Timeline: Takes place during "Disordered."

Alive

Denial, it's an ugly term at best. Wally was more fond of the phrase Been there, done that, moving on. Therapy had its perks, like a little alone time with Black Canary, but she took the events too seriously. He had been there almost the entire time. Sure people died, he died, but it was a training exercise. Lesson learned.

Yet the lesson seems to be different for everyone, as he caught Artemis out of the corner of his eye. Everyone else had, well, relaxed enough it seemed, but she still looked shaken up. Heading towards her in the main area, when he got close enough, he tossed a piece of popcorn at her, trying to lighten the mood.

"Incoming!"

Not expecting it, Artemis pulled the popcorn out of her hair and roughly threw it back. "Geez Wally, what was that for?"

"Whoa." Wally tried to duck, but the piece of popcorn hit him on the side of his head and he watched as it fell to the ground. Waste not, want not, he thought as he picked it up from the floor emphasizing eating it as he noticed Artemis' disgusted expression. "Somebodygot up on the wrong side of the..."

He stopped, realizing now wasn't exactly the best time to remind her that this time, she didn't wake up on a bed. None of them did, but while everyone else had moved to other areas, Artemis leaned against the cold, hard surface she did wake up on.

If he asked her why she was here, Artemis couldn't give him an answer. Maybe it was the simplicity of the fact that she had no idea what happened. She couldn't ask anyone, as she couldn't bear make them relive the burden of what happened.

It's why Wally's carefree attitude was almost infuriating to her. The usual smirk, accompanied by the casual eating of popcorn, that alone led her to ask, "How can you be so... calmabout this?"

"Because the world's not ending and I'm not actually going to die in three seconds." Wally grabbed a handful of popcorn, and tossed it into his mouth. Not bothering to finish chewing, he asked, "What's with you though?" Finally swallowing, Wally added, "You had it the easiest."

Artemis scoffed, trying to keep her cool after that accusation. "You think being convinced that you're dead is having it easy?" Bowing her head, Artemis almost felt ashamed that she was the first of her team to fall, not to mention what happened as a result of her 'death.' "Or the after knowledge that you didn't do enough to save your fr... team?"

Wally had caught the slip, but he gave her a solemn grin now that he understood her position better. But seeing her 'die,' not being able to save the team, that notion fell hard on Wally too. "Better than watching people you care about die in front of you."

Seeing his expression, Artemis nodded. "That must have been hard."

"Yeah," Wally admitted, surprised that he was able to admit that much to her, "and I guess thinking you're dead wouldn't exactly be peachy either."

Wally paused at peachy for just a second. It was the word that Black Canary had used to describe his behaviour, but not in reference to the death of the person in front of him.

It had shaken him, more than he wanted to admit. Initially, he chalked it up to M'gann's ability, but Wally shot that down. Then he figured that it was because she was the first person he'd seen die right in front of him, but even that didn't stick. "By the way, there's no need to cover it up." Seeing her now, talking to her, it felt more than that. She was more than just a teammate, she was a, dare he say it...

"We're all friends here."

To his surprise, Artemis replied, "Thanks Wally."

Artemis hadn't expected this, comfort, of all things, from Wally, not to mention an affirmation of friendship. But the moment didn't last, as Wally zipped away, so she leaned back and eventually looked down at her feet, only to see a glass of water come into her sight line.

"You should probably hydrate." He tilted the glass a little, hoping she'd take it. "Water keeps the body going."

She reaches out to grab the glass, thanking him quietly, before lifting it up to take a sip.

Once Wally saw a hint of a smile on her face, he smirked back. "Later," was the only word out of his mouth before whoosing away again.

As Artemis felt the water go down her throat she left the room, ready to stop dwelling on the things she couldn't control. She may have died during the exercise, but that was the point. Here, she was alive, and Artemis would do everything in her power to make sure she could protect the people she cared about.

~End~