A/N: I want to give a shout out to krikanalo, noaverageangel, nightwing-girl, Moonshadow1456, Halestrom, and…Guest? You guys are awesome.

This is the last build up chapter. Fear not, romance is on the horizon.

Into Oblivion

Glass Eyes

It was kind of tannish-white. Whatever she was looking at was that soft kind of glow. It wasn't warm, but it looked like it was, and it was enough to keep her content. Her mood was a blissfully unaware one. Why? She hadn't a clue. She stared forward as little spots of tan would appear and disappear. Whatever this was, she liked it.

Though, just as she was starting to enjoy the sight a sudden blackness flashed across her vision. She didn't like it. It happened again and this time she heard a beep. The glow was starting to disappear. With each beep and black flash, it faded. She reached towards it but it vanished suddenly.

It was as though something started draining the strength from her suddenly. She tried to move but couldn't. In a moment of sudden realization, she knew that she was asleep. With great effort she opened her eyes.

When she did a bright light invaded her vision. The sensation of it was something close to salt water being poured into her eyes. She closed them again, but this time a little more aware and focusing on the sounds around her. She could hear a steady beep sound each second. There was some sort of generator hum somewhere around her. She opened her eyes again and tried to collect her thoughts. When her eyes adjusted, she momentarily thought they were playing tricks on her.

Her eyes opened to a flower on a stand next to her. There was a rose next to her. A pink rose with red tips. There were other flowers behind it, but the lone flower stood out. She knew this rose. It was the same one Nightwing had given her for Valentine's Day. She smiled without really thinking about it. He really wasn't going to miss a year, was he? She stared at the beautiful, lone flower for a moment longer. She wasn't exactly in a sad mood like she would expect to be, but the sight made her happy. However, after staring at it for a moment her brows slowly began to furrow.

It shouldn't be there, it wasn't Valentine's Day, not yet. It was only December. As she put more thought into it and stared harder at the flower it was as though someone had opened her mind and started pouring logic in at a rapid rate. Her eyes began to widen and she started to take in the rest of the room.

Pulling her sight from the flower, her eyes darted around the room, rapidly taking in every detail she could as fast as she could. Curtains, heart monitor, medical supplies on a counter next to her. She was in a...hospital?

She did a double take. There were some awfully high tech things in there just to be a hospital. Haulo screens, advanced machinery. But never mind that, why was she here? What was going on? She closed her eyes and she didn't have to focus on her breathing to know that she was becoming stressed. The heart monitor next to her began to beep at a more rapid rate.

Questions began to stir in her mind. It was difficult though, and her thoughts were clouded. As she thought harder, her questions became more serious, and the gravity of them began to overwhelm her. She didn't recognize this place and she was alone. She attempted to reach up to place a hand on her face, but something stopped her. She tried again and found that hand she tried to move was latched onto a bed. A hospital bed she was lying in. She looked down and her heart stopped. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

Both of her legs were casted and some sort of device was on either side, latching them down. There was another contraption latched onto many places on her torso from her legs all the way to her shoulders. She could tell that whatever it was was designed to keep her completely and totally stationary. Her neck was also loosely braced.

To say she was scared by the sight was an understatement. She was terrified. A sudden idea came to her and she closed her eyes, attempting to wake from this bad dream. But it didn't feel like a dream, there was too much pain. Her mind did a rapid search for an explanation for this, pulling frantically at memories that could shed any light. But something was wrong, her mind was so cloudy. She couldn't remember anything. That fact only worsened her worried state. Opening her eyes and looking again only stressed her out more.

Suddenly feeling claustrophobic, she reached up to her neck brace. It was trapping her, and she couldn't breathe. It was meant for support; what type? She didn't know, and she didn't care. All she knew was that it was suddenly constraining her. She messed with the grip for a moment and when she couldn't find a place to release it, she panicked. She finally grabbed at and ripped it off. What she didn't expect was the horrific pain that shot through her torso when she tried to turn her neck.

It felt something close to someone shoving twelve inch scorching needles down her spine. The pain was so fierce it literally took her breath from her. A gasp escaped her and she was barely able to see someone enter the room. They froze in the doorway, but then rushed over to the bedside. She looked up and recognized the face. It was Black Canary, Dinah.

"Artemis, you're awake!"

She wanted to speak to her, but the words caught in her throat. She clenched her jaw as she moved her neck back to where it was, holding back a scream from the pain it brought back as she did. Too busy from recovering from the sting of the pain, she couldn't make out what she was saying, only that she was saying something to her.

"What's happening?" She finally croaked.

She hesitated, "You were in an accident."

"What?"

She tried to move her arms to sit up. Black Canary grabbed her wrist then looked at the monitor, which was beeping at a rapid rate. She tugged at the arm latched to the bedside, but it wouldn't give.

"Artemis, you're delirious. I know you are confused, but you need to calm down."

She looked at her as she tried to continue, but she frantically interrupted, "Get me out of this."

She remained still.

She nearly screamed, "Get this thing off my wrist!"

