There were two things that Kaldur expected from his team. Communication and loyalty. Loyalty had gone through a rough stage when there appeared to be a mole on the team, but has been resolved since then. Really everyone, well, except for Robin, was great at communicating.

Usually.

Kaldur had no clue how he was going to explain this to Batman.

Artemis held onto Wally's limp hand as Kaldur carried him through the halls of the Cave, Wally's head lolled against his chest in unconsciousness. Less than an hour before, Kid seemed perfectly fine. It was strange how it all went wrong, starting with the simple fact that he wouldn't obey instructions like he used to.

They were assigned to investigate and take down an illegal gem mining operation. It was on nationally protected land, and the gems contained within the cave were worth millions of dollars. Guards usually kept unwanted people out, but they were no match for Lex Luthor's goons. That's when Batman let the team take over.

All was going well, everyone followed the plan, and the battle seemed to be over as soon as it started. When Kaldur finally allowed himself to believe that the mission was a success, a red and yellow blur flashed across his sight, and Kid Flash was gone.

"Wally!" Artemis shouted, but the speedster continued to run, far, far away from them.

Kaldur pressed on the comms, his voice urgent and demanding. "Kid Flash, return to the main cave immediately!"

No response.

"Miss Martian, set up a telepathic link, talk to him and find out where he is. He cannot run off like that without permission." He ordered, and M'gann nodded, closing her eyes in concentration as she floated above the rocks.

Robin ran up to him, his eyes wide underneath the mask. "Where did he go?"

"I do not know. Did he mention anything to you?"

Robin shook his head. "No, he didn't say anything."

"Is it possible that some of the goons escaped, and he's chasing them?" Artemis said, gently nudging an unconscious criminal with her foot.

"Not likely. We had all of the exits to the outside blocked off, there was no way that they would have escaped."

Superboy signed angrily. "Then, where is he? We have to get back to base. The longer we're here the more reinforcements will arrive."

"I can just barely sense him, he's deeper in the cave." M'gann said suddenly, opening her fearful eyes. "I can't talk to him, I don't know if he can hear me."

"Lead the way, M'gann!" Robin exclaimed, and she flew into the tunnel Wally had just ran through, everyone following her desperately. Robin tried his own com, but failed, while Artemis ran forward eagerly, faster than anyone else.

Soon, after what felt like millions of twists, turns, and splits in the tunnels, Wally's yellow uniform came into view. He was crumpled against the wall, his face pale and dirty. His fingers were covered in dirt, and his eyes were closed tightly. He mumbled unintelligible words, shaking where he laid.

It didn't take long for Artemis to kneel down to his side, running her hand through his hair. Robin came to her side, touching his friend's neck, searching for a pulse.

"His pulse is fast, even for a speedster. Something's wrong."

Superboy pointed at the cave walls. "The crystals. They're…glowing."

The Team looked up to see that Connor spoke the truth. Every red crystal around them flashed with red light, casting shadows around the tunnel. The light was dark and eerie, making Robin cringe from where he was crouched. Why would Wally come here?

Wally suddenly groaned, his head jerking to the side, and Artemis quickly moved his head into her lap.

"Stay with us, Baywatch."

Kaldur knew that they would have to investigate these caves later, but the most important matter at the moment was getting Wally to safety. As gently as he could, he picked Wally up bridal style and hurried him out of the caves, letting M'gann call for the Bioship.

As soon as they had gotten well out of the cave, Wally became restless. He thrashed in Aqualad's grip, mumbles became screams, and Kalder held on tighter.

"We have to find some way to calm him down!" Robin exclaimed, and he looked desperately at M'gann. "Can't you put him to sleep or something?"

"I have barely any access to his mind, calming him down will be impossible."

M'gann ran into the Bioship as soon as the door opened, Kaldur placed Wally on the floor as soon as he could. He wasn't heavy, but his constant movements made it super hard to be held safely. Artemis and Robin came to his side once again, holding him down in place as he struggled. Wally's green eyes were still firmly shut, but his body was a mess of strained muscles and heavy breathing. Rough cries escaped his mouth, loud pleas that no one could understand.

"Get to Mount Justice, now!" Robin yelled as he tried to stop Wally's jerky movements, and M'gann hopped into the seat and sent the ship back to the base.

Superboy and M'gann watched worriedly as Robin and Artemis fought to keep Wally down and on the ground, hoping to avoid Wally causing himself injury. Kalder frowned, notified Batman, and couldn't help playing the scene over and over again in his head. What went wrong? Was he attacked? If so, why didn't he call for help? Why did Wally run off, without telling anyone why?

Nothing made sense.

"Aqualad! He stopped!" Robin shouted, and his eyes shot back down to Wally, who had gone limp.

"Is he breathing? Does he have a pulse?"

Artemis pressed her nimble fingers against his neck gingerly. "He had a pulse."

Robin listened to Wally's nose, hovering his hand over it uncertainly. "He's breathing, too."

"Could the red rocks in the cave have something to do with it?" Conner asked, and M'gann's eyes widened with realization.

"I have never seen anything like that before."

"Neither have I. Whatever it was, maybe it affected Wally somehow." Superboy commented with a frown.

Kaldur nodded. "And, it is possible that whatever effect it had on him was restricted to location and distance. Perhaps we're too far away."

M'gann nodded. "I think so too. But, I still can't read his mind."

"We don't need to read his mind." Artemis said, taking off Wally's cowl and rubbing his forehead gently. "I can tell he's more at peace now."

Robin sighed. "Let's hope."

