As Promised a longer chapter. This one get intense, sorry. There is gore and language, so brace yourself. Because of this chapter I probably won't be able to write them next one until later this week. Again, sorry. Also please check out my other story 'A New Family Member."
All she could see was the darkness. She heard a child's voice call her name.
"Artemis! Tag! You're it." She opened her eyes. She looked down to see two little kids running around a grassy field next to a playground. A little girl with glasses and dark brown hair had just tagged the other little girl in purple overalls and big blonde hair. It was her, from when she was little. This is a memory, my memory. Young Artemis ran after the little girl with a grin on her face. She couldn't have been older than 5. Artemis turned and looked over her shoulder to see an older looking girl sitting on the swings reading a book. She had long black hair and beautiful olive colored skin like her own. The girl didn't look up from her book. Alice in Wonderland.
Artemis chocked back a sob. It was Jade. Younger Jade, she wore a black t-shirt and jeans with her signature green baseball cap. Artemis tried to walk up to her, but her legs wouldn't move. Her voice wouldn't let her call out to her sister. She turned her head back around to see the other young girl running form Artemis screaming with joy, trying not to get tagged. As she ran her foot hit the curb of the road forcing her to trip and land on her butt in the middle of the road. Young Artemis stopped running and looked at her friend. Don't just stand there help her! What are you doing?!
"Artemis?" the little girl looked confused as if she had forgotten where she was. Before either Artemis could look away a large truck came out in front of the girl. The older Artemis tried to close her eyes but the younger one didn't. She stood there and watched in horror. No tears came to the little girls face, her eyes were wide in horror. She didn't move.
"Lily?" the young girl asked letting out a sob. The scene shifted. She was sitting at her kitchen counter eating a bowl of stale cereal with water when a crash came from the bedroom next her. Artemis watched her younger self, she knew this memory, she didn't know how but she knew. Her younger self now eight years old got up from the table and walked to the bed room, without any choice in the matter the elder followed. There in her parents' bedroom was her sister and Sports Master.
"I can't live like this, mom in jail, you always gone, Artemis and I need someone who doesn't leave whenever they feel like it. We need a real parent!" her sister yelled at her father.
"How do you think the lights and water are still on!? I provide for you, sorry princess if it isn't good enough for you!" he took of his mask, and flicked open his lighter. Lighting a new cigarette and put it between his lips. Jade turned red with anger.
"Fuck you! I don't need you, I don't need anybody! I can do just fine on my own." She pulled the cigarette from between his yellow stained teeth and threw it on the ground and put it out with her boot. She quickly turned and left the room and walked down the hallway to her and Artemis' room. Her father stood there with no expression on his face. He turned to look at Artemis.
"We start training tomorrow morning." With that he lit another cigarette placed it between his lips and took a long drag of the smoke, exhaling though his nose. The images of Jade when she went through training ran through her mind, the scars, the bruises, bloody noses and broken bones. Artemis quickly fled the room to find her sister packing her begs.
"You can't go. What if mom comes back?" she asked her sister. Jade didn't look up at her. Jade began to talk to the young girl with her back to her. Look up at her damn it! That's the least you owe her! Me! You can't leave. Don't leave. Not again. The tears began to run down both the girls' cheeks. "In this family it's every girl for herself." And with that the Cheshire cat was gone. The scene changed again.
Artemis and her father were standing in the kitchen of their small apartment. 12 year old Artemis was washing her face over the kitchen sink watching the rusty colored water wash down the drain taking the screams with them. Behind her, her father lit a cigarette. Oh-no.
"Artemis?" he asked. The young girl didn't looked up from the sink. Her father slowly began to rise from his chair and walked to the opposite side of the kitchen. "Do you know what you did wrong?" The young girl was gripping the chair so tight her bloody knuckles were turning white.
"Yes." She said under her breath. Her father shook his head and made a clicking noise with his tongue. He waked over to the kitchen drawers only a few feet from her.
"And what did you do wrong?" he asked. The calmness in his voice made shivers run down her spine. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a large kitchen knife exactly four inches wide. He slowly twirled it between his fingers.
"I let the target get away." She said keeping her head low.
"That's right. You had one simple task. Kill the Kid Flash. Drive an arrow through his heart. The one then you can do better than anyone I've ever seen…" The younger girl turned around to meet her father's glare and was greeted with a knife. She held back the scream lodged in her throat. The blood slowly dipped through her shirt and landed on her shoes.
"And you miss?" he dug the knife deeper and twisted it. She let out a whimper. "I thought I had trained you better than this Artemis." He let go of the knife leaving it in her side and waked away.
"I've got a job to go do. See you in a few weeks. There's milk in the fridge." And with that he left. The young girl collapsed on the kitchen floor. She sat there for hours trying to pry the knife out and stitch her side back up. The older archer sat there and watched as she traced her fingers over her own scar. The scene changed again.
