AN: Hey all! I'm super excited that finals week is over! I've passed all my classes, what a relief! I'm also super excited because my birthday is in three days, and I get to have a party with my One Act cast mates! I really hope you enjoy this chapter, as it was a bit of fun for me to write.
Bruce had to explain everything. He told Hal about the drugs, how Richard would reacted without them. He told Hal about how Richard had tried to fight them every time they interacted for longer than three seconds. Richard had tried to kill Garfield. Kill him. Hal didn't know why it surprised him, it was well known that Richard had been forced to become an assassin-for-hire, but he wasn't heartless. Well, he had tried to kill Hal too, but he was being controlled. In Hal's mind, Richard was still only eight-years-old and was doing flips onto couch cushions during movie night. But he was now a teenager who had been raised in a completely different way than any normal person would probably be. Hal had wanted Dick to see a therapist, work out his emotional issues, maybe get a support dog so he could feel confident enough to make his own decisions and live his own life. Slade was a control freak, so was Hal...in some ways. Hal liked to be in control of what planes he flew and when he ate dinner, Slade—on the other hand—liked to control people's behaviors and honestly every aspect of their lives. One was pretty harmless, and the other created depressed and uncomfortable human beings who had a shrunken sense of self-worth and poor emotional stability. Dependent personality...Hal may have cracked open one or two psychology books. Normal people weren't really supposed to get their first job as a hit-man when they were like, ten-years-old.
Bruce told him their plan. They were going to try and help him through the withdraw problem, trying to get him to truly remember what had really happened when they were taking care of him. Raven and the rest of the Titans team were going to act as their go between. Raven was supposed to help him deal with any unbalanced emotions, since she had a deeper understanding of how those kinds of things. She would also be able to help him process memories more than Megan of John since she would be trusted more than them. Bruce explained that Dick had already accused Megan of trying to brainwash him multiple times. It was Bruce's hope that since the Titans weren't a part of the League directly Richard would be able to trust them quicker, as Slade hadn't placed a bias or hatred towards them. At least less hatred towards the Titans than he had for Hal and the rest of the League.
Hal had to say it was a solid plan. It would help Richard get friends and people to support him. Wasn't that what everyone needed? Especially for the type of lives he and the others lived—high risks and intense decisions. None of it was fun, it was extremely hard to find a way to express emotions and stress in this type of work, and while killing people wasn't the same as saving people, it did do the same to your brain. Hal knew how hard to was for him to talk about that sort of stuff, and he had a loving wife who encouraged him to share his troubles with her. How had Dick handled things? He didn't have anyone that he could truly turn to in order to express himself, as Slade had truly been very anti emotions and personal feelings. Unless things had really changed, unless Slade had somehow become this open and loving human who cared about other people, Richard would probably still be horrible at expressing himself. Maybe even worse, seeing as he was a teenager now. Holy crap...a teenager. Why was this just setting in now? He had been very aware how the years had passed. Dick's birthday had always been marked with a small red circle on the calendar hanging in Hal's room in the Watchtower. Every time he passed over the day he felt a tang of guilt, he had left this kid in what he had known to be an abusive situation, and Hal had been completely unsuccessful to do his job. Saving people. He had been able to save so many people, entire galaxies, and he couldn't save one little kid from a horrible future.
But it would all work out alright. They would help him stop wanting to make an unpleaseable man happy, and he would start trying to make himself happy. It was going to make a better future for himself, a future that wasn't going to be decided for him by other people. Not even Hal. Hal had been trying to work through that himself. He had to accept what Dick wanted to do with his life, as long as it was legal. Being an assassin was illegal, so that option was definitely out. But he wouldn't have to be a hero, he could walk away from that and not be a part of the League, but he needed to be safe and feel comfortable with himself. It wasn't what Hal had wanted. Hal had wanted him to get into the Core, to spend time with him working on homework and going on camping trips with Carol. But he knew that he wasn't the one who got to decide what Richard did with his life. As long as it was legal, Hal had no say over what Richard decided to do. He just hoped he would still want Hal to adopt him. Even that was still a question.
That was the long term plan. The short term plan was getting Dick to accept a position on the Team, as an alternative to going to jail or something. While the League wouldn't press legal charges against Richard—he was a minor and was being abused by a mercenary—but he would feel like he would have to do something to make up for all of a killing and stealing. Hal was allowed to see him, but he had to try to keep it civil. Meaning, he had to make sure he didn't say anything that would make Richard angry or negative. Hal didn't think he would get angry or negative, but depending on what bull-crap Slade made him spew might get Hal a little heated, but not around Dick. He would probably scream and punch his pillow a few times afterwards, but he wouldn't try to argue with Richard. Heaven knew Hal was horrible at arguments, and he knew that teenagers were stubborn and Dick was hyper loyal and incredibly smart. He would find a way to discredit anything that Hal had to say in a matter of seconds, and it would still probably be logical and well thought out despite the absolute absurdity of everything.
