Chapter Text
The thing about being unemployable is that when he’s earthside Hal has significantly more time on his hands than he used to. It’s difficult sometimes to remember that he exists outside of Green Lantern- that he is more than his oath to the Guardians- that he can be more than what they’ve made him. No longer an Air Force pilot but a soldier for a different cause.
Green Arrow and Speedy- no, Roy and Ollie - they’ve been keeping him grounded. The last time he’d seen them Ollie had been bugged about something- if Hal had to hazard a guess, it likely had something to do with the fact that his kid had decided to move out. The kid had been chomping at the bit for his independence and freedom for years- Hal knew that impulse just as well as Ollie did. Something about it seemed to scare his friend though.
He’s flying through the air, towards Arrow’s neighborhood- it’s still hard sometimes for Hal to rectify that Green Arrow, who lives in a cramped two bedroom apartment he can barely afford is Oliver Queen . As he passes by a nearby neighborhood he catches sight of some commotion below, and as dives lower he can more clearly see a young man attacking a well-off man in a suit. A mugging . His mind supplies immediately. Within seconds he’s swooped down to intervene, disconcerted to see a crowd of others calling out encouragement to the wayward youth. He scoops up the youth into a construct of a jail cell, flying him out towards the local precinct.
With perhaps more smugness that such an easy victory has deserved, he rights the fallen man and protects the two of them with an umbrella construct as from every window and rooftop a barrage of bottles, cans, and other garbage rains down on them.
“My ring will protect us!” He tells the man. “And they better have protection too, because I’ve had it . They’re acting like animals …”
One of the men from the sidelines gets too close and Hal grabs him by the shoulder, one fist pulled back to swing. “You want a riot , mister? Okay, that’s what I’ll give you…”
A haughty voice calls out from above, unmistakable even through the fog of anger. “Touch him first, Green Lantern, and you’ll have to touch me second.” He looks up and his eyes widen slightly as he sees Green Arrow perched on top of some molding. “And I’ll touch back! Believe it, chum! Back off! Go chase a mad scientist or something!”
He’s trying to process what is going on- he and Ollie have gotten along so well - it’s weird to hear the other man tell him that he’d nearly started throwing cans alongside these anarchists . It makes slightly more sense as Ollie pulls him into the building to walk the halls, explaining how the inhabitants live. He has to admit, it’s all very sad- and he can understand his friend’s anger, especially given how close Ollie is to being in those same conditions but still. Those people were breaking the law.
Ollie opens the door up to the roof and then rounds on him- finger poking him hard in the chest. “Like what you’ve seen? Listen, I hope you enjoyed playing super-hero out there…I hope it did a lot of good for your ego …”
Hal bristles, squaring his shoulders as he leans into Ollie’s space. “Easy- you’ve no cause to yell at me! I have a job…I do it!”
He flinches when Ollie tells him that he’s heard that same logic and reasoning at the Nazi War trials. Is that really what his friend, his best friend , thinks of him? Ollie’s son calls him uncle - how could-
There’s an old man on the roof, Hal isn’t sure how they missed him earlier- he wonders if only he missed him or if Ollie did too. “I want to ask the ring-slinger a question, Mr. Green Arrow--” Hal stands there and listens with unease as the man asks him that question he’s been afraid to ask himself. He spends so much time in space- the Guardians send him to whatever planets they please- he’s hardly spent any time on Earth lately. And when he has- when he has the man is right. He hasn’t done much for those he knows are the most vulnerable to harm. “I want to know how come?! Answer me that , Mr. Green Lantern! ”
Hal hangs his head, more in shame than in defeat. “I…can’t…Okay, maybe I have been a dummy. So tell me, how do I help?”
“I’m no advice committee...if you want to bad enough you’ll find a way.” The old man places a heavy hand on his shoulder. “And you know what…I think you do want to.”
He ignores Ollie’s sardonic quip about how he’ll need luck to get through to the landlord, until he actually gets to the man’s office, whereupon he realizes that perhaps, for once, his friend wasn’t exaggerating. He’s almost ready to punch the man’s lights out when he’s summoned to Oa.
The Guardians watch him from their chairs, staring down at him in judgement.
“You have behaved inexcusably! ” One says.
“We have monitored your actions! We have observed your emotional attack on your brother earthling!” Says another.
Hal bristles. “That… filth …is no brother of mine! ”
“ Silence! We are prepared to overlook your insubordination once! We shall say no more! You are warned!” Says a third.
