Fury
Shayera glided above Midway City, deep in thought while also keeping an eye out for trouble. She wasn't on duty-in fact, she's supposed to be resting after spending two weeks of nonstop working with the Midway City Police Department and the night and weekend work she put in for the League-but she had so much in her mind. The War World mission had opened her eyes to how the war back on Thanagar was spreading. Shayera once suspected that Thanagar is on a separate galaxy, but now everything was beginning to make sense. While Thanagar was surely too far from this Solar System and the Quadrant and the Ajuris sections of the Milky Way galaxy, Shayera now believes that Thanagar might actually be in the same galaxy.
The only question is where and how far? Again, Shayera was reminded how crucial knowledge was and she realized that perhaps she had been reading the stars wrong. What if Thanagar's location on the Milky Way was on the opposite end of where the Solar System was? Shayera had often been tempted to ask John to take her everywhere in the Galaxy in order to properly map it out. He had already been helpful enough that the holographic map of the galaxy that she and J'onn were creating was already underway. The map was to help the League navigate better through the galaxy in order to properly handle 'space missions'. It will also give them a tactical advantage in case another invasion was coming. After the Imperium Invasion however news had actually spread across the galaxy about the Justice League. John confirmed it after performing a mission for the Lanterns when the Guardians had called him up and told him that he will officially represent the Green Lanterns in the Justice League.
Shayera shook her head and brought herself back to the issue. Thanagar-Gordanian War. It was her fear that this system was going to experience the horrors that came with an intergalactic war. Earth was vastly unprepared compared to the technology Thanagar has and the Gordanians. Hell, a simple scouting ship from a Gordanian is enough to incapacitate a whole army and not take any damage from Earth weapons. The nuclear bombs might be Earth's last hope regarding an invasion but nuclear is deadly to everybody and Shayera highly doubted that the Earth's armies will want to kill their own people. No. This war was spreading and while Shayera never gave much thought of the effects the war might have on other planets, she can't stop thinking of ways on how to avert the war from its path towards Earth. Draaga made good on his word by telling the other leaders of the Quadrant section to stop their business with the Gordanians and Shayera hopes that it might buy them some time.
Shayera had been told by Bruce that her apparent greatest fear was having the Gordanians on Earth during her brief time under Scarecrow's toxin. Well, here she was reliving the fear and she was aware of it. It took a tremendous amount of will to throw a mask of indifference to the League and her Midway City family. She is honestly tempted to try and hide them, much like she did during her drugged state. She thought about ways to protect her family and it gave her the drive to work harder as a detective and protector.
While thoughts of reuniting with her people and family brought her joy, it also (surprisingly) brought stress to Shayera. She didn't want to leave behind Earth. She had truly grown to love the planet and her people as her own and Shayera couldn't bear the thought of leaving them. She tried to think about her family and pictures of her mother, father, and brother were mixed in with Emmett and his family, Mavis and David, the League, and Bruce and his family. Shayera never would have thought in a million years that she would have grown to love such an array of people. She was happy though and she would die for Earth the same way she will for her family and people on Thanagar.
Shayera was brought out of her musings when she heard Superman call her through the comm-link, "Hawkgirl, Batman sent out a distress signal in Coast City. I'm teleporting you to his location."
"I'm ready." said Shayera. Whatever Bruce has gotten himself into really needed to be the last one. Shayera was starting to feel what Alfred feels everytime Bruce went out missions by himself. It was stressing to feel worried all the time and despite Bruce's ability to perform the impossible, sometimes the impossible catches up to him. Shayera was teleported outside a lab building and she quickly made her way through the broken door. Whatever Bruce encountered left a huge wake of destruction in its path. Shayera investigated the wreckage to see more defining footsteps. Large and small dustprints of footsteps had been left behind and Shayera was able to deduce that more than one person was involved in this wreckage. Shayera flew further into the building and remained silent, not wanting to give anyone the tip that she was in the building. As she flew down one corridor, a groan caught her attention. Shayera stopped flying and looked down the hallway to the left. It had several pipes running along the wall and Shayera cautiously approached them when she saw Bruce's arm slung over one of the pipes. She nearly gasped out his name, momentarily forgetting that they were out in public where the walls had ears. Shayera quickly slung Bruce's arm around her shoulders and helped him stand. She pressed on the comm-link and said, "Superman! I need a teleport for two now!"
