A/N
First, I would like to say that you are all AWESOME! A million and 10 thanks! Also, I'd like to give credit to the Guest that reviewed last chapter! You hit the Jackpot! I swear, it's like you read my mind or something ;)
Also...I'm going to Germany, so I won't be able to update for over a month :/ And after I get back, I have marching band for a month for the rest of summer, then it's back to school with marching after...so what I'm saying is is that this might be my last update in a long, long time. If I'm able, I'll try to squeeze in a second chapter, but it's vey doubtful. Sorry guys!
Anywho, onto chapter 8! (I decided to keep the new summary for another chapter, just to see the results. Tell me what you think! Should I change it back? Most people seem to like summary #1 at the moment, so it's here to stay...for now ;)
BIG NEWS! I adopted the New 52 Earth 2 Batclan from Glimare! It might be a few weeks, but look for that coming up! (Sometime after I get back from Europe...maybe)
Summary: He was a talon, he was an owl. The court was toppled and they became brothers. Brothers became vigilantes, and more vigilantes joined the family. A new age of heroes began.
That's not the 'official summary', but it gives you a sort-of preview of what's to come! Dick's a talon and Tim's a owl. Add to that Jason, Barbra, Cass, and Stephanie, and you've got the Batclan in the New 52 Earth 2! Highly AU, doesn't really follow the story line. Watch for that coming up!
Summary #1: Wally is a part of the League of Shadows and anonymously feeds the Justice League information he manages to hack and slip out. Cheshire is his partner in crime, and they attempt to take down the Shadow's, risking their lives in the process. Both are resigned to the fact that they'll be stuck in this limbo of sides the rest of their lives until Artemis, Jade's sister, is captured. And Wally will do anything to keep her safe. Isn't that what boyfriends were for?
Summary #2: Split-Personality Complex, they said. It didn't really matter, he reasoned, because he was going to die anyway. He let loose an insane laugh, doubling over with hysterics and tears. He never expected to live long, anyway.
He still wished he could clear his name.
'Watch yourself, Baywatch'- internal thought or voices
"Be as Chalant as you like."-Talking
'I am Fate'- internal demons
Song(s):
Live it Out by Abandon
S.O.S. by Abandon
Disclaimer: Noooooo I dooooon't own nothin'!
Chapter 8
Deception
Wally bit his lip, glancing at his silenced communicator tossed haphazardly on his wooden desk. Two weeks ago the Shadows had given Cheshire and Catalyst the order to maintain radio silence-no crimes, no talking, no leaving the house. Jade had chosen to stay at his house during their 'house-arrest' period rather then by herself in her ratty apartment. This had proven to cause several complications on Wally's part (she ate all his food!). He flopped back on his bed.
For one thing, Robin was going to kill him when he finally got back out. He winced, clearly remembering his parting words. 'I don't want to have to track you down again.'
Sooo dead.
Two, he couldn't talk to Artemis. It sucked. A lot. They were getting pretty serious, and Wally felt pretty bad about ignoring her texts and calls.
Three, he still hadn't told Artemis about the whole hero-villain thing. That was not going to be fun to explain-especially after the not answering any form of communication.
And, lastly, and possibly most terrifyingly, he was stuck living with her sister for a week. He winced again, already feeling the phantom pains. He hadn't told Jade that he had been dating her sister for the last few months-partially because he had only found out himself, and partially from fear of her jellyfish poison swords.
So, he'd decided that he was going to tell her today. And he was freaking out. With a groan, Wally rolled off the side of the bed, landing on the ground with a thump. He proped his head up on the floor, absiently puffing a gust of air to push back a stray clump of hair. It was getting long again-he'd ask Artemis to cut it when he finally got out of his own house.
He was going a little stir-crazy. Being forced to stay in the same place for even a day was difficult for him. But being inside for two weeks without any running was building up lots of excess energy. He was barely getting any sleep as it was from his tingling legs. His leg twitched again to prove his point.
Priorities! He needed to-
Jade opened the door, sticking her head in with a raised eyebrow. "Cat, what are you doing?"
Wally groaned, burrying his head in his fuzzy carpet. Priorities.
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With bated breathing, Artemis crouched on a rooftop, watching the adjacent building warily. The Shadow's headquarters.
Artemis had even changed her uniform for the occasion. All black, head-to-toe spandex with built in armor (she'd 'borrowed' it from a stray agent she found outside), arrows with black fletchings, and a black bow. Her usual uniform was stuffed in a bag slung over her shoulder.
Robin had tried to stop her from coming. Psh, as if she was going to let her boyfriend and her sister rot in a Shadows prison before she'd gotten to beat them both up. "I need to make sure it's not a trap," he'd said, desperately gripping Artemis's wrists to prevent her movement (cause Wally would so kill him if his girlfriend got captured on his watch).
Needless to say, Robin was tied up in the Cave, knocked out, and with a sprained ankle and stuffed in a locked closet. Artemis had tried to hurt him as little as possible, but she'd been forced to use a few extreme measures-she didn't want Robin following her or alerting anyone. Then again, he was a Bat, so Artemis gave herself an hour head-start.
