AN: Okay, so I know I said this would be updated every other week but inspiration for this chapter came rather quickly and wouldn't leave me alone until I got it out (not that you guys mind, I'm sure :P). Thank you for all the reviews and favorites, I'm glad to see you're all still enjoying this story. Oh, and Kyer, in answer to your question on why they're working with their mentors on different nights, it's because if they were out on the same night their attention would be divided between focusing on the task at hand and worrying about each other. Their mentors knew this and figured it would be easier taking one at a time since they knew they wouldn't work in Central Gotham without the other person to back them up. I meant to put that in the last chapter and completely forgot in the course of writing, my apologies. I hope that explanation helped clear that up. Now, on to chapter ten!
Warning: I feel I should warn you all that it might get slightly…gruesome at a point in this chapter. A bit graphic I suppose. If any of you are faint of heart I suggest you read with caution.
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any of its characters. (Though I was excited to finally see a new episode, even if it was just Superboy and Miss Martian).
Before they were even fully ready for it, Tuesday night rolled around and Wally and Artemis were facing down their first night apart. They had avoided talking about it at all on Sunday or the night before while they were out on patrol, but now the reality of the situation left them with little choice.
Artemis had snuck out of her dorm room shortly after lights out was called and students began making their way to bed across the campus. That had given them a couple of hours to talk before Wally had to take off for Central City. For the most part, they had just laid side-by-side on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and talking about whatever came to mind. They stayed like that until a soft beeping noise sounded through the dark room, finally forcing Wally to get up and get ready.
"Promise me you won't go out on patrol on your own tonight, please," Wally asked as he finished suiting up and pulled on his boots.
"I promise," Artemis answered with a roll of her eyes and a teasing smile on her lips. "For the hundredth time," she added. Wally had asked her to promise not to leave campus periodically through the night since she had climbed through his window and increasingly more often since the alarm had gone off.
"I get it," Wally said with a tired sigh and a wry smile on his face. "I'm just worried about you."
"I know," Artemis replied, her smile softer and more pronounced. "But it's yourself you should be worrying about, not me," she told him before she stepped closer and pulled him into a tight hug. "Just make sure you come back to me in one whole, still alive and breathing piece. I'll let scrapes and minor bruises slide, but don't come back broken and bloody."
Wally's arms automatically wrapped around Artemis' lower back and locked her securely against his chest. "I'll come back safe," he whispered into her hair.
"Promise?" she asked, her voice vibrating against his shoulder and neck where she had tucked her head.
"Promise," he returned and held her just a little closer.
They stood like that for a moment longer, not a word passing between them, until the glowing numbers of Wally's alarm clock told them it was ten minutes till eleven.
"You should get going," Artemis said as she finally stepped away. "You need to be in Central City by eleven anyway, right?"
"It won't take me ten minutes to get there, Arty," Wally teased. "I'm quite a bit faster than that you know."
"Oh whatever," Artemis huffed out with another roll of her eyes before she shooed him towards his windows. "I'm crashing here tonight," she informed him as she made her way over to his bed. "I don't feel like walking all the way back to my dorm now so you'll just have to deal."
Wally chuckled to himself and shook his head slightly. "Whatever you say, princess. That just means my bed will be warm when I get back."
"And who says you get your bed back?" Artemis replied with a scoff as she burrowed her way beneath the warm covers on Wally's bed.
"You'll just have to learn to share before I get back then," Wally returned easily, a fond smile on his lips. "Sleep well Artemis," he added as he opened the windows to his balcony.
"Wake me when you get back," Artemis reminded him before a gust of wind told her the red headed boy had sped off.
When Impulse skidded to a halt in Central City a few seconds later he only had a short moment to look around before the Flash zipped up next to him.
"Black?" the red suited hero asked. "Hmm, not sure how well that will go over with the color scheme I've got going on. How do you feel about yellow and red?" he asked as he considered Impulse carefully, his hand on his chin.
"Black and grey," Impulse corrected, giving a quick glance down at his suit. "And this works for me, I'm not changing it."
"What about the name?" the Flash asked jovially, not at all deterred by Impulse's dismissal. "Impulse isn't bad, but what do you think of Kid Flash?"
Impulse raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Perhaps, if I was five. As it stands, I'm sixteen and I've got a hero name that doesn't sound demeaning."