Shayera watched as the lab hallway disappeared and she was now in the Watchtower. Superman took Batman off her shoulders and she took the golden necklace away from his still-tight hand. As Superman took Bruce to the Medical Bay, she examined the necklace closely and found it very familiar. Its design wasn't modern, that's for sure. Most modern jewelry has added gems to it while this one was a simple gold. In fact…
Shayera quickly moved to the Watchtower Labs and put the necklace on a scanner. As the machine scanned it, Shayera typed in several key items the machine needed to look for such as the age of the jewelry and the possible locations of where to find it... Just as she suspected: the necklace was of Greek origins and was well over a few thousand years old. Taking the necklace off the scanner, Shayera quickly made her way to the Medical Bay where Superman was restraining a struggling Batman as J'onn checked him over. Shayera snorted and said, "Hold still, Batman. You'd swear J'onn was attempting to probe you."
Superman choked on his laugh as J'onn tried to hide his small smile as Batman glared at Shayera. Shayera merely gave him a cocky smirk and approached him.
"This necklace, it's Greek." she said as she addressed the three heroes.
"Greek? As in Amazonian?" asked Bruce.
"Yes," confirmed Shayera, "I'm guessing you had a run in then with one of Diana's sisters?"
"Not just the one, but she had with her Solomon Grundy, Copperhead, Tsukuri, Shade, and Star Sapphire." said Bruce.
"So we have a rogue then?" asked Superman.
"Looks that way, and a rogue who decided to form her own Injustice gang." said J'onn as he finished examining Bruce.
"So I'm guessing we all have to tell Diana?" asked Shayera.
"No, just one of us has to tell her. The rest need to find this group and quickly stop whatever it is they plan on doing." said Batman.
"Who tells Diana though?" asked Shayera. She realized then that the others were looking at her, "Me?"
"She'd go easier on you. If it were one of us, she won't believe us," said Superman and Shayera snorted as she walked.
Metropolis
The small group of villains made their way down the building as they easily bypassed the security. Shade had almost no intention of joining another group of villains, but who can say no to such a beautiful face? The golden haired beauty, Aresia, first approached him to gather other like-minded individuals in order to do a spree on numerous jewelry stores and banks. It has worked well so far and they even managed to give Batman a good beating before making their getaway with over seven hundred thousand dollars' worth of chemical technology.
They were currently running to the vault where several more pieces of important technology was stored, in which Shade knew they would be able to sell in the Black Market for millions. Whoever this Aresia woman was and wherever she came from, she knows her stuff really well. All she had to say was "25 million dollars' worth of gems" and they were all for the heist. Of course Grundy had to be the coward and not want to fight the possibility of the Justice League, but Aresia used her own charm to convince Grundy that she will take care of the League, to which Shade was grateful for. Of course if he had paid close attention, he would have seen the malicious gleam that passed Aresia's eyes.
As the group of villains made their way down to the vault, Shade was amazed at how easy their heists were. Of course, Aresia was a brilliant planner as she had sent them to take care of the guards while she took care of the security cameras. When they met up at the vault, it was a cinch to steal all the gems. Aresia arrived and began to steal a peculiar piece of red ruby. They continued to steal the vault when they heard police sirens outside. Aresia immediately took command and said, "Take what you can and go, I'll handle the police."
"I'll stay with you," said Tsukuri, ever the 'loyal' mercenary.
"No, go with the others." said Aresia. Star Sapphire formed a bubble around them and they left the Gem Depository, the police attempting to stop them with their bullets… idiots.
Aresia, meanwhile, stole one more ruby when she heard a man behind her say, "You better put that back."
Midway City
Shayera flew to the mall where the locator said Diana was. Diana spent a good amount of time in Midway City, comfortable with the friends she had made in Kendra and Mavis. Shayera entered the mall and greeted the civilians with a smile and went to the department store. Shayera entered and saw Diana being sprayed in the face with perfume by a perfume salesgirl. Diana sneezed as she tried to get the smell out of her nose and Shayera decided to step in.
