Hello everyone! This is my first Young Justice fic. Since YJ is on hitaus, I ended up writing this fiction here. This is a Spitfire fic, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Don't worry, I will still be writing my Naruto fics, its just that I have had this story idea in mind for a while. This is set 6 months after the last episode of the first season. Please read and review.

Second Chances

Mount Justice

April 23, 9:30 EDT

Kaldur was not amused when he arrived to the base to see Artemis and Kid Flash arguing once again.

"What are they arguing about this time?" He asked Robin who was just shaking his head at his friends' antics.

"What do you think?" Robin asked.

"Wally was annoying Artemis about our last mission." Zatanna answered walking up to the two.

It was a mission in Bialya to stop Kobra from picking up a package from Queen Bee. Wally, Robin, and Aqualad went against Kobra's men while M'gann, Zatanna, and Rogue went against Queen Bee. Superboy had gone against Mammoth while Artemis went against Shimmer who she easily defeated while she went to face Kobra by herself. Kobra had taken the package and was about to walk away. Artemis was trying to aim her last arrow at him not realizing that a member of the cult was going to attack her. Wally quickly called out for her and tackled her to the ground making her mess up her usually perfect aim. They were able to apprehend Shimmer and Mammoth but Kobra had gotten away with the package. Queen Bee and her men had also gotten away.

"I don't know how the topic was brought up but today's argument seems worse than usual." Robin added. He thought that Wally and Artemis had gotten closer since the New Years Kiss. But he guessed some things never changed. The two would always argue like an old couple but they would always get over it the next day. The team just shrugged it off as their way of flirting. Waiting for Connor and M'gann to arrive from doing groceries, the three decided to stay quiet as they watched the argument. Red Arrow had visited the cave and was in the training room.

"Sloppy?" Artemis growled.

"You heard me." Wally pressed on. "I had to go and save you like usual."

"I practically had him if you didn't go and tackle me to the ground. You made me miss my shot."

"What was I supposed to do? Let you get hit by the thug?" Artemis fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm not some damsel in distress Kid Idiot!" She poked him hard on the chest as she glared at him. "I can take care of myself. I've done it for almost my whole life."

"Hello! We're back!" The two were so into their argument that they didn't realize Connor and M'gann had arrive.

"God you're so annoying it pisses me off." Wally frowned as he took a step closer to the blond archer as he stood tall and looked down at her. "Why can't you be like M'gann or Zatanna and appreciate it when I help them? Why do you have to be so difficult? You can't trust us which makes it difficult to trust you. Sometimes I wish you never joined the team! The team might be better without you causing problems with the team dynamics."

If music was playing that would be the moment when the record scratched. Zatanna glared at the ginger haired boy. That was messed up to say.

A few seconds later Wally seemed to realize what he said as he quickly closed his eyes and got ready for the on-coming pain. He was expecting a drop kick or a slap from the archer. When he didn't feel anything, he opened his eyes to see Artemis looking at him in shock. Her grey eyes were glassy as if she was about to cry. He saw a brief look of hurt coming from her before it quickly went away.

Recognize: Batman-02

Recognize: Black Canary-13

Recognize: Green Arrow-08

Everyone looked up to see the three members of the Justice League entering the base.

"Do we have a mission?" Robin asked his mentor. The dark knight nodded as he went to the monitors to show the team their next mission.

"I need you guys to go to Asheville. We have sources telling us that Sportsmaster will be arriving there tonight to meet up with another member of the light. Since Kobra had gotten away with the package on your last mission, it is possible that the package is for Sportsmaster. It is your job to find out what they're up to and to report as soon as you can." Batman ordered. Looking back, Robin saw Artemis had moved away from Wally and was using Connor has a shield. He prayed this spat they were having wouldn't interfere with the mission.

"Now get ready and meet me back here so I can brief you all on what is expected for you to do on this mission." Black Canary said as she looked over to Green Arrow.

"Er, Artemis will you stay back for a bit." Oliver called out. Artemis looked at her mentor before heading towards him. Unknown to the adults, Robin had secretly stayed back and listened in.

