I don't own anything but original characters and my original plot.
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Chapter 8 - Flashbacks
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"I DID NOT ASK FOR THE THINGS I'VE BEEN THROUGH, AND I CERTAINLY DID NOT ASK MY MIND TO PAINT AND REPAINT THE PICTURES IN FLASHBACK FORM."
"All the security systems have been upgraded, and no access panels are able to be accessed by you, we've made sure of that. Surveillance is going to be on you twenty four seven, and you are not to leave the cave without at least two members of the team and a hidden inhibitor collar." Batman stepped forward and placed a bracelet on my wrist, "And you will wear this at all hours."
"What's this?" I asked, holding her hand out in front of her. The bracelet was a simple metal strip without a few red circles along it, blinking systematically.
"A smaller version of the inhibitor collar, it will limit your powers, making you unable to kill and or harm someone, but still be able to defend yourself. It's extremely intuitive, so it will understand the situation and regulate you power use based on that."
"Makes sense," I shrugged, brushing some dust off of the dresser in her room. The layer was so thick that instead of the dust blending into the air, it fell to the ground in clumps.
"You will be temporarily staying here until we find a more suitable place for you," Batman continued.
"Because staying in a cave constantly full of heroes isn't enough?" I asked sarcastically, pulling the drawer open. All of the clothes would be too small for me, but they were still there.
"No," Batman deadpanned, turning around, "You escaped once while staying here, it could happen again."
"Thank you Bruce," I called after him before he could leave, "You could have just locked me away for the rest of my life. I appreciate this chance."
"You saved the team's lives twice, the least I could do is give you a chance to redeem yours," he gave me a nod, "Besides, I believe that you feel remorse. The lives you've taken will haunt you. You may not realize it now, but that'll be punishment enough."
The door swished shut as he left. Thinking over his words, I turned back to my room. He was right. I kept track of how many I killed, who they were, what they could have done for the world. Never, would I be able to give them their lives back, and it was always on my mind.
Shaking my head, I focused my attention. Everything was just the way I left it. For the most part at least. A few of the figurines on her dresser were moved around, the notebooks and papers from my desk were missing, and so was the necklace that went to my music box.
"Wally has it," the door slid open again. It was Dick, "He took it the last time you helped us out. I'm sure he'll give it back when you get your music box back."
"Thanks Dick."
Dick's eyes narrowed, "Richard or Nightwing."
"What?"
"Richard or Nightwing," Dick slowed down so I could understand, "My friends call me Dick."
I laughed, not knowing what else to do. The situation was laughable, "But I'm your friend. I get that I became a villain, but I never tried to hurt your team. I still care about you guys."
"You were my friend. You broke your promise (Y/n). You broke Wally's heart. Friends don't break promises like that."
Dick pushed himself off the wall and left without another word. I took in a deep breath, blinking rapidly to keep my tears at bay. I knew my return would be met with backlash. I'd be naive to think it wouldn't But Dick would be one of the last people I'd think of that would hate me. At the top of the list was Wally, he hadn't said a word to me since I was let out.
"He'll warm up to you," Artemis assured, entering, "He's just protective over Wally. They're more like brothers and best friends."
Sighing, I sat down on the bed, nose scrunching when a plume of dust rose up, "No, I deserve that. I left, and broke my promise to D- Richard. I became a villain and killed so many people."
"Think about how many you saved," Artemis encouraged, "You saved us twice, and we save people. Therefore, you saved the people we saved. Never forget the people you killed, but understand why you did."
"I've saved you more than twice," I reminded, eyes staring ahead as I was brought back. I knew Artemis was thinking of the same day. The day I saved her life.
~*~*~*~
"You never should have tried to infiltrate us," Ivy crouched down in front of the cell Artemis has been thrown into, "Now Klarion is going to want to teach you a lesson. You're lucky your father wants you alive. Klarion will go easier on you. But that doesn't mean you won't prefer death over what he does."
Ivy straightened, and sauntered out of the room, the door closing with an inaudible click behind her. Artemis ran a hand through her recently revealed blonde hair, closing her eyes. There was no way to contact the team, no way to get out, and her cover was blown for the most stupid reason. Someone had bumped into her in the hallway and cracked the -way too sensitive- necklace that held the spell changing her voice and appearance.
After that it was a flurry of guards, trying her best to fight her way out, and ending up in the cell. Artemis wasn't sure how long she had been in there. An hour? Two? Time blended together when you were stuck in a plain cell.
