AN: I'm back baby! And with good news too! Everything has been transferred to our joint account! Now things just need to be heavily edited and then we can start reposting! But, until then, we will continue to update on this profile.
I realize that I seem to rely heavily on the 'since the failed training exercise' kind of theme for my stories. So I promise this is the last one for a while. After this I will use some more original ideas. Promise!
This could be read as a stand-alone but I like to think of it as the Epilogue to, "Teasing,Training, and Tattoos".
"Artemis!" Wally screamed as he watched her get vaporized, for the fifth night in a row.
He shot up drenched in sweat and with a heaving chest as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't know why he kept having these nightmares, 'it was just a training exercise, not that big of a deal.' He kept telling himself.
Who was he kidding though, it felt so real. Too real.
After staring at the ceiling for a few minutes and counting down from 10 to steady his breathing he got out of bed and headed out towards the training room. Lifting some weights and doing some running always got his mind off of these things.
The team had been staying at the cave for the past couple of weeks so Canary could 'monitor' their mental health after the meltdown of a training exercise. In reality she was just being an overbearing mother hen who didn't think their 'non-hero' parents could handle this kind of thing. And really, she was right. They would just freak out after finding out their kids got trapped in comas.
As he got closer to the training room he could see that the lights were on already.
'huh, maybe it's Dick. He's always up late.'
Just in case it wasn't though, Wally slid the door open as quietly as he could and took a peak inside expecting to see Dick on the acrobatic rings.
What he didn't expect to see was Artemis sitting on the benches staring off into space with a dead look in her eyes. As he looked a little closer he could see her hands trembling slightly as they gripped her water bottle. She looked on the verge of a breakdown, something Wally could definitely relate to at the moment.
Deciding to take a leap of faith, and risk getting reamed out, he stepped forward and into her line of sight as he softly asked,
"Couldn't sleep?"
She jumped a little, slightly startled, and swung her head to the side to look at him, her loose hair whipping behind her with the motion.
Artemis stared for a moment trying to gather her thoughts before clearing her throat slightly as she nodded her head.
"Uh, yeah. Thought I would come train myself into tiredness. You? Midnight snack?"
Wally blushed a little at the fact that she thought all he could think about was food at every waking moment. While that was only half true, he took the light conversation as a sign she wasn't going to yell and scream at him , and made his way over to the bench to sit next to her.
"Actually, food is the last thing on my mind right now. I probably wouldn't be able to keep much down anyway. Not after a dream like that..."
Wally mumbled the last bit but Artemis still heard him and glanced up at him to find he was already looking at her with understanding in his eyes.
She could tell he knew something was bugging her, but she could also tell that he wasn't going to ask her outright. He was letting her make the first move.
She decided the best way to do that would be to ask him first. If he felt comfortable enough to open up to her about his troubles she would take it as a sign that she could talk to him too.
"Do you... want to talk about it?" She asked tentatively.
Wally sighed as he tore his eyes away from hers, flashes of his nightmare flicker through his mind, and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He scrubbed his hands up and down his face in a tired motion, almost as if trying to rub the memory from his mind.
After a few seconds of contemplative silence, Wally, with his face still in his hands, mumbled out a cracked reply,
"Every time I close my eyes I see you die. Over and over and over again."
Wally sat up and looked over at Artemis again,
"It's driving me nuts! It's getting to the point where every time I see you I have to resist the urge to run over and poke you just to make sure you're real. And when you leave the room it takes everything in me to not follow you around to make sure you come back alive. But, its whatever. It's just a stupid dream. I'll get over it eventually. What about you, what's got you so shaken up?"
Artemis shrugged and looked away, letting her hair fall over her shoulder to hide her face slightly.
"Same thing basically, only I'm remembering what it's like to die."
Her voice wavered slightly as she choked back tears when she neared the end of her sentence.
