Okay, so a lot of you have been asking for a cameo of a certain superhero and I'm here to say, it just may happen. So keep reading. Okay, we finally have reached the midpoint of my story and I have to thank you all for reading! You guys are seriously amazing and I thank you. Writing Poison Ivy was so much fun. I was going to have it be Harley Quinn but then I'd have to bring in the Joker and the Joker scared me so much that I had mercy on dear Wally.
Special dedication to Scarylady, who despite the name, rocks and is a goddess of puns. Okay, back to the story. And I think romantics will enjoy this portion very much.
Love Will Come Through
If I told you a secret
You won't tell a soul
Will you hold it and keep it alive
Cause it's burning a hole
And I can't get to sleep
And I can't live alone in this lie
So take me don't leave me
Take me don't leave me
Baby, love will come through
It's just waiting for you
Well I stand at the crossroads
Of highroads and low roads
And I got a feeling it's right
-Travis
"We need to get you to a hospital," Jinx whispered, her fist clenched in his shirt, knuckles white. They had been sitting together on a park bench, resting and trying not to attract attention. She only prayed that Wally's luck of meeting his mentors randomly wouldn't continue. Her neck could be so easily snapped by the Man of Steel before Wally would be able to say a word.
She had never thought Pamela would hurt Wally this badly. What was done was done, but it still shook her up to see what had happened to him. Seeing him battered and beaten like this reminded her that this was a war. Had she had Robin in her clutches, she would have done the same thing and perhaps worse. She would have enjoyed it. Yet, why did the sight of Wally bleeding on the vines, looking every bit the helpless captive, break her heart? Had she gotten so weak?
"I heal fast," Wally whispered. "And you're my guardian angel, so you'll watch over me till I feel better?" he asked. As the poisons left his body, he was starting to look better. Soon he would be back to being the do-gooder and she would be back to being a villain. Were they doomed to be enemies, just saving each others lives and living a secret romance?
"I want to always watch over you. That's why I wanted you to change sides. Heroes hurt…villains kill, and I don't want you dead," Jinx whispered. She had come too close this time and now she had really made of a mess. She used to be so good at planning. "Believe me; you don't know what we're capable of. Don't cross us."
"I appreciate the thoughts. It's nice to know you now want to protect me instead of dissect me. Though are you sure you want me to betray them?" Wally asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing mischievously. He was up to something, she knew it. He could not have been convinced that easily, could he?
"Of course. That's what I've been asking you to do. It's the only way we have to stay together," Jinx explained, wondering how someone so quick could be so very slow sometimes. "I'll make you a costume. I'll give you a new identity. Together, the two of us could rule the world and no one would be able to stop us." The thought of such power was definitely an aphrodisiac.
"Well…if I betray them, what would stop me from betraying you sometime? If you only have relationships when it's convenient for you, you'll never have one that is real. My loyalty to you comes from my loyalty to them. They taught me to stand by people and I'm standing by both of you," Wally said, getting into the preachy zone. He had a placid smile on his face, which reminded her he'd never take her offer seriously.
"You know, you really can drive a person crazy sometimes," she finally snapped, hating when he won those verbal debates. If her teachers at the Hive could see her now, tongue tied and madly in love with an enemy, they'd dust her!
"Yeah, but you know I'm right," Wally said, reading her mind. He was a brat sometimes and she should leave him here to wallow in his pain and misery. Only problem was, he had a point. She liked him because she knew that she could trust him and he would never hurt her. Feeling safe did make her feel good. It was nice to have someone she didn't have to worry would stab her in the back.
She decided to change the subject. It was getting dark and Wally needed his rest. "Still can't believe you were dumb enough to get caught," she chided. "Shouldn't you have been faster than that?"
"Yeah, I screwed up big time," Wally agreed. "And believe me; I am paying for my mistakes in blood."
Jinx winced, instantly regretting what had happened to him. "Let me take you back to your place. You need to see a doctor," she said softly. "Can you run or should I carry you?" she asked gently.
"I'm a bit tired from being halfway eviscerated. We could just order a cab," Wally said. "I've seen your home. You can see mine," he said, giving her a trusting smile. "I'm warning you, it's not impressive at all."
Jinx helped him up and hailed a taxi from the street. "Where are we going?" she asked as they walked together to the curb, him leaning on her gently.
"Star Labs. Tell him to go to Brennan and Jennings. We're going in the secret entrance," Wally explained, as they climbed inside. Jinx smiled at the knowledge of how much he was allowing her into his life.
"So this is where you live?" Jinx asked, looking around at the messy teenage boy's room. It wasn't that impressive or imposing of a secret hide-out. It looked more like a college boy's room. There was a large library of books, a computer and a few gadgets but nothing that would suggest that the current occupant was a super hero. She supposed that was for the best, it protected his identity.