"Diana!" she called out. Diana turned to Shayera and gave her a smile and asked, "What is it?"
"There's something coming up." said Shayera as she led Diana out of the store and onto the roof.
"What's wrong?" asked Diana.
"There's… so there might be an Amazon here in the area committing crime." said Shayera, deciding that bluntness might be the better way to explain things.
"What?!" Or not.
"Batman encountered one of your sisters in Gotham's Biotech Lab along with a few other hired thugs." explained Shayera. She tossed Diana the golden necklace and asked, "Amazonian design, correct?"
Ignoring Shayera's question, Diana asked, "What thugs?"
"Solomon Grundy, Copperhead, Shade, Star Sapphire, and Tsukuri." explained Shayera. She watched as anger flew across Diana's face as she said, "No, I know my sisters. An Amazon never steals and we never leave the island."
With that Diana turned to leave when Shayera said, "Never?"
Diana turned and gave her a glare while Shayera lifted her hands in the air as a show of surrender and watched as Diana flew away. Shayera sighed and hoped that Bruce and the others might be able to solve this before Diana did something drastic. Shayera flew up and began to patrol the city, deciding to start her shift early. Shayera flew to the Police department and checked in on Emmett. He greeted her with a smile and asked, "How are you?"
"Pretty good," answered Shayera, "Just stuck on a case for the League."
"Oh? Anything I can help with?" asked Emmett.
"Yeah, keep an eye out for Copperhead,Tsukuri, Star Sapphire, Shade, Solomon Grundy, and a rogue Amazonian." said Shayera. Emmett's eyes widened and asked, "Please elaborate, Shayera."
Elaborate she did and Shayera explained to Emmett everything he needed to know about the rogue Amazonian and her Injustice gang. In the end, Emmett had double the patrol around the city and had everybody hands on deck. Shayera felt a little terrible for the officers that had been pulled from their time off, but Shayera would rather have Midway City have extra protection rather than have them exposed to any type of possible threat. Shayera took to the skies after Emmett told her that Kendra and Andrew were going to come in after dropping Junior off with Alice. Shayera flew high above the city and waited for anything to pop out. She was trying very hard not to think about the rogue Amazonian and what her possible plans were.
Shayera attempted to focus on her patrol but her thoughts once again strayed back to the Injustice gang that was formed. She was worried that they might be more organized than Lex Luthor's gang and might actually prove to be a difficult group to handle for the League. Shayera sighed in frustration as it seemed that on top of the spreading war from the Thanagar-Gordanian War, she also had to deal with a renegade Amazon and her lackeys and a stubborn Diana who refuses to believe the evidence. Shayera swears if it she didn't know much about Amazonians then she would have lost her temper with Diana's stubbornness.
Shayera was about two hours into her patrol when she received a call from J'onn, "Hawkgirl, we need your assistance at once."
"Now? Ok, let me clear this with Commissioner Emmett." said Shayera.
"No need. Batman has already cleared it with him." said J'onn. Shayera blinked in surprise at his words, knowing Bruce to be a bit of an intimidating man but so was Emmett.
"I bet that conversation went along fine." she said sardonically.
"You have no idea." said J'onn. Shayera waited up in the sky and was teleported up to the Watchtower. She looked to see J'onn and Batman discussing something quietly and made her way towards them.
"You needed me for something?" asked Shayera.
"I need you to go to Themyscira and investigate who this Amazon is. If Diana won't help us then we need to do it for her." said Batman. Shayera followed Bruce to the Javelin where they took off and made their way towards Greece. Shayera listened as Bruce instructed her on how to get to the island as the whole area is obscured with mist. Since men were not allowed on the island, Shayera was the only one from the League capable of setting foot on the island as Diana was still exiled from Themyscira.
"Be careful Shayera," warned Bruce, "the whole population are extremely wary of strangers."
"Who do I speak to when I get on the island?" asked Shayera.
