THE FOLLOWINGevening, Jaye and Artemis were down in the alleyway next to the apartment they shared, as per the instructions of Green Arrow himself. It had been an hour short of twenty-four hours since the two Justice League members had left their home, and Jaye still couldn't get over the idea of joining an actual team.
Standing beside its archer companion, the wyvern growled low in its throat, senses alert for any sound that could possibly be the man they were waiting for. They'd been out in the humidity longer than it liked to be standing still, and it had already frightened off a street thief, an overly intimate couple looking for a moment alone, and a very unfortunate alley cat.
To say it was getting nervous would be an understatement.
Jaye was currently in a form as large as a rhino, which just barely fit comfortably in the alleyway. Tail curled around the feet of Artemis, its neck arched just slightly to pick up every single sound within a half a mile radius, the beast focused solely upon what it could hear beyond the walls of the alley. Cars rolled by, filling the air with the stink of gasoline, choking up the evening with their hideous rumblings.
The day had been a nice one — hot and sunny as Jaye often preferred. The feeling of warm sunlight against its scales was always welcomed as opposed to the chilling freeze of winter.
A slight noise above its head caused it to swivel its neck, growling softly and moving its body to shield Artemis with one massive wing. Only when Green Arrow himself jumped down and landed a few paces away did the beast slowly calm down, rumbling low in its throat as a warning.
One would be surprised at the number of sounds a wyvern such as this could make. Growls of all pitches, rattles deep within the back of its throat, clicks and shrieks like creatures that crawled from the depths of nightmares. Such noises allowed Jaye to communicate its feelings in this form, and because it had chosen Artemis to be its rider, she could understand much of what these different sounds meant.
And now, Artemis set a hand on Jaye's neck, calming it down as the Justice Leaguer approached them both, eyes warily flickering to the massive rhino-sized beast which was growling at him.
"Hey there," he greeted Artemis with a wave. "Are you ready?"
The blonde smirked. "Born ready."
Green Arrow glanced once again at Jaye, rubbing the back of his neck almost nervously before he motioned for them to follow him further down the alleyway.
Glad they weren't headed into the open, the wyvern nudged Artemis ahead of it and brought up the rear, slinking through the shadows as its brown-scaled body rippled with muscle. The alley was a network of twists and turns, darkened by the shadows which seemed to live and to breathe, but before long, the archer of the Justice League halted at what looked to be an old phone booth.
He turned to face the two.
"This zeta tube will take us to the team's official headquarters." He told them, eyes flickering between the girl and her dragon. "I'll be going first to authorize you, and then you'll be transported to Mount Justice."
Artemis gave a swift nod of her head in response.
Jaye lowered its head and watched with slitted eyes as the older hero opened the door to the phone booth, stepping inside and letting it close behind him. It could just barely make out the words of the computer authorizing his entrance into the headquarters, before a bright white light emitted from the old rickety thing. A flare of the nostrils was all it took for the wyvern to know that Green Arrow had vanished, seemingly into thin air.
Its friend ran a hand along its neck, catching the smoldering gaze with her own gray one. "Might want to go kitten-sized for now. I doubt you'll fit in the booth when you're bigger than a horse."
Jaye rumbled softly at those words, but in a few moments had managed to shrink in size so it was relatively the size of a house cat. It climbed up Artemis' leg and curled around her neck once it made it up, taking the appearance of a glorified scarf as its friend gently opened the door to the phone booth.
Artemis took a deep, shaking breath, stepping inside. "Now or never," she whispered, and Jaye was able to feel her nervousness. This was it. Today, they would become part of a team.
The wyvern had long awaited this moment.
A few seconds passed by, before a bright light suddenly enveloped the two of them. 'Green Arrow — 08 : Authorized'
It seemed as though the brilliant white rays had completed obliterated them from existence for a second, because the radiating warmth which engulfed them gave the wyvern a strange icy chill that rattled its scales, though it only lasted for a moment. When Jaye regained itself following the highly uncomfortable experience, it looked around suspiciously, eyeing the massive cavern which seemed to have been modernized to pass as a lair.
