Reverse Rebirth Series Book 2 : So I'm A West {COMPLETED}

Chapter 18: Nightmare Battles -

That night in Artemis' room aboard the Watchtower, she lay awake, pondered everything in her mind that had been going through her, since she and Wally had become a married couple. Turning to her side, Artemis watched her husband sleeping somewhat soundly beside her, his soft snores, proving he was in deep, but the common feel of movement, as if he wasn't. Every few minutes, she would feel a twitch of one of his muscles in his strong, speedster legs, or a flash of bluish white lightning would be buzzed with his body, none of which he knew about, as he never woke. Artemis gently took hold of a lock of Wally's bangs, and felt the thickness of the hair she had grown to adore, along with the owner of it. For her, she was just so grateful for everything. Suddenly though, the environment she was in, began to change, as the body of her husband began to vibrate almost too uncontrollably, like it had a few night before, when Jade had visited in the Cheshire mask. Artemis removed her hand from Wally's hair, and leaned inward, hugging her body against his, hoping to calm the nerves she knew were all thought. The voice of the ginger muttered, in his sleep, "Barry... I-I'm sorry. I'm coming! Stay with me! Please don't leave me with that- with him! Please Barry? Barry?" Wally jerked awake, but only partially lucid, his eyes wide with fear, as he screamed, "NO! NO, NO, NO! HE CAN'T BE! HE CAN'T BE DEAD! WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU-?" Artemis grabbed ahold of Wally's arms, and said demanding, "Walls! Snap out of it! You're fine. You're awake. Calm down. It's me, Artie." At the sound of Artemis' voice, the ginger calmed down, and took a deep breath. He asked, swallowing heavily, "What happened, Artie? Did I wake you again? Was it another one of those nightmares? Did I punch you again by accident?" Artemis put her hand on top of Wally's, and said, looking up into his emerald eyes, "No babe, I'm fine. You did have another nightmare, but luckily, whatever happened in it, scared you awake, before you hurt me or hurt yourself." The ginger frowned, and replied sorrowfully, "I'm sorry, Artemis. I just- Barry's death hurt me more than anything else. He was my uncle, my family. He was the only person who knew what it felt like to be hit by lightning, and to feel power in every bone. Bart...he grew up with it, but only Barry knew what hurt, when the lightning struck him, just like it did me. I want him back so badly, that I guess I blame everything on me. I came back, and he died. It should have been me..." Artemis' grey eyes grew wide, then she yelled, "WALLACE RUDOLPH WEST, STOP IT NOW!!!! Look, I know how you are sad, but that gives you no right to go telling me and yourself that it should have been you, in his place. I think you need to talk with Izzie, from the facility again. She helped you, when you lost every memory of the Team. We still have her number on speed dial. All you would have to do, is go talk to her. If you want, I can go with you, but these nightmares are scaring you, and making you unable to be the kind of hero, I know you are capable of being. She can figure out what to do, and you wouldn't even have to stay the night, just have a small talk with her about them. Please promise me you'll go talk with her tomorrow." Wally sighed, then answered, "Alright, Artie. If you think it'll help with the nightmares, I'll go for you." "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I need to make a small stop.", Artemis replied, rolling out of bed. She headed for the private bathroom, and shut the door, then crumbled to the base, crying, "I thought he was over all the fears and everything in the middle. Ugh, why do I have this horrible headache?" Standing up, the blonde went over to the toilet, and barely made it, puking as soon as she got over to it. When she finished, she groaned, then stood, bracing her hand on the wall, to avoid a dizzy spell to the floor. She felt awful, and just plain tired more often, than she had a few days before. A small idea of why she felt so sick, came to her mind, and Artemis quietly reached into the emergency kit she kept close at hand, opening it, and pulling out a pregnancy stick. Giving a deep sigh, the blonde did what she had entered the bathroom in the first place to do, and sat waiting, as soon as she was finished. For what seemed like hours, was only minutes, but soon, Artemis closed her eyes and held her breath. All the illness signs couldn't mean what she thought, right? She and Wally had only been a husband and wife for like a week at most, so it couldn't mean it would come this quickly, right? Opening her eyes slowly, the blonde stared at the little mark on the stick in her hands. The little mark gave her hope with relief, yet also left her drowning with concern. She slid the stick back into her emergency