AN: So, first off, I owe you all a huge apology. Inspiration for this story completely died and rather than give you guys a less than stellar ending, I kind of just let it fall to the wayside. I figured I'd come back to this eventually and then I just…didn't. Then I got a particularly insightful review that reminded me, in part, why I even started writing this story in the first place. It lit the fire and I can only hope that this chapter helps bring this story to a satisfying end. That said, this doesn't necessarily mean the end of this universe. I've been toying with the idea of doing a series of one shots inspired by you lovely people. If there's something you wanted to see, or know more about, or even things that I cut for length/flow purposes, send me a message. I'm thinking I'll call is Odd Jobs and Side Stories and the first one will be Wally and Artemis meeting Red Arrow for the first time; outside of that mission they ran with him. Just a note, I don't write above T (though that's open for debate in the blood/gore department) and I don't write slash. Thank you all for reading and sticking with me this long. It's been a fantastic ride. I love you all!

Disclaimer: I kind of wish I did cause the way season two ended and then didn't come back is still a sore point for me. Sadly, I only own the words on this page.

An uncomfortable silence filled the ship after Miss Martian redirected the autopilot and the rest of the team filled their various mentors in on the situation. Artemis and Impulse holed themselves up in the med bay and flat out refused to talk to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. The four original members of the team all attempted to make some sort of conversation with them, but all they received in reply were flat looks or hostile glares. It wasn't until Red Arrow grumbled some choice words and tossed a box at Impulse that the tension began to break.

"Think fast," Red Arrow called as he lobbed a small, square box at Impulse's head.

Impulse glanced up in time to snag the incoming missile from the air just before it managed to smack him in the face. "What the hell man?" he scowled as he glanced down. "Where did you get these?" He started tearing into the thin cardboard to get at the energy bars inside.

"Jade mentioned they're your favorite and after all the shit the two of you have been through recently, I figured you'd need something to put some energy back into your system," Red Arrow shrugged. "You wouldn't call me unless things had well and truly hit the fan. Plus we need you at least functionally operational if we're going to have any hope of getting this thing to work."

"I don't know whether to be creeped out or grateful that Cheshire knows what protein bars are my favorite; or that I even have a favorite," Impulse replied around a mouthful of food.

"I'd go with grateful," Red Arrow laughed. "You're much less likely to incur her wrath that way. She also wanted me to let you know she'll leave your gear in the usual dump site, Artemis."

"Good, I feel naked without my bow," the blonde grumbled, absently rubbing at a bandage Impulse had tied around her arm.

"So, um, not to sound picky or anything, but do you have any other details of this operation that we need to know?" Robin interrupted. "Or some sort of plan to fix this?"

"We told you, they're planning on launching what amounts to a cloud seeder on steroids into the atmosphere from Cape Canaveral," Artemis answered shortly. "Once that's up it'll signal other, smaller versions of the device across the world to be sent up and then they'll let them seed the clouds so the next time it rains anywhere, people are getting doused with this stuff. If they happen to avoid going out in the rain, it'll still end up in the drinking water. No one will be safe from this stuff."

"Do you know the locations of these other points?" Aqualad asked.

"Sure, because obviously they'd tell us exactly where everything was after they'd beaten us bloody and left us tied up in an abandoned warehouse," Impulse snarked back.

"Easy Sparky," Red Arrow chided. "It was a valid question."

"It was a stupid question," Impulse grumbled sullenly as he opened another protein bar.

"Eat," Artemis commanded with an affectionate pat to Impulse's head. "You're too cranky when you're running low."

"What about a way of stopping this?" Robin cut in smoothly. "Will taking out the initial device at Cape Canaveral disable the rest of them?"

"Hardly," Artemis snorted. "They're on a relay system. The other devices will launch once they get the signal from the initial one, but if that signal fails to go through then they'll launch after thirty minutes anyway."

"So then how the hell are we supposed to stop these things?" Superboy demanded.

"With this," Impulse replied as he pulled out the vial of the antidote he'd created from his pocket again. "This will counteract the formula they've got in the seeders and render it harmless. It should also help stabilize the teens that have already been dosed."

"Is this formula really killing them?" Miss Martian asked, her hands squeezed tightly in front of her.

"Every time they use their powers," Artemis confirmed. "Wally managed to stabilize the team we worked with a few weeks back, but it's a little more difficult to get everyone else that's been affected when we don't even know who they all are."

"Hopefully this way they'll get the antidote in time to save them," Impulse added as he tossed the empty box aside.

"Will that be enough for everyone?" Robin asked, eyeing the little glass vial doubtfully. "That thing is barely half full."

"I need to synthesize more," Impulse admitted. "This is all that is left of the batch I created to stabilize our team. Coincidentally, that's what really tipped the Shadows off to our little game. There's also a low grade mind altering component to the serum that makes people very suggestible. When they couldn't mess with our team anymore and saw the logs from their labs, they put two and two together and came after us."

"So, like mind control?" Superboy asked.

"No," Artemis shook her head. "More like hypnosis. There's a stimulus that triggers the effect of the additive in the serum and then when a command is given while in that hypnotic state, it's obeyed without question. Those teenagers we fought from that nightclub adventure were among the first guinea pigs. They hadn't refined the process quite yet, which is why they couldn't do anything until they were commanded to attack. They've refined the process considerably since then. Which is why our team was lucid the whole way through. The newest batch only has the subjects respond to the trigger, they receive their instructions, and then they go about business as usual until it's time to carry out their orders. Even then, they're still fully present. It's more like a deep urge they automatically act on, without really knowing why."

"Why are you telling us this?" Aqualad broke in, a frown pulling the corners of his lips down. "Is there some way to neutralize the effects of the trigger?"

