Greetings everyone. This is my 4th story. Can be a standalone but all my stories are being planned out like episodes. I have a list of my stories for those who want to read the ones before.
I would also like to thank my new editor, ThatCheshireSmile, who just found out that I made co-author on this project. In a nut shell, I built the house and she turned it a home and I love her for it. You can find her work here on FanFiction. I really enjoy her short stories and I am glad that she was willing to volunteer her time into helping me on this project and I hope to work with her again real soon.
I do not own disclaimer here. But it would be so awesome if we did.
Episode 1: A Time to Trust Episode 2: A Promise That Wasn't Known.
Episode 3: Dreamscape Episode 4: Lost Then Found
Lost Then Found (By Geist (Ghost) and ThatCheshireSmile)
May 07 – 2.45 PM – New York (Happy B-day to the Authors)
Batman gets word of a meeting that is to be held at 3:00 PM on a parking deck in New York. The goal, it seems, is to arrange a sell of Cobra Venom to an unknown buyer. But the main problem for the Caped Crusader is the location. There are three possible parking structures at which this meeting can take place, but not enough time to get more intel. So he sends in the Team to scout all three locations.
Because of the distance from each location, M'gann's link cannot be used, so Huntress (Paula Crock) is handling the team communications. Each of the three teams are set at each location specified. Their orders are to observe and report. Do not engage.
Team Alpha: M'gann, Conner, and Robin
Team Bravo: Kaldur, Zee, and Rocket
Team Charlie: Artemis and KF
As it turns out, all three locations have meetings going on. Alpha Site has Cobra and Sportsmaster, with Sportsmaster being the supplier. Bravo Site was to pick up two new scientists for Cobra's underground labs. Charlie Site was to do a package drop to an unmarked van, which was parked on the second floor of a parking deck.
Sportsmaster spots Alpha team watching and orders his team to attack as he radio's the other two meeting locations. Charlie gets hit the hardest, with Cobra's actual usage of heavier firepower. Artemis and KF are currently crouched low on the second floor of the complex, pinned between two cars and the half wall as gunfire reigns around them. Just before Artemis fires a smoke arrow to supply cover for the both of them to retreat, KF spots one of Cobra's men aiming an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) Launcher at the car in front of them. She fires her arrow and he grabs her from behind, jumping backwards over the divider of the parking deck. As they fall backwards, clearing the deck, the RPG hits the car and explodes. Artemis drops her bow during the fall, closing her eyes and balling up to brace herself for the fall. Landing with a thump and a groan, she opens her eyes and sits up, having no damage to herself at all. Then she notices how she landed, on top of Wally who landed on top of a white work van. The van absorbed most of the impact, but with Wally being sandwich between her and the van, he wasn't so lucky.
Artemis opens her eyes, questioning how her landing was so soft. KF pulled her off the second floor, so she should have at least broken a bone or worse. She sits up to survey the area and finds herself on top of a van.
"KF? Are you okay?" she questions. Then, suddenly, she realizes that she's sitting on top of him. She turns around on her hands and knees above him. He's breathing but not moving, so Artemis smacks him on his cheek to try to wake him. "KF. . KF . . .Wally, wake up."
Wally wakes up and lifts his head to look at Artemis. He mumbles something, smiles back at her giving the 'okay' sign with his right hand before dropping his head back on the van.
Artemis sighs, "Jesus Christ, Wally. What were you thinking!" As soon as she lets the words out, she hears the van's tires squeal as it drives away from the parking deck.
"Huntress to all teams. Report." Paula voice comes through the coms.
"This is Alpha." Rob responds. "We were spotted, and Sportsmaster escaped."
"Bravo Team Reporting. Cobra was tipped off that we were here. Cobra members escaped as well, but we did capture the scientists that Cobra was meeting with." Kaldur explains.
"This is what's left of Charlie Team. We got hammered, and not in a fun way." Artemis says as she climbs down from the top of the van.
"Are you and KF alright?" Huntress questions.
"Well, Kid Idiot over here decided to take me swan diving into a parked van. I'm good, but he knocked himself stupid, so we're going to need a pickup. Oh, and bad guys escaped."
"Big bada boom." comes from Wally, still in a daze on top of the van.
Huntress places her hand on her forehead. "That boy is going to be the death of me." Paula sighs. "I'll contact the police. They should be there soon to get the two scientists. M'gann, call the Bioship and pick up Bravo and Charlie Teams after the police get there."
"Roger That, Huntress. M'gann out."
May 08 – 9.15 AM – Mount Justice
Wally wakes up to see a white ceiling. As his eyes come into focus, he spots a blond headed woman wearing a black corset at the end of his bed, looking over his medical charts. Black Canary looks up to see his curious eyes focusing on her.
