The atmosphere inside Mount Justice was thick with tension between the members of Young Justice. The whole team, minus Artemis, milled around the kitchen and living area. Wally was sitting at the kitchen island with his head buried in his arms. Robin was, as always, typing away at his wrist computer. He was sitting next KF and occasionally, he leaned towards his best friend and whispered something to which the ginger would mumble a reply. Megan hovered in front of the oven nervously, waiting for the cookies she had started earlier to finish baking. She had stopped the oven when Batman had arrived to give them their mission to avoid a fire. Now, she was glad she had started in the first place. Baking always calmed her nerves. Aqualad had just returned from briefing Batman on the details of their mission. Conner stood up as their leader entered the room. "Well?" the clone demanded.
"I do not know what to tell you, friend," the Atlantean replied calmly but the team knew him well enough to know that his voice was strained. He was just as upset as the rest of them.
"Our teammate has just been kidnapped and you don't know what to tell me?" Superboy exploded. "I know what to tell you. I say we go rescue her." M'gann flew over and put a hand on his shoulder, trying her best to calm him down. He shrugged her hand off and continued to stare down Kaldur'am, daring him to reply.
At this point, Wally's head rose for the first time since they had reached the cave. "She wasn't kidnapped." When the team's eyes fixed on him, his gaze dropped back down to the counter. "She left of her own free will. Artemis is gone. The sooner you guys realize that the better." He dropped his head back down. Robin watched as ragged breaths racked the speedster's body. Of all of them, the Boy Wonder had expected Wally to fight the hardest to get Artemis back.
"She left on her own?" Raquel repeated skeptically. "You expect us to believe that?"
Before Wally could react, Robin jumped in. "I believe it." Rocket's attention was pulled away from the two boys as Conner began to yell at Kaldur. Most of the team joined in while the Atlantean sat quietly, allowing the team to express their anger, and M'gann tried to defuse the situation. The raven-haired boy watched them for a moment before turning back to KF. "And you're sure that he had no head?"
"I'm positive," Wally grumbled in return.
Robin smirked. "Then, I think I know what we do next." The shouts from the team almost drown him out. He murmured something to Kid Flash, who nodded slowly and zipped out of the room. Conner was mid-sentence when the Boy Wonder pushed through the group to grab their attention. The other teens were so shocked by his sudden appearance that their conversation stopped completely. "You're all wrong," he told them. "And since the only person who can tell what exactly what happened in that cabin is unconscious, there is no point in arguing. We have limited facts, but you all keep ignoring them. Instead of fighting each other, we need to find out what we do know so we can search for what we don't know."
"I agree with, Robin," Aqualad said after a moment. Slowly, the team nodded in agreement. "Where do you suggest we start?"
x
Once she was sure she was alone and wouldn't be bothered, Artemis allowed herself to cry. In one afternoon, she had lost everything while she had saved it. Everything she had worked to erase came crashing back into her life too fast for her to stop it.
The first thing she did when they had landed was find a quiet, hidden place in hopes her new "teammates" wouldn't find her. That place turned out to be a small greenhouse connected to the Injustice Society's HQ. She had spent a moment wondering why a group of villains, that didn't include Poison Ivy, would have a greenhouse but she soon decided she didn't care. It was a secluded area she doubted anyone visited, so she wasn't going to complain. There was a small wooden bench hidden from sight of the door where she found refuge. Pushing her mask off her face, she dropped her bow on the ground by her feet and tried very hard not to think of Ollie or Wally or anything that reminded her of the pain she was. Unfortunately, her mind kept slipping to the look of hurt that had spread across Wally's face.
Desperately, Artemis tried to think of something- anything- else and somehow her thoughts fell to Bette, Barbara, and Dick. What would they think when she didn't show up for school the next day? They'd probably assume she was sick at home but what about the weeks after? The archer would have done anything to turn back time and blow off the team to study at Bette's house. As she thought about her three school friends, she found herself thinking of Robin as well and once more she was stuck thinking of the team.
The sound of the door opening brought her back to reality. She stiffened, hoping whoever it was would just leave. She wasn't so lucky and the intruder rounded the corner, finding Artemis and revealing himself to her. "What do you want, Frostbite?" she snapped, managing to turn the old nickname into an insult. The look on Cameron's face almost made her feel sorry for snapping at him, almost being the keyword.
