Thank you all so much for your well wishes and understanding health-wise, it really helped motivate me back into writing.
I have no idea how, but somehow this entire episode was entirely missing from the outline I made years ago? If you're wondering why this one took so long, it's because this is the first chapter I've basically had to outline from scratch and it took some time to figure out how best to fit Sky in without compromising the development of the story. I think I managed a good balance? I'm assuming that past me looked at the synopsis and assumed it was a Red Arrow and Artemis duo adventure? Considering how much of this episode is focused on those two, the confusion is understandable.
As if I would ever deprive you or me of the opportunity for more passive aggressive sniping between former best friends turned reluctant coworkers under duress.
Have fun! Oh, also for followers of Fight or Flight: Side Stories, there's an additional update in the author's note at the end.
MOUNT JUSTICE
DECEMBER 5TH, 2010
17: 02 EST
A palpable tension had settled in the room, due in large part to the unusual presence of a certain crimson-favoring archer. Some of those present, like Wally and Kaldur, had accepted this rare appearance with fondness and elation. The rest, M'Gann, Conner, and Zatanna, still saw him as a stranger and were wary.
And Ski'Lira, of course, was steadfastly ignoring him, just as much as he was her. She was more than content to keep silent, allowing the others to handle the idle chatter and typical pleasantries.
The Zeta whirred into life, bringing the missing member of their Team into the fold.
"Recognized: Artemis, B08."
"Artemis!" Green Arrow, who was overseeing operations today alongside Red Tornado, was the first to greet his apprentice. "Just in time. Look who's agreed to join the Team!"
Surely the most joyous of the group, Wally threw his arms up in triumph. "Finally!"
And hadn't that been a wonderful revelation to start her day. Somewhere along the line, it seemed the boys' repeated attempts to recruit their old friend had worn Roy down like a river stone. Based entirely on the answering expression from Artemis, she looked about as thrilled with this development as Ski'Lira felt.
"Sure," Artemis' voice was low, a firm set to her mouth. "Team's needed a real archer."
"Okay people, listen up," either Green Arrow hadn't heard Artemis' self-deprecating comment, or he was ignoring it for the sake of peace. Accessing the holographic keyboard in the center of the Hub, he started accessing files. "The Dynamic Duo's on a case in Gotham, but Batman's given me a heads up."
A picture flickered to life, revealing a familiar mop of blonde hair behind a stylized hockey mask. Artemis inhaled sharply, head snapping up from where she'd been staring churlishly at the floor.
"Sportsmaster was spotted coming through Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport."
"In full costume?" Zatanna asked. "Nervy."
"In street clothes. Facial recognition software picked up the ID. Find out what he's up to."
"All of us?" Conner glanced incredulously at the sheer number of gathered teens. "Seems like overkill for a shadow job."
"Perhaps a small squad?" Red Tornado suggested. "Miss Martian's camouflage abilities seem ideal."
But Green Arrow had a very different idea, beaming at his own genius. "Thought the sidekicks, sorry, ex-sidekicks could suit up on this. Aqualad, Kid Flash, Hawkgirl, Red Arrow."
Wally gave Roy a friendly punch to the arm, which was met with a little grin.
"Good," Conner's shoulders relaxed. "Stakeouts make me crazy."
"We could use the night off..." M'Gann agreed.
"I want in," Artemis stepped forward, a sharp edge to her tone, making it unlikely she would take no for an answer. "With M'Gann and Robin out, no one's logged more hours piloting the bioship."
Hawkgirl had to admit, Artemis did make a solid point, she was the most capable pilot available. And the very, very small part of her that briefly sparked in the face of the nostalgia of the originally intended team was squashed into oblivion, to be forgotten and never acknowledged.
"Artemis..." There was a concerned tilt to Green Arrow's mouth. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
In light of the unease of the current situation, Hawkgirl deemed it necessary to point out a glaring flaw in Green Arrow's plan. "That aside... Your choice of roster is... questionable."
"You know, if you don't want to go on the mission, you could just say so." Her self-declared honorary uncle teased in response. "I'd rather you went, considering the Team will be in Hawk territory."
"As if I would turn down the opportunity to fight Sportsmaster."
"Then what's the issue?"
Roy, naturally, caught on first. "Here we go..."
Displeased with his tone, Ski'Lira whirled on him, just managing not to whap Zatanna in the face with a wing as she did so. "You know as well as I do, Red Arrow, that we are not permitted to work together on the field." Seeing as Kaldur was the only member of the Team privy to that particular tidbit, the duo received distinctly startled looks. "A potential danger to ourselves, others, and the integrity of the mission, as I recall."
"A temporary ban implemented nearly four months ago, to be lifted if you both proved you could act professionally." Green Arrow swiftly interrupted, declaration stifling her argument. "I know you're both capable of it, no matter what may have happened between you two in the past... So?"
Roy and Ski'Lira's eyes met.
