In this chapter we'll be seeing the team process someone mysterious past being revealed to her as they try to get a handle on things. But an archer won't just stand by as her friends struggles as she may let something slip to a select belongs to greg wiseman and Brandon Vietti.
Chapter 40: Searching For A Thief
December 12th 9:05 am
It was a whole week for everyone right now as all of them where in the middle of processing still the revelation yesterday as the next morning had arrived with most of the team talking amongst each other at that moment without wraith in the mix as standing off to the side was a awkward looking katherine as the team stood their for a brief respite but speaking was batman
"I know you all have alot of questions going through your minds right now"batman said as they had way more than that
"Way more than that your…telling us that shes a murderer and…an assassin along with our own friend being the daughter of a mass murderer. "Jinny said in complete shock as this made a few have trust issues as still examining the card was robin right now as he was deducing what this was as conner growled
"So she was the mole the whole time that event back in gotham must have been staged"conner said going quick for the blame but katherine grabbed him by the shirt lifting him up in the air with ease to their shock as she growled at him
"That was not staged! That little brat black spider didn't even know what was happening…why would he even try to restrain them and threaten to murder my own daughter….you…"She was stopped as placing a hand on her back was paula who was welcomed into the cave as they got the gist who she was actually how she was artemis mom.
"Dear relax i am grateful you told me about this and well…uh….your a kind women who left that life behind like me"paula said
"What is she talking about"jinx asked as artemis looked scared as her mother came up with a lie
"I was a bit of a petty thief back in the day i became crippled because of that accident i had….it…wasn't my best and proudest moment in life"paula said as her daughter felt relived right now as crossing their arms was roy
"Well right now we have two moles it seems with since theirs a tracer on that card. She was leading slade and his friends here i'm sure"Roy said but speaking up on that was robin
"Actually i just ran a program on this. Its not a tracer its a homing beacon that once active it'll pinpoint their current location and signal someone in by….zeta"robin said to their shock for a moment as roy eyed his old allie and comrade
"Wait what?"wally asked taking it as he examined it quickly going wide eyed as his own mentor nodded
"We did a check on her and her own mind besides katherine here and well her son she had with slade and her ex wife"flash said which puzzled them
"Wait…ex wife"jinny asked as katherine scoffed
"I served both of them divorce papers and joseph was the only one smart enough to leave those maniacs since grant was the one who tore out his throat"katherine said as the mysterious jericho was revealed to be a man in his late twenties with blonde hair that looked curly though he had dark blue eyes with him sporting blue jeans and a white turtleneck with a visible slash mark across his throat as he gestured to it
"So what that doesn't excuse the fact she had this"conner argued
"He is right she might be a spy and maybe that why rose was acting weird in jail around her"jinx mentioned as they eyed her
"What do you mean by weird?"kaldur questioned as she thought for a moment
"She acted like she knew her and was targeting her for some reason"jinx replied as speaking was jericho but through something as their heads rang a little
"Thats because she wanted her brought to good old pops to convince her to join the light"jeircho said which confused them by the mindlink
"Your a telepath"m'gann said
"Alot more than that it seems from the last time we ran into him and the light"jinny asked confused right now
"Who are they never heard of them"wally asked as scoffing was katherine for a moment
"Joseph kept tabs on my ex husband and wife their a group of villains that work closely together to keep up their own agenda. Along with that their a group of villain who seek to control the world with slade being one of them"katherine explained to their shock
"Your joking right?"conner asked
"She is not we've had reason to believe of this so called light the same ones might be responsible for cadmus and several other events. Villains working together to form the injustice league"batman said as robin went wide eyed figuring it out
"They where planning those attacks wait what about the heart operation KF weren;t you attack by some weird guy"robin asked as he recalled that
"Yeah i was and vertigo was their and….wait a minute they should be in jail not out"kid flash replied confused right now
"Because their working together and right now you are making a mistake blaming my daughter for such a accusation. She is no spy"katherine said
"And how can you be sure of that she might as well be one"conner rudley said as jericho rolled his eyes
"Ever wonder why you mind readers can't peek into her head thank me for that because i've managed to block off parts of her mind so she can't be mind controlled by any telepathic threats"jericho said but speaking up for the girl himself was superman actually
"He has a point the league will be reviewing the current evidence given to us. But as for now it would be safe to have her suspended from any and all missions until this is properly investigate on who she is allied with"Superman said to some shock