"No," Impulse answered. "But you need to know so you don't go blindly attacking everything that looks at you funny. These kids are going to seem like they're completely in control. Hell, they don't even know that what they're doing isn't their choice. We're telling you so you don't go lumping innocents in with the assholes behind this."

"Is there some way to tell the difference though?" Robin asked. "I mean, are we making the blanket assumption that every super powered teenager we come across is acting on subconscious orders they're not aware of? A lot of these kids have done some really bad things."

"That's really not our job to figure out," Artemis shrugged. "We've told you the facts and how to fix this, what you do with it is entirely up to you. We're in this to make sure it ends and the Shadows think twice before starting shit like this again."

"I suppose we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it," Miss Martian interrupted. "For now, I think we should contact the League and let them know there is a way to stop this and what the serum is doing to the other teenagers."

"If we take you back to your lab, can you synthesize more of the antidote in time?" Robin asked Impulse.

The blonde archer and the red head shared a brief look, a raised eyebrow or two passing between them, before looking back and shaking their heads in unison. "I don't have the right equipment for the job and Artemis won't be able to cobble together what I need fast enough."

"Is there anywhere we can pick that stuff up then?" Superboy pressed. "Or anywhere we can go?"

"Any major government or private research lab should have what I need," Impulse shrugged. "But the government tends to be pretty picky about what it hands out and why. Private labs aren't much better either."

"We can go to S.T.A.R Labs in Central," Robin replied, turning to Miss Martian and nodding towards the controls. "Give the Flash a call and let him know we're coming and everything should be set up for when we arrive. Impulse, you'll have to walk him through what you'll need ready when you get there."

"Like hell I do," Impulse snarled as he leapt to his feet. "If you think for one second I'm working with him then you're even more delusional than I originally thought."

"I wouldn't ask if there was any other option," Robin said with his hands raised in front of him. "Look, I know he's not exactly your favorite person right now, but we're all just trying to save these kids and stop the Shadows. You don't even have to talk to the guy as you work once you've told him what needs to be done. You don't even need to talk to him once you're done. I'm just asking for your help to stop Savage and S.T.A.R Labs is the only option we can get to on such short notice."

Impulse glared down at the younger boy for a few moments, before letting out a harsh sigh and slumping back against the wall. "I'm only doing this because I want to destroy their plans," he grumbled. "No more, no less. He needs to understand that. Nothing else matters beyond getting the antidote made, clear?"

"Crystal," Robin instantly responded with a sharp nod. "I'll even talk to him myself so he's aware."

"Whatever," Impulse replied. "Let's just get this over with as fast as possible."

The flight to Central City barely took an hour, though with Impulse fuming in the med lab and refusing to talk to anyone other than his blonde partner after his talk with the Flash, the rest of the team was more than relieved to see him off the ship when they touched down. Artemis followed him out and stopped halfway down the exit ramp, wrapping her arms tightly around the red head.

"Take care of yourself, and get back to me as soon as possible," she whispered in his ear.

"You're the one that I'm more worried about," Impulse whispered back as he tightened his own arms around her waist and buried his face against her neck. "I'm only playing in a science lab. You're going out on the front lines." He pressed closer and squeezed her tighter. "I hate being separated from you," he mumbled into the side of her neck.

"Then get this done quickly and get your skinny ass back out in the field," Artemis replied as she released him and tried to take a step back. A smile bloomed across her face when Impulse straightened up, but refused to let her go.

"You love my skinny ass," he teased, a soft smile flitting across his lips before he swooped down, stole a quick kiss, and zoomed away.

"Stay safe," she whispered into the rushing wind, before she turned on her heel and marched back into the ship. "Let's get this show on the road people," she barked, pushing her way past the other teens hanging around the open bay door.

Impulse slipped into S.T.A.R. Labs through the loading doors in back, following the distant lights until he came to a large lab space, machines quietly humming in standby mode. He pulled up short in the doorway and took a wary glance around the room.

"Long time no see, kiddo," Barry Allen said with a halted wave and a hesitant half smile on his face. He stood further towards the back of the room, fully suited up as the Flash, though he'd left his cowl down.

"It would have been even longer if I'd had any say in it," Impulse growled as he stepped into the room. "Everything here?"

"Just as you asked," Barry nodded, stepping closer. "Look, Wally, I wanted,"

"No," Impulse hissed, holding up a hand and cutting his uncle off. "I'm not here to do a heart-to-heart. "I'm here to synthesize the antidote to Savage's latest scheme and then get back out in the field to make sure my girlfriend doesn't end up dying on me. Circumstances are forcing me to work with you, but that's all this is, understand?"

"I am sorry you know," Barry offered as he took another step closer.

"It's not me you need to apologize to," Impulse snarled. "And from what I hear, Mom shut you down pretty quickly. Now if you don't mind, let's just get this done, yeah?"

Barry only nodded in reply, a soft sigh slipping out through his lips. "Whatever you say kiddo, you're the one running this show."

"And stop calling me 'kiddo'," the red head growled.

"Sorry kiddo, no can do," Barry grinned again, a bit bigger than when Impulse had first walked into the room. "It's kind of a default term for me at this point."

Impulse reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and mumbled something under his breath. Barry thought he caught something along the lines of "acid will dissolve all the evidence" and wisely chose not to comment until the younger speedster finally glanced back up at him. "Can we not do this please?" he asked. "I get that you're trying to make up for being an ass, but it's not really going to change the fact that Mom is functionally dead to her parents cause you couldn't be bothered to say anything when she came back and asked for help."

"It's not that simple, kiddo," Barry said, a sad smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

"I've noticed people say that a lot," Impulse told him. "But mostly it's just to make themselves feel better. It gives them an excuse to tell people when really, they just weren't willing to try. Now, here's what we need to do." The red head spent the rest of the time redirecting or flat out ignoring any attempts Barry made to try and talk about anything other than making the antidote. Eventually, the older man sighed and flit around the room, doing his best to help speed up the process.