H
ST. ROCH
2009
Katar had raised his daughter to respect the sanctity of their home. On a world they were not born to, it was meant to be a safe haven where they could act freely without having to maintain any pretenses they were human. And thus, respecting it and caring for it was important. But on this occasion, those teachings seemed to have failed, as the front door was slammed so hard he heard hinges rattle in place and wood creak dangerously loud. Following shortly came the pounding of feet echoing up the stairs, then a second door slam. This one was even louder than the last, accompanied with the sound of splintering wood.
Already irate from a very long day spent dealing with a particularly uncooperative owner of a private collection of medieval weaponry he'd been trying to negotiate for, he wasn't in the mood to deal with a rebellious teenager.
But seeing as Shayera was wrapped up on a mission with Wonder Woman and likely wouldn't be home until late, Katar had no choice.
As he headed upstairs, he was formulating ideas for a reasonable punishment in his head. Considering this was entirely new behavior, a stern talking to and having her help him fix the doors seemed reasonable. And she'd get a valuable lesson about home repair out of it.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door of Ski'Lira's bedroom without bothering to knock. When he stepped in, he was greeted with an uncharacteristic mess. The duffle bag she'd run in with had been thrown and burst open, clothes and toiletries strewn across the floor. A travel tube of toothpaste had managed to hit the foot of her bed just right that it exploded and left a minty green smear on the carpet. The girl herself was curled up on her bed, knees tucked up to her chest.
"Ski'Lira Hol-" Katar only got as far as saying her name before she burst into messy, angry tears. All previous thoughts vanished, instead, he moved to sit next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and stretched a large wing around her.
He didn't even have to prompt her into speaking, but without a direct question to answer, she dissolved into a ramble of a near-incoherent mix of Thanagarian and English. Only bits and pieces were intelligible, and they did not paint a pretty picture... 'Roy', 'fight', 'never want to see him again'.
Katar just held her.
With time, the sobs lessened, and his fledgling fell into slumber. Only once he was certain she was deeply asleep did he extricate himself, tucking her into bed, wiping the stray tears from her cheeks, and pressing a firm kiss to her brow. Carefully closing the damaged door behind him (or at least, attempting to), Katar headed back downstairs. Phone in hand, he was already dialing by the time he made it back to the kitchen.
The first question Oliver Queen spoke when he picked up was a weary, "You too, huh?"
"What. Happened?"
Oliver's sigh was long, "I don't know, Carter. They went out to the aquarium, I think? But only Roy came back when they were done. And he... It's been a long time since I've seen him so... distraught. I asked where Skylar was, because she was supposed to be spending the night, but all I could get out of him was that they fought and she went home early. I'm guessing she's not doing well either."
"She broke two doors and cried herself to sleep."
"... Oh," there was a shuffle on the other end of the line, then a slight squeak, likely Oliver sitting upon his obnoxiously expensive leather couch. "That's... I don't know what to say."
Katar too, was at a loss for words.
"Look," Oliver said. "They're just kids. They've gotten into plenty of scraps before. I'm sure in a few days things'll be back to normal, and it'll be like nothing ever happened in the first place. You'll see."
H
PRESENT DAY
Ski'Lira was the first to look away, "We'll be fine."
"With that settled," Green Arrow was smiling at both of them, almost sickeningly positive at their promise of effort to cooperate. "Wheels up in ten."
Those chosen for the mission headed to the bioship, the others remaining behind to take advantage of their night off.
In the air, Hawkgirl didn't bother taking a seat, knowing that unless they were in active combat, the ride was smooth enough not to require it. A great deal of that was thanks to Artemis. Despite her still... murky... motivations when it came to her insistence on involvement, she was correct that of those present she was the most competent pilot.
Hawkgirl's propensity for near-obsessive compliance with road safety laws did not apply to airtime travel in the slightest, and she had been told in no uncertain terms by the rest of the Team that she was only to take over piloting if things were truly dire.
The moment Wally had turned around in his seat with an earnest look in his eyes and kind words on his lips, Hawkgirl tuned out the immediate conversation entirely. It wasn't meant for her, and she wasn't about to intrude on the moment, especially if Wally could assuage Artemis' visible disquiet.
Instead, she opted to focus on the scene playing out in the back of the bioship, where Kaldur and Roy were securing the bike they'd picked up for Kid Flash's use.
"I gather you did not join the Team for the camaraderie," Aqualad began, quietly, yet bold in his line of questioning.
"And not to please GA either," confirmation came easily from Roy's lips. "There's a mole on your Team, Kaldur. You don't want to face it, so I will. And suspect number one is Artemis."
That certainly explained Roy's presence far better than caving to prolonged pleading. He was on a self-imposed mission.
Ski'Lira hadn't forgotten, couldn't forget the possible presence of a mole on the Team, not after the topic had been brought to light the first time and nearly tore their members asunder with infighting.
She hated to admit it, but she could see Roy's point. Artemis was suspicious. The skillset she possessed was far beyond a mere hobbyist, an ease to her movements that betrayed intensive, long-term training. Very long term. Another point was Artemis' secretive nature about her personal life, but that was just as true for herself and Robin.
