Chapter Four

The Green Arrow stared at the girl through the glass with his colleagues on his right as they discussed what to do with her. The agreement was that she would be under the League's protection in exchange for any and all information she possesses. The first part of the questioning had gone well enough, now if they wanted specifics they would need to give her what she wanted.

She agreed she would hold nothing back if the justice League could do this one service for her. It was a simple request, one that would be fairly easy to acquire for her. She wanted to visit her mother, to be in the same room with the woman without any glass separating them.

The Justice League would get her that meeting, but not today. In the meantime, the heroes needed to decide what to do with her. Arrow was adamant on her hiding in plain sight, given a new identity and everything.

Superman agreed with him, but Batman was a hesitant about the idea. While he had explained to them that the League of Shadows would believe Artemis dead, he wasn't sold on the idea of giving her a fresh start yet.

She hadn't told them enough information, she had skirted their questions and it was quite possible that she was merely doing so because she didn't have the answers they needed and just wanted to wait until she could strike. Though Batman did doubt this, it didn't hurt for him to be cautious.

Diana and J'onn were not sure which would be better. Diana wanted to help the girl, but she had to remind herself that the girl could not simply be allowed to roam free. Especially considering that she knew the League's most valuable secrets, their names.

"Leaving her in any secure faculty or even here is ineffective and won't give her any reason to keep her end of the bargain," argued Superman.

Batman replied sharply, "She already isn't coming forth with the information. She isn't giving us all we need to know."

"She gave us the SD card, not to mention she has made the deal to tell us all she knows if we give her a meeting with her mother," Wonder Woman added, she was leaning against the wall perpendicular to Arrow.

J'onn frowned, "Unless she plans to get inside the faculty to try and free her mother."

"It is a possibility," admitted Wonder Woman.

"We'd be watching her the entire time, she wouldn't get away," Superman said confidently.

Arrow spoke next, "We'll make sure she won't be able to escape while there. Besides Bats has that fancy bracelet that will ensure she can't do anything."

J'onn nodded, "That would keep her contained and if she did try to get away, we would be able to find her before she could return to the Shadows or release our information."

Batman nodded, "Alright. We'll just have to watch her carefully if we go there. Next order of business is what to do with her once she's told us everything."

"It is too dangerous to allow her to go free," J'onn supplies knowingly.

All the heroes agreed with him.

"She could remain in a secure facility, she would be hidden, safe and have no access to anything which would make sure our secrets remain just that, secrets," offered Batman even though he knew he would not receive a lot of support.

"That seems extreme," commented Superman, "I think Arrow is right. She should receive a new identity and hidden in plain sight."

"That raises the risk of the Shadows finding her," Wonder Woman said a bit begrudgingly.

Although she wanted the young girl to start her life over, she knew that leaving her out in the open would increase her chances of being caught. It was now the Justice League's mission to protect her, they just needed to do so that would make it easiest and effective.

"Locking her away isn't the answer," Arrow said sharply, "She should stay with one of us, or someone in the league. This way she'd be under constant supervision along with Batman's bracelet."

Batman raised an eyebrow behind his cowl, "Let me guess, you want to be the one to take her?"

Arrow nodded silently.

Wonder Woman spoke next, "That would work out well. She seems to trust him the most and he was the one who she revealed her name to."

"Not to mention, Dinah and Roy would be there with me watching over her," added Arrow.

Batman replied tersely, "You think you'd be able to keep her contained? That she wouldn't run away the first chance she got?"

"As I said, we'd be watching her and, as I have said before, she would have your bracelet," answered Arrow simply.

Superman released a sigh, "Another thing to consider is that if the media knew you have taken in a child, her face would be everywhere. The shadows would recognize her."

"If she remains with you, she would need to be kept hidden away for a time," Wonder Woman said, "otherwise they will come for her."

The girl in question had entered the room at this point. Even though she had been standing in the hallway for part of the conversation, she hadn't made her appearance known.