Forty minutes later, the two speedsters screeched to a halt and rocked back on their heels. Twelve beakers sat on the table across from them, white steam gently curling out of the open top of each glass container.

"Well, that wasn't too bad," Barry said, sending a brief grin towards the younger man standing next to him.

"I've made this all before, it's not that hard," Impulse shrugged. "The tricky part was figuring out how to get it to mix with and deactivate the original serum and still act as an antidote to those that have already been exposed. That took me much longer than I wanted," he added with a scowl.

"Still, you got it figured out by crunch time," Barry chuckled, reaching over to ruffle what little of his younger companion's hair that was exposed. He just grinned unrepentantly when the scowl shifted from the beakers up to him. Just cause the kid didn't want to talk didn't mean he couldn't still try and show him that he genuinely cared about his nephew. "You're almost scary smart. So now what?"

"Hands to yourself, for starters," the younger boy grumbled, shoving the offending appendage away. "Now we wait for the call to come in from Artemis with the locations of the other seeders and we get this stuff dumped in them before they take off."

"You and I are fast kiddo, but we're not that fast," Barry reminded him as he plucked a beaker off the table. "And how do we know how much of this stuff to dump in?"

"You've got friends and Zeta Tubes that can get you anywhere you need to be," Impulse shot back. "We'll have to push ourselves to get this to the right people, but from there we're off the hook. As for how much, a test tube full of the solution dumped into the main tank should do it." The pair of them zipped around and quickly poured the liquid into plastic test tubes, shoving little black stoppers into the top to keep everything in. They'd just secured the last vial when a trilling chirp started beeping from Impulse's wrist.

The red head frowned and looked down at a blinking green light seemingly coming from nowhere before he reached up and pressed a small button on the comm link in his ear. "You're earlier than I thought you'd be," he said the second the brief moment of static let him know the line was connected.

"It goes a lot faster when you've got two hackers double teaming the system," Artemis' voice answered immediately. "You have enough time?"

"Just packed in the last vial," Impulse replied. "I'm ready for the locations when you are."

A few seconds of furious scribbling later, and muted words of affection that Barry did his best to block out, left the pair left them with twenty locations worldwide. Barry frowned down at the list before tapping his own ear and rattling them off to whoever was on the other end. Impulse watched as he rolled his eyes and turned his back on the younger boy.

"We don't really have much of a choice," he said around an annoyed sigh. "Would you rather these things go off without the antidote in them?" Barry fell silent for a moment, listening as his shoulders grew tight. "Look, it's simple. That's where the central point for all the Zeta Tubes are. Either we get up there to hand off the serum or we're all screwed. We won't have time to wait for someone to beam into Central and then get into S.T.A.R. Labs and we really don't have the time for anyone to be waiting around on the other end of the Zeta Tubes and then hope they make it to the launch sites in time. Deploy the teams to the launch sites and Impulse and I will run the antidote in. It's the best play we've got and you know it."

Silence reigned for a long moment, a frown tugging at Impulse's lips as he watched the older man. He flinched back involuntarily when he turned suddenly, a conspiratorial smirk on his face, aimed right at the red head. He glared back, not entirely sure what to make of the whole thing.

"It'll be fine, you're just paranoid. See you in a blink." The older man tapped his ear once more, silencing his own communicator. "Well kiddo, you ready to piss a few people off?"

"Always," Impulse replied deadpanned, one eyebrow ticking up beneath his mask. "Though I generally prefer to know how and why."

"Well, we need to get this stuff distributed quickly, right?" Barry asked as he tugged his cowl over his face and readjusted it a bit. "We're the only ones that can move fast enough to be of any use, but even we can travel instantaneously. That's where the Zeta Tubes come in."

"Each Tube is keyed into a specific place," Impulse reminded him. "That may save a little time, but not much if we have to keep hopping back and forth to get anywhere."

"Well, you're half right," the Flash grinned at him as he turned and started packing the full test tubes into two padded packs. "The Tubes on Earth are each keyed into one specific place, but the main Portal on the Watchtower can send or receive from anywhere. Just type in the coordinates and off you go!"

"I'm not allowed in the Watchtower," Impulse said slowly. "I made it a point when I left that it probably wouldn't be a great idea to let me in there."

"That's what Bats thinks too," Flash laughed. "Personally, I think you'll be fine."

"You're too trusting," Impulse scoffed.

"Are you saying you'll take advantage of being there when the fate of the human race is in serious trouble?" Flash asked, a grin still stretched across his face.

"No," Impulse admitted sullenly after a moment of silence. He looked off to the side and refused to face the other man. "But that doesn't mean you aren't too trusting."

"I'm trying to see the best in people, kiddo," Flash told him as he slung an arm across his shoulders and handed him his container of test tubes. "In our line of work, sometimes you have to learn to look for the silver linings if you're going to keep sane."

Impulse shot the older man a skeptical look as he shrugged off his arm and slung the pack across his shoulders. "Whatever," he replied. "Let's just get this over with."

With a blur of red and grey, the two speedsters were off for the nearest Zeta Tube. Within minutes the pair were zipping out of a flash of white light and onto the main deck of the Watchtower. Black Canary stood off to the side, waiting for them.

"It's good to see you again Wally," she greeted, a small smile on her face. "I hope you're doing well."

"About as well as can be expected," Impulse shrugged back. "Am I correct in assuming you're here to babysit me when I run back and forth?"

Black Canary's smile turned slightly apologetic. "It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that Batman is a bit paranoid."

"Which translates into the League not trusting me," Impulse nodded. "It's fine, I wouldn't trust me either. I honestly expected more of you to be here."