A part of her wondered if perhaps there was no mole at all. If she were a supervillain, one of her first steps would be to sow discontent between her enemies. Number seven of the Thanagarian Rules of Combat dictated, "A kast divided is a soldier alone." And it was far easier to take down several individuals acting of their own volition than a Team working in tandem. A thought to ponder on later, when they weren't about to engage with a notorious villain.
H
ORLEANS PARISH
DECEMBER 5TH, 2010
21:27 CST
Of all the places in the world for his mysterious business, Sportsmaster had picked a good location for it. With the combination of tree cover and the restriction to waterway travel, the bayou was a great place to hide. A good number of the Hawks' hunts had ended up scouring the wetlands for their intended targets. In fact, she was about ninety percent sure that she'd been to this section of the bayou at least once before.
At Ski'Lira's direction, (thanks to her expertise with the environment and the semi-familiarity with their current location from a previous job), the Team had taken up positions lurking around the lonely boat rental. They laid in wait for Sportsmaster to emerge after he'd completed his purchase.
Aqualad lurked in the waters below the small dock, Hawkgirl was perched up in a sturdy tree while Red Arrow was crouched behind some foliage below her, Kid Flash was traversing the nearest stretch of road via motorbike, and Artemis remained in the Martian bioship currently hovering in a nearby clearing.
It took a solid fifteen or so minutes for Sportsmaster's business to conclude. He made for the single speedboat floating on the water, unmooring it and jumping in, taking off at a full clip.
"Target's heading north," Red Arrow reported, running from his hiding spot to hop onto the jet ski they'd earlier concealed behind a tangle of bushes. "Pursue, but follow at a discrete distance. That goes double for you, Artemis. Sportsmaster's proven adept at spotting Martian camouflaging when in motion. Hawkgirl, any idea where he's headed?"
The Thanagarian was following after Roy, flying low and quiet on the other side of the treeline. She was cut off visually from the river, but she still made sure to use all the stealth training instilled in her just in case. "I think there's a bridge out that way. This area's mostly for fishing and boat tours. He might be meeting someone there?"
The chase was quiet and tense, far from the usual high-speed pursuits the Team was used to. Her memory proved true, as there was in fact an empty stretch of bridge, but the prediction proved incorrect as he sped underneath and past it. A good while later, Sportsmaster swerved off the main waterway into a small, naturally occuring alcove. He didn't even bother to lash the boat in place, vaulting himself over the side with no care for the knee-high water soaking into his pants and waterlogging his boots.
As Sportsmaster sloshed his way to the shore, Hawkgirl flit atop a particularly leafy tree just above Red Arrow's jet ski, watching him go.
"He's stopped. Hold positions. Hawkgirl, with me. We're moving in for a closer look."
Sportsmaster's destination became clear as he popped out of the forest and into a swath of cut trees, exactly where a line of railroad track lay. Ski'Lira internally kicked herself for forgetting about the train line that passed in this direction. Was he meeting the train? Or was this just a good spot to cover his real motives?
With the combined power of Red Arrow's binoculars and her own enhanced eyesight, they had a perfect view of Sportsmaster. Fully expecting a long haul, she'd settled down comfortably on her wide branch of choice, only for the clamor of voices and the ringing of steel to meet her ears. Jerking her head to the side to pinpoint it, her heart rate spiked as she heard the distinct rasp of Artemis' voice shouting, even if she didn't catch the words.
Hawkgirl rolled and dropped silently down next to Roy. To his credit, he didn't startle at her sudden presence, merely giving her his full attention.
She snapped off a few hand signals she knew he'd recognize, 'enemy close', eyes pointedly locked in the direction of the commotion.
'Confirm,' he gestured back, silently mouthing further instruction. 'Keep an ear on Sportsmaster, let's go.'
Doing as ordered, she maintained her sensory focus on their quarry while her brain turned to the potential danger ahead. Part of her thought that they should have split up, leaving her behind to monitor the situation, but when she saw exactly who Artemis was fighting against, that thought went right out the window.
Cheshire.
"Why shouldn't I?!" Artemis was shouting, cheeks flush with exertion. "You are working with Sportsmaster!"
"Not my choice!" Cheshire's voice was laced with the most genuine emotion she'd heard from the usually unflappable assassin. "Not my call."
Artemis was drawing back her bow, another arrow ready to fire. "Then whose call is it?"
Cheshire's sword didn't so much as twitch in its readied position, "Sorry. Just because I know your secrets doesn't mean I'll tell you mine."
Needing no prompting, Red Arrow fired off his own readied net arrow, pinning Cheshire to the tree before she could strike. At the same time, Hawkgirl darted in from the side to stand next to Artemis, giving her a cursory once over. Only once she confirmed her friend wasn't harmed in the altercation did she turn to look at the trapped assassin. And in a second, she would come to regret not staying behind with Sportsmaster, for more than one reason.
