#🏹 ∘ ◦ — 「 undefined. 」

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @yjstce / cameron mahkent. ❝ this isn’t supposed to matter. you’re not supposed to matter. ❞ meme || accepting!

It's cold.

But the frost is something she finds comfort it, no matter how it pricks at her skin or the way her breath spirals out of her mouth every time she exhales. She's used to it, and she finds herself longing for this cold.

And even after all this time, the source of it still makes Artemis freeze.

She's taken aback by what he says. How they stand nowadays on opposite sides, with him crumbling under the pressures of his father while she had barely managed to escape from the same fate. And even after everything, she stares at him in the same way she did when she was fourteen.

Grey meets blue. Storm meets blizzard.

❝ Neither are you, ❞ Artemis grits out and she rolls her head back. Her eyes remain fixated on his, the jagged edges of his icy armour so unlike the softer edges that she knows like the back of her hand.

But he is.

She all but drops her bow and her next actions are beyond her thinking. She stalks over to him, hands bare and wide and grasping the jaw. Her skin wants to yield beneath the ice but she doesn't relent and she forces him to look at her.

❝ Come with me, ❞ she finally says, gaze boring into his. ❝ You don't have to do this shit anymore. Your dad doesn't matter, Cam. Come with me! ❞

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @websof / peter parker. ❛  alright, is there anything else we have to do before they arrive?  ❜ meme || accepting!

The entire past month had been hectic.

Artemis had uprooted her life more than once. Moving from Gotham to Palo Alto for college and then once more to Star City to help her brother-in-law with Lian. That had been relatively easy in comparison. But here she is now, completely setting up something that is not entirely her own. To share a space so intimately with someone she already loves so much has left her anxious and excited all at once. She can only imagine how Peter is feeling.

They haven't really had a chance to talk about it.

Especially since today had been more chaotic than everything put together.

M'gann insistence that they throw a housewarming party had left them scrambling to clean. To hide boxes that had remained unpacked and their trash already filled to the brim because of the others they'd need to set up.

She grumbles and she collapses onto the couch, opening her eyes to stare up at the man. ❝ I think so, ❞ she replies after an irate sigh. ❝ My mom's going to complain either way and I think we have enough food. We just need to get ready. ❞

Her hands rise to cover her eyes and she groans into them. ❝ Is it too late to cancel? We haven't had the chance to even enjoy our own place yet. ❞

This is not what she had in mind when she had first broached the idea of her and Peter moving in together.

[fatehunted]

❝ I had that, ❞ Tigress grits out. Her boots are heavy against the concrete, no ounce of her usual grace present in her steps as she stalks over to confront her unwanted ally. The slits of her mask display hardened, steely eyes. She is in no mood to play. Not tonight.

Her glares doesn't relent. ❝ Did I look like I needed any help? ❞

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @protgnst / jade nguyen. "You won’t walk away unscathed." meme || accepting!

Identical, grey eyes that shine steely. So identical to her own and yet they are further shielded. Artemis remembers those eyes used to look at her and she could read what her sister was thinking. And now, as they stare at each other from opposite sides, she isn't sure what is going through Jade's mind.

She forces herself to release a breath and her gaze hardens behind her mask. Her body follows suit and tenses, for the forthcoming threat isn't one she wants to be unprepared for. Jade had always been the more agile fighter—faster, quieter. Artemis' strengths had always fallen more to power and aggression behind her swing.

She hates that it has come to this.

❝ I'm not the same person you left behind, Jade, ❞ Artemis replies. Her blade is drawn, a more polished stance than when they sparred as children. ❝ Even after everything Sportsmaster put us through, we came out on top. We don't have to do this. ❞

She wants things to be different.

She doesn't want to fight Cheshire.

Artemis no longer wants to be Alice.

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @speedconduit / wally west. Laying in bed next to her, he watches as she sleeps; as if sensing he's awake, she shuffles closer, greedy fingers seeking his warm skin. He happily slips an arm about her middle, tugging her closer. Lips at her ear, her murmurs, "Wakey-wakey, babe..." unprompted || always accepting!

Artemis grunts in protests and creases her brows as she pulls him against her. She curls into him so that she can ignore his attempt to coax her out of her slumber and hopefully bring him back to bed with her. She is not normally someone that sleeps in, usually an early riser, but she is far too comfortable to leave the beautiful cloud that is their shared resting place.

