A Girl's Day and Night

Three months after Shayera's introduction to Scarecrow's toxin, she was sitting in the Watchtower Monitor Room with Flash. Commissioner Emmett, Alice, Kendra, Danny, and Mavis were relieved that Shayera had recovered from her toxin-induced state and they were quick to forgive her before she could even offer an apology. They were flattered that at the first sign of an alien invasion, they were the first that Shayera was going to try to protect. Alice acted like a mother hen throughout that weekend, setting up an actual curfew for Shayera to stay out and refusing to allow Shayera to sleep in the museum, offering up the guest room for Shayera to sleep in. Shayera allowed herself to be spoiled over by Alice if only to give the older woman a sense of comfort. George often smirked at Shayera whenever Alice began to fret and nag over her, happy that the attention was off of him for a change. Kendra and Mavis proved to be very loyal friends and would often spend Shayera's breaks hanging out with her. Danny had offered to always be available whenever she needed to talk and she often took his offer, happy to have someone to open up to about her experience.

Her time as a Justice League member did little to dampen her relationship with Midway City. If anything, it boosted their popularity and brought in many tourists from around the world wanting to see the 'Angel'. Since the Justice League was a global response team, Shayera had visited many places were people viewed her to be a holy deity. Flash and Lantern had a field day laughing at her expense when during a call to Italy, many of the people wanted to pray with her and asked her to take their prayers with her to heaven. Shayera had a difficult time recovering from that experience but did her best explaining to the people her origins. While some believed her, many others didn't and assumed she was just playing humble.

One of the worst experiences she had was when she discovered that a cult existed where they worshipped fallen angels. While not directly worshipping Satan, it was a cult that was too (in the words of Flash) creepy to hang around with. Shayera politely turned down their offer, but she was never too sure if that was the last she'll see of them.

The Justice League was rapidly becoming a known group all around the planet as they began to take on cases that needed their attention. So far, they had managed to stop extraterrestrial individuals from wrecking havoc in all parts of the globe. It wasn't just aliens however that brought their attention. Villains of all types and forms attracted their attention as well and they were called to stop their nefarious activities. Shayera remembered a particular incident with Luminous when she was paired with J'onn. The fiend used light as his source of power and he had managed to blind Shayera for most of the fight. She thanked the seven heavens that J'onn was there and he helped her lure Luminous in a room to which she unleashed a volley of electricity from her mace all around the room. Luminous was rendered unconscious and J'onn was able to properly heal her eyes once they arrived back to the Watchtower.

Shayera was looking at a civil protest news alert in New York when the doors behind her swooshed open. In came Wonder Woman who was coming in to take over for Flash.
"Hey sweetheart," flirted the Flash. Diana gave him a polite smile and said, "Good evening Flash."

"You know, if it were up to me? I'd change the alphabet so U and I can be together." flirted Flash. Shayera had to stop herself from snorting at his stupid pick up line. She had heard plenty of idiotic one-liners during the year when Grubs was courting Kendra. Kendra had found them endearing, but Shayera had found them to be extremely irritating. She shook her head when Diana naively responded, "Why would you though? I see no benefit in changing the alphabet."

"Oh yeah? Well how about this, did it hurt whe—"

"Alright you're starting to hurt my ears," interrupted Shayera, "Go!"

Flash gave her a fake look of hurt before speeding over and giving her a brief hug and leaving. After the Scarecrow incident, Flash acted very brotherly to Shayera after she confessed that he reminded her so much of her brother. She found it a little endearing but she wasn't really much on acting very 'mushy' as Tim puts it on people she is just starting to know. Diana took over Flash's empty chair and said, "You two have gotten closer."

"He reminds me so much of my little brother. I often feel homesick for my home, but I have found new family on Earth." said Shayera, deciding to open up a little. This was actually the first time they were both paired in the Monitor Duty.

"How long has it been since you've been here?"

"Five years."

"Five? How do you do it? I'm still feeling homesick for Themyscira and it has only been three months." said Diana. Shayera looked over to her and saw the obvious homesickness on her face. She looked back at the Earth and said, "It wasn't easy. My family by now should have already burned a funeral pyre for me if they couldn't find a body. I had a year to learn how to live with it, though. I worked in the Midway City Police Department and I have adopted the people as my own, to help ease the homesickness."

