~~~~~.~~~~~
Dick did not like this. He did not like this at all.
First the Terror Twins had come back into town to raise hell for no discernable reason like they always did, and they'd personally targeted Wally West of all people. Then, they'd gotten word that Vandal Savage's pack, a pack that hadn't been a threat for years, was still out there somewhere and starting to reform.
Now, the latest bit of bad news was that there was a new rogue werewolf running around, one that had been strong to enough to deal considerable damage to Cameron and Artemis, two of the most skilled fighters than Dick had ever known.
Tommy's unprovoked vendetta against Wally could probably be passed off as coincidence, but the sudden activity from Savage's pack and the brown rogue had to have been related somehow. If there was one lesson from Bruce that had really stuck with him after all this time, it was that bad news rarely came alone.
Dick stares up at the ceiling of his bedroom, heaving a heavy sigh as everything runs through his mind again. The sudden noise causes Zatanna to shift in her spot beside him but she doesn't wake, and Dick presses his lips to her temple before he climbs out of the bed and crosses the room, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and stepping out into the hallway.
The house around them is eerily quiet, even for being so early in the morning. The sun won't be up for another hour at least, so Conner's most likely left for his morning run already. Jaime might have gone with him, but Dick knew that the youngest member of their pack wasn't especially fond of the biting chill of the morning air, so he was more than likely still sleeping.
Dick heads down the hallway, feet moving noiselessly over the carpeted floor, and he soon comes to a spare bedroom that usually served as an infirmary, being as quiet as possible as he pushes the door open. Cameron and Artemis are both still asleep, thin blankets covering their otherwise nude bodies, and even in the light of the dim lamp that sits on a small desk between the beds, they both looked much better than they had a few days ago. Their breathing is shallow but steady, and their skin has lost most of the sickly paleness.
With a quiet sigh of relief, Dick steps into the room to get a closer look at them; the healing factor all Lycan's possessed had done most of the work, but there are still a few faded scars visible on Artemis' shoulders and the dark circles under Cameron's eyes hasn't gone away yet. Dick reaches out to briefly brush his fingers over the scars on Artemis' shoulder, and he frowns when the contact causes her to tense up in her sleep.
He's much more worried about the remaining visibility of the scars than he's letting on. It's been nearly three days since Conner brought them back in their mangled states and the marks should have faded completely by now, so the fact that some scarring remained could've meant only one thing:
The brown rogue must have been an Alpha.
Dick winces at the thought and draws his hand away from Artemis, rubbing his face with another exhausted sigh. Now that the rogue had confirmed himself to be an enemy, there was no reason for another Alpha to be in their city unless it was looking for territory to take over from a current Alpha, or searching for other rogue Lycans to recruit and form it's own pack with. If it was the latter, then the rogue might have just been here for the Terror twins, which was bad enough news itself. But if it was here to challenge Dick...
Turning on his heels, Dick exits the infirmary and steps back out into the hallway, suddenly wondering if Ollie's suggestion of relocating in another city should have been taken more seriously. He didn't want to just up and leave their home - half of his pack had lost their lives in this city, and it would feel like he was just abandoning their memory. But on the other hand, too many rogues were popping up now for his liking, and the last thing he wanted was to put his pack in even more danger. He'd always thought they could hold their own in a fight, but the sudden incapacitating of two of his subordinates was too alarming to ignore.
Unwanted Lycans aside, another one of his biggest problems right now were the humans they were all getting involved with. There was no way in hell that Wally would willingly come with them if they were to leave soon, but they couldn't just leave him behind with the Terrors hunting for him, especially with a new rogue in town too. Conner was still pining for that human woman Megan too, and Dick was certain enough that Conner wouldn't break his rules about turning humans to let Conner dwell on his past for a little longer.
Plus there was those two younger humans that either lived or spent most of their time at Megan's house. According to Conner their names were Garfield and Bart, with the latter being Wally's cousin and the only remaining blood relative that he knew of. With a pang Dick thought of Tim and the other family members he himself has lost, and he knew he couldn't ask Wally to leave Bart or the others behind.
