Chapter 35
A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Sorry that it took so long for me to update. I had a bit of writer's block and life was just being well…life. Now, I know last chapter was a bit short, so I'm hoping that this one will be longer. However, it might not be my best written chapter given how much it's been fighting me. But, it's still good to see y'all're enjoying the story so far.
Remember, I just own the story, nothing else is mine.
/comms/
Telepathy/flashbacks
New Orleans, December 5, 06:41CST
"A warehouse? Little cliché, isn't it?"
Turning off the engine, Sportsmaster glanced at his review mirror, meeting the cold violet gaze of the man he was ordered to escort. As an assassin, he had had the displeasure of encountering a lot of…messed up people. And, normally it didn't bother him. It was just something that came with the territory.
However, despite this, no matter how many times he encountered William Afton, the man never failed to give him the creeps.
"Best place to work without arousing suspicion," the assassin answered, turning off the engine.
"True," the man hummed, sliding out of the car behind him.
Leading the way inside, Sportsmaster punched in the code to open the doors. Revealing the forms of two of his bosses standing in the center along with one of their aids. No doubt waiting for their arrival.
The sound of the door opening drew their attention, causing them to turn towards the source. It also caused a look of surprise to cross Klarion's face as he spotted them, thought it didn't last long before a wide grin formed in its place. "Will! You didn't tell me you were coming!"
"And ruin the surprise?" the serial killer grinned, splitting from the assassin's side to approach the Chaos Lord. "Now where's the fun in that?"
"I guess this means Morrow isn't coming?"
William scoffed, "Obviously. Honestly, that man has no hope of even coming out of his coma. Let alone escape. As much as I would love to pick his brain, the old bastard refuses to die despite his uselessness. And I can't get access to just get it over with."
"Maybe we could teleport in, and you could rip it out?" the Witch Boy suggested, his face beginning to morph into a demonic grin.
"Don't tempt me with a good time, Klarion. As fun as that would be, we have work to do."
-.-
Gotham, December 5, 16:56EDT
To say Artemis had been having a rough day was an understatement. First, she had almost been late to school because she slept through her alarm following a late night on patrol in Star. Not that she regretted going on patrol. No. That had actually been one of the best ones of her crime fighting career so far. Perhaps the only highlight of her day so far. Seeing that little girl's face when she realized her dad was saved…it made all the late nights & grueling hours of training worth it.
However, consequently, she hadn't been able to get coffee to help her focus in class as she'd been more focused on catching the bus. Then, she had a quiz in pre-calc that she may've bombed because of her exhaustion and stress from the morning.
It wasn't like she hadn't studied for it, but still, it was rough. Especially since math wasn't her best subject overall. It wasn't her worst…but definitely not her best. At least she could afford to do bad on one or two assignments here and there.
Plus, during lunch she hadn't been able to hang out with Mike or Bette because she had a dental appointment she completely forgot about. Meaning she hadn't been able to vent to either of them about the bullshit assignments and quizzes.
So, after all that, being able to go home and relax was something she desperately needed. At least to give her a few hours to decompress before going to hang out at the Cave with the others.
Those plans hadn't lasted long as she learned that the entire foundation of her training with the League was a lie.
Batman and Green Arrow hadn't reached out to her because she was doing good on her own and had saved Baywatch's sorry ass. No. Turns out they had confronted her mom first. And the woman, believing only the worst of her youngest daughter, had begged them to keep her on the straight and narrow.
Like she wasn't already doing that for herself.
Instead of showing that she had proved herself to be different from the rest of her family by showing how she preferred to use her skills for good, her mother had turned her into a pity case.
At least to the adults.
"Ok, so maybe I wasn't brought in because I impressed them," she muttered. "I've just spent the last four months doing nothing but. I've got nothing to prove. I'm one of a kind."
"Artemis?"
Jumping, the blonde scrambled to her feet, looking up meet the mischievous smirk of a certain bird-themed heroine's protégé. The older boy was on the balcony above her, leaning against the railing giving a snicker at her reaction.
"Jesus Christ, Mike!" she hissed, glaring up at him. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Well, it's not my fault you weren't paying attention," he retorted, swinging over to land on the balcony beside her. "So, is there any reason why you're trying to imitate Bats? Because I hate to break it to you, but that man is the king of brooding."
Artemis gave him a deadpan look. Completely unmoved by his attempt at humor. Which wasn't unusual. His jokes were almost as bad as Green Arrow's some days.
Still, something in her expression must've tipped him off as the smug grin faded. Quickly being replaced with a look of concern. "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, why?"
The boy gave her a look, his glowing eyes seeming to see right through her. "Because I literally walked up on you talking to yourself about not needing to prove yourself," he stated, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the rail. "So, what's going on? Did something happen with GA?"
"No…nothing happened!" she said, raising her hands defensively.
