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. 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. This takes place during the two-month gap in Wayback Wednesdays #5 - Choices, between the Batman and Wonder Woman becoming engaged and their wedding.

4. This was my first attempt at an outright comedic story - and boy, does it show.


PART 4

There was silence in the cabin. The only sound that could be heard was the engines, which produced a low humming noise in the background. The cabin was filled to capacity, but no one was talking. They all seemed too miserable to talk.

Shayera looked up from her lap and looked at John from the corner of her eye. He looked ahead of him, unmoving. She knew he was angry. Very angry. At her.

Once they had left the Great Hall, they had immediately gone back to their room and collected their things. She had tried to apologise for ruining their vacation, but John had just ignored her. And now they were on a public transport ship, which came regularly to Oa to pick people up and drop people off, before going to the next planet. John had not said a single word from the Great Hall to now, and the silence made Shayera ache.

She had not meant to get them into trouble, but sometimes, when she lost her temper, she lost control. And she knew he was not angry at her for attacking the other Green Lanterns – John's friendships with them had all but dissolved since his trial. It was the fact that she got him into trouble which was the problem. He was stripped of his ring, and banned from action and Oa. Ganthet had said thirty cycles – what did that mean? A week? A month? The Lantern Corps was John's life – without it, he had no purpose. And she had taken it away from him.

She sighed. This was the worst vacation ever. It seemed that everything that could have gone wrong, did. John's worst nightmare was being humiliated on Oa, and now, thanks to her, he had been. He had every right to be angry. She had ruined their vacation, after he had done so much to set it up… and all for her.

But there was more. It seemed that someone had had it in for them on Oa. The bucket of water on the door. The weak chair in the recreation room. It seemed that someone had sabotaged their vacation. But who would want to do such a thing?

And those Lanterns had only made the situation worse. She thought they had come to some sort of understanding… but clearly they had not. Being beaten by a girl must have really gotten to them. They were acting like children. It was just the perfect end to the perfect vacation.

But it was not the end. They were now going to the planet John had intended for them to go after Oa. But it would not be the same now. He was angry at her. She had humiliated him infront of his colleagues. There was no point in going anywhere.

She slowly turned her head and looked at him. "John…" she whispered. The silence in the room made her whisper sound like a foghorn. Everyone looked at her. She frowned. "What are you looking at?" Everyone's eyes cowered back down.

She looked at John. "John… I…" She stopped when she saw his expression. He looked at her out of the corner of his brown eyes. He gave a barely-audible growl, then looked back infront of him.

Shayera sighed. She looked back down at her lap, and stared at her bags. She listened to the hum of the engines, and looked out of her window at the stars flying by. Her eyes watered up, and she dipped her head so no one would see. She saw her bags again, and nudged them lightly with her foot.

She knew what she had to do.

/

John and Shayera sat in the canteen, waiting for the next transport ship. They had been dropped off from their previous one on a planet halfway from Oa to the planet John intended to take Shayera. However, the ship they were waiting for was late; it was supposed to have turned up nearly an hour ago. And neither of them wanted to just sit around waiting.

Shayera looked at John. He was still angry with her. She could not blame him – she had ruined their vacation. She had not meant to, but it did not matter. Because of her immaturity, her quick temper, she had cost the man she loved his job, his powers and his reputation. True, it was just temporary, but… he took such pride in being a Green Lantern. Without it, he felt lost.

She sighed. She knew what she had to do. She had decided to do it back on the transport ship, but had not told John. She would just do it. It would be less awkward, and it would be quick and painless.

"Final call for Transport 19 to Earth. Ship leaving in five minutes."

Shayera stood up at the sound of the tannoy system and picked up her bags. As she walked around the table, John looked up at her. "What are you doing?"

Shayera stopped, and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I'm going home."

He frowned. "What?"

She sighed. "I'm going home. I can't spend the rest of our vacation with you mad at me. What's the point? It'll just be easier if I go."