So, for the moment, the pack was simply stuck here in Central City, and though it was probably a long shot, Dick was really hoping that these rogues would just clear out on their own soon. Things were so much simpler when their biggest problem was the Coven. Vampyres he could handle; they weren't complicated creatures, and they still had the strained but intact peace between them.
With his head starting to pound from all the building tensions, Dick steps into the kitchen and makes a beeline for the fridge, retrieving a bottle of water and taking a long swig from it before he realizes that he's not alone.
Wally is seated at the island bar in the middle of the room, slumped across the countertop and snoring lightly. His cell phone, still flipped open, is sitting between him and a small plate covered with the crumbs of some food that hadn't stood a chance against the redhead's appetite. He's muttering sleepily under his breath, saying something about pop-tarts and sound barriers, his brow occasionally furrowing.
For a moment Dick just watches the dozing man and soon feels another pang of sympathy for him. In less than a week, Wally had gone from just trying to keep his life together after the death of his relatives to being caught in the crossfire between two opposing sides.
These last few days had seemed particularly tough for Wally, who at all times seemed torn between running back to Megan's house and lingering by Artemis' bedside, constantly asking Zatanna or himself how she was doing. He wasn't indifferent about Cameron's condition, but he was definitely more concerned for the blonde Beta, and Dick isn't sure just how he feels about that.
Still, for a normal human Wally had taken this all surprisingly well; the last human that had gotten involved in the pack had more or less gone mad with the revelation of just how much of the supernatural world was real, and Dick briefly wonders what ever happened to her. Oh well...
Wally suddenly starts to stir, as if finally feeling that someone watching him, and he runs a hand through his already tousled red hair as he sits up and yawns, glancing around the room blearily and jumping a little when his groggy gaze lands on Dick, who just gives him a small wave in greeting.
"Keep thinking I'm gonna wake up and find out this was all a dream," Wally mutters as he picks up his cell phone and pockets it, and Dick wonders if Wally was speaking to him or just thinking out loud.
"Spare room getting too uncomfortable?" Dick asks him casually, crossing his arms as he leans back against the counters behind him. Wally just stares at him for a moment, clearly not functioning enough yet to detect the sarcasm, but then the redhead just shrugs in reply.
"I was talking to my cousin pretty last night.. Just felt like I'd disturb less people in here than in my room," Wally replies, and Dick blinks at his use of the terms 'my room'. He was either getting more comfortable with the Lycans than he let on, or it was simply a slip of the tongue."Conner keeps saying I 'sleep too noisily', whatever that means, so I guess you Lycans all have superhearing or something?"
"Or something," Dick replies with an air of amusement before taking another swig from his water bottle. "After their first turning, every Lycan gains a unique ability. Conner's just happens to be a very heightened sense of hearing."
"What's Artemis got?" Wally asks, and both he and Dick note how overly enthusiastic he'd sounded, despite still being half-asleep. "And, uh... everyone else here, I guess."
"It's probably something you should ask Artemis personally," Dick replies, and he tries not to chuckle when Wally's bottom lip pokes out in a pout, "Most Lycans don't like their abilities being discussed with new acquaintances, especially humans. It feels like a weakness being exposed."
"But you told me Conner's," Wally points out.
"Conner didn't get his ass handed to him a few days ago," Dick replies quietly, and Wally grimaces at the reminder, "Besides, he complains about the noise so often that it's hardly a secret."
"Fair enough," Wally concedes quietly, and he seems to mull over something in his mind before meeting Dick's gaze again. "So, Zatanna says that healing usually takes only a few days. Does that mean Artemis'll be up today?"
"Probably," Dick replies after a moment's pause, "But she and Cameron might be pretty restless after being cooped up for these past couple days. They probably spend today in the woods burning off their energy."
Dick doesn't miss the way Wally frowns at the mention of Cameron's name, and his eyes narrow when he notices the slight change of scent in the natural hormones he can smell on Wally. He recognizes the mood scent almost immediately; jealousy.
