Hi folks. Here's chapter 3. This is more of a flashback chapter and an alternate version of how the team started out. It's based on the Justice League Unlimited episode 'Initiation'. If you aren't familiar with it or some of the characters in this chapter, I suggest looking them up. This was one of the hardest chapters for me to write because I kept re-doing it until I had a version that fit with the rest of this story and the characters. I tend to do a lot of research before I write to help keep things accurate and realistic. Being Autistic(Aspergers) much of what I write plays out in my head like a movie or tv show. I also find memories to be great source material as well. Also, before anyone asks what being autistic is like, I can guarantee that the stereotypes and characters like Rain-Man, Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory and Shaun Murphy from the Good Doctor are just that, stereotypes and strictly fiction. Trust me, Autism is not bad at all, like anything else there's a lot of pros and cons. Take a look around this site, there's quite a few Autistic writers here, we're everyday people albeit with some differences. Special thanks to Disco-Wing for beta reading this and the other chapters. But anyway… on with the story!
Star City- Saturday, August 28th-11:30am-Pacific Time…
During the weekend, the local Mall was often crowded, filled to the brim as the many customers came and went. The people that didn't have any cash on hand often paid with their credit card or wrote a check. One store that tended to gain a lot of attention was the Jewelry Store. Some customers were browsing while others talked to customer service. The interior was no different than most jewelry stores, pearl white walls, marble floors and display cases containing the usual gems.
One eight-year-old boy, appearing to be of Spanish decent, wandered away from his mother while she tried on a pearl necklace. Fascinated by the various diamonds, emeralds and other valuable stones in the glass display cases, the boy shuffled around the store, examining each piece with wide eyes. He was so preoccupied with his search, he didn't notice the man next to him until it was too late. He bumped into the man's leg and was roughly knocked to the floor. Standing up, an apology already forming on the boy's lips, he made eye contact with the man and froze, his jaw dropping to the floor.
Icicle Senior loomed over the small figure, who quickly backed away in fear. Scoffing, the villain hefted his large hand-held freeze ray and walked to the middle of the store.
"Everybody down…now!" the Ice villain commanded. Startled by the sudden outburst, the store erupted into chaos. Both the staff and customers fled for the door, shouting in fear, only to discover that their escape was blocked by three more villains.
The first one to enter was a teen with short white hair and grey skin, this was Icicle Jr. The second was a man with short blond hair and a hockey mask known as Sportsmaster, and last to enter was another teen about Icicle Jr's age, Hotstreak. As his name suggested, Hotstreak had short spikey red hair with blond highlights, a short temper and the ability to ignite fire from his hands.
"Keep an eye on them, make sure no one leaves…understand?" Sportsmaster barked.
"Got it," Junior replied, watching the customers and employees while the others raided the store.
"You were right about this place, I haven't seen diamonds this big in my life!" exclaimed Hotsreak, breaking a display case and snatching the many rings inside. He dropped them inside his black duffel bag before turning to Sportsmaster, who had just started to speak.
"And that's just the tip of the iceberg." Sportsmaster added, pointing to the safe near the back of the store where the rarer gemstones were held.
Suddenly, the fire alarm went off. The villains looked up in surprise, this had not been part of their plan. Icicle Sr. turned around and scanned the hostages, someone had to have set off the alarm. The hostages, a young Asian woman that had been shopping for a ring alongside an elderly biracial man that had his watch repaired were huddled on the floor, shaking and clearly afraid. One man with short dark brown hair and hazel eyes, had hid behind the counter hoping Icicle Sr. hadn't noticed him pull the alarm.
Icicle Sr. was about to freeze the alarm and the people along with it, when Sportsmaster grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back. The main goal of the plan was to grab the merchandise and get out, nothing else.
"Have you forgotten the plan?! This was supposed to be simple, we grab the jewels and get out before anybody shows up!" Sportsmaster yelled.
"Someone set off the alarm and I want to find out who." Said Icicle Sr.
Sportsmaster pulled back again on Icicle Sr.'s shoulder, "C'mon, that's not gonna do us any good now!" he said, knowing Mall security would likely show up at any moment.
