Chapter One

Ten years ago

Artemis Crock moved quickly through the shadows of the abandoned oil refinery. The lead she'd acquired had been sketchy at best, but still strong enough to warrant Batman asking the Team to investigate and gather intel. The Dark Knight had long since learned that observe and report was rarely followed in the way he intended, but The Team had earned the right to handle situations on their own, and their success rate was hard to argue with.

The archer never revealed her source, always keeping things like that close to the vest, but Robin surmised that just because she was a hero now, didn't mean she still didn't have friends or associates who weren't; the mercenary Cheshire being case in point.

If the information was good, this refinery might very well be the central distribution hub the Justice League had been searching for –for well over a year now. Kobra-Venom was a deadly combination of Bane's neo-steroid, the designer drug Venom, and the Project Blockbuster formula created by Cadmus years ago. The resulting mix was three times stronger than its previous incarnations and permanent. Years earlier the Team had destroyed a similar facility on Santa Prisca, but it was just a matter of time before a new one popped up somewhere.

But to find one in New Jersey, a mere 183 miles from the Hall of Justice was pretty ballsy to say the least. Hiding in plain sight was sometimes the hardest place to locate.

Something in Artemis had changed over the last two months. Her mother's death had left her distant and cold, much like the person Green Arrow had first introduced her to the group of remarkable teenagers that resided within Mt. Justice, but whereas then she'd had a chip on her shoulder, secrets to keep, and something to prove, now she had friends and a surrogate family that cared for and supported her unconditionally, as well as a boyfriend that would love and protect her with his last breath.

The entire team hurt with her, wanting so badly to do what they could to ease the archer's pain and let her know she wasn't alone, but Artemis was and always would be private person, especially regarding family matters, so they gave her the space she requested. When a mission like this arose, everyone felt confident it was just what she needed to take her mind off her sorrows, even if just for a while.

xxx

Paula Crock had left the life of crime to care for and protect her two daughters from the homicidal psychopath she'd had the misfortune to procreate with. He was a master criminal, and Paula wouldn't lie to say she wasn't instantly attracted to the man. Together they'd become a formidable and dangerous combination; thieves and kidnappers by trade, enforcers and strong-arms when necessary, but most importantly deadly assassins for hire. They'd even taken contracts from organizations such as the League of Shadows, and if you worked for them you were considered elite, and by all accounts they were.

Soon disillusionment began creeping into her heart. Pregnancy and childbirth had changed her, and not long after she began to see how Lawrence Crock's coldness and cruelty were impacting their two daughters. Once when she'd returned from a mission in Malaysia, she came home to find the two siblings bloody and bruised, forced to fight each other to hone their skills. Sportsmaster was determined to make the duo master assassins, and his favorite saying was always you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Paula had chosen the life she now led, her daughters had not. Sitting on the ground holding the two sobbing siblings was the last straw; she knew she had to get out.

But before she could do that, she had one last mission that had to be completed. A high profile assassination rumored to have come from as high as Ra's al Ghul. One never said no to jobs like that when the Shadows were involved.

Perhaps it was her lack of concentration, possibly the fear of not seeing her daughters again, or maybe even just wanting to fail to have an excuse for leaving the game, but by the end of that mission the target had escaped, Sportsmaster's reputation tarnished, and Huntress's use of her legs and nearly her life.

She spent almost two and a half agonizing years in prison away from her family, fearful that in her absence Lawrence was molding and shaping the two girls into the perfect little soldiers, the assassins he'd always hoped for. It was a family business after all.

When she flattened her sentence and retuned to find her greatest nightmare had come true, Paula threatened to call the police, the FBI, any and every agency that had Lawrence "Crusher" Crock on their top 10 most wanted list. The deal was simple, her daughters for his life.

They left the dingy Starling City apartment for Gotham and a new beginning. Lawrence had vowed revenge, and now years later he'd finally had it. Paula Crock was dead; a self-inflicted gunshot wound for a woman who'd never touched a gun in her life. Exotic armaments and poisons were her weapons of choice. The police called it a suicide, but Artemis and Jade knew better.

xxx

The intel on the flash drive was massive. Pictures of trucks and Humvees arriving and leaving the facility late at night, schematics showing hidden labs within the refinery, pumping and filtering mechanisms retrofitted to produce the toxin. Everything a criminal organization needed to mass produce one of the deadliest formulas every created, all saved on one simple 512 GB flash drive.