...Damn.
"I'm going back to bed," Wally announces after a loud yawn before Dick can say anything else, so he just nods in reply as Wally gets to his feet, stretching his arms above his head before shuffling out towards the hallway.
"By the way Dick," Wally mutters quietly, glancing back towards Dick over his shoulder, "If Artemis does get up and take off before I see her... can you tell her that I'm glad she's okay?"
"Sure, Wally," Dick replies, though every instinct is telling him to remind Wally that he's a human and she's a Lycan. But Wally has already disappeared down the hallway, leaving Dick with only a dirty plate for company.
~~.~~
It's the sudden silence that wakes Tuppence up.
She can see her brother still asleep in his usual spot across the warehouse, his loud snoring echoing in the cabin of the bulldozer that serves as his bed, but Tuppence is more concerned with the lack of noise outside the warehouse. A few minutes ago she'd been aware of the sound of crickets outside, and then the noise from the insects had abruptly stopped.
Tuppence gets to her feet as the silence starts to hum in her ears, half-wondering if she should wake Tommy up as well. But her lazy twin was more likely to ignore her and keep sleeping than get up to investigate so she leave him behind to sleep and heads towards the rear exit door.
It's still dark, though the sky is beginning to lighten as sunrise approaches, and Tuppence's breath steams in the chilly air as she steps out into the paved yard of the warehouse lot, searching for whatever or whoever had spooked the crickets into silence.
The shuffling of footsteps to her right suddenly catches her attention, and Tuppence turns her head in time to see a brown wolf slink out from behind the warehouse and circle around to stand in front of her. She remains still, keeping her face as impassive as she can, but this wolf is huge, almost bigger than Tommy's feral form, and his orange eyes glow brighter than usual in the dim light of the morning.
He's giving off an odd aura, one that makes Tuppence want to either shrink back in submission or simply turn tail and run, and right now she's leaning towards the latter. She doesn't know what kind of vibe he's giving off - at first it feels like an Alpha's aura, but somehow it's different. It feels more... feral.
"Who're you?" Tuppence asks, bristling slightly when the brown wolf steps closer. She keeps her body poised to run if she has to, but the wolf before he seems unusually calm. "Ya need somethin'?"
At that the wolf almost seems to smile, his eyes flashing again as he settles back onto his haunches.
That remains to be seen.
Tuppence winces at the sudden voice in her head, and before she can stop it a loud, aggressive growl rumbles in her throat. She's heard of this ability before, Lycans with telepathy, but she's never before met anyone powerful enough to use it. Even Bruce Wayne, that legendary Alpha, hadn't possessed such an ability.
Again, the brown wolf sits still and actually seems a little amused with her growl.
A feisty one. You definitely have value.
"Ya didn't answer my question," Tuppence growls again, ignoring the brown wolf's comments. "What d'ya want with me?" The brown wolf narrows his eyes, and Tuppence tenses again when his feral aura heightens, but in a second it's gone again, and he seems as impassive as before.
In simplest terms, I need a pack. All of my former pack mates have been... tragically disposed of, and I've still got too much unfinished business to remain alone.
Tuppence draws back a little, surprised by the response. She'd expected that this brown wolf had come looking for a fight, not a recruiting opportunity. But the Terrors were rogues for a reason. She didn't take kindly to being given orders, and Tommy was even worse than her when it came to someone trying to fault any authority over them. The last Lycan that tried to dominate them had been their father, and a few bites to the throat from Tommy had taken care of that bastard.
"Ya seem like a strong enough fellah to go about on yer own," Tuppence huffs back at the stranger, "But if ya really need help, what can ya offer in exchange?"
"Tuppy? Ya out here?" Tuppence turns at the sounds of the familiar voice to see Tommy stepping groggily out of the warehouse, and an instant later a hard blow from behind sends her sprawling across the ground.
