LOOTING DC #20. Arkham Woods 3
(Jake's POV)
Okay, Jake, chill. You've got Spider sense. That's gotta be good - on the off chance Artemis turns out to be a cold-blooded killer in this timeline.
Everything I know points to one fact - Artemis doesn't kill. At least, not the way villains usually do. She's one of those DC characters with a no-kill rule. That's gotta be an advantage for me.
But yeah, it's not exactly the only thing I'm counting on.
It's not just why I told her to take my head off. It's about belief.
No, maybe it's more hope. I want to believe the connection we had that night doesn't just wash away. I was hoping it'd mean something - build into something.
I mean, I get it. I did say she'd be the death of me if I didn't keep my distance. And clearly, I was onto something.
But here I am, still breathing. She's taking her time. I can only assume she's wrestling with something inside. I can almost see the angel and devil on her shoulders.
Wonder what that devil looks like - probably pretty malevolent.
Anyway, I just hope she picks the side rooting for my continued existence. Angel or devil, I really don't care.
But please - don't make me kill her. Because the minute she decides to gut me…
Oh. She's making her move.
This is it.
🕸️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕸️
(Artemis's POV)
The blade felt surprisingly light in Artemis's hands. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made it feel like her arm could fly - tear through flesh and bone like paper.
This wasn't a hard choice. She was geared for it. Unbelievably ready.
Must be what it felt like to be Cheshire - taking death too lightly. Maybe it was the blade she was holding. One of her sister's. Maybe that was what was turning her into her.
No.
That wasn't what was happening here.
She was still Artemis. Her identity intact. Her mind clear.
The line she'd sworn never to cross had blurred during her time with her father and sister. But now, clarity was striking back. Sharper than ever.
That line-
It should never have existed.
This world was too far gone for mercy.
Her grip on the blade tightened.
This would be an easy one.
She swung.
🕸️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕸️
He saw the blade swing toward his neck - fast.
Jake held still.
It arched through the air, accelerating, somehow catching a glint in the darkness.
He tried not to flinch.
She shifted her hips, subtly, adjusting to the blade's deadly curve. Every hair on Jake's body stood on end. He held his breath.
Tried not to back down.
Tried not to react.
Tried not to blink.
But his eyes squeezed shut. Tight.
So tight he could almost see the back of his own eyeballs - then spiralled into a flood of Eldritch light.
Not light.
Threads that shimmered like silk. Glowing golden strands twisting through a void. An unseen current tugged him along the threads - pulling his soul across a web stretching into infinity.
Then: images.
A woman smiling at him. A man laughing, ruffling a young Jake's hair. A warm kitchen. The smell of microwaved noodles.
'Mom? Carl?...' Jake thought, reeling
And then the threads snapped tight - at the very end of the line.
There, a figure stood. Feminine. Wrapped in a blazing white cloak, surrounded by crackling, chaotic energy. Her shadow-wings humming with the same energy that thrummed through the web. Above her head hovered the white, shadowed shape of a bird's skull - something like a crow's - tilted slightly as it gazed to the girl's left. The glowing threads bowed to her will, stretching in the direction of the skull's gaze, as if following an unseen guide.
She reached for him. Hand outstretched. Calling. Beckoning him to let go.
His spider-sense, buzzing for what felt like forever, now detonated.
'Crap,' Jake realized. 'My life just flashed before my eyes.'
No way this was good.
Artemis was really going to do it.
His mind froze - thoughts, feelings, any spark of emotion drained away. He went numb. Just for a second.
And that's all it took
🕸️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕸️
KRUNCH-SHRAAAAKK!
The sound echoed through the woods - like a wet log splitting down the middle, followed by the slap and drag of a butcher's floor.
A shrill, panicked scream burst from the man who'd been whole just seconds ago - and cut off halfway. Blood misted the trees in a wide arc. Limbs didn't fall - they flopped, jagged and twitching, like they were confused to be apart.
Sportsmaster watched, jaw tight, teeth grinding.
Killer Croc stood over what was left of the man - someone who used to be all jokes and noise. Now just pulp. Croc's jaws hung open, wider than any human's should, red chunks caught between yellowed teeth. His chest rose and fell in slow, thunderous drums. No rage. No joy.
