Secret Origins
Shayera flapped her wings as hard as she could as she made her way towards Gotham. She wished that she left her armor behind as she continued to fly, feeling the strain wearing her down. Shayera knew she was still an hour away from Gotham as she flew over the National Park. The night sky was filled with stars by the time she had reached Gotham and Shayera's first stop was the mansion. She flew towards the isolated building and made her way to the secret entrance by the cliffs that was used by Batman's jet boat. She flew in and saw Alfred sitting in the computer chair sipping tea and Tim training with the dummy. Tim grew from the twelve year old she had first met to an upstanding fighter at seventeen years. Shayera distantly wondered if Hektar would have grown the same way Tim did, but she quickly shook those thoughts and focused on the present.
"ALFRED! TIM!" she cried out. Tim slipped on his footing while Alfred jumped in surprise and turned and said, "Oh my! Miss Shayera! What brings you here?"
"I need to tell Bruce about the Invaders."
"Shayera!" cried out Tim as he hugged Shayera. Shayera hugged him back and realized distractedly that he was growing taller than her.
"Yes, yes. Master Bruce was on his way to investigate the explosion of the Deep Space Monitoring Program. He was supposed to call in though about ten minutes ago." said Alfred in deep thought. Shayera could see his worry etched on his face and said, "Where was he last?" Alfred pressed a button on the computer screen and they watched as a red dot appeared over the Midway National Park.
"I'll go and find him for you. Please, can you go to the Gotham Police Department and tell them to engulf the city in light? Whatever these invaders are, they are vulnerable to it." said Shayera as she quickly launched herself into the air. Alfred nodded in agreement.
"Shayera! Take me with you!" cried out Tim, not wanting to be left behind as his adopted father might be in danger.
"No, Tim. I have a mission for you actually," said Shayera from above the cave, "I need you to help Alfred and call in Dick and Barbara. With Bruce gone, Gotham needs you three to help protect it." Shayera saw as Tim's chest puffed slightly at being given an important mission and smiled slightly as she flew out of the cave and towards Midway National Park. Shayera flapped her wings as hard as she could in order to reach the park in time. It takes about a good three hours to fly from Midway to Gotham, so Shayera hoped that the time will be cut in half as she made her way to the Park.
If the topography was correct, Shayera recognized the area of Bruce's location as the same place she had found Byth's ship five years ago. Thankfully, the trip would be shorter and Shayera could already see burning debris in the distance a good five miles away. The winter had come early to Midway this year and Shayera was thankful for the snow blanket that covered the whole National Park. The snow actually helped illuminate where the fire was. Hopefully if she arrived on time, then Bruce wouldn't be a part of the burning debris.
As luck would have it, Shayera could spot Bruce in the distance supporting a green-skinned… man? The Kryptonian, Superman, was with them along with another man dressed in a green and black costume, another man in an all red costume with yellow lightning bolts on each side of his head, and a woman dressed in a blue, red, gold, and white ensemble.
They were surrounded on the edge of a cliff by the red and white invaders. They carried what looked like laser cannons and Shayera could spot several destroyed ships in the distance, giving her confidence that they will not expect an air attack. As far as the laser cannons looked, Shayera was confident that her armor and mace could easily deflect the blasts from their cannons. She settled on a tree a good distance away from them to hide, but close enough to be able to still see and hear their conversation. Shayera knew Bruce had seen her by the way he made a slight peace sign with his hand and lowering it to his belt in order to grip his batarang, a signal they both worked on together to communicate in dire situations such as this. She watched as Batman had thrown his batarang at the invaders in front of him and watched them explode, but more come to replace them. It was when she heard Batman yell "NOW" that Shayera launched out of her hiding place and flew up high. Was this stupid? Yes, it was. Shayera however paid no mind to it and flew high above before making a dive bomb, a fully charged mace in hand. Shayera restrained herself from crying out, wanting this to be swift and silent… or as silent as it's going to be before Shayera unleashed Ominar's hell on these invaders.
It was a simple investigation mission turned into rescue mission. Bruce had been investigating why the Deep Space Monitoring Program had met its sudden end and he had his first encounter with the Imperialists, who were disguised as scientists that were working on the program. After Superman joined the fray, they teamed up to investigate what these creatures were. When they had managed to break into a military site, they were shocked to find a captive Martian. When they had freed him, they learned that the Martian had come to Earth in order to warn them of the Invaders, but was captured once he had landed on Earth. The Imperialist have been on Earth far longer than they have anticipated. They had tricked the World Nation to dismantle their heavy artillery in favor of promoting World Peace and forced Superman to run circles all around the planet to wear him down.
Bruce struggled to hold the alien Martian, J'onn J'onnz, upright as they were surrounded by the Imperials. He and Superman had followed J'onn's telepathic messages and rescued him from the Imperials' prison. They had managed to escape the military site and the chase was on. Superman managed to take down at least a good handful of the ships that were chasing them when they had escaped but one of the Imperials' ship had managed to make a lucky shot at Batman's jet wing. Just when Batman was sure he was about to meet his end, the green light energy of the Green Lantern surrounded his ship and landed him and J'onn safely on the edge. The Flash soon made an appearance, carrying a piece of the jet back to Batman. The newcomer, Diana, saved them along with Superman by destroying the rest of the ships.
