Previously…
She knew that warning was about Wally and now Wally knew too. Telling the team was not an option and neither was the league. Artemis could feel the tears forming. She tucked the necklace back in her pocket as she ran from the room. Wally followed hoping to comfort her.
"Artemis, it's me will you open up?" Wally asked. He could hear the sound of Artemis crying from the behind the thick door. He reached for the knob when it turned. The door opened and Wally walked in. Artemis was sitting in front of her bed crying hard.
"Artemis, it's alright, I'm right here." Wally held her again like he did that month ago. He couldn't stand to see her in so much pain and have there be nothing he could do.
Artemis, It's alright, I'm right here.
Six months passed since that day. The team had gone on at least eight dozen missions, many of them against Sportsmaster and many a time was Wally's life hanging in the balance. He ended up in the infirmary twice, once with several broken ribs and a bad concussion, the second with a broken arm. Though the team was a bit curious on why Sportsmaster attacked Wally more than the others, they didn't question it. Everyone knew of how unpredictable Sportsmaster was and how Wally could get on anybody's nerves.
Now the two were sitting in Artemis' room contemplating their next move. Artemis was worried as she lay in Wally's embrace. Her father wouldn't stop, not until Wally was dead and that she couldn't allow, but every time she placed a tracker on him, he'd know about it. No matter what she tried her father was always one step ahead of them.
Their last few encounters with Sportsmaster end with them coming back with parts of whatever Sportsmaster was trying to steal. The team tried to figure out what the objects could be used for it was always difficult. They had with them, a beaker of cheetah's blood that was mixed with an unknown compound that the Flash was working overtime to identify, as well as several different computer programs. Batman was working with those since they were so encrypted you couldn't even read them.
"Wally?" Artemis spoke up. It was the first time she had said really anything since the mission the day before.
"Something wrong Artemis?" He asked as they sat up.
"I'm just worried. The thought of losing you hurts, a lot. I can't sleep at night and when I'm able to sleep I have nightmares. I just wish we could end this." Artemis said placing a hand on his cheek. Wally always felt warm to her even on the coldest of nights.
"Artemis, you are never going to lose me okay. I love you way too much to let that happen." He grabbed her hand that was still resting on his cheek, looked at her with that smile that always made her melt and leaned in closing the space between them. Artemis wrapped her hands around his neck and leaned in farther kissing him back. They broke apart and Artemis placed her head on his chest, keeping Wally's arms wrapped around her.
"I know it's just these nightmares. They feel so real. Wally my father has never failed at an assassination. He's not afraid to kill. When I was seven my father took me out on what he called a father-daughter bonding moment. He put on his Sportsmaster outfit and took me to a building. It was company owned by these billionaire brothers. My father gave then the choice, the money or their lives. They started filling up brief cases with money but one of the brothers tried to escape. My father killed him right in front of me. He killed the brother next and we left without the money. When I asked him why he didn't take the money he said it was because he got what he asked for and you should never be greedy. I was terrified of him for months after that and I still am." Artemis let a few tears fall.
"Artemis, listen to me. I know your childhood was rough, but together we will get through this. Maybe we should tell the league or at least the team." Artemis agreed. Maybe it was time.
She sighed and left the room. Wally followed behind her as they ended up outside. Artemis sat along the Cliffside that faced the ocean. She gave a sign as she thought back to all those times she tried to tell her friends about her father. She chickened out every time because she didn't want to lose the only friends she had. Her father was bad person. He got to her sister but he never got to her. She knew the difference between right and wrong and that's what kept her safe all these years.
Flashback
The house was cold, none of the lights on. Artemis sat on her bed like she was instructed and waited for her father to come home. She twiddled her fingers and continued to look out the window at the empty streets wondering what it was her father wanted to talk to her about.
Across the room, sitting on the desk was the bow and quiver of arrows she had learned to use. Everyday her father took her out and made her practice. She had to hit the target every time or she had to keep practicing. Some nights were worse than others. She looked down at her hands at the calluses and scars. Her hands still felt raw from last nights practice session. Dry blood was caked on bow and shafts of the arrows.
The door slammed shut starling the young girl. The footsteps were heavy as they grew closer to her door. The knob twisted and her father appeared. He walked in and towered over her. He didn't bother to remove his mask as he began to talk.
"Artemis, you are 14. You have excelled at your training and are more than ready to begin." He picked up the bow and held to her. She knew what he was talking about and wanted no part of it.
"No." She said pushing the bow away.
"It was not a suggestion. You will join me." He said once again handing her the bow. Artemis ran to the quiver grabbing one of the arrows from within it. she strung it to the bow and aimed for her father.
"I Said no." She shot the arrow pinning her father to the wall. It gave her enough time to escape. But now she was on her own. She ran toward Gotham where her mother was not once looking back.
She sat there hugging her knees into her chest wonder what her life would be like if her father wasn't evil, but it was something that she would never be able to picture no matter how hard she tried.
"Artemis is everything alright?" He asked placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah. It's just no matter how hard you try Wally you can never picture my father has anything but evil. I remember when I was five my mother had just been arrested and my sister had abandoned us, it was just me and him. He started training me to be more like him but I didn't know it at the time. He told me he was training me so that I could protect myself should anything happen to him. One night he told me he had to go for a few days but I would be safe as long as I remembered the training he gave me. Back then I loved my father. I ran to him before he left and held on tightly to his legs. He pulled me off and said he had to go. I was crying but he told me only the weak cry. The strong doesn't show emotion. It wasn't until the next day that I found out he lied to me. I saw the mission information on his computer. He was doing an assassination job for an unknown employer no doubt the same group now. I sat on the floor and cried for ours shouting why daddy why. That day I lost the only person I loved. I mean I love my mom but it's not the same as when I had my dad." A tear fell from her eyes as she remembered the good times. Surprisingly there were a lot of them.
The sun was setting beyond the horizon. She looked to Wally and kissed him. She knew she had to forget the past, forget all the wrong her father had done to her and remember the good. She had Wally to help and that was all she needed. But every once in a while she still asked why daddy, why?