"Why, Arrow," Cheshire purred, unbothered by the change in situation. "If you wanted another date, you only had to ask."
Hawkgirl literally froze from where she'd been about to cross the clearing. Based on the way Roy's shoulders stiffened, not only was Cheshire not lying, but the look of astounded incredulity he was receiving twofold from his younger teammates was palpable.
"You two are dating?!" Artemis shrieked.
"What? No!" Denial he may have spoken, but the telltale flush of red on the back of his neck betrayed him.
"Why deny the attraction?" Cheshire, much like her namesake, was likely grinning wide beneath her mask. "After all, Arrow, you're here."
As if by some unspoken cue, a steadily arriving train finally made its pass by. Her hyperfocus on Sportsmaster's nearby location was shattered by the sheer influx of noise. A rumble of displeasure let her throat and her wings snapped in tight to her back as it felt like one of the spikes keeping the track in place was plunged into her skull. At some point she heard Kid Flash chime in via comm, only making out 'en route'.
Breaking free of the net as if it were paper, Cheshire strode forward, ready for a fight. "Really, I'm so fond of you two. I couldn't bear to hurt you. Much. And the winged one? Well, I know she can take it." Lodging her sword in the ground, the assassin lunged towards Roy, tackling him to the ground.
Meanwhile, the whine of Sportsmaster's speedboat cut through Hawkgirl's haze. Shaking her head sharply to reset herself into focus, Hawkgirl made the executive decision to take off after him. She had full faith in Artemis and Roy's combat expertise, and she felt doubly safe knowing that Wally was on his way.
The combination of being in motion, focused on a new target, and her lingering disorientation, meant she didn't catch the smoke grenade Cheshire threw at her until it was too late. Impacting her back, the small explosion sent her sprawling onto the river bank. Thick, peaty mud smeared all across her golden armor and torso. The sudden rush of more sensory input, the acrid smoke stuck in her eyes, nose, and mouth, the concussive sound close, too close to her ears, and the constant background of a boat engine and a passing train, all of it compiled and kept her lax and unable to regain her bearings.
Working through each individual sense at a time, she managed to center herself enough to at least be aware of the immediate situation, but by the time she succeeded the fight was already over. Cheshire was gone.
"Artemis! Tracer arrow on Sportsmaster, now!" Roy's words were slightly warbly, as if she was hearing through water or over a staticky radio. By now, she was really starting to hate Cheshire, merely by virtue of how easily the assassin had crushed her in every match.
"Gah! He's out of range."
"Move!" Blinking, Hawkgirl's eyes caught the arrow mid-flight, trailing it as it made contact with the back of the retreating boat. Red Arrow tore towards his waiting jet ski, pausing for only the briefest of moments to grab Hawkgirl by the arm and bodily haul her back up to her feet.
"You're abandoning-" Artemis stumbled down the embankment after him, snarl on her lips and fire in her eyes.
"I'm prioritizing." Red Arrow (rightfully) corrected. "Hawkgirl."
Thinking clouded, Hawkgirl followed his lead by instinct, clambering onto the back of the jet ski and folding her wings in tight to her back as he took off.
It was oddly... nostalgic, bringing to times he used to take her out on his motorcycle. If Roy cared about the mud she'd accidentally transferred onto the back of his jacket, he didn't acknowledge it.
"You alright?" He asked once they were in full pursuit, gaze locked forward.
"Fine," she wasn't even lying. The rush of wind hitting her face, the spray of water splattering her legs, was doing wonders to ground her, like a low flight over the ocean after a long patrol.
Nodding to himself, Red Arrow activated his comm. "Aqualad, target's made us, so we'll take a dive. He'll think he's in the clear and you can track him from below. We'll be right behind using the tracer." Then, he turned to make eye contact with her. "Think you can make it believable?"
"An excuse to dump you in a river? Of course." Angling her face so that Sportsmaster couldn't see it, she surreptitiously activated the seal on her helmet.
When Roy sped up to close the distance, Sportsmaster acted as predicted, tossing an explosive their way. As it impacted the water near the jet ski, Hawkgirl jerked the machine to the side, disrupting its fragile balance and sending them both into the water and their vehicle overturning with a dramatic pop and flip out of the water.
Now below the waterline, Aqualad took over the pursuit. Hawkgirl maintained a hold on Roy's arm just in case, mostly to keep them from being separated by the current. She watched as Sportsmaster flicked a blinking disc down into the water, along with a few more explosives directly on top of Aqualad.
Well, there went that plan.
Truly, Sportsmaster's attention to detail was frighteningly accurate (and enviable). Yanking his arm from her loose grip, Roy started to surface.
"Aqualad!" Roy shouted, unable to see the Atlantean nearby as she could.
Kaldur didn't leave their temporary leader in suspense, hastily joining them after the first shout of his name. "Here," activating his own comm, he addressed their currently wayward members. "Artemis, Kid, listen. Sportsmaster's escaped. He found the tracer. We need you to lull Cheshire into a false sense of security. Allow yourselves to lose, then use the opportunity to plant a new tracker on her we can follow. We're returning to your position now."
