Ch 20: Palliation

AN: I thank you all for your patience with this, and hope I haven't lost too many of you with my non-updates these past couple of weeks. I have not, as a couple of you were worried, died or lost interest in this. Just after the last update, we had our first week of lab. It's been really awful since then; I haven't really had a chance to breathe (or sleep, for that matter) until now.

I'm also sorry that I haven't responded to many of your reviews in a while. I just found out yesterday that at some point in the last month, gmail decided notices were spam, so I had no idea you all were still commenting/following/PMing me (it was really disheartening, actually; I was so worried the last two chapters were so bad y'all just left). You guys are the greatest, and you deserve replies, but I don't know that I'll ever catch up to the backlog, although I will try. Sorry.

Enough apologies, though. I've had the general scenario for this chapter in my head for ages, so I'm glad I was finally able to get all the pieces together for it. Hopefully it's worth the wait.

XxXxX

Shayera and Artemis end up sparring four rounds, varying the rules of each to favor whoever lost the last one. They're closely matched, a fact not alleviated by Wally's unwillingness to referee 'his gals' because, as he puts it, "Even I have enough self preservation not to fall into that trap."

The heroines sprawl on the mats when they finish, and Wally is more than happy to bring them water to rehydrate. As he approaches, he realizes, much to his chagrin, that the two are discussing the merits of going a fifth, tie-breaking round. Before he can protest that they're pushing themselves too far, he feels a familiar tug in the back of his mind. He's so startled by the barely-remembered gesture that he drops the water onto its intended recipients by accident.

"Hey!"

"Wally!"

"Sorry, Beautifuls," he recovers at the women's protests "M'gann startled me. She wants to have lunch together."

Wally and Artemis – who already mentally agree to the meal – glance Shayera. She shrugs, and begins standing up. "Sounds fine to me." Wally holds out a hand to help Artemis up, even as he feels her reply in affirmation to M'gann. He can feel similar mental nods from Conner and even Kaldur, and Wally can't help but grin that he's going to have most of his closest family all at one meal.

"Awesome! We can go shower and head up to mess."

"Who is this 'We?'" Shayera demands. "I don't know what you're thinking, Speed Boy, but it better not be that we would let you into the women's locker room." Shayera cuffs her brother's head at the speedster's guilty expression.

Artemis doesn't make light of it, though. She gives Wally a quick peck on the cheek and says, "Don't worry. I'll be fast."

Wally can't hold his pout for more than a moment. He's relieved that Artemis understand his agitation and soon grins back. "Fine. But be really fast. We don't want to keep Megalicious waiting, eh?"

He can just feel the eye rolls in the back of his mind. It works as intended though; no one comments on his separation anxiety.

XxXxX

The moment the door to the locker room closes, Shayera can't help but ask, "How does it not bother you when he does that?"

"When he does what?"

"When he, you know…. flirts with M'gann?"

Shayera's answer seems to have caught Artemis off guard; she stares blankly at the other woman for a moment before understanding comes to her. "Oh, You mean the 'Megalicious' thing?"

"Yeah, and how he always goes on about how beautiful she is… stuff like

that. It doesn't seem like flirting to you?"

"I guess I can see how it might look like flirting, but it's not. More like habit, I'd say." Shayera must hide her confusion poorly; Artemis continues after only a moment's pause.

"Look. There was a time when he did actually flirt with her…. Then M'gann and Conner got together, and Wally and I got together, and we all grew up, you know? But while we were still doing that growing up… a lot of us were really insecure. Wally always did his best to alleviate those insecurities. She won't mind if I tell you now, but… she used to be really insecure about he looks."

"She's a shapeshifter," Shayera deadpans.

"And apparently on Mars, your birth form is more important than you as a person will ever be," Artemis counters right back. The vehemence drains out of her, and she looks down at her feet. She says, quietly, "It's hard to overcome the views people constantly shove in your face growing up."

Shayera's heart aches at those words; the moment she turned against her own people plays out in her mind. She doesn't have much time to dwell on it. Artemis has found her words again, and her confidence with them.

"Wally's not great with words, you know, but anyone spewing a constant stream of praise could have helped at that point in our lives. It was – I mean, I imagine it was – really nice. After a while, it just became a habit. I honestly didn't even notice anymore, until you pointed it out."

