And if you want me, I'm your country.
Title: And if you want me, I’m your country
Rating: PG-13/T
Characters: The Team, plus Artemis/Wally
Summary: Artemis has been agonizing over how to tell the team about her family and that she was dating Wally. When her father kidnaps Wally, she kills two birds with one stone.
Note: There's nothing like the threat of getting jossed to really make you want to finish a fic
Artemis and Wally had been dating for four months and they had not told anyone about it.
It was Wally who suggested keeping it a secret, because Robin would give them so much shit and wouldn’t it be nice to have a part of their lives that they didn’t have to share with the team? Artemis was totally fine with this, although she didn’t mention that she already had another part of her life that the team didn’t know about. She figured that if no one knew she and Wally were dating, her father would never find out and use it against her.
And anyway, secret dating was fun, especially when they were together in Mount Justice while the others were around. It was like stealth training, but better. In fact, their entire relationship was better than she had expected. Wally was still a pain in the ass, but he was also sweet and even though Artemis would never admit it, she had fallen for him hard. There were a lot of times that she thought that it was too good to be true.
When everything went wrong, she knew she had been right.
It all started normally enough. Artemis went to Mount Justice Friday after school in the hopes of actually getting some homework done before Batman sent them out on a weekend mission. M’gann was on a baking spree and had big plans to make cakes that afternoon and Artemis wanted to finish her reading before Wally dragged her to kitchen.
She had so much studying to do that she didn’t try to seek anyone out when she got there, just went to her room and pulled out her books. Normally she would have thought it was weird that Wally hadn’t burst in to talk about cake frosting, but she just assumed he hadn’t gotten there yet and didn’t think about it again.
Later, when her phone chimed, she was happy to have a distraction. But she saw the number she groaned.
It was Jade. Artemis really didn’t want to read the message, but she knew that ignoring it would make things worse. Avoiding Jade’s texts usually ended badly. Like, people-getting-hurt badly.
Artemis picked up her phone, wondering what it would be this time. A demand for information? A ‘request’ for a meeting? Another hard sell on how much fun it was to kill people?
When she read the text, Artemis felt the floor fall out from underneath her. She realized all of those options would have been preferable to what Jade actually wanted.
We have Kid Flash. I don’t know how you stand someone who talks this much but if you want him back alive, come alone. You know the place.
It felt like a kick to the stomach. For a second Artemis convinced herself that it was all a ploy, some sort of trap. But Jade didn’t lie about this sort of thing. And if she said it was a “we” who had Wally that meant her father was there too.
Artemis knew she had to get Wally back, but she couldn’t move. She wanted to beat up something or throw up and she definitely needed her bow in her hand but it was like she was glued to the floor. She dimly noticed that her breathing was fast and shallow.
“Artemis, could you come help me in the kitchen? I’m trying to fill the pastry bag and I think it’s a two person-”
M’gann skipped into the room but stopped talking when she saw Artemis. “Artemis, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Wally,” she said. “He’s-he’s been taken by Cheshire.”
She passed her phone to M’gann, who read the text and then immediately snapped into action. “Okay, everything is going to be okay. I’ll tell the team and if you know where he is we can take the Bio Ship there and then we’ll get him back and then I can finish frosting the red velvet cake and everything will be back to normal.”
She took Artemis’s hand in order to pull her up from the floor, but Artemis pulled her down instead. “We can’t,” she said. “We can’t tell the team.”
“Why not,” M’gann asked. When Artemis didn’t answer, she pressed harder. “Artemis, what’s going on?”
Artemis had never wanted to tell the team the truth about her past-hell, her present. She didn’t even like discussing it with the Justice League. But it couldn’t be that way anymore.
“I’ve been keeping a really big secret.”
--
Even though it was less than five minutes since M’gann had found her, the team was already in the hangar and in uniform when she and Artemis came out to meet them (M’gann must have sent the telepathic version of a mass text). They looked anxious and jumpy and Artemis could already feel the creeping guilt over what she had caused.
“What took you so long,” Robin asked. At the same time Kaldur asked her “How did they contact you? Did they give you a location?”
Artemis opened her mouth to speak but M’gann stopped her. “Before we leave, Artemis has something she needs to tell us. And remember, she’s our best friend and we love her and nothing can change that.”
If M’gann had expected that to be encouraging, it had the opposite effect. Everyone was staring at her and Artemis felt like she was going to hyperventilate.