Working in tandem, Hawkgirl and Aqualad managed to recover and right the jet ski for Roy's use. As Kaldur stuck to the waterway for travel, Ski'Lira used the jet ski as a brief perch to take off into the air.
H
Despite having taken on Cheshire by themselves, neither Wally nor Artemis seemed any worse for the wear. Surprising, considering the last time she herself had taken on the assassin in direct combat, Ski'Lira's wing had been fully impaled and Kaldur had suffered poisoning so severe he could barely walk. Only his Atlantean physiology saved him from a worse fate, as likely had Cheshire's unfamiliarity with Thanagarian anatomy saved hers.
She was starting to wonder if perhaps Cheshire had some kind of code about outright killing children. It was the only plausible explanation that could waive away how consistently non-lethal her encounters had been (Kaldur's poisoning notwithstanding). With the exception of Roy, they were all clearly minors.
And Roy's own... special treatment was clearly connected to... whatever attachment those two had.
Gross.
H
"So, we threw the fight as ordered and Artemis planted the tracer." Kid Flash finished his report with a prideful smile.
Emerging from the nearby trees, Artemis held up a small device linked to the tracker in question, a blinking dot pulsating onscreen. "Cheshire's heading north."
Red Arrow's frown deepened at this new information. "Sportsmaster was headed south. Kinda like this mission."
"Maybe he'll double back? Maybe she will." Artemis hastened to point out.
"Either way," trying to head off the steadily brewing argument between the archers, Wally was wise to interrupt. "Either way, they'll rendezvous and we'll find them."
"We had better," Aqualad took over. "Sportsmaster acquired an attache case. We need to learn what it contained. If you had stayed aboard the bioship-"
Harshly gesturing at Roy, Artemis snapped, "I saw Cheshire sneaking up on him."
"Then you radio a warning," the redhead said through gritted teeth.
"And if she found you by hacking our frequency?"
Hawkgirl couldn't reign in her derisive scoff in time, "Have you forgotten I was also there? You think I would have allowed that to happen?"
"Cheshire's gotten the best of you before. Literally minutes ago she knocked you out of a fight without even trying!"
An immediate rush of rage surged through her, and Ski'Lira took a step forward, lip curling into a snarl. She didn't miss the way Wally shifted closer to Artemis, hands drifting up to do... something. Shift her away, lash out? She didn't know. That did more to douse her temper than anything else could. Pointedly stepping back, she carefully kept her tone low and non-confrontational. "She did, as much as it pains me to admit it." In more an attempt to assuage the strange energy, she lobbed a barb in Roy's direction, the sniping comfortable territory. "Then again, I couldn't rely on Cheshire being blinded by apparent sentiment."
He was visibly unamused by the comment, but let it go without rising to the verbal bait.
"Artemis does speak truth," Aqualad confirmed. "We have become too reliant on M'Gann's telepathy over our radios."
"So," Kid Flash took over again. "Let's stop looking to place blame and start looking for Cheshire!"
Tossing Roy the tracking interface, Artemis' face was carefully blank. "Here, since clearly I can't be trusted. You track her."
The device was snatched from Roy's hand by Wally, who held it towards its original owner. "Artemis..."
"It's fine. I'll... follow in the bioship." With that, she left.
Unease had settled firmly in Ski'Lira's gut. The blonde's unusually terse and reckless behavior was starting to grate, making her second guess every action, every word out of Artemis' mouth since they'd started this mission.
"Go, Kid," Aqualad started slinging out orders, bringing them back to the important matter at hand. "Arrow, Hawkgirl, and I will return to the river. And we will all follow as originally planned."
Kid Flash was gone in a blink, no longer limited to using vehicular travel now that their presence had been clocked by both adversaries on the field. The trio made their way back to the water's edge, with Kaldur diving in and disappearing.
Roy stopped Hawkgirl before she could fly north.
He gave no initial explanation, silently stripping his drenched jacket to reveal his standard hero gear and replacing his slim sunglasses with his black domino.
"Did you stop me just to keep lookout?" She snarked, unable to muster any real heat, making the insult come out lackluster. "Perhaps for someone in particular? Cheshire, maybe? Though from what she said, I doubt there's-"
"We are not talking about that. Ever." He interrupted her swiftly, making a 'zip your lip' motion with a hand. "I know you've noticed it too. You're the most paranoid person I know other than Batman. And your parents. You can't have missed it."
"How strange this entire mission is or specifically...?"
"Artemis."
Hawkgirl picked over her words very carefully. "Her behavior has been... atypical. Usually she's not so..." She trailed off. "I overheard you share your suspicions with Aqualad."
"You think I'm an idiot? Of course I knew you'd hear it."
"And you trust me so freely with that information? What if I had been the mole all along? Used your suspicions against you and leaned into your focus on Artemis?"