So this was the famous Mount Justice.
A rattling noise stirred in its throat as it unwound itself from around its friend's neck, looking around at everything. Artemis stepped forward, putting a hand to her head in a gesture that made it clear the method of travel had distorted her.
A few feet away, Green Arrow himself stood, arms crossed. He took note of their expressions, and a smile crept onto his face. "It's unpleasant the first time, but you'll get used to it."
Jaye growled, glaring at him. Artemis snorted and gently picked it up, setting it down on the floor so it could return to the desired size of a horse.
The wyvern now stood behind its friend, watching as Green Arrow turned to lead the way to the center of the wide chamber, where it then became aware of more individuals gathered. The familiar scent of Batman weaved around it like a perfume, though it was aware of another Justice Leaguer among them — Red Tornado.
"Artemis, Wyvern," the Justice League archer halted between the large group and the newcomers, gesturing with one hand, "I'd like you to meet the Team." His eyes flickered between them. "Robin, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad, these are my new protégés, Artemis and Wyvern."
Wrapping its tail protectively around Artemis's feet, Jaye observed the young heroes who would be their teammates. It recognized each one from the news — though meeting them in the flesh was perhaps a bit overwhelming.
These . . .kidswere younger than it, and had been fighting alongside their mentors for years. It was rather surprised at this, but it had seen with its own eyes how they fought. They were a worthy group, even if they were just children.
"Is that a dragon?" Miss Martian stared at the beast, eyes wide as it scanned the heroes with its own molten gaze.
Artemis smiled brightly, raising a hand so she could stroke Jaye neck. "It is."
Robin turned to face his mentor with crossed arms. "When you said the name of one of our new teammates was going to be Wyvern, I assumed a humanoid creature that maybe had dragon abilities." He gestured with one hand to the lizard. "I didn't think you meant anactual dragon."
The wyvern snorted at those words and lowered its head, swiveling its head to look at each individual from their level. It noted how all of them quickly shifted their gazes to look elsewhere, clearly uncomfortable with the giant, which was to be expected. This was a creature of fire and death, flame made into flesh, capable of destroying them with a single lash of its tail, and yet it stood before them, mostly passive for now.
Releasing a soft whistle in the back of its throat, Jaye determined that it had gotten the scent of each member here before it raised its head again, huffing softly in a show of passiveness. Artemis placed a hand on its neck, a determined smile on her face.
Eventually, it moved away from its friend and examined the rest of the room, taking in the scents and making notes in its mind of the different directions one could go.
'Recognized: Kid Flash — B03'
The beast turned its head around to watch as the Zeta Tube lit up, a bright white light enveloping its vision before a young redheaded male was standing there, dressed in ridiculous attire consisting of beach clothing. It swiveled its head and grunted , eyeing the newcomer warily.
"The Wall-man is here. Now let's get this party star—"
He had no chance to finish what he was saying, because the first few steps proved disastrous when he tripped and fell flat against the floor.
". . . —ted." He looked up, into the unamused faces of Batman and Red Tornado.
Artemis smirked, her bow held up in her hand. "Wall-man, huh?" Her tone was mocking. "Love the uniform — what, exactly, are your powers?"
Jaye chuffed in amusement, but immediately fixed the stranger with another glare as he got up. He came to stand between Aqualad and Robin, looking the blonde up and down. "Uh, who's this?"
"Artemis," she replied, a smile on her face. "Your new teammate."
"Kid Flash," the boy frowned. "Never heard of you."
From behind him, Jaye growled loudly, startling him and causing him to spin around. It would have laughed if it could at the expression of pure terror that crossed his features when he saw it standing there, neck arched to look down its nose at him. Artemis stepped forward. "And that's my partner, Wyvern."
Jaye showed its teeth, inhaling sharply to take in his scent before it twisted around and moved back toward its rider, never breaking eye contact with the newcomer.
Kid Flash stared for a long moment, before his gaze shifted back toward Artemis, then to the Justice League members. "New teammates?"
"Uh, they're my new protégés." Green Arrow broke the tension by stepping forward, placing a hand on Artemis' shoulder.
