This chapter contains:

Spoilers: Season 1 and 2

Random Lyrics from: Do or Die by Papa Roach

Pairings: Heavy spitfire, DaddyGreenArrow and small bits of Chalant

Important Extra Notes: The big kickass chapter is now here! I would like to give a big thank you to all of the reviewers along with the favorites and follows this has gotten. :) There are two chapters left after this one and then the main story will be finished. I am still debating on if I want to update 'bonus chapters' which would basically be drabbles/one-shots that take place in the verse of this story. Let me know what you guys think. Oh and I might be posting a spitfire no superpowers au after finishing this story up—you guys think you would want to read that or no?

This chapter is rated teen for pieces of improper language, heavy violence, graphic detail of injuries, hefty angst and one sentence of disturbing matter at the end of this chapter.


In response to the most recent Guest Reviewer for ch 7

I had an amazing answer for you five minutes ago and then my Microsoft Word stopped working and it got erased.

Completely.

So I am going to try this again and hopefully say all of the same things I had written down before . . . though I've already forgotten most of it so I apologize if this seems jumbled or not thought out correctly.

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed review and I believe I have (what I think) are some good reasons. Dick and Wally have been subjected to a lot of Aeron's episodes but the problem is that they are always different, always changing. Some would be worse than others so when he went into the worst they had ever seen with Artemis in the room—their minds went to getting her out of there instead of taking the common sense route of striking him when he was down and freeing themselves for good.

At the time, their minds were going "oh my God Artemis found us, we can get out of here and see family," instead of more rational thoughts.

As to why they got so close to everyone with the serum still in them; Dick and Wally were in a daze with seeing everyone they had missed after being so lonely for four years I mean Artemis had a kid that Wally had no idea existed until a few minutes before. They were not thinking straight, I was trying my best to put them into the shoes of two survivors that had just finally escaped something traumatic and how they would react (in this case, not wanting to be alone).

I really hope this sheds some light on things and please let me know if you have any further questions.

Also, ch 8 will not be the last chapter, this story still has two more to go! ;)

Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts about this chapter since you do not have an account! :)


today i saw my hero fall apart


"Ace!"

Artemis lunges for her son but is stopped by two batarangs flying by her face. She looks up and sees Dick flipping out of the way of Conner's fists, turning and whipping out a smoke pellet to engulf the room near him. She turns back around to see Ace backing up towards the wall behind him, a yellow figure darting around in circles near him.

"Artemis!" Oliver's voice is close to her but she coughs from the dusty smoke clogging her senses, eyes darting around as she tries to find his green suit in the mass of fighting and bodies.

Her fists clench at her sides as she hears a cry of pain from her left (that sounds eerily like M'gann's voice) and then a loud grunt from her right only to lash around and see Oliver's body flying backwards into the harsh ground.

She hurries over to his side and the feeling inside of her, the one where she feels naked and helpless, hits her in full strength as she grabs Oliver by the arm and helps him stand again. He glances at her through his domino mask and places a hand on her shoulder, his head tilting towards the quiver on his back.

"Grab it and go," she looks horrified at what he's proposing.

It was one thing for her to be without her weapons but it was an entirely different thing if she took Oliver's—rendering him helpless against any attacks sent his way. A shout from Zatanna echoed from the right as the grey smoke around them slowly started to dissipate, Oliver grabbing onto Artemis' shoulders to get her attention.

"Artemis listen to me!" His shout caused her insides to knot in fear because his tone wasn't as strong as it always was, she could hear the tremor in his letters and it freaking unnerved her because that met this situation was serious.

That this was serious and that Ace was right there in the middle of it all.

Oliver's sparkling eyes searched hers, hairline matted down by the sweat that was taking over his body from the pain he was hiding. "Listen to me sweetheart," he muttered, switching his voice over to that damn fatherly tone he used whenever Artemis would go to him for 'Wally's Acting Stupid Again Advice Sessions' back when the two had first started dating; "I need you to be strong. Wally and Dick, th—they aren't in their own minds right now and if you give a second of hesitation w-when you could've taken a shot they will kill you and everyone else in h-here."

She wasn't a stranger to the tiny stumble in his words, the constant twitch of the corner of his lips.

"You need to get Ace out o-of here and then y-you need the help the t-team take t-them d-do—down."

Artemis watched him flinch, though he tried to hide it, and as the smoke finally cleared out completely her eyes flickered down to where he was clutching at his side only to see the sight of blood dripping down his side and pink flesh through the gaps in his fingers. "Ollie—"

The man in question shook his head, one hand moving down to grab her arm punitively so that he would fall over from the agony overcoming him. "I-It's nothing s-s—sweetheart, your boyfriend j-just tried to vibrate his f-fist through m-my ribcage. I stopped him in time, I'll b-be okay."

Suddenly Ace's voice came from behind Artemis and she turned around to see a yellow blur running around him in the starting formation of a vortex and her heart fell, "Momma!"

She turned back around to Oliver who was watching the situation unfold before him with half lidded eyes, "G-Go sweetheart. Hit that b-bullseye right o-on the h-head."

"So breathe and then let the arrow do the rest of—"

Her fingers released the arrow without a second thought, the sharpened tip of the steel weapon launching itself perfectly into the wood bullseye before the two.

"—the work." Oliver finished, shaking his head and sighing.

Artemis rolled her eyes; making her way across the fallen hallowed trees and roots of the forest ground, throwing a snappy remark over her shoulder. "My whole family is full of hardened criminals that have been teaching me how to kill people from the day I was born, remember 'Uncle'?" she stated dully, making it to the red bullseye and jerking the arrow from the dead wood.

