Hey, I'm back! It's been a long time, I know. And for that, I'm REALLY REALLY sorry. Unfortunately, my school's started up, so it might take awhile for another update.
I'd like to thank all of my faithful readers; those who've ever reviewed the story to those who've been following Buried Secrets.
You know the drill: Little Karma has my thanks for submitting the last OC; Big gratitude to nequam-tenshi, candi711, batman-defeats-all, Guest, lolastarr50, and lolajam77 for submitting a review to the last chapter.
Here's what I have so far:
Villains:
Stake
Blast
Lilac
Midnight Prowler
Shadow
MockingJay
Black Rose
Dark Angel
Gamble
Heroes:
Sin
Jeta
Halfte
Gentil
Insight
Night Bird
Shadow Tamer
Mystery
Morph
P.S. If anything of this is wrong, you MUST private message me to let me know (or leave it in this chapter's review).
Italics = thoughts, "telepathic communication"/ "radio communication"/ "on television", time stamps, flashbacks
Bold= exaggerated words
This is the Buried Secrets version of Auld Acquaintances. However, this is only a PART of it. I split it into two.
This chapter is titled "Turning Point" as its equivalent is the climax of season one, and because of the sudden turn of events.
Warning: Characters are most likely OOC, and profanity is used at certain points in the story. There are slight spoilers for Young Justice Season two at the end as well.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Young Justice.
Gotham City
December 30, 19:56 EDT
"Alice," Artemis spoke quietly as she shut the bedroom door behind her. "We need to talk."
"What is it?" Alice turned away from the window to look at her older foster sister.
Artemis took a deep breath, "I've been hearing that you have a health issue…and a slight bully problem."
Alice smiled, but Artemis noticed that it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine. The neighborhood kids were just teasing me, that's all. And I'm perfectly healthy, as you can see."
"You don't seem perfectly fine to me," Artemis's eyes narrowed. She had just noticed that Alice still leaned on her left side to avoid the use of her right ankle.
"Stop it," Alice whispered, though Artemis wasn't sure why she had suddenly lowered her voice. "I don't need you to dote on me too…."
"It's not doting!" Artemis argued. "It's being concerned for your own personal health!"
Alice's hand reached out to touch the window, as if she yearned to be outside rather than have this conversation. "You shouldn't protect me," she said quietly, "You'll only get hurt."
Artemis stepped forward, "You shouldn't be afraid of losing us by involving us in your problems. That's what family's for, Ally. They help each other."
It felt so odd for Artemis to say those words. They were so out of context with her own life that she could barely believe them herself.
But your real family isn't Jade and Dad. It's the Team, remember? That's where your true loyalties should lie.
"Jake said that too," Alice murmured sadly. "And then I never saw him again….."
"Jake?" Artemis's curiosity bled out of her, "Who's Jake?"
Alice stiffened, "He was my older brother."
A hollow feeling came over Artemis as the word "was" rang through her mind several times. Had Alice been abandoned by her older sibling as well?
"I'm so sorry, Alice," Artemis reached out to the younger girl. "Did he leave you alone to face your dad?"
Alice let out a depressed sigh, and when she spoke, her voice faltered. "I-I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind, Artemis."
"Oh," Artemis said weakly, feeling a bit disappointed. "I understand."
It was Alice's business anyway, and it wasn't like Artemis told Alice everything either. How could she expect Alice to trust her if Artemis hesitated to tell her what was really going in her life?
"I'm sorry," Alice's eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to spill. "It's not that I don't trust you or anything, Artemis. It's just…it hurts too much to talk about it." Then, before Artemis could stop her, Alice ran from the room.
Washington D.C,
December 31, 00:16 EDT
"Artemis! Artemis, come in!" A sudden voice in her intercom jolted Artemis awake.
Quickly, she grabbed the ear piece from her drawer and jammed it into her ear, hoping like crazy that the Alice hadn't heard it.
Relief washed over her when she saw Alice peacefully sleeping.
Careful to not wake up Alice, Artemis opened up the window and clambered onto the fire escape.
"What is it?" Artemis hissed. It had better been an emergency for waking Artemis up so early in the morning.
"Now's not the time for hospitalities, Artemis. I know who the mole is now; and don't trust-"
Artemis strained to hear his voice over the sounds of his panting and loud footsteps.
"What's happening?" Artemis asked in alarm. "Are you okay?'