Diana mulled over Hawkgirl's words in her head. It made sense. Hawkgirl was on this planet for five years getting used to Earth. Diana was born on this planet but she was just as much an alien as J'onn was than Hawkgirl was. Somehow Hawkgirl was capable of learning things on the spot instead of having to struggle through them. Diana wondered what type of training Shayera received and asked, "Were you really an officer of the law in your home world?"

Hawkgirl actually looked a little surprised by her question but responded anyways, "Yes. Why'd you ask?"

"No reason, just… curious you could say. Your fighting style suggests more militaristic than normal though."

"Perhaps militaristic by human standpoint. Trust me when I say this Diana, our military is more brutal and vicious than what they train us to do in the Law Enforcement Academy. Our military's methods are questionable and we have actually formed protests when we first received news about war crimes being performed by our own soldiers."

"You don't support your military?"

"No, I have told Batman this before. My planet used to be filled with peace until the Gordanians showed up. My parents spoke of a time when utopia existed but now… with war comes crimes and my people were corrupted by it. We needed a law enforcement system and it was formed. Unfortunately we are still a new concept and it was formed when my parents had graduated from the Academy. We hope to win the war by using moral and ethical means. Killing is something that is unavoidable but we don't want to win this war by a cowards way."

"Your people seem like a very honorable race."

"Are we? Again, war corrupts and whatever honor my planet has is only in the few now. I thank the seven heavens that my brother has some sense in his head and he didn't end up following the propaganda dogma the military has issued."

"This is all… interesting, if you don't mind me saying," said Diana, deep in thought, "Would you consider yourself to be one of the few honorable ones left?"

"I hope so. Otherwise my entire stance on life would be for naught. My mother really was the one that led my family to strive to preserve honor and justice. I'm really the only one in my family to hold a position of authority, but even I agree with everything my mother and soon after my father has to say."

"What is your mother like?" asked Diana, feeling forlornly for her own mother. Shayera thought it over and said, "She's… She was my shield against the bullies, the light whenever I had nightmares, my friend when I needed somebody to talk to, and… my mother when I needed her to love me. She's incredibly intelligent and she could have gotten a position in the High Council's Science Division, but she chose to stick with Archeology and discover more history of our race instead of pandering to the needs of the military. I hope she doesn't feel like a terrible mother for not stopping me from chasing down Byth. Maybe then, I would be home and not here."

Shayera felt the familiar feelings of homesickness rise within her and she did her best to not cry. It has been five years, but it still felt like it was only yesterday that she had promised her mother and father to be present during her brother's ceremony. She hopes that they had forgiven her for not upholding to her promise, even if they believe her to be dead. Diana knew—even if Hawkgirl's mask was on—that she still felt homesick. Hawkgirl was no longer looking at the Earth but at the stars in hope to find her home. Diana knew the feeling all too well.

"I hope my mother forgives me for my treachery," confessed Diana, "What was I to do though? When I received the message from J'onn I knew I had to act. I couldn't leave innocents unprotected when I knew I could make the difference."

"You did the right thing in my eyes, if it helps. There had been too many captains and officers that decided to skip out on their duties, which motivated me to work on my day off. I managed to stop Byth from escaping but… well, you know the story after." sighed Shayera.

"Do you mind if I ask… what it is like to have a father? And a brother?" asked Diana. So far, Shayera was the only member on this team that had a sibling and while Diana had often dreamed of having a little sister, she now wonders what it would be like to have a male figure growing up.

"My father? Strong, brave, protective but he was loving all the same. I was bullied in my younger years because I was the only short female among my peers. I had the shortest wingspan and height, which made me a target to many of my peers. I had no friends at the time and it felt like it was the world vs. myself. I was miserable and my father caught onto it immediately. He escorted me to school one day and began to demonstrate many of the latest designs that he had made for the military and law enforcement. It was an ill-disguised threat, but many of my bullies had received the message." said Shayera with a smile on her face laughing quietly when she remembered the feared looks she received after that day, "My brother had it very easy though compared to me. He's such a natural charmer. Very friendly and it's very difficult to stay mad at him for too long. I think I made him proud, I was never too sure though he was always off with his friends. We always spent time together though so I knew he loved me almost as much as I loved him."

