Now, usually I'm not a very empathetic person. I can say the stupidest things without even realize I'm offending someone. It's very hard for me to read other people's emotions, so I'm pretty oblivious when it comes to feelings.
But as Dick and Jason glared at each other, even I could sense the tension and hate in this room.
Dick was at my side, standing in an almost protective stance (which I was really beginning to get annoyed at. I wasn't some little girl who couldn't take care of herself; I was older than Dick, for crying out loud!) My crossbow was still aimed at Jason, who was pinned to the wall with Dick's bat-a-rangs. He was shaking, and at first I thought he was scared, and then I realized he was shaking with laughter.
"Wow Dick, is Daddy-Bats alright with you sneaking around in his costume?" Jason said, barely containing laughter.
Dick remained silent, eerily reminding me of Batman before he beat the crap out of people.
"I mean seriously, the Nightwing costume was bad enough, but Batman? I never thought you had it in you," Jason said. He pulled himself free of the bat-a-rangs and rolled his shoulders back.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Dick spat, his voice dangerously cold.
"Well, after our last meeting in Gotham, I decided to take matters into my own hands in Bludhaven," Jason answered, lazily circling Dick, who was standing very rigidly.
My arm was starting to hurt from being still for so long, but I ignored it, my crossbow trained on Jason.
"Dick, what is he talking about when he said 'after our last meeting,'" I asked; my voice very clear and loud.
They ignored me, too focused on each other.
"You should've known better than to make a name for yourself in my city, Jason," Dick said coolly.
"Your city? How many freaking cities do you have, Grayson?" Jason snapped, anger colouring his voice.
I almost rolled my eyes; he was still the same Jason. Never able to keep his cool in situations like these.
"You're not welcome here anymore," Dick snapped back.
I inhaled sharply, my eyes bulging slightly. What the hell was Dick doing? Shouldn't he be happy that Jason was back? And yet here they were, treating each other like old enemies or something.
Before I could even react, Jason sprang and Dick, who managed to dodge his attack. The two boys fought, both nearly evenly matched. They punched, kicked, dodged and sprung out of each other's way. I saw Jason pull out a gun from his overcoat pocket, and almost at the same time Dick pulled out a Taser of some sort.
Without even thinking, I jumped in between both of them, blocking both of them. They stared at me very hard, breathing deeply.
"Get out of the way, Artemis," Jason commanded, but I held my ground.
"No way. Not until I get some answers," I snapped back.
The both glared at me, and honestly, I was surprised that I didn't go up in flames right then and there. I mean, one of Batman's glares are bad enough, but two? I didn't even know I could survive it.
"Jason, tell me, who are you alive, when I know that you died," I asked softly, almost pleading him to tell the truth.
Jason stared at me for a few seconds. "Talia Al Ghul. Lazarus pit. You do the math."
I flinched at the sound of her name. Talia was… my mentor for a bit. When I was old enough, Sports Master (I refused to acknowledge him as my father) turned me to Talia for training. She was a good mentor, no doubt about that. But I was an assassin then, training to kill, so being with Talia doesn't really register as a fond memory.
Knowing that that was the only piece of information I would be getting out of Jason, I turned my head towards Dick.
"Your turn. Explain why you're so 'friendly' with Jason. And also why you're here now."
Dick rolled his eyes (well, I think he rolled his eyes) and tried to run his fingers through is hair, but his mask didn't allow for any hair to be seen.
"It's a long story," he said lamely.
"I've got time."
Dick shifted uncomfortably, and I heard Jason let out another laugh.
"You're not looking so traught, Grayson. What's the matter? Not feeling the aster?" he mocked from behind me.
I glared at him, and then turned my attention back to Dick.
"Look, a couple of months ago, Jason came to Gotham. He… he killed a couple of small time crooks, and then, well, he…" Dick trailed off, his voice almost at a whisper, "he attacked Tim, and he would've killed him if Batman and I didn't turn up."
The words shocked me, an icy feeling seemed to crystallize in my chest. Jason… tried to hurt Tim? Tim, the youngest, sweetest boy I knew, and Jason tried to hurt him? I felt the crossbow slide out of my grip and clatter to the floor. I wanted to cover my ears; I wanted to scream at Dick that he was lying, that the Jason I knew would never do something like that. Then I turned and saw the bloody body of the drug dealer I had been chasing before, his mangled corpse living proof that something inside Jason had changed.
I looked at Jason, wanting him to deny these facts, but he looked unconcerned, absentmindedly tucking that piece of white hair behind his ear.
I don't know why, due to either exhaustion or pure stress and shock, but I felt myself slipping, darkness covering my vision, and then the world suddenly seemed to slip out of my grasp.
I woke up on a soft, plush bed in a dimly lit room. I sat up, dizziness washing over me, and I tried to see my surroundings. The room was large and nicely furnished, the furniture looking new and fresh, like it was in a showroom. I remembered this place as Dick's new apartment, where he lived when he moved out of the Wayne Manor. Wally and I had visited it a couple of times, and we'd usually end up sleeping on this very bed if we decided to stay over.
Dick sat in the chair next to me, wearing his civvies and his hair damp from a shower. He smiled as I got up, but his face fell when I glared back at him. I was feeling exponentially angry at both Jason and Dick, and I wasn't quite ready to forgive them. I turned and was surprised to see Jason sitting on the chair in the other side of the bed, a scowl decorated on his face. He was still wearing the same clothes, but I was glad to see he had ditched the red mask.
"Wow," I muttered, "both of you in the same room without trying to kill each other? I guess miracles do happen."
Jason sneered sarcastically at me, and then deftly exited the room.
"Do you want something to eat?" Dick asked.
"Do you have any junk food?" I replied warily.
