So I think updates might possibly slow for a while. Charlie only has up to chapter 15 written, so it's actually not my fault for once. Anyway, I guess I should give you some background on this chapter. So we got a review on chapter two, and the reviewer wondered where Ollie was during the JL Christmas dinner. Me and Charlie came up with this story that he had to go on a mission in which he had to dress in drag. This is referenced near the end of the chapter.
Also, I forgot to mention something last chapter. A reviewer asked why Dick was short for Richard. I have no idea and I don't feel like googling it, so it'll just be added to the long list of things I'll never understand. So I asked my mom about it and she told me, "It doesn't matter if his given name is Richard, every man has been called Dick at some point in his life." My mother is a very wise lady.
The coil unwound itself agonizingly slow, only to have the granola bar get stuck at the last second. Wally West viciously kicked the snack machine, irritated he had been cheated out of a dollar. Who's stupid idea had it been to put a vending machine in the Watchtower anyway? There he was, his first time on the moon, and he was beating the ever living daylights out of a box.
Barry had heard a rumor that there was a lead on Robin, but every time he or Wally attempted to dig deeper and get information from the others they would receive a blank stare. Wally punched the machine. Why weren't they keeping him in the loop? Even Roy, one of his best friends, was withholding information from him. He was Robin's friend—no, he was his family. He deserved to be kept up to date on the search for his missing little brother.
Suddenly, Wally couldn't seem to get enough air. He sunk to the ground with his head in his hands, all efforts of retrieving his granola bar abandoned. He knew why everyone was keeping their mouths shut. Robin was dead. He sobbed into his hands and wiped snot from his nose. Truth be told, he had been a wreck since Christmas. He just put on a smile to mask what he was really feeling. Anger, sadness, and guilt.
"Hey, kid, are you alright?"
Wally quickly wiped away his tears and smiled at Hal Jordan, who was kneeling in front of him. Jumping to his feet, he fist bumped Hal, who was staring at him with a concerned expression clearly painted on his face. Why had Wally been crying? He was their ray of sunshine! The young redhead gestured to the vending machine where his granola bat still hung from the coil designed to drive Wally crazy.
Hal summoned the power from his ring to create a transparent green hammer, which he used to knock the granola bat out of the machine. Wally snatched up the bar without so much as a thanks. He shoved it in his mouth, barely taking the time to remove the wrapper.
"I've never seen someone get that upset over a candy bar."
"It's a granola bar," he snapped. "I take food seriously, with my metabolism and all."
"I've seen people get grouchy when they're hungry, but I've never seen anyone cry," Hal commented.
Wally felt hot tears welling up in his eyes. "My goldfish died."
"Your goldfish?"
He bobbed his head. "His name was Worf."
"It's the circle of life, kid."
"I overfed him and thought I could suck out the extra food with a mini-vac, and then he was gone."
Hal hadn't heard much of what Wally had said because he had been speed talking, but from what he had heard he knew the speedster was lying. It wasn't any of his business to pry into the boy's personal life, but it was killing him to not know why he had been crying. Wally was the strong one. Even Bats had broken down, though he'd never admit it. All he had done was throw a couple tables, nothing terrible.
Turning on his heel, he began to walk away. If Wally didn't want to talk about it, it was fine by him. But still, the question of why he had been crying nagged at him. Hal highly doubted that his goldfish had died. Even if it had, he didn't think he would get that upset over it. The stupid things normally died the day after they were purchased anyway.
"He's dead, isn't he?" a small voice asked.
He didn't have to ask to know who Wally meant. Peering over his shoulder, he saw the boy was sitting on the floor with his forehead to his knees and sobbing quietly. Walking back and kneeling down in front of him, Hal placed his hands on Wally's shoulders and gave them a gentle reassuring squeeze. The speedster looked up and tried to give him a smile, but it turned out like a Batman smile. The only thing that happened was the corner of his lip twitched, then he went back to glaring at his kneecaps as if everything that was happening was their fault.
