This chapter contains:

Spoilers: Season 1 and 2

Random Lyrics from: No More Secrets by Papa Roach

Pairings: Dick and Artemis brotherly/sisterly relationship (could be viewed as Traught if any of you want it to be), Spitfire bits, Dick and Jason brotherly relationship and cute Ace bonding with someone we all know and love.

Extra Notes: I spent all day on this because I have no life and I wanted to be positive I included the new idea I had for this chapter in here and so here is an early update. :) As the note says below, Jason (who as you can guess makes a special appearance in this chapter) will look like how he does in the Batman video game Batman: Arkham Knight. I liked how he looked in the DLC and in general for that game so that's what I'm rolling with for this story.

This chapter is rated teen for vulgar language (ahem, all Jason's fault), descriptive crime reviews and mention of injury (this is the lightest chapter this story has ever seen now that I look back at it, I even have some sweet little flashbacks in here).


NOTE: Jason, Red Hood, in this story looks like how he does in the video game Batman: Arkham Knight.


i suffer to survive


It just doesn't fit, doesn't make sense.

Artemis sat by herself on the couch in the living room of the cave, hands drumming a rhythm on the armrest and mind stuck in a completely different place. The deaths of her two supposed father figures didn't make any sense to her, sure, they had a lot of enemies but for an enemy to be smart enough to kill both without leaving any fingerprints behind or blood for that matter—that's why Artemis found herself with reason to believe that Wally and Dick were still alive.

Nobody else would know the houses, no one else could sneak around and catch them off guard plus there was an unknown DNA found on Barry's skin in the form of a body pressing up against his (like a hug) while there also was unknown DNA in certain places on Bruce's body; like as if someone was checking for a pulse and then put their ear against his heart while holding him in their arms.

Artemis knew no one else would believe her but Wally was alive and Dick was alive and she was going to find that out even if it was the last thing she would do. She sighed as her mind brought up another question—if her two best friends were alive and they were at their 'fathers' side during their last breath; how did they get there and what in the hell were they doing near two separate crime scenes?

How did they even know about the crimes and why didn't they come back sooner?

At times Dick was an asshole and seemed to be able to tell the future with his damned smirk and hallow cackle (mostly after one of his pranks) but he was also good at sensing when someone needed help.

Artemis' mind was suddenly thrown into the remembrances of her older teenager days, where Wally assisted his uncle with dangerous Central City crime or murder cases at nighttime. Whenever Wally went out with Barry, back when Artemis and Wally were seventeen and eighteen respectively, to investigate some type of serious crime where his life was on the line she would be one hell of a fidgety person while home alone that certain night.

But then, not even an hour after Wally had left for his hazardous mission of the night, there would be a soft knock at the door. Artemis would scamper over to open it and Dick would be standing there still clad in his Nightwing suit and domino mask like as if he had cut his patrol early for her. He would lift his hand out from behind his back and hold out some type of gauche comedy movie and send her a coy smile.

She would let him in and he would head into her and Wally's room to get changed into the spare garb of civvies he had stored in Wally's closet (black tee shirt, black sweatpants and an extra pair of his classic sunglasses) before heading back out to the living room to see Artemis bundled up in a cozy blanket with a large bowl of extra buttered popcorn waiting for them on the coffee table in front of her.

She wouldn't look at him and instead waited for him to take a seat next to her on the couch before pressing play on the remote and the movie would start playing through the Blu-ray Player while they started munching on burnt (or raw depending on how great of a cook Artemis felt like being that certain night) popcorn.

Then, without fail, sometime throughout the movie thoughts of Wally's bleeding body garbled with death would enter her thoughts and tears would slip down her cheeks mutely. Dick would look over and not say anything at first but simply correcting his shades and then moving closer to her, slinging and arm around her and holding her tight.

She would move her head so it rested soundlessly on his chest and her tears would dampen his shirt but he never cared.

A good time after she would sit there in the comfort of having someone to care, he would lean down and press a friendly kiss to her forehead—to calm her down as much as he could. Then Dick would speak for the first time that whole night, as each time it happened they would mostly operate in complete and utter silence, and he would speak with a hushed voice and concerned tone with words that were louder than the movie playing, in her ears.

All he would say, each and every damn time, was the same exact thing. The same three words that would twist her world around and cause the different types of deaths of her boyfriend to disappear from her brain.

He would say, "You're okay Art." and even though Artemis had no idea who he was behind the shades, cocky smiles and stupid gibes—she knew she could trust him and she knew he would always be there for her when Wally was away and she understood why the two guys were such great friends.

And sometimes she would mutter a discreet 'thank you' and other times she would say nothing at all but all that mattered was that they were there for each other. All that mattered was the fact of his warm arms around her, fingers tapping a pattern into her back, the fact of his care and the whole of his being.

Artemis did a double take of where she was at after the memory left her and she blinked a few times, trying to shake the thought from her memory and recollect her thinking.

