A/N Important: It has been a long time since I updated, and I am sorry but my muse for and want to continue this story just came back since my dad passed away recently from cancer. He fought long and hard, and though I'm sad that he's gone, I'm also glad that he's not in pain anymore. Watching him wither away before my eyes was the hardest thing that I've ever had to witness, and I don't wish that type of pain on anyone. So I hope you can forgive me, but I just needed time. When he passed, my muse just kinda went with him. Slowly, but surely, I am getting it back. Writing really helps.

Sorry if it's shorter than previous chapters but I had to break it up into to two parts or else it would've taken even more months to get this out. So thank you to all those who reviewed, faved, followed, or just read; I appreciate you guys so much.

Also, special shout out to The Guest Girl for sending PM's that got me working, even if it was only a little bit at a time.

Disclaimer: Young Justice belongs to DC, not me. Stop trying to make me depressed with the constant reminder! I no own song(s) either. I only own Faith, Emily, Joe, and any other OCs that I create.

Summary: Faith Evans, a 16-year-old girl, was just trying to make sure that she and her little sister got by in the world. "She was prepared to die when she took that bullet. So can someone explain to her why a dead guy's ring just decided to hitch a ride on her finger?!"

Genre: Humor/Adventure/a little Angst/a little Drama(cause you always need just a bit of Angst/Drama in every story)/Romance

Song(s) used: none

Word Count: 4,532

"Mind link"

"Communicating through something (ie: communicators, phones, rings, etc…)"

"Thinking"

Dreams/Flashbacks

"Talking"

Quotes/Lyrics

Chapter 15: Decisions and Judgments Part 1

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade…And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party. –Ron White

"~Names, names are not the same. Tell me, tell me, what's your name?~"

"EMILY! E-m-i-l-y!"

"~I'm bringin' home a ba-by bum-ble bee! Won't my sis-sy be so proud of me!~"

"~and the tree in the seed, and the seed in the hole, and the hole in the ground, and the green grass grows all around and around~"

"~I don't know why~, she swallowed the fly~. I guess she'll die~"

Fae couldn't help the melancholy smile that came to her face as she got up and went about her morning routine. It had been a long time since she'd had any type of good dream, even if it made her a bit sad.

It was during the time when Emily was learning all of those nursery rhymes and kid songs. She wouldn't stop singing a song until she learned a new one that she could sing all day long. Fae didn't mind too much because it made her little sister happy (until Em decided that 'The Song that Never Ends' was the "best song EVER!"…). She wished she could sing those songs again, watching as Em's face lit up when she got the lyrics right. But Fae could live with the memories, knowing that her baby sis was safe.

So needless to say, she woke up in a good mood, even if it was a little nostalgic, but it turned into excited anticipation as she thought about the text she received from Megan a few days ago while she brushed her teeth.

The cellphone itself wasn't anything too special. She'd actually gotten it from Hal around two weeks ago after he found out she didn't have one (according to him, it was blasphemous for anybody, teens especially but little kids excluded, to be without such a device).

Fae hadn't really seen the point, not that she hadn't been appreciative. It was just that the only contacts she'd had were the other Green Lanterns. But after the team's last mission, Megan cornered her (effectively cutting her off from talking to Robin which put a damper on her mood but only for a moment) and all but demanded to know if there was a way for them to keep in contact (comm.s were strictly for mission/emergency use, and apparently, Superboy wasn't much of a talker. As if she didn't already know that).

This led to her getting three new numbers: Wally's ("Can I have your number? I seem to have lost mine." She snorted), Robin's (which more than made up for Megan's interruption), and Megan's (Fae figured her uncle must've gotten her one).

The text she got was about the beach picnic that the team (minus Wally since school started for him that day) would be having. Fae knew that she should be feeling a little apprehensive since that night they would be protecting the scientist form the Shadows, mainly Cheshire, who also happened to be Artemis's sister (family drama she really didn't want to get into).

She fiddled with the idea of actually trying to capture Cheshire as she got ready, but pushed it from her mind almost immediately. The assassin was no joke when it came to fighting prowess, not to mention she was a damn good escape artist. And as much as she loathed admitting it, Fae wasn't sure she was up to par with the female assassin yet. She might have been professionally trained for a few years, but Fae wouldn't put it past Sportsmaster to have had Cheshire trained since she was a kid.

Yet even with all of that, she knew that she couldn't really catch the assassin mainly because she wouldn't know what would change. The League of Shadows did not tolerate failure, and that must've gone doubly for their top agents. But Fae doubted they would get rid of Cheshire, especially if they'd gotten far in their planning (this worried her a little since the show never went into detail about what the Shadows/Light were planning; they only did the big reveal towards the end and even that extended into the second season).

