Chapter 16
He hated this girl with a passion. It didn't take a genius to know the feeling was mutual.
Her arrival had been the final catalyst for a man who was like an older brother to him to make his unexpected exit. He watched Roy Harper walk away from a dream they all had shared for years, and he knew exactly where the blame lay.
Sure she was pretty, Wally would never deny that, but she was a fraud, some substandard stray collected by Green Arrow to take the place of his friend who refused to stay in the shadows any longer.
They had wanted…expected to join the League. That had always been the plan, ever since the day the four of them took down Dr. Light all by themselves in Chicago without their mentors to guide them, the day they finally felt worthy of the costumes they wore and what they stood for.
Days after their victory they met in a coffee shop in Gotham, just four normal teenagers in civilian clothes, four teenagers that made a vow that day.
One day they would join Earth's greatest heroes, not as sidekicks or partners, but as equals. There was only one condition however, one caveat to their indoctrination, all of them or none of them.
That day finally came and went just as quickly, as three young men watched Roy Harper walk away in disgust, watched as their collective dream disappeared with him through doors of the Hall of Justice.
In the end Mt. Justice turned out to be a better fit. It was the perfect opportunity to not only step out of their mentor's shadows, but step away from them as well. It was always supposed to be the four of them. Together. That was their vow.
"Another niece?" Robin laughed. Wally was probably the only person who caught the dig. This girl was no more Oliver Queen's niece than he was, but where Robin was naturally inquisitive to find out more about their newest teammate, all Wally wanted was her gone and Roy to come back, that and hopes that a certain green skinned hottie would finally take her eyes of tall dark and moody and notice the Wall-man.
The blonde was a smartass loud mouth rookie, barking orders and throwing insults like she was one of them, trying to force her way onto a team that was gelling fine without her. However it didn't take long for the speedster to begrudgingly accept her worth, especially after she had saved his life a half dozen times in the short span she had been on the team. Despite that fact, she was a pain in the ass, a thorn in his side, and all the other clichés that Wally could think of; however she was becoming more and more important to the team, and surprisingly to him as well.
During the mission to rescue Dr. Fate, Kent Nelson had imparted some final words of wisdom to the speedster, and Wally had every intention of following up on that suggestion, just not with the person Nelson had intended.
Megan was pretty, exotic, sweet, and he immediately had a crush on her. Wally liked the idea of having an alien girlfriend, but all his best lines, every move in his repertoire were having no effect.
On his birthday he found out why, but by then he'd realized a truth he'd been denying for weeks.
"Find your own little spitfire, one who won't let you get away with nothin"
Even before then, Wally had started to notice the little things; how toned her legs where, how great she looked in jean shorts, how her blue grey eyes sparkled when she was arguing about the most inane of things, how an almost imperceptible smile would follow right after. As much as he wished for Megan's attention, Artemis's made the butterflies in his stomach swarm.
People that had dominated the early pages of his journal, names like Rob, Kaldur, Conner, gave way more and more to references of the archer.
Little things.
A gentle touch, a shared respirator, a battlefield sling.
Little things.
A flirtive glance, a laugh at his expense that no longer brought venom out of the speedster when he watched the smile form on her full lips, her ridiculously long blonde hair out of its ponytail flowing freely, her fingers accidentally brushing against his.
Little things.
"Like you know anything about the shadows."
"Who are you?!"
"So I'm your ninja boyfriend huh?"
"You've got nothing to prove, not to me."
"Artemis, please tell me I'm wrong."
"I should have done this a long time ago."
By the time January 1st had rolled around, the team had faced their biggest challenge and triumphed, no longer inadequate or less than the men and women who trained them, no longer sidekicks. They were finally equals. The ironic thing was if on that day they'd been asked to join the Justice League, they all would have declined. They were their own team now, but more importantly they were family.
During the parties on the beach, the banquet at the Watchtower, the archer remained unusually quiet, hiding among the chaos and congratulations of the celebrations. Every time the speedster attempted to subtly gain her attention, she would quickly start a conversation with the closest person, or just walk away all together, but for a moment, for the briefest of seconds, Wally would catch her eyes, and what he saw wasn't good.
Wally knew that look, and deep down kind of expected it. Their kiss had been amazing, one of the greatest kisses in the history of kisses in his book. They had both changed so much from the teammates that bickered and fought as if their very life depended on it. They were finally friends, maybe more. He wanted it to be, but the uncomfortable glances she gave him, when she would even look at him at all, spoke otherwise.
She had passively avoided him for most of the night, and despite his thickness at times, Wally actually could take a hint.
The kiss must have been the heat of the moment, the thrill of the victory. Wally didn't regret it all, but he sadly realized sometimes things weren't meant to be. This wasn't going to become another Megan/Conner secret relationship discovery. He wasn't about to make it weird, reverting back to the jerk he had been when they met. He was ashamed of that person, the one that judged the book by its cover.
Artemis had grown up in hell. Made to do things that would have destroyed people three times her age. She had broken away from everything she had ever been taught, cut ties with the only family she had ever known and had walked out to the world naked and alone. She wasn't an assassin anymore, wasn't a shadow, she was a good person - no scratch that - an amazing person, and instead of giving her a chance and recognizing how hard she worked, not to be liked, but just accepted, Wally wanted her gone, replaced by one of his closest friends just so they could live out a childhood dream that began in a Gotham coffee shop.
Without her there wouldn't have been a victory, a celebration….a kiss.
Wally resigned himself to the fact that once the euphoria of the victory had finally worn off, Artemis was probably embarrassed by what had happened. The thought made him sad, but she meant too much to him now to go back where they started. It was time for him to man up and do the right thing. He had to let her off the hook and try and salvage a friendship.
Artemis did her best to avoid him, but you could only do much against the fastest teen alive. The archer lost sight of the speedster and sighed in relief, turning to hide in another corner of the Watchtower and start another fake conversation when she almost knocked Wally over as he stood in front of her with an oversized plate of appetizers to share.
"Oh hey," she responded as if the last two hours hadn't happened.
"Hey," he answered hesitantly but upbeat.
"Pretty cool huh," she deflected, looking out to the vast openness of the Watchtower, decorated and loaded to the brim with food, drink, and heroes, all in their honor.