"All right then," the Flash said with a chuckle. "Let's get moving, huh? Maybe I can teach you a thing or two about your powers while we're out."
Impulse shrugged passively and followed after his mentor. They spent much of the night zipping around town getting the teenager accustomed to the city. Flash would occasionally point out important landmarks or areas of note as they sped through. Through the course of their exploration they ended up stopping a couple muggings and one armed robbery before the night was out. Impulse took a bullet to the arm during the robbery and the Flash set about looking him over once they found a quiet moment away from the police and reporters.
"You all right kid?" he asked after seeing that the crooks had been locked away in the back of a police car.
"Lucky shot," Impulse replied, already disinfecting his wound. "It just grazed me; it'll be healed in no time. I just don't know how they managed that shot in the first place."
"Unfortunately, that comes with the territory of being the guardian in this city," the Flash answered, a wry grin on his face. "Even the normal criminals know what to expect from a speedster and can plan accordingly. It probably didn't help that you're new to this city either."
"Wouldn't be the first time I've been shot," Impulse replied with a dismissive shrug. "My guess is it probably won't be the last either. Besides, it heals quickly enough."
"I'd be careful how much you rely on that ability kid," the Flash warned. "It's handy, I'll admit, but it can't heal everything. If you die, that's it; it can't bring you back. That said, it also has the downside of tiring you out faster. It draws heavily from your stored energy and the worse the wound, the more it has to take."
"I'm aware," Impulse replied even as the torn flesh of his arm knit itself back together. "But thanks for the heads up."
"No problem kid," the Flash answered as he ruffled Impulse's hair. "Think you're good for one last run through the city? Maybe we can work on getting you better at phasing yourself through solid matter along the way."
"We can give it a shot at least," Impulse answered.
"Not very expressive, are you kid?" the Flash asked thoughtfully.
"It takes time," Impulse answered. "I don't open up to others until I know I can trust them."
The Flash was silent for a moment, just watching his younger counterpart thoughtfully. "Well, it's ultimately up to you kid," he began. "But I'll let you know you can trust me."
"Perhaps," Impulse said, though a slight smile was on his lips for a brief moment. "And my name is Impulse," he added. "I'm not a kid and I don't appreciate you constantly calling me that."
"All right then Impulse," the Flash said, stretching carefully even as a smirk spread across his face. "How about we do this last run through and get speeding your way back to your girl, huh?" Without another word, Flash took off leaving Impulse to quickly follow after him.
"She's not my girl," Impulse mumbled to himself even as a slight blush dusted his cheeks. "Not like that anyway, even if she possibly is sleeping in my bed."
Sure enough, when Wally returned later that night Artemis was still buried beneath his covers, sound asleep. He allowed himself a moment to smile softly at the blonde girl holding one of his pillows close to her chest before he set about getting out of his uniform. On moments like these, he found himself thinking on their relationship and just what it really was. However, fear of losing what he had with his closest friend inevitably led him to abandoning that train of thought and focus on the task at hand. It was only once he was in his pajamas that he gently nudged Artemis awake.
"You back?" she asked groggily as she shifted out of the way so Wally could climb into his own bed as well.
"Obviously," Wally teased as he slid beneath the covers.
"Oh shut up," Artemis grumbled as she relinquished her hold on his pillow when Wally tugged on it gently. "Are you hurt?" she asked while she waited for him to settle himself in the bed. The second he had stopped moving and shifting around she snuggled up to him, wrapping her arms around him and using his chest as her pillow. She smiled contentedly when Wally's arm came around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer to him.
"Nothing serious," Wally finally answered Artemis' question once they were both comfortable. "It was a pretty quiet night."
"Good," Artemis mumbled before yawning widely and letting her eyes drift closed. "Night."
"Night," Wally replied with a soft squeeze of her shoulders as they both drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Wednesday night went much the same way, with the exception of Wally running Artemis into Star City for her night with her new mentor and promising to pick her up when Green Arrow finally let her go for the night. Green Arrow had given Wally an odd look when the teenager had come speeding up to him with Artemis, fully uniformed, on his back.
"You're taking a risk, being around two heroes in just your civilian clothing," Green Arrow had warned the young speedster.
