Running After You
Warning: High T, so that means language :O
~X~X~X~
He felt something cold that was against her neck. He lifted his face an inch and saw a silver chain. Slowly, Wally moved his fingers to her collarbone, and lifted a small silver chain with a silver locket-charm. His eyes widened. "Where did you get this?"
Gray eyes met green. Artemis took his hand in hers. "You tell me," she whispered.
…
…
…
It was in that moment that the wall inside Artemis's mind began to crumble. The wall that separated her memories, the wall that blocked her from knowing the truth. When she saw the silver chain hidden underneath Wally's shirt, she carefully took her fingers and pulled the necklace out.
A silver key charm.
She gasped silently and suddenly all the memories crashed into her consciousness, the silver key charm around Wally's neck serving as the trigger. She remembered. She remembered all the night they skipped prom and went bowling, she remembered when he gave her the necklace and showed her his matching one, she remembered Sportsmaster attacking, running out of the building, Kid Flash saving her, Cheshire showing up...
Cheshire slitting her father's throat.
Waking up somewhere in the Justice League headquarters.
Green Arrow, Flash, and Batman questioning her.
That look of absolute sorrow on Wally's face.
The horror when she found out her memories were going to be repressed.
Those last minutes she spent with Wally.
When she told him she loved him, and when he told her the same.
All these emotions and feelings pounded onto the young woman like a hammer, and she suddenly stood up, she suddenly felt like she was getting crushed and she had to run to get out of the way! She started running and Wally went after her, and he didn't call her name because he knew she couldn't hear him. The night air whipped her exposed face with a biting cold chill but she kept running. Images flashed through her mind, and she knew they weren't fake, she knew they were real. She was somewhat are of the fact he was following her.
Now he's the one running after you...
All of a sudden Artemis is up off her feet and she's in his arms, and the wind whipping her face is intensified. He's running, he's using his super speed. She's a bit disoriented and it takes her a moment to process that Wally's holding her in his arms and apparently he's taking her somewhere and using his super speed to do it. She looked around her and sees blurs and blurs, the bright lights she guessed were street lamps or neon business signs. He was running too fast for her to process much of anything.
Quicker than she's prepared for, she's on her feet, and he's supporting her by the waist, and they're not in the city anymore, they're in a forest and they're elevated on a cliff of some kind, far enough out to look at Gotham City. Artemis doesn't know how many miles Wally must have covered in one or two minutes, but obviously he ran far enough to get out of the city and into some kind of wildlife forest.
She realized that she doesn't feel like she's going to get crushed anymore. And finally Artemis turned her head and looked at the young superhero beside her. "You can scream and holler and hit me all you want now," he told her. "No one is around." His green eyes were concerned, but deep down he knew that the truth was finally out. "Artemis, say something," he ordered. "I know you're mad. Do something, hit me, punch me, don't just stand there and hold it in!"
Slowly, she shook her head. "You idiot, I don't wanna hit you," she mumbled. He seemed taken aback by this. Artemis wasn't going to cry, because Artemis Crock doesn't cry, but damn it if she couldn't almost cry. She reached out and clutched his necklace. "I knew it," she murmured. "Deep down, I knew I didn't hate you, I knew that you didn't really hate me. I knew there was something wrong, but I didn't know what, and I tried to hate you for what I thought you did, but I couldn't. Because Miss Martian may have been able to change my memory and tell my brain that I wasn't supposed to love you... but... she couldn't tell my heart that."
Her voice was choked up, but she was nowhere near finished.
"And ever since Kid Flash saved me from that bank incident, I knew, I think deep down I knew it was you and that's why I tried to go after Kid Flash, because I knew it was you. And three years have come and gone and I always knew that... that... god damn it." She dropped her sentence and her head. She couldn't look at him. "I just... always knew it," she whispered.
He held onto her hips. "Artemis," Wally murmured. "I've never taken this necklace off, ever since you put it on me that day three years ago."
And that, in Wally West's way, was his way of telling her that he has always loved her. She finally looked at him, and she saw just how radiant he looked with the full moon behind him. "Wally," she whispered.
"Yeah, I'm here," he murmured.
SMACK!
"Ah— !— hey— Arty— ouch!" he exclaimed.
She was throwing wild punches to his chest and body while shouting. "HOW— DARE— YOU! THREE— YEARS! YOU LET ME— THREE YEARS— BE MAD AT YOU!"