"Yeah, I guess. I just got stuck in a conversation with Plasticman for like the last twenty minutes, and the entire time he kept eating off my plate. I mean come on dude, we saved you, not vice versa."
Artemis politely smiled, but moments later the uncomfortable silence returned.
Then at once, in unison, they both blurted out," We need to talk."
The two laughed and prompted each other back and forth to start, until Wally gave up and took the lead.
"Look um Artemis, about the other night; I'm really sorry I did that. I wasn't thinking, as usual, and kinda got caught up in the moment. I know it was embarrassing, but...well anyway...it was mistake and I shouldn't have kissed you and I'm really really sorry. "
Artemis nodded and smiled, looking a little ... relieved? Wally couldn't tell.
"Thanks Wally, it's no big deal, it was ...just one of those things. Don't worry about it."
"Still friends?" Wally asked hopeful, extending his hand.
"Still friends," she smiled in agreement, talking it and shaking it.
Their hands grasped and fingers entwined. It was good - friendly, but when their hands released and slowly began to slip away, neither one could let go. Wally looked at the normally unreadable archer, and swore he noticed something, a microscopic quiver of her lips, an eye that blinked just a little too fast, as if trying to keep something trapped behind it.
Honesty had been such an issue between them, keeping secrets inside, afraid of the others reaction, the fear of rejection. Things had started so wrong for them from the beginning, and had snowballed because they were too afraid, an oddity for heroes that put their lives on the line on a daily basis. As he felt her fingers slowly slipping away, that was the moment Wally West decided he was tired of being scared.
"Screw it," he said out loud as she looked at him curiously. He took her by the arm and literally drug her out of the room.
"Wally, what the hell..."
The speedster cut her off immediately. "Artemis look, I like you, I mean I really really like you. Like I can't stop thinking about you like. I don't want to ruin what we have but ...I'm crazy about you, like Arkham crazy. I've known it for a long time, and I should have said something way before the Watchtower, but I was too scared and if you don't feel the same way it's cool, because the last thing I want to do is go back to fighting all the..."
Artemis smashed her lips against Wally, silencing him immediately. Where their kiss days ago had been short and sweet, this one was so much more. Their lips locked and moved together as one. His lips were so soft and urgent, trying to express all that he had felt for her since the day she died in Megan's nightmare. For every exploration, she responded in kind. The Watchtower dissolved around them, and the entire JLA could have been in that corridor with them, but they never would have known or cared.
Wally broke the kiss just for a minute,
"So does this mean you might like m..."
"Yes, now shut up and kiss me Kid Frisky, you really should have done this a long time ago dork," she grinned before meeting his lips and tongue again.
Wally obeyed her command. It was the best decision he ever made.
xxx
Wally's heart raced as he flipped through the remaining pages of his journal. Mentions of dances, and proms, followed by battles against villains and organizations with ridiculous names like the Injustice League and the Light, as if that was the norm.
Nights on top of Mt. Justice watching the stars, days sitting by her bedside in the infirmary as they laughed, snuggled, argued, and bickered, anything to keep her mind busy and keep her still while her body mended.
Being by her side at the International Tribunal as she stood stone-faced when her father was sentenced for his role with The Light, holding her in his arms that night when she cried that it wasn't enough.
The final entry was a simple three word sentence, Graduation, Stanford, Together.
Wally shuffled through the rest of the notebook, but it was empty, no more entries. He turned to the box his father had left and flipped it upside down, shaking the contents free all across his comforter, pictures her, of them.
Homecoming pictures, prom pictures, photo booth images of kisses and goofy smiles. One stood out in particular, a shot of the two embraced inside a dark cavernous room. They looked so young, so innocent. Wally stared at the picture intently, screaming at his mind for some fragment of memory. Some hidden recollection. Anything.
Nothing came to him, no images, no remembrance, no recollection. Nothing. So why did his heart hurt so much? Why was his mind filled with her smile, her scent, her lips? Was she the girl who got away or the one he left behind? There were too many questions, and only one place, one person held the answers
xxx
Mary West arrived back at home shortly after 5:00. She needed to get dinner started, and the house was quiet, peaceful. Through the window she saw Rudy tinkering on the deck alone. Mary silently made her way upstairs to check on her son, hopeful he was becoming more comfortable not only in his own skin, but his home as well. When she cracked the door her jaw clinched.
Spread out all over his bed were pictures she hoped he'd never find, a journal he was never to read. It wasn't that she didn't love and care for the people inside it, but those pictures, those stories represented a life that Mary didn't want Wally to be a part of again, a life that had ultimately taken his.
What was Rudy thinking? she cursed. They both had agreed to keep those items away from their son, to shield and protect him from the world of capes and cowls, and allow him just to be their Wally West, son not hero.
That's when she noticed it. The eyes, it was always the eyes. Hued with the same shade of emerald as her own, eyes that could hide such pain and sorrow from his friends, from his family, but not from her. Through skinned knees, school bullies, broken hearts…the accident, a brave and upbeat front was always presented to the world, but she saw through it each and every time.
"Uh hey Mom," Wally shockingly acknowledged, gathering pictures and pages together quickly and putting them under his pillow.
"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes honey, were having pork chops, your favorite. Why don't you see if your father needs any help with the deck and I'll call you both when it's ready."
"Yes mam," he warmly smiled, and in a burst of energy, sped out from his room sending a breeze shooting through the hall and down the stairs.
A half hour later the dinner table was set and they began their meal. Even without his memories, Wally knew instantly that his mom was right, this was his favorite. Three helpings later, and the speedster was stuffed. Throughout dinner Mary glared at her husband, still steaming that he had shared those items with his son. Rudy frowned with guilt, but his body language spoke an entirely different story.
"I'll get those," Wally cheerfully offered and gathered the plates from the table at a quick but semi-human speed and brought the dishes and leftovers into the kitchen. There were a few moments of silence they attributed to Wally's fourth helping of dinner, followed by the clinking of plates and glass as he loaded the dishwasher.
The couple sat quietly in the dining room. Mary was no detective, but the pain that she read from both her husband and son, along with the pictures Wally tried lamely to hide, she already knew the answer before she asked it.
"He saw her didn't he?" she whispered quietly.
Rudy nodded solemnly. "She tracked him down while we were at Home Depot, I think she came to say goodbye. He needed to know."
"I know," she sighed sadly.
