A/N: Now here is where some big changes happen with Artemis, the plot will really start to take off from here.

Summary: Artemis Crock, sister to the notorious assassin Cheshire, daughter of the ruthless Sportsmaster and merciless Huntress. She was raised in the League of Shadows, groomed to become the killers like her relatives, but she didn't want that, not really. When the Justice League catches her, the Green Arrow offers her something she can't refuse. A chance at freedom. AU

Chapter Fourteen

Artemis was terrified and she wasn't terrified often. Oliver and Roy had gone on a mission, pretty standard one actually as far as she knew. However, something went is where the terrified part came in. Green Arrow failed to signal that things were clear, Speedy didn't say anything either. Even though Artemis wouldn't have been in the Arrow cave when they signaled, she would have gotten an alert on her communicator. She was waiting up for them to return.

Initially Artemis had been asleep in her room, but was restless when she didn't hear Oliver or Roy. Sure they had signaled late before, apologizing then receiving an earful from Dinah, but this seemed different. The thirteen year old sat up in bed with a mournful expression, she glanced at her communicator and forced her heartbeat to slow down. Deciding that sitting up in the dark wouldn't put her to sleep sooner, she got out of bed and wandered down to the cave to see Dinah.

Artemis walked down the stairs slowly, watching as Dinah stared intently at the large computer screens and typing furiously on the keyboard. Over these past few months, Artemis had seen each of them leave on missions where things went perfectly or went terribly. How Roy came back covered in bruises and a dislocated shoulder. Or how Oliver came back without a scratch, but no communication meant they had no idea if he was okay.

In truth it shouldn't have bothered Artemis as much as it did now. After all, when Jade spent days away without saying anything she hardly worried. Though that was because she never would dare to think of her sister being gone and her training kept her busy enough that she could never dwell on the idea of Jade not returning. The thought of Jade made Artemis want to disappear, but she forced herself to keep walking through this dark and empty house.

Dinah was down in the basement still she knew and that was exactly where she needed to go to see what was keeping Oliver and Roy. She hoped they were already down there and her fears were nothing more than childish. She felt her stomach twist into knots watching Dinah stand there alone in front of the monitor, as she heard only the low beeping and no chatter from the men of the house.

They needed to come back, she needed them to get back here so she could apologize, so she could take back the words she hadn't meant. Earlier in the day, Artemis had gotten into a bad fight with Oliver. Fights weren't that common between Artemis and the rest of the family here, but they did happen on occasion. Today, she had taken it too far.

"Shut up," Artemis screamed at the top of her lungs, she shoved Oliver's hands away from her, "I hate you! It's all your fault! I hate you!"

Oliver stared at Artemis in shock and an expression of hurt on his face. But this went in ignored by the sobbing thirteen year old girl before him. All Artemis could think of was the fact that no one in this house, especially Oliver, we're denying Artemis the chance to send a message to Jade. Artemis knew that her sister wasn't far away, that she could send a signal of some kind to her and that would be fine.

It was Jade's birthday! Artemis had wanted to tell Jade she was alive ages ago, or send some kind of sign to let the older girl know that she was alright. Roy got to see her sister every other week, but never told Jade that she was alive, never told her that her sister was okay. Artemis didn't want to think that Jade knew and just never did anything about it, she knew for sure that Jade was in the dark.

The problem with that was Artemis didn't want her sister in the dark anymore, she missed her sister so much. Even though their relationship was far from perfect, even if they fought and hardly spent normal time together, Artemis loved the older girl and would have done anything to see her in person again. She just wanted to send her a sign, to send her something. Oliver was in her way, he was always in her way.

Roy stepped closer, "Arty- listen-"

"You get to see her all the time and it's not fair," Artemis yelled at Roy, tears streaming down her face.

Oliver tried to put his hand on Artemis' shoulder, "Artemis, you need to calm down."

Artemis pushed him away, her yell sounded more like a sob, "You did this! If you hadn't talked to me, if the stupid league hadn't sent us there and your stupid league hadn't stopped us, I would be with Jade. But no, no she's not here- it's your fault! I wish you had never brought me here! I hate you Oliver, I hate you!"

Artemis shoved past the man, she raced up to her room and slammed the door hard enough for it to echo throughout the home.