"What is it?" She questioned. Waiting to make sure the teens had left, Batman signaled that it was okay to have their conversation.

"I don't think you should go on this mission." The green archer announced.

"WHAT?" Artemis raised her voice. "Is it because of the last mission? Wally and I may be fighting but it wouldn't interfere with the mission!"

"We weren't worrying about you and Wally." Dinah said as she tried to hold back a smile while placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder to calm him down. Oliver had narrowed his eyes at the name of Barry's nephew. Artemis may not be related to him but he considered her as a daughter and the thought of that speedster getting closer to her made him protective.

"We're worried about your father, Sportsmaster. He may try and take you again. Everyone on this team trusts and cares deeply about you." Oliver said as he placed a hand on his protégé's left shoulder.

Artemis made a face as she looked down on the floor. Wally's words earlier caused her heart to hurt as she gripped onto her arm. "This team has a crappy way of showing it."

"Artemis…"Dinah began to say. She was knew how each person on this team felt about the failed training exercise six months ago. Each member realized just how important Artemis was to them in the short amount of months, especially a certain redhead speedster who was still in denial. She had heard from Barry how about the Speedster's and Archer's kiss on New Years. She didn't tell Oliver, afraid that Oliver would shoot Wally down. From what she knew, they hadn't acted upon or talked about it since. They only fought more. "This team would go crazy if something happened to you. Believe me. You're like family to them. That's why we can't have you go on this mission."

"I promised your mother that I would protect you from your father." Batman said. "I intend to keep my word."

"If it helps, I can go on this mission as well and watch out for her." Everyone turned their attention to Green Arrow's former apprentice.

"Roy…" Green Arrow greeted. Red Arrow walked up to Artemis as he patted her back. After their mission at the circus, the two had gotten closer. They treated each other almost as siblings.

"I guess that would be fine." Black Canary said as she looked over to Batman.

"She will be your responsibility then." Batman said as the others came back into the room. Robin took all he heard and frowned.

"Oh sweet! Roy, are you coming along on this mission?" Wally asked. He was in his costume.

"Yes, I'll be here to watch over Artemis."

"Good, she's going to need it." Wally muttered.

"Wally, that's enough." M'gann said, getting annoyed.

"No. Let Kid Stupid continue." Artemis growled.

"It would be my pleasure sweetheart." Wally challenged. Before Artemis could say anything else, Roy had pulled her to the side. Wally was surprise by the sudden urge to pull Artemis away from his friend when he saw Roy cup Artemis' left side of her face.

His attention soon went back to Batman and Green Arrow once Black Canary spoke up about what each person was expected to do.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Asheville

April 23, 23:35 EST

It was night time when Artemis watched as Sportsmaster had arrived at the cliff from a helicopter. The building was located at a cliff that viewed over the ocean. There were also trees that surrounded the area. She was currently in the trees. Next to her were Red Arrow and Robin. Their job was to monitor Sportsmaster while Aqualad, Superboy, and Wally took care of Kobra who was arriving by boat. M'gann had hidden herself to grab the package if anything. Zatanna was slowly piloting the bioship to a safe location. She had curled her right hand tightly around her bow. A hand had covered her right hand in an attempt to calm her down. Looking up, she saw Robin giving her a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine." Artemis said quickly as she withdrew her hand away from the boy wonder.

"Hey, about Wally…" Robin began. Red Arrow continued to watch over Sportsmaster's movements. However, he was still listening in on the two.

Artemis rolled her eyes as she got up to move closer. "Now is not the time to talk about him."

"Boy problems, my dear sister?" A voice said causing the three to turn around.

"Ja-"

"Cheshire!" Red Arrow said as he stepped in front of Artemis and pointed his arrow at the sister of the girl behind him.

"Why Hello Arrow. I missed you." Cheshire said seductively towards the red archer as she let out a laugh.

"Robin, you and Artemis get out of here." The older kid commanded. "I'll handle Cheshire."

Robin and Artemis looked at each other before nodding.

