A/N: Who's ready for more Captain Cold? I know I am. I swear, I will never have enough of that guy.
If there was one thing that most everybody seemed to not appreciate or notice was how difficult it was to get a reputation, and keep it. In Leonard's opinion, it was even harder for villains. Or, maybe it was just harder for him. He had to work four times as hard at something to get any recognition for it just because he happened to care about the people on his team.
Because god forbid villains actually show they have human emotions every once and awhile.
He didn't understand what all of the hate and mocking was about. Yes, he had a team that he cared about, and most villains saw feelings as a weakness. He understood that. What he didn't get though was why nobody else could see that it was because The Rogues trusted each other so much that they worked so well together as a team. And since there were more of them they were more of a threat. Why was that so difficult to understand?
Len had thought that being incarcerated at Belle Reve and having an in with the Capo would make things a little easier. That he wouldn't have to try so hard to maintain his image of being a cold hearted bastard, because that was what he was like towards most anybody who wasn't part of his team. Things probably would have been that way if it weren't for Leonard's occasional visitors.
The thing about Belle Reve was that it was a very high security prison. No visitors were allowed in unless they had been approved by the Justice League themselves. As one can imagine, not very many inmates ever got a visitor that wasn't there for interrogation purposes. To Leonard's knowledge, he was the only one.
"This had better be important." Len mumbled to himself as the guards escorted him to the visitors/interrogation room. When the guards roughly shoved him into the visiting room and he saw exactly who had bothered to visit him Len knew that it likely was important, and he probably wouldn't enjoy a second of it.
"Well, well, fancy seeing you here, Red." Len said the second the guards were out of the room and they could speak in private. His visitor, Barry Allen, frowned at him.
"Don't call me that in here." Barry said. Len shrugged. He knew it was dangerous for both of them, but he couldn't help but mess around with the man like this every once and awhile. By some sort of miracle Len was able to figure out that Barry Allen was no other than the Scarlet Speedster himself. Why not have fun with that knowledge?
"What do you want, Allen?" He knew this couldn't be a social visit. Barry Allen only ever visited him if he needed his help with something, and even then he only did so reluctantly and because his nephew practically forced him to come.
"I need your help." Barry almost looked pained to say those words, like he did anytime he needed a favor. Len was dying to tease him about it, but he held back because he knew the man would see it as fair game to do the same the next time Len was the one looking for a favor, and he didn't want to deal with that.
"With work or with an 'extracurricular' project?" Len asked. It was a weird question, but a necessary one to ask. Usually the favors that Barry asked had to do with keeping his Rogue's under control, but there had been a time or two when the blond forensic scientist had needed help in identifying the subtler signs of child abuse.
"It's Trickster." Barry said, and suddenly Len was all ears.
"What's wrong with James?" Len practically growled. If Barry was coming to him because there was a problem with his Rogues, than it had to be a major problem. And James, despite being a major pain in the ass, wasn't normally a huge problem for the Flash. He could often just be talked out of committing whatever crime, be reminded to take his meds and everything was just fine.
What was so different this time?
"He's gone Trickster five times in the past month." Barry said. Len raised an eyebrow. It was rare for James to go off his meds and wear his Trickster mask more than once or twice a month. Rare, but not unheard of.
"He's looking for attention." Len said. "When was the last time Wally visited him?"
"Well, it's been almost two months now." Barry said. "Wally's been really busy with the team, and his girlfriend."
Len sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Well, that certainly explained things. James lived for the days when Wally would stop by and play darts with him. He was just jealous that Wally had other people to devote his attention to. "There are two ways to calm James down. Convince Wally to check in on him more often. Or just wait it out. James will get bored of this eventually."
"We don't have time to wait." Barry said, and Len could tell he wasn't kidding. Barry sighed and frowned. "There's been talk going around. James is refusing to take his meds, he's causing more and more problems, and the doctors aren't really sure what to do with him anymore."
Len narrowed his eyes. He really didn't like where this was going. "What exactly are they planning to do with him?"
