AN: Schools out! But I think I had more free time with school than I do with summer... Oh well, I'll still try to crank out chapters of this story and When there was Darkness, which you should check out if you like AUs with rebel heroes in a dystopian, villain-controlled world!

Player Zero: It's funny how this story developed. It was supposed to be cute- Wally and Art on a date, beating up some baddies together, but oh how much that plan has changed. And I feel like when you read who saved him you're gonna facepalm XD

Irenerb: Don't worry, he'll get worse ;)

PainInSilence: Haha you summed it up well! I hope this chapter will answer some of your questions, because I know it'll give you some new ones to ponder ;)

Raebell: Me either! Jk, but to be honest I'm still deciding a few deets about the fate of the team, including Art and Wally…


Chapter 9~ R&R

The sound of a steady beep cut into the blankness of Wally's mind. When the hero's eyes fluttered open, he found himself staring up into darkness. He had to blink a few times before his eyes adjusted to the dim lights. The bed he was laying on was angled up, allowing the speedster to look down the length of his body. He was covered chest down with a white blanket, his arms resting on top of the comforter. A few tubes trailed from both wrists. His eyes followed the chords as they snaked across the bed before connecting to beeping, blinking machines and IV drips.

"Artemis!" He gasped aloud as it all came rushing back. Flashes of foliage, faces of villains, fighting, and finally, the unbearably loud blasts of gunfire. The last thing he remembered was escaping. Leaving her behind.

Wally started clawing at the tubes embedded in his wrists when a dark form materialized from the shadows. When the speedster caught sight of the masked figure, he shot bolt upright. As he moved, something stabbed into his shoulder, causing the hero to gasp and throw his head back in pain.

"You're awake, finally." The speedster recognized the purring female voice.

"Cheshire…?" Wally hissed through gritted teeth. The masked rogue stepped up to a machine on Wally's left, pushing one of the buttons.

"You can talk, but you need to stay relaxed," the ex-villainess remarked in a calm tone. The speedster winced as his wrist started to burn, but the searing sensation quickly faded into warmth that spread through his entire body. He felt his muscles relax as his body sunk deeper into the mattress, the pain in his shoulder subsiding. Wally's mind started to feel clouded by the fuzzy, warm feeling, but he pushed the effects away- he needed to stay awake.

"I've seen your face before, why wear the mask? You almost gave me a heart attack." The speedster grinned weakly, speaking with a hoarse, muted voice.

There was a pause before Cheshire sighed, pushing her mask up and to the side.

"I suppose you're right sidekick," she shrugged. Wally immediately regretted his comment- Cheshire's gaze felt like it was boring holes into him. The smile faded from Wally's face. He looked away from the assassin.

"I… I don't even know how to apologize." He murmured.

"Don't. Both you and I know Artemis can take care of herself. If you hadn't escaped, both of you would be in a far worse predicament."

A question crossed Wally's muddled mind.

"How did you find me?"

"It was a lucky break." Another voice spoke from the shadows, gruff and tired.

Red Arrow stepped up next to Cheshire, a blank expression on his face. Wally noticed the dark bags under his eyes.

"We sent out search teams, but we weren't anywhere close. By pure luck, a man- he told us he was a journalist from the Daily Planet- found you in the middle of a road."

Clone-Roy sighed and pulled a chair up to the side of the bed, placing his forearms on the mattress, his hands clasped together. Shaking his head, he continued. "You were in rough shape, I thought… well… I just didn't know if-"

The door creaked open. Cheshire melted back into the shadows as the Dark Knight himself entered the room.

"Batman?" Wally asked in surprise, his voice cracking. The hero of Gotham looked like he had a deeper scowl on his face than usual, if that was even possible.

"Cheshire, come out. I know you're there," he growled.

"My apologies. Force of habit I suppose," the rogue purred, stepping once again into the lighter part of the room.

Wally felt as if the temperature in the room dropped when Batman's glare turned on him. He felt like a child- small and frail compared to the dark, powerful figure looming over him.

"After your and Artemis's little stunt, my apprentice went out looking for you. He went into the building where Sportsmaster captured you and Artemis. It was booby-trapped. There was an explosion that decimated the entire warehouse." The Dark Knight paused, as if waiting for Wally to say something.