Oliver crossed his arms as he watched the young girl stomp back over to where he was standing, eyes full of poorly hidden resentment.

"Your past doesn't define you Artemis." She scoffed, lining her feet up with the burnt branch that served as a line marker for the distance he had wanted her to shoot at.

"I'm pretty sure mine does I mean, just think of what would happen if the team found out. If Wally found out," she muttered, loading the arrow into the pulled string of her bow.

Oliver chuckled, "Yeah I'm sure hell would be put to shame if that annoying speedster you hate oh so much found out." She didn't say anything and Oliver saw the shaking of the arrow. "Sweetheart," he tried but she didn't waste time in cutting the man off before he could finish.

"Don't use that damn pity tone on me Ollie!" Artemis snapped, arrow slipping from her hold and falling to the wooded ground.

He took a step forwards and placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "You aren't your family Artemis. We are all destined to be different from everyone else in the world and your roots do not ever force you into being something you're not. I mean look at you now. You're a superhero and you're on a team that cares about you and you have a guy who really, really cares about you. You aren't ever going to become your family, alright? Not if I have anything to say about it sweetheart. Now pick up that damn arrow and hit that bullseye right on the head."

The next thing she knew her hands were moving without permission as she grabbed the bow from the ground in front of him and unwrapped the quiver's strap from around his chest, being mindful of the wound as she slung it over her back. Next she helped him over to the wall in front of him, his body sliding down the wall and hitting the floor with a thump.

He sent her a final reassuring smile and she turned around; quickly grabbing an arrow and loading it into the bowstring.

She watched the speeding blur that was Wally carefully as the vortex around Ace grew, the tip of the arrow shaking slightly because of how tightly her fingers were holding onto the pearly white string. Her eyes followed Wally deliberately until she saw Ace's fearful eyes in the blurry background.

"Momma! Help me!"

Without any second thought of how much pain she could be putting Wally in her digits released the arrow and it flew into the vortex, hitting it's mark with a sudden rush of speed and roar of pain. The vortex halted in place, rushing air dying down as she run towards Ace and picked him up; hugging him tightly against her form. Her hair brushed against his cheek as she sighed happily, heart hammering as she tried to ignore the constant sounds of her boyfriend in pain behind her.

She pulled back slightly from Ace, looking at his watery eyes and her thumb lifting up to stroke the tear trail off one of his cheeks. "Oh baby, are you okay?"

Ace nodded and she could feel him trembling against her body, "I'm scared Momma, what's going on?"

She shushed him, running her fingers through his curly locks. "I need you to run baby, I need you to run somewhere safe alright? Run faster than you ever have in your entire life." She whispered, crouching down and letting go of her son so his feet hit the floor but his little hands held on tightly to the material of her shirt.

"Momma—"

"Wallace," it stung, saying that word out loud—she hadn't called him that since the day he was born, "run baby, run."

That's when she turned and pushed him towards the direction where the cave's rooms were, her eyes watching him carefully as he backed up a few steps before turning and running towards the dorms; mind racing.

He needed to tell Mister Jason, he needed help.

He needed to save his momma.

Artemis watched her son until she was sure she heard the sound of one of the room's doors click shut and then she whipped around, seeing Wally finally throwing his body into a standing position as he yanked the arrow out of his shoulder with a wince. Blood dripped down the slim material of his suit, glistening in the light of the cave as explosions and yells increased around them.

It scared Artemis how unhuman his orbs looked, decorated with malice and a blank mind. She prepped another arrow, loading it into the string of the bow and aiming. Her mind screamed at itself, over and over again—reminding herself that it wasn't Wally before her, it was Aeron controlling him and Aeron trying to kill them all and to stop Aeron she needed to stop Wally.

"Babe," she called, voice shaking as his chest heaved up and down in anger, "babe please wake up. Come back to me Baywatch, please don't make me hurt you!"

The man before her just stared, fingers vibrating softly and shoulders quivering as Aeron pushed his body to the max limits it could go. Then his mouth opened and out came a voice that was his but not his at all. "He's gone Artemis. It's just you and me now."

An arrow flew and a zap of air followed.


the one who taught me to be strong


Meanwhile, everyone else was trying to fight against Dick and they were learning through the hard way of getting bumps and bruises that it was never smart to go up against a protégée of the Batman. "Robin! How do we stop him?" Conner questioned, dodging what would've been an escrima stick to the throat. Tim glanced at Barbara who seemed to be just as lost.

Dick never got as close to them as he did when Jason was around. Him and Jason, they were inseparable—even though Jason always talked about how much he hated him, he wasn't fooling anyone with his words.

Then when they lost Jason, Dick got distant. He didn't really talk to Tim and even Alfred's cooking didn't cheer him up. After they lost Jason Dick had tended to train by himself which wasn't helping now because all of his moves were unpredictable and far too violent to be stopped before they landed.

Dick flipped out of the way of Bart whooshing past him, turning just in time to press an explosive device to the back of his suit but as Bart skidded to a stop and Jamie moved towards him it was too late and the explosive went off, throwing the young speedster into the far wall. Kaldur turned towards M'gann and Gar, "Go and help Blue Beetle get Impulse to safety!"

They both didn't waste a second in obeying, Gar turning into a lion and M'gann turning invisible as they hurried over to where Jamie stood, lifting up an unconscious Bart from the ground.

Kaldur brought down his water whips so an ocean of water slammed into Dick, meeting the eyes of Barbara and Tim. "We need his attention to stay on us so they can get Impulse out of here!"

