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Artemis
That foolish pride of yours . . .It's time you, get rid of it. Her voice echoed in my head as darkness filled my vision.
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'Really, Artemis,' A ten year old girl, eyes as dark as her pitch black hair, said sarcastically, carrying the said archer up a ragged path carved into the side of the snow covered mountain they were stranded on.
'And here I thought you were smart enough to avoid danger'. She continued, releasing a shuddering breath as she shifted her weight to get back feeling into her cold, numb leg.
'The only reason I didn't kill you-' She started again, her boots crunching the newly fallen snow as she squinted against the frosty wind.
'-is because Deathstroke needs your father to keep him in his good books. And last time I checked, having your apprentice leave the daughter of a mercenary for dead in the middle a blizzard, is not the best way to go about it.'
Artemis groaned, slowly gaining consciousness. Shadow dropped her on the snowy terrain, hard.
The archer glared at her, reaching for her bow.
'What the hell'? She gritted her teeth , getting up. 'What do you think you're doing?'
Shadow breathed in deeply, wiping snow off her thankfully waterproof mask.
'Saving you're life.' She said simply.
'I could have handled that situation on my own.' Artemis scowled.
'Of course,' the assassin said monotonously, pulling her hood over her face as she tightened her gloves, rubbing her hands to get some feeling back.
'That's it'! Artemis said, aiming her weapon at Shadow. 'You better stop acting like you're at a higher level of skill than me, because you're not.'
Shadow didn't spare a glance at the archer and payed her no mind, more focused on not loosing her fingers to frostbite.
An arrow whizzed past her imbedding itself into the mountain.
Her eyes snapped to Artemis. 'You don't know what you are asking for.'
'Oh, I know.' Artemis grinned and nocked another arrow.
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Shadow sat calmly on the chair, observing Artemis. She could admit that she went overboard, but she wasn't going to say she regretted anything.
She leaned back on her seat with a sigh, balancing on it's hind legs. Perhaps some people are just harder to get through to than others.
With a gust of wind her 'cell' door was slammed open.
'Shadow!' The red and yellow speedster shouted.
'We have to get him out of there before he aggravates the situation any further and gets himself or Artemis killed.' Batman said from the meeting room.
'Are you saying that provoking her was not the right course of action?' Black Canary said with a smirk, writing something down on her notepad.
Shadow cocked her head to the side and looked at the intruder. 'KidFlash,' she replied cooly.
'You are going to give back Artemis.' He ordered in a commanding tone.
Shadow almost laughed, almost. Did he even hear himself? How insulting, thinking he can repress me with such demands.
'I could do that.' She started, closing her eyes.
He walked forward. 'Or. . .'
His steps faltered. 'I could just as easily kill her.'
Wasting no time, Wally sped towards Artemis, stirring up the the air around him.
Shadow eyes snapped open, her hand clamped around his wrist like a vice before he could even touch the archer.
Getting up, she threw him backwards. Their position switched, with her in front of Artemis and the speedster in the chair.
KidFlash gasped, not in pain but in surprise, the coolness of her skin was comparable to that of ice.
She let him go, looking into his eyes as if searching for something, as she did to Artemis.
'Are you. . . scared of me?' The way she said it was almost innocent, but he knew not to be fooled by her eloquence.
He put on a brave face, a false show of courage. 'And why would I be scared of a silver-tongued killer?' He asked smoothly.
This time she did laugh, so much that her side started to hurt.
'You're funny!' She mumbled, standing straight. 'I've been called a slut, a whore, a murderer, a nuisance, and a terrorist; pretty much every insult ever created but never, silver-tongued killer.'
'I like you.' She went on. 'At first I thought you would be the most likely person here that I would kill, if I were to kill. . .' She paused. 'But, having had a conversation with you, I see that is not the case.'
The heroes in the meeting room stared at Shadow in disbelief, after observing her they started to see where Artemis was coming from, saying that it was almost impossible to provoke the gangleader.
Of course, it was also impulsive of KidFlash to just charge in without a comm.
Even if Miss Martian created a mindlink with him it was unlikely that he'd leave without Artemis. Although, Shadow had made it clear she wasn't going to kill him nor Artemis, she could change her mind at any moment.
'Do you enjoy killing people?' He sneered.
'Yes.' She replied simply.
His eyes widened.
'What?' She questioned, smirking. 'Wasn't that the answer you were expecting?'
'I-'
She cut him off with surprise, leaning in with their noses just an inch from touching.
'This air of bravado you've put up around yourself, this façade persona of yours, I can see through it.'
Her breath had the sharp and sweet scent of peppermint to it , minty and cool against his skin.
It made it hard for him to think with her this close, but he managed to glare at her.
'What gives you that impression?'
She reached forward, twirling strands of his ginger coloured hair between her fingers.
He stiffened.
'You seem tense.' She whispered. 'Should I assume that you are not trembling with fear, but with. . . courage?'
Oh shit. He cursed in his mind. She wasn't fooled.
He closed his eyes. What was he going to do now?
Shadow smiled. 'It's best if you try not to lie to me. I mean, what if I decide to kill both of you?' She said, her tone playful.
KidFlash sighed, eyes full of defeat. He couldn't win a fight against her, he knew that.
'You seem like a smart guy. What is the best way to get out of the situation you've currently found yourself in, hm?' She asked him, seating on the bed next to the unaware archer.
Cooperation. He thought begrudgingly.
