Well at least it took me little less than a year this time! Thank you all who have stuck with me, you are all freaking awesome. Since this story has come so far, and is 5 YEARS in the making, I am definitely going to finish it. I think there will probably be at least 3 more chapters to give an estimate!
Chapter 12
It was dawn by the time Kid Flash reached the laboratory. Red light shined over the horizon, stretching out the shadows of the trees and the laboratory, giving Wally the feeling that the building was looming over him. He leaned against the bark of a tree, chest heaving, cold sweat trickling down his back. His legs were shaking and felt heavy, like he had just run a marathon. Wally really had just run more than a marathon, but that was usually a cinch for him. He gripped the tree, letting his head rest against it as he tried to calm his breath. Kid Flash was not in good shape. If he barely escaped before, how did he even have a chance now?
Wally squeezed his eyes shut and thought about Artemis. She was taken from him. It was his fault. He had to get her back. Besides, the team was already inside. Kid Flash opened his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Even if he wasn't in prime condition, he had his team. A surge of hope coursed through the speedster. How could they lose? Wally stood, shaking himself out.
"Lets do this. For Artemis." With that, Wally dashed towards the entrance of the building. It didn't seem like any injustice leaguers were patrolling, but the lab's defenses whirred into action. Wally caught the sound of machines whirring to life and leaped into a tuck and roll as gunfire swept across his path. Dodging and zipping from left to right, Wally made it to the front entrance. The door was locked of course, but those were never really a problem for him. He put his hands against the door and began to vibrate, walking slowly into the door.
The speedster phased through, into the dark main entrance. Kid Flash let out a soft triumphant "ha!" But was immediately hit with a wave of vertigo and collapsed to the floor. Wally looked up into the blurry, but empty hallway. His fatigue wasn't a result of the Count's waves, just his own exhaustion. Wally was seriously low on energy. As his head cleared, he cursed himself for not grabbing a snack. Wally knew he wouldn't be able to phase again without completely draining himself. "The old fashioned way then," he sighed.
Wally walked through the halls. The place was eerily quiet, not exactly what the speedster was expecting. He expected to run into the team fighting off the bad guys, or at least hear sounds of combat. Wally paused.
"What if… I'm too late?" Kid Flash whispered to himself.
But there was no more time to think as gunfire shattered the silence. Wally broke into a sprint, turning down hallways at random. Around a corner, he skidded to a stop. Count Vertigo and Wotan stood in front of him.
"Ah, the boy speedster is not dead." Count smirked.
"Yet." Wotan snarled, raising his hands. Wally dashed into a hallway just as a surge of lightning crashed into the wall.
"Ay! Were not supposed to kill him. And no electricity, or did you forget…"
Wally came to a stop when the sounds of gunfire ceased, leaning against a wall for a moment to catch his breath. The speedster looked up to see a wide open door, the light from within spilling into the hallway. Slowly, Kid Flash approached the room and peeked around the door.
He gasped as a surge of joy rushed through him. "Artemis! He cried. She was sitting at the far side of the room, tied to a chair, her head slumped forward. He rushed forward and stood in front of her. He moved to brush the hair out of her eyes.
"Arte-" he was cut short when something hard met the side of his face. He stumbled to the side, holding his jaw. Wally looked up to see Artemis with a pole in her hands. She held a strong stance, but her eyes were full of terror. Before Wally had time to say anything, Artemis lunged at him with a fierce cry.
...
Outside, two shadows moved along the outer wall of the laboratory.
"Wait- look here." One raised their arm, looking at a screen that was thermally scanning through the walls of the building. "Its Artemis and Wally. "They look like they're…. fighting."
"Predictable." The second purred. "My father loves gladiator matches. I'm betting on my sister."
"No way, Wally is too fast- she almost never beat him in sparring."
"Well, he's not exactly at full capacity."
"I'm going in."
"No. We're waiting until it's over."
"What? That's ridiculous I-"
"If we go in now, what happens? We could incapacitate Sportsmaster and probably get Artemis and Wally out, but what about the rest of the team?"
The Red Arrow was tense for a moment before his shoulders dropped.
"You're right. We wait."
...
Wally sped in circles around Artemis. She aimed a few hits, but none connected. After the archer swung again, Wally took advantage of her off balance stance, kicking the pole out of her hand and knocking her to the ground. The speedster grabbed her arms and pinned her down.
"Why?" Wally's voice was shaking.
"To save you!" Artemis hissed through clenched teeth. She brought her knee up forcefully into Wally's side. He cried out, and she escaped his hold, grabbing his injured arm and twisting it behind his back, her other arm wrapped around his throat. Artemis squeezed, cutting off his air supply. Wally struggled, but she could feel his strength fading. Artemis held him in the chokehold for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. She choked back a sob as her teammate became dead weight. Artemis caught Wally awkwardly and lowered him to the ground.
"Talk about going out with a whimper not a bang." Sportsmaster stepped into the room.
"Hm, seems he's still breathing." The masked man mused.
Artemis stood between her father and Wally.
"Get. Back."
"You are in no place to be making demands." Sportsmaster brought out the remote. Artemis clenched her jaw, then stepped aside.
"Truth be told, he is less valuable as a corpse. I'm sure many scientists would love to get their hands on him." Sportsmaster clamped an inhibitor collar around the speedster's neck. Count Vertigo stepped into the room.
"Take him to a cell," Sportsmaster nodded towards the unconscious speedster. The Count nodded. As he walked past Artemis, she caught the slight smirk on his scowling face. She shuddered. Sportsmaster seized her arm.
"Back to your cell too, little girl." As Sportsmaster dragged Artemis out of the room, she craned her neck, looking back at her fallen friend. She looked as long as she could, she knew it could be the last time she would ever see him again.
