Falling

~5 Years Later: 10-Year-Old Danny~

He was wrong. He was so wrong. The pain only got worse, never ceasing. Even at night he would envision the torture. Whippings, shock sessions, scalpings, even plucking his wings. Danny couldn't take it. There was so much pain. Bestraffare had even gone as far as 'shaving' his wings. When 'shavings' happen, it consists of Bestraffare holding a newly sharpened blade and sliding it across Danny's wings, slicing off some of the skin along with the feathers.

This was his life. Torture in the morning, midday, and evening and language sessions the rest of the time. He knew almost every language except for English. That was mostly because angels spoke in English and they didn't want him eavesdropping on them. His teacher was a lower-class angel. He would hit Danny when he didn't get a phrase or word right. That rarely occurred because Danny was fluent in every language, minus English.

"Time's up~" Bestraffare sang. "Time from the midday show, Phantom." Almost everyone called him Phantom because of his ghostly appearance and actions. He never made a sound while walking/flying/hovering and almost never ate. He was considered a literal Phantom. His ghost blessing didn't help his case.

Bestraffare grabbed Danny by the neck and dragged him towards the door of the cell. It was bright and hot out today making Danny squint and sweat. It was at least 95 degrees out.

The colosseum changed. It had two stages set up. One had a long and wide table that had restraints on each corner with a sort of crank attached. The other had a chair with a metal helmet and wing restraints.

Bestraffare led Danny towards the table on the first stage. Danny knew that struggling was futile and only ended in worse punishment, so he just let them have their fun. Two guards that were on the stage grabbed Danny by his arms in one hand and wings in the other. They strapped his wrists in cuffs at the top of the table, his ankles at the bottom, and his wings to the side. There were chains attached to the cuffs, and wheels attached to the chains. This was new. He had seen a lot. One time, his arms had been cut off from the elbow down and his wings had been completely torn off, leaving stubs on his back for a month. His advanced healing had regrown them, but it was still painful.

Once secured, the two guards, plus another four, went to each of his limbs. They slowly cranked the wheels, stretching his limbs and wings. Danny noticed the pain in his wings first since they were already damaged from the morning punishment, which was the slicing. Danny struggle uncomfortably, which only made the guards crank faster. Danny then noticed his legs next, then his arms. It felt exactly like it looked, painful. His limbs and wings were being stretched beyond their limits to the point where he felt they would tear off. Danny cried out in pain, his voice raspy and scratched, due to the lack of food, water and him constantly screaming in agony.

"Vă rog să mă ajutați," (Please help.) Danny cried in Romanian, one of his favorite languages. (A/N: I do not speak Romanian, but I am trying to learn.) Bestraffare laughed as he watched the hybrid struggle. He had so much fun these past 5 years, he didn't plan on letting his fun go away.

The guards locked the wheels at a setting that was painful for the hybrid, but it didn't pull his limbs off, that would come later. They left him screaming in pain for about an hour until angels started shouting for more action. They had fun watching him scream and even seeing his slight build of muscle tense, stretch, and in one case, tear. It was, to say it again, painful. They released the cuffs holding him, and Dany collapsed against the table. He just wanted to rest, but that was an impossibility here.

The guards picked him up again, this time bringing him to the other stage with the chair. Danny did not like the looks of it. It was a wooden chair with a metal helmet, metal cuffs on the armrests and chair legs, hooks off to the sides for his wings, and an opening in the back of the chair for his tail.

The guards locked him in the chair, hooking his wings and tails along with it. They brought the metal helmet over his eyes, leaving only his nose and mouth visible. Danny heard the fluttering of wings and assumed a new angel has arrived. Bestraffare spoke up.

"I would like to issue a warm welcome to a new angel. Her name is Psykisk, and she was created around the time this freak was. She is one of the specials, a very talented angel. She has the power to enter your mind and mess with it. Let's just say, it is not a pleasant experience. She did fix her parents after messing with their heads, though." He chuckled, making the rest of the stadium laugh in nervousness. Most knew of this little girl. When she was created, a symbol of an eye appeared above her head and she hasnt blinked since. Her eyes were permanently open. Her creators looked into those eyes of hers and they were paralized, to say the least. She eventually fixed them, but that was years later. She never talked, never blinked, and her movements were graceful. She was going to break this hybrid.

Danny internally flinched. What was going to happen to him? Was he going to break? This was an angel about his age, maybe youger, and she held powers different from other angels, yet, she wasn't considered a freak?

