Location: Surveillance Room, Metro Tower
Time: 0600 hours EST
Aidan Scott is a normal man, average at everything he does. The only thing that really sets him apart is the fact that he works for an "industry" that none would expect. He is amongst a large group of civilians that had been hired to work for the Justice League when they had begun expanding after the Thanagarian Invasion.
He yawns, a cup of coffee held firmly in his hand, as he sits down in the surveillance room with the rest of his co-workers. He scratches the back of his head, careful to not drop his headset by accident. His eyes attentively scan the monitors, but he expects to see nothing.
He takes notice to a developing story on the top left monitor and focuses the volume on his headset. As he listens to the news report, he suddenly spits out his coffee and his co-workers stare at him in surprise.
He places his cup down and immediately grabs a piece of paper and pen, jotting down quick notes of what the news is reporting. Once he has heard enough, he sprints out of the room to send the news to Superman.
Back at the room, everyone looks at the news report. After listening for a short amount of time, their eyes collectively widen. Now they know why Aidan was so frantic; hopefully, Superman will know what to do with this information.
Location: Medical Room, Metro Tower
Time: 0630 hours EST
After holding vigil over a recuperating Shayera, John begins to nod off. J'onn had just left after checking in on them again to see if she is still all right. Shayera slowly opens her eyes, noticing John sleeping peacefully on the chair. Her eyes move down and sees his hand still holding onto hers and she can't help but smile at the gesture.
She clutches his hand tightly and he jerks his head upwards when he realizes she's awake. "Morning, sleepyhead," she mumbles to him, still groggy. He smiles at her comment.
"I should be saying that to you. Feeling better?"
"Aside from a migraine, I feel a lot better already."
"Good," his smile seems to grow before it suddenly changes to seriousness. "It's my fault for leaving you alone like that. If I had taken you with me, you wouldn't have had to go through that."
"John, it's ok." She rubs her thumb over his hand. "We didn't expect anyone to search for me to look for my sister. There's no way we all would have been able to follow all the villains' moves."
"But we should be able to supervise all of the villains. We have all this advanced technology and we couldn't keep an eye on you. We thought it was okay for you to get some fresh air and we didn't think you'd need someone to guard you. We even lost your location when they abducted you."
"You're forgetting about Gizmo, John. He's a mechanical genius so he had to have blocked out the frequency. I guess, in his excitement, he turned off the signal jammer."
"But still-"
"Let it go, John. You took them all to jail, right?" He nods. "Good. When they decide on Psimon's trial, I want to be there." John suddenly grimaces at the mention of his name and Shayera misinterprets it for anger. "John, we're already going to bring him to justice for what he did to me. You don't have to worry about it anymore."
"It's not that…" He trails off, looking away from her.
"You didn't," her eyes widen when he doesn't answer. "You kill him, John?!" Her voice begins to rise in volume as John attempts to explain.
"Psimon and Shimmer were already like that when we-"
Shayera pushes herself up into a sitting position. "Oh, and Shimmer's dead too? What the hell were you doing, John?" she cuts in, agitation beginning to grow. She doubles over when she feels another headache forming.
"Shayera!" John is immediately by her side, trying to see if he can do anything.
"Just-!" She pushes him away. "Explain what happened," she commands. John sits back down, still concerned for Shayera.
"When Bruce, Clark, and I came and found you, the room looked like a bloodbath. Mammoth and Gizmo are still alive; although, Mammoth is in the ICU right now. Gizmo got stabbed in the back, but the wound wasn't deep enough to be life-threatening. Shimmer died due to electrocution and blood loss. Even if she hadn't bled to death, whatever shocked her was enough to kill her."
"And Psimon?" Shayera asks, still wrapping her head around the revelation.
"He was cut from the left topside of his glass dome and then straight down. Cause of death was the exact same as Shimmer's."
"And…" Shayera doesn't even know where to begin. "And you don't know who did it?"
"When I got to your side, there was a word written in blood right next to you. It said 'Falcon'."
"Do you have any-?" The door swings open, Superman entering with a paper in hand.