"Home sweet home," Wally said as he flopped down into a chair, careful of his back. "Make yourself at home as well. I'll get us some food as soon as possible."
"So, what do you think of having a villain in your bedroom?" Jinx asked with a grin. She had to admit, living in a top notch science lab was a pretty good place for a secret lair.
"Well, it's like a dream I've been having," Wally said, giving her a roughish wink. "Only thing is, you usually have a lot less clothing on in it. And you're dressed in a lot more leather."
"You're a pervert," Jinx said, as she helped him out of his bloody uniform and handed him a shirt from the floor. Despite the wounds, he had excellent muscles and chiseled tone body. She'd have to bed him for real soon. "Are heroes allowed to do that?"
"Green Arrow has a new girl in his bed every week, according to Speedy," Wally confided, gingerly sliding the shirt over his head. "Guess it comes with the territory."
Jinx refused to be baited. "Well, if you even look at another girl, I'll kill you. And you're going to need those wounds cleaned. They are going to get infected if you don't," she chided, removing a small hard metal case from his suit.
"I know, I'll go downstairs in a few minutes. I just need to make sure that Doc Hamilton doesn't notice the injuries or he will go nuts," Wally said softly, closing his eyes. "And I know what you're holding."
"You have a message," Jinx said, as she handed him his communicator. She tried to resist the urge to swipe it; she was being good after all. "Here, I know, keep my hands off it."
Wally shrugged and flipped it open. "Most likely my uncle was worried about me," he said softly, before all hell broke loose the next second.
A cold, chillingly cold and authoritative voice filled the room, considering the tiny cell phone. "Wally. Your mentor has been worried about you lately. So has Superman. They may have let you off the hook, but I am not so kind. Do you want to know what happens to people who distress my friends? Then shape up or else you deal with me." Click.
Jinx could hear the literal snap in Wally's spine as he sat up straighter. The color had drained from his face and she could see the absolute panic in his eyes. It was a reaction worthy of a villain, but it was coming from the greatest hero of them all. "Batman," came the frightened squeak from the formerly cocky hero. "He is on my case." Her boyfriend suddenly looked even more terrified than he had been under the loving green thumb of Poison Ivy.
"Calm down. He isn't still coming here…is he?" Jinx asked. She loved Wally, but if the Bat started winging around here, she was ditching him and getting a new identity. Even Brother Blood feared Batman, the Dark Knight. "Because if he is, I better split."
"I don't know. I never know with him. He could be right outside my door or have my place bugged," Wally whispered, looking like he was going to pass out from more than just the pain. Jinx wasn't that far behind him, she was definitely not ready to face the uber-hero.
"Should we be running?" Jinx queried. All her textbooks had a list of seven superheroes that were to be avoided at all costs. Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawk Girl, Martian Manhunter, Superman and Wonder Woman were listened under Code Black, unstoppable to any villain below the elite level. "Anywhere we could hide?" Hide from Batman? That was a laugh. She had corrupted his god-son, he's track her to the ends of the Earth and keep going. She heard Arkham was nice this time of year.
Wally shook his head numbly. "There is no place to hide from him. But I doubt we need to leave the place. If he suspected anything, he'd have me dragged by to Gotham by my ears. If he wanted to speak to me, I'd be in his lair, begging for my auntie." The hollow sadness in his usually happy voice was rather chilling. "I've really screwed it up now."
"Would he…hurt you?" Jinx said, feeling more than slightly protective of her boyfriend and her own self. The terror in his voice was making her nervous. She had always assumed that heroes treated their younglings better than villains did, but Wally looked like he was going to heave his guts. A feeling of anger filled her, she had always hated the Dark Knight of Gotham on principle, but if he was abusing Wally, she'd find that Bat's weakness and take him down somehow. "Because if he is…?" Yeah, what was she going to do?
"Of course not! Batman would never hurt me," Wally snapped, waving his hands furiously. "He wouldn't have to. He'd just glare at me and I'd spill my guts and he'd glare at me some more and lecture me about how badly I was doing and I'd have to agree with him because he's Batman and he's the greatest and the person I most want to be like besides Flash and I'm the lowly apprentice of his best friend and of course I'm a worthless stupid little brat who should be kept on a leash till I learn to behave." Okay, Wally was having a complete nervous breakdown. This was not a good sign.
"So…he'd glare at you? That's it?" Jinx asked. All this over a little glare? If the Bat caught her, he'd do a lot more than glaring. He'd have her restrained in a cell in Arkham before she could even blink.
