Disclaimer: Angry Fae. Angry angry angry Fae because there has been no YJ recently. Anger...
Authors's Note: I, Fae, am a horrible author and fanfic participant. Muy horrible, for all y'all who speak Espanol. I am so so so very sorry to have taken this long to update, but to be honest, with the holidays and midyear exams coming up...there has been no time. But I hope this makes up for it!
Author's Note #2: Because you all are amazing, you reviewed though I am a horrible person. So thank you so very much to J -Bird (your questions will be answered, worry not!), LadyMysteri (you flatter me! I dearly hope that I may be a famous enough author to warrant giving out my autograph one day!), Mad Hatter (I lovelovelove your name! Alice in Wonderland = LIFE! And the love-triangle thing is addressed here, don't fret!), Ireneb (thank you!), music lover bwg (you will see!), Redhawk15 (I toned it down just for you! And I know the power was getting out of hand.), It'sTheBatmanShirt (Robin is my BOY! I Looooooooves him! And don't worry about missing the last chapter. I haven't posted in two weeks. On the suckish scale, I win.), Summer Frost 13 (Welcome first time reviewer! And thank you very much! I love my cocky archery couple!), : Kelsey (you will get your drama, madame!), Allie (Don't worry, there will be much character developments in this chapter!), i-Spit-on-Fire (Let's be quite honest for a moment: we all AWWWWWed at the end! =)), bearrose (don't worry about not reviewing! And don't worry about the KF/Artemis ship also), Mnmlover101 (I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS IS SO LATE!), mindlessrazor (coooooool name! And thanks!), Wilhelmina Silver (To be honest, that was supposed to be a filler chapter. Your fears will be put to rest in this chapter, promise, and there is much more important stuff going down in this one so I hope you have more to say about it!), artyandrob4eva (I'm stealing your idea. Let's make that clear. That is a brilliant idea and I am stealing it. THANKS!), Intrepid Reporter 2 be Named (Awesome name! I like it! And thanks, keep reading!), Warrior-Wolf1 (hahaha! Glad you liked it, I loved writing it!)
"Answer the frickin' phone!" Artemis startled awake, jumping to her feet when she didn't immediately recognize where she was. "Answer the frickin' phone!" her phone insisted again. At first Artemis didn't understand – her phone was always set to vibrate, but then she remembered that Red had set it to that specific ring-tone.
If she didn't answer the first three times, that is.
"Oh, Artemis, good you're awake." Iris bubbled. Artemis threw her a lopsided, sleepy smile and rubbed her eyes. She'd really slept the night? "You were just exhausted so Wally opted to just let to...how did he put it? Crash here for the night." Iris nodded, looking pleased that she could remember her teenage nephew's slang terms.
"Answer the frickin' phone!"
"Fine!" Artemis shouted at it. "What?" she barked into the receiver.
"Where the hell are you?" Red demanded. "Are you okay? Is anything wrong, are you hurt? Where are you?"
"You," Artemis said, her voice straining to stay tolerant," are worse that Oliver. Holy crap, Red I can take care of myself, right? I'm at Wally's, I fell asleep here last night."
Silence on the other end of the line.
"Red? Hello? Red?"
"You slept over at Wally's last night?" Artemis finally realized what that must sound like. CRAP! Oh for the love of God she sounded like a slut.
"Yes I did. And if you take it the wrong way then you're an idiot." Artemis said with her trademark tact and tenderness towards the subject. She heard yelling and something smashing on the other end. "What's going on back there?"
"Batman just found out that you're gone." Red said, his voice suspiciously void of emotion.
"Awesome, that sounds like a party." Artemis grumbled. "I'll be there is a minute." She hung up the phone without waiting for a reply, discontent and worry bubbling up inside her like acid.
"Everything alright?" Iris asked, seeing the conflict playing out in Artemis's eyes.
"Yeah, fine. Where's Wally, we need to get to the Cave."
"He's still sleeping. That boy," Iris sighed indulgently, "he needs to eat and sleep a lot to be able to do his duties as a hero. I just worry..."
"Don't." Artemis said firmly. "He's got a whole team of people willing to do anything for him. And he's got me. I'll watch his back." Iris nodded, looking reassured, which was weird. Nobody every looked reassured after Artemis said anything. Maybe because her words were always laced with threats and sarcasm, but still. Iris pointed her towards Wally's bedroom and Artemis slipped through the door silently.
"West!" Artemis shouted and cannon-balled into Wally's tiny, unmade bed. Wally yelped and jumped – no lie – three feet into the air. Artemis stopped and looked at his face, stricken with doe-eyed, sleepy panic and started laughing so hard that she couldn't stop. Artemis actually rolled off of the bed and onto the floor, not making any sound now, just laughing silently, tears streaking down her face.
