Hi, all... this is my first stab into the "official" DCAU (I've done Teen Titans). This just kinda... came to me from a discussion about "Starcrossed" and some JLU episodes/scenes relating to its events with a friend, and I just hammered away. Hope you like it.

"You deserved that, too."

John Stewart, better known as Green Lantern, smiled warmly at Shayera Hol, formerly known as Hawkgirl. The conflicted Thanagarian managed to return it shyly. He had a point; she had saved that mother and her young daughter. But, that couldn't even begin to make up for what she had done sometime earlier.

It was simple mission, the Authority had said. Go to a primitive planet named "Earth," blend in with the populace, gain their trust, and survey how these "humans" could defend themselves. She was surprised when she finally reached the small planet located in the Sol System; the best they could do was missiles, tipped with nuclear-fission charges. They wouldn't stand a chance against Thanagarian technology, Nth metal or not. And once they mentioned the Gordanians, they added, the humans would beg for help.

What she did not know, Shayera thought to herself as she and John began to walk into the stereotypical sunrise, was that she would come to care for this planet and her people. She smiled slightly, knowing she had said the same to her friends at her resignation. The same planet and people she almost had a hand in annihilating. The same friends she had personally betrayed. Her smile faded as she remembered their looks when she announced her resignation. Untrusting. Irritated. Confused. Sympathetic. Hateful. She glanced quickly to the side at the citizens of New Orleans around her, booing her every step. She couldn't blame them.

"They don't want me around," she commented more to herself.

"I have to admit, I can't blame them…" John replied, his deep voice failing to hide the reluctance in his words.

"I can't either," Shayera sighed. "I almost had their blood on my hands."

"You said you had no idea about the bypass, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't," the young alien replied. "You at least believe me on that, don't you, John?"

"Uh, yeah, Shayera, I do."

"I thought as much," she replied, casting her eyes down slightly. She felt the man next to her put a hand on her shoulder.

"You did hear that we want you back, right?" John asked.

"Yes, of course I did," Shayera nodded. "I suppose I should be thankful… maybe I can undo some of the damage I did… if they give me a chance. Somehow."

"I'm sure they will," Green Lantern smiled.

Above the two superheroes, in a skyscraper overlooking the street, the glint of a sight went unnoticed as it pointed down towards the red-haired woman with large tan wings below. The man holding the rifle steadied his grip near the trigger.

Unlike a lot of other people on the planet, he didn't fair so well during the Thanagarians' little garrisoning of Earth. When occupational forces appeared in the skies of New Orleans, the city panicked like every other urban center on the planet. However, unlike most of those cities, there was a brief, bloody outbreak of violence against the occupiers. The man had only found out after they fled following the destruction of their machine that his son was among those who had taunted hawkmen with very itchy trigger fingers. A father is not supposed to bury his son.

The reason why he had to, though, was walking right by him. She was the one who spied on the planet. She was the one who led them here. She was the one who had the only people that could have stopped it locked up. She helped the people that killed his son. So when he found out that she was in town in a breaking news segment, only blocks away, the taste of revenge was too much to ignore. Knowing his way through the city's alleys and back streets paid off, and now here he was, about to exact vengeance on the one who had destroyed his life.

Smiling bitterly, he opened fire.

"You always were an optimist," Shayera smiled weakly. "I don't think humans are as forgiving as you s--" The woman was cut off as blood exploded from her chest once, then twice. Shayera screamed before crumbling like a rag down, clutching at her chest. Shock rippled through the crowds and, especially, the Justice League.

"Shayera!" John cried as he kneeled down beside the wounded Thanagarian, gently rolling her onto her back. Her white muscle shirt was rapidly turning red, a flower of life expanding across it. The former Marine knew all too well that the more the flower bloomed, the more its owner was withering. She was still conscious; maybe it hadn't hurt any vital organs…

"John?" the alien asked in a numb voice more like she'd just woken up.

"I'm right here," the man replied. "Don't worry, we're going to get you some help, Shayera…" The woman managed to lift her head to see her wounds. A weak smile formed on her paling face.

"You remember what I said about Old Yeller?" she said wryly. "You're just about as bad as Travis…" Blood began to trickle from her mouth, staining her teeth.

