Hey everybody! So, this is not 100% factually correct. When I was writing this, I didn't really know the aftermath of Wally's death, so I made up my own version. Which is why this is called Fanfiction. So yeah, I hope you all enjoy!
"No! Daddy stop! I'm sorry! I'll do better next time! Please! Daddy no! Ahhh!"
Artemis shot up in bed, chest heaving with shaky breaths, sweat dripping down her face. She felt a gentle hand over hers, felt a warm body press against her, and strong arms wrap around her.
"It's ok, baby," Wally's gentle voice whispered in her ear. "It was just a dream. He can't hurt you anymore. It's ok."
Artemis took a deep, steadying breath. She moved her hand to rest on his arm, but only felt her stomach. She turned around to see only the cold, metal headboard of the dusty bed, the drab gray wall residing behind it.
"Oh Wally," she said under her breath, tears welling in her eyes. "I miss you so much."
Artemis laid back down and looked over at the empty half of the old hotel bed. No mop of curly red hair resting on the flat pillow, no strong arms to wrap around her, no goofy grin, no bright, emerald eyes sparkling back at her. The archer took a shaky breath as a tear slipped down her cheek. And another. And another.
The clock blinked to 3:00 am and Artemis stood up, wiping her face with calloused, clammy hands. She slipped into her black and orange Tigress suit, placed a wrinkled $10 bill on the nightstand, and exited swiftly out the window. The dark of early morning swallowed her up as she bounced gracefully from rooftop to rooftop.
After Wally's death, Artemis had transformed into Tigress and left the Team. She had sold their small apartment, unable to bear living there alone as the couch told stories and the walls held memories. So she had been living in hotels, alleys, or trees. Whichever was most convenient for the day. The young hero had mainly stuck to taking care of minor criminals. Drug dealers, murderers, rapists, the usual thugs. None of which are minor crimes. She just simply avoided criminals like Vandal Savage or Psimon, knowing the Team and League could handle those crime kings.
Golden bands of light streaked the sky as the vibrant morning sun began it's ascension. Clouds dusted the pink sky and birds sang their good morning songs. Shop signs flipped over to read OPEN and men started up their cars for work while women dropped their kids off for school. Various people spotted the sidewalks. Joggers, walkers, bicyclists, etc.
Artemis sat on a roof, watching the scene play out. Normal people starting their normal, daily routines, completely oblivious to any danger. Or anybody's sorrows, pains, joys, achievements, brokenness. Carefree. The archer thought back to when she had been carefree. When she and Wally had retired and got an apartment, started college. The way he woke her up every morning with a kiss, and how she would always make sure to get him his favorite food while shopping...everything.
A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth as tears began to form in her sad gray eyes. She choked it back, though, and focused her mind on watching the city. The bustling, carefree, ignorant city.
Another hour passed before Artemis felt a presence behind her. She spun around none other than Sportsmaster, her father. She could feel the cocky smirk behind that gray hockey mask, and a low growl escaped her throat as she charged him, bow and arrow out. Sportsmaster easily dodged her before putting his hands up in mock surrender.
"I'm not here to fight," he said calmly, though there was no lack of an evil undertone. "I heard about your boyfriend's death. Such a shame."
"Don't you dare talk about him!" Artemis basically screamed, charging him again.
Once again, Sportsmaster easily deflected her. "I told you, I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk."
"About what?" Artemis growled.
"I heard you left the Team. Jade is no longer working with me, so there is a spot available.
"Never."
"I feared you would say that." The criminal pulled out his javelins, sinking into a fight stance.
Artemis charged him once again, and just as she went to attack him, he side stepped out of the way. The archer found herself launching over the side of the building, Sportsmaster watching as she fell. Her wide, gray eyes searched for something she could grab hold of, but to no avail.