His face contorted to an expression of displeasure. "What happened to your old one?"
'Recognized: Speedy — B06'
"Well for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore." Yet another person entered through the Zeta-Tube, walking with confidence as he approached the group and halted a few paces away. "Call me Red Arrow."
"Roy." Green Arrow released Artemis and stepped closer to the boy, surprised. "You look—"
"Replaceable." The word came out as bitter. The male walked until he stood a few paces away from what Jaye assumed to be his former mentor.
Green Arrow sighed. "It's not like that. You told me you were going solo."
"So why waste time finding a sub — two for that matter?" Red Arrow demanded, glaring at the dragon and the archer. "Can she even use that bow?"
Jaye growled in a warning at him, but Artemis put a hand on its head before stepping toward him. "Yes, she can," she mocked.
"Who are you?" Kid Flash demanded, clearly annoyed.
Artemis glanced back at her mentor. "I'm his niece."
At the exact same time, Green Arrow spoke, "She's my niece."
Robin, who had been standing in the background with his arms crossed, tilted his head, smirking. "Another niece?"
"But she —they— are not your replacements." Aqualad told Red Arrow, approaching him. "We have always wanted you on the team — and we have no quota on archers." The last bit was said with a pointed look at the redhead male.
"And if we did, you know who we'd pick," Kid Flash added, a noticeable jab toward the blonde archer who still stood nearby.
His words did little to faze the girl, as she walked over to them. "Whatever, Baywatch. We're here to stay."
Red Arrow seemed agitated as he turned back to Aqualad, who tilted his head slightly. "You came to us for a reason." He commented.
"Yeah," the male archer replied. "A reason named Dr. Serling Roquette."
Robin blinked, just once, then began to fiddle with something on his wrist, pulling up a holographic image of the person in question. "Nanorobotics genius and Claytronics expert at Royal University in Star City. Vanished two weeks ago."
"Abductedtwo weeks ago." Red Arrow corrected, still with a note of irritation to his tone. "By the League of Shadows."
At those words, Jaye tensed up, fighting a growl that built up in the back of its throat. Artemis glanced at it, placing a calming hand on its neck so it wouldn't seem so obvious they knew what the Team was talking about.
"Whoa—" Robin broke into a grin, walking toward Red Arrow. "You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"
"Hardcore," Kid Flash gave his friend a fist bump, though the archer who was speaking observed with an expression that hadn't yet changed.
"I already rescued her." He told them, walking toward the holographic images which still hung in the air, which required him to approach the wyvern standing beneath them. "Only one problem — the Shadows had already coerced her into creating a weapon."
He pulled up another image, which showed the weapon he was talking about.
"Doc calls it The Fog." He explained. "Comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators. Capable of disintegrating anything in their path — concrete, steel, flesh, bone." His gaze hardened. "But its true purpose isn't mere destruction — it's theft. The infiltrators even store raw data from any computer system, and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows, providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting-edge science, tech—"
"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power-broking . . ." Artemis glanced at Jaye with a sigh. ". . . yeah, sounds like the Shadows."
"Like you knowanythingabout the shadows." Kid Flash scoffed with a smirk, to which Artemis gave him a rather condescending look, her own grin spread onto her face, though hers was more wicked. He paused, then glared once again. "Whoareyou?!"
Red Arrow cut into the banter. "Roquette's working on a virus to render The Fog inert."
"But if the Shadows know she can do that . . ." Robin ventured, no longer looking amused.
"They'll target her," the male archer finished. "Right now, she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab."
"You left her alone?" Green Arrow narrowed his eyes.
Red Arrow wasn't pleased with his tone. "She's safe enough for now."
The Justice Leaguer stepped forward. "Then let's you and I keep her that way."
"You and I?" The redhead growled after a moment. "Don't you want to take your new protégés?" The acid in his tone caused the elder male to move forward threateningly, though Batman grabbed his shoulder with a warning look. Jaye thought some sort of silent message passed between them, before he spoke again.
"You brought this to the Team, it's their mission — which means it's hers —theirs— now, too."
