Disclaimer: Young Justice is owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros, and - crap, it's getting really hard to think up insults every time - Cartoon Network. Who we hate. That's it. That's the point.

A/N: Wow, part of me thought I'd never get this thing done. First of all, infinite apologies for the lateness of this chapter. A slight emotional lack of motivation thanks to "Endgame" and school craziness had a lot to do with that. But with summer comes writing! I'm resolved to complete this fic within the year, so thank you to the reviewers and supporters (especially geekdad and theravioliyoyo) for helping me pound this fic out.

Also, I heard your comments and so this chapter is considerably shorter. Please continue to leave helpful requests about length and what not. Your feedback is very much appreciated.


Chapter 11: The Resolve

Artemis was falling through a familiar nightmare.

Cheshire and Sportsmaster flitted in and out her dreams. Their faces were magnified a hundred times over, nightmarish and immense, threatening to squash her into a dark oblivion. Whenever she tried to close her eyes the bright, yellow flames leapt up to swallow her.

Daylight, when it came, was a maddeningly welcome sight. Sweat clung to her neck and the backs of her legs. Feeling flooded back to her limbs slowly with a grinding ache. Her hands were bound tightly, and she could feel the stiff white bandages scratching against the tender burn scars that snaked around her palms.

The biggest surprise was the change in environment. Her poor excuse for a prison cell had been replaced by a bedroom. One with butter yellow walls that absorbed the sunlight, and soft carpet floors. Her legs tangled in a deep olive bedspread. Somehow she'd been upgraded.

A dark head of hair rested in folded arms on the side of her bed. The sleeping form twitched slightly at Artemis's movement.

The moment her mother lifted her head, Artemis felt eight years old again. Ignoring her aching body's strains of protest, she collapsed into Paula's thin shoulders, tears staining her mother's threadbare cardigan, and, finally, they had the heart-to-heart Artemis had craved for years.

She told her mother everything. The argument with Wally, the screaming tenants, the little boy in the fire, and Lawrence slicing the line and dropping Artemis to the ground. By the time she was done, the words had scratched raw and bloody scabs in her throat. Paula refilled her water glass twice and stroked Artemis's hair until she was all tapped out of emotion.

And Artemis was finally able to voice the conclusion she'd made after days and days of thought.

"I'm done, Mom. I'm leaving the life," she said with unwavering certainty. "For good."

Paula's eyes shimmered with joy. "Oh, Artemis, I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that." Almost ten years of anxiety built up behind the older woman's brow were visibly melting into a of relief. "Does this mean you will join the team as well?"

Artemis took a deep breath. It was an awkward decision to phrase. Paula's eyebrows rose inquisitively, causing Artemis to babble, which was not something she was prone to.

"Here's the thing…" She could feel a wave of emotional babbling oncoming. "It's irrelevant whether I want to join, because they probably don't even want me anymore. I mean, I lied about coming to see you earlier today because I thought Dad would show - which he did - and I was gonna - y'know what, it doesn't even matter, the point is I lied and now they-!"

Paula laughed and clasped her daughter's hands, lightly skimming her thumbs over the rough bandages. "Artemis, honey, slow down! Take a breath." Artemis complied, sweating slightly. "I'm sure your friends will-"

"I didn't say they were my friends."

"Please don't interrupt me, Artemis," Paula said sternly. "Now, I'm sure the team will understand if you simply explain what happened and apologize."

She rolled her eyes. It wasn't like they were children on the playground fighting over a sandcastle. "I think I'd rather jump out a second burning building."

"Artemis."

"All right, all right, fine."

Paula reached up and cupped her cheek. "There's my girl."

Artemis smiled and leaned into her mother's wrinkled hand. There was still so much to say. Words she was afraid to voice. But one thing was certain.

"I can't be her anymore, Mom," she whispered.

"Who?"

Artemis cleared her throbbing throat and spoke with unsteady assurance. "The old Artemis - the one who fought and killed on command, and never asked why. I wish I could lock her up and drop the key down a well, but it's not that simple. I don't think I can throw that part of myself away."

