And I was here thinking I'd never get round to posting it.
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"We aren't getting anywhere."
"We're making progress, Wally, it's just taking a while."
"Its taking too long! I should be out there, looking-"
"On your own? In Gotham? Tell me, where would you start?"
Robin stared Wally down, challenging him, until the speedster looked away.
"I need to find her, Rob. I promised." He said, his voice a tone calmer and more sincere than before.
"And we will." The other boy promised, his expression kind, lit from the side by the glow of computer screens. "But you need to take a break- when was the last time you slept?"
Wally shrugged. He had not been able to leave Mount Justice under Black Canary's orders, and two weeks of confinement to the cave had left him feeling like a caged animal: stressed, tired and desperate. The daily therapy sessions did not help either, but Wally was determined to masquerade as the mentally compromised victim they assumed him to be until he was able to prove otherwise.
And the otherwise was proving difficult. Rob had managed to scrape together some grainy CCTV of Artemis hanging around the slums of Gotham, but it never led to anything conclusive. To make matters worse, it had been three days since Artemis' face had shown up on any sort of camera. She had completely left the grid, and Wally knew what that meant.
That did not mean he wasn't neck deep in denial.
"Go get some sleep, I'll keep searching." Said Rob, and Wally took a moment to stare at the computer, blink the haze from his eyes, then nod.
As he traipsed from the dark, screen-filled room he and Robin had occupied to his own room in the cave, he passed through the kitchen and sitting room located in the teams' living quarters. Kaldur, M'gann and Conner were sprawled across a sofa watching TV when he passed through, and Wally felt a tiny jolt of appreciation when Kaldur nodded and M'gann beamed at him. He ignored the awkward expression on Conner's face.
The team had warmed back up to him over the last few days, a peace treaty built upon M'gann's cookies, Kaldur not asking what he and Rob were doing half the time, and Conner's general respect of personal privacy. However, since the kitchen incident, Wally's interpersonal relationships with all team members had been more strained than desirable, and Black Canary had been encouraging him to change that.
There was still a long way to go.
Wally's limbs were heavy as he pulled on the door handle to his room, walked in and collapsed on the bed. He wanted the covers to swallow him up, to stop him feeling like he was slowly being suffocated, to get rid of the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that maybe they were right.
No.
His tired mind focused on one thought: Artemis.
Everything would be better if- no, when he found her.
They would believe him then.
He could finally live a normal(ish) life again.
The ghost of a smile played across Wally's lips as he considered this, and then he fell asleep.
-o-
"Wally! C'mon, wake up."
Robin's voice, fast and low in his ear, roused Wally in a heartbeat.
"Wha-"
"I've found her. I found Artemis."
Wally sat bolt upright on his bed. He stared at Rob, the sleep rapidly draining from his head, mind racing.
"You mean-"
"Hurry up and get dressed, we're leaving."
Confused, Wally glanced down at the clothes he had slept in.
"Why can't I-"
He received a faceful of spandex in response, clarified only when he saw the colours: yellow and red.
"Ohh. Right."
Rob left with a swish of his cape, and seconds later Wally joined him, tugging at his new costume and itching to go.
Silently, they made their way to the bioship on the other side of the cave. The pair were careful to remain unseen but it was late and nobody was up; only Red Tornado in the briefing room, tapping at computer files. Eventually they made it to the hangar and Wally followed his friend into the bioship. He was about to ask Rob where they were going, or what the plan was, or anything, but he froze the moment he stepped inside.
The rest of the team- Kaldur, M'gann, Conner- were already seated inside the bioship, staring right back at him.
Wally had just opened his mouth to speak when Robin interjected.
"I told them, Wally. I hope you don't mind, I just thought it would be easier-"
"No, it's fine." He didn't even try to hide his grin. They were on his side, the team, back together again. "Thank you, guys. I mean it."
The rest of the team shifted a little in their seats, Conner even looked uncomfortable. It was Kaldur who broke the silence.
