DISCLAIMERS/NOTES

1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by DC Comics. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.

2. As always, I'll point out this was written over a decade ago, when, here in the UK, Season 2 of the JL cartoon had yet to air. So Hawkgirl had not been revealed as a spy, and the massive, every-hero-in-the-DCU roster of Unlimited wasn't a factor. My timeline picks up after the Season 1 finale, "The Savage Time". All my Wayback Wednesday stories are numbered chronologically, if you get stuck.

3. There are aspects of these stories that, in hindsight, I would change. However, I have kept them as I originally wrote them for history's sake. Not laziness.


PART 2

Shayera sipped her coffee silently. She was staring blankly ahead, not really looking at anything.

However, she was listening to the person beside her completely.

This was one of the few things that still brought joy – what little there was of it – in her life.

Diana tilted her head. "Shy? Are you OK?"

Shayera looked at her best friend. "Yes… of course I am. You were saying?"

Diana put her head in her hand. "I'm really worried about Bruce. This situation with Jason is still getting to him…"

"So he hasn't given up?" Shayera asked.

"No," Diana said. "He refuses to stop looking for him. He's looking everywhere. His old sources, his old enemies, the 'net, his contacts abroad… nothing."

"And how do you feel?" Shayera said.

Diana sighed. "I'm more of a realist. I miss Jason… you know that. He's my son – I love him. But… I'm not going to pretend everything was OK when he left. He hurt us, Shy. He acted like a brat. I… can't understand why. What did we do wrong?"

Shayera put her hand on her friend's. "You didn't do anything wrong," she said. "As Bruce said, some people are just like that."

Diana took a deep breath. "Anyway… it's starting to effect Bruce. He won't sleep… he won't eat… he just spends most of his time looking for him. Me and the girls have to drag him away from his work… it's like how Alfred used to tell me he was like before I met him…"

Shayera felt deeply sorry for Diana. She did not deserve this. She was the kindest, most caring person she had ever met… she was with the man she loved… she should be happy.

One of them should be…

"We don't go out for walks as much anymore…" Diana continued. "We haven't made love in days…"

Shayera darted her head to her. "Days?"

Diana looked at her. "Yeah…"

"Isn't he nearly 80?" Shayera said.

"You could say that," replied Diana.

Shayera raised an eyebrow. "And… you still make love on a regular basis?"

Diana looked at her confused.

Shayera looked away. "Whoa… guess he IS the best at everything…"

Diana looked down. "I know he doesn't mean to…" she said sadly, "but he's pushing us away. He won't stop for anything. He won't rest until he finds Jason, or…" She trailed.

Shayera frowned. "Or…?"

Diana looked at her, her eyes watering. "Or… the pressure… might kill him first."

Shayera felt a pang of sorrow. "Diana… I'm so sorry…"

Diana was silent, as she wiped her eyes of the tears before they poured down her face. "I don't know what to do… I don't want to give up on Jason… but I don't want to lose Bruce…"

Shayera leaned closer to her friend, and Diana mirrored the move. They embraced, Shayera holding Diana as she wept on her shoulder.

Her life was a wreck. She knew that. But seeing her friends' lives slowly fall apart… that was just as painful.

/

He stared infront of the mirror, his reflection looking back at him.

He had trained. He had learned. He had perfected.

He was ready.

He switched off the bulbs that lit up the rim of the mirror, and got to his feet. He went over to the wall, and looked at the garment on the hook.

It was a black cape with a scalloped rim, and cowl with ears…

Like a bat…

He unhooked the garment and wrapped it around himself. He flung the cape over his shoulders, and it fell over his body, covering up his purple bodysuit.

He checked his utility belt. Everything was where it should be.

He put his gloved hands to his face, and reached for his cowl. He then pulled it over his face, covering all of it but his mouth and jaw.

He looked in the big mirror, and pushed his cape back. He then put his arms on his hips, and straightened his back.

He looked good. Very good.

He chuckled slightly, then turned away. He went to the door, and opened it.

He stepped out of the hut, and looked over the countryside. It would be night soon… it was time to leave.

He walked across the field for several hundred yards, until he reached a granite object on the ground.

It was a tombstone, with an inscription on it. The writing was haggard, but readable.

"JACK NAPIER, JANUARY 30, 1970-DECEMBER 9, 2044."

He sighed, and smiled.

"You've taught me everything worth knowing," he said. "You took me in… treated me like a son… when my own family turned their backs on me. You taught me, helped me grow… and for that, I love you. I consider you my father."

He looked up, as the sun settled, the horizon beautiful shades of pink and yellow. "You should be here to see this," he continued. "You shouldn't have died. You should be here to see him suffer… to see them all suffer." He looked back at the tombstone. "Now… I will embark on my quest… not just for me… but for you, too. I will destroy them all… not just for my own personal revenge… but in your name as well. We will have the last laugh."

He knelt down, and removed a purple flower from his belt. He gently rested it on the mound of earth by the tombstone. The night wind blew his cape far behind him, and the leaves blew across the grass.

Jason got to his feet, and took a deep breath. "And now, I'm off to work. And as you always said, when you go to work… go to work… with a smile on your face."

His smile widened…

"Heh heh heh heh he he he he he ha ha ha ha ha he he ha heh heh ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

TO BE CONTINUED