Barry paused before saying in a quieter voice that just didn't suit him. "They're thinking of sending him to Arkham."
Len felt like his insides froze. He desperately hoped that he had heard that wrong, but the serious expression on Barry's face told him he hadn't. "He's not going to Arkham." Len said coldly. He wouldn't allow it to happen. He had heard horror stories about that place, and from what Mr. Freeze had told him a good portion of them were true. He had also seen people like Edward Nygma, The Riddler, who, if anything had gotten worse after their stay in Arkham. He couldn't let that happen to James. The young man may be a bit...unstable, but he didn't deserve that.
"Look, I don't want this to happen either, but there's not much I can do about-" Barry began.
"Bullshit!" Len shouted. Flash was a hero, a member of the Justice League. He had a lot of say about where his criminals ended up. He just wasn't willing to put in the effort. "James is not going to Arkham."
"Then we need to figure out some way to fix this, because it will happen if he just continues to get worse." Barry glared at him sternly. Len had never seen Barry as a very intimidating guy, but he still took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Len knew that he wouldn't be helping anybody by losing control like this.
"Let me talk to him." If anybody could knock some sense into James, it was Len. He thought for a few seconds before adding "And let me take Cameron Mahkent with me."
Barry looked taken aback by his request. "Icicle Junior? Why do you want him there?"
"Because James doesn't just need someone to scold him." Len said. Things would be a million times easier if that was all. Hell, if that was all it would take to get James to settle down than Mick or Sam, or even Digger could do just that. "He needs a friend." Len himself wasn't very good 'friend' material. He just wasn't good at being nice.
"But they don't even know each other." Barry argued. "Wouldn't Piper or Wally be better?"
"You saying you want to ask Wally to spend more time with James?" Len raised an eyebrow. Barry had always hated the fact that Wally spent time with The Rogues. He couldn't imagine him actually arranging a meeting himself.
"Well, no, but why aren't you suggesting it?" Barry looked confused.
"First off, because I know you would fight against it." Len scowled. "Also, the kid's been refusing to listen to a word I've said for a few months now." It was infuriating just how long the kid could hold a grudge for. If Len had known just how much he would regret being a part of that snow storm in November for Count Vertigo, he never would have agreed to it. He hadn't known that Wally would refuse to speak to him after the incident.
(He also hadn't known that the whole reason Vertigo wanted the storm was so he could kill his kid niece. He never would have agreed to it if he had known that. Len only ever killed if it was absolutely necessary, and he never did it to a kid.)
"And as for Hartley, well, if you can track him down and get him to talk to James, be my guest." Len said bitterly. Hartley had all but left The Rogues. The kid seemed to be under the impression that he was better than them, thus, he shouldn't have anything to do with them. Maybe Hartley was better than them, but that didn't mean that it was okay that he was being so ungrateful about it.
Barry frowned. "I'll see if I can arrange for you and Junior to talk to Trickster."
Len smirked. He knew that James was likely in a mental hospital right now, and likely wasn't allowed to set foot out of there. Thus, if Len was going to talk to him, he would have to be the one to go to James instead of it being the other way around. Basically, this arrangement was a 'get-out-of-Belle-Reve-free' card...for a few hours.
"I'll tell Cam and Joar what's going on." Len said.
"Whoa, what does this have to do with Icicle?" Barry glared suspiciously at him. Len rolled his eyes.
"He's Cameron's father. He has a right to know where his kid is." Len said. Honestly though, that was just half the reason. The other half was because Joar was the prison Capo. Whether the Justice League liked it or not, nothing went on in this place without his say so. Len just didn't think that Barry needed to know that particular reason. Fortunately, the family friendly Flash seemed to buy the whole 'dad' excuse.
"...Fine." Barry agreed reluctantly. "Just don't let this whole thing become public knowledge."
"Trust me, I won't." Len said honestly. He did have a reputation to uphold after all.
