AN: I can't believe it's been over a year since I have updated this story. Life and school have been extremely overwhelming – and to be honest I've had a lack of motivation and inspiration to finish this fic. BUT with the triumphant return of Young Justice I am re-motivated to pick up right where I left off! Which happens to be at one of my favorite episodes – "Failsafe!" I took a slightly different approach for this chapter. The canon blurbs are based on a combination of the events from "Failsafe," and the therapy sessions in "Disordered." Instead of physical injuries, the team will be making up excuses to explain their downcast moods. I'm going to try to address the excuses used by every member of the team in two parts. This first part is focused on Wally, Dick and Artemis. I hope it will be worth the wait! :) I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING.

Season 1, Episodes 16 / 17: "Failsafe" / "Disordered" (Part I)

Kid Flash
Arctic
October 16

"We may not have a few minutes!"

Kid Flash watched in horror as two spacecrafts came rocketing towards them.

"Miss Martian, open fire!" Aqualad shouted telepathically.

"Can't! Weapons systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon! And that's not fully integrated either!" M'Gann yelled back.

"Got you covered!" Artemis shouted as she shot three arrows at the approaching ships, "Get inside! I'm almost there!"

From atop the bioship, Kid Flash saw one ship explode on impact while the other plummeted towards the ground. It skidded across the snow before coming to an abrupt stop. The cannon suddenly directed itself towards Artemis, lighting up as the disintegration beam prepared to fire.

"Artemis! Behind you!" M'Gann warned.

Kid Flash watched, frozen with a sudden, unexplainable, gripping terror, as Artemis turned around, poising an arrow in her bow –

But it was too late.

Blinding light shot from the cannon, engulfing Artemis where she stood.

"Artemis!" M'Gann shouted in horror.

"Artemis!" Kid Flash heard his own voice echo across the tundra.

He felt something shatter in his chest as the light faded and revealed that the spot where Artemis once stood was vacant.

No.

No!

NO!

Something wasn't right, this wasn't happening – this couldn't be happening!

There was a fire raging in his chest, a tsunami in his stomach, and a twister in his mind. He couldn't control the fury burning in his heart, the grief churning in his gut, or the thoughts spiraling around in his head.

"Get inside! All of you!" Aqualad demanded as he rushed forward, brandishing his water-bearers at the ship.

Ignoring the order, Kid Flash stood rooted to the spot and watched wrathfully as the ship exploded in a burst of flames,

"They're dead! Every single alien – if it's the last thing I do!"

Wally West
Central City
October 17, 07:28 CDT

Wally West wrapped his blanket tighter around his shoulders as he stared at the glowing red numbers on his alarm clock. He hadn't slept a wink all night, and in 2 minutes his alarm was going to go off, signaling the start of a day that he was completely and indisputably unprepared to face.

The sound of the disintegration ray had kept him up all night, resonating in his ears like some kind of terrorizing tinnitus.

The imaginary loss had consumed him in a grief all too real. It wasn't just the death of the league, or of his aunt and uncle, or even the loss of his own life that had sent him into mourning – it was the loss of one particular teammate. As much as Wally hated to admit it, when Artemis was disintegrated he felt like a little piece of him went with her.

He credited this to the fact that she was the first member of the team to go – he would have felt that way about whoever they lost first. It had nothing to do with the archer herself – obviously.

The sound of Wally's alarm suddenly split through the silence, but instead of turning it off or pressing the snooze button, he pulled a blanket over his head and let the blaring noise drown out the sound of the disintegration ray still echoing in his ears.

Over the din he heard footsteps approaching, and a moment later a pillar of light spilled into his room as someone opened the door,

"Wally?"

Peeking out from beneath his blanket, Wally found his mom standing in the doorway.

"Are you going to turn your alarm off? Or are you planning on waking up the entire city?"

Grumbling incoherently, Wally silenced his alarm but made no move to get out of bed.

"You'd better get up soon or you'll be late for school," his mom warned.

"Mmfhmm…"

"Come on Wally, I made pancakes for breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," he mumbled.