It didn't take too long for the base to come into view, and M'gann skillfully landed the Bioship in the landing area, where both Batman and Red Tornado were waiting. Kaldur picked Wally up once again and met Batman, where the older man reacted with what might be considered concern at the sight.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, Batman. We believe that he was exposed to some sort of crystal that not only knocked him out cold but made him restlessly unconscious. He wouldn't stop moving until just a few minutes ago."

Batman nodded. "Alright. We'll talk more later. But for now, take him to the medical wing. I'll call the Flash."

And that's where they were, Kalder concerned about what to tell Batman (but that concern was minimal, compared to the worry he felt for Kid Flash), and Artemis clutching Wally's hand like he would wake up because of it. Which, he might. Kaldur found that he knew nothing about true love. At least, not anymore.

It didn't take long for Red Tornado to begin checking over Wally, using his knowledge of medicine to help Wally get better. While the rest of the team hovered near them, wordless, Batman gestured for them to go to a separate room, and Aqualad followed.

"What happened? I want the whole story."

Kaldur sighed. "It was going well, we had managed to take down the criminal operation but then Wally just…left."

"What do you mean 'left'?"

"He ran down a random tunnel. No matter how many times we called his name, or ordered him to come back, he never responded. Even M'gann couldn't reach him telepathically. We were lucky to have found him."

"In what state did you find him in?"

"Unconscious, but he would mutter unintelligible things. He wouldn't stop moving, never staying still, even though he wasn't awake. The only time he settled down was when we were a far distance from the caves."

Batman nodded, deep in thought. "Do you think he purposefully disobeyed you?"

"I am not sure. He didn't seem to be…there. It was as if he wasn't in control. We believe that the stones in the cave have something to do with all of this."

"I'll send a team to investigate. In the meantime, I want you to stay here and be here for your team, especially Wally when he wakes up."

"Of course."

Dick sat by Wally's bedside, gloved hands balled into a tight fist. He didn't understand what happened, but he wanted to. Red had told them that Wally was going to be fine, that he just needed rest, yet Dick couldn't help but be worried.

He was just about to leave and get Artemis when he noticed Wally stir from where he laid, groaning as he opened his eyes.

"Wally! Hey, it's me, Dick!"

Wally took in a deep breath, meeting his eyes, confused. The speedster weakly shuffled away from him on the bed, moving uncertainty and eyeing Robin warily. Dick's smile soon turned into a frown when he realized that Wally didn't recognize him.

"Wally…hey…"

"Robin." Wally stated, and Dick nodded.

"Yea. Yea, it's me."

Wally's expression hardened, emotionless, and he got to his feet, ripping out the IV in his arm. Robin got up to stop him, but Kid Flash punched him in the face. Hard. Dick cried out, stumbling back and reaching up to his face, feeling blood under his nose.

"What's wrong with you?!"

Wally sneered, quickly changed back into his Kid Flash suit, and bolted out of the room before Robin could do anything else.

Dick turned on his comms, so glad he hadn't taken them out yet. "Guys! Wally's awake but hostile! Find him!"

"On it, Robin!" M'gann replied.

Batman burst into the room, holding a batarang, and as soon as he saw Dick he lowered his defenses.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but Wally isn't. He knew who I was, but he still attacked me like I was a threat."

"That's what I was coming to tell you." Bruce replied. "The red rocks found in the cave were biocoded to mind control whoever touched it."

"Wally's been mind controlled? How do we stop it?"

"Our scientists are still trying to find that out."

Dick ran out of the room, and Batman followed him, his strides steady and certain.

"Why isn't The Flash here, anyways?"

"Trouble in Central City. He said that he would get here as soon as possible."

Dick nodded, rushing to get to the computer. Bruce instantly knew what he was doing as he opened all of the security camera footage, and Batman did the same thing on the hidden cameras.

"So, the crystals mind controlled him? I'm not even going to ask how, but what I want to know is what he thinks he's doing. Like, what is it forcing Wally to do?"

"In the coding we found, it was to kill all superheroes that existed last year. That's when we think the coding was created."

Robin paused. "Wait, all superheroes? Like, including…"

"Himself? I don't know. But, no matter what, we have to find him at all costs."

Artemis, Connor, and Kaldur ran into the room, eyes wide and frantic.

"Where is he?" Artemis demanded, and Robin frowned.

"We don't know, Artemis, but he's been mind controlled to kill all superheroes."

."M'gann saw him briefly outside of the Cave," Kaldur said. "He ran off before she could reach him, but she's tracking him in the Bioship."

A call came through the computer, and Batman allowed it through, the worried face of the Green Arrow staring at the camera.

"Can someone tell me why Kid Flash is trying to kill me?!" His voice was frantic, more scared than anyone had heard before, and Robin bolted for the zetatube.

"Hang on, Green Arrow. Try to keep him there, we're on our way." Batman responded, and the Green Arrow harshly laughed.

"Try to keep him here? I'm barely keeping myself and Black Canary alive! An evil speedster is a bit hard to take down!"

Kaldur grabbed a couple of weapons. " Green Arrow, listen to me. Don't be afraid to hurt him, he can heal quickly."

Artemis looked at him with shock. "How can you say that? It's Wally!"

"Not anymore. He's a rogue speedster who is trying to kill our allies. We have to treat him as such."

"But一"

"Aqualad is right." Batman said gravely. "Wally West is now a threat. Speedsters are next to impossible to fight, we can't go soft on him."

Artemis went silent.

Only Superboy cast a second glance at the archer as they left for Star City, and was surprised to find tears in her eyes. She never cried. Yet, he understood.

How would Artemis, or anyone, be okay with hurting their teammate, their best friend, the love of their life?

How were they going to fight Wally West?

Thank for reading! Stay tuned for Chapter 2!