“Now attend us! There is a task you must perform…”
He doesn’t really want to, but he apologizes anyway. He tenses further when the Guardians dismiss him with a harsh, “We have no use for apologies !”
He follows orders, he does the job he was given- but the longer he sits in space, directing meteors around an uninhabited moon- the more he realizes that the Guardians have sent him on a useless mission. His stomach churns with some mix of regret and frustration- he’s always had total faith in their guidance and yet- they’ve what? Sent him out to space to “cool off” on a mission that means and accomplishes nothing while the people who need him are left wanting? In a moment he makes the decision- to ignore the pompous and out of touch orders of the Guardians and to go where his heart is guiding him- back to Star City where he can do some good.
After touching base with Ollie, he helps his friend convince the district attorney to take a ride in style on a construct. Hal uses the ring to disguise himself as one of the men who had tried to kill Ollie in his absence- and together they manage to get the DA to agree to arrest the landlord. He feels good, accomplished, pleased with himself in a way that he hasn’t felt in a while.
Out of the ether one of the Guardians’ heads appears in the landlord’s office- large and visibly angry. “Green Lantern of Earth! Heed me- heed my anger! You have been insubordinate! You disobeyed our orders! We commanded you to stay on station until we decreed your task completed! ”
Instinctively, almost as if it’s been beaten and hardwired into him from years spent in his childhood home, in the Air Force, in the corps- Hal starts to apologize, voice halting and nervous.
Green Arrow jumps in front of him, inserting himself between Hal and the Guardian- anger coiled in every taught line of his body. “That’s right, Lantern! Apologize! Grovel in front of that walking mummy! You call yourself a hero! Chum, you don’t even qualify as a man! You’re no more than a puppet …and the Guardians pull your strings!...Listen, forget about chasing around the galaxy!... and remember America …it’s a good country, beautiful, fertile, and terribly sick . There are children dying! Honest people cowering in fear! Disillusioned kids ripping up campuses! Something is wrong! Something is killing us all! Some hideous moral cancer is rotting our very souls! ”
For a moment, Hal admires and envies Ollie’s ability to pull speeches like that out of his ass. He might not always agree with Green Arrow, but he can’t deny that Ollie gets along pretty well following nobody’s orders but his own. As much as he admires it- he can’t help but resent that Ollie had been allowed to feel that kind of freeing power for so long as to build that confidence- he’d never had a drill sergeant aim to be rid of it.
He watches, a little awed still, as Ollie now turns his anger from Hal, to the Guardian, pointing at the projection accusatorially. “And you …sitting on your mudball, preening like a smug tomcat…how dare you presume to meddle in the affairs of humanity when human beings are no more than statistics to you and your crew!”
To Hal’s surprise, the Guardian takes Ollie as seriously as he does. “How would you advise us?”
Ollie leans in closer to the projected face- his expressions are earnest but his voice is smug. “That’s easy! Come off your perch! Touch…taste…laugh and cry! Learn where we’re at…and why!”
Hal knows of course that Ollie has no respect for authority- the man barely has respect for his own authority (and wasn’t that a conversation to have with Roy when the boy had been raging about how “restrictive” his father was just because Ollie didn’t want him running off unsupervised with a group of teenagers with superpowers after a few years of driving the getaway car). He knows that- and yet- it’s so…it leaves a weird feeling in his stomach to watch Ollie tell off the Guardians like that and have…nothing happen to him. Hal relies on the Guardians for power, for purpose - Ollie- Ollie has no need for them. But without the Guardians…without them they’d never have managed to become friends…can’t Ollie see that he has at least some need for the pompous men calling Hal’s shots?
It takes a whole week, but one of the Guardians agrees to Ollie’s suggestion, agreeing to come out with the two friends to go see the country- to experience the humanity that they had been depriving Hal of. Hal can even almost laugh when Ollie makes the disguised Guardian ride in the bed of the old truck.
Ollie would love to say that this fight is a one-off. But they’ve been on the road for just around a week and this is far from the first piece of trouble they’ve encountered. It’s something about his face- maybe the beard? No- things like this had happened to him before he’d grown the beard too. Oh well.
He likes a fight. Something to get the blood pumping- an outlet for the anger.
Right now the anger is all-consuming.
He gets like that when he has someone to protect.
Nobody had ever protected him.