She sighed in uncertainty but then slowly took off the strain. When her arm was free, her other hand gripped the spot that was under pressure. Her arms, they were so weak. Her ears began to ring.

Worried about what was happening to her she looked up at Black Canary again. She was speaking to her, but she couldn't hear her words. Her lips were moving, but no sound came through.

She didn't even try to search for a memory when she was suddenly bombarded by one, or some sort of illusion.

She was standing on the roof of a ware house looking down at a street below. There were flames in some areas and little patches of ash aflame rose up into the air all around her. She turned in confusion and saw someone throw a punch at her. She dodged, but not fast enough. Her movements were slow. She recognized the mask face of the man trying to hit her. Slade threw another deathly blow in her direction.

She tried to dodge again but she was slowing down even more. Panic swept through her. A foreign feeling in so many ways. She was trained to keep her cool, to keep calm. She could handle this, why was she becoming so distressed?

He gripped her neck and pushed her back to where she was hanging off the ledge. For some reason, she couldn't move. All she could do was stare into the lone, cold blue eye watching her. She saw nothing in it. Cold, blank, nothing. Her mind froze as he released his grip on her. She fell to the inferno beneath her.

She was suddenly yanked from whatever sort of scenario was playing in her head. She was pulled back to the present and in fuller clarity than before. A nurse was staring straight at her while Canary was holding her shoulder down. A few other nurses were at the side of her bed.

They were all staring at her in silence. She was about to question them when she realized she was fiercely gripping onto the hospital bed with one hand and that her other hand was wet. She followed the trail of water and noticed that the rose was gone. Glancing down, she saw a puddle with shattered glass and a lone rose lying on the floor. She did that?

"Artemis?"

She continued to stare at the flower as she realized what happened to her. What memories she could recall were putting themselves into place, and the last thing she could remember was that she fell. Judging by her current situation, no one had been there to catch her. A lump in her throat formed as she considered it.

Again, she wasn't listening to those next to her talking as she tried to put her thoughts together. Two more people entered the room. One of them was a doctor and once she recognized the second, her eyes locked onto him. Nightwing shut the door behind him then headed in her direction right behind the doctor. He walked to the side of the hospital bed, but stopped and looked down.

He had stepped in the glass pile on the rose. For a second he just stared at it then picked up the flower and put it back on the table without a word.

Interrupting what those who were next to her were saying, "What's going on?"

The doctor next to her lightly grabbed her arm and leaned over. In a cooing voice he answered, "Artemis, my name is Dr. Reid," he hesitated, "You've been through a severe accident."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't have to talk about that right now. Can you tell me how you are feeling?"

"I-" she thought about it for a moment, "Sore."

"How bad is the pain?"

She didn't lie. "Bad." Her whole body was aching.

He nodded and turned to the others, "I'm going to give her a mild sedative. When she wakes up-"

"No!" she cut in and lightly grabbed his hand that was gripping the IV. "What happened?"

"Hun, you have just woken up from a coma. We can talk about this later."

Her eyes widened. Coma? What? A few more nurses began to enter the room.

"No, I don't want rest! I want answers."

He just looked at her.

"Can someone just tell me what's going on?"

There was silence, but then the doctor sighed. She turned and stared straight at Black Canary waiting for an answer. She spoke, "What do you remember last?"

She tried to unscramble her thoughts, "I remember fighting Deathstroke. It was on a roof- I remember I was there for the arms deal."

She swallowed. "Artemis, you were pushed from the roof. You fell nearly three stories."

Artemis blinked, starting to feel the onset of shock creeping through her. She had lightly guessed that beforehand, but for some reason, hearing it from someone else made it more real. The doctor pulled up a seat and sat down as he spoke, "Your injuries were so extensive that we had to put you in a medically induced come while they healed."

"How long?"

"Almost three months."

The information was hard to grasp. Her mind was still a little cloudy, but she could understand what was going on around her. However, the idea of three months wasn't making sense. She was in a daze as the doctor continued, "Both your legs were broken. You suffered cerebral hemorrhaging, internal bleeding, broken ribs and a collapsed lung." He sighed, "Your back took the most damage."

She looked at him when he didn't continue. Looking down and seeing the things strapped to her torso suddenly made sense. She swallowed, "How much damage."

All she could think of was a back injury. That meant paralysis. Getting near a thought like that made her ache even more.

"Your spine was shattered. Nearly every bone was either fractured, cracked, or split. A cluster of nerves was torn resulting in muscle damage as well."

She couldn't believe it, literally. It just didn't sound real. These things didn't happen to her, they couldn't have. She felt fine for the most part. These things that happened. They couldn't have…

Suddenly noticing at least ten pairs of eyes gawking at her a small bout of anger and claustrophobia filled her. "I want to talk to Black Canary." No one moved. She looked at the doctor with pleading eyes. "Please," her voice suddenly cracked and she suddenly felt a tear run down her cheek. She didn't even feel tears coming on. What was happening to her?