Diana heard the obvious love in Hawkgirl's voice and wondered again what it must feel like to have a sibling that shared the same blood.

A red alarm blared through the screens and Diana punched in the coordinates to see where the trouble laid. To Shayera's horror, Midway City was in the process of being demolished by a rampaging Cheval.
"CHEVAL!" snarled Shayera and she quickly leapt up from her seat and flew to the teleporter. She quickly typed in Midway City's coordinates and dived to the teleportation pad, Diana quickly following after her. They were teleported in the middle of the Main Street in front of the Police Department. Shayera glanced around frantically saw smoke rise from a few blocks over. She vaguely noted Diana following after her and she flew towards the smoke source. Cheval—or Monocle, as he is preferring to call himself now—was destroying random debris to get people running away from his destination, the bank. Shayera almost had to scoff at his obvious attempt to rebuild his fortune. Most businessmen will never trust banks and Shayera knew that it was his obvious downfall aside from his stupid trust on Harrison.

"Cheval!" screamed Shayera as she stood behind him, mace at the ready.

"Ah, Hawkgirl. I was wondering when you'd show up. See this," taunted Cheval as he pointed to his monocle, "this is my newest invention. I'm sure you'll find it to be quite enlightening." His monocle glowed and hit Shayera straight in the abdomen. She flew back, surprised by its power but thankful that it was still not enough to pierce her armor. She hit the street and managed to maneuver herself to fly up and attract his attention. Thankfully he hadn't seen Diana, who was quickly helping citizens avoid the battle. Diana was worried when she saw that there were still many citizens that were in danger of being blasted by Cheval's monocle blasts. Diana watched as Shayera battled with Cheval, often trying not to hit so hard with her mace so as not to kill him. Cheval though used his blasts to its full potential, often forcing Shayera to block and absorb its power with her armor so as not to deflect them on any innocents. Diana grabbed her lasso and twirled it above her head and said, "Hera! Give me strength."

She threw the lasso and it flew over Cheval's form and she pulled on it, forcing the lasso to go down on Cheval and lasso him towards her. He fought against his bindings and snarled as Diana grabbed his monocle and crushed it in her hand, causing the glass piece to turn to powder. Shayera flew down next to her and said, "Thank you."

"What's the matter, Hawkgirl," sneered Cheval, "Was I too much for you to handle that you needed the glorified arm candy to help you?" Diana watched as Shayera's mouth turned into a snarl and she punched the man unconscious. Shayera watched passively as he fell groaning while Diana looked at her and asked, "Was that really necessary?"

"Trust me, he was asking for it." said Shayera.

"But we must be—"

"Being the diplomat works well for you Diana not only because you are Greek but because you were raised to be one, princess. Think of me as your bodyguard whenever we're both in public: it will be my job to make sure that those who insult you, know not to." said Shayera as she hoisted the unconscious Cheval and dragged him to the waiting police car. Commissioner Emmett and a couple of his men were already waiting for her when an army jeep came rolling up behind them. Emmett signaled his men to stand down and approached the woman.

"Who is she?" asked Diana.

"Amanda Waller. She's the current director of a company called ARGUS." explained Shayera.

"What is it?"

"As far as I know, they just take the criminals away from Midway. Most, if not all, the criminals in her Belle Reve Penitentiary are there by my doing." said Shayera as she watched Waller's men take Cheval away. Amanda Waller looked around until she spotted Hawkgirl and approached her. She gave a brief nod to Diana and said, "You know Hawkgirl if I had known you were been looking for a group to join I would have extended an invitation for you to join my Taskforce."

"I'll admit, it was a spur of the moment decision but I'll always be available for the Midway City Police Department and to that extend ARGUS." said Shayera.

"I'll be sure to remember that," smiled Amanda, "I actually have a favor to ask of you."

"Yes?"

"Harley Quinn has escaped Belle Reve and even our top agents haven't been able to track her down. We checked her usual hideouts including the ones in Gotham but we haven't been able to find her."

"If your top agents couldn't track her, what makes me special?" asked Shayera.

"Your skills in detective work has been monitored by my men through the years. You're exposé on Mob Boss Harrison, the ASP, and CAW were observed in great detail."