There was a short pause, and then his mom chuckled,

"I haven't heard you say that in years."

When he didn't respond, his mom came over to sit on the corner of his bed,

"Wally…" she began cautiously, "did something happen? Is there anything that you want to tell me?"

"No," Wally said, sitting up slowly, "I – I just think I have the stomach bug or something."

His mom put her palm against his forehead,

"You don't feel warm – well, not any warmer than usual."

Wally shrugged,

"Well maybe it was food poisoning from the cookies M'Gann made, or – or something. I don't know. I think… I just want to sleep it off, okay?"

"Okay…" his mom said hesitantly, "I'll call the school to let them know you'll be staying home today."

Wally nodded and reburied himself in his blankets. He closed his eyes as his mom closed his door, and in the darkness he heard Artemis's voice resound in his mind:

"Got you covered! Get inside! I'm almost there!"

Robin
Smallville
October 16

"No," Martian Manhunter said suddenly, "My mind is clearer now. The disintegration ray is exactly that – there is no detention facility, no prisoners to rescue… Our mission holds no purpose."

Robin felt his guts wrench as his suspicions were confirmed.

"No! You're wrong!" Kid Flash yelled angrily, "The zeta radiation proves she's alive! She's – "

"Stop it, KF!" Robin said sharply, grabbing him by the shoulders and spinning him around so that they were face-to-face, "I've been scanning for league and team signals since we got inside – they're not here!… Artemis is gone."

Robin felt his stomach twist violently as Kid Flash's expression fell. Through the mind link he could feel everything he was trying to suppress. His overwhelming grief, his desperation, his denial – his anger.

Robin's heart ached at his friend's inexpressible distress, but he blocked it all out like Batman had taught him, and he powered on,

"But our mission still holds purpose – to destroy this mothership."

Dick Grayson
Gotham City
October 17, 18:08 EDT

Dick Grayson sat on the edge of a weight lifting bench in Wayne Manor's gym. He was supposed to be working out, but for the past half hour he had been staring at the indentation he had punched in the wall last month.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

It was like a video of the stimulation was on replay in his mind. He kept reliving every single detail of the exercise – from the second Artemis died, right up to the moment everything exploded in flames around him.

He gripped his head between his hands.

How had things gone so badly? How had he let things go so badly?

Wally's face suddenly flashed to the forefront of his mind. Dick remembered the look in his eyes when he told him that there was no teleporter, when he realized that he was going to die – when he understood that he, Dick Grayson, had lured him into the mothership not to save Artemis – but to sacrifice himself.

How can he live with the guilt of knowing that he was responsible for his best friend's death?

Dick was suddenly jerked from his reverie by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked up and saw Alfred standing in the threshold, watching him,

"Good evening, Master Richard."

"Hi, Alfred," Dick said, returning his gaze to the hole in the wall.

"Dinner is ready. I made a pot of French onion soup. I suggest you come upstairs before your serving gets cold."

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Master Bruce has requested your company."

"Tell him to eat without me," Dick said flatly.

"Is something troubling you?" Alfred asked after a brief pause, "You haven't been yourself since you returned from the cave last night."

Dick sighed. He was sure that Bruce had briefed him about the stimulation, but he was in no mood to discuss his failure. Instead, he grabbed at the first excuse that popped into his mind, which also happened to be partially true:

"Barbara isn't answering my texts – I think she's upset that I bailed on our plans yesterday."

Alfred raised an eyebrow,

"I'm sure Miss Gordon will come around… Is that the only thing that's on your mind?"

Dick knew what Alfred was trying to do but he wasn't going to take the bait,

"I just hate lying to her. About everything – Robin, the team…" his voice trailed off and he shrugged, "I know it's all part of the gig, but that doesn't make it easy."

Alfred sighed,

"Just remember that by keeping her in the dark you are keeping her safe. Now come, Master Bruce is waiting on us and we both know how much he despises tardiness."

