The Proposal

Making plans

Racing down the hall from Maria's office in a sprint, Artemis ignores Steve as he calls out for her to stop and wait for him. She continues to ignore his repeated shouts of her name as well as the curious looks of the agents as they stop and stare at them until she hits the stairwell that would lead her outside. The clanging of the metal door shutting behind her has Artemis' feet flying down the stairs at lightning speed. Moving so fast, that to the human eye of those walking past, she was a golden blur. Sort of like Pietro when he runs, only not as fast as the speedster. It wasn't something she'd ever pushed for other than when she was in the field, but she did now. Because as much as Artemis might want the comfort of a friend in Steve she didn't want to see the possible hard distrust in his ocean blue eyes after he'd only ever looked at her with a caring softness.

Lungs and muscles straining Artemis pushes her body harder until she's out of the building somewhere out past the treeline behind the Compound. Then she goes even further into the lush woods. Bypassing the trails going straight for the deepest part of the wooded area surrounding the place she's called home these last few months. Only when she can no longer hear Steve chasing her or the agents out for their runs does Artemis finally slow down to a walk, her legs feeling a bit like jello from the unexpected excursion. Unsure of where exactly she was, Artemis doesn't stray too much further than where she's stopped.

Looking around to see if she can spot one of the many trails etched out for running. Not finding what she was looking for Artemis rolls her lips into her mouth as she takes a steadying breath unafraid, knowing that even if she was lost Steve would eventually find her. Closing her eyes she continues to draw in deep breaths to fill her depleted lungs as everything Maria and Charles told her comes back to the forefront of her mind along with the information in that cursed file.

She was a Crimson Sparrow by birth. But she wasn't in her heart. In her heart of hearts Artemis was the woman who had been raised in Salem, New York by Charles Xavior and Logan and Storm and all the others. They were her family. Not the Sparrows. Not Calliope De La Fontaine. And she wasn't Diana Moineau or De La Fontaine, she was Artemis. No last name. Just Artemis. A last name wasn't needed and even if she did need one, she would take literally any other name than that womans. At least her first name was the same. Snorting at the thought, Artemis' hands come up to clutch at her disheveled hair when it feels like her head is going to explode from being jam packed with knowledge she didn't want but thought she had at one point.

Gasping for air she crouches down next to a tall wide tree as the sufficating feeling of her oxygen being cut off hits her. One hand resting on its rough bark so she doesn't tumble to the leaf strewn ground while she tries to center herself. But it's no use. Feeling cut adrift, Artemis slumps down with her back to the tree pulling her knees up to her chest as she lowers her forehead to them as she wraps her arms around her shins. Everything she thought she knew about herself was a lie. Feeling like nothing will ever be the same again, Artemis lets loose the torrent of emotions swirling inside of her, uncaring if anyone can hear. Not that she expects anyone this far out anyway. Sobbing like her heart is breaking, it's not until Artemis feels the soft brushing of fur that she lifts her pounding aching head to blearily see that she was no longer alone. Silas' luminescent orange eyes stare back as he whines clearly feeling her pain.

Opening her arms she coos at her beloved fox when he scrambles into the space she makes for him, nuzzling his silky furred face into her neck, chittering in distress on her behalf. Artemis buries her face into his side when she can't stop crying, wrapping her arms around his small body tighter as her own shakes with each shuddering breath. Eventually the tears subside into hiccuping sighs as her decision to leave firms itself in her mind. She didn't want to leave. Of course not. But there were just too many factors going against her to make staying the wise choice. Firstly being her biological family. No matter what Maria said it wouldn't matter to the UN review committee. All they would see when they looked at her was the whole problem they'd had with mutants to begin with. So Artemis would make it easier on them all by removing herself to have someone else, someone with a cleaner history than her to take her place. Maybe Kitty or even Yukio. They were a much better fit for the Avengers than she could ever be.