A/N: I'm really sorry guys. I planned on having this up on Monday since I was busy all day Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but things got really hectic and I ended up staying at my friend's house for a while instead of working on this. Marathon Monday has always been a really awesome day of the year around here in Boston; I can't believe somebody would do something this terrible. So once again, I am really sorry that this is up later then planned.
Disclaimer: Young Justice does not belong to me; season three would have already permired if I had any say about it.
The Climax
Oliver, Dinah, and Roy returned from their trip to Gotham two weeks later with no success. Wally watched them from the deck with Dick as they trudged up the gangplank; an air of melancholy surrounded them.
"Where is she?" Wally asks angrily to nobody in particular as the three Queens headed up to the Watchtower.
"Somewhere out there." Dick responds. The two boys left the deck to go finish getting all the rooms ready for the next trip. Oliver and Bruce decided to do a grand reopening to introduce their new improved cruise schedule. It allowed more time between cruises for Oliver to follow any leads on Artemis and still be able to be on the ship. They were having a big fancy ceremony and everything.
"I just..."
"We all do Wally. We all do."
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"Why?" Artemis asks her father as she stares out at the familiar landscape from the abandoned apartment they inhabited.
"That ship of yours, grand reopening, big ceremony, big cash." Lawrence says, barely looking up from where he was cleaning his javelin. Artemis gave the weapon a menacing glare, that thing had gone through Wally and Dick.
"I'm out. You can go solo on this." Artemis tells him, with a steely expression.
"No can do baby girl. Not after that stunt you pulled back in Gotham." Lawrence tells her. Without thinking, her hand goes up to her eye. The major bruising had gone down, but it was still a bit yellowish. She had her father to thank for that.
"I'm not stealing from them. Oliver is my father more than you are." Artemis spits out at him. He gets up from his javelin and crosses the room to where Artemis was leaning against the wall in only a few strides. He slaps her across the face and she falls to the ground.
"No more backtalk from you. You'll do as you say or one of your friends or real "father" will find themselves with a javelin through the heart." Lawrence threatens. He walks out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. He doesn't even lock it, knowing that Artemis wasn't go to make a break for it.
It was tempting, to leave and be done with all of this. Not have to worry about being forced to kill anymore. She could do it, disappear and never be seen from again. She could easily make a new life in France or somewhere. Like Jade always says, every Crock girl for herself.
She couldn't do it though. Her friends-no her family- meant too much to her. She would do anything for them. She had changed in the months she had lived them. It was no longer she against the world; she had people to stand besides. People to live for. She was going to keep them safe, all of them if it was the last thing she did.
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Roy watched quietly as crewmembers carried tables up onto the deck. Diana Prince was in charge of putting everything together since Dinah was "out of it". She was hurrying around the tables, placing down arrangements, her black hair swishing back and forth. Tired of watching, Roy walked away from the scene and down the gangplank. He needed to get away from it all.
He walked along the dock and then down a random street. He had no clear destination, just away from the ship. He wasn't thinking of much, just walking. He wondered down an abandoned alley. For the second time in a matter of weeks, he soon found himself pushed up against a wall by Jade.
"You know, we really need to stop meeting like this." Roy states. "You mind letting me down?"
She released him and he landed back on the ground on his feet. "I needed to get your attention."
"And a simple "Hey Roy" wouldn't suffice?" He questioned. She shrugs.
"Crusher is in town, that means Artemis is too." Jade tells him. He stared at her in shock.
"Are you certain? How did you find this out?" Roy asks. She shrugs.
"I have my ways Roy Harper and I am one hundred percent certain. Can you guess what they would be casing?" Jade asks him.
"The ship. The grand opening. The big auction for Dinah's charity. There are literally million dollars worth of items on the boat right now." He says as realization dawns on him.
"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner." Jade responds sarcastically. She eyes the end of the alley as a police car goes flying by. She continues to stare for a few more moments before turning back to Roy.
"What are we going to do?" Roy asks.
"You mean, what are YOU going to do." Jade informs him.
"What do you mean? She's your sister. You were ready to murder me two weeks ago for "letting her go"." He says using his fingers for the air quotes.
