A/N Alright here's the deal. I am a terrible person. I have not updated in ages, I haven't worked on my stories in ages and you my beloved readers are fantastic and deserve so much better. So what I am going to do is after I post this chapter I'm going to edit the previous two chapters, edit "No Hoodies Allowed" and "Flaming Arrow" and then finish them. Now I need your help. If I go a week without posting anything, edited or new I want you guys to start ganging up on me UNLESS I mention in a previous post that I'm going to be without internet or I have a test coming up. Review, pm me, track me down alright. This is my new year's resolution, to be the writer you deserve.
Now on to the story.
3. Not Going Anywhere
"Stupid."
"Worthless."
"Waste of everything."
A burst of pain coursed through my nerves as the words were spoken.
Today had started out fine, better than normal. That should have told me something was wrong instantly. I had gotten to school and aced my A.P. Science test much to my surprise, with all the missions the team and I had been given I barely had any time to study. I couldn't wait to get home and tell my mom. As I approached our apartment door, something felt wrong. It was too quiet. I didn't hear a movie or music playing and I couldn't spell any food being made. A cold shiver ran up my spin. What I did spell was something terrible.
Slowly I opened the door, it hadn't been locked. I dropped my bag and covered my mouth to prevent a scream from erupting from my throat. He was here. My father was standing over the broken form of my mother, her wheelchair cast to the side, turned over. When he looked up and stopped beating at her body, he turned his face towards me and grinned.
"Mom," I called out.
My eyesight was blurry and I didn't see him anymore, but then I felt his hand against my face, and as the pain began to sting my cheek he pushed me to the ground and began his assault. He kicked at my abdomen over and over again, and it didn't take long until I started to cough, blood dripping down the side of my mouth.
Hours seemed to pass and he still wasn't done. He didn't just kick my stomach; my face was sporting at least one black eye, maybe two. I couldn't tell whose blood was pooling on the floor; likely a mix of my mothers and mine. Sportsmaster just wouldn't stop kicking and punching me… at least he left my mother alone.
I knew that when he had finished his entertainment and left, I'd have to run. I can't go back to the team. How would I explain? How did Sportsmaster know where I lived? Your mom was a Shadow? Accusations and questions would be the same thing. I wouldn't be able to stand the pity, so I won't face it. I'll just run away, maybe start over with a different name or just stay hidden and hope I'm forgotten… it's for their own good.
"So here's what I'm going to do." Sportsmaster's voice cut through the pain induced haze. "I'm going to kill you."
Well, scratch that plan. It's over for me, at least the pain will stop, and I won't have to run away or face my team. I can see the knife in his hand and I wait for the pain, for the knife to pierce my skin. I breath in and scream.
Everything turns into a blur; the colors fade together. Was this my life flashing before my eyes? I did'nt feel a knife though and I know my father would have made me suffer. Perhaps an angel came and took me away before I could feel the pain, he's carrying me away. I close my eyes and listen to the heart beat against my ear.
"Am I going to heaven?" I whisper.
"No, Artemis you're not going to heaven." The angel replied.
Oh.
"Are you an angel?" I asked.
"You could say that," they replied.
"Then why are you taking me to Hell?"
"Artemis," they said. "You're not dead."
Not… dead? The voice sounded so familiar. Slowly I opened my bruised eyes and looked up at their face. Oh my god! It's Wally.
Panic raced through my veins and I knocked my head against Wally's chin causing him to slow down to normal speed and drop me.
"Arty what the he—"He cried out.
Knee to the chest, fist to the back; I was already running by the time he hit the ground. Much to my surprise none of my bones were broken. I raced down an alley and came to a halt when I realized: I had no idea where I was.
Damn it Wally!
I need to find a place to hide before Wally came after me, as if he wouldn't his too much of an idiot to realize I don't exactly want any company. I take in the surroundings and possible places to hide; cluster of trash cans, dumpster and a fire escape. Quickly I pull myself onto the fire escape and climb the rest of the way up to the roof. Lying down on my stomach I look over the side and watch as Wally races into the alley and looks around. He opens up the dumpster and the trash cans, and then he calls out my name and waits for a bit, perhaps hoping that I'll come out of my hiding spot. As I wait for him to leave I think about my plan. I just need to get to the cave, I don't know if my father is still at my apartment or if Wally will go back there, I don't feel like risking that. Once I get to the cave I just need to get basic supplies; a change of clothes, my easy to carry bow and some arrows and maybe some pictures.
