Chapter 2

Watchtower

Leia looked around the room at the faces of heroes she'd only heard about. Men and women who'd saved their world, and others alike, countless times over, going above and beyond what many would even consider. They were warriors of every creed, colour, race, species…and they were strangers to her. Some shot smiles at Wally, recognising one of their own, whilst some bore expressions wondering how much their friend had changed. One never took his gaze from Leia. She felt his dark gaze burrow beneath her skin, peeling back the walls she carefully had erected around these strangers.

Batman.

Once, her gaze flickered calmly to his, met it steady and without skipping a beat, returned to the task at hand. There was a war to end and she had to convince these heroes. Wally had faith in her, which steadied her nerves and she squared her shoulders. With a deep breath she unfurled her hands outwards, spreading her arms a little, and she called on her power. The demons within hissed but rose to her command…and her eyes bled to an inhuman black, erasing all white, any flicker of human life within. A few heroes stiffened but watched on cautiously, some even with fascination.

"My name is Nightmare and my world is gone. I'll provide a detailed report of my life, the past five years, which you can correlate with Wally. For now, you need to know what has come." She raised her hand, summoning three shadowy figures. A trickle of fear slid down her spine. "There used to be three. Now, there is only one. Her name is Hysteria; at least, that's what we called her. We don't know her real name but for hundreds of years she and her brothers have been working to break down the barrier that kept our home separate from the rest of this universe."

"Why were you kept separate?" It was a woman with big tawny brown wings, her face hidden beneath a bird-like mask.

Nightmare snapped her fingers and enlarged the remaining figure, a woman of striking figure and hair that flowed like a waterfall around her body. "Hysteria. Our world was her prison. We were simply collateral damage in an effort to trap a great evil." A shudder passed through her; magic surged and she staggered back with a gasp, powering roaring in her mind. For a moment, all she heard was the howling of her demons; then, through it all, another voice, pushing up, reaching for her.

"Leia! Leia!"

She reached for that voice, kind and gentle, soothing to the rush of power. A calm settled through her. Someone was cradling her. Wally. As reality came flooding back, she wrapped her arms around him, shaking violently.

"What was it?" His voice was low, cautious, like he somehow knew what she was going to say.

She looked up, her eyes seeming to confirm his fears because he drew back a little. "It's her. She's sensed me."

"Hysteria?" Superman offered.

Nightmare nodded and shakily stood, slowly untangling herself from Wally. "She wants revenge on me."

All eyes fell on her again. She steeled herself. A green suited man laughed. "What'd you do?"

She looked to the Martian. As much as telepaths bothered her, there was a mission to finish and if they had any chance of convincing the league, her past had to be laid bare. She had to trust that they'd be like Wally; that they'd see the darkness and see something good inside of her. Something that wasn't completely rotten.

"I would like you to link us, if the League is willing, and show a memory. It's easier to show, rather than to tell." Her gaze flickered over the other members. "If you're willing?"

In the end, half the League agreed to enter the state. Wally's hand slid into hers, reassuring as they plunged into one of her darkest memories. It slid over her skin like a dark sludge, saturating her very soul as she was dragged down; deep into the past, into the very memories she locked away. She didn't fight the rise of panic that surged in her chest, warning her away; instead, she embraced it, drew every inch of that toxin deep within as a familiar scene unfurled around her. A cavernous room that once acted as the seat of power on their world – until she'd brought the rebellion beating down on their door.

She held her breath as the others appeared beside her. She couldn't worry about their reactions, couldn't study it because suddenly she saw herself. On her knees, her hands bound behind her back and anchored to the floor. A silver collar shone from her neck…and even in the memory, she still felt the numbness snake through her.

"What's that around your neck?" Flash asked.

For a second too long she was silent and found all eyes on her…and Wally was gently nudging her. She must've zoned out.

"A collar, designed specifically for me…" Her gaze flickered back to her younger self, a bitter smile twisting across her mouth. "I was…a thorn in their side. They had to become creative."

He opened his mouth to ask another question but a side door swung open. A woman strode through, clad in head-to-toe in black. Her long silver hair flowed freely down her back…and to a stranger, she might've looked angelic. Leia knew, however, all too well the darkness that raged inside of Hysteria.

"That's her," whispered Leia, as if somehow, in the memory, Hysteria might hear her – and Leia scorned how her own instinct was to hide from Hysteria.

Hysteria swept over to Leia's younger self and looked down, smug as hell. Her hand slid beneath Leia's bruised and bloodied jaw, forcing her gaze upwards.

"I hear congratulations are in order. I'm just sorry I missed your wedding yesterday and whilst I loathe to split happy newlyweds, it's really unavoidable." Hysteria's voice was just as chilling as she remembered.

Leia spat blood into Hysteria's face. "If you've hurt him, I'll tear your fucking mind to pieces."

A shrill laugh erupted from Hysteria. "There's the monster! Oh, I do like it when you finally let yourself see!"

The younger Leia strained against her bonds and tried to stand but sunk back down to her knees, furious but defiant. Wally leant into her ear, as if sensing Leia's turbulent emotions twisting away like a storm inside of her.

"I'm right by your side."

She squeezed his hand. In the corner of her gaze she saw Flash watching the way Wally leant into her, their intertwined hands, with a hidden gaze. He met her gaze, then looked back to the scene unfolding before them. Hysteria wiped the blood from her face and rose elegantly, stepping back. With a snap of her fingers, the door she'd come through opened again. Two masked guards marched in, followed closely by twelve collared humans. Behind them were two more guards. The humans were chained together and her younger self went still, watching the humans that looked at her. Some recognised her, looked almost hopeful.

