Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
"So, I ask Mr. Constantine for help and he refers to you?" Artemis smiled as she swallowed her glass of alcohol, while Dick and Roy sat at her table.
"You almost beat the crap out of a friend of mine." Roy pointed out.
Artemis smiled. "I admit that we didn't exactly start on the right foot, as you mortals would say. I'm sorry about Thomas. He seemed like a good man."
"He was." Roy said sadly, mourning the loss of his mentor's best friend. "Look, a friend of ours, his girlfriend, said that you were a different kind of Amazon than Diana is. I thought you all lived on this Paradise Island."
"Themyscira." Artemis nodded.
"And if any man tried to as much as step on that island, they'd go 'boom'." Roy said.
"No one explodes, no." Artemis corrected.
"OK, explain this to us." Dick said. "How is it that there are desert Amazons. Rachel, a friend of ours, summed it all up a bit but just tell us from your perspective."
Artemis took a breath. "A long time ago, one of my foremothers had a falling out with Queen Hippolyta, Diana's mother and she, alongside with many of her followers decided to leave. Another pantheon agreed to take us under their protection but their terms were… arduous. The sojourn to Bana-Mighdall was not without sacrifices but eventually, we found our home. Me and Akila, my best friend, were training to become a Shim'Tar. A chief warrior of our clan. But Akila had no interest in the title. Then, one day, she disappeared without saying a word. For weeks, I searched in the desert, until a portal opened that spat her out like garbage. And when I looked at her…" Artemis looked sad as she stared at the wall, making Dick and Roy feel some sympathy for her. "She had changed. I knew it the moment I saw her closely. She had been summoned but I didn't know what she had become… or at least I was trying to convince myself that I didn't know."
"She became Shim'Tar." Roy realized.
"Indeed." Artemis nodded. "And without Akila by my side, Bana-Mighdall no longer felt like home. I felt like there was nothing worth living for in there for me anymore. No greater purpose for me. Nothing or no one I would belong to… but funnily enough, I found peace in my solitude that I never thought possible… until one night… I saw our city in flames. For as long as the city of Bana-Mighdall had stood, the hostile nation of Qurac believed that we had usurped their sacred homeland. For years they sought to pierce the enchanted sandstorm… and somehow… on that dark night… they made it through. But they could not have… no one could have suspected the horrors they have unleashed."
"What happened?" Dick asked.
"She foolishly tried to use the bow of Ra." Artemis said. "But the legends claim that I did it." She said with venom and resentment in her voice. "They have no idea what truly happened that night."
"Then tell us." Roy said.
Years ago
Artemis saw the flaming ruins of her city as on the hill was her friend Akila, wielding a bow.
"Sister… please… Akila, tell me you did not use the bow of Ra."
"Yes, she did." Another voice said as from behind appeared a woman with long dark hair with a sword, shield and a bronze armor.
"Diana…" Artemis said.
"In effort to save your people, your sister has doomed them all!" Diana declared.
Present
"Diana?" Dick widened his eyes.
"The champion of Themyscira. Daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. The one you call "Wonder Woman"." Artemis nodded as she poured herself another glass of booze. "We had never met before that night but I had heard the legends. And let's just say, I wasn't impressed but I'll be honest, it wasn't my finest moment. Knowing then what I know now, I admit I could have, or perhaps, should have welcomed her with more open arms. But… in that moment… that sheer… perfection… the walking epitome of everything I had dreamed of becoming but never would? It was almost too much to bear." She said with jealousy and resentment in her tone as she swallowed her drink.
Years ago
Artemis rushed at Diana and tackled her to the city wall. "You are not needed here, "Your Majesty"." She said sarcastically. "This is a matter of sovereignty."
"I'm afraid the world disagrees with you." Diana corrected. "I have been asked to end this conflict and I would hate to harm you in the process."
Artemis and Diana traded punches before their fists hit and the impact pushed both of them away from each other.
"Enough!" Diana snapped. "I only came here because a sister city is in distress! But I heard that your so-called Shim'Tar had unleashed a burning hell upon the invading forces of Qurac."
"Akila… she… I don't understand… she… she would never lash out at her… our people." Artemis gasped, not believing.
But, her fellow Amazon then came out from the flames, with burnt face and pure darkness and insanity in her eyes and in her hands was the bow of Ra. "Don't you see, Artemis? The only way to preserve everything we stand for, everything we believe in, it must all be purified by the flame of Ra! As Ra was there in the beginning, so shall he be here now in the end!"
"Akila, don't do this. Please." Artemis begged, trying to reach her friend she cared about as a sister.
"That is no longer your friend, Artemis. Whoever she was… whatever she means to you… it's just an empty vessel now." Diana explained. "It's either her or me. What will you choose?"
Artemis was conflicted. Siding with her best friend, who may be too far gone, or a clan of Amazons she was born to resent?
Present
"And… what happened next?" Lisa asked.
"What do you think?" Artemis challenged as a stray tear rolled down her cheek.
"You two put her down." Dick realized. "You killed your best friend."
"Look, Akila died fighting because no one with such power would ever give up. And for no rational reason, you blame yourself, even though it wasn't your fault and you had no other choice." Roy assured her.
Artemis sighed, wiping her face. "And the bow of Ra was lost in the conflict. At first, Diana and I thought that the gods reclaimed it… but… like so many other times in my life… I was wrong."
"Don't beat yourself over it." Roy said. "Look, a friend of mine often had a bad habit of blaming himself for everything wrong that had happened to the people he cared about, even though it wasn't his fault, nor was he responsible. It took a long time for him to break that habit."
"Perhaps you have a point." Artemis said. "But I can't rest until I know the bow is in good hands."
"Then, let's go get it." Dick said.
"The shocking footage from the Qurac city of K'Kyesh shows rubble and dust left after a huge explosion, with hundreds of dead and thousands more misplaced, due to the assault on the home of the political opposition of Supreme Leader General Ahmed Heimle. According to the refugees from K'Kyesh and its neighboring cities, refugees are attempting to leave the city by the thousands, causing tensions with neighboring countries to erupt. The United Nations has called for General Heimle to confirm the existence of this unidentified weapon of mass destruction, that has caused so much devastation and terror…"
"It is only "unidentified" to someone, who has never witnessed the Bow of Ra's power first-hand." Artemis drawled. "By the goddesses."
"You think this General Heimle has the bow?" Dick asked.
Artemis looked confused. "I wonder how is that possible. For thousands of years I had searched for that bow. And in the last two years, I finally had a lead. But… only a Shim'Tar is able to wield the power of the bow. I don't understand how could he…"
"If there's anything I've learned about magic, it's that there are new ways to use it." Roy said. "Who knows, maybe Heinle has resources to find a way to use the bow."
"I can't let someone else use that bow." Artemis said. "My sister was corrupted by the bow of Ra. In her heart she believed that she was doing the right thing but in the end, the power of the bow drove her insane… and… it was my responsibility to end this madness. And such power in the hands of someone else… it would mean… that I failed her. What I've suffered and sacrificed to find it, would have been for nothing, Roy."
"We won't let that happen. I promise." Roy assured her. "I called a friend to help find it quickly."
Elsewhere in the desert, a yellow lightning was speeding across the desert and as it stopped, an Afro-American in T-shirt and shorts was on the outskirts of the city as he pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Roy, it's Wally. Heard that you needed my help."
Imagine that Artemis is being played by Jessica Biel.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.