AN: Surprise surprise, another long hiatus. Seriously, a deep thank you to those of you who are sticking with me, and those of you who are just joining in! Truthfully, I'm petrified by the thought of attempting to end this story. I just want it to be good, and that's what keeps causing the long waits between updates. However, I've decided that procrastinating is not the answer, and that the only way I can get better at writing is by just doing it! Thank you again, I hope I can break my writer's block :)

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Wally woke up, staring at lined shadows on the ceiling created by the bars of his cell. The cold metal clamped around his neck felt like two icy hands wrapped around his throat. Wally swallowed uncomfortably. There was a slight tug on his collar. He reached up to touch it, but something seized his wrist, then covered his mouth before he could make a sound.

"Don't move or I'll blow your head off." A masked face appeared above him.

"On accident of course. Disabling inhibitors is tricky." Cheshire purred. The grin on her catlike mask seemed more devious than usual. She released his wrist and removed her hand from his mouth, then continued to fiddle with the collar. "You've really gotten your team into a messy one this time Kid."

"How about blame your dad instead of me?" Wally hissed.

Cheshire shrugged. "Very true."

"How did you find us anyway?" Wally asked.

"Roy heard about the situation, didn't want to leave his sort-of teammates out to dry."

Wally felt a stir of hope inside his chest. Speedy- er, Red Arrow to the rescue!

"So what's the plan? Did you get the others yet?" Wally whispered.

"Nope, you're number one kiddo."

"Why me? Why not Aqualad or M'gann or, I don't know, literally anyone else besides the injured hero?"

The assassin sighed. "The power of love." Her tone was mostly sarcastic. "But in all seriousness, she's more to you than just a teammate. You're motivated by this. Plus, I need someone who can find her cell- fast."

There was a sharp beep, and the collar clicked open. Wally reached up to rub his neck but hissed in pain when he moved. Wally sat up very slowly. He leaned his head back against the wall. He felt feverish- cold chills, hot skin, foggy head.

"Are you just a wimp, or is it that bad-" Cheshire stopped mid-sentence when she looked at his shoulder and side.

"I have something that will help, but not for long." Cheshire flipped open a small compartment on her belt. She dropped a few leaves into his hand.

"Chew five times, then spit out the leaves, unless you really want to have a bad day."

Wally put the leaves in his mouth. They were intensely bitter, and his face scrunched up as he chewed. He couldn't spit them out fast enough.

"Disgusting." Wally was still wincing from the taste.

"Yep. We don't have much time. The medicine will kick in soon. All the cameras and sensors are on a loop. Roy and I will get the others, go get Artemis." She tossed a small black device to Wally. When the speedster looked up, Cheshire was gone.

Wally stood slowly, using the wall to aid him. His whole body started to feel warm and itchy. The pain was still there, but subdued. Wally walked over to the cell door and grasped one of the bars. He slowly swung the door out.

Artemis… Wally thought. He felt a surge of hope run though him. He had to get her out. Wally looked forward, and sprinted off down the hall. He ran to the wing where he remembered Poison was being held. After zipping from cell to cell, he found her. Through a small window, he could see her curled up on a cot. Even though she was facing away from him, he could see her blonde hair hanging off the edge of the bed.

"Artemis!" He tried to whisper shout. He tapped on the glass. She looked up tiredly, then a look of shock flashed on her face. She jumped off the bed and ran towards the door, slamming against it. They were face to face, their breaths fogging up the glass between them.

Tears welled up in Artemis's eyes. "You're…" but she trailed off. She was going to say safe, however, she knew that was not true.

Wally had a stupidly large grin stretching from ear to ear. All he could do was stare. He shook his head. "This would probably be better if there wasn't a door between us." He held up Cheshire's device. "Stand back," he told Artemis. Wally stuck the device to the door, on top of the lock mechanism. He hit the only button on the device and backed up. The device detonated, creating a bang, thankfully only loud enough to hear in the hallway. Artemis pushed open the door and jumped on wally, embracing him tightly.

Wally didn't even feel the pain as she squeezed him. He just felt her soft hair against his cheek, her body against his, her breathing on his neck. He closed his eyes and held her.

Artemis had one arm around his waist, one around his back, reaching up, her hand holding the back of his neck. She wanted to feel safe in his arms, but she was too aware that he could be gone in an instant, with the click of a button.

She let go. "Wally, there are nanites inside you, that's why I couldn't do anything, that's why I had to fight you. He used you to threaten me, he used me as bait to kidnap my teammates." Artemis's voice grew colder. "He made me feel helpless." Artemis turned and began walking down the hall.

"Whoa whoa whoa wait!" Wally zipped around in front of her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get my bow and arrows, then I'm going to drive one through Sportsmaster's heart." The look on Artemis's face was almost feral, the look in her eyes made Wally shudder. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Artemis, think about this. You aren't an assassin anymore. Cheshire and Roy are going to get the team. We're all going to take them down. Together as a team."

Artemis looked down. "Yeah… yeah, okay."

"Come on," He took her hand, and they ran down the hall. The whole team rendezvoused outside their cells.

The team smiled as Wally and Artemis joined them. M'gann put a hand on Artemis's shoulder, and Robin bumped Kid. However, there wasn't time for celebration. Aqualad stepped into the center of the group. "Last time, the Injustice League was able to pair us up with the opponents that would affect us the most."

"So we need to switch dance partners!" Robin chimed in. "Indeed," Aqualad replied.

As the team created their battle plan, Wally slowly reached over and grabbed Artemis's hand. She grasped his hand and squeezed.