"But, that's not fair." Artemis couldn't stop the whiny tone from creeping into her voice. "My arm is perfectly healed." It'd had been six weeks since Sportsmaster had pushed his own daughter off a Star City rooftop. The weeks that had followed the incident had been hell for everyone. Artemis's nightmares were "under control", meaning her nightmares were no longer every night. Wally had taught her a trick that allowed her to wake up from her dreams without screaming and had instructed her to call him whenever her nightmares got too horrible. Things around the Queen household improved but even without the sleepless nights Ollie still had to keep an eye on his protégé. Unable to patrol, Artemis had nothing to do all day except go to school but that didn't take her mind off of things like a mission did.
Now that she had gotten her cast off, the young archer wanted nothing more than to go patrolling and forget everything that had happened to her. The only thing in her way was Ollie, who insisted she needed a few more days of rest and some training before she headed out.
"Absolutely not," he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. The situation reminded him of all the times he had grounded Roy because the boy had done something stupid with Wally and Dick. It would have been hilarious if Ollie wasn't worrying about the welfare of his adopted daughter. "You may train tomorrow in the cave and if you are still in perfect shape for fighting I'll let you go. Until then you're staying here."
"You need me out there." Artemis pointed to the TV, which was currently covering the news of a recent jailbreak from Star City prison. The screen showed the images of Black Canary and Red Arrow already out rounding up the criminals. The anchor was reading off the list of names of the escapees, each name accompanied with the person's mug shot. "I need to get out there. I can't spend another night alone in this house. I'll go insane. Please, Ollie, I can help you guys."
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, turning away from her. All of her pleas were falling on deaf ears. "I trust you enough to think you'll stay here but, if I catch you out patrolling tonight I can guarantee there will be no missions for a month."
"You can't ground me."
"Like hell, I can't." He grabbed his mask off the counter and, after a few drops of spirit gum, stuck it to his face.
She watched him stride out of the kitchen. It took only a few seconds for her to make up her mind. After she was positive Oliver was gone, Artemis ran up to her room, changed into her costume, and pulled out her bow. The weapon felt right in her hand like she had the rest of her arm back. She quickly tested her abilities, pulling the bow back, aiming, and throwing a punch with a bow in her hand. Those six weeks had made her rusty but she would work out the kinks when she got out there.
Before she left she checked her e-mail on the computer Ollie had gotten her for school. Robin had promised to contact her if he found out any information about her mother's murder. Five new e-mails showed up on her screen but none of them were from the Boy Wonder. Biting her lip, Artemis built up all her courage and crept out of her room.
It was a tad tricky for her to maneuver from one camera's blind spot to the next once she had reached the outside. Still, she made it to the outskirts of the Queen estate, hopefully, without being spotted by a security camera. She pressed herself against the trunk of one of the trees that surrounded the manor and stopped to catch her breath. After a quick check for anyone who might have been around, she sprinted towards the city and began her search for the closest zeta beam.
Less than twenty minutes later, Artemis was standing in the middle of a dark alley not far from her old apartment in Gotham. Clear across the United States, Star City had clear skies and the sun was just beginning to set. In Gotham, it was pouring with thunder rumbling in the distance and it was almost midnight. The clouds were stained a yellow-grey by the street lamps and from her position she could just see the Bat-Signal over the top of a nearby building. Trash littered the alley making it close to impossible to walk without tripping. The street light closest to her flickered rapidly before going out completely. A car passed the alley, throwing its headlights across the walls, as a group of guys turned down the alleyway. Before any of them could see her, Artemis scrambled up a nearby fire escape.
On the roof, she paused to look out at her city. She was hit with the fact that she really missed this city, no matter how terrible it was. More than that, she missed her mom. Badly.
She shook off the feeling and focused on her mission. Gotham was built differently than Star City. The buildings were old and cramped. Here she was able to jump from rooftop to rooftop with little aid from grappling arrows. She traveled back to her old home, the path still committed to memory. It was only when she reached the roof of her apartment building did she realize she had no idea what she was looking for here. Hopefully, she'd know it when she saw it.
As a flash of lightning lit up the sky she pulled up her window. With enough luck, none of the neighbors would decide to look out their windows and find her sneaking into the building. Artemis swung herself into the room she used to call her bedroom. Without her bedding and her sister's poster, the room seemed stark and lifeless. The foreign familiarity of it all sent shivers down her spine. She rubbed her arms, pushing back at her discomfort, as she stepped into the family room. Her mother's body had been moved long ago but the blood stains on the carpet and on the walls remained. Not much had changed since she had last seen her old home. The young archer silently ambled down the hallway, staring intently at each picture that hung along the way. She could only actually see them when lightning flashed through a window but she knew them all by heart, down to the smallest details. The room was illuminated once more and she realized she was standing in the kitchen.
A few dirty dishes still sat in the sink. The box of cereal she had left out in an attempt to get to school on time was still on the table, but it wasn't alone. A small box wrapped in colorful paper sat on the table. Unlike everything else, this item hadn't gathered a speck of dust. A note on a simple white sheet of paper accompanied the gift. Artemis picked up the note with a shaky hand and unfolded it. The message was plain and clear.
I see you, Artemis.