"Be safe." Artemis said and then left.

. . . . . .

Wally was getting impatient. They were still looking out to the ocean for Kobra to appear.

Robin was probably in on the action already with Red Arrow and Artemis.

Red Arrow.

Artemis.

Red Arrow and Artemis together.

UGH! He shook his head as a way to get the image of the two together out. Why was this bugging him so much? WHY?

"Kid Flash, concentrate on this mission." Aqualad ordered.

'I'll start the mind link now.' M'gann said as she continued to fly around.

'There's the boat.' Zatanna said through the mind link as she came out of nowhere.

'Where did you come from?' Wally said as he jumped from his spot.

'From the Bioship.' Zatanna answered calmly as Wally shook his head. She was hanging out the Robin too much.

The four watched as the boat had reached the port as Kobra and a couple members of his cult came out. However another person in a hood came along with him.

'I think that's Psimon' M'gann said telepathically. 'I'm going in for a closer look.'

'Be careful' Superboy warned. They watched as Kobra and Psimon entered the building as well. M'gann followed suit.

'Robin, how is it on your side of the mission?' Aqualad asked.

'Not good. Artemis went after her father and Roy is fighting Cheshire.' Robin said. 'I'm about to enter the building in a few minutes. We got separated.'

'Where's Artemis now?' Wally asked worried. Their earlier argument was forgotten.

'She's-'That was the last they heard from Robin before the link went down. Soon the building began to erupt in flames.

"M'gann!" Superboy cried out as he began to rush into the burning building.

A couple minutes later, Superboy came out with both the green Martian and boy wonder over his shoulders.

"Artemis! Where is she?" Wally said as he watched Zatanna and Aqualad help put his teammates on the ground.

Running was heard as Roy and Jade ran up to the group.

"What happened? How did the building get on fire?" Roy demanded. Looking at the group, he realized who was missing. "Where's Artemis?"

"S-Sportsmaster…" Robin said as he coughed. Zatanna helped him up as he began to head back into the building.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked as she tugged him back.

"I have to help Artemis. Sportsmaster caught us off guard and then Psimon came and attacked us. I don't know where Kobra went but M'gann came to help. Before we knew it, the corner of the building began to catch on fire. Psimon was defeated but M'gann fainted from the fire. There's loaded ammo in that building. If Artemis is still in there, sh- "The sound of explosions caused everyone's blood to turn cold.

"Artemis!" The group shouted.

"No…" Jade said as she began to shake her head.

"Look at the edge of the cliff." Roy pointed out. Looking closely, everyone could see two blond people fighting. It had begun to rain. Great! What else could go wrong?

"She's okay." Robin said relieved but it was short-lived when he saw Kobra. The gang nodded as they went to action. Superboy asked Zatanna to watch over M'gann as they headed to fight. Kobra had thrown a package to Sportsmaster as he ordered his men to fight against Artemis. She quickly took care of him as she aimed her arrow at her father. Sportsmaster pulled out an emerald necklace.

"What is that?" Artemis asked before she could stop herself.

"This, baby-girl, can grant anyone a wish from the very bottom of their heart. Its power source we needed. I'll take my leave now." Sportsmaster noticed his daughter's friends on their way as did Kobra.

"Destroy them." Kobra ordered his men but they were easily taken down by Aqualad and Superboy. Artemis spotted her father sneaking away as she readied her arrow.

"No you don't!" Artemis said as she shot an arrow as it hit her father at the side of his stomach. Wally soon jumped in and threw in a couple punches at his face. Artemis smirked but it soon fell off when Kobra came in front of her vision.

"You won't be getting away." Artemis growled remembering her last battle against him.

"You again?" He said in his haughty voice. "This is beneath me…"

Artemis frowned as he began to walk away.

"Don't ignore me!" She shouted as she shot a couple arrows at him. Before she knew it, Kobra grabbed her by the throat and raised her off her feet as he walked towards the edge of the cliff.