Suddenly, something hard slammed into her, arms wrapping around her. She felt the impact of a hard thunk, but felt no pain or concrete. Slowly opening her eyes, Artemis saw Superboy's face, serious as always and looking straight ahead. The blonde noticed she was in his arms bridal style as he ran from the building. Miss Martian was flying above them. The green alien looked down at her and offered a quick, worried smile.
"Sportsmaster is up there," Artemis finally said.
"Nightwing and Aqualad are taking care of him," M'Gann called down.
"Nightwing isn't part of the Team, though."
"Yeah, but he's the one who saw you."
Artemis nodded slightly, half relieved that they had showed up, but half disappointed at the same time.
They arrived at the Cave and Conner didn't set her down until the were in the break room, where he gently laced her on the couch. M'Gann was by her side in an instant, holding her best friend's hand in both of hers.
"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" the Martian asked gently, obviously concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Artemis replied. "You guys didn't have to do all this. Really."
"You would've rather crashed on the concrete?" Conner asked in full seriousness.
'Maybe.' Artemis sighed. "No. Thank you for catching me. I just meant you didn't have to bring me here."
Conner sat down on a chair and M'Gann looked into her friend's sad eyes.
"Artemis," the Martian started. "We didn't just come to rescue you. We're worried about you. Nightwing has been keeping an eye on you, and-"
"What?" Artemis cut in. "You've been spying on me?"
"No. Well, kind of. I mean...we know how grief stricken you were when Wally...you know..." M'Gann was at a loss for words.
The archer slumped into the couch and took her mask off to reveal her puffy red eyes. "I told you guys I just needed some space." Though instead of sounding angry, she sounded defeated.
"We gave you space," Dick's voice said from across the room.
The three looked over at the former Robin as he walked over and sat on the unoccupied side of Artemis. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and looked into her grieved eyes with his kind, blue eyes.
"But we know how grief can do things to the mind. Bad things," he said softly.
"Artemis, we're here for you," M'Gann added. "We want you to stay here for a while. Being around friends might do you some good right now."
Artemis looked between her three former teammates. Maybe it would do her some good to be back with them for a bit. Obviously trying to heal alone wasn't working. So she took a deep breath and nodded, letting it out.
"Wonderful," Miss Martian said, trying to contain her excitement. The situation was certainly less than ideal, but she was genuinely excited her best friend would be staying here again. She embraced the blonde in a tight squeeze, to which Dick wrapped his strong arms around both of them. Even Conner got up and joined them.
"A group hug and I was not invited?"
The four looked over at the door to see Kaldur's smiling face as he approached them.
"She's staying!" M'Gann practically squealed.
Kaldur's smile grew. "That is wonderful news."
Artemis stood up and hugged the Atlantean. "Hi, Kaldur."
"Hello, Artemis," he replied, hugging her a bit tighter before releasing. "How are you holding up?"
"Surviving, I guess."
Kaldur nodded with a sympathetic look. "Well, it is good to have you back."
Artemis smiled, standing there with her team. Though, her heart dropped when she realized it wasn't her whole team. She tried not to show it, wanting them to think she was fine.
Of course, her friends knew better.
"Wally!"
Artemis was sprinting as fast as she could to the Kid Flash. They were in a large field of dying grass, a lifeless, gray sky above smothered in heavy, black clouds. Wally was running to her, though not at his superspeed. Something was wrong.
"Wally!" Artemis screamed again.
"Artemis!" Wally called back.
The archer ran harder, faster, but she never seemed to gain any ground. Suddenly, Wally began fading. Just disappearing into the air like mist.
"No! Wally!"
Wally looked at her with sad eyes, a knowing look on his face. "Artemis."
Finally, she could tell she was getting closer. She stretched out her hand, but just as her fingers were about to reach his, he disappeared.
"Wally!"
Artemis shot up in bed, sweat waterfalling down her body as usual, breathing shaky.
"It's ok, Artemis. It was just a dream," M'Gann's gentle voice said.