Dick looked scandalized, shaking his head
"Junk food? Arty, you know better than anyone your body is your temple. You can't be stuffing junk food in there," he said so seriously, that I had to laugh.
He grinned back weakly, and I lightly punched his arm, and then held onto him as I got up from the bed. Dick was staring at me weirdly, and only then did I realise that I was only wearing my costume without the cape and boots, showing a lot more leg than necessary. I touched my face and found that I wasn't wearing my mask either.
Grinning up at Dick playfully, I gestured to myself, "Are you like, checking me out?"
He rolled his exquisite blue eyes, "Don't flatter yourself."
His face flushed though, so I knew he was lying.
Jason was sitting at the long dining table, lounging in a nicely decorated chair that looked uncomfortable with his muddy boots on the table. He glared at Dick, as if challenging him to say something. Dick turned his head away and went for the refrigerator, taking out some very nice looking pasta.
As he put it in the microwave, I wondered to the table and sat down next to Jason. He ignored me, so I took the chance to study his face.
He had always been good looking, and he was older than Dick, even though he became Robin after him. His face was sharp and angular, it didn't look sweet or sincere, it just looked… hot. He had one of those lady-killer faces, and his toned body definitely gave him a few more points.
His eyes flicked up to mine, and a wicked smile grew on his face.
"Something I can help you with, Arty?" he asked, and I immediately averted my gaze.
"Um, you know, just wondering how, um, being dead is like?" I asked, looking for any question.
He smirked at this, knowing that I was totally checking him out before, but he decided to let it go.
"I can't really remember. There was just pain, darkness, and then… I opened my eyes and saw Talia," he said honestly.
"Jason, can I ask you something?" I said uncertainly.
His grin grew wider.
"No! Nothing like that, I just want to know why you, you know, killed the dealer,"
His gaze intensified, and then he had this faraway look in his eyes, like he was looking at something I couldn't see.
"He deserved it, Artemis. They all did. Those dealers, and criminals that kill, they ruin the lives of the people, and for what? Money? Power? Batman has always been too weak to kill, but I'm not. I'm stronger, and anyway, I died already, so I don't really care about the whole Karma thing."
"But-"
"Dinner is served!" Dick cut in with a flourish, setting down three bowls of steaming pasta.
I took mine gratefully, inhaling the rich scent. I took a bite, and almost sighed with happiness. The pasta was delicious. Obviously Alfred visited Dick often, because I knew from experience that there was no way Dick could cook like this.
We ate in silence, until all the dished were done.
"Dick, you never told me, but why did you come to Bludhaven? You could have just used the communication link," I asked.
Dick's eyes widened, "Oh, shit! I forgot to tell you! Mal's found out what happened to the Justice League!"
My eyes nearly popped out of my head, "What!? And you didn't bother to tell me that until now? You're such a dick!"
"Well, in all honestly, I was a bit distracted, you know, with the whole Jason thing and you fainting," Dick said dryly.
"Oh, fine, refer to me as if I can't here you," Jason broke in.
I blushed at the mention of my embarrassing fainting, but struggled to regain my composure.
"Oh, right. Sorry Jason. See, the League, like, the entire league, was in the Watchtower when this mega-explosion went off, and now we can't find a trace of them," I said sheepishly.
"So that's why Dickie-boy was wearing Batman's outfit," Jason deduced.
"Wow, great insult, Todd."
"Please, can we just get on with it?" I snapped; my patience at an all-time low.
"Right, anyway, Mal found that the explosion was of a magical essence, so naturally he called in Zatanna. She's found that the explosion was the result of a massive, I mean massive, teleportation spell."
"So, the league's been teleported somewhere?" I summed up.
"Exactly. I'm guessing this is Klarion's fault, because only he has enough magic to be able to do a spell like that. But if he's involved, it means that The Light is involved, and probably the Reach too."
"So, all we have to do is locate the league, go in and rescue them, and then go home?" I said hopefully.
"Yep. But it's a little harder than that. Obviously the place they're in is of magical origin, and Zatanna's doing her best to track them, but so far, she hasn't been having much luck."
Why is everything so hard when it comes to missions? I hoped we could have a quick recon mission, and then return to our normal schedule, but no, the stupid Light has to have some other random issues.
"I have a friend who can help," Jason said suddenly. I looked up hopefully, but Dick scowled.
"I don't think so. You're not exactly a good guy, are you?"
"Dick!" I scolded.
"I won't be helping you, or Batman, or the League. But I'll help you, Artemis, if you want me too, because I actually owe you something," he sneered.
Owed me something? I tried to think, when had Jason ever owed me something? It struck me, a mission so long ago it felt like a different lifetime. I was deathly ill, and Jason promised me that if I lived he would do whatever I wanted. Obviously, I had survived, but I never got the chance to make good on his promise.
"Okay, fine. Jason, since you owe me, I want you to help us rescue the league."
"Just this once?"
"Just this once," I promised.
"Fine." He glanced at the clock, it was 11 pm, "she won't even be here now, so we can leave tomorrow, alright?"
Dick was glaring at me, quite clearly saying, don't trust this guy, but I ignored him. My stomach was full, I had Jason back, and we had a plan to save the league. It had to be alright from now on.
"I'm going back to the guest bedroom. You guys can figure out who gets the main bed," I told them, flicking my long, blonde hair back as I rose from the table.
Everything had to be alright from now on, I mean, we had a plan, and maybe we would get Jason back to our side too. Things were definitely looking up.
Idiot. Idiot.
Ah, sorry for another suck-y chapter, but from now on it we will finally see some more action! I will be writing a prequel to this, and it will have a lot more of Jason/Artemis! Thank you once again for all your reviews! They really inspire me to keep writing chapters!
Please review!