I love the idea of Frostbite, and squealed with joy when it appeared in the comics that relate to the show. Then I was devastated when it was never brought back up.

So, now I'm writing a story about it. Yup.

I hope you guys like it :).

Artemis steps through the woods cautiously. Her bow and arrow are prepped and at the ready. She holds her weapon of choice so that the arrow points to the ground and the bow is as close to her stomach as possible. One arm is extended as it grips the bow, the other arm is bent and supports the arrow against the bow while it draws back the string.

All of Artemis' senses are on alert. Her eyes are always darting around to different parts of the woods, looking up, down, left, right, etc. Her ears are perked, listening for any sound other than the ones she or the forest makes. She breathes through her nose, waiting to possibly pick up on an stranger sent to the woods. Occasionally, she breaths in through her mouth to allow for any odd taste in the air to be noticed. The rest of her skin waits in anticipation for something to touch it.

The six year-old girl is shaking with nerves all over, but she won't show it. She tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she keeps her sense alert. Her skin has broken out into goose-bumps, and her hair stands on end, but that won't distract the young warrior. Her shoulders are rolled back and she manages to keep her lip from quivering.

However, she is deathly afraid. You would be too if you knew you were being hunted.

At four o'clock that day, her dad pulled her out of bed and dumped her in the middle of the forest. He threw her a camouflage coat, matching pair of pants, a dark brown backpack (full of food and other survival supplies), and thick hiking black boots. When she put the stuff over her blue cotton pajamas, he tossed a bow and a quiver of arrows in her direction.

His instructions: "Walk in the woods. But don't let them find you,"

Then, he drove off.

The time is now six o'clock in the evening.

Artemis hasn't stopped moving since her father dropped her off that morning. She hasn't even touched the food her gave her.

Who was after her? She didn't know. By now, she figured it was a training exercise, but she doesn't know how long it will last or what the outcome will be.

"...hhhhelp"

Artemis quickly lifts her bow and prepares to fire it in the direction of the sound. Her heart begins racing - she can feel the small but mighty muscle pounding against her chest in an effort to escape the clutches of her ribcage and skin and take off running - much as she wishes she could do.

When she turns, she sees that she is pointing her arrow to a tree. It's one of the older trees in the forest as seen by it's colossal height and broad width. It's sturdy at the base and grows a majority of it's branches from the top. Most trees are like this, but the age plays obviously senior to the other trees.

She almost forgets the sound as she marvels at the tree. She is snapped backed to reality when she hears the words of her father: "Distraction results in extermination".

She figures that the sound was just in her head. She has been out there all day. But, again, she hears the voice of her father: "At the first sign of trouble, don't ever let your guard down,"

Taking in a sharp breath, Artemis inches towards the tree. She steps lightly as to not be heard by what might have caused the sound. She keeps shifting her eyes for any attackers that might be somewhere near by, waiting to spring out at their unsuspecting victim.

"...hhhhelp!"

The voice is weak. It barely echoes in the woods. It's so faint that only an animal would be able to pick it up. An animal, or an assassin in training.

Artemis begins to circle to the other side of the tree - the one out of view. Her heart beat only gets faster as she anticipates what might be on the other side. The voice sounds young and unthreatening, but, as her dad has told her: "Except the unexpected,"

Taking another deep breath, she rounds to the other side of the tree.

On the other side is quite a sight.

A young boy sits amongst the roots of the tree that protrude from the harsh ground. His wrist are tied behind his back, and his ankles are also bond and sticking out in-front of him. His waist is tied to the whole base of the tree to prevent him from moving.

Artemis lowers her bow. She recognizes the boy. "C-Cameron?" she asks.

The eight year-old looks up at her. His face is stained with dried tears and drenched in fear. The bags underneath his eyes practically sink onto his cheeks, showing his extreme tiredness. His pants are covered in died urine - Artemis wonders how long he's been out here (or how scared he must have been) for a eight year-old to willingly urinate in his cloths.

"Artemis?" he asks. New tears begin to form in his eyes. He's ecstatic to see her.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, placing her bow back into her quiver. "What's going on?" she adds as she slings her bow over her back.