Her leaving the interrogation room was meant to show that she would not be contained easily and that she wanted to know what they were saying. She hated to be the center of the discussion and not know what exactly they were saying.

"Only my father and sister would recognize me," said Artemis as she walked further inside, "If you get me to see my mother, then she would to. Though she hasn't seen me in years so she may not recognize me at all."

Artemis found herself reaching up to feel the space where her necklace once was. Waking up without it had nearly sent her into hysteria. She loved that necklace, it was her most prized position after her bow and arrows. She knew that if it was found by the Shadows, that would solidify her death for Jade and maybe her father. She lowered her hand a bit dejected.

Taking a quick breath, she went on, "The rest of the Shadows on the other hand hasn't seen my actual face since I was six or seven. They're fairly big on being apart of the Shadows. It also works as a form of insurance so that if we were ever caught, we could never identify anyone or give real names."

Superman raised an eyebrow at her and gestured to the interrogation room she had been in moments ago, "When did you get out of there?"

"Irrelevant," said Batman, " Are you certain that no one would recognize you from the shadows aside from your relatives?"

Artemis nodded, but then paused, "Yes. Only those two have seen my face without a mask. At least in the shadows. There are a few others who had seen my face, but they aren't in the Shadows. They fall under the League of Assassins."

Arrow tried not to growl, he has enough experience and anger where the assassins were involved. He remarked dryly, "Of course the Assassins are involved with this."

"The chances of them doing anything are slim," said Artemis, "Odds are they could see me and think I am doing some mission. Besides, it's statistically proven that there are seven other people on the world who look exactly like you."

"We'll still have to wait awhile before your image gets released to the public," Arrow said, "It'd be to suspicious if you show up on the news after dying in their eyes. How'd you pull that off anyway Bats?"

"Unimportant," said Batman, but Artemis's interest was peaked, "I will start to work in your new identity, but you will not be revealed until we deem it is appropriate and enough time has passed."

Artemis nodded, "So what are the rules?"

Batman inwardly smirked, but he said as cold as ever, "You will remain with Arrow and his family. While there you will be constantly under surveillance in Arrow's house, under the guard of Red, the Canaries or Arrow himself. You will always wear a monitoring (monetary) bracelet that will track your every move, report your vitals and block your access to anything we think you should not use. You will do everything Arrow tells you to do and listen to him. While it is his job to keep you contained it will also be his job to protect you from any and all harm."

Batman paused, "Should you break any rules that have been set in anyway, go directly against what we have put in place, the offer begins to end. Two chances. If the first is loss, you receive less freedom and stricter regulations. If you fail to stay in line or atone for your offense, all privileges allotted to you will be taken away. You will be relocated and locked away until we say otherwise. Is that understood?"

All the heroes watched the young girl, observing and analyzing her every move to gage how she would respond.

Artemis took a slight breath, "Yes. I understand."

"Do you accept," Batman asked next.

Artemis frowned, "Will you still let me see my mother? Will you still take me to see her?"

Wonder Woman answered her, "In order for us to bring you to her, you must earn our trust."

"If we know that you will not betray us or try to run away then we will allow you to see her," Superman added gently.

Despite herself, Artemis let her shoulders fall to show her disappointment. It had been so long since she last saw her mother. She had told her mother goodbye through a glass wall and had not been allowed to see her since.

Even with her disappointment, she understood why they were doing it this way. Though she desperately wanted to see her mother one more time, she would wait until the Justice League said it was okay. For now, they controlled her fate.

"Do you accept," Batman repeated.

Artemis squared her shoulders, "I accept."

"Good," Batman stated, "in the meantime you will remain here and we will prepare you a room to stay in while we create your new identity. While you remain on the Watch Tower you will remain in your quarters or a member of the league will always be escorting you places."

"Okay," Artemis said with a nod, then added after a pause, "I suppose I should thank you for this."

"Not necessary, we're glad we could help," said Superman with a soft smile.

"Wonder Woman will show you to where you'll be staying for their couple of days," Batman said ignoring the raised eyebrow from Arrow.

