Chapter Nine — Denial
"To burn with desire and keep quite about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves."
The six of them— Arley, Wally, M'gann, Artemis and Superboy and Kaldur —were in the Mount Justice gym; M'gann and Superboy had pulled Arley out of the library all but kicking and screaming, citing that they were going to train with the archer, speedster and the Atlantean boy.
Arley had her hair braided back and her bangs clipped away from her forehead, and the book she had been reading on the Aunnake— the reptilian alien race who claimed to have been the ones to kill off the dinosaurs —open on the her lap as she sat on the floor between M'gann and Artemis.
M'gann and Superboy could drag the girl out of the vast Justice League library but they couldn't make her not read, especially when the only other thing to do was watch Kaldur and a shirtless Superboy spar.
Wally stood to the side further away from the three girls as he ate a warmed up frozen burrito he had gotten from the caves kitchen; Arley hadn't been meaning too but ever since she and the others had saved Dr. Roquette she'd been avoiding him as much as she could without being obvious about it— spending most of her days off world and on Oa or in some other part of her sector —because every time she found herself around the speedster she couldn't help but be reminded of the way he called M'gann beautiful.
Artemis crouched down to Arley's level, her arms tucked under her bent knees and M'gann with her knees under her body floated in the air as Superboy and Kaldur rushed at each other, Superboy threw a punch which Kaldur easily dodged, the dark skinned boy threw two of his own punches, both of which the clone boy blocked, and when Superboy responded with a punch of his own Kaldur flipped back.
"Kaldur's nice," Artemis said looking at the two boys, "Don't you think? Handsome, commanding, one of you should totally ask him out," Artemis said to the two girls.
Arley chuckled at the thought of going out with Kaldur, not because the boy was repulsive and not even because she was head over heels for Wally and the idea of dating someone else was so completely absurd it was laughable, but because once you saw a boy tricked into eating a goldfish straight from it's pet store tank there was just no coming back from that.
"He's like a big brother to me," M'gann said, Artemis turned to Arley who looked up away from her book,
"I'm okay," Arley said, her gaze flickered from the girls to Wally— who was already looking at them —and the speedster caught Arley's eye with pink cheeks, his phone in his hand as he texted someone, probably Dick or Roy or his mother.
"You know who would make the cutest couple?" M'gann asked, teasingly. "Arley and Wally."
Arley began to choke on her own spit, her head whipped to M'gann.
"Megs," Arley hissed, her face blotched red, "You can't just-what if-can you not say that so loud?" Artemis chuckled, amused at Arley's embarrassment as the Lantern peeked behind M'gann to the speedster who was too enthralled with his food, and whatever text he'd just gotten to listen to their conversation.
"It's true," M'gann said, "You and Wally just have this connection—"
"—Friendship," Arley cut in; the cage she kept her feelings for Wally rattled in the back of her mind, threatening to burst open. Arley breathed, "We're best friends, have been for the past six and half years, ask him, he'll tell you—" Arley's voice strained in her throat because she wished what she was telling the girls was a lie, "—We're just friends."
"Why though?" Artemis asked, "I mean you totally like him, right, and it's not like you're not a total catch."
"Thanks," Arley said, and she smirked at the archer, leaning against the blonde girl with an impish grin Arley batted her eyelashes, "Ten-out-of-ten, one hundred percent truth, if I wasn't, er, you know—" in love with Wally, "—I'd totally ask you to dinner."
Pink rose to Artemis' cheeks and the archer playfully pushed the Lantern away. "Seriously though," Artemis said sincerely, "You can't just hide your feelings forever."
Who said Arley couldn't?
"Why not, it's worked pretty well the past three years." Artemis looked at the girl in disbelief and Superboy, with his foot behind Aqualad's flipped the boy backwards onto his back; under the Atlantean a circle with the words fail appeared.
Arley cheered loudly for the clone from the sidelines; she looked away from Artemis. "Go Superboy!" The clone dusted his hands off in the ring,
"Black Canary taught me that," Superboy boasted and Arley grinned like a proud mother hen— the clone, ever since he too had started having sessions with the fish net wearing hero had started to open up more —as she turned to M'gann,
"Who do you think would win, me or Superboy?" The clone helped Aqualad up, "I mean no powers and we neutralized his strength?" M'gann's face heated up as the Martian girl looked between Superboys bare back and Arley.
"Oh-well, I mean—" M'gann was saved from answering the question by Red Tornado who walked by the caves open gym door. Wally, who saw the metallic League member, sped over to the android, and the others turned towards the open door as the red headed boy stood eagerly in front of Red Tornado.
"Do you have a mission for us?"
"Missions are the Batmans responsibility," Tornado said.
