gotham Academy and that she felt safe and important with her bow at her side. Artemis' eyes continued to stare blankly ahead, her empty gaze sweeping across the scene.
She couldn't believe how useless she had been. Every day she saved lives, and in this instant she was barely able to save her own mother. Artemis didn't care as much about herself—sure, she was afraid to die, but knowing that she had the opportunity to die every day had given her a sense of contentment when it came to thinking about her own death. No, the dying thing wasn't important. It was the memories. She'd lost everything that mattered to her in there: all the good times, all the bad times. All the times her and Jade acted like real sisters, and all the times her dad neglected her family in order to be a villain. Her apartment had character and it made her who she was. She was hoping it would stay the same forever: the "Alice in Wonderland" poster in her room; the tiny, old-fashioned television and the worn out couch in the living room; the table in the dining room where a young Jade and Artemis had carved their names into the pliable wood, much to their mother's dismay. Artemis tried to laugh bitterly but it came out as a strangled sob.
Maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was better to leave it all behind, to start fresh. Suddenly, it felt like she'd been struck with an arrow in her heart. What if they had to move? What if they had to leave Gotham and move to Star, Central, or Fawcett City? What would happen to her life? What would happen to me and Dick?
Another tear rolled down her damp cheek.
A blanket was slipped onto her shoulders. She barely felt it. The blanket was followed quickly by a pair of muscular arms, wrapping around her and pulling her in. A sense of calm flooded her shaking body. Blinking ferociously, Artemis turned her head to see a familiar blue eyed, black haired face. His hair was windblown and bloody scratches permeated his gentle face. He must've just come from patrol. He smiled down at her with warm eyes.
"Dick," she breathed, burrowing her face into his strong chest, her fingers clutching at the red shirt clinging to his body. Artemis begun to sob into him, letting her tears flow freely and allowing her fear and loss overtake her body. His hold around her tightened as he held her close, smoothing down her hair and whispering calming words into her ear.
"Shhh, Artemis. It's going to be alright." he cooed, dislodging her face from his chest. Artemis blinked up at him through her wet eyelashes before he gently pressed his lips to hers.
Artemis leaned hungrily into the kiss, longing to be closer to her beautiful boyfriend, her anchor in her toppled sea of hurt and sadness. The salt from her tears chapped their lips as they continued to kiss, chastely at first, but then more desperate as Artemis slipped her tongue into Dick's mouth. He moaned into her before pulling away, slightly panting. Artemis was feeling much better now. Dick grinned and planted a kiss on the tip of Artemis' nose. Artemis couldn't help herself—she giggled. Artemis wrapped her arms around Dick and pulled herself onto his lap, savoring in his comfortable—safe—warmth.
"Thanks, Dick." she whispered.
"What for?"
"For coming to my rescue."
Dick smiled and placed his lips atop her golden hair. "Anytime, beautiful. After all, it's what I do."
Artemis snorted good-naturedly and leaned into him, their hands intertwined. Artemis was being too hard on herself. Her apartment was only that: a building. The real value was the memories that lay tucked away in her head, far away from the destruction. Plus, she had a loving family who cared about her: her mom, Oliver, Dinah, Wally, M'gann, Conner, Zatanna, Kaldur, Raquel, Dick, and even Roy, as much as he wishes he could deny it. As long as she had them, things were going to be alright. Artemis smiled softly to herself as she and Dick watched the remains of Artemis' old life go up in smoke.
A/N: Nakama no otaku kon'nichiwa! Hello fellow geeks! So Traught isn't my favourite pairing, (my OTP is BirdFlash. Sue me.) but Traught Takeover Week is happening right now over on Tumblr and I really wanted to get in on the action. Hope you guys enjoyed! Please review, and, as always, stay asterous! ;)
~The Dynamic Otaku~