Their little visitation ended soon after they had made their arrangement. After all, it really wasn't a social visit, and Barry probably had many other people he would rather be talking to. The guards came back in to escort Len back to his cell. As usual, the guards were rougher with him than they probably had to be, the guards in this place just liked to try to prove who exactly was in charge around here. Len didn't really mind it so much, he let them satisfy their pride. Besides, he was too busy thinking about things to really start a fight over a grip that was a tad bit too strong.
Even though he hadn't enjoyed his little visit with the Flash, he was glad that it had happened. After all, now he was aware of James' problems and could do something to fix them. And Len was always going to appreciate any opportunity he could get to be out of the prison. Plus, this time around he wasn't just getting himself out for a few hours, but also Cameron, and Len knew that this was something the kid really needed.
He wasn't sure if anybody else had really noticed or cared, but Cameron hadn't been acting like himself lately. He was quick to anger and was more sarcastic and snarky than he usually was, which was saying something. He was trying to make himself seem touch, because he wanted to hide how scared he really was.
Yes, scared. Cameron may not be showing any signs of fear, but that was only because Joar had trained him well. Still, he was just a teenager, not quite a legal adult, stuck in a prison full of super criminals that hated his guts. If Cameron wasn't scared, than he was insane.
Len knew that what the kid needed was to have a break from all of the fear and expectations. He needed the chance to be regular kid, even if just for a little bit. If Len's plan went as he wanted it to, both James and Cameron would benefit from this arrangement.
And if they couldn't think of anything to talk about, Len figured they could bond over how much they both hated that Wally and Artemis were dating.
Other than having time to think, the grip back to his cell was completely uneventful. Cameron, who had been in there the whole time, sat up and stared down at Len from his place on the top bunk.
"That didn't take long." Cameron commented as he swung his legs so that they were dangling over the edge. The boy leaned forward slightly. "Who was visiting you today?" The kid said it in a teasing tone, though Len knew that it was more because he was trying to copy everybody else who frowned upon people who received visitors. Len was fairly certain that Cameron couldn't care less who was getting visitors and why. If anything, Cameron was jealous that he hadn't gotten any visitors yet. After all, Artemis was in a pretty good position to arrange a visitation if she really wanted to.
It just went to show that the childhood friendship had only meant something to Cameron.
"Just somebody from Central City." Len leaned against the bed and raised an eyebrow at Cameron. "One of my Rogues has been causing some trouble. I need to go to Central City to deal with him."
"Wait, you can do that?" Cameron's eyes widened.
"If you have enough connections." Len smirked. "Think you can do me a favor?"
Cameron narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What is it?" Before being sent to Belle Reve Cameron would have agreed to do a favor for almost anybody without asking what it was or what was in it for him. This was just another way that prison was forcing the naivety out of the boy.
"Trickster has been out of control lately, and he's always been more willing to listen to somebody that doesn't have any authority over him." Len said bluntly. Or, at least, he thought it was bluntly. It took Cameron a few seconds to even realize what he had said.
Wait, you want me to talk to him?" Cameron leaned back slightly, his eyes wide and full of doubt. "Why?"
"Because I don't have anybody else that he would listen to." That was a serious lie, but Cameron didn't need to know that. "He warms up to kids his age quicker than he forgives adults he already knows. So, you in?"
"Yeah, whatever." Cameron shrugged and leaned back against the wall. Len frowned. When had Cameron gotten so good at masking his emotions that he couldn't tell whether the teenager was agreeing to do this because he wanted the chance to get out of prison for a bit, because he wanted to help Len out, because he wanted to help Trickster, or because he felt obligated to agree to do it?
When had Cameron gotten so good at masking his feelings that a master of reading people, like Leonard, couldn't see what he was hiding?
"Are you sure this is a good idea, man?" Cameron asked unsurely.
"It's a little late to be doubting things now." Len said shortly. Maybe he was being a little more bitter than necessary, but he was pissed off that it had been days since Barry had told him that James had a problem, and only now were they actually doing anything about it. So, yeah, forgive him for being a little snippity at Cameron who was wanting to chicken out. Besides, it really was too late to be having second thoughts, considering they were currently walking down the halls of the mental hospital towards James' room.
