And here is where the biggest problem starts.

Artemis's head hurt, and it wasn't just from the baseball bat. She had woken up in this room hours ago and had spent all her time so far trying to guess what was going to happen to her. That was, after she investigated what she was wearing. Someone had changed her out of her hero uniform and into some grey sweats and a t-shirt, both without any logos or writing. She looked around again. Her prison was surprisingly accommodating. She had a creaky twin sized bed with some sheets on it, a sink, a mirror, and a toilet. It was very much like a standard prison room; however the door was thick steel with a small opaque glass window. No bars.

The fact that I have a room for a long term stay is what concerns me. Artemis thought. She had been expecting chains and a swift torture session on information. She would have even preferred it. I hope they don't think they can force me to work for them again. Or use me as a bargaining chip. She sighed. This room just leaves so many options for what they're planning…

Artemis got up from her sitting position on the bed and moved to the middle of the room; beginning basic stretches to calm and clear her mind.

They might try to break my spirit and brainwash me. Or feed my mind crap about no one looking for me. I won't let them get to me. She thought to herself, reaching for her toes. Artemis looked around, her training kicking in as she found herself assessing the walls and furniture for a potential escape. She shook her head. There's no way I'd be able to escape from here.

CLICK

Artemis's head whipped to the door. Someone had just unlocked it. She quickly got up from her stretching position on the floor.

The door opened to reveal her father, maskless, and with a smirk on his face.

"It's time," He stated.

"Time for what?" Artemis retorted, crossing her arms.

"It will be explained soon," Sportsmaster said ominously. Then he took her upper arm and led her out of the room. Artemis tried to keep a straight face; she wanted to hide how fucking angry she was at all the shit the Shadows and Lawrence had put her through. But a scowl was slowly emerging.

Artemis took in her surroundings scathingly as he marched her along. The hallway was narrow and all of it was concrete with no windows like her prison-esque room. In fact, they were walking past doors that all looked exactly like hers. They took over a prison? She thought. No, that's too obvious. They probably are using what used to be a prison for a base. Artemis decided, wondering if she was underground.

They went through a pair of heavy metal doors into another hallway that seemed exactly the same, except the doors were different. The doors here were spread farther apart and (Artemis guessed) weren't as thick as her prison door. Artemis tried to focus her brain power on counting the number of doors they passed and not on what she was possibly heading to.

Her father slowed his gait and soon stopped in front of an unnumbered, unnamed door. How do they tell what's in each one? Artemis thought, keeping herself distracted. Lawrence knocked a few times on the door.

"Come in," A muffled gravelly voice came through the door. Her father turned the nob and opened the door, pushing Artemis through first and closing the door behind him. The lock clicking into place.

Oh Shit. This isn't something I'd thought up at all. She mentally cursed.

Wotan the sorcerer was in the room, standing beside what Artemis recognized as a dentist's chair. The rest of the room was empty.

"Have a seat," Wotan spoke, lazily gesturing a hand toward the chair. Her father shoved her over to it. She sat, not really seeing a choice in the matter.

"Otcenda" His voice echoed as he recited a spell. Artemis gasped as ropes materialized, strapping her to the chair.

"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" She snapped, looking back and forth between the men as she struggled uselessly against the binds.

"I might as well tell you," Her father smirked. "The Shadows have decided not to kill you for your disobedience,"

He says that like it's a gift from God. Artemis scowled.

"Instead, we are going to erase and semi-replace your memories of that stupid team. This way you will work for us and with us. So, Wotan is going to…"

Artemis stopped listening after that.

My memories of the team? Of everything we've been through? She mentally searched through all of her memories from the past year. I don't want to forget them! They're my family! M'gann's my sister! I can't forget her! And Supes and Kaldur are like older brothers! And Robin is that annoying little troll of a younger brother! And Wally… Artemis's thoughts trailed off as she remembered all of the moments, old and recent, she's shared with the redhead. Fighting with him that turned into banter and teasing; watching out for each other, including his more recent overprotective bouts. His stupid jokes and flattery that she shouldn't find funny. How much he's caused her to just care about him. I can't forget Wally…I think…I think I'm in love with the idiot. She felt a lump grow in her throat at her realization. And it's not even the end of this stupid deal!