"Yeah but the Batman's with the Robin doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham, but you're headed somewhere, right?" Wally wondered, "Hot date or a mission?"
The top of the book Arley had been reading flew up and pressed against Arley's lips; hiding her smile as she tried not to laugh at the thought of someone— a live human person and not another animatronic —going on a date with the android, it'd be like a dating a toaster wouldn't it?
"If we can be of help we'd like too," Aqualad offered as he stepped out of the ring and closer to the teams Den-Mother. Red Tornado turned,
"Very well, follow me," the robot instructed as he lead the six teens out of the gymnasium and into the Mount Justice meeting room. A hologram appeared and a mans picture showed up, the man was old— elderly —and in his right hand he held a cane.
"This is Kent Nelson, a friend," Tornado said, "He is one hundred and six years old."
"Dude doesn't look a day over ninety," Wally whispered to Arley and Artemis, both of whom were on the speedsters left, though Arley had seated the archer between her and the speedster by taking the seat at the end of the table; she ignored how Wally's eyes had flickered between her and Artemis when they had sat down before he had looked forward at Tornado.
"And he had been missing for twenty-three days, Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors Justice League," Tornado said as the old mans image was over lapped with a picture of a man in a golden helmet and matching cape.
"Of course," Aqualad gasped, "Nelson was Earths sorcerer supreme, Doctor Fate."
"More like Doctor Fake," Wally scoffed in a whispered tone Arley, having heard the speedsters views on magic years ago, rolled her head to the side and looked at the red headed boy. "Dude knows a little advanced science and Dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."
"Unless he's actually Dumbledore," Arley resorted just as quietly. The existence of magic was one thing Arley and Wally differed on; Wally believed magic was a complete and utter con-job, Arley however had seen enough in the universe to believe that while much of what she and other heroes saw was advanced science something more did exist.
Wally threw Arley a dry look and she smiled innocently at the speedster who seemed unable to not smile back at her only for his smile to quickly turn into a grimace as he turned away from her. Arley looked at the boy oddly.
"Kent may simply be on one of his walkabouts, but he is caretaker to the helmet of fate, the source of Doctor Fates mystic might and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."
"He's like the great sorcerer priest and priestesses of Mars, I would be honored to help find him," M'gann said earnestly and Wally's hand shot up into the air as he turned from Arley to look at the Martian girl,
"Me too!" Arley slunk back in her seat as the rest of the team turned in their seats to look at the speedster. "So honored I can barely stand it." Artemis looked at Arley and then at Wally as the boy made two rock symbols with his hands, "Magic rocks."
Tornado handed a key to Aqualad, "Take this, it is the key to the Tower of Fate."
With a charming smile that made Arley's heart splutter in her chest Wally looked at M'gann, "What are the chances we both admire the mystic arts?" The youngest sector Lantern ignored how her heart twisted in her chest and she turned to Artemis,
"I left my battery at home, I'll be back in ten," she muttered as she stood from the table. Wally and the others turned to look at Arley as she walked out of the room, the girl was too focused on ignoring the hurt in her chest to even notice.
If she could just get her heart wrapped around the fact Wally was never going to see her the same way she saw him, then she'd be fine; but she couldn't, no matter how much he flirted and hit on other girls right in front of her Arley couldn't seem to get over the young speedster, and she hated it.
...
Arley and the others were in the bioship flying high over the Massachusetts green as the sun set behind them. They were all dressed in their civilian clothing and Arley, after she had recharged her ring, had slunk one of Guys old sweatshirts over the tank top she had been wearing before leaving the house, the sweatshirt no longer smelled of Earths third Lantern but when Arley pulled it around herself, her fingers curled around the cuffs, she could imagine the loud mouth Lantern was there with her, giving her a hug.
"So Wally?" Artemis asked as Arley sat to M'gann's left, behind Wally and her, "When did you first realize your honest affinity for sorcery?"
"Well I don't like to brag—" Arley, behind the speedster snorted and Wally, who had half turned in his seat to look at M'gann, shot her a look, "But before I became Kid Flash I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."
Arley's brows shot up at the bold face lie because before actually getting his powers and becoming Kid Flash all Wally had dreamed about was about was fighting at his uncles side, though at the time he hadn't known it was his uncle.
Artemis looked out the bioships window before she turned to M'gann, "Are we in the right spot?"
"We've reached the coordinates Tornado sent us—"
"—But nothing's here," Superboy said looking out the window. Of course there was a run down theater and a couple of historical looking buildings that had stores on the bottom floor and apartments above them but there was no tower type of building around.
"Take us down," Kaldur said and M'gann lowered the bioship onto the street; the six of them piled out of the bioship, "Wally take a look around," Kaldur told the speedster, the red head nodded and took off; he raced through the empty lot the Tower of Fate was supposed to be in, and then around the street before stopping in front of Arley and the others.