Tuppence skids over the gravel with a sharp cry, but a sudden scream of pain has her whirling around, and she gasps in horror when she sees Tommy pinned to the ground, the brown wolf's jaw sinking into his abdomen. Tommy snarls, trying to pry the jaws open, but the brown wolf doesn't even budge, his expression still disturbingly serene.
Let's make a deal then, shall we? You two join my pack and help me tie off a few loose ends, or I bite your brother here in half.
The brown wolf closes his jaw more as if to prove his point, and Tuppence winces when Tommy screams again, thick rivulets of blood starting to flow down his chest and drip the ground below.
"Alright, stop!" Tuppence yells, getting back on her feet and trying to ignore the pain from the scrapes along her arms. "We'll help ya, jus' put 'im down!"
The brown wolf seems to smile again and opens his jaw, dropping Tommy onto the ground. Tuppence stands still, too afraid of what the brown wolf might do if she moves. Tommy is breathing hard, his jaw clenching as his body starts to heal the bites, but the skin is stitching itself back together slowly, too slowly for Tuppence's liking.
I'm glad we got that settled then.
The brown wolf steps over Tommy and approaches Tuppence, who tries not to cringe when he comes to a stop in front of her. The brown wolf narrows his eyes again and lets out a low growl that resembles a chuckle.
I've still got some recruiting to do, so I'll be back for you two in a day or so. Your brother's in no condition to do so now, but rest assured that if you try running, I will find you both and put you down like the dogs you are.
He moves past her before Tuppence can reply, and in a few short moments the brown wolf has disappeared from sight.
As soon as she's sure that the rogue is gone Tuppence hurries over towards Tommy and helps him sit up, pushing his torn shirt aside to inspect the wounds. The gashes are deep and still healing slowly, but they're not fatal, and she breaths a sigh of relief.
"W-What'n the hell was that, Tuppy?" Tommy asks, his voice strained from the pain still throbbing in his abdomen. Tuppence sighs again and glances back in the direction the brown wolf had gone.
"Looks like we jus' got ourselves a new Alpha, Tommy."
~~.~~
It's quiet.
It's so quiet he can actually hear the sound of his blood rushing through his body.
Wally stands in the dark room under a spotlight that's beaming down on him, and the light it's casting only makes the shadows around him seem darker. He tries to move but his legs feel like they're made of lead, and Wally's breath catches as panic starts to flare through him.
He wants to run from this darkness. He wants to run from this spotlight. He wants to run to Megan's house and bolt the door. He wants to run to the Alpha house and bolt that door too.
The urge to move steadily grows stronger, and suddenly he doesn't feel like he needs a destination anymore.
Wally West just really wants to run as fast and as far as he can.
The spotlight suddenly grows brighter, casting a wide circle of light with Wally at the center, and the humming silence is suddenly replaced with whispers. Slowly, the whispering gets louder, and Wally turns his head as he tries to catch any words or familiar voices, but the whispering sounds like both a huge crowd and a single voice.
There are footsteps behind him, and Wally's body finally responds when he tries to turn around. He stares as Dick emerges from the shadows, his face expressionless, and slowly the rest of the pack slinks out of the darkness behind him. Cameron stands beside Jaime and Zatanna, all three of their faces stained with blood, and it's then that Wally seems the blood dripping off of Dick and Zatanna's entwined hands.
Conner is standing on the other side of Jaime, and Wally feels another flash of surprise when he realizes that Megan is standing with him. Conner is glaring at Wally, as if daring him to step forward as he wraps his thick arms around Megan's waist and holds the redheaded woman against him.
"Wally."
The redhead almost jumps at the sound of Artemis' voice, and he turns his attention back to the pack. Artemis stands to Dick's right, watching him intently just like the others are, and when she smiles at him Wally feels his chest flutter. He tries to move towards her but he's stuck in place again, and Artemis suddenly turns away from him as Cameron approaches her. Wally stares, anger flaring through him when Cameron pulls Artemis into his arms and kisses her, the blood on his face smearing against Artemis' tanned skin.