"Then did something go wrong on patrol?"
"No. Patrol was great actually."
"So what's going on then? Is it someone at school? Because if someone needs a reminder, I'll be more than happy to—"
"No! No…It's not anyone at school," she reassured. And that much was true. Sure, there were jerks at Gotham Academy. But they typically just made the occasional snide comment about her being poorer than them. Otherwise, they just ignored her entirely.
Probably because they were still utterly terrified of her friends.
Not that she was complaining, though. The less she had to deal with rich assholes the better.
"Ok…so what's going on then?"
Artemis sighed, slumping over the railing. "It's just…" she trailed off, unsure of how to continue. It wasn't like she didn't want to vent. Lord knew she did it enough to drive her friends insane some days. And, many times, getting an outside perspective helped.
But this was different.
All those other times didn't call her loyalty to the Team into question. Nor did it saddle her friends with her issues either. They had their own problems to deal with. The last thing they needed was to deal with burdens that were ultimately hers to bear.
"Never mind."
"You sure?" Mike spoke gently.
"Yeah."
Thankfully, he didn't press further. "Ok." Pushing himself upright, the other protégé tossed her a soft smile, "But I'm always here if you ever wanna talk."
Without waiting for a reply, the boy vaulted himself over the rail, dropping down to the ground below and walking to the Zeta Tube. Giving her a casual wave before stepping inside the booth housing the secret teleporter.
"Recognized: Remnant—B07."
Even though they didn't really talk a whole lot. The archer couldn't help but feel a weight come off her chest in relief. Sure, GA may've taken her under his wing because Bats and her mom told him to. But at least her team still had her back.
Despite her origin, she had proven herself to be a valuable member of the Team.
Swinging over the railing, she landed in the alleyway, making her way over to the Zeta.
"Recognized: Artemis—B08."
Her good feelings didn't last long.
As when she stepped into the Cave, instead of seeing her friends crowded around the training area ready for practice, she found them crowded around a certain red-clad protégé standing with her mentor.
"Artemis," Green Arrow grinned, giving her that same stupid carefree grin he always did, "Look who's agreed to join the Team."
"Finally!" Baywatch chimed in excitedly.
Putting her hands on her hips, the archer bit the inside of her cheek. Great, just when she thought this day couldn't get any worse.
"Sure," she muttered, stalking over, "Team's needed a real archer."
The blonde could feel the concerned gazes of a couple of her teammates on her, but she elected to ignore it. Instead focusing on her mentor as he began to type on one of the holopads. "Alright everyone, the Dynamic Duo's working on a case in Gotham, but Batman gave me a heads up the he received an alert," pulling up an image, everyone in the room held their breath as a familiar photo appeared on the screen, "Sportsmaster was spotted coming through the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans.
"In full costume?" Zatanna said, raising a brow, "Nervy."
"In street clothes," the archer corrected, switching to a different camera feed.
Doing her best to remain impassive, Artemis watched as the face of her father appeared on the screen. As her mentor said, the blonde assassin was in casual clothes—something which rarely ever happened as the job always came first with him. Still, even with the drastic change in his appearance, it was hard to not recognize the face of the man that had tormented her entire childhood.
However, she couldn't help but feel her gaze drawn to the brunette man he was talking with. Despite the sunglasses and baseball cap obscuring his face from view, she couldn't help but feel like he was familiar. Eerily familiar. She just couldn't place where without seeing the rest of his face. Though, it was more than likely it was one of the other assassins in the Shadow's employment she'd probably just seen in passing once. Or a target he was getting to lower his guard. Hell, it could've even been a random guy he struck up conversation with to make himself seem less suspicious. Anything was possible with her sperm donor.
She just wished she knew why the brunette man was bothering her so much.
And it appeared that she wasn't the only one.
Mike had gone rigid beside her. Gaze locked on the screen as his breath seemed to catch in his chest. The other protégé's normal soft lavender tone almost turning white as the color drained from it. Accentuating the black veins starting to creep out to map the vessels under his skin.
He looked scared.
For the first time since they'd met, Mike looked scared. She'd seen him nervous, angry, flustered, annoyed, and even wary. But she'd never seen him look as frightened as he did right now.
Whoever this other guy was, Mike knew him.
Enough to know to be scared of him.
And Mike didn't scare easy.
However, it appeared that she was the only one who noticed her friend's predicament as Green Arrow continued talking, "Facial recognition software picked up the ID. Find out what he's up to."
"All of us?" Conner scoffed, crossing his arms, "Seems a little overkill for a shadow job."
"Perhaps a small squad would be more efficient," Red Tornado agreed. "Miss Martian's camouflage abilities seem ideal."