"So don't." Paula said simply, like it was the easiest solution in the world. "Let the past go, and make a new future as yourself. Don't let your father, your past, or anyone else tell you who to be. That's all I ever wanted for you and for Jade."

Jade. She had nearly forgotten about the other bullet she had to deliver. "Listen, Mom, about Jade…"

But her mother cut her off with a squeeze around the shoulders. "I know," Paula said softly. "That young man, Red Arrow, he told me what happened."

"It's Dad. He's got her. I want to save her, I really do, but…" Artemis took a deep breath. "But, she betrayed me! She turned me in, tried to blow me up, and got caught anyway. After everything that's happened, how can I rescue her when she never would've done the same for me?"

"She didn't betray you."

Artemis whipped around. It was Wally. He leaned against the open door, one foot placed forward as though he were testing the water temperature in a pool.

A plethora of emotion coursed through her veins in a matter of seconds. Thoughts sped so fast through her brain she didn't even notice the rest of the team filing into the room, all wearing grim expressions.

Artemis furiously wiped the tears from her eyes, deciding not to ask how much of her sob story she had heard. From the look on Miss Martian's face, it was probably quite a lot. Damn.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"We weren't supposed to tell you, but…" Miss Martian exchanged a look with Aqualad, who nodded briefly. "Under the circumstances, you can't be left in the dark anymore."

Robin tossed a manila folder on her bedspread. "Your sister came to us with this. It's a comprehensive file about you, your family, your record, your position in the Shadows, everything."

She seized the file and flipped through it. He was right. It read like a private investigator's report, complete with candid pictures - her in costume, in civvies, even an old school photo - and a list of her weaponry, abilities, weaknesses, past assassination jobs, known aliases and addresses, and assessments.

Artemis's hands shook with rage. "She sold me out," she spat.

Miss Martian gently pried the file from her fingers and flipped to the back. The last two pages were reports with two stapled polaroids. One of Jade, and one of Lawrence. "She sold herself," she explained. "Sportsmaster as well."

"But…" Artemis spluttered. "Why…why would she…"

Robin spoke next. "In exchange for this and other information, we had to kidnap you and…well…convert you. She said the method was up to us, as long as you no longer wanted anything to do with the Shadows. That day you faced us in the museum...Cheshire staged the whole thing."

The explosion. The fire. I've been living here for weeks and it's all because…

Miss Martian, her eyes slightly teary, added, "Her only condition was that we couldn't tell you the truth. It was the only way. She said that if you hated her, there'd be less reason to go back. That you would join us just to spite her."

Artemis was speechless. Her sister always understood her so well. She clutched at her bedspread with cold, shaking fingers.

Paula picked up the file and scanned it with calculating eyes. When she spoke, it was with a businesslike tone. "Oh, Jade. Such a risky plan," she murmured. "And the Justice League, your mentors, they were okay with this?"

"There was a lot of debate, but in the end they gave us the job," said Robin. "They thought you might respond better to people your age."

That burned an acidic hole in her stomach. To think that the rapport they'd been building with her had been nothing but a science experiment. On the orders of her sister, no less.

"Yeah? So I'm your charity case? A mission briefing from Batman?" She gave a short, mocking laugh. "In that case, job well done."

Her bitterness bounced off them without any effect. They had been prepared for her reaction.

"We would not insult you by pretending otherwise," said Aqualad stoutly. "But I think I speak for everyone when I say we no longer feel this way. You must know that we have discussed the matter at length amongst ourselves and our mentors."

"And?"

"The offer still stands."

Artemis laughed again. This time her voice was colored with pure, vindictive amusement. "You guys have got some real balls, I'll give you that."

"Look, we know your skills and you know ours," said Robin, clearly impatient. "We all have the same goal and we can help each other. So just work with us!"

"It's not that simple," Artemis restrained herself from calling him "kid."

"Look, Artemis," Wally spoke up "All we're trying to say is this. There's a place for you on our team. If you want it."

It took all Artemis had not to gape at him open-mouthed, stuttering like an infant. She hadn't expected him to speak again, much less be the one to say she had a place. A place she belonged.

The ever-perceptive Miss Martian seemed to notice her discomfort. "I know this must be a lot to take in. Maybe we should give them some space?"