She loved Artemis; she always would, but the archer's tearful confession after Wally's death, the plan along with the lies and deceit that went along with it infuriated Mary. That was not the way her son was raised. He knew better.
The two had left the costumes behind and settled into a life far away with hopes of a future that would last long thereafter. But when she agreed to come out of retirement, to put her life at risk once again, everyone knew they were a package deal. Mary never once blamed Artemis for what had happened to her son, it had always been his choice, but by whatever miracle had brought him back, the archer was a dangerous link in a chain that needed to be broken. Artemis never was able to leave the life behind, and after Wally's death, adopted a new darker persona, one that skated the fine line between hero and villain.
It haunted Mary that Artemis had taken this path, but much like her son it had been her choice as well. She was no longer the person who had spent holidays and special occasions with their family every year, no longer the girl whose smile lit up the room and made her son's heart swell. She wasn't the young woman anymore who cried with Mary for days and refused to leave the family's side even after the funeral.
She was different now. She was dangerous. A woman with a dark and deadly history and an un-seeable future. The kind of person Wally needed to be miles away from.
Mary sighed at her sudden realization.
She was exactly the type of person Wally had brought home years ago, the type of person the West's grew to love like one of their own. One that took their reckless 17 year old son and helped mold him into the great boyfriend and man he would soon become.
"Damn it," Mary cursed.
Wally never spoke to either parent of seeing her. The next three days consisted of love, laughter, and lots and lots of food, but when he was out of his parent's line of sight, even for the briefest of moments, the speedster would continue to call the archer's number, only to get her voicemail every time. He passed worry, 72 hours and 23 calls later.
Wally could wait patiently for the results of his tests on the Watchtower, he could concentrate hard enough to avoid using his speed in and around the West's home like his mother asked, but he couldn't wait anymore for this, for her. His last images would not be of Artemis driving away towards the I-95 on-ramp and out of his life. Not a chance.
xxx
It was 2:00 a.m. His back pack was loaded and he was ready. He would need fuel, lots of it. Wally had no money and there was no way in hell he would ever steal from his parents. He had gotten by without it the first time, but he had to eat, he was useless without it thanks to his metabolism. The red head had left the note on his bed for his parents to find, a promise to return and an assurance he would be safe. He hoped his mom and dad would understand.
Wally tiptoed down the stairs and stealthily made his way towards the kitchen. He ran numbers and formulas through his mind to see how many Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches would fit inside his back pack. The speedster glanced behind him one final time before walking into the kitchen and directly into his mother.
Mary held a stern look on her face, and Wally lowered his head in guilt, not knowing what to do, what to say.
His mother lifted his chin and brought his eyes to hers.
On the kitchen table she reached for two oversized brown paper grocery bags and handed them to her son.
"There's enough food in here for 3 days. I've left you some money and a cell phone. You call me at least three times a day to check in, and so help me Wally if you forget I will ground you until your 30."
He wrapped his arms around the elder redhead and hugged tightly, "I will Mom, I promise."
"I'm going to hold you to that Wallace, and for the love of god please be careful. Your father and I," her voice cracked, "We can't lose you again."
"You won't mom, you're just going to have to trust me, but I have to do this."
"I know," she replied, "Go find her."
Wally kissed his mother, and wiped away the tear on her cheek. She expected the burst of turbulence, the lightning streak that chased his speed trails, but Wally remained inside the kitchen hesitant.
He turned to Mary and asked the question he'd wanted to know as soon as he had closed the journal.
"Mom, tell me about her. Tell me about us."
Mary poured Wally a glass of milk, placing a helping of the breakfast strudel she had prepared for the morning in front of him. She poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the kitchen table.
"It all started with an arrow and something called an Amazo."
xxx
The apartment was pitch black, all the shades drawn. Wally had flipped every switch, checked the circuit breaker twice. The speedster was unsure if the archer had accidentally not paid the electric bill or had chosen to shut it off. Either choice leaned towards one conclusion. She wasn't coming back, at least not any time soon if at all.
Her apartment was still furnished and decorated as before, but with one exception. There were pictures out now, pictures of them. He assumed she had put them away for a reason, and now he knew why. Each picture contained a sliver of life, a moment in history they shared. Some were posed, some definitely taken off guard. In some pictures they were surrounded by people he didn't recognize, and others taken clearly when they thought they were alone.
Different ages, different settings. The beach, the mountains, the jungle, high school, college, but there was one thing they all had in common; the two looked like they belonged with each other, to each other.
In her bedroom Wally clutched a picture of himself and Artemis holding each other in the mountain, an exact copy of the one he had found at his home. Through the dim illumination of the street light outside, his fingers traced across the pictures, imagining a moment lost in time. It would have been too easy to expect to find her still here, but every journey begins with a single step, and this was his. Now the challenge was finding the next.
The weapons safe was open and empty, his first real clue. He would be looking for Tigress now too, but he realized that before he ever arrived in Gotham.
Somehow in a world of strangers he had found her once. Wally closed his eyes and searched his mind, wondering how he would do it again, He prayed for a sign, something, anything, and that's when he felt the cold blade grazing the back of his neck.
"You really picked the wrong house to break into," the feline voice purred behind him.
Wally froze as the sharp steel blade pushed farther into the top of his spine.
"I'm not here to steal anything," he nervously replied, "I'm looking for someone."
"That's funny, so am I."
Cheshire held the Sai tightly as she reached for the light switch. Nothing happened.
"The power's been shut off," Wally offered.
"No shit," Jade snapped, as a slight chill ran up her spine, a feeling of déjà vu teasing her brain at the strangers' voice.
"Who are you?" she demanded, reaching to her belt, feeling for the zip ties to bind the fucker who had dared trespass into her sister's home. If he did not give her the answers she wanted, he would be dead in minutes or at the least critically injured, but for now this man was the only clue she had to her sister's sudden disappearance.
Wally remained silent.
Jade was not amused. She abandoned the search for the ties, and in a blink of an eye had her second Sai resting on the stranger's throat.
"I'm really starting to hate this fucking town," Wally nervously quipped.
"Answer the question!" she hissed, pushing the second blade deeper into Wally's neck, drawing a tiny amount of blood. "If you've hurt her I swear to god you won't even live long enough to regret it. Now turn around nice and slow, and maybe I won't have to spill any blood on my sister's hardwood floors."