"I don't normally get my hands dirty, but even a God must stoop to conquer." His red eyes pierced into her bluish gray ones. Artemis wrapped her hands around his large one as she struggled to breathe.

"Artemis!" Wally called out as he came and grabbed the necklace away from Sportsmaster. Robin followed suit with a kick to the face.

"Kid…Flash…" Artemis gasped out weakly. Her vision was getting narrow.

"Cheshire!" Sportsmaster called out as he punched Robin in the stomach. He warned his daughter about Artemis. He soon turned his attention to Kobra.

"Kobra, we have the package. Let her go to fight another day and let's leave." Sportsmaster ordered as he blocked Robin's kicks and Kid Flash's punches.

Cheshire and Red Arrow watched Kobra wearily as they positioned their weapons at Kobra. Jade frowned. Her sister and she may be on opposite sides, but she didn't want anything bad happening to her. Superboy and Zatanna were knocked out by Psimon who was in another mind battle with M'gann. She had recovered quickly. Artemis continued to kick around as her feet dangled in the air. She dug her nails hard against Kobra's wrists. She tried gasping for air as she was continued to be choked to death.

"Let her go." Aqualad shouted as water from the ocean hovered behind him.

Kobra smirked. "With pleasure."

"NO!" Sportsmaster uncharacteristically called out.

A loud, sickening crack was heard as time seemed to have slowed down even much more for Wally. Sportsmaster was about to attack Kid Flash with his javelin but froze in his movements. Kid Flash stared at his enemy confused. He looked like he was surprised by something. Looking over at Robin, he seemed to have fallen to his knees as he stared at something in disbelief.

A gasp was heard from Cheshire, who had dropped her weapon and almost fell to the ground, had Roy not caught her. Zatanna had opened her eyes before it widened with terror. Connor had gained consciousness as well and had the same reaction as everyone else. M'gann had tears forming in her eyes before opening her mouth and saying the name that caused his heart to fall to his stomach.

"ARTEMIS!" M'gann had screamed. Images of the failed training exercise had entered Wally's mind. And just like magic, everything began to play back to normal as Wally looked back. What he saw in front of him, it was much worse than what he saw at the training exercise. Artemis was still held up in the air by the throat. However, blood had poured out of her mouth like a waterfall. Her bluish grey eyes were staring at him, empty and tearful. The hands that were gripping around Kobra's hand around her neck slowly fell to her sides. Her body had stopped moving…it stopped moving as if she was-no…

Kobra had crushed her neck.

Kobra soon let go of Artemis as she fell back. Her head bounced against the ground as her body rolled over her head as she fell off the cliff and tumbled down towards the ocean.

"Artemis!" Cheshire shouted as she ran to the edge of the cliff to catch her sister only it was too late. She could see her sister's body fall into the ocean's current.

Aqualad and M'gann quickly dove after their fallen comrade. Zatanna and Robin had followed after Cheshire and looked over the cliff and waited for Aqualad and M'gann to resurface back up. Kid Flash had just stayed at his spot in shock. He dropped the necklace as it rolled away from his feet. It looked like he couldn't even breathe. Superboy had soon turned to Kobra in anger and attacked him until he drew blood. Sportsmaster soon came up to Kobra and grabbed him by the throat and smashed him to the ground.

"You were given orders to not kill anyone of them." Sportsmaster growled. "She-they were still needed alive!"

"Artemis!" Cheshire's cries echoed through the air. Sportsmaster tightened his grip.

"We got rid of one brat. Who gives a damn?" Kobra smirked.

"That was my daughter, you bastard!" Sportsmaster said as he grabbed Kobra by the throat and smashed him to the ground. Cheshire soon came and sliced her sword across his throat before stabbing him in the heart. She soon fell to her knees as she took off her mask.

"That was for Artemis…" She whispered to the dead man below her.

Sportsmaster watched Artemis' team as they looked at the ocean in hopes of the fish boy or alien to come back with his daughter. A couple minutes later, the alien girl had arrived back up on the cliff with the fish boy in tow. Kid Flash got up to them first, most likely asking if they found her body. The dark skinned boy had glared at the ground before shaking his head. The alien burst into tears as she covered her mouth in order to hold back the sobs. Sportsmaster kicked Kobra one last time before walking away. Psimon was dragged away by a few of his men.

