Ch 6: Explanation

AN: I hope y'all like this. I thought you deserved more than just exposition, but the trade off for that was fewer reactions and emotions. They'll come eventually, though. I promise.

XxXxX

"We first noticed it about 8 months after you… were gone." They had rehearsed how to explain the threat, but they had never counted on their Wally being out there somewhere. It added another dimension to this drama. She needed to stay detached. Objective.

Stick to the facts, Crock.

"After the North Pole, Luthor claimed responsibility for stopping the meltdown." A screech echoes across the room, and everyone turns to see the table in front of Superman buckling beneath his clenched fists.

"Sorry." He says, and folds his hands into his lap instead.

"Trust me. We all felt the same way.

"Arsenal! Stand. Down." Nightwing tries to placate the archer.

"No! How can you say that? After all he's done? Using your best friend," he turns to her, "your lover, this way? Don't you hate him?"

They share a glance. "We do."

"He's a slimy bastard in pretty much every universe, isn't he? Although he's a bit of an under-achiever here. I mean, President? Our Luthor used the publicity to become Secretary of the United Nations. You can imagine how well that went over."

"Secretary of the UN Lex Luthor today announced an inquiry into the Justice League's operations. Should the League be found to be involved in any illicit activities – a likely scenario in the humble opinion of good ol' G. Gordon Godfrey– and the UN will take action against the so-called heroes. I, can only say, Bravo Secretary Luthor. It's past time someone initiated a thorough investigation of the Just-Us League."

"Amid allegations of kidnapping, unlawful martial action and the deployment of child soldiers, UN Secretary Luthor is encouraging members states of the United Nations to withhold jurisdiction from the Justice League. Some brave nations, like Biyalia, are taking this advice to heart and have declared that any intervention by a Justice League member within their borders will be seen as an act of aggression against their country. Other nations are stubbornly refusing to see the light. Vlatava's Queen Perdita even has the gall to defend the League!"

"Secretary Luthor continues his valiant crusade against the League. New evidence suggests that at least one minor – a child! – has died 'in the line of duty' for the Justice League. Old Godfrey's been saying it for months, folks. This is a man worth supporting! We need to be grateful that Secretary Luthor has the willpower to stand against the corruption in our 'heroes' ranks. While the League futilely tries to counter a slew of allegations, Secretary Luthor has sought goodness, Literally. Recent talk of an intergalactic alliance to avoid another 'Reach' situation is reinforced as today Secretary Luthor will meet with one 'Granny Goodness' to discuss terms…"

"Things just kept going from bad to worse. Heck, we were lucky when Luthor – when the Light – finally brought Apokolips in. We're so much better at smashing than negotiating."

It could have been so much worse.

Superboy had been tracking Intergang and its Apokoliptian tech for years. He was the one who realized that they were preparing for something. He led an envoy to New Genesis and secured a motherbox and the promise of aid should Apokolips move against earth.

At the same time, M'gann and B'arrs' negotiations with Mars were shockingly successful. Their sister planet was grateful for the League's part in stopping the Reach's inevitable conquest of their planet. They too, offered aid in the event of another terrestrial invasion.

Cassie's success in 'Man's World' and L'gann and Kaldur's long list of heroics had softened the opinions of their own people, as well as the population at large. Themyscira and Atlantis were on the friendliest terms with the world at large as they had ever been, and were prepared to defend their planet, not just their homes.

They had warning. They had allies. They had done this before. Their biggest boon, however, was in the nature of chaos.

The information Cheshire passed to Roy indicates that, for some unknown reason, Klarion had separated from the Light between the Reach's endgame and Darkseid's invasion. His role had been to stop New Genesis boom tubes and to conceal his own allies from the League's detection technologies. With his desertion, there was nothing to stop the League and their allies from taking the battle to them. For this Invasion they were not alone; they had the manpower to keep the Apokoliptians contained near the tube sites.

For a time.

The armies kept coming, and they kept fighting, and Artemis watched her family grow weary. The Light aggravated what they could. Belle Reve and Arkham were broken open. UN armies attempted to interfere with League battle sites. Biyalia and Rhelasia had sudden nuclear crises. Earth's defenders couldn't keep it up, but they could not lose.

If this was going to end, they were going to have to strike back.

"The League made a final push back at the invaders, and a small group of us used that battle as a diversion to infiltrate Darkseid's fortress."

Artemis takes point. She's their ranged fighter. She uses her arrows to blow obstacles before the team reaches them, to keep any enemies at a distance. They have to keep moving; she can't let them slow down and engage.

Conner and Kaldur protect their flanks. They can take the hits their teammates can't. It's an implicit agreement between the two; they will protect their team at all costs.

