A/N: Oh my goodness it's been a while! For those of you who are reading "One Shot Marks Only the Beginning", I have not forgotten about that story I just have a little writers block is all. Same goes for "Who Let the Dog Out?". Trying to plan everything out when I have a sudden spark of creativity, so please be patient and I will get the next chapter of those two stories up ASAP. Thanks for reading and your reviews. You guys are amazing!


Artemis's POV

The clock read 3:07am, the time where people are closest to death during their REM cycle. The perfect time to stand in the training room and look at every screen up that was related to the most important case that will ever consume my life. I have looked at the evidence thousands of times before that, yet the pieces of the puzzle just continued to mock me in unsolvable way.

"It doesn't make any sense that he would be a John Doe," I said to myself out loud trying to talk myself through solving the case like I have plenty of times before. "How in world could May be alive when I saw her die in front of my eyes?"

The same questions and confusion had gone through my head for the past hour and a half, fueling my anger and frustration. I bounced the tennis ball on the ground before catching as my stress reliever. By this point I was bouncing the ball uncontrollably as it took away little of the frustration and pain.

"None of this makes any sense!" I exclaimed as I hurled the ball the other side of the room with all of my strength. The ball flew through the holograms and resound with a loud thump on the wall. Taking a huff of a breath, I let the ball bounce passed me on its way back. I looked back at the screens when it hit me. No, not the tennis ball, my breakthrough idea.

"What if that wasn't May that I saw die? A look a like or something of the sorts, but that would mean that she was a murderer. May is no killer," I conversed with myself, the wheels in my brain turning.

"Well, you have killed before; both willing and unwillingly. May though, she wasn't like you. She was the calmer one leaving the only option of her being forced to fake her death and kill and hurt everyone that cares about her. I believe I just had a Eureka moment," I finished talking to myself and shut down the holographs.

I quietly ran to the kitchen and grabbed the legal notepad and pen that was on the countertop for grocery lists. I hurriedly scribbled what was important down. I ripped the paper off before I carefully sprinted to my room. I closed my door and ran to my bathroom turning on the light and swinging the door to face me.

Determined to expose the mastermind behind this terrible masquerade, I tore down the map with pin points and string and clues and pictures. I gathered all the old leads and dead ends into the garbage. Taking a glue dot I stuck the page of the legal notepad in the map's place.

I swiftly turned around and flicked the light off and finally got some shut-eye. The last thing I saw was "May is alive. May was forced." scrawled backwards in my mirror.


Wally's POV

Surprisingly no one had the unfortunate chore of getting Artemis up this morning. Unfortunately, they had the chore of waking me up as I had the displeasure of finding out.

Artemis came noisily into my room and flicked on the blaring lights. I buried my head in my covers and groaned.

"Get up Baywatch. We have an interview today," Artemis chirped. It was weird, as if Artemis suddenly became extra chipper over night. She pulled the covers away from me and I winced at the sudden onslaught of light.

"Someone's in a good mood this morning," I said while rubbing sleep out of my eyes and sitting up to stretch my arms over my head.

"Well, I took what you said to thought and realized the you were right in the sense that I do need to keep an open mind about May changing her appearance," she responded sitting at the foot of my bed in a way that showed her inability to contain her excitement. It made a smile adorn my lips.

"Now don't get all high and mighty just because I said you were right for once," Artemis reprimanded taking in my smile for satisfaction of being right, so I threw my hands up in surrender as I waited for her to continue. "I have a theory that May was framed. Now, before you say anything, hear me out. The May that I know wouldn't kill or fake anything of this size, so I think that she was forced into this against her will."

"That's a pretty big theory you got there Artemis," I replied after giving it a thought. I stretched my arms above me and yawned.

"You don't believe it," she stated rather than asked.

"No, no, no. I didn't say that. In fact your theory is similar, if not spot on compared to what Rob and I came up with," I quickly reassured her. Since when did we become so nice and friend-like to each other?