"Well, Green Arrow was going to be here, but once we got the locations of the probes he needed to take care of some personal matters first," the blonde woman answered.

"Felicity okay?" Flash asked.

"If she wasn't before, Ollie's making extra sure now," Black Canary chuckled, though she did send the Scarlett Speedster a warning glance. "Not that it'll help much."

"Five bucks says she's demanding to be let out in the field some way," Flash laughed. "She's probably even arguing the hacker angle."

"That's a sucker's bet," Black Canary grinned. "It's pretty much guaranteed that despite his best efforts, she's going to talk him into letting her help in some way. Anyway, let's get you two going, shall we?" With another quick grin at Impulse, Black Canary stepped up to the control consul next to the Zeta Tube and started typing in coordinates. "I'll be keying each tube you exit through to send you right back here once you're out. Each team leader at each location knows to expect you guys, so all you need to do is run in, drop the tube, and get right back here. Clear?"

"Crystal," Impulse replied as he shifted he goggles down over his eyes. The Zeta Tube lit up once more and he shot off right into the blinding white light without a second thought.

While Impulse was busy mixing chemicals, the rest of the team were doing their best to get into Cape Canaveral unnoticed. Miss Martian had cloaked the ship and landed as close as she dared to the outer perimeter. The six teens all spilled out quickly and inched their way closer.

"Remember, Robin and Artemis are going in last to tag team on hacking the seeder's mainframe. Get the locations of the other probes and call them in to Impulse," Red Arrow told the group as the crouched low by the bioship. "The rest of us will blast in there and make as much noise as possible to cover you. Once you've passed off the coordinates, feel free to join in the fun. Any questions?"

"Just one," Artemis said as a smirk stretched across her face. "Should I be expecting a visit from my sister at any point in this fight? Cause if your performance in the field is going to take a sudden dive into the far less than stellar, I think we should know now."

"As far as I know, no," Red Arrow grumbled in reply, turning away so the younger teens couldn't see the blush spreading across his face. "She did what she could in getting you out of the Shadows' base. If she does happen to make an appearance though, I promise to leave her for you. The two of you can put on quite the show when you're going for each other's throats. If there's nothing else, let's do this."

The six teens bolted for the fence, clearing it with little difficulty, and dashed for the lit up launch pad out in the distance. Various Shadows henchmen mingled with Manta and his men, all of them clustered around a large, squat device. A few teenagers were filtered in throughout the crowd, manic grins on all of their faces.

"Careful, they've got dosed kids!" Red Arrow called, already slipping his bow from his back and nocking an arrow. In one smooth movement, he let the projectile fly. The tip exploded in midair and the battle field was suddenly covered in a thick, white mist. Enraged shouts were quickly replaced with pained grunts as the teens threw themselves into battle.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Robin and Artemis slipped silently through the crowd and made their way to the seeder. Crouching side by side, the pair plugged into the device and immediately got to work.

"Pretty heavy firewall," Robin commented, his fingers flying across his holoscreen display.

"Not the hardest I've ever seen," Artemis responded. "Though it is some really annoying coding."

"Too many false starts and misdirections," Robin agreed. "You wanna go for the hammer approach or try and work our way through?"

"Going at this full force may send this thing airborne before we've gotten the locations of the other probes or even gotten this one open," Artemis frowned. "But worming our way may take too long."

"Point," Robin sighed. "Wait! What if we clone the system onto our devices? We won't need to waste time hacking in and we'll have all the info we need."

"It'll make both of our computers functionally useless for anything else," Artemis reminded the younger boy. "We'll basically be rewriting our software with whatever is on this thing."

"You said yourself we don't have time to be delicate or the security to go hard," Robin replied with a shrug. "Besides, I was going to build a new system from scratch anyway; this just gives me a better excuse to get Bats to pay for the parts," he added with a large grin.

"You're paying for my upgrades then too, bird brain," Artemis replied.

"Done!" Robin laughed.

Within minutes the duo had managed to clone the seeder's system software into their own computers, granting them full access to its mainframe. "You get the thing open and stand by for the antidote and I'll call in the locations to Impulse," Artemis told the dark haired boy.

"We've got a problem," Robin announced, a frown tugging at his lips. "We've got control of this satellite, but there's a manual override function that I can't disable. Even if we keep this one grounded, the others can still be sent up."

"Damn it," Artemis hissed. "I'll let Impulse know to hit the other sites first then." She reached up and tapped her earpiece. There was a brief buzz and then she heard her red head's voice. A grin spread across her face as she bantered with him and traded information.

"Be careful please," she whispered after she had relayed the coordinates for the other satellites. "They're bound to have security beefed up on these things."

"The whole League is on this," Impulse's voice crackled back. "All I have to do is run in, make a delivery, and speed right back out." There was a brief pause. "I'll be there as fast as I can."

Artemis risked a quick glance up and cringed a bit when she saw Superboy go flying into a steel beam. He got right back on his feet, shaking his head once, before he yelled and charged at the teenager he was squared off against. Black orbs coated the kid's hands and as she watched, the gravity around him seemed to shift and send Superboy airborne. "No rush," she replied. "They're just getting their asses handed to them," she added, completely ignoring the frown she got from Robin.

"Are you okay?" Impulse asked.

"Just fine," Artemis answered. "I'm babysitting the satellite at the moment so I'm pretty much bored really."

She heard a soft sigh, followed by a brief chuckle. "Only you would find a way to be bored in the middle of a fight," the red head told her. "I've got to get going; we need to run these out as soon as possible, especially if there's a manual override on them. See you soon, love."

"Meh, get here when you can," Artemis grinned. "Love you too, you know."

"I know," Impulse laughed back before the line went dead.

"You two are so weird," Robin chuckled from his spot next to her. He typed a few more keys on his screen and it abruptly shut off.