Wally felt awful. Here he was complaining of nightmares when Artemis literally knew what it was like to die. That's got to haunt a person. While he and everyone else technically 'died' too, it was close enough to M'Gann waking up that they didn't really remember much of it before they were woken up. He leaned over slightly to grip her chin and turn her face towards him as he tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Artemis, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think what this whole ordeal would be doing to you. Here I am complaining about some stupid insecurities when you've literally experienced death."
Artemis let a few tears loose and shook her head at Wally as she formed a reply.
"No, Wally. Don't downplay what you're going through. We all went through crap with that training exercise and it probably had some traumatic effects on everyone."
Wally wiped her tears away and smiled appreciatively at her words. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side as he leaned back on the bench a little more.
They sat like that in silence for a few moments while Wally rubbed soothing circles up and down her arm and combed his fingers through her long blonde locks periodically.
He stopped for a moment as he contemplated a question and started again with his ministrations before quietly asking her,
"What was it like? For you?"
It was so silent after he asked the question Wally almost thought that she had fallen asleep. But, then she nuzzled a little closer to his side and started speaking so quietly he had strain to listen.
"Awful... It wasn't painful or anything. The initial blast. But, after that, I woke up in nowhere. I can't even describe what it was like being stuck in that weird Martian mind coma. I really thought I had died. It was almost like a big, empty, dark room. And it was cold. So stinking cold. I felt like I was being abandoned all over again. My... my family Wally. It's screwed up. I wish I could tell you but I just can't get it out. Not tonight. But to give you the short version my mother was... temporarily out of my life when I was younger and my sister left shortly after that. And after my sister, my dad. But being there. In that dark room. Like I said, it was like that all over again. First my family. Then you guys. I just couldn't handle it. I balled up in a corner and cried for what felt like ages but was probably only the few hours I was in that coma. I tried to call out to you guys a few times but all that came back was my own echo. Being alone in my room at nights is killing me. I just, I feel like I need to be around people at all times or I'll get stuck back there again."
As Artemis continued speaking, her voice found its strength again and she was able to finish her story at a normal octave as she sat up and looked at Wally with a smile,
"It feels better to talk about it though, thanks Wally."
Wally smiled softly down at her and shook his head slightly while he spoke,
"Anytime, Artemis. Seriously, anytime. If you're feeling trapped you can come to me at any hour of the night. Or if you just want to be around people. I'll be here."
Artemis' chest opened up and she felt like she could finally breath after hearing that. She didn't feel so afraid anymore knowing that if the nightmares hit she could just walk down the hall and Wally would be there for her.
"Same goes for you then. If you need a little reassurance that I'm actually here you can come poke me anytime."
She said with a wink and a quiet chuckle as she bumped her shoulder against his.
Wally beamed and stood up to stretch as Artemis tried to stifle a yawn.
"Looks like you should be going to bed. You probably haven't had a decent nights sleep in a few days, hey?"
Artemis quietly nodded as she accepted Wally's offered hand to help her up. She was too tired to try and voice a response.
Wally walked Artemis all the way back to her door and gave her a light kiss on the forehead as he whispered a quiet 'goodnight'.
As Artemis snuggled down into her blankets she heaved a sigh of tired relief knowing that she had someone who understood her. And just down the hall, Wally did the same.
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Artemis woke up the next day feeling a little worried when she didn't hear anybody else up. Before letting herself have a panic attack she rolled over and checked the time. It was 7:30am. No wonder she didn't hear anybody up, it was Saturday and the team usually didn't start waking up until 9am on weekends.
Taking a moment to stretch and slow down her breathing Artemis then decided to make her way to the kitchen for some breakfast. As she walked the empty halls she could feel panic start to rise due to the lack of people around her. She almost paused at Wally's door to wake him up but thought against it thinking he could use the sleep after his late night. With a deep breath she continued on towards the kitchen repeating under her breath,
"I'm okay, everyone is here, they're just asleep, they'll be up soon."
When she made it to the kitchen she was surprised to see Wally already awake and munching on an apple as he stared at a science textbook. He was a little on edge, she could tell, by the way he kept glancing at the clock every couple of seconds.