"You have won this round." He said before disappearing. Cheshire still hadn't moved from her spot. She was still holding onto the sword.

"Jade…" Robin began to say.

Everyone stayed silent and watched as Artemis' sister had slowly gotten up to her feet.

"Don't…" Jade said. "Please, just…don't" She didn't question how he knew her name but it didn't matter anymore. Artemis was dead. Her baby sister was dead. She wasn't coming back.

"We have to still look for her. We have to tell the Justice League." Aqualad said. "Maybe one of them can-"

"Don't even try! My sister is dead, you idiots! DEAD! As in she's not coming back! This bastard crushed her neck!" She shouted as she kicked the corpse hard in the face. "He crushed her neck and dropped her in the goddamn ocean. YOU!" She soon turned towards Wally. "You can break the sound barrier with your sneakers but you can't even save Artemis from being killed. It's your fault. You didn't do anything to save her. You didn't try to do anything. IT'S YOUR FAULT!" She went to smack him but was stopped when a hand gripped her wrist.

"Jade, that's enough." Roy said holding her back.

"NO! She was his teammate and he didn't stop Kobra from killing her." Jade cried as she fought to get out of his grip.

"You didn't do anything to stop him either." Aqualad countered. Jade's eyes widened at that fact.

"Jade…" Roy said, this time in a quieter voice. "Look at him." And she did.

In front of her was a boy who had the most heartbreaking expression ever on his face. It looked like his world had ended.

"Tch." Jade made a face before finally releasing her wrist. "How am I gonna tell my mother that her baby daughter died?" Something shiny caught her attention as she went and picked it up. She made a noise before calling out to the Flash's sidekick.

Wally caught the object thrown at him as he looked at it. It was the necklace. It had an emerald jewel. It was the same color as Artemis' uniform.

"Your father doesn't want it?" Wally was surprised that his voice didn't crack.

"…Think of it as souvenir." She said before disappearing from sight.

Mount Justice

April 25 8:00 EDT

Everyone had gathered around the living room/kitchen. News of Artemis had reached the Justice League and the public. Wally watched as everyone's attention was to the TV. His aunt was broadcasting live from the Hall of Justice. When his aunt heard about Artemis' death, the first thing she did was pull him into a hug, where he was able to cry his heart out. His aunt ended up crying with him as well.

"This is Iris West reporting live from the Hall of Justice. It seems like the rumors are true!" His aunt reported. "Green Arrow's second protégé, Artemis, has been reported dead. Her body was found earlier this morning at Ashville, North Carolina by Martian Man hunter and Aquaman. Batman and Red Tornado are bringing her into the building right now. Let's have a moment of silent for our fallen hero."

Bright green eyes watched painfully on the screen as Batman and Red Tornado were carrying a stretcher into the building. Looking at the island in the kitchen, he could see Black Canary and Roy comforting Green Arrow and Artemis' mother. Jade had brought her in after talking to Batman and asking permission to enter their base. Black Canary had set another therapy session. However this time, no one wanted to talk about it.

The computer soon recognized Batman and Red Tornado as Black Canary and Green Arrow quickly headed to the medic bay. Paula soon followed after. Wally looked at his team as they nodded and followed after the adults.

They were greeted by the other two members holding a stretcher. A white sheet covered the body that was being held up. Wally didn't know how to feel knowing just who was under the sheet.

"I'm ready to see my daughter…" Paula said bravely as she was led to another room. Jade and Roy only allowed the adults to enter the room. It wasn't long till Paula's devastating and heartbroken cries could be heard by everyone. Jade tried to be strong but Wally could see even she was about to crack.

