Chapter Ten
Artemis sat on the rooftop edge of Roy's apartment building, adjusting the drawback tension of the borrowed compound bow. It was an almost exact replica of the model Oliver Queen had first given her all those years ago, with the exception of the more pronounced wheel cams and an improved target sight. It had been quite a while since she'd held something so finely crafted; the weapons provided by the Shadow's usually were more crude and compact, but still just as deadly.
All things considered Roy had been fairly decent about the theft and subsequent use of his credit card, not so much so however about her ignoring his warning and pleas about making contact with the former speedster. It had gone just as bad as everyone had predicted, and Artemis had prepared herself for the warranted backlash that was sure to come. She was met with furrowed brow and body language that spoke volumes, but not the ass chewing or kicking she deserved, something Artemis attributed more to him currently sleeping with her sister than any active step in his long road to recovery. It was also likely the reason he had loaned her his spare bow and current array of trick arrows to examine, any excuse to get her out of the apartment and let his trademark temper subside.
As she held the arrows to the hovering moonlight she stood impressed. Oliver and Roy had really upped their game since she'd last seen weapons like this. Their cache of Acetylene, Acidic, Sonic, Stunner, and Tri-Clamp arrows had all been greatly improved upon, not just in sophistication, but design as well since she'd last played hero. Artemis was also quite fond of the stronger filament bow string, most likely the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylenes she'd read so much about. It felt solid, elegant, powerful; everything she remembered when the billionaire first took her under his wing and presented her the weapon. She'd been a prodigy when it came to archery, but nothing compared to the Green Arrow. He told her she was good, but he'd make her better. He was right.
She wasn't sure what she heard first, the scream or the gunshot; but regardless one minute she was sitting alone on a Gotham rooftop contemplating her immediate future and the next she was standing over a dazed robber with a razor sharp titanium tip resting on his throat. His belt served well enough as a makeshift restraint, and once she was sure the victim was ok and the wails of sirens closing in, she smiled at the woman, told her everything would be ok and then disappeared into the night. Never once had she considered killing the criminal and that knowledge filled her heart with something she hadn't felt in a long time. Hope.
Twenty minutes later she was on the scene of a burglary in process, and after that a shootout between two rival gangs; each incident ended quickly, quietly, but most importantly with no casualties. That when she felt it, just like all those years ago; the rush, the excitement, and for just the briefest moments she remembered what it was like to be a hero.
It was going on one a.m., but her adrenaline was pumping way too hard to go back to Roy's. She was planning her next move when off in the distance she saw it. A beam of light slicing through the night sky, a familiar insignia resting within it, broadcasted to the clouds. Someone needed help. Someone needed the Dark Knight.
xxx
Nightwing cursed to himself as his custom Dodge Tomahawk screamed through the streets of Gotham. How many more people would have to die before the experts at Arkham realized that some people were beyond saving? Like Alfred once told him; some people just like to watch the world burn, people like Victor Zsasz.
New doctors, new therapies, same results, and while the two first year residents politely disagreed with each other on their conflicting diagnosis of psychopath verses sociopath, the sedated killer just sat calmly in wait until he saw his moment and took advantage of it. With nothing more than a ball point pen, Zasaz killed both doctors, slashed the throat of the security guard on duty, and after nearly maiming a young father that had stopped to see if he needed help, was now speeding down 4th Avenue towards the shipping district with the man's young wife and daughter in tow. If Zsasz made it out of the city, his two hostages were as good as dead, or worse. Four other patients escaped along with him, but none were as important, none was a deadly as this man. He had to be stopped at all costs.
Nightwing weaved in and out of traffic as he spotted the stolen car making a hard turn onto Foster Ave. A few miles ahead would be blocks and blocks of dilapidated buildings and abandoned warehouses, perfect locations for the serial killer to disappear into if Dick didn't reach him soon. The cycle took a sharp right turn, and for the first time in the pursuit, the hero had a straight line of site and at the fleeing vehicle. He had to be careful, if he didn't make the right call, both women would be dead before the car came to a halt.
Nightwing entered a command onto the vehicle control pad, and seconds later a small panel opened on the front of the motorcycle, launching a small circular projectile. The mini E.M.P generator skidded across the pavement before landing softly under the trunk of the car, activating immediately upon impact. Instantly the car began to decelerate while Nightwing accelerated, overshooting the vehicle by at least hundred yards. Zsasz screamed in fury until up ahead he saw the bike begin to wobble out of control and seconds later the hero was thrown from it. The Tomahawk flipped to its side, sparks erupting from the ground as it skidded down the roadway, while its occupant flipped across the pavement helplessly before landing squarely into a lamppost with a sickening thud, his body splayed out in painful angles in all directions.
The killer erupted form the car, knife in one hand resting against the young girls neck, while he dragged her mother violently by her hair, gun jammed directly into her ribs. He grinned at the fallen hero, blood pouring from his face. The row of abandoned warehouses were easily within his reach, he and the two women could be safely inside in less than a minute and then his fun could begin, but the injured hero was just too tempting.
