Disclaimer: Nope, the panda's are breaking into DC hq now, but in the meantime, i still don't own...
A/N- ....okay, so it took a LOT longer than i thought it would for me to update but i finally got a kick in the pants and wrote more! Yay! Sorry for the wait! In this chapter, Kyle Rainer and Connor Hawke show up! (Cause I love them so much....) Plus we all know that Donna is secretely a slasher....
The infirmary, as large as it was, was quickly filling to its limit. He'd always been slightly in awe of the Watch Tower and its facilities, not that he would admit that to anyone, but now it was quickly becoming apparent as to why the infirmary was as large as it was. Even without the smaller, adjacent rooms, the main room with its rows of beds and beeping machines to monitor anything from a heart beat to psychic waves was easily larger than half of their own head quarters down on Earth.
Dick had never before had any wish to join the Justice League, but at the moment, its medical facilities were looking better and better. The Titans were rather good at getting bruised and bloodied.
"We have the worst timing." He glanced over at the man sitting on the bed next to him, scowl firmly in place. Dick just raised an eyebrow and went back to glancing around the room. There were a few leaguers with somewhat serious looking injuries; he was fine, just a scrape that may need stitches. He hadn't even wanted to bother anyone with it but he'd been threatened with torture if he tried to avoid the doctors.
"In hindsight surprising Ollie with a visit wasn't the best idea." Roy's scowl increased but this time it was directed solely at Dick.
"I figured that out myself." The red haired man sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "We could be out there helping them with whatever this thing is." He couldn't agree more. "How's the cut anyways?"
The cut, high up on his bicep was still sluggishly bleeding but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
"I'm fine. How's your head?"
Roy prodded lightly at the large, swollen bump on his forehead, wincing slightly.
"I've had worse." They both had. The only reason they were sticking around in the infirmary and not out there trying to help was because Donna had threatened them with physical harm. Donna, who was currently out searching for Wonder Woman and wasn't likely to drop in on them anytime soon.
"Want to get out of here?" Dick grinned, matching Roy's smirk.
"Oh yeah."
Donna had literally dragged them to the infirmary, but she wasn't there to keep them there. They were better off seeing if they could offer any assistance.
"Get out of my way!" Dick stepped out of the way before they could make it to the door, pulling Roy with him as the large form of Hawk barged into the room. The crowd parted for him and the person held tightly in his arms. For a moment he was convinced it was Dove, but then the other hero came jogging in after his brother.
"Doc!" Hank called out. One of the doctors separated from the crowd, at the hero's side in an instant, directing them over to an open bed, the one that he and Roy had just vacated.
"What happened?" Dick moved closer as the doctor began to work.
"We found him in the hall- he won't wake up." Dove hovered anxiously over the bed side, hands gripping the rails.
He stopped feet from the bed, felt Roy's hand on his shoulder and finally spotted whoever was lying in there.
Blue Beetle- he was pale with dark circles around his eyes. His skin appeared almost translucent and he wasn't moving. The shallow rise and fall of his chest was the only indication of life in the hero.
Dick only knew him from around the Tower, had never been fully introduced, but if you were a hero, a connection tended to develop between you and the rest of the hero community. Even Batman couldn't escape it.
There were no marks on the unconscious man, no signs of what could have done the damage.
Something wasn't right on the Watch Tower and Dick was going to find out what it was.
The hot, dry air was something that could not be successfully ignored. He was off his game- that was the only logical reason why with each bit of space they covered, his temperature would rise and his skin would become slicker with sweat underneath his protective body armor.
The sun was high in the sky above them, a testament to how long they had been traveling across the desert, vainly trying to get a lock on Lightning's tracer. Something was blocking it and it was driving Bruce crazy that whatever it was, was giving off false readings all over the place.
He was anxious, though it wouldn't show. To the world outside he was cool and collected but his mind was a whirlwind of possibilities. He was worried about being away from the Watch Tower for so long. Wally was fully capable of taking care of himself, but he had been under the weather recently with a cold, for the first time in years and complaining of nightmares.
The nights that Bruce did spend with Wally were generally restless for the both of them as Wally struggled against an unseen intruder and Bruce tried, hopelessly, to calm his lover. The mornings after the nightmares always left the red haired man drained, slow, lethargic; it had him worried.
He would feel a lot better once he was back on the tower and with Wally.