❝ Five more minutes, babe, ❞ she groans, sighing as she feels the heat of his skin against her own. It is so soothing, especially against the frost she is so used to sleeping against. He has always made life so much better. If heaven was a paradise, then what was life already with the love of her life at her side?

A deep exhale escapes her and she opens one eye slightly, looking up at him. ❝ Hm? ❞ she hums, as though prompting him for him to elaborate what it is he wants with her.

[fatehunted]

➳ — s.c. @brujaroja / amparo oaxaca.

This is not how Artemis had thought her evening would end. It's a Thursday night, where normally she would be in bed reading or prepping for tomorrow's class and yet... Here she is in a whole other country. Fighting against someone who clearly has a point to prove and does it by making herself powerful.

When Conner had first approached her about joining a mission to investigate a claim of Apokolips technology on Earth as detected by Cyborg from the Watchtower, she had thought sure, why not? A simple intel gathering mission as support that involved investigating a lead and she'd be home by 10. She hates it when she underestimates. Cyborg is more tapped into Apokolips technology than anyone aside from Halo because of his being fused with a Father Box and Sphere had reacted when they had flown close.

Artemis grits her teeth as she reloads her crossbow, dodging a particularly nasty-looking blow as she does. Once it's locked and loaded, she handsprings back and aims.

❝ Are you going to tell me where you got it or are we here to play games? I'm not in the mood to play! ❞ Too reckless, maybe. But Artemis can hold her own well enough.

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @spoilante / stephanie brown. ❛ do you think we're gonna survive this? ❜ meme || accepting!

Artemis doesn't know where they had gone wrong.

This was supposed to be a simple scouting mission, one that required them to gather intel and then deliver it to the Justice League to help with an investigation. LexCorp's previous attempts to re-release the Reach drink under a new name had already been thwarted once, and yet they had suspected it was being distributed again with even further suspicious agents attached.

Get in there. Identify what the drink was further laced with. Get out.

But it turned out to be so much bigger.

She tries to remain calm and focuses her on keeping her breathing even. Her cheek had started to swell from an earlier encounter that had landed her and Spoiler behind bars, arms bound by cuffs and leaving them chained to bedrock. The metal clatters as she shifts in an attempt to ease her aching joints.

❛ do you think we're gonna survive this? ❜

The question gives the archer pause. She sometimes forgets how young some of her teammates are. Stephanie, though not new to being a vigilante, still had not been exposed to the horrors of the world as much as the senior members have. Artemis strains her ears so that she can hear the rise and fall of the younger woman's chest, still ringing slightly from the earlier battle.

❝ You're not alone down here, Spoiler, ❞ Artemis says. Her voice echoes but she's sure Stephanie can hear her. Her chains rattle again when she tries to to pull further against her restraints so that she can see her teammate. ❝ We're going to get out of here. I'll get you home safe. ❞

She glances around again she tries to formulate a plan. Neither of them have have super strength like Conner or Kaldur. Nor could she potentially melt the metal off by creating friction like Wally does with his super speed or morph into another creature like M'gann to slip out easily. She wishes she kept a lock-pick in her gloves like Dick did.

❝ Don't freak out on me yet," she says. She lowers her voice. ❝ I have an idea, but not much past getting these fucking things off. ❞

She pushes her head up towards where her hands are bound, careful to keep her movements slow so as to not alert the camera she's sure is keeping an eye on the both of them. She holds her breath, her grey eyes fixated on the lenses, fingers combing against her scalp as though just scratching until she finds exactly what she's looking for.

Bingo.

Artemis grits her teeth as she twists the bobby pin in her fingers and slides herself back down to the floor. The chains clatter again, but she's more focused on getting them out of there than anything else. Her brows furrow as she attempts to at least find the keyhole. Lockpicking is harder when she can't see what the hell she's doing.

❝ How are you doing there, Spoiler? Hanging in there? ❞ Talk to me, Steph, she thinks. Despite there being no mind link, the urge to encourage her to think positively only persists the archer to work faster. ❝ Are you hurt? ❞

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @snkts / logan. 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇   𝐎𝐑   𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒 meme || accepting!

Artemis glances at the man before her, gaze raking over his form. There is something animalistic about him that leaves him easy on the eyes. She quirks a brow as she studies him.

He might be a little older, and he seems to have seen his fair share of the world. Like he knows something about it, all of the hidden wiles and mysteries that remain from prying eyes. Wild and unruly with an attitude to match. Sounds right up her alley.

