Lately I haven't been able to get this show out of my head; I've actually reached a point of obsession that rivals my feelings for Harry Potter, and that's really saying something. =) It doesn't hurt that I am in love with the Wally/Artemis pairing.

Anyhow, I had to offer my story to the many others already out there. Hopefully everyone likes it.

By the way, reviews are awesome. They motivate me to keep writing. =)

None of these characters are mine, but oh, how I wish they were.

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Chapter One: Ultranumb

Violated, so degraded.
The show has just begun.
Dominated by all you hated.
This will make you ultranumb.
- ULTRAnumb, by Blue Stahli

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was a fighter, a surviver. From the moment she'd been able to comprehend the world around her, she'd been taught how to navigate the deadliest aspects of life. She was encased in an unbreakable armor, always separated from everything around her. Untouchable. Unbreakable. Taking refuge in isolation.

But then they had come and rocked her to her very core. The cracks appeared then, and for the first time in a long while she let herself experience feelings besides anger, and hatred, and betrayal.

Megan had been the most welcoming, the first to accept her presence on the team. It was Megan who reassured her, Megan who included her, Megan who supported her. A sister. That's what Megan had called her. Artemis had never had a sister, and she didn't know what it meant to have one. But she was quickly beginning to understand. It meant watching each other's backs. It meant listening with no judgement. It meant homemade cookies and giggling about boys and trust. It hurt her, to know that Megan was so open, and yet she herself was so closed off.

Kaldur was so calm, so level-headed, that he was a rock, a port in a storm. Sometimes Artemis hung out with him not because she wanted to be around someone, but because when Kaldur was around, a sort of stillness came with him. It was nearly impossible to be panicked or worried around the Atlantean, and so she found herself spending more and more time with him. He never pried, which she appreciated. He remained unfazed by her moments of anger, and she was grateful to have someone around who could help her control her temper.

Robin was...well, he was Robin, the only one who actually seemed to enjoy watching her verbally thrash Wally. He was the one who kept secrets, which made her feel less guilty. He understood why she had to work harder, go farther, and do better than the rest of her teammates. He didn't have powers either; he understood the value of tenacity, the power of repetition, of drills, of practicing until your fingers were numb and your muscles screamed for relief. He never called her out for her temper, because he understood it came from her drive to succeed.

Superboy was angry, just as she was. They understood each other's pain. Connor was constantly denied a father figure, left alone, longing for even a hint of approval from Superman. Artemis did her best to not mention her family, but she too was alone, with only a broken shell for a mother and a lurking shadow of evil incarnate for a father. Whenever Superboy snapped for no reason, or sat in obstinate silence, she felt an emotion alien to her: sympathy. Still, despite being rejected in the cruelest of ways, he was a good person. It gave her hope for herself.

Wally. She'd never met anyone like him. How could one boy drive her so insane? How could one look from him cause her to grit her teeth in irritation? How could one word from him cause such an explosion of anger? It wasn't really her fault, their relationship. She'd rubbed him the wrong way from day one, without ever having done anything. It hadn't been her fault that he and Red Arrow were old friends. Wally was so annoyingly loyal. It drove a wedge between her and him, and sometimes it seemed that the abyss between them could never be crossed.

And yet, when they actually let their guards down, there was...something there. She didn't really want to think about it, and yet her thoughts constantly roamed to Bialya. Memory loss had left them both confused, and that confusion opened doorways. Artemis had been caught in a weak moment, and the headache pounding through her skull had overridden her better judgment and led to her saying the first things that came to mind. She woke sometimes in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, fearing that Wally would link two and two together. So far, he hadn't, and it seemed unlikely that he ever would, which she found reassuring. Just as often, she woke in confusion, hearing his voice echoing through her head. Hey, beautiful. She wanted to rip her brain out and toss it across the room for thinking such thoughts, but at the same time, she treasured the way he'd looked at her, the way he'd spoken to her. She tried to write it off as circumstantial, but deep down she knew she was lying to herself.

Perhaps that had been the final blow to her already-weakened armor. The fact of the matter was, she had been stripped of all defenses. These people made her feel, and it was so amazing to allow herself to experience emotion after emotion. After years of depriving herself the luxury of feelings, she was practically glowing with her newfound freedom.

That more than anything had convinced her that she was wrong. Artemis was proud, she knew it. Maybe it came with having a paraplegic mother, feeling that she had to protect her at all times, to shield her from the rude stares of strangers. Maybe it came from having a twisted father, a man whom she'd tried time and time again to please, but whom she could never impress, because she was just a pawn to him, no matter how hard she tried to prove that she was more. Her pride did not easily allow her to admit she was wrong.

And yet she was. In the worst of ways.