"Normal is overrated," Artemis shot back, peeking over the top of the satellite at the battle raging ahead of them. "We good to leave this thing and join in?"

"I've locked down the controls," Robin confirmed. "As long as no one goes for the manual override, we're the only ones that can access it remotely."

"So basically we're playing keep away with them?" Artemis grinned as she pulled her bow from its spot on her hip and shook it loose and into form. "Sounds great to me." She quickly notched an arrow, stood, and sent it flying at one of Manta's soldiers. The exploding tip caught the man in the back and sent him sprawling to the ground a good fifteen feet from where he'd been standing. By the time heads were whipping around to see where the arrow had come from, she was already darting over the top of the seeder and racing into the fray. With a wild laugh, she launched a few more arrows before compacting her bow and reattaching it to her hip.

Artemis made sure to hang back near the satellite, though she wasn't lacking for enemies to face. As soon as she'd leapt from her hiding place she'd found herself cornered on all sides. Two of the dosed teens turned their attention to her, flames licking up the arms of one of them while gusting winds pulled at the other's clothes. The fire starter sent a blast of roaring heat her way and she leapt to the side, into the waiting arms of one of Manta's soldiers. She snarled back at the man keeping her arms pinned and arched her back, trying to break his hold. The soldier just held on tighter and lifted her from the ground to keep her from stomping on his feet. She thrashed for a few more seconds before huffing and abruptly letting her entire body go lax.

"Hey, air head!" she called out to the teen. "Are you just going to stand there? Seriously, what good are you? Are you just here to look cool or something? Cause you're pretty much failing at that too."

The teen in question growled at the blonde, the wind around her whipping into a frenzy. Dirt and debris filled the air and stung the eyes. Artemis chocked and spat out the sand beginning to coat her mouth. "Come on!" she yelled. "Is that the best you've got?"

The wind all but roared in her ears now and the wind witch was suddenly obscured from her line of sight as a small tornado spun in place around her. Artemis had half a moment to think that maybe this wasn't the best idea she'd ever had when the swirling wind was sent rushing for her, and the soldier holding her pinned. As the pair we engulfed in the gale force winds she felt his arms slacked and eventually she was torn completely free.

"Artemis!" she heard someone scream over the rushing wind. She barely had the time to recognize who had called out to her before a grappling hook went soaring past her head. She reached out and latched onto the thin, dark rope as it shot past, holding on as tightly as she could. When she felt the line got taught she began to haul herself inch by inch down the rope, fighting against the wind the whole way. Finally, she cleared the wall of wind and slid the rest of the way to the ground.

"Thanks Bird Brain," she panted as she landed next to Robin. "What took you?"

"Was that seriously the best plan you could come up with?" the dark headed boy shot back, frowning at her.

"It was either that or get our pyro friend to try and barbeque me," Artemis shrugged in response. "Fighting a tornado seemed like the safer option."

"Impulse needs to get here fast," the boy grumbled. "He's probably the only one that can keep up with your crazy plans. Try not to die," he added, before leaping up and launching himself after a bunch of grunts currently keeping Miss Martian on her toes.

"No promises," Artemis called back, taking off to try and help Superboy with his little gravity problem.

Impulse burst back into the Watchtower, slightly out of breath, but an empty bag clutched in his grip. "That's the last of my run," he told Black Canary as he tossed the case away. "Send me off to Cape Canaveral now."

"Don't you want to take a break first?" the older woman asked, a concerned frown pulling at her lips. "You've been running nonstop back and forth for at least forty minutes."

"I'm good," he replied, ripping a protein bar from the compartment on his wrist. He tore open the packaging and practically inhaled the thing whole. "Besides, you don't have time to babysit me any longer anyway. They need you in the India location. The Brain and Monsieur Malla showed up and are tag teaming with Psimon. They're getting their asses handed to them over there and could use the back up."

"All right then, if you're sure," Black Canary replied, quickly keying in the new coordinates. "Good luck. I'll send Flash your way once he shows up. I don't think there's any League support over there yet."

"We won't need it," Impulse shrugged, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "We'll be done before he even gets there. Now fire this thing up."

Black Canary sighed once, shaking her head as she pressed the button to bring the Zeta Tube to life. "Just take care of yourself. I don't care about any of the bad blood; just make sure you and Artemis get out of this alive."

"We always do," the red head replied as he sped into the white light one last time.

He burst out of a telephone booth a few miles from Cape Canaveral. It took a moment for the after effects of Zeta Tube travel to wear off as he took stock of his bearings. A bright flash of red-orange light had him turning to the left and zipping away as fast as his feet would carry him. The tall, chain link fence loomed in front of him minutes later and he didn't even pause to think about it as he vibrated his molecules as fast as he could get them to go and he ran right through the metal barricade.

Fire and wind greeted him as he followed the sounds of battle; flaming debris flew across his path as he bobbed and weaved. He zipped through Manta's men, taking out anyone foolish enough to stand in his way as he made it towards the satellite. Impulse skidded to a stop behind the machine, startling Robin from monkeying with the dials on his computer.

"Dude!" the younger boy yelped. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"Now's not the time for a chat on the birds and the bees," Impulse snarked back. "Where's Artemis?"

"Last I saw, she was helping Supey with a dosed that controls gravity," Robin answered, pressing a button on the computer. There was a brief hissing noise and the compartment housing the serum slid open. "You got the antidote?"

"Stupid question," Impulse said as he tossed the small test tube over. His eyes were on the battleground, looking for a telltale flash of blonde. "Dump it in and get this thing in the air."

"What about the other locations?" Robin asked as he pulled the rubber stopper free with his teeth.

"I dropped the stuff off with the team leaders, it's on them if they get it in," the other boy answered. "They were having trouble in India, but Black Canary should be on that."

