Here we get a reveal as to who's number Bruce gave Hal.
Hal tightly wrapped Kyle's wrists with bandages. Thankfully, Hal had the hindsight to pack a first aid in the event they needed it. Hal had carried Kyle to bathroom, leaving no blood trail and what appeared to be the weapon in the form of a razor blade along the way. Hal cleaned the scars, delicately using cloths to clean them, before wrapping them. He gently dropped Kyle's arms, resting them on his lap. He set the kit aside before grabbing Kyle's shoulders, attempting to get his attention.
"What were you thinking?" Hal calmly asked, trying not to rattle Kyle.
"I'm sorry." Kyle apologized, keeping his sights on his lap.
Hal didn't want to hear an apology. He had heard him apologize enough, even though Kyle needed to say this one. What Hal really wanted a reason why Kyle did it.
"Just tell me why."
Kyle nervously bit his lip. He weakly lifted an arm so his hand could cover his eyes.
"I panicked." Kyle quietly admitted.
"You panicked?"
Kyle nodded.
"The encounter in the street sank in the moment I entered the room. I felt trapped. Alone. Scared. I… I… chocked up. The thought of what that man could have done to me reminisced on what did happen to me. I needed something get my mind off of it."
That struck a small nerve in Hal. While he could understand the panic and the fear, how Kyle handled it was horrible.
"And harming yourself was the best way to do that?"
Kyle flinched at Hal's tone, feeling a sense of regret. He kind of regretted telling Hal, not that he would let Kyle not respond.
"No. It wasn't, but it felt relieving."
Hal sighed, disturbed by the statement. He grabbed the side of Kyle's face and made Kyle look at him. The distress was clear even though Kyle tried to hide it.
"Kyle… hurting yourself is not supposed to feel good. That doesn't help you recover."
"I know, but I didn't know what else to do."
"Talk to me. I can't help you if you don't talk to me. All you're doing is prolonging your suffering."
Kyle tried to look away from Hal, ashamed. Hal knew he was being a little harsh with Kyle, but denying this issue wasn't going to get them anywhere. Hal recalled what Bruce gave him, thinking about how it could help him. He pulled it out of his pocket held it out for Kyle.
"I want you to take this." Hal offered. "I think you could use someone to talk to about this. Someone who understands what you've gone through. A friend."
Kyle grabbed the paper from Hal, inspecting its contents. After realizing whose number it was, he was a little shocked. Kyle didn't expect that this individual would be familiar with being raped. Kyle could only guess how Hal came across this information, the individual's mentor no doubt, but it was definitely an interesting discovery.
"I want to do a little research." Hal admitted. "Do a little digging. And while I do, I want you to see him. I can trust him, and something tells me you will too. Can you do this for me? For you?"
Kyle observed the paper for a few more seconds, soaking in the information he had just received. It was a little hard to swallow. The thought of talking to someone, other than Hal, about this was a little unnerving. It was hard enough trying to talk to Hal about it, or even accepting his help at times. However, if Hal was willing to give this a try, there was no reason that he couldn't. Emerald green eyes looked into brown ones.
"Yes."
Kyle sat in the middle of the café's outdoor dining area. It was a sunny day and the café was pretty busy. He and Hal waited until the following day before doing anything, wanting to get settled and try to enjoy their first night in Gotham with a trip to the movies.
Hal dropped him off shortly after making the call. He trusted that Kyle wouldn't try to run and that the café was populated enough to provide enough witnesses if the meetup went south. All Kyle had to do was wait. He ordered a coffee as he surveyed his surroundings.
"Hey there stranger." A voice greeted.
Kyle quickly turned his attention towards the individual. It was Dick Grayson, clad in a black shirt and a pair of jeans. Kyle didn't need to say much to offer Dick a seat, who gladly took it without hesitation, ordering up a coffee for himself.
They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. With what they briefly discussed over the phone, it was understandable that finding a starter was going to be difficult.
"DO you have anything you'd like to ask me?" Dick inquired, taking the first step.
"Could you tell me what happened to you?" Kyle asked. "If you don't mind me asking."
Dick wasn't offended, understanding why Kyle asked that. After all, Kyle had only just found out about what happened a day ago.