She'd lived her life allowing her father to control her, blocking out the sad pleas of her mother. She'd deprived herself of family, friendship, love. Now she saw that she had been rejecting the most worthwhile parts of humanity, and now that she'd had a taste of the intoxicating brew of a life well-lived, she could not let it escape her.

She would not do it. She wouldn't. Her father could find a new pawn. She was finished.

Despite her absolute confidence in her decision, fear hovered at the edges of her mind, threatening to consume her. Her father was ruthless, she knew that. He would maim without hesitation, kill without blinking an eye. Above all, he hated to loose, and he would most certainly consider her decision to be a personal blow.

She wasn't scared that he would come after her. She was scared that he would go after the people she loved.

It had been a week since she was supposed to have made her first report. She knew that her father would act soon after her no-show. She'd warned her mother, even going to far as to move her to a new apartment. Artemis told herself it would help, but she wasn't so sure.

Everyone on the team had noticed she was more on-edge, but thankfully they'd had the tact to leave her alone. Even Wally had managed to keep his mouth shut, and he'd barely given her a hard time all week.

She currently sat in her room at Mount Justice, going through her arrows, setting the damaged ones aside to be repaired later. The monotony of the task settled her, and the concentration required when looking for subtle flaws in the arrow prevented her mind from wandering. She was so engrossed with the task that she didn't notice Wally leaning casually against the doorpost.

"Yo, ninja girlfriend." She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. She stood slowly, a scowl flickering on her lips. His only response was to grin. "Wow, I thought it was impossible to sneak up on you."

She ignored his comment. "What do you want, Baywatch?"

He frowned. "Really? When are you gonna drop that?"

A sly grin spread across her features, and she moved her hands to rest lightly on her hips. "When you drop the ninja thing."

"Ouch," he whistled, running a hand through his hair. "Hard bargain. I'm gonna have to think about it. Anyway," he continued, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Batman asked me to come and get you. He needs to talk to you. Well, everyone, but he said to make sure you were there."

Artemis thanked every deity there was that she was a master at disguising emotion; otherwise, Wally would've seen the panic that shot through her. Had Batman found out? Was he kicking her off the team? Were her teammates there to accuse her of being a traitor? She relaxed when she saw Wally's face. The boy was an open book. If he was upset with her, she'd know. As it was, he seemed perfectly relaxed.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." She left her room at a brisk walk, Wally beside her. The two made their way through the hallways of Mount Justice in silence, and yet it was not an awkward silence, as it usually was. Instead, it was as if the two of them were comfortable enough with each other that they didn't need to speak. She didn't have time to mull over this new development, though, because they had reached the training room, where the rest of the team were grouped around Batman.

She took a deep, calming breath and walked over, willing herself to remain composed. Batman, noticing their arrival, began their briefing. "I'm sure you all remember the venom Kobra was producing?" The team nodded. Artemis kept silent. It still stung, sometimes, the reminders that she was the latecomer, almost an outcast at times. Batman nodded. "I'd fill you in, Artemis, but it's not important. What is important is that we've received word that a new batch has been made. Kobra already sent out the shipment, but we have a guess as to where it is being delivered. I trust you all remember Sportsmaster?"

Artemis froze, before forcing herself to breathe once more. Her teammates were nodding, and in her shock, she found herself nodding as well. When the others gave her a variety of questioning glances, she supplied, "I've heard of him. He sounds like a nasty piece of work." Somehow, her voice was steady, even though her entire body was numb with shock.

"Yes, he is," Batman commented, before continuing. "I have coordinates to his base of operations. You have around three days before the shipment reaches him; it will be slowed by the various checkpoints it will need to be smuggled past. In two days, you're all being deployed to his headquarters. You will scout things out, find out why he needs the venom and what he's planning on using it for, if possible, then report back to me."

Robin, of course, was the first to speak. "Wait, why are we waiting two days if we know where he is now? Why not go get him before he gets the venom?"

"Because, you can learn more about his intentions once he possesses the shipment, and because I want your entire team there, and there is some business here that has to be dealt with first. Dismissed." The team slowly began to make their way out of the room, murmuring to each other, obviously confused by Batman's last words. Artemis lagged behind, still in shock. A hand on her shoulder made her halt, and she turned around to face Batman.

Fear shot through her at the look on his face. He didn't seem angry, as he would if he had discovered the truth. Instead, she saw sympathy written on his features, and it made her insides clench nervously. "Artemis," he began, sighing. "I've called Oliver. He's...he's going to go with you."

"With me where?" she asked, confusion and anxiety threatening to bubble over her carefully constructed facade of calm.

Batman's gaze was full of pity. "To the hospital. Someone attacked your mother."