He dragged the screaming girls towards the incapacitated crime fighter. Zsasz quickly realized he'd need a free hand if were to operate on the young hero, so after quickly weighing his options, Zsasz decided the mother would be easier to control and the daughter easier to find once he was done, so he pushed the young girl away, threatening to kill her mother if she didn't run and hide. The young girl sprinted away sobbing, unsure what to do or where to go, but away from the carnage nonetheless, just as Dick had hoped.
One down
Zsasz took his free hand and once again garnished the blade and knelt down beside the hero, jerking his unconscious head to the side, searching out his carotid, when suddenly Dick jerked forward launching his forehead right onto the bridge of the killer nose, while simultaneously grabbing Zsasz 's gun with one hand and his blade with the other. The young wife screamed in panic as the presumed fallen hero flipped to his feet and began wrestling with the sociopath for his weapons while trying to free the woman at the same time. In his frenzy, Zsasz slashed the hero's arm, digging deep into his bicep until he finally slid past Kevlar and reached unprotected skin. Dick winced in pain, but continued his fight, finally prying lose the gun and tossing it aside as it discharged.
The bullet ricocheted off two walls before sparking the ground near both men's feet. That moment of distraction was all Zsasz needed to pull another blade from the back of his belt and jabbed it into the woman's throat, barely breaking the skin but making his point clearly
"Back off hero, you know I'll do it, you know how much I'll enjoy it!" he warned tauntingly.
Dick brows furrowed from beneath the domino mask just as something from behind the killer caught his eye. He rose slowly to his feet, his hands raised passively in the air.
"Step back nice and slow," Zsasz warned. "Whatever you did to my car, you have ten seconds to deactivate it or I will cut her fucking head right off her shoulders."
Dick stood motionless, making no effort whatsoever to comply.
"Are you fucking crazy? I will KILL her; this woman's bloody corpse will be the last thing her little girls see's before I come after her next. Turn the car back on now or she dies."
Dick's face grew grim as he uttered his next words.
"Do it."
Of all the things the serial killer had expected to hear, after all the years they'd battled on and off, those words were dead last on the list. Nightwing's unfathomable statement was nothing short of stunning, and it wasn't till a millisecond before the Taser arrow lodged into his spine, did Zsasz realize Nightwing wasn't talking to him.
Dick rushed towards the killer, absorbing the residual voltage that now flowed through the villain and pried the woman away with nothing more than a few singed hairs.
Zsasz lay on the ground, the Taser arrow still sparking, sending 50,000 volts through the killer's central nervous system, and before the last bit of consciousness escaped him, the last thing he saw was the soul of Nightwing's boot rushing towards his face, and then darkness.
Before he had ditched his bike, the hero had activated an emergency 911 call with GPS coordinates attached. In the distance across the Gotham River Bridge he could see the flashing blue lights fast approaching. He sat both mother and daughter away from the scene, grabbing a compact aluminum blanket from his bike and covering the hysterical women with it until the EMT's could arrive. They were traumatized, but alive, and that's all that mattered.
He tossed Artemis a set of titanium reinforced handcuffs and she quickly secured the sociopath, rolling him over to his stomach and jerking his wrists together firmly. This animal deserved much worse, but that wasn't her job anymore.
"Nice shot," he smiled. "Thanks for the assist."
"I was in the neighborhood," the archer smiled back. "You had this."
Nightwing sighed and shook his head. "No, I really didn't. Those two women are alive because of you."
Artemis brushed aside the compliment walking over to him and noticing the odd hue of red that covered his face. Underneath the liquid there was no gashes or scrapes, as a matter of fact he didn't appear to be injured at all; it had all been an act.
"Fake blood?" she questioned.
"I was performer remember? Sometimes it all about theatrics."
The stood awkwardly together in silence for a few moments as the police arrived. When the officer in charge motioned for the hero to come over and give a statement. Dick turned back to the archer and spoke. "So look, I um... need to take care of this."
"Yeah, I understand," she replied. "I probably should go anyway."
Dick nodded and started to walk away before pausing momentarily and turning back to her. "Four other inmates broke out of Arkham tonight with him. They couldn't have gotten far. Looks like my next couple nights are going to be tied up searching for them. You could...join me if you want."
Artemis smiled widely. "Yeah. I might just do that."
xxx
Superheroes don't get days off, it's just the nature of the beast, but with the last few days having little to no criminal activity in the Central/Keystone area, Bart decided to take one anyway. He'd stayed late the night before at the campus computer lab working on his final term paper with his study group, and then almost immediately hitting the streets to patrol. Trying to balance school and a super hero alter-ego was wearing him down, and summer vacation couldn't come soon enough. He wondered how Barry had managed it all those years with commitments to a wife, job, and the League.
