The Demons Inside
Copyright November 2005/ June 2008
Disclaimer: The characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash and their respective secret identities are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. This story is based on characters from the animated Justice League series episode: "Destroyer" written by Dwayne McDuffie. This story contains references to "Contains Language" by Merlin Missy. My sincerest thanks to xffan2000 for the read through; however, any mistakes she missed are mine. This story is a follow-up, but not a sequel to Private Conversation – A RUMOURS Story
A/N: If the characters seem out of character, then they probably are.
The Demons Inside
Rating: R
(Language/ Violence/ Character death/ Implied rape)
Synopsis: Sometimes it's all about acknowledging mistakes and moving on. A John Stewart/ Shayera Hol story
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CHAPTER ONE
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And while I'm away
Dust out the demons inside
And it won't be long,
Before you and me run
To the place in our hearts
Where we hide. - (Elton John/Bernie Taupin/Davey Johnstone – I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues)
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Phone calls at 2 A.M. generally don't bring good news. John Stewart had known that all of his life. So when the phone rang this time, awakening him from an uneasy slumber in his Detroit apartment, he wasn't surprised by the feeling of dread that came over him. He turned on the lamp on his night table, glancing at the framed photo of Mari.
It had been six days since her encounter with the Shadow Thief; four days since the omega-level alert to defeat Darksied and two days since she left for a photo shoot in Milan despite her wounds...and John's protest.
"Hello," he said, trying not to anticipate anything, but hoping it wasn't Mari calling to say they were finished as a couple. Her reaction to his telling her that he'd seen a future where he and Shayera had had a child surprised him. He had expected her to be happy with the news that he was staying with her despite what he'd seen. Surprisingly, she had not been happy with the news at all and had been decidedly cool toward him afterwards for reasons he could not understand.
"Hey, John, it's Mace." It was Rex Mason, Metamorpho, on the phone. The needle on John's comfort meter started rising because it wasn't Mari, but immediately fell again as he realized it must be bad news for Mace to call so late.
"Mace, what's up?"
"Hate to wake you, pal, but I figured you'd want to know as soon as I found out. Captain Robinson's daughter, Peggy, called. He passed away last night."
Stewart greeted the news with silence. Robinson had been one of his company officers when Stewart and Mason were in the Marine Corps together years ago. The much older Robinson, who had once been a war prisoner, had taken a liking to the young private and never missed an opportunity to impart a little "old school" wisdom to the lad or tell him of his experience as a prisoner of war.
"If you fight alone, you die alone," Stewart said.
"Huh?"
"Sorry. Just thinking about something the Captain once said to me a long time ago. When's the funeral?"
"Tomorrow," Mace answered. "No! Wait! It's this afternoon at 3 PM. I completely forgot that it's morning already. Yeah, it's this afternoon at the base chapel at Fort Lee outside of Gotham. Guess I'll see you there." He paused. "I'm sorry, John," he said, then he hung up.
"So am I," John said as he hung up the phone and stared mindlessly across the room. Robinson had said something else that Stewart never forgot. "You can't change your fate, Private. You can't erase your name from the bullet it's written on, but you can change your destiny by killing the gunman before he fires that round."
The old Captain had been right, Stewart reflected as he settled back down under the covers. John had made a career out of being aggressive, not accepting things as presented and always challenging assumptions. And yet after he saw a future where he and Shayera had a son, he momentarily did consider not challenging it and accepting what he saw. Then the Captain's words kicked in like a punch to the gut and it made him more determined than ever to stay with Mari - not so much out of love, but out of spite for a preordain destiny. A desire to kill the gunman, more or less, before he kills me.
He looked at the framed photo of Mari on his nightstand and before turning out the light, wondered for the first time if the Captain had given him bad advice.
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The funeral earlier in the day for Captain Robinson had been brief and to the point. It was kind of like the man, John thought. He'd worn his Green Lantern garb, complete with the ceremonial cloak. Afterwards, the Captain's daughter, Peggy, mentioned that her father had been so proud of Stewart for being a Green Lantern.
"Thank you," John said. "He was a big influence in my life."
"He knew that," Peggy said as she pushed her grayish-blonde hair off her forehead. She was a cute, stocky woman about John's age and bore a striking resemblance to her father when she smiled. "He'd talk about you often. Whenever he'd see you on the news he'd often shout out to anyone in earshot that you two served together. Honestly? Sometimes it made me jealous." She laughed the easy laugh that reminded John of her father, paused and handed him a newspaper clipping. "Remember this?"
John recognized it immediately and nodded. It was a recounting of John stopping the runaway train that had barreled out of control into Gotham station. Rex Mason, before he became Metamorpho, had been on that train.
"Daddy was on that train. He always thought that you saved that train because he was on it. He figured that no matter what, you always managed to save your friends. But he was one of those taken to the hospital after the wreck, so he never got a chance to thank you, so I will say it for him. Thank you for saving my dad and considering him a friend."
John didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't know Robinson or Mason were on the train. Instead, he smiled and just softly said, "Thank you for telling me and you're welcome." He paused. "I'm afraid I have to go. Please take care of yourself and again, I'm so sorry for your loss - - our loss."
As he turned to leave, there was a click in his ear and he said, "Go ahead."