M’gann grabbed her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. It was now or…well, now.
“I know who took Wally,” she said tentatively. “It was Cheshire and Sporstmaster.”
Kaldur nodded. “We’ve fought them before, which should help us predict their movements.”
“No, I mean I know them.” Hinting at it and praying that someone would say it for her was not as easy as Artemis had hoped. When no one said anything, she groaned and said “She’s my sister and he’s my father, okay?”
She’d always dreaded telling the team this because she had no idea how they would react. Artemis never though that they would act like themselves. M’gann had totally accepted it, no questions asked. Kaldur didn’t look furious, just like he was analyzing the information and how it would impact the mission. Zatanna was looking at her skeptically but she didn’t say anything. Robin didn’t react at all and Artemis realized that he must have known all along. And as for Conner…
“WHAT,” he exploded, and it looked like he was about to go on a rampage when he suddenly stopped. M’gann was glaring at him and Artemis guessed that she was giving him a telepathic talking-to. When he spoke again, he still sounded pissed, but at least he wasn’t yelling. “So you’re the mole?”
“No,” Artemis said forcefully. “I stopped talking to them before I even joined the team. It wasn’t until I had been here for a year that my dad got in contact with me, expecting me to give him information on you guys and the League. I told Batman and we decided that I should give him false intel that had just enough truth in it to get him to trust me.” As she explained, Artemis wanted to look away from her teammates, but she kept her head high. “It always follows a pattern. He contacts me once a month and sometimes he has specific requests but usually he just wants to know what the League is up to. Batman gives me some information and then my sister-Cheshire will text me a place to meet and I hand it off to her.”
“How many people in the League knew,” Zatanna asked.
Artemis shook her head. “I don’t know. I only ever discussed it with Batman, but given the scope of the fake intel he was giving me, I think some of the others had to know.” She said, “This information was good, you guys. I would have believed it, and I’m on the inside.”
“But if your family took Wally then you must have slipped up,” Robin accused.
Artemis winced when he said it because she knew it was true. “I don’t know. But I do know where they’re keeping him. Outside of Gotham, on the north side of the city. They’ll be waiting for me in an abandoned gym.”
Kaldur asked, “Does that location hold any special significance?”
“It’s where he used to train me,” she told them bluntly. She paused and then said “Cheshire told me to come alone.”
“Like that’s going to happen,” Robin said, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I know that,” Artemis said. She knew there was no way she could do this alone, even if M’gann hadn’t told everyone. “Just let me go in first, okay? I can get a handle on the situation and tell you guys through the link.”
“Unless you’ve told him about that too,” Conner muttered.
“Enough,” Kaldur said. “We must go. Artemis, can you put the coordinates into the Bio Ship-”
“Already on it,” Robin said as he stalked up the ramp to the ship. Everyone else followed him, but Kaldur stopped Artemis before she could enter.
“Do not change out of that outfit,” he told her. She glanced down at her clothes; she was wearing the jeans and shirt she had changed into after school. “If you appear to him as a civilian your father might underestimate your threat.”
Artemis nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Although I can’t really hide my bow in this skirt.”
“I’ll bring it with me and give it to you when the time is right,” Kaldur told her. “Is there anything about your father I should know before we fight him?”
“He likes to talk,” Artemis told him. “He’ll want to lecture me when I get there. If he brings back-up with him-and he probably will- that’s the time to take them out because he’ll be too distracted by me to notice.” Kaldur nodded and started toward the ship, but Artemis stopped him. “I should have told you this earlier,” she said quickly. “And I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“It was not an easy decision for you to make. Though I don’t like it, I respect it.” Kaldur held her gaze for a moment and then said “We must leave now.”
--
There weren’t many times that Artemis wished she were a normal seventeen year-old girl. But as she walked up to the old Gotham Gymnasium, she wished that she could be pissed at her dad because he took away her cell phone or gave her an early curfew.
Well, he did hate her boyfriend. That was approaching normal.
There are two guards circling the building, maybe more, she told the team. I’m going in.
Stepping inside the gym was like going into the past; nothing had changed even though it was almost three years since the last time she trained there. Artemis quickly took in her surroundings, which wasn’t hard even though most of the lights were off. She was used to doing training exercises in the dark by the time she was thirteen. There were just two lights on now. One was on her father.
The other was on Wally.