At last, the weekend had finally arrived, and not just any weekend, but the annual Garrick Fourth of July extravaganza weekend. Once a year the retired speedster would host friends and family at their farm for food, drinks, fireworks, food, games, great company, and most importantly food. The Garrick's knew how to throw a party, and definitely knew how to feed a speedster. Jay and Joan were the closest things he had to relatives outside of his grandma Iris. Bart still went to see her every week, hoping this year she'd change her mind and join him, but Iris Allen wanted little to do with the superhero community anymore. Losing her husband had taken its toll, and sitting around a campfire listening to old stories of his heroics would just break her heart all over again. Jay and Joan understood, but everyone felt her loss just the same.
Tim Drake would arrive at his apartment by eight; they'd head out for breakfast, and then meet up with a few other members of his former team, that's when the fun would begin. Bart missed his old team, especially a young blonde Amazon he'd had a crush on from the first day she arrived at the Mountain, but Barry's death and Wally's loss of powers had made him grow up a lot faster than he'd expected. He was ready to be a normal teenager for once, even if it was just for a weekend.
He was sound asleep when his alarm went off. Bart groaned and reached for the clock to slam the snooze down button when he realized it wasn't his clock but his communicator. He opened it and with blurry eyes made out the 459A Burglar alarm Police code. Standard burglaries were not something that normally popped up on his radar, but the communicator was programmed to activate when alerts came from specific parts of town. When he read the displayed address he immediately knew why; The Union Square shopping district.
Bart rubbed his eyes and stretched, steeping out of bed and activating the secret ring he wore on his right hand. A second later the crimson suit shot forth and formed around the young speedster.
"Hero time," he yawned, and disappeared into the darkness.
It took no time to arrive at Union Square. Though fairly fancy for the Midwest, no one would ever mistake it for the high end shopping of Gotham or Metropolis, but none the less it was still home to many fine jewelry shops, clothing outlets, and electronic stores. Bart quickly determined that the Galleria Fine Jewels and Gifts was the source of the blaring alarm. He sped to the window looking in, and then a quick lap around all the buildings for signs of intrusion. Nothing.
Moments later a second alarm sounded, then a third, then a fourth, until every store in the complex's security system had been triggered. The combined wail of multiple alarms was deafening. A minute or two later several units of the CCPD arrived and jumped out of their vehicles, weapons at the ready. Bart just stared around the district in confusion, shrugging his shoulders at the arriving officers who were just as puzzled as he was.
"What's happening!" the officer in charge yelled over the blaring sirens.
"I have no clue!" Bart screamed back. "There's not one open door, no shattered windows. I don't get it!"
"Dispatch says the security companies have been alerted and are sending technicians in, but it's going to take a little time to get here!"
"Perfect!" Bart yelled sarcastically. Not the start of the weekend he'd hoped for.
So much for the night off he groaned.
Bart left the officer to do a second perimeter check and then expanded his patrol to the neighboring city blocks, every few minutes adding even more. Once again he'd found nothing. Twenty minutes later the alarms were shut down and he could finally think straight.
This is too weird he thought to himself. Union Square was a few blocks from the subway, but those vibrations shouldn't have set them off, they never had before. A small earthquake wasn't entirely out if the question, but its epicenter being right in one of the richest parts of Central City could not have been a coincidence. For a brief second he considered calling Wally, but there was little his cousin could do now, the event was over, and there was no point in making Wally as tired and miserable as he was.
Away from prying eyes, he removed his cowl and rubbed at his aching ears. Off to the east it was still dark, but he knew the sun would be rising on the horizon before too long. He's decided to do one more pass through the district, check in with the officer in charge, and maybe have time for a an hour or so power nap before his friend arrived.
Five minutes later he arrived back to the apartment, scanning the area around him before putting the scarlet suit back in his ring and walking the stairs. He looked at his watch and yawned before opening the door, trying to determine if it was even worth getting back in bed. The speedster walked in and reached back to the door to fasten the deadbolt when suddenly he was sent flying into the nearest wall, struck harder than he'd ever been hit before, and then again, and again.
xxx
Nightwing and Artemis sat atop the old Jolly Jack Candy Company, watching as the last of the escaped prisoners were loaded into the prison transport vehicles. For some unknown reason instead of splitting up and going their separate ways, they'd decided to stay together, some genius within the group convincing the rest there was strength in numbers, but if these guys were Einstein's they wouldn't have ended up in Arkham in the first place.
The inmates had put up a decent fight all things considered, but it didn't take long for the escapees to realize they were outmatched and outgunned. However there's always one guy who thinks he'll beat the odds this time and come out ahead. Tonight that man was Robert Jones, or as he was known within the asylum as the Frogman. Standing easily at seven feet tall, he'd given the archer a fairly decent blow to the jaw driving her viciously to the pavement. For the briefest of moments Dick worried how the archer might retaliate, but two round house kicks to the face and a shot to the groin later, he rested easier seeing the man face down on the concrete but still breathing. Procreating one day might be a whole another matter.