"Look for Diana's mother. She's the queen." said Bruce. He pressed a button and Shayera got ready for the hatch to open. When it did, Shayera unbuckled herself and flew out of the Javelin. Bruce wasn't kidding when he said that the whole island was shrouded in mist. Shayera flew onwards though,remembering Bruce's instructions to fly forward and not change course. When she managed to break through the fog, Shayera was breathless at the sight of Themyscira. Untouched by the modern world for thousands of years, the architecture of the buildings remained standing as though Ancient Greece hasn't progressed along with the rest of the world. Shayera flew high above the waves and entered a forested part of the island, landing on the trees and hiding in the branches. Shayera almost wished she didn't bring her armor, but knowing that this was a warrior culture it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Batman, I'm in Themyscira. I'll contact you later once I have the information." said Shayera.
"Understood, and be careful Shayera." said Batman. Shayera smiled at the hidden concern in his voice and turned her attention out at sea where she can almost hear the Javelin's engines as Bruce flew away from the area. Shayera looked around and decided to fly above to one of the cities in order to make her presence known. Just as she was about to launch herself into the sky however, Shayera noticed a group of women down at the beach. Deciding to wait, she listened in on the conversation.
"This is a waste of time," complained one of the women, "whoever the thief is wouldn't dare remain on the island. It's suicide."
"We must follow orders and leave no stone unturned, I haven't seen the Queen this distressed since the problem with Faust." said the leader. Shayera watched them walk past her and leaned over the branch to try and listen better. As though Kirche—the trickster god of Thanagar—heard her, her hand slipped and the bark on the branch broke off, the sound echoing loudly enough to capture the attention of the women.
"Intruder! Capture her!" commanded the leader.
"Wait! Wait! I'm-" cried out Shayera, but they threw their spears at her and Shayera barely had time to fly out of the way before she was impaled.
"Wait! I'm a friend of-" and again she was cut off as a net was thrown over her. Shayera fell to the ground hard and black spots covered her vision before she could see clear again. Using her talon hand, she snapped through the net and flew up high again.
"WAIT!" she yelled.
"For what? For you to steal from us again?" snarled one of the blonde women.
"NO! I'm a friend of Princess Diana! I have urgent news for your Queen!" yelled Shayera as she remained flying up in the air in place. The women stared at her suspiciously before the leader said, "Fine, come on down so we can talk."
"Are you touched in the head?" said Shayera, much to the shock of the Amazonians, "You tried to impale me with your spear! I'm not going anywhere with you until I know for sure that you won't attempt to stab me in the back."
Looking a little embarrassed, the leader said, "I'm sorry. I swear upon our Lady Hera that no harm shall come upon you unless in self-defense."
Knowing based on what she has seen from Diana, Shayera knew she could trust the Amazons to follow their leader in her oath and flew back down. She followed them to the biggest building of the island where a blonde elderly woman sat on the throne.
"Your highness," said the leader, "We have a visitor from man's world. She claims to be friends with Diana."
"What is your purpose for being here?" commanded the Queen in her regal voice.
"One of your Amazons that is not Diana is on the loose creating havoc. She has already performed several thefts across the country." said Shayera.
"This is a serious accusation." warned the Queen and Shayera took out the necklace from her chest pocket and lifted it in the light.
"Does this seem familiar?" asked Shayera. Surprise flittered across the Queen's face and she stood from her throne and walked in front of Shayera and grabbed the necklace. She looked at it with scrutiny and ordered to one of the Amazons, "Have my horse ready immediately."
Shayera flew and followed the Queen to the other side of the island where it wasn't as inhabited. A lone lighthouse stood on the beach and Shayera landed beside the Queen. The Queen took a lit torch outside the lighthouse and opened the doors.
"Aresia was supposed to remain here in solitary confinement for her meditation." explained the Queen
"Why? Is she being punished?" asked Shayera.
"No, it is for her rebirth." said the Queen and she began the sad tale of Aresia. A poor girl born in a war torn country and had been forced to flee her home with her mother. They had taken a refugee ship but they were sitting ducks for the enemy warships. A torpedo caught the ship and poor Aresia was the only survivor.