Artemis looked back up to the two criminals, one on each side of the chair. I'll have to work for the Shadows again. She thought to herself, trying to let it sink in. Lawrence was still talking, Artemis wondered if time had slowed down, or maybe her brain had sped up...

But maybe the Artemis from before the team will still want to fight against their wishes. Hating the Shadows wasn't a recent change in my ideals. Artemis grew hopeful, remembering now all those years that she'd worked for the Shadows so reluctantly because of her hate for her father. And if I manage to get away, maybe the team will find me and…and…She drew a blank. Will there be a way to get my memories back?

"…Begin the process now, Wotan," Lawrence said. Artemis's brain caught this and forced her back into reality. Wotan raised his hands over Artemis's head so close that she could see the cracks in his blue skin. Through his fingertips she could see as his eyes started to glow red.

"No," Artemis breathed, "No!" She started yelling and thrashing about, "NO!" every fiber of her being was just screaming for her to get away! "NO DON'T!"

"Eredicxe Airomem Ort-"

Everything went black.

Wally was beyond frustrated. How was he supposed to concentrate on school when Artemis was in danger? Possibly at this very moment. Maybe if I work on my homework at the Cave I'll get more done. He thought, catching a zeta-tube there. However Robin had other plans for him the second he entered the Cave.

"Hey KF! Come do biology," He excitedly order. Wally scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion and headed over to his best friend. Robin was currently sitting at the kitchen's island, working on papers that were strewn about all over.

"What's all this?" He asked, taking a seat across from him. Robin handed him a worksheet and a textbook.

"I'm partitioning off Artemis's schoolwork to everyone," The boy explained, working on math himself. "Luckily Supey knows Spanish,"

"Dude, how did you get all her work?" Wally asked, starting on Artemis's biology. This shouldn't take long, I took Biology last year. Robin looked around before answering.

"I go to her school, remember?" He whispered, "But if anyone else asks I got help from Bats,"

"Oh yeah," The speedster drew out; remembering the picture of Dick and Artemis the boy wonder had showed him. I wish the rest of the team knew Rob's identity. He mentally sighed. Everything would be so much easier. Wally had been disappointed when not much had changed when he had deduced Robin's identity. Even though he knew his real name was Dick, he wouldn't call him that or think of him in those terms unless they were meeting as "Wally and Dick" which was really pretty rare. Because not only did he still have to hide Robin's identity to everyone he knew, Batman was unaware that Wally knew too. And Dick wanted to keep it that way. So it was always just safer to hang out as "Wally and Robin" or "Kid Flash and Robin" in case they ran into anyone. Because Dick Grayson should have no reason to know Wally West, as they live in different states. So no Batcave tour for me. Wally sighed. He looked up, he was getting nowhere on this homework. Might as well ask what's on my mind…He reasoned. "So how is your other work going?" He asked, wanting to know if the computer whiz had found any clues on Artemis yet.

"No," Robin frowned, "And I don't think the League has either. You went back to the dock with M'gann, right? Find anything there?"

"No," Wally answered. M'gann had taken him back to the ship in the bioship to scour the area for forensic evidence left behind by the enemy. "Which in itself is surprising. Any dirt in the treads of their shoes should have been dislodged in the fight, at least! But I couldn't even find anything as simple as that. Best case scenario; I was hoping for fluid left behind by the helicopter," He sighed heavily, "That would have been a great lead," His voice died off wistfully as the two continued to work.

They sat in silence for at least an hour, each absorbed in the papers and books in front of them.

But eventually Robin finished and headed to his room, temporarily distracting Wally; because he knew what Rob was going to do when he got there. Robin had set up his own servers and connections in his room, unknown to the League, in order to look for leads on Artemis as stealthily as possible. So as soon as Robin was gone, Wally couldn't concentrate.

The speedsters gut twisted and floated around inside of him as he just kept thinking that at any moment Robin could come rushing back into the room saying "I found her! Let's go!" And he just wanted that to happen so badly. Because Artemis wasn't safe and the only thing stopping Wally from getting her and wrapping her up safe in his arms…was the fact that they had no fucking clue where she was.