"Nothing, this isn't simple camouflage," he told them.
"So what do you think adaptive microoptic-electronics combined with phase shifting?" Arley wondered— Arley didn't get science as nearly as much as she got English and History but she listened when Wally went on his scientific rants when he called her at two in morning because he just had to get his jumbled thoughts out of his mind —and Wally's eyes brightened.
"Absolutely!" Wally started to say only for his grin to drop as M'gann got closer, "Not. Clearly mystic powers are at work here."
Every word sounded like it pained the speedster to say; Artemis, who had moved to Arley's side shot the speedster an unimpressed look.
"A test of faith," Kaldur said, he moved from behind Superboy and Arley and Artemis, the key Tornado had given him in his hand, "Stand behind me."
The Atlantean raised the key into the air and as if there was in fact a door there the key entered a keyhole, Arley could hear the lock of a door clicking open as Kaldur turned the key in his hand and the Tower of Fate, an ancient looking tower that seemed to have once been part of medieval castle appeared in front of the teens.
"Woah," Arley breathed as she strained her head to look up at the never ending tower. Kaldur pushed the door open and stepped forward, Arley and the others followed behind them and with a creaky slam the door closed behind them; disappearing as they looked around the empty stone room they had entered.
"Uh, where'd the door go?" Superboy wondered, a ghostly image of Kent Nelson appeared and Arley's breath caught in her throat. Aliens had been something she'd been dealing with since she was a child, powerful beings who called themselves Gods were something she had run into before, but ghosts were something the girl drew the line at, something the girl would not deal with.
"Greetings," the translucent Kent Nelson said to the six, "You have entered with a key but the tower dose not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent." Arley looked at Kaldur who still had the key in his hands.
Wally, before anyone else could answer, stepped up, "We are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate."
The Kent Nelson that was before them didn't sigh but his shoulders dropped and with a flutter he was gone. The stone floor below the six began to creek before opening up beneath them, sending all six of them tumbling down towards a lava filled pit.
Arley shut her eyes— M'gann and the others yelled as they fell —and her uniform appeared over her clothing, her mask over her eyes. M'gann grabbed Wally and Artemis, pulled a crossbow from her jacket and caught Kaldur as she shot an arrow at the side of the pit, a rope tied to the end of the arrow, catching the archer and Atlantean before they hit the lava. Arley as Superboy clutched at the side of the pit, trying to slow his decent swooped down and caught the clone under his arms just as his boots hit the lava; his boots were gone and his feet were bare, Superboy, as Arley flew up, glared down at the pit of lava.
"Those were my favorite boots, this Nelson guy better be worth it," the clone grumbled and M'gann began to drop as she tried to fly higher, sweat dripped down her forehead.
"Having trouble maintain altitude," M'gann panted, "I'm too hot."
"Yes you are," Wally flirted and Arley gritted her teeth.
"Wally!" Artemis snapped scandalized,
"Hey inches above sizzling death I'm entitled to speak my mind!" Wally snapped,
"My physiology and M'gann's are susceptible to extreme heat, we must climb out quickly," Kaldur panted. Arley shifted Superboy so that the clone had his arm around her neck and she had one arm wrapped around his waist as Arley flew over to M'gann.
"Megs," Arley said, "Wrap your arm around me okay?" M'gann did as Arley said and the Lantern slowly began to lift her three teammates up into the air, though the higher she flew the higher the higher the pits edge seem to get.
"Hello M'gann," M'gann breathed, "We never truly answered the question—" M'gann looked up at the edge of the pit, "Red Tornado sent us to see if Mr. Nelson and the helmet were safe!" She called out to the tower.
A floor appeared over the bubbling lava and M'gann and Arley dropped Wally and Superboy to the ground; Arley shouldered the Martian girls weight as she floated the green girl down, gently Arley set M'gann on the stone floor and glared at her best friend, jealously bubbled in her gut as she turned and looked down at M'gann.
Arley wasn't mad at M'gann— none of that had been her fault —but none of that would have happened if Wally hadn't found the Martian girl beautiful, if he hadn't been trying to impress her.
Kaldur and Artemis grappled down onto the floor and the Atlantean boy panted as he looked down at the floor.
"This platform should be red hot, but it is cool to the touch."
"Don't worry Megalious I got you," Wally tried to comfort and like a volcano Arley shot to her feet, the eyes of her mask narrowed, the emotions she'd been suppressing every time the speedster tried to flirt with the Martian girl since the teams formation— the feelings she batted back every time the speedster tried to flirt with anyone —exploded from within her.
"Will you stop it!" Arley shouted; the words that had been hanging off the tip of her tongue since the speedsters first day of school spilled out of her unabashedly.