He was lying on the floor and it looked like he was unconscious. His legs were wrapped in heavy chains, probably so he couldn’t run if he woke up.
Artemis resisted the urge to run over to him. She walked forward at a steady pace, trying to look tough but neutral.
There are three men on the catwalk, she told the team, although there might be more-- I can’t see behind me. There’s no one on the ground though.
We’re on our way, Kaldur said. We dealt with the guards on the perimeter and M’gann is landing the Bio Ship outside.
She came to a stop in front of her father, just at the edge of the pool of light. “Hello,” she said calmly.
“Hello Artemis,” he said. “I take it you got your sister’s message?” It was almost conversational.
“Yes,” she said. She concentrated very hard on keeping her eyes on him and not Wally. “I take it you found out I’m not your mole?”
His eyes flashed. “Like you could fool me,” he spat, and that’s when Artemis knew that she had fooled him. He wouldn’t be that mad otherwise. “Your information was valuable only because it showed us how the Justice League would react to me as a threat, and it confirmed my suspicions: they’re weak and unwilling to do what is necessary.”
“What would you have done,” Artemis asked, trying to keep him talking.
“Killed you, of course,” he said simply.
We’re almost inside, M’gann said inside Artemis’s head and it reassured her. They would never do that to her. Probably.
Artemis didn’t respond to what he said because her attention was caught by a figure emerging from the darkness. Jade swaggered forward into the light.
“All clear outside,” she said casually to their dad, but she was looking at Artemis. It couldn’t be all clear, Artemis thought, because the team should have been there, but that would mean…
Jade knows you’re here, Artemis told them. But she hasn’t said anything yet.
Your sister is delightful, she heard Zatanna think.
Tell me about it. She had seen Jade a lot in the past year but Artemis could never pin her down. Sometimes she thought that Jade was running her own game on the side, but there was no way she’d try that with their dad. Although who knows; Artemis never thought she’d be able to do something like that and yet here she was.
“So you did come alone,” her dad said. He was smiling triumphantly. “I knew you followed orders well. It’s always better to work alone. You’re in control of the situation and your own movements without having to worry,” he practically spit out the word “about anyone else but yourself.”
She tuned him out and somewhere behind her, Artemis heard a very faint clatter.
We’re in, Conner said.
“Personally,” Jade said, looking just above Artemis’s shoulder “I thought you would want all your little friends as back-up.”
Jade definitely knew, but Artemis wasn’t going to rise to the bait. “I didn’t tell them. I clean up my own messes,” she said coolly.
Jade looked over at Wally and made a tsk-ing noise. “This certainly is a mess.”
Artemis ignored that comment. “So why now?”
“Why not,” her dad asked.
“If you knew all along, why would you choose now to retaliate?” She felt like she was thirteen again, peppering him with questions about battle tactics.
Her father smiled at her darkly. “Shouldn’t I get to know my daughter’s boyfriend?”
The high-pitched gasp that shot through Artemis’ head (which had to have come from M’gann) told her that not only was the team inside the gym, they had also heard that last part. Apparently she was getting out all of her secrets today.
She glanced over at Wally. He had a cut on his forehead and a black eye, and probably plenty of other injuries she couldn’t see, but he was breathing. That was all that mattered.
Artemis looked back at her dad. “How did you find out,” she asked evenly. When he didn’t answer, she pressed him. “We were trying to keep it a secret and clearly I didn’t do a good job. Tell me how I screwed up.”
Jade was the one who answered. “Word of advice,” she said with a laugh, “If you’re going to date someone in secret, then don’t kiss him in the middle of the street.”
Artemis’s stomach churned; she knew exactly what Jade was talking about.
About two months before, she and Wally went out to see a movie together in Gotham. It was their first real date and it had been horrifically awkward; it was like they both realized that their relationship not normal and had no idea how to act anymore. They left the theater in total silence and Artemis was trying to figure out something to say that was not a suggestion that they break up, when there was an explosion down the street. It took them almost no time to react, Wally having already scooped her up to run down the street while Artemis tried to get a hold on her bag so she could grab her collapsible bow.
It turned out to be a bank heist gone wrong (Wally had fun lecturing the criminals on how they messed up wiring the explosions on the vault) and they got the situation under control in about five minutes. But after the police hauled the would-be robbers away, Artemis took one look at Wally and the next thing she knew they were making out in the street in front of a bank building that was still kind of on fire. That had been the pattern of their relationship up until that point-danger and then kissing. But afterwards they went back to the cave together and heated up ten bags of popcorn and watched another movie and it was all totally natural and perfect.
