This is why I can't have nice things.

I can't NOT write stories about damsels in distress. Which sucks, because Artemis shouldn't be a damsel in distress. Luckily, I seem to have found a balance between Arty being a general bad ass and Arty in enough trouble to satisfy my damsel in distress needs. Because really I just love the aspect where the lover freaks out about their safety.

ALSO, the reason M'gann and Zatanna aren't here is because I couldn't have someone there who could track Arty and make this whole story irrelevant. And Rocket isn't there because I don't know her character well enough to write it yet.

Artemis stared warily at the dark water below her, wishing that she could at least see her feet and any creature that was near them. But it really wasn't any use. She couldn't even see her hands when they dipped in the ocean to help keep her afloat. Artemis could only use one arm too, because the other was occupied with keeping a floating suitcase close by. She was not going to lose the only good that came out of her recklessness. The archer let out a heavy breath, her grey eyes scanning the sky for any sign of help.

But she had no idea how far away her team was.

The blonde bit her lip as her legs kicked to tread water, the salt water irritating a wound on her leg, not to mention the numerous scrapes and small cuts she'd received. And she didn't even want to think about any sea creatures that might be attracted to the blood they were giving off.

What am I even doing? She scolded herself before moving to float on her back. Her limbs relaxed and her head bobbed lightly at the surface. She reached up momentarily to pull her mask down; the wet fabric had been spilling salt water into her eyes. But this new situation was only a slight improvement.

Artemis was freezing, weaponless, tired, and downright irritated. Because really, everything would have been just fine if that stupid pilot hadn't hit the self-destruct button.

One Hour Earlier

"Everyone in the Bioship!" Kaldur yelled as the heroes scrambled to get into their seats.

"We should be able to catch up," Robin stated as he took control of the Martian vehicle.

They had ambushed a Cobra Venom trade between a businessman and some criminals on an island offshore. Ambushing them wasn't the original plan, but since the criminals sent for the deal were merely pawns, it had seemed like the best course of action. Ergo, the current situation. It was the team's intent to catch the goons as they tried to escape the island on a couple of helicopters.

Robin had been put in charge of flying the Bioship since M'gann (and Zatanna) couldn't be present because of injuries from the previous mission, no matter how hard she tried to convince them she had healed. And while the Bioship was faster and more powerful than the helicopters, the goal was not to kill the people on board the aircrafts.

"I can shoot at them if you open the roof," Artemis offered, bow already in hand.

"You could also get sucked out by the air flow," Wally scowled, his fingers dancing across a keyboard as Robin had put him in charge of one of the ships guns.

"Red Arrow and Artemis; clip yourselves in and I'll raise you up," Robin frowned, ordering the Bioship to create ropes to keep them attached to the ship. Wally shot the tethers a withering look but went back to his job. In moments, the two archers were standing on the roof of the bioship directly behind the hole they had jumped through.

Artemis squinted from the wind but knocked an arrow and took fire.

The team member's comments buzzed in her ear through the communicator, telling her that the two aircrafts were starting to take separate courses. She and Roy couldn't say anything back because the wind killed their words the second they left their mouths, but they thought in unison as they both began shooting trackers.

Artemis was pretty sure Roy was growling when Robin told them that the passengers had frequency disablers on board, which mean their trackers were only decoration.

"It's almost out of range!" Roy shouted, though Artemis wasn't quite sure who he was telling this to.

With the Bioship following one helicopter, it meant that the other was getting farther and farther away.

Well for Artemis, that just wouldn't do.

In a split second decision Artemis hooked one end of a grappling arrow onto her belt and unclipped the Bioship's tether before immediately shooting at the escaping aircraft.

Artemis grit her teeth at the pain in her torso from the pull of the rope as she was yanked from her place atop the Bioship, but gripped the line nonetheless and pulled herself up as she flew. Roy's hand grazed her leg as he tried to grab her, and Artemis thought he might have been cussing too; but that was pretty much how he breathed so she might have imagined it. Once in the air, her mind was only vaguely registering the yells in her ear from her teammates as they registered what she had done.

The archer swung her bow around her quiver as she pulled herself onto the step-bars of the helicopter, opting instead for her handheld crossbow.

"What the hell?" A man yelled as she leaped in through the side door. Artemis made short work of pinning them to their seats before turning to the pilot.

"I suggest you do as I say," Artemis snarled, aiming at him.

"Or what?" He smirked.