"I found her on the beach," said the Queen, finishing her tale, "we adopted her and she became one of us. I often wondered though if I did the right thing, taking her in."
"What could you have done though? You did the right thing." said Shayera as they reached Aresia's room. The room was dusty and the candles that lit the room had been melted to the point where they were at its last strand. Shayera looked at the bed and noticed its disheveled appearance and said, "She was in a hurry to leave. I'd give it at least a month that she had been planning this, possibly harboring all the stolen materials she took from your island to this tower. When she had her way out, she took advantage of the fact that she was in solitary confinement and left. It will take maybe at least a week maybe to organize the thugs she hired, so I'd give her disappearance two weeks maybe. The way the dust is settled shows maybe longer."
"Those are good deductive skills." remarked the Queen as she watched Shayera investigate the room, not touching anything.
"Thanks, Batman showed me most of the things he knew when I was promoted to Detective." said Shayera as she looked at a chest covered by a drape. Perhaps Aresia attempted to disguise it as a desk or a seat but Shayera noticed the indentation of the hatch beneath the drapes.
"Batman?" asked the Queen.
"He was here the last time your daughter was on the island, he wears black and has a bat symbol on his chest?" explained Shayera.
"Oh, I thought that name sounded familiar." said the Queen as she watched Shayera remove the drape from the chest and opened it. Shayera coughed a little from the dust that rose up but she quickly investigated the contents of the box and noticed very modern items inside it.
"City plans, blueprints, bus passes, and textbooks." said Shayera.
"These items are forbidden here." said the Queen.
"Why?"
"We believe that contact with the outside world can corrupt us." explained the Queen. Shayera pulled out a textbook and read the title outloud, "History of Germ Warfare. It's starting to look that way."
After promising the Queen that she will apprehend Aresia and bring her back to Themyscira, Shayera contacted Batman and flew out to the sea past the mist barrier in order meet up with him. Shayera only had to stay flying around for five minutes when she heard the Javelin's engines. She flew out to meet him halfway and entered the ship.
"What have you uncovered?" asked Bruce as Shayera strapped herself in.
"She has been planning an attack, some type of germ warfare." explained Shayera and told Bruce about her discovery of Aresia's planning.
"It makes sense," said Bruce as the day turned to night, "the chemicals she had stolen from the lab, the attack at the gem depository."
"Why a gem depository though?" asked Shayera, "To continue her funding for the hired help?"
"Not necessarily," said Bruce, "I looked deeper into the background of the gems and she had stolen all the gems that contain chemical compounds."
"Chemical compounds? And they turn it into jewelry?" asked Shayera.
"Disguised it really, the chemicals are notorious in the black market and sellers have been creative at how they disguise their products." explained Bruce.
"Smart," said Shayera, "unfortunately it seems that it only gave Aresia the easy access she needed."
"Any idea for motive?" asked Bruce.
"Do you have to ask? A small girl raised in a war torn country and having lost her whole family. It can traumatize a child to see such horror." said Shayera, looking at Bruce. She knew of his background, the Absorbascon having fed her the headlines that came with the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Bruce showed no emotion however and continued flying the ship.
"Hawkgirl! Batman!" came the voice of J'onn. Bruce pressed the communicator and said, "What is it?"
"Superman has come into contact with a disease. He is currently unconscious. Diana has informed me that perhaps her Amazonian sister had given it to him."
"Be careful J'onn," instructed Bruce, "Hawkgirl and I believe that this rogue Amazonian might be trying to create a germ warfare."
"I'll warn the others," said J'onn, "Go to Metropolis, there is a riot ensuing."
"A riot?" asked Shayera.
Batman changed course of the Javelin and they made their way to Metropolis. Sure enough, smoke was rising from the city and they landed the Javelin ontop of a building. Exiting out, they were able to hear sirens and people screaming or shouting for help. A memory flashed across Shayera's mind of an early childhood. She had been only five years of age and had been playing with her friends when an air siren sounded out. The Gordanians had launched an attempted invasion that day and Shayera could recall the screams she heard that day.