"I can't get involved. I've spent too much time running and hiding from my father to risk him finding me. Do you know how hard it is to make your way on your own as a thirteen year old?" Jade asks.
"I'm sure it was very difficult Jade, but still. Artemis is your sister, doesn't blood run thicker then water?" Roy asks.
"Not in the Crock family, blood is as thin as a dollar bill." Jade states.
"I'm sorry your childhood sucked Jade. I'm sorry you had to grow up to fast. But Artemis had the same things happen to her. She was running too."
"And she should have kept running. The moment she knew he was in Miami, she should have run. It's not my fault she was so stupid."
"It was brave."
"It was idiotic."
Roy sighed in annoyance. To think that prior to five months ago, he had hated Artemis' guts. Now he was defending her actions. Now he would do anything to save the girl he had come to think of as his sister. He stared at the girl before him and for the first time, everything Artemis had ever said about Jade was sinking in.
Without another word, Roy turned around and began to walk away. Jade was suddenly besides him, pushing him up against the wall again. Roy swung out his leg, knocking Jade to the ground.
"I'm done talking to you Jade. You're selfish and only concerned with how to meet your needs and your wants. I'm going to go save MY sister, since she could barely be called yours. I'm not doing this anymore Jade. Find some other boy's head to screw with."
"What the hell does that mean?" Jade stood up and brushed dirt off of her green top and black leggings.
"It means that I've been worried about you! Jade, you completely disappeared. For all I knew you were dead. And now you decide to show up, of all times, you show up now. And you don't even care enough to help save your sister! You're so selfish."
"I never asked you to worry about me Red."
"You don't get a say in that decision." Roy scoffs, turning around. "Good bye Cheshire."
She watched him disappear down the alley. His words, they stung. They hurt more than she would ever let anyone know. Him and Artemis, the two of them had always known exactly what to say to hurt her. Artemis was always devious and used it to her advantage as children. Roy, he was different. Somehow in the short time they had spent together, he had figured her out. He had been able to see right through everything. He saw her.
She wished she called out. She wished she ran after him. She wished she could help him save Artemis. She wished for a lot of things, but in then end, she ran. She ran just like every time the going got tough. So despite her concern for Artemis and whatever feelings she had for Roy, she ran, carrying her broken pieces with her as she left, hoping she didn't drop any.
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Wally and Kaldur look over from their shoot around basketball game when they heard a person running up the gangplank. They exchanged weird looks. Wally put the ball on the ground and the two boys walked off of the court, nearly running right into an angry Roy.
"There you guys are." Roy says.
"What troubles you my friend?" Kaldur asks, staring at the boy curiously. Zatanna emerged from the dining hall where she had been coerced into helping set up. She stood besides her friends, looking at Roy curiously.
"Um...what's going on?" She asks.
"I think Artemis is coming here." Wally was pretty sure his heart stopped. His mouth, along with Kaldur and Zatanna's, dropped to the ground.
"What? How? Are you sure? This isn't a trick right? Is..." Wally asks. Zatanna cuts him off.
" What Kid mouth means is can you expand on your first statement?" Zatanna asks.
"Jade told me." Roy states.
"Um...whose Jade?" Wally asks.
"Oh yeah, you only know about Lawrence. Jade is Artemis' sister." Roy explains.
"Alright, and is she a trustworthy source?" Kaldur asks.
"Define trustworthy." Roy grumbles. The other three give him a weird look. "Look guys, Jade is a thief like her dad but she cares for Artemis, even though she doesn't always show it. She's also connected, so if her sources say that the two of them are here in Miami, then most likely they are here in Miami."
Roy gives them a few minutes to let the news truly sink it.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go get her." Wally exclaims, moving towards the gangplank. Kaldur reaches out and stops him.
"Wally, I know you want her back, we all do, but we can't rush into this. Sportsmaster is a dangerous criminal."
"And we have no clue where she is." Zatanna adds.
"That too." Kaldur says. Wally groans in frustration and sits down on the deck.
"We're never going to get her back."
"We will." Kaldur assures him. Wally looks up at him.
