AN: Hi! This is my first YJ fic, so sorry if the characters are OOC. Hope u enjoy & pls follow, fave, & review.
AJAJAJ
Artemis rolled over and slammed her hand against the sleep button on her alarm. She let out a low groan, but she knew she had to get up sooner or later. She practically flopped out of her bed, landing on the hardwood floor. Artemis's gaze shifted to an old Alice in Wonderland poster, hanging lopsidedly on the wall of the small room. What she wouldn't give for the old days, when dad was still in prison and mom wasn't in a wheelchair and it was just her and Jade against the world. Speaking of Jade, Artemis's sister's black mane of hair peeked above the sheets on the bed across from her.
"Ugh. A, will you be quiet?", Jade grumbles. The sisters started referring to each other as A and J as a sign of friendship after they saw it on tv. Artemis and Jade had stuck together through thick and thin, and even their themed costumes reflected that.
"Sure, J." Artemis and Jade don't know why they are always so tired in the morning, as their mother is seemingly never tired. They don't think it comes from their father either because they've seen him drunk, angry, happy, but never tired. Of course, villains never get tired, much less the Sportsmaster.
Artemis was still lying on the floor, clinging to the remnants of her warm haven. Under her bed, she can see a Nike shoebox. The shoebox doesn't need a label because Artemis knows what's inside. The White Rabbit costume.
Once her dad got out of prison, he cared even less about his children then he did before. He had started In order to keep the Sportsmaster from completely taking over Lawrence Crock, Artemis and Jade became Cheshire and White Rabbit. Artemis worried, though. What if the White Rabbit persona started taking over Artemis like Sportsmaster had her father? Where did the supervillain begin and the teen end? Artemis rolled herself up and left for the bathroom just as her father stormed into her room.
"What are you doing, Jade? Get up!". Jade got out of her bed quickly, not caring as her sheets spilled across the floor.
"Don't be lazy. You don't have time for naps! Get on your costume. We're going to train.". With an 'okay, okay', Jade pulled her shoebox out and flipped it open, revealing her Cheshire mask.
"Sometimes I even wonder if he's worth trying to save," Jade mumbled once he left.
AAAAAA
Artemis cracked open the bathroom door, watching the heated argument between her parents.
"-and I can't let you treat them like that!". Something must be bad. Artemis never heard her mother raise her voice like that.
"They're fine!"
Her mom became quiet. "Please, they need a real father."
Sportsmaster's eyes gleamed and a slapping noise filled the room. He stormed out and Artemis and Jade rushed into the living room. Jade had her Cheshire costume on, and Artemis was in her Gotham Academy uniform. The sisters helped their mother back into her wheelchair. They shared a nod, and Artemis knew the plan. Jade would try to calm Sportsmaster down and Artemis would go to school. Their mother would be fine.
ADJADJ
At Gotham Academy, Artemis could barely pay attention in class, she was silently venting so much. When lunchtime came, Artemis looked forward to venting to her best friend, Dick Grayson. The two had stuck together because they were both misfits (Artemis being here on a scholarship and Dick being adopted). Of course, she always screened her angry words as to not give away her secret identity.
She walked down the hall and was met with a shove. Artemis fell to the ground and silently began to pick up her things.
Don't fight back, remember what J taught you, Artemis reminded herself. The kid jeered a name at her, walking away.
Artemis looked up and came face to face with Dick. He had short raven hair and blue eyes. Eyes that had fire in them now.
"What did they call you?", he practically growled.
"Dunno. Knowing them, probably something about my amount of wealth.". Dick looked confused.
"Scholarship kid, remember?", Artemis elaborated and stood up.
"You know Barbara Gordon, right?"
"Um, yeah, I know Babs. Why?"
"J's friend's boyfriend's brother wanted to give this to her." Artemis handed Dick a small piece of paper that she had carefully typed.
To the Bat:
1:37, Cordyline Jewelers.
Don't let him get away with it.
No one slaps Artemis's mother.
"Do you know what this is?", Dick asked after reading it twice over.
"No idea. I think it's for Commissioner Gordon.".
"Huh.".
The rest of the day passed quickly, the two friends speculating what was going to happen at 1:37 after Dick passed the note off to Barbara. Artemis already knew. Sportsmaster, Cheshire, and White Rabbit were going to steal some diamonds. Artemis knew how much her dad hated it when a superhero showed up in time to try and stop them, so this was her payback for him slapping her mother. They sat on the steps after school ended. Usually, Artemis and Dick would hang out until Alfred, Dick's butler, picked Dick up. Afterwards, Artemis would run home.
This time, however, Alfred offered to drive Artemis home, and she was about to decline but Dick gave her his best puppy dog eyes (seriously how does he even do that? He has freaking sunglasses on) and Artemis conceded.
The silent ride gave Artemis time to think while she whittled away at her math homework. Was giving the Commish a tip a good idea? What if her dad found out? It was too late now, anyway. Artemis absentmindedly wondered who the Bat would send in. It probably wouldn't be another leaguer, because Cordyline Jewelers was in Gotham and Gotham was the Bat's turf. Most likely, the Bat would come himself, probably dragging Robin along with him. Artemis had heard of a new team of heroes, one made out of sidekicks. Maybe they would attempt to stop her villainous family (minus her mom). Artemis scoffed at the idea. She bet that after a mission the leaguers took their sidekicks out for ice cream. The closest thing to a gift that Artemis had ever gotten was a bowstring that doubled as a garrote (a weapon for strangling people), given to her right before her father was arrested. Who even gives their child a weapon made for assassinations?
The jerk of the limousine stopping brought Artemis out of her thoughts. After a quick goodbye to Dick and Alfred, Artemis stepped into the apartment she called home.
She kicked off her shoes and went into the bathroom to brush her hair. Artemis stepped in to see Jade leaning up to the mirror, putting makeup on her face. Jade tried to turn away, but it was too late. Artemis had already seen the purple bruise on her left cheekbone.
"J, what happened?", Artemis asked hot-headedly.
"Nothing, A."
"J…", Artemis warned.
"Dad happened, A.", Jade reluctantly admitted.
"We have to get out of here, J."
"No. A, we can't. We can't leave mom with dad."
Artemis grasped for a solution. "Mom can get a restraining order! We can move out!"
"A, has breaking the law ever stopped dad before?". Jade asked, wrapping her arm at her sister and pulling her close. Artemis already knew the answer. She leaned into Jade. A long night was ahead of them.
AN: Review! pls! The button is right there!
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