Artemis had barely finished jotting down the homework assignment when the final bell rang. Most of the class rushed out of the room as she packed up her things. Bette was waiting by the door for her. Truthfully, Artemis hadn't expected to make friends at Gotham Academy, her new classmates seemed too different. Bette had not only become her friend but had welcomed her into her group of friends. "How much homework do you have for tonight?" Bette asked as they stepped into the busy hallway.

"Just math and chemistry." They jostled their way through the halls, weaving in between students as they headed to their lockers. Artemis exchanged her French book for her math book and chemistry packet as Bette loaded her backpack with her own homework. Bette grabbed her arm and pulled away from her locker a second after Artemis had slammed it closed. The two of them hustled into the courtyard in time to spot Barbara and Dick stepping out from the opposite direction. They met underneath their favorite tree. Barbara and Dick were in the middle of a discussion over one of their more frequent topics. Barbara's father, Commissioner Jim Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department.

"… and he won't let me breathe," Babs muttered. "I told him that he couldn't control me and I could join the Force if I wanted to." She had her backpack slung over one shoulder and a few books in her arms. Her attention was fixed on Dick when they approached but she threw them a quick smile before turning back to her usual angry rant.

"Bold," Bette commented.

Dick raised his eyebrows with concern. "Maybe he has a point." As soon as the words left his mouth Artemis could see he wanted to take them back. All of them knew saying something like that would only add fuel to the fire and divert her anger towards him.

"Are you siding with him?" Barbara asked. Artemis knew the redhead was holding most of her irritation back because Dick was her best friend. Even so, she sounded ticked.

The boy's hands went up in defense as he shook his head. "No," he replied cautiously. "All I'm saying is I see where he's coming from. Gotham's not the kind of city that's kind to its police officers. It's a dangerous and thankless job, Babs. Your dad knows that better than anyone. He just doesn't want you getting hurt. Gotham is dangerous."

"That's why I want to join," she sighed. "I want to make Gotham safe." Her shoulder's slumped for a moment before a look of determination set over her face. Dick muttered something that sounded like 'I know where this is going'. "I want to make a difference," she added at last.

"Like Batman and Robin," Bette exclaimed. "Babs, I've got your solution. You should join Batman and Robin. That way your dad can't stop you." The now excited blonde grabbed one of her notebooks and held it in front of Barbara's eyes. "Nobody will ever know it's you. Well… except us… because we were here when you got the idea." The other three laughed at Bette's enthusiasm. "And," she added with a sly grin, "you can hang out with Robin. Lucky girl. I can see it now." She dramatically stuck out her hand to form a headline. "Barbara Gordon and Gotham's most hunky teenager."

Babs blushed as Dick sighed. "There it is," he muttered. Bette gave him a quizzical look. "The day you don't bring Robin's 'hunkiness' into a conversation will be the day Joker kills the Batman," he explained, complete with air quotes around "hunkiness".

Bette giggled and turned her attention to Barbara. "He is completely gorgeous, though. Isn't he?"

Artemis shook her head and Dick rolled his eyes. "I'll never understand your girl talk," they said at the same time. The short boy burst out into laughter as Artemis only blushed. Normally, the blonde wasn't nervous around anyone but since the boy's guardian, billionaire Bruce Wayne, was the only reason she was here Artemis had always been a bit tense around him.

"Hey," Bette exclaimed as she looked around. Artemis followed her gaze and saw that the courtyard was mostly empty by now. "Do you guys want to come over to my house and work on homework? My parents won't be home until really late."

Artemis frowned. She wanted to take Bette up on her offer, to be normal, but she had training scheduled at the cave. "I can't." She was startled when Dick said this instead of her. Barbara turned and gave him a questioning look. He frowned and shrugged. "Bruce is taking me to do some rich guy thing."

"What does a billionaire do with his time?" Bette wondered aloud.

Dick let out a loud laugh. "You'd be amazed." He turned and glanced at the parking lot. With a sigh, he gave them an apologetic smile. "Raincheck. Alfred's here. I'll see you later." He ran towards the black car and hoped inside.

"What about you, Artemis?" Barbara asked once the car had rolled away. Both of the other girls' attention focused on her as they waited for a response.

