"Really?" Artemis asked, jumping forward and looking straight over Rocket's shoulder.

A small white dot showed on the screen, towards the West of them. Artemis assumed that was him, since the device in Rocket's hand worked much like a radar.

What is he doing out West? Artemis wondered.

"I would have thought he would have at least stayed within the cities," Artemis said. "As far as I know, where he's currently located, there's not a bit of human civilization. It's all nature."

It was a fairly large stretch of land that was reserved for nothing more than trees and animals and wildlife, stretching a good distance between Bludhaven in the north and all the way down to Maryland south from them. Made possible by the Wayne Foundation, of course.

"Some people like nature," Kaldur replied to her. "Helps them to calm down."

"I guess I can understand that," Artemis said, and gave him a small smile, which he returned. "But something doesn't make since," Artemis then added, directing her speech towards Rocket. "If Connor is just out in some forest, passed out or not, shouldn't someone else have found him by now. I mean, Wolf is pretty good at that tracking stuff, surely he…"

"Maybe he's already there," Rocket said. "I mean, have you seen him around?"

"Well…no…" Artemis stuttered.

"Besides…you're putting way too much faith in a wolf." Rocket chuckled before turning back around, facing the craft once more. Taking a few steps forward, she watched as the screen swiveled, and began heading in that direction. The hatch was still open, so she jumped high up in the air, assisted with her powers, and called back down to her two teammates, "You coming?"

Like she even had to ask.


In the end, it was the lone cry of a melancholy wolf that lead them to Connor. A stark cry against the gentle howl of the storm breezes that whipped through the trees and pushed the cooling air against their skin.

Artemis had to admit, at least to herself, that she was surprised. She hadn't expected Wolf to be anywhere near Connor, let alone sitting right beside him, his head laying on top of his chest with his paws protectively crossed over his arm.

Wolf growled when he heard the intruders approaching him and Connor, but the snarl eased away when he saw who was approaching.

Artemis jumped down from the hatch in the spacecraft, that still wore the poor camouflage. Her boots thudded against the soft, black soil, and a soft grunt escaped her lips when she landed. Her leg was still sore, where she had broken it, and she supposed that it was not completely done healing. Righting herself was easy, but there was still the strain of pain shooting up her leg when she moved.

Guessing that it had healed completely was just wishful thinking, Artemis thought.

She approached both Connor and Wolf slowly.

Like they were both wild animals instead of her friends. Wolf knew her, so he didn't snarl or growl or even give her a second glance when she began approaching. Still, her footsteps were timid as she neared them both, moving closer step by step. Each step was painful, since she had landed hard on her once-broken leg. But, hey, she had to figure that was a good sign, since it meant that she wasn't as threatening that way. If Wolf had perceived her as a threat…

Well, it wasn't like she couldn't win. But it was a fight she didn't really want to have.

Artemis reached her hand out, and put two fingers on the sides of Connor's neck. Wolf gave a single lick to Artemis' hand when she did; that was all Artemis needed to conclude that Wolf was okay with her being there.

Kaldur and Rocket walked up behind her, their footsteps soft and hesitant.

"Is he alive?" Rocket asked. The worry in her voice was clear.

Artemis nodded. "He's alive. He's got a steady heartbeat, and he's breathing." She thought for a moment, contemplating as she stared down into his face. She put a hand to his forehead, feeling his skin for a fever. "He's a little warm, though," Artemis added.

"The same disease that affected Miss Martian and me?" Kaldur asked her.

"I think it would be," Artemis automatically responded. "I mean, what else could it be?"

She removed her hand from Connor's forehead, and turned around to stare back at her two teammates. They both looked at her apprehensively, like she had all the answers to whatever questions were floating around in her head. Artemis narrowed her eyes at them; she found that she didn't like being looked at like that. Hated having such a burden placed on her, real or not.

"What?" she asked, her voice taut.

"Nothing," Rocket replied, putting her hands up defensively. "We're just looking at you."