On the roof I get a full panorama view of my location and luckily, there's a zeta tube not far from here. I jump from roof to roof, still not wanting to risk Wally scouting the streets down below.
YJ!
"Recognized Artemis!" The cave computer announces.
"Shut up!" I hiss as quietly as possible. I have to stay focused.
I notice a slip of paper placed in plain sight in the middle of the floor and quickly pick it up to read.
Batman,
Kid Flash came to the cave and reported that he had discovered Artemis under attack from Sportsmaster in her home. After rescuing and during the process of bringing her to the cave, she caught him off guard and ran away. The team and I have gone out to search for her, locate her and bring her back.
Robin
I can't help but feel relieved and horrified. Wally made it back, and now everyone knows, but they're out searching for me, not here. I just have to be quick and hopefully I'll be gone by the time they return empty handed. I sprint down the hall to my room. A grab the duffel bag underneath my bed and start shoving things into it; I pack a thing of deodorant, a change of clothes (one for warm weather and one for cold) , my bow and arrows and as a second thought take a picture of the whole team; Zatanna included , out of a frame and tuck that in as well.
Rushing I leave a note;
Hey guys,
Yes, I was here, but know I'm gone and you need to forget about me. People who get close to me end up getting hurt, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me. M'gann please don't cry, you were like my sister. Connor, take good care of M'gann and don't you dare hurt her. Robin, just ask Zatanna out already and Zatanna accept Robin's date. Kaldur don't you dare blame yourself; you are a great leader. Wally, I'm really sorry about the whole knee to your chest thing, I had to get away. Tell Ollie that he was the best uncle I ever had and tell Bats that I appreciate everything he did for me.
Artemis
P.S. Robin go ahead and laugh at the picture for the both of us; I know it was you Dick Grayson… you little troll.
P.P.S. Yes this does mean I know Batman is Bruce Wayne, but DO NOT tell him that or else he will hunt me down.
These people were more family than my blood relatives ever were, I wish I didn't have to do this… but I do. Next to the note I leave the scrapbook M'gann had made for me. As I walk out I look back at my room and wipe away the tear threatening to slide down my face and start running to the garage.
YJ!
My bike has a full tank and should take me to where ever I end up. With some quick work the gps tracking device is unarmed and now there's no way they can track me. My heart feels a little heavy as I slide my duffle bag onto my back and mount my cycle. They hanger begins to open and that's when I realize, I didn't open it. I turn off my bike and dive behind a bunch of crates just as I see the bio-ship come into view.
If I had just moved faster!
As the bio-ship lands three—no four, motorcycles pull in three I recognize instantly; Wally, Robin and Connor, the fourth remains a mystery until the rider takes off his helmet and holy crap! Roy is helping out? Jesus I feel terrible, they went all out to try and find me.
I can't help but hate myself as I pull out one of my newest toys; a holographic arrow. It seems on almost all our recent missions one of us have had to risk our lives in order to draw attention away from the baddies in order for the mission to be completed and the rest of the team get out. So I started to develop this bad boy in order to stop that, now I have to use it to trick my family. Quietlly I draw back my string and aim the arrow down the hall. I release it and as it leaves my bow a holographic image of me appears. I look like I'm running and the best thing is, it's not see through; Zantanna and M'gann race after it calling my name, but the boys don't move an inch accept to try and stop the girls.
"They'll come back Robin once they realize it's a hologram." I hear Roy say.
God Roy! I refrain from throwing a hissy fit behind the crate and just settle for a silent scream and shaking my fists.
"Okay," Wally says. "We need to cut off all possible exits."
"You're right Wally" Robin says. "Kaldur cover the beach. Roy you take care of the Zeta-Tube. Wally stay here and watch the garage."
"Where exactly are you going to be Robin?" Kaldur asks.
The vents?
"I'll be taking care of the ventilation system."
Nailed it.
"What about me?" Connor asks.
