Taken

Chapter 1

Artemis woke up in a haze. The room was dark and her head hurt like a bitch. As she tried to stand, pain erupted throughout her skull and an overwhelming sense of nausea flared within her causing her to fall back onto her knees. She reached up to touch her head but was stopped as metallic bindings hindered her movement. Looking back she discovered that her hands and feet were chained.

Instead of trying to stand again, she decided to observe her surroundings. The room was small. There were no windows, no opening to the outside world, no way out. She spotted one exit as she did a one-eighty of the room, a door with a little slit in the top center. It seemed to be made of thick metal, wider than the walls that enveloped her.

Testing the strength of the chains, Artemis pulled and jerked and wrestled with them until finally, with a frustrated growl, she came to terms with the fact that she wasn't getting out of her restraints easily. Retreating from her failed attempts at escaping, she plopped onto the floor and tried to recall the moments of how she got into this hostage situation.

14 hours earlier...

The sound of the alarm blared throughout the building. Artemis's head snapped up from her desk, the sound jolting her wide awake. She was running on little to no sleep, deciding to stay up the night before adding the finishing touches to her report on the "Captain Cold vs. Flash" debacle that happened last week. Her attention turned toward the large screen at the front of the room.

Her eyes grew wide and her spine straightened in her chair. The screen showed a group of League of Shadow members. Artemis could easily identify every face on the screen. She nearly flinched as Iris came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Artemis, sweetheart, hurry up. I'm putting you on this story," Iris spoke firmly while directing her attention toward her tablet. The woman was a hell of a multi-tasker.

Artemis stood quickly. She couldn't face them. She couldn't do this story without them recognizing her. It's not like they hadn't seen her on the news before, but there's no way they'd pass up the opportunity to say or do something if she was only a couple of feet away from them.

"Oh, I-I'm—" Artemis stuttered but was abruptly cut off.

"Stop sputtering and go," Iris pushed Artemis towards the exit, her cameraman following close behind as Iris waved him down. "Good luck!" She yelled as the glass doors closed.

Once she was on the sidewalk, Artemis' senses shifted into high gear and she grabbed Jimmy, her cameraman, and made a beeline for the first available van. This was happening. She chose the reporter life, she's got to follow through. No way around it now.

She just had to keep her distance and not make eye contact. Maybe they won't recognize her.

"Drive to Kiona Park!" she exclaimed.

As the driver slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, Artemis's nerves jumbled up as she suddenly realized she'd be seeing many familiar faces.

She prayed they didn't recognize her.

As she arrived at the park, Artemis and her crew hopped out of the van and whirled around to face the source of the commotion. Jimmy went live as soon as his shoes hit the pavement.

Before she even faced the scene, it seemed all the commotion stopped behind her.

Artemis turned to see Pied Piper, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, Captain Cold and...and Sportsmaster. Her breath hitched in her throat.

Sportsmaster was here .

He's supposed to be in jail...they're all supposed to be in jail.

Artemis spotted Wally--the Flash, she was still getting used to calling him that, zooming up to the group tauntingly.

"Hey! Who let the dogs out!" he said jokingly.

"We're not here for you," Sportsmaster spoke in that same haunting and daunting sound that sent chills down Artemis' back. "We're here for her."

He nodded towards Artemis and she grew alert that he and his whole entourage had been staring at her. She shifted on the balls of her feet. She didn't think he would notice her if she held her breath and stood still.

Wally stepped in front of the group, holding up his hands to act as a barrier of some sort. "Woah there, guys. The blonde beauty is off limits."

"Artemis," her father called out to her, "you're really going to hide behind a superhero from the inevitable?" He continued taking a step forward, "I thought I taught you better than that."

Artemis glared at him, anger arising within her.

"You taught me nothing," she responded with a low growl.

"That's not true and you know it. I taught you everything that you'd ever need to survive this world like any other daddy would do for his baby girl," he retaliated.

Artemis almost flinched at the nickname. Wally's eyes were on her now, but she didn't look at him. In fact, she narrowed her eyes, intensifying her stare instead.

"It's come to my attention that my little girl is out here playing reporter and flirting with a hero. Do you understand the type of situation you have put me in? The dent you've put in my reputation? No. We simply cannot have that, can we?"

Artemis bit her tongue to refrain from saying anything. She looked to the corner of her eyes to see Wally's eyes, brilliant green and confused. She wanted to tell him. She honestly did. But there are certain things that are better left unknown. Being the daughter of a notorious con artist and assassin who is a part of the biggest group of infamous criminals is...a lot to share. Not to mention the ex-criminal background of her mother and the current criminal background of her sister. Her family history is not something that's easy to think about, let alone talk about.

It's hard to talk about the fact that she had to ditch her "family traditions" and go straight. She had to start from scratch and leave that life behind. There are certain memories that she didn't want to relive through casual familial conversations.

So, she made them stay buried beneath the ground where they belonged. What Wally didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Or so she thought. The look on Wally's face right now, pain and a hint of betrayal, seemed to prove her wrong.

In his eyes looked to be a loss of trust, and suddenly she wished she could go back and tell him everything leading up to this moment.

But the past is exactly that and there was nothing she could do now but brave his shock and anger and try to reconcile later.

If there is a later, that is.

"So, me and my friends here," he gestured to the League members with a sinister smile, "are here to insist on your coming with us."

"I won't go back to the Shadows. You can't make me," Artemis said with a growl.

She didn't want that life for herself and she certainly wouldn't let him try to force it on her now.

Now, she was an adult. Now, she could fight back.

She just hoped she wouldn't lose.

"We'll see about that." Immediately Sprotsmaster lifted his fingers into the air, gesturing some sort of signal. A signal that Artemis remembered very well.

"Everybody get down!"