Disclaimer: I don't own the Justice League or the episode Starcrossed or the characters therein.

During the episode Starcrossed, the Thanagarians, Hawkgirl's people, arrive on Earth in order to secure it from the Gordanians, the Thanagarian's mortal enemies. But things are not always as they seem and things are changing for everyone in the League, including past decisions, alliances, friendships, even relationships.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Lavender Gaia. I really appreciate you doing this through the pain and I hope it gets better soon!

Chapter 3, Maneater, by Hall & Oates

"She's a maneater/I wouldn't if I were you/I know what she can do/She's deadly, man, and she could really rip your world apart/Mind over matter"

A large crowd had gathered on the lawn just behind the White House in Washington, D.C. People were gawking, staring at the foreign sight of the alien craft parked on the National Mall and the murmurs and whispers were growing in intensity as, from beneath the craft, a large portal emerged and, striding down the plank toward the ground, came a winged figure. He was surrounded by fog and haze, making him appear as though he were nothing but a shadowy figure with wings. Within seconds, the smoke cleared and the whispers began to rise in earnest as the gathered crowd realized that the figure both a striking resemblance to someone the world had come to know quite well in the past five years: Hawkgirl.

The members of the Justice League stood in shock and surprise, none of them knowing how to explain or rationalize what they were seeing. Hawkgirl had told them that she had been lost for the past five years, that she had ended up far from her home planet of Thanagar and was unable to return, not even knowing where to begin to search for her homeland. And suddenly, her homeland was showing up here, in spades – small ships littered the skies and in front of them stood a figure proud and tall with a military bearing who had obviously come with a purpose in mind.

As the fog lifted, more of the winged figures began to emerge from the small craft, helmets identical to Hawkgirl's and their outfits oddly similar as they flanked the first man. It was appearing less and less like this was a coincidence that the figures simply resembled Shayera Hol. And now each of the members of the League was beginning to wonder if Shayera had found her home at last, here in the midst of battle, blood, and alien aircraft.

Flash eyes grew wide as he stared at the figures illuminated by the light from the craft behind them, their expressions grim and serious as they stood waiting for something or someone.

"You know these guys?" Flash asked Shayera and her face lit up with a joy that was rare for her to allow the others Leaguers to witness. She immediately said, "Yes," and took to the air for a few meters, landing just in front of the winged figures on the gangplank to their ship. Staring up at the man who had been first to come forward from the ship, she said calmly and decisively, "Welcome to Earth, Commander."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," the man answered in a deep, rich voice, his serious tone precluding any joyful reunion between the two.

Green Lantern strode forward to the base of the gangplank, anger emanating from every pore as he demanded, "Care to tell us exactly what's going on here?"

Hawkgirl turned back to the group of six gathered, the League members that had become her family, friends, and even a lover, as she said with quiet pride, "This is Commander Hro Talak of Thanagar." A smile small graced her face and the other members looked at each other in surprise – she looked so content, so at ease surrounded by her countrymen.

There was little time for thoughts or idle discussion though as Hro immediately stated, "Save the introductions for later. I must meet with your world leaders. The fate of this planet hangs in the balance." His serious tone booked no argument and the other Leaguers looked at each other, the inner hero in each coming to the forefront as they put away their questions and surprise and turned to the matter before them, hoping to abate their confusion and their concerns.

-V-

The International Peace Summit attendees were immediately herded back into the building they had been in before the Gordanian and Thanagarian forces had arrived with their plasma cannons and lasers. Taking their seats, the world leaders looked around with questions in their eyes as they looked down to the man in the center of the gathering, the man known as Commander Hro Talak.

"Friends," he addressed them, deep voice resonating throughout the space, "we are here on a mission of great urgency. Five years ago, we secretly sent an advance agent to Earth to learn more about your people and to study your defenses. That agent was Lieutenant Shayera Hol, better known to you as Hawkgirl."

Studying on a balcony far above the assembly, the remaining members of the Justice League could hear the murmurs and accusations fly as Talak delivered this bit of information. For themselves, each member began to realize that one amongst their midst for so long had been a spy, infiltrating them in order to discover them.

J'onn J'onnz began to realize that the Hawkgirl they had known for so long was now almost a mystery to them. She was no longer an orphan, no longer searching for Thanagar. In fact, she never had been. She had been there on a mission and somehow, she had managed to keep that information a secret from them, all of them, for years. He saddened, realizing that she had truly been alone for five years, away from home and family. He understood what that meant, how difficult that endeavor had been for her for so long.