"Batman here. I need your help. Now! Home in on my signal. Batman out!"
John frowned. There were times when Batman could be a great guy, although he couldn't recount many of them, and then there were time when he could make you hate him because of the way he treated friends and colleagues. This was one of those times. The curtness crap from Bats was aggravating. And at this moment, Stewart didn't need the irritation. He nodded to Mason before leaving and then once outside, leaped into the air and followed Batman's signal.
It was mid-evening in Gotham, the time of day when the city was its most beautiful --and its most dangerous. The planet Venus sparkled in the southwestern sky. John found Batman on a rooftop overlooking a busy street corner in Gotham. Where else would he be, but on a rooftop?
John landed behind the cowled figure and approached as quietly as he could on foot. Batman didn't move, but instead remained focused on the street corner below. As Stewart pulled abreast of him, Batman said without looking at him, "What kept you?"
John smirked. "Glad to see you, too. You said you needed my help. What's up?"
Batman gave him a tight-lipped frown and looked back to the street. "I wanted your help with that." He pointed to the stores across the street. "See the jewelry store?" he said. "There'll be an attempted robbery there in about ten minutes. I'm going in through the skylight. Need you to cover the back."
"What happened to your junior partners?" John knew that term irritated Bats.
"They're not available," Batman said not taking his eyes off the street below. He paused and then surprised John completely when he said, "So why'd you tell Shayera about Warhawk?"
John's jaw dropped and then he frowned. "What... the... hell? I have no idea where that came from and not that it's any of your business, but I thought she should know."
John didn't mention that once he'd told her of a future he wasn't going to work toward, he suddenly felt much better, as if a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The feeling was short-lived, however, once he told Mari in her hospital bed of that future. She hadn't taken it as well as he'd hoped and it was probably the reason he hadn't heard from her in the last two days she'd been gone.
"Did you know Shayera came to me and asked me to tell her about him?" Batman said, maintaining his gaze on the street below. There was clear annoyance in his voice as he continued, "When I told her to talk to you, she said she couldn't because you said you were going to stay with Vixen."
"Like I said, I thought she should know. I didn't think she'd come to you, but I thought she needed to know that I'm staying with Mari." John tried to show as much irritation as possible in his voice as he added, "Again, not your business!"
Batman shook his head in that ever so slight way he had. "Wrong Lantern! You made it my business when you couldn't keep the future you saw to yourself. Shayera didn't need to know anything about what you saw. She thinks you told her about her son just because you wanted to hurt her for hurting you during the invasion."
"Don't push it, Batman!" John snapped.
"No! Don't you push it! I don't know if you're trying to punish her for dating Hall or for hurting you during the invasion and I don't care." He paused half a beat before continuing. "You want to drive a spear through her heart, go ahead. But you will not make me the spear tip, Lantern! Is that understood?"
John stopped cold. This was a new thought. Did he really tell Shayera about Warhawk to hurt her after she dated Carter Hall? Until this moment he'd convinced himself that his intentions had been honorable in telling her he wasn't obligated to the future he saw. "Look, I didn't know she was going to come to you. And I had no ..."
He stopped.
On second thought, he didn't have to explain a damn thing to anyone, especially Batman. He'd told Shayera what she needed to hear and he felt better because he did. Shayera would live her life and he would live his and he didn't owe an explanation to anyone. Besides if she had a problem with what he said, she should have said something to him, not Bats.
Batman seemed to ignore him as he pointed to the store below. "The one I want just arrived. There are three inside now," he said. "His accomplices will run out the back of the store. Don't let them get away."
"After what you just said, do you really think I'm going to help you now?"
Batman didn't look at him. "I'm going in through the skylight on the roof. They'll let you know when I'm inside."
John watched as Batman shot a grappling hook across the street and swung toward the jewelry store without saying another word. John muttered to himself for a moment before taking off and landing in the alley behind the store. He'd been there only a few moments, when the noise and loud voices coming from inside the store let him know that Batman was inside.
Then there was gunfire.
Using his ring, John smashed the back door with a giant green mallet, knocking it off its hinges and inside the store. He stood in the doorway. It was dark inside and hard to make out the moving figures. He was about to ring a flashlight when one of the gangsters rushed toward him. He started to form a boxing glove with his ring to smack the thug when he heard Batman yell, "Lantern! Lookout!"
Dammit!
There was something in John's eyes. It must be the dust from knocking down the door. He blinked for a moment, then hit the thug with the boxing glove knocking him back into the store. He entered the building, grabbed the crook by his collar with a ringed pair of green pliers and dragged the unconscious man to the center of the store where Batman had two criminals stacked in a pile near a jewelry display case.
"Here's your third man," John snapped. "Now, I've had a long and a very bad day. But the next time one of your junior partners has a date or needs to stay home to study for their junior high school math tests, don't hesitate to call me." He threw his man on top of the other two and added, as sarcastically as possible, "On second thought, do hesitate!"
Batman frowned another one of those frowns and stared at him in silence.
John returned the glare, then spun around and leaped in the air.
"Lantern! Wait! Hold on!" he heard Batman call out behind him. It sounded like a plea.
Tough!
"Go to hell!" John snapped. He turned and headed for the Metrotower.
To Be Continued...