"And if we launch this without the rest of them getting the antidote in?" Robin pressed. "These things are set on a synced system. Once this one hits the atmosphere the rest will launch."

"Then they'd better get on it quick," Impulse replied. "Look, you've got the comm link hook up to the rest of the League. You get on that and find out." Without waiting for a reply, he stood and dashed off onto the fray.

Artemis snarled as yet another arrow was sent sailing wide of her target. The chick with the gravity powers was really, really starting to piss her off. She had a limited supply of arrows and she couldn't get a shot off fast enough to score even a decent hit. In all honesty, she was probably five seconds away from tossing her bow and pulling a Superboy to charge headfirst at the other girl. She'd risked a glance about earlier and found that Aqualad was squaring off rather successfully against the fire starter and Robin had managed to tangle up and knock out the wind witch. Superboy had long since fallen back to deal with Manta's goons, though she'd admit that might have something to do with the fact that she'd all but ripped his head off to get him to leave. She wasn't entirely sure where Miss Martian was, but she hadn't looked all that hard.

Another concrete brick went flying in her direction and Artemis ducked and rolled to avoid it. Its gravitational pull increased suddenly just behind her, sending chunks and shards flying her way. She hissed as little pieces of stone bit into her flesh. "Again?" she growled. "That trick is getting old."

"And yet it keeps working," the other girl laughed. "I'm getting bored of this though. Perhaps it is time to end this. How would you like a quick trip to space?"

Artemis felt her feet start to pull away from solid ground and she scrambled to find a hold on anything bolted securely to the ground. The toes of her boots began to scrape against the ground as she reached desperately for a steel beam just beyond her fingertips. Before too long she couldn't even stretch her legs to touch the concrete below. She shot a glance around, eyes wide and looking for anyone that was close enough to help. Suddenly, with a flash of red and greys, something large and heavy slammed into her side, knocking her aside. She braced herself for impact with the ground, but it never came.

"I know you're an angel," a familiar voice teased. "But maybe you should hold off on the flying demonstrations until you have better control of your wings."

"Took you long enough," Artemis retorted, though a smile spread across her lips.

"Sorry Beautiful," Impulse laughed. "I got a little held up in Brazil. Apparently these guys have access to rocket launchers and are not above sending screaming missiles my way when I'm trying to book it out of there. Speaking of, I believe these belong to you, my lady," he added as he stuffed a handful of arrows back into her quiver. "It's not like you to waste shots like that."

"I didn't do it on purpose!" the blonde huffed. "That Dosed can control gravity; she made my shots go wild. Also, are you hurt?"

"Nah, bit tapped, but I downed a couple energy bars before I ran over here," Impulse replied. "It looks like it's localized though, and I can run fast enough to keep ahead of her."

"I like the way you think!" Artemis laughed as she wiggled around to hook her legs around the red head's waist and leaned back away from his body. She felt Impulse's arms come up to brace her against the speed he was moving as she reached back and tugged an arrow loose. She lined up her shot, taking a few extra moments to account for how fast she was moving, and then let the arrow fly. A brief cackle escaped past her lips when the projectile slammed home through the girl's shoulder.

"I think now is a perfect time to end this," she called when Impulse skidded to a stop and let her down. "Right about now you should be feeling a bit dizzy and lightheaded. In a couple minutes you're going to hit the concrete, functionally dead to the world until the knockout serum the arrowhead was coated with runs through your system. Have a nice nap," she added, a dark grin spreading across her face.

The duo barely had time to watch the girl fall to the ground before Robin's shouting filled the air. "Impulse!" the dark haired boy yelled. "They're launching and I haven't dumped the antidote yet!" He held up a hand, waving the test tube before palming it and backflipping away from the jab of a baton. Somehow he had been dragged away from the satellite and dragged into a fight with eight of Manta's men a good forty feet away. There was no way he would take down all the men surrounding him and get to the satellite in time.

His attention focused on mapping the fastest path through as quickly as he could, Impulse didn't hear the commotion behind him until the gun went off and an all too familiar voice yelled his name. He hadn't even had the chance to turn around as something slammed into him and sent him sprawling to the ground. He immediately leapt back to his feet and spun around. Manta stood a few feet away, gun still outstretched and a dark smirk on his face.

"It appears you have a choice now, little hero," he laughed. "Either save your friend from bleeding out, or save the population as a whole."

Impulse glanced down, eyes going wide at the sight of blonde hair staining red at its tips and painting increasingly pale fingers pressing hard against the stomach. He heard the wet, rattled gasp for breath and dropped to his knees. "Artemis!" he cried, reaching out to cradle her head. "Arty, talk to me!"

"It hurts," the blonde girl gasped. "Remind me to let you get shot from now on," she tried to laugh, but it came out choked and she had to gasp for breath.

He glanced back down at the growing pool of red spreading from between her fingers and reached down to press his own hands gently over hers. Another laugh had him looking up into the smug face of Manta, the man watching them with amusement.

"She's going to die if you don't get moving, little hero," he taunted.

Something snapped inside of Impulse then. A feral snarl ripped its way out of his throat as he shot to his feet and rushed for the older man. He barely registered the flash of crimson streaking past him until Manta went flying into a stack of crates and the Flash was standing in front of him instead.

"Superboy!" the older speedster called. "I need you to babysit that thing for me for a couple minutes!"

The cloned Kryptonian nodded grimly and marched over, hauling Manta up to his feet and shoving him back to the ground, hands pinned behind his back.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here faster," the Flash said as he turned back around, offering his nephew a strained smile. "Wally, look at me," he added, gripping the younger boy by the shoulders and jerking his attention away from the man pinned to the ground. He didn't like the dark look in the boy's eyes, and he could feel the vibrating tension kept barely restrained until the red head yanked himself away from his touch.