The point she was getting to anyway, was that Dick just knew things sometimes. He knew when someone needed a friend and he just knew when someone needed a hug. So did he possibly know about the two deaths and told Wally about each and then both went to go and see if they could stop them? But if that was true, why didn't they call in to the League and ask for help? Why try to stop a destruction by themselves?

There was the possibility that they accidentally stumbled into the two deaths but it was too abnormal to even be considered. Artemis rubbed at her forehead, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the bulk of her knees with her head between her hands. Now, there was one thing Artemis was avoiding considering completely but it was absurd to even think about. Dick and Wally could've killed—

"No Artemis stop that. They wouldn't kill them, Wally is too big of a wimp and Dick loves Bruce." She stopped that though process completely, no way could her two best friends be murderers. That was crazy. There was a sudden tug on her sleeve and she lifted her head from her hands to see Ace's small form standing in front of her. Artemis smiled, sitting up and crossing her wrists haphazardly.

"Hey baby, what's up?"

"Momma, what's going on?"

Artemis did her best to keep the apprehensive expression off her face as she took one of her son's hands in her own. "What do you mean?" Ace looked troubled, his eyes equal to that of a person who had seen too much in this world.

"This morning, when Uncle Arrow was watching that scary movie, you guys all seemed really scared. Are you scared that one of the things from the movie is gonna get you Momma?"

After Oliver had pulled her away from everyone else in the mission room and calmed her enough so that Ace would think nothing wrong, everyone held a secret promise to Artemis that they would act as normal as possible around Ace so he didn't suspect anything, and when she walked back out to the main room Jamie had pulled her aside and told her what he had told Ace.

She had thanked him greatly, or as greatly as a stressed mother could do at the time, and the two of them had headed to the living room where Artemis put a sandwich and some chips on one of his Batman kid plates before walking over to the couch and losing herself in her musings on the murders.

Ace thought of Jamie and Bart as his two older brothers and the three always hung out around the cave and Artemis was happy that Ace was so outgoing and the life of the room. She had figured the best way to go about secret IDs and superpowers was to tell Ace that everyone was special and that he couldn't tell anything about his 'family' to anyone.

The little guy had kept true to his promise since and even used Oliver's superhero alias when they were around other people and it only caused Artemis to love her little guy even more. He was such a great person and everyone in the Justice League welcomed him and accepted him as his own and the Young Justice Team bonded with him like friends would.

Artemis, Bruce and Barry also had a meeting about what Ace would call all of the Justice League and they all agreed with 'uncle' and 'aunt' because it was simple and everyone wanted them to be like a family anyway. They all cared about Ace and would do anything to keep him safe. Artemis rubbed Ace's arms up and down in a motherly fashion, "No baby, we aren't scared and you shouldn't be scared of anything either. We are just worried about something that happened to Grandpa Barry and Uncle Bruce." She whispered, Ace looking confused.

"What happened to Grandpa Barry Momma?"

"Come here baby," she pulled him onto her lap, Ace adjusting himself so he was propped up on one of her legs; "listen—remember how I told you that your dad was going to be gone for a while?"

Ace nodded and his eyes lit up as a toothy smile spread across his features, "Is Daddy coming home?"

She didn't want to say anything that Ace could accidentally babble about to the League but she also didn't have it in her to say another lie. All of Ace's life, each Christmas and birthday—he would always ask where his dad was at. Artemis would have to come up with countless excuses and each one crushed his heart, hell, she could tell.

She didn't want to be that person anymore.

So, she settled for the truth.

Artemis chuckled softly, pinching his elbow as he tried to squirm away from her peaceful touch. "I think they switched places baby, so Grandpa Barry is going to be gone for a little while. But,"

"But what Momma? Daddy?"

She glanced down at her son and his eyes were wide with cheerfulness, wide with discovery. She loved him you know. She always would, even if her suspicions about Wally and Dick were false and they weren't really alive. In response she ran her fingers through his blonde hair, playing with the curled ends.

"I think your dad is on his way home Ace. I think he's finally coming back to protect us from the monsters in this world."

Ace let out a loud hurray and jumped out of Artemis' arms and his lips were stretched so wide across his face Artemis was surprised he could smile that much. He jumped around the room and even turned back around to give his mother a hug before pulling away and laughing thankfully.

"This is awesome Momma! I've missed him so much, I can't wait to meet him!" He continued to talk, words flying at his mouth at the speed of how Bart ranted when he was excited and Artemis couldn't help but grin. "Momma, Momma! Does he have special powers like Uncle Clark? Or shoot arrows at the bad guys like Uncle Ollie? Is he super, super fast like Grandpa Barry?"

Artemis chuckled quietly, wringing her hands. "He's the best superhero of them all bud, he's not as fast as your grandpa but he is amazing and caring and I'm sure Ace, I'm damn sure he'll tug you into the tightest hug you've ever been in and kiss your forehead and tell you that everything will be okay." Ace didn't seem to hear Artemis as she whispered the words to herself, a sad smile hitting her lips as she stared at the ground in front of her.

