Chapter Eleven

End of a Nightmare...

There were times when Artemis was glad she had Jade for a sister. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure this was one of those times yet. The blonde had been alerted by her sister to some chatter she had been picking up on. It seemed to revolve around a prison break attempt at Belle Reve prison. After relaying the warning to the rest of the League, Artemis decided to do something unexpected: to end a nightmare.

Thus is how she found herself in the last place she ever wanted to be; in the visitor's area of Belle Reve Prison. She exhaled slowly as she looked towards the clock.

'It's almost ten o'clock here, which means it should be almost eleven in Gotham," she thought looking towards the prisoner entrance door, 'Kara should just be waking up at Barbara's now.' She didn't have much more time to think as the door opened and two guards escorted a man she knew all too well into the room.

"Just as a reminder, ma'am," one of the guards stated, "If there is anything you want him to have, please hand it to one of the guards as you leave. Once he sits down, pick up the phone to your left to talk. The glass divider is specially designed to stop a bullet from a sniper rifle. You will have one hour to tell him anything you need to."

"It won't take me an hour to tell him what I need to." she said as she watched her father sit on the other side of the glass. She waited a few seconds before picking up the phone.

"I'm surprised to see you here, baby girl," Lawrence Crock said with a surprised smile, "I take it you missed your dear old dad."

She blinked once as she stared at her father for a few seconds before saying, "Actually, I came to deliver a message."

"From who, the bat?" he asked.

She slowly shook her head before saying, "Jade."

"And what did your sister ask you to tell me?" he asked sounding a little amused.

"Just that your precious rep no longer exists," she said taking a piece of paper from her purse, "It seems someone gave the Feds access to your computer and email accounts. And it's all thanks to a little piece of paper…one you signed that says you will turn over any and all information regarding the League of Shadows in return for a reduced sentence."

"Wait a minute, I never signed any such paper." he said.

"Actually, you did," she said holding up the paper, "This one right here. I have to tell you, dad, for you to agree to fork over any and all information about the League of Shadows in order to escape the death penalty is a pretty stupid move on your part." Her father smirked as he said,

"Well jokes on them, baby girl. Without my password, they can't even get into my system."

"You mean the same one you've used since Jade and I were little," she said putting the paper back in her purse, "Because mom gave it to the FBI the instant they asked if she knew it."

She looked at her father and smiled at his shocked expression before saying, "Judging by the look on your face, you never thought about changing that password. Huh, sucks to be you. Now, you're probably wondering why mom did that. Allow me to explain." She pulled a photo of Kara out of her purse and turned it so he could see the young girl before saying, "I think you know Kara, your biological granddaughter, and this picture is as close as you will ever get to her again. If I find out you escaped from here; not only will I help Jade track you down; but I will hand you over to Ra's Al Ghul myself."

"You're bluffing…"

She put the photo away before standing up. "You were a piss pour father and I hope you enjoy what little life you have left," she said before hanging the phone up and walking to the door. The guard opened it long enough to let her out as Lawrence started pounding on the glass.

"Goodbye….Lawrence." she said as she walked towards the exit. It was until she had left the main prison that she realized something felt off.

'Something's not right,' she thought glancing around the parking lot. It wasn't until she got to her rental car that she realized what was wrong. "You didn't have to follow me out to my rental, Guard," she said as she turned around to face one of the guards, "But then again you're not a real prison guard, are you?"

"I'm surprised you were able to sense me," the guard said as he pointed his firearm at her.

"I saw your reflection off of one of the cars," she said before taking out her keys, "Now what do you want?"

"I am under orders to eliminate all that revealed my master's secrets." he replied calmly.

"So you're going to use the prison break attempt to kill me while one of the other "guards" tries to kills a man my mom, sister, or I want NOTHING to do with," she said leaning against her rental, "All because of a document he signed. Hate to burst your bubble but you really are an idiot."

"I'm not the one that parked in a blind spot in the parking lot of a prison where a breakout is about to happen," the guard said pulling the hammer back on his gun.

"But you are the one that followed the daughter, who turned hero, of a member of the Shadows into said blind spot thinking she is alone," she said before a red and yellow streak began running around the guard.

"You're late." she said as the Flash came to a stop next to her holding the man's gun.

"Yeah, I was taking care of this guy's buddies," Barry said quickly disassembling the gun, "And I had one loose end to tie up."

She smiled as she saw the guard had been hog tied with a piece of duct tape over his mouth.

"Anyway, you ready to go?" he asked.

"In a minute," she said pulling a paper form her purse. She knelt in front of the fake guard and held it so he could see it as she said, "This is a copy of the document Sportsmaster signed that says he would tell of the Shadows' secrets in exchange for only life in prison. Now I'm going to leave this with you so you can take it back to Ra's and I want you to tell him that as far as Cheshire and the rest of her family are concerned; Lawrence Crock doesn't exist. If a single Shadow comes after any of us; I will destroy every Lazarus pit on the planet before I take your master's head."

She tucked the paper inside the guard's shirt before walking over to the speedster and said, "Now, I'm ready."

"Then let's get you out of here." the speedster said before scooping her up and took off running.

She closed her eyes as the world rushed past her. While she had loved it when Wally ran with her like this, she had found that speed in which both Barry and Bart traveled at was a little too much for her.

"You ok, Artemis?" he asked as he finally came to a stop outside a familiar door.

"Not really used to traveling like that anymore," she said as he set her down, "Thanks for the lift, Flash."

"Not a problem." he said before speeding off. She went to knock on the door but stopped as her cell went off.

"This is Artemis." she said answering it.

"Hi mom." came Kara's voice over the phone.

"Hello sweetie," Artemis said smiling, "Having fun?"

"Uh-huh," her daughter replied happily, "I was just calling to see if you were still going to join Barbara and me for breakfast."

"I will be as soon as someone opens the door." Artemis replied with a slight laugh.

"You're here?" Kara asked as the door swung open.

"Thanks to Barry," Artemis said as she stepped inside, "Thanks for watching Kara, Babs and sorry I'm so late, but that was the only appointment I could get to see him on such short notice."

"My pleasure, and I get why you had to do it." the redhead said as the girl in question came over and hugged her mother.

Artemis put her phone away before picking her daughter up and hugging her saying,

"Hey sweetie. Missed you,"

"Missed you too," Kara said returning the hug.

"And before you ask; yes, she did have fun last night," Barbara said before heading to the kitchen.

"I believe you," Artemis said following her friend, "So what all did you two do?"

"I met Barbara's dad." Kara answered.

"How is Jim?" Artemis asked as she sat in a chair at the kitchen table with her daughter in her lap.

"He's still kicking and being driven nuts by a certain bat," Barbara said looking over at her friend, "Are you sure you're ok, Artemis?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" the blonde asked.

"Because your hands are shaking." Barbara said, walking over.

"They are?" Artemis asked as she looked down at her hands to fine her friend was right, "Well this is new."

"Mom, what's wrong?" Kara asked sounding frightened.

Artemis looked her daughter in the eyes before saying, "Nothing's wrong, Kara, but I do think it's time for Tigress to retire."

"Good," Kara said as she hugged her mother. Artemis returned the hug as a single tear slid down her cheek.