A/N: So glad this story is being so well received :) I've sent many PMs to readers, but for those of you who don't have profiles or don't accept PMs thanks so much for the kind words and support. Please keep it coming, I love it! I can't believe how many people got a kick out of Robin singing a Jesse McCartney song lol It was a pleasant surprise. Anyway, here's the next installment.
Note about the time stamps: I know it's not crazy important, but I like things to be consistent and match up so I did research to make sure the time stamps are corresponding correctly to each other and their respective time zones. According to ep 6, Infiltrators, Infinity Island, the HQ of the League of Shadows, is supposed to be in the Caribbean and is on ECT, which is Eastern Caribbean Time (some of the islands are Atlantic Standard Time oddly enough, but not this one). ECT is on the same time as the US's Eastern Time Zone, which would be the time zone for Gotham and Happy Harbor. Unless it's during Daylight Saving Time, in which Gotham and Happy Harbor might be an hour ahead of Infinity Island b/c they would observe DST but most Caribbean islands don't. Although, we don't know if Infinity Island is one of those, and that wouldn't be until the first Sunday in November anyway so I'm not going to worry about that lol. The point is, when it's, say, 9am in Gotham and Happy Harbor, it would also be 9am on Infinity Island. The show seems to use both military and regular time (in Happy Harbor as I've seen it be 1:00 and sunny (which should have been 13:00 military time) and 1:00 and dark. But I've also seen military time. Go figure.). But I'm sticking strictly with military time to make it easier.
Disclaimer: "I don't own Young Justice, DC Comics, Warner Bros., and Cartoon Network have the rights to it. I'm just having some fun :)"
Rated T for some language, suggestive themes, and descriptive violence.
Italics mean thoughts
"Italics within quotes" mean telepathy
A Lie may take care of the present, but it has no future . . .
Tangled Web
Chapter 4: Flying on Broken Wings
Happy Harbor
September 16, 20:00 EDT
Wally and his passengers burst through a stream of water before they were free of the fire-consumed attraction. Megan and Robin took the distraught children from his grasp while he attempted to catch his breath. Kaldur moved to lower his weapons but Wally's cry stopped him.
"Don't stop! Not yet. Artemis is still in there. I couldn't carry all three. I'm goin' back for her," he proclaimed as he forced himself back to his feet.
"The building's a wreck, it's gonna come down any second!" Robin exclaimed.
"I don't care; I can't just leave her in there."
"I will hold it as long as I can, but I am running out of energy so you had better be quick," Aqualad explained as he redoubled his efforts to stave off the flames in the doorway.
"Quick is the only way I know how to be," Kid Flash replied as he raced back in for the second time.
There were now more rooms on fire than not and the stability of the structure was nonexistent. Walls were toppling over and sections of the roof were caving in all over the place. Wally made a beeline for the room he'd left Artemis in. In his haste to save his teammate, he almost tripped over her unmoving body lying prone in the middle of the floor a few rooms closer than the one she was in last. Her vibrant blonde hair caught his eyes, and he managed to jump over her before skidding to a halt. He was on the ground next to her in seconds.
"Artemis!" he called. He would have happily settled for 'what do you want, you idiot?' as a response, but he got nothing. No, no, no, please no . . . he thought, taking in a shaky breath as he placed his hands under her still form and pulled her to him. He jostled her body and managed to elicit a weak groan from her, temporarily setting his mind at ease.
"Hang on, Artemis; I'm gettin' you outta here!"
He secured his grip on the young heroine and raced back to the exit, the rooms he passed through caving in as he went. He made it through Kaldur's waterfall just as the glow coming from his tattoos began to peter out.
"I got her!" Wally announced, coming to a stop a safe distance away from the dilapidated building.
"Way to go, KF!" Robin said as he left the boy he'd been watching with his mother just as Megan had done with the girl.
Megan reached the disheveled teens first, but the happy smile on her face turned into a frown as she stared intently at Artemis, still suspended in the redhead's arms. "Wally, I don't think she's breathing . . ."