"Of course." Aqualad inclined his head respectfully. "We shall be outside should you need us."

As they turned to leave, an unholy, unwilling force took hold of Artemis's voice and choked out a word. "Wait."

The team stopped abruptly; Wally nearly crashed into Superboy in his haste to spin around.

Aqualad's sea foam green eyes peered into her, searching with unspoken questions. "Yes?"

Crap. She hadn't thought this all the way through. Artemis wracked her brain wildly for justification. In the end, she supposed, it all boiled down to one request.

"Honestly, my sister...is a huge bitch," she said, haltingly. Cue the raising of six sets of confused eyebrows. "But...I think I wanna save her anyway. Will you...will you help me?"

The sentiment was so foreign, humiliatingly so, and the words left a sour aftertaste in her mouth. The positive glee on Miss Martian's face and smugness on Robin's, even more so. Wally's mouth scrunched into something that could've been a thoughtful smile or a twisted smirk. Either way, Artemis wanted to wash their happy-looking eyes out with soap. She couldn't stand that they were so pleased with her.

Aqualad stepped forward, his face more solemn than ever. "You have my word." He swore.

Artemis nodded in reply. The second the door clicked behind them, her head hit the blankets with a soft thwump.

"Well." Paula tapped her fingers on her chair handles. "That was interesting."

"Yup."

"I notice you forgot to apologize."

"Mom."


After another emotional conversation with her mother and one criminally long nap, Artemis struggled. Being a functional human being was more tiresome than she remembered.

As another extension of amnesty, she had woken to find her uniform folded neatly on a chair beside her bed. All the tears had been sewed, the hems mended, and the bloody scrapes rubbed right out of the olive green spandex. She slid the fabric over her head where it settled in comfortably, squeezing around her waist like the embrace of a long-lost friend.

She had considered changing her look many times. Something a bit more somber and elegant than a green midriff bearing crop top and tight pants. But in the end she decided to keep this little part of her intact. Not everything had to change. Not yet.

Knock-knock-knock-knock.

The rapid-fire knuckles rapping on her door gave her a start, and she quickly wriggled on the rest of her clothes. "Yeah?" she called.

She had been expecting her mother again, or maybe even Aqualad. Hell, she would have been less surprised to see Superman turn up at her door. But instead it was Wally West, wearing a frown

"Hey." Her voice cracked in the single syllable.

"Hey," he replied.

The awkward tension was palpable. The kind of awkward that made you want to run headlong through a plate glass door rather than spend two more seconds in the room. Wally wasn't helping the situation either by avoiding eye contact so fiercely he could've burned a hole into the wall behind her.

Thankfully, Artemis's frustration of men and their pride was enough to make her break the silence first. "So…still mad?"

There were gaunt circles under his eyes when he turned his head to meet hers. "What do you think?"

Her chest flared with pain. Whether it was from the fire she'd fallen out of or his words, she couldn't tell. Which reminded her of an important question. "I forgot to ask earlier, but…the people from before. Are they-?"

"They're fine. You saved them."

Artemis released a short breath of relief and sank onto the bedspread. A few bone wracking coughs overcame her. But the pain was worth it after all. She had saved them.

Finally deciding he wasn't getting anywhere by standing in the doorway, Wally crossed to the dresser and handed her the water glass. She accepted gratefully, barely breathing between gulps. The back of her throat still felt like the inside of a chimney.

Wally studied her closely while she drank. "I don't get you," he said, looking like a volcano on the verge of erupting. "I don't get you one bit."

She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "Why?"

He paced around the room, unable to keep his legs still. "You say you're done with the Shadows. You say you wanna help your sister. You have moments where...I don't know, it feels like we're friends o-or the closest thing to it. And then you lie, you go off on your own, you point an arrow in my face." She winced. He just had to bring that up, didn't he? "I mean, what am I supposed to think?"

Artemis bit her lip. Was there an answer for that question? She could only think of answers that started with the word "not."

Not to think of her as a villain. Not as someone untrustworthy. Not as an enemy. As a friend. For starters. The thought of being something more made her toes curl with embarrassment. Undoing the knots she had tangled would take time. A relationship like theirs required rebuilding, emotional brick by brick. Word by word.