Wally, startled, stepped back away from her, Arley jabbed at the boys chest and stepped forward every time he moved back. The speedster looked unsettled at Arley's angry display, Arley was never angry, annoyed sure but never angry. The Jordan household didn't allow for pessimists; it was a rule that was all but embroidered on the couch pillows.
"Your little impress M'gann at all coast game nearly got us all boiled alive!"
"How is the floor opening up my fault!" Wally demanded to know, his face hardening, he leaned into Arley's space and down closer to the girls face; she could see the speedsters cheeks puffed out indignantly and that the tips of his ears had turned a bright red.
"Because you lied to that whatever it—" Arley waved her hand in the air, motioning to the top of the pit, "—Was and called yourself a true believer!" Arley hissed. "None of what just happened would've if you told the truth!"
"Oh like you have a leg to stand on when it comes to the truth!" Wally fired back,
"And what dose that mean!" Arley demanded to know, her hands on her hips.
"You're avoiding me!" Wally said, "Ever since we went up against the Shadows you've been avoiding me and anytime I try to talk to you about it you say nothing! It's defiantly something!"
"I-that's neither here nor there," Arley said crossing her arms over her chest, "What's important is you lied to a magic tower and almost got us killed!"
"Magic tower," Wally scoffed, "Magic's not real!" M'gann, who had gotten to her feet looked at Wally woundly,
"Wally?" She asked, "You don't believe?"
"No!" Wally said, "I lied about believing in magic, but magic is the real lie, a major load!" Wally crossed his arms over his chest.
"Wally I studied for a year at the Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis," Kaldur said, "The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers."
"Dude have you ever heard of bio-electricity?" Wally asked, "Hey in primitive cultures fire was once considered magical too, today it's all just a bunch of tricks."
"You're pretty close minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in a pair of sneakers," Artemis said.
"That's science, I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am," Wally said with a flutter of his hands, "Everything can be explained by science."
"Lets test that theory," Kaldur said as he found a door in the floor, he grabbed the handle.
"Wait!" Wally cried, "The back draft from the lava will roast us alive!" Only it wasn't lava that flowed out from the door as Kaldur opened it, but rather a flurry of snow that drifted up. Artemis, smirking, turned to Wally,
"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" The archer wondered smugly and Arley jumped through the door and onto a snow covered mountain. Wally was the last to jump through and the door disappeared as he landed on his feet, Artemis with a hand on her hip smirked at the speedster.
"Well?"
"Ever heard of string theory? We're in a pocket dimension."
Artemis let out a frustrated yell, and Arley, who had heard the speedster explain away magical occurrences a thousand different ways over the years placed a hand on the archers shoulder. Arley looked around the mountain top and a few yards from them she spotted something floating in the air.
"What's that?" M'gann asked.
"Maybe it's Kent's magic wand," Wally drawled sarcastically. Arley, as Wally ran over to it, flew over to the cane and just as Wally reached for it Arley did as well; the cane glowed gold and instinctively Arley tried to pull back,
"I can't let go!" Arley said,
"Neither can I!" Wally's voice raised as he tried to pull his hand away from the cane.
The cane lifted both Arley and Wally into the air and in a bright flash the two teens were gone, transported away from the snowy tundra and into a room full of staircases; Arley couldn't make sense of where one staircase ended and neither began, nor could she understand which way was up and which way was down— it reminded her of the lithograph print by M. C. Escher —though she did understand that in front of them on a completely separate staircase were three men, one of which was Kent Nelson.
"Abra Kabra!" Wally gasped as he and Arley got to their knees, neither of them pulled away from the cane.
"Well would you look at that," Kent Nelson smirked and the cane glowed gold, the same way it had before Arley and Wally had become stuck to it, and the old man shot to his feet and off the platform glowing the same gold color as the cane. The ropes around the mans wrists broke and as the golden glow faded Arley and Wally's hands dropped to their sides.
"In here," Nelson said and a door behind Arley and Wally opened up; the two teens rushed into the room, Kent Nelson right behind them as one of the men who'd been standing over him petulantly stomped his foot.
"No! No! No!" The younger of the two men cried, "I want that helmet! I want it! I want it! I want it!"
They were in an elevator, the numbers above the door went up as they did; Kent Nelson turned and smiled at Wally and Arley, "I'm Kent Nelson, by the way."
"No duh," Wally muttered and Arley silenced the boy with a swift jab to the arm, she smiled presently at sorcerer,
"I'm Green Lantern Arley, this manner less dosher—" Wally shot Arley a contemptuous look at the alien insult, which she blatantly ignored as she continued to smile at the man, "—Is Wally. It's a pleasure to meet you sir."