"I don't know what hospital I'm at, but I'm taking up permanent residence." Wally says, staring at certain parts of Canary.
"I was going to ask how you were feeling, but if you can look at me that way and have no fear of being hit, you'll be fine." Dinah responds, putting the clip board up.
He sits up with a grunt. "I'm sorry, but I see no harm calling a hot babe a hot babe. . . . . babe."
"And if I tell your girlfriend that you're hitting on me?" she questions him.
"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" He says, sliding his hands through his hair, trying to shake a headache that's been growing since he woke up.
Dinah pauses at Wally's response. "Wally, who am I?"
He thinks for a second. "Black Canary, right? You're Justice League. And since you know my name, then you know that The Flash is my uncle."
"And how long have you known that your uncle is Flash?"
"Couple of months."
"And the last thing you remember?"
"I found his notebook and was recreating his experiment and then 'boom'." He pauses for a moment. "Oh no, my mom is going to kill me. I think I blew up the garage."
As he ends his statement, Artemis comes into the room to check up on things and finds him awake. "Hey Baywatch, you break anything?" Artemis asks.
"Wow, two hot blond nurses, keeping their eyes on me. What did I do to deserve this?" Wally announces.
Dinah cuts in. "Artemis, I need you to rally the troops together. We have a problem." She motions over to Wally. Artemis looks back to Wally, who was eye-balling both blonds, comparing the two.
"Please tell me that you two are related. Or better yet sisters, because that would be AWESOME." he blurts out.
The two lady's glance back at each other with blank looks before walking out of the room together.
As the two of them leave, Wally questions "What? What did I say? Hey, come back. Aw, man!" He falls back into his bed.
A few minutes pass and he's still alone, so he decides sit back up and stretch. As Wally scratches his chest with his right hand, he pauses, a puzzled look crossing his face. He starts to poke himself in the chest, then his abs.
"What the. . . ." He lifts the top of his shirt to look down his chest then stretches his shirt wider viewing his chest and stomach. He releases the collar of his shirt just to grab it again and pull it off of him. As the shirt hits the floor, Wally looks down at himself, revealing new found muscles.
"Holy Hell! When did this happen?" He throws his sheets off the bed and stands, spotting a mirror. Walking over to it, he expects to see someone else instead of himself in the reflection. "What the hell happened to me?" Wally questions. He turns and walks out the room, determined to get answers.
As the Team meets in the War Room, Canary, Batman, Paula and the others start to discuss how to deal with the current situation.
"Wally's fall left him with memory loss." Canary announces.
"How bad?" Batman questions.
"I don't know. The last thing he remembers is recreating Flash's Experiment."
"That was about three years ago." Rob cut in. "He was thirteen at the time."
"Oh, I could go into his mind and try to fix his memory problem!" M'gann volunteers.
"No. Head trauma for humans is tricky. His memory has to come back naturally, or there could be problems later on. So no unnecessary stress and no unnecessary information." Batman says, stopping the martian.
"HEY!" Everyone turns to look at the voice coming from behind them.
"Can someone tell me why I'm built like a red headed Fabio?" Wally yells, standing in nothing but his red boxer-briefs in front of the crowd of heroes gathered in the War Room.
"Oh dear GOD!" echoes from everyone with the same inflection of disbelief as they look away. Artemis, however, waits until after everyone else to voice her own version of "Oh. Dear. God." as a smile appears across her face. Zee, who is standing beside her, hears Artemis and turns to look at her. She catches a glimpse of the blond biting her bottom lip, grey eyes scanning over the speedster.
"Hey Wall-man. You might want to put on some pants if you want to fight crime today." Rob calls out.
"Evig mih emos. . . . ." Zee begins her 'Give Him Pants' spell but is stopped when Artemis puts a hand over Zee's mouth, still eyeing Wally.
Wally's entire body now matches his hair color. He turns and walks down the hall back to the medical wing.
"Someone should go with him." Batman states to the crowd.
"I'LL GO." Artemis calls out.
Zee quickly grabs her arm. "Oh no you don't."
"I'll go." Rob responds. "I'm his best friend, so I know how he'll react with his embarrassment." Batman nods. 'DAMN' echoes through Artemis' mind.
May 09 - 10:25am – Mount Justice
The Team decides to take Wally's memory recovery slow, choosing not to tell him that he and Artemis just started dating. This seemed like a marvelous idea at the time, letting him adjust to his current situation before forcing any unnecessary information upon him.
This, obviously, was not the best plan they could have come up with.
The speedster had always been known as a flirt. Even the girls on the team were victims, but after a few weeks in his company, they had subtly learned to deal with it.