Just the trance.
"Keep your damn dog on a leash, Ivy," Sportsmaster barked, barely sparing her a glance. "At this rate, he's gonna wipe us out next."
Poison Ivy was already moving, spores spilling around her as she approached Croc, voice soft and syrupy.
"He keeps slipping deeper into the trance state," she said, gently. "It's a miracle he holds it together at all."
"Don't feed me excuses." Sportsmaster's voice turned into a growl. "He's already shredded the last of the prisoners. That's on you."
Ivy shot him a cold glance, something dangerous flickering behind her eyes - but she let it slide with a shrug.
"Worried he'll do the same to your sweet daughters?" she said, faux-sweet as Croc's eyes came back. "Or are you just mad they haven't come crawling back?"
Sportsmaster didn't answer.
"I mean, that Spider kid seems charming..." Ivy continued, pretending to muse. "But something about him? Real shadows-under-the-mask vibe. He could be a cold-blooded killer."
She leaned closer, voice like velvet-wrapped poison.
"Which would mean..." Ivy smiled. "...you're not exactly parent of the year for sending both your daughters after him."
Rattle.
Sportsmaster's chain slithered out, threatening the air between them.
"Careful," he snarled. "You're sounding real comfortable with your neck where it is."
Ivy didn't flinch. "Why is he worth the trouble anyway?" she asked, voice smooth as moss. "Doesn't look like much."
"I don't believe in coincidence," Sportsmaster said, flat and gruff. "And I don't like anything slipping through my fingers."
"You must have a lot of bad days, then," Ivy mused, smile thin.
She paused, then added thoughtfully, "And something tells me… this might be your worst one yet."
Sportsmaster didn't rise to the bait. Just grunted - and ground his teeth.
Savage better be ready to triple the pay.
🕸️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕸️
He didn't feel the blade kiss his neck. Or when it stopped - abrupt, faltering - just shy of drawing blood. Like she'd changed her mind. Like whatever liability he posed wasn't worth becoming her downfall. Or maybe it was something else.
He was too busy panicking. Trying to make his sore, limp body cooperate before he became old news.
His spider-sense didn't help either. As if detonating once wasn't enough, it was now screaming at the top of its lungs. Death was still very much in his corner.
And sure as hell, it was.
"That's a bummer," a voice called from above, cool and teasing. "I really thought you were going to do it this time, sis."
Jake's head jerked upward - too slow.
A shadow dropped from the darkness overhead.
His spider-sense went red-hot.
Two glints of steel - blades - zeroed in on him from overhead. He felt them before he saw them, their killing intent so sharp it burned.
Shit!
Webs refused to come out.
Crap-sacks.
I am really going to die.
He braced. Eyes shut tight. Limbs locked. Waiting for the end.
KKKRRRLLLLIIING!
The screech of metal slamming metal exploded beside his ears. It was deafening, jarring - close.
Warmth bloomed at the back of his neck, and for a second, he thought it was blood.
But no pain came.
Had his suit's kinetic shielding reactivated? Or-
No.
Artemis had moved.
She'd stepped between him and the blades, catching the incoming strikes with her own daggers. The twin weapons locked midair, just inches from his throat.
For a heartbeat, the pressure held - blades grinding against each other, muscles tense, neither side giving an inch.
Then the attacker flipped, pivoting mid-air on the locked daggers. She used the clash as a fulcrum, redirecting her weight into a fluid, controlled landing to Jake's side, her eyes already blazing beneath her mask.
Jake's eyes snapped open in stunned relief. Cold sweat slicked his neck as his spider-sense finally downgraded from DEFCON 1 to a jittery, static buzz.
Time to process.
Artemis had hesitated to kill him. That was something. Jake's hope flickered back online - small, shaky, but alive.
But now Cheshire was here. And the fact that Artemis had chosen to protect him?
That meant only one thing: This wasn't going to end well.
Coming between sisters never does.
"Tch." Cheshire spat, disgust dripping from every syllable.
Artemis exhaled - steady, calm, controlled.
Streak? Day 3/10
Come find me in Patreon for more: Patreon.com/MimicLord