Tim narrowed his eyes as he brought out three batarangs and one smoke pellet from his belt, "On it!"

Before either could protest he was running towards the swell of water, finding Dick's slowly standing up form and throwing a smoke bomb forward. It detonated with a hiss, Dick coughing as he inhaled a good amount of it before turning around to find Tim's foot colliding with his gut. He recoiled as Tim threw the batarangs, each hitting Dick's suit and leaving torn bloody spots in their wake, before leaving the explosive in front of him and back flipping back to where Barbara stood watching.

A loud triple beep was heard before a blast rocked the room, the only sounds there was the repetitive motion of arrows flying through the air and Wally trying to get the speedster upper hand on Artemis.

Out of the corner of Kaldur's eye he saw the three carrying Bart through the infirmary doors—the four disappearing to safety. Conner, Zatanna, Kaldur, Cassie and Tim watched the dense black cloud of smoke from the explosion worriedly while La'gaan cheered with a raise of his fists next to Barbara. "We d—"

The sound of a cracking as a Dick unexpectedly leaped from the shadows and knocked him in the shoulder with one of his sticks was too fast to be stopped and then the only thing after that was La'gaan withering in pain on the floor, one hand clutching his bad shoulder excruciatingly.

Cassie looked to Tim with a perplexed expression on her features, "Did he just—"

"—break La'gaan's shoulder in two places? Yeah, I think so."

Conner looked shocked and that was saying a lot from the clone as they watched him run towards Dick as the two engaged in a fist fight of dodging while Barbara and Tim rushed to La'gaan's side. They lifted him up carefully by the shoulders, Cassie offering her arm so she could switch out with Tim. Kaldur looked to both of the girls before they left with a curt nod, "Get him to the infirmary with M'gann and then stay in there. I can't risk any more of this team getting hurt."

They both looked like they wanted to interject but Tim stepped in, care laced behind the white slits of his mask. "Batgirl, we both know full well what Dick's capable of. Bats taught him and Jay each bone in the body and how to break them. You both need to get to safety. Please."

They didn't argue as they started hauling La'gaan towards the infirmary—leaving Kaldur, Tim and Zatanna destitute to watch the fight between Conner and Dick.

"Snap out of it Nightwing!" Conner speedily boomed and then was cut short as Dick threw a crazy amount of batarangs his way, trapping him against a far wall.

"Shit," Zatanna breathed at the sight, as Dick threw three explosives Conner's way.

"No!" Tim shouted, but it was too late as detonations rattled the cave once again, Conner getting knocked out cold in the process and once the smoke cleared the three could see his head hanging limp and they couldn't help but pray to whoever was above in hopes that he was still breathing.

Then Tim was running in a blind rage towards Dick, who knocked him out easily with a near perfect hit to the back of the neck by use of his escrima sticks.

Kaldur and Zatanna looked at each other and the former seemed to know what she was thinking because he shook his head with a heavy heart, "Zatanna, no. We do not know how this control works and by the looks of it, that man behind this isn't releasing his hold until all of us are gone."

She looked at Kaldur with hardened eyes, "I have to try."

And with that she was running towards him and holding up her hands in surrender.


on the outside i look fine


Ace bit his bottom lip nervously as he waited for Jason to show up, the red tee-shirt he had found in Dick's old closet sitting on the bed like a stale checkmate. The little boy had hope that he was going to show up, he had made a promise and Ace knew from his mom that you never broke a promise. Plus he did hold true to his other promise about bringing his dad and uncle back and they were even better people than Ace had thought they would be.

They were amazing and they were caring and the little boy absolutely loved the hugs that Wally would crush him in—they were so heartfelt and full of love that it was like warmth flowing through his entire body.

"Kid?" Ace blinked and saw Jason standing cautiously at the other end of the room, one had resting on one of his side pistols. "You alright kid? What's wrong?" The little boy felt his body freeze in happiness or relief, he didn't know but Jason was there. He kept his promise and that was all that mattered.

Jason took a step forward, finger drumming on the cool copper of the pistol, as it seemed to calm him down in grave circumstances.

Then without warning Ace ran towards Jason and wrapped his arms around his hips, the older crouching down so the younger boy could bury his face into his hooded shoulder. He tentatively patted Ace on the back, feeling his shoulder grow damp from the tears behind left there. Jason had trouble swallowing the newly found lump in his throat. "K-Kid?" It came out weaker than he intended it to, his voice throaty with emotion.

Ace sniffled, "T-The b-bad man h-h-h—he has m-my daddy and U-Uncle Dick a—a—and they're attacking M-Momma and e-everyone else!" Jason was glad he was wearing a mask because from how fast his face changed (from sadness, to understanding and then to anger) probably could've set a record. Ace hiccupped and it brought Jason out of his ire-filled stupor, the man pulling back a little so his mask was even with Ace's reddened face.

"Alright, alright kiddo. Chill out, it's all gonna be alright. I promise I'm gonna make this better, everything is gonna be alright."

Stop crying bro, it's just a broken arm. You'll be fine, suck it up. What would you be telling me?

More salty tears leaked from Ace's eyes and Jason raised a gloved hand to sensibly wipe the damn things off. If there was one thing he hated more than anything else in this life of his, it was people crying.

Jay don't go after him, you will wait until Batman gets there to help you. Don't ignore—Jason!

"W-What if D-Daddy hurts M-Momma and then s-she leaves like Grandpa Barry and doesn't come back? I don't want to lose my momma Jay." Ace muttered fearfully and Jason saw a younger version of himself, beaten and broken, at the Joker's mercy all because he hadn't listened to Dick. All because he didn't wait for backup from Bruce.