"I believe time is of the essence."
"Oh, right- of course."
And with that, M'gann flew the bioship out of the cave as Wally and Robin sat down. The speedster was practically vibrating with anticipation, the first signs of worry creeping in: what if Artemis was hurt, what if she wouldn't come with them, what if she wasn't there at all... It was then that Wally realised he didn't have a clue about what was going on at all. He glanced over at Rob and caught his eye.
"How did you find her?"
The boy wonder smirked.
"It was easy enough, once I figured out how. A couple of nights ago while on patrol I spotted a CCTV camera that had been busted up; someone had taken a shot at it and broken the lens. Only, it hadn't been done by a gun, but an arrow. So I figure that Artemis is shooting out any camera she sees in the hope that it keeps the Shadows off her back for longer, and I set an alert for anytime a camera goes offline in Gotham.
"Of course, this is Gotham we're talking about, crooks take out cameras all the time so it took me a while to go through each individual feed and determine whether or not it was an arrow doing the damage. But I found one, from just a couple of hours ago and it's right outside this apartment complex. I scanned the building through the system, and it turns out there's an abandoned apartment on the third floor, the perfect place to hide. So that's where we're headed."
Rob sat back in his chair, smug. Wally was impressed.
"That's great, but what's with all the stealth mode?"
"Seeing as Artemis was almost certainly being hunted down by the Shadows, there is a chance she has already been captured and this entire set-up is a trap. We must be vigilant." Kaldur explained.
"Okay." Said Wally, switching his suit from yellow and red to black so he matched the others.
The rest of the journey was spent in silence, and Wally tried to ignore the irritating feeling that the others were having a conversation that he was not a part of.
Don't be ridiculous, he thought. Why wouldn't they trust you?
They landed several blocks away from the apartment complex under camouflage. Kaldur's orders were simple: surround the building, check for anything suspicious, then retrieve Artemis as quickly as possible.
Conner used his heat vision and Wally put on his goggles- the room on the third floor had just one heat signature, a small, red blob. It had to be her.
Suddenly, he couldn't hold off any longer. He had to know. The telepathic connection broke as he raced ahead, into the building and up two flights of stairs before they could call his name. Door number eighteen- this was it- he didn't waste time knocking or ringing the bell, just powered straight through, the door breaking at the hinges and crashing to the floor. Wally skidded to a halt, his gaze darting across the room, his pulse right behind his eyes, heart in his throat.
And then he saw her. Crouched in the half-light, shadows under troubled eyes, her last arrow resting on a taut bowstring and aimed straight at his heart.
"Artemis?" He asked, tentative, one hand raised in surrender while the other pulled the cowl back from his face.
Her eyes flickered with recognition, then hope. The bow and arrow clattered to the floor.
"West?"
Artemis' voice was small, like it had forgotten hope and Wally found himself careening into her, his arms wrapping tightly around her sides. The only thought running through his mind was to hold her as close to him as possible, in the hope that it would quell any doubts that she wasn't real. With her face buried in his shoulder, Wally felt Artemis' shoulders tremble and realised she was sobbing, her hands grabbing the material on his back and curling into tight fists.
"It's okay, you're safe now." He murmured, smoothing her tangled hair. "Nobody's going to hurt you."
Artemis pulled away for a moment, her eyes glittering and wet in the darkness.
"I thought you wouldn't come, I didn't think you cared-"
Wally cupped her cheek with one hand before he even knew he was doing it.
"Of course I care."
And then her face was buried against his shoulder again, and he was muttering something kind under his breath when he heard the creak of floorboards and glanced behind him to see the rest of the team, looking flustered. Artemis stopped sniffling for a moment to look up too, and Wally felt her stiffen against him.
"It's okay, they're friends." He reassured her. "Right, guys?"
"It was unwise of you to run ahead." Said Kaldur, his expression unreadable.
"I'm sorry, but it all worked out okay, right?"'
Nobody replied. Wally turned his attention back to Artemis.