That was a good memory. Artemis liked thinking about it because it was when she first realized that maybe this thing with Wally was more than just a reaction to adrenaline-fueled lust. But she felt sick thinking about it now knowing that someone had been watching them the whole time.
“You didn’t know we were there, did you?” Her dad was laughing menacingly. “I have always been keeping an eye out on you. I thought you would have known, but I shouldn’t be surprised. You never were good at paying attention. You’re sloppy, Artemis,” her dad reprimanded. “You’ve always been a stronger fighter than Jade, but she could beat you because you don’t take in your surroundings like she does.”
At the same time as she was mentally congratulating herself on not rolling her eyes, Artemis caught Jade actually rolling hers behind their dad’s back. He was still treating them like they were kids, trying to pit them against each other to get “better results.” He didn’t realize that they were adults; that’s why Artemis had been able to trick him and Jade was able to do…whatever it was what she was doing.
He underestimated them both. And Artemis knew that would be his downfall.
W’e ready to go when you are, Zatanna told her. A hush fell over the gym. It wouldn’t be long before her dad realized that there was no one on the catwalk anymore.
"You know, you're right," Artemis said as she slowly put out her hand. In her head, she heard Kaldur give a countdown. "I'm not very good at paying attention. And I've gotten a lot worse at following orders."
All at once the team jumped down from the catwalk, surrounding her family. Kaldur landed at her side to put her bow and quiver in her hand. Artemis had it drawn and aiming at her dad with the sort of quickness he would have praised her for.
He didn't look like he was in the praising mood now, though. His eyes narrowed and he lunged forward, but Jade stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Smiling at Artemis, she snapped her fingers.
Suddenly, the room was filled with people, all wearing masks sickeningly similar to Jade's. "You brought your own people!" her father howled, but the rest of the team was too busy fighting of the masked men to hear it. In the melee, Jade grabbed their dad and the two set off towards the door.
Artemis didn't know what to do. She needed to save Wally. She needed to help the team. But she really needed to go after Jade and her dad too.
Robin must have noticed that she had frozen, because he yelled at her “Go after them! We can handle this!” Artemis looked over at Wally and saw that he was already gone; Conner was running out towards the ship with him and the chains were lying broken on the floor.
So Artemis ran towards the door Jade and their dad went through, trying to ignore the fact that none of Jade's guys targeted her. It was probably her idea of sisterly kindness.
As soon as she was outside she saw that her hesitation had given them a good head start. They were running towards a helicopter whose engine was already running and Artemis could make out a pilot inside. As they got closer to the helicopter, Artemis realized with a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to catch them. In desperation, she grabbed one of her arrows and fired. It wasn't her best shot, but it didn't matter. The arrow landed in right in her dad’s calf and she could hear his roar of pain even over the sound of the helicopter.
That didn't stop him from sprinting the last one hundred yards to the helicopter and jumping on board, Jade right behind him. The helicopter lifted off the second she was inside. It started to fly in her direction and Artemis grabbed one of her bows with an explosive tip. It was going to go right over her head; she could take them down easily.
She had the arrow ready to fire, but she hesitated. If the arrow hit the helicopter, it would crash into the pavement. The chances of survival were very low.
The helicopter passed overhead. The bow shook in her grip.
Artemis couldn’t do it. No matter how horrible they were, she couldn’t kill her own family.
The helicopter flew away and Artemis swore she could see Jade laughing through the window.
Artemis dropped her bow to the ground and watched the helicopter fly away from Gotham and then on to who-knows-where.
That had been the whole point, she realized. It wasn’t about a big battle or finally ending things between them. This was so her father could let her know that he was watching her every move and that the people she cared about were never safe.
“Hey.” She jumped and turned to see Zatanna standing there. She was looking at her with concern. “All those guys your sister brought ran out of here a minute ago.”
“They were a distraction,” Artemis said distantly. “That’s Jade’s style.”
“Well, they’re gone now,” Zatanna said carefully. “And we need to get Wally back to Mount Justice.” Artemis nodded and with Zatanna’s hand on her shoulder, they walked back to the Bio Ship.