"Then I'll wear goggles from now on," Wally returned with an unconcerned shrug. He gave Artemis a quick hug and reminded her to call him the second she was free before he sped back off for Gotham Academy.
"You two are very close," Green Arrow observed after Wally had left.
"Really? Is it that obvious?" Artemis asked sarcastically as she marcher her way past her assigned mentor. "And here I thought we were hiding it so well."
"You're quite the spitfire," Green Arrow chuckled. "Makes me almost wonder how that poor boy deals with it. Then again, he's no pushover himself, even if he does appear a tad...unemotional."
Artemis spun around and glared at the older hero. "Are you done?" she growled. "Cause I was under the impression that I'm here to 'learn something', not discuss my personal life," she sneered. "And don't you ever insult Wally again, understand?" she added in a low and threatening growl.
Green Arrow held up his hands in surrender. "Easy, easy. I didn't mean any offense; simply an observation. Your boy doesn't seem the type to open up easily to other people and he stays very...in control of himself more often than not," the older hero finished delicately.
"One of us has to be," Artemis replied with a dismissive shrug after a moment's pause. "It helps that one of us can keep a level head all the time and he's got his own reasons for staying detached from others," she added with another glare. "Now are we actually going to be patrolling or can I go ahead and call Wally back to pick me up?"
"All right, all right," Green Arrow chuckled again. "Follow me and we'll get you used to this city in no time. In time, we'll get you heading back home with your boy."
"He's not my boyfriend," Artemis said shortly, though she was both puzzled and slightly concerned when she felt almost like she was lying as she said it. "We've been together for a long time and we've promised we'll never leave each other, that's all," she added, hoping telling the truth would make the odd feeling left behind from her previous statement disappear.
"I see," Green Arrow replied, quite obviously trying, and failing, to hide his mirth at the response. "Well, regardless, let's get through this night in one piece and we'll get you back to your best friend in no time."
Artemis nodded, slightly suspicious of her mentor's amusement of her answer, but decided to let it go when she found that the older hero actually had some useful tips and pointers that would help with her archery skills. By the end of the night she couldn't quite say that she liked her mentor, but she was certainly willing to be less hostile towards him. Assuming, of course, that he didn't do something incredibly idiotic that would make her revise her opinion.
Thursday night returned to the normal routine of the pair sneaking off campus and back into Central Gotham to do what they had come to do best. By Friday they were packing overnight bags and meeting the rest of the team to take off for South America as soon as school let out.
"So how are we getting there?" Wally asked, looking around the empty hanger of Mount Justice where the six teens stood waiting. "We taking Wonder Woman's invisible jet?"
"Actually, we'll be taking my bio-ship," M'Gann replied sheepishly as it shimmered into visibility in front of them. "We just have to wait to get the coordinates from Batman and any other mission details we need before we head out."
"Great, more waiting," Artemis bit out as she rolled her eyes and let her duffel bag fall to the cold stone at her feet.
"Patience is a virtue," Dick sing-songed, a smirk firmly in place on his face.
"And I'm no saint," Artemis returned easily. "If you want patience, talk to Wally," she added with a jerk of her thumb to the red-head slumped against the wall. A frown suddenly pulled at the blonde girl's lips when she took a good look at her best friend. He was leaning heavily against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, head down and eyes closed. "Wally?" she asked as she approached him. "Are you okay?"
Wally raised his head and blinked owlishly at his best friend for a moment. "Tired," he finally mumbled sleepily.
Artemis regarded him silently, looking him over for any wounds they might have missed the night before. They had stayed out later than usual Thursday night in an effort to make up for missing Tuesday, Wednesday and now Friday night. By the time they had dragged themselves in they were both bleary eyed and exhausted. But Wally seemed more than just tired; he almost seemed run down. Suddenly it hit her and her eyes narrowed. "Wally?" she began. "Have you eaten anything yet today?"
Wally shook his head groggily. "No time," he mumbled. "Missed my alarm and rushed to get to class. Slept through lunch, couldn't get dinner."
"You need to eat something," Artemis stated, the frown on her face growing more pronounced as she looked around the hanger. "Anything to snack on?"
Wally shook his head. "Been too busy to restore my cupboards."
"Hey!" Artemis called to her teammates. "Do any of you have anything to eat? Wally's running low and needs to recharge."