She cleared her throat to make her presence known and sent a small smile his way as she stalked into the kitchen towards the cupboard that held all the cereals.
"Hey, how'd you sleep?"
Wally sent a smile back her way as he visibly relaxed, and watched as she pulled down the Fruit Loops and poured herself a bowl. He waited until she had finished grabbing the milk from the fridge before clearing the sleep out of his throat and answering,
"Not too bad, a little restless but no nightmares at least."
Artemis came around to sit next to him on the bar stools and nodded to confirm she had heard his reply as she scooped some cereal into her mouth.
The kitchen was silent for a little while save for the sound of each of them munching on their respective breakfasts and the occasional turn of a page on Wally's part.
Artemis was so caught up in her thoughts as she ate that she almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Wally's arm brush against hers as he swung around to walk around the island and put his apple core in the trash. She observed Wally's expression as he went about wiping down counters and tiding up the kitchen a little. Her jump was quite obvious but he acted as though nothing had happened, it took Artemis a moment to realize what he was doing. He was making sure she was really there.
Artemis smiled a little as she looked into her almost empty bowl, trying to hide her expression. It was apparent that Wally had taken her up on her offer last night, which means she now felt comfortable enough to wake him if she ever needed.
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The two gradually fell into a rhythm as the day went on. Artemis would occasionally brush up against Wally when walking past him, to let him know she was still okay. And in return Wally would make sure he was constantly within hearing range of Artemis so she always knew that, even though she was in her room or the archery range, someone was around the cave and she wasn't alone again.
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For a few days it stayed strictly at subtle brushes and constant vocal activity. It didn't go much farther than that. Until one night Artemis woke up at an odd hour and couldn't get back to sleep. With the lack of people around she began to panic. With much debate she finally decided to go to Wally.
After quietly navigating through the halls of Mt Justice, Artemis arrived at Wally's door and took a deep breath before knocking lightly. She waited a few seconds and there was no response. This only caused her panic to rise and she went to knock again before the door slid open with a hiss and there stood Wally in a sleepily dazed state.
"Artemis?"
He croaked out hoarsely as he rubbed one of his eyes with his fist.
Artemis smiled sheepishly at Wally and started to fumble out an apology.
"Hey... look, I'm sorry. This is stupid and at a ridiculous hour too. I should just go back to bed."
Artemis quickly turned to leave but Wally caught on to what was wrong and darted his hand out to stop her.
"Hey it's okay. I'm awake now anyways so... join me in the kitchen for a midnight snack?"
Artemis quirked a smile at his eating habits and lightly rolled her eyes while she gave a tentative nod.
Wally smiled in response and led the way to kitchen where he began pulling out the ingredients for waffles.
Artemis stood baffled for a moment before she shook herself from her stupor and asked,
"You know how to cook?"
Wally smirked smugly at her and said matter of factly,
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Beautiful. I guess you'll just have to join me for midnight snacks more often."
He finished with a wink.
Artemis smiled to herself as she began to help Wally with the task thinking to herself that this wouldn't be so bad if it became a regular thing.
And it did.
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They practically never left each other's sides and even began to conform to each others sleep schedules so they were up at the same time and in bed at the same. Artemis still occasionally woke up in a mild panic and Wally would join her for a midnight snack. Luckily, since spending so much time with Artemis, Wally didn't have anymore nightmares.
They even had a silent agreement, of sorts, not to make things too obvious. They knew that if the team noticed, specifically Dick, they would be made fun of incessantly for constantly wanting to be around each other and have contact with one another.
The two were pretty much best friends at this point. No need to screw it up with embarrassment.
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Dick, of course, was the first to notice their unusual behaviour towards each other. They still bickered incessantly but it wasn't as serious as it used to be. The rest of the team didn't notice a difference as they were so used to the noise that they just naturally blocked it out. It wasn't until Dick pointed it out that they had started to pay more attention to the way their team mates had been acting.
