A\N: Hey, guys! Hope everything's going great for my readers :D Thank you so very much for the amazing reviews, favorites and follows! Really. I love each and every one of you =^_^= I mean seriously, I can't believe I just hit 400 reviews! 8D *sniffs* THANK YOU!
I would love to tell you all that this story has a sister story known as 'Killing the Time' featuring Life and all the shenanigans she goes through. So feel free to give it a read :)
"Congrats to Artemis Persephone Jackson for being my 400th reviewer~ :D"
The winners of the last chapter are "Mistycharming, Luvinurbuks, ZabuzasGirl, Ibookster, Anime hotty lover.18, Helena Bellamuerte, Night Owl's Shadow and Bluephoenix22." Congrats! You all win a nice, big and delicious virtual chocolate cake! |:-:-:-:|
DISCALIMER: I, in any shape or form, do not own Young Justice. If I did, we would've drowned in a hell of Spitfire fluff.
The wind was dead, the air humid and sticky. It fully complemented the bayou. Though, the atmosphere was thick as well. Thick with tension, curiosity, fear and anger. Life would've been more than glad to draw out one of her daggers and cut through it, to eliminate it but she couldn't. She was stuck.
She was stuck with her heart hammering in her chest so badly, that she could hear its beat echoing in her ears. Her throat was dry and no matter how much she tried her tongue refused to move.
The magician had a feeling she wasn't the only one in this painful state. Artemis had the color drained out from her face as well, that signature smug smirk of hers replaced by a slack jaw, smoky grey eyes wide as she gazed dumbly at Lawrence.
Jade seemed to be fuming. The assassin was gritting her teeth together, their slight gritts audible in the silent environment. Her nails were digging deeply in her palms. It almost seemed like she was doing this so that she wouldn't pull out her poisonous sais and attack her father or Life.
Lawrence took a step ahead, his eyes fixed on the unconscious body lying near Life. On sensing his intention, the dark magician forced her frozen tongue to move, "Stay away from him, Daddy." She warned, the mechanics in her brain finally working a little.
The blonde smirked, moving closer. "Don't make this hard for yourself, Life." He advised, walking closer until he stood a step away from her. "Just give me the bag."
Silver eyes peered up into copper ones, and the words storming through her mind came to her lips. "I know this is one of your stupid tricks!" Life snarled, drawing her daggers out.
She whipped her head at Artemis and Jade, eyes narrowed into a fiery glare. "They are not my sisters!"
Her arm stretched up, the dagger's tip about five inches away from Lawrence's eyes. "You're just lying!"
Moving his hand, Lawrence pushed her arm down. "I'm not lying, Life." He assured, looking over his shoulder to his elder daughters. "They really are your blood."
Artemis sucked in a deep breath, glaring murderously at him. "We don't believe you!" She hissed, brushing past Jade.
"Well, you should then." Lawrence fired back, turning to glare down at Life when Jade marched to his side. The young Vietnamese glared as the man turned to face her, and she scowled as she decided to let out her thoughts. "You married another woman?" Jade growled, venom dripping from her voice.
Lawrence's lips curled up into a smirk, cocking his head to the side. "Gina was hard to resist." He responded flatly, watching as Jade balled her hands into tight fists. He tilted his chin down, looking down at Life, the magician peering up at him through her black lashes.
"And honestly, Pretty Girl." He started amusingly. "Couldn't you see the resemblance between you and Artemis? Didn't you ever pay attention to her fighting skills? Didn't you find yourself a little similar to her?" He inquired tauntingly, throwing an unimpressed look as Life stared back dumbly.
On gaining no answer, he let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in amusement. "Pay attention to your surroundings." Lawrence advised harshly, glaring as the youngest swallowed, refusing to make eye contact.
A large hand landed on her shoulder, shoving Life aside as Lawrence stalked nearer to Robin. Out of the blue, a battle cry screeched through the humid air as Artemis bolted towards him, ready to slam her green quiver down on her father's head. The man quickly whirled around, catching the archer's elbow and then throwing her ahead like she was weightless.