Artemis stared at her sock covered feet as she walked down the stairs, the memory causing her eyes to burn. There was so much she shouldn't have said and most of it she didn't really mean. She had been angry, she hadn't been thinking clearly and the words had tumbled out. Oliver hadn't said anything as she stormed away, he didn't even say bye when he left to go on the mission like he usually did.

That's how she knew he was really upset. And now he still wasn't home. The idea of that being her last conversation with the man she saw a father/uncle figure made her want to cry. Artemis spotted Dinah still dressed her in pajamas standing before the monitors. Neither Roy nor Oliver were in sight, they weren't here.

"Dinah," Artemis said as she walked over to the woman, arms around her stomach, "Have you heard anything?"

Dinah glanced over her shoulder, "No honey, I'm sorry. What are you doing up so late? You have school tomorrow."

"I'm worried about them," Artemis admitted softly, "What if something bad happened? What if they're hurt and can't contact us? Or what if-"

"No benefit in thinking the worst has happened," Dinah told her seriously.

Artemis turned her gaze up to the monitor, "I can't help it."

Dinah placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder, offering a sense of reassurance. The mission of Roy and Oliver was to take a trip to North Rhelasia, check out what was going on with Luthor and his dealing with the place. Ever since their departure, things had been running smoothly until Oliver failed to check in at around midnight. Dinah didn't like to assume the worst had happened, but she was definitely not going to eliminate the possibility of something bad happening to them.

As time ticked by, she felt the urge to start heading out there and see what was going on. However what kept her in place was Artemis. While Oliver didn't think anything bad would happen, he practically begged Dinah to remain here with Artemis. It was more of a safety precaution, but it was one Dinah understood fully. Artemis could handle herself and with the extension placed on her charm bracelet, Dinah would have been able to leave her in the house by herself, but that lead to other problems.

Mainly if Oliver, Roy and then Dinah not returning. As much as Dinah hated it, she knew it was always a possibility that there could be a mission and it go wrong that they leave Artemis alone. It was the reason why one of them always had to stay back with her. If Dinah and Roy went out, Oliver stayed. If Oliver and Dinah left, Roy had to stay. If Oliver and Roy left, Dinah had to stay. Artemis didn't know about this arrangement, she knew someone from the league had to stay with her due her security bracelet, but there was more to it they didn't say. Leaving Artemis without anyone was not an option, so Dinah knew she had to stay until she couldn't anymore.

Superman had gone out to North Rhelasia along with Flash when Dinah told them about Arrow's silence. But they hadn't told her anything either. It was driving Dinah crazy to wait around like this. She could tell by the nervousness radiating off of Artemis that she couldn't wait around like this either. The older woman looked down at her ward with a sorrowful gaze. The two of them couldn't sit around waiting, hours had passed and there was still no sign of them. There were only two reasons they wouldn't have sent a signal, they had to go dark or they were captured. A third idea was sitting in the back of her mind, but she refused to let it come out to the surface.

"What do we do," Artemis asked after a few moments of silence.

Dinah inhaled deeply, "I sent Superman and Flash out there to check up on them, to see what was going on. It could just be that Oliver and Roy had to go dark."

Artemis frowned, "But they would have said something right? Sent a quick message to let you know."

"That's usually the case, but things happen and circumstances change," Dinah told her.

Artemis didn't know what to say next, so she opted to stay quiet as Dinah got back to work. There was nothing she could do. The only thing she could think to do was for them to go out there and find them, bring their guys home. As the silence went on, Artemis thought nothing else would be seen, but then a siren filled their ears with flashing lights overhead. Artemis had no idea what this meant, but judging by Dinah's expression, it wasn't good. The monitor lit up like a christmas tree, an alarm and code that Dinah knew meant they were in serious trouble.

"Stay here, I'll handle this," Dinah said sharply as she stepped away from the consul.

"Wait," Artemis said grabbing Dinah's wrist.

"You need to watch for mods signals and be prepared to contact other leaguers in the area," Dinah order sharply.

Artemis stared up at Dinah, she nodded, "I-I. Okay. Do you think they're hurt?"

Dinah inhaled quickly, "I can't be sure. I'll report back as soon as I-"

A thought struck Dinah as she looked down Artemis. It was crazy and would certainly be better if Artemis remained back here, hidden and able to send a message to others. Though Dinah knew she could do that while out there. The older woman but her lip as she studied the preteen dressed in pale blue pajamas, her blonde hair tied into a loose ponytail. Dinah released a sigh.

