I've been doing a lot of Green Lantern reading lately (mostly the Kyle Rayner stuff) and I wanted to try writing a little fic. I also wanted to write something with Hal and Kyle as friends/Hal acting like a father figure/mentor to Kyle. And the reason I have it here rather than in Green Lantern (comics) is so that maybe it will get a little more traction (not that fics in Green Lantern (comics) don't, but it does fit here as well since their both members of the Justice League).
As a disclaimer, this does at the very least mention the whole quote/issue with Bueno Excellente. For those of you who don't know, in Hitman/JLA Kyle made a comment about how he was drugged in Gotham. It was implied that Bueno (as all Kyle remembered was saying Bueno) date raped him. There's also a wiki page flat out stating it. I doubt I'll get too explicit with it (as I'm not good in that area), but just know that it's mentioned.
Pardon the time skips/line breakers this chapter is meant to skip along.
Pounding on a door disrupted the usually calm halls of Oa's Green Lantern housing unit. Guy Gardner was trying to find Kyle for a light training session. Kyle was supposed to be there, but Guy hadn't seen him yet.
"He's not there." Kilowag stated catching Guy's attention.
"Then where is he?" Guy asked.
"Don't know. He was supposed to report here for the night an hour ago."
Guy scoffed walking away from the door. He was going to find his partner if it was the last thing he did.
Another hour passed before Guy spotted Kyle. The young Lantern appeared a little anxious as he seemed to avoid contact with anyone. Something seemed to be bothering him, but Guy was too focused on finding him and the long period that Kyle had not existed.
"Kyle!" Guy loudly called.
Kyle jumped, realizing he had been caught. His sight quickly jolted towards Guy, who was approaching him. Frazzled, Kyle bolted. The gesture startled Guy, but that didn't stop him from chasing after Kyle.
Guy chased him back to the housing unit. Kyle didn't look back as Guy continued to call out for him. Pulling out a key, Kyle frantically unlocked the door to his room. He snuck in and had enough time to not only shut the door, but lock it as well.
Guy's fist collided with the door, frustrated. He took a moment to process what had just happened. Kyle never ran from anyone and he never looked this troubled in a while. Kyle's behavior was suspicious and unusual, but more than anything, concerning.
"Kyle!" Guy called. "Open up!"
There wasn't an answer.
"Kyle!"
"Guy!" A voice called.
Guy turned his attention away from the door. He saw John running towards him, a concerned look on his face.
"He in there?"
"Yeah." Guy confirmed. "What happened?"
"I think you'll want to sit down for this."
Hal landed on Oa with the intent of talking to the Guardians. He had his grievances being there since they had contacted on the one day he had off. It was only made worse by the fact that Guy was the first person to welcome him.
"I need you to talk to the kid." Guy requested, getting to the point.
"Why?" Hal replied, confused.
"Kyle locked himself in his room and I can't get him out."
Hal was annoyed with the predicament. One that he's found himself involved with on more than one occasion.
"What did you do now?"
"Nothing this time." Guy replied, not offended by the accusation. "He was acting strange the moment he got back."
Hal was already starting to regret listening to the complaint, but he knew he had to investigate. Clearly something was going on and may prove problematic. He was involved now.
"How so?"
"Well, Kyle was about two hours late to when he was supposed to report here for the night for starters. I was going to invite him to a routine training session, but he hadn't shown up. When I found him, he looked frazzled. Like that time there was the rouge Red Lantern scare only more paranoid and afraid this time. I tried to approach him, but he started to run the moment he saw me. I chased after him, hoping to stop him, but he was faster. He didn't respond to vocal ques. Heck, I couldn't even get a word out of him before he shut himself off."
That was an unusual response for the normally social young Lantern. Not to mention that Kyle was delaying his return. Even if he were to begrudge having to report to Oa, a sentiment that he and Hal periodically shared, Kyle was known for showing up on time.
"And you don't know what happened?" Hal inquired.
"Well John confided something to me," Guy admitted, "and it isn't pretty."
Hal crossed his arms.
"Go on."
"Apparently he was drugged and raped in Gotham."
Hal's eyes widened in shocked as he took a step back. A deep breath entered his lungs and sympathy tugged at him, as questions flooded his mind. Hal couldn't help but wonder when it happened, who had been involved, and why this happened to Kyle. The fact that Kyle had been silent about it up until this point was shocking. So the fact that something caused this to surface must have meant something.