So she told what he rightly deserved to hear. "I'm sorry."

Wally's eyes widened. "And now you're apologizing?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Superboy was right; you're definitely a clone."

"A clone?" She laughed through the subsequent coughs that made her skull rattle.

"Believe me, it's not as farfetched as you might think." Wally caught himself about to smile in return and stretched his arms behind his head, turning his gaze to the ceiling. "Apology half-accepted."

"Half-accepted?"

"Yeah. Don't get the wrong impression here. I'm still mad at you."

Artemis rolled her eyes. Of all the thickheaded, idiotic morons in the world, she was stuck with this one.

"But since we have to work together now, I'm putting half of that anger aside. Y'know, for the team."

"Right. For the team." Artemis swallowed a sigh. "So it's really decided then? You're going to help me bring back Cheshire?"

"Aqualad gave you his word, didn't he? He's our leader. We follow his lead. Besides, we're superheroes. We save everyone; bad or good. It's kind of our job." There was so much pride in his voice when he said that. She could respect that. She understood it. "Although Batman did say that, rather than saving her, we're giving Cheshire a running head start."

Artemis smirked. "You guys are way too trusting."

"If it makes you feel better, we also have very specific instructions to neutralize both of you if anything goes wrong," he replied flippantly.

There it was again. His unflinching honesty. She hated how much she liked him for that. "I know that shouldn't make me feel better, but I totally do."

His mouth quirked up at that. It disappeared as quickly as it had come, but she spied the hint of genuine pleasure. It felt good to banter threateningly with him again.

However, the mood was dangerously close to feeling friendly, which was apparently his cue to leave. Wally abruptly began to cross the room. "Well, I'll let you finish changing," he said uncomfortably. Never mind that she had nothing left to put on.

"Hey, Kid Flash," Artemis called after him.

Wally spun around, almost tripping over his own boots. The appropriate usage of his codename felt unnatural after all the variants she'd come up with. "Yeah?"

"Told you I wouldn't run away."

Wally turned his head to hide the smile that crept on his lips. "I guess you didn't."


Before the afternoon was up, Artemis found herself back in the control room. This time not as a prisoner, but as an ally.

Batman stood before the holographic screen while Robin worked the keyboard. Two files of Cheshire and Sportsmaster were open. Her sister's mug shot was sneering through the grainy texturing, one eyebrow half-cocked as though daring the photographer to come chase her.

Artemis stood next to Miss Martian, who greeted her with a smile. Feeling confident in their partial reconciliation, she glanced over at Wally, who caught her gaze and promptly threw it away, angling his shoulders to appear as though he was in deep conversation with Superboy. The stubborn, little –

"As of this morning, one of our contacts within the League has informed us that Sportsmaster was fired from the Shadows' employ." Batman reported.

"What contact?" Artemis asked. She wondered which of her former colleagues was selling out to the Justice League. Other than her sister. That particular factoid continued to swim around her brain as a constant, burning reminder.

Batman dismissed her question with a warning side-eye. "That's confidential. They've recently contracted a new enforcer. A man named Deathstroke."

Artemis had heard of him. His lethal assassination skills - not to mention prodigious ponytail - were well known within villainous circles. But if Sportsmaster was no longer the Shadows' lapdog...

"Meaning there's nothing to hold Sportsmaster back from coming after all of us," Robin translated. "His appearance yesterday is probably what cost him the job in the first place." He turned to Artemis. "Does that sound about right?"

Artemis was startled to be asked for her opinion. "The Shadows know his motivations weren't in their interest. He's made this personal, and that makes him a liability." She gritted her teeth. "To them he's officially a loose cannon. And the Shadows don't want to be held responsible for anymore grand property damage." The media was already twisting the explosion with rumors of terrorism or gang wars blown out of proportion. Ra's al Ghul might be an immortal terrorist, but he wasn't about to take the heat for hits he didn't order.

Batman nodded gravely. "That's why I'm sending the team - and Artemis - to take him out before he does any more damage."

"Take him out as in –?" Artemis made a throat squeezing gesture with her hands.