Wally curls his fists as a low, angry growling fills the room, and with a jolt Wally realizes that the growling is coming from him.
The spotlight suddenly flickers and in that second of darkness the pack has disappeared, and Wally turns his head for any sign of Artemis or the others. The whispering around him seems to grow louder. Wally's eyes then land on two new figures standing behind him, and when he recognizes the Terror Twins he tries to scream, but no sound comes out.
Tommy and Tuppence stare at him, and for once they're not glaring or snarling. But more shocking was the fact that they both looked scared, something that Wally wouldn't associate with those two in a million years. Tommy has deep gashes all over his chest, Wally suddenly notices, and as he watches the wounds start to bleed again.
Neither Tommy or Tuppence seem to notice the wounds, but Wally feels his stomach lurch as a gowning puddle of Tommy's blood pools around their feet, but before Wally can open his mouth again the light flickers again and the Terror Twins are gone.
In their place stand four new and unfamiliar wolves, and Wally swallows as they step closer to him, but they still leave a few yards between them. The largest of the new wolves is an ashy brown color with a light underbelly, and the smallest of them has pale brown fur with an almost wiry look to it.
The two other wolves between them are both black in color, though the taller of the two has a distinct gray streak running down his back, and the other one - is it a female? - has an unusually short tail for a wolf.
As Wally stares at them and wonders who they are, a fifth figure emerges from the shadows behind him, and Wally blinks when he realizes that it's Jaime. The young Hispanic boy looks at Wally and then back at the four wolves behind him, a look of pain suddenly flashing across his face.
The black wolf with the gray streak steps forward, brushing his muzzle against the short-tailed wolf's face as he does, and Wally's heart jumps when he suddenly clamps his jaw down on Jaime's arm.
But Jaime doesn't even flinch, and the three other wolves behind him simply nod their heads and turn towards the shadows. The black wolf gripping Jaime's arm growls quietly as he pulls the younger boy in the same direction. For some reason, at the same instance, the name 'Longshadow' suddenly flashes through Wally's mind.
Wally then finds his voice again and calls out Jaime's name, but Jaime simply looks back and smiles before he and the gray-streaked wolf step off into the darkness as well.
"I'm sorry, Wally," Jaime's voice suddenly echoes around him, "They need me more than Dick does."
Wally looks around as Jaime's voice fades and the silence looms again, and he's almost afraid of what he'll see this time, but Wally doesn't see anyone now.
Then, the whispering suddenly stops.
Wally feels a blast of hot breath against the back of his neck and Wally whirls around again, freezing when he finds himself face-to-face with a dark brown wolf that was even bigger than Conner or Tommy.
He can't move or make any noise again, but the brown wolf doesn't move as his orange eyes locked with Wally's green ones. Wally holds his gaze, mouth going dry as he does, but the longer he stares at the brown wolf the more familiar he starts to seem.
It makes no sense. The Terror Twins and Dick's pack are the only Lycans he knows so why would does brown-furred stranger feel like an acquaintance?
So you're the Wally West I've heard so much about. The brown wolf doesn't move, but Wally knows immediately that the voice is coming from him. You're not as alone as you think, but that simply means that I have more to take away.
As suddenly as he'd appeared, the brown wolf is suddenly gone, and Wally jumps when a warm hand suddenly claps him on the shoulder. He knows that touch...
Wally slowly turns his head to look beside him, and his insides start to churn again when he sees his uncle Barry smiling down at him.
Wally feels a sudden rush of both utter delight and crippling guilt at the sight of the blond man, but when he opens he finds that his voice has left him again. Barry just smiles again, like he knows exactly what's going on through his mind, and he gives Wally's shoulder a light, affectionate squeeze.
"Uncle Barry," Wally finally whispers, throat suddenly raw with emotion, "Why'd you leave?"
Barry's smile fades before he sighs heavily, but the hand he's resting on Wally's shoulder feels as warm and as firm as ever.