He grabs the thug by the collar, no gentleness to be found within himself. “Where’d you get the chopper, punk? Spit it out!” He receives no answer and immediately backhands the man, refusing to let his eye twitch when the man spits out blood. “ Talk , blast you! Talk or I’ll bust you into tiny pieces…”
Hal has to hold him back. The man is describing them beating up and robbing Dinah as if it’s a normal thing to do. They’d left her unconscious on the side of the road . Dinah could take care of herself, Ollie knew that- but he also knew that it was a hell of a lot harder for anyone to take care of themself if they were unconscious . It’s remote out here, Dinah’s not him- she’s a city girl- she- it’s remote out here. And they left her alone .
He breaks free from Hal’s grasp- his fist colliding with the punk’s face hard enough his hat flies off his head. “You… filthy…rotten…scum! ”
Hal grabs hold of him again, tighter this time. For a second it’s almost like they’re sixteen again- but even in this kind of desperate reach, Hal’s been careful not to grab him anywhere that’ll hurt in the morning. “ No! Let him alone GA! You’ll kill him!”
Right now, Ollie can’t find it in himself to care. Dinah’s alone out there in the wilderness.
Those kinds of things are only allowed to happen to him.
“You heard him!
He hurt her!
He doesn’t
deserve
to live!”
He feels but doesn’t hear Hal’s sigh in the movement of the muscle behind him. “Maybe not!” Hal concedes. “But you’re neither judge… nor jury! ”
Hal keeps him contained- but he’s unsatisfied- his tension’s been wound and released with no satisfying ending- like he’s been dry fired. They get the racist punks put to justice, leave the Guardian with those who can better inform him about racism, and then they’re stuck.
Hal doesn’t even have to say a word, merely holds up his hand, showing off the ring and cocks his head to the side- a silent question that Ollie answers easily. Hal makes him a construct of a pegasus to ride upon, and it’s almost ridiculous enough to make him smile. Almost.
They land on a mountain trail- where the evidence of a fight can be seen. Ollie’s stomach twists into knots as he tries to ignore the memories of a fight aboard a ship. “We’re out of luck! It’s rained since the fight…no sign-”
Hal cuts him off, pointing off towards a tendril of smoke coming out of a just barely visible fireplace. “Maybe somebody in that house saw where Black Canary went!”
Ollie dismounts his steed and takes in more of their surroundings, eyes following the curve of the trail, tracing the switchback as far as he can see- eagle eyed for any movement. There’s a figure walking the trail, he focuses in on them, and as they get closer he reaches for Hal with one hand, pointing with the other. “Lantern…if I’m dreaming, don’t wake me! Because that looks exactly like…”
As she gets closer, he sees that his suspicions are right and without thinking he bolts forward, sprinting towards her. “Hey-- Bird Lady! Black Canary! It’s us!” When he reaches her he has to stop himself from pulling her into a tight hug, instead gently resting his hands on her shoulders. “We- we’ll take you back.”
There’s some recognition there in Dinah’s face, but not enough. “I am sorry, Green Arrow, I cannot go with you. This is my home .”
There are about a dozen things wrong with that- starting with the fact that Dinah doesn’t talk to him like that. Her voice sounds…wrong. She has never once ever spoken to him so meekly, let alone apologized for not going home with him. But for her to call this place her home? Something is very wrong, indeed.
“Your home?! What the devil’s wrong with you?” He asks, hands tightening slightly on her shoulders.
They’re interrupted by some guy named Joshua, who seems to be running a commune that Dinah’s joined. A small part of Ollie’s brain notes down that idea as patently ridiculous because of the two of them he is far more likely to join a commune in the forest than her for at least three separate reasons. But this is one commune that he won’t be joining.
“Look, Bird Lady,” he starts. “I don’t know what bill-of-goods this bargain-basement messiah has sold you-”
“ Joshua is the prophet of universal tranquility! I believe him- I believe in him!” Dinah protests.
He’s not really sure what else he can say to get Dinah to snap out of whatever trance she’s in. He leans down to kiss her, gentle- his grip loosens, she can pull back- move away as far as she wants to. Knowing Dinah, she might even hit him when she’s back to herself.
She pulls away immediately, turning away from him and covering her mouth with her arm. Her voice sounds wet when she speaks next. “Don’t do that… ever! ”
Hal’s caught up to them now, and wraps his arm around Ollie’s shoulders- slowly and gently guiding him to turn away as well, to retreat further up the mountain. “Come on pal. We’d better get going.”
Ollie allows himself to lean against him, slumping some to make it easier for Lantern to keep his arm over his shoulders. “Anything you say Lantern. Anything at all…”
Hal takes him back to the truck, and builds them a fire, watching as Ollie paces the campsite.
