~Hal's POV~

Recognized: Green Lantern, 05

"I talked to John and he's headed to Oa now so I can stay here and-"

"Hal, your kid needs you." Barry called out and I turned to see Zaria shaking and crying in a corner while he tries to calm her down making me immediately rush to them. "She hasn't said a word since they woke up."

"Dad..." Zaria whimpered and practically crawled to my lap. "Dad... I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, little red?"

"I let the Ring drain completely and I died." She admitted and I turned to Bruce with wide eyes.

"What happened in there!?"

"The exercise, it all went wrong." Manhunter says.

"Exercise?" Robin's voice cracks as he heaves in his breaths.

"Try to remember." Batman insists. "What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train-for-failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still you were aware nothing was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

"I... I felt it." Zaria said and wiped her tears. "I felt it when Hal and John died and I had Hal's Ring in front of me... I felt all of it."

"Yet you hardly grieved." Bruce pointed out and she shook her head.

"You somehow managed to talk me into headed back to the Cave because I was about to try and take down that ship myself... But if it was a simulation, why not place me with the rest of the Team?"

"We had to put it as realistic as possible." Barry added and stood next to Wally. "You're a Lantern, so naturally you'd have to take down the threat with Hal and John unless they told you to stay in the Cave with the rest."

"That is why you hardly grieved." Manhunter picks up. "Even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes... but that all changed when Artemis died."

The entire Team turned to the still silent Artemis as she looks at her hands in her lap.

"Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise. And her subconscious took control, making all of you forget too."

"I'm sorry..." M'gann apologized.

"This isn't her fault! Why didn't you stop the exercise?" Conner demands.

"We tried." Manhunter says strongly. "But M'gann had a death grip on the scenario. I realized I would have to wrestle control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within. But upon entering the reality I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much noise to think clearly to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad and Superboy helped."

Kaldur and Connor turned to glance at Zaria who closed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder.

"But only when the mothership exploded, and Red Lantern, Robin and Kid Flash were silenced did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose. To shock M'gann out of the exercise before your comas became permanent... My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous... so damaging."

"I tried so hard to save us that I drained my battery and died before the explosion." Zaria admitted and they all turned to her with wide eyes. "I'm sorry..."

"It was a train-for-failure scenario, Zaria. You're not at fault for it." Bruce assured, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder so he'd stop shaking. "None of you are at fault and we don't blame any of you either."

"I still tried..."

"And that's the point of the exercise." I said and gently rubbed her arms. "It's supposed to give you all the opportunity to be leaders and work as a Team... and to teach you all that not every mission has a good outcome. But we were wrong to create such a horrible scenario so quick. We're the ones at fault for that, not you guys."

"Right... leaders." Robin mumbled and hugged his knees.

"Call Canary." I mouthed to Barry who immediately nodded. "Red, you okay?"

"No..." She slowly admitted, glancing down at our Rings and my heart broke. "Even in a dream it didn't choose me."

"It's not your fault, Red."

"Then why does it feel like it is?"

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

"How are they?"

"I am still shaken by what you and I have wrought. One can only imagine what these youths fair." Manhunter says gesturing to the HoloScreens that we're watching the Team on.

"And Zaria?" Bruce turned to me and I sighed, not tearing my gaze from the screen that showed her sitting next to Robin holding hands but not saying a word and looking away from each other.

"She's holding it in, as she always does." I shrugged and crossed my arms. "If there's one thing I'm ever going to tell you about her, is that deep down, she acts like a little kid... she's never had a day of comfort in her life and struggles to handle her emotions like a person her age, but we're working on that."

"What do you mean, Hal?"

"She's an emotional person, Spooky."

"Because of her Ring?"

"No, that thing just amplifies her anger. My kid cares, sometimes a bit too much because she was always taught to suppress her emotions because she's a soldier. Once she started acting like a kid when I took her in-"

"She stopped hiding them." Bruce realized and I nodded. "Which sometimes causes her to act on impulse instead of rationalizing."

"Exactly... Like I told you a few months ago, that girl's a good kid, Bruce. She just struggles with her emotions and keeping her Ring in check." I said, smiling softly when Robin discreetly scooted closer to her. "She still hasn't let go of what happened to her in these past few years."

