Bruce had set up an entirely new system around Diana's bed. It hadn't been hard to talk Clark into bringing several monitors and external hard drives the Bat Cave, and Wally had brought everything else he needed from around the Watchtower. He had connected a number of computers to the wall of the room and had several of them running calculations for his and Lois's mapping system while a few of the others monitored Diana's health. The beeps of her heart rhythm entwined with the buzz of his programs and the drips of her IV to create a sickening symphony of despair and panic. His mind fought to keep up with the conflicting missions of his mind and heart. Hurry to get back to holding Diana's hand. Hurry to find Shayera before she died. Don't let their group was torn apart once more. Don't waste a second with the woman you love. He could feel his energy being drained by the quick pace of time.
The sound of footsteps began to echo through the space, making a slow crescendo before Lois, followed by Wally and John came to stand behind him. Lois was talking quickly, updating them on the progress the two of them had made overnight, although she needed Bruce to help explain on what exactly. Her expertise had more to do with following leads than it did advanced mapping software. John was the first to speak, perplexed by the strange map and colored overlapping lines before him, "What am I looking at?"
"Well," Lois began, "For the last few days, we've been looking at every corner around the world - each government which had a particular issue against Shayera, wealthy individuals connected to the Lotus Foundation, friends of Lex Luthor. Essentially, anyone who would have been able to plan or at least help create, a long term strategy to track her and abduct her. But then we started questioning the time table we were working with."
"Meaning?" Wally raised an eyebrow.
"What if it wasn't a long term plan?" Bruce answered from his seat.
The room was quiet for a moment, the only sounds the noises made by the machines running, before John's hoarse voice asked, "You think this attack was based on a random act of opportunity?"
"John." Batman rationalized without turning to meet his gaze, "Only a handful of people knew that Shayera was going to be at this place at this time. I checked the financials and backgrounds of every single one of them. None of them received any recent payments or had any motives which could possibly outweigh the intelligence briefings which she could offer them. However, if someone went to the trouble of developing technology to track the energy outbursts emitted by the teleporter.…"
"I didn't think that was possible!" John shouted.
"Neither did I!" Bruce suddenly stood so that he and John were at eye level. John's pained green eyes bore into the tortured, exhausted blue of his friend. Both in their own kinds of hell, and held together only by persistence, worry, and a bit of hope. Neither moved to harm the other, but both stared at each other, testing their resolves.
Finally, John sighed and said, "Who could do that?"
"I think we both can guess that." Bruce said darkly.
"Damn, Luthor." John ran a hand over his short hair and stepped back. Bruce glared at him, but sat back down, continuing his work in brooding silence. His long fingers danced over the keys, filling up the space with the sound of quick clicks.
"But we think we know how to find him." Lois nervously interrupted the tension between the two. She crossed her arms to keep from fidgeting with her hands and continued, "Bruce and I have been trying to figure out how they could have prepared their forces for such an attack and then got away so impossibly quick. They had to have some kind base close by - within a hundred miles for sure - which was at least mildly equipped for medical and military research. And that is most likely in some mildly secluded area where such a large facility can be hidden from the public."
"So how do we find it?" John asked in frustration. He couldn't stop his fingers or feet from tapping in anticipation.
"We're talking about dozens of people who are probably using amazingly high tech machines which would consume energy at quite a fast pace!" Lois elaborated.
"You want to track their electricity usage?" Wally asked skeptically.
"Wouldn't they be able to hide that somehow?" John worried.
"Generally yes." Lois sighed, "But if we're right - if taking her wasn't planned in advance and all of this was just a strange coincidence of fate - then they probably haven't covered their tracks as well as they otherwise would have. Batman and I have devised an algorithm which should be able to discern any major increases in electrical currents within the isolated area and backtrace it to its source. It's tedious work, and we're trying to speed it up any way we can, but we're...optimistic. We're also using Luthor's last known travels to narrow the search fields, which is helping us to cross some areas off our search altogether."
"How long until we know?" John said as he stared at the information moving across the screens.
"Maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours. Could be a day or even more." Lois confessed. Her jaw was clenched tight in worry, but she kept her shoulders back confidently. It wasn't good news, but it was the best they had.
"And in the meantime?" John glared at her.
"GL," Wally placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "She's telling you that we wait."
"No!" John said, "There has to be something else."
Lois sighed, "Get some rest. You'll have to be ready." She looked pointedly at the empty beds around the room, "Clark and J'onn are already organizing teams for once we have a location. There's really nothing else to be done. But I promise you - once we have a location, you'll be the first ones on the ground."
Wally used to bug Shayera all the time with his positivity. When she would have monitor duty, he would always dash into the room with a goofy grin while she moped over the sheer monotony of her job. He would lean carelessly against the keyboard of their control panel and flirt with her until eventually, she wanted to kill him more than die of boredom. After a while, though, she began to look forward to his frequent visits and the kind gestures with which nearly every one of them ended. Before he would speed of again, he would nearly alway give her some kind of snack, a smile, and a simple piece of advice. "Think positive, Shay. Something good's probably right around the corner!"
Of course, she would usually brush that phrase off while devouring whatever kind of greasy Earth food Wally had chosen for her that day. But now, on the biggest day of her life, those words were the only thing keeping her going. Think positive. Today I'm going to be a mother. Think positive. John is going to find us. Think positive. John will be the best Dad imaginable. He'll be worth two parents. Think positive. Think positive. She tried to calm her breathing despite the restraints which were biting painfully into her wrists and ankles. Shifting her weight as to relieve the screaming pain on the base of her wings, she tried to arch her back and roll her shoulders down. Nothing could really make her comfortable though. Whether that was due to remaining in the same cramped position for too long or the fact that she was probably going to die today was anyone's guess.
"We can give you something for the pain." One of the nurses offered. Her kind brown eyes pecked out from between her powder blue scrub cap and surgical mask. She was adjusting the tray of instruments which sat beside her bed, arranging the pieces for the doctors, "In your back, I mean. Your stomach should already be numbed."
Biting her pride, Shayera bit out, "That would be helpful."
The woman nodded tightly and moved to pull a vile out of the nearest cupboard. While transferring the bright orange liquid into a needle, she turned back and said plainly, "We're going to get started soon." After a moment, she felt the pinch of a needle near one shoulder, and then a few seconds later, near her other. The pain began to recede while a new panic took over her body.
"Please don't do this." She whispered for just the two of them to hear.
The woman pressed her lips together, but instead of answering her, walked back to the medicine cabinet to return the pain reliever. Shayera turned to stare up at the stark white ceiling again in defeat. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and resumed her chanting. Think positive. Today I'm going to be a mother. Think positive. John is going to find us. Think positive. I'm going to have a baby today.