The team gaped at her, dumbstruck. Red Arrow looked outraged. Wally rolled his eyes and mumbled something that sounded like "trigger-happy."

Robin clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You've got a lot to learn about being one of the good guys."

Whoops. It probably would've been better to play that off as a joke. She shrugged off Robin's hand. "Whatever. As long as I get to shoot him."

Batman was inscrutable as always, but she could have sworn an extra layer of menacing had been added to his demeanor.

"At the moment, the Justice League is preoccupied with an off-planet threat." A video clip of several Leaguers in space suits and extraterrestrials furiously blasting each other with lasers appeared on screen to prove the point. Artemis could see the team fidgeting enviously at the thought of an off-world assignment. "This is a stealth mission. Your orders are to rescue the hostage, Jade Nguyen, and – if necessary – stall Sportsmaster until the Justice League can take him into custody. Nothing more."

And if the job requires me to shoot Sportsmaster full of holes, so be it. Artemis finished in her head. She probably ought to be more frightened of the man who was so hell-bent on murdering her. But that fire had lit a flame of rage inside her. No one threatened her family. Not even her family.

"Red Arrow will be accompanying you on the mission," Batman continued. The angry redhead in question stepped forward when he heard his name. "He's offered to oversee the retrieval of Cheshire and to be an unbiased observer."

It wrinkled Artemis's nerves to have a babysitter, and for once it looked like the team was on the same wavelength. Robin, Wally, and Superboy were outright frowning whereas Miss Martian and Aqualad were merely concerned. A friend was a friend until they're assigned as watchdog for the potentially sociopathic chick.

Only Miss Martian decided to go for the positive spin. "So," she said with a cheerful lilt. "Does this mean it's official? Is Artemis joining the team?"

All eyes turned to Artemis. She tightened her fists to quench the sweat gathering in her palms. There was no point building up her defenses anymore. Now or never. Once answered, she couldn't take the words back. But, as she was beginning to realize, she didn't want to.

"If you'll take me."

A collective whoosh of relief seemed to be released around the room. Miss Martian's cheeks strained from trying to repress the ecstatic smile blooming on her lips.

Batman immediately got down to business. "In that case, Artemis is on probation for now. That means no zeta access, no solo missions, and no being left unaccompanied. Do not share personal information. No addresses or family members or classmates."

"Um, speaking of personal information," Robin interrupted. The others seemed shocked at his audacity to cut through his mentor's speech. Artemis almost wanted to applaud him just for being a little shit towards Batman. "Can we at least do a round of names? For the sake of team cohesion and whatnot."

"Yes!" Miss Martian immediately sprang to the forefront with a friendly hand extended. "You can call me M'gann. M'gann M'orzz." She pushed Superboy forward. "And this is Conner Kent."

"Call me Superboy," he grunted.

Artemis awkwardly shook both their hands. "Nice to, er, meet you. Again. I guess."

Aqualad stepped forward next. "And I am Kaldur'ahm. Kaldur, if you wish."

She returned his genial smile. "Kaldur. I like that."

"Aaaand that's all for now." Robin said.

"What? I don't get to learn your name or Kid Moron's? But how will I ever get his name right?" she exclaimed, all the while thinking, "Wally, Wally, Wallace West, ha!" It was still funny.

"You can start by calling me Kid Flash," Wally grumbled.

"Robin and Kid Flash maintain civilian identities. As such, their real names are protected." Aqualad explained.

"Don't feel bad," said M'gann sympathetically. "None of us know Robin's real name."

"Except me, of course." Wally boasted.

"If you're done introducing yourselves," Batman broke in. Artemis's shoulders quaked with restrained laughter at the sight of Wally visibly shrinking in the Dark Knight's presence.

Batman continued to rattle off a list of regulations, but Artemis couldn't hear him. All she could see were the team's friendly faces. The faces of her new teammates.

"What do you say, Artemis? Are you with us?"

She gazed out at their encouraging smiles, then down at the bandages draped around her hands. The old Artemis would have ran as fast as her legs could carry, but not this new Artemis, reborn in fire. New Artemis's resolve was ice and steel.

"I'm in."