All this however was for nothing as the ground fleet surrounded them. Batman narrowed his eyes at the invaders and gripped his batarang for a final assault until he was reminded that they landed in the Midway National Park, not too far for a certain winged heroine to spot them. Batman hoped that Shayera would be able to spot them. Having a heavy hitter would be essential right about now. Especially if said heavy hitter sports armor and carried a mace that can deflect most laser-based weaponry. Diana's arm braces were excellent at deflecting the laser blasts, but they were only good for frontal defense, not an all round defense. Batman could only hope though that Shayera might have spotted them from Midway.
"Release the Martian to us and we shall spare you from the forced labor camps!" yelled one of the Imperialists. Batman felt J'onn tremble slightly and figured that he has had experience in the camps himself. A slight shadow passed by in the trees and Batman knew that Shayera had seen them and was waiting for his signal. They had worked on it together in the event that Shayera or Bruce was available for a rescue and needed a non-verbal cue to get ready.
"Hey! You come to our planet and start making demands? Who do you think you are?" yelled the Flash. Batman had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes. The kid has a good heart, but he sometimes needs to remember when to stop shoving his foot in his mouth. The Imperialist leader chuckled and said, "We will conquer your planet the same way we have conquered the Martian's. You have no chance to defeat us." Batman pressed the timer on his batarang, getting ready to throw it at them. The Leader continued to talk, "We have implanted agents on your planet for the past ten years. You have no chance whatsoever to stop us from taking your planet the same way we took the Martian's."
Batman threw his batarang at the leader who easily deflected it to the ground. Batman sneered as they laughed but he waited until it exploded, where they all screamed as they were knocked back. "Good bluff." said the Green Lantern, John Stewart. Batman didn't respond though as he watched more creep from the shadows and leveled their weapons at them, charging to eradicate the whole group. The Green Lantern's energy had already proved to withstand about two at a time, if he could stay focused but to have about twenty would be too much. Batman yelled, "NOW" and he watched Shayera fly up high and then began a dive bomb with a fully charged mace.
"EVERYBODY GET DOWN NOW!" he yelled as he dove to the ground, dragging J'onn with him. Everybody else complied and Batman watched as Shayera hit the ground with her mace, causing an electrical eruption to burst through the mace. The Imperialists were thrown up in the air as the bright electricity pierced their bodies and threw them far away from the impact zone. The bright light of the electricity was enough to push some back before the light died down. Those that managed to at least recover began firing at the newcomer, realizing too late that her armor repelled the blasts. The newcomer began to beat back their blasts with a swing of her mace.
Superman, a.k.a. Clark Kent, watched in amazement as the newcomer took every hit that was sent her way without so much as flinching. Hawkgirl, as he knows her to be, was proving to be a valuable ally in this fight. Superman could briefly remember the one time he had wanted to meet Hawkgirl but followed Batman's advice and left her alone to her own devices in the city, especially after being informed of Commissioner Emmett's views on vigilantes and heroes that answered to no higher authority. She was no threat to the Earth but the one time she had indirectly harmed him, by letting Lex Luthor study her mace, almost made him confront her in Midway and demand to know why she would willingly give Luthor a dangerous weapon. It was only by Batman's intervention that Superman let it slide.
Wally West, The Flash, watched as the winged hottie (at least he hopes she's hot) beat back the Imperialists. He had to admit that he was way over his head in thinking that these Imperialists were going to be pushovers when he had first arrived to the battle. He felt a boost of confidence though as he watched the mysterious Hawkgirl of Midway City beat back the invaders. He had heard stories about the lonely hero but this was the first time he actually saw her face to face without the Internet.
John Stewart had no idea what to think of this Hawkgirl. From the reports he has read and by the way people talk of her, she was somebody that will keep to herself and not get involved in affairs outside her city. He had pegged her to be antisocial and cold towards other people, especially when she never showed for the opening of the Doom Patrol exhibit or the way he had briefly seen her avoid socializing with people the one time she did show up at the funeral for the fallen team. As he watched her beat back the invaders, he realized that she had a lot to surprise him with.
Diana of Themyscira watched as this brave woman warrior of man's world fought fiercely against the invaders. She was nervous at first when meeting with the group of men in the beginning and feared she might be the only woman that was willing to show and defend the planet. She is honestly relieved to see that another had stood up and began to fight back with such a ferocity that can be matched to a Spartan.
J'onn J'onnz quietly observed the newcomer who had shown up from almost out of nowhere. When he had made communication to all available heroes that were either near by or capable, he had no idea that she even existed. As he tried to read her mind, he was surprised to find a mental shield surrounding her. It was a natural shield that came to her and he had no doubt that she even knew she was invulnerable against telepathic attacks. This was a wild card that he had not foreseen. Batman gently laid J'onn down on the ground and jumped into action. It was the sort of action that got everyone else to fight back. By the time Green Lantern had knocked down his last opponent, the whole area was quiet.
