The team was standing on Melina Island on a recon mission. All they had to do was find this new sample of Cobra venom, but this one was high maintenance, it was a mixture of Cobra venom, joker's laughing gas, and the blockbuster serum, this was meant to do some permanent damage. They were supposed to do it quick and silent but that didn't work out. "I'm going to go get a better look," Wally whispered to Robin and Artemis.
"No Wally, don't do that, you're going to end up falling or something and we'll end up screwed," Artemis whisper yelled. She had a crush on him but she wasn't going to make that known, she just wanted to protect him. He ran ahead anyways and slipped as she said he would. "Such an idiot," she said before guns started going off. A bullet came close to Wally but he slipped out of the way just in time.
'Requesting backup,' Kaldur said through the mind link. The boy wonder stood up before disappearing without Artemis noticing. She looked next to her before seeing that he was gone.
"I really hate when he does that," she whispered to herself before standing from her hiding spot. She slung back an arrow in her bow before taking out two of the guys with gun that were creeping up on her. "That was easy," she said with a smirk.
"Arty, I kind of need your help," Wally shouted out. She smiled even bigger before coming his way. She took up the spot behind him before multiple bad guys started to flurry behind them, they could see some of the crates being moved from the side.
"So you finally admit you need help," she asked him. He glared at her for a second before she spoke through the link. 'I've got a plan to get that sample but we need to do it quickly before they send more bad guys our way,' she told Wally. He nodded telling her to continue. 'You're going to speed over there and take a couple of the vials while I stay over here and fight these guys off, I'll cover you so don't worry,' he nodded his head before looking around. 'Go,' she told him. He ran off as she shot her arrows hitting them each in different places but taking them down nonetheless.
"I got it," he yelled as he tucked it away in his compartments. She took down the last of her bad guys before she noticed Klarion behind him.
"Kid Flash, move!" she yelled as Klarion chanted a spell quickly. It was too late, Wally's clothes now sat in a pile on the ground. Artemis ran towards Klarion but he created a boom tube and was gone before she could reach him. "Dammit!" she yelled as she picked up the costume of the team's speedster, she had tears now streaming down her face. When the outfit was completely off the ground she found a naked two year old looking boy that had the same hair and eyes as her crush. "Wally, is that you?" she asked. The boy looked up at her with tears now coming down his face also. 'Team, requesting backup right away, at my previous coordinates.' she said through the link.
'Why, what happened over there?' Robin asked now on his way. Artemis gulped before looking back down at the little boy. He looked so scared and helpless that she just wanted to do anything she could to help but she was scared herself.
'I'll explain it to all of you when you get here, you guys will be able to see the problem when you get here,' she told them as she now sat on the ground next to the boy. They didn't wait long as the team arrived within a minute to see what was wrong. In that time Artemis had managed to get over her insecurities and picked up the boy just trying to comfort him, although it was weird since he was naked but she hated to see him look that way.
"What happened?" Robin asked right away. Artemis stood with the boy in her arms before answering the question.
"Klarion came and attacked Wally from behind, as I tried to warn him to get out of the way he said a spell and now Wally's like this." the boy hugged Artemis closer as she looked down him. "Conner, can he have your shirt so he isn't naked?" Conner didn't answer but instead just peeled it off and handed it to her. She slipped the shirt on him before he cuddled closer to her. Nobody commented on it but instead just began to walk to the bioship.
The team made it to the ship and was flying in silence before Conner began to speak. "So this Klarion guy wasn't apart of anything, why did he decide to show up at the scene?" he asked confused.
"What do you mean by that?" Artemis asked staring at the boy in her arms. He had fallen asleep a couple minutes ago but had a death grip on her and her hand. She was worried about him though, what if he never comes back to normal, what if something happens to him while he's like this, what if Klarion decided to do something to the rest of them while he's this helpless little boy and he's there when it happens. So many bad things could happen to him.
"So the cobra venom, joker laughing gas, and the blockbuster serum, none of those have anything to do with him. He must be getting something in return if he was there, and what could those vials actually do?" the team didn't think about that. Why would they, Wally was sitting there and not as his own normal self but a two year old.
"We can test the vials, before little man over here was turned he grabbed a few." Artemis said now going through Wally's suit. She popped open a compartment and handed Robin the four vials Wally had received. Robin took them before placing them in his utility belt.
"Batman would want to do that himself, it sucks that we still don't know where they took they rest of the supply." Robin said. Artemis smiled before reaching into her back pocket.
"Don't we, before Wally was turned when he was getting the vials I shot a tracker into the back where the crates were and we can find out where they were going." Robin smiled before giving her a high five. The boy opened his green eyes before holding the blonde archer tighter to him. Robin smiled at this but didn't say anything. "Wally, you want to loosen your grip on me?" she asked hopefully. He tightened it and she only nodded her head and took a deep breath.
"We're about to land and Batman is waiting in the mission room for us." M'gann informed her team. They each all looked at the boy a they landed in the cave's hangar. Then a thought came to Artemis's mind, did Batman know about their predicament, does Flash even know. She said that Batman was waiting there but not a word about Flash. She was interrupted by the sudden cries that started coming from Wally.