"Why would you think that?" Hal asked.
"Everyone is avoiding me, they all seem so upset. Not even Speedy will tell me what's going on. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Bats in nearly a week."
"Batman has been in Star City."
Wally wiped snot from his nose. "Why?"
Hal seemed indecisive. He glanced over his shoulder and turned back to Wally. "Robin was spotted in downtown Star City. In fact, he was caught on camera."
"Why wouldn't anyone tell me or Flash? Or even the Titans?"
He grimaced. "It's a gruesome tape. He was just trying to protect you."
"Who's he?"
"Speedy."
Anger flared inside of Wally. "Roy was in on this too? He kept information from me about our friend, our brother?"
"Kid, calm down."
"Calm down?" he snorted. "Calm down? They let me think Rob was dead! I'm not going to calm down. I'm flat out ticked."
"They were trying to protect you. If you had seen that video, you would probably prefer Robin to be dead."
But Hal's words fell to deaf ears. Wally had already sped away.
Green Arrow sighed as he yet again sat with Batman, watching the video of Robin's beating. Black Canary stood behind him with a gentle hand resting on his shoulder. Speedy stood behind her, fiddling with his bow, while Captain Marvel watched, completely engrossed in what he was doing. Wonder Woman was reading over the practically non-existent information they had about Robin.
Ollie closed his eyes. He didn't know how many more times he could watch the video before cracking. It had taken a while, but they had found information about the boy who had been murdered. His name had been Leroy Gardner, he had been orphaned at a young age and had lived on the streets most of his life.
Leroy had been given a private funeral, to which most of the Justice League attended. He had been laid to rest under a beautiful weeping cherry tree that stood alone in a tucked away corner of Gotham cemetery. To say the least, he was given nothing short of a hero's funeral. All expenses had been by Gotham's white knight, Bruce Wayne.
Roy ran his hands over his bow, curving his fingers to every nook and cranny. He had yet to figure out how to break it to the League that Deathstroke had Robin without simultaneously giving up his secrets. He knew he was being selfish, as if his drugs and assassin girlfriend mattered more than Dick's life. Roy felt sick to his stomach. He was nothing but a narcissistic, two-faced, lying jerk who cared more about himself than his long time best friend and little brother.
Captain Marvel had yet to watch the video the whole way through. Everyone thought he didn't watch it because it hurt him to see Robin in such an exposed state, but that was only half of it. The blood was what really got to him, he could practically hear it squishing like mud under bare feet. He shivered. He did not like blood, not one bit. It was gross and sticky, and he didn't like the thought of it escaping the body through a tear in the flesh.
He knew he was eating at Speedy's last nerve by watching him work on his bow, but he couldn't help it. The older boy was stroking it like a cat and that had caught his attention. The way he saw it, he could either watch the bloody video or the bow. Batman had said he could leave, but he felt he owed it to the Dark Knight to stay. He knew that Batman knew he was only a ten year old kid, yet he allowed him to stay in the League.
"Take a picture, it lasts longer," Speedy snapped.
"Sorry," he murmured, turning away.
Ollie couldn't get over the fact that Dick had been trying to contact him at the time the video had been shot. Guilt had been tearing at him like a wild animal eager to be fed. He could have done something, anything. It was his city, his responsibility, he should have been there for Dick. But no, at the time the boy was being beaten within an inch of his life, Ollie had been lying in bed, nursing a hangover. He didn't know if Bruce was mad at him, the man had been more mute than usual. But he knew Roy sure was.
Suddenly the doors swung open with a bang and Speedy's bow clattered to the floor. Everyone jumped to fighting positions, but relaxed when they found it to be Kid Flash. A very angry Kid Flash. He held Speedy to the wall by the front of his shirt, his mouth twisted in a snarl and his eyes blazing.
