Another oneshot...I really should work on Arkham Madness more...but everyone liked the Conner and Artemis stuff so muuuuuuuuch-
anyway; I've also been really curious about M'gann and Superboy's breakup..so I invented a crappy dark story about it...that manages to focus on Artemis...I have a serious issue, I write everything about her...ah well she's a bamf. I hope you enjoy!
I own nothing...still...sad I know.
Artemis walked into the cave to be greater by chaos, not Wally's antics and tomfoolery, not Dick- Correction, Nightwing's pranks and tomfoolery, the general lack of tomfoolery related to the mess made the situation even more intimidating. By no means would Artemis say is was scary, it had just, taken her by surprise.
Dick was curled up with Wolf under the kitchen table, the table being one of the only things that wasn't broken, needless to say the place looked like a war zone. The couch was in pieces, as was the tv, the sink, the fridge, everything was trashed, thrown across the room and crashed. There were burn marks on some of the walls and she was fairly sure there was something on fire in the hallway. Artemis looked around, not finding the source of the destruction, and so she went to the most reliable source of information on the chaos at hand; Dick.
She went over to him, crouching next to him and Wolf, who was covering his muzzle with his paws. "What happened?" her voice was barely above a whisper, and she was already digging her bow out of her bag. Enemies in the cave maybe?
"Hey..Megan and Conner had an argument earlier-"
"And they trashed the place? What the he-"
" 'Mis, when I'm talking, you won't interrupt. Understood?" she nodded, setting down cross legged next to him, to hear the tale of what happened to their beloved home away from home.
"So they were arguing, something about Conner being too overprotective, Megan went off crying, he was all shook up and went to take a nap...turns out.." his voice dropped in volume as if the two offending persons might enter and Release their wrath on him.
"Turns out, Megan went into Conner's mind; tried to convince him the fight never happened...he felt her, since they were so...you know, well he felt her and he went and started screaming at her for basically trying to erase the fight from his mind, and she was crying and screaming, and apparently this wasn't the first time she'd tried this... But generally he was asleep so it worked better..."
"That's horrible..." breathed Artemis, her voice shaking.."Who knew Megan was capable of that, that's...that's abuse..."
"Shhh- and yeah, that what I was thinking... Anyway: so they were screaming at eachother and then they started throwing things and breaking things and I don't think either of them were ever hurt but the place is trashed...as you can tell... Last I saw they ended up in the training room, still fighting...I decided it was safest out here with Wolf..." he scratched the offending animals neck.."Aren't we smart and safe? Yes we are~ yes we are!~" Wolf only whimpered, snuggling farther into his paws.
Artemis could only stare down the hallway, even now she could hear the couple screaming at eachother, it was sickening. They had been so perfect for so long- then this...
She swallowed, standing up.."Where's Tornado? Canary? Shouldn't they be stopping this or something? I mean, the cave is totally trashed- there's a Conner shaped dent in the wall for the love of God!"
Dick shrugged, curling up. "I sent a video to the Watchtower, so the League's probably watching, or they just want to see how they work it out...was that a live feed or-"
"Dick! Focus- the two power houses of our team are destroying the cave! Did you even try an stop them?!" the blonde was a bit animated, both Megan and Conner were very good friends of hers, but what the Martian had done was unforgivable and she would support Conner fully throughout this issue. "Shouldn't we do something?..." her voice wavered as Dick only shrugged. He shook his head, returning his focus to wolf.
Artemis sighed, pulling her bow and quiver out, strapping it onto her back before grabbing a trick arrow and the bow. She nocked the arrow, and shot her only other seemingly sane companion a glance. "Wally's with his family, and Kaldur's in Atlantis, that means if I get hurt, you're the only one here to help- please tell me- normal human to normal human- that if I get caught in their alien crossfire you'll try to help me?"