Not to mention, the sharp claws are strangely attractive.

So she smirks. ❝ Smash. ❞

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @yjstce / jade nguyen. ❝ there are better hills to die on, but i’ve always had a flair for the dramatic, so this one? this one suits me just fine. ❞ meme || accepting!

Artemis' feelings towards Jade are complicated. And they have been so since she first snuck out of their bedroom window, more concerned with her toothbrush than the wellbeing of her younger sister or their mother. She hates how everyone seems to be enthralled by every single syllable that falls from her sister's lips and she hates how the eyes that are so identical to her own physically are so different.

She almost can never truly tell exactly what Jade is thinking.

❝ It's a shit one to choose, ❞ Artemis snaps, her tone snide and irritable. ❝ You always make choices that you don't think through fully, don't you? We're not kids anymore, Jade! ❞

Her gaze softens and her body language loosens, and she suddenly feels like she is nine years old all over again, seeking comfort from the person who promised to be there for her no matter what. But the cold says otherwise.

Mad as hatters. Maybe not.

She thinks of Cheshire. Of the contracts she takes from the Great One and that she had taken missions alongside their father.

And she's angry all over again.

[fatehunted]

➳ — @yjstce / conner kent replied:

not cool :/

❝ Conner, how many times do you want me to say it? I really am sorry. Are you going to pout at me forever? ❞

[fatehunted]

incoming transmission ... :: from @speedconduit / wally west. He leans in close, angling his head so that his lips are at her ear, he murmurs, "That's a trick question. We both know that I can make you blush…" His hands settle on her hips, squeezing gently. "…if I play my cards right…" Inhaling slowly, he blows an intentional breath at her lobe, before finishing his sentence. "All I gotta do is let you know how lucky I am to have you in my life, mm, Beautiful?" With a cheeky chuckle, he pulls away, but not before placing a quick kiss to her cheek. reference / unprompted || always accepting.

The breath against her ear is enough to make her freeze and the confident smirk Artemis had been wearing slips. Her body tenses as he idles up beside her, his lips right there. Artemis cannot kee[p herself from faltering leaning back because she wants to see him.

❝ Wally... ❞ she starts, but it's all that falls from her lips when the redhead begins to speak. And she hates that he's right. She tries not to shiver but the moment his large hands grip her hips and he exhales against her hair, she's done.

She closes her eyes but she cannot ignore the burning that creeps up her olive skin to rest upon her cheeks. Her fist curls against his shoulder and her body relaxes. She can't stop the surprised gasp that leaves her when he continues, and her nickname all but does it for her. The low rumble of his voice as Wally speaks is enough to make the blonde melt and her knees buckle.

He's a smooth fucker.

As soon as he steps back and the warmth he had enveloped her with tapers off, her eyes open and sharpen.

❝ Wally! ❞ she says again, but this time, her tone is angry and loud. Really, the more common way his name echoes from her mouth.She grabs the nearest thing to her—Lian's Kid Flash doll—and aims it towards him. But he easily darts out of the way with an infuriating laugh, his lips against her cheek.

❝ You're an asshole! Get back here! ❞

God, she loves hates him.

[fatehunted]

❝ Your dad has earned nothing! ❞ Artemis yells back. She wishes she could throttle him. Cameron's relationship with his father was so vastly different to the one Jade and Artemis had with Crusher. While they hated him, the metahuman seemed desperate for his approval, as though his entire reason for living depended on Joar's thoughts on his son. ❝ After everything he put you through? They thrive on fear—you know that better than anyone! ❞

Artemis can't help but wince at the cost as it creeps up her arms. She hisses, using the palms of her hands to rub warmth back into her wrists. It reminds her so much of when he was still learning how to control his powers, how his heightened emotions meant more power without any restraint.

Her eyes rise up to meet his as he speaks of her escape. How she had managed to leave it all behind for a better life while he remained stuck. Her lip twists into something resembling guilt, for she had been consumed by her own emotions and circumstances. Paula finally returning home and leaving Crusher. Being tracked down by Batman. Moving to Gotham Academy and away from her friends.

❝ I'm not innocent either, ❞ she replies finally, trying to swallow at the thick lump that assumes her throat. Such memories haunt her nightmares. ❝ What makes us so different? I never did it directly, but there's just as much blood on my hands as there are yours. ❞

She tentatively reaches out towards him again and brushes skin, and this time, she doesn't flinch.