Eventually though, after the team was thoroughly established, it was toned down. Wally had stopped directly hitting on Black Canary and only called M'gann a pet name about twice a week. Amazingly enough, his self control continued to grow, tripling once he and Artemis started dating. From that point on, all stares and nicknames were for her and only her, leaving all other girls on the team safe from his so called moves. It was wonderful.
Now that his memory is gone, however, it seems any of that self control he gained is, too. Wally was now back to his previous self. His hours are spent chatting up every girl on the team, seemingly making up for lost time. The flirtatious conversations with M'gann have resumed, and continue on even after finding out that she and Conner are now dating. Zee and Rocket just laugh at his stupid antics, Zatanna raising an eyebrow at every magic themed pickup line he shoots her way. All but Artemis seem amused by his behavior, who's current position is on the opposite side of the room, leaning against the wall.
Clearly, she's annoyed and more than a little hurt, if her furrowed brow is any clue. As his girlfriend, shouldn't she be upfront in his mind? He hardly spoke two words to Rocket before his little fall, and now he's sucking up to her like she's the Queen of freaking England.
As angry as she is, she bites her tongue and refuses to lash out. Maybe it's her pride, but for whatever reason, Artemis has this strange feeling in her chest. Kind of like she can't breathe.
She hears heavy footsteps coming her way, breaking her out of her thoughts, and snaps her gaze up. Wally approaches her, all confident strides and smiling face. One which she would very much like to smack. Instead of acting on her thoughts, however, she just stares him down as he walks up to her, hoping her grey eyes are as hard and cold as steel.
"Hey there. Having fun?" Wally asks her.
"Not as much fun as you, I see." she snaps back. Good, good. Anger is good. She can already feel that odd sensation in her chest sinking to the back, rage taking its place.
"Aw, come on. I'm just trying to break the ice. No need to be jealous of anyone." he says, raising both of his hands, as if warding off a rabid animal.
She softens her glare. Just a bit.
"So now it's my turn for you to hit on? Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been making your rounds, Wally. I'm not interested."
"Hey, relax babe. If you don't want me to flirt with you, I won't. But I would still like to talk, if that's okay."
He walks past her a few steps and motions her into the TV Room, his green eyes silently asking her to follow. She knows this is a bad idea, because she has this gut feeling that's telling her to run, and fast, but Artemis uncrosses her arms and walks past him. Sitting down on the couch, she watches Wally make his way over, the smile seeming more forced than it was ten seconds ago. He sits beside her, keeping space between them.
"So, what do you want?" Artemis demands, quickly. The faster they're done talking, the faster she can get away from him. And right now, that's exactly what she wants.
He looks back to the kitchen area to see if anyone is else is coming or trying to keep an eye on him. The last thing he needs is some over concerned teammate hearing this. When he knows that no one will be listening, his grin and sparkling eyes turn into a look of exhaustion as he runs his hands through his hair.
Wally lets loose a sigh. "This is too much to deal with." he says, just loud enough for Artemis to hear. His voice sounds weary and tired.
"What was that?" Artemis questions him. She heard what he said, but didn't really believe it. He's in his element, hitting on girls and using his awful supply of come ons. Sounds like a heaven specifically designed for him.
"I said, this is too much to deal with. It's giving me a headache." He tiredly rubs his eyes.
"Where did that come from? This is definitely not the normal Wally talking."
"That's part of the problem. I don't remember who the normal Wally is." he says, frustrated. "Granted, I was a flirt when I was younger, but now it just... it doesn't feel right."
Artemis sits back on the couch, intrigued by his response. He looks confused. Hell, she looks confused. Here she is listening to Kid Flirt, the one who always delighted in taunting the opposite sex, tell her that he really doesn't care for it anymore. She's more than a little suspicious.
"Explain it, if you can." Her narrowed eyes scrutinize him curiously.
"Well, I guess it's more of a defensive reaction, really. I'm kinda alone here."
She says nothing, only waits for him to continue.
"It's like, I know I should know everyone here, but I don't. Everyone here is a stranger and-" he cuts himself off. "I don't know. I guess it's just me. I don't feel right." His eyes stare down at his hands hanging down between his knees as he rests his elbows on his legs.
"So why all of a sudden did you decide to open up to me about this? Why not anyone else?"
"I didn't, at first. But when you told me not to flirt with you, it felt like a light switch went on in my head. That no matter what, you weren't going to walk on egg shells or treat me like I was 'broken' or 'fragile' or whatever." He made faces at those words, seemingly annoyed at having been categorized as such by his fellow teammates.
"True. You always said I was a spitfire. Someone who wouldn't let-" Wally cuts off Artemis by finishing her statement.
"Let me get away with anything." She froze. "Right? That's what you were about to say?" All she does is nod, and that aching feeling in her chest seems to have doubled in intensity.