He wasn't wrong, on either count. Too many people would only increase their odds of getting caught by her paranoid father. And, well…some of their members didn't exactly excel in the art of stealth. Superboy and Baywatch namely. Neither of them seemed to understand the concept of being quiet. Zatanna, on the other hand, was still too new to tell, but given how she did on Halloween Artemis would say she was good. Plus her illusions would be helpful. Especially as their stealthiest member was off in Gotham doing who knew what.
M'gann was a must because telepathy was the ultimate form of stealthy communication, and she could blend in with her surroundings to a degree. Kaldur was their leader, so his inclusion was obvious. And, she knew how the Shadows operated, so her expertise would be helpful.
Normally, she would include Mike in that list. After Robin, he was the stealthiest person on the Team. And that was even before he started training with the Bats. The guy knew how to sneak around. Plus, she'd caught him and Robin hacking random places together when they were bored.
However, given his reaction, she doubted letting him come along was a good idea. It might be better if he sat this one out.
Which of course left Red Arrow…sure he was experienced and all, but he hadn't worked with the Team before. Heck, he'd been flying solo for over four months. So, there was no way he'd be able to easily coordinate with them. Not until he trained with them a bit at least.
It would probably be better if he sat this one out and familiarized himself with the Cave.
Of course, her mentor had other ideas.
"I thought the sidekicks—sorry, ex-sidekicks could suit up on this," he grinned. "Aqualad, Kid Flash, Red Arrow."
The others didn't appear to have any problem with this as the three smiled and Superboy shrugged, "Good. Stakeouts make me crazy."
"We could use the night off," his girlfriend agreed, sounding relieved.
Artemis, on the other hand, was not happy. After spending so much time working to prove herself to both her team and mentor, she was not going to be pushed aside. Not again. Certainly not for the older model who had a tantrum because he didn't get what he wanted right away. She had had to fight and claw for what she had in life. And if she had to do it here too, then so be it.
She was the Team's designated archer. Not Red Arrow.
"I want in," she said, interrupting any and all ongoing plans.
"Same," Mike said, his voice unusually icy as the black veins creeping further along his skin as his eyes flickered red for a split second. "Besides M'gann and Robin, we," he motioned to himself and the blonde archer, "have the most hours logged for piloting the Bioship."
Her mentor's eyes widened, a look of concern washing over his face as he looked between the two of them, "…Are you sure?"
"We wouldn't be offering if we weren't."
Mike's tone left no room for argument. And while she was relieved that her traitorous mentor wouldn't try to talk her out of it to appease his preferred apprentice, Artemis also couldn't help but feel concerned.
She had never seen her teammate this upset before.
No…she had actually. On Halloween. When he lost his shit with Harm after finding out what he did to Greta.
So, something about this guy made him think of self-narration—or was it the other way around? Either way, if it was clear this guy was bad news. If not for just being associated with her father, then for how he got such a reaction from her normally level-headed friend.
"Alright then, the five of you suit up. The rest of you…do whatever."
Not needing to be told twice, the blonde archer whirled on her heel. Snatching Mike by his wrist and dragging him towards the hangar before Red Arrow could come up with some bullshit excuse as to why they couldn't come along.
Besides, it would give her a chance to see if Mike was ok.
"Um, I think Kaldur was wanting us to get the bikes," the older boy said, his voice much quieter than it had been mere moments before.
"He and Red Arrow can handle it," she replied curtly. Tossing a glare over her shoulder at the red-headed archer.
Behind her, Mike's eyes widened, "Oh…Is this why you were mad earlier? Because he was joining the Team?"
"No," she replied automatically.
If anything, it just factored into her current feelings of inadequacy.
Because why wouldn't Green Arrow not choose the protégé he'd hand-selected an trained for years over a girl he'd been begged to train? Why wouldn't her teammates pick the archer they'd known for years and who'd proven himself as a solo hero for months over a hotheaded blonde who told more lies than she spoke truth? How could she even measure up to that?
God, it was just like when her father would pit her and her sister against each other. And even then, nothing she ever did had been good enough. She could hit a bullseye from twenty yards by the age of five, but Jade could throw knives from thirty at the same age. Artemis memorized all the best points to hit a target to kill them instantly, well Jade had already managed to do that while memorizing all the deadliest and most effective poisons at the same time.
No matter how good she was, something always made her less than someone else.
"Artemis," Mike came to a stop, giving her a concerned look that was very reminiscent of Canary's, "we're not going to replace you."
"Tell that to them," she hissed without thinking, jutting her chin in the direction of their comrades. "You saw how happy Baywatch was."
"And Wally's an idiot," he shot back, crossing his arms. "Besides, we all know he's biased as hell anyways. If anything, I'd say Red Arrow hasn't exactly made the most positive impression to the rest of us. Remember our first day? He seemed all too happy to put us down and imply we were lesser than him for even being on the Team."
Huh…guess she'd forgotten about that. Though she'd also been more focused on proving herself to the others then too.