"I've got a couple of chocolate bars," Dick said, stepping up with two rectangular foiled objects. "Will that be enough? I think Miss M has a meal packed in the ship for the six of us. I'm pretty sure she took your eating habits into account."
"These should be enough to hold me over," Wally replied, reaching out for to proffered bars. "Whatever she's got pack will probably help me charge back up. Food and sleep help."
"It had better; you'll be hitting the ground running on this one," Batman said as he walked in. "Ideally, you'd all be operating at 100 percent. However, as that isn't the case, I'd suggest that you remain alert and vigilant on this one. Don't leave yourselves open for rookie mistakes. That said, maintain radio silence at all times. It has not been confirmed whether this group has monitoring devices or not, but it's best to assume that they can listen in on any radio signal communications. Your coordinates have already been uploaded to the ship's mainframe. You have this weekend and this weekend only to complete this mission; you are expected back here no later than ten o'clock Sunday night. Good luck."
"Huh, not flying as blind as I thought," Wally joked to Artemis as the six teens climbed aboard the bio-ship. After scarfing down the two candy bars he was looking considerably better. "Though I notice not a lot of what we've been told has any real, helpful value for this mission."
"Well, we'll just have to watch our backs then, won't we?" Artemis replied. "You watch mine, I watch yours?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Wally asked with a brief but genuine smile on his face. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
The flight into South America turned out to be an eight hour flight, even factoring in the bio-ship's ability to fly faster than commercial airliners or jets. Due to Wally's need to get something more into his system than two candy bars, the teens ate the meal M'Gann had packed relatively early. Shortly after Wally had finished his larger-than-average portion he promptly tipped his seat back, slung an arm over his eyes and fell right to sleep.
"I'll never understand how he can just tune everything out and go to sleep like that," Dick said with an amused shake of his head.
"It's a special talent of his," Artemis replied with a shrug. "He's been doing it since we were kids. I'm pretty sure he could sleep through an earthquake if he was tired enough."
Wally mumbled something unintelligible in response and rolled over in his sleep. Artemis smiled fondly at her best friend and went in back to grab him a blanket. She tossed the material over him and settled into her own seat, ready to talk over the mission with the others, intent on filling Wally in when he woke up.
Before Wally was even really ready for it, Artemis was shaking him awake and telling him to suit up. He grumbled under his breath but stood from his seat and stretched, grabbed his suit from Artemis' hands and made his way to the back of the ship. In less than two seconds later he was back up front, dressed all in black and grey. The ship landed outside a small town and Miss Martian quickly cloaked it after they had disembarked.
"I think the first thing we should do is head into town and ask questions, see if any of the townsfolk know anything," Aqualad began.
"That's all well and good," Artemis snorted. "But only if one of you knows Spanish. I seriously doubt we're going to find many English speakers this far into the country and in the more backwater area too."
"I know a bit of Spanish," Robin piped up. "Took conversational Spanish in middle school," he added with a grin.
As it turned out, the need to understand the local language was a moot point. No sooner had the six teens started their way through the thick jungle to the village than screams split the air ahead of them. Without a second though, they burst into action. Superboy took off running with Miss Martian trailing close behind in the air. Aqualad darted through the trees behind his two teammates while Robin did his ninja thing and leapt through the canopy above, using his grappling hook to get through faster. Impulse paused long enough for Artemis to climb onto his back, made sure he had a firm hold on her legs and her arms were locked around his neck, before he took off like a shot, nimbly dodging through the jungle growth until he burst out through the other side. He finally skidded to a halt at a hilltop just outside the village below.
The sight that met his eyes was five teenagers, all around fourteen to seventeen, terrorizing the villagers. One boy shot fire through his hands at a fleeing mother and child, instantly swallowing them up within the glowing orange flames. The woman and child screamed once, a short and agonized sound sent into the night air, before it was cut off and the smell of burning flesh reached the pair just outside the village. Impulse heard a choking sound from behind him and turned his head to look slightly at Artemis.
"That was just," Artemis began, unable to finish her sentence when she choked and had to look away.