Almost all of their dialogue this evening had been strictly strategy and tactics, Backgrounds and criminal histories of the men, typical modus operandi, what to do in certain scenarios, how to handle hostages situations, etc. They were cordial but with a very professional air about them, but as they escaped inmates were driven away and the dust settled, awkward silences began to creep back in and a certain level of anxiety hung back in the air.
"So um...I guess congratulations are in order huh?" Artemis began, regarding the upcoming nuptials.
"Yeah thanks. Barbara's been pretty patient with me all things considered, but she wasn't going to wait forever. Honestly I'm just glad she said yes," he chuckled.
"Like there was ever a doubt? Even when you and Zee were together, I could see the way you two looked at each other. It was more than just being partners; you and Barbara had a history."
"Why didn't you ever say anything then?" he asked curiously.
"Because it was none of my business, God knows I didn't like it when people got into mine. I assumed you'd figure it out one day, I'm just glad no hearts were broken along the way. Roy says for the most part you and Zee are still friends?"
"Yeah, I'd like to think so. I saw her a while back when her show came through Gotham. We occasionally bump into each other when she and Bruce have some kind of League business, but for the most part it seems all right."
"Good," Artemis nodded. "I'm glad you two could move past it and remain civil. First loves can be hard to get over."
Dick glanced over, seeing the archer's eyes staring distantly to the horizon, reading between the lines.
"I'm with who I'm supposed to be," he added, "damn lucky too."
"I'd say so,' Artemis smiled slyly.
"Have you seen Zee yet?" Nightwing asked.
"No. We've exchanged voicemails but that's about it. If or when we meet, I'm hoping Barbara will consider tagging along to mediate. Zee's not very happy needless to say, the last thing I need is for a pissed off sorceress turning me into some kind of farm animal."
Dick chuckled. "I doubt she'd do that, but you never know."
Artemis smiled in agreement.
"I have a question Dick, and you don't have to answer it if you don't want to."
"Shoot," he replied.
"Why didn't you ever join the League? Roy said you were asked more than a few times. I thought it's what you always wanted?"
Dick stroked his chin, contemplating the question for a moment. "It just wasn't for me. I'd done the team thing once, didn't work out so well. Sometimes you're just better off on your own. Let's just leave it at that."
Artemis didn't like the answer, but she understood it. When you're a part of a team, you watch out for each other, care for each other, but everyone has to buy into it or it doesn't work. She was living proof.
"Well for what it's worth, I think you would have been great. I think all of you would have."
Dick nodded. "Yeah...I'd like to think so."
It became Dick's turn to go on the offensive. "So... what was it like...the Shadows I mean? Do the stories do them justice?"
Artemis stared at her hands, remembering moments and times when she couldn't see the olive hue of her skin past all the blood. "It was a nightmare," she sighed. "There were days I wished they'd just gone ahead and killed us. It was little comfort knowing that most of the guys we went after were scum. When you read some of their dossiers it was like a demon's resume, pure fucking evil. But there were also some guys that had just gotten into deep and couldn't take it anymore. Those are the ones that haunt me; those eyes, those faces. I'll never forget them. I don't deserve to."
She stood, stretching her legs, adjusting her tender jaw. "I knew then they'd never let us go, but I will say this about the Shadows, they do have a code and they stick with it. I only got to see Ra's al Ghul once, but it was at a distance. The Shadows are very compartmentalized, and it's not like we were ever going to move up in the hierarchy."
She swallowed hard, trying to maintain her composure. "I try not to think about what I've done Dick, but that doesn't mean I'm not sorry."
"So what now?" he asked.
The archer shrugged her shoulders "I honestly don't know. I've had people telling me what to do and where to go for as long as I can remember, but now that it's finally my choice, I'm not sure what to do. I know what the smart thing is; disappear and start a new life somewhere else, but so far I haven't done anything close to the smart thing since I've been back."
"I think that mother and daughter you saved might feel a little bit different," he interjected.
Artemis smiled for a moment. "Yeah, it really did feel good."
For a few minutes they sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the city, the blaring horns of a thousand cars and cabs, the clanging bells of the buoys floating in the harbor, the howls of sirens speeding through the city answering desperate calls for help from those who couldn't help themselves.
She recalled moments just like this, when the two young heroes' and would team up and patrol the city they both called home. They'd confide and complain about relationship troubles, discuss where they were and where they wanted to be one day, share goals, hopes, dreams. She missed those days, but those two teenagers had been gone for a long time now.
Dick interrupted silence. "I owe you an apology."
"You don't owe me anything." the archer replied with a touch of bitterness. "Anything you think you might have done; anything Barbara's convinced you of..." she paused, trying to find the words. In the end all she could come up with was, "I had coming."
"I handled it poorly."
The archer sighed, realizing her former teammate was trying to extend an olive branch. "Fine you handled it poorly," she agreed reluctantly. "If that'll put an end to that patented Dick Grayson self-loathing thing you used to do, then I forgive you," she smirked.
A smile crept out from under his mask.