"Furthermore, he's been working on his own for months. Meaning he has no experience working with groups and is used to calling all the shots. So, no doubt it won't be long before he starts causing problems with the rest of us," Mike continued, almost seeming like he was on the start of a rant. "You on the other hand, have worked in a team dynamic for longer than he has. You know how it works. And you have our trust. Right now, I don't trust him to get me out of a wet paper bag."
Artemis had to admit, he did bring up some good points. It was pretty well known in the Team that Red Arrow did not play well with others. Hell, from the sounds of it he rarely played well with his own friends at times. To the point the older hero had been adamant about not joining the Team prior to today. Something must've changed recently to make him reconsider…
Well, whatever it was, Mike was right. Each and every one of them had had to prove they deserved a place on this team. There was no reason the same wouldn't apply to him too. If anything, they'd be more critical of him because he'd been a protégé longer and because he had been performing solo for some time.
"Thanks," she said, settling back into a calmer walk as they began heading towards the ship again. "But what about you? Are you ok?"
The other protégé blinked, giving her a surprised look before easily putting on a casual disarming smile, "Yeah. I'm fine. Why?"
"Because you looked completely freaked out back there!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and making him stop to look at her. Taking a breath to calm herself, she released her grip, "Mike, I know I should be the last person to say this: but don't lie to me. Please."
"I'm not lying."
"The second man in the security footage," she said, watching him freeze as he started to turn away. "You were staring at him as if you'd seen a ghost. And I should know, we've seen a ghost. So what's going on?"
Mike paused, an indecipherable expression falling on his face as he looked down. "It's…it's nothing. Just personal stuff," he murmured, still refusing to meet her gaze.
Must've been some personal stuff to get a reaction like that.
Still, however much she wanted to pry, she knew better than anyone that just continuing to push would only make him less likely to talk to her. Mike had been kind enough to respect her boundaries and stop when she asked while still being willing to offer support. The least Artemis could do was extend the same courtesy. "Just so you know, I'm always here to talk to if you need it," she offered, repeating the words he spoke to her not even ten minutes earlier.
"Thanks," he said softly, giving her a small smile. "C'mon, we should get the ship set up."
"Like we need to do much," she retorted, following him up the ramp as it descended. "I mean, all we need to do is take out seats," to prove her point she sat down at the helm, putting her hands on the controls, "see all ready."
Rolling his eyes, Mike took his normal seat. Opening his mouth as if to say something before Wally ran in wearing his biking gear rather than his normal suit. "Uh, what's with the get-up?"
"Red and Kal are bringing the bikes," the speedster replied, flopping into his seat.
"Do they need help?"
"Nah, it should be fine," the speedster waved off. Turning in his chair, the redhead met the blonde's gaze, "So, uh, this might wind up being one of those things that sounds better in my head than out loud, but: you are a real archer." Met with the unimpressed gazes of two of his teammates, the speedster began to ramble, "No, I mean, not that I'm not jazzed about Red Arrow. We go way back, you know…But, uh, you've made your own place on the team. You have nothing to prove. Ok?"
"Ok," she replied, "And Wally. It Sounded fine out loud."
"I know," Mike snickered from the side, "for once he actually said something intelligent."
"Dude! Way to kill the moment."
Rolling her eyes at their antics, Artemis turned her attention back to the controls as Aqualad and Red Arrow finally took their seats. Making a point of ignoring the distrusting glare the other archer threw her way. The others were right, she had nothing to prove.
Least of all to this self-righteous asshole.
-.-
Orleans Parish, 21:27CST
Artemis thought she had been on boring stakeouts before, but this one may've taken the cake.
On other stakeouts she at least got to stretch her legs and sometimes join in her mentor's sarcastic remarks or whatever random debate her team had going at the time. But on this one they were radio silent unless anything was spotted. Because this time there was Martian telepathy to occupy them. Instead, she was left alone to her thoughts.
She did not like them.
Because already she could see the change Red Arrow was having on the Team. Like Mike had predicted, the older boy had already begun acting like he was in charge. Giving orders and all but pushing Kaldur aside as leader on this assignment. Showing his distrust of her by confining her to Bioship while letting everyone else have assignments on the ground.
And sure, maybe it was because she was one of the only two people there who had the qualifications to pilot the ship. However, she couldn't help but chalk it up to it more likely being the result his blatant dislike for her.
Why else would he put Kid Flash, a kid who could run at the literal speed of sound, on one of the only two motorcycles they brought rather than let him move to his best ability? If anything, it seemed detrimental to confine the speedster to one of the bikes rather than let him run. It wasn't likely he'd be spotted all the way from the road. Especially if he was using the stealth gear.
No. This was a deliberate move by Red Arrow to shove her out. To show that he was better than her by confining her to being overhead observance rather than somewhere where she could actually be helpful.