She was standing beside Artemis's bed, one hand holding the archer's, and the other on her back to keep the blonde steady.
Artemis looked at her friend as tears welled in her eyes, head slowly moving side to side. "It wasn't a dream," she whispered, voice cracking. "It was real. It happened."
M'Gann sat next to the archer and held her close as Artemis cried into her shoulder. "Shh, it's ok," the Martian whispered softly, slowly stroking Artemis's hair. "It's ok."
The girls stayed like that until Artemis had cried herself to sleep. M'Gann, not wanting to disrupt her friend's slumber, decided to stay there and soon fell asleep herself.
Morning arose, bringing the two sleeping girls up with it. Artemis groaned slightly as she sat up and rubbed her face before looking at the green Martian, who was slowly coming to life. M'Gann offered a sleepy smile and groggy, "Good morning."
"Hey," Artemis replied, pushing some hair out of her face. "Sorry I woke you up last night."
"Don't worry about it," M'Gann replied as she stretched her shoulders. "Are you ok?"
Artemis sighed and nodded. "Yeah."
M'Gann leaned over and hugged the blonde, squeezing her tight. Artemis couldn't help but smile and hug back. The two friend's stayed there for a while, enjoying each other's embrace.
"I'm happy you're staying here," M'Gann said.
Artemis sighed as her smile grew. "Me too."
M'Gann smiled as well before speaking. "You hungry?"
Artemis slightly nodded. For the first time in a long time, she was actually a bit hungry. Miss M headed back to her room to get changed while Artemis dressed and got ready for the day as well. She decided to just wear her usual jeans and white T-shirt. The friends met up again, M'Gann in casual clothes as well, and headed to the breakroom/kitchen area.
The entire Team filled the room. The terrible smell of tofu pancakes mixed with the sweet smell of waffles and fruit wafted through the air. Television static was masked by chaotic chatter of petty arguments and random conversation. That is, until Batgirl caught sight of Artemis.
"Artemis!" she exclaimed, hurrying over and embracing the archer.
Everyone else followed and there was soon a large pile of young heroes around Artemis.
"Hey guys," the archer said, putting on a smile.
The morning seemed to go by in a blur. Artemis was bombarded with questions like, "How are you holding up?", and, "Are you gonna join the Team again, or the League?". All of the young heroes were well meaning, of course, and simply missed her. Besides, they were all still grieving the loss of their speedster. And when Artemis had left, it was like she'd died too. Though, that wasn't far from the truth.
A week passed without much excitement. The girls took Artemis out to movies, and lunch, and shopping, and fun girl stuff. But it never helped. While she appreciated the kind gestures, none of it was really her thing. Sometimes the original Team would take walks along the beach, all of them silent. They were all still grieving. Some more than others.
One morning, Artemis woke up from yet another nightmare. She ran a hand over her sweaty face and looked down at the empty half of the bed beside her, where her lover would have been laying. He would have wrapped her in his strong arms and held her protectively, gently stroking her long hair and whispering that everything was ok. That he was there and would protect her and never let anybody hurt her again.
Artemis wiped her eyes and got dressed before walking out into the hallway. The Cave was unusually still and silent. She made her way to the kitchen and turned on the lights.
"Happy Birthday!"
The whole Team popped up from various hiding places with noise makers, and balloons, and large smiles. Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Red Tornado was there, too.
"Happy birthday, Artemis," Dina said as she walked up to give the birthday girl a hug.
Artemis was speechless. Was it really her birthday? Evidently it was.
"Uh, thanks," she said, hugging Dina back. "You guys really didn't have to do all this."
"Of course we did," M'Gann said with a smile. "We've missed you and want to celebrate your birthday."
Artemis couldn't help but smile. That is, until she remembered when the Team had thrown a surprise party for Wally. Of course he'd known about it the whole time. She remembered how infatuated he had been with M'Gann, and how much she had enjoyed telling him the Martian and Kryptonian were a thing.