"Then he'd make me do boring chores while he and the Flash plotted how best to punish me and well…it would just not be pleasant. I really have no wish to be kept locked up in space or forced to spend time with Aquaman cleaning toxic waste dumps in the ocean and oh god, I'm doomed, he's going to be so disappointed with me," Wally babbled, sitting down in a chair and putting his head in his hands.
"Calm down. He's just one guy glaring at you. How bad could that be?" Jinx asked, kneeling down next to him and taking his hand. What was he complaining about? He should try living on the run from these people. That was scary.
"You want to try it? One phone call from me mentioning your name and he'll have us brought in for questioning," Wally said acidly, one of the few times he sounded less than in control.
Jinx winced. She was not ready to take the Batman. In fact, she doubted she would ever be. "Not on your life. But it's not like he's going to do much but be disappointed in you. How bad is that?"
"Very bad," Wally said softly. "I want them to respect me. I…want to be just like them. Batman and the Flash, they were God to me. They trained me, they took me in and they gave everything to me. I…don't know, haven't you ever had someone who would sacrifice everything for you?" he asked.
Jinx glared at him. "No…I didn't. Remember, we discussed that. I had to make it alone on the streets. Sure, Regina's family was nice to me, but I couldn't rely on them. Asking them to die for me would have…meant I wouldn't have had a place to go to when I was injured. It wasn't a good idea. I had no one, I took care of myself, I didn't have time to waste on what other people thought of me," she hissed.
"I could have ended up like that. If my aunt and uncle hadn't taken me in, I would have ended up with relatives who would never have helped me. I'd be in a wheelchair somewhere, pretending that I wanted to live," Wally said, giving her a sad smile. "And I would have accidentally fallen into the ocean one time when no one was looking. Almost did."
Hearing that chilling thought said so calmly shocked Jinx. She had forgotten that the police reports had mentioned Wally West being severely injured the night he lost his parents. It was terrible to realize that her happy friend had seen plenty of darkness too. "Yeah, the reports mentioned you were crippled in the car accident," she probed gently.
"Went into a car being able to walk and having parents. Lost it all when I woke up in a hospital," Wally said acidly. "I guess you don't have the monopoly on bad luck. It wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my Christmas."
"So getting your powers got you walking too?" Jinx asked, patting his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. She had to admit; hearing him suffer did humanize him.
"Yeah. The Flash tried a new therapy to help me to walk again and it worked…very well," Wally said, closing his eyes for a moment. "He saved my life. Before that, I was just some miserable little cripple. He and the rest of The Original Seven made me into who I am today."
Yeah, she was really starting to see the bonds of loyalty here. He had really been rescued by these people. She wondered what it was like to be loved like that. She had respect and fear at the Hive Academy, but she had never been…nurtured with such affection. "I can see how important they are to you. So what are you going to do now?" she asked, wondering if he would ditch her now or wait until he could find an excuse. His back was finally against the wall, and now he was going to abandon her. All those pretty words he had said this were about to fly out of the window like the Man of Steel himself.
Wally took a deep breath, as if he was steeling himself for battle. Here it came, it wasn't her, it was him and how they just weren't compatible. "Start studying hard. Make sure to keep to my shifts. Make sure my behavior is perfect while I keep seeing you," he said, in a low tone. "And get some ice packs for the pain. Some morphine wouldn't hurt too."
Jinx's jaw dropped. She had heard him say his loyalty to heroes was his loyalty to her, but she had never realized he equated her with them. It was a terrible feeling of comfort. "Are you serious?" she asked. Why wasn't she being abandoned?
"As we say, fly under the radar for a bit and hope Speedy gets a girl knocked up and the heat is off me. Because if they find out about us, game over. As much as I'd do anything to protect you, they'd make sure I never saw you again. That would be terrible." And just like that, he had…not rejected at all. He was trying to protect her. He cared about her.
She was touched. He was prepared to face the wrath of people who would always see her as an enemy, and a danger to the person she…cared about. Damn it, he was making her weak. All right, for him she could solve both problems, save him and stop herself from melting into a sentimental puddle. "You deserve better. I think you should arrest me."
"What?" Wally looked very confused. "Why would I do something like that?" he demanded, as he glared at her for even suggesting the idea. He ran his fingers through his hair nervously, sighing with exhaustion. He could arrest her and have all his problems solved. He would be accepted by everyone and praised. He was risking everything for her. "I know you're a heart breaker but I can't arrest you for that. Besides, you saved my life. I owe you my life. How could I repay you by taking away your freedom?" he asked.
"Because…if you did, the heat would be off you. I'll escape, don't worry." A sneaking suspicion was making her realize that she might actually lose him. She knew Wally wasn't kidding when he said he wouldn't be allowed to see her again. The thought of that made her very frightened and angry. They had no right to control his life. He was as much a prisoner as she was and that wasn't fair! Well, if it took her suffering a bit to get them off his back, she would do it. "I…don't want anything to happen to you. I mean, you saw what happened to you today. The criminal world isn't a good place to look for love. I'm a criminal, I can take it."