/Target's heading north,/ Red Arrow said, finally breaking the unbearable silence. Down below, she could see him leap onto one of the stealthiest modes of transportation: a loud jet ski. /Pursue, but maintain a discreet distance. And that goes double for you Artemis. Sportsmaster's proven adept at spotting Martian camouflage in motion/
/And I doubt he's deaf either,/ Mike chimed in, the sound of his motorcycle engine revving in the background. /So make sure you avoid being too noisy Red/
At least someone had her back.
Though she did wish she was able to get close enough to see the older archer's expression at being blatantly called out like that.
Trailing after them, she watched as her father wove through the deltas, eventually coming up to a small alcove where he came to a stop.
/He's stopped,/ Red Arrow announced, stating the obvious, /Hold your positions. I'm moving in for a closer look/
Yeah, like that would go well.
Lowering the Bioship to the treeline, she watched as Red followed Sportsmaster to the edge of some train tracks, looking at his watch as if he were expecting something. And, against Red Arrow's explicit orders, she rose from her seat and hopped out of the ship, relying on the soft marsh mud to dampen the sound of her impact.
Though, she didn't get far before a telltale singsong voice called out from behind her, "Hey sis."
Whirling around, the blonde archer met the ever-grinning mask of her older sister staring down at her.
"Long time, no reveal who you really are to all your friends," Cheshire sneered, tilting her head playfully. No doubt the woman was grinning behind her mask smugly too.
However, before she could come up with a witty comeback, the assassin leapt from her perch, sword raised overhead. Firing an arrow, her sister swatted the weapon aside as she landed moving to swing the blade again before Artemis intercepted by catching the hilt with the metal shaft of her bow. The sound of the weapons scraping against each other seeming impossibly loud as she maneuvered the weapon overhead, giving her the opening she needed to kick the older girl in the gut.
Cheshire grunted at the impact, rolling back only to quickly spring to her feet, looking almost bored. "Nice. Did Canary teach you that?"
Not bothering to reply, Artemis notched another arrow, aiming the blunted end at her older sister.
In response, the assassin raised her sword, doing that small minute head tilt she did when amused, "Bet you run out of arrows before I run out of sword. Unless you plan on breaking out the pointy ones to use against your own sister."
"Why shouldn't I?" she hissed. "You're working with Sportsmaster!"
"Not my choice!" Jade snarled, actually sounding angry, "Not my call."
"Then who's call is it?"
"Sorry. Just because I know your secrets doesn't mean I'm going to tell you mine."
Another sound caught their attention, prompting the two sisters to pause and look towards it just as an arrow exploded to catch Cheshire in a net, pinning her to a nearby tree as Red Arrow stepped out of the brush.
But, instead of seeming annoyed by the interruption, Artemis would swear her sister almost seemed pleased. "Why Arrow," she purred, "if you wanted another date you only had to ask."
"What?!" Artemis whirled around, staring at the other archer in shock. "You two are dating?!"
It appeared, this was news to Red Arrow as well given how flustered he looked. "What?! No!"
From where she was pinned, her sister only scoffed. "Why bother denying the attraction? After all Arrow, you're here, with me. Again."
Artemis didn't know whether to burst out laughing at the older protégé's mortified expression or start to throw up at the obvious seductive tone in her big sister's voice. Maybe she would do some combination of both…After they dealt with this fiasco.
Ripping the net open with her sword, Cheshire stepped forwards, putting her hands on her hips. "Really, I'm so fond of you both. I couldn't bear to hurt you," she stabbed the blade into the ground, "much."
Without warning, Jade leapt at Artemis. Kicking her feet out from under her before leaping away while throwing an explosive at Red Arrow, blasting the older protégé off his feet. Surrounding him in smoke before leaping at him through the fog. Rolling on the ground, Cheshire grinned as she landed on top of the archer, the tip of her sai digging into his cheek.
"Oh, too bad lover boy."
Gritting her teeth, Artemis muttered a string of curses to herself as she pushed herself back up. only to freeze as she spotted her sister kissing Red Arrow.
Smirking, the older girl pulled back, tossing her a smug look, "But at least a kiss is still a kiss."
That was all she managed to get out before a wrench hit her in the head. Grunting in pain, the assassin stumbled back, only to be completely knocked off her feet as Kid Flash slammed into her, snatching the weapon right from her hand.
"And a sai is just a sai," the speedster returned, tauntingly waving the weapon around. "And quite the souvenir by the way."
"Not the time KF!" Mike exclaimed, pulling out several explosive blades not too dissimilar from a batarang.
"Artemis! Tracer arrow on Sportsmaster! Now!" Red Arrow ordered as he scrambled back to his feet.
Not bothering to argue, she pulled out an arrow and notched it. Whirling around and taking aim, only to curse as she saw the boat speeding away. "Agh! He's out of range!"
