Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice!
Title: The Monster You Know
Summary: Sportsmaster trains his daughters to kill. Jade trains Artemis to survive.
Setting: Pre-canon
...
The first time Artemis kicks her in the face, Jade feels pride bloom in her chest.
Oh, she's pissed. Don't think she isn't. But to see the girl find the momentum at her age and size to jump up and smash her face with her tennis shoe makes her feel incredibly happy that this strong kid is her sister.
She's going to be tough when she's grown up. She can't wait to see it.
Of course, she can't outright say that, not with their father hovering over them a few feet away, arms crossed, so instead she grabs the younger girl's shoe and flings her around.
Artemis skids away, flips to her hands and knees, and gets to her feet. The motion is clumsy; considering the black eye dotting her face and the probable head injuries lingering under the surface, Jade can excuse a little error in her stance.
Jade strides over to her, barely even winded when her smaller sister punches her in the gut. It hurts, but compared to their father, who seemingly has bricks for hands, it's nothing.
She punches her square in the jaw, sending her stumbling back. Artemis manages to keep herself upright- a marvel in and of itself- and tightens her shoulders, visibly focusing. Her eyes look like they're on fire.
Jade pauses. Those are the eyes of someone who'll fight life tooth and nail and win. She feels impressed, and is suddenly thankful that Artemis isn't trained well enough for weapon fighting with her. An arrow to the back wasn't something to look forward to.
Then again, she thought with dawning realization, maybe that's why they've only done hand-to-hand combat. Broken bones can be explained, but arrow and sword wounds?
Be grateful for what you can get, a voice tells her. It sounds old and wise, like her mother before she's wet her tongue in the morning. Jade decided to trust the voice.
Shoulders heaving, Artemis grits her teeth. She looks more pissed at herself then she does Jade. She knows that feeling.
A flash of blond hair registers out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly she's moving to protect Artemis, grunting in pain when a fist connects with her throat.
She crumples to her knees, coughing. Artemis looks horrified, fighting between the urge to run away and the urge to help her.
"Jade!"
She takes a step towards her. Bad move.
Their father, their own father, turns to her, eyes blazing. "If this were to happen in real life, you leave her for hers, baby girl."
Artemis flinches, hands curling and uncurling. Jade wants to stab him and watch the blood flow.
Fighting her sister is one thing. Hurting her is another.
"She's six, dad." She spits. "A little kid."
"People don't care about age, little girl." Lawrence says, eyes cutting through her. "Anybody can shoot a gun. Do you really think that age and size matters?"
Mom does, she thinks. But mom is never around when these sessions come about. It's not her fault, really. Huntress merely chose a family that didn't know how to snitch.
I'll keep her safe. She promised herself, in lieu of doing the right thing and telling their mother. She'll never have to face dad alone.
It's a lie, of course. She wasn't much older than Artemis when she made her first kill. After all, it's like he said. Anybody can wield a gun. No matter how much she hates it, Jade knows she won't be able to fight him when the time comes. Artemis will leave one night, dad's hand firmly on her shoulder, and come back the next day forever changed. But, at the very least, she can help prepare her.
Artemis flings herself at their father, rage in her eyes. Jade feels another surge of pride when her fists connects with his jaw.
Lawrence straightens, a grim smile twisting his features. She wonders if this is his way of showing pride. "Atta girl."
Artemis stiffens as their father sprints towards her. Moments like this help cement the fact that she's six years old in Jade's mind, making her scramble for purchase so she can help her sister avoid being run down by a man three times her size and force.
She slams her full weight- which, admittedly, isn't much- into his side, making him stumble. Jade flings herself at her sister, simply because she has a much better chance to win against her. She'd rather be the one to hurt her than her father, because dad just doesn't know when to stop.
Artemis takes a few more jabs at her, but it's apparent her heart isn't in it. She's obviously concerned about her wounds; a rookie mistake.
Jade trips her onto her rear and firmly places her hands on either side of her neck. It's not strangulation, but it's enough to make her freeze.
The look on her face makes her feel bad. You're my sister, it says, how could you?
Just wait until we're older. Jade keeps her face perfectly blank.
"You're dead, baby girl." Lawrence tells her. "Jade would've killed you."
"No, I wouldn't." Jade snaps, but doesn't move. She can't bear the thought of her little sister thinking of her as a child killer. "She's a child. I couldn't kill a child."
He snorts. A rush of fear goes down her spine. Could she hurt someone as small and helpless as her baby sister?
"We're done for now." He grunts, whipping around. "We don't need any hospital bills."
Jade immediately lets go of Artemis' neck, watching him go with narrowed eyes.
"Are you okay?"
She spares her sister a look. "I'm fine. He didn't hit me that hard." If he had, she'd still be on the ground, gasping for breath. Or maybe on her way to the emergency room. "Are you okay?"
"'M fine." She mumbles, fists clenched.
"You can't flinch like that, Artemis." She scolds quietly. "It just drives him to push you harder."
Artemis stares at her shoes, looking deeply ashamed. "Dad scares me sometimes."
Jade stares at the door he'd gone out of for a long moment before gently picking her up. "Good." She says. "People like him should scare you. Now, let's go get cleaned up."
Author's Note: I write a whole lot of Artemis, but I've yet to write any Jade. I felt like that had to be rectified.
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