AN1: Ok. I'm really sorry this is really late. But life happens y'know? So...yeah...here ya go! :)

BTW: Happy Independence Day!

I am done with my graceless heart,

So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart,

Cause I like to keep my issues strong,

It's always darkest before the dawn.

~Shake it Out: Florence + the Machine

Batmobile

4:27 am EDT

Artemis leaned back into the hard leather seats of the Bat-mobile, bringing her left foot up to rest on the seat, exhaling the breath she had unconsciously been holding. In preparation of her mission, she had resorted to starring through the small window that offered her some of the first rays of sunlight peeking through the passing trees. If she was honest with herself she would say that it looked beautiful, with the golden rays of light illuminating the small areas that weren't covered in green. Of course it all seemed like a blurred blob of green and gold with Batman driving like he was. But she could imagine that that's what it would look like to any normal person who wasn't flying down some deserted back road at the speed of light. This must be how Wally always feels. A thought wandered into her mind.

With tears stinging her eyes, and a sob constricting her throat, she looked away from the small window, and instead turned to the coal black floor of the Bat-mobile. She could feel Batman's peripherals studying her. Breathing in deep she turned back to the window. "You know I can feel you watching me." She told him, keeping her voice in check.

She heard him shift uncomfortably in his seat, unsure of what to say. "Are you sure you want to-?"

"Batman, I need to do this if I'm ready or not." She cut him off, finding her confidence and regaining her voice. "It's the only way."

"Then how do we know that you won't get caught?" He growled.

She smiled though he couldn't see it. "I'm a master liar, I won't get caught."

There was a short silence as he contemplated her statement, "That was a lie."

She shrugged, "You are a walking lie detector, down there the lies are muddled so the lie detectors aren't all that good," She told him. "But if we're all honest with ourselves, don't we all lie to ourselves?" She turned her gaze to the Dark Knight for the first time since she got to the Batcave.

His grip tightened on the wheel, hearing the truth behind her words.

She looked away from him and out the front window. "When my father first started training me, I used to think that if one day a hero would come, bust the door down and take him to jail." She told him. "But then I realized that only happened on the TV and in fairytales, and the only way I could be saved was to save myself."

He nodded. "'I'm not Alice, there are no wonderlands for me.' was what you told us that day we came to your house," he said. "But if you recall, the team did save you in a way."

Again she felt his peripherals studying her. She looked away from him and shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess," then she cynically laughed, "I find it funny that I sort of betrayed them, and here I am, about to save their tail-ends."

"You didn't betray them." he told her.

She said nothing in response, knowing he was right, in a way. She didn't hand them over to the Shadows on a silver platter like they thought she was going to do, she just betrayed their trust.

"You lied to them, but you didn't betray them." he said.

She snapped her head to face him. "I didn't lie!" she defended.

"But you didn't tell them the whole truth." he corrected her.

"If I told them the whole truth they would have followed me!" she yelled, "This is my mission. My vindication. I don't need them following me." Artemis finished, mumbling the last part.

"They wouldn't have come. They would be saving your mother." Batman stated.

"Wally would've, he's just annoying like that." she said looking away, back down at the floor, which was no longer coal black, now that the sunlight was slowly creeping through the windows. She looked up to the front window, a small city slowly making itself evident it the vast countryside. "I'll never be able to make it up to them, will I?" She asked him, looking back to him.

"What makes you say that?" he asked her.

She looked out the window sadly. "I'll never be able to go back to the team." She told him.

"It's my team, Artemis." he told her.

Artemis spun around to face him, "I wouldn't be able to face, him! Not after how much I've hurt him." she said sadly.

He lightly tapped on the breaks, gradually slowing down the speed. "Him?" Batman questioned calmly.

Artemis shifted, "Him, them, the League, I couldn't face any of them." She turned back to the window, "Not after all I've done."

"And exactly what did you do, Artemis?" Batman asked.

"I lied to them. My friends, my family, my team. I didn't trust them enough to tell them the truth," she said, "And they deserve better than that. He deserves better." she added, whispering the last part.

"If they're your family, then why do you think that they won't accept you back?" Batman challenged.

She said nothing. If she was honest with herself, she would have said that she didn't have any sort of answer to that question. All her life people had rejected her after they found out her secrets, why should they be any different? Because they love and care for you. She chided herself.

How could they after all you've done to them? another voice of hers scolded.

As this internal battle raged inside her, Batman started to slow the powerful machine down, and soon it came to a complete stop. Artemis shook herself out of her musings and grabbed her bag. She prepared to leave as Batman reached up to open the hatch, but he stopped short. "Don't forget to contact us as soon as you catch them, several League members will be on standby for pickup. Don't leave them until they have been handed over." he ordered.

"Yes sir," she said.

Batman nodded to her as he released the hatch, and as she stood up to leave, Batman stopped her, "Artemis."

She looked at him expectantly.

"Good luck. You have until 18:00 Eastern Daylight Time." he told her.

She smiled, "Thanks, Bruce." she said before she jumped out of the vehicle and vanished behind the mass of trees.

Batman sat there for a moment longer before throwing it into drive and sharply spinning it around, launching the large vehicle back the way it came.

AN2: So I haven't completed the next chapter of this story and I haven't even started the next chapter of "The Dinner"...wow...I'm really sorry you guys. I'll start hammering out chapters by the end of next week tho ok? Review?