"It was lucky that you showed up when you did." said Batman as he watched Shayera clip her mace back on her hip. "Be grateful that I was on my way back to the Park. I had informed our mutual friend and our small friend to inform Commissioner Gordon that these creatures are weak against light." said Shayera, not knowing the heroes behind Batman and deciding to keep Batman's family a secret.
"How are they?" asked Batman.
"They are well, the minute they gave me your coordinates I left behind our small friend a mission to gather the other two and prepare Gotham in case these invaders branch out." said Shayera, hoping Bruce can understand. She doesn't have his permission after all to reveal so much of his private life to the others after all. Batman nodded his gratefully and was glad to know that with Tim, Barbara, and Dick out in the field then Gotham would be safe.
"How did you discover their weakness?" asked the green-skinned… man. Shayera had never seen a life form like him and looked at him curiously.
"I observed the footage of Superman fighting the creatures. They backed away briefly everytime an explosion happened, the light proving to be the source of their hesitation. I was on my way to inform you, Batman, about it. Instead, I ran into our mutual friends who were worried and I went out to find you." explained Shayera.
"I'll have to check up later then. For now, we have an advantage then by knowing their weakness." said Batman.
"Yo, Bats! How about introducing us?" said Flash, smirking an arrogant smile at Batman.
Batman narrowed his eyes at the Flash but nevertheless said, "Hawkgirl, this is the Flash-"
"-Of Central City. I am the fastest man alive, sweetheart." said Flash, interrupting Batman. He zoomed around everybody to prove his point and stopped next to Shayera holding a wild flower she recognized that came from a meadow a good five miles away from here. She accepted the flower and placed it inside her chest armor, to keep it safe. The Flash smiled at her acceptance and zoomed back to his place.
"I'm Superman," introduced the Man of Steel, "It's an honor to finally meet you." He extended his hand out to shake hands with her and Shayera briefly hesitated but forced herself to shake hands back, remembering that he was the Last Son of Krypton—meaning there were no threats of any Kryptonian invasion coming to Earth.
"Hawkgirl of Midway City," introduced Shayera to him and the others, not wanting them to know her real name, "I have heard much about you Superman. It's… nice to finally meet you." Superman smiled at her words and Shayera smiled back. Perhaps they might have a friendly acquaintanceship in the long run, but Shayera could see herself working alongside him.
The dark-skinned man in the black and green uniform walked up to her and introduced himself, "John Stewart, Green Lantern Corps." Shayera could feel her eyebrows raise at the military formality he introduced himself with and decided to respond in kind, "Hawkgirl, Captain of the Thanagarian Law Enforcement and the Midway City Police Department." She saw his eyes widen a bit at the new information he had seemed to skip over but they shook hands anyways.
"Hello. My name is Diana of Themyscira." introduced the tall woman. Shayera felt the Absorbascon blare to life and the Greek Mythology and History of the Amazons filled her head. "Amazonian?" asked Shayera. The woman, Diana, smiled and said, "So you have heard of us?"
"Only your basic history and myth. As far as present times goes, I know nothing." said Hawkgirl as she shook her hand. Shayera looked at the Martian and asked, "I believe I need to be caught up to what you know. I am Hawkgirl as you know." The Martian nodded in greeting and said, "And my name is J'onn J'onnz."
J'onn J'onnz began his tragic tale of his own encounter with the invaders. His home world was the sister planet of Earth, Mars. It was a utopia during their heyday. J'onn had family of his own, a wife and two children. Their peacefulness was shattered when the Imperials arrived and began to round up the Martians in order to feed off their telepathic powers and shape shifting abilities. For years the Imperials had eliminated all of the Martian kind until only a small rebel group was formed and made a suicide run to eradicate the Imperials in their own territory. J'onn was the one who had released the nerve gas that had incapacitated the Imperials on his planet, but unfortunately he was also the last one standing. He had kept the Imperials from waking up by guarding over the Citadel until the fateful day when, during his hibernation cycle, humans landed on Mars and had accidently awoken the Imperials.
"I have tried to warn you all of the coming disaster but they had managed to intercept me and have kept me prisoner." finished J'onn. Shayera felt a wave of sadness sweep over her for the lone Martian in front of her. She couldn't bear to think of losing her home world and family the way he had. She focused her mind though on the upcoming mission at hand. Earth was in danger and she needed to protect her adopted home world.
"Why can't you whip up another batch of the nerve gas?" asked The Flash.
"The nerve gas was created by a rare Mars wildflower and I brought a sample with me that was eventually destroyed by the Imperials." said J'onn. Well there went that option, Shayera thought. She looked around to see that the others had the same thought and listened as Batman began to take charge.
