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Hanging by a Thread

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HbaT 1

Batman's voice rang out though the mountain, calling the Team in for a mission briefing. The Team had been watching a scary movie and Batman's voice nearly scared them out of their wits. When they had finally recovered they raced to the main room for the briefing.
All changed into hero garb they awaited the details of their next mission.
"The League of Shadows has arranged a meeting with certain villains who have been popping up on our radar lately. The Joker, Poison Ivy, and Scarecrow are supposed to meet with Sportsmaster, Cheshire, and Black Spider at midnight in Star City."
Artemis froze up at the mention of her dad and sister. She still hadn't told the team that she was related to supervillians. It was just a bad idea to even come close to the topic.
Robin spoke up, "Joker, Ivy, and Scarecrow are all typical Gotham villains, what's making them stray so far from home?"
"That's what you are to find out. Intercept the parcels that are being traded between the groups. If possible, avoid a fight. You may have taken these villains on before, but together they are hard hitters." With that the Bats, left leaving the team to plan what to do.
"Who's Scarecrow?" Rocket asked.
"A villain to watch out for. With one inhale of his fear gas you are down for the count. It's not a fun experience." Robin shivered as if reliving a fear gas episode.
"That raises another question. What's fear gas?"
"Fear gas has its name for a reason. It makes you hallucinate and have your worst fears come to life. It can get into a person's blood stream in seconds, making it extremely effective and volatile."
"That is why we must remain vigilant." Aqualad said walking to the front of the group. "There are six of them and eight of us, which does not necessarily mean we have the advantage. The League of Shadows always seems to have an extra card up their sleeve, do not expect tonight to be any different."
Artemis mumbled under her breath, "You don't have to tell me."
Superboy turned around and shot a glance her way. He received a glare in return and turned back to looking at Kaldur.
"It is best to scout out the location ahead of time, we shall head out in five minutes. Please prepare the bio-ship M'gann." Aqualad finished the briefing and jogged off to do whatever he needed to do in five minutes.

The Team was flying to Star City at 11 at night while making good time. Aqualad was determining who would take what positions around the park in which the meeting would take place. Artemis and Robin were to hide in trees in the park near each other.  Kid Flash and Conner were to be waiting around the edges of the park on the east side on the roofs of nearby buildings. Aqualad was to stay by the entrance to the small stream running through the park. Miss Martian would stay in the bio-ship with Rocket and Zatanna and advise the team as to when the villains appear and advise when the packages were in sight.
Before exiting the bio-ship they were linked up with telepathy.
With each member knowing their duty they ran to their locations and stayed firmly there, waiting for midnight.
Aqualad's voice rang through everybody's heads. 'Confirm position.'
'In a tree overlooking the main fountain.' Robin confirmed.
'Same here.' Artemis thought.
'On top of a bakery with Supey, clear view of the main fountain.' KF thought until he became distracted with the idea of all the treats under his feet.
'In the sky with Rocket and Zatanna, camouflage mode activated.' Miss Martian confirmed.
'Now we wait.'

