Get ready for some action! And here all the characters will be revealed!
Artemis had recently returned from the gun shop with their needed ammo when a sharp knocking startled the two hunters out of their amiable chat.
"Do you-?" She started.
"I have no idea," Wally rose his eyebrows, tucking his gun into the back of his pants before heading over to the door. There wasn't any peephole so they couldn't tell who was waiting on the other side, "Should I?" He questioned, turning back to glance at the blonde.
Artemis shrugged, sad that their calm day of preparation had been deemed cut short. She'd slept extremely well leaning up against Wally, despite the crick in her neck that she'd gotten by the stupid position he'd put her it after she fell asleep. She refused to admit to herself that she'd hoped he would have slept with her the whole night. But Artemis had woken up alone in her bed, pulled from her sleep by the sound of her partner in the shower.
Wally opened the motel door hesitantly, peeking around the edge to check before he opened it all the way, "Megan?"
The red haired woman flew into the room with a flourish of arms, the epitome of distress, "Wally! Artemis! It's terrible!" She shrieked.
The blonde jogged over to question her but before she could say anything Megan had thrown her arms around her neck and squeezed her tight, her tears soaking into Artemis's shirt collar, "What happened?" Artemis asked, patting the woman's back awkwardly as Wally hovered around them with concern. She waved him back with a frown before coaxing Megan out of her death grip.
"It's my best friend, Marie, she's dead," Megan cried, her eyes bright red from tears, "It was the skinwalkers! I just know it!"
"What makes you say that?" Wally asked, resting his hand on her shoulder to calm her down while Artemis went to close the door.
"Marie's son, Garfield, is missing. No one can find him!"
The duo shared a look, confirming that they'd both had the same thought.
"Megan, how about we sit down?" Artemis offered, leading the woman to the edge of Wally's bed. She nodded sadly and did so, folding her hands delicately in her lap as she held in her sobs.
"Do you have a picture of Garfield?" Wally asked, pulling up the two chairs they had for him and Artemis to sit near her.
Megan frowned, wiping away her most recent tears, "Uh, yeah, why?" She asked, reaching into her cardigan pocket to pull out her phone.
"Well-"
"We might have seen him last night," Artemis spoke up bluntly.
"Really!?" Megan gasped, clutching her open phone to her chest. Wally sent the blonde an incredulous look that was ignored.
"We were scouting out potential hideouts and witnessed the skinwalkers bringing a boy into what we assume is their headquarters," Artemis explained with a frown.
The woman gulped down her tears and held out her cell phone for the two to see, the screen glowing and revealing a picture of Megan and a young boy hugging and smiling widely. The blonde looked to Wally to break the news once they'd both seen it.
Wally cleared his throat, gesturing to Megan that they didn't need to see the picture any longer, "Uh, Megs,"
"You saw Gar?" She asked quietly, her eyes focused on the worn down carpet she was rubbing the toes of her flats into nervously.
The redhead nodded, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure,"
"He seemed unharmed," Artemis spoke up hesitantly.
"You need to get him back!" Megan straightened up, speaking boldly, her eyes growing fierce.
"We will," Wally answered confidently, standing up to stride across the room and grabbing a couple of empty magazines. He tossed one to Artemis, who caught it easily, and walked back over to sit down with a box of ammo.
"Here," Artemis said, offering the woman an empty magazine, "Fill 'er up, the sooner we get stocked up, the sooner we can go raid that building,"
Megan's mouth dropped open at the heavy metal object, her hands shaking at its touch, "I, I don't know how,"
The blonde frowned in surprise, but Wally beat her to assisting the distressed woman.
"It's pretty simple," He gave her a small smile, taking the magazine from her trembling hands and grabbing a single bullet from the ammo box, "You just take the bullet and slide it in at the top here, the mechanisms will move it down when you put more in. Just keep adding them in the same direction until it's full," He explained, putting the first bullet in as an example. Megan nodded silently and obediently continued the process.
"So, Megan," Artemis started, catching the shapeshifter's attention, "Tell us about Garfield,"
Megan's sour mood dissipated instantly as she began gushing about the boy, "Gar is wonderful, I met his mother at work and she invited me over for dinner. He's a very active boy and he loves to explore and help others. Whenever we go out, Marie and I have to keep a sharp eye on him because he'll rush over to people that need help with something without saying anything! We lose him all the time!"
She continued for a little while, chatting away as the trio worked. Finally Wally cleared his throat, pausing her in her speech, "I think we're ready to go," He announced. Megan looked to Artemis for confirmation and the blonde nodded in agreement.
"The sun is setting, that's our cue. All the skinwalkers will be in the headquarters before they go out and do their nightly thing," She explained, getting up and pulling on her favorite leather jacket. Wally solemnly grabbed his various silver knives and placed them away for an easy grab.