"I've sorry, kid," Barry replies, and Wally's eyes brim with emotion at the sound of his uncle's voice, "Where you want to be and where you need to be are different places."
Wally tries to swallow again but his throat feels too tight, and he lets out a strangled cry when Barry suddenly turns and starts to walk back towards the shadows.
"W-wait, Barry, don't go!" Wally cries. He starts to run, but he feels like he'd not going anywhere. Barry gets further away, but he stops right at the edge of the shadows, and when he looks back at his redheaded nephew his face is streaked with tears.
"I'll see you around, kid." Barry calls over his shoulder before stepping into the darkness once more.
"No, Barry!"
"Goodbye, Wally."
"Barry..."
"Wally..."
"Wally."
"WALLY!"
Wally sits up with a jolt, gripping the sheets beneath him as his eyes dart wildly around the room. There's no spotlight. No shadows. No whispers. Just the familiar sight of the bedroom he's occupying and a very grumpy looking Conner standing at the foot of his bed.
"C-Conner?" Wally gasps, suddenly feeling out of breath, and when he brushes a hand over his face he feels a few beads of perspiration on his forehead. "What's going on?"
"You tell me - I could heard you thrashing from the kitchen," Conner replies as he folds his arms across his broad chest, "Nightmare?"
"Yeah... Something like that," Wally sighs, brow furrowing as he recalls the bizarre dream he'd just had, and he feels a pang in his chest when he remembers that Barry had been there as well.
But a small part of him was still glad that he'd spoken with his uncle, even if it had just been a bizarre dream/nightmare. He knew that voices were one of the first things that you forgot about a person after you lose them, but uncle Barry's voice had been as clear and familiar to him as ever.
"Right," Conner grunts, "Anyway, guess I should tell you that Artemis'll be back soon. She finally woke up and went out for a run."
"With Cameron?" Wally asks before he can stop himself. Conner raises an eyebrow but then shakes his head, and Wally feels a flicker of relief.
"Cam's still sleeping it off," Conner replies. Wally can hear a new curiosity in the bigger man's tone now. "You got a problem with him running with her or something?" There's a touch of accusation in his voice now, and suddenly Wally feels irritated by it.
"So what if I did?" he replies as he pushes the blankets off of him and gets to his feet, "Is there some weird werewolf law saying that I have to trust everyone just because you guys dragged me into living hell this in the first place?"
"You're a human, Wally," Conner growls, and Wally feels briefly stunned by the anger in his voice, "She's a Lycan. Cameron's part of this pack and her life whether you like him or not."
"Megan's a human too," Wally says before he can stop himself, and Conner suddenly bristles, hands clenching into fists. Wally tenses, wondering if he'd taken it too far, but then the anger burning in Conner's eyes suddenly changes to sorrow, and before Wally can say anything else Conner storms out of the room, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the hinges behind him.
Wally stares at the door, feeling anger and guilt throbbing at his temples. Conner had come in to check up on him and to tell him about Artemis so he probably shouldn't have gone off on him like that, but part of Wally still wasn't sure why he'd gone off in the first place.
Conner hadn't said anything that Wally didn't already know. Cameron had been a part of Artemis' life for a long while, and he definitely knew her better than Wally did, but the thought of them being so close still made heat flare through him. Besides, he and Conner were apparently in the same boat with Dick's rule about humans and Lycans.
Wally runs a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. He was getting in too deep with these bunch of crazy Lycans already - the last thing he needed was to actually fall for one of them.
But something told him that it was a little too late for that.
He then remembers Conner mentioning that Artemis would be back soon. With Cameron still resting in their infirmary, maybe he'd finally get an opportunity to talk with her without Cameron's pale eyes burning holes into the back of his head.
As he walks towards the door, Wally suddenly sees a flash of something yellow and red in the corner of his eye. He tenses up at the familiar feeling of someone watching him but when he looks back towards the window he doesn't see anything but the trees that surround the house.
~~~~~.~~~~~
A/N: Some good guesses on the identity of the brown wolf, but none have been right so far~ ;D