Dick stood, brushing some fur off his shirt and pants. Straightening his sunglasses he nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulder he let out an increasingly rare cackle. " 'Mis, I'm always gonna be here to save you, especially from our friends...that's a little strange but it still stands." he was taller than her now, all she needed, to feel intimidated before rushing into the lions dead to calm the beasts...great.
"Here we go..." She straightened up, popping her neck before striding determinedly down the dented hallway to the training room, Dick followed soon after, keeping an eye out for the increasing signs of violence. "Oh my God..." the glass door to the training room was shattered, equipment strewn about outside in the hallway.
Opting to just step through the glass instead of opening the door, Artemis got a first hand look at the clash of their friends. Megan was in some sort of hazed rage; her eyes were glowing and things around her were being thrown every which way, mostly at her (assuming) ex boyfriend. She was screaming and sobbing, but most of it was incoherent, more feral than anything.
Conner was surprisingly rather calm, considering his history of anger and the situation. He looked beat down, like he was just tired of fighting her. He had probably used up all his anger earlier...Not surprising to Artemis, he had to dodge and try an avoid being crushed, most of the fighting just looked like Megan losing control...things were terrifying when Megan lost control.
Conner could see Artemis out of the corner of his eyes, he spared a quick look her(and Dick's) way, "Get out of here- its not safe-" he narrowly avoided a weight set being thrown at him. He growled, pushing a cabinet to the side, he was trying to find cover but there was none.
Artemis bit her lip. Megan was in a frenzy, she didn't even acknowledge the two human's arrival. The archer squared her shoulders, striding out in front of Conner and pulling back her bow. "Megan...M'gann- stop this! You need to calm down! I don't want to hurt you- but you need to stop this, it's no-"
She was cut short when a punching bag slammed into her, knocking her bow from her hands and her into Conner, then the wall. She wanted to cry out in pain, but she had no air left in her Chest to make noise. Punching bags were heavy, and it had hit her pretty hard. Not hard enough to keep her down though.
Dick was still standing by the door, now in shock. In a second he was on his wrist computer, contacting someone quite frantically. He looked scared...he never looked scared...
Artemis pulled herself out from under the bag, and off of Conner who had been stuck under her. She dug through her quiver, searching for the right arrow- she had one shot and even that would be difficult. "Gotcha.." her voice was barely above a murmur as she snatched her bow up, nocking the arrow and aiming. Her vision was blurry but she was able to aim at what she hoped was Megan. Conner had gotten up and was too busy dodging still to worry about her.
She took a deep breath, counting to ten, slowing her heartbeat from the racing pace it had been at. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Dick being slammed with a shelf, but she couldn't react. This was an important shot. She pulled back, waiting for the break in her heartbeat..ready...set...fire.
The arrow hit Megan square in the chest, covering her in what was basically a taser on an arrow. The Martian fell to the ground, unconscious. Apparently, the flying objects could keep up their paths even with the controller out because as soon as the shot hit Artemis was hit with an Archery target, how ironic. She would have chuckled had she too not been out cold.
Conner glanced around, falling to his knees as he gasped for air, panting heavily. To his left Dick was out cold under a shelf, to his right Artemis under the archery target, her leg still under the punching bag, and Megan was passed out across the room, wrapped in cables for Artemis's arrow. He glanced at his hands which were bloody and raw, rubbing his sore and aching head before he too gave into the blackness.
Batman, Red Tornado, Black Canary, Kaldur, Wally, Raquel, and Zatanna entered to find the cave trashed, much like Artemis had, and Dick before her. No one said a word as Batman led them down the halls and through the destruction to the war zone that was currently the training room. The adults stepped inside, but the members of the team could only stand in the doorway, in silence. Batman and Tornado pushed the shelf off of Dick, checking his pulse, before moving on To get Artemis out from under the punching bag and target. Canary was trying to pry the barbs of the taser arrow out if Megan, before giving up and finally moving to checked on Conner who was stirring a bit.
They took the four unconscious teenagers to the med bay, leaving the remaining teammates to trail behind, stupefied and confused... What had happened to their teammates, their friends...and their cave...
