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Artemis is waiting.
She is sitting on the dirty floor of a dark alley, at the end of a lampless side street on Rhode Island, surprisingly close to Mount Justice, which is slightly suspicious. She wonders if Annabeth knew she was choosing a place so close to Artemis's current residence, but she has no answer. She can only wait for now.
She sits cross-legged, but she is ready to jump to her feet at any moment. Her bow is resting on her knees, a single arrow beside it just to be on the safe side, with the rest of her arrows hanging on her back. She's cold. Her thermal coat is ruined after the last mission - the volcano in Ireland wasn’t supposed to erupt this year - and the holes left in it allow the cold night air to crawl through the fabric and skin and nestle in her bones. She should remind Robin to get her one of those comfortable coats the next time he goes back to Gotham, he promised her one weeks ago.
She’s managed to avoid his and Wally’s prying eyes, counting on the surveillance task Batman has given to keep them busy for the next few hours. Luckily there’s no one else in Mount Justice except the three of them tonight.
And now she’s waiting.
Artemis shudders and lets go of the bow, rubbing her arms. A dog whines in the distance. She thinks she hears footsteps, but when she turns her head sharply she discovers it's just a wind-beaten tin lid bumping against the fence next to it. But she can’t relax her tense muscles.
She received an urgent message yesterday morning. Not technologically, of course. Annabeth doesn't work that way. Just a letter her mother redirected to her when it appeared in their mailbox back home. The note was short and concise, typical; it only had an address and an hour (end of Eileen Str., 2 am.) and be there, signed simply with -cousin below.
It didn’t say it was an emergency, but Artemis knows anyway. She and her cousin don’t make contact if it's not an emergency, not at times like these.
Artemis checks her watch. 01:58. Annabeth Chase should arrive soon. Artemis thinks about the first time they met.
About the discovery of the existence of her family, of her cousin. Her mother had never told her or Jade or even their father about her younger siblings and their children. About her family. Artemis found out about them on her own. Or rather, they revealed themselves to her on their own. Annabeth showed up.
Her cousin arrived like lightning on a clear-skyed day, unexpected and incomprehensible but unmissable. She revealed herself only to the girls in the family, after their explanations she never saw a reason to seek out Sportsmaster too. But she knows all three girls in the family. She first met Artemis when, out of nowhere, she knocked on her and Paula's door. She introduced herself, and after a brief period of confusion, Artemis's mother herself finally exposed the truth.
The strange little blonde girl told them her father told her a few months back that he had another sister, a long-lost older one. He was young when his sister Paula left, just a little boy, and he's not sure if his other siblings - Randolph and Natalie - are even aware of her existence. He doesn't know where she is. Annabeth had asked him for more specific details in order to locate Paula on her own, and here she is. Artemis's mother said in response that she fled their home when she turned to the life of crime, at about sixteen. She had two little brothers and a sister on the way when she closed the family house’s door behind her for the last time, and left, unwilling to get anyone in trouble because of her, and even more than that, in deep need of freedom. She never planned on renewing the relationship, but she was glad her niece came.
Artemis was twelve then. Annabeth is older than her by a year, which means she’d located them and made all the way to them by herself at just thirteen. But Artemis has learned not to ask questions. Her cousin has a look that can cut through stone with its intensity. She’d spent the next several days with Artemis, during which they both got to know their extended family. Apparently Annabeth had already tracked down Jade - a near-impossible task to accomplish - and ran into her, even scuffling with her for a short while until the black haired vigilante realized the little blonde was telling the truth and they are indeed family. The somewhat-strange cousin didn't sound enthusiastic about the sly girl, and Artemis understood. Jade had abandoned her and her mother when they were in their greatest slump, after all.
Her cousin gave her some fighting tips and trained with her, winning almost every round. Artemis tried to figure out where those skills came from. Annabeth refused to tell her everything - for her own good, she said - but she told Artemis about her family. That she doesn’t get along with her father and step-mother and step-brothers, and that she isn’t home much. Mainly she’s in an all-year-round camp, where she’s been staying at since the age of seven, where there are also fighting and survival lessons besides regular classes. She refused to say more than that, but that's fine - Artemis trusts her.
The girl asked for a phone number but refused to give one back, expressing recoil from technology in general. Artemis voiced her questions, to which Annabeth explained that tech devices were endangering her and helping those who were chasing her to locate her. Artemis got it. Annabeth never threatened her, but some rules about their relationship were clear to Artemis since the get go. The most prominent of them being No Asking Questions. Ever.