"Dick there's never going to be anything I can say or do to make it right. What I did was selfish and cruel. It doesn't matter if that was my intent or not, it happened and there's no going back. Trust me. I wish I could go back and tell myself that ten years ago, I hope to God I would have listened, but it doesn't matter anymore. You asked me if it was worth it, the honest answer's no. Wally was right, killing him made me no better than him and thanks to the Shadows a hell of a lot worse. I have to live with that."
"I wouldn't lie and say something like that hasn't crossed my mind a few times if I ever found my parents killer." Dick added.
Artemis disagreed. "That's not who you are Dick, no matter how much you wish it could be sometimes. I used to think what I did was about justice for my mom, not vengeance, that's how I rationalized it. In the end, seeing what I caused and what I walked away from, it was probably the most cowardly thing I've ever done."
"Artemis we were already drifting apart, you had to have seen that. Not everyone wants to wear a costume for the rest of their lives. Kaldur had Atlantis, Wally had college, Roy had rehab, Connor had the Kent's. We were already teetering; your death just pushed some of us over the edge, but it was eventually going to happen regardless of what you did."
"When you found out the truth, why did you keep it to yourself? The others deserved to know what a piece of shit I was."
"It's not like I didn't consider it. When I found out you were still alive, I was so fucking angry, I guess in a way I still am, but that didn't mean I didn't care. I came close, but Bruce convinced me if we'd tried to come get you, they'd kill you. No one knows the Shadows like he does, and the thought of taking on some reckless mission that would put yours and anyone else's lives at risk, I just couldn't take that chance. We'd been apart for too long, we weren't the well-oiled machine we once were, and one missed assignment, one small mistake and that would have been it. So that's how I justified it. I kept it from Barbara, I kept it from everybody. You'd made your choice, and you had your reasons, but if you'd wanted our help, you would have asked."
"I couldn't."
"I know that now," Dick agreed sadly, "but you're not the first one to do something like this, and you won't the last. I took it personal, and I never considered the price you paid."
"I got what I deserved," the archer confirmed.
"That's kind of an understatement don't you think?"
"Yeah," she replied sorrowfully, thinking back to the lives she'd taken, the life she'd lost.
"I miss the old days, I miss our friends, but we all have to grow up sometime right?" Dick stated, more as a statement than a question.
Artemis nodded. Thanks to her father she'd had to grow up a lot faster than most, being in the Shadows only made things worse. Maybe that's what attracted her to Gotham, it was the first time she got to feel like a normal kid, even if it was just for a little while.
"I should have said this before, but I'm glad you're ok. All things considered you're pretty lucky, not many people get second chances, especially from the Shadows. I hope you'll make the most of it."
"Me too, " she answered, knowing full well she had no idea what to do with that chance. Zane was still out there waiting, but he wasn't going to stay that way much longer. He had a plan, a direction, one that she wasn't so sure know she wanted to be a part of anymore, but without better options it still seemed like the best choice. All she had to do know was convince herself of that.
"Look I'm starving. You want to get something to eat? The Starlight Diner is only five blocks from here. I've got some civies you borrow. How about a greasy Gotham breakfast, my treat?"
The archer beamed widely. "You're on."
xxx
Tim Drake was irritated thirty minutes ago, after an hour he was pissed.
What is it about the fastest men alive and being late? he wondered, it was beyond a character flaw, it had to be genetic. Neither teen would ever be mistaken as being "morning people," but when it came to the annual Garrick extravaganza, there were always exceptions. Every fourth of July for as long as he could remember, Jay and Joan hosted a cookout to end all cookouts; slow roasted barbeque, enough hamburgers and hot dogs to feed an army, tubs of homemade potato salad and banana pudding, and with a little meta human assistance, a pretty impressive fireworks display. But by far the best thing about the holiday was the company. It was one of the few times of the year that members of the superhero community could relax and let their hair down, when his friends and peers could take a day off from saving the world and just be normal. When instead of discussing crowd control or attack strategies, they could talk about sports, movies, girlfriends, boyfriends etc: normal things that normal people do. No costumes or capes allowed.
It was also going to one of the few times he and one of his best friends would actually get to spend time together. With Bart leaving the team and going off to college, carving out time to hang out between two incredibly busy schedules had been more challenging than either had first thought, and now that they'd actually had made the time, Bart was late...as usual.
Standing outside the three level college apartment complex was starting to make Tim feel like some kind of stalker, and after nodding and saying hi to a few wary looking residents that passed him by, he'd finally he'd had enough. The young detective walked in through the ground floor entrance, making his way up the stairs to Bart's room. It would take little to no effort to pick the lock and wait inside, so as Tim reached into to his backpack to retrieve his pick set, he heard a moan coming from the other side of the door. Drake's brows furrowed as he reached for the door knob only to find it unlocked, the sound of heavy breathing coming from inside. That was the last straw.
"I swear to God Allen, if you're in there sleeping I'm going to kick your sorry a...Oh God!" he gasped.