She dropped the sheet of paper as another flash of lightning lit up the room around her. She glanced around in case the person who had written the note was still around. The apartment was as empty as ever but her whole body was shaking as she removed the wrapping paper from the box. Inside a mass of tissue paper cushioned the real 'gift'. The blonde's eyes grew wide as she comprehended what she was looking at. One by one she flipped through the pictures she had pulled out of the tissue paper. There were recent photos of Oliver, Dinah, Roy, Wally, and all of the other members of the team. A few pictures of her were slipped into the pile too. On the back of several pictures was more writing. The scrawling letters relayed the simple messages; "They're next", "You can run but you can't hide", and many other notes all addressed to her.
The hairs on the back of her neck raised causing her to look up to see a figure in the doorway to her old room. Another flash of lightning made the male figure unrecognizable as he backed away from her and moved toward the window. She pulled out an arrow and notched it but the intruder was already out the window with her now on his tail.
By the time Artemis reached the roof the figure was several buildings' away. She chased after him as he headed towards the center of the city. The sounds of traffic grew nearer with each building until she reached one of the busy streets. The figure was already on a building across the intersection. She swung over the cars using a grappling arrow and continued to pursue him. They headed out of her old neighborhood and into the heart of the city. The intruder swung up onto a gargoyle of a nearby church and hopped up onto a taller building. As Artemis followed the figure's path a movement on another gargoyle caught her eye. Was she just led into a trap? Despite her suspicions, no attack came and she was free to continue her chase.
She took her eyes off her target just long enough to glance at the building he was heading towards. Wayne Tower. The tallest and brightest building in Gotham. The figure veered to the left forcing Artemis to keep her eyes on him. He hit the end of the building and, instead of jumping to the next rooftop, he grappled down six stories to the alley below. She stopped at the edge of the building and looked down to see the man had landed. He looked up at her but she couldn't make out any details from her distance. The figure took off once more leaving her behind.
Using a grappling arrow to slow her fall, Artemis dropped to the alley and found herself following the man yet again. He led her right up next to Wayne Tower and just when she thought he was done running, he fired a grappling hook up the side of the building and flew upwards. The archer pursued him, noticing her supply of grappling arrows running dangerously low. The retractable mechanism on her bow pulled her to the top of the tower.
At the top, she found her target standing there with his hands in the air. "It looks like you caught me," he said. Now that she was stopped, Artemis noted just how cold and wet she had become. The lightning was too far away by now to light up the figure's face but the thunder continued to rumble the air. She notched an arrow and aimed at his chest, waiting to see what move he would make. "How are you doing today, Artemis? I see you got your cast off. Why aren't you fighting in Star City?" Her eyes narrowed causing him to laugh. "Wouldn't Daddy Ollie let you fight? Or was he too worried about you getting hurt again?"
"Who are you?" Artemis demanded.
"A friend." His relaxed posture unnerved her. He wasn't ready to run or fight, he acted like they really were long lost friends just trying to catch up. "True, I killed your mother and I'm planning on killing everyone you know, but you have to remember that I'm your friend." She was fully aware that she shouldn't let him get to her but his words were dredging up emotions she wanted to keep buried away forever. She pulled her trick arrow out of her bow and replaced it with a real arrow. "Good, you understand what you're dealing with. Now, I wanted to ask you, who should I kill next? At first, I was going to go after Daddy Ollie or that speed freak of a boyfriend you've got but then that other Arrow entered the picture and made the decision that much harder. In the end, I thought I should let you decide. Tell me, who can you live without? Of course, they're all going to end up dead in the end, so you don't have to worry about favoritism." He had finally hit the point of no return. It would be hard to explain to Ollie but she released the arrow sending it straight towards his heart. The arrow never hit its mark, though. His hand reached out and caught it midflight. "Now, that wasn't very nice, Artemis. Do you always shoot your friends?"
Artemis ran at him. All of her punches were dodged, however. He yawned and glanced down at his watch. "Sadly, I'm out of time," he muttered. "I'll just have to pick my next target on my own." He kicked her stomach with enough force to knock her off her feet and ran to the edge of the tower. "Goodbye, Artemis," he called as he glanced back. She watched as he jumped from the building before hopping to her feet and looking over the side. His body fell quickly until a parachute blossomed from his back. As soon as he was halfway to the street, an explosion sounded in Artemis's ear and she was forced forward, finding herself, again, falling from a building. Only this time it was taller and she was less prepared. She fumbled with her bow as she fell, trying to get a grappling arrow off and hopefully slow her descent. She was running out of time and if she didn't hurry, she'd be a pancake on the sidewalk.
Before she could successfully free an arrow from her quiver, something slammed into her and she was propelled in a different direction. Someone was supporting her as they flew around the building and landed on its neighbor. Neither of them stuck the landing and Artemis skidded along the cement before rolling to a stop. The black mass that was her savior groaned. "What the hell, Artemis?" he moaned as he picked himself off the rooftop. She looked up at Robin in disbelief. "You just blew up Wayne Tower!"
"I didn't," she hissed. Artemis pulled herself to her feet. "I was chasing the man who blew it up." She glanced down to find her bow broken and her quiver several feet away. Her arm was a little sore but, thanks to the Boy Wonder, she was unharmed.
Robin just sighed and stared at the smoking tower. "Batman's gonna be pissed."