Danny heard the soft patter of feet approach him, figuring it was the girl. He couldn't see her, but he could sense her. He shifted uneasily when she grew closer, and closer. All sounds ceased, minus the clinking of chains on the battered hybrid. The shifting of cloths rubbing together filled Danny's ears and he felt a cool – not cold – hand touch his cheek. He tried to get away from her hand, but the helmet held him in place. Psykisk lifted her other hand to his other cheek while a guard lifted the helmet, revealing the hybrid's golden and pure black eyes. He, again, tried to move away, but she held firm. Danny finally loked into her eyes. They were orange, rich orange. When his gaze landed on them, he was pulled out of the world and into his mind. Psykisk was there, and she was showing him horrifying images while destroying the little bit of sanity that Danny held onto. He saw himself lying on a metal table. There were non-angels all around him. What were they called? Human? Yeah, humans. They were wearing white and their faces were blurry. They were doing something to him. They were cutting him open, revealing his insides. Danny was curious. This other him had no wings, horns, or tails. Was this a different timeline, or dimension? It must have been.

He watched as the other version was screaming and pleading, and, for some reason, found it hilarious. Danny started laughing. At first, it was a small chuckle, but then it grew. It grew into maniacle laughter that put him into hysterics. He was a laughing fit. There were tears coming out of his eyes and he was pulled back into the real world. Psykisk had retreated a few steps, adn looked at him with horror and disgust. He was still laughing. Everyone stepped back, not wanting to get any closer to the insane hybrid.

Danny was insane. He was laughing hysterically while pulling at his restraints, eventually breaking them. He tore his wings off the hooks, tearing them and leaving them bloody. The ten-year-old brushed off the pain, lettign his wings droop to his sides. He clumsily stalked towards Bestraffare and Psykisk. They backed away, terrified of the power the freak was radiating. The shock collar on his neck didn't faze him as he tore it off, revealing bloody shock burns.

Danny was still laughing when he turned intangible and fell towards the earth, his laughter never ceasing. The last thing he saw were the clouds of his previous 'home' receeding. His back hit something hard, yet soft. Something green. His head hit next and he was knocked unconscious.

~Hawkwoman: Midway City~

Shayera Hol was flying through Midway City. She was on break from co-owning the museum with her husband, Katar Hol. She was relaxing when some maniacle laughter erupted in her ears. She glanced around, trying to find the source, when something plumeting from the sky caught her attention. It looked to be black and white and falling fast. Really fast. Shayera rushed over to the falling object, but was too late. It crashed into the ground, making a cracking noise.

Oh, no. She thought. It looked like one of her people at first glance, but a second glance told her it was something different. For one, it had four wings and two tails. Two wings, the inner ones, were angel-like. The outer two were bat-like. And, it had tails. Two tails. One was demon-like, it was long and thin with multiple diamond flaps one the end. The other was raven-like with white feathers.

Shayera rushed over to the limp form to see a boy, no older than 11. He looked beat up, and there was a ring around his neck that was bloody and burnt. She gracefully and carefully picked him up, folding his wings like Katar would do with her. The boy was not wearing a shirt and was wearing bloody pants that stopped just below his knees. She took off, heading towards the museum where her husband would help her. She took a secret entrance where no one would see her in her hawk form. She flew into the building and into a room where her husband was filling out papers. He glanced up at his wife and saw the boy she was holding. Katar dropped whatever he was holding and rushed over to his wife. He looked over the boy, taking in all the cuts and burns scattered all over his body. He looked at the kid's wings. The kid looked like a wreck. His wings, all four of them, were bent in wrong ways. Feathers were missing from the angel-like wings and the skin, even some bone, was exposed.

"What happened? Who is this?" Katar asked.

"I-I don't know. I heard Joker-like laughter and saw this boy falling from the sky. He hit the ground pretty hard and I heard a crack. I think his skull is cracked. The rest of these wounds, I don't know where they came from."

"We need to help him, now."

The couple looked at each other, formulating a plan with their looks. They finally decided to bring him to the Watchtower where highly skilled doctors and League members could help heal him. Katar picked up the boy and flew to a Zeta Beam, portaling them to the Watchtower.

~At the Watchtower~

Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Black Canary were at the Watchtower. They were going over villains and other crimes they stopped the past week. Nothing much for Superman, Wonder Woman, or Black Canary. Batman, on the other hand, had a week full of minor crimes and one Arkham breakout. They were alerted away from their conversation when they heard the Zeta Beam announce the arrival of Hawkman, Hawkwoman, and a newcomer. The newcomer was obscured from their view because Hawkman had his wings wrapped around it.

"Who is that?" Asked Wonder Woman.

"We don't know. He fell from the sky and landed harshly on the ground. He has severe injuries." Hawkwoman answered.

Hawkman unfolded his wings and revealed a frail body. It was obviously a boy, but he had wings, and tails. The four were surprised and showed it, minus Batman.

"Get him to the imfirmary, right away." Batman ordered.