Her mind protected a see through version of her boyfriend in front f her, cheeks pale and lips in a smirk. She didn't care if she was going crazy or seeing his ghost. All she did was say the words she had been longing to say for a while.

"I've missed you so much Baywatch."


i gotta, gotta, gotta stay alive


"So here was where the body was found, we checked around the entire place and the only disruption we found was the fact that the window over here was opened up with a lock pick." Jim Gordon walked over to the window with Artemis following, careful to watch the white outline of tape on the ground. He pointed at the lock, which was noticeably damaged and then turned back to Artemis.

"What I think happened is the perp somehow, which this is still baffling me, made it through all of Wayne's security protocols and then entered through this window. Now I think Wayne figured out someone was in the room with him and turned around, standing up and moving over here." Jim nodded his head towards where a small yellow 'x' made from tape was placed on the wooden floor. "Then he talked to the perp for some amount of time before a shot was fired."

Artemis hid her shudder, turning to Jim. "Was it a fatal shot or did he bleed out on the way to the hospital?"

He sighed, crossing his arms and looking distressed and it took him a minute before he cleared his throat and spoke. "He uh, he didn't make it to any hospital. When we got here, I took point and walked in here to find Wayne in a pool of his own blood. Single shot to the middle of his forehead. It was too late for us to do anything."

A shiver ran down her spine and a part of her started to regret this idea of investigating the crimes on her own. "That means he's good with guns, a marksman of some sort right?"

Jim shook his head, "Not necessarily. It could've been a lucky shot or he threated Wayne to stand completely still and then aimed."

Artemis looked to Jim skeptically, "A point blank shot right in the middle? That can't be just a lucky shot." She deadpanned and Jim raised his eyebrows.

"You seem to know a lot about killing,"

"Natural talent. I'm good with arrows. Did you check to see the possibility of the perp being hired to kill Bruce? That would make sense why there were no traces of anything and it was done so seamlessly." Artemis quickly detoured the conversation from treading into hazardous waters as she glanced around Bruce's office again.

Jim exhaled unsurely, "I don't think it was that. Honestly Miss Crock—"

"Artemis."

"—Artemis, I'm still trying to figure out how a no name thug got in here and killed Wayne without triggering any silent alarms or Wayne himself breaking a few bones of the guy. I mean, Wayne lost his parents when he was little. He knows how a gun works. Something stopped him from attacking the guy and getting himself out."

"You think so?"

Jim scoffed, heading towards the door, "I knew the man, everyone did. You've seen him, he's huge and tough as hell. You really think a stupid thug to get the better of him?" Artemis didn't answer, her eyes looking over to the window and then back to Jim at the doorway. "You said your apart of what part of the force again?"

Artemis drummed her fingers against the skin of her arm, "SCPD, Oliver Queen sent me to find out what you have on the case so far." Jim laughed, shaking his head. "What?"

"Artemis, don't peg me for someone who's stupid. What is your relationship to Wayne?"

Artemis debated her answer. What was she doing here? Trying to find evidence of Dick or Wally? Finding justice for Bruce? Trying to ease her crazy worries?

"He was my best friend's father. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it." Jim studied Artemis for a moment; closed up emotions, hard face, curt, worry lines faintly etched in her cheeks.

"He was like a father to you, wasn't he?"

Artemis nodded her head once. "My dad wasn't the best. I meant Bruce through—"

"Richard, right?"

" . . . yeah. Dick."

Jim connected the pieces all of a sudden and the relation seemed to slap him hard in the face. "Wallace and Richard were your friends?"

"Best friends. Wally was my boyfriend. I loved him. A lot."

"So Wayne and Allen were protective over you and you looked up to them like fathers right?"

Artemis chuckled softly, not at all surprised that Jim was able to put the pieces together. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, "That's right Commissioner," He stared at her for a few seconds, face wiped of any emotion as Artemis waited for what he would say next.

"I'm sorry for your losses. But I have to ask, were you really native enough to think something would never happen? You don't seem like a woman who's been hidden from the bad things in the world." She let out an uneven breath and tugged at her fingernails.

"I just thought they would always be able to outrun it. Death. Thought it would never be able to corner them."

Jim sent her a smile, "Not every battle is a war. Remember that kid. I'm going to call in a favor with the head of police down in Central City. I have a feeling you'll be heading to that crime scene next."

"Thank you Commissioner. For everything." Jim sent her a wave before walking out of the room and leaving Artemis all alone. She let out a breath before wasting no time and moving over to the window. The way the lock was left was odd, any killer on the run would want to cover up evidence that they were even there. So why leave the lock all mangled? Why not pick it cleaner?

She stared at it for another second before a questioning thought struck her.

"Wait, wait, wait. Lock pick." She allowed her sentence to trail off as she touched the lock, inspecting it. She found what she was looking for a second later, pulling back the small tip of the pick on her index finger.

"So Bird-Brain, where did you learn to lock pick so well with your fancy ass gloves?"