Slumped on the floor, covered in blood and fresh bruises, was his best friend; semi-conscious, moaning, and crawling towards his phone before his strength gave out, landing into puddle of bright crimson.
His breaths were shallow, his eyes hooded. In his daze he thought he recognized Tim's voice, and in between gasps for air and spitting up blood, he reached up with what remaining strength he had and whispered, "Got...to...warn...Wally...Zoo…" and with those final words he passed out to the floor.
Tim rushed to his side, checking for a pulse. It was weak, but still there. Drake quickly reached into his backpack, pulling out his utility belt and arming his battarangs. Next he feverishly searched through the apartment, looking for any signs of an intruder. When he reached Bart's bedroom, the young hero stopped dead in his tracks. On the wall, a familiar insignia; a scarlet lightning bolt striking through a sphere, was drawn on the wall in blood. Bart's blood.
xxx
The diner was louder than she remembered. The constant clanging of dishes and glasses, the waitresses yelling orders back to the cooks, all the while crowds of people raising their voices over the ambient noise in a futile effort to make conversation were a bit overwhelming, but she could tolerate the noise if the food was always this good.
Dick cut into his buttermilk pancakes, while the archer savored her egg white omelet. Though she'd always prefer the banh mi op la her mom was famous for, there was still something to be said for plain old eggs, cheese, and sausage. She could tell by the quiet moans emanating from the other side of the table that Dick didn't get out to places like this very much, one of the drawbacks of being one of Gotham's golden boys she supposed, which also explained why he ate with his sunglasses on. Looking back now, she'd never understand how she'd missed the connection between the boy wonder and the annoying underclassman at Gotham academy, the only difference being a little hair gel and a pair of Oakley's.
Dick was shoveling his breakfast in at a pretty healthy pace, and watching him brought back memories of another boy she once knew, one who could eat three times that amount in half the time. The speedster had been the elephant in the room too long.
"I'm sorry about Wally," she said over the background noise.
Dick frowned, putting down his fork for the moment. "Yeah, me too. It's stupid I know, but I've tried to talk to him and he's made it very clear he doesn't want me in his life, So…I'm not," he sighed.
The archer knew exactly how that felt, and she didn't have to be a detective to see the pain in her friend's eyes. It hurt to see him like that, but it hurt more to know the boy she once loved was gone.
It was time to change the subject, and as much as she didn't want to, it was doing no good reopening old wounds.
"So, big engagement party coming up I hear?"
Dick rolled his eyes and sighed. "Not my idea, but the sooner we get it over with, the sooner I can stop playing this billionaire douchebag role that Bruce perfected. It's kind of funny in a twisted kind of way, but I've seen Barbara go up against guys like the Joker, the Riddler, Killer Croc, and never break a sweat, but I've never seen her so scared by something as dumb as a little engagement party."
"From what I've heard it's not exactly going to be little," the blonde smirked,
"Yeah, about that…." he started, just as his ringer went off. He reached for his phone only to discover it wasn't the source, instead it was his communicator flashing a priority one alert. He picked it up, listening for a moment before his face grew grim
"Tim…Tim… slow down!" he pleaded.
On the other end his partner exclaimed. "Its bad Dick, I've called 911, there's an ambulance on the way, but we've got to warn Wally."
"Warn him about what?"
"Zoom? It was Zoom."
Dick's mouth fell open in shock. "Tim it can't be. Bruce said he's gone…permanently."
"I know what he said, but something's not right. I've already tried calling Wally on Bart's phone, but he's not picking. What if it's too late?"
Dick wouldn't go there, not yet. "Alright, stay there with him, I'm on my way. Get Bruce to triangulate Wally's GPS and feed it to the computer on my bike…and let me know as soon as the ambulance gets there. Have you secured all the…?"
"Yeah I have his ring in my pocket, and there nothing else in the apartment that would tie him into any alter-egos, other than the big goddamn bloody flash insignia on his wall!"
"I'll be there as soon as I can!" he replied before closing his communicator and getting to his feet
"What is it?" Artemis demanded.
"Bart's been attacked, and Tim thinks Wally's next."
"By who?" she asked urgently.
"A man named Eobard Thawne, he's the man who….."
"I know who he is," the archer cut him off, "What does he want with Wally?"
"That just it, it can't be him. Bruce assured me of that, but Wally's not answering hos phone and I can't take the chance. Look I'll get Barbara to call you as soon as I know something."
Artemis stood from the table, leaving her napkin and a tip next to her plate.
"I'm coming with you."
Dick shook his head no. "Right now the last thing he ne…."
"I'm…Coming…With…You!" she replied with a growled that spoke don't fuck with me right now.
Dick knew from past experience that was no dissuading a pissed off archer, and though she'd changed some over the years, she hadn't changed that much.
"Lets' go. There's a Zeta Station three blocks from here."