"No, it might not, but it'll sure make me feel better." Icicle Sr. replied, shoving Sportsmaster aside.
He jumped back when an arrow flew past him, causing him to drop his freeze ray. The arrow hit the wall, inches from Sportsmaster's face. Caught off-guard, the two villains leapt back from the projectile, glancing around the store do the owner of the weapon.
"But it'll make me a little angry." Said a voice, echoing off the store's walls.
Icicle Sr. and Sportsmaster looked away from the wall at the sound of the voice. Junior glanced in the same direction as his elders, taking his eyes off the hostages for a moment. Hotstreak had nearly dropped a diamond bracelet he was stuffing into his bag when he heard the commotion and walked over to Junior. The four villains saw a blonde, teenage girl standing on top of a display case. She was wearing some sort of uniform, completely green with a matching mask. However, that wasn't the most surprising thing about her appearance, no, that award would have to go to the bow and arrow she was pointing at them. Judging by the serious look on her face, she wasn't bluffing.
The girl, Artemis had gotten a tip from Onyx, a friend of Hotstreak's about the upcoming raid on the jewelry store. Normally, he wouldn't have said anything but a hundred dollars and the possibility of ending up in Belle Rev if he didn't say anything was enough to convince him to spill the beans.
Thanks to her costume, the villains didn't recognize who she was, thus preventing her cover from being blown. For the past week, she had heard about a series of robberies around the city. Among the thefts were parts from an auto mechanic shop, and a television, two laptops and eight ipods from an electronics store.
Getting impatient, Artemis prepared to fire another arrow. Before she could, however, Icicle Jr. threw shards of ice at her and she was forced to jump out of the way. While in the air from her jump, she shot an arrow directly at the two villains in front of her. The arrow hit the wall in-between them and released a cloudy substance within seconds. Icicle Sr., Junior and Sportsmaster felt as if they were trapped in a fog. Artemis ran directly at the trio as they stumbled around coughing and trying to find a way out. Icicle Sr. managed to get out into the open only for Artemis to hit him with a net arrow, causing him to fall, tangled in a mess of netting. Hotstreak, who was inches away from Icicle Sr. jumped and ran for the door, but before he could get away, Artemis had released another arrow, this one had a spring built into it and knocked him into a wall.
With Icicle Sr. and Hotsreak down and Junior nowhere in sight, Sportsmaster decided to make a break for it. As he ran, another arrow sailed over his head and landed in a display case, breaking one of the necklaces inside. Several pearls rolled onto the floor, too focused on his escape, Sportsmaster slipped on the pearls and fell to the floor. He tried to stand but stumbled and fell a second time, hitting his head on the display case in the process, knocking himself unconscious.
Artemis approached the young boy that had huddled in a corner and held out her hand for him to take.
"You ok?" she asked, concern flashing through her eyes.
The boy looked at her, still in shock by what had just happened.
"I th-think so," he stuttered, kicking his feet.
The boy looked at Artemis and grabbed her hand as she helped him up.
Unbeknownst to her, Icicle Junior had recovered from inhaling the cloudy substance that had been released moments ago. Seeing that other villains, including his father were pretty much done for, Junior decided to take matters into his own hands. He began to approach Artemis, whose back was currently turned towards him, unaware of the danger she was in, and Junior raised his arm up to throw some more ice, but was hit by a bolt of static electricity.
Junior's scream in pain startled both Artemis and the boy. She turned around with her bow and arrow armed and ready to defend herself and the people she'd just saved. Artemis relaxed a moment later when she recognized the new person standing before her.
"Well, well…the great and famous Static. What, did you run out of villains in Dakota City? Had to walk onto my turf?" Artemis teased, lowering her bow.
Static was unfazed by her somewhat annoyed tone, and walked up to join her in the middle of the room.
"You're welcome." He answered sarcastically and glanced down at the now defeated villains, "I don't think they'll be a problem, but Mall Security should be here soon." He pointed out.
"Well, we might as well wait" said Artemis.