"You can't do that! I mean…why the heck is she suspended i mean…okay i'm confused about her mom being a villain since we found out weeks ago and you guys properly knew"Wally said as they eyed him
"You knew about her mom being a murderer?"jinny asked as he stared at her
"And how long where you planning on hiding this from us"kaldur asked as he eyed his old friend
"Hey she wanted her privacy and i'm not dumb dick probably knew the entire time before we even met"wally replied as some eyed robin who crossed his arms looking away for a moment as scoffing was red arrow
"Big deal the league is making one smart play but i'm positive red-x isn't some mole"roy said
"Then why did he leave and why are you backing him up of all the people you've been rude to a few of us. We need to track him down and integrate him if hes in league with this light or whatever"artemis replied
"No all leaguers will deal with this enjoy a day off. Mrs. nikos if you would like time to process this and stay here your welcome too"batman offered
"No chance i'm leaving joseph here to keep an eye on her incase any of you try anything. I'll…send some food"katherine said walking through the zeta with some of the league as paula reminded as some where getting to meet artemis mom as their was an awkward silence before it was broken
"So your artemis mom ummm nice to meet you ma'am"m'gann greeted
"Oh your quite polite but uh it seems i can sense some tension between some of you"paula replied as artemis glared at roy before punching him straight in the jaw shocking them
"Hey…hey!"wally said using his speed to get in between them as red arrow glared at her for that spitting some blood from his mouth as she glared at him
"Your a prick you know that! I cannot bleive you trust a literally criminal compared to someone whos watched our back for months now"artemis said
"And how do you know she wasn't some deep cover operative"roy replied as anger a little themselves was kaldur
"Enough!"he shouted getting their attention
"We are ending this discussion here along with that as the team leader i am sure that our friends can be trusted. If she had any ill will toward us she would have attacked us at any moment. And from how things have been going on she may have not even know who her true family was. But as a team we should be their for one another and not jump to conclusions without all the evidence"kaldur said as they paused for a moment before they slowly agreed separating
But as they did artemis eyed them all before secretly making her way out of the cave toward the zeta tube as staring at her was paula
"Where are you going shouldn't you be here for your friend"paula asked
"Sorry mom but right now my gut is telling me to chase him down he needs to be brought in. i…need to do this"Artemis said walking away going into the zeta tube going off to find him but she failed to noticed three people staring at her as she left
Gotham 12:35pm
It was some time later as artemis snuck out on her way out of the cave and zetaed out to gotham. The last time they ran into him was here as she came out of a phone booth dressed in her outfit as she checked herself out for a moment and her gear as she did she sighed for a moment drawing out a arrow for a moment using her instinct on where might this thief be
As she did she sighed eyeing a nearby ladder before running forward as she quickly climbed up it failing to notice three others exiting the phone booth behind her. While she ran across the roofs like a maniac in a search for the thief she was doing her best to think like him which was hard since he was also so vague on everything
"If i was a little thief where would i be and how would i catch you"artemis said before the distinct sound of a bow being drawn was pulled back
"I could say the same to you"red arrow said as she glared back at him with robin and kid flash by his side as she eyed them down
"Here to bring me to your little mentors"artemis rudley said but clearing the atmosphere was robin
"Look we saw you leaving which draws a bit of concern why your sneaking out to try and pursue our old thief friend"robin said angering her a little it was seems
"Oh so you think a thief is trustworthy for the team but not me"Artemis suddenly said confusing wally for a brief second
"What? What are you even talking about i mean you acted weird during that mission i'm disappointed you thought so little that red arrow would outshine you. But seriously you should be their for your friend"kid flash said as she clenched her fist for a second
As he kept going"i mean seriously you and deliah have bonded for months now over some shared passion or whatever. I mean are you really that dense to wanna prove yourself for what"kid flash asked before she suddenly snapped at him
"Because i don't want to end up like my family!"artemis shouted startling them as she was sick of how their treating her own friend who has a terrible family as she wanted to just be their for her friend knowing this might happen to her but her staying quiet will make her a coward in the end
"I am so sick of you all treating her like some outcast right after that stuff happened half of you shifted to hey shes a spy. To hey shes properly a murderer well her mom left the league of shadows and i am not in the mood for you all to treat her like scum! Because shes not the only one with criminal parents!"Artemis shouted but as she shouted this she saw their faces that where a mix of surprise and stun even red arrow was stunned right now as kid flash stared at her