Honestly, she was 100% positive that if they even managed to get her, Artemis would no doubt panic and release her like she'd done in the show.

Fae finished putting on a white shirt with a Mario star design and black skinny jeans. Laying out a red two-piece swimsuit, she decided to not think about it. Right now she had to get to the Mount for beach day, and she'd much rather relax on the sand looking at fit, half-naked guys than think about crazy villains. She was a teenager after all, and it had been a while before she'd had any type of real fun. If she was being truthful, the only type of fun she'd ever had was beating other people up, and she was sure that didn't count.

With renewed excitement, she slipped on a pair of blue and white tennis shoes, grabbed the suit, and made her way out of the apartment, glad that she had the day off.

Shutting the door, Fae only had one more thought as she locked up.

"Hopefully I'll get along with our soon-to-be resident archer. I'm not too good with handling attitudes."

She blamed Grandpa Joe and Kilowag for that.

I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself. To cut yourself out of stone. –Henry Rollins

Red Arrow's (Speedy's) POV

He'd tucked Roquette away in a warehouse with a few basic necessities and strict instructions not to leave the building unless it was absolutely necessary. He had to make countless reassurances (as annoying as that was) that a back-up team would be coming and all she'd have to do is wait. Fortunately, she was calmed for the time being. Unfortunately, this was a huge lie on his part. In times like these, he could almost regret cutting ties with the League (which left a horrible taste in his mouth), but he would figure this out.

He had to.

It was his first big mission since he went solo, and if he failed, not only would a lot of innocent lives be taken but classified info on cutting edge tech would be in the hands of the Shadows. Adding insult to injury, the League would more than likely end his solo streak (and he didn't doubt for a second that they could).

He exhaled harshly as he took a seat at the edge of the roof's building he'd been perched on.

The red archer had been up for days, first with planning to break her out of captivity, then executing said plan, and then protecting the Doc for the past night and day. He was lucky that the Shadows rarely, if ever, worked during the day. That gave him a few hours to figure out what to do because he knew that assassins would be after her, and good ones at that. He would've attempted to protect her himself, but lack of sleep was impairing his judgment, and one mistake would cost him.

Dammit!

He slammed a fist into the hard cement of the roof, not paying any attention to the twinge of pain he felt at the action.

If this was the best he could do then he might as well sign himself up for the play club his friends called a team.

…Wait.

That was the solution!

He might not have thought all too highly of them working as the League's little trained puppets (which was probably a bit harsh but exhaustion tends to make one more than a little cynical), but he trusted his friends with this.

He knew Robin, Kid, and Aqualad wouldn't turn him down, and would be more than excited at the prospect of facing the Shadows. If he was in his right mind, he would be upset with himself for even thinking of putting his friends in that much danger.

But he was more than sure they could handle it. They were trained for this exact reason after all. Not to mention they had a Kryptonian and a Martian on their side to back them up. He supposed he could add the Green Lantern to that list, but something about her just rubbed him the wrong way. She acted like she knew things, things she wasn't supposed to.

He was completely sure that he was the only one who knew about the League's actual base judging by their mentors' startled expressions, but she just seemed bored, not reacting at all. Then when he was walking out, she had been mad at what he'd said but looked at him with scorn. Like she knew what he was going to do and was silently telling him he was an idiot, and he didn't appreciate it.

Whatever.

He still needed their help, and just this once, he would "bite the bullet", only because he'd promised a back-up team to Roquette.

With a plan in mind, the archer stood and made his way back to the warehouse. It was time to move the Doc to a safer location so she could start on this virus she'd been talking about.

In a dark room sat a male figure, slightly illuminated only by the soft glow from the numerous screens in front of them. Instead of the white, almost ghostly, images that usually graced the monitors, young teenagers replaced them.

Cold green eyes peered from the darkness as the figure watched the different sidekicks fight from various angles. Multiple video feeds showed each one defeating their fair share of robotic monkeys, however, none of that interested the man.

Eyes watched, calculating, the center screen directly in front of him.

The half Kryptonian clone was fighting the android, Amazo as Professor Ivo preferred to call it, along with the Atlantean, bird, and speedster. However, the focus point was mainly on the Project of Cadmus.

The Weapon's progress was impressive to say the least; far better than its previous battles against the mutated scientist lackey and the other, wind-based android. It was almost disappointing to see its anger quelled by the Atlantean's words. It would've been amusing to see the destruction the clone would bring when consumed by anger.

