Life's Game
"You shouldn't be here"
From where she stood in the doorway, Ma'gann flinched.
"I asked her to come" Conner said as he appeared behind the Martian.
"I-I want to apologize to Wally" Ma'gann said softly, hands tugging anxiously on her sleeves.
Dick narrowed his eyes, before sighing and letting them into the apartment, he then lead them down the hall to the room.
"This isn't a good idea" Dick whispered to the Clone when the stopped at a closed door.
Conner gave him a look before knocking on the door, and opening it.
"Angelfish?" La'gaan said, standing up from his chair that was stationed by Wally's bedside.
"Hello La'gaan" Ma'gann said before turning her eyes to the figure in the bed, and gasping.
There was Wally, skin pale and skinny, green eyes once sparked with life were now dull. On his lap was a tray of uneaten food. Though his appearance was a troubling sight, it was not what made Ma'gann gasp, it was the sight of the large round stomach.
"…Wally"
The Martian took a step forward, and then stopped, not knowing what to do. She was surprised that the Speedster was with child, none of Kaldur's memories showed any indication of it.
"Kaldur doesn't know" she thought, and her heart tightened with more guilt and self-loathing, thanks to her, Kaldur will never know he was to be a father.
"Get out"
All three jumped, Ma'gann then flinched when green eyes turned her way, cold and full of hate.
"Wally I—"
"Get out"
"But I—"
"I said, get out!"
Ma'gann yelped when a plate of food was thrown her way, instinctively she phased thought it. When she became solid again she was grabbed, and pulled out the room, the door closing shut behind her. No sooner was the door closed did Dick, Conner and Ma'gann hears the sound of sobbing and La'gaan's gentle words of comfort on the other end.
"Told you "Dick said.
When La'gaan entered the living room an hour later, his expression was one of sorrow.
"La'gaan?" Dick said standing up from the sofa.
"He is sleeping, though he'll probably wake again because of nightmares"
Dick sighed.
The Atlantean then turned to the Martian, who was leaning against Conner, her head resting on his shoulder; he raised a curious brow at the sight of their finger tangled with each other but said nothing about it.
"I'm worried for his state of mind" La'gaan then said to Grayson, "to have a bond such as theirs broken—" he trailed off, not sure how to explain it, but the others seem to understand judging by the expressions on their faces.
"….Maybe we should tell his Uncle and Aunt" Dick finally said.
"Wally doesn't want us to" said Conner
"And look where not telling has gotten us" La'gaan countered, his voice neither harsh nor accusing.
"…..How's the baby?" Ma'gann asked softly.
"The baby is fine for now, but if Wally continues as he is now, then it'll soon be in danger"
"I figured as much, that's why I'm moving him to my childhood home, there's someone there that can watch over him while I'm away. I'd like it if you'd stay there as while La'gaan"
Both Conner and Ma'gann stared wide-eyed at the Leader, shocked that Dick would trust La'gaan with such a secret as the manor, then again considering the circumstances it probably was the best, it also helped that Bruce was away and Alfred knew how to keep a secret.
"I would have it no other way" La'gaan said.
Dick nodded, "For now, Wally's secret will remain just that"
~.~
"Master Grayson, it's been a while" Alfred said, when the young Master emerged from the Boomtube , the Butler not even raising a brow when Conner and La'gaan followed behind him, he did however raise a brow at the wrapped up bundle in the Clone's arms.
"Hey Alfred" Dick said a bit sheepish.
"That better not be another body" Alfred said sternly.
"Another?" Conner said turning to Nightwing, La'gaan tilted his head
"It was one time! And he was alive when I brought him!"
Rolling his eyes, Conner shifted the bundle in his arms, "This is Wally"
"Master Wallace?"
"Yeah, he's staying here for a couple of months"
"May I ask why?"
"Uh….."
Turns out, being the Butler of Batman prepares you for anything, even finding out that a Speedster is pregnant with a suppose traitor's child.
If Alfred was a woman, and a thousand years younger, Dick would totally marry him.
