LOOTING DC #35. The Scion Part 2
She was still lurking in the shadows when the tension broke.
Damian - he hadn't changed. Still as stubborn as ever.
She should know. You could almost call them childhood friends.
Body language was her first and primary language. And right now?
She could read it clear as daylight - Damian was taking this fight seriously. Like he took everything.
But whether he was ready or not, one thing was certain:
His opponent was dangerous.
Her eyes fixed on the black-suited figure across from Damian.
She couldn't make out much in the dark, but what she did see told her plenty.
His build was clean, athletic. His suit clung like a second skin. His stance? Low, fluid - pure agility. He'd flipped midair with precision, moved on instinct, reacted without hesitation. When Damian's heel kick landed, he barely flinched.
That alone said everything.
He was tough.
But not just that - his muscle control was calculated. Every twitch, every movement looked regulated. Like he was holding back. Suppressing power.
He had superhuman strength.
That was obvious.
And more than that... something else. He'd come through a portal. There was a hum around him.
Magic. Not overt - but there. Tightly leashed.
He had powers she hadn't accounted for.
And an ace curtained behind the magic.
Damian didn't stand a chance.
But she knew Damian. Knew him better than anyone. Even if the odds were zero - he'd never back down. Even if it meant death, he'd welcome it with pride. That anger inside him? It was always his ally. And his greatest enemy.
She might've liked that once.
But it was still stupid.
And letting him charge to his death - that was failure. Her mission failure.
So when he charged-
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(Artemis' POV)
What was with him?
No seriously - what the hell was wrong with him?
Artemis didn't understand half of what was going on. Portals, magic ropes, chaos storms - whatever. But that didn't make this mess any less insane.
It was just one fight after another. Always clashing. Always swinging.
She didn't even know him that well. The Spider. He was a puzzle with no pattern - a chaos map she'd never finish.
Following her to Oolong Island for no reason?
Exactly the kind of wild, reckless thing he'd do.
And now this? Fighting Robin like it was personal?
She didn't get it. Not really.
Robin looked just as committed. Like hurting the Spider was more important than breathing.
What had happened between them?
She didn't know.
But she knew this much -
She was worried.
Worried the Spider would lose it. Go full rage. Go too far.
She'd seen him battle Wonder Woman.
If he let go?
Robin wouldn't make it out.
And what if he did snap? What if he got twisted by all that chaos in him, went dark, became something else?
That didn't seem like him.
He was the guy who let her aim for his throat.
The guy who took arrows and kept walking.
The guy who showed up when no one else did.
The guy who saved Lian.
Artemis didn't know what "good" meant anymore. But she knew the Spider wasn't bad. Not really. Not all the way. And if he lost himself now, threw it all away...
That wouldn't be fair.
This was her chance - to stop that.
To give back just a few inches of what he'd done for her.
So when Robin charged-
And Jake matched him-
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Before either could collide-
Two women moved.
One green and blonde.
The other a shadow, silent and black.
They landed between the two brutes simultaneously - each facing the one they came to stop.
There was no time to question motives.
The air stayed still between them, unbothered, uninterested in tension. Neither woman acknowledged the other - their focus locked on their targets, backs nearly touching.
But Artemis noticed her. The shadow.
Recognition flickered - brief but real. Still, she didn't linger on it.
She raised a hand toward Jake - palm up, firm and commanding.
Almost at the same moment, the shadow girl did the same to Damian.
Only hers was less dramatic. Her hand floated up half-heartedly, more dismissive than firm, like she didn't even care if it worked.
Jake and Damian had to kill momentum fast - forced to pull their attacks, bodies recoiling to avoid crashing into the two.
Jake let out a short breath, his mouth twisting into a crooked, reluctant smirk at the sight of Artemis.
Damian, by contrast, was seething - jaw clenched, veins popping.
He barely even acknowledged the girl in front of him. Just rage. Just forward.
And then-
Almost like they shared the same invisible thread, both women spoke.
"Idiot!"
"Idiot."
Same word. Same beat.
But the delivery? Not even close.
Artemis' voice was sharp - raised, tight with worry and exasperation.
The other girl's voice was low, lazy, almost broken - like speaking was foreign to her tongue. And after that one word, she didn't speak again. Not aloud.
Roy didn't blink. "What the hell is this now?"
One second he was holding a bow. The next, he was holding Lian while watching cinema unfold in front of him.
"What are you- trying to kill him?" Artemis barked at Jake.
Jake blinked. The question caught him off-guard.
"…We hadn't even started," he said slowly, almost confused by the tone. Then shrugged. "But I guess… yeah?"
Across the line, Damian faced a silent reprimand of his own.
The girl didn't speak - but she didn't have to. Her body did.
A tilt of her hips.
A swirl of her hand.
A slow drop of her head, slight but precise.
It translated to: "You're going to get killed, idiot."
Tt.
Damian gritted his teeth.
"That's none of your business," he snapped. "Move."
Her posture answered him clearly:
"I won't."
He almost barked a threat - almost.
But held back. Because of who she was.
Still, his rage clawed to be let loose. And she just stood there. In his way.
He swallowed hard. "I thought the Orphan had better things to do than show up uninvited."
Meanwhile-
"What do you mean yeah?!" Artemis was almost yelling now.
"Are you insane?"
Jake scratched his neck.
"Well, he did say he'd kill me too. So, it's fair. And anyway, I'll have to sacrifice him eventually. So…"
Artemis stared at him. Words failed her.
Was he even hearing himself?
From teasing her to kill him, to saving Lian, to casually talking about murder like it was breakfast?
She almost smacked him. Or pinched him. Or something. Anything to shake the madness out of him.
...
The Orphan moved again - just a slight shift of weight, a quiet command.
"I'm here on business."
"And I'm taking you back."
Tch.
Damian's lips curled into a cruel smile.
He knew this game.
He resists.
She insists.
He pretends to fold.
She stays firm anyway.
Because she knew him. Better than most.
She knew he'd never back down.
So?
To hell with it.
He lunged - but now his target was her.
The Orphan didn't flinch.
She just waited for him - calm, patient.
Let him come.
She saw the strike before he even threw it - a jumping inside crescent kick. Textbook League of Assassins. Sharp, fast, meant to disrupt balance and vision.
But with it came the opening:
his hips turned too far. Centerline exposed. His back foot off the ground. No guard on his left flank.
To anyone else, it was milliseconds.
To her?
It was an eternity.
She stepped in.
Not around him - through him. One pivot, one slip under the arc of his kick.
Her elbow drove into the exposed ribs - precision over power - just enough to take his wind. No wasted effort.
His foot hadn't even touched down when her palm struck his shoulder, using his own momentum to spin him off balance.
She pivoted, grounded, looking down on him.
Her body said it all.
"Your skills have been corrupted."
"What are they teaching you here?"
Hot-headed as ever, Damian didn't take that lying down.
He charged - fast hands, rapid fire.
But she dodged. Effortlessly. Clean angles. Minimal movement.
Jake and the others were watching now.
The fight looked hopelessly one-sided.
Even when Damian forced an opening - a faint crack in her defense - The Orphan turned it against him.
Redirected it. Closed it. Controlled it.
She could've ended it with one move.
But she didn't.
Instead, it looked like she was letting him burn himself out - letting him lose with dignity.
Just like all the times before.
5 hours later and these are the power stones I got (comment).
Streak? Day 1/10
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