She stares at him, determined. ❝ That didn't hurt, ❞ she says, surging on and interlacing her fingers between his, weaving them together. ❝ This isn't either. ❞

Her expression is set, willing for him to hear what it is she is trying to say. She ❝ I'm not going anywhere. You... You matter to me too. That hasn't changed. It's not too late. ❞

❝ my dad earned RESPECT !! ❞ Cameron snaps . every lecture his father had drilled into his mind all his life rushes back at once . ❝ everyone at Belle Reve treats him like a king . nah, he’s not a free man, but he’s still RESPECTED . nobody ever crosses him, ever treats him like some punk . yeah, he’s stuck in there, but that just means I can earn that kinda respect out here . ❞

that grip tightens, ice begins to gather on his hands . onto Artemis . and for a moment his resolve cracks, quickly pulling away to avoid MAJOR DAMAGE . because he knows all too WELL how badly he can hurt people . the anger falters, cooling down a bit to ruminate her words .

there’s a wave of GUILT . for his sharp words, his roughness that’s a product of their shared history . for a moment he seems more like the child she once knew, one who tried to resist the dark .

❝ … our dads were bad . I’m not that dumb, I can see that . ❞ for a moment he lifts a hand to reach for her with a more gentle touch, but stops, and drops his arm .

❝ but you’re not like Crusher or Joar . you got GOOD in you . and you’re badass enough to actually get out of the shadows . ❞ he tries to smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes . ❝ but me ? I’m like them . people are DEAD because of me, Artemis . that’s not something you just go back from . ❞

he can cover his hands with layers and layers of jagged ice, but it will never erase the blood he KNOWS is there . the people the shadows demanded the death of . the ones Joar lined up for Cameron so he ‘ learn a lesson ‘ . his own sibling, though accidental, was the true turning point where he KNEW he was irredeemable . ( and if he was, he may as well be the BEST at it, as his father would put it . )

his voice breaks a little . ❝ you matter to me way more than anybody else, even after … all the shit that’s happened . that’s why it’s a stupid idea to be around me . because I’ll hurt you too . you’re the only person I don’t WANT to hurt, Artemis . so I wish … you’d quit being so stubborn and just stay away . ❞

[fatehunted]

He is far too okay with this. Artemis slumps further into the couch, a lot more comfortable than anything she had had before. She'd be happy to sleep on the cushions if their bed wasn't also just as, if not more, comfortable. In fact, it's all she wants to do—have a peaceful night that will lead to her cuddling up to him without having to worry about how early she has to get up in the morning to not only pack, but travel to the local zeta tube to make it to work on time.

She would like one night where its them simply enjoying the other's company with the knowledge that they'll keep coming home to each other every evening. Artemis exhales as he kisses her forehead, opening her eyes to look up at him. How he managed to keep it together, she would never know.

But Artemis has found that she likes unravelling that mystery.

❝ You're way too optimistic, ❞ she replies sarcastically, but she's smiling nonetheless and her tone has a teasing bite. He had a soft spot for her mother, a feeling of which Paula returned. ❝ You know what she's going to say. I couldn't even host Thanksgiving last year without her commenting on my seasoning choices. Still, I hope everyone likes it here as much as we do. Your aunt does, at least. ❞

She checks her watch and sits up, gaze following him as he moves around the space. ❝ Come sit down with me for a bit? ❞ she asks, resting her chin on the back of the couch. ❝ There's still a bit of time before we have to change and everyone arrives. ❞

     it  wasn't  fair  that  he  was  only  allowed  a  moment  to  appreciate  the  sight  of  her  in  their  new  place.  he  wanted  one  snapshot  of  her,  no  longer  having  to  count  the  days  he  had  with  her  until  one  of  them  had  to  leave.

     laughing  quietly  at  her  question,  "  believe  me,  i  wish  we  could  .  .  .  well--half  wish  we  could.  "  picking  up  the  last  set  of  boxes  that  they  had  sitting  out  so  he  could  carry  them  off  to  the  coat  closet.  still  talking  to  her  as  he  walked  away.  "  your  mom's  been  wanting  to  see  our  place  since  we  started  house  hunting.  "

     walking  back  into  their  living  room,  stopping  behind  the  couch  so  he  could  quickly  lean  down  and  kiss  her  forehead.  "  it'll  be  fun.  and  even  if  it  isn't,  we  can  only  get  better  at  throwing  house  parties  from  here,  right?  " 

[fatehunted]

She should have expected such a reaction from him. He had fallen into the trap their fathers had laid for them, left him with no choice. Artemis had been offered a hand, a way to leave. She had people behind her that she could rely on.