"Let's get out of here. Do you think you can walk?"
Artemis bit her lip. "Leg hurts." She muttered.
"Then I'll help you up." Wally said, pulling one of her arms over his shoulders.
"I'll help too." Offered Robin, and he was on Artemis' other side before either she or Wally could protest. The three of them stood, Artemis somewhat shakily, as Wally felt Conner draw closer. This was strange, the others were being unusually quiet-
"Now."
Wally had just enough time to glance over at Kaldur, about to ask what he meant when Conner grabbed him from behind, pulling him away from Artemis and pinning his arms against his sides.
"Hey, what's-"
He looked back at Artemis just in time to see her stumble, Rob holding her up. At the edge of the room M'gann had levitated off the ground, one arm outstretched, her eyes glowing green. Artemis' eyes cut to Wally, she opened her mouth, but no words ever came out. She flinched and cried out at some invisible attacker, then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed against Robin.
"Artemis-"
Wally was fighting against Conner, kicking and shouting as Rob crouched over Artemis and locked something around her neck, he could only just make out what it was- an inhibitor collar.
He felt the blood drain from his face.
"No!"
Robin straightened up just as Conner received the order to let Wally go. He fell to his knees by Artemis' side, frantically searching for signs of life. There, in her wrist, the flutter of a heartbeat. Relief washed through him, but it did nothing to dilute the intensity of the glare he fired at the others.
"What. The hell. Was that?" He didn't even try to mask the quiver of rage in his voice.
"That was the condition upon which Batman agreed we could bring Artemis back to the cave." Kaldur replied coolly.
"What?" Wally asked, his voice rising in pitch.
Rob jumped in with an explanation. "The league were in on our search for Artemis. Bats said the only way we could bring her back was like this."
"Like what? In some sort of coma?" Wally was verging dangerously close to hysterical.
Kaldur spoke again. "M'gann merely used a mind-strike to render her unconscious. She will be fine."
"You put a fucking collar on her!"
"She is dangerous."
"She's hurt."
Wally's eyes flitted between his team mates, searching for any signs of guilt or compassion. Cold, distant eyes looked back, and he curled his hands into fists.
"So what happens next? We bring her back to the cave, and then what? Send her off to Belle Reve?"
Kaldur frowned. "That is a possibility-"
"Don't you get it? They'll fucking kill her there." Wally stood, defensive, over Artemis. "You can't- I won't- let that happen."
"We can discuss this at the cave." Kaldur's voice was terse. "Superboy, Robin, Miss Martian, take Artemis to the bioship, I would like to have a word with Kid Flash. In private."
The others began to trail out to the room and Wally gritted his teeth, staring Conner down when he tried to approach Artemis.
"Back off, you're not touching her."
In Wally's periphery, Kaldur's face twitched.
"Fine." He muttered, and stalked out of the room. Conner followed.
Wally felt a tiny surge of triumph, but it paled into comparison with the betrayal gnawing at his mind. How could they?
He knelt down and gently slid his arms under Artemis' knees and shoulders, pulling her close to his chest, then straightening his legs.
Just run for it, he thought for a moment. The others couldn't catch you, Artemis would be safe... And then he remembered the collar.
With a soft sigh, Wally followed the others to the bioship.
This wasn't how he had imagined bringing her back, limp in his arms, the tension between him and his former friends almost tangible.
I'll make this okay, he promised Artemis. I'm sorry, but I can fix this.
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Ayyy, I'm back! This chapter felt a little rushed, but I was also dragging it out because y'all complained when I posted the shorter ones? Idk but the usual stuff applies: reviewers, you are my lifeline to sanity, my sun, my moon, my kind and heartfelt stars. I'm gonna be away from the internet for a while *gasp* but I just want to let you know that I read ALL of your reviews- I get excited when I get the little notification emails and I start grinning like an absolute idiot and I read and I sit and I blush for about ten minutes. Seriously. Thank you.