"Sorry to interrupt since I know you're still resting up," he nods to Shayera, "but one of the workers saw this on the news." He turns on the television just as a reporter finished up on her summary of current, worldwide events. Superman hands Shayera the piece of paper for context.
"Now can you explain to us what is happening here?"
"Well, Sam, firemen are still uncovering the rubble at the moment. They've been at it for the past hour. The roof, however, caved inwards in the middle of the night but no one reported it until recently. The area, after all, is deserted and the one who reported it was anonymous. Currently, they're also looking for survivors. Oh, hang on. I think they've got someone."
The camera focuses on the rubble and three firemen are lifting a pale man in a tailcoat out, his arm bent in an odd angle. Blood and a chunky black liquid covers him. Shayera scowls, recognizing the blood as Gordanian blood. "Is he the only survivor?"
"We're not sure, Sam. The firemen reported that there is evidence of the building have had more than one resident, but they have only found one person so far."
Superman turns off the television, turning back to them. "Based on reports in the area and our monitors, we discovered that it was the work of-"
"Gordanians," Shayera interrupts, clutching the blanket tightly.
"How did you-"
"The blood on that man. I've seen it enough to know that it's Gordanian blood."
"But why would they be here? Their planet isn't even in our solar system," John asks.
"They have to be after my sister too. It's been years and they never once searched for me, but the minute my sister appeared, they came shortly after. We have to go rescue her!" Shayera begins, but Superman is already shaking his head.
"You still need to recover. J'onn only just managed to save you a few hours ago. We can't let you risk your life after that type of-"
"But-!" She gets no further as she falls forward, clutching her head in pain as it continues pounding. Her vision blurs, but she can still see John trying to check up on her. She pushes him back, taking deep, concentrated breaths.
Once the pounding goes away and she sits back up normally, Superman continues, "See? Shayera, you're a founding member of the Justice League. We can't risk losing you."
"Clark," Shayera starts. "In case you forgot, the girl that's being held captive is my sister! My only family! We're all that we have left of Thanagar. Who knows what the Gordanians did during their final push on Thanagar! They're probably going to take her back to their home world and put her on trial! Once they're done with publicly defaming her and giving her their home 'justice', she's going to be a passing memory! It'll be as if she never existed in the first place!" Superman tries to get a word in, but Shayera refuses to let him. "You don't know how ruthless these bastards can be!"
"Shay…" John tries to placate her but she shrugs his hands off, her eyes burning intensely.
"If your parents' lives were on the line and you were dying from kryptonite poisoning, wouldn't you go and help them?"
Superman's eyes widen, not expecting Shayera to say something like that. It was a low blow…but she does have a point. Even if he was going to die in the next ten seconds, he would do his best to make the most of those ten seconds to rescue Pa and Ma.
Shayera looks down, her hands still clutching the blanket tightly. When she had asked for something eventful to happen, she didn't expect this. Regardless, she has to rescue her sister whether Superman gives her the okay or not.
Superman sighs, "We'll let you come along, but we're calling off the rescue the minute you show any pain."
"She's my sister, Clark. Even if I haven't personally met her, she's all I have left of Thanagar. I have to go and rescue her…even if it means risking my own life."
"Okay, fine, but we'll begin once you've had a full day of rest." Seeing Shayera about to protest again, Superman elaborates, "I need to see who's available for the mission first. Besides, the Gordanians haven't left yet."
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah, they're still on Earth."
"Why would they still be here if they got what they're looking for?" John asks, looking for an explanation.
Shayera thinks it over, "They must have another mission that they're trying to accomplish."
"Regardless, if they attempt to leave, the Watchtower will stop them before they get a chance."
"How did they get through our surveillance?" Shayera asks, suspicious.
"Around the time they got through, the surveillance was suddenly jammed. By the time it cleared, we couldn't find them anymore. Their attack on that building helped us relocate them," Superman explains.
So there might be inside help, Shayera theorizes to herself. But she'll have to worry about that after she rescues her sister.
Her sister before everything else.
After all, she's all that she has left of Thanagar…
Location: ?