The team didn't have to wait too long. Within a half hour the Gotham Villains arrived holding a large cardboard box. The Joker wouldn't shut up. He just kept telling horrible joke after horrible joke with no reaction from Ivy or Scarecrow.
'Robin, was Joker always this bad at comedy? He's worse than Wally.' Artemis communicated with Robin telepathically.
'You don't know the half of it. There's a reason the name was self appointed.'
'I bet you appreciate my humor even more now.' Wally thought, feeling full of himself.
'Better watch it Baywatch. Your ego can only get so big.' Artemis quipped back at the speedster.
KF was about to say something but was cut off by Miss Martian. 'The Shadows are here. Approaching from the south end of the park.'
'Artemis, Robin, do not engage until instructed. Stay inconspicuous.' Aqualad warned.
'Relax Kal, trained in the ways of the ninja here.' Robin responded.
Robin and Artemis watched Cheshire, Sportsmaster, and Black Spider approach to the fountain. Unaware of the young heroes lying in wait. Sportsmaster took the lead in talking to the other villains, Cheshire by his side and Black Spider seemingly only there for extra muscle.
"Do you have the gas?" Sportsmaster's deep voice boomed across the park.
The Joker stepped forward, "Take a look for yourself, Sporty." Scarecrow opened the box to reveal multiple vials of a yellow colored substance.
'That's fear gas! There are hundreds of vials in that box, at least!' Robin cried out to the Team.
'Are you sure Robin?' Aqualad reprimanded.
'Positive! Just look at Scarecrow's belt, he has a few vials there.'
'Then we must stop this now. Artemis, Robin, be prepared for first strike on my mark. Superboy, Kid Flash, be ready to help them.'
Artemis pulled an arrow from her quiver to set in her bow. The arrowhead slightly knocked against the bark of the tree trunk behind her. Her eyes widened as Ivy's head snapped in her direction. 'Oh, shit.' Artemis thought to herself.
Ivy stared at the tree Artemis was in. "It appears we have a spy here who doesn't appreciate nature."
The branch Artemis was perched on suddenly wrapped around her ankle with a groan. Causing her to fall from the tree, only being supported by her wrapped ankle. All her arrows fell from her quiver and her bow was rendered useless.  Sportsmaster approached her first with calculating eyes.
"So this is what my dear daughter had been reduced down to. Hiding in trees and playing hero." Sportmaster joked coldly.
'Robin, accelerate the plan, attack now! Superboy, Kid Flash, engage now!' Aqualad ordered, jumping into action himself. 'Zatanna, free Artemis. Rocket and Miss Martian, help us out.'
The boys ran into action against the villains. Robin took on the Joker while KF barreled towards Cheshire. Superboy fought against Black Spider, doing his best to avoid the webs. Aqualad whipped water at Scarecrow who was reaching for vials of fear gas.
The girls exited their ship and ensued into the mayhem. Rocket encased Ivy in a bubble, not seeing the vines creeping up behind her. Miss Martian ripped the vines apart and helped Rocket take on Ivy.
Sportsmaster was raising a spear aimed at Artemis when Zatanna entered the situation. Just as the spear left his hand Zatanna yelled out a spell and made the spear stop in mid-air, inches away from Artemis.  Sportsmaster raised a button in his left hand and the middle of the spear exploded, sending the front end into Artemis's abdomen and the back end flying off into an empty spot in the park.
Artemis gave a little grunt as blood started trickling towards the ground.
Zatanna screamed out in horror. The next moments seemed to go in slow motion. Cheshire was the first to spot what had happened and saw her little sister hanging from a tree with part of a spear sticking out her front and back. She froze for a moment before charging Sportsmaster.
"You bastard!" She cried out as she began slashing the air around Sportsmaster. Never landing one blow.
Kid Flash was the next to react since he no longer had anyone to fight. He raced towards Artemis, she had died once before his eyes and he wasn't going to let it happen again. Simulation or not. And this most defiantly was real.
'Artemis needs medical attention, NOW!' Kid Flash yelled out at the team. Except for Zatanna they were all too preoccupied with their own villains to help at the moment. 'Zatanna, get your ass over here and help me get her down.'
Zatanna responded immediately to the harshness of Wally. KF reached Artemis first, noticing her paling more with every second as the blood pool beneath her grew. Soon Zatanna was reciting spell after spell to break the branch until finally one worked. Artemis fell a few feet into Wally's waiting arms.
He held on to the archer carefully, to not jostle her any more than necessary. "Come on Arty stay with me here.  Call me Kid Idiot, Baywatch, something, just show you're still there." He shook her gently as her eyelids started to flutter closed. 'Megan, we need to leave now. Arty can't hang on much longer.'
Robin hit his final blow on the Joker and knocked him into the fountain, unconscious. He took the opportunity to see what he was too busy to see earlier. He saw Wally carrying a very wounded and barely alive Artemis.
'Miss Martian, we need to end this now.' Robin called out mentally. 'Artemis seriously won't be able to hang on much longer.'
'I'm fine guys,' Artemis's weak message ran through their heads.
Wally held her tighter as the bio-ship floated down. 'That's bullshit. Now just hang on until we can get to the mountain.'
'Miss Martian, go with Kid Flash and Artemis, take them back to the mountain. Zatanna and Robin, stay and help us now. We can go to the Mountain when this is over.' Aqualad ordered firmly.
'But I can treat her on the way there as much as possible.' Robin yelled back at Aqualad.
'Then do it, we are losing too many teammates to win this fight. Kid, you stay behind as Robin goes.'
'But-' Wally tried to argue.
'Kid, the matter is settled. Give Artemis to Miss Martian and finish this fight.' Aqualad's order was the last.
Miss Martian levitated Artemis out of Wally's arms and flew to the bio-ship. Robin grabbed the box of fear gas and bounded off after her. When they were safely inside Robin dropped the box on the floor and instructed MM to levitate Artemis to the table in the back of the ship. Once that was done he ordered her to fly back to the mountain as fast as possible and alert the Med Bay.