The group decided to split off into teams in order to fully handle the machines that were currently dispensing smoke up into the hemisphere in order to blot out the sun. The ion charge needed to be reversed in order to render the machines useless. Each group carried the charge that will reverse the polarity and bring back the sunny skies that were supposed to be shown right about now. Once they reached the main reactor they were to look for the ion crystal and place the charge in it. Shayera was paired with Superman and they both made their way to the closest machine, which was in one of the clear meadows of the Midway National Park. Shayera and Superman could see the Imperials down below, patrolling their machine as it began to pollute the sky. Shayera motioned for Superman to follow her and they landed in the trees, observing from afar.
"So you're from the planet, Thanagarian?" asked Superman as an attempt to break the tension. Shayera snorted in amusement and said, "Thanagar. I am from the planet Thanagar."
Superman chuckled and said, "I've read the Daily Planet's coverage of you five years ago. You crash-landed here. Have you found a way home yet?" Shayera shook her head and said, "There was a point where I had the chance, but it slipped from my grasp." Superman gave her a grim look and said, "I'm sorry. You must have family that you miss."
Shayera looked over at Superman and said, "I do. But I'm comforted with the knowledge that they are safe. I took down a dangerous criminal in the process of crash-landing here on your planet, but I have found a home. And it is a home I will die for." With those words, Shayera flared her wings and launched herself towards the Imperials and began to beat her way through to the machine. She could vaguely hear Superman follow behind her and help her eliminate the enemies. Though his fighting skills were basic at best, his super strength help turn the tide of the fight in their favor. Superman began to beat down the walls of the machine while Shayera kept the grounded Imperials busy. As Superman had finally opened a hole in the machine, he called out, "Hawkgirl! Follow me!"
Shayera beat down the last of the Imperials before following Superman into the machine. It was dark and a little claustrophobic, but Shayera had a mission and it needed to be completed. They walked down the confusing hallways, trying to find the main reactor for the machine. It was while walking down the hallways that they encountered another group of Imperials running in their direction.
"Hawkgirl, get behind-" but whatever Superman was about to say was cut short when Shayera launched herself into the battle. As they began to fire at her, Shayera crossed her arms in front of her to deflect the beams. Once she was in range, she quickly unclipped her mace and began to beat down the Imperials. As one tried to grip her wings, Shayera brought her wings in closely before forcefully spreading them out with enough force to knock several against the wall. The fight only lasted about a few seconds as Shayera had quickly dispatched them with her mace. She turned to see Superman staring at her with surprised eyes and said, "What? There's a time for words and a time for action."
"You seem to like the strike first, ask questions later right? Are you always eager for a fight?" asked Superman. "Not true," said Shayera as she led the way, "If you seem to recall, I waited for Batman's signal before I helped you. In other times I do tend to strike first, but that's only because in Thanagar they teach you how to fight at an early age. If you don't know how to defend yourself in Thanagar, you're good as dead. It's the way I was raised."
Superman processed her words and thought it over as they walked down the hallway. What kind of world do you live in where it was required for children to learn how to handle a weapon and fight instead of learning how to play games and be carefree? He couldn't think more on the subject though as the front way was suddenly sealed.
"It's a trap!" he cried out. They were too late to do anything however as all possible exits were sealed. Shayera gripped her mace and began to beat against the walls, hoping that she can find a weak point and create an exit. "Don't worry Hawkgirl, I'll-AAAAAUUUHGG!" he yelled when he tried to rip the doors open, only to be electrocuted. "Superman!" yelled Shayera as she flew towards the fallen hero. She placed his arm around her shoulders and tried to lift him up, only for gas to start filling the chambers. Shayera held her breath and tried to desperately to search for an exit, but couldn't find any. She couldn't hold her breath any longer and gasped, breathing in the gas and feeling it affect her senses. Her vision blurred and Shayera coughed as she tried to exhume the gas. She fell to her knees and tried to stand up, but eventually the gas won over and knocked her unconscious.
Shayera groaned and opened her eyes. She felt like each eyelid had a weight tied down to it and opted to close her eyes again. "Hawkgirl!" she heard someone call out. She opened her eyes with effort to see she was in a different room. She tried to move her limbs but found that she couldn't move them at all. Her eyes snapped open and she saw that she was kneeling on the ground with a sticky substance prohibiting her from moving at all. Shayera began to thrash against her bindings and heard Superman call out to her, "Hawkgirl! There's no way to escape, conserve your energy!"
Shayera looked around to see that she and Superman were not the only ones who were captured. Diana, Flash, J'onn, and Green Lantern were there with them as well. The room was spacious and the six were kneeling in front of a platform where several Imperials had their weapons trained on them. Shayera looked around again and noticed the ion crystal behind her. It was so close but with her limbs tied down, she can do nothing.
"What happened?" she asked.
"We walked right into their trap. We had no way to know." said Superman. Shayera looked around again to notice Batman missing and asked, "Where's Batman?" He had gone with Diana and J'onn to take down one of the machines near one of the agricultural fields of Gotham City. Diana and J'onn looked down to the ground in mourning and Shayera felt herself stiffen in response. There was no way this man would be beaten down like this. He couldn't be dead. She had promised to keep him safe for Alfred and Tim! He was her first friend and ally on this planet! She had failed him… she had failed Batman. She had failed Midway City, Commissioner Emmett, Kendra, Grubs, Alice… everybody.
