Artemis II

It all started so simple. It was an easy mission. She'd already done it once, really. All she had to do was die. She wondered if Dick and Kal saw the irony in that, remembered that long ago scene and the ice and cold and white and gone. She didn't bother to ask, knowing her tone would come out biting and harsh. Maybe even from the beginning a part of her had realized how complicated it would get, how difficult. Maybe she didn't really want to know where their heads were. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the process of thought that saw the death of a teammate, a horrible revelation of a father, and saw opportunity.

Artemis remembered how angry she had been, when Dick had first told her and Wally the truth of Kaldur's betrayal. And she suspected underneath that anger was more than a little hurt. She had thought she had long ago earned Kal's trust, not to mention Nightwing's, who had believed in her before she had even believed herself, back when he was still so young, still Robin.

But he was changed now, had been changing for a long time. Once secrets like these would have infuriated him too. She knew how he used to hate Batman using people for his own ends, as well intentioned as they may have been. It was always good intentions with Batman, she thought bitterly, that led to the worst things. The blinding white of death and a different, wilder Robin flashing before her eyes.

Leadership changes people. She knew that now.

It was the mission that mattered anyway. Artemis had been drilled long enough in both sides of her life to recognize that importance. If it was better for the mission that she had been out of the loop at first, than so be it.

It was the mission she tried to think of, in the rush of light and sound and fight on the dark launch area, in the minutes leading up to her own death. The tarmac slid with effortless grace beneath her feet, and she had thought, Yes, this is who I am. It was all the sing of slightly rusty muscles and the savage joy of the pull and release. Nightwing always looked like dancing on the battlefield, and she felt as if she finally heard the tune. When the merc came at her with his tricky knife he seemed in slow motion, and there was all the time in the world to bat his hand away, to put him down and turn to smirk at Nightwing's worried face. For a moment it felt just like the old days, and she didn't even need M'gann's mindlink to know his thoughts as if they were her own.

But they had a purpose beyond the simple missions of the team of old. And rising like some dream out of the cold water, her old dear friend had come to remind her of it. That purpose echoed in his stiff stride towards her, in the clenched fists and hard eyes. Only when Kaldur leaned in close could Artemis see the depths within those eyes, and she felt the warm relief of familiarity even as she bore the hard punch against her ribs. There was only a little pain. Already her senses were beginning to fade as the drugs did their work. A cry of her name resounded inside her head as Artemis felt herself caught by a broken voiced figure with surprisingly gentle hands. They were steady against her chest and her back as he lowered her to the ground. Time constricted to the slow spread of fake blood down her abdomen, and the deep warmth breathing through her lungs carried on firm soft hot lips.

Blackness.

Artemis woke to a pleasant rhythmic motion combing softly through her hair. Her eyes fluttered open and the motion stopped, but the weight still rested lightly above her temple. Slowly her pupils adjusted to a dim room, a white ceiling above her and a cot below. One Dick Grayson sitting on a low stool beside her with eyes half closed and a hand in her hair. Artemis' mind slugged along behind her, trying to make sense of a tumble of words and images crowding beneath her skull. She couldn't remember where she was, or how she came to be there, but a strange calm ran through her. All she could focus on was Nightwing, his mask discarded in his lap, his brilliant tired eyes, and the pressure of his hands on her. A hazy smile formed unbidden on her lips. For once she was allowed to see inside his eyes, the change in them as he smiled back down at her. Bits and pieces of the night began to filter back down to her, the echo of his breath on her lips.

A car screeched somewhere in the distance, startling his hands away from her. Artemis tried to sit up, and almost failed as a pounding headache made its presence felt. Gingerly she swung her legs onto the concrete floor, but remained on the cot, gauging her physical state. She felt hung-over, dizzy, slightly nauseous, and her memory was still incomplete, though rapidly rushing back. All in all, she'd felt better. She looked up at Dick standing before her, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Change of clothes is in the corner, gear's in the pack on the wall. We're secure here for another twenty, Kal and Wally should be here in ten."

"Okay."

"The drugs affects should be completely worn off by then, if you're still feeling iffy. I'll be outside if you—so you can get ready, and et cetera."

"Okay."

He closed the door quietly behind him, revealing a glimpse of what looked like an underground parking garage. Artemis shrugged off her feelings of vague uneasiness. Her mind raced with details of The Plan, anxiety and fear and excitement vying for control. Anything else could wait. She had work to do.

so it's been a while. a looong while, and yet i still haven't given up on these messy painful people and their potential that won't leave me alone. i have about three ish more chapters vaguely outlined in which generally i plan to get a little more overtly ship based, but no definite timeline for when they'll be out. but they will come out!

thanks for the lovely reviews, you guys are fantastic