Always Traught

Get Away

"What can go wrong?" Artemis rasped out as she gave him a small bloody smile. Nightwing shook his head, not knowing if he should glare at her or try to joke with her. He continued to stoke her hair to her head. He wasn't sure if it was to comfort her or him. He was pretty sure it was to sooth both their nerves. Tears slowly streamed down her cheeks and they prickled in his lids.

The mission went south. If there was a lower point, that's where it went. Tera attacked the small team, and Death Stroke arrived soon after with a flock of minions. Dick called for back up, but they arrived too late. Halo and Forager were down. Brion allowed his emotions to get the best of him, and Cyborg still didn't have much control over his powers. It was up to Nightwing, Superboy, Black Lighting, and Tigress to take the lead. With Artemis' guidance, they were able to hold their own till M'gann's team arrived. Success was close, until Tera used the last of her will to throw a boulder Artemis's way. She was in heated battle with Slade and taken off guard. By the time she moved, it was too late.

"Don't say that," Dick tried to give her a small smile, but it was weak at best. His eyes wondered to the giant rock that covered her from her chest down. He wish he was strong enough to lift it up. All they could do was wait for Superboy, Wonder Girl, or M'gann to help them.

"Come on, Boy Wonder. You can't let me get away with everything," The archer teased him, using his old nickname. She continued to smile at him. He could tell it pained her to do so. Many of her bones were broken.

The raven chuckled this time. She seemed to appreciate it, "You know I'll always let you get away."

"Cause you're crazy in love with me?"

"Of course," Artemis hummed in satisfaction. She turned her head to look for help. Dick was searching too. No one but unconscious bodies were around. The fight had spread for meters upon meters. Many members of the team definitely got injured in some way or form. Dick sent messages to all the people that could help them. There was no answer through both the mental link and his communicator.

After a few minutes, the goddess looked back at her long time friend. He reached out for her hand and they knotted their fingers together. The tears from before came back. This time they were more steady. Dick slid off his mask with his free hand. It wasn't Tigress and Nightwing anymore. It was Artemis and Dick, two best friends since high school.

"Please don't leave me," She begged, "I don't wanna be alone." The joking was gone now. The severity of the situation hit her. The stubborn archer was bleeding out, figuratively and literally. And for the first time in years, she was scared. She was scared of death. Would she live another life? Would it be a peaceful one? Or would she be stuck in darkness? Or stuck in an endless cycle of torture?

Dick squeezed her hand when he noticed that she was panicking, "Mai, look at me. You're never going to be alone. As long as I'm breathing, you will never be alone."

"What if I die? I don't want to die," Artemis asked him.

"You won't die for a long time, Mai. You'll live a long life with me by your side."

"You don't know that. You don't-

-You don't want me to let you get away with everything, right? Well, I'm not letting you get away with kicking the bucket on me. The only time you can do that is when I plan it and when it's fake," He flashed her a grin. It seemed to calm her down just a little bit.

Dick tried the mental link again, M'gann, Superboy, Wonder Girl, I need one of you.

On my way, Wonder Girl responded.

"Dick, I'm tired," Artemis murmured, grabbing his attention.

He frowned, "Don't fall asleep. Cassie's on her way. She'll get you out of here." She shook her head weakly.

"Can't," Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her eyelids started to droop and the hold on his fingers loosened. The more Dick examined her appearance, the more warning signs he was starting to see. Her skin was pale from not receiving enough blood and her breathing was slowing down.

"Artemis?" He called out her name, "Come on, Mai, answer me." Dick gently shook her shoulder. And he kept shaking her until Cassie came.

Five days later

"Dick?" The acrobat slowly blinked his eyes open when he heard his name. When they were completely open, he was met with the face of Superboy. He looked passed the clone and recognized where he was. The brown couches, the metal walls, and the smell set of all the alarms in his brain.

"What happened? Where is she?" Dick bolted off of the couch he was sleeping on. Connor caught him and steadied his friend on his feet.

"Calm down, Dick. Artemis' alright," The clone reassured him, "Hell, she already ripped out her IV."

"So follow the sounds of Artemis' yelling?" Dick pulled away and raised an eyebrow at Connor. He nodded, and Dick took off.

"I'm not letting you assholes put another needle in me! And don't think for a second that I won't lunge out of this bed and put one in you! And I'll make sure to hit an artery!" Artemis snapped at the doctor was attempting to but her IV back in. Dick leaned against the doorframe and watched how this would go down. Lucky for the doctor, she backed off and left the two friends in the room.

"You already ripped it out?" He chuckled when they were alone, "I think that's the shortest its ever last."

The blonde shrugged, "One minute after I woke up. The tape stung like a bitch though. Wanna hear of the rest my other injuries?"

"I would love to know," He walked over to the chair by her bedside and sat down. His back was in immediate discomfort. The league really needed to invest in better med-bay seating.

"I broke thirteen ribs, punctured my left lung, and damaged the majority of my right leg. Badly sprained my elbow, too. I was given oxygen and a lot of blood. Like a lot of blood. I really shouldn't be talking or awake cause it hurts, but when do I care?"
 
"You were out for almost a week, Mai. I think you need sometime to be with the living," He squeezed her bicep and fully leaned back. They took some time to not talk, but after awhile she asked,

"How did the mission end?"

"Halo and Forager regained consciousness after a few minutes of being tended too. Bart received an knife to his ankle, but his super healing did most of the work. Cyborg's completely healthy. Black Lightning won't be able to fight for a couple of weeks, though. He broke his wrist, but he gets to spend some quality time with Helga. All the others received some scraps and bruises."

"Tera?" She frowned when she recognized the look in his eyes. They clouded over and darkened. His lips flattened into a straight line and his brows furrowed. He suddenly couldn't look at her.

"She's not coming back from this. She ran off with Slade, clearly making her choice."

"Oh," Artemis muttered. She started to kneed her blanket in between her non-injured fingers.

"Maybe you should rest?" Dick suggested, noticing what she was doing. She really wasn't supposed to be up anyway.

"No."

"Alright."

She scoffed at him, "You always let me get away with everything."

"It wouldn't be us if I didn't," The bird smirked at the goddess.

"Nah, it's because you're crazy in love with me."

"Of course."