Shayera nods, thinking hard. "Thank you for explaining all this to me."

Artemis waves her off and steps into the shower, lost in her own thoughts.

XxXxX

Unfortunately, their meal doesn't turn out to be the 'family brunch' Wally was hoping for.

J'onn's called off almost the moment they sit down to help Mr. Terrific with some crises in the monitor womb. He excuses himself, pauses to give M'gann's shoulder a squeeze, and phases down to the command center. Clark and Diana have to leave not long after that. Apparently someone thought that unleashing a couple of the recently-captured Legion villains was a good idea; the two strongest Leaguers were needed to bring Giganta and Bizarro back in. Even Hawkgirl is specifically summoned; her nth metal mace was needed to help take care of some kind of magical disturbance in Biyalia. All four wave off the younger heroes' offers of help.

Wally doesn't like it.

"They're coddling me."

"Can you blame them?" Conner asks. Memories of his discussion with Clark color his thoughts. "They're terrified of losing you. We all are."

Wally squirms in his seat; the past couple of days have been far too serious for his liking. He's not sure he can take much more of his family's dithering over his safety. Can't they all just be happy to be together?

"We are happy, Wally." M'gann assures him as she passes him another plate of pasta. "But you have to understand where we're coming from."

He thinks of the months he spent sidelined while Artemis risked her life under the depths of the ocean and grudgingly concedes the point. "Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."

"Hey now, don't frown so much." Artemis takes his hand in hers. "We're going to win this time. Then everything can go back to normal."

"As she says," Kaldur agrees. He's regained his center in the wake of their mental operation. Now, his steadfast faith anchors the link in this solemn discussion.

"Having exclusive mental conversations? Now that's just rude." The sudden comment startles the five out of their introspection; somehow their teammate snuck up on them. Again.

When they look up at Dick though, they're startled out of commenting for a moment. M'gann recovers first.

"Ohmigod! Dick! Are you okay? What happened to your face?"

The acrobat waves off her mothering with bashfully. "Oh this? I got into a fight with a doorknob and lost."

"Very smooth, Boy Blunder." Artemis smirks into a bite of potato salad.

Dick just grins. "Hey, you know me." The others chuckle.

Wally wonders at Dick's nonchalance, but when he manages to catch Dick's eye, the younger hero just shakes his head. Wally's been best friends with Dick for years. He can read that look even without the mind link. Don't question it. Please.

Wally frowns, but nods his head in return. Fine. But it better not be serious.

A quick smile finishes their silent conversation, even as the group's verbal and mental discussion moves apace. Thank you.

To hide their pause, Wally does what he does best; he runs his mouth. "You know, this is just more evidence that ninjas aren't as great as everyone makes them out to be."

"Excuse me, Mr. I-almost-got-dropped-by-my-teammate's-ninja-sister ? Twice?"

"That is completely irrelevant to this conversation and you know it!"

"What conversation is this?" Their dear, sweet M'gann had mercifully been left out of the previous iterations of this argument. The rest of the Team is jealous.

"Wally's trying to assert that Pirates are better than Ninjas." Conner explains.

"Isn't it time to put this really old internet fight to rest?" Artemis begs.

Wally's grin widens. "Hey, you know us. Never let an argument go until you win."

"Or, more often in your case, lose."

"Oh it is so on, Bro. And don't expect me to go easy on you because of your facial handicap."

"I understand, it only balances the handicap you have to live with permanently. Your poor mirror." Dick shakes his head in pity.

"I'll have you know, my mirror loves me, because….. dang it. I don't have a comeback to that. You totally threw the escalation, Dick! Everyone knows the escalation is, 'Yo Face,' 'Yo Momma,' 'Yo Mom's face!' You can't stop in the middle like that! It's just plain rude."

"What's the matter Wally? Ninja got your tongue?"

The rest of the team groans – out loud – as the conversation returns to Ninjas and Pirates.

XxXxX

John is not having a good day.

To be fair, he didn't have a good night either, so that could be the sleep deprivation talking. Still, he feels he has reason to be a little cranky.