"You… You've been spying on me?"

"No, observing. You are quite possibly one of the few supers in this world I wouldn't mind working alongside with. Just remember please to keep an eye out for Quinn and about that offer to join my Taskforce." said Amanda as she left with her men. George casually walked up to Shayera and said teasingly, "First I have to loan you to the Justice League and now to ARGUS? I must admit, I don't know how to feel to have such a high profile detective in my force."

"Detective?" asked Shayera.
"Yeah, the board and I talked it over and," said George as he presented Shayera with a Detective's badge, "we decided that you have definitely earned the title of Detective. Congratulations."

Shayera was never one to gush but at that moment she felt her wings flap a little in excitement as she took the badge and gave George an arm-wing hug. He chuckled and said, "So now that you're in Midway, how about you go to the station and inform your partner that she is now in league with her husband."

"I can't, I left the monitor station to come here and—"

"Actually," interrupted Diana, "I just called J'onn and Flash. They agreed to take over for us for today and offer their congratulations for your promotion."

George laughed and said, "Head on down to the station and tell Kendra to take a break. She actually brought little Grubs to work today."

"Hmm," smiled Shayera amusedly, "I bet she's looking for a break from her desk job."

Shayera led Diana to the police station and sure enough, when they entered George's office they saw a disheveled Kendra trying to calm a crying baby. Shayera wanted to laugh at the sight but felt sorry for Kendra and made her presence known, "I told you to take more time off."

Kendra whirled around and almost burst into tears, "Shayera!"

"Shayera?" asked Diana. Shayera smiled sheepishly and said, "It's my name."

"I'm so happy to see you," said Kendra as she walked over to Shayera, "It's been almost forever since I've seen you."

Feeling a little guilty, Shayera said, "I promise to find more time. How's George?"

"If you're talking about my son, call him Junior. I keep looking over my shoulder for my uncle." said Kendra. Shayera chuckled a little and said, "Ok, how's Junior?"

"Well, he's calmed down the minute you made yourself known. Then again, why wouldn't he recognize his own godmother." said Kendra as she extended her arms and offered Shayera to carry Junior. Shayera took her talon hand off and gently carried Junior. He looked at her with his wide brown eyes and laughed. Shayera laughed with him and gently patted his nose. He reached out and placed his chubby hands on her mask, attempting to lift it off.

"So Shay," said Kendra as she sat back down on her desk, "Who's your friend?"

"Kendra, this is Diana." said Shayera as she introduced the ladies to each other.
"I hope you're enjoying your time here in Midway. Where are you from?" asked Kendra.

"I'm from Themyscira, home of the Amazons." said Diana.

"Amazons? I thought that was a myth." said Kendra. Shayera gave her a look and said, "I think your perceptions of what is myth should have gone out the moment it has been confirmed you have a real life alien sitting in you chair and holding your child." Kendra laughed at Shayera's comment and said, "Alright sassy. I swear you're becoming more human everyday. So, what brings you here?"

"Your uncle wanted me to come drag you out of the office and help celebrate our promotion." said Shayera.

"Promotion?"

"Congratulations Detective." smiled Shayera as she watched the smile spread on Kendra's face.

"Are-wait, are you… are you serious?" asked Kendra. Shayera nodded her in confirmation and watched as Kendra danced around the room, grabbing Junior and doing a small dance with him. The movement delighted Junior, whose happy laughs brought a smile to Shayera and Diana's faces.

"Let's go celebrate!" said Kendra. After getting everything together, the three ladies and a baby left the station and made their way to Downtown Midway, where Shayera's favorite Chinese restaurant was. After stopping by Big Belly Burgers first and greeting the delightful Chinese couple that own the restaurant, they made their way to the park. Kendra and Shayera had brought their walkie-talkie in the event they were needed for anything and relaxed under the shade of a large oak tree. Diana took the offered meal from Kendra and tried her very first milkshake.

"Mmm," she said, "this is delicious."

"Stick with me girl and I can play host again the same way I did with Shayera. Although if you don't like a certain type of food, please tell me instead of bottling it up like a certain alien we know." said Kendra, grinning when she saw Shayera blush a little under her mask.