"Don't be stupid. I know you'd-" Roy's jaw worked for a moment, as if he was literally fighting his own words. "You'd rather die than sell out the Team and the League. You're... sickeningly loyal."
Something ugly curled in Hawkgirl's chest at the backhanded compliment. "An opinion you certainly didn't have before."
Letting out a harsh puff of air, Roy scratched at the back of his neck. "Look, we'll.. We'll talk later, alright? But right now, we've got a bigger concern. And I know how much you hate airing personal grievances while on the field." He held out a similar device to the one Artemis used previously, likely both originating from Green Arrow's armory. "This is the tracker I planted on Artemis."
Wings flaring, Hawkgirl began to shout, "You planted a-" Her ire puffed out like a candle left in front of an open window as she realized exactly where Artemis' little dot rested. And it certainly wasn't at the current location of the bioship. "What has she done?"
"Played us for fools. Still trust her now?"
Ski'Lira didn't know how to respond, so she didn't.
Radiating an aura of smugness from his accusations taking root, Red Arrow moved to straddle the jet ski and presumably jet off dramatically. The sputter of a failed engine took the wind out of his sails. Perhaps pushing it so hard after an intention dive had been a mistake, the inner workings overtaxed. "Great," he inhaled, then let out a much longer exhale through his nose. "I'm not going to beg."
"No need. We're comrades, remember?" She smirked, relishing in this moment. Flaring out her wings, she took off, keeping low. Roy jumped with the uncanny ease of long practiced hours doing this particular maneuver over and over again, locking his fingers around her wrists just as she caught him.
"You're heavier than I remember," she couldn't help but comment."
"Are you calling me fat?"
"No, merely congratulating you on finally growing out of your scrawny phase. Took you long enough."
He was wise not to insult her back, seeing as with a mere flick of her wrists she could drop him straight into the bayou. Not that she would, after all, they were supposed to be professional.
H
No visible security surrounded the warehouse apart from a few scant cameras, no matter whatever clandestine dealings may be occuring inside. They'd managed to creep all the way to a shuttered door without issue, this being their first true obstacle. If this were a normal mission, Hawkgirl easily could have ripped it asunder to admit them inside, but this was meant to be covert.
Thus, Hawkgirl kept lookout as Red Arrow fiddled with the access panel.
A scuff of a boot against the roof was all the warning she received (almost a second too late) before a javelin-wielding Sportsmaster dropped from above. Just as she was sliding in a defensive position in front of Red Arrow, the door exploded. A gaping, ragged maw of metal served as their entrance now, a boon even if it had come at the cost of being far too close to the blast.
There was definitely some damage to her ear drums already in the process of healing, as everything sounded slightly muffled. Anything outside a human's normal range of hearing was out the window. Thankfully, her armor protected her against the shrapnel, and her body had acted as an effective meat shield to in turn protect Red Arrow's much more fragile skin.
Sportsmaster recovered quickly from where he'd been sent careening, initial trajectory disrupted by the violent interruption. But Hawkgirl managed to hit him with a snap kick on his approach that sent him skidding a good thirty or so feet, allowing her and Roy time to dart inside.
Well timed, too, as Cheshire stood above Artemis with sword ready to plunge down, only for Red Arrow to shoot the blade from the assassin's grip and save their teammate.
"Arrow to Aqualad. Located Cheshire and Sportsmaster. Rendezvous at my coordinates."
Having caught up, Sportsmaster ducked around the greeting swing of Hawkgirl's mace, twisting to avoid a follow-up arrow from Roy, throwing his javelin at the redhead.
Pitching sideways, the lethal projectile was caught by Arrow's quiver. Hawkgirl knew from experience those things were built to withstand all kinds of damage, ranging from flames to bullets. Still, Roy's momentum sent him to the ground, making him vulnerable.
The Thanagarian slid between him and Sportsmaster so he had time to safely scramble back to his feet. Blocking a punch with her left gauntlet, she jerked his arm upwards to create an opening to smash the ball of her mace into his ribs. If it weren't for whatever high-end armor he was wearing, he'd be a wheezing mess on the ground.
In the interim, Red Arrow had met up with Artemis, the two standing back to back so they could fire off arrows to hold Cheshire at bay and aid in Hawkgirl's duel with Sportsmaster.
"Are you allergic to radioing a warning?" Roy demanded.
"Artemis to Arrow. Look out."
Revealing a hammer (not a normal, reasonable hammer weapon mind you, it was the ball and chain used for the track and field sport of hammer throwing), Sportsmaster moved in close, using the chain to hook around the head of her mace and disarm her with a swift yank. She lunged to retrieve her beloved weapon before it flew off too far, but a strike to the side of her knee courtesy of at least fifteen pounds of solid metal swung at high velocity sent her to the ground.
Mace landing somewhere in the depths of the warehouse, hidden behind piles of colorful, aging Mardi Gras decorations. Using her moment of distraction to his advantage, Sportsmaster made for Roy, smashing his bow out of his hands and leaving the archer stuck with hand to hand. It wasn't as much of a deterrent as the villain believed it to be.
