Legacies: A Young Justice one-shot/drabble collection
Repalcement
She doesn't doubt but…she doubts.
Word Count: 400
Pairings: None
Rating: K+
Notes: Possible spoilers for "Insecurity"
Disclaimer: I do not own "Young Justice", the TV show on Cartoon Network, in any way, shape or form. I do this solely for my own entertainment. 'Sides, if I was the creator of the show, I would have done it on "New Earth", not Earth-16. Props if you understand.
It's quiet in the room and she needs it that way right now. Her eyes are narrowed, partly in concentration and partly in annoyance as she focuses on the target she's aiming at. The line to her bow is taut, her practice arrow fitted snugly and ready to fly. She takes a deep breath and lets it go, watching it with some sort of burning need.
'Thwack!'
Artemis allows herself a small victory smile as the arrow wedges itself firmly into the center of the target. The smile fades rapidly when she recalls the shot she could not make because she chose not to, because she doubted herself. The shot that Red Arrow made with no hesitation whatsoever. The shot her re-
No. Artemis' eyes flash in anger and she shoots off three more arrows, each one lodging itself into a target with a satisfying 'thwack'. She is not a replacement, never a replacement. She has been on this team far longer than Red Arrow and she has proven herself more than enough times to be a capable and trustworthy member of the team.
But that stops her.
She walks slowly to retrieve her arrows, the bow at her side suddenly too heavy and the room in the cave too small. Each step itself is a burden to walk but she trudges on. She has to.
Why should she have to prove herself to them? Wasn't the word of two Leaguers enough? The team accepted Red Arrow without question and without doubts, but she had to prove herself? Where's the justice in that?
With more force than necessary, she goes down the line, yanking out each arrow, gripping each shaft tighter than she should have. Part of her understands why Arrow is so easily accepted: he's been part of the core group of the team, part of the original four who helped found their team now and her? She's a charity case as her mother had so accidentally revealed to her.
Her shoulders slump and she looks at the arrows in her hand. Red Arrow is not replacing her. No one said that a team couldn't have two archers. There's two Green Lanterns on earth, right?
But in her mind, she wonders: if they accept him so easily, could they kick her out just as easily?
Artemis is not being replaced…but maybe she's just been a substitute this whole time.
Review?
.chary