Inside the facility, the Team had been searching for hours, unable to find the camouflaged corridor that led to the makeshift labs and distribution centers, and that was becoming a concern. Bane and his soldiers had been lying in wait the last time they'd entered one of his facilities, and there was no telling what was in store for them this time.

They needed something more concrete Robin had argued, but Artemis convinced him that they had to seize the moment while they still had the element of surprise. Despite that nagging voice in his head, Dick reluctantly agreed. He was team leader, but this was her mission.

With all the distractions of the last few weeks the last thing the archer wanted or needed were five other voices inside her brain, asking questions, intruding into her private thoughts, so she refused the mind link and the team was forced to go radio coms only.

An hour into the mission and several dead ends later, the archer had finally found what she'd been searching for. The small black duffle rested comfortably on the opposite side of the heavily reinforced steel blast door. She dropped to her knees, removing a small chisel from her quiver and pried open the faceplate that led to the internal wiring of the door mechanism. After cutting away and crossing a few wires, the door slowly lumbered open. She quickly placed the faceplate back over the wiring and sealed it into place with a strong epoxy.

They team had been on radio silence for the past half hour and Artemis was thankful for the respite.

This was going to be tricky.

Inside the hallway, under the red glowing emergency exit sign, the archer removed a metal section of the wall plating and found the old pipelines that led deep into the in refinery's infrastructures. Artemis pulled out the old fiberglass insulation and removed the epoxy from her quiver, spraying it across the support beam that stood there. She didn't have much time. The archer reached into the black bag and placed the sensor device on the beam, quickly wiring it into the main power coupling when a sudden burst of wind announced the arrival of the hero Kid Flash, the teen who'd stolen her heart.

Wally West had been uncharacteristically patient during her grieving period, forcing himself to give her time and space to deal with all the emotions swirling inside her. He'd forced his way into her heart and she'd welcomed him in, but he knew there were still lines not to cross when it came to her family and her loss, but with a mission as risky and important as this was, the respect he had for Artemis's personal space was now not high on his priority list, her safety was.

"Babe what are you doing?"

"Wally! Are you trying to give me heart attack?" she exhaled surprised, "you're supposed to be at the pumping station."

"And you're supposed to contact us once you found the corridor," he scolded.

"Well I was going to Baywatch until I found this…."

"Whoa…" Wally gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

Artemis nodded, "It's an Isopropyl nitrate of some kind with a motion trigger. It's connected to the pipeline and I bet it's wired to several duplicates all over the refinery. Someone really didn't want us in here. Wally if there's more of these around, they've got enough power to bring this whole building down."

"How did you know where to…." the speedster asked before Artemis cut him off.

"Wally that is soooo not important right now, but I do know I can't defuse it. You've got to find Robin; he'll know what to do."

"Babe, just leave it be. Don't even breathe on it. You're lucky taking that panel off didn't trigger the timer."

"No kidding," she blew out her breath nervously.

"Look, I'm not leaving you next to this thing; you're getting the hell out of here. Dick can handle it and if something goes wrong I'll have him halfway to Mexico before that thing even starts to glow."

"Wally we can't risk it going off, it will destroy any chance we have of catching whoever's recreating the compound. I promise I won't touch it, but I'm not leaving it here unguarded. What if someone stumbles up on it, I'm not going to risk it. I'll be fine, but find Robin now. Hurry!"

"But…."

"Not buts Wally." she replied determined. Suddenly she reached up and palmed his face, kissing him fiercely. He returned it with fervor, not caring if the entire world was about to end as long as they were together, but her timing did leave a little to be desired.

"Babe, not that I'm complaining babe, but what was that for?"

"Luck, were going to need it. Now hurry."

He nodded and dropped into a runners stance when she yelled back to him, "Wally…I love you, be careful ok?"

"Love you too babe, be back in a sec. Don't…touch…anything. Promise?"

"Promise," she smiled.

Safely away from the device, he disappeared in a bolt of lightning. Artemis swallowed hard and went back to the device, pulling out her tool kit and taking off the detonator casing.

Second later she broke radio silence for the first time that evening….and the last.

"Oh God."

