Carter whistled a merry tune as he walked up the steps to his apartment. He had groceries in one hand and his keys in the other and he was in a good mood. Tomorrow, the museum was receiving a sarcophagus, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on it. He placed his grocery bags on the counter after entering his house. It was 10 p.m. He needed to be to work by 5 a.m. Was it too late for vodka? He turned to his living room but released an embarrassingly high shriek when he realized he was not alone in his apartment. "How long have you been there?" he asked, his heart racing inside his chest.
"Long enough," Batman said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Where are your wings?"
"My wings? They aren't organic."
"Meaning?"
"They aren't connected to my vertebrae. I can take them on and off whenever I want. My father was responsible for manufacturing faux wings on Thanagar."
"You can make wings?"
"Yeah. As long as I have enough Nth metal, which I do – I took a handful with me when I defected - I can make as many faux wings as I want."
"We can talk about the later, for now I want you to gear up. I'll meet you on the roof."
"O-kay," Carter answered.
A minute later, Carter stood on the roof of his apartment building dressed as Hawkman. He was expecting it to be just him and Batman. Turns out, the Bat wasn't alone. "Superman!" Hawkman almost screamed. "Wonder Woman," he gasped.
"This isn't a social visit," Batman said.
"We would like to temporarily invite you to join the Justice League," Superman said.
"Is this because of the hunt for Hawkgirl?" Hawkman asked.
"How do you know about that?" Wonder Woman asked.
"He's the one who alerted me to Lobo's presence on this planet," Batman said.
"Lobo has been taken care of," Superman said.
"Space Dolphins?" Hawkman guessed.
"Yes. But how do you know about the Space Dolphins?"
"It's a well-known fact in the universe that Lobo has a twisted fascination with Space Dolphins. It's borderline predatory," Hawkman replied.
"What we want to know is how the Thanagarians will respond knowing that we have rid them of their prized bounty hunter. Also, we have one their agents in our custody," Batman spoke.
"Should we expect more bounty hunters?" Superman asked.
"I don't think so," Hawkman said after a moment. "Thanagarians are a proud race. We like to come across as perfect, never making a mistake. They wouldn't want help from the rest of the universe. They'd keep it in house."
"What about the Gordanians?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Working together with Thanagarians?" Hawkman asked in disbelief. "Yeah right. The only way those two races would ever work together is if Thanagar had something to trade. And as to the agent in your custody, they're gonna kill her."
"Why?" Wonder Woman questioned. "Because we captured her?"
"Yes," Hawkman said. "Failure is not tolerated on Thanagar. We are a military planet. All mistakes must have consequences. No soldier may be out of line. Entering the military is like signing a death wish. They're coming so hard after Hawkgirl because she betrayed the entire planet. She made a mockery of Thanagar in front of the entire universe. Also, she disgraced the ruling family. She made them look weak by saving Earth. But why are you asking me this?" Hawkman asked. "Lieutenant Hol would know more than me. I was just a lowly officer. She's the one who was in the same room with higher-ups. Soldiers on my level never know what's going on. We do what we're told; no questions asked."
"What can you tell us about Shayera's family?" Batman asked.
"Not much. General Talov is a psychopath, and his wife, General Che-yara, is a sociopath. Her younger sister, Issi, is a mixture of both - making her a nightmare to deal with."
"So Shay – Lieutenant Hol – which one is she?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Neither," Hawkman answered. "She was an…anomaly. The odd bird out."
"Explain," Wonder Woman demanded.
"We were in the same class. She probably wouldn't remember me. When we were around 14 our class was doing drills and obstacle courses. You know those courses your army or navy or marines run?" Superman and Wonder Woman nodded. "We were running those when we were 7. This one was ten times harder, and it was part of our graduation ceremony. Everyone was watching. Lieutenant Hol was out in front. She was killing it. She would have won, too. But, during the obstacle where we fly through rings while seasoned warriors shoot arrows at us, I got hit with the an arrow. It went through my wing and pinned me to the wall. I was done."
"Didn't it hurt you?" Wonder Woman asked.
"My wings are not organic. Actually, almost 80% of Thanagarians are born wingless. But I digress. Everyone aimed their bows at me and fired. I closed my eyes, knowing I was about to die."
"Wait," Wonder Woman interrupted once again, "Students dying. Is that a regular occurrence?"
"Yes. At age 5, there were 350 students in my class. By 14, we were down to 150. Going back to my story. I was pinned to the wall, arrows flying at me, but I didn't get hit. When I opened my eyes, Lieutenant Hol was in front of me. She had deflected all of the arrows. She then pulled the arrow out of my wing and helped me finish the course. I'll never forget how the crowd looked. The place was silent; everyone's mouths were open. They were speechless."