Artemis didn't say anything. She briefly glanced at Arrow, a silent question. Soon he would become her guardian, her protector, so why was he not tasked with escorting her now?

"This way," Wonder Woman said moving towards he door.

Only half hesitant, Artemis followed the heroine out of the room, leaving Jonn, Superman, Arrow and Batman.

"Alright next order of business," Superman started, "Arrow, you'll return to Star City and start preparing for her arrival. Bruce will take care of her identity."

Arrow nodded then sighed, "Yeah, I have to explain this to Dinah and Roy. I'll be back later on to check on Artemis, maybe one of them will join me."

Oliver had told his wife and charge about why he had been at the Watch Tower for so long without any word of what was happening. Dinah had taken the news well enough, she was more concerned about the fact that a twelve or thirteen year old girl knew the secret identities of everyone in the League.

The idea was a bit terrifying, a child held the safety of more than a hundred lives in her hands,the heroes and the people they loved depended on her staying quiet. Roy reacted angrily, he didn't understand why the kid was still on the watch tower and not taken to prison or sent somewhere else.

The teenager was never one for sympathy, but even Oliver had to be disappointed with him for not caring about this kid in the least. Oliver knew that Roy was not going to be happy about what he was about say next.

"There's more," said Oliver a bit grim, "She's going to remain on the watch tower for a couple of days. By the end of the week, she will be moving here."

"What," Roy shouted, "Here? You have to be kidding me. Why?"

Dinah stood from her seat at the counter, "I'm with Roy on this. Why here?"

Oliver sighed, "I Offered to take her instead of sending her away."

Roy all but growled, "Why on earth would you do that?"

"Because she's just a kid," Oliver answered.

Roy rolled his eyes, "A kid assassin who has the power to bring the League to its knees if she wanted to. Some kid who probably has plenty of blood on her hands. Who knows the awful things she's done."

Oliver narrowed his eyes, "You know I seem to remember taking in a child who had done things he wasn't proud of, who did some bad things because he didn't have a choice."

Roy glared at Oliver. The teen knew exactly what the green crusader was referring to and felt hot anger face through him. How dare he compare his past to that of an assassin? Someone who killed for a living is worse than a child who lived on the streets. Roy opened his mouth to respond, but Dinah intervened.

"What's done is done, she's coming here," Dinah said sharply, "We'll just have to watch her closely until we know she's not a threat. What do you need from us?"

Oliver glanced at Roy, waiting for him to deny Dinah's answer, to say he won't help. However he had a feeling that Roy wouldn't say anything. Dinah could be downright terrifying with or without her meta abilities.

Roy folded his arms over his chest and huffed, "Whatever. As long as she stays away from me, I'll help."

"You're Helping anyway," Dinah said.

Roy rolled his eyes, but made no comment. He knew he would have no choice in helping the kid because Dinah wouldn't let him get away that easily. She never would. It was a reason he valued her, she never made it easy for him.

Life wasn't about taking the easy way out, she was the one to teach him that lesson. A lesson he was grateful for, even if he would never say that out loud to her she knew it was true.

"Where do we start," Dinah asked, ready to get to work.

Oliver smiled with relief, "I put money on a card, you go shopping because I don't know what on earth to buy a twelve year old girl. I can cover the basics, like a bed and desk, but I leave decorations and clothes to you."

Dinah nodded, "That's probably for the best. Get us a list of things she likes and her clothing sizes. Odds are we'll just get a few plain clothes then take her shopping so she can pick out stuff she likes."

"Good idea," Oliver said, he faced Roy, "In addition to helping with preparations, you'll be in charge of her more often than Dinah or I will."

"What," Roy questioned surprised.

Oliver nodded, "Ill be here while she settles, but Dinah and I can't stay off duty from our civilian lives or league duties for too long. School isn't in session, not that we could really send her yet anyway, so she'll be here all the time. I'll be off either running the company or with the league, which spreads me pretty thin. Dinah will be off doing her stuff at the firm and League, both take a lot of time."

