A/N: This is from Artemis POV! And yes she knows Nightwing is Dick :) Sorry for not updating last week… it was my first week of school.
Not forgetting, THANKS soooo much for the contributions on Spitfire moments! You're the best! xD Nothing else... soooo ON WITH THE STORY!
I was extremely pissed off when Dick forced me back to the last place I ever wanted to visit again. I couldn't be bothered with the stupid Arctic wind nipping my skin; the only thought in my mind was 'escape'.
But damn that guy with his unreal hacking skills.
"You need to see something first," he stated, then motioned for me to follow him. I just stood there, internally struggling to keep my emotions in check as my ticket home trekked off.
"Focus Ti, don't let the tears spill. It's not worth it," I chided myself, tightening my grip on whatever it was that Dick shoved to me. "Concentrate…"
I felt a hand slip on to mine and lost my grasp on control over my emotions. And for the first time in two months, I freely allowed them to break out. Fury and betrayal were the main two though, so at least they didn't hurt as much. I focused only on channeling all the anger to glaring at the jerk. Don't let your mind drift…
"I need you to trust me on this one. Please," he whispered, it sounded so strained. The pain in his voice eventually softened my expression.
Leaving me without much of a choice, I just followed him wordlessly. All the while restraining the desire to kill him for doing this to me. I tried going through why he would have brought me here but my mind was coming up mostly a blank. Why? To force me to get over this? To confront my loss?
We both know it wouldn't be this straightforward just to stop missing him. Dick didn't offer an explanation, and I knew him well enough that if he did wanted to give me details, I would already have them.
The hike wasn't too long though. Soon, we came upon The Place, but now they have set up a huge tent on top of it too.
I pushed away the growing ache forming in my chest back with all the willpower I could muster, and then glared at him again, refusing to take another step. WHY is he doing this?
"Guys, she needs to know," He said casually. Know what? I wanted answers but before I could demand them, Barry, Kaldur and Conner emerged.
I could see none of them were expecting another visitor.
My anger dulled, replaced with a puzzling sensation. The air was electrifying, not necessarily uncomfortable, just weird. I haven't felt this… alive again, after Wally left me…
Dick urged me to follow him into the tent. I didn't want to, but I was compelled to take another step closer. It took forever to get to the door, occasionally stopping and shake my head childishly. But he only smiled encouragingly, patiently pulling me along.
My audience just stared at me, some incomprehension, a little sympathy, but mostly shooting daggers at my tow truck. If looks could kill… but he's Nightwing, Batman would have given him enough practice at not being easily intimidated.
When I stepped into the tent, I closed my eyes. I was afraid of what I might see and worried that once the tears start pouring out, I wouldn't be able to stop them anymore. And considering my current location, it would definitely be impossible.
"Artemis," I hated that name, I clamp my eyes tighter. "Please, you have to see this, it will explain everything," Dick promised.
"NO!" I screamed, I had enough of this. I shook my head stubbornly and clenched my fist onto my ears. The tears were forming, and there was no stopping them anymore. I swallowed against the lump in my throat. I considered my options: Keep my eyes closed till he realizes I won't open them and lead me out. Or open my eyes and see what he wants me to see, punch him in the face then run away.
The minutes ticked by, I knew that smug could play this waiting game all day but I didn't want to, not here. So in the end, my impatience and a little curiosity won and I decided to go with option two. I slowly opened my eyes, all the while glowering intensely at him, a few tears slid out but I refused to acknowledge them. I was ready to hurl my fist at him when… beep.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
Barry raced in, and for the first time, I took in my surroundings.
Barry was in front of a really big computer comparing the information displayed with some charts in his hands. Next to that was an even bigger… uh… thing that had a glass canister with something almost human-shaped floating inside it. But my eyes settled on the machine making the 'beep' sound. It looked like a heart rate monitor.
"We've got a heart beat! WE'VE GOT A HEART BEAT!" Barry squealed. Kaldur and Conner rushed in as Dick left my side. The three of them fiddled around, double checking the scanners and other science-y instruments then started celebrating. What's going on?
After a while or so, Dick finally seemed to remember me. He gave me a wide grin then stepped back next to me and pulled me over to the glass canister thingy. Kaldur joined us, all the while nodding supportively. I risked a closer look at the thing floating inside it. It looks so familiar, almost like…
"Wally," Kaldur announced. My mind went vacant. That is Wally? My Wally? My breathing accelerated.
"It isn't a hologram or a projection. It really is him in there," Dick continued.
My hand grazed the glass barrier between me and my supposed lost love. "Please don't let this be a dream. Please, please, please…" I whispered so softly only someone with super sharp ears stood a chance of hearing it.
"It isn't," Conner – right, half-Kryptonian, almost forgot – assured and patted my back, soothing my shuddering sobs. It was then I realized I was crying and smiling at the same time. I tore my eyes away from Wally. The faces I saw were glowing with hope and utter ecstasy. I looked back at my beloved. All the happy memories I had stashed away to the deepest corners of my mind came rushing back to me.
Our last kiss under the Eiffel Tower, our battle together at the summit of the bad guys, how he took care of my mother when I was 'away', when he wished me good luck before I went undercover. Every kiss, every hug, and every touch we shared through our entire roller coaster ride in love, him trying to make it up to me when he forgot about Valentine's Day, my surprise when he actually remembered my birthday for once, our little adventure of cooking together in the kitchen that destroyed the oven, his always patient coaching on my science, our bickering on who gets to use the TV, when we first moved in together. And even way back when the team first started: Our first kiss on New Year's midnight, his nonchalant attitude towards my background – the casual touch he gave which told me I had nothing to worry – he didn't care, when he told me I had nothing to prove with Roy dissing me all the time, the lie about me thinking he was my ninja boyfriend in Bialya, all our constant squabble that drove the team nuts.
Reliving all those precious memories, I burst into a new wave of tears, earning concerned glances from everyone else in the room. I didn't care. I flung my arms on to the canister, laughing and bawling, repeating his name over and over.
"Wally, Wally, Wally…" his name rolled off my tongue like I never stop saying it before.
"It is him," Barry piped up in a comfortingly blissful voice and came over to my side, bringing with him a feeling I haven't experienced in a long time…
As I stared in amazement at Wally, the fizzy and cozily warm sensation thawed my frozen heart. It thumped against my chest painfully, but I didn't care. "Wally… is alive!" my mind screamed endlessly. A new hope flooded through me again.
You're alive…
Reviews and favs appreciated! :D
-The ending is a little flat… I think I'm better at write Dick? :/ Any thoughts?