And Wally suddenly realized that Artemis's body felt different from the other times he'd held her in his arms. True to Megan's statement, it didn't feel as though she was breathing and she seemed a lot heavier than before.
Like dead weight.
Megan put her fingers to her temples again and closed her eyes. A second later she opened them, tears beginning to form. "There's no brain activity," she cried.
Kid Flash managed to put two fingers to the archer's neck, searching for a pulse. His search was unsuccessful. The stillness of Artemis's body disturbed Wally on a level he didn't even know existed. He could feel the razor sharp claws of devastation sinking their way into his very core. She'd been stuck in the smoke too long. If he'd been able to get her out sooner, carry her and the two kids, she would have been okay. Despite their differences, they were still on the same team and he'd let her down.
Desperate to try and fix this in any way possible, Wally laid his teammate flat on her back and moved in to perform CPR, the memory of his last attempt vivid in his mind. He had failed to save Kent Nelson. He prayed this attempt would have better results. Thinking of the late Dr. Fate, Wally couldn't help but reflected on the man's final words to him:
"Find your own little spitfire, one that won't let you get away with nothin'. For example, that-"
Wally had to wonder about that last statement, the one that remained unfinished. He was smart enough to realize that Mr. Nelson had met only one girl that day in the Tower of Fate, and so it made filling in the rest of that sentence pretty obvious. Therefore, Mr. Nelson's suggestion didn't go unnoticed; it just went ignored based on the notion that, in his extremely old age, Kent wasn't all there anymore.
He did think the old guy was simply losing his marbles at first. But, over the last few weeks, Wally'd found himself ever so slowly opening up to the idea of having a spitfire all his own, maybe even the girl Kent had directly recommended. And now it looked like he'd be losing her before he ever actually had a chance to have her.
There was nothing like a life threatening disaster to put things in perspective.
Pushing that morbid thought to the back of his mind, Wally lowered his head to Artemis's. Right before their lips made contact, her eyes snapped open and she inhaled deeply, startling Wally so much he let out a yelp and fell backwards onto his rear end.
"What are you doing!" she asked as she struggled to sit up, voice raspy from inhaling so much smoke.
"Y-you weren't breathing!" Wally stammered in an attempt to explain his actions. "You didn't even have a pulse!"
"You're alive!" Megan suddenly cried and attached herself to her female teammate in a ferocious hug. "I thought you were dead! I mean, you weren't breathing and I swear there was no brain activity coming from you, but you're alive! I'm so happy!"
As Artemis tried to pry herself from Megan's grasp, Robin helped Kid Flash up.
"Man, that was a close one," he said. Then, with his trademark laugh, he added, "Can you believe you almost locked lips with Artemis?"
"Shut up," Wally said flatly. "It's not like I wanted to." Not under those circumstances anyway. The thought ran through his mind before he could even process it.
Aqualad approached the archer, who had finally broken free of the Martian, and kneeled down to her level.
"Artemis, what happened in there?"
She looked away, her eyes hard as she answered. "It was a member of the League of Shadows, Cheshire, the one who got away from me when we were protecting Dr. Roquette last month. She was screwing with me for failing to catch her last time," she lied.
A look of doubt entered Aqualad's eyes, but it was so fleeting Artemis had to question if it was ever there at all. "We need to go back to headquarters and let Batman know what happened tonight," he finally said.
With the Atlantean's help, Artemis got to her feet, and the team hurried out of the fair before the authorities could arrive to question them since they were out of uniform. Kaldur was right, they would need to talk to Batman about what happened tonight, but Artemis would have to make a different report in private to the Caped Crusader.
He'd want details, details she couldn't give in front of the others.
x x x
Infinity Island
September 17, 13:00 ECT
"Explain yourself."
It was a simple statement, but Artemis knew she didn't have an adequate response. She was in one of the dojos of the League of Shadows, Sensei standing in front of her, Cheshire and Sportsmaster standing behind her in full uniform. They wanted an explanation for her actions in the funhouse at the Happy Harbor festival the day before.