"Move!" Red Arrow growled, practically shoving her aside and notching his own arrow.
She expected him to miss like she would've. However, to her horror, his shot landed perfectly.
Though she didn't have time to process the implications before he began racing down towards the jet ski. "You're abandoning?!"
"I'm prioritizing!" he snapped speeding off.
From behind her, Cheshire chuckled, putting her mask back on. "Oh, that's gotta sting. He makes the shot you were too afraid to even try."
Growling, the archer whirled around, firing another arrow at the assassin. Unsurprisingly Jade dodged out of the way, pulling out a set of throwing knives and tossing one at her, successfully cutting her string. The sudden release of tension cause the broken cord to whip up, hitting the blonde across the cheek, creating a cut along it as she stumbled back from the unexpected blow.
Fortunately though, her momentary distraction didn't appear to cause any problems as Mike and Wally both quickly jumped into the fray. The speedster circling her and dodging throwing knives tossed his way as Mike lunged from behind her. Moving to grab her arm as she prepared another throw.
Ducking under the outstretched arm, Cheshire dropped, moving to sweep his legs out from under him. She missed though as he proceeded to jump over the outstretched limb, kicking her in the face and knocking her in Artemis's direction.
As always, her sister was quick to recover. But this time Artemis was fast, grabbing her sword and lunging towards the older girl, swinging the blade in an attempt to hit her.
Only this time, she planned it when the assassin dodged her attacks, kicking her to the side and sliding the sword back into its sheath. Unwittingly trapping the tracker she placed inside along with it.
By the time she had recovered, her sister had already disappeared into the shadows in full retreat.
"So," Wally started, coming to a stop beside her to help her up, "did you—?"
"Tracer's on her sword," she replied.
"Brilliant. I knew you could."
"Said the guy who had the easiest job out of all of us," Mike remarked.
"Hey! I was plenty convincing!"
"Sure you were," the other boy drawled as they made their way towards the shore where Red Arrow and Aqualad were emerging from the water.
Artemis however, lingered behind for a moment. Uncertainty twisting in her stomach. Already she could see how her replacement was going to turn the situation against her. How he would make the others lose faith in her skills and their trust in her as a teammate. And how he would eventually push her out to prove he was the superior protégé.
She couldn't let that happen.
If she didn't need to prove herself before, she certainly did now. Because she had worked too goddamn hard to be cast aside for some runaway who threw a tantrum because he didn't get what he wanted. She was not going to let someone else benefit from all her hard work and take away everything she had worked for.
And one way or another, she was going to show them that she was the better option than Red Arrow.
Pulling out her bow, she quickly fired an arrow onto a passing train. Hoping the decoy tracker would be enough to distract them while she completed the mission.
"So we threw the fight as ordered," Wally finished explaining, "After Artemis planted the tracer."
All eyes turned to her.
Taking a breath, she stepped over, pulling out the tracker for the decoy. "Cheshire's heading north."
"Sportsmaster was headed south," Red Arrow grumbled crossing his arms, "Kinda like this mission."
"One of them may double back," Mike spoke up. "Either way, they're going to regroup."
"Which means we'll find them," Kid chimed in again.
"We better," Kaldur said, finally speaking up. "Sportsmaster acquired an attache case. We need to learn what it contained."
"Any idea who tossed it to him?" Remnant asked, crossing his arms.
"No." Turning to look at her, Artemis couldn't help but feel apprehensive in the wake of her team leader's disappointed glare, "If you had stayed aboard the Bioship—"
"I saw Cheshire sneaking up on him," she said quickly, pointing to RA before anyone could accuse her of screwing up the mission.
"Then you radio a warning."
"And if she found you by hacking our frequency?"
Silence fell across them as the other archer failed to come up with an appropriate response to her point. And, it appeared Kaldur agreed with her. "It is true," he sighed, "We have come to rely on M'gann's telepathy over our radios."
"So let's stop looking to place blame and start looking for Cheshire," KF nodded.
"Here," Artemis almost hissed, tossing the tracker to Red, "Since clearly I can't be trusted. You track her."
"I wouldn't say you can't be trusted," Mike said, putting a hand on her shoulder before glaring at the newcomer, "He's the one who's been throwing around accusations since the start of this."
"I know," of all people, Wally agreed, snatching the tracker from Roy's hand, "Jesus, Roy, I know you aren't happy about GA taking on a new partner, but in case you forgot: you're the one who chose to go solo. Remember?" Turning away from him, the speedster held the decoy tracker back out to Artemis. "Here."
"It's fine," she said, waving them off. "I'll just follow in the Bioship."
Walking away, Artemis pulled out the real tracer and began her pursuit. Quietly hoping the others wouldn't be too mad when they finally figure what she had done.