"So I'm a babysitter," Roy grumbled.

Dinah added, "You're a guard. You watch her, keep her in line while we're gone."

Roy huffed, "Yeah, just a babysitter. Unbelievable."

"Think you can't handle watching a kid," Oliver said teasingly.

Roy narrowed his eyes, but his expression was softer, "I can handle just about anything."

"Clearly you've never dealt with kids," Dinah said as she stepped inside the kitchen, "Now what's for dinner?"

Four days later

Artemis had to admit that she was a fan of the watchtower. Even though she wasn't allowed to go anywhere really without being under the watchful eyes of at least two or three leaguers, she loved going to any place with windows.

Space had always fascinated her, especially the stars for a reason she never quite understood. There was just something beautiful and sweet about the blinking lights in the sky. The stories they could tell, the possibilities of what lay with them out there far away.

The young girl was currently sitting in a ledge with Wonder Woman, looking out the giant window that gave them a great view of the stars and the planet at certain times. This would make the eighth time Artemis had asked Wonder Woman to come here, the seventh time she agreed to do so.

A bonus had been Wonder Woman telling Artemis the real stories of the constellations they found that day. Artemis could not get enough of them, the stories made her stay here a bit more bearable. Not to mention the shared enjoyment of Oreos with the Martian. It surprised her that the green alien enjoyed the cookie and cream combination, but her experience with aliens was incredibly few, so she wasn't too sure. Maybe all aliens enjoyed Oreos.

Well Superman wasn't their biggest fan, but he would still eat them. Artemis glanced at the Amazon warrior, who wasn't dressed in her signature armor. Wonder Woman, or Diana with her casual clothes, had only meant to stop by to grab something. But Artemis managed to drag the heroine up to the ledge of half an hour because she was was bored and in desperate need of entertainment.

Since Diana had nowhere else to be, she didn't see the harm. Artemis seemed like a well enough kid, she had the heart of a true warrior. That was enough to get Diana to like her, seeing the fire in those eyes reminded Diana of her sisters. However it saddened Diana to see such a look in the face of someone so young.

A child should be filled with nothing but happiness and love, not pain and fear. Though Artemis hid it well, Diana could see the terror that existed inside the assassin. She was deathly afraid of something, but the heroine wasn't sure if her fear was from the Justice league or the league of shadows.

"What about Orion," Artemis asked as she continued to look at the stars, "I know he was a hunter, but his belt is referred to as the three kings."

Diana nodded, "I'm not as familiar with the three kings story, it came long after the original story and was not apart of Grecian culture."

"Makes sense," Artemis commented. "Artemis," called Arrow from below, "Artemis I know you're up there hiding."

Diana raised an eyebrow at the tween in question, "Hiding?"

Artemis shrugged, "I was hiding and I got bored."

"But why were you hiding," Diana asked, curious and a bit concerned.

Artemis had to remain under the watch of a leaguer at all times while she was here. While the anklet she wore under her sock would block her from entering areas, the anklet was not that powerful and wouldn't stop her for long. Luckily she hasn't gone anywhere of importance, nor had she tried to remove it as far as the leaguers were concerned.

Artemis looked away, down at Arrow who was waiting expectantly, "Yesterday, at the archery range, he told me about the plans for when I leave… the shadows can't reach me here in space, they only have two maybe three ships capable of it. So they wouldn't be a threat to your station. But down on earth, they have everything they need."

Before Diana could say anything to the blonde girl, Artemis had slipped off the side and mannered her way down to the floor like an acrobatic. During Artemis' third questioning, on the second day, she had told them all she could do from the fighting styles to weapons to education.

It was rather impressive considering she was not a teenager yet and most of which she had accomplished was not something the leaguers had done at her age. The boy wonder, Robin, was a second or really third to her at this point.