"The hell, Artemis?" Wally mumbled, now awake enough to be pissed that she was laughing at him. "Why did you wake me up?"
"I'm...in trouble..." Artemis gasped between fits of laughter. "Batty...figured out...that I...left!"
"Crap, then we'd better go." Wally jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. "Well aren't you coming?"
"I would." Artemis said, now very serious. "But I will not be seen with you if you're in your jammies."
"A deliberate breach in protocol, disobeying a direct order..." Artemis rolled her eyes and stifled a yawn. Batman had been ranting for almost fifteen minutes solid and she'd clocked out after the first. He was just yelling in circles. Protocol, orders. Protocol, orders. Didn't he know that there was no protocol for Artemis and the day she followed orders would be the day that hell froze over?
"Are you even paying attention?" Batman asked suddenly.
"Do I look like I'm paying attention?" Artemis said. No, no she did not. In fact, she looked extremely bored. For a moment, Artemis thought the vein throbbing in Batman's forehead was going to burst – not that that wouldn't be hilarious, but she figured that the League would frown upon her inadvertently killing their number-one crime-solver. "Chill out Batty or you're going to give yourself an aneurism. I wasn't doing anything bad and/or illegal. I was with Wally the whole time. Ask Flash, he can vouch for me." Batman whirled on the Scarlet Speedster as quick as – well, as a Flash and began questioning him on the validity of Artemis's claim. When it became all too apparent that she hadn't been lying, Artemis was dismissed, though Batman was none too happy about it. Good, that meant Artemis had done something right.
"Artemis!" Ugh. Was she not allowed to take a stroll through the mountain without getting into trouble? Artemis turned in time for all one-hundred pounds of Boy Wonder to barrel headlong into her side.
"Holy – !" Artemis shouted, leaping out of the way. "The hell, Robin! What is wrong with you?"
"You need to see something." Robin said, more serious than she'd ever seen him. Knowing that something was incredibly wrong, Artemis followed him without a word into the control room. "Look at this." Robin pulled up something on his holo-computer and projected it onto the main screen. Artemis's first thought was bodies. Human bodies littered the dirty street, all looking like a wild animal had been loosed on them. Mostly men, but also women, their hair fanning out behind them or covering their faces. But what made it horrible was the message spelled out on the wall behind all of the carcasses, written in what was unmistakably human blood.
I miss you, Miss Kitty. Come out and play.
Artemis swore softly. There was only one criminal crazy enough to write a bloody message on a wall and expect it to get to her. Incidentally, it was the same criminal who called her "Miss Kitty".
"Does Batman know?" Artemis asked urgently.
"Are you still breathing?" Robin shot back.
"Yes."
"Then he doesn't know." A pause. "He's going to kill you."
Artemis looked Robin straight in the eyes, deadly serious, her gray eyes flashing. "Tell him and you'll be dead. I have to go deal with this." Would she never get any peace? Artemis breathed out heavily, the breath hissing through her teeth.
"Do you need me to come with you?" Robin asked. Artemis looked at him strangely; why wasn't he arguing? Who was this boy and what had he done with her over-protective friend? "I'll take that as a no. Oh, and I got you this." Robin withdrew a small black box out of his utility belt.
"And it does...?"
"You can use it to simulate your old electrical abilities." Robin said, strapping it to her wrist. "Roy told me that you lost them...and the machine will activate if your pulse rises, so during a fight just touch someone and – " Robin pantomimed being electrocuted.
"Cute. And thanks." Artemis ducked out of the control room and slipped into her own. She swore she'd never don the Tigress ensemble ever again and hated that she was breaking that vow. Skulking around it the shadows, Artemis managed to make her way to the Zeta station without being spotted, but she wasn't sure her luck would hold – oddly enough, she felt thankful for the Tigress outfit; it, unlike the rest of the heroes' costumes, didn't include a tracking beacon. Artemis hesitated for a moment before taking one of her razor-edged arrows to her hair, chopping it into a severely-angled bob. She hated to cut her hair again, but Artemis knew that the Joker would notice if all of a sudden it was hanging past her waist.
"Gotham." Artemis hissed, already slipping into her more feral, volatile state of mind. There was a flash and then Artemis prowled out of the old dilapidated phone booth, quickly making her way to the alley where the Joker had left the sadistic carnage.
"Oh Joker," Artemis sang, knowing that he would be around to play along. "I'm here to pla-ay."
"Good good goodie," the Joker cackled, appearing out of the shadows. "Did you like my little message... because I know I had fun doing it!"