Artemis was currently reaming Wally out for eating the last of the chocolate pudding cups and Wally was trying, and failing, to defend himself by blaming it on his speedster metabolism.
"Y'know, you two are being weird..." Dick blurted out in the middle of their argument.
The two teens stopped mid word and turned to look at their young friend with equally quizzical looks on their faces. At sudden silence the rest of the team turned to tune into the conversation as well.
"What do you mean Robin? Aren't Wally and Artemis' arguments always 'weird'?"
M'Gann asked. Superboy and Kaldur'ahm nodded in agreement and looked towards Dick for an explanation.
"Well, yeah they are always a bit weird and pointless. But, this time it's different. They're not being serious. How have you guys not noticed their change in behavior? It's been so obvious since the training exercise a couple weeks ago."
Wally and Artemis shared a slightly worried glance with each other and went to speak in defense before they were interrupted by Superboy.
"What changes?"
Dick rolled his eyes behind his shades and shook his head as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"The touching! How have you not noticed it? Before they were always trying to stay as far away as possible from each other and now they can't keep their hands off of each other! Okay, so that may be an exaggeration but still, they're always finding an excuse to be with each other and sit next to each other and they're always brushing up against each other and leaning on each other and sometimes, if Artemis is having a good day, she'll let Wally drape his arm around her shoulders when they hang out!"
Dick paused to breath and went to continue before being interrupted by Wally.
"Dude, you're my best friend and I love ya man but... you're nuts! I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Yeah.. me letting Wally anywhere near me? Pfft. Not in a million years!"
Dick squinted at the two before huffing down the hall mumbling something about getting proof and being the third wheel now. The rest of the team shared awkward glances before going back to what they were doing before Dick's outburst of suspicion. Artemis and Wally shared a relived look before continuing on with the pudding argument.
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Later that day, the team gathered in the living room to watch a movie but before they could even turn the TV on an alarm sounded over head and Batman's voice could be heard calling a team meeting.
Everyone let out a groan or two as they hauled themselves off the couches and towards the locker rooms to change. Once everyone was in uniform they made their way to the briefing area where Batman, Black Canary, and Flash stood.
Canary was currently whispering harshly at Batman who simply glared at her in response while Flash stood awkwardly to the side waiting for the two to finish.
As the team got closer Batman gestured to Canary to stop with her rant and turned to look at the team.
"We have a situation. There's been some underground activity in Alaska. Sportsmaster and Bane have been doing some drug smuggling. We need you to go in on a strictly surveillance operation and report back to us. We'll decide where to take it from there. Understood?"
The team nodded their heads in response and Robin stepped forward to begin getting the finer details of their mission but Canary stepped up and began to speak before he could get a word out.
"You guys don't have to go if you don't want too. I know you're all still a little shaken from the training exercise. In fact, you really shouldn't even be in active duty until I can clear you all."
Canary sent a glare Batman's way that could rival his own and turned back to the kids with hopeful eyes that they would heed her advice and not go.
But, of course, they didn't. If Batman needed them, they went.
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Not too long later they were all piled into the Bio-ship and headed on their way.
Upon their arrival Robin took charge and gave everyone their assignments. Everyone was to split off and survey the complex from six different locations. Once the team got all the information they needed they would meet back at the Bio-ship and report back to Batman.
It seemed easy enough. Until they were ambushed by Bane's crew. They all fought their way to the centre of the warehouse grounds where they were able to team up and take out most of the crew. What they weren't expecting was for Sportsmaster and Bane to come at them themselves. They usually left that for their individual crews.
'They must be scared of what we've found out if they're coming out to play with us themselves.'
Robin said through the mind link as he flipped out of the way of a punch from Bane.
'That's for sure. Sportsmaster is coming at me like HE has super speed.'
Kid-Flash said in reply as he punched Sportsmaster in the jaw and sped away.
Artemis was helping Robin and Miss Martian with Bane, keeping her distance from Sportsmaster for fear of him exposing her.