"That's it. I knew that there was something about you. I don't know what it is yet, but I'll find out." He pauses for a second. "But I will need you to help me out here, so will you?" Wally still trying to keep his voice down.
Artemis is snapped out of her thoughts, and gladly, too. The last thing she needs is to be reminded of her past with Wally, and the memories he may never recover. "Will I what?"
"Help me. Now just to warn you, I can be a pain in the ass and I'll complain constantly, but if you stick it out with me, I'll make it worth your while."
She looks at him for a long moment, taking in his pleading expression, the light scattering of freckles, the color slowly rising to his cheeks, before she gives in.
"Fine. But we'll start tomorrow, when Flash gets here. Right now, I'm the one getting a headache."
A large smile appears the red heads face, this one genuine and true. It reminds her so, so much of the moments she may never have with him again. "I promise, Artemis. You won't regret it." With one last look back at her, he stands up and runs out of the TV Room.
She watches him go, literally gone within a second. For a moment, she continues to stare blankly at the empty hallway, before she leans forward and places her head in her hands.
"Oh dear God, Wally. I don't know if I can deal with this." Artemis shakily whispers to herself as her eyes close. "I hope your memory comes back soon. I may need you just as much as you need me."
Outside the TV Room, Conner stands still as a statue, having overheard the whole conversation. At Artemis' confession, he looks over to M'gann and speaks to her using her link, passing on what he heard. She nods at Conner, understanding in their shared gaze, and links up the rest of the team. It's time to start talking about Wally's situation, and what it may be doing to Artemis.
May 10 – 2:45 pm – Mount Justice
What started out to be a simple training exercise for Wally has now turned into a two hour disaster, heavy on the 'DIS'. The far wall of the war room has an Olympic crash pad strapped to anchors, which he is currently using to practice some of his forgotten moves. Flash and Artemis stand watching in disapproval. He's trying with all his might to do a simple sliding stop.
"I don't get it." Artemis complains to Flash. "I've seen this boy slide across water and come out dry on the other side. Why is this so difficult?"
"Well, when I first started to train him, he wasn't this fast." Flash spoke up.
Wally tries again just to trip at the last leg of the slide and fly into the crash pad, falling to the ground. The computer responds, "FAIL, Kid Flash." followed by a roar of laughter from the side lines. Artemis and Flash turn to see the rest of the team, who an hour ago pulled the couches out of the TV room and set themselves up to laugh at Wally's misfortune with bowls of popcorn being passed among them.
Artemis, not only irritated at Wally, but with the rest of the Team as well, takes a deep breath. A second later, however, a small half smile appears across her face. "Hey Flash, are you a betting man?"
"Depends on the bet, I guess." he responds.
"Good. Go offer the Team a $10 bet that I can get Wally to stop without crashing. If we lose, I'll cover half."
The largest smile slowly grows across the Flash's face. "Deal. Give me a moment, would ya?" Flash walks over to the couch to the laughing teens and makes the bet. He turns to Artemis and nods.
Artemis smiles back at him and walks over to the starting line as Wally picks himself up from the floor. "Hey. Come here for a sec." She beckons with one digit.
Wally walks over to Artemis, irritation showing across his face. "God, this is so humiliating." He says to her, stopping just in front of her.
"Save it, Baywatch. You know what your problem is? You think too much. If you want to do this right, you need to distract your mind." Pointing her finger at his chest.
"Easier said than done, Blondie. But please, enlighten me on how I can achieve this marvelous ability."
"Simple, the question is, do you trust me?"
He pauses for a moment, then sighs. "Yeah. I guess so."
"Good. Pick me up and run."
"WHAT? Now I know you're crazy."
"Wally, do you want me to shoot you?"
"No. Wait, more like, hell no!"
"Then shut up. Put me in your arms and run."
As he picks Artemis up bridle-style, the peanut gallery stops laughing. A few of them slide to the edge of the couch, carefully watching for what happens.
"Are you ready?" he asks her, who was kind of comfortable being back in his arms. Then she realizes what she's got herself into.
"Are you?" She responds. "Remember to focus on me, not the act of stopping."
He nods as he looks into her eyes, closing his own as he breathes in. Then *FLASH*. In only a few seconds, Wally takes off, sliding and turning his back to the crash pad as he stops within inches of it. A light popping sound is heard as Artemis' hair whips the surface. She cautiously peers through her lashes and sees Wally still standing, with herself nestled safely in his arms.
"YEEESSSS!" Wally's voice echoes throughout the room.
Artemis releases her hands from his neck and pats him on the chest. "You can put me down, Baywatch."
He places her feet on the ground and stands up right. "That was AWESOME. Did you see that?" The red head is almost giddy with laughter. "What's next, Beautiful?"