'I think you already know the answer, so,' She rested her head on her clasped hands, 'let's talk.'
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Artemis panted, gasping as Shadow pulled her up by the hair.
'Isn't this what you wanted all this time?' She mocked, laying her katana on the archer's neck. 'To fight me. To see which one of us was better?'
Artemis spat out the blood pooling in her mouth, the crimson liquid oozing off her wounds, defiance shining in her eyes.
'Do it then. Kill me like the monster that you know you are.' She growled.
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KidFlash narrowed his eyes at Shadow. 'We have nothing to talk about.'
The assassin tsked. 'So stubborn.'
She waved an arrow around, hitting it on her palm, seemingly lost in thought before placing the tip on Artemis' exposed neck.
'Do you want to talk now?'
His glance shifted to Artemis. He was fast, but not fast enough to stop Shadow from slitting her throat.
'I'll do what you want, but how am I sure you won't just kill her when you feel like it?' He countered, crossing his arms.
'That,' she started, tapping her chin with the arrow, 'is a very good question.'
She tossed the arrow away, a smirk playing on her lips. 'It's seems like you're just going to have to trust me '
He ran his hand through the mop of orange-red fibers he called hair. 'Fine.'
'Let's see.' she said, sighing. 'Who is. . .'
He stiffened. Was she going to ask him classified information? His secret identity?
'. . . your best friend?'
He wanted to say no but bit his tongue. 'Robin,' He said simply.
Her eyes widened slightly.
'Interesting.' Shadow said thoughtfully.
From that point the list only grew longer. She asked more irrelevant questions, his favorite color, his hobbies, even his favorite sport; unimportant questions about his life that he was forced to answer because of the situation he was currently in.
She smirked, thinking up another question. 'Your favorite subject?'
He blinked.
'Chemistry,' he answered cautiously. 'What's yours?'
'None. Fortunately for me, I'm too cool for school, it's not my thing anyway.'
Another interesting thing was that, she was open to questions as well- something the speedster figured out two questions ago.
'So you've never gone to school, ever.' KidFlash asked incredulously.
'Yep,' she said popping the . 'You could say that I was homeschooled for the entirety of my life. I'm not really hell bent on an 'education'. If I had a choice I'd be a vagabond, going were the wind takes me.'
He stared at her disbelieving. 'Like I'm supposed to believe that.'
If you forget about Artemis being held captive, it was almost a normal conversation, albeit a little bit one sided.
She shrugged, running a hand through her hair, causing loose strands to fall out of her otherwise perfect pony tail.
'Only a caged man yearns for freedom ' Shadow said, sighing.
Is she suggesting I let her go to get Artemis back? The speedster thought.
The gangleader discreetly followed his gaze, her glance finally landing on Artemis's peaceful face.
I can't leave Artemis here, but on the other hand, I can't let Shadow escape. He gritted his teeth.
Shadow cupped her face in her hand, letting out an inaudible laugh. The only reason he's here, the only reason he's talking to me is because of her. I can't believe I'm holding him hostage here just to maintain dialogue that wasn't an interrogation, how pathetic.
KidFlash's glanced shifted to Shadow, who still had her head in her hand. I'm going to have to make a run for it, and take Artemis with me.
He prepared himself to run, but hesitated. If I time this wrong, or if I'm slow, Artemis' life will be in more danger than it already is.
Shadow stood up, eyes cast to the floor with her hands shoved into her pockets.
Shit, I spent to much time thinking. I lost my opportunity. What now? He thought, gulping down the lump in his throat as he stared at Shadow hopelessly.
Like the universe heard his prayer, Shadow spoke in a low tone. 'Take her and go.'
He stayed still, not understanding what the aim of all this was. If it was a trap, for him to lower his guard. . . No, he could risk it if it wasn't.
'Just take her and leave before I change my mind.' She snapped.
With a light draft of wind, both heroes were gone. Shadow fell on the bed, biting back a groan. Why is conversation so hard?
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Artemis lied in a pool of bloody snow, numb, exhausted and humiliated.
She had gotten bested by a ten year old. A freaking ten year old. She growled at nothing in particular.
'Why am I so weak?'
She tried to move away as she heard footsteps, but Shadow simply grabbed her hand and wiped it down.
'What are you doing?' Artemis said, trying not to wince as the rubbing motion of the cloth burned her open wounds.
'Preventing you from getting an infection.' the assassin said with a stoic expression, wiping down the archer's other arm.
Artemis yanked her arm away. 'Why are you doing this?You won.'
Shadow sighed ,wringing the bloodied rag into a bowl of water Artemis never noticed.
'This high and mighty attitude of yours is going to get you killed one day'. The girl walked to the mouth of the cave she had dragged Artemis into. 'And I'll not be there to help you when it happens.'
Artemis opened her mouth to utter a snarky remark but stopped herself knowing that Shadow had a point.
'What are you implying?' She decided to ask.
'You should get off your high horse and accept that you're not the best. That no matter how good you are, there's always someone better.'
Shadow spun on her heel to face Artemis. I'll head off to the rendezvous point and trade the package for the gems.'
She picked up her sword from the floor and sheathed it.
'I'll leave the gems here, then you can take them to Sportsmaster at the Helipad and we'll never have to do business with each other ever again.'
Before Artemis could reply, the apprentice of Deathstroke had disappeared.
Good riddance! She thought, closing her eyes. If I see you again, it'll be too soon.
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