A/N: I think this fic is the first Invasion one I've put up here. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all the reviews of the last chapter; I'm glad that you guys thought it was still pretty good. I can't believe I actually have 42 reviews-either YJ is a lot more active than the other fandoms I write for or just more prone to review. The next chapter will come out July 29th.

Transformation

The night was still. Not even a breeze blew outside, and the owls were silent. Inwardly cursing the eery silence, Artemis slipped out of bed, shivering as her bare feet landed on the cold wood floors.

She crept out of the bedroom into their bathroom, not even glancing in the direction of the kitchen, the usual place of comfort for both of the people in the house. She flicked on the light and stared at herself in the mirror, blinking from the bring light.

She would have to change soon. Nightwing hadn't told her how she would be disguised, but she knew her appearance would have to change so she could Black Manta. Instinctively, she combed through her with her fingers. She really hoped they wouldn't have to change her hair; she'd worn it long for so long, through lots of change, that it was a constant, something that made her who she was.

The really sad part, to her anyway, was how easy the prospect of pretending to be a villain seemed. Granted, it would be hard to leave an d betray her friends, especially Wally, but she knew from watching her father and her sister what it was like to be a villain, to not care about killing others, to only care for your life. Artemis had killed before too.

She scowled, thinking of her sister. Even if she had reformed some, Jade's twisted sense of humor would probably find Artemis' scenario more than amusing.

"Babe?" Through the open bathroom door, she could see Wally standing in the kitchen, half sleep.

"In here."

He trudged over to the bathroom's doorway and pulled her into his chest, a giant bear hug. "You couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head. "No."

"If you haven't changed your mind?" He had stopped fighting, finally accepting that she would go undercover, albeit grudgingly. Artemis had thought it would be nice not to scream at one another as they had for the past couple of weeks, but this was worse; she liked furious Wally better than resigned Wally.

"I haven't."

"Then you really need to get some sleep." He grabbed her hand and pulled her off toward their bedroom.

Wally fell asleep again quickly—whatever the problem at hand, he had never suffered from insomnia—but Artemis spent the rest of the night watching his fading freckles.

Two weeks later, Artemis stood, staring at her own reflection, undercover, underwater. She wouldn't be able sleep tonight; she had killed someone today, the first person in over five years. Up to now, she had been able to knock people out, without any of her companions being able to tell she was purposely trying not to kill.

She trailed her fingers down her face, down her neck, until they rested around the necklace. Artemis was not entirely sure she preferred this method of disguising herself over physically changing her appearance, because she saw herself doing all these atrocities, not some stranger's face who she hadn't gotten used to.

She just hoped she could keep from falling deeper.