"Artemis, are you ok?"M'Gann asked, interrupting Artemis's thoughts.
Artemis realized she had just been standing there, laughing slightly to herself as tears were welling in her eyes. She snapped out of it and nodded.
"Yeah, sorry."
The Team partied all morning and well into the afternoon. They ate tons of cake, took turns wishing Artemis a happy birthday, and giving her small girts they'd gotten her. Artemis stayed on the couch most of the time with M'Gann by her side. She didn't touch much of her cake, and found herself in a daze most of the time. She appreciated her friends' efforts, but it just wasn't the same. Not without Wally.
Artemis remembered that he had always taken her out to dinner and a movie on her birthday. Then they would go back to the apartment and share the largest ice cream sundae the world had ever seen. They would cuddle on the couch and talk about the past year and what the future might hold for them. They agreed that no matter what laid ahead, everything would be ok as long as they had each other.
Now he was gone. Everything wasn't ok. It never would be again.
"Artemis."
The archer blinked out of her daze and looked up to see Nightwing and his gentle smile. She also felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah. What's up?" Artemis asked.
"Come with me. There's one gift you haven't received yet," Dick replied.
Artemis nodded and stood up, unsure what it was. Dick led her to the zeta tubes, punched in a destination, and walked through. Artemis trailed behind, thoroughly confused now. Finding herself standing in Palo Alto, she felt her eyes begin to water, but forced it down and looked up at Dick.
"Why are we here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
Dick started walking before answering. "While you were undercover with Kaldur, Wally was planning for your birthday."
"What? Wally never plans for anything. Especially that far in advance."
"I know. I was just as shocked as you are. But he wanted to do something special for you."
They walked up to a house and Dick knocked on the door. A middle aged, heavier set woman appeared, her full lips curving into a warm smile.
"You must be Mr. Grayson," the woman said in a soft, buttery voice before turning her gaze to Artemis. "And you must be the birthday girl."
"That's right," Dick replied. "And please, call me Richard. This is Artemis."
Artemis looked up at Dick and back at the woman. 'What's going on?'
"Well, it's very nice to meet you both. I'm Sandra. Please, come in." She stepped aside to let the young adults enter.
Artemis thought she heard a small yap from the kitchen, but dismissed the thought. Perhaps Sandra had a dog. As if on cue, a big, beautiful Golden Retriever came trotting up.
"This is Penelope," Sandra said as the dog sniffed Artemis and Dick.
"She's beautiful," Artemis said, rubbing Penelope's head.
"Thank you. Now, where is Mr. West?" Sandra asked. "I was sure he would be here."
Artemis sucked in a sharp breath and looked down.
"He...couldn't be here today," Dick replied, unable to keep the sadness out of his voice.
"Oh. Well I'm sorry to hear that." Sandra could tell there was more to that, but didn't press. "Anyway, he's ready for you." She led them into the kitchen where a big bed was set up.
Artemis couldn't believe it. She stared with wide eyes at the three month old Golden Retriever. He was bouncing excitedly around her feet, deep brown eyes sparkling and a long, pink tongue flopping around. Wally had gotten her a puppy? A month and a half in advance?
Tears welled in the archer's eyes as she knelt down. The little dog was immediately in her lap, taking uncontrollable licks at her face. Artemis scooped him up in her arms and hugged him tight as he squirmed about, unable to decide if he wanted to play or cuddle. Artemis buried her face in the golden fur to hide the few drops of water that escaped her gray eyes. 'Oh Wally, what did I do to deserve you?' she thought.
She was standing in a dark room. Was it a room? No. It was a black abyss of nothingness. Wait, there was something. A figure. She walked to it, taking careful steps. One wrong move and she might fall into the darkness forever. She got closer to the figure. Wally? It was Wally!
"Wally!" she cried, running to him.