Shayera would have spent more time dwelling on her feelings of sorrow self-pity when the Imperial Commander made an appearance. He was a large purple and black blob that the red and white bowed down to as it floated in front of the fallen heroes. Shayera felt absolute hatred engulf her mind as she watched the Imperium float towards them. If it was the last thing she does in the land of the living, she will kill this parasite.
"J'onn J'onnz," said the Imperium, addressing J'onn, "It's been a long time." With that, J'onn was lifted telepathically until he was in front of the Imperium. Two of the Imperials held staffs and began to light it up, turning it to J'onn and electrifying him. Shayera watched in horror as J'onn screamed in pain until he shifted back into his natural form. "There," mocked the Imperium, " That's better. You have defied us for centuries."
"And I will never bow to you or your kind," responded J'onn defiantly. Shayera smirked at his response and silently cheered for him. It may seem a bit childish but Shayera was feeling for an itch to fight but can't do anything being tied down as she was.
"Then we shall see if we can accomplish what should have been done a long time ago... Eliminating the last Martian." Said the Imperium as it began to latch onto J'onn's skin with its tentacles. Shayera watched in horror as it dug into J'onn and she could see the tentacles going up the side of his body to his head where J'onn unleashed an unearthly scream. She struggled against her bonds and felt her mace. She felt relief swell up in her that the Imperials haven't removed her mace while she was unconscious. Shayera gripped it tightly and felt the charge swell up. She willed the charge to go up to its maximum, grabbing the attention of all around her.
"What are you doing?" cried out the Green Lantern. Shayera ignored him and continued to push the charge beyond its limit. The electricity began to discharge the heat melted the sticky substance that held her down. She was vaguely aware of the Imperials that began to fire at her, but with her armor she was safe from the blasts. She gave out a cry and broke free from her hardened prison and flew up in the air.
"KILL HER!" cried out the Imperium. He had left J'onn on the floor and was attempting to reach out to her with his tentacles. Shayera still held the electrified mace at its maximum charge and she swung it around her head and released it. The mace flew towards the barrier that protected the crystal and it broke through the shield barrier.
"NOW!" She heard J'onn yell and to her delight Batman appeared from the shadows and threw the ion charge into the opening Shayera had made with her mace. The charge went through the whole compound, turning the pink slush that powered the machine into bright neon blue. Shayera quickly swooped down and grabbed Batman before the Imperials' blasts hit him. The black smoke that fed up into the sky had turned into a laser of blue that parted the dark grey swirls and sunshine had flown through. Superman felt regenerated as the yellow rays fed him his power and he used his heat vision to cut through the bindings. He freed the others and pretty soon (much to Shayera's enjoyment) it turned into an all out brawl.
Shayera had never felt this much exhilaration in the last five years. Memories of bar fights and friendly brawls echoed in her mind and for once, she felt a sort of belonging since coming here to Earth. She dodged a blast that was heading towards her and watched as the Green Lantern easily blocked the blast with his power ring. Shayera looked at him curiously, wondering the kind of fighter you had to be in order to hold a weapon such his. He looked at her briefly with his glowing green eyes and Shayera gave a brief smile before jumping into the fray.
Once the battle was over, Shayera noticed that the Imperium was trying to make a quick getaway. Diana quickly grabbed her lasso and lassoed the Imperium by its tentacles. Superman quickly dispatched the Mothership and Diana held on to the Imperium as the sun caused it to implode. Shayera stood hovering in the air for a while and rejoiced at having taken part in stopping an invasion. It was exhilarating and she had felt kinship with these people. She looked around to notice that she was not in the National Park, rather in an unfamiliar city. She flew down next to Batman and asked, "Where am I?"
"You're in Metropolis." said Batman as he and Shayera walked towards the others to regroup.
"Metropolis?" said Shayera before she panicked and said, "I need to return to Midway! How far am I?"
"About a five hour flight back to Midway." said Batman, worried as he watched Shayera stiffen at the information. Even with her mask on, Bruce knew the look of panic was on her face.
"I can give you a lift sweetheart." said the Flash with a smirk on his face.
"I don't think you can carry me with my armor on," said Shayera, wanting to take his offer but knowing that her armor might weigh him down.
"Hey I can do it," said Flash with a bit of a pout, "Just trust me."
Shayera gave a small smile and took his offered hand. He quickly lifted her onto his back and said, "Tuck your wings in so I don't have to fight against resistance too." Shayera followed his instructions and one minute Batman was there and the next, Shayera witnessed landmarks zooming by and she was suddenly in Midway. She gasped when she realized she was standing on top of the Police Headquarters. She looked around and spotted a large group of policemen holding a barricade near one of the entrances to the city. Shayera looked out and saw that the Imperials were still trying to invade the city. The lights Commissioner Emmett had collected from all around the city proved to work as a barrier against the Invaders, who hesitated wondering closed. They were firing at the lights sources in order to extinguish it and Shayera knew she only had moments to act before Midway was engulfed in darkness.