"Sorry guys," she sighed sadly. "My uncle want's me home early. He's leaving for a business trip and wants me home before he goes." The two girl's nodded in understanding. Artemis saw the look that flashed by their eyes each time she mentioned her 'uncle'. They knew why she didn't live with her mother anymore and more often than not Artemis could feel their pity. "See you guys tomorrow." They said their goodbyes and split up as they headed in different ways. Babs and Bette heading towards Bette's home and Artemis walking in the direction of the old phone booth zeta tube.

The streets of this part of Gotham were always safe during the day. No criminal was stupid enough to attack someone in broad daylight with the police station only a few blocks away and gaudy high-class citizens constantly driving past in their new cars. After a few blocks, though, Artemis crossed into the 'bad' part of town. The cars that drove on these streets were old and in desperate need of repair. A person had a higher chance of getting attacked here in the daytime. Even so, it was still a rare occurrence and Artemis felt safe due to her training and experience.

Artemis stopped at a gas station along the way and changed out of her uniform and into her normal clothes. She stuffed her uniform into a pocket in her backpack and continued. One car passed and caught her eye. It was extremity nice for this area. A black BMW, similar to the one Dick had climbed in. Artemis briefly wondered what it was doing in this area. The zeta booth was only a few blocks away from her old apartment and she could find it blindfolded.

When she arrived at the phone booth it flashed, showing that someone had just passed through it. Robin. She stepped inside and allowed it to read her face. The normal bright light flashed and the electronic female voice rang out. Recognized. Artemis B-0-7.

The main training hall was empty. Artemis headed towards the kitchen and found most of the team there. Megan was waiting by the oven for something to finish baking. Despite her past failed attempts at baking, whatever was in the oven now smelled delicious. Wally was on the couch next to Conner, absentmindedly flipping through the channels. Robin slung himself over the back of the couch and landed next to the ginger. Kaldur watched the screen with a bored expression before picking up his book. Zatanna and Raquel were nowhere in sight. Artemis dropped her bag on the floor on the next to the wall and flopped onto a chair next to the couch. They sat there for a moment before the electronic voice echoed through the cave once more. Recognized. Batman 0-2.

"Batman?" Wally asked. "Yes! A Mission." The team filed into the main training room. Zatanna and Rocket joined from another tunnel. Batman was already pulling up pictures of various villains. Three pictures caught Artemis's eyes, Icicle Jr., Sportsmaster, and Cheshire. Besides those three, there were two other villains: Solomon Grundy and Killer Wasp.

"Team," Batman said, straight to business as usual. "The League has been tracking the activities of several villains. What we've found is a link between these five villains. We now have proof that these five and many other villains have been forming a team underneath one man. Unfortunately, their tracks are being covered. You are to investigate this team and find out what they are planning. We have the location of the next meeting and I have already sent the coordinates to the bioship." Wally pumped his fist in the air. Batman shot a look at him. "This is an observation mission only. Do not engage anyone." Kid Flash sighed and frowned.

"No fun," he complained. "I thought we were going to go on an actual mission."

Kaldur ignored the redhead's outburst. "Team, get ready for the mission." Those not in costume ran off to change. Artemis ran to her room, pulled out her uniform and changed. She located her bow and pick her quiver up, slinging it over her back before heading back to the main hall. Some of the team members were heading to the bishop when she arrived. Taking one last look at Cameron's picture, she narrowed her eyes. Is this what he was talking about? she asked herself. She followed her teammates to the bioship and took her usual seat. As soon as the whole team was in position the bioship took off, leaving the cave behind.

"Why those five?" Conner asked suddenly. "I mean Solomon Grundy, Killer Wasp, Icicle Jr.? What do they have in common?" No one had an answer to that question.

"I've fought Solomon Grundy before," Robin spoke up. "He's too good to be on a team with Killer Wasp. Actually, the fact that he's on a team at all is unbelievable. Grundy doesn't play well with others." Robin had criminal files of all five known members up on his wrist computer. "Icicle normally only works for his father or solo."

Kaldur was gazing intently at the sky passing by. "Sportsmaster and Cheshire were working for the League of Shadows, correct? Why have their alliances changed?"