She pauses, looking up at him. He called her Beautiful. He hasn't done that since the accident, and now all she can do is look into his eyes in shock.
As the silence continues between Artemis and Wally, Zatanna stands up and looks over at Flash. "Double or nothing they kiss." She addresses quickly and quietly to Flash. He nods looking over at Zee then back at the couple.
"Artemis, are you okay?" Wally asks as he tries to swallow the large lump that is in his throat.
She snaps herself out of her daze and puts a hand on his chest, pushing him into the crash pad. "Now, solo run. Then you pass." She says, walking away.
Zee crashes into the couch, now furious at having to come up with $20 for Flash. A slight giggle comes from Rob who is typing on a VR keyboard.
As Wally watches Artemis walk away from him, the computer chimes in. "EPIC FAIL - Kid Flash!" He face palms himself and slides against the crash pad down to the floor.
May 10 – 9:20pm – Mount Justice
Since Wally has been staying at the cave, retraining and trying to recover any memories he lost, he has become somewhat of a digger. As he currently roams his room, hoping to find anything he can use to spark a memory or two, he comes across a small two drawer set in his closet.
The top drawer has everything from small knick-knacks to birthday cards to pictures of him and the Team. As he flips through the loose photographs, a smile forms across his face. There are shots of Rob and himself hanging out, camping outside the cave or posing with their mentors. Some of them feature the team, Wolf or Sphere occasionally making their way into the frame. He continues flipping through the stack, until his smile suddenly fades into a very serious look as he comes across one particular photograph. Wally pauses on it, studying every little detail. Surprisingly, it's of him and Artemis.
The camera had been zoomed in, showing a close up of them smiling. Curious, he flips to the next picture, and it's them again. This time he's carrying her around bridle style, surrounded by the Team at what looks like a birthday party. She's the only one wearing a party hat, its ridiculous designs and colors prominent against the blonde of her hair.
He flips to the last picture and it's the two of them, again. Artemis is on his back, laughing as he looks back at her. His speed seems checked, purposely kept slow so that the camera can focus for the picture. Wally slowly puts the others back in the drawer, but keeps the last three.
"I knew you were special to me, Artemis. If nothing else, I just hope I can remember you."
He continues his search, and opens the second drawer to find a couple of books along with a Gotham North t-shirt with the midriff cut out. Underneath that, a pair of running shorts, but not his own.
Wally is now smiling from ear to ear. "Now I really want to remember."
He closes the drawer, stands up and places the pictures he found on his desk and heads out of his bedroom. His destination is the last place he saw Artemis, the TV room where she was reading a book.
"Hey Beautiful." Wally says to her as he stands at the doorjamb. She pauses and looks up, not just at the sound of the voice, but because he called her 'Beautiful' again. He walks around the couch and sits beside her as she tries to find where she left off in her novel.
"Got a sec for a little Q & A?" he asks.
"Sure, go ahead." she answers as she reads, trying not to look at him.
Wally turns to face her, putting his arm on the back of the couch. "So I was roaming around my room and I found some things."
"Congratulations, Baywatch, you found things. Want a cookie?" Still trying not to look at him, she rereads the same paragraph of her book twice, not even processing the words.
"No, but you may want to tell me how a Gotham North t-shirt with a cut out midriff found its way into my room." Wally's eyes lock on hers as she looks up, looking for her reaction.
Artemis closes her book, now having no choice but to look over at Wally. "A Gotham North t-shirt you say?" She pauses to think, then smiles. "Yep, that would be mine. Your point?"
"My point? Artemis, I may have memory loss, but I'm not stupid. I just want to hear it from you exactly what's up between us and why I wasn't told."
"Because Batman told us not to flood your fragile little mind with a lot of info all at once. But if you must know, yes, we just started dating a few months ago."
"And your clothes?" Wally questions as he moves closer to her.
"My room was flooded when the sprinklers malfunctioned a few months ago. So I crashed in your room, without you there of course. What did you think?" she answers with a smile, already guessing what his answer is.
Wally's grin is now removed from his face. "I thought I might have lost my virgin . . I mean, uh, lost a very important memory." Wally turns away, hiding his now glowing red face.
"Sorry Baywatch, we never went that far, so your 'very important memory' is still intact." She smiles as she reopens her book.
Wally, now speechless, stands and starts to walk out of the room before making a detour. He circles the couch to the other side of her, then stops.
"I found pictures of us, too." This caught Artemis' attention so she looks up to see him. "You looked really happy. . . and . . . and I know I don't remember, but I hope I can make you happy again, if you can give me a chance." He looks down, breaking eye contact while he turns to walk towards the door.