"So you believe it? My theory, I mean," Artemis looked at me from her position at the end of my bed searching for more definite reassurance.

"If I didn't why would I conjure up a similar, almost the same theory, with Robin?" I answered with a question. My eyebrows were raised at her, questioning her questioning.

"No need to be sassy about it," she huffed, blowing a strand of hair away that fell in front of her face. I cocked my head to the side slightly and softly smiled at her. She looked over shortly and turned away before doing a double take with a weird look on her face ruining the mood. Not a relationship type mood, but a once in a blue moon not fighting type of mood. Yep, not a possible liking Harpy kind of mood at all.

"Why are you looking at me all funny, West?" She demanded in a snippy tone filled with curiosity and annoyance.

"Your face. What else would I be looking at funny?" I quickly shot back as we fell into our usual routine.

"Keep telling yourself that Baywatch," she replied unconvinced as she patted, more like lightly slapped repeatedly, my face before getting off of my bed. She turned around at the door to say loudly, "Remember to wear something nice. This is an important interview and none of us need you ruining it for all of us. That means more than just a t-shirt and jeans."

She turned to walk out the door as I rolled my eyes and stood up to close the door she conveniently left wide open.

"Also, make sure that it doesn't have food stains on it of any sorts," Artemis yelled from halfway to the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled as I closed the door to take a shower and dress.


Artemis's POV

Two hours after waking Wally up we were ushered out of the greenroom on The Cat Grant Show by Jack.

"Does everyone have their microphones clipped on? Yes? Yes? Okay. Smiles everybody and happy thoughts and stories. Make them laugh, make them laugh," Jack reminded as he guided M'gann and I in the back of the group where to go. His hand was too low on our backs and everything about M'gann's demeanor screamed uncomfortable. Hopefully I was better at hiding the same feeling for the sake of the mission.

"Alright, now go, go, go," Jack said with one final push that was too low for comfort. I took a deep breath thinking just put on a show good enough that it is believable. I took the lead when she announced us flashing a smile that was so fake that it seemed real. I waved to the crowd as I walked down the stairs to the couch on the set.

Cat Grant gave us all a hug when we reached the couch and chair facing the audience. We all shuffled around to find a comfortable spot on the large couch. I ended up sitting at the end of the couch closest to Cat Grant. Wally straightened out his blazer before taking the spot next to me. Naturally Rob sat next to him and Kaldur next to Robin. M'gann fixed the skirt of her dress before settling down in-between Kaldur and Conner.

"So glad that you guys could make it today," Cat started off.

"We are happy to be here," M'gann chirped as Conner placed his arm on the back of the couch behind her.

"How is your guys' tour going so far?" Cat asked leaning back in her chair.

"It's going surprisingly great. We never expected to get to this point in our careers, so it's definitely a learning experience for all of us," Rob answered reminding us of our cover story that we compiled months ago.

"Well, that's understandable; going from playing in a garage to performing on the big stage," Cat stated prompting for more "stories" and "experiences".

Wally gave a low chuckle to her statement before doing what he does best; talking. "I remember getting this one call from a guy named Jack saying he was interested in helping us get our names out there. He's our manager now, but I remember when he got us the gig at the Gotham Summer Festival that really started it all. We were all gathered around Artemis's phone I believe with the speaker on waiting for him to tell us if we got the gig or not." Wally chuckled again as he remembered us huddled around a phone in the cave waiting to see if this undercover case would actually work. "We all broke out screaming when he told us he got us the gig that started it all. My mom had to come in and tell us to be quiet."

We all smiled at the memory of Dinah coming into the living room at the cave and yelling at us the quiet down.

"Nobody could stop smiling that day after that call," Kaldur shook his head smiling as he put in his two cents.

Cat was giving a light laugh along with the audience. "So that's how it all started. With screaming teenagers in a garage." The room broke out with laughter including ours.

"Now, I've been wondering," Cat started when the laughter died down again. "How do you guys come up with such brilliant songs?"