"They got a better deal," Artemis explained. Everyone looked up, surprised. Suddenly nervous because of all the attention, she bit her lip before continuing forward. "The family motto is 'everyone for themselves'. Neither of them has true alliances. It's all about benefits with them"

The others nodded with understanding. "We're nearing the destination," M'gann informed them. Artemis glanced out the window and saw them approaching a small shack in the middle of dense forest.

"Alright, Miss Martian, link us up," Aqualad instructed. They waited less than a second for Megan's familiar presence to enter their minds. Mind link has been established, M'gann said mentally. Kaldur nodded and studied the area for a moment.

Robin, Kid Flash, and Artemis will be dropped off southwest of the cabin, Zatanna, Rocket and Miss Martian will take southeast, Superboy and I will take the north, Kaldur commanded. We will form a perimeter before approaching the cabin. The team nodded and Megan flew the ship over Artemis' drop off point. KF set his suit on stealth mode and dropped through the hole in the floor. Artemis followed him with Robin right behind her. She glanced up as the hole in the bioship closed and any sign of the bioship disappeared. The three of them spread out and waited for Aqualad's command to move in. She stepped from foot to foot in anticipation. Glancing over, she saw Kid Flash doing the same thing.

Artemis heard Robin's snicker in her head. You two are so impatient. Wally fixed him with a glare but before he could reply Kaldur's voice rang out again giving them permission to move in. Kid Flash moved first, racing from behind trees. The archer turned back to Robin but he had already disappeared. She shook her head and scurried forward. Slowly, the whole team advanced forward.

Something didn't feel right to Artemis and she was about to share her thoughts with the team when a chill fell over her. She spun around to see Cameron standing there. Before she could warn the team he put a finger to his lips and pointed to a figure crouched in a tree a few yards away. "I don't think so, Arty. I'd hate for poor Robin to have a shard of ice pierce his heart. In fact, there's a member of my team for each of your team, each one's ready to strike. No radioing a warning."

Artemis almost sighed with relief. Cam had no idea about the mind link. He cocked his head to the side before putting a finger to his ear. Holding up a finger to signal one moment, he sat there listening to whoever was on the other end. The archer took that moment. Ambush! It's an ambush. Stay alert, she shouted in her head. Cameron's eyes widened. "Mind link?" he whispered. His expression slowly changed to a glare. Artemis smirked in reply. "Fine," he muttered taking his finger away from his ear. "Have it your way." He swung his arm around, firing off several shards towards Robin's position. Robin, she practically screamed.

"On it." Robin's voice started her almost as much as the figure that slammed into Icicle Jr. It slowed down and dropped off the grappling line revealing Robin's form. He smirked at her worried expression. Cameron was already back on his feet." Two against one," the Boy Wonder laughed.

"Two against two," a familiar voice purred as Jade stepped out of the shadows.

Artemis pulled out an arrow and notched it as Robin pulled out a birdarang. "Wonder how the rest of the team's doing," he murmured. They didn't have to wonder long because as soon as they began fighting Icicle Jr. and Cheshire one by one the Young Justice team members checked in.

Found Grundy, Conner grunted. Slowly each member's voice ran through their heads.

I am fighting Sportsmaster, Aqualad informed them. Even in thoughts, the team could hear the strain in his voice- or rather, thoughts.

Rockets thoughts were the next to ring out. I found Killer Wasp, she muttered.

Count Vertigo's here, Wally moaned. And I am definitely not happy to see him.

Looks like Wizard's here, Zatanna exclaimed.

Gentleman Ghost is part of the team too, Megan explained.

Artemis listened to the list as she fought off Jade. Robin was dealing with Icicle Jr. at the same time. Jade was attacking from odd angles in an attempt to throw her off. Somehow Cheshire was pushing her sister backward until the blonde ran into Robin's back. "Switch?" he offered. Artemis blocked another punch as she made up her mind.

"Switch," she decided. She tried to turn but Jade blocked her and kept her attention on her current opponent. "I guess not."

"Bend over," the Boy Wonder commanded. She didn't bother hiding her surprise.

"What?"

"Just do it." The archer gave one final kick to her sister, sending the older girl back. She then followed the younger boy's directions and bent over. Robin jumped backward using her back as a springboard to backflip off and towards Jade. Artemis straightened up and turned to face Cameron. She was just about to run at him when suddenly he stopped and turned to face the direction of the cabin.

A booming voice rang out through the trees. "Enough."