Artemis heard them move before they reached her. The passengers had broken free of her arrows, which was unusual for someone with normal strength.

"Goddammit!" Artemis cursed as she fought them off; she managed to shoot one of the goon's legs before she had to drop her crossbow to defend their close ranged blows, "You're androids?" She asked, even though she had already figured it out. Normal people couldn't pull her arrows out of things; normal people would usually bleedwhen shot in the leg, and it certainly wasn't out of the ordinary when dealing with the Shadows.

Artemis snarled as one man ripped her quiver and bow off her back, but this only succeeded in giving her more room to move.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," The pilot sang.

Beep…Beep…Beep…

"Shit!" Artemis cursed. He's going to blow this whole damn thing up!

The androids had anticipated her jump for the exit and changed their 'fight' tactic to a 'let's all work together to make sure Artemis doesn't leave before we all blow up' tactic, as Artemis so fondly thought of it. Out of the corner of her eye the archer spotted the suitcase the goons had tried to use in the trade before the team ambushed them.

BeepBeepBeep…

The blonde made a last ditch effort to escape, managing to edge her way towards the door during their squabble. Artemis kicked the suitcase out the door and propelled herself out of the helicopter, just as the beeps turned into a solid ringing.

BOOM.

Wally was completely focused on his job at the ship's gun. His overly-fast brain anticipating the movement of the helicopter before it moved into place. Everyone was deep into their tasks; the talk between them was scarce until the two aircrafts started drifting apart.

"They're going different ways!" Robin nearly yelled.

"We'll only be able to follow one," Superboy snarled.

"Aqualad, which one has priority?" The boy wonder asked their leader.

"We'll follow the one closest," Kaldur replied grimly.

Wally continued trying to disable the helicopter with his shots, focusing at the moment on the one they were going to tail.

"It's almost out of range!" Roy shouted; his voice crackled into the ships speakers.

Robin was about to reply when the archer's voice suddenly filled the cockpit.

"GODDAMMIT! THAT LITTLE SHIT! GUYS WE HAVE A FUCKING PROBLEM!"

"What happened?" Kaldur asked him sternly. It was then that a tether and clip clanged on the floor as it fell back into the ship from the hole in the roof, after that Roy's cussing was the only sound for a short moment.

"Where's Artemis?" Wally yelled; his voice cracking.

"KF, keep shooting!" Robin ordered when the redhead had frozen, gaping at the roof.

"What. Happened?" Kaldur asked again, this time more forcefully.

"She fucking grappled onto the other fucking helicopter! I can't even see the damn thing anymore!" Roy yelled.

"We can track her," Superboy commented, although it sounded more like a hopeful question.

"The tracking disablers on the helicopter burnt hers out too," Robin scowled.

"We have to go after her!" Wally exclaimed, trying in vain to concentrate on his gunman position.

"Our priority must remain on this helicopter," Aqualad spoke with a deep frown.

"What? Then how are we going to find Artemis?" Wally asked; his eyes wide with worry.

"We can look for her after we're done here," Robin assured him.

Roy was still muttering curses over the speaker and Kaldur was whispering things to him through his microphone to calm him down.

BOOM.

The heroes shielded their eyes from the light as the helicopter they were chasing exploded.

"What the hell?" Roy snarled as he swung back into the Bioship, "What happened to not killing everyone on board?"

"It was not my shot," Kaldur stated, turning to Wally and Conner.

"Not mine," Conner frowned.

"I wasn't even shooting," Wally huffed.

"So they blew themselves up?" Robin asked skeptically.

"Perhaps as a safety precaution?" Kaldur suggested.

"Safety?" Conner snorted.

"A…back up plan to withhold information from us," The Atlantean explained carefully, testing the words in his head before speaking.

"Alright, so they're gone," Wally shrugged, "We need to go find Artemis," The speedster's hand forming fists involuntarily.

"We're already on the way back to the last known location of her helicopter," Robin informed them, the team only now noticing that they had been moving for quite some time.

"What if the other helicopter had the same orders as ours?" Roy asked, his lips meeting in a thin line after speaking.

"You don't mean…" Wally breathed.

"What if they blew themselves up too," Robin clarified bluntly, his mask easily showing the deep crease in his brows.

A short silence followed as the idea sunk in.