Shayera took her mace and charged it to its full maximum again. She turned to the Flash and said, "Can you tell Commissioner Emmett to tell his men to stay close to the ground?" Flash nodded and sped off as Shayera flew high above in the air and continued to charge her mace. Shayera was sure that the time to enact stupid plans was far from over as she decided to perform the same trick Livewire had done in the National Park three years ago. Once Shayera knew that she was at a good distance up above, she folded her wings back and dive-bombed towards the army of Imperials that were attempting to enter Midway. Shayera could briefly see that the officers had dove down to the ground the minute they saw her and she hit the ground with her mace. The electric charge went around her in an electric dome and lightning burst forth from the impact zone. When the electric charge was done, Shayera quickly got into battle position but relaxed once she realized she was the only one left standing. The police officers warily got up from their position and once they realized that the threat was over, they began to cheer that the invasion was over. Shayera flew towards where she saw Flash and Emmett and greeted them with a smile.
"You never stop surprising us." said Emmett as he gave Shayera a pat on the shoulder.
"You looked awesome! It was like a blue comet was heading our way, it was so cool!" said the Flash as he then prattled like a child. Shayera and Emmett looked at him with amusement before the familiar sight of Superman entered the skies.
"Hawkgirl! Flash! We need your help to take care of the machine in the National Park!" said Superman as he tossed the ion charge to Shayera and she and Flash quickly followed Superman to the National Park. It was quick work to eliminate the machines once they knew what to expect and where to go. The Imperials were all but eradicated by next morning and Shayera was tired by the time the job was over. She wearily flew back to Midway after eliminating the threat in the Agricultural Fields of Gotham City. Shayera flew to Midway City where, to her shock and surprise, the citizens greeted her with cheer. She landed in the middle of the mob and people cheering her name or wanting to take a picture of her suddenly engulfed her. Shayera felt her feathers puff in slight agitation when she was suddenly met with reporters asking questions such as "What was it like working with Superman and the Flash?" or "What is your relationship with Batman and Green Lantern?" or "Who was the woman that fought beside you?" Shayera wanted to fly away the minute she could, but the timely arrival of Emmett and Kendra escort her to the museum. Shayera thought she could have a moment of peace, but Emmett, Kendra, and Mavis and David who were in the museum then bombarded her with questions, the main question being, "What happened?"
Shayera tiredly began her tale and by the time her story was finished, her friends were looking at her with newfound surprise and excitement. "You know, one of these days your 'wild card' escapades is going to get you in trouble." said Kendra. Shayera shrugged and said with a smirk, "I normally think through my actions but there are times where I will go off in a frenzy." Kendra laughed out loud while Mavis only shook her head in amusement.
"So what does this mean?" asked David.
"What do you mean?" asked Shayera as she stretched her arms, feeling exhaustion setting in.
"Come on. Seven of the Earth's heroes meet together in order to fight a greater evil? Something has to happen." explained David. Shayera smiled at her friend and said, "As of right now, I don't know what's going on." After a long night of talking and a promise to visit Emmett and Alice in the morning, Shayera wearily climbed up the stairs to her attic home and took her mask off once she was inside. She was so exhausted that she didn't notice the red and black haired woman sitting in the corner of the room.
Shayera was suddenly face-down on the floor when she heard the person pinning her down say, "How you doin' Wings?" Shayera froze and looked over her shoulder to see Harley Quinn pinning her down.
"Harley?" she asked. The only other time she had been in contact with Harley Quinn was last year when she helped Bruce stop the Joker's plans.
"The one and only." said Harley as she got up from Shayera and helped her up.
"What are you doing here? You're a little far from New York are you not?" asked Shayera as she stood up and gestured to Harley to sit on her hammock. Harley took the offered seat and said, "I'm in a bit of a pickle and I would like to ask if you wouldn't mind being my wild card." Shayera blinked in surprise at her statement and asked, "Wild Card?"
"I heard what the lady downstairs called you. A wild card, huh? I'd like to think of myself as a wild card." said Harley as she laid down on the hammock and began to swing back and forth. Shayera looked at Harley and said, "What would a wild card have need for a wild card?" Harley laughed out loud and said, "I like you. Look, there's a group that's been hunting me down ever since I left Mr. J's… employment. I spent the last year trying to evade them but I'm at the end of m'ah string and I'm bored now. When they catch me, I want you to be my outside source in case it turns more dangerous than it needs to be."
"So you want me to help break you out in case you can't handle it?" asked Shayera.
"More like, in case I need back up." confirmed Harley. Shayera looked at her with speculative eyes. In one hand, she knew next to nothing about Harley. In another hand, Shayera was starting to like the spunky yet strange woman that was across from her. Shayera said, "Ok, but how will we keep in contact?"