Meanwhile, Kid, Aqualad, and Supey were teaming up against Sportsmaster. They were throwing punch after punch at him but he didn't seem to be slowing down or weakening at all. That is, until he lost focus and his eyes shot across the compound to where Bane and the rest of the team were. I'm his momentary distraction Super-Boy was able to land a heavy hit on his back that sent him face first into the dirt.
Kid-Flash went to high-five Supey but found himself thrown to the ground as Sportsmaster leaped up and took all three of them out within seconds.
While they were recovering from their shock Sportsmaster took off towards Artemis and started throwing punches at her.
"Hello baby girl...miss me?"
Artemis only glared as she fought back with fervour. Now she was more motivated to take him out.
Kid and the others seemed to have recovered and Aqualad and Super-Boy took off to help Robin and Miss Martian who were looking a little worse for where. Kid-Flash noticed Artemis fighting Sportsmaster and sped over to help.
He happened to show up right when Sportsmaster said,
"What? Don't want to give your old man a hug?"
Artemis' eyes widened as she noticed Kid-Flash near by and in her distracted state Sportsmaster was able to knock her down. He spun around and knocked Kid-Flash down as well and then took off.
Bane seemed to get the upper hand of the rest of the team and threw them down as well.
The team collectively groaned and tried to gain their bearings. As they all pulled themselves and each other off of the ground Kid-Flash looked around and noticed,
"Hey? Where'd they go?"
"Right here chico (boy in Spanish)."
The team swung around to see Bane holding a large gun of some sort and blasting it at Artemis.
Time seemed to slow down for Wally as he watched her get thrown back into the side of the building.
"Artemis!"
The team collectively yelled.
Robin called out to M'Gann to get the Bio-ship right away and Wally ran towards Artemis to make sure she was okay.
Meanwhile Super-Boy and Aqualad fought off Bane long enough for the ship to pick them up and they could make their escape.
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On the flight back to the cave Wally wouldn't let go of Artemis as he cradled her to his chest and kept begging her to be okay. The team was starting to get worried, as none of them could get through to him.
Dick had done a quick scan of her when they initially got on board and confirmed that she had not broken bones and probably just a minor concussion and that she would wake up soon. Wally wouldn't hear any of it though. He seemed to be in a daze wouldn't let anyone touch him or Artemis.
"Wally, man, she's okay. She'll be fine. Calm down."
Dick tried once again.
This time Wally seemed to hear him and his eyes snapped up to meet Dick's as his hold on Artemis loosed slightly.
"Promise?"
Dick's face softened as he realized just how badly Wally was suffering from PTSD.
"I promise man. She'll be okay. Besides, she's too stubborn to let someone like Bane be the reason she dies."
Wally chuckled lightly as he took in a shuddering breath and pulled Artemis a little closer.
"Yeah. Plus, I don't think she'd trust us well enough with the revenge. She'd come back just so she could take him out good and proper."
The rest of the team chuckled and seemed to take this as a sign that Wally would be okay.
Just as M'Gann was landing the Bio-ship Artemis started to stir awake. Wally jumped up and made her sit still while he did a once over and constantly asked her if anything hurt and if she would be okay.
After the fifth time asking if she was okay Artemis huffed and rolled her eyes at Wally's behaviour and walked down the ramp of the ship claiming she just needed a hot shower and a good nights sleep. However, she made sure to brush her hand against Wally's as she passed him. Making sure he knew she would be all right and that she was here.
Wally seemed to visibly relax and declared that he was going to do the same.
Once the team was showered and had eaten everyone slowly headed to their respective rooms to get some much needed sleep.
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Wally woke with a start as an all too familiar nightmare faded from his mind. He thought he had been done with those.
'It must have been because of what happened earlier'
He thought to himself as he took a sip of water from his bedside table. It did nothing to calm his nerves though. But he knew what would.