M'gann flies above, camouflaged. She is their eyes, their early warning system. Like Artemis, she does what she can to keep the soldiers and missiles that seek their end at bay.

Nightwing's in the center, the most protected position. He's guiding them with an upgraded version of his old wrist computer. He is the one that can take down the central control system, the one that can stop the tide of Apokoliptian soldiers upon their home.

They move fluidly; they've been doing this for years.

(A trained eye, however would note a slight stiltedness to their interactions, how they brace, as if for the actions of a sixth person…)

It takes all of their skill, their teamwork, but their luck holds. They make it to Darkseid's throne room; his control station.

Darkseid himself had gone to battle – Superman and Captain Marvel should be able to keep him busy – but several of his Furies remained to coordinate their armies' attacks.

Superboy and Kaldur launch themselves at the fearsome women. M'gann stays camouflaged and out of the way. She uses her telekinesis to stop deadly projectiles sent at her teammates, and sends out what psychic signals she dares to trip up Darkseid's gladiators.

Nightwing makes it to the control station, barely, and Artemis covers him. His hands are full, his attention occupied; his life is completely in her hands now.

She shoots down the guards that come for them, pushing her flexibility to its limits as she ducks and twirls, making herself the target and not Dick. All the while, she does what she can to help her teammates by firing smoke bombs and flash bangs into their fray. Eventually, she runs out of arrows, and drops her bow to pull out her sword. She throws herself into a fight with anyone that comes near her.

Nightwing's close. She can make it. They can do this.

Then the Apokoliptians release their cyber-hounds, and the battle turns against them. The other three are forced to retreat to her position, and they do their best to form a defensive perimeter as Dick works.

It's painful, and bloody, but he needs time, they can't fail….

Suddenly, triumph flickers across the mind link. He's done it. He can blow the boom tube control system. Most of the Apokoliptian army will be trapped in the pocket dimensions between the ends of the boom tubes, and the League will be able to overwhelm Darkseid's remaining forces. They can save the world; Nightwing just has to trigger it.

They're simultaneous emotions, the joy and the sorrow. Because there is no chance for them. They will not be able to retreat from this position; they will not be able to leave the blast range.

There is no hesitation in their minds. In this decision, they are one.

Nightwing presses the button.

"We took out his control center, crippling the Apokoliptian army, but got caught in the backlash. Instead of killing us, the explosion seems to have amplified the collapsing boom tubes. We were all thrown into different dimensions."

The first thing she feels when she returns to consciousness is surprise. She shouldn't be alive.

After she gets over that shock, she's just annoyed.

Wherever she is, it's closer to League décor than Apokoliptian, so why the hell is she chained up? She's not sure if she has more questions or less when Superman and Batman come in to interrogate her.

They're furious, and want to know how the villain Tigress made it into the Watchtower, when by all accounts she's still in Blackgate Penitentiary.

Eventually (read: after several hours with J'onn and with Diana's lasso) they straighten things out. She is allowed to roam the public areas of the watchtower freely, as long as she stays out of trouble. She does not take advantage of this.

She spends the two weeks it takes to get her home watching the newsreels of this Wally's recent assassination and crying by his memorial.

Wally was shaking Superman's hand, being welcomed as the newest member of the League, when he was shot, just once, in the heart.

Tigress had pulled the trigger.

"Dr. Fate realized what had happened, and he, Zatanna, Dr. Palmer and Bart were able to reverse-engineer some new trans-dimensional portals with some New Genesis tech. By the time they had finally tracked us all down and brought us all back, though, a pattern was emerging."

"Wally had just died in the dimension you were in too?"

"No one talked about him in mine, but he was definitely killed recently."

"He hadn't even become Kid Flash yet! He was just visiting his Aunt Iris and someone blew up the news studio!"

"He had a family, and kids. His little twins were devastated…"

"We ended up exploring dozens of universes, trying to figure out what was happening. There was no order to it. It didn't matter if he had powers, what he did with them, or how old he was. Things just started happening. Someone would go crazy and kill you. An old, forgotten evil would suddenly re-appear. Villains' plans suddenly revolved around taking you out first – even those with other vendettas like Luthor and Bane. So many had lost their Wally West… it couldn't be a coincidence, despite the differences. We devised a plan."

"This can not be allowed to continue."

"Kaldur, none of us want more Wally's to die, but is it really our responsibility? With everything that has to be rebuilt? What are you even suggesting? That we should just throw each member of the Team into a different universe and hope for the best?"

"It is our responsibility, Conner! Look at these patterns. Whatever it was clearly originated in our universe! Whether it caused or was caused by his death, we owe it to him – to them – to stop it."