"What?" he barked.

"You've got a job to do," the Flash reminded him gently.

Impulse's eyes immediately snapped back to the blonde lying on the ground a few feet away and in a blur of movement, he dashed back to her side.

"I'm getting you out of here," he told her, scooping her up into his arms and standing quickly. "We'll talk about your stupid move when you're not bleeding to death."

"You've got to get the formula in the satellite," she reminded him.

"Fuck it," he hissed back. "You're more important."

"Kid, let me take her," the Flash said, suddenly at his side and reaching out to take the injured blonde.

"Don't touch her," Impulse snarled, clutching Artemis closer to his chest.

"I want to help," the Flash replied gently, taking a step back and holding his hands up in front of him.

"We don't need it," Impulse bit back.

"Kiddo, you need to get the antidote in that seeder before it takes off and Artemis needs to get to a hospital pronto," Flash smiled sadly. "You're fast, but you can't do both at the same time."

"Then you get the antidote and I'll take her," Impulse retorted.

"The best hospital for her right now would be the one on the Watchtower, and your clearance has been revoked," the older speedster told him gently.

"Wally," Artemis whispered, lifting a shaky hand to touch his face. "Go, get this done."

"I don't want to leave you," he whispered back, turning his face to gently kiss her palm.

"Then get his done and get your skinny ass back to me," Artemis smiled. "I'll still be here when you're done."

Impulse was quiet for a moment, looking up once to find Robin, still trapped in a ring of Manta's men while the satellite continued its countdown to launch.

"There's not a lot of time, kiddo," the Flash reminded him.

Impulse looked back down into the eyes of the girl in his arms. "You're not allowed to die on me," he told her quietly, brushing a soft kiss against her forehead. "I can't lose you." Without another word he carefully handed her over to the older man. "I expect to be let back in to see her when all this is over," he growled at him.

"I'll come get you myself," Flash nodded.

"Keep her safe," Impulse added, his green eyes losing their hostile edge as a silent plea filled them instead.

"You have my word, Wally," his uncle replied solemnly. "She's going to be all right."

With one last nod between the pair, they turned and zipped away. Impulse ran right through the thick of it, slamming anyone stupid enough to get in his way into the ground. Robin must have realized what was happening because he had tossed the test tube into the air, relying on the red head to snag it midair before rushing over to the satellite.

"Pre-launch check sequence completed, launch starting in 10, 9, 8," the mechanical voice of the satellite began counting down just as Impulse skidded to a stop near the machine.

"Not yet you're not," the red head grumbled, as he yanked the access panel to the serum open and dumped his antidote in.

The rockets that would propel the satellite into the atmosphere fired up and Impulse barely had the time to slam the compartment closed and dash out of the way before the engines fired and the thing lifted off. A harsh laugh had him spinning around, eyes narrowing as his gaze locked with Manta's.

"So you chose to let your friend die," the older man laughed. "All for nothing. You may have stopped us this time, little heroes, but you can't hold us at bay forever."

There was a blur of movement and suddenly Impulse was standing next to Superboy. "Move," he told the other boy flatly.

"I don't know if that's such a great idea," Superboy replied, not liking the look in the red head's eyes.

Vibrant, poisonous green shot from the man pinned to the ground to the boy holding him there. "I only ask once," was all he said before the dark haired boy found himself flying backwards. By the time he had regained his feet, Impulse had already pinned Manta himself, one of Artemis' arrows twirling idly in his fingers.

"I don't know why you think you'll be a problem in the future," Impulse told the trapped man almost conversationally. "You're not going to be around much longer." With a sick smile, he drove the arrow through the meat of the man's left arm and deep into the ground beneath.

"Revenge is against your code of ethics, hero," the older man hissed between grit teeth.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a hero then, isn't it?" Impulse chuckled darkly back. "See, that path has far too many rules for my taste, and we both know they won't get anywhere in this war because of them. The way I do things is much simpler. If you hurt any of mine, I end you." He smiled down at the trapped man. "Here's a little known fact about speedsters you may not know," he said as he lifted his right arm and it began vibrating from his elbow to the tips of his fingers. "We can move specific parts of our bodies at super speed and, as you may now, if we vibrate fast enough, we can phase through solid matter. Human flesh is probably the easiest to move through, truth be told." He moved his hand down until it vibrated just against the other man's chest, right over his heart. "The average human body can't take that kind of pressure though. The organs generally explode. Well, more accurately they get completely shaken apart," he added, pressing his hand against his chest just a little more.

"Impulse, stop!" Aqualad yelled from behind him. "This is not how we do things!"

"No, this isn't how you do things," the speedster replied gamely. "I'm not like you, remember?"

"Please, don't do something you'll regret," Miss Martian begged him.

"I really don't think I'll regret this," Impulse growled.

"Come on man, she wouldn't want you to do this," Robin tried to reason.

"You're right," Impulse laughed. "She would have already riddled him with enough arrows to turn him into a pin cushion. She'd probably be a little annoyed it's taking me so long."

"This isn't right," Superboy said as he came up behind the speedster and wrapped him in a tight bear hug. The dark haired teen hauled him off and away from Manta. "Let us handle this. It's a League matter."

Impulse struggled and snarled against the other boy's grip for a minute before he finally went limp. "Fine," he growled before turning his burning gaze back to the villain pinned to the ground. "Just remember I'm not like them," he hissed. "If I ever run across you again, I can promise you right now, these idiots won't be there to stop me." Finally managing to work his way free from Superboy's grip, he shoved ineffectually at him before he sped a few paces away. "If you don't want me to hurt him, you'd better get him out of here now."

Superboy and Aqualad nodded to each other as they both reached down and pulled the villain to his feet. "We will take him for processing," the Atlantian said. "Are you able to deal with the clean up here?"