"Take Wolf and the Super-Cycle and report to us what you see from the air."
Connor nods, as does Wolf.
"NOOO!" Two female voices shriek, extremely loudly.
"I think they figured it out," Roy says dully. After a small bit of silence Zatanna's voice can be heard screaming.
"DICK GRAYSON WE WILL BE TALKING LATER ON!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Did she just call you by your super-secret identity?"
"Yeah..."
"Dude, you're dead."
"I know..."
"Guys, let's focus a bit more on Artemis and not Dick's upcoming death."
I am laughing as hard as I possibly can without drawing attention to myself. I hear the super cycle take off and the others separate. There's no way I can make it through the vents against Robin, he knows them like the back of his hand and he has a digital map uploaded to his glove computer thing (A/N yeah I have no clue what that thing is called btw.). I may be able to get pass Roy if I catch him by surprise, but then it'll be easy for them to track me if I use the Zeta- tube and once I get to the other side I won't have any transport. I have no choice but to get past Wally and avoid Connor seeing my up in the sky.
Jesus…
"Hey Arty," Wally calls out. "We just want to help you, you know that right? All we care about is that you're okay."
His footsteps echoed through the empty cave. I slid down and press myself as close as possible against the crate.
"Look Arty, you're gonna hurt us all really bad if you just disappear on us. We all need you no matter what you think." His voice sounded closer and I began to panic. I string my bow and take deep breathes.
"I need you." His voice was barely a whisper, but I heard because he was right next to my ear. My entire body tenses, ready to sprint should Wally make a move to grab me.
"Put your bow down Artemis." He says calmly. I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to do that so badly. I want to stay with my family, I want to believe that it's true and they won't care about the truth, but how could they not?
Wally moves to grab by bow and instincts take over. I thrust my elbow at his face, but this time he ducks his head in time and moves for my bow again but this time I'm already standing and running for my bike, turning quickly I let my arrow fly and give a little smile as it hits its mark and knocks Wally's comm out of his ear. The victory doesn't last long because soon he's in front of me and this time he manages to knock my bow out of my hands onto the floor opposite direction of my bike.
He grabs my wrists and criss crosses my arms in an attempt to block me in with my back against his chest, but I just use my legs to create momentum and flip over his back and dive for my bow. Just as my fingers curl around it, something lands next to me and smoke starts to escape from it, I realize to late just what it is.
"I just need to go." I whisper. The last thing I see is Wally's face in front of mine with a sad smile on it.
YJ!
When I wake up, I'm alone in my room. I don't move for a minute; the room is still a little fuzzy and my head hurts. AS things begin to clear up I hear voices from outside my door.
"I rigged the vent with motion sensors, although their really not going to be needed, I used titanium screws to shut it. She's not getting out that way."
Dick you little—
"The only other possible way out it a nice sheer drop down into the bay and she doesn't have any gear to go rock climbing right now."
ROY!
What? Sheer drop, ocean, maybe my dad actually taught me something useful. When I could consider him, a little bit sane, Sportsmaster had decided I needed to learn how to dive off cliffs, because that's what every 10 year old needs to know. Quietly I get up from my bed, they seem to have kept my duffel bag with them, but where I'm going I have stuff there as well; my dad aslo taught me to keep you safe houses properly stocked; and by that I mean minimalistic food and multiple ready to grab and go bags stuffed with weapons. Roy wasn't kidding, there's a few rocks jutting out here and there on the way down, but other than that nothing, and I'm not a mountain goat.
I take a deep breath and pull myself up onto my windows ledge. The wind almost knocks me back, but I don't fall. Hopefully I remember what I need to so I don't die when I reach the bottom.
"You know I'm gonna check on her," Wally says. "She should be awake by now."
Well then, I guess it's now or never.
"ARTEMIS DON"T!" I hear Wally scream, but it's too late; I'm already out the window.
The wind rushes past me and my blood roars in my ears, even though my memories of doing this before ensure me that I don't die I'm beginning to regret this. Oh who am I kidding, I scream bloody murder all the way down.
