"When you say you're going to stop him, you don't mean…?"
"Yes Wallace. Superman, like the Joker, cannot be contained. The only way to stop him from spilling more innocent blood is to spill some of his." Batman stated, sending a wave of dread and fear coursing through Wally's mind.
"We are going to kill Superman."
"Are you kidding me? We've been working on this for months and now that it's finally finished, you're telling me I can't go? I don't care about the risks Uncle Barry, if I don't go now, Batman and Superman are going to kill each other!"
"It's too dangerous Wally!" Barry shouted back, raising his arms in exasperation. Barry and Wally had been arguing about this for the past hour and neither side was willing to give in. Barry wanted to keep his nephew as safe as possible, but Wally knew that if he didn't go back and change the past then one of Earth's greatest heroes would be killed in the upcoming battle. He couldn't let that happen!
"Bart travelled back twice the number of years that I will have to, and he was just a kid at the time! If he survived, then I…"
"That was different Wally!" Bart interjected, unable to stand the bickering any longer.
"I had different resources, different technologies to work with. I built my machine 20 years from now, in a world that wasn't held hostage by a warring Batman and Superman. I was able to create a new power source that didn't rely on the passenger!"
"Bart is right Wally. Even I would find it nearly impossible to generate enough speed to power the time machine. Either you fall short of the target speed and risk the whole machine self-destructing with you inside, or you push yourself too far and run yourself to death before you can even reach your destination! It's too much of a risk! I will not watch you disappear again Wally!" Barry insisted, finally silencing the stubborn teen. Wally would take any risk if it meant changing the past, saving his Team, and preventing this war, but the pain that shone in Barry's eyes when he talked about losing his nephew again was enough to silence him, for now.
"Wally, we're not giving up. We just need more time to find an alternative power source." Bart added, not wanting his cousin to feel that hope was lost.
Recognized: Robin B32, Aqualad B39, Tigress B07.
"We might not get that chance." Connor muttered as the Zeta tube announced his Team`s arrival. Artur and Damien, stepped into the Mission Room escorting a surprisingly compliant captive. The young heroes each had a tight grip on Tigress' arms, despite the secure binds on her wrists and ankles that vastly limited her chances of escape. The former heroine was still dressed in her familiar black and orange costume, though her mask had been removed, revealing the cold, merciless eyes of the assassin.
"Artemis…?" Wally's anger dissolved the moment he saw her, though, for everyone else in the room, Artemis' appearance seemed to have the opposite effect.
The slits in Batman's cowl narrowed menacingly at the young villainess, while Barry protectively shifted closer to his nephew and grandson, placing a cautious hand on Wally's shoulder to remind him not to interfere. Connor stepped closer to Tigress, prepared to jump in and restrain her if she tried anything against his Team. Lian wasn't so subtle. With one swift motion, Lian's bow was drawn, an arrow notched on the string, and her sights were set on the orange and black-clad villainess befor her.
"You! You killed my parents, you cold-hearted traitor!"
"Lian…"
"No!" The archer snapped back when Artur tried to calm her.
"She's the cause of all of this! It's her fault we lost Kaldur and M'Gaan! She killed my mom and dad! She let Nightwing and his brothers die! She's as heartless as the Joker and she deserves the same fate! If you didn't want me to shoot her, you shouldn't have captured her alive!" Lian hissed, glaring daggers at her aunt.
"Actually… we didn't." Artur corrected, glancing at the restrained villainess in his grasp.
"She surrendered."
Tigress ignored the fury and confusion in her niece's eyes and instead, sought out the vibrant green gaze of the young speedster. She didn't seem at all concerned that she was standing, restrained, amidst a group of vengeful vigilantes that wanted to see her punished for her betrayals. Instead, she focused on the young man she thought she had lost 20 years ago, still in awe that he was alive.
"I told you to keep your Team out of Gotham if you wanted them to live." She stated in an annoyed tone of voice.
"Atlantis wasn't any safer. M'Gaan and Kaldur… they died Artemis." Wally replied, allowing the pain and grief to shine in his eyes as he met her gaze. Wally was desperate to see that pain reflected back; just a small sign of remorse to prove that the Artemis he loved was still in there somewhere, but Artemis kept any and all emotion locked behind her unreadable expression.
"And now the rest of your Team is going to join them. Superman is on his way here. He knows about your plans to assassinate him, so he's going to strike you first." Tigress responded, her voice as cold and void as her eyes.
"How do you know this? How can we even trust you?" Lian hissed, still refusing to lower her bow.
"Because my father was the one who told Superman how to find you. He had his mercenaries follow the speedsters when they transported that machine of yours… whatever the hell it is. He'll do anything to spark a war between Batman and Superman. If the Heroes take each other out, the world falls to the rest of us. We can do whatever we want without consequence." Artemis explained, although Connor didn't look convinced.