"How? What if she doesn't even want to come back? What if she likes being a criminal?" Wally asks. His three friends look at him with shocked expressions. Zatanna reacts first. She crouches down so that she was eye level with Wally and slaps him across the face.
"Snap out of it Wallman. I don't want to hear that talk from you again. This is Artemis we are talking about. She risks her life to save ten-year-old girls and always tries to do what is right. Now, I know you are stressed out, but I don't want to hear that again out of you." Zatanna lectures. She stands back up straight. "Now, we need to tell everyone else."
"We need a plan." Kaldur adds. Roy nods his head.
"We can begin by gathering everyone else, then we can form a plan." Roy says. Wally looks up at his friends, Zatanna's words sinking in. He stands back up.
"Should we tell the adults?" Wally asks. Roy shakes his head.
"Ollie would probably ramp up security and that would tip Sportsmaster off that we know and he and Artemis would be gone by midnight and we would be nowhere again." Roy states. "No, we are doing this ourselves."
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Wally walked along the starboard deck, stopping at the spot where they all used to meet. Dick, Roy, Raquel, Megan, and him were all patrolling this time around. They had been patrolling the ship all night in waves to be careful not to tip off the adults or anyone watching the ship. It was now nine thirty. At ten, the auction will begin. At the moment, all the stuff was stored in the arcade.
Stuffing his hands in his suit jacket, Wally sat down on a lounge chair, hidden in the shadows. He hoped that this would work. He hoped that by tomorrow at this time he would have Artemis back in his arms. He missed the smell of her hair, her smile, her sarcastic remarks and the way she never put up with his crap. He missed everything that made Artemis, Artemis.
Suddenly, a grappling hook was wrapping around the railing. He sunk farther into the shadows, sliding off of the lounge chair to hide behind it.
Starboard Deck, meeting spot.
He sent the message to everyone in the group. He hoped that it wasn't Sportsmaster coming up the side of the boat. He heard a person come over the side. He held his breath as he popped his head out from behind the lounge chair...
Artemis stood against the railing in an orange and black costume and a mask. His heart leaped out of his chest. In his excitement, he knocked into the chair. Artemis looked right at him.
"Wally?" She asks tentatively. He jumped up from behind the lounge chair.
"It's me babe." He says. The two of them stood still in their spots for a few moments. Wally didn't know who moved forward first. Either way, in the next moment Artemis was back in his arms, he removed her mask. Their lips met in the middle. Finally, after a long three months, she was back.
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Once the two of them finally broke apart, Artemis stared at him in amazement.
"How?" She asked him tentatively.
"Roy got a tip from Jade." Wally explains. She nods. She knew her sister wasn't at the party, but it was nice to know she cared enough to tell them. She hugged Wally again, kissing his cheek.
"I missed you." Artemis states.
"I missed you too." Wally responds. Artemis breaks away from him suddenly. She gently pulls the mask out of his hands and refastens it.
"I can't stay." Artemis tells him.
"What do you mean?" Wally asks.
"Wally, the deal was that I stayed with him, and you, the others, my mom, jade, no one gets hurt. I leave, and he hurts someone. Wally, he could kill my mom." She tells him.
"We can figure something out, send him back to jail." Wally suggests. She shakes her head.
"He was in Belle Reve Wally, the most secure prison. If that can't hold him, nothing will. This is the only way that I can assure that nobody gets hurt because of me."
"We're all hurt. We've been a wreck without you. Every single one of us has been so worried about you." Wally informs her.
"Don't be."
"And how are we to do that?" Wally asks, anger flashing in his eyes.
"I don't know Baywatch! I have to do this!"
"Stop being such a martyr!"
"It's the right thing!"
"It's the stupid thing!"
"I have too."
"No you don't."
In the midst of their yelling at each other, they hadn't noticed the rest of their friends appear.
"At each other's throats already? Wow, you two are really just perfect for each other." Jason says with a smirk. Artemis stops mid yell, and turns to her friends.
"Guys?" She asks tentatively. That was all Megan needed to launch herself at Artemis. She hugged Artemis so tight; she almost thought she was going to break in half.