"John got a call from Batman saying that he made a comment that sounded rather suspicious when he was with the League. Batman did a little digging, or as John put it light interrogating, and was surprised to find this out. Kyle didn't seem to remember a lot, but just enough for it to raise a concern."
Hal stood there in silence still trying to process what Guy had just told him. Guy wasn't sure if that meant Hal wasn't convinced or not.
"He idolizes you and I know you're always looking after him. He's shut me out already, so if anyone can get him to open up, it's you. I wouldn't be asking you unless I had to. I just want my buddy back."
Hal was brought out of his train of thought, giving Guy a stern expression.
"I'll help."
Hal and Guy approached the door. John and Kilowag were huddled by the door, looking at the Lanterns. Hal pushed passed them, causing them to give him room. He knocked the door a few times, hoping to get Kyle's attention.
"Kyle, it's me." Hal greeted. "I need you to open up."
"Go away!" Kyle demanded.
The fact that Kyle talked was a good thing. However, the response wasn't the one he wanted. The anxiety in Kyle's voice was troubling. Kyle was clearly distressed about the situation, his secret being revealed probably being the major factor at the moment, and was uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving.
"I can't do that. Not when I'm here to help. Can you open up?"
"Leave me alone."
Hal crouched down, feeling as though that Kyle was on the ground. Kyle's troubled speech pattern told him that he did want the help, but his refusal wanted to override it.
"Come on Kyle, talk to me. If you prefer privacy, let me in and we can talk."
The conversation seemed to die as Kyle didn't respond. Shuffling was the only response he got before everything went quiet. Hal wasn't going to get any further for the time being.
Knowing this, he stood up. Turning away from the door, Hal started to walk away from the door. The move confused the others.
"What are you doing?" Guy asked.
"Clearly, he has no intention of coming out." Hal observed. "Let's leave him alone for tonight. Let him calm down a little. Hopefully, he'll settle down somewhat by tomorrow. If not, I'll just have to get him while his guard's down."
The next morning only brought elusion as Kyle seemed invisible. No one had seen him, quite frankly, no one even knew if he left his room. Hal kept a keen eye out for him as Guy acted as a secondary lookout. As much as they would have liked to have John and Kilowag along to help, it felt more appropriate to keep the attention on Kyle to a minimum.
A blur moving through the crowd caught Hal's attention. It was Kyle, trying to sneak by. It was clear that he had managed to sneak out at one point since he was now heading for his room.
"Kyle!" Hal shouted, bolting towards him with Guy not too far behind.
The artist picked up on this and started running. Hal knew Kyle was heading for his room with the intention of locking himself inside. Hal was not about to let that happen.
"Can't let you do that." Hal stated, thinking of something to stop him fast. "You might not like me for a moment though."
"What are you doing?" Guy inquired.
A green apparition from Hal's ring shaped itself into a large hand. It lunged at Kyle, grabbing onto him right as he reached his door. With the flick of his wrist, Hal commanded the construct to bring Kyle to him. The moment Kyle reached Hal, arms clamped around him.
Kyle frantically struggled, legs kicking sporadically. With his arms restricted and his mind too alarmed to focus, it was all he could do.
"Let me go!" Kyle demanded.
Hal silently refused to listen to his demands. Kyle started to hyperventilate due to his restricted mobility and the trapped enclosure he found himself in. It was painful to watch Kyle's struggling, but he had to be contained. Hal hated having to do this, but there was no other way he could see this going down. Thankfully, they weren't attracting too much attention as Guy monitored everyone who walked by.
Kyle's struggling began to subside and his body stopped moving. His body went limp, letting Hal know that he wasn't conscious. Hal slowly positioned Kyle into one arm and set his sights on the Guardians' chambers. Anger finally started to settle in. It wasn't directed at Kyle but it did involve his recent issue and what it was going to entail.
"I'm taking him back to my place." Hal declared, staring to move. "It's the only place I feel comfortable taking care of him and he'll be safe."
"Do you really think the Guardians will let you do that?" Guy inquired.
"When I'm done, they won't have much of a choice."
Feel free to let me know if I'm doing alright so far. I know I only just got started and have a bit planned, but I'd like to know how I'm doing.