"Now, don't talk like that," John refuted. Shayera ignored him.

"Do you forgive me?" she asked simply.

"What, for being shot?! Why would I hold that against you?!"

"No," the Thanagarian replied weakly. "The invasion… the lies… betraying you." John blinked, jerking his head back slightly. He certainly didn't know he would be on the spot like this…

"Well, I, uh…" Shayera winced suddenly. Probably from the excruciating pain she was in right now. The man realized why else she might be cringing. "Shayera, I…" He trailed off as the woman's head flopped gently onto its right side. Shayera's eyes fluttered briefly before closing halfway, her vibrant green eyes dulling. A last, small spurt of blood oozed out of her mouth before she became still. Green Lantern stared at her prone form before looking up at his colleagues, surrounding him helplessly. "Don't just stand there! We need to get her help!"

"John, she's…" Superman began before falling quiet.

"She is not, she's just passed out…" he said bitterly. Vixen kneeled next to him.

"John," she said simply. Still denying what was in front of him, he looked up at Dr. Fate.

"You can do something about this, can't you? If college students fooling around could bring back Grundy…"

"Mr. Stewart, I cannot," Dr. Fate interrupted.

"What do you mean, 'you cannot,'" the man replied, his eyes glowing.

"I would think that after the events of tonight, you can see the folly of waking the dead. Even if I were to resurrect Shayera, it is probable she would be but a walking, mindless corpse, unable to find peace, like Grundy. I know you could not wish that fate upon her, regardless of what did or did not happen with the Thanagarians." John stared blankly at him for a minute before pounding the ground with his fist, yelling in rage. His ring momentarily generated a large green fist, cracking the pavement.

"We need to get him out of here, now," Aquaman said simply. "People could get hurt…"

"I know," Superman said as he tapped his ear. "Superman to Watchtower…"

"Watchtower here," a deep voice replied.

"J'onn, we need an emergency beam out right away," the Man of Steel ordered.

"Is something the matter?" the alien asked. Superman frowned before looking down once again at Shayera's sprawled body, her eyes now shut by a numbed John.

"And get Batman, Diana and Flash to the control room…" he continued finally. "Tell them there's something they need to know about.

"…this is Snapper Carr, continuing our live coverage of the apparent murder of Hawkgirl earlier today. Coming out a self-imposed exile to help the Justice League defeat a monster in New Orleans, Shayera Hol was gunned down by what police are currently identifying as a sniper. Police have also said there are no clues as the murderer's identity, but some sources have hinted that given the past activities of Hol in regards to the Thanagarian invasion, their search has been drawn back. We'll continue our coverage throughout the day…"

"John, are you still watching this?" Vixen sighed as came into the hero's living room. "Why are you doing this garbage?"

"Because I'd like to know who did this…" he said bitterly.

"…so you can do your own vengeance?" the African hero frowned.

"And I hate it that they're calling him a 'sniper,'" John continued, seemingly oblivious to what the woman said. "Snipers aren't cowards firing on unsuspecting civilians in broad daylight."

"Shayera was a civilian?" Vixen asked with arched eyebrow.

"She could have considered herself one, with resigning from the League," John replied as shaky, video phone footage replayed Shayera's death once again in grainy detail. "They've been showing this all day. We get the point…"

"John, you still have her blood on you," Vixen said finally. The Lantern looked down to see that his jumpsuit was splattered with red, an almost mocking contrast to the black, white and green. His hands were even worst. "Don't you think you should clean yourself off? You're not helping things staying like that…"

"I will when I'm ready," the man replied bluntly as Snapper stopped a man on the street for a quick interview.

"Sir, what are your thoughts on Hawkgirl's death?" he asked, putting the mic to the man's mouth.

"Pretty much good riddance," he confessed openly. "The creep nearly got us all killed. Probably the only problem I have with the guy who capped that lousy hawk is that he didn't do it in the hea—" The bigoted man never finished, as a blast of green energy blew the television to smithereens.

"And, now you owe me a new TV," Vixen said with an attempt at her trademark wit. Seeing John grit his teeth made her frown in guilt. "Sorry, John."

"It's all right, I guess," the man said simply. "You were trying to lighten the mood, Vix."

