A/N: I KNOW, I KNOW! I feel culpable and 100% all things bad. I was only meant to take a two week break except I might've just disappeared off the face of earth. What's worse is that this story gained 11 followers without me being consistent and I suck. And because I suck, I'm going to stuff that bonus chapter because it's fluffy and it'll stuff up the mood this has gone down, so I'll just upload the next chapter prematurely. It's literally so short, it could be a leprechaun.

Missed all of you, and thanks to every single one of you who read this piece of junk: Angelgirl18647, BerryEbilBunny, Black Bat Girl, Cinomen, GorgeousChaos, Misa3000, MusicLoverBLD, Ninja Bagel, Phantresss212012, Saturngirl16, Zatanna Carrile, ZeroV, billyisabelo, ingrid, littlea16, maewander25, marinelife2299, spitfireforever, star-eye, the royal bookworm of all dork, thestoryreader99, Arrowlover17, BittyCatt, doggybye, kateygirl7, PaaaalomaH, Pen Name Enter Here, PolkadotBunny, PythianPickles, jennelyn12, Amissproduct54, hanjoh1, roseliehale1, AmeliaSkellig, Cst . Reader, Gia2000, shelllabey, Princess Anna of Arendelle, Clara221b, slyterin955, wicked . faith10, youngjusticewriter, Jinxedandhexed, Lyndea, 103lawrencium, Indigo Tides, Markus Wolfe, blacktarget, fiza tiza, randommonkeyz998, JordanAlexis, SB2Lazy, lovepup33, Capw8543, OfficiallyWhelmedSpitfire, squimzie24, Jedi DC of Marvel, Superhero6829, Sparrow'sArrow, laces and shoes, shadeslayerw, Dark fire spirits, MysticMoonGuardian, foxtrot B-12, lil'miss sunshine, BlueJellyFish, IceFire 27, Ngarc345, themadzz123, coconut5639, 1L2Y3R4A, Elloshade, EvilQueen5, JacqueSherlock, JordanAlexis, fashiondynomite31, junebugbug96, Karen vera cruz, Lonewolfpack, Te Ampre Siempre, kyil, sandpaw is awesome, Becney, Arrowette9402, Calkenn13, CrackHeadBlonde, HackedByAWriter, TheShredDoctor, Valkariekain, Yoric, dixistar 29, elizabethbane, robbn, theindecisivewreck, windthorne, sadspitfire

Chapter 15: Betrayal

When her sister had left her alone with her father, it had left a deep scar on the archer, but her mother's betrayal had hurt even worse.

For months now, she had thought that she had earned her title, earned the right to feel proud of herself, earned the friends that she'd somehow managed to make. But now, she wasn't so sure anymore.

Her mother's eyes had glinted with guilt and regret, and Artemis hated herself for it. If only she could've been strong enough, if she could've been good enough to score her own spot on the team, instead of her mom having to beg to the Justice League.

She felt betrayed, but she wasn't even sure if she had a right to. The last few months had been one of the best ones in her life and she had her mom to thank for it. Except, right now, she didn't feel grateful at all.

The archer stared at the familiar phone booth below, hugging her knees to her chest as the steel platform she sat on dug uncomfortably into her flesh. The nostalgic feeling of helplessness pressed down on her, and the dark sky remind her of another night long ago, a night with Cheshire cat masks, ratty teddies, and empty beds. She had been little Artemis Crock, pathetic and weak, and unable to hold onto what she had wanted.

The archer buried her head into her knees, taking deep breaths as the cold air bit into her exposed skin. Maybe she still was.

Her life was a lie. Her place on the team had been the only thing that had been right in her life, something that was real, something that she thought she had done and had control over, but it wasn't.

Her thumb had hovered on the green button of her phone when she had left her house, with the screen flashing 'Wallaby the Hero', but she had shoved the mobile deep in her pocket seconds after. She had screwed that up too, and now, she wasn't sure if she had the right to, considering they wouldn't have ever met if not for her mom.

We're friends, Artie. His voice echoed in her head and Artemis squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to focus on Wally's voice, to drown out the suffocating whispers of her conscience.

Lies. You're a liar. Your mom had to beg them to let you join the team. You were sold like some cheap product that didn't even deliver the performance they wanted, and you weren't, aren't and will never be good enough.

Artemis kicked the railing, the vibrations jolting her kneecap and sending a sharp ache up her heel, but she ignored it as she stood up, fixing her hair. Breathing in deeply, she jumped to the ground and walked towards the phone booth, muttering self-assuring words to herself.

She was Artemis Crock, a no-good criminal and her conscience was right; she was a liar, and a good one too. And she was going to lie to herself if it meant that it would alleviate the heavy weight of doubt pressing onto her shoulders.

The Cheshire mask clattered onto the stone floor of the Cave, the sound reverberating against the walls- walls that used to be warm to Artemis despite it's physical structure.