He was nearly ten, but had accomplished feats in acrobatics, gymnastics and multiple martial art forms. He was already gifted in acrobatics and gymnastics, the martial art forms took a bit. No one would say it with the Batman present, but the others wanted to see the boy wonder and Artemis spar.

Robin was always practicing with the adults and while it was good for him since his enemies were adults, some of the leaguers thought it would be nice for him to fight someone closer to his age. For him to be around someone who was closer to his age as he spent most of his time with adults.

They also wanted it for Artemis so she could see what her future held, a place here. Batman hadn't been thrilled by the notion, but even he had to admit that having Artemis on their side would prove to be in the best interest of the league. The members wouldn't live forever, they would all either retire or pass away at some point. Their shoes would have to be filled someday.

Batman has Robin, though the Gotham knight never said it or acknowledged it, but it was quite clear that Robin would take the mantle of Batman after the original had passed. Arrow had Roy, he would find his place in the league once he became a bit older. Aquaman has his apprentice who would no doubt take his mantle of hero after he could no longer stay here.

Artemis landed lightly on her feet, much like a cat would despite her high descent.

"Yes Arrow," Artemis said, standing before the green hero.

While Arrow was dressed in his usual attire, Artemis was in casual attire that somewhat mirrored his own. She wore dark blue jeans, a forest green shirt that matched the caped hero and a dark green headband matching Arrow's eye mask.

Diana looked down at them, to anyone who didn't know the pair and their situation, could have mistaken them for father and daughter. The green clothes, similar skin tones and blonde hair.

"Walk with me," Arrow said, nodding his head to the right.

Artemis replied, "Alright. Where are we going?"

"I want you to meet someone," Arrow vaguely explained.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, that's as definitely a first. Most of the time the leaguers That Artemis knew, namely Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Martian and Arrow, preferred she not have contact with any of their fellow members.

Artemis didn't question it, but she supposed it was to keep her secret all the more secret. As far as any of the other members were concerned, she was just a child in need of protection. She wasn't a fan of the cover story, but she didn't get a say in that so she didn't complain.

"Who," Artemis asked.

All Arrow said was, "You'll see."

Artemis didn't appreciate that reply. Arrow lead her down a series of hallways she recognized, they were getting closer to the main floors where everyone had access to. Artemis knew that the watchtower was divided by clearance, the founders had access to everywhere, the middle men had access to the bottom two sections and the newer members only had access to the main areas.

It seemed fair, but she could tell it caused strife. Especially if someone was 'promoted' and another wasn't.

Arrow stepped inside a room, Artemis followed his lead. With their back to them was a woman dressed in all black. Tight pants and a black leotard, a navy blue jacket on top and blonde hair.

"Black Canary," Artemis whispered.

She knew all about the Canaries, sisters with sonic screams that could destroy just about anything and eardrums. That was just the start of their powers. The woman turned around, bright blue eyes and a gentle face.

"You must be Artemis," said Black Canary, "Nice to officially meet you."

Artemis nodded, "And you Black Canary."

"You can use my name, I know you know it," replied Black Canary.

Artemis hesitated, "Dinah Lance, do you prefer Ms Dinah or Ms Lance?"

Black Canary shrugged, "Just Dinah is fine. Oliver here has been making we wait to meet you."

"Is that right," Artemis said glancing at Arrow, "How rude of him."

"I know," grinned Dinah, "I have to wonder why I married the man."

"For my dazzling charm and looks," said Arrow going to her side.

Dinah scoffed, "No it was definitely for your money."

Arrow just rolled his eyes, "Sure it was."

Arrow took a seat beside Dinah at the table. Artemis continued to stand in her place unsure of where to move. She had no idea why one of the canaries would come to see her, probably a threat about not messing up her household or something. Artemis wasn't scared of either Canary, but she was slightly intimidated by them.

"You can sit," Dinah said bring Artemis back to the present.

Artemis blinked, "I'm okay here. Why did you want to see me?"

"Well we're going to be living together for awhile, I figured I should meet you before you come into the house," said Dinah simply, "Roy isn't allowed on the watchtower, so you'll meet him when you first arrive."