"I think 'try' was the operative word," she replied as she gingerly sat down next to him. The man stayed quietly, looking at the hand that had been closest to the victim.

"You know what the worst part of this is?" Lantern said finally.

"I couldn't begin to guess," Vixen frowned. "We lost one of our own because she was attacked by a coward when we were right next to her."

"No, that she died just at the moment," John said bitterly.

"I'm not following, GL," the woman scowled in confusion.

"There were things that bothered me about Shayera. Little things, like in any relationship," he said with a defeated tone. "Her aggressive attitude at times, the fact she would molt after I had just vacuumed the apartment, dragging me off to get my butt handed to me for Christmas on some planet, eating eel heads… but this was the worst thing she could do."

"Her heart was pretty much obliterated," Vixen said. "She didn't have much choice in the matter."

"She died before I could tell her what she needed to hear," John said.

"What was that?"

"You were there, Vix. Shayera only wanted to know if she had my forgiveness. I hesitated, because I wasn't sure. She died thinking I was still angry. That's why she winced like that, I know it. If she had held on for just a few more seconds…" John paused to stop the tears that had whelmed slightly in his eyes.

"Were you still angry with her?" Vixen asked. "Be honest, GL."

"I… I don't know, Vix," the Marine confessed. "Maybe a little. She broke my heart, you know."

"Would you have rather had the last thing she heard was a lie?" John fell silent, looking up briefly at the still smoldering shell of the television.

"Can I just have a moment alone?" he asked simply. "I need to think."

"You won't do anything stupid, right?" Vixen asked warningly.

"Of course not," John said almost in offense. "Just… let me think." Vixen nodded before giving her love a shoulder squeeze and leaving the room

"I can't believe you just said that!"

"She was a traitor," Wonder Woman spat with an icy scowl to a stunned Flash. "I can't believe you defended her. She nearly destroyed this entire planet."

"I defended her because she knew what she had to do in the end," Flash replied. "You heard what she said, that she came to love it, and all of us."

"Another lie, like all the others," the Amazon sniffed.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Batman growled. "We're just arguing in circles. Again. Flash has a point, Diana."

"See?" Flash sneered. "If Bats agrees with me…"

"I didn't say I agreed with forgiving her," the Dark Knight interrupted, scowling under his cowl.

"We should not speak ill of the dead," J'onn rasped. "Regardless of her last actions in the League, Hawkgirl served the League with distinction and heroism. She would not have done so if she did not believe in such a cause."

"J'onn's right," Superman replied. "The least we can do is come up with a way to lay her to rest. Any ideas?"

"Blow her out an airlock," Wonder Woman said simply. Superman shot the Amazon the briefest of glares before turning to the rest of the team.

"I dunno, Supes," Flash frowned. "Should we really do this without GL?"

"Lantern should be allowed to mourn in his own way," J'onn said.

"We can't hassle him like this, not now," the Kryptonian agreed. "Besides treating her like garbage," he said as his eyes wandered towards Diana, "what do you think we should do?"

"I say we give her a burial in space," Flash answered.

"Agreed," J'onn nodded. "She told me once how much she loved looking at the stars from the old Watchtower."

"Why don't we just give her a gold medal while we're at it," Wonder Woman sniffed. "Just… exonerate her. She was only following orders, right."

"I'd take that back if I were you, Princess," a voice said as a door swished open behind them. They turned to see Green Lantern, now with a fresh uniform, walking towards his seat.

"John, you don't have to be here right now…" Superman urged sympathetically.

"No. I want to be. I figured someone needed to speak for her," the man said simply as he sat down.

"Wally's been doing that," Batman replied as he glanced towards the man in question. "Rather well, actually."

"Wow, Bats has emotions…"

"Not now, Flash," Superman asked with some urgency. "John, I don't know if you heard, but we were thinking about some sort of burial in space…"

"I did. I think that would be the right thing to do," Lantern nodded.

"All right, unless there's any objections…"

"I object," Wonder Woman said simply. "Traitors shouldn't be pampered. We Amazons would not tolerate such depravity."

"You should talk," Flash grumbled.

"What was that?" Diana hissed.

"I said, you're one to talk about breaking trust and betraying codes of what's right and wrong," the speedster said. "I don't think bringing J'onn, Supes and I to Themyscira fits into the Amazonian sense of respect, does it? That whole 'no men on the island, ever' thing?" Wonder Woman sputtered.