Arley took the mans hand withered and wrinkled hand and shook it, the magical man's smile seemed to grow as he shook Arley's hand. Hal had always told her how shaking someone's hand was important as it told the other party everything they needed to know about her.
"Well Arley we're up against an opponent of tremendous mystic power."
"Who, Abra Kadabra?" Wally blinked with a scoff, "Flash proved he uses futuristic technology to simulate magic, guy's all show and no biz."
"Right you are," Kent Nelson nodded at Wally, "Abra is a charlatan, but Klarion the witch boy, the one with the cat, he's an actual Lord of Chaos, the ultimate enemy of a Lord of Order like Doctor Fate."
"Right?" Wally nodded sarcastically, "You're a Lord of Order."
"No," Kent said with a wave, "Not me, I'm just an old coot Fate used to put on, until my wife Inza convinced me there could me more to life." The man took out a pocket watch and flipped the item in his hands open, to reveal an old picture of a beautiful woman. "She was a real pistol that Inza," Kent sighed before pocketing his watch. "Anyhoo Klarion's after the helmet, if he gets his sticky little mitts on it he'll turn it he'll turn this planet into his own personal playground of pandemonium."
The elevator dinged and Kent Nelson turned around to the opening door; they were still in the room with the confusing stairs but the elevator had taken them to place in the room where a large brass bell hung a few inches off the ground.
A door, much like the one Kaldur had opened in the pit appeared and the Atlantean, Superboy, Artemis fell into a heap on the floor; M'gann floated down. Arley rushed forward to her friends and helped the archer up off the clone boy as the Martian girl helped him off of Kaldur.
"Friends of yours?" Kent Nelson asked and a bolt of lighting, as the words left the old mans mouth, was shot at him; Wally forced the man to duck and Arley and M'gann flew to dodge the bolt Abra Kadabra had shot at them as the others scattered across the platform.
"Friends of yours?" Arley heard Wally snark.
With a shield she had formed from her ring up in front of them, blocking each shot Abra Kadabra took at them, Arley stood in front of Kent Nelson and Wally, the man raised his cane and knocked it against the large bell, ringing it. The bell glowed gold, just as both the cane and Nelson had and leading Wally forward with one hand Kent Nelson and the speedster disappeared into the bell; Arley, with the shield still raised followed after them into the bell.
They had appeared at the top of the Tower of Fate and the helmet Red Tornado had tasked them with finding and making sure was safe floated in front of them; the moment Arley had dropped her shield red shot out at Kent Nelson, the man let out a scream as he was blasted back.
Arley used her ring to throw up a shield only for the next blast of red the witch boy threw towards them to shatter it, the Lantern stepped back.
"Mr. Nelson!" Wally cried as he moved to catch the old man, the old sorcerer teetered on his feet and raised his cane as he continued to sway; Arley, as the man began to chant in a foreign language, created another easily destroyed shield.
Nelson, as he brought his cane down created his own shield around Arley and Wally and the helmet of fate.
"No!" The witch boy cried as his attack was deflected. Nelson turned to Wally, a shaky smile on his lips.
"Not bad for a former Doctor Fake, eh kid?" Arley's eyes widened slightly behind her mask as she saw the mans knees begin to give out from underneath him.
"Wally catch—" Wally had his arms around Kent Nelson before the rest of the sentence was out of Arley's mouth; Wally slowly lowered the man to the ground, Kent Nelson looked at Wally,
"The bubble'll give you just enough time to do what you need to do," Kent told the speedster.
"I have no idea what I need to do," Wally said panicked, his eyes flashed to Arley who had dropped to her own knees on the other side of the old sorcerer supreme. The echo of a smile flickered over Nelsons face, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch; the top of the watch flipped open and his wife's picture stared up at the stars.
"Have faith in what you can't explain," Kent Nelson said with labored breathing, "Believe in what you can no longer deny."
And the man fell limp in Wally's arms, his watch clattered to the ground just outside of the mans reach as he died; Arley's mouth dropped open in both horror and shock— death was something that had long ago become commonplace in Arley's life and yet every time someone's life faded before the Lanterns eyes it was as jarring as the first —and Klarion from behind them began to throw blast after blast at the bubble.
Wally didn't drop the man but he placed the elder man on the ground, one hand clasped over the other as the speedster started to beat furiously against Kent Nelsons chest, the bubble flickered with each new blast Klarion shot at it.
Arley blinked, slowly beginning to come out of shock, her mind picked up faster and faster with every thought until it was racing a mile a minute; Kent Nelson was dead and Wally and her were twenty feet from someone the Sorcerer Supreme had called a Lord of Chaos.
"Twnety-nine, thirty, thir—"
"—Wally—" Arley gasped, as the witch boy behind them cried out in anger, the Lord of Chaos stomped his foot the same way a child throwing a temper-tantrum would, the bubble they were in continued to flicker.