"Let's head out," Wally stated, halting at the door. Megan stood awkwardly in the middle of the motel room as Artemis walked past, the blonde still stuffing weapons away, "You too Megan,"
"But I can't kill anyone!" She gasped, looking horrified at the thought.
"Then it will be good for you to be there when we get Garfield out. He'll be confused," The redhead suggested.
Megan halted for a moment, considering, before finally nodding and rushing to join the two at the door. Her heart hammering in her chest.
"You know, they wouldn't be able to kill you," Artemis pointed out as the three of them sat in the hunter's stolen car, waiting for the right moment to charge, "Skinwalkers and shapeshifters have the same vulnerabilities, and it's unlikely that they'll have anything on them that could be used to kill themselves,"
"That's not the problem," Megan shook her head, sitting lower in the backseat, "I don't want to hurt anyone," She whispered, her eyes turned away.
"That's fine," Wally spoke up from the passenger seat, "But take this, and if any of them escape, just hold them at gunpoint until we can get to you,"
Megan nodded lightly, placing the heavy gun he handed her gently on the seat, "Good luck," She whispered.
"Thanks," Wally said, glancing at the blonde before the two simultaneously exited the car.
The two had the art of raiding a building down pretty well after having been hunting together for over four months. They had a strategy created based on their comforts in battle. Wally was faster and much better at close combat, so he would always go first. Artemis was a perfect shot and would come second, taking out anyone in sight and keeping an eye out on Wally for anyone attempting to sneak up on him.
As they crossed the street to their chosen entrance to the building, the two fist bumped. Artemis smirked at Wally's grin.
"Watch my back?" He asked, rather rhetorically.
"I always am," Artemis rolled her eyes, stopping outside the door and checking the handle to ensure it was unlocked. She nodded silently in affirmation and stood aside so that the redhead could enter first.
He opened the door slowly, ensuring that it would make no sound, and stepped into the darkness with light feet, Artemis following right on his heels, their weapons both drawn. They both knew that the first shot would start bringing others. The first shot was always the most nerve racking part of the hunt.
"Two o'clock," Artemis whispered from her place at Wally's side, aiming her gun at the skinwalker who was gearing up on the other side of a storage rack. Wally nodded silently and strode ahead a bit before Artemis took the shot.
The noise echoed in the metal filled establishment and the man dropped with a thud. A scuttle occurred in the distance and Artemis steadied her gun on the storage room entrance that Wally didn't have covered.
Another man ran into the room through the door Wally was standing by, falling quickly at the redhead's shot. Artemis turned away from her own post and went to follow her partner a he made his way farther into the building. The stale smell of blood was already filling the air and the two knew it wouldn't be long before the numbers surrounding them rose.
Wally took the hallway slowly, checking each room he passed as Artemis waited with her gun trained on the far end. Two more skinwalkers got taken out by his gun as he charged the rooms, their enhanced speed not nearly up to par with the redhead and his trigger reflexes. Two more came from the opposite end of the hallway and the blonde was able to take one out without blinking, while the other ducked into a room.
Artemis strode ahead while Wally was clearing another room, his shots ringing out and filling the air with the hint of gunpowder and blood. She halted outside the entrance, aware that the skinwalker who had hidden knew she was there. The blonde grit her teeth before turning on her heel and darting into the room. It was an office of some sorts and there weren't many places to hide behind.
Which is why the skinwalker had staged himself to catch her as she entered.
They fell to the floor with a scuttle of dirt and limbs, Artemis snarling as he grabbed her gun hand and pinned it to the floor. She felt a sharp sting as they fell and when she saw his hand she realized that he'd nicked her forehead with a hunting knife. He brought it down quickly to stab her, his eyes sharp and feral. Artemis twisted her torso and kicked him away, using her other arm to knock his knife hand off track and causing it to collide against the concrete floor with a dull crack. He tipped and the blonde used his momentum to propel herself sideways, however his grip on her gun hand was still tight and they ended up rolling along the floor. Artemis's shoulder jarred painfully against the edge of a metal desk and she made a harsh attempt to overpower his grip and get a shot in.
However the skinwalker managed to keep his strength and her bullet hit the ceiling, shattering one of the tiles and bringing it falling down onto his back. He grunted from the blow before slamming his knee into Artemis's leg in frustration and desperation, "Fucking Bitch!" He growled.
"Speak for yourself," She snarled back, using the desk she was still being pressed against to push off and tip him. The blonde ripped her wrist away from his grip while he was unfocused, aiming her gun at his chest.
Suddenly a shot rang out, and the skinwalker was bleeding out onto the floor.
Artemis startled, whipping her head up to find Wally standing at the door, his gun raised, "I had him!" She exclaimed, pulling herself off of the floor and strutting over to her partner.