"With this." said Harley, showing Shayera a small micro-communicator. Shayera took it from her and examined it. It was a very well designed communicator. Shayera grabbed her mask and placed the chip inside of it. She put her mask on and Harley talked in her own communicator.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" she heard Harley in her helmet as though she were right next to her ear. Shayera nodded her head and said, "It works Harley."
Harley gave her a devious smile and said, "Good. Now all that's left is to make this look good." Shayera looked at her in confusion before…
David and Mavis were leaving after closing the museum early and wanting to call it an early night. After yesterday and this morning's events, David and Mavis wanted to give the museum employees time to breath and relax. They were walking down the steps of the museum when they heard a crash and a yell from above them. They crouched down to avoid the falling debris and to their astonishment saw Hawkgirl crash into the street. Cars passing by screeched to a halt to avoid running over Midway's heroine and people got out of their vehicles and backed away in case of a fight. Their worries came true when Harley Quinn jumped out of the open wall from Hawkgirl's balcony carrying a mallet.
"Heads up!" they heard Quinn yell and she smashed the mallet into Hawkgirl's stomach. David and Mavis winced when they heard Hawkgirl cry out in pain but they watched as she grabbed the mallet and pulled Harley towards her where she kicked her up in the air and threw the mallet away from the fight. Harley was laughing when she came back down and attempted to stomp on Hawkgirl with her heeled boots. Hawkgirl had rolled to the side and used her wings as a barrier against Harley's kicks. David was quickly calling for the police while Mavis was helping other people avoid the fight.
Hawkgirl had managed to catch Quinn in a full nelson and was ramming her against the wall in order to stop Quinn and hopefully knock her unconscious. Quinn then managed to break free from Hawkgirl's hold and used the wall to flip over Hawkgirl and kicked her between the wings. Shayera grunted but didn't feel any pain as her armor protected her. Hawkgirl jabbed her elbow from behind and caught Harley on her chin, but Harley gave a swift kick up and got Hawkgirl under her chin, the few vulnerable areas of her whole armor. Hawkgirl choked as her throat began to reflex and was attempting to empty an empty stomach.
David and Mavis had led people into the museum to avoid becoming collateral damage and were watching outside the screen doors with a few other people as Hawkgirl had managed to pin Harley to the floor. The sound of sirens was heard and Commissioner Emmett and Detective Grubs were the first to arrive on the scene.
"Harley Quinn! Put your hands in the air!" yelled Commissioner Emmett. He had his weapon pointed at Quinn and she stopped struggling against Hawkgirl. Grubs went forward and handcuffed Harley as Hawkgirl released her.
"Commissioner Emmett!" came the voice of Amanda Waller. Hawkgirl turned to see her and several ARGUS agents behind her walk towards them.
"Ms. Waller, another convict for you?" asked Emmett.
"If you don't mind," said Waller politely, "She's been wanted by Belle Reve Penitentiary for a whole year."
"Well here you go." said Grubs as he handed Quinn over to the ARGUS agents. Quinn discreetly gave a small nod to Hawkgirl who caught the message and said, "If she ever escapes, don't hesitate to contact me. I still have a score to settle over my wrecked apartment." At this, Amanda Waller gave a smile over to Hawkgirl and said, "Hell, I'll let you lead your task force if something like this happens." As ARGUS left with the captive Harley Quinn, Shayera couldn't help but marvel at how easy it was to pretend to hate Quinn. She should be a spy next if her career as a police officer doesn't work out.
It had been a week since the Imperials had tried to take over the Earth. Shayera was patrolling the city when a surprise visit from Superman interrupted her routine. "Hawkgirl! I need you to come with me!" he said.
"Later. I'm still on my shift." said Shayera as she continued to fly along her patrol.
"Shift?"
"I work for the Midway Police Department, or did you forget? The last time I informed the world of it was five years ago."
"Can't you spare a few hours?" asked Superman, baffled that she still continued to fly around the city scouting for danger.
"Will you ignore the cries of your city for a few hours?" retorted Shayera, annoyed that he was interrupting her patrol.
"There isn't any immediate danger though."
"A simple liquor store robbery can result to lives lost if not handled quickly." said Shayera.
"Look, I got everybody else together because Bruce wanted to show everybody how we can be able to protect the world again from another invading force." said Superman, hoping that by bringing up Batman she will concede to follow even though Bruce had already told him that Hawkgirl was not one to be so careless with her responsibilities.
"All right then, when does your patrol end?" asked Superman, deciding not to fight against the stubborn hero.
"I'll be done within the hour. You can tell Bruce to start ahead without me if its so important." said Shayera as she flew ahead of Superman and resumed her work.
"All right then, I'll meet you in an hour." said Superman as he flew away towards the National Park. He pressed on the communicator in his ear and heard Bruce's voice say, "I told you she wouldn't drop her work."
"I know," said Superman irritated that the Dark Knight was proven right again, "She's dedicated though and responsible. I can hardly fault her for not wanting to leave her work. How exactly did you meet her anyways? You two seemed in synch when we were fighting against the invaders."