Time: ?
"Are you sure this is the right one? She looks so worthless! I doubt she's the one with that hefty bounty on her head. Why the hell are we even going after this one Thanagarian almost two years after we conquered Thanagar?"
"You fool! She's one of the reasons why this battle dragged on for so long! If it weren't for her and the damned Assassination division, we'd have had the heads of the Elders much sooner! We've lost many of our important leaders because of that division!"
"But…"
"Shut up! Go back to the bay with the rest! I'll take care of this myself!" Receding footsteps can be heard. "Hmph, damn foot soldiers. Don't even know what the hell they're talking about, and yet, they're still running their damn mouths off...If it were up to me, I'd throttle them and throw them off the ship…"
Kenra half-listens to the mutterings, barely regaining consciousness a few moments ago. She looks around and scowls over the lack of light. The only source of light is the grille above her head where she can see a Gordanian standing guard over her. She attempts to move her hands, gauging the strength of whatever is holding her. She strains against it, trying to remain as silent as possible. After a few more seconds, she finally relents, panting quietly. Her right arm doesn't seem to be hurting as badly, but it's definitely weaker now. They must have decided to patch her up. Makes sense, they wouldn't want to bring back the infamous assassin, Kenra Hol, dead.
She tries to move her legs and groans inwardly; it seems they're restraining her entire body. So they're doing whatever they can to hold her down until they arrive on their home planet. She sighs, wondering if she should have just gone to search for her sister instead of accepting Slade's offer.
Would it have helped? Would she have found Shayera on her own or would another villain just end up corrupting her even more? She sighs quietly, letting her head drop. Her hair cascades in front of her face and she realizes with a start that she is mask-less.
That damn commander must have kept her mask. Figures. He must have wanted to shame her publicly before she's executed. A sick feeling begins to form in the pit of her stomach. This was not how she wanted to go. She had always hoped to die in battle, like any other Thanagarian. Not like this. Not by an executioner's axe or whatever the hell the Gordanians do for their executions.
All she can hope for now is that her sister somehow finds a way to rescue her. Would Shayera even want to rescue her after all she's done to her? She's tried to incriminate her for a crime, she even almost killed her! Maybe Rose…Kenra shakes her head. No way, she doesn't want Rose to risk her life for her.
For now, she'll have to bide her time and strike back when she can. She won't sit and wait for someone to rescue her, not again. This time, she'll figure it out herself. She can't afford to let someone risk their lives just to save her…not again. She's already lost her closest friends…she doesn't want to lose another loved one.
But first, she has to figure out where she is. She cranes her head a bit, seeing another Gordanian lackadaisically leaning against the wall. "Hey! You got any food for me?" she asks. The two of them regard her lazily and she curses under her breath. So these two are either going to be easily riled up or completely immune to her prodding. Just her luck.
"Would you look at that? The savage knows how to speak!" She stifles a growl; she shouldn't provoke them too much just yet.
"What makes you think we're gonna feed you? You're the cause of all of our economic problems!" The guard accuses. "We're going to bring you to justice, but first, we're gonna see how long it takes for you to break. The commander said we could do whatever we want as long as we don't kill you. And we've got a long flight ahead of us back to Karna once we're done scouting. So we're going to be using you as our source of entertainment."
The other Gordanian's speak crackles with electricity as the two begin to chuckle evilly.
Despite Kenra's experiences and her self-proclaimed fearlessness, she can't help but dread what is to come. The Gordanian with the spear inserts it into a hole on the ground and the last thing Kenra feels is electricity coursing violently through her body.
Location: Metro Tower, Main Hall
Time: 0900 hours
"And that's our mission. If you are willing to join, please let us know. Those of you present here, please step forward," Superman requests, standing on a stage. A bot is hovering in front of him to deliver the same message he was telling the small group of heroes standing before him. Knowing the underlying animosity some heroes would have towards Shayera and/or Thanagar itself, he had decided to give them the option of whether or not to join.