"Shh Wally, it's okay, I won't let anything happen to you, you're safe so you don't need to cry." his grip tightened but his cries however managed to stop and just become whimpers. She began to rock him back and forth in her arms as he eased back into sleep. They walked into the mission room and saw Batman standing there as told before.
"What happened," he asked in his gruff voice when he saw the boy in Artemis's arms. She looked at him before answering.
"Klarion popped up behind Wally and turned him like this with his magic. We did however manage to get a couple of the vials though and place a tracker on the crates so you can check where it's headed." she said before handing him the tracker. Robin stepped forward with the vials before handing them to his mentor
"Thank you," he said before pulling out his communicator. "Requesting Dr. Fate to the cave immediately," Batman said gruffly into the device. He waited a little for a response.
"On my way," he responded before the tubes rang out his name. Zatanna instantly looked down when he came into the room. He walked straight up to Artemis and Wally already spotting what was wrong. The boy instantly woke up when he was directly in front of him, he looked up and began to pout before his lip began to quiver. Within the next five seconds Wally's cries began to erupt the cave.
"You're okay, nobody's going to hurt you, everything's okay," she whispered to him as she started swaying back and forth. He hugged him securely and placed a kiss on the top of his head so he knew that everything was alright. The cries stopped and now they each had smiles on their faces at the sight. She now turned to them and glared. "When he turned back to normal we will not repeat a word of anything that happened or so help me all of you will have arrows up your a-," she cut herself off by looking at Wally.
"So, he won't be like this permanently, but he'll be like this for a couple of weeks." Fate told them with a sad expression on his face. The team looked thrown back at the news before recovering quickly.
"So he's going to be like this for a couple of weeks, what do we do?" she asked. Nobody answered.
"Well, I have to go," he walked to the zeta tubes and punched in a location. "I love you, Zatanna," he said before stepping in. Zatanna looked up before running to the tubes.
"Dad!" she yelled but he was already gone. She looked down but a smile now stayed on her face. "He's closer than I thought, maybe one day I can get my father back after all," she whispered to herself.
"So Batman, does Flash know about this," Artemis asked. As soon as she asked the speedster came through the tubes carrying a duffle bag. "I swear, they each have amazing timing," she whispered. He ran up to her before reaching his arms out for Wally, the boy looked up to Artemis to see that it was okay, she laughed before whispering in his ear. "Wally it's okay, go to your uncle." Wally went into his arms.
"We'll be back after he's changed," Barry said before walking down to his nephew's room. They now each stood there in silence as they waited for Wally and his uncle to come back in the room. "Done," he said as he walked back. Wally was in a Flash onesie that made everyone laugh. "He liked it," he sped the boy back into Artemis's arms before she even noticed.
"Where's he going to stay," Artemis asked. Barry looked at her before answering the question.
"Me and my wife have been kind of swamped and adding a two year old to the mix would only make things harder. I was wondering if you guys would take care of him, he'd probably get mad if he woke up with all his friends gone." Barry told them. "Plus, I think he kind of got attached to you," he said looking to Artemis. She looked thrown back that he would consider leaving a little boy in their care but then realized, they each were on the mature side or else they wouldn't be able to be on the team.
"But we're only teenagers," he looked at her with a smile.
"Okay so, you only teenagers are on this team and you guys are doing the hero life, I'm pretty sure you can handle a two year old. Also, since you guys are all in highschool you're going to have to do the baby project, better knowing that you actually had to go through it." he told her. The other teens in the room laughed but she looked down at the boy in the room, in her arms at that, he had gotten attached to her, that much was easy to see. The thing is she had gotten attached also, she felt the need to protect him and that's what she was going to do. "Please," Barry asked interrupting her thoughts.
"Fine, but only if you keep supplying him clothes, deal," she asked him. Barry nodded before speaking.
"I can do that, although you shouldn't need much after those are done," she nodded to him. 'Okay, the team is going to take care of baby Wally, we can handle that' Artemis thought to herself. Everyone in the room seemed okay for the idea.
"Well, I have to go so I wish you guys good luck," he said. He walked up to Wally before ruffling his hair up. "Bye Wally," he said before walking to the zeta tubes. Wally waved after him but refused to get out of Artemis's arms.
Wally let out a little yawn before every girl in the room awed at him. "He's so cute," Zatanna said as he yawned again. The boy snuggled back into Artemis and placed his head in the crook of her neck.
"Yeah he is, but it's time for him to go to sleep," Artemis said as he yawned once again. She walked down the hallway and room opened his bedroom door, walking over to the bed slowly she placed him under the covers. "Night night, Wally," she said to him. The Thomas the choo choo train night light was plugged in and turned on with a Flash teddy bear on the bed next to him.
"Night, Pretty Mis," Wally said back. Artemis was kind of shocked, not just because of the nickname but because of the fact that those were the first words he's spoken since he was turned. "See tomorrow," he said before his eyes drooped close.
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," she said before placing a kiss on his forehead. She walked out the room with a small smile on her face. "He's asleep," she told them before sitting down on the couch. All of them sat down also and just stared ahead in thought, this was going to be a difficult couple of weeks for them but they would make it through, just like they always do.