"That sounds good." Hal nodded slowly. Bruce giving him that thinly veiled, sort of friendly smile you give a stranger on the subway. It was polite, which was a miracle from Bruce.
"If he's willing to be open with someone, we should be able to help him."
"He will be. Dick's always been open to people." Hal chuckled quietly. "Do you remember the time he and Roy ran around shooting those rockets at us? I think that was the first time I'd ever seen him not look scared—like at all."
"Yes, I do remember that." Bruce looked peaceful, gently taping on the table. "Roy's been trying to do what he can to help. But—Richard thinks he's Jason."
Hal hissed slightly, that had to hurt Bruce so much. Losing Jason had destroyed the Dark Knight, and Hal didn't think that he had completely healed. "I'm so sorry, Bruce. That can't be good for either you or Roy."
"I'm worried about what it'll do to Richard. He apparently cared for Jason a lot, and I...I know that Jason cared about him. I had Alfred talk to him about it. Richard wanted to get away from us, and he thought that Jason would help him."
"Well we're going to fix it." Hal tried to bring a smile to his face, but it was still weak. "We're going to help him handle his emotions naturally, and we're going to help him be happy. So, I'm going to go see him."
"Be careful."
"I know, I know. Whatever you say Dad." Hal rolled his eyes, Bruce didn't want to admit he was a nagging father...but he was a nagging father.
Hal kept his fists balled tightly, not wanting to show how much he was shaking as he walked down the halls. He was going to see Richard. He was going to see the kid that he had tried to adopt. He was going to see the kid who he had been the first to hug in three years. He was going to see his little buddy, his partner in crime.
Hal was going to see concrete proof that Richard was alive. Oh...how many nightmares had Hal had where Richard has lying in a pool of his own blood in some abandoned alleyway after Slade had shot him for some stupid reason. But he was alive, he was safe and not bleeding to his death. He wasn't on the most friendly terms with them, at all, but he was healthy and not in the ground. That was a good starting point.
He paused. But what if it never moved never past that? What if Richard refused to look past his hatred for them, and remained a bitter assassin for all of his life. Man, Hal really needed to stop with the 'what ifs' and just get in there and see him.
But...oh man theses 'what ifs' were really annoying, and yet extremely tempting. Completely irrational and they didn't exactly help. What if he tried happy 'what ifs'? What if Dick completely snapped out of it? What if he couldn't remember all the horrible things that happened to him, and all he knew only the good things that had happened to him with the League? What if Slade suddenly combusted into a million, billion pieces of confetti? Hal liked that last one, he liked it a lot. How much heartache would be speared if Slade just disappeared of the face of the Earth? Not into some shadowy hole to plot his next murder or torture spree...that was the plan that almost got him booted from the Core, and his friends. He still really liked that plan though, it would make things super easy.
"Hal." His head swung over to this right, a little tense. It was Diana. "Are you going to see him?"
"Yeah, I think I'm going to try."
"Good luck. You're going to help him in ways we can't." Diana rubbed his shoulder, her grip just as gentle as it was strong. "He's going to get better, we're going to help him."
"I know, I just wish we didn't have to do it at all."
"I agree, but I couldn't think of anyone better than you to help him."
"Thanks, Di." Hal smiled, a little unconvincingly but feeling a little better. Diana had been growing closer to him over the years, just like Bruce. They had known how hard it was for him to lose Dick, and they had been the first to notice when he started having a harder time using his ring. He didn't feel as...confident with himself after he had failed to save Richard. If he couldn't save one kid, how could they count on him to save them—even the universe? Diana had been incredibly supportive, giving Hal little pep talks almost everyday. Bruce hadn't been very openly encouraging, but he wasn't as critical of Hal as he would normally be. He still had that famous Dark Knight attitude, but he wouldn't say mention any obvious mistakes Hal made in front of others, and when he would get annoyed with Hal—he often tried the compliment-criticism-compliment sandwich. It had helped, it really did.
"Just be kind, and be careful. He isn't exactly what he was when he was a small child. But there's still hope in is jar." Diana was always optimistic, but she didn't seem to be so right now. She gave Hal a gentle squeeze, the Lantern deciding to turn it into a full blown hug. Diana gave great hugs.
"I've got this."
"Yes you do, Hal."
Hal faced the door, breathing deeply and trying to relax. This was it. He was going to confirm that Richard was okay, and he was going to take the first step to helping him escape Slade.
Hal slid his fingers over the key pad, the small click making his breath jump. He shook it out, slowly opening the door.
"Hey...hey, Kiddo."
"You!"
AN: Well, thank you all for reading! I feel like I'm losing a bit of the plot, I've got the general overview, but I'm not to sure about some minor events. Hopefully I'll figure things out over break, and be able to post a whole lot more! I hope you guys are feeling super well, and that your holiday season is relaxing and enchanting! I love you all, be safe and have fun!