Jason shushed the boy, rubbing his arms. "Listen to me kid, I'm gonna make everything okay. I promise you, I fucking promise you I will save them alright? Now I just need you to stay here so that you're safe while I go save your family alright?"

So maybe he shouldn't have cursed in front of a little kid but he wanted Ace to know he met it and it seemed like he understood.

"O-Okay."

Jay what's happening out th—why are, wait—lift your head Jay so I can see through the mask camera.

Jason gently removed Ace's grip from around his waist, lifting him up and moving him over to the bed. He set him down and moved the freshly made blanket so it covered him up to his scrawny shoulders, making sure the pillow was fluffed behind his head. Ace wiped at his nose as Jason reached into the red pocket of his hood and pulled out a rusty, old screwdriver.

Holy shit is that the Joker? No . . . no. No don't you close your eyes on me Jason. I'm coming to get you.

"This is really stupid but this damned thing, it makes me feel safe. I want you to hold onto it until I come back and tell you it's safe alright? Can you keep an eye on that for me kid?" Ace nodded and Jason passed the tool over, smiling though the contraction of his lips couldn't be seen. "I'll be right back kid alright? Stay here."

You're doing great Jay, just keep your eyes open bro I'm coming. I'll be there in five minutes just hold on.

Jason moved towards the door and took a deep breath, hands fumbling near the hostlers located at his hips before moving towards the knob. Since his last meeting with Ace he had studied up on the man that had done all of these things to Dick and Wally; working all hours of the night in finding a way to stop it and he had found a way to stop it.

To stop it once and for all and to keep Ace safe.

It had to be done.

Don't give up on me Jason. Don't you freaking give up.

That was when the static had kicked in—when the Joker had started disconnecting his suit trackers and communicators. That's when Jason had heard his final words from his brother before 'dying' months' later after unstoppable and unbearable torture.

Don't you dare—I'll kick your—ass when you—hold—Jason! Don't you leave me you little troll—

The memory is clear as day in Jason's ears, the muffled static had cut off Dick's voice before he had fainted. Without any more thought, Jason turned the doorknob and left the room; shutting and making sure it was locked afterwards.

Then he ran towards the main room of the cave hideout.


but on the inside i am dying


"Wally! Listen to me you mindless idiot!" Artemis' screech fell on deaf ears as Zatanna tried to do the same thing with Dick—both meeting horrid dead ends. The three were backed in a corner as Dick and Wally moved closer to them, Oliver passed out in a pool of his own blood a few feet away.

Kaldur looked to Artemis, "We cannot stop them! We are all but trapped!"

Zatanna attempted to lift her arms and say a spell but was stopped by a batarang clipping her thumb, a trail of blood starting to flow down her arm. She gasped from the shock and looked up only to meet the dead eyes of her lover's. A rage burned inside of her for the man who was controlling them; a rage that would only cease when he was dead.

Artemis loaded another arrow and lined it up with the brawl of Wally's vibrating chest, tip following his forever moving logo.

But then a thought struck her and she lowered her bow as the two slowly advanced towards them. She turned her head to meet the eyes of Zatanna who understood completely, Kaldur knowing that the two were up to something but not entirely sure of what it was. Without any warning Artemis pulled two arrows from her quiver and tossed one to Zatanna—both flipping the arrows around and pressing the refined tips against their necks, well enough to draw blood. Artemis gulped before speaking, keeping her voice as sturdy as possible.

"I know you guys are in there!"

She could see Dick's hands shaking as they froze at the hem of his belt, Wally's googles moving far too fast on their own to still be stationed so correctly on the top of his head.

Hesitation flashes between their eyes.

Zatanna closes her eyes for a second, reopening them and hating the way the steel of the arrow feels against her throat. "He doesn't have control over you! You can win."

Then there's a whish of air and the arrows aren't in their hands anymore but are instead falling from Wally's hands and hitting the ground with a loud clatter. Artemis and Zatanna see Wally breathing heavily and when he looks to his girlfriend it's enough to know that he was able to break out of Aeron's control. He wheezes, feeling the pain from his shoulder hit him in a powerful wave and the tears flutter to the front of Artemis' eyesight.

His eyes lock with hers carefully, "Baywatch?" She questions, Wally looking around wild as he tries to connect what he had done and the dots of blood on their necks isn't reassuring.

"A-Artemis?"

And Dick's hands abruptly swipe upwards as the domino mask falls to the ground and he smiles when he sees Zatanna before him, rubbing at his irate irises. Kaldur watches the two suspiciously, feeling as if Aeron wouldn't be one to release his hold so easily.

But just as everything seems to be okay—a scream rips from Wally's throat and Dick shouts out in pain.


my strength is overcome by pain


Dick can feel hands around his throat and a part of him thinks it's his own but there's too much pain flowing through his body and his mind is too clouded to put two and two together. He can hear Artemis and Zatanna shouting from somewhere far away, it actually sounds as if they are deep underwater, and he feels the air slowly stop entering his lungs and gags at the thought of his own demise which only makes trying to survive harder.

He turns his head slightly, taking in the sight of the one-sided battle around him.

Wally is holding off everyone at once, zooming this way and that to stop them from gaining any ground to where Dick's convulsing body lays. A part of his mind can faintly put together the thought that Aeron is slowing his death so he can see the show before him.

Wally precipitously freezes and Zatanna goes to say a spell but is stopped by Kaldur who shouts at her because now the nose of a fat pistol is pressed against Wally's cranium. Dick's heart stops and he coughs, feeling something tickle the back of his throat.