Wally's eyes widened. That was it. He wanted a sign, he definitely had one now. His eyes stared out the archer's bedroom window, seeking out the exact spot he stood when he had found her the first time. He remembered shaking in the rain. Cold, wet, scared. He wasn't scared anymore.
Jade's fingers twitched ever so slightly as the barely perceptible current ran from the blade, to her fingers, and through the rest of her body. Electricity. At that moment she knew she was screwed.
"Shit," she said to no one.
In the amount of time it takes a hummingbird to flap their wings once, Jade found herself thrown…vibrated through two walls, out Artemis's apartment, past the stone wall, and into the middle of the darkened park at such velocity she hit the grown and tumbled helplessly for 50 yards. Her training kicked in and she flipped to her feet, until the vertigo stepped in and dropped her to her knees. She frantically searched her belt for weapons, but what hadn't been savagely knocked off of her in Artemis's apartment, lay scattered somewhere across the barely lit Gotham park.
The shadowed figure suddenly appeared in front of her and squatted down a few feet away. Jade was disoriented, confused. She couldn't recall ever being hit so hard, and realized that chances were she was about to be on the business end of a beating from the man who had most likely kidnapped or murdered her sister. Jade was dizzy, nauseous, defenseless.
Her minds drifted to the image of her husband and daughter and the heartache it would bring them when she didn't return. She knew this moment was bound to happen, no one escapes from the bloody history she'd left behind over the years no matter how much they'd changed, but it still pulled painfully at her heart the thought of never seeing her Roy and Lian again.
She snarled as the stranger spoke. "Let's try this again, minus the knives, ok? I'm looking for Artemis and evidently you are too. I'm not going to hurt her, I just...I need to find her."
The voice. She knew the voice, but it wasn't until the clouds overhead cleared and moonlight draped her assailant, that she let herself believe.
"My god."
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Now listen. I'm not going to hurt you ok, but I need some information. Are you really Artemis's sister, or are you just bullshitting me?"
Jade was no fool, and she didn't believe in ghosts either. "I don't share information with copies," she spit, ignoring her connection to the one sitting at home with their daughter.
"I'm…not...a...clone..." Wally growled, nearing the limits of his patience. He didn't have time to play, at this point every second counted.
"Keep believing that tiger," Cheshire taunted, feeling her equilibrium slowly returning. If she could stall the clone long enough she might just be able come up with a plan and survive the night. "That's what they program into you puppets isn't it?"
Wally grabbed the dazed assassin by her throat and pulled her to her feet. "I'll give you five seconds to answer my question, or so help me god I will put you through so many damn walls they'll be scraping your remains off from here to Wayne Tower. Last chance. Were you sent here to kill her?"
"Who are you?" she asked, more disoriented by the question then they attack.
He held her neck tightly with his left hand as his right hand began to shimmer, becoming translucent. She had heard rumor of Deathstroke's untimely demise, and at that exact moment she knew exactly who'd done it.
"5...4...3…2...1…" he growled and brought his hand towards her. Jade closed her eyes when suddenly she felt his hand let go and fell to the ground with a thud.
She opened her eyes again and Wally had walked away, shaking his head. "What am I doing? This isn't me," he said in disgust.
The speedster walked back and stood over her prone form and extended his hand. Jade hesitantly took it and he pulled the assassin to her feet.
Her mouth opened, but Wally never let her ask.
"My name's not important. I was dead, and now I'm back. Don't ask me how or why, just tell me what you did to her."
Jade smiled in astonishment. He'd come back, he'd come back for her. "I didn't do anything to her Wally. She's my sister, I'd never hurt her."
The speedster quickly realized that this was another person on a long list who knew him that he'd never recall. "You really are Artemis's sister?" he asked.
"What's wrong with you?" she looked at him quizzically, straightening her shirt.
" I can't remember anything. No friends, no family, anything. I sure as hell don't remember you, but I know her, and I have to find her. I need your help."
Jade had spent most of her life fighting the sister she had abandoned years ago, only to find that the person she battled against tooth and nail was the only one who actually cared about her. This ridiculous team her sister had aligned herself with, years later had become a group of heroes Jade found herself begrudgingly caring about, especially after she married and had a child with one of their own.
That team accepted Artemis, protected her. Especially the obnoxious loud mouth speedster who argued and fought with her sister constantly, and then loved and cared for her until his last days. She wasn't sure if she believed his story, but the worry and concern in his eyes convinced her he was sincere. She had spent a lifetime reading people, and the Wally West she remembered had one of the worst poker faces of all times, much like the man in front of her. Besides she always had a weakness for red heads.
"I have no idea, and that's the truth. She's been on the hunt for this crime boss for weeks now, and I think she's found him. I've been trying to reach her for days but she hasn't retuned my calls, so I came here to warn her."
"Warn her of what?" Wally asked.
"That boss has hired some talent to protect him. Dangerous talent."
"Who?"
Jade took a deep breath. "Our father," she sighed.
Wally knew exactly who she was referring to. His journals told the story, the internet filled in the rest.
"What do we do?" he worriedly asked.
"I don't know. I've called in some ….favors, but no one knows anything. I don't suppose you've had a chance to talk to your little Robin have you, he and Artemis were fairly close."
"I told you I can't remember anyone, and this last time I checked this Robin guy was some 15 year old kid. Not my type."
Jade rolled her eyes. "Still as fast as ever Flash boy. Your little Robin became Nightwing years ago."
Time stopped as thoughts and ideas ran through Wally's mind at light speed. His journals. Rob...Robin. Robin was Batman's partner. Nightwing was the man he met on the Watchtower. Nightwing was Robin.
He had read up extensively on Bruce Wayne after the revelation in his den. Bruce Wayne was one of the most successful businessmen in the world. A man who'd lost his parents at an early age, and had adopted an orphaned acrobat who'd suffered the same tragedy, that same orphan who now ran an offshoot of Wayne Enterprises.
In the article on CNN, Wayne mentioned that the man, heir to the Wayne conglomerate one day wasn't just a son, but a partner. His name was…
"Son of a bitch," Wally smacked his head, realizing Artemis had more than hinted, but practically laid out a map in front of him about his past and his closest friend when they parked next to the giant hillside on the outskirts of Gotham City, home to one of the most powerful men on Earth in or out of costume.