Dick rolled his eyes as he continued to pick the door lock, Artemis' eyes darting around uncertainly as she kept watch for any brutes. "You should watch your language, I'm only thirteen Art. Wonder what Bats would do if he got word—"

"Oh please Bird-Brain, don't even act as if I didn't hear you stub your toe on the couch that one time, you were like a drunken sailor."

Dick was glad she couldn't see his flushed cheeks under the pale moonlight as he nearly dropped the pick. "It hurt," he answered simply, grinning when he heard the click of the lock undoing. "Got it." The door creaked open slowly as Dick stood up and turned towards Artemis. The vibrant 'R' symbol on his suit twinkled in the moonlight.

"Little troll," Artemis grumbled, loading an arrow into her quiver, "stupid little lock picking Bird-Brain."

He grinned and his eyes sparkled with mischief, "Jealous there Art? Your ego must be staggering," She moved forwards and socked him in the shoulder, looking down when something crunched under her foot. She moved her foot back as Dick murmured a small 'ow' before crouching down and picking up the tip of his lock pick with his finger. "This is the only problem with my fancy gloves. After I pick something, the tip of the lock pick gets jammed and then it falls out when the door or window gets moved. I still need to fix it before Bats finds out."

Artemis scoffed, "What's the big deal? No one is gonna find some small ass piece of metal point from your gloves."

Dick sighed, standing up and pulling out three batarangs (robarangs as he liked to nickname them) from his belt, "Any evidence that's left behind puts Bats and I at risk of being caught. Can't have that." A sudden shout came from inside the darkened warehouse and Dick put a gloved hand on his grapple gun.

"Then you better get that fixed Bird-Brain, wouldn't want to piss off Bats."

Dick smirked, "Maybe in a few years."

With that he pressed a button on his grapple gun and disappeared in the shadows, his cackle bouncing off the walls. Artemis cussed shortly as she dived into the room and took cover behind a crate as the lights switched on.

"Stupid damn little trolling ass kid," She mumbled as she shot an explosive arrow towards a group of criminals.

The memory slammed into her like a ton of bricks as she let the metal fall from her fingers and onto the floor. "Dick . . . you're alive," she muttered, happy tears causing her eyes to glass over slightly. She knew for a fact he had never got around to fixing the gloves, she had teased him constantly about it for years. "Dick left the lock looking like this on purpose. He knows the place like the back of his hand, that's how he got in without triggering anything, that's why Bruce didn't turn around and—" her trail of thought froze as the true answer revealed itself.

A gasp escaped her without warning and her mind went into overdrive.

"Dick killed Bruce. Dick killed his father in cold blood."


i know what i'm fighting for . . .


Oliver laughed as Ace tackled Jamie to the couch, the two wrestling fruitlessly. He had agreed to keep an eye on Ace so Artemis could run out and do some errands for Paula (and even though Oliver knew she was lying he let her go anyway, he figured he would question her endlessly once she got back) and the two had been messing around for about twenty minutes now.

Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention suddenly and as he flipped around with his bow raised, he dropped it a second after seeing it was Bart standing there. He was dressed in civvies and breathing heavy, cheeks wind-burned and eyes still dripping tears.

Jamie and Oliver didn't waste a second in running over and firing questions, leaving Ace alone on the couch cushion.

He watched them curiously, wondering if the reason why Bart was so sad was because Grandpa Barry had gone away for a while, until a flash of red caught his eye from the hallway leading to the separate rooms. He jumped off the couch and walked over, seeing another red flash dart through his vision that led him into Dick's old bedroom.

Ace entered slowly, seeing nothing but an empty bed and blank walls.

He went to turn around and leave only to find that the door had been shut gently behind him and a man dressed in a red sweatshirt and metal armor underneath, a picture of a red bird spreading it's wings out jaggedly across the brawl of his chest overtop of black and grey military coloring. There was a red mask over where the man's face was supposed to be, Ace's reflection staring back at him and the curves of it smoothed to near perfection. Two holsters clung to his hips, pistols located in each and the belt of his jeans holding many different gadgets and things from what Ace could see. The man stood oddly, like as if his back wasn't perfectly straight and there was a heavy slouch to his shoulders.

Ace trembled as he tried to back up, only to find his back hiding the covers of the bed as he scurried onto it. "W-Who are y-you?"

The man sighed and it was warbled like as if a permanent voice changer was embedded into his mask as he leaned back against the door.

"I'm your worst nightmare kid, but only if you don't tell me what I want to know."


no more secrets, no more lies


"What are you relations to this case again?" David Singh questioned as he held the front door of Barry's house open to Artemis who carefully followed after him.

"Barry and I were close." She kept it short and David shook his head with a chuckle.

"No wonder Jim called you in a favor, you both share the cold shoulder attitude. But, that's alright—I've had enough experience with that in all categories."

Artemis stayed silent as they made it to the hallway leading into the kitchen, white tape outlining what used to be where the sagged form of Barry sat. The time was in crazy lines as it crossed from being on the floor to appearing on the wall and then back again.

