five, "oh shit, it's happening"
The Zeta Tube popped out the team conveniently just a block away from the Wayne Manor. They all wore their civvies, Wally had said it was best to be as unnoticed as possible, paparazzi, and all that.
Artemis was wearing a cropped green tee and black jeans, checkered vans finishing off the fit. M'gann was in her earthen form, her red hair held back with a headband. She wore a black tank top tucked into a grey plaid skirt and a few necklaces as accessory. Connor wore his usual get up, though his Superboy shirt was flipped inside out to hide the sign. Kaldur was rocking adidas sweatpants and a gray hoodie, worn out converse on his feet.
Wally led the group down the street toward the Wayne Manor. He wore ripped black jeans and a white tee shirt with a red flannel on top. His yellow high tops were covered in doodles from all of his friends, little hearts from Richard and plenty of cuss words from Roy.
M'gann and Kaldur both disapproved of the doodles, but Connor had found it hilarious, going on about them ever since Wally first wore them to the mountain. It had become a sort of inside joke with the two.
"And here we are!" Wally exclaimed, acting like a tour guide by throwing his arms out. The group looked at the outside of the Wayne Manor, all the windows and intricate designs, the neatly shaved bushes and eloquent trees.
"It's much larger than I had anticipated!" Kaldur exclaimed, starting to walk up the long driveway. "It looks like the castle in Atlantis!"
"Shush! Look!" Wally whisper-yelled, pointing at where a reporter stood closer to the house, looking confused at the teens. "Please, just act normal for once, guys."
Everyone was quiet after that, M'gann smiling and waving at the reporter. "Why is there even a reporter here?" Connor grumbled, still annoyed that he was told to act normal. 'Normal' wasn't really in his book of How-To's.
"Well, Richard's kinda, really, famous. He used to be an acrobat that toured the world, I actually saw one of his shows years ago," Wally smiled with pride as he explained. "And now he's Bruce Wayne's ward, and of course you know who Bruce Wayne is."
The group seemed thoroughly impressed by this, Artemis snickering a, "So how is he dating you?" Before adding, "Just kidding, Wally. I hope I like him."
-
All he needed to do was jump.
He ran his hand through his hair one last time, the tears on his eyes finally stopping, though his cheeks were still red and puffy.
He bit his lip, clearing all his thoughts. It was something he was taught since he started trapeze. You never jumped without clearing your mind, that would result in failure.
So he cleared his mind.
And then he jumped.
-
As they came to the front door, Wally halted, turning towards them. "Now, before you meet him there's a few things I want to clear up. One, it's really weird when a bunch of superheroes show up at your door, so if he seems distant or quiet don't mind it. Two, he has to take medication, so don't mind that either."
Wally wished he could say more, wished he could tell them that the sole reason they were here was because Richard stopped taking those medications, and Wally hadn't even thought to check. That this whole mess was his fault.
The team nodded, solemnly putting this information to the back of their brain. "If you don't think he'll mind, what are the medications for?" Kaldur asked, intrigued.
"Depression and anxiety from PTSD. Everyone in the team has somethin' up with them because of what we do, so don't judge," The redhead said it with a friendly smile, but there was hardness beneath his eyes. If anyone judged his bird he would fight them. "Ok! Let's go."
He knocked a few times before a man with dark hair opened up the door. "Wally! And you must be the team. Richard's in the kitchen."