He scoffed. "Then my job's done." Without saying anything else to them, he walked back toward the Zeta Tubes where he had come in.
'Recognized: Speedy—'
"That'sRed Arrow, B06. Update." The male growled, moments before he disappeared from the mountain, leaving them alone.
Jaye released a low rumble from the back of its throat after he left, sharing a long look with Artemis before swishing its tail.
It seemed they would be having a long night ahead of them.
.。:。*.:。*.。*.:。*.。:。*.。
HAPPY HARBOR
( AUGUST 8, 21:53 EDT )
Curled up alertly on a desk which was considerably too small for a teenager, Jaye watched everyone in the room interacting in silence. Its molted gaze swept the large classroom multiple times, observing the shadows and windows for any sign for something unusual.
Robin and Kid Flash were off near one wall, sitting along the long desk which lined the sides. Aqualad stood in the middle, though he continued to move back and forth from the door. Artemis was sitting on the desk where the very grouchy (as the dragon had come to find out) scientist was working on one of the high school computers.
Suddenly, Jaye felt a sharp pain in the back of its skull, releasing a feral snarl which accompanied a violent shake of its head.
'Everyone online?' The voice of the Martian girl filled the back of the wyvern's skull, much to its surprise, though Artemis' voice followed a moment later.
'Ugh, this is weird . . .'
As it watched, the blonde archer did not speak the words out loud, which could only mean that someone had placed a mental connection between them.
'And distracting,' Dr. Roquette added bitterly. 'Coding a distributed algorithm virus on a kiddie computer with less RAM than a wrist watch is hard enough. Now I have to hear teens think in my skull?'
'Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?' Kid Flash demanded, chewing on a snack he had brought in with him.
Artemis smirked. 'Pot, kettle. Have you met?'
'Hey, hey, I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the team.' The speedster growled.
The archer jumped up. 'That is so not on me!'
'Fate. Of the world. At stake?' Roquette hissed.
'She started it!' Kid Flash crossed his arms.
Jaye whistled softly and nudged Artemis, having gone over to the desk she'd been sitting at. It couldn't risk speaking through the mental link and revealing itself to the Team just yet, but it knew that its rider could understand what it was telling her.
Sure enough, the archer gently picked up the wyvern and began to walk toward the door. 'How about we just help Miss Martian and Superboy patrol the perimeter?'
Aqualad watched her pass by. 'Good idea.'
As they left, Jaye was still able to hear the voices of the other heroes in the back of its skull, starting with Robin talking to Kid Flash as soon as they were gone.
'You might cut her some slack — it was their flaming arrow that saved your butt against Amazo.'
'What? No, that was Speedy—I mean, Red Arrow's arrow . . . right?'
'Not so much.' Robin replied.
A pause. 'Well . . . still not giving her the satisfaction.'
Obviously irritated, Artemis ground her teeth. 'You know I can still hear you.'
Jaye chirped out loud, looking up at the archer and crooning at her in a scolding manner, tail curled around her wrist in an almost comforting gesture. Artemis smiled down at it, exiting the building and walking toward the gate where Miss Martian was already patrolling.
The dragon made a rattling noise in the back of its throat, climbing up onto its rider's shoulders as the archer pulled out her bow and arrow set, wordlessly kneeling down a few paces away and nocking one trick arrow into her bow.
After a few moments, the small reptile jumped down and took up position behind the two women, growing in size enough to block the entire pathway back to the school with its body. It then laid down, snorting out a plume of smoke.
Before it could fully make itself comfortable, however, a loud thump from above caused it to swivel its head, catching sight of Superboy as he landed on the ground near them, having jumped from the school rooftop.
Artemis glanced toward him, and a smirk crossed her lips. 'Mmmm, that boy.'
Jaye squawked in disgust, and probably would have smacked her with its tail had it been close enough, but instead just settled for glaring at its companion while Superboy gave her a weird look.
'He can hear you,' Miss Martian growled coldly. 'We can all hear you.'
'Oh, I know.' The archer replied, still smirking after the super-powered male.