Red Arrow didn't respond. She heard footsteps stop and widened her eyes in horror as the sound of explosions and Roy most likely getting punched around filled her intercom.
"Red Arrow!" Artemis shouted, forgetting to try to keep her voice down to a whisper.
The sound of incoming train echoed in her ear. Red Arrow's gasps of pains were the last thing the intercom transmitted to Artemis before she heard a crunch ….and then nothing.
"Roy," She whispered.
Mount Justice
December 31, 07: 16 EDT
Artemis couldn't sleep in the seven hours that Roy's intercom went dead. She paced back and forth outside on the fire escape worriedly before heading back inside. It was too cold out for Artemis while she was in her night dress.
Every time she attempted to fall asleep, a bloodied and bruised Roy came into her mind. What if he was dead?
No, Roy can handle his own….I'm sure of it…Besides, he wouldn't die the day after achieving what he always wanted, would he?
Now Artemis was gathered with the Team in the Cave. So far, she had yet to manage to bring up her midnight "conversation" with Roy. She had no idea how she was to present to the Team the possibility that Red Arrow might be dead. Not to mention, how was she supposed to explain why Roy had contacted her? Their late night patrols were their own secret. Possessive as it sounds, Artemis wanted to keep that tidbit of information to herself.
"We have reasons to feel proud of yesterday's victories," Kaldur started as they walked down a hallway. "But one thing still has not changed."
"Somehow," Robin narrowed his eyes, "the bad guys are still getting inside intel about us."
"Yeah," Kid Flash agreed, "But at least we know none of us are the mole."
Artemis's eyes widened as she remembered Roy's words. "I know who the mole is; don't trust-"
Don't trust who? Roy never finished….
"That's correct….." Batman cut into their conversation from where he was in the debriefing room. "The mole…..was Red Arrow."
"That can't be…" Artemis whispered as she watched Red Arrow's picture show up.
"Roy?" Robin questioned in disbelief.
"No way!" Kid Flash protested.
"Batman," Kaldur argued. "That cannot be: he was Green Arrow's protégé. We have all known him for years!"
Artemis cast a side-glance at the rest of her teammates. M'gann and Zatanna were extremely surprised, while Rocket seemed confused. Superboy only looked aggravated and angry.
"Unfortunately," Red Tornado inputted, "the Roy Harper we have known for the last three years was another Project Cadmus clone."
Batman added, "We've learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick."
So the Roy she had known wasn't real?
No, she told herself, He's just as real as Superboy is at the very least.
"The clone was pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League," Batman continued, "which is why he was so angry with any delays to his admission and refused to join the Team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone or a traitor, and his subconscious programming drove him to become….League-worthy. So he struck out on his own as Red Arrow. When he was finally admitted, his secondary program kicked in, and he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage. Fortunately, I had already deduced Red Arrow was a clone; we were prepared."
"Savage was subdued," Red Tornado stated, "but Red Arrow escaped. He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous."
Superboy's eyebrows were still furrowed as he rubbed his neck. "If you guys hadn't rescued me from Cadmus…."
"What-what happened to the real Roy?" Robin spoke up, not looking whelmed in the least.
"We don't know," Batman's eyes narrowed. One could easily assume that Batman didn't like to admit that he had limited knowledge on some things. "He isn't at Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper….is dead."
Silence came over the whole Cave as the three original sidekicks mourned the real Roy Harper's apparent death.
Robin's face scrunched up in morose. Zatanna, with a shy, hesitant smile, reached out to put a reassuring hand on Robin's shoulder.
Kid Flash visibly slumped, and Artemis couldn't help but feel really bad for him.
"The Clone Roy," Kaldur's voice cracked. "The Team will find him."
"Negative," Batman answered, "Red Arrow's a member of the Justice League now…..Leave him to us….If any of you know anything of his whereabouts or manage to come into contact with him, let us know.."
Artemis could've sworn he glanced particularly at her for the last part, but that could've been her imagination.
A 'beep' emitted from Batman's intercom, and he listened to it in silence for a few moments.
"I'm needed on the Watchtower. Tornado, stay with the kids." Batman announced as he exited through the Zeta-Beam.
Artemis narrowed her eyes. Something was off about the whole situation. True, Batman was considered the world's greatest detective, but that didn't mean that he knew everything about clone Roy. The way he told them made it seem as if he was given the information ahead of time and clearly knew everything.
Kaldur turned around to face the rest of the Team. "Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us." His eyes narrowed. "We will go after him."