He doesn't want to know if it's blood or not.

Dick nearly curses himself for not thinking clearly enough to remove the guns Aeron had strapped to their suits as soon as they cold ("In case you choose not to obey," he had snarled one time after a bad punishment as he shoved the addition to their suits on tightly) a while back.

They had both hated he feel of a gun on their hip, it was too heavy and it felt like it weighed Dick down when he jumped and slowed Wally down when he ran.

"Don't move or I'll shoot!" Dick knew Wally struggled to spit out the letters, each one trembled and held fear that was clearly heard by Artemis who was the first to raise his hands in surrender. It wasn't him actually saying it of course and Dick knew Wally never would've said any of those words in his lifetime otherwise.

The seconds prick away at everyone in the room as Dick can only watch and then suddenly the pressure is harsh around his neck again and he instantly sees black spots swim in front of his vision. He barely has time to allow his lids to slide shut when someone attempts to tear his hands away from his throat and Dick snaps his eyes open just in time to hear the unknown man speak.

"Get the fuck out of his head!"

The man is successful in shocking Aeron enough to allow his grip to weaken on both of the boys and the three other people in the room don't waste time in taking action as the masked man grabs his two hip pistols and fires one, the bullet hitting the gun in Wally's hand and skidding across the floor. He turns back to Dick after holstering one and holds out his empty hand, which Dick takes gratefully as he stands up. His brain is congested, memories vague and unaware.

He looks the man in the mask, mystified almost by the shiny red color staring back at him. "Thanks," he answers and he can hear Artemis running towards them which the man in the red mask glances at shortly before turning his attention back to Dick.

"Can't have you dying on me Dickie, you've already lost one brother. Can't lose yourself too."

Dick feels Aeron's hold come back to him and he can see Wally vibrating from his spot out of the corner of his eye as they start to lose themselves again. The masked man seems to know what is happening and holds both of his pistols up again, aiming one at each mind controlled man. He stares at Dick for a second, the screams of the team behind him nonexistent to his ears.

"Get out of this Dickie, save yourself. Save your damn self and don't do anything else stupid or God help me I will hunt your ass down and kill you for sure." He fires and then lifts a red hood over his mask and grapples away, the team too in shock to chase after him.

Dick's half-awake mind can only hold onto the fact that two people in his life have called him by that nickname and one was dead.

But someone just saved him and the deepened voice sounded eerily familiar.

His thoughts are filled with Wally and Jason as he drifts off to sleep.


my love for you remains the same


Wally's head is stuck in a steady beat of pounding when he comes to, his joints screaming out in protest as his heart wallops wildly at the overwhelming feeling of agony consuming him. The sound of fast beeping in the background only causes his headache to grow worse and a new aching from his right shoulder suddenly make's it's presence known with a stab of white hot pain shooting down his arm.

He bites his lip so that he doesn't scream but a quiet whimper sneaks past anyway, echoing into the room. Something touches his left cheek, it's warm and soft, which forces Wally's eyes to snap open.

The first thing he notices is that he's in the cave's infirmary, in a quiet room with a sour smell of disinfectant assailing his nose and dimmed lights. The next thing he realizes is that Artemis is leaning over him, her thumb softly rubbing at his cheek. "It's alright babe, just try to relax. Your body is still trying to recover."

Wally grimaces at another jabbing feeling towards his ribcage, his girlfriend's fingers trailing over every inch of his face as if telling herself that she wasn't in a dream and that he was really there in front of her. He exhales and looks down at the feeling of something in his nose only to see a small pipe blowing oxygen into his system. Wally's eyes travel downwards; the blue flimsy hospital gown open at his chest to show multiple stickers and white gauze highlighting his torso along with a now cold to the touch lustrous white blanket bundled haphazardly around his bottom half.

He groans lowly before his eyes find Artemis' again and that's when he notices that she is seated in a green chair that is pulled up to the side of his bed, hands no longer at his face and now instead interlacing with his. Wally does everything in his power to ignore the IV sticking out of the crook of his elbow (he had started to hate needles and any type of thing involving hospitals with a fiery passion).

Besides the dissimilar types of pain alternating through his body at different times, every other part of his body seemed to be up to par and the beeping of the heart monitor was stable once again.

"How are you feeling?" Artemis whispered, one hand unlatching from his to swipe through the sweaty locks of hair that hung low in front of his eyes. She made a mental note to schedule a haircut for the both of them after he was fully recovered. Wally squeezed her hand, trying to smile but only able to keep the look there for a spilt second before it was wiped away because of another surge of soreness gushing through him.

"L-Like shit. Everythin' . . . i-it . . . 'tuff—s'hurts."

It came out more dismembered than he had wanted the sentence to turn out, words falling over one another and tone slowed. Neither were deaf to the heavy exhales he had to take after each word, the long gulp of oxygen he tried to bring into his lungs after finishing talking.

What Dinah had told her about all of Wally's injuries came back to her in a swift motion; the biggest thing being that since he had accelerated healing it was helping him yet harming him in the process. The biggest injury he had sustained had actually happened in his lungs and as his sped up healing rushed to fixed it, the rate at which his cells were regenerating was too fast for the rest of his body to keep up with which ultimately was causing trouble with Wally's breathing. Dinah had told her that he would be out of breath more easily and for a while, until his cells fixed themselves, he would have to be careful with talking too fast.

If he amped himself up or something like that, the fragile bit of oxygen actually getting into his lungs could collapse he wouldn't be able to breathe.