-.-
New Orleans, 22:18CST
"Ah, there it is," William grinned, clapping his hands together as Sportsmaster returned with the final pieces of equipment. "I was starting to wonder what was taking so long."
"There were…complications," the assassin replied, setting down the case.
"Anything we need to be concerned about?"
"No."
"Good." Opening the case, the murderer grinned as he pulled out the two separate containers. "Thank you, Sportsmaster. You're dismissed."
Turning back to the table, William set the items down as he watched the Brain's ape assistant open another similarly secured case, revealing the sea star creature he'd spent time working on a few weeks prior. Obediently, Mallah set it out on the table, allowing his master to unfurl one of his devices. Shooting it with a laser that made the limb squirm as the dark lines of remnant he pumped into it before pulsing to the surface.
As soon as the laser stopped, the robotics expert connected one of the canisters to the container, locking the two in place as the nanoscopic fog he'd been working on flowed in. Swirling around the dismembered appendage before being absorbed into the skin, almost immediately causing a dark violet grid pattern to emerge along the surface. Smirking to himself, William stepped back watching eagerly as Klarion began to hit it with magic.
It wouldn't be long before the Light brought the League to its knees.
-.-
Artemis crouched on the roof, peering through the warehouse windows for any activity inside. Despite being the place where she tracked her sister to, she couldn't help but note how empty the building appeared to be—save for the creepy ass party decorations that is. Hopefully Jade didn't find the tracker and dump it here just to screw with her.
She'd really be in deep shit then if her ploy had proven to be unfruitful.
Against her better judgement, Artemis opened the window slowly. Being as quiet as she could while slipping inside and jumping down to the floor below. As expected, when she stood up, the place appeared to be devoid of life.
However, that did last long before she felt something thump against her foot. Looking down, she was unsurprised to see the tracker. Looks like Jade really had found it.
"You're getting rusty."
Jumping in surprise, Artemis notched an arrow, pointing it towards the shadows where the voice came from.
"Pulled it off my sword not even a minute after you put it there," Cheshire continued, stepping out from the darkness, putting a hand on her hip, "Thought you'd want it back since it goes so nicely with the one Red Arrow gave you."
Eyes widening, Artemis turned, heart sinking in her chest as she finally saw the small red disk latched to her quiver. One just like the ones she used.
"Someone on your team doesn't trust you," her sister sang teasingly, holding up a tablet to reveal none other than Red Arrow creeping around outside the warehouse. "Not that it'll be a problem for long."
Tapping the screen again, Artemis paled as she saw her father crouching on the roof above the other archer, javelin in hand. Sure, she may've not liked the guy. But that didn't mean she wanted to see him dead.
Before her sister could react, she pulled out an arrow and fired it at the door. Hoping the ensuing explosion would be enough to knock the other protégé back out of the way.
Though, her action didn't give her enough time to prep before her older sister punched her across the face. Stumbling back, she barely managed to reorient herself before Cheshire swung her blade right where she had been moments before. Raising her bow, she moved to block the next swing, trying to take the opportunity to kick her in the side as she knocked the weapon aside.
Unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan as her remaining leg was kicked out from under her. Causing the blonde to slam back into the ground. Only able to look up with wide eyes as the sword was raised above her sister's head, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
Thankfully, that never came as a blast knocked the weapon from Jade's hand. The woman soon leaping back to avoid being hit by another arrow.
"Red Arrow to Aqualad. Located Cheshire and Sportsmaster. Rendezvous at my coordinates," the older archer said, whirling around to fire another arrow at Sportsmaster. The shot missing and consequently forcing him to dodge a javelin hurled his way.
/Acknowledged. Sending Kid ahead/
"So you're pretty much allergic to radioing a warning?" Red Arrow hissed as they were forced back to back. Each firing shots at the two assassins circling them like sharks.
"Artemis to Arrow. Watch out."
Not eager to hear his reply, she lunged at Cheshire. Leaping up to throw a kick at her head. The assassin ducked under, whirling around to throw a punch at her before Artemis side-stepped the blow, moving to knee the older girl in the stomach, forcing her to leap back and put some distance between them. Unwilling to be deterred by this, the archer closed the space between them again, swinging her leg to kick her. Jade once again step aside, this time throwing a kick towards her head. Forcing Artemis to raise her arms in an attempt to block the blow. Her sister was quick to take advantage of the shift, moving to punch her again and causing Artemis to step back. only for her to be completely blindsided by a kick nailing her in the jaw. Sending her slamming back into a bunch of nearby decorations.
Wiping blood from her lip, Artemis pushed herself up, wincing as her head began to throb from the force of the impact. Hopefully she didn't have a concussion.
Across from her, Jade casually whipped out her sai. However, like last time, she didn't get to use it before being slammed aside by the unmistakable red and yellow form of Kid Flash.