'Miss Martian,' Aqualad's voice cut into their conversation. 'Dr. Roquette has located the Fog. Reconfigure the Bioship so that Robin and Superboy can pursue.'
The martian raised her hand, commanding the aircraft to descend from above and land on the other side of the gate. 'There.' She told him, watching as Superboy and Robin rushed on board to head in the direction of the weapon.
As soon as the entrance to the ship closed up, it lifted off and headed into the clouds.
Miss Martian and Artemis turned away and began walking back toward the gate, where Jaye had been watching them. They returned to their positions, neither speaking for a long moment before the redhead glared over her shoulder.
'You embarrassed Superboy.' She growled.
Artemis smirked. 'Didn't hear him say that.'
'Must you challenge everyone?' Miss Martian turned fully to the archer, causing Jaye to snap its head up and growl at her.
The blonde lifted a hand, a signal that it was okay. 'Where I come from, that's how you survive.'
They glared at one another for a while, up until the moment Jaye got up and pushed itself between them, growling softly in the back of its throat.
'M'gann,Kid,Artemis, Wyvern, we are under attack in the computer lab!'
Jaye swiveled its head with a snarl, just as Artemis ducked under its chin and tore through the school's front door. It followed, slithering through the double doors only after shrinking in size enough to fit comfortably, keeping up with its rider.
'On our way!' The archer told him.
The two of them — the wyvern noticed that Miss Martian was not following them — bolted through the hallways, seeing the door to the lab where they'd left their target cracked open. As Artemis rushed through the door, she nocked an arrow and fired inside the room, and only when Jyotsna entered did it see the target of the strike — a female with ebony-black hair, masked. Aqualad was lying on the floor, dazed.
It let out a rumbling growl as the assassin turned to face them, and Artemis drew back the string of her bow with another arrow aimed right at her. "Don't. Move."
She stepped closer to the hired hand sent after the Doctor, and Jaye mirrored her movements, rumbling in the back of its throat angrily without breaking the stare of the masked intruder.
Aqualad got up, defensively placing himself between her and the woman they were protecting.
"This gig's getting interesting." The assassin commented, pulling out a collapsible sword from her arsenal and flipping it in her hand.
Taking that as a challenge, Artemis fired, her arrows being cut up by the sword each time, up until the second where Miss Martian and Kid Flash entered the room on Aqualad's side.
The assassin glanced over her shoulder once she finished off the last arrow, narrowing her eyes behind the mask at the sight of the newcomers. "Maybe a little too interesting . . . "
Jaye saw her remove something from her belt, and gave a startled half-roar just as it released a flash of bright light. Kid Flash lunged at the same moment, but only managed to crash straight into Artemis.
The assassin was gone.
Kid Flash pulled away from the archer and turned toward where the intruder had just been, clenching his fists. "Gone," he growled.
"She's getting away — you're letting her get away!" Dr. Roquette yelled to Aqualad as he went to check on her and make sure she wasn't hurt.
"This is all your fault!" Kid Flash spun to face Artemis now. "You were on perimeter, how'd that Shadow get in?"
Jaye snarled at him, thrashing its tail angrily, watching its rider walk up to him with a cold frown. She didn't say anything to him, but the withering glare etched onto her features was enough to make anyone want to back off.
Luckily, the dragon didn't need to commit a crime in that second, as it was actually Miss Martian who came to the archer's defense. "That's . . . not really fair. I was outside too."
He paused, then revived his glare. "Outside . . . being distracted by her!" He glanced over his shoulder at the martian. "Besides, I can't be mad at you." His voice changed. 'You gave me mouth-to-mouth.'
Jaye snarled, the sound filled with disgust. It did not need to have that vision in its head. At the same time, everyone at once shouted through the mental link, causing the dragon to wince.
"Dang it!" Kid Flash groaned, before making the wise decision and walking away.
Miss Martian smiled warmly and walked closer to Artemis. "I didn't do half as well during my first battle." She told the archer, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And I know you can't have been Green Arrow's sidekick for very long."
The wyvern snorted and lowered its head, staring straight at the martian in a glare that clearly signaled that if she did not remove her hand from its rider, it was going to fight her.