"What are you talking about? Your mom was a thief…so what we just met her she seems so nice"kid flash said as artemis looked down for a brief second upset as robin stared at her before speaking
"Artemis i think i know why you blew yesterday mission you where scared about the team finding out who your family really is. Am i right"Robin asked as she chuckled for a moment
"You hit a mark because for the past week i've…felt ashamed how i…i've done nothing to help her…leaving her in the dust…you knew the entire time huh"Artemis asked as he nodded but kid flash felt left out
"Know about what? For a week you've been going back and forth with red arrow and a few of the others what are you talking about"kid flash said as she told him
"I'm the daughter of sportsmaster and my sister is cheshire while my mother is actually tigress"artemis said which made wally stop for a moment in shock for a moment not buying it
"Your joking right? Please tell your joking"wally asked but she wasn't as she sighed leaning against a wall for some reason she felt like spilling it
"I just…i'm not..i joined the stupid team to prove myself how i'm better than them. Sure dad never wanted the life how he sometimes talked about it but he chose it since it was so easy for him and jade…god…jade followed in dad footsteps like she wanted to but i know she doesn't god…i know how mrs. nikos feels…i…"Artemis paused placing her face in one of palms slwoly crying right now that she even let this slip out shes been so carefully for months to not let them figure it out but they know now she just prepared for how they'll take it
As they stood their for a brief moment they soon had an answer as kid flash was stunned hearing this
"You…so….artemis you mean your own parents were criminals"Wally asked as she looked up sighing
"Yeah go ahead lock me in belle reve tell the team that wraith isn't the only criminal here. "She said presenting her wrist to be arrested right now but red arrow was stunned she just say it now as he thought for sure she would just keep this too herself for days but as their was silence kid flash said something opposite of her request
"Your joking right? Thats why you where acting weird a week ago during that mission"kid flash asked stunning her for a moment
"Wait what"artemis replied
"I mean it makes so much sense the tracer….the secret recon on them i mean you where trying to prove yourself that makes so much sense. I thought you and red here where having a rivalry or something but it makes so much sense now. And how you and deliah got along so well makes so much sense now"kid flash said as he was taking this alright
"Your taking this arlight"robin asked
"Of course i am! I mean granted we've gotten into fights sometimes but…shes covered our backs for weeks someone like that wouldn't be some stupid spy shes proven to be a good hero like green arrow. Besides parents don't define who you'll be you define who you will be fine in the future"wally said making artemis stunned for a moment before robin smirked
"Hey you've earned a spot here you wanna tell the team"Robin asked
"N-no i just…i'm shocked that your even asking me that right now"artemis replied confused for a bit still on this
"Why not? I mean we've kept the secret about delilah hot mom being a murderer she aint my type but she probably a killer in bed"kid flash joked making her laugh a little as red arrow groaned
"Nice pun KF though i don't think we'll need to search for red-x for now knowing him he'll be gone like that again"robin said
"Well we do have a bargaining chip in the form of the little girl he cared for"red arrow replied
"Dude we aint doing that now lets head back before a fight breaks out because conner seems mad"wally said as they did with artemis stunned by their reactions feeling a little better being on this team. As they did watching from a distance was someone that being red-x huffing to himself for a moment as he disappeared into the shadows for now as it seemed he was keeping close tabs on them
Mount justice decembeter 12th 5:09pm
It was an awkward little scenario with some of them as forced out of her own room was deliah who could tell she made alot of them mad right now but trying to calm the mood was jericho
"So where all tense and stressed right now"jericho said through the link
"Yeah because shes a spy"jinx replied making her friend feel hurt by that but m'gann growled
"Shes not a spy! Can you not act like this right now because why would she convince the league to get you out of jail"m'gann said as jinx tried to speak but closed her mout
"Still doesn't excuse the fact on her being a spy or the mole"jinny said but smacking her across the face suddenly was paula who struggled but she had pulled her down to their shock as it angered conner
"No! Stop it right now because i heard from that sean boy father how someone came to his bar requesting intel on a certain villain named bane. The only reason someone would have connectiosn like that is her those two from the discussion i had with their parents tell me that they are true friends. And you call yourself a teammate….and a friend for jumping to conclusions"paula said to some shock seeing her act like this
"Whats up with you lady"Conner asked with a snarl as she eyed him she may be in a wheelchair but she will not stand for this