"You know I've always been a fan of your work, Joker, dear." Artemis purred, trying desperately to quash the nauseous feeling rising in her stomach.
"'I've always been a fan of your work, Joker, dear.'" Artemis snarled at the high, whiny mimic that came from the alleyway that the Joker had appeared from.
"Clearly no one told you that jealousy isn't attractive, Harley." Artemis said, changing her demeanor in a flash and pasting on a winning smile. "Green really isn't your color, stick with tacky black and red checkered." Harley stuck out her bottom lip in a sullen pout and Artemis smirked right back at her.
"Nice one, Miss Kitty," the Joker sneered. "Harley, you got to step up your game if you want to keep up." If the Joker had wanted to make Harley hate Artemis more than she already did, he'd succeeded.
"So what is so...urgent...that it warranted your lovely little display?"
"The rumor mill."
"How helpful. And what has the rumor mill be churning out these days?"
"Just a little something about the Injustice League..." Artemis barely restrained herself from flying at him. She was tired and not really up to his little games right now.
Artemis snorted and flapped a hand. "Mm, and they were all arrested, weren't they? We were the only ones who escaped. Psh...amateurs."
The Joker laughed conspiratorially. "Well, turns out they're not the only anti-Justice League around." Artemis felt her blood go cold. Holy hell. Did the League know about this? They couldn't have...
"And you're telling me this...why?" Artemis said coyly.
"I'm asking myself the same question." Harley groused.
"No one asked you, Harley!" The Joker snapped, sounding angry for the first time, then turned back to Artemis with a wide grin. "I'm telling you because we sociopaths have to stick together, don't we now, Lady T?"
"Right you are." Artemis agreed, her mind racing under the cool, aloof exterior. "Is that all? Because I do have other things to do tonight.."
"What, you too good for us?" Harley spat.
"You? Absolutely. The Joker? Nah, he's in my league." Harley stepped forward angrily and Artemis raised a hand, a clear threat to zap her into the next state.
"You really want to go for Round Two right here?" Artemis said, mocking her. "After you lost so badly last time?"
"Harley, stop it!" The Joker snarled, fed up with his jealous girlfriend. "T, there's something else." But Artemis didn't get a chance to hear what else because three police cruisers screamed into the alley. Artemis swore as six armed officers jumped out of their cars, most of them going pale from the mutilated bodies thrown around the street.
"Oh, good, they got my call." The Joker grinned maniacally.
"Should it surprise me that you called them?" Artemis said, bored and yawning. The Joker shot a gleeful look at her by way of answer. "Forgive me if I don't stick around to see how this one turns out." The Joker pouted slightly and Artemis grinned, still fighting the sickness that threatened to overtake her if she didn't get out of the street – and soon.
"Let's make this interesting." Artemis said, slamming a tiny blue capsule into the ground. Instantly, the alley was filled with thick blue smoke, making it nigh impossible to see anything. Yes. She'd stolen then from Robin. Sue her. As soon as the policemen started choking, Artemis made a beeline to them.
"Run you idiots!" she hissed, her voice not carrying over the smoke. "He's going to kill you!" The police didn't know who was speaking but they'd be following the trail of blood left for them by the Joker for long enough to know that whoever the voice belonged to, she was serious as all hell. The policemen sped away and Artemis made her exit as well, vanishing into the smoke so completely that even a brilliant tracker like Batman wouldn't have been able to find her.
"Central City." Artemis growled at the Zeta, her voice raspy with smoke. She booked it to Oliver's, the information burning a hole in her chest. Another anti-Justice league. Were the bad guys just doing this to screw with them? Then again, that's what the bad guys were there for, she reminded herself.
"Oliver!" Artemis hissed, creeping in through the open window. He really should shut and lock that.
"Artemis?"
"Seriously?" Artemis glowered at him disapprovingly, looking down on her mentor half-asleep on the couch. "It's almost noon. And you get mad at me when I sleep past nine, you hypocrite."
"This better be urgent." Oliver growled, pulling a pillow over his head to hide his face.
"Gee, well then, its a damn good thing that I'm wearing my urgent face."
"Language." Oliver grumbled.
"English." Artemis snapped back. Oliver pulled the pillow off of his face and looked at his protege, one eyebrow arched curiously. She wasn't usually this snappish with him. Everyone else, yes, but not Oliver. And why was her hair cut short again?
"Okay then, you are in a fantastic mood this morning. What's up?" Artemis opened her mouth to answer but no sound came out but a frustrated growl. She hissed angrily and paced, trying to find the words. She wasn't usually this nonvocal. "Hey. Come on, talk to me."