After a brief moment of silence, one man appears on the screen behind Superman. Greg Saunders, a country singer and also known as Vigilante, acknowledges the surprised looks on the heroes present in the tower. "Ah know Ah had some bad blood wit' her, but Ah owe 'er. If she ever needed my 'elp wit' anything, Ah promised Ah'd help. So you can count me in."
A person in the hall steps forward after Vigilante explains. "If you guys are gonna be fighting some ugly, green lizards, you can count me in," Helena Bertinelli, AKA Huntress, offers. "And since I'm going, Q will be joining too."
Everyone in the room swivels to the Question leaning against the wall in the back. He nods, not even protesting Huntress's decision. "If there is anyone else-"
"You weren't seriously gonna forget about us, were you, Supes?" Flash asks, zooming onto the stage. "We heard form L-Ron. Some of us want to join in."
Superman glances towards the door, seeing Diana standing at the entrance. "But-"
"Come on! We all wanna help Shay and her sis! Are you really gonna stop us?" Flash challenges him.
Superman looks around, realizing that any further protest wouldn't help the situation. "All right, those that volunteered will have the rest of the day to prepare. Vigilante, join u-"
"Ah'm already here, Supes," Vigilante interrupts him, walking off the teleportation pad.
Superman recovers and refocuses his attention on those that volunteered, the other heroes slowly leaving the room. "We'll begin our mission tomorrow, fair enough?"
"Why can't we go within a few hours? If we stay here for too long, it's possible the Gordanians can escape," Diana explains.
"Shayera still needs to rest up. I don't want to risk her getting hurt," Superman replies.
"Who said you had to worry about me?" Shayera asks, confidently as she walks into the room in her battle outfit. Superman glares at John, as if he's to blame. Then again, it is Shayera that he would have tried to stop. Regardless, Superman won't let her go through with this. She has to rest.
"Shayera, I already told you-"
"And I already told you, that my sister is somewhere out there being held captive. If we take too long, we…I might never see her again. I doubt any of us would want to have to go to the Gordanian's home planet. We either go within a few hours, or I go alone," Shayera threatens.
The two heroes stare each other down and Superman can tell that Shayera is one hundred percent serious about her ultimatum. He finally relents, "You will all have three hours to prepare; we will meet back here at noon. I'll let J'onn and the surveillance crew to keep an eye on the Gordanian fleet. They haven't left Earth's atmosphere and doesn't seem to show any signs of doing so but we'll keep a close monitor on them. Everyone is dismissed."
The heroes disperse and Shayera heads back to the Med Bay, reluctantly deciding to rest up for at least an hour. Despite her bravado earlier, she was close to collapsing. But she can't afford to let that happen in the middle of the rescue. She sits down on her bed and looks out the window.
Out of the corner of her eye, she notices a figure. That looks like…
Location: Metro Tower
Time: 0930 hours
A slim figure slowly slides out of an alleyway, limping their way towards the tall tower. The figure staggers, letting out a groan of pain as blood trails behind. She leans against the wall, pulling off her mask as perspiration slides down her face. She clutches her side, trying to stifle the blood flow. She had gotten cut at some point during the Gordanian's attack.
Rose pushes herself off the wall, trying to force her aching body to take just a few more steps. Just a little longer, she urges herself. Just a few more steps and she'll reach the Metro Tower. Then she can tell the League about the attack.
Worry for her friend had spurred her on to make her trek from her home to the tower. But there was a seed of doubt since she had escaped as to whether or not the League would listen to her. Once they consider how she had betrayed the Teen Titans and how she is, after all, Deathstroke's daughter…she wouldn't be surprised if they just arrest her.
Rose staggers again, approaching the steps. Just a bit longer. Just keep putting one foot after another. She can do it…come on…
Her vision starts to blur once she climbs the steps. She can see someone flying towards her, their wings outstretched. "Kenra?" she breathlessly asks, her legs giving out on her. Whoever the person is, they catch her before she can hit the ground trying to keep her awake.
Her eye starts closing and she can barely hear the person. Her mouth moves slowly, trying to get her words out. The only word she can utter before she passes out is, "Kenra."