"She crash-landed, she needed help to arrest a criminal, Robin grew an attachment to her and she's been visiting Gotham whenever she is allowed to have free time." explained Batman.
"Huh, does she know that Tim has moved to California with the other kids?" asked Superman.
"Not yet, Tim wanted to be the one to tell her." said Bruce.
Within the hour, Superman returned to Midway to see Hawkgirl waiting for him above the city. "All right, lead the way." said Shayera when she saw Superman coming over to her direction.
Superman smiled and said, "Hold on." He pressed on the communicator in his ear and said, "Ok, we're ready." Shayera was confused and wondered what was about to happen when she felt a chill run down her entire body. One moment she was above Midway City and the next moment she was in an air-conditioned room that held several computers on the wall. She balked and flew upwards, trying to find out where she was taken.
"Relax Hawkgirl," she heard Batman say from above. She noticed that she was originally standing on a platform and saw outside the window to see stars, but… it was only mid-afternoon. Shayera flew up to where Bruce was standing and looked out the window. She gasped as she realized that they were in space. They were orbiting outside the planet as though it were a moon.
"H-How?" asked Shayera.
"Wayne Enterprises had been working on several satellite prototypes for the last two years. This Watchtower is just another prototype that is buried beneath the paperwork by a friend name Lucius Fox." explained Batman. Shayera looked at the stars in wonder. She had seen many down in Earth whenever she was feeling restless and flew out into the National Park. This was something extraordinary. She looked out past the Earth though and up into the stars. Somehow she felt that she was at least a little closer to home. Batman noticed her look and said, "Wayne Enterprises is still working on the Deep Space Communicator. It had taken us ten years to work through the initial blueprints, but I'm sure we'll be able to work on it faster." Shayera smiled at his words and said, "You don't have to do anything Bruce. I've accepted long ago that perhaps maybe I was meant to be here. I miss my home and family yes, but I've moved on as I'm sure they've moved on." Bruce offered her a rare smile in comfort and said, "You'll always have a home with us."
"This must have cost a fortune!" cried out the voice of the Flash. He zoomed by Batman and Hawkgirl with a cup of what smelled like coffee. "The kitchen is fully stocked too!" Diana had walked in while Flash was talking, taking a sip of her own cup.
She gave a small satisfied sigh and said, "They don't have these on Themyscira." Flash zoomed next to her and said, "Stick with me babe and I can show you plenty of things they don't have on Themyscira." Shayera had to roll her eyes when Diana innocently replied, "I would love that." She needed to take Diana on first hand look of this world filled with men if she wasn't going back to Themyscira.
"This is marvelous." she heard the Green Lantern's voice call out from above. Shayera looked up to see the Green Lantern and J'onn J'onnz join the group as Superman walked over to them as well.
"So," said Shayera, "Is there a reason why you called us all together?" Superman seemed to hesitate when all eyes were on him and said, "I always thought I could protect this world all by myself. But I realize now that there is only one of me. Even a superman can't be in two places at once. I called you all in together to see if you would like to participate in helping me protect our world."
"So what? Kind of like a Superfriends?" joked the Flash.
"I was thinking more along the lines of a Justice League." smiled Superman.
"I'm in." said the Flash.
"As am I." said Diana.
"Same here." said Green Lantern.
"I will join as well." said J'onn J'onnz.
Everybody stared at Hawkgirl and Batman who have yet to say anything. Hawkgirl had been staring out into the stars while Batman was looking at them speculatively.
"Batman? Hawkgirl? You in?" asked Superman. Batman thought it over and said, "I won't participate in as much missions, but give me a call when it's necessary… and stay out of Gotham." Superman just smiled at Batman's predictable words and said, "Hawkgirl?"
Shayera thought it over quickly. On one hand, she is going to be juggling her time on Midway to participating in protecting the entire planet. In another, she got to understand more of this planet rather than what's beyond the usual territory of Midway and Gotham. There was also the promise she had made to Harley to always be available whenever she calls and to keep their partnership a secret from everybody else. Shayera was sure however that she would be able to make it work.
"I'll do it, but you must remain outside of Midway in the meantime. Commissioner Emmett is very vocal about allowing… heroes in the city." said Shayera.
"He lets you in." said the Flash, not liking that there was another city he was initially banned from going to.
"I work under him though. I do not go around Midway performing my own brand of justice. Everything I do in Midway is under the training and guidance I received by the Midway City Police Department." explained Shayera. Superman nodded his head and said, "Understood. So I guess we're a team then."
Hey what's up readers? I finally finished the Justice League intro chapter. I want to know what you guys think of the changes I made to Shayera's character and the story so far. I really want to know what you guys think. Future chapters are going to be episodes from the TV series and as you've noticed, I made Shayera become an unofficial member of the Suicide Squad. Why? Because I'm so freaking excited for the movie that I must write something about it. Who should I pair Harley with and should I make the chapters more Shayera-centric? Thanks again and please review :3