"My damn past! It keeps catching up to me!" Artemis exploded. "The Joker, who I had to make friends with while I was off the rails, just massacred a whole lot of people to get my attention. And that's not the worst part," Artemis said when Oliver opened his mouth to interject.. "The worst part of it is what he called me down to tell me. There's another league, Oliver. There's another anti-Justice league out there!" Oliver just looked at her, his eyes wide.
"We need to tell the League about this. Do you think the Joker's a reliable source?"
"Absolutely. He knows exactly what goes on in the criminal underworld."
"Batman's going to be pissed."
"Especially when he finds out that I was the one who found all of this out."
In the end, Oliver had gone to tell the League about the newly arisen anti-Justice league alone. The rest of the heroes still didn't trust Artemis (with good reason) and they both knew that the testimony would be taken more seriously. Understanding, but still a little stung that she didn't get to report her own findings, Artemis headed back to the cave.
"Artemis!' Robin said, seeing her beam in and looking a little panicked.
"Hey Bird Boy." Artemis said, sounding more bitter and dejected than she'd like. She waved and made to move past him, maybe go work out in the gym or shoot some targets or something that wasn't wallowing in the fact that she'd inadvertently gotten twenty people killed.
"You look like a villain again. Uh, how'd the meet go?" Robin asked, sliding in front of her, blocking Artemis's exit.
"Oh, just peachy, thanks." Artemis growled, again moving to go around him. Robin stepped into her way. "'Kay, I'll bite. Is there a reason you don't want me to leave?" Robin chewed on the inside of his lip, clearly wondering whether or not to tell her the truth. "Robin." Artemis said, her voice dangerously soft. "I want you to think long and hard about whether or not you lie to me. Because you know I'll know."
"Roy and Wally..." Artemis didn't wait for him to finish.
"Red will kill him," she murmured, remembering his weird behavior from earlier in the day.
"Probably." Robin said unhelpfully. Artemis unfolded her bow and armed it. "Whoa, what are you going to do?"
"Shoot them both for being idiots." Artemis snarled and stalked away.
"They're in the weight room!" Robin called after her. Artemis could hear the shouting even before she burst through the swinging doors.
"What the hell is up with you and my girlfriend?" Red shouted. Artemis paused, almost morbidly curious as to what Wally would say.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Of course he was playing dumb. Then again, maybe it was less "playing" and more "dumb."
"Don't pull that crap with me." Red hissed.
"What crap?" To his credit, Wally actually sounded genuinely confused. When Wally cried out with surprise, Artemis stepped in.
"That's enough!" she screamed, shooting an arrow between them. Good thing for hero reflexes or they'd both have been skewered.
"The hell, Red? What is wrong with you?"
"Maybe the fact that you stayed over at this bastard's house last night!" Red snarled, jabbing a finger in Wally's direction. Wally's face drained of color; an odd response for him, he who always seemed to turn bright red under stress.
"Red." Artemis hissed. "Stop it." She didn't know why, but there was something wrong with Wally. The chatty speedster was pale and silent. "Nothing happened. I was tired and Wally's family let me crash on the couch. It's no different from when we all sleep here after a mission."
"You could've told me." Red said, but his protest was halfhearted and he looked slightly abashed.
"It wasn't like I'd planned to fall asleep. Red, come on. You know me better than that. Wally and I just friends. Right Wally?" Artemis turned to Wally, hoping he'd back her up.
"Just friends." Wally parroted, still white as a sheet. Artemis put a hand on Wally's shoulder, then shot a look back at her boyfriend, daring Red to make a comment. When he didn't Artemis turned to Wally.
"West, you okay?"
"Fine." Wally said listlessly and brushed her hand off. He didn't say anything, just zipped out of the room.
Wally circled through the halls at super-speed, backtracking a few times to make sure no one was following him. Stupid, maybe, but the blinding speed was the only thing he was allowing himself to focus on. Bastard. The word echoed in his skull, bouncing like a rubber wrecking ball, smashing open mental walls that he'd constructed years ago. Bastard. A long-forgotten, or long-suppressed, more like, conversation forced itself to the forefront of Wally's mind.
"You're a bastard, Wallace West!" his father had yelled, backhanding Wally across the face. "You are no son of mine!" Wally swallowed hard, trying to banish the memory to the back of his mind where it belonged. His eyes stung and no matter how hard he tried to hold them back, the tears fell, regardless, streaming off of his cheeks as he barreled through the air.
Poor Wally! And another anti-Justice League? Gasp! And on another note, I cannot claim credit for the line where Artemis snaps "English" when Oliver reminds her "Language." That was stolen from the Jeff Dunham Controlled Chaos tour that I saw last night. For all y'all who know Jeff Dunham, Walter came up with that little gem. For you who don't know: LOOK HIM UP!
~Fae