"Shayera?" called out Bruce's voice in her head. Snapping out of it, she saw him give her a look. The worry was miniscule but it was still there.
"Sorry, just remembered an air raid." said Shayera.
"Will you be fine?" asked Bruce.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I'm used to this." said Shayera. However she knew that five years living on Earth had been peaceful compared to Thanagar. Bruce and Shayera peeked over the edge of the building to see bodies strewn about the street as emergency responders did their best to help the sick.
"Half the city has been infected already." said Shayera.
"Yes, the male half." said Bruce and sure enough, Shayera looked closely to see that it was only males that were affected by the disease.
"Omar." she breathed, horrified as she now understood Aresia's plans, "She's attempting to wipe out the male population."
A scream was heard from inside one of the burning buildings and Shayera immediately launched into action. Flying up high, she dove into the building and crashed through the glass. Keeping her wings tight to her body, Shayera looked around in the inferno to see a small boy huddled in the corner. Shayera quickly ran through the flames, feeling them lick at her wings and after grabbing the boy she crashed through the wall to be outside. Flying high, Shayera flew down and gave the ill boy to a first responder. She watched as they drove away with five bodies in critical care in the ambulance when Shayera heard tires screech behind her. She turned in surprise to see a bus about to collide with a firetruck and grabbed the helm of the firefighter woman and launched themselves away from the danger. The bus fell over and skidded to a stop before it hit the truck. Shayera landed the firefighter woman away from the near collision and went to check on the cause of the bus' near collision. She saw the front windshield shatter and Bruce came out carrying an unconscious driver. A nearby first responder took the driver off of Batman's hands and Shayera immediately noticed the perspiration on the visible part of his face.
"Batman!" she cried out, as he fell forward and she caught him before he hit the ground. Shayera felt his face and even wearing the glove armor, she could feel his temperature rising underneath it.
"Hera," she heard someone say behind her and turned to see Diana look on in horror, "Not Batman too."
"So what? That makes Superman and Batman now? Help me get him to the Javelin, he needs to be with J'onn right now." said Shayera.
"Not just Superman, but Lantern and Flash too." said Diana quietly as she easily carried Bruce and followed Shayera to the Javelin.
"What?" asked Shayera as she landed beside the Javelin, "Lantern and Flash have been infected too?"
"Yes, Lantern managed to get himself and Flash to the Watchtower in time before he fell ill. I fear that this disease is spreading quickly to other cities." said Diana. Shayera though stiffened at her words and said, "Other cities?"
Shayera pressed on her comm-link and said, "J'onn, I need a teleport to Midway City. Now! Diana will arrive at the Watchtower with Bruce."
"Shayera, perhaps you should-"
"Now!" ordered Shayera. Silence on the other end until the familiar light of teleportation surrounded Shayera. She turned to Diana and said, "Meet me in Midway!"
Shayera was teleported outside the Midway City Police Station where female officers and detectives were running in and out of the building. Noticing Mary Paul, a friendly officer that always says hello to her, Shayera stopped her and asked, "Where is Kendra?"
"Hawkgirl! Thank the Lord! Kendra is at the hospital with Andrew and the Commissioner! Assistant Commissioner Banks is in charge for now!" informed Mary as she jog-walked into the building. Shayera quickly flew to the hospital, often at times having to stop and help emergency responders save citizens from burning buildings and having to help stop accidents from happening on the streets. When she finally made it to the hospital, families were crying as mothers and daughters were awaiting news from the nurses and doctors about their fathers, husbands, and sons. Shayera felt her heart speed up rapidly as she walked up to the receptionist desk.
"I'm here for Commissioner Emmett." she heard herself say, not really feeling her mouth move. The receptionist pointed Shayera down the hallway and she walked down the hallway.
Her hearing was muffled as a ringing soon took over her hearing. She could hear herself breathe as she neared the hospital door and opened it. Kendra and Alice were in the room with Emmett and Andrew in their own hospital beds, each of the men fighting off the disease. Shayera though had her attention pointed at the bassinet in the room. The ringing in her ears got louder as she walked into the room, not hearing Kendra's voice or Alice's. She looked in the bassinet and saw little George Junior breathing with difficulty in his breathing tube. The ringing was all Shayera could hear and she turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kendra's red, puffy eyes looked at Shayera's worried ones. The ringing went away and she could hear again as Kenra said, "Shayera, please tell me that this can be fixed."