Artemis pouted, and turned back around to face Connor. For some reason, she didn't believe that. Not by a long shot. Well, more than a long shot, since she could aim those. She placed her hand back on Connor's forehead, the back of her hand resting up against the hot flesh. He did have a fever, but then again, he was part Kryptonian. Weren't they supposed to react well to extremely high temperatures?

But better safe than sorry.

"We should probably get him back to the Cave," Artemis told them both.

Kaldur walked up beside her. Wolf didn't even blink. He put his hand on Connor's forehead, feeling what Artemis had felt, and confirming what she had said was true. He was burning up; he knew Kryptonian biologies better than Artemis did, and he knew that this wasn't normal. He was part human, with human vulnerabilities, too. This needed to be dealt with.

Rocket stepped up last, taking her own turn at putting her hand to his head. "Definitely hot," she added in. Then, "What did you say you guys were infected with?"

"You'd have to ask Robin," Kaldur said, turning to her. "He was the one who diagnosed us."

"Hey, speaking of Robin and the others, how are we gonna let them know that we found Connor?" Artemis asked. She had already began picking Connor up, slinging him over her shoulders and making towards the spacecraft with him. Wolf followed, walking right alongside her.

"I do not know exactly how," Kaldur answered her. "But our first—priority—is to…get back to the cave with Superboy. After that is accomplished…I guess…we can…wait…"

"Wait?!" Rocked shouted. "What do you mean wait? What's gotten into you? The Kaldur'ahm I know wouldn't sit around and wait…"

Kaldur shook his head at her words, trying to clear it. He knew he was not himself, he knew that this wasn't something that he would do, and something he should never do. But the haze of fog in his mind thickened, and he couldn't think right, couldn't find the right words, couldn't see the path ahead of him clearly. He didn't know what direction to take, which path to follow. He was blind in the white clouds that drifted in his brain, and he didn't know what to do about it. It swarmed around him, closing in on him at all sides. Rocket was right, he knew she was right; he could see that much. But everything else was fading.

"So Miss Martian and everyone else…?" Artemis was starting to ask, but just as she began to speak, they saw the distortion of the camouflaged Bioship near them, approaching fast through the air and then descending down towards them.

The camouflage mode faded, and out jumped Miss Martian, as ecstatic as ever. She bounded over to Artemis, a smile stretched wide across her face, and she hugged her tightly in her arms. Artemis groaned as she squeezed her, though she tried to her best to play off the sound as a cough. Miss Martian let her down, and looked straight into her eyes, tears forming around the edges.

"You found him!" she exclaimed, and made to hug Artemis again.

The only good thing about her squeezing Artemis so tightly was that she lifted her off the ground, and that at least helped her to rest her leg, if only for a moment. The ache and throb was still there, buried deep inside of her muscles and bones.

When Artemis was set back down, he heaved and audible and obvious sigh of relief.

"He was here the whole time?" Robin asked. He couldn't believe his eyes. Here Connor was, being found in a fairly large clearing, in almost broad daylight, unhidden from anything and anyone, and no one had seen him? Not until now? Hadn't at least one of the Leaguers flown by and seen someone lying on the ground here? Well, apparently, not, Robin thought.

He crossed his arms and sulked.

"Well, I guess I could sorta see how that's possible," Rocket said, trying to reassure him. "I mean, this is pretty far out West, and you wouldn't normally think that Connor would come out this far. So, really—"

"Can we not have this conversation now?!" Artemis snapped, making them all jump. The pain was shooting up her leg, and Connor was not helping it. "Superboy's in ill condition, and we need to get him back to the cave."

As am I, Artemis added silently. Hell, I might be in worse condition.

They all nodded silently, and thankfully, Miss Martian took Artemis' burden off her shoulders, and onto hers, right before they all flew back to the cave. Mission accomplished.


"You're bleeding again," Megan whispered, her voice full of distress.

"I know," Artemis said with a long and drawn out sigh. "I noticed back at the clearing. I think my clothes still have traces of that poison stuff Ivy gave us. So, y'know, I'm bleeding again…" She gave another pointed sigh.

