A/N Thanks to Violently Red for helping me with this chapter! I really hope you guys enjoy.
~Aiva
M'gann shivered as a particularly cold gust of wind brushed past her, the frostiness biting through her organic clothes. Mentally, she encouraged them to become thicker and warmer to ward off some of the Arctic's chill. Glancing around, she marveled at how everything looked so similar.
A thick blanket of white covered the ground as far as the eye could see, undisturbed by anything except their footprints. The sky was a uniform shade of blue that did nothing to alleviate the monotony, granting the landscape an odd sort of beauty that was admittedly harder to appreciate in the cold.
It was better cold than hot though, and there were far more important things to worry about at the moment. She looked over at Dick, his enthusiastic excitement warring with cautious hope, bleeding out of him in a flood of vibrant emotion that M'gann couldn't block out, no matter how hard she tried. Artemis was quieter, though no less excited, filled with fierce determination and aching longing. Zatanna was focused, her body still but her mind racing with reminders and mental notes on pronunciation and word order.
M'gann wasn't quite sure how she was feeling at the moment. Other peoples' emotions were so much easier, hanging in the air around them as clearly as a lighted sign. Hers remained locked inside of herself, still there but not nearly as easy to read.
She was…scared and hesitant. That made sense. She couldn't seem to get anything right concerning her mental abilities, not right now, especially after what she had done to Kaldur. She was also excited. That also made sense. They had a chance to get Wally back, something she thought impossible after learning that he had died (she really needed to start checking with Dick to make sure people were actually dead before starting to mourn). But there was something else, just a faint glimmer beneath the smog of doubt and anxiety that lurked around the edges of her thoughts.
She felt ready.
M'gann wasn't fully confident in herself, not yet, but she had a job to do and she would do it. So much was on the line with this that she couldn't afford to fail. While the pressure was stressful, it was welcome in an odd sort of way. It was a reminder that she was a hero and that she had done this before. She could do it again, especially since it was for Wally and Dick and Artemis and everyone else she loved.
Her light-brown eyes, filled with a determination and purpose that was paradoxically foreign and familiar, locked on to Zatanna. The raven-haired magician met M'gann's gaze with a small smile and nodded. "I'm ready," she announced, bracing her feet in the sturdy snow.
M'gann returned the smile, her eyes flashing with a soft glow as she reached deep within herself, unlocking the full potential of her telepathic abilities. The power surged through her, exhilarating and terrifying in its intensity, and for a moment, controlling it seemed as impossible as holding back a flood with nothing but her bare hands. But then she took a deep breath, remembering Uncle J'onn's lessons about control and focus, and the raging rapids tamed into a river she could channel in any way she chose.
She reached out and gently brushed against Zatanna's mind, the thoughts buzzing with the unique, exotic energy of magic and spells. Prompted by Zatanna's easy acceptance of the telepathic connection, M'gann strengthened the invisible mental bond between them, allowing some of the metaphorical water to flow through.
Through Zatanna, M'gann could sense the echoing power of another dimension pressing against the boundaries of this world, its weight difficult to sense but no less real because of it. Her mind randomly flitted back to memories of a teenaged Wally scoffing at the thought of magic, dismissing it as fake. Her mouth quirked at the irony that it would be magic that could save him now. But then Zatanna started speaking and M'gann forced her mind back to the present, focusing her attention and natural abilities on the spell, allowing the mystical words to carry her mental range across dimensional boundaries.
Energy buzzed around them, the smell of something electric zipping through the air. M'gann was barely aware of it, completely closed off from the world around her and instead open to the one beyond.
Lightning stung her mind as she pressed past whatever wall threatened to hold her back. It hurt, but M'gann pressed on, refusing to simply give in because of something as trivial as pain when the possibility of getting Wally back was so close it was almost tangible. She was unaware of the lines of pain and stubborn persistence that creased both Zatanna's face and hers, none of it as important as the speedster they all knew and loved.
And then M'gann was through, swept up in the disorienting dizziness of this foreign and unwelcome mindscape. It fought against her presence but she fought back, refusing to give in. Her mind stumbled across Wally's and she latched on to the mental contact, setting up a telepathic link that made the force rage and seethe with disapproval.
"Wally!" she shouted through the newly-forged bond. Startled confusion radiated through Wally's end. "It's me, M'gann!" the Martian continued eagerly, pressing on despite the pain that was quickly becoming agonizing. Bolts of angry yellow and red sizzled through her head, searing and burning and shocking, warning her to stay away. She didn't listen.
"Uh…who?" Wally thought hesitantly back, though a glimmer of recognition flickered into existence somewhere deep within his subconscious. He was unaware of the Speed Force's mounting anger, still cradled securely in its protective embrace.
Rejection stung M'gann for a moment, but she shook it off. Wally would remember in time, right?