The cold water makes my hair shoot up as I splash into it, note to self: work on diving technique, but hey I'm alive so it wasn't too terrible. I swim to the beach and instantly shed my soaking sweater. Looking around the beach is abandoned and I can see my team mates looking out my window, hopefully before I'm noticed by them I start running down the beach. Once I get into the town, I can blend in and disappear.
No pit stops this time.
Before I can register it, I'm tackled to the ground by none other than Wally Rudolph West. He quickly pins me down to the sand and no matter how much I thrash I can't get even less than half of an inch of space.
"ARE YU CRAZY!" He screams at me. "SO HELP ME GOD ARTEMIS IF YOU TRY TO RUN I WILL KNOCK YOU OUT UNTILL THE NEXT WEEK!"
I stop struggling as I realize how serious he is.
"Now," He grumbles. "I'm going to take you back to the cave and you are going to explain to use why you tried to run away and why you decided to pull that STUPID stunt."
"Understood?" He growled.
Before I can answer he lifts me up, tightly hugging me to his body and then runs. We're back in the cave in a matter of moments and the entire team in there. I can't bear to look them in the eye after what I did, so I turn on the balls of my feet and face away from them. My arms hug me and I bend my neck.
"Questions?" I whisper.
"Why did you jump out of your window?" Wally asked, he still sounded really angry.
"I was cornered and needed to get out."
"Why did you need to go?" Zatanna asked next.
"Because—" What was I supposed to say? "I just needed to."
Great answer there Arty.
"How did Sportsmaster know where you lived?" Roy asked.
Oh you know it's technically his apartment too, his names on the deed; I think sarcastically.
"The mole must have leaked it to him." I lie.
"Not buying that." Connor says.
I don't respond.
"Okay, why did you attack me while I was helping you?" Wally growls.
"Like I said; 'I needed to go'"
"That's crap Artemis and you know it."
"You know what," I shout at him. "I would've been fine and all of this would have been avoided if you hadn't barged in when you did."
"Are you kidding me?" Wally shouted at me. "You're blaming me. He was going to kill you Artemis. When I came in, you were battered and bleeding and he had a knife and he was about to kill you; he already killed your mom!"
The news didn't shock me; she had been to quiet and too still for too long for me to try and kid myself into thinking she was still alive.
"I would have been fine Wally!" I screamed. "I have taken myself for as lo. ng as I can remember; I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE!"
"How the hell would you have gotten out of that situation Artemis?" Wally screamed back. "Would you have told him what he wanted to know before you died?"
His statement shocked me.
"I would never give that monster information." Tears started to slip out of my eyes. Oh god I'm the kid of a monster. As the thought truly hit me I fell onto my knees and cried. "I'm a monster's kid." It was barely a whisper, but it seemed to be loud enough for the team to hear.
"What did you say," Wally growled.
"I'M HIS DAUGHTER!" I screamed at him. I tucked my chin to my chest and wrapped my head with my arms. They know now, they hate me, they hate me, they hate me.
"Sportsmaster is your dad?"
I don't know who asked, but I assumed my continuous sobbing gave them their answer. Someone was in front of me trying to remove my arms from my face.
"Artemis look at me," It was Wally. "Artemis look at me."
I didn't let my arms fall, but I was able to slow my breathing a bit and I looked at him though my arms.
"Sportsmaster is not your dad."
"Wally, don't be so—"
"Listen to me Artemis," He interrupted. "No father would do what he did to you or his family okay? He is not your father or your family. We are."
I stopped crying and allowed my arms to fall away from my face. Wally was smiling at me and behind him the rest of the team, even Roy, looked down at me with faces of compassion and love. I wasn't used to it, but it was beautiful and I loved it. This was family. I through my arms around Wally's neck and hugged him tight, refusing to let go.
"You're not going anywhere Beautiful."
(A/N) Oh good glory god! I think this is the longest fanfiction chapter I have ever written. Please accept this as my apology for being a horrible person. Remember what I said in the first Authors Note, if I do not update any of my stories whether it be an edited chapter or a new chapter or a new story, if I do not update be attack me anyway you can. Also I'm going to try and respond to every review made on any of my stories. So if you are the anonymous reviewer who reviewed on my story "Flaming Arrow" that is was boring and pointless, you are dumb and stupid and i said no flames.