David noticed Artemis' confusion and spoke on account of the messy tape, "We wanted to get the tape as close to Barry's body as possible for maximum recreation. We found his body leaned against the wall." Artemis nodded and as she looked around she noticed the house was spotless. If she was going to find any evidence that Wally was there, let alone a murderer—it was going to be a tedious project.

"Who found him?"

David turned his shoulder out of the way and pointed towards the stairs, "His wife Iris. She reported that he wasn't in bed when her alarm went off in the morning and came down downstairs to look for him . . . um and that's when she found him." Artemis felt horrible, repulsed even. Poor Iris was the one who found him?

"Was he dead or—"

"He had been dead a while when Iris found him, it looks like he was killed near midnight." Artemis exhaled shakily, looking towards the stairs and then back down to where the tape rested.

"How was he killed?"

David shook his head, "He was choked out near twelve midnight and the tox-screen came back and showed nothing in his system that would've stopped air flow. The crook entered through the front door and then left promptly after choking Barry through the back door." David scratched at his head, a muddled look overcoming his face. "There is visually no evidence anywhere. It's like the crook came in, did what had to be done, mourned a little and then went."

"Mourned?"

He nodded towards the tape, "Oils from a different skin were found firstly on Barry's neck from the choking and then in multiple spots on his shirt; like as if the guy felt for a pulse and attempted CPR before leaving. It's an odd case alright."

Artemis sighed, "Do you mind if I just look around for a second on my own Captain?"

David smiled shortly, "Of course. I'll be right outside once you're ready to leave."

"Thank you Captain," Once David left Artemis didn't waste time in heading to the kitchen and looking all around the counter closest to the door.

Wally always knocked into something or moved something when he went out the back door so that Artemis would know where he was when she would look around the house and find him nowhere. He used it every time he had ran out on his own to help Barry or stop a simple robbery. Her finger's hit the glass bowl where the spare set of keys for the house was left and froze when she saw the drop of blood on the counter and the stack of sticky notes over it to hide it.

"Babe, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad, it's just a little scratch I swear." Artemis said nothing and in return roughly wiped at the gash located just above Wally's ribcage, causing the red head to wince. "Artemis come on. It's nothing, I'll be fine. The accelerated healing will kick in within an hour and I'll be good as new."

Wally had saw a story on the news about an ongoing robbery and he had charged to action since Barry was in Nebraska on an undercover mission with Bruce. He had flipped over a bowl on the kitchen counter to show Artemis that he had left (because she was in the bathroom at the time) and had headed out.

The next thing either one of them knew, Wally had saved everyone and was shot on his way out—the teenager running back to his and Artemis' Palo Alto apartment before collapsing in a pile of blood in the living room.

The news had caught an in action picture of his getting shot on the news. Artemis had pulled the bullet out after half dragging, half carrying Wally to the bathroom and had not said a word.

Wally knew she was mad about him putting himself at risk again.

"Baby, it was either the bullet entering me or the little girl I saved." Her eyes met his sharply and his lips tugged into a frown. "That picture? The one on the news? It only shows me being shot from the angle it was taken. What it does show is me shielding the little girl they were about to kill with my body."

Artemis lowered the bloodied washcloth, "Wally,"

He lifted a shaky hand and pressed it to her cheek, green eyes alive. "I'm right here babe and I'm fine. Listen, it's not like I left a drop of blood on a Post-It note and then disappeared without telling you I was okay."

"Post-It note? That's the best thing you can think of stupid?"

He chuckled and clutched at his ribs, smiling. "But you love me anyway babe."

"Shut up Wally."

His blood spotted her shirt as they crashed into each other, lips tangled in a moment of passion.

Artemis knew Barry's house like the back of her hand. Those post it notes weren't supposed to be there. That blood wasn't supposed to be there. It was left for her, just like how Dick left the window.

They were trying to reach out to someone, seemingly begging for someone to notice them—to possibly help them. Something was going on. Her friends weren't murderers, they were being forced to do these things.

They were innocent in all of this.

She knew they were.

"It's okay Wally, I hear you loud and clear. I'm going to find you guys and I'm going to save you."


see right through your alibis


The man pulled a gun out of one of his hostlers and flipped it around, fingers gracefully catching it and throwing it again. Ace was almost lost in the fluent motion, it was strangely beautiful; how the man made something of death and destruction look light and alive. The man seemed to notice how the kid got lost in his trick and smiled behind his mask.

"A brother of mine showed me some aerobic tricks from his days in the circus. He could move like crazy, like one of those crazy ass skinny people."

Ace seemed to snap back to reality at the man's garbled voice and looked at him interestedly. "My momma used to have a friend like that."

The man scoffed, "I doubt it. This kid, he could move like a bi—"

"—bird freed from it's cage."

The man stopped throwing the gun, mask titled in inquiry. "How in the hell did you know that kid?"

Ace shrugged, "The person my momma knew, his name was Uncle Dick and he went on an adventure with my dad before I was born. I wish I could meet him." The man in the mask put his pistol back in the holster, a hoarse laugh escaping him.