The redhead's eyes were narrowed a dark, his face grim, "I don't care," He snapped, and Artemis was reminded of the way he would get sometimes. The way his attitude changed while they were fighting a creature, or many. His muscles were tense and his reflexes sharp, Artemis often thought that he could dart away to any part of the world, whenever he wanted, as quick as he wanted, with all the speed he could muster to his feet. His hair was pushed back and wild from the running he'd been doing already from their raid, "The hallway is all clear," He said gruffly.
"Why'd you take my shot?" She asked, her tone stern. It was the only way to speak to him when he got that way; with his blood pumping, his muscles wired to react at any moment.
His gaze was sharp when she caught it, and Artemis suddenly felt very conscious of the dirt and grime that she'd gotten all over herself as she'd wrestled the skinwalker, while Wally was still clear of any sign of a scuffle, "Because he made you bleed," Wally growled, his voice low, his grim face softening for the barest of moments as he drew his hand up to brush his thumb across her forehead, showing the blonde the residual blood from his touch.
"I don't need an avenger," Artemis told him, keeping the corner of her eye trained on the door for any stragglers.
"No, but you should stick to the plan," Wally shot back, "I'm supposed to be ahead, I'm faster than you are,"
Artemis said nothing for the moment, regrettably understanding his reasoning. Wally would have been fast enough to catch the skinwalker hiding out in the room, while she had been overpowered by the man's enhanced speed. She almost disliked their strategy, even though it had saved her ass a few times already.
"Let's go," She grumbled out, walking past the redhead and back into the hallway. Wally said nothing as he took her side, understanding easily that the blonde disliked being watched out for.
"I think this was the staging area," Wally whispered as they reached the end of the hallway, jerking his thumb back towards the hallway of offices. The two crept along the edge of the large industrial room quietly, searching for any more skinwalkers.
"And it was staging time," Artemis mused, "We got lucky,"
"Are there more of you?" A regal voice rang out across the room, startling the duo into turning towards the sound.
There was one woman standing in the very middle of the room, and locked in her arms with a knife against his throat, was Garfield.
Wally and Artemis walked toward her with their guns raised, eyes darting around to check for any further creatures.
"Do not bother," The woman snapped, "And do not come any closer, lower your guns or I kill the boy," Her tone was vicious and her grip on the knife was no bluff. She had dark skin and a scowl across her painted lips, her wrists and neck covered in broad gold jewelry. They did as she told, reluctantly.
"Garfield, it's going to be okay," Wally spoke up, a small smile forced onto his face. Garfield's eyes widened in surprise at the sound of his name, confusion blossoming.
"It is not!" The woman shrilled, "You have murdered them all!"
"And you're next," Artemis smirked confidently.
"Me? You cannot kill me," She laughed loudly, "I am their Queen. Queen Beatrix. I willsurvive and my plan will continue in another city,"
"What was your plan?" Wally asked, his eyebrows furrowed, "Because it wasn't really working,"
"It was, until that idiot Grodd started killing people," Beatrix raved, "We were stealing the children of the city. The plan was to turn them and give them back after time, children would not be refused and eventually through ignorance and childish foolishness our kind would spread," She explained proudly, unaffected by the knife she was still holding tightly against Garfield's neck.
"Well you won't be getting any more chances," Artemis told Beatrix, her expression blank although her tone was confident.
Beatrix only looked confused for a moment, but it only took a moment for the bullet to lodge in her brain.
Wally raced forward as the woman fell, his speed allowing him to retrieve a hysterical Garfield from her dead grasp before she hit the ground. The boy latched onto Wally's shirt and the redhead held him close as he gasped out sobs.
"Megan," Artemis called, walking forward slowly toward the red haired woman, "Megan, you can put the gun down now," She held her hand out. Megan was frozen in place, shaking slightly, the gun still pointed at where Beatrix had stood, tears falling freely.
"I-" She started, her voice cracking. Megan's eyes darted to Artemis's, and then to the gun, "Oh God! I-"
"You saved Garfield," Artemis put in; stepping close enough to gently take the gun from the woman's grasp. Megan shook slightly and Artemis helped her to her knees, understanding that she wouldn't have been able to stand much longer, "It's alright Megan. You did the right thing," She continued, wrapping an arm around her trembling shoulders.
"But I-"
"Megan!" Garfield called out. Wally had calmed the boy down enough to point out his savior, and the boy ran straight to her, "Megan!"
"Oh! Gar!" Megan cried, enveloping the boy in her arms when he reached her, "Gar I was so worried!"
"I wasn't," He assured her with a still quivering voice, "I knew you would find me,"
"Let's get you guys home," Artemis said, still glancing around the building, "Someone was bound to call in all the shots,"
Megan nodded and the two hunters helped her and Garfield stand, both of their nerves shot.
Garfield has been saved! Yay!
Please review to let me know what you think.
Love, Veg