AN: So, this isn't exactly early, but at least I didn't wait as long as last time. That counts for something, right? Anyway, I've discovered that writing fanfiction is a great way to kill time on a moving vehicle, and since I'm returning home from my vacation tonight I figured I might as well come up with a fresh chapter for this story. Oh, and by the way, we have officially passed 18,000 views, so thank you to everyone who's been sticking by this story, with or without a fanfiction account. You guys are the reason I keep writing!
Disclaimer: Even when on vacation, I have to remind you that I don't own YJ or Raven Roth. Life is cruel.
Previously:
Artemis and Raven exchanged a look, eyes widening as they realized the amount of trouble they had gotten themselves into.
Over seven billion people on the face of the Earth, and the candidate was the one-and-only Tara Markov.
Chapter 21: Flashbacks and Secrets
Truth be told, Artemis Crock was incredibly bored.
She'd been perched on the same rooftop for over an hour now, waiting for the receiver to show up. It wasn't like the Shadows to be so inaccurate with their time estimations, and frankly the young girl was starting to get a little frustrated. Being a messenger was NOT supposed to involve crouching on a rooftop, developing cramps on your thighs, and ending up bored out of your mind until the receiver FINALLY shows up.
Well, not to this degree, anyway.
Artemis shifted slightly in an attempt to ease her discomfort. Still, she decided, this was better than being an assassin. She couldn't imagine life as a cold-blooded killer any more than she could imagine life in a sunny beach house on the sands of Coast City (which was hard, seeing as she didn't know what a beach house looked like and had only visited Coast City in the dead of night before). Thankfully, her father took her reluctance as weakness and decided that should she follow in his footsteps, she was destined to fail her missions AND get caught due to her hesitance to kill. To an outsider, this may have seemed like an act of concern by the criminal towards the only daughter he knew the whereabouts of, but Artemis knew better. He was just sure that she would be awful under interrogation and would give him up too. That, and that she would make him look bad should she fail to carry on his legacy.
Artemis wasn't sure what was worse to her father-capture or humiliation. She suspected the latter.
As the young blonde began to contemplate the pros and cons of calling Matthew Hagen (her informant) to triple-check the orders, (it wouldn't be the first time Hagen had sent her to the wrong location or given her the mission portfolio of an assassin by mistake) she heard the telltale sound of approaching footsteps. She carefully peeked over the large vent she was crouched behind and allowed herself to grin.
The receiver had finally shown up.
Performing an agile back flip onto the vent and spinning gracefully to face the edge of the roof, Artemis Crock strode forward.
"Artemis, come in!"A sharp voice commanded, shocking the archer out of her memory. Mentally growling at her own lack of focus, she allowed herself to take in her surroundings as she shook off the remnants of her flashback.
She hadn't expected the room to bring back so much of her past.
The room itself wasn't very different to the room of any teenage girl. It was painted beige and rather large, with a queen-sized bed in the middle, which was adorned in yellow sheets, pillows, and blankets. The walls were plastered in posters for several bands that Artemis didn't recognize, except for one with the words 'Nuclear Fallout' on it. This one caused Artemis to cringe and force back more unwanted nostalgia. The room also had a nightstand and a desk that looked brand new, as well as the billboard Artemis had been staring at when she zoned out. Other than the lavishness of the room and most of its objects, it was rather ordinary.
The billboard wasn't anything special either. It held homework reminders and cheerleader routines, as well as pictures of Tara.
Tara Markov. A face she never wanted to see again for reasons she could never explain to her teammates.
"I'm here M'gann. Is something wrong?"
"We lost contact with you and began to worry. Is everything alright?" The Martian replied telepathically.
"Everything's fine. Nothing to worry about" The archer replied, perhaps a little too hastily.
"You don't sound fine, Artemis. Are you sure everything's okay? Because if it's not, you can tell us. We'll listen." Wally interjected, making Artemis smile slightly despite the sick feeling washing over her. Tell them what was wrong? How could she even begin? Of course she knew they would listen, but they wouldn't like what they heard. It wasn't too long ago that they suspected her of being a traitor (or rather, Wally did). What was to stop it from happening again?
"There's nothing to tell, Wally. I'm okay. I just zoned out for a second is all." She responded, practically lying through her teeth.
"If you're sure…" He trailed off, uncertain, making Artemis hesitate-why did he have to care so much?!
"I am."
"Then let's get back to the mission. Artemis, do you see anything suspicious?" Aqualad inquired.
"Nothing yet." Artemis replied, rifling through the contents of Tara's desk. How much unfinished homework could one girl have?
"Nothing here either." M'gann added as she pawed through the drawers on the large vanity dresser in the master bedroom.
"Unless spoons are suspicious, the kitchen's clear too." Raven remarked dryly.
"So she can join?" Gar asked hopefully, excited at the prospect of a new teammate.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." M'gann answered gently. "We've got more to search."
Finding nothing of interest in the desk, Artemis moved on to the nightstand in hopes of success. If there was no reason to vote against Tara's induction, she would be added to the Team-a possibility that the archer was not willing to entertain.
Suddenly, the archer froze as a particular item glared up at her from the nightstand, its presence as obvious as a talkative speedster.
"Artemis? Did you find something?" Robin queried.
She couldn't tell him. Not directly, at least.
"Just a hair clip. The gem on it looks big enough to hide a really small camera. Should we examine it?" She pressed, eyeing the butterfly hair clip with a great deal of trepidation. Like everything else in the room, it seemed rather ordinary-just a silver clip in the shape of a butterfly with a large red gem in the middle. To anyone else, it looked like an accessory.
To Artemis, it looked menacing.
"We haven't got the time to examine anything that might be suspicious, Artemis. Are you sure that there's something weird about the clip?"
Artemis's firm resolve wavered, but she refused to back down. If she was wrong, she would deal with the consequences. "I-"
"Someone's coming!" M'gann warned.
Slamming the drawer shut as quietly as possible, Artemis sprinted towards the open window and threw herself out, unfazed by the possibility of falling. If she was caught, the consequences would be much worse than a broken leg.
Holding back a hiss of pain as she landed rather roughly on a branch by the open window (which had been open before they came in, hence why she never bothered to shut it) Artemis could only watch as Tara searched through her nightstand and slipped on a silver hairclip in the shape of a butterfly, which still seemed to be glaring at her through the open window.