"Shocked because she rescued you?" Superman asked.
"Yes. She had shown compassion by rescuing me. And compassion is a weakness that is beat out of us at a young age. As the next in line to be ruler of Thanagar, she had just proven that she was weak. Which suggested that her father was weak. It was not good. Her father and mother were livid. Couldn't see their faces because of their masks, but their body language screamed murder. I was so scared for her. When her father walked up to her, she returned his glare. It was an act of defiance - showing disrespect. I have never seen a hawk brave enough to look General Talov in the eye...I have also never seen a being get slapped so hard."
"He punished her for saving you?" Wonder Woman asked, still not clear.
"He backhanded her so hard, half of her mask flew off her face. Those masks are made of the same material as my mace," he gestured down to the weapon at his side. "The slap echoed throughout the auditorium. She stumbled and landed on the ground, hard. Then, her father grabbed her by the wing, dragged her to a wall and pinned her there with a spear. She released this desperate, blood curling scream. Her wings aren't faux like mine, they're organic. She had to dislodge the spear herself."
"Did she graduate?" Superman said, completely enraptured.
"Yeah, of course But she stayed out of public eye until it was announced she was going to Earth. A week before she was sent here, I left. I disgraced my whole family at 14 by needing to be resuced. And then they ostracized me when they learned I would be a low-level soldier. Eventually, my father banished me. He said he could no longer house such a weak hawk. I haven't seen, talked, or heard from my family since I left Thanagar. Earth was a welcome change." Superman and Wonder Woman silently absorbed what they had been told. "Batman," Superman turned to the Caped Crusader, "do you think – where is he?"
"How'd he do that?" Hawkman exclaimed. "He was just here!"
"When did he do that?" Wonder Woman wondered aloud.
"Why don't you come with us to the Watchtower," Superman said. "We can talk more."
Shri paced her 10x10 cell. As far as jail cells went, this one was nice and different from the ones on Thanagar. This cell had a soft bed, a desk, and a desk lamp. Why she would ever need a desk while locked in a cell, she did not know. But who was she to complain. The ones on Thanagar were nightmares, standing room only. Her father had died in one. And…there was someone here. Shri turned around to see the green man, the Martian Manhunter, was standing just outside her cell. (The front wall of the cell was made out of unbreakable glass.) "You are back," Shri said, crossing her arms.
"I am," he said. He was munching on some small, round, brown thing. Her interest was piqued. "What are you eating?" she inquired.
"They are called Chocos. They are made from chocolate and have a vanilla crème filling," J'ohnn all but cooed. "Would you like to try one?" he held one out.
"Being nice to me build rapport. It won't work," Shri turned to face the wall once again. "You come here everyday and question me. Why?"
"To see what you know?"
"About what?" she turned to face J'ohnn. J'ohnn shrugged, a habit he picked up from the humans of Earth. "You already scanned my body. I do not have any trackers in or on my body. No one is coming for me."
"We did find a communication device that has since been destroyed. We know you've been communicating with your lieutenant." Shri only blinked her bright brown eyes. "Why were you sent here? Have you been looking for Shayera since the invasion?" Shri scoffed. "It was not an invasion," Shri said.
"What was it if not an invasion?"
"Liberation." Shri said.
"Liberation?" J'ohnn asked. "Please explain."
"The Gordanians were on their way to Earth. They would have made mankind their slaves."
"It seems the Thanagarians tried to make humans their slaves instead."
"We were going to teach the humans how to fight," Shri argued.
"The humans did just fine on their own. As you can see, Thanagarians do not control Earth." Shri stormed the clear wall, banging it once with her fist. The anger was like a fire in her eyes. "The only reason you ilíthioi won was because of that skýla. She showed weakness when she chose you over us!" J'ohnn's red eyes studied her. Shri hated to admit it, but this Martian's steady stare was unnerving. And it did weird things to her stomach. She did not like it. "What?" she bit out in annoyance.
"Why did you think the Gordanians were about to invade Earth?" he asked.
"That's what I was told."
"Who told you that?" J'ohnn asked.
"The higher-ups," she replied. "They told us that the Gordanians were about to attack another planet. Earth. And if they conquered Earth, it would mean our annihilation. We needed to prepare them for an attack."
"You follow your leaders' orders, no questions asked?" J'ohnn asked, trying to understand the young, dark-skinned hawk.
"Yes," she answered confidently. "Our parents raised us to respect the leaders of
Thanagar. They know best."
"Hmm," J'ohnn said thoughtfully. "You have given me much to think about," he replied after a moment. Shri raised an eyebrow. She had? "It is always a pleasure speaking to you, Shri," J'ohnn said as she walked away. Shri stared after him for a few moments before sitting on the bed. There was that weird feeling in her stomach again. She was going to puke.