"Then why are you warning us? You stand to gain from all of this. Why help us now?" The clone asked, dropping his stance as he let himself believe his former teammate.
Artemis was silent for a moment, waging some internal battle between her instincts and her morals. When she finally answered, her voice was soft and genuine, sounding more like the Artemis they had all known as kids, rather than the merciless assassin that she had become over the years. Even her eyes allowed a flicker of remorse to play across the stormy grey pools, betraying a part of Artemis that had been locked away for decades.
"Before Nightwing died, I made him a promise. I swore that I'd look after the Team and take care of his little brothers… I failed. Connor, Wally… you're the only two left, and in a matter of hours, you'll both be caught in the middle of a war you can't hope to survive. You need to get out, now! Leave before Superman gets here. It's the only chance you have of getting out of this alive."
"Any why should we trust you? You're a traitor! A murderer! You expect us to believe you're warning us out of the goodness of your heart? And then what? All would be forgiven? You should have known what would happen if I ever got you in my sights!" Lian hissed, angling her arrow straight for Artemis' head.
"Either you kill me, or my father does. Either way, my debt is paid. Just make sure you don't fail this Team the way I did. Get them out and keep them safe." Artemis instructed, ignoring Wally's failed attempts to reason with her niece.
With fury burning in her eyes, Lian's grip tightened on her bow. Her lip curled in a hiss of contempt and with a final shout of rage, she leased her arrow. The sharp head grazed Artemis' cheek, slicing a deep gash across the left side of her face before burying itself deep into the wall behind the villainess' head. As the blood slowly seeped from the wound, Artemis let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding.
"I thought you were going to kill me?" She asked, confused by her nieces sudden act of mercy.
"Don't tempt me. I still might." Lian hissed, lowering her bow and shifting closer to the rest of her Team. The entire rooms seemed to sigh in relief as the tension broke. Artur left Tigress in Damien's capable hands and strode to Lian's side, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The others fell into an anxious silence as Batman took in all of the information and turned to contemplate the Mission Computer screen.
"In light of this recent news, we must alter our plan of attack. Kid Flash is the only chance we have of changing the past and preventing this war, therefore, protecting Kid Flash is our priority. Flash, get to the time machine and make sure it's protected. Take whoever you need. Aquaman, gather the others and secure the base by whatever means necessary. Leave Superman to me." Batman ordered, sending Barry speeding out of the Mission Room pushing Bart's wheelchair, and King Orin disappearing to rally the others.
Damien handed his captive off to Connor and stepped forward, ignoring the steady ache of his lingering injuries as he awaited his own orders. Naturally, Lian and Artur fell into position behind him, leaving the clone and the speedster to supervise their former teammate.
Batman turned to address his son, but before his orders could be given, a loud rumble shook the walls of the base, announcing that their guests had already arrived. Batman pulled up the security footage on the Mission Computer, taking in the gravity of the situation. The sky was littered with those who could fly, the ground with those who couldn't; all following the lead of Superman.
"We are out of time. Superboy, you and your Team are responsible for getting Kid Flash to a secure location. Under NO circumstances are you to return here unless by my orders, is that understood?" Batman demanded, noting the uncertain glances shared between the young proteges.
"You expect us to just leave you here? Superman wants to stop you at all costs! You could be killed!" Connor objected, only to be silenced by the ferocity in Batman's glare.
"You have your orders. Follow them." The Dark Knight insisted, receiving a hesitant nod from the young heroes in the room and an obedient "Yes Father," from Damien.
Artemis pulled away from her former Team. Being restrained and mis-trusted, she would only slow them down. They needed to get Wally out before Superman's war claimed all of their lives, and destroyed any hope they had of changing the past. She diverted her eyes, not wanting to see the longing in Wally's expression as Connor pulled him from the room, followed closely by the others. It was only when they were alone that she finally spoke to Batman.
"It wasn't your fault, you know. He didn't blame you." She muttered, slowly raising her gaze to meet the white slits in Batman's cowl. She knew he would understand without any further explanation. After all, Artemis was the last person to speak to Dick before he died. Beaten and broken, lying in that cold, damp, blood-stained cell awaiting his execution, Dick made her promise:
"Look after the Team. Take Care of my brothers. And… look out for Bruce. This wasn't his fault… make sure he knows that."
Artemis had broken each of those promised so far, she didn't want to die without making good on the last one.
Batman bowed his head, savouring his son's last request and wishing he could fill it. But he knew it wasn't true. Dick may not have blamed him for his own death, but what about the events that followed? Jason and Tim? Killing the Joker? Abandoning Artemis? Dividing the League? Letting Dick's friends die one by one until there was hardly anyone left?
With a heavy sigh, Bruce shook his head, denying Artemis of her last chance to honour his son.
"I wish I could believe that."