"Nightwing. Calm yourself. Although he is correct. This… anomaly needs to be stopped. Also… this is not a Team mission. Red Robin has proven he is ready to lead. The Team does not need us any longer. If you are willing, we will take this mission ourselves. Artemis?"

"The five of us will split up. We've been tracking the anomaly, and it seems like it can only jump into 'similar' universes. We've pinpointed the five most likely dimensions for it to have gone to. We each infiltrate one. We protect that world's Wally West. If the Anomaly shows up, we call each other to that universe, and take it down."

"And if we're wrong, if we miss it?"

"We shouldn't be, M'gann."

"But if we are?"

"Then we deal with our failure, and we follow it."

"The Anomaly is very good at attacking you indirectly – we still have know idea who or what it is – but it does leave traces. Moreover, it has to move relatively slowly, and in stages of similar dimensions. That's probably why it took so long to get here. Whatever divergence separated our universe from yours must have happened long ago for things to be so different here than they are back home."

She has to stop there for a moment. The next part is… complicated.

"We've done this a lot. We've developed a system. That's why I went to Batman. It's easier for me that way, to stay away from the League. Not having to interact with another Wally is just a bonus."

"Ouch Babe. I'm hurt."

She snaps at him,"You of all people know how hard it is to watch your loved one die, again and again."

"I'm sorry." His eyes soften, despite her tone, but he can't hold in his curiosity. He whispers, "How many?"

She doesn't want to talk about this. She was doing so well with sticking to the script. Her vision is blurring – is she crying? – and she can feel herself shaking. She can picture every one of her failures clearly in her mind.

Bright green eyes, dulling.

Hair that shouldn't be blood red.

Legs that should be able to run away.

He's been beatenshotbeheadedstabbedblownupstrangledstarveddr ownedcrushedkilled.

He's dead. Again.

Because she failed. Again.

(Because she will never be able to save him).

"Sixteen."

Suddenly he's there and she can feel his embrace – he's alive, he's here – and everything's going to be okay again, eventually.

She won't fail this time.

She doesn't want to continue. She just wants to go home and hold Wally and never leave his sight again. But they need to know what she's done here. She needs to push through this and continue.

"Eventually, I ended up here, and I got in contact with your Batman."

Batarangs fly, and Artemis is forced to dodge again. She always hates this part. Moving to a new dimension, convincing a new Batman, pretending it didn't hurt to watch another Wally die…

"Our own Batman and another one of my colleagues came with me to explain things."

The fight is over quickly, as it should be. Batman is no match for himself and two others. Now is the actual hard part. They've learned that Batman is the only one who will ever take the threat of the Anomaly seriously. Even so, he's a bat, and it's hard to convince him to trust them.

She's glad their Batman donates a few hours of his time to help them in Universes like this, where that don't have trans-dimensional technology and other-Batman is less inclined to believe the heroes' story. Still, they always let Nightwing do the talking. It seems Batmen are naturally inclined to trust the joyful bird.

So Nightwing talks and Artemis lets Batman run his tests and all to soon she's saying goodbye to her Batman and Nightwing and helping this Batman set up her history here.

"We convinced him that we were telling the truth. Batman gave me information on the Legion, and I thought I could do the most good there. Once we decided on that plan, he promised me not to tell you guys. Not for his own sake, but for mine. We've had problems with moles in the League before. We decided not to risk it."

It is easy, to fall into sync with another Batman. They set up passcodes and contact frequencies. They share intel and draw comparisons between dimensions. She tells him about their Wally, when he asks.

She doesn't ask about this Wally.

It only takes a few hours – she's done this before, she knows exactly what she needs – and they have their plan.

Artemis is gone from the cave before sunrise.

Tigress has some hunting to do.

XxXxX

AN: … So, I have bad news. This is the last chapter I had mostly written in sequence (the rest we'll get to eventually). Everything from here out will have to be written on a week-by-week basis. To avoid a drop in quality, I'm giving you fair warning that the length of chapters may drop, or that I may not be able to update every week, at least until this summer.

Also, I'd still really appreciate it if someone wanted to be my beta.

Right now my process is like this: write a chapter. Look at the chapter, decide it's horrible, and re-write it. Edit the chapter. Walk away for a few days. Look at the chapter again, edit some more. Decide I will never be happy with it and post it anyways. Receive kind reviews, feel better about myself, and write another chapter. Repeat. I think having someone else to bounce ideas off/help me edit would be, well, helpful.

To: ImmaWorking.

Fear not. I am but a mere fan fiction writer. What right have I to interfere with the greatest bromance in the history of comics?