This was already about halfway done when I published the previous chapter, so it was much easier to write! I'm not gonna keep you waiting any longer, so here it is!
The team heard people in the forest about an hour later, so they had to keep moving. They quietly made their way through the trees, heading away from the unfamiliar voices, and moved towards the mountains in the distance. After discussing it for an extensive amount of time, they finally agreed that the mountains were their best bet for shelter. It was a really hot day, and they had to stop frequently to rest and cool down, but they made it three-quarters of the way there by the time night fell.
'How's the league gonna find us here?' Artemis asked as they settled down for the night. 'Batman will know that we headed towards the mountains, and with Flash helping, it won't take them long.' Robin answered as he settled down on Wally's side, and the speedster was already asleep. She sighed and curled up between tree roots. 'Let's hope they start looking soon and don't just assume the Cadmus got us.' The others found a semi-comfortable spot and laid down, obviously trying to ignore the worry the last statement had created.
Artemis couldn't sleep. She could hear Conner shuffle around occasionally during his watch, but that wasn't what kept her up. She couldn't stop thinking about Cadmus, and how they forced her friends to attack each other. That moment when Wally caught her and almost attacked, or her fight with M'gann and Conner, or, worst of all, when Wally came bursting into the clearing carrying a limp Robin. Even without the mind link, Artemis could feel his fear for his best friend, and everyone stopped for a second.
Then he had set his injured friend in a safe place and leaped in between the fighting friends. At first, she thought he was going to attack her and Kaldur, but then he had turned and growled at the bigger animals, clearly protecting them. She still couldn't figure out how he had gotten the collar off, but she was glad he did. Reluctant as she was to admit it, They wouldn't have lasted much longer if he hadn't.
She raised her head and looked over to where the two best friends practically brothers, lay at the foot of a tree. She could tell Robin was still in pain whenever he breathed, but it had gotten better as they walked, and he even ran around and climbed a few trees as they had trecked towards the mountains.
Rustling broke her out of her thoughts, and she looked towards the source of the sound in time to see M'gann push herself to her feet and quietly trot over to her. Artemis shuffled over to make room as M'gann lay down between her and the tree. 'Couldn't sleep either?' She asked, leaning into her friend's side. M'gann shook her head, then rested it on her paws, letting out a sad sigh. 'I just can't stop thinking about what almost happened. I-we almost killed you guys!', Artemis pressed into her side a little more, trying to offer comfort. 'It's ok. I hate to say it, but Kid Mouth actually did something right for once.'
M'gann snorted with laughter quietly then turned to face her friend. 'You're ok though, right?' Artemis nodded quickly. 'yeah, I'm fine. I'm still worried about Robin though, He looked pretty rough at the end of that fight.' M'gann nodded in agreement and together they glance at the two friends yet again.
'They are totally adorable right now, you have to admit.' Artemis rolled her eyes and settled down to sleep. 'Good night M'gann' She saw her friend pout slightly out of the corner of her eye and sighed. 'Maybe a little'
The next morning, it was cold and all of them were stiff and damp and greatly regretting not pushing on until they found shelter. They trudged on through the early morning, ignoring all the aches and pains in favor of moving forward. They reached the foot of the mountain in about 2 hours, and by then they were ready to collapse again. Before they could, they had to find somewhere to shelter until the league could find them.
Wandering around, they finally found a small opening in the hillside. Conner went in first, then he motioned them inside when he didn't see or smell anything. Artemis, Robin, and Kaldur fit through the opening easily enough, but M'gann and Wally had some trouble. After they all slipped inside, they settled down again, deciding to take a nap. Robin volunteered to take first watch, and Artemis offered to do it with him, knowing she probably wouldn't fall asleep anyway.
They sat together at the mouth of the cave, still hidden in shadows. She was laying down in the middle of the entrance while Robin found a small ledge to lay on. They had no way to talk, so they just sat in comfortable silence, put at ease by the steady sound of their friends breathing.
Artemis closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and focusing on what she could hear and smell. The trees rustled gently in the slight breeze, and small creatures scurried about their business in the undergrowth. She could smell the sea and the dew from the early morning marine layer that came in on the coast. She marveled at how much more there was to hear and smell that she would never have noticed normally. The birds were chirping softly and she could hear them as they flew between the trees, bickered over berries, or tended to their nests. She could also hear Robin's pained breaths, caused by his previous injuries. She glanced at him and saw that he was staring out into the forest, trying to distract himself.
As she sat there, she realized that she could finally see his eyes. They were a familiar blue, but she couldn't place where she had seen them before. Looking away before he noticed her staring, she continued to ponder over it. Considering she did live in Gotham, maybe she had seen his civilian identity before and just not realized it, that must be it.
They sat there for around 30-40 minutes before anything happened. A sharp gust of wind tore through the area in front of the cave, accompanied with a red blur, but continued on its way. Artemis shot to her feet and was about to chase after it, even though it would have been no use anyway, before Robin shook his head at her and turned to look outside again, looking expectant. Sure enough, the blur returned and skidded to stop in front of them, revealing an excited Flash.
"Finally! It took me 20 seconds to find you guys! That is you guys... right?" Artemis rolled her eyes at him while Robin trotted into the cave and jumped on the closest sleeping figure, which just happened to be Wally. She watched, amused, as He yowled and woke everyone else up. 'Flash is here!' Robin crowed, then he darted outside, closely followed by an annoyed Wally. 'Get back here you jerk!' He growled playfully as he chased his friend outside, and the rest of the group followed them out at a much more relaxed pace.
Batman arrived shortly after, and they all loaded onto the Batplane. Robin immediately climbed up his mentor's cape and perched on his shoulder. Artemis watched in shock as Batman absentmindedly stroked the small cat's fur as he began to fly the plane. 'Does everyone see this?' She asked and she saw that Kaldur, M'gann, and Conner were just as shocked. Wally just hopped up onto a seat and looked out the window, completely unfazed.
I can totally picture Batman doing this and messing with the team! Wanyway, I'm trying to write more now that school has settled down, so I should be able to get chapters out more frequently, but no promises, cause highschool...