"I know," Impulse whispered in reply as he turned back to the scene of the village. He felt sick, watching what was happening, especially when he saw no emotion on the faces or in the eyes of the teenagers attacking the village. He wanted to turn away, to block out the agonized screams and forget everything he had already seen, but like a horrific train wreck, he found he could not tear his gaze away. He watched as another girl appeared to be teleporting throughout the village, wicked blades flashing dangerously in her hands as she tore through anyone in her way. A second boy seemed to be relying on a type of telekinesis to lift villagers high into the air and send them crashing back into the ground in crumpled heaps. The last two of the group, a boy and a girl, seemed to be working in tandem to, for lack of a better explanation, pull the water from the people around them to leave only dried out husks behind. One of them would grab hold of a villager and drag the water from within them while the other kept guard as it appeared to be a time consuming task that left the user exposed.
"We've got to do something," Artemis said at last as she climbed off of Impulse's back and quickly set up her bow and nocked an arrow. Taking mere seconds to aim, she sent the beeping arrow flying near the twins taking people's water.
"Exploding arrow?" Impulse asked as it flew true and sent the two flying in a spray of dirt that showered down on everyone nearby.
"Obviously," Artemis replied with a nod. "Now get in there, I've got your back." She didn't get a verbal answer, just a slight breeze to her left and a sudden empty space next to her. A blur moving around the fire starter let her know where her best friend was and she set about both keeping an eye on him and keeping the water twins from getting close enough to anyone else.
"Where's Impulse?" Superboy asked as he and Miss Martian finally caught up. Artemis was briefly annoyed that it had taken them so long but then reminded herself that none of them could move as fast as her best friend.
"Down there," she still growled in reply, mostly annoyed that the twins didn't seem to stay down long enough regardless of what she threw at them. "Now get in there and help him. I've got the twins pinned down and he's taking care of Fire Boy over there, but we can't do this alone." Her attention was momentarily diverted to Impulse when a jet of fire clipped him, lighting him up as he sped around. She quickly yanked an arrow from her quiver and sent it flying, watching to see the white foam explode over her best friend and quickly douse the flames. She saw him wave once vaguely in her direction before jumping right back in.
"We're on it," Superboy said before he leapt off the hill and landed heavily in the village. He looked around once went off after the telekinetic boy.
"He's going to need help," Miss Martian added aloud before taking off after the teenaged Superman clone.
"What's the status," Robin asked as he an Aqualad caught up as well.
"Just take a look," Artemis groused, another exploding arrow breaking the earth between the twins and another potential victim.
"Impulse cannot handle the boy with the fire," Aqualad thought aloud. "His powers make him more susceptible to being lit aflame."
"You think?" Artemis retorted. "Oh come on! What do I need to do, shoot you with a real arrow? Just stay down, damnit!" she screamed at the twins as the got up once again, only this time they turned their attention to her and began to make their way towards the hill. "All right, fine then," she growled. "I'm just about out of arrows anyway." She let her bow fold itself back up and slid it into place on her belt.
"Robin, you stay here and assist Artemis with the twins, I will go and take over for Impulse as his powers would be better suited to stopping the girl that is teleporting," Aqualad said before he started down the hill after the team's speedster.
"He better stay safe," Artemis spoke, sparring a glance down the opposite side of the hill. "I don't want to find him any more beat up than he already is."
"He'll be fine," Robin replied, not having to ask who the blonde girl was talking about. "We should just focus on keeping ourselves alive for now. So what're we looking at here?"
"Hard to explain," Artemis responded, watching warily as the twins got closer. "Best way to explain it is that they dehydrate you just by touching you, like they pull every last drop of water from your body and leave a dried out husk behind. It takes time though, that's why they work together. One pulls it off while the other watches their backs."
"Well, that's definitely not…turbing," Robin answered.
"I'd ask," Artemis began. "But we don't have time for you to explain. Get ready, Bird Boy, because here they come."
Later, when the teenagers in Young Justice would write up their own reports they would find themselves amazed at how little time actually passed once they got to the village and ended up following the five other teenagers back to their hideout. At the time, however, as they were caught up in the moment, time seemed to stretch out almost indefinitely. As it was, however, they found themselves trading blows and gaining the upper hand every once in a while, only for it to slip and have their opponents get the better of them. Finally, after what was really only a few minutes, the Young Justice team found themselves beating their opponents back. They were simultaneously getting ready to subdue and capture the inexplicably super powered teenagers before them when the five of them suddenly stood stalk straight before turning around and dashing off into the night.
