Notes: AU where the team doesn't exist (yet) and each member has their own city to protect; Artemis in Gotham City, KF in Central, Aqualad's chilling down in Atlantis, let's just say M'gann's in Dakota City living comfortably as a human with her uncle J'onn and SB's in Metropolis (we'll say he's not a Cadmus clone) with the big guy. Robin's in Gotham with Batman and Arty but they don't know each other.

Fair warning: This was originally supposed to be a cute little Spitfire thing, but then the whole League and the team got involved. I had this idea in my head and then it kinda turned into something different, so I'm not really sure what this is. It's a little long because there's no chapters, but I hope you enjoy it regardless.

P.S – The ending is kind of rushed and therefore sucks. Sorry.

Artemis Crock was the defender of Gotham City.

Not officially, anyway – technically, Batman and his sidekick Robin were the head honchos in this neck of the woods, but they were all the way over on the north side. So the job of protecting the south side fell to Artemis.

Her mother didn't like her fighting crime. She took any chance she could to lecture her daughter on the dangers and risks of it all, but Artemis usually tuned her out. She had to protect the city. She had to fight crime, to work on the side of good, or else she'd turn out just like her father.

And she'd promised herself she would never be like her father.

It was a slow night tonight. Artemis was lying in her bed, listening to her police scanner. Usually she'd be on patrol, but after a particularly rough week, all she wanted to do was rest.

She was just about to doze off when her ears picked up something interesting on the scanner.

There had been a prison break. A massive prison break.

She had her uniform on and her bow slung over her shoulder almost instantly. Artemis was out the door before her mother could even notice she was gone.

She usually left the big incidents like this to the Bats – Artemis took care of the smaller, more minor crimes, like muggings and bank robberies and thefts. She'd never conquered a prison break before. In fact, she probably should've just stayed home and let Batman and Robin handle it, but there was a strange tug in her stomach that seemed to be pulling her towards Gotham City Prison. She felt like she had to be there, for some reason. All that mattered was that she get there fast enough.

She ran as fast as she could, but by the time Artemis reached the prison, she was already too late. Batman had managed to take down at least ten of the fifty-something prisoners that had escaped, and Robin was busy taking down another seven.

She sighed. Show offs.

Oh, well. She could at least help. She notched an arrow in her bow and shot it at one of the prisoners, who went down in a green net. She had managed to tackle three of them before Robin noticed her presence.

"Who are you?" he demanded, swiftly dodging a punch from one of the escapees.

"Artemis," she said. "I live here." She took down another prisoner with an explosive arrow.

"Are you with Green Arrow?" he asked, eyeing her uniform, and she shook her head.

"I'm on my own. I protect the south side when you guys aren't around to do the job." One of the prisoners ran at her, and she jumped in the air and did a flip over his head. She landed behind him and slammed her boot against his back, knocking him to the ground.

Robin grinned at her. "Well, thanks. On your left."

Artemis turned to her left just in time to see another prisoner charging at her. She dodged to the side to allow Robin to take him down.

"Thanks," she nodded to Robin once he'd apprehended the escapee. He grinned.

"No problem." He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, and he and Artemis looked on as Batman wrestled down the last of the prisoners. Artemis watched the hero carefully, noticing battle maneuvers and moves that would be useful to her in the future. She studied his movements and counterattacks, logging them all in her mind. He'd be great to train with. Robin had a great teacher.

When all fifty-eight escaped prisoners were on the ground, Batman turned to where Artemis and Robin were standing near the building wall. It was then that Artemis noticed something strange.

"Wait," she said before Batman could inquire as to who she was or what she was doing there. "Shouldn't there be a bunch of policemen or something?" She looked around, noticing now that the area outside the prison was eerily empty aside from the fallen prisoners. No alarms were going off at them having escaped, and no policemen or police cruisers were there to stop them from getting away. There was nothing. Just silence. Creepy silence.

Robin's eyes widened behind his mask. "This was a trap."

Just as he said the word, the prisoners on the ground began to wake up.

Above them, a blinding light seared their eyelids, and Artemis shielded her eyes with her arm. What the hell was going on?

"It's a spaceship." Batman's voice was utterly deep and steady beside her. He looked back down at the prisoners, who were now wearing grins that sent a chill up Artemis's spine. She backed against the wall and held her bow up.

As they watched, all the prisoners began to morph. They shed their human skins like cicada shells and emerged as huge, giant . . . spiders. But instead of eight legs, they had ten, fifteen, some even twenty. And they had eyes all over their bodies, blinking and glossy and totally, totally disgusting. Each spider was the size of a minivan, some even bigger.

And they were all staring at the trio of heroes like they were hungry for a meal.

Artemis went cold. This was definitely not what she was used to. She knew she should've just stayed home.

Batman put a hand to his ear, speaking into his communicator.

"Batman to Justice League. Code Black."

That didn't sound good.

"What does Code Black mean?" Artemis whispered to Robin out of the side of her mouth. She was afraid to take her eyes off the spiders. She hated spiders.

"It means we're gonna need all the help we can get."