"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do." Cameron raised a hand to scratch at his neck, but Len stopped him.
"Don't even think about it." He growled. Just about the worst thing that Cameron could do when they had armed guards walking just behind them was give them any reason to think that he was trying to tamper with the inhibitor collar. "And don't stress about what you're supposed to do." Cameron was just here because Len hoped that his presence would help James to relax. There was nothing special that was required for him to do.
Cameron frowned, which Len didn't understand. Did the kid want to be told exactly what to do? Didn't he already get enough of that from his dad. Cameron was constantly being told how he should act and who he should be. Should he be glad for the chance to be his own person for once? There weren't even people around who would judge him for it.
Well, there were people around, but Len believed that everybody here had their own problems to deal with. They probably wouldn't spare some kid who makes a small mistake a second glance.
Len felt Cameron shift closer to him as they walked down the hallway, almost like he felt uncomfortable, and honestly, Len didn't blame him. He always hated coming to this place. The atmosphere of a mental hospital felt like a combination between a normal hospital and a prison. Basically, it didn't feel like a nice place. That was why he usually tried to break James out of here as soon as he was given a new set of medication.
It didn't take them too long to get to James' room. Len wasn't sure whether or not it was normal for patients to have their own rooms, but James did. He wasn't sure if that meant something or not. Len knocked on the door, because it was never a good idea to barge into James' room without warning, whether he was in the hospital or not, and opened the door.
"Lenny!" The leader of The Rogues was immediately tackled into a hug the second he opened the door. "You came! Flasher said you would come. What took you so long?"
Len chuckled slightly and gently pushed the blond away from him. "I was caught up. I came as soon as I could, though. And I brought somebody with me." Len turned and gestured for Cameron to come forward and stop shying away.
James frowned slightly at the sight of this person who was a stranger to him. "Who's he?"
"Cameron." Len answered. "He's Icicle Junior. I thought you might want to talk to somebody your own age."
James eyed Cameron's unique skin coloring. "You have ice powers? That's cool." He said with a joking grin. Len smirked and Cameron snickered.
"Yeah, 'cause that's the first time I've ever heard that one before." Cameron finally loosened up a bit. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. He was basically the image of the average teenage boy...except now Len was feeling paranoid. Was Cameron actually relaxed and chilling out, or was he just faking it again?
"So, uh..." Cameron looked around the room as he searched for something to say. "What're you in for?" Len sent an exasperated look towards the teenager. James didn't seem bothered by the question though, which was fortunate.
"Oh, Flasher's just being paranoid. I was just having a little fun." James tried to wave the issue aside, which irritated Len. The kid didn't realize just how serious the situation was.
"You're getting people hurt, James." Len said sharply. "You can't just do whatever you want just because you want attention from Kid Flash."
James' eyes darkened and Len mentally scolded himself. Getting irritated and scolding James would just make things worse. He knew he needed to take a more gentle approach with this...except 'gentle' really wasn't something that Len was good at doing. This was why he had brought Cameron.
Len turned towards the teenager. "Can you talk to him?"
"Wait, me?" Cameron's eyes widened, though Len wasn't sure why. Hadn't he known he would be doing something like this? "What do you want me to say?"
"I don't need you to lecture him." Len all but growled, because why was Cameron making this more complicated than it had to be. "Just talk to him about whatever the hell you want."
Cameron's eyes still seemed to be filled with hesitancy and slight panic. "I don't know what to talk about!"
Len grit his teeth and was moments away from snapping at Cameron when James stepped forward. "Lenny, you're scaring him." Well, leave it to a disturbed, childish teenager to point out the obvious that nobody else had realized. James pushed past Len and approached Cameron, who looked like he didn't really understand what was going on. Len didn't really blame him, because when it came to James, nobody ever seemed to understand anything.
"You have to forgive Len." James said to Cameron. "He keeps on forgetting how scary he is sometimes." Len scowled. He was not scary. Intimidating, sure, but not scary.
"Trust me, I wasn't scared of him." Cameron scoffed.