"We will split up to search the probable area," Kaldur ordered, his voice taking on his leading tone as he stood up, "I will jump down and search from below the waves, you will search elsewhere from above,"

"Alright," Robin agreed, opening a hatch for Kaldur's exit, "She's probably somewhere in that direction, we'll head a bit more to the left,"

Wally stood up, pulling his goggles down over his eyes, "Can I get a side door to look out?" He asked, turning his goggles to sense heat. Conner got up right behind him, heading to the other side of the ship.

Robin nodded, making windows for the two to scan out of.

"I can't believe she pulled such a fucking idiotic stunt," Roy grunted, taking an empty seat. Robin huffed out a half-laugh.

"Don't you mean you can't believe she pulled it off before you could?" He snickered.

Roy scowled, but said nothing.

I will not panic.

There are no sharks.

It's nighttime.

They're sleeping.

Her thoughts turned into a mantra as her limbs turned to lead. Artemis spluttered salt water out of her mouth when her head ducked too low, her teeth chattering as soon as she opened her mouth. She breathed a bit heavier from the exhaustion kicking in; adrenaline has long since worn off and her muscles were sore and tired. They were resisting with every movement that kept her afloat.

Artemis had given up floating when she noticed her hands and fingers were growing numb from the cold water. The archer decided she would rather die from exertion and be warm, than die freezing to death while she did nothing.

Sploosh.

Artemis whipped her head to the side at the noise. Her heart speeding up exponentially as she realized she was no longer alone in the water.

Dolphins are known to help drowning people. The blonde told herself. They'll help them stay afloat.

A fin dipped out of the water briefly out of the corner of her eye, but she could only see its blurry silhouette.

Artemis grit her teeth to stop their shiver-induced clacking, as if she could hide if she could be silent enough. Dolphins. She reminded herself. Dolphins.

The fin came up again.

It was not a dolphin fin.

Artemis's heart skipped a beat and a lump formed in her throat. She didn't know if she was still bleeding from the shrapnel wound on her leg, but she figured the fact that it had at one point was what lured the creature to her.

I don't want to die from a shark! Artemis thought to herself, her heart leaping to her throat when she lost track of it. I want to die in a blaze of glory! Or from old age! Her emotions ranged from a mix of frustration, desperation, and fear. But the majority of her filled with anger; eaten by a shark. That kind of death just sounded so undignified for a hero.

Plus she had so much to do with her life still! She had to convince Robin to ask out Zatanna before she got impatient and jumped him. M'gann, Zatanna and her hadn't had a girl's night yet. Superboy still hadn't learned how to aim when he threw things, and she had promised to teach him! And Roy! She still had to beat Roy into oblivion until he realized what an idiot he is for obsessing over tracking her sister when Kaldur is so obviously trying to find a way to ask the archer out!

And that moronic Wally. She hadn't yet figured out what he had done to her. She knew what the butterflies in her stomach were, but clearly that was only the result of his captivating green eyes, fluffy red hair, and his enticing runner's physique. But the ache her heart got around him wasn't normal, the one that showed up whenever he would flirt with whatever girl that was around. They weren't related though, it was merely coincidence. Artemis had no feelings for him other than friendship and slight physical attraction. That was it. And nothing, not even those spikes of worry she got when he was in danger, would change her mind.

The shark swam by again and Artemis's ponderings were cut off by rather large, dark silhouette in the water.

There was no way she could fight off a shark without at least some injuries, and she still had no idea if anyone was going to be rescuing her anytime soon. Artemis didn't even know if she could fight off a shark at all. Her arms were already dead weight from all her treading water.

"Auuuhhh!" A whine bubbled up in her chest as the shark swam past her. It was only a few feet away now, swimming around her in lazy circles. Artemis couldn't help but think it was toying with her; or guarding her from other sharks until it was hungry. She vaguely thought that she might be able to use the suitcase as a shield, but before a plan could form her calf brushed against the velvety smooth skin of the sea creature.

"HELP!" Artemis screeched; all thoughts of dying with some semblance of dignity were thrown out the window. "WHERE ARE YOU?" She screamed in anger, not really caring which teammate she meant; because anyone would do at this point. "I'M GOING TO HAUNT ALL OF YOU FUCKERS!"

I have to admit, I'm really fond of how I wrote Roy here. I totally see him as the 'cussing as he breathes' types. And I couldn't resist throwing in some Koy (Kaldur/Roy), they're my second favorite pairing in YJ. The first being Spitfire, of course.

The second half will be posted tomorrow! Please review!

-Veg