"We've got this," Robin answered. Just then there was a loud boom of thunder and lightning streaked across the sky as a heavy rain started pelting the assembled teens. "Well, here's hoping this whole gambit worked," he added to no one in particular.

Artemis came to slowly, her eyelids fluttering as she attempted to adjust to the sterile white overpowering her senses. She felt something squeeze her hand and she forced her eyes open to look into Wally's relieved face.

"If you hadn't just woken up from a medically induced coma because of a gunshot wound to the gut, I'd be yelling at you right now," her red head told her.

"I didn't mean to get shot," Artemis retorted as she moved to sit up. She smiled gratefully when Wally moved to help prop her up before settling back into his chair by her bedside. "I actually meant to get us both out of the way. I just didn't see him in time."

"You could have just let me take the hit; I heal faster than you do," Wally reminded her.

"No chance in hell!" Artemis shot back. "There was too much on the line to have you incapacitated and just because you heal fast doesn't mean you're invincible. A fatal shot is still a fatal shot; you're not bullet proof."

"I know," Wally sighed as he reached out and held her hand between both of his. "I just don't like seeing you hurt. I was terrified I was going to lose you. There was so much blood and you were getting so pale."

"I'm sorry," she told him, squeezing his hand back. "But hey, we're both here and alive and everything worked out!" She frowned and looked around for a moment. "By the way, where exactly is here?"

"You'll love this," Wally chuckled. "You're currently sitting in the most state-of-the-art hospital money can buy. Welcome to the League's Watchtower," he told her with a smirk.

"Seriously? They let us into the Watchtower?" Artemis laughed. "Why would they even think about doing that?"

"Personally, I think my uncle is trying to worm his way back into my good graces," Wally shrugged.

"I see," Artemis smirked. "And are we going to let him?"

"The final decision is mom's," Wally answered immediately. "But I'm tired of wasting energy holding a grudge. I'm not saying we go back to dancing to their tune, by any stretch of the imagination, but snarling and growling whenever we see any of them is getting tiring."

"I agree," Artemis replied. "We're not like them, we'll never think the way they do, but that doesn't mean we can't be civil when we see them." She paused and looked around. "That said, I still don't like being right in the middle of their base. Think you can get us out of here?"

"Are you up for it?" Wally asked, already reaching down to hand Artemis a bag of her own clothes.

"Whatever they did, I feel great," the blonde replied as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and snagged her clothes from Wally. "Now turn around so I can change."

"Sure you don't need a little help?" he asked, grinning wide.

"Turn around," Artemis laughed, smacking him on the head as soon as he complied. She let out a frustrated huff a few minutes later. "All right, so arm movement is a little off still," she admitted. "Help me with my shirt please."

Wally chuckled and turned back around to face here. "Well come here then," he grinned.

Artemis rolled her eyes, but plopped into his lap as she shoved her shirt against his chest. "Help," she commanded again.

Gently, the red head took her right arm and carefully guided it through the sleeve. He quickly found that if he raised it too high she winced so he did his best to avoid any unnecessary pain. "Sorry," he whispered as he finally pulled her left arm through before pulling the shirt down over her head. "I should have just grabbed one of my button ups. I didn't really think about that." As soon as he had settled the hem around her hips, his arms snaked around her waist and he pressed his forehead to hers. "So where to from here?" he asked, his breath ghosting against her lips.

"Home, for a couple of days I think," Artemis replied. "We'll rest up and figure things out from there."

"Sounds good," Wally grinned before leaning in and pressing a kiss against her lips. Before Artemis even knew what was going on, she found herself swept up into his arms as he sped from the room. There was a flash of white light and suddenly they were gone.

A few hours after the duo had made their great escape, Black Canary wandered into the hospital wing to check up on the two patients. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the rumpled hospital gown haphazardly tossed on top of messy sheets, but no teenagers. A scrap of white on the bedside table drew her attention and she walked over, quickly scanning through the note. A smile stretched across her face even as an exasperated sigh slipped past her lips. With a brief shake of her head, she went out to hunt down the right people to let them know their charges had long since flown the coop. She considered bringing the note, but placed it back on the table instead; after all, she might not be the only one to decide to come check up on them.

First off, I guess we owe you some sort of thanks. So yeah, thanks for keeping Artemis alive. That said, we have no interest in your little club here. I think the Bats made the observation once that we're too feral for you. Personally, I'd like to think we're more practical about this whole thing, but feral works too. Consider us wild cards I guess. We're not leaving the game, but it's time we stop pretending. We're not like you. We don't believe in your rules, and honestly, our morals have always been a little more than questionable. We'll be out there, and if you need us, I suppose we can lend a hand; as long as you know we'll do things our way. We're just going to be who we are.

Impulse and Artemis

AN2: And it's done! I can't believe it's over. Twenty-one chapters, over 100k words, and lots of time and energy. Like I said, this isn't necessarily the end of this 'Verse (I'm hoping to have the first one shot up soon!). Thank you guys, for sticking with me. It's been a wild, bumpy, interesting ride and I wouldn't trade it for the world. You've all been fantastic and I hope you're happy with the ending to this story. Also, yes, there may be a nod to CW's Arrow in there, but that's because I really, really love that show.

Now, SLIGHTLY (okay, mostly) VAIN BUT SUPER IMPORTANT INFORMATION! Part of the reason I was gone so long is because I was trying to work with my original work. After a lot of rejections and tears, I've decided screw it, I'm self-publishing that sucker! I'm planning on going through Amazon so it'll hit the Kindle (though I want to do a paperback copy as well). If you guys are interested, it's titled Black Wings. As soon as I've published I'll link to it on my profile.

Thank you again. You've all been completely amazing, especially with putting up with my breaks and this last long bout of silence. I wish you all the best!