"You have no right to make such claims! I did that to save my people! My mother! I did not betray them!"

"Besides leaving in the first place and acknowledging their existence," Flash replied. The Amazonian sat back, arms crossed in anger.

"Hardly the same thing…" she rasped.

"Maybe so, but I know what he's getting at… you're not blameless in betraying people who trusted you yourself, Princess," John stated. Wonder Woman stammered slightly before finally groaning.

"All right. We bury her in space."

"Good," Superman nodded. "Bruce…?"

"Do what you want," the man said simply.

"Then it's agreed," the Kryptonian nodded. "Now, we need to decide how to do it. Any suggestions?"

"Don't coffins work for that?" Flash shrugged.

"No," Wonder Woman said suddenly. "She told me about what happened with Doctor… Destiny, I think it was. That would dishonor her memory even further."

"A Javelin, then?" J'onn asked.

"Seems more appropriate," John agreed.

"We need to consider what this means," Batman warned. "If we have a Javelin floating somewhere in space, the last thing we would want is someone we wouldn't like getting a hold of it."

"Bruce is right," Superman frowned. "And if they used it against Earth… That wouldn't respect her memory, either."

"Then maybe we should aim it towards the Sun," John said. "The Javelin would stay out of any hands we didn't want it falling into, and Shayera would essentially be cremated. How would you feel about that, Batman?"

"Whatever works for both," the reclusive hero replied.

"All right," Superman said. "Tomorrow, we pay our respects."

"What's going on?" Supergirl asked as she hovered to a stop amid the assembled heroes the next day.

"Burying Hawkgirl," Green Arrow said simply, turning briefly away from the raised command platform.

"Not exactly a function I would attend," the young girl frowned.

"Shoot, darlin', you weren't tortured by them hawks," Vigilante scoffed.

"That doesn't mean I think completely nice thoughts about her, either," Supergirl replied. "I would have thought you'd be happy she's gone."

"She mighta been a hawk… but, dang it, she was a good one when she had to be," the country singer turned hero confessed.

"Quiet," Black Canary shhed. "He's starting." The League fell silent as their de facto leader stood where, just months earlier, he had announced the need for a new alliance because of the events brought about by the very person they were to honor.

"Good afternoon," Superman began simply. "We're gathered here today to pay our last respects to Shayera Hol. I know many of you have conflicting thoughts about what we're doing today. That what she did for the Thanagarians is inexcusable. That we might be honoring that terrible, terrible deed by commemorating her. I don't think that's true at all. I am a man who believes in second chances, in redemption. I'm also a man who wants to remember the Shayera Hol before the invasion. That woman was a lot of things to many of us. A comrade. A hero. A lover. A friend. She fought for us when the League was just seven heroes with bravery and heroism I have seen in few people. She saved us all too many times to count. I hope that you also try to remember that Shayera when you hear her name…"

"Your cousin's not too bad at this…" Green Arrow said quietly to Supergirl. "Though I hope this doesn't become a common occurrence around here."

"Me neither," Supergirl nodded. "Besides, his idealism can grate on the nerves sometimes."

"I would imagine," the archer confessed with a small smile.

"Yeah," Supergirl returned before frowning. "That's funny. I don't see Lantern anywhere… you'd think he'd want to be here."

"He's probably been stopped by the Illuminati for their attempted coup in Kasnia, to disrupt the new government from joining from joining the European Union," the Question replied before rubbing the chin of his mask. "But, they themselves would also want to harm the Illuminati…"

"Inappropriate timing for Grassy Knolls aside," Green Arrow snarked to Supergirl as the paranoid rambled on, "he's doing his own way of paying respect.

John looked down at the fallen woman below him, now much paler and cleaner than he last saw her. She was wearing jeans and a muscle shirt again (Fate said she preferred such dress since her arrival at his tower), her hair flowing freely, her wings folded gently behind her. It sounded stereotypical, yes, but she looked like she was sleeping. He should have been used to death; he saw enough of it while he served in the Marines. But this… well, again, different. Absentmindedly, he stroked some of the loose clumps of hair from her face.