"I-I don't know," whimpers Cameron. "My dad took my out of bed this morning and told me to walk around in the forest. He said to ensure that they don't find me,"

Artemis nods "My dad told me the same thing." She notes that Cameron is also dressed in the same camo gear that she was given. His backpack, is just out of his reach. The food has been removed from it, and the survival gear is strewn about forest floor. "I'm guessing they you?" asks Artemis nervously. She begins to reach for her arrow again, worrying that the attackers might come back at any moment.

Cameron nods.

"Who are they?" she asks. Her eyes are now bouncing around her sockets as she scans around the woods.

"I don't know. They were wearing black suites and masks," explains Cameron. The fear returns to his eyes as he recalls the memory of his attack.

Artemis' fear grows. An unidentified attack is probably the most terrifying thing to a young girl. She turns her attention back to Cameron. "What did they do to you?" she kneels down to his eye level and looks for any other damages. Whatever other damage is done to him isn't visible, but she looks for signs of injuries to prepare herself for them if she is caught.

Cameron looks at his feet. "They just bound me and took my stuff," he begins to cry again.

"How long have you tied here?"

Cameron looks to the sky. "About noon," he guesses.

Artemis nods again. No wonder he pissed himself. she probably would have if she had been out here for so long.

Artemis when begins to wonder; "Why didn't you use your powers?" she asks.

Cameron's ability to create and manipulate ice could have easily protected him from the attackers. Artemis has always been jealous of his 'easy out' (as she likes to call it). So, what she lacks in powers, she makes up for in everything else; fighting, tracking, etc. She superior to him in that regard.

"Dad wouldn't let me,"

Of course. She remembers that Cameron's dad prefers that he trains without his powers. "Makes him tougher," he replies when asked.

Suddenly, a bird takes off into flight from the tree. The sudden ruffle of feathers and loud squawking scares the children as branches clang together and leaves are broken off. Artemis quickly jumps up and preps her bow and arrow.

"I have to go," she mutters. She is about to take off in a sprint when-

"NO!"

Artemis stops and turns to see Cameron squirming violently in his seated position. "Don't leave me here. Please, help me,"

She bites her lips as she looks around the woods. She can't see anything right away, but her father has taught her better. "Every man for himself,"

For all Artemis knows, he could be tricking her. Maybe he is the person she should be avoiding. What if the attackers show up and nab her? What if he runs and leaves her all alone as he was?

"Cam, I don't know-"

"Artemis, please," he begs.

She looks into his eyes as he pleas. A mixture of terror, fear and plea are seen in his dark blue irises. He looks like he's been through hell and spit out the other end - just horrible.

And something about the way he looks at her drives her to drop her bow and cut him loose with a knife that she finds on the ground.

When she cuts the ropes, she sees about three inches of red skin around his joints were the rope rubbed and caused a deep burn. The skin is so delicate know that it's one swab away from opening and bleeding. She shakes her head, getting herself back into the run, and tosses the knife to the side where she found it. Who knows? It could be laced with a tracker. As daddy says: "Sharing is slaughter," and that can apply to a lot.

"C'mon!" she commands.

Cameron is weak, and stumbles as he tries to stand. He mutters a quick 'Thanks,', but she doesn't hear it. She's too busy focusing on what might be coming.

Suddenly, she is smacked right across the face.

The blow his so strong that she blacks out of a moment and falls to the ground. The forest floor is rock hard - the few leaves and other forms of plant life barley break her fall.

"Artemis!" she hears Cameron call. She hears him try to say something else, but it results in a serious of muffled noises.

She lifts herself from the ground by pushing against it with her tiny hands and turns to face her attack.

Two much taller figures stand towering over her. Both are dressed all in black with black masks. One has Cameron in a choke hold, and the other is slowly descending down towards Artemis.

She screams at the sight.

"That's enough!"

The four ground dwellers all look up to the canopy of the trees. Above them, they see three grown men.

Cameron's father, their younger friend Matson, and, worst of all, Artemis' father.

She quickly picks up on it right away. This was, in fact, a training exercise - the men have been watching and analyzing the development of the exercise the whole time. Artemis blushes with embarrassment as she reflects on all the things she did wrong, knowing the will reflect baddy in her fathers already judgmental eyes.