The pretty blonde gave out a gasp as her back collided into the tree's bark, her whole body then proceeding to land on the grass, leaving her groaning in pain.
"Nice try, Baby Girl." Lawrence called out to her, his lips quirked into a smirk as Jade knelt down beside Robin, sliding off the straps of the black bag. "But I was the one who taught you that." The blonde man smirked cockily as Artemis furiously growled, gripping her injured arm.
The way Artemis had thrived sent a spark in Life's body, telling her that no matter how much you were in emotional pain, always complete your job. So just for the sake of that little spark, the mistress of dark magic threw a sharp dagger at the blonde man, but he was quick, bringing his arm up for only to have the dagger collide and fall back because of the strong metal armor covering it.
"Really, Pretty Girl?" Lawrence said dryly, and Life felt pangs of pain in her chest. "That was just pathetic." He snorted, his eyes dancing with humor.
Life bit her bottom lip, her legs suddenly feeling funny and limbs going lousy. She swallowed, frowning as she dropped her head, something bitter and painful pooling in her chest.
"I got it," Jade announced quietly, getting up on her feet, the bag hanging on her shoulder. "Good," Lawrence grinned wickedly, pulling his mask back on.
He glanced over his shoulder to look at Artemis, the blonde busy in glaring at him as she staggered up. "This was a great reunion," He smirked cockily, propping his hands on his hips. His eyes swept over Life, then coming to Jade. "But we've got places to be."
Sportsmaster walked ahead, Jade growling and scowling behind him as she followed. The young woman peeked at Artemis from the corner of her eyes, and quickly shot the frowning magician a fiery glare as they stalked into the shadows of the bayou.
Her gaze focused on the ground, Life stood frozen in place, Lawrence's words circling her mind like vultures. She tilted her head up, pain pricking the sides of her head as her gaze crossed Artemis's. The pretty blonde was scowling deeply, her expressions dark as she stopped infront of Life.
Several seconds passed and none of them said anything. They just continued staring at each other, silver eyes meeting and not blinking even for a second; tracing the slight facial features they shared.
Licking her parched lips, Life was the first to break the icy silence. "Artemis," She said softly, voice laced with pain and hurt.
Artemis pursed her lips at her, crossing her over her heaving chest as she sucked in a deep breath, looking aside. Her eyes were ablaze, "I can't believe Dad hid this from us," She sighed deeply, digging her nails into her arms. "Such a big secret," The archer squeezed her eyes shut, tipping her head back.
"It was such a big secret we had no idea he was hiding."
Life chewed the insides of her cheeks, clasping her hands behind her back. Her gaze landed on Robin, and Artemis's gaze followed. Black Canary's protégé blinked as the archer held out a small bottle towards her.
"I snuck this off Dad when he wasn't looking," Artemis tossed it to her. "Give it to Robin."
As the raven caught it, Artemis turned around, slowly making her away from her. She didn't bother to stop on hearing Life's bemused voice call out to her. "Wait! Where're you going?!"
"I need to get back to Superboy!"
Life took a step ahead, wanting to call out to Artemis but the blonde had already disappeared somewhere between the trees. Her grip on the bottle tightening, Life sluggishly walked over to Robin.
Slumping down beside him, she spun the bottle's cap open. The bottle's rim pressed against his lips, she tilted his head a little forward, the green liquid inside it slowly washing down his throat. Suddenly, the com-link in her ear burst to life.
"Death," Miss Martian's worried voice boomed in her ear. "Are you and Robin alright?"
The raven nodded, despite knowing the fact she couldn't see her. "I'm fine but Robin's unconscious." She gently placed the boy's head down, pressing a finger to the device in her ear.
For a moment, she couldn't find her voice. "Cheshire escaped with the bomb."
