A/N: Wow, it's really been forever. I'm so sorry! To be honest, the lack of Spitfire in Season 2 so far had me a little distraught, and my muse left me for a little while there. But I believe it's back now so hopefully we can get more frequent updates. Thanks for sticking with me guys and hopefully you'll like this chapter! XD

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES

Evolution: the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form.

Chapter 9: Teammate II

Wally has never really thought much about how he would die. It's a morbid thought, something that he's never wanted to dwell on. As a teen superhero though, he's always been aware that any day could be his last. After all, fighting the world's villains isn't a walk in the park. But he's always been too cocky and sure-footed to think about dying. Until the day the Reds attack the Cave that is. Trapped in the hard rock, he helplessly stands by as the two robot monsters track down Robin and Artemis around Mount Justice. He can't help but feel frustrated and inadequate. He jokes to the Red that he can vibrate through the rock he's currently trapped in, but it's all lies. If he was as skilled as his Uncle, he could have himself out in a minute, but Wally was sure that if he tried to vibrate his molecules that fast he'd just pass out, and what help would he be then?

Their best hope had been the EMP emitter, but that plan has failed. As he watches one of the Reds encase his best friend in water, surely drowning him, he thinks that maybe this is the end. He is out of jokes; he is out of ideas; and, as the water rises another inch, it seems like he is out of luck. He thinks about his parents and how they are at home, probably sitting down to dinner, blissfully ignorant. He thinks about his Uncle Barry and how he could never live up to him, but always strove to nonetheless. He thinks of his Aunt Iris, one of the greatest women, superhero or not, he knows, and how he hopes he's made her proud.

A robotic voice broadcasts through the Cave, "1 minute," and the water rises another inch. Artemis is somewhere in the Cave, plotting her next move Wally is sure. He almost wishes that she would run; find a way to escape the mountain before she suffered the same fate as them. But no, he hears a door hissing open and her voice. She's giving herself up. No! He thinks desperately as the water continues rising.

"I surrender," her voice resounds through the Cave. "Stop the clock."

Even after she says it though, the water comes higher still and he realizes that the Reds aren't going to stop. It's obviously a trap, and Artemis has flown straight into it like a fly into a web. He wants to yell out to her, "No, Artemis, run!" He has the urge to pick her up in his arms like he did in Bialya and carry her away to the ends of the Earth so that no one, the Reds most of all, can hurt her.

But it's no use. The water is level with his mouth, and he takes on desperate gasp of air before his head is head is fully submerged. This is the end, he thinks, holding his breath and praying for some sort of miracle. The water rushes all around him, sending him into a total lockdown of all his senses. He can feel himself drowning. There's no air. The only thing he can hear is the pounding of blood in his head. Then, just before he's about to lose consciousness, the water suddenly begins receding completely, and Wally breathes in the air greedily, overcome with shock. The Reds have obviously been taken out, but by who?

"Kaldur, how's M'gann?" Conner yells up to above them. And all Wally wants to know is: Artemis? How is Artemis? But he remains silent, waiting for Kaldur's reply, as he is concerned about both him and M'gann as well.

"She breathes," the Atlantean says shakily. "I believe she will recover. But what of Robin?"

Wally hates not being about to see what's happening on the landing over them, almost as much as he hates being stuck in this rock. He waits in anticipation for an answer to Kaldur's questions for surely the answer will confirm the two things he's dying to know: One, that his best friend is all right, and two; that Artemis is alive and well. He hears Robin cough, but can't relax yet.

And then, "He-he's breathing, too!" Artemis' relieved voices squeaks, and Wally's never heard a more beautiful sound.

He's never realized how much he'd come to accept and even rely on Artemis' place on the Team. Sure, sometimes she could be annoying as hell, but she was also fierce, intelligent, and witty. Maybe Bialya had changed his opinion of her, but he hadn't really thought about it until today.

As the team assembles down where him and Conner are still encased in the rock, he realizes that this is the second time Artemis has saved his life. He's never really been good at thanking people, and he's more than a little anxious to get out of the rock, so his first words to her aren't exactly pleasant.

"Would you quit playing around with that thing, and cut us free already?" he snaps as she holds the laser cutter in her hands.

She doesn't hold back her glare, and he instantly feels chastised. "It's not working, genius. EMP shuts down all machines, remember?" she retorts, making him feel like an even bigger idiot.

And then Red Tornado comes back, and the machines come back to life, and Red – Red, who they thought they could trust, who was their den mother – is sucking all the air out of them, and Artemis frantically clutching her throat is the last thing he sees before he blacks out.


Later, as their mentors all confer quietly over the situation, the Team is drawn like magnets together. M'gann is leaning on Conner, still recovering, and Wally can't even muster the strength to be jealous, especially when he only has eyes for a certain blond archer.

"We grew too complacent," Kaldur says solemnly. "We knew that the Cave had been compromised once. We should have been on constant alert."

He doesn't know what possesses him to say it. It must be guilt over snapping at her before, because he says, "Yeah, if it wasn't for Blondie here, we would've been toast."

Artemis looks, well, flattered if her pink cheeks are any indication, and Wally decides that he likes that look on her. "Don't sell yourself short, Wallman," she tells him. "We never would've been able to put that EMP emitter together without your geek speak."

Wally can't help but smile at her when she says that because he doesn't think she's ever given him an actual compliment before. He's gratified when she smiles back, and he feels so warm that they might as well be back in the desert again.

Kaldur breaks into their moment. "We must vacate the Cave for the time being incase the Reds decide to return," he says. "Until it is determined that it is safe again, those that can go home, should. M'gann, Conner, would you like to accompany me to Atlantis?"

The both nod and the three of them go off to make plans. Robin suddenly disappears as well, most likely to confer with the Bat, leaving him and Artemis alone. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. He's put his foot in his mouth too many times around her not to feel self-conscious about his words.

"Look, I meant what I said," Wally finally blurts out, staring at her sincerely. "You really saved our butts today. That's twice I owe you. So, uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it," she replies, but he detects the same kind of flattered, shyness that he'd seen before. "That's what teammates are for, right?"

"Right, " Wally agrees. They start walking back over to their mentors and Wally can't help himself. "You owe me a new souvenir, though."

"Oh, let me get right on that, Baywatch!"

He couldn't help but grin. Artemis had spirit; he couldn't deny that. And maybe, after today, they could actually get along. Maybe they could even be friends. He might able to stand that, he thinks.


A/N: Hopefully this was worth the wait! It's funny because all of my Wally chapters always seem like they're written in the present tense. I don't know why I do that. I started writing this story in the past tense but it sounded funny, so I switched. Anyway, it's late and I'm rambling. Thank you all for your kind reviews and favorites and alerts! You're all so great and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Please keep reviewing! XD

As usual, if anyone has any ideas of what they'd like to see, I'll definitely take them into consideration, so let me know!

Shamless Plug: If anyone's looking for a Spitfire!Invasion story, I've written a 3-shot of what I think is a plausible reason they're no where to be found. It's called Flash Forward and you can find it on my profile page.

Again, please review! That shiny new blue button below this is just calling your name! ;-)

Edit: I think I fixed all the places where I put ENP instead of EMP. Let me know if I didn't!