Mari was gone when he woke up this morning. She didn't even leave a note; he had to find out she was sent on a mission from Mr. Terrific. Then, he couldn't do his usual work out, because Shayera was in the main gym sparring with Artemis – he's aware he's in a bad mood and being around the Thanagarian is just asking for trouble. He couldn't even count on Wally to come cheer him up, because the speedster was engrossed in the fight. Now he just wants to eat his lunch in peace.

A sudden burst of laughter causes John to fumble with his tray, nearly losing his lunch to Fire's hair. He backs away slowly, unable to form an apology when she turns to glare at him. A couple of bystanders snicker. Wally and his tablemates are oblivious.

Well, there goes lunch.

John doesn't often have a problem finding a lunch table. He'll usually eat with Mari, Rex, or some of the other founders. If nothing else, he can always count on Wally to plop down, steal his fries, protest his own innocence, and generally entertain John for the duration of their lunch break. Even that is clearly not going to happen today, if Wally's over-full lunch table is anything to go by.

It's actually kind of unsettling. The six younger heroes are dead silent save for the occasional snort or burst of laughter. It's not that they're unusually calm or anything. No, they're gesticulating wildly to each other, poking and prodding and generally behaving like they're having the most interesting conversation in the world. Just… without the talking. It must be the 'mindlink' J'onn had mentioned. It's even creepier than he made it sound, John thinks.

A smaller part of him, though, rolls his eyes at that thought. You're just jealous, it says.

Fine. He might be a little jealous. He has been Wally's best friend since the very beginning. But he wasn't your best friend, counters the more rational part. You don't have the right to be jealous that he likes them more. That he'd give you up for them.

He doesn't have a counter to that. Not when Wally, cowl down, is smiling so radiantly John is tempted to make himself sunglasses. Instead, he'll just go find a table in the corner and attempt not to brood-

"Hey! G.L!" He turns back to find Wally waving enthusiastically at him. "Come sit with us!" The other five are already moving, somehow making it seem like there's enough room to crowd in a seventh person at the table.

Well, since there's space, he might as well…

The second his tray touches the table, Wally's talking again, and a semblance of normalcy returns.

"Great, GL. I need you to back me up here! So Nightwing's saying that 'objectively' ninjas are better than pirates. Obviously, he's biased, 'cause he is a ninja, so I'm trying to help him see the light. Pirates are soooo much better than Ninjas! Pirates get boats! And Swords! And Parrots!"

"Ninjas get swords too!" Artemis disagrees pointedly. As if anyone could have forgotten her own swordsmansip.

"And ninja's have tons of projectile weapons. Everyone knows range is better." Artemis gives M'gann a high-five for the point.

"What would you call canons, then?" Kaldur calmly intercedes on Wally's behalf.

"They don't count! They need multiple people to operate. We're talking one-on-one here."

"That wasn't in the parameters of the debate."

"Guys. We have an odd number of people now. GL, tell them Pirates are the best."

Truthfully, John has never cared for ninja's or pirates, but six faces are staring at him, waiting for him to support their opinion. He says the first thing that comes to his mind. "Honestly, I've always preferred cowboys."

"That's cheating! You can't take a third option."

"Actually, I agree with him," M'gann says excitedly as she works through the idea. "I love classic Westerns! John Wayne and Clint Eastwood and all the rest..."

"Classic doesn't mean good." Wally disagrees. "Did you ever have to read The Stanger in high school? Because that's a classic and I think it's awful."

"You just don't like it because you think the main character is a sociopath." Artemis says, folding her arms at her boyfriend.

"That's because he clearly is."

"Guys, you're missing the point." Dick cuts them off. "The ninja is superior to the cowboy in every way. I mean, in real life, at least. What do pirates do? Steal stuff, burn down settlements… stuff like that. Ninjas were, like, the secret agents of Feudal Japan."

Conner, however, is having none of Dick's historical accuracies. "Actually, there is little historic record of ninja, because they were usually recruited from the lower classes. Historians of the era cared more about the noble-born samurai, so I'm not sure that argument is valid."

"We're getting off track here. This is a discussion about ninjas versus pirates, and ninjas versus pirate only." Wally slams his hand down on the table to emphasize his point.

