[The Watchtower
March 26, 21:30 EST]
They were losing.
Badly.
Mere minutes after Wally and the others disappeared when the floor collapsed, one of the Manhunters self-destructed without warning. The explosion had taken everyone by surprise and downed over half of them in one blow.
Vixen and Black Canary had been right beside the Manhunter when it self-destructed. Black Canary had wearily darted in front of Vixen and released a weak scream at the flames that pushed them back. It worked for a moment, but the fire and shrapnel hurled both of them back several feet, and they didn't get back up again.
The extreme heat from the fire overwhelmed Kaldur and M'gann just as quickly. Kaldur reacted as best he could, commanding all of the water in the room towards the blast and preventing it from consuming the entire room and the rest of his teammates. But they'd still been too close, and the scorching fire had them beaten in less than sixty seconds. They were both unconscious on the floor now with Zatanna frantically conjuring water and ice to bathe them in. The raven-haired sorceress was already halfway through creating a rough igloo of sorts to encapsulate M'gann.
Fire was the only one who seemed to be thriving amongst the smoke and flames, only making it hotter as she melted any Manhunter she could get her hands on in an effort to protect her teammates. Dick had tried to signal to her to stop – that she was making things worse for Kaldur and M'gann – but what else was she supposed to do? Fire was the only one even able to move right now, and she was working solo to fight a room full of Manhunters.
Dick crouched beneath one of Zatanna's shields with Donna, clamping rebreathers between their teeth so that the smoke didn't kill them. They had only survived because they'd been on the fringe of the field, and Dick had used his flame resistant cape to cover them both. Dodging both the flames and energy blasts had become impossible, so the only thing left to do was wait and pray that Fire could handle it by herself.
He wiped at the sweat pouring off of his forehead, dripping from his bangs like rain. Being helpless wasn't something he was used to, and he hated it.
"Dloc dniw wolb!" Zatanna shouted at M'gann while keeping one hand outstretched towards Kaldur. "Ekam ti niar!"
The mini ice fortress around M'gann grew thicker and crept over her limbs with the sound of a hundred icicles cracking. Dick ducked behind the cocoon and peered in through the gap at the floor. M'gann was still unconscious with her face screwed up in the memory of pain. He looked back at the steady drizzle of rain falling onto Kaldur and saw Donna cupping her hands into a bowl to collect some of the water. Her soot-streaked face was drawn tight in concern as she brought her hands to the gills on either side of Kaldur's neck and gently washed the water through them.
"I can't keep this up!" Zatanna cried hoarsely, casting another spell to keep up the invisible shield around them all. "Fire has to stop this soon, or Aqualad and Miss Martian are going to die faster than I can keep them cool and hydrated."
Dick ground his teeth together in frustration and scanned the room again, trying to come up with a solution as quickly as possible.
"We also need to get to Vixen and Black Canary," Donna spoke in her thick, Greek accent, pouring another handful of water onto Kaldur's neck. "They will burn if the Manhunters don't get to them first."
Dick could barely see the pair of downed heroines across the room. They were less than five yards from the gaping hole in the floor that Wally and the others had fallen through. He didn't know if things were any better down there or not, but he knew that Black Canary and Vixen would die if they stayed up here undefended. He took mental stock of everything in his utility belt and then turned to face Zatanna with a determined look, "Zee, how many spells can you keep active at the same time?"
"I used to think it was only one, but…" she gestured to Kaldur, M'gann, and the shield she was keeping solid as way of an answer.
"I know you're stretched thin, but do you think you can handle one more?" he asked quickly, giving a meaningful gesture over to where Fire was keeping the Manhunters away from Vixen and Black Canary.
Zatanna gave him a skeptical look but took one glance at Black Canary sprawled out on the ground with her blonde hair singed and tangled over her face. Dick knew that she was remembering all the time that the tough heroine had given to overseeing their training and how she'd cared about them when she had no reason to.
Zatanna nodded and returned her focus to keeping Kaldur hydrated, "I can handle it. What do you need?"
"I need to get over to them without catching on fire," Dick told her, making a face as he realized how vague his request sounded. Zatanna frowned in thought, no doubt running through her repertoire of spells for a useful one.
"I want to help," Donna's eyes darted between them urgently, and she clenched her fists like she was all ready for combat. She probably was.
Dick thought for a brief moment and started unhooking the spare grapnel gun from his belt. He pointed to the lasso at Donna's waist, "Okay. You get Vixen, and I'll go for Black Canary."
Donna agreed and Zatanna seemed to find a spell that would work, "I have one, but I've never tried it before. It may fail."
"We don't have time for doubts," Dick shrugged sympathetically. "We need to give it a try."