"How do women live in your world? As far as I have experienced, I still don't know when I'm being complimented or when I'm being insulted." said Diana. Kendra thought for a minute while playing with Junior when she said, "I don't really know how to explain it. I guess you have to be born in this world. Where's Themyscira?"

"Themyscira is a paradise island. I was raised by my mother and my sisters in the arts of war, democracy, and peace." explained Diana. Kendra gave her a blank stare and looked at Shayera, who was too busy stuffing her face with eel heads until she saw Kendra's stare. She gulped the last of the eel head and said, "Homeschooled-Greek girl raised in an all girl, female empowerment environment."

Kendra nodded her head and said, "Oh! Ok, ummm. Let's see. How up to date are you with our current events?" Diana looked puzzled and Shayera decided to intervene and said, "Try being homeschooled in an all girl, female empowerment island for more than a thousand years."

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Kendra, "You have a lot to catch up on. Come on, let's go see Mavis. I'm pretty sure all those years in her fancy college made her take at least one course in Women Studies."

Midway City Museum

"I actually never took a course in Women Studies." said Mavis as she bounced Junior on her lap.

"Really? Out of all the eight years in college, you never once took a course?" asked Kendra as she offered herself one of Mavis's candies.

"The courses never fit with my schedule, but Danny actually minored in Women Studies." offered Mavis as she handed Junior over to Kendra and reached for her phone.

"Really? Danny? Huh, and to think you knew a person so well." mused Kendra. Shayera only smiled at her bafflement while Diana looked intrigued. When Danny came into the office he greeted Mavis, Kendra, and Shayera with a hug and a handshake to Diana.

"Hello my name is Danny Evans, I don't believe I have the fortune of meeting you." said Danny.

"I am Diana, daughter of Hippolyta: Queen of the Amazons." said Diana. Danny smiled and said, "That's interesting! I remember in my Women Studies class, we read about the Amazons. Tell me, do you really cut off one of your breasts in order to handle your weapons better?"

Shayera had to bite her tongue in order to not laugh out loud while Mavis and Kendra gave him incredulous looks. Diana though looked confused by his question thankfully, but Mavis looked at Danny with a humorless stare and said, "Huh? HUH? Are you serious? What is wrong with you? That's your first question? Is that really your first question?"

Danny blushed and meekly said, "It was in the book."

"I assure that we do not… cut off one of our breasts to handle our weapons. Women can handle weapons just as well as any man." said Diana. Kendra and Shayera gave a small, "Hear! Hear!" from behind Diana as she continued to ask, "I would like to know how Amazons are interpreted in your world. Much of what I know only stops during the height of Greek culture."

So the whole afternoon was spent in catching Diana up to standards. She was pretty much interested in the Women's Suffrage, the Feminist Movement of the 70s and a new campaign going around the world called 'B.R.E.A.K.' (Beauty. Revival. Equity. Action. Knowledge), a new campaign set on raising gender equality. Shayera was enjoying her time with Junior while she allowed the 'adults' to talk, often flaring her wings a bit to make him smile and laugh. She saw Diana look at Junior with a curious look and gestured to Kendra if Diana could hold Junior. When Kendra gave her nod of agreement, Shayera gestured to Diana to hold Junior.

The great Amazonian Princess shifted nervously on her feet as Shayera handed the small male baby in her arms. Diana gazed down at the small baby, wonderment spreading through her as she looked down at the small boy who looked back at her with curiosity in his face. Shayera smiled at the obvious bond that was forming and continued the conversation with Mavis and Danny, informing them of the promotion. By nightfall, Mavis and Danny invited them to the Faucon Bar where Diana had her first taste of American beer. Truth be told, it was the first and last time Diana will ever have beer. Shayera though drank it as though it were water, which to her it might as well be. She watched in amusement as Mavis got a little tipsy and Danny had to be the designated driver by night's end. Kendra and Junior had left separately for their homes and Diana and Shayera waited to be teleported back up to the Watchtower. When they arrived back to the Watchtower, they were greeted with a good-bye from Flash who had to return to Central City. Shayera figured it had to do with his human job as a Forensics scientist. Shayera and Diana retreated into their respective rooms to sleep the night and resume their Monitor Duties.