"I'm an idiot." Wally shook his head.
"Umm hmm," Jade confirmed.
"Don't push it," he glared irritably.
Jade carefully approached him and handed him her number. "Call me as soon as you hear anything."
"I will."
"It wasn't a suggestion Speedy. Oh and if a man answers, make sure you tell him you're Wally West," she smiled, even in a moment of crisis she could still enjoy the vision of her husband's reaction.
"Fine," he frowned annoyed. "I um, didn't exactly catch your name."
"Call me Cheshire."
"Right," Wally said skeptically, ready to leave this fucked up town in his taillights.
"Oh and Wally….. she paused as he turned. "Welcome back."
He smiled and nodded, when electricity began dancing across his skin and he exploded into the night.
Jade staggered back towards the rock wall to exit the park. Her head was pounding after the unplanned detour into the middle of park courtesy of the speedster. She found the separation in the old cobblestone wall indicating the exit when she looked off to her left and saw the remnants of a police outline in the moonlight. This was where he died. Deathstroke. Right across the street from her sister's apartment. Slade would have killed Artemis, killed her for her betrayal and his humiliation if not for Wally. That's when she knew he'd find her; he'd find her and keep her safe. He'd been doing it for years.
xxx
Wayne Manor has a slightly above average security system to say the least. Private security companies for years have tried to woo the billionaire to employ their companies, even up to the point of offering their services for free just to add the businessman to their portfolio, but local and international companies had been turned down time and time again.
It was rumored that Wayne had installed pressure sensitive automatic defenses across the grounds, perhaps small unmanned drones, or even possible robotic centurions. One of the more outlandish rumors hinted at mercenaries, ex-Navy Seals or Special Forces who could dispose of an intruder quickly and cleanly. When it came to a powerful man in the weapons and technology business, all options were left on the table.
Little did anyone know that in reality aside from a small kitchen and cleaning staff, the only security for the Manor was handled internally by three men, four now counting the return of Dick Grayson.
That's not to say that a keen artificial intelligence didn't keep a constant vigil on the Manor and surrounding grounds. The moment a fence was scaled or a lock picked, the computer in the Batcave would automatically notify all parties immediately. Anyone foolish enough to take that first step would only make it within 100 yards or so of the Manor before being blindly taken down. Hard.
From high tech thieves to local fraternities with drunk pledge classes, all knew better than to try. Even meta-humans would find it nearly impossible to penetrate Batman's sanctum without an invitation. The security A.I. was programmed to detect someone even as fast as Barry Allen, who up until a few days ago was still considered the fastest man alive. Someone forgot to tell Wally West that fact however.
Alfred Pennyworth was in the act of moving some of the fine Wayne silver back to the dish room when he heard the rap on the main entryway. Assuming it to be one of the morning staff who'd forgotten their security keycard to the kitchen, Alfred opened the door with a prepared scowl when he came face to face with a ghost from the past.
It took the A.I. a few minutes to register that something had indeed penetrated its defenses, but by then the game was lost. Emergency signals were sent to four phones, with a built in redundancy to contact the Watchtower if the signal was not acknowledged within five minutes by one of them.
Dick Grayson sat in the East Wing study, drinking coffee and looking over Wayne Tech special project reports when the alarm on his communicator sounded. He grabbed the device off the desk and entered in his access code, quickly making his way towards the secret elevator to the underground facility. He placed his palm on the hidden scanner and waited for the express elevator to open and take him to the Batcave when he heard Alfred scream.
Oh Shit! he feared.
He abandoned the elevator and sprinted down the staircase to see Alfred holding up the silver candelabra in defense, preparing to strike the intruder when the former Boy Wonder arrived by his side.
Wally stood with hands out trying his best to calm the old man.
"Get back!" the Englishman demanded, "How dare you defile…."
"Alfred I got this." Dick spoke quietly, trying to calm the old Englishman.
"But Master Dick…."
Dick responded again calmly. "Alfred…I've got this. It's ok."
The butler stood in disbelief, gazing at a man who looked so much like the young boy who had stayed at the mansion under his care for so many years, a man who had been dead for close to two years.
Dick turned and nodded, excusing the old man away, before turning back to face his long lost friend. Alfred walked away slowly, keeping an eye on the red head until he rounded the corner, popping his head back out to make sure he wasn't going senile.
"So…uh…Hey," Wally said hesitantly.
"Hey," Dick responded trying to be cordial, but still surprised to see the speedster standing at his front door. He reminded himself that when it came to Wally West, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, especially now. "Sorry about that, he ...he doesn't know. Come on in. Alfred's bark is worse than his bite."
"Thanks," Wally responded, entering in grand doorway, glancing around the main foyer, clearly impressed.
"So how did you find out?" Dick asked genuinely suprised.
"My dad showed me my journal, the one someone named Black Canary made me keep for a year."
"For a month," Dick smiled. "You were only supposed to keep it for a month."
Wally rolled his eyes. "Was I always such a dumbass," he asked embarrassed.
"You had your moments," Dick grinned.
Wally retuned the smile. "The journal really explained a lot, but this delightful woman named Cheshire helped connect the dots. No offense dude, but your town sucks."
Dick couldn't help but laugh.
"So do you prefer Rob, Robin, Nightwing?"
"Dick's fine," he replied. "So I'm guessing you're pretty freaked out right now."
Wally sniggered. "You could say that. Soooo...we were best friends huh?"
"Yeah. I'd think to think so. I didn't want to say anything to you on the Watchtower about …..us... You weren't ready, I could tell, plus it's not exactly the kind of thing you're prepared to hear from a complete stranger in a black leather uniform on your first time to space," Dick chuckled.
"Good point."
"Are you ok?" Dick asked concerned.
Wally naturally smiled, fully prepared to give the typical upbeat pre-planned response, but something was very disarming about the brunette he thought, almost bordering on familiar. He'd felt it on the Watchtower too, but was so overwhelmed with the whole experience it never hit home until now.
"No. Not really," he sighed. "My Mom and Dad get nervous anytime I walk out the door, I keep running into people who know me and they won't stop thanking me for what I did and it makes me feel like a gigantic fraud, I've got an uncle that looks at me like a stranger, a cousin who won't even speak to me, and then there's this girl…."
"Artemis," Dick answered.