kit, and stood up, before opening the door, and entering back into her room. When she opened the door, Wally was gone, and all that there in front of her, was a heap of twisted bedsheets on the floor. Rushing out the door, she ran into the training room, and stopped, when she saw Nightwing and Wally, facing off in the center, the younger teens, who were old enough to be up past midnight, were all around for a good, old fashioned, Team training performance. Smiling, Artemis came over to where M'gann and Conner sat, and took the other seat on the left of the Martian. M'gann exclaimed, "Oh hey Artemis! Isn't this awesome?! Wally and Nightwing are facing off, to show the younger kids how things used to be done, and how they should be done now!" The blonde said, fear somewhat clinging to her voice, "Yeah...it's awesome alright..." Before Artemis knew what was going on, M'gann had set up a private link with her, and asked, concerned, "What is it, Artemis? You seem worried, or scared." Artemis replied, "That's because I sort of am scared, M'gann. Wally had another nightmare. He shouldn't be facing off against Nightwing right now...not in his condition. He was screaming for Barry. He needs to talk with Izzie again, so they can figure out why he's still having the nightmares. It's been four months since he got his memories back and two since the engagement, yet he's still having them. I just want to help him more, but it's like every time I bring up one of them, he freaks out, and tells me he's just worried. I think there's something more going on, but I don't want to interfere with his mind." "Well, if you need anything, just let me know, okay?", M'gann replied. Artemis pushed the ginger haired Martian out of her mind, then focused on her husband, watching his every move. When Nightwing would throw a kick, Artemis noticed Wally would duck fast, then speed off. If the speedster ran to super mass punch, then Nightwing would duck to avoid the hit. Both grabbed each other's legs, trying to flip the other on their back or to the ground, yet things weren't slowing down for even a second! Kick after kick, punch after punch, duck after duck, the best buds for so long, continued to fight, using the room and performance, to show the younger members how to block or falter an attack by the enemy. Finally, the battle ended with Wally flat out on the ground, Nightwing standing and smirking playfully above him. When the Computer declared that Nightwing had won, the Bird held out his hand, and lifted Wally to his feet, saying, "Just like old times, huh, Wallman? You still can't get the idea that I'm better at this kind of thing than you are, cause I started a whole year younger than you." Wally smirked back, then replied, "You always have been better at combat, Dickie Bird, but I'm the one who managed to catch a lady, and keep her, unlike you, who has managed to lose almost every lady around him, because of others." Nightwing's mask eyes went wide with surprise, then he let out a laughter, in which Wally joined in. The boys continued to laugh at the foolery, as Artemis came up to them, and spoke in a calm manner, "Nightwing, may I speak with you in private, please?" The raven haired Bird stopped laughing, then said, "Of course." Artemis left the room, with Nightwing following her, until they came to an empty, able to be closed off, hallway. Once there, the blonde continued, as the Bird removed his mask from his eyes and locked the doors on both ends, "Dick, it happened again right before you and Wally had your little 'battle'. He had another nightmare. And this time, he was screaming." Dick looked at Artemis, concern in his eyes, as he asked, "Did you tell him he may have to go talk to Izzie again? She sure helped the last time." "I did, and he said he would go, but I doubt he'll actually do it, because he's Wally. He's as stubborn as a mule when he wants to be. I don't even understand how he could, I mean, it's been four months since he was brought back." Dick sighed, then said, "Artemis, as much as I hate to admit this, I think the little spar Wally and I did, helped. He seemed in control of his temper when I landed him to the ground, and I didn't see anything that could have triggered the nightmare. In fact, he seemed fine, happy even." Getting a call on his com from Batman, Dick said urgently, placing the mask back on, "I've got to go. Bats would like my help with something important that he discovered a few minutes ago in Gotham." The Bird walked to the doors, opened them, then stepped out, leaving Artemis in the hall. The blonde went back to her dorm, and laid on her bed, the sickening feeling coming back. She groaned, closed her eyes, then finally let the sleep come, even though it was already five in the morning.

WN: Oh wow...I didn't realize this chapter was wayyyy to long! I couldn't stop writing, and took it too long. Ouch. Sorry guys. I'll try to do better on my length...