"Don't worry, I'll handle that," Wally mumbled, still looking like his puppy had been run over by the Batmobile. "I need to protect you from them. I need to protect you from everyone."
Jinx glared at him. This chivalry was starting to get old fast. "You know, I'm not some little doll you need to keep on a shelf. I'm not fast like you, but believe me; I can take good care of myself. Remember, it was me who saved you," she snapped.
"I didn't mean it that way," Wally whispered, his voice lowering an octave. "I know how tough you are, but I still feel like it's my job to watch over you," he tried to explain.
Jinx's glace grew withering. "I am not your possession. Just arrest me and go on your merry way where you belong. Leave me in jail and forget I ever existed. Then I'll escape and life can go back to normal." More time with him and she would go completely soft and start wearing yellow.
Wally sighed and gave her a weakened version of his trademark carefree grin. "I never said that you are my possession. I don't have the right to just lock you away for making my life complicated. Breaking the law, sure, but breaking my heart isn't a crime according to the legal code," he said with a sad smile.
"Don't you get what you're risking for being with me?" Jinx demanded. "Don't you see the danger?"
"I know, but I can't just leave you. If we get caught by my side, they'll lock you away forever, even over my protests. And I need to make sure that doesn't happen. I…really like you," he mumbled, giving her a shy smile. Jinx hated to admit how much she loved his smile. She was supposed to enjoy making him shiver in terror. "And I suppose I'll be in a fair amount of trouble."
"Well, liking me is going to keep getting you in trouble, give up on me already," Jinx demanded. She wondered if she could hit him over the head with a sign again and knock some sense into his skull. "I've done everything to push you away; do you need me to kill you so you'll just lose hope?" She demanded, finding herself completely at wits end.
"I don't give up anymore. Believe me, I pushed my aunt and uncle and my mentors through hell and they never abandoned me. I'm giving you the same promise. I'm here for you," Wally said, speeding over to stand by her side.
"You're really a masochist, aren't you?" Jinx demanded tearfully, wondering why heroes had to be so…good. She could understand selfishness and greed, but altruism and self sacrifice made her nervous. Those were unpredictable traits and she had no idea how to deal with them.
"Hey, maybe I am. I let you hurt me. Only thing is, I won't let anyone else hurt you. You mean the world to me. You make me smile. So I have to keep you safe," he said, putting his arm around her waist. "You know…I wish I could be your boyfriend in public. I wish you could walk into the Watchtower on my arm and no one would blink an eyelash," he said, holding her close. "Well, Robin and Speedy might be jealous of me, because you are so beautiful and smart and funny and different and perfect."
Hearing that was strange and she should have not allowed herself to believe him. People couldn't be trusted, people would hurt her, and she had to be careful. She should have walked away and found a less complicated situation. But she liked being held by him a lot. She supposed she would need to balance the scales.
"And if you're caught by my side," Jinx began, making him wince. And she couldn't allow him to be sad anymore. He had given up so much for her; she could offer him something as well.
"Yes?" Wally asked, giving her another sad and lovingly cynical look. "Will you have them drug me up before they take me apart, piece by piece?" he drawled. "Thank you for your kindness, I'm sure the Novocain will take the edge of the lasers. Or let Poison Ivy do it, she seems to enjoy taking me apart to see what makes me tick."
She was going to regret this in the morning. "I…I mean, our side…we're on the same side." Had she completely lost her mind? Had she just said what she thought she had?
"Are you saying what I think you are? And let me add, I hope so," Wally said, a strange hopeful grin on his face as he read her mind.
Damn it, she should back out now before she got herself into something stupid. "We are. I'm with you…" she trailed. She had no idea what it meant, but she and Wally were not enemies anymore. What side they were on was yet to be determined, but the world was no longer divided into hero and villain. It was them against the world, against both sides, good and evil. It was just the two of them.
At that moment, Wally had already lifted her up by the waist and spun her around; trying to hide how much that action hurt him. "Say it again, Jinx. Say it, please," he whispered, giving her a smile that was completely enraptured with her. "I want to hear just one more time, after all I have been through."
She was glad to. "I'm on your side, Wally West. I'm your ally, your girlfriend and you will walk with me down the street with our heads held high. I'm taking you up on that offer," she said softly, feeling lightness in herself that she had barely felt before. She didn't know how much she believed, but Wally was happy and he would help her and somehow, everything would work out.
When Wally kissed her, she no longer had any doubts.
AN-Awww! So nice, isn't it? I mean, I'm sure the Justice League will understand, right?