The thing is, she and Annabeth belong in different worlds. That much has been crystal clear since day one. Artemis is Artemis and Annabeth is Annabeth, and they are not supposed to get mixed or even too close. At all. There is a buffer between them that keeps their lives separated from each other, and any attempt to stay in touch despite it - without straight-up collapsing it - is dangerous and frightening and very unbalancing, and everything might explode at any given moment and it will be solely their fault. But they do it anyway.
At short sallies, without asking the most fundamental questions, without committing in any way. With minimal concern for one another, because that's all they can afford. But it’s better than nothing, and they are as careful as they manage to be, and the major part is that they are there for each other. Even when they don't actually know why they need to be “there”.
Artemis runs her eyes over her surroundings again, clutching her bow and arrow again, one in each hand, and trembles slightly as the wind picks up. Her motorcycle is parked beside her, ready to take her somewhere indoorsy and warm. She wonders for the third time why Annabeth chose this place, but she doesn't move. She doesn't get up. She is not going to miss this meeting just because she’s cold; she’s been through worse before. And if Annabeth actually asked to meet, face to face, the reason must be urgent.
The very fact that her independent cousin is making contact precisely now is worrying by itself. They haven't talked in a long time. Since the initial meeting and getting to know each other, which lasted several days until the unwanted-but-necessary departure of her cousin, they never really met again. There were a few phone calls. Annabeth would call to make sure everything’s fine and catch up, and even though it didn't happen much, Artemis appreciated that. A few months ago, nearly a year back, there was another face-to-face meeting - her cousin appeared out of nowhere, clearly distracted, and asked her to steer clear of New York in the near future. She was short and terse and tougher than Artemis remembered, and she disappeared quickly, without explaining. She only said she wouldn’t be able to talk any time soon, so Artemis shouldn’t be surprised or worried about the upcoming silence, and she wore a shield made of what looked like bronze. She didn’t ignore Artemis's questions, and did her best to respond, but she didn’t provide any actual answers. Artemis only managed to make out of her hurried explanations that a secret war was going to take place in NY, and it would be dangerous, and even though she knew how to get along just fine, her cousin insisted that it’s not for her and she should stay away. And Artemis listened.
A month later she received a message from a blocked number - brief and leaving no room for comment but still precious:
New York is clear. Don't get in too much trouble. -A
And then - silence. Months of silence.
Artemis didn’t think much of it. In truth, she didn’t think of it at all. She’s been busier than ever during the past year, with Green Arrow, the team, all the confrontations with The Light including the last and most dangerous of them all, the missions she and the team have continued to go on since... With all this, she kind of... forgot all about her mysterious cousin.
But the note brought everything back instantly. All the memories resurfaced in one intense wave, as if they’ve been just waiting for something to trigger them back to the front of her mind. Annabeth is here.
And she's not one to be late.
Artemis hears a sound from the darkness and stretches the arrow in her bow, but doesn’t take aim. A tall figure emerges from the shadows.
"Cousin," Annabeth says.
And Artemis knows something is wrong.
Annabeth doesn't get too close, stays on the verge of the shadows, and Artemis doesn't get up to move closer either. She just raises her eyes to the familiar lithe figure and looks at her. Scans her. She's not dressed in armor like the last time they’ve seen each other, just in a pair of long, well-worn jeans and a simple white t-shirt. On her belt, as always, there's a sheathed weapon - the same bronze dagger Artemis has always seen on her. She suspects there is also a knife in one of her military boots.
There are no signs of any immediate discomfort or anything implying the intention to attack. Annabeth isn’t as pulled-taut as she is when she’s getting ready for a fight. Her eyes aren’t narrowed or shrunken with pain. Her back is no less erect than ever.
And yet. Something must be wrong.
Artemis feels it. In the way Annabeth says "cousin," in such a muted voice. Like she's afraid she’ll blurt out something wrong if she just speaks a little louder.
"Annabeth," Artemis lets herself smile, just a little bit. "It's about time. I've been getting worried."
Annabeth smiles back, but her smile fades too quickly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. There were… a few… complications. I haven't had much time for myself lately."
Artemis nods. "It's okay." She understands. After all, she had to disconnect the call from Annabeth on several occasions before. Her cousin was never angry. She knew it was for good reasons and Artemis wants her to know she appreciates that.
Annabeth nods and stays quiet for a few more moments. Artemis waits.
"So how are you doing with your team?" Annabeth finally asks. "You're still with them, aren't you?"
Artemis's smile widens a half-an-inch. "Yeah, I'm still with them." Annabeth doesn't know everything. She doesn't know what Artemis is doing and who she's doing it with, she just knows Artemis is a part of a group. And she knows Artemis has had some reception issues with said group, and that being a part of this group is putting her in danger from her father and his partners. Annabeth’s even heard a little about the teammates, but never names. And that's it.