Artemis and Dick sat on half of the couch, the only salvaged seating that wasn't in Canary's office. The sat in silence, he nursing a dislocated shoulder, broken collarbone and more than a few broken or cracked ribs. She was facing a concussion, broken ankle and wrist, and a few cracked ribs. They were both bandaged and bruised and neither really felt like talking. Their friend had done this to them; sweet, innocent, loving Megan had hurt them...and Conner, well, thank goodness he was a Superboy. Thanks to his powers he escaped with only bloody and broken knuckles, some cracked ribs, a broken nose and lots of cuts and bruising. Megan was fine, aside from being arrow- tased, that and Canary was still unable to figure out the complicated barbs so she was still all wrapped in wires.
Conner was in talking to Black Canary now, Megan was still out cold, Artemis and Dick were left. They'd sworn to go in together in only together. Neither could really fathom it fully on their own..what had happened...
Green Arrow rushed out of the zeta tube, running over to Artemis(and Dick, but he already got his upset mentor moment right after he woke up). He,grabbed her uninjured hand, staring at her. The blonde just shook her head, staring at her feet. Eventually she just slid her hand out of his, not able to look at him. Dick too could only offer a shrug to the Emerald Archer. Eventually he left, Conner emerged, but Canary never came for them. Apparently the security footage had told her all she needed to know about the issue. Probably for the best since it was doubtful either would want to discuss what had happened.
Dick cleared his throat. "So what do we tell the classmates 'Mis? Usually we get hurt different times, this is suspicious..." he was fidgeting with his sunglasses, which he'd taken off. The team knew his identity, why not put the glasses to better use; a nervous tick.
she shrugged, cupping her head in her hands. It was still throbbing. "I don't know... I..I just-" she sunk down into the couch, finally looking up at Conner who had just been standing there. "We need to talk- the three of us in private- actual private-"
"Two of you." Stated the voice of Batman as he entered the room. "Dick's going home to rest. You'll have to speak without him." dick nodded, standing with a wince before following his mentor out of the cave.
"The two of us.." muttered Conner, extending a bandaged hand to help her gladly took it, grabbing the single crutch she'd been given. "So..where do you want to talk?" sure the pair had grown closer in the past year or two, but the situation was awkward. You couldn't stop that.
"The roof...it's a nice night, we can talk there..." she straightened up, hobbling to the garage where they went through the hatch that led to the outer top of the mountain. They sat down, able to watch the ocean under the clear night sky. Artemis sighed, a bit more relaxed to be out of the cave itself.
"So, what do you want to talk about? I already had a chat with Dinah-"
"But you told her nothing at all, right? I know you Conner, you're not the type to spill something like this to her." interrupted the blonde. "I want to know how you are, how you really are..." she placed a hand on his shoulder, but he turned away, staring out at the coast. "Conner please- keeping it bottled up won't help..."
He sighed, turning to glance at her briefly. "She crossed a line...a line we'd set up from the beginning...she just...just destroyed it..." he turned away, his voice shaking now. Obviously, there was a lot more that had happened then her just trying to erase their fight...
"She crossed a line, obviously.." Artemis sighed, choosing her words carefully.." obviously if she was willing to cross that line, you two weren't meant to be...it's like...like when one half of a relationship isn't comfortable taking it farther, when the other half doesn't listen...it just doesn't work...it's not healthy.."
He slumped down some. "It wasn't her fault...I started the argument- and I yelled at her... But..she thought I wouldn't recognize her touch...when she was in my mind." Conner's voice was small, broken. It scared the Archer, never was he like this. "H- HOW COULD SHE THING I WOULDN'T KNOW IT-" he was sobbing now, terms running from between his fingers as he covered his face. "She was in my mind and it hurt- like a sweet caress but with a knife- and it was her..."
Artemis had no idea how to react, she sucked at comfort, she sucked at feelings, not her forte by any means. "I...Conner..." she wrapped her arms around his shaking shoulders. Not able to comfort him with words.