"Well, I wouldn't call them brilliant," I finally spoke. I felt my cheeks grow warm as everyone's eyes were on me. Wally put his arm behind me on the couch in a small jester of comfort.

"Why wouldn't you call them brilliant?" Cat inquired. I brought my curled hair in front of my right shoulder and looked at my hands as they motioned when I spoke.

"All of the songs that we produce are raw to a certain extent. It keeps us true to how we feel and think when we originally wrote it. Our music isn't supposed to be perfect. It's supposed to be raw and relatable. It's supposed to reflect us as people and to reflect our experiences. It's not brilliant or perfect, it's quiet the opposite. Our music is just us," I finished looking down the couch at the team. Wally gave a reassuring squeeze to my left shoulder with the hand behind me. With a nod from Kaldur I turned back to Cat Grant.

"That's an amazing way of thinking about it. You said that you try to keep your music close to how it was originally written," Cat paused as I nodded in affirmation, "so what is your writing process?"

"It depends really. Like Wally could write an instrumental piece and then we would all bounce back and forth lyrics, or Megan could come up with a melody and lyrics and we'll bounce back and forth harmonies and instrumental pieces. The process differs for each song that we write," I explain with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Speaking about writing new songs, what was with the new debut of one of your songs in Gotham? Everyone has been wondering ever since you performed it," Cat leaned forward in her chair in anticipation.

"It's simple really. Artemis is just impatient," Rob cackled. I whipped around to glare at the little troll making him laugh harder. Soon everyone was giving off a light laugh.

Cat paused her laughing to say into the camera, "We'll be right back with Young Justice." The crowd erupted into applause before the on air light shut off.

"That was great," Cat said with her microphone turned off. We all turned to face the blonde woman when she spoke. "We will do a few more questions and then you guys will perform. Sound good?" I nodded agreeing.

"How is your guys' day going?" Cat asked conversationally.

"Fantastic! Being on your show is so exciting," M'gann cheerily answered. Who knew that a girl could have that much enthusiasm.

Cat chuckled at this. "I'm flattered that your so excited to be here."

"We're flattered that you called us to come on the show," Rob replied as if he had done this kind of stuff millions of times before.

"I'm glad that you guys actually agreed to come on being the hottest band right now," Cat smiled.

A cameraman interrupted us by saying, "You're back on in five... four... three... two," he pointed at us on one.

"Welcome back to The Cat Grant Show. I'm here with the band Young Justice," Cat addressed the audience before turning to us with her next question. "What's it like all of you living together while you tour?"

"It's like living with four brothers and only one sister. On top of that we all bunk in the same bus, so it is very difficult to get some space or quiet. Somebody is always doing something," I replied over exaggerating for the crowd's enjoyment.

"It's like another family only in closer quarters," M'gann added her two cents.

Cat nodded showing her acknowledgement of the answer before moving on to her last question. Her face serious as she asked, "You may find this question irrelevant, but humor me; do you think that what has happened to previous rising stars, like yourselves, could possible happen to you as well?"

Everyone knew that Cat was talking about the murder victims of the poor girls. My throat went dry and my hands clammy. I looked down at my clasped hands. Up until this point I had always viewed this as a mission, not a real attempt on my life. I could only think of the puzzle pieces. May was shot in the face making it difficult to recognize her. All the victims were blonde and blue eyed. Jack was being awfully touchy feely as of late as well as more secretive. That still didn't make up for the fact that the DNA on not only May, but all the victims are a John Doe's.

I looked up into the crowd. Jack's gaze in the back of the studio caught mine. His face broke out into a slimy, white toothed smile. Anyone else that looked at him would think that it was a smile of encouragement, but his eyes showed a different story making the smile grim. An uneasy feeling settled at the bottom of my stomach.

I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't tear my eyes from Jack's stare. In my peripheral vision I could see M'gann talking, but I couldn't hear her. I could feel Wally's concerned look, but I couldn't look away to reassure him or myself.