Artemis smiled lightly at his answer, "Your accelerated healing is working overtime right now so some of your cells are going haywire. Plus they stopped the painkillers and morphine a few hours ago because you just burned right through it in record time. Things are gonna hurt for a while Wally."

He nodded, mind working hard to try and piece together why he was there. It came back to him in a rushed thought—Aeron, mental, not in control, blood, hurt, visions, family, Artemis, Dick, Zatanna, parents, Barry, Ace—then his mind backtracked and he looked to Artemis but she wasn't blind to the guilt now present in his eyes.

A stirring in her stomach told her he remembered inflicting everything to the team.

"A-Ace? I-It—i-is he, s'okay?" Wally questioned franticly, already trying to sit up in bed.

She pushed him back moderately, stopping him from jostling any of his wounds any more than he already had. "He's perfectly fine Baywatch, stop worrying. He's watching Zoom with Jamie and Gar in the living room." Wally's shoulders relaxed and she saw his mouth start to move again but she stopped him before he could speak. "Dick's alright too, he's stuck in bed in the room right next to yours. Zatanna is in there with him, explaining the same things I'm going to explain to you."

A confused look crossed his face as his grip on her hand tightened considerably. "A-Artemis?" He questioned incompletely, not understanding what she meant. She sighed quietly, looking down at her hands for a minute to fully collect her thoughts before looking up at Wally again.

"Do you," she bit her tongue, trying to order her words in the most careful way he could comprehend them, "remember anything Wally?" His eyes went a shade darker, like the color of a dried out forest and she knew he remembered. A part of her almost wished he didn't.

"Yeah," he retorted weakly, "re—remember . . . everythin'."

There was a lot to be explained to him, she knew—she also needed to find out when his memory stopped, where the blank spots started. There was sure to be a lot. "Alright babe, what's the last thing you remember? I know it's painful and I know you don't want to remember but you have to try alright?"

He looked away from her then, eyes closing as he searched for the last thing imprinted in his memory. Artemis counted the seconds that ticked by almost painfully and from her calculations it was a good five minutes and twenty three seconds before his eyes opened again. His hand shook almost unnoticeably in her hold but she solely lifted it mildly to her lips and kissed it. Wally was barely able to tilt his head her way and flash her one of his winning grins before gaining a pained expression again, irises locking on the wires trailing down his chest.

"I . . . 'member explosions. P-Pain, lotta—it. S-Smoke and a-a—arrows. Then hearin' . . . hearing y-you . . . talk—b-breakin' out of his . . . control. B-Blackness . . . after . . . gun—gunshot." He went silent when a sudden foggy memory struck him, mouth slamming shut and body screaming like as if he was going through the same thing again.

It was loud.

The crack of a gunshot.

Loud enough to shatter your eardrums and shake up your insides until they turned to blended mush.

All Wally remember was falling to the ground and a headache form in his brain at the feel of Aeron's control slipping out from inside him. Everything around him was blurry and he remembered falling to the ground, hands clutching over someplace—slipping and sliding, not able to keep a hold on the spot in which the blood was leaking from.

He passed out screaming, hands groping over his cheeks and muffled voices shouting at him from far away.

"Wally?" One second he was talking and then the next he was dead silent, body shaking in place and hand not moving in her hold. Artemis released his hand and stood up, sitting on the corner of the bed so that she could get as close to him as possible without messing up his IV. She braced two hands on his shoulders, not liking the sound of the heart monitor speeding up next to him and the sound of ragged breathing from him, himself. "Wally."

He screamed.

He screamed until his throat run raw—he screamed while hands prodded at his body warped by pain, screamed as the doctors restrained his wrists and ankles to stop from thrashing around so much, screamed as someone kept pace at his side when they started pulling the bullet from his skin after barging through the infirmary doors.

His body vibrated uncontrollable and the tears left his eyes at such a sloppy rate Artemis thought she was going to break to pieces while standing at his side.

"Fuck, Artemis," he muttered, hand struggling against the restraint holding it down as he looked for her; looked for any part of her to hold onto. A gasp ripped his insides apart when a needle started threading into his skin, something else burning his ribs. "Artemis," he whimpered, suddenly reduced to a cowering little kid within a matter of seconds.

Artemis moved as close as she could to him; gripping his hand, running her hands over his sweaty mounds of hair, listening to the doctors buzzing around him in the background for anything important and wanting to kiss him so badly. "God," he wheezed, "babe—baby where, w-where are you?"

She held in a sob when a loud shriek left him, his whole body arching upwards at the pain.

"Please, please make it s-stop!" He yelled, her heart breaking in the process as she run her digits down his cheeks as carefully as she could.

"Baby I can't. I'm so sorry but I can't, you have to get through this for me okay? You can get through his Baywatch."

Then something was pressed into his shoulder on the side opposite Artemis and he shouted again, voice lowering to a undertone as he turned his head to where he thought hers was but didn't actually know since his eyes were squeezed so tightly shut. "Save m-me babe, ma—make it stop Artemis please! Please I'll do anything!"

"I'm so sorry Wally. I'm so, so sorry." She murmured quietly, watching his face.

And she sat there throughout the entire procedure, holding his hand and listening to all of the agony he went through because he couldn't have any meds to numb it—because his body was on overdrive and would burn through it like wildfire.

She sat there and listened to every pleading word, his every whimper, his every gasp.

She sat through it all and hoped she was still sane by the end.

He was snapped from the nightmarish vision when lips pressed against his suddenly and then pulled away as he inhaled loudly, belligerent to bring more air into his lungs. Artemis left her hands on his shoulders, watching him prudently as she waited for him to calm down—for the beeping in the background to lower to a stable drone again.

