Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.
~KF + A~
Across the arctic plain, snow blew in frosty gusts, chilling each team member down to the bone. The cold shook even Superboy, it was so intense.
It seemed only fitting that that was where it happened.
The hazy silence that always descended on the plain before noon was expected and welcomed. No animals noisily trotted across the landscape, no birds soared above. And not one sprig of green rose above the hard shell of ice beneath their feet. It was too much for life to handle earth so barren and destitute.
Kid Flash could clearly hear Artemis's boots crunching beside him. Her white parka shielded her face, but he knew what her expression conveyed; it was much the same as everyone elses'. It was tight-lipped anxiety and overflowing panic. It was fear. He could feel his own eyebrows knitting together. Uncle Barry…you're okay, right?
That, that worried quiet, was the calm before the storm.
The sudden attack left him breathless. They had all been on edge, hurriedly wiring up the bioship, when the invaders struck. Two well-placed arrows brought two down, and Kid Flash had almost been about to cheer when he noticed the others still on their tail. Then the painful startling truth: just because a ship was down, didn't mean it wouldn't bring down someone with it. He could see the swiveling laser, hear its whine as it fired up a shot. At Artemis.
Unacceptable.
When Wally had been young, when his Uncle Barry had been just a police scientist, he had been fascinated by his uncle's work. He would sit for hours on end, just watching his uncle work his own magic with chemicals and beakers and test tubes. He had eagerly read the large volumes above his uncle's desk, digesting at times whole chapters of complex scientific information. At any given point during any time of the year, he would have experiments running on every question he could find. Wally was a scientific genius, no doubt.
So he knew the scientific method, and the logic it used. Take a question; create a hypothesis; test it of its possible repercussions; analyze the results; and find the most reasonable solution. He narrowed the process down to zero-point-three seconds of creative thinking, and only one way to save Artemis came to mind.
The only way.
His legs moved ahead of his brain, a fluid blur of concentrated energy. His arms strained to push her far enough out of the beam, feeling rather than hearing her muffled sound of surprise.
Artemis flew through the air, gently landing in a snow bank nearby. He saw her struggling to pull herself up out of the freezing snow, shaking her head to free her long blonde ponytail. Her eyes resembled that of a deer's, shocked and wide. They focused on his face.
It was enough.
As his world fizzed out, Wally smiled.
Conclusion: hypothesis successful.
The only way.
~KF + A~
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