She hit something hard. Glass. Wally was on the other side of the glass. A long sheet of it that she couldn't get around. It glistened against the unending blackness. She looked up at Wally to see his soft smile, his emerald eyes gazing at her. She put her hands on the glass, but he didn't move.
"Wally," she said.
No response.
"Wally," she repeated, a bit louder.
Again, no response. Just that gentle smile.
"Wally!" She pounded on the glass, yet he remained motionless.
"It's useless."
A mocking voice. An evil voice. An all too familiar voice.
She spun around, and there was Sportsmaster.
"He's gone."
"No." She shook her head and backed up against the wall of glass. "No, he's right there."
"It's your imagination, Artemis. Your pitiful hopes."
She looked up at Wally, still smiling at her through the stubborn, shiny glass. Then there was a rough hand clamping around her wrist. The burning of her father's wicked smirk.
"No," she objected, pulling away from him.
He was too strong and began dragging her from Wally.
"No!" She looked back at Wally desperately. "Wally, help me!"
He just smiled at her as she was pulled away, unfazed, unmoving, unreal.
Suddenly, there was nothing beneath her feet. Sportsmaster released his grip and she fell into the infinite black abyss.
"Wally!"
Artemis's eyes snapped open to a concerned puppy face. She felt the weight of the little Golden Retriever on top of her and gave a heavy sigh, her heart rate slowing.
"Hi, buddy," she said quietly, gently pulling him down to lay beside her.
He flopped on his side, his nose almost touching hers. She wrapped her arms around him and gave a light squeeze.
"Oh Bolt, I wish you could've met him more than once. You would've loved him."
Bolt whimpered before giving her a big lick on the face. Artemis couldn't help but chuckle slightly and pet his golden head.
"You know what to do to make me feel better, huh?"
Bolt seemed to smile, clearly proud of himself. Artemis laughed again before sitting up with a yawn. Bolt stood up, stretched in the adorable way puppies do, and dramatically flopped back down to his side with a huff.
"You are just like Wally, little mister." Artemis smiled and hopped out of bed. It was the first time in a long time she'd said Wally's name and smiled. Maybe she hadn't fallen into that black abyss. Maybe this little dog had pulled her out, given her something to cling to. He clearly had Wally's spirit and attitude. She'd picked that up from the moment she laid eyes on the little golden furball.
Artemis got dressed and scooped Bolt up, who went limp-noodle in her arms. She just shook her head and made her way out to the kitchen, the usual mix of a disgusting tofu concoction and sweet fruit smell assaulting her nose. And Bolt's.
"Hey, Bolt!" Garfield exclaimed.
The Golden Retriever immediately perked up and squirmed out of Artemis's arms. Beast Boy shifted into dog form and the two went at it chasing and tackling each other. They almost tripped Dick and Kaldur as the two heroes entered.
"Whoa, one week here and he's already settled in," Nightwing commented with a laugh.
"He was settled in on the first day," Artemis replied.
"I am sure," Kaldur said, watching as Bolt and Garfield chased each other.
"Pancakes are ready!" M'Gann called, slapping down a stack of toasty golden cakes.
Conner had gotten out the tower of plates and forks that were now sitting on the counter. The swarm of teenage superheroes flooded into the kitchen, Garfield popping back up as himself, and grabbed their share of the warm breakfast. Bolt was of course weaving through legs and feet, hoping to catch a falling pancake.
Artemis smiled as she watched all of them. Her team, her family. For the first time in a very long time, it felt as though things might just be ok. The pain was still there, the nightmares still came, the memories still haunted her. But she had her family, her dog, and what she and Wally had once had. And it was going to be ok.
So there it is. I apologize it was so long. It's like it was too long for a one shot, but too short for chapters. So yeah. I also apologize if you didn't like the ending. I've never been good at endings. (Still working on that.) And yes, I know she hadn't quit the Team, and yes, I know they already had a dog. However, like I said, this wasn't going to be 100% factually correct. But I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!