"Of course. I'm sure you're curious. It's not like I talk about it much myself, so I'll start from the beginning." Dick took in a deep sighed, recalling the memory. "I had taken a girl under my wing when I got comfortable in Bludhaven. Her name is Catalina Flores. She was a cop turned rookie vigilante, taking on the name Tarantula, and I took the initiative to mentor her. Our relationship was pretty standard. We got along well enough. She was a little more aggressive than I was used to, that being based on how Batman trained me. As such, I did try to implement some of his teachings with my own, to help reign her in." Dick shook his head in disappointment before going a little darker. "One day we were dealing with a man called Blockbuster, a mob boss in Bludhaven who was smart and quite the heavy hitter. We had followed him to an abandoned building and he started making threats to expose me and go after everyone I cared for.
"We fought and I was starting to feel drained from it. I was going to apprehend him if it was the last thing I did. However, Tarantula had other ideas. Blockbuster and I got warn down quite a bit when she pulled out a gun." Dick's eyes tightly closed for a moment. "I wanted to stop her, but I at the same time I didn't, and she shot him. Killing him instantly. I managed to muster enough strength to get out of the building and onto the rooftops before collapsing from not only the physical fatigue, but the emotional weight of not stopping her. I couldn't move. I was in shock, admitting to my failure to train her. She approached me with less than good intentions, telling me how it was all her and how it wasn't my fault. It was then, in my weakened state that she took advantage of me, not listening to my refusal where my body couldn't defend itself. That is my story."
Kyle absorbed the tale with horror. If hearing that this happened to Dick was bad, hearing it in detail was worse.
"Would you mind telling me your story?" Dick asked.
"It's not as traumatic as yours." Kyle debated.
Dick was a little hurt. The fact that Kyle was trying to downplay what happened to him was unacceptable. Dick grabbed one of Kyle's wrists in an attempt to get his attention.
"Don't say that. Just because mine might have been a little more chaotic, doesn't mean yours was any less traumatic."
Kyle hesitated. He was still uncomfortable with talking about it, but if Dick could share his experience, then he knew he should be able to do the same.
"I was just supposed to enjoy a night out with Jason and Roy. They do it regularly and, whenever I'm available, Jason always extends an invitation. We always have a fun time together." Kyle's grip on his cup tightened slightly. "This time was different. After dealing with a hassle, I went back for my drink. I started to feel lightheaded, nauseous, claustrophobic. I remember walking outside to get some fresh air, only to be guided towards an alley. I blacked out to the sound of Bueno, waking up in the hospital alone. Apparently Jason and Roy dropped me off before going to investigate. I bottled it up for a month, ashamed and numb, only for it to slip in front of Batman."
Dick was stunned by Kyle's story. He could only imagine what it felt like to wake up with no memory of being assaulted must have been confusing and frightening. Though if there was anyone he could have slipped it to, Batman was definitely a good
"That's awful." Dick admitted. "It must be so troubling to live in a state of frightened uncertainty."
"Yeah."
Kyle sighed deeply.
"Will it ever get better?"
"I wish I could say it does. I went into a downward spiral, looked into crime, and worked with Deathstroke to help train his daughter. It wasn't until I realized I had friends that wanted to help that I turned my life around. It will hurt, but it gets better. But what make you different from me is that you have people who jumped right into helping you. Because of one detective's intuition and a good friend in Hal jumping in, you're able to heal quicker than I ever was able to. Don't ever forget that."
Kyle genuinely smirked at Dick encouraged speech. Though similar to Hal's, the fact that Dick was at least being optimistic was nice. At least he was being positive about it.
"Thank you."
Dick grinned, happy with their progress.
"You're welcome."
A honking horn interrupted their moment. They both looked towards the noise. Hal was waiting in the rental car, shooting them a waved hand.
"That's my ride." Kyle amusingly admitted, standing up.
"I guess this is goodbye, for now at leat."
"Yeah."
"If you ever need someone to talk to, know that I'm only a phone call away."
"Thank you."
Kyle ran towards the car, hopping in without hesitation. He smiled at Hal, who happily grinned back at him, before driving.
"How was it?" Hal asked. "Did you get something out of this?"
"I did." Kyle admitted. "Having someone to talk to about this was great. And the fact that he could relate was even better."
Hal couldn't be happier to hear that. Though a bit of a trial, the fact that it went well was amazing. Kyle opening up and finding someone to talk to was all he could ask for and Hal couldn't be prouder.
I know I may have gone a little more in depth with Dick's retelling, but there's a little more to go off of (not that I haven't filled in gaps or could add more to fill it in with Kyle's, it's just that Dick's did get a little more detail in comic).