"Focus, everyone." Aqualad interrupted, stepping forward. "The Shadows will be back."
He put a hand to his ear, and the tune of radio frequency was all Jaye could hear from his earpiece, though it assumed he was talking to Robin and Superboy.
It bent its head to catch a scent of the intruder, as many things could disappear, but the smell was often an indicator. The odor that hit its nose wasn't unpleasant — and wasn't unfamiliar, either. There was a memory of that scent, which surprised the dragon, though not enough to make it care. It had spent time among the shadows, it was once their weapon. The scent could easily have been the familiar odor of their kind.
After a few seconds, Aqualad turned back to the team. "Rescan for the Fog - find it." He ordered Roquette. "We are moving the Doctor."
.。:。*.:。*.。*.:。*.。:。*.。
About half an hour later, the Team had managed to secure a location on the ocean, which had enough of a signal to power a computer which was located in a laboratory inside. Jaye suspected this was some sort of marine research lab, though it couldn't be sure.
It was curled up on the floor, watching Artemis pace around behind the Doctor, while Kid Flash sat perched on some boxes in the corner of the room. Every few moments, they would make eye contact, and proceed to hold one another's cold gazes.
'Stop it, both of you.' Aqualad's voice drifted through the back of the dragon's skull.
'What?' Both Artemis and Kid Flash spoke aggressively at the same time.
'I can hear you glaring.' Their team leader replied.
Jaye squawked in amusement, though immediately clamped its jaws shut and glared as Kid Flash gave it a long look. It had decided from the events taking place that this one was officially its least favorite of the new people it was on a team with. He was arrogant and rude — it wasn't a creature who liked bullies.
The doors to the room burst open, and the wyvern was immediately up and ready, mouth open to attack the intruder who entered. A male, with spider-like reflexes, not the same assassin from earlier.
It stepped forward. This room was wider than the computer lab from before, which allowed for it to maintain a larger size for maximum damage.
Jaye was a dragon. It was a wild beast.
It didn't like being attacked.
Kid Flash lunged off the desk, between the dragon and the intruder, which obviously was a signal that he wanted this one. He attempted to sweep his legs out from under him, which failed as the assassin sprang up and clung to the ceiling.
The boy dodged the red webbing attacks aimed for him, and grabbed a trash can, hurling it up at the spider-like individual. It smashed into the ceiling, allowing for the attacker to dislodge and drop down to attack Kid Flash one-on-one.
Artemis aimed an arrow to assist the annoying boy, but another intruder came crashing down through the ceiling, another male who was larger than the first. Jaye wasted no time, feeling heat build up in its throat. A growl escaped, which was the only warning it gave to its rider before it released a stream of molten fire toward the newcomer. He dodged — barely, and ducked behind a booth as Artemis fired two consecutive arrows at him following the flaming attack.
"Don't stop working." The archer ordered Roquette, who turned back to the computer.
Jaye slithered toward the man it had not been able to set on fire yet, growling in a way that was almost rattling the back of its throat. As it attempted to chase him out from the security of the booth without actually eating him, it caught a whiff of his scent. Strong and pungent, but . . . different than the one from before. It wasn't as familiar.
"Martian's here! It's now or never!"
Speak of the Devil.
The dragon snapped its head up as it saw a blur of color lunge from the overhead window. Distracted by Artemis fighting the male with a chain hook for a hand, it only caught a glimpse of the female assassin from earlier landing on Roquette's desk, hand on the sai which appeared to be the most accessible weapon. The scientist backed up, before bolting for the other door in the back of the room.
Jaye came up behind the man attacking Artemis, unfortunately right beside Roquette the moment she was kicked in the backside and sent sprawling by the female. However, it made no move to defend her, and a moment later, "Roquette's" skin turned green, revealing the ploy which had obviously managed to fool all three attackers.
"We've been duped!" The woman snarled.
Miss Martian flew up, eyes glinting. "You'll never find Dr. Roquette!"
The assassin dipped her chin, just slightly. "Never's such a long time . . . pursuing target — keep them busy!" She took off, heading toward the front door with a surprising amount of speed.