"Acknowledged," The martian replied sternly. "We'll come to get you and Robin." She paused before adding solemnly. "We've lost contact from Red Arrow and Kid Flash. It might take some time. Is Robin seriously hurt?"
Life sighed, tucking her legs beneath herself as she seated herself beside him. "He'll live," She responded, trying to sound cocky but failing miserably in it.
Miss Martian didn't seem to notice. "We'll get to you as soon as possible. Miss Martian out."
"Yeah," Life mumbled, dropping her hands in her lap. "Take all the time you need." Then she suddenly had an urge; an urge to bawl her eyes out with her father's new secret torturing her. She wanted to scream out to the world. Scream and say that she was an only child. She didn't have any sisters. She didn't have any siblings. She was all alone. All alone with bad blood inside her.
Blinking back tears, Life gazed down at Robin, his soft groans filling the atmosphere as the whites of his domino mask slowly widened. "What happened?" He groaned, rolling his tongue out of his mouth on tasting the flavour of rotten grapes.
Life stared, leaning a little back so he could pull himself up. "Cheshire got away with the bomb."
The boy wonder blinked, his thoughts desperately trying to gather themselves. "When did Cheshire get here?" He rubbed the side of his neck, sitting upright on the ground.
"The antidote I gave you comes with a small interval of amnesia."
"Amnesia?" Robin echoed, then clutched his head that was throbbing with pain. He turned to her, only to find her curling her hands into fists in her lap. "Care to tell me what happened?"
Life snapped her head at him, stormy eyes ablaze as her teeth gritted together. And in an interval of five minutes, she had vomited out the whole scenario that had occurred in the time when he was unconscious, not even bothering to put up a cover story.
White lenses stretching wide, Robin crossed his legs, pressing his lips in a straight line as he absorbed the information. Life was chewing on her tongue, glaring at her tight fists as there was a moment of silence. And finally, Robin broke it. "I know you might not be feeling traught," He gave a friendly smile, the raven infront of him frowning. "But at least you know that Artemis is your sister now."
She whipped her head up, eyes wide as saucepans as she took in what he had said. "You knew?!" Life hissed through gritted teeth, grey eyes burning with fury. "You knew that Artemis is my sister and you didn't tell me?!"
Robin scowled deeply, running both of his hand through his raven locks. "Batman said that none of you wanted anyone to know about your family ties," He tried to reason with her. "So he-"
"Holy shit! Batman knew too?!" The dark magician yelled furiously, leaping onto her feet.
Anger coursing through her veins, Life glared murderously at the boy on the ground. Robin didn't even wince, getting up as well. His eyebrows knitted together, seeing the girl march back and forth angrily, slamming her foot down on each step.
Robin frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Try to understa-"
Life whirled around, giving him a burning look. "Did Dinah and Ollie knew too?" She demanded, jaw clenching tightly on watching him respond with a grimace.
Her cheeks grew hot as fire, teeth gritting so badly along with her nails digging deep into her palms. In a fit of fury, Life jerked her fist aside, the movement quickly being followed by the nearby tree's bark bursting open with an explosion. Anger was practically radiating off her, and Life didn't care whether her magic was reacting by itself with it.
"You all knew?!" She hissed, eyes narrowed into a glare. "You all knew and you didn't tell me?!" Life nearly screamed, fuming while throwing her hands up in the air. Realization soon began dawning over her face, and she clamped a hand onto her lips, Roy's words echoing in her ears.
She cupped her ears, tilting her chin up to look at the moonless sky. "Even firecrotch knew," She whispered miserably, the hurtful expressions prominent on her face as she sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes.
A hand was there on her shoulder, her grey eyes flicking over to a pair of pure white lenses. Robin gave a tight smile, "I know this might be really hard for you," He said softly, squeezing her shoulder. "But just try and feel the aster, okay?"
Life peered up at him through her lashes, pursing her lips. "This is a disaster," She mumbled loudly, releasing a small breath. "Heavy on the dis." She managed a small smile, him shooting her a lope sided grin.