Moments later they were on his bike screaming down the streets of Gotham, Artemis wrapping her arms around him holding on for dear life.
xxx
Wally pulled into his parent's driveway, walking to the porch and reaching for the key hidden inside the hanging fern. He was grateful his mom had taken the kids for the night; they'd probably been up since the crack of dawn harassing his folks to get a move on to Uncle Jay and Aunt Joan's farm, allowing him to get a few extra hours sleep. However when the call came in at 7:30 in the morning that Mary had forgotten the gallons of ice cream in the freezer, her son was unfortunately called into action.
As soon as he walked in, the smell of breakfast nearly overwhelmed him. He made his way to kitchen hoping to find leftovers, and as usual Mary didn't disappoint. With a mouthful of bacon, he went back towards the den; making sure nothing else had been left behind. It was a two and a half hour drive to the Garrick's farm, and he didn't intend to make it twice. Satisfied he went to the hall and opened the door heading down to the basement and the large upright freezer that resided there.
The stairs creaked as he made his way down them. As usual the dank basement reeked of mold and sulfur, causing him to sneeze. It was normal for in-ground basements to hold a certain musty smell, but the burning scent of sulfur was all him, more specifically the remnants of the chemical reaction he'd recreated that gave him his speed. Reaction was actually too kind a word, explosion was a bit more accurate, and it was a miracle he hadn't burned the whole house down in the process.
Ah, the good old days he chuckled.
His dad had cleaned up the aftermath of his experiment years ago, but preserved the makeshift laboratory Wally had painstakingly built behind a patrician in the corner; a monument to his son's brilliance or recklessness, depending on his mood. One day he'd possibly consider donating it to some kind of Flash museum.
Wally walked over to the freezer, shocked at the sheer volume of ice cream he'd be taking with him. Next to the freezer on the floor was his father's large Yeti cooler. It was thirty four pounds when empty, stocked full of ice cream and dry ice probably twice as much. Wally started to suspect that the deserts hadn't been left behind accidently at all.
He sighed and began packing it when he noticed a test-tube, sticking out from under the make shift walls his dad had built around the lab. It struck him a bit odd, and he hoped to God his kids hadn't been down there playing with it, Iris in particular. She'd always shared his obsession with science. He knelt down to pick up the item, when he thought he heard a voice whisper from behind, something barely audible.
"Boom"
And for the second time in his life, his makeshift laboratory violently exploded, sending him flying into the cinderblock wall across the basement, and turning his house into a raging inferno.
Outside in his jeep, his phone ring endlessly, a desperate caller on the other end hoping for someone to answer it.
xxx
Keystone City had never been a location deemed necessary by the League to place a Zeta Tube in. While spacing the transport system in different cities across the country and beyond, the powers that be considered it redundant to place two units so close together when the hero's that patrolled those two cities could arrive at a single transport unit in seconds.
As Nightwing and Artemis sped out the abandoned Wayne Warehouse on the Riverfront district of Central City, the tires of his retrofitted Tomahawk squealed and smoked against the payment. Her skin tingled from the transport, her stomach still a bit unsettled. It had been a decade since she'd stepped foot in a Zeta Beam, and despite it convenience she honestly hadn't missed it. The idea of mixing her molecules with alien radiation never set well with her, but at the moment that was the least of her concerns. She glanced ahead to discover they were already nearing the Gateway suspension bridge with the cityscape of Keystone directly ahead.
There was a brief crackle in her helmet as Dick's voice came over the speaker.
"Bruce is sending me Wally's phone's last known location. He's still not answering but that could be for any number of reasons."
On his back he felt Artemis nod, neither one wanted to consider the alternative, but ten minutes later as Nightwing's bike skidded to a stop at 1016 Elm Lane, that concern turned to outright fear as she saw the West's house engulfed in flames.
"Oh God," she gasped.
Worried neighbors gathered around the yard, the heat of the blaze burning their skin even at a distance. The ensuing explosion took out half of the second story roof, sending panicked residents running, while Wally's jeep sat in the driveway, flaming debris scattered across its hood.
Dick saw an elderly man off in the distance on his cellphone hopeful he was on the phone with a 911 emergency responder. When he turned back to formulate a plan with the archer she was gone.
Dick raced behind Artemis as she kicked in the front door. They both dove to the side as the backdraft shot flames out the newly formed exit. The blaze subsided momentarily and the two rushed inside the burning structure, cloths covering their mouths to avoid inhaling the smoke and gases that mixed with the air.
Over the roaring fire Artemis screamed "Wally!" but got no response.
Dick yelled over the thundering inferno. "I'll check what's left of the second floor, you look down here. His parent's cars weren't out front, but that doesn't mean he was alone!"
Artemis nodded and took off in one direction, as Dick jumped through the flaming framework and ran up the stairs. The archer ran through den screaming his name, finally making her way to the kitchen. The smoke was getting thicker and she was having trouble seeing. She rounded the hallway towards the dining room when she saw the basement door ajar.