Artemis
Mount Justice
October 23, 17:36 EST

The waterfall on the wall of the cave was supposed to be comforting, but the sound of the tinkling water only added to Artemis's anxiety.

"Look, me dying during the exercise might have started things going south – but I was coma girl," she said sarcastically, "missed out on all the fun of forgetting it wasn't real. So, no trauma. No need for the shrink wrap."

"You're too tough to need help," Black Canary said flatly.

"Whatever," Artemis responded, looking away and bringing her feet up on the seat, "Maybe."

"Or maybe too tough to admit you need help," Black Canary suggested, leaning forward, "Artemis, it's not a sign of weakness to open up to your friends."

Artemis dug her fingers into her arm,

"I know that," she said through her teeth.

"But you still keep secrets from them."

Artemis felt her heart skip a beat, and she clenched the armrests as she quickly sat up,

"You won't tell them! You can't!"

"I won't," Black Canary said calmly, "But you should. You could start by admitting you're not really Green Arrow's niece."

Artemis scoffed,

"Right. Can you imagine what Wally would do with that?"

"Interesting…" Black Canary said slyly, "The person you're most worried about – is Wally?"

Artemis felt her heart stop, and her eyes widened in surprise as she looked up,

Was it really that obvious?

Artemis Crock
Gotham City
October 23, 20:19 EST

Artemis Crock stood in the hallway of her apartment, staring at a framed photograph hanging outside of her mother's room. It was one of the very few mementos she had from her childhood – a simple snapshot from a disposable camera of her and Jade eating chocolate ice cream cones. She wrapped her arms around her torso as she stared at the smiling faces and Black Canary's voice echoed in the back of her mind:

"You could start by admitting you're not really Green Arrow's niece."

Artemis grit her teeth – admitting that she had no relation to Green Arrow would mean coming clean about who she's really related to, and there was no saying how the team would react to that bit of news.

Although...

As much as the idea terrified her, if she told them the truth she wouldn't have to hide anymore. There'd be no more lying and sneaking around, and she wouldn't have to constantly be on guard or always feel on edge – that is, if they didn't kick her off the team first.

Was her position secure enough?

Had she proved herself a loyal comrade?

Was it worth the risk?

She turned away from the picture and marched into the kitchen. Her mom was at the stove heating a pot of tea, but she looked up at her daughter's dramatic entrance,

"Artemis?"

"What, mom?" She said impatiently, wrenching the refrigerator open to stare at its contents.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's great."

"Are you sure?" Her mom asked, "You seem troubled."

"I said I'm great," Artemis snapped.

She scanned the contents of the refrigerator before deciding she wasn't hungry and slammed the door shut, catching a glimpse of her mom's bewildered expression in its reflection.

Guilt squeezed her guts, but how could she possibly explain to her mother that she's ashamed of her past – ashamed of her?

Taking a deep breath, Artemis turned around to face her,

"I… I had a rough week at school," she said with a shrug.

"Oh, Artemis," her mom said softly, offering her a cup of tea, "what happened?"

"Nothing happened… It's just – I'm still trying to get used to the change. You know, adjusting to the Academy and – and everything."

Artemis took a sip of her tea as her mom frowned,

"Maybe you should take a break from the team so that you can focus on –"

Artemis began coughing as she choked on her tea,

"No!" She said in between coughs, "I mean – no. No, I'm not going to do that."

"Artemis –"

"The team isn't the problem – there isn't a problem. Everything's fine. I'm fine."

Her mother raised an eyebrow,

"But –"

"Really, mom. I'm okay."

Artemis forced a smile, and she heard Black Canary's voice echoing in the back of her mind again:

"Or maybe too tough to admit you need help."

AN: I hope it was worth the wait! I'll try to have the next chapter posted ASAP! Thank you to everyone who still follows this! :) How is everyone liking season 3 so far?! I think it's great! But I'm really hoping KF will make a triumphant return! I don't know if that's going to happen, though - with the introduction of all these new characters it makes me feel like the want to move on from the OG team. I'm not so sure how I feel about that, but I have complete faith in the producers!