Artemis

two

ARTEMIS DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN SHE GOT TO TITAN. Of course, she still remembered the planet in its prime, before Thanos had destroyed it, but she had also visited to provide aid to those struggling to live afterwards. When she stumbled onto the dusty battlefield, her breath was stolen from her chest.

There was nothing.

Ruins from the planet she frequently visited as a child loomed in the background, the only spots of color beside the dusty red belonging to the three figures on the ground. Artemis looked around the bare planet, at her companions, who were shocked.

"What, never seen an alien planet before?" Artemis asked the two, sarcasm laced in her voice.

Lilo couldn't tear her eyes from the scenery as they made their way down to the people waiting for a rescue. Alethea couldn't keep her eyes off of Lilo. Artemis ignored them, focusing on the path down from the mound that they arrived on.

One of the figures stood up as they approached, starting to run towards them. "Artemis!"

Artemis's head snapped up from where she was focusing on the not-so-treacherous path she was walking on, and she gasped, breaking into a run. "Quiang! You're alive, thank the gods."

A look of confusion swept across Quiang's face. "You didn't get my message?"

Artemis hung her head. "I did, but I was busy. My father needed help, he was trying to keep the Black Order out of Olympus. Apollo and I were on perimeter duty."

At the mention of Artemis' twin, Quiang perked up. "Did he make it?"

"No." Artemis left it at that, leaving the girl behind. Alethea was quick to take the goddess's place, wrapping her arms around Quiang's small frame.

"Who are you?" Tony Stark's voice resonated throughout the valley, slightly disguising the shake in it.

Artemis knelt in front of the man, casting a glance at her cousin before speaking. "My name is Artemis, goddess of the hunt. I'm here to get you back to Terra before this planet implodes."

"No."

She blinked, not expecting to be turned down. "Mr. Stark, you can't just die here, your planet needs you to fix this."

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Tony exclaimed loudly, standing quickly. His voice rolled over the valley. "Thanos is gone. Half the universe is gone. I don't even know if my team is still alive. And..."

He stared at his trembling hands, covered in dust. Artemis suspected that he held someone as they disintegrated, probably someone close to him. Perhaps that new Spider-Man that her hunters kept her up to date with. "I can't leave. This will all be undone soon and I need to be here for him."

Artemis placed both hands on the billionaire's shoulders, and forced him to look dead into her eyes as she spoke. "Tony Stark, you will get them back. But right now, four billion people are grieving. Four billion people need you home. Your team is alive and in Wakanda, and they need you. Can you go home with me?"

Tony smirked at her wording, eyes looking down. "Will you buy me a drink first?"

She laughed. "Let me get you to Terra and I'll get you whatever drink you want."

"Deal."

"Can I come with you?" The deep voice of Nebula came from behind the pair, causing both heads to turn to her.

Artemis frowned. "You think I would leave my cousin behind? Of course you're coming with us, you can't die yet."

"Wait, the blue chick is your cousin?" Tony asked, pointing between the two girls, his armor receding back to wherever it came from.

"Yeah, my mother was her father's sister, it's complicated. Let's go!"

Artemis motioned to Alethea, Lilo, and Quiang, who were exploring in the area, and the three raced to meet her, bounding across the landscape and using the gravitational anomalies to their advantage. The group made it up the small hill to the door that Artemis and her group had come through originally. Artemis closed her eyes, placed her hand on the knob, and opened the door, pushing into a conference room with about 10 people seated around the table.

The most patriotic of the group (Artemis assumed it was Captain America) stood in confusion, glancing at the six people who had come out of the closet, a backdrop of a different planet behind them.

"Quiang Lim, Nebula! Thought we'd gotten rid of you guys," the voice came from a small, humanoid animal.

"Rocket, nice to see you again. Glad you aren't dead." Quiang acknowledged her teammate, fondly accepting his crude greeting and his tiny 'bro punch' to her leg. "Where's Groot?"

"I'll do you one better, where's Quill?" Rocket countered, unaware of the way that Tony blanched at the exchange. "Groot didn't make it."

"Neither did the rest of our group. I'm so sorry, bud." Quiang tried to comfort him, but Rocket just shrugged it off, clearly not in the mood to talk about it.

"I'm sorry about Tree and your team, Rabbit," Thor said, and Artemis almost shrieked, not expecting her childhood best friend to be alive.

"Thor," she scolded, stalking over to where he was sitting. "That's insensitive and rude. How dare you? I mean, c'mon man. Bad enough you steal my father's thunder, now you're taking shots at a raccoon?"

"I'm not a raccoon!"

Thor stood and scooped Artemis into a hug, lifting her off the ground and nearly crushing the smaller girl in his arms. "I'm glad you're not dead." He released her, placing both hands on her shoulders. "Apollo?"

Artemis looked to the ground. "I thought Olympus would be safe. We have a stagnant population; all demigods reside on their home planets. Apollo turned to dust in my arms. My father is dead."

Thor's grip tightened on her shoulders. "Well, at least I am alive, right? I will help get them back, I swear by Odin's beard."

"Thank you."

"Okay, that was cute, but who the hell are you?"

Everyone looked to the blonde sitting at the conference table. Her feet were on the wooden surface, legs crossed at the ankles. She looked fed up with the whole situation, but it might have been gas.

"I'm Artemis. Half of my people are dead, and I came to the heroes who save the planet for a living to help me bring them back. I have resources and people and an advantage over Thanos." Artemis' watch started to buzz on her wrist, and she glanced at it briefly. "I have to go. Thor knows where to find me. Good luck!"

With that, the silver haired goddess vanished from the room, leaving more questions than answers.

This was hela rough but whatever. Hope you enjoyed.