Chapter 13

Hey

One of the first things Cody had done when she had been assigned to work there was to figure out all of the security cameras and microphones were placed. She needed to know where was safe for her and where it wasn't. Though at the beginning she hadn't known if she had any allies being there. She was the snitch. She was alone. Why would she need to know where all of those things were?

Cody was never more grateful for her earlier actions than she was as she leaned against the wall next to a storage room in one of the only hallways without a security camera and microphones.

She was waiting for Tigress to walk by. Kaldur's room was around the corner, and she needed to walk down that hallway in order to get there. She knew very well that Artemis would be meeting Kaldur before they headed to work. She needed to catch her before she walked past. It was one of the only chances Cody had.

And just as Cody knew, Tigress walked around the corner, her eyes glancing up to Cody's masked eyes. They nodded towards one another respectfully though Cody could tell Artemis's was rather hesitant and suspicious.

Just as Artemis was about to pass Cody, the brunette grabbed the girl from behind, pulling girl into the closet with a hand covering the blonde's mouth to prevent her from screaming. Cody tossed her across the small closet, quickly turning to lock the door in order to trap the other girl in there with her.

Before Cody had the chance to open her mouth and say anything to Artemis, Artemis punched the girl in the stomach. Cody huffed, the air was knocked out of her lungs. Artemis grabbed a fist full of the girl's hair and shoved her face down, making contact with her knee. Cody's nose and eye made contact and a crunching noise could be heard.

Artemis pushed Cody over and went to move to the door. Cody groaned and held her nose. "Jesus, Artemis," Cody moaned. "I think you broke my nose. Though I probably deserved that."

Artemis turned around quickly and harshly whispered, "I don't know what the hell you think yo-"

"Oh drop it, Arty!" Cody sighed, slowly standing up. She removed her hands from her face, blood coating her gloved palms. "I just did laundry last night, you know." She placed her fingers on her nose and put it back into place, swearing as she did so. "Shit, Arty!"

"I-I don't…" Artemis started to deny, looking at the girl. She had no idea what to do. She knew she was discovered, but even though she had her suspicions about Ember being Cody, they didn't actually know. What if they were wrong? If she let the girl know and she wasn't really Cody, everything would be out in the open.

"Give it a rest," she sighed, leaning back against the wall. "I know you're you as well as you know I'm me, Artemis."

Artemis stared at her for quite some time. Her eyes scanned over her face, over her outfit, as if she was seeing Cody in a new light. "C-Cody?" she asked.

"Yes," Cody assured her. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Artemis turned her back to Cody, removing her mask and running her hand down over her face. Without much warning, she spun around and sucker punched Cody right in the jaw. "Been a while? We thought you were dead!" Artemis harshly whispered.

"I needed you to," she assured after stretching her jaw. "And, I mean, it was two years before I even could get the chance to escape, but they thought I had amnesia so I could get information if I stayed."

"So you chose assassin's over us?"

"No! I chose justice, what all of us work for!" she corrected. "Exactly what you and Kal are doing here, right now!"

"How did you...How did you even know I was me?"

"I was there," Cody told her. "Kind of snuck in."

"Still sneaking past Dick's security, I see," Arty said.

"Seems you all know who he is now," she muttered.

"Well, some of us do," the blonde said. "Conner, M'gann, Kaldur, Wally, Zatanna, Roquel" she started to list.

"So you and Wally have been together for a while, I assume…" Cody pressed.

"Yeah, since the Team's first New Years together," she said. "Right before you...How have you been? I mean, I saw the video of what you said to Conley...What you did to her…"

Cody backed up, looking away from her old friend. "I'm….not proud of what I did to her…" she told her. "She's never going to forget what I did to her….I can't take that back and I certainly have no place to ask her to forgive me.."

"She won't leave," Artemis told her. "Dick told her to retire after that, but she refused. Said it was too important."

"Right…" Cody muttered. "I've gotten good information on Master, and we're so close to getting him. I can feel it. I just...I couldn't leave, not when I knew there was a chance to get him to trust me."

"But how has being with them been? Did...they do anything to you? Other than what you said?"

"No, I mean, it hasn't been pleasant, and Erik is a constant annoyance, but I can defend myself against them. The only person I can't is Master. And he's obviously the reason I stayed," Cody went on. "I just...there's been so much I've missed."

"Like everything that could've happened between you and Kaldur?" Artemis suggested. "You haven't told him yet, have you?"

Cody shook her head. "No," she answered. "I….I don't know how."

"We can tell him together," Artemis said.

"I...I'd appreciate that," Cody told her.

"We really missed you, Cody. It's good to have you back."

"I missed you too," Cody said, forcing Artemis into a hug. "But I'm not back yet. Soon."

Very soon.