The last thing Hal remembered was breaking through the clouds and seeing the alien ships for the first time. Everything after that was a blank. Dr. Mid-Nite told him it was normal—along with the headache he was fighting—considering he had a fairly bad concussion. But it still bothered him that he remembered nothing between that moment and waking up here at JLA headquarters.
He heard a noise at the doorway and opened his eyes. Kyle was standing there. Hal blinked in surprise. What was Kyle doing on Earth? “Hey,” he said, his voice raspy.
“Didn’t mean to wake you,” Kyle said as he came into the room. “Just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“You didn’t wake me. I’ve had enough sleep.” According to the Doc, he’d been out for almost 24 hours. Hal shifted painfully so he was a little more upright in the bed. “What are you doing on Earth?”
“John called us right away.” Kyle shook his head. “You almost died, Hal. Where do you think I’d be?”
Kyle sat in the chair next to the bed and something flickered in Hal’s muddled memories, but he couldn’t quite reach it. He supposed he’d have to get used to that. He smiled. “Thanks for coming.”
Kyle nodded, keeping his eyes lowered. Hal studied him. The kid looked like he had something weighing on his mind. Then Kyle took a deep breath and looked up at him. “Do you remember waking up last night?”
Hal carefully shook his head, trying not to aggravate his headache too much. “I don’t remember a thing since yesterday afternoon.”
Kyle nodded again. He looked…disappointed.
“Any reason?” Hal chuckled. “I didn’t say anything embarassing, did I?”
Kyle didn’t get a chance to answer. Dinah came into the room. “Good, you’re awake.” She waved a cell phone at him. “I finally got a hold of Jill and told her what happened.”
Hal realized with some embarassment that he hadn’t thought about contacting Jill. “Thanks, Dinah.” He looked back at Kyle.
Kyle stood up. Hal could see his jaw was clenched and he looked even more unhappy than before. “I need to go. Guy and I need to get back to Oa. See you later, Hal.”
Hal watched him leave, surprised by his sudden departure. Kyle hadn’t even answered his question, and it made him wonder if he had said something to him last night. Something that had upset him. And the last thing he ever wanted to do was upset Kyle. He had quite a protective instinct towards the kid. Among other things… A stray thought flitted through his mind, vague memories of a dream he’d once had about Kyle. A dream about—
“Hey, you okay?” Dinah asked.
Hal looked up at her, then back to the doorway. He had the sudden feeling that he’d missed something, that he’d let something important slip through his fingers. He shook the feeling away. “I’m fine.” He reached out to take the phone.