Quietly climbing out of his covers and opening his door he crept down the hall until he reached a certain blonde haired archer's room.
Knocking lightly he waiting for the familiar whooshing sound of the door opening. But it never came.
Panic began to rise in the back of his throat and he knocked a little louder this time. Still, there was no answer.
Wally struggled to hold back tears as he whispered through the for in a hoarse voice,
"Artemis... please wake up. Artemis? C'mon I'm going nuts out here..."
Still no answer.
At this point Wally had silent tears running down his face as he tried to calm himself down. He knew she was okay. It would all be fine. He would just have to go back to bed and try and go back to sleep.
He tried to walk away but was frozen in place. Holding in a sob he slid down the door and tried to get the image of her limp body out of his mind.
As he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against her door he whispered one last plea for her to open the door,
"Please, Artemis..."
"Wally?"
Wally's eyes snapped open and his head shot up as he squinted through the dark to see where the voice had come from. Artemis was standing a little ways down the hall with a glass of water in hand, just having come from the kitchen, looking down at Wally with a confused face.
"Wally are you okay? What're you doing here?"
Wally tried to wipe his tears away before she could see but, ironically, was too slow. Once she was close enough to see his face through the dark her expression immediately worried and she knelt down in front of him.
"Oh Wally... what's wrong?"
He broke. He couldn't hold it in anymore. His face crumbled and his hands darted out to pull her into his arms. Water be darned. It sloshed over the side of her cup slightly and into his shirt as she clumsily out it down in the floor beside them.
"The nightmares are back."
With those few words Artemis instantly understood everything. She wrapped her arms around him and cling to him almost as tight as he was clinging to her.
"I'm right here, Wally. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Wally nodded into her hair but showed no signs of letting go anytime soon.
Artemis sighed as she tried to think of something she could do to make him feel better.
"Wally, come into my room it's freezing out here. At least in there we can talk without risking a cold."
Wally pulled back just enough so that they could get up but kept a firm hold on Artemis' hand as she reached down for her water and led them into her room.
"What can I do to make it better? I want to help..."
Wally sighed and finally let go of her hand as he sat on the edge of her bed.
"There's nothing really I just... I had to see you. To make sure you were okay..."
Artemis nodded lightly as she came to sit beside him.
"Do you think you'll be able to go back to sleep tonight?"
Wally visibly stiffened, as if the mere idea of him going back to his room was the end of the world.
"Probably not... but if you're tired I can leave. I didn't mean to bother you."
"No Wally. You didn't bother me. We made a promise remember? Why don't you... why don't you stay in here for tonight. I don't mind. We can talk until you feel tired again and you can sleep up on the bed with me."
Wally smiled lightly at her and seemed to think things over for a moment before answering.
"Yeah, I think that would help."
Artemis smiled back at him and pulled back the covers motioning for him to climb in next to her. There was no awkwardness between them as they both understood that this was for comfort.
Wally slid in next to her and sat up against the headboard where he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she nestled into his chest.
There was a contemplative silence for a few moments before Wally tentatively began to speak.
"Hey Artemis? Not to like... 'ruin the moment' or anything but.... Sportsmaster's your dad, isn't he?"
Artemis' eyes widened in shock until she remembered that Sportsmaster himself basically already blew her cover earlier. She was just too caught up in the fight and getting injured to really realize what that meant. Knowing that there was no turning back now, and feeling comfortable enough with her friendships within the team, she decided to confirm Wally's question with a simple,
"Uh... yup."
Wally simply nodded in reply and asked no more questions.
Feeling content with where things were left Artemis nestled down and was about to go to sleep until she remembered an earlier event to that day.
"Wally? After tonight, we really have to find some other way of being around each other. Dick's starting to get too suspicious."
Wally chuckled and nodded his head in wholehearted agreement.
"That's for sure..."
And with that, they went to sleep.
Whew! Over 5000 words! I had a lot of fun writing this one though.
Hope you all enjoy it, and please comment on any errors so I can correct them!
-RS