"Well, this brings back memories of how you found me," a sultry voice spoke from the shadow, quite literally as (Y/n) stepped out, her Black Rose uniform surprising Artemis. It wasn't showing necessarily, and more power to her i fit was, it was just... different from her original uniform.
Not only that, but the team only speculated that (Y/n) was the Black Rose. After the first murder Batman showed them, they kept up with the others. Deep down, all of them knew that their former friend was the culprit, but on the surface they kept hopeful facades. That maybe their friend wasn't capable of the crimes the heroes accused her of.
"Do you like it," (Y/n) spun on her toes in a slow circle, "Change of costume. I know heroes don't do that often. But you did, didn't you? Became Tigress. Why?"
"You know why," Artemis growled, pulling off her Tigress mask, "To get as much information as possible."
"Definitely ot for the same reason as me. You could say I double majored in why I left," (Y/n) tutted, approaching the cell. Her eyes flitted from one corner of the room to the other, where the cameras were located, "My favorite part of the costume is the color on the side. See?"
She swung her hand up, showing off the side of her uniform, which had no other color than black. The red on her costume was on the gloves, boots, mask, chest, and pieces on the pants; not where she was showing off.
Artemis noticed that the shadows (Y/n) stepped out of moved from their place to the two corners that (Y/n) was observing earlier. She looked at the corners, enveloped in darkness, then (Y/n) suspiciously. Her earlier movement was an obvious ruse to the camera so she could use her powers. But why?
"We have one chance at this," (Y/n) spoke quickly as she punched a code into the cell keypad, pushing open the door, "You need to do exactly as I say if you want to make it out of here. If you don't, both of us will be in deep shit."
Artemis jumped up, fists raised. (Y/n) rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Neither was surprised at the reaction of the other.
"I know I'm not the first person you'd trust right now, but I owe you this. You helped me learn how to be a normal teenager, how to have a life worth living. One that I can't have now. But the least I could do to repay you is give you yours. Or if you want to stay here and meet my father in conditioning you're welcome to."
"Klarion's your father?" Artemis lowered her fists, following (Y/n) out of her cell and to the main door. Again, another theory of the team, but since Klarion had changed his physical form it was hard to see him as anything other than the kid they fought several times.
"I was shocked too. But that's a story for another day. If I ever see you again under civil circumstances, that is."
(Y/n) moved her hand in a slow circle before leaving the room and entering the hall, motioning for Artemis to follow her.
"We're part of the shadows on the wall. Don't worry about anyone seeing us. As long as we don't make any noise when someone is passing by, we're undetectable," (Y/n) explained, jogging down the hallway.
"How am I going to get back to the team?" Artemis questioned. It'd be pointless being set free if she couldn't escape entirely.
"Hijack a villain vehicle," (Y/n) shrugged, "And don't tell the team I helped you. Word could get back to the villains. This is just between us. Got it?"
"What will I tell them?"
"There was a glitch in the security system and it had to reset, giving you enough time to sneak through the compound and escape. I had nothing to do with it. I was never here, never even went in to see you."
"Come with me instead. Come back to the heroes. You've obviously still got some good in you! We can work this out and you can restart that life you wanted," Artemis reached out for (Y/n) desperately.
(Y/n) chuckled sadly, "I owe you this Artemis, but that's it. I'm a villain now, don't get confused."
"A villain with honor and a good side," Artemis argued.
"I covered the good sides in darkness," (Y/n) hissed, tired of arguing, "The heroes never believed I could be one of them, so why try?"
The two arrived at the docking and departure bay for the villains. (Y/n) put in the access code to open the bay door and pointed out a motorcycle to Artemis.
"Don't expect my help again. Be safe."
~*~*~*~
"Klarion expected that I had something to do with your escape,' I mumbled, reaching down and pulled my pant leg up to my knee, revealing a long scar leading from my ankle to my kneecap, "Since he couldn't prove it, he said I could have done more to keep you there."
"You took that scar for me?" Artemis whispered, pulling me into a tight hug. Jumping, I quickly scooted away. It was easier to hide my discomfort with touch from the villains since they didn't do it often, but I didn't bother with the heroes.
"Sorry," I rubbed my arm sheepishly, "I guess I'm not used to friendly touch. I hugged Ivy and Harley a lot, but besides that it was conditioning and combat training. Hard to tell the difference when it's what you lived with for five years."
"The villains hurt you?" Artemis asked in a concerned voice, rage flowing through her.
"No, never," I shook my head, eager to clear up any confusion since the heroes thought the same thing, "Not the villains, they're my family. Klarion did all that to me. All my scars, my trauma, the conditioning. And he is no father of mine anymore."