After all, people tended to forget that Green Arrow was also an expert in close combat, and had gone to great lengths to pass those skills to his protege, along with archery prowess. Each of Red Arrow's punches were sure, a strength behind them that could only come from long years spent with a bow.
Knowing any wasted second against an opponent of this caliber could very well be a death sentence, Hawkgirl didn't bother to search for her mace, instead throwing herself into the fray with great zeal.
As if they'd never fought, as if they'd never forsaken their friendship, Roy and Ski'Lira slipped into an old, easy rhythm.
In this moment, it was like days spent at the Hol house, Katar dragging them outside to the fighting ring in the yard to take him on as a duo. If they landed enough hits, or on the rare occasion they managed to fully subdue them, he'd taken them out for ice cream afterward.
By instinct, they covered each other's weak spots, and Roy knew how to effortlessly maneuver around her wings in close quarters in a way that the members of her Team were just beginning to learn.
It was... thrilling.
Hawkgirl's feathers fluffed as she felt true, unbridled joy.
Red Arrow managed to execute a neat judo move, locking a bruised and bloodied Sportsmaster into an arm bar. Drawing her fist back, Hawkgirl prepared to knock him out. But mere moments after their opponent was pinned, her nostrils flooded with an acrid magic scent. Red light rippled across Sportsmaster's skin, and his body turned to a replica made of ice, shattering before their eyes.
Hawkgirl's fist drove down through the shards, lodging in the concrete as a guttural snarl of frustration left her throat. They were so close.
Shaking the newly created dust from her gauntlet, the snarl petered off into a low rumbling, growl that she couldn't quite stop. The only entity she knew that possessed magic of that particular hue and potency was Klarion.
Which boded very, very poorly as to the exact nature of Sportsmaster and Cheshire's business.
H
MOUNT JUSTICE
DECEMBER 6TH, 2010
03:21 EST
Angering Aqualad was difficult to garner and rare to behold, and yet, "Let me be clear. We failed." Those on mission had returned battered, bloodied, mud-streaked, and defeated. Those that had been left at home hovered awkwardly, expressing their concern with silent looks as Aqualad continued to speak. "Though the Injustice League may be in custody, their allies still scheme. And we have learned nothing of their plans."
"Gee, I wonder why," subtlety had flown out the window, as Roy stared down Artemis.
"Hey!" Fists clenched, Artemis leapt to defend herself. "Who found out Sportsmaster was working for Brain, Klarion, and Ivo?!"
"Yeah, great intel," his eyes may be obscured by his mask, but Roy was surely rolling them. "Except Ivo's been in Belle Reve the whole time. And the guards just checked. It's the real Ivo, not a robot."
Wally surged forward to sneer at Roy, "You know, I'm getting pretty tired of you dumping on her. Besides, HG confirmed it was Klarion's magic at work! Is the rest really-" Wally was briefly silenced as Roy wordlessly presented his personal tracking fob. "Her tracer? So? Cheshire ditched it."
"No. Artemis ditched that." The elder gestured to a similar device in Kaldur's grip. "To send us on a wild goose chase. She put this one on Cheshire."
The furious light building in the speedster's gaze started to dim as realization dawned. "Artemis?" Slowly, he faced her, but she refused to make direct eye contact. "Are you that freaked out about Arrow joining the Team you had to prove yourself by bringing down the bad guy solo? Please tell me I'm wrong."
Tears sprung into Artemis' grey eyes, lips parting to reply, but she ultimately said nothing further in her own defense.
Using a tone he usually reserved for villains, Wally was unabashedly disappointed. "Well. Nice going. You proved you're insecure and selfish." He tossed his chosen souvenir for the mission, one of Cheshire's weapons, to the ground at her feet. "Keep the sai." Plucking the evidential tracker from Roy's possession, he started to leave, presumably to stow it on his treasure trophy shelves. "This is the right souvenir for the mission."
"So, how will you betray us next time?" Roy asked.
"Enough," hand on Roy's shoulder, Kaldur intervened. "If making a mistake was a betrayal, we would all be traitors. I must report to Batman. The rest of you, get some sleep."
Unsettled, people started to retreat from the Hub.
Three, including Ski'Lira herself, lingered.
Roy's intent was to impart a final, whispered warning in Artemis' ear. "You're not who you say you are. This isn't over. Not by a longshot."
Stricken, Artemis remained frozen, and it took her a solid few seconds to register that Hawkgirl had yet to leave. "I'm not in the mood for another lecture."
Well, tough. She should have thought about that before going rogue. "Do you know how badly today could have gone for you?"
"Yes, I know. It was stupid and I ruined the mission-"
"Do you know? Do you really?!" Her voice spiked a little louder in volume than intended, forcing a flinch from the blonde. "What if something had gone wrong, Artemis?! You walked alone into a warehouse with two known assassins, and at least one Lord of Chaos! If they were of a mind to kill you, there was nothing Roy nor I could have done to stop it."
