Hey everyone! I couldn't wait to write this chapter. Hope you all enjoy.

Final Initiation

Artemis walked slowly down the hallway. She was angry at every single person in this building. She was mad at Cheshire for not telling her about Sportsmaster's scheme. She was mad at Sportsmaster and Ra's al Ghul for coming up with the stupid plan in the first place.

Artemis guessed that this was their plan all along. To prove to her who was really in charge. They probably gave the superheroes information about the place. Then had traps set up for the young superheroes that would obviously be coming. The Shadows had planned for this all along.

'All just to keep me in place.' As Artemis walked down the halls she thought of her past teammates. Then she thought of Robin. 'Of course he would figure this all out.' Artemis thought 'I mean, he is the Protégé of the World's Greatest Detective. He probably understands the situation better than I do.'

Now, Artemis knew why they were having another meeting tonight. She hated the stupid meetings. All the 'bosses' ever did at them, was yell at her, make her feel stupid, and tell her that they are in charge. They always tried to change her and make her more like them.

Too bad for them that they forgot that she's the daughter of Sportsmaster. Stubbornness is in her blood.

Artemis approached the door. She took a deep breath and then opened the door.

It wasn't like she had expected it to be. Instead of just Sportsmaster or just Ra's al Ghul they both were there, along with the captain of the guards, who had just stood in the corner quietly.

"Miss Crock. Glad to have you join us today." The cold, calculating voice came from Ra's.

'Not like I wouldn't have come, even if I didn't want to.' Artemis thought sullenly.

Sportsmaster was looking at her in a way that sent chills down her back. Something big was about to happen, something that Artemis knew she didn't want to be a part of.

Ra's cold voice brought the girl out of her warm thoughts. "You see, Miss Crock. We have called you in because of a thought we had. We need to know that you are on our side. So we arranged for our little party quests to come for your final initiation."

Artemis looked at him with wide eyes. 'No. Please no.'

Ra's chilly voice continued, "We have asked Cheshire to take you to see the seven of them, just one more time before your final initiation. You see, your final initiation will be to kill each and every one of those adolescences."

Fear filled every one of Artemis's pores. "What if I don't kill them?" Artemis asked although she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

A cold look crossed over Ra's face, "Then our past deal is off."

Artemis's face filled with dread. There was no way she could kill her friends, but if the past deal is off then…. 'No, I can't think like that!' Artemis thought forcefully to herself.

"So," Sportsmaster's hard voice shook his daughter, "We thought it best to tell you that your final initiation will take place tonight at 20:00 hours."

Then Sportsmaster and Ra's al Ghul turned away from the teenage girl and started to whisper between themselves. That was Artemis's cue to leave. But she didn't leave; she had to ask the two adults something.

"Can I see her?"

The two adults turned to her and studied her, probably to figure out if they should let her or not. Then they shared a look. "No." Ra's said "You are not to talk to any of the captives."

Then the adults turned around and started talking between themselves again, completely forgetting that the girl was there.

Artemis slowly retreated from the room. She had been dreading this moment since she rejoined the Shadows. When they'd make her kill someone. Well now it wasn't some random person, it was going to be her team. The only people who had ever treated he like a normal person,

She passed by the entrance to the little prison in the building. She glanced down the hallway towards her past friends' cell.

A smirk slowly crossed her face. 'Ra's said I couldn't talk to them. He didn't say I couldn't look at them.'

Artemis slowly walked down the hallway. She stopped in front of the cell that she had been in only a few minutes earlier. She peeked inside the barred window on the door.

She saw two guards, standing and watching the seven young superheroes.

Artemis noticed Superboy and Miss Martian were close to passing out thanks to their specific prisons. She winced at the thought of how much pain the two must be in.

Artemis watched as Zatanna sat there with an annoyed look on her face. She had probably given up trying to throw off her gag.

Red Arrow and Aqualad were both studying their prisons, trying to figure a way out. While they were doing this, Kid Flash was trying to start a conversation with the guards who were more stoned face than the British guards.

Then Artemis looked at Robin who was staring right at her. That sort of spooked Artemis. The Boy Wonder slightly turned his head to the side as if he were asking a question. Artemis looked at him sadly and shook her head. Then she ducked out of view of the door.

Artemis looked down the rest of the long hallway. At the end of the hall was a cell that held the one thing that kept her here. The one thing that risked the young superheroes' lives.

Artemis turned around fast and started to speed walk towards her room, before she did something stupid.

When she reached her room she looked around. The room was hardly more than a cell itself. On her side of the room it was nothing more than a cot with a single sheet, a pillow, and an extra change of clothes.

On the opposite side of the room was another bed where her roommate, Cheshire, slept. The fact that Cheshire was her roommate was both a comfort and a discomfort. It was a comfort because Artemis could bunk with someone she knew. It was a discomfort because she had a feeling that Sportsmaster sent her there to keep an eye on her.

Artemis shut her door and sat on her bed. She couldn't believe that only a few weeks ago she had been as free as she wanted to be.

Artemis didn't know what to do. She couldn't kill her past friends, but if she didn't then her deal with the Shadows would be off. Artemis thought that all she could do was sit there and wait until 8:00.

That's when she started to think of the one thing the Shadows held against her. That one person. Artemis knew her well enough to know that she'd rather she freed the heroes and risked what happened to her.

'She's just that type of person. But I can't lose the one person who means more to me than the team.' Artemis thought sadly.

That's when Artemis decided that she wasn't going to let the Shadows control her life. She was going to save not only herself and the team, but her mom too.

Well there you go; I really hope you guys liked this. Sorry for the wait. If you have any questions, ask.

~WB