"Kaldur's right. We need to find Red Arrow," The thought came out before Artemis could even stop it.
Meanwhile, Red Tornado had come up behind Kaldur and extended his hand out to him. Before he could touch him, Red Tornado shut down. The whole Team moved forward in concern.
"Tornado!" M'gann exclaimed worriedly. Kid Flash stepped up to peer up into his face.
"What happened to him?" Conner asked in curiosity.
"He's totally powered down," Kid Flash observed.
"All functions offline," Robin added as he opened up the screen on his wrist watch.
"Guys," Zatanna cut in, putting her hands on her head, "I'm sensing a low-level mystic force at play… I-I don't know if it caused his shutdown, but…"
The Team waited in silence, waiting for Zatanna to finish her thought.
Zatanna frowned, "Now that I think about it, I was getting the same buzz off of Batman!"
"Batman," Robin looked up from his wrist watch, "He….called us kids! He never does that!"
"Look," Kid Flash said suddenly. He grabbed a small chip out of Red Tornado's hand, "One of those bio –tech chips that we confiscated off Cheshire!"
"Something is not right," Kaldur looked down thoughtfully. "Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Rocket…."
As he said each of their names, they all glanced at him.
"See if you can get Red Tornado back online," Kaldur ordered. "The rest with me to find Ro- ….Red Arrow."
Artemis smiled in relief, despite the situation. She was glad she didn't have to volunteer to search for Roy…that would've brought up questioning looks from the Team.
But just not to seem too eager or make it obvious, Artemis fell towards the back of the group as she, Kaldur, M'gann, and Conner all ran off towards the hanger.
Washington D.C.,
December 31, 9:25 EDT
"Computer logs indicate that Red Arrow zeta'd to the Hall from the Watch Tower." Artemis reported from her seat on the bio-ship. She added frustratedly, "But he could be anywhere by now!"
Kaldur turned towards Artemis, "After Roy went solo, he installed equipment cashes in several major cities. One is here."
The bio ship slowly began to descend in front of a shoddy- looking apartment building.
"Stay here," Kaldur ordered. "I will do this alone."
"No," Artemis protested, standing up. "I'll go with you too..."
Upon seeing Kaldur's raised eyebrow, Artemis rushed to explain, "You know, so you have back-up."
"This would be A16," Artemis stopped at an apartment door.
Kaldur tried to turn the doorknob, but when the door wouldn't open, he kicked the door down.
The room was dark; the only light coming rather dimly from the windows and the hallway.
Kaldur stepped forward into the room, glancing around before speaking. "I have not come to harm or apprehend you…..but the Team requires answers."
Artemis treaded in behind him. She could just barely make out Roy's figure near the windows. He had an arrow notched in his bow, ready to shoot.
"Me first," Red Arrow answered, his voice slightly raspy. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that you two would just happen to show up here. Both of you tell me something you've never told anyone else."
Kaldur sighed, slumping significantly, "The girl I loved chose my best friend over me. Meanwhile, my best friend on the surface aims an arrow at my heart."
Artemis blinked. She had never known how much Kaldur truly was holding on his shoulder. She thought he only had to deal with the responsibility of leading the Team!
"You too," Red Arrow turned to her, with the arrow still notched.
Kaldur looked at her expectantly.
"I…." Artemis started. What could she say that was okay if Kaldur heard too?
Red Arrow's eyes narrowed, "I'll come up with the questions, then. What did we do November 5?"
"We…" Artemis gulped as she struggled to remember exactly. "We went to the Happy Harbor Gala together."
He was still pointing an arrow at her heart. "And what line did you translate for me?"
Artemis racked her brain to recall. Then it struck her like lightning. "I'm lost," Artemis said softly, walking towards him. "Could you give me the directions to your heart?"
Red Arrow slowly lowered his bow. "So you're both legit."
Kaldur gave both Red Arrow and Artemis a weird look, but did not say anything.
"Roy," Artemis said quietly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "When you contacted me earlier, who did you not want me to trust?"
Red Arrow closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, "The Justice League. They're under the control of Vandal Savage."
"We have suspected as much," Kaldur replied. "Though Red Tornado may be of help to us. Robin, Kid Flash, Zatanna, and Rocket are trying to bring him back online."
"Well," Artemis walked back over to the door, "What are we waiting for?"
"We were told you were the mole," Kaldur started, his voice slightly echoing off of the bio ship's walls. "But we have reason to doubt."