"Well?" Sensei continued. "You deliberately failed Cheshire's test by trying to save those children. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I might have to work for you, but I don't have to work like you. Make no mistake; if you put innocent lives in danger, I'm going to do whatever it takes to save them," Artemis answered, her voice filled with determination.
"Spoken like a true junior Justice League member. You make me sick," Sportsmaster scoffed behind her.
Artemis gritted her teeth in an attempt to hold her tongue. Sensei gave a disapproving shake of his head as he said, "Your actions yesterday were not admirable, but foolish. You will learn your place; we will break you down until you do."
He gave a swift nod of his head, and a moment later Artemis was roughly yanked back by her long hair and tossed to the floor. She looked up as Sportsmaster reached out and grabbed her by the throat, a javelin poised in his free hand.
He held her up off the ground as he said, "It's my fatherly duty to punish you for your failure yesterday."
"Still worth it," Artemis choked out defiantly.
He hated when she was insubordinate, it made him look bad. With a growl, Sportsmaster thrust his javelin at her naval, but pulled the blow at the last second, the tip scratching at her stomach through her shirt uncomfortably. "Since the uniform you wear when you work with those do-gooders exposes your stomach, I can't injure you there; it would raise too many questions."
A malicious smile split his hidden face and he once again threw her to the ground. She landed on her back and a moment later, her father's javelin pierced through her skin by her left collarbone and burst through the other side of her body, pinning her to the wooden floor. Artemis let out an agonizing cry, her entire shoulder erupting in pain.
"No one will see a wound there, however," he commented, sadistic excitement lighting up his eyes.
How she hated her father. The only consoling thought she could think of during moments like these, was how this would all be worth it once the Justice League took him down. She could endure any suffering he inflicted on her with that thought in mind. With her right hand, Artemis reached over and tugged at the javelin, pulling it back out of her flesh. She dropped it to the ground and rolled over on her hands and knees, taking deep breaths in an attempt to block out the pain. Not wasting any time, Sportsmaster picked the blood-coated javelin back up and rammed it through the center of his daughter's back. Artemis immediately fell, her clouded eyes staring lifelessly at the dirty wooden floor.
"Or there," her father said as he placed his foot on her back and ripped the weapon out. He dropped it to the floor with a clang next to her motionless body, blood gathering in a small puddle where it laid only to mix in with the crimson river running from Artemis herself.
Sensei began to exit the room, motioning for Sportsmaster to follow. At the doorway, he looked over his shoulder at Cheshire. "When she comes back, kill her again for good measure. Her insolence will not be tolerated," he said then he and Sportsmaster left the dojo.
x x x
Mount Justice
September 17, 13:00 EDT
"All right everyone, you're dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday," Black Canary announced to the young team.
"Dude, not fair! How did Artemis get out of Saturday training?" Wally whined, rotating his still sore shoulder as he moved to exit the training hall with the rest of the team.
"She had more . . . pressing matters to attend to," Black Canary supplied vaguely.
Wally crossed his arms, not really buying it. He couldn't imagine what she had to do that was more important than a training session with Black Canary. After showering and changing back into his civilian clothes and sunglasses, Robin made his way to the common room and plopped down on the couch, intent on wasting the rest of his Saturday on mind-numbing video games. Before he could boot up the PS3, however, Wally dropped down next to him.
"So . . . how's school going?" Kid Flash tried to ask casually.
Hip to his friend's game, he replied, "Gee, KF, I didn't know you were concerned about my academic success."
Wally gave him a dirty look. "You know what I'm talking about."
"Nothing out of the ordinary's happened since she started at the Academy. So far, all I've seen is that the girls treat her poorly because she's not rich, and the guys fall all over themselves to talk to her because she's one of the prettiest girls in the place."
A sour look consumed Wally's face and Robin couldn't help but wonder at the reason behind it.
"Has she, uh . . . dated anyone since she started?" the speedster suddenly asked, thinking of the boy who had waved Artemis over the day he'd given her a lift.
Robin gave his friend a funny look. "How should I know? I'm keeping an eye on her to watch for trouble, not track how many dates she can score. Although, I did see her get asked to Homecoming yesterday by one of the wealthiest students in school," he revealed.