Above him Clark adjusted his grip on his hands, more for Batman's comfort that anything else and glanced down at Bruce. There was a perpetual frown on the man of steels face, one that had not disappeared since they had arrived in the desert. Worry lines pinched the corners of his dark eyes as even as he looked down at Bruce, he continued to scan the surrounding area.
"Anything?" Clark asked, hopefully- as though Bruce wouldn't tell him the second he found something.
"Nothing." Batman slipped one of his hands out of Clarks grasp and pulled the scanner out of his belt. A faint red light could be seen on the screen, but the screen itself was distorted; there was simply no way to pinpoint the exact location and the desert was a large place.
"He's here somewhere." Superman murmured to himself, eyes going back to the distant horizon. "I'll find him."
He didn't doubt that Clark would not stop looking until he found Garth Ranz, what he was worried about was what condition the missing man would be found in.
His comm. Link crackled loudly in his ear as a worried voice filtered through to him.
"Batman, Superman?"
"We're here." Clark answered his own link, reluctantly pausing their search to lower Bruce down to the ground. Seconds later they were standing side by side on the hot sun.
"What is it?" Batman growled, the tension radiating off his friend beginning to get to him a little.
"There's been some sort of attack." Bruce froze. His stomach sank and his heart hammered painfully in his chest, so loud that he was certain that even if Clark hadn't had super hearing, he would have heard it anyways.
An attack- on the Watch Tower. The tower was not impregnable, that had been proven in the past, however with the extra guard and every hero up there alert to possible dangers it had seemed that perhaps it would have been the safest place possible.
He couldn't ask- not with the possibility that it could be…he needed to know.
"Who?" Clark beat him to the question, calming gaze meeting his, but all Bruce could think was WallyWallyWally.
"Blue Beetle." Oh god- the relief that traveled through him was so intense that he could feel his knees fight to buckle beneath him. He should have been better trained against allowing those emotions to get the better of him.
But Ted… he'd worked closely with Blue Beetle for years, had watched the man escape death time and time again. He'd been there as the man finally began to grow up, began to fight crime to help people and without the slightest interest in the fame, unlike his still maturing partner in crime…
Booster. Someone needed to tell Booster Gold.
"Is he still alive?" Clark asked next to him.
"Looks like a coma." Bruce closed his eyes briefly. The man was his friend, surprising as it sounded.
"Has anyone alerted Booster Gold yet?" He asked gruffly. Ted Kord had fallen into numerous comas over the year, each one slightly scarier than the last and through it all Booster Gold had been the one that refused to leave his bedside, the one who had talked to Blue Beetle into the early hours of the morning even though he never talked back.
He'd watched them fall in love, pine away and finally realize it, with a series of near death experiences in between. If there was anyone that needed to be up there in the infirmary with Blue Beetle, it was the mans best friend.
"Not yet," there was a slight hesitation like the leaguer had realized their mistake. "We're doing that right now."
Bruce exchanged a glance with Clark; the last he had heard, Ted had been looking into what had appeared to be a virus in the Watch Towers mainframe and whoever had caused it. The attack on Blue Beetle and what he had been investigating had to be connected, it was too much of a coincidence.
"Has anyone looked in on the Flash recently?" Bruce asked before the conversation could be dropped. At this point he didn't care if he came off as over protective, he needed to know that Wally was safe.
"Oh yeah," the voice on the other end took a more confident note. "He went down to Earth a little while ago with Wonder Woman."
Bruce frowned, startled. Wally had left the Watch Tower? They had had a talk, he had promised to stay where the others could keep an eye on him, to stay safe. Why would he go down to Earth?
"Diana's with him." Clark tried to reassure him. It didn't work, he had that feeling, the one that told him he was missing something important; the one that told him someone he…loved…was in trouble.
Lightning was still missing though and Diana was with Wally; if there was one thing he was certain of, it was that she would never let harm come to someone she considered a friend.
The comm. Link cut off abruptly, apparently taking their silence as the end of the conversation and returning to their duties.
"Booster isn't going to take this well." Bruce commented idly. He wasn't taking the news well either.
"We need to find this guy." Clark's hands had formed into fists that could easily crush steel; furious, dark eyes staring off at a point in the distance.
Batman's scanner chose that moment to beep cheerfully at him from where he still held it in his hand.
It took him a moment to react; confusion warring with suspicion as his eyes quickly scanned the screen before him that was suddenly working again.
"What is it?" Superman asked, peering over his shoulder an instant later.