"You had no right to keep this from me!" he yelled. "Robin is my friend too."
"Who told you?" Roy demanded.
"That's none of your business."
"Please," Captain Marvel interjected. "You're both Robin's friends. Now please stop fighting, he wouldn't want-"
"You don't know him like I do," the two redheads snapped in unison.
"Enough," came a deep voice.
Everyone looked up from the argument to see Batman had gotten up from what seemed to be his permanent place in front of the computer. A deep scowl was etched on his face as if it had been carved there. His cape hung from his shoulders, covering his gray and black suit and the eye slits of his cowl were narrowed in an angry manner. They all knew he was displeased, he had every right to be.
"Get out."
They all stared at him with open mouths, as if they hadn't heard him right. One by one, they began to shuffle out of the room. They all understood the stress Batman was under, but they were only trying to help. Every one of them was connected to Robin in their own personal way, whether it be that he saved their lives or they saved his.
"No," came Speedy's strong voice.
All eyes were on the redheaded archer. Had he really told the Dark Knight no? Surely they had misheard, even Superman didn't had the guts to speak out against him. Batman's jaw clenched and his eyes burned holes into Speedy. Even he was not sure he had heard the boy right.
"That's right," Kid Flash jumped in. "He said 'no'."
When he spoken, Batman's voice was flat. "You all are becoming a nuisance to the ongoing investigation."
"A nuisance?" Speedy snarled. "So you are opting to search for Robin on your own? Because if I remember correctly, you wouldn't have even known he was alive without the help of me and Green Arrow."
"Yeah," Wally threw in. "You were completely prepared for the worst."
"I can't afford to hope."
"So you're just giving up on Dick?"
Batman's eyes flicked to Captain Marvel, then back to Wally. Not everyone knew their identities. But Captain Marvel was cringing, thinking that the older boy had sworn. He wasn't allowed to say dirty words, yet he was allowed to fight crime. It made perfect sense.
"No," Batman said. "As for you, Speedy, I would have found the video one way or another."
"That may be true," Roy replied. "But because of that video, you need me now more than ever."
"And why is that?"
"Because I know who the masked man was."
He was greeted with open mouths. He hadn't meant to say it, it had just slipped out. Secrets are a funny thing. After being locked away for so long, they longed to be discovered. Roy had yet to think of a way to deliver the news, but if he hesitated they would catch on. His best option was to be blunt, he finally decided. Wally would be on his case about it, but it was better than the whole League.
"His name is Deathstroke," Roy said cautiously. "He is a mercenary. I don't know why I didn't recognize him before now. It must have been the trauma of the video."
It came out a lot less blunt than he wanted, but everyone seemed to accept his answer. Batman turned back to the computer and began typing, searching for any and all information on Deathstroke. Anger bubbled deep inside of Roy. He was not done with Bruce, not in the least bit.
"If we hadn't been at the Christmas dinner, you wouldn't have told us Dick was missing until he turned up in a shoebox on the doorstep of Wayne Manor!"
Roy could do nothing but stay rooted to the floor as he watched Batman pull his hand back and send it flying forward. The force of the slap caused the boy to stumble backwards a few steps. His hand shot up to his stinging cheek to feel the tender flesh that was quickly turning red in the shape of a handprint.
Hot tears blurred his vision. Not tears of pain, no, he had endured much worse, but tears of embarrassment, rage, and guilt. He was embarrassed for being made a fool of in front of a quarter of the Justice League. Angry, because Batman was an emotionless, uncaring, jerk who seemed to have no concern for his son's wellbeing. And guilt for wasting precious time that could be better spent searching for Dick. Every moment was valuable, for every one they wasted was one less from Dick's life.
Ollie lurched forward, completely prepared to tear out Bruce's throat, but was held back by Dinah grabbing his arm. Sending her a mixed look of anger and compassion, he stayed where he was with his jaw and fists clenched, ready to spring if Batman tried anything else. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, he wanted a fight. He wanted to beat Bruce to a bloody pulp for hitting Roy, but he knew it was a fight he would not win.