"Dickie bird," he muttered, "you smart little asshole."

Ace leisurely got back onto his own two feet, taking a cautious step towards the man. "What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know? So you can go run to your mommy and get me in trouble?"

Ace took another step forwards, "So we can be friends."

The man in the mask laughed, the movement shaking his entire body. "You want to be friends with the guy who wouldn't hesitate to shoot you?"

The little boy shook his head, "My momma shoots stuff too and I'm not scared." The masked man went quiet and let out a low growl, as if Ace had insulted his ego by saying he wasn't scared.

"You should be."

Ace smiled, "I'm not." Everything went silent between the two as the masked man debated his answer.

"Jason." Ace allowed a grin to spill across his face and it reminded Jason of a Christmas spent with Dick after Bruce had gotten him that PlayStation Three.

"My names Wallace after my dad but you can call me Ace. No one really likes to call me by my full name." Jason's fingers tugged at his red hood as he pulled it off from over his mask.

"Why not? It seems like a pretty cool name."

Ace takes another step forward, "Everyone misses my dad a lot and I was named after him. No one likes it, I can tell even when everyone tries to hide it like Uncle Arrow or Momma."

"Your dad's name is Wallace?" Ace bobbed his head shortly.

"Yeah, Wally for short according to Momma. She's always talking about how fast he was."

Jason laughed bitterly, like as if he had just discovered something crazy. "Jesus, I should've known. Dickie used to always hang out with that scrawny ass kid. Of course he's Kid Flash. That makes a lot of sense, I should've known. Damn."

"Can I call you Jay, Mister Jason?"

"Fuck off Dickie, your so annoying."

"I'm annoying? I'm standing here beating up a dummy!"

Seventeen year old Dick 'apparently' stood over to the side practicing some of his new moves on one of the fighting dummies in the bat cave. Sixteen year old Jason was sitting at the computer, surfing the internet for something to do. "You aren't over there, your right behind me flicking your stupid hand in my damn hair," he grumbled, flipping around in the chair to prove his point.

A topless Dick stood there, hand outstretched and guilty smirk on his face as he was caught in the act. He held his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright you win. Nice catch."

Jason crossed his arms, "I was trained by the Batman stupid."

"So am I but I've been here longer than you Jay and I know for a fact the Batman despises cursing from his protégés." Jason's eyes widened and his face quickly lost all color as Dick cackled, walking back over to the punching dummy on the other side of the room.

Jason jumped out of his seat and followed him over, "Dickie, you can't tell him. Please he's still mad at me for going after Quinn on my own yesterday. If you tell him I cussed I won't be alive anymore. You don't want me to die do you?" Dick rolled his eyes, taking a swing at the dummy with his right fist.

"Stop being such a drama queen Jay, I'm not gonna tell him. I actually like having you as a little brother to pick on and I don't want you to die anytime soon. I just wanted to get you out of that damn chair so you could spar with me."

Without any warning, Dick turned and aimed a punch towards Jason's shoulder; the younger dodging at the last second. He looked at Dick with angry eyes as he got into a fighting stance, "That was a dirty move Dickie," He shrugged, jutting his leg out but Jason leaping over it stiffly.

"You don't even know what that means. Stop being so stiff, you won't be able to jump away in time if your body is all coiled up like a spring Jay." Jason took his advice and as Dick flipped to the right and then tried to sweep his legs out from under him, Jay avoided the move with quick and easy ease.

"I'm sixteen Dick, what in the hell do you think other kids my age talk about?"

"Dude, you are such a little troll." Jason dodged another punch and then tumbled to the left, getting the edge over Dick as he slid through the gap in his legs and made it behind him; two hands around his head and over his throat in a choke hold.

"Your one to talk, what do you and Wally talk about now?"

Dick stopped struggling with getting out of Jason's hold as he allowed his body to relax. "Good point Jay, but we are old enough to talk about girls and the things surrounding them." Jason scoffed and lost his focus, not noticing Dick's hand moving in for the flip around.

"Wally's probably not old enough to do half the shit he undoubtedly does to his girlfriend but he does it anyway." Within a second Dick had flipped Jason over his head and straddled his waist in keeping him pinned to the floor, the latter looking as dazed as ever to how he had gotten there. "What in the hell?"

"Don't ever lost focus during a battle Jay, it could be your downfall."

Jason grumbled something rude and shoved Dick off him, flipping him the finger as he stormed back over to the bat computer. Dick did a backflip to get to back onto his own two feet and trotted over to where Jason was surfing the computer again, grabbing the arm of the chair and spinning him around to face him. "Fuck off dude,"

"Jay listen—"

"Dickie you do this to me every damn time. You do something stupid to get me to spar with you and then you wipe the floor with me. I think you do it for your stupid circus ego."

Dick knew Jason didn't mean it, that he was just pissed off and worked up, but it still stung. "You don't mean that Jay now listen to me." Dick took him by the shoulders and pulled his small form out of the chair, making him stand in front of him.

"Dickie—"

"Take of your shirt Jay."