"Aqualad, Remnant, and I found the tracer on the end of a caboose," the speedster started, reaching out to help her up, "And I don't mean Cheshire's."
"She must've ditched it," Artemis lied.
"Yeah, figured—Wait, then how did you and Red end up here?"
Cursing her own lack of forethought, Artemis was grateful for the distraction in the form of the menacing red light coming from the other room. And for her sister angrily attacking the speedster before he could continue his train of thought.
"I've got this!" he called, punching Cheshire in the face. "Go!"
Not willing to jeopardize the mission any further, Artemis did as she was told and raced towards the room. Kicking it open, bow drawn and aimed at whomever was on the other side. "Freeze!"
Whatever it was she had been expecting, it wasn't several major heavy hitters.
Just facing Klarion once had been a nightmare. But now she was having to deal with him, the Brain, the Brain's monkey lackey, and the mysterious brunette man. And she would have to do it alone either until KF and Red incapacitated her family or until Aqualad and Mike finally arrived.
"Ah, you must be the complication Sportsmaster mentioned," the brunette man spoke.
Artemis couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine as the man's dark violet eyes regarded her. Nor could she help but notice how familiar he looked. It was creepy. Like in a déjà vu sort of way. She just couldn't place there where or why.
"To be honest, I was expecting something more from Mikey's little friends. I don't even think you'd be worth the effort to play with."
"Oh! I know what we should do!" Klarion grinned, hopping up and down like an excited kid on Christmas. Completely ignoring the shock that had settled over the archer. "Freeze!"
-.-
Mt. Justice, December 6, 03:21EDT
"Let me be clear: we failed," Aqualad stated, giving his report to Red Tornado. "Though the Injustice League is in custody their allies still scheme. And we have learned nothing of their plans."
"Gee, I wonder why," Red Arrow snarled, glaring daggers at Artemis.
"Hey! Who found out Sportsmaster was working for Brain, Klarion, and…whoever that last guy was!"
"Yeah, great intel. Except once again, we don't know who the third guy is!"
"Springtrap."
All heads turned to Mike as he stepped forward, looking unusually subdued, "The third man. He goes by Springtrap. He's a mass murderer and robotics expert."
"Great! That's one mystery solved! But it still doesn't explain exactly what they were doing," Red Arrow continued. "Something we would've found out had someone," he pointed at Artemis, "not screwed up the op!"
"Hey! Knock it off!" Wally interjected, stepping between the two archers. "You've been doing nothing but dump on her since you got here! What's your deal?!"
Red Arrow held up a tracker.
"The tracer?" Mike spoke up, still quieter than normal but not hesitating to join Wally in defending their friend. "The one Cheshire ditched. What does that have to do with any of this?"
"No, Artemis ditched that," Red Arrow clarified, motioning to an identical tracker in Kaldur's hand, "to send us on a wild goose chase. She put this one on Cheshire."
The two defending her went quiet. And the blonde archer felt her stomach sink as her teammates turned to her looking betrayed. "Artemis? Is this true?"
She didn't answer, however, it seemed to be all the confirmation KF needed as a glare settled on his face.
"Seriously?" he scoffed, "Are you that freaked out about Red Arrow joining the team you had to prove yourself by bringing down the bad guys solo?! Is it true?!"
Still unable to reply, all she could do was look away. Unable to meet the looks of betray and disappointment from those around her.
"Well, nice going," Wally muttered, stepping away from her. "What you proved is that you're selfish and insecure. Keep the sai," he tossed the weapon at her feet, taking the tracker from Arrow, "This is the right souvenir for the mission."
"I…"
"Save it," Kid muttered, stalking away.
Feeling dejected, Artemis looked to Mike. Her stomach sinking further as the other protégé refused to meet her gaze.
"So how will you betray us next time?!" Red Arrow accused, taking a threatening step forwards.
"Fuck off, Speedy. She made a mistake."
"Oh so now you're defending her?!" Roy snarled, turning on her teammate.
"Not her actions tonight, no," Mike answered. "But we've all made mistakes. Stop throwing a fucking tantrum because you got replaced."
"Excuse me?!"
"You heard me dipshit," the other boy shot back, poking the archer's chest, "You've been tossing accusations since you got here asshole. Something you wanna tell us?"
"Are you accusing me of something?"
"Only as much as you've been accusing your own teammate all evening."
"Enough," Kaldur interjected, stepping between the two before the situation could escalate. "If making a mistake was a betrayal, then yes, we would all be traitors. However, that does not give any of you the excuse to throw baseless accusations. Hit the showers and head home. I must report to Batman."
The two previously feuding boys tossed one more glare at each other before stepping back. Everyone beginning to go their separate ways.
Before she could move to the Zeta to head home, a hand gripped her shoulder painfully. "You're not who you say you are," Red Arrow hissed. "You can't hide the truth from them forever. This isn't over, not by a longshot."