About thirty minutes later, Conner was laying the sleeping Wally into the guest bed, while outside La'gaan was informing Alfred what to get at the store.
"He'll be okay, right?" asked Conner after watching his sleeping friend.
"I don't know" Dick answered honestly.
The two watched the Speedster for a few more minutes, before Conner sighed. "I need to tell you and La'gaan something, it's about Ma'gann and what she did to Kaldur"
Dick blinked curious at that, when Conner had told him that Ma'gann was responsible for ending Kaldur's life the Clone had been vague, but Dick had come up with his own conclusion.
Turns out, his conclusion was terribly wrong.
~.~
Ma'gann wasn't as surprised as she seem when she was kidnapped by Deathstoke and Tigr—Artemis. To be honest, she was expecting it, what she wasn't expecting was for her to fix Kaldur.
Like she told Artemis, breaking a mind is easy; restoring one may not even be possible.
"What if I make things worse" she then asked telepathy, "my presence in his mind may be seen as another attack"
Artemis was silent for a moment, and Ma'gann could feel her thoughts flickering though solutions before the Double Agent spoke again though the mental link.
"Take me with you, he won't see me as a threat, I can help"
"Maybe, or maybe I lose you too"
"Ma'gann, we don't have any choice"
"No, I suppose we don't" the Martian said before she and Artemis were pulled into Kaldur's mind.
The moment they entered their friend's head, Artemis started choking.
"Artemis, Artemis! You're not underwater, this isn't real! If you allow the illusions to hurt, you could suffer real damage"
"Right" Artemis said, calming down, "it's all in my head….well Kaldur's head….Kaldur's very messed up head"
"This is how he perceives his psyche, Atlantis" Ma'gann said looking around the floating debris, "in ruins, I don't even know where to start"
"Huh," Artemis said, "I always thought Kaldur's psyche would be his and Wally's apartment…or just Wally"
Ma'gann didn't get a chance to answer, as they were suddenly attacked.
"Tulia?" Artemis said surprised at the sight of the Atlantean, her eyes narrowing when she noticed something was off about the other woman, her eyes widening when she found what it was, "Wally?"
Sure enough it was Wally, not Tulia that had attacked them, the Speedster was dressed in Atlantean clothing. The Archer wasn't sure why she was surprised at the sight of the red-head, maybe it was because he was doing magic of all things. Artemis though didn't have time to think about that, because Wally was attacking them again.
Meanwhile in a Chicago hospital, Conner and Nightwing were struggling to keep La'gaan from getting out of bed.
"Let me go!" La'gaan growled, "I gotta save Ma'gann!"
"La'gaan calm down, there is nothing you can do in your condition" Nightwing said as he firmly pushed the other back down into the mattress.
"Then what about him?" La'gaan then said turning to glare at the Clone, "why isn't he rescuing her? I know you dumped her, but do you really hate her that much!?"
"You don't know how I feel about her!" Conner growled, "and neither do I" he then thought.
"You're right, because I would never abandon her to Black Mantis!"
"La'gaan—"
"No! You know what she did to Kaldur, to Black Mantis's son; did you really think he wasn't going to get revenge? He's going to torture and kill her!"
Neither Conner nor Nightwing said anything, because he was right.
~.~
"Not real" Artemis chanted to herself as the giant ice icicles come flying toward and though her, a cry of pain had her looking back to see Ma'gann getting pumbled by the ice. Quickly she rushed over and tried to pull her friend away, only for the Martian to get hit again. When Wally stopped to change spells Artemis used that as the opportunity to grabbed Ma'gann and move, an enraged Wally following shooting off beams.
"Ma'gann snapped out of it!" Artemis said firmly once she found a place to stop and hide.
"All my fault" Ma'gann mumbled to herself, "all my fault"
"Great" the Archer thought, "she's lost it" thenmoved them both out the way of another attack, she then placed her friend behind her before facing an glaring Wally.
"Wally stop, we're here to help Kaldur"
Wally just attacked her, the beam going through her and hitting Ma'gann.