"Alright," Zatanna said at length, sucking in a deep, shaky breath and extending both arms towards Dick and Donna.
"Foorperif Nibor dna Rednow Lrig!"
Dick felt a strange chilly sensation cover his entire body and saw Donna shiver similarly. He gave her a nod to show that he felt the spell taking effect and stood up from the shelter of M'gann's ice cave, "Let's go, Wonder Girl."
They both leapt out of Zatanna's force field and made a break for the unconscious heroines that Fire was fighting to defend. Donna took the lead, blocking energy blasts as they ran and punching one Manhunter so hard that her fist went right through it. She flung it aside and shoved aside two more to clear the path. Dick felt an energy blast hit him between the shoulder blades, and he rolled with the momentum, getting back to his feet in a dead run.
"Secure the lasso to something and tie the other end around Vixen!" Dick yelled as they got closer. His skin blistered from the heat and every lungful of air felt like he was breathing in pure steam. "Make sure the rope has plenty of feed to it!"
Donna nodded without looking back at him. She freed her lasso from her belt in a quick motion and looped one end around a thick pillar. Dick slid the rest of the way to Black Canary's side, ducking beneath Manhunter fire and firing the grappling hook into the ground. He locked the length at twenty feet and severed the de-cel line from the gun handle, tying it around Black Canary's torso in an expert knot and turning to Donna once he was finished, "Throw them both over the edge!"
She was just finishing tying up Vixen when his words registered, and she looked up in surprise, "What?"
"Now!" Dick spun around to throw two birdarangs at a group of Manhunters advancing on them.
Donna carefully pushed Vixen over the edge of the hole with her foot and dragged Black Canary by her jacket. Both heroines tumbled out of sight, and the de-cel line and lasso snapped taut as they reached the end of the lines.
They were safe.
Dick exchanged a relieved half smile with Donna when an energy blast collided with the side of his head.
Pain spiraled into his skull, and he was thrown onto his back. His head slammed against the floor with a series of cracks. Dick's vision went gray, and suddenly the world sounded like it was underwater. He tried to move, but his whole body was numb, and he couldn't tell if his hands were actually touching the floor to push himself upright or still lying limp at his sides.
He felt himself being pulled up effortlessly by the front of his uniform, but he couldn't see who it was.
Please be Donna, please be Donna, please.
Tiny pinpoints returned at the center of his vision, and the grey receded enough for him to see shiny red and blue metal and glowing green eyes.
Crap.
The Manhunter held him out at arm's length and pointed its energy pistol right at his face. The weapon whined as it charged up, and Dick furiously kicked at the Manhunter's chest plate to get free. The Manhunter's fingers didn't give an inch, and the pistol was pressed against his forehead.
Dick shut his eyes and felt his heartbeat stutter as he scrambled to prepare himself to die.
I'm sorry, Bruce. Alfred.
Mom…Dad…
Wally, I love you. Please be safe.
He took in a deep breath and held it, waiting for the trigger to be pulled.
It never happened.
Dick summoned the courage to crack one eye open and was met with dim green lights that were powering down. He blinked rapidly, unaware that his vision was blurry because stunned tears were filling his eyes. The Manhunter had been deactivated.
He looked around in disbelief at the motionless androids all over the room, frozen and powered down all at the same time. Fire paused in confusion and stopped torching the Manhunters to see what was happening.
"Batman to all teams."
Dick jumped in shock when his mentor's voice came through his earpiece.
"We've successfully infected the Manhunters' hive mind with a virus. It will have them offline for an estimated five minutes. I can't guarantee that timeframe, so use it wisely. Destroy as many Manhunters as you can and treat your wounds later."
Dick stared at the Manhunters in wide-eyed surprise. Bruce had done it… They'd really done it.
"I repeat: you have five minutes. Destroy as many Manhunters as you can!"
He didn't wait another second. Dick pried off the fingers holding him and dropped to the ground in an unsteady crouch, glaring up at the Manhunter as he grabbed for a birdarang.
It was a massacre. Dick, Zatanna, Donna, and Fire had the room cleared in less than two minutes. They heard a similar scenario playing out on the level below them as well. Dick looked over at Donna, chest heaving for air and grinned exhaustedly.
The huge windows on the observation deck suddenly lit up with blinding green as every single Green Lantern fighting out in space rallied as one to eradicate the deactivated Manhunters before they came back online.
By the time that five minutes were up, the Green Lanterns had fought so furiously that only a couple hundred Manhunters were left. Dick was still on high alert and in battle mode even as he watched the Manhunters reactivate and take stock of their losses before flying away from the Watchtower.