He shrugged her off, leaving the blonde to awkwardly pull her arms back, again a bit shocked. "And she hurt you- and Dick, she didn't care she just...just wanted people to hurt..." he turned to her, eyes glossy with tears. "And everything just hurts and I don't think I'll ever feel the same about anything again...her, love, the mind link, the team...being a hero..." he turned away, unable to look his friend in the eyes as he spoke. "Life..."
Artemis stared at him, eyes widened.. "Conner..." she reached out a hand, to touch him, keep him grounded but he slapped it was with a growl. Making the archer flinch. "I just...I just want to help you..."
He stood, looking down at her. "You see where helping you got- it got you hurt and it's my fault! I can't even protect my friends so what the hell am I good for then? Huh? WHAT AM I GOOD FOR?!"
The anger she had expected was here, though she wasn't relieved by that fact. It just, he wasn't ok. And she wouldn't be ok till her friend was ok. "Conner please- don't say that..." her voice cracked, she was terrified- why had she taken an emotionally broken guy to a roof- why would she even think to do that.
"I'm sorry Artemis...you shouldn't feel bad..." he took a step back, his foot already over the edge. Artemis shrieked; grabbing his hand just as his body went over the edge. She clung to his arm with all she had, now laying on her stomach in the edge of a cliff. She was the only thing keeping him alive right now, but she couldn't hold him forever, not gonna happen, "Let me go..." his voice was broken, he stared up at her with pleading eyes. The eyes of a boy who was just done. "Artemis, let me go. Please."
She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "No- if you go down I'm going with you- Conner just climb up its not worth it! Please!" she clenched her jaw, the pain from her bad wrist and rips now hitting her hard. Strenuous activity wasn't a good idea after injury. "Conner Please- climb up!"
He blinked, sighing. He extended his other arm, grabbing her shoulder and pulling up just enough; he grabbed the cliff edge. He pulled himself up, letting Artemis fall back onto her back, panting. "Oh thank God...thank goodness...Oh my God..." she laughed, wincing as she sat up. "I'm so glad you're sitting her with me right now!" she leaned over, pulling him into a hug.
To her surprise, he returned the embrace. She felt his tears in her shoulder and he shook slightly, also laughing.."Me too Artemis, me too." they just sat there, laughing, crying, and was willing to move and risk another jump or fall so they just sat there.
"Conner-" Artemis cleared her throat, pulling him closer. "Promise me you'll never do that again. I couldn't handle that- the team couldn't..." her voice faded off into the night wind..
He smiled, rubbing her back. "Promise, but if I do fall...can you..." he held in another sob. "Can you promise to catch me...please?"
He sounded so sad, just so broke. Artemis just nodded. "Always, I'll never let you fall.. I've always got your back. And you have mine, we're Teammates- best friends- I'll always catch you!"
Conner sat back, wiping his eyes on his arm. "Artemis, what's a soulmate?"
She choked on the breath she was taking, leaning back against the ground to sigh. This was a weird question. "Well, it's like... It'll like best friends, except more...I think it's the person that knows you best...that always has your...back...always cares for you..." she trailed off...just staring at the stars.
"Hey Artemis..." she heard a smile now in Conner's voice, no longer as broken. "I think we should be soulmates...so nothing else bad happens to us..."
She laughed, wiping a new flood of tears from her eyes. "Yeah...yeah Conner, we can be Soulmates." she wasn't going to explain the romantic part, he'll he probably already knew. But she wouldn't say,not if it meant ruining the moment.
Just the two of them, laying I top of the mountain staring at the stars after bringing him from his fall from grace(and a cliff). Just them.
Soulmates...
Well wasn't that stressful, and sad, and sadder, and scary, and then all warm and fuzzy. Again, this is a oneshot, no continuations..sorry...anyway, please please please favorite, comment, those make me soooo happy. I hope you enjoyed it!
-GettingTraught