After—after hot lips and warm flesh and mingled cries of pleasure—after he puts on his working clothes again while she watches from the bed they so recently shared. "They still fit."
"Yes." He feels pride in that—just as much pride as he felt in the way that Dinah had reacted to his touch … (It was wrong. It made a mockery of everything he had felt for her—felt for Paula. He's sick inside.) "I did my best to keep in shape."
"You succeeded." Her eyes smile at him, and he wonders how much of it is real—how much is Dinah and how much is the thing that's inside her. The thing that's inside him … "But we have to get back to work, Lawrence."
"Sportsmaster." His weapons slide back into their holsters as easily as they ever had. Everything's still sharp. He'd taken care of them—taken care of them so he'd never forget what he had done with them.
Never forget the lives he had taken … Oh God. Someone help him …help Dinah …
But he'd long ago given up the idea that God would ever listen to someone like him …
"The children—"
"The Team," he corrects her. Their team had no name, but they had earned respect. They weren't just children any more. They weren't just sidekicks. They were heroes—and the Light knew that or it wouldn't have gone to this trouble—wouldn't have taken Lawrence himself—in order to stop them.
"The Team." She nods her head slightly as she gets out of the bed—his bed—and starts dressing. "We have to be careful. The Light wants them alive—and so do I."
Alive. It gives him hope—and fear. Hope that this thing that had let loose the worst part of him would spare his daughters—and fear of what it would do once it had them.
Those feelings—those mixed, tangled feelings—seem to momentarily create a bridge between his two selves. The part that seems to be just taking animalistic pleasure in being able to move again, in having Dinah in his arms, in his bed—that part of him also feels something when thinking about their daughters and what might be happening. Something that he can almost call concern …
He latches onto that. He holds onto it tight. Prayers may not work for him—he may never be worthy enough to rate concern from Heaven—but he can trust to himself. He can believe that some part of him—no matter how small- that some part of him that the Light can't control will not let anything happen to his girls. He can believe that.
He has to.
He's back in the chair when the kids come in. Back in the chair because it would ruin everything if they knew he was able to walk—because the questions it would raise would put them on their guard. He isn't happy about it, but he doesn't have a choice in the matter.
What the Light wants him to do, he does. Rebellion is not an option.
Dinah stands beside him and tells the kids the story about Red Arrow. She talks about how the Light had managed to capture the original Roy and clone him as they had done with Superman and Superboy. (What will this do to Jade when she finds out?) She tells the kids that Red Arrow managed to escape and the League would be tracking him down because it's League business.
(Did Dinah—the Light—really think the Team would buy that? These kids have been through fire together—come hell or high water, they would look out for each other. Was he the only one who knew them?)
"What about Jade?" Artemis asks. Her mask as Sport is raised up. She's gotten better at hiding her feelings, but he can still read her like a book. She's wondering why he's wearing his uniform after all this time. She'll ask him—and that will probably be when the Light has him take her down.
No!
He wants to scream. He wants to fight. He wants to shout a warning to them all too—but he can't.
He's still alive inside, but the thing is making him a plaything of the Light.
"We haven't been able to reach her," he hears himself say. "She may be under control like he is. He could have her held captive somewhere. Hell, he could have killed her …"
(Killed her? Killed Jade … How could he say something like that, so calmly so cavalierly? He feels a twitch in his other self at the words, but his face doesn't change expression.)
Dinah had not told him what happened to Jade. She's alive. He knows that she's alive. He'd feel it in his gut if she were dead. He has to believe that …
Artemis's eyes narrow slightly at his words. Kid Flash puts a hand on her shoulder but she shrugs it off. She says nothing else.
Zatanna is new to the Team. He hasn't had anything against the girl, but he's never been all that comfortable around magic. Especially magic like hers. How much could she suspect—he only wishes she could hear his thoughts …
Or M'Gann. She's a telepath. He knows she likes to the Team. She's supposed to be a powerful telepath—maybe more so than even J'Onn himself.
Maybe she can hear him …
"The League will look for both Red Arrow and Cheshire. You kids did good work against the Light, but the rest of this is up to the Justice League. Just stay out of trouble and keep an eye on Lawrence. He might be a target—he's worked for Vandal Savage in the past and Savage doesn't take betrayal lightly …"
Again he wonders how much of those words are Dinah's, and how much belongs to Savage and The Light. He wonders how much of what happened between them earlier was real and how much was some sick and twisted game of Savage's …
He feels a white hot surge of anger from that thought …
"Dad?" Artemis asks softly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, little girl," he says. "Nothing …"
Artemis's eyes widen slightly. "Little girl" is something he calls Jade … Artemis is "baby" or "baby girl" …
It's not much, but he works with what he can.
There's a soft beep from the communication device on Black Canary's belt. "I'm needed back at the Watchtower. I'll send Red Tornado down to help you keep Sports—Lawrence safe." She gives them all a once over, nodding slightly at him, and then walks towards the transporter.
"Dad, why are you wearing your uniform?" Artemis asks as soon as Dinah's gone.
"With Arrow turned, the Shadows will know where to find me. If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting, little girl."
"Nothing will happen to you, Mr. Crock," Kaldur said earnestly. "The Team will make sure of that."
"Thanks, son." Kaldur and The Bird were the primary targets the Light wanted converted first. Take them down and the Team would be crippled even if they discovered that something was wrong. Conversion was preferred; but if that wasn't possible …
Blood on his hands … blood from those who trusted him …
"Roy—Red Arrow—was one of us. Is one of us. We will find him," Kaldur tells the others as soon as Dinah's gone.
He's oddly touched that Kaldur thinks nothing of saying these words in front of him. Apparently he is also considered "one of us."
"We can't leave Mr. Crock alone!" Robin objects.
"No, we really shouldn't." Artemis's eyes narrow as she looks at him again.
"Why don't you split up?" he suggests to them. "Kaldur, you're Roy's best friend and the person he cares the most for outside of Jade. If anyone can find him, you can. Take Artemis with you—I know she'll make sure her sister is okay."
And hopefully be safe herself.
"Red's been guarding me for years. I'm sure he can keep doing the job if you leave him a few backups, Kaldur." C'mon, kid. Get Artemis out of here …
"Very well. M'Gann, Kid Flash, Artemis, Rocket and I will try to find Roy. Conner, Robin, and Zatanna will stay with Red Tornado to guard Mr. Crock. M'Gann will keep us in constant telepathic contact as long as we are in her range. We'll depend on radios after that. Are there any questions?"
"None here." It wasn't an ideal situation for conversion. In spite of her youth and inexperience, Zatanna was a powerful sorceress. Superboy was a physical powerhouse. Robin had been trained by The Bat and in spite of his youth he had the most combat experience of anyone on the Team.
They might even be able to beat him.
Hopefully.
He didn't know why he wasn't as much under control as Dinah seemed to be—he hoped to God that she was fully under control and would not remember what they had done, what the Light had forced her to do—but he could still think even if he couldn't give the Light's plans away or refuse to do their bidding. He had done what he could to warn the Team, and he had tried to keep his baby girl safe.
The Light had the Justice League. The Light had the element of surprise. The Light even had him.
All that stood between them and whatever Savage was planning were a covert team of teenage super heroes that the world thought of as sidekicks.
In spite of the situation—in spite of the Light's control—he smiles.
Savage wouldn't know what hit him.