It took around ten minutes for that to happen but she sat with him through it all, her stomach rolling with the sad thought that she believed she knew just exactly what he was freaking out about and when his eyes finally locked with his he was able to utter a single word.

One word that made her understand fully. "S-Sorry."

She chuckled, actually chuckled, and then her fingers found his hair again.

The bleeping in the background was serene once again.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Baywatch . . . I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. You got shot, babe and they rushed you into emergency surgery for that and the brainwashing thing. Oliver was able to make an code red call to the Justice League and half of them came back with a team of top of the line, sworn to secrecy for all of our civilian identities, doctors while the other half used satellites to locate where Aeron was. They were able to subdue him and he is already locked up in that new high tech jail, the one where my dad is, down in Ohio. He's in a padded room with no way out so we are all safe, you're safe."

Wally nodded and made an attempt at cracking a joke before letting Artemis continue, "I-I'll have . . . t-to . . . thank g-g—good old O-Ollie . . . once I . . . 'et outta here." His speech was starting to improve but his ability to breathe had seemed to backtrack as bigger gulps were now taken in-between each of his letters.

She figured that fact was caused by the episode from a few minutes earlier.

Artemis leaned forward to press a nimble kiss to his forehead, smiling. The tone of the room was set when Artemis' face rapidly turned downcast again, eyes holding an empty sadness within.

"They did one surgery after another on you, a double, because of your healing. If they didn't act fast enough nothing was going to heal correctly and your skin would be mauled and never right again. It could've caused life-long problems if they didn't remove it right away. But in return, your body was so worked up that they couldn't give you anything for the pain. Your body would've burned right freaking through it Wally, so you were awake through everything. But I was by your side with it all . . . you passed out fifteen minutes into the second surgery."

She didn't speak of the horrendous graphic he had just had and he was internally grateful that small fact. He relished in it, "Y-You didn't . . . 'ave to."

Artemis rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I think you will forever be stubborn as hell," she muttered and he smirked, "so the first surgery was just removing the bullet from your side and it was challenging because the bullet had really grazed your lungs. But the doctors got it out and the only thing left over from that is the trouble you have breathing now and the pain from it. The second surgery was removing the blood cells infected with the serum and was a little more problematic but they did it Wally. They got it out. All they had to do was track down and remove the host cells and without the other cells having anything to relate to the rest died out."

Wally laughed, though it threw him into a coughing fit, he laughed happily and reached a hand out to cup his girlfriend's cheek.

"Shit—t-that's g-great A-Art . . . so . . . what t-the hell . . . else is w-wrong—w-with m-me?"

Artemis covered his hand with her own, sighing loudly. "There's a lot Baywatch. You won't be able to do anything by yourself for a few months, which means you're going to have to let me help you out. No walking, no eating anything crazy and no running—not even showering."

She could see his brow crunch and almost see the gears turning in his head like they were right there in front of her, narrowing her eyes as she knew a dirty thought was coming to her boyfriend's mind. She didn't allow him to say anything, ongoing with her list of his injuries.

"You are recovering from a bullet hole in the right side of your chest, low down by the bottom of your ribcage—there are five dissolvable stiches there. I had to shoot an arrow into your right shoulder," he winced at the vivid reminiscence that plagued him, hating that Aeron would've made him hurt his own son if Artemis hadn't stopped him, "but it was clean enough to not cause any real problems. Straight through, you only needed ten stiches. You should have a badass looking hole-like scar once it heals. The right side of your ribcage is severely bruised, lungs damaged but in healing. You'll have a killer headache from the after effect of having the serum removed for a few weeks, five at max according to Black Canary, and your throat might be sore for a few days from being used raw."

Wally took it all in at once, breathing out slowly. His eyes darted back and forth in his sockets and Artemis knew what he was going to ask next. About how everyone else was doing. She decided to start light—to start with telling him about Dick, Zatanna and herself.

"Babe," he croaked, eyes glassing over; "w-what 'bout . . . everyone e-else—I 'member B-Bart . . . hurt?"

Their hands fell from her cheek and she unknowingly started tapping the beat to a song (Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson, Glee version) on the muscle of his arm as she spoke.

"Everyone is either fine or recovering. You and Dick took the brunt of everything, trust me. Dick is recovering from terrible bruising all over his lower abdomen and torso from Kaldur having no choice but to slam a literal wall of water into him. His stomach is slightly messed up from the water inhaled along with his lungs acting funky from the smoke gulped. No cheeseburgers for either of you for a while of course. Multiple severe burns from the explosive used on him from Robin are all over his upper chest, along with a lot of cuts all over. The bullet that was shot at him hit him point blank in the right side of his upper chest but he's recuperating great. Finally he also will have headaches for a while too and Zatanna is gonna help him out. I told her she could stay with us for a while to take care of him."

"G-Good idea . . . b-babe, better hope . . . there isn't . . . a line f-for the . . . toilet or else—I-I'll k-kick . . . Dick's ass."

Artemis scoffed, fingers still tapping an endless beat on his bicep, "In your dreams babe, you trying to fight in this state of yours wouldn't not end well." She paused for a second, letting him laugh before talking again. "Zatanna and I have some minor bruising on our necks from the arrows but Dick's probably gonna get his ass kicked anyway because he cut off like a small little piece of skin from one of Zatanna's fingers with a batarang. It's tiny but she was pissed about it the last time I talked to her so who knows."

She could tell he was only have listening but it wasn't his fault, she knew he was concerned about what had happened to Bart and everyone else. She knew he hated to be involved with this mess of things.