"They... They wouldn't..."
"That you seem so certain of that fact only makes me more concerned." Ski'Lira sighed, reached up under the nose of her helmet to rub at her forehead. "Out of my respect for you, I won't pry further." After all, Hawkgirl was no stranger to secrets, or holding them for others.
As Kaldur's suggestion of sleep sounded ideal, Ski'Lira decided that's what she wanted to do more than anything right now.
It was while she was safely ensconced in her room here at the mountain, process of stripping off her exterior armor almost finished, helmet already sitting on the dresser, that there was a sharp rap on the door.
She already knew who it was, "Come in."
When Roy entered, he did a full double take seeing her bare-faced.
"What?" She asked.
"You look... older." Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "Earlier, I said we'd... talk."
"Right now?" Hands on her hips, she quirked an eyebrow at him.
"I figured it'd be better to get it over with, especially if we're going to keep working together." Shuffling in place, for the first time today, he looked like the teenager she'd grown up with, not the man he'd grown to be. "How's the knee? Sportsmaster clocked it pretty good."
Ski'Lira gave the joint a test roll, satisfied when it only twinged slightly in protest, responding easily. "It'll be fine by morning. And you?"
"Just bruises," watching her carefully, as if waiting for her to kick him out at any wrong word or movement, he gingerly sat down on the end of her bed. "Do all of you guys' missions usually turn out this bad?"
That question took legitimate thought to answer, as she went over her mental catalogue of finished operations. "... Pretty much. Sometimes they end up worse."
He made a face, "Look. I don't think either of us want to... I just... The things I said back then were... uncalled for. Saying you didn't care about..." Glancing away, an embarrassed flush crept into his cheeks. "I was wrong. For that."
"So this was just training for you?!" Roy was spitting mad, face so crimson that he looked sunburned. With every insinuation, he gestured wildly. "You don't really care about the people we save, do you?!"
"That is not what I said!" Ski'Lira's answering screech was layered with vocalizations she was usually good at suppressing, but in this moment of genuine upset, instinct warred over training. And won.
"Well, it sure sounded like it!"
"Our fight was far from one-sided, Roy," she felt ashamed of the memory, remembering each insult she'd hurled in response to his own wild accusations. "We both said a great deal to each other we couldn't take back."
"... Yeah. Yeah, we did." Roy's voice was tight.
"I don't understand why you've decided to bring this up now. Working together doesn't mean working out... this," she gestured between them sharply. "We've proven today we can still work together effectively."
"That's what I don't get. You were so... normal today. You listened to all of my orders without a second of hesitation. You actually heard me out about my suspicions, and when we fought Sportsmaster..."
"I listen to you because you're good at what you do and you were the assigned leader for the mission. A decent one, at that."
"Really? That's it? Just that simple?"
"Just that simple," she parroted.
He sighed again, blinking suddenly, "Wait, was that a compliment hidden in there? Like, a genuine compliment?"
The Thanagarian's lips quirked up into the smallest of smiles, "I have been known to give those on occasion."
For a long half minute, Roy just... watched her. Eyes, flickering across her face as if he'd never seen her before. "You're so... different."
"Older, you already said-."
"No, not that," she held her tongue as he explained what was on his mind. "The Skylar I knew, she would have jumped down Artemis' throat the second she betrayed our trust. All you did was wait until we were back at base, then give her a stern talking to about safety like a disappointed mother."
"... As Aqualad said, we've all made mistakes." Ski'Lira glanced away, focus on a blank spot of wall. "Even me. I fought hard to regain what little trust they have in me. I don't want... I don't want to risk..."
"... From what I've seen, there isn't exactly a whole lot of trust going around anyway." Roy stood, displaying his intent to depart. "By the way... It was... nice. Fighting side by side with someone I could trust to have my back."
"The feeling is mutual. Have a good night, Roy."
"Yeah. You too, Sky."
And he left.
The second the door clicked shut, Ski'Lira collapsed onto her bed, lying still for a minute before shifting to curl into a ball.
She couldn't help but wonder when the reckoning for all this secret keeping, this game of shifting trust and distrust, would come.
And who it would burn in the process.
Two chapters in the row with some long-needed conversations. I wonder what Roy and Sky's fight was really about? I mean, I do. I've known literally all along. But I'm afraid that mystery's going to have to keep for a little longer.
Next chapter is gonna be a fun one, I think, with at least one more heart to heart in store. Hint, we get to see what's been going on with Wally. It'll be a mostly original content chapter, so long time readers know those usually take longer than the episode-based ones. I've been looking forward to it for ages, especially as it gives me an opportunity to pull some DC characters out of the toybox.
For my Side Stories followers, the poll for oneshot selection is officially closed. You've all helped a great deal. The resounding first place, the continuation of Dimension Hopping (now featuring Teen Titans), is currently in the editing process. If that chapter's up already, it means I've forgotten to update this part of the author's note. If it isn't, it will likely be posted in a matter of days after this one goes up.