Artemis remembered reading Roy's file. The teen had been taken off of the streets by Oliver Queen after the teen had helped Oliver out of a sticky situation. Roy had been taken away from his parents at a young age due to their inability to properly care for him.

The system however wasn't kind to him and eventually he ran away to live on his own. Artemis read his files a bit more thoroughly than the other upcoming sidekicks of the League, mainly because Roy had some stints with her sister.

The two ran into each other on several occasions, too often for Artemis to consider normal since they weren't common enemies like the Joker was Batman. It was odd, though Artemis was beginning to think something must go on during their meetings. The pre-teen never cared much for her sister's endeavors, knowing that she wouldn't be told about them anyway, but regardless she was curious about this.

"He's a fairly decent guy, a great person who hits some bumps in the road," Dinah told her, why the girl didn't know, "He's not thrilled about the idea of you staying with us."

Artemis shrugged, "Understandable. I am an assassin, I wouldn't be thrilled either. Though I'm confused why you're telling me this. I figured your own welcome would be minimal and less than hospitable."

Dinah offered a weak smile, "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt because of what Ollie has told me about you. You'll be staying with us for the upcoming weeks or months, you already know what will happen if you act out, so I see no reason to force it down your throat."

Artemis glanced away from Dinah at that. She knew what would happen, Batman had told her, Superman reminded her, Wonder Woman has hinted at it and Artemis wrote it down. This was her one chance, most people never got a chance. She had to use it wisely.

Of course she had a backup plan if the Justice League didn't live up to their promises or just was no longer giving her what she desired. She would then contact the Shadows and they would send her a plan or get her out themselves.

Part of her hoped not to follow through with the plan, but she was afraid of this risk. It wasn't as calculated as she would have liked. While nothing truly scared her except her father, sister and two mentors in League of Assassins, this risk would be added until it either paid off or it blew up in her face.

"So," Dinah said, "The day you come down to earth, I'm taking you out shopping."

Artemis jerked at that, "Why?"

"You need some clothes, Oliver handled the furniture and all of that in your room already, we have some basic clothes there already like the ones you're wearing, but you'll need more," Dinah explained.

Artemis glanced at Oliver who said, "Just roll with it. I only think you need a couple of clothes, but it's good to have a lot and whatever you don't like you give away. It works out."

Artemis could count on one hand the amount of clothing items to she had. Training outfit, sleepwear and her uniform/costume of Alice. Three outfits, though each one had at least four articles of material that went with it.

"Alright," Artemis said simply, "Anything else?"

Dinah nodded, "Last thing. Tell me about yourself."

Artemis raised her brow in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"As in what do you like to do for fun, favorite color, hobbies, what shows or movies do you like, that sort of thing," answered Dinah.

Artemis didn't answer for a long time it seemed, she had no idea what she liked to do for fun. Training was sometimes fun when she was just sparing. Gymnastics was also good, though she mainly enjoyed the bars. Color, she didn't know. Maybe green or blue? No she hated blue because of Alice in Wonderland. She'd stick with green for now, dark green.

She didn't have any hobbies, she wasn't entirely sure what a hobby was supposed to be. She'd never watched tv and never been to the movies and there weren't any lying around the compound. She had watched training videos though, but that was it.

"Gymnastics or sparring, green, don't have any and I've never watched tv or seen movies," answered Artemis after the pregnant pause.

Oliver gasped, "You've never watched tv or seen movies?"

Artemis shook her head no in reply, "Father said they were pointless."

Oliver wanted to say her father was dumb, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to offend her, she had been well behaved thus far and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Well tv shows and movies are not pointless," said Oliver, "They are for entertainment, designed to give people an escape and take you on all kinds of adventures."

"They sound glorified," Artemis deadpanned, "But I'm intrigued."

Dinah grinned, "Guess movie nights are back on."

Oliver nodded, "Definitely back on. Hopefully to stay this time, if only Roy would get into them."