I think I can adequately qualify for the description of an "Emotional Wreck" right about now. Wally mused sourly. I keep thinking and wishing and hoping; and then I get angry because it hasn't come true yet; and then I get even angrier because hope is the only thing I have to go on. Which in turn makes me depressed. Wally got up from the table. Artemis's work was already done, it was his own that was being procrastinated on. Wally was fine with that. He headed over to Robin's room, his intention to stare at whatever the boy was doing on the screen until something good came out of it.

"Rob," He said as he opened the door, finding the room dark except for the glow from Robin's many computer screens.

"Hey," He responded, not turning around. Wally pulled a swivel chair up to sit next to his best friend.

"Can I do anything to help?" He asked, watching the screen fill up with html codes as Robin hacked into someone's system. Robin paused to hand him a mouse and point to a specific screen.

"You can go through those past hideouts and note similarities and patterns that can help narrow places down for when we get a lead," He explained, immediately turning back to the codes he was working on before. Wally just nodded and began surfing through the reports from the League's files, writing down anything useful on a notepad that had been lying on the desk in front of him.

Wally was sure that at least a few hours had passed; based on his hunger and the amount of pain his eyes and head were in from the time spent staring at the computer screen. But this was the most productive and focused he'd felt in days, so there was no way he was going to stop. He had already finished the first assignment Robin gave him and was currently working on the second: Looking for patterns and clues for Artemis based on the League's (and Roy's) Cheshire sightings.

Wally and Robin sat there for the rest of the day working on how to find their missing teammate. They became so focused they didn't even hear the other Cave residents passing by Robin's door.

M'gann and Paula had gone to the kitchen while they chatted and found the homework the two boys had left behind. Paula decided that the two must still be in the Cave, so M'gann focused her mental link and found them in Robin's room. The two women decided to investigate.

Upon opening the door to Robin's room, they found the two comepletely entranced with the computers. M'gann frowned, wondering how long they had been there. Paula gestured for them to leave, so M'gann followed her back into the hallway.

"Would you like me to teach you a new recipe?" Paula grinned, "I'm sure those boys are hungry,"

"Yes!" M'gann beamed, "This is a wonderful opportunity!" The Martian chimed as she led the way back to the kitchen.

The two women had been getting along famously. M'gann loved to hear stories of how cute and fierce Artemis was as a child and Paula loved to hear about what life was like on Mars. They had spent their days so far learning about each other and alternating Paula's cooking classes and spontaneous Martian breakdowns from Artemis's absence.

This time, Paula was teaching M'gann how to make cinnamon rolls. M'gann loved learning cooking from Paula because of how honest she was. She never let M'gann mess up on account of wanting to hurt her feelings about her cooking skills, which was refreshing to the Martian who had been treated like glass ever since the exercise.

Soon enough, the cinnamon rolls were out of the oven and put onto plates for the two boys; Robin's plate housing a few choice delicacies, and Wally's plate holding his usual oversized portions. M'gann floated the treats along with her and Paula as they trailed back to Robin's cave. She didn't bother knocking because she knew they probably wouldn't even notice. Once the door was open, however, Wally immediately noticed the smell of the pastries. His mouth watered.

"You guys are the best!" He exclaimed, smiling at the women bringing food. A large plate full of gooey cinnamon rolls landed on his lap. M'gann placed Robin's plate on his desk, right in front of his face.

"What?" The boy wonder turned around, only just noticing their visitors, "Oh, thanks," He grinned, turning back to grab a roll.

"I feel rejuvenated," Wally announced, already finishing off the last roll on his plate, "Thank you ladies!" He smiled. Paula laughed.

"You're welcome boys," M'gann smiled back, turning to leave them to work.

Hours later and the two heroes still hadn't stopped working. So Paula decided to teach M'gann another recipe, and food was once again brought to them. This started a trend that continued every time one, or both, of the boys could be found searching for clues on Robin's many computers.

And while Wally was starting to feel the repercussions of migraines from all the computer time, he wouldn't stop doing it. As long as I'm doing something to help find Artemis I can concentrate. I can be at peace for a short while. Instead of fighting that stupid cycle of emotions that won't let up. And everything seems hopeful. The more we work, the closer we get. It's only a matter of time until we get a heading. He thought. Only a matter of time.

Okay, since 15 reviews for a faster post seems too much for you guys, we'll go back to ten. (Because I love you)

10 reviews after I post this and the next chapter comes out tomorrow!

-Nexa