"Are they…running away?" Zatanna asked from where she was still caring for Kaldur and M'gann.
"I don't know," Dick frowned. A third of the Lanterns gave chase, following the Manhunters like comets. "It sort of looks like it."
"Batman, the virus worked!" Superman's voice came over the communicator. "The Manhunters are being pushed back out here. What's the situation inside the Watchtower?"
Dick expected to hear Bruce's voice next, but it was Mister Terrific who spoke, "All Manhunters inside the satellite have been neutralized. Oxygen levels are at seventy-eight percent, and all breaches are currently sealed."
"Our next move is to secure the medical bay and tend to our wounded. We don't know if the Manhunters will return with reinforcements, so move quickly," Bruce ordered calmly and Dick could hear the slightest hint of heavily concealed pain in his voice.
"The improved long-range sensors are only registering the Manhunters' retreat. They can give us up to twenty minutes notice," Mister Terrific said in response.
"Aquaman here," A much deeper voice filled Dick's earpiece. "The medical bay is secure and both Doctors Light and Mid-Nite are here and preparing for the injured. Red Tornado is on his way to the reactor core to relieve you, Terrific. We're going to need you up here."
"Understood."
Dick tuned out the chatter on the communicator and put the windows at his back. The observation deck was a mess; the floor was barely visible through the Manhunter husks, and the air was dark and hazy with smoke from the burning pile of molten metal surrounding Fire.
He started running for the hole in the floor, heart pounding madly, "Wonder Girl, help Zatanna bring Miss Martian and Aqualad to the medical bay. Don't stop for anything. Fire, power down! They both have extreme weaknesses to heat and flame!"
Instantly, the burning, green heroine extinguished the fire dancing along her body, and she returned to a normal human form, looking distraught at the condition of the young heroes around her.
"I'm going to find out what happened to the rest of our team!" he shouted over his shoulder before noticing that both Donna's lasso and the line from his grapnel gun were loose.
"Tropelet su ot eht lacidem yab!"
Dick slid to his knees, grabbed the loose de-cel line, and jumped over the edge of the hole, swinging down into the level below without difficulty. He let his hands slide a little down the line before stopping himself a good ten feet from the ground. Black Canary was no longer tied to the line and hanging from the ceiling. She'd been cut down and was in Grifter's arms while Big Barda carefully laid Vixen out on the floor.
"Robin!"
Dick looked up and saw Artemis running towards him waving her bow with a concerned look. She had a small gash on the side of her head that was bleeding steadily and slicking her blonde hair red with blood, but it didn't appear to be too bad. Dick dropped to the ground and almost fell over as a wave of vertigo washed over him. Artemis grabbed his shoulders and helped steady him, "Are you okay?"
"Took a nasty hit to the head," he brought his gloved hand up to his temple and it came away dark red. "Kinda like you did."
"How are the others?" Conner was suddenly right there as well, and Dick could see Atom Smasher shrinking himself down to a normal size across the room. "We couldn't get back up, and then we heard an explosion."
"A Manhunter detonated," Dick explained briefly and then gestured to Black Canary and Vixen who were still unconscious. "Took them out first and then Aqualad and Miss Martian."
"Are they alive?!" Conner asked in alarm, and the blood rushed out of Artemis' face.
Dick nodded, "Zee and Wonder Girl took them to the medical bay. And that's where Black Canary and Vixen really need to go too."
"Don't worry, Shortstop," Grifter and Big Barda were already making for the room's exit. "We'll take Blondie and Supermodel there ourselves."
Dick watched them leave and scanned the rest of the room nervously. He couldn't see Wally anywhere. Or Roy. Why weren't they here? A terrible sinking feeling in his gut made him look over at the heaping pile of rubble from where the ceiling had collapsed. Was Wally buried beneath it? He hadn't been able to see a thing when he tossed down his grapnel gun before.
"Where's KF…?" he barely whispered. Both Conner and Artemis exchanged worried looks.
A thick arm suddenly wrapped around him from behind, and Dick almost jumped out of his skin before he recognized the black, fingerless glove, "He took off all of a sudden right after he heard over the communicator that Flash might be in trouble."
The voice was angry – furious and relieved at the same time. Dick turned around and found Roy, bruised and bloodied but otherwise fine, standing right behind him. He was quickly overcome with relief of his own and couldn't stop himself from returning the older boy's quick hug. Then his words registered.
"What do you mean he ran off?!" Dick's legs went weak, and his chest felt hollow.
"Didn't you hear over the communicator?" Roy's eyebrows turned downwards.
"We could barely hear ourselves over the explosions," Dick shook his head.