"—One, thirty-two—"
"I want that helmet and I want it now!" Klarion shouted; the bubble began it flicker more violently around the two teens then it had previously been and Arley surged forward. Arley grabbed her best friends hands pulling them away from the old mans body, and to her chest.
"—Wally he's gone!" Arley shouted at the boy, his green eyes flickered to Arley's hazel ones, "He's gone," she repeated much quieter, Wally looked at her helplessly at Arley.
"Wally, Arley!" M'gann shouted through the mind link, both teens flinched at the Martians loud voice echoing through their heads. Arley could see Superboy and Kaldur trapped beneath two electric bubbles Abra Kadabra had thrown at them and she could see Artemis fall under one as the charlatan wizard captured her too, "We're in trouble, tell Kent we need Doctor Fate."
Red hands shot from the sky, out stretched from Kalrions body as they clawed at the top of the bubble; Arley dropped Wally's hands and threw her own bubbled dome up only for the tips of the red claws to poke through that as they came through Kent Nelsons bubble, Arley grit her teeth as she made her bubble smaller, still careful to make sure the helmet of fate was inside of it.
Arley knew what she was supposed to do if push came to shove, take the helmet and fly as far from the Tower of Fate as she could, with or without her team, but the Lantern didn't know if push did come to shove she could make that call. She didn't think she could leave her team— leave —Wally behind.
The claws continued to descend through the barrier Kent Nelson had thrown up, and easily began to push through Arleys.
"Test of faith, huh?" Wally muttered as he rose to his feet, Arley's eyes flickered to him as her dome crumbled around them, the girl panted on the ground as sweat beaded her forehead and her best friend reached up to grab the helmet of fate.
"Hey dumb kid you put that on you may never get it off," Klarion spat, Arley, panicked looked to Wally.
"Wally—"
"—Do you trust me?" Wally asked, a half grin on his face.
"You know I do," Arley replied without any hesitation. The dome disappeared around them as Klarion tore it in half.
"Then trust me," Wally told her as he slammed the helmet of fate over his own head. Arley, with her eyes tightly shut, threw her hands up in front of her as Kalrion shot a burst of red flames towards her and Wally, only for the speedster to step in front of her before she was hit, his chest puffed out and arms spread out wide.
Slowly cracking her eyes open one by one Arley was not greeted by the sight of her best friends back but by the back of a golden cape as a large golden ankh protected them from the Lord of Chaos' attack.
"Wally?" Arley breathed and the body of Doctor Fate turned it's head; Arley could see her best friends eyes behind the mask, but the voice that came out wasn't the one she was used to. She could hear Wally under Fates dark and graveled tone but only if she strained her ears.
"Not quite," was what Fate had responded with; Klarion shot more fire at the pair, all of which bounced off of the golden ankh before them. "It has been some time since I have last met a Lantern." Arley, not quite sure how to respond shrugged.
"Pleasure, I've never met a Lord of Order." Fates eyes behind the mask narrowed, not menacingly but doubtfully.
"If I asked you to stay here and out of the way—"
"—You'd be out of luck," Arley nodded cutting off the Lord of Orders rhetorical question, "That's my best friends body you're wearing like prom dress."
"Lanterns, you're all so stubborn," Fate mused dryly and Arley smiled wryly at the Lord of Order,
"That is kind of our selling pitch."
"Give it up Nabu!" Kalrion shouted and as Fate rose into the air Arley rose with him, "Order went out of style in the twentieth century!"
"This battle is pointless, you sought to take the helmet before it claimed a host but you are too late."
"Shut it you old fart" Klarion called angerly. Stone pillars rose from the Towers roof and shot to collide from both sides, crushing Arley and Fate only for the girl to use her ring to create a bubble around them, the stone pillars crashed into the sides of the dome pillars and pushed against the green construct.
With a flutter of his hands Fate demolished the pillars; rock crumbled to the roof.
"Brat," Fate spat before he shot a spell at Kalrion. The witch boy disappeared only to reform under Arley and Fate whose back was turned; the witch boy with an evil glint in his eyes raise his hands and what looked like red electricity shot out from his taloned hands.
Before the attack could reach the Lord of Fate— before it could reach Wally, because under that golden cape and mystical helmet was her best friend, the boy she loved —Arley flew in front of it; the girl, with a yell dropped to the ground as the red electricity crackled around her; it was if she was trapped under a weighted fishing net, unable to move without pain flowing through her.
A dragon's face made of fire flew at Fate who blocked it with his ankh, though Kalrion took the opportunity when Fate turned his back to shot out another dragons face, knocking the Lord of Order back, Arley with a wave of her ring hand from under the mystical net a shot of green light burst from her ring and out at the witch boy; Klarion had no trouble dodging the attack, though his smile had faded and hellfire seemed to light his eyes.