"It doesn't matter. Ninja's are going to win in either argument." Dick cuts in, poking Wally in the arm. Wally pokes him back.

"No. They're not." Just as it looks like the two are going to get into some sort of childish poking war, Aqualad smoothly slides out from his place at the table, moves around to the other side, and slide in between the two.

"Let it go, you two." Kaldur intones with the authority of a long-suffering babysitter. "Your behavior is unacceptable. We are no longer children, if you had forgotten."

Nightwing immediately stops, and rubs the back of his head. "Right. Sorry Kaldur."

"Yeah, sorry guys," Wally agrees. After a moment, he turns his attention back to John.

"But seriously, which one – ow!" Artemis elbowed the speedster in the ribs before the speedster can even finish the question. His expression of betrayal his so comical, that John can help but laugh. He laughs even harder when Wally crosses his arms and glares at him.

"Not cool, GL. Not cool at all."

"I think you were asking for that one, Hotshot."

"Damn right he was." John hates that it had to be Wally's BFF Dick that agrees with him.

"But really. Sorry about all that. It's been a while, so we're all really excited."

"Uh, really, it's fine… Actually, it's nice to have back up in reigning you in," John jokes, nodding to the other members of the Team.

The Martian girl smiles at him. "It is definitely a multi-person job, isn't it?"

The others crack up again, even as Wally affects a deeper pout. Artemis throws her arm over his shoulders and attempts to soothe him.

"Don't worry, Wall-man. I love you enthusiasm."

"They think I'm childish." Wally sniffs back.

"Noooo." Artemis protests sarcastically. "I can't imagine anyone thinking that."

"You're making fun of me."

"I'd never do that," She insists, although a moment later she can't help but add, "Baywatch."

Wally sticks his tongue out at her in retaliation; she just laughs again and sticks a cookie into his mouth.

"So Mr. Stewart-" Kaldur starts, but Wally cuts her off, having inhaled the cookie as he does all of his food.

"His name's GL, Kal. Not – ugh – Mr. Stewart." Wally grimaces comically. John huffs in only-half-pretend agitation.

"Just call me John." He concedes.

"John, then. I was wondering where all you've travelled as a Green Lantern? Diana has been telling me stories of the League's exploits here, but I was curious if you've ever run into anything… interesting off-world."

M'gann claps her hands in excited agreement. "That would be so neat! Have you ever been to Raan? Or Rimbor? Have you ever saved other planets? Or made peace between warring galaxies so two star-crossed lovers could be with each other in peace? Or-?"

Conner cuts her off before she can get too far away from herself. "I don't think he's ever been in a fairytale, Love."

"Ooh! That reminds me! GL! Tell him about that space princess! The one you rescued from slavers!"

John pushes away Wally's excited gestures. "Calm down, Hotshot. No one wants to hear about that old story."

"Yeah we do!" Dick says excitedly. "I don't think our John has done anything like that!"

"He hasn't!" Wally confirms.

Kaldur's still smiling politely, and Conner does look intrigued. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to share one story, since they are interested….

"You better do it, John. They're about to pull out the puppy-dog eyes." Artemis ribs her boyfriend. "Then all hope is lost."

Well, he can't say no to that. John launches into the tale.

"So my ring's out of power, and the ruler of the world – it doesn't have an English translation – has his goons out after me. He thinks he could harness the power of my ring, take over the sector – the usual. So they're closing in on all sides, and I've just turned down a back alley only to run into a dead end. All of a sudden, a door opens up, and this woman pulls me inside…"

John continues with his story, and then another. He's absolutely preening under the excited attention these heroes give him. Usually he only gets to tell stories like this to Wally. His second one ties in with a diplomatic mission Conner once took to New Genesis, then M'gann has a story about her last visit to Mars. That reminds Wally of the fight that brought the League together, and of course he insists on giving his friends (with John's help) a play-by-play of the entire invasion. John doesn't even notice the cafeteria slowly emptying around him; he's engrossed in the story swapping at his table. At some point, he realizes he actually likes Wally's friends, instead of merely being polite to them out of social obligation to Wally.

By the time he's forced to leave the table to respond to a disturbance in Dakota City, he's actually disappointed to leave.