--
Conner had put Wally in the med bay of the Bio Ship. Artemis found Robin there, leaning against the wall, staring at Wally.
She came to stand next to him. There were a lot of things she wanted to say, like “Sorry we never told you we were dating” and “I’m sorry I got your best friend beaten unconscious.” But the words wouldn’t come out.
They didn’t say anything the whole ride back.
--
As soon as the ship landed it was practically stormed by a team of doctors. Artemis vaguely recognized some of them from when she was shot in the arm the year before, but for a moment she wanted to stop them from wheeling Wally out. Which was stupid, because he wasn’t going to get any better without medical attention, but she still felt weird letting him out of her sight.
The rest of the team must have felt that way, because they all followed the doctors like nervous ducks. They got as far as the room outside the med bay when they were stopped by Batman.
“You must wait here for the rest of the evening,” he told them. Artemis heard Robin make a noise of protest but he didn’t add anything. Batman continued, “I don’t like it when you go on missions without asking for approval first, but you did well; however, there are many issues that must be worked out before we can continue. We will meet in the morning to debrief.”
As he left, he stopped in front of Artemis. She could never read Batman’s expression, but for a moment she thought she saw something nice when he said “Don’t worry about your mother; Green Arrow is at your apartment.”
She nodded and murmured “Thanks.”
With Batman gone, they stood around awkwardly. “So,” Zatanna said, “I guess we wait?”
It was the only thing to do. Everyone grabbed a seat and fell silent; no one seemed to know what to say. A bunch of the doctors and nurses streamed out of the room after about an hour but ignored their questions.
“I’m sure they will tell us if they have important information,” Kaldur said and Artemis convinced herself that he was right.
M’gann tried to start conversation a couple of times but always trailed off. She tried once more, but this time it was in Artemis’s head.
Artemis?
Yeah, Artemis responded.
M’gann chewed on her bottom lip before asking Why didn’t you tell me that you and Wally were dating?
Because she was tired and in a bad mood, she snapped back with Why didn’t you tell me when you and Conner started dating?
M’gann got this horrible look on her face and Artemis instantly felt guilty. I am so sorry, M’gann gushed. I never realized how mean that was of me. I’m such a horrible friend-
No you’re not, Artemis interrupted her. I didn’t mean that. We just decided not to tell anyone because you guys would make fun of us too much.
M’gann nodded. Well, we did all see this coming several years ago.
Artemis rolled her eyes and was just about to shoot back at her when Black Canary came into the waiting room. Artemis looked at her warily; it was never a good sign when she showed up.
“I know you’re worried about Wally,” she said. “But you all need to get some rest.” Artemis checked the clock on the wall and was shocked to see that it was already one in the morning. “This has been a very hard day, physically and emotionally,” Black Canary continued. “It would be best if you got some sleep. Wally should be up and about by morning; you can see him then.”
No one moved. Black Canary narrowed her eyes. “That was an order.”
Slowly, and with some glares in her direction, the team got up and headed out of the med bay. But Artemis lingered in her chair. When Black Canary looked at her, Artemis said simply “I’m not leaving.”
“Good,” Black Canary said, taking the seat next to her. “Because I wanted to talk to you.”
Artemis considered revising her position on staying.
But to her surprise, Black Canary didn’t immediately start grilling her. She settled into the next chair and waited for Artemis to get comfortable again.
“I told Batman not to give you this assignment,” Black Canary said finally.
Artemis didn’t turn towards her, just kept looking at the doors to the med bay. “Why,” she asked. “Because you knew I would ruin it?”
“Because I knew something like this would happen,” Black Canary explained.
“I did, though,” Artemis said. “I messed up with Wally, I got him hurt, and now the whole mission is ruined.”
“Artemis,” Black Canary said firmly. “You’re still just a kid. Playing double agent is one of the hardest things someone can do. There are some adults who wouldn’t be able to do it. I wouldn’t be able to do it. That you were able to keep it up for as long as you did is impressive. You shouldn’t blame yourself.”
“Sure,” Artemis murmured, still focused on the door. She wasn’t sure if she wanted it to open or not. If a doctor came out, it could be good news but it could be bad news too.
Black Canary sighed. “When Batman told me about this plan, I warned him that it would be too dangerous. I even told him that it would end with something like this, best case scenario.”
Artemis whipped her head around to look at her in shock. “Best case? I almost got my boyfriend killed.” Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that she just admitted to Black Canary she was dating Wally, but she was beyond caring.
