Broken Body Broken Soul

by ~lolmak

None of the Characters are owned by me but are owned by the DC universe

"One more mission I have nothing to do in", Wally thought. "Perfect". Why didn't Kaldur see his full potential as a member on the team? He could just bust in there and get all the bad guys before they knew what hit them.

"Kid Flash, Focus!" Kaldur's voice sounded in his ear. He always seemed to know when Wally was distracted even when they weren't linked telepathically. "You are on guard duty in case anything goes wrong on the mission" Kaldur stated. "You have to be…" "On the lookout in case there is something that could hurt us, which there isn't" Wally finished. He heard this gig before and he wasn't taking any crap about watching the teams back. It never happened yet to any team member that they were put as guards and he had never seen any villain that would willingly attack a group of six heroes at the same time. It just didn't happen.

"Stay…" Kaldur started to say. "Linked" Wally finished again. He could hear Kaldur growl into his mike before he switched off. "There goes the last conversation I have for the hour" Wally growled.

"Unless someone decides to stay" he heard a voice from his left. Artemis… it had to be her. Wally was in no mood to argue with her because at the moment he just wanted to hit something.

"Getting lonely?" Artemis teased.
"No". He answered untruthfully
"You sure?"
"Quite sure" Wally retorted.

Artemis came up to him and asked "Wonder why they put you and only you on guard duty?"
Not waiting for him to answer she continued. "It's because you mess up all our missions and make us all have to go and save you."

"Well you're one to talk" Wally shot back.
"Oh?" Artemis sweetly replied. Wally blushed and quickly looked away.

No matter how annoying, conceited or selfish she could be, Wally dug her. And he was pretty sure that even though they argued all the time she would eventually catch on.

"What about that time in the desert?" Wally asked.
"What about it?" Artemis asked as if she didn't remember. "How I carried you across the desert in my arms for about 20 miles to get you out of the sun, to keep you hydrated." Artemis paused, she had never heard about this particular detail before.

Wally continued. "And what's more is you never said thank you, and talked about how your dad wanted to get you to kill me." Artemis instinctively reached at the nape of her neck where a thin scar lay. Wally knew he had struck a nerve.

But he also saw that he hurt her, but he wanted to win one of their arguments just once, so he said "And I wouldn't doubt that you'd follow in his footsteps, no matter where they go."

He heard something whizzing towards his head. He tried to avoid it but even he wasn't fast enough. The slap knocked him over and saw an explosion of red in his vision.
His eyes cleared and saw something he had never thought he would ever see in his life. Artemis crying.
"You are such a jerk Wally West and I hope I never have to see you again" Artemis stormed off with tears streaming down her face. Wally won. But he was not happy. Not one bit.

Wally was still thinking about their fight and what a jerk he was when 5 minutes later he heard Artemis scream in the distance.
"Artemis!" He yelled and sped off towards the direction of her voice.

Wally came to an abandoned warehouse that looked to be 50 years overdue for demolition. But he noticed none of these things. The only thing on his mind was Artemis.
"How could I be so stupid!" Wally roared at himself. He was supposed to make sure that everyone's backs were covered and that included Artemis. The girl he didn't know whether to love or hate. But he failed her. But he would rescue her no matter what it took.

He pushed on the main door to the warehouse and slowly walked in. It was dark and couldn't see a thing. He heard a voice low and menacing. "Little hero wants to defeat the sportsmaster? Well it won't end well will it?" Wally tried to find the source of the voice but it seemed to bounce all over the walls.

He couldn't tell which direction to go to and if he would try to use his speed to find the sportsmaster, he'd probably end up tripping over something in the dark. So, he went slowly. He inched through the building jumping at every noise he heard, till he came to a lit up room. Artemis sat in the middle, bound and unconscious. But the worst thing was the sportsmaster holding a knife to her throat.

Wally instinctively moved forward.

"Not another step towards my daughter hero, or she gets it" Shouted the masked man.
"NO!" A single thought flashed through his mind "It can't be!"
"Don't believe me? Don't know who your little spy is?" The man asked him.
Though Wally was initially in denial, the truth of the words sunk in. "Why?" Wally asked the man. "Why did she do this?"

The sportsmaster smiled. "Because she had no choice."

"You aren't making any sense!" Wally yelled "Why would she betray us?"
The sportsmaster smiled psychotically. "Otherwise her mother dies…. "

"Ahhh… love." He twirled the knife around his finger. "Makes you do stupid things, don't it?" Wally looked at Artemis's bruised face, her hair and finally the scar on her neck. He knew that deep inside he didn't hate her, but the other way around "Whatever it takes" Wally said to himself silently.