This wasn't the first time she and Static had crossed paths. The first time they had met was when she and Green Arrow were in Dakota City. It had happened a month ago, the two of them along with Static assisted Superman in tracking down Toyman, who was responsible for a series of bank robberies using remote controlled action figures. Since then, they'd run into each other occasionally. The two of them did get along for the most part but did have moments where they'd butt heads.
A short time later, Static and Artemis left the store once Mall Security had the villains under control and arranged for law enforcement to pick them up.
"We never heard back from you." Static said pointing out the invitation she had been sent from the Justice League some time ago.
About a month earlier, Artemis had been invited to join a Team some of the sidekicks were putting together, courtesy of Green Arrow dropping a word or two to Batman. At first, Artemis had been flattered to receive such an invitation but turned it down because of her family's history of being villains.
"Been kinda busy," Artemis deflected, "Someone has to keep the streets safe while you and your pals are zipping around the world." She joked.
The two of them continued their conversation as they walked down a side street and a small flight of stairs leading to what looked like an abandoned subway platform.
Artemis had been so preoccupied with talking and trying to keep up with Static she hardly noticed they'd gotten on a subway. Discreetly, Static tapped the com device in his ear.
"I'm on my way," he whispered, glancing at Artemis to make sure she hadn't heard.
"Grandstanding and…" Artemis's voice trailed off, and she froze when she realized they were no longer in Star City. For starters, wherever they were it was the afternoon judging by the bright daylight that blinded her when they stepped off the subway. Making their way up a flight of stairs to a nearby sidewalk, she quickly noticed the surrounding area consisted of skyscrapers, some even appeared to be taller than those in New York City.
Artemis and Static approached the front lawn where a white building stood behind them. Nearby was a large statue that resembled Earth, just outside the front the of the building, and a few oak trees that formed a rectangular border around the lawn. A figure descended from the sky and landed next to the duo, causing Artemis to blink in disbelief.
"Glad you could make it, Artemis." Supergirl said, smiling. Artemis blinked in surprise again when she saw the people standing behind the Girl of Steel. Batgirl, Kid Flash, and Bumblebee all smiled at her in greeting, but the other one, Red Arrow, narrowed his eyes when he saw her.
"And where am I, exactly?" Artemis asked warily, glancing around for an escape route.
Supergirl smiled gently at her, "Among friends."
Artemis' eyes widened at the reply and spun around on her heel. The shocked look on her face spoke volumes as she took in what was behind her, The Hall of Justice. She could see the Flash and Black Canary casually talking, and several other heroes with a few sidekicks standing outside the Hall of Justice. Among them were Batman with Robin and Nightwing, Superman with Superboy, just to name a few. Some of them were talking to each other, others were signing autographs for the fans that had gathered outside.
Artemis couldn't help but feel shocked, of all the places for her to end up, she was here, in Metropolis?! Artemis had never spent much time in this particular city, with the exception of when her father, Sportsmaster, occasionally met up with his colleagues on what he referred to as 'business trips'. Still, being surrounded by the greatest heroes in the world, Artemis had never felt so small. As soon as she could, she would try to get home. But when Static guided her into the group, she let him. Since she was here already, she might as well see what all the fuss was about.
Besides, it wasn't like she was going to stay long.
MORE TO COME…
And that's it for now.
Sorry for the wait, I've had a rough month due to being in two accidents, one left my family's car totaled and another was a fender-bender in the rental. I'm ok but getting treatment for being sore and stiff in addition to looking for a car to replace the one my folks lost. Also, this year's cold and flu season has been terrible, the latest loss has been my betta fish. He was perfectly healthy but got sick and was gone the same day. Prior to that, my parents had the flu and two of my dogs were coughing and sneezing. Although both my parents and dogs are doing better, I'm trying my hardest not to get sick.
Anyway…look for my next update in February during Superbowl weekend if you don't plan on watching the game. I'm not a football fan but am looking forward to the halftime show which I've heard will include some sort of Prince tribute since this year's host city for the Superbowl is Minneapolis, Prince's hometown! Also, this is Award season and the Grammys air tonight on CBS, check your listings!
Aside from that, thanks for stopping by!