Shayera didn't really decorate her room in the Watchtower, feeling a little uncomfortable. Never did she have the luxury of sleeping in a space station in Thanagar, but it was still an experience she's trying not to let bother her. Shayera tossed and turned that night. She was still a little excited for her promotion and was eager to go out and prove herself worthy of the position. She was also happy for the day to have turned out so great. With Diana's help, she was able to take down Cheval very quickly and got to spend more time with her friends from Midway than she normally does since joining the League. She was also wondering about Amanda's taskforce, wondering if perhaps Harley was in it. It would explain why she had been responding less and less to the micro-communicator. Shayera still worried that Harley might become one of the many villains that become nonexistent the longer she spent in Belle Reve.

Throughout the months, Harley proved to be a valuable friend and offered advice in the form of random ramblings in order to not tip off the guards of Belle Reve. Asking Harley for information about Belle Reve proved to be dangerous when she overheard Harley trying to misdirect a guard as to why she was counting the cells and the number of security walls. After discovering that she had escaped Belle Reve, Shayera wondered why she hasn't made the effort to reach out to her. Shayera was getting ready to go to sleep when, speaking of the devil, Harley comm-linked in, "Yo. Angelface. I'm out of Belle Reve. I'm on my way to Gotham. Meet me at the Gotham's Merchant Bank roof in twenty minutes." Shayera leapt up from her bed and tried to calmly walk to the teleporter.

"J'onn," she called out, "I need to be teleported to Gotham. I need to ask advice from Batman."

"Is it anything I can help with?" asked J'onn. Shayera gave him an assuring smile and said, "If I still can't resolve it, I'll come to you next."

Shayera felt the familiar feeling of teleportation and found herself on the outskirts of Gotham. She flew to the bank and hid in the shadows, away from any prying eyes. She was feeling anxious lying to J'onn and in a way deceiving Bruce. She valued Bruce's trust above all others and was worried what he will think of her if he discovered her deception. While not normally one to care what any man will say about her, Shayera couldn't deny the growing feelings she was developing for the Dark Knight.

She was deep in thought that, again, she didn't notice the black and red haired figure until she was pinned facedown on the ground.

"You know, I would have thought you'd have learned from the last time." mused Harley as Shayera struggled to get her off her wings.

"Harley! Get off!" she whispered. Harley smirked and somersaulted off her back. Shayera stood up and looked at the harlequin. She hasn't changed much over the past three months except she was not sporting combat boots and had ditched the domino mask… she still had the menacing appearance though.
"Why did you need me here?" asked Shayera.

"I have a mission that requires an extra-set of hands." said Harley as she skipped over to the edge of the building. Shayera remained in the shadows though and watched as Harley turned around and gave her a quizzical look.

"I don't want to be seen." explained Shayera. True to her bipolar mood though, Harley instantly scowled and said, "Oh yeah? Too good to be seen with the likes of me?! I'll tell you something righ—"

"Harley! It has nothing to do with that! I value Batman's trust in me above all others and I don't want to jeopardize it!" explained Shayera.

"Why would B-Man's trust be so… wait…" said Harley as she walked closer to Shayera and scrutinized her. She abruptly removed her mask and Shayera was about to demand it back when Harley looked at her face real closely. Shayera was about to voice out her uncomfortableness when Harley suddenly screamed, "OH MY GOD! YOU LOVE HIM!"

"Shut up!" whispered Shayera as she took her mask back and put it on again, not wanting to satisfy Harley with the growing blush that was forming across her face. Harley smirked at Shayera and said, "I hope for your sake it goes away real fast."

Shayera stiffened and asked, "Why?"

"Well he always has a history with chicks, or at least that's how Selina puts it," said Harley, "First it was with Talia, then Selina, then with the magician lady, then he had some kind of chemistry with the reporter lady."

Harley continued to list off names and never noticed the wilted form Shayera's wings were taking. It wasn't until she was done listing off names that Harley noticed the depressed form of Shayera. She quickly realized her mistake and tried to correct it, "Er… you know what though? You got some serious loyalty and commitment that not many girls can say they have. You're negotiable and you're great with kids! And you even listened to me when anyone else would have put me back in Arkham, no questions asked!"

Shayera smiled at Harley's attempt and said, "Thank you… so was this just a social call or what?"

"Right!" said Harley, snapping back into her mission mode, "I need you to help me break into Arkham."