"Uh, hey Shayera," he managed after a moment. "I, uh… wanted to bring you this," he said, holding her mace. "I know you said you didn't believe in higher powers or anything like that, but… you never know," John continued as he gently rested the mace on Shayera's torso and wrapped her hands around the handle as if she were merely resting between battles. "You may need it if you see that… thing again." He trailed off, staring numbly at his lost love's still body, processing how cold and distant her slender hands had felt.

"Look, Shayera…" he said after a moment. "I… I know you can't hear me, but I felt I needed to tell you something. When you said it didn't matter how we voted," John continued, trying to maintain his voice, "it did matter. It mattered to Flash, it mattered to Superman, it mattered to J'onn… and as corny as this sounds, you'd probably say I saw Old Yeller one too many times… it mattered to me. I never told you, before you flew off that… I love you Shayera," he finally said, taking one of her hands. "I believe you when you said that wasn't a lie. I just never got the chance to tell you I knew that before you flew off…" John paused, seeing the small splotches of water that were forming on Shayera's shirt.

"Do I forgive you…" the Marine asked more to himself. "As a Thanagarian? No. I can't. You nearly destroyed everything and everyone I love. As Shayera? Yes. I know you did the right thing in the end. And I thank you for it, even if I was too bullheaded and shy to tell you when you were still…" He closed his eyes, a few tears forced out as he did so. "I do forgive you, Shayera." John quietly gave the young woman a last kiss on her cheek before he got up.

Quietly, John got up and walked out of the Javelin into the empty bay. He walked towards the control panel for the doors, waiting for the signal. Finally, his earpiece crackled to life.

"John, if you're ready..." Superman asked.

"I am," he said simply. He paused, then typed in the code to open the bay. The lone Javelin's engines fired remotely, and the ship taxied towards the opening. They further shuddered to life, and the Javelin lurched through the doors. It torqued slightly, and then headed straight towards Sol, carrying Shayera Hol to her final resting place in the brilliant, vibrant outer layers of the star.

"Goodbye, Shayera," John said quietly as the doors shut, obscuring the departing craft from view. He then turned and silently left the bay.

"You gonna be alright, John?"

"Uh, yeah, I'll be fine, Vix," the man replied, now in civvies at his apartment. Vixen squeezed his shoulder gently.

"If you're sure…"

"Yeah, I am," he nodded. "Thanks," he added. The woman nodded, then left the room to leave him alone. John sat on his couch, lost in thought. He absently looked towards the shell of the television, remembering he'd blown it apart after someone rejoiced at Shayera's loss. He was about to look away when he noticed something tan behind it. Confused, the man got up and looked closer. To his confusion, he saw a lone feather, one edge slightly scorched by green energies, sitting on the decorative molding as if it had belonged there.

It hit the Lantern at that moment that he didn't think to save anything tangible about Shayera. Between the destruction of the old Watchtower, his hurt cleaning out of the apartment after the invasion and the service this morning, there wasn't much left. She'd probably long since burned up by now. All that was left of her now was this one, lone, singed feather. It had probably fallen off during one of their movie nights and drifted behind the TV so even he, a neat freak who folded his socks, couldn't see it. He didn't quite know what to do with it right now, without seeming tacky or inappropriate, but he knew that somehow, he would find a respectable place for this last, lonely relic of a life. He gently put on the table near the TV, a sad but bitter smile crossing his lips.

"John?" Vixen called softly behind him.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to face her.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm going to leave the apartment for a bit… to give you some space…"

"No, that's okay, I think I'll come with you," he said simply as he walked over to her. "What were you thinking of doing?"

"A late lunch, actually," Vixen shrugged. "Probably that pizzeria down the street or something…"

"No, no," John said with a headshake. "Let's do this Chinese restaurant I know in town. Just a few blocks from here."

"Good Chinese? In Detroit? John, honey, you must be kidding me."

"No, I'm not," the man replied. Vixen frowned. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I'm just surprised," she confessed. "We've never gone to a Chinese place before… you always seem to turn it down for some reason…"

"Well, I feel like it today," John replied.

"Well, okay then, lead away," Vixen replied. "You have any suggestions?"

"No… I just know what I'm going to be having."

"Oh really? And what's that?" John smiled softly at her.

"Eel heads."