Shayera nodded and said, "I'll fix it. I promise."
"Shay, they said that Junior might not make it, please hurry." pleaded Kendra as sobs consumed her. Shayera hugged Kendra and gently led her to Alice and was about to leave the room when she saw Diana standing hesitantly in the doorway. Shayera watched as Diana walked in with shaky legs as she walked over to the bassinet. Diana spent enough time in Midway City that she had developed a bond with little Junior and to see the baby close to death, Diana felt a new feeling stir within her.
"Let's go." said Diana as she quickly walked out of the room. Shayera turned to Kendra and asked, "Do you know where David and Mavis are?"
"They're in an art show in LA. David and Mavis called and said that they might prolong their trip so David can stay safe from this." said Kendra, her voice scratchy and thick with tears. Shayera nodded in relief that at least David was out of Midway for now. Shayera followed Diana outside and the two heroines flew in silence as they began their search for Aresia. They flew high above the city and Diana was the first to spot the pink figure of Star Sapphire headed their way. Shayera didn't even think, much like when she had dismembered Byth or when she nearly beat the trader at War World to death, but she flew past Diana and met Star Sapphire with a mace to the face.
Shayera only saw red as she attempted to hit Star Sapphire with another blow, only to have Diana grab her in a bear hug. Shayera roared in frustration and flared her wings, knocking back Diana. She swung her mace with the electricity charged at its deadly highest and attempted to swing at Sapphire's head again. Star Sapphire luckily managed to form an effective shield around herself, but the force of electricity that seemed to appear like lightning was enough to shake Sapphire to her core. Sapphire gasped as she lost her focus and was exposed to the incoming mace. Diana had grabbed her lasso and had properly secured Shayera. Shayera was about to use her talon hand again on the magic lasso when Diana grabbed her in another bear hug, this time more securely.
"You better have a proper hold on her! She's insane!" cried out Star Sapphire.
"Keep talking like that and I might reconsider holding her back." threatened Diana. Sapphire grimaced at her words and said, "Alright, truce. I wanted to come here to warn you about Aresia."
Shayera calmed down a little bit and allowed Sapphire to continue, "She's at the Midway military airfield. She plans to use the chemical bombs in the atmosphere and contaminate the whole world."
"What do you have to gain from this?" asked Shayera.
"She's insane… although possibly not as insane as you." said Sapphire. Shayera snarled and Sapphire raised her hands in surrender.
"Lead the way," ordered Diana. The flight to the Military Airfield was short but tense. Shayera never took her sights off of Sapphire in case she might double-cross them while Diana warily kept an eye on Shayera. She had heard from Superman about her frenzy state when he was talking to Bruce about it. It might be a Thanagarian instinct or a state of mind, but Diana had been surprised at the level of strength Shayera had displayed. She had easily overpowered Diana and if she didn't have her lasso then Star Sapphire might have been dead. Still though, Shayera did frighten Star Sapphire which also meant that if she attempted to double cross them then Diana wouldn't be so lenient on holding back Shayera.
They landed outside the hangar of a Blackbird. Sapphire opened the hangars with her powers and the trio entered to see Aresia and Tsukuri about to board the plane.
"Aresia! Stop!" ordered Diana. Shayera had to struggle to keep her face smooth and collected as Aresia and Diana began to have a verbal match against each other. Shayera though noticed Tsukuri inching towards the ship and flew to block her path. A mistake as once she had her back turned, Sapphire shot an energy blast at her back. Shayera screamed as she fell down and Diana turned in shock. Sapphire formed a bubble around Diana as Aresia said, "It's too bad that you vouched for the despicable men, Diana. You could have been a part of something great."
"Nothing is great about what you're doing Aresia," argued Diana, "You want to kill innocents all for revenge. This is not justice!"