Wally found Robin four hundred yards ahead trying to hack into the antiquated security cameras when her message made it to their receivers. Seconds later Dick was holding on for dear life until they finally arrived at corridor junction 342-B.

"No…." Wally whispered in anguish.

Artemis stood on the wrong side of the thick blast doors, her voice muffled behind the two foot thick glass plating of the viewport. Her channel was open but full of static, the heavy steel doors interfering with the signal.

"I'm sorry Wally!" she cried.

"What'd you do?" he begged.

"The casing was coming loose and...I thought if I just disconnected the power coupling it might shut it off."

Robin immediately dropped to his knees, removing several tools from his utility belt and going to work on the panel. Without being able to see the bomb components or the display, there was no way he could talk the archer through disarming it. Instead he placed his entire focus on the locking mechanism and finding a way to hot wire it open, but already he was running into obstacles. The door panel would no pry open no manner how hard he pulled. Whatever substance that surrounded the faceplate was holding it securely and time was running out. After several failed attempts at dislodging it, Dick dropped the pry bar and pulled out a small acetylene torch to cut through the metal barrier, hoping to God he wouldn't damage the wires behind it.

"It must have triggered a backup timer," Robin spoke grimly, as the corridor began to fill with the metallic burning stench of the welder, "but I don't know how it could have overridden the blast door protocols. Artemis is there some kind of release mechanism on your side?"

Artemis looked around frantically at the wall. "I….I don't see one," she replied urgently.

"Fuck," Dick mumbled under his breath, trying to stay calm and remain the voice of reason in a very volatile situation, lessons long drilled into him by the Dark Knight. It was necessary because seconds later his best friend kicked logic and reason to the curb.

Wally's skin began the crackle with electricity and the red and yellow material of his uniform started to blur as the speedster suddenly crashed against the blast doors, knocking himself back a few feet from the impact. He willed himself to vibrate his molecules again and rushed the door again with no success. His third attempt left him dazed and bloodied and Artemis screamed for him to stop, but he ignored her pleas.

Robin's torch finally melted through the metallic faceplate and Dick swallowed hard in response. Just as he feared, the control wires had melted away from the extreme heat. He'd had one chance, and now it was gone. There was nothing left he could do.

"Wally! Wally!" she screamed as the dizzy speedster stumbled to the door, his nose and mouth gushing blood but undeterred.

"You've got to stop," she cried, "It's going to be ok," she lied.

"No its not," he whimpered, placing his palm flat against the viewport. She placed hers next to his in kind.

Tears streamed from Wally's eyes just as Conner rushed into the scene. Superboy had tried to decipher the broken transmissions unsure of what to expect, but within seconds of his arrival he'd read the situation and his heart dropped to his stomach. The clone rushed to the barrier, knocking Kid Flash and Robin out of the way as his fingers dug into the steel blast door trying to jar it loose. Just when he felt the door shift slightly, a secondary door on the archer's side slid shut, blocking the viewport.

"What the hell!" Dick cursed in shock; a secondary door didn't make sense. "Artemis!" Robin screamed into the com unit, "How much time?"

Through a thickly static channel they heard her broken response. "Forty-five seconds…You've got to go," her voice crackled.

"No Artemis!" Wally screamed into his transmitter, "Stand back, I can vibrate through this, I swear to God I can!" he panted.

"Babe…please," she spoke unseen through the steel door.

Conner's throat tightened, trying so hard to refuse his friends request, but he knew what he had to do. He grabbed Wally's arm in a death grip as the desperate speedster tried to detach himself. The clone's hand began to smoke and glow as Wally violently tried to escape from his grasp, but Conner ignored the pain, smashing through the unfortified fire walls to the closest exit from the facility with Robin close behind.

The archer listened as Wally's screams broke up through the open channel, finally fading to static. She wiped her eyes and whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Then she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate.

The three heroes were almost to the emergency exit when the refinery blew, throwing them almost a hundred feet across the compound and away from the blast. Conner absorbed the brunt of it, knocking him unconscious while leaving Robin and Kid Flash singed and deafened, but alive.

Wally stared in horror at the glowing plume rising to the sky, three quarters of the building completely vaporized. The image of the heartbreaking look on his girlfriend's face would be seared forever in his mind. She was the center of his universe, and now his world would never be the same