He slowly sat down next to her, unsure of himself. This nervous Cameron was a side of him that few people ever saw. Gaining the courage needed to talk to her, he picked up her bow and turned it around in his hands, inspecting its detail. "I know Sorrow can be… a little much at first," he began slowly, picking up speed as he continued. "I'm not going to lie, he's a real jerk but we all know this is where you belong." When Artemis's furious gaze landed on him, the ice villain threw up his hands defensively. "It's in your blood, Artemis. This is what Crocks do and you are a Crock."
Artemis hopped up too fast for him to react, snatching her bow in the process. "Why can't you guys get it through your thick heads?" she hissed. "I'm not a Crock anymore."
x
"Johnny Sorrow?" Conner asked skeptically. He had calmed down considerably once the Boy Wonder had taken charge. The team was congregated in the training and briefing room. Wally, however, wasn't present. Nobody but Robin knew where he had raced off to and the Boy Wonder wasn't telling.
The youngest member had pulled up pictures of all the known members of the new villain team, with Sorrow's picture as the largest. "Yes. No one expected him because he disappeared off the radar years ago. Everyone thought he was dead." Quickly typing, he brought up a very old mug shot. "A former Silent movie actor turned criminal, Sorrow once faced the Justice Society of America back in the '40s. In battle, he was transported to some other dimension. When he returned the sight of his face killed anyone instantly. Eventually, he just dropped out of the spotlight and everyone forgot about him."
"But now he's back," Aqualad finished for him.
Robin nodded with his smirk. "Exactly. Sorrow's back and one of our team is MIA, presumably of her own free will." He paused, challenging anyone to doubt him. When no one did he continued. "We've got a period of time where Artemis was alone in the cabin with Sorrow. When Kid Flash arrived, Green Arrow was already unconscious and Artemis attacked Wally." He looked around at the team. A look of understanding donned on each face. A full-on grin tugged at his lips. "We can't make assumptions. So, until Arrow wakes up this is all we know, correct?"
"Actually," someone quietly spoke up, startling the whole team. All eyes turned towards M'gann. "I heard something before I pulled out of Artemis' mind. I didn't know what she meant at the time but she thought, 'I'm doing this for you'," she murmured, the red in her cheeks standing out against her green skin. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't think it was important."
Recognized. Speedy B-0-6.
"Red Arrow. Red Arrow!" Roy stepped into the room, arms crossed and in full uniform. "I thought that was fixed, Robin?"
"Alright," the Boy Wonder said with his usual smirk as Roy joined the other teen heroes. "The whole team's here." Roy's eyes narrowed slightly but he decided to let it go. "Our information is limited so I suggest we do a little digging of our own. Perhaps we should pay this "team" a visit."
Kaldur shook his head and stepped forward. "I was instructed by Batman to keep the team here. If we do this, it'll be against his direct orders." While a few members of Young Justice crossed their arms defiantly, ready to go against even Batman, the majority looked around in doubt.
Robin looked around at the group, bewildered. "When has that ever stopped us. We've gone against League orders before. That's how this team was started and that's practically what this team is built on. Artemis may have betrayed us but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt."
"What about Wally?" Raquel said, raising her eyebrows with some venom in her voice.
Robin answered her quickly as if he expected her to say just that. "That's not the point. The point is, Artemis must have had a reason to leave and we have to at least try to figure it out. She'd do the same for any of us." The faces of his teammates told him his point had been made. "Besides, it's our responsibility to investigate the new team of villains." Doubt still lingered on some of the faces. Robin sighed inwardly. "I'm creating a team right now. I'll face whatever consequences Batman has to offer. Anyone who wants to join me on this mission is a welcomed part of the team. If you're not willing to face this risk, then stay out of our- or my- way." The youngest member finished his speech defiantly.
"I'm with Robin," Red Arrow confirmed almost immediately.
"No. We are a team, therefore, we face this as a team," Kaldur explained. The eagerness to ignore Batman and go after their missing teammate finally spread to every member. Heads nodded, and ideas came into the light as Kaldur'am began to describe their secret mission. Robin let his familiar smirk fall onto his lips as he listened to their discussion. His part was done. All he could do now is hope Wally was having the same success.