Multiple balls of red energy floated above Kalrions head; the witch boy, with finger guns, fired the balled of energy at Fate who quickly threw up a bright glowing golden shield. When the shield shattered and Fate— Wally —was thrown back Arley watched helplessly as the Lord of Order took to the sky's dodging each and every fiery red pillar Klarion shot his way.
She had to move; Arley closed her eyes and gritted her teeth because she had to move, but as she tried to sit up and shake the mystical net-like enchantment over her off, the still cackling red electricity moved with her.
"No!" Arley shouted as Fate was driven into one of the fiery pillars Klarion had formed. Fate's helmet clanged loudly as he was knocked out of the sky and back onto the Tower of Fates roof just a foot or so away from Arley.
"You're out of practice, Nabu," Klarion taunted, "And that pathetic host body has zero affinity for the mystic arts." The witch boy snapped his wingers and storm clouds circled over the Tower, red lighting flashed dangerously over head.
Just as a bolt was going to crash down onto the tower and strike Fate— And Arley who was only a foot away, still trapped under Kalrions mystical net —the caped man threw a glittering rainbow dome up around himself and Arley.
"Ooh," Klarion cooed sarcastically, "Rainbow power." The cat next to the witch boy meowed and his head snapped to the side and looked at the animal, "I am paying attention you stupid cat!" The cat meowed at Klarion shortly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm winning."
Light shinned from the ankh emblem that clasped fates cape around him and the dome exploded outwards; the clouds that had been raining lighting dissipated and the mystical spell that had trapped Arley against the top of the Tower disappeared as the dust settled and golden flames swirled around her and Fate. Klarion lowered his arms as he glared at the Lord of Order, Arley who slowly got to her feet stood behind the masked Lord.
"It is difficult for a Lord of Order or Chaos to maintain a presence on the physical plane." Fire licked at Klarions body, his already pale skin turned grey and his dark eyes turned as red as the flames rolling off of him.
Both Arley and Fate shot up into the air as Klarion— with a earsplitting screech —threw large, tire sized fireballs at them; though the witch boy mostly focused on the Lord of Order. "I am bound to the helmet and must use a human host, but that is not your way," Fate said to Klarion as he shot a spell at the Lord of Choas.
The top of the tower bend and curled around the witch boy protectively before moving back flat against the building. Klarion, seething, with fire in his hands looked at the masked Lord. "You're babbling Nabu!"
"Am I?" Light shot from the Lord of Orders emblem, past the witch boy and at the cat he's carried around with the all night. The cat was thrown back against the roof and Klarion furiously looked between his pet and Fate.
"Teekl! I can't believe you would assault a defenseless pussycat!"
Arley as she and Fate landed back on the room, pointed her ring at the cat and not the witch boy, Fate had attacked the animal for a reason. Klarion moved so that he was in front of the cat and Arley didn't bother to lower her glowing fist.
"We both know that creature is no cat, witch boy," Fate said, "And without your familiar—" Klarion began to flicker translucently, "—We both know you have no anchor in this reality."
"Bully!" Klarion spat at Fate, Arley lowered her hand to her side as she looked at Fate, "Killjoy! Geezer!" Fate shot a spell at Klarion who with wide eyes magicked himself over to his cat; the witch boy picked up the animal and held it close to his chest. "We're outta here!" The witch boy spit out before retreating and Arley looked up into the sky as the darkness Klarion had turned into vanished from sight.
Arley powered down, her uniform and mask faded, leaving the girl in nothing more then her carpi pants and Guy Gardeners old Orioles sweatshirt. Grinning tiredly she turned to Doctor Fate; Wally's green eyes looked at her blankly behind the mask.
"That was awesome!" Arley congratulated, "I can't wait to see how Wally explains that away-magic's not real." Arley scoffed, "I told him!"
But Fate only took a step back from her, he made no motion to remove the helmet, Arley's eyes narrowed, her gut tugged almost painfully from inside her; Arley doubted she would like what came next.
"Earth needs Doctor Fate, I will not release this body," Fate told Arley whose blood ran cold at the Lord of Orders declaration. Her uniform didn't reappear but a green cube sprung from Arley's ring and encased both her and Fate inside of it.
"Excuse me?" Arley snapped, "Did you hit your head too hard when you took that dive before?" Arley asked rhetorically, "I mean you must've cause there's no way I'm letting you keep Wally."
If she had been ready to die for Doctor Roquette the week before then Arley was ready to kill for Wally, whether she was mad at him or whether she was avoiding him, it didn't matter, she loved the boy under that mask and she wasn't going to let anything— much less a cursed helmet —take him away.