Artemis shoots up from the couch like a rocket, dropping her book, and calling his name. He stops in his tracks but doesn't turn around.
"Look, I know you might not understand this, but I've always thought there was something special about you. And I know that our relationship is on hold because of the accident, but I just want to tell you that if I could choose only one memory to keep, it would have been of you."
Wally takes one step towards the door, but is stopped by Artemis' hand on his shoulder and turns him around. She catches his face with both hands and kisses him fully on the lips. He automatically responds, letting the words he couldn't communicate with her be known through this one, simple act. Eventually, she separates her lips from his, fingers still flush against his cheeks as she presses her forehead to his.
"I'm sorry, Wally. I'm so sorry." she says, her voice cracking as she speaks. "I wanted to tell you, but I was told not to. I'm sorry."
Wally places the middle knuckle of his right hand to her chin, lifting her eyes to his. "Then tell me every memory you have about us. And if I still don't remember, I'll do everything I can to give us new ones. I promise."
She leans forward once again, her hands sliding from his face to his shirt as she grabs a handful of fabric and once again brings his lips to hers.
After a long night together, Wally couldn't be happier. Artemis left nothing out about them. Telling him everything from her own past and all the fights the two of them had before their New Years kiss. He mostly laughs at their Soap Opera style romance.
The two of them stayed up so late talking that they fell asleep on the couch together. In the morning, once the both of them woke up (and stopped blushing and stammering), the Team notices the vast change in Wally. He stops complaining about long hours training, becomes more open with the rest of the Team without being an annoying flirt. Even Artemis has become more emotional towards Wally, telling herself that even though he doesn't remember their past, his feelings for her are still there. It kind of gives her a piece of her happiness back as well.
May 18 – 4:45pm - Mount Justice
By the following week, Wally is back on the active list just as a mission comes up. He still hasn't regained his memory yet, but thanks to Artemis, Kid Flash is ready to run and able to work within the Team. Batman, still not sure about Wally's recovery, decides to allow him on this assignment anyway. Mainly because he is tired of Wally's constant begging for something to do. As the Team meets up with Batman, he lays out the mission using the VR Map.
"Okay Team, easy operation. An armored car carrying Top Secret designs for a new prototype Battle Armor for the Department of Defense is being delivered to a Wayne testing lab. Your job is to supply checkpoint observation for the transport. Now just so you know, this transport is a ruse. The League received a tip that this transport may be hit, but we don't know by whom. Your job is to ID the assailants and capture if possible. I want checkpoints along the transports travel path. If anything happens report back to Huntress on Coms, she should be here any moment. Any questions?" He scans the room to see a lot of unhappy faces. "Very well, mission will begin in 2 hours. Be ready." Turning off the VR map, he leaves the room.
As the Team separates the Zeta beam announces the arrival of Huntress. Artemis walks over to her mother with Wally to reintroduce them.
"Hi, Mom. I just wanted to introduce you to Wally again. Wally, my mom Paula. Again." Artemis stands between the two.
"Hey, Ms. C. Nice to meet you, again. I hope I made a good impression the last time we met, well the first time." Wally spoke up.
Paula answers. "Yes Wally, you did. As a matter of fact, you saved me."
"Was that before or after Artemis and I started dating?" Wally questioned, his brow furrowed as he tried to remember.
"After the New Years kiss, but before you two became a couple." she answered, throwing a smirk in her embarrassed daughter's direction.
"Okay, I have to ask. Why did we wait so long to start dating if we kissed on New Years?" he asked.
"Simple, Wally. It took you until February to actually man up and ask me out." Artemis answered with a smile.
"Alright you two. You have a mission to prep for, so get going and no arguing." Paula cuts in and then moves over to meet with Batman before the mission.
May 10 – 7:15pm – New York
The Team is spaced at different checkpoints. Kalder is at checkpoint Alpha followed by M'gann (Bravo), Conner (Charlie), Artemis (Delta), Kid Flash (Echo), Robin (Foxtrot), Zatanna (Gulf), and Rocket (Hotel). As the transport pulls out of the Department of Defense building, Kalder calls out to the Team over their Com units.
"Kalder to all checkpoints. Transport is on the move. Be ready and keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary."
All checkpoints respond. "Roger that."
Roughly half an hour into the mission, the transport makes its way to checkpoint Echo where Kid Flash stands ready. On top of a four story building, he keeps watches for the transport to show.
"This is checkpoint Echo. Transport is in sight and still on the move." KF relays over Com. "You think the bad guys know that this is a trap? I was hoping for something to go wrong about now."
Just as he finishes his statement, he hears a metal ringing sound from behind. He turns to see a small metal can roll to a stop about 10 feet from him. "Oh, you have got to be kidding. . . . ."