"…What am I doing? You're not real either."
Time for a new plan.
With a silent prayer that Ma'gann would be alright, Artemis swam off to find Kaldur.
~.~
Artemis was not surprised to find Kaldur in the Atlantean's and Wally's apartment, when she entered the apartment, it was dark and in ruins just like everything else.
"Kaldur?"
Cautiously she made her way to the bedroom where she just knew the other would be; and sure enough, Kaldur was there. Sitting on the bed with his back to her.
"Kaldur"
Artemis went over and placed her hand on his shoulder, gasping and pulling back when she was greeted to the sight of her faceless friend.
"What is left of Kaldur'ahm?" echoed the Atlantean's broken voice around them, the voice then broke off into Atlantean, to which Artemis couldn't understand.
"That's what I get for not paying attention to Atlantean 101" the Archer thought, before moving in front of the other.
"Kaldur" she then said, "it's me Artemis, me and Ma'gann are here to make you better"
The faceless Atlantean looked at her, the echoing voice saying something in Atlantean, before a bright wormhole opened up in the wall behind them and starting pulling Kaldur in. Quickly she grabbed hold of the other's arm and pulled back.
"I am alone" the voice whispered, "there is no one here"
"No, we're here!" Artemis urged, pulling harder "we care about you and want to help!"
"Alone" said the voice again.
Artemis felt her heart quicken when her feet started to slide, "Come Artemis, think of something. Think! What would Nightwing do? What would Ma'gann do?"
Suddenly Artemis noticed that Kaldur's other hand was clenched tightly around a very familiar necklace.
"That's it!"
"You are not alone Kaldur, you have Wally remember?"
"…Amor? Wally?" said the voice.
"Yes, Wally. Wally who loves you, who you gave that necklace to, who's waiting for you with everyone else." Artemis urged, "Wally, who'll be real pissed at the both of us if you don't come back!"
~.~
Ma'gann yelped when she was once again hit, her body flying and hitting the wall, instinctively she covered herself from the falling debris that resulted in her hitting it, she only moved to curl herself into a ball as a large pillar came to hover over her.
"Finish it" Ma'gann said closing her eyes and resigning to her fate, "it's what I deserve after everything I've done to you and Kaldur"
"No!"
Ma'gann's eyes snapped open and she watched as Wally froze while Artemis with Kaldur in her arms swam past him and landed in front of the Martian.
"You wanna blame yourself, fine" Artemis said pulling up her friend, "but only if you're willing to do something about it!"
Artemis then placed Ma'gann's hand into the no longer faceless Kaldur's. Trembling, Ma'gann placed her other hand over Kaldur's and squeezed tightly.
"Kaldur" she nearly sobbed, "I am so sorry, please let me help you"
Kaldur stared blankly at her for a moment before speaking, "Help? No, ruins, all ruins"
"But it doesn't have to be" Ma'gann said softly, "we can fix things"
"No" Kaldur said, "ruins, all ruins"
"Kaldur, please"
"All ruins, alone"
"No, Kaldur, we can fix it"
"Ruins"
"Kaldur—"
Ma'gann let out a cry when she was tackled to the ground.
"Wally!"
Artemis went over and grabbed the Speedster, only to be knocked back, with a growl Wally picked up the Martian and pinned her to the wall. With wide eyes she watched as Wally raised a fist to strike her.
"Wally no!"
"Amor, stop!"
Wally turned to growl at the person who had stopped him, only to blink at finding it was Kaldur who had done so.
"That's enough" Kaldur said, voice no longer broken but strong.
"No" Wally growled, "she broke our world, broke us! Broke you!"
"Yes, I know"
Gently he pulled Wally away, and wrapped him in his arms, "And she will fix me, fix us" Wally's eyes then widen when Kaldur showed him the seahorse necklace, with it still in hand he laced their fingers together.
"Together?" Kaldur then said.
Wally looked over at the Martian who watched them, then back at his Kaldur.
"Juntos" the Speedster said, "together"