“I’m telling you Lantern, the bird-lady’s in trouble!” He grumbles. “That guy Joshua…something downright weird about him. Something sick! ”
Hal sighs, arms crossed over his chest. “I can understand your disappointment. But Black Canary’s a free agent- we can’t make her leave.” He sighs again. “Chum, it’s tough…but you’ve got to swallow it- she just doesn’t like you-”
Ollie’s swung before he’s even aware the anger had registered. Hard enough to send Hal to the ground, narrowly missing the fire.
“I’ll forgive you that.” Hal says, rubbing his jaw.
“Don’t do me any favors.” Ollie mutters, he extends his hand- instinctively, like he would offer him a hand up. He changes his mind and points angrily instead before walking back off towards the trail.
“Where are you going?” Hal asks, as he picks himself up off the ground.
“Away from you .” Ollie spits.
He’s a spoiled brat. And he knows it.
The trees are grounding. Nothing on this mountain is even close to what the island had been like- and yet- and yet it has the same effect. It reminds him of who he is, who he wants to be.
He’d punched Hal…socked his best friend for the crime of being right about something that Ollie wasn’t man enough to admit. It wasn’t the first time Hal had said that about Dinah.
It was the first time Ollie had listened.
He freezes, going very very still at the sound of gunshots. Carefully, treading softly on the balls of his feet, he moves through the woods, following the sound of the staccato reports to the source. Through the trees he can see them, illuminated by torchlight- Joshua’s “family” each with a pistol in their hand.
Ollie scarcely dares to breathe as he listens to Joshua’s speech- to the unbridled hate in the man’s words. Joseph has them hypnotized . Has turned these lost souls into a pack of wolves. He’s one man, and there are dozens of them, all armed, Dinah among them - he could only stop them by killing them. He doesn’t want to kill them- he doesn’t want to risk killing Dinah . They’re going to kill innocent people. He needs to stop them anyway.
He fires off a flare arrow, hoping that Hal is looking. He hopes Hal is looking for him.
Nobody else had ever looked for him.
They shoot at him, he’s not sure whose bullet it is, maybe Dinah’s, maybe not, but it grazes his head, knocking him to the ground- he winces and groans as the mob steps on him in their haste to follow Joseph down the mountain.
He could almost sob at the sound of Hal’s voice, however distant, stopping the mob- with them all distracted, he can start to pick himself up off the ground, though with his head pounding and bleeding, it’s slow going. He’s barely gotten himself to a crouch when he hears Joseph’s voice again, close- too close.
He looks up, face and head bloodied. Pathetic in the dirt. Joseph has his hand on Dinah’s shoulder, walking her, step by step, instructing her on how to shoot him.
“I- I’m trying…” She says.
His chest leaps into his throat as he stares down the barrel of her gun.
He isn’t sure if he wants her to fire or not.
“Go on…FIRE!” Joseph yells, releasing her to point at him.
“But…I remember him as kind … gentle …” Dinah says haltingly, like she doesn’t believe it. Ollie’s not sure that she should. The gun shakes in her hand, before it clatters to the ground. “I can’t- forgive me Master, I can’t!”
Joseph stoops to pick up the gun, and Ollie rights himself just a little higher, hands pressing tightly against the wound on his head- trying to get it to stop bleeding. Joshua raises it, more than prepared to shoot- and then he’s stopped- by a green fist construct that socks him square in the jaw. Hal came back for him. Man and gun twist from the force of the punch. A gunshot goes off, and then Joseph drops unceremoniously to the ground. Hal steps out of the trees and approaches the body, confirming what Ollie had suspected, that the man is dead.
Ollie forces himself to stand, and as Dinah comes back to herself she rushes to his side, one hand reaching to touch his chest as he rests one of his own on her back.
“I don’t understand…” She whispers. “What happened to me…please, help me understand.”
Maybe he’s being self righteous, maybe he still thinks that Hal is right, maybe he’s just annoyed that he got shot in the head , but he can’t stop the words tumbling out of his mouth. “We will, I promise…and maybe when we get you straightened out, we’ll learn something. Maybe we’ll finally know how maniacs like Joshua can come to be- how they can seize the hearts of decent people and fill them with the poison of hate- of bigotry.”
“He- he hypnotized us.” Dinah says.
“Sure.” Ollie says. “That’s part of it, but there had to be some part of you that responded to that insanity. You… me… all of us! Maybe now we can get rid of that part forever.”
He’s talking to Dinah, but he’s thinking about Hal as he says it.