"Yeah, how'd you guess?"
"I'm a detective, remember?"
Wally's deadpanned expression caused them both to break out in laughter. It felt good to laugh. Dick was about the only person he'd met outside his parents who treated him like a person, not an anomaly, but like a friend.
"Dick I really need some help."
"I'm glad you came. Look it's nearly 6:00 a.m. and if memory serves, I'm betting you're starving. The cooks can whip us up some breakfast and you can tell me what's going on ok?"
"Look you don't need to…"
"Shut up and get come in and eat."
Wally smiled gratefully; he was starving and really didn't want to have to break into the emergency food his mom had prepared. He dropped his bags at the door and followed the brunette towards the kitchen, beginning to believe this man really was the person from his journal.
A half hour later, Wally pushed himself from the table, belly extended. "Oh man that was good. Thank you so much."
"There's more if you want it," Dick spoke, watching Wally literally clean every inch of his plate.
"I'm good seriously, thanks. My mom packed me some sandwiches, but I need to make them last."
"Sounds like your mom," Dick replied.
"Do you know her?" the speedster asked.
"Yeah Wally, she was kind of…kind of like my mom too."
At that remark Wally instantly recalled the article from CNN about Richard Grayson, and instantly felt for his new/old friend. The speedster would not have survived the ordeal of his return without his parents, and he depended on them, needed them desperately.
"I'm sorry about your parents Dick."
"It was a long time ago, but thanks. You're the only one I ever talked to about it. Every year on their anniversary we'd go over to your folk's house and your mom and dad would really lay out a spread, even though you usually ate most of it," Dick laughed. "It really meant a lot. Your mom still calls me on that day."
Wally smiled proudly. "Well we're just going to have to continue that tradition won't we."
"Damn straight," Dick replied. "Now tell me what I can do."
Wally took a deep breath. "I need to find this girl," Wally paused realizing Dick probably knew the entire story already, "I need to find Artemis. Her sister is looking for her too and said you would probably be the only one who could track her down. The guy she's been looking for has …hired her dad."
Dick frowned, "Shit."
"What?" Wally asked urgently.
"She's fallen off my radar Wally, Batman's too."
"What does that mean?" the speedster questioned.
"It means if she doesn't want to be found, she won't be. She's that good."
Wally's swallowed hard as the lump in his throat expanded and panic began to creep in.
"Hey," Dick spoke, grabbing his arm, shaking him from his worried thoughts. "It just means we'll have to look harder. Come on follow me."
"Where are we going?" Wally questioned.
"You'll see."
The two made their way into the depths of the mansion when Dick turned an entered the master library. Wally stood in amazement at the huge vibrant room, adorned with thousands of books, fine paintings that museum curators would envy, and a marble fireplace large enough to park a car in.
Dick walked past the awed speedster to the non-functioning grandfather clock. The brunette opened it and set the hands of the clock face to 10:47, the exact time of Thomas and Martha Wayne's death. Seconds later a door slipped open behind it revealing a descending staircase.
Dick grinned, "This is really going to blow your mind."
"I don't know, at this point nothing surprises me anymore."
Moments later Wally stood in awe of his new surroundings as they two made their way to the main floor of the Batcave.
"I stand corrected," he declared in astonishment.
"You look exactly the same way you did the first time I brought you down here." Dick stated amusingly.
"Unbelievable," Wally murmured, blown away by the cave, the technology, the memorabilia. Everything. "How many times have I been here?"
"We never kept count, but if Batman asks it was only around three or four."
Dick made his way to the main banks of computers and sat down under the 72 inch monitor surrounded by several smaller ones flashing images from different surveillance camera's carefully hidden across different parts Gotham. The detective began entering in information and moments later a profile picture of Tigress appeared on the main screen before shrinking to the upper left corner as pictures and videos of the vigilante began to cycle through.
Dick began, "Two weeks ago Artemis paid a visit to Criminal Court Judge Faden's re-election fundraiser in downtown Gotham. Hours later Faden made a call to an unknown number, presumably a burn phone belonging to members of a major criminal organization. The call switched through so many towers it should have been impossible to trace, but I'm betting she got a hold of the SIM card to narrow down the possible locations. She's looking for a crime boss named Falcone."
"Who is he?" Wally inquired
"He's a really bad man Wally. I'll spare you the resume but he's about the most ruthless crime boss Gotham's ever seen. He's stretched his enterprises to Metropolis, New York City, Boston. He's as dangerous as they come and no one, and I mean no one, can ever pin anything on him. Artemis has been tracking this man for weeks, but he's covered his tracks pretty well. He has Faden and other city officials in his back pocket doing his dirty work for him. Dismissing criminal cases against Falcone's men, changing zoning laws, approving commercial licenses. He's got his hands in just about everything. He's killed or been a part of so much death I've lost count, but with a judge and a few cops on his payroll, it's been hard for District Attorney's to make anything stick. Artemis has been hired to take Falcone out and I think she's found him."
The screen rotated to pictures of the archer in civilian clothes caught by a store's security camera.
"The last thing I had on her was an image from a traffic camera just outside of Albany at an Army - Navy Surplus store, the kind of place a survivalist would shop at."
Images rotated in sequence displaying pictures and videos of the archer in her green battle-suit followed by others in the orange and black of Tigress.
Wally stiffened. "I did that to her didn't I? I pushed her in that direction when I ...died."
Dick's face grew grim as he spun around to face the speedster.
"No Wally, I did." he replied bitterly at himself
"What do you mean?" Wally questioned.
Dick sighed and began the story he knew one day he'd have to tell. The story began with their former teammate Kaldur and his discovery of his lineage, infiltrating his father's criminal organization, discovering Black Manta's connection to the Light.
Nightwing's tale continued with the desperate call from Aqualad, the plan needed to take Manta down, and the personnel needed to accomplish it. Next came the Leaguers and their subsequent absence, and finally the realization that it all rested on him, and he needed help.
"I gave her an impossible choice Wally. You and she had left the life, and I was so damn happy for you guys, but Artemis was the only one with the skill set to pull it off and you hated me for asking her. Things went well for a while and then everything went to shit, and when we were about to finally take them all down, when everything we fought for was in our grasp, we...we lost you."