"H-How's Bart doin'?" He whispered, hiding a groan from moving his back slightly with speaking.

"Listen, no one blames you guys for what happened. Everyone knows—"

"Artemis. Please." He cut her off starkly, apology scribbled on his face afterwards.


the loneliness is setting in


Artemis didn't want to tell Wally about what had happened to Bart, about how serious it was, about how guilty Dick would feel once Zatanna told him the same thing. Wally wasn't the one who put the explosive on his back (hell Dick wasn't even the one who did that, it was Aeron) but she knew he would feel just as guilty as Dick; if not probably worse.

So she decided to save that certain news for last and go through the rest of the team first.

"You tried to vibrate your fist through the left side of Ollie's ribcage— he lost a lot of blood and will be out of commission for a while, maybe a year, but he will be okay so do not blame yourself or else I will kill you." Wally didn't make a move to comment and Artemis didn't like it. "M'gann has a nasty gash on her shoulder that needed three stiches, Conner was beat up with cuts and burns, Dick broke La'gaan's shoulder in two different places but he had surgery and will be okay, Tim has a nasty looking laceration with some bruising on the back of his neck from Dick hitting him really hard with one of his escrima sticks and Bart . . . "

Wally's eyes could barely meet his girlfriends and it felt like the world was falling away when she spoke the pure truth about what had happened to him. Afterwards Wally couldn't help it and he really tried but he couldn't, he fucking couldn't because his little bro was hurting because of them. Because of them and what they had done to him.

So he let the sobs leave his body in unkempt shouts, beating his fists against his forehead and cheeks turning beat red. Artemis said nothing as she climbed into bed next to him, curling up against his bulky frame and resting her head on the scuffle of his chest; arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

He leaned his head down and cried into her hair but she didn't mind because his arms snaked around her to hold her close and to take pleasure in the fact that Artemis was there for him. That his rock was sitting right there next to him and holding onto him tightly.

After twenty minutes his cries had stopped and quiet hiccups had been moved in its place. She ran her hand up and down his chest in a soothing motion, shushing him.

"He could be completely fine Wally but we won't know for sure until he's well enough to try and walk which will be in a few months like you. He could be okay." It seemed like the world had made a full turn before Wally found it inside himself to answer, to speak so softly that Artemis had to strain her ears to hear him.

"Or he could n-never be . . . o-okay. Artemis . . . he could e-end up paralyzed for life. All because of m-me."


i have no one to free my sins


Raphael was not a loser.

At certain times in his life he lost things, important things, but that did not mean he was a loser.

Raphael Peirce Hyades was not ever destined to be a no body.

His father was a deadbeat and his mother died at childbirth so he had a hard upbringing; picking rotten apple cores from the trash, drinking tart water from the well down the street, pickpocketing fancy gold coins from wealthy strangers who happened to pass by, stealing sweaters from stores to keep warm and competing dirty deals from one of his 'friends' so that he could have a roof over his head some nights when it was pouring buckets of rain or blankets of snow.

After living through something so horrid, he was damn sure to make sure that when he found his true love and started a family—that they wouldn't go through the same thing he had to do. He would do his best to stay fit and healthy, try his hardest to make sure any children his wife and him had their mouths full of steaming hot turkey and smooth gravy.

He did it though.

He did it all; found a wife and had a little baby boy. Then his wife got pregnant with a second kid, a little active baby girl, and he believed their lives would be a happy ending once she had her.

But that never happened because of Aeron and because of the fire.

And now his son was locked up and his tormenters free.


it's hard for me to see you this way


He didn't agree with what his son did. Of what all he did to all of those people (every single damn spot where the different bodies had been buried were burned in his memory, he could point the places out blindfolded even with the sickening amount of people he went through).

In fact, he had stopped visiting his son when Aeron had injected the two men with the ugly thing he called 'a cure'.

That was his breaking point, that's when he couldn't take being a part of any of it anymore. But now, as the story mocked him from every news channel in the country, his son was gone. Aeron had always been a strange boy (and a part of his thinks that is why he had wanted that little girl so badly, wanted her to live through life so badly) but four years of unspeakable illegal things?

But his son was gone!

How could that not drive somebody crazy?

Aeron was his irrational home, his light in the darkness and those two men (Bird Boy and Flash Kid) got him captured.


losing all your sanity


He needed to find revenge. He needed to show his son that he was his everything; that he was worth more than what the world labeled him as. He needed to bring those two men to justice, needed to bring them to their knees so that they were begging to live just as his son had done in past lifetimes.

Daddy! Daddy! Come play with me!

"Not now sweetie, Daddy has to go and start planning for something." The man muttered to no one in particular, considering the coffee shop he was sitting in was empty besides himself. "Go and play with your mother for now Angel."

Mommy hasn't been around in a while, ever since she said she was going to visit Ronnie.

The man grunted, shaking his head as his fingers twitched. "Shame," he growled. What was he doing? His son was a monster. He should've been working on pulling Eva from his cold, dead hands.

Can I help you with your plans Daddy?

The a smirk curled over his features as he reached down a grabbed his journal from the suitcase next to him, uncapping a purple ink pen and cracking his fingers. "Of course dear, you can help me plan for something to happen in these months to come."

Can there be dinosaurs in your plans? I have a whole collection we could use!

Raphael chuckled lowly, visions of mangled bodies meeting the back of his eyelids. What a colorful collection of dinosaurs with vibrant colors of pink, red, blue, green and yellow.

"We are going to make them pay sweetie. For everything."