“He’s still alive, Artemis,” she said bluntly. “It could have been a lot worse.”
Artemis knew she had a point, but that didn’t get the image of Wally, bruised and unconscious, out of her head. “He’s going to hate me,” she said before she could stop herself.
“He might surprise you,” Black Canary told her.
She didn’t say anything else after that. Artemis was just starting to think that maybe she was right, maybe no one would hold this against her, when there was a sudden rush of air and the Flash was standing in front of them.
Oh shit, she thought, Wally’s family was going to hate her now.
“I just got a call from a doctor,” he said worriedly, “Something about Wally getting hurt--”
As if on cue, the door opened and one of the doctors stuck her head out. “When you say five minutes, you really do mean five minutes.” Artemis was watching her carefully; she sounded tired but not like someone about to deliver bad news. “He just woke up, you can come on in.”
Artemis practically jumped out the chair when he said that. The Flash went into the room and she craned her neck, trying to see inside with no luck. She settled on frantically jiggling her leg and trying to work out her thoughts. Wally was awake, which was very good. And she would be seeing him soon, because she couldn’t sit outside his room and then just leave after he woke up. But seeing him could be bad because at the worst he hated her, and at the best she had some really awkward questions to answer.
She was trying to figure out just how bad of a person she would be if she ran in, said “I’m glad you’re okay,” and ran out (because even if Wally was awake, he probably couldn’t run fast enough to catch her) when Black Canary put her hand on her arm.
“Artemis, calm down.”
“I am calm,” Artemis said. Black Canary gave her a very pointed look. “Fine,” she admitted. “I’m a little nervous, like any normal person would be. Are you happy?”
“Very,” Black Canary smiled. Artemis had a feeling that she was mentally filing this away as a ‘breakthrough’.
The door to Wally’s hospital room opened again and his uncle and the doctor came out, talking too quietly for Artemis to hear. When they finished, the doctor announced to the room “I’ll be in the office down the hall,” and left.
The Flash walked over to them (even after all this time Artemis still had trouble thinking of him as just Barry like Wally did) and said “He’s banged up and starving, but he’s fine. He gave me a long list of food he wants in the morning when they take him off the IV, which I think means he’s back to normal.”
“That’s good,” Artemis said nervously.
The Flash focused on her and said “Artemis,” and she braced herself for whatever what was about to come next. But he surprised her and continued “I just wanted to let you know that what you’ve been doing was very brave and we’re all really proud of you.”
Artemis felt relief wash over her. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“You’re welcome,” he answered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to run back to Central City. Wally and I decided it would be best if I told his parents about what happened, since he would probably open the phone call with ‘I got kidnapped today.’”
Black Canary got up. “I’ll walk you out,” she said. As she left with the Flash, she turned around and mouthed to Artemis “It’ll be okay.”
Artemis waited a minute before she got up. She could totally do this. If she could play double agent, she could go talk to Wally.
After a count of three, she launched herself out of her chair and practically ran across the room and opened the door.
The first thing she saw was Wally, who was alive, and sitting up, and totally not noticing she was there because he was playing with his phone.
The second thing she noticed was the nurse in the room who was writing something on a chart. She took one look at Artemis and said “I’m all finished here, just hit the call button if you need anything.”
Wally looked up from his phone and saw her. He didn’t say anything as the nurse left, but he was looking at Artemis and sort of smiling, which was good (or could be the side-effects of a concussion, she wasn’t sure).
Artemis closed the door behind her but stayed by it, her ten seconds of self-confidence having disappeared.
“So,” Wally said finally. “I guess that’s what I get for saying I wanted to meet your family.”
She hadn’t cried all day. Not when she found out he had been taken, not when she first saw him, not even after telling the team the truth about who she was. But seeing him smiling and acting like nothing was wrong set her off.
“Wally,” she said in a sob and rushed forward towards his bed. She stopped herself when she got closer and saw that he was covered in bruises. That just made her want to cry harder, but she took a deep breath to steady herself and sat gingerly at the foot of the bed.
She didn’t really trust herself to touch him; she’d already done enough to hurt him today.
Artemis pulled her knees up to her chest and forced herself to look at him. “I’m so sorry,” she said quietly.
Wally shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
Artemis looked at him like he was crazy. “No big deal? Seriously? Did you not figure out who my dad is?”