Dick stepped away, clearing his throat, trying to keep his composure. This was not the way he wanted to tell Wally, not the way to explain his loss and what Wally meant, not only to him, but all the others who mourned him as well. He didn't know what to say or do next as his guilt washed over him once again. That's when Wally did what he did best, he saved his best friend.
Wally walked over and put his arm on Nightwing's shoulder. "Dick, I know you're hurting and I'm really sorry, but for what it's worth, what I know of Artemis, she doesn't seem the type to get talked into anything. She most have known what she was getting into and if she said yes it was because it was her decision, not mine, not yours, or this Kaldur guy. And as far as I go, someone gave me a second chance, a second chance at a lot of things, and right now I've got to find her. I lost her once; I don't want to do it again. So let's focus and figure this out together. There's got to be someone who can point us in some sort of direction?"
Dick's eyes turned determined. "There is. He just doesn't know it yet."
xxx
As the sun began to set, it was time to put Nightwing's plan into action. Dick stepped out of the vault in full battle suit and mask. He looked over at Wally in his jeans and long sleeve t-shirt. "You sure you don't want to borrow something? I might even have some old threads of yours lying around here somewhere."
"No," Wally chuckled, "I'm all good. I'll save the costumes for the professionals."
"Suit yourself, but you used to really dig the black."
"I'll just have to take your word for it," Wally smiled.
"Ok so you know what to do right?" Dick cautiously asked
"Yeah I got it. So how are we getting there?"
Nightwing entered a code into the main console, and two steel doors built into the cave wall opened with a glowing tunnel illuminating behind them.
"Oh hell no!" Wally shouted as the turbines inside came to life. "There's no way in hell I'm climbing back into one of those. Next please."
Nightwing frowned and scanned the cave, finding the Benz fueled and ready on the upper level.
"It's gonna take longer, you sure? You hate riding in cars. Way to slow, your words not mine."
"If that Zeta thing is the other option, I'd rather walk."
They made their way up to the secondary ramp and Dick opened the Mercedes's door as Wally did the same. Before the speedster set foot in the car he looked down and jumped back. "Dude there's dried blood in here everywhere!"
"It's all right, it's yours." Dick calmly responded like it was the norm.
Wally put the pieces together immediately. "You're the one who took me to the hospital aren't you?"
Dick nodded. "That's what best friends are for."
xxx
On the roof of Ritz Carlton, Judge Faden landed face first on the pebbled rooftop, feet away from the edge of the building. The ridiculous body guard he employed hadn't even caused Dick to break a sweat as he lay battered and unconscious in the middle of Faden's broken coffee table five floors below.
"I swear to god. I don't know anything. That crazy bitch broke in an asked me the same fucking questions two weeks ago. I'll tell you what I told her. Falcone doesn't tell me anything, no names, numbers, addresses,.. nothing! I've never even talked to the man, his lieutenants contact me. That's the way it works!"
Nightwing's threatening form stood over the cowering judge with Wally standing to the side, arms folded, scowling at the judge.
"What do you think KF? Think he's lying?" Dick asked.
"If his lips are moving, he's lying" Wally answered.
"That what I was thinking."
Nightwing grabbed the jurist by his collar and pulled him to his feet. "Faden you're a piece of shit, but you're still a smart guy. Whose bad side would you rather be on? Some crime boss whose last days are coming rapidly, you know they type of guy who hides in shadows and lets other people take his punches, or the entire Justice League?"
The judge was sweating profusely through his suit, but remained defiant.
"KF you still think you can beat this guy to the bottom and catch him if he falls?"
"I'm a little out of practice," Wally said sternly.
Nightwing held Faden's neck tight and drug him to edge
"You can't do this!" he begged. "Batman doesn't kill."
Nightwing pulled the man inches from his face. "I'm not Batman."
Dick grabbed Faden's phone from the judge's coat pocket and tossed it to the speedster a few feet away.
"According to your cellphone records, right after Tigress left you, you made a call. It's a dead number now. KF three guesses who that call went to and the first two don't count."
In the blink of an eye Wally suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the judge, his distortion trail whipping at the man's comb over. "I don't have to guess. Spill tubby, before my friend's arm gets tired."
Faden swallowed hard, and began to open his mouth when without warning Nightwing pushed him off the side of the building.
Wally stared in horror as the fat man fell towards the ground below when suddenly a grapple line wrapped around Faden's leg and halted his descent ten stories down, dangling 800 feet from the busy Gotham streets.
The judge screamed in sheer terror, yelling all his secrets to no one in particular, every few seconds slamming against the glass façade of the high-rise, as the strong winds and the jurist's own momentum took their toll.
Wally wiped his brow. "Nice bluff," he exhaled.
"Who said I was bluffing?" Dick smirked.
"Aren't you going to pull him up?" The speedster asked concerned.
"Not yet," Dick smiled and pushed a button on his grapple gun and the judge fell another 15 stories. "We'll let him hang for a few more minutes, that way he can finish pissing on himself, and then I think he'll be ready to talk."
"You're good," Wally chided clearly impressed and slightly relieved.
"I learned from the best," Dick proudly replied.
Fifteen minutes later Faden shared everything, even calling Falcone with the warning minutes after Artemis had left his penthouse. Tigress had terrified him, but Nightwing broke him.
On Nightwing's holo-emitter, the map of the 1000 Islands region of upstate New York floated in midair.
"Faden doesn't know which island the compounds on and I believe him, so where are we going to start?" Dick questioned.
"I've got this," the speedster replied, leaning down tying his shoes.
"Wally you'll need back up."
Wally put his hand on his friends shoulder, "No offense but you'll only slow me down."
The speedster began to walk away when Dick grabbed him. They stared each other down for a few moments until Nightwing reached out and hugged his friend. "Be careful ok, I'm not going to another one of your damn funerals."
"No worries. I'll be fine. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. When I get back maybe you and I could…you know, talk about the old days. I've got a lot of catching up to do."
"Yeah I'd like that," Dick agreed
Wally smiled back and stepped to the edge of the building. "I'll call you in an hour, and if that fat prick has lied to us…..push him of for real this time."
Dick smiled and watched the lightning trail streak over the side of the building and blazed through streets of Gotham heading north.
xxx
Artemis had been on the island going on three days, lying in wait. She'd had very little sleep, and even less to eat. She had alternated between the high grass and the trees for cover when Falcone's security team would make their sweeps with Rottweiler's in tow.