Thinking on the previous failed experiments, however, he deemed that it was for the best. After all, a skilled weapon was far superior to a raging beast, even if its power was cut in half.

That would be changed soon enough though.

No sooner had the thought finished that a red light went off on the armrest of his metallic chair; a request for entrance.

Granting it, already knowing who it would be, the man resumed staring at the video just as a timely arrow passed through the android's head harmlessly as it phased out but, consequently, freeing the red and yellow clad teen.

"Master."

There was no need to turn around since he knew that the being behind him, clad in black from head to toe, was kneeling, waiting for acknowledgement. He, however, continued to watch the battle(s) play out, feeling no pressing need to inform his underling of what he wanted at the moment.

Only after the final fee played out did he turn from the screens and look down at the figure patiently waiting for him.

"What is the situation with Dr. Serling?"

His voice was as smooth as a snake, slithering through the room and into the ears of his intended audience. It would've made any lesser being's skin crawl, scurrying away at the danger hidden within.

Fortunately, the shadow in front of him was no ordinary being.

"The cloned archer has freed her but not before she was able to complete the fog."

The seated man pondered on the information for a moment before proceeding with the questioning.

"And what…precautions are being taken to insure that the good doctor does not become…a nuisance?"

The hunched figure didn't miss a beat and answered in its gravely tone.

"The assassin known as Cheshire has been tasked with the elimination of the target."

"I see. How amusing."

As it were, based on the video, he could assume that her younger sister had taken up the Green Arrow's offer and become his "protégé" of sorts. It would seem that she wasn't cut to be a Shadow, but no matter. They had no room for weak links, and this little "family reunion" would be decent entertainment at least.

"Make sure that she will be ready, and, if needed, remind her of the…repercussions should the outcome of this mission be unsatisfactory."

The dark being bowed even lower before rising to its full height and left just as silently as it came.

When the man was alone once more, he turned back around to, the now, white and static-like monitors. Soon, a very familiar buzzing sound went through his mind.

Leaning back into the metal seat, green eyes closed as a multitude of voices, not unlike that of a hive of bees, converged into one and spoke.

"The Vessel. We need the Vessel. Where is the Vessel?"

"All in due time. It is not yet ready. It needs to gain more power."

"More power. The Vessel."

"Correct."

The buzzing in his mind reached a crescendo as the feeling of angered impatience swept through his mind before it became "docile". It was an unnecessary false pretense as he could feel the deadly rage beneath the surface.

"Rest assured that it will be ready soon, and we will no longer wander as a formless being."

He was met with a feeling akin to approval mixed with force patience before the presence withdrew from his mind, leaving yet another tainted stain in its wake.

Green eyes reopened with a slightly deranged look touching them, almost lost in the intoxicating promise of unimaginable power after the merge.

After they became one once more.

"All in due time."

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. –Dalai Lama

Her good mood was officially gone.

She didn't think it could happen, especially not after all the fun they'd had that ended not even thirty minutes ago!

But Fae guessed it was inevitable.

Good moods just did not last long in this universe.

Especially when a certain female archer decided to have a pissing contest (she didn't know a girl could do that, but Artemis was proving it possible) with most everyone on the team.

The meeting of sorts had started off okay, everyone in high spirits after the much needed team bonding. Over the intercom, Batman informed them of a new arrival that would be joining the team and to suit up for introductions. After, Green Arrow introduced his new partner, Artemis, and as expected, the girl was as haughty as she'd been in the show.

The way her steel, grey eyes skimmed over the team, like she was ready to fight them at a moment's notice set her nerves on edge.

The teenage girl had long, blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail. She wore a forest green, sleeve-less crop top with black edges on the shoulders and an attached cowl of the same color and an arrow of a light green color proudly displayed on the front. She had forest green pants with light green highlights tucked into black, ankle boots, kneepads on top, a black utility belt, and black thigh pouch. She also had a forest green armband on her right upper arm with matching lightweight gauntlets. A black quiver filled with green arrows adorned her back and a collapsible green bow was opened in her hand.

When everyone went to greet her properly: she was neutral towards their Atlantean leader, nodded towards Robin in something akin to respect, became star-struck when seeing Superboy (though the clone had only grunted out his name in probably the most unfriendly way possible before becoming disinterested), and she looked more than a little wary when the resident Martian flew up to her.

But when it came to her own turn, Fae was completely surprised.

The female archer snubbed her!