Green Arrow watched as Kid Flash shot Batman a murderous look and Speedy spat a mixture of blood and saliva onto his boots. He would have done much worse, but it seemed fitting for two teenaged boys who had lost their best friend. They stormed out, the rest of the heroes following, save for Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Batman. The three stood in silence so thick it could be cut by a knife. Turning on his heel, Bruce strode over to the computer, only leaving Ollie angrier.
"Are you going to say something?" he practically yelled.
"I have a new lead."
"You have a new lead? Roy is practically leading this investigation. It was him who identified Dick, and him who found out a mercenary took him! God, Bruce, you are one ungrateful bastard!"
"Get out," Batman snapped.
Dinah gently tugged Ollie out of the room, but not before he flipped Bruce off behind his back. The Hall was empty, everyone had already fled for their lives. Stroking the archer's cheek, Black Canary touched her lips to his, sending a small thrill through his body. He was reluctant to pull away.
"Why did you stop me?"
She gently stroked his cheek again. "Every word Roy said was true, but he had absolutely no right to say it to Bruce's face."
"He needed a reality check, if you ask me."
"You are all blowing this out of proportion. Batman does care. He is grieving as we speak, he just does it differently than most people. He's not getting his hopes up because he has had them crushed too many times before, but he would never give up on Robin. Not until he is found, either dead or alive."
"He hit Roy."
Dinah rolled her eyes. "Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. Think, Ollie, he just lost his son, possibly forever. How would you feel if that was Roy out there and you had some bratty teenager constantly in your face as you searched for him?"
"Roy is not a brat."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, so he is, sometimes. But that doesn't change the fact that Bruce hit Roy!"
"Just answer my question."
Ollie sighed. "I wouldn't have liked it. But I would have never hit Dick."
"What Bruce did was wrong," Dinah agreed.
The two were left in an awkward silence that seemed to swallow them up. Most of Ollie's rage had dissipated, but it was still there nonetheless. He would have to avoid Batman for a while, but it would be fairly hard, considering the man came to Star City every other night to scour every inch of the city for any sign of his partner's whereabouts.
"So," Dinah said, breaking the silence, "How did your Christmas mission go?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "It went."
"The drug dealer didn't find out you were a man?"
"How did you-?"
"I know when my makeup and favorite dress go missing."
Ollie once again fell silent.
"How did the dress fit you anyway?" she asked.
"I took it to a tailor." After receiving a glare from Dinah, he grumbled, "I'll buy you a new dress."
"What was that?"
"I buy you a new dress," he said a little louder.
"I can't wait to tell Roy," Dinah laughed.
"Hey, you've dressed as a man before."
"Being forced to dress up as the Fifth Doctor for a sci-fi convention doesn't count."
Before he could respond, Ollie ran into a brick wall and fell onto his rump. A green and orange brick wall. Looking up from his place on the floor, he saw Aquaman smiling down at him. Accepting his extended hand, Green Arrow jumped to his feet and muttered his apology. He continued down the hall with Black Canary, leaving Aquaman with his thoughts.
"Oliver 'Drag' Queen," he laughed.
I really love Ollie and Dinah. Charlie asked me one time if I wanted anything specific in the story and I practically demanded that there be more Dinah, because she's awesome. Oh, and yes, I named Wally's goldfish after a Star Trek character. And the mention of the Fifth Doctor...I changed the dialogue to that last minute. Also, I came up with the Oliver 'Drag' Queen thing.
But to be semi-serious, SHIT JUST WENT DOWN IN THE JUSTICE LEAGUE! (Oops, Charlie's gonna kill me for cursing. Too late.) But then again, most of this story consists of bad shit happenening to everybody (mainly Dick.)
And next chapter should be back to your regularly scheduled Dick angst.