Pulling out a zipline-arrow, Artemis bit her lip with concentration, carefully notching the arrow and pulling back. She released with a quiet twang, and it imbedded itself into the roof on the other side. She tested the stability, then swung across using her bow as a bar across the dark Gotham night.
Wincing as her feet came in contact with the other side, she let go of her bow with one hand and grabbed the wall, swinging back dangerously. She gritted her teeth, latching her bow to a back holster and, grabbing the wall with both hands, used her upper body strength to pull her over the edge. She rolled over the side, back scraping against the stone, and landing on her back with a flump. She lay there for a moment to catch her breath, and then she was up and running, slashing the line and opening the ventilation shaft and crawling inside.
Using Robin's computer (which she had conveniently borrowed), she shut off the motion sensors, grinning at the smirking Robin heads. She shimmied through the vents, glancing through one of the grates before kicking it to the floor, jumping down on the unfortunate Shadow operative who happened to be beneath it. The man collapsed like a sack of rocks, the loud noise alerting his companions.
By the time they turned around Artemis was already on them, leg swinging up to knock one of them out, using the man as a spring board to flip onto the other man's shoulders.
The squad of agents open fired at her, a few bullets grazing her but never hitting her. Artemis frowned mentally. The agents were taught to never, ever miss their targets, no matter the cost.
She fired a few shot arrows before deciding that her fists would be more effective. She punched, dodged, rolled, and leaped, the battle taking much longer than she had hoped. Finally, the last one fell and Artemis's shoulders dropped, the teenager breathing hard.
Well, there was no hiding this mess. Agents scattered the floor and cameras were trained on her. It didn't really matter anyway because they had probably known she was there the second she entered the building.
At least she had a head start.
Artemis sprinted down the halls, Robin's computer floating in front of her as she checked her directions. The detention facility was 2 floors down, and Catalyst and Cheshire were marked being held in the two highest level cells.
She slowed down to a walk, computer shutting off and breathing automatically slowing, shoulders straitening. Another squad trooped by her, not even sparing her a glance. Thankfully, one thing was working.
She walked down several flights, flashing her stolen security card at the few operative's who stopped her. Somehow, she made it to the ground floor without too much incident (there were only a few bloodstains that she'd wiped on her pants, the unlucky recipients groaning on the ground in a state of oblivion). Soon the dark cells loomed over her, screams echoing from a few of them. Several guards nodded at her from their posts. She sneered back, trying to play in character. All too soon she arrived at the cell marked B271, supposedly holding her boyfriend. No one stopped her as she stood outside his cell, making her a bit nervous. It was clear but nonetheless, she glanced behind herself wearily, checking that there was no one there sliding her card through the security lock before slipping inside.
The second she entered, the door slammed shut, blocking her only escape. She eyed it wearily, but walked forward cautiously. Security measures, that's all it was.
Keeping her back to the wall, she slid into the main cell, glaring at the figures inside. A trap. Naturally.
Robin was going to be all 'I told you so' when she got back.
Sportsmaster stalked forward, followed by, ugh, Icicle Jr. Fan-frickin-tastic.
So, scratch that. If she managed to get back.
"Dad."
"Welcome back home, baby girl," the super villain sneered, a smirk adorning his face as his typical javelin appeared.
Icicle Jr. snickered, spikes appearing in his hands as he leered at his former crush. "We've all been waiting for you!"
"So, they were never here," Artemis questioned them, stalling for time as her eyes darted around the metal prison.
Spoortsmaster laughed, slapping his knee. "Of course not! You think we would actually hold our own operatives in a cell? No, we just used them as bait. We figured that sooner or latter your little friends would try and hack the system, especially since you happen to be dating one of them."
"Really, Arty, I thought you were above dating Shadow scum," Icicle Jr.'s voice darkened ominously, his eyes becoming slits and his ice shard flinging themselves at the archer, striking dangerously close to the blond teenager.
"How do you-"
"We're the Shadow's!" the ice-boy crowed, the room dropping several degrees. "You think we wouldn't see you and that red-head boy together? Like, ew, you guys were disgusting!" Icicle Jr. stuck his tongue out, gagging, "Get a room! Not all of us on monitor duty appreciated that!"
Sportsmaster rolled his eyes, stalking up to his daughter. Artemis tensed, but didn't release the arrow, sensing he wasn't about to start the fight yet. She did cringe as his face got close to hers, inches separating the former family. "I gave you a chance, baby girl, years ago. I gave you a choice, a chance at new life-but I gave you the opportunity to live free and start up the family business elsewhere. I would've even let you live a normal life," his hard blue eyes dug into her fragile grey ones, willing her to see reason, "let you leave this all behind. But you choose to be the hero. And I can't accept that; you'll ruin our reputation."