The older men descend effortlessly from the treetops that are about three stories above the ground. They all look displeased, especially her father.

The older blonde man makes a b-line for his daughter. While he is stomping in her direction, you can't hear his footsteps. A prefect pair of assassins feet - quiet, so you don't hear them coming.

He looks down upon Artemis with a huge scowl. "And what, young lady, do you have to say for yourself?"

Artemis lets her eyes fall to the forest floor. She grabs her developing bicep and rubs it in shame. "I'm sorry-"

"I don't want to hear meaningless apologies!" he shouts loud enough for the world beyond the forest to hear. "Tell me what you did wrong!"

"I-," she looks over at Cameron. His can't speak (as he has not yet been spoken to) and is under the burning glare of his father. Still, he makes a set of apologetic eyes at Artemis, knowing that is was him who caused her failure. "I helped Cameron-"

"You 'helped' Cameron," repeats her father. He elongates 'helped' to stress how important that word is. It is important, as it is the flaw of the sentence. "What have I always told you?"

She begins to sniffle. She remembered what he had said while she was saving Cameron. Why didn't she just listen to her father instead of giving into her heart? "Every man for himself," she whimpers.

"Every man-... don't cry!" he yells as he gently smacks her on the face. It doesn't hurt too much, just enough to make an impact. The bystanders don't react, this is a regular occurrence for them. They also do it themselves to their respective youngster. "Get you stuff. We're going home," he growls.

When he is finished scolding his daughter, the blonde man looks over to the two people dressed in black suites and masks. "Jade, Eric; well done,"

Artemis' eyes grow as she realizes who her attackers were. She snaps her head around to confirmed her suspicions.

Removing their masks is Eric and Artemis' ten year-old sister, Jade.

Jade is the one who smacked her. Her own sister.

Artemis looks into her sisters eyes with disbelief and hurt. Her dark eyes ask 'How could you?'

Jade does nothing but wink.

While Artemis is hurt by her own sisters will to harm her, she isn't that surprised. Her father has taught them to be ruthless - even to their own family.

Matson slaps his good hand around Eric and smiles at him and snickers "Nice job kid. I'll drive you home." The two then begin to depart from the forest, leaving the families behind.

Cameron's father gives his own son a smack on the back of his head "Idiot - of course you would get captured first," Cameron doesn't have the courage to look his dad in the eye. Instead, he rubs the back of his head where is father had smacked him. "Let's go," he says through his teeth. He then looks up at Artemis' dad "I'll bring this little disappointment over tonight before we go on our assignment. Leave the kids to reflect on their failures?"

Artemis' dad nods and scowls at his youngest daughter before marching off with his eldest. As Artemis follows, she feels a tap on her shoulder.

Turning, she sees Cameron.

He gives her a soft smile "Thanks... for saving me,"

Artemis wants to smile, but she still feels pissed at him for getting her in trouble.

Yet, she can't stay completely angry at him - they are friends united in common torment after all.

"ARTEMIS!" calls her father.

Artemis scrambles to catch up with her family. Cameron also pursues his father in haste.

Who knows what will happen if they keep their dads waiting.

That night, the two sit on Artemis' bed. She dresses his wounds while he eats food that she prepared for him. It's nothing special - eggs, toast with jam, and a recovery drink - a powdered substance in water that their fathers make them drink after every exercise. It tastes horrible, but their dads make them drink it anyway. They say it will help them as they get stronger.

She'd cook him something else if she knew how, but then again, she's only six.

There's a heavy rainstorm outside, and the electricity is down. All they have are a few candles and a faulty flashlight that could fizz out any second.

Of course, Cameron is thankful for the treatment and compliments her 'cooking', but both know if the places were swapped and roles reversed, Cameron would have done the same thing for her.

He did actually: In the past winter, Artemis was left in an abandoned cave in a cluster of mountains and told to spend the night their. While she was able to feed herself and build a small fire, she was inches away from hypothermia when they found her. She was left at Cameron's house that night (their dads were on another mission) and he took care of her. He nearly suffocated her with blankets and made endless pots of coffee.

What they do for each other isn't a big deal. It's not a caring gesture or a charitable notion - it's their life.