Jaye squalled, catching Artemis' eye, who nodded. While Miss Martian and Kid Flash took care of the two male assassins, the archer swung onto the dragon's back and took off after the female. "Pursuing their leader — take the rest down!"
Kid Flash punched the arachnid-like Shadow and turned to face them as they moved out from the door. "You aresonot the boss of me!"
"Just do it!" Artemis all but snarled, before Jaye screeched, lunging off the ground to gain speed by tailing the female from the air. They caught up rather easily, and landed near a van just as the assassin ran off toward the direction of where they were keeping the actual Doctor.
The archer nocked an arrow and fired at the backside of the intruder, who spun and knocked it away with one sai almost effortlessly. "I was hoping it'd be the two of you." She purred, before turning and running off again.
Artemis clenched her fists and jumped off Jaye's back, taking off after her on foot while the dragon took to the air again, swooping down to snatch her from the rooftops. The assassin maneuvered easily, which frustrated the beast to no end.
She landed on one rooftop and turned to face Artemis, as the archer was catching up once again. An arrow flew past her head and buried itself into a brick chimney, releasing a cloud of smoke right into the assassin's face.
Jaye landed on the ground behind Artemis just as their target coughed, the smoke filling her lungs, then collapsed flat on her back while releasing her weapons. They approached, the dragon growling deep in its throat as a warning to its rider as she pulled her string back to immobilize the downed assassin.
At the last second, their target spun, sweeping Artemis' legs out from under her and sending her crashing onto her back. "Mask has built-in filters." She said in a condescending tone.
Jaye recoiled, then roared, spitting out liquid fire to distract her while its rider kicked out, getting back on her feet in a single motion and attempting to punch the assassin in the face.
The intruder dodged, grabbing Artemis' arm and forced her to release the grip on her bow. The movement was so precise, and resulted in the woman holding the archer's arms in a painful lock behind her back.
"Better luck next time, kid." She hissed, promptly hitting Artemis hard in the back of the neck and sending her into unconsciousness, before looking up at the wyvern.
Jaye snarled, the sound a clear warning. Few had the nerve to fight one-on-one with a creature of this size, and now without its rider to hold it back, this was a clear moment to demolish the threat entirely.
But the stranger narrowed her eyes. "One wrong move, lizard, and I'll cut her throat." There was a note of glee to her tone. "I'm closer than you are . . . after all."
It growled dangerously, lowering its head to stare her directly in the eye. She didn't flinch, and her body was still planted over that of Artemis, which gave her the upper hand.
That scent . . . where did it know her scent? It was so familiar, and yet the answer eluded it completely.
It showed its teeth, but didn't make any move to set her on fire for fear of what might happen to Artemis if it did.
The assassin dipped its chin. "Good dragon."
And in the blink of an eye, she was gone.
Jaye snapped its head around, searching for any sign of her, but found nothing. It then moved over to Artemis and nudged her with its nose, growling softly to get her to wake up.
She cracked open her gray eyes, blinking once to stare up at the massive beast before breaking into a soft smile. "Hey, Jaye."
It grunted, eyeing her to make sure she was okay before curling its head around her so she could get up more easily. The blow had clearly dazed her, but otherwise it seemed as though she were fine.
"This has been one hell of a first day, huh?" She gently stroked its neck. "But it's not over yet. Let's regroup with the others."
She climbed up onto Jaye's back, and the dragon took off, climbing up into the air before swooping down, rumbling when it saw that familiar white mask down below, exiting the cafe where they'd been holding the Doctor.
Artemis fired four arrows in rapid succession, watching them strike the ground and explode around the assassin. She jumped off Jaye's back and landed directly behind her, another arrow aimed at her backside.
"Don't move a muscle!" She ordered coldly as the dragon landed on the other side, in front of their target.
The assassin got up calmly, completely unmasked and smirking at the dragon, who felt as though it had just seen a ghost. Its heart stopped dead in its chest.
That was why she knew the scent.
Then, she turned around, facing Artemis. "Wow . . . I amcompletelyat your mercy."