Impulse cursed under his breath and got ready to take off after the teleporting girl, despite the multiple cuts and light burns littering his skin when Aqualad's voice sounded in his head.
Wait, the dark skinned pseudo leader if the team called over the mental link between the six teens. We must regroup before giving chase.
Are you kidding me?, Impulse asked. The longer we wait, the further away they'll get. We can't run the risk of losing the trial.
I'm keeping an eye on them, Superboy replied. I've got a lock on their heat signatures. We can catch up, don't worry.
Grumbling under his breath as he threw a dark glare off in the direction the girl had disappeared in; Impulse made his way back to the hilltop and regrouped with the rest of the team. He was slightly worried to find Artemis slightly pale and sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. A quick look over at the youngest member of the team showed him Robin was in much the same condition
"Hey, are you all right?" Impulse asked his blonde headed best friend as he took a seat next to her.
"Been better," Artemis replied. "I let one of them get too close and she got her hand around my arm," she added with a quick movement of her left arm. Impulse looked over and saw a vaguely hand-shaped dry patch on her skin. "I just need some water," she continued after seeing the worried expression on Impulse's face. "She didn't manage to take much, but she took enough to make me tired."
"Now that we are all here," Aqualad interrupted. "How is everyone doing? Is anyone incapable of continuing with the mission at the moment?"
Five other heads shook "no", almost in unison, though Superboy's eyes stayed glued deep within the jungle.
"We'd better get going," Robin said as he pulled himself to his feet. "We don't want them to get too far away and I think this is long enough for them to think we're not following them."
"I don't think they think of much of anything," Impulse replied as he helped Artemis up and handed over a small bottle of water he had dug out of the small pack she had kept strapped to her right leg. "They didn't seem all that inclined to do much other than cause as much death and destruction that they could and even then they didn't seem to care. Usually, when you deal with criminals you get two types; those that are acting on desperation or those sick assholes that just enjoy causing mayhem. These guys didn't seem desperate or like they were taking sadistic pleasure in it. They were just, blank. Almost like they weren't aware of what they were doing, or they just weren't all there," he added as he tapped his head.
"Do you think someone's controlling them?" Artemis asked after she had pulled a long pull of water from the bottle.
"The only way to know for sure would be to follow after them," Miss Martian answered.
"Let's get going then," Superboy said as he turned from the group and started off into the jungle. "They went this way."
A twenty minute walk brought the six teens to the edge of a large compound hidden deep within the jungle vegetation. A large stone building with metal pipes and smokestacks dotting the roof, loomed up before them and guards could be seen walking the perimeter and between the six flatbed fourteen wheeler trucks that had been backed up to the back wall. Dirty, white-grey smoke curled up from the smoke stacks into the humid air, sending an odd smell to the noses of the six teenagers.
"What is this place?" Artemis asked quietly.
"My guess, the place we were sent to find," Impulse answered. "How're we doing this?" he asked a little louder so the rest of the team could hear.
"We need to have a look around," Aqualad answered. "We need to get as much information as we can about this whole operation."
"So we all sneak in?" Robin asked, a strange and somewhat gleeful note to his voice. "Should be easy enough," he chuckled.
"We go in in teams of two," Aqualad confirmed. "Stay hidden and stay in constant contact through Miss Martian's mental link. I want constant updates and if you feel like you've been seen, let the rest of the team know; we will make our way to your location and get out. I think half an hour should be long enough to get any useful information. Do not forget to grab samples of anything you can."
"All right then, Artemis and I will see you all here in half an hour," Impulse replied as he stood, scooped Artemis up into his arms and took off to the compound.
"But, you haven't assigned teams yet," Miss Martian said, confused.
"Don't sweat it, Miss M; they'll probably work better together than with one of us anyway. Right now, we need to stay out of sight and the two of them know each other to the point they don't even need to talk. That'll come in handy right now," Robin answered.
Impulse and Artemis got into the compound easily enough and immediately slipped into the shadows, sneaking past guards as they tried to locate a computer. Finally Artemis spotted one far enough away from the factory floor where workers were loading boxes of strange, glowing purplish-blue liquid. She quickly hacked her way into the mainframe and started downloading any files that looked important.
"I know Robin'll probably do the same thing," she whispered to Impulse while he kept watch. "But I figure that will just cover our bases and get more information in the end."
