“Life in Dreams”
Donna Troy streaked across the sky as she flew toward the Navajo reservation. Roy, wherever you are, don’t do anything stupid, she thought. Roy sat up and looked around. “Where am I?” he asked. “You are where you need to be,” an old and familiar voice replied. “Brave Bow?” Roy whispered as the old man walked forward. He nodded once. “Yes,” he replied. Brave Bow smiled as he saw the shock in Roy’s face. “Don’t worry. You’re not dead. Not yet, anyway.” ”Then where am I?” Roy asked. “As I said, where you need to be,” Brave Bow replied. “Now come. We have a lot to talk about.” Roy stood and walked into the shadows with the old man. Roy squeezed his eyes shut. “Do you know where we are?” Brave Bow asked. Roy forced his eyes to open just enough to see. The two were in the center of an inferno. Flames shot into the sky and the air was thick with smoke. “Oh, no,” Roy whispered. “Not here.” ”Yes,” Brave Bow said. “Now watch.” A red-haired man in a soot-smeared forest ranger’s uniform knelt before a young boy. “Roy, I’ve got to go back in there,” he said. “There are other people in there who need help. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just stay here.” He turned to the man lying next to Roy with his leg in a splint. “Brave Bow, will you take care of him until I get back?” “Of course,” Brave Bow replied. “Don’t go!” the adult Roy yelled as his father turned back into the forest and disappeared into the smoke. “You don’t come back! Stop!” Brave Bow stood silently as Roy whirled around to him. “Why did you bring me here?” he demanded. Tears were running down his face. “Why did you force me to see that?” ”To see what?” Brave Bow asked. Roy moved to his younger self, still peering hopefully into the smoke, searching for his father to return. “Why did you make me watch this happen to him?” Roy looked down at the boy. “Do you know what it was like? This was the last time I ever saw him! Not even at his funeral. How do you think it feels having to bury an empty box because they couldn’t even find his body?” Brave Bow stood there, absorbing the abuse. “Come,” he said. “We must go.” ”Fine,” Roy said. “Anything to get away from this godforsaken place.” The two walked into the smoke and were gone. ”Hoshimini!” Donna called as she stepped forward. ”Do I know you?” Hoshi asked. “No, but I’m one of Roy Harper’s friends,” she said. “Ah, yes,” Hoshi said. “I should have known. He hasn’t lost his taste.” Despite herself, Donna felt a slight red flush creep into her cheeks. “I’m here looking for Roy.” ”Come with me,” Hoshi said. “And I’ll explain everything.” The two started walking toward Hoshi’s home. “Speedy, you’re on drugs?” Green Arrow’s voice was surprised and pained. ”Of course,” Roy said, the rubber tubing still tied around his upper arm. “Who else did you think I was walking about?” Despite himself, the adult Roy still flinched when Green Arrow’s fist slammed into his younger self’s face. Roy watched as the apparatus went flying and Oliver Queen threw his ward out into the night. Roy closed his eyes. “This was a painful night for you,” Brave Bow said. “Yes,” Roy replied. “I… There’s no excuse for what I did, and I’ve paid for it ever since.” Just looking at the heroin scattered on the floor made Roy want to grab the needle and plunge it into his scarred forearm. “You have no idea what it’s like. You were always smarter than that.” Roy walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, his back to the drugs. Brave Bow followed and stood before him. “Do you know that I still wake up in cold sweats? Sometimes I’ll be busting some punk for this exact same thing and then I’ll see it. Or smell it. That’s all it takes. All of a sudden, my veins are on fire, and there’s only one thing that’ll put that fire out.” Roy rubbed his chin. “And what else happened tonight?” Brave Bow asked. Roy looked up. “I was out of money and on the streets. The shape I was in, nobody was buying anything I had to offer.” A moment later, they were on the street, looking down at a crying Roy Harper, curled into the fetal position. “God, look at me,” the adult Roy whispered. ”But there is hope,” Brave Bow said. “Borne aloft on green wings.” Roy watched as Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern, landed beside the teenager and helped him up. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without Hal and Dinah,” he said. “They’re the ones who helped me detox. I don’t even want to think about what I put Dinah through.” Please don’t make me see that, he thought. I can’t handle it. Brave Bow nodded, answering Roy’s silent plea. “But where was your mentor?” he asked. Roy slumped down on a step as Hal and his younger self flew away. “He went after the dealers by himself and nearly got himself killed. He couldn’t handle it either.” ”You have forgiven him?” Brave Bow asked. Roy was silent for a long time. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “It’s all weird. Especially since he died. I was glad to see him when he came back, but I really just don’t know.” Brave Bow nodded again. “Come,” he said. “It is time to go.” A second later they were gone. “Roy did what?” Donna demanded. “He went after Dakota,” Hoshi explained again. “According to our traditions.” ”With no water or supplies,” Donna said, jumping to her feet and beginning to pace. “Great Rhea, how long has he been out there?” “Seconds or days,” Hoshi replied. “With that area, it is difficult to say.” Donna rubbed her face. She was tired of trying to get straight answers out of Hoshi. “Show me where you left him,” she ordered. Roy looked around. “My old apartment,” he said. “What’s going on here?” He watched as his younger self entered the room and snapped on the television. ”In other news, a group calling themselves the New Teen Titans saved New York City today from an alien invasion. Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, the Doom Patrol’s former member Beast Boy, and several new faces were-“ The younger Roy snapped the TV back off and slumped down in an easy chair. “The team,” Roy said. “Yes,” Brave Bow replied. “I can’t tell how that made me feel. The others had always been willing to do anything to help me through my detox. We were like a family, and now I’d been kicked out. Garth had, too, but he at least had Tula. I didn’t have anybody.” Roy looked up at Brave Bow. “What is this about?” he asked. “Why are you doing this?” “Simple,” Brave Bow replied. “Sometimes you must confront the ghosts of your past in order to protect your future.” ”What do you mean?” Roy asked. ”Your father left you and died. Your mentor threw you out when you needed him most. Your best friends excluded you when they regrouped.” Brave Bow sat down on an empty chair. “And then the tribe forced you to leave when you were a child. All your life you have been abandoned. Everyone you looked up to left you. Even I was forced to, although it was not willingly.” ”Yeah, my life’s sucked,” Roy said. “But what” Brave Bow held up a finger. “And what have you sought refuge in? Chemicals. A thirst for vengeance. Even women.” ”Jade,” Roy whispered. “Yes,” Brave Bow replied. “But how is this supposed to help me?” Roy asked. “I hope to break the cycle with you,” Brave Bow asked. “Look behind you.” Roy turned and saw Lian standing there. He ran and grabbed his daughter, but his hands passed through her as if she were made of vapor. “Why can’t I touch her?” Roy asked. “That was your own choice,” Brave Bow replied. “What did you do before you came here?” ”I left her with Donna to protect her,” Roy said. Brave Bow stood in front of Roy, anger etched in his face. “You left her while you ran away!” Roy tried to say something, but Brave Bow didn’t give him the chance. “You’ve been abandoned by everyone you ever loved, and now you have continued the cycle! When you are not forgotten by them, you throw those who love you away! You have abandoned your daughter, just like your father and Oliver Queen abandoned you!” “You’re right,” Roy whispered, kneeling in front of the image of his daughter. Brave Bow smiled, his face softening. “That is why you are here. Roy, you have been given a great gift in that girl. Do not throw it away.” ”Wait,” Roy said. “Where’s Dakota?” ”Dakota Jameson has been confronting her own demons.” ”Did she make it?” Roy asked. Brave Bow thought a moment. “She is on her journey,” he replied finally. “She will determine when she reaches her destination.” Brave Bow glanced upward. “I must bid you farewell,” he said. “Our time is up. Someone else comes who has never abandoned you. Your salvation is flying on wings of silver,” he said. ”Wait!” Roy yelled. “Wait,” Roy mumbled as he lay in the sand. Dakota Jameson lay a short distance away. “Where are you?” Roy turned his head slightly, causing the sun to reflect off his sunglasses. High overhead, Donna Troy was flying a search pattern when a flash of light caught her attention. She immediately started flying toward it. “Great Rhea, Roy!” she yelled as she landed. She ran across the sand and knelt by his side. ”Donna?” he whispered. “Roy!” Donna pulled a bottle of water out of her shoulder bag and poured a little into his mouth. “Rhea, that sunburn…” Roy smiled as his eyes caught her bracelets that glinted in the sunlight. “Your bracelets are silver. He was right. My salvation did come on silver wings.” He’s babbling, Donna thought. Gently, she picked him and Dakota up and flew toward the reservation. New York, Three Days Later “How are you doing?” Donna asked as she led Roy into her apartment. Roy smiled. “Better than I would’ve been if you hadn’t come after me,” he said. “Good,” Donna replied. “Because I owe you this.” She flicked Roy on top of his head. ”What’s that for?” Roy asked, rubbing the sore spot. Donna smiled and shrugged. “Vic.” “Donna, I need to tell you something.” Roy took a deep breath. “There’s been so much happening around here lately, I think that Lian and I need a break from NYC.” ”Where are you going?” Roy thought a moment. “I’ve been thinking about heading back out to San Francisco. I used to have a detective agency out there, and I really liked the town.” ”So why are you telling me?” Donna asked. Roy took a deep breath. “I was hoping you’d come with me,” he said. “I know that this is really sudden, but we’re leaving the day after tomorrow on the 11 am Lexair flight.” Roy reached out and took Donna’s hand. “Please think about it.” ”I don’t know what to say,” Donna said, stunned. Roy leaned over and kissed Donna gently on the forehead before standing and walking to the door. “If you’re not there, I’ll understand,” he said. He left, leaving Donna sitting alone in her apartment. Roy sat in the crowded terminal, his arm protectively around Lian. The bulky bandage was gone now, but she still had the wound covered. Roy tried to calm his nerves by looking down. “What’re you coloring, sweetheart?” he asked. “A clown,” she replied without even looking up. Nervously, Roy looked around the terminal again and saw Donna walking toward him, the baby in her arms. Roy stood, not willing to leave Lian alone in the crowded room. “Hi, Donna,” Roy said. He looked at her. “You don’t have any bags,” he said. “No,” Donna said, quietly shaking her head. Roy took a deep breath. “I guess I should have expected that.” He suddenly looked up again. “Hey, wait a second,” he said, dropping his voice. “How’d you get back here? To get through security, you’ve got to have…” ”A ticket?” Donna asked, smiling. “But I have one. Lexair, 11am to San Francisco. I notice that the two seats next to me also belong to a Mr. Harper.” Roy grabbed her, tears forming in his eyes. “Vic?” ”Yeah,” Donna replied. “I just got to thinking that I’d like to try getting my photography career going again, and that’s a good place. Plus, Sharon’s got a place out there she’s subletting to me.” “Donna!” Lian cried as she ran and grabbed Donna’s leg. “Did you come to say goodbye?” ”No, she didn’t,” Roy said. “She’s coming with us.” She’s really coming with us, Roy thought. Somewhere, far away, Brave Bow looked at Roy, Lian, Donna, and Bobby, and simply smiled as they embarked on their new beginning. The End... Previous Issue | Next Issue |