Megan's hands traveled up and down her back, slick with the warm waters of the shower. The small red droplets that pooled on her skin were washed away immediately, swirling down the drain beneath her legs. She sat down on the cool tiles, with her head downcast, and her arms hugging her legs to her chest.

Megan sat behind her, crossed-legged, worried.

Blood wasn't exactly her favorite thing in the world, and seeing it bead up on Artemis' back, when it should have stopped by now… She shuddered.

"You okay, Megan?" Artemis asked her.

"Yeah," she returned, but her voice betrayed her. She wasn't okay. "I just hated seeing you this way," Megan admitted, knowing that she couldn't hide the truth from her friend. "I mean, I thought you guys had gotten that stuff out of your clothes. But now you're bleeding again and I…" she trailed off as her voice started to crack.

"Hey, hey," Artemis said, spinning around and taking Megan's hands in hers. "It's okay. I'm fine, really. Nothing to worry about. The most there is to do is to soak our clothes in hydrogen peroxide-again…" she groaned lightly, "…and wait a little while. This is nothing; you should have seen me when those poisons first got on us. I was covered with…"

Oops. Artemis realized that she shouldn't have said that. Way to make things worse, she chided herself. She grimaced when Megan's eyes started to flood with tears as the thought of a blood-soaked Artemis waltzed across her mind.

"At least we got Connor back!" Artemis tried. Feebly, for Megan still seemed far too downcast.

Way to fucking go, Artemis thought again, her voice bitter in her head.

"Yeah, that is one good thing," Megan agreed, though her voice was still timid. "So, that much of the mission is a success. Now all that's left to do is get this poison out of our bodies."

"Out of our—? What'd'ya mean?" Artemis asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

Megan's hands stopped on her back, their softs, caressing touches ending. Blood still welled up on her skin, flowing down her back in a small little lines of red and pink. Megan pointed to her skin as if that proved her point. Artemis looked down, at her stomach and breasts and chest; parts of her body that bled slightly, but not near as much as her back. And her legs, her thighs and hips and calves; tiny little pinpricks of blood barely noticeable cascading down her skin as the shower water washed it all away.

"That's only because that plant toxin is still on my clothes," Artemis said. "I don't think the poison is in my body."

"Well, maybe not your's, I suppose," Megan said quietly. "But I think it's in other's. Like Wally's, for example." She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself, as she thought back to the memory of him screaming at her on the Bioship.

"Wally? What'd he do?" Artemis asked, suddenly curious. She reached out and put a hand on Megan's shoulder.

"Screamed at me. Shouted at me. Something like that. He was so angry, and I've never seen him that way before. Clearly he isn't acting like himself…" She paused. "Right?"

"Right," Artemis reassured her. "Wally isn't one to really blow up at someone."

She gave Megan a bright smile, hoping that she would return it. Slowly at first, Megan pulled her lips back into a smile, timid and unsure, but eventually relaxed and natural in the end.

"Kaldur isn't acting normal either," Artemis told Megan.

Her smile lessened, which caused Artemis to chide herself mentally yet again. Way to go, you idiot.

"What's he like?" Megan asked.

"He's not himself. He's not acting like a leader. He's forgetful, he's…well, lost. For lack of a better word. He's just so out of it, like he doesn't even know which way is up." Artemis spun back around, and shook her head. She felt Megan's hands rest on her back. "Something's wrong with him. Obviously."

"Raquel is the only one of us who hasn't been exposed to whatever the Injustice League poisoned us with," Megan said. "If anyone is noticing a change in us, it would be her."

"And what about the other Leaguers. Y'know, our seniors or whatever. Why haven't they said anything about this?" Artemis' question hung in the air between them, unsure. Megan couldn't answer it, so she only licked her lips, and started running her hands up and down along Artemis' still-bleeding back, her fingers leaving shivers upon every place she touched. A soft sigh escaped her. Artemis dug her nails into her thighs, not caring about the blood crusting beneath the tips.

"I don't know," Megan finally said.

"Neither do I."


More to come soon, please keep reading...