The Masks We Wear

The Reason

The team had been told nothing of Ame's condition. But they believed she was gone. No longer on this Earth.
They waited at the hospital. No one talked. Not even, Wally, whose face got whiter with every ticking minute that passed. Artemis held Wally's foot so it would stop tapping so hard on the hardwood floor. Kaldur tried playing with the waiting room's fishes with M'gann. Sian sat alone in a chair, his music turned up loud. He didn't move and ice was formed at his feet and crept up his leg. Around him, the temperature dropped a few degrees. Robin tired to occupy Connor's attention with games on his computer watch. The only thing that was on their mind was Ame.
They saw Canary, with GA in tow, exit the room. They walked over to the team, "I think you guys should go home...a-and get some...rest." Canary's voice trembled as she spoke, then she burst into tears. GA held her and told her more than them,"Don't worry, Ame will be okay-"
"Don't lie to them Oliver." Canary buried her face into his shirt.
He looked up at the team with tired eyes, "...go home."
___________
Dinah had apologized for her rude behavior at the hospital and explained to the team she was distraught that her protégé was in so much pain. She also told them that they needed to give Ame time to get better, if she did get better. Ame was in critical condition and anything could happen. They needed to stay calm and be patient.
What she didn't tell them was that Ame was still in very bad shape. Her arm was broken, 3 bruised ribs, eyes swollen and red and itchy. Her purple skin was still soft but very sensitive and now spotted black, and blue. There was internal bleeding and bruised organs. Ame was sleeping and Dinah didn't know if she'd ever wake up.
The team wasn't doing better.
Wally was barely eating causing his speed and energy to drop drastically. Connor stayed in the den and stared blankly at the static on the tv. M'gann at first tried to bake cookies but quit after she remembered of how Ame and Wally always ate them, even if they were burnt. Artemis and Sian continued to train as a distraction but the thought of Ame training with her never escaped their mind. Robin stayed in his room where he debated to tell the team of her checkered past. And Kaldur went home for a while.
Of course Dinah attempted to give therapy but no one talked. Instead she decided to let them talk it out amongst themselves when they ready.
They were all in the kitchen when it happened. Robin slammed his laptop on the counter, startling everyone, "I can't keep this a secret anymore!"
The team shot him puzzled looks until M'gann finally spoke, "What do you mean?"
"AME! I went against Batman's orders and dug up some information on her."
Sian slammed his cup on the table,"What the hell are you doing-"
"She's been in and out of Juve for all sorts of charges. Breaking and entering, legal drinking, drugs, petty theft. I know that we aren't all pure but...it bothered me." He rubbed the back of his neck, "In my mind, as soon as I saw the reports, I labeled her as...well-a bad guy. I judged before I got to know her and I feel-like a dick."
Wally choked on his cheese stick,"Ha! You finally said it!"
"Shut up."
"What the hell Robin?!" Sian put his hands on his hips,"Is this what you do to everybody?"
"I'm kinda trained to do that."
"Nice to see that you trust us."
"I never said anything about you."
"Not yet. I mean you told all of Ame's information without batting an eye. How do I know you won't do it me?"
Robin challenged Sian,"Oh like how you're not even a bo-"
"You better shut up the fuck before I make you a human popsicle."
"Or how about how you killed that man."
Sian tackled Robin and they began to fight. The team rushed to get them off of each other.
Sian punched Boywonder in the face,"It was an accident!"
"Stop it you two!" Aqualad split them up,"We're friends and friends don't punch each other or go through the other's private information!"
"Ame's not perfect at all. None of us are!" Sian huffed as he caught his breath,"If you read through all we've done, then you clearly know that we had gone through some shit, and some justifies our actions."
Throughout the whole ordeal, Kaldur had not said a word and contemplated whether or not to tell the team about what really happened the night the two had alone.
"Sian...Ame did not wish for me to tell you but...It's been eating at me for a while."
"Tell me what?"
He grimaced as he told the tale.
He let everything out that had been constantly plaguing his mind. He spoke about the scars and cuts. He spoke of the talk about not using weapons and told about her nightmares and how he was in her bed every other night comforting her. He told of what happened during their game. He spoke of what he observed about her and her scars along with her left eye and how her left eye is slightly smaller than the other. He expressed his concern over her and confessed his feeling about the young girl.
"Well we all knew what happened that night," Wally joked.
"But the rest is a little disturbing...maybe you should tell Dinah." Robin suggested.
"Yea," Artemis added, "She might need more than physical help, if you get what I'm saying."
"Yes but she has warned me about that, saying that she will be put on pills again, she said it makes her like a robot..." Kaldur added as Robin clicked away on his laptop.
"Yep, she's supposedly taking antidepressants and mood stabilizers." Robin stated, "and maybe for a good reason, reports say that the reason she wasn't adopted was because she was...off. Nightmares, this one said she was sleeping with a knife and symptoms of PTSD."
Sian hit Robin's watch,"Stop looking at that shit. She's fine. And frankly, I don't like talking about her when she's not here."
"Sian you have known her the longest. I would think that you wanted her to get some help." Kaldur said.
"I do want her to get help but if you keep forcing her, she's going to lose trust in you. And if she doesn't trust you then it's all over." Sian explained,"She needs to work this out herself. We just need to be her support team."
"Do you remember how this started? Like her PTSD?" Artemis asked.
"She's been like that ever since I met her."
"You think that Doctor has to do something with her weird behavior?" Connor added.
"When did she get captured by this guy?" Wally asked.
Sian spoke again, "Well, she told me that she was taken at a young age and for as long as she could remember, was in that Lab. She said that she escaped at the age 9."
Artemis leaned on the counter, "So, she was tortured by this man and had no mental help."
Robin searched the screen for more information, "Well that explains the way she acts. You know, trying to hide her real feelings."
"Wow, this man really messed up her life." Connor's face turned red as he thought of the things he would do if he ever saw that man again.
"Why did he want her so bad anyways?" M'gann asked.
"Maybe because she's not really a human and wanted to find out something about her. Or maybe he doesn't like metahumans. Doesn't matter, the League is looking in on this but that's not their main priority and they're taking to long to find him. I say we go find him ourselves-for Ame." Robin put his hand in the middle of the counter.
The rest did as well, "For Ame."