She opened it to a wave of searing heat blasting her in the face, the old wooden stairs heading down were completely engulfed in flames. She knew the brittle staircase would never support her weight, but the West's cellar also doubled as a storm shelter so there was an outside door on the back of the house if she needed and exit. Artemis held on to the door frame, stomping the wooden planks until they split and fell to the dirt floor underneath; clearing a solid path for her to land on. Her hands began to blister as she released the frame and jumped down below.
If she thought the smoke was bad above, it was as thick as a London fog below. The stone and wood pillars that supported the house cracked as the intense heat began eating away at their foundations. She didn't have much time before the entire house would collapse on top of her.
She was about to scream his name again when she heard coughing coming from the far side of the basement, that's when she saw him. Wally weakly crawled across the ground, dragging his limp body over the dirt floor towards the concrete stairs that led up to the back yard.
"Wally!" she yelled, flipping him over and cradling his head. His nose and ears bled, his skin hot, but not yet blistered. He was in out of consciousness, aware someone was with him, but little more. His clothes were singed, but not melted on his skin, but it wouldn't stay that way if she didn't act.
Artemis didn't have any choice when she yanked him to his feet, wrapping a dead arm around her shoulder and dragging him towards the exit. He was a lot heavier than she remembered, definitely carrying more weight than before, not that that knowledge was doing her much good at the moment
As if on cue, Dick met them at the stairs outside. After clearing the house and not finding the archer, the cellar was the most obvious escape route. They carried him to the edge of the back yard just as the supports finally gave way and the house caved in on itself.
His face was pink, and when Artemis placed her head on his chest, she frantically looked up at her partner. "He's not breathing."
They both immediately began CPR, Artemis sending air into his lungs while Dick massaged his heart. She wouldn't allow herself to panic, and even if he didn't respond she'd keep this up until the paramedics arrived, hours if she had to, but she was not letting him go, not like this.
In the distance the wail of sirens could be heard blocks away. Artemis leaned up taking a deep breath to share when Wally began coughing and breathing on his own again. Dick and Artemis exchanged relived glances, her head resting on the brunette's shoulder as they caught their breath.
Even as far away from the house as they were, the heat of the blaze still prickled at their skin, so instead of waiting for the paramedics, Dick and Artemis carried him to the street for the oncoming ambulance. The speedster continued coughing, as his eyes struggled to open. In his daze Wally heard sounds, familiar voices that made no sense, as if they were speaking to him underwater. Blistered hands cupped his face and blurred figure with long blonde hair spoke slowly to him in deep measure tones, "Wally, can you hear me? You're going to be all right. Just open your eyes….please!"
He struggled to comply until the darkness finally took him.
xxx
Wally spent the rest of the night at Keystone Memorial Hospital being treated for burns and monitored for signs of concussion and smoke inhalation. He was lucky.
Frantic calls from neighbors had brought the Wests back to Keystone, only to find their son in the hospital and their home destroyed. Mary and Rudy were exhausted but refused to close their eyes until they spoke to the E.R. doctor. When the tall African American physician came out to tell them the good news, Mary West finally broke down, that's just how mothers are. The rest of the night she and her husband took alternating shifts to sleep, keeping in touch with the Garrick's who were watching Iris and Jai and giving them updates, while occasionally going to the coffee machine for a caffeine boost.
All the while Dick and Artemis sat in a faraway corner of the waiting room, trying to give the West's space and privacy. Later that night Dick stepped outside to take a call from Bruce Wayne, update him on Wally's status, and make temporary living arrangements for the Wests, knowing that all they'd thought about at the moment was their son's recovery and nothing else.
The West's had never held any animosity towards Dick for the end of his friendship with their son, as neither did he towards them, but he still felt guilty all the same. Mary and Rudy had been like second parents to him, giving him a taste of what a normal teen's life should be and treating him like one of their own. Dick had never forgotten their love and kindness, and anything he could do now to ease their burden would be done in a heartbeat.
At around three in the morning Mary West came out of Wally's room to stretch her legs. She couldn't sleep with all the constant buzzing and beeping of monitors. She paced the hallway to the lobby, looking for a couch somewhere away from the clamor when her eyes made contact with the blonde. Mary's brows furrowed in betrayal, and she turned away, sending a stabbing but expected dagger into Artemis's heart. The archer sighed exhausted, her eyes closing until moments later when she smelt the aroma of cheap hospital coffee. When she opened them again Mary West knelt down next to her, holding two cups, her green eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you," Mary whispered.
Without thinking, Artemis's wrapped her arms around the women and held her tight as they cried together, There'd be time for stories later; time for her to tell her tale, with hope for forgiveness, but for now all she wanted to do was bury herself in the red heads loving arms, and wish away the last ten years was just a bad dream.
Author's Note: Better late than never huh? I have not given up on this story, but have been busy with a few other projects. Was going to break this up into two chapters, but for anyone still reading this I thought you deserved as much as could write. It will be a little slow going, but I always finish a story. Hope it was worth the wait. R & R if you get a chance.