"I do not appreciate being permanently hidden away, useless, isolated, for decades at a time. Chaos must not be allowed to reign" Fate snapped, Arley failed to bite back a snarl as she looked at the helmet.
"Look, I get it, I do—" But not a single part of Arley cared how Fate felt, "—But Wally has a life of his own, he's fifteen, you have no right to take that for him because you can't handle the sidelines!" Fate had no right to take Wally from Mary or Rudy or Barry or Iris, he had no right to take Wally West from the world that needed him.
Fate had no right to take Wally from her.
Fate didn't respond, but his eyes— Wally's eyes —seem to shine a bright green for a second before, almost robotically, his hands lifted from his side and lifted the helmet off his head; the cape and blue faded from Wally leaving the speedster in the same civilian clothing he had been wearing before he had put the helmet on.
Arley almost sobbed for joy at the sight of her best friend, she threw her arms around him and Wally, with the helmet still in his hands raised his arms before dropping them over Arley's head and around her neck.
"Nortz help me West, you almost drowned last week and now this-if you ever try to leave me again I'll wring your neck," Arley muttered into the boys chest, her eyes wet as she continued to hold the boy close. She shook because while she had been avoiding the boy the past week and while the prospect of Wally leaving her— of dying —had always been there, they were heroes after all, it had never seemed more real then in those two moments over the past week. Arley felt Wally press his lips against the top of her head, amidst the hair of her bangs, as he crushed her closer to his chest.
"Please," Wally mused softly against her hair, Arley could feel his smile, "You're stuck with me Glowstick, for the long haul."
"Good."
...
It was raining when they got back to the cave; Kaldur and Superboy had carried Kent Nelsons body carefully off of the bioship and Arley and Wally had traveled to the caves trophy room silently as Wally handled the Helmet of Fate between his hands; Wally placed it high on the top shelf next to the escaped Shadows members mask.
"You know," Arley said to Wally as they looked at the helmet of fate, "You haven't actually said what happened when you put the helmet on."
"Energy from the thing rewrote my brain beta waves," Wally said simply, "I was bio scripted into becoming Doctor Fate." Arley couldn't help but snort at the boy,
"So magic, that's still a load?" With his eyes shut Wally nodded.
"Totally."
"You're a geek you know that?" Arley teased poking the boy in the sternum, "I mean if you don't believe in magic why keep the helmet as your souvenir?" Dancing away from her Wally laughed,
"Because it's cool," Wally said, "Besides if I'm a geek I guess that means I'm a geek with two tickets to see a magic show later." Arley's brows knitted together as Wally took his phone out to show Arley the screenshot of the tickets he'd bought online.
"Why do you have tickets to see a magic show, you just said you think magic's a total load!"
"Because you don't," Wally told her, and Arley blinked up at the boy surprised, her cheeks heated up and Wally ran a hand over the top of his hair, a roughish smirk curled on his face. "Besides hopefully I can convince you to see reason by pointing out everything fake at the show."
Arley laughed, the sound echoed through the room. "You are such a jerk, you know that?" Arley said swinging at the speedsters shoulders, the boy dodged each hit.
"Yeah well, it's been like over six years and you still haven't ditched me so I can't be too bad," Wally said and Arley's smiled dimmed.
"I'm sorry," Arley said suddenly, her voice soft.
"For what?"
"Avoiding you— you're I was avoiding you —and I'm sorry for lying and saying it was nothing when you'd ask what was up."
"Why were you?" Wally asked, "Avoiding me, I mean?" And Arley opened her mouth to answer only for the truth to get caught in her throat because the truth meant confessing to Wally, that every time she saw him all she thought of was how beautiful he thought M'gann was and telling him that meant being rejected, didn't it? It meant losing him and she couldn't, she wouldn't.
"Hey—" Wally's hands clasped to both sides of Arley's face as he made the Lantern look up at him, "—Whatever it is, it's okay, it's me, since when can't you tell me something?" Since she was thirteen and fallen in love with him at his aunt and uncles wedding.
"Do you trust me?" Arley asked.
"You know I do," Wally said with no hesitation, the same way she had when he had asked her. Arley's hands drifted up to cover Wally's hands as the cupped the sides of her face.
"Then trust me when I say drop it, please?" Wally looked, for a moment, like he very much didn't want to drop it but the speedster sighed and nodded, his hands though, didn't move from the sides of Arley's face. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Wally murmured as he pressed a kiss to the crown of Arley's head, an action that had the Lanterns face turning a bright fire engine red. Wally pulled away from Arley, his right hand though threaded its fingers with hers as he began to lead her out of the trophy room "Come on though, the show's in Coast City and I'd like a few hours sleep before Hal gets back from work and wants to watch Law and Order."