Artemis has always felt comfortable keeping so much information about herself a secret from her cousin, because Annabeth too keeps huge parts of her life to herself. They both trust each other enough to believe that their secrets remain secrets solely for the sake of their mutual safety.
"It's better," Artemis continues. "I'm getting along with them all now. They're my friends. One of them even... you know, we're seeing each other." She feels her cheeks warming up and knows she must be blushing, which is fine, because in many ways Annabeth is like a distant older sister.
"I'm happy to hear that." Annabeth smiles, but it looks forced and pained. And Artemis runs out of patience.
"Why are you here?" she breathes out softly into the cold night air. Annabeth doesn't look hurt, she understands her real question. What happened that made you actually show up here, instead of just make a phone call?
Annabeth exhales slowly. "I need help. Your help."
Artemis nods, waiting for more, feeling ready for more. Annabeth shuts her eyes for a moment as if she’s bracing herself.
"We - I'm looking for someone. He went missing," she says.
"Who?" Artemis doesn't flinch.
"A boy from camp. My age, about sixteen and six months."
"How long?" Artemis goes on. Annabeth tightens her jaw.
"Four months, six days and fifteen hours," she says in a toneless voice, and Artemis tenses.
Annabeth has always been perfectly precise and exceptionally intelligent. But in this case, the accuracy has no explanation other than one possible reason.
He is precious to her.
Artemis breathes and nods. "What does he look like? What's his name?"
Annabeth pulls something out of her pocket and throws it swiftly with a flick of her wrist. It lands right in Artemis's lap, cutting through the air but not hurting her.
Artemis picks up the folded paper and opens it. It's a picture.
The guy starring in it is giving her a wide grin, so happy and captivating it’s almost blinding. He’s standing on a beach, the waves behind him fitting him somehow, as if created for him. His feet are in the water, the rest of him entirely dry. He’s dressed in nothing but a pair of blue swimming shorts, his muscled chest and arms exposed to the bright sun, his skin deeply tanned and his hair black and unruly, probably due to wind. Even through the picture, the sparkle in his so-very-green eyes is visible.
"This is Percy Jackson," Annabeth says, her voice cracking. Artemis looks up at her cousin.
"I don't recognize him," she admits. Annabeth nods, not looking very surprised. "But I might still be able to help."
Annabeth's gray eyes are drilling holes into hers. She nods, and after a moment adds quietly, "Thanks."
Artemis stands. She motions Annabeth to follow and leads her to her motorcycle. "It's not a long ride, just a few minutes. There's a facial recognition system connected to police’s camera systems around the world."
Annabeth doesn’t ask, never asks, just climbs behind Artemis and wraps her hands around her waist tightly. The motorcycle comes alive with a roar.
They are on the road in an instant.
Artemis ignores the sharp looks Annabeth keeps on sending around. They make her feel on edge. Annabeth’s clever and she never misses anything, ever. She may be able to understand who Artemis is and where they are, and it was not a part of Artemis's plan at all. She wonders if she's made the right choice by bringing her cousin here, but she knows it’s too late to go back now.
She leads her to the computer.
Annabeth stands next to her tensely while Artemis starts the visual search program. She scans Percy’s photo into the computer and as it loads results, she types “Percy Jackson” in Mount Justice’s advanced search system. Immediately a few relevant info pages pop up.
She leans forward as she reads. It’s a larger amount of recorded information than that of an average person, that's for sure. It turns out that nearly-seventeen year old Perseus, New York born and bred, is the only son of an orphaned single mother. His father unknown. He also seems to be suffering from ADHD, dyslexia, hyperactivity. Expelled from almost every school he’s ever been to. Then Artemis reaches the truly odd parts.
Annabeth's foot is drumming on the floor at a fast pace, a sign of her being either annoyed or uneasy, but Artemis ignores it. Percy seemed to be associated with quite a lot of trouble. The accidents that caused many of his expulsions were rather strange - and rather violent. Explosions in the school gym, for example, or bombing the bus on the annual school trip. His mother gave birth to him without giving up the slightest bit of information about his father and has since married twice, the first of said marriages ending with the husband’s unexplained disappearance. And most extraordinarily - Percy was kidnapped.
More than that. First he was accused of causing a bizarre accident in which a vehicle was destroyed and his mother disappeared, then he started turning up without explanation in various places over the US, causing trouble and leading the police in a confusing chase. His stepfather - the one who probably died in unknown circumstances - blamed him for everything in public and called him a criminal, a troubled kid, a terrorist. Later it turned out that it was all one huge mistake, that Percy was actually kidnapped by a giant dangerous-looking biker whose identity to this day remains unknown, and was forced to do everything he did against his will. He wasn't the only victim in this story either - along with him the biker kidnapped two more kids. The first is Grover Underwood - a goofy-looking boy aided by crutches, stubble adorning his cheeks even in sixth grade. And the second...
