Sparks Fly [Book Two in the "Fire And Lighting" Series]

Chapter Eighteen- Secrets Revealed

March 20, 2016. 01:22
Mount Justice
~~Willow~~

"I don't care where you go or where you hide. I will find you, and I will make you suffer before I make you pay in full for breaking Emma's heart like this."

———-

I was afraid of this.

I knew that this would happen.

"Why didn't I do anything?"

She was dead.

The others. Tula, our one and only Aquagirl. Jason, the second Robin. Ted Kord, the previous Blue Beetle. And now Artemis. Would the list never end?

While the others were mourning in the living room, I sat down in the grotto. I sat looking up at Artemis's holographic memorial.

I did my best not to cry. If anyone tried to mess with this memorial, they would pay. I lit a small fire in front of the memorial as a sort of offering, a little something in memory of my big sister.

'Do a tiger!'

'A dragon!'

Was it really only five hours ago that I'd been laughing with Artemis and Emma and having fun with my powers? It all seemed so childish now. Watching my parents die, watching Royston die, the pain did not even begin to compare to what I was feeling now. The loss of a girl who had been one of those to take me in, to shelter me.

"The dawn will never rise again..." I muttered, remembering a song my mother used to sing to me after Royston died.

Soft, ninja-like footsteps approached me from behind, and I instantly leaped up

"Get back!" I warned the intruder, I held out my first towards them, feeling the warmth of the flame crawling over my body. Except this time, it didn't warm me as much as it used to.

"Ack!" The intruder exclaimed in protest. "Willow, Willow! It's only me! You don't have to defend her from me!" I relaxed only slightly as the flames cast Nightwing into the light.

"Tradition is tradition." I huffed, resuming my vigil in front of the holographic memorial. Someone has to protect her through the night. Slowly, carefully, Richard took a seat cross-legged next to me.

We sat in a strange silence for almost a full minute before he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Hey...I was just wondering...Do you want to come with me...to tell Wally?"

I shook my head adamantly, "If I leave, then I can't make sure her spirit is safe." I wrapped my arms around my legs and looked back up at the statue. At her lifeless brown eyes.

Nightwing put a hand on my shoulder, "Willow, Artemis is a fighter. She'll make it on her own. Besides, there are plenty of people to help her and protect her spirit," he gave a weak grin.

Well, someone's got to tell Wally. And Rick seems pretty desperate for backup. Not to mention that I was incredibly cramped for sitting in that position for so long. Not that I'd ever admit that to anyone. Artemis meant to much to me and to everyone else who'd fought alongside her to be complaining about remembering her.

"Okay..." I whispered at last "I'll go."

———-

"Why are we here?"

For some reason, the zeta-tubes thought it would be funny if we ended up at Blüdhaven instead of at Palo Alto, where, until recently, Artemis and Wally had lived together.