"You looked scared." James said bluntly, and Len found himself agreeing with him.
"Yeah, but not of him." Cameron insisted.
"Then what?" James asked curiously.
"Yeah, what?" Len found himself asking as well, because now he was curious.
Cameron frowned and crossed his arms in a way that was either defiant or protective. "...I didn't know what you wanted me to say."
"What?" Len hadn't been expecting that. "Who cares what I wanted you to say? I was giving you the chance to speak your damn mind for once. What did you want me to do, spell out exactly what you should say?"
"Uh, yeah?" Cameron shrugged as though it was obvious and Len frowned. Why would Cameron want that? James frowned too, though it seemed to be more from sad understanding than confusion.
"You don't like deciding things on your own, do you?" James asked. "You liked being told what to do?"
"Yeah, 'cause I suck at thinking for myself." Cameron said bitterly. Len scowled. Where the hell had Cameron gotten that idea. "Last time I decided to show some initiative I ended up screwing everything up." Oh, that's where the idea had come from.
"You know, the failed breakout attempt wasn't your fault." Len said for what felt like the billionth time.
"Yeah, well, you're the only one that thinks that." Cameron said stubbornly. Len didn't understand why the kid was so insistent about blaming himself.
James didn't seem bothered by the serious turn the conversation had taken. "So what if you feel like a screw up? I screw things up all the time, and that doesn't stop me."
Cameron looked at the blond strangely. "Stop you from what?"
"From being myself." James said. "It's no fun to let other people choose who you get to be. If you're going to make mistakes, they might as well be your own mistakes, right?"
"I guess so." Cameron shrugged uncertainly.
"You just can't care so much about what other people think." James said. "I don't."
Len snorted. "Except for Kid Flash." James pouted and looked as though he had been betrayed. Cameron snickered and Len raised an eyebrow at him. "You're not much better with your obsession with Artemis." That shut the teenager right up.
"Hey, it's not my fault that I don't think Artemis should be dating a speedster who dresses like a banana." Cameron said moodily. James looked at him strangely.
"You know the girl that's dating Baby Flash?" James asked.
Cameron smirked at the term 'Baby Flash'. "Yeah, she's a close friend. Or, at least, she was until she decided to go straight."
"That sounds like Hartley." James said sympathetically.
"James, Hartley is about as far from 'straight' as they come." Len said mock seriously, which made James giggle like crazy.
"One would think that something like friendship would be important to heroes." Cameron said longingly. James' frown dimmed and he nodded in agreement. Len was somewhat impressed. He hadn't expected the teenagers to actually bond over how they thought the good guys should be better friends.
The two boys were speaking comfortably now, and Len was given a moment to think about how different the boys were, and how much they might be able to benefit each other. Cameron was definitely a follower. As Len had learned that day, he was unsure at times and would rather just do whatever anybody else suggested for him.
James on the other hand was almost the opposite. He rarely listened to authority, even if the rules they set up for him were just for his own good. He would much rather do things his own way, no matter the consequences.
Both boys took being either independent or obedient to the extreme, and neither was healthy. Len wondered if the two of them could influence each other to think a little more their way. If James could teach Cameron a thing or two about confidence and doing things for himself. And maybe in return Cameron could show James that even though conformity isn't ever fun, sometimes it's the better of two evils.
It would take more than just today for their influence to sink in. Len would need the teenagers to have more time with each other. Fortunately, he didn't think that would be all that hard to arrange. After all, Flash had the power to make meetings like this happen, and surely even optimistic Barry Allen couldn't be under the impression that James would be completely back to his non threatening self after just one day.
And if Flash needed a little convincing, well, Len could be rather persuasive when he wanted to be.
A/N: This chapter feels less focused to me. I don't know, maybe it's just my including James, who is not an villain at all, as a mainish character in the chapter, because other than that, it's pretty much like any other. If it feels different in a bad way to you guys, please, let me know. Or even if it feels different in a good/neutral kinda way.
Or, you know, maybe I'm just crazy and this chapter isn't all that different from any of the others and I'm just feeling paranoid about it.