Walking out of the assembly without looking at the others, Batman walked into a nearby corridor, leaning against the wall and thinking about all that they had learned here. He was growing somewhat suspicious of these Thanagarians. Thus far, only one Gordanian ship had landed on Earth – why were they so positive that the fleet would land here? And for what purpose? Surely there were other worlds much closer that they could conquer, rather than Earth. There was something about this entire situation that he didn't like, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Why had the Thanagarians so long ago sent a spy to Earth to study them? What knowledge had they possessed for so long that had caused them to seek out a spy and send her to Earth?

He did know that this revelation about Hawkgirl would damage the team. She and Green Lantern had initiated a relationship and it was sure to dissolve under these circumstances, falling prey to the lies and the feeling of betrayal that John was sure to be experiencing.

How would this affect the rest of them though? Would the team also fall under the weight of Hawkgirl's exposure as a spy? It was difficult to believe that she had been a devoted member of the team for so long and that no one had discovered that she had a secret purpose in being on Earth. He had been forced to take her story at face value, having no way of proving or disproving the existence of Thanagar and her inability to return to her homeland.

But it bothered him intensely that they were so vulnerable to deceit, especially from the inside. And there had to be something that he could do in order to prove or disprove this version of Hawkgirl's story.

He refused to consider the obvious question that was trying to force its way into his mind – how would the collapse of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern's relationship affect his own with Diana?

-V-

Addressing a counsel of leaders, Superman and Wonder Woman were trying to convince the leaders that the possibility of a Gordanian attack existed, that the Thanagarian armada was here to protect and aid Earth in defeating the Gordanians.

Superman was still trying to process the fact that his friend and comrade in arms had been lying to them for so long, regardless of the circumstances. And now the League was being played for fools in front of the world. Even they had not known of Hawkgirl's true purpose in coming to Earth. Something about the timing irked him, but he also knew that now was not the time for in-depth analysis.

General Wells, however, seemed intent on analyzing the situation he now found himself and his country in. "How can we trust the Thanagarians?" he questioned the two heroes angrily. "We don't know anything about them!"

"We know that they came here and risked their own lives to help us," Diana told him calmly.

Diana simply accepted that Hawkgirl's true purpose on Earth was somewhat different than what she had led them all to believe. Her trust in her friend, her sister, was absolute and she knew that Hawkgirl had done what she needed to do in order to complete her mission. Still, it was a bit of a shock, realizing that she had been put on Earth on purpose, placed there in order to spy on them. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and it did truly seem as if this Gordanian fleet was a horror that the world was unprepared for. They would need all the help that they could get and the Thanagarians could help with that.

"Like angels from Heaven?" the General scoffed. "Sorry, Princess, but I'm not buying it."

Diana turned to him and with an almost pleading tone, replied, "But if Earth really is in danger, we can hardly afford to turn away help."

Deep in the background, watching Diana and Superman, Flash and Green Lantern were talking quietly amongst themselves. It took the scarlet speedster some time in order to understand that Hawkgirl, a woman who had been as much as sister to him as anyone, had been a spy in their midst for so long. But he smiled at the thought, at the idea of her being a spy. It was very cool.

Green Lantern, on the other hand, was still trying to deal with her betrayal, with the fact that she had misled him for weeks now as their relationship had progressed and deepened. Just hours earlier they had been planning to meet up for Chinese and now she was surrounded by her fellow Thanagarians telling the world that she had been a spy for five years, that Earth was in great danger. He couldn't even listen to Talak or bear to look at Shayera; it simply hurt too much, the pain too great for anger, too much for simple acceptance.

After growing tired of listening to Flash's inane comments, he walked out and into the nearby corridor. Alone, he sighed, shoulders slumping and his expression of calm dropping into one of deep sorrow as he struggled to come to terms with Hawkgirl's betrayal.

"The most mysterious creatures in the universe." John Stewart turned, realizing that he was not so alone in the hallway. Pushing off of the wall he had been leaning against, Batman walked over to where John Stewart stood, his typical military bearing lost as he tried to come to terms with what all they now knew about Hawkgirl, about Shayera Hol of Thanagar.

"Sorry?" John asked, his expression one of confusion as he replayed Batman's words.

