Chapter 9:
Wally
Wally was tired of just taking it. For the first nine years of his life, he had just taken it, taking his father's beatings, his mother's resentment that he wasn't his father's only target, and now, his Uncle's pity, Artemis'spite... People he loved always left him in pain, left him to patch himself up the best that he could. He struggled to his feet, glanced down at Robin's falling figure, receding into the darkness below him. He felt, through the pounding pain in his head, the edge of the building under his toes. He felt his breath catch in his chest, watching Robin, his best friend, his teammate, fall. He was losing everyone, all over again. This time, though, it was not a training excercise. But he had trained. He was ready. Ready to do what he should have done during the excersize... Watching Robin freefall, Wally let go of everything, everything he loved, the very stability that anchored him to life, and jumped, the ground rushing towards him.
Chapter 10:
After
A tear trickled down the cheek of the stoical Dark Knight as he clutched Robin's body. He had lost so much. An image of his father's body hitting the ground, eyes lifeless and arms outstretched hit had watched his parents die before his very eyes. He couldn't lose Robin, too. Dick was the son he never had, and he never would again...
Chapter 11:
Superboy
Superboy knew he had only one hope. He had never been able too... He'd always been too weak, too inferior... He must do it, for M'gann. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes, tearing into his retinas as his vision danced in an orange, fiery glow. He moaned as M'gann's cage burst into flames. A piece of Kryptonite, glowing a hellish green flew through the air and pinned his shoulder to the wall. A scream tore through his mouth. He had never felt pain like this before, like fire running through his veins. He wasn't Superman! He couldn't deal with this sort of agony. His vision began to blur, the orange hue gone. He remembered the mission, the alien invasion. He remembered his feeling of peace and realized suddenly that it wasn't about knowing how it felt to be Superman. It was about knowing that being Superman felt different, that even though he was a clone, he was different. He was Conner Kent, not Superman, and it didn't matter that he wasn't Superman anymore, because that wasn't all he could be. He was different. He didn't feel like Superman and that was okay, because he wasn't Superman. He was Conner Kent, a troubled sixteen year old in love with a Martian and best friends with a ninja and the fastest kid alive, he had a pet wolf and a magical floating sphere. He was uniquely Connor Kent. As he realized this, Connor Kent, stumbled forward, trying to ignore the gravity that suddenly seemed so strong, pulling down on his leaden limbs. He felt so weak, so human, as he gathered the limp form of M'gann in his arms, surrounded by shards of kryptonite. And he was happy to feel human, to feel at all,even if feeling was only agony, horror, and fear, for now he had his own life. His own identity. And he was not giving up. Moored in an ocean of pain, he cradled an unconscious M'gann in his arms. Both figures grew still in a suddenly overwhelming silence.
Chapter 12:
Wally
The grppling hook tightened in Wally's hand as he grabbed Robin, four stories from impact, and secured him to the line. Taking a deep breath, and praying he would not die, Wally dove for the antivenom as it headed towards the ground. At the back of his mind, a tiny voice whispered that there was only one dose, not enough. Not enough for more than one person. He ignored it. Only one person would need it.
Ten feet.
Wally struggled to make himself more aerodynamic, trying not to imagine what would happen when he hit the ground as the shiny glass siding of the building brushed past him, speeding up and slowing down in short bursts as Wally tried to focus, tried to use his speed. Seconds felt like eternity as he willed himself forward. He would not fail.
Eight feet.
He would not let himself pass out from the pain. He would make it, for Robin. No one else would leave him. Not even death could change Wally's mind. He felt a grim smile grace his face as tears streaked his cheeks and were pushed away by the wind. His dad had always complained that he was stubborn.
Six feet.
He would not resign himself to fate and let Robin die.
Four feet, six inches.
The annoying part of his brain that love math and chemicals was calculating his rate of travel. It was slowere than he could run, but he knew it was enough. The ground was so close, and the antivenom just centimeters out of reach.
Three feet.
He tapped it, the cool glass brushing against his fingers, and the change in movement made it spiral, Wally's brain breaking the spiral into fragmented slow motion images.
Two feet.
Robin dangled above him like a macabre marionette left on a single thread. Wally's fingers closed around the vial.
Impact.
Chapter 13:
Artemis
Artemis was fading. The feeling surprised her. Keep your damn eyes open, a part of her insisted. Why torture yourself? Questioned another. You know they... He... is going to die. Her eyes fluttered open. He had died once without her. Whether he knew she was there or not, he would not be so alone this time.