That didn't make Wally feel any better. "She didn't say yes, did she?"
Robin shrugged. "I don't know. It didn't look like it, but I don't think she said no either." The younger boy raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Why do you care, anyway?"
"I don't!" Wally insisted. "I'm just shocked anyone would wanna ask someone like Artemis, that's all."
"Oh yeah, because no guy wants to take a pretty girl," Robin deadpanned. "And don't even say she's not. She's pretty and you know it. You don't have to like it, but you can't deny it."
"Whatever," Wally scoffed. He rose from the couch and turned on the PS3. Grabbing two controllers, he tossed one at Robin, effectively ending the conversation he no longer wished to have. The Boy Wonder caught it effortlessly and settled back into the couch, happy to drop the subject.
x x x
Mount Justice
September 17, 17:00 EDT
No matter how many times she died, each time hurt just as much as the last.
The pain she could deal with, it was the coming back to life part that she would never get used to. It wasn't natural and it creeped her out. In her room at Mount Justice, Artemis pulled her ruined shirt over her head and tossed it in the small wastebasket in the corner. It was a good thing she had being stealthy down to an art form. She would have had a hard time explaining her bloodied shirt to the others if they'd seen her come in. She walked in front of the mirror and examined the wounds she'd received earlier at the hands of her father and Jade. The skin around all three was red and still tender, but the holes were closed and no longer bleeding. She had a feeling she was currently a faster healer than even Wally. Disgusted by the ugly welts marring her body, Artemis quickly changed her bra then pulled a clean shirt from her closet and yanked it on. She just wanted to go home, it'd been a long and exhausting day for her, but she had strict orders from Batman to come directly to headquarters to meet with him once she was done on Infinity Island. On her way to the briefing room, she passed by the kitchen. Wally was rooting through the fridge for a soda when she walked through.
He looked over at the blonde and frowned. "Oh, look who decided to join us after practice. How convenient you could make it here for the dinner Megan's gonna cook, but not for our training session," he said, still sore about her getting to ditch Saturday practice.
Without looking at the redhead she said, "Don't start with me, Wally."
"No really, what was so important that you couldn't be here like the rest of us?" he asked, following her out of the kitchen, his search for something to drink forgotten. "It better have been important, like a mission with Green Arrow, because if it was just a stupid date or somethin'-"
Wally's sentence was cut short when Artemis spun around and shoved him up against the wall. After the day she'd had, she didn't have the patience for their usual banter. She let her cold eyes do the talking and they were effective enough to silence any further comments the redhead could think of. She only held him there for a moment before she wordlessly released him and walked away.
What the hell was that all about? Wally thought as he watched her turn the corner. Sure he was badgering her, but he didn't think it warranted her severe reaction. It definitely wasn't the acidic comeback he'd been expecting. Truth be told, he actually thought the way she had pinned him against the wall would have been kind of hot if the look in her eyes hadn't been so grim.
When Artemis entered the briefing room, Batman was already waiting for her.
"Well?" he asked simply, getting straight to it.
She held up two fingers backwards. "Twice for being insubordinate. Counting Friday at the fair, that's three deaths in two days, a new record," she informed, her voice acrid.
"And the mark?"
"Still there, although it fades a little more each time. I don't know how long it's going to last. Doesn't change anything though."
Batman nodded his head. "Have you managed to gather any new information?"
"Just that Sportsmaster got away with one vile of the Kobra Venom from Santa Presca and that they intend to reverse engineer it so they can unlock the formula and begin production again. Still not sure what they plan to do with it though."
"Finding out what the Shadows intend to do with the Kobra Venom is priority alpha. Do whatever you need to acquire that information," Batman ordered.
"Understood."
Knowing that she was dismissed, Artemis let herself out of the briefing room. Since she'd become a double agent for the Justice League, most of her meetings with Batman had been like that, short and concise. He was a man of few words who wanted results not excuses. She liked that about him. A part of her wished he could be her fake mentor instead of Green Arrow. Not that she didn't like the man, he was kind to her and had made her an even better archer than she'd been before teaming up with him, and considering how good she was with a bow prior to joining the team, that was saying something. He was just a tad too sentimental for her. Despite his former sidekick's desertion, he constantly told stories and reminisced about old missions he'd completed with Red Arrow back when he was still Speedy, stories Artemis had no desire to hear considering Red Arrow's attitude towards her.