She watched as Wally's face contorted into one of disappointment, his usual carefree grin replaced by a gut-wrenching scowl of disgust as he waved his hand- the tracker held between his fingers. His mouth moved as he lectured her, but all Artemis could hear was the incessant ringing in her ears and her sluggish heartbeat as she realised that this was the moment she had been dreading for the past few months.

The moment when her past would eventually collide with her present, and she'd have to live with the condemning looks sent her way, or worse, be kicked off the team. Was this the moment she should come out and fess up? That her parents were criminals, that the crazy lunatic assassin that had messed with her teammates today was actually her sister? That she wasn't even meant to have worked with them in the past few months?

As Artemis stared at Wally- the same insane, bright redhead she had gotten close to and possibly cared for far more than she wanted to admit- she couldn't help but feel the simmering anger beneath her skin. He had accused her of wanting the spotlight.

She had wanted a part in this mission because it was her family that the team would be dealing with, and she couldn't risk any of them knowing who she was.

But despite her anger, a part of her knew the speedster was right. Artemis was a good liar, even to herself, and Wally's accusations had hit closer to the target than she had wanted to admit.

If the archer really wanted to be honest with herself, she knew there was a part of her that had volunteered because she was feeling insecure. Because her spot on the team wasn't hard-earned and with Red Arrow on the team again, there was no reason for the archer to stick around.

Still, Wally's accusations struck her deeply, and she knew there was no dust in her eyes this time, nor was it the snow melting on her eyelids as she felt the back of her eyes burn.

Her anger wasn't at all directed towards the speedster. She could dislike his accusations and the unfamiliar curve of a scowl on his face all she wanted, but she knew she could never hate him. And right now, it wasn't him she hated, it was herself.

Artemis Crock was a failure. She couldn't do anything right, not for herself and not for anyone. Keeping her distance from Wally was probably the only thing she had done right in her life because the cost had been her happiness, and anything that made her happy seemed to always sift through her fingers like sand. It wasn't something tangible that she could hold onto and never let go, and Artemis should have known she would never deserve a second chance, or friends, or even Wally West.

Usually, she hated corny girls with self-pitying internal monologues but the archer was also a hypocrite, and as much as she wanted to shove these insignificant feelings down the trap they had stumbled across when she'd first started and blow them up like Wally had did that night, Artemis' eyes were still misty with unshed tears.

You've got nothing to prove, not to me at least. The speedster had said to her just a couple hours ago, with a reassuring smile and crinkled eyes that had settled her stomach far more than she had expected. But it wasn't him she wanted to prove herself to, it was her- she wanted to prove that she could have gotten a spot on the team without her mother's help.

Artemis kept her chin high, and crossed her arms as Wally stopped and stared at her, a brief look of anguish and disappointment flashing on his face before he strode away, his hands clenched to his sides and his shoulders stiff.

She wanted to call out to his retreating back, but her eyes were burning way too much and her teeth were close to cutting into her lip as she bit on it harshly to keep her emotions at bay.

Her fingers curled painfully into her arms and she knew she could've walked away- as easily as Wally had just done- except, she felt like this was something she actually deserved. Maybe if she stayed for the accusations and the suspicions, she'd finally be forgiven for everything that had gone wrong in her life.

Wally didn't stop to watch as Roy threatened her, and although he wanted to storm back and tell Roy that she wasn't the mole because she was Artemis, and Artemis wasn't a traitor- Wally refused to even think about it. What if she was the mole? What would the last few months mean to him? Or even, to her?

He had seen the almost undistinguishable shine in her eyes, and the speedster knew that she was hurting too. Months ago, he would've scowled at her poker face and called her a heartless bitch. But he knew deep within himself that Artemis Crock wasn't like that. She wasn't as emotionless as she showed herself to be, and she definitely wasn't the mole.

But, Roy could be right. It did explain why Artemis knew so much on how the Shadows operated, and how she was so skilled when she was just a 'niece'.

Wally sighed, hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand. What was he saying?

It was Artemis. The hot-tempered, fiery, stubborn archer who had lowered her guard around him on more accounts than he had expected, and the person he knew under her tough exterior couldn't be- and wasn't- the person Roy suspected she was. But Wally had no other explanation for what she'd done. She must've had a reason for planting a fake tracker, and the redhead felt mildly disgusted at himself for knowing nothing about her, not enough to even defend what she'd done.

He couldn't turn back now, he couldn't return to swallow his words or even ask her for an explanation because he knew it was too late. He had seen her stance- she had curled into herself, hiding behind layers of hurt and sturdy walls made of I-don't-give-f*** that made Wally's chest ache.

She had changed so much since their first meeting and Wally had liked it- liked her. He liked her smile, her dimples, the way she smelt, the texture of her hair, her loud laugh, and- Wally crouched as he turned the corner into the hallway, leaning against the wall as he gulped in deep breaths of air.

Artemis Crock wasn't a traitor, and although he was still mad and disappointed in her for lying, Wally West still liked her. Undeniably.