No! No! No! I can't watch anymore I just want to go home. Her 14 year old self sat sitting at a desk next to a black haired boy with deep brown eyes. He was telling her a joke, Artemis let out a light laugh a rolled her eyes. Laughing her still hurt her side, but the joke wasn't that funny anyways. All around them kids were packing up and the chalk board in the front of the room read 'Have a Great Summer.' Mr. Gray's 9th grade English class.
"Got any plains for summer Arty?" he asked her. She shook her head.
"Nope mostly going to hang out and watch Netflix," Killing innocent people, "what about you?" She asked the boy. The closer the older girl looked at him, she knew this boy from somewhere. He had a strong jawline, with bushy eyebrows, his right front tooth was chipped. Artemis remembering him tell her it was from when the Batman had saved him from some muggers.
"I was going to ask this girl out, but I don't think she likes me back." He said looking down at his desk. The younger girl gripped her pen tighter in her hand, almost breaking it. She let out a sigh of air and released the pencil from its death grip. Boy, did I have it bad.
"Well whoever she is she's a very lucky girl, and would be stupid to not go out with someone like you." Artemis said forcing a smile. The boy looked up with a goofy grin on his face, the grin reminder the elder of someone, her stomach turned at the thought.
"Well then, Artemis Crock, would you like to go out with me?" Artemis watched her younger self go completely red. The boys smile grew.
"I'll take that as a yes." Just then a bell rang excusing the student for three months of no school. The two teens walked hand and hand down the hall. They walked outside of the building smiling at each other.
"How about I walk you home?" The elder suddenly remember this memory, fear ran down her spine. No! Tyler don't! But the words didn't come out.
"I would like that." The two turned down the street and headed for her apartment, the older girls feet moved for her forcing her to follow. Tears welled up in her eyes as they grew closer to her apartment. Suddenly out of an ally way a man in a black coat and hoddie pulled a knife from his coat pocket and aimed it at the two.
"Money now." He placed out his other hand. The young girl had no money, neither did the boy.
"Look we don't have any money. Just keep walking and no lone gets hurt." The man frowned at him.
"Then how about I just take your little girly friend here." he reached for Artemis who was ready to attack the guy, but Tyler stood between them.
"Don't touch her…" Artemis could only see the back of Tyler, but she could tell something was wrong by the way his back tensed.
"Tyler?" he slowly turned around, the man in the coat was gone but he had left his knife. The blood quickly escaped Tyler's body along with the color from his face.
"Tyler no!" the young girl screamed and caught him in her arms. He reached out and placed his hand on her cheek smearing it with blood. Tears streamed down his face. The knife had punctured his lung forcing it to collapse and fill with blood. He didn't have much time. She cradled his head in her arms. The older blonde could only stare and watch in horror.
"Don't Worry Ty, I'll get some help. Stay calm everything with be okay." She said reaching for her phone. He put his hand on hers before she could reach it.
"We both know I'm not going to make it Arty. Even if you did call for help the closest hospital is in downtown Gotham, they wouldn't reach here in time." He started coughing blood.
"Tyler don't leave me you can't leave me." The young archer said holding him as close as she could. "You can't leave me. I can't lose any more people." He let out a light laugh.
"Every since the day in third grade when you kicked the crap out of those kids who were picking on me I knew I was in love with you. I love you Arty." He coughed again.
"I love you too Tyler." She slowly leaned down and kissed the dead fool. She sat there crying for an hour until she finally called someone and the hospital came and collected the body, the police arrived soon after. The two girls sat next to each other on the curb holding their knees to their chest trying to make the tears stop.
"I really did love him." The young archer said to herself. Me too.
"Why isn't she awake?!" the speedster yelled at the Martian. The Martian wiped away her tears.
"Because Psimon installed a... fail-safe memory loss function. Right now she is reliving some of the most traumatic experiences, the ones that were her worst dreams in her... wonderland."
"Well then pull her out!" he yelled.
"It could kill her!" the green skinned girl snapped back.
"Only she has to survive them again, and lets hope her heart dose not give out any time before that." Aqualad stated. Wally angrily sat down in the seat next to the Cat. He let out a sigh after the others had left the room and turned to his girlfriends sister.
"What is she going through in there?" the Kid asked. The Cat let out a shaky sigh. The speedster had and never seen her without her mask before now, she looked just like Artemis, just different hair and eyes. He had also never seen her this depressed before.
"Hell," she answered him. Just then the door swung open to revile the young Boy Wonder, the color drained from his face. Both the Cat and speedster were on their feet. Before either of them could ask whats wrong the bird answered.
"It's the Joker."
Honestly this is probably the darkest thing I have ever written, trust me it gets better. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Love ya :)