"Annabeth?" Artemis raises her head in shock. "You and Percy, both of you - were kidnapped?"
Annabeth's foot is still tapping against the floor, and judging by her clenched jaw, it's more out of agitation than impatience. "Not exactly. It's a long story, and it’s complicated. But essentially, yes, that's more or less how we first met."
Artemis forces herself to close her mouth. "Wow." She turns back to the screen and swallows. "I had no idea."
Annabeth's hand hovers over her shoulder, assuring that everything is fine, and then disappears. Artemis continues to explore.
The whole kidnapping fiasco went down close to five years ago. A year before Annabeth showed up at Artemis and her mom’s apartment, a year before they met each other. Since then there weren’t any other dramas, not as big as that one at least. Percy kept hopping between schools, his stepfather disappeared without a word, his mother remarried. His and Annabeth's camp is not mentioned.
And neither is anything up-to-date about his disappearance. Or potentially another kidnapping. Or anything that will explain his absence. It says he has not been to his school since a few months ago, but nothing more than that. Annabeth herself can give her more details than that.
"No results about the -" she begins to say, but suddenly Annabeth's hand is on her mouth, cutting off her next words, and she’s sticking a finger to her own lips to signal silence. Artemis’s muscles go taut.
Tense silence fills the air. Annabeth drops her hand from Artemis’s face and they both look towards the empty doorway to the room. Annabeth's eyes are narrowed, and Artemis looks between her and the entrance antsily. What if it’s Superboy and M'gann? They’re supposed to be out on a date, but what if they canceled, or got back early? Annabeth can’t see them, she’ll understand who they are and -
Annabeth whirls around sharply. Artemis barely sees her reaching for her boot. Then she hears a hiss cutting through the air and a surprised "Ouch!" and Annabeth is no longer right next to her, and the air vent lid a few feet away falls from the ceiling.
Wally is sitting inside, kneeling in a way that doesn't look very comfortable, a knife stuck in his shirt above his shoulder and pinning it to the wall of the ventilation shaft. He doesn’t look wounded, just pretty shocked. Fortunately, he’s wearing regular clothes.
Robin next to him, wearing his trademark sunglasses, is also dressed in plain clothes. He pounces on Annabeth from the ceiling and almost lands on her, but she dodges at the last minute. Her dagger is propped in her hand just as he pulls out two shurikens.
They fight so rapidly it takes Artemis a moment to understand what she sees. Once she realizes that Annabeth is the one in advantage - her body is turned slightly to the left, which means she’s misleading the enemy and about to make a devious move towards the right, an old trick she taught Artemis the first time they trained - Artemis realizes she won't hesitate to use her dagger and draw blood, all she can do is cry out - "Wait!"
Luckily for her, that's enough to make her cousin hesitate. Unfortunately for Annabeth, it only takes that millisecond for her advantage to turn into a disadvantage.
Robin - because he’s Robin - manages to exploit the momentary hesitation, snatches her dagger from her hand and kicks, whips and punches purposefully, and Annabeth dodges but loses balance and ends up with her bottom on the floor. For a single moment the room is utterly silent.
Then Annabeth turns, reaches for her feet, and she is so fast she becomes blurry for a moment, then -
Robin is pinned to the wall, the dagger aimed at his neck together with a knife similar to the one that came out of Annabeth's boot and is still stuck through Wally's shirt to the air shaft behind him. He finally manages to pluck it out just as Artemis starts chuckling.
Annabeth will always be Annabeth.
It seems to calm everyone down. Annabeth retreats, sheathing her dagger back in her belt and putting her knife back in her boot, even though she still looks on edge. Wally jumps down from the vent and lands on both feet easily, then gives her back the other knife. Robin massages his shoulders and smiles, seeming to be pleased with the short fight despite losing.
"Boys," Artemis scolds, but she knows Annabeth recognizes the affection hidden in her voice. "I told you to stop following me around."
"We don’t - we didn't even know it was you. We thought someone broke in," Wally mumbles, immediately turning red, bless his redhead genes. Artemis smirks and shakes her head.
"We're not supposed to bring anyone in here," Robin says and nods at Annabeth, not accusing but curious.
"I have special permission," Artemis evades smoothly.
"Given to you by yourself?" Wally guesses. She winks at him. He rolls his eyes but smiles.