Artemis had to hold back a sigh. Great.

No one was moving. Why wasn't anyone moving? Why weren't they trying to take these ugly aliens out?

Before she knew what she was doing, she shot an explosive arrow at one of the spiders.

The aliens screamed. Bloodcurdling, ear-piercing, high-pitched screams that did not sound like they should be coming from spiders. Artemis didn't even know spiders could scream.

They charged. Robin and Artemis jumped up and landed on the backs of the aliens, instantly in battle mode. Artemis didn't think – she just shot arrows one after the other, trying to take out two or three aliens at a time. That, she knew, was the goal: get rid of them.

She had to jump out of the way when two red laser beams melted a spider to a gross puddle in front of her. A second later, a golden rope tied itself around another alien's legs and tore them from its body. A third alien was lifted into the air as if by magic and then crumpled in on itself.

Artemis dared to look up.

The Justice League had arrived.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter were in the sky, along with Captain Marvel and the Green Lanterns. On the ground, Artemis could see Green Arrow, Black Canary, Aquaman, and Red Tornado fighting alongside Batman. A moment later, Flash sped onto the scene.

Suddenly, a hulking boy in a black Superman t-shirt crashed on top of a spider in front of her. Another boy, with darker skin and blond hair, stabbed another spider with a glowing blue sword. Swooping down from the air, a green-skinned girl with red hair and freckles levitated two spiders and threw them over the top of the building.

They'd even brought the sidekicks with them. This really was a Code Black.

Artemis was so distracted by the arrival of the League that she barely saw the spider coming right for her.

She notched an arrow and was about to shoot when a gust of wind blew her hair back, and suddenly she was being carried away at a speed that broke the sound barrier. Her ponytail whipped in the wind behind her, and she turned her face up to thank her rescuer.

But it wasn't the Flash. It was his sidekick, Kid Flash, donned in an obnoxiously bright yellow-and-red suit and huge red goggles. His orange hair stuck up all around his head.

He grinned at her. "Two questions, beautiful. What's your name, and why haven't I seen you around before?"

"I had that spider," she said angrily, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was about to shoot."

"But it would've gotten to you before you could release the arrow," he said. "You're welcome."

"Ugh. Put me down right now," she demanded. Instead of arguing, like she expected, Kid Flash did as he was told and set her down on the ground. They were farther away from the fight now, far enough away that they were no longer a concern to the aliens.

"You gonna tell me what your name is, beautiful?" Kid Flash grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Artemis. And no, I don't work for Green Arrow," she added when she saw him eyeing her uniform. "I don't work for anybody. I protect the south side of Gotham City when Batman and Robin aren't around. I live here."

Kid Flash smirked. "Nice to know. See you around, gorgeous." He saluted her and sped off to rejoin the fight, leaving Artemis in the dust. She ran after him almost immediately, clenching her bow in her hand. She checked her quiver – she had three arrows left. It would have to be enough.

But that stupid Kid Flash had run far. She was at least half a mile from the battle scene, and there was no way she'd make it there fast enough. Artemis ground her teeth in frustration. Who did that kid think he was?

Suddenly, a yellow-and-red streak came barreling towards her, and then she was being carried bridal-style by him again, back towards the fight.

"Figured you could use a lift," Kid Flash said, that stupid, annoyingly charming grin on his face.

"I could've gotten there just fine on my own," Artemis said defiantly.

"Boy, you're a feisty one, aren't you? Can't you just say thanks?"

"No," she said, and the superhero's grin grew wider. "Now put me down so I can take out those stupid spiders."

"I don't think the spiders are the problem."

Kid Flash looked up, where the giant spaceship was still floating in the sky, emitting a blinding light.

"That's controlling the spiders. Why isn't anyone else trying to attack it?" Artemis wondered aloud. "If that's the source of the problem, we should be trying to take it out."

"My thoughts exactly, beautiful." Kid Flash winked at her, and she made a disgusted face.

Artemis thought for a moment and took note of her surroundings. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Can you get me up on that roof over there?" she asked, nodding towards one of the nearby buildings. Kid Flash picked up speed, and no less than three seconds later, Artemis was standing on the roof, surveying the battle from above.

She turned, but the redheaded speedster was gone.

When she looked back down at the battle scene, she could see a yellow-and-red streak zipping in a circle around the spiders, rounding them up like sheep. Making it easier for his teammates to attack them. Smart thinking.

Artemis focused her attention on the spaceship floating in the sky. It wasn't doing anything – just floating there, shining that light down on the destruction below. It really was extremely bright. Maybe it was meant to distract the League so they wouldn't attack the ship? Artemis's thoughts ran wild and rampant through her head as she tried to figure out why the giant metal aircraft was just sitting there.

"Now would be a good time to do whatever it is you wanted to come up here for," someone said behind her, and Artemis whirled to see Kid Flash standing there, his hands on his hips. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"Right." She selected one of the three arrows left in her quiver and nocked it in her bow. It was her last explosive arrow. She just hoped it would work.

She turned back to Kid Flash.