"It's working again." Bruce turned the device over, searching for some sign that the only reason it hadn't been working was because something had been lose. He knew that wasn't the case though, he had checked it thoroughly himself.
"What?" Clark reached out, trying to grab the scanner from his hands but Bruce slipped swiftly out of the way before he could. "Where is he?"
Something didn't sit right with him. The scanner had been useless minutes before, what could have possibly changed while they had been standing there.
"Bruce," Clark stepped forwards, voice low in warning and about as close to threatening as he had ever seen the man towards a friend. "Where is Garth?"
"Two miles east, underground." He relented, not out of fear- never out of fear of his friend, but because of the desperation he could see in the mans face and knew what it felt like.
"Thank you." The words were whispered and the man of steel was up and in the air, gone in an instant. Clark was gone before Bruce could warn him of his fears; before he could warn him about the obvious trap he was flying into.
Part of him knew that Clark was aware of this already and just didn't care.
"Watch Tower," Bruce activated his comm. Link again. "One to beam up."
"There were absolutely no redeeming qualities to that movie."
Kyle grinned and bumped his shoulder against the man next to him. The man in question bumped his shoulder back but didn't say anything further as they continued down the street.
It was late in the evening, with few people still out, bustling up and down the street. The street lights were on, lighting the way for them, as if the cars driving by didn't do that enough as it was. He loved living in the city, but even though he spent months at a time up there, it was still nice to get away and see the stars every once in awhile. He had the man next to him to thank for reminding him of that.
"Connor," Kyle began, tone taking on a slightly exasperated note. "Do you even realize how many movies we have to catch you up on? Living with a bunch of monks for years did nothing for the movie buff that we all know is inside of you just waiting to burst out."
Connor glared at him, but he easily spotted the teasing light in his eyes.
"You have forced me into four movies in the past two days; the first three I could stand but this one," The blonde shook his head at a loss for words. "Was an insult to anything cinematic."
"That's the beauty of it, Connor." Kyle slung his arm over his friend's shoulders, enjoying for the moment, the contact. "It's so bad, it's good. Besides, it was the best way to relax. It certainly took my mind off this for awhile." He wiggled the finger that held his Green Lantern ring. He loved being a Green Lantern, he'd never say otherwise, but it was nice to just be Kyle Rainer every once in awhile. Besides, he was on vacation, on Earth. He rarely got to see Connor, mostly because John Stewart was stationed on Earth and their bosses liked to have the rest of them spread out around the galaxy. When he was on Earth, he made sure to glue himself to Connor's side every chance that he got. For the most part, Connor seemed to enjoy his company; except, apparently when he was dragged out to bad movies.
"I can think of other ways to take your mind off that." Kyle did a double take. That sounded exactly like flirting. But it was a proven fact that Connor didn't know how to flirt and flirt with Kyle of all things. The look that Connor gave him held a hint of awkwardness and nervousness but was easily covered up by the hooded eyes. Kyle felt the look all the way to his toes. It was a great feeling- but he was fairly certain that the next time he was on Earth he'd need to tell Donna off for teaching his completely innocent (sort of) friend how to hit on someone. Then he'd thank her.
Kyle grinned, tugging Connor closer to him, pleased that he apparently had permission to pull Connor as close as he wanted.
"I think I need to have a talk with D-"
"Wally West." Connor cut him off abruptly.
"Actually I was going to talk to Donna," Kyle shot him an odd look. "I'm pretty sure Wally hasn't been teaching you these things." Bat's would probably kill him if he were. No- he'd probably decide to kill Kyle instead, even if it wasn't his fault.
"No," Connor shook his head, pointing across the road to a small pub. "I mean, there's Wally West."
Kyle peered past the bright head lights. Huh, Connor was right; not that he'd ever doubt the man's amazing eye sight.
"What's Wally doing here?" Connor asked, frowning.
"Maybe he's getting a drink." The red haired man may have been legally old enough but Kyle wasn't convinced about his maturity.
"Ollie told me that Batman had him staying up on the Tower." Oh, well that was odd then.
"Why does Batman have him staying up on the Tower?" Kyle asked, curiosity piqued now.
"He's worried about him; he apparently won't let Wally out of his sight." This was news to him. The last time he'd been up to the tower, which come to think about it, had been quite some time ago, the two men had barely acknowledged each other. "Someone is apparently trying to kill the Flash."