"I'm a friend," she assured. White-hot agony coursed through her, making her cry out. Alarm radiated from the speedster and the Speed Force responded with soporific waves, muddling his thoughts and reactions. "Wally, you can't stay here!" M'gann tried, struggling to keep as much pain from leaking through the bond as possible while simultaneously fighting to break through to Wally.
It wasn't working, blurred confusion the only response she got. An idea sprang to her mind and M'gann desperately hoped it would work. She reached out into the physical world, not bothering with telepathic etiquette, simply latching on and dragging Dick and Artemis into the mental link. The Speed Force screamed, a torrent of thunderous, passionate fury, and M'gann sent a hasty apology towards Dick and Artemis.
"I can't get through to Wally," she explained in rapid, pain-laced words. She could tell the other two were dealing with the same burning pain she was, the malevolent force attacking them all viciously. "The Speed Force keeps blocking me and he doesn't remember me enough for anything I say to help."
Understanding sparked through the bond and she could feel Dick and Artemis reaching out towards the steady glow of Wally's consciousness. "Wally," Artemis called out, putting all of her hope and sorrow into those two syllables. It seemed enough to break through the drug-like fog, if only for a moment.
"Beautiful?" Wally thought back, the word quiet and faint, but still there. Artemis wanted to smile with relief, but jagged pain shot through her, sawing at her mind until she was biting back cries.
Dick stepped in, dogged determination and sheer willpower edging his thoughts. "Slow down!" he ordered, putting everything he had into getting out just those two words. Electric agony hammered into him, seeming to set every fiber of his being alight with horrible, unbearable pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He fought in vain to manage it, to drown it under the weight of unshakeable resolve and fierce loyalty. It would all be worth it if it got Wally back.
Wally could feel their pain and worry growing. Paradise nudged at him, as soothing and peaceful as a lullaby, but something kept him from giving in completely. Slow down. What did that even mean? He was simply floating, carried and cradled by the warm, gentle eddies of steady serenity and simple bliss. He longed to join with it fully again, but the words continued to echo in his sleepy thoughts. Slow down.
A small frown creased Wally's forehead as he started to struggle against the drowsy lethargy that seemed now to imprison him rather than embrace him. Why would Dick tell him to slow down if he wasn't even moving? It was so hard to think,to puzzle through this seemingly complicated riddle, his thoughts fuzzy and indistinct.
But the understanding flashed like lightning and the forced exhaustion fled like shadows from a light. Slow down. Because he wasn't floating, he was running, enveloped by pure, beautiful speed. He became aware of a wind caressing his face and tugging at his hair, of his arms pumping at his sides, of his legs thrusting him faster and faster. Slow down.
Wally tried, rebelling against what now seemed to be ingrained instinct, fighting to slow his rapid movements. The force which seemed like paradise only seconds ago murmured uneasily, like a rumble of thunder that grew in strength and intensity until it was a roaring, angry thing that snarled at him to speed up, to run faster. It made his head ache, transforming it into a throbbing heartbeat of awful pain.
But at the edge of his thoughts he could feel Dick and Artemis and that other girl – M'gann? – and their concern and suffering. So instead of giving into the fear and the hurt, Wally pressed forward, even more determined to beat this thing. Slow down. And he did.
He burst out of the force, emerging from its clutches like a drowning man from water. He could sense it, the sudden freedom as liberating as it was frightening. His body continued to pulse with lingering pain, the last clinging remnants of his "paradise". Lightning flickered around the edges of his vision, but he kept his gaze focused on the sky as he stumbled to a clumsy stop. The stars sparkled against the soft indigos of the night sky, each one vivid and bright. The air was crisp and cold, but it was refreshing and Wally breathed it in greedily.
He didn't know where he was or where Dick or Artemis was, but at the moment, this was enough. He felt free, the world so much bigger and broader than he ever could've imagined. It was so different than the force that had held him securely for as long as he could remember, and somehow, it felt more dangerous. But at the same time, it was the most amazing, wonderful thing in existence.
It felt like home.
That feeling unlocked a pang of unexpected and unfamiliar heartache deep within Wally's chest and he would've pondered it further, but the pang turned into a stabbing pain that radiated outwards through his entire body. A strangled cry escaped him as searing agony blossomed into existence, taking over and obliterating everything else.
Wally doubled over, wrapping his arms around his shaking, spasming frame before his legs gave out completely. Panic surged through him, choking and paralyzing. He collapsed, unconscious before he even hit the snow.
A/N He's back! Of course, things aren't over quite yet. Not only has something gone wrong with Wally, but he hasn't gained his memories back yet either. And everyone has to be told that he isn't dead anymore.
So this story isn't ending for a little while longer. ^^ Anyway, I hope this chapter lived up to everyone's expectations. Thank you for the support so far, guys! It means a lot.
Reviews are greatly appreciated!