Artemis was supposed to be the person Cameron could rely on. And he wasn't taking the lifeline.

She watches as his emotions change, processing not only seeing her but what she is saying in real time. She holds her breath, hoping that she is drawing the wrong conclusion. Except Artemis knows him about as well as she knows.

The fingers that tighten around her forearms is tight and icy as his tone, but her eyes don't leave his. She knows she'll bruise, because Icicle can be as brutal as the one who had bestowed him with the name. He's trying to block her out, to keep her from reaching for him. Resigning himself to sit on sharp mountain peaks with the blistering wind as his only companion. No sun to be accounted for.

❝ What did he earn? You think he's gonna bail your father out of Belle Reve? ❞ she says, her tone as sharp as the ice that encases his jaw, his arms. Armour. She sneers at him, but her eyes remain open. They are slightly glassy now and she wills for him to take. Her hands drop from him but they remain as they had been when she had clutched his face.

❝ You matter without all that, ❞ she tries again. Her brows furrow. ❝ At least to me. ❞

The blonde is silent after that. She stares him with an incredulous expression. To say such a thing to her felt worse than any blade that had been plunged into her chest.

❝ My 'father' was never a father, ❞ she spits. Cameron had known exactly all that she had suffered under him. His story was so similar. ❝ Fathers don't treat their children the way our sperm donors treated us. Joar is no better than Crusher! They only care about their reps! ❞

her hands SCORCH on his face, rays of unrelenting sun beating on melting ice caps .

he can’t make eye contact for long, long moments . the strong Artemis he knew, raised by Crusher, would never discard a weapon in the face of her ENEMY . ( as much as he didn’t want it to be so, they were enemies now, weren’t they ? ) when he finally locks eyes with her, he feels like he’ll MELT .

she’s the first girl he ever liked . his first friend, really . people who could bond over INDOCTRINATION and daddy issues . one who he fought viciously in training, but he still held cold hands over the wounds he’d given her afterwords .

she’d gotten out . she had defected from her father, and ABANDONED the shadows for the heroes — and left him, too, in one fell swoop .

❝ no . ❞ his hands grab her wrists, pulling them from his face . his gaze is cold again, steeling himself .

and his grip is that of Icicle Jr., rather than Cameron Mahkent . ❝ don’t you get it ? my dad matters . WAY MORE THAN ME . because he’s earned it . I’m HAPPY you got a good thing going, Arty . I really am . ❞ he’s sincere at least, he’s never stopped caring for her even when she left . but maybe her time with the heroes has made her FORGET why he’s here at all, and it’s up to him to remind her .

❝ but I can’t be happy and matter . and I want to MATTER more than anything . some of us can’t just LEAVE THEIR FATHERS BEHIND . so you should do what you do best and go . ❞

[fatehunted]

Tigress inhales through her mouth, a reminder to keep herself calm. She should not be reacting in such a way to someone she is supposed to help guide. Especially to the extent that she can see Spoiler taking a step back from being in the range of her temper.

She follows Spoiler's line and makes eye contact with Black Canary. Her anger tapers off slightly and she sighs.

❝ Okay, okay, ❞ she begins. She collapses her crossbow and pushes it into the opening of her boot, her gaze moving back to Spoiler. ❝ You saw an opening. You went for it. ❞ Be like Canary, be like Canary...

How does Dinah do this? Her degrees did not teach her this. Is her stepmother judging her?

❝ You were in my line, Steph, ❞ she continues after she takes a breath. ❝ But I shouldn't have reacted like that. That was... a shitty thing to do. ❞

BROWS LIFT WARILY AT the blonde's aggressive demeanor. Lowering her fist from the hologram in front of her, Spoiler retreats a step as Tigress approaches her. Immediately, she lifts her palms in a display of surrender to try and placate the older female.

❝ Woah, there, I was just following BC's training... ❞ Glancing over her shoulder at their occasional den mother, part-time combat trainer, Steph groans as all she receives is a shrug. ❝ No need to get so angry that I hopped in on her orders... ❞