Wally tripped again- stumbling on his feet before catching his balance. The archer had fallen asleep in his arms sometime during the night, but the Kid Flash kept running. Arm wrapped around his neck, Artemis gripped onto her bow as if she held onto her life. Unsure if she still suffered the effects of the poison, he let her sleep. Sleeping was far better than fighting, and Wally risked the inevitable ranting that would follow to see Artemis be at peace- happy and ignorant of their situation. At least for this moment.
Weaving between boulders and groups of the toxic flower, Wally once again felt the pain of hunger. His thoughts strayed back to the last can of peaches he ate, and his stomach growled. Wally yawned, and his legs had grown numb. However, running on adrenaline, they continued to propel him forward. Forward into an unknown location. A salvation. The toxins slowly ate away at his sanity, but he didn't care. I need to keep running. Find the ship. Be Faster…Faster…Fast—
As his feet carried him over another dune, Kid Flash ran himself to drifting asleep. However, Wally continued to run. For miles, the hero unconsciously traveled at a non-human speed to an unknown destination.
…
Robin cherished the last drop of his water bottle, and then returned to the stark and terrifying reality- they were lost.
Aqualad had lead him through the maze of sand to his best knowledge, but they now sat on the peak of a dune and considered their next course of action. The sun had begun to rise and cast a ray of gold over the desert. However, Batman had not trained him to analyze the beauty of a sunrise. Robin was trained to fight, think, and protect the ones he loved: each of which he had failed to do correctly during this 'mission'.
"We should head south. Given the odds that we are still north of the bioship- that is our best chance." Kaldur spoke like a leader; resisting the symptoms of the plant. He held out a small compass Robin kept in his belt.
"Sounds good."
The two stood, and walked along the top of the sand dunes.
"Hey, Kaldur, while I was…out of it, did I—"
"You can't blame yourself for the things you did when you were poisoned, Robin. You were not yourself."
Robin nodded.
With the sun to their left, the two heroes trekked the desert. The first warm breeze of the day came across the desert, and the beauty of the land was lost to them. Only one thought occupied their minds: Save the Team.
…
Artemis felt the pain in her broken ankle, and woke up before her entire body crashed into the ground. She slid several feet and then rolled to a halt. Standing quickly, the blonde looked for an attacker before spotting Wally.
The Kid Flash was still unconscious, but his legs moved as if he were still running.
"Wally! Hey, wake up." She gently nudged him, and then punched his arm. The red head sat up abruptly.
"Wha— unghh… Artemis! Are you ok?"
"Yeah. You've been running all night."
"Oh, huh, must've dozed off." Wally tried to stand, but the pain in his legs and feet only allowed him to squat and return to laying the ground. Artemis crossed her arms, and looked at him judgingly. "I'll just need to rest here for a bit, then I'll be in top…well, mediocre condition."
The sun had fully breached the horizon and returned the heat to the desert. Artemis' uniform was torn in various places, and was covered in a layer of dust- light brown and blue from either the desert or plant's powder. Her thick blonde hair had begun to knot, but maintained a long tight ponytail.
Wally, however, looked far less stunning; his hair and suit caked with grime. While discolored by the dirt, his hair still appeared fiery orange. The small rip on his right inner thigh had grown to a six inch tear, but the Kid Flash no longer cared. As the survival of himself and his loved ones became top priority, Wally disregarded his own appearance and well being for the sake of the Team. For his blonde archer.
To his right, two figures approached them- bent over and staggering slightly in the heat. The sun illuminated their faces, and Wally grinned- once again, he had hope. "Rob! Kaldur!"
Artemis stood and, before greeting their lost friends, stopped them with the tip of her bow. "How do we know they're…them?"
"Artemis, we are ourselves. I haven't been directly poisoned by the plants, and Robin's symptoms have primarily worn off. You can trust us."
She dropped her bow, and hugged each of the heroes
"Ok, that was unexpected." Robin squinted his eyes. "Are you sure you are you?"
"Sorry. I just didn't think I'd see you guys…"
"Alive?"
She nodded.
"Ok, so, not like I'm not all for big reunions, but we really need to find wild-boy and Megan." Wally spoke from the ground. "And the bioship. And…food.
"Here." Kaldur tossed a package of crackers to Wally- who gladly ripped them open and inhaled every crumb. "I agree, Superboy seemed to be severely affected by the toxin, and I have not been able to communicate psychically to M'gann. We can only hope that they have not found each other. Or—"
A thundering, kryptonian yell came from the south. The team mates froze.
Wally finished chewing. "I guess that'd be a good place to look."
….
Author's Note- Well, it looks like I'll be uploading kind of infrequently over the next few days, but I plan to bring this to a (satisfying) conclusion before the end of next week. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and feel free to write a review!
[Thanks for all of the encouraging and positive reviews I've received so far! They really make my day :) ]