“Of course I did,” Wally shot back, and in some sick way the sniping was making Artemis feel better. “He went on about it for an hour. But it’s not like you told him to kidnap me and beat me up, right?” Artemis nodded. “See, not your fault. Although,” he added in a softer voice, “I really wish you had told me about your family before this.”
“Yeah,” Artemis said, “because I’m sure if I told you the truth a year ago you would have been fine with it.”
“I totally would have,” Wally insisted and Artemis rolled her eyes in spite of herself. “Okay,” he amended. “I would have been mad for half a day but then I would have gotten over it. I really like you, Artemis. We all do. Nothing could change that.”
Artemis felt her heart melt a little and when Wally asked “Can you please come over here,” she complied and moved up the bed. Wally scooted over some and she sat next to him, taking hold of his hand as she did so. He squeezed hers back and said “I’m awesome, remember? It takes a lot more than this to bring me down.”
But he looked so beat up and Artemis couldn’t help asking “How’d they get you?”
Wally blushed. “Um, it’s kind of stupid.”
“Did they set a trap with baked goods?”
“No,” he said defensively. “I was just thinking about all the cakes M’gann was going to make and decided that I really needed ice cream, because cake and ice cream go so well together, so I grabbed a gallon to eat on my way to the Zeta. I guess I was sort of distracted because the next thing I knew someone knocked me out and I guess you know the rest…” he finished up.
Artemis should have left it there, but she couldn’t. Even though she had seen the aftermath, she needed to know what her dad did. “What happened?”
Wally looked away. “Artemis…”
“No, you have to tell me,” she pressed. “Please.”
“It was just basic villain stuff,” he said, staring down at their connected hands. “But he wouldn’t stop talking about you. He kept ranting about how you had betrayed him and what he was going to do to you when you showed up. He was so angry and I figured that maybe if he took it all out on me, he wouldn’t hurt you when you came to find me.”
Wally sort of shrugged when he said it like it was no big deal, but to Artemis it was like a punch in the gut. That he would take that sort of beating for her, even after finding out that she’d been lying to him for years, was mind-blowing. And she knew that she never wanted Wally to get hurt like this again.
She sat up suddenly and faced Wally. “This is never going to happen again, I promise,” she said seriously. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Especially not because of me. Okay?”
“Okay,” Wally answered and he looked so trusting that it broke her heart a little because she really didn’t deserve this. So she did the only thing she could think of and kissed him. She had intended it to be a quick kiss, but she was just so happy that he was okay and didn’t hate her that it went on way longer (and while she liked kissing Wally, it was always better after a near-death experience). The kiss only ended when Wally moved to wrap his arm around Artemis’s back and almost pulled out his IV.
“Rain check?” Wally asked as they both settled back into the bed. Artemis laughed and nodded against his shoulder.
Wally started babbling about how weird it was to be on the rescuing end of a mission. Artemis was content to listen to him until he mentioned Robin and she suddenly remembered that she there was one other unpleasant thing to tell him.
“This is probably a good time to mention that the entire team knows about us.”
“Great,” Wally groaned. “Has Rob started tormenting you yet?”
“No, he seemed a little preoccupied with you being comatose,” Artemis pointed out.
“Just wait,” Wally said darkly. “He’s lulling you into a false sense of security.” Artemis had a feeling her might be onto something.
“Whatever,” she said. “I’m over secrets.”
“In that case, is there anything else you want to tell me? The deeper and darker the better.”
Artemis knew he was joking, but before she could think it through she said “I’m really in love with you.”
She felt Wally freeze against her and for a second she was convinced that the shock of saying something so un-her had actually killed him, but then he exhaled heavily and said “You know, I’m pretty sure that I was supposed to say something like that first, since I am the romantic one in this relationship.”
She looked over at him and saw that he was beaming at her. “Oh please,” she smiled back at him. “Since when is making pervy comments about my ass considered romance?”
“I just have a lot of feelings on the subject,” he said lightly. Then he added “I’m in love with you too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yup.”
Artemis settled back against him and yawned. “Mind if I stay a little longer?”
“However long you want, beautiful.”
Artemis rolled her eyes like she always did when he called her that, and then they discussed possible retaliatory attacks against Robin when he inevitably decided to make their life hell, and for the first time in years, Artemis finally felt like everything was going to be okay.