A/N: Now that was a fast update! Time to go write ch. 10 of Cosplay 2 now, before somebody murders me...

Oh, and a warning. If you don't like character death turn away now. NOW. No seriously, there will be death. I warned you.

One last thing. This is going to be a short fic, only six chapters. So we're halfway done!

Disclaimer: If I change my name to Greg Weisman- does that count?

Chapter 3: L

"Come on," Rob muttered in to his cell-phone, "Come on, Wally. Pick up."

"He is not answering?" Kaldur said from his position beside the boy. They were crouched just outside the warehouse- somewhere behind them Superboy was scouting the perimeter and above them M'gann was surveying the area in camouflage mode.

"No, he's-"

"Robin!" M'gann practically shouted in to his mind.

"Miss M?" Robin winced at the telepathic contact, "Is there something-"

"Sportsmaster, I've just spotted him entering the building."

"Miss Martian stay outside the building. Is Superboy linked up?" Kaldur inquired.

"Yeah," Superboy said.

"Meet Robin and I inside. We are going in," Kaldur ordered.

"Wait! I think I-" Robin said, his phone still pressed to his ear. There was a subtle click that echoed over the line that let Robin know someone had answered, "Wally! Did you find-"

"Yeah Rob I found Artemis," Wally said almost dismissively, "just-"

"Great! Tell her that Sportsmaster is here. Sportsmaster is-"

"Yeah okay I'll tell her-" Wally said, "Bye."

"Wally- wait!" Robin said a moment overdue. The boy stared down at his cell-phone in disbelief, "I don't think he heard a word I said."

"It is alright Robin," Kaldur said, clapping a hand on to Robin's shoulder, "we will find him and Artemis."

"No," Robin said, "You don't understand. Sportsmaster is-"

Before he could explain there was a series of explosions from the warehouse in front of them. Robin looked up at Kaldur to say something but Kaldur merely held up a hand, demanding silence as he stared at the fires blooming in the windows of the building.

"Move in," he ordered.

"Artemis," Wally said reaching for her shoulder.

"Jade," she said, pulling away from him and finally releasing the guardrail.

"Who?"

"Jade- uh, you know, Cheshire. My sister," Artemis said stiffly, "She's down there. She's-"

"Artemis its okay," Wally said, grabbing her elbow, "We'll find her."

Before Artemis could say anything he had scooped her in to his arms and sped down from the catwalk. He set her on her feet a second later when they had reached the warehouse floor. Fires sprouted from the perimeter of the room, mostly in areas where crates had been stacked. Smoke pervaded their vision as they surveyed the space. The men Artemis had been aiming at earlier were sprawled unconscious at their feet and Artemis picked her way over them, walking in the direction of the thickest smoke. The direction she knew her sister had been last.

"Wait-" Wally said, grabbing her arm again.

"Let go, Kid. My sister's in there," Artemis said.

"Maybe we should wait for the others."

"The team is here?" Artemis said incredulously, "The whole team?"

"Yes, oh- uh, did I forget to tell you?"

"Well, well, well," a voice rang clear of the smoke.

Wally's eyes widened as Sportsmaster emerged not ten feet from them.

"Speaking of things I forgot to tell you…"

Artemis didn't hear him. All she saw was the crumpled body thrown over Sportsmaster's shoulder. Reflexively she notched an arrow in to her bow and aimed it at the man's chest.

"Put her down," Artemis said, her voice steady despite the frantic beating of her heart.

Jade's mask was gone her thick black hair cascaded down the front of Sportsmaster's uniform. Her face was still and her eyes closed. She wasn't moving.

"Aiming an arrow at your own father," Sportsmaster sneered, tossing Jade on to the floor between them, "I thought I raised you better."

Artemis fell to her knees beside her sister, her fingers shook as she placed them on Jade's neck, searching for a pulse.

"No…"

"Father?" Wally said, still standing behind her, "Anything else you want to tell me, Arty? Is your Uncle the Joker? Is your godfather Wotan?"

"Actually Ivo is her godfather," Sportsmaster said, unsheathing a katana from his belt, "and her mother was Huntress before she was- indisposed."

"Wha-"

"She's not breathing," Artemis shrieked, cutting off their conversation. She looked up at her father, her eyes boring in to his stoic expression, "What did you do? She's not breathing!"

"I didn't do anything, hun," Sportsmaster shrugged, "I found her lying on the floor. It seems she wasn't strong en-"

"Liar," Artemis screamed, aiming her crossbow at his chest, "Stop it! Stop lying! You killed her."

Sportsmaster merely leveled his gaze with his youngest daughter, "I may be a criminal. I may be a murderer, but even you should know by now that I would never kill a member of my family."

"What about mom? She's paraplegic because you let her take the fall for you. You-"

"Your mother," Sportsmaster spat, "wasn't strong enough, and apparently neither was your sister. I'm not here to protect you Artemis. I'm only here to make you stronger. It's not my responsibility if you or Jade can't handle the real world after all I've done to train you."

"You filthy-"

"All by myself/Don't wanna be/All by myself/Anymore~"

"Ah sorry," Wally said, scrabbling to answer his cell-phone, "It's Supey. I gotta take this."

"Sometimes I feel to insecure/And loves so distant and obscure/Remains the cure~"

"Yello?" Wally said, his eyes flitting between Artemis and Sportsmaster who were staring at him dubiously, "Yeah we're with Sportsmaster, seems as if Arty is having a family reunion."

"Kid, what are you- We're in a situation here," Artemis said jabbing her crossbow in Sportsmaster's direction.

"Yeah but Miss M is having trouble locating us in all this smoke. Flames, y'know, Martian," Wally said, gesturing to the increasingly smoggy room before returning to his conversation, "Yeah we're in the middle- you might wanna- you might wanna hurry. Okay, bye."

"Oh, Artemis," Sportsmaster clucked, stepping closer to her, "You've certainly found a wonderful jester. Does he do stand-up?"

"Don't," Artemis said warding him back with her weapon, "move."

"Artemis?" a voice from the floor croaked.

"Jade!" Artemis said, almost dropping her crossbow as she recognized her sister's voice.

Jade's face was pale and outlined in soot and sweat. She seemed to be having trouble keeping her eyes open and the only other appendage that she moved was her right hand which she placed on her stomach.

"Lian…" Jade moaned.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," Artemis whispered, leaning over Jade's body.

There was no way Jade's baby had come out of this debacle uninjured. The memory of Jade's face earlier, alight with happiness at the thought of a child, and the sight of Jade now, sprawled across the cement floor, rubbing her stomach frantically brought tears to Artemis' eyes. But she wouldn't cry, not with her father hovering over them, waiting for her to show any sign of weakness. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"I'm not." Jade murmured, reaching her hand toward Artemis, "My hand- take my hand."

Artemis' eyebrows knit together in confusion as she watched Jade's hand, reaching toward her own. It wasn't until she recognized the edge of a trigger in her sister's palm concealed by the sleeve of her costume- that she understood.

"Artemis?" Wally said.

"What are you two-" Sportsmaster began to say, but it was already too late.

Artemis clasped Jade's hand, closing her sister's fingers around the trigger, and all four of them were thrown backwards, the sound of the explosion ringing through the warehouse.

Wally's ringtone for Superboy is 'All By Myself' by Celine Dion... these are just getting more and more ridiculous. Can you just imagine Wally, Artemis and Sportsmaster fighting and then Celine Dion starts playing in the background, because I can- I need to find a better hobby.

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