"What do you know?! Exiled from your own home! That should have warned you about the consequences of man's world!" snarled Aresia.
"Then I don't feel as bad then." said Diana.
"Of what?" asked Aresia, but she was suddenly knocked into the wall. Diana was chilled at seeing the frenzy look return in Shayera's eyes. Shayera snarled and flared her wings out, slamming Tsukuri with it and into the plane. The force of the knockout was enough that when Tsukuri slammed against the plane, it left an indentation. Star Sapphire attempted to contain Shayera, but like before Shayera charged her mace to its lethal levels and broke free from the pink bubble. Star Sapphire only had enough time to form a small shield against the strike but the force of it was enough to throw her against the wall and knock her unconscious.
Tsukuri attempted to strike against Shayera but Diana quickly lassoed her and threw her against the crates. Aresia tried to fight against Diana but Shayera quickly tackled her to the ground, mace forgotten on the floor. Shayera could never really describe the emotions she feels whenever she enters into this state. One minute she is calm and the next she cannot stop her rage. Shayera would be lying if she said that she wasn't afraid, however she allowed her own instincts to fight for her and continued to bash Aresia around until she heard Diana's voice in the background.
"Shayera stop!" cried out Diana. Shayera refocused her attention to the wall and continued to beat against it to get rid of the adrenaline. Diana walked over to a badly beaten Aresia and commanded, "Yield."
Aresia glared at Diana but after hearing Shayera's war cry, she laid back down with her hands raised. Shayera was just about done with her frenzy when she knocked aside a wall. She noticed the office space and the papers on the desk. She calmed her beating heart and looked at the writing. They were written in Greek. Shayera calmed down fully and was able to properly look at the writing and realized that perhaps they were Aresia's notes on the chemicals. Shayera quickly called in J'onn, horrified when he responded with a sickly voice. Shayera ran outside to where Diana was properly detaining Aresia, having removed the magic bracelets that had granted Aresia Amazonian strength.
"Diana! I found her notes!" called out Shayera. It took a while but when Shayera contacted Kendra and Mary Paul, they were able to quickly apprehend Star Sapphire and Tsukuri. Aresia was taken to Themyscira by Diana in the Javelin while Shayera quickly flew to the Labs where she was able to translate the notes quickly. One of the blessings from the Absorbascon that fateful day she had crashlanded on Earth was that when she learned all of Earth's languages,it also included the ancient ones. The teams of scientists were quick to whip up a batch of the cure and were able to send the formula to all the infected cities. Shayera had never in her life felt much relief than when Junior opened his eyes and happily gurgled at her once he was cured.
When the men of the League were cured, Shayera could have danced. Of course she didn't but it was the thought she supposed that mattered. She was even happier to see Bruce on his feet again. Of course for a good three days after the epidemic, she spent it keeping an eye on him. She even visited the Manor more often just to see if Bruce was still doing well. Bruce knew about her worries but allowed her to silently fret over him, knowing that if the positions were reversed then he would have done the same. It was the night where they just sat in front of the fireplace that helped Shayera learn to stop worrying and just enjoy the moment.
Shayera and Diana were sitting in the Monitor Room the next day when Diana asked, "How is it that men could be so essential to your world? I never would have believed it until Aresia had tried to wipe them out."
"Don't knock it till you've tried it princess." said Shayera with a smirk. Diana was surprised at her answer but smiled nevertheless, happy that for now—with Aresia in prison on Themyscira and receiving justice from her mother—she can relax at least. Diana had been joyous when Shayera had informed her that Commissioner Emmett, Andrew Grubs, and Junior had been cured. She had gone to visit Kendra and tried to apologize on behalf of her sister's misguided beliefs, but Kendra and Alice were quick to tell Diana that it wasn't her fault. Diana even got spend more time with Junior that day and was happy that she had been able to help divert a tragedy.
Hey readers, so finals week is upon me and I am studying like hell. Hopefully you liked this chapter. Next up, a certain model will be introduced and Metamorpho will be in play. Thanks for reading :) Also I hoped the beginning part of this chapter clears up any questions about the distance Thanagar is from Earth and the upcoming war.