John got to his feet. "Shayera, please…"

"You said it yourself, John," she interrupted. "I've ruined our vacation. I cost you your ring and your dignity. You'll have a better time on your own. You can do some training or something."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Shayera… I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. Please don't go."

"You don't want me here…" she began.

"Don't want you here?" he said. "Shayera, I love you. I want to spend every moment with you."

"But I got you in trouble…"

"It doesn't matter," he said. "And who knows? Maybe a month without my powers will be a good thing – make me appreciate the little things again."

She looked down. "John, please… don't patronise me…"

He sighed. "I'm sorry. Look… please don't go. We can still go to the pleasure planet I had planned. We can still have a nice time. Together."

She looked at him. "I don't know…"

"Attention please. There is a Communicai for a John Stewart. Will John Stewart please make his way to the Communications Lounge."

Shayera frowned after the tannoy voice faded. "Who would call you here?"

"I don't know," John said. "Maybe it's Flash with another of his prank calls…"

"Here?"

John smiled. "You know how immature he is. Maybe he'll get Batman to pay for the phonecall. Look, I'm going to go take the call. Will you stay here until I get back?"

Shayera looked at her feet. "John, I…"

"Right." John grabbed his bags, and took hold of Shayera's hand. "You're coming with me then." He then strode out of the canteen, dragging Shayera with him.

They entered the Communications Lounge and went upto the counter. "John Stewart," John said. "You have a call for me?"

"Yes," said the man behind the counter. He handed out a small communication phone, and John took it.

"Hello?" he said. He then frowned. "You?"

Shayera leaned in. "Who is it?"

John was quiet for a few moments, then his eyes widened. "What? What do you mean you know who was behind Hawkgirl's pranks? Hello? HELLO?"

He took the phone away from his ear, and handed it back to the man. He then looked at Shayera. "Well?" she asked. "What is it?"

John looked shocked. "You won't believe who that was…"

/

The door opened, and the light from outside shone in. The silloette of a figure stood in the doorway, before slowly stepping into the room. It closed the door behind him, and the room was again in darkness. The figure looked out infront of it. "Is this still necessary?" it asked in a male voice.

"Is what still necessary?" a voice returned.

"The secrecy," the figure said. "The darkness. The Guardians can't detect us now."

"You have no flair for the dramatic," another voice said.

The figure folded his arms. "I have no power either, thanks to you."

"Oh, get over it," a third voice said. "It was worth it, wasn't it."

"No. Now turn the lights on."

There was a sigh, then a click. Light lit up the room, and the four people in the room blinked a few times to adjust to the light.

Kilowog put his arms down. "So what are we meeting now for?"

Arrkis shrugged. "Would you like a drink?"

"No."

Arrkis sighed. "Oh lighten up, Kilowog. Our plan worked."

"Not entirely," Kilowog said. "I don't have my ring anymore."

"But we got back at Hawkgirl," said Galius. "And that's what's important."

"You don't sound too bothered about losing your rings," said Kilowog.

Tomar Re took a gulp of his drink. "We were planning for a vacation anyway," he said. "We're going to that pleasure planet about 2 lightyears away. You're welcome to join."

"When are you going?" Kilowog asked.

"Four days," Arrkis said. "You should come with us, Kilowog. We couldn't have got that bucket of water without you."

"Yes, because only I could get away with pretending I was going to drink it all," Kilowog said. "But you planned it all, and Tomar unscrewed the chair legs."

Tomar chuckled. "Heh heh… yeah, that was funny."

"And admit it, Kilowog," said Galius. "You've wanted a vacation for some time…"

Kilowog held the back of his neck. "Well, yeah… but I didn't like losing my ring…"

"You didn't lose it," Arrkis said. "By the time we get back from the pleasure planet, our probation will be up and we can have our rings back. Now go back and we can meet here over the next few days to sort out the arrangements."

"There'll be beautiful women on this planet?" Kilowog asked.

"It's in the procure," Arrkis said. "They'll be falling all over us."

"OK," said Kilowog. "I'll start packing. Let's just hope we don't bump into John."

TO BE CONTINUED