The doctor and Black Canary locked eyes and she nodded. He turned back to her, "Alright, but I'm going to give you something for the pain." He stood up and got to work. "You are a medical miracle, Artemis. You have gone through hell and I'm not going to let you die of shock. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She didn't argue and just wiped the tear from her face. Her breathing and heart rate were an uncomfortable high, but as soon as the doctor pulled the needle out from the IV, she felt a calmness settle over her. Her mind became foggy, but not enough that she couldn't think. The sensation was invading and it made her feel powerless, but she suddenly lost the will to care. The sudden wave of dread and fear were dampened to the point that it was just a dull ache.

People began to leave the room. She suddenly noticed that there were many people outside in the hall looking through the glass at her, some faces she recognized and some she didn't. Thankfully, one of the nurses closed the blinds, blocking their view. She had almost forgotten he was there when Nightwing turned to leave with the crowd; he hadn't said a word the whole time. Thinking quickly, she reached out and grabbed his hand to stop him. He turned and looked at her.

"Stay," is all she says. He nodded and took a step closer.

Once the door closed, she turned her attention straight to Black Canary, "Why is everyone staring at me?"

"We almost lost you, Artemis. The doctor was right when he said that you are a medical miracle. While they were treating you, they were running out of options. They tried something that's never been done before, and it's astonishing that you survived through it."

"What do you mean?"

"Your back wasn't going to heal. If they had patched you up normally, you would have been paralyzed from the neck down." Artemis stared at her with a blank face, not even wanting to consider the possibility of it. She could handle broken bones and a coma better than that. Just the thoughts of it was making her sick.

She shifted her gaze as Nightwing finally spoke up, "They fused your spine with a new type of bio metal. It's working so far and it's keeping your back held together."

She didn't answer back. They let her sit in silence as she took in all the information, which was becoming harder. She knew that what she should be feeling should be more intense, but the drugs were making it hard. What she was just told slipped through her mind. She couldn't decide if it was the drugs or just her putting herself in a catatonic state as the things she was just told were consuming her thoughts.

After a while, Black Canary went on telling her more about the process and what her recovery was looking like while Nightwing put in a word here and there. Artemis tried to pay attention, but occasionally her attention would slip. This was becoming a little too much. This had to be some sort of nightmare, she would even settle for some sort of training exercise. It got to be a little too much when she learned it would be another three months before she could start walking again. Three months confined in a bed.

Black Canary's voice was continually filling with pain as she continued to tell her things like it would take years before she was back to full function, if that. There was some damage that no matter how hard they tried, would never heal. She would struggle with doing simple daily activities such as lifting or even something as simple as bending over for a long time; maybe even the rest of her life.

Eventually, Artemis began to connect the dots. She tried hard to avoid the truth that was bearing down on her, but she couldn't hide from the crushing words that were right in front of her. Drugs or not, her system filled with adrenaline, making her mind clear. It wasn't a good thing, especially right now. She looked into Black Canary's eyes with alarm as she knew what was coming. When she finally spoke the convicting words, it was as if a part of her was ripped away.

Heroics was something she couldn't do any more. She listened with glass eyes as she was told her now broken body wouldn't be able to handle it. She was vulnerable and lucky to be alive, it would be a miracle if she could do a tenth of the things she once did. As Black Canary spoke this, for the first time, she saw tears in her eyes. Seeing the tears in her eyes, her own began to run. She tried so desperately hard to stop them, but how could she? She began to continue, but Artemis couldn't take it anymore.

It was too much.

"Stop," she said in a cracked voice. She had heard enough.

They were quiet as she sat still for a moment, trying to focus on her breathing with thoughts racing through her mind a mile a minute. She wasn't sure how long she sat like that; it could have been hours. As she thought harder in her dazed state, one image passed through that made her thoughts stop. Her tears stopped running and the pain disappeared momentarily. An emotion she couldn't quite recognize began to fill her momentarily blacking out the others. It wasn't anger, it wasn't frustration, but it was something along those lines.

She turned to Nightwing to get the information she had kept him for.

"What happened to the mission?" she asked.

"We don't have to talk about that right now."

"Tell me, please."

He didn't argue further and tilted his head downward slightly. As if reading the question in her eyes he spoke, "It wasn't for nothing. We put a lot of people in custody that night."

"What about Deathstroke?"

Slade. The one that did this to her.

"He escaped."

"How?" she asked, disbelieving.

"We had a choice to go after him, or save you. We chose you."

She shouldn't, but she couldn't help the feeling of enmity towards him. He saved her and she should be grateful, so why wasn't she feeling that way? The heart monitor was speeding up again.

She intended to reach up to rub her eyes when she noticed that she never let go of Nightwing's hand. He had returned her grip gently. She had been gripping it hard, well, as hard as she could in her weakened state. She quickly let go without looking at his face. She leaned back, staring at the ceiling. The ringing in her ears was back. It was distracting, and for a moment, she just listened to it. When she opened her eyes again she saw the doctor standing next to her. She didn't care to wonder where he came from or what he was doing with that needle in his hand. She was too tired to care. She closed her eyes, shutting out the world and welcomed the darkness and nothingness that was waiting.

A/N: Did you like it? Did you not like it? Let me know. Ask me questions. As you all know, feedback is gold.