"So what is this stuff and who is it being shipped to?" Impulse asked.
"Don't know what it is," Artemis replied. "But shipping invoices show it going to various members of the League of Shadows across the world?"
"To do what with it?" Impulse asked.
"No clue," Artemis said with a shake of her head. "I think we'd need a sample of that stuff to find out what it does."
"Will you be all right on your own if I go grab us one?" Impulse threw over his shoulder.
"I'll be fine for the few seconds it'll take you, yes," Artemis smiled. "Now get going before you lose a good opportunity."
After Artemis had finished downloading anything she deemed important off the servers and Impulse had returned they continued on their way through the compound. Muffled voices drew them down a dark set of stairs and through a poorly lit hallway until they found themselves listening to the sounds of people sobbing and muffled begging. They exchanged a quick glance and moved forward slightly faster until the hallway ended at a darkened observation deck over a medical bay. Three teenagers, all of them dark haired and dark skinned, were strapped to cold metal tables and shirtless. Their mouths were gagged, but Impulse and Artemis could see tears running down their faces as they begged and pleaded with the men in lab coats at each table. Each man at the tables were wearing white masks that obscured their faces. One man at the front of the room nodded once to the others and each of them pulled a large needle from their pockets, filled with the same purplish-blue liquid. The teenagers began to struggle in earnest when the needles were produced, pushing and straining against their bonds.
"Struggling will not help you," the man at the front said, his tone exasperated as though he'd said the same thing many times before. "I suggest you just lie still and let us work, it will be so much easier for us that way."
Almost as one, the men at the tables shoved the needles into the arms of the teens and let the liquid flow into their systems. A horrible, wailing scream tore from each of their throats, almost as though they were being boiled alive from the inside out. They fought against the bonds harder and all three soon had blood dribbling from parts of their skin they had rubbed raw. As Impulse and Artemis watched, one of the teenagers began to bleed heavily from the eyes and ears, the thick red liquid dripping off the table to the floor, before he stilled and did not move again, his eyes rolling back into his head. The other two screamed even louder for a moment longer, the agonized sounds reverberating through the medical bay and up into the observation deck where Impulse and Artemis crouched in the dark, watching with almost identical looks of horror in their faces. Finally, the screaming stopped and the two teenagers still alive slumped to the table, breathing heavily, but their faces devoid of any emotion.
"Well?" a deep male voice asked as the doors to the medical bay swished open. "How many this batch?"
"We lost one," the man at the front of the room replied. "But the other two seem stable now. Their vitals are reading normal at any rate. Only time will tell if it was a complete success with them."
"Time is not something we have, we're moving out tonight," the man replied as he stepped from the shadows and into the brightly lit room. He was tall and broad shouldered with close cropped blond hair and a hockey mask over his face that allowed only for his blue-grey eyes to be seen with any real clarity. "Get them ready for transport and loaded into a truck as soon as possible."
"Of course," the head doctor replied as he pushed his glasses further up his narrow nose. "They will be ready to move within the hour."
From her place next to Impulse Artemis let out a short, strangled gasp and fell backwards onto her hands.
"What's wrong?" Impulse demanded, alarmed at her odd behavior.
"Wally, take a good look at the man that just walked in," Artemis replied shakily, too nervous to remember not to use his real name.
"Well shit," Impulse cursed after doing as directed. "That's who I think it is, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Artemis replied as she tried to regain whatever control over herself she could. "Yeah, that's my dad."
AN2: Well, Artemis' dad returns and yes, for those wondering, he is Sportsmaster. I'm still a bit nervous about this chapter, as it was more graphic than anything I've written prior in this story, so please let me know what you think. Reviews are helpful and let me know what works and what doesn't for this story. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed chapter ten and, by way of a heads up, I've come to realize that this story may get rather dark as it progresses because of everything I have planned. That may mean more scenes along the lines of what was above (i.e. more graphic). I hope I don't lose any readers with this change and please don't worry; there will still be plenty of the more light hearted scenes and situations as well. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. If enough of you would rather I didn't walk down this darker path, as it were, let me know and I'll see if I can work something out to change that. I can't make any definite promises to that end as I tend to write what seems to fit and work with the characters and situations I'm writing about, but I can certainly try if you'd rather I didn't write more chapters that read more like the second half of this one.