And all of a sudden, she caught him off guard, throwing her arms around him for a small hug. Blowing a puff of air from out his mouth, the acrobat smiled, slowly bringing his arms around her as well, patting her back and rested his chin on her head. But was it just her, or did his cologne smelt really familiar?
She didn't bother pulling away, wrapping an arm around his neck while the other slowly crawled up to his chest. Her fingers traced the sides of his domino mask, and swiftly they had ripped it off his eyes. Life swore she heard him curse in Romanian, his hands shooting forward to grab the mask back, but she quickly sprinted away, holding it out from his reach.
Striking blue eyes stared back at her and, Life's stomach twisted.
"Dick?" She breathed, eyes wide as marbles. "You're Robin?" Her voice were barely a whisper, blood suddenly boiling up with anger.
Dick chewed the insides of his cheeks, reaching forward to calm the enraged teen down. But she stepped back, hands weaved into her raven locks as Life inhaled sharply through her clenched teeth, eyes squeezed shut.
"If you're Robin," Life let out a breath, eyes fluterring open as realization slapped her hard across the face. "Then Bruce Wayne is Batman?!"
The Romani parted his lips to explain but, quickly dodged a flying fist aimed at his face, then proceeded to dodge a plethora of punches. "You damn dirty cheat!" The dark magician hissed, desperately attempting to knock his teeth in.
"All this time you've been lying to me!"
"I didn't lie to you," Dick responded, scowling whilst ducking a roundhouse kick.
His hands caught her wrists, the gloved fingers tightening around the exposed skin as Life tried to jerk them out of his grasp. "Will you listen to me?!" The young hacker snapped, blue eyes narrowing into a glare.
A low growl leaving her lips, her tightly tensed muscles slowly loosened. Grey eyes matched blue ones, and the incident in Qurac flashed in her mind. Biting her tongue, Life found her face burning an impressive shade of pink.
Dick sighed, tilting his head to the side. "I was going to tell you," He pressured every word, his glare softening. "But I couldn't get the chance." He told her softly, finally releasing her wrists.
Hands dropping pathetically to her sides, Life's shoulders slumped. "This has got to be the worst day of my life," Her voice was weak, almost broken as she wrapped her arms around herself. "First dad comes off and tells me I have sisters; one a brutal assassin, the second my teammate." The raven jeered, outraged as she snapped her head at him.
"And now this?!" Life spat out, motioning towards him and herself. "Just when I thought I could actually be in a relationship with someone, that someone turns out to be a person I hate!" A frustrating groan escaped her lips, hands running through the curly locks as she inhaled sharply.
Slowly, a hand brushed against her shoulder and she quickly slapped it away. "Don't touch me!" The dark magician warned, glaring at him.
Dick scowled, glaring back. "Look, I was going to tell you." He gave out a sigh. "I'm sorry about it, okay?" The acrobat ran a hand through his hair. "But if you just calm down and listen—"
Miss Martian's spoke up in their ears. "We're coming to get you. Death, is Robin still hurt?"
Life frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and Dick sighed. "I'm fine, Miss M." He informed, clicking one of the many buttons on his gauntlet and a familiar holographic computer lit up.
"Good," They could see the smile in her voice. "We're coming."
Slipping a domino mask out from his belt, the Romani placed it over his eyes. His gaze drifted to the girl there with him, and found her trying to bore holes in the trees infront of her, her features gracing a scowl.
Robin adjusted his domino mask, head snapping upwards when the bio ship came into view. Two navy blue lines descended from it and he grabbed it, attaching it to his waist. Silently sighing, Life tightened her grip on the domino mask clenched in her fist.
"Etativel."
With a small push to the ground, she was soaring upwards to the bioship , leaving the boy wonder sighing behind her.
|MOUNT JUSTICE
|22:19 EDT
"Cheshire knocked Robin out. She beat me up and then walked off with the bag."
Life remained unfazed by the batglare being sent her way. She was just too mad and upset to care for it anyway.