Artemis had taken one look at her, sizing her up for a moment or two, before she subtly curled her lip and turned away in barely hidden disdain.

Honestly, had Fae done something to offend the archery gods that ultimately caused anyone who picked up a bow to dislike her (excluding Green Arrow who looked as surprised as she felt)? But that surprise quickly turned to miffed anger; Robin's hand on her elbow the only thing keeping her from shoving an armored green boot up where the "sun don't shine".

The next minute (that felt like hours) passed in tense silence, Fae having turned away at Robin's silent urging. She could practically hear the unspoken "don't let it get to you" in her head (or maybe that was Megan?). So she breathed out her mouth (if everyone heard her huff, then so be it) and brushed it off.

There went her chance of befriending at least one of Arrow's protégés…

So it was suffice to say that her good mood had died. Or it would've if Wally hadn't decided to show up just as the tension started to become suffocating.

He ran into the room, decked out in beach gear, umbrella and ball in hand (even had a smidge of sunscreen across his nose), shouting about getting the party started.

And promptly tripped over the umbrella pole in his arms, landing face first on the metallic floor.

She and Robin snickered at the sight. Even though he was a goof, Wally had the uncanny ability to lift just about anyone's spirit.

Even if it was unintentional.

Artemis found it funny in an entirely different way as she sneered at his yellow swim trunks.

"Nice costume. What exactly are your powers?"

"I wonder how much the plot would change if I threw her off the top of the Mount."

Wally was just as unimpressed with her attitude as she was.

"Uhh. Who is she?"

Although his question was obviously not meant for her, the green clad teen crossed her arms and proudly answered.

"Artemis, your new teammate."

Wally got off the floor with a sour look directed at the blonde.

"Kid Flash, never heard of you."

Green Arrow, probably sensing an oncoming fight (really, he wasn't far off), decided to step in.

"She's my new protégé."

The news was not well received if Wally's expression was anything to go by (honestly, she could care less. His former partner was a jerk).

"What about your old one?!"

"Recognized: Speedy, B-07."

"For one, he doesn't go by "Speedy" anymore. Call me Red Arrow."

Speak of the devil, right?

No longer in his Robinhood type costume, Speedy, or Red Arrow, was now adorned in a red and black, sleeveless, Kevlar body-suit with black fingerless gloves that reached mid-forearm and black boots; his black quiver of arrows and collapsible red bow on his back.

"Roy! You look-"

"Replaceable."

Did he really just say that? The guy walks out on his mentor and friends and he thinks he has the right to say that?

Ass.

"It's not like that! You told me you were going solo."

And with that, Fae tuned out of the drama that was going to unfold between old and new protégé (neither were really in her good graces so she was allowed not to care from time to time). Instead she looked over to her right where Superboy and Megan stood watching the face-off in confusion. She couldn't blame them though. They had no clue who Red Arrow was. To them, he was a stranger barging into the base and causing chaos (which he was, even if it was for a good reason).

Megan's eyes found hers and gave her a look that basically said "What's happening?", "Who is this guy?", and "What do we do?" Honestly, she would've loved to see Megan throw the arrogant archer into a wall via telekinesis, but sadly, the situation would get worse if she told the two that Red was a threat (plus, with the way Wally and Robin were greeting him, it wouldn't work). So Fae just shrugged her shoulders and returned her attention to the spectacle unfolding.

"You came to us for a reason."

At least one person was on track; the Young Justice creators did well when they made Kaldur.

The older redhead glowered at the opposing ponytailed archer before turning his attention to his friend.

"Yeah, a reason named Dr. Serling Roquette."

Before he could get another sentence out, Robin jumped in, almost overly excited to discuss the female genius.

"Nano-robotics genius and clay-tronics expert at Royal University in Star City. Vanished two weeks ago."

Red almost wanted to smile at his young friend's enthusiasm, but he needed to focus.

"Abducted two weeks ago by the League of Shadows."

As expected, Robin and Wally were in awe, even though what they were in awe for was the completely wrong reason.

"Whoa."

"You want us to rescue her from the shadows? Hard-core!"

His next sentence burst their bubbles.

"I already rescued her. Only one problem: The shadows had already coerced her into creating a weapon."

He went over to the holo-monitors, putting in information that he was debriefing them on. The Fog; compromised of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators that were capable of disintegrating anything like concrete, steel, flesh, and bone. However, its true purpose was theft, stealing data from any type of computer system and delivering it to the Shadows. It practically provided them with almost unlimited access to various weapons, strategic defense, tech, etc.

While everyone was looking on and listening intently, Artemis just nodded her head in a bored fashion.