"She's traumatized."

"Something you know that lingers on for the rest of your life, no matter how much we try to let go of it."

"Canary has her work cut out for her."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

~Zaria's POV~

"Zaria... staring at your Ring won't make it change color."

"Don't tell Hal what I'm about to tell you." I begged and Canary nodded. "He's already worried and I hate when he worries."

"Nothing leaves this room."

"I didn't drain my battery solely because I was trying to save Robin and Wall... I wanted it off." I admitted and heard her gasp. "I'm tired of being angry all the time and turning into this thing that I hate and know scares everyone around me! I just want to stop feeling so angry all the time."

"So you think draining the only thing keeping you alive was the answer?"

"I'm tired of fighting an internal battle trying to not let the Ring take over and consume me, which limits my powers which caused two of my friends to die!" I yelled and immediately straightened. "Sorry... I'm working on that."

"Don't apologize for letting your emotions show, Zaria." Canary assured and leaned forward. "Letting those emotions show is the beautiful part of being a person."

"But all I feel is anger. This Ring screams at me at night begging for control and I can't simply take it off like Hal does when he gets overwhelmed... I'm stuck with this damn thing all because I made a mistake years ago!"

"You were a child sucked into a war. You didn't know any better."

"So I keep hearing." I sighed, trying to keep my fangs and horns from appearing.

"I know you're trying to hide it. I see your nails growing and something peaking out your head." Canary pointed out and leaned back. "You don't have to hide anything here, Zaria. I'm here to help you."

"I'm tired..." I slowly admitted and let them show. "This is what happens when I lose control. This is why even though my friends were going to die, I held back... I think the exercise would've gone differently and I could've saved Robin and Wally if I wasn't so scared of it."

"This is nothing to hide from or to be ashamed of, Zaria. We all have our battles and sometimes we lose control."

"But I can't lose control!"

"And why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt anyone... I'm scared of hurting someone I care about."

"Zaria..." Canary frowned and moved to sit next to me. "It's okay to be scared, especially at your age."

"But I'm a Lantern! I shouldn't-"

"But you're a kid before that. And you deserve to act your age and have fun! Not everything is work."

"I don't know how to do that." I mumbled and she held my hands with a smile. "I don't know how to be anything other than a soldier."

"We can work on that."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

"Zaria... can I come in?"

"Mhm." I mumbled and Hal opened my bedroom door.

"Did you charge your Ring?"

"Mhm."

"Can I sit next to you?"

"Okay." I shrugged, hugging the plushie Dick got me at the fair and felt the bed dip slightly. "I talked to Canary about the exercise... and other things."

"Did it help?" Hal asked and I nodded. "That's great, Red. I'm really proud of you."

"Mhm."

"Zar, I'm not trying to pressure you or anything... but what really happened in there? Did you lose control? Because if you did-"

"I wanted it off, Hal." I admitted, blinking back my tears and hugged the plush closer. "I'm so tired of fighting for control and being angry that I wanted it off."

"Zar... why didn't you-"

"Everyone is traumatized about their deaths and I felt relieved. The Ring was finally silenced and I was so relieved... and it's wrong and I shouldn't think that! But I'm just so tired of being angry and scared all the time, Hal."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this, Red?"

"You'd never understand, Hal. You can block your Ring and take it off whenever you want, I don't have that luxury." I shrugged, looking up at the ceiling. "I'd die if it ever comes off, willing or accidentally. I live in constant fear of that and of hurting someone I care about and I can't keep living like this or else I'm truly gonna die and I don't know if I want that."

"Zaria, I'll probably never understand half of the things you're going through, but it doesn't mean I won't try to... You don't have to hide anything, at least not from me." Hal assured, placing a hand on my shoulder and that's all it took for me to start crying.

"I don't like being scared of who I am, Hal." I whimpered and he hugged me tight. "I don't understand why I'm so scared all the time and why I keep holding myself back when I'm with the Team."

"You don't have to understand anything right now. You're still trying to figure yourself out while living a new life in a new planet. It's a lot to take in, Zaria."

"I'm so scared, Dad... I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure it out, Zar. Might take a while, but we'll figure it out."

"Promise?"

"Swear on it."