"I've missed you so much." Megan says as she begins to cry. Raquel and Zatanna were there suddenly as well, all four girls in a big group hug.
After a few moments, they came apart and Artemis greeted her other friends. Dick pulled her into a big bear hug, as well as Conner, very uncharacteristic of him. Kaldur gave her a smile and grasped her shoulder. She was the one to pull him into a hug, same with Jason.
"Missed you 'Mis." Jason tells her quietly.
"Missed you too Jay." She responds. She takes a step back from her friends and looks them all over.
"I've missed you all but..."
"What a cute reunion." Sportsmaster mocks. They all spin around to see the big man holding a knife to Wally's neck.
"Stop!" Artemis shouts. "I'm still working with you. You can't break our agreement."
"Baby girl, I don't need to do anything." Lawrence replies, digging the knife into Wally's neck a bit, a thin trail of blood running down his neck.
"What else do you want? You already own me? Don't do this." Artemis pleads.
"You need to learn some obedience." Lawrence tells her. Before he could cut Wally's throat, an arrow came flying through the air, hitting his shoulder. He loosened his grip enough for Wally to break free and punch him in the face. Artemis spotted Roy standing behind Sportsmaster, another arrow already notched.
"Here." He says, tossing her another bow. Sportsmaster stands up quickly, eyes wild.
"Wrong move." He says, going to hurt her friends.
"Run!" Artemis shouts out to them, as she drops the bow and sprints at Sportsmaster. She jumps up onto his back, wrapping her legs around his neck. She leans back, using her momentum to send them both crashing to the ground. Her friends still stood there, unsure what to do. "I got him. Go get Ollie. Call the pol-" She is interrupted as Lawrence shoves her hard and she goes skidding across the deck. "Go!"
Her friends retreat looking back with fear in their eyes. This left just Artemis and her father. The two of them stood up, staring at each other.
"I guess this was always bound to happen." Lawrence states.
"One of us was always destined to take down the other, from that first moment I rebelled and refused to kill for you." Artemis says.
"Well baby girl, it was nice knowing you." Lawrence says pulling his hammer.
"What no javelins for your "baby girl"?" Artemis taunts, ducking as he threw the metal ball at her face.
"No, those are used for actual opponents."
"Or torturing my friends." Artemis says, firing a crossbow net. Even now, despite everything, she couldn't kill her father. Thinking she could had been wishful thinking all along. Killing him would make her no better then him. And despite everything, he was still her father. She did not want his blood to stain her hands forever.
He sent the hammer her way again, and she dodged moving in the strike. She stepped on his stomach, grabbing his shoulders, and using her momentum to send him flying down the deck, docking her head to avoid the hammer.
She landed on her feet and prepared for his next strike. He chuckled as he stood up, brushing himself off.
"I trained you well baby girl." He says smugly.
"I trained myself." Artemis says. "You started my training, but I finished it." She sends another net flying at him, but he pulls out a javelin and rips it in two. He throws the hammer at her again and she grabs a pole jutting out from the roof and pulls herself up out of the way. Standing on the roof of the arcade, she took a deep breath and prepared herself. She listened for her father.
Artemis was soon flying to the ground, landing on the roof with a thud. A pain flared up in her legs and blood began to stain the white.
"Did I do that? I'm sorry." Sportsmaster taunts from the other end of the roof. He throws a discus at her, cutting her arm. She rolls over and hops back up onto her feet, firing a crossbow at him. She fires another and then another. Sportsmaster backed up until he was standing on the edge of the roof. He turned around, only seeing ocean below him.
"Did I do that?" Artemis asks, looking at the cut on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." She fires another crossbow, and ducks below his hammer. "You know, I'm beginning to think that you're a tad rusty at this." She fires an exploding arrow and when the smoke clears, nobody was there.
A/N: So I hope this long chapter made up for the fact that it is late. Thank you to the guest who gave me the idea of the reopening. It was the perfect way to get Artemis back to the ship. One more chapter, and then the epilogue. Review and tell me your thoughts. Pray for the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. A few, including a five-year-old boy, are still in pretty critical condition.