"We're gonna need to be off this roof before the explosion happens," she warned him. "Get ready."

She aimed her arrow at the ship. She pulled her arm back and let it go, and then the wind was whipping through her ponytail as Kid Flash ran her back down to the ground. The ship exploded just as they reached the sidewalk.

As soon as the ship exploded, all the spiders disappeared. Just like that. And when Artemis looked up at the sky, the ship wasn't there anymore. It had just . . . disappeared.

"Okaaaaay," she said. "That was weird."

"It worked, though," Kid Flash said, grinning at her. It was at this point that she noticed he was still holding her bridal style.

"You can put me down now," she said, glaring at him. He winked at her and set her down on the ground, his fingers lingering on her bare midriff. She ignored the goosebumps that rose on her skin.

"Yo, KF!" Artemis turned to see Robin coming towards them, a grin on his face. He held out his hand for a high-five and brought the speedster into a hug. "Good to see you again. How've you been?"

"All over the place, man. Good to see you too."

Artemis looked between the two of them, one eyebrow raised. "You know each other?"

"Oh yeah, we go way back," Kid Flash slung his arm around Robin's shoulders with a grin. "We're BFF's."

Artemis couldn't help but smile. "Cute," she quipped.

Robin looked at her curiously. "Was that your arrow that made the ship disappear?"

She shrugged. "I guess. I didn't really expect that to happen. It kind of just did."

"Yeah, I don't think any of us expected that to happen," Robin said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "It was definitely weird. And I've never seen aliens like those before."

"You think this is a new threat?" Kid Flash started to look excited. "Excellent. I love those. They always shake things up."

A few feet away, the assembled members of the Justice League had gathered on the ground to discuss whatever it was that had just happened. The sidekicks were gathered off to the side, unsure of what to do with themselves since the League's conversation was obviously private. The green girl with red hair caught Artemis's eye and flew over to them.

"Hi!" she said brightly. Artemis's eyes widened.

"Um . . . hi," she said.

"I'm Miss Martian. M'gann M'orzz," the girl said, a friendly smile on her face. "I'm from Mars. My uncle J'onn is Martian Manhunter."

"I didn't know J'onn had a niece," Kid Flash said, and M'gann nodded excitedly. She was so . . . bubbly.

"Yup! He doesn't let me join in these battles a lot because he thinks I'm too young, but I think I did pretty well! I'm hoping this means he'll let me participate some more," she said. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Artemis," Artemis said, shaking the Martian's hand. "And no, I don't work for Green Arrow."

"I'm Kid Flash, this is Robin," Kid Flash introduced them both. "We're the cool kids."

"I just met Aqualad over there, and Superboy," M'gann said, gesturing to the boy with the Superman t-shirt and the boy with blond hair. Artemis could practically see the hearts in her eyes when she looked at Superboy. She waved them over with a smile. "Come say hi, guys!"

The boys walked up to the other sidekicks. Aqualad looked friendly, at least, while Superboy just looked closed off. Artemis didn't blame him. She was like that, a lot.

They all introduced themselves while their mentors spoke quietly about the new threat. Kid Flash kept looking at Artemis, and Artemis kept trying to ignore him.

Somebody cleared their throat. The sidekicks all looked up to see that the League members had finished speaking and Black Canary was now standing in front of them, a gentle smile on her face.

She looked at Artemis. "Were you the one who shot that arrow?"

Artemis nodded, and all the Leaguers looked at each other. A few of them nodded as if confirming something.

"You've all been extremely helpful in the battle today," Black Canary said. "We couldn't have done it without you, and for that, you have our thanks. Today you proved that when the six of you work together, you can accomplish great things."

"What do you think the new threat was?" Robin asked, looking at Batman.

"We don't know," Batman said. "But we think it could be something big. Very big."

"If they visit us again, we're going to need your help taking them down," Black Canary said. She looked at each of the sidekicks individually, her glance landing on Artemis last. "All of your help."

"What are you suggesting?" Aqualad asked.

"I –" she stopped and gestured to the League behind her, "we are suggesting that the six of you form a team."

Superboy's eyes widened. "A team?"

M'gann clapped her hands in excitement. "Like our own little Justice League! I love it!"

"Awesome." Kid Flash grinned. "I'm in."

"Me too," Robin agreed. "Sounds pretty whelming."

Artemis looked at him in confusion, and he and Kid Flash grinned at each other like they were sharing an inside joke.

"You know, whelming," Robin said. "It's right in between overwhelmed and underwhelmed."

"I agree that the six of us worked well together today," Aqualad said, nodding his head. "I would be honored to be on a team with you all."

Superboy shrugged a yes, and everyone looked at Artemis.

"Come on, beautiful," Kid Flash nudged her gently with his elbow and winked at her. Despite herself, she smiled. It didn't sound like a bad idea. She had always worked alone before, but she liked the idea of working with other people. And the sidekicks of the Justice League, no less. What better way to prove that she was nothing like her father?

She looked at Kid Flash and smiled a challenging smile. "Okay," she said. "I'm in."

This could be the beginning of something great.