Only when I the on air light switched off for another commercial and Wally snapped his fingers in front of my face did I look away from the well dressed criminal. I looked right at Wally's face coming back to my senses and the world around me.

"What?" I finally snapped at him. His green eyes softened a little.

"Are you alright? You seemed a little out of it for a second there," Wally asked, something foreign to me in his tone; something genuine.

"I'm fine," I lied straight through my teeth. One of his eyebrows raised in disbelief. I got up brushing past him saying, "Let's just get ready to perform."


Wally's POV

I plugged my guitar in the amp and strummed a few cords to see if it sounded right. Once satisfied I clamed a hand on the vibrating strings to stop the sound. I put the pick in between my teeth as I cracked my knuckles. My gaze fell on Artemis in the front of the stage trying to shake out the jitters in her hands. Something was off about her. She was extra nervous which is odd to begin with, but she kept glancing up towards the back of the audience. When I looked at what she kept nervously looking at I saw nothing.

She did a little hop to try to release some nervous energy only to result in shaking out her hands more vigorously. She took in a deep breath before slowly and unsteadily releasing it. This only happened before our first performance. After that she rid herself of most of her stage freight and the rest of us followed the suit.

Something was eating at her.

"Artemis," I called out as she started to release another shaky breath. She turned to acknowledge me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just that - I mean I'm fine," she replied not at all convincingly.

"'Fine doesn't mean fine. The scale goes: great, good, okay, not okay, I hate you, fine.'" I quoted from 2 Broke Girls. She replied with a glare under her eyelashes, regaining a sense or normalcy.

The On Air light lit up before Cat Grant said full of enthusiasm, "Welcome back everybody! Here to preform their latest hit Something Bad, give a big round of applause for Young Justice!"

The cameraman panned over to us and pointed at us to start.

Stand on the bar, stomp your feet, start clapping

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

Artemis and M'gann sang before the rest of us started to play.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Artemis then jumped into her verse.

Pulled up to the church but I got so nervous

Had to back it on up, couldn't make it the service

Grabbed all the cash underneath my mattress

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

If I hadn't seen her preform every night I wouldn't know that her heart was fully in the performance. Part of her was somewhere else and I just wondered when it would come back as M'gann began to sing her verse with much enthusiasm.

Ran into a girl in a pretty white dress

Rolled down my window, where you heading to next?

Said I'm heading to the bar with my money out the mattress

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

Artemis joined in, turning to face M'gann as she sang with her.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Stand on the bar, stomp your feet, start clapping

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

Drinks keep coming, throw my head back laughing

Artemis leaned back giving the effect of throwing her head back as she continued to sing eyes slightly distant.

Wake up in the morning don't know what happened

Whoa... Something bad

The girls leaned into each other's space when they repeated the line.

Whoa... Something bad

M'gann swiveled to walk over to the right side of the stage as she sang her last solo verse.

Now me and that girl that I met on the street

We're rolling down the road, down to New Orleans

Got a full tank of gas and the money out the mattress

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

Artemis made her way to the left of the stage swaying her hips to the music when she got there.

'Bout to tear it up down in New Orleans

Just like a real life Thelma and Louise

If the cops catch up, they're gonna call it Kidnapping

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

The girls made their way to each other as the sang out the chorus in unison.

Stand on the bar, stomp your feet start clapping

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

Drinks keep coming, throw my head back laughing

Wake up in the morning don't know what happened

Whoa... Something bad

Whoa... Something bad

The last verse Artemis stomped a spiked heel to the beat making her green sleeveless blouse shake. M'gann danced along as she sang making her navy dress sway from side to side.

Stand on the bar, stomp your feet, start clapping

Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen

Now the drinks keep coming, throw my head back laughing

Wake up in the morning don't know what happened


Artemis's POV

M'gann and I stopped dancing, letting the last lines of the song ring out.

Whoa... Something bad

That's when I saw her. Bleached hair and brown colored contacts, but nothing could change the face that has been burned into my mind for three years.

Whoa... Something bad.

May.