The cayenne pepper dust had done its job throwing the dogs of her scent, making them pay when they came across that particular odor. Much like Pavlov's dog, they quickly learned when catching the faint hint of it on the ground to avoid the area all together. Their master's never noticed.
Jade's information was more than accurate when she warned the archer that Falcone had hired talent. The haircuts and Armani suits were a nice touch, but hardly disguised the mercenaries that wore them. She recognized a few of them by reputation, but the others were just cold blooded psychopathic killers that could get along temporarily with anyone for the right price.
If she was discovered, death would be a welcome respite as opposed to the violations these savages would perform on her, but if that became the case she wouldn't hesitate to take her own life and drag as many of them she could to hell with her.
Their patrol patterns had been erratic, but soon she began to see the thought processes behind them, the brief delay when one stopped and another begun. The small period of time Falcone would be alone. That was when she made her move.
xxx
She drug his body through the woods, dagger at his throat, all the while ignoring his pleas for mercy. Money was offered, much more than she would be paid to kill him, but her reputation was at stake, and everyone knew how the Crock's defended their reputations.
She needed him alive long enough to film the assassination. After the constant delays, her employers demanded proof of death, and a video of him begging for his life before she slit his throat was in order. That had been the plan at least until the prick triggered the emergency alert necklace he wore around his neck disguised as a St. Christopher's medal. She should have removed all jewelry as soon as she broke in through the balcony, but the archer focused on the timing of the patrols and got sloppy.
Falcone knew better than to antagonize the assassin as she pushed and shoved him through the clearing. Ahead was one more wooded parcel and then they would arrive at the sandy shore of the St Lawrence Seaway and her escape. On that shoreline she had her pack ready and camera loaded. It would take less than three minutes to end his life, pack up the camera, inflate the rubber kayak and be hallway to the mainland before anyone would notice that the crime boss had not emerged from the bathroom and his unusually long shower. That was the plan anyway.
She heard the barking of the dogs off in the distance growing louder by the second. She could begin to see the tiny beams of flashlights shining through the woods heading in her direction. Falcone had offered very little resistance other than the offering of money that multiplied by the minute. When she finally made it to shore she knew why.
Her pack, the kayak, her extra armaments, all of them were gone. She switched weapons quickly and had the crossbow pushed deep into his back, the only weapon she would be able to use to multiple times to defend herself against the mass of guards rapidly approaching.
Her head was on a swivel, checking her bearings in the 1% chance that she had arrived at the wrong location when the Javelin streaked through the air and sliced through her arm, barely missing Falcone and pinning her crossbow to the nearest tree. Seconds later a powerful fist connected squarely with her jaw and drove her to the ground. It took less than a second for Artemis to realize her attacker's identity.
"Lawrence," she hissed
"Hello baby girl."
"Let me guess," she growled.
"Yep. Falcone got smart, brought in a real professional."
Falcone calmly removed her arm from his shoulder and walked away, straitening his ruffled shirt, immensely pleased with himself and the sudden role reversal the assassin now found herself in.
A few yards away, the security team made their way out of the woods and surrounded their employer in a defensive position, weapons trained on the prone kidnapper. They weren't at all happy with Sportsmaster's presence, but knew better than to cross him.
Artemis grasped at her tricep as the blood dripped down her arm. It was a superficial wound, but if her father had wanted to kill her, she'd be dead already.
"Take the knives out of your boots baby girl, nice and slow."
"Why don't you do it?" she smiled, doubting her father would take the bait.
"I'll pass, but I can't promise you one of those nervous fuckers over there won't let go a few rounds if you move. They're amateurs but have decent aim."
Falcone stepped forward, grinning like Cheshire cat at his victory. This woman had made his live a living hell for the last few months, and her reign of terror was finally at an end.
"I believe we have a deal, don't we Mr. Crock?" he questioned.
Sportsmaster looked at his smartphone and saw the money had been deposited in the correct account.
"Yeah… we do." He answered.
"Get it over with fucker," Tigress demanded.
He stood in front of his daughter, a few feet away just to be safe and calmly spoke to her in a tone he very rarely issued.
"Falcone and I have an agreement. I'm not going to kill you baby girl, believe it or not I'd never do that, reputation be damned, but I've got to take you out of the game. Permanently."
"What if I promise Daddy," Tigress spoke in taunting childlike voice. "I've learned my lesson and I won't ever do it again. I promise Daddy, I promise," she mockingly sobbed.
He stood closer, uncomfortable, but determined. "Kid these fuckers will kill you where you stand. You brought this shit on yourself. You got sloppy. I made a deal, and unfortunately you're going to have to live up to it."
"Right," she laughed. "I'll get right on that."
"Mr. Crock, my patience is wearing thin. Finish this." Falcone arrogantly demanded, a changed man from the sniveling coward begging for his like minutes ago.
Sportsmaster rose and kicked his daughter in the back of her leg viciously, knocking her to her knees.
"I hate to do this kid, but you brought this on yourself. Your mother will teach you everything you need to know about being a cripple, I can't promise if it will be from the waist down or the neck. That will be for the doctors to decide."
He retrieved the heavy hammer and ball from his bag and began spinning it, the whistle of the cold steel cutting through the air.
"Close your eyes," he ordered, with just a trace of sadness in his voice. She would live, his reputation would remain intact, and he'd gain an employer all in one swing when his mace would shatter her spine.
"Fuck you," Artemis spit.
Falcone locked eyes with her, grinning evilly in victory, when a yelp of a dog caught his attention, then another, and another.
Falcone turned quickly as the seven Rottweiler's, who moments ago were drooling at the idea of latching on to the young blonde's flesh disappeared into the night. Just as suddenly he heard the screams of the security guards as one by one they vanished into the darkness, rounds of ammunition echoing through the distance as they blindly shot into the air before being silenced.
Suddenly it was the three off them alone on the shore. Falcone frantically pulled an AK-47 from the ground dropped by one his guards when just as suddenly the weapon was yanked from his hand, breaking two fingers in the process.
He screamed in pain, when he finally saw their fourth person on the shore, standing five feet from Sportsmaster, electricity rippling off his body, and a look of unbridled anger that even caught the seasoned assassin off guard.
"Don't…Touch...Her!" Wally demanded.