"What in the fuc—"

One stern look from Dick caused Jason to cut himself off as he did as he was told, taking off his shirt and allowing his older 'brother' to see his pale torso. Dick took a step back and pointed to the scars littering his stomach and upper chest and then turned around and allowed the boy to see all of the cuts and bruises that resided there. He turned back around and pointed to a tiny red spot near Jason's bellybutton. "What's that from?"

Jason rolled his eyes, "From you flipping me just now."

Next Dick pointed to the large muti-colored bruise that covered Jason's entire left side. "And that?"

"From chasing after Quinn. Dickie, what's the point of all of this 'cause right now it seems like this is just you making me look like an idiot again."

Dick grabbed Jason by the shoulders and shook him a little. "All the shit on my body Jay, all these scars and nasty looking cuts, they are from no one telling me what I did wrong. Bruce thinks I'm fine because I don't let him know I'm hurt and so he doesn't teach me what I could do better next time. This cycle results in me getting hurt from really, really stupid things." Jason stayed silent, looking into Dick's eyes. "You're lucky. You have me and I'm here to make sure you don't get hurt. I help you improve and I tell you what you did wrong so that you don't make the same mistake twice and end up dead the second time."

"Dickie,"

"I'm not doing this to embarrass you Jay, I'm doing this to save you the pain I've gone through and the marred skin you still get to keep afterwards. I'm doing this to teach you right and wrong. I'm doing this so that after every mission you come home in one piece. I'm doing this, Jay, so you don't end up like everyone else I've ever cared about—so you don't end up like my parents."

Jason reached up and placed one hand on Dick's shoulder, "Dickie, I'm not going to end up like your parents."

Dick smiled, "I know Jay and I'm telling you this because you need to know. I'm doing this for you so you don't end up dead."

"Jay?" Jason came back from the memory with a harsh exhale and dilated eyes, though Ace was only subject to one of them. "Are you okay?" Jason quickly nodded his head, looking around the room weary. Joker wasn't there, he was fine. Everything was fine.

"Yeah kid, I'm good. It's just that no one had called me that in a long time."

Ace looked dismayed, "Do you not want me to call you that?"

"No, no. It's fine. You're kinda cute when you call me that kid, I'll admit." Ace giggled and without any warning and closed the space between them and hugged Jason, the older man automatically reaching towards one of his guns from the sudden close contact. The last time he was hugged was years ago. After remembering that it was just Ace there, just a little kid hugging him, his body grew less tense and his digits moved away from the hem of his pistols. "What in the hell are you doing kid?" He whispered and a voice in the back of his head answered him back in the cackling voice of his big brother.

Hugging you, you little troll. Now stop cursing me out and hug back.

"Jay can I ask a favor?" Jason snapped himself back to the present unevenly, his mind was going haywire. Why was this kid bringing back memories of his past life?

"Go ahead kid,"

"Could you maybe try to find my dad and uncle? I know their full names if it would help. I just want to . . . well my momma said my dad would come back one day and crush me in a hug but he isn't back yet. And I really want to meet my uncle."

Jason stayed silent for a minute. The whole reason for Jason taking the kid was because he was going to grill him for answers on where Dick had gone. He hadn't been in Blüdhaven as usual for a while and Jason wanted answers but now he realized with a heavy heart that someone had taken Wally and Dick and that they were alive and that maybe, just maybe—they were the cause of the crimes in the news. And all Jason knew now was the fact that this little kid wanted him to bring his father and 'uncle' home. Jason knew he had to try, for his older brother's sake and for the kid's.

He pulled back from the hug and was tempted to take off his mask just so Ace could see his smile.

"Yeah kid, I'll look into it. I'll find your dad and uncle alright?"

"Thank you Jay," Jason moved out of the way so that they could leave the room and he heard the perturbed sounds of Oliver shouting for Ace. Jason turned towards Ace.

"Hey kid, one last thing."

"Yeah?" Jason pulled the hood back over his head as the people searching for Ace grew closer.

"People don't like calling me by my name either. It's Red Hood to anyone you talk to alright?" He smiled at the older man, running towards him and wrapping his arms around his waist in one final hug, Jason making an oomph sound as the boy's small body pressed against his many scars over his hips and lower chest. The J on his cheek burned weakly in the meantime, like as if it was still alive.

"Thank you Jay, for saying you'll look for my dad and uncle."

He couldn't deny the smile that fit onto his lips from behind the mask as he patted Ace on the back. "Yeah, I'll find them kid. Promise." He answered gruffly as Ace pulled back. "Listen, if you ever need help or you find your dad and uncle before I do, find something red and leave it on the bed in Dick's room—the room I was just talking to you in. Got it?"

"But how will you know?" There was a smirk on Jason's lips by then and he felt that it was a shame that the kid couldn't see it.

"I'll know. Trust me. Be safe kid."

Ace nodded eagerly and Jason turned and grappled away in a matter of seconds; just as Oliver, Bart and Jamie came up behind Ace. "There you are!" Jamie shouted, placing a hand on Ace's elbow and turning him around to face them.