Unfortunately, her particular skill and Green Arrrow's opening for a new sidekick led to him being the best and most realistic option for her cover story. Not to mention their shared hair color helped pass her off as his niece, explaining her ability to master the bow so quickly. It was enough to get the young heroes to accept her onto their team – for the most part anyway – and posing as Green Arrow's new protégé helped convince the Shadows that she'd been accepted by the Justice League and had successfully infiltrate the team of sidekicks just as they'd ordered her to do. Naturally, she had no qualms about lying to the Shadows, but she did hate lying to the Team. Batman had given strict orders to everyone in on the secret to keep it as such. He did like his secrets. Not even every member of the Justice League knew Artemis's true role, only the select few that had to. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Batman, that was it, they were the only people who knew about Artemis's parental lineage, her unique ability, and that she was working as a double agent to help bring the League of Shadows down from the inside out. Artemis understood Batman's order to keep everything a secret; fewer people in on it meant fewer chances for her cover to be blown. The logic behind it made perfect sense, but it didn't make lying to her new teammates any easier . . .
As she passed through the kitchen for the second time, Wally was still there, throwing back a Coke. She stopped and they regarded each other silently for a moment. Suddenly, Wally spoke.
"You know, it wouldn't kill you to be nicer to me, I did save your life yesterday."
Of course he'd play that card, Artemis thought.
He was still right though. True she technically died before he was able to get her out of the funhouse, but if she'd stayed in there, there was a good possibility the fire would have destroyed her body, the mark along with it, and there would be no coming back from that.
"You're right. I'm sorry."
Wally almost dropped his soda. "Come again?" he asked, not believing what he heard.
"You heard me," Artemis replied, not willing to repeat it. Apologizing to Wally West once was more than enough. "Even though you were being totally annoying earlier, after what you did for me yesterday, I shouldn't have acted the way I did."
It wasn't the nicest apology, but he could tell it was sincere so he was willing to take it. Regardless, Wally couldn't manage to stay angry with his blonde teammate anyway. He was still just happy she had survived the funhouse fire from the previous day. Especially when, for a moment, he actually thought she hadn't.
"Apology accepted."
"Good," Artemis responded. Then she added, "And . . . thank you, for coming back for me yesterday."
A cocky smile lit up Wally's face. "Hey, it's what we good guys do," he said, his words reminding her of a similar comment he'd made to her in Bialya.
"Yeah, I guess it is," she replied, rewarding the redhead with a small smile of her own.
She was still getting used to having people she could count on. No one from the Shadows would have gone back in that burning building to rescue her, their motto might as well have been: every man for themselves. But on this team nothing could be farther from the truth. Even though she and Wally rarely saw eye-to-eye, he still risked his own life to save hers. It was actually rather comforting to know the others had her back just as she had theirs.
Megan suddenly walked into the room, effectively ending the small moment the two were sharing. When her soft brown eyes fell on Artemis she smiled.
"Oh good, you're here. I was just about to start dinner and I didn't think you were going to be joining us since you weren't at practice today."
"Actually, I was gonna head home."
Megan frowned. "What? Why?"
"I have some stuff I gotta do, and-"
"Stuff that I'm sure can wait," Wally interrupted as he walked towards the archer. "You know Saturday night dinners have become a regular thing for the Team. As a member, attendance is mandatory."
"No it's not," Artemis replied flatly.
"Well with the delicious dinners Megan cooks it should be."
"Yes, please stay for dinner, Artemis," Megan pleaded, turning on her puppy dog eyes.
"How can you say no to that?" Wally questioned. He slapped Artemis on the back as he said, "So it's settled, you're staying for dinner with the rest of us."