"Let me make a deal with you" Wally told the sportsmaster.
"I'll hear it out kid but you're dealing with the sportsmaster here, I'm not some poor old man who will go for whatever offer you make." The sportsmaster laughed. "Whatever deals I do make kid, I make sure I win."

"Then you should like this one" Wally said, his voice considerably higher in contrast with the sportsmaster's commanding voice.
"Don't know 'bout that but I'll hear ya out kid."

30 MIN LATER
Artemis stirred. Her head hurt like crazy and she probably had a concussion. All she remembered was Wally's words, how they cut into her.
Her running from him. Trying to find a place in which she could be alone.

A Voice.

"Time to go home tigress"

Something smashing the back of her skull.

Then black.

She remembered fading in and out of consciousness.

Her father hitting her on her cheek.

The enclosed poorly lit room.

Snatched pieces of conversation.

"Mother", "Home", "Mine", "Forever"

She was in the hands of the sportsmaster. Her Father.

But Artemis couldn't hear any of the noises that were present in the warehouse. Artemis tentatively opened one eye. She was outside bound to a chair. There was a small TV that started to play just as soon as she woke up. It was a camera recording of Wally, her and her dad.

Seeing Wally again, on tape or in person made her angry with everything he did, everything he said. She was about to try and destroy the TV, when Wally spoke up.
"Let me make a deal with you"

"I'll hear it out kid but you're dealing with the sportsmaster here, I'm not some poor old man who will go for whatever offer you make." Her father laughed. "Whatever deals I do make kid, I make sure I win."
"Then you should like this one" Wally said. He stood there fear on his face
"Don't know 'bout that but I'll hear ya out kid."

Artemis looked at the TV and mouthed don't.
Wally swallowed and said "You let Artemis go…" The sportsmaster laughed. "Why? If you already know she's the traitor." Wally looked at her still body with such tenderness that she almost didn't recognize him. "She's my friend." He stated it with conviction.
Her father straightened up. "Fine! What if I let her go? What's in it for me?"

"Well you wouldn't use her as a punching bag" Wally swallowed and said "You'd use me."
The screen went dead for a moment. Then in the top corner the words LIVE STREAM flashed in red before she heard the sound of her father's voice "Still enjoying it? Kid Flash" He said the last two words with as much malice as he could muster. There were two more muffled thuds and the sound of Wally grunting" there was a slight pause.

"Well I'm done beating you with my fists speedster" the sportsmaster smiled and went to a table next to him. Artemis heard the clinking of two metal objects hitting each other. "Now you get to choose!" He pulled Wally off the floor to look him in the eye.
Artemis gasped. Wally had bruises covering most of his face. He had cuts everywhere as well and his nose looked broken.

Her father pulled Wally off the floor he showed him the two objects in his hand. "So, what'll it be? The wrench?" sportsmaster hit him with the wrench in his hand. "Or the crowbar?" CRACK! Wally gasped. Sportsmaster just smiled. "Ah broken rib? You'll get over it" and whacked him again. With each blow Artemis screamed even more. There were tears streaming down her face. "WALLY!" The Sportsmaster kept beating Wally till he lay still and stopped making noises.

The sportsmaster looked at the camera. "Artemis! That!" he pointed at the young hero sprawled on the floor, "Is you're doing." there was blood pooling underneath Wally and any signs of life seemed to be absent.

"He is the reason that you can be alive. Cause he put his on stake for you." Her father yelled into the camera. "I could have killed you!" he smiled, "probably would have". He then laughed "But this was definitely more fun."

"Well he kept his end of the deal, so I'll keep mine" Her father slung a coat over his shoulder. I'll activate the homing beacon next to your chair so your 'team' can find you. You're free to go as you wish Artemis, but we both know that in the end you will be back with me. Such is the way of the world." Sportsmaster clicked a remote in his hand and a box next to her started flashing. "Wait." Her father got an idea. "Until your 'friends' show up, I'll give you front row seats to the show. He swung the camera to focus on Wally's body. "Have fun." He smiled at the camera. "Even if you do manage to save him from death… what makes you think he would want to be with you?" and with that he exited the room.

A sob welled up in her throat. Wally. He wasn't as bad as I thought he was. He could be a jerk at times but I was no different to him. If we had met differently where would we be now? Wally. Artemis couldn't hold it in any longer. There was no longer a tough girl that was a cool, confident expert archer. All there was left was a shred of hope he might still be alive. Because all she had now was a broken heart and a broken body.