Artemis felt anger fill her, a sort of rage that she hadn't felt since her mother's fall. She closed the distance between them, gloved finger jabbing her former father in the chest, "You gave me a chance? You let me choose? No-that's a lie!" Artemis pushed him back, a fierce scowl overtaking her tanned face. "I didn't choose to be the hero-you forced me down that path!
And, while that hurt me at first, I realized something. I realized that I wanted to be the hero! I would've never joined you, and there was no way I could sit by idly when I could do something to help, no matter how small. So yes, I choose to be the hero! And yes, I help people! And I'm glad that ruins your freakin 'reputation'," she hissed, notching an arrow and pointing it at his chest, "because it's helping me take. You. Down." With each word, she pushed him back, ignoring Icicle Jr.'s wide eyed glance.
Sportsmaster laughed heartily, practically bellowing, "Ah, Artemis. You can try to talk sense into a mad-man, you can try to cure the insane, you can save the innocent. But you can never convince a sane man to change his mind-"
He swiftly swung forward and knocked her feet out from under her. Artemis gasped for air as she struggled to get up, glaring at the man who had once been her family.
"-no matter what's at stake."
From his corner of the room, Icicle Jr. cackled, wiggling his fingers to form deathly white snowballs. "Wanna play catch, Miss Superhero?"
He flung them at her, and Artemis rolled to avoid the projectiles, launching an arrow back in retaliation. The boy shrieked, diving sideways as the arrow encased the wall in a ball of goop. Sportsmaster grinned, flinging an expandable javelin at Artemis, who spun around, releasing another three arrows and wishing they were fighting in a bigger space as her elbow numbed from a rather hard encounter with a wall.
Jr. had finally gotten up from where he had been moaning on the floor, and a scowl was fixed on his frozen face. He flung a hand out, releasing a barrage of icicles to the normally green archer. She dove, another arrow already whistling back to the assailant while she flung a kick at her father. The man laughed and easily blocked it, grabbing her leg and throwing her at the ground. Artemis managed to catch herself with a back-hand-spring, but dropped her bow in the process. Said bow was promptly smashed as Sportsmaster stomped on it.
"That was my favorite bow!" Artemis flung herself at Sportsmaster, body tensed as she threw a punch. The man grinned ferally, engaging in combat.
Icicle Jr. was passed out in the corner, hit by one of Artemis's many arrows and entangled in a net. Artemis smirked at the sight, then bent backwards to avoid a nasty looking knife. Glaring at her father, she flipped, using one of the moves Robin had taught her while knocking the knife aside. It clattered to the ground at the other end of the room, ignored by the dueling foes.
Artemis kept up a constant barrage of attacks, but she was panting harshly, her body shaking from exhaustion. Lawrence Crock was not only twice as tall, but had twice the muscle, making most of her attacks little annoyances in the man's eyes. She didn't know how long they had been fighting, sweat dripping from every pore in her body and damp hair hanging in her face, but she was aware (very aware) of the sudden pain in her arm. She screamed, the pain burning hot in contrast to the freezing cold icicle that stuck out of the wound.
Artemis jumped backwards, barely avoiding a fist that had been aiming for her head. Growling at the two Shadow's (Jr. had gotten up and was laughing at her), she backed towards the door, Robin's computer activated and hacking away (but it was too slow). They closed in on her, and Artemis's last conscious thought was to slam an arrow into the computer, annihilating it beyond repair (she couldn't let them get the League's secrets by her own blunder). Then a harsh blow to her temple knocked away any other thoughts she might have had and she welcomed the darkness that smothered her, eyes closing and mind shutting down before she hit the floor.
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Robin panted harshly, his ankle aching as he limped as fast as he could to the Cave's main console. Behind him, a mess of ropes lay scattered on the floor of the open closet that Robin had gotten to know very well.
Not that any of that mattered right now because Artemis had ran head-first into a trap that he now recognized (the coding had been confusing at first, but the sequence now made sense). Argh, how was he going to explain this to Batman? Her mentor, her mother?
Actually, no, forget them. They were the easy ones. What was he going to tell Wally?
First he needed to find him. Great. Robin grunted again as his ankle screamed at him. The boy wonder ignored it, choosing to stare pensively at the holographic computer hovering above him. He could tell the League, but then Wally and Jade would be put in prison and of no use to them. He could tell Wally, but the guy wouldn't listen to anything Robin said after 'Artemis' and 'captured' were in the same sentence. That, and he'd dive headfirst into the fray, getting himself captured as well. He could just tell Batman, but then he'd be put off the investigation. The Team would only be a distraction. That left-
Robin groaned, his glove-less hand (Artemis was going to pay for the repairs for the one she'd most likely broken by now) reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he exhaled loudly.
-that left Jade Nguyen, aka Cheshire.
Robin was not feeling the aster.
A/N
Hope you liked! I made an extra-long chapter to make up for the weeks I'll be gone...Remember, reviews=input!
Note that I will not be updating for the next month because I will be in Europe! (Unless I manage to squeeze time this week in between packing and such). Love y'all!
Kisses!
Alyss