It was a cold, snowy day, and Artemis was sitting on her bed, under two thick blankets, and – of course – she was freezing. Her hair wasn't in ponytail, as usual: the fair, wet curls were like floating ribbons around her face. She was too tired to dry them.

It was 9 in the morning. She knew she had to dress up and leave, but she couldn't. It was only three days ago, that they had a secret mission to Bialya – again – and they almost died – again.

They didn't lose any memories, which was good with her. Wally didn't flirt with her, which was alright. But still, it was more dangerous than ever. They fought with Sportsmaster, and his "friends". And her father almost killed her.

She got used to it, fighting all day, almost dying, meeting scary things. But then, when they figured out the mole-thing, everything changed. She wanted to be part of the team, and never leave. If they'd figure out her dad's Sportsmaster – the man who always escaped – the man, who always wanted to kill them, especially her – and the man who told Aqualad there's a mole in his team –

"Screw it", she mumbled, and stood up. If they figure out Sportsmaster's her dad... They'd freak out. She was sure. Aqualad would throw her out. M'gann would just simple cry. Superboy'd maybe break something – the walls, for example.

Artemis shook her head. She knew she wasn't afraid of the team's reactions... she only cared about one person. Maybe Z would be a bit confused, and disappointed, but she won't care that much.

No. The only would who'll feel really bad, when this comes out, that will be Wally.

And his pain will kill her, before her dad does it.

"Don't think about them, Alice" she told herself. Jade used to say her that, when she wanted to speak about the horrible things. "Never think about them. It makes them worse."

Jade used to say, that she'll take care of everything that hurts her little Alice. But then she left. She left her alone.

Artemis made her ponytail, picked up her green costume, checked her arrows, than left the house. It was easy to hide. She was thinking about Jade, when she heard a familiar voice:

"Recognized – Artemis, B-0-7."

Everyone was in the cave, in their costumes, standing in front of Batman. Robin looked like he's hacking something, Wally spoke about things she didn't understand, and the others looked simply confused.

She joined them.

"...and three others missing" Batman said. "We can't find Black Canary, and Zatara."

"Who's the third one?" Artemis asked. Everyone looked at her.

"Finally", M'gann whispered with relief.

"Um, yeah, you're late" Wally added, which made Artemis a bit angrier. She was still looking at Batman, who winked.

"People are lost from different towns. Members of the Justice League, too. We suspect Sportsmaster."

The edge in his voice told Artemis, 'We suspect your father.'

No one else noticed that, Robin even, because he was still hacking something on the computer.

"So, who's the third one?" Artemis asked again.

Batman sighed without any tone of feelings. "Zatanna", he said finally.

"What?"

Artemis felt she could freak out in any second. She almost fainted, but stepped back, and she could make balance again.

Her father's attacking people. Superheroes. Why?

"Got it!" Robin said, and he showed them a map of the world. There were little red spots everywhere, and big, green one, near D.C.

"There he is."

"Wait" Artemis tried to say, but her voice lost. She cleaned her throat. "Guys, wait. We can't just go there."

"And... why?" Wally asked nervously.

Superboy was angry again. Jeesh, Artemis thougt. She couldn't believe she had a crush on him once.

"They'll catch us." she said quietly. Batman turned to the map. Artemis wanted to speak with him, but there was no time.

"It is our thing to do, Artemis" Aqualad said. "Fight against evil people. And win. We will make it."

She opened her mouth, but there was nothing left to say. You can't do this, little girl, she thougt. You still can't tell them.

Artemis nodded, and followed them to the bioship.

It was pretty cold outside, but she made a deal with herself: she'll never wear her winter jacket, the gray-blue one, with her own mark. It made her feel sick. She died in it once. Not in reality, but she was still dead, by her opinion. She'd better freeze than wear that stuff.

"So, how many 'ninjas' do you think Sportsmaster has?" Wally asked, halfway laughing.

"Still can't believe how they could catch Di... Black Canary, I mean", Robin said. "They can't be that strong, can they?"

"We will know this soon" Aqualad told them.

"What if they catch us?" Artemis heard M'gann's scared voice.

"They can't catch you, Megalicious" Wally answered, and it didn't make Artemis nervous. What a surprise, she thougt. Wally didn't even know, what he's saying. His voice wasn't full of fun and strained passion. She called M'gann like she's his sister. Or a mate. Maybe he's not into M'gann anymore, Artemis realized. Then she shook her head again. "Leave it, Alice. Remember. You don't care" she whispered to herself. They couldn't hear it.

Superboy gave him a confused look.

"Oh, hell" she mumbled. Super-hearing! Screw all the superpowers.

They landed on an empty street. M'gann hid the bioship. They switched to camouflage, and Aqualad told them about the plan. They could work together, as usually, checked all the streets in the neighbourhood, looking for traces and stuff, but Artemis' mind was only halfway on the job.

'Look out, Blondy!' she heard Kid Flash's voice in her head. She had to be careful, not thinking about her dad. But he and Jade was still on her mind. She almost bumped with KF.

'Sorry' she answered, and tried to walk away. But he was still there, anywhere she went.

'Would you stop following me?' she asked.

"No", he answered, loud. Artemis turned to him. Why did he answer loud?

He doesn't want them to hear our conversation, she thougt.

'I want to hear it', Robin's voice said.

'Shut up', Artemis said. Then she added, loud: "What do you want, Wally?"

He winked. It was so like Batman, Artemis almost laughed.

"Something's wrong with you", he said. "Batman started to explain the mission when you still weren't there, and he looked scared, when you arrived."

Artemis raised her eyebrow, trying to look careless.

"And?"

"It's like he wanted to take care of you, or something..." he started, but suddenly they heard a scream in their heads.

"M'gann!" Artemis shouted, and raised her bow, looking around.

Nothing. Just silence. No one said anything. There were only the two of them for a few minutes. Then Artemis picked out a communicator, and tried to reach Aqualad.

"They kidnapped her" he said. How can he be so whelmed? Is that some kind of Robin-thing?

Wally asked quietly, "What happened?"

Artemis felt sick again. "They captured M'gann", she answered.