Artemis grimaced at the contact and bit her tongue to keep from crying out. Her back still sore from the fatal wounds she'd received not five hours before, she could have dismembered Wally limb from limb for touching her there so haphazardly. The only thing that saved him from a lot of pain was the fact that he had no idea what he'd done. As much as she just wanted to go home and sleep, she couldn't deny it felt good to be wanted, that people desired to be around her for who she was and not what she could do for them.
"Alright fine," she conceded.
"Yippy!" Megan said and jumped up in the air before she began to rush around the kitchen gathering the supplies and ingredients she'd need to start cooking. "You won't regret it, Artemis. This is gonna be my best meal yet!" the Martian rambled on as she worked.
Artemis just smiled in return. What was a few more hours spent in good company? She could always sleep all day tomorrow. That's what Sunday's were for.
x x x
Gotham Academy
September 19, 12:03 EDT
Right on time, Artemis thought as she felt the now familiar presence of someone's gaze on her.
She'd been on her way to the cafeteria to join Evan for lunch when she felt her skin crawl, her own natural signal that let her know she was being watched. This happened everyday at the beginning of lunch since she'd started at the academy and she was done. After the weekend she'd had, she was in no mood to be spied on.
This was going to stop, today.
Halfway to the lunchroom Artemis changed gears and made a mad dash for an access door that led to one of the relaxing courtyards. She could feel the spy pursuing her.
That's it, come on, she thought as she swung the heavy wooden door open and rushed through.
The courtyard was boxed in by a high stone wall that matched the school building and it was deserted. By the time her follower made it through the door, Artemis seemed to have disappeared among the foliage. Not one to be deterred, the spy walked slowly, eyes darting around. Whoever it was deliberately stayed in the shadows, trying to conceal themselves somewhat, but Artemis had no trouble seeing the outline of the person. As the spy passed under the tree Artemis was up, she released her hold on the branches and dropped down behind the individual. Her hands were immediately on the person and she roughly held them against the trunk of the tree before they knew what was happening.
"Who are you? And why are you following me?" Artemis demanded as she took in the spy's appearance.
It was a boy, younger than her and a bit on the short side. He had short hair as black as coal, and his eyes were a bright shade of blue. He had the full Gotham Academy uniform on, from the sweater vest to the blazer. He looked surprised at having been caught but more importantly, he looked kind of familiar . . .
"Answer me!" Artemis demanded. "You've been spying on me since I started here, why?"
"No, I haven't been spying on you," the boy argued. "I just really wanted to meet you, but haven't had the courage to come talk to you yet-"
"Bullshit."
"No really. My name's Richard, my friends call me Dick. I wanted to introduce myself to you on your first day, but since I'm only a freshman I didn't think you'd give me the time of day . . ."
Artemis stared intently at the boy's face as she listened to his story. Not only did he look familiar, but his voice was one she'd definitely heard before. She knew the boy, that much was certain, but she could not place him. Clearly there was more to this then he was admitting. She knew he wasn't just a normal student here; otherwise he wouldn't have been able to watch her for so long without being seen. No, he was someone special, someone who'd had formal training, like her.
Uncomfortable with her heavy gaze boring into him, the young man cleared his throat. "Uh . . . aren't you gonna say anything?"
The blonde ignored his words and brought a hand up to his face, her eyes never wavering from his. Slowly she placed her hand over his sharp blue eyes, blocking them out from view. She gasped at the result. With his distracting eyes covered as they usually were, Artemis had no trouble seeing it. She could easily envision the cape with the bright yellow backing around his shoulders and the deep red shirt with the trademark "R" on his chest.
"Robin?" she whispered, shocked.
The Boy Wonder's mind was in a frantic whirlwind, but he did managed to processes one coherent thought:
Shit, Batman's gonna be pissed.
To be continued . . .
A/N: Guess Robin should have listened to Wally lol If you are confused about anything and have questions, please feel free to ask, I'll be happy to answer them as long as the answer doesn't give parts of the story away that will be revealed with time :) I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review and let me know what you think please! I love all the feedback I've gotten from you guys so far :) It's part of the reason I've been getting these chapters out quickly, lots of inspiration.
SakuraJade