Batman glowered at her, focusing his cold glare on his protégé then. Robin stood there, grimancing along with his teammates, all of them standing in a row.
The dark knight began, "The bag you were provided with did not have the original bomb. Instead, it was replica." He watched as every head snapped up to stare at him, eyes wide with realization.
"You mean you lied to us?" Artemis asked incredulously, taking the words right from everyone's mouths.
Batman shot her a glare, "The original has been safely provided to Dr. Delia by Aquaman and Aqualad." He growled, ignoring her question. "You all were to act as a distraction as it was being transferred underwater."
The knuckles of her fists turning white under the gloves, Life found her jaw clenching. "So, I basically got a broken nose for nothing?" She sneered, though wincing as Batman threw her a menacing look.
Straightening up, Batman gave a firm nod. "Good job all of you," He complemented grimly, watching his words bring small smiles to all their faces, except for Life and Artemis, both girl scowling and glaring at him.
"Get some sleep,"
Whirling around, Life tried wiping the dried blood off her nose with the help of the sleeve of her jacket. An involuntary hiss left her mouth, nose giving out a sting of pain upon the rough contact. She slowly separated herself from the group of her teammates, making her way to the medical bay.
As she rounded a corner to the other hall, today's outbursts gradually entered her thoughts, and suddenly she found it very difficult to breathe. The air got somewhere stuck in her lungs, refusing to leave them. Her body was hurting from various places; her head, her nose, her legs but what hurt the most was her chest. Right on the spot where a certain beating organ lay. She swallowed back the sudden onslaught of furious tears that wanted to pour down her face like a flood.
"Life?"
Her steely gaze moved upwards, meeting familiar white lenses.
Robin offered a smile, but frowned when she lowered her gaze.
"What do you want?" The deal magician asked sourly, staring at the floor. Anger started boiling inside her, hearing him give out a deep sigh. "I know you're really mad," He started softly, reaching out to take her hands in his.
Cocking her head up, she frowned, teeth gritting together as he ran his thumb across her knuckles.
The acrobat swallowed, smiling softly "But if you and me sit down and talk, we can—"
"Don't you get it, Dick?" Life hissed, venom dripping from her voice. "There's no 'we'. There's no 'us'. It never was and never will be!"
She ripped her hands out from his grasp, stepping back whilst glaring at him. Robin scowled at her, his eyebrows knitting together. "Batman had strictly forbidden me to tell anyone. And if he finds out what you did, he's gonna be furious." He growled, grimacing.
"I don't care what Batman says," She bit out, "I bet he didn't tell you to keep lying to me."
The boy wonder glared, "I didn't lie to you."
"You were with me all this time!" The dark magician ground her teeth, hands curling into fists as her voice broke, and her shoulders slumped. "I thought you liked me." She whispered, eyes squeezing shut with her voice and spirit crumbling.
And right when he parted his lips to respond, worriedly looking at her, she raised her hand, preventing him to say anything. Life cocked her head up, grey eyes holding twin pairs of equal fire. "Remember when you asked whether I liked you or not?" She reminded the mission in Qurac. "Well, I don't." She snarled. "I don't like you."
"I. Hate. You." There was a strong pressure on her each and every word.
Robin's jaw tightened, fists clenching at his sides. He leaned forward, masked eyes narrowed into a glare. And even with the mask on, Life could see the Romani's blue eyes burning with fury.
"Well, that makes two of us." He growled, leaning towards her and developed a glaring contest. "I hate you too." The young hacker fired back with equal anger.
The two stood there, having a furious glaring match and if any of them decided to move, their noses would've touched.
Life was the first to recoil, releasing a deep sigh. Without wasting a second, she'd brushed past him, shoulder slamming into his as she made her way to the medical bay. Her ears picked up the sound of Robin sighing and then face palming, causing the painful pangs in her chest to grow.