"The team covering the detention level got taken out, and Flash was dispatched to help, but he never made it there," Roy explained grimly. "KF went to find him, and I can't get either of them to answer their damn communicators!"
"I'll meet you at the med bay," Dick bolted for the door without waiting another second, sprinting on numb legs that shouldn't have been able to carry him this fast. His teammates called out for him to stop, but Dick couldn't stand not knowing what happened to Wally. He had to see him.
He ran down the hall towards the detention level, jumping over deactivated Manhunter shells and picking his way through wreckage that only a speedster could have caused. At least he knew he was on the right track. Dick followed Wally's trail all the way to the very bottom level of the Watchtower, picturing every single terrible thing that might have happened to him along the way.
Why the hell did he have to be so bullheaded?! Who runs off by themselves in the middle of a Manhunter invasion?
Dick tried to calm down as he ran and felt himself sighing in defeat. Wally. Wally was exactly the type of person to do that – especially if he was going after someone important to him.
A sudden thought made Dick stumble a little as he sprinted down the few remaining steps in the stairwell and shouldered past the doors. He was doing the same thing… Dick glanced to the side rather sheepishly and turned the corner once he reached the detention level. What he saw almost made him fall over.
Dick came to a dead stop, and feeling returned to his limbs. Wally and Flash were hobbling down the hall coming from the other end. One of Barry's arms was firmly slung around Wally's neck, and he was leaning on him for support as he limped along. One of Wally's sleeves was torn off, and it looked like it was tied around Barry's leg. He was covered in scrapes and bloody bruises like everyone else, but he was in one piece and looked fine for the most part.
"KF!" he shouted excitedly, running towards them as fast as he could.
Both Wally and Barry looked up in surprise, having been focused on their feet and making sure they didn't lose their balance. Neither of them had seen him come around the corner obviously.
Even from this distance, Dick could see Wally's green eyes widen in shock and light up happily, "Rob!"
Barry smiled too and carefully extricated himself from Wally, awkwardly hopping aside to lean against the wall instead. Wally looked after his uncle in confusion, but Dick crashed into him a second later and almost sent both of them to the floor.
Wally wrapped his arms around him tightly as Dick started squeezing the life out of him, "Ow! Jeez – rib cage! Rib cage!"
"You'll heal," Dick dismissed his whining with an offhanded shrug and leaned up to press his lips against Wally's without hesitation. The redheaded speedster seemed startled at first but wasted no time returning the kiss, staggering back a few steps as he tried to support their weight and nearly failed. Dick started to laugh but didn't pull away. He couldn't. He was too bone-shakingly relieved that Wally had made it. Now it seemed a little ridiculous that he'd ever worried in the first place, but judging by the way Wally clung to him just as desperately, he knew the relief wasn't just his own.
They pulled away when they heard Barry start laughing, and that's when Dick realized that he'd just kissed the Flash's nephew right in front of him. He'd kinda sorta forgotten that the distinguished hero was even there. Dick had a difficult time keeping his eyes from dropping to the floor, and Wally had turned a bright shade of red that Dick imagined was staining his own face as well.
"What?" Wally mumbled in embarrassment, seeming to shrink a little under his uncle's amusement.
"Nothing," Barry shook his head, still chuckling at them. "Just something I said to Batman a few weeks ago. It was before you were healed enough to leave the…from when your dad first…you know what, nevermind…"
Dick made a mental note to ask Bruce what the heck Barry was talking about once this was all over. He took stock of Wally's injuries and Barry's leg again – just now seeing how severely crooked it was, "What happened to you guys?"
"Rudy got the jump on me," Barry said bitterly as Wally helped support him again. "But he's gone now. For good. A breach opened up in the cell we were in and dragged him out into space."
"Almost got us too," Wally held up a sloppily reloaded grapnel gun, and Dick recognized it as the one he'd blindly thrown down to him earlier. "We owe you for the save."
"And the team you went to help?" Dick asked nervously.
"They're all alive," Barry told him with genuine, heavy relief in his tone. "Kid and I helped patch everyone up as best we could, and we left them with Icon and Mister Miracle. Black Lightning has a pretty nasty concussion, and Firestorm seemed pretty dazed, but no one was worse off than that."
Wally snorted suddenly and gave a quick laugh, "Except for Elongated Man. He's stuck all stretched out for some reason."
Barry seemed to be struggling not to laugh as well, "It's not the first time that's happened; he'll be fine. What about your team up top?"
"Aqualad and Miss M are pretty bad, but I think Zatanna saved them," Dick said reluctantly. Now that he was no longer panicking over Wally, there was room for everyone else in his mind. "I don't know about Vixen or Black Canary. They were still out cold when I came to find you."