Unfortunately for Wally, Artemis hit as hard as any normal guy could. "Calm down!" he exclaimed.
"Calm down? CALM DOWN? Three fucking years, West! That's how long we spent away from each other, and all you had to do was find me!"
"You could have found me too!" he retorted.
"MY FUCKING MEMORIES WERE DISTORTED!" she seethed.
"I thought letting you go was what was best! I thought you could re-start and live a happy life, and I would too! I didn't realize that I couldn't be without you until I missed you like fucking crazy!"
She kept hitting him. "I can't believe three years passed and you let me be mad at you when you knew that my anger was false!" she screamed. "You could have stopped that! Surely you knew that deep down I still loved you!"
Both of their eyes widened. Artemis suddenly stopped hitting him when she realized what she said.
Then, Wally gave her a goofy grin. "You still love me, huh?"
Her rage and frustration hit a new high. "WALLY WEST I'M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU, YOU PIECE OF SH— MMPH!"
Artemis's threat was cut off when Wally roughly grabbed her shoulders and mashed his lips with hers. She screamed bloody murder against his lips but he was insistent and dipped her head lower to delve deeper. Of course, she kissed him back, because although she just beat the ever-loving crap out of him, she also wanted to kiss him. Three years. They had a lot to catch up on. Artemis grabbed the collar of Wally's shirt and tugged him closer. She seemed to fit against him, her body seemed to mold against his as they pressed into each other.
He nipped at her bottom lip, ran his tongue over it, and she parted her lips and allowed him access. His tongue rolled over hers, and just to be a spitfire, Artemis bit his intruding tongue. "Mmph!" he groaned in pain, and Artemis broke the kiss to laugh against his chin. He laughed with her, but told her gruffly, "Not funny!"
"You deserved it," she remarked, and Artemis wasted no time to kiss him again. She clung onto him and wrapped her legs around his waist, but Wally's lanky and muscular body was more than capable of holding her up. She jumped in surprise when she felt her back going against the bark of a tree, and she remembered that they were in a fucking forest, of all places. He pressed her into the tree and she tightened her legs around him. Her lips were getting swollen with his rough nips, and she could taste the blood taste swirl in her mouth from where she bit his tongue. That really must have hurt, she thought, and as if she were apologizing for the roughness, Artemis broke their kiss and planted small nips along his chin and neck.
His hands roamed up and down her sides, eliciting small moans from her mouth. They seemed to meld together. Wally ran his fingers through her hair affectionately and she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, nibbling sweetly. . "Talk about sexual tension," Artemis breathed against his skin.
He gave a breathless laugh. "I know, right?"
"Not as fun as everyone makes it sound."
"Not fun at all." They laughed and kissed again.
~X~X~X~
She wanted her sister back. That was one of her intentions, anyway. Cheshire always had other plans. Having Artemis on her side might benefit her in the future, but it wasn't benefiting her now. Killing her father may have put her on the bad side of Ra'as al Ghul, but it also gave her the demented edge that made other members, like Black Spider, stay the fuck out of her way. She was still on 'probation' from the League of Shadows, Ra'as al Ghul didn't give her his full trust.
Whatever. She wasn't dependent on the old assassin. Cheshire went rogue, and she killed, she robbed, and she managed to do it all without going under the Justice League's radar.
And then one day, she gets a visit.
"I'm surprised you're still at this address," Black Spider says nonchalantly. "I guess you thought that we figured this place was too obvious, so you went somewhere else, when really it was obvious enough to be un-obvious."
Through her mask, the young woman glared at her ex-partner. "Un-obvious isn't a word, dumbass." She's slouched down on one of her kitchen chairs, and they're ten feet away from each other. In one quick jerk or second they could be at the other's throats. "So why did he send you?" Cheshire asked. "And don't tell me he misses me. There has to be something more."
Black Spider scoffed. "Ra'as doesn't miss anyone. He's just tightening down on his league. He's working a plot with Vandal Savage, and usually when two master minds work plots they need lackeys to carry out the dirty work." He couldn't have worded it better.
"Ah-so. One itsy bitsy spider isn't enough? He needs the big bad Cheshire back, does he?" she taunted. She laughed. "This should be interesting."