"Forget doubt," Red Arrow somewhat bitterly answered. "I was the mole."
"Batman and Tornado…." Conner spoke up from behind Red Arrow, "said that you….were a Cadmus clone like me."
Red Arrow took in what he said, "That explains it."
He sighed, "I was a sleeper agent, preprogrammed to infiltrate the League. I think…." He paused. "Sportsmaster was my handler. He had a key phrase, 'Broken Arrow', that shut me down; put me in a hypnotic state. He'd steal secrets for his superiors or…incorporate further programming."
No one in the bio ship interrupted him. If Red Arrow ever needed space before, he definitely needed it now.
"I've been carrying out the orders subconsciously, completely unaware of what drove me," Red Arrow looked downright ashamed. He turned to face Conner, M'gann, and Artemis. "I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion on the three of you."
Artemis's eyes widened. That would have explained why he had suddenly started mistrusting her back in New Orleans!
And Dad was at the apartment around the time Roy came to supposedly apologize. No wonder he seemed even worse to me the next time!
Red Arrow looked every one of the former mole suspects in the eye. "I'm sorry."
"You couldn't help it," Artemis told him. "It's something that couldn't be prevented."
"I'm sorry," M'gann apologetically cut in, "But how is it that you are no longer enslaved?"
"No Starro-Tech for starters," Red Arrow spat out the next words in disgust. "Just my Cadmus programming. And once I had satisfied its last parameter, my mind began to clear. "
"And was that when you had contacted Artemis?" Kaldur suddenly asked.
Artemis's face flushed. She had been hoping that Kaldur hadn't heard or had perhaps overlooked what she said earlier.
Oh, the thoughts that must have been running through their hands right now...
"Contacted Artemis?" M'gann looked confused.
"No," Red Arrow answered unfazed by the weird look M'gann and Conner were giving him and Artemis. "I did that once I escaped. I'm sure Savage planned to starro-tech me, though, but he paused to….bask in his success."
"Then I guess we should be glad that he liked gloating," Artemis spoke up. "Or you'd be with the rest of the Justice League."
"I promise," M'gann said solemnly from the pilot chair, "I can clean any residual programming from your mind."
The Watchtower,
December 31, 7:16 EDT
"The six members of the League have successfully departed for Rimbor," A feminine voice reported. The owner's eyes darted around in slight nervousness for once.
"Excellent." Her superior's back was still towards her. "I'd say you've been rather useful to the Light."
"I'd suppose," the girl answered humbly. "It is an honor to serve the Light in whatever way I can."
"Yes," the man droned. "It is. But you've been…distracted lately. You've been spending a little too much time on your 'project'... And the Light requires your service to its fullest potential…."
The girl stepped back, startled by his response. "What do you mean?"
Vandal Savage turned around from the window calmly, "You are useless to us distracted. And your emotions have started to become an issue with your loyalty."
The girl found her voice, "I am 100% faithful and dedicated to the Light!"
"Yes," Vandal Savage smiled slyly as footsteps echoed behind her. "You are."
He watched in satisfaction as a horned-boy came up behind her. The boy leaned forward, evidently whispering taunts into her ear as he placed his hand onto her neck.
She froze almost immediately, stiffening up for a few seconds. Then her body began to visibly relax and the expression in her eyes disappeared. She feel to her knees and bowed her head at Vandal Savage's feet.
"I live to serve the Light, and the Light only." the girl's voice was in complete monotone, devoid of any emotion.
"That's better," the boy purred from behind her.
Vandal Savage grinned from where he stood, looking down on the girl. "You belong entirely to the Light now."
Yeah, that's all I have so far. I know it's taken me a REALLY long time to get it, but I've been sort of busy. The ending is terrible, I know. But I wanted to submit something soon and a better ending would've taken longer. I'll probably use the switch-out feature to add something later though.
And change in plans, Buried Secrets will have more chapters. I think there'll be three, maybe four more chapters. Originally, this was supposed to be the second to last chapter.
Artemis confronts Alice about her adjustment, and Alice reveals that she had an older brother. Piece of advice, you might want to remember that for the sequel…..which by the way, needs some suggestions for the title.
Roy is now known by the Team to be the real Mole, as well as a Cadmus clone. Kaldur also has a small insight on what's really going on between Artemis and Roy.
If any of you pay attention to the hints, you can guess the people in the last scene and what actually happened.
Please give me your comments, opinions, and suggestions!