* POW *
From a distance, checkpoints Delta and Foxtrot see a small flicker at Kid Flash's location.
"Robin to KF. Come in." Rob calls out with no response. "Robin to all checkpoints. Echo site has been hit. Transport is still good and is on the move."
"Alpha to Bravo and Charlie sites. Move to Echo for backup. Delta site, tell us what you see."
"Delta here. Looks like a flash bang went off at Echo. I don't see KF anywhere." Artemis responds. "Wait, got something. It's. . . . .Oh, God. It's Sportsmaster...and he has Wally. Someone needs to get there, NOW!" Artemis, now in combat mode, pulls a zip line arrow and fires it as close as she can get to Wally's location. Her face is set in grave determination as she slides down the line as fast as gravity will allow.
Conner is the first to arrive at Echo site, followed by M'gann and then Artemis. When she lands on the roof top, she looks over at the Kryptonian and the martian, both shaking their heads at her.
"No, don't tell me that. There has to be something here. I don't care if you have to lie to me, tell me SOMETHING!" Artemis says, trying her best to remain calm and failing.
M'gann puts her arms around the blonde girl and hugs her close. "I'm sorry, Artemis." is all she can say as she holds her friend. The sound of Artemis' bow hitting the rooftop is the last sound that echoes through the archer's ears just before the silent scream took over.
May 20 – 11:20am - Bannerman's Castle, New York
It's been nearly two days since Wally was kidnapped by Sportsmaster, and during this time he has continuously interrogated Kid Flash in any way possible. Trying to get information out of him. His line of questions is not about the Battle Armor, but of the Team. He purposely used the fake transport in hopes that Batman would call out the Junior Justice League, and KF was just in the right place at the wrong time. As luck would have it, he took the only member of the Team that just so happened to have no memory what so ever about the his friends' personal lives, thanks to Wally's swan dive from the parking deck a week ago.
This sent Sportsmaster into a frenzy, and all Wally could do is laugh no matter how much pain he caused him.
"I'm really freaking tired of this, Kid. You will tell me something useful or I swear you'll be wishing for death." He continues his questions.
Wally is tied to a chair in the middle of a room, and his mask has been removed. A small line of blood trickles from his split lip. His body, lacking energy but persistently trying to heal itself, is already slowing down in the recovery process.
"Sure, I could tell you a few things, Sporty. But I don't think you'll like it." He tries to give him a small, sarcastic smile.
"You better think about what you're doing. If you keep toying with me, I'll make sure things will become much worse. So you better start talking."
"Okay, okay. I'll talk. I'm good at talking. I have a tendency to talk a lot. I hear some even say I talk too much, but you don't mind, do you? If you want me to talk and talk, I shall. Let's see, where do I start..? I know. Let's start with Robin. Rob is the closest person I have to a brother, so telling you this may cause some problems for us. You see, Robin is secretly. . . . . . Batman's partner. I know, it's hard to believe. . ." Wally's cut off by a punch in the stomach from Sportsmaster.
"Kid, I warned you, and now you're going to pay for it."
Now coughing and trying to catch his breath, the red head makes an attempt to speak. "Come on, Sporty. I haven't gotten to the best part. There's a lot I know about Artemis that I can tell you. That is, if you want to know. You know, some things you should never tell your girlfriends father. But if you want I can make an exception."
A sudden, quick swing leaves Wally yelling out in pain. He can tell that at least two ribs cracked by the impact.
"You want to share stories about Artemis, I can tell you plenty. Like the things I put her through to train her, to break her. Her and her sister both. Hell, how do you think her mother ended up in a wheelchair? But you know what, I'm done with you." Sportsmaster turns starts to leave the room. "When my ride gets here, I'll come back to finish you off. In the mean time, enjoy your last moments alive." He closes the door behind him, leaving Wally alone in the room.
Trying to block out the pain from his ribs, he stares into the desolate confines of the room. "I swear to God, if I find out you did those things, I'll kill you myself." he whispers to himself.
As he scans the room with his eyes, Wally comes across a jagged piece of glass broken from his goggles. It just might be enough to cut through the ropes holding him. His only chance.
Desperation gives him the energy to move, the will to survive far outweighing the overwhelming pain and exhaustion. He rocks the chair over side to side, once, twice, three times. It clatters to the ground, leaving him flinching from the impact, but he can just reach the piece of broken glass. His sweaty hands fumble for a moment, but soon his bonds fall away as he quickly saws through them.