Wally took a peek and could see damp blond hair reaching the floor. Paula was holding onto a very pale hand as she was muttering Vietnamese prayers. The sheet was slowly falling off as Artemis's face was revealed. Her skin was the color of death. Lips were blue as there were bruises all over her face from the fall. Her head was position in a weird way. Blood had dried around her mouth. Wally swore he was about to throw up. Batman quickly covered Artemis' body before anyone else could see the damage that was done.

Mount Justice

May 10 23:45 EDT

Wally stared at the room that once belonged to the blond female archer. This was the seventh time he came to this room in this whole week. It was almost midnight as he got arrived to the cave not too long ago. It had been a little over two weeks since the funeral. The others were still moving her things around at the apartment her and her mother shared. He had been getting nightmares about her death every night. He would dream of the mission not being able to save Artemis. He discovered a week ago that he would only find himself able to sleep if he was in Artemis' bed. For some odd reason, her scent calmed him down. It was like she was still there with him. The others would be coming back home soon. Taking advantage of the time that he had, Wally began to wander around. He had been to her room a couple of times, to sleep of course, but not enough to familiarize himself with it. So, he decided to now, no matter how painful it was.

The room was bare. Artemis wasn't one to keep a lot of things in the base. She had a couple pictures on a small desk. There was one of Artemis with Zatanna, M'gann, and Rogue on their Girl's Night Out. There was one with Connor and Wolf when they were giving him a bath. He saw one with Kaldur teaching Artemis how to swim. Next was of her, Roy, Oliver, and Dinah having dinner as a family. Then there was one of Dick and her at school. There was a note saying 'We'll laugh about this someday'. He wondered if Artemis ever discovered who Robin really was. There were two more pictures left. One was of Artemis when she was younger. In the picture was Jade and Artemis in front. The former having an arm around the latter's shoulder. Paula and Sportsmaster were in the back looking at the kids happily. How did Artemis feel when she looked at this picture? Was she sad?

The last picture caught him by surprise. It was a picture of him and Artemis on the couch knocked out. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he had his arm around her. He in turn rested his cheek on top of her head. Zatanna was behind them smiling as she brought a finger to her lips as a way to tell them to be silent. M'gann was placing a blanket on top of them. Connor was on the side with his arms crossed in front of his chest but he had an amused expression. Dick had his cell phone out as he was taking a picture. That little troll! Kaldur was smiling at the camera as he pointed to the couple on the couch. Red Tornado or Black Canary must have taken the picture. How come he never saw or heard of the picture until now.

He slowly got out of the room as he heard it close behind him. He still couldn't get over it. Artemis couldn't just be gone. He had hoped that this was just another training exercise but it wasn't. This was the real thing. She was gone.

Slowly the speedster made it to his souvenir room where the recently added item shined under the lights. Wally faced the emerald necklace that was added to his souvenirs, picked it up, and leaned against the wall before sliding down to the ground and finally let out all the frustration, guilt, regrets, and sadness through his tears and wails.

This wasn't right. Artemis was supposed to be by his side calling him Kid idiot or hitting him, not be six feet underground. He placed his hand around the necklace that he had gotten from that mission. It reminded him of her. He wished with all his heart that he could turn back time and tell Artemis how much she meant to him. If he knew he was going to lose her so soon, he would have been nicer to her. He would have never said what he did to her before that mission. He wouldn't even let her go.

He sighed. He should go back home and let his parents know he was alright. He had been sleeping at the cave for a week now. Wally entered the zeta-tube as the bright flash of light appeared.

Wally felt something warm around his neck. Looking down, he saw that the necklace began to glow as the ground from under him seemed to have disappeared. He felt himself falling as he let out a yelp. Wally closed his eyes and got ready for the impact. Feeling nothing, he opened his eyes. He was surprised to find himself in the cave and on the floor. He was wearing his swim trunks as his beach items scattered all over the floor. Looking up, everyone on the team was present as Red Tornado, Batman, and Green Arrow looked at him, not amused. Something about this felt very familiar. A figure in the middle of the crowd took a few steps forward as Wally felt his body froze.

"Wallman huh? I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"

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How was that? I'm a bit nervous since I'm still getting used to writing about these characters. Please review!

-Kumiko