Annabeth stands next to her, no longer tapping her foot on the floor. Much quieter now, almost distressed. Artemis looks at her.
"He's right. I'm not supposed to be here," Annabeth says tightly. Her eyes flutter around the room as if she wants to escape. Artemis notices for the first time that the skin under her eyes is darker than it used to be. That her nails are completely gnawed.
"Annabeth -" She forgets to stop herself, her hand already extending thoughtlessly, fueled by pure reflex - but Annabeth shakes her head.
"I can't be here when he's somewhere, somewhere out there," she says, her voice not breaking, not shaking, not anything. It’s just downright frozen, devoid of any emotion, any sign of life.
Artemis has never seen her like this. Not like this.
Annabeth is only older than her by a year, but somehow most of the time she feels like the more experienced, more mature one between the two of them. More there to give advice, to guide, to train. Artemis has never played that role with Annabeth before, never had a reason to - and she doesn't know how to handle it.
And maybe it's selfish, but she hopes she won't have to deal with it ever again. She doesn't know what to do.
So she just grabs Annabeth's hand, and Annabeth doesn't resist but she's so frozen it's almost as if she does, but Artemis doesn't let go. I'm here. She doesn't know, she'll never know, but she hopes that's enough, at least for now.
She gets back to the computer and opens the page of results matching the photo she scanned. Pictures appear in front of her, dozens, hundreds of pictures, in the streets, in parks, in bus stops, alone, with family, with friends - hundreds of random photos of Percy taken by high-speed cameras on the road or security cameras around shops and houses or any public camera that could be accessed by Mount Justice’s visual search engine.
And none of them were taken less than four months ago.
The newest one was taken in New York, at a desolate bus stop, and its exact date is earlier by a few days than the date Annabeth gave of Percy’s disappearance.
No results.
She turns to Annabeth, and for a moment she’s scared, because what if it takes her cousin over the edge? What if the situation is too bad to deal with? What if Annabeth is better off not knowing?
But Annabeth already knows, of course. Maybe she's known from the beginning. She's looking at Artemis with glassy eyes, and her hand, still in Artemis's palm, becomes utterly limp. Lifeless. Artemis feels something crawling down her throat. Annabeth is not supposed to look so - so broken. She shouldn't look at Artemis with such despair in her grey eyes.
She looks dangerously close to... crying.
"Thanks anyway," Annabeth says quietly, hoarsely. She squeezes Artemis's hand once, her grip cool and surprisingly strong -
And she's already at the door. Artemis doesn't have enough time to ask her what she’s going to do now, or even to say goodbye. Annabeth disappears like mist, as always. Artemis can only do what she always does. Sigh, accept it, and hope that wherever she goes, she won't get hurt.
Wally awakens her to the presence of others in the room when he whistles, his eyebrows raised skeptically. "And who exactly was that?"
Artemis sighs and turns back to the computer. She opens the security cameras livestream, switching cameras until she finds the right one. Annabeth is already almost at the mountain’s exit, walking so quickly and silently she seems to be soaring through the air. Artemis switches to the next camera as Annabeth turns to the next corridor, navigating herself perfectly in the maze of corridors that Artemis had led her through minutes before.
"That's Annabeth," she murmurs. "She's family."
"Family?" Robin asks, and she knows her two teammates immediately think of Sportsmaster and Cheshire when they hear that word in the context of her name. She nods quietly.
"The good kind," she promises without turning around. Annabeth's face looks, strangely, glistening. Artemis swallows and zooms in.
Annabeth doesn't bother wiping them away, and the tears streaming down her face are rapidly followed by others anyway.
If she didn't have such a determined look in her eyes, Artemis would have gotten up right there and then and chased after her.
But she knows better than that. It’s better to leave Annabeth alone at the moment. Her cousin will inform her if anything important comes up, or she’ll request an update in case nothing does. She is a big girl, an extremely independent one. She wouldn’t want Artemis to worry so much about her. That's probably why she fled the room before the taps opened.
A warm hand touches Artemis's shoulder. She closes the security livestream with a sigh and turns to Wally, letting herself be comforted by his touch. He rubs her back and she closes her eyes.
"You okay?" He asks quietly, and she smiles a little, opening her eyes and seeing Robin looking at her with his brow knitted in concern behind her boyfriend. She looks at them both affirmatively.
"A little whelmed, that's all," she smirks. They both smile in response.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Robin asks. She sighs.
"I wish. Thanks, anyway," she replies, and Wally squeezes her shoulder for a moment before letting go. He takes her hand instead.
"Let's go to sleep," he says simply. "I think that's enough for today."
From the bottom of her heart, she agrees.