Even at the top speed it was still a ten minute flight to the mountain. The doctors were alerted and waiting. At the back of the ship Robin's hand reached for her limp wrists to check for a pulse. It was barely there and her breathing was shallow. The spear most likely pierced a lung.
He dropped her wrist as gently as possible and did what he could for her. Her hand hit the table with a thud and was white and very cold, not a good sign.
With what seemed forever the bio-ship finally made it back to Mt. Justice. There were doctors waiting with a stretcher that they took Artemis away on. Batman was waiting there, having also been alerted of the news.  He sent Miss Martian back to help the others and kept Robin at the Mountain.
He looked at his young protégé, "I thought I said to avoid physical combat."
Robin looked up at his adoptive father and mentor. "It couldn't have been avoided. Sportsmaster got her just as the first blows were being thrown. He was determined to have her dead and has been for a long time. Ivy gave him the opportunity tonight."
"How did you know he wanted her dead?"
"Psycho assassin father with a hero daughter, it wasn't hard to figure out."
"So you knew of her lineage?"
"Have for a while. I was going to wait for her to admit it to the Team before I spoke up."
Batman gave Robin a nod and walked into the mountain with Robin following him. Robin went to the Med Bay at first instinct and waited outside the doors. It didn't take long for other people to start showing up. First members of the Justice League started appearing, such as Green Arrow and Black Canary. Then Artemis's mother showed up, finally followed by the Team after a long while.
Kid Flash didn't even bother changing out of his costume and ran to the Med Bay to find several others waiting outside. He looked to his best friend who had his head in his hands and had changed into civilian attire. Wally wove in and out of the small crowds of people till he reached Robin.
"How is she?" He asked worriedly.
"I don't know. She's been in surgery for hours and not one doctor has come out with any news. For now it's a waiting game."
Wally sat down next to Robin in a hard plastic chair as the Team trickled into the hallway. Everybody looked distraught, heavy on the dis. Zatanna looked close to having a breakdown, as she was the only one who saw everything happen. She accepted the comfort of Robin by leaning her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. Zatanna cried into his jacket for hours.
Everybody stayed in the hallway for a while, except for when they needed food or a restroom. Most just fell asleep in the hallway.  Except for Wally, he never once left. Not for food, not for anything. He never once fell asleep either. People occasionally brought him things such as a pillow to encourage sleep or snacks that he ate mindlessly. The only other people who exhibited the same behavior were two Vietnamese lady's down near the end of the hall, one in a wheelchair.
Wally rose from his seat and approached them. "Hi." He said to kick things off. "Are you Artemis's family?"
The older woman in the wheelchair nodded, "I am her mother, and this is Jade, her sister."
Wally never even knew she had a sister. But her sister knew about him. "You're Kid Flash, aren't you?" She said in a familiar voice and with dark eyes that pierced his. She stared at the logo on his chest as if confirming his identity without his response, then her eyes found the large dark red stain on his suit he had from holding Artemis.
"I am." He said solemnly.
Ms. Crock spoke up, "Then do you know how this happened to Artemis? I was told it was during a fight."
He wondered if he could disclose this info to this woman. But she would be told either way. "It was, the villain Sportsmaster did it."
Ms. Crock's eyes narrowed in fury. Jade made a futile attempt at calming her down. Ms. Crock almost yelled, "I don't need to calm down, Jade. What I need is for my daughter to be okay and for that vile excuse of a man to be brought to justice."
Wally saw no point in staying and talking with the family any longer and walked back to his spot next to Rob.
That was when a doctor finally appeared out of the door. He was bombarded by multiple people asking about Artemis.
"Stop!" The doctor yelled and everyone quieted down. "Artemis will recover."
Robin pushed his way to the front, "Why does there seem to be a but at the end of that sentence?"
"She will recover, but it will take weeks. The hero gig is suspended until then."
The first thought that crossed everyone's mind was, 'She is going to be so pissed.'
"Did you break the news to her yet?" Wally asked.
"No, for now she is unconscious. The news will be delivered to her when she wakes up." The doctor tried to make it out the crowd around him. Eventually they parted like the Red Sea.
"Who is going to tell her the news?" Kaldur said after the doctor left.
"KF will!" Robin instantly volunteered Wally over everyone else.
"Hey! Why do I have to?"
"Because, she'll take the news better from you than anyone else," Black Canary walked up to the young heroes through the large group.
Wally turned to his trainer and stared at her ludicrously. "She'll just hate me more!"
Zatanna laid a hand on his shoulder. "No, she won't. Wait inside for her to wake up."
It was tempting to Wally to just walk into the Med Bay and wait for her to wake up, but his face wouldn't be the one she would want to see when she wakes up. Would it? Making his final decision he walked into the Med Bay and waited for Artemis to open her eyes.
I know, I know, it is looong. But I couldn't stop writing when I started. Forgive me for hurting Arty! I couldn't help it, and at least she isn't dead. Enjoy!

And, this was originally written for WallArt week 2012. Who knew it would kick off a full story?

Part 1: Look up.
Part 2: [link]
Part 3: [link]
Part 4: [link]
Part 5: [link]
Part 6: [link]
Part 7: Coming soon.




Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and such, they belong to DC. I own nothing!
© 2012 - 2024 jgirl53
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makorra-and-zutara's avatar
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo her mom was pissed to find out her dad did this to her