Hot tears pricked the corner of her eyes and she forcibly blinked them back.
|MOUNT JUSTICE
| 23: 29 EDT
Gathering up her courage, Life slowly raised her fist and knocked it against the metal door. There was a white masking tape on her nose, her nostrils burning with the horrid smell of medicines smudged over it. She crumpled the paper in her other hand, waiting for the door to open.
With a swish, the metallic door had flown up, a pretty blonde stepping outside. Smoky grey eyes met lighter ones, and Artemis swallowed the lump suddenly stuck in her throat.
Life seemed to be going through the same phase, "Hi," She greeted nervously.
"Hey," Artemis responded, her voice devoid of any emotion as she tried shying her eyes away from the shorter teen's gaze.
Pursing her lips, Life slowly held out the paper in her hand towards the archer. Artemis took it, and to answer the bemused expression she was given, Life explained. "This is a letter of my mom." She bit her tongue, watching the blonde's hold tighten onto the paper as her eyes started sweeping over it.
Life continued, staring up at Artemis as she read through her deceased mother's letter. "Mommy mentioned that I had two sisters in this," She paused to take a small breath, "But I didn't pay it much importance at the moment when I read it."
The fingers of her right hand massaging her aching temple, Artemis handed the letter back, pursing her lips at Life. The two held each others gazes, several minutes passing by with nothing but silence.
Then finally, Artemis broke it with her voice. "Let's just..." She sighed, closing her eyes before opening them again, grimacing. "Let's just get some sleep." The pretty blonde turned around to walk in when a hand tangled its fingers with hers.
"Artemis, please." Grey eyes looked up to meet darker ones. "We need to talk about this." Life frowned, fist clenching and unclenching at her sides.
The pretty blonde bit her bottom lip, swallowing as she stepped back in her room. "We'll talk about this," Artemis promised. "But not now." She slipped her hand out from hers, walking into her room, the door hissing shut behind her.
Like a weight was on her shoulders, the dark magician made her way towards her room with a heavy heart. She brought the crumpled paper near to her nose, inhaling deeply and tracing slight fragrances of her mother. Her heart tightened in her chest as she entered her room, and suddenly she was missing Gina very much.
The door flew shut behind her and she sucked in a deep breath.
Life slumped against the door of her room, her chest heavy with a weight she hadn't felt in years. She brought her gaze to the ceiling, words of today whirling in her mind like a storm. And she didn't even realize when she had started mumbling in Italian.
Tears bubbled up in those silver orbs, "Oh, mamma. Vorrei che tu fossi qui."
"Vorrei che tu fossi qui così ho potuto pensare," She choked, inhaling deeply as hot tears streamed down her cheeks.
There was a soft whimper, "F-farei qualsiasi cosa per avere indietro, mamma." Sobs began wracking her body, her knees bending near to her chest.
Life allowed her head to lean against the cool metal of the door, tears not coming to a stop. Her eyes tightly squeezed shut as she sobbed.
"Mi manchi."
A\N: *leans elbows on tables and rubs forehead* You guys have no idea how much pain I was going through while writing this and no, it isn't because of Life :/ It's because my precious kitty Mano died today. She's been with me and my family for about seven years and now, she's dead. *sighs* Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter. The enthusiasm I started writing it just died for me but I hope you all liked it.
Thank you all very much. You're the most nicest, sweetest and awesomest readers a kitty could ever ask for :3 Four hundred reviews are a lot of reviews, and I had never ever dreamed of hitting that high :D This all thanks to you guys, so... *hugs you tightly* THANK YOU!
*slaps side of forehead* uh, hello, Pretty Kitty! How can I forget the translations! I've gotten these from Google, so sorry if their not correct. If you're Italian and think that the sentences are wrong, feel free to let me in about it;
(Oh, mommy. I wish you were here.)
(I wish you were here so I could think.)
(I-I would do anything to have you back, mom.)
(I miss you.)
Also, major apologizes to Magicalbird shippers :P Any who, thanks a lot for reading, dearies~