But speaking was not one of the speedster's priorities. The room was spinning sickeningly. Subconsciously, the hero gripped the sides of his bed. Wally could hear the blood pumping in his ears, his breaths becoming shallow and uneven.

"Is he…? Is he…?" is all Wally could manage, his voice wheezing and breathless. This could not be happening. He could not be responsible for the death of his teammate.

"For God's sake Batman, you're going to give him a heart attack." Wally noticed another figure entering the room, a much smaller one.

"Hey Wally, how you feeling?" Batman's grinning sidekick stepped up next to the bed. The room stopped rotating. Wally let out a sigh and a nervous laugh. He grabbed his friend's arm, just to make sure he was really there.

"Been better," the speedster replied breathlessly. Wally looked Robin over. He was wearing loose, gray garments that resembled pajamas, and there was a white bandage wrapped around his forehead. The Boy Wonder seemed to notice Wally scanning him. He smiled.

"Just a scratch." Robin shrugged.

"But it could have been more had Roy not been there." Batman said. "Going out on your own when you didn't know the dangers was irresponsible. You could have killed Robin, yourself, and Artemis, who is still in enemy hands."

Wally shut his eyes tightly as the room began to spin again.

"First of all, it's not Roy." The archer stood, glaring at Batman. "Second, it wasn't their fault. They didn't know Sportsmaster was free. I should have found them sooner, if I had, none of this…" Red trailed off, shaking his head slowly.

Batman narrowed his eyes at the archer. "That doesn't change the fact that lives were endangered by his actions." His gaze then turned to Wally, who's face had gone as white as the sterile bed sheets. "Don't think that there won't be consequences." The Dark Knight paused for a moment, staring at Wally, who squirmed uncomfortably under the Bat's glare.

"What, you don't think he's had enough punishment already?" Robin piped up. Batman ignored his protégé.

"A team will go after and rescue Artemis while you stay here and recover." He stated as he began to turn to leave.

Something hot began to burn in Wally's chest, and it wasn't the medicine. The speedster struggled to push himself up.

"Wait, you went through all that- blaming me, making me feel guilty- and you're not even going to let me fix my mistake? I've been stabbed, shot, poisoned, and oh yeah, almost digested by a man-eating plant! And you don't think I can handle going back to rescue Artemis?"

"Exactly. All those events you listed just give you more reason to stay here and rest. In your current condition, you would be a danger to the mission and put even more lives at stake than you already have." With that, Batman turned, leaving the room.

Robin laid his hand on the speedster's uninjured shoulder. "I know he sounds angry, but he's really just glad you survived."

"Huh. To me, it sounded more like he wished I hadn't," Wally grumbled. The archer rested a hand on the speedster's uninjured shoulder.

"He's right about you needing rest." Roy paused before continuing. "You definitely had us all scared. You lost a lot of blood… I'm just glad you're still here. Take it easy for me, ok? For all of us."

Red and Cheshire both exited the room, leaving Robin by Wally's side.

Wally leaned back and locked his gaze on the white-tiled ceiling, trying to ignore the look of concern on his teammate's face. Robin took a seat in Red's chair.

"I don't care what Red said. Batman was right. This, everything, it's my fault." Wally could feel his throat beginning to tighten, but he couldn't stop his thoughts from flowing out of him.

"When I had to leave her behind… I wasn't sure if I'd ever see her again, if I'd see anyone again. They still have her, but what if- Oh God, what if…"

The room started spinning, faster and faster. Wally felt his stomach do a flip. "I think I'm gonna be-" Before he could finish, he lurched to the left, leaning over the side of the bed. Robin handed his teammate a bedpan just as he emptied what little contents remained in his stomach. He groaned as he fell back onto the pillow, closing his eyes to shut out the rotating room.

"Take it easy Wally. None of this is your fault; it was Sportsmaster. If he hadn't escaped, none of this would've happened."

Wally heard a click and felt the warmth of the medicine flow into his veins. The speedster tried to move, to keep his eyes open, but every square inch of his body just felt so heavy. He tried to fix his gaze on Robin's face, which was becoming increasingly blurry.

"Please, let yourself rest. We'll take care of Artemis…"

Robin's voice seemed to fade away as Wally sunk into the darkness.


I have a few trips coming up, which gives me time to write! I think I really like how this story is turning out, it is my most successful fic after all! If you can spare the time, I'd love to hear what you all think!