"Women," the Dark Knight answered. "Don't be too hard on yourself. You didn't know that she was spoken for." But Batman made a mental note to himself to check and ensure that no one was waiting at home on Themyscira for Diana. It never hurt to double check, especially when a fellow man fell to the confines and agony of love and loss.

"How did you…?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out," Batman told his friend. Particularly if you yourself were involved and could see the signs in others, he thought. His relationship with Diana had gave him open eyes to the emotions that ran through others and not just the facts. He had figured out, probably before even Hawkgirl and John did, that the two had growing feelings for one another. Without Diana, he still would have figured that out, just not as quickly. But a new perspective on love often led one to seeing it in others as well.

And he could hardly chastise John for embarking on a relationship with a teammate if he himself had done the same, even if John was unaware of that fact. That had been one of his original reasons for not pursuing Diana: that she was a needed teammate, and it still worried him from time to time, no matter how smoothly their relationship was progressing.

"The point is," he told John, "these things happen. You just have to deal with it." After all, he himself had dealt so admirably with his feelings for Diana, rejecting and pushing her aside until finally coming to terms with the fact that work and romance could exist alongside one another. That, however, was not the point of this discussion. He just wanted to inject John's spine with a little pragmatism, a little steel that would help him to realize what he wanted from his relationship with Hawkgirl. Either he would forgive her being a spy or he would shun her. It was that simple, that black and white.

"Thanks," John said in a sarcastic tone, "I'll keep that in mind." And with those words, he turned away only to find himself face to face with a serious and concerned J'onn J'onnz.

"Believe me," J'onn said, placing his hand on John's shoulder, "I know how painful it can be when two people who are so involved…"

Flash dashed up in a red blur, coming in on the tail end of J'onn's words and immediately questioning them. "Who's involved?" He pointed to John, stuttering, "Wait, you and…Hawkgirl?"

With a looked of stunned amazement, he exclaimed, "Get out!" Then, as no one stepped forward to deny his idea, his face fell, "Really?"

"Imagine how hard this situation must be for her," J'onn stated quietly, his expression concerned but stoic as usual. "She's been here, alone, on a strange planet, far from home. Who knows what she must have gone through?"

Flash continued to look sorrowful, particularly once J'onn's words pierced him, as he realized that Shayera being a spy was not a fascinating, exciting career, but a lonely existence. Batman simply stood there, stone faced, and John's face grew in irritation at the attention that was being bestowed upon him, thanks to his mess of a relationship.

"Maybe you should have read her mind," he angrily suggested to J'onn.

"Actually, it's strange, but I never could," J'onn murmured softly. "In fact, I can't read any of their minds."

And at those words, a chill raced down Batman's spine as he realized that perhaps his suspicions weren't so unfounded after all. But he would need to check it out…

Next chapter: Matter of Trust – Batman discusses his suspicions about the Thanagarians with Diana…

Please remember to review! I really need all of your support and I love hearing what you have to say! I'm going to have to guess and say that this story is going to end up being about 20 chapters long, so I'm hoping for say, 8 reviews a chapter? 160!!! Help me out! I'll beg if I have to!

To reviewer T – You're right, you're seeing me again at the end of this chapter! I definitely do appreciate people's reviews – I just love hearing what people say. Sadly enough, nothing gets me more excited than opening up my email and seeing it filled with reviews. Makes me feel loved!

Nothing I like hearing more than that I have talent and that you're passing my stories on to other people.

You almost have to do loads of paragraph or it's hard on the eyes to follow it. When people don't paragraph, I personally won't read it.

I love typing! How can you hate it? I love hand writing things sometimes, but after enough time, my hand writing derides to the point where even I can't read it. And you barely have to type to get a fanfiction account!

This Little Piggy was it for me – I just wanted to scream at the tv for them to just get together and get it over with! I think I screamed at my husband instead of Cartoon Network though. He's pretty used to that at this point. Hehe.

One of the best compliments is when people tell me that they can picture the episodes through my words. I try my best!

Ugly Girl is awesome, truly. She goes by the name Meljean Brooks on fanfiction as well. So great. Everyone should check out her stuff. I seriously doubt that I'm the top writer, but I do like hearing it. If you go to my favorites section on my homepage, you'll see a huge list of mostly BMWW fiction stories and they're just great. So many good authors – Icha, DWParsnip, the list goes on and on…

Don't worry, I've got the obsession thing nailed. Hehe. I'm good at it. Thanks for the review! As always, I really do appreciate it!