Even since they could walk, their fathers have put them through hell (along with Artemis' older sister and a few other kids). Usually after their worst experiences, their dads would go on assignments and leave the two to take care of each other. They had the training to protect themselves from burglars, and knew basic survival skills, they could spend an evening alone in an apartment, even though they weren't even close to puberty yet.

Jade pops into her and Artemis' shared bedroom, then promptly leaves through the window dressed in the same black outfit as she wore that day. She says in passing "I'm going out," then practically flies down the fire escape and joins a group of other older trainees. Artemis spots them out the window, and watches as her sister and the others vanish into the night.

The girl is only ten and she acts like a teenager.

But when you're put through the stuff they are, you grow up fast. Faster than they should.

Artemis sighs and returns to dressing Cameron's wound.

He scarfs down the eggs and chugs at the recovery drink. But when he gets to the toast, he starts to nibble at it. He then begins to watch her dress the rope burn on his ankles.

"Artemis?"

Artemis looks up from the agitated skin that encircles his ankle. Worry lines have formed on his face, but the look on his face is one full of curiosity. "Do you think-" he pauses to reconsider his question. Might be worried that it's a stupid question, and tries to think of the right wording "Do you think it will always be like this?"

Artemis blinks at him. She doesn't know what to say. Years have passed and the training has only gotten harder. When their training years are done, they will have to apply it. They will becomes assassins for the League of Shadows just like their dads before them. And who knows what that's really like.

"I don't know," confesses Artemis.

Cameron looks down at his ankles and nods. He was probably expecting that response.

Artemis continues to dress the wounds - a little slower this time. She too busy thinking about what the future holds.

She doesn't quite understand what her father does. Yes, she knows that he kills people. But how? Who are these people? Are they bad? Good? Are they killed out of spite? Business? The greater good? And how does her father go about killing them?

Artemis also wonders how death can be taken so lightly. If someone she knew died, she'd be more than heartbroken. But yet, her father causes it all the time, and expects her to do so.

Artemis often thinks about what it's like to kill someone. If her father can do it, is it really a big deal? She often wonders what it's like to die, but it scares her too much to give it any serious thought.

Pretty heavy stuff for such a young child to think about. But being surrounded by assassins will cause you to think this way.

"Artemis?"

She doesn't look up at him this time. She worried about what he'll ask next. She just nods to show that she's heard him. "Can you promise me something?" he asks sweetly.

Now, Artemis looks up at the young boy. The corners of his mouth a slightly turned up forming a small smile. It's a rare occurrence to see a smile from either of the two of them (children and they rarely smile. Is there such a thing?). "Can you promise me that we'll always have each other? Especially when things get really bad, we should have someone there to help," he asks.

Artemis' face is locked in neutral. She blinks back any emotion she might show.

Promises aren't taken lightly in her home. She finds it's the one thing she can take pride in - her ability to keep her promises. But that one is just too big. She thinks about her dad. He's probably had hundreds of different partners, and just happened to find one with a kid. How many people has he left behind? Artemis would never leave anyone behind. But she might change when she's older. Or she might just simply have to.

But something about his begging eyes causes her to nod her head.

He just smiles in response and returns to his toast.

She continues to dress his wound.

They fall asleep on Artemis' bed - cradled in each other's arms for comfort. They're only children, so sharing a bed means nothing more than friendship. They find a rare sense of safety in each others arms. They often rely on themselves for protection, but it's nice to have someone their to keep you safe. Most children have that security with their parents. These children don't have that luxury.

They wake up before either of their family members return. They play cards until Jade returns and Cameron's dad comes to take him home.

They continue to train together in the same torturous way they always have. They spend nights at each other's house, dressing wounds, feeding the other and resting their tired little bodies in (usually) the same bed. EVen as they hit their pre-teen years, they see nothing wrong with a guy and a girl friend just sharing a bed.

They never speak of the promise again.

But there is a bond that has formed between them. One that they might forget about in the future, but is still their none the less.

So, I hope this scene made sense.

Just to clarify, when they shared a bed, it wasn't a romantic implication, just like a really close friendship thing... but you guys got that...

Also, Matson is Hook and Eric is Black Spider for those who didn't know. This is set before Eric got his spider like abilities, but Matson has his Hook.

So, how did I do? Tell me in a REVIEW!