She bent forward, placed a hand on Artemis' shoulder, "Could you handle joining me on this mission?"

Artemis blinked in surprise, "I-I, yes. I could handle it. Do you really want me there?"

"I could use your help, especially if the boys are in trouble," Dinah said with a slight smile, "Come on, let's get dressed."

Artemis frowned, "Wait Dinah, I don't have anything-"

"Just follow me."

A few hours later

Oliver was devastated, he was so devastated. None of this should have happened, he shouldn't have let Roy go down there. He should have stopped him, they should have stuck together instead of splitting up and this disaster happening. Now he was trapped under a collapsed building, no way to get out or call for help with no idea where Roy was. If the teen was okay or gone. Luthor was up to something big, something horrible and he did not want anyone to find exactly what it was.

The bald man had been here for a few moments, but quickly fled the area. Oliver had seen Superman and Flash arrive right before the building fell on him. He just told them to go after Luthor, to find Roy, leave him here. And if they didn't go after Roy, he'd never forgive them for it. He'd never forgive himself for this. Even though Roy was capable of looking after himself, it was still his job to protect the teen. To watch out for him. That was his purpose as a guardian and mentor, but tonight he failed. Roy was out there, captured and he was stuck here, under a collapsed building.

"Ollie!"

The voice was muffled, but he knew the owner. Oliver lifted his head slightly to see a small opening not too far away that hadn't been there before. Some light streamed in from that small hole, followed by the cries of a child's voice.

"Ollie! Please answer me!"

What was she doing here? She shouldn't be here. Oliver pushed himself with a painful groan, his right shoulder was killing him and he could hardly put any weight on it. However he had to get up, he had to get out of here, he had to let her know he was here.

"Oliver! Ollie! Where are you?!"

"Here," he called rasply, "I'm down here."

He fell back onto the ground with a heavy breath, he didn't have the strength in him to get up. Darkness claimed him for a minute or more, but when his eyes opened again he was greeted by the sight of a thirteen year old girl dressed in green pants, a sleeveless shirt and green mask to cover her face running over to him.

Artemis.

She was wearing the outfit they designed for her, the one she would wear when she was ready to take on the mantle of sidekick. Oliver had wanted to give it to her for Christmas, but that was still some days away. As he watched her make her way down the debris, he felt his heart clench at he realization of Dinah bringing her here. It meant that the situation was worse than he thought if Dinah brought her along.

Artemis fell to her knees next to him, her entire body trembling as she stared at him. Though she was relieved to see him conscious, the weight from the idea of not knowing whether or not he survived hit her at full force. During the fight on the way in, she couldn't focus on if he was alive, only getting through the doors. And now that she was through the doors, all the emotions had come crashing down over her.

"Oh Ollie," Artemis sobbed out as she stared at him with terror, tears soaking the mask.

Oliver focused his gaze onto her, "Hey, hey. It's alright."

"I'm, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Artemis cried to him, hunched over as her shoulders shook, "I didn't mean what I, what I said before. I, I don't hate you. I-I I'm so glad you, you talked to me that, that day."

Oliver forced himself to turn on his side, he lifted his arm and placed his hand on her cheek, "Shh, it's okay. I know."

Artemis' shoulders shook with each sob, "I'm so sorry."

Artemis pressed her face onto his chest for a moment, gripping his shirt tightly in her fists trying to ground herself in reality. The reality that he was alive, that he was still here. Dinah hadn't wanted to leave Artemis here to search the area for Oliver or Roy, for fear that the young girl would find a body, but it had to be done. Artemis had been terrified that she would find a lifeless corpse, but she was so relieved to see he was alive.

Oliver forced his arm to move, to wrap around Artemis' back and offer her any kind of support in this moment. As he held the distraught girl, he realized that he could not under any circumstance let something like this happen to her. Roy, he had failed Roy and would do everything in his power to find him. He couldn't fail Artemis to, he couldn't fail her.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, "I promise, it's going to be okay."

Artemis pulled away slightly, she nodded and took a deep breath. Without another moment of delay, she pulled out her communicator and got Dinah back on the phone. Oliver tried to stay awake, but the darkness called him and he was too exhausted not to answer.