He gave her a sneer, although she couldn't see it through his mask. "You know our master. He's not bowing down and begging you to come back. He's presenting a task for you, and if you can complete it you can come back."
"Oh? Did he now? And why would I want to do some stupid 'task' to come back running at his feet?"
"Because if you complete your task, you'll get to be second-in-command leader," Black Spider then hissed, and there was definitely poison in his tone.
Being second-in-command under Ra'as al Ghul of the Shadows was a big deal. You gave out the orders, and although you still had one person to answer to, everyone else answered to you. This would mean Cheshire could call her own shots, and call the shots of everyone else, as well. This was something she had wanted since she joined the group. This was something she knew she'd be great at. After all, Sportsmaster used to be in that position. Used to be.
"I'm listening," she says, and she has to put effort in order to still sound bored.
Black Spider scoffed twice. He knew she'd want to hear the terms. "He wants you to recruit someone."
"Your mom?"
"Oh, very fucking funny, Cheshire."
She laughed. "Yeah, I'm a regular comedian. Who is it?"
"Your sister."
"Shut the fuck up."
Now it was his turn to laugh. "Oh, I'm serious. The boss wants little Arty Crock on his team. She was put through the same physical tests like you were, right?"
Immediately she turned hostile. "NO. Artemis knows nothing about this... anymore. She's a little saint living in Gotham, now."
"Oh, what a sad story. Ra'as believes she'll be an important addition to our team. You recruit her, you get the second in command position. It's as simple as that."
There's a silence as Cheshire processes this information. Black Spider shows her respect by staying quiet, as well. Finally, the rogue assassin stands up, and she takes off her Cheshire mask. He backed away a few feet, not knowing what to expect. But he's seen her with her mask off before, so it's not like the face behind it is shocking. The face behind the mask is smirking. "Tell me, BS," she said. He hated it when she used 'BS' when she referred to him. "Do you have any siblings?"
"Once. My little brother died awhile back. Car accident." There's no emotion in his voice. It's like he's sharing his family tragedy like he's reading a script.
She smiled, and that disturbs him, because only a crazy person smiles after you share what happened to a deceased member. But Cheshire's smile is just cryptic, and it has no happiness or signs of pleasure whatsoever. "Artemis... she's the one person I don't want to hurt. But that was when we were little, that was when she was a little girl and still hugged a teddy bear to keep her company." Cheshire turned so her back was to her ex-partner. "We live in a fucking crazy world, Black Spider. And I found salvage in the Shadows, I found my click, where I belonged."
"Are you going to do it, or not?"
She turns back to look at him. There's a gleam of determination and deviant inside her black eyes. "It's time for little Arty to grow up. It's time for her to realize that when you're on the good side, you get burned. It's time she learns that nothing is free and she wants something she has to take it." The young woman laughed, a gleeful laugh, and put back on her mask. "Little Arty needs to grow up."
~X~X~X~
Beep! Beep! Beep!
She groaned and reached under her pillow and slammed it over her head. Her eyes squint shut and eventually the beeping dulls. A few moments pass, and then the young woman realizes that she never turned off her alarm clock. The smell then registers, too. Her sheets don't smell like this. And her sheets are cotton, not silk. Because really, who can afford fucking silk sheets now-a-days?
It doesn't click at first. But when it does click, it clicks fast.
Artemis shot up and screamed, "YAA!"
Wally shot up next to her. "What babe?"
She turned to him. "Holy— I'm in your bed?"
He gives her a tired smile. "Um, yeah." Wally chuckled. "Morning sleeping beauty." Artemis then remembered that he ran home with her in his arms, he went to his apartment, and then— she looked down. Her bra was still on. Wally seemed to read her mind. "We didn't," he laughed.
"Ugh." She fell back on the bed. "Sorry. Just... early morning paranoia. I blame insomnia. What time is it?"
He checked the alarm clock. "7:18, beautiful."
Artemis started laughing. "I was supposed to be at work at 6:30."
"Ouch. Not good." He grinned.
She kept laughing. "Honestly, I don't care. Your bed is surprisingly comfy."
"Why thank you."
"Which is weird, I always thought your sheets would have nacho cheese stains, and crumbs all in the bed."
He chuckled. "I don't mix food and pleasure, babe."
"HA! Food is your pleasure!"
