Alright, looks like Artie's next. I actually used the YJ fan site for this chapter, so if I'm off, blame the fangirls. I hate Artemis still and I only included her on a whim. Her parents will be OOC, but only because I have little to no information on them. I'm just winging it here.
"I'll go next," Artemis offered, seeing clearly that neither Wally nor Robin was going to go.
Before Megan could even attempt to get the right memory though, Kaldur stopped her.
"Megan… I say it would only be fair if we saw a memory from you sense you are invading our memories," he suggested, unable to open his eyes due to the hand on his head messing with his optic nerves as well as his brain.
Megan was silent before she let out a hesitant 'eh…', but she hummed in approval.
"I-It would only be fair…" she agreed softly.
She waited, making sure no one else had any other questions before she began. The memory was just a flash, and in that flash, everyone in that room saw the red and white stripes of a circus tent and a screaming crowd. The memory was cut short before it could even begin though.
"No! No! I'm not going yet!" Robin screamed, his voice hysteric.
Megan tensed up, the white in her eyes fading, as did the hands. Everyone turned to stare at Robin. His blue eyes were wide and he trembled in fear, staring down at his feet to ignore the looks he was getting. Wally gingerly slipped an arm around the ebony's shoulders.
"Dude, you alright?" he asked softly, his emerald eyes full of worry.
Robin's gaze shakily darted from his feet to the pale hand next to his face to the freckle face beside him before he returned to looking at his feet.
"J-Just… I don't want to go yet," he said in a whisper, but the whisper echoed around the strange enclosure so everyone heard it.
"Good. It's my turn," Artemis turned to Megan anxiously. "Come on, let's get this over with. I still have Algebra homework."
Wally kept his eyes trained lightly on his little bird. Seeing the look in his eyes, Megan wished Conner was in there too, but she kept it to herself.
"Sorry Robin," Megan said to him lightly, his broken face making her heart heavy. "I'll hurry…"
The hands shot out again, messing with the nerves in the teammates heads. Wally's arm slipped down from Robin's shoulders, the descent stopped by Robin's arm. Their hands lay against each other, Wally's palm lying against Robin's thumb. Neither boy noticed though as Megan tried again to get Artemis's memory back.
XxXxX
Although tears stained her cheeks, Artemis couldn't have been any happier. She lay in the room her sister and her had shared months ago, the bed beside her still unoccupied, made up in that strange messy style that her sister had always used. The emptiness was like a knife in her heart, but tonight was the night that her mom got home from prison.
Her dad had told her that she'd have to wait until tomorrow to see her though, seeing that it was nearly midnight, but she wasn't going to wait. She had waited way too long. She had so much to tell her mom, so much to ask, so much to do. Just the thought of having a mom again made her heart soar happily, lighting up the moonlit room like a forest fire.
Her heart stopped happily in her chest as she heard the front door open. A grin lit up her face and she jumped from her bed, silently sneaking out her bedroom door and down the hallway to the kitchen. She carefully hid behind the cabinets, her eyes on the mirror that rested in the entry hall to her left that gave her a perfect view of the living room. She expected to see her mom walk through the door and tackle her dad in a bone crushing hug, but neither of those happened.
Instead, her mother wheeled herself into the room in her wheelchair, an exhausted and weak look written over her face. Artemis's dad stood out of mirror frame, but he didn't run to greet her. He walked slowly, and even when he did come into frame, he didn't make any move to show her affection. He just nodded firmly in a greeting, looking her over nicely.
"Honey…" her mom spoke in a light tone.
"Jade's [1] gone," her dad said emotionlessly.
Paula's eyes widened in horror and a hand flew to cover her mouth.
"W-Wha…? I-Is Artemis…" her voice trembled.
"Artemis is fine," her dad's stone still held the same cold, emotionless tone.
Paula sighed at that, patting her heart in relief.
"Paula, you should leave," her dad suggested roughly.
She tensed at the thought, a glare flying to her features.
"It's nice to see you too," she said sarcastically before her tone hardened, "Why should I?"
When her dad paused, Artemis hid herself deeper behind the cabinet. He finally went on.
"You've been in prison for a long time… people change… we change," he started slowly.
"I have changed. I don't want Artemis to turn out like me, so I'm going to raise her right," determination was written clearly on her face.
"You won't be raising anyone," her dad spoke in a voice that wasn't quite yet a growl, but it wasn't loud enough to be considered a yell.
"She's my child!" Paula argued.
"Our child!" her dad corrected.
"You aren't fit to raise her!" Paula screamed, wheeling forward and aiming to punch him hard in the stomach.
"This coming from an ex-convict?" he laughed in disbelief, blocking her fist at the last second.
"It's obviously your fault that Jade's gone!"
A look of sarcastic surprise crossed his features, staying strong as he glanced from the kitchen doorway to the hallway behind him, making sure Artemis wasn't there.
"She left because of you!"
"Me?" Paula mocked, her voice hysteric. "If you had been a better parent, she wouldn't have left!"
She landed a punch this time and he hunched over, clutching his stomach. Artemis clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from gasping in surprise, tears burning in her eyes.
"Do you know how hard it is to raise a rebelling kid and a girl who can't even tie her shoes right when you have to work 14 hours a day to pay for the family because your wife is in prison?" her dad growled furiously, raising his hand and slapping Paula as hard as he could manage across the face.
Artemis had to bite her lip to keep from crying out, trembling in horror.
He… he thinks I'm a failure… she thought heartbrokenly.
Paula let out a roar of rage.
"I could've raised them better than you at least!" she seethed, setting a hand to her throbbing cheek.
Her voice shook lightly.
"But you didn't! You were stupid enough to get arrested!" he tossed back, murder in his voice.
"I didn't do it!" Paula defended herself in a throaty growl.
"The judge sure thought you did," he pointed out in a cocky voice.
"Only because you wouldn't get me a lawyer, you asshole!"
Artemis finally stopped trying when the cusswords got more in depth. She kept a hand clapped over her mouth to muffle her sobs as she bolted down the hall away from them. She had to run… she had to get away… she should've followed Jade.
XxXxX
When the hands faded from everyone, Robin and Wally's face turned dark scarlet when they felt that their hands were touching, pulling away in embarrassment, before turning to face Artemis like everyone else.
"What'd your mom do?" Wally asked curiously, his face burning.
"She was innocent," Artemis mumbled softly.
Wally shrugged. "What was she accused of doing?"
Artemis didn't answer.
"Can we just move this along?" she pleaded lightly.
Megan nodded, looking over the crowd, turning to Robin and Wally.
"Which one of you guys wants to go next?" she asked.
"I say Robbie boy here should," Wally smirked, praying that the blush would fade off soon.
Robin glared at him.
"Why don't you go Megan?" Robin suggested.
Megan hesitated, thinking about it.
"I-I… I guess?"
Before she gave them time to argue, her eyes flashed white and their muscles were paralyzed yet again as a new memory started.
[1] Some fan site I found said that Cheshire's real name was Jade. Don't correct me because I don't care.
Okay, I didn't like this one. I hate Artemis… blechy. Oh well. Next is Megan and I made up a sad memory for her too so she can join the crew. Apparently, Batman goes after Megan, and then Robin, then Wally. That sound good? Wally has a pretty good chapter… Review?
-Shyla Thomas