"When isn't someone trying to kill us?" He joked, but it fell flat. The look that Connor sent him told him just how serious it was. It also told him that Connor was going to worry over it until Kyle did something. "Look, would it help if we went and checked up on him?"
The beaming smile the blonde man sent him was completely worth the fact that, if only for a little while, he would have to share Connor with someone else. The hand that slipped into his own as they crossed the street helped too.
"Get out of the way!" He hadn't seen the infirmary so crowded in months. Heroes and personnel alike were scattered throughout the large room, varying degrees of injury about them.
Booster didn't spare them a second glance.
He only had eyes for the man lying in the bed across the room; skin the colour of the sheets he laid on and so unnaturally still. Ted had never been able to remain still for long.
He didn't think it was possible but the sick feeling in his stomach dropped away, leaving nothing but a chilling feeling of numbness.
"No." Up until this moment he'd been able to deny it, deny what they'd told him. He'd been able to pretend that it was some twisted joke someone had thought up, or that they'd gotten it wrong- that it was someone else lying there.
But if there was one thing he knew, it was Ted. There was no doubt that it was Beetle in the bed.
The crowd gathered around his lover parted as they spotted him but he barely noticed them as he stumbled his way over, his legs no longer working the way he wanted them to.
"Beetle?" His hands shook as he reached out and gently touched the still masked face. The other mans skin was cool to the touch and for a moment he was convinced that it was his worst nightmare come true- that he had been too late and Ted was gone because of it. But the heart monitor next to the bed continued to beep steadily, proving to him that for the moment at least, Ted was still there.
"Booster." He flinched but didn't look up at the hero that had joined them. Out of the corner of his eye he could see most of the bystanders leaving, moving away until only a few of them remained.
He reached out, slipping the limp hand into his own and gripped it, trying to will some warmth back into his friend.
"It's too much of a coincidence to have been anyone other than the person who broke into the Watch Tower." Batman was right of course, but admitting that meant that it was his fault. He couldn't do it- he couldn't have done this to Ted.
"He thought he had figured out who it was." And of course had told Booster first. He'd ignored him, had told him that his idea was brought on by jealousy. They'd had a fight right before he'd left. What if the last words he ever said to Ted were out of spite and anger?
"I didn't listen to him, I didn't believe him." He fought back the hysterical laughter and the stinging in his eyes. He swallowed heavily, unable to tear his gaze away from the still form of the man he loved. "Like he's ever wrong."
"Who did Blue Beetle think was behind it?" Batman pressed and Booster finally pulled his gaze away. The dark hero gazed levelly back at him; Nightwing and Arsenal remained at the foot of the bed, flanked by Black Canary.
They were looking to him for the answers, he realized. They cared about Ted too- wanted to find the person that did this almost as much as he did. If anyone was going to help him put together the pieces, it would be the people before him.
He had to find out who did this; when he did they wouldn't be walking away from it.
"He traced a virus," Booster pulled the fragments of memory up and tried to forget the fight that surrounded the information. "It led back to one of the leaguers rooms."
"It was an inside job?" Nightwing's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Did he give you a name?" It still sounded silly to him but in light of what had happened, what other choices did they have? But the villains were supposed to announce themselves with stupid plans and long monologues; they weren't supposed to pretend to be your friend for years only to stab you in the back.
"Wonder Woman."
Arsenal scoffed, matching looks of disbelief on his and Black Canary's faces. Nightwing and Batman exchanged a look, something traveling between the two that he figured only Question would be able to follow. And maybe Ted.
"Are you sure?" Batman asked finally, hand already reaching up to his comm. Link. Booster nodded; he was positive, it had been the cause of their fight, he wouldn't be forgetting it any time soon.
"I need a location on the Flash." He spoke quickly, a concerned frown making its way across his face in an unusual show of emotion. "Have you tried any other frequencies?" The man made an irritated noise and dropped his hand from his comm. Something was wrong, that much was clear on the detectives face.
"What is it?" Black Canary asked, but it appeared that she already had an inkling of an idea.
"They are unable to locate the Flash."
Booster sunk down onto the edge of the bed, one hand remaining tangled with Ted's, the other landing on the muscled thigh under the blankets as he tried to anchor himself.
"How is that possible?"
"Something is blocking his signal." Batman looked pale; looked sick to his stomach. Booster wasn't used to the amount of emotion on the man's face.
"He's on Earth?" Arsenal asked, not completely sure where the conversation was going. Nightwing may have been in the dark as Arsenal but he was taking in the information faster.