A tight feeling twisted inside of Leia. She knew what was coming and the helpless feeling rose up, choking any warning she might have. Luckily, Tamara beat her to it and turned to Flash, Hawk Girl, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Aquaman. She stamped her staff, getting their attention.

"What you see has already happened. It was inevitable."

They frowned, confused by the warning but Hysteria waved the guards away. Hysteria turned to the chained Leia and gestured to the chained humans, whom stood with wide eyes. Pain was filling them, slowly erasing every rational thought in their mind, eroding their very sanity. Soon, there wouldn't be anything left and her chained self was helpless to stop it.

Hysteria waved her hand again and a wall shifted behind her, dropping down, revealing nothing but the sprawling war-torn city beyond. A hot breeze rushed in.

"You kept fighting me, Leia, and now it's time for you to realise one very important fact – I am always going to win. You are simply fighting a battle you can never win…and it's time I remind you of that." She smiled and Leia started to scream, fighting against the chains that held her firmly in place. Hysteria ignored it all and turned to the humans. "Walk over the edge."

The League members shouted, try to move forward but Tamara held out her staff, stopping them. Everyone was helpless as, one by one, the humans walked over the side.

Leia didn't see anymore because darkness exploded through her…and her world went cold. Panic seized as Hysteria's power rushed through her. Without hesitating, she drew it all within herself…and let the darkness claim her whole. Someone was shouting her name but she didn't care.

Wally caught Leia as she crumpled to the floor. Tamara was at his side in an instant, her hand on Leia's forehead. She drew her hand back and gave him a grave look.

"We knew Hysteria had left scars but I think she actually left physical thorns in Leia's mind."

Wally frowned, aware of several members gathering around them. His gaze, however, didn't stray from Tamara.

"That should've attacked everyone-"

Clint snorted. "Leia did what she always does. She'd rather have her own mind shredded before anyone else got hurt.

It made sense. Leia always let her mind take the brunt of any attack before it even grazed anyone else. No matter the cost. She'd done it several times before, at the cost of being in a coma for a few times, several times over. They'd argued fiercely over it because every time she slipped into a healing coma he didn't know when she'd wake up – if she would. He held his breath every time.

He went to lift her up but Superman beat him too it. "We'll take her to the infirmary."

He left with Superman and Flash to the infirmary, where Leia was bundled off into a room for care, forcing Wally to step back. The door whirred shut in front of him and when he turned away, he realised that Superman had left him, that Flash remained beside him. Barry.

"Hey kid," he said quietly.

Wally turned and yanked him into a hug. Then he pulled back and looked at Barry, whom had yanked down his hood.

"Good to have you back kid," he said, then those familiar blue eyes slid to the door. "Hell of a woman."

"Yeah, she is. Better than I deserve."

Barry grabbed him, spun him around. "Don't you dare say that. You saved the planet, kid. That's nothing small."

He went to reply but the door opened and a doctor strode out, casting them a relieved look. She looked to Wally first.

"Her brain activity is good. What we can tell is she's in a kind of healing state – has she had them before and how long have they lasted?"

"She's had them before and it varies. The longest was a month and that was after she was captured and tortured. We never knew if she'd wake up from any of them though," he said, something inside of him breaking.

He couldn't lose her, not after all they'd survived together and been through to even be together. In his mind, he knew she'd fight and come back…but Hysteria's damage ran deep. They hadn't wanted to look before and it was sickening to have their fears confirmed. Perhaps Leia, subconsciously, knew what lurked at the depths of her mind. Whispers of Hysteria's power. Just enough to do damage, deep enough to fester.

"You can see her," said the doctor. "I'll be back soon to check on her."

When the doctor strode off, he went in, followed by Barry. Inside, Leia lay on the bed, dressed in a hospital gown. She looked peaceful, like she hadn't just raged a war for her own sanity in her mind against Hysteria. With a deep breath he sat down next to her and took her hand, far too cold for his liking.

Barry sat down. "When did you two get married?"

"A year ago. It wasn't anything formal." He smiled at the memory. "It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I mean, I had been wanting to ask her but the timing was never right. Then it was. Tamara and Clint, the other two that came with us, were there. After, we sat on the roof top of an old blown out building and drank wine." The smile fell from his mouth. "We were attacked the next day. She held them off but I…I had to leave her." He looked at Barry. "It took us way too long to get her back…and now she's like this, battling every day to make sure Hysteria doesn't win."

"That's why you're all so determined to take this Hysteria down?"

Wally nodded. A sudden anxiousness seized him, so he stood and started to pace the room. After a few minutes he stopped again and looked at Barry.

"I wanted to come back. I mean I tried for the first year and a half. Things got complicated though. I couldn't leave them, couldn't leave the rebellion," he blurted out.

Barry's brows lifted. "You mean you fell for her?"

Wally laughed. "No, that came later. We…we fought a lot back then. Then yeah, I did and I was already pretty involved with them. I couldn't leave them to that fight and I know I didn't always make much of a difference. Sometimes I did, though." His gaze flickered to Leia, as achingly beautiful as she had been the first day that he saw her. "Falling for her wasn't…expected. It hit me before I knew it."

"Hey, I'm just glad you're alive. We thought you were-"

Wally spun around. "I wanted to send a message through but there was no way through. It was only by pure chance that I managed to phase through a weak spot in the barrier, which shifted after I came through, stopping me from running back…and the more I understood, it was by some miracle I didn't destroy the whole planet by crashing into their world. So, by then, I couldn't risk it."