Artemis wishes she could hate him. It would make everything so much easier. But even now, when she had loved him, mourned for him, and attempted to move on from him, he still pulls her back into his orbit. It doesn't matter how hard she triesโshe has never been able to escape Wally West's gravity. His memory is engraved, sunken deep into her skin with no chance of ever resurfacing. He is her sun, and she has been treated as something simply caught in his galaxy.
She has never been good at lying to those she loves. But she is good at holding up a shield. So she keeps her emotions buried deep as she stares back at him, biting words caught on her tongue.
M'gann nudges her telepathically again, and the blonde finally tears her gaze away from the redhead's. She inhales a relieving breath of air. It is like coming up from the depths of the ocean after being carried under for too long. But it is only a momentary solace.
The use of her codename in Wally's voice is like another stab wound. It traced, caressed her almost, before it was plunged deeply. She shifts her body away from him and holds her hand to her temple, attempting to listen. She tries not to physically react but there is still a quiet, punched out sound that leaves her. She struggles to find her bearings again, trying to concentrate on the sound of M'gann's voice in her head. Their teammate is not so far away as to be out of range, but there is panic in her voice. She glances from the door and back to Wally, inhaling through her nose. It's slightly shaky but she quickly swallows it down.
โ Glad we're on the same page, Flash, โ she bites back over her shoulder. She finally drops her hand, and her emotions are hidden behind her shield again. โ We need to go. The others are already rendezvousing at the checkpoint so we can all head towards Baby. They know we're here and Miss Martian said that an alert has been sent out to all available guards. We're going t be surrounded if we don't hurry. Thanks to someone. โ That was unnecessary, Artemis. She pauses and sighs. It didn't matter. โ We should go too. The intel we have is going to have to be enough for now. โ
She knows it's not entirely Wally's fault. She had been ignoring him for most of the evening and had known he would be more restless. He always was after being forced to be still. With his powers now being on a completely different level, it made sense why he was so restless. Her plan had been practical, but not for everyone.
Artemis carefully opens the door of the closet as quietly as she can, glancing around. Her contact light up when she brings up the building's schematics, and she sends them to Wally so that he can see them too. Her eyes dull back to normal and she signals to go while it's clear. She breaks out into a sprint and turns a corner. She refuses to let him touch her again, even if it would be both faster and safer.
She really isn't feeling the aster.