The archer did a double take, her own eyes widening with shock at the sight. "You."
"I suppose now you'll bring me to justice . . . let your new friends interrogate me." She glanced between the archer and the dragon, grinning. "I wonder if your positions are secure enough to survive them learningeverythingI know."
That sinister tone to her voice was enough to rattle the spines on Jaye's back. This was a threat.
She was threatening them.
It looked behind her toward Artemis, gouging her reaction to this woman, who also maintained eye contact with the archer. The tension was so thick, Jaye was sure it would be able to set it on fire if it desired.
But then, Artemis lowered her bow, dropping it to her side while not taking her eyes off the assassin.
She smirked. "Didn't think so." Her gaze shifted to look directly at the wyvern, but she said nothing more to it, only straightening up and backing away as she released a smoke bomb. "So like the Cheshire Cat, I'll just disappear . . ."
She was gone.
Artemis and Jaye stared at one another, completely shocked, though it was hard to tell. From behind the dragon, Dr. Roquette and Aqualad exited out the same door as the assassin had previously, the hero looking to have been injured.
"Artemis . . . Wyvern . . . where's the assassin?"
The archer broke her share with her dragon, looking down at the ground. "She, uh, she got away."
Kid Flash ran up to stand in front of her, appearing from seemingly nowhere. "Oh, from you? Big surprise." He raised his hand toward where Miss Martian had also appeared, the other two Shadows caught and restrained. "Notice: we got ours."
Jaye snarled at him, smacking him in the back of the head with its tail.
He glared at the animal, but then caught sight of the mask which had belonged to the assassin, laying on the ground near the wall. "Cool . . . souvenir!" He picked it up.
"Her mask . . . ?" Aqualad was pulling darts out of his chest, grunting as he spoke. "Did you see her . . . her face?"
"It was dark." Artemis said aggressively, turning her back on them to pet Jaye instead of meeting their eyes.
Aqualad paused, watching them. "It is fine." He finally said. "Robin and Superboy neutralized the Fog, and Dr. Roquette is safe — thanks in no small part to you both."
Jaye lifted its head slightly as Artemis turned around to face them, an eyebrow raised up.
He smiled slightly. "Welcome to the Team."
Miss Martian followed him up to shake her hand, and the redhead smiled. "I've always wanted a sister . . . here on Earth, I mean. I have twelve back on Mars, but trust me, it's not the same."
"I wouldn't know," Artemis replied tentatively. "But . . . thanks."
The Martian elbowed Kid Flash as he came up to them, and he grunted in surprise. "Ow . . . yeah, welcome." He growled.
Surprisingly, Artemis held out her hand, which he took cautiously.
Jaye snorted softly, feeling as though this were a win for them. Their first day — and it had been one hell of a day for sure.
.。:。*.:。*.。*.:。*.。:。*.。
GOTHAM CITY
( AUGUST 9, 01:16 EDT )
As Artemis stepped out of the phone booth which had transported them back to the alley where they'd begun the previous morning, Jaye jumped off her shoulders and onto a trash can, finally allowing itself to shift into human form with a yawn.
However, as its friend walked over, it noticed she was looking around rather cautiously, and before it could get a sense of what she was wary about, she suddenly spun around, arrow nocked and aimed for what Jaye now determined to be a figure in the shadows.
"Step into the light.Now."
Its heart stopped, but there was no doubt that its human form had been compromised as the figure stepped into view — revealing himself to be none other than Red Arrow himself.
"Nice move." He said coldly, eyes roaming over the two of them as he approached. "Almost made me believe youareGreen Arrow's niece, but we both know you're not."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Still . . . I'm sure GA and Bats have a reason for lying . . . about the both of you." His gaze flashed toward Jaye, who got off the trash can and came to stand beside its friend. "So your covers are safe." He added, crossing his arms. "But I warn you — donothurt my friends."
With that, he took a step back, turning around completely and walking away into the shadows, leaving the two standing alone in the alley.
They shared a long look, Jaye feeling a generous dose of dread pooling in the pit of its stomach.
We've dug ourselves quite a hole now, haven't we?