"With Wonder Woman." Batman clarified the reason for his sickly pallor suddenly understandable.
"You can't possibly think the princess is behind all the stuff that's been going on up here." Arsenal gave them a look that clearly showed how crazy he thought they all were. Nightwing calmly stepped between Arsenal and Batman before the dark knight could show him exactly how serious he really was.
"We're not saying anything yet." The man soothed in a way that Booster would never have been capable of. "We need to get to the command tower and find out where Flash's last known whereabouts is."
Batman nodded in agreement, across the room in a second and gone just as quickly. Booster watched him go, torn between finding whoever did this and remaining with the unconscious man. Nightwing and Arsenal filed out behind the detective without a backwards glance.
"Stay with him."
He glanced over, startled, at Black Canary. She stared levelly at him, reading his thoughts clearly.
"Watch over him, make sure no one hurts him further." Her eyes darted down to the man in the bed, too still for either of their liking. "And when we find whoever did this," She quirked a cold smile. "I'll save you a piece."
Nothing in the world was going to move him from Ted's side.
Wally's eyes were drooping closed with an alarming rate. Already his head was propped up in his hands as he fought to stay awake and apart of the conversation. At the moment though he couldn't for the life of him remember what they had been talking about. Between the cold that he just couldn't shake and the nightmares that kept him up at night he was lucky to be getting a few hours of sleep. When he did manage to sleep, he woke feeling no more rested than before. Often, he felt worse off.
"Wally?"
He blinked, forcing his eyes to focus on the woman sitting with him.
"Yeah?" He offered Wonder Woman a charming smile and hoped that she wouldn't comment on the state he was in. He got enough of it from Bruce up on the Watch Tower. And now he was back to feeling guilty about not telling the other man where he was.
"Are you feeling well?"
Maybe he could just pop out and make a quick call to the Watch Tower, just to let the other man know where he was. No- he'd probably be ordered back to bed under pain of death or something.
"Just got a little cold." He shrugged it off and took a quick swig of his drink- ginger ale, no beer for him at the moment. He was fairly certain that Wonder Woman would never speak to him again if he up chucked on her.
"We may return to the tower if you wish."
"No way," He shook his head, instantly regretting the motion. "I'm in civilian clothes for the first time in a week and without anyone hovering over me- I'm going to enjoy the freedom."
She gave him a smile, full of pearly white teeth and held up her own drink- something he couldn't even pronounce- in a toast.
"To a night on Earth, then."
Their glasses clinked in the fairly empty pub. It looked like most people didn't go drinking in the middle of the week and so late at night. The pub's few customers were scattered around, minding their own business and completely ignoring the two friends. It was a nice feeling to be able to go somewhere and not be stared at. He couldn't wait until the present crisis had blown over.
Diana drained her drink and then set it down on the table with what was probably more force than strictly necessary.
"I have a surprise for you." She announced, standing.
"A surprise?" He echoed. Surprises were great- especially surprise parties. He was still trying to figure out how to throw a surprise party for Bruce but he figured that if he ever did manage it, half the guests would probably end up in the hospital and he'd probably receive the silent treatment for like, forever.
"For your first night of freedom." Wally shrugged and climbed to his feet, he could go back to the Watch Tower in a bit, he could feel sick tomorrow- tonight was his night of freedom!
With a nod from the bar tender, Diana led the way through the pub and out back to another room. It was sparsely furnished with a couch and a desk.
"Alright, where's my surprise?" Wally scanned the room eagerly, leaning over to check behind the door just to see if it was hiding there.
Diana gestured back at the couch and Wally was startled to see, where there had previously been no one, a elderly man, his hair the same shade of grey as his clothes.
"Uh, cool trick?" He asked uncertainly, glancing between the man and Diana. Something was off about the small man. The wicked grin on his wrinkled face was near the top of his list.
"Wallace West." The man spoke; a shiver ran down his spine, spreading out through his finger tips and toes. It paralyzed him. "I have been waiting a very long time to get you alone."
"Diana?" Wally asked, beginning to feel panicked.
"Grey Man." His friend murmured, going to stand next to the man. Her eyes were suspiciously blank when she looked back at him. He was in trouble.
Wally tried to reach for his communicator, tried to run, but he couldn't move. Bat's- Bruce, he should have listened, should have stayed on the tower. It couldn't end like this- he wouldn't let it end like this, he wouldn't leave Bruce alone.
And then he felt no more.