"Whats wrong is that you are jumping to conclusions. From how i'm hearing it she has no idea on who her true parents where or even her own blood father. That man is pure evil from a talk i had with katherine she divorced that man and wanted to leave the league of shadows long ago. Maybe some of you are vile and evil like certain people from this so called light"paula said startling conner as he thought about who he shares his DNA with as leonid stepped forward
"She is right we are jumping to conclusions quite quickly have we not given her a chance to give her side of the story"leonid asked as they really haven't as jinny eyed her teammate who rubbed her arms
"I…i just…i didn't know what to do i…i thought he was my brother"deliah said
"And how can you be sure he was"m'comm asked as she rubbed her head for a moment
"I don't know when i heard his name my head started to hurt and…my nose began to bleed like…something was being kept from me like someone didn't want me to remember it…i…i remember seeing…someone taking me for icecream or something as a little kid"deliah admitted
"That would be me i was the one brother keeping you from that stuff. And grant along with rose aren't the nicest siblings we have little sister"jericho said as she stared at him with her groaning clutching her head concerning m'gann
"Are you okay"m'gann asked
"I think but my head hurts…i wanna lay down"deliah said before passing out on the couch immediately as this startled them as her nose began to bleed
"Whats up with her"jinx asked
"Oh now your concerned"m'gann rudely replied as she looked away as jericho sighed waving his hands as a he used telekinesis to bring a few blankets slipping them over the girl for now
"Shes just experiencing mental flashes is all the relavation of who her family is must have shocked her. I ask that you all be kind toward her because we are not lying about her wanting to be straying from the league of shadows. My mother is never a lier"jericho said but kaldur looked over noticing something that being the others back as carrying a large stack of pizzas was wally right now
"Where did you all go"kaldur asked
"Oh we thought about clearing the mood with some food and movies. Besides their been chances when the hottie could have blown us to bits with her weird uh energy powers"wally joked
"KF is right though we got some food to help lighten the mood for tonight even made speedt agree to it"robin said
"Don't call me that"Roy warned
"Oh really speedy it sounds so much better than red arrow. I'm sure that name is in a way trademarked by green arrow throwing a different color doesn't change it"artemis said taunting him as he scoffed at her as they set the boxes down as taking a slice sniffing it was misha as it smelled good
"What is this"She asked
"Pizza a american dish try it with some hot sauce its killer"kid flash said as she did but her mouth felt on fire making her pant and heave as her brother accidential picked up a bottle of hot sqauce as he meant to grab a water to drink but seeing that was jinx
"Wait thats not water that–"She was stopped as he began to drink the hot sauce as they stared at him as he downed the entire bottle not even reacting for a moment as he stared at them
"Is something wrong"leonid asked
"Dude how did you drink that entire bottle like it was nothing"wally asked
"Was it suppose to be bad the water tasted funny"leonid said
"Talk about a russian iron stomach"jinny said as they chatted for a bit but as they did artemis tapped her mother on the shoulder making her follow her as they got away from the others as she stared at her
"What is this about"paula asked as her daughter looked ahead for a moment before someone snuck up behind them
"I think it had to do with you and those three talk in gotham."dinah said as she wasn't surprised she know
"Let me guess league tracking zeta travel"artemis asked
"We are ollie filled me in here seems you decided to tell some of them who you really are"dinah said startling paula who looked toward her daughter who stared at her teammates for a moment sighing
"I'm not ready to tell all of them yet…i…i wanted some of them off my back and my friend…i get where shes coming from having some criminal parents but you left that life behind"artemis said as walking over was roy
"So your the mighty huntress huh"Roy said as they were luckily out of superboy hearing for this since he was more focused on staring at leonid confused as wally dared him to drink a whole pitcher of spicy foods like it was nothing
"Says the guy who kissed my sister jade"artemis said as he eyed her as paula looked shocked
"You kissed my daughter"paula asked as he tried to clear it up
"Nothing like that she came onto me i…wait…i….damn it"roy said with black cnaary laughing
"Your digging yourself into a hole but its a start but before any more missions can happen for a couple of you. It'll need to be earned again but your on a good path you all belong on this team together"dinah said as it made artemis smile hoping she can be their for her friends and teammates right now.
It seems that artemis let it slip to a few of her teammates who understood why she might have hidden it. I wanted to explore something interesting I mean shes a teenager who might be going through some stuff and it'll make her emotional at times. It doesn't sound like her but its interesting to build upon the trust earilier making her feel more welcomed to the team. Thanks for reading!