Wally sobered then, and his eyes clouded over anxiously. Barry looked at them both sympathetically and gave a small smile, "Well, there's no use getting all upset when we hardly know anything. Let's head back up to the medical bay, and we'll find out."
A second later, Superman's voice crackled in their earpieces, telling everyone that the Manhunters had warped out of the area, and the battle was over for now. Everyone was to rendezvous at the med bay for treatment and further instructions.
"See?" Barry smiled a little wider. "I'm just full of good ideas today."
"Except for running headlong into a trap like a rookie."
Dick turned around at the deep voice and saw Bruce stalking down the hall towards them. He was walking normally but had one arm tucked close to his side oddly and was gritting his teeth like it hurt. Bruce put his other hand on Dick's shoulder, looking perfectly composed, but his fingers dug into his cape and belied how worried he'd been.
"You're the one who sent me down here in the first place…" Flash grumbled, ducking his head a little in mock contrition. "Don't…uh, tell anyone else, will ya? It's a little shameful that my nephew had to save my hide."
Dick watched Wally with interest, wondering what had happened down here. He'd have to ask him later. Barry ruffled Wally's hair teasingly, and Wally looked down in embarrassment.
"He's bad at following orders as well," Bruce said dryly, staring right at Wally when he spoke.
Wally shrank back a little behind his uncle and looked intimidated. Dick felt a spark of annoyance at his adoptive father, and he elbowed him in the side lightly. This earned him a curious stare from Bruce that he promptly ignored.
"Be nice, Bats." Barry shot a devious sort of grin between Wally and Dick. "If everything goes well, we might be in-laws one day!"
Dick felt his face heat up immediately and saw Wally's eyes widen as they turned to his uncle in disbelief. Bruce looked at him, and Dick could all too easily imagine the raised eyebrow he was giving him from behind the mask.
"I can hardly wait," Bruce deadpanned sarcastically, moving forward to take Barry's weight on himself. Wally backed off uncertainly, and Bruce nodded to the end of the hall where the stairwell was. "Both of you head up to the med bay and get your injuries looked at. I'll help Flash."
"Are you sure…?" Wally looked hesitant to leave his uncle.
"I'll be fine," Barry waved him off with a smile. "Be fast, and we'll meet you there in a bit."
Bruce's expression was neutral and gave nothing away, but Dick knew that he was sending them away so that he could get the full details about what happened from Flash.
"Okay…" Wally agreed, but he could obviously tell that something was up.
"Come on," Dick grabbed his arm and pulled him away at a run. "I think we've both got a few broken bones that need to be set."
They ran at normal speed until they were a few landings up the stairs – and well out of sight of Bruce and Barry. Then Wally jerked Dick to a stop and hugged him fiercely, pushing him back against the railing and burying his face in the crook of his neck. Dick didn't mind. He just wound one arm around Wally's shoulders and gripped his back tightly with the other. It was still just such a relief that they'd both survived together.
"I feel like I can breathe again," Wally mumbled against his skin quietly.
"I know. Me too," Dick laughed, pulling away and blinking rapidly as he got dizzy again. Stupid head wound…
Wally didn't miss the not Wally-induced swoon and quickly turned around so that Dick could climb onto his back, "Hop on. I'll carry you. I would have before, but…well, Flash and Batman were there…and-"
"We don't want to make the teasing any worse than it's already going to be," Dick finished the thought for him, gratefully hooking his arms and legs around his…boyfriend. His face went hot again, and he rested his head on Wally's back. That sounded really weird and unbelievably nice at the same time.
"Yeah," Wally laughed, standing up straight. "You might want to close your eyes this time if you're dizzy. I don't want you to throw up on me."
Dick bristled, "Thanks for ruining the mood, Kid Smooth."
"What mood? We're fallin apart, bleeding all over each other."
"I was creating a different mood in my head until you introduced the mental image of me barfing on you."
"If it's just in your head, then that's not a 'mood'. It's a fantasy, dude."
"I wasn't fantasizing about anything!"
"I'm telling you, this is a totally inappropriate time to be undressing me with your eyes," Wally went on like he hadn't heard him. "We almost died. And you haven't even bought me dinner yet. Rude…"
Dick pinched a pressure point on Wally's spine that brought him to his knees with a startled gasp, "I'll cripple you for ten minutes if I have to. Just shut your gob and run."
Wally chuckled and got back to his feet, "If this is gonna be one of those relationships, I'm totally game for it."
Dick just fought down his smile and closed his eyes as Wally ran, wondering when exactly their bro banter had turned into sexual banter and very secretly hoping that it would continue.