"What were you doing Ace?" Oliver asked, eyes looking around for anything out of the ordinary but finding nothing.

Ace smiled; hearing a deep distorted chuckle come from the shadows around him.

"I was making sure my dad and uncle were going to come back soon."


this is a call to arms


"Why in the hell does this woman have so many knifes and midget arrows on her? What is she, Robin Hood?"

"I heard she's the daughter of that guy we locked up four years ago."

"Sportsmaster? No, he didn't have any kids, did he?"

Artemis rolled her eyes as she placed the last of her hidden weapons in the box so she could visits and walked through the x-ray machine, the scan coming back clear as she was escorted to a dank smelling visiting room. The guard that had walked her there turned to her before walking out the door, "The guard will bring Mister Crock in a moment, so sit tight."

"Thanks,"

The man left with the door slamming shut behind him and she flinched against her will, fumbling with her fingers as she waited for her father, the man of her nightmares, to be brought through the other doors. Her unwanted prayers were answered as two guards shoved Sportsmaster into the room and forced him to take a seat in the metal chair across the table from Artemis. One of guards handcuffed a hand to the underneath of the table before the two guards left the room.

Sportsmaster sat there with a smirk on his face and he would've crossed his arms if he could have.

"What brings you around baby girl? Trouble with your boyfriend?" Artemis scowled, she didn't want to have to talk to him. But she knew talking to him would be the only way to find out where they were being held if all of the facts she had found so far were true.

"According to everyone, he's been dead for four years. Along with Nightwing." She could see the shocked expression cross her dad's face and then disappear.

"About time, who killed them? I'll need to give them my congrats." He humored dryly, smirking.

Artemis sent him a glare, "Remember kidnapping Nightwing a few years back? That crazy scientist guy that tried to cut him to pieces? He took them both again and apparently kidnapped them and killed them. But I think they are still alive. I need to know where he would operate out of."

Sportsmaster shook his head, "Can't help you baby girl. That guy was a strange one so I didn't ask about anything. Always went on and on about a cure. But I am happy with him for being able to kidnap two heroes so easily and he still gave me my payment for when I break out of here."

"You'll never get out of here Dad," He said nothing and he leaned forwards and his lips were close to her ear.

"I could've killed you seven different ways by now baby girl, don't you know? And those guards that brought me in? Twenty different ways." He leaned back in his chair and Artemis groaned, eyes hard when she looked back at him.

"I know you know something. Tell me where the nutcase is." He stared at his daughter for a few moments before talking again.

"Alright baby girl I'll tell you where he is. But you have to do something for me in return. An upheld promise." He bit, Artemis glaring.

"Fine. What?"

"When you find that man kill him for me, knife through his heart. I can't have such a great guy like that threatening my authority on the streets for when I get out." Artemis growled but nodded her head rigidly, causing Sportsmaster to grin. "Lab in the outskirts of Blüdhaven. Used to be an old factory warehouse for skin products. Very easy to find, get to the top of the hill to the south and you'll be able to scope out the entire compound. Now go kill him for me baby girl, make me proud." She stood up and nodded to the guard outside the door who unlocked it but before she left she looked back to Sportsmaster.

"I'm not doing this for you Dad, I'm doing this to save the man I love and my best friend."

Sportsmaster leered with a taunting laugh leaving him, "Love gets you nowhere Baby Arrow."

She kept the wince from the use of her old nickname hidden and turned to leave, barely looking back at her father. "Love keeps me going."


make no mistake, give it to me straight . . .


Her eyes scan the deserted building in front of her and the lights in the front flicker every once in a while but besides that nothing else looks out of the ordinary. Though she can hear the hum of electricity in the air when meant—

"The place is on. They have to be in there."

She grabs her arrow next to her (and yes, she knows how risky it is for her to be out in her civvies carrying around a bow in her hands and pack full of arrows on her back but she just wanted to find her guys after it being so long) but then a slight crackling noise from behind startled her. She tried to whip around but was too slow as a hand clamped over her mouth and she was pulled flush against the body behind her. But before she could fight back and bite at the man's hand, the person let go of her like she was fire.

"Artemis?"

She turned around and was sure she got whiplash but it was worth it as it was Dick Grayson standing there, decked out in his classic Nightwing black and domino mask. She didn't answer and he seemed to be in disbelief that she was there, standing in front of him.

"Dick," she murmured, launching herself forwards so she could hug him.

He caught her easily, Artemis took notice of how bulky his chest was now, and buried her head into his chest as his arms securely wrapped tight around her. She let a soft sob leave her as she clutched at the back of his suit, her fingers slipping at the thick material but his arms around her was enough to make up for it.

His chin rubbed the top of her hair and he held tight and then she felt a shiver run up his spine and was about to question it until a voice, that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, interrupted her.

Dick's hold grew move protective and she felt his hands grab at her back as he instantly moved her away from where the voice had come from, in a quick yet sturdy protective motion.

"Why hello honey, have you come to join the fun?"