Once freed, Wally quietly goes to the door and looks for guards. Not only are there no guards, the door is left unlocked. He quietly sneaks out the room and makes his way down the hall, eventually coming to a large flight of stairs, old and worn. As he climbs them, he can hear what sounds like an all out battle. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he rushes up the last few step and reaches the top, finding himself on top of a large outer wall of a castle of some kind. He scans the area to find the Team fighting Sportsmaster's private army. Frantically, his eyes dart around, taking in every aspect of his situation. He spots Sportsmaster looking over the battlefield. In the distance, Wally can also see a fast approaching helicopter, no doubt sent for the maniacs speedy escape.
But he cannot, will not, let that man get away.
Running full force at Sportsmaster, Wally plows into him, knocking the other man off his feet. His attack sends the criminal flying off of the edge of the wall, but before he can slip into the inky blackness of the ocean, he catches himself at the last second. The speedster comes to a halt on his hands and knees ten feet away from him, hovering at the very edge of the wall, watching and waiting.
Climbing up from his position, Wally stifles a groan slowly walks over to the man responsible for his pain, for his girlfriends pain. His ribs are throbbing, his vision is hazy, and his left arm has been tucked protectively into his side. He looks down at Sportsmaster with a glare that could rival Batman's.
"Well played, boy. Now what do you plan to do?" Sportsmaster questions as he activates hidden toe spikes and digs into the wall for extra support. "I doubt you have the galls to finish me off."
"Well Sportsmaster, a lot of things would be better if I let you fall. Even if I did try to help you, you would only try to kill me again or take me with you off this wall." Wally answers, trying to catch his breath.
"You do have a very good point, I probably would. But I know you. You hero types are never killers. Not even Batman. So I know you don't have the nerve."
"In the past you would be right. But with you gone, you could never hurt Artemis again. Her nightmares would end with you, and she could finally have a happy life. So why shouldn't I let you fall."
Sportsmaster laughs. "You're a horrible liar, kid. You may have feelings for my daughter, but you wouldn't dare take a life."
The young hero kneels down and quickly grabs Sportsmaster's mask with his right hand, pulling it off his face with the speed that only he could achieve, other than the Flash himself. "That's where you're wrong." He stands back up and takes a step back, keeping his stare on the villain. What feels like forever but is only a short minute, he breaks eye contact with Sportsmaster, closing his eyes and dropping the mask.
Sportsmaster lets a low laugh slip from his mouth. "You almost had me, Kid. For a second, I thought you might actually kill me. I could almost hear Artemis screaming at you saying 'How could you murder my father?'." Sportsmaster teased.
Wally sighs. "Me too but the truth is I don't think I could help you even if I tried. It's been two days since I've had anything to eat. Hell, I can barely stand as is."
"And if I fall?"
"Since you're not even breathing hard or struggling to hold on, I think you'll be fine until my friends get here." Wally states.
"Well lucky me, and look, here comes your friends now." As he turns his head to look behind him, Sportsmaster pushes himself off the wall.
Wally catches the movement and turns back to the wall, just in time to see Sportsmaster start to fall back. The speedster reacts by diving forward, reaching out to catch him, but he is just out of reach. All Wally can do is watch him fall into the black water of the Hudson River.
"WALLY!" A cry comes from behind him. Wally pushes himself up to his knees. He stands, then turns to walk away but falls back to the ground as his legs give out. Looking up, he sees Artemis running at him with the rest of the Team, cleaning up what's left of Sportsmaster's goons.
"Wally. Are you okay?" Artemis asks, dropping to her knees in front of him. Her bow, dropped to the ground as she tries to steady him by the shoulders with both of her hands.
He stares blankly into Artemis eyes. "I'm sorry, Artemis. I tried, but I couldn't reach him."
"Wally, what happened?" He says nothing, but looks down, picking up the mask of Sportsmaster. As she takes the mask from him she questions, "Where's Sportsmaster?"
"He jumped." Wally answers, as he looks away from Artemis.
Artemis drops the mask and holds his face up to look into his eyes. "Wally, look at me."
His gaze snaps back to her. "I could have saved him. I tried to save him, but he jumped. He's gone."
She says nothing, but gazes into his eyes as she starts to tear up.
"You're crying Artemis. Is it for him?"
"No, Wally. My dad made his own decision to jump. I also know that there's a chance that he's still alive down there. I'm crying for you Wally. I just started to get you back so when he took you, I was scared that I might lose you again."
Wally wraps his right arm around Artemis' waist and whispers into her ear. "Now you can smile again Beautiful. I got my memory back and I remembered something very important. . . . . I love you Artemis."
With his words, Artemis wraps her arms around his neck as he buries his face into her shoulder. As she holds him tight, Artemis learns two things while holding him in her arms. From her father, she would only know pain and suffering. But from Wally, she was given the gift of true love. The same love that he thought he lost, then found once again in the arms of his beautiful goddess.
::: End of Mission :::
Thanks again ThatCheshireSmile for everything. You're absolutely beautiful.