Wally rolled his eyes. "It's not my only pleasure." He leaned over and nibbled her neck. Artemis moved her body against him and he started to climb on top of her before—
"GOOD MORNING LOVE-BIRDS!"
Artemis screamed and pushed Wally off her. "DICK?" she hollered. "What— WHY IS HE HERE?"
Dick's troll laughter filled the air. "Uh, cause this is my apartment, and the bum next to you is sharing one with me. By the way, those are my silk sheets. I spent good money on them. In fact all this furniture is mine. Pretty cool, huh?"
She glared at the red headed young man beside her. "Hey, I told you I was bunking with Dick, you just forgot," Wally said defensively. "And thank you, Dick, for totally crushing my—"
"— My house, my rules, thin walls bro. Thin. Walls," the raven haired man interrupted. Artemis's face turned pink. If it weren't for the fact she was in her bra and panties she'd get out of bed and hide. "Anyway," Dick grinned, "Arty you left your cell phone out on the kitchen table and it's been beeping all morning. Probably Megan." He tossed her the cellphone. "Oh, and Jerry kept calling, too."
Wally glared at her. "Who's Jerry?"
"I don't know a Jerry!" she snapped.
Dick laughed again. "Wow, this is much more fun than I thought. Well, I gotta go. You two have fun. And by fun, I mean PG-13 kind of fun."
"Get out!" Wally yelled. His best friend laughed some more and shut the door.
Artemis smiled once he was gone. "Okay, gotta admit, that was funny."
Wally stretched out his arms and got out of bed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now I'm not falling back asleep for sure." He opened the closet and got himself out a yellow t-shirt. "How's about breakfast, babe?"
She was scrolling through her phone. "Um... first I've gotta tell Dinah I'm not dead. She was the one blowing up my phone." Wally got dressed while Artemis sat up in bed. "Hey, can I ask you something?" she then asked.
"You just did, but sure, go for two," he answered.
"Why did Green Arrow, who I now know is my Uncle Oliver, agree to pretend to be my uncle? When really, we're not related." There was a hint of sadness to her tone.
He sighed and sat down on the bed. "Look, you've spent time with Oliver Queen. You really think he faked his fun time with you? He may not be who he says he is, but he really does care for you, and so does Black Canary."
Her eyes widened. "Dinah is Black Canary?" she gasped.
Wally's face fell. "You... didn't know that?"
"No!"
"Shit. Oh well. The point is, Oliver and Dinah haven't faked anything. They agreed to help you out because they knew how much you meant to me. But you should see Ollie every time he's with the League. He talks about you like you're his own niece. He talks about how stubborn you are, but also that he's proud of you."
Artemis gave a small smile. "Thanks. That actually makes me feel better."
He returned her smile. "Anytime, babe."
"Anything else I should know about?"
"Nah. You already know I share a place with Robin."
Gasp! "DICK IS ROBIN?"
"Damn it! I really have to shut up!" Wally cursed.
Artemis cheered. "I knew it! Well okay, no, I didn't, but that makes so much fucking sense! Robin and Dick are both such trolls!"
He snickered. "Yeah. And Dick is even worse with his mask on. He's even more ninja." Wally stood up. "Come on. Let's get going, babe."
Before she could answer, his cell phone went off, but for some reason he grimaced. "What's wrong?" Artemis asked.
"That's not my cell phone," Wally sighed. "It's Kid Flash's."
"And it only rings when...?"
"There's trouble."
Author's Note:
I'm sorry I haven't updated! I had important karate stuff going on and I couldn't find time to write! I even missed the new episode of YJ! No worries, that's what youtube is for xD Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay. This was more of a fluff/filler chapter, but also gave insight to why Cheshire is after Artemis.
This story is close to being over. No, don't be sad! It's not OVER. But it's getting there. I just thought I should give my reader's a heads up. I'm eternally grateful for all the reviews and readings I've received. I'm blessed, really :)
Thank you so much for reading, and please review!
~Luna
P.S. The beginning image of the chapter (Wally holding Artemis) is a scene I drew on my deviant art account. The link to the picture: http:/mewluna(dott)deviantart(dot)com/gallery/32960830#/d4y7c5b
Obviously just delete the dots and put periods. I really worked hard on that picture and I'd appreciate it if you looked at it *and cough* commented on it *cough*. It'll get ya in the Spitfire mood xD That's about all I wanted to say. Carry on. :)