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking. Yeah. Sounds like the Shadows."

She rolled her eyes at the end like this was a waste of time.

Wally was getting more and more irritated with the female blonde by the minute.

"Like you know anything about the shadows."

She narrowed her eyes and smirked in a way that all but screamed "secrets". Fae almost shook her head. If she didn't want to appear suspicious, this was not the way to go about it.

The speedster looked ready to blow a gasket.

"Who are you?!"

Wanting to back up Wally (he didn't believe that "Green Arrow's niece" story at all) but also wanting to get this over with, the red archer plowed on.

"Roquette's working on a virus to render the fog inert."

He told them of how she was off the grid, stashed in a local high school computer lab (not his best decision but he was working on no sleep and quite a bit of caffeine, the only thing keeping him going at the moment). Apparently, his former mentor had the same line of thinking.

"You left her alone?!"

Vexed by the questioning of his decision, Red Arrow almost snapped but managed to rein it in in time.

"She's safe enough for now."

"Then let's you and I keep her that way."

The redhead scowled.

"You and I? Don't you wanna take your new protégé?"

It was pretty tough watching the former mentor and partner going at it like this. Fae knew that Green Arrow was a pretty good guy, and he obviously thought highly of the redheaded archer if he trusted him enough with knowledge of the Watchtower. To see it backfire on him and leave him partner-less must've hurt pretty badly.

Batman moved to place his hand on Green Arrow's shoulder when he went to say something and gave him a look.

The oldest archer sighed before looking at his former apprentice in resignation.

"You brought this to the team. It's their mission which means it's hers now, too."

Red Arrow looked like a significant point was just proven as he turned to go back to the Zeta Tubes.

"Then my job is done."

He walked back, shooting Artemis one last glare (who returned it just as fiercely).

"Recognized: Speedy-"

He very nearly growled.

"That's Red. Arrow. B-07. Update."

And he was gone in a flash of light.

Sending a glare at the spot where he disappeared, Fae returned her attention back to the two adult heroes when Green Arrow cleared his throat Batman then proceeded to "christen" the mission (though they would've ended up going anyway even if he hadn't) and told them to "be careful" in bat-lingo.

Everyone was paying close attention to the little pep-talk (if you could call the Dark Knight's stoicism pep…) except for Artemis. The female archer kept a steady glare on the Zeta Tube where Red Arrow had vanished until they had to get to the Bio-ship.

Fae almost felt bad for the girl. It was obvious that Artemis's indction into the team was going to be tough. It would've been anyway with the way she acted, but Red Arrow inadvertently made it worse by almost starting a fight (though it takes two to tango) in front of three members of the team who still whole-y supported him (even if Kaldur and Robin could think about the situation rationally). The green-clad teen definitely hadn't earned any brownie points.

Considering all that plus the struggles that she knew the blonde went through, Fae should've felt bad.

But then she remembered how Artemis had snubbed her for no reason what-so-ever and her irritation was back. For a moment, Fae even played with the idea of calling "bullshit" on the whole situation and outing the arrogant girl. A second later, she mentally reeled and slapped herself. That would've been the worst thing she could've done!

Firstly, she'd have been hauled off by having knowledge of such classified info. Secondly, the team didn't have that unbreakable, "no-matter-what" bond that they developed over time, and such info would destroy their trust in any new recruit (maybe even between each other). And lastly, though she was loathe to admit it, Artemis didn't deserve to have her secrets spilled in such a manner. Not when everyone had their own (some members keeping them knowingly, others, unknowingly).

None of that meant that Fae liked her though. She'd make sure to keep her distance until the female archer's attitude changed because Fae refused to deal with that.

As she buckled into her designated seat, she prayed that they'd survive. Fae had at least been able to help the others on previous missions, even if it was just a little bit, but she got the feeling that Artemis would reject any type of help she'd give.

Her eyebrow twitched.

Whatever. At least she'd be able to take her frustrations out on the Shadows assassins, and if she happened to use unnecessary force, well, no one would blame her.

My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can. –Cary Grant

Chapter 15 (Part 1) End

So there you have it. There was a lot of attitude in this chapter and zero romance, but it had to happen. And, no, I didn't have Artemis hate Fae for no reason. She actually has a valid reason (or at least she thinks she does) for disliking Fae. It will be revealed